What makes today special?

19 years ago today, DM and I left for the hospital at 4:15 am. Princess made her way into this world at 7:45 am. Weighing in at 7 lbs. 2.2 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.
Happy Birthday Princess! Hope today is a very special day for you!





4 years ago today DH and I exchanged vows and rings. (Will try to post pix later tonight after work and when I can get to the scanner).

Tuesdays strange stuff

What is this?
Knitting: Nothing, Sewing nothing.

Had a 9 hr shift at work today. Lots of swim lessons (semi privates, yikes...) and then got hair cut, supervised and taught water aerobics. Got home around 10 pm. I am so tired! Gotta' run as tomorrow is another long day.. a 10 hr shift (7 am until 5:15 pm).
This is a home video that I made on Saturday while at the pool.


Kazul asked where I got my random links... well they are just that. Stuff I surf across and consider worthy of the honor of being random.

Strange stuff: And for all the science geeks out there that want to pass their knowledge onto their kids... I bring you this really cool stuffed toy.

Random Website Monday

And this is why I couldn't take Bumpkin's outside on Sunday. Moose bedded down beside the driveway.

And this is a cat neck pillow- made for Bumpkin's. She doesn't like it and wants to give it to Sissy.

Details: Simplicity Crafts 5310
1/2 yard 45" wide pink plush knit
Backed w/ recycled pink flannel heart receiving blanket.
Pain to make, easy once you got past the face and the darts. 4 hrs. to make.

Since I haven't posted a picture of DH's scarf for awhile.. here it is.
The ruler is 24 inches long, so the scarf isn't even 30 inches yet. I keep pulling out the needles and have to reknit a row or more. Need stoppers on the ends so that this doesn't happen again.

You Belong in 1983

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Random Website: And if you find yourself w/some time on your hands this site will suck all of your life out of you.

Thank you to everyone for the Birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday

3 years ago today... Bumpkin's came into this world. Her dad and I left for the hospital just before 12:00 am and arrived there just after midnight. The nurses checked me and I was 3 cm. 2 hrs and 10 minutes later..... A baby girl is born. And what a joy she is.

So what to do for a party? Why the pool of course. (down side of having a party where you work is that I was called in to work and was unable to swim w/these good folks. But overtime is overtime and it was only for 45 min. So the rest of the day was family time).






And here is Bumpkin's w/her buddies.

And here we are eating cake. Ice cream cake from Fred Meyer's.
Lunch: PB and J sandwiches, apples/ oranges, chips and juice.

And her favorite gift of all is the Fisher Price Little People (the originals that have all been recalled due to being a choking hazard). She got the Playhouse, mini van and swimming pool.



Note: her birthday is today Sunday Feb 24, but we celebrated it on Saturday.

Saturday Sky

Pay it forward exchange....

I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. This isn't a huge gift, just a little something to lift your spirits. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do if you like, is in return pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Still have slots for 2 people!

And once again I have been tagged w/ 7 Random Facts...
This time by Fibers

1. I drink pickle juice out of the jar.
2. Read cookbooks cover to cover (great for reading in the bathtub).
3. I have never driven out of the state Alaska.
4. Have a very dry sense of humor.
5. Don't like the 3 Stooges
6. Extremely dislike Elvis
7. Have been to Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

And there you have it.

Knitting: nothing, sewing nothing.
Thankfully the work week is over! Came home tonight w/ a migraine brought on by dehydration, lack of sleep and hunger. 9 hours that sucker lasted... am still feeling lingering effects, but pain level is no longer an 8.

Tuesdays strange stuff on Wednesday

Knitting: Have done several more inches on DH's scarf. Knitted last night during a new movie by Danielle Steele. Don't remember title but it was a tearjerker chic flick.

Bumpkin's is still sick and so am I. Went to work Tuesday but turned around and came back home. Spent the day sleeping and playing a stupid mindless game. Today was a long day and tomorrow will be long as well.

Didn't get to see the lunar eclipse as it was cloudy during the eclipse. Now it isn't of course.
Story I heard at work today:

What are the odds?
An intersection on a highway,
2 cars go through safely
the 3rd car goes through and it is hit.
Contents of hit car: 4 Lawyers
4th car through is a Police Car.
Driver of implement of destruction:
17 yrs old, no license.
When Police Officer approaches the kids vehicle,
the kid doesn't toss away his joint.
Has more than the legal limit of alcohol in his system.
At a detox screening... cocaine is also found in his blood.
Kid's dads comment "We told you to be careful driving until you got a license."

