Thank you very much...

Thanks, Lea. I do hope to continue on my journey toward spindom (as well as world domination, but I think that one is going to take a bit longer... )

Checked out your web page and guess what? I'm also a Lime Marguerita. Course, the question is if I get the code put onto this page correctly. Lord only knows what will happen when I go check out what havoc I've wreaked.

Let's see... kids are off at a football game. Hubby and I had some alone time, which was nice for a change. We never get that anymore. (Read that as: WHEN are the girls moving OUT!?!?!?! Whew! ) I can deal with the dogs. They never squeal if we want to swing from the light fixtures. But the kids would definitely turn purple and keel over in a dead faint. Upon awakening, they'd scramble for the cells to call all their friends...

The cats? They're another story. I get the feeling they're just taking notes of some kind.

Anyway... enough of that. I was going to spin except I can't get into my living room. YD took her project to school, but she left the mess and I don't dare get too close. I think it attacks. Those popsicle sticks look pretty darn vicious to me, so I'm not venturing in until she cleans up the mess. (She and some friends did a panorama of the town from The Scarlet Letter, complete with dirt they confiscated from the field down the street. The neighbors probably thought they were burying the evidence as opposed to digging up dirt to haul into my house. )

So I should be upstairs knitting. Got some new Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. I picked that up at Country Yarns in Wallingford, CT. Wow, that store has some really lovely yarns, but I do admit I'd like to see some more sock yarns. Maybe I should venture in during their "open" hours and convince them that sock classes and sock yarns are definitely worth the investment to add to their inventory.

That reminds me. I'm slogging off to set up my spinning lesson. Payday was today so I can set up a lesson with a free conscience. Considering I just ordered some Lorna's Laces and a new pair of winter boots (for work, which is getting durned cold without a booth to sit in... No, don't ask. Still not there and I wouldn't believe them regardless what date they tell me it's going to show up. I'd believe next year... like... September. ) I absolutely adore my all-weather clogs from Lands End, but the bosses are going to have a problem with me wearing red. So I ordered enclosed shoes (gotta think ahead to those snowy days) and they're in a soft powder blue. Sorry, but navy or black wasn't an option. I ordered from the Overstock list since the boss won't pay for these.

Anyway, I did get my roving from Copper Moose. Wow! Pretty, pretty stuff. I can't wait to get my lesson and get my fingers on that. I'm still waiting for more yarn and roving from Lisa Souza. God, I just love her color combos. Course, don't ask what I ordered. Can't remember until it shows up. But I did order Sugar Maple, Rosy Quartz, Mountain Meadow and... hmm, another color from Copper Moose. Even better in person than what showed on my monitor.

Okay, off to email teacher to set up lesson and then upstairs for knitting. Almost done with Christmas present. Can't wait to take pics of that one. It's really turning out lovely. And I'm over half done with a pair of LL's socks in Sherbet. And I started a pair of socks in Cherry Tree Hill Spanish Moss. That's going to be terrific also. Muted variations in green and violet with a touch of hot pink. Really nice. Gee... they'll match beautifully with my new blue suede boots... LOL!

Finally... Pics!

Here it is! This is my little Kromski Prelude! Isn't she just the prettiest thang...

As you can see, I've got my first bobbin full. I think it's Corriedale, but that was my learning bobbin. Actually, it came out pretty nice. Now I'm working on a merino with silk noirs, so it's got some nubbies in it, but it's coming along nicely.

My wheel is sort of shoved out of the way right now because youngest daughter is working on a project for school and she's taken over our entire living room, including the floor. Hence, I couldn't spin last night, but that's okay. I have lots of winter days ahead of me that are waiting for my fingers to do their thing. I still have to write my email to set up a lesson, but I'm having so much fun that I keep forgetting that I don't know anything yet.

You have to let me know if the bobbin pic came out fuzzy. I'm not a pic taker and I think I screwed that one up, but I'm trying to show that my spun yarn is coming out okay. Not bad for someone who's been spinning for about a week and a half...

