I'm thankful to have a job - most of the time.

Be careful what you wish for -- my company laid off around 10% (just shy) a week and a half ago. Wait, I think I wrote about that already. Anyway, somehow I'm supposed to roll out 40 computers between now and Christmas. Let's review shall we; tomorrow the opthomologist, so I'll only have the morning. Thursday planned (like for 2 or 3 weeks now) lunch with 'the girls' from my department (IT, so not a lot of girls!) Friday the department party - in house lunch - supposed to be an hour but we'll see how that goes. Next Tuesday is the department I support's holiday lunch, and next Wednesday is half day. So I'm figuring that gives me about 44 hours. Guess I can do it if I ignore everything else. Yeah, good luck with that. I could blow off the three lunches (but I don't wanna!). So guess I'm working late between now and Christmas. Happy bleeping Holidays.

On a positive note, it'll be bleeping done, and not hanging over my head any more. Wait, maybe their rushing me so they can lay me off in the next round. Oh, screw it, I'm not gonna think about it anymore. I do wish management would roll out a couple of these, just to see what we go through. I've had folks want me to move the icons on their desktops because they "think it used to be over there" (we copy their old desktops, so they're probably wrong. Although I do clean up old-no-longer-of-use icons, so gotta give them the benefit of the doubt). Something is always missing, a printer, a shortcut, they don't know their password(s) to this website service or that. They hate the new monitors, or they love the new monitors, but can I make everything fit it better? Please recreate my quote screen so that it's purple instead of blue. Alot of "hey, as long as you're here, been meanng to ask you...." Why is my e-mail so slow. Why do I have to get rid of the e-mails with jokes or the pics of the grandkids, can't you just increase my server space? I bet I get 50% you-got-to-be-kidding-me questions and requests. Oh well, pays the mortgage, right?

DH wants me to apply at the nearby hosiptal, there's always sick people right? I'm worried that I won't be able to get a M-F only job at a hospital. Guess it won't kill me to send 'em a resume. Didn't I say something yesterday about getting out of this funk? Not doing so well so far...

Dec 14

Damn, I frittered the weekend away. DH and I are both in snits, so we're barely talking and trying to be in different parts of the house. I did make dinner both nights this weekend -- I usually cook enough on Saturday to feed us on Sunday -- although I burnt last night's meal. Should of put the pork chops with sauerkraut and apples in the oven, but no, I decide to save a dish and leave it on the stove top. And it was in a Corian Visions skillet -- I could of put it in the oven, but made the stupid mistake anyway!

A couple posts ago I was so darn excited to get rid of old computer equipment. Yet, lo and behold, I missed the dag nab UPS that died this summer. DH is planning on dropping in the dumpster at work, which I regret -- land fill and all that. But hey, we don't buy bottled water, and never used a disposable diaper, so I'm feeling entitled to a bit of the land fill.

Didn't win the 207MM mega millions, which was a disappointment. We don't buy many tickets, usually only on Fridays, and only $5 for all three lotto type lotteries in Illinois. If the jackpot gets up there we'll throw in a couple more bucks. I'm kind of on the fence, if we don't buy any tickets we'll never win, but we never win anyway, should we save the $5? Heck it's only $5, right? Just a little bit more than a Venti Eggnog Latte at Starbucks, which I'm seriously addicted to. Good thing they only have it in November and December! I wanted Matty to win Survivor. Heck, this whole weekend's been one disappointment after another. Gotta get out of this funk.

I'll never get em done before Christmas

Who am I kidding? Christmas is what, like next week? Wait, ok maybe the week after. Whatever, I'd need to take 3 days off work to get the nieces and nephews knitting done. Where does the time go? Oh, I know where. 2 weekends spent painting bedrooms. Working late many nights. Sleeping instead of knitting on the train. Running around doing errands. Life keeps interferring with knitting, darn it!

