While you were sleeping...

Knit, though your heart is breaking...

Yeah, I am recovering from a broken heart. So I will knit, and knit like the wind. Here are a couple of new projects:

The Baudelaire socks from Knitty, done in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, pale pink, on size 1 circs. New skills: The sewn bind-off, reading a chart, and cables! Woohoo!

Pretty, eh? I liked the pattern a lot and found that while I could not knit without the pattern, I soon became easily able to recognize where I was in the pattern. That made life much easier! They fit well, and I have a ton of LL left over. Bummer -- I changed balls in the middle of the heel of the second sock, and the yarn is DEFINITELY a different shade, though they were from the same dye lot. Don't you just hate that??? I am hoping that after washing, it will be less apparent.

That Cookie is quite a little crafty lady, isn't she??? Now that I've done these, perhaps I will be tough enough to undertake the Pomatomus. Love those. And I can't forget Monkey. I mean, if you are going to knit socks, shouldn't you KNIT SOCKS????

I just cast on for a pair of Diagonal Rib Socks from Knitter's Daily by Ann Budd. I am doing them toe-up instead of cuff-down, and I'm not sure how to convert the pattern, so we shall see what we shall see!

Next up, we have a little cardy for Callie.

It's done in garter stripes alternated with stockinette. Very easy. Cheap, too. I got the pattern (and the yarn) from Lion. I'm not a big craft-store yarn buyer, but this was so cheap that i couldn't say no. I think it took three skeins of their Cotton-ease, and they were like $3.50 each. A sweater for $10?? Sign me up. I purposely made it a bit big so it will last longer. We'll see if she outgrows it or grows to hate it first.

What's next? More socks as reported above, plus I am tempted to join in the Elizabeth Zimmerman year-long Knitter's Almanac knit-along that Kelly at KnitPicks is starting. Anyone interested?

Clearing the decks

I've been on a Project Spaciousness kick for a long time, now, and I'm finally discovering that it doesn't just pertain to my possessions... I'm trying to make space in my life, too. I also believe that God has a way of making room for His plans whether or not we're on board. Right now, I feel him clearing my social calendar.

I feel like I've lost many friends over the past 12 months. Most have not been by choice -- instead just situations where the other person had chosen to leave the relationship. Man, that is painful. I lost my first best friend in a long, long time -- she has chosen a different path and it does not include me. I still ache over that. She's my baby's godmother, and there is a space for her in my heart that has not healed over yet.

I lost my book group. Most of the women weren't really close friends -- more like friendly acquaintances -- but I really enjoyed them and will miss their presence.

I lost my favorite scrapbook store, and with it the frequent hanging-out sessions with one of my favorite people, Terri. She has five kids, so even though she's not running the store any more, she doesn't really have "free time" to get together. (We did finally manage to get together for a Starbucks visit -- our first in 6 months! -- the other day. I hope we'll have more of those!).

And so on... It's quite lonely. But I have faith that God will fill the holes. I am excited to see who will come into my life... but I find it difficult to "make new friends." I feel too old for this! It brings up all my insecurities and fears and "am I good enough???" feelings.

Tell me about your friends. Are they friends of convenience or friends of the heart? Where did you find them? Have you ever lost a friend? What happened and how did you recover?

The Chapped Khakis Log

My kids are lying here watching "Open Season." My favorite line is when the Debra Messing character says, "That guy really chaps my khakis."

Believe me, Debbie, I know the feeling!

So in honor of Open Season, here's MY chapped khakis list:
*Weather that doesn't stay with the season but instead zips and zaps all over the place (case in point: the 30 degree difference in weather between this weekend and today. Ick).
*Those who park their huge boat SUVs (I can make fun of them now -- hahaha) over the line and then give ME a dirty look when I park next to them.
*Having to wait at the doctor's office. (The good part about this? More knitting time.)
*Pointless homework assignments. My son is taking beginning Spanish this summer, and we just spent half an hour drawing and labeling a map of South America, showing all the countries where Spanish is spoken. I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. I mean, if you don't know they speak Spanish in Chile, for example, and you happened to end up there by accident and heard everyone speaking Spanish, wouldn't you just start speaking Spanish? It's not like you'd be totally unaware that a Latin American country would be Spanish-speaking, and be so caught off-guard that you wouldn't be able to respond with your hard-earned first-year Spanish. Geez.

What about you???

It's been a while...

The good news:

KnitPicks is having a sale.

The better news:

I went to the sale site and there was NOTHING I wanted to buy!

I'm actually going to be destashing here soon, so check back...

50 things

I did it! It took me a while, but it's done...
Fifty things – out the door:
1. Miracle & Wonder postcard
2. Pamper & Peel Radiance Mask
3. Green tshirt
4. Just Married pillow
5. Tea-stained towel
6. CABI tags
7. Burts Bees dusting powder
8. Bunch of earrings and jewelry
9. Timex Box
10. Nike watch box
11. Grey shortsleeved sweatshirt
12. Blue sweatsuit
13. Red fleece pants
14. Bacara hat
15. Studio Kicks tshirt
16. Itchy black tank top
17. Pink Horny Toad sweatshirt (Kinsey stole)
18. Rattan basket
19. Overalls
20. Khaki sundress
21. Purifying mask
22. White shoes
23. Landrover hat
24. Studio Kicks hat
25. Brown cropped cords
26. Love Spell lotion
27. Rosemary mint lotion
28. Azmacom inhaler
29. Pink long sleeved t-shirt
30. Pink t-shirt
31. Pink short-sleeved t-shirt
32. Blue t-shirt
33. White t-shirt
34. Photo album
35. Photo album
36. Wire basket
37. Metal MM case
38. Painting
39. Roll of stickers
40. Green and white sweatshirt
41. Running vest
42. Theory jeans
43. Tank top
44. Tank top
45. Bath pillow
46. Shower gel
47. Bath pillow
48. Perfume
49. Men’s shower gel
50. Wish List book

Did you do it? Show me your list! I liked it so much I may do it again.
Photo coming soon.

