Spring Break in Kansas

It is Spring Break for our elementary school. My parents have just moved to Kansas at the beginning of the new year. The last time I visited them (in Hawaii - sigh!) it was for a quick trip of just 4 or 5 days. My parents have been supportive of me, but also going through their own multiple transitions in the last year. I thought it was my turn to bring the kid to them, and also to go hang out, get some home cooking and shut down a little with The Kid.

He is happy to not go to Spring Break camp. He is happy to be spoiled rotton. I think, hope, maybe he is happy to spend a little more time with me. Relaxing time.

It's funny spending so much time with him. He's horribly affectionate and sensitive. Did you know that? I knew that. In fact I often exploit it when I'm angry without even meaning to. I know I'm a horrible mother. I warned The Manfriend before we had kids, my potential for landing a child in therapy was much higher than your average woman. He was dealing with a family of certified whackjobs. As loveable as we are, we have our own truth.

The Kid and I were having a hard time sleeping at night so we pushed our twins together. Much better. Mainly for me. Having him so close, but not close enough to console or touch in his sleep was weirding me out when he would flop around or wake up without waking. (I am that Mom that hears his slightest sound from her room at home) He kicked me one night when I tried to put his covers back on and then gave me a cat fight double handed slapping when I tried to cuddle with him the next, all asleep of course.

He had his first big thunder and lightening storm last night so it took a while to get him down. But he did well, and I wasn't all meany mcmean face. After sitting with him for a while after reading, I told him to think happy thoughts, he was safe but if he needed me I was next door and I'd leave the door wide open. And yes, he has a night-lite.

I mean we do. hehe.

Do you know what he told me? He said, you can survive being struck by lightening. In fact a man had been struck three times and survived. He said, "Once you've been struck it increases your chances of being struck again. It fills your body with electrons."

And then he asked, "Can you survive a tornado? You know, like not in the shelter, but like getting picked up by one?"

I told him I didn't know. There is a lot I don't know.

I shivered. I jogged. I got exercise.

I ran the 12k yesterday morning. It didn't rain, but it was so windy, and I didn't run the whole thing. I think the fact that I knew I wasn't going to make it up the steep ascent to the Golden Gate Bridge was good. I walked / hiked as fast as I could, and then when I got to those last yards to get on the bridge itself, I started running/jogging again.I made it just before mile 6 and then walk/jogged interval (1:24 overall). Which I think is pretty good for me. (I'm no runner this is just glorified cardio, so don't think I'm all wannabe fancy pants)

I remember feeling so disappointed when I hit the road in the Presidio looking out at the run/bike path along the water realizing, they were going to loop us back to Fort Point before I even get to go there. We were doubling back to the bridge and I knew how much farther that meant I had to go. I wish I hadn't known. However when the big spray over where the surfers hang out (when the surf is not so rough, crazy and high) doused 4 other people in front of me and all I got were my shoes wet, I felt some luck ... until the wet shoes yielded small blisters.

Small though. I've had worse, and after the run, I could distribute my weight easier so it was ok.

I thought I would be pre-emptive and after a hot shower and cowering in my bed while the boys were out getting their exercise, I went into the Mission and decided to get an asian foot massage. However this foot massage includes bodywork. It's okay, a little rub-down that didn't require disrobing, fancy spas or a ridiculous amount of money seemed like a good idea. I also had been to this place before.

I had never had the masseuse I had. He was young and he was on a mission. I swear he was trying to break me, and he poked and squeezed and pressed and rubbed. I tried to explain that I had run and was a little tense, and he agreed with me but seemed to be scolding me. "Relax!!" He would then work on me some more and then mumble more to himself than to me, "So hard, so tight!" Sometimes he would work on another part of my back and then return to my neck and shoulders. To see if my tension had returned! That tricky trickster. Though I think he thought my shoulders was the tricky trickster.

The knots were worked out.

Until this morning.

I'm walking like a cowboy

Now I have new ones that ache so much, I'm considering going back to the man with the mission, in the mission if he can do anything about it.

What is shakin' my bacon

1. Fox Soccer Channel. My wonderful husband has subscribed for us. It includes a bunch of other random sports related channels that we may or may never watch. (Though he is pleased to watch Thursday NFL games again.) Surprisingly reasonable addition to our cable cost. Surprisingly kind, helpful customer service for Comcast. whoa.

