silly late night thought about spam email

I got a spam email which I didn't bother opening because it had the name "baba gana kinebe" as the sender and the subject line said something like, "help me get my money out of africa".
But anyhow, I thought it was funny because when I was deleting it, I thought, "They are totally giving people called 'baba gana kinebe' a bad name!" I mean, how am I ever going to trust someone named baba gana kinebe?

Sadly, there is some truth to it. I believe that nobody is going to have much trust for emails coming from Nigeria ever again.

back in the saddle again!!!

I am finally feeling better. My most recent illness (a head cold) is finally going away. I'm still sick, but yesterday and the day before were the most severe days. So in comparison, today I feel faboo. So tonight I was able to get my dishes all done, clean and sanitize the sink and counter, and pick up all the mess in the front room. I have hope that tomorrow, because I got the basics done already, I will be able to make progress on the deeper cleaning that needs to be done. I hope to also start implementing step #2 of the flylady babysteps. All I feel I have done so far is DAY 1: Shine your sink.

My friend is about ready to have her baby. It's kinda exciting, although I am sad that she is so far away. She is in the military and she is in Kansas right now (Fort Riley).

My husband is due home very soon. I believe that he is bringing me chocolate. So I have a feeling of impending yumminess.

I got my daughter to bed in a very pleasant way. We read books and then I held her and sang rockabye baby. Usually she is not very cooperative when it is bed time because she fights sleep so much. But she was a good girl tonight. Perhaps it helped that I engaged her in our nightly clean-up. She knows that mom isn't sick anymore and is back in the saddle!

I am stuck in limbo with my Christian Artisans craft-along. I am about ready to start something, but I can't make my mind up if I should make a knitted log cabin afghan or a crocheted vertical vintage strip afghan or a crocheted flower swag (for lack of better descriptive words) or a crocheted Caroline Ingalls shawl. Today, I went through my acrylic yarn stash which is basically a bunch of acrylic (various types, mainly RH Super Saver, Caron One Pound, and old vintage stuff that I inherited from my husband's mom). I wound a bunch of it in balls. I figure that I have so much of it that I can safely use some of it while still making some bags of yarn balls for teaching seniors to knit/crochet. I am going to call the convalescent home tomorrow to make sure that it is OK to bring in hooks/scissors/needles/yarn. I'm only going to be teaching one lady to start. Her name is Purita and she has diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis which at the moment is not flaring up. She has already lost one of her legs to diabetes, from the knee down. And her eyesight is not that good, but she can still see fairly good. She is a very sweet lady who has been unable to crochet for quite a while because, she says, that the last home she lived in told her that she couldn't have any hooks. So weird. I wonder if it was a misunderstanding.

problem with family member

I wrote something here earlier about a problem I have with a family member not liking me and actively disrespecting me. But it only made me feel worse to put it in to words. So then I realized that I should delete it because every time I visit my blog, I could possibly see it and feel worse when revisiting the thoughts and feelings. So perhaps it is better left unsaid. *sigh*

ravelry is so much fun!

You know, after I first joined ravelry, I was thinking of quitting because I noticed a couple discussions that really disturbed me. But I realized that when it comes to online communities, you can choose what to focus on. So then I just looked for good discussions and explored all the patterns and projects. Now I am loving it. I don't expect people to stop being people. But there are some really interesting folks who sometimes have interesting things to say. I am also in awe of how much beautiful knitting and crochet is happening out there. I have only been looking at my own work, which half the time is very disappointing to me due to limitations on how much I can spend on yarn (and my own laziness of not learning new techniques and avoiding hard patterns). So it's been really cool. And I hope that the goodness continues to outweigh the badness.

Update on my blasted teeth: I had the crowns put on and I am in much less pain than I was. Only time will tell if the pain goes away completely. I have to rinse with chlorhexidine mouthwash. That's gonna be scary. I bet it tastes like gasoline or something.

thought on yarn stash; black bean soup was great

I made the black bean soup tonight and it was really good. My husband is fairly picky when it comes to food, and he liked it. I thought maybe my black beans were a little old because I can't recall the last time that I bought dried black beans. But it was good. I imagine it would be even better with fresher dried black beans.

