Something New (To Make)

I haven't actually started any other projects that I have had in mind (unless you count the previous sock attempt which failed about three times) ...but I really like these socks. They are a much different style than many of the other things I want to knit, but they look incredibly comfortable, and the yarn is very cool.

Does anyone know where to find Regia Jacquard yarn (aside from online)?

Gift of Grace

My sister sent me this book last week. She told me she has a copy and leaves it at work, where she starts each day with a new page. There is a short devotional for each day, and the verses are terrific reminders of what is truly important in life. What a great idea for a gift! Now I know my sister and I are reading it together every morning before we step into our little office worlds. She sent copies to my other sister and to my mom too, so there's a very good chance we ladies are all reading them together. I love that something so simple can bring such warmth to a girl. Thanks Buddy! I love you!

Knitting... only not so much

Before I went on my trip I thought for sure I would have all sorts of time and that I would spend it completing knitting project after knitting project. I packed two books, a small stack of printed patterns, three skeins of yarn, a whole bunch of needles, and all my little gadgets (point protectors/measuring tape/needle gauge/you get the idea).

This is the progress of the first sock as of last night. Picture half of that, and you have what I did while I was away.

I did, however make it to two craft stores, one of which was beyond huge. Take about five AC Moore's and you're on the right track. There was SO much stuff there. I went with two other coworkers/crafters, and we spent over an hour in the store. We could easily have stayed much longer.

I almost decided to take up cross stitch, mostly due to all the really nice kits they sold. I was good though and saved my money.

...Instead I spent it on two Father's Day gifts for Brian.

So far he has only used one recipe for chimichangas. He did, however, spend lots of time looking through both books and reading up. I was excited to give him the sausage recipe book. It was a good find. The Mexican cookbook was on sale for $5 or $6, and we had just been talking about the fact that we wanted to try cooking Mexican at home. It had no pictures, but it was cheap, and it had lots of basic Mexican recipes.

MMmmm. Mexican.

Buying stuff for Brian and Tommy was fun, and it helped a little as I missed them like mad, but I did try to make the best of my trip, and I admit I actually had a good time. I went for training and shared two weeks of classes with a really great mix of people from across the country. We stayed in a terrible hotel together. (I won't go into detail now.) The airline forgot my luggage and my friend and coworker's luggage, so the two of us almost went to our first day of class in the same jeans and tee-shirts we had traveled in all day. Our hotel shuttle forgot to leave the hotel and left us sitting at the airport without our bags. We stayed in a small city where you can get a ticket for driving one mile over the speed limit, and there wasn't a whole lot exciting going on, but we still had fun. We sampled some terrific restaurants and took a stroll downtown. We went bowling, swimming, and mini-golfing. Of course there was the craft store. And the mall. And the shoe store. (I didn't buy any.) We went for walks and drinks and watched movies in the hotel (yarn and needles not forgotten). We even went out dancing and shot some pool. I enjoyed it. Now though, I'm glad to be home with Brian and Tommy, and I am really looking forward to our family vacation in July. It's coming up!

Summer

Is it the weekend yet? It's so beautiful outside that I just want to live like a kid again, riding bikes and swimming at the lake. Oh well. I'm hoping it will be nice enough on Saturday for me to take Tommy to a pool. I think it's supposed to get cooler though... We'll see.

I made another purchase today. I bought my first woot. It sells at amazon.com for $44.99 with a list price of $70.00. (I paid $19.99.) I still can't really afford it, but I don't like our mop, and it's clearly practical, assuming it works. I'll let you know. (Exciting, huh?!)

Now for pictures:

Tommy showing off his ChuckECheese tattoo (yesterday)

Flower box just before full bloom (Sunday)

Same flower box this morning... in full bloom with lots of pretty flowers but looking dry and almost ready to go by. I hope they last longer than that. They're much smaller than I expected. Oh well. They're still pretty. Maybe I'll win the lottery this summer, after they go by, and then I'll plant some already-potted flowers. Riiiiight. (Yes, I am that broke right now.)

Back to the sox game!

Back Home

I am back from a two week business trip and feeling somewhat blogging malnourished. I had tons to write while I was gone, but I'm too exhausted to post about it all now. Tonight I'm just happy to be home with my family. I am exhausted. I will, however, post a few photos from today.

In the pic to the left Tommy is holding one of the surprises I brought home for him. It's a plastic cup with a straw. The straw pops up with the push of a button, and there is a cover on the top that pops the straw back in when it's not being used. It's not in the picture, but there is also a snack cup that screws onto the bottom. It's brilliant! Of course the whole Thomas theme doesn't hurt. I bought him a few other small things too, and I went Father's Day shopping for Brian, which was fun. I'll have to post more on that tomorrow.

Below: evidence of what I saw this morning. My flowers have bloomed! There were four flowers today and many, many buds. Aren't they pretty?

...until tomorrow...

Bees, Books, and Dinner Theatre Plans

Last night after dinner and before I fell asleep with Tommy (for the second night in a row-yes, I'm tired) we turned on the television and stumbled upon the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It felt like life or death, watching those kids up there, spelling their hearts out! One girl missed a word, and when she went to sit with her family her little sister cried. I was going to get choked up just watching from home! It was serious stuff. The girl who won, Katharine Close (no, I didn't misspell her first name), won with the word "ursprache." The runner up misspelled the word "weltschmerz." I just ran spell-check, and the only two words that came up (with no suggestions, I might add) were the two spelling bee words. Ha. Blogger would have lost. :) The prizes weren't too shabby either.

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Tommy and I are home today and taking some much needed R&R. We might go out later. I never did get my trip to the yarn store. I was excited because Brian and Tommy were home on Monday and told me of their plans to go to Best Buy. I sent them on an errand to A.C. Moore with a coupon, to buy a book I have been wanting, and I was really looking forward to looking through it when I got home. Then when I called home later in the day, the boys had succeeded in finding the new wireless keyboard and mouse (very nice), but they couldn't find my book. We almost tried another store when I got home, but we would have been cutting it close, what with the Red Sox game at 7pm, which was much more important. We made a point to go out Tuesday as soon as I got home. What happened? Severe thunderstorms. The kind where you hold on to your steering wheel for dear life, hoping a tree won't drop in front of you or a flash of lightning hit your moving car. It was a big one. I might have seen more lightning in that one storm than I have seen from any other ever, and had I not been in such a hurry to leave work I wouldn't have driven through it. Yeah, we didn't make it out Tuesday night either, and Wednesday and Thursday were out of the question to begin with. So... maybe today. We'll see.

We did purchase some dinner theatre tickets through a discount program at work. We never do anything for just the two of us, so we're really looking forward to it. We probably can't afford it, but then, can we afford not to do something like that either? The tickets include our choice of entree (prime rib, roasted chicken breast, vegetarian lasagna, or Norwegian salmon) and all the fixings (salad, rolls, veggies, dessert, coffee, tea). The play is a comedy. It's not terribly close to us, but it isn't like driving to the city either, so it shouldn't be too bad. I can't wait!