Strange stuff: I just don't know what the moose would do to this tree, Or you could just visit the ranch.

Random Website Monday

Easter skirts!
And finally the circle skirts that were cut out last week. Very easy- when you go "DUH!".



A close up of the decorative edging stitches. Sew edging 1/2 from edge and then trim closely.

And matching jackets/cardigan style out of this fuzzy purple stuff. yardage 1 1/2 yds. at 60 wide. That should be plenty for a doll baby and a 3T.



And now for the monthly What am I going to do w/this material:
I give you 45" wide and 4 yards of cotton blueish background w/pinkish sea flowers.
When I asked DH what he thought about when he looked at it. He replied "Drapes". The colors do nothing for anybody in this house.


Knitting: Went to Knitting group tonight and I am so in love w/a Cherry Tree yarn. 24.95 bulky colorway winterberry. It stayed at the shop.

And I am planning a birthday party for Saturday: Bumpkin's is going to be 3, Princess had lots of cool birthday parties so what's a mom to do?
I am guess
a: I am getting old.. because I'm not into planning an elaborate affair.
b: Just not into this kind of thing anymore.
What to do... Bumpkin's 2 friends that are invited are both boys. Last year was the swimming pool.
Menu: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit/veggies, chips, ice cream cake.
Theme: Big trucks/ Bob the Builder
Items needed: Balloons, party favors: yellow construction hats,, tonka type trucks,

Random Website: Check out these party ideas: Renting a petting zoo, Renting a beauty salon, touring a fire station. These party ideas are for children 7 and under! I think that simple is better. (The tour of the fire station isn't to bad, it is better than under the big top where an actual circus was rented!)

W is for....

W is for: Winter Storm! Finally we got some snow. Thursday night Nikiski got dumped on (we didn't here at home). And now Saturday this is what I woke up to. Nice day to just sit inside and knit.



W is for: What a snowdrift outside our front door!











W is for wild Work week: It is going to be a wild week at work next week. Probably won't be blogging very much. Tuesday's schedule 12:00 - 9:00, Wednesday- Friday 7 am to 5 pm. 40 hours!

Knitting: Finished up another hat thingie for the hat swap. I won't be sending one of them so Kazul has another Christmas gift stashed. And am knitting the other mitten for Bumpkin's. Think that I am knitting to tight again- my fingers are going numb and dropping the needles. After this mitten I will be switching back to my US 10's for awhile to alleviate the cramps.

Bumpkin's has the flu. Yesterday was spent dealing with that. Daycare child syndrome - Go find adult to inform them you are about to be sick instead of running for the toilet. Buckets are our friends. She did much better swimming on Friday, me not so. I spent 4 hours in the pool water on Friday.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope your day is sweet as can be.

Knitting: Knitted another 3 inches on DH scarf (last week my needles got pulled out, so the last few knit sessions have been spent picking up the stitches. Somehow or other the scarf width has been decreased 4 stitches! Oh well that is the way it is.) At church tonight someone gave me a new knitting magazine: Knit 'N Style April 2008. There are lots of cute patterns in it!

And now... we are halfway through the month.
I weighed in today:
Weight: 135 lbs.
Thighs: 22.5 inches
Bum: 39 inches
Waist: 32.5
Bosom: 38

Differences: are
I have gained 5 lbs. (today I weighed in wearing a swimsuit!)
Thighs: have lost .5 inches
Bum: gained .5 inches
Waist: Have lost 1.5 inches
Bosom: Have lost 1 inch

And all that was just 2 weeks! Now off to consume the Valentine Chocolates that are in my house and car!


Weather: Cloudy and 32 degrees above 0. Hope that it doesn't rain- as the bad roads will be worse!

Tuesdays strange stuff

77%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Thankfully Lynn found this one- as I am getting low on pictures!

Work was long today! Had 2 different sets of swim lessons and then water aerobics. Also supervised tonight- that was fun. Had to call Nige in at 9:15 as alarms for the pool and spa were going off and there was water all over a floor that should have no water whatsoever. Turns out everything was a ok. Oh well. Got home late, after 10 and Bumpkin's was still up.


