Fingers Crossed

Through the eyes of a child, see the world as it should be seen.

Today was the last straw.  Little people on power trips do not sit well with me.  Those who lie to make life more complicated and send others on wild goose chases to cover up their own misdeeds and feel the need to mess with my child will soon be sorry.  Please, don't ever make the mistake that you are somehow more important or more intelligent than anyone else - there is always someone out there who is a step ahead.

Tomorrow, the lottery starts and you can bet your sweet bippy that I am going to be front and center to get Hobbit signed up.  This school has the curriculum that we are looking for and she will thrive in this environment.  No more sitting around bored while she waits for the other kids to catch up.  No more stifling her natural desire to learn.  She's even excited about the possibility of wearing a uniform ~ Huzzah for education AND the arts!

Fingers crossed, there is a space for Hobbit this fall (if not sooner)... fingers crossed.

Best Snack Ever

I have a really bad habit of forgetting to eat.  I have full intentions of getting up and going to the kitchen to fix something but then I get sidetracked.  One thing leads to another and before I know it, it's mid afternoon.  I just discovered this really great snack that I wanted to share with everyone.  It's not mindblowing in any way, shape or form but it sure is good and satisfying.  Here you go:

1/3 cup of Just Bunches cereal
6 ozs of Cinnamon Bun yogurt (I like Publix brand)

Mix these two together - I put mine in one of the bazillion coffee mugs we have - and enjoy.  It's so flipping fabulous you won't mind that you missed breakfast and dinner... this will hold you until supper.

The Cat's Meow Pattern ~ Finally

The Cat's Meow

I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to write out this pattern.  I promise to never take as long ever again, barring death.  So here you go, Ramsay's newest sweater ~ The Cat's Meow.  Simply click to enlarge the images.

To sew the sweater together, simply hold right sides together and sew down the top ribbed sections.  Pick up again at the bottom rib sections, working up to the six rows of garter stitching.  Wallah, an inside out completed sweater for your fur baby... flip it the right way, slide it on your favorite pooch and everyone is happy.

Thanks to My Crazy Aunt

I love reading Crazy Aunt Purl.  She's just a breath of fresh air.  Always writing as though she's conversing and she has this fabulous attitude of shooting from the hip.  She's just awesome.  Today, I was going through and catching up on some of my blog reading and she touched on the newest season of American Idol.  I left a comment, something I don't do often and should make an effort to rectify, but thought it would make a great post on it's own... yeah, I do tend to have diarrhea of the mouth (or fingers in this case) at times... perhaps that's why I don't comment often - I get carried away and end up writing a book.  Here is my 'comment' regarding this season of American Idol:

Scotty

Karen

"I loved your segment on AI and I couldn't agree more... well, except that last season was a snooze because I totally adore Lee DeWyze and Mama Sox... but I digress.

How in the world did they pick Brett over Colton?  Unless they were going for the geeky high school male androgynous demographic, Colton should have gotten that last spot for the guys - he was completely robbed!  Jacee can come back in a few years and steal it all - he was so precious - but Brett, seriously?  I was so disappointed.

I am totally digging the hobbitish upright bass player, Casey Abrams, along with the whispery voiced Kenny Loggins looks stealing Gentle Ben of a guy, Paul McDonald.  My favorite though, and I almost feel pervy for it, is Scotty McCreery.  His voice is too sexy (see, there is the pervy aspect).

As for the girls, I love the prom queen refugee Julie Zorilla.  I also can't help but smile every time I see that mop top, crazy haired cutie, Karen Rodriguez.  Teetering in as my last girl that I could root for is Pia Toscano.  Not a strong group of girls but these three really hold their own.
Bring on Tuesday - I'm ready to get going!!"

Yeah, I do write a book - but what can I say, I mean every word.  Besides, we bloggers love comments... at least I know I get excited to see what someone thinks of my work.  It's like tiny bits of Christmas every time someone leaves a note.  I must make a mental to leave more comments on my wanderings around the blogisphere... leave little bits of Christmas for others.

Sunday Snaps ~ February in Review

I thought that since this is the last Sunday in February, I would start doing a month in review type of post.  One photo that symbolizes each week of the month.  Just my silly way of looking back and maybe, at the end of the year, I'll do a year in review with a photo representing each month... oh, that would be cool!  Anyway, here is a 'snapshot' of my February.  Enjoy!

