It's Almost CO Time

I leave tomorrow after work to start the trek that begins my 1 week vacation in Colorado! I'm excited. We had so much fun last year, that I can't wait to do it again.

I haven't blogged in a bit, but I have uploaded some pics to the Flickr, so this post shall be about my last trip to Dallas. We got together to celebrate Bree and Iza's birthday.


Aren't they darling? Bree (my sis) is on the left and Iza (my step-mom) is on the right. After they went through all this effort to get dressed, my dad and sister Traci made them put on a couple of silly outfits. They each got a hat, a boa, a new pair of shoes, and a purse. Please forgive me if I'm leaving anything out.

Traci put on the flame hat, but then my dad got into the action. I can't believe I caught this picture of him. (And I can't believe that I'm still living since he knows I have this picture.) It's one of those pictures that happen so innocently, and you just have to have luck on your side. I believe that he had just eaten a chip, but I'm not certain. All I know is that I have a picture of my dad that... well we'll just let the picture do the talking, eh?

I mean, seriously, that's my dad!

I also have a few knitting pictures that I added. I didn't manage to get a picture of the ladies with their new knit wear, but they did seem to like them. I think I did well with the color choices.

This is a pattern called the Dream Swatch Head Scarf. It's also attractive when used as an actual scarf, and even as a belt. The pattern was written by Wendy Bernard, and she has a pdf of it freely available on the net. These were both made with Alcehemy Bamboo, but I failed to write down the colors.

Well, I better get cracking over here. I still have some laundry to do, and I need to get all packed up (including deciding on some travel knitting). I plan to drive home after work, grab my gear, grab the dog, snuggle the kittehs a bit, and then head out to Houston. I'll spend the night with my dad and step-mom, and Saturday afternoon I catch a flight for Colorado.

I may not speak with you for a bit, but know that you're in my thoughts, and that I'm probably having an awesome time. :)

Inner Whatever....

I got this from Julie, and I think I'm just about as impressed. Ah well, you get what you pay for with these things, right?

You Are Gwen Stefani!

All guys dream about you And all the girls want to be you "Sappy pathetic little me That was the girl I used to be"

Who's" Your Inner Rock Chick?

Busy as a bee at work. This brief moment of blogging is brought to you by: My Trainee is Eating Lunch, and I Don't Do That.

I have a fan going out on my laptop at home, so I'm trying to use it as little as possible. Hopefully we'll get to order a replacement part soon, and all will be well. I can use my desktop, but since Jeff and I share that computer and it's all the way in the office.... Also I have all my picture software on the laptop, so I just prefer blogging from there. (Well, when I can't blog from work that is.)

Anyway, time to check in on a few more blogs. Oh, Tim... I forgot about the RSS thing that you mentioned to me at Anna and Sean's house, so if you could tell me again I'd appreciate it. Let this be a lesson to me, I must at all times bring my purse of infinite holding, or else I will not have pen and paper and I will not remember websites that people mention to me.

My Aching Bones

We helped Miss Erin move yesterday, and although we were sore yesterday, today it is really showing. I think my hands and my feet are the only things that don't hurt today.

Still, all in all, it was a pretty fun, as far as moving days go. We got most of everything shifted over to the new apartment, and then hung out to eat pizza and drink beer. Remind me in the future though, it's not a good idea to wear flip flops on moving day.

In Fact, I See Very Well

My optometrist gave me a gold star today. She said that I have the best day after Lasik vision that she's seen yet. I read the 20/20 chart and almost entirely got the 20/15 line. The halos were the largest obstacle, since it's a white light projecting black letters. Dr Shepard saw that my left eye was a little drier looking than the right, and I told her about the minor discomfort that I've been having. She gave me some eye drops that are a gel that I'm supposed to use when I go to sleep each night. I'll see her again next Thursday and we'll see how everything is progressing.

I'm Not Blind

I went through my Lasik procedure yesterday, and wanted to let you know all is well. For the most part I had a positive experience. Today I'm seeing pretty well. The laptop is a bit hard to see, but that has more to do with the fact that I'm trying to look at a bright white screen, and bright is still a bit hard to deal with. I can read closed captioning on the tv though, and that's an improvement.

