Resolutions

Well, a lot of mine work into my 101 in 1001 list, but I can post a few that I’d like to do -this- year and not by August 2013.

1. Continue losing weight and exercising
• I started this weight-loss journey at about 220lbs. At last check on WiiFit I was 194, which is up about 15 pounds from my lowest point. I've been off the wagon for almost 3 months, so it's time to get back on. I'd like to see 150lbs by the end of the year.
2. Get the kitchen cabinets repainted
• Hubby and I have been slowly trying to make the house more 'us'. We did a lot of improvements over the last year, repainting and stuff, and there's more to get done, but repainting the cabinets we know we can do without much fuss. 
3. Knit and Spin from stash (as much as possible)
• I have a sizeable (at least 7 large totes chock-full!) yarn stash and I want to use it up, because it's all yarn I love. My spinning stash is notably smaller, but it's still loved, and I want to use it too.
4. Get a handle on christmas gifts early
• Part of this is going to be knitting/crocheting/sewing quick-and-easy gifts throughout the year. Also, making a 'What I'm Giving' list early .. like, by springtime .. will help.
5. Continue decluttering the house
• We've done good at this too, but there's still work to do. We're slight packrats .. not on the same level as hoarders, but we still have too much stuff. Starting with clearing out more clothes, and going through the back attic, I want to donate/trash a few bags of stuff by Spring.
6. Date night with hubby at least twice a month
• We don't do enough together, and when we have gotten out here in the last little bit, it's been amazing fun. I'd like to take dance lessons when we can afford it, but until then, dinner out, or a movie, or -something- fun and just us twice a month will be good.
7. Find a job to help pay down debt
• I've been trying to find something, but the job market is, as it is almost everywhere, pretty awful. Sending out applications every day, and if I get no bites signing on with a staffing agency will get me to this goal much faster.
8. Find a graduate program and get accepted
• This is assuming I still want to teach college. That is the current thought, but I'm still deciding if I might not want to teach younger students. Either way, I need to get into the appropriate program, whether it be graduate school or a teacher education program, or at least get moving on getting into it.
9. Participate fully in 52 in 52 - 2011
•  52 projects completed in 52 weeks. Shouldn't be difficult, right? Except with my attention span, projects tend to languish. I have a Wrapigan sitting in a back that refuses to be finished, and a knitted owl toy that is only half done. I am going to try to use this challenge as a way to get some simple gifts made though.
10. Participate fully in Year of Stash Socks 2011 
• I have less hope for this, but I'm going to try at the very least. I have a lot of sock yarn, and love wearing hand-knitted socks. They're warm and toasty. So we'll see!
11. Write more often (poetry/short stories/essays/anything)
• I love writing. Creative writing. I haven't been able to do much at all lately, and I miss it. I've subscribed to several prompt blogs and such, so we'll see if I can do this a little more regularly this year.

Christmas Recap

Okay. So.

After dealing with the aftermath of being burgled, we still had to deal with Christmas. Our tradition is to got to Brandon's for Christmas eve, bringing all our gifts to eachother as well as for them, and we spend Christmas morning there, then drive up to Cary to have Christmas with Jason's family. This year, his parents decided not to go to Stephanie's, which made Jason and I a little upset, because that meant they'd be alone for Christmas, but we couldn't exactly cancel our tradition, so the plan stayed.

I was a busy little beaver the couple of days before Christmas, sewing and stitching and wrapping gifts that had been put aside in the aftermath of the break-in. I had already come to terms with the fact that not everything was getting done, and I was fine with that even. I still had things to get done that I knew that I -could- get done.

Well, Christmas Eve day, I'm making cookies. Another tradition is that Johnny gets a batch of snickerdoodles for Christmas, because i apparently make them the best. The first batch burned. Horribly. I had tried to cook them on the lower rack and the upper and switched them halfway through baking .. bad idea. I was so frustrated that I threw up my hands.

