Oh, Fudge!!

I attempted to make peanut butter fudge last night. It isn't fudge though. It is more like gooey peanut butter caramels. It tastes good but unfortunately, it wouldn't package well for my goody packages for the office.

I may use it to make chocolate surprise cookies and stick it in the middle of the cookie...or I might just eat it with a spoon.

I have to make the chocolate cookies tonight and then finish packaging the containers for the office.

I finished my last Christmas knitting last night. Mom is going to do some seaming for me on Wednesday which is great since the seaming that needs to be done is beyond my sewing ability. Once that is done, those 4 gifts can be wrapped and put under the tree.

I am going to wrap Princess Ivi's gifts tonight and my Mom's and then, I think, I might be ready for Christmas.

100th Post for 2009

This is my 100th post. I feel like I should post something deep and meaningful but I don't think I can pull it off.

Facebook - Love it or hate it?

I will say this, I love Facebook. I love the fact that I can reconnect with old friends who I have lost touch with because let's face it, when you are 15 and move 1,500 miles away, you don't think too much about keeping in touch with those people who you love. It is only as we get older and think of those people and wonder about those people and miss them that we wish we could go back and write more, call more, visit more. Granted Facebook can't go back in time so you know that person's whole story but it connects you and makes it possible to ask for the whole story, if you want.

I am a winner...
I was contacted by Tammy at Mom Knows Everything because I won her Pulse Yoga DVD Giveaway. How cool is that?

Christmas...Ready or not, here it comes!
I went to Walmart to pick up Christmas Ivi's gifts last night after work. I hate Walmart at Christmas. It is always crazy. Too many people and of course, there are always those shoppers who stop in the middle of the aisle, not leaving enough room to go around them, and take forever to do anything. Or those people who visit with others in the middle of the aisle instead of moving over a little bit to let others pass.

But I had a semi-successful trip. One of the things she asked for was there and the other was not (but I was able to order it for ship-to-store this morning) and I was able to pick up some stocking stuffers as well as some wrapping supplies.

I still need to pick something up for my nephew in Massachusetts. I am going to do that on my way home.

As for my brother's kids, I have a slight dilemma. I am not sure we are getting a Christmas bonus this year and without that, I don't have any more money so that means I have to knit stuff for them. Considering the fact that there are 10 knitting days (counting today) and I have to work 7 of those days and can't be knitting then, I am starting to worry.

I am working on a pair of Alice Wristwarmers for my neice that are neon green and white striped. They look very Dr. Seussy - how is that for a non-word?

As for my nephews, I am stuck. Will is very smart, loves books, science, science fiction, puzzles, etc. I am not sure what to knit for him. Jacob is very smart, loves Lord of the Rings, action figures, Star Wars, etc. I am thinking of a sword belt, a crown and a ring. Then he can be Strider from LOR and have his crown for when he is made king. I would just need to pick up a plastic sword for him.

I feel bad that I can't do more for them especially because my brother is currently out of work and won't be able to do much for them either.

Welcome Back, Peanut Butter Cookie!! (and Christmas knitting update)

I used to make batches and batches of peanut butter cookies for my Uncle Dave. But when Dave died in 1999, I couldn't make peanut butter cookies anymore. The smell of the peanut butter was just too much for me to handle and made me miss him too much. After years of abstaining from the peanut butter cookie baking, I made a batch this summer. I used the same recipe that I had used all those years ago but I didn't like them anymore. Absence in this case did not make the heart grow fonder. They were too crumbly and just not what I want in a peanut butter cookie. I had resigned myself to being peanut butter cookie-less for the foreseeable future.

However, after yesterday, I see peanut butter cookies in my future once again. I made the Peanut Butter Cut-Out Cookies from Hershey's. I didn't roll and cut them out because I have bad luck with that. Instead I just sliced and baked them. They are so good. Instead of using peanut butter, you use peanut butter chips. They taste like real peanut butter and they are soft and chewy. I made these for the Baking GALS box I am sending to our soldier in Iraq since her favorite cookies are peanut butter. Mom and Princess Ivi agreed that they were so good and I thought I would have to fight them off with a stick to be able to get enough cookies to ship. I also picked up two boxes of cocoa, some tea and some chocolates for the package and Mom is making me a batch of caramel corn to include so it should be great.

