I'm not dead yet!

See, now this is what I meant when I said I knew I wasn't going to post anything. I've been so wrapped up with Ravelry and Facebook and, I don't know, life, that I haven't put anything up here. At all!

New news from life: I have started taking lessons at my son's martial arts school; a whole bunch of us go together, and it's very fun and kind of physically grueling. I think today's been the first day this week that I haven't been sore or stiff. But it's so empowering when I do the moves correctly - it makes me feel like I'm a ninja or something. A white belt ninja. Woo hoo!

The Boy is kicking second grade's ASS. He's getting good grades, and his behavior is remarkably awesome! He's also really getting into classic, old-school Nintendo - and I am in favor of that! He's an extremely fun, smart, funny, awesome kid, and I couldn't be more proud of him.

In August, I opened a shop on Etsy; The Crafty Hamster. I sell hand-dyed yarn and other stuff. That's the best way to describe it; "other stuff". right now it's coffee cup holders and knitted bags, but who knows what I'll make for it? It's had a slow start, but I'm certain that I will pick up my mojo as I go.

I'm still with Z, still in love, it's a good good thing. We're working out a timeframe as to when we can get a house together. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a financial setback when I lost a lot of hours at work, but I'm feeling hopeful about it. I have polished my resume and am going to present it like a crazy offering to all of the temp agencies in the area.

So not much has changed over the course of a year, really. Still making stuff and loving people. Life is good.

Hm, I did name this appropriately.

It's Olympics time! Once again, my family and I celebrate the spirits of world togetherness and athleticism by sitting on our butts and watching different events at opposite ends of the house. Yay! Well, that is an exaggeration; we are often together watching the same event. But I do find it amusing that as a world, we celebrate our athletes by sitting and staring at them on television. Go irony! As for me, this is the first Olympics that I suddenly realize that I am *way older* than most of the competitors (especially in some highlighted events - I'm looking at you, gymnastics - where the athletes are literally half my age) and super out of shape, so my shoulders and arms are sore from doing extra time with Wii Fit in the mornings.

Ah, Wii Fit. I have a love-hate relationship with my daily routine on the balance board. I haven't seen whether anyone else has a hardware problem with it, but sometimes, my board freaks out in the middle of longer step and boxing sessions, and I have to get off, turn it off and on again, and resume, having now missed several steps, breaking my flow and lowering my score. Yes, I know score doesn't really matter, but I do get a bit miffed. I'm the only one in the house that has this issue, but ever since last month, I'm the only one really using it besides Liam on the balance games. I actually deleted a few family profiles since they hadn't been used. At least I'll be getting my money's worth out of it - even if I just keep losing what seems to be the same five pounds over and over. Whatever. It's better than doing nothing, and even if I weigh the same, I look and feel a bit different. Also taller. Hard to explain.

One of the other things keeping my on my butt is participation in the Ravelympics! During the Olympics, I have taken it upon myself to finish three different knitting and crocheting projects. If they are completed in time, I win. If not, no medal for me! I chase a back-to-school vest for Liam, a Pokemon stuffed toy, and (in the Works-in-Progress Wrestling event) a promise to finally complete that green Megaman backpack I started two years ago and never bothered to sew together. There's time to do this! I'm almost halfway done with the vest already, and I'm feeling confident about the rest.

Another fun treat for me has been my subscription to the Venture Brothers Shirt Club. Oh my god. Awesome. Every week, I get a new, VB-themed t-shirt. My favorite is the Dean! shirt, but they all rock pretty hard. Well, I'm not crazy about the OSI one, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. I've seen the shirts going on eBay for much more than I paid for them, so I'm glad I decided to get in on it when I did. Especially since they only make each design available for one week. Yikes.

