Erica’s Blog

Well, we had a great visit from the in-laws, aka Grandma Ruthie & Grandpa Gil.  They arrived Friday and left for my brother-in-law’s yesterday.  It was good to have them here for Thing Two’s birthday party and Easter.  We had family over for lunch on Saturday, then had all the kids over for a party at 1:30.  It was a busy day b/c we also had our Easter church service that night at 6:00 about 40 minutes away.  Thing Two was coughing enough that we knew they wouldn’t take her in class, so we left her home w/Grandma & Grandpa.  Grandpa had made it pretty clear he wanted an excuse not to go, anyway.  Sunday, after the girls sped through Easter egg hunt and opening some Easter presents from Grandma & Grandpa (almost like Christmas!), Grandpa & hubby went golfing.  They managed to get in 18 holes before the downpour started.  Grandma’s sisters and their hubbies came over for Easter dinner, plus one of the cousins and his girlfriend.  It was low-key compared to the 25-people Easter gathering we usually attend, and only briefly stressful when the ham didn’t get ready on time and the aunts started taking control in the kitchen. I’ll post pictures soon; I haven’t dropped off the film yet.

Sporty came over for a brief play date on Friday, then a long one (about six hours) yesterday.  So far, no one has reacted allergy-wise.  We all had a blast.  She really is about as perfect a dog for us as we could find.  The girls had a terrific time playing with her in the yard.  OK, we ALL had a great time playing with her.  I can tell that if we get her, she’ll help me get a lot of extra exercise, not just walking her, but also running around with her in the back yard.  It was really funny to watch her dragging Thing One around the yard.  I made sure to pet her and snuggle her a lot to make sure I wasn’t allergic.  Sporty really seemed to enjoy herself.  She was even relaxed enough to take a brief nap while she was here.  Tomorrow, she’s coming for a sleepover, which will be an even better test for all of us.  Check out the pictures.

My sis-in-law really seemed to like her scarf, though she wasn’t surprised b/c she saw the picture on here.  Oh, well.  I made myself a poncho out of the Divine, but when it was done, it didn’t fit b/c it was designed to fit a miniature model-sized person, so I’m going to give it to a friend of mine for her bday next week.  Making a few more pink baby hats, then I’m starting on the next big project.

Easter vacation is almost over.  I’m so glad the girls were off while Grandma & Grandpa were here, but I’m ready for them to go back.  I’m not ready to get up early again, but I’m looking forward to being able to go to Curves three or four mornings a week.  I’m really enjoying going.

Time to get dressed, finish the laundry, make the bed, and go to Costco…

I just have to show off these flowers from our back yard.  Growing stuff is definitely one of the cooler things about home ownership.  OK, OK, OK — I realize all I did was plant and water; God made them grow — but after all my hard work, it’s really exciting to have pretty things coming up in my yard.  The pink rose bush was the only thing we didn’t rip out of the yard besides the lawn.  The daffodils and tulips I planted after we pulled out all the dead and/or ugly stuff.  The lilies are coming up near the fence now, and I can see the irises sprouting, too.  I’ve also planted some forget-me-nots for Paul and bunch of different wildflower seeds that are just starting to sprout.  I have to be careful about what I pull up b/c I can’t always tell the difference between a weed and something I’ve planted.  That’s one of the many things I got from my dad.  The difference is that he’s more apt to pull up something good by mistake, whereas I’m more likely to let a weed flourish by mistake.  Oh, well.

Well, yesterday’s TORNADO in South San Francisco missed us by just a few blocks.  Apparently, it went right over our house (we weren’t home).  Crazy!  Here’s a link to the pictures from the SF Chronicle site:  http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?m=/c/pictures/2005/03/21/mn_twistergrf.jpg&f=/c/a/2005/03/21/MNGPVBSH2P1.DTL

In other news, Thing Two’s birthday was a blast.  I can’t believe she’s four years old.  There are some pics posted here (see sidebar).  Others will be coming tomorrow or so when I get my film back.  Party is this weekend, so expect more pictures next week.

Not much else to say today.  Oh, wait — we got a new computer!  Yippee!  Hubby researched and got a great deal — a Compaq Presario for about $700 less than normal.  Gotta love that.  Now, if only the tech guys can get my data off the old hard drive for me….