The new Knitty is up. I just took a look at it. There are some really pretty patterns in there. The Zora Cardigan is beautiful. I also like the Quadrat Pullover although I am not much into the belted look. The Pyroclastic Sock is awesome. Maybe I could beat second sock syndrome...or maybe not. I am adding them to my list of projects to knit. With these, my Ravelry queue is 30 projects long...hmmm.

As for Christmas knitting, I finished three surprise knitting projects for Princess Ivi this weekend. I can't post them here but I will post them after Christmas. I also cast on for a pair of Alice Wristwarmers for my niece. They are neon green and white striped. I made good progress with them and am extremely pleased.

I did some shopping on Saturday. My sister and brother-in-law are done (well, my sister will be done once I locate the gift I bought for her months and months ago). My nephew is almost done. I am picking up Princess Ivi's gifts tonight on the way home. As for my niece, nephews and brother, they are going to have to wait for the Christmas bonus.

One Down, So Many More to Go

I finished Pat's present this weekend. I was going to make her the Hello New York scarf but the pattern seemed like a lot of fuss for something that didn't look all that great. A lot of yarn-overs but not a lot of ooh factor at the end. Instead I made this simple ribbed scarf. I am very pleased with it.

Princess Ivi was kind enough to model it as long as I didn't take a picture of her head since she was very upset with her air-drying hair (a curly, unruly mess).

Scarf: 27 stitches on size 8.0 mm needles, K3, p3 ribbing

Yarn: Grampian DK held double throughout

Too Much to Do

To Buy

1. Princess Ivi's Gifts
2. Isaac's gift (which needs to be mailed 12/18)
3. Gifts for nephews and niece (I am thinking the first few Harry Potter movies for the boys and a Joann's gift card for Emily since she likes to sew and needs fabric and notions)
4. Baking supplies
5. 10 Dollar Swap items to be shipped no later than 12/20
6. Carry-on size bag for Princess Ivi
7. Messenger style bag (or something like it) for me that can hold personal items (phone, wallet, etc.) plus ample knitting materials for plane trip and layovers Don't need because Princess Ivi is going to let me use one of hers.
8. Gift for Princess Ivi’s dad(??)
9. Stocking Stuffers
10. Gift for Mom

To Bake

1. Cookies for Baking GALS (to be shipped no later than 12/16)
2. Cookies (for mailing to sister on or about 12/18)
3. Goodies (like Christmas mice, peanut butter chip brittle and possible Nigella Lawson’s Hokey Pokey) for mailing on or about 12/18

To Knit

1. Surprise project for Princess Ivi
2. Stick shift cover, ice scraper mitt and steering wheel cover for Rob all in Gator orange and blue.
3. Hello New York Scarf Easy Ribbed Scarf for Pat using Grampian DK (purple)
4. Hat for Barry using Jiffy (black)
5. Wise Owl for Emi
6. Spiders for Will and Jake

To Assemble

1. Two pairs of wristers
2. Two surprise gifts for Princess Ivi

To Visit

1. Princess Ivi's dad for Christmas
2. Brother's family prior to Christmas day

To Wrap

1. All presents

To Stuff

1. Two Stockings (mom's and Princess Ivi's)

To Do

1. Ship package to sister on or around 12/18
2. Charge and load ipods before Christmas
3. Charge batteries for camera
4. Pack for trip to sister's house (leaving Jacksonville at 11:50 a.m. on 12/25) -of course this includes making sure there are sufficient clean clothes for said trip as well as pulling out our cold weather gear (which thankfully isn’t too far in the closet)

This seems so overwhelming especially when I consider that I have one pay check between now and Christmas (I am not counting the check I will receive on Christmas Eve). Thankfully Princess Ivi is out of school starting on the 21st and she is really good about helping with laundry and stuff. She will also make sure she has what she needs to keep herself occupied on the plane.

Judging from this list, my life will be very crazy for the next few weeks.

Tales from My Boring Life

I have been MIA for a few which I hate. I am really trying to be here more but some days life seems way too boring to post anything about.

Knitting:

I have been knitting like a crazy person. My sister’s project is done. My nephew’s project was started and finished last night (well, except for the crochet parts that my mom will do for me because I can’t crochet). The only worry I have is that it is too short. I have my sister measuring so I guess we will see.

