Multitasking is highly overrated.

Is it me or does multitasking create havoc in your household. Example.

MMM- I'm hungry. I go to the fridge and take out something for lunch, but the steaks are on the counter and needs to be defrosted. So I better work on that for a sec before I make my lunch. There are dishes in the sink, but I need the sink for my steaks. I start washing dishes. I also can't stand cooking in the kitchen until it's clean so I do some straightening up and wash some dishes. OH look a bunch of used dish towels that need to make there way to the laundry room. I'll take this one, this one, those and this one too.

In the laundry room. dryer is done and another load is ready in the washer. So guess what. I drop the towels, fold some clothes and remember I have a child who is completely capable of this job. Assign him to load the dryer and work my way back to the kitchen. I'd say 30 minutes later I begin lunch and you know what it's almost time for me to start dinner.

This is crazy. Luckily the baby was down for a nap, other wise in the middle of all that I would be stopping every other step to take an ornament away from him and place it back on the tree, or pull him off the piano/table/coffee table, wipe up some liquid he has managed to suck out of a sippy cup or bottle and spit every where or drip. WHY???
I need a shower. I'm going to put on my horse blinders and head straight to it or else I won't be in there till who knows when.

p.s. If there is a missing work or a type or something grammatically jacked up about this post, I hope you will understand.

The Truth

Okay y'all. Just so you don't think I'm on a rapid decline down hill, and an intervention needs to be planned. I'll let you in on the truth.

It's the holidays, I needed some rum and some bourbon for a few recipes and there where a few other things that I like to have every blue moon. And I do mean every blue moon. So I went to the liqua stoh.

And stocked up on a few goodies. I'd say we'll be good for another three years before I make a trip again to Mr. Dons & Bens.

And for those that know me very well, know that one is my limit. lol.
I have some stomach issues so one will probably always be my limit.



Happy Holidays everyone!!

Drive Safe and Drive Responsibly.

It's been one of those days. Part Deux

1 1/4 oz vodka
3/4 oz Kahlua
milk

on ice

any questions????

It's been one of those days.

1 cup
crushed ice
1 shot of COCO Bacardi Rum
Pineapple juice

drink. burp. repeat.

any questions????


ZZZZzzzzzZZzzzzZzzzzzzzzzZZZZzzZZzzzZ

Food for thought

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

Excuse the repeat. this is great.

I found this on someone else's blog and it really is too good and funny I couldn't resist. I had to repost. So stop your whinning and enjoy the show. :D

10 random things

Got this from Susan and Amy


Ten Random Things

1. Magazines subscribed to - Interweave, Craft:

2. Aside from knitting, my favorite pastimes are - hmmm I don't really have much time for anything else. Watching movies with the family. I guess. ;)

3. If I were not a SAHM (insert your own profession) I would be- a graphic designer, or a creative designer for movies. :D Travel agent sounds good too.

4. I am irrationally worried about - you name it. I'm a worry wart.

5. If I were the opposite sex - I would probably be gay, I'm not into chicks. :D But the men would have to be very manly, not girly. YKWIM lol

6. The thing I miss most about childhood is - my best friend.

7. I like to collect - yarn, 1 new Christmas ornament a year.

8. Though I've never been there, I feel inexplicably homesick for - Germany, I'm not sure homesick is the right word. I just really would like to go. On that note we can add, Japan, Ireland, Chile and Puerto Rico to that list too. the list could go forever but that's my top five. Not in any particular order.

9. I've never really liked to eat - Tomatoes, and cooked carrots.

10. When I have nightmares, they're usually about - Loosing my children. It's recurring, and the reactions from everyone in the dream is "so what you can have other children can't you?" the look of apathy and emptiness in there eyes is exasperating.

Missing a little bit of home.

Let me explain. :D Home is here but I'm a big girl now and I'm married and have kids. What I miss is a little bit of my dad's cookin'. He passed a way over 12 years ago.
So I packed up my little partner in crime his diaper bag and some drinks and we headed across town to the Boricua Food Market. Got some green banlalala(like my little man says, [it's bananas]), green plantains, frozen cassava, and other various roots, and last but not least sans souci salted cod without the bones. Since we were there I had to buy some new little tasty treats like cookies and stuff that you can't find in the local grocery store. The baby danced to some Puerto Rican Christmas songs that were playing in the shop, as he chowed down on some Goya Plantain chips.
He's more like his momma in that respect, I can't resist the urge to shimmy and dance if I hear a good beat. :D I just might have someone to dance with me at weddings when I'm an old lady. :D

Every year I make a Christmas Pork Roast, a traditional Puerto Rican dish for many occasions but in our family is was mainly Christmas. This year I ordered mine pre-marinaded. Especially made by the shop owners. Until then I will patiently wait for my call to tell me that my pernil is ready for pick up. WoooHOOo!!

I love going there. It's like going to visit an uncle, always happy to see ya and greeted with a bright and warm smile.

What a weekend.

Yarn booty1
Originally uploaded by mousepotatozone

For a week that started off a little on the nutty side, this past weekend was for a lack of a better word GREAT!

