Look what I made ...

Yes I did make these lovely stitch markers for a knitter. I used 3 different size rings so that she could use which ever one suited her project. And attached to those rings is a lovely little stone that I "wire wrapped" just so it would look pretty hanging from the knitting needle.
I had a blast making them and I know when I have some time I will make some more. I just have to warn you if you wish to work some up for yourself the small stones can drive you crazy when wrapping with wire. They tend to escape the wire while you are working on it.

Today I'm cleaning ... need to have my house clean enough for my granddaughter to spend the night tomorrow. I've already tackled most of the bathroom cleaning (will finish in there shortly) (waiting for the floor to dry then I will take care of the toilet, tub & sink) ... also I have a small pile of items still needing sorting in order to have the floor cleared. Then the major job is cleaning off the kitchen table ... hey we do want her to sit at the table for her dinner tomorrow but right now that isn't possible!!!

And I'm going to have it all done this morning. I'm heading to the library this afternoon. This evening I'm doing my stitching on my memorial quilt so that I have it ready for tomorrow's quilting class. Yes I do put off until the last possible moment just about everything. (mind you NOT everything but close enough) ...

So with what little energy I can muster I will go attack another cleaning job.
Wishing you all frog free projects & blissfully happy days!!!

Things I Love Thursday

I've been reading a few blogs (yes I do read other's blogs ... it's a very fun thing to do!) And I've been "resisting" getting on board with this "Things I Love" Thursdays. Every Thursday they write about something they love & they let you know if they purchased the item or were given it to review.

I don't know about you but I wouldn't mind being given things to use & then review but I have no idea where to sign up for something like that so if I tell you I love something it's because I bought it or it was a gift. In the unlikely event that I ever am given something to "review" I would make sure you were fully aware of that before you ever got to see my opinion of the item.

Okay So it's Thursday & I have several items that I "Love" but today I will brag on Clover Locking Stitch Markers. I prefer the small ones. They also come in a "jumbo" size but I haven't found a need for those so far. Here's the beauty of them ... I'm working with a textured yarn & the stitches can be hard to recognize when I'm at the end of my row ~ simple solution place a locking stitch marker in that stitch as soon as I work it so when I come back to it I don't have to wonder if I missed it or found it. I actually use them on most projects just out of habit now so that I don't mindlessly increase or decrease as I work. When not in use the markers must be left open so that they don't remain closed on you. I've given more of these little stitch savers away to the point where I needed to replace my own supply. Knitters could use them by closing the marker & placing it on the needle where needed but to be honest I think they work best when placed in an actual stitch. Knitters may find that it isn't as easy to use as a solid ring stitch marker if they need to keep unlocking for storage. That being said I would highly recommend these stitch markers for easy use & quality of product.

Now I was reading Jill's blog ... The Diaper Diaries and she had a "Mr Magic Linkey" thing so I did sign up for that to link to her blog but I don't know if it worked or not. In the event it did not I'm putting her url here ... go ck it out she has a give away right now & you have to leave a comment in order to be in the drawing to win it... Yes I'm leaving a comment as I want to win it!!! So good luck & hope you have lots of cool things in your life that you just "love"!

http://thediaperdiaries.net/things-i-love-thursday-disney-pix-jr-digital-camera-and-a-giveaway

ps ~ my floor is almost clear!!!!
Wishing you frog free projects & a wonderful day.

Getting ready for a sleep over ....

Yes you read that correctly ... we will be enjoying our granddaughter this weekend over night. Here in our home. I know what you're thinking ... how in the world can that child sleep over when she doesn't even have room for anyone to sit down. True. Your question is valid. That is why I actually emptied the huge box of stuff that was taking up the majority of my living room floor. Need to clear the floor so that we can inflate the air mattresses so she has a bed to sleep on. Which meant the loveseat had to be cleared off also so that before we set up the bed she will have a place to sit & play. I had mainly pattern magazines and some yarn and some odds & ends in the box I've been slowly removing the items from the floor since Monday. And today I hope to finish with the rest that remains on the floor. (Yes empting the box meant putting everything on the floor... how do you empty a box?)

