Verde Photography

New Blog Home

2009-05-09T16:50:00.001-05:00

My blog has a new home. I turned my site into a blogsite.

Tick Tock

2009-03-12T00:29:00.002-05:00

My postcards shipped today!!! Now all I have to do is wait until Monday for delivery. Whatever will I do until then? Just wait anxiously? NOOOOO...I need to come up with a special for Spring! I'm so being a procrastinator.

I ordered a white shoot through 40" umbrella today. I have a gold reflector and soft boxes, but the boxes seem awkward to take on outdoor shoots. Next week is spring break and Miss E will be at her grandpa's. I'm hoping to take the sis & sis-in-law out for some OCF. Of course it will be a trial run because I know nothing about OCF. Hmmmmm...maybe I should go read up on that.

Shhhh...don't tell

2009-03-08T19:59:00.003-05:00

Today we found what has to be the first bluebonnet patch of the year! But don't tell anyone. I want to have the scoop on the bluebonnet photos...lol. Miss E has gotten to where she tells me how many pictures I'm allowed to take. About half way through she limited me to 5 more. Of course those 5 weren't the best because she was ready to go in and eat.

I took this little one outside because her outfit just looked like it was meant to be photographed in the bluebonnets. Her parents loved the pics.

Friday wedding

2009-03-03T20:31:00.002-06:00

A couple of friends of mine got married on Friday. Friday at 5:30pm! Rush hour!!! LOL. It was a beautiful ceremony as most are. The bride was radiant and the groom handsome. I was not shooting, but I did take my camera and snuck in some shots.

Things that make you go hmmmm...

2009-02-24T20:38:00.003-06:00

I wanted to put up Zack Arias's video he posted on Scott Kelby's website but for some reason it runs really choppy when I embed it. Or maybe I'm just not a qualified enough blogger to add it. Is there a blogger test I should have taken or a course to learn how to embed a video to where it doesn't skip about 10 frames while it plays? (Also, I was afraid it would justify my entry into the photography geek realm. I say entry because I don't go completely ga-ga over photography stuff - just minor google-age on some things that I find completely cool and awe-inspiring.)

Update on the postcard...still working on it. Trying to get it done before they tell me that I forfeit the prize due to procrastination. Durn me and my waiting. Tom Petty said that the waiting was the hardest part, but for us procrastinators it seems to be the easiest thing in the world.

We finished up ADSR4. I was a little sad. Not only did we have wonderful prizes, but I got to work with Debbie again (which was great because I just adore her and her work). Participating also made me want to delve a little into scrapbooking again. With the photography I haven't really done much scrapbooking. I thought of doing a simple memory scrapbook page for clients of our session. So far I think that there's always one memorable moment in a shoot, so why not go that extra little mile and help them remember it as I do? Too hokey? I think it's a cute idea. Now I just have to motivate myself into doing it. There's that procrastination again.

Weekend fun!

2009-02-17T09:31:00.003-06:00

This weekend I got to have a shoot with a wonderful young lady. It was fun getting to work with someone older than 5...LOL. We went downtown (which I would secretly LURVE to do more of). Here's a sneak peek (please excuse the proof numbers).

Weekend at the park

2009-02-03T19:18:00.002-06:00

My sis and I took out her friend's daughters to snap some shots as a surprise. I was really pleased with how these turned out. We didn't get a ton of pictures, but we got some nice usable ones.

Call me cliche...

2009-01-19T00:41:00.003-06:00

I thought I would try the old wedding ring in the book trick. How do you think I did?

I also got Miss E outside because we finally had some nice weather.
Blowing dandelions.

And just contemplating what she wanted to wish for before she blew all the seeds away.

New Pictures

2009-01-14T16:42:00.002-06:00

I got some new shots of Miss E this weekend.

I asked her yesterday if she wanted to take pictures for valentine's cards for her friends. She said "I will let you take my picture if you get out my guitar." The only guitar I could think of is my blue guitar, so I retaliated with "but that's my guitar." She promptly let me know that wasn't the one she was talking about. She says that there is one in the garage in her bench seat. "You just lift it up, Mom, and you'll see my pink guitar." Guess I'll have to trudge through the garage to see if she knows her stuff.

We made it through the first week!

2009-01-10T16:38:00.002-06:00

ADSR4 has started. I teamed up again with Debbie!!! She's such a great teammate.

The first challenge was an individual challenge where we had to scrap a picture, but tear it. I had a really hard time with this one. I couldn't find a picture to tear. It just felt weird looking at pictures of DH & DD and thinking "How can I tear this?" I guess tearing a picture to me just has a negative feeling. So I decided to face my biggest fear and put myself in front of the camera. OK...I know this probably doesn't count because it's my eye only, but who wants to be skeered by the pudgy woman? Plus, do you know how difficult it is to get a good self portrait? OMG. Thenk goodness for the lovely invention of the DSLR otherwise I would have wasted 20 rolls of film. I would think that I had a good shot, and when I checked the camera I would be missing my head, or half my face (ok those were the early shots, but they were taken). So here's what I ended up with.

Our second challenge was a collaboration. We had several requirements like 3 pictures, 4 papers, 2 fonts, 8 elements, a title and journaling. Debbie provided the pictures and journaling! Such a cutie!!! She scrambled through her bin of elements, and I trudged through my ream of papers (LOL) and here is our result.

I haven't done much else with working on these LO's. I was looking through pictures from Christmas and realized that part of our pictures didn't download and I've formatted the memory card :-(

Adieu, adieu

2009-01-07T10:24:00.005-06:00

We need to take a moment of silence and bid adieu to Mr. Mustachio. Over the break DH decided to grow a lil' mustache. Yes, I am posting a picture and if he finds out I'm sure you will all be saying RIP to me. Of course this is Mr. Mustachio in the early days of vacation, so it's not a 100% representation of his state before his demise. (And no, Mr. Scruffmuffin Way Past 5 O'clock Shadow did not continue rooming with Mr. Mustachio when we returned. For which I was eternally grateful, as Mr. Shadow is NOT my friend and does not have the cuteness appeal of Mr. M.) He was a little fuller, not by much, but definitely had more meat on his bones right before the unspeakable.

(please excuse the watermark as it's not my normal one. it didn't have one and i had to improvise without the proper font)

Why all this hooplah over a mustache? Just because I'm me. I thought it was cute. OK....adorable. He doesn't grow it very often because he thinks it's too sparse. I'm not a fan of the big bushies or the ones that look like push brooms under your nose. Soup filters....ugh.

Sooooo....if everyone would please join me for this one moment. **sigh**.......................................................................................... ok. Thank you for sharing in my loss.

Have a superb day!

Rusty...

2009-01-04T21:18:00.004-06:00

So today we got the first challenge for ADSR4. A LO with a torn picture. Not really my forte, but that's what it's all about isn't it? Challenge!!! Bring it on, baby. OK...that was a little over-enthusiasm. I am definitely rusty on my scrapbooking. We had a prelim warm up assignment, and I was a little embarrassed. It looked so elementary to me, and compared to my stuff from a year ago it was a drastic regression. Saddens me a little, but it should also be motivation for me, I know. Let's all look at the positive for me.

DD came back home today. I missed her so much. And then the attitude appeared. LOL...talk talk talk and not wanting to let adults talk. But eventually she changed it throughout the day. Papa got her a DS for Xmas and gave her $200 to go spend on games for it. The girl actually didn't want to go shopping. Yes, you read that right! A GIRL not wanting to go SHOPPING. But of course her Nini and I dragged her out. Girl earned her Power Shopper badge. Brought home 9 games, spent every dime, and went to 3 different locations (twice to one). I must confess that I weaseled one choice for mom and dad into it (personal trainer cooking, but she likes cooking with us so it's justifiable....right?). She and I played MillionHeir and I realized that the girl is smarter than me. Shhhhhhhh....don't let her know that. I was definitely stumped at some of the puzzles and after a few minutes and screen scrolling she chimed in with the right answer. Makes me a little sad but proud at the same time. (I didn't know that kindergarteners knew what tally marks were.)

DH was sick last night so I didn't get to work on marketing items for the photo biz, or on marketing for our Valentine's Special. (No....I'm not making excuses for procrastination...all of you married women or women in relationships know how men get when they're sick. They want you to leave them alone, but they want to be all whiney and needy. It takes us to know what they really want. **sigh** Men...you can't do much else but just love 'em.) Working on those things will be my assignment this week along with work and ADSR4.

Back to the grindstone

2009-01-02T13:10:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm back at work today. But the good thing is that they are letting us go home early today. Yay!!! That will give me some time to work on the Valentine's Day special I want to promote. I haven't fully decided on what it will be yet, but I think it will be a % off of the session fee. I haven't seen many other specials being talked about by other photogs, so I can't compare.

New Year all over again

2009-01-01T22:49:00.004-06:00

Here it is the new year.

I'm at home with the furbabies. DD is at her PaPa's and won't be home for a few more days. DH went to work. What do I do when I'm home alone? Well...I updated the pricing on the website. I'm afraid it might be high, but in comparison to photographers in town it seems less. I don't feel like I'm underselling myself, so I guess that's a good thing.

What else do I do? Go back and sort through summertime pics to edit. Look what I found...

I thought this was so cute. I did a gradient map with a slight sepia tone. I duplicated the gradient map adjustment layer and masked part of it. I lowered the opacity on the original gradient map adjustment layer to allow for some selective coloring (or at least soft colors). What do you think???

Decisions....decisions....

2008-12-31T14:45:00.002-06:00

I'm off of work today. What have I gotten accomplished? Not much of anything. What was I hoping to get accomplished????? Well...I need to figure out new pricing for our packages or at least our session fees. I'm thinking of increasing the session fee, but making part of it applicable as print credits. I need to think of a special for valentine's day too. I know I want to have a special, but I'm just not sure what at the moment. I guess I should be trying to figure that out instead of blogging....LOL. Maybe I'll take a little walk to get the mail and something will come to me.

Pics from the weekend

2008-12-29T11:26:00.002-06:00

I think that this is one of my favorites from the weekend. I woke up at 6 AM to go out to take pics of the deer feeding. The deer were sneaky and were already out so
when I approached they scattered. I turned my attention to the sunrise instead. I waited and waited and waited for the freakin' sun to come out from behind the clouds. I guess good things do come to those who wait.

