Friday, May 26, 2006
I'm Forcing Myself to do This!!
On the knitting front I continue to work on a wrap for my sister. It's a really easy pattern but it's taking me a long time because it's wide and really long. I'm making it with Rowan Summer Tweed and the yarn is SO nice. It's silk and cotton. I have a few other things on the needles but am trying to discipline myself to finish this for her, foregoing all other knitting pleasures until it's done.
Robbie bought an RV. It's a 26 foot GMC Palm Beach from the 70's. It's green and we call it The Pickle. This weekend we're taking it to Big Cypress RV Park for our maiden voyage. Big Cypress is a Seminole Indian Reservation in the middle of the Everglades. Once in the RV park you can't venture too far out of the park on foot because there are bears, alligators and wild boar frequently near the outskirs of the park!! How fun!! Seriously!! I'm looking forward to making coffee in the morning, sitting outside and looking for wildlife. There are also a lot of deer in the area so I'm hoping to see one.
Other than that my life is pretty much just working, running, taking care of my house, reading, knitting and hanging out with Robbie. My son is 20 and so he does his own thing with his friends and OCCASIONALLY hangs out with me a little bit, which is nice.
I would really like to get to knit nights at least twice a month because I'm starting to feel like I have no life. Robbie gets so weird when I mention venturing off to knit. It's like he gets jealous or something and to avoid any confrontations about it, I just don't go. I know this isn't healthy in a relationship.
Anyway, my sister is moving to Minneapolis so I won't have her around to do things with, and I don't hang out with my other friend anymore since she and her new boyfriend have taken up swinging and drugs!! God, aren't you supposed to be over experimenting with drugs once you get in your forties? I just can't be around it and so I can't be around her.
So, even though I probably sound like "woe is me", I'm not. I love my job, I love my dogs, and running and knitting and all my other "things" ... I just need to get out a little more, with other people, that's all.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Crikey, She's a Big One!

Okay, so I have a thing about iguanas. It started about six years ago. I became intrigued with them for whatever reason. Everyone who knows me, knows this, including the people I work with. Frequently there are big iguanas outside the building at work and whenever someone sees one, they let me know. This means that I go outside and look at the iguana and try to catch it. I have never been successful until yesterday. There was a 3 1/2 footer outside in the parking lot basking in the sun. I went out there with two people I work with, snuck up on it from behind a car and tried to grab it. The first try was unsuccessful ... she whipped me with her tail and then rolled and got away but as soon as she stood back up I grabbed her. Here's a couple pictures. I am truly an iguana wrangler ... and the people at work think I have entirely lost my mind. Tee hee ...
P.S. - I caught her while wearing a long skirt and heels which makes it even funnier.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tampa Tattoofest
Saturday we cruised around the Tattoo Convention and hotel all day until it was time for us both to get tattooed. Robbie filled in an empty spot near his neck with a really nice water flower and I got orange blossoms tattooed on my arm. It starts at the top of my shoulder and goes about halfway down my arm. It's not finished yet, but so far it looks awesome! I love it! After getting tattooed we were starving so we went for late night french toast at the local Village Inn ... went back to the hotel, watched a show about the girl who went missing in Aruba and went to bed.
Sunday we took a very leisurely drive back home. We stopped at Barnes and Noble for coffee and bagels and shopped around for a little while. Got back on the road and about 20 minutes later I realized I didn't have my backpack with me. So, in a frenzy I called Barnes and Noble ... sure enough I had left it in the cafe and we had to turn around and drive all the way back!! Robbie wasn't pleased, but handled it well. This is the typical type of situation that would have sent us into a brawl months ago, but doesn't now (after all our therapy ... lol). We stopped for boiled peanuts at a little place somewhere in Okeechobee called J and S Fish Camp. There were a lot of bikes there and it was really nice. We sat outside by the water, had a beer and enjoyed our boiled peanuts. They were damn good!! We proceeded down the road through parts of Florida I didn't even think existed anymore. There was lots and lots and lots of land and open spaces. It was really beautiful and reminded me of how it must have been when my parents moved down to Florida in the 60's. I loved it!! At one point we got lost on a detour on 441 where it ended into Pahokee. No offense to anyone who may be from Pahokee, but it looked pretty rough there. We turned around as quickly as we could and got the hell out of there. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful and I got a lot of knitting done. I'm working on a beautiful wrap for my sister. It's made from Rowan Summer Tweed and I can't wait to finish it. It feels really nice and has an awesome drape. We got to Robbie's house, unpacked everything and watched The Soprano's. To me the show is a little bit lame this season but Robbie's really into it and it gives me the opportunity to do even more knitting, which is a good thing.