Today I went through some of my last balls and skeins of acrylic yarn. I have a wee bit of a dilemma. I just want to get rid of it, but I can't figure out whether I should make a scrap-ghan, or if I should organize it and donate it to a lady in a convalescent home who wants to start crocheting again. If I were to give her some yarn, I know it would bless her. But I am not sure how much yarn she can store in her room. I bet her room is small, and she probably shares it with at least one other tenant. Perhaps I could get together a few balls of different colors just to give her something to play with.

I just had a thought. Perhaps I will start teaching a crochet or knitting class at the convalescent home. In that case, it would be smart to divide up the yarn in to various medium sized balls. Then I would have plenty to share with a few different ladies. I guess that is what I will work on tomorrow. I will break up some of the larger balls and skeins in to smaller balls. Then I will make some grab bags of yarn and needles. I bought a ton of needles on sale at JoAnn's last year. They are all kinds of odd sizes but I don't think that matters when people are learning, just as long as they are not too small.

more-with-less cookbook; recipes

I just heard of an interesting book called "More-With-Less Cookbook" by Doris Janzen Longacre, who wrote some frugal cooking and lifestyle books from a Mennonite perspective. I want to buy a couple of her books. My local libraries have only a copy of her book (in 3 different counties, each library system has only one copy) and they are all checked out. They must be good books to be so popular. There is a used cookbook shop right next door to my favorite Christian bookstore. Perhaps I could call over there and find out how much they charge for a used copy.

I'm seriously enjoying all the cooking lately. I made some yummy lentil soup yesterday and tomorrow I am making black bean soup. I also might try the no knead bread recipe that someone shared with me on ravelry recently.

I'm so tired but for some reason I can not sleep. I am going to go pray until I drift off to sleep.

pain!!!!

Said in Spock voice (when he did the mind meld with that giant squishy thing in the mine):

PAIN!!!!! PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still in great pain from my recent dental disaster. I must go writhe in agony now. So I get off the internet now...

Today is one of those days!

Calgon! Take me away!!!!

This is the scene right now in my front room:

Child...2 year old child....barefoot, stringy hair, dirty face...cheerios all over the floor, pieces of half-eaten chalk strewn on the floor below the chalkboard...ripped up coloring books all over the floor...crayons strewn about the floor...clutter all over the place...mom is frazzled and sitting in front of her computer in the kitchen, on the other side of a baby gate (so as to prevent the toddler from getting near her!)

I'm telling you, I am totally stressed out by the sight of this mayhem and foolishness. But today just kinda got out of control. I need to enter the room dramatically and restore order!!!

hillbilly housewife; parent ed class; faith

I made an awesome and cheap meal using the hillbilly housewife web site. I made pinto beans and spanish rice and served it in store bought tortillas and salsa and grated cheddar cheese. It was so yummy! I'm going to try to start baking my own bread and follow more of the "so called" $45 menu from hillbilly housewife. People are generally saying that they don't think that you could buy all that food for $45. I'm going to take the shopping list with me the next time I go to my local supermarket and try to pencil in the prices of store brand or generic items.

In general, I am impressed with the simplicity and goodness of the recipes. True, some of the recipes are not to my taste. But if I can get in to doing fresh beans and fresh homebaked bread, this will be a very good thing for my family. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it just takes some planning ahead and breaking up tasks in to smaller, more manageable tasks.

This morning, I took my daughter to a parent education class which was fun. It's just a long morning of play, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The only bummer is that she managed to run away in to the parking lot before I could catch up to her. It scared the living daylights out of me. But I have a solution: I just won't attend the parent only discussion group. I'll stay with my kid because she is too hyper and wants to run away all the time. I hope she grows out of this stage soon! I wish I knew how to train her to stop when I call her name. Maybe I need to make it a game, with rewards. I don't know.

