July Roundup

I only finished one project last month. I've always loved big circle vests, and I won a pattern last winter, so it was time to get it made. The yarn is some I got when Kerry was a baby, so it's almost vintage. I used a bottle of dye from a tie-dye kit on the edge for some purple. It turned out pretty cool.

We also had a pageant! I'm so proud of Khloe. She really broke out of her comfort zone. Her dad and other grandma even came to see her, much to my surprise. The whole row of us teared up when she started singing.

It was a long night, but it was great. Sadly, she didn't win anything (but should have...grumble, grumble judges) but gained confidence in front of people and, according to her, the ability to smile for three hours straight. Now we're on to senior year of high school (already!) and all of those adventures. Are you wondering why I only made one thing? It's because I've been writing. There are always stories in my head, so I decided to start putting them on paper. No, it's not great, but I'm having fun with it. That's it for now. I hope your August has started well.

Catch-Up

I really need to do this more often. I think about what I want to tell you all the time, but then I have to work or get lost in a movie or fall asleep...so here are a few things from the past month. Mother's Day was nice. Khloe made me a beautiful ceramic elephant in art class

Kerry took me to a movie at the new theater here in town (yay! movies!) to see Rampage, starring my imaginary boyfriend Dwayne Johnson. It was fun and had some very funny parts. I'll watch it again when it's on video. Eric got me a boom box for my craft room.

Now I can play my cds when I'm back there. It also has an aux cord port and Bluetooth, so I can play the digital albums from my phone. As for things I've made, well, I can't seem to get any decent pictures. I recently finished this vest

I saw it on instagram and thought it was cute, so I bought the pattern on etsy. The pattern was a pain to figure out. The designer tried to be cute or something instead of straightforward. I had to read it several times to figure out what she was talking about. It's also sized by chest measurement, which is crazy for something open-front. I messaged the designer about it and she just sent me a picture of the size chart with no helpful information. Sigh. At least I figured it out and can make another one if I want...maybe a slightly longer one next time. That's all for now, I guess. I'll have to start taking notes of everything or start blogging more often. We'll see what happens. Have a good week, dears!

Life and Other Stories

Wow, March sure went fast. I think it's because the weather was insane and gave me a near-constant headache. So far, April isn't much better. I know it's been crazy everywhere, not just here. Eventually we'll all be wearing our fab warm weather duds...I hope! I've only finished two projects lately, a request from Kerry and a mesh shopping bag. Kerry texted me in February with a picture of a headband and asked if I could make one. The original was $230. Seriously. I found one on ebay for $30 and suggested it, but he said the magic words - "it wouldn't be a special as if you made it." So I charted it out, ordered the yarn, and got busy. It's super small gauge so the knitting took longer than I planned. I lined it with some fleece for extra warmth. It's not bad:

I did order the ebay one, too, so he has two headbands to keep his ears warm next winter. When he came over to get them, he put it on, slid it over his eyes, and slept for about four hours - he'd been out all night with his girlfriend and then worked all morning. He turned nineteen two weeks ago. Nineteen. He's still growing, too. I think he's about 6'3" or so and works out nearly every day. My big boy is a big boy. The grocery bag was a quick something to turn in for the House Cup:

It took a small amount of sock yarn, so I think I'll make a few more since I have plenty of leftover yarn. (Want one? Let me know!) I keep a bag in my purse and several in my car because I hate plastic ones. Today, though, I went to get a few things and gave the cashier my bag with the store loyalty card as usual. He rang up my things and I noticed that the sacker was putting my stuff in plastic. I asked about my bag and she said "no one told her to use it." Ugh. I said to put everything in it, which held up the people behind me which I hate doing. It wasn't my usual store, eigher, so I was already out of sorts. The kids at my store know to fill my fabric bags to the top. In girl child news, Khloe finally signed up for soccer. She's wanted to play for years and finally just did it. She's having a good time with it, but we discovered that she has exercise-induced asthma and carries an inhaler with her now. Some of her games have been cancelled because of the rain and snow and crappy conditions, but she's gotten some playing time in and, honestly, has been sleeping and eating a lot from the exercise. She also signed up as a contestant in the local Queen of Friendship pageant. My baby is a beauty queen! She knows she won't win (? you never know!) but wants the experience of speaking in front of people and facing her fears. For her talent, she's going to sing and is learning to play the ukulele. The pageant itself isn't until July, but the contestants have a bunch of activities around town that they help with. She's made some new friends already, too. I know I'll be a crying mess when she's onstage. Maybe I should stock up on xanax... That's about all for now. Have a great week, everyone. I'll be back soon!

On To The Future

Saturday was a big day for us. Kerry graduated from high school. It was quite a journey - he had a lot of behavior issues and attitude problems which got him moved to a special school for such kids. Then he moved to his dad's house and they moved again - four schools in four years. He talked about quitting a couple of times but must have had some sort of awakening and got his act together. I'm so proud of him. He even got certified as a lifeguard the previous weekend and is going to work at a public pool this summer. I finally got a picture of us together, but their dad is very tall so the angle is weird.

And I'm standing on my toes! My kids did not get their height from me. Now Kerry is planning to go on to be a teacher, of all things. Now if only I could influence his taste in music...

Prom!

Khloe's first prom was this past weekend. She was super excited. Her date was a friend, not her boyfriend, so that made her less nervous about eating and dancing - does everyone get self-conscious about dancing in front of someone they like? They had a great time and, of course, looked amazing.

My parents came to see her before she left and got a picture, too:

My babies are all grown! Kerry turned eighteen last month. Eighteen. He graduates next month and is getting ready for college. I've been making some things but it's slow going. I've apparently forgotten how to manage time with a job. Bad me! I'm figuring it out, though, slowly but surely. That's all for today. Back soon, my dears!

Sweetest Gift

Since the world is going a bit crazy I thought I'd share something that has cheered me up a lot lately. For my birthday, my kids made me this:

It was full of notes from both of them. I did start crying when they gave it to me. I don't know where Khloe got the idea, but I'm so glad she did. Here's a few of the notes so you can see how my kids think - Kerry's are blue, Khloe's are purple.

Yes, they're both goofy but I'll keep them!

They Grow Up So Fast

Yesterday was my baby girl's fifteenth birthday. Fifteen. It seems like so recently when she was the tiny bundle with big blue eyes that charmed everyone. Now she's in high school and last weekend went to her first high school dance.

Isn't she beautiful? She went with a group of friends and had a really fun night. I'm glad she's enjoying school so far this year. In less happy news, I no longer have my job. I'm very heartbroken and depressed about it but won't talk about it further. It's back to the stress of looking now. Back with some finished projects soon, I hope.