Friday was a little bit of a blur, but who cares. :D
Saturday was just tops Mary and I started off with a little trip to Kid 'n Ewe in the little town of Boerne. It was nice, not to crowded. I went with a specific agenda in mind. 1. Fondle the alpaca yarn. Check. 2. Nuzzle some buffalo skein. Check. 3. Check out and maybe by some Plain and Fancy wool. Check. 4. Visit and get some more Brooks Farm. Check.
Mission accomplished.

After a long day of walking around we decided to go heckle our friend David while he taught a class on how to properly photograph your knitted goods or various objects.

But the day was still missing something. So we called up our best bud Michelle and met her for laughs and good eats Sushi Zushi.
With our bellies full and our hearts content we said good night. And Mary and I kept catching each others yawns. HEEHEE. We were a little tired.

I was going to meet them the next day at our weekly meet up spot but, since I left hubby alone all day on Saturday I thought I should stick around and hang out with the family. I have to say it was quite pleasant. Put some clothes away, remnants from the move still linger in our bedroom, not everything has a home yet. After the baby woke up from his long nap we gather up the boys and ate dinner and headed to the park. We let the littlest one take the lead and he ran the whole trail. It was too funny, still revved up with plenty of energy we let him scamper around in the playground. He would have stayed there all night. It was already dark and he didn't want to leave. He screamed and cried when daddy picked him up.
After that we remembered we needed eggs and milk so we took the cranky kiddos to Walmart. I don't have to tell you that wasn't fun, but we survived.
We watched the new episode of Trueblood and finished with more questions than when the show started. I can't wait till the next episode, too bad there are only 2 more to go.

This is for you.

I have some awesome friends, and I am always grateful for that. At this moment I have some dear friends that are going through some trails in their lives. This songs says so much. From one friend to another, I dedicate this to you. Or if you are of a deeper faith and believe that this is something a higher power is saying to you. Just know that there are people out there that love you and are praying for you.

I will post the lyrics. But go get the Kleenex first.

Security


A loss that would have thrown
A hole through anybody's soul
And you were only human after all
So don't hold back the tears my dear
Release them so your eyes can clear
I know that you will rise again
But you gotta let them fall
I wish that I could snap my fingers
Erase the past but no
You cannot rewind reality
Once the tape's unrolled

[Chorus:]
If your spirit's broken and you can't bear the pain
I will help you put the pieces back
A little more each day
And if your heart is locked and you can't find the key
Lay your head upon my shoulder
I'll set you free
I'll be your security

A moment of despair
That forces you to say that life's unfair
It makes you scared of what tomorrow may bring
But don't go giving into fear
Stop hiding all alone in there
The show keeps going on and on
But you'll miss the whole damn thing
I wish I had a crystal ball to see what the future holds
But we don't know how the story ends till it's all been told

[Chorus]

On any clock upon the wall
The time is always now
So baby kiss the past goodbye
Don't let the future blow your mind
Just sit back and chill
Take things as they come
You can't be afraid
To live for today
I will be with you each step of the way

[Chorus (2x)]

I see the light

There is a light at the end of my tunnel.
I'm posting tonight because I have had enough coffee to last me a few days. Today was the last day of my final online course. I have 3 Classes to Clep out of. So basically only 3 tests to go, and I will have my Bachelors.

I can't believe that I'm finally almost done with all this mess, and in the middle of that I have managed to juggle a full house. I have failed to take care of myself so now that this is all said and done with maybe I can focus on me and start a regular exercise program and since I'll be getting enough sleep then maybe it will be successful. No sleep = a failed attempt at weightloss or anything else. It just doesn't work.

I can knit now, and not feel guilty that I have to be working on something.

No parties yet until I get that piece of paper, but it's close. OOOOH so close I can taste it.

McCreepy

Happy Halloweeny!

Yes it's green but it's delicious even your kids will like it.

Sopitas Verdes, or Green Soup like my momma used to make. The only way she would get me to eat my veggies. ;) So easy to make and very soothing on a chilly day.

The recipe is easy, Vegetable or chicken broth, add brocoli, spinach, bell peppers, onions, green beans, squash, a tomato (if you like), kale or leeks. You get the gist of it. And then after it's all cooks and softens, let it cool a little bit and run through the blender. (PLEASE, be very careful with hot item in a blender. Do not close the blender lid tightly or place a towel over the top, sometimes hot things in a blender will kick back the lid and hot bits. PLEASE be very careful, it's best to let it cool down).

After it's all well blended. You can run it through sieve if you used celery it will get the little strings out. But finely chopping the celery will help that.

You can then put your soup back in the pot to rewarm and then serve.

I like to top it with a dollop of sour cream or in this case some drops of Cacique Mexican style Cream

Enjoy.

Pain free, and counting.

I cannot begin to tell you all how nice it has been these last few days. I have had 12 pain free nights, or wakes up rather.
I don't know why? But I'm not going to question it, I am just eternally grateful.

Playin' Catch up.

I know I've been quiet posting my usual music quickies. I do think music says it all. But I'm glad I'm not a lyricist, my songs would be so long winded. :D

I've had a few food posts that I wanted to blog about but There was never any food left to take a picture of. Since I have baby in the house and my camera isn't one of those tiny slim things that I can stash here and there; I'm never prepared to take photos of my pictures.

