Test run

A couple of days ago, my sister asked if i was going to have a baby blog so that friends and family would be able to view pictures of Summer's baby. I said "Oh yeah, I already have a blog, I may as well use that one."

Let's consider this a test run. I am going to post a picture into this post and see exactly how it works. Here goes!

And there she is... Aint she sweet??? But what if I have multiple pictures I want to post? Shall I just continue in this manner? Here goes another...

Okay i get the gist of it. So there's a toucan and a picture of my darling daughter.

Wow! I feel like a genius! So stay tuned for new episodes of "A Look into Lisa's World"

Making Ready for Baby

Okay, so it's been a hella long time since my last post. But here is a brief update...

Summer is due on Oct 9th. Today is September 29th. I am preparing to drive 11-1/2 hours in my little blue bullet to Fort Huachuca to spend some time with her before the little one arrives. I seriously hope she crosses her legs until I can actually arrive there and get at least semi-settled. I've been having nightmares of getting a call in the middle of the night and there's no way I can rush to her side, since she isn't even in California!

So I'm doing laundry, wondering what to pack and waiting for a check in the mail before I take off.

Here's to a safe trip, a speedy, easy labor and delivery for Summer and welcome to our world to the baby!

I can't believe it's been this long since I've posted to this blog! Let's see where I left off...



Yes, I remember now. I was saying that I was going to finish some ufos and would try my very best to stay focused on finishing the blanket I started for Summer's baby. Well, I can safely say that I have stayed knitting on that blanket and haven't put it aside to work on something else. But that doesn't mean it's done, either. It's coming along nicely, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to knit.



Opened the new gym in Exeter. Maybe "new" isn't the word for it. See, our bosses (the owners) purchased an existing gym in Exeter and are in the process of converting it to a Snap Fitness. (Like the one they own in Visalia) This has been a slow and painful process. In the meantime, I get to rise at 3:45 AM to be in Exeter by 5:00 AM to open the doors.

It's Friday, April 3rd and I have decided to do something out of the ordinary for me. I am going to finish some projects that I started and cast aside when my ADD kicked in. I even went so far as to post a project on Ravelry. Yikes! I have to finish it now because it's out there for the world to see. (The knitting world anyway or maybe just the Chicks that use the site too. Or maybe just my sister, lol.)



Either way, it's a special project. I am knitting a baby blanket for my grandchild who will be entering this world sometime in October. Yes, I am going to be a grandmother. I guess I should have figured that having my children at a young age would also make me a grandmother at a young age as well. But it's all good. I guess not all grandmothers are the typical cookie-baking, stay-home-babysitting type. I'm definitely D none of the above.

4 days have passed and I did knit on the baby blanket. I also went on an urban hike with my sweetie and the dog, went out to the golf course (yay!) and putted and drove 100 balls, sucessfully avoided housework for countless hours and taught a couple of circuit training classes. Exactly how far did I get on the blanket? about 4 inches. At that rate, the kid might be able to take it to show and tell when he gets to the first grade. I have got to step it up! I'm off to knit.

Oh the Horror!

Busy, busy, busy. I'm very busy working and trying to play the greatest sport on earth. But some evil person has done his level best to take that away from me. Yes, someone stole my golf clubs from the trunk of my car. Along with my cart and two pairs of golf shoes, my sandals and my Adidas. I was so upset!

I still can't figure out exactly how. We do know that it happened the morning we left for Las Vegas. My car was in the driveway and not in the garage because we wanted Trudy to have room to run around, and Sean's car was right behind it. We were packing the car Thursday night and early Friday morning. I guess I popped the trunk to get something and didn't close it because my car shows no sign of forced entry. Hell, there is only one lock on the driver side door and that wasn't tampered with. I guess I should be thankful that I still have my car.

We know it happened Friday because Jess showed up to let Trudy run around sometime around 1 PM and he noticed that my trunk lid was up. He called my sister and asked if I would have left the trunk open for any reason and she said no. Well he shut the trunk and then never told me anything about it. It took me 'til Wednesday afternoon (right before my golf lesson) to realize they were gone.

It's not like they stole an expensive set -- it's the sentiment. I loved those pink Wilsons and my pink Adidas shoes and my Footjoy sandals and my pink golf balls. I love that I bought those clubs for myself when I was feeling so down in the dumps about my life and decided that I needed to get out. And I love the peace I feel when I'm out there on the course or the range. I love that I don't have to think about anything but the next stroke and where do I want the ball to go and what club to use.

As always, I look for the silver lining around every cloud and here it is. I do not, and I repeat, DO NOT miss that putter. It was a complete P.O.S. It's to blame for every missed putt I ever had. Also, I did get a hold of another set of clubs and shoes - - Summer's. Thank you baby!

Looking outside, I notice it's perfect golf weather! Gotta run!

