Mommy scarf.

My mom found this yarn at Ollie's and decided it would be fun to have a scarf made from it. It's Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair in the color Purple Mountains.

Scarf things.

I made these in December/January for Joe's parents. They were both really fun to knit up. The first is the ever-so-famous Irish Hiking Scarf. The second is Megan’s Ruffled Neck Warmer from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. I used Knitpicks superwash wool for both.

*sigh*

I've always known that it is with those who are nearest and dearest to us that we are able to show our best side...as well as our worst side. I always wanted to believe that when the nearest and dearest is facing a horrible illness that for those around that person the best side would be amplified and the worst side would be diminished. Yesterday, I learned that this is not necessarily true. Even though I have forced myself to re-frame the situation and remind myself that stress and frustration can cause people to say and do things out of the ordinary. Even though I realize that culture, personality, & experiences influence how love is expressed and received. Even though I realize that differences in communication can cause misunderstandings. It still hurts. Every time something like this happens I have to remind myself to be quick to listen, slow to anger.

Parking.

Remember my little vent about parking? Disregard. I found out that if a patient has been admitted for more than ten days. (unfortunately, joe far exceeds that) families can puchase discount tickets. YAY!!!!!! I just wish that I was aware of this sooner. :P

whoa...62 things.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
* Well, these days I practically live at the hospital. So it would be which time? Joe has a med that is administered around 2. Blood draws and vitals take place around 4:30am. And a stream of doctors and nurses start appearing around 6:30am. I try my best to go back to sleep after every interruption until about 8:30am. (Joe usually gives up by 7am)

2. Diamonds or Pearls?
* In general, diamonds. But I think there is room for both in my world!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
* oh my goodness. I have no clue. i *think* the last time i was at the cinema was when we went to san diego last year. So, it was either whatever number x-men movie, or the Breakup.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
* I'm a teener bopper at heart, and I'm secretly in love with Gilmore Girls. But now that is no more. I also love The Office, and Scrubs.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
* A piece of cake. The really yummy green kind that you can get in chinatown. (I know there is no chinatown in PGH. I don't know where the cake is really from...someone gave it to us.) Also, a bit of bacon and cranberry juice. Healthy, right?

6. What is your middle name? Victoria (but it's not on my birth certificate.)

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
* There is no way I could possibly choose. I just love food way too much.

8. What foods do you dislike?
* MUSHROOMS!!!!!! and canned green beans.

9. Your favorite Potato chip?
* Troyer Farms BBQ. But I'm also quite fond of Pringles.

10. What CD is in your car stereo at the moment?
* I can't remember. Some Christian CDs...and maybe Norah Jones or Kings of Convenience or something...or maybe I changed them. Can't remember.

11. What kind of car do you drive?
* Lexus SUV. Yes, I know I'm spoiled.

12. Favorite sandwich?
* hmmmm...I'm not sure. Choosing favorite foods is way to hard for me. I do love Philly Cheesesteaks!

13. What characteristics do you despise?
* snootiness.

14. Favorite item of clothing?
* hoodies.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

* uhm...fiji? :) actually, I'd love to visit australia and new zealand...not to mention a million other places.

16. What color is your bathroom?
* beige.

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
* i'm generally an ann taylor girl. but i also love my cheap clothes from target!

18. Where would you want to retire to?
* I would be prefectly happy staying in Pennsylvania forever. But I hear that Seattle is nice.

19. Favorite time of day?
* evening.

20. Where were you born?
* Pottsville, PA

21. Favorite Sports to watch?
* Stuff like gymnastics and ice skating.

22. Who do you least expect to send this back?
* Stole this from a blog, so this question doesn't make much sense anymore.

23. Person who will respond first?
* no clue.

24. What laundry detergent do you use?
* the on sale kind.

25. Are you a morning person or night owl?
* A night owl.

26. What size shoe do you wear?
* 5.5-6

27. Favorite animal?
*Giraffes, elephants, and monkeys.

28. Any news you'd like to share with everyone?
* how about, SIGN UP TO BE A BONE MARROW DONOR!!!!!!!

29. What did you want to be when you were little?
* a dancer, a singer, an actress, violinist in the pit orchestra of a broadway musical, professional page turner, teacher, mother...i wanted to be a lot of things.

30. Favorite candy bar?
* Take 5

31. What are your favorite childhood memories?
* summer vacations with my family. music camp.

32. What are the different jobs you have had in your life?
* Pharmacy tech. Music therapist. Therapist.

33. What color underwear are you wearing?
* bright pink!

34. Nicknames:
* In college, it was Mulan

35. Piercing?
* Just each ear, once.

36. Eye color?
* Brown

37. Ever been to Africa?
* Nope. But hopefully someday.

38. Ever been toilet papered?
* Nope. I think my parents were, once when I was little.

39. Ever loved someone so much it made you cry?
* you bet.

40. Ever been in a car accident?
* Yes. But not while driving myself.

41. Favorite restaurant?
* one of my favorite restaurants is Soba.

42. Favorite ice cream?
* Chocolate Peanut butter, coffee, or mint chocolate chip.

43. Favorite flower?
* Daisies and Roses.

44. Disney or Warner Brothers?
* How about both?

45. Favorite fast food restaurant?
* I have to say McDonald's for sentimental reasons. But any fast food is yummy to me.

46. What color is your bedroom carpet?
* a neutral beige-ish color

.47. How many times did you take your drivers test?
* hahaha. Lisa, I took it twice too!