My crochet project fell behind my stereo, and I am too lazy to fish it out. I have some serious dental pain and need to call the dentist tomorrow morning. I guess I'll just chill out tonight with a book. perhaps the good book. I haven't been reading the Bible lately. I need God. Recently I had an experience where I felt overwhelmed by this sense of God's presence. I know He is with me and loves me no matter what. We have a relationship and I trust Him totally. But I often feel like I am lazy and lacking in devotion to God. I go all day sometimes without considering Him at all. It's like being married but you never consider your husbands feelings when making decisions, or you spend the whole day and night away without calling him to let him know where you are. I don't know. It's not really like that. Because God knows all, and there's nothing I can do to add to His glory. But I want to be more obedient. I don't use my time very well. I am very lazy. I sometimes slack off and spend the whole day in my own little dreamworld, not taking care of my home very well and even overlooking my daughter's needs for stimulation and attention. She's a good girl and will often just play with her toys by herself. But she comes around periodically and tries to get me interested in playing with her. And I just want to be left alone half the time. I have a bad attitude sometimes about the wonderful blessings God has put in my life. I could be doing an awesome job in the home, as a stay at home mom. But I often just feel unmotivated and tired.

beanbags found a good home!

This past Sunday, I visited at my cousins house and it was so wonderful. The fellowship we enjoyed was the sweetest and most refreshing you can imagine. Her husband is such an incredible man of God. My definition of an incredible man of God is to be Christ-like in humility and kindness. He amazed me with how deferential he can be to the least little person, such as a child, or me for example! I often feel like as a woman, I get overlooked or ignored when in the company of brothers at church. It's hard to put my finger on, but I just feel like people in general don't enjoy my company or just don't have the time to really talk and listen to me. But he was so nice. My cousin is as lucky in love as I am, because my husband is also really amazing like that.

Anyhow, I wanted to mention that I gave her kids three bean bags, and these kids are so unspoiled and nice, they really really liked them and were playing toss games and the older boy was showing us how he can juggle (he can't really juggle, but he pretends!) My cousin homeschools, and I can only attribute her kids sweetness and innocence to that. What other kids would like home-made beanbags? I mean, they are so simple. I was gratified to have made them. They found a home where they will be appreciated. Dumb little beanbags though they are!

granada hillbilly

I've decided to do a week of the hillbilly housewife $45 food plan. It's a lot of work since you bake your own bread and make many things from scratch, such as beans. There is no meat in the diet which is fine by me. My husband might be in shock, but I think he'll understand that it is an experiment to see if we can get by on a really cheap diet. There might come a time in the future when this will come in handy. Another great depression in the U.S.? Nuclear holocaust? Obama-nation? Retirement with very little income? Children abandon us to live on $45 a week in a studio apartment in Panorama City? There are so many possibilities. It is also just kinda neat to not waste money. We could save money and use it for something smarter. I am rather tired of throwing money away with all the take-out we get, the food that I end up not using so I have bags of spoiled food to throw out, etc.

There is only one problem with the hillbilly diet. Some of the food is kinda strange because I am not accustomed to southern food. I'd also rather use fresh greens. But the point is to learn some survival skills. So I think I'll stick to the menu precisely.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

beanbags; cleaning

Today I am trying to make beanbags. I want to make some simple toys that would entertain my daughter, or perhaps I can give a set to my cousin's children. Kids love simple games, like tossing beanbags through the holes on a board. I remember when I was a kid my friends had a bean bag game that was tick tack toe. But I can't remember what the board was like. Maybe it was just a piece of fabric you spread out on the ground, and then half the bags were "X" and half were "O". That's a nice, simple game.

I seriously need to clean up but I am dreading the process of decluttering. I have been feeling emotional lately. I know that I have a touch of OCD and have some hoarding tendencies. To me, my possessions, even my trash, are emotionally tied to me. I have to make decisions about every little thing to throw away or organize. It's not an easy process. I think for "normal" people, straightening up is as easy as breathing. For me, it always takes thought and effort. which is why it is always a struggle and so I work really hard to have things just half-way cleaned up. It drives my husband nuts because when he cleans, it takes him like half the time.

a rare treat for V-Day; Linzer Hearts

My husband surprised me last night when he came home from work. He knocked on the door until I opened it. I thought that was odd because he has a key, but then I wondered if maybe he had misplaced his housekey. So when I opened the door, he was standing there holding a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. I was so happy! Even better than flowers and chocolate was the fact that he picked out a romantic Valentine's Day card for me and wrote a nice, loving message to me in it. He really surprised me because normally, we don't do anything for each other for V-day or even on holidays.