The wristers for Princess Ivi are knitted and going on the blocking board this weekend.

I also found some surprise projects for Princess Ivi that I am working on. Her projects will help since she has asked for three things this year: a laptop (which isn’t going to happen), a digital
camera (which will happen so I can get my camera back) and an Ipod Nano. Considering the fact that the camera and ipod are over $300, I need all the help I can get with smaller, less expensive gifts. I sort of miss the days when she was content with a Barbie. Or when she was really little and she was content with the box the Barbie came in. What is up with babies and their love of boxes?

I still have a lot to do though. I have to make a hat for Mom’s boss/landlord. I am scared of this because lately it seems that every time I make a hat, it is way too short even though I follow the pattern. I am looking for a basic watch cap pattern that is long enough. Hopefully, I will find it soon.

I also need to knit something for Pat Mom’s female boss/landlord. I am going to make it out of the yarn she gave me last year for Christmas but I can’t decide if it will be a scarf, a hat or some type of headband/ear warmer thing. All I know is the pattern can’t be too busy or it gets lost in the texture of the yarn.

Of course, I still need to knit for the nephews and niece as well. I am thinking of making a knitted owl (like Wise Owl) for Emi, a spider (think Aragog) for Will, and a golden snitch for Jake and then giving the three of them at least the first two Harry Potter movies.

Oops, almost forgot about the project for my brother-in-law. Hmm. I guess I have a lot of knitting to do.

Speaking of knitting, I just looked at the new Twist Collective. All I can say is “must finish Christmas knitting before anything else” all while thinking “yummy...ooh, I want that...I have to make that.” This is why I have so many projects on the needles at once.

To all my fellow drivers, I am not insane. Really. I just like to sing along really loud to the radio.

Yesterday I went to the post office and came across a station playing nothing but Christmas music. Now, I am a firm believer that Christmas music should not be played until after Thanksgiving so I would normally steer clear of listening to this station right now. But I was in my car and I had to make a turn so I stopped scanning for other stations and before I knew it, I was driving back to the office belting out lines of Frosty the Snowman.

Busy Week

This week is fairly busy at work which is good. Wednesday night is The Girls’ Night Out when a bunch of us legal assistant/paralegal/secretaries get together with a court reporter (my boss’ wife) and visit and have a few drinks. It is nice to be able to do that. We just have to be careful not to get on the subject of attorney bashing or we could be there all night.

On Thursday, Princess Ivi is being evaluated by a child psychiatrist. There is some concern about bipolar or some other mood disorder along with a serious case of OCD and a possible clinical depression. I have been working on filling out the paperwork they sent me. The questions are crazy: When did the baby start speaking in full sentences? This is hard for me because it seems like she has always done this. I am glad that they gave me a few days to work on it before the appointment.

On Friday, Princess Ivi has a field trip to St. Augustine. She wants me to go. I have to check with the school board and make sure that they completed my background check first but I think I am going to go. Apparently all of her friends want to meet me because I sound so “cool”. Of course, I have this fear that I will be the kind of chaperone my mom was and repeat the time she lost a kid in the Boston Museum of Science.

Thanksgiving

I can’t believe it is next week. I am going to leave work on Wednesday and go pick up my brother’s kids and take them to the house for the weekend. Then Dan, my brother, will be forced to come at a decent time. See my evil plan?

I have to be honest and tell you that I have been looking forward to turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy for months.

Concert

Part of Princess Ivi’s Christmas present is a concert on November 30. I am taking half a day off since she has a 3:30 doctor’s appointment. Then we will go home and get ready to go see...wait for it...wait for it...Daughtry with Cavo and Theory of a Deadman. I am excited and I know Princess Ivi is very excited. Personally, I just want to be able to drool over Chris Daughtry but I think she is actually excited about the music. Huh?

So that is a pretty basic update on what is going on. Until later.

Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives...

I was talking to an old high school classmate and after I described my life to her and her reaction was "wow", I realized that my life is truly like a soap opera hence, the title.

