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Fri - December 26, 2008
End of a Year
Well, then end of another year is here. The
death of my great-niece (to SIDS) was NOT a good way to end the year. Let's
hope next year is better.
I'm at the end of a big project at work, too.
We're switching to a new student information system and, somehow, that's mainly
MY project, so I'm pretty nervous about January. Training for the program
starts the 5th and we hope to go live with the program on the 15th. I should be
working on creating reports that we'll use with the program and such as that,
but I'm just not in the mood
today.
We're in Salt Lake for Christmas
and it's snowing and snowing and snowing. I"m not sure how much show we've
gotten in the last 24 hours, but it looked like at least a foot to me. I could
be wrong...but I'm judging by the fact that Chad shoveled 2 inches yesterday
earlier in the afternoon, then again before we left for a family visit and he
had to shovel again this morning to get us out of the driveway. Looking at the
depth of the snow by the driveway, it looks like a foot or so. It's wet and
heavy...perfect for snowman building, but we haven't had a chance to get out
there, yet. :)
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Thu - November 20, 2008
Glam
I happened upon these 40's
and 50's style cards this morning and wanted to share the fun.
Reading about some of the models, how they became
models, what they did after and how they feel about these cards now was a treat.
To find that many of them gave up lucrative modeling careers to become mothers,
social worker and, for one to work on the Manhattan Project. All intelligent,
strong women who knew what they wanted and, and
blessed with beauty understood it's fleetingness and shallowness. "Susann
always believed that the accident of nature that gave her "good cheeckbones" had
little to do with a person's true
worth."The women of Anne Taintor
are definitely women to admire!
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Wed - November 19, 2008
Finally...a Post!
I haven't blogged much lately, but it's been
pretty quite. Just a few things:
We had to put Max down a week ago. He had
apparently developed cancer and by the time we caught it there was nothing we
could do...he probably wouldn't have lasted the weekend. So we put him down
gently.
Yesterday, however, when I
arrived home after work, I opened my car door and a black lab puppy (6 months
old maybe) came running up, sat down and demanded to be petted. His collar had
no tag, but he's obviously well loved. We put him in the fence and called the
vet and we're hoping to find his people today. He slept upstairs with us and
that went ok, but Bernoulli is very unimpressed with him getting our attention.
There was much grrring, and not the playful kind. But once the lights were out
everyone went to sleep and the grrring ceased...only to commenced this
morning.
I've discovered twitter...I
didn't find it useful until I realized I can update my facebook status with it.
So it's the gadget app of the week. (See right column under pic)
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Tue - May 13, 2008
New Pictures
I know you've been dying to see how they've
grown!
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Thu - April 24, 2008
Elliott Benjamin Weiss
I just had to share a few photos:
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Tue - April 22, 2008
Happy Birthday!
 Happy
Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Biiirrrthday, dear Elliott Benjamin
Weiss!
Happy Birthday to
you!
and congratulations, Mommy and
Daddy Weiss!
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Tue - April 15, 2008
A Fish Tale...and some Stuffing
Lately we've been hearing a lot of odd bumps and
bangs and screeching under the house. Bernoulli loves it...of course, it's
cats. Several, although there is one in particular that has taken up residence
under the house and sometimes on the back porch.
It drives Bernoulli wild. He runs all over the
house sniffing (snorfling) at every nook and cranny and A/C vent on the bottom
floor. He tries to get under the bed in the bike room because we can hear them
through that vent really well and he generally just makes a fool of himself
whining and snorfling.
Last night Chad
decided to let him under the house to run the cats out of there. (They aren't
OUR cats...WE didn't fail to fix and/or neuter our pets.) So he grabbed a leash
and led Bernoulli out to the side of the house where the skirting is missing and
turned him loose.
Of course, there are
other places where the skirting is loose enough that the cats are using them as
alternate doors, so, of course, Bernoulli chased one out and spent the next
couple of hours, we thought, chasing
cats.
