501

Long about 20 posts ago, when I saw that my 500th post was coming up, I had this idea that I'd do something big.  There were tentative plans.  But as the days passed, and I didn't blog as much, I sort of stopped paying attention.

This is my 501st post.

I totally missed it!  Blargh!  So instead of a big thing, well...how about this: if there are any lurkers out there, comment.  If I get enough comments, I'll pick a random winner to receive a prize.  I promise it'll be something anyone can use.

And hey, if you want to still just lurk, that's cool too.

Thanks for sticking with me this long, y'all.  Maybe we'll have 500 more

Hello July!

I'm honestly not sure at all where June went.  Seriously.  The year is half over.  How in the heck did that happen??

I've had a crazy couple of weeks, and I sort of still feel a bit...discombobulated.  But I'm working getting those things sorted out so that I can feel more settled.  I have plans to just relax and hang out on the Fourth and I am very much looking forward to that.  I need a little downtime and the BFF is going to help with that.

In other news, there's not much to reports.  I still love yarn and coffee and reading.  I'm still working on a bunch of different things.  I'm still writing.  I'm still me underneath all the crazy the world has thrown at me lately and that is a very good thing.

Oh but fun news!  The baby was born yesterday, and he sent me an email this morning thanking me very much for his blanket and to tell me he loves it very much.  :D  He's beautiful, and mama and baby are both doing well.  

Reviews

So, now that it's all official-like, I'm going to talk about it because it felt like if I talked about it too soon then I would jinx it.  

I'm a new reviewer over at Joyfully Jay!

I'd never really reviewed books before, other than in rambling Kris-like speak to my friends, so it was a little bit daunting.  But also really exciting.  It was something I always wanted to do because I love sharing books that I enjoyed.  And letting people know if there are books to steer clear of.  But it was also nerve wracking because everyone has their own tastes and there are books that I adore that other people can't stand, and vice versa.  But I know that I peruse the review sites in the hopes that someone's review will make me want to read something, or if I was on the fence about buying a book, so I hope that my reviews will do the same for someone else out there.


It's been a fun experience so far, Jay and her crew have been awesomely welcoming, and I'm really excited to be a part of it.

My first review goes up today.  I'm both nervous and excited.  It's just my opinion though, so feel free to disagree. 

Prehistoric Scotland was on the Equator

There's a tidbit of information for you.  (I watched Prehistoric Park again this weekend)

Remember when I bought that yarn from Scotland?  I bought three skeins; two for me and one for my Auntie.  Well, the one that I had intended for my Auntie was a tangled mess.  I spent sometime yesterday trying to sort it out but, yeah, I gave up.  It's really bad.  And I don't have the kind of time to sit there and untangle it.  It's worse because it's in a hank and it's just all twisted around.  So it's gone back in the drawer and someday I'll untangle it and make something with it.  In the meantime, I decided to use the yarn I bought with the intent to make something for me for her instead.  Yesterday, I decided to see if I could find a pattern online that I would like to use, since I decided to crochet it instead of knitting like I originally thought (because I don't have enough time to knit a full sized shawl) and lucky me, the very first one I clicked on was perfect.  That rarely happens.  But I started it and I like it and it's going to be great.

I have to work on Izzy's shawl too but I wanted something that requires a little less thought.  Plus, I have vacation time coming up and I can spend some time then working it as well.

The baby's party was a fun time!  She got distracted by the toys that she opened and didn't want to keep opening presents.  She's two so it was to be expected. She's wonderfully affectionate and loves to give and get hugs.  A good time was had by all, especially my goddaughter and that's what matters.

Like I said, I adore that faction of the family.  We get along, there's not drama, we all respect and love each other.  It's always positive.  Like any family, there are people in mine who are constantly negative and mean, because that makes them feel better about themselves, I guess.  It hurts and I try to rise above, but it's not always easy.  But with the family members I spent time with yesterday, it's always good.  It was a fun filled and joyous time.  As it should be.

Another work week has begun.  Time to head off to the day job.  Enjoy your day, and I'll try to do the same! 

Baby Knits

So.  Here's the thing right?

We're having the baby shower for my brother and his baby mama and the soon to be nephew of mine who's still cooking right?  And I made that baby blanket and it's going to be great.  (I showed Brub and he was all super enthusiastic and he really loved it a lot.) And I thought I was all set right?

Nope.

Because a week after our shower they are having one of their own in Massachusetts.  And we got invited.  And we're going.  So that means another baby present.  And I'm all gah!  I can't just buy something after I've made something.  Okay, well, I totally could.  But...well, if you know me at all, you know I make stuff.  And on top of that, it seems like cheating to make a blanket and then just buy a present.  But I don't want to do another blanket, because that seems like cheating too.  So then, what to make? 

