We had pizza and P’s famous Mexican dip. P’s brother-in-law and I talked about our love for Tom Waits and he hooked up me up with the Box Set. T and I won the balloon toss and a water-balloon war ensued. I have battle injuries! I had a great time and so did Buddha. I’m betting T did, too, although she’d never admit it. Between T and I, we took over a hundred pictures! Here’s a less-than-three-minute slideshow of the festivities that took me over an hour to make. Enjoy!
Jack in the Box has other (fun) uses
Posted by tata on Saturday Jul 19, 2008 Under VideoGood news and a really good day!
Posted by tata on Tuesday Jul 15, 2008 Under Events, Food, Kids and FamilyIf Sunday was good, Monday was loads better!
He brought home with him thee.most.excellent news! He got day shift! YAY!!! When he told me, I squealed, jumped up and attacked him with a hug. He starts right away. He has different days off now, too - Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I’m thrilled about this. We can have dinner together as a family now. He’ll be home to help with the boy’s tough evenings and to help with the girl’s homework. We’ll sleep together at night! Weee! Great news, indeed.
So, we went to Wal*Mart to cash the stimulus check and immediately went out to buy a tool box for the truck. Trying to squeeze 4-5 people into the cab of his truck is tough enough without needing to deal with all of his tools and work gear. We’ve really needed some sort of solution for our travels and for the time being, this is a good one. T made sure it was big enough for us.
Then we went into the Highlands yet again. We stopped at Twisted, a tattoo/body piercing parlor recommended to me by a student at the Hair Design School that Joy and I went to a few months ago (see post). I am interested in pricing some tribal body jewelry. Unfortunately, they are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Phooey!
Then we headed to KT’s. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s my most favorite restaurant of all time, so I was pretty tickled. It was nice outside, so we sat on the patio. I’ve had better service, but the food was outstanding (as usual). I forgot to snap photos before we ate (in my defense, we were all pretty hungry and it is so good!), but I got a couple of good ones anyway. I had the chicken pesto tortellini, while Husband and T both got the Hot Brown. The pictured portions are about half-size.Waiting patiently for our food…
T was less patient. Damn energy drinks.
Her impression of Mr. Napkin Head.

After dinner drink?
YES!
We lounged for a good while at the restaurant. Buddha was exceptionally well-behaved. He ate crayons, scribbled, nibbled on fries and bites of our food. After my daiquiri, we left. We took the scenic route home (read: surface streets as opposed to the highway).
I decided to stop by the Hobby Lobby for yarn. It was 8:30pm by then and it closed at 8pm. Curses! So then, Wal*Mart again. Different location, though. I was reluctant, as it is a much smaller store than the one I typically frequent. I expected the selection to be more limited. But I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was their selection pretty dern good, it was better than the selection at the nearby Wal*Mart. I bought a boat-load of yarn and some additional knitting needles. And a big, clear plastic bin for storing my growing collection of yarn. Husband bought a new office chair. We’re tired of arguing over the single one we have! On the way home, we spotted a gas station that had gas cheaper than we’ve seen in a while ($4.08 - how frickin’ sad is that?!), so we stopped in for a fill-up.
Once home, Husband assembled the new chair, Buddha played happily with the new box and I photo-documented my additional stash. Buddha got a bath, then he and I snoozed a while. Husband came to bed and I got up to knit. I completed my first swatch and want to get started on a project of some kind. I browsed Ravelry for some patterns, but everything requires much smaller needles than I have. Impatient as I am, I’m going to improvise a black and red stripey scarf. I knitted (and purled!) 4-5 rows while watching Forensic Files before turning in. When I went in to bed, Husband was still awake. He and I ended up staying up way too late, talking. Much needs to be done today again, particularly for him. I was unable to sleep with all these things swirling around in my head. He set the alarm for 8am and set the coffee pot. Time to condition ourselves for a new schedule.
Now, he’s away at another PT appointment, stopped by the Post Office and the bank. Afterwards, he went by his school to talk about his major and then to Lowe’s to see about J hooks or U bolts or somesuch for the new toolbox. I drank way too much coffee this morning to compensate for lack of sleep and ended up with the shakes because I didn’t eat. So, I ate my leftover chicken tortellini just now. I’m so tired, but I’ve got things to do as well. I need to make a call to pay off a rather large debt of mine, do some laundry (*groan*) and some serious cleaning. Obviously, I’m ignoring all of those demands by blogging, uploading photos and creating slideshows.
Later tonight, I am going to meet up with some people from Ravelry to do some knitting together. I’m excited. I haven’t met new people in real life in quite some time! Plus, they all enjoy the same crafts I do and have gobs more experience, so I look forward to learning lots.
I’d be finished by now because the boy has been playing quietly, letting me do my thing. I turn around to see what he’s up to, and well, it was just so darling, I had to get out the camera:
While I am here, I meant to share this cute one from the other day. Daddy got Buddha to fall asleep in his arms. These types of things are really, really rare for our little guy.

