A new topic here. Questions from a four year old.

“Mommy, why do birds build nests?”

And the monsters got up extremely early. Still working on adjusting the time clock. We’re up, had breakfast, and the kitchen has been cleaned. I cleaned the microwave, and hand washed the glass plate. Hubby is now cleaning off the formal dining room table – the repository for all the stuff we don’t want to put away since pretty much Easter (or even last Christmas).

I finally decided that until I was happy with the knitwhit prototype, I wasn’t going to port it to the web. Also, whatever job I end up having, the web version will be my practice area. Currently, there are four web versions, all using different methods of programming, with pretty much the same database. So, it’s in Access for now, until I get the pattern database stuff finalized, and then I’ll make it multi-user, then I’ll port it to the web and start asking for beta users. It WON’T be another ravelry – purely a project management app, not a social one.

I have two packages to get in the mail between now and Monday – one for my knitting secret pal, and one for my sister.

I’ve made a little progress on my NaNo project, but I’m behind, and I’m actually using it as a reward for my must dos, rather than the other way around. Otherwise no laundry would get accomplished.

I’ve lost ten pounds, also – mostly by not eating or eating one or two of the one-hundred calorie snack packs. And drinking gallons of iced tea.

Well, the clock is chiming the hour, so the girls have to be given their cleaning instructions. We’re all working this morning.

According to the recruiters, nearly everything is a “Hot Opportunity” or a “Perfect Match to your skill set”. And yes, it seems this is a good time for me to be looking, right now. Govt contracts have been awarded or enhanced (thank you, taxpayers). People here in the DC area are in a state of transition. (Which, for this area, is the norm, but it’s a little high right now, since it’s after the school year has started.) My particular skills (and an odd mix of geekiness they are) are not necessarily the norm, so when some recruiter sees my resume on Monster, or Dice, or Washington Post Jobs, they gravitate. I’m even getting identical job descriptions from competing recruiters, which always makes me chuckle, whether I’m interested or not.

So, I’ve been on one real interview, and two meetings with “Recruiter/Staffing firm” people. Not bad for 7 days out of work. And I could have done more, if my personal requirements weren’t so limiting.

My biggest challenge is looking business-like. The phrase “bull in a china shop” is very close to my awareness outside of my home, not the least because I get clumsy when I get nervous.

And I’m definitely not in the market for the constant increase in wages, which causes disbelief in many. So many of the recruiters automatically add 5 to 10 K to what I just made as a starting point, and that’s not the kind of image I want to present.

So, this may take awhile (hey, I’m catching up on the dreaded laundry), or I may get the “Perfect Match” sometime next week. Either way, I’m trying to make the most of it. I’m volunteering for the book fair next week (yummmmm, book fairs), and I’m doing plenty of decluttering and catching up on house work that I would otherwise ignore, and I’ve started NaNoWriMo, and I’m catching up on sleep. I’m knitting a little bit – I’m actually using knitting as a reward for getting the unpleasant housework done.

To finding a job closer to home, doing work I want to do.

To Shenandoah Sheep and Fiber Festival.

To Halloween with Spider Girl and the Vampire Queen (I found my camera, pictures will be procured and posted).

To getting rid of lots of clutter and getting a craft room for me.

To trying to eat right, once again, or just giving in and doing the gastric bypass.

To wrapping up the year on a positive note.

Michelle had her baby! Yay!

I got a package, but since I still haven’t found the digital camera, there won’t be any pics until I do. Little bit of everything in this package.

Inside, I found:

• 2 rolls of Lifesaver ButterRums – yum. The trick is to make them last.
• 1 ball Patons Bumble Bee in lime green – cotton dk weight, but machine washable
• 1 ball Bernat Miami in sky blue – looks like tube cotton, and it may go well with the stuff from Stitches
• 1 ball Berroco Candy FX in pink/white mix – this is a knit along, so while I like the looks on the ball, I gotta find something to use this with
• 1 ball Berroco Plush in Pink – very, very soft. I almost like this in the ball too much to make something.
• 1 supersize ball Sugar n Creme in Over the Rainbow (mix of fuschia, yellow, lime, orange, white) – Not my usual color mix, but I like the way these go together. I never would have bought this myself, but I think I’ll enjoy making something with this.
• 2 balls Bernat Handicrafter cotton, same color name and scheme – I just finished making a dishcloth with one of the previous Bernat balls she sent me, so all three of these may make a nice set to give to someone. The texture difference between the two brands is slight, but there.
• 2 balls Cascade Pearls (in another bright mix (fuschia, aqua, lavender) – I’ve recently been acquainted with Cascade Yarns, so this is good quality. This is a boucle type yarn.
• 2 balls Schaechenmayr nomotto Rainbow in lavender – this is a worsted cotton yarn, wrapped with a variegated single strand of rainbow cotton. Interesting. This will definitely be an interesting knit.
• 2 balls Wendy Shimmer, in purple – girls loved this one the best. It’s a feathery novelty yarn. It looks good next to the Candy FX, since they’re both metallic. This will prolly become a doll blanket or something for the girls.