So now I'm back ... back to the daily routine of working, knitting, cleaning my house, running, spending time with Robbie and my son, etc. Doesn't sound like much, but I'm happy.
Also, Robbie and I started watching Lost last night. I ordered the DVD's from Netflix. We watched two episodes so far and it is SO good. I can't wait to watch the next one. Also, we got Cirque Du Soleil tickets for Apri 22nd. We're going with my mom and my sister ... should be fun. Idol sort of sucked last night. I didn't think anyone was that great although I basically like Taylor and Elliott regardless of what they sing or how they perform because they're just great no matter what.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I Feel Like a New Person!!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Finally ... a picture!!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
A Resolution Not Kept
I'm very inspired by other people's blogs, especially the knitting blogs. All the girls are SO cool and have such interesting blogs. In fact it causes me trouble at work because sometimes I get so into reading them that I have a hard time pulling myself away. I really need to learn more about how you add all the neat links, etc. to the blog to make it more interesting. Mine is definitely boring at this point, but I will make it better.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Another F.O.
This blogging isn't going too well ... I'm not very good about keeping up with it. Anyway, last night I finished my Daikeito Diameusse scarf. What great colors!!! It looks awesome. The only problem is that it is knit in mainly stockinette stitch so the damn thing rolls into a tube!! I still like it though.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
What's Been Up ...
Anyway, I spent four days in Key West with my sister and my mom for Christmas. We rented a cottage and a little electric cart and drove all over the place checking stuff out at all hours of the night. Christmas Eve my sister and I were actually out in the cart in our Christmas pajamas cruising around in the cart!! Ha! It was definitely the non-traditional Christmas and one that we will always remember. We had SUCH a good time!!
New Years started out to be pretty uneventful. Robbie and I couldn't decide what to do ... stay in and watch movies or go out. I had a craving for a sandwich from Primanti Brothers on Ft. Lauderdale beach so we dressed really casual and headed down there. We ate and then decided to drive down Ft. Lauderdale strip before we went home. Well, it was probably about 10:30pm or so ... we turned the corner from Las Olas onto A1A and it opened up into a gigantic crowd of people. It was packed down there and everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun so we ended up parking and hanging out. We sat out front of Blondie's and had a drink and waited for midnight. When midnight came the Elbo Room had a machine blowing confetti onto everybody and everyone was going crazy. They shut A1A down for about 10 minutes and people were running around in the streets. It was really fun!! So for an evening when we had nothing planned, we ended up having a really good time.
Last night we met my sister and her girlfriend at Tatu, the restaurant over at the Seminole Village at the Hard Rock. The food was good but the service was terrible. After we ordered drinks it took about a half hour to get them. Robbie and I's meals came out at one time and my sister and her girlfriend's came out about a half hour later. We had gotten there in plenty of time to hang out and eat dinner and they ended up scarfing down their sushi and rushing out the door because they were late to their concert because it took so long. The place looks really cool, but the waitress and the manager really had big attitude problems and I don't think I'll probably ever go there again. For the price, the service isn't what it should be by any means!!
So, that's about it ... other than Robbie is taking me to Aruba. It was my birthday present. We are leaving this Sunday. We are in therapy ... have been for about a month or so now. It is helping ... things are better. Not perfect ... not even close ... but better and we're working on it.
OH, and I'm STILL knitting ... of course. No interest lost. I have about 17 projects going right now and I just finished an awesome cranberry colored scarf Sunday night.
Mimi if you read this, thanks for inviting me out to knit night. I will get there one night. Monday nights seem to be really difficult for me, but I will get there eventually and I appreciate you thinking of me!!!!
Monday, November 28, 2005
It is not perfect, but still awesome!!