This is my second favorite. Of course I did a little post processing on this one. I muted the colors a bit and applied a plastic wrap to add an effect.

This is Bleaux. He's supposedly part wolf and part husky or something like that. His eyes are so pretty. A grayish blue. He can barely hear because he's so old, but we love him.

These two are new additions. This first one is Pea. The princess of the group, and only girl. She likes to sit with her herd (they're herding dogs and unfortunately right now only have 2 goats to watch over - 1 a piece)

This is Poof. Notice his poofball appearance. He only likes you if you spend a little time scratching his tummy. Otherwise you don't matter to him. He's a cutey, but was always barking at something. No one really knows what, but I guess he did....or maybe it was just to hear himself bark???

This is some of the scenery in the Texas Hill Country. We're surrounded like this on all sides out here. Probably one reason we like to visit....to get away from the city.

This last one is a sad, dying flower near the barn. I like to think it's a reflection of the cold weather (or constantly changing from warm to cold) that we've had. Poor thing.

Holidays winding down

2008-12-27T20:26:00.002-06:00

Well, we head back home tomorrow. I didn't get to take pics like I thought I would. But I did get some nice ones of the land and animals around here. I'll get them up as soon as I've taken a gander and processed them.

Any opinions....

2008-12-25T12:39:00.003-06:00

Can anyone tell me if they have any opinions about the white balance lens cap? I saw it on photojojo and decided to google it. I found this review.

White Balance Lens Cap Review

I did a search on ebay and found a lot for <$10. There are visual examples and results on the review, but that's just one review and I was wondering if anyone else has used this or a similar product. If so, what are your feelings on it? I know it's only <$10 but it's still good to have some feedback from others.

Watching is so much fun...

2008-12-24T17:14:00.001-06:00

Watching people play WII is so much fun. Especially if they have never played before. I'm sitting here watching DH's mom play WII. She's never played before so it's quite amusing.

Dreary

2008-12-23T07:53:00.003-06:00

Woke up to cold, rainy-ness this morning. Ughhh. DH isn't up yet, but when he does get up he'll be on a tear. He's going to do the floors and prep the cooking for tomorrow and Thursday. I AM NOT stepping foot int he kitchen unless directed to do so...lol.

Closer to Christmas

2008-12-22T16:28:00.005-06:00

It's getting closer to Christmas. There is still so much to do...I have to keep washing clothes and then start packing to go to DH's dad's house after xmas. I went through DD's room and got all the clothes that do not fit her anymore and have washed all that do fit her. I've start on my own laundry now.

With it being so close to Christmas, there is nothing to do photography-wise, so I took my camera to my weekend job at the church. I snapped a few shots.

The hymn is Oh Come All Ye Faithful

Hopefully there will be good opportunities for more pics over Christmas and when we go visit family.

Makin my way in the world today....

2008-12-20T09:46:00.011-06:00

Oh my goodness. Has it really been since October? Well. I have said before that I am a terrible blogger.

Well. The training position I applied for was frozen. I've since had an interview for a lead position on my team. We'll see how that goes.

I had a special on portrait sessions a few weekends back. Two families jumped at the opportunity. I am really happy with the results from those. I can see that I am improving my skills. Which does make me happy!!!! Would you guys like a peek????

These are the cutest 2 brothers.

This is them and their little sister.

This little guy ran all around as we went to a park he had never visited before. It was an adventure.

He loved his "duck stick". LOL.

I snapped this one of my sister at breakfast. I like it.

We finally set up our studio lights!!!

DH is going to take on the studio stuff, unless he's not available. So I guess I have to learn more there. Plus I need to hone my exposure skills. And I need to start promoting the business more. I still need to get those portfolio photobooks done and get business cards and referral cards and what not....Moo cards are what I'm looking at for those. Just so much to do. Someone motivate me. Oh wait....I'll MOTIVATE ME!!!!!!!!!

Wish me luck!!!

Eventful Weekend

2008-10-08T00:15:00.002-05:00

So this weekend was my two family photoshoots. I'm pretty much done editing the first session and have to move on to the second session. I don't want to post any peeks until they've had time to look at them, oh and ah and all that jazz. Now I'm sure they're not 100% professional, but I can only get better with practice.

Looks like one of my sis's friends wants to see if we would take pics of their cheerleading crew. 30 girls, 3 squads. DH was willing to shoot it alone, but I think it's definitely a 2 person job. He obviously wants to bite more than he can chew. If we do this, it will take us to a WNL (whole nutha level). We'll have to make picture packages and have them printed. I guess maybe I should start the research phase. LOL my fortune cookie that I traded with another guy at lunch was right. "Your talents will be recognized." Now we'll see about my interview tomorrow...wish me luck!

One day closer

2008-10-02T20:39:00.005-05:00

I'm one day closer to my weekend photoshoots. There's still so much to do that I haven't gotten finished, yet. I need to get a model release done and printed to take with me. I need to print out pose ideas so it will be easier to explain to my clients what I want them to do.

I did go out and scout one location today. It's beautiful out there. They have a pond and bridges and paths and fields. While I was out there another photographer was shooting a couple. I actually got some ideas from watching them. Now I just have to learn to be assertive and give directions.

Here's a shot of the sunset at that location:

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Can someone tell me what has changed about me in less than a year? Right now my blog seems so blah. But then I went back to January, and guess what??? I think I was a hoot. I was witty...oh and I posted a video!!! Have I become jaded or is there more inside I just have to dig out??? Will anyone stay tuned long enough to find out?

A Mentee I Will Be

2008-10-01T21:41:00.002-05:00

So far I've only done one assignment, but I feel like Erin being my mentor is a good thing. She's very thorough in her explanation of things. I'm sure DD will get tired of being my subject, so I've got to find something/someone else to photograph or brush up on my bribery skills. She's already getting to spend the night and possibly weekend at my mom's this weekend, so she's ahead on that one. She's excited, too. Since school has started she hasn't had much opportunity to spend the night.

Decisions

2008-09-27T21:24:00.002-05:00

After much thought and sadness, I have stepped down from Kiki's CT. With wanting to take more pictures and more and more people wanting pictures taken, I just can't devote as much time as I feel necessary. Kiki is a wonderful person. She has gained more people on her CT than when I was accepted. These new people seem to be very productive. I just couldn't keep up with them. I do wish Kiki the best of luck, and I will keep an eye out for her new products.

I found a mentor on ILP. Well...Erin Bell decided to offer mentoring in a group spanning 9 weeks and I just happened to be one of the lucky participants who was selected. I am excited. I'm always ready and willing to learn, and from Erin's work she is a wonderful subject to be a mentee for.

My ILP buddies learning group is going well. I only wish that we could generate more participation from the members. I have sent email reminders to all of the members to try to get them to at least visit the forum to see where we're going.Hopefully that will work. I've been browsing the ILP forums and PM'ing those who are looking for mentors, but haven't found one. I know we don't really want the group too large, but if the majority of members aren't participating, then it's not really large.

Why?

2008-09-16T20:41:00.003-05:00

Why have I not blogged?
I don't know. I don't have an answer.

Why am I blogging today?
Because I feel neglectful, guilty. I feel like I'm letting someone down. Who? Myself. I mean this blog is for myself. I think I also feel little ..uhhhh...what's the word I'm looking for? I feel like I'm not profound. I read some blogs today where people just said things that made others comment. They made others think. Hell, obviously they made me think because I'm writing because of them. I wish I were like them. I wish I was witty. I wish I had a gazillion readers who would bookmark and have feeds to my every move. OK...so I don't wish that, but sometimes I do wish that what I blog about made a difference to someone. Maybe if I keep going, one day I will reach that goal.

I feel like my blog is hodge podge. I don't think I have a story. Or maybe I'm not a good storyteller. I don't seem to make it flow. It's a tangled web...LOL.

Guess that's just something that I need to work on. More practice.

I've been terrible

2008-04-26T21:12:00.002-05:00

I've been a terrible blogger, I know. Let's see what has happened since I last blogged. Hmmmmmm. I participated in ADSR3. No, I did not win any of the final prizes, but I did get some great participation prizes, and I have a new friend in my partner. I would definitely do it again with Debbie!!! It was a great experience.

Uhhhhhhh....I've finally gotten a request to shoot a vow renewal ceremony. DH is going to be a second photographer. We're hoping to borrow a relative's camera. We'll see how that goes.

DH's sis has also asked us to take her pics for prom. That's this next weekend. We did take her pics here at the house. We built a backdrop out of PVC, and used curtains and material as backgrounds. They actually turned out pretty good.

We recently got a 50mm f/1.4D lens. DH took some lightning pics last night. I took the lens to DD's soccer game and got some pics of a friend's DD. I love how these turned out with a little help from lightroom.

I'm trying to get as much practice as I can before the vow renewal.

I still have to get photobooks printed to show products. Plus I need to actually get a domain name instead of using a freebie name. More credibility ya know. I'll just put it on the to-do list along with be a better blogger. LOL.

I won, I won, I won!!!

2008-02-09T17:58:00.000-06:00

I won a fabulous kit by Jill D-Zines because I helped name it! Imagine my surprise when I opened my email and there was a link to this absolutely lovely and scrumptous kit! I love the elements and the colors.

Here's a LO I did with it.

Other than that burst of creativity, not much else has happened today. I did take DD to the playscape and we saw a boy of about 9 or 10 fall. When he got up, there was a bend between his wrist and elbow and his wrist was bent at an odd angle. Have you ever seen any appendage point the completely opposite way from normal? It's disturbing. DD says "Why's that boys arm all pointed like this? (she twists her arm around)." I told her that it looked like the poor boy broke his arm. Accidents happen. It's just unfortunate that some have to be so painful. I wish him well.

Excitement!!!!

2008-02-03T18:36:00.000-06:00

There's excitement all around!!!

I am going to participate in ADSR3!!!!! My teammate is Deb, and we are the Zany Moms! We have our blinkie.

I took some more pictures today. This one is of another little girl at the church. She really doesn't smile often, so all her pics are serious or look as if she's thinking "what the heck are you doing pointing that thing at me?"

These are from shots of DD. She wanted to go out and take pics with her valentine's dog.