Spring has sprung in the Sunshine State

Created "The Cat's Meow" - just remembered that I have yet to write it up

Stole a few moments of my own with my family watching the sun set

Took the kids to the fair and had a beautiful family outing.

Friday Night Fair

The fair is in town this week and my husband really wanted to go.  The girls had never been to a real county fair so we thought we would surprise them.  It was so much fun!  Everyone got to do what they desired and we even won a few fish in the process.  Words can't describe what a fabulous evening we had so I'll let some of my over 200 shots of the night do the talking for me.  Enjoy.

Beautiful quilts and hand knits

More of the gorgeous crafts

Hobbit learning how to weave a chair bottom

A living statue - really wanted to poke her.. lol

Peanut & Hobby enjoying some cotton candy

Yes sir, they can go again.

Touch the clouds

Don King... in chicken form

4-H baby cow that Hobbit got to pet.

Pokey won 3 fish!

Peanut & Hobbit loving the rides

Hobbit is the pink blur in the front of the Caterpillar Roller Coaster

Enjoying some time at the rodeo

Hobbit winning a fish of her own

Oh well goodie

We have new neighbors.  They have a small child, perhaps 3 years old.  They are a complete nuisance, I'm sorry to say.  You would think the people who rent out that house would come by and check on them periodically but they don't... instead, they have decided to set the house up for low income rental which is against our HOA rules and regulations.

Back to the real issue at hand, the fact that these renters are a complete nuisance and annoyance to all those who live around them.  Let's take this morning for an example.  It's barely 7:30 a.m. and I have just woken Hobbit up so she can get ready for school.  Then, I take Ramsay and Buddy outside for the second time, just as I do every morning.  Apparently, the heathen behind us is up as well because all I can hear (inside and outside of MY home) is his obnoxious screaming.  This little boy apparently wants some particular thing for breakfast and is having a fit over it.  Do you know what the mother does... she tells him to shut up because they're going out.  What?  Excuse me?

Hobbit's attempt at a fit on her 2nd birthday.. can you see the grin?

I'm sorry but if I had ever dreamed of behaving in such a fashion, my mouth or bottom would have been popped.  To make it even better, the child does not speak correctly and the mother didn't correct him either.  Once informed that they were going out to breakfast, the heathen takes a break between banshee howls to make the inquiry of "To Cwakkerw Bearwool?"  Baby talk... seriously?  Of course this is mild compared to the normal ruckus that we hear as we sit down at the dinner table every night.  It's a show every time with screaming, cursing, boozing, chain smoking on their back porch and television or music blaring.  This glorious routine continues daily from sun up until roughly midnight... every flippin' night.

It's like a train wreck of a reality TV show behind us... I'm thinking they moved to the wrong neighborhood because those people live about 10 miles closer to Holiday.  I am not a judgmental person but when your trashy ignorant lifestyle starts permeating the walls of my serene home, I will take action against it.  There are noise ordinances.  There are child protective services (trust me, the screams would make your skin crawl so couple that with an adult being verbally abusive while intoxicated on some substance and you'd want to call too).  There are a wide range of options available, for my protection and hopefully to straighten out the future juvenile delinquent.

Be as "Deliverance" as you want, but please do so quietly... your banjo playing is disturbing the rest of us who don't have carpet burns on our knuckles.

Chances are if you're reading this book, you're fat.

That would be the first sentence in the first chapter of  "Big Girl Knits" by Jillian Moreno and Amy R. Singer.  I had been interested in reading this pattern book for some time now and was initially delighted to find it at my local library.  The reason behind my giddiness is simple - it is very difficult for me to find a pattern that fits my shape well.  Generally the bust area is too small, the arms are too tight and the item ends up clingy where it isn't flattering.  I thought this book was an answer to a prayer ~ in reality, it was just insulting beyond words.

It's disappointing too because their section on measuring and how they break the patterns down by the 3Bs (boobs, belly and butt) are actually very insightful and very flattering.  Most of their patterns are ones that I would honestly make or recommend to others.  They created lounge pants with the perfect fit for crying out loud!  I just can't believe two women would write such hurtful things. 

