Tuesday- Stair Climbibg Day

I received two packages in the mail today. First was these homemade cupcake pops I won in a contest. I apologize I am not linking to it here I just am too tired to look it up. But I will hopefully tomorrow.
Anito O sent me some Delft Blue red Heart so I could start the Olympic scarves finally. Thank you so much. Here's what I started before I went upstairs to watch TV.

Yep I climbed the stairs again... Tuesday is a rough TV night. Too many shows I want to watch and not enough DVR's. LOL

I also went to the Y this morning and swam for almost 3 hours. That's 2 days in a row.

Tomorrow I have to be to the hospital for some tests early and then after that another therapy session in the pool...

I know the contest starts tomorrow but I won't be blogging until the afternoon unless I am wide awake before 7am. Which I might be, you never know.

But NO food or drink from now till the tests are done... so I am headed to bed so I don't forget and drink water.

See you all tomorrow for the CONTEST

Monday- I Don't Have An Addiction, Do You?

I saw this on another blog and followed the link to the creator of this cartoon. I love it. If you click on the cartoon it will take you to her blog and she is offering this as free wallpaper for your computer if you want. How cool is that?

It's been a LONG day for me and I am actually calling it an early night. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Actually I need to get in the habit of posting earlier anyway since the contest starts on Wednesday and I like to post in the mornings for contest months.

I did go to the Y today and swam for 3 hours and I plan on going again in the morning. Hoping the exercise will put me into a better mood and clear my head. I expect tomorrow to be the hardest, but GOD is my strength and HE never gives us more then we can handle.

I was working on test knitting MaryAnn's gloves and I am to the fingers. But they will have to wait until tomorrow as I am going to bed. Really Shelly... I am turning off the light and going to bed.

Good night everyone

Sunday- More Christmas Cloths

Well after church I got right back to working on the Christmas dishcloths. Today I tried some crochet patterns I found on Ravelry.

First up is the Christmas Angel. Pretty easy to make and fast too. The only thing I don't like is it's mostly double crochet stitches so it is pretty holey. But it is very pretty.
The 2nd cloth I made was this Christmas Wreath. I like how it looks but the back is not quite as nice... you can tell about the strings tucked in on the back from the berries and the bow. I think I might crochet up a second wreath and sew it to the back to cover the tucks, and just have it be double thick. Other then that it's a great and easy dishcloth to crochet.

And last I made this Poinsettia Potholder, only I also made this into a dishcloth. I added an extra round because it looked like it was curling in, so I made a scalloped edge and now it lays flat. The designer also had a hanging loop but I decided to omit that as well since I wasn't using it as a pot holder.


I made all of these with the Peaches and Creme Christmas cones I just got last week. So I am 5 gifts down and only about a zillion to go, LOL

I am also hoping to test knit a pair of fingerless gloves for MaryAnn. My yarn is all tangled and I have been trying to get it into a ball for 4 hours now. I am starting to get tired so I guess they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Oh I took a little quiz today from ABC where they showed two comments side by side one from Obama and the other from McCain on several topics, but they didn't tell you who said what. You are to choose the comment that you agree with the most and at the end it tells you which candidate you most agree with.
It's a pretty quick quiz and I thought it was pretty good. Here is the link in case you feel like seeing who you most agree with.

Tomorrow is water therapy. But my therapist is on vacation so I will be supervising myself, LOL

PS Don't forget my month long contest for October starts on October 1st. There will be 5 winners total. This time all the prizes will be a free (paid for by me) dishcloth pattern from Rachel's website. You might want to start looking now, she has so many to choose from, I bet you will have a hard tome deciding.

I am signing off for the night. See you all tomorrow,

Saturday- Chistmas Knitting Has Begun

Well I started some Christmas knitting today. Dishcloths for the SIL's. First one I did was this Starfish pattern by Sew Funky. it was a simple and easy to memorize pattern. I of course made a few errors but all in all it came out pretty good. Good enough for me to still gift it away.
Pattern number two... this pattern caught my eye right from the start. I had never done this butterfly stitch before but it's pretty easy once you do a couple and I LOVE how this cloth looks. I don't think pictures do it justice. It's called Christmas Cloth by Ribbed for your Pleasure. I highly recommend this cloth, it's fun, easy and looks great.

I made a couple errors on this one too, but again it's probably only noticeable by me so no worries.

While I was knitting Adam was busy building. Doesn't he look like a little carpenter in his Thomas The Train tool belt?


We did make it to the BIG POOL today and got to swim for a couple hours. He loves to jump and go under water. There was a casualty... he kicked my bottom lip with his knee and I now have a very plump lip, who needs botox when you have grand kids who like to swim, right?

Well it's only moments away from midnight and I am ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day... hope you are all snug in your beds too.

Just a reminder contest starts October 1st.

Friday- A Wash Out, Literally

I finished the KAL I was working on this week. It's called Ribbed Diamonds.
I didn't block mine yet, I am still intimidated by blocking. You can see a better picture on Noreen's blog where you can also access her free patterns. This is one of 3 she has recently made and they are all wonderful.

Today it rained and rained a lot. Ended up staying home and just hanging out with Adam. No Big Pool today, but maybe we will go Saturday. I did manage to get a mound of dishes washed though and I knitted up another Breast cancer cloth as I sold a set at the party last night at my sisters.

Perhaps you noticed the statue above with my dishcloth photo. Well that is another piece of artwork my son Jim made recently. They had a live model and then used clay to make their version of what they saw. I took several different views of the model.






I don't know if it's coming off in the pictures the way it does in person, But I am in awe of this piece. It's of an overweight woman, obviously undressed, yet even in her heaviness and delicate state she is remarkably beautiful. I see something wondrous, made by God. Now I am not talking about the statue but of people, of this woman model, of me, of you... marvelously and wonderfully made. Beautiful.