Instead of going on a big vacation this year (although I must confess the Disney Weekend in May was rather good), my family has been going on a series of short trips. Camping with our friends at their place in the Poconos. Anime Next (and the kid cosplaying as a Moogle, super cute). Wild West City. The one I'm missing to go to work today, at the Crayola factory. The Butterfly Gardens. One I'm plotting for Saturday to Nintendo World and maybe Jekyll & Hyde's. Many of these are known only to the planner (it's me, mom, Judy, and out friend Donna plotting these) until we arrive at our destination. It's pretty awesome. And I find I can work my weekly assignments for work into four days, so it's easy enough for me to take a day off if needed.

Stuff I need to do: take the Kid back-to-school shopping (ack, first grade!), do my financial aid paperwork, schedule my last six classes. It's too hot to think about school, though. Just. Too. Hot. It's not too bad outside, but somehow my bedroom and living room have become giant easy-bake ovens. Last night I woke up around two because it was so so hot in here. The boy was fine; he managed to get a breeze through his room somehow, but it was stifling in here. I grabbed some iced tea, turned on the house fan (why was it off?!?) and moved the floor fan to the foot of the bed. And fell asleep immediately. I prefer a cool room for sleeping, so summers are not a restful time. Yes, we have air conditioning. No, we're not using it. Unless it goes over ninety-two (or it's horrifically thick and heavy with humidity), it's lower-cost fans.

No fiction lately, although I have been considering some of the early-Thelma ideas. Nothing seems to gel though. I want to get it in gear so I can amuse myself and others. The world needs more humor; I'd be honored to provide it.

My (not-so-impressive) goals for this weekend

1. Get the invitations ready for the Kiddo's birthday party. It's next weekend, so I hope I can get the friends from school in time. Partially done: need to buy colored ink to print them out for him to bring to school Monday. He helped design them. ^.^DONE!



2. Put together the Christmas list. Pretty much everyone's getting handmade things this year, but how many gifts do I still need to put together? Who am I exchanging with? Do I even know? (and is it OK to hint that I'd LOVE the Aziraphale and Crowley perfumes? And how cool is it that they even EXIST?) Work in progress.....

3. Shave the legs. It's a jungle down there. Sure, no one sees my legs but Z, and he's still in Georgia for another two weeks, but it can't hurt to start some maintenance down there. I'm starting to look a little manly. Done. It's nice to look like a girl again.

4. Make my room no longer look like a yarn shop threw up in a thrift shop. There's some serious straightening that needs to be done. Also, getting the assorted strings organized will help a bit with #2. Not quite done. Spent more time in the Kid's room than mine. Sigh.

5. Work. Yes, that still needs to be done, as well, doesn't it? Alas. To be honest, I did shift a fair amount of my store visits to Friday and Saturday this week so I can spend more time with the kid. But I can still Do It All. A challenge appeared when the Kid needed to go to see the doctor Friday afternoon, but I'm on my way to finish things up as soon as I get my uniform on. Forget that. Done, baby, done!

6. Actually call my brother and have a real conversation with him that doesn't involve either one of us reading out loud from the internet. DONE!!!! He's working overnights now. Weird....

Two in two days? That makes this a daily!

Just to get in the habit of writing more often, a few thoughts:

"Rat Patrol" would make a kick-ass level on Guitar Hero. Even if it resides in bonus-song-Land like Trogdor. I wish there was a way to use your own music, create your own levels for it. There is something like that for DDR fans; Dance Factory gives uneven results, but you can dance to the Katamari Damacy soundtrack if you want. Oh Em Gee, indeed.

Speaking of Trogdor, I wonder if it's too soon to request the Homestar Runner DVDs for Christmas? Hmmmm..... Or even just a hoodie. Whatever. I'll pick up my own when I have money. In 2014.

I'm probably going to buy the car I've been leasing. It's used, but I know the one owner, and she took pretty okay care of it.... at least I know *exactly* what I'm getting into.

I'm depressed and angry at everything and everybody. So, after I drop Z off at the airport on Monday? Camping. With people who will make me margaritas.