48. Before this one, from whom did you get your last Email?
* I think Sheena.

49. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
* If it were still around, it would be Kaufmann's. But now, I guess Macy's. You can get everything there. Kaufmann's had way better deals though.

50. What do you most often do when you are bored?
* knit, read, watch tv, surf the net.

51. Bedtime?
* between 11-midnight.

52. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire?
* no particular person

53. Last person you went to dinner with?
* friends from crossroads!

54. What are you listening to right now?
* the rain. oh, but the sun just came back out.

55. What is your favorite color?
* red.

56. Lake , Ocean or River?
* Ocean.

57. How many tattoos do you have?
* none. I'm way to fickle for a tattoo.

58. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
* hmmm...I say chicken.

59. How many people are you sending this Email to?
* I'm posting it in my blog, since I found it on a blog!

60. Who sent this to you and what is something you didn't know about them?
* Lisa...I didn't know she didn't like seafood and also loves chocolate peanut butter ice cream!

61. What materialistic thing would you ask for if you had one wish to make?
* i don't know right now. i just want my joe to be all better. so i guess, perfect cord blood.

62. Time you finished this email? 3:21pm

Seven Things

****Updated, because I accidentally published before I finished my seven things!****

Apparently, I have been tagged by dear sweet Lisa. I get to share seven things about myself. As if the world really needs to know any more about me. This should be interesting...for me. Not necessarily interesting for others!

1. For the past year, my mind has been pretty much consumed with how to be a good caregiver. I make myself crazy all the time. Some days, when someone says, "you are such a great wife and example," I think, "yes i am! thank you for noticing!" Other days, it makes me feel awful because the real truth is that I believe that I fall FAR short of what a great wife/caregiver should be. I feel like I've faked everyone out, and then I feel all down on myself. I actually have a confession. Which is that I started a more secret blog so that I could vent some of my frustrations to people without venting to the world. But then I got all paranoid, so I haven't really vented all that much. It's not so much that the "real" blog doesn't express my true feelings. It's that about once a month I have a couple days when I just want to scream and scream and scream...and generally, those couple days do not get broadcast to the world.

2. I absolutely love, love, love, love music. I grew up playing violin and piano. I played clarinet and saxophone for several years. I learned how to play guitar, and now I'm teaching myself how to play ukulele. But even though I'm probably better than the average person walking down the street, I'm far from being a professional. I've always had this split personality with my music. Part of me wants everyone to listen to how amazing I am. The other part of me is insanely shy about playing for others. The other weird thing is that as much as I love music...my music theory skills are mediocre at best, and I'm surprisingly awful at being able to match music to titles and artists.

3. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I do not have very high self-esteem. Most days, I can get over it and feel good about myself. But sometimes that low self-esteem rears its ugly head and I feel low and get jealous of others for no good reason. Geez. I'm only at number three, and I'm sure anyone reading this is ready to send me to a shrink!

4. One of the things that I love the most about me and Joe is that we don't fit into a particular mold. We have all kinds of friends. Some would see us as being the snooty frou-frou type. Some would see us as being quite average. Some see us as being really frugal. It's really fun for us to be able to get dolled up one day and eat somewhere fancy-schmancy, but then dress random another day and eat at Wendy's. We consider ourselves people who appreciate fine things, but we don't want to live that lifestyle. It makes life more fun and interesting.

5. Despite the low self-esteem mentioned in #3, I've always been an extremely optimistic and positive person. I truly believe that I've been blessed with so much, and every day I hope that I can pass on some of the cheer that I feel onto others around me.

6. I had braces for 5 years. I went through clear brackets and metal brackets. I had little rubber bands. I had springs. I had some bar across the roof of my mouth. (Fortunately, I avoided the jaw expander thing!) I even had to sleep with a head gear for some time. When I first heard "head gear" I thought about the kid on Mr. Belvedere (does anyone remember that show?) and amost freaked out. Then I found out I only had to wear it to sleep (like Ugly Betty!) The first night, it hurt so much to put it on, I cried.

7. I love food. I just love it. Cheap food, fancy food, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Ethiopian...whatever. I love to try everything. I don't love EVERYTHING I try. But, I do love to try new things. However, I DO NOT like mushrooms. I will eat food that is cooked with mushrooms...but I try to avoid the mushrooms. If I feel really bad about leaving a pile of mushrooms on my plate though, I'll swallow them. :)

Okay...now I get to tag people. So, I'll tag the seven people who possibly read my blog! rachel, louis, obLiVyOnGiRL, Ars Subtilior, Eric, Christy, shc118. Anyone else reading this can pretend to be tagged too. hahaha. :)

Mr. Dangly

So, I discovered Mr. Dangly on the internet. He was just so cute, so I decided to try my hand at making a Mr. Dangly with stuff from my stash. I used some type of Superwash wool from KnitPicks. I believe the colors are Capri & Sunshine. The scarf is some leftover sugar'n cream cotton. He didn't turn out very perfect. I discovered late in the process that I did half of my increases wrong which makes Mr. Dangly a bit sloppy. I also got mad at the head more than once. All the body parts, I did in the round with my adorable little dp needles. The tail is an i-cord.

It is my first stuffed creature, so I'm proud. I think that he has a bit of character and charm that can only be found in a handknit creature.