Being that I am overweight I always loathed the way I look, hated my skin, my fat my body. But seeing this sculpture somehow opened my eyes to the fact that God made me, and He doesn't make any mistakes. I am ever changing and at whatever stage I am in I am loved as I am.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

This has been a day of tears for me. Waterfalls. Just a lot of things emotionally coming to a head this week. My daughters 21st birthday would be on the 30th, that's the biggest thing, and then the excitement and a little bit of nerves for the upcoming surgery too. A lot going on in my head. Some I can talk to others about and some things I can only talk to God about.

But my motto stands... BRING IT ON!!!!!

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Thursday- Grandparents Day

Well today was Grandparents day at Adams preschool. I drove and brought his other grandma he calls her Janmum. We got there and Adam ran right to me. The teacher said Adam could barely sit still knowing Nana was coming to school. The teacher took this picture for me. See how big I am, well you won't be seeing that for much longer, thank God.
We did go out into the play yard for a little while. The teachers made sure to put sunscreen on all the kids before they could go outside. Adam was playing in this little play house and had a blast. Isn't this a great picture. I think it will be one of my favorites.

Here is the whole class getting ready for snack time. There are 6 kids , 5 boys and 1 girl. Notice she is sitting next to Adam? Uh oh he is is fathers son. Watch out ladies.
Yesterday Adam and his class went apple picking. So today was all about Apples. First they played a game. They laid this tree on the floor and poured 3 colors of pompoms (red, yellow and green) to represent the apples they picked, and they have 3 color coordinated bowls and plastic tweezer like tongs. The kids took turns picking up a pompom with the tweezers and dropping it in the matching bowl. Adam did all yellow. I don't think any of the kids picked green, weird huh?
After the game they divided the kids into 2 groups of three. One group had a taste test with hot and cold Apple cider. Oddly all the kids said they preferred the hot cider. The other group had an apple taste test, they each got a slice of a red, yellow and green apple and they put a smiley face on a chart if they liked them. All colors got a smiley face. Then they switched.

The kids also sang a song about apples... I video taped that so here it is. Hope it makes you smile, it sure made me smile.



I didn't get in any knitting today except for the lines on the KAL I am working on. I did get in a lot of walking though. Long day and I am tired again. I have much more energy but I am tired when night time arrives for sure.

Have a great night and see you all tomorrow.

Enjoy a delicious apple and think of Adam.

AK

Wednesday- I walked a MILE???

First I need to clarify my birthday is November 5th... That will be my official surgery date. I will have a slew of DR appointments during the month of October. I will continue to do my water therapy and clinic appointments. I will continue to lose weight for the next 6 weeks, hopefully another 18 pounds, that is my secret goal. I have lost 37 on 3 months so it's maybe not doable but I still feel like shooting for the stars. Either way I will be lighter then I am today and that's a plus.

I went to the Y today and worked out in the pool for 3 hours, then went to the grocery store and walked for an hour there, I swear it had to be at least a mile. My legs and feet are pretty sore, but I am still glad I went.

When I got home I had two packages waiting for me. One was my new peanut butter. It's powdered peanut butter called PB2. You mix it with water and it tastes just like PB only has hardly any calories in it. It's also all natural, ingredients are peanuts, salt and sugar. Can't get any more natural then that. On WW a 2 TBS serving was 2 pts. I had some today but only 1 TBS so 1 point and I dipped raw celery in it, and WOW it was delicious.

The other box contained my order from Peaches and Creme. I got 7 cones, 4 for Christmas cloths and 3 for me... can you pick out my favorite? LOL


Also if you are on Ravelry Peaches and Creme are having a contest to see who can make the most ball band dishcloths and/or towels out of their yarn... They have a group on Ravelry, here is the link, go check it out.

Now I need to get myself back into the mind frame to knit again. Times a Wastin'
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ (can you hear Johnny Cash and June singing that in your head too?)

Well that's about it for me... I promise I will get that poll up before the weekend. I just have to find a moment to breathe.

Tomorrow I go see Adam's school for grandparents day. I think I will skip the pool tomorrow and give my body a rest, I did do a lot today.

Have a great day, celebrate the victories and love and friendships. Each day is a blessing from God.

AK

Tuesday- Guess What???

My birthday date is ON!

Monday- Appointments, stairs and squishy yarn

Well today I got the clearance from the Psychiatrist for the surgery. I've been meaning to post the yucky stairs I have to climb to get into her office. They are concrete and very tall steps too.
My appointment was at 10am this morning, but I totally forgot about this appointment. She called me at 10:20 and I said I'd be right there. I was going to be cutting it close because I had therapy at the Y at Noon and a dentist appointment at 3:30, so I couldn't stay at the Y later to make up the time. I somehow managed to get dressed into my car and to her office across the river in 10 minutes. NO I didn't speed either. I had the session with her and was off to the Y getting in the pool at 11:45. Not enough time to do my full mile swim, but I got in 1/2 mile so I was happy.

When I got home there was a package waiting in the mailbox. I ordered some new sock yarn. Why? I really don't know. I am not really knitting any socks right now, I do have a pair, well one of them, on the needles now but haven't touched them in weeks.

I saw this Ravelry group Sock Yarn Cinema mentioned on a blog and I was drawn to it, from there I ended up on this ETSY store and that's where I spotted this yarn. Need I really say more?
This bone colored yarn is called Freckles... It's a tweed sock yarn. I love the flakes of colors in it. Can't wait to find the perfect pattern for it. It looks like a mess because I decided I wanted to roll it into a ball, I am afraid I might have made more work ten I want to handle. I don;t have a swift or anyone to help me unwind a hank. So I see lot's of hours de-knotting and winding this up.


Now this yarn is the firs tone that caught my attention. Of course because it's pink. Bet you didn't know I loved PINK did ya? This is called Pink Panther squishy Superwash sock yarn. It is squishy and soft. I WILL not unwind this one unless I have help, lol.