Strange Stuff: And for that special Valentine gift.... undergarment.

Dinner: Shepard's Pie: potatoes, onions, 2 chopped chicken breasts fried in 2 T butter, leftover milk gravy from Sunday and 1/2 c frozen peas/carrots all mixed together into a casserole dish. Seasonings added: red/black pepper, spicy Mrs. Dash, 1/2 t allspice. Than topped w/mashed potatoes. It was delish. Will post the gravy recipe later.

Random Website Monday

Not to young to start knitting! Bumpkin's drug these out by herself.
Knitting: finished one mitten of Bumpkin's and now must start the other. In the meantime my hat swap came through and I already finished something for that one. Started it at 2 am and finished it before 3 pm (that includes 5 hrs of sleep, laundry, dishes, vacuuming upstairs and down.)

My RAzr cell phone has just about bit the dust. I use that for an alarm clock. So when it was time for bed and the phone still wasn't charging, I stayed up until 4:30 am. DH came to bed about that time and asked why I was still up. My reply was "I was afraid to go to sleep and not wake Thing 2 up for school." So DH set a different alarm clock, we went to sleep and I woke up at 6:15! Thankfully Thing 2 got up on his own at 5:30, otherwise he would have been late for school.

Had training tonight, did timed extractions off bottom of the deep end. Time started as soon as the guard entered the water and stopped when the guard w/dummy on top of rescue tube touched the wall. My fastest time was 57 secs. In real life that would be a whole lot faster as adrenaline would be coursing through my body.

random website: As this is a new year, many people are contemplating their wardrobes and wondering what is missing. Here is the staples for every woman's wardrobe.

Weather: Snowy! and 15 degrees above 0. DH is going to have to snowblow tomorrow.

V is for......

V is for : Very creative! Here Bumpkin's is modeling her new skirt that I finally finished for her.
Specifics:
Janet's pleated skirt for preschoolers
Self made pattern
Take a 1/2 yard of material, trim 4 inches from top for waist band.
1 inch from side seam start making pleats across back. Each pleat should be one inch wide.
Attach elastic to waist band in back. Than fold over waist band and attach to skirt. Try on child to see how much front is needed than cut for side seam. Sew up side seam and then hem.
Time took 4 hours.


V is for: Visually unappealing. This is the back of the skirt. I forgot to measure each pleat as I sewed them down. Will be ripping out most of the stitching and only leave 2 inches of stitching to hold pleats in place.

V is for: Virtually impossible.
Am attempting to make a SIMPLE circle skirt for Bumpkin's and a doll baby. Cut them out fine- but am having serious problems attaching the waistbands onto the circles! If I can get this pattern to work than Princess can have a skirt for work.



V is for: Vertically challenging.
Made an attempt to make this drop spindle from something I saw over on youtube. I cannot for the life of me figure it out! Doesn't help when a stoned kitty and a 3 yr old try to help! While I was winding the yarn into balls Athena kept attacking the cone. So if anyone makes this darn thing work let me know. It spins- just doesn't wind the yarn up.

V is for: Very cold still. This morning was -20 again, seriously thought we were done with this stuff. Blogless Frieda is up in Fairbanks and that has been Wicked Cold. (-60 a little further North than where she is -72 was unofficially recorded, tires pop somewhere around that temp.)

Breakfast: chocolate chip muffins, scrambled eggs, sliced sausage, and sliced fresh oranges. (should have bought more as they are juicy and sweet and 8lbs. for $10.00).
Dinner: Chicken browned in Allspice and butter and cooked on the stove top for 2 hrs. Mashed potatoes, broccoli, and homemade biscuits.
Tomorrow guess I'd better clean the house up.

Saturday Surprises

And here is today Sky picture. Yes there are clouds finally- that means the Siberian Blast is gone. (Sad to say folks, but the front is going to move across the Western Continent - Canada and the Northern States- and give you guys some cold air and more WINTER).


Went to take Bumpkin's outside to play as the temps have finally warmed up. And this is what I saw running down the drive. (Actually there are 2 of them only got one in the pic.)


A close up of what was running down the driveway. (Got another closeup, but it was extremely blurry. Difficult to stick arm out of door and push camera button when moose is running past about 5 ft. away).