Today is Thing Two’s fourth birthday.  Yippee!  Four years ago at this very time, I was at the hospital, getting a pitocin drip.  I can’t believe it’s been four years.

She was so excited about her birthday that she woke up half an hour early so she could open presents.  She had so much fun opening everything before breakfast.  After she had everything open, Thing One said, “What about the kitty?”  I felt so bad that I had forgotten about the stuffed kitty on the shelf in my closet and hadn’t wrapped it!  She had used her $6.11 to buy it at the book fair at Sarah’s school last week.  B/c she didn’t have enough money for it, I said I’d kick in the extra IF AND ONLY IF we put it away until her birthday as one of her gifts.  She was fine with this idea until it was time to actually put it away.  She cried and cried!  It was SO hard to stand firm and not cave in.  For a couple of days, she asked for it, then she finally accepted reality.

Check out the pictures here.

Today is also Thing One’s best friend’s bday.  Yesterday, we left his present at his grandma’s house so he could have it to open this morning.  Guess he couldn’t wait — we got a call last night from his mom, saying that he loved it.

I seem to have the “Wednesday blahs”.  Wish hubby could have stayed home tonight, but he did need to go to church.

Finished the blue/grey scarf.  Looks pretty cool, but I don’t know why the edges roll.  I would have expected that from stockinette stitch, but not from broken rib.  Odd…I even put on fringe (ooooohhhhh!  ;->  ).  I’ll post pictures later after hubby figures out how I can upload pics from the digicam to this laptop.  Working on some pink hats for the hospital before I start the next big project.  Oh!  I ran out of one of the yarns for the keyhole scarf.  I’m afraid to ask if I can go buy more b/c I have this huge box of unused yarn sitting in the living room.  Hmmm, wonder if I have enough of the blue mohair to make a “Martha’s Coming Home” poncho?  Couldn’t believe it when I saw on the Lion Brand web site that they’d had more requests for a pattern for that poncho than for anything else, ever.  Please!  What does that say about us that people want to wear what a criminal wore on her way home from prison?  Sure, it was an attractive poncho, but really now….

Thing Two’s bday is tomorrow.  Should be a festive day, being St. Patrick’s day.  Went to Target today and bought green shirts for the whole family so we could be in the spirit.  Thing One doesn’t have to wear her uniform to school tomorrow.  They’re having “Green Day” tomorrow.  Sounded funny to me.  I don’t think the girls got it when I told thme them that was also the name of a band.  She wanted a multi-colored scarf, so I used up a bunch of scrap worsted — baby blue & purple from the twins’ blankets and bright pink from the clown doll, I mean bunting doll — and crocheted a scarf.  I like the color combo, but I don’t like how the scarf looks.  It’s not quite done, so I might frog it tonight after she goes to bed.  It looks more like a bell pull or a table runner than a scarf.  I suppose cheap acrylic worsted wasn’t the best choice for a scarf.  It’s not very soft, and b/c it’s crocheted in a tight sc, it’s not stretchy like you’d expect it to be.  Yupp, think I’d better frog & start over.  Guess it won’t be a bday present after all.

Must have been doing something right w/Thing Two.  When I asked her what she wanted for dinner for her bday, NO JOKE she said she wanted “regular” chicken, salad, and quinoa.  Turns out “regular” chicken means “cooked on the George Foreman grill.  I expected her to ask for candy & ice cream.  Pretty cool.  She also cracked me up last night.  The girls and I had finished eating dinner and were sitting there talking.  I started picking at the leftovers on the table, which were pretty much veggies & fruit.  Thing Two piped up with, “Oh, no!  Mommy’s eating EVERYthing!”  I just about fell out of my chair, laughing.

Did I mention that I’m officially a Curvette?  I joined a week ago and have gone six times.  Pretty cool.  I *know* that working out is the only reason I lost any weight at all last week, the way I was eating.  Wacky Wednesday today, and I had to do a dance step when I wasn’t on the machines.  Thing One wanted me to do the Mazurka — NOT!  Thing Two wanted me to do some weird wiggle thing.  NOPE on that one, too.  I ended up doing some form of the Twist, which ended up being harder than I expected.  It had to have been good for my thighs, as much as I felt it there!  Got my first two Curves Dollars, the first installment on a t-shirt.  Had hubby take my picture on Monday in my new workout outfit (I needed a reward, plus my workout tops were getting too big) to be my “fat” or “before” picture; that will get me some Curves Dollars, too.  By sometime next month, I should be able to get a shirt.  Woo hoo!

