Bullets... or numbers really.

Hello blog. I realize that I have a lot to share with you, but since I only have about 10 minutes, we'll just do a quick list, then maybe I can come back and expand upon those things at a later date.

1. I started a new job this week. I'm now working from home doing medical transcription. It's not the glorious, quick money sort of job that the schools would lead you to believe, and the market sucks when trying to find a job, but I have one, and I'm loving it, even if young children in India are making more money in sweatshops than I currently am.

2. I still work at the vet on Saturdays until January, and might actually ask to keep that position for a while longer while I work on my speed and increase my production. Otherwise we won't even be able to afford the ramen noodles J is so fond of.

3. Speaking of J, being home with him has really allowed me to take some to the stress off of his little shoulders. He's already showing less anger and frustration, and we're getting school work done. He's even (finally!) learning to read and taking an active role in it. Makes it all seem like it's the right thing to do.

4. We took in a new dog about a month ago. He's a sweetheart, even if he does chew up anything in his path and seems to think the floor is a much more suitable toilet than the yard.

5. We still miss Kelli something awful.

6. Mocha's been not feeling well for a while now. We've attributed it to her arthritis, mostly, but when she started having diarrhea I took her in for a checkup. Her labwork looked fine, so we just sort of shrugged and figured it's just part of her getting old. After two really bad days we did x-rays today. It ain't good news. There's no fixing it. So, we'll begin preparing ourselves for another big loss here soon.

7. And so we don't end this on a sad note-- Jonas has joined Cub Scouts and is loving it.

All blogworthy things, and I hope to revisit these topics soon, but just wanted to get them all on here so that I'd remember and feel more obligated to come back.

Day to day stuff

I don't really have a lot to blog about lately. Hubby is well, got clearance yesterday to back to work on regular duty. That's a relief since the paychecks have sucked lately and we've burned up all of our leave time.

Work is work for me. Nothing spectacular, nothing to complain about. I go, I do my job, I end my shift, I come home. I mean, it's exhausting, sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes comical work, but it's good work. Besides, blogging about yorkies with explosive diarrhea and labs that eat their owner's underwear just doesn't appeal to a large audience, I don't think.

So, that leaves knitting, which there hasn't been any of since we got out of the hospita, execpt for some seaming and whatnot. I havne't even gone any further on the socks I was working on. I guess I burned myself out a little, if that's even possible. I did find a pattern that I want to knit, though. Just something simple, not too time consuming, and something useful with the scorching weather that we'll be enduring for the next 6 months. It's the Dream Swatch designed by Wendy Bernard. Really, such a simple little project, but it's pretty, practical, and perfect FL knitting. Acutally, there's not a single one of her patterns that I don't adore, but I think I'll start here, with something fairly mindless to work on. Maybe it'll ease me back into the addiction that is knitting.

In the world of MT training... my course registration expires on June 5th, and I'm nowhere near done. It's sort of a depressing subject for me because I've never NOT completed something, and I've never struggled with something that seems so easy as much as I have with this. It probably has more to do with me actually finding/making the time to sit here and type out reports. No self-discipline with the computer and the desk right in the middle of the living rooom. It doesnt' help to have a 2-year-old companion at all times. It doesn't make for good work time, for sure. And I could sit here and make excuses all day, but the fact is, I'm not going to finish it on time, I'm going to have to pay for an extension, and I'm completely bummed about the whole thing, and I'm starting to doubt whether or not it's something I'll be able to do from home and be efficient at.

What else? Hmmm... not a whole lot.

While Wil was in the hospital Dad ordered a new tail light for my car. Yeah, it's been busted for about 2 years now, and it's a wonder I haven't been ticketed yet. So, it arrived the other day, and Wil got the chance to prove his manliness by installing it for me.



But, once it was on, I noticed that the lens didn't seem to sit properly against the frame. Actually, the two weren't connected at all- as if the glue process was missed entirely. That's what happens when you order stuff from Ebay, I guess. So, off it came, and Dad, being the patient one, sat and glued the pieces together the way they were supposed to be. Then Wil got to feel extra manly by installing it for a second time!


Admire the creative use of a beer cap to hold the pieces apart while the glue set. Just another bit of backwoods ingenuity.

And voila! I have a new tail light. What a great Mother's Day gift! Perhaps you think I'm being sarcastic, but I mean that sincerely. If given a choice between flowers and chocolates and something practical and useful, I'm chosing the practical every time.