The company I work for laid off around 10% last Thursday. I'm still gainfully employed. This is the 5th layoff I've been through, one of which I was part of the 20% let go. The pins and needles are the worst. Waiting for the phone call, the ax to fall. Convincing yourself you'll be one of those laid off, then talking yourself in to why you won't be. Loosing sleep, not to mention productivity. It's kinda hard to be motivated when you think there's a possibility of a pink slip in your future. Then there's the whole We-feel-sorry-for-those-laid-off -- but-thank-God-it-wasn't-us water cooler conversations. Tough times for all I know, but it's my blog and I can b*tch if I want too.

Someone 'sides me is reading this blog! My cousin-in-law mentioned it in her Christmas card. Shoot, Christmas Cards, gotta get to those...

knitting in limbo

even though I have a ton of knitting to do in the next month I haven't knitted a thing since last Wednesday. Mouth pain. Yep still hurts. Not tons, but enough to be annoyingly hurting all the effing time. They put some sort of bandage on it, feels like mosquito netting, that is kinda coming off but not all the way, so that the still sticking part keeps pulling at the part it's sticking to which I think is the incision. DH says my breath is HORRIBLE, probably because it looks like all kinds of gunk (food, blood, infection?) is stuck to the mosquito netting stuff. If I ever need this again, they'll have a hard time talking me in to it.



Lion Brand is starting a KAL for a sweater I'd love to knit, so of course I had to buy 'the' yarn. On sale though, at Joann's. DH is going to have a fit when it arrives though.



Going through some old pics, found this from 1969, would have probably been around mine and Jeff's birthday, (he's 3 years and 1 day younger than I). Long legs and dorky haircut, nothing much changed in 39 years!

The day after my birthday...

We only got the ceiling painted in the master bedroom last night. I was tired and cranky because my mouth hurt so much, DH was nauseous again. So we got up this morning and painted the walls. Only sniped at each other a couple times too! We got done about an hour before the bed came. We got us one of them there Sleep Number beds. Expensive, so he better *#%@ like it! He's a lot fussier about sleep than I am. I can sleep standing up, wherever, whenever. He's gotta have it DARK and QUIET, and even then he wakes up 2 or 3 times a night. At least we FINALLY got rid of the waterbed.

I'm ecstatic about one thing. My city had a computer recycling drop off today! I got rid of two humongous monitors, 2 old computers, a printer and an old scanner. Hallelujah! We missed the last two recycling days they had, always found out about them AFTER they happened. I signed up for e-mail notifications from the city and Viola! we got an e-mail on Thursday that there would be one this Saturday (today) from 10 -2. We barely made it between painting and the bed being delivered and setup, but we made it. I'm so so so happy to be rid of 'em!

Half my face is swollen to twice it's size. I look like I have 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs in my mouth n that side. The pain is low grade now, constant, but low grade.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today's my birthday. So far it's been lousy. I had oral surgery to remove a molar last night, which reallly hurts. OK not as bad as it did last night, but it hurts. I can only open my mouth a bit, which means I can only eat what can be cut in tiny pieces. And I have to be super careful chewing on the right side so nothing gets stuck in the stitches on th left side.

It's a good thing it's frowned upon to bring guns to work, I'd surely be locked up by now if it wasn't. What a bunch of whiners.

Tonight we're painting the master bedroom cause the new bed is getting delivered tomorrow.

So my treat to myself for this birthday is to feel sorry for myself. Don't worry, I'll get over it.

Cableing

I keep screwing up the Truck pullover for Gavin. If you think cableing (sp?) is hard, uncableing (sp?) is twice as bad. Friday I totally skipped the decrease part, so had to ravel 2 rows. Today I missed one lousy purl (I'm blaming Metra, the lights kept going off on the train) and had to ravel back through 5 cables. At this rate, the kids will get their Christmas gifts for Valentines day.