That was when we discovered the leak. Jason was working on cleaning up so we could make a second batch .. when water started pouring out of the cabinet beneath the sink. Horrors! We open it to discover that the garbage disposal .. which has been making an awful sound the last few times we've used it .. is leaking. Badly.

We think back at this moment to a time several weeks back when we discover a truly horrifying odor coming from said cabinet only to discover a bowl of stanky, moldy, disgusting water curiously under said disposal. It was not placed there on purpose, but served to hide the leak from us apparently, and we didn't realize at the time that there was a leak, so never had it checked.

The upside to this is that we thoroughly cleaned out anything under the sink that we just don't use .. old cleaning products and the like .. and now everything we have kept sits happily in a basket that can me kept under the sink but keeps things contained.  We dealt with the water on the bottom of the cabinet and on the floor, placed a vase under the main leak, and went on with our plans. Nothing to be done about it at that moment, except to avoid using that side of the sink.

Of course, this event set us back a bit, but we managed to get on the road at a fairly decent hour .. only for me to remember 20 minutes into the 45 minute drive that we'd forgotten one very important present. Back home we went to pick it up, and then we -finally- got to Brandon's around 9pm. Christmas Eve was lovely, filled with good, simple food and watching the outtakes of Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas. Actually, just one outtake .. the one with the drum.

Sleep was broken by occasional peeks outside to see if it had snowed yet - it hadn't- and I finally woke at 7am and texted Brandon to see if he was awake. Then I got up and nudged my husband awake.  Christmas day is always a time of joy with Brandon and his family, and from what I could tell everyone loved their gifts. I was pleased that Jason's slippers fit him .. though they were inexplicably still damp that morning, though they'd been finished days before. He got me some pretty wonderful things .. in addition to the ring which was stolen but I got back, he also got me a beautiful freshwater pearl set, some pigment powders to play with, a rusting and a patina kit to play with, some wood wick candles, a yarn tasting, and a new pizza stone.

After a leisurely breakfast of eggs and bacon and sausage, we got on the road to Stephanie's. Christmas there is usually rather chaotic, and once Mike (their brother) got there with his three children, that trend continued.  IT was mixed with hilarity however as Savannah broke out her new Wii game: GLEE Karaoke Edition.  We watched her sing a few songs, all the while trying to get David, Mike's eldest who thinks he's a rapper and looks like a thug most times, to get up and do 'Golddigger'. He refused, even when bribed, so I got up and did it. And did pretty good if I do say so myself. David thought it'd be funny to record me doing it, but I got him back, because they -finally- got him to try it .. only he didn't even know half the words. Only the chorus. So I have him on video just standing there like an idiot.  I call that insurance.

We woke the next morning to snow. And not just a dusting .. there was a good 6 inches on the ground, and it was still falling! I took several pictures, and we all got ready and went to IHOP for breakfast because Joe wanted to see how his truck handled. (It handled fine.) Brittany and Brett came over, with the crazy dog Numa, and we all hung out for a while, waiting to hear from mike so he could come over again. We never did get in touch with him, and though it seemed to stress Stephanie out, we decided not to bother trying to get him to come over. Steph's chili was delicious, Britt and Brett went home before the roads iced over, and we went back for seconds of the singing, this time with Sing Star .. Jason and I did a couple of hilarious duets, though this time there's no video proof anywhere.

We went to bed kinda early, but not -too- early, and woke up -way- early. Like 2am early, and were wide awake. We decided that it was probably best for us to just head home then, while stupid people were sleeping .. than to wait and try driving home that afternoon. So we showered, packed up, and slunk out of the house like a couple of runaways.  I felt bad, especially for Savannah, but it really was the best option. Both of us were starting to feel bad by then, so had we waited, we would have been just miserable by the time we got home.  As it is, we got home around 7am and crashed out for a nap, and woke up both obviously sick.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday, though I do wish Jason's parents had come to Stephanie's, if only for the day. I understand that Steph stresses them out, and so does Mike. Being around them for a weekend stressed me out. But .. it's a time for family, and I just wish they'd have been there.

