MIA…..
Well I went AWOL for a few days…here’s my story and I’m sticking to it… 
I groomed 7 of our animals on Sat…okay that was cool, woke up on my birthday super sore but I was dealing. I had a pretty relaxed birthday, just went to my aunts for dinner, and of course that was perfect, she is such a fantastic cook!!! I can’t even begin to tell you how I am spoiled on a weekly basis by that Woman’s lovely cooking..not to mention all the other little things she does for our family, she’s just such a giving person!!!
So I took some knitting and didn’t have to do much on Sun…than Monday comes around and I’m still sore but decide I’m going to get some darn things done around the house, ya know those things that suffer when you get busy but that really bother the heck out of you…and of course they are things everyone else in the family can see or do but doesn’t…They will just mosey right on by it like its perfectly dusted…ladeeda… So I get to working, and working, and ohh working some more…than after working myself and the kids for several hours I decide the kids still have to much energy so we go for a walk, not a long walk but a walk, where I proceed to tell them they should race…lol… So they race down the road to the dead end and we all walk back (I took Kodiak with me and he had a hard time not running with the kids!)…
By evening I’m exhausted and funny but the kids were to, they went to bed wayyy before there bedtime.. Our youngest (6) didn’t even say goodnight, she just went to bed and was asleep by 7:25….lol…. Now that alone should have been my clue as to how I had over done it, but ohhh no, I wouldn’t catch on to something that simple… So I’m tired, my neck is killing me, my right arm and fingers are uber numb but I got a few things picked up and some laundry folded and minimal dusting done, and also went through some clothes I know our family is just not gonna wear and got tired of it hanging around…. I didn’t think how bad it would be the next day…..
So I wake up Tues and I can hardly move…I think I’m gonna die or be paralyzed or that I will live forever with the numbness (oh wait, I feel that way almost all the time anyway…sigh..)… So I get up because I have to and sit on the couch, turn the lap top on and look over some email, I might have even answered some, not sure….I literally did nothing else really! I just sat their staring off into space or staring at my knitting, or staring at what I could still be doing or at the things I would like to be doing….like painting my daughters closet, putting my book shelf together for my school work, or just dusting the small dogs out from under my couch (we have to do this weekly and its my week…well it was…probably not now..)…. By evening time I’m tired of being tired and I’m frustrated from just sitting and I’m frustrated with the pain…such a small, itty bitty accident, and all this damn pain….its not like our car was totally crunched into a box…course it was totaled, but really I don’t think the lady was going 40mph, I’m sure it was way less than that, yet I pitied myself all dang day…smiling at the kids and wishing I could just MOVE body in some way that would be productive…
Okay….so yesterday comes around…I feel a bit better and of course realize that I’m allowed the occasional day of pity for myself but I’m not that type of person that can just sit and be like that, so although I didn’t get much done yesterday either, I was in a way better mood. We went last night and got J’s and our youngest son’s hair cut and got some groceries. By the end of that I was in so much pain my hands were shaking a bit. I don’t think it was so much from pain but from just being in pain for a few days. It seems the longer this goes on the less tolerance I have to pain when it happens, and the side effects are me trying to not be grumpy and shaking… Not as bad as it sounds, but that’s because I’m not the type of person that likes to show weakness, I usually feel like I have to be strong for everyone else and they can’t depend on me if they can’t see I’m strong…So for the most part I try and hide how I’m really feeling, which of course J usually see’s through, but not always…
I did start knitting something light last night, after like 3 Advil…lol… I might be able to work on my beloved socks tonight but I think I will wait and stick with the easy project until tomorrow though…
I also got something SO special for my birthday that I will be sharing with you later today. Right now I need to start on some studying, for all that we had the week off for spring break I really only had a few days and took a few more than I had anticipated, so now its back to the grind… 
So for anyone reading this today…I should have an nice long post later today with a special share that I got from someone VERY special!!!
April in SC
Happy Birthday to Me!! :c)
Okay, so I wasn’t born until 8 something in the morning and its just after 1am, and I’m not THAT anxious to become a whole whopping 33..LOL…ohhh bring out the scary!! ;c)
Well I have had a busy week. I got my English paper done and turned in on Friday. Our instructor only gave one actual paper for the whole semester, but it was one of those that if you didn’t turn it in you failed the entire semester and had to take the class again…yikes!! So got that turned in on Friday and now I’m on spring break…can we say that again?? SPRING BREAK!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAayayayaay!!