I'm in the middle, actually the start, of new computer rollouts at work. Today 2 things happened that pissed me off. My boss wants me to rollout a computer to the biggest whiner in the department, I wanted to make him last out of principle! And... there's an application update that has to go out now, of course after the majority of the 78 machines I'm rolling out are built. So each one won't be done after plug-in, they'll all have to be updated. (again) What a pain in the butt. I don't have time for this. I can't work late tomorrow or Thursday, tomorrow's haircuts, Thursday I'm having a tooth removed - surgically. Dentist swears I can go back to work Friday, good thing cause I'm out of days for the year, I think. I may have one left, but don't want to waste it on toothy problems! Next week I've scheduled a presentation for the department I support on how to manage your contacts, and I don't have a quarter of the presentation done. Ugh. How do I get in to these messes?

24 years

Today was our 24th wedding anniversary. And how did we celebrate this momentous occasion? By washing the ceilings and walls of 2 bedrooms (in preparation to paint). DH made Malt-o-meal for breakfast, we had frozen pizza for lunch and I made beef stew in the crock pot for dinner. No romance, candelight, merlot or restaurants for us! Best part of today was DH singing Happy Anniversary to us... and not having to wear a bra!

Bad news; one of the rooms we washed is our guest room, where I've also been stashing my yarn and fabric purchases, of which, even I have to admit, have gotten out of hand. It doesn't seem like so much a purchase here, a purchase there... but once it's all together in one spot, AND you have to move it to clean and paint, phew boy! DH is a bit ticked, and I just don't answer his b*tching. I'm not ignoring, just don't have a good answer to "what are you going to do with all this stuff?". The answer of knit or sew it doesn't seem to go over too well. Got a lot of "If you started right now you'd never finish before you die" comments, which is an exaggeration. Hey, but it's recession proof -- if we can't afford more yarn and fabric I'm set for (quite) a while!

Finally the *%$?# election is over

Didn't think it would ever end. I went in to the booth pretty sure I was voting for Obama, but changed my mind at the last second and voted for 'the other guy'. As I live in Illinois, it's a wasted vote anyway (gotta hate that electoral college thing sometimes). Not crazy about Obama's socialist ideas, but do think he has a better chance at making some changes than McCain had. Whether the changes are good or bad...

And FINALLY finished Emily's sweater (green) a month after her birthday! Started Gavin's (truck pullover w/cables). My first experience with cabling, didn't start out too good, but by the second round I think I got it. Took me about 3 hours to undo a mistake cause I couldn't unravel the cables right. Almost frogged to the ribbing, but I persevered, probably to the detriment of the acrylic yarn!

I'm dying to knit the weekend pullover (Interweave Knits - pic below) for me. Gotta get all the gift stuff done first. 4 little kid sweaters, a pair of mittens as a thank you for a co-worker who did something nice for me (I was b*tching that I couldn't find egg rings anywhere and would have to buy online and pay shipping, she came in the next Monday with a set of 2, wasn't that sweet?). Figuring on a scarf and hat set for Kenny, the 2 baby gifts for the 2 co-workers that are preggers. Plus DH requested a new hat. Crap, I'll be lucky to get to knitting for me by Easter.

We've been Simpsonized!

This just cracks me up. Scary thing, it really does kinda look like us, 'cept I ain't blond. The pic I used I was standing under a light, so the highlights made me look blond -- I'm a brunette! And DH's hair is more of a light brown, but he was standing behind me -- out of the light...

http://simpsonizeme.com/ sponsered by Burger King.

Hospital

DH had his gallbladder removed today. Surgery went fine, he's in hardly any pain (he says on a scale of 1-10, 1/2), but he's real nauseous and gets quite dizzy when ever he does anything but lie there, (when he gets up, sits up, watching TV, holding a conversation). It's better than it was at first though, he isn't vomiting anymore. I left at 5 and he looks tons better than he did at 11, his color is back. They say some people react to anesthesia that way, he's in the some people category. Ain't he lucky!

His biggest problems are nothing fits him! He's 6'4" and around 260. The bed's too short, the gown doesn't fit... They finally made the bed better (there's an adjustment to make it longer -- who knew?) right before I left. And he hates all the tubes!