I have to say though try this one day.

Hot ciabbatta bread and herbed butter.

Where do I get the butter?

I made it.

I finely chopped some fresh basil and mixed it into some soft butter along with a some dill.

I can't tell you how fantastic that was.
We had lentils and a chicken breast in a garlic white wine sauce. We died.

I don't always make food that awesome it's usually pretty "meh". I mean I don't put that much into it. But for some reason, I was inspired to make this cool dish.


A couple of nights before I made some lentils and they were really GREAT, accompanied with a few thin sliced Ribeye steaks. I was channeling my mom or something because it was tasted just like hers.

Again I apologize for the lack of pictures. Food doesn't last long here. LOL.

On to some other topics.
So much has been going on. I'm almost done with school.
We finally sold our house. Which aloud me to be able to get a newer/used car. I love it. It's a Subaru Forrester XT '04. ( have I already posted about this. *snort* sorry I'm having a sleep deprived senior moment)

We also realized that our lease was almost up so it was time to search for that next home. And we found it. So this month will be moving month for us. The awesomeness of the whole deal. We are moving across the street from where we live now!!!!

On a knitting note.
I'm still working on the clapotis, but I think I need to dig out a few wintery things. there is this cool hand print sweater I was making the baby. It will definitely fit him now and just in time for the little chill on the way.

I'm just happy that things are starting to normalize. Soon I'll be able to put all my yarn in a my own spot and use it when I want instead of climbing the Mt BOXIS. ugh

Off to bed. Night.

Break Free

When I was in High School and heart broken often, this was my athem. LOL.

It amazing how much control this guy has over the audience. Amazing.

I still love this song, but not for the same reasons. There are so many other things I want to break free from, my wonderful hubby is not one of them. ;)

Have a great weekend Woo HOO!

The brighter side.

I have a few things going on. Not so good. Not horrible just terribly annoying and agitating. But why continue the bad negative vibe when there are so many wonderful things to cherish and enjoy in life. Like my beautiful boys and dedicated spouse. They keep me going everyday. Oh and my friends as well. You all really make my day. :D You know who you are. xoxo


In case it doesn't show up here. Here is the link. My time with you sung by Kina Grannis and David Choi

Oh Madeleine my Sweet!

Thought I'd turned another page didn't you? *wink*

But I do love a good Madeleine. A delightful spongy cookie cake, and at first bite the edges give way with a little crunch but then the buttery sponge just melts in your mouth, now follow that with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and the day is complete.

Hello my name is E, and I'm addicted to these things. ugh.

So in search of a good recipe I found a few neat little sites I'd thought I'd post here.

Have a great week, everyone!

Cake On the Brain
Joy of Baking
Canela & Comino
Team Sugar
Roya's Tea Garden

What??HUH?? Part Deux.

I finally broke down and went to a clinic. While I waited, I had a minor break down. The pain was so intense and my face was numb all at the same time. And then the doctor walked in. He looked in my ears and said I had "swimmer's ear". I've had it before but this is by far the worse case. He prescribed some pain killer and then some ear drops (which the pharmacy seemed to botch up), but we're going on day 04 and I still can't hear a damn thing. MEH!

What? HUH?

Literally. I can't hear very much. I've seem to have developed a little ear infection in my left ear. My good ear. Yep I said it, I have a good ear and a not so good ear. I'm a little worried. That could be the end of an audio editing career that I have yet to start.

What else can I add to this pleasant weekend. Oh yeah my a/c is out. Did I mention we are renting right now. How can I say this in the nicest way possible with out slinging mud. They have been slow on the response to fix the on going problem, and well here we sit in a house that at the hottest part of the day was 104. They A/C guy can only do temp fixes until the owners give them the okay to move on and do more.

We have the money to fix it ourselves, however that's not the point. So hubby bought out Lowes' box fans and they are in every window. :D He bought 4 and out of those 4 we got a dud. Can you believe that? LOL.

Anyhow, on an Olympic note.
How about those US boys taking the gold in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay. Phelps is such a cutie. I get all welled up with emotion, he reminds me of my little nephew. They have the same long face and mouth and smile. So cute. I can't imagine how proud their mom's must be. I'm only 35, but got the proud momma feelin' and teared up a little for those boys.
Too Cool!!

Knitting note:
Updated my flckr and Ravelry accounts with some WIP's.
Working on a sock for No. 1 son. :D and I frogged a shawl so that I can make a cool clapotis for my maman (zat ees frnch for mom).

My Herb Babies

My potted herb garden
Originally uploaded by mousepotatozone

Last Sunday I had an urge. An urge to go out and get spiritual.
So I went to the next best thing. Only the awesome-est gardening shop in town. From the front as you drive in, it honestly looks like nothing. But when you walk through the shop and into their back yard it is truly a sight. water features here and there, plants vibrating in the sunlight. But I was on a mini mission. I was going to restore and add to my small potted herb garden.

I started with a basil, Thyme, Mint and cilantro. Then later I bought two lavenders, and two more mints. Long story short, RIP Thyme, 2 Lavenders, and 1 mint. Sixty-six dollars laters I came out with a very big selection of beauties.