Here we were taking pics of her tossing her pup up in the air and trying to catch it. We had several attempts of the pup landing on the ground. Glad he isn't real.
"Ready, Mom?"

Up he goes!

Where'd he go???

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It was a fun day!

2008-02-02T18:42:00.000-06:00

OK. I'm trying to get better at photography because...well....simple answer is because I like it. I have fun doing it. And I have a sense of accomplishment when I see good photos that I've taken. Hopefully, I can make a small business of it. Now don't get me wrong. I know that I am not professional in any way. I watch America's Next Top Model, and I can't even begin to dream to be like those photographers.

I do like digital photos because I can alter those that I don't think turned out exactly right the first time. I've altered some of the photos I've taken in the last week. The first on is of my SIL at her soccer game. (I still need to download a copy of the soccer schedule so that I know when next photo ops will be.) The second one is of a little girl at the church where I work on the weekend. The originals just didn't pop at me. What do you think?

I just have to share this pic. We were on our way home and rounded the bend in the road and there he was. We actually circled back twice before we caught the pic, then he flew off.

Super bowl is tomorrow. We do have some people coming over, so we've been cleaning most of the day. I hope to either be scanning in pics or working on LO's. I've thought more about creating my own stuff. I thought I would start with a mini kit. But there's a problem....I'm not entirely sure what makes up a mini kit. Is there a certain number of elements and papers? Are there certain criteria that make it a mini kit as opposed to a full kit or mega kit? (Oh I get what a mega kit is.) Any advice from anyone who may have created their own on how you come up with a theme or a color palette?

No sleep....

2008-01-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

OK. Let's just say that I have officially been up for 36 hrs with no sleep. That is something I could do with no issue when I was younger. Heck, I used to do it several nights a week. However, I am much older now. But surprisingly, I'm not too tired. Why, oh why would you do such a thing you might ask. Well, out of love of course. OK. Last night DH called and said he experienced sweating, fast heart rate, and tingling in his neck. He decided he needed to go to the ER. So off we went. Well....I went. I drove to pick him up from work (the hospital is only across the highway from where he works). Of course, in a flashy moment of intelligence I decided to take the toll road because of course it would get me to his side faster. LOL...only if I had taken the correct exit. I ended up looping back, getting back on the toll road and finally making it to pick him up.

Off we went to the hospital....5 hours, an ekg and a chest x-ray later it was decided he had palpitations and arrhythmia. The doc did release him to go back to work today. Instructions were to just watch and if it happened again to see a cardiologist. Scary at first. Then amusing - as amusing as an ER can be in the wee morning hours.

Came home at 3 am, took sis home, came back to dog mess that needed to be cleaned, and laundry that needed to be done, and a shower was needed (I had to get the ER feel off me. I imagined the flu germs crawling all over me.). By this time it was time to go to work. So up and at 'em is what I did. Now it's almost 7 pm and I've still got at least 5 hours to go. Can I do it???????

Oh. I almost forgot that I squeezed out a LO recently for a friend's mom's birthday. I used Kiki's wonderful products again! Firestorm and Craft Basket Finds.

Kiki's also got some new products at PDW

Kiki's Lovely Swirls would be great for those Valentines LO's and it's only $2!!!!!

Go check them out!

Another LO!!!

2008-01-21T23:23:00.001-06:00

Today I would like to let everyone know that I have slightly overcome what I felt was a creative slump. I made another LO with one of Kiki's newest kits, Twinkle Toes. I'm not sure that I'm 100% happy with the LO. I just feel that something is missing or isn't placed right. Does anyone else feel that or am I just too critical?

Get Twinkle Toes at SBE!!

Indestructible

2008-01-20T17:51:00.000-06:00

When we first moved into our new house and had the new fence put in, we let our pups out. We dug out an old tennis ball (which of course is a favorite item of theirs to play with outside). The first day with the ball, DH threw it over the fence. Behind the fence is a large open field. Of course, none of us were brave enough to venture out to retrieve the toy.

About a month ago, DH came home with two new tennis balls. Now these weren't ordinary tennis balls. DH got tennis balls that were thicker than normal. Advertised to be harder to destroy. DH claimed they were indestructible. I went outside today and played fetch with my lil furbaby's. Grace was on a mission.

The retrieval.

She's trying to hide it.

The attack!

Will it survive? I can't look!

Her triumph and it's defeat.

I guess the tennis balls aren't as tough as we thought.

Is it a Fad or a Craze?

2008-01-16T21:40:00.000-06:00

Here we are in a new year. As you know if you have read my blog, I did not set a resolution. Now my friends have. Two of my friends have done the typical weight loss goal, but both have very different approaches. One is having gastric surgery after much contemplation, and the other one is doing it the old fashioned way. Now, I am overweight, but don't have the desire to have other people remind me that I'm fat. I do that well enough on my own. But I will be super supportive of those people who like the support of a group of people who can relate to what they are going through. Just how supportive can I be? I've motivated them to walk. We walk at work now. Trying to go at least twice a day for 15 minutes. It's fun and everyday there's usually someone new who's wanting to join us.

But I think I may have started a craze, or maybe it's a fad. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two. Anyway...I bought a pedometer and this morning two of the other women who walk with me came in with pedometers too. I'm glad we're all getting off our duffs and getting physical, but what has it done for me? Well, I feel better sharing this with my friends and showing my support in their efforts to improve their health. However, I have gained 2 pounds!!!! Maybe it's water weight? Maybe I'm just not doing it right. I mean, I've been putting my left foot in front of my right and then alternating the procedure and propel myself forward. Does anyone have any suggestions on what might help during walking? Please no weights. Is there a certain posture I should hold? A certain way I should be breathing?

Speaking of breathing and workouts. I just had to leave you with this little ditty. I apologize now to anyone who has this workout tape and use it, but you have to admit that you more than likely wouldn't do this in public. Let's hope this is a passing fad.

Let's be real...

2008-01-15T18:30:00.000-06:00

Let's start off with a question: Does anyone know of a program that will let me tag my photos and then burn them to a cd/dvd and the tags still be applied to the burned images? I have Adobe Bridge, but either 1. it doesn't have this feature or 2. I'm just missing the whole thing. I have a TON of pictures and would like to tag them when I save them off of the HD. Our EHD is dying and another one isn't in the budget right at this moment. (Take note of another math lesson: DH + soda glass condensation + EHD = EHD that hates to stay connected to PC.) Any suggestions?

OK. I was wondering when it is that we get old. Is it when we get the ever popular eye-roll or cringe of embarrassment when we try to act "hip" around our kids? Is it when we stop getting carded for things you have to be a particular age to purchase? Is it when we begin to worry more about crows feet (and we actually know what they are), or when we simply give up on sculpting the perfect body? (Rationale: if he wanted perfect, he wouldn't have picked me to begin with). Is it when we dine at the "early bird special" to get the senior citizen discount? Or do we just not care about getting old anymore? Are we all taking on the "you are only as old as you feel" mentality? If I take that outlook, my age will change daily. I still have the rollerblades in the garage, but I haven't mustered the courage to strap them on and take on my 65 degree angle driveway. (you think I am exaggerating? Please stop by and I will let you have a go for a dollar! It would be perfect if it snowed around here.)

Oh! I'll be right back.

{peeks around the door}

Now where did I put it? Ahhhhh here it is.

{comes out into the open. places a box on the floor. steps up.}

Sorry about that. I was just looking for my soapbox. I saw something today and just knew I would need it. On my way home from work I stop at a light at which there are panhandlers. Now, I smile and wave at them from time to time, and have even contemplated bringing them some food, but after the past two days, I have completely changed my mind. I know you are anxious to know what possibly could have changed my mind. Well....

Yesterday, there was a plastic shopping bag with a case (24 pack) of beer sitting on the sidewalk where these people keep their belongings. Excuse me! Shouldn't you be more worried about getting food than alcohol? Today there was a man walking with a sign and another sitting down with another sign. The sitting man tried to be discreet, but he couldn't escape these eagle eyes. He raised his sign to hide his face. Then he moved it down and placed a beer behind a lightpost. Ugh. It pains me to think that these people beg for money only to squander it on alcohol. And people give them this money! I've now decided that I WILL NOT EVER provide them with money. Please think twice before you do so.

{steps off box}

A Spark?????

2008-01-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

Did I have a creative spark? Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe it was just the brilliant Kiki Halbert and her new Le Grunge kit. What do you think?

I was proud of myself because I did create the heart element on my own. I want to start creating my own elements, so starting with adding something to my layout to go along with Kiki's kit seemed appropriate.

This weekend has been a weekend of absolutely almost no productivity because DH and I got sucked into the world of America's Next Top Model. It's not like we meant to be. I swear....it just happened. And the drama and ridiculousness of most of it has kept us glued. DH even DVR'd the final episode of season 7 that he knew he couldn't stay up to watch. Isn't it just cute when men get dragged into shows other things that you wouldn't even peg them doing? Well...back to another season.

Almost to Friday

2008-01-10T21:15:00.000-06:00

Well, my sleep was good. It was being awoken at 4am by DH trying to install a game on his PC that wouldn't run the was disappointing. I'm not sure if it will run (it's a game I got him for xmas). I googled his issue and it looks like his PC may be too much for the game. Hehehe. This is a prime example of why people should read packages and directions.

Would you like to hear another story about the benefits of reading directions? OK here goes. One day DH was washing a glass candle holder. Our water was a little too hot for the glass and it shattered. Apparently, some glass went into the disposal. If you know anything about disposals (or even if you don't know any about them common sense will tell you) glass isn't good for a disposal. Our poor little disposal ground it's last round. This would be during xmas dinner. (No better time than any, huh). We realized that the dishwasher connects to the disposal. Now for the math portion of our story: broken disposal + dishwasher = dirty dishes. Dirty dishes + overnight in a dishwasher = uhhhhhh....don't open the dishwasher. Sooooo...off we trek to the Home Depot for a new disposal. Got there and got the disposal. Got home and DH put it in, tested it. Everyone cheer because it worked!!!!

