I’m Beautiful Like Me.

I took a late nap, which always makes the day feel weird. Buddha napped with me, but when he woke up, I changed him, handed him to Husband and promptly went back to bed. I slept another two hours or so. It was a good sleep, though, just not long enough.

Yesterday, Husband accompanied me to the library where I got some more crochet books, renewed a couple of books and got two books on hand-spinning. I’m really interested in learning. It sounds like a GOB of work, but it sounds so rewarding, especially when I consider how much money I might save on yarn.

Afterwards, I accompanied him to the downtown Fiscal Building so he could apply for his CCDW. He was frazzled that we wouldn’t get there on time, especially considering I was 100% certain of where we were going. However, I have mad navigation skillz and even better parallel parking skillz. I even managed to find a parking meter with 2 hours left on it! We got there with more than 10 minutes to spare and the entire ordeal took maybe 5 minutes.

Then we drove into the Highlands, so I could seek out a coffee shop where some locals get together on Tuesdays for knitting/crocheting. Problem was that I mistakenly thought I was searching for a yarn store. D’oh! Here I thought there were 2 businesses in town with the same name. I had read earlier this week that the coffee shop was closing. I never made the connection that it was the same place. So, I’m not as savvy as I thought.

In any case, one of those lovely locals and I have exchanged a few messages on Ravelry and I read her blog religiously. I sent her a message and she invited me to the group on Ravelry, so I could be in the know of where they’d be getting together on Tuesday.

Then we drove by a house we’ve found online that we really like. It’s HUGE - almost 3,000 sq. ft., three floors, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, big front and back porches for a killer price. The only drawback is the location. I’m not fond of the location at all for a place to raise our kids. I’m going to hafta do some additional research on the area - the school(s) the kids would attend, the crime rate, etc. if we were to ever seriously consider it.

We stopped at Aldi on our way home. Husband has never been there. They are a lot like Sav-A-Lot, but they have some great deals and sometimes some good imports. I spent a small fortune on imported chocolate.

I had hoped Husband and I would be able to go to KT’s for dinner last night. It’s my most favorite restaurant of all. Great food, good service, excellent ambiance, and a fair price. We’ve been a handful of times since moving back to the ‘Ville, but I can never get enough. I wanted to wait until later in the evening, so we could enjoy our meal on the outdoor patio. Later came and Husband didn’t want to go anymore. Instead, I lied down with the baby and dozed a long while. When I woke up, I had a need for ice cream. It was about 10pm. Husband and I packed up Buddha and T joined us to the Dairy Queen. We ate way too much. I had a hot fudge waffle bowl sundae that was pure heaven. The boy surprised me by rejecting several bites from his dad’s ice cream. He ended up staying up until 1am, too.

This morning, I woke up too early (see previous post). By the time I was ready to crawl back into bed, the boy was awake. He wakes up with the sweetest demeanor. I was here at the computer, tinkering with my new Ravelry widget and I heard him call for me: “Daddy!” I poked my head around the corner and was greeted by a big smile. He reached for me immediately. I laughed and told him I prefer to be called “Mama.” We played for a bit, but since about an hour after waking, he’s been a total grouch. Very whiny. Sigh.

Tonight, Husband started making dinner - a London Broil on the grill. I jumped in the shower while T watched the boy. Husband busted into the bathroom: “I ran outta gas! Making a run to the store!” After my brief shower, I ran out to the grill to snap a picture of the delicious-looking and -smelling hunk of meat.

I stole bites as I prepared small pieces for the boy.
Husband’s plate. Yummy!
Dinner was delicious! Husband is a very good grill master. He’s made steaks on the stove a half dozen times or so and the results were always “meh.” I finally suggested he get out the grill about a month or two ago. That night, after dinner I told him he was never allowed to cook steak in the house again! T whined that the meat was too pink for her liking once or twice before, so this time Husband cooked hers a bit longer. I used to like my steak well, too, but nowadays it tastes like the bottom of a shoe when it’s cooked that long. I prefer it more medium, thank you very much.

Tonight I hope to get some or all of my squares sewn together. Once that’s complete, I still need to add a border before it’s totally done. I’m getting close. I had really hoped to visit a local yarn store called The Knit Nook today to get some yarn for my next project - a blanket for my mother-in-law (MIL). I still haven’t found a pattern that I like for her, but I’m excited because MIL’s favorite colors are my favorites, too. Maybe I can get over there tomorrow. Wait, are they open tomorrow? Ooh, I hope so. Husband has some schoolwork to get to while he’s still got plenty of time to focus on it, but we might catch a movie together tonight, too.

All that’s left to do is sew the squares together and crochet a border!

The afghan is coming along. I’ve completed all 16 of the smallest squares, all 5 middle-sized squares and 1.5 of the 3 largest squares. It’s turning out rather nice, but I’m still nervous. I can’t quite understand what about Granny Squares makes me nervous, but I worry that things come together the way they ought to. I worried this way during the making of the Li’l Monkey afghan and they turned out rather nice, thank you very much. Still, I’m nervous.

I’ve been neglecting my reading. I started Restaurant at the End of the Universe months ago and never finished it. Hell, I never got far. I’m too consumed with the numerous crocheting books, 200 Crochet Blocks and Stitch ‘n Bitch. I did pick up Storm Front, the first in the Dresden Files series, upon recommendation from P’s husband. I’ve read like 4 pages. Hopefully, I can carve out more time for reading soon.

I have listened to the entirety of Anne of Green Gables via Podcast provided by LibriVox. It was the first book I’ve ever listened to and I must admit that I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I’m currently looking into listening to the rest of the series.

