7 Random Things

There’s this thing going around on several of the blogs I read where you are supposed to list seven random things about yourself. So here goes:

1: As a kid I lived on wheels. I was on roller skates or a bike, every single day. My best friend and I used to skate back and forth across her front porch listening to the soundtrack to “Footloose”.

2: I was born in Colorado, but raised in Texas. The town I grew up in only has a population of about 2800 people. I’ve also never been east of Texas (in the U.S.)

3: I was born with two earlobes on my left ear. I think technically the one was somehow split so it appeared to be two. You couldn’t really see the second lobe; it was a smaller one behind a larger one in front. Doctors told my Mom it would eventually “drop down” and be normal. It never did. I had my ears pierced at 11 years old (it was only through the front lobe) and a couple a years later the piercing tore all the way out. At 14, I had surgery to repair the rip and they cut off the back earlobe. If you look you can see where it used to be.

4: I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers. My sisters are from my mom’s first marriage and my two older brothers are from my biological father’s first marriage. After I was born they got divorced and my mom later remarried. Her third husband adopted all three of her girls and a few years later they adopted my little brother. They are still married today and he is the man I call my “Dad”.

5: My husband and I were introduced on a blind date. My cousin Laurie and I were sharing an apartment at the time and she only introduced me to Lynn because she hated the guy I was dating at the time. (She was right, the guy was a jerk.)

6: I have no musical talent, but I really wish I did. My sisters used to tell me I couldn’t “carry a tune in a bucket”. I don’t sing in the shower but I will crank the stereo and sing in my car. I sometimes sing in my office when I’m working.

7: I am the world’s biggest klutz, always have been. I trip over thin air and bang my arms and legs on everything in my path. I knock things over and spill drinks. It’s a really good thing I never became a waitress or went to work in an antique shop.

Ok, that’s enough random for one day.

Beaten, burned, electrocuted and stabbed

The last few days have been rather exciting. We went camping this weekend in Parker, AZ. We stayed in La Paz County Park, right on the Colorado River. There were sixteen of us that went, we had our own little “tent city”. We bar-b-que’d and rented Sea-doo’s and floated on a big raft. It was a really good weekend. The “beaten” part would be the little sore spot on the side of my head my where I bonked it on the lamp hanging in the center of our tent and the “burned” is the sunburn on my chest. I wore sunscreen and tried to stay out of the sun as much as possible but somehow managed to sunburn just the tops of my knees and my cleavage. My knees are no big deal but the boob burn really itches right now.

The prior auth for the EMG finally came through and I had that done yesterday at lunch. That accounts for the “electrocution and stabbing.” The tech put all these little stickers on my hands, some were little squares on my palms others were long thin strips that wrapped around my fingers. Then he clamped wires to some of them. He took a marker and made little blue hash marks on my wrists. Finally he took a gizmo that looked an awful lot like a tazer gun and dipped the prongs in some gel and touched the hash marks with it and sent little zaps of electricity through my arms. He did this several times from several different places on my wrists and elbows, occasionally moving the wires around to different stickers. When he was done testing both my arms he called the doctor in to conduct the second part of the test. The doctor stuck a needle in my hand and arm in several different places and then had me flex that muscle. With the needle in it! (Remind me not to do this test again.) All of this is supposed to tell them if I have a pinched nerve somewhere that’s causing my headaches. I have a couple of small bruises from needle and my arm is a little sore today, but it’s not too bad. I’ll let ya’ll know when I get the results.

MRI's are really loud

Well, I went in on Saturday morning and had the MRI on my head and then again on Monday morning for one on my neck. It wasn't too bad. After you change into the "high fashion" nightgown, they lay you on the table and push it into the machine. They give you headphones and put it on whatever radio station you like. The headphones also allow them to talk to you from their controls outside the booth. They take several different scans and each scan lasts a different length of time, anywhere from 20 seconds to five minutes. The machine makes a "knocking" sound while it does the scans. The knocking is quite loud loud and changes in tone and rhythm from scan to scan. The table was a little uncomfortable as it is narrow and there was no were to lay my arms, I had to hold them up, which caused my left arm to ache. After the several scans the tech gave me an injection of contrast and took one more scan. Laying very still for the head scan was fairly easy, for the neck scan it was a little harder. I wasn't supposed to swallow, but my throat has been feeling very dry and I'm having some sinus drainage so that part was very difficult. I wound up involuntarily swallowing a few times. You don't realize how often you automatically swallow until your not supposed too.