My design juices are flowing, and my fingers are itching, but I need to finish Ellen’s sweater, and Cailin’s green sweater first before I tackle any other time intensive project. Now, to add all these into Ravelry, and see what others have done with them – the biggest feature of Ravelry, IMHO.

So, yesterday, I parked the littel monst– girls, and waved at the husband, and took off to Baltimore to Stitches East. Just for one day, to check out the vendors.

Takeaway – knitters need big wallets. Seriously. Yes, it was all nice, and custom dyed, and fantastic quality, and almost nothing machine washable (other than superwash wool, which we all know I can’t touch). So, I saw some knitting gurus – I spotted Lily Chin there, and I bought a book from the Cabin Fever ladies, but other than that, I had to shop real hard to justify any other purchase.

I did buy 10 balls of Lucci tube cotton – 4 bucks a ball. This was a low price booth – the manufacturer/distributor booth. White and mint green, 5 each. Prolly a layette set for the boss, or a spring time thing for a monst– girl.

And I had to pay 9 bucks just for the priviledge of entering the market, and 20 bucks to park. And 5 bucks for a pretzel and a 20 oz bottle of diet soda.

Takeaway – I’d rather spend my money on machine-washable, affordable yarn, than the good stuff. I’d prefer my stuff to get used, not put away. But hey, that’s just me. I’ll just stick to Lion Brand, and whatever’s on sale, thanks (except Vanna’s Choice. Don’t like the feel or the colors).

Michelle’s water broke. My prayers are with her and her hubs and babetko.

4yr old got three shots at yesterday’s checkup - the umbilical cord has retracted somewhat. With this one, it was never quite cut. I have my own personal Clingon.  So, this will be a frustrating weekend.

I still haven’t located the camera, so maybe today.

That was what I asked myself when my favorite blogger went off line for nearly two weeks. I mean, even to post something saying she was taking some time off?

Of course, over the last two weeks, I’ve had the same difficulty posting – not necessarily due to lack of something to say, but finding the time to say it right – with pictures and everything.

So, I’ve decided to stop being the hypocrite, and stop being the perfectionist and just post – even if I don’t have the pretty pictures downloaded from the camera and ready to go.

Here goes:

The in-laws just left after a week’s visit. They’re great. I love them, but it’s nice to have my home back to myself (so to speak). Really, they’re wonderful. They both clean (I’m not quite the world’s worst housekeeper, but they may think so), she cooks, and they both dote on the little monst–, uhm, girls.

Of course, I get a head cold last week, that this week is trying to migrate into my chest. And I don’t have Columbus day off, with this new job, so I’ll be dropping you know who off at my mother’s.

I’ve made progress on Ellen’s Surprise, and Holly’s Custom Sweater (Light blue with up and down white stripes). I’ve started and ripped and started Cara’s Matrix Thing.

I’ve watched all my shows from last week – Bones, NCIS, Bionic Woman, CSI, Numbers, and Cold Case. I started Munich – about 45 minutes. I finished Highlander: the Source. Ugh. I was never a fan of Duncan McCloud.

Next time, I promise to have pictures. Gotta go wake 5.5 yr old, and dress us all, and head out.

Well, I had a vested interest in this update, since I grew up with the originals. In fact, COL Steve Austin was my first intended fiance. So I Tivo’d, then I watched as soon as I could.

The characters have been updated to reflect today’s American culture, and have their own conflicts. Jamie has to take care of a younger teenage sister, obviously not without some conflicts. And there’s this guy, a genius professor.

Then the car accident, and “THE CHANGE”. And yes, I jumped at the car accident. Hollywood’s getting good at these surprise things. It was scary.

The bad guys are a mix of stereotypes and updates. I liked Mark Sheppard as the bad father (and inventor of the technology) of the genius professor. But then, I’ve liked Mark since SOF.

They set up Jamie as a reluctant operative, which is interesting, and similar to the original, either dropping or replacing the memory loss story line all together.

Pilot Pronouncement – it will go on the TIVO list.