Overnight we ran the dishwasher. DH asked me to empty it the next day and run another load. I opened the dishwasher and what did I find? Standing water. Being the resourceful gal that I am, I went to work siphoning out the water and excavating the issue. I took out all the filters (gross by the way - hadn't been cleaned at all by the owners before us for 3 years) and took the bottom of the dishwasher all apart. I put everything back. Put in a new load of dishes and ran the washer again. More standing water. A friend had her husband come over to look at it as DH was at work. We were afraid that something had backed up the line from the washer to the disposal. He came in, blew out the line - nothing. Then he looked at the disposal. Apparently there is a small disk that covers the connection between the two that needed to be popped out. When I told DH he confessed that he didn't entirely read the directions.

Now ladies, don't assume that the male of our species has read all directions when an instruction booklet or pamphlet is part of your activity. Chances are, they simply picked it up and flipped through it just to appease you. Always take it up on yourself to act as the understudy. Be prepared to offer suggestions or step in. Be warned that if you choose to suggest or step in, you do so with extreme care. The male is probably already in a mood due to the item not functioning as it should. this may cause said specimen to retaliate in unwanted manners. If you choose to offer suggestions - you do so at your own risk. I am writing now that I assume NO responsibility. What I would suggest is to wait until DH goes to bed or work, and try your own hand at fixing it (if you have the confidence). Then when it does work, act surprised, give him a kiss, and go on with life.

Disappointing

2008-01-09T21:58:00.000-06:00

Today was disappointing. It just seemed to go on forever. Of course it all began with the drive to work. It wasn't bad, but there was some traffic. Then I stopped to get me some breakfast at the store. Why, my friends, must they only have one register open out of 20-30 at 7am when everyone stops on their way to work? I stood in line for 10 minutes and finally someone opened the self-check registers (yes, for some reason they do close them). On to work....my friend was out today and my other friend was stressed. DD was disappointed because she can't spend the night with her Momo. DH was disappointed at dinner choice of roast. And finally, the proverbial icing on the disappointment cake, I got sucked in by advertising. What do I mean? No, I don't mean monetarily. I mean that I actually visited a website and wanted to request what portion of my life I had used during that time to be refunded to me. Let me explain....

Imagine this...here I am lounging with the furkids when the HP commercial comes on. I'm sure you've seen it. Gwen Stefani talking about being creative with pictures wafting behind her as if they are trailing on magical, inspirational and of course creative farts. I guess I was intrigued by the flatulence-surfing "ideas", so I went to the website. I wanted to see what she had "cranked out" and all the projects HP was promoting. I have to say that HP grossly over-hyped this site. There are 3 different projects ladies and gents. Yes, only 3. Now I may have misinterpreted, but I was under the impression (by all of the lingo and the tons of swooping pictures) that this was going to be a magnificent website of creativity. Now, please don't bash me for talking about Gwen. I have the utmost admiration for her. Not only is she a very attractive woman, but she is also extremely talented. I do not blame her for this. I full out blame HP. Please, if anyone visits the site and has a differing opinion, please let me know. Who knows, you just might change my mind.

My last and only hope is that sleep tonight will not be disappointing. Wish me luck!

It's only Tuesday!!!

2008-01-08T23:11:00.000-06:00

Still no creative spark at this time. I put the pics of the photo shoot I did of my sis on my myspace page. Will anyone look? I'm sure they will because they aren't of me. LOL. I actually had fun taking her pics. And, maybe someone else will see them and want me to take their pics. Ohhhh we can hope can't we? Keep our fingers crossed.

Schlub Schlub Schlub

2008-01-05T09:58:00.001-06:00

OK. I think the title tells all. That is how I feel - like a schlub. What is a schlub? Of course "The Google" is yet again the ultimate answer machine. What on Earth would I do without "The Google"? I want to work for "The Google". Can anyone find me a job there? (There was actually a job listed on one of the employment sites, but when I actually went to apply the job wasn't lised - GRRRRRR)

Anyway, I derailed my train of thought for a moment. Back to schlubbiness. I sit down to be creative and the slate is blank, ladies and gentlemen. Nothing is there. No sparks. Why can't I be creative today?!?!?!?!? Or this weekend for that matter?

DD was creative this morning. She came bouncing in with a big smile on her face.

You have to thank Momo for buying her the wonderful makeup kit. Actually, the picture doe not show the exact color of the entire canvas. The eyeshadow is a brilliant soft pink along with cheek to chin pink blush. And to top it off there was the slightly less than hot pink lip gloss. How can you do anything else but smile at that?

Does anyone have any suggestions to help me out of my creative schlump?

First Friday of the year

2008-01-04T15:08:00.000-06:00

OK. So I couldn't be original today. I decided to go with the DSP blog prompt.

Is there a new food you want to try this year? Or a new recipe you want to make?
I already have. I tried a beef tips recipe and a chicken tetrazini recipe. DH actually liked them!!! Yay! I got the urge to cook because I was off this week. I had time to sit down and find a recipe I wanted to try. I know I should try to make time when I am at home to do things like that. I do need to make more time for myself and my family when I am at home. I say that I want to do something and even make plans to do it, but for some reason, I don't get around to it.

Day 3

2008-01-03T20:14:00.000-06:00

OK. So thinking a little longer...one more thing I wish to accomplish or complete is creating a new title banner for my blog. Right now it just seems so blah. I think I need to come up with something more creative for a creative blog, right? I see all these creative blog headers when I read other blogs. We'll see if I get to it. Today just hasn't felt like a creative day. I went and snapped some pics. I came home to emailed pics from a friend who I told I would do a LO as a gift (I didn't have any pics from her and wasn't able to get any in time to make her a LO for Christmas. I started and actually had almost a complete LO, but deleted the whole thing. It just wasn't right.

I haven't even looked at the pics I took. I went to the park and tried out some of the settings on my camera that I haven't played with before. I found a website that has video tutorials for my Nikon D80. I took some pics last night of SIL's soccer practice, but didn't get much because they weren't being too active. She wants me to come to some games and snap some pics. I told her that I would need to see the schedule first.

I also haven't even started scanning in the pics like I had planned to on my week off. I haven't even opened the scanner. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend. I dunno.

Haha, second day!!!

2008-01-02T11:54:00.000-06:00

At DSP there is a blog prompt challenge. Today's prompt is: What new scrapping technique do you want to try this year? Or do you have a goal with your scrapping this year?

In yesterday's post I did state that I would like to create my own elements. A more lofty goal, but not too much more lofty, would be to create my own kit. What techniques would I like to try? Well that's difficult since there are so many different techniques to use to have the same end result. I would like to learn different techniques. I have bought a notebook in which to keep track of scrapping ideas - LO ideas, techniques, elements I would like to utilize, etc... I haven't actually started using it yet, but hopefully that will change in the new year.

I did create another LO using Kiki Halbert's kits!

I do love her kits as they are so versatile, but I know that I need to start making some LO's that do not use her kits, just to test my own creative ability.

New Year, New Entry

2008-01-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

I thought that since it is a new year that a new entry would be appropriate. I went back and looked at my first entry of last year. Kinda boring. (which I suppose this one will be also). I have no resolutions because I will just disappoint myself when I don't follow through. I know that the whole purpose of a resolution is to strive to follow through with what you have resolved to do.

I may even come back and rewrite this entry later. Who knows.

Last year was a good year in retrospect. We moved into a nice house. DD is in school. I joined a CT. I finally got my diploma. I have decent job.

What would I like to see in the coming year? Well, I would like to either find a new position at the company where I work, or I would like to find a position elsewhere that utilizes my degree and sets me on a career path. Is 31 too old to start a career? Hopefully, we'll find out.

I would also like to be more creative and work on getting my own business off the ground. I would like to learn more about photography and my camera to take better pictures. I would like to learn to get better creating my own digital scrapbook elements. I need to work on skills and look at products I would like to offer and pricing of those products, print brochures and business cards. Make sure my website is what I want it to be.

I would also like to see DH in a job that allows him to work a regular "normal" schedule. If I were to get a better job, that could be possible.

I would like to see more of our bills paid and not have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck.

Will any of this happen? Only time will tell.

Now on to other creative accomplishments I have had this past year. I finished a few more layouts as a guest on Kiki Halbert's creative team.

For this one I used her Harvest Moon Jeans kit:

For this one I used her Firestorm kit again:

For this one I used her Celebrate kit and Kiwi Gelato Elements:

Hope you enjoyed the first entry of the year!

Happy Holidays

2007-12-22T08:48:00.000-06:00

First I would like to say "Happy Holidays" to those who celebrate any holidays.

Our holidays are going ok. DH was upset because he didn't think that I got him anything. Boy does that man know how to ruin a surprise. We'll see how surprised he is when he sees that I did get him something. Hahaha.

I love being on a CT. It seems to be giving me some creativity. I just made a gift for a dear friend. I will have to upload it soon.

I am slowly attempting to create my own kit. And when I say slowly, I do mean slowly. I have to think of what I want my kit to look like. I'm still mulling that over.

I'm hoping the my FIL's gift will be done on time. I got email confirmation that it's complete, but was to give up to 2 weeks for delivery! WHAT?!?!?! When I placed my order, the website said that orders placed on the 11th would be ready by the 24th. I hope it is in. We need it by the 28th. If I don't get it, I will not be happy. I want to see how it turns out. If it is nice, then I will definitely consider making more gifts like this for others. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

New Horizons - Kiki's CT

2007-12-06T16:59:00.000-06:00

I am trying to expand my horizons, hone my talents, call it what you will. Kiki Halbert invited me to be a guest member of her creative team. It's exciting. Basically, the CT will take her kits and make layouts. I did my first layout from her Firestorm kit.

I'm happy with it. I snapped the pictures of the squirrel when I was at the park during my couple days of vacation. I just have to create 2 more layouts.

I've also got to figure out what to use in a layout for FIL's gift. We want to do a photo cutting board. I'm busy copying the pics from the EHD to DVD's because DH says that the EHD is dying. Funny, I had no problems with it today. Oh well. Knowing him, he just wants something new, and probably bigger. I'd just wish he'd realize that he's not his dad and we don't have the money that they do. I'll stop before I get frustrated.

Where's the customer service?

2007-12-03T07:46:00.001-06:00

OK. Here we are over a week later with no reply from Shutterfly. And of course, that means no prize. What type of customer service is that? Geez people. I thought about using them for some printing stuff, but if they're not going to have good customer service, why would I want to do so? Does anyone have stories about Shutterfly to change my mind?

