YEAH, I got RAOK'd!!!!

A fuzzy side view of my fabulous tank RAOK! Again, check out the 'ceps! Now I have to work on the gut! 

Well, my good pal Amy (Royal Amy in our sit n knit group - it's a long story) from seamstressed (see button to the right) RAOK'd me at sit n knit on Tuesday night. She brought me 2 FABULOUS tops! The one here is a halter from stitch n bitch made in microspun (yummy, soft and shiny!) and then the other is the shapely tank in a pheldar (is that right?) yarn that's a pale butter yellow with little white specks throughout. VERY VERY COOL. My knit pals spoil me so much. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!

Off we are to Toronto tomorrow. Can't wait. I am hoping to be up early enough and that the clouds cooperate in order to see the meteor showers. Sigh, I've NEVER seen a shooting star. I will say my prayers EXTRA EXTRA tonight! I am truly hoping to score some Koigu while we are in the great white north! Have I ever mentioned that Toronto is like, one of my most FAV cities, EVER??!!?? Well, it's true. We've been there a half dozen times or so and I never tire of it. Plus Canada is just so beautiful as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, CA - NADA! hmm hmm humm humm humm HUMM! (I just know the first 2 words of their anthem but I know the tune so I hum it instead, tee hee!). Oops, there I go again with the flight of ideas. I can't seem to help myself when I am excited. (plus not sleeping for the last 2 nights ain't helpin' either)

So, back to knitting, I am hoping to score some Koigu while I am there. Have yet to ever see it in person in any shop that I have been too. Sigh. Love the colorways that I see online though, so hopefully, I will be successful with that endeavor. Planning on doing a little Geocaching while we are there (reminds me I have to go to the geocache website to download some caches) Ooops, I will focus again. Sorry about that. OK, knitting. Well, I am excited to see what beautiful yarns I will find up North. This is just my FIRST trip up to Canada since becoming a seriously addicted knitter. My DH is preparing himself for the sticker shock. Tee hee.

OK, I will go now but we are taking a laptop (hotel will have high speed access - yeah!). I'll hopefully get to let you all know how things are along the way. If not, we will be back on Sunday night.

AMY, again, thanks SOOOOOOO much. Wore shapely tank today after work and taking the halter with me to Toronto! Yeah for RAOKs!

An RAOK from my pal Royal Amy (see seamstressed button to the right). Check out the biceps! 

My Shapely tank from Royal Amy (seamstressed blog) 

This looks MUCH better in person and with my arm down. I wore it tonight and it was so comfy too. Hey, there's my little girl at the door behind me. Tee hee!

The sunset as we saw it on the night of our anniversary! 

On our 16th anniversary down in Key West! 

Close-up of Maleta 

I am kissing on Maleta my cousin's female sugar glider 

Here we are with my nephew and his new wife! They are so cute together! 

Here we are standing at the door of the church where we were married in 16 years ago! 

Here's the 3 of us at DH and Mine's alma mater! GO CANES! 

Secret pal picture

I finally was able to have a few minutes to download some pictures. First is a picture of my secret pal package. I got it a while ago but went on vacation, etc. . . ANYWAY, I got 3 balls of Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in a very cool green color that will make a great scarf (or hat and mittens) for the fall. I also got a couple of bars of Lindt chocolate and some handmade stitch markers. There was also a package of Jelly candies for my DS but they were quickly GONE!

Thanks so much Secret Pal. I love it all.

YEAH, my secret pal sent me this!!!  

What kind of knitting needles are you???????

You are interchangeable.
Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every
eventuality covered and every opportunity just
has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and
every day is a new beginning. You are good at
so many things, it's amazing, but you can
easily lose your place and forget to show up.
They have row counters for people like you!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Back from vacation

Well, we are back from our vacation. DH, DS and I had a REALLY good time visiting my mom and the rest of my family in sunny Miami. We went fishing and caught quite a few grunts, snappers, and one other type of fish but I can't remember what it was. . . . ANYWAY, we had them filleted (sp?) and then my mom cooked them up. DS didn't particularly care for the taste of the fish we caught but we all had a good time fishing. We also took a family canoeing day at a local wildlife reserve area in Key Largo. Very fun stuff. We saw lots of stuff out there, even a few jelly fish! We went treading along in the ocean as well and collected quite a few seashells while enjoying the water. Do any of you know whether I can put shells collected straight from the ocean into a fresh water tank? DS & I think they would look good at the bottom of his tank but we don't want to hurt his fish.

