Hell Week - Monday

Day one of countdown...didnt make it to the gym. Overslept. Got to play with grandson and hold granddaughter before they left for home. So oversleeping was ok...

Have worked more on my paper. Anyone know a magic portion for 24 hours of photographic memory?

Got some laundry done...will go put some more in the washer in just a minute.

Made lunch reservations for grandson at the pirate restuarant at Disneyland (Blue Bayou if you want to be more precise!).

Found mistakes on the Reference page for the paper, fixed them - have to print it out AGAIN!

Think I better pack some tums or rolaids or something....and the debate with myself is - do I want to go to the CSUDH bookstore while there and get a momento of what could be (hopefully will be!) my last trip there? Or would that jinx me??

Oh yeah - felted my new purse. Finally gave in and bought this kit at a lovely store in Pleasanton, Knit This, Purl That (hopefully I got the name right). Have falled in love with a purse in the store but dont have the time to take the class. So this kit appears to be the same yarns. I didnt quite like the bottom, which was jsut a 3 needle bind off which would make it a flat tote. So I did a circular decrease and made it a rounded tote. Took a photo of it drying, but will take another photo when I get the straps in and see if they work right...if not there is enough yarn to make new straps.

5th birthday party

Kaia - our little POlish Yenta???? Tried to get her into the pirates mood...there she is again - no she wasnt drinking - trying to get a photo while holding her is tricky!

Kaia's big brother Owen arrived wearing his own Captain Owen hat and shirt with Mickey Mouse explaining how to be a pirate....from his visit to Disneyland last year!

Little brother Jack who - although you cant see it in a still photo - was rocking out to pirate music! He kept his pirate hair and hat on throughout most of the party!

What is a pirate party anymore without your very own Capt Jack Sparrow showing up????? AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

The birthday boy himself in his pirate gear! No - this was a special outfit just for the party - he was Spiderman for Halloween (brother was a lion!). He was Mr. Social and seemed to have a very good time!!!!

Time really goes by quickly the older you get....seems like just yesterday that his mom was telling us about his November arrival...and here he is such a big boy at 5 years old!

Still here

Still freaking out about this Exam....how the heck am I supposed to write a knowledgeable APA formatted paper under duress????? Is this really worth it?????

Daughter jsut called me and the work MD is referring her to an orthopedic MD. In college she had to have knee surgery - they thought it was a bad meniscal tear but the MRI didnt show that. They went in and jsut had to trim it up and all. Well, she was at CMT training (Crowd Management Team) and did some kind of exercise or maneauver and it didnt feel so good...so now after a week + of light duty, exercise, icing and all, they need to really check it out and see if she damaged it more. Bummer.

And I jsut saw where they took that Philly cop off life support and he died yesterday. The one who was shot in the head. That makes me shudder. Even if I didnt have a daughter and son-in-law in law enforcement, I still dont understand why the badge makes people a target even before they do or say anything. Sick sick people. My heart goes out to that family and to the Philadelphia Police Department. I hope someone finds that ***hole....maybe anonymously in a dark alley...

Stress is such a lovely thing...wakes me up at 0300 every morning with thoughts of this paper running thru my head. I still cant come up with a decent opener and closer...what does it matter anyway unless I can memorize that and actually remember it on that stress filled morning???

I did manage to get a decent nights sleep the last 2 nights but only cause we are so busy at work. Apparently Halloween and lots of candy result in preemies being born...of course, the fact that the Auxillary had set up their Holiday Bazaar in the lobby and we all wanted to go shopping yesterday probably had something to do with it too!!! (Why are medical people so superstitious?? Wonder if I can get a grant and do a study on that?)

BUT....good news!!!We finally have our new light up in the bathroom! And the wall switches actually work correctly after being replaced! Instead of playing head games with us - either one will turn the light on and turn it off...But we have 2 holes in the ceiling where the old lights were that hubby will have to close up this weekend....and I might shower upstairs in the wee hours of the morning until he does. Why? Cause there is a hunk of fluffy stuff on the bathroom rug that wasnt there before I ran an errand and is there now....how could it have come out of the attic space if it wasnt pushed out? And I dont really want to meet what might have pushed it out in the dark hours of the morning....