Last night I knocked out a Christmas card for a friend. She was very happy with it. I would say not bad for a spur of the moment...

I did a Christmas card for a friend last year, but I'm not sure where it is. Now I need to get on making those other Christmas gifts that I want to give to people. Luckily, for my FIL's present I have a little bit longer because we aren't seeing them until the end of December. But then again, I do have to consider the Christmas rush on all picture products. I'm hoping that print time won't be too long.

Vacation!!

2007-11-29T08:45:00.000-06:00

It's finally here. Vacation time from work. My goal is to do things related to my business. I don't have very many days, but I think I have lofty goals. First, I want to scan in pics that I have. I borrowed sis's scanner because for some reason, in the move, I can't find the adapter for my scanner. Ultimately, I'd like to get a new scanner, but that's something for the future. Second, I want to try to take some more pictures and update the photography section of my website. Third, I'd like to create some more layouts and possibly get some examples of products. I'm trying to get more creative in my LO's. I'm looking at different scrap sites and I feel kind of disappointed about my LO's compared to others. I know we all have different scrapping styles, but I feel as if my LO's lack something. My LO's aren't the ones that capture people and make them stop to check out my gallery.

Uhhhh...what? Someone help me...

2007-11-25T17:17:00.001-06:00

So here I am just checking my email as I attempt to do daily. In my lovely hotmail junk folder was an email from shutterfly - - claim your Fresh Fall Memories Sweepstakes prize!!! What?!?!? So I...never wanting to pass up a prize...click on the link. I am taken to the wonderful Shutterfly page and I sign in. Then I am asked for my promotional code (instructed to input this information by the pleasantly placed **Easy as 1...2...3...steps**). Uhhhhh....quickly I jump back to my email to locate the much desired code. No code! Maybe it was in a previous email that I missed...so I go back into the inbox and search....no other emails. NOOOOOOOOO. No other emails...no code...how can I claim my prize? What is my prize? So, I did the only thing I could think of...contacted Shutterfly help. They need to hurry and reply because according to my email, I only have 5 days left! Go, Shutterfly Help Crew, go!

Leftovers anyone?

2007-11-23T08:24:00.000-06:00

Well...Thanksgiving dinner has come and the leftovers have stayed. I must say that I was surprised that everyone behaved for the most part. There were little quibbles, but nothing to start a major world war. The turkey was a success - DH did a wonderful job on his first attempt at a turkey! Now what to do with the leftovers.

I've got 3 five-day weekends from work starting now and for the next couple of weeks. What is my goal? Well...I should be working on my business stuff, I know. That's the goal, but I don't know if it will get done. What I want to do is get enough layouts together to print a photobook and some other examples of things. The problem is the price. I know when you start up a business you need to be prepared to put some finances into it. I just don't know if it's possible at this time. Well, I know that it isn't possible on a large scale. I guess what I need to do first is determine my goal for the business. My initial thoughts of layouts and table books and DVD's aren't flying too well. I need to look at other things and plan out what I want to do.

I'm a little disheartened by my family. DH and my sis are always saying how they are going to take pics of people. Hello, why don't you suggest me? I mean, I would like to get into photography also to coincide with the digital scrapbooking stuff. How can I get better without subjects? Right now I tend to take photos at events, but nothing big. No posing. **Sigh** oh well. Maybe one day.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if you are one of those gluttons who are battling the Black Friday crowds, I wish you all the luck in your endeavor. I, however, will stay here and enjoy the quiet and comfort of my own home.

Snappin' Frenzy

2007-11-04T18:05:00.001-06:00

Went to a b-day party today. Took some pretty good pictures. I think I'm more into trying to get the candid shot instead of the posed "look at me" picture. There's something about capturing the moment as it is.

I need to work on some books to print up to have as examples for potential clients. People don't want to purchase something when they have no clue about the quality. I know I can do good work, other people just need to be aware.

Aspirations

2007-11-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

OK...Let me start by saying that I am NOT going to say that I will vow to blog more. We have all seen that by uttering those words and putting them down digitally does nothing for my motivation. I won't even set any goals for blogging....with that stated - on to the update.

Since it's been a looooooooong time, and most of us have aged over the near year it's been.....I want you to know that I've been OK. We've moved into a new house. A real house, not a double-wide. Not that there was anything wrong with the trailer. It's just nice to be grounded and in a neighborhood.

I am trying to get more serious with my photography and digital scrapbooking and other digital work. I've updated my website with examples. I need to evaluate pricing. I did read a good book that I would recommend to anyone wanting to turn their hobby into a business - Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco. Informative and a good read. I must admit that I did skip some parts, but I will go back and read them when necessary.

I think my problem is that I don't have an interested market to cater to at this time. I've been snapping photos and giving them to the recipients in hopes that they will be impressed and become paying customers. This probably isn't a good idea, but I've only done it twice. Hoping for word of mouth, I guess.

What I should be doing...

2007-03-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

1. Cleaning my house.
2. Updating my website.
3. Finishing DD's turtle (no comments please)
4. Working on a baby blanket
5. Honing my scrapbooking skills
6. Balancing my checkbook
7. Cleaning my house
8. Looking for DD a birthday present
9. Planning DD's birthday party
10. Adding patterns to my patterns database to be able to throw away paper copies
11. Ordering my Fiber Trends Felted Clogs pattern
12. Adding recipes to my recipe database
13. Deleting what I can from my computer
14. Looking for a wireless print server
15. Did I mention cleaning my house??????

Don't even say it

2007-03-13T23:39:00.000-05:00

I know that I'm talking to myself and frankly, I'm OK with that. I can always pretend that someone out there is reading this and silently scolding me when they don't see that I've updated....or mebbe they're outright cursing me. Anywayz...on to excitement.

Right now my house smells like a charred briquette. No, we didn't have a house fire...a couple weeks ago DH overflowed the meatloaf in the over with no pan underneath. Now, every time we fire up the oven, a li'l smoke leaks out and makes this woooooooonderfuuuuull smell. Of course, I don't know how to clean the oven - isn't it supposed to be one of those self cleaning things???? So I live with the smell from week to week...hoping that with time it will fade. At this rate, I'm thinking it will take an eternity.

DD is still asking me about her turtle. I mostly got it done....well all the pieces are done and only the legs need stuffing and the whole thing needs assembly. Possibly before she turns 4 next month????

I'm still working on my website for my digital scrapbooking stuff. I need to put my pricing pages up. I've got most of my work up there now. I should make a portfolio book. Heck there's a lot that I should do or have intended to do, but haven't done it. I wanted to make a scrapbook of our trip to Vegas...I've only got about 4 or 5 layouts done. I wanted to scrap our wedding....haven't done anything yet except to put one of our pics faded onto a background. Wanted to make a portfolio book - not sure what I would put in it. I also want to get more creative with my digital work. I want to be able to create my own embellishments and kits to work with.

Well....back to a lightly toasting roasting scent for another half hour or so.....

Infected!!

2007-02-05T22:12:00.000-06:00

Stupid TrustCleaner. I hate it. I don't know where it came from and it's one of the most difficult things to get rid of. Basically, it attaches itself to IE. I have tried everything to remove it. The only thing that seems to work is to use FireFox. Call me old fashioned, but I like the comfort of my old IE. The calming blue E in the corner of screen. I'm going to cry now. Let's all mourn my poor IE.

When one door closes.....

2007-01-26T00:10:00.000-06:00

Well, my managers told me today that I didn't get the lead position that I applied for, but I did impress upper management during my interview. My managers let me in on a lil' secret. There's another lead position opening up on a different team and my name is flying among management as a good candidate. It should be posted next week, so I should apply. It would be sad to leave my team. My manager said that she would cry. But if it's a step up and more $ and a great opportunity, why not go for it, right? DH is upset that I did not get the job this time. I expected not to get it. The candidate who will be offered the position has been there longer than I have, has management experience, and has traveled and assisted in training new groups. Plus I respect her. I'm glad that it was someone on our team instead of an outsider who doesn't understand our dynamics.

Bad hair day

2007-01-20T18:54:00.000-06:00

I HATE my hair. Last night I did a parent's night out at the church and one of the kids apparently had head lice. So what did I wake up to? Head lice in my hair....ugghhh. I went to the store and got the shampoo and the spray. My mom checked my hair and said that she didn't see anything. (She always does headlice checks at the elementary school where she works, so I trust her judgment.) So here I sit with treated hair - resisting the urge to itch because all I can think about is little things crawling in my hair....

I was going to get my haircut today. Guess not. I have a problem with haircuts though. I'm not a high maintenance woman. I want something that I don't have to spend hours coiffing into the perfect form. I don't want to have to use a ton of products to make it stay in it's shape. I just want something simple and easy to manage. I would have liked to have gotten a haircut before my interview on Tuesday. Ehhh.

Anybody watch that show "How It's Made"? Pretty interesting show. Personally, I think that 30 minutes is too short for it to air. It's on the Discovery channel for those of you who are wondering. Basically, it describes how different things are made. Usually there are about 4 different items per show. Everything from hockey gloves to candy, and winter coats to sanitary napkins. I highly suggest tuning in if you have time.

Knitting Crisis!!!!

2007-01-17T21:05:00.000-06:00

Crisis on the knitting front. Well...let me calm you by saying that the crisis was ultimately averted, but for a while there we were all a little worried. Pink and purple turtle was not touched while I was stuck inside during the ice storm. We were on our way to grandma's house for dinner. I had all intentions of taking pink/purple turtle with me and making a little more progress to appease DD. Before heading out into the chilly, slick outter world, I packed up the knitting bag and grabbed p/p turtle from where he had fallen when one of the pups stuck their nose into my bag to see what was in there. I noticed something detrimental. There were only 3 dpn's. WHAT? Turtle was near the edge of being under the couch, so I pushed it aside and muddled through all the forgotten toys to see if it was sniggled among them. (Those of you with young children can relate to toys under the couch. If little one can't find a toy, begin with in and under the couch.) I wanted to cry. The much needed dpn was not there. How was I going to tell DD that her mommy couldn't work on her turtle because a needle was missing. I broke the terrible news. She didn't cry, didn't whine....instead she put on her detective face and said "I'll help you find the needle, mommy. Is it blue?" I assured her that we would find it. After 20 minutes of searching, we found nothing. I knew that we had to leave the house to be able to return after dinner before the temp dropped and the roads became icy again. I mentally vowed to search again when I got home.

