Couple Quizzes

...cause I want to put them here, and it's my blog.

Yeah, this fits:

I am 49% Asshole/Bitch.

I may think I am an asshole or a bitch, but the truth is I am a good person at heart. Yeah sure, I can have a mean streak in me, but most of the people I meet like me.

Take the
Asshole/Bitch Test
@ FualiDotCom

substitute "knitting" with "crochet," add diet soda, and it's me!

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

What's 63 Divided by 2?

Well, I guess 25 is close enough. I decided to change my 63 Squares blanket into a lapghan so I could stop at the quantity of squares I had done already. Here it is, and it's kinda pretty if I do say so.... I edged all of the squares with black and then stitched them together, and it is the perfect size for our love seat. Ü








I had 4 extra squares, which I made into 2 cute little totes for the toddlers around here. They carry their blankie, a diaper, a toy, and a small wipee container in them for when we go out (ahhh, no more diaper bag for me!!).

LYS Found! And OMG...

what a store it is. [For my non-yarny friends, LYS means Local Yarn Store.] It is "Village Yarn Shop" in Midtown Plaza, downtown Rochester. Unfortunately they have no website for me to show you. Suffice it to say, apparently knitters come from all over NY state to shop here, and I can see why. They have almost every high end yarn that I have ever seen on the internet, in multiple quantities, lots of colors to choose from. I have NEVER seen anything like it. And you know what? I can walk to it from work. Chorus please, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" So now you know where I'll be on a really crappy day and I have a "meeting" in the company's other building. Mwah hahaha! I found loads of sock yarns that I have been drooling over but didn't want to spend $$ shipping, as well as a full line of Berroco and Crystal Palace yarns. Wheee!

So so much more has been going on around here, that it is overwhelming me and I will have to write it in little posts over the next couple days. And I have some pictures!

Later gator...

Sweet and Sour

A couple mornings ago, I was giving Holly (3) a kiss goodbye as I left for work.

She said, sniffing me, "I smell summer in my nose."

"That's my perfume, honey. I'm glad you think it smells good." [White Shoulders, that day, I think.]

_______________________

On the flip side of that, the wretched parking garage in which I have to park for work has started using kitty litter in the regular places the vagrants use as their bathroom. I am torn as to whether I feel glad about this or what?!

Picture Posting Pressure, Etc....

Hi blog readers,
I have been out of the blogging mood lately. My husband and are both kind of down, and exhausted, and on top of working, sleeping, and keeping up with the family, blogging is sometimes not possible for me. Plus I feel so bad that I don't post enough photos of stuff I am doing or talking about. I take the pictures, but then the upload, edit, to photobucket, get linkage tagging steps halt me in my tracks. It's too much of a pain in the ass. Plus, I blog at work and my photos are home, so it's just that more difficult. I know, excuses you've all heard before, but it's bothering me so much I wonder why I am even doing this sometimes. BUT, I will keep going, and try to figure out a way to not lose all my readers and to post pictures quicker. I'm not giving up yet. I truly do enjoy being part of the crochet (and other) blog community, and feel as if I've made some real friends out there.

Valentine's Day was very nice--well, actually, we celebrated it Sunday, with all the kids so we could relax and enjoy it more--Tim gave me a beautiful watch and I gave him some candy. We gave the kids crocheted heart pillows to stuff their pajamas into, and some candy.

Monday, yesterday, on the other hand, sucked eggs. Ugh. Not a damn thing went right all day long. At work, nothing worked (computer systems/programs were out of commission, but did they change any due dates for us? NOOO.); I volunteered to work at a book fair at Emma's school, but they changed the hours without telling me so I lost 3 hours pay at work, and got no books out of it; Tim and I thought we were being slammed by a friend of ours, but it turns out we just misunderstood his rantings (sorry Kyle, I guess all of us are too stressed); Tim's PC is acting up which makes him cranky; and of course there's the food issues for me--all day every day.

As with every "new" diet or way of eating, it's easy at first and then after about 1-2 weeks, gets substantially more difficult to maintain. The French manner of eating is very easy and yummy, but I am finding it hard to eat very few preservatives and chemicals. I just don't have the time or inclination to cook. BUT I am also not giving this one up. I know it does not have to be difficult--even the cooking part. The main thing is to eat smaller portions. So sometimes I am doing that, but with chemically enhanced foods. Not the best way to live, but it's the best I can do for now--it's a start. I am still making a good effort to not snack and to cook from scratch.

Gotta run, work calls me now....

Music? What's That?

Tiff's meme-tagged me, so I will start out today's post with that :)
1. Total number of music files on your computer.

none on either work or (my) home pc. I'm not a music junkie....

2. The last CD you bought.

Last cd I burned was Sarah Slean's Day One. I can't even remember the last cd I bought....

3. The last song you listened to before reading this message.

Not sure, but it could be the one that is stuck in my head. Safety Net by Twin A:

How's it gonna be
When I'm not there to catch you?
When you fall the way you do?
When you hit the ground
Just like a deadweight
You know--exactly how it feels to be with you.