I made him spaghetti this morning, and I mixed some dough for sugar cookies...if I can get around to rolling it out. I have some heart-shaped cookie cutters that I bought recently. I originally wanted to make Linzer hearts but I didn't get the nuts so I changed my plans. Maybe I will still make them. Look at these beautiful cookies!!!!

Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round (videos and info)

Recently, I visited the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round and I thought it was so delightful that I want to tell everyone about it. It only costs 2 dollars a ride, per person. But you can hang out nearby for free and enjoy the music and the sight of the people enjoying it. It would be a nice place to have a picnic.

I will have pictures ready to share soon, so perhaps I’ll follow up with my personal pics at some point. But I thought I would share some info about it, and some youtube videos.

Here is a description from the Griffith Park Web site:

Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round
Park Center
(323) 665-3051

Hours
Open weekends throughout the year and weekdays during the summer, and over Christmas and Easter vacations, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Description:
Located in Park Center between the Los Angeles Zoo and the Los Feliz park entrance, the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round has been a Los Angleles family attraction for over five generations. Built in 1926 by the Spillman Engineering Company and brought to Griffith Park in 1937, the Merry-Go-Round boasts 68 horses, everyone a jumper. Each horse is finely carved with jewel-encrusted bridles, detailed draped blankets and decorated with sunflowers and lion's heads. A Stinson 165 Military Band Organ, reputed to be the largest band organ accompanying a carousel on the West Coast, plays over 1500 selections of marches and waltz music.

http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/griffithpk/mgr.htm

It is much more fantastic in person, but you can watch some videos of the Merry-Go-Round and hear the beautiful music here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snWrTShcR8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-5skWj4xdw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eROL5wltv4&feature=related

On the above Youtube pages, you can read some pretty interesting comments about the organ and how it works, and some history of the Merry-Go-Round.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PquUCSnK0Lo&feature=related

A little blurb about Griffith Park:

Griffith Park

Go to Crystal Springs Road for the train, pony rides, and a 1926 carousel. The Travel Town Museum on Zoo Drive is fun for any kid who loves vehicles; the best picnicking is at the Ferndell entrance.
Los Feliz

Ravelry!

I finally got my invitation to ravelry. I think it's such a cool concept, and I'm excited to see how it plays out in reality. Will it be fun to use, or tedious? I heard one of my online buddies mention that she doesn't update it much because it's tedious or something along those lines. We shall see. I am the type of person who really enjoys making lists. I rarely do everything, or even some of what I write down on lists. But it is fun to think in list form. Like, I need to do 1, 2, and 3, and I need to buy 1, 2, and 3. Reminds me that recently I noticed that Target is selling some interesting organization tools for the home, such as books to write down all your projects, as well as a section of "delegated tasks" papers that have carbon copies. I guess the idea is that you can keep track of things you asked someone to do. Sounds like a fancy version of the infamous Honey-do list. I didn't buy the to-do list, but it was cool because it had 2 columns. One side for things to buy, the other side for things to do. I was thinking, "This is so great. Because everyone has things to buy and things to do." That kinda spells out the law of physical life. Must get things. Must do things. On and on until you die. I'm not saying it's a good thing but it seems to me that the To-Do list was invented the day after The Fall. So where am I going with this? Is Ravelry just an electronic To-Do list for knitters/crocheters?

I can say that I have already found ravelry to be totally intimidating. When I searched crochet projects just to see what other people were doing, I saw the most gorgeous creations. I realized that the results are prioritized based on some sort of voting system, so that the first pages of results are the things that more people liked and favorably rated. Therefore, you are only seeing the cream of the crop. It is neat though. Just intimidating if you aren't as highly skilled or have awesome yarn.

feeling sorry for myself

I am so tired but right now I have to get off the computer and go pick up the mess in the front room. My daughter went berserk and tore up her coloring book. Plus, she pulled out almost all her toys earlier and scattered them around the room. It seems like kids always know when their parent(s) are having a bad day, so they act up more and cause more trouble. I didn't have the energy to get on her case earlier and make her put toys away. I didn't drink any coffee today because I was feeling rather sick to my stomach after that horrific dental experience.