OMG I Love the Internet

LOL, I know that makes me sound like an idiot, but it's totally true. It made my life so much easier today and saved me some gas too. I hate going places alone when I don't exactly know where I'm going and today I didn't have to all because of the internet. See, I am one of the many jobless people in this world and I was totally dreading going down to the local EDD office. I found their website and applied for benefits online. Yes friends, I googled. Oh and please don't worry about me becoming a recluse with too many cats - - I love socializing way too much to go there. Yes, I do have too many cats, but that's another story.

Back to the joblessness - - I used to think that there couldn't be anything worse than losing one's job until I lost mine. Amazingly enough, I am not overcome with despair or suicidal over it. I am actually looking forward to doing something different. Something I am better suited for, something great. I guess I had fallen into a rut of complacency, content to just put in my 8 hours and collect my check every other Friday. I used to sit there like a veal in a box - - waiting on customer after customer and now.... What lies next for Lisa?

On the personal side, I am going to be a grandma! Uh yeah, I'm waaaaaayyyy too young to be a grandma, but that's what I get for having kids so young and now they're grown and well you know what comes next. So my baby girl is having a baby - - I'm going to support her one hundred percent! I love her and I will love her husband and baby too. Oh yeah, she's got a list of things I must knit for the baby - - better go get started! I have until October!

Of Knitters with Kitties

Yes I have two kitties - - Cupcake (who's on loan from Summer who's currently in Georgia in the U.S. Army) and (my very own hellion) Cookie. What on Earth would possess a Monster Stash-building knitter to have a cat for a pet, let alone two?
Why am I complaining about the two most loveable hunks of fur to ever walk on four paws? Maybe it's because I came home to a veritable web of yarn in the living room, hallway and the Cats' Room. Different colors, it was truly a feline masterpiece. Yes, call me insane for storing my yarn in their room, but they are in tubs and boxes that they can't get into. Or can they? I guess only they and their canine accomplice, Trudy can say what really happened. No one's talking.

A.D.D. Who Me?

This is not and I repeat not an admittance of guilt but in the immortal words of the magic 8 Ball, all signs point to yes. Am I talking about Twig's socks? Yes. I started them with hopes of completing a pair and seeing them on her little tootsies. Will I finish them? Will I take that little project bag out again and tear back the error -ridden gusset and start that section over? Will Twig see these socks ever? Will I restore my beloved sister's faith in my knitting abilities? Wait a minute, back up there, she is aware of my knitting abilities, what she is also aware of is my painful inability to stay focused on one particular project.

What the hell am I doing up at 2-something in the morning? Is it the siren song of my socks calling out to me that brought me out of some pretty delicious REM sleep? Was it my drooling, kneading cat, Cookie? Or maybe Trudy's snoring? Whatever it was, I am sitting here typing and not knitting. But I must say this in my defense. I am the proud owner of not one, but two newly-knitted dishcloths. Go me! Oh yeah, speaking of knitted dishcloths, there was this pattern on Ravelry....

All I Can Say is "Wow!"

Sean got me reading this book that has totally opened my eyes! It's called "The Secret." I'm sure some of you are rolling your eyes. Yes, this book has been around and there's even a movie or DVD about it. I can't believe that I'm just now discovering it. And I hate to admit this, I started reading it rather grudgingly. It took me away from my knitting and other creative pursuits (snort).

Sean, baby, I can't thank you enough.

It's funny how books that he's gotten me to read have really done wonders for me - - Body Rx by Dr. Scott Connelly and now The Secret - - I've lost over 30 lbs and now I know the secret. Wow.
I recommend BOTH books. Oh yeah, Franklin Habit's "It Itches" is HILARIOUS! I totally saw myself in a lot of those cartoons. Thank you Patti.

Okay, so about Twig's socks - I picked up for the gusset and I'm not happy about it. I did something pretty ugly right around the heel flap. And on the gusset I picked up 14 stitches on one side and only 13 on the other. I am sure that if my anal-retentive sister read this she would make me rip back tonight at Borders, and do it over again. I can see her now, pursing her lips and telling me that I can't be sloppy. Even though Twig wouldn't ever know, I would know that it's wrong. Ay yay yay. Dang it - - it sounds like I'm chastising myself instead of just waiting. I know it's coming. I won't steal her joy. I'll just let her look it over and find the mistake herself. Does that make me evil? Nah. We'll see tonight!

Woo Hoo! Functional Training class kicked a$$ Saturday!! We had 8 students this foggy morning. Sylvia (my little red pony); Val (Martini Girl); this cute little couple that's getting married in 3 months; Mario the Boxer; Tambra from the MidWest; cute little Future Trainer, Celeste; Sean the devil and yours truly.

Can you tell that I started this post on Saturday? Cuz it's Monday now and gone is the enthusiasm that I started out with. Today I'm sore. Really sore. But I'm in good company, like everyone else in the class.