If you click on the picture you will be able to see the labeled plants. Just roll your mouse over the picture and viola.

Eucalyptus
Originally uploaded by mousepotatozone

Note: The bougainvillea in the shot is not an herb I know this. But it's there none the less and well so what. ;D

Counting them one by one.

My blessing not my years. Are you crazy? heehee.

My birthday was Friday. Yep I'm ----one whole year older. Bet you thought I would tell you huh? Well I just might but it won't be tonight. I'm sick I know.

I wanted this next post to be about my knitting. Believe it or not I've been doing a little bit of it.

But I have to post about this first. It started the day before, a good friend of mine sent me an email a day early with birthday wishes. I happily accepted how could I not. She then sent me another email promptly apologizing because it was a day early. Now you all will think I'm extra sappy but I really do cherish the friendships I have. Every person I've met has really and truly made a small impact on my life and to me that is enough to keep them dear to my heart.
Now I could not accept such an apology because no apology was needed. It was in fact the 1st in Australia so as far as I was concerned it was perfect. :D

That morning started early about 8:30am, my aunt called with a song and some warm wishes then Aunt #2 (we call her Tia Amor, because that is what she truly is nothing but love.) Then my mom, and the list continues, emails, calls, blog comments, text messages wishing me special birthday wishes.

For a girl that recently has gone through some really tough times, and has felt lost and alone. Yesterday was a perfect reminder and a slap in the head that I'm not. I have a wonderful circle of family and friends. I am ever so grateful to be present in their memory on my birthday. I wish I could return that favor, sometime. I'm horrible at birthday wishes, always late, I've even written them down but loose track of the calender.

Hubby came home with my favorite red velvet cake and prezzies.
From him and the boys, I got an ipod. YES. I've loaded all my music, podcasts, vids and photos and I've only used 47G. heehee. Got to go digging through all my old cds and see what I want to load next. SEE. I'm a lucky girl.
My niece invited me to go hear her friends band play. It was so awesome. They even brought me up an made me do the Pee Wee Herman dance. She took pictures and threatened to post them on her facebook. EEK!! LOL.

Had a friend over tonight and we hug out and had some beer, more bday cake (not at the same time...ewww) and watched some pretty good movies. I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow? I get a birthday weekend!!!



Anyway Thank You everyone for an awesome day!! XXOXXOXOOXOXO

ROFL

That was sexy but this is even sexier. WOW

That's all I have to say is WOW!!

New voice...for me at least.

I'm usually a little slow on the new "sounds". But I just found this little treasure.
It all started when I began doing a little reminiscing over that song "One in a Million" sung by Larry Graham. I love that song, words can describe how much. There are so many levels of love in that song. I can tell you that when my first son was in my belly I would sing that song all the time. Because to me he was and always will be "one in a million" and now I have another "one in a million". I am doubly blessed. **sniff** Enough sappy talk. LOL.

Curious that I am I went over to YOUtube and looked for the video. Played and then clicked a few other links that were to the right. I ventured over to Al Green's "Stay together" and then there here was David Choi doing his rendition of Al Green's song. I was smitten, by his voice.

Back from a holiday.

Get your own

Headed out to Galveston, Tx and visited the Moody Gardens attractions there. The whole family came, and by that I mean all children present. ;)
Amazingly enough we had a pretty good time.

We don't know could kill us.

I can't just throw these in the bin, or they will end up polluting our landfills. They must be collected (at risk of breaking)until I'm ready to drive (you mean I have to use up my gas and resources that pollute the environment) to a proper recycling center. NICE.

Thoughts?

Mosaic Meme

I've seen this meme on a friends blog and I thought I'd try it since I have blog blockages. If you're inclined to join in the fun, here's what you do...

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.



Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

1. Dammit Enid's, 2. coeur d'artichaud, 3. Steller's Jay, 4. Gold and Purple Swirl, 5. Salve, sono Hugh Laurie!, 6. coffee art, 7. Flamenco Beach, Culebra, Puerto Rico, 8. Madeleine de Proust?, 9. ARTISTE DANS SON ATELIER, 10. Air conditioning, 11. Resilient Blue, 12. Stuffed Mice Potatoes


The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

mELtINg

I'm melting. Living in renter's bliss, our A/C went out. Once again.

Luckily, I can just make a phone call and they will come fix it up. Unfortunately sometimes in these kinds of situations you end up at their mercy just because you are renter and not the owner. Anyhow. If I stay real still. I cool off. LOL.

Knitting? what knitting?

what a summer this will be.

I'm so excited to this coming summer. Haven't seen Iron man yet, but will soon, and then I discovered that Guillermo Del Toro has made Hellboy II. I can't wait.
That man has such a wild imagination. Sometimes I feel like he has plugged into some of my dreams and put them on film. He has made some amazing movies IMHO.