Now, I have to get off the computer and pick up...before my husband gets home from work. I fear the wrath of him. I always wish that he will be understanding when I am having a bad day. He really tries to be understanding but when it comes to the baby's toys, he gets irritated regardless of whether I had a bad day or not. So there is no choice. I have to suck it up and go pick up an impossible mess. Feeling sorry for myself...

pain pain pain!

I am in so much pain right now! I would be laying down in a quivering heap of pain if not for the fact that my daughter will not leave me alone. She's 2 years old and just doesn't understand that mom is in pain. I saw the dentist this morning and have 2 teeth prepared for crowns, which means cutting away the majority of the tooth material. I don't know if it is normal to be in this much pain. I don't have any motrin at home, which is what they told me to buy. So I took a darvocet and then some tylenol, which isn't even touching the pain. I need to get some relief. It feels like the pain when you have a bad tooth and drink something cold or hot, and get that shooting pain. But this is all the time. I think it is weird that when I was eating some pudding just now, I didn't have any pain at all. I mean, while I was eating the pudding, the pain vanished. But as soon as I stopped eating, the pain was back. Ha! Just now when I was thinking about the pudding, the pain lessened. That is proof positive that I am a food addict. My body must release endorphins when eating yummy food (and even thinking about it).

Hopefully the nerves in my jaw will calm down soon. I'll ask my husband to stop and buy me some motrin after work.

I wanted to add that thankfully the pain has gone away. Perhaps the tylenol helped reduce some swelling that was affecting the nerves. I'm not sure if tylenol works the same way as motrin to reduce swelling. But thankfully I am not in distress anymore. *whew*

a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses; my brother's birthday

Yesterday when I was arriving home, my husband and I found 2 Jehovah's Witnesses at our door. I was thinking that I didn't want to speak with them because I had a sack of hot take-out food in my hands. But then I realized that I needed to put aside my selfish desires and speak to them if they wanted my time. So we spent a few minutes talking to them on the steps. I can only hope that I said something that might stick with them so that at some point, they will think about who God really is. I was reading online about how to witness to JW's but there are so many different opinions. I pray that God will do for these women what He did for me: give the Grace to escape the delusion and see Him as God. When I first started to come to Jesus, I had some heretical notions that I needed help in letting go of. Of course, i wasn't involved in an organization that controlled me, such as the JW's...but I still was pretty confused and stubborn in holding on to ideas of who God was based on my own preferences. God showed me that I had to rely on the Bible as the standard for truth. (A good reliable translation!!!)

Other than that, yesterday was my middle brother's birthday and we had a really fun birthday party for him. My daughter had so much fun. She was saying, "party, party, party!" and she got some plastic zoo animals to play with. She wore the sweetest dress, a very spring-y dress of white cotton eyelet lace fabric. It was sleeveless but came down almost to the feet. Totally sweet! My whole family seemed to be in an extra-jolly mood so we enjoyed the time very much. I will always remember how much I have enjoyed my family and how grateful I am to God for allowing us (sinners though we are) to have the capacity to bond and enjoy such sweet companionship. There really isn't anything to compare in the realm of human relationships, except perhaps when you marry and when you bear your own children. Blood is indeed thicker than water. I have one friend who I love like family but we never seem to go beyond a certain distance of "mine" and "yours". We never really become enmeshed as family do.

