A Big Announcement

I have a rather huge announcement to make, one that will change our lives (and our family's lives) forever. We've known for about a month now, so it's time to share the news.

We will be adding to our little family. The two of us will now be three!

It's one of the biggest decisions we've made since getting married. And it's finally official.



Her name is Hermione.
She is a rescue cat that I absolutely fell in love with on a trip to Petsmart for a filter for my fish tank, of all things. All the little rescue kitties were there that day and so sad in their cages. I saw her and put my hand through the bars and started scratching her head. She looked at me with these beautiful sad eyes and I knew. I looked at her name and I knew again. It took a LOT of convincing with Nick, and even more for me, because I've always been allergic to cats, and two trips back to Petsmart to make sure she was still there. But there was just no way we were going to let her get away!Turns out that when I'm the one in charge of keeping hair and dander under control, I do pretty well with a regular allergy pill. She is one quirky "lil' lady", as we've taken to calling her. Here, she is laying on a book - a favorite past time of hers, especially when it's open in your lap and you're reading a really good part. She'll climb up and rest herself on those paper pages and purr and purr. She also loves shoes. We keep our shoes by the door, and more often than not, she is there, in the shoes, when we come in. Or even just for an afternoon nap. She is very vocal, which I think is adorable. She gets a little grumpy when she's hungry and is more liable to bite then, too (like owner like pet, much?).
The reason I haven't posted about her yet was because we were only fostering her to see how things would work out. But now, we've paid the pet fee for our apartment and set the date for her adoption, so I'm free to post!If you can't tell by the pictures, she's a LOVELY dusty grey color, with splotches of this gorgeous melon orange color. The fur pattern is what they call "Tortoise" (she is dilute), which is like a Calico, but with no white whatsoever. There also really isn't a pattern, but she has a beautiful melon patch right above her eyes and between her ears on her sweet face. I am so smitten with this kitty.

On other matters, I figured out how to upload pictures! Ha! =D

I found a pattern for an amazing crochet purse that I made a sample of, and am now making one for myself. It uses a crocodile stitch, which I'd never done or even heard of before, but there was a video tutorial for basically the entire process of the purse. So I watched that, and it turned out so beautifully. I don't have a picture of it yet, but I will. Now that I know how to do it, I'll have pictures for everything! Yay! =)

Gifts for sisters coming along beautifully. I am so pleased and excited!

You also can't imagine how difficult it can be to be a knitter/crocheter with a cat who is crazy for yarn, any time it moves. I have to be very sneaky when I work on my projects now, because more times than not, as soon as I jerk the yarn my way, she pounces! But, it's a small sacrifice to make to have such a sweet kitty as part of our home and family.

More another time, but couldn't wait any longer to share in our joy. =)

Lots of love,
Bianca (and Hermione. She also loves to walk on the keyboard when I'm typing. Thank God for backspace. =P)

The Problem with Maintenance Men

The maintenance man never comes calling when you expect it.
We have had no cold water (weird) in our kitchen since Friday afternoon. They shut off all the water to work on the apartment below us, so for a while we had no water at all (with no notice, either. Bonus!). But eventually, they turned it back on. Except the cold water for us.
You'd think that having hot water in the kitchen is great, but when it's JUST hot water? It's useless! I've burned my hands trying to wash them after handling bacon. Who wants to choose between burned hands and Salmonella?
So, anyway, I'm waiting on the maintenance man to come turn it on. He came to "look" at it Saturday morning and did nothing, claiming there was "some kind of mineral build up" in the pipes. I was (sadly) still in a Tylenol PM induced sleep that I had taken at 2 in the morning, so I was not available to ask the important questions like, what's this mineral build up crap? Why don't you just turn the water back on?!? He also didn't try to fix it when he was actually here, but said he'd come back Monday.
Well, it's Monday. And darned if he isn't here yet.
Inevitably, as it is with all maintenance situations, he will not come until I am absolutely unprepared to see him. You think, oh, I'm just gonna take my bra off for 30 seconds to stick it in the wash and get another one, or, I just have to use the bathroom here for 5 minutes. Or, let me finish this sappy and ridiculously emotional chick flick. In these moments, it is almost sure that what comes next is, "Knock knock knock... Maintenance!" Then begins the mad scramble for composure and the frantic cry of, "UHHHH, JUST A MINUTE!!!!!"
Friend L shares this fate with me. She once shared that her maintenance man came at the precise moment when her 2 year old had dropped the biggest diaper bomb in the history of diaper bombs. Surprise! The last time our maintenance man came, I had been doing laundry and had all my bras and panties hanging to dry. Wonderful! I was of course thinking, he couldn't POSSIBLY have to come into THIS room for what we're calling him for! But, alas.
So, I'm fully dressed, have eaten my breakfast, tidied up, and am waiting to do my outings and errands til he arrives. But somehow I think he'll still manage to come at the least opportune moment.
When my entire work life revolves around scheduling to see people at a certain time for a certain time, I find this waiting around stuff pretty tedious. It is not my forte. But, what can you do? Hopefully later I'll be on the other side of the cold water situation. Maybe I'll even have a good story to add to my Maintenance Men File. Until then I remain faithfully yours,

