Happy Sunday

So it was an exciting week. 

First of all - did everybody hear it on Tuesday - the collective sigh of relief as we said goodbye to W. and the sound of hope as we watched the historical inauguration of President Obama. It was a good moment. I thought for a long while about what to tell my son about why this was such a historic moment, but finally decided to leave it at we are electing a new president. At this point in time he doesn't know racism. He just sees people - skin color is irrelevant to him. I love that! So I decided not to make it something he is aware of - he will learn soon enough but for now I want to keep him in a world where people are people. I hope that makes sense. At least we are one step closer now. 

Closer to the home front we celebrated the Young Ones fifth birthday with his friends. We had 8 kids ranging from 2-6 running through the house on one of the coldest days. Fortunately we were prepared for it and had a great time. The kids are all from the neighborhood and get along great. It ended up being a lot of fun and very low key. Next weekend we are taking him to Coco Key water park for his last birthday request. The lucky kid gets to celebrate his birthday all month!

Finally, its been very busy and hectic at work as I learn my new job but I am getting there. I had to make a presentation to the customer with a migraine - how I did it I don't know but I did it. Granted I was in the bath throwing up before and after but I made it through the presentation. Thank goodness I got to play the "Im still learning" card. But I have been able to make it home at a fairly reasonable hour every night and get in some knitting. I finished my first Digetessa sock and am started on the second. I also knocked out a hat for Hubby. 

Finally, sign ups started for HSKS7 this week. I decided to bow out gracefully this term. After contemplating things I decided that with my new job I just don't have the bandwidth to give my all to the swap. I also know I have to travel during the term. So to be fair to everyone, including myself, I am taking a term off. Hopefully next time I can join in again. Its a wonderful swap, I highly recommend it, but it takes commitment. I think I am making a good decision but I will miss the fun. :)

You have got to be kidding me!

So this is what I woke up to this morning:That says 2.7 - yes there is decimal place in there. OMG!!!!! I am sorry but this Southern California girl just cannot understand temperatures that are below my son's age. We are seriously being warned about going outside on the news and making sure exposed skin is covered, now the news is talking about dead car batteries. How do people live this way? I can't help but think of people who live in the midwest or Canada where this is normal. I mean, I can handle snow and temperatures in the 20s, even the teens, but 2.7???? Nope. I am not leaving the house today if I can help it. Now the news is showing the map and there are - signs all over it. Keene NH is -18. Yes - thats a MINUS sign, as in 18 below zero.  I could drive to Keene - it would take a couple hours but I am within driving distance. Not that I would even consider it - but just thinking about being that close to these kinds of temps? Crazy. So one of the tasks I have to do this weekend is plan out my timelines at work for the next six months - including when I need to go to Honolulu. Yeah - I am thinking now through May sounds good to me. 

So - on the positive note, I am not leaving the house today. Nope. Not doing it. Which means I have to find something to do. Hmmmmm. What can I do when its freezing outside and I am stuck inside all day. Oh wait, I could knit! I can sit down and work on my La Digetessa socks. Have I mentioned I love knitting this pattern with this yarn? I love the challenge of the pattern and how it keeps my mind engaged. I also love watching the color in the yarn and of course, taking the occasional sniff of that lovely Wollmeise smell.

So on a side note, I am watching about the plane that crashed yesterday. Thank goodness everyone is ok. It has been interesting watching the news story with my son though. On our last flights he was fascinated by the safety instructions in the seat pocket. We even ended up with a copy somehow (he put it in his bag). He spent quite a bit of the flight reading the safety instructions. Now, he is 5 (actually he was 4 at the time but turning 5 days after the flight) and had not really been exposed to a plane crash on the news so it wasn't a fear thing. In fact he loves to fly and he thought the turbulence was fun. (Yeah - me - not so much - he is giggling and I am in near tears - but I didn't let him know that) But he was fascinated by the pictures and discussing everything in the safety guide. He knew the exits, he knows that if you sit in an exit row you have to open the door and he asked about the differences between land and water landing. So when we saw the plane crash on tv he was able to discuss it with us about the people getting out using the exit row and we talked about "in the event of a water landing". It was pretty amazing. I mean, I am a bit of a nervous flyer so I always pay attention to the safety briefing by the flight attendants. But my son does it out just out of interest. I love it. I also am so glad his first exposure to a plane crash was one where everyone survived. I remember being very young and having the PSA plane crash in San Diego. It was a huge news story and I think it totally scarred me for life. I still remember laying in bed hearing planes go over head (we lived under the flight path) and being terrified of a plane crashing on our house. Its amazing how little minds work. So thankfully my son heard a story that reinforced the message in the safety briefing - that you can survive a plane crash and you need to follow the safety instructions. Hopefully he will grow up to be a good flyer and never freak out during turbulence. 

Happy New Year - ok - a bit late

Happy 2009

Yes, I know I am a bit late - but it has been a hectic year so far. 

We finally got home from San Diego last week. After spending yet another 14 hours traveling (we had a 4 hour layover in Chicago that turned into 6 but at least we got home) we got to the airport to find that our ride did not have us on the schedule.  Thank goodness for car rentals (which was also $30 cheaper) but that meant having to return the car the next night, which also happened to be a snow storm. So between work and cars and such, it was close to 48 hours before I actually got to relax in my own home. 

Now its the weekend. I spent yesterday playing and today is chores. Works out well because we have 6 inches of fresh snow. Hopefully I can get enough done this morning to go out and play a little later. But at least yesterday I got to further my progress on my La Digetessa sock. As of this morning I am completely through the heel and ready to start up the leg. I figured that was a good stopping point until I get the chores done. I have to say, I just LOVE this pattern. I have discovered I love a pattern that really makes me think. La Digetessa truly deserves attention and respect, but you don't get bored with her. Combined with the pleasure of working with Wollmeise, sigh, I am in knitting heaven. Then, on the side for my "carry with me" mindless knitting I am making a Noro Striped scarf using one skein of Silk Garden and one skein of Kureyon. The colors and the contrast between the silk and wool is just lovely. This is almost done  - then I will post pictures. 

So I have also been working the New Years Resolution front. I am doing good on the Yarn and Book resolutions. In fact, I went to the library yesterday and checked out books to read. I am also resisting yarn purchases and instead working on my current projects. Maybe I can develop a less ADD knitting style. 

I am also trying to work out my health and fitness goals. At least now that I am home I am eating better. Whew. Traveling is so hard to try to eat healthy. For now, our biggest goals is eliminating the chemicals. We are going to spend six weeks completely clean to try to identify what is triggering my son. Then we will introduce some items one at a time. So far our biggest culprit seems to be food dye. But I am curious how we will behave with absolutely no chemicals. I am also seeing this as a good thing for hubby and I. Yesterday I made a cake from scratch. It was fun and tasted yummy. Makes me wonder why we know longer do this as a society. Since I have a good Kitchenaid mixer, it ended up being just as easy as using a mix. I also noticed that one very small piece was highly satisfying. I wonder if by making high quality, chemical free food we will eat less. Something else I will be watching. 

Ok - the laundry is calling me. Time to get to my chores!