2. Game of Thrones dvd is working again. Okay, I know it was the bedroom player on the freakout, but I'm pleased nonetheless. Issues so far?
       I imagined Jaime Lannister to have a head of golden / fair curls -- kind of like Harry Hamlin in the          original Clash of the Titans.
      All of the intimate moments on the show make me squirm. I don't know how I got so prudish in  
      these latest years, but yeah it makes me feel uncomfortable. (Humping. I'm talking about humping)


3. Gourmet Rhapsody. I can pick this up for a few pages and set it down and feel refreshed, even if I'm reading about some total jerk doing or something rather sad. Of course I love the food love. Best thing in the past two days? The housekeeper describing her boss' farts.

4. Knitting Progress on previously stunted projects. I'm halfway through panel 8/10 for the moderne blanket. There is something wonky happening where I twisted the two colors together, I've seen this before. It's from pulling too hard, but I think it's salvageable. I hope it is. The green pima stole is back to not making me crazy for a pattern repeat or two. Ms. J's cowl is almost done. Then I shall have to return to cardigan land, maybe pick up the Chalice Baby Blanket, and maybe ... just maybe get a chance to start a new project like a Christopher hat for the Man Friend. (I really should call him something else. But roommate is so cold non?) I remember earlier this winter Project Stash had knit a bunch of them, and that is where I got the itch. I also really do like Jane Richmond's simple, wearable designs. They seem like patterns my skill-set can handle.

5. Playtex - Objective 1 Shapewear. I'm sorry if I scared you with my DailyMail link. It's not actually a link to the product. I'm not sure if it's available just yet. However the idea of losing inches by wearing underwear -- something that most of us do on a daily basis, is absolutely intriguing. I like things that reduce jiggle without suffocation and digging (thus my true love of compression activewear).

6. Triscuits. They are a happy snack vehicle for me again. Smoked trout spread (homemade when I'm not being LA (lazy *ss) mom, smoked salmon spread (store bought because most of the time I am LA mom), cracked pepper roast turkey, laughing cow cheese, toaster oven tuna melts. Mmm. love me a Triscuit. I realize I should eat the low salt/sodium version but I don't. I'm quite fond of their new flavors, cracked pepper and rosemary. However most of the time, I go OG original.

7. Knitting Blogs. They are sooo distracting. I spend way too much time on them. They are so interesting though, their voices and their projects. I start at My Sister's Knitter and then I like to to click on many of the cool links she has. I really have enjoyed Project Stash (obviously see #4) and Crochet with Raymond. Then I have to go and see what the Yarn Harlot is up to. She's so witty. Between her and AndiGal I'm gonna have to knit a pair of socks before I die. Other favorites are Life on Laffer and Molecular Knitting and Tentenknits (she's local now ... maybe one day I will see her on the MUNI hehe -- not to worry, I won't hassle her). For me this blog has been a practice at expression and sometimes somewhat organized thought. But I'm grateful for any blog that is willing to share. I've gotten a lot of ideas for projects and life perspectives (knitters are really positive!). The big downside? TOO MANY project ideas zooming around in my tiny brain! I'll never be able to knit it all. I will do the best I can and try and cull the ones that have lost their shine (many o' cardigan)

Yay! Penguins!

So this is what happens when you go perusing npr.og



Streaming by Ustream

It's Love

(Harrigan this one is okay. This one is a "book club" post.)

He bought it for me on release day. Not because I'm that fantastic, but because it's the cheapest day. Still it's love. Maybe he recalls last summer when I abandoned him and his young son to read the damn series in my corner.

Game of Thrones/ GOT to the cool kids. 

I am enjoying seeing the story come to visual life.

Manfriend: I like your show. There's a lot of naked.

*sigh.

We have been going to sleep later so we watched only a bit of the first episode. He told me that I could watch the rest of it when he slept. But I am going to wait till we have some time together. It's not just to watch and enjoy together, but I want to savour it. We do not have the HBO and that means even though season 2 is just about to begin I won't catch it until they release it on dvd ... next year. Also, George has been awfully busy. I see he got my emails ... ;)

“When the first novel came out, no one was waiting for it,” Martin allows. “I wasn’t getting any emails as I now get every day about ‘Where is the next novel?’ and ‘Could you please hurry up?’ and ‘Why are you going to Los Angeles when you should be home working on the novel?’

