What day is it?

I. am. so. tired.

You know, being off work for 2 months, it's easy to get lazy. Sleep late, goof off all day. Then WHAM!!! You get a J.O.B. and you have to do silly things... like wake up at 4:45 to be there by 7:30...when you can't fall asleep before 12 a.m.

Then you think... wow another week or so and I'll be used to this. Of course, that is when fate steps in and says:

HA!!!

And you get put on a compressed work week schedule. That would be M-Th 9 hours, Friday 8 hours...with every other Friday off. Starting tomorrow!

That means I must wake up at...oh...the butt crack of dawn. Oh wait... I'm sorry, it's even earlier than that... 4 fetching 15... in the morning people!!!!

Ok, so I do get every other Friday off. So that's a bonus. Plus with the holiday next week, I'll have 3-four day weeks in a row. Yeah, another bonus. And, my RDO week falls on all the holiday weeks this year (day after T-giving, Friday before Christmas etc) I'll admit, that's a bonus too.

::::sobbing:::

I'm just not a morning person.
not at all.
not.
in.
the.
least.

The dog cowers in fear. The cats scatter. There is mayhem. There is blood shed - ok so that was from closing my toe in the door - but blood was spilled!! (I'd post pictures, but that falls under the whole fear of feet thing)

I do enjoy the job so far. There will be a lot to learn. They say it will take a year just to get the basics down (projects run in year cycles). I'll be entertained, busy and never bored. I only have to wait another 3 weeks to be able to use a computer. And I'll eventually be able to fall asleep early and get a good night's sleep.

Prizes should be mailed out Friday or Saturday... or when ever I wake up from my coma.

We have a winner!!

Ok, so I'm doing this a few minutes early...

The winner is..... Maureen! I see you are a member of the RAOK ring, so I can find your address there. I have to scope out your blog a little... I can't believe out of my 300 subscriptions I didn't have you in there.

The pattern is a Booga and I am absolutely in AWE of you people. I purposely tried to do as little as possible to make it challenging and some people guessed it right off the bat. SO.. because I'm totally amazed, Christine and Diane will receive something too just for naming it a booga.

I want to give a shout out to Lisa and Kae for picking Booga as one of the choices. Amazing I tell ya! If I find something in my stash, I'll send you something too. With just starting a new job, I can't guarantee anything, but I'll keep you posted. Heck, if I could I'd send everyone something just for trying. Anyone got a couple $$ I can borrow?

I'll be sending it out some time this week. I have to get to bed early for work.

::: imagine a sing-song voice::::
I have a job... I have a job

I've been tagged!

Noey's Mommy (the best SP ever!) tagged me with this meme:

10 years ago - I had just left my husband and was moving to Corpus Christi, TX (from PA)for a fresh start. It was wonderful! Independance... freedom... a new town. Most of my family stopped talking to me because I did. I learned how to weld and was doing refinery construction

5 years ago - I was working as a paralegal with Legal Services. I loved my job and felt like I was really making a difference in the world. This was my first real office job. No more hard physical labor or late nights bartending and no more school/work/killing myself. YEAH! Re-united with brother and paternal grandmother after about a 5 year hiatus. Maternel grandparents still disowned me.

1 year ago - Moved into a new place, landlord sold house, moved into another place, got a great promotion and then the company I worked for went bankrupt, was the most homesick I'd ever been and conviced my mom to move out to CA with me.

Yesterday - Slept most of the day... it was 110... yo. I went to my church's picnic and had a great time. Luckily it didn't start until 6:30 cause I would have been a puddle o'sweat. I had the best ever bbq chicken. (I'll post the recipe as soon as I get it)

Today - Lazing around until 12 when I'll get ready for church. I really hate it meets at 1 p.m. this year. I'm going to get the recipe for the best ever bbq chicken and make some! I hope I finish the project in my contest so I can post a pic when I announce the winner. Find my car insurance card.

Tomorrow - Go to work! hehehe I love saying that.

5 snacks - Kettle cooked chips, pickles, olives, cheese, french bread with oil and vinegar

5 songs I know all the words to - I Like Boys - missing persons, Candy Shop - 50 cent; Earl - Dixie Chicks; Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for you - Stevie Nicks; All American Girl -Melissa Ethridge

5 things I would do with a million dollars - Buy a home, take my mom on a world tour, go home to visit, buy my mom a car, buy yarn/fiber/the wheel I really want.

5 places to runaway to - Hawaii, Italy, Brazil, Puerto Rico, England

5 favorite TV shows - CSI (vegas), Law & Order SVU, Family Plots, Six Feet Under (sniff, sniff), Barefoot Contessa

I'm not going to tag anyone because it seems everyone has already done this one. However, if you haven't been tagged and would like to do it, go ahead! Just let me know so I can check out what you've done!