More good things are coming this summer, 'cept I can't talk about them just yet. Relief is on the way is all I can say, and for those that know me well. Might know what I mean. ;)

I start school again tomorrow. I think, heh. But I took a two week break because my cool Brother was here for a visit with his family. I got to meet my beautiful little neice and nephew (he is awesome too. :D) Hopefully this summer I might take the train ride I was going to last year to see them again. But we will see how things go.
I haven't blogged a whole lot, because I haven't much to say. What i did have to say wasn't very nice and I don't want to bore everyone and bring everyone down with my troubles. I know I have some really awesome supportive friends out there, bloggy and nonbloggy. But I rather keep all that junk off the internet. Besides wouldn't want to give anyone the satisfaction to know they might have gotten under my skin. In case they read this blog.
I can say one things, if I knew then what I know now I don't think I would have made the choices I made ten years ago. I may be childless and single right now but that might have been better than what I have gone through these last few months. That's all I'm going to say. ;/


But I'm moving forward and focusing on what I do have right now and that is two beautiful boys and good man.

Enjoy the trailer. I did.

wHOO ..............aRe ............yoU?

 

I'm always up for a different experience. I used to just get in my car and drive and find a new little "place". Last night my SIL called and wanted to know if I wanted to go hang out. I'm on a two week break from school, I had also been cleaning house all day because I'm expecting guest today, but I was ready for a break from all that. I wanted to get away from the DH and the kids for a minute and just be. At first we started our usual trek with "what do you want to do?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?" heh. well you can understand how it will continue. So at first we go to this little place where I usually go with some of my knitter friends. Lots of beer, good vibes, positive environment, but it was packed. Not a seat in sight. So we gave up our princess parking spot, and drove around as we went through our what's next list.
Second stop, a little hole in the wall that plays alternative music, nice and loud, rockabilly, punk, you name. So loud you can loose your thoughts in every note. I lost my mind in a beer and song and was recharged. HEH. Two bands later, we were ready for another joint. :D

Shisha cafe? Hey why not. "You ever done it?" "no.you?" "cool. Let's do it"

Great food, and the most delicious strawberry smoothy I've ever had. It was awesome. Then the shisha came, with a suprise mix. It was nice, smooth, and fruitty. It was so hard to guess the flavor, but who cares. We were out, and enjoying the weather and the experience. It was pretty cool.

Next time we're bringing the dominoes, or maybe some knitting. :D

Down Memory Lane: "Convention '72"

I still have this 45. heh. I can't believe I found it on youtube.

I'm getting ready for the summer, and jammin' to some reggae music, when I ran into Double Barrel by Dave & Ansell Collins. In the intro he says "I-III am the magnificent" immediately I was taken back to hundreds of times I heard that thing. I thought it was so funny when I was a kid. Although there are some parts that are kind of/ well they are adult-ish. But I was so naive I didn't understand it. I just thought it was some tired or sad woman who couldn't get the words out. HHAHAHA. (You'll have to listen to understand it) Anyway I knew that album frontwards and back. Too funny. So I got to thinking, I wonder if Youtube has it. Of course it does and there it is.

You know if the candidate names were changed to current ones, it might still apply.

House For SALE

The house we own in the country which we put on the market in October is still ON the market. Nothing yet. Paying rent and a mortgage is getting pretty old. Although I'm fortified to know that my Realtor is truly working to get us some more traffic. She called on Monday with dates of journal releases and one TV show in May that shows houses and property. It airs Sunday mornings and cycles through a group of listings, hopefully that will generate some more inquires.

I'm going to do something that I would never typically do but I'm going to link it here.


All rock house 4 bedroom/ 2 bath 2093sqft. on 49.16 acres

The house is only about 2 years old. The commute for my husband got old. It just time for us to readjust our lifestyle. The country life wasn't really for us. At least not right now. If all conditions were perfect, I would move back in a heart beat. If I could magically bring my house with me. I would.

That's more information that I have ever posted about myself. I feel a little naked. LOL.

Anyhow maybe someone that is reading this knows someone looking for a country home, with lots of room to stretch their wings.

We worked so hard to build this home, we did a lot of work ourselves, well non crucial work. Electrical, plumbing, framing, insulation, was done by licensed professionals. We documented everything. I have pictures from start to finish of every nook and cranny of this house. It was a real experience. A lot of work, but a lot of love was put into it. So hopefully the next owners will feel that love.

Think positive "Selling Energy" thoughts and send them our way.

Check in.

Just a quick check in.
I have really had the inspiration to post about anything. Life for me these last 3 - 4 weeks has been kind of turbulent. My mind somewhat unfocused. I've been angry, sad, ambivalent you name it.

But as does everything in life, given some time everything will change again. Seems rather difficult to see into the future or be patient enough to wait for that change.
I do know this. I have two wonderful boys, and a really awesome husband. They my "raison de etre".

Made a D- in my Java II programming class. The last two weeks of that session were high stress, and on top of that programming is not my forte. But fortunately for me it will still count. Well that's what they told me at least. I was so disappointed, but at the end of the day the D- I got in my Java II class will not be the deciding factor on whether or not I get the job I want.

Started Image Editing last week. I LOVE it.
Initially I was really upset because this prof seemed a bit wound up on word counts and papers. But I love this subject matter so much that it seems that I don't lack for words when I write my discussion question posts.