Today was Thing One’s last ballet class of this session, and the parents got to observe.  It was pretty cute.  Pictures are here.

Gotta go — the girls’ movie is ending, and it’s their bedtime.

Spent the first half of Saturday out & running around — WW, Curves, home to clean up, out for a physical.  I hadn’t had one in at least 15 years, so it was needed.  Two good things from the appointment were getting a prescription for Imitrex for when I get really bad make-me-puke-my-guts-out migraines and having the nurse get all excited about my weight b/c I had lost so much since my last appointment.

Rest of Saturday was spent in spring cleaning.  While I had been out, hubby finished the ditch/drain project (which he has now dubbed a “Mexican drain” instead of a “French drain”) and weeded the front — YIPPEE!!!  When I came home, we attacked the attic.  Most of the boxes up there were half-full and messed up b/c we’d combed through them looking for stuff over the past year.  Hubby got a bunch of moving boxes from work, and we sorted through everything, putting the “keep” stuff in the moving boxes, clearly labelled.  We got rid of all the assorted mismatched, messed up, odd-sized boxes. 

Today, we sorted through the garage.  Everything we’re going to keep is up in the attic.  We have a bunch of stuff to go to Goodwill, clothes to hand down to friends with daughters younger than ours, and a bunch of stuff to go to the dump.

Late afternoon, we went to meet another dog.  She’s really cool, friendly but not jumping up on you.  She’s well-trained, even obeying commands from Thing One.  We had thought the first dog we met was great, but meeting this dog shows us the first one wasn’t quite perfect.  They said we could change her name.  Thing One & Thing Two want to call her Jenna, but hubby thought that if we got her we should call her Oreo.  Check her out, and you’ll understand why:  http://www.reunionrescue.com/id45.html.  I could go with either one.  Then again, maybe I’ll throw everything off and suggest Belle.  ;->

A little knitting, but not too much.  Don’t think I’ll get Thing Two’s fuzzy blue hat made before her bday, but she’ll love the scarf.  Actually, I got some pink hats done this week, but I’m also trying to finish that Paton’s Divine/Wool Ease scarf.  Also started a bi-color Fun Fur keyhole scarf, which I hope to finish tonight.

Here’s to a new week and staying healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Well, my computer is toast.  It had been having different problems for a while, so we had our friend Raymond come work on it.  He wasn’t able to fix it.  Hubby tried for a while and got it part-way fixed.  Then he spent more time trying to fix it and killed it.  It’s toast or, as he says, “it’s pooched” (whatever THAT means).  I’m REALLY trying hard not to be mad at him and blame him b/c he was trying to help, and he spent a lot of time on it, but it does bug me.  As long as we can eventually get the data off the hard drive.  I have over 1,000 entries in my Outlook; it’s the only address book I have, and it’s not backed up in any way.  Yikes!  For the moment, all I have is hubby’s work laptop.

BAD NEWS:  Ate like a crazy person this week, definitely eating my emotions.  Had some run-ins with the leftover frosting from the baby shower and also with some peanut butter cup ice cream (fabulous stuff!).  I was definitely sad about Paul.

GOOD NEWS:  I *did* do some things to attempt to be healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  PHYSICALLY — I joined Curves this week, taking advantage of their “Food for Friends” promotion.  It’s hard, but I really like it.  Everyone I’ve known who’s actually been faithful about going has done really well with it.  It seems like a good way to get to know other women in the area, too.  I also had a follow-up appt w/my Ob/Gyn about my cyst  & my depression.  Got my slip for getting my “I just turned 40″ mammogram (blech!).  Today, had a physical, the first one in probably 15 years or more.  EMOTIONALLY — Wednesday night, we went to the SAND (Support After Neonatal Death) meeting.  It’s always a big pain to work out babysitting, but we’re always so glad we’ve gone.  I think that working out consistently will help me emotionally.  The endorphins from exercise are supposed to help combat depression naturally.  If nothing else, I’ll feel better about myself for doing the right thing.  SPIRITUALLY — Making sure I stay devoted to reading my Bible and praying every day.  I just can’t afford not to be grounded like that.