I have to get youngest daughter to take the pics since she's the expert. (She only has about 637 pics on the camera of herself. Yup, she throws her arm out at full-length and just snaps away. The thing that kills me is that some of the pics come out looking really nice. She says she wants to be a photographer. I say "go for it!" )

Let's see... what else is new? Business group is getting together. They had a meeting last night, but scheduled a "night owl" for after the intro meeting. Yikes! Hey, guys, I get up at 5AM. Starting a really important informative meeting at about 9PM just doesn't work for me. I can't take those kind of hours anymore. When I was 25, I could survive on 2 hours of sleep for several nights and not bat an eye. But that was 20 years ago and I've learned (the hard way) that I require 7 hours to be human. Me not being human isn't a pretty sight. I'm a nasty little curmudgeon who doesn't deserve to live when that happens. (I know because I did it for a year and a half when I first started working for the university. The only sleep I got during that time period was an hour or two whenever I could catch it. Yech! I'm not a kid anymore. )

Anyway, they're supposed to be getting together this weekend. I hope so because I really want to re-energize and get moving. Help me get to a point where I can replace my income and I'll be more than happy to dedicate 40 hours a week to building the business for everyone. I just need their collective help to get to that point. But that's all besides the point. I have more plans for world domination in my pocket and this weekend, some of those plans will be put into motion. (Yeah, yeah, it's about time some motion began to stop this stagnation. )

Today is supposed to be cold. Hmm. And I'm still sitting in my car at my job. We'll see, but this might be the day I finally move inside into the apartment they let us use until they can get the booth done. I'll simply put a note on my dashboard telling the kids where to find me. Think that might light a fire under the bosses' @sses?

Progress on the Christmas present is being made daily. If I work real hard, I'll make my goal and get this done by the end of the month. I'm getting psyched because, even though I'm not tired of working on it (there are color changes often enough to keep me working with interest), I really do want to be done with it. I want to go back to socks. I have a pair of Lorna's Laces that I put on hold while I did this project and it's stopped whispering to me. It's downright shouting for me to get them OFF THE NEEDLES!!!! LOL!

Money in the bank... Yeah!

I told about the fundraiser for NBPOPS. Well, I got to work yesterday and talk about being nervous. I had over $5500 in my truck. NOT something that made me comfortable. So I put the account number on the back of all the checks and ran off to the bank so I could deposit the money.

Yeah, I feel much better now. Don't like that kind of cash hanging around.

I didn't make the meeting last night for Project Graduation. Running late, as usual... I certainly hope they didn't approve something as infantile as Dr. Suess. 007 is the only way to go this year. I mean, this is something that can never be done again. I really don't think that James Bond movies will still be made, let alone popular, 100 years from now, so to miss this opportunity would be stupid.

What else?

I haven't gotten to spin since Saturday... Argh!!!! I really want to do more, but I've got to work that into the schedule. I'll find a way. Don't worry. As one of my mentors says (and it's SO true): You never find time to do the things you don't want to do, but you'll always manage to find the time for the things you want to do. Well, I want to do this.

And, we're into a new month. The business is trudging. I think one of the people in my downline got discouraged. Someone mentioned a report they'd seen on some news program about Quixtar. It was negative... of course. Isn't it a given that if something good comes along you always get the naysayers? Well, the guy who was supposed to be giving the "insider info" was someone who'd only given a minimum of effort and made no money.

Duh!

This is not a get rich quick scheme. This is a business plan. If you don't work, you don't succeed. If you don't put in the effort, you get no reward. duh! Yes, that's what makes it hard. But that's also what makes it worthwhile. I mean, if it was totally effortless, don't you think everyone would know about it and they'd be in? If you could grow a business without any personal commitment or effort, wouldn't people be knocking on your door?

Well, sorry, it takes a bit of effort. And people just don't want to work anymore. I don't get it. We all get up each morning and go to our jobs. We work. But when faced with an opportunity that has no limits, we can't find the time or the effort to make it work for us? Geez... talk about the height of laziness.

And just because it didn't work for this one guy doesn't mean it won't work for me. Or thousands of others. Or even you. I mean, I've been into the business for four months now. And I'm seeing results. Normally, by this time of the month, I'm working with about $100 in my checking account and wondering how I'll make it to the end of the month with that inevitable emergency that always seems to come up. I have over $300 in the bank. I'm going to reach the end of the month and be able to move money from checking to savings. I'm actually doing good financially and there's nothing I need to purchase. I've done my buying for the month and have money left over. And I got paid to do this.