Since DH and I were celebrating our anniversary (16 years) while down there, DH had planned a little getaway for just him and I. We left DS with "Tata" (aka grandma) and spent 3 days and 2 nights in Key West. It was very nice. We stayed at a great little hotel/bed & breakfast called "The Gardens". It was originally a botanical garden and was then bought and turned into a hotel. Very scenic I must say. DH and I shopped (no knitting shops there - RATS!), walked, ate and drank. We checked out a lot of local galleries and saw some very good art while we where there. By far, my favorite part of the trip was visiting the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. WOW! They had some of the most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen there. The gift shop was pretty but par for course HOWEVER, they have an attached gallery where their artist mounts butterflies in display cases in the most beautiful ways. WOW! Nice thing is that he only uses butterflies that have lived their entire lifespan naturally. I have never seen anything like it. Just breathtaking and very peaceful.

I took loads of pictures but have yet to download them so I will share when I do that. I knitted just a bit as we were really going seems like all the time. Hopefully I will get down to some serious knitting now that I am back. I finished Harry Potter while down there. Sigh. I sorta new what was coming but not really. I am having quite a few mixed feelings about the book. Loved the writing, can't wait until #7 but saddened and confused about the twists/turns in the overall story. Well, how soon until #7 is out?????????

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by quizilla

Really? I don't think I would drink that but it sounds like me.

You Are a Peppermint Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new.
However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like.
You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation.
You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Sigh

Every have one of those days when all you want to do is sit in a corner and cry????? That would be me today. Too many "downs" to write all down but, I just wish that I was stronger so that I dealt with things better. I HATE when I feel like this. Is it tomorrow yet?

Sunny and Charlie both decided that it was OK to just lay there. Sunny looks pretty happy don't ya think? 

Here's my little girl meeting a new friend. 

Top of Zoe's hat. I used the pink yarn for every decrease and for the last 2 rows prior to the I-cording. 

Umbilical hat for Zoe Elise. Striping again of my own. 

From a meme comes a contest. . . . .

OK, so I was over at www.Amylovie.blogspot.com ( how DO you link?????) and was reading the latest meme she posted. While commenting I came up with quotes of a scene from a movie. CONTEST: I will send a prize (knitting related) for answering with the correct title of the movie that the following comes from: Ready? Here's the scene:
"Over? Over? Nothing is over until WE say it is! Did the Americans say it was over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? - [The Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?. . . .Let him go he's on a roll.] Hell NO!"
OK, so where is that from and what character (s) are speaking? The deadline will be this coming Wednesday at Midnight EST. That would be Wednesday, 7/27/05. OK?

As far as a meme, I got tagged by Amy and will reply as follows:
id·i·o·syn·cra·sy
Pronunciation Keyn. pl. id· i·o·syn·cra·sies -A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncracies. Then, if you wish, tag five people from your live gerbil or friendslist to do the same.

1. I make up songs to different tunes on the spur of the moment to fit any given situation. E.g. I have a whole song about pain medications/sedatives set to the tune of "Mambo No. 5" that I sing whenever we get a patient that has gotten or needs a lot of drugs. Weird, I know.
2. I HAVE to shake the milk jug before I will pour milk for myself or anyone else. I won't drink milk unless the jug has been shaken prior to pouring (sad thing is that I drink only Skim milk). (Is that 2 idiosnycrasies or 1??????)
3. I eat canned corn straight from the can and will NOT eat it heated up although I love to eat hot corn on the cob.
4. Speaking of canned items, I must buy canned items in even numbers even if the recipe calls for an odd number of cans.
5. I will recite scenes from movies or sing songs when people mention a portion of the lyrics or song in a given situation. I can't think of any examples right now, but believe me, I do it alot.

OK, so now I will tag the following bloggers:
Royal Amy (http://happyhomewrecker.typepad.com/seam_stressed/),
Lauren (http://www.lollygirl.com/blog/),
Btchwstix (http://www.btchwstix.blogspot.com/),
Lee Ann (http://www.fuzzylogicknits.com/blog/), and finally
Esther (www.estherknits.com)

Let's see what you all come up with!

Ooh, BTW, finished up the baby's girls umbilical hat. I made it in oranges, pinks and white. VERY cute. Will post pix when I can.

Umbilical hat from Stitch n Bitch - three shades of cotton ease. Striping of my own "fancy". 

Babies, babies everywhere!

Well, it seems as if everyone is either pregnant or just had a baby. A good friend of mine from work just welcomed her first grandchild, a dear little boy. I am posting the umbilical hat I whipped up (literally) last night. I also now must make a girl version for a coworker who just had a grand daughter born. Plus there are at least 3 otehr girls at work pregnant. Must be the season. . . . . . . .

I am having my big panel interview on the morning of July 29th, the day before we go on vacation! Oh well, at least it will be in their hands while on gone and I will hopefully return to a new job!

Keep your fingers crossed and your hearts praying!

Whew, what a week!