So to start off my spring break I groomed today…and it was a LONG day! First I shaved Kodiak down to help with his skin allergies and just the over abundance of hair that was floating around, and than I proceeded to bath him and Sage our other dog. Well, its spring and I couldn’t be done there..no not me.. So I than bathed our 5 cats – Maji – RunyB (pronounced as RuinyB, like you ruin something with a “B” at the end because that stands for something special..lol) – Druid – Voodoo – and last Mojo… It took me all afternoon and I can tell you cats do not like water, not at all!!! But oh are they fluffy and soft now, and my two babies Mojo and Voodoo have already forgiven me. :c)
Tomorrow (today) we are going to my aunts for dinner, and that is about it, I guess you could say I’ve always been a bit lame on my birthday..lol.. But for the first time in a few months I don’t think I will be bringing any homework, just knitting… And although I would love to do nothing but knit my whole week of vacation I can’t.. Spring has hit here and I have loads I want to do. I won’t be able to do any of it very fast but as long as I take good breaks, don’t life anything and be mindful that my right hand goes numb and just drops things I should be fine. I’m pretty excited about having a week with just my two youngest this week also, it should be fun!!
So I have restarted THIS sock pattern about 3 times and think I finally got it, maybe….lol…. But disaster struck in the stupidest way and I’m not sure what to do now… I always keep a pad of paper and a pen near me when I knit to mark rows or make notes…Usually I use a pen that clicks closed or has a cap, well I happen to crab one I personally would never use, but I made sure to keep it away from the yarn. Well my daughter got into my lap and I didn’t notice it had rolled and guess what?? It LEAKED on my sock!! I’m so upset!! I’m not sure if it will come out or not….sigh…..
Anyway, I really have to stop now, I’m so tired and honestly very, very sore from using my neck and shoulder so much today. So its off to bed for me! I hope everyone out there is having a good weekend!!
April in SC
No test and I have the best SP10!
So I get to class today and the teacher (Mr. W), decides we won’t have our math test today but on Tues..I was SO happy. I have down what I need to know, but I’m still really slow at working out the problems, so the extra time to “practice” won’t hurt me at all. :c)
Took my English test today. I thought it went well, out of 80 Questions there were only 4 I felt a bit unsure on. Not to bad I thought, more than I would have liked, but I think I can live with it.
So last night my SP10 and I were emailing back and forth a bit and she sends me this great website on knitting swaps and stuff, you can find it HERE . Wow, was I in heaven! Course it was super late and I should have been in bed, but hey, I gotta take life when it comes and this WAS life baby, I’m tellin‘ ya!! LOL
I’m having so much fun with the SP10, its just awesome to email back and forth and learn about each other, my SP10 who has been affectionately nicknamed “SunnyMe” is fantastic, funny, practical, silly and everything in between and I just get really excited when I see an email sitting there waiting for me to delve into. And after all, you have to love someone who when you tell on yourself by staying up to late browsing the internet, tells you very nicely just like a best friend to get your butt to bed. ;c) How great is that??
As for knitting I did get a few rows done on J’s Austermann sock, only about 3. I want to knit so bad yet I find myself browsing around on the computer instead of using my time as wisely as I could be. Its totally addicting, have I mentioned I’m a pattern junky? Ya, I’m sure I have..lol..
So I won’t be around much over the weekend. I have a HUGE english paper due next week and will be spending my weekend getting that done, please pray for me on this! lol Its already complicated my life, I’m not sure why, its not a hard or long paper, but I’m having major anxiety over it for some unknown reason.
I wanted to make a note on my “swap” ball of yarn, you remember, the one I don’t like the color on?? I don’t care if its solid, stripped or whatever, as long as we agree on the color and its sock yarn, and of course of equal value (again I only paid 6.75)… I “think” I put in my other post that most of the patterns I’ve been looking at called for solid sock yarn, but I didn’t mean that I would only “swap” solid for the one ball I have…there is ALWAYS a sock pattern I love and can do… lol… ;c)
Well I need to get going, I was up late last night and its already midnight, I need to get to bed!! No more website browsing or anything else tonight! lol
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
April in SC
SP10 ~ My favorite accessory
It’s pathetic I know, I don’t really have any “accessorys”… I guess I’m cheap or something..lol…
However, I do have one, and that would be my needle gauge.. There is a little spot in my purse that it just fits perfectly, so of course it goes everywhere with me! :c) And that might be why its my favorite. I can’t tell you all the times I’ve used it. I’ve used it for sizing, measureing knitting and non knitting items, and I’ve even used it to measure the tops of my pages for APA format at college to make sure I had the full 1″ all the way around the paper!! LOL Its just the handiest tool to have in so many different ways.