As for the sleep study ... I want my machine & I hope they don't take a full 2 weeks to call me about it. First off it was a very strange feeling to have to breathe through my nose & keep my mouth shut while falling asleep. But with this continuous positive air pressure I was able to fall asleep. I felt good until I opened my mouth (I believe I rolled onto my back & my mouth opened) ... I felt like I was fighting with the mask in order to breathe. The technician came & put a chin strap on me so I settled back down and don't know how long it took me to really fall asleep. I felt as if my brain was seriously awake. But I know I had to have fallen asleep at some point in time becasue I remember waking up and laying still trying to go back to sleep before my being awake could ruin the test results. No sense of time though since there is no clock in the room and my cell phone was out of reach. But it wasn't all that long before I heard," it's time to get up I'll be right in." When he came in the room I asked what time is it & was really surprised to hear 5:30. My brain felt so awake / alert I didn't know what to think. I felt like I didn't sleep all night but couldn't have since my brain was so alert. The first time I felt like that in years.
All he did tell me was that I did sleep, and I did snore and that I would be contacted within 2 weeks with my test results & to get me set up with my own machine.
Left there & felt incredible. Looked horrible as my husband said you better go get some rest you look tired. But I didn't feel like I needed to sleep until about 4 in the after noon. (Trust me that is not normal for me at all!) I think if you need these machines they should be prepared to send you home with one right from the study. But Noooooo that would be too easy. So Sat. I felt great but then comes Sat. night & needing to get to sleep for Sunday. I couldn't sleep. I was up every hour and just couldn't settle down for the night. Woke up exhausted. Tired all day. And every day since then is just a reminder of how much I want this machine. I don't care how uncomfortable it can be. I don't care if my face looks like it's been run over due to the straps digging into my skin. I just know I want to feel like I did on the morning of my test ~ awake & very alert.

Bethany's scarf finished & delivered. Scarf for Kathleen (to match the beret) started & frogged. Should have know immediately ... well did know immediately but wanted to see if I could pull it off ... was working on the wrong number of stitches.

Still need to complete the baby gifts ... one for a boy (didn't start yet) two for a girl, started one ... have the baby sweater / jacket ready for the other girl gift needed.

So wishing you all frog free projects & restful sleep :)

Sleep Study take 2 tonight

I woke up with a pounding headache this morning. I need to function as laundry has to get done, in order for me to be comfortably dressed (otherwise I can be uncomfortably dressed) for the day. I have no desire to move with this pounding in my head.

I feel like I've been here but not here. Too busy to enjoy the time I've spent being busy. But sleepy through all of the busyness. It's not a pleasant feeling. It's not nice to wake up feeling as if you didn't finish what you needed to finish and some how discover it was the sleeping that you didn't finish because even though you spent 8 hours in bed with your eyes closed you didn't actually get real sleep ~ the kind that lets you wake up ready to face the world and any task you have before you. The kind that lets you feel like the energized bunny. I have to admit I haven't felt like that in years ... probably in about 20 years. But over the course of time my level of exhaustion seems to have reached an all time high within the past 3 or 4 years ... where I could wake up and start my day just to fall asleep sitting at the computer a few minutes after I sat down. Or just put on a favorite show to watch & have to restart it 10 times in order to actually "see" it because sleeping took over almost instantly within the first 10 minutes of the show.

So it is with great anticipation that I look forward to this sleep study tonight. I hope they discover what I have suspected for a very long time now ~ that the CPAP machine would provide me with some relief from the apnea. Enough relief that I would wake up feeling refreshed & energized for a change. Relief that would make my time seem more useful. Instead of like I'm trying to get something accomplished before I fall asleep again.

With that I will say I'm almost finished with the scarf for Bethany. I still need to get to work on Kathleen's projects. And I need to finish up the baby gifts. I'm slower than ever these days & not enjoying that at all.

Wishing you all "frog free" projects and really good restful sleep!!!

Norton's Security ... Gotta Love it!!!

My Norton's security is almost expired. But this morning I got on my computer to see that there was some internal problem with Norton. Thinking about the time my old computer crashed and I lost everything I wasn't too happy to see this error message. I tried to resolve it according to the steps outlined by them but that didn't work for me so I clicked on No to the ? did that resolve your problem. Then a new window popped up and told me I had 3 choices ... the fastest option being to have a chat with a technician online, or I could have the issue addressed by email or I could call them. I opted for the live chat. Someone came on and discussed the problem and gave me an option to go through a secure server and have them have access to my computer to run a check and correct the problem. Now I am sitting here wondering what I should do but still remembering how horrible it felt to lose everything when my old computer crashed. And since I purchased Norton's to protect my computer didn't I trust them to correct this problem & not mess me up just because I trusted them through a secure server to access my computer? Well Yes I did chose to trust them. And the technician did what he had to do and my computer issue was resolved. I will be renewing my subscription with Norton's for sure.