Apparently, though, he found some
fish. Dead, rancid fish. And rolled in
it.
So he comes in, all proud of
himself and feeling cocky at almost 11 o'clock, which is our bedtime and not
only is he filthy but he REEKS. So it's into the tub for him. We both got in
with him...I washed his front half and Chad washed his back and hind quarters.
By the time we were done he was so tired from his spectacular adventure that he
was laying down in the water - a first as he doesn't like
baths.
Then we got him out and dried
him off a bit and let him out of the bathroom. At that point, of course, he was
all riled up and running around trying to get the other dogs to play with him
and all we can think of is can we lock him out of the bedroom so we can sleep or
would we be courting
disaster?
Obviously it would be the
later, so we decided that we would leave the crates open so Bernoulli could find
a warmer place to lay until he dried off. But if he's out of his crate, then
Murray has to be, too, so all 4 dogs spent most of the night in beds that
weren't theirs. Bernoulli took over Murray's crate, Murray took over Max's
pillow, Max got the floor and Cooper, well, he guarded his
blanket.
Did you notice I said 'most'
of the night? What about the rest of the night? Well, I'm so glad you asked,
because the story isn't complete without Murray making an appearance. Remember
he's on Max's pillow...well, apparently that pillow wasn't dead, yet, because
Murray had to kill it and rip out its insides. I woke up at 4 o'clock with
stuffing all over the room. At that point everyone got herded back to the
crates (Bernoulli, of course, was in his already...he just can't sleep any place
but his own bed for very long.)
Chad
had the mess mostly cleaned up by the time I got up this morning. Fortunately,
most of the stuffing is back in the pillow and I can sew it up for Max so he can
have his bed back. Murray is doomed now to spend the rest of his life sleeping
in his crate, which I told him while he licked my hand and ignored
me.
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Tue - April 8, 2008
The Blind Can See...sort of
 When
I was in 3rd grade, I started asking the teacher to use the white chalk instead
of the yellow chalk because I could see it better. I moved up front to take
notes and was generally irritated at her for making my life hard.
So Mom took me to the optometrist. This was the
second trip that year; the first trip proved my eyes to be just fine. But by
the second trip the E at the top of the chart looked like an 8. In just a few
months I went from fine to blind.So
began my life with glasses. I've worn, stepped on, rolled over on, and
continually lost (only because I couldnt see them...someone always found them
very close by) more pairs of glasses than I can remember. i've had wire frames,
plastic frames, green, red and turquoise frames. I went from glass lenses to
plastic fairly quickly because of the weight of them and in High School was
introduced to contacts.Oh, how I loved
my contacts! I didn't feel like I was hiding behind a wall anymore...I could
wear sunglasses...I could see in the
pool...hallelujah!Then I moved to
Gainesville, Florida, where the allergy doctors tell you everyone is allergic.
There are, actually, prehistoric plants in some areas down there and suddenly I
was itchy, irritable and stuffy all the time. After the 3rd eye infection I had
to give up the contacts. The fabulous 5 year run was over. I was back in
glasses.I tried several times over the
years to go back to contacts, but my eyes just refuse to adjust to them. I have
an astigmatism, so every blink moves the contacts around a bit causing
irritation. And, of course, my eye sight was even worse than it had been in
High School.So I gave up all attempts
at contacts and watched the Laser Surgeries get better and better. As the rate
of success climbed, so did my desire to be free of my problem. I couldn't even
see the time on the clock beside my bed...very
frustrating.So, after years of
planning and waiting, I had Laser surgery last Friday. Hurrah!
Except:OK...everyone talks about how
great Lasik is, but what if you can't have Lasik? What if your cornea is too
thin and your eye sight too bad and your astigmatism too severe? What then?
Well, they have an answer for that, too. It's called PRK.
