Reaffirming Myself
Every now and then I think it’s important to reaffirm some things about oneself. So here goes.
* I can be a self-deprecating, judgmental, temperamental, loud, impatient bitch.
* I swear a lot, more than I know I should.
* I’m overweight, and am starting to fully accept and embrace the fact that I will always be robust.
* I am legally blind without my glasses. Bats can see better than I can without my glasses.
* I hate rap. A lot.
* I hate doing dishes. I hate it even more if I’m washing them by hand. I try not to, but it bores the shit out of me.
* I’ve been raped numerous times. I never had the courage to report them.
* I was an addict by the time I was 14.
* I am not to be considered “human” or “awake” until I have ingested my first cup of coffee.
* I love bad movies.
* I eat meat. I saw a bumper sticker that cracked me up: “If God didn’t want us to eat animals, He shouldn’t have made them out of meat.”
* I wear leather and fur too. Well, I own fur. I haven’t sewn it into anything wearable yet.
* I shop at WalMart. I live in the middle of nowhere, and we don’t have a Target yet, so I still shop at Hell.
* I don’t recycle. I wish I did, most of the time, but it’s not easily available where I live.
* I prefer black wood frames for pictures.
* I have OCD. There are some things that have to be done a certain way, every time, or all is not right in my world.
* I dislike vanilla.
* I drink milk from the carton.
* I was a smoker for 15 years. I quit. I still miss smoking, often.
* I hate standing in line at the post office.
* I hate standing in line anywhere, actually.
* I sometimes want to lock myself in the bathroom, light some candles, and take a bubble bath. Or just hide.
* I need about an hour to myself every night, after the husband and the children have gone to sleep, to just be Crystal. I get cranky if this does not happen.
* Sometimes I need more than an hour. Sometimes I feel like I need a month.
* Then I crawl into bed, see the husband and the children sleeping blissfully, and am once again okay.
* I believe in God.
* I do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. I do not need to be “saved.”
* I cannot ice skate. I can, however, run on Alaskan ice in four-inch heels.
* I prefer to be barefoot.
* I do not regularly shave my legs.
* I love to knit, to learn new techniques, to design, to play with sticks and string.
* I long to be a published poet. I am so grateful that I have started writing again.
* I miss painting.
* I collect coffee mugs.
* I am a staunch liberal. If you know me, you know this.
* I am vehemently pro-choice.
* I enjoy being a housewife and homemaker. So much so that I do not envision returning to work of my own volition. I will if necessary though.
* I try to protect my family from some of the more controversial aspects of myself, for fear of worrying or upsetting them.
* I care less and less about offending other people.
* I sometimes like to piss people off. Just because.
* I regularly crack myself up.
* I am abrasive to many people, largely because I am blunt and opinionated. Oh, and because sarcasm is wasted on some people.
* I am beyond in love with my husband, and I recognize that I am lucky. He gets me. Not only does he get me, he loves me for being me.
* I am memorable.
* I love who I am.
Yummy Malabrigo
I made a pair of wool longies for Camilla out of worsted Malabrigo. Yum.
Mmmmalongies 2
Pattern: Perfection Pants by Pamela Grossman (purchased at Three Irish Girls)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, 100% wool, Little Lovely colourway (purchased at The Backwards Loop)
Needles: Size 6 (4.0 mm) and size 8 (5.0 mm) 16″ bamboo circulars and bamboo double-point needles
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch, 5 rows per inch, in stockinette
Yes, I absolutely must buy some awesome 3IG yarn to make more of these. Even more Mmmmalabrigo, since it’s so soft and yummy.
Woolies!
I’ve finished my first pair of knit wool longies, and love them. I’ve knit soakers before, but I’ve only ever crocheted longies. It’s so soft, I almost want to knit a pair for myself!
Malabrigo wool longies for JR
Pattern: Perfection Pants by Pamela Grossman (purchased at Three Irish Girls)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, 100% wool, Oceanos colourway (purchased at The Backwards Loop)
Needles: Size 6 (4.0 mm) and size 8 (5.0 mm) 16″ bamboo circulars and bamboo double-point needles
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch, 5 rows per inch, in stockinette
I’m about halfway done with the pair for Camilla. I’m so excited about how these have come out that I’m sure to make many more in plenty of great colourways! I’ll definitely have to buy some special merino from Three Irish Girls. I know I’ll still crochet longies, but I’m thinking I may reserve that for workhorse wool (read: cheaper) that can handle the abuses of being used during JR’s rougher playtimes.
Ouch, Again
So at 2:45 am two Mondays ago, I came down with a sudden high fever and extreme abdominal pain. At 6 am, my husband said I needed to be seen. I called my local physician, told him my symptoms, and he said I’d be best off by going in to Fairbanks to the emergency room. He said that chances were that I had acute appendicitis. Fun times.
I was nearly doubled over in pain all the way there. Once in town, JR went to M’s place. I had to drink about a gallon of blue crap and then got a CT scan. By late afternoon it had been confirmed that I had appendicitis, and the doctor told me I was going to have it removed. More fun.
Surgery was uneventful, though it seemed there were a million more people in the operating room than I thought necessary. I thought I’d be able to go home the next day, but instead spent the next day feverish, somewhat delirious, sleeping, and vomiting. Wednesday I was well enough to be discharged, and it was so nice to be recovering in the comfort of my own home. John took excellent care of me, the kids, and the house all week. I spent Thursday and Friday barely upright, and hardly held anything down. John went back to work on Monday, and I was mostly better by Wednesday. By this past weekend, I was my old self again, with just occasional abdominal pain.
I have a nifty new scar forming, and am wonderfully minus one useless, troublesome organ. Stupid evolutionary blip.
Summer Pictures
He loves his dump trucks and rocks
Exploring the backyard with Buffle
Tires are fun
On the walkway built by Uncle Darrell
Exersaucer entertainment... love that smile.
Second Trip to Anchorage
We headed down to Anchorage again over Memorial Day weekend to meet up with John’s parents. They came up to spend a few days in town before heading on to Whittier for their cruise to Vancouver. We had a great time, and the kids had a blast with MiMi and PoPo.
We took the kids into the pool one night at the hotel, and had absolutely fabulous fun. I didn’t bring my camera down there, but it was awesome. JR got to go go-kart riding and pony riding again. We also checked out the Saturday Market where I picked up some cool handmade birch trucks for JR and some pretty hippie duds for myself.
The Sunday before Memorial Day I went to mama’s grave site. It was heartbreaking and surreal but I’m glad I went.
Reading Sports Illustrated on the drive down
MiMi and Camilla
Grandpa and JR
John & JR riding go-karts
PoPo, JR, and Grandpa at the pony rides
Grandpa and Camilla
My little cowboy!
I miss you, mama.
Original Artwork by JR
Paintings by my 2 year old son. Titles of his choosing, too.
Flowers by JR McDonald
Colors by JR McDonald
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