I've almost finished the baby sweater I was working on ... and yes this time I will take pictures! I think it is so cute. I still have a lot of things I must work on. So I will be busy for a while.

And by the way if anyone is reading I read something interesting and thought I'd share it with any female readers out there. There is a Christian researcher looking for women who will participate in her survey. She said it is completely private in order for you to take her survey you need to sign into this yahoo email account copy & paste the survey questions into a new email (right in that yahoo account) answer the questions & then mail to a second yahoo account ... this way your email & name / identity is completely private and she can still get her research done. Please go ck it out by signing into yahoo as: songofsolomon11 password is: a1s2d3 once you copy & paste the survey questions into a new email answer the questions and then email to solomonssong11@yahoo.com Thanks in advance for helping her out.

Okay wishing you all a great frog free day :)

Test 2 to come ...

So I had a lovely, if somewhat rushed evening with my hubby. But made it to the sleep center just a few minutes late. Had my sleep test last night woke up this morning still exhausted. Asked how long I had to wait for results and was told not as long as I thought. She then told me that I tested positive and not to miss my next test. The next test is with a CPAP machine to see if it helps me sleep (eliminate the apnea). It may even require yet another test afterwards as a follow up once I'm on the machine. CPAP means Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. Not oxygen but rather room air that flows through the machine to provide you with a continuous flow of pressurized air. The technician told me I must have been sleeping like this for years & years.

Okay so I get home exhausted and ready to sleep. Makes sense doesn't it? I mean I went to bed around 11 ish (not sure there were no clocks easily spied so I felt totally disoriented by the lack of a clock) and woke up to go to the bathroom during the night then again but decided not to get up afterall and finally a third time to go to the bathroom at 5:30 and there ended my sleep study. Got up unhooked and told to clean up and answer the question sheet. Back home I had a yogurt and read the funnies (comic strips) online then went back to bed until 10 (so 7 to 10 for some sleep) feel slightly more awake now than I did at 5:30.

Okay going to figure out what I will do now ... maybe go prepare food for my hubby for when he gets home from church.
Stay alert when your awake but make the most of your sleep when you do sleep!!
Wishing you all frog free projects ... and oh by the way I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with those you love.

Sleep Study is on ....

for tonight! Happy Valentine's to me. Yes I know I just whined & complained here yesterday about how disappointed I was that my test was being canceled and after my first test next week they would determine if a second test was necessary. But yesterday afternoon I received yet another call telling me there was a cancelation for tonight if I could come in I could have that appointment. So of course I just jumped on it. Then remembered that my darling hubby purchased tickets for dinner at our church for tonight. So I ended up calling him to see how he would react to my needing to leave him for a sleep study test. After all it is Valentine's Day. Dinner is a "romantic" gesture to be sure. Supporting the girl's group at church is a wonderful way to spend money on dinner. Anyway long story (still too long in the retelling) is that I will be going to dinner but will have to leave almost immediately or possibly even early in order to get to the sleep center. But I will be able to have my test tonight and again next Friday (unless they cancel on me again).

Oh well the ups & downs of life. My sweetie knew I would be leaving him alone this evening so he gave me my Chocolates (there is a really cool Chocolate shop near us) last night. YUMMY!!! Uncle Sam's Chocolates. http://www.unclesamscandy.com I love their truffles and their butter creams ... well I do love them all so I can't just say get the chocolate creams or the maple creams because then you might miss out on the lemon or cherry or etc. You get the idea! Really good chocolates. And I'm not just saying that. I am well aware that there is another chocolate shop not overly far from our home. And although I wouldn't refuse their chocolates I would always chose uncle sams over the other shop because I prefer the taste of uncle sams!