Off to dinner...................back to home. I sat down and began pulling items out of my knitting bag. Wondering if I hadn't overlooked it among the tangles of scissors, tape measures and pens found in the bottom of the bag. I pulled out the purple skein. I saw the 3 needles and a crochet hook tucked inside the skein. I reached in to pull them out and felt something. AHA! Eureka! Arggg!! (Mythbusters pirate edition is on.)I felt soooo dumb. As soon as DD saw it, she was sure to let me know that now her turtle could be finished. I guess now I'm off to knit......after browsing a few blogs. :))

Icy Chill Chillin'

2007-01-16T10:10:00.000-06:00

Well...there's no work today. The ice storm came through and made eveything slick. DH is still going to work in about 5 hours. I worry. It's so slick. I worry a little about him driving in it, but mostly about how others don't know how to drive in it. People thinking that they can go the speed limit on slick roads. Ridiculous.

OK. I know what you're thinking. If I'm stuck at home then I can catch up on the knitting. I should. I have a hat that I've been working on for my sister that's been on the needles for over a year. A HAT! I don't think that I even remember what pattern I was basing it off of. I may have to frog it and start over....ugghhh. I hate frogging things. It's such a set back. In the words of DD - you gots ta do whacha gots ta do.

I thought about working on updating my pattern database. I created one in access - complete with pictures. I have a whole notebook of patterns I collected years ago that I haven't put into the electronic database.

2007-01-15T13:08:00.000-06:00

My pup is feeling better. Not back to 100% but at least not what she was. She's eating little bits of turkey which is a good sign.

I went into work today, but they sent us home at 10:45 due to bad weather. Tomorrow's forecast is supposed to be worse. I'm debating on whether to go into work or just stay at home. I can use a personal day and stay at home. Hopefully, we will be closed, so I won't have to take a personal day.

OK. I've started on purple Sheldon. Hopefully he/she will get a different name. Want proof that's he/she is begun? Here ya go:

That's the head. We'll see how long it takes to finish this one.

Opportunities

2007-01-14T19:19:00.000-06:00

OK. So there's this position at work that's kind of like a step above where I am now. At first I didn't want to apply because there is this rumor that you can't move anywhere within the company until you've been employed full time for 9-12 months. I haven't. I talked briefly with my manager and she said that I was the first one to come to mind when the position opened up. Maybe there could be a chance for management discretion??? I went ahead and applied earlier today. I don't know if the position is still open, but it doesn't hurt trying, does it? I know another girl I work with who applied for the position. I felt guilty about applying because I know she needs money if it's a pay raise. But I talked with her and she said that she would encourage anyone in our area to apply. We'll see how my effort goes.

My pup is not feeling well. She was barfing for most of the day and not eating and very lethargic. Classic symptoms of gastritis in dogs. I gave her some pepto bismol about 4 hours ago and no barfies. Guess that helped. She's still not wanting to eat, but everything online says to hold off on food for about 24 hours and then begin back up with a bland meal like chicken and rice or something that won't upset her stomach. I'll just be glad when she's back to her old self. It's sad to see her not feeling well and not knowing exactly what's wrong or what to do.

Time for a Facelift???

2007-01-13T10:24:00.000-06:00

Is anyone as tired as I am of looking at my blah blog? Call me lazy. I looked at instructions on how to customize the templates, but I just don't get it. I could delve deeper and learn, but do I really want to? Do I want to stay in the comfort of blahdom? Sure...it would be interesting to change things up, but then that might require me to provide creative thought into my blog. (And we all know that I don't do that now.) I don't know what I want to do. I know that I want to stay with a free option no matter what - for 2 reasons:

1. I am cheap. YUP. Just ask DH. He'll vouch for me. And...
2. I don't blog often enough to justify to myself paying for anything. Heck, I had a free website and I've let it go to crap. I need to re-do it, but can't think of how I want it to look. Project for the future.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I did it. I took the plunge and tried editing my own layout. Well, I got a template and then customized it. Any comments? I guess it's OK. Until I get more creative.

OK. I mentioned the other day that I finished Sheldon. Here's pictures:

Naked Sheldon

Sheldon and his shell

Sheldon all cozy

I added the tail because there isn't one on the original pattern. My DS says it looks like a turd, but a cute one.

Who is more terrible than I?

2007-01-09T20:06:00.000-06:00

I know, I'm terrible, but who reads this but me? Probably no one. But I know this isn't for others. It's for myself.

I suffered a small disappointment this week. I know that I shouldn't let it get to me, but I am slightly upset. I participated in a digital scrapbooking contest this week. I actually put hard work into these things. I thought for sure I was going to advance to the second round....but, alas, I did not. **sigh** Why am I so down? I want to be good at digital work, but eveytime I post something, I don't get very many comments. I don't know if that's good or bad. I mean it could be a good thing...there's nothing bad for others to say. Then again it could be bad - the layouts are so bad that no one has anything nice to say, or they're so common that no one can say anything about them.

I did have some accomplishments this week. I finished Knitty's Sheldon the Turtle for a little boy who's turtle recently passed away. Hopefully it will make a good gift. DD keeps asking me when I will make hers. It's so cute. His is neon green and kelly green. She wants hers to be neon pink and purple. We certainly won't lose her turtle anywhere. I have yet to start on it though.

The work front is getting better. My manager mentioned a supervisor position to me. The only bad thing is that it is in OKC. I don't feel like relocating. Today she mentioned travelling to me. Going to different sites to assist in training and helping the new teams that are being set up. Interesting opportunity I think. The only drawback would be that it is time away from the family. It might not be too bad if it's for short spurts. I guess it could be something to discuss with DH.

Rant

2006-10-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

Why are some people soooo....ugh....they only think about themselves. I have co-workers who only think about what they have to gain. I've gotten two awards in one week for my work that I've done. Some people on the team resent me because of it. I was just doing my job. They could get those types of things too if they would go the small extra mile. I didn't go very far (if at all) out of my way to help the customer. They don't want to help someone who's business makes up their paycheck.

Then there's someone close to me who only seems to care about what they can't afford or what they could afford but only if they neglected others. My thought is why get for yourself when there are others you can get things for. I am not crying on the things that I haven't been able to get because I got others something that they wanted instead of getting for myself. It's so frustrating that the world today is me, mine, and myself. C'mon people. We're here together, so let's start thinking of each other.

I guess I'm just one of those people who really means it when they say they don't care if they get a gift or not when there is time to give gifts. Yes, I will admit that it is nice to get gifts, but it's not a necessity to survive. Just knowing someone is thinking about me makes that enough. Or I could get a gift, but it doesn't have to be anything lavish. Simple is sometimes the nicest gift.

OK. So my resolution hasn't gone so well so far. But I did finally pick up a knitting project that I know I haven't looked at in over a year. I am making a really cute sweater. I do have two fears though. The first being not having enough yarn to complete the project. I am using yarn from a ripped apart cardi. (Is there a difference between ripped apart and frogged???) The second fear is that it won't fit me. I have about 95% of the body done and it fits around me, it just looks odd up top (I have been endowed in the upper body department). There is an insert in the chest area. I have not made it yet, so I'm hoping that when it's complete it will tie everything together. I actually had to teach myself filet crochet for this one. I don't think that I'm adventurous enough to try a full-scale crochet project. I'm having a hard enough time just doing filet repeats. Maybe I'll follow through with my resolution in the coming holiday season. Who knows?

A Declaration

2006-10-07T08:19:00.000-05:00

Should I call this a declaration or a resolution. I know, I'm a little late for New Years. I could resolve to make entries more often, but we all know from looking at my track record how good I am at that. I want to resolve to get pictures of my WIP's. I have a baby blanket, a sweater for myself (let's hope it fits and that I have enough yarn to finish it), a sock, a shrug (I may frog it becuase it just isn't rubbing me the right way), and I'm sure there are some that I have forgotten about that have been stashed away only to be stumbled upon later. When I find them, I will frantically search my diminishing memory bank for what row I was on and refresh myself on what the pattern should look like.

Congratulations this week go to Stephanie. She joined the rest of us who can check the Married box in surveys.

Bakin' the easy way

2006-09-16T18:00:00.001-05:00

We pulled out the Easy Bake oven today. Our daughter got it for either her birthday or christmas. Did you know that you don't have to use the pre-made mixes? There are recipes out there that tell you how to make your own mixes. Call me stupid, but I thought that the mixes were special. We made Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies (from the mix - I don't think we've quite made it to the level of making our own stuff yet.) We left them in for the specified time, but they turned out a little ~~gooey~~ chewy. Very tastey tho. Not any faster than making the break and bake cookies, but there was bonding in this process.

Today is football day.....ugh. Who invented it? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with football. It's just that when I was growing up it was always on TV, so I'm not partial to watching it when I was forced to watch it when I was young. We only had one TV, so if you were in the room, you had to watch it. DH wants me to watch it with him. At first he thought I didn't want to watch it because I didn't understand it. I understand it all too well.

I haven't finished any knitting in a while. That's sad, I know. I am working on a baby blanket and am thinking about starting on a second one. I know too many people going to have babies. I have also browsed some sites and found some potential projects that I would like to start. It's just a matter of finding the right yarn. Being on a budget, it will more than likely come down to acrylic. Please don't throw the stones.

Call the Blog Police

2006-09-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

Don't even start. I know that I said I wanted to work on being more timely in my entries, but there's been a lot going on. First things first though....

Congrats go out to Alison. Let's all send girl vibes her way!

Now....what's all this "a lot going on" you say? Well, at work they've moved us to yet another position. We weren't even out of training and now we're back in. They told us that we will be in training for about 6 to 9 weeks. We're supposed to learn functions from every department in the company. We're the expert knowledge base. It's been fun so far. We'll see how it is when we actually start working in Decemeber.

I am done with school. I still owe them a little money, so I don't officially get my diploma until that's taken care of. I have to pay $65 on top of that to actually have them send it to me.

We had no air conditioning for 3 days in our house. It just happened to be the 3 hottest days of the summer. Luckily, we know a guy who works on air conditioners. He came and looked at it and it turned out to be that the air and the heater were running at the same time. The air was blowing out at around 80 degrees. He found the problem and now we're blowing out at 68 degrees!!!!