4. Name 5 songs you listen to often or that mean a lot to you.

I Could Not Ask for More - Edwin McCain
Cowboy Take Me Away - Dixie Chicks
Lover's Rock - Sade
Thank You - Dido
Everything Everything - Underworld

5. Who will you pass this stick to (3 people) and why?
Tim, my husband, cause I wanna see what songs he picks ;)
Not sure who else yet, I have to scope around to see who hasn't done this yet!

The Mystery of the Full Fat Diet

Food? Well, so far I am loving the French way of eating. And I am afraid to type it, but I think it's working for me. ! I have eaten fresh bread with butter for breakfast today; pasta with olive oil, garbanzo beans, and garlic for lunch, followed by some homemade backlava from a co-worker; and plan to have turkey with eggplant, pepper, and garlic, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice for dinner. Followed by a square of chocolate. Eating these things has not left me grazing all day long, or in the evening, so I feel like I did "good" but I don't feel deprived. Weird.

I am adjusting to being forced to cook more, though, and that is the only part I am not happy with. It's such a pain chopping veggies. But, the food is better.

Crochet? Let me see. I have gotten my 63/2 afghan done. And I made a softee sock yarn (blue/purple Opal from a holiday elf) shawl. And I made a 12" February square. Plus, I could swear I did more, but I can't think of what it is.... ???

Life? My husband and I are starting to plan our 4th Annual St. Patrick's Day Party, where we have about 10 friends over and everyone has to wear green and bring green food to share. This year (as last year) we have to have it at a restaurant, though, because of the little ones. They are still pretty shy around "strangers," and it could end up being a late night. Any ideas of what I can make/craft for party favors this year? Doesn't need to be crochet, just a momento of the evening.... Drop me a comment!

Bye, for now!

The Rebound Effect

I am such a spaz. I am currently suffering an anxiety attack related to the new method of eating I am doing (see yesterday's post). I have not needed to snack between meals, virtually at all, however I am freaking out about having eaten real (*gasp*) butter, non-skim milk, and sauce made with (*double gasp*) real cream. I have also eaten a piece of cherry pie, and some small bits of chocolate. Happily, I have eaten less than I normally would have in the past. These foods do fill me up faster. I am simply struggling with the American Taboo Of Eating Real Food, not low-fat processed stuff. In my head I can see and hear alllll the years and years of health/diet/nutrition studies and their mandates about low fat, low carb, and on and on. Make it stop.

Anyone else that is reading Fat Fallacy and/or French Women Don't Get Fat having these same anxieties? We need to make a support group. The "French Food Fanatics," lol. I'm only partly kidding. I want a button with the Eiffel Tower and a croissant on it, LOL!

Ok. I have done 10 deep breaths, and am not shallow breathing right now. So, I will now show you my submissions that were accepted for the Crochet Pattern-A-Day Calendar:

Breakfast Coasters









Wine Bottle Cover




I had one more, a "mini sweater," that I thought was cute, but it did not get chosen for the calendar. Here is the picture anyways:



I'm psyched!

Hello. My Name is Michelle...

...and I am addicted to good food. (ok, also not-so-good food, too.) I am on a new mission to eat like the French. Thanks to Bron's blog, I am currently reading--and thouroughly enjoying and agreeing with--this book:




It is about how the French eat loads more fat--cheeses, bread, sauces, dessert--no low or no-fat foods--and yet they have much lower rates of overweight people. I am not overweight, however every day is a complete struggle to eat "healthy." It's truly made me miserable for 20 years. The premise of this book is that we don't need to count calories, carbs, fat grams, or anything--just eat REAL, yummy food with fat in it (in moderation), exercise moderately, and you'll lose weight. I feel sooooo relieved already, and I have only been practising this for a few days. The pressure of trying to be "good" is gone, and I am actually looking forward to cooking. Now THAT must mean something. I'll keep you posted.

My 63/2 Squares blanket is almost done. I've sewn the squares into strips, and now just need to sew the strips together. It is the size of a lapghan, and it looks nice, if I do say so...like stained glass.

I want to share a funny kid story that my husband, Tim, posted on his blog (link in sidebar):

Spill?
By Tim

I don't think I could have made this up. It happened this morning:

Over the paper, Holly looked at me and then stood up in her chair. She leaned over and examined the half gallon of Orange Juice that was sitting on the table. She said quietly to herself that is was closed, and then looked over at me again.

"Can you spill this?"

"No, Holly, spills make a big mess. We don't want to make messes."

"Can you spill this?"

"No, Holly."

"Can you spill into my cup, please? And then I will spill it into my stomach."

"Ahhhhhhhh, of course, honey. Thank you for saying please."

And, lastly, I will now share with you the type of woman I am, in the form of a quiz.
"What Historic Woman Are You?"

Eleanor of Acquitaine
One of the first great queens of England, Eleanor was her own woman. She married the French prince at 14, but after six years of marriage and no son, she divorced him and secretly married the younger (and wealthier) heir to the English throne. Her sons were some of the greatest monarchs in English history! You must be tenacious, audacious, and brave if you're like Eleanor. Read more about her: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine2.html

Those of you that know me in persom may think the description fits me pretty well, lol (except for the "and wealthier" part)...