Not much knitting going on. Got other projects in the works, like pool cleaning.
I've dropped about 300$ on this pool already in just chemicals and pool replacement parts like a new pump, baskets hoses lids, plugs. etc.
Is it still cloudy?? Sure why not. Am I frustrated beyond belief?? Absolutely.
But my arms are going to be Rockin' by the end of this summer. Biceps of steel aquatic style. HMMMM I might just make a work out video and sell it to the masses.
They could buy my specially designed pool and pool tools and video for a whale of deal of only $4999.00 that's only 71 e-z payments of $69.99 each.

ROFL!! Been watching to many infomercials can you tell.

Tada for now.

MInd vacation

Around The World In 80 days
Travel around the world in this colorful game inspired by Jules Verne's classic novel!
Arrange game pieces into matching groups of three or more across four continents in a spectacular adventure on land, sea and air!



I've taken a mind vacation, be back in a week maybe.

Just as the dust settles.

Body aches,
headaches,
and
sensitive skin.

time to PARTY!!

One more session down. Moving forward. Given all the obstacles I have been through these last five or so weeks, I think I owe myself a little R&R.

So we begin with a little CHA CHA slide.






You know you want to get up and stomp to your leFF!!


ciao amichi!!

Amen

Setting a good example for children takes all the fun out of middle age.
- William Feather

Writting code

I'm really going to jump off the roof of my house if I can't get this program to work. DAMN mortgage calculator with GUI (graphical user interface). Installing NetBeans maybe this will help me clean up my code.

And here is just another song I really like.

Lost in translations. But a pic will do.

 

If I think it. It will come.

see more crazy cat pics

Something mellower

Something much sweeter.
As you've guessed I'm studying so here are a few things I've been listening to.






Iron & Wine

The Premiere of Top Chef.

LORD can you say Cuh-RUH-AYZAY.

"I'm not here to make friends." WHAT? WTF? "So I kept to myself" WHAT? WTF? WHY?

WARNING: Enid's about to get very opinionated here.

Get the FUCK over yourself. Chill the FUCK out. It's a show, you are in a bad ass house, probably the first time you've been to Chicago. It's an experience of a life time. Explain to me please how socializing and breathing in all that wonderful positive energy is going to take the edge off. ???????????

How sad for you. That you can't let go for a second and realize that you have been put in place by the universe. An opportunity that you may never be given again. And you're going to isolate yourself???? Please wake up and realize the beauty of your situation.

Okay!!!! I'm shutting up now.

I'm so excited this season looks like it's going to be good. Except for the 2 that choose to isolate themselves from the rest of the group. Well one now, one of those to silly kids was eliminated on the first episode.

See kids. Now she's got to go back home and just dream what it would have been like to continue. Life experiences come and go so quickly.

But I ache for a short trip, hell a long week in Chicago. I have family there and many places I have yet to set my foot in.

Maybe that's why I have such strong opinions of those two kids no wanting to be friendly.

I what?

Is what I said to myself when I got my grade for the last programing course.

I made a Freakin' 94%

OH yeah booooyyy!!

I should really have more faith in myself and quick the complaining. I'm kicking ass and taking names buddy.


Just started another class. This week Java II. So we hope for the same result.

I'm just one more class closer.

focus. focus. focus.

What I've learned in the last two days.

This might be a boring post so you can turn away now if you like.

Listened to a Radio Lab show on stress. That was not something new I learned but it solidifies my belief that I need to lighten up. And desperately find a way to let things pass through me with out getting worked up. I'm a type A personality, not a new revelation but admitting the truth is the first step to change.

I learned that Sleep is so important again you are probably saying to yourself (UMM duh Enid.) The new thing about this for me is that. If you actually got a consistent eight hours sleep you could be more successful at loosing weight. I've posted about this before. In my other blogs I've always had weight issues but after the blew away my thyroid I've never been able to get down to a decent weight. Turns out i've been shooting myself in the foot.

1. I get anywhere form 3-6 hours of sleep a night. It's rare that I get more than that. Why? Now it's because of school and a new baby but before that I've always been kind of a night owl.

2. I don't get enough calcium in my diet. (i'll talk about that more in a minute)

3. Exercise. meh! But I'm working on that I've decided to sign up for a 1/2 marathon and I'm going to run/walk it. :D (more about that later)

Three tiny things I can change that just might tip the scales for me. NO.1. Being the most important.

Why is sleep so vital. Well the way it was described was that by keeping yourself up your body needs more energy to keep you going. So from what I understand it your body tries to get energy from where ever it can 1. by increasing cravings for high carb food and 2. by slowing your metabolism down. (Ah-HA....)

So I started to think about that and my past failures. In a recap I was active duty for a little while. in that time frame of four years weight became the bane of my existence. Shortly after coming to my first duty station I was told that I had Grave's disease. I was sent to an Endocrinologist and there he did what he had to take care of it. After that there was a period of 3-4 motnths where they waited to get most the thyroid hormone out of my system. Except they waited too long and I puffed out a 40lbs. Anyway the doctors quickly got me back to "normal"levels and I began an intense regimen of excercise and restricted calorie diet.
The scales barely budged. Frustration upon frustration upon frustration, especially when your career is at stake. Luckily the doctors understood what I was trying to do so they kept me on a medical waiver. **eyeroll** Everyone else just thought I should just lay off the cookies and candy bars. The rude things that people say, I tell ya.