Okay, $300 isn't a lot. But it's more than I've had in the past. And I expect this trend to continue and grow. In fact, I wish I had more hours in the day to dedicate to growing my business. I'd be making even more. But that will come. I have patience and it's okay that my business is growing slowly. Slow is better than not at all.

Oops.... time to go. Still have to make my lunch and get off the to daily grind that I hope to kiss off someday. Yup, my goal is to replace this income. Then I can leave this job and dedicate myself to my business wholeheartedly. Isn't that a dream?

Argh! 4 Days!

Gotta give an update. Gotta give an update. This isn't fair...

Okay, been busy as usual. Saturday, the oldest daughter, Shelby, turned 17. We kinda held her party on Friday night because that's when all the family could get together. I bought a couple pizzas and a cake and we gave her presents. Not much to put in her hand, but she now has use of our old Blazer. Family is going to cover her insurance but now she'll actually have to pay for her own gas. Thank goodness. I was getting tired of my tank being empty...

Anyway, so youngest daughter had PSATs on Saturday, Hubby went off to work on Sat and oldest had to work on Sat morning. I actually had the house to myself for about 6 hours. Wow. I can't even remember the last time that happened. Probably when I was still working nights and they'd take off on Sat morning so I could sleep. Course, I don't remember much because I was unconscious for most of those "alone" times.

But I treated myself. I did some cleaning. Then I treated myself to an hour of spinning. (God, I LOVE my new Prelude wheel!!!!) Then I'd clean some more. And I'd spin for another hour. Then clean. Then spin.

Oh yeah, this could actually get me off my butt and cleaning for a change...

Sunday morning. Work. Four hours of computer work and clean-up. I get to take next Sunday off, so I made sure to go through everything. Including the aging report. Haven't done that in probably two years because I never had time, but I actually got that one done.

Then home and a nap. (Hey, I'm entitled once in a while! I don't know why, but I've been SO durned tired. So I took a nap for an hour. Luckily the family didn't say anything because I had the perfect answer all ready... "Bite me!" )

Then off to a meeting. We did a fundraiser for NBPOPS (North Branford Parents of Performing Students) and had to tally all the order sheets. We actually got that done in about three hours. We've only got orders for about half of what normally is bought, but I hope that doesn't kill any potential purchases. The good thing is that we accomplished what we needed to get done in about half the time it normally takes. And everything tallied perfectly.

Home. To bed. Up and I'm finally breaking down and wearing a sweater to work. It's getting darned cold sitting in my truck for 8 hours. So now I'm getting overheated because I'm dressed for outside and sitting at my computer. Oops...

I got my partner's name for the yarn swap. Poor woman was probably itching and wondering if I'd gotten lost. Poor thing emailed me yesterday afternoon and I didn't even check my email til this morning. I have a month to put together a nice package for her and I have some really great ideas of stuff to toss inside. A couple favorite recipes as well as yarn, drink and my favorite pattern. (I don't know if my favorite has a name, so I'm just going to type it up with a pic of what it looks like. It's really simple but looks complex, so I love it and use it on almost all of my socks. Okay, lately, it's ALL of my socks. )

Another meeting tonight for Project Graduation. I have to go because some nimrod brought up theme ideas of Dr. Suess and Ninja Turtles. Er.... scuse me, but we're talking high school seniors, not kids in nursery school. Ninja Turtles? Puleeze! (No, I won't be that nice if I make a comment at the meeting tonight. I'm sure she'll be offended by my language, but get a grip, lady!) The obvious theme is James Bond. This is the graduating class of 2007. See that? 007. Bond. James Bond. Duh!!!! She thinks there's too much violence and sex in the movies. Ha! Read the books. Espionage. Class. Debonair. Tuxedos and gorgeous women. If she can't deal with that, then stay home.

So I've been requested to attend the meeting simply because I'm very direct and won't bother being polite when Dr. Suess is mentioned... LOL! This should be fun. I mean, who should know better? I work with the kids who just graduated last year (or within the last couple of years). Trust me, there ain't no Dr. Suess in the backs of their minds.

