Tiff Crochets

As seen on Robyn’s blog.  My day was not nearly crafty enough, but it is pretty much a typical end-of-school year day in this household.

6:30 am – I wake up to Johnny Cash on my ihome. Hit snooze a few (3) times.

7:00 am – Hop out of bed, head to the girls’ rooms to wake them up before heading back to my room to get ready.

7:10 am – Peek in on the girls. Both are surprisingly moving around, probably because it’s their picnic day at school.  Most days they do not like to move.

7:30 am – Head to the kitchen. The girls and I make their picnic lunches. Laura gets to work on their peanut butter and banana sandwiches while I gather up snacks and drinks, snacking on a banana while I’m loading up the lunch bags.

7:40 am – I barely remember to grab the summer birthday cupcakes for Maddie’s class as we walk out the door for the trip to school

7:50 am – Drop the girls off, then run back to the house to pick up the car payment to drop off at the bank before returning for Maddie’s picnic.

8:20 am – Get back to the school to find the parking lot overflowing. I forgot that it was awards day for 1^st and 3^rd grades. Check in and head to Maddie’s class just as they were preparing to go outside for recess.

9:00 am – While talking to Maddie’s teacher, get a surprise hug from Laura. Her class had an early morning recess so the girls were able to play together for a few minutes for the first time this school year.

10:00 am – Lunch and cupcake time. Must remember to not buy cupcakes from Kroger. 17 kindergartners covered in pink, yellow, or blue icing.  Drop off a cupcake as a surprise for Laura while her classroom is empty.

11:00 am – Maddie and I head home for the day.

11:10 am – Sit down to check email when Andy calls. He’s bored at work. They switched to a 4/10 schedule this week and he’s worn out. Find out that I have 453 unread feeds on Google Reader. Start browsing through the feeds while Andy laments his workday, filling in the important supportive comments.

11:30 am – I really should eat. Start researching locally grown food sources on a whim while debating on what to eat for lunch.

12:30 pm – Finally quit looking at local farms and co-ops and eat a sandwich. Wish that Cheetos were never invented as I eat want to eat more of them than the teeny serving I allowed myself.

1:00 pm – Water Maddie’s lima bean plant (only vegetable she loves), load the dishwasher with the dirty lunch dishes, then celebrate getting below 375 feeds by starting a meme post before cuddling Maddie on couch for a bit.

3:00 pm – Woke up from unexpected nap with Maddie to text from Andy about not forgetting to wash his khaki pants. Still forgot. Love the power of “dry cleaning” sheets.

3:15 pm – Laura is home from school, the pants are in the dryer and the quiet afternoon continues as girls play Mouse Trap and I get much needed crochet time on my vest.

5:00 pm – Maddie’s classmate stops by. Find myself doing a little Girl Scout administrative work before finishing a few rows on my bathing suit vest while watching the kids play croquet in the front yard.

6:30 pm – Croquet mallets turn into light sabers. Politely say it’s time to go in for dinner before my Luke Skywalker takes out poor unsuspecting Darth Vader.

7:30 pm – Stir fry is complete and delicious! Let girls choose from birthday cupcakes or brownies from last night’s Brownie Girl Scout meeting for dessert.

8:00 pm – Do more Girl Scout administrative work. I’m trying to help a few troops re-organize after bridging activities have divided troops into different age levels. If this wasn’t a volunteer position, I wouldn’t spend Friday night working on it.

8:20 pm – Play pool on Yahoo Messenger with my cousin, while eating a cupcake. Vow to devote next hour to Wii Fit in order to finally figure out the Advanced Step kick move that has me stumped (and work off cupcake).

9:20 pm – After a round of Angelina Ballerina DVD watching, the girls are snuggled into bed for the night. Me time!

10:00 pm – I think I finally figured out the kick on the Advanced Step game on Wii Fit. Super Hula Hoop makes abs hurt, especially after two previous rounds of regular Hula Hoop. Cannot breathe.

11:32 pm – Google Reader feed count down under 250. It’s time to go to bed, cuddle the husband, and watch Doctor Who episodes until I fall asleep.