That's not all....our septic alarm keeps going off. The breaker shorts out and the pump shuts off. DH changed out the outlet today, so we'll see if that's the problem. Keep your fingers crossed. I don't feel like going out and getting a new pump.

2006-07-23T16:18:00.000-05:00

OK. No knitting done this weekend. Why? How? What?!?...I know. I was working on school this weekend. I had 3 movies to watch. 2 to analyze and the 3rd to also analyze, but not so in depth as it pertained to a team assignment. So far I have 2 down and 1 to go. The last one being one of the individual assignments. I looked in our team folder (my classes are all online), and noticed that one of the other girls on the team had posted that she did the wrong portion of the team assignment and wondered if I could complete mine and hers (in the beginning when I thought we would not have enough people to divvy up the assignment, I had offered to complete 2 portions). Well, now the other team members want all portions done by tomorrow. Uh...I don't think that they'll get the portion she was supposed to do by then. I have my individual assignments to complete. Now, I'll probably end up helping her, but it will probably be tomorrow at the earliest. I can't just let the team assignment fall apart due to someone else's error. Plus this is my last class and I only have a week left. Then I'll have a big ol' bachelor's degree!!! Does it really mean that much? The only way we can tell is to get it, let people know, and see if better jobs or higher pay come my way.

Next week I start official training for my new position. This past week was kind of a joke. We basically looked at some of the programs we would be using. Being as I worked at the company before and am just switching departments, I am familiar with most of the software we will be working with. We did go to visit sales, which was fun, but we were unsure of our purpose there. We think it was to just see how their processes work. It will be nice to be back on an 8-5 job with decent pay.

There is so much that I want to do, but I don't know how to go about doing it. Like I want to start promoting my own talents and maybe turn them into a business. I do digital scrapbooking, photo restoration and colorization, and photo CD/DVD creation. The problem I have is getting an audience. Who needs this type of work done? Who knows what this type of work is? How do I market the idea? I don't want to spend a ton on getting the word out and generate no work. Any ideas?

Do they know....

2006-07-19T19:06:00.000-05:00

So we were talking at work today about reality shows. These are becoming so popular. In every talent-based show you always see someone who just....dare I say it...~~sux beyond belief~~ ...doesn't realize that they have no talent. We were all wondering if the producers actually pay these people extra to audition, or do these people genuinely believe that they have whatever talent they are displaying on national - maybe even worldwide - television. How could their friends let them even try it? What do they do when they see the replays on TV? Do they cringe at the sight of themselves, or do they really think that they're good? Makes you wonder.

Today I started on a second sock. Twice. The first time I didn't realize that it was in k2p2 ribbing. I was doing k1p1 ribbing. The first sock is desperately awaiting a mate. It has been waiting for months. Do I have SSS (second sock syndrome)? I must admit that I do. I have made several lonely socks. It boggles my mind why I don't complete the pair. I do simple, plain socks. I don't quite understand the whole lace or patterned sock phase. Can you wear them inside shoes? Do people wear handknit socks with shoes at all or simply to lounge around in? Wouldn't the lace or patterned ones feel odd against one's feet inside a shoe?

2006-07-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

I finished the ballet cami, but I didn't get pictures. I guess I should try to get some. It fits pretty well from the 5 seconds or so I saw her in it. I hope she likes it. I have never finished a sweater in a week.

I don't know what my next knitting project will be. I recently finished a koala bear for my DD. She was so sad the other day because she was at grandma's house and realized that she didn't have her bear. I explained to her that it was safe at home, but the tears flowed for about 20 minutes until we could shift her attention to something else.

I started my new job. Well I can't really say started because we're in training. We're waiting for the rest of our team to be hired before beginning in depth training next week. So this week is just kind of getting to know the software. Since I came from another department within the company, I know about and have used almost every program they've shown us. Now it's just a matter of learning the processes and the flow.

Do you ever get those phone calls from people you don't know? I mean, you're phone rings, you look at the caller ID, and your face scrunches up into that wondering look. You have no idea what area code that is, or who could be calling you from that number. Not wanting to chance it as a telemarketer, you let it ring and maybe they'll leave a message. No such chance. I got this twice today from two different numbers. Two different area codes. Why can't people leave a message? I guess that I'm not so important that you think I should call you back. Well, then why did you call me in the first place? And you called my cell phone???? Geez...common courtesy...leave a message. BEEP!

Why is my grass greener?

2006-07-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

Nice title, huh. Well, I was watching TV this morning and my DD wakes up and comes to sit in my lap. She points out the window and says "he's in the fence". I turn and look and our bull is chomping away at our grass. The massive beast had opened the gate and waltzed right in. So brave me - what do I do - I grab a mop handle (with no mop head) and a cattle prod and tromp on out to save my jungle that has become a tasty feast. Well....there we are head to head, face to face. He sees me and lowers his head. He starts coming at me. Now I am not too proud to run. So I hide behind my DD's playhouse. I beat the handle against the house and he turns and runs out the gate. Triumphantly I latch the gate and march inside. Now I know why our gate was open when I got home yesterday.

I have decided to attempt the Ballet Cami for my DS. I am using yarn from one of her old sweaters. I'm afraid that I won't have enough yarn because I had to double up so that I could get the right guage and have the material thick enough not to be see through. We'll see how it goes.

I was talking to a new knitter this weekend. She asked me if I had heard of any knitting clubs in the area. I haven't. She said that she had seen a flyer or something for one, but never went. She is just beginning on scarves and feels a little intimidated. She asked me if I teach people how to knit. I wouldn't mind being in a knitting group and helping people learn how to knit, but I know it would take time and I don't know how much time I will have with my new job.

Hip...Hip....Hooray

2006-07-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

I found a job! I found a job! Bad thing is that my old job messed up on my last check that won't be fixed until next week. I got a CC bill due this week. Grrrrr... Anyway...I've got to go get a drug screen done and fill out the paperwork. I'm gonna have my sis look over the insurance stuff w/me as she knows more about it than I do. I don't want to skimp, but I also don't want to over pay.

Speaking of sis...trying to find her a job, too. I actually talked to a loan officer for a position that I thought I might want, but decided not to take it, so I sent the contact info to my sis. Hopefully they can work something out. It would be nice to see her out of her current job. Her boss walks all over her.

On the Hunt

2006-06-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

Still no job, yet. Hopefully something will come up because I've only got til the end of the month. I try to send in at least one resume a month, so we'll see what happens. Somebody's got to want me, right?

I decided to post some pics of the baby blanket I finished last month.

This is the stitch up close.

This isn't very good, but it's the edging.

Here is my little girl holding it up for the picture.

What do I have on the needles? A cropped cardigan for my sis....been on there for a while. I've also got a pair of socks that I'm making from an unraveled sweater. I've also started on Tubey, but haven't gotten very far on that either. Only one sleeve down. I guess I need to be a finisher instead of a starter only.

Well....if anybody's out there reading this, let me know what you think.

2006-05-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

Grrrr....I was entering a new entry, but something went awry and it's gone!!! :( Does it make you as sad as it makes me. It was quite long, too. It was an update to my life since I haven't posted since September '05. Guess that will teach me to use the Save as Draft button down there. Let's see....what did I have in the other entry....

I work for Dell now, but it looks like it will only be for about 6 more weeks because I am a temp employee and my supervisor told me that there were no full time positions to offer the temps at this time. The only way they'll hire anyone is to backfill if a full time employee leaves.

I have begun putting myself back out in the job market. Yes, I updated my resume on monster. (Does anyone ever see results from it? I admit that I was naive. Within the first few months, I got a response. Stupid pyramid-type scheme. Of course they told us that it wasn't. They wanted us to peddle their product to others. Didn't tell you that in the e-mail. Just said that they wanted people with strong leadership qualities. To me, that does not mean sell our product. It might mean being on a management team or something like that, but NOOOOOOOOOOOO. That would be too easy. So far 27 hits an no real results. - - If any of you have had success w/monster (like you got your current or a previous job from being listed on there), please let me know.

I know this isn't all that I had typed before, but it's getting late and I am very tired. Still have to wait for dinner to be finished There it goes!!!! Let's eat!

Finally Friday!!!

2005-09-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

Bad blogger! I am such a bad blogger. I know that I haven't written, but there has been so much going on. Hmmm....let's see where to begin.

I've got work to do, but I don't feel like doing it. Nowadays it just seems like busy work. I've looked for jobs in the paper, but nothing seems to interest me. If something does catch my eye, then it's so far below my current salary that it's beyond laughable.

Sis had an interview with a company about 30 minutes away this week. She's supposed to go to the company today to see if she likes the drive and the surroundings and what-not. It is more pay and opportunity for growth. Her friend and I have made a pact that if she doesn't take this job, we will beat her senseless. The position that she is currently in she has held for almost 8 years. There is no room for her to grow. She is basically at the top of the food chain here. Maybe it is time for her to move on. I don't know what her boss will do without her because it might be like removing her right hand. Oh well, we live, learn, cope and adapt. She'll get over it.

I have found some really cute patterns that I would like to try to knit. The problem is that they aren't in my size, so it would be knitting for others. Not that I mind that. I mean, knitting is knitting as long as it is appreciated, isn't it? I am currently working on a baby blanket (simple stitch with simple border) for our secretary. She just found out that she is pregnant. I have tons of the multi-pastel-colored baby yarn that I will probably never, ever use, so this is a perfect opportunity.

I met with the lady who wants me to make a scrapbook for her. She paid me half up front. I have scanned in the pictures. Basically, she has given me creative license on this one. We sat together and picked out the pictures that we could use and grouped them together. She says that the colors and any quotes or anything like that are of my own choosing. She will pay me the other half when the book is delivered. That doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.

DH wants a gaming computer! Why, I don't know. Well he tends to want expensive things, especially when we don't have the funds to afford them. I told him that if he could find something within the $200-$300 range then we might consider it, but his price came out to over $800. Little over budget there.

Me so sad

2005-08-24T16:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I went and looked on the district's website and the two jobs that I applied for have been removed. I don't know if that means that they have been filled or that they give up on them. Either way, they didn't select me. I would be nice to know why. Well, I porbably wasn't qualified enough in their eyes. And that's probably true. Our secretary says that I am doomed to stay with our program.