with love,
Bianca

In the Throws

There's nothing like new yarn to get you excited about a project! This very real statement is potentially dangerous as I already have quite a bit of yarn (see previous post). I did recently organize it all into one, large, under-the-bed type bin, and one bag for current projects and needles.
But the two skeins I just bought don't fit!!!
I've realized that in order to confront my yarn issue, I must confront my other issue. Throw blankets. Nothing uses up your yarn like making blankets. This is big, for me, because my last throw took me hmm, let's see... 4 years in the making? Mostly because I kept putting it off and putting it off. By the time I got down to it, it only took me a few months!
I've also realized that because most of my projects are for birthday presents (and therefore meant to be a surprise), I don't really share them here. I get all vague and non-commital and then usually forget to write about how awesome the gift was in the first place. Or, because I have no accountability, I wind up missing my deadline. Or giving up altogether. Not so great options, any. So, throwing caution (and the element of surprise) to the wind, I will henceforth be sharing my projects completely, even if they be gifts!
Starting with Ro's.
I feel like I have several years of making up to do for Ro, because she always wants something big and homemade from me, and I am very comfortable NOT doing big. I like the small projects I can do in a day. I get frustrated coming back to the same project too many times. Impatient, much? Anyhow, she's wanted throw pillow covers, which I have not delivered. She's wanted throw blankets, which I have not delivered. I believe the last thing I made for Ro was (drum roll) potholders. Woo wee, calm it down, Bianca! So, this year, I am making her a throw blanket. It's already in the works. I made up my mind and I will finish! I am putting it down for all to see and giving myself a real deadline! This will happen!
I think everyone will get a throw for their birthdays this year, because Ginan and Rick-in-law are the only ones who have one from me so far. So that leaves Ro, Christy, and Leety. And it just so happens that their birthdays are quite well spaced! Excellent. I'm already planning Christy's, as I'll probably have to overlap hers and Ro's. See how good I am at planning ahead when I want to be?? So, sorry girls, but I guess the jig is up. I can't keep these secrets any longer.
Ro's is this really cool variation on a shell pattern. I got the pattern verbally from a woman who sells her own crocheted things in a little shop next the the tea room Mama and I love. I hope I'm remembering it correctly! If not, then I guess it's my own variation! Ha ha! She had done it for a prayer shawl which was lovely, and a few scarves. I didn't like the scarves as much because I feel like the pattern is best for bigger projects. So it's actually perfect, I think, for a throw blanket. I'm about 5 inches in already, woo! =)
Christy's I'm thinking about doing a zig-zag pattern, but not obnoxious zig-zag. Sophisticated zig-zag. And I'm not going to reveal colors. That is one thing that will be kept under wraps. Then it's still a surprise in some way!
Ginan's birthday is Monday, and Husband and I are going to visit for the weekend. That's what the two new skeins of yarn were for. I saw them in the store (on sale, no less!) and they just had Ginan written all over them! I'm very proud to say that her birthday present is all finished and ready to be opened and enjoyed! It's a tea cozy, of course. =P
So that is all that's happening in the world of knittery right now. I'm sure my frustration with the throws will be coming very, very soon. I love the beginning stages when it's all excitement! =)

lots of love,
Bianca

The First Married Valentine's Day

It's coming as a bit of a shock that I'm blogging about our First Married Valentine's Day, because in all honesty, we aren't really doing anything special. I expect no flowers, cards, chocolates, or extravagant displays of... anything. In fact, I'm cooking dinner for us tonight and we'll probably wind up arguing over what movie to watch. Funds are low for THESE newlyweds (I'm sure there are many of you out there who can identify!) and we decided way back in January that there didn't really need to be any Valentine's gifts this year. Although I cheated a little bit and got Husband a new lunch box.

