Knit Princess

Have you ever seen strawberries this big? They amaze me.

Hubby purchased some strawberries for the kids to eat. I can’t really eat them. They give me the hives. I just had to share the monster strawberries. I place my iPod Nano next to the berries to show the size. Whew!

Hubs made dessert…

So, it’s Friday. YAY! Just wanted to get that out of the way. Okay, one more…YAY!

This weekend promises to be a busy one. Han has a birthday party to attend tonight. A birthday tea party, actually. One of her best friends is turning 12. All her friends are Spring babies, it seems, Han included. What used to be the “three inseperables” before the 6th grade, has turned into a group of six best friends. I’m glad Han has good friends…but sheesh already with the birthday parties.

Han also is prepping for her Spring choir performance on this coming Tuesday night. Yes, I am required to attend. I am not a huge fan of school functions. I am going for Han.

I forget what Tae is doing this weekend. I know that she has to prepare her end of the year presentation for her Global Studies class. She chose to do her project on global warming. The project is a huge chunk of her class grade. And with only 5 weeks left of school, Tae, my lovely C average student, could use all the grade she can manage. I have come to the conclusion that my 16-year old daughter is flakey. Her grades are due to laziness and the fact that she flakes out on most things. Case in point, she has had a sheet from the school that she needed to fill out, on what classes she wants/needs for her Junior year, next year. It was supposed to be turned in by a deadline, last month. She told me yesterday that she just turned the damned sheet in A MONTH LATE. WTF?!? Her reasoning…”at least I turned it in at all.” I tried to explain to her that there was a deadline for a reason…Tae just doesn’t get it. I throw my hands up.

Oh, and I am trying a new approach to the grades/report cards. I am so sick of yelling, lecturing, revoking items, etc…That I finally told Tae…”You know what? If you don’t care about your grades then I don’t care. Do what you like. When college comes back to look at your transcripts, you’ll be hearing me say I TOLD YOU SO. Nothing I do has worked to make you get with the program up to this point. This will be all on you. AND you will regret it someday.” I mean…I make sure she does her homework still, but I have come to the realization that she may do her homework…but SHE has to actually turn it in. I can’t make her. That is her freakin’ problem…missing assignments. AND I KNOW SHE DID THE homework. Really I do care about her grades…and it kills me to see Tae be an idiot, when I know she’s a smart cookie. I can’t control what she does at school…and the control freak I can be sometimes is trying to let go and give Tae some space. She’s almost an adult and a good girl in all areas, otherwise. She just needs to learn some things on her own, I guess. Gah, that’s hard to say, for me.

Okay, I am rambling…

SO, the startitis…Well, I am considering beginning another knit project. Sure, my Central Park Hoodie is coming along famously. I am loving it. I am thinking of beginning a pair of socks. I haven’t knitted a pair in…5 months. I think that’s the longest non sock knitting dry spell I have ever had. I think I could manage a pair of socks at the same time as the hoodie. I am not sure what socks I am going to begin knitting. We’ll see…I was just in the thinking phase, this morning. Maybe I will have Hubs help me unwind my skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I won in the Mists Of Avalon KAL, last year. I haven’t knitted with the yarn yet. Shocking I know…

Alright, enough of my babbling for this morning. I am off to begin my cleaning duties and then who knows? Maybe some Sims 2 playing. Maybe some knitting.

So, I reinstalled my Sims 2 game for the umpteenth time. It’s finally working as it should be. I installed all of the expansion packs I own. I created a brand new college sim, named Lana, of course. I couldn’t think of a better name. The above picture shows what she looked like originally.

Lana and her fiance’ Professor Shane (seated across from her at the table, the blonde) went out for a night of poker, downtown. Lana won like 25 simoleons off the white-haired guy. HA HA! I did mention that Lana was dating/engaged to her Professor, right? They woo hoo all the time too. Kinda creepy, but she seems happy.

I decided towards the end of my game play for tonight, to give Lana a makeover. I changed her hairstyle and added blonde highlights . Cute, no?

That’s all for a sims 2 update. Kinda lame, I know. I am off to clean the kitchen and get settled to watch Grey’s Anotomy, in a bit.  Toodles.

Phinnegan’s new favorite napping spot is in a basket. The basket sits in my living room and holds extra pillows and blankets…and now a fat boy-cat too. I thought his pose was rather cute and picture-worthy.

Argh, Tae keeps texting me on her phone from school. She says she’s bored at some assembly. KIDS! I love my cell phone, but I am thinking I need one of those cells with a nifty keyboard for easier texting. I get annoyed at having to spell out words with the number pad. Tae, of course, has a fast keyboard texting phone. Unfair! I am still busy texting one message while she sends me three. Tae can’t bother to call me anymore…it’s usually texts…and while I am in the middle of doing something, usually. I had to text one handed yesterday. I was in the middle of knitting a row.

I am feeling better today. I was in a bit of pain the last few days and muddled through. Today is better and I am feeling mobile and useful again. YAY! I have a few things to do, today. I have some cat maintenance to tend to..You know, cleaning out the cat box? I also plan to play a bit of my Sims 2 game. It’s been a while. I had to uninstall the game(s) and reinstall it last night. Something wasn’t right. Now the game is working fine. I made a college sim…named her “Lana” after me and with similar features. So far, she’s doing well in college as a second semester freshman…She’s engaged to her Professor. I will take some photos and share the story, the next time I play. This oughta be interesting, huh?