So now we just have to finish painting the ceiling after the holes are filled in and put the mirror up and it will FINALLY BE DONE....that one week project started back in June....

Uh oh - its coming

Well, went to the Comp Exam workshop yesterday and it all became very very real. In about a month I will be sitting in a computer lab, with 4 hours to write an APA formatted paper, without any resources with me except a reference list and an outline. And whether or not I get my MSN depends on whether or not I achieve an 80% on that pass/fail paper.

A month. 4 weeks. To research it and write it over and over again until I know the material inside and out, upside and down.

And they blew my original idea out of the water. So I have to go back to another idea - of which I threw away all my articles about 2 weeks ago. So I start from square -1.

Might not be seeing much posting. Unless I am freaking out - which I know I will do.

So I am asking you all for lots of prayers and good thoughts that I pass this obstacle...and that my poor husband survives living with me for this period of time....which of course also includes work, and role option hours, and school work...

Only a month...only a month...only 4 weeks....

Thought provoking thoughts

Thanks to Birdsongs comment on my last post....I started thinking. I love the yarn I made the SCRAWL from. Not only the texture but the colors. But have I worn it yet? No - becuase I dont have anything to wear it with.

And that started me thinking. The colors I buy in yarns rarely if ever go with the colors in my wardrobe. Why? Why would I lust for/buy/enjoy/choose colors to knit with that are so different than the colors in my wardrobe?

I know in socks, most of my clothing is not purples. And I do love the deep plums and eggplants. And yet most of the sock yarns I choose are purples...no matter how hard I try to chose other colors...the ones I make are from the purples I buy.

Does anyone else have this predicament?

Some Updates

Here are two photos of the Scrawl that I finished sometime ago. It is lovely isnt it? Still dont think I got the sleeve length quite right, even after re-doing them once. If you are interested, the pattern is here: http://funkits.com/scrawl%pattern.htm

This is an adorable kit that I found out from a friend at http://janevdoviak.blogspot.com. She has a far better photo of the bracelet she did on her site. Anyway, the kit is from www.earthfaire.com. They have a lot of lovely kits and their service is wonderful! Please go and look at all the lovely jewelry you can make! And you know what surprised me? They have knit bead jewelry kits for sale - jewelry that I have in my mom's jewelry case that she made decades ago! What is that saying about what is old is new again?

And this is a future present for a special little miss. Yes, it is way too big for her right now. And I purposely made it too big. It will either fit her next summer or the summer after that. Altho, after the phone call I recieved today - maybe it will be next summer! The phone call was from DD who states little Kaia is up to 9 lbs already and has sprouted 2 inches - up to 21 inches tall!!! So maybe she is going to a be a tall girl and tkae after her brother...after all, both parents are pretty tall! Anyway, that was a cotton yarn and pattern that I bought from the yarn girls at www.discontinuedbrandnameyarn.com. Again, I had wonderful service from them, but this was thte firts time I have ordered from them.

Updates

Well, I emailed United Airlines last week to ask them how they determined who recieved the travel voucher. No reply so far. Of course, I was pretty sarcastic about preferential treament towards the male half of the traveling twosome...

I am so tired. Really tired. And it is school that I am tired of. I feel like there is this pendulum swinging over my head "Clinical hours...Comp Exam...Weekly work...Clinical Hours...Comp Exam...Weekly work". Slowly and tenaciously it swings...

I have my Beap Soup bracelet done...well, almost done. The knitting is done. Just have to put the fasteners on. Should be able to get to that today since I am on call. And am ready to make more - much more quick and easy than I first thought!

And the dress I am knitting for someone special is almost done. And already found another idea. Dont know that I will have to order the pattern for that one. I think I can wing it without a pattern as long as I find the colors I want!

Next weekend I have to go to the Comp Exam Workshop in Salinas - Sunday evening. I am not complaining. Much better than having to fly down south - miss out on work and clinical hours and spend more money! Have to do that in November for the Comp Exam itself. And I am getting pretty frustrate trying to find resource material for the paper.