Don't forget my contest from the last entry. Contest ends in 12 hours!

Question for RAOK'ers and a contest for everyone!

First a question for fellow RAOK members: Do you also cross stitch or embroider? I'm going to do a little de-stashing and thought... it involves fiber! What a great thing to include in a RAOK. If you do... leave a comment!

Now the contest:

This (from my secret pal):











became this with some help from pink lemonaid and strawberry koolaid:












which became this:









Which is becoming this:









The contest? What is it going to be?

I'll choose a random winner from all comments on today's post on Sunday, August 28th at 8 p.m. PST. If you get the exact pattern I'll include a bonus. The prize? Well it's still up in the air. I'll check the winner's blog. If you're a sock knitter, it'll be some sock yarn. If not, I'll dig in my stash for something else fun.

I got it! I got it!

I got the job I really, really, really wanted. I don't know what I can and can't say about it. So I'll just say I'm waiting to sign my offer letter and I might be starting this Friday!!! YIPPEEEEE!

Bonus 1 - I know this place won't go out of business anytime soon.

Bonus 2 - I got offered more a year than I was thinking I would get.


I was offered a position in Woodland Hills and turned it down because ummm.... the 405 and the 101 during rush hour? DO I LOOK CRAZY!?!?!?!? (please don't answer that) Ain't no amount of money worth it. Especially coming from all the way up here. I figured with having to get an oil change every month, the extra gas and the 4+ hours a day commuting... it wouldn't really pay all that much better.

I'll be posting pics and a contest either later tonight or tomorrow!

Bad SP, bad blogger

I've been bad. My SP sent me the reveal package last week and I'm now just getting around to posting it.

My SP? Noey's Mommy! OHHH YEAH!! There is some dying in my future! I also got some KP sock yarn, a cute pattern for an ipod holder, a sweater pattern, a copy of Cast On AND..... these amazing little chocolate/mint/caffeine penguin mints. I'm trying to savor them because I don't know where to get more!

I've also been procrastinating on getting out my SP package. I was trying to wait for a book to come in but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. :(

Thanks for the resources for trying to get the heel done with short rows. I found a couple of tutorials, but I still had no success. It was all going fine until I worked down to 8 stitches... I didn't know what to do next. The pattern has YO's that you knit together and I was doing a different type of short row. It was a mess. A mess I tell you!

More ebay stuff going up today! Will post link later!

Blue Blog's Ankle Socks

ACCCCK!! I'm so lost! I've been knitting, frogging, knitting, frogging, knitting, and throwing the sock across the room for 3 days now.

Here's the pattern. I'm stuck at the short row. I'm trying to follow her instructions, and I'm just not getting anywhere. I keep getting gaping holes at the yarn overs. It usually happens at the end of the purl rows. I'm not sure if I'm not doing enough stitches or yo'ing wrong. Anyone have a good website I can go to?

I'm off on a search....

Knitting Over the Edge

I just got Knitting Over the Edge and Loop-d-Loop and I feel "meh" about them. So, I'm selling them on ebay if you are interested - the links above lead to the auctions.

Thank you SP!!

My order from Elann came in and here is what I got! I still have a couple of bucks left too!

I've been tagged!

Sedie tagged me with this, so here goes:

Idiosyncrasy Meme

id•i•o•syn•cra•sy - a structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down 5 of your own idiosyncrasies, then if you wish, tag 5 people.

1.) Feet. I can't stand feet. Not even my own. I need to wear socks to bed so my feet don't touch. I've never had a professional pedicure. I put rubber gloves on just to put lotion on mine. And don't even get close to me with your naked feet. I'm shivering at just the thought. Feet are icky.

2.) I'm scared of chickens. Terrified. I don't go to the back of my yard because the neighbors have them. Their beady little eyes, sharp little talons, and pecky little beaks. I won't go near them at petting zoos, fairs, what ever.

3.) I can't fall asleep with out noise. TV, radio, what ever. I will lay awake for hours if there isn't something in the background. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to turn the t.v. on again to fall back asleep. Sleep timers are a wonderful thing.

4.) I.MUST.MOVE.MY.FURNITURE. I drive everyone nuts. Everytime they come to my house something is different. That's not easy, I live in a tiny house. But I must move my furniture. I'm never happy where it is. I may even move it one week and move it back the next. I got gifted one of those home decorating kits where you cut out the little furniture pieces and plan your room. I don't use it. I must see the furniture moved.

5.) I am unduly bothered by eating noises. I get fixated on chewing and swallowing noises, and have been known to avoid going out to eat with certain individuals because they are loud eaters. I turn the t.v. up really loud during dinner. My mom is a loud eater. I monitor my eating noises and worry that I may make a loud eating sound.

I'm going to tag It Girl and Rabbitch - just because I admire them and love to annoy/stalk them. And Jen and La... because well, they're cool... and Jen doesn't have enough to do right now with moving and wrapping and having a birthday.