On Saturday, I am taking Princess Ivi to Savannah, Georgia to see her father whom she hasn’t seen since she was sixteen (16) months old. I figure this weekend should be traumatic, different, strange and difficult. The two of them have a lot of garbage to wade through to get to the pretty stuff.

I am nervous. I haven’t seen him in 12 years since he squashed my heart like a bug. I realized that life has been good for me without him because I could easily put all of the feelings I had about him and our failed marriage into a storage box and tuck it away in the dark recesses of my brain without having to deal with it. With him back in my life (even in the periphery), I have to now figure out how to deal with the stuff in that storage box. Blech!

Adding to the weirdness of those unresolved feelings is the fact that for the last 12 years I have been so angry with him for walking away from Princess Ivi. (He now knows he was wrong but he confessed that he tried looking for us a few years after he left but was unable to find us because we had moved. Before the move, I had tried in vain to reach him, leaving messages with his family, but never heard from him so I assumed he just didn’t care.)

Of course, life has not been great for Princess Ivi without her dad so I will find a way to deal with everything.

Since I am sure my stress level will hit its tippity-top level this weekend, I am planning a trip to Wild Fibre in Savannah. I figure when my ex-husband drives me crazy, I will go fondle some yarn rather than wrapping my fingers around his throat and squeezing until his head pops off.

I am also going to bring some knitting with me to de-stress at the hotel. I am currently working on the Knit 1 wristers. They are interesting. I have never done cables before but they sure are a lot easier than they look. Go figure. I have 4 rows to do and then I will cast on for the other one.
I am also going to bring the Red Heart Fiesta that Pat and Barry gave me for Christmas last year and work on a scarf for Pat for Christmas.

Oh and my sister’s Christmas present is all knitted up and my mom has done an amazing job stitching it all together. Mom, you rock!!

What I did this weekend?

First, I got my haircut. I donated it to Locks of Love so it is pretty short (right where my neck and shoulders connect). It is cool and it will grow fast. Princess Ivi said it makes me look younger but it is a grown up cut.

Second, Princess Ivi and I went to FYE and I got her the Framing Hanley CD which she went on and on about for days.

Third, we went to Applebee's for lunch. Yummm...

Fourth, we went to Books a Million and picked up some books.

Fifth, then we went home.

During lunch we talked about a decision she had to make. Her father, whom she hasn't seen in 12 years, wants to try to build a relationship with her. If I had my way, I would hold her close to me for the rest of her life but I can't do that to either of us so I told her that I would support whatever decision she chose to make about her father.

Saturday night she told me that she wanted to write to him and send a few recent photos.

So on Sunday after running to CVS to print pics, we wrote him a letter and I mailed it today. Let's keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well and no one gets hurt.

Today, I was impressed with myself because I talked to Princess Ivi's father, whom I haven't spoken to in 12 years and considering how our relationship ended, I was impressed with the fact that I was able to talk to him like an adult without getting emotional.

As for knitting, on Sunday I worked on the Feather and Fan Shawl and I decided that I hated it so I unraveled it. Then I was going to work on another shawl with the same yarn but that didn't work either. I was going to start on some fingerless gloves for Princess Ivi but I couldn't find where I put the Knit 1 magazine that had the pattern. Grrr...so instead I worked on my sister's Christmas present which I can't go into too much detail here because it is a surprise. but all in all, it felt good to be knitting again.

Back to Business....

My Christmas was wonderful. I hope everyone else’s was good as well.

On Christmas Eve, I got home from work and my brother Dan and his three kids were there. We opened presents with them and had chili for dinner. Yum.

My niece Emily picked out a very nice knitting book for me and did a great job wrapping it. The label said “To: Aunt Lennie From: The Family”. She cracks me up.

After they went home, we talked to my sister (in Massachusetts) while they opened their Christmas gifts. It was great to hear my nephew “singing” in the background. He really enjoyed his gifts including the Florida Gators t-shirt I found for him. My sister loved the lemur and the movie. And of course, Rob loved his pistachios and his book. My mom bought my sister a Go Phone so we can all talk to each other for free which is always a good thing.

Then, Princess Ivi and I watched movies (although I can’t remember which ones) while Mom finished wrapping her presents.