I dyed some wool with Kool Aid last night and it was SO fun. I used pink lemonade, black cherry and grape and it looked SO dark while I was actually putting the dye on, but when I steamed the wool to set the dye it lightened up and turned out so pretty. As of this morning it was still not completely dry so I can’t wait to check it when I get home. I know I’m going to immediately want to start knitting something with it. I’m also definitely going out today to get more Kool Aid since I still have two skeins of wool left!!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Lots of Time to Think
I did finish a pretty drop stitch scarf and my Stitch Diva poncho. And I got a lot done on all my other knitting projects. I'm trying to finish up the things I already have on the needles and not start any more projects until those are pretty much done. I did start a scarf to give my mom for Christmas though. And I'd like to make something for my sister, but we'll see how it goes.
Anyway, I went to my first therapy appt. last night at 7pm. Robbie went at 3pm. The therapist's recommendation is for us to take a week off from talking or seeing each other so we can both think. I think this is a great thing even though tonight, for the first time, I felt a little lonely. I think one night this week I have to go out with a friend and do something. I have spent so much time in the house since the hurricane. I would like to go to Stitch N' Bitch this Saturday morning and finally make it to the one on Monday night that I've been talking about going to for months. I'm also going to yoga tomorrow night.
I'm trying to really think about if I want to stay with Robbie or not. That's pretty much going to be determined in therapy where I can safely speak my mind without worrying that he's going to get so mad. I guess our appt. together next Wednesday night will shed some light on where this relationship is or isn't going. I sure hope so anyway ...
Friday, October 14, 2005
Saying this at age 42 !! ??
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Unpack This!!
I mentioned previously that I went to Disney this past weekend ... I went with my boyfriend and his two kids, one girl and one boy, aged 9 and 10. Anyway, things were going great and we were getting along and then all of the sudden when we checked into the hotel my boyfriend got mad at me because I unpacked all of my own stuff, but didn't unpack for him and his kids. He was sitting at a table reading, the kids were hanging out in the bed watching TV and somehow I wind up being faulted because I didn't unpack for them. I fail to see why a grown man of 40 and the two kids who packed their own stuff are all of the sudden unable to UNPACK!! I can only attribute his attitude to the fact that he was married for 14 years and obviously his wife waited on him. He said that never in his life has he been expected to unpack for himself!! And he doesn't believe that the kids should have to unpack for themselves either. He says this is something he expects the woman to do. By the way, he is a very old-school thinking Italian man!!
Other than that I found out Tuesday night that since he can't fix his own food (he's started a new diet to lose weight) he is paying his ex-wife to fix his food for him. Not only that she drops it off to his office for him every morning. How sweet ...
Also he is in the process of selling his house so he is not able to have a dog there because apparently when you are selling a million dollar home, people frown upon it if they come into the house and there's any sign of you owning any sort of animal!! So he is on the hunt for a dog and guess where he wants to keep it? At my house!! I have a very small house and already have 3 dogs inside and 3 cats outside. He owns a 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom house on 3 acres but wants to keep the dog at my house!! Wouldn't it make sense to just wait until the house sells and THEN get a dog? I mean that's what I think, but he doesn't agree. It's easier to keep it at your girlfriend's house so she can feed it, walk it, etc. Oh also, one more thing, he CANNOT pick up poop. If any dog goes to the bathroom, he cannot pick up the poop because it will make him throw up. So, let's see, he wants to get a new dog and keep it at my house. I would imagine that if the dog is young, it will probably have some potty accidents. Who do we think is going to end up having to clean up all the poop? Me, I bet, right? I need to put my foot down about this.
When I read all the things I write about him I realize that all the things he expects from me are just ridiculous. Or is it just me? If anyone reads this, please let me know what you think. Thanks.
Not Alotta Knittin' Time
Anyway, I was in Disney last weekend and I managed to get my boyfriend to take me to the town of Celebration because I heard they have a yarn shop. The shop is called "Hopskotch" and it's really a clothes store with a little bit of yarn in the back. I was actually sort of disappointed because it wasn't very inspiring, but I did buy some Ironstone yarn ... I think it's called "Pizzazz" that I started making a really cool shawl with. The lady at the shop didn't know how to use the yarn winder so I ended up winding it myself in the hotel room. Funny but my ball of yarn looks nothing like the nice compact little squarish balls that the winder makes. It seems to be working though ... so no big deal.