Very similary to Lasik. Except;There
is more irritation (and pain...truly, at some point it isn't irritation, it's
pain...thank God they gave my codeine!) The healing process takes longer, which
means the irritation lasts for weeks and vision isn't stable, either. So here I
am, no glasses, no contacts and my vision is blurry. NEVERTHELESS! I am happy!
I can see the clock and I see improvement in my vision every day. My biggest
problem 10 days after surgery is that the computer screen is hard to
read.For the first several days, I
could see but not read. I took codeine every 6 hours and sometimes more often.
I slept a LOT. I missed a day of work (for healing, in addition to the day I
missed for the surgery) and wanted to miss the entire week. I've moaned and
buried my head under a blanket to sleep away the aggravation at some point
almost every day for the first week. But 10 days in, I'm really seeing
improvement. I read every sign out loud...I point out anything that catches my
attention...I show off at every opportunity. I'm able to read, for a while, at
least...my eyes need a rest every hour or so of detailed work. But every day is
better and I'm excited to find out how I will be seeing in another few
days!
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Thu - March 27, 2008
Master of the ... knitiverse?
I know...what the heck is a master's in knitting?
Well, mostly it's a program designed to help you learn 'beyond the basics' of
knitting. There are 3 levels, complete with reports due, swatches, projects,
etc. I've already order a book on the history of knitting and have been reading
up on other knitter's experience with the program on
Ravelry.  Oh!
Ravelry...do you know about
Ravelry?! If you are a knitter or crocheter, you will LOVE Ravelry. (You have
to sign up for an invitation, but it doesn't take long to get yours...this is
just their way of adding users for now.) I've heard it described as the
'MySpace' for yarn enthusiasts, but, really, it's nothing like that. There is a
social component...topic groups, forums galore...but the notebook is the
exciting thing to me. Keep track of your stash, your projects (no more trying
to remember to hang on to a yarn band and write everything down for future
reference..it's all in Rav!) You can 'queue' projects for later and have quick
access to the pdf (if it's a free pattern) and easily scroll through the queue
to pick your next project.Even better
is this: search for the pattern you're making, then look at what other Ravelr's
have done with the project, what yarns they used, how they modified it, their
notes about the pattern...You can even
search for the yarn you want and see if someone is willing to sell or trade
theirs. I've already swapped with several people and gotten rid of stash I'll
never use in exchange for stash that I've (mostly) already used
up!Recently an addition allows you to
buy/sell patterns directly through Ravelry. Oh...and there is a library...keep
track of the books and mags you own and, if you've queued a project that you
don't own the book or mag for, the library keeps track of what you need to
purchase.Casey and Jess, who thought
up and created Ravelry are geniuses! Seriously...check it out!
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Wed - February 27, 2008
Prayer
I noticed today that a lot of people come to my
site after searching on Prayer.
I wanted to point you to the GCF Daily Devotional pages.
Spring 2008 is all about prayer, as our Bible study, the 4-1-1 is talking about
prayer for the semester. The devotionals that are sent out on weekdays lead up
to the Bible study on Thursday evenings, so there is a LOT of great information
there!I hope you find it
helpful!
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THE Ring
About a year ago, remember, our family grew from
2 people and 2 dogs to 2 people and 4 dogs. Murray and Bernoulli came to
stay.
Also about a year ago, I lost the diamond in my
engagement ring. This is no coincidence. Our 'little' Murray was in a playful
mood and managed to get his teeth around just the diamond and he pulled. I
warned him that he'd become stew if he ate my diamond, so when it popped out he
didn't eat
it. I
managed to find it, only to drop it on the hardwood and lose it between 2
boards. We searched and searched, but never have found
it.So for Valentine's
Day/Anniversary/'Because He Loves Me' Chad bought me a new ring! Yes, I was bad
and kept pestering him and even found THE one as well as a couple of others and
showed them to him. He really liked this one and now it's on my finger! Our
set is two-toned with diamonds inlaid in the silver, so this matches very well.