So I'm knitting socks for Twig. I'm battling A.D.D. and when the first sock is finished, I have to contend with Second Sock Syndrome, from which I am a chronic sufferer. But yes, I have actually finished a pair. I was actually wearing them the other night. The first pair I ever knit, well and the last pair. They're made from this wild pink variegated washable yarn, probably some poly blend. But they're both done and they're cute!

Hope Springs Eternal

Yes, I'm back.
Hope springs eternal - I have hopes of finishing some projects - like Twig's socks that I started oh so many months ago, and "Lisa's scarf", that should more appropriately be renamed Alisha's scarf. I think she's knit at least two to my 1/3. And in my defense, Alisha named it that and not me, thank you very much.
It's going to be a rainy weekend - the perfect weather to stay inside and knit and all I can think about is golf. Yes, I have a serious jones to hit that little dimpled ball into that impossibly small hole.
I am running Sean's Functional Training in the Park class on Saturday morning, rain or shine, so wish me luck!

It's okay.

So I'm sitting here contemplating my next posting and can you believe I have nothing to say? People who know, I mean really know me, are going to find this so hard to believe. I usually have an opinion on everything. So here I sit, and my mind is blank.
Yes, blank, and frankly I'm bored with it. (Again, I am a victim of my own short attention span.) I really should be doing something constructive, and yet I find myself still sitting here trying to dazzle you with my brilliance.
Screw it, I'm going to go knit where it's okay to be mindlessly repetitive.

A Step Toward Normalcy

Did I really say "normalcy"? What is that anyway?
Dictionary.com says that normalcy is "being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning." Okay, I accept that. Normal functioning for me IS my short attention span, my affinity for size US 7 knitting needles, my insane love for my car and my golf clubs, and most importantly my SNB. That's right, Chicks, I'm talking about you.
After nearly 2 weeks without hanging with my peeps (lol, I can picture Summer rolling her eyes) I made it to Beverly's last night. Boy did it feel good. Of course, the girls made it seem like the return of the prodigal son (me), but whatever, I was knitting! And of course, I had to sit next to the world's most prolific knitter, Jane and pet her sweater. All is right again.
Except I can't seem to convince Cupcake (also known as C.C.) and Cookie of that - - they're not sure what to make of Trudy. True she does walk around on all fours like they, but is she really worthy? Does she have the juice to rule the roost? In case you didn't know, C.C. and Cookie are my cats. The cutest and in Cookie's case, most mischievous cats in the county.
Oh, but back to Jane. She's a fast knitter and she wears her knits. She has made some awesome sweaters, tops, you name it, she's knit it. I knit a sweater too - - the Sweater from Hell, as the Chicks have all heard me call it. It's not really from Hell, it's beautiful. Summer wore it twice and now it hangs (the horror) in her closet. I don't know why she can't wear it, it's green! Actually it's the Central Park Hoodie from Interweave, and baby, it's beautiful and fits her like a glove. I didn't think I was one to rest on my laurels, but apparently I am. I haven't finished a project since. Wait, back up, I've knit scarves, but that's it.
I have an excuse - - my life has taken a drastic turn. Yeah, I didn't want to mention it again, but divorce has taken a toll. Not to mention my new obsession - - golf! Yeah, I'm still waiting to go and swing that new club Amber got me for Christmas. I don't care what the weather is like, I'm thinking there's no better way to spend a Sunday now that my Bears are out of Super Bowl contention.

It's 2009!

You're probably thinking "Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious!" But it just hit me, I mean, really hit me. It's 2009! I never thought I'd live to see it - not that I'm old or sick or anything. I just figured that our sun would go supernova on us or something. Whoa, that comes from being forced to watch my sister's favorite Sci-fi shows because she totally monopolized the tv and remote control when we were growing up. She STILL does it, btw. Yeah Sissy, I'm talking about you.
Mmm hmm it's 2009 and I'm pretty upset that we don't have flying cars like the Jetson's. (Even though I do my best to make my little blue Civic fly.) And speaking of that - - it's January and I'm really hoping to break my Speeding Ticket Curse. You see, Leadfoot Lisa has gotten a speeding ticket every January for like the last 3 or 4 years. This year I hope to break the curse. Somebody knock wood for me, please.
I'd like to talk about resolutions, but I didn't make any. Do you find that as odd as I do? Why didn't I? Do not think for a minute that I think I'm perfect and don't need to improve myself, cuz believe me, I know my shortcomings. I could resolve to lose weight and get in shape, but I've been working out and eating reasonably well since June when Summer left for Boot Camp. I've lost 35 pounds and still could lose more. And like I said in my profile, Body Rx changed my life.
I could resolve to quit drinking alcohol altogether, but that is just insane. I would break it.
So here I sit complaining about the world not having flying cars instead of finding ways to break my New Year's resolutions. Hey, maybe I'll finish a knitting project or two...