PayFail

...I'll just... leave a couple links here. Because this is pretty self explanatory.

https://www.thepaypalblog.com/2011/12/regretsy-issue-resolution/comment-page-1/#comment-14007

http://thegreengeeks.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/why-paypal-is-wrong-regarding-regretsy-according-to-their-own-policies/

 Claiming your own policies are actually entirely different than the policies you have publicly posted. That. Is. Amazing.
 In an RPG game: Obnoxious. Where actual money is involved: BULLSHIT.

Blue Mittens

And here we have it folks, the third, and final personal draft for the Moving Forward Fingerless Mittens. This one was made with Knit Picks Capra Cashmere yarn, in the Celestial colorway. It knits up really nicely and feels warm and comfortable, and I haven't gotten around to giving it a wash yet. ((It's a hand wash yarn.)) I still have to knit the matching right hand glove, but you can see how much difference adding some wrist length and changing the top and bind off has.

Mini Monster I'm afraid hasn't been enormously helpful in trying to get these done. He's not feeling well, and it's making him not want to nap ANYWHERE but right on someone's lap. Preferably in a position that immobilizes your arms, and with projects I need to finish, this is getting a little frustrating. I'm trying at the moment to get the afternoon nap underway, which has another fun complication:
 Someone has figured out that throwing their pacifier at the door usually makes people come back, so I'm TRYING to play the 'mean mom' card and make him suffer the consequences of having thrown it, which he knows he's not supposed to. Mmm. Battle of wills with your kids. Uch, there's some fun times.

 Got a birthday present from Turtle and Bear the day after my Birthday: I got a copy of C.J. Hendersons "The Supernatural Investigators of C. J. Henderson."

 Fun author. I haven't read much of his stuff that's outside the supernatural or Cthulhu-realm, but the stuff I've read in that branch of the genre, especially where he crosses pulp style detectives with 'The Mythos' is a lot of fun,

This is only a test

Well, the Third Draft for the Moving Forward Mittens is moving along nicely, and I've found two test knitters ((one with more experience than the other)) to look over and try out the pattern as I've written it down and see if it comes out like I've been knitting, or if it creates something else entirely because I may, in fact, find out I suck at writing patterns. Cross fingers folks and I'll take pictures when I'm done with draft 3.

A little Victorian

So I've gotten draft two done on the Moving Forward Mits. There will be a draft three, but this time it won't be for the thumb issue, which seems to be pretty much resolved. I knitted this one in Caron Simply Soft since it's supposed to be the same weight as the hideous JoJoland I used the first time ((actually it seems to make a slightly larger glove...)) and it was single colored which I figured would set off the lace pattern much better. I also made some changes to the center stretch of the lace repeat, which help emphasize the yarn-overs and decreases and the patterns they make. I'm kind of proud of the result!

 The Third draft will be to add a greater length to the wrist ((just adding more repeats of the basic lace pattern, and to ditch the mini picot bind off at the top. It's cute and gives the glove an adorably Victorian feel, but it's also impractical on certain levels, especially since the intended recipient drives Stick, so really these need to be useful and good at 'holding' the hand so they don't get caught up on car bits.

 I've designed super simple fingerless mits before, way back when I first started knitting, but nothing at this level, so I am, if I do say so myself, VERY pleased with myself. It's no Snow Queen Pi shawl, but hell, I think it looks pretty damn good.

KnitPickery

 Knit Picks managed to suck me in for a full 21 skeins of yarn and a new pair of tips for my interchangeable needles this week as part of their several day 'Cyber Monday' sale. I guess I'd feel worse about it if it wasn't Knit Picks, because they do, regardless of some peoples opinions of them, have pretty good yarn, and they sell it DAMN CHEAP already for the most part.

((Apparently for some people: Knit Picks is actually a horrible conspiracy to drive all Local Yarn Stores out of business. Never mind that there are a lot of yarns you can still only get at LYS's, and that knitting is a HIGHLY communal activity, and the attitude of owners can make or break a store... it's ALL Knitpicks fault. Entirely. For Serious.))

 Ok I'm done being sarcastic now.  ANYWAY. I bought a lot of yarn, and it's all for various projects that I have in mind. I even scored some of the Chroma rainbow yarn I've been drooling over, and some lace yarn. I got it in Worsted, but they didn't have the fingering weight for the sale up yet when I did my round of shopping, and anyway, since it's to remake an old snuggly wrap, it'll knit up faster with larger yarn.

I'm also putzing around with making a pattern for fingerless mittens, which is kinda making me nervous, but we'll see how it works out. I keep pulling it out and switching yarns, so atm it's in some kind of er.... ugly very colorful stuff, but at least since it doesn't have the crazy levels of sheen the first one did, it should photograph much better when I'm done. Cross fingers and hope I can pull this off. If I do, I'll share the pattern on Rav.

 Edit: Added some pictures of the first draft finished glove. Still won't be putting the pattern up because the thumb needs work, and I need to do it in a yarn that doesn't look like a clown barfed, but it's a good start I think.

Had a online acquaintance comment after seeing the top that it needed to be tighter knit to be 'functional', but apparently she's never seen lacy fingerless mits. :p Not my problem, they're not for her.

Little Silk Dragons

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone, if you celebrate it, and if you don't: Enjoy a great day, hopefully with great food and great people.

 I've got a new project on the needles: the Dragon Scales Shawl with some tiny laceweight silk yarn. ...I'll admit I'm not sure I will voluntarily do much with 100% silk yarn again, it's a bastard to wind, and a bastard to rip out if I need to. Both resulted in more snarls than an kennel of rabid dogs, but for softness it's damned hard to beat.

 Technically the pattern calls for a heavier yarn, but It seems so far to be coming out ok, and the size is pretty much 'as big as you want' so if I get SUPER strapped for size I can always get another Skein... (cringe). Though I might see about paying the extra to have the owner of the store wind it.

The Dragon Scale Shawl in progress

The pie is done (unsampled) in the fridge, Tilmani loved his gifts, and the cake AND the frosting came out pretty well. I can't say the frosting came out QUITE as well as I would have liked, or that I didn't end up wearing more than my share of powdered sugar... but overall, good baking day and good baking results.

 Oh and Tony Van Helsing liked an analogy I posted on his blog. Clearly I win the Internet. ;)

New Blog I'm Following

 Just started following "Scrambled Hen Fruits" after a friend of mine linked them to me over email. Well, technically they handed me a link to one of the far-too-many decadent looking baking recipes on said blog (The Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies), and I couldn't NOT link it for posterity, just to make sure I could find this amazing looking marvel again and try and make them.

 Since Monster ADORES Apple and Pumpkin and such, I can't imagine these not going over well, I just won't be baking them this week, what with two pies, and two birthday cakes in the works. ((Turtle and Tilmani.))

 Tilmani gets Strawberry Cake with Jam in the middle and home made cream cheese frosting, and Turtle asked for Chocolate, so he gets Devils Food and Fudge frosting. Both pies are pumpkin and are for the Thanksgiving Holiday with the in laws, since Nana J is kind enough to host the feast this year. I do confess I am cheating a little... I didn't make my crusts, but I think people will just have to forgive a LITTLE bit of baking cop out. Sorry.

 Did finish a project for MiniMonster though. I made him the Starghan pattern from Ravelry. ((You'll probably need a Rav account to look, but if you're a knitter, it's free and worth it... oh and the pattern is ALSO free and worth it.))

 I used some KnitPicks yarn I'd had kicking around for a couple years, and I'm really pleased with the result. Hell I wouldn't mind knitting that pattern AGAIN and trying for larger, and may try and do so for GreenGosselin's daughter if I get the chance. I don't know if it would be BED sized but it would be a nice individualized throw in the colors of her choice, and her daughter is a sweet kid who I think counts under the 'knitworthy' flag.