So who knows when the next book will be. I must enjoy what I have.

Stay healthy George, and stop fussing and give me book 6. You owe me 2 "all day" as we used to say in the bar/restaurants...

oh god I had to look it up: The official cookbook

Really?

Parent Teacher Conference

It's that time of year. Spring/3rd Quarter conferences.

The Manfriend said, "Oh you don't have to take off time from work dear if you don't want to. I have the day off. I can go."

I thought about it for a hot minute. I was going.

1) I like to ask hard hitting questions. examples: Does he act like a fool during class? Is he a Mean Girl?

2) I realize that Parent Teacher Conference end with the beginning of (eegads) middle school. Seriously at that point, if the teacher wants to meet with you about the kid 90% of the time, it's not a good thing. (This is how my father found out I flat out refused to read A Christmas Carol in the 7th grade. Don't ask why, I was working on being unnecessarily complicated at a young age) Anyhow, this means I had only 5 PTCs left, including the one my husband was offering to attend solo.

3) After the last report card, if I should withhold playdates and dessert for the next year. I wanted to know if things were not improving why they weren't and what we could do.

Well The Kid has improved tremendously. He's working well with others even not his first choice friends and is sure to do his work first before he acts a fool, so the kid has some priorities. The things he needs to improve upon aren't a surprise. They are things we see him struggle or work harder at during homework review.

But there were two highlights of the parent teacher conference for me:

1) When Mr. A placed a stack of 10 tardy passes in front of us. The Manfriend did that weird swing his head to the side to look at me in the chair for teeny butts, and raise his eye-brows. I said, "Well ... yeah."

"You need taxi money."

What he doesn't completely realize is we ARE taking taxis. Those were some of the days since November we couldn't flag one.

I told The Kid this story. He found it amusing. You see almost every time we are late, it is my fault. I wish that was sarcasm.

We even have a "regular/favorite" taxi driver. I think her name is Sally. She hadn't picked us up in a while and said our last ride, "I figured you two were getting up earlier!"

oh Sally, we have had our moments.

Where was I? Yes! #2

2) Mr. A returned the winter break journal which was an arduous task. It was the optional (but not optional in my house) homework. I finally was allowed to read some of the entries. Mr. A had mentioned the quarter before he needed to work on expanding his ideas and producing details. Well it looks like he took the advice to heart here are a few samples, (I have excluded the misspelling since it's not as cute reading it in print opposed to a picture of his actual writing)

...Then we got breakfast (bacon, pancakes, hashbrowns, and oj). When we finished breakfast we went to the store because my mom needed to go bathroom. I didn't go because the men's bathroom stunk and both the urinals were out of order...

...Then Dad told me that I would have to come to his work because he had to try to fix something. We drove on the freeway, then we went on the bay bridge. We got out at his restaurant (which is closed till January 2, 2012). Dad tried to fix it he got super frustrated but in the end he kinda fixed it. Then we went to the super market and I hate the freezer section. ..

  ...When I woke up I shoved my toast in the toaster. I waited one minute, took it out, buttered it, ate it, felt like I was going to choke on it...

 I think the last one is my favorite.

I must find an appropriate spot to hoard this journal.

Back it Up! Back it Out!

No, this is not my hip-hop chant when I'm cooking thai food alone in the kitchen.

This is me discovering 2 days ago 75 stitches x 5 rows later that my stitches were off on a lovely piece of lace stole.

So I have spent two days where I had a free lunch or soccer match on t.v. (Arsenal v. AC Milan) to back it out.

In case you weren't sure. It was painful. Backing out lace is an arduous process much like getting my son to do his homework neatly. Theoretically it should be simple, perhaps with patience a little longer than your average task, because it is not a "natural" feeling, inevitably it always takes longer.

On another note, actually on another earlier blog where I discuss my knitting progress, I must admit, it is older than the post suggests. I had delusions of grandeur that I would have photos to accompany it. However I am not so good at photos. Our flat is dark and I hear that flash is not one's friend. Seeing how I have no natural talent for photos, I keep asking myself. Is it better to provide a) crappy photo or b) no photo.

