This week, will be my first full week working out of the home, for several years. I still have the same clients I did when I worked from home full-time, but I must say it’s nice to venture out of the home and interact with others even if it’s on a part-time basis. I stay busy with my working out of the home job, and that makes me happy. The icing on the yummy cake is working for an organization that I love. It also helps that I know a lot of people there.
This past weekend was busy for my daughter. She had a Father/daughter dance on Friday – I volunteered to serve food. She had a soccer game on Saturday — I cheered from the sidelines. My daughters choir performed in two services on Sunday– when she looked at me in the large audience, I reminded her to smile. By making my smile bigger of course. My sweet daughter is tired today, and to be honest so am I. Most likely, will both be turning in early this evening.
You know something? I still haven’t ordered my birthday yarn from Knit Picks, but I decided to hold off until the end of this month. Who knows, I might order everything on my Knit Picks wish list, which is about $200.
Besides knitted hats, I don’t think I’ve knitted any clothing for an infant. Sure I’ve made numerous sewn and crocheted items… but that’s not knitting. It’s time that I change that, right?
This knitted infant top is a quick knit of ribbed and stockinette stitch.
This is a quick knit, and I still have some work to complete but for the most part it’s finished. I’ll be adding a few cutesy adornments to this knit. Because of course, if I pick up stitches, I can always knit some ruffles. And to make it extra special, this could easily be turned into a ‘set’ by making a matching hat, mittens, and tiny booties too.
Some nights, when I can’t sleep you’ll find me reading or working on some craft… like knitting.
The first time I heard this song, I instantly thought of the band Queen, I definitely here similarities of Queen in this song, love it!
FUN: Some Nights
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they’d just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know anymore…
oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
This is it, boys, this is war – what are we waiting for?
Why don’t we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype – save that for the black and white
I try twice as hard and I’m half as liked, but here they come again to jack my style
And that’s alright; I found a martyr in my bed tonight
She stops my bones from wondering just who I am, who I am, who I am
Oh, who am I? Oh, who am I? mmm… mmm…
Well, some nights, I wish that this all would end
Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights, I’m scared you’ll forget me again
Some nights, I always win, I always win…
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know… (come on)
So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?
No. When I see stars, when I see, when I see stars, that’s all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like this one, so come on
Oh, come on. Oh, come on, OH COME ON!
Well, this is it guys, that is all – five minutes in and I’m bored again
Ten years of this, I’m not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks at home; Sorry to leave, mom, I had to go
Who the fuck wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?
My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she call “love”
But when I look into my nephew’s eyes…
Man, you wouldn’t believe the most amazing things that can come from…
Some terrible nights…ahhh…
The other night, you wouldn’t believe the dream I just had about you and me
I called you up, but we’d both agree
It’s for the best you didn’t listen
It’s for the best we get our distance… oh…
It’s for the best you didn’t listen
It’s for the best we get our distance… oh…
Fall and winter are my most favorite times of the year. I love the cool weather, and to be honest I cannot tell you which season I like the most…
Autumn brings along the changing of the foliage…which is lovely I must say, and gives me a chance to take numerous photos. Winter is always magical with a nice dusting or whole heap of snow. It’s makes a perfect excuse for my daughter and I to gather around out wood stove with a board game, good book, or something crafty while we create Smores, or I prepare food cooked on our wood stove.
Autumn is also a time for planting of fall crops, Hallows End (within World of Warcraft), and it’s when I do most of my soapmaking. This fall (since I’m working a few hours weekly out of the home) I most likely won’t do my fall soapmaking until next month. I use a variety of ingredients in soapmaking, but standard items are essential oils, and a variety of herbs/flowers that I grow in our yard. Naturally I have people that I’ll be gifting with handmade soap.
If you haven’t used handmade soap, you really should. In many cases it’s much gentler than the soap you’d purchase from a store, and it tends to do a much better job of conditioning and keeping your skin soft too. Lye, a caustic chemical that is used in most soapmaking, is made harmless through a bit of chemistry. Did you know you can neutralize a lye spill by applying vinegar to the affected area. I must say I get a chuckle at some of the anti-acrylic yarn rants that center around “I don’t use man-made yarns because they use caustic chemicals”. I’m guessing some of the same ones going on that tangent use the traditional soaps, laundry detergents that use those ‘caustic chemicals.