I think when she dyes her yarn she also has a scent in there cause they smell wonderful too, maybe like lilacs. Ummmm

Update on my pending surgery... tomorrow I see the DR. I am hoping to have met the minimum goal and will leave there with a date scheduled, hopefully the date will be November 5th. As of this morning on my scale I was there.

Tomorrow when I blog I hope it will be GOOD news.

Oh and the cashews remain unopened and uneaten. Think I should offer them as one of the prizes next month when the contest starts again??? LOL

OK It was a super long day and I am headed to bed. I haven't really even blog hopped today, hopefully tomorrow night I can get caught up on you all.

Good night, sweet dreams.

Sunday- 28 Years, Nuts about each other?

Yes 28 years ago today my husband and I eloped. Sort of. Everyone thought we were nuts. Me especially because I was only 17. We had only known each other for 6 months to the day. We had no real plans for the future but we loved each other. I guess when you are young that's all that matters right?

Anyway in honor of our anniversary my dear husband bought me a can on NUTS. OK I have to admit I LOVE cashews. They are my favorite, those and pistachios. Sweet of him right? NO NO NO, does he not know I am working towards a goal and I am 3 pounds away from reaching it. Tuesday is the deadline... if I open this can I will eat it all. NO self control. I know me to well.

He also gave me a card. Now we rarely exchange cards, too expensive, but he seemed to really like this one. As you can see the sentiments were really nice.

Holding Hands
Sharing Dreams
Taking Nice Walks
Openly Talking about Feelings
Enjoying Time Together
Going Out to Dinner
Watching a Ballet (OK neither of us would really enjoy this one, lol)
Taking Time to Relax
And Recalling How We Met (someday maybe I'll tell that story, it's a doosey, lol)

But he saw none of these things... what he saw was this..................
Now I am flattered that even with the weight I am he still thinks that way, unfortunately I can't get past my weight issues. These are soon to fade... Just a short time away.

Now when I do get to my goal weight and back to work and can save money for a vacation, this is where I will be going... Can we say a FANTASY POOL???

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.

It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.

Here is the link to the article... (I got the pictures in an email though)

Yeah... one day I am going to visit this pool. Wanna come with me?

Until then Adam and I will continue to enjoy our BIG POOL at the YMCA.

I am having a stressful evening. I was accused of something I did not do and I want to fight but I do nothing without God's direction. So I sit and pray and wait. I know He will either give me clear direction on what to do next or He will handle the whole thing himself. I am praying it's the latter.

Sweet dreams all, I am off to find some myself.

AK

Saturday- Crosssing the Line? Have I gone Quackers?

Today I went with a friend and took Adam to a big park, It's called "The Crossings" Here is a Moasic of the pictures taken today, except for one was taken yesterday at a different park... Can you tell which one that is? He had a blast, in fact her wore himself out and took a 3 hour nap after we got home. That means he woke up at 8PM... It's gonna be a long night.


The picture in the bottom left corner was to show you the distance I had to walk to get from the park area to the ducks (the pond is about 50 ft past those buildings... and it was maybe 1/4 mile just to the buildings)... it's a very long walk... but I did it. I was hurting by the time I got there but I made it. So things are improving.

Adam, the other boy with us Sam and Sam's mom Trish all got a snack from the vending machines. I passed. I have 3 pounds to lose by Tuesday, not gonna blow it on a sugar treat, that's for sure.

The boy's gave the outing a "Thumbs" up well maybe that should be a "Finger" up. LOL

I must be getting healthier because I am sure just 2 months ago I wouldn't have even considered going to a big park with Adam.

I didn't get too much knitting done. I worked on a dishcloth while at the park, inbetween taking pictures. But that was it. I just can;t decide what I want to work on so I work on NOTHING. This is not helping the Christmas gifts I need to make.

If anyone has any good suggestions for Christmas gifts to make for my nieces and nephews, I am game. Also if anyone finds that Johnny Depp pirate doll pattern please tell me.

I guess that's all for me today. I am going to change Adam into Jammies and hopefully I can get him to go to bed in an hour. We do have church tomorrow, we need our beauty sleep. He doesn't feel good anyway so I think he will go back to sleep.

Good night everyone.

Friday- Arrrr Arrr Arrr a Pirate, a Pirate Says Arrrr

Ahoy me mateys, it's been a year since it was national Talk Like A Pirate Day? Wow. I almost forgot but since Adam was here and we were watching NOGGIN I saw all the pirate episodes and remembered. Who thinks of these days anyway, lol.



(note: I did not make this Johnny Depp pirate, I found it on the Internet, there is a link in the picture to the place I found it) I am however looking for the pattern, my niece would love this for Christmas.

My pirate name is:

Captain Ethel Cash

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Captain Ethel Cash... am I the outcast ugly sister of the pirate of Fulton County Johnny Cash??? Arrggghhhh

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Adam and I did make it to the pool today but we weren't there too long, he was shivering like a pirate, lol. I think my bubba is getting a cold, his voice is all hoarse (perfect for talking like a pirate day)but he did walk the plank several times today while jumping into the deep end, lol.

For the first time ever Adam took off and didn't stay where he was supposed to as we were leaving. He managed to get out of the building and down a hill away from the Y. I was frantic I couldn't find him. Usually I have to rest carrying that heavy treasure chest (gym bag full of wet suits and towels)but I walked up and down that Y looking for him. Someone spotted him outside and brought him back to me. Oh I was so mad and so relieved. I could have spanked him, but he honestly looked more scared then I did. No more going up to talk to the fisheys anymore... he will stay at my side until I get there with him. Arrrgghh

I thought I'd leave you today with a pirate song... it got a hardy har har out of me. I couldn't figure out how to show the video here, so here is the link to the website.