Farfegnugen

Sorry about the delay... I was waiting for the photos! And here you go:

No one got the EXACT make/model/color... so we have several winners.

MELISSA was the first to figure out that I got a VW Beetle.

HOLLIS guessed red (and several other colors) so I am giving her and WENDY a spot in the winners' circle (since Wendy was the first to make a stab and go unequivocably with red).

And MARIA was the first to guess a convertible!

Email me your snail mail addresses, my friends. Thank you for playing! And stay tuned for the personalized license plate contest...

Beep Beep!

Edited to add:

My own personal German language translator sent me this email when I just asked her what the title of this post means:

<<Fahrvergnügen, if you can see the 'umlaut')  means the joy to ride this car. Wow, one word where the Germans have it easier to say something. Usually it is the other way round. We normally need a whole sentence to describe something you only need on word for. Where did you hear that word anyway?>>

I guess the Germans don't advertise the same way "over there" as they do "over here!"

Thanks, Ramona... and I'll give you that Spritztour (joyride) the next time I see ya!

How high can I jump???

I can barely type, I am so excited.

My hubby just bought me a new car.

YES, A NEW CAR!

Now, to make this as fun for you as it is for me... well, okay, not quite AS fun but funner than it would be if I just posted a picture of the car and called it a day...

YOU have to guess what kind and color of car I got.

HINT... go back to this post. There's a little hint hidden hint their somewhere. The amazing thing is I had NO IDEA I was going to get a new car, let alone the kind of car I was going to get, when I wrote that post.

And tell me what color you think I got.

I'll announce the winner on Tuesday when I actually get to drive home with the car (it wasn't quite ready).

You'll get a whole bunch of goodies... yarn, a magazine or two, some other junk ephemera...

GO!

I LOOOVE being tagged!

Amy tagged me for the 7 random things meme... here we go!

1. My maiden/middle name is Chroust, which means "beetle" in Czech. The funny thing is I have often been nicknamed "Bug," (as in, "Lainiebug") through much of my life, even before I knew what my name meant. Once I found out, I started collecting scarab jewelry.

2. Speaking of jewelry, John's and my wedding rings are reproductions of a poesy ring in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The inscription reads, "Vous et nul autre," which means "You and no other."

3. One of my biggest regrets is not going overseas in college. I am still kicking myself about this.

4. It makes me strangely giddy when I walk into Starbucks and they have my order already waiting for me.

5. I am addicted to pens and pencils. If one is left on the table in front of me -- even at a place of business or someone else's house -- it takes all my willpower not to steal take it. When I was small, I had a whole desk drawer full of pens and pencils, and everyone in the house knew where to look for a writing implement. The other day, I was looking for a pen (they all seemed to have vanished from our junk drawer!). I went into my daughter's craft room and found a huge collection in a box. Apples don't fall far from the tree and all that.

6. I always have nail polish on my toes, but rarely on my fingers.

7. I am scared of the dentist. I once had a panic attack at the root canal specialist's. After he calmed me down, he told me I didn't need a root canal after all, but I think he just wanted to get rid of me.

Okay.... I tag Robyn, Maria, Kristie, Carlene, Marly, Stephanie, and Tonya.

Your turn!

Updates

*New pages uploaded to my art journal photo album.

*The Cubs took first place!!! Yahhoooo!

*Weigh-in today. I'm scared. You know why? Because even at my goal weight (before baby #3) I felt fat.

50 Things

...Was at the dentist's this morning (she and I are becoming GOOD friends! As it should be when you pay someone over $5K...). Had time while they were perfecting the gold crown they were going to put into my mouth (every girl needs a gold crown to call her own, don't you think???).

Picked up "Real Simple," a mag I used to subscribe to, but I dropped my subscription when they did the article on "20 uses for an old  grocery bag" and listed "tie it onto your knees as kneepads when you're gardening." "Real Simple," indeed. As in, "Real Simple-Minded."

I know, I know, everyone LOVES this mag and I am going against the grain and all that, but we have already established that I am not cool, so it should be no surprise to anyone that I am marching to the beat of a different drummer.

ANYwho.... there was a great article by Gail Blanke (their personal coaching guru) who said she always starts her new clients off by having them throw away 50 things. Yup, 50. Not five or 10 like the beloved FlyLady. But 50. And magazines and books only count as one. Then she has them write down everything they threw out and review it and feel how good it all is... What a great idea! She encourages the tossing of limitations and self-concepts, along with the single socks and old toothbrushes.

I'm in.

Who's with me?

If you're up for it, toss 50 things and post your list on your blog or in the comments here.

PS Here is a link to the whole article. Glad I got something out of my donation to my dentist's children's college funds.