I'm thinking the hat and sweater combo.  I have some lovely yarn that's a delicious blue.  I just remembered it's in my stash.  And it's more than enough to accomplish what I want.  And it eliminates the whole problem I was having about finding a pattern because it's worsted weight...which a lot of the patterns I found are and the yarn that I thought I would use is DK weight, so I was getting frustrated because everything I found wouldn't work count-wise because it would end up smaller because the yarn was thinner.  But!  Since I remembered about the blue yarn, and it's a boy, and it's just a beautiful color...well then, that makes things a hell of a lot easier.  

Last time I made a baby sweater (I've only made the one) it was for a two year old and I made it in like a week.  This will be smaller, so I should be able to make it a hell of a lot faster.  And the hat.  And there we go.  Now that I've decided on using that yarn, it was easy enough to find easy patterns that I actually like.  So that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Because today, I'm babysitting.  And my bum has already been out of bed for a couple of hours.

And speaking of babies?  My coworker finally had her baby on Wednesday...only 13 days later than expect.  Paige Lynn weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and mother and baby are doing well.  

Knit Like the Wind!

After careful consideration, and some discussion with Sis, I made a decision about what to make for my cousin.

Remember last week when I showed off pics of my works in progress?  And there was that shawl I had started, just to play with the yarn and the pattern?  I wasn't making it with anyone in mind so I figured I'd keep it for myself once I completed it.  Yeah, nope.  I'm going to work my ass off and get it finished by next weekend to give to my cousin.  

Now, it's all done in garter.  And I can be pretty fast doing just that.  But still, there's a lot to be done so there's no lolly gagging for me.  The only thing I'm worried about is no having enough yarn to finish it off once I'm done.  So I have to pay close attention when I get towards the end of the last ball so that I'm certain I have enough to bind off all the stitches.  

I even ordered a shawl pin!  I just hope it arrives in time.  I can always gift it to her later of course, but I'd really like to have the whole thing before I wrap it up, you know?

Anyway, I'll be knitting like crazy.  And with the weekend I'm going to have, I'm sad to say that might mean I don't finish Soul Bond before Monday.  But don't fret!  The remaining episodes will all still go up next week, and I will endeavor to get the first one up Monday, but if that doesn't happen, check back later in the week.  Worst case scenario is they go up Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Okay?

I have my time budget and it should all be okay.  I think.  

  

Tante Kris

Somewhere about the 3rd of December, Brub is going to be a daddy.  And that means I'm going to finally get to be Tante Kris.  Tante, for those who aren't in the know, is German for aunt

I gotta tell you, I'm thrilled about the baby.  But, I'll also be honest and say I'm not that excited about the timing.  Brub is definitely old enough to be a daddy, he's older than I am, that's not it.  But he left his job at the urging of his boss to go to law school.  He's doing extraordinarily well, he's super smart and that kind of stuff just makes sense to him.  But he's still got one more year to go.  And the baby, of course, is due right around finals time.  So all of that has me worried.

But baby!

We're mostly convinced it's going to be a girl even though we don't know for sure yet. We just all feel like it's going to be a she.  We've even mostly refer to the baby as she or her.  Not that it matters if we find out it's a boy, of course.

And the best part?  My waiting time gets to be taken up by making baby things!  Yay!  The best part about yarning up the baby items is that they are small so they don't take as long.  I've already got some ideas, thanks to my inspiration a while back about using up the left over baby yarn.  And since it's winter when baby is due, that means hats and sweaters will get a lot of use.  

What I'm really thinking is that my first niece (or nephew) needs a matching layette. Well, at least a hat and sweater.  And a blanket.  Oh and maybe one of those sleepers that has a drawstring at the bottom...

Yeah, I'm going to need to find patterns.

After I finish Sis's afghan, of course.

The Awesome Sis

Remember how the yarn for Sis's afghan was sort of languishing in the void of cyberspace and It wasn't doing anything and I didn't think I would ever get it even though I ordered it almost six months ago?  Sis called the place and the lady looked into it and figured out that even though it was out of stock, it didn't get marked out of stock and then marked back into stock so my order never got tagged as not completed and needing completion so it was just languishing in pending status.  So after a little bit of customer service magic it somehow became cheaper, even cheaper the second time Sis called with my card because they couldn't pull up the old card (which was just as well, as that one isn't active anymore because I got the new card and activated that) and it's officially on it's way.  

Oh and I got free shipping for my inconvenience.