My supplies and yarn stash!
Some family time
Posted by tata on Thursday Jul 10, 2008 Under UncategorizedGet up, get out and do something!
Posted by tata on Monday Jun 30, 2008 Under UncategorizedMy 16 year old niece was supposed to come to our place for a few nights. She was supposed to come over yesterday, but my brother waited until after Husband left with the truck before telling me that he was having car problems (despite the fact that he knew well ahead of then). So, we were going to drive over to his place to pick her up today. But again, they didn’t have their shit together. After much frustration, I finally decided to just go do what I wanted to go do without her and pick her up afterwards.
P called and we planned to meet up later to go to Louisville’s Waterfront Park after she got off from work. But first, we went to Bernheim Forest. I have been itching to get out there for some time now.
I absolutely adore this park. In the past when I have went, we typically drove all the way into the back and spent our time hiking the trails. Now, I have wandered the very front before, but not much. In any case, it’s very interesting and it’s what we did today. The paths are paved and all the trees, bushes, flowers and plants are all marked stating what they are. The place is huge and extremely well-maintained. I took over a hundred photos! Here are my favorites:

Lily pads

Pretty flower

Weird plant I like

I could not get over all these pinecones!

Daisies are my most favorite of all the flowers

More daisies

Holly

Pretty flower

St. John’s Wart

There were so many bees hanging out at these flowers,
which I’m pretty sure is echinacea

And a butterfly

Weird tree

Sad-looking tree

Redcedar tree (I’m very fond of this image)

Cactus flower

Had to take this to identify the weird tree to follow

See! Isn’t it strange?

And another

A relative of the first weird tree,
an even weirder one!
And now some photos featuring my favorite people!
Buddha liked the fountain. It was full of tadpoles.
He also liked the freedom!

I found this tree with these seeds on it…
And fell in love with it!
The bark is smooth…
…perfect for climbing

But I stayed on the ground instead
Husband looking very sexy
Buddha checking out the water
My reflection
The clouds were especially photogenic today
We stopped at Kroger to get some lunchmeat and diet coke for a quick bite, and then headed up to the Waterfront. We had a nice time. The kids played on the playground a bit, we walked across the Great Lawn and relaxed on a bench while P’s girls splashed around in the fountain. Unfortunately, my camera’s batteries died towards the end, so I only got a few good shots. Here they are:

L climbing around like a monkey

C looking supercute in this candid shot

I love this shot!

The Waterfront Park is just across the street from Slugger Field

This week on July 2, Slugger Field is hosting Stitch ‘n Pitch, a way to bring together two great American traditions, baseball and needle arts.
While there were some aggrevations today, we got out there and enjoyed the beautiful weather and had a great time. I’m sorry that my niece didn’t join us, but there is (hopefully) always next time.
Also, while I am here, let me update on xSO. He had sentencing today. He received 18 months probation and some community hours (don’t remember how many). He’s still in jail, on hold for transfer to the neighboring county. The court date there is currently set for the 7th of July, but it’s unlikely he’ll be transfered so quickly. We don’t believe he’ll be out of jail before Joy comes home. They have been able to visit a few more times, as well and she will likely get to visit with him several times per week, at least until he transfers. I spoke with her today and she sounds well, although a bit tired. It’s good for her to be with that side of the family - it’s larger than my side so there is more for her to do and more people to entertain her.
But I miss her.
Does that make me crazy? ….Possibly.
Posted by tata on Saturday Mar 1, 2008 Under Kids and FamilyFast-forward past all the long, drawn-out details, her second eldest daughter, T will be coming here to stay with us for a while. She is going to arrive on Monday morning, just before noon. I will become an overnight guardian to a hormonal, almost-15-year-old teenager. I must’ve lost my mind.
Husband and I bought the boy the Graco Nautilus today. As we were going into Wal*Mart, I asked Husband if we should leave the boy in the bucket seat or take him out. He responded that boy doesn’t really care for the cart seat. I was suddenly reminded why we were there and said we should keep him in the bucket. He won’t have it much longer…
We had to ask an employee to fetch us the seat from the back. I was nervous that they were gonna be sold out. The lady emerged a moment later, box in arms. I felt exhilirated. We also bought the boy his very first ball. To make it extra special, we bought two - different-sized ones. As we were in the checkout line, I was overwhelmed by Buddha’s impending milestones and felt the need to cry. Husband poked some fun at me, but he’s understanding, too. It’s crazy how fast this past year has went by.
When we got home, we excitedly put the seat together. It’s an amazing piece, really. He will be able to use it for a long, long time (which hopefully will pass slowly!). We showed the boy the seat, sat him in it for a bit and finally strapped him in to make sure the belts are above the shoulder before installing it. He seemed quite content to chill in it!
Unfortunately, I still feel pretty under the weather. I called and made an appointment with the doctor’s office yesterday - I’ll be seen on Wednesday. I’ve got to have more bloodwork then, too, to check my thyroid again. I’m a little nervous that this sore throat might mean my thyroid is swollen or growing. I’m equally as nervous to hear it’s strep throat. If I have to take antibiotics, I’ll end up with a YI and - knowing my luck - the boy and I will both get thrush again. At least I have a ginormous bottle of GSE on hand! Let’s hope it’s nothing to worry over.


