 So does Mini of course. He wouldn't even leave that thing unattended long enough to get a photo of JUST the blanket. He came over and sat on it instead. He is (yes) wearing an Halloween Shirt, but he likes it, and the skeletons glow in the dark, so pft. I say let him wear it.

Nuts in November

 Well it's November, and that means Thanksgiving is roaring down at us like a herd of wild turkeys and expectations from various people as to who we're going to spend Thanksgiving with, and Tilmani's birthday.

 Poor Tilmani's birthday falls ON Thanksgiving this year, which is going to be kind of awkward for him. I've informed him flat out though that we're going to take a day and we're going to specifically celebrate his birthday, unrelated to the holiday. I've got his presents all bagged and wrapped and in his room (I might have gone slightly overboard, but then, Christmas will probably be completely nuts, so might as well give him an awesome round of gifts before we're all sleep deprived and pulling our hair out.)

 I'll share later what he got, because I don't want him finding out in advance.

 I did finish my Vortex shawl, and it was promptly adopted by MiniMonster, who's currently sleeping under it. This is kinda ok because I need to carefully wash it and try and block it (somehow) before it's ready to show to to the interested party. It didn't come out too badly, it's just definitely not my color. Nice to know Mini likes it though, because I've got leftover yarn and I don't think it's going to explode too many heads if he has something in purple/blue, especially since it's a dark purple blue and not super vibrant and 'in your face'.

In an attempt to try and trade off for the shawl I'm knitting him a shawl afghan from a designer on Ravelry. Dunno if he'll take to it or not though, since it's plainer, more earthy colors (soft green, tan, brown and cream.) (Oh and machine washable.)

Otherwise I do have one of my normal gripes with the universe:

 1: Facebook (and relatives): Facebook, which I kinda already hate, has a new fun virus that we spent two days cleaning off the computer. I didn't even catch it BY GOING to Facebook. I caught it because of those obnoxious emails they send out trying to suck you back in to obsessively checking all the blather and crap people do that you probably didn't care about. I do have to give (very annoyed) props to the designers of said virus. They CLEARLY went through a lot of effort to build this thing, disguising it as an anti virus program in and of itself, and blocking everything except for the request for you to give them money to theoretically fix the virus' on your computer. I can easily imagine a lot of people falling for this and getting in a lot of trouble. Fortunately I wasn't one of them.
 However what I don't need is to get spammed with emails from smug people with crap like "This is How Facebook Tracks You" when I'm not USING Facebook, and the only reason I got on it TO BEGIN WITH was to follow an particular relative who likes to make shit up about people to make themselves look better (and has been caught at it several times.)
 I've got their stuff going to junk mail, I don't update, I don't visit, and I especially don't want to visit right now even to try and delete shit because I don't want to CATCH THE GODDAMN VIRUS AGAIN. There's nothing up there, photos included, that people couldn't just as easily find on my deviantart page anyway, so I'm not loosing any sleep.

2: Gimmiegulls:
  This is a term adopted from Ravelry. It has to do with people who see you with something and demand their share, regardless of whether or not they deserve it. The term especially is used there to apply to people who want you to become their knitting slave for free, but generally applies to the greedy at large. ((Think of the seagulls in Finding Nemo. You'll get it.))
 -Dear Gimmiegulls: Just because I've got something doesn't mean I'm obliged to get/make/otherwise produce one for you.
In fact, to one specific gimmie gull: I got you the goddamn miniature chickadee ornament you were pawing at me for. Was I stupid to do so? Probably. You obviously don't particularly appreciate the gesture, even at a not so bank breaking ten bucks, because after hearing day in and day out how YOU couldn't afford to go spend ten bucks on it even though you wanted it SO bad.... I see you've signed up for an Secret Santa program since I told you I got it. Minimum gift cost is ten bucks.

 ...obviously you could afford THAT.

 I'm going to pretend I didn't notice, then try not to punch through a wall when you tell me in one breath how you want the next thing SO bad, but can't afford it... while shelling out 30$ and up on more stuff for you and your friends. I'm not goddamn blind. I'm just apparently THAT stubbornly determined to pretend you're going to change.  Go me. e_e

Updated Vortex Shawl

As of my last check: the shawl is about two feet ten inches across, at least thats as wide as I get doubling the distance from the middle to one edge. My largest pair of needles actually isn't long enough for me to fully spread out at this point.

 I'm still wondering if I'll have to get some more yarn to finish this at a wearable size, but we'll see. I did find the yarn, so I guess it's just difficult to find this colorway, not impossible. That's something.
 The small round thing you see is a quarter I put in one of the spiral arms for perspective.

Vortex Shawl

I'm working on knitting the "Vortex" Shawl, a free pattern found on Ravelry. So far there's been one starting set up when MiniMonster decided to come over and rip it off my needles... that was... that was all kinds of not fun, and very depressing. He made up for it by tying VERY hard to be good later, ((he was partially successful.))

 So I Cast On again, and went ahead with things, and got pack to, and past, where I'd lost. It's a nice simple shawl, very intuitively basic, but ingenious. One of those patterns which, like the "Beekeepers Quilt" are designed from ideas so simple that literally anyone could have designed them. Actually it would be kind of fun to make an big round throw out of this on heavier rounds and with heavier yarn. See what you think.

Rage Rage against the... existance of satire?

 SO apparently I -REALLY- pissed someone off on Ravelry.
 ...I wish I could regret it but goddamn it was kind of fun.

 I'm sure you're wondering what the hell happened, so let me explain.

 This recent Simpsons episode, as part of the tail end spoofs, mentioned a few recommendations for the upcoming Christmas Season ((.... of course if you've been in some store's, they've had Christmas Crud in for weeks. Apparently we're no longer classy enough to even wait for Thanksgiving before we cram the shelves full of really bad Santa Figurines and enough lights to illuminate the eastern seaboard. I realize it's an economy thing, but really??))

 Anyway aside from having Homer be Paralized by a Black Widow (their venom doesn't do that.), Riffing on Spider Man, Avatar, Dexter.... GOD.... and mentioning that the best way to help the economy was to spend money you don't have ((Hey it works for the government.)), that you should become an alchoholic 'because you see your family the rest of the year, the holidays are for your bartender.'... they riffed on handmade gifts. ((Such as handmade sweaters/hats/etc.))

 Needless to say, this reference popped up on Ravelry... with a lot of giggling and joking, and a few people admitting they'd started to be offended, and then realized they were riffing again, and laughing.

 All except this one crocheter. Who flipped. The frag. Out.

 She went off on a rather VICIOUS tangent on how OBVIOUSLY all the writers for the Simpsons were idiots, and their facts were wrong, ((...duh. they're recommending alcoholism. it's SATIRE.)) And OMG why would anyone watch this drivel.

 So I popped in, because I'm a nosy bitch and it was an open discussion and said:
 Wait, are we talking about the same episode where Homer was paralyzed by a black widow (etc etc.)... of course their 'facts' are wrong, it's a JOKE. None of it's supposed to be accurate. And anyway, MARGE KNITS.

 The subject in question flew off the handle SO HARD a Mod stepped in. She 'Didn't care' if Marge 'needed two crutches to walk'... so on and so forth. ((because damn, if you're going to get mad, not only get mad, but get offensive. Why do things half ass when you can offend EVERYONE?))
 She followed by responding to others implying how she's better than the rest of us because she has no TV and doesn't watch the show, so she has more time to read and crochet. ((Because obviously having tv's means the rest of us don't do either, we're just on Ravelry for the lulz.)).

 Someone else mentioned that maybe they should consider knowing the CONTEXT of the joke before raging about it, since apparently they hadn't even watched the episode, but again, that made too much sense, and we were all idiots. ((Modhammer again.))

 ...So... yeah. I take sort of a delicious amusement at their expense. It's always fun when a little bit of logical thinking sends someone flying off the deep end.

 Here's to You, Marge Simpson. KNIT ON.