Other than that I really want to make the shrug that is on the Yarn Tree website. It is made with Ironstone Island Cotton and I've seen a few of them made and they are really, really cute. I'm trying to make myself wait though because I have SO many other projects on the needles right now. Monday I finished a drop stitch scarf (it is 82" long ... very dramatic) that I made out of Rowan Polar. I love it ... now I just hope it gets chilly at some point in the future so I can actually wear it.
Also I went to see Phantom of the Opera Tuesday night. Wow ... the costumes and the stage sets were unbelievable. There was a little too much singing in it for me though. I'm glad I went and saw it, but would never choose to sit through it again.
Alright, that's it ... I really need to get busy here.
Monday, September 26, 2005
LYS's mean good times!!
Friday, September 23, 2005
I Live for Cafe Con Leche - Grande y Ozcuro, Por Supuesto!
Anyway, I haven't been doing as much knitting as I would like to. Tuesday night after work I went to the Yoga Warehouse in downtown Ft. Lauderdale for a class, and it was awesome. I immediately bought a card for 10 more classes!! I love how the place is open and airy and warm and right by the railroad tracks so you can hear the trains! From there I went straight to Wild Oats to stock up on some healthy food and drinks. By the time I got home that night, talked to Robbie on the phone for a while and showered, it was pretty much time to go to bed.
Wednesday after work I came home, went running and then proceeded to entirely redo my spare bedroom. I moved all the furniture, cleaned everything, got rid of a bunch of stuff (well, packed it up to be donated) and then rearranged everything. It was fun because now it's super clean and looks like a new room, but it was pretty exhausting and again, I showered and then pretty much went to bed.
Last night I had to get my house ready because I have a new cleaning lady starting today. I had to make lists of what I need her to do, and where everything is, etc. and as silly as it sounds, I sort of straightened up the house for her!! I don't want my new cleaning lady to think I'm a slob!! After that Robbie came over and proceeded to sit on the sofa and channel surf. It's very frustrating that when he comes over and we sit together and start watching something on TV he randomly changes the channel without asking. So we're watching Diane Sawyer interview Barbra Streisand and all of the sudden we're watching Criminal Minds ... then I start to get into that and all of the sudden we're watching Hurricane Rita coverage ... all of the sudden back to Diane and Barbra ... wait, back to Criminal Minds ... Hurricane Rita ... finally I just give up on trying to spend time with him and interact with him ... I go get my knitting and stop trying to watch TV.
We did get along good last night though ... he surprised me by even inviting my little pitbull "Weezy" to come up on the bed and sleep with us. Usually it seems that he doesn't like her AT ALL, but last night for some reason he seemed pretty sweet and in a good mood. Hopefully this will last because it's so nice when we're getting along.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
I'm a Wannabe ... I Wanna Be Happy
I continue to have constant problems getting along with my boyfriend. We fought all last week and didn't see each other, and then ended up going to the Poker Run in the Keys over the weekend and having a really good time. He wasn't at my house 5 minutes last night and already he was having a problem with something I did ... a look that I gave him because he peeled a cucumber in the sink that I had just cleaned and left all the peels there. I didn't SAY anything, I just gave him a look ... he said, "I'll clean it up" ... I said "Okay, good" and then he got all bent and said that if I was crazy about him and really loved him I would have just picked up the cucumber peels and thrown them in the garbage without giving him a look. With us it's just that the minute the stage is set by a look or a comment, the whole evening winds up going downhill, and sure enough it did.
Okay enough about that. Presently I'm working on a Stitch Diva poncho made from California yarn that is beautiful. I'm also working on 2 ponchettes and a couple of scarves, a washcloth ... I've always got quite a few things going ... in fact if I listed everything I have on needles right now, I would appear to be out of control with my knitting. Tee hee ... I am, so what? I also bought a digital camera and as soon as I figure out how to get the pictures into my blog, I will be adding those to make this a little more exciting.
I haven't been to yoga in quite a few months and I think I'm going tonight. Hurricane Rita is here and I don't think it's going to be a good night to go running. Plus I feel like I need to do something positive for myself.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
How Do They Do It?