I left at 5 cause it's getting dark earlier (plus we had one of those dreary, rainy, drizzly days) and I don't see so good in the dark. Total (or almost) dark -- forget it. Not too bad with street lights and car lights, but not great. Anywho, kinda wierd being all alone in the house for this long. We've been apart in our almost 25 years, but usually it's me that leaves him at home!

Finished the sleeves and half of the back of the Eyelet cardigan for Emily at the hospital, one redeeming value to spending the day there! Other than comforting and commiserating with DH of course!

apparition

Ok, we know this is just a dirty glass fireplace screen, but still... check out our own apparition. We (DH and me) originally thought Mary, but some of my co-workers thought it was male - aka Jesus. One heathen (lapsed Catholic LOL) refused to see anything, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Only clear in the late morning, cause of the way the light hits it. Anyway, we think it's cool.

OMG, I really have a lot of yarn

My husband would kill me if he really knew how much. I have it stashed in drawers, closests, plastic bins in the crawl space and plastic bags in the dining room. I didn't really realize it was so bad until I joined Ravelry and started inventorying. I hardly ever buy yarn without a particular project in mind (but there are a couple...) So I have enough for probably 30 sweaters. OMG! Am stopping now! WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE until everything's knitted! (yeah, right). Incentive, anyway. Must get knitting. Problem is I keep knitting for nieces and nephew, or for friends and co-workers who are having babies. Really eats in to the knitting for me time.



On the needles: Just finished Monica for Bella, and started Eyelet Cardigan for Emily. Then wil do the Precious Hearts Cardigans for Bella, Emily and Bethany, and the Truck Pullover for Gavin -- all xmas presents for nieces and nephew. Then the Baby Uggs and Baby Yeti for 2 women (sisters!) at work having babies, February and March respectively. THEN I can knit for me!

stupidity

I hate when I'm stupid. Happens time and time again. Think I'd learn. Anyway, my habitual procrastination comes 'round to bite me in the arse - again.

First I was stupid by purchasing the wrong modem at Wal*Mart on July 28. I knew almost the second I opened it, shoulda bought the wireless router, not the cable modem (replacing cause I had no internet). And I'm a supposed to be a computer geek, that's what I get paid to do anyway. Made the first stupid decision based on the lights on the front of the modem, the wireless seemed ok (lights wise), but the cable modem wasn't. Duh, because it wasn't getting anything from the wireless!

Anyway, kept meaning to return it, but worked late some nights, then went on a two week vacation, so finally heading in that direction anyway, (a Costco run) we stop by Wal*Mart to return it, well within the typical 90 days (57 days). Guess what, (you regular Wal*Marters may already know this), electronics have a 45 day return policy. WTF? Looking on eBay, heck I paid way to much for it, be lucky if I get half what I paid. Hells Bells. Still need a new wireless router too. Damn...

POHS

Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrom. I'm one of the lucky few that have this condition. Rather than bore you with details, I'll let professional eye care sites bore you:

http://www.emedicine.com/OPH/topic406.htm
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/histoplasmosis/

Anyway, lost center vision in my right eye 13 years ago, almost lost in my left eye this summer. Thankfully there's a new treatement and my left eye is back to 20/25 vision. The catch is, the treatment isn't approved by the FDA, and the condition is so rare, the chances of the FDA even looking at it for POHS is remote, so insurance won't cover it. It's not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in my case we're lucky to be able to afford the treatments. But I bet some can't, especially some who can't work because of the condition. No job, no insurance, and even if they had insurance, no coverage. BCBSIL covers the doctor visits for me, just not the drug itself. Again, I'm lucky, and blessed (thank you Lord). Been thinking, wonder if I can start a charity to cover the costs for folks who can't afford it? Don't know were to start, there's services that you can pay to help you, but kinda defeats the purpose, want any $ to go to people who need it, not some service. Anyway, just thinking about it, don't even know if there's a need, maybe there's only 2 people out there who can't afford the procedure anyway.