The negative aspects:
1. Either my left eye did not get as numb as the right, or the eye opener thing was put on a little wrong. It kept pinching the inside corner of my eyelid, and it hurt. This was only a problem during the Interlase portion of the process, so I suspect the numbness just hadn't taken hold completely yet.
2. The suction cup for the Interlase part ... sucks. It didn't hurt, but it was no fun.
3. The smell after the Lasik part is gross. I never asked, because I really don't care to know for sure that I was smelling what burning cornea smells like.
4. The pre-op valiumy stuff took longer to wear off than I thought it would. I think I sounded really F-d up trying to talk to my dad on the phone, even after a 2 hour nap.

One of the really nice surprises was that my regular Optometrist Donna Shepard came to the clinic. They asked at the front desk if she was coming, and I told them that we hadn't discussed it, so I had no idea. She did come, and it was really nice. When I would tense up in the laser room she would grab my hands and talk me through it. I would never have imagined that having someone I knew (that wasn't a close friend or family) in the room would be such a big comfort, but it was. Jeff wasn't allowed in the laser room, but he watched through some windows, and apparently got quite pale. I couldn't really tell because like the rest of the world he was all hazy, but the female staff was giggling about him. Still, everyone admired him for being a trooper, and not fainting.

Yesterday my vision was really hazy. I suspect that was partly because of healing needed, and partly because you have to put in eye drops every two hours, and one of them is really cloudy. My vision was a lot better this morning, but after I put the steroid drop in it was cloudy again for a few minutes.

Now I use steroid and antibiotic drops 4 times a day for the next five days, and I use sterile eye drops at least every hour I'm awake for the next five days. I'll go see Donna today to get a vision check, and get "cleared to drive". I get to get some sort of note to take to the DMV to show them that I've had corrective eye surgery and get the restriction removed from my license that says I need corrective lenses to drive. The worst part of the healing process has to be the horrid sleeping goggles that I have to wear for a week. They're to keep you from rubbing your eyes in your sleep, but they are uncomfortable, keep me from being able to sleep in my normal positions, and just goofy as all get out.

All in all I'm feeling well. I've been playing Kingdom Hearts 2 all morning, and I haven't had any trouble. I have to rest my eyes every so often, and I'm using my eye drops probably about every 15 minutes. (I have a tendency not to blink enough when I play video games, so that's probably why they feel dry so often.) Still, I'm not in any pain really, and I get to play hooky from work until Monday. *woot*

My left eye feels like there's something in it, like an eyelash or something. It doesn't really hurt, it's just annoying. However, it felt like that yesterday morning before I had the Lasik, so I have no idea if it's related or not. My right eye feels great. Yesterday the medicated drops really burned when I put them in, but today they barely feel any different than the plain old eye wetting drops.

I have to admit that I was starting to get pretty nervous yesterday. I remember looking in the mirror right before we left the house and thinking, "What the hell am I doing? I'm going to have a complete stranger shoot a laser beam at my eye???" Still, I'm glad that I went through with it, and I continue to be fascinated with my ability to see without glasses, and filled with excitement. It really is awesome.

At Least It's Only for 7 Days

I am working on training my replacement. I'm only working until Wednesday this week, cause I am having the lasers, so we are running out of training time. I think I just finished talking for 2 1/2 hours straight.

I mean, I'm a pretty good talker and all, but there comes a point when I have had enough. All the bits that aid sound coming out of my pie hole are getting dry and sticking together all at the same time. Needless to say my goofing off time is very limited at the moment. I can't very well sit here and surf the internet while they watch, and then be upset when they have questions later.

So, I'm going to go grab some water and then spend the next 30 minutes trying not to have to talk to anyone at all. My pipes need a break.

Hope you're all having a good day!

And Now We Know

48%Mingle² - Free Online Dating

El Yay!

Guess what????

I got a promotion! I got chosen for the internal movement here at The Company. I get a "job grade" that is numerically 2 higher than what I am now, and I'm also getting a wage increase. How much of an increase, you might ask. The answer is 10%. Oh yeah, it's gonna be awesome! The wage increase and new job don't become "official" until June 25th, so don't be all asking me for money just yet. I'm still not going to be rolling in cash, but at least I have climbed out of the pay cut that I took when I lost my shift premium by switching to day shift.

Okay, still have a few more things to do before leaving work, so I'll let you get back to whatever it is that you were doing.