This guy decided to sample the honeysuckle bush on his way to join his buddies in the backyard.







This picture was taken just before the 3rd moose decided to go into the backyard. Much more snow and the fences won't stop them at all! (Even though there is barb wire across the top and the fences are about 6 ft. high).





Last week was a little busy at work. There was a training for most of the Senior Staff at work, I was unable to attend. So that meant poor old me was made Supervisor for 7 hrs. Water Aerobics dropped down to 8 people (that is so sad- must have worked people way to hard.)
Took Bumpkin's swimming on Friday, she did so much better! I got to swim 5 laps (very hard to do Breaststroke and push a floatie ahead of you on each stroke). Had a co-worker give me an interesting compliment last night. She asked if I was losing weight. I said "trying". Her reply was "I look good and appear to have lost weight". This is 2 days after I consumed 4 doughnuts in one day.

ETA: Lynn asked what does *warmed* up mean? Well I won't take Bumpkins out in anything under 10 degrees above 0 F. And today it was almost 10- didn't check after seeing the moose in the yard though.

Strange Stuff Tuesday on Ash Wednesday

Sure Signs you are using your cell phone to much!

1. You grab your portable telephone and try to scroll through to recently dialed calls.
2. You grab your portable telephone and try to scroll through to recently received calls.
3. After inputing a telephone number into your portable phone you look for the delete button to erase a digit.
4. After entering the phone number into your portable phone you look for the send button.
5. Your cell phone resides under your pillow at night (because the cold house temps drain the battery).
6. When the alarm goes off on your cell phone to wake you up in the morning, your 3 yr old tells you that the phone is ringing.

I have been very busy lately- this week I am scheduled to work 33 hours. Tuesday was a 9 hr day and I had 13 people for Water Aerobics (5 of my regulars were missing). Nige liked my new music and new workout routine. Will try to implement anther new routine tomorrow. After getting home at 10 last night and getting Bumpkin's off to bed, it was time for me to go to sleep also. This morning at 5:30, my day really got started as I had to be at work at 7 am.

We are having some very COLD ARCTIC weather up here. This morning when I left the house it was -22, by the time I got to the radio station 4 miles away it was -24, 2 miles further just before going over the bridge it was -30! (yes this is killing cold.) I got to work 25 miles away and the temp was a balmy 11 degrees above 0. A good friend of mine said that she looked at her thermometer at 10 am on Tuesday and it was -38. This arctic blast is supposed to last through Friday. A lady at church tonight commented on the fact that I was wearing shoes, not my regular sandals. Gotta' go for the warmth. Thankfully Tuesday, I did wear tennis shoes to work and hand carried my teva's because that night I was asked to hose (that is where the locker rooms have a garden hose taken to the floors to rinse them down- extremely efficient). My feet, socks, and teva's got soaked! I was able to put dry shoes on but with wet socks- not very keen on that idea as the temp was -15 and frostbite is scary. But I made it home safely- tomorrow I will put an extra pair of socks into my bag.

Strange stuff: And because of these cold temps, I thought that these would be handy. We have earwarmers (head bands that cover the ears) hand warmers, and those little heat packs for foot warmers.... well how about a NOSE warmer?

Random Website Monday

Went shopping tonight for more yarn (had to catch the sale at Jo-Anns) that is where the Classic Merino got picked up and while there discovered that Christmas Stuff was marked down 90%! So I bought 2 more items. Still walked out of there having only spent $13.00 ($8.00 on wool). Close match up!



Also went to Fred Meyer's to pick up the yarn to make the other mitten for Bumpkin's (guess what another sale! Buy 2 get 1 free so $9.00 later). Got extra because Kazul really likes this color as does the Pastor's wife. So here they are w/the almost finished mitten, matches pretty close doesn't it?










Knitting: Frogged back the thumb on Bumpkin's mitten (maybe tonight I will finish the mitten, she really needs them!). Knitted 2 rows on DH's scarf (that won't be getting done tonight! Only have 19" done and it needs to be 60").

Next week more shopping at Jo-Anns flannel is going on sale $2.00 a yard! Just what I need for the Christmas quilts.

Finished another book: The Rescuer by Dee Henderson the 7th of the O'Malley series. Now to find another long series to read.