coolngroovy

Gotta give credit to an old boss for coolngroovy. Well she's not old, but rather a former boss. Wendy Gildemeister (Hi Wendy, if you ever Google your name) used to say it all the time. I picked it up, heck gotta be around 18 years ago, and still say it to this day. Drives DH buggy, but still can't stop saying it. I'm also inordinately fond of okey-dokey-smokey. Even I think that's lame, but still say it, it just pops out. I have a reputation for saying it like it is (The World according to me...). Another former boss said just those words one time in a meeting, I still remember it: "you can always count on Janet to say it like it is". I'd make a lousy politician, or a good one depending on your point of view.

Writing of politicians.... I was on the fence until Sarah came along. I usually lean Republican anyway, but I did (to my everlasting chagrin) vote for Billy-boy both terms. I'm an anti-death Republican, I think murder is murder, whether by gunshot, by lethal injection or vacuuming of a uterus. Was considering Obama, but what decided it for me, so far anyway, is the vice-presidential candidates. I know Obama had to pick someone experienced to counteract the no-experience comments, but Biden is a career politician, watching him on the Sunday morning news shows, his mouth moves and sound comes out, but he doesn't actually say anything. Or nothing definitive anyway. Sarah may not be much better, but she seems like she knows what it's like to stretch things to the next paycheck. She seems like a real person, you know?

Hilliary was born with a silver spoon, and just added to them along the way. Whenever she said "we" I cringed, we're so far apart in sensibilities, the only thing we have in common is we're women. Not enough to base my vote on, sorry. Obama may have had some hardship when he was young, but Harvard Law, etc., etc. kinda makes me think we don't have much in common. McCain and Biden both fall in to the career politician category, and I don't understand how either of them can preach change. I know that it's the nature of the beast, democracy requires elected officials, elected officials begets politicians, politicians begets deal makers. But I can see Sarah shaking things up. Just the fact of her being a women, she couldn't coast like Cheney, the press wouldn't let her. Whether the shakeup would be good or bad, I don't know, but definitely different! OK, that's my two cents, nobody's reading this but me anyway.

What I'm knitting / knit

BTW my ravelry ID is janetcc.

I'm sinfully proud of my first completed adult sweater -- the Lace Trimmed tank from the cover of the Summer 08 Creative Knitting. I've knit lots of baby stuff (gifts), a purse, couple hats, and started adult sweaters. But I always screwed up something and put it aside and never finished. Not this time, Ta-Da! Knit in Rowan Summer Tweed - color is Rush, kinda a sagey green. It's a size M, even though I wear a size 18 store bought. I knit BIG:


It started out as an old tee pattern from the 80's:


But when I got a bit farther than the pic below I discovered it was WAY too big, almost 53" inches. As mentioned above, I knit BIG. So now I'm taking a boxy cardi pattern and improvising, using the lace trim pattern in Rush on the bottom, and Oatmeal for the top. When finished I'll have a Twin Set!










But first I have to finish 3 verisons of Monica for three neices in Florida, ages 5, 3, and 1. Knitting in round with i-cord tie straps and shortening the ruffles width and length, no ruffles under the arms. Using TLC Cotton Plus so their mom's can machine wash 'em.

Then I have to finish this Lion Brand Shawl for a friend who needs it for her Harvest Ball.

THEN I'll finally get to finish a sweater I started when I first learned to knit, like 8 years ago. It's from a Mary Maxim kit "Autumn Leaves Cardigan", acrylic yarn, but I love the yarn, recommend it highly. Very soft, splits like acrylic, but if you're careful it's great, lots better than Red Heart or Caron in my opinion. Teal's my favorite color, fall's my favorite season, should end up a favorite sweater, no? I quit it when I messed up the intarsia leaves, I carried the MC too tightly. But I recently frogged it and ready to start it again.

I have enough yarn for about 25 projects (an addiction, put yarn on sale and I'll buy it). Gonna make this -- A Sirdar Safari pattern, but using Bernat Soft Boucle in Rosewood.

day 2...