Next weekend I am off for my annual trek to Houston for a Memorial Day full of soaking in the sun by the pool.  I have been in probably the most damaging types of crochet slumps.  I start projects and cannot get past the few rows before becoming overwhelmed by a sense of “blah” towards the project.  I’ve started tawashi, dishcloths, clothing, and afghans, and nothing is catching my fancy.  My house, as always, remained full of gorgeous (and non-gorgeous yarn that needs a new home) yarn choices, but nothing is appealing to me.

I am determined though, to go into next Saturday with a quick, simple, and appealing cover up for my bathing suit.  We spend most of our time outside during this weekend and, with the exception of time spent at the Astros game next Saturday, I will be in my bathing suit most of the time.  Here are a few links to a few free cover up crochet patterns that I’ve come across today, just in case you also have a sun-filled holiday weekend ahead of you.

• Water’s Edge Cover Up via Crochetme.  I’m looking more for a top cover up over a skirt, but I may need this for our week at the beach later in the summer.
• Beach Wrap via Coats and Clark. While beautiful, it’s made of thread.  I don’t think I could finish this by the weekend along with the myriad other responsibilities on my plate this week.
• Beach Coat, Suit & Hat - Pretty and a nice 70’s vintage option.  I want more of a pullover, I think, but this is very cute.
• Petal Stitch Sarong - Another cute wrap.  I like the stitch pattern in this one.
• Beach Cover Up/Pullover - A new one from Lion Brand, but it looks a little thick.  I need to find this yarn to play with in something else summer related.
• Women’s Summer Vest - I like this one and think I might do a gauge swatch.  I’m thinking of making it a little bit longer and see how it goes.
• Tunic with mussel pattern - I think I could finish this one quickly too, and would work well as a cover up for the summer.

I think the key for me finding a summer beach cover up for this weekend might be to take a tunic or pullover pattern that you like, adjust it to fit perhaps a little larger, and add length.

My mother-in-law told my husband a funny joke when he called her on Mother’s Day.  What do President Bush and Senator Clinton have in common?

Neither one has an exit strategy.

My husband, oh wise one who avoids all current events unless they directly involve his line of work, did not get this joke and I had to explain it to him.  Before November, please let there be an election day for dummies that I can share with him.  (Disclaimer: He works for the government.  He practices law.  He should keep up to date on things other than Lance Berkman having a .393 batting average.)

We had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.  The girls and I drove to my grandparents’ house in the country where we had beautiful weather and the joy of catching the end of bluebonnet season.  Laura discovered the joy in picking dewberries fresh off the vine.

Maddie enjoyed walking along the road, chasing butterflies.  I think I managed to catch her mid-skip.

My grandmother made homemade ice cream and dewberry cobbler, while my mother brought a Honeybaked ham.  Instructions were lost in translation and I forgot to bring the materials to make sopapilla cheesecake.  Who needs cheesecake when you have homemade ice cream??  It’s very hard to work on crochet projects with such beauty around, particularly when it was cool enough Saturday night to have a fire and roast marshmallows and hot dogs.  I did do another tawashi, but it needs finished.  I started a few rows on a shawl, but left my stitch markers at home, so I’ll restart it soon, hopefully.

Every morning around 7:30 am, should you drive by my house, you would hear screams of torture and pain, although if you were to watch, there was no torture and no pain inflicted upon the victim.  Maddie does not like mixing her hair and her hair brush.  Thus, we went for a haircut Saturday morning.  She loves her new look, almost as I love the sighs of content and noticeably lack of tangles in the morning.

I lost about two pounds only to find it running loose in my front yard.  I caught a photo before stuffing it carefully in an envelope and shipping it north to Nebraska.

For reference, watch Doctor Who Season Four, episode one, Partners in Crime, then remember to never, ever take those silly miracle diet pills.  You never know what that fat might turn into.

I also finished more tawashis, along with receiving another shipment of antibacterial acrylic and a book.  Laura is now determined to speak and read Japanese because she is so infatuated with the tawashi book.  I made another Linked Ring tawashi and a pear.