Another silly thing.

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

So I can be the Amsterdam dictator, I guess. Or local cult leader? BWAHAHA.

Have a good weekend everyone! I get to go an afternoon pajama party on Sunday. I'm so excited!

A little silliness . . .

Your Life Path Number is 11

Your purpose in life is to inspire others Your amazing energy draws people to you, and you give them great insight in return. You hold a great amount of power over others, without even trying. You have the makings of an inventor, artist, religious leader, or prophet. In love, you are sensitive and passionate. You connect with your partner on a very deep level. You have great abilities, but you are often way too critical of yourself. You don't fit in - and instead of celebrating your differences, you dwell on them. You have high expectations of yourself. But sometimes you set them too high and don't achieve anything.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Because my birthday determines my entire personality. ROFL. And because I want to make sure you all know that I'm a prophet.

No Sale

I'm annoyed. The people who put the offer on our house never put in on paper. Last week, the guy across the street put his house on the market. For reference, it's him and part-time, his son. Most of the time, the guy stays at his fiancee's house. Our buyers put an offer on his house. So, they're not our buyers. His house is smaller, fewer rooms, smaller rooms, only one bathroom, no trees, but it is emptier and a little less money. So, they're buying it.

I'm ready to pack up my toothbrush and yarn (that's about all of my stuff that isn't yet packed) and just leave. UGH!

We're shopping around for a new agent. We're not thrilled with ours, but we stayed with him because his staff was so good. We don't want an individual agent who doesn't always answer their phone. With our guy, you can get someone on the phone 24/7, even if it's just the answering service. Surely there's another agent around that has a good staff and is good him/herself.

Showing, showing . . .

Oh, how I would love to add the word "gone!" to that title. But, not yet.

People want to see the house tomorrow for a third showing. I don't know if it's these same people, or some others who have looked at it twice. Because we have had a lot of second showings. I don't like third showings. Sure, it shows they're interested, but to me it shows that they can't make a decision. I like Thursday showings between 5 and 6:30 because we're gone at that time anyway and hubby's home on Thursdays so he can help me make the place sparkle.

Those of you who have bought houses, how many times did you have to see a house before you knew you wanted to buy it? Two is the maximum number of times we have looked at a house before making an offer. I guess we're fast decision makers, but typically, we have looked at a house and said, "OK, let's write a contract," and made the offer that same day. On paper.

Oh, up above are E's and my feet in our matching shoes. Aren't we obnoxious? E is feeling a little better today, but still home. We went and got snacks and sat and did yarny things in a restaurant during the showing. About the truancy officer, it really irritates me, too. I have been really unhappy with this school. It's her first year in middle school and it has not been a good experience. I think fairly often about taking her out and homeschooling her. And I have never seriously considered that before. But, I keep thinking we should give it until the end of the year to decide, because I know the transition to middle school is really hard for lots of kids. And after we move, she will probably be in a different school. We may even switch to Catholic schools. It's just hard for me to deal with, because I never had this kind of trouble in school. She's *really* smart, but the school is just not working well for her. Seriously, a kid is sick one day a month and you have a mandatory meeting? Also, the first time I ever spoke to the truancy officer (back when E had missed 2 days of school) she was really rude. I had no problem pushing back, because I knew she was just trying to intimidate me. Not cool.

On to some happier stuff: Knitting! I knitted this baby kimono and hat for my nephew-to-be over the weekend, while I was sick. It makes me so happy that I can still get something done when I feel terrible. lol. I'm still worn out, but not as yucky-feeling as I was. The hat is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono is from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Both are made of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. The nephew should be arriving in 6 weeks or less!


And this is a scarf, also from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, that I made for my father-in-law's birthday. But, since they had to postpone their trip, he doesn't have it yet. I made it of Lion Brand Kool Wool. I had a ton of this stuff that I bought on clearance one time and it's slowly getting knitted up.



Still cold here! KIP (knitting in public) tonight. Should be fun!