I called the Neurologist to see if he had the results yet. He does, but he still wants to do one more test. A nerve conduction study, an EMG. The test still has to be prior authorized and scheduled. Once that's done, then he'll bring me in for an appointment to go over all the tests. Grrr. Arggg. Frustrating heh?

That's alright, I'm "smarter that the average bear" (as my Daddy says). I went by Steinburg Diagnostic on my way home and picked up copies of the reports. The report for my brain MRI says that my brain is fine-no tumors. Whew! The one for my neck says all my vertebrae are OK. The only thing that one mentions is some swollen lymph nodes-possibly related to an upper respiratory infection. I keep telling my regular doctor I think I've got an infection!! Unfortunately, I still have to play the waiting game with these guys.

Tana in the duffle

I came downstairs on Saturday morning to find this on my living room floor:

After I laughed my butt off, I just had to take a picture. She doesn't seem to get the joke, though. After I took a couple of picures of her, Lynn picked her up in the duffle so I could take a couple more. She really didn't appriciate this much. But she looks so cute.

That's my hubby and our other dogs are in the background there.

Fetching FO's

While I was taking sock pictures the I thought I'd take some pictures of the finished Fetching gloves. Yes, they were finished ages ago and I never got aroung to taking the pictures. The pink ones are for me and the blue ones are for my Mom. These were made with sport weight yarn on size 3 DPN's.

Finished Twinkle socks and First sock

The Twinkle socks are done!

I finished them at the Crochet Meeting on Tuesday. This is my first knitted pair and I had lots of fun making them. I will definately be knitting lots more! These where knit from the cuff down loosely following the Yarn Harlot's instructions from Knitting Rules. The yarn is Lion Brand Baby Soft in Twinkle Print knit on four Size 3 DPN's.

I did finish that first wool sock. I thought ya'll might like to see it too. I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it. The foot is too big around and too short to actually fit anyone.

Laurie would be ashamed of me

If you haven’t read Crazy Aunt Purl today…read her first. She’s very unhappy about the types of women’s t-shirts available today. Did you read it? OK, here’s why she’d be ashamed of me. Today I’m wearing a baby pink, cap sleeve t-shirt with Tinkerbell on it and it’s got lots of sparkles. It says “Simply Spoiled” on it in big yellow letters. My husband hasn’t seen it yet, but I’m sure he’ll agree with its sentiment. By the way, I think Laurie and I are close to the same size, so I’ve got some of that “armchub” she mentioned. Oh well, sorry Laurie!!

On the headache issue...MY MRI HAS BEEN APPROVED!
Turns out the doctor actually ordered two, one with contrast and one without. I have one scheduled for Saturday morning and the other on Monday morning. I'll let ya'll know how they go.

Crochet-a-long

Our Crochet Group has decided to do a Crochet-a-long and we're making Seraphina shawls! I've made several already which you can see and my blog here. (Check under "Completed Items".) I'm excited, I've been looking for a good excuse to make another one. I really love this pattern! It works up so beautifully in just about any yarn you want to use. Since I have one in Lion Brand Homespun, a nice heavy weight winter shawl, I've decided to make one in Patons Grace for a nice light weight for summer. I chose the Lavander colorway, it's shaded from a medium purple to a very light purple to white to a peacock blue. I can't wait to get started.

I made my husband proud

The prior authorization for the MRI was requested one week ago yesterday and still hasn't been approved. So I talked to my Human Resources lady here at work and she called our company's insurance broker. She put me on the phone with our representative and I explained my situation. The woman on the phone, Lisa, was very helpful, she emailed me a release form to fill out allowing her to speak on my behalf. I completed the form and faxed it back to her. Now she is going to contact our insurance company for me and try to expidite the process. My husband was very impressed.