I've started on another shrug. I don't know how this one will turn out. I'm not so sure that I like the sleeves and I am just about 4 rows into it. Maybe I'll like them. Oh well, it's not as if I wear them anyway. They are cute, but I don't have anything to go with a shrug and I am a little well endowed in the upper department. The girls is big! So I am not comfortable wearing items like that. I need to knit up two socks to go with the other two I haven't finished.

Counting my chickens..."1...2....3..."

2005-08-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

I've got someone who actually wants me to do a scrapbook project for her. Two projects! I know I mentioned it before, but she actually sat down and talked to me about it today. I've got to make it good quality for the price that I am charging. I guess I shouldn't bet on doing it until I actually get the stuff from her to begin. She said that she was willing to pay me half up front and then the other half when the project is completed. This is exciting. She said that she would definitely pass on the information and show other people if it looked good. I'm not worried about my work. I'm just worried about the printing. Hopefully it will come out in good quality.

I finished the shrug for my sis. It seems a bit big on her. I want to start another one. Possibly to sell or at least to show to other people. I was going to start on it today while I am filling in for the secretary, but the director is still here, so I don't think that would fly.

The waiting is the hardest part

2005-08-15T15:21:00.000-05:00

Still no word on those positions. Guess I'm stuck where I am. I did e-mail the technology department to see if they have any suggestions to trainings I should attend. We'll see what they answer. I hate to get discouraged, but going this long with no word is just frustrating. Is it customary for people to do this? I don't know. I didn't think so. I thought most people would call and let you know if they didn't think you would work out in the position.

On to the drudge of this year. I still have to keep up the lesson plan database. Hehehe. I need to make a To-Do list for myself. I have to think of what it is that I need to do. I did have one person ask me about training this morning. That's a good sign, right? Well it depends on who's looking at it. I mean it is only one person. No one can guarantee that more people will come. I guess I need to check with the facilitator here at school to see if we can still use her lab. It would be nice to be able to use a lab during the day that we could conduct trainings in. I know if I mention it, I will be the one responsible for obtaining it. That shouldn't be my job. Oh well.

I started on the Boobholder today. I know, I know. I jumped on the bandwagon. I couldn't help it. It's not for me, though. It's for my sis. I think that I will make ties in the front instead of a button though. She's small but a bit busty, so a tie would give her more freedom to adjust if needed. I don't have the needles that are specified, but I came super close to guage with 10.5's. I hope it won't be too big. I have been reading posts about them and most people have had to adjust them in some way or another. Anyway, it's in John Deere Green. I'm going to show her another shirt also, just to see what she thinks because I think it is her style. Or I could just make it for her and hope that she wears it. Hahaha. I'll have to think about that one.

I need to start posting pics. I just finished the Tychus hat from knitty for a friend. Red and black. I hated using double strands of yarn, but that was what it said to do, and she wanted a warm hat. Hopefully she will get lots of use from it.

Insert catchy title here

2005-08-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

I didn't have the energy to put a title that meant something today. It's been draining. We're trying to get ready for school, but we're placed in different places because our computers don't work. Well, more specifically the network setup in our office doesn't work. We're waiting for the district techs to come out and look at it. Speaking of district techs, I haven't heard anything on that job, yet. I don't think that they want to hire me for either one. I only say this because it's been a week and both positions are still posted on the website. It would be nice for someone to at least call me or e-mail me and say that they weren't interested in hiring me. I guess time will tell.

DH has taken DD to see her first movie today. I wish him the best of luck. Have you ever taken a 2 1/2 year old to a movie? I can just imagine it. The theater is dark and scary. The music is loud. Will she really want to sit for about 2 hours? She does well with movies at home, especially Elmo. She will get up from time to time, but continue to watch. In a theater though, there is no place for her to go. I'm sure I will hear all about it when they get home.

I'm working on finishing a lace cap for my SIL. She told me that she wanted one, so I'm making her one. I'm on decreasing the top of the cap, so we're almost there. When I finish with that, I have another hat waiting in the wings. A friend of mine wants a warm hat for the winter in northern Texas. I told her that I would try.

I've got people who want me to do digital scrapbook work for them. One lady wants two books done. One for her granddaughter and one for her mother. She wants them for Christmas presents, so I really need to get with her to see what she wants. I think I'm going to order them from mypublisher.com. They seem to be the most reasonable with high ratings from people. The other lady wants me to do a picture DVD for her parents' anniversary. She's going to talk it over with her sisters to see what they think about it and then get back to me. It's a little extra money in the pocket, right?

Cheated?

2005-08-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

I feel cheated. This morning my director said that it was non-negotiable that I come in and talk with her about a training presentation that we are supposed to give. I worked with her for an hour on the project. Then we went to the introductory training. At the intro training, she said that she was going to be the one giving the training session on Wednesday. I felt cheated. Here I have done a lot of work for this training, and was hoping to give a lot to the staff by allowing them to focus on lesson plans; however, she goes and adds all this unnecessary stuff and then takes over the presentation. I'm getting to the point where I don't care anymore. I'm not in the loop on things that I should know. I am not being considered as part of the team. I am not the one ostracizing myself. The other staff are making me feel this way. I have talked to them about it before, but I guess it didn't do any good. I'm hoping that the district will call me back. I applied for two positions: one technician, and one assistant. My only concern on the assistant is the pay. My concern on the technician is that they won't think that I am qualified enough for the position. As my DH pointed out to me, I wasn't qualified enough for either of the helpdesk positions, so what makes me think that they will hire me as a tech. Good point, but I can dream. I will definitely be applying for any position that opens with a good salary.

I've got to get moving on knitting stuff if I want to have stuff ready for the church thing in October. I'm not sure what I could have ready. My sis says that she wants to take pics of the church kids and have them available for parents to order packages at the thing. I could take some of the pics and do some scrapbook stuff with them if I thought about it. It depends on how soon she wants to do it, or if she even wants to. We'll see.

Well I'm not fretting so much about paying for school. The credit card company upped by limit without telling me, so I actually have $1000 more to work with. That doesn't mean that I can go spend it or anything. I'm still going to try to pay more than the minimum every time we can to get the balance down. The next out of pocket payment is like $750. Little more than I expected, but that's the price for education nowadays.

Sigh

2005-08-02T17:23:00.000-05:00

I have to meet with our director to come up with a new training for our inservice in a week. That should be a barrel full of monkeys. She waits until I ask to tell me these things. What if I hadn't asked? Would we have all shown up with nothing to do? Would she have waited until sometime next week to tell me? I know that she'll want me to go to her office. I think that she should come to me. Why should I go to her when it is me that she wants to talk to? I have things at this campus that I am doing.

I am making another pair of anklet socks just for the heck of it. I have several people who want hats. I thought I would try my hand at children's socks just to see how fast they knit up. If they knit quick, I can make some for a booth at the church. If my mother and sister don't do it, I don't think that I will. I can't see shelling out $30 for a booth for one person. If all three of us did it, then we could split the cost.

I had to take the lead in my learning team this weekend. Our project was due yesterday, but everyone say on their asses. I waited to see if anyone would take the initiative, but that didn't really happen. I was the woman!

Fingers crossed

2005-07-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I went to a job interview yesterday for a helpdesk position with the district. It's a way to get out of the politics of this place. It feels like I'm sinking everyday. I know that I'm not appreciated by two of the staff members who I am supposed to be working with. They haven't included me in any of their plans. Pretty crappy if you ask me. I have to sound that way, but it is. I have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the both of them, and they shun me. Sure, I'll miss working with the kids, but I've got to think of myself. I've told all the supervisors that if I do get the job, I'm just a phone call away.

Haven't started on any new knitting, yet. I'm waiting to go down to the house and look through DH's great aunt's yarn. I get whatever I want. Probably all acrylic, but it's free. If I've got time today, I'll look through some free patterns to see if I can find some ideas on what to make.

We finished our room. It looks pretty cool with the plaster on the walls.

Manic Monday

2005-07-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

This weekend was nerve wracking. We had the funeral for DH's great aunt. Not great-great (my bad). Then we found out about inheritance tax. Gotta love that. I won't go into detail until we figure everything out.

Finished one sock this weekend and started on the second one. I changed the pattern up a bit (well can you call stopping early changing it up). The original pattern calls for 8 stitches total to be grafted together for the toe. I decided that looked too pointy, so I changed it to 16 stitches to make the toe look a little more natural. With it being only 8 it looked like an elf sock. I do like the way the colors came out, though. Purple, pink, blue and green stripes.

We tried having the kids write a stream of consciousness today. That didn't work too well. They didn't quite understand that they just needed to type what they were thinking. It's hard to get First thru fifth graders to understand that.

We are still working on finishing our living room wall. We sanded down the plaster this weekend. Next weekend we are going to put a protective topcoat on the whole wall. That should be really fun. Troweling on topcoat.

I haven't had a chance to even crack open Harry Potter this weekend. I bought it on Saturday, but there was just no time. I'm saddened. I am trying not to read certain places on the web because the plot would be ruined for me. I heard that it is sad, though. Does anybody else think that Rowling will stop with the next book?

Somber Day

2005-07-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

Last night DH's great-great aunt passed away. She suffered from a stroke and a fall. They moved her to a hospice yesterday morning where she passed away yesterday evening. She was 86 and was basically prepared for it. She has already paid for her funeral. We were as prepared for it as we could have been.

This has been a tiring week, so not much knitting was done. Within the last two weeks I have completed 2 pairs of socks and prior to that I made a lace hat for a girl who is undergoing cancer treatments. She has been wearing a felt or fleece turban type hat. Her mother was hoping that she would wear something else. She wears the one I made almost all the time now. The first pair of socks that I made were toe socks. The second pair were Geisha socks from Spun Mag's Summer Sock Collection. I am making a third pair that are a regular toe, but the anklet type from Spun Mag. The anklets seem to knit up faster. I did have a problem with the toes on some of them (you have to add stitches and then pick them up later. I always seem to have gaps where I pick up. Luckily, I visited knittinghelp.com and watched the sock video. It really helped.) Sometimes following patterns are difficult because the writers just assume that you know how to do a particular stitch.