Exersize in Futility

Once again I find myself rambling about something I read on Bitchy Waiter:

 ... Of course any contribution to more people reading Bitchy as a result is probably so minimal they'll never notice, but damn, sometimes I've just gotta get the thoughts out of my head.



 Technically in this case it's in regards to some of Bitchy's rage filled commentators on the subject of having a slightly awkward night when a woman whipped out her boob, and fed her baby in an fairly classy restaurant without using any kind of cover.
 Bitchy went out of their way to point out that the woman was in fact, quite polite, tipped well, and Bitchy themselves didn't make a huge fuss about it at the time, though they admitted that the whole thing was... a bit awkward.

 From the reactions of some of the readers, you would think that Bitchy had just said something as shocking as "I support the Holocaust". Apparently it's HORRIBLY uncomfortable to throw a light cotton blanket or diaper over your shoulder while in public, and TERRIBLY inconvenient, and clearly the ONLY reason why people would be even slightly bothered by random HITHEREBOOBIE moments is because they're CLEARLY only seeing the boobie as 'sexual'. Which is apparently wrong. Apparently boobies are not allowed to be viewed sexually now... because they're baby snack dispensers, and only baby snack dispensers. ((Which is obviously why they're such a major industry in Hollywood and anyplace plastic surgery is found.))

 Oh and the other great one was the assertion that ONLY. And They did say ONLY... women who are unable to breast feed use bottles.

 ...Which kinda gave me pause... since apparently that means Breast Pumps are not designed for putting breast milk into a bottle so that it is not required to whip out boobie at a moments notice, and that, oh, other people can hold and feed the kid. Apparently women who can breast feed ONLY use Boobie.

 ...So then.... why do we have Breast Pumps? Kinkyness? ... They're really not that Kinky. They look like an reverse squirt bottle. OOH. Yeah baby that's sexy. Squeeze it like a Windex bottle.

 ... Anyway yeah I'm done now.

 Do I think the woman was in the wrong? Well... no one complained, but it probably would have been slightly more considerate of her to toss a diaper or something over her shoulder. I mean really the claim that a light weight blanket is ANY hotter than wearing your shirt and bra to begin with is kinda sad... and honstly, the idea that people on the live-journal community "Bad Roleplayers Suck" are more aware of, and more sensitive to, the fact that people can be triggered by totally random stuff and be made VERY uncomfortable... than a bunch of breast feeding mommies is just... Wow.  I mean stop and think about that. You've been out matured by a horde of people, many of which are under 20.

 When you get right down to it, the point is this: If people want to be respected for their right to breast feed in public, they need to show a little respect for others in return. It's unlikely to cause someone to keel over and expire to put one of those paper thin little receiving blankets over their shoulder, and it will make a lot of people a lot more comfortable with what's going on. Insisting that it's your right to flash boobie, and if anyone is uncomfortable with it they're just "Meanie PooPooHeads" is... well it's childish. Respect is a two way street, you give it to get it.

Blatantly Opinionated Blogging

 As I'm sure most people who follow this blog know, I'm a stay at home mom, and I'm pregnant with my second kid. This does I admit give me a certain degree of bias on certain issues, but here's where I point out: I don't think I'm necessarily WRONG... but that doesn't mean people have to agree with me either:

 I'm a fairly devoted follower of Bitchy Waiter (who I admit I did initially think was a girl.), but I would really love to hear if "Bitchy" has EVER had a positive experience around kids. Bitchy's always super quick to shame parents for hauling strollers into restaurants, insist that 'all' children are horrible, screamy monsters, and generally condemn the entire next generation until they're old enough to drink legally.
 I've somewhat reflexively come to wince at this, because I don't appreciate the attitude that ALL parents are evil, entitled bastards out to inflict misery on others. SOME of us do in fact try and raise children who have a degree of respect for others, and that's an long and uphill battle... and teaching them to deal with other people and public situations involves putting them in public situations and around other people.
 In spite of this HORRIFYING truth which is CLEARLY a conspiracy to make miserable people who cannot stand the fact that children exist, to the extent that they probably deny ever having BEEN children. ((Surely someone like Bitchy Sprang angry and fully formed from a Salt Rimmed Margarita Glass, sort of like Athena from the forehead of Zeus.)) MiniMonster has overall, been Goddamn well behaved. He doesn't throw things at other patrons, he does drop his crayons, but jeeze, he's not even two, and we retrieve them, and on the occasions in which he is too tired and angry to do anything but have a melt down, we remove him from the restaurant until he can calm down. (We keep snacks in the car for this reason.

 Oh and some of us actually do use high chairs. That's why most restaurants have them.  Its nice to have them offered, especially if they've been hidden in some remote corner. Chances are, if they're available, people might ACTUALLY use them. It's incredible.

 -----

 "The time of Working Mom's is WAY more important and valuable than that of a Stay at Home Mom"

 OH RIGHT. SORRY. Here let me get off the couch, close the bonbons and do everything for you too. CLEARLY I've made the wrong choice in my life by taking advantage of the fact that I am lucky enough that I had the CHOICE to stay at home with my children and be a bigger part of their lives.  I forgot that the only way to be fulfilled in life was to work a nine to five.
 No seriously though, the fact that I don't collect a regular paycheck doesn't mean I'm not busy, it just means the dress code is more relaxed and my meetings usually involve me and cleaning supplies, or me and the Monster over a box of toys or crayons. I'm not LESS busy, I'm just DIFFERENT Busy. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it's just how we spend it.
 It's not like one branch or the other corners the market on being the 'good' moms. I've seen moms just as crappy in both fields. Hell, no matter what version of being a mom you do, if you've chosen to have so little contact with your kids that you don't know their middle names or ANYTHING that they like, you're not a mom. You just happen to have kids. Mom is a title you earn by love.

Rainbow Dash and Corvettes

 These are the funny things that make it completely awesome to be a mom.

 The little things like discovering that, (although I'm sure Grandma S. would pull her hair out in panic), MiniMonster can love watching MLP Friendship is Magic with the same gleeful intensity as Top Gear (British or American.)

 ... Betcha it's Rainbow Dash he likes. ;D They've both got a need for speed.

It's my Kitchen and I pick the Menu

 So apparently my food whims inspire an occasional round of brattyness, since I bought the ingredients to make my Crock Pot Vinegar BBQ one of the next couple days ((Not tonight though I'm making fresh corn again. The season is too short to miss a good opportunity and I reallllly want more.))

 I'm a little afraid Tilmani will be bored with having corn again so soon, but I might just have to be kinda mean and pull the 'I'm pregnant and I say so' card, which I try not to do. That and if you don't help me plan the menu you eat what I give you. If you don't like it, check out the handy dandy leftover soup in the fridge.

 ...Ok that's me sounding meaner than I think I'd actually be, barring some serious crazy prego meltdown. Still, that's a couple meals this week I'm making purely because I want them. 

 I just feel kinda crazy grumpy and I'm trying to decide if I'm right or wrong about an situation with some paid art.

 I paid good money a while back to get a piece of art from an otherwise very sweet artist. Since that time, three years ago now, maybe a bit more, said sweet artist has dealt with some big issues IRL, including the end of a bad relationship.

 I sympathize with the demise of a bad relationship, but I do not sympathize with it taking three plus years to finish what I paid for... especially since there have since been vacations for the subject and gifts for other people. Gifts. For other people.

 ...I draw the line at gifts for others, especially when you haven't finished the list of things people paid you to do. I think, personally, that if you're going to charge people for art, you owe them that art, and you knuckle down and you DO that art before you go dither around making stuff for other people, especially if people have been waiting for -years- to get that art.

 ...Maybe I'm being crazy and bitchy and judgmental... but damnit. I want my art.

Little Red Monsters

Well I'll admit, one of the toys I did NOT want to see in this house was Elmo. In any form.
 That little red monster with his OBNOXIOUS voice and severe case of overmernchandisingitis drives me crazy on levels matched only by Disney crap, because the only thing more overmerchandizsed than Elmo is ANYTHING barfed up by Disney Corp. They even got to 'Cars'... it's terrible, though I'll admit monster has a "Tow Mater" plushie also.

