Is That All You Have For A Thursday??

Now y'all know I am all about change. Regardless of what you've heard, I really like change and am always willing to try new things...No, seriously, I am! So this morning, when it was announced that our VP (I report under him and honestly, he's probably one of the hottest men I've ever met in real life - we're talking Brad Pitt, people,...but I digress) and one of the other senior managers are leaving the company. This is about a month after our CFO left for another opportunity too. So where does that leave all of us? Truthfully, we really don't have a clue yet, but ya know it's going to be exciting! And hopefully, I'll get to move around or try new things a bit, so we'll have to see what happens.

So March has flown by and we're dangerously approaching April. Last weekend was the DG Founder's Day luncheon which was fun, but long. The silent auction I chaired raised about $450, so that was good. I think I want to try to get items from other Alumnae chapters next year, but we'll see how that goes. I also got to meet Tim's sister and his parents last weekend, which was fun. I think I vaguely remember his sister at SJA, but that was a LONG time ago! He's actually positioned to win the NCAA pool for the Muncie Foundation, so YEAH, I get dinner soon! (I know, I lost the bet with him, of course, so I'll make a decent dinner one of these nights...though I keep threatening Chef Boyardee & canned peaches!)

This weekend is the auction for Marian Middle School that Mom is chairing downtown, so that will be fun. Dad bought the table, so I'll have money to spend on cool baskets and stuff! I would love to get a hold of Cards tickets, but I think they are going to be tough to get. I put together a basket of BBQ stuff that isn't too shabby, so we'll see. This weekend Tim gets to meet my parents and aunt & uncle, which should be interesting too! And I think we are going to golf range on Sunday, which I've been dying to do for awhile now.

Ah, the knitting. Well, honestly, I have actually been working on a couple of projects. Ok, so sheep 2.0 still needs a head and a tummy, but I still have 3 weeks to go for that deadline. (But I'm out of town that weekend, so I have a little less time!) I actually started the baby sweater for Cory's baby, which I need to get a move on, as Noah was born last weekend...Here's the Magic Baby Sweater in progress....I seriously have no clue if I'm doing this right, as the pattern is a wee bit confusing. (But it's been good to work on during the NCAA tourney!):


I'm also working on the Sophie bag as I have time. It's a no-brainer knit, so I've been working on it as I have some time...


Oh, and pups got haircuts this week, which they desperately needed, so before:


And after:


De-Puffed & De-Fluffed!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I spent St. Patrick's Day in Dogtown with Tim (date) and his friend Stacey and about 5,000 other drunk Irishmen (and wanna-be Irishmen!) yesterday!! It was a lot of fun and I definitely have to do that again! It was just a little cool, but the Crown & Coke, beer and lots of people definitely made up for it! It was a bit more tame than Mardi Gras, but fun nonetheless!!

Here are some pix from the parade (Shannon & Tim):


We also caught up with Alison at her house down there and Dave & Stacy were down there too. They were doing "Irish Car Bomb" shots that involved Guiness, Jamieson & Kaluha (they were out of Bailey's).:


Alison and I had a good conversation too, though will have to have it again once we are both sober...She's such a great sister and friend... and a cutie too....Can you tell we are sisters??:


So today I am moving slow and getting stuff done around the house. Tonight is a meet for the kids at the YMCA and I'm not sure what's going on after that. And for those you keeping score on the "dating scene", I think I'm going to see what happens with Tim for a while and take it from there - just enjoying the "here and now" and not worry about the future...yes, this REALLY IS different from past experiences because I have a great support system and I'm going into this open minded and carefully. We'll see how it goes!

Ok, so I'm going to end this weekend of Irish-ness with my favorite Irish Blessing. I actually always think of Grandma Winters (Margaret Armstrong) when I hear this, as it was on the mass card from her funeral and she was so into being Irish. (and I take after her a bit!) Here it is:

AN IRISH BLESSING
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
and the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Y'All Know I Should Be Taking A Nap Right Now...