Feeling better, mostly

The kids are back in school today after the MLK weekend. Three of the four went. The ironic thing is that we had a meeting with the truancy officer at E's school scheduled for this morning, and she's the one home sick. It's not the cold though, it's her stomach. She has a digestive condition that I don't really talk about. It's kind of embarrassing for her, and since it's under control now, it's not that big a deal. But it crops up and gives her trouble now and then. She's particularly susceptible to stomach viruses. Which is why she's missed 7 days of school this year. And why the truancy officer insisted we had to have a meeting about that. And why she's home sick today and we have to reschedule.

The cold is mostly gone. (Crossing fingers). I'm still exhausted today, but I have to get things done.

Those people who made the offer now say they want to look at the house again before they put in on paper. Tomorrow morning. So, more cleaning for me.

Oh, I decided my posts were getting boring with no pictures. So, above is my hubby's handiwork. He has built these stand-up arcade things in the gameroom downstairs and he painted them recently. That's the side of the pac-man themed one. Cute, huh?

(I probably don't have to tell you that room for his arcades is a requirement while house-hunting, do I?)

We're sick.

I typed that "we're sock" the first time. I think I really am sick. In one way or another.

It's icy outside, so FIL and the NY sisters did not come this weekend for fear of being trapped in Chicago on their layover. Good thing they're rescheduling because . . . We have a yucky nasty knock-you-out kind of cold. I'm still in my pajamas (after 7 pm). I've been laying down all day. The hubby feels better than I do, so I talked him through making most of dinner. I did the parts that I just couldn't explain. (How much milk in the potatoes? I dunno. Until it looks good. How to make the gravy? Oh never mind, I'll just do it.) I sat up to eat, and I'm sitting up now, but I think I will migrate back to the couch in a moment.

My 9-year-old felt like this yesterday evening and today she just has a few sniffles, so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

We have an offer on our house, but we don't get the paper contract in hand until Monday. So I'm not getting my hopes up. :p If this goes through, we have to find a house fast. I have about 30 houses saved online and I will look at them all next week if I have to. Heh.

Comfy shoes!

My newly 12-year-old daughter and I went shopping yesterday. For birthdays around here, the birthday kid gets a one-on-one outing with a parent. So, we went shopping for her gifts and had lunch at a diner and she had a banana split as big as her head. Her sister got one last year on her birthday outing, so of course E wanted one this year! I wonder if the banana split will become a birthday tradition. Heh.

E wanted to go shoe shopping, and we ended up getting matching shoes. Hers are a size and a half bigger than mine, and a different color. But they're the same shoes. Just some fun streamlined-looking tennies. I'm wearing mine today and they are so comfy! She's wearing hers, too. I'll have to ask how her feet feel when she gets off the bus later.

We also bought matching charms for our italian charm bracelets. Mine says "mom"; hers says "daughter". She said she had a lot of fun going mom and daughter shopping with me. I really look forward to those times we have alone. The 20-30 minutes we have every day after she gets off the bus and before we go pick up the other kids is so nice. I hope we can keep grabbing those moments as she turns into a teen. The mother/daughter relationship can be so tricky (and don't forget I have three daughters!) I really just hope we can keep it together even through those "teen" times.

Munchies!

I have the munchies today. And I know why.

I have a secret love. Workout videos. I don't have a crazy number of them, but I do have a special shelf for them. I just went and did a quick count, and there are 25 in the current rotation. I have probably 10-12 more that were packed up because they weren't my favorites. I expected to have them unpacked by now.

When I get the catalog from Collage Video, I get out a marker like a little kid and circle the ones I want. I read all the descriptions, fold down corners, make little stars. It's as bad as the Sears Wish Book and an 8-year-old.

You wouldn't guess about this secret love by looking at my butt. I've been a slacker, only working out about once a week. My preferred schedule is 6 days a week. I alternate: pilates one day, intense cardio and sculpting or interval workout the next. I give myself one day off a week. It's random, taken whatever day I really need the extra time or a break. I really want to get back on this schedule. I enjoy working out. I enjoy how it feels. I enjoy how it makes me feel. I enjoy how it makes me look.