YAY!!!

I'm Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Okay, not really, but my bag is packed and my knitting is done. I've wrapped the gifts and cleaned the cat box. I'm rewarding myself with a small spot of pudding, and then I'm off to get a few hours sleep.

I've done all that I need to do in order to be ready to leave for Dallas directly from work tomorrow. Jeff's day will be much more hectic since he's going to have to come home at some point to pick up the dog before coming to get me at 3.

Time for sleep. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Why Do We Scream At Each Other?

It's my sister Bree's birthday today! Happy birthday little sis, hope you have a great day and that you don't sweat the small stuff. It also happens to be the birthday of Prince. Man, I really wanted to post some lyrics from his album that came out the year that she was born, but ew. I don't think that there's a single line in any of the songs that I could post and have it refer to my sister. Prince may have loved some sisters, but he didn't much sing about sisterly love, you know?

The birthday presents are almost done. The knitting is complete, and after a quick steam blocking this afternoon they'll be ready to wrap up tonight. I'm glad that I don't have the worry of not finishing in time hanging over my head anymore. I sit back and finish watching Hex tonight, guilt-free. Erin and I have been marching through the first two seasons (they were re-aired in a marathon two weekends ago). We have two old episodes left to watch, and then last week's episode that was the first of the new season. I can't wait, because the new season looks like it's going to be great!

He Puts the Carne in Carnival

So Travis is hosting the Carnival of the Mundane this Friday, and he needs your posts to make it happen. The theme is there is no theme. The prerequisites are that you've written a blog post since the last blue moon. Those are some pretty lax requirements, so get off your duff and help a brother out.

Meanwhile check out the past Carnivals. There's so much to read you'll be able to goof off at work for hours if not days without getting bored!

Wo0t! We Has Yardage!

That's right my friends, Gift #2 measures in at 3ft after my lunch break knitting. I'm in the home stretch now, and then I can return to my sock project. I never told you about the pair of socks that I'm knitting right now, did I?

See I was knitting a really complicated sock. I made progress, was past the heel, and working up the leg. The sock was just knitting up too slow to satisfy my urge for FO. I decided that the remedy for a sock that won't become a sock is to knit a really simple stockinette sock. Only, I am a complete glutton for punishment and couldn't just knit a plain old sock that I could finish in a weekend, I had to change it up.

Once I finish Gift #2 I will return to the Tandem Sock. Yes, I am knitting two socks at the same time, using two circular needles with the socks sitting side by side. I really need to remember to snap some pictures before I begin to work on them again. I even upped the ante a little more by working the heel and toe in a different color than the rest of the sock. Oh yeah, I'm getting all fancy this time.

I've already finished the heels and started working up the leg, about an inch I think. I'm not sure if I have enough of my main color to finish the legs, so I may change color again for the cuffs. Who knows, I'm all crazy now, I might just not put a cuff on them.

Well, I better get back to work. Only about an hour and a half before I get outta here.

If Only I had Mechanical Fingers

Okay, this one has to be brief, because I only managed to complete 9 inches of knitting so far tonight. That is not going to cut it my friends. Granted that was only 1.5 hours. This means that my estimate that I can complete 6 inches in 30 minutes was a bit off, I suppose it's closer to 45 minutes. So I have another ... 3-4 hours of knitting ahead of me? Oh god....okay, this is not the time to panic. I can do it, I just need to work another hour tonight, work during my 30 minute lunch tomorrow, and the 30 minutes it takes to get home. That would mean I would only have another 2 hours to finish up tomorrow night. See! It's totally do-able.

Now that my panic is subsiding I will show you pictures of completed knitting. These are pictures of a backpack that I made for Mr. Daniel Quinn for turning 1 year old. The bag is 100% cotton, so it's a bit more practical for a kid's gift, nice and launderable. Anyway, the knitting won't knit itself, so I must be off for now. Ta!

Crack That Whip

I am such a horrible task master. I’m constantly setting slightly unrealistic knitting timelines for myself. The lastest in this long string of escapades are the projects for my family’s June birthdays. Bree’s birthday is June 7th and Iza’s is on the 12th. I didn’t buy the yarn for their gifts until Friday the 1st. What’s even better is that I’ll be seeing them on Friday the 8th, so they kind of need to be done, and wrapped before I go to work on the 8th. Oops.