As I was up late last night with storms that blew through the area last night. Ever since I lived in OK & TX, I can't go to sleep until I know there is no "danger" in the area. One of my worst fears is not waking up in time to get to safety. Now that I live in Washington and get "river" effects on storms that blow through here, I am really aware of it. Call me wimpy - I don't care!

Anyway, so it's been a busy-crazy week this week, as usual. The weather has been fabulous too, though still haven't gotten to the golf range...still need to do that soon! Work has been about the same and we are getting busy. But I was able to give out more "Job Trainer" T-shirts and more people are being trained, so that's good. I also got to swim 4 nights this week, so I was hurting this weekend. One of my assistants on Weds has major Senior-itis and quit on me, so two of us will be coaching on Weds and I think I'm going to help with Pre-Comp swim too. It's an extra $6.50 a week!

This weekend was Roadtrip 2.0 with Cherie & Bill from work. This time Lisa joined us too, so it was fun. We went to a chocolate store about 30 miles south of Lebanon Mo called "Grandpa Joe's Chocolates". The chocolate was amazing and their samples were actual pieces, not just little bits!

The next stop was a little place called Little House Inn where we all had burgers and homemade fries and onion rings. A very close 2nd to Du Kum Inn in Sullivan!

Our last stop was at Laura Ingalls Wilder's house in Mansfield, MO. So I totally remember reading the books in like 4th or 5th grade and absolutely loved them. For some reason I had no idea that she had lived in MO for so long! The house was really neat - there was some really ingenuitive thoughts put into the design of this house. There was a giant pass through between the kitchen and dining room, so she didn't have to walk back & forth. There were storage boxes under the window seats in the kitchen, they added on to the house to accommodate the refridgerator and the counter tops were "Laura Height" as she was only 4'11". The rest of the house was absolutely beautiful too, as there were many exposed beams and picture windows.

There was also a 2nd house, that was only "discovered" in 2000 that they lived in too, which was really neat too. It was called Rock House and it was a mail order house from Sears that was custom. Again, lots of really neat features, such as drawers in the closets, built in "cubbies" in the walls and beautiful heavy solid wood doors. It was really cool to see and was more impressive than I thought it would be. If I have an opportunity to have daughters or nieces and they read the books, we will have to go back! (Yep, got a "tacky magnet" for my collection too!)

After that, we were going to go to some of the wineries in the area, but the one had a "Sorry, Out of Wine" sign on it and we couldn't find the other one. It actually worked out well, as we got home around 6 and the storms blew right through the area were were at about 7, so we would have been caught in the storms. We are talking about winery trips for RT 3.0...so stay tuned!

I did get some knitting done in the car. I opted for a "no brainer" project this trip, as we were going to be driving on some windy roads. The project this trip was a Sophie Bag out of Cascade Quatro #9439, which is a blue/green/purple wool. This is actually the first yarn I bought when I went shopping that first day with Anna & Robin, to actually work this pattern. It's rather funny to think I've done so many other projects, but still hadn't worked my first project yet! I really like this knit, as it is easy and it's quick. And it's a cute spring/Fall bag, so I'll use it, or I know who I'll give it to. I am still working on my Irish Hiking Scarf too, but it's not a good car trip project... Here they are, as of now:


So, on the dating scene....Yep, still out there. (I'm going to have to talk in code though, as my blog has been discovered...) Anyway, I had my dinner date last Saturday night at a really cool place in Eureka, called TJ Samuels.(He even picked me up AND brought me a beautiful white rose, that's still alive!) The food was wonderful and we sat out on the covered patio by the fireplace and talked until closing. (Are you sensing a theme here yet?) He came out on Weds night after swim team and swam with me for a little bit at the Y. It was fun to hang out and I got to give some pointers on his freestyle stroke...I'm thinking that he's going to feel the same when we play golf...waiting for me to take my 3 strokes to equal his first hit off the tee! Actually we are going to dinner tonight after practice, so that should be fun. I think I'm going to take off Friday to hang out in Dogtown with him and probably see my sister who just rented a house down there. I did talk to another guy from eHarmony Friday night for a little bit, but don't know if I'll hear from him again. Still really enjoying the attention and meeting new people.