I don’t have a picture of my own, but I found what I have online and here it is:
Its awesome and I don’t think I could live without it. :c)
April in SC
The Dreaded Flu & Trade me Sock Yarn?
Well, the dreaded flu hit me starting Sat/Sun, and than my 16 yo got it today. I’m finally feeling better and actually ate something that had substance today. :c)
Its the bottom picture (787) and its much lighter than the picture..more like spring and summer (I guess the summer in the name should have gotten me (Online ~ summer 787) but it didn’t). So just think all those colors just much lighter… ;c)
Well I better get, I have to do one more short blog and than I need to get to bed. I have a math test tomorrow and a huge test in english.
April in SC
About Me~
It became obvious to me today glancing lightly through my blog that I suppose I never really introduced myself properly or even really gave any idea of what is going on in my life. Which of course means that all my rambling means nothing to anyone who reads it….well, duh on my part eh?? So I guess this will be a meeny me life story post. :c)
Wow, writing that was the easy part, telling about myself now seems a bit hard..lol…
Okay, I will be 33 in April. I had my first daughter very young at 16. I got married at 16 to, that lasted about 6 1/2 years, I met Jack about a year after my divorce started, we decided to wait to get married since we both had been married before and well, that has turned into 10 years later and still not married, but we are planning for it this year, seems fitting after all we have been through and of course it being our 10th. I have 5 children and one step son. Three of our children live with us, which would be a whole different story, and not short as its a bit twisted like most blended families tend to be.
For the most part I’ve been a stay at home mom, although I did work for a few years in there and also went to college. We decided with our last two children that I would stay home until the last one went to school full time, which was this year. I was born and raised in Alaska, moved to Michigan with my ex where I spent about 9 years, went back to Alaska for 2 years and than moved down here where I’ve been for almost 4 years.
I have a lot of companion pets…2 dogs, 5 cats, 1 turtle, and 6 parrots. I have a ford truck which started having break problems today, but its my baby and I love it. Although everyone tends to make fun of me because I have to use a body pillow doubled up to drive it since I’m only 4′ 11″.
I don’t prefer cooking and love easy recipes, which since I don’t prefer cooking means I’m usually to lazy to look them up. I’m not a bad cook, I would just rather fold laundry, mop, clean the kitty litter or even the toilet instead. ;c) Thank goodness Jack loves to cook so we trade off days.
I do like fishing, camping, reading, cross stitch, did I mention reading?? lol.. and of course my pets , family and the biggy knitting.
I don’t collect to many nick knacks, we’ve moved a lot the last 6 years and also because of our parrots, which could fly into them and break them, we do a have a few treasures though.
mm…I don’t like to shop much, unless its a craft/yarn/bookstore, I love, love, love coffee and tea, unfortunately I’m pretty stuck on decaf with only an occasional live cup in my hand. Although I don’t go have it professionally done I believe everyone woman deserves to treat herself to a nice night of tea, good movie and painting her toe nails. Maybe its because I’m not much of a foot person but I think woman’s toes look better in sandals with a bit of color… kind of a me thing I guess. lol…
Last summer I was in a car accident and have a bulging disk in my neck and possible facet joint damage. I’ve had 3 epidurals with my last on Dec 11. I thought it was getting much better but it has been bothering me again, which means it feels like the muscles in my neck are trying to crawl into the back of my skull while my right arm and sometimes part of my leg goes a bit numb and just causes general annoying pain. Still it could be worse, and I just want to get it fixed…especially since its keeping me from getting that last of my 6 year old baby fat off! LOL
Right now, I’m going to college full time, hopefully to become a nurse. I just started back this school year and even if I complain I’m very excited to have the opportunity to be doing this.