What do you think?

Something I haven't had to back out of? Ms. J's chunky honey cowl. I'm starting the 2nd ball of yarn and I couldn't be more pleased. Such a lovely gal, she definitely deserves something cozy for herself.

The Knitting Zone ...

(Look away Harrigan! This post is going to be knit-a-rific! I will post on my moody son or social gaffes later. )

The Knitting Zone. Ahh, much like intense balance of focus & vegetation a gamer experiences in hour 2 of digital battle, watching the points rack up and the energy-ometer pulse a green glow, the knitting zone is a magical place.

It is the place where often more than one project is worked on, often copious amounts of tea and muttering. If we take it into the happy place (as my mother says, "It's 5 o'clock or happy hour somewhere ...") It often involves some wine. Modest amounts mind you. Nothing like backing out rows the next day with an Ibuprofen chaser.

Anyways in order to cope with my own New Year's starteritis, I have agreed to equally love all my Knitting (WIP) children. I have multiple projects on the sticks & string and in the zone ... I've been known to play with them all. (Yay Me! -- having a good ego day, work with me people)

I start with Tea Leaves because it is the most tedious of my children. DK yarn stitches for DAYS. I have to earn 8" just to split for sleeves. Sad FACE ... and then tough face, just 4 or so rows at a time. I can get through this.

Out and about ... on public transportation or waiting rooms I am knitting The Kid some green and blueish hand warmers. These are immediate gratification. His hands are small (he's a kid, see how that works?) so he's tried them on for me to double-check the size and is mildly amused with my progress. We are one down. I smell completion by the end of the week. oh ... yeah.

Mindless I'm really tired ... I may only had time to exercise, berate "poor child" about homework and slam some leftovers down my gullet before bed, but if I don't knit at least one or two rows I will be twice as evil in the morning project ... is the bulky blanket. Knit with Lion Brand Thick & Quick it's the Moderne Baby Blanket again. I wish my needles were longer, but it's growing at a rate I appreciate. I'm currently on piece 8/10. (though I reserve the right to add on more rectangles or squares if I feel like it.

And then there is The Mixer. HM decided she was going to cast on the Baby Chalice Blanket. She got the "right" yarn and everything. I had talked about doing this for ages. (At least with my imaginary friends.) I just hadn't cast on, because seriously who with a full time job, a family, or in complete control of their mental faculties would cast on a blanket when there is already a blanket and a sweater on the needles and a occasionally whiny child who would like his hands warm before the Californian winter goes away?

That ignoramus would be me.  I know shocking.

You know what's more shocking? Is I knit on this thing when all the other children bore me. When my knitting feels obligatory and unreasonably repetitive. This baby is new and shiny, despite the Red Heart stash yarn I'm using. It's interesting but not draining and I am determined to give it a good home.

I'm so in awe as an expectant mother, I'm already planning on making another. (blanket that is)

The second part of the irony is HM ripped her project because the yarn was too busy for the pattern she felt. (The yarn is lovely on it's own for sure.)

The Knitting Zone, it's where all good intentions turn to gobbleygook.

My Hair Is Sparkly

I told HM, that I was getting my hair cut, but didn't bother trying to schedule color since I didn't think there would be time. (The Kid will be at a birthday party and I don't want to have anxiety about getting to and from in time.)

HM said she liked the way my hair was growing and that my hair was sparkly. Makes me feel like a unicorn. Now if only I could crap rainbows. Ha!

Google is the new Facebook

I must say at least 3 times a week I need to disable my Facebook account. But I don't. Their privacy policies are spooky, their desire to merge everything and everyone about me together is creepy. Worlds collide and the universe is changed forever ...

They tried to improve it so we could control these little worlds in our universe.

I can barely control my temper. I don't have time to control who sees what, and what I say to whom.

I can barely get the hell out of morning drop off at the school without one or two gaffes and faux pas.

But I still haven't disabled it.

And now, The Google has decided it's going to beautify and streamline my services and life.

Please. Don't touch.

I think I give you plenty of information for what the services I use. You know I like knitting and kitchen blogs see?

I don't like controlling relationships. Don't make me resent you. Don't. Make. Me. Bing.

But really I'm gonna close down the Facebook...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/29/national/a151810S79.DTL