Tomorrow I another day Matey's and tomorrow we can all talk like... hmm I wonder what tomorrows national talk like day is???

Thursday- September 18, now known as "The Day Of The Machines"

Well September 18th will forever be known as "The Day of The Machines" mark it in your calendars people.

I forgot to bring my camera to take real pictures of the Monsters I tackled today at my first Clinic, on land, therapy session. But I will next visit. I searched the Internet for some pictures and these are just a couple that looked semi like the actual demons.

First the TREADMILL... never walked on one of these babies before.

Now it is known that I am a klutz, so I had many fears about this machine. First fear, I don't wear pants, I always wear a dress or a skirt. Not a good idea while walking on an exercise machine that plugs in to a power source, huh? Visions of the hem of my skirt getting caught in the moving track ripping the skirt from me and leaving me standing there partially nude. I found a pair of pants 5 minutes before I left so it was all good. I only did 2 1/2 minutes on the treadmill (which I have not assigned a name yet, any ideas?) but she wanted me to start out slow.

I also worked on the recumbent bike for 4 minutes and some arm machine that is like a bicycle for arms for 4 minutes, and a few other weight lifting arm things.

Including these hand held dumbbells. They were the easiest part of the 30 minute workout.


After the therapy session I took a wrong turn and ended up driving home the long way, so since I wasn't on the highway I decided to drive thru Wendy's for lunch. {{{gasp}}} but I had a side tossed salad and a baked potato with broccoli and cheese and ice water. It was delicious.

I went to my second support group tonight and afterward we found ourselves in the drive thru at Burger King {{{gasp again}}} this time I only ordered a side salad and when I got home I made some tuna fish to go with it. If you ask me I would say this was a PERFECT day.

The only bad thing is this thing on my finger. No I am not flipping you off, it just happens to be my middle finger. It started with a reddish bump, kind of like a callus, but it hurt to touch. Now it's red all around with a whitish/greenish blister thing now on the side next to the fingernail. Still hurts too. I think it's infected... can you tell from this picture? Any ideas on what I should do about it?



I was gonna post the poll today, but honestly it's late and I am not ready. I guess tomorrow it has to be.

Adam comes tomorrow and I'll be taking him to the pool for an afternoon swim.

Thanks for the nice comments by the way on my sons art project and my new dishcloth design.

And the encouraging words on my weight loss efforts and the support for the upcoming surgery. I am really excited and hope that Tuesday when I see the surgeons PA it will involve scheduling my surgery date and that that date will be on November 5th... my birthday.

Have a wonderful night, remember the choices you make today will shape your tomorrows.

AK

Wednesday- Who's that? Why it's me and Jen!!!

OK I re-knitted the Diamonds and Dew Drops to make sure I had the pattern right. This time I used a self striping yarn (sugar and cream... natural stripes) I used size 5 needles this time so it's a tad smaller, the yellow one was on size 7 needles and was 9x9, this one came out at 8x8.
I will be adding the pattern to my pattern blog hopefully in the next day or two.

At church tonight, Jen, the girl who calls me her other mother, my friend Ruth's daughter, who now lives in Louisiana but is here visiting until Friday, popped in. I thought she might so I remembered to bring my camera. Here is a picture of the two of us. Please ignore my gray hair among other unfavorable features, lol... just look at Jen she is beautiful.
I googled today to see how many calories I am burning in the pool. I swim free style for about 90 minutes at a low to moderate level and that burns 1950 calories. Then I do another 90 minutes of low activity, walking with weights, treading water, deep end stuff like bicycles and skiing motions etc. this burns another 1670 calories. That adds up to 3600, so technically I should lose a pound every time I swim. I sure wish it worked that way. {{{sigh}}}

Tomorrow is my first day exercising at the clinic without the water to back me up. I really don't want to do it, but I will.

Not much else is new today so I guess I'll leave it here. Hope you all had a great day.

I just realized I haven't done any of the polls I was planning, I will hopefully get to that tomorrow, October will be here in a couple weeks and I need feedback, yikes.

AK

Tuesday- Diamonds, Dew Drops and Demonstrations

This is a quick picture of the dishcloth I designed yesterday. I am calling it "Diamonds and Dew Drops"
This is not what I was setting out to design but it's what came out of my head as I knitted. So what do you think?

**************************

Ok back to my sons art project. The way his mind works is amazing sometimes. These kite like looking boxes are supposed to represent the human body. The sacks in the middle are weights, as in if the person was overweight and in need of a Gastric Bypass Surgery (I apparently was his inspiration... sad but true)
Anyway the demonstration of the art project was to sort of show a patient DR relationship. The patient (the overweight person) in order to qualify for the surgery has to lose 10% of their body weight, hence the weights in the middle of the model.
The person in need of the surgery is the person lifting the weights up, as they are the one who has to do all the work to prepare for the surgery. Once the weights are lifted the person lifting them can no longer see what's happening because their view is blocked. This is where the DR's part takes place.

A second person reaches into the bottom of the model to look at information pertaining to the surgery and all the hoops you must hop through to have it scheduled. The overweight person still has to hold the weights up while the second person looks at the materials. One box had paper materials and the other had a video on Gastric Bypass Surgery playing that the person could watch.
It was a trust relationship on both sides. The DR trusted the patient to keep their end of the bargain and keep the weight off prior to surgery, and the patient trusted the DR to know what he was doing during the surgery since they could not see what was being done.

I probably didn't explain that exactly right, but hopefully you get the drift of his idea. It went off without a hitch and was well received by both the other students and the professor.

************************************
Spider update, no more have been spotted, and I am spider bite free. Yay. Can't say that I haven't been keeping my eyes open looking just in case though.