How romantic!

I've started waking up with Husband in the morning when he has to for work, even though I don't have to for work anymore. We used to get up at the same time and get ready at the same time and I always regretted not being able to make his breakfast or lunch for him to take because I had to make mine. Again, gag if you must, but different personalities make the world go 'round, folks. One of the things I wanted to do when I quit my "day job" was to continue waking up in the morning to make Husband breakfast and pack his lunch. I took a few days to relish sleeping in, of course, but I've been able to do it and I realized it makes me happy and makes him happy, and I'm all about a happy marriage!

I also made pink, mini-chocolate chip pancakes this morning and even made them into heart shapes! I felt so good about my special breakfast that when I announced what I was making, Husband couldn't help but be excited, if only for a moment. Until he asked (very sweetly, knowing I'd be a bit heartbroken if the answer was no) if I had gotten syrup. Which I hadn't. And then I remembered why we haven't had pancakes for quite some time now - because I keep forgetting to get syrup. (It's not on any of my lists!!) He told me later, "You should have seen your face, it was so pitiful!", and I suppose it was my pitiful expression that made him jump in the car, at 7 in the morning, to go get syrup for my special Valentine's breakfast. What a guy, I tell you.

I'm going to be baking some cookies this afternoon, which makes me happy. (I did my Pilates first, so I can sample the cookie dough...) Husband is a simple man, and his favorite is chocolate chip, so I'll be tackling that. But I think I'm also gonna attempt a REVERSE chocolate chip, as in chocolate cookie with white chips. I always like those ones, even though white chocolate chips aren't my favorite. In a chocolate cookie, who cares??! I've held off making cookies for a while because Husband invested in SIX, count them, SIX boxes of Girl Scout cookies that are due in about a week. He heard that I've never had them (due to a misdiagnosis of Celiac's disease that eliminated all wheat products from my diet for 11 years) and told me I had to try them all. I think he only didn't get 2 flavors. With those on the way, I haven't wanted to pre-game with other cookies. But it's a special day. =)

I also decided, to heck with it! and am giving Mama BOTH tea cozies for her birthday, the small version and the large version. Together, they will conquer all her teapot needs! Ginan seemed to be hinting that she would like some more handy crafts for her birthday, so I'll do my best to deliver. January and February birthdays in our family are so close together, it's almost as bad as having to make all the Christmas presents at the same time! But I'm working out lots of new patterns, so I don't mind so much! And now I'm daydreaming about all the time there is until the next birthday, which is Ro's, and how I feel like I give her an I-O-U every year... I'm gonna have to make that up to her. And Christy, too. It's their year. (Rocky fist pumps)

To all you out there who believe Valentine's day is for couples, I challenge you! Long before I had Husband in my life, I had six loves for Valentine's day and their names were Mama, Daddy, and 4 sisters. Cherish your family, they are your FOREVER Valentines, and so are your friends! Don't let a day pass you by just because everyone else thinks it's about being part of a couple. It's about love, and if you have someone you love who loves you, that is precious precious - family and friends deeply included.

I love all of you and hope you enjoy this sappy day of love, too!
Happy Valentine's day,
LOOOOOOOOOOOVE,
B

Am I Boring You?

Hmm... I wonder...

Today, it is officially NOT Christmas in our home any longer. I took down the decorations today. I didn't feel like I'd ever be ready for that step, but somehow with it being 65-70 degrees for the last 3 weeks, I felt it was time. I don't even feel like it's winter anymore; I don't even feel like we had a winter at all! For someone who loves cold weather as much as I do, this is tragic. Last year, I was watching Christmas movies long into January and felt a little sad to think that this year (living with Scrooge, er, I mean Husband) that I wouldn't really be able to. But I gotta say, I had about a week after the new year of Christmas-y fuzzy feelings and then the warm weather struck in. There's nothing like 70 degrees to kill your white Christmas! (Which I now have, thanks to Leety!)