Just had to share the
joy!
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Fri - February 22, 2008
Blech
 You
know...a long time ago I stopped drinking Mountain Dew with caffeine in it. I'm
kind of addicted to the caffeine free variety, though.
There was a long while where I could drink a
Mountain Dew (with caffeine) right before going to sleep. And heaven forbid I
not have a Dew when I traveled! I took it with me because most of the people I
stay with don't drink it.
Well, I
decided that, really, there is no need for all that caffeine and I should stop.
So I bought the caffeine free (unleaded) and drank one regular in the mornings,
then stuck with unleaded the rest of the day. I didn't go through horrible
withdrawals, but my body got used to not having so much caffeine in it.
Eventually I got rid of regular completely.
But every once in a while I run out at
home and can't make it to the right store so I pick up some regular. I did this
several weeks ago, and, since I bring a couple cans with me to work I had some
of the regular in the work fridge.
This
morning I have my unleaded, as usual, but forgot that I didn't have more
unleaded at work, so after lunch I pulled out that last remaining regular
Dew.
Blech! I haven't had a regular
right after an unleaded and, wow, the taste difference is there! I don't
remember noticing it before, but...blech! It's not as bad as the aspartame
taste of diet drinks, but it's close.
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Mon - February 18, 2008
I Love Him...Really
He' so quiet about it! Like he must put on
felted slippers or something to make sure we don't hear him sneaking
away.
It's my own fault. It is. I know that. But
still...
Does Murray HAVE to grab every
ball of yarn in his reach and pull it out of it's ball? He grabbed a lace
weight last night and I spent an hour and a half working to untangle it and
didn't even get one quarter of it untangled. Argh!
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Tue - February 5, 2008
Dreams
I worked with a financial company for 6 years,
both in Florida and in Utah. It was exciting, stressful, fun and exhausting. I
was happy to be done with it when I left.
At least I thought I was. Thirteen years later,
I still dream about working there. The office is usually different and many of
the people are different, but it is a financial company, I'm making loans and
taking payments and there is more to get done than can possibly ever be
accomplished...just like in real
life.
What does this mean? Do I miss
the excitement an energy? Or am I scarred for life?
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Thu - January 31, 2008
New Favs
 For
Christmas Chad ordered a set of the new Knit Picks Harmony
Wood Interchangeable needles and they arrived a couple of weeks
ago.
They are FABULOUS! I once said that the ideal
needle would be Lantern Moon
tips, Crystal
Palace joins and Crystal Palace cables, but THESE are the ideal
needle. They are as smooth and luxurious as the Lantern Moons and, although
they don't swivel like Crystal Palace joins, the join is more stable and doesn't
release the tips. The cord is very pliable and thin enough to not get in the
way. A very worth it purchase. A
friend received the Nickel-Plated
Knit Pick needles and let me try them. They are the first set of metal needles
that I think I actually could knit a long time with! They are hollow, so very
light and are warm to the touch. Although the Harmony
Wood come in smaller sizes, I'll probably buy the
nickle since I seem to be very hard on my needles and the smaller ones
might break more easily.And, did I
mention that the wood (birch) are gorgeous? No? Well...I love to watch them as
I knit...the colors are rich and the clear coating give them a jewel-tone look.
I highly recommend them.So, that means
I'm knitting a lot again. I'm working on a few baby things for new babies that
our friends are all having (ok, so there are only a few, but, still...) and I've
just started MagKnit's Honorine
(can't decide if it will have long or short sleeves, though) and a shrug (which
I'm kind of making up as I go along) for myself. I also have Marna's Gothic
Lace sweater just about finished...I'm adding a neck border so it
doesn't slip off my shoulders so
easily.I keep forgetting to take
pictures of my FObs. I made a great sweater for Chad's niece for Christmas that
I really need a picture of...it turned out so
cute!Anyway...those are the facts of
the day!
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list!