Happy Solstice!

I think, once my darling husband gets home, I'm going to ask him to help me move the bookshelf upstanrs down to my room, and move the dreser that's in my office upstairs. Then we'll have more room for little incidental stuff like towels and stuff that really need a home up in the bedroom since we don't have a single freaking linen closet - note to self, next house must have linen closets - and I will have more room for things like books and yarn and won't have them in piles on the floor anymore. Sounds good, doesn't it?

It's also a nice way to get my altar changed for the season, since I still have winter's altar set up from two winters ago. And perhaps making it easier to change my altar .. which is only devotional anyway and not a real working altar .. might encourage me to actually do so, and thus encourage me to actually perform said devotions. And stuff.

My legs are still botheirng me at night. but at this point I'm unsure how much of it is RLS and how much of it is my poor legs saying 'oh my god will you -please- give us a day off to rest!'. I did find that rubbing muscle rub on them helped. I was at least able to go back to sleep. Which in this house is a very good thing. An overtired Tania is a grouchy, hard to live with, Tania

Thankful.

What am I thankful for?

Well, there's the usual. I'm thankful for my health. I'm thankful for my family, for my loved ones, and for my friends. I'm thankful to have a job that pays well and isn't stressful on my mind or my body.

I'm also thankful that I found out now what awful people my former guildmates are, instead of finding it out later on. I'm thankful... in an odd way .. that I was betrayed now, rather than learning six months from now and having my heart stomped on even more than it already was. I'm thankful I hadn't sent the gifts I'd intended to send to the bitch and her pussy-whipped husband. I'm thankful to have had the chance to find out who my real friends are.

I'm thankful for yarn. For the ability and knowledge to turn yarn into something amazing. I'm thankful for Larissa, who tought me how to knit. For Brandon, who let me teach him, and for my beloved husband, who indulges me in my obsession over fiber.

Is it really Thanksgiving time already? Good lord and lady. I'm nowhere near ready for the holidays this year. I've barely even shopped, though I have some plans. More for other people besides Jason, who's usually the hardest to shop for.

Deck the halls with boughs of haul-y!

Otherwise known as the requisite 'What I got for Christmas' post.

This year, as has become our tradition, we spent Christmas Eve at Brandon's house. There was an incredible amount of gifts under the tree, and we were all very excited to get to sleep so morning would come quickly. Of course, no one could sleep. We turned the TVs on to the 'Yule Log' show, which was literally a tv channel that was broadcasting video of a fireplace burning along with holiday music. Coolness!

We awoke that morning at 7:30am to Brandon chiming out 'Merry Christmas!!!' ... in his usual exuberant fashion, of course. We all hit the bathroom and then the extravaganza began. I must stress extravaganza because it took us 3 hours to finish with all the gifts. Of course, we take turns opening, because then we get to enjoy the experience.

I gave to my loving husband both seasons of Carnivale on dvd, a quick-change flyer and extra bobbins for both flyers (for his spinning wheel) and a nostepinne (an old fashioned ball winder), all stained to match his wheel, a Scene It dvd game, another dvd of Reba in concert doing South Pacific, candy for his stocking .. and that's all I can recall at the moment. Bradon received a clock radio (for his room at our house), flex-needles in 4 sizes he uses often, enough yarn from Elann.com to make himself a sweater .. and again I can't remember anything else. There was more .. but I'm blank. I'll have to look at the pictures to see if I can figure it out. Sassy got a rawhide house with rawhide treats in it, which was a huge hit with the little bundle of ruff to my great delight. Kathy much delighted in her felted tote which I finished in the nick of time .. ie, Christmas eve I was felting the strap and putting it together. And she of course loved the frames she got too. Johnny got books and a dvd from us, as well as a frame with picture of Kathy to keep with him in the truck.

