Birthday, knitting, biking...

I don't know who looks funnier...Joey or Lyra.
Justine turned 11 on Saturday! That's a leopard cake I made for her...that girl knows how to push my creative baking skills. She had three friends over for a trip to Build a Bear and sleepover. She also received tons of goodies in the mail...she's writing her thank yous today (those of you who sent her stuff can look forward to getting a card soon). We got her a digital camera. Justine's decided she now wants to grow up to be a nature/animal photographer.

Finished my Finery socks! This yarn is Madeline Tosh Sock...a new favorite! The sock is a little tight to get on but looks great once I do. I screwed up one part...made the heel flap different on each one. See the bits of garter by the flap...I did the other sock with just the slip stitch pattern, no garter. Oh well, knitting Godzilla strikes once again.

This was a KAL with Charlotte. This pattern was so fun and easy to do. I didn't do a project sheet for it on Ravelry though. I do this sometimes...I have projects that never make it in. They only took one skein of Knitpicks Essential.

Another project without a page in Ravelry. It's Citron, my second one of this pattern. The yarn is Dream in Color Baby. So quick and easy to knit...a good project for watching TV and chatting at knit group. Now if the weather would only cool down a bit, I could wear it.

I finished a sweater over the weekend and will block it today. I have a new one picked out that I'll cast on Wednesday night. I'm a little behind in my Mystery Shawl KAL, so I'm going to concentrate on that for the next couple days to hopefully get caught up. More pics to come on knitting stuff, I promise!

Over the weekend, Mike and I did the Green Cove Springs Rotary Club Charity Ride. We rode the 25 mile bike ride, but actually ended up riding about 28 miles. That's the most I've ever done on my bike. The only part of my body that was sore were my shoulders (thank God for bike shorts!). I can understand the appeal of long bike rides on the open road. We had a few stretches of road that were empty of traffic, wide open fields with farms and livestock...it was so relaxing to be out there. We decided that a long bike ride in the country once in a while is a great idea and so we'll probably do it again when the weather cools a bit. The weather for the ride on Saturday was perfect; cloudy, light sprinkle and cool (low 80s). We totally lucked out in the regard. After the ride, the Rotary Club had a nice BBQ set up for the riders. Nothing like a good meal after a great work out!

Then yesterday, Jen and I met for a run by the River. There was a wonderful breeze coming off the water...I had a great run. It was a fun weekend. How was yours?

Vacation Pictures

A Man, a Miss, a car, a curve...he kissed the miss and missed the curve....Burma Shave!

On the Train in Balboa Park, San Diego.
The Alcazar Garden in Balboa Park.

Art at the Park.

Botanical Garden...you guessed it, Balboa Park.

Hanging with the in-laws at the Zoo. More zoo pics to come...

A Good Check-Up!

Lyra had her first visit to the Vet today. She's actually very healthy...only thing wrong was a little conjunctivitis in her eyes. We already have the medicine she needs for that and they also gave her some deworming meds, too. She took it like a champ!

She weighs....6 oz. (I know you're doing it again....Awwwww!!)

Meet Lyra

My husband, in case you didn't know, has a heart of gold. This tiny little kitten was abandoned by her mother, behind his work building, so SOMEBODY had to take her home and adopt her. He was waiting to see who at work would step-up, but no one did, so he did the right thing and brought her home. She's so cute!! At least we think it's a "her"...Justine wanted to name her Lyra (Lie-ra) after the main character in the Golden Compass books. If we find out later, she's a he...we may switch the name to Larry (thanks Mary Lou!).

You can see how small she is...her head is the same size has the towel TAG!! She can fit in my hand, with room to spare. We're thinking she's less than a month old. See her paws...her claws are always out. Maybe that's a kitten thing? I have no idea. And no idea what I'm doing...it's really a family effort to care for her and figure out what to do next. She's going to the vet on Monday afternoon for a check up.

She loves to sleep wrapped around my neck. (I can hear your collective awwww....)

Alone Again aka School Has Started

Yesterday was the first day of school. This is going to be an exciting year for all three of them. Veronica is in her Jr. year and that means it'll be her toughest year. She does all her testing this year through the AICE program. She is also the Section Leader for the Pit. I also imagine that her social life will ramp up, too. Joey is in his first year of high school, and I think just learning to balance the work load and band will be a challenge for him. He's working hard to get organized. Veronica is a good influence on him, he just hangs on her every word. Today he went off and forgot his lunch...and so it begins. Justine is in her last year of elementary school, 6th grade. They switch classes for each subject to prepare them for Jr. High. She's ready to tackle the day today in her new purple Converse sneakers.

