Best Christmas Present, Ever

 (Above, Baby J with its hand in front of its face. Measuring 51mm in length at 11w3d.

Fetal Heart-rate!

We heard the baby's' heart-rate for the first time today; what an awesome experience hearing that small, rapid beat on the Doppler! Everything's on track for a July delivery!

Buy big or go home - a truck show experience

On my way home from the early service at church today, I stopped by Serial Knitters Yarn Shop in Kirkland to see what was new and check out the Hazel Knits truck show. The more I stayed in the shop, the more skeins of Artisan Sock fingering yarn appeared in my arms. All beautiful color ways that can be used in a variety of sock and shawlette patterns.

Wendee, purveyor and dyer of these gorgeous yarns, came herself and I enjoyed speaking with her while sipping my cup of coffee. I also got to meet Mr. Bingley adorable dog that serves as office mascot. I bet Mr. Bingley doesn't try and play fetch with the yarn balls like my own furry beasties have been known to do.

Speaking of Pride and Prejudice, I'm about halfway through the novel (2 of 7 Jane Austen novels compiled together in a book sitting next to the bed).

But at the end of the day, I ended up walking away with 8 skeins of yarn.

A mime is a terrible thing to waste

First off, knitting business. I finally completed The Circular Baby Blanket as seen on Ravelry here. I began this project in late May after finding out a friend, who we play D&D with, and his wife were expecting their first child in late June. Fast forward four months and I now have a completed project. (right) This is a picture taken as I was blocking the 36" diameter blanket which features roughly a 1" ruffle in seed stitch - that's 1140 stitches per round! Not to mention I happened to run out of yarn a fifth of the way through the cast off round, I substituted the Michaels brand Snuggly Wuggly Mini Dots with some Lion Brand Cotton Ease in white. My childhood Cabbage Patch doll, Toby Kimbra is shown for scale.

Toby Kimbra was a Christmas gift I received in 1984. She and I used to go anywhere, including on a particularly fateful trip in February of 1985. My parents, grandmother, and I went to Reno one weekend by train. Not only did Toby Kimbra lose one of her shoes, but I forgot my baby blanket at the Harrahs hotel in Reno. Then on the Amtrak ride back home there was an accident where I fell and bit my tongue half off. Bereft of my baby blanket, I only had Toby Kimbra to console me. Fortunately, my mother conacted Harrah's and they sent my blanket to me in the mail.

My last topic for this post involves a recent incident involving our younger dog, Helo. Helo's just shy of two years old and his lab heritage is really shining through right now. Jason purchased six Series 2 Lego Mini-figures including: a Baywatch inspired Life Guard, Champion Karate Master, Shaft-like Disco Dude, Circus Ringmaster, Female Pop Star and you guessed it, a Mime (left). Well I got to assemble them, and unfortunately I made the poor choice of leaving them in the middle of the coffee table in the living room.

They went untouched, for several days until late last week when my husband and I went out for about 30 minutes one evening, and upon our return, disaster had struck. We found the remnants of six mini-figures torn apart, not a single piece left assembled. There was not a single whole mini-figure left whole. The mime was completely gone, as were most of several other figures. We've spent every day since then carefully sifting through sh*t finding pieces of lego mini-figures and mentally re-building figures and hoping nothing is blocking intestinal tract. Helo's been literally sh*tting bricks.

Have a great day!

Life Unemployed

Back in January I found myself suddenly unemployed with seemingly nothing to do beyond job searches and moping about the house. It was enough to drive a person mad! Did I want to continue doing GIS? Well that's indeed what I'm most qualified to do, but the job market for GIS professionals in Seattle is sluggish at best with the current economy.

Well over two months later I've found the silver lining. My stress levels are significantly lower, and I have plenty of time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, not to mention hobbies galore. I regularly knit, have gotten back into quilting and genealogy, and enjoy reading and spending time with my dogs. Though I am obligated to continue with my job search, it's half-hearted. I love being a housewife. I love not being stressed, and I am happier for it. I'm considering going back to school to pursue my MLIS (Masters in Library Information Science) and hope pursue a career in a library or as a genealogist.

Next week I will be in training for a temporary Crew Leader for the U.S. Census Bureau. If I successfully complete the training, I'll have a temporary (6-8 week) term working in my general neighborhood training and supervising census takers (aka enumerators). At the very least I will get some management experience, and will prolong my unemployment benefits until I find something else. Though we'll see what the future holds. I can be very patient as long as I have my hobbies and family around me!