 Anyway, we went to the candy store to drop off a hoodie that Auntie Roo forgot, and while we were browsing the bins of sugary goodies (so tempting), she handed him a little five dollar Elmo doll with a purple shirt that says "Hugs and Kisses".

 Something about that doll was a bigger hit than even his toy cars. He wouldn't put it down for love, money, or candy. He wouldn't even trade it for a big stuffed puppy, and he LOVES stuffed puppies.

 It was a highly calculated move by a manipulative Sales-Auntie, and we ended up leaving with it. He wouldn't even leave him in the car to run errands at Wal-Mart. Nope, that Elmo doll HAD to come with us, only briefly surrendered to a purse ride in temporary favor of some brand new fuzzy footie PJ's. After we got home, I dug him out of the purse and handed him back, where he was received with hugs and kisses, and fed (soggy) cocopuffs while I got the rest of the groceries in from the car. They're currently taking a nap together.

A date with two cute guys

 Went out yesterday with my two favorite guys. I think you can guess who I'm talking about.

 Originally I was going to go out to the Craftman's Faire with Auntie Roo and Grandma S, but for various reasons decided that it would make for a better day to go out with my boys instead.

 "Daddy" decided on our destinations, and one of our first stops was to go to a Fish Hatchery and feed the fish. They had three kinds of trout and Atlantic Salmon, all of whom boiled the water every time you threw food in. ((They had little quarter vending machines from which you could buy fish food pellets. MiniMonster did attempt to sample them, he concluded that he wasn't half as impressed with them as the fish were.))

 He did like walking along the edges of the pool though, since they had some spots where you could get closer to the water, and get a really good look. Some of the fish were almost as big as he was, which is hard to get a good perspective on from the photos, but you'll have to trust me on this one.

 MiniMonster was REALLY amazed, and we had to keep a hand on him because he tried to climb up on the edge, and left alone probably would have tried to get in the water with the fish. ((It looked like it was about knee deep at best.)) But we didn't let that fly. We also drove around the mountains, took some gorgeous shots of the views, then went out to a set of outlet stores and spoiled ourselves a bit.

We got some new corn dishes (makes it easier to turn the corn in the butter), a cast iron cornbread tray (...shaped like little ears of corn. It's cute. Shutup. *guiltyface*), a colorful plate for MiniMonster that he thought was fantastic, an onion saver, a pan for making doughnuts in the oven, some mixes for the same, and apple-jalapeno jelly. Additionally we bought MiniMonster a set of ten little cars, which he thinks are the most amazing thing to set foot in the house. I got the idea because the secretary where Tilmani works had given him a pair of little race cars, which have become his favorite travel toy. So we've expanded on these with a mixed set of cars, trucks, and emergency vehicles. Ten cars for eleven dollars was a pretty good deal. Finally everyone got a little clothes shopping. Tilmani and I got some nice shirts and stuff at Under Armor ((super comfy)), and we went to Gymboree and bought MiniMonster a couple things, including a new pair of shorts, two pairs of pants (With adjustable waists. Where have you been since he hit awkward sizing, adjustable pants????) and some nice shirts. He's got a little flannel button down and a long sleeved tee that says "My Mom Rocks" (with a little skull). We did look and see if there was anything we wanted for NomNom, but mostly they seemed to have super gender-neutral stuff, and not -nice- gender neutral, but super ugly greens and blah, forced looking prints.
 Gender Neutral does not HAVE to mean "looks like ass", people.

On the plus side, it did have us walk away with a coupon to use in September. Maybe they'll have some nice winter gear that will be useful, and since it works online, we can browse from home and order in. *thumbs up*

Hot Stuff, Baby!

OMNOMNOM! We actually managed to grow some nice hot peppers in our indoor windowbox, along with the parsley, and I picked one yesterday because it was starting to look like it might go over-ripe. MiniMonster decided that it looked pretty awesome, and wouldn't rest until I let him check it out. Once he got to check it out, he decided he needed to taste it...

 Amazingly we had no tears or yelling, but we did have one HELL of an insane grin, followed by a big chug of drink.

 That was some hot stuff, Baby!

You know it's kinda funny, I don't remember car dealers being so... pushy, when I was growing up. I can't remember either of my parents ever getting called and asked if they want to upgrade to a newer model before the last couple years.

 I just got that call.

 Granted we have kind of been considering getting a larger vehicle, but we don't really know what kind yet.

 So yeah I was just a little... well not confused. Just a little surprised. Generally I don't expect to get a call from a dealer unless there's an actual problem, and that problem is not: HEY CAN WE SELL YOU A NEW CAR??

 I'll tell my husband about it but I was careful not to tell them exactly when he'd be home or when they could call back.

The Return of the Full Keyboard

Well, as of this afternoon, I am the proud owner of a nice, shiny new laptop. Using the iPad for my computer and internet needs was all very fine and good, but you can really tell that it wasn't really designed for heavy net use. It ate everything I typed if I had to change windows and hadn't hit 'post', it didn't like to scroll down, wouldn't copy unless you had a 'live' window to type in, which made it pretty much impossible to copy paste some things...

 I mean don't get me wrong, in a pinch it works great, but overall it's much more effective for a quick browse than say, trying to type a blog post or the like. Also now I kinda have to retrain myself that I no longer have to change typing screens to get symbols or numbers. And tabs... oh how I missed tabs.

 I have no idea if the iPad 2 has any better functionality, but I think if I can, I'll stick to using a "real" computer for heavy use. No that doesn't mean I have anything against Mac, no I still like Mac computers, that's just not the kind we have.

 No photos of MiniMonster today, but I can actually look at them again now, which also doesn't hurt. Oh and I knitted a cupcake hat for a friend of mine and her daughter. I still have to finish sewing on the button-sprinkles, but I'll take a nice picture when it's done and share it. It came out pretty cute!

Panic culture

You're all going to have to forgive me because I'm feeling a bit philosophical today.

(please forgive me, I'll change 'revelry' to 'Ravelry' later. Still using a very uncooperative iPad which thinks it knows what I want to say. Mostly it just points at the dictionary and picks the most bizarre fit it can find.)

I kind of feel as though we're living in a 'Panic Culture', maybe we've let our fascination with horror films permeate everything else in our lives, but we seem to love to panic, and we let others, like the press, play on this.

For example, Grandma S sent me an article on the spread of Giant Hogsweed, a nasty invasive plant that makes poison ivy look like a nice soak in a hot tub. It wasn't a bad article overall, the problem was that they were deliberately... I can't think of the word I'm looking for. They show boated. They showed a blurry photo of the flower of the plant which without context looks almost exactly like a nice harmless Queen Annes Lace, and only at the very bottom of the article did they cough up their sleeve and admit that these deceptive and lacy bloom spreads are the size of umbrellas. They also went out of their way not to mention the actual habitat that this invader prefers, the scale of the plant overall, or other details like the rhubarb red stalks, or even show the distinctive and huge leaves, all of which in combination make this plant resemble Queen Annes Lace only as closely as two random people with the same hair color might look alike.

While it's a horrible plant and should be handled by people who know what they're doing, a little extra information would gave pointed out just how EASY this nasty customer would be to see coming. It's almost less of a plant and more of a kaiju.

We see similar articles almost daily, if not hourly, where pertiant information that would change the entire context of a discussion is entirely ignored just to add to the sensationalism of the tale, and I think at this point the press isn't alone in this.

I had to cringe reading some discussions on revelry, since there was a young mother concerned that her almost three year old wasn't a big talker. Instead of doing legwork MANY of the suggestions that popped up heavily implied at being a delayed talker CLEARLY implied that the child MUST be autistic. This just not only isn't a given it's a horrible thing to imply, without verification, to a worried parent. It's almost tantamount to saying 'that sneeze is an major indicator for incurable pneumonia'.