The Merry-Go-Round at Griffith Park, California

Today, I went with my parents and my daughter to the Griffith park Merry-Go-Round. It was amazing. I didn't expect to be so blown away by the experience of visiting a carousel. I believe that what made a charming carousel an over-the-top grand experience was the music from the mechanical organ. It appeared to be music from an authentic organ that had a bass drum incorporated somehow in to the mechanical playing. The music was extremely loud but enjoyable because it sounded so good. It's free to go hang out nearby the carousel but it costs $2 to ride it. I think I will plan to have a picnic near the carousel on the grass because then you can enjoy the music for free. It was Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. and it was not overly crowded which was nice. I don't normally do things like this because I don't like crowds and I tend to be a hermit. But I am trying to get out more often for the sake of my daughter. She was so happy to ride that thing. I took a lot of film on my mini-DV recorder, as well as dozens of digital pictures. I will have to update here soon with pictures. I also took a lot of pictures of the unusual and fantastical scrollwork, mythical creatures, paintings, mirrors, and the organ. Next time I go, I want to try to get more pictures of the different horses because some of them had unusual features. There was a sign on the carousel gate that explained how Walt Disney used to take his daughter to the carousel and he loved it so much, he got his idea to start a children's amusement park (a.k.a. Disneyland). The carousel at Disneyland in Anaheim california is inspired by the one in Griffith park because he found an old time carousel with all horses which he restored for Disneyland. There is nothing nicer than an old carousel, I can tell you!

Tonight, I am watching some old "Outer Limits" episodes and resting up from a tiring day. I like old t.v. shows, and I bought these sets of the outer limits because they were 50% off at amazon. They are pretty weird. A bit different than the twilight zone. The outer limits seemed to be more fixated on space and aliens, as well as government plots!

Glorious day!

Glorious day! If I were a poet, I'd write an "Ode to this glorious day". I finally got enough sleep and I feel fantastic!!!! I found the cutest patterns on the garn studio web site for baby clothes and toys. I'm going to copy their toys today. I have a bag of oddments of yarn. So now I get to go play with yarn. So much fun! I hope that my toys look just as cute. You can see them here:

Garn Studio Baby Drops patterns

Now I'm off to have some fun. Whoever you are, wherever you are: I hope you have a wonderful day.

links to friend's blogs on my blog (yes!)

YES! I figured out how to add the links to my friend's blogs. I added all the blog URL's I could find from my favorite new mailing list, Christian Artisans. I hope that this will help me get to know some of these dear ladies better.

God is a lover

How long have I been sick? I am so tired of feeling this way!!! I think I started getting sick Monday night or Tuesday morning. That's 5 days atleast and I still am in distress.

I just want to say that I am seriously considering moving to the countryside. It just sounds nice to say that. What a pleasant thing to think about. Why do I spend so much time worrying about things when I can set my mind on pleasant thoughts such as the beauty that God made. I should pray more too. God is a lover. That reminds me of a dream I had recently where I was talking to this woman I know in real life (an old highschool friend who is a nonbeliever) and she mentioned that she doesn't like the sexism in the Bible. And I went in to this rapturous discourse on how God is a lover and He is all about relationship, and how He made us male and female so that we can reflect this part of His divine nature and so we would also have a desire for the ultimate relationship...

And then I woke up and was amazed!

Shay!

Last night, my daughter did something super cute. She's only 2 years old so whenever she does really clever things, I'm just amazed by it. So last night when I was busy in the kitchen, I noticed that she had grabbed my crochet hook out of the afghan I was working on. Then I saw that she was repeatedly putting the hook in and out of the afghan. I asked her, "Are you crocheting?" She looked up with a big smile on her face and said, "Shay!" Then she kept repeating "shay" while putting the hook in and out of the afghan. I thought it was so cute. I had the presence of mind to film a little bit of it since my video camera was within reach. Someday, I will share that with her to encourage her to learn to crochet.

sick of being sick

I'm better today but definitely still sick. Yesterday I had a fever of 102 and was getting loopy. My husband came home early from work because he was worried about me. My heart was racing and pounding but when my fever broke, it went back to normal. I still have a fever but it's low grade today. I think it's like 99.5 and my biggest complaint is burning in the back of my throat. When my heart was racing yesterday, I felt a sense of impending doom and anxiety. I think that is a natural reaction to the heart racing. You feel like there is something wrong. Well, there is. Your heart is racing!

I'm going to edge my afghan today if I feel up to it. I think I found an edging I like but I'm too brain-fried to count stitches to see if it will work. You can view it here.