We're (DH and I) creatures of habit. We grocery shop on Thursdays. All year, except on Thanksgiving and Christmas if it falls on a Thursday. We don't cook during the week, I cook on the weekends, usually leftovers last through Tuesday, we can-soup or snack on Wednesday, buy something quick at the grocery store on Thursday and more often than not fast-food it (in our defense, usually Subway) on Fridays. Monday we wash towels, Tuesday extras like sheets, Wednesday colors, Thursday whites. I take the same train in to Chicago everyday, and usually the same time train home every night. In 30 years (almost, next February) I've missed the train ONCE! If I'm late it's because the train was late. We both take every minute of vacation they give us. Also, in 24 years of marriage we have NEVER left the house with the bed unmade. I used to hate being a creature of habit, it's DH that's more regimented, I'm a whatever kind of person, but either I've grown to see the advantages, or just don't mind it anymore.

I work as a computer support person for a department in a financial services firm. I support around 120 people. OK job, pays the bills. Hate the commute, about 1½ hours each way door to door. Oh well, train time = knitting time! Better job than most - most of the time anyway. Pays decent, benefits decent, hours usually great. Sometimes I wish I was more important, and other times I'm very glad I'm not. I used to be ambitious, but not anymore. Maybe if I had a job I LOVED, and didn't just tolerate. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the job, blessed that I have one, but would rather be home. I'd love the time to cook and clean and craft and read, instead of doing it all on the weekends. I get home early enough to do some stuff, but not early enough to enjoy it. Fun stuff seems like another JOB during the weekdays!

I love to knit. Relatively new to it, and slow, but love it. I have way too much yarn for the speed at which I knit, but can't seem to help myself. I love to read, fiction mostly but enjoying some non-fiction - more as I get older. I like to cook and bake, but hate the dishes. I like to sew, but not very good at it yet. I don't watch a lot of TV, (commercials drive me buggy after awhile) but I like Sci-Fi channel shows, I like Lost, The Big Bang. We don't subscribe to movie channels so don't watch any of the popular HBO or Showtime shows. I like Monk and Closer but forget to watch them most of the time. Like the home improvement shows. We used to go to movies fairly often, but were disappointed so many times - "not worth the money" usually our reviews - so we rarely go now. Last time I went to the movie theatre was for The Return of the King.

We're a childless couple. Didn't plan it that way, just didn't happen and neither of us felt strongly enough to do something about it. Regret it now, but oh well. Pet less too, although not my choice. I'd love a couple dogs and a cat. Willing to take a Zyrtec everyday even. Again, DH rules, he wants to wait until he retires and home all day. DH sounds like a tyrant, but he isn't really. Just hard to compromise stuff (can't get half a dog) he usually wins. I want a little bit of fluff dog, he wants a lab. I think there's a possibility we'll both get what we want, just have to wait the 8 years until DH retires!

In a perfect world, I'd cook for the whole week on the weekend, keep my house cleaner than I do, and get rid of all the STUFF I've accumulated over the last 24 years. That's my fall project. I'm going to eBay or Salvation Army TONS OF STUFF. Tired of moving it to dust around it, tired of reorganizing it all the time, heck tired of looking at it. How'd I get all this stuff? DH says we're at a point where we don't own stuff, it owns us.

We're soon to be mortgage free, so what are we going to do? What every red-blooded American does when they have the extra $ -- remodel! Really need it, house is 22 years old. Kitchen needs new floor, counters, sink. Family room needs new carpeting. Living and Dining we're leaning towards replacing carpet with hardwood. Need to repair and replace landscaping too. We plan on painting entire house this winter, wish us luck -- if ever there was a cause of divorce procedings -- painting for days on end is it!

what the heck

everybody else is doing it, not that I'm a jump off the cliff kind of person, but I can bore folks with details of my life with the best of 'em. Little late in the evening to be doing this, so this is it so far, to see how it works.