A book written for a particular segment of the female populous doesn't need to say such things ~ we hear it enough in the real world.  Out of the mouths of babes or just plain mean adults, constant comments regarding our non-waif appearance are basically a daily occurrence.  It never ceases to amaze me how some feel that they have the right to make such comments in the first place.  As if I am unaware of my shape and how it looks nothing like Kate Moss or Gisele Bundchen.  Let's not forget the reminder every time I go to try on an article of clothing at a department store and how the sizing is never the same.  My closet ranges from size 14 to size 20.  My husband wears a 33 and all his clothes are a 33... so why can't all my clothes be the same number?  A number, which by the way, changes every year but not due to my fluctuating weight but to the manufacturers decreasing measurement qualification.  To prove this point, Marilyn Monroe wore a size 8 but her size 8 is today's size 16... would you classify her as 'fat'?  I didn't think so.

In a society such as ours, you would think that we would be able to celebrate the positives in one another instead of exploiting the negatives.  Did they believe these jabs to be funny?  Who told them peppering their books with slams about a woman's figure would be a great selling point?

So Ms. Moreno and Ms. Singer, I will not be spending my $30 on your insulting book.  I prefer purchases to have a more uplifting effect.

We've Done Nothing...

... because the girls never got dressed today!  Even the animals are being lazy ~

Sunday Snaps

Here's a quick look back at our week...

 

 

 

 

 

Do Nothing Day

I love it when I deem a day as "Do Nothing Day"... they're the most fun.  Yes, we have chores still to do but the world won't end if they are done on a different day.  Supper still needs to be cooked but thankfully, I have a crock pot and the roast is doing just fine.  So why don't you have a Do Nothing Day too?

What's that?  You don't know how to have a "Do Nothing Day"?  Oh it's simple really, I'll show you.  There are two simple steps to follow...

1. What do you really want to do today (read, play, hobby, etc).
2. Do it.

See, it's that simple.  I know what you're thinking - those are "something"s that I listed, not "nothing"s.  Why yes, yes they are but they are "somethings" that we always say we don't have time to do because we have other things that we have deemed more important.  Therefore in order to do these things, we believe that we have to have 'nothing' to do... ergo therefore, a "Do Nothing Day" frees you up to do those things that you always shove off in an attempt to be 'responsible'.

Still confused?  I'll explain a little more for you.  Today there is a ton of laundry that needs to be done, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, organizing and general list of chores.  In reality, as a housewife I don't get a 'day off' since these things need to be done almost daily and if not these things then there is a constant rotating list of other things.  The weather outside is gorgeous (78 and sunny), the kids are off and to be honest, I don't want to waste a day doing chores when I could be playing with them.  So I'm deeming it a "Do Nothing Day" here... meaning, we won't be doing any of the chores listed above.  Instead, we are going to do the following:

1. Bake cookies
2. Watch girlie movies
3. Knit/draw/paint/photograph to our hearts content
4. Blow bubbles
5. Draw on the driveways with chalk
6. Have a picnic on a blanket on the grass
7. Find cloud animals
8. Anything else the girls can dream up

See, our "Do Nothing Day" is rather full but it's full of things that we claim we never have time to do... and I want to make sure my girls always remember to make time for the important things in life... things that make life worth living... the Do Nothing kind of things.

Lost.. I Think.. Maybe Not

This sweater pattern is driving me batty ~ even the person who wrote it out isn't sure!  For example, she writes this about sizing:

"Note however, size is a little unusual with this sweater... The medium fits most women. Only make the small if you are really small or the large if you are quite large."

Well, that just clears it up now, doesn't it.  What constitutes "quite large"?  There are no measurements to go by so if I'm a delusional type of person, I might make the wrong size... but I'm just going under the assumption that they believe me to fall in to their "quite large" category since I have curves and all.  It would have been much easier to figure out if they, oh I don't know, used actual measurements.

My favorite deals with the gauging... this is just priceless:
"The ball band for Lana Bambu states a gauge of 18 sts for 4” on size 9 needles. I got 16 on size 8s and 14 on size 9s. The garment as shown has gauge of 14 sts for 4” in stockinette.  Get as close to this gauge as you can."

That, to me, translates into roughly "I have no clue but give it your best go".  I could be wrong but there isn't a whole lot of commitment or confidence from this pattern writer.  Now, please understand that I am enjoying my project but it is a bit frustrating to not know if you are spot on or not.  I guess that's okay though because they offer this great bit of advice, "Don’t worry if it is a little bit off; correct by making the cuffs a little longer or shorter."

