Category Archives: entertainment - Page 2

25 Things

Once, you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

So I’ve been tagged.  Apparently, by a number of people in a short amount of time.  Seemed easier to blog it, then retag, then read everyone elses randoms.  You may know these things already; if so, bully for you!

1.  I am unpleasant when I wake up; this lasts until I’ve got my first cup of coffee in my hand, probably extending until I’m about halfway through it.  Then I consider myself as having rejoined the human race.

2.  Both of my shoulders have been dislocated before.  As a result, I can now swivel my elbows around to face forward with my hands on my hips.  This makes it look like my arms are attached backwards.  It freaks out my husband.

3.  I have a strong sense of spirituality, though I am not religious.  I am still defining divinity and spirituality for myself, but make no mistake: I am a sensible heathen.

4.  I completely enjoy being a stay-at-home mother and wife, and all that it entails.  But I am more than just my roles.

5.  I love listening to Ani DiFranco on my mp3 player really loudly while I clean house.

6.  I have OCD.  It used to be really, really bad when it came to clutter and cleaning.  Like “Matchstick Men” kind of bad.  Being with John has semi-cured me of that, and I think we’ve found me a happy middle ground.

7.  I am so beyond eager to move back to Fairbanks.  I want to live somewhere that I can easily find like-minded people, people who parent intentionally, think liberally, seek and enjoy natural beautiful things/activities.  I’d prefer this to be among mountains.

8.  One of my favorite breakfasts is home-fried potatoes a la mama, scrambled eggs, toast, and extra crispy bacon.  And don’t forget the coffee.

9.  I’ve watched Blues Clues a million times.  I prefer Steve to Joe.  Joe is a wussy and I want to smack him.

10.  I taught myself to knit a while back, and one can now usually find a sock on the needles in my purse when I’m out.

11.  I miss writing and painting.  I used to do these things regularly, and had been working on a manuscript for publication.  Now I can’t seem to put together the time to devote to a piece, as I need a whole chunk of uninterrupted time to allow my medium to capture my emotion/state of mind.  I will one day soon get myself back to this place to be able to do so.

12.  Once lost, my trust and respect are seldom, if ever, regained.

13.  I have a tremendous bug phobia.  It often triggers panic attacks.

14.  I used to have a sound machine that had ocean waves on it.  I would listen to it as I fell asleep.  I miss it, though I don’t think my husband would like it much.

15.  I have two messages on my answering machine that my mother left me.  I listen to them probably every other day.  It hurts to be reminded that she’s gone, but it’s comforting to know that I can still hear her when I want to.

16.  I still cry myself to sleep some nights about losing her.  I usually tell myself that I should have stayed down there with her, by her side, once she went into the hospital.  That I should have spent more time with her, period.  I wonder if she knew how much I love her, look up to her, and miss her.  I wish she could watch JR grow up, or be here to see her granddaughter.  I worry about whether she was proud of me, or if I made her happy.

17.  I will one day go to Boston to catch a game at Fenway, seated out in front of first base.

18.  I took Russian in high school, and a semester of Spanish in college.  Now the two get mashed together in my head if I try to think or speak in one language or the other.

19.  When I read the newspaper, I am beyond meticulous about how I fold the pages.  I have to read it in a certain order.  I can’t stand it when people rustle the paper and fold/turn the pages all willy nilly.  I know this is irrational.  I am looking forward to getting the paper daily again once we move back to Fairbanks.

20.  My toes are almost always painted a deep burgundy.  I need to repaint them today.

21.  I freak out about dirt under fingernails, or jagged nails.  I always have a nail file in my purse, and I’m constantly running my nails under each other to make sure they’re clear of stuff.  This used to bother my mother to no end.

22.  I can’t stand hot and muggy climates.  You can always add layers, but there’s only so much you can take off.  I can’t stand feeling too hot.  I get cranky.  This is one reason why I’m content to live somewhere where it is frequently too cold to snow.

23.  I cut my own hair when I have emotional crises.

24.  I love checklists.  I prefer to create a template for them and print them as needed.  I have them for menu planning (weekly and monthly), grocery shopping (broken down by section of store), housecleaning chores, and daily to-dos.

