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.

I am still alive....

I drive by this house everyday on the way to and from work. Well, yesterday I noticed that they are putting up their Christmas decorations. Ummm, I don’t understand. We aren’t even at Halloween yet and it isn’t as if it is going to slow (since we are in Florida) and they have to get them put up before then. Strange. I am wondering when they will turn on the lights.

I read about the National Bone Marrow Registry this morning on Joy The Baker’s Blog . It sounds so cool. I went to the website and unfortunately I am disqualified from joining because I had a broken pelvis. But I do want to spread the word so go take a look and see if you qualify to register.

Princess Ivi is making plans for her 14th birthday which is in February. She wants her dad to come down and the three of us to do something fun. She had suggested Sea World which we all thought was a good choice but then this past weekend she learned that her father has never been to Disney World and in her eyes the fact that a 34 year old has never been to “the greatest place on Earth” was a crime. She has since announced that we should go to Disney World for her birthday so she can be the one to show Disney to her dad. I thought it was sweet.

Regarding knitting, I have been working on a tube scarf made on the blue Knifty Knitter for Princess Ivi. It is made with one skein of purple variegated Dark Horse Fantasy. It looks great and has a really nice pattern to it. I am thinking I can get away with one skein and use a little bit of the second skein for fringe to prevent it from rolling in on itself.

I am also still plugging away on the Knit 1 wristers but I seem to get bored easily with projects that I have to make more than one of to complete. This was evidences by the fact that when I went through my yarn and UFOs, I found one completed sock with the second one cast on just hanging out on the needles feeling neglected. I found a total of 7 UFOs and I am pretty sure I have more in my closet. But I did update my stash list on Ravelry and I am hoping to make some decisions on the UFOs soon.

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!!