Naturally I’ll be gifting a few people with my homemade soap, including a few of my blog pals like Nicole (Happy Birthday Nicole!) and of course Curls & Q.
This has to be my favorite song by Toto, the drummer’s profile reminds me of a young Stephen King. I’m guessing it’s the glasses. 😉
The next few days will be busy as I prepare to get back into a working out of the home part-time basis on Monday. Of course, I’ll have to decorate my office space with some hand crafted goodies I most likely will make some type of knitted amigurumi, I still have a few days to make something. But what should I make? Decisions, decisions… 😉
Toto: Africa lyrics
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, It’s waiting there for you
CHORUS:
It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what’s right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become
CHORUS
(Instrumental break)
Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you
It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have
Yesterday was great, as normal I didn’t do anything spectacular for my birthday, but my daughter and I did squeeze in a bit more playtime, which made her deliriously happy. About an hour ago, I received another gift. Yep, even better than the yarn I mentioned yesterday!
I have a part-time job! It’s a dream come true, since I’ve been looking for openings at this place for over a year. Back in 2005, when I started working for myself full-time, I knew the only thing that would tempt me to work outside the home again, was working with a faith based ministry that focused on helping others… So, naturally when I saw the advertisement for a management position I leaped at the opportunity! I do believe my spiritual gift is serving others. Which explains why I enjoy volunteering at our local homeless shelter, food closet, and making various items for those in need.
Since the hours are part -time, it means I can still handle my clients (easily) and now I can step out a few hours weekly to do something else I enjoy.
Later this afternoon, I’ll have to go and fill our paperwork. I’ve been self-employed since 2005, so it’s been a while….
Today is my birthday, and I must say the best gift I received was a nice bag of yarn from a family friend. They weren’t full skeins, and that doesn’t matter at all, it’s still yarn. Naturally I’ve already designated projects for some of the yarn. This year, my present to myself will be more yarn. I just need to narrow down what I want to buy. I do have a wishlist at KnitPicks.
I’m going to be incorporating the Horde emblem, from World of Warcraft, into a knitting project.
High on my priority list is incorporating the above Horde emblem (from the World of Warcraft) into some knitted item. I’m thinking a hat. Mists of Pandaria was released last Tuesday, and while I’d initially told Anexxia I didn’t think I wouldn’t be playing until December 2012, I found time to squeeze in some ‘me time’ and had fun exploring the new world. And while the emblem I’m incorporating into a hat is Horde — which happens to be my favorite faction.
These days, I’m mainly playing Alliance. The reason is simple, I have a lot of Alliance buddies, and am a guild officer with one guild. Those within the guild are polite, mature, and genuinely like to help one another; just like myself. We even have a few retired military within that guild. The guild leader is a retired Naval officer. It’s nice to surround myself with like minded people while playing a MMORPG. still don’t play too much, but it’s nice to explore the lovely virtual world. A few of the people I met in-game have become real life friends.
Not sure if any of my readers play WoW, but holler at me (in-game) if you want to hang out sometime. I’m on the Ysera server/Alliance, one of my characters is Misere. Perhaps I can convince Jennifer and Beth to check it out. 😉
The past week or so, it’s been busier than normal. Of course this means that my time for extra curricular activities, such as personal blogging, has been pushed to the backburner to simmer, while my focus has been on more important things.
Outdoor workout
A lot of yard work was complete, such as chopping and stacking wood. Which is an excellent workout, planting fall vegetables, and of course taking my daughter to the numerous after school activities that she’s involved with. Crochet and knitting usually accompany me during those activities and it’s usually a simple project so that I can still interact with others while I watch my daughter practice.
Knitting, sewing, and some crochet
Knitted amigurumi has been the main items on my circular needles, which of course makes my daughter happy— but I’ve been working on other small projects too; mainly clothing. Additional books have been gotten, many focused on knitting but one that focuses on sustainable living….which is something I try to incorporate into my daily life, so it’s nice to see other like-minded souls that practice this too.
