My Knitting Project

Before I get to the show and tell portion today, I want to thank everyone for the good wishes yesterday. I really appreciate the support! My appointment went great and she wasn't unhappy at all about the MRI, she said she understood and that we'll just reschedule it for the Spring. :::phew:::

The Evil Twin's brother and his wife have two girls. Their kids are each about a year older than ours and are 8 yrs apart also! Weird how that happened. Anyway, my oldest niece is 13, so she's all into the tween stuff and is growing up way too fast (as do they all...). She's a beautiful girl and very sweet. However, I never really know what she will like best for her birthday (which is today - I sent that gift a while back) or Christmas.

She has an iPod, so I usually send her a iTunes card. That way she can load whatever she likes on it. Well, I felt bad about just sending a boring gift card in an envelope...That's not very exciting, is it?

So, I brewed up a plan to knit a little cozy for the gift card (clearly, I need help, but bear with me here).

I had no pattern, but a general idea in my head and just started knitting. I consulted with Kate (who is a knitting genius)about doing a buttonhole. She sent me a link and I was good to go!

When I finished, I had this:



The needle next to it is a knitting needle, so it's much larger than a regular needle (it accommodates yarn). I basically folded it up about halfway and stitched the sides together to form a pouch, then had the top portion fold over the front and close with a button. The entire thing is about 5 or 6 inches across and maybe 4 - 5 inches high. Why did I make it so big?

Because I found other items I wanted to include:



The iTunes card, some lipgloss, a sample of Clinique "Happy" perfume, 2 Clinique eyeshadows and a Clinique lipstick. I used to buy a lot of Clinique, and would do that on the bonus days when they give away little samples. I can't use eyeshadow - at all - so I figured it would be a waste to just toss them. My eyelids have a reaction to eyeshadow - all brands, from Maybelline to Chanel, so I just don't wear it.

The Evil Twin made an adorable gift tag, which I attached to the upper left corner with matching yarn and there ya go!

I did make a few mistakes, but I'm not that talented at knitting...I just consider that I did this without a pattern to be a miracle.

I filled up the little pouch and it's going to the post office today, along with my youngest niece (her sister)'s gifts. I'm sending it priority, so I hope it gets to them in South Carolina in plenty of time...I think it should. :-)

I better get moving. I have housework to do this morning, then in a bit, I need to get to the post office, the bank and Kroger. I wish it was warmer today. Brrrr.

Happy Hump Day!

Unmotivated

I'm not feeling well today. I don't know if I'm coming down with something or if I'm just nervous. I have to go downtown and see my neurologist today. I hate driving in downtown and I don't particularly like doctor appointments anyway.

Don't get me wrong...I like the doctor and her physician assistant just fine. They are both very nice. I just... Ugh. Sitting in that office. I'm usually the youngest person there. (besides Sissy, who is my constant sidekick).

People have actually asked me what was wrong with me! I'm not in the habit of relaying my medical condition to complete strangers.

I guess I'm not exactly the face of MS - or at least what most people would think.

I know they'll get on me about canceling my MRI in August. It's going to cost about $400 out of pocket and we took some heavy financial hits in August, so I didn't think I wanted to add to our burden at that time. Wait 'til after tax time...I'll have the money then.

The MRI is another grouse in itself. A nightmare to get to it, at least an hour in that clangy tube. Not my idea of a good time.

Anyhoodle, I'll be out and about today, so won't get to read many blogs until later this afternoon/evening, but I'll do my best. :-)

Have a great day!

I Demand You Feel Christmas-y!

If that's even a word...Smile! Believe! It's the most magical time of the year.

I actually kind of enjoy the days leading up to the big day and the rush of finishing up last minute things.

We went shopping yesterday. I ordered the Step 2 Kitchen for Sissy and had it sent Site to Store at the Mart of Wal. It had come in, but I knew I wouldn't be able to lift it or conceal it from her if I went in on Monday, so I got one cart and went about my weekly shopping with the kids and the Evil Twin went to do the pick up, then put the box in the van, covered it with a blanket and voila! Secret still intact!

And with that, I think we are officially done with shopping for the kids. Buddy and Sissy are allowed to ask for 3 things from us and 3 things from Santa. That cuts down on the holiday chaos. And, they get other gifts from relatives, so they make out like bandits every year.

Not to mention, they each have a birthday shortly after Christmas (Buddy in Jan. and Sissy in Feb.), so it can easily become completely over the top unless we put a limit on things.

I know I didn't do the Friday Secrets, but I only had one by Friday. Over the weekend, I did receive another secret - hopefully, I will get more throughout the week and I PROMISE I will post them all this coming Friday. Email me at eviltwinswife@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter...whatever you feel comfortable with. I might add in a secret of my own this week. I'll let you know if I do.