25.  I am tone-deaf.  Your ears would surely bleed to hear me sing.  It embarrasses me, so I try to do so only when alone, with my son, or with my best friend M.

Tagging:  Jen I., Amanda B., Amanda L., Jenn S., Shannon R., Chris S., Jessica B., Cara W., Becca S., Ali F., Benah P., Kiza M., Ashlee S., Trinity C., Karo S., Doug B., Matt C., MD., Rebecca G., Kelley R., Anjyla K., Tina S., Desiree E., Jenn A., Aimee A-W.

Preschool Activities for Everyone!

This sweet, amazing woman blogs about activities for you and your preschooler! She always has great, fun-filled learning activities that I’ve certainly enjoyed doing with my son. Her name is Allie, and her blog is No Time for Flash Cards. Check her out, and have some fun with your kidlets!

Simplicity Socks

Simplicity Socks

Download this pattern in pdf

Materials:
Approximately 400-450 yards fingering weight yarn
Size 1 double-point needles, set of 4
Size 2 double-point needles, set of 4
Sewing needle of some sort (I’m using a dull-point tapestry/embroidery needle that my sock yarn fits through)

Super Simple Socks (I suggest making at least 2):

Cuff:
With smaller DPNs, cast on 64 stitches over 3 needles (20-24-20). Work K2-P2 ribbing for 1.5″ to 2″, depending on your preference.

Leg:
Switching to larger DPNs, work in stockinette stitch until entire piece measures 7-8″.

Heel:
Transfer your stitches to have a total of 32 stitches on each of 2 needles. Turn your work so the wrong side (purl side) is facing you.
1: Purl across.
2: *Sl 1 st purl-wise, k1* across.
3: Sl 1 st purl-wise, p across.
Repeat rows 2-3 for a total of 28 rows.

Turning the heel:
1: Sl 1 st purl-wise, k 17, k2tog, k1.
2: Sl 1, p 5, p2tog, p1.
3: Sl 1, k 6, k2tog, k1.
4: Sl 1, p 7, p2tog, p1.
5: Sl 1, k 8, k2tog, k1.
6: Sl 1, p 9, p2tog, p1.
Continue in this manner, working one additional stitch before decreasing, until all stitches have been worked.  You will have 18 sts remaining.  End with knitting across all sts.

Gusset:
Pick up 16 sts across side of heel.  Knit 32 stitches from leg.  Pick up 16 sts across other side of heel.  Knit 9 stitches from first needle, and transfer remaining 9 sts to next needle.  (25 sts on needle 1 – 32 sts on needle 2 – 25 sts on needle 3).
1:  Needle 1: Knit across to last 3 sts; k2tog, k1.  Needle 2: Knit across.  Needle 3: Knit 1, ssk, knit across.
2:  Knit all stitches.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until a total of 64 stitches remain (16-32-16).

Foot:
Knit evenly until you have worked 5.25″ from picked-up stitches at gusset.

Toe:
1:  Needle 1: Knit to last 3 sts, ssk, k1.  Needle 2: K1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1.  Needle 3: K1, k2tog, k across.
2:  Knit all stitches.
Repeat these two rounds until a total of 16 stitches remain (4-8-4).  Knit 4 stitches from needle 1 onto needle 3.  Graft stitches together.

Catching up

because I haven’t written in a bit.

The day we were flying back from Texas, I went into false labor. We had just gotten to my sister-in-law’s house, and I realized that my “stomach ache” was turning into something quite different. I had a gut-wrenching, can’t-stand-still-can’t-move-well-can’t-breathe-well contraction. Out of nowhere. Then, like 3 minutes later, I had another one. And then another one. We decided to bag it and go to the hospital seeing as how I was just 32 weeks along and could barely breathe through them. We left a confused JR with my in-laws, and drove off into the unknown parts of Ft. Worth to find a hospital. After getting sort of lost downtown, and me having 9 or 10 super strong contractions in an hour’s time, we got to the hospital’s ER entrance. Everything stopped. Not another contraction.