So maybe if I had been more disciplined and slept more I might have helped tip the scales a bit more. No points in woulda coulda shouldas I'm going to try it now.

Calcium:
By increasing your intake in calcium you could loose 6.5lbs of FAT in one year. YEP, I heard that from Dr. OZ. Couldn't hurt to try that either. IF it doesn't help with fat lose then I will help me with Osteoporisis in the future.
I'll be the better for it.

Excercise. We all know there is no magic bullet there believe me I'd be taking it.
IT's just a matter of discipline on my part. Get off my ass and just walk it off.

So that's it, in a nutshell.

By combining these three things and a few other supplements and diet rich in veggies, no/low carbs and some meats. I think I'll be the better for it.

Note:
Getting 8 hours a night is freakin' hard. I tried for night 2 and I was up and down all night long. It was either the baby having nightmares and crying or my freaking stomach or just me getting all excited about not being able to sleep. Tonight is another night.

studying and writting code.

UGH! But this makes it all better.



This and a piece of good Chocolate

a new fave

You'll probably recognize it as the MacBook Air commercial. Mary told me the name of the artist and so of course I came home looked her up and found it. What a great little song.

Have a great weekend!!

Song lyrics | New Soul lyrics

Monkey Force

I have the power of the Monkey. This is an all time record for me.
What is that?
A heel flap in the works?
OMG.

Note: To add what the heck this is. :D
It's a sock. I'm useing the Monkey pattern by Cookie. The yarn is from Lone Star Arts and the colorway is called Egypt.

I don't have much to say today. I'm not feeling so hot.
A little blue, and a little sleep deprived (no faults but my own).
School is kicking my butt, Java is a bear and it's got my number.

So what do I do? Knit and ponder the idea of signing up for a 1/2 Marathon coming up in November. (More on that in another blog post). For now I have to go and send my team mate my java program for review. Tada.

Monkeying around

In every sense of the word.

I should be studying right now but instead I'm drifting around in blog land. I'm thinking about adding a tracker to this site. To track of the lurker count. ;)

On a knitting note I frogged my last project, because the pattern just did do the yarn color way any justice. So I went up a needle size and decided to use Monkey out of knitty. So far I'm pretty satisfied. I thought I was going to be slick and modify Monkey into Monkey Fists and make my own version of fingerless mitts using the monkey pattern.
Wouldn't you know it someone on Ravelry has already done it. They look kind of cool so I might do that. But in all reality socks are more practical. So I may just continue with the sock. IDK.

No picture yet but I will soon. I promise.

My other baby.

My baby is back. My baby is back.

Doing the happy dance.

From Me to YOU!

Restorations

I do restorative work on old photos. Here is an example of an extreme case.

This stuff is really fun to do sometimes.

My mother in law is really into doing genealogy research and restoring historical markers all along south Texas. You should check out their Blogsite at the Atascosa County Chronicles.
There are some great stories there and bunch of other neat things.

The picture above is something I did for her, from her private collection and I'm always available to help this group out. I think its always a good thing to help restore these irreplaceable pieces of history.

Got any challenging photos maybe I can help.

A little something.

Look who is turning a year old. We did our little celebration on Sunday. HEH. I make it sound like a big fiesta. But it really wasn't. Just the family and siblings. Hot dogs (salad dogs) and cake. Little man had baby food and fists full of cake. It was super cute.
So a year ago we worked so hard at trying to stop my contractions, but he was determined to make his debut.

Happy Birthday, my little man.

Last friday I went to a little get together with a few friends over to Amanda's house, and we had a real good time. A lot of laughing, I really needed it. I think we all did.
Well the party got out of control and I lost all my inhibitions, I bought YARN. and some needles and two bags. PHEW!!
Okay Amanda has some kickass colorways and some delicious fibers that she does herself. I fell in love with this colorway. Trust me it looks much better in person. But I am not happy with my pattern choice.
The way everything is working out. Well look below and see for yourself.

I think i'm going to frog it and try something else. This colorway looks awesome knitted in a swatch they mix just perfectly. But somehow it puddled with this sock pattern (Hedera from knitty). I don't know could be me. I never thought I would hear myself mulling over puddles of color in my multicolored yarn. But I have to say it is really bugging me. It really does not do this wicked color mix any justice.

So with all that said. I am (wait for it) **Sigh** frogging it again.



Mond-Hedera
RIP
2-8-2008 - 2-11-2008

The Hook

Song lyrics | Hook lyrics

Why?

Sandal Sock Pattern from the patternworks website.

Again I ask you,





(long pause)

wHy?

We finally did it.

It was our anual gift exchange long over due. I just have to say. As I always do how much I enjoy going to those gatherings.
So much energy. So much happy energy. So many cool things to talk about. Enough gushing. Here is my wonderful gift from my secret Santa in Feb.



(left to right) a refrigerator magnet that says "OH God I'm so totally wasted." DAGOBA chile chocolate, another assortment of yummy chocolate. Knitting for Peace book. A tin of some great black tea. and three YUMMY skeins of Alpaca Goodness. Brown, Black and gold. I LOVES my preciousess..