I have an awesome family and our family spends almost every Sat night having dinner at my Aunts house, now she is a fantastic cook! Yippy!!! I have two great older sisters that both live in AK and my parents are total life savers, they are open, communicate well, are understanding and except their entire family with no reserve. I can actually say that about all my close family, I’m very fortunate, and hopefully my parents will be moving down here to SC sometime this year, we’ll see. :c)
Personally right now I feel like I’m in transition and I’m not really sure where I’m going. After staying home for the last few years and now reemerging into the outside world where its not just kids and more kids I’m finding out things about myself that have just changed or is changing. Its an exciting time and I never know where I myself will be going or what I might be thinking about next. Its totally something I’ve needed and everyday is always a good day to experience something either about the outside world or something about myself I didn’t know before… A good example is knitting…When I first started I really wanted to learn socks but felt I needed to get some other basics down first…you know, learning to knit right?? LOL So while I’m doing that I’m looking at all sorts of sock patterns and yarns and pictures online and I’m thinking to myself two things 1. wow, sock yarn is expensive and 2. I don’t think I would ever be so bold with my color, don’t sock knitters knit with solid colors?? So fast forward to about Jan…I decide I’m ready for socks, but now its different, something changed in just a year, and even from the few weeks before Xmas, because all the sudden 11.00 doesn’t seem so bad and OMGosh, I LOVE color, still most of the warm tones and not anything loud, but honestly I can’t imagine doing many sock patterns with solid yarn…there are only maybe 2 cable patterns that just wouldn’t look right on anything else…but now I just love the color, not sure what changed but thankfully it did…. Its great to step out of my comfort zone and just go with life, to stand inside that fire instead of outside looking in…
Well, that got long…if your still with me, thanks, and maybe its time for a potty break?? ;c)
Its almost 11:30 and I’m bound and determined to be in bed by midnight tonight! I’m crammed again in homework and I haven’t even knit yet today…sigh…probably not gonna happen tonight, but if I go to bed and get up early I bet I can squeeze some time in…whoo hooo!!!
April in SC
P.S. I thought knitting was addictive, and it is…I could never give it up, but once long ago I looked into spinning but where I lived at the time there wasn’t anywhere to learn, and it was before the Internet even came to that area to….but now….Oh Boy, the world is opening up and this might be something in my future…we’ll have to wait and see since I’m just reading up on it…lol…
SP10 ~ Update
I got my secret pal today!! :c) I just checked and had the email, I’m so excited and yarn and giving is on my mind now!
I have my questionnaire posted in a previous post, but will be posting it again and I will probably change a few things in it. I have no idea why those things are hard for me but they sure are! Either way, its all good and I’m really excited!
Good Luck to all the SP10′eners out there, I hope you all have a fabulous time!!
April in SC
What’s up Doc??
Well had a pretty good weekend, felt like I ran around town all weekend, which I kind of did. We went to the mall on Friday, than we went on Sat, and than I went yet again on Sun, this time to get an eye exam. Yup, found out I need new glass’s, not that I’ve been good, I haven’t had my eyes checked in about 4 years. So nothing new that I needed new glass’s. Now I just have to actually pick some glass’s…do you think this was easy for me?? Of course not! I found a pair I really liked, they would be what I would call my “funk” side, which is a side I don’t show often, I really think knitting is bringing that out in me..at least it sounds like a good excuse..lol… So Last night we went to another mall to look at glass’s and the only ones I found between two places that looked remotely good had Barbie on them…yes, they were kids, I have a small face…but Barbie?? I think not..lol.. So either I go with my “funk” side or keep looking.. I really dislike choices like this!
In-between this we went to my Aunts on for dinner Sat like we always do (I swear, I wish I could share her cooking, its great!) and FINALLY handed over her Birthday gift, and of course spent the rest of my free time studying and knitting.
I was in a car accident last June which resulted in a bulging disk in my neck and possibly some facet joint damage. I’ve had 3 epidural injections into my neck area, and they seemed to really help, especially after my last one on December 11. I was starting to not have pain just sitting, and only when I over taxed those muscles. I was actually after all these months feeling half-way human, not fully but halfway. Until about a week and half ago. I’m not sure what really happened but slowly my neck and shoulder started to hurt again, then I started getting numbness again in my right arm and now into my leg at times as well. I’m a bit frustrated with the whole thing as my right side is just SO weak (thank goodness its not my “good” side)…. Anyway, its going to be off to the Doc again to see what he says, hopefully it will be something as tonight it got really bad after trying to sit all day in class, and its getting difficult to drive again…sigh…
For the knitting I haven’ worked much on my last Trekking sock, this sock is like the sock that never ends..lol…My own fault of course, I got hooked on working on Jack’s Austermann sock, I am on the gusset decreases right now.
It’s getting late at 10:30 now, but I still think I’m going to try and get at least a few rows in on one of the socks I’m working on, and probably some homework. Tomorrow is loads of homework, hopefully some knitting, and again seeing about some glass’s. I wonder, should I go with my funk side, or my normal side with just some regular ol’ wire rims?? I’m just not sure the geeky librarian pocket protector is me, than again, I did kind of like it. ;c)
April in SC
Test in Teams, Test Alone.