Speaking of Mother's Day.. mine started off with a scary thing happening. As we were getting dressed and ready to go, Jonas come running into our bedroom for some reason or another, he slipped and fell and conked his noggin against the doorframe so hard that it made his nose bleed. It was a terribly frightening experience, and I was afraid we'd be spending the day in the ER getting MRI's and whatnot. But after lying there feeling pathetic with an icepack on his head and doing his best to not fall asleep, he seemed fine, and so we carried on cautiously with our day. Apparently, his hard head is good for something.


By that afternoon it was apparent that he was just fine.


And as an afterthought, can I tell you how impressed I am with the VSmile system, simply for making a joystick that is capable of being configured for lefties? Such a little thing, but not one that any other game system has ever considered.

Knitter's block

Over the past two days, I have started and frogged the same project a whopping 8 times. Yes, really. It's not really all that difficult, either, but for some reason, my hands did not want to cooperate. Or maybe it's that my brain didn't want to interpret the pattern properly. Either way, it's a super-secret project that I really want to make perfect for the recipient, so knit and frog I did. And finally, about ready to just throw my hands up in despair, I set aside the project, grabbed some waste yarn from my stash and practiced the pattern over and over again, analyzing each and every stitch until I figured out what my mistake was. When I finally got it, I think I actually yelled a triumphant "YES!", because J came running from his room to see what was going on.

So, now that I've "got it" I've cast on for the 9th time, and have completeled the part that had me near tears. It should be smooth sailing from here on.

Friday, when I went to JoAnn's, I picked up some super bright and funky sport weight yarn. It's the closest think to sock yarn I can get my hand on around here without a trip far to the north. It is destined to become a pair of socks for Granny because she is a bright and funky person and she's managed to wear holes in the mystery socks which were gifted to her not so long ago. Maybe the heavier yarn will last a little longer. Besides, she doesn't wear them with shoes, but around the house where the thermostat seems to be stuck on "arctic." Hopefully I'll finish them before her birthday at the end of the month.

I'm also working on a pair of socks for myself, but haven't gotten very far on them. For some reason things for myself always seem to get set on the back burner.

And finally, there's the saga of the little hat. It's another one of those projects that, while quite simple, doesn't seem to mesh with my knitting mojo right now. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to come out the way that I want it to- too big, too small. And while it is the perfect yarn for the project, I absolutely despise knitting with the yarn I'm using for it, which makes it an easy project to set aside.

So, four projects stalled in the needles over the past week, and none of it progressing. It's almost depressing. But I have faith that eventually whatever kink I have in my karma will smooth itself out and I'll be back to blissfully zipping along before I know it.

In other news, J-man officially has the cold I had last week. He's handling it like a trooper, but he's whiney and his nose is like a faucet. On the brighter side, my non-napping kid is now interested in 2-3 hour naps, which is heaven for me, despite how terribly bad I feel that he is sick. And the cuddly, snuggly time together isn't bad, either.

School is creeping along more slowly than the knitting. I have no idea why it is taking me so long to complete it, and I wonder if maybe I've chosen the wrong thing to invest my time and money into. I mean, there's potential for great earning, but I'm so burnt out on the repitition already, and this is what I think I'm going to do for the rest of my life?! It's a bit scary.

Maybe it'll be different when I'm actually getting paid to try and decipher doctorese ad nauseum instead of just doing it as a very long and tedius exercise that must be complete before I take my final exam.

I've always been a pretty good and quick test-taker, catching on to key elements much faster than everyone else. Not bragging, just stating a fact. It's a great thing, but it also sucks because long after I understand everything I need, I still have miles and miles of repetition to complete before I can actually "complete" whatever it is I'm doing. In other words, I understood the formatting and language nuances and how to edit subject/verb agreement long before the 200th report. Now it's almost punishment, and I don't see where anything new is being introduced with each report. I'm nearly tempted to skip ahead, but in order to be able to take the final I have to have submitted each and every report through the grader. Blech.

I originally had next week off of work, so my plan was to send J to grandma's for the 2 days that I usually work, and simply sit here and bang out the reports, but then something fell apart, and long story short, I'm working again. Ugh. So, I'll have to make the best of the incredibly small amount of time I have, and get as much done as possible. I feel like there's no way I'll ever complete it, though.

Ok, rambling post over. You are now free to go about your day.