So, I have the munchies today because I did a new workout this morning. I really like The Firm, but I've been hearing great things about Cathe Friedrich. Last week, in addition to some new Nikes, I treated myself to 2 new workouts, one Firm, one Cathe. The DVDs came yesterday and today I did my first Cathe workout. I can see some new stars going into my catalog.

I'll keep drinking water to keep the munchies at bay. The Christmas candy is gone and I'm on to making good choices with food again. Hopefully, my progress will show up in the form of a smaller waist and butt. In any case, I can feel it inside, my little secret.

Sock time, again!

Yep, more socks. I do knit other things. I actually knitted a vest in the last few days, which I plan to put on after I finally get a shower. And I'm knitting a sweater. I knitted my husband a sweater that needs a zipper. I can't find the right one! I just want a 27" separating zipper with a dark tape and silver teeth. That doesn't seem so hard. There's a lace headwrap thing. (Like a hat without the top.) And there's sweaters of mine that I never took pictures of. Hard to take a picture of myself wearing a sweater. Socks are easier.

I should make a list of hte stuff I need to take pictures of as I finish them, because by the time I get to taking the pictures, I don't remember what I'm supposed to be taking them of.

My husband took some pictures of his Dukes of Hazzard socks. He was wearing them all day then took them off for the picture. Yick. And he has no clue how to take decent pictures of socks on your own feet. The ones I take aren't stupendous, but believe me. His looked odd. lol. So, here are the socks on the floor and a close-up of the embroidery on the leg. I was going to duplicate stitch the "01" but it was coming out stiff and too big and if I made it smaller it would have looked wrong. So, embroidery it is!



I did manage to surprise hium with them on Christmas. I put them in the middle of a package of regular white socks, with a little orange peeking through. He didn't even notice. He opened them and said, "Oh, socks. Thanks, I needed some." And the kids said, "Dad! Open the bag!" Heeeee.

Here's my Fancy Silk Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. This is the result from the unravelling that happened a while back, The finished socks are nice, but not my favorites. The yarn isn't very soft. Not scratchy, just kind of stringy. It Jaggerspun 4-ply or something like that. It came from a sock club with the other pattern I didn't like.


These are A's Chevron Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I love them! They are so cute on her little feet. She likes to wear them with her little crocs or clogs. Hee. The yarn is KnitPicks Simple Stripes.



I did a short-row heel on these rather then the forethought heel the pattern uses. I've done the forethought heel before, and I don't really like working it. Too fiddly, and I'm not all that impressed with the results. It makes a very shallow heel. The short-row heel fits A nicely. I did a short-row toe on these, too.

Finally, a non-sock picture for you. I ordered some yarn for a shawl in the Victorian Lace Today book. (Which I got for Christmas. Thanks, Mom!). It's Knitpicks Shimmer and it's very soft. The kids just wanted to snuggle it. Also, see how Q lost four teeth in less than two weeks? I joked that I was going to have to put all his food in the blender and he could drink it through a straw. He thought that sounded fun.




On a side note, my oldest daughter, E, is turning 12 tomorrow! Where does the time go?

Ugh!

We got home after the showing, and the front door was wide open. Not just unlocked. Wide, wide open! And the agent didn't leave a card. We've already left a message with our agent's answering service. This is not OK! They left all the lights in the hosue on, too. Which is annoying, but not the end of the world. We were gone for three hours. WIDE OPEN! Ugh.

Nothing seems to be disturbed in any way. It's a very safe neighborhood. But, come on!

I'm still alive!

I probably have about a billion pictures I could show, but it's just not happening today. Christmas was great. New Year's was relaxed. Things are now nuts. We have had four house showings in the last four days. There's one in a couple hours. I'm going insane. I want to take the Christmas decorations down, but I really need a whole day to bring out the boxes and pack everything up and get it all put away again. With all these showings, a full day has not happened. I was going to do it today, but they called this morning while I was at Target buying storage tubs (for the decorations) to replace my disintegrating cardboard boxes. Ugh! They said they have no feedback on the other showings. I told hubby I don't want to know what their feedback is unless its, "We're preparing a contract."

Oh, I bought a label maker! I've wanted one of these forever! The kids want to label everything. I may just let them.