Looks like we’re going to go meet another dog tomorrow.  Hubby still has to get the fence done, but he finished the ditch project today.  He’s really fallen in love with the Staffordshire Bull Terriers.  Should be interesting to see what we end up with.

Gotta go.  Thing One has been waiting patiently for her turn on the computer.

Sis-in-law’s baby shower was today.  I was kidding myself to think I’d be able to make it.  Everything came crashing down on me last night, and there was no way I was emotionally up to going.  Hubby went, however, and it looks like it was a great time.  Here’s the link to the pics:  http://andrewh.blog.com/album/38171/.  I made the cake, but Velia put it together at the shower for me (I’ve learned the hard way not to put them together in advance).

Janet really liked the hats and the clown doll…I mean bunting doll for baby Hannah.

Took a LONG, Motrin-induced nap this afternoon (“seasonal” issues), then had my friend Trisha over so I wouldn’t be alone the whole time.  It was great to hang out with her.

On the way to bed.  Hubby’s still hacking up the occasional hairball.  I could use another Motrin.

OH!  BIG NEWS:  I ***FINALLY*** started on the pink hats for the hospital!  Yippee!

OK, I bought yarn.  You were SUPPOSED to stop me, but you didn’t.  Had to ‘fess up to the hubby this morning.  Actually, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.  When I was online at www.joann.com, the yarn I wanted added up to almost $400.  I DIDN’T get that stuff.  I had to run up to Beverly’s yesterday to get the stuff for my friend Janet’s baby gift(s) (crocheted doll and a baby hat or two).  Well, while I was there, I ended up buying other yarn, so I left $40 later, having forgotten to get the filling for the doll. Ooops.

FINISHED TWIN BLANKET #2!!!  I’m so glad to have this project over!  I also went back and fixed the last row of blanket #1.  They look pretty good, unless you look closely enough to see that the ending row isn’t as wide as the beginning row, even though it’s the same number of stitches.  I partly solved the problem by casting off with a bigger needle, but I guess my knitting just gets tighter as I go along.  I suppose that will get better as I get more experienced.  Bummer, though.  In my pride, I want them to be PERFECT, you know.

Got some grey Wool Ease and combined it with the Denim Storm Patons Divine for a scarf for my sis-in-law’s bday.  Looks good if I say so.  I think I’ll fringe the ends when it’s done.  I’ve got SO MUCH of the Divine that I’ll probably do one for Thing One’s teacher, too.  She likes to wear scarves, and the blue/grey is a good color combo for her.

Hubby still sick and stayed home from work again today.  Thing One went back to school, but she’s a sniffle monster.  Thing Two is wheezing a lot, had to start the nebulizer (aka “fishy mask”).  Bummer.

No exercise.  I’m just too tired these days.  Wonder if I’m getting a touch of SADD?

Was a beautiful day for a few hours, so Thing Two and I spent some time outside.  I weeded the front flower bed, and she pretended to plant flowers in the unplanted dirt area in the back. 

Oh, back to the yarn.  What else did I get?  Fun Fur in Kelly Green and  a bright yellow and a Boa in a mix to go with the Kelly Green.  Can’t decide if I’m going to make a scarf with the green & yellow Fun Fur for my sister (colors of her alma mater) or if I’ll make one with the green & the boa.  Also got some Boa in Hawk (browns) and some Fun Fur in Sandstone to go with it.  Hmm…funny that those are good colors for MOI.  Maybe I’ll give it to my hubby’s step mom for Mother’s Day.  It would go with her red hair, and she could use a treat. 

Wonder if I could pretend that failed shawl was meant to be a baby blanket and give it to Janet?  Nah, wrong shape.  Oh, well. 

I’ll start crocheting the baby doll after the Things are asleep.  I’ll need to concentrate on it; it’s easy, but not as mindless as a scarf. 

Saw a WEAK movie last night, courtesy of NetFlix:  Uncommon Valor.  I expect a Gene Hackman movie to be good, but I guess we all make our mistakes.  Had a VERY young Patrick Swayze in it — 1983.  Oh, well.  At least it was cheap.  We have Charlotte’s Web waiting in the wings, but I won’t let the Things watch it till Thing One is done reading it at school.  Gotta read the book first; it’s better that way.