As parents don't we have enough to worry about without modern updates to Old Wives Tales?

It can't do that, Dave....

So for those of yup who may have been wondering if I was devoured by a pack of raptors or sonething, I can safely say I haven't been.
The reason I've been totally AWOL isn't because of raptors, wild dogs or the bubonic plague, it's because of the damn laptop. For reasons we can only guess at... Well... I think we have a particularly reasonable guess... The charger port on the lap top no longer functions. At all.

We're going to have to go get a whole new lap top, and we haven't done so yet, so I am posting using an iPad, which while lovely for browsing, does get a bit awkward in the typing department. Especially since it really likes to autocorrect me, and I don't always notice when it's done so, leading to interesting substitutions.

We finally have our new queen sized bed and an awesome new mattress, which is awesome. Unfortunately, after the super delays, they followed up by being short the pieces that attach the head and foot board, so the bed is mostly complete, but not all the way.

MiniMonster as a result ended up accidentally dismounting between the bed and the wall, and needed a rescue. I've barked ankles and hamstrings on the handles for the storage drawers, but I'm getting used to them being there, and it Gives us some extra space.

We also finally got to repaint the bedroom, so it's no longer blue. Thank heavens!

MiniMonster is growing like a weed! He can, and does, handle his own spoon and eat yogurt, making happy sounds the whole time, and he needs another shopping trip for shirts that don't take a major war to get on over his head. This makes me nervous of the sweater I'm making for him, but if he can't wear it, I'll save it for NomNom.

He still doesn't use a lot of words, but he's getting a lot better at communicating, and arching him at all makes it pretty obvious that his small vocabulary doesn't indicate a small brain, and he's probably driving his Grandpa P nuts. Grandpa P tends to treat him sort of like a slow minded family pet. This is really annoying, but understandable in a way if you consider that he grew up in a situation where as a father figure he really didn't interact with his children much until they were older, so MiniMonster might as well be an alien life form for all my father understands him.

MiniMonster notices very much how he's being treated, and refuses to say hello to Grandpa P, though he gleefully says hi to Grandma S and her dog. He tends to be similarly recalcitrant with Nana J, who, I've noticed, is reluctant to surrender the idea that he can, and wants to, do things for himself, and tends toward putting him in situations where he has no control, like pushing his stroller through high grass, (I did check him for ticks), or panicking and taking away a plastic spoon (unbroken) which she'd earlier given him to play with, which left him both bored and stuck, and resultantly furious.

Must be kinda frustrating to be in those shoes, trying to convince the huge people around you to respect your mind. No wonder toddlers go through the terrible twos trying to remind people of this.

Don't play Poker with mommy

 And today's fun lesson for the MiniMonster is: Mommy doesn't Bluff.

 When she says you WILL get a time out if you touch the glasses on the side table, you will get a time out when you touch the glasses on the side table, because she doesn't want to clean her lemonade off the floor, or off the yarn for your blanket.

 You will get a time out even if you think it's hysterical to move your hand a little.... tiny... tiny bit closer every time she looks at you until you poke the glass with one... single... finger.

 Cause mommy isn't bluffing even if it was amusingly wiseass of you.

Another Miss

It's starting to feel like Mother Nature might have something against someone, because we spent part of yesterday under an Tornado Watch. We were fortunate again and we only saw a few short, intensive downpours, but other areas took the brunt of the storm, including areas of Massachusetts. I've only seen a couple photos so far but the damage done is... impressive. This after all the flooding from last time.

((The first person who mentions Global Warming, Climate change or any other related theory gets a smack in the head, thank you.))

 Anyway I'm glad it missed us. I kind of remember that we actually had a Tornado go through once when I was really little. We went out on the porch with my mother briefly during the calm and looked around. It was kind of eerie, but pretty cool. We were all fine, by the way. Just very fed up by the time it was definitely passed of sitting in the basement wearing sweat-clothes because Mom insisted we should, just in case.

A little Damp

 Those of you who know I'm a New Englander may (or may not) be pleased to hear that were we live was NOT hit with the insane flooding and storms that claimed some lives, and apparently from the pictures. some vehicles as well.

 ((Apparently a nineteen year old young man was killed by a falling tree while outside trying to clean debris from his driveway. ))

 We did have some rain, and even some thunder, but it was nothing as severe as what apparently hit areas not actually that far from us. I'm extremely grateful for this, because we DO have several large pine trees in the side yard that could -actually- come down on the house. And that would be really bad.

 Otherwise there's not tons to report. I got some fun new pictures of the Monster that I'll post for peoples enjoyment. He's growing like a weed and loves to go outside, which makes it a shame that it's been wet and gross, and therefore alive with mosquitoes and blackflies. It's also unfortunate for Tilmani, who is a buffet for blackflies, and they make him sick. Litteraly. He reacts very badly to being bitten. 

 MiniMonster has been re-introduced to crayons and has discovered that they are WAY FUN. He now has a coloring book and a blank drawing pad, and he actually seems to like the blank pad better. (I don't blame him.) The only problem we're really having is that he tends to drop the crayons he's not using on the floor, then he gets mad when he wants them back and can't reach them. ((His artistic endeavors are limited to his high chair and tray because... well... white paper... large white blank living room walls..... 1 + 1 = Mom Doesn't want to Scrub crayola off the paint.

 We'll also be joining my In laws for a Memorial Day BBQ at their place, and getting to see the work they've had done on their kitchen, now mostly finished. Man what an adventure they've had on that front. First the contractor 'neglected' to order the cabinets when they were selected, in spite of having all required measurements and the like, and since he didn't order them, lost that chance when they abruptly stopped making them, requiring my poor Mother in law to go pick NEW cabinets because he didn't order them. They also destroyed THREE microwaves ((the contractors)) by slamming them into things, and last I heard had made the brand new stove stop working, because after installing it, they pulled it BACK out to do something, and when they put it back it didn't work. Given the microwaves... one suspects poor handling. Sounds like they DO have water back in the kitchen though after months. This makes me extremely nervous of what it's going to be like if we ever decide to remodel the kitchen. X_X

 Granted I tend to be a little more ready to share my displeasure when I feel like someone needs to fix the mess they made, so maybe things would go a little differently, but who knows.

 Oh and MiniMonster should be all excited, his Auntie is now the Manager of the Candy store where she works. Go Auntie Roo!

 And now pictures! One of them has a link to an appropriate song. ;)

MiniMonster and Nana J.

Crayola, Crayola

Visiting the Neighbors

Helping out Daddy

The Strong Men

Hoisin Chicken or Ho-Sh-- chicken?

 We had our rpg game again for the first time in a few weeks yesterday. MiniMonster spent a fair amount of it relegated to his playpen or to his room because he absolutely could not/would not stay out of trouble.

 Game was fun, and the Dice-Gods decided to show me their great favor at some pretty opportune times, resulting in some really amazing results and a fair amount of Out-Of-Character hilarity.

 We served up some Honey-Hoisin chicken made in the crock pot, a pretty straight forward recipie from a new cook book I picked up. Turtle and Bear really liked it, Tilmani and I thought it was decent, but not the most amazing thing we'd had.

 NomNom apparently thought it was one of the most vile substances ever to grace the earth, waking me up in the night with general nausea and plenty of gas, and a nice round of revenge of NomNom when I got up this morning. 

 Needless to say I don't think I'll be making Hoisin Chicken again any time too soon. X_X

 MiniMonster seems to be coming down with a bit of a cold, dripy nose, reduced appetite and general cuddly blahs, poor guy. I gave him a little breakfast, some snuggles, and tucked him back to bed, wouldn't mind doing the same myself but I've got things to do today.

 Now if I could just find the motivation.

Picture Spam Again

 Yep it's that time again, the time when I sit back, cuss a blue streak at Photobucket, and use Blogger as the means with which to upload AWESOME THINGS PEOPLE HAVE MADE.