Alright, I am off to begin the cleaning. Work first, play time later. Toodles for now…

For some reason this photo came out rather dark. The color of the cardigan is not true either. It’s supposd to a dark teal color…it looks more blue. Maybe it’s due to the dark clouds that rolled in, this afternoon? So, I finished the Left Front piece of the Central Park Hoodie. YAY! It only took me three days. I have already casted on the stitches to make the Right Front piece. I am about 2 inches into the bottom ribbing. Seriously, I have nothing else on the needles. Just knitting on the hoodie, currently.

I watched P.S. I Love You last night. I loved the movie. It was sweet and sad. I cried a little…I admit it. I must say Gerard Butler is adorable in the movie. The movie was way different than the book. I enjoyed the movie more…The book was more sad and a bit boring in some parts. I won’t go into detail on what was different. You just have to read the book and then see the movie to find out.

I am closing this entry with a cute kitty photo. Today’s cat is Pixie, the middle, bitchy cat. She was trying to go to sleep in the “man chair.” Pixie has this thing for pillows. No matter what the size. I often find her in my bed sleeping with her little head on my pillow. Pix has her moments of cute.

I have a really sweet husband…

Since I am not feeling well today…He decided that he would cook dinner tonight, bought me sugar free popsicles and rented a movie for me to watch, later. P.S. I Love You was released on DVD today…and I am watching it tonight. I read the book last Xmas…and now have to see the movie. Yummmm, Gerry Butler. That’ll cheer me up.

I’m feeling all bitchy and moan, today. Part of the reason…Well, I am in pain. Another flair up this week. So really, I am not great company right now. I take pills and try to distract myself. BUT the thing I usually distract myself with BROKE! It broke. (~cry~)

Ravelry is broken and if someone doesn’t fix it soon…I may be forced to…knit. I lack the concentration to knit right now. It could be disastrous. Bad idea. Not only is Ravelry down, but Book Jetty is down for maintenance. What’s wrong with you people? HMPH!

And now the cat is looking at me, funny. She can see the bottom of her food dish. It’s not empty, but seeing the bottom means it’s close. Phoebe cat can’t stand it when she can see the bottom of the bowl. I should go and refill the food dish before she pesters me to death.

Then, I may as well knit on the couch and hope for the best…

The Central Park Hoodie, back piece is done, as you can see. Well, I finished it last night. I am already zooming along on the left front piece. Being that it’s smaller, with less stitches…it really moves fast. I like that…

It’s a warm one again today (currently 71 degrees). I am loving it. I took an allergy pill and I opened up all of the windows. Lovely day! I refuse to be miserable on a day when the sun is shining brightly. I have an urge to wear a sun-dress and garden. I love this time of year. The photo is of my back patio. You can even see Phoebe-kitty’s butt lounging on the bench. She’s enjoying what sun peeks through the trees.

Leftovers for dinner, tonight. No cooking for me. Woo Hoo!

I am feeling pretty good, this morning. AND it’s Monday. WOW! I am not sure what’s up with me? Monday randomness…

- Hubby and I watched No Country For Old Men last night. He liked it. I hated it. First of all…I was lost for much of the movie. I remember asking Hubs, “What?!?” several times throughout the movie. I did not get the movie. What was the point? The moral of the story? The ending was abrupt and just odd. That is over two hours of my life I can NEVER get back. It was a dumb movie…UGH! And this movie was nominated for awards?

- The sun is shining. Another warm day ahead, near 70. Yesterday was perfect…a breezy 72 degrees and sunshine. Dare I hope Spring has arrived and is here to stay? I saw the weekly forecast and there are no daytime temps below 60. I have the urge to pack up the winter clothes and hang up the summer items. I am not sure if I should hold off for a week or two for this task. You never know with the weather, here.

- I knitted often, this weekend. I completed the back piece of the Central Park Hoodie, finally. I began the left front piece, yesterday. I am zooming along, already on the third cable pattern repeat. I have no idea why this cabled cardigan is working up faster than my previous one?

- I am currently rockin’ out to NIN’s new album, The Slip. YAY for new music. So far, I am loving the new album. It makes my Monday morning brighter…I don’t think my cat, Pixie, likes the spastic-ness of “Letting You” blaring from my computer speakers, though. She’s looking at me all concerned-like.

- I have cleaning to do, today. I also have the dreaded laundry to wash. I should start soon, before the laundry room fills up and I end up having to wait to do my laundry until later tonight. I hate doing the laundry.

- Our neighbors in apt # 14 moved out. We have not been able to keep neighbors there for very long. This is the third time in the past year that the apartment has been empty. I have no idea why. There is only a handful of tenants that have lived here longer than we have. This July we will have lived in these apartments for three years. Man, does time fly…?

- Speaking of neighbors…the guys that occupy apt # 17 should not be allowed to cook. Yesterday, was the third time they almost burned their apartment down. The apt complex was full of kids out playing, yesterday, due to the nice weather. Well, it seems the smoke alarm was going off in # 17 again and smoke billowing out of the open windows. The kids alerted some of the parents. A couple of us had to bang on the door the get the guy to wake up and do something…This is the THIRD time this has happened. Is the guy on drugs? The scary thought is…one day he won’t get up, or the neighbors won’t notice and he will burn the whole fucking building down. Thankfully, I am not in the same building as that apartment. Kids do live in his building! Asswipe! Next time, I am just calling 911 and letting the police and fire dept. deal with him.

Okay, I just came back on the blog to let you know…dinner was a success. It was really good and I am cooking it again. I made Breaded Chicken With Avocado. I followed the recipe exactly, except for one thing. I also chopped up some tomato and put it on top with the green onion and sour cream. Even the family liked it. My youngest daughter actually ate avocado. So, I highly recommend the recipe. Go forth and cook, people.