And I'm home...alone. Well, at least till I leave for work anyway. Ahhhhhh

Mr. Ploppoloff

Justine and I went to a garage sale today and she bought a kit on making Stupid Sock Creatures. Ploppoloff was her first one. Isn't he cute?!
Update on pics: Here's Joey and Justine at the beach in Crystal River at the Triathlon on July 24th.

Lucky Day?

Today is Friday the 13th. Since my husband proposed to me on a Friday the 13th (over 18 years ago), I've always considered it lucky.

Let's see if it still holds true, shall we?

Today is my day off (lucky), I got to sleep in (lucky), I'm painting Justine's room (um, unlucky, but might be fun anyway), going on a movie/dinner date with my husband (oh wait, I'm not doing this; he's going biking with a friend and I'm staying home and making dinner for the kids...decidedly, unlucky)...I think I'll create some luck and turn tonight into "movie" night for me and the kids! Lucky!

I guess sometimes you need to create some good luck of your own.

Good luck!

Tin-grin No More

After two years, three months, oral surgery, mouth pain, no gum, no popcorn, wax, rubberbands, pain, and enough wire to stretch to San Diego...Veronica's braces came off yesterday. Braces off...retainers on.

Whee!!

Miss me?

Please do not try to adjust your computers....yes, it's me, and I'm actually blogging. You're shocked, I know. It's been a while huh? What cha been up to? Here's the top ten things you missed (in no particular order) that have been going on with me...

1. My wonderful husband decided to "fix" our computer. It was sluggish and not running quite right, so he saved all our stuff and wiped it clean...then discovered we didn't have the number code to re-install Windows XP. There's a guy at his work who can help, but they just had a baby so he's alittle busy right now. Timing is everything. It'll be probably another month before we're back, so pictures may be minimal till then. Now we can't find the disc to install our printer on this temporary computer...ugh! I'm exercising my patience.

2. Justine learned to ride a bike. Yeah!

3. I did another triathlon on July 24th with BadJen. It was the Twilight Tri, at Crystal River. It was a night-time tri, sprint distance. It was a tough one for me. My swim was terrible, although I did improve my swim time from last year's Cooter Tri by three minutes. The swim was in the Gulf, and there was a strong current we had to work against (sucked!). No oil...I know you're wondering. Then the bike had a strong head-wind going out and huge down pours coming back (thunderstorm activity). Everything was wet...drenched! The run was complete darkness...good thing there was a full moon out to help light the way. My time was about 1 hr. 39 minutes. It wasn't fun...but I never quit.

4. Jen and I are training for our next triathlon. The Great American Cooter Tri in Inverness, FL.

5. Our family went to San Diego this summer for vacation! It was really great to spend time with the family and see our friends we miss so much. We did more "touristy" stuff this time: The Zoo, Balboa Park, even a trip to Julian for the day. My favorite was a trip to The Getty with Becky and Keiko. Next time I visit we're gonna do the Villa in Malibu...sweet!! We also timed our visit just right to attend my nephew's high school graduation, which was so cool. I got to see plenty of my sister and mom, which was great! And staying with my in-laws worked out great...they're so easy going (and put up with all 5 of us!). My dad was there for us, too...he had some "pocket money" for the whole family (which made the vaca more budget friendly to say the least!). We're lucky to have such loving, generous parents and in-laws.

6. Veronica got her Driver's License. Stay off the sidewalks when you're in Fleming Island.

7. My job changed a little bit this spring. My boss and the financial person both quit around the same time, so jobs got shuffled and we hired a new receptionist. I moved into the next office and became, officially, the "assistant to the priest". An outside accounting firm was hired to handle the financial stuff. Our new receptionist is my friend, Diane. She's so much fun to work with and fits in just great. The feeling in the office is very relaxed and fun. I'm working less hours, but more days...only 4 days, 5 hours each. Not bad. I'll be home for the kids when they get home from school, and that's very important to me.

8. I'm still knitting up a storm. Many socks have been started and finished over the last few months. A few scarves, too. I'm slowing down on the sweaters...it's just too darn hot! I started, recently, to make granny squares from my left-over worsted weight yarn that will eventually become a big blanket. I'm also making a big shawl called Bridgewater. Photos to come soon, I hope.

9. Mike's job is going great. He did some travelling recently to GA and TN. He brought me to his work to see the magnet he's designed. I really was impressed! Maybe he's not the goof-ball I think he is...hmmmm.

10. Last but not least...Joey is excited about starting school next week! This is huge. He usually complains about it, but this year he's starting High School and is already practicing with the band. He was very glad to hear I was working and that Veronica was more than happy to help him at orientation this Thursday. Can you believe he doesn't want ME to help him?! Heavy sigh.

And this year is Justine's last year in elementary school. Heavier sigh.

Ok, so there's your update. I'm going to be blogging more, too. Promise!! Feel free to comment, too. It's nice to know you're out there and like to hear what's going on with me and my family.

Bye...for now.