Stressed out spazmo

The appointment with the neurologist went OK. He felt me up around my neck and back, hit me with a little rubber hammer, touched me with a vibrating tuning fork and poked me with a safety pin. Sounds kinky huh? He was testing my reflexes and sensations. His verdict: the only thing wrong with me is stress. He ordered an MRI "just to be sure". I have to wait until the insurance company approves it. I'll let ya'll know when that happens. He didn't say it, but I think he wanted to tell me I need therapy. Maybe I just need a vacation.

Finally

So, tomorrow is the big day. I'm finally going to the neurologist for my headaches. I just have to swing by the Steinburg on the way there and pick up the films from my neck x-rays. Dudes, cross your fingers they figure this shit out. My head was so bad this weekend, it was radiating down into my left arm again. I sat in my chair on Sunday morning and cried. I tried not to cry this morning too. I've barely crocheted or knit anything in the last couple of days. I slept most of the day on Saturday though. Meanwhile, my hubby and roommate cleaned the entire downstairs, did some grocery shopping and bar-b-cued. Of course, this was all because they had a big poker game, but hey, it was still a nice thing to do.

In other news, Angie came over on Friday night and brought her swift and ball winder. We had lots of fun winding sock yarn in little balls. (Just don't ask Angie about the skein of Tofutsies that became a huge knotty mess on us.)

When did that happen?

I was getting ready to go to the Crochet Meeting last night and I was trying to decide what project to take when I realized the only projects I'm currently into right now are...knitting. I've been a crocheter for years and years and suddenly, I'm a knitter. I have two major crochet projects in the works right now; a couple of afghans and there are a couple more I'd like to make. In knitting, I have two pairs of socks on the needles, several more pairs in mind(including these), a scarf I'm designing, a hat a want to make, a black lace stole I want to design, and a couple of sweaters I'm dreaming about; I'm also thinking about making a bunch of cotton washcloths for winter holiday gifts. There's probably more, but that's all I can think of right now.

Check it out!

It's a sock!

I finished the first one and cast on the second one. Hopefully I'll have the second one done soon.

Spirit Scully

Here is the free hat pattern I promised. Enjoy!



Spirit Scully


Make this hat in your man’s favorite team colors.

Skill level: Easy

Size: Average male head (ego not included)

Worsted Weight yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft)
Main color
Accent color 1
Accent color 2

Size G hook


Rnd 1: With main color, chain 4, 11 dc in fourth chain from hook, join with slip stitch to top of first dc. (12 dc)

Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each dc around, join. (24 dc)

Rnd 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next st, 2 dc in next st* repeat around, join. (36 dc)

Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st* repeat around, join. (48 dc)

Rnd 5: Ch 3, dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st* repeat around, join. (60 dc)

Rnd 6-8: Ch 3, dc in each st, join.

Rnd 9: Ch 3, dc in next 2 sts, ch 1, sk next dc, *dc in next 3 sts, ch 1, sk next dc, join. (15 ch 1 spaces)

Rnd 10: Join Accent Color 1, ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1), sk next st, dc in next st, dc in skipped stitch on previous row, *dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st, dc in skipped st on previous row.* repeat around, join.

Rnd 11: Join Accent Color 2, ch 3, dc in skipped stitch on previous row, dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, *dc in next st, dc in skipped st on previous row, dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st* around, join.

Rnd 12: Join Accent Color 1, ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1), sk next st, dc in next st, dc in skipped stitch on previous row, *dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st, dc in skipped st on previous row.* repeat around, join.

Rnd 12: Join Main Color, ch 3, dc in skipped st on previous row, *dc in next 3 sts, dc in skipped st on previous row* around, dc in last two dc, join.

Rnd 13: Ch 3, dc in each dc around, join.

Rnd 14: Ch 3, dc in each dc around, join, fasten off.

Weave in ends.


Please let me know if you find any errors.

Referral received

So I went to my follow-up appointment with the nutritionist. She ran the tests again and the results were better this time. The supplements definitely seem to be helping. I also called my regular doctor and found out what was taking so long with my referral to the neurologist. They had the wrong home phone number for me. They mixed up one number. So, the nurse gave me the name and number of the doctor they are referring me to and I called and scheduled and appointment. Finally! All I have to do now is get a copy of my neck x-rays to take to the appointment with me.