I talked to the on-call OB who stands in for my OB when he’s out of town, explaining that we had a plane to catch and that it’d been over half an hour without any activity. I signed a form to get out of being seen at the hospital, and we headed back to my in-laws’ house. We loaded everything up, said our goodbyes, got to the airport, dropped off the rental, then were given the runaround by TSA agents who were clueless about where the Alaska Airlines ticket counter was located. After walking like 1/2 a mile through and around the airport just to be sent back, it turned out to be right next to where the damn agents were standing when we asked. We checked in, checked our bags, got some Taco Hell, and made it to the gate just in time to board the plane. Whew!

The flight was fairly uneventful, and we switched planes without a hitch in Seattle. It seemed like it took forever to get to Fairbanks, and we were so ready to be off the plane when we finally landed. Holy crap was it cold though! It was -43*F when we landed. That was heartbreaking, given that it was 88*F when we left Texas. My nose started bleeding as soon as we hit the baggage claim area, it was so dry.

John left to get the truck from the parking garage downtown, we stopped at Safeway for groceries, then drove 100 miles to get home. Oh, the relief to finally be home!

John had to leave insanely early the next morning for work. JR and I were still sick (and still are) so we took it easy the first day. I had (and still have) so much cleaning to do though as we trashed the house in our extreme hurry to get ready to leave in the first place.

Thursday I woke up super early and went on a mini-cleaning spree. I scrubbed the downstairs bathroom, cleaned the living room, did the dishes, the laundry, the diapers, swept and mopped the kitchen, and decluttered the countertops, all before noon. I managed to get dinner in the crockpot (which was super yummy: beef short ribs, slow cooked in barbecue sauce) and had it ready to be served when John walked in the door that night. So tender it was falling off the fork!

Friday I was up early again (gotta love pregnancy insomnia), and had showered, eaten, made and drank coffee, checked all my usual websites, and straightened up the kitchen before anyone else even woke up. We went to town that day for our usual shopping trip. I went to Joann’s and got some cool new knitting supplies (thank you Bec) as well as a baby elephant and hippo for JR that he adores (they’re Schleich, and I love them). We ate at Chili’s because I was craving buffalo wings like nobody’s business, which was so not worth the final ticket price we paid for dinner. Doubt we’ll go back (John had a ribeye, I had shrimp & chicken). I discovered later that night taht I must be allergic to shrimp.  Nice.

Then we picked up a doggie coat & booties for our wussy indoor dog — and before you make any snide comments, those things are totally necessary for creatures in -40* and colder weather. We went in search of a new winter coat for JR too, though kept coming up short. FYI, Big Ray’s had a sign saying they were open until 8 (it was 7:15) and they turned us away. Frontier Outfitters is entirely too floofy, too. Sears was dead, and we speculate that they’ll be going under soon. Then it was off to WalMart for some random crap, then Freddie’s for groceries, then finally back home.

Saturday I was going to try to get together with M (who is this sweet woman that we’re trying to get to watch JR when I go into labor), but I started feeling even sicker and decided to nap with JR. John went back into town to pick up my meds and a handful of other things we’d forgotten (as he’s working this coming weekend and so won’t be home until next Thursday night).

Yesterday was a mellow day, thankfully.  John cleaned up our files downstairs, JR played, and I worked on a fun new knitting project (the Noro Striped Scarf).

Today, John headed back to work.  JR and I have just been hanging out for the most part.  I’ve scheduled John’s sinus surgery/pre-op/cat-scan, and also renewed my belief that Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center majorly sucks.  We got our home heating fuel delivery, and we’re now settled in with some simple snacks to watch the Fiesta Bowl (Hook ‘Em Horns!).

Casting Call for the Election

The hubby and I were talking tonight about who we would cast in a movie about the election. Here’s what we came up with. Enjoy.

Obama — Denzel, Cuba, Will Smith

Michelle — Tonya Lee Williams

McCain — James Caan, Michael Cain

Cindy — Jennifer Garner

Cheney — Chevy Chase

Edwards — Edward Norton

Clinton — Diane Keaton, Diane Wiess

Bill Clinton — Darrell Hammond from SNL

Bush — Matt Damon, Dana Carvey

Huckabee — Tommy Lee Jones

Fred Thompson as himself

Richardson — Carlos Mencia, Graham Greene

Ron Paul — Steve Martin, Dana Carvey

Romney — Daniel Day Lewis

Tim Russert — John C Reilly, Bill Murray

Ted Stevens — Anthony Hopkins

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