And, with that, I have a full day to work on Christmas cards and a knitting project I REALLY need to finish up. Plus laundry and other household chores that need my attention. Never a dull day around here. Something always needs to be scrubbed or tidied or followed up on.

Happy Monday, tweeps!

Windsday

Yesterday, we had some massive high winds going on. When I went out to pick up Buddy from school, I looked up the street and saw a tree that had blown over completely across the road.

When I returned from picking him up, the city crew were out working on clearing it up.

Then, I received a phone call from my neighbor behind us. This is one of our elderly neighbors who, until recently, lived with either her sister or sister in law...we never have figured out what, but suffice to say they were related. I say were because the older lady (she was around 97) passed away a few months ago.

Now, the younger one lives there (and she's probably 95) by herself. We always keep an eye out on her and she will call here if she needs help. So, when she called, I thought she was talking about the tree I had seen in the middle of the road.

No.

She was talking about a tree from her property that had blown over into our backyard and taken a bit of our chain link fence out.

Being the keen-eyed photojournalist I am (LOL), I got out and started taking pictures. And called our insurance company.

Here's some of the damage:



That's our neighbor's car on the other side of the fence (Yes, she STILL drives! Scary!).

More damage:



I feel really bad, because we just recently switched our home/auto insurance to a different company about a month ago. Prior to that, we had had the same policy for 16 years and NEVER had to file a claim on our home(s).

It's no big deal. We'll get it cleaned up and get the fence repaired. At least it didn't fall on our house! That would be a mess.

So, Merry Christmas! My holidays just got busier! :-)

Mood?

I've been all over the place, mood wise, lately. I'm excited about Christmas and the upcoming break from school - also the Evil Twin will be off for an extended time. His last day at work is December 18 and he goes back on January 4.

Buddy's last day of school is December 22 and I think he goes back also on the 4th...Not sure, I'll have to check the calendar again.

What all that means for me is that I'll still be getting up early (Sissy is an early bird), but not AS early and I won't have to be packing any lunches!

I'm also a bit nervous that I've forgotten something or won't have everything done by Christmas, but judging from how S-L-O-W the days have been going recently, I should have plenty of time to get it all finished.

I'm already finished with all the shopping and the tree is up and decorated. That just leaves Christmas cards, getting a pic of the kids for the cards and getting my nieces' gifts packed up to ship.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! :-)

When I went to Target yesterday, one goal was to find a new tree topper. The one we had been using was an old world style Santa that was actually meant for a mini tree.

I was looking for something similar to this:



But, ended up with this:



Now, I hear the collective gasp out there as you say in your heads, "Good Lord, ETW, what were you thinking?"

I know! But it was the only silver star they had and for $4.99 we can use it for at least this year until I find what I really want. Besides, it doesn't look so hideous when the lights are on. It makes the tree lots more bright and twinkly! It also has a sort of 1960s kitschy feel and that's always a plus in my book.

Besides, I don't judge your tacky decor, but if you'd like to tell me about your ugliest holiday decoration, I will, indeed, laugh along with you.

More Shopping

I went to the Mart of Wal on Sunday, just so I could get through my weekly shopping by myself. It was crowded, as I suspected, but it really wasn't too bad getting through it.

I think I spent the longest time waiting at the deli counter (while I was standing behind the only couple in front of me, some woman just wrangled her cart right in front of me - UGH!) Whatever! I got fresh food that had just been cooked! She got the dregs of the last batch.... Karma?

And, I spent a while in line to check out, but overall, it wasn't a bad trip.

However, I'm in need of a few things I didn't think about on Sunday, so today, I'm going to mix it up a bit and head on up to Target. I like Target.

If I could just wake myself up and get in the shower, that would make things so much better! It's too cold to be out of bed!

Day two of wondering why the presents can't be opened NOW. Halp!! LOL.

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks, Snow

Because it snowed this weekend, we had to postpone our yearly trip to Tamarack. Since our weekend was suddenly freed up, we decided it would be a good time to bust out the ol' Christmas tree and do some decorating!

The Evil Twin started hauling up the boxes.

We have three large storage boxes.

These two hold part of my Hallmark ornament collection:



Once the ornaments are unboxed, the boxes go into another container:



This container was nearly full of boxes before we were finished.

The finished product:



And a close up:



There are a few presents under the tree already and Sissy can't quite grasp WHY she can't open them NOW.

It's gonna be a looooong wait for Christmas morning here! (Although I hope it goes by quickly!).

As I type, I notice that it is snowing outside again, so I need to do some research and see if the county is planning an early out on school or not. I hope the snow stops soon and it warms up enough to melt it! I am so moving to Key West Florida one of these days! :-)