Space Shuttle

I got to "see" the shuttle last night. 3:15 a.m. my Dad called me from the East Coast to say that it was landing out here at Edwards. He knew it would be something I wouldn't mind getting woken up for. Little background: my Dad is a retired History/American Cultures/Civics teacher. He loves this stuff and intstilled it in me.

So I went to the local Albertsons where the valley just spreads out below and watched. You really couldn't see anything but a white dot moving fast. The sonic booms were neat! Like a double shotgun blast. We hear sonic booms on a regular basis, what with all the test and training flights out of Edwards, but this was different. It was two booms in a row and louder than any I've heard.

Then today, I had occassion to be near the base (for the first time) and saw the dry lake bed (huge) and in the distance, the space shuttle still sitting outside. IT WAS AWESOME!!

Still trying to sell Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark didn't sell, so I relisted it. I knocked it down to $60, but that's the lowest I can go. I paid more than that for it. Go on... buy it, stitch it!

I have so many projects going on right now (x-stitch, embroidery, knitting, sewing and spinning) that I started a jar. I was getting a little overwhelmed with deadlines and things sitting for so long unworked....so I wrote every project on a slip of paper and put them in a jar. What ever I pick out I have to work on for at least an hour. I've ended up working on whatever it was for the rest of the evening so I would say it's a success. I don't feel guilty about not working on something because I know it will get it's time.

Thanks for all the kind comments about my first yarn!

Anyway... think good thoughts for me on something else that's going on!

My first wheel spun yarn!!

YEAH!! I know it's not perfect, but it's mine, mine, mine!! My first bobbin actually came out better than the second. I think I was taking my time for the first and making sure everything was just right and then I started pushing it too hard ... I was so hot and sweaty and just blech-y.

And to top it off, I did it with an ingrown fingernail. Yeah, never heard of that either. I had broken my nail quite far back, but I guess I didn't realize it wasn't straight across... there was a piece of longer nail doin' it's thang. It was sore for a couple of days and I thought it was just from knitting and stitching and spinning, but no... I looked at it this morning and went right to the Dr. I will not discuss the details... it still makes me squirm.

Check this out:

Yep, that's a wet sidewalk. It rained today! WOO HOOO! It didn't cool down any, and it was just a drizzle, but I was in it. I was hoping it would drop the temps like it does back east. Hrmph. So, yeah, it's still hot and sticky here... but I was dancing in the rain!

So my SP got me a gift certificate to Elann.com.. YEAH!!!! But I have no idea what to get. I could use dpns in 7 and 8, but there is yarn that looks YUMMY. But I really could use the dpns. Oh! Then there are a few patterns that are nice too. ACKKKKK!!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!! :)

In other news... I've been a spinning! Yep that's right... I have 1 and a half bobbins full. but it's all twisty in parts... like when I first started with the drop spindle. I must slow down - I think that's what it is.

It was so fetchin' humid yesterday and there I was sitting and spinning and sweating. I won't turn on the a/c unless I'm dying... my electric bill was astronomical last month.

Anyway, not even working on the embroidery right now. Must.Spin.Yarn.

Blingo!

Hey Deb (not sure which one) from the RAOK ring.... thanks for turning me on to Blingo! I just won movie tickets! THANK YOU!!

What's been keeping me from knitting?

Why, another fiberlicious pursuit.


Close up of the rose detail:



62 hours in as of today.



I've also been getting my online selling going. I'm now a distributor for Wichelt and I'm getting ready to send some designs off for cross stitch and needlepunch. I'll have a store on e-bay soon and my website for my designs is just about ready to go. I'm also going to give handpainted canvas for needlepoint a try. My LES (local embroidery shop) shopkeeper encouraged me to turn some of my designs into needlepoint too. She's even willing to take some on consignment. I figure that I'll either have a ton of RAOK's to give to needlepointers or I'll get somewhere!

I need about 40 or so designs to take to a trade show. I have about 26. Urgh.

All this while working and looking for an office job... oy vey!

Oh, and my wheel is going to be here Friday... UPS willing.

A little more laughter!

The other day I sent you here... did anyone take a look around the site and see what else is there? WHOOOO BOY!!! It's ...ummm.... interesting? For your viewing pleasure, the latest in burglar wear:

Oh and it gets better.... not your mother's ski mask:

I'm not even going to ask.

Calling all Needlepointers!

I'm cleaning out my stash! I've just posted 3 handpainted canvases on ebay. I'm selling them for over 30% off what I paid. I have the retail price as the "buy it now" price.

Harvest House by Melissa Shirley

Noah's Ark by Betty Smith's Traditions (this one includes buttons)
and

White Orchid by Elements



You can find all three here.

Must see!

You have to go here for the latest knitting pattern. Really.