So there you go... I worked in 'fix' to make it all better.

3 Blocks West

3 blocks west of Hobbit's school is where you run out of Florida.  3 blocks west is where the Gulf of Mexico kisses our shores.  3 blocks west is where I went this morning to take photos.  I hope you enjoy what I found... 3 blocks west.

You can click any image to see it full size

If I May

(c) Three Irish Girls

Please take a moment and visit Yarnista over on her blog, right here.  She is known on Ravelry as Three Irish Girls, just like the name of her yarn shop.  This lovely woman is doing something beautiful for a dear friend and I wanted to help make sure that everyone in the universe saw her glorious act of generosity.

I will be doing all I can to make my donation.  Will you please do all you can to make yours?

Thank you.

1st Weekend of the Week

Yep, you read that right.  Today is the first Saturday of the week at my house.  Pokey is off on Thursdays and Fridays, which means that today is his Saturday.

It gets a little difficult to work when you only have 3 days but I'm slowly figuring out ways to get things done that don't interfere with 1st or 2nd weekends.  My thing that I am bad about but will try and work on, is letting Pokey sleep in on his weekend.  I did fairly well today though so I'm treating myself to a stop at the beach with my camera after I drop Hobbit off at school.  It's only three blocks west of her school so it's sort of "on the way home".

One skein down, 9 to go

If I find anything cool to shoot, I'll be sure to share.  Other than that, nothing major is going to be going on for the next 4 days.  I will be working on my Faux Circle Sweater a lot, or at least that is the plan.  I'm actually rather pleased with how quickly it is working up.  The only thing that has me worried is that I don't know if the sizing is right but when you read the pattern, neither do they!  Oh well, there are two other girls in this house so it is bound to fit someone.

Alrighty, I hear Handy Manny which means Hobbit is probably staring at her TV with that glazed over look.  A quick threat about going to school as she is should light a fire under her.  I hope everyone has a great 1st weekend Saturday today!

Funny Little *Fetish

The pink one please, 2nd from left

English property searches. 

Yep. 

That's it. 

I have a funny little fetish with the idea of one day moving to London, UK.  I have email alerts for searches that I have set up regarding housing and every day I allow myself to wander around the United Kingdom to look at potential future homes for Pokey and me.  Houses and flats that I can't afford in neighborhoods that I can only dream of one day actually seeing.

Did I mention that one of my criteria for these fantasy future homes is that they are within walking distance of any number of the fabulous yarn shoppes in the area?  Oh yeah, it's a must.  In my fantasy London living, I don't own a car.  I walk everywhere.  So in order for my fantasy home to be in a perfect location, I have to be able to walk to Loop or I Knit London or even Bunty Wool because if I can't, then what is the point of fantasizing, really?

One day, even if only for a little while, but definitely one day.

*fetish, when used as a noun, is defined as anything to which one gives excessive devotion... just so ya know, it wasn't that kind of fetish.

Valentines

I have two funny little Valentines and one sweetheart of a Valentine... plus a couple fuzzy ones at my feet as well.  I have attempted to make a magical experience for today out what little I have available - some holidays are simply for commercial profit and I honestly do believe this to be one of those days, but I digress.  It's not about the big extravagant gifts and such - it's about simply showing the ones you love how much you love them.  That task can be accomplished for very little money but a whole lot of love and attention to the little details.

The girls woke up to their Bug 'Ems and lockets complete with pictures.  They had a bouquet of heart shaped lollipops and one Hershey's Marshmallow heart inside their new friend.  Both seemed pleased, which in turn pleased me to no end.

I woke to coffee and a large Reece's Peanut Butter heart from a sweetheart who understands that when a wife says "I need for nothing", doesn't necessarily mean that she should get nothing.  I'm not a materialistic person at all and he knows that the simplest of things will always touch my heart.  I love Reece's and he found a sweet little heart - which completely melted mine.

Today, when I pick the girls up from school, I am going to surprise them with a trip the ice cream shoppe.  They love it when we go because it isn't very often and they see it as a special treat - just as they should.  I attempted to create Rocky Road Muffins but I fear that my endeavor has 'crashed and burned' as it were... perhaps I'll purchase a small cake at the grocer on my way out today.

I love my Valentines - they are a funny little lot but I am so thankful that they are mine.