Ok, I'm not really a HUGE basketball fan, but I LOVE the NCAA tournament. (Nope, TU is NOT going to make it this year...) My friend Jill sent me an invitation to join the pool to benefit the Foundation for her late husband, Mark Munsell. Should be fun to participate and will hopefully raise lots of money for a great cause. The pool is still open until Thursday, 30 min before tip-off of the first game, so please join if you are interested. You only compete against the others who join through there, so your odds are pretty good. It's only $10 and it's a great donation and some good entertainment too! (Ok, so I'm already talking some "smack" about the tourney...can y'all tell that I work with all guys that only talk sports, cars/trucks & boats?? I can at least talk a good game!)

I have to be at practice in an hour....should I nap for 30 minutes or knit and watch Championship basketball games.... Hmmmmm...

Yep, Have 'Em Talk To Me And I'll Get 'Em To Marry Ya!

Well, I got an e-mail from Mr. CFP today. (Actually, I had e-mailed him yesterday because I needed his address for the paperwork for the Catholic Annulment.) He gave me his new address and then proceeded to tell me that the conversation we had in November "inspired" him to change his ways. And now he's stopped drinking, smoking, being a selfish bastard, etc. Oh, and he's getting married in 2 weeks to a woman with 2 sons. (Apparently he they had broken up when I got the phone call in November and after our chat, they got back together!)

Thus it is official - I'M DRIVING 'EM TO GET MARRIED!!! (I'm thinking this beats "Driving 'Em to be Gay", but I'm not sure) That's 2 of the 3 from the last year and a half (Cowboy Bob got married in Jan)...If the 3rd one gets married, I'm done! But he probably won't...I don't think he ever will, personally!

On a more positive note, I have a 2nd date tomorrow night, AND he's coming to pick me up. I'm rather excited about this and bought a new outfit. (Anna keeps reminding me that a fringe benefit to dating is getting fabulous new clothes!) He's fun to talk to and we have a good time together, so we'll see what happens. Still not worrying about it. And yes, I'm still keeping options open!

So on to the Knitting...After the traumatic Knitting Olympic experience , I'm easing back into the knitting scene. (But check out my "Jamaican Bobsled Spirit Award Button" - see, everyone is a winner!) I have just about finished the top side of Sheep 2.0. (The orange pin towards the top is where the tail goes...) I did have to buy another skein of Cascade 220, as I was running low as is. (Any extra will become felted dog bones for Brittany):


I've also finished the first skein of yarn for the Irish Walking Scarf. (It's supposedly for Alison's boyfriend, but I may keep it and do something else for him, as I really like it!) I really like the yarn (Misti Alpaca) and it's a fast knit, for cabling. Here's the first section. It's about 15 inches long. I am going to knit at least 3, probably 4 skeins.:


Next up is a baby sweater for a co-worker who's wife is due on the 20th using Knit Picks Shine in the color Grass. I have the pattern for the Magic Baby Sweater, but it's confusing to read. (Ok, so I was looking at it late the other night, in a dark room...) I've been told just to knit it and not ask questions (who me, not figure it out before hand? NEVER!), so I need to just go for it. It's all knit stitch, so it sounds like a rainy Sunday afternoon project to me!

I bought a couple of books this week too:

Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush - I see this title pop up all the time on Blogs and the results are great. Something from here is the destiny for my "failed" Olympic yarn.

The Gift Knitter by Tara Jon Manning - I thought this looked cute with presents for babies with "two legs or four". I don't know if my pups would wear any sweaters I knitted them, but they might surprise me!

I've been looking for the new Yarn Harlot book in St. Louis and can't find it yet. I may have to break down and order it online, but I would rather have it in hand when I purchase it. I loved the other two and can't wait to get my hands on the third one!