Oh, and get this. She signed up all the dads for security. I guess she feels that women can't do security. Hmm... I think I should show up in uniform. Tell her how I've broken up fights, picked up drunks from the floor and investigated everything from thefts to the usual roommate tiffs. Yeah, I don't need a guy to back me up. I'm sure the night crew will heartily admit that I was their secret weapon when dealing with fights. A guy breaks in and he's more likely to get swung at. Me? They can swing all they want. They're most likely going to be swinging over my head...

Anyway... another fun-filled day awaits. I hope yours is just as fun.

Wowee!!!

I'm spinning, I'm spinning, I'm spinning!

Is this exciting or what? I don't want to work anymore. I want to sit and watch my wheel turn.

Got the box on Monday night. Took Mark about an hour to get it all put together, so we oiled it up and I started treadling. That was okay. I didn't want to run off for fiber quite yet. Frankly, I was scared.

Then Tuesday was a total wash. Simply wasn't going to happen Tues night. Bummer!

So I came home last night, practically tossed dinner at the family and ran into the living room. A little glitch in the beginning as the VCR wasn't connected to something. I could hear it, but I couldn't see anything, so had to get Mark to fix that. (Okay, I'm going to have to repaint the floor where the entertainment center goes because he kinda scraped the paint off the floor, but I really don't care. He got the VCR working.)

So I watched the section about three times before attaching a leader. Boy, talk about stop and start, stop and start. Three leaders later and a bit of laughter, I actually had some spinning going into the orifice.

Course, I kept forgetting to feed it into the orifice and wondering why I'm drafting and it's getting longer.

Duh!!! So I start drafting it down and then feeding it in. I loosened up both hands so it would feed easier. Wowowow! I'm spinning!

It's far from perfect and I imagine it'll take a couple of pounds of fiber before I ever get a consistent thread, but there's _thread_ on that bobbin!

Woohoo!!!! Another week and I'll be ready to set up a lesson with Laurie so I can save myself a lot of heartache later. Why struggle when I can get a couple lessons and save myself the trouble of figuring it out myself?

Pics definitely coming tonight or tomorrow night. Me sitting at my wheel! Woohoo!

(Gee, can you tell yet that I'm excited by this new project of mine? )

All sorts of good stuff

I'm finally out of withdrawal. Last night was the first home hockey game. Okay, I missed the first period because of a family matter where my presence was requested. So I took care of what needed taking care of and then had Mark whiz me over to the rink. The place was packed and I saw some good friends before finally finding my kids (they said it was interesting to collect the season tickets that were held under my name without me being there, but having my employee ID did help ). They were standing in the wrong corner. To find out they got there late (I take it youngest daughter had a last-minute hair emergency... probably a wave that showed up just to spite her ), so our usual corner was already occupied.

I did manage to chat a few minutes with El, the wife of a guy I work with. She's another die-hard fan of the Quinnipiac Bobcats and, unfortunately, had to have her leg amputated this summer. She actually looks wonderful! You can't even tell that one of her legs isn't real. Her spirits are terrific and she told me how the team sent her a card this summer during her recuperation that was unexpected and really lifted her spirits. (Haven't I told before how wonderful these kids are?) She was touched and determined to be back in her corner come game time and she was there. Good for her!

Almost as wonderful as seeing El and her wonderful spirit was the fact that we won! Woohoo! Maybe we'll be in serious contention for the league, but it's still early. I was just happy to get a dose of hockey into my system. There's nothing like a crowd (overcrowded if you like opinions, which I'm always full of ) of Crazy Bobcat fans.

Tonight I'll get another dose. That will definitely lift my spirits and hold them until Monday night when I get home from work...

Why?

My spinning wheel should arrive Monday night. It's in transit. It's in Stamford (yes, I'm tempted to call them and go pick it up ), but I'll have it in my hot little hands on Monday night. I've already informed Mark that he'll be busy putting it together for me and my feet are already itching to sit and treadle. I want to see it actually spin, powered by my own feet.

Course, that means I have to contact Laurie and set up a lesson or two. Get good advice right from the start and don't screw this up. But I'll do that this week. First, get it together and see how I'm going to transport it. See what chair will be comfortable for treadling. Get the rhythm and I've got lots of carded roving to play with until I figure out what I'm doing...