Random Website: And everyone is telling me how brave I am in posting measurements. This lady is braver than I. Caution: do not open link while eating/drinking/spouses sleeping or if you have teens around do not let them see this (It will possibly scar them for life!) Found this while looking for Aerobic music. Lady and Aerobics.


Weather Clear sunny skies and COLD! -24 again tonight.

U is for.....

U is for: ....Had a difficult time coming up with U words. Tried to use the dictionary online- yeah right. Had better luck getting up and thumbing through Good Old Webster's Paperback.



U is for:
Unbelievably cold! 2 days in a row this is the temp at 11:00 am.





U is for:
Again another of Bumpkin's playing the Ukulele.
(Yes it is the same pic as before).






Today during the Super Bowl- I did some work. No not knitting, sewing or quilting even. I put together a CD for Water Aerobics. There is a little bit of everything: Polka Dot Bikini, Popcorn, Hamster Dance, KISS to name a few.

Other than that I have stayed home all weekend!

6 more weeks of Winter!

As I was about to do this post, the sunset caught my eye. How pretty the pink tinged sky is. (5:15 pm at least the days are getting longer!)





This was the sky at 11:00. Nice and blue- the groundhog definitely saw his shadow.








The temperature this morning at 11:00 was -12. Yeppers... COLD! And we can expect these temps for another 2 1/2 weeks.








This is the hoarfrost on my honeysuckle bush.













And another meme:
Here's the deal:

1. Go to the current book you're reading.
2. Go to Page 161.
3. Copy down the 5th sentence.

It was a good offer; Stephen hoped they could get the job done today.

And since I am not that far into the book, haven't the foggiest idea about what is being talked about! The book's name is The Rescuer by Dee Henderson Book 6 of the O'Malley series. Dee Henderson is an author of Christian Thrillers.

Because people are interested in when all this snow will melt- there will be weekly yard pictures until all this white stuff is gone. What an excellent idea for a contest... Will be thinking of the rules for that one.

Another first this week was, Athena has hairballs really bad and has diarrhea. I know that's gross- but stay with me. Well she kind of missed the litter box and went on the entryway floor. So the putty knife was utilized to pry the frozen poop off of the cold plywood floor.

Stayed home today and found a missing box of 3T clothes for Bumpkins. Went through all of her dresser drawers and closet am now parting with a 1/2 full bag of 18 mos to 2T girls clothes. That is one large box gone and a small rubbermaid tote to be reassigned. Yeah! clutter busting! Last night, I found a shirt Bumpkin's got for Christmas and after washing haven't seen since.

New month.....

Here's looking at the new month:
Happy Birthday Kazul!


Knitting: Mostly finished Bumpkin's mitten, but ran out of yarn. Still have to rip back the thumb because it is way to small.

As this is a new month and didn't do this last month:
I am trying to loose weight and eat healthier, decided to do this:
Measurements for the beginning of the month,
Weight 130 lbs.
Thigh 23"
Bum 38 1/2"
Belly 34"
Bosom 39"
Well we shall see what they are when March rolls around.

It's been busy around here, have been trying to revamp my water aerobic routines and finish up swim lessons.
Thursday highlight was pulling into the carport late Thursday night and finding the extension cord running way out the carport. Hmm... guess I forgot to unplug the van before backing out that morning. Good thing DH has the cord wrapped around a post in the carport so I can't unplug it from the socket and drag the cord down the road.

Took Bumpkin's swimming tonight and boy oh boy she needs to go swimming more often. The black lines in the bottom of the pool scare her to death. (She thinks that they are a snake!) Also she is afraid of the water. Yikes- as a swim instructor that isn't good. Another odd thing happened to me tonight as I drove home. The roads are all rutted and the car bounces/slides easily so I was driving 40- 45 and occasionally hitting the brakes. Bumpkins decided she wanted something so I go to pull over and there is a car close behind me. So I pull forward to let the car into the drive and the red lights come on across the top of the car. A State Trooper! He comes up to the window and asks if everything was ok. I explained about the roads and Bumpkins wanting something so I pulled over, rather than trying to take care of it while driving and went to hand him my license. He replied that he was just checking to make sure that everything was Ok and said that it was smart of me to pull over rather than dealing w/stuff.

And so how was your Friday?
Weather: clear cold -10.

Weather