The good news for myself is that one is completely knat, and the second is ¼ of the way done. If I work real hard tonight then I should be able to finish the second one before I go to bed tomorrow. Of course I was thinking about asking Erin if she wanted to hang out on Wednesday, since it’s the only day this week that I don’t have stuff to do after work. Hm… I’ll just have to see what sort of length I can complete tonight. I measured it after my lunch break today and I’m just around 1 ft, with a goal of 4 ft total. If I get it to 3 feet tonight, then I think it will be safe to hang with Erin.

The bad news is that this afternoon I am heading off to an eye appointment for my Lasik Pre-Op exam. They are going to dilate the heck out of my eyes, and I’m not sure how long it will take to wear off. The one thing I do know is that I can’t risk knitting until it does wear off. This pattern is not easy enough for me to do by feel, and the last thing I need is to screw it up and have to try and undo a mess.

Of course there shall be no pictures of the birthday knits until they have been presented to the giftees. I mean, there’s always a chance they found this blog and might get a sneak peek. Can’t have that, can we? I do have pictures of previously completed projects that I should post though. I’ll try to work on that tonight, but no promises.

The Miracle of Modern Medicine

For someone that doesn't have seasonal allergies, I'm sure getting beaten up by seasonal allergies this year. According to the lovely tests that were run a couple of years ago I am only allergic to cockroaches and dust mites.

Instead of having real allergies to pollen, mold, etc that could be treated with shots, I have seasonal rhinitis. This is fancy doctor talk to say, "You're not allergic, you just have allergic reactions to air born junk." I was pretty miserable yesterday, and had to take a bit of a nap in the middle of the day. This morning I was even worse, and I took a benedryl which of course knocked me out. I think I woke up around 8:30am, had a snack and took the medicine. I went to have a lie down around 10:30 and slept until 1:30 in the afternoon. The only reason that I even got up then was because I was starving.

I purchased some Claritin type stuff this afternoon. In high school I took Claritin D when I had symptoms, so hopefully this stuff will work well too. I got the over the counter variety of Claritin, in the store brand. I just couldn't bring myself to pay $1 per pill for the name brand, when the store brand was $7 for 30. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because I really need some relief that doesn't involve sleep walking through my entire day.

Playing Catch Up

Wow, I hadn’t realized how long I’d gone without a post. I’m still here, and I still work at The Company. I’ve actually been really busy at work, and although I’ve tried to keep up with reading blogs, I just haven’t had the inclination to write in mine. It’s kind of funny how when a bunch of things are going on, and you have more to blog about you are less likely to blog.

Oh well, we have some things to catch up on here, so I better get on with it.

I applied for the internal job opening on April 24th, and finally got interviewed on May 24th. I had to interview with 3 separate people that day, and I think all the interviews went really well. The manager gets to make the final decision on who gets hired for the job, and he went on vacation before he announced a choice. He should return on June 4th, so hopefully I will get some good news next week. If I’m going to remain here for any length of time this would be a good move, and it will also look spiffy on a resume.

In other news I’ve got a date with a laser coming up. My friend Courtney recently had Lasik eye surgery, and since I’d been considering it for several years I finally went to get a consultation. My eyes are evidently broken in a way that is “against the rules”. My astigmatism is 180 degrees off of the typical presentation. All I know is, I’m still a good candidate and it’s going to cost a small fortune, even with my insurance. The good news is that my dad is letting me borrow the money interest free. I’ll be getting periodic lectures on my failure to save money, but that’s a small price to pay when the other options were loans with 12% interest.

I go in for a Pre-Op exam with my optometrist on June 5th to get a fully dilated exam, and I’m not sure what else. I heard dilation and kind of phased out at that point. I really hate getting my eyes dilated. The actual procedure will be done on June 14th. I’m all sorts of excited and only in the last day or so have I started getting nervous. I’d compare it to a rollercoaster line. It’s all fun, and I’m ready, until I know that I’m next; I still want to get on the ride, but that’s when the nervousness sets in.

Well, speaking of work I better get some more done. I even have to come in on Saturday this week, but it’s not too bad. I get off work at 3pm, so it won’t interfere with my plans, and I don’t have to work Sunday so I’ll still have one full day off.