I made out like a bandit. I received yarn in abundance, to make a coat (Llama/Wool), a sweater(Alpaca/Silk), a smoke ring (which is like a cowl but it functions as a hood too)(more Alpaca/Silk), a beaded bracelet kit (which doesn't use yarn exactly but it's still knitted), and hand-painted yarn which will probably become a shawl, but I've not decided yet. In addition to the yarn, I got the patterns for the coat, the sweater, the smoke ring, the bracelet, and about a half-dozen more patterns for socks and shawls all together in a binder. I also got two pairs of Lantern Moon Destiny circular needles, one of which I'm already using to work on a project I've wanted to work on for a while. I also got a knitting book, Domiknitrix. I got a few halloween themed things too - a little snuffer, a Limoge witch's hat, a silk scarf, a pumpkin-head doll to go with my pumpkin man statue, and a candle holder. I also got a pirate devil duckie for the bathtub *squee*. I got kitchen-y stuff too - a mini cuisinart, a set of stone mixing bowls, a chocolate fondue fountain, and a deep fryer. The fryer was really to both Jason and I, but it's still a kitchen thing, so I'm counting it. Oh yeah, and I got beautiful snowflake earrings, and a hand-made quilted tree skirt that will go with our blue & white theme when we go back to it, the new Loreena McKennit cd, and my 2007 Witch's Calendar.

So .. yeah. I got spoiled rotten. Not all of it was strictly for me, but a lot of it was, and I feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Oh yeah, and all of this is before we have our christmas with Neely and with momma & diddy.

First Post

This will likely end up, at least for now, being little more than a duplicate of my Livejournal blog, but as I grow less and less interested in posting there, I may switch entirely to posting here. I already post all my knitting here, after all.

Work has, for the most part, slowed down. I've got to work tomorrow, Christmas Eve, but it'll be in the morning, and then it'll be over, and it's money, dontchaknow. Besides, I've got to pick something up for Johnny, and Miss Neely asked me to buy something for her to give to her sort-of ex-husband. She is, of course, paying me back, but since I work there and all, why don't I just make her not have to leave the house. *growl* Ahh, friends, how I love them.

I've almost finished the Booga bag for Brandon's momma. Just have to knit and felt the strap, but the body is done. It's all ratty looking though, so I need to take a sweater stone to it or something .. it's got pills everywhere cos it got out of the pillowcase in the water, and I'm a bit miffed at that. Other than that though, it's looking good, and should have enough size to it for her, once I get a good strap on it. The plan is, to fill the bag with tissue paper and have it look like a gift bag .. maybe she won't realize it's part of the present!

It's cloudy and dreary today, and were it colder I might think it looked like snow. But since I can probably walk out in shorts it's so mild, I don't think we'll get so lucky. Nope, no white christmas for us down here. But that's okay.

Well, I've -got- to get back to gift preparations. I have a 6' I-cord to knit, and pictures to print at CVS, and other such fun things. At least that's the -only- thing I have to go out for today. Everything else is -done-. My tree is drowning in gifts this year, and not everything is there. Jason apparently has gifts hiding in the back bedroom, unwrapped. If I weren't such a good wife, I'd already know what they are. Damn me! I'll return and post pictures of the tree once everything I can wrap is wrapped .. that way I can start loading them in the car, since we head to Brandon's tomorrow after I work and we run out to bring a gift to Mardell, the woman I went to the church concert with momma with.

Speaking of moms, my mom sent Jason and I gift cards to Best Buy, so I can buy my PS2 and he can get his stereo to be able to use the XM I bought for his birthday. She also sent us little spoon lapel pins, because she sometimes doesn't have enough spoons. You can go here to learn more about the 'spoon theory'. Mom has given us a couple of spoons to hold in reserve for her, just in case, and it's making me cry right now just to think about it. Please, read the article at least, and think about someone you know with a chronic illness, and just imagine for one day what it's like to live life with a limited amount of spoons.