So here's the story...

Those stairs lead into the little trailer where I work. It houses a handful of us out behind the main building, we are the company stepchildren. Anywho, I was running a few minutes late the other day and had my hands were full. I'd stopped at the market and bought some apples and rice cakes. (They were for that whole "trying to eat healthier" thing.) I hit those stairs and went dowwwwwn. I have a lovely little bruise on the top side of my foot/ankle where I hit the step and my left arm is bit sore. Other than that I'm good. I'm an expert at falling on my face, literally. Check out this story from a couple of years ago, and the pictures here and here. And yes, I know that blog hasn't been updated in ages.

Sock progress and headache update

I went back into my stash in search of possible sock yarn and this is what I came up with:


Lion Brand Baby Soft Twinkle Print, it’s a sport weight, 60% acrylic, 40% nylon yarn. I thought it would make a great “practice yarn” and the stretchyness is good. (Just don’t tell the “yarn snobs” I’m making socks with acrylic yarn, they might faint.) I think these will be nice house socks for me and if the yarn is good enough for the babies its good enough for me! I’m working “top down” and have completed the first sock through the gusset decreases so I’m on the home stretch. I’ll be looking for some assistance when I get down to grafting the toes. Haven’t quite figured out that Kitchener stitch yet. I’m working on size 3 DPN’s and I’m getting some laddering between the needles; I’ll have to work on that.

I’ve still got some of the pink left over from the Fetching wrist warmers, I was wondering if I have enough to make a small pair of socks for my friend’s daughter…

I ordered the Yarn Harlot’s new book and a sock book from Amazon; they should be here tomorrow. I’m trying the resist the urge to order some sock yarn from The Loopy Ewe. I still haven’t placed my order for the hemp yarn. I have some in my stash I want to try out first. I did swatch it up a couple of weeks ago, just haven’t cast on for the socks yet.

The headaches are improving. I went to a nutritionist last week, she ran some tests to see what parts of my body are weak and gave me supplements to take. I feel like I'm taking an entire bottle of pills every day. They're doing something for me, I haven't had any hot flashes in the last week!

There's a story here...

I'll tell you later.

Out and about

I made it out to a Crochet meeting last night. We tried out a new venue and it worked out quite well for us. I had a good time even though the only thing I accomplished was frogging a couple of things. After discussing the lack of bounce in the socks I was working on I decided that yarn would better suited to something else. So...I ripped. I also found a mistake in a granny square I was working on so that got ripped too. I tried working on a couple of other projects but I just wasn't "feelin' it". I am doing a little bit better today though, it was so nice seeing everyone last night!

I'm still alive

I haven’t blogged in a while; I’m still fighting that monster of a headache. It’s been going on for almost two months now. It’s gotten so bad it’s radiating down through my neck and into my left arm. My doctor is convinced it’s somehow related to an arthritis flare up in my neck. ??? He is however; referring me to a neurologist, assuming the referral ever comes through. He also took a neck x-ray. There’s talk of sending me to a chiropractor, depending on what the x-rays have to say. I did go get a massage on Saturday. WOW! She found lots of knots and pinched nerves and tight places I didn’t even know I had! I was so sore yesterday I could barely move. I’m still a bit sore today, but I am feeling better. My neck still hurts but the headache is improved.
My knitting and crocheting have been almost at a standstill because of the arm pain. I did manage to finish the dishcloth a couple of weeks ago. I’ll get a picture and the pattern for it posted soon. I still owe you guys the hat pattern too. Gotta get the hubby to pose for a picture in it. I also started a pair of socks. I’m trying a yarn in cashmere and cotton; I have the Sea Foam color. It’s from my stash; I’d picked it up in Amsterdam a couple of years ago. (Yes, even vacationing in Europe I found a yarn store.) I love the feel of it, but there’s not a lot of elasticity (decent amount stretch but it doesn’t bounce back). I may have to make them a little smaller to compensate, which shouldn’t be to hard since I haven’t gotten very far on them anyway.