I'm now officially ready to start blogging because I'm settled in with my mug of tea. Husband asked me the other day if I always blog while drinking tea, and when I thought about it I realized I do! Not to say that I only drink tea when I write, of course. But typically, I share my cup of tea with all of you. =) I kinda hope that now that I've shared that, I'll get a bunch of people who drink tea while READING this, so that we really are sharing a tea time!

Man, I'm cheesy!

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Or in a little over one week, as I just realized... this whole week has been a bit of a blur. I'm going to visit Ginan and Rick-In-Law for the weekend, which will be loads of fun and I'm really looking forward to it! We haven't been to visit them since the summer, unless I'm mistaken, because when we visited last, Husband was still Fiance, so we were in separate bedrooms. No longer the case, ha ha!

So, here's the big news: for my birthday present, Husband got me a tattoo. =) We've talked about it for a long time, and I've had the idea for this one for nearly 4 years, so it was time. And let me just tell you, that no matter how lovely the tattoo may be, there are 2 truths: 1) it will still hurt, and probably more. The more artistic, the more the pain. And 2) it will itch like crazy after! First, it will be sore, which is a given and I was expecting that. But for the last 4 days I have been dying to scratch the heck out of that one spot. There were a lot of things about the healing process that I wasn't prepared for, because I hadn't done my research. I was depending on Husband's knowledge and experience to clue me in and while he did alright with some of the bigger things, I am MUCH more detail oriented than Husband. So things he didn't remember and therefore didn't warn me about got me really freaked. Like that you bleed ink. Not bleed like real bleeding, but how when you wash a new pair of jeans with a white shirt and now you have a blue shirt, bleeding. I had to wash all my "tattoo clothes" today because they all had some amount of ink on them. So, now I'm almost completely healed except for 2 little spots, which itch the most. I'll try to post a picture once it's totally healed, because it really is a beautiful piece of artwork. It took 3 hours, it outta be.

I hope that I am not boring my small audience of readers, but I get the feeling that I am because my small audience has dwindled to tiny. This makes me sad. I know I'm a little boring, but couldn't you just view that as charming and still read? It would help with my ego a little. =P However, my faithful readers I adore thee, and will try my best to entertain, even if it's only a little bit!

love love love,
Bianca

Lots of New

Today, I said goodbye to one of my jobs. For the last year-and-a-half I've been working for a lady's gym wearing many hats including file clerk, custodian, counselor, technology specialist, and oh yeah, coach. I loved my time there, but with students coming in left and right, I didn't have any more time to give, let alone to have for myself. So I had to say goodbye. It's bittersweet.
Yesterday was my Mama's birthday and today I took her for a lovely and luxurious high tea as her present. We spent about 3 hours there between teatime with lunch and the shop below. It was wonderful. I also gave her a double-thick extra scrubby dishcloth since all of hers are so well used that they're falling apart! I had started working on a tea cozy for her, but realized I made it too short. I forgot that most of her teapots are medium-large-quite large, and the tea cozy I started was small-medium. But she'll get a good one from me in a few weeks. =)
I have to confess that I am absolutely dying to see "The Lady In Black" or "The Woman In Black", I can't remember which it is, but the one with Harry Potter that looks super scary and that I'll probably regret seeing because it'll give me nightmares. I realized that I am much more adventurous with scary movies when I have someone to keep me company at night. I came to know this when Friend L started making me stay overnight with her so we could watch scary movies, something I've never been into in the past. But with someone else there (and not the creepy I'm-totally-alone noises that always happen after such movies) I feel protected. I also know this because I share everything with Husband, including sleep time. I feel invincible to the scary movies. Even though they still scare me. =)
I get the feeling that I'm on the edge of something really life changing again. Everything is going so well and falling into place, it's a little frightening. Like I'm expecting something to fall apart because nothing could be THIS great. But honestly, so much has happened in the last 4-ish months that I don't know if I can take much more, but it's exciting! There are so many new things happening in my life, and with Husband. And can I just take a moment to say how awesome Husband is? What an amazing support plank I've got. I honestly feel that I can do ANYTHING I want, even something crazy and out there and he'd be like, "Yeah, if that's your dream, we can go for it." I was talking with Mama today at tea/lunch and she said, "Y'know, Husband really... GETS you." And it's so true.
I've been getting more ambitious with my tea experience. I used to pretty much stick to the British black types that go well with a little splash of milk and "one lump or two?", but I'm branching into the herbals and greens and flowery ones and finding them delightful. I am also learning how deeply important steeping time is. Until I started taking the tea (or tea bags) out after a certain amount of steep time, I didn't realize I was over-steeping and the tea was getting bitter. Now that I've learned, I get a whole pot full of tea that tastes fresh cup after cup! =)
Reading "Memoirs of a Geisha", going with the whole international-tea-outlook, and it's a phenomenal book. So well written, beautifully descriptive, and a truly unique story. I admit, I first got it because I really loved the movie they made based on it (which was also well done), but the book stands alone. It's a good read.
Hopefully I'll be able to write a little more since my time will be one less split, and I also know that some of the gym ladies have found my little corner of Blog Land and would like to keep up. I'll do my best to provide. =)