 Fayth struck again, this time deciding she had a yen to draw some fine uh.... Jeans. Yeah. C_C Fine Jeans. Very fine Jeans. *cough*Apparently she plans to color this one at some point so I'd be prepared to see it again possibly, since Photobucket really doesn't like me. Or maybe it likes some people out there with an appreciation for 'Fine Jeans'.

 The charm on his phone is a lions head ((Relevant to the character on several layers)), and the thing in his hand is a game-relevant pen.

 ...It's a Henshin Pen. He's a Sailor-Scout. It's a Sailor Moon game. But it's awesome. C_C
     ...Yes he's a boy Senshi/Sailor Scout and no he doesn't transform into a girl or wear a skirt. 

I'm gonna go back to geeking out and loving this picture now.

Ghandi

 Ghandi said "Be The Change you wish to see in the world"
  I'm inclined to think that's a pretty smart philosophy, but then I tend to be the sort of person who likes to take some form of action if I think there's a problem, even if it's just making it clear that there is, by god, a problem. Unfortunately, and maybe it's just a temporary trend, I tend to run into clusters of people who have this infuriating policy of going: "Why bother to do anything, it won't matter, nothing will change."

 I've seen it applied to literally every walk of life, and, it just kills me. Every time I see it in action I have to fight not to fly off the handle, because it makes me -that- angry. If people had gone with that theory with ME when I was newly emerged from the emotionally and occasionally physically abusive horrors inflicted on me by other children during High-school and Grade school, I don't know that I'd even be here today. I mean after all, under that theory, why would anyone reach out to me? I was angry, nervous of people and extremely withdrawn! Reaching out to me wouldn't have done any good, nothing would change, so why should they bother?

 Fortunately people did, and it helped change my entire life. Hell, my husband was among those who reached out to me, and to some extent, vise versa. If we hadn't tried to change things up, we wouldn't be here now, and MiniMonster wouldn't exist, and NomNom wouldn't be working hard to go for round two.

 This particular rage fit wasn't inspired by anything so dramatic as ignoring someone suffering from emotional scars, it actually came up regarding role play, and weather or not it was worth the effort to give people your thoughts, opinions and questions on their 'work in progress' characters when they asked for it. I argue, (no surprise here) that it is worth it. Not everyone is looking for real crits even if they say they are, since some people really just want a pat on the back and to be validated, but far more players than that really really are looking for the opinions of other players who already have active, successful characters. Why? Because you've got an active, successful character, they WANT an active, successful character, and they want, very likely, to be active WITH YOU. Therefore they want your thoughts and opinions to help them flesh out their characters and make them something you would like to interact with.

 Same goes for anyone asking for an opinion. Not all of the people who ask REALLY want it, but some of them REALLY do, and by assuming that no one does, and that it's not worth your time to reach out and make even the smallest effort, you could really be hurting someone.

 Use your best judgement, giving people a chance doesn't always mean you'll hurt in the end.

Awkard Places

 I find myself in sort of an unusual and awkward place at the moment.

 There's a friend I've known for some years now and I need to figure out exactly how to deal with them. We used to be really close, if not physically. We chatted pretty much constantly, and emailed back and forth. They knew me before I even knew my husband. They knew me before MiniMonster was born, and for a short time, they considered a relationship with another one of my friends, (Turtle).

 The relationship with Turtle didn't work out, distance and other things were a factor, but such things happen. That's not the problem. The problem I've been having is that since I had MiniMonster, they've grown more distant. At first incrementally, and then more and more so. There were very reasonable excuses of course. Work, College, A New House, all of these at the same time, plus attending conventions to sell things. We stopped having RP sessions together, and then there slowly stopped being any real communication at all.

 They haven't said specifically that they've got a problem with me, and they're typically not someone who's got a problem with letting people know if they have a problem... but I think I know what the problem IS.

 It's MiniMonster I think. Something about me having become a parent and me going to have a second child (Baby NomNom), has cause a complete withdrawal of communication. I even sent them an anouncement that we were going to have another child, and I personally didn't get a response. Turtle did though. He got a email reply of:
 "They're pregnant again? You know they've identified what causes that."

 On it's own this could be construed as an sort of tasteless joke, but combined with the total retreat, it just comes off as being pretty rude. I don't feel like I've changed that much. I've had to become more responsible, I have more things to do, and I can't drop everything and galavant across the countryside at the drop of a hat, but really with most peoples budgets and jobs... lets face it. Galavanting on a regular, unplanned basis is for people who don't have a real grasp of their responsibilities regarding others.

 I feel like at this point I've got one of two options: I can either just let things die, though this gives me the feeling that the story they'll tell others is that I'm somehow the one who decided that we couldn't be friends any more, or I can take a page out of their book. ((They boast often about their bull headed qualities.)) and be more direct, and send them an email pointing out that I heard, and was offended by their comment, and that I feel as though I'm being cut out of things because I have children, and would like to know if thats really what she wants.

 I'll grant her that she's had bad experiences with -A- woman who had children, a rather unbalanced on, but it's completely unfair I think to judge me by the standards of one, singular individual, who has nothing in common with me.

 It's an awkward place to be and I don't like it.


PS. Once I got past my initial rage-faces, Tangled had funny moments, and MiniMonster liked the lanterns.

Tangled Up

Just started Watching Tangled:
 I'll give a complete review when I'm done, but so far...

 I'm REALLY not seeing why people thought this was so fantastic. So far it's just another case of Disney doing a "Postman" and taking the title off a fairy tale and rewriting the whole thing. I expect I'll be puking on the excessively PC bullshit before the thing is over.

Happy Post Mothers Day

So another Mothers Day has come and gone, ours in relative quiet, although the entire household spent the weekend playing a great game of "pass the germ".

 Friday: MiniMonster was sick, running a temperature, and pretty much slept, or fussed, cuddled, drank, and slept again all day until evening when his temp finally broke and he enthusiastically mugged me for pieces of my cereal, except for the ones that had actually been partially soaked in milk. Those got a "What the HELL is this" expression while he waited for a drier one while holding the wet one pinched between two fingers like a dead animal. He reluctantly went to bed, but only after getting us to agree to let him share our bed, which since he wasn't ENTIRELY back to normal temperature was sort of like sleeping with a small, snuggly space heater. A small snuggly space heater who slowly rotated to use me as a pillow and kick his dad out of bed.

 ((Queen sized bed you can't get here fast enough!))

 Saturday: Tilmani woke up with an upset stomach and the running theory that it might have been monster's bug. This was great except that BabyNomNom ((who we're roughly estimating to be about eight weeks old.)) was feeling ESPECIALLY vengeful, and MiniMonster was feeling more energetic, but not quite energetic as he really wanted to be, resulting in frequent rounds of him fussing about his own energy levels and not wanting to take the rest he actually needed. ((It's frustrating to want to play but be tired.))

 SUNDAY Tilmani woke up with a headache, and I woke up feeling pretty good (for a change) Didn't even have a round of morning sickness.... until after dinner. Then I slid down a horrible horrible slope of misery and nausea and generally didn't even want to be touched. This creates a force field that makes -everything- want to touch you. Especially tiny concerned people who can't figure out why Mommy won't let them drag her off the couch to play, because she really doesn't want to spent the next ten minutes dry heaving at someone. I pretty much got a return to sender notice on my dinner, and was confused (but happier) when some Ben and Jerrys stayed down when my Soup and Sandwich wouldn't. ((Tomato Soup only really tastes good going one way.))
 Did get some reprieve to rest when Nana and Papa showed up to take the Monster for a walk (He enjoyed this and it let us hand Nana her Mothers Day Cards)
 I continued to feel really sick through the early part of the night, which was extra fun because Monster in his anxiety decided he needed to be in our room to make sure we weren't being devoured by monsters, and apparently decided to battle them around two or three in the morning by going into Kung Fu Action! A round of night terrors. Tilmani and I managed to escape without black eyes in spite of being punched, kicked, and thrashed at, and MiniMonster apparently remembers nothing, because he woke up in an absolutely stellar mood.