My boyfriend and I went to Nick's on Hollywood Beach Tuesday night with my sister and her new girlfriend, Christine. The new girlfriend is from Minnesota and is a Dakota Indian. She's in a band and plays guitar. My sister is 50 and I'm guessing this girl is in her 30's ... they are crazy about each other which is good, but I just don't get how you make a relationship work when one person lives in Ft. Lauderdale and the other lives in Minneapolis. Of course, I have a hard enough time making my relationship work when he lives in Parkland and I live in Dania Beach ... so I guess proximity isn't what makes or breaks it. What does make or break it? That's what I want to know. I'm really in a dilemma at this point with my boyfriend. We have some really good laughs and alot of fun, but we also fight alot ... and there's alot of stress and tension. Blah blah blah ...
Anyway, I ordered some stitch markers from Zephyr and they arrived yesterday. They are SO cute but don't fit onto the needles I'm using for my poncho, so I'm a little disappointed. I purposely knit as fast as I could last night to get to the point where I could take out the old stitch marker and insert the new one, and alas, it wouldn't fit. I may just have to start a new project on the right sized needles just so I can use them!!
As usual, gotta get to work!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Two Accomplishments!!
Anyway, I finally made it to my first Stitch N' Bitch. I wasn't too impressed, but it was basically my fault. I got there at 7pm when it starts at 6:30pm, so all the chairs were taken and I had to sit in the back room (by myself) which wasn't too great. I quickly got over that and began wandering around the yarn shop. I ended up buying a "Knitting Queen" t-shirt. So next time, if there is a next time, I will make sure and get there early enough to get a chair. There is another Stitch N' Bitch on Monday nights at a different location that I'm still trying to make it to. I have a feeling that one is probably a bit friendlier and more fun.
I also completed my first knitting class. It was an advanced beginner class and I learned alot. There were six women in the class, they were all super nice and I really enjoyed it. I'm waiting for them to offer a sock knitting class because I really want to go to that.
Other than that I am very inspired every time I go to the yarn shop. They have SO many cute projects sitting out!! I am presently working on two ponchettes and a shawl (my first project on circular needles). I am using a yarn that is called "California" and I love it!! It is hand dyed and beautiful to work with. I can't wait until I'm done with these projects so I can wear them!! I actually (no lie) have about 20 different projects going. I work ALOT on the above mentioned three and then pick up the other ones and work on them little by little. I also just got some linen in the mail yesterday to make a couple of dishcloths with. I've also realized that I probably will never work with cheap yarn again. I get so much joy out of the quality of the yarns from the yarn store. I figure if I'm going to take the time to make something, it might as well be made out of the best, most beautiful yarn I can afford to buy.
Back to work ...
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Feeling Blah ...
Anyway, today I woke up feeling so frustrated with my life. There are so many things I want to do ... finish more knitting projects, read more books, fix all the little things that are broken around my house, take some classes, start going to yoga again, ... on top of that I have a boyfriend that needs a lot of attention. He's what he calls a "high maintenance" boyfriend and NEVER in my life did I think I would end up with one of those!! When he comes to my house he says it's too hot, he complains because I don't have cable, the tags on my dogs' collars bother him when they clang together and the latest thing is that my bed is totally uncomfortable and "we" have to do something about it. He doesn't even live with me!! We've been going out for almost a year and honestly I don't know if I could ever live with him. He's SO difficult!! Everything bothers him ... how I answer him, how I greet him when he gets there, etc.
I wish I could vent somewhere other than here but my mom and my sister have basically said he is how he is and he's not going to change and it's up to me to deal with it or not. Sometimes I just wonder if it's me or what? I mean I think he's selfish, demanding, ... what am I really getting out of this relationship?
Okay, I have to move on to another topic ... knitting. The only thing I finished recently was a red and white dishcloth for my kitchen. I'm almost done with my polar wool dropped stitch scarf and have started some new projects ... a scarf to give my mom for Christmas, another couple of dishcloths, nothing too hard. I want to attack something more challenging. I REALLY want to learn to make socks. I'm going to a knitting class this Saturday that I'm very excited about.
Gotta get back to work ...