Love to all,
B

Adventures of the Newly Wed

Husband has a PlayStation2. He found out a few weeks ago that they won't be making games for that unit anymore, so when we passed by GameStop and went in, we noticed that all the PS2 games are on super sale. So we got a few games for 2 and 3 dollars a piece. One of them was the Sims 2. We've been playing together, and I noticed (as anyone will when they play the Sims) that every minute of their world is only a second in real time.

WELCOME TO MARRIED LIFE.

I feel as though I've suddenly become part of an experiment in time warping. There does not seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week to see everyone and do everything I want to do! Some of this has to do with holding 2 jobs, which will only last til the end of the month. But, as I'm so wisely learning vicariously through my sister who recently cut her working hours, those hours fill up really quickly too if you don't set them aside. The stack of laundry to be done is... I can't even describe it. =P Dishes in the sink, food to be cooked, laundry to fold, groceries to buy... My dad would say, "Welcome to REAL life". And of course, he's right.

The only lamentable thing is that all of these mundane chores take away from time spent with the people you love. No wonder parents assign them to kids once they're old enough, I'm gonna! I used to have spare time to do things I really liked doing, thanks to living at home. And I still find time to do those things, it's just split between things I really like doing and things I HAVE to do in order to function. I'm actually making sure those things don't rob my joy with life lately. And even on my busiest week of working maybe ever, I've found bits and pieces of fun time.

Was introduced to a wonderful series called The Luxe by my Friend E. It's set in the Victorian age in New York and follows a group of high society young ladies and gents. It's totally a "girly" series, but it is full of intrigue and adventure and just the right amount of suspense mixed in with all the romance. A few twists and turns along the way. In short, every element I love in a good book. There are 4 in the series, and for THAT I could kill Friend E, but thankfully I got an Amazon gift card at Christmas, so the series was my gift to myself. Does anyone write single books anymore?

Speaking of writing books, I'd like everyone to know that I have been writing a novel for a very long time. I want everyone to know this so that people will ask me how it's going. So that I can actually finish it. And maybe send it out to publishers. It's quite a good book (I know I'm biased) but even Husband has suggested that I finish it. So there. It's out. I'm a writer.

I've also been perfecting a pattern for tea cozies that is my own. My mama got very excited about this when I told her. As previously mentioned, she loves to be my guinea pig for knitted things. I think I shall make a gift for her birthday that is tea-themed. I can never go wrong with Mama and Ginan in making them tea themed things. I'm taking her to a precious little gem of a tea shop in a quaint historic town for her birthday celebration. Last year we took each other for our birthdays because they're so close together, and I looked forward to any time we can make an excuse to go. It's so nice. =)

My cup of tea is almost finished and it's time for me to get all ready for one of my jobs. I hope you've all missed me and am glad I'm back. I'm glad to be back. =) Cheers to the weekend!

lots of love,
Bianca