 Tried to get Grandma her cards, but couldn't quite make the schedule work, so we'll just have to try again later in the week. Perhaps we'll manage to line up a lunch date for the chicken fingers (and maybe some steak-teriaki) at the Chinese place that NomNom seems to be sending up a yen for. Plus it'll be nice to let Grandma have some Grandma time. <3

Just taking a brief post to have an intensely happy geeky moment.

 One of my online friends and people I rp with drew one of my RPG characters (Jaimie Leontyne) and I just discovered this. So in the usual round about attempt to make photobucket ((stupid photobucket)) take the picture, I'm pulling it up here for you all to stare at.

Obligatory Roar:  THIS PICTURE BELONGS TO ME/ITS CREATOR. IT IS NOT A FREE USE PICTURE. GO PAY SOMEONE ON DEVART TO DRAW YOUR OWN ART, ART THIEVES. >8c

I'm (not) Dreaming of a White Wedding

((No offense to people who did watch the wedding, it's just not my thing, and best wishes to the Royal Couple, who god knows will never read this pansy little blog.))

 Here's where I admit I didn't watch any part of the Royal wedding, and the only time I saw pictures of The Tan Hat was being passed around as an internet meme. ((Holy Cow that was some hat.))

 I didn't watch Diana's wedding either, and honestly I still think the Princess Di thing is WAY overhyped. ((Sorry Di fans)). I'm sure it was really lovely and romantic, but I really guess I'm just not that interested in the weddings and fashions of the famous. I'm the anti-celebophile. I'm very happy for the royal couple but who designed the dress she wore or what color his suit was really don't appeal to me. I'm the sort of person who could give a flying TURD about Branjolina or their kids, and I could give less of a winged turd about what their horde of children are wearing. I mean really, I think it's actually kind of invasive and not very healthy for little kids to being stalked by some dim witted  single minded paparazzi so that fashionofphiles can ooh and ah and either approve of the kids outfit or go: "GOD, they sent them out in THAT?" I mean first folks lets look at what we're dressing our own kids in. Kids under 13 don't need super-mini-skirts and leopard print midriff tops, or t-shirts that imply how 'pimpin' they are, but we spend more time worrying as a culture about weather or not Tom Shmooze's shirt goes with his pants than how we dress and view ourselves.

 Anyway, What the princess wore to her wedding isn't likely to revolutionize the world or end hunger and war, now is it?

 I almost did the princessy white wedding once. I had an gorgeous white dress... sleeveless, buttons down the back, pastel delicate embroidery. A little girl at the fitting, a total stranger, wandered over with wide eyes to tell me that I looked "Just like a Princess".

 But for the man I loved, and still love, who I'm going to be having my second child with, I wore Blue jeans, sneakers, and a nice brown linen shirt we bought at the mall on the way to the ceremony. I held a pair of peacock feathers from one of her huge menagerie of exotic birds instead of a bouquet. He wore jeans too, and we said our vows privately in a white gazebo surrounded by photos of Ms Lambs own ancestors and family in their wedding photos.

 I felt like a princess.

What is this? I don't even....

Struts: Sexed up Kids Toys

I wish I was kidding about these, but they're real... and apparently created by an equally appropriately named toy company "Playmates Toys" ((Somehow I don't think Hugh Heffner would find these quite as appealing though.))

 These are at least as bad as those AWFUL Bratz dolls, which might as well say: "Teach your Daughter to dream of being a Five Dollar Hooker and dress like one too." And they're playing on the Girls and Horses thing too. And the fact that they're Horses in ultra tall stiletto heels is just... I mean... what the HELL.

 This is the sort of thing that makes me cringe over the idea of ever having a daughter, since so many girls toys these days are like this. I can't even picture how difficult it would be to raise a girl with a healthy sense of self esteem when this is the sort of shit she has for toys and rolemodels.

 All around us we've got the message that girls are 'empowered' when they slut themselves up, have sex left and right, ((because empowerment is ALL about courting STD's and pregnancy, and having a black book like a lounge lizard.)) Oh and we can't forget that we're increasingly seeing the mindset that being a Mom is the lowest you can sink. Being an Actress or a Hooker is clearly a better profession. ((Is there much difference between Actress and Hooker these days? There wasn't way back in the day, and Hollywood seems to tell us NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED.))

 What the hell is wrong with this picture?

 Seriously, someone BURN this crap. Can we get back to the point where part of empowerment is respecting your body and yourself?

Birch Leaves

So at long last I am definitely and officially doing a practice lace knit!

 I'm doing a pattern called "Falling Birch Leaves" from a designer on Ravelry, who was nice enough to do some really beginner level patterns for people like me who really aren't ready to launch into giant gauzy round shawls with beads and twenty-yarn-overs in a row. ((See above))

 It's also my first time reading a lace chart, which so far is going better than I would have expected. I am however doing the knit in a practice run in Caron Simply Soft ((A springy leaf green)) which is a considerably larger, heavier yarn than the pattern calls for, which is making the leaves far more '3D' which is kind of interesting. I'll be trying it in a much lighter yarn afterward, but working with a Worsted-weight yarn is good practice, because it's less delicate and just a bit easier to handle.

 I also bought MiniMonster some new shoes, he's now got a pair of bright blue Baby-sized Converse. Well... toddler really. They have slots for lacing up, but really those are mostly for show because there's a hidden strip of velcro, which means I don't, in fact, have to spend as much time trying to struggle with a disinterested toddler to get his shoes on as it probably looks like I did.

 I was going to get him another pair of "Robeez" moccasins, but when I checked the only store in town that carries them, the only options were pink, lacy, and flowery. ... As much as I don't have a problem with any choices Mini might make later in life, I think I'm going to avoid going down that path personally. It would just seem weird to have him dressed in his favorite hot-wheels shirt and a pair of pink, flower covered moccasins.

 So we ended up going over to Khols and I found him a pair of shoes within 20 minutes. Take that expensive specialty children's store. :p

US Postal Suck

 Dear USPS:
   apparently the last letters of your initials stand for Powerful Suckage and not Postal Service. I'm reasonably sure that my package from Creature Comforts on Etsy will actually arrive, but there's a powerful degree of idiocy when you send me a "Your package has shipped" email complete with a tracking number, and clicking on the link or trying to search for the number provided to me in the YOUR PACKAGE HAS SHIPPED email results in the message:

"There is no record of this item."

 Your message further notes that this COULD be because it was shipped "recently" but I remember from the last time that during the entire time that it was in transit, you were unable to actually locate the number you had assigned it. 


 Apparently it is in fact an minor act of God that anything shipped through you actually gets where it's going.


No wonder everyone prefers alternate methods of shipping.


 Seriously, get your act together. I'm sure there are very nice people that work for you, but as a unit, you fail.

Accomplished

 It probably says something about my level of growing domesticity when my great accomplishment for the day is getting the shopping and laundry done, and dinner, and having a reasonably clean kitchen and living room when it's all said and done. ((The bedrooms still look like they were hit by small tornadoes... but it's a work in progress.

 This sounds slightly pathetic when you compare it to another friend's great accomplishment being getting their play into a festival, but hey. I'm a Thirty-Odd year old Stay and Home mom, beginner chief, knitter, uber-noobie crocheter, and all around geek.

 I'll take my acomplishments where I can get them.

 Like my plants for example. my second round tray (tomatoes, some peppers, and onions) is doing fantastic, my Parsley is trying to take over the world (I may need to move it into it's own pot) and the very last tray, which has bell peppers of various forms, has developed it's first tiny little starts.