All in all, a pretty good resolution.  Of course, because Sis was so awesome in taking care of that problem for me (even though she agreed because she's becoming impatient for her afghan) I promised her I would drop everything once it arrived and knit until I hurt and finish her damn present.

Now, it's not anything complicated.  It's big, fat, chunky yarn knit garter stitch on big, fat, honking size 15 needles.  It doesn't require much brain power.  But, you may remember, that it's fucking 8 feet long!  And now I have way too much yarn because I bought three skeins when I was out one day.  But Sis says this is no problem.  Just keep knitting until I run out.  I told her it's going to be one ginormous blanket.

The grin she gave me in response to that can only be called evil.

But I will.  I'll knit until I have enough yarn to bind off and the finish the damn thing, throw it in the washer and dryer.  And then probably throw it in her face.

I remember when I started this, nearly six long months ago, and I was so excited that I found this yarn and that I found the color that was so perfect for her and I was going to get it done in time for her birthday.  But then I had too many stitches and the yarn didn't arrive and things kept going wrong.  At this point, I'm not excited about it anymore.  But I'm sure as shit going to get that fucker done just so I can be rid of the headache it is. 

And also, she's really, really going to love it a lot.  

So, in the next week, I need to quick finish up anything that's lingering so that when the yarn arrives, I can get my knit on and get it done.  I want it done nearly as bad as she does...for completely different reasons.  But still, I'll get it done as fast as I can.  

I'm already trying to think of ways I can take a picture of it that will show you the enormity of it.    

Another One

One of my lovely, wonderful coworkers shared her big news today: she's expecting!  She was so cute about it; had this big plan to go to her appointment tomorrow, where she's getting her first sono, and then just bringing in the pictures.  But she couldn't contain her excitement anymore and shared today.  Of course, upon hearing the news, you know what my brain did.

Yeah, you guessed it.  Started planning a baby blanket!

Baby isn't due until September so I have plenty of time and I swear, this time, I'm not going to wait until the last possible second to get it finished.  I'm sure we'll be throwing her a shower when it gets down to it; it's an office full of women, what else would we do?  So, I'll have a solid deadline to work for.  I'll get started on that in a few months...it'll probably take me that long just to figure out what pattern to use!  You know my muse; she can be a fickle bitch.  I want to do something fun and original, something I haven't done before, so we'll see what I can find.  Or come up with.  Something to think about when I get bored anyway.  Not knitting though, takes too long.  

And of course, I have to make something.  I can't give her a store bought gift.  For one thing, that's just not me.  What I do is make blankets (and other things) and give them to people.  And for two?  She's seen the other things I've made and I feel like she might be slightly disappointed if she doesn't get a handmade gift, too.  But that's OK, because that's what I do.

And yes, I am aware that what I don't need is yet another project on my plate.  But really, after Sis's 'ghan, I don't have anything in the works that needs to be done.  Just things I have in my brain that I want to do.  So, Sis's blanket and then a baby 'ghan.  

It's Up!

Head on over to Joyfully Jay if you're interested in reading my guest post.

Of course, you should head on over there anyway.  Jock Week looks to be amazing!  There are tons of reviews, awesome giveaways, and some amazing guest posts scheduled. 

The News

I was going to wait until the mini event itself was right on top of us before I said anything but since it's sort of out of the bag now...

If you don't already check in over at Joyfully Jay, you really should.  She puts up honest reviews about books (m/m mostly) and she has never once steered me wrong.  If the reviewers there give a book a good review, it's a good book.  Anyway, over at Joyfully Jay, they are doing a theme week.  Jock Week.  It's one week away.  That link will take you to a post she put up about the upcoming event.  If you read along, in the Guest Post section, she mentions a reader that will have a contributing guest post as well.  I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.  Yes,  that Kris she mentioned is yours truly.  I am contributing a post about why jock's make great heroes.

I've gotta say, I'm a bit nervous.  OK, a lot.  And I almost didn't do it.  But, a little over a month ago, when Jay put up a post about Jock Week and said that she was looking for reader contributions, my muse started writing in my head.  And suddenly, I had all these reasons why jocks make awesome MCs and so I wrote it and asked Jay if she wanted it and...yeah.  Then I couldn't undo it.

Needless to say, I'm completely excited but also utterly terrified.  It's not the writing itself.  OK, it is a bit because what if everyone thinks it's awful?  But no, really, it's the putting myself out there.  That is terrifying. And yes, I know.  Its the web and it's anonymous.  But yeah, it's still outside of my comfort zone.

Anyway, I'll link to it when its coming up, in case you want to check it out.