Domestic Geek

I've been thinking about my mother a lot lately. It started (not surprisingly) while I was in the hospital. I admit that I've had a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I'll die early like mom did (she was in her early 50s). Even my grandmother was not that old when she passed. True, I don't smoke and am not diabetic, but still that fear. Being in the hospital was the wakeup call that I need to take better care of myself. It was embarrassing that two nurses had to help move me after surgery because I was too heavy. I'm turning 42 next month and I would like to have way more than a decade left to enjoy my life.

While Dad and I were walking back to the car after the Stitch N' Pitch ballgame Saturday, I got to thinking about my mother again and got a little sad.

My mother hated knitting, but she could crochet up a storm. She also was really starting to get into computers. She would have so dug going to yarn shops, attending knitting groups and surfing around on Ravelry. I wish she was still here so I could share all this stuff with her. Heck, with circular needles, maybe she would have even given knitting another go.

OK, I've got lots of stuff churning around in the old brain, but none of it is worth its own post, so here's an all-in-one brain dump.

If you're reading this Dave W., Happy Belated Birthday! Hope you had fun 4-wheeling.

Marcus' Mom: Sorry you had to find out about my surgery through the blog. I told your son right after I was admitted to give you a call and let you know. He can be so darned stubborn sometimes!

I've lost almost 30 pounds from my highest weight ever. Wow, I couldn't believe it when I got on the old WiiFit today.Granted, gall bladder surgery and the resulting changes in my diet would not have been the way I would have wanted to lose weight, but I guess the universe wanted to give me a wake up call and I'm grateful. The WiiFit has made a major impact. Exercising with that thing is actually fun. Also, the new position at work has helped. I'm no longer a desk jockey and actually move around on my feet all day. It's murder on the feet, but it's good for the body. I am positive that this trend will continue since I will be able to start WiiFitting again in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of work, things in the printing industry are not going well. Magazines are folding, page counts are down and clients are looking for more economical ways to print or advertise. Rumors of impending layoffs are heard daily, it seems. One more reason I'm glad I took this new position. Not job security per se, but less of a chance of being let go that where I was before.

We were given hats at work yesterday. I'd show a picture, but our logo is all over it and I don't really want to mention where I work on this blog. It's so comfy, I might actually wear it on a regular basis (at work - not out in public).

One good thing about the surgery and the work change - Dad and I can spend more time together. Especially since he's addicted to Wii Bowling.

I found a recipe for crock pot Apple Butter that I want to try. Mom used to make Apple Butter and I've always wanted to make it myself.

Dad and I went to the Stitch N' Pitch Rockies event last Saturday night (photo in previous post). We sat with a women (and their husbands/sons) from my knitting group. Even though the Rockies lost to the San Diego Padres, we still had a good time. I wish we could go to more ball games (since Dad really seems to enjoy them), but damn! Tickets are expensive!

I want more time to knit. All of my knitting friends seem to always be finishing up this project or that - even big sweaters and the like. I've only got 3 main projects I'm concentrating on and can't seem to get anywhere close to finishing. Let's not even discuss things waiting in the wings that I have materials for and am waiting to start until I actually finish something.

I love Freecycle. I've gotten some craft supplies, two parakeets named Luke and Leia and a hamster (whom I need to rename, but nothing is coming to me). Marcus has threatened to block Freecycle. Meanie.

I am writing a post about my hospital stay. I'll publish it when it's complete. Hard to believe it's been a whole month since that happened.

Our Dish PVR died. We're trying to find one, but they're still really expensive. I am hoping we can find one at a reasonable price before the new fall TV season begins. If not, I'm going to be watching a lot of programs on the old computer.

I'm going to have to find a part-time job. Our neighborhood is turning into a Mexican ghetto (as evidenced by the increasing graffiti) and I'm no longer comfortable living here. I feel quite vulnerable and unsafe, actually. I never leave my door unlocked and only leave the bedroom window open at night with a board wedge in it to keep if from being opened from the outside.

Well, that's it for now. I've got to get ready for work. I hate working half days (even more when it's the 2nd half of the shift). Normally right now I've been working 7-1 on Wednesdays, but the other guy had an event of his daughter's that he needed to attend, so we swapped shifts. Going to work at 1pm is not as lame as going into wok at midnight like I was doing, but it's still kind of lame.

One guess as to where I am right now...






posted via Moblogging

Even though I'm still kind of upset that 101.5 FM here in Denver changed its music format from the likes of Sinatra and The Brian Setzer Orchestra, I'm finding that I'm listening to it more and more because they really do have an extremely diverse playlist (especially compared to the likes of Alice 105.9 or KPBI 106.7). It's the station where I first heard my previous fav: Panic at the Disco's "Nine in the Afternoon". My most favorite tune at the moment is "Love Me Dead" by the band LUDO. Even though the lyrics are kind of sad (guy has love/hate relationship with his ex), I love the enthusiasm and melody. After seeing the video, I was even more hooked. The video from their YouTube Podcast in the extended in you want to see it.

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« All Done!

So, today is the first day that I got to look at my site in that piece of crap Internet Explorer. Yeah, this is why I don't do web design for a living. My site blows in IE (a tiny apology to those of you using IE, but then again, upgrade to a real standards compliant browser and your Internet world will look so much better). Part of me says screw it. IE sucks and don't waste my time getting perfectly valid code to work in a POS browser. Another part of me wants to figure out why it's broken in IE. I'm not sure which part will win, but the battle won't be fought today. I'm going to go surf Ravelry and knit instead. So there, IE. Suck it.