So Tuesday we find out we have a practical test in lab for A/P over about 8 or 9 chapters, of course we are only on chapter 7, but hey, it’s all good. It was even better when our instructor said we were taking the test as a team with our lab partners “teams”. So after class my team gets together and we decide to of course study all of the material but to also break up the subjects and specialize between us. Cool, that worked for me, although I was a bit nervous that I would forget my “specialty” at the last moment with having test anxiety and all, but still it was all good.
Fast forward to this evening, I walk into the school and everyone it out in the hallway waiting, the teacher is not letting us in yet, and the first thing I hear is that we are not working in teams but alone….all alone…
Good thing I didn’t just “specialize” eh??
That is how this class is, you can’t count on anything the instructor says, things change in that class faster than … well… maybe…. I better not say here..lol.. You get my point, and its horrible. Nothing like wanting to learn, liking what your learning, knowing the teacher likes what he teaches and knowing that the whole class including you feels like they are not learning half of what they could be all because of a lack of organization and structure, and of course the instructor letting us know exactly what we need to know and being accurate on that information.
Now for the good part of my day, in fact great part of my day… I got SOCK YARN in the mail!! My very first time!! I’ll give way more details tomorrow and I’m going to “try” and be firm about getting my pictures up! The only reason I’m kind of lazy about it is because I use my laptop and in order to do pictures I have to go use my desktop and load my pictures onto my flash drive and transfer them onto my laptop. I need a adapter for my camera memory card, I know they don’t cost much, I’ve just not be up to walmart to check recently…its on the list. :c)
I’m only a few rows to until I’m at the toe decrease on my trekking socks, and I CO for Jack’s sock on size 1 with the austermann. After fiddling with my gauge and CO formula I just decided to try 80 St and go with it. I’m not doing a really long sock and I’m doing it with a 1×1 ribbing and than I’m taking a pattern that was called “broken rib’ and goes like this : Row 1 and 2 knit, Row 3 and 4 2×2 rib.. I hope it works and if not I won’t have to frog back far since I’m not giving it much leg. :c)
Guess that’s about it for tonight, its getting late and I want to get another row on the Jack’s socks before I head off to bed.
April in SC
I made it through today!! Now on to Gauge stuff…
Okay, nothing really exciting for the heading I put except I made it through another day of school AND got several rows done on my second Trekking sock during my Anatomy and Physiology class tonight.. I’m so ready for this darn sock to be done so I can wash and wear the pair, I’m getting there and it shouldn’t take me long now.
Tomorrow and Thursday will be big days for me so I probably won’t get an update put up here, and I’m not sure I will get the pictures up I had wanted to yesterday before Thursday night or Friday. I found out tonight that we are having our first practical in A/P Thursday night and I have loads to study as it covers 8 or 9 chapters and is all hands on (AND I have some sock yarn that should be delivered that day, how am I ever going to learn all I need for A/P Thursday night when sock yarn is coming that day? LOL). The good thing is that we get to do it in our lab teams, so tonight after class we split up the work and each of us 3 will be “specializing” in our own topic along with just doing a general study of all material covered to date….Wish me luck, its a lot of information and since we are behind in chapters some of the stuff we haven’t even gone over in lecture..and I know I need some luck to remember all the surface muscles of the body along with lipids and protein reactions from a previous lab.. Good thing I not only took notes but also made out a tabled lab report I can now study off of. :c)
Okay, for the gauge thingy that is going on over here..
I am knitting my Trekking on my size 0 needles, I CO and started knitting a swatch with the Austermann I just got on my size 1 needles…and I’m getting 11 Spi on both.. Okay, I was told this can happen, no biggy. What is confusing me is that if I use the formula of (Spi x Ankle Circumference) with 20% deducted for ease it still seems like I’m going to have CO a large amount for Jack’s socks. Here is what it comes out to be:
With my Trekking I CO 68 which was really snug, I don’t think I could do that with anything but a plan vanilla ankle sock, I do like my socks snug though so for the pattern I used this is fine. But here is what my CO would be for me and Jack, if anyone has any ideas on this at all please let me know.
Using (spi x ankle) with 20% ease
Me:
70 sts — which seems okay
Jack:
88 sts — which seems like a lot
How many of you out there cast on 88 sts for socks? And since I did take the 20% off for ease how do you think it would effect the size if done in a rib pattern that is carried down the leg and top of foot?? Should I only take 10% or would the 20% with the 88 sts be okay??
Any and all answers or suggestions would be wonderful and much appreciated!
Okay, its midnight and I have loads of studying to do tomorrow, I hope everyone had a great day and I want to thank everyone who has left me comments, they are all much appreciated!!
April in SC