I have to give special attention to these little bits. They came in my bag of goodies as well. What are they you might ask? Well they are these wonderful rare earth magnets. SUPER strong and especially great for removing those pesky pimples that pop up on teenagers these days.

:D

Thanks David. YOU ROCK!!

I had a great day and can't wait to see that bunch of people again.

What Enid ****** Means.

What Enid R***** Means

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you. You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night. Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I found this at my girlfriends site and I almost fell out of my chair. This pretty much sums it up. Except for the energy part. I can't go 24-7 like I used to.
Kids and a non existent thyroid will do that.

Quick someone toss me a line.

It's getting deep over here.

The amount of BS my teen keeps dishing out I'm up to neck in it. We are past wading boots.


"Hey, what's that on your lip"
"A pimple" she says
"a pimple"
"yeah a pimple" as the piece of metal clacks against her teeth and shimmers in the light.

"really that's a pimple."
"uh-huh" still blinding me with her metal projectile resting against her teeth.

"HEY-(spouse's name)Come check out (daughter's name)'s Pimple."
Eye's rolling to the back of her head.

DH walks in looking mildly annoyed, as usual. "HUH?!?!?" he says.
"Show him your pimple"
She stands there with lips tightly pressed together.

We must have "JACKASSES" written on our foreheads.

"OPEN your mouth" I say. *sparkle sparkle shing*

I walk away.

"When did you do that?" I hear him say. "What did you do that with"
"a safety pin a few days ago. I was bored." meekly responding (PLEASE)

"Take that crap out."
"That is stupidest thing you could ever do. We've talked about this before. You hit a nerve and you can damage your lip FOREVER."

I feel like the biggest asshole, since I just went out and did something nice for her. She's been wanting to make cupcakes so I went out and bought her what she needed. WHY, should I. When I don't even get the decency of a truthful answer. NO MATTER HOW stupid it is. At least give me the courtesy.

I tell ya I'm at a total flippin' loss.

And then we walk around sulking because she "SAYS" she gets treated unfairly.....UMMM. Well if you didn't freakin' lie about everything under the sun we wouldn't have these freakin' problems.

What are we Rainbow Bright with sparkley pimples? Does gold come out of your ear? (Trying really hard to keep it tactful but you know what I wanted to say.)


For now,

Drowning in BS

Update.

My blog is still broken, but I don't have the time to fix it right now.
I'm still a little mad at it. :P

As some of you know I've been having some stomach problems. Very scarry problems, lots of pain. At one point the pain was so severe that it would wake me up at night so I wasn't getting much sleep. As a mom of a 15 yr old, 8 yr old, and 11month old, that isn't really cool. I'm also a student and my grades are starting to reflect the lack of concentration and sleep. So I've had my gallbladder removed. That solved one problem but the pain continued. Went a while without going to the doctor because I thought(hoped) it would pass on its own. Instead I ended up as I stated earlier...no sleep, not happy, kind of wacky. So I had an endoscopy done. That was a month ago and today I finally got the results from that.

I got good news. NO signs of cancer, no H.pylori (bacteria that causes ulcers). I have Gastritis and signs of acid reflux. I got to see some fotos of my insides and basically they looked good but red. I'm just raw inside. LOTS of acid. I have been on a double dose of Nexium since the endoscopy and told them that I still have the pain. I explained that my stress levels are super high and gave a few examples. She agreed that it could all very well be stress related and that we should give the medicine some more time but she wanted to order a CAT Scan. To make sure sure that nothing else was happening since I STILL have pain. (did I already say that?)
So I had some blood work done and picked up my barium cocktails for my CT appointment. I'm bummed that this isn't over.
But in a way I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be able to get the medical treatment I need. I am blessed.

off to study!! wish me luck and send some smart vibes my way. I'm not feeling very smart right now. All this XML XSD xphlfffphlff is really freaking me out.

ciao tutti!!

I've broken it.

I've broken it. My blog. It's broken.
all widgets.
LONG LINK list gone.
It's fubar.

I'm going to go knit and pretend this never happened. Soon I will have another FO for show and tell.

Tomorrow is my last day of vacation.
So I'm getting off this computer for now.

TTFN.

enid

Happy 2008!!

I hope that everyone had a beautiful 2008 celebration.

So this year for me will start with yet another musical post.
The quick version so I don't bore you. Ever get a little tune in your head that doesn't go away? Then you think, hmmmm I wonder if Youtube has a video for it.

Well at first it started with Simply Red's Stars song.. LOVE IT.

But then I went way back to "It's Only a Paper Moon." written in 1933 by Harold Arlen, and the lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose.

In 1938 the lovely Ella Fitzgerald recorded it and as some of you may know many other artists have rerecorded this great piece.

I didn't find her version but I found many others. Then I found this one that said Isto - Paper Moon. The dude is sitting on the floor playing the guitar with a funnel on his head. I was intrigued. So reluctantly but curious all at the same time clicked the link. It was a "great" version but it wasn't bad. He had a pretty cool voice. I must see more I thought. He has lots to choose from. I liked this one so I will post. Someone made a comment on his videos. "The more I listen to them the more I like." I like.