Annie's Blog

Woot!

So the last two nights have been total chick nights for me. Eric was off from work this week, so he decided that rather than moulder about the house with the kids that they would go on an adventure. So off to Mammoth Mountain they went for two nights. They’re having a blast (the kids have done climbing walls and zip lines and all sorts of other cool summer mountain stuff). And it’s been good for Eric to have some uninterrupted time with the kids, especially after Boy Scout camp.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the time alone–I went straight to the Blockbuster after work and rented Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy. I’d never seen it before, and my sister kept insisting I would really like it. I already adore Joss Whedon (he created Firefly/Serenity, quite possibly the best sci-fi show ever–and I don’t say that lightly. I am a devout ST/ST:TNG fan, but Firefly blew me away). The Buffy-fest has been a blast. It’s strangely compelling for such a ridiculous concept (not that Firefly is any less ridiculous). I’ve also been spinning up a storm. In the past two nights I’ve logged about 450 yards of two-ply fingering/light worsted weight yarn from another bag of my mother-in-law’s special blends.

I’ve also been eating some of my favorites–sushi, olives, unsweetened iced tea, key lime pie, and Ben and Jerry’s Java Chip ice cream (Lactaid to the rescue!). Not so great for my figure (bleh. who said it was easier to loose weight in the summer?), but definitely good for my psyche.

Today will be a cool day–a group of us from work are headed to one of the best restaurants in town for a late lunch (since we’re moving to a new building over the weekend, everything is unproductive anyway, so we decided to cut our losses and go eat good food). We’re headed to Rosemary’s Restaurant (not the one on the strip) for a 2:15 reservation. Here’s what we’re having for lunch, and best yet–the boss is buying the wine! Should make coming home to car-weary family members much nicer (I’m just sayin’).

And now, I leave you with this to consider:

So what do you think? Does this peg me?

You scored as I – Magician. The Magician, represents those aspects of the personality traditionally considered “masculine”. He is in control. He knows how things work. He takes action and makes things happen. One that operates through the power of Will rather than brute force. The Magician represents the application of knowledge. The Magician creates his desired reality. When this card appears in a Tarot spread it indicates the attainment of goals through the application of knowledge and Will. If badly aspected in a spread, this card can represent abuse of power. It can indicate manipulation of others, trickery and deception. IV – The Emperor 88% I – Magician 88% XI: Justice 81% VIII – Strength 81% III – The Empress 75% II – The High Priestess 75% XIX: The Sun 69% XIII: Death 56% 0 – The Fool 50% XVI: The Tower 50% VI: The Lovers 50% X – Wheel of Fortune 44% XV: The Devil 38%

Which Major Arcana Tarot Card Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Oh, wait. Wrong sport. What is the cry for the yellow jersy, anyway?

So with a slight change in plans, I actually managed to accomplish my Tour de Fleece goal–the entire* bag has been spun and plied–but not three-ply (thus, the change in plans). I sampled the three-ply because I’d never tried to ply a true three-ply (only navaho-plied). The yarn was very nice–don’t get me wrong–but not what I was hoping for when I swatched for the Flower Basket Shawl. I think that my goal yarn and my goal project weren’t exactly compatible. And so I stuck with two-ply, and now all that remains is to rinse, dry, and re-skein the yarn. Just guessing, but it looks like about 1200 yards give or take.

Of course no pictures–that would require having me, the yarn, the camera, and the computer all in the same place at the same time. Doesn’t happen very often, that’s for sure. But it will at some point. The yarn is pretty–soft and heathered, without a lot of pooling or barberpoling.

We spent four days in Anaheim last week (with the obligatory trip to Disney/California Adventure). It was a great trip, and a much-needed break for all of us. The kids and I spent two days lounging at the pool (and teaching Luke how to doggy-paddle and swim under water), and then met up with Eric’s cousins to go to Disney and California Adventure. I still don’t get the CA. It’s not really for kids, but not exactly for adults, either. My stupid cell phone didn’t work at all while we were there (Ruth, I wasn’t ignoring you, honest!). No calls from outside Las Vegas made it through (how does that happen when you’re in Anaheim, anyway), and when we finally got back to Las Vegas cell space, I had 22 messages, including three frantic ones from my sister.

Apparently my mother had fallen and hit her head out on the boat with my father and ended up in the hospital for two and a half days with a severe concussion and a full cardio workup (to rule out any other problems since she was unconscious for nearly an hour). She’s fine–no lasting damage other than a bad headache for a few days. But Jenn was seriously freaked out, to the point where I was nearly convinced I was going to have to hop the next plane east to take care of her. I wasn’t worried about Mom so much as Jenn–Jenn doesn’t handle stress very well, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of stress to throw her off balance and start her on the manic-depressive cycle again. But the story ends happily–everyone is ok, and I didn’t have to spend $1500 for plane tickets.

So now I’m back in the grind and working, while Eric and the kids are home for the rest of the week. We’re still trying to work it out so that they can go to his mother’s for some time this summer, but so far the cheapest tickets I can find are more than $500 each…ouch. Especially since to fly two children actually takes four tickets–two plus one adult each way to escort them. But we’ll figure it out.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the next major sporting event–the start of football season. Bring it on!

*except for the two bits the kids stole to use as pillows for their dolls, and the cucumber-sized piece that the cat stole and has been carrying around like a kitten