Oh, and more news!

I have a way to add pics to my blog. Woohoo! Okay, I can't show the present I'm working on (which is seriously close to the halfway point now and it's really coming together nicely). That will have to wait until after I've gifted it to it's recipient. But I can add pics of the socks I've made since this summer. And I can add pics of the kids and the dogs and the cats. The autumn foliage which is really turning spectacular this fall. I'll have to grab some pics on my way to work. I go in early enough (around 7:30 or so) that the sun is just peeking over the hills, so it captures the tops of the trees while the bottom of the tree is still sleeping in muted splendor. Some terrific pic opportunities and I hope to take advantage of that as the colors really come into their peak season.

And I reconnected with Lori Avocato. She's a published author of 15 books and someone I've known for more years than either of us will ever admit to, so don't ask. But Lori and I are going to meet up next month. I'd do it today, but I have another commitment at the time that needs my attention a lot more. Please check out Lori's site at www.loriavocato.com She's writing mysteries about an ex-nurse who now investigates health care insurance fraud. Lori is such a delightful lady, her books have got to be fabulous. (Yes, I'll be running over to www.bn.com to get copies of Lori's books ASAP.) Support her books and check out her site. I'm beyond thrilled for her and hope I can send a few customers her way.

Her critics say that if you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, you'll enjoy the perils of Pauline. I know I'll enjoy them, so let's do a read-a-long.

And, in the meantime, I'm going to steal a camera and get moving on some pics so this site can get a LOT more interesting...

Woohoo!

Couple quick updates because, as usual, I have about 10 minutes before I've got to leave. First and foremost, I'm getting my wheel!!! Mom, darling woman that she is, said this could be an early and combined Christmas/birthday present. (Okay, she didn't mention my birthday because that's not until March, but I'm letting her know that I consider it a combined present. ) I'm not sure how long it will take before it's here, but my fingers are itching already.

Knitting during the day, spinning at night. Definitely my idea of nirvana! I can't wait to settle into a nice, relaxed routine. Lord knows, I could use the stress-free moments.

Second great news is that Oldest Daughter showed me her letters of recommendation for college. Three more came into the guidance office and all I can say is "WOW!"

Okay, so I kinda bribed her English teacher into a terrific recommendation. He was the tech director on the show last year and I told him that I wouldn't even consider showing up if he didn't give her a good letter. Well, he outdid himself. He included her academic achievements and went on to include her after-school activities as well as a lot of the dedication she shows in her community service. Seriously, an outstanding letter of recommendation, so I owe Mr. Michael Berry a HUGE thank you for that one.

Lastly, the meeting last night was wonderful. The thing I love the most about this group of people is their entire attitude. They're positive and enthusiastic. I mean, think about how much time you spend on a daily/weekly basis with people who are negative. B#tching and moaning, b#tching and moaning. Nothing is right. Nothing is ever good enough. Gets to be a real drag and you find yourself being negative about everything. (Yeah, yeah, refer back two days to my own posting... )

This group of people isn't like that at all. They're such a breath of fresh air that you're not sure what to do with them at first. I felt kinda like a third wheel because they carry the attitude that there are no strangers here, just wonderful friends you haven't met yet. And that's just such a reversal from the rest of the world that it's weird at first. But, I'm telling you, it's addictive. I can't help it. I like being around them and I find myself with a much better attitude about the world and people and the future after I've been with them for an hour or two.

And I missed that. I needed a "fix" and last night was a healthy shot in the arm. All good stuff. And now I'm ready to go back out and conquer the world and make a difference in others' lives. Isn't it strange how the more you do for others, the better you feel about yourself? I learned that from a decade with the fire dept and the ambulance corps. And now I can relate those terrific feelings to helping others set up a toll booth on the Internet. Seeing them succeed and earn money is even better than anything that's falling into my own pocket. Seeing them change into more positive people and excited about the world around them is SO worth missing a little bit of sleep last night.

Oops... ten minutes gone with my usual daily "rant"... LOL! It's so funny. My day wasn't going so well yesterday. Thought I'd lost my debit card. Then thought I'd lost my car keys. All kinds of things that just put a damper on my whole mood. Then I went to the meeting last night and now I find myself smiling again.

Can things get better?