Managed to pull out the yarn for Bethany's scarf yesterday (yes now that the weather has shown signs of warming up & she won't need it much longer) I'll show her how I started it to see if she wants me to continue or change the stitch or whatever. (She purchased the yarn & requested I make the scarf & in return she will help me with my quilting. I call it a very fair trade.) Also pulled out the yarn for my exchange partners square & managed to select a square & make it last night. (I love it & hope she does to.) And to top that off I pulled out some yarn for a pair of slippers & am just chosing which slipper pattern will be easiset for me to follow.
That all on top of my already long list of must do's ... then I signed up for a magic ball swap with a different group of online friends. I am so excited I can't wait to get all the goodies for this swap. I have several ideas already.

Okay must get my day underway ... pack my overnight bag & have it in the car for tonight. Pick out a simple outfit for tonight's dinner. Since I'll be dropping off my hubby at home & then going to the sleep center I need to have everything prepared in advance.

Wishing you all a fun filled Valentine's Day ... spend it with those you love.
And of course frog free projects!!!

Random thoughts or just rambling ...

I received a phone call to confirm my sleep study test for tonight & then about 45 minutes later I received a second call to cancel my appointment. Add to that news I was then told the next appointment time would not be until April. I'm rather disappointed to say the least. Knowing for a fact that I do have sleep apnea I was really looking forward to finding out if the use of the CPAP machine would help me at all. Telling the guy that I was scheduled for the second test with the CPAP machine in order to determine if it would help me did nothing to help the situation. Instead of him saying we'll do what we can to get you in he continues to tell me that next week will be my "first" sleep study and then "if you need" a second one we'll schedule you.
What? Didn't the doctor already determine he wanted me tested twice to determine if the CPAP machine would help me? Why then does a non-doctor get to act as if I would not need a second test with the machine? It just upset me.

Then I was thinking about the reason why I sought this testing in the first place. I know I have sleep apnea (and anyone who has been on a trip with me as my roommate knows this too) it is pretty obvious when I'm snoring away & then suddenly stop breathing then jerk around a bit & begin breathing again. So yeah I have sleep apnea. So yeah I'm exhausted most days & nights & my concern is that I need help to get some real "rest" when my eyes are closed so that I don't just continue in a fog. The nurse in the recovery room told me I needed to be reevaluated so I wonder what she saw /heard etc. to make her tell me that?

Okay change of subject. While visiting with my daughter & son in love we watched an episode of Dateline. Bring Sean Home ... First off this particular episode totally s***ed in my opinion. My prayers are with that father who is (as far as we know) still seeking to be reunited with his son. I'm doing my best to recap this show as briefly as possible : Husband discovers marriage gone bad with no warning, completely caught off guard. Son stolen from loving doting father by mother who apparently had everyone fooled by her loving behavior. Son not returned to the father even though there is an international something or other law that is supposed to help parents in these cases, he's now divorced even though it wasn't what he wanted or even understands why she wanted it. (She was originally from Brazil & she went back to Brazil) She remarries, gives birth to a baby girl then dies & his son is still kept from him. The new husband claims he wants to adopt the son because he was more of a father figure to Sean then his biological father. I was so upset by the end of this show & that was a few weeks ago that I saw it and it has stayed with me all this time. I think it is horrible that things like this can & do happen. I find it most upsetting that there is no explaination for what caused her to do what she did. I mean not that I would agree with what she did but if she were so unhappy living in NJ wouldn't she say something to her husband? Wouldn't she ask him to consider moving to another location or country or something? Wouldn't she tell her closest friends how unhappy she was? They all seemed just as surprised & shocked by her departure as he did. No one seemed to have any clue what was behind her behavior.

Change of topic ... my prayers are with all of the families & friends who lost loved ones in the plane crash in Buffalo NY last night. I don't have any details as I haven't been watching the news (yet) but I have heard it was horrible and many lives lost due to this plane crash. It makes me doubly thankful my dear daugher's flights home went so well. And she is home with her hubby now safe & sound. My heart is broken for all of those who have lost someone due to this crash.

Okay one crochet related item & I'm done for today ... I gave the flower hexagon sweater to someone else (I just didn't have /take the time to finish a baby sweater that I wanted to give them & so I took the finished item and gave it away) ... it was intended for Heather's baby but not now. I am almost finished with the sweater I started for the gift (which then wasn't finished in time) but it can't be Heather's baby's gift since it is pink & yellow & Heather wishes for nothing in pink. I will make yet another one for her.
Okay off to try & finish this sweater and get another item underway.
Wishing you all frog free projects & trouble free days. May all your loved ones be safe today!