 I. The black thumb. AM GROWING THINGS. THEY HAVE NOT DIED YET. THIS IS FREAKING AMAZING.

 The day wasn't without it's fails and frustrations: I put too much pepper in the Beef and Barley stew, and I learned that while my little hand held sewing machine is ok for some stuff, it's definitely going to have trouble taking the place of a full scale model. I also terrified myself about a dozen times forgetting which position was 'locked and off' and which was 'On and hungry for flesh'. 

 I succeeded in making what was probably the worlds shittiest pillowcase for a tiny pillow for the monster ((mostly for play right now, but it's his scale which is kind of awesome.)), but couldn't get the thing to cooperate to actually seam the half finished blanket I had planned for him ages ago. Maybe I'll have to give up and go borrow my mom's sewing machine. *SIGH* X_X

ORLY?

Hey hey, it's time for some new pictures! I've been working hard on trying to teach myself how to crochet, and this has ended up in me working on trying to make a stuffed Barn Owl for The MiniMonster.

He's a big fan of the "Guardian of Ga'hoole" movie, ((and I got the first three books to read to him when he's slightly more patient about that sort of thing. I read them myself and they're actually quite good!)) So to show off that I have successfully taught myself basic crochet ((Now I need to learn how to read crochet instructions so I can do Amigirumi.)) I took a couple pictures of the Owl in Progress.

 His face is a knitted panel with two different strands of yarn to give some color depth ((Palate and I think some Rowan...something.)) and his back is some Lion Brand and another bit of Palate yarn.)) ((Thank you Knitpicks.)) His chest is being knit in a white fluffy yarn for extra snuggle, and I'll add black spots on before I close him up. I forget the brand of the white floofy stuff. So far he's not the most amazing toy owl out there, but I'm actually quite proud of myself!

Eyes and beak will also be added after I'm done hooking my way through his torso. I'll add the tail and some feet (probably Icord constructions) after I've stuffed and sewn the body.

Faggedabadit

 Arguments are complicated things, aren't they? At the roof of things, they're really kind of simple, two people disagree about something, and it either goes in a relatively civil fashion, or it turns into insults and anger, either from one side or both sides.

 I was recently in an argument with one sided insults. I'd rather not really get into depth about the subject of the argument, since it was pretty personal, but over the course of several hours, using text messages and email, the subject I was arguing with repeatedly insulted my intelligence, my judgment and financial skills, and MY HUSBAND.  Apparently, entirely based on the fact that I don't own a microwave or an I-phone, and because we haven't decided to stick two 'twin long' beds together to make a larger bed instead of continuing to use the futon we have until we can afford to get a nice bed that's already the right size... and probably a handful of other things, means that I am clearly in a horrible and abusive relationship and I'm brainwashed.

 Well... they'd probably insist that they meant nothing of the sort, but when your compare my spouse to an known abusive asshat with cryptic warnings that said asshat supposedly 'magically' turned into asshat overnight... yeah. I don't think I really need to explain that one, do I?

 Anyway, this was a major anoyance for me, and I did everything I could to stay calm cool and collected, and pretty much just stopped responding to the chain of attacks and roundabout accusations.

 This morning I got an text from the same person noting how amazing the weather was outside, since it's finally decided to act like April and be sunny and warm ((Although it did 'Sunny and warm' all over me while I was driving out on a few errands. Hello April showers...))

 I didn't respond to that one either. I mean I admit, I used to spend a lot of time fighting with my sister, and we used to kind of just do a 'Faggedabadit' and pretend the whole thing never happened. Sometimes that works. Sometimes that's the only solution if you're stuck with someone... but I'm not ready to do that yet.

Milk Bath

 Well we went out with Grandma S today. That was quite a lot of fun. We discovered (how did I miss this?) That Wendy's version of the 'under three' kids meal has a snoopy board book. ((How AWESOME is that? Mini thought it was fantastic.))

  He enjoyed his burger and fries, and especially enjoyed having his own tiny fry pack within his reach so he could self serve. He kept pulling out fries and stacking them up as though he were waiting for us to take them away and was trying to hoard them.

 There was a little snaffu with the milk though. I tried to give him a sip of milk, and got the now classic "I CAN DO IT" response, of grabbing the bottle and fighting me for it. He succeeded in getting it out of my hands and hoisted it triumphantly over his head...

 ...Spilling milk over his head in the process. His look of shock and amazement was the stuff of legend, sadly there are no pictures, but he will definitely be getting a -real- bath tonight to make sure he doesn't smell like old milk.

 Otherwise we did a little shopping with Grandma, and she bought the monster some more summer stuff. He got some more nice shorts and some little sleeveless shirts I think he'll enjoy. Good times!

Flash those Pearly Whites

So aside from the two extra teeth Monster has been getting in up top, he's also getting in FOUR teeth on the bottom. He's a real marathon teether!

 He's also now at 15 months outgrown his size 12 month pants, so we had to go do some shopping to make sure he had enough bottoms (and shorts) for the upcoming warmer months. We had some fun, though MiniMonster picked out a pair of shorts he liked that his dad definitely didn't. ((Colorful blue plaid))

 He also got some new shirts with Dinos on them ((Dino's have entered his interest)) and a shirt with a motorcycle on it. Awesome stuff, and I think he'll have fun with them. We also took him to Outback Steakhouse, and he drank lemonade out of one of his sippy cups, tried the Cheesy fries ((which have bacon on them. He rejected the ranch dipping sauce.)) And he even tried a nice thin cut slice of steak.

 He unfortunately didn't nap most of the day, except for being in the car. On top of this he was UP since Five Thirty, and then stayed up till five in the afternoon, before he finally gave up and let us tuck him in for a nap. (PHEW.)

 I decided also to ring in spring, much as it doesn't feel like it, by baking an apple pie, which is cooking as I type. Like Apple Butter it's delicious finished, but I wish there wasn't so much cutting involved because it gives me a hand/wrist cramp from all the apple-slicing.

 Should be fun seeing how MiniMonster likes apple pie though, and we'll have nice fresh pie for everyone tomorrow.

So yeah...

 My father and my sister are off to Florida for various reasons, including seeing my nieces son, who we shall refer to as Durante...

 ...I'll just let you figure out why. I'm sure you'll come up with a reason.

Any way, they're off to Florida, the land of college age idiots, retired people, frogs the size of dinner plates and more bugs than I ever want to deal with.  Oh and MegaCon. That I wouldn't mind seeing someday, but it's just really not in the cards at the moment. They're headed that way.

As a result, MiniMonster and I cruised off to have lunch with Grandma S. That was pretty fun, though we arrived too early for Wendys to have opened, so we walked through Pier One (they had an very cute very SOFT plush Owl that I would have purchased for Mini (who buried his face in it and hugged it), had it not been 24$) 
Since the Owl was too expensive we didn't buy anything, but wandered down a few stores and walked through the used bookstore and walked out with a couple of books for Mini. ((Books I can handle.))

 Since he really really likes the Guardians of Gahoole movie, I do kind of want to find him an really kick-ass plush Owl, but I haven't seen anything that makes me want to buy it, or at least not at the listed price. There was an INCREDIBLE art-doll/cloth sculpture Owl from an artist on Deviant Art of an Barn Owl. Really a breathtaking piece, but at 250$... I'd rather buy the one at Pier One, it could probably handle the abuse! I'm not arguing with the price tag, there was an great deal of work in that Barn Owl, but I couldn't personally justify it.

 Otherwise I'm debating seeing if Dave will go with me to look at the new Ford Focus model, and see if I like the trunk design. I'm a little tired of popping my trunk open with the windshield scraper when we get ice and snow.  And other than that... I'm debating asking if we can trade in my tired little Trac-Phone. It's had a good run, but the battery's aren't doing so hot these days, and the iPhone 3GS is looking pretty shine-tastic.

 Mmm. Maybe I can see if they'll get me one for Mothers Day.

Tumbling

http://knittingnightgaunt.tumblr.com/

 So I created a Tumblr account. Mostly the whole set up looks like an excuse to share memes and links, but I did it anyway. No particular reason, it just looked like fun.