Poor Husband. On Sunday night, he didn’t call on his lunch break. This is very unusual. After some time, I finally called him and got no answer. Eventually he called me and gave me the bad news: he had hurt himself at work. Luckily, it was just a strain and nothing too serious. When he went to his boss to tell him, his boss would not let Husband out of his sight. He put him in a cab and the cab took him to the hospital. They gave him some meds and an appointment at their doctor’s office the following morning. He came home very early.

The next morning he went to his appointment and they gave him more meds, told him to rest and he’d be okay to go back to work on Wednesday. He spent the better part of his days off in bed atop a heating pad, sleeping. I had to wake him this afternoon at 4:15pm to get ready for work. On his lunch, he called as usual and said he was going to come home, that his back was still hurting pretty badly. I can only imagine, as his job is very physically strenuous. On an unhappy note, the meds he’s taking make him rather cranky while he’s awake. Hopefully when he sees the company doctor again tomorrow, they will give him some good news or some better meds.

Firstly, T and I got into it yesterday. Mostly because I can’t convince her to take school seriously. All I requested was that she hand over her cell phone for the few hours of the day that she should be focusing on school. She dug in her heels and refused, stating that she could do both. Well, the past several months proves otherwise. I hate the tension between us, but I can’t pretend that I’m okay with her just slacking on her schoolwork so’s she can play on MySpace and send text messages all frickin’ day. So, for now, she has no computer privileges and I’ve taken away her allowance. In our home, the allowance is contingent upon doing your “job” as a kid by going to school and doing homework (as opposed to being tied to chores). Natch, she’s pretty upset, but I think I am being more than reasonable.

And last night, Buddha would not go to sleep! He was up until almost 12:30am. Worse, he woke me at 8am this morning. UGH! I suppose it wouldn’t have been too bad, had I went to sleep when he did. But I was up until about 4am myself, starting on my new blanket, the Circles to Square Afghan. Here’s a the pattern image.I’m using the same yarn from the Seija Set (brown, pink and off-white) to make it, though, since I still have so much. I had fully intended on making at least one more Seija afghan, but I’m bored with it after making two already. I can’t decide on the color sequence. I made two squares and I’m going to make a third before deciding. It’s going to be a gift for my mom’s upcoming birthday (Mom, if you are reading, act surprised when I give it to you!). I’m going to hafta hustle - her birthday is in 11 days! In any case, point is that my sweet boy totally conked out in the middle of the living room - something he never does. It was cute enough to share:

Meanwhile, Joy is in Florida. Her being in Florida is not good for my mental health. I have thought so much about xSO because of it, which I loathe. I’m the type of girl who does not remain on friendly terms with ex-boyfriends. They are my ex for a reason! Now, this does not apply to boys I dated a few times (or to CJP - nevermind that we aren’t in touch anyhow - because, well, he’s just different), but rather to those with whom I was in a long-term relationship. Those never end well and for me personally, the break often had to do with me growing up and them, well, not.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with Joy’s dad, as much as I would prefer it to be. We have a child together and contact between us has been necessary. It’s especially true since he’s the type of boy who has never had to do much for himself since there was always someone there to do it for him. I’m referring to things like paying bills, remembering birthdays and other important dates, sending Christmas cards, attending functions at school and church, and so on. When we first moved to Kentucky, I called xSO right away with Joy’s new school calendar information. Of course, by the time December rolled around and it was time for them to visit, he had made absolutely no arrangements and lost the paper he had written the vacation dates on. What makes all of this so infuriating, such the burden that it is for me, is that I am still the glue that keeps them (Joy and xSO) together. And - worse - his actions still affect us.

My stomach has been in knots waiting for the 30th, when he finally goes to sentencing. He’s looking at 3 to 5 years, from my understanding of his charges. And that’s not counting the neighboring county, where he still hasn’t been dealt with at all. I’m hopeful that he serves some amount of time, because it seems to me that it is the only possible solution to stopping his downward spiral. I wish I were in a position to wish him well, ’cause ultimately that’s what I’d really like to see. It’d be better for our daughter and my family. But I have been let down too often to bet on it.

Some time back, xSO’s mother told Joy that xSO’s life fell apart when we left. While it is essentially true, I was totally pissed at the woman for stating such a thing to my daughter. She might has well have said “It’s all your and your mom’s fault that he’s screwing up.” Bullshit! He was always living risky. When we were together, he didn’t live as risky because I was always there to nag him about drinking too much, spending too much on his head and so on. After I left him, that wasn’t my problem anymore and he took it to the extreme. That shit affects us. It affects Joy, it affects me and it also affects Husband and Buddha. None of us should be made to deal with xSO’s selfishness and disregard for responsibility.

Joy said she visited with him in jail. She said they weren’t even in the same room - that she spoke to him over a telephone and that she saw his image on a computer-like monitor. I’m a bit relieved, to be honest. I was concerned that being in close proximity to him and not being allowed to hug him would be upsetting for her. I think the experience she had made it seem less real, more surreal. Like a phone conversation with an overseas friend.

Yeah, so I’m pissed that I’m spending so much energy thinking on and worrying over Joy being there. I’m going to spend some time today folding laundry that I’ve been ignoring for a week and crocheting while watching the 10+ hours I’ve got recorded on the DVR, so hopefully it will not consume me. P and I had considered attending Shakespeare in the Park tonight, but I didn’t get much sleep last night and she just wants to go home and laze in her PJs. So, we’ll try to go another night. I’ll update then with pictures, I’m sure.

Oh yes, and the great irony is that, for whatever reason, my linked images show up in black and white on Internet Explorer. So, if you are viewing the blog on IE, there likely is something wrong with the picture. Go figure.

At long last, the blankets I’ve been working on are completed! So let’s cut right to the pictures, shall we?!

The sock monkey head.

The face was added.

Then sewn to a square.
Buddha loves it!
The completed blanket.