Getting back to the everyday routines

I brought my daughter to the airport yesterday afternoon. It was great having her home for a visit, although her husband was missed. (He had to stay home & work.) She made it safely home last night. So now we both have to get back into the usual everyday routines that comprise our lives. You have a "regular routine" don't you? Well for me I have been "off balance" for several months. Now I need to get my list of "must do", "want to do", "should do" etc. and then get doing all the things I need to catch up on.
I've still got to finish the order for Kathleen (thought I would have had that completed while visiting my daughter's home) and I need to get back to work on Heather's baby gift. I'll get my list worked on first then go from there.

I have sleep apnea ~ known this for years. However when I had my outpatient surgery last July the nurse in the recovery room suggested I be reevaluated. So I go for my first of 2 sleep tests this Friday night. Then my second one is next week on Friday. Then I wait a month for the results to be discussed with me. The idea is to find out if I would benefit from a CPAP machine. I suffer from chronic post nasal drip (ugh so disgusting I can't stand it ) and wonder if having oxygen keeping the back of my throat moist will help while I sleep.

Sorry it is a disgusting problem & nasty to discuss especially here where you would have to read about it so I apologize and am moving on...

Speaking of moving on I need to begin my day by getting ready to go to the Alpha Pregnancy Care Center for crochet class. Yay someone from my online crochet group sent me a bunch of crochet hooks & some dpn's for the ladies in this class. I can't wait to give them this gift.
Wishing you all frog free projects.

No photos due to ??

Okay so how hard would it have been to take a couple of photos? I mean I promised you photos of the baby afghan & the sweaters I made & yet today was the shower & I never managed to take the pictures before leaving for the shower. I'll email my niece & request she send me a photo of the items as soon as she can. But since she will be busy I don't know if she'll send them my way.

I don't have any real excuse other than life just got in the way. I mean I knew I needed & wanted those pictures & I still managed not to get the camera out & just take them!!!

Ugh. I hope she'll take them & pass them on to me since the sweaters were really cute & the baby afghan was really nice.

Wishing you all frog free projects.

p.s. ~ I'll be a bit busy since I am blessed to have my daughter here until Wed. yay :)

Home again Yay...

The ride home went smoothly & I was even able to meet up with a friend from one of my online crochet groups. It was fantastic to meet with her & her son. She was willing to meet me on my way home from NC by driving about an hour or so from her home. She came by the Days Inn where we were planning on spending the night. Picked us up & we all went to CiCi's Pizza for dinner. Yummy! Affordable. Good time had by all.

I have to take pictures of the baby afghan & sweater before I can post them.
Today was spent in my pj's and robe watching lots of shows I had recorded while I was away.
Tomorrow back to "normal" if anyone can actually define that let me know.
Tomorrow is the Discovery Toys party that my daughter will demonstrate (which means we all get to play with the toys yay)
Wishing you all frog free projects.

Not Home yet ...

I'm still here, where the weather is lovely (to me anyways), in North Carolina. My visit is coming to an end very soon as we will be heading home on Tues. My daughter will have to pack up her toys selectively since her return to NC will be by plane. While we were here we had our own impromptu Discovery Toys party and we have our own purchases to pack up to bring home. I know I'm not the one selling these toys (how could I get my crocheting in if I were playing???) but I have fallen in love with these products. They are really excellent quality and fun to play with. I know you have all heard about my "favorite" but since then I've had a chance to play with a few other items and must say I am also crazy about their Measure Up Cups. These cups are outstanding in several ways over other simple stackable cups. Besides stacking & separate them by color & still they stack... you can play and teach time concepts They are volume correct I may be using that incorrectly but basically if you put water in cup 4 & 6 they will added together fit into cup 10. Play is not restricted to the basic baby play of stacking when you see the animal imprinted on the bottoms so playdoh or sugar cookies can be more fun ... also playing at the beach can take on a whole new level of fun. Okay so I've brushed the surface of what can be done with this product however you really should ck it out for yourself.

Oh I almost didn't tell you but I made a sweater to go with the afghan & it came out very cute. Pictures when I am home. Working on several things currently. So to recap the ripple afghan is finished, the hexagon baby jacket (sweater) is done, and I'm still crocheting up a storm. Ut Oh... hope that isn't why they are saying we will be traveling into a storm on the way home. LOL

So wishing you all frog free projects and beautiful weather.