Well, I've been a bit stressed these past few days. I am applying for Manager of Clinical Education at the hospital where I work. I am currently the Nurse Educator for CVICU & MICU. The position became open recently and I put in an opportunity request. I had to go shopping (DARN!) for some suits so that I could interview appropriately. I got some great deals. I found out that I would have a total of 3 different interviews: 1 with the Director over Clinical Education and the current interim Manager of Clinical Education; 1 with the Director of Nursing and the Assistant Director of Nursing and a panel interview made up of 8 members of the hospital leadership, clinical education customers and the staff of the clinical education department. YIKES!

Well, I had the first two interviews yesterday. One was 2 hours long and the other was an hour long. We'll see when the panel interview is set. So far, there are only 2 of us applying for it and we both encouraged each other to apply. We will both be happy either way so, that's a good thing but, whoo boy! I didn't realize that it would be this "involved" of a process. . . . . . .We'll see what happens.

Also, a couple of weeks ago we had to replace our refridgerator (along with EVERYTHING in it) as our previous one just up and died. Well, that was AFTER we had had a service man out for our central air. Well, this past week the air conditioner was once again not working. We had to have them out again this week. YUCK. What we originally thought was only $150 turned out to be another $650. Sigh. THEN, our kitchen sink is not draining properly. Tried the clog busters (drano, liquid plummer or one of those things) to no avail. Tried to clean it out by disconnecting the drain pipes to clean them out and THEY WERE ALL CLEAR! SO, the plumber will be out on Friday afternoon to check out the problem. We think it must be either the disposal, dishwasher or a major clog going out of the house. BIG HUGE SIGH!

Well, what can you do? KNIT THERAPY!!!!! Got a good deal done on what will be a ribbon shawl. Can't really explain it. I'll post a pix when it actually looks like something, kay? The beaded bag is coming along nicely. Im am working on the short rows that give the bag it's curved bottom and base. Gotta get some pix of that as well. . . . . . finally I am completing my brioche stitch square for my stitch of the month afghan. LOVE that stitch. Nice repetetitve knitting withought a lot of thinking involved. VERY GOOD meditative knitting. (insert a relaxed sigh here).

On a final note, I joing Yarn of the Month as suggested by Lolly (see her button to the right). Can't wait to get that in the mail. I am working on my Secret Pal's parcel for this month. Got a bit of a theme thing going so I am working on gathering up appropriate things. While I was out shopping for her, I found some Cotton Ease! Yeah! I got 7 balls of the ice blue color, 1 white, 1 candy blue and 1 blueberry for a striped baby hat that I plan to make and a fabulous 9 balls of Bubble gum. That should be enough for a substantial sweater, right? Amy from Seamstressed (check her button on the right as well . . . .gotta learn how to add the htmls for the links. . . .augh!) is using the light pink cotton ease for her Grace sweater and it looks and feels great. Not sure which sweater I will make from mine. Maybe the Marilyn from IK? Is 9 balls enough? Gotta check that out or go on a hunt for more. Someone please save me (and our credit cards) from myself. MUST. . . . .STOP. . . . . . .BUYING. . . . . . YARN. . . . . .!!!!! (that really was hard to type! tee hee.

Catchya all later. gotta make dinner and put in some meditation time tonight. . . . . OM!

Back of Honeymoon Cami (dog scratch on shoulder and all!) 

Honeymoon Cami - free pattern from Knitty.com 

Here are the "kids". Oh, DH is in there as well! 

Honeymoon Cami

So, after 3 months, 4 weeks of carpal tunnel, and 1 vacation, Honeymoon Cami is done! I am posting pics for all to see. I am pretty excited about this cami. It fits well. I love the shaping of the neck/back edges as well as the sides. The color variation of the yarn (I used Candy in the blue/green colorway) is just as I had hoped for. Would I change anything???? Maybe the bottom edging, but only because the colorway of the yarn camoflauges the eyelets of the edge, otherwise, nope, I wouldn't change a thing.

I am also doing well on my beaded bag. I have completed the entire front of the bag and am working on the short rows that form the bottom and will then work myself up the back. I will post pics when I get it a bit more done.

I am also going to do some bold-faced bragging. I am also posting a pix of my DS and DD (with 4 legs - tee hee). Aren't they dolls?

Uh oh, my DS is morphing! 

Silly pix at Mickey's Philharmagic 

Here we are in front of Norway at EPCOT 

Me and DS with our FAV. . . .STITCH! 

Back from a GREAT time . . . . . .

. . . . . .at Walt Disney World! My BF and her son came with DS and I to WDW this past week. What a FAB time! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland and therefore the 50th anniversary of Disney Parks! YEAH!!!

A GREAT time was had by all. Some pix attached for sharing. Not much knitting done but a lot of FUN was had by all!

An all time "low" in knitting obsession. . . .

Alright, so I need to know. Is there anyone else out there so obsessed with knitting and/or completing a project that they actually. . . . . . . . . knit while stopped at a red light as THEY are driving? I have now reached my peak of knitting obsession.

'nuf said.

yummmmmm, Alpaca & silk, ooooh