We woke up early Christmas morning and opened our stockings (mine was filled with nail polish, cotton balls, remover, nail files, etc.) and then said “what the heck” and opened our gifts. Princess Ivi gave me new pjs, the winter edition of Interweave Knits and Creative Knitting, and a new hairbrush. Mom gave me a pen set and handmade stitch holders (which were beautiful). I also got a new tote bag filled with yarn, lotion, a spa set, and body wash from Pat and Barry. The bag is now my new “bring to work bag to collect all the junk I accumulate throughout the day”.

Princess Ivi liked her keyboard and her Ipod but she really loved The Nightmare Before Christmas. We watched it Christmas afternoon. We have decided that when we find the dog to add to our family, he (or she) will be named Zero in honor of Jack’s trusty pooch.

Later that day, Dan came down to deliver the lawnmower and his plants (weeds, dying plants, etc.) and had dinner with us. Mom made a pork roast with roasted potatoes and broccoli. It was good.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather and did lots of laundry (all weekend actually because it was perfect line drying weather).

We also went to a new bookstore in Palatka and I bought Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Lady Susan all by Jane Austen and The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs. I also bought my nephew some books and Princess Ivi got two books.

I splurged on myself and Princess Ivi this weekend as well. I bought myself two shirts for work and a pair of pajamas. I bought Princess Ivi a new purse. I also purchased Speed, The Replacements, The Da Vinci Code, Stardust, and Stand By Me to add to our DVD collection.

Then we watched movies and I knit.

I am working on the Cranberry Biscotti socks. They are coming along. I have turned the heel on the first sock and will start on the gusset tonight.

I also have a scarf in the works for Pat with the wonderful yarn she bought for me. It started out as a basket weave scarf but I am bored with the pattern already so I thought I would do stockinette stitch and do the same length of basket weave on the other end.

Oh, I almost forgot. I found a wonderful magazine. It is called Life: Beautiful. It is a faith based magazine with no advertisements. There are great articles and wonderful quotes from the Bible. I love it and I am going to subscribe to it. It is $18.95 for 4 issues but with no advertisements and such wonderful articles, I think it is definitely worth it. I think it will add to my walk with Christ.

I just realized today though that I did not take any pictures of Christmas. I think I am not inspired to take pictures because my camera is broken. I can’t see the pictures in the little digital screen after I take them. It really stinks. Sears has a sale on a great Canon camera. It is $179 and I am trying to decide if I should get it or not. I am worried that if I buy it now, I will need the money for something else but I am worried that if I don’t get it now, I won’t find such a good deal. Hmmm.....decisions, decisions.

Plugging away

I am still plugging away on my one sock. I have turned the heel and am now working on the gusset. I have picked up all my stitches and it seems to be doing okay. Of course, to get to this point, I have had to unravel it partway three times and put it one lifeline. I have learned where I will put my lifelines on the second sock.

I have had a few nights of too little sleep lately. I usually have horrific night terrors but it seems like for the past week every time I try to go to sleep my brain keeps running like a movie in fast forward. It jumps from subject to subject and there is music playing in my head too. It is hard to sleep when your mind is racing so much.

I am looking forward to having Friday off for the 4th of July. Ryan is on call and it is almost a guarantee that he will get a call that someone’s air conditioner is broken. We aren’t making many plans. We would like to see the fireworks from downtown Fitchburg but I am pretty sure we can see them from our house. Other than that, I want to clean my house from one end to the other and knit.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!!! You are the best!

I was talking to her the other day and I mentioned how bad I feel when I think about the fact that there is less than six months until Christmas and most years I have a lot more knitted gifts made and I have a list of knitted gifts for every person who gets a gift from our family. I have one gift made for my mother-in-law and that is it. I feel so bad and I know that I will be kicking myself the closer it gets to Christmas when I have to buy more gifts.

I do know that I want to make the Woolen Collectibles Afghan. It has 12 squares and each square features a different cable pattern. Of course, I have no idea what yarn I will use, or who I will give it to.

I have a great husband. He works in air conditioning and most of the jobs he has extra copper wire and tubes which can’t be used for any other job so he takes them up to the recycling center and gets some money for it. Well, while I was looking through the latest WEBS catalog, he made a proposition that after he turns in the money we will split it… he’ll keep his half for tattoos and I can keep the other half for yarn and knitting related gear. How cool is that?