I had a great visit today from my "other daughter" Jen, it was a surprise I was not expecting her. She stopped by yesterday but I missed her, and was sad. We sat in my messy kitchen and talked for a couple hours and she never said a word about it. She will head home for Louisiana this weekend. It's been years since I have seen her so this was a GREAT day.

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Lastly in case she happens to read my blog today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCIA (my MIL in case you are wondering)

OK that's about it for me tonight, see you all tomorrow after swimming and church.

Monday- Modern Art... you tell me.

Modern Art... ??? According to my son this is Contemporary Art. Can you guess what it's about?
I can give you a hint, since it's not totally complete (check back in a few days for perhaps updated pictures and maybe a video presentation.) This is supposed to be a metaphor of a human body simulating a trust between a doctor and patient in the process of a gastric bypass. That's a quick description, not at all exclusive of what his art presentation is all about.

Then there is this... the marvelous bracelet I won in Jillybeans contest. I took a picture of it next to my glasses so you could see how large the beads are. They are handmade too, and absolutely beautiful. I had them on my wrist earlier to try them out and well let's just say I was looking pretty good. LOL


I must say I am just a little afraid to go to sleep tonight. The spiders, and we are not talking about tiny spiders, are invading the house. These guys are HUGE and people eating spiders. My son just killed 2 of them within 5 minutes both only feet from my bed. If I were superstitious then I might believe there was a third waiting to pounce as soon as I let down my guard.

So if I don't blog tomorrow, let the authorities know I was eaten by a man eating king sized spider or worse spider family. I am starting to itch already... there are no spiders on me, there are no spiders on me.

I designed a new dishcloth tonight. I think I like it. I need to write up the pattern still and then knit another to make sure I got it right. Hopefully I can show you all later this week.

Ok I am off for the night. I WILL see you tomorrow, because there are no more spiders.

AK

Sunday- Have a smile on me today

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I didn't do very much, knitting wise that is. I worked a little (a very little) on a dishcloth that I carried around in my new small project bag that I LOVE. but didn't really make much progress.

I cleared some shows I had on the DVR
Went to Adams party
Washed dishes
Went to church
Watched NASCAR
Slept

Yeah real exciting huh?

My husband went to church today. Not with me though. he went with some neighbor friends to their church. He says he liked it, even wants to go Thursday night to some thing that are doing, I think a study on James or something. I have mixed feelings about this but it's always good to see him in the house of God I guess. So I won't discourage his attendance.

I have no pictures to share today as I didn't do anything to take pictures of. I thought about the spider web and spider that has taken over our mailbox would be a good subject but he was hiding today.

My knees are really hurting too, having a hard time walking on them. Well not on them exactly, I am walking on my feet, but it is hurting my knees. I'll mention it to the therapist tomorrow. I haven't been to the pool since Wednesday maybe that's part of the reason.

I am working on a few new designs to use for KALs in one of the yahoo groups I moderate. I just have to get to writing them up, I just haven't wanted to do much on the computer these days.

Monday is a new day right?

I am off to bed, even with a nap today I am still really tired.

Good Night

Saturday- Happy Birthday Adam, Love Nana

Here are a few pictures from Adams birthday party


And if you want to see him blow out the candles... here it is.



All in all it was a fun day. My grandson is 4. Such a big boy now.

Hope you had as many smiles in your day as I did.

AK

Friday- Fun Stuff

Here is my birthday prince right off the bus this afternoon.
Yesterday I received my prize package from WhoDuKnit... we all did a virtual tour of where we lived and then answered some questions about it and I won the prize, it's awesome.

A felted bag
A book written by the women we came to know through the movie "The Perfect Storm" a cookbook full of Maine recipies, a 10 page mini scrapbooking kit, some Patons yarn, 4 gift cards
Prospect harbor soap and a lighthouse figurine.
It's all Maine related as is our WhoDuKnit leader Jane. I love it all, thank you very much.

Adam worked on his floor puzzle today, he put the whole thing together all by himself. He was so excited about that. It's still covering 75% of the living room floor. LOL
Today I received my bag from Bea... I couldn't decide between two bags so I told her to surprise me and she did. She sent me both of them. Thank you so much Bea, you are incredible.

Bag #1 (note Bea's pictures are much better then mine you should look at them on her blog)
The inside of Bag #1 (there are reversable)
Bag #2... already holding those socks I started last month that I haven't worked on in forever. Maybe now that they are in this beautiful project bag I'll feel like finishing them.

My crocheting teaching date for tomorrow has been canceled so I think that means Adam and I can go to the pool for a swim in the morning. His birthday party is at 3PM.

Right now I think I will head off to bed while he is asleep too. I have him on the couch tonight, I just need some room, but I bet I'll wake up to a snuggling 4 year old in the morning just the same.

Sweet dreams, see you tomorrow

Thursday- Blue Toes and Pink Christmas?

Well it was pretty cold here this morning. Almost cold enough to pass for winter. I decided to put on my socks as my feet and toes were freezing. But I could only find one sock. I put it on my left foot and it warmed right up but the right foot was still very cold. I think the toes actually turned blue and we all know blue is Shelly's favorite color, not mine. I tried switching the sock to the other foot but then both feet just stayed cold. I eventually found the match much later, the funeral for my right big toe that fell off will be Friday at 9am if you want to come, lol.

With the chilly weather I started thinking about Christmas fast approaching. I haven't decorated in years, but as I was looking on Flickr today I came across these PINK Christmas tree and decorations. OK I'll decorate if this is what I have to work with.




There were several comments made about the Avon breast cancer water bottle. I can get these for anyone who wants them.

new BREAST CANCER CRUSADE PINK WATER BOTTLE

Stay cool while showing your support. 16 oz. sports bottle with pop-up drink spout. Plastic.

Our Avon family leads the fight against breast cancer by walking, buying pink ribbon products and now by joining the Love/Avon Army of Women. Together we will go beyond a cure and end breast cancer.

It's not in the book yet I got mine off of the demo. I expect them to be available within the month. If anyone wants one please email me and I can make the arrangements. The cost for the bottle is $5.00. Avon donates 100% of profits on any BC purchase to the Breast Cancer crusade.


I made it to my first support group tonight. It was fun. The chairs were uncomfortable but not too bad. One more to go and a few more pounds and we can schedule the surgery.

My son has a friend in college who is doing an art piece on making an article of clothing. She needs hep so she will come here Saturday so I can help her read a pattern to make a shrug.

Adam comes tomorrow. His birthday is Saturday. Hard to believe he is 4 already, he is growing up very fast.

I know it's almost over but my thoughts on 9-11. I know it was a tragic time for many and of course we all remember those innocent victims and courageous heroes. But what I remember most about this day is not the bad but the good. I remember that in our worst hours people pulled together for loved ones and for strangers. For once we really seemed to live up to the motto "One Nation Under God" people openly prayed and reached out and for nothing in return GAVE and GAVE, This is what I choose to remember and celebrate. This is my prayer that we never forget to be generous and caring and unashamed of our faith, and proud of our freedom and country.

Ok almost midnight... I am off to bed. A long weekend awaits me. Sweet dreams.

Wednesday- Boobs, Books and Bug eyes?

Once again I am late in blogging but I am here. Still on the tired side, but I can at least see to read tonight. Why??? Because my AWESOME sister gave me goggles today to use in the pool.



Unfortunately they are not this lovely pink color, they were black, but they worked like a charm. They actually suction cupped to my face, yeah, cool huh?

I added some contests to my side bar, don;t forget to check them out. I thought I'd give this one a special mention just because I like the picture of the prize, lol
Just click on the picture to go to the contest post, or click on Trek's contest from my side bar.


No knitting done today... But tomorrow is a rest and re-coup day so I hope to knit something.

I thought I'd leave you with a picture of my newest PINK item... now doesn't that look refreshing?


Good night all, see you on the flip side.

Tuesday- Contests, Polls, Errors and Birds

I wanted to let you all know about a contest I saw on Ravelry today.

Here is a link to the contest it's held by Coveted Yarn

Here are the rules: (contest ruins until 9-21-08)
Each person you send earns you 1 point.
This is what they have to do to count
1. Join the Coveted Yarn group.
2. Say that you sent them (have them use your Ravelry screen name) on this thread.

(Note* my Ravelry ID is gimpykatk)

3. Tell what their most Coveted Yarn is.

It is that easy.

Each person who joins and posts can only be counted once. For the point to count they must say who sent them and also what their most Coveted Yarn is. They also need to join the group Coveted Yarn and post before the deadline. That’s it.

At the end of the contest the points will be tallied and the 10 highest point tallies will each receive a credit to our of $1 for every 2 points earned (rounded up). This credit can be used for anything on the site (well over 200 different yarns) including patterns, sale and clearance items. There is no maximum so if you get the hankering to go hog wild then please do so, after all we are talking about FREE YARN here. Time to load up!!

So go on over and join, free yarn sounds like a great prize to me, how about you?

********************************************************************************
Well the polls are done, long day but it was a good one. I was able to stick to my food plan. I didn't get in the morning swim though, it was thundering and lightening so the pool was closed, bummer. But tomorrow I swim so all is good.

I knitted the cloth I designed for the breast cancer awareness calendar finally today at the polls and I discovered a few errors in the written pattern, oops. I hope I can get it corrected before the calendar goes to the printer.

I think I'll leave you with a picture I love of my favorite thing at the zoo, can you guess why?


Good night, see you sometime tomorrow

Monday- May I have a cup of Coffee Please?

Well guess I am sort of taking a break from blogging. I am exhausted. Seems like I have been running and running for days. I of course will still bog daily, just I probably wont have as much to say, or so I think, lol. I just need to find my grove again.

Even tomorrow I work the polls for Primary day so I will be gone most of the day. Good thing about that is I can knit as much as I like. Oh what shall I bring to do? That's my mission for tomorrow morning.

My son surprised me with a new portable desk thing for my bed. This one wheels underneath the bed like those trays in the hospital. I tried to take a picture of it but really all you see is my laptop and the messy living room. Oh well.

Mailed out my package this morning for the DRT. I am glad my part is over, hopefully we can make up some time now.

I think there are a couple new contests in my side bar, don't forget to check them out.


Still swimming a mile in the pool. Today we worked on form and speeding up the time. I was tired when it was all over. Didn't help that I forgot to eat before I left so I was starving. I didn't even have a coffee today. Is it any wonder I have been dozing off a few minutes each hour? Oh and chlorine eyes don't help either.

Have a great night and day tomorrow. I'll see you all after the polls close. Don't forget to vote if you are supposed to. Every voice/vote counts.

AK

Sunday- SIGH it's almost over already

Well my trip to AC Moore's the other day also landed me these two critters.

The cat is for Adam. He decided his other beany baby kitty "Whiskers" needed a brother to play with. This was the one I found. After I got home I read the tag... I think this kitty was the "puurrrfect" choice for Adam, here is what it said

A squeaky toy or a ball of string
I'll play with almost anything
But my favorite thing to do
Is snuggle up and nap with you

Adam loves to play with my ball sof yarn and snuggle up in bed with me. Yep the perfect match. LOL

The sheep (ram...whatever) is for me. I don;t know what possessed me to buy it, but I had to, lol
Now look what my tag read

I like to bank my head, it's true
'Cause it's the ram-like thing to do
I like to bang it in the yard
Good thing for me my head's so hard !

Now being that I bought this only days after banging my head with a falling chimney it looks like this sheep was made just foe me, as we both have hard heads.

It's almost midnight so this is all I have for today. Long day and I am tired. I have chlorine eye burn again. Adam and I were BIG POOLING it after church today.

See you on Monday

AK

Saturday- Sweet Sixteens are Steadly Advancing

My DRT (dish rag tag) package arrived today. it came late, almost 4PM so no chance of mailing it back out today. But the box will be in the mail first thing Monday morning.

This is the yarn enclosed for my to knit up the secret pattern with, see the pattern folded up there? The needles are mine. See we even have a team LOGO, lol. We are serious about winning, LOL

This picture is of the goodies Kathy from NC included in the box for me. a set of stitch markers which I used right away on the secret pattern. A scrubbie, that I MUST find out what material it was made with, it's awesome. the texture is hard to describe. It's stretchy and almost feels like it's coated with something. And a travel bag. When folded up in the pouch it's about 4x4 in size, but when opened it's like a medium tote bag, and it stays attached to the pouch, which becomes like a little pocket. I love it and can definitely use it.
This dishcloth is the one Kathy in NC made for me from the yarn enclosed in her package. It's pink, could I have gotten any luckier with that???
And yes I am all done, here is my knitted dishcloth. it was a pretty easy and fast pattern to knit. I wish the post office was open on Sunday's. Get ready Jessica, you're next and I am ready to ship.
Spent the rainy day (Hannah after effects) with Adam. We built puzzles, sang songs, snuggled and somehow when I wasn't looking he managed to apply some face paint to himself. I think it was crayon but not sure. It's washed off now, but isn't my little clown cute?


By the way that's Oreo cookies on his lips not ink or crayon, I just noticed that. he is asleep now and I think I will follow suit. He wants to come to church again tomorrow, this is GREAT news for me. After church we are planning another trip to the BIG POOL. Then he has to go home because he will have school on Monday.

I still have other things to share, tomorrow though. Probably another later in the day post too. But no worries, I am committed to post everyday this year, so I will be here even if it's 11:59 PM

Good night and sweet dreams

AK

Friday- Yes It's Still Friday Here for 25 Minutes

Well I have been BUSY BUSY today. I told myself I couldn't blog until I made some important phone calls I have been procrastinating about. Then it was time for Adam to get here from the bus and we went straight to the BIG POOL. We were there for 3 hours swimming. Got home at 4pm and guess who was too tired to even read email? Of course it didn't help that my eyes were red from all the chlorine, Adam had me diving for rings for an hour at least, LOL


So this is a short quick, get it done blog before Saturday arrives.

I bought myself some yarn yesterday while at AC Moore's. Mostly cotton but a new Patons wool Merino, man I love this stuff. I might try to felt a bag with this one. The color is awesome.

While in the Patons isle I came across some stretchy sock yarn. This color is called SUGAR. I got enough for a pair of socks. Now to find a perfect pattern to go with the yarn.

The dish rag tag box did NOT arrive today. Looks like it will come tomorrow and since the mail comes late in the day it won;t get mailed back until Monday, bummer. I sure hope it arrives tomorrow.

Thanks for helping me decide on the gift for the box, looks like the needle protectors were the popular choice, and I think the purple bag. I really needed your help and you came through.

Ok 25 minutes left in the day... should I eat dinner finally or just call it a night?

Thursday- HELP!!! My Brain Is Swimming A 100 Minutes A Mile

First... I DID IT!!!! I swam a MILE yesterday. And I did it non-stop. That is 36 laps, or 1800 yards. Ok I need to improve my time... LOL it took 100 minutes. Oh well, it's a start and a good one at that.
Now hopefully after a few more months of this exercise and diet etc. I will be rewarding myself with something PINK, what do you think of this?

Now for the HELP part... I have been TAGGED. The box is on it's way
I need to decide what little gift to send to the next team member. I plan on sending it in one of these cool bags.
And here are my four choices. From left to right...
Circular needle protectors
A set of two row counters
A needle size gadget and ruler
Pom Pom makers
Now here is where you come in. Please tell me what to send. Pick a bag and an gadget and let me know in the comments. It might be here tomorrow so hurry up.

I will leave you with one last thing... I actually ventured out of my comfort zone today and went to AC Moore (hence the choices pictured above)

I got lot's of stuff for me too, I'll post about that over the next day or two. LOL

Ok time to do the dishes and limber my fingers.

AK

Wednesday- What's That On my Bottom???

Well are you ready for the story from Sunday? It involves a chair similar to the ones pictured above.

On Sunday I think I mentioned we went to the Pastor's house for a little church get together. It was a fun time as usual. However I forgot to tell you the story about how the chair I was sitting in bit my butt.

Yep, I was sitting in a plastic lawn chair, you know those stackable kind with the slits in the bottom seat and the back rest too, minding my own business. We are telling silly stories, reading off useless trivia, like did you know a penguin can jump 6 feet in the air? I mean that's important stuff to know, LOL. Anyway, I am uncomfortable as I've been sitting for a long time, and my legs and feet were hurting so I kept shifting around in the chair to try to ease the pain a little. When suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my butt. OUCH. I realize my large buns have obviously seeped through a slot, so I stand up to detach myself.

Well I was wearing a long skirt (still in church clothes) and apparently the skirt was through the slot as well, only it was not coming out. It's almost midnight and even though we have a nice campfire going it's still pretty dark out there. I ask one of the ladies to assist me.

Now of course everyone's attention is directed right at me. Well she couldn't get the skirt un-stuck either. It was a black skirt of course, and a dark green chair. So we decide to go to the porch where there is a motion detector light. So I start to walk and the skirt starts to fall from the weight of the chair. Oops. So Cathy has to hold the chair and walk behind me, carrying the chair like the train of a wedding dress. Everyone is now laughing hysterically, including me and Cathy. But we are walking and laughing and we are women who have had children, yeah need I explain further? Let's just say we both needed the bathroom afterwards.

I know you all want to trade lives with me don't you?

Thanks for the comments on the Fish Blanket yesterday. But I feel I must clarify, I only made one of these afghans... It's just one of 9 completed afghans that are being donated to VJG. All 9 afghans are pictured in my Ravelry projects page if you want to see the rest. I am not happy with the way I stitched them together, I couldn't figure out the CBBC (??) seaming. The perfectionist in me wanted to detach them all and try again. But I figure a child with a disability is going to love it no matter what, so it's going. Next time I will try something new

I am leaving shortly for the Y. I am hoping to swim a mile today. I think I can do it. I'll let you know tomorrow. Adam starts pre-school again today, so I won't see him until Friday when the bus drops him off.

Lastly I think I will leave you all with an Ancient Japanese Proverb

Have a wonderful day

Tuesday- A Chimney Falling On My Head...

A chimney falling on my head was the best thing that happened to me yesterday.

Yes, this lovely chimney pictured here fell smack down on the top of my head yesterday. My husband decided to replace the wood stove with a newer one and put the old one in the garage. That went OK, but he was struggling getting the chimney re-attached. So I went over to help, even after he had told be abut the tickets from the night before. I considered letting him struggle, but thought better of it, cause if there is a fire to be in there I want to make sure the chimney is correctly attached. It's a self preservation thing, LOL.


Any way I am standing on the right side of the chimney, leaning over the wood stove holding a flashlight onto a tiny little hole he was trying to match with another tiny hole so he could put in the screw. And without any warning, he lets go of the chimney and it falls smack down on top of my bent down un-suspecting head. OK this chimney has to weigh, oh I don't know, at least 50 maybe 100 pounds. OUCH!!!!! So my husband, the sensitive guy he is, swore at ME!!! Well excuse me for getting my head in the way of your falling chimney. At least my head broke the fall, if I wasn't there it probably would have cracked when it hit the floor and rendered useless the chimney. My head, that's dispensable I guess.

I have another story to tell that happened Sunday night at the Pastor's house but I'll save that one for tomorrow. One disaster story a day is more then most can handle. LOL

I will leave you with a picture of the fish blanket I was working on for VJG. It's the last one to finish before I can mail them all out. Well I wanted to add a couple more rows of fish but I just can't get myself to knit another fish. So I have decided it's good enough as is, I will crochet a border around it and then the 9 blankets will be in the mail, finally.

Adam is here today. If I find some energy I might take him to the BIG POOL later. I won't get to swim laps but hey any water resistance burns calories so it's all good. Maybe we will wait for Papa to come home and he can come with, that way I can swim my laps and he can play with Adam, then I can play with Adam and he can go sit in the whirlpool. He won't go though, he always backs out. Maybe he needs a chimney to the head????

AK
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Monday- Mourning or Morning You Pick

The end of the contest is here. I will announce the final winner a little further down... no fair skipping and reading that first. You MUST read the blog in order, LOL. I am watching you, I will know. Hey you... get back up here. LOL

So last night my son and I went to the Pastors house for a church gathering. We had desserts and sat outside by the fire. It was a great night. We were there until after Midnight. My husband, who has decided he doesn't want to go to church anymore, went to his brothers camp. He might have had a good time, but on his drive home, not so good. As the picture shows below, he got two, yes TWO traffic violations driving home. I tell you it can cost you when you disobey God, and with his disobedience we are really gonna have to PAY now when it comes to insurance, work time lost because he has to appear in court, gas to drive the 50 miles to the town he got the ticket in, the fines, yeah you get the picture.
That's the Mourning part of my post. You know he didn't even tell me until maybe an hour ago. Men!!!

Now for the Morning part... here is the sock kit I received last week. I saw the socks on Ravelry and LOVED them, I had to have the pattern. I saw that they were from this monthly sock group, there is a Yahoo group and an online website too. I prayed about it for a few days and finally felt the release and joined. The socks are called Margaritaville and this is the picture I saw on Ravelry. Now what remains to be seen is if I have the skills to knit them up.
The sock kit comes with the yarn for the socks and the pattern. I will get a new pattern and new yarn every other month. I am determined to master these socks. LOL

Here is a close up of the yarn. Isn't it beautiful?
Ok I guess I have stalled long enough and it's time to reveal the winner of the final week of my contest. First here are some balloons for the winner.
I wish I could give you all something. You are all winners in my eyes, and having you come visit my blog and read my thoughts and leave comments of encouragement mean more then I can ever say.

Here are some numbers from this marathon contest.

I had 5233 views to my blog over the 9 weeks
That is an average of 581 visits per week or 83 per day

There was a total of 875 comments made
Which averages 97 comments per week and about 14 comments per day

The week receiving the most comments was Week 5 with 112 comments

Aren't you glad to know all those details? LOL.

And thanks to my trusty Random Number Generator the winner was the person who made the 32nd comment. This was on Tuesday, try a new stitch day. And the winner is..........................

DEBORAH aka

QUILT GRANNY

CONGRATULATIONS you just won your choice of a small project bag sewn by Bea and carried in her ETSY shop.

I do believe she is adding some new bags she has been working on over the holiday so you might want to wait a day or two if you don't already have one you like in the store. When you have picked out the bag of choice, send her a Convo through ETSY or Ravelry and tell her you are the contest winner. She will be watching for you as I will tell her today as well. As a back up please email me as well on AOL or Ravelry both are gimpykatk. Thanks and congratulations again.

Now if you did not win this time around, no worries. Another contest will start again on October 1st. And then I am considering another marathon contest for December and January, last year I skipped December due to holiday stuff. I have not decided on this issue yet. In fact I have several things I am considering for upcoming contests and will most likely have a few polls throughout this month, so please come back so you can vote, OK?

Well it's 11am and I haven't even had breakfast yet and I am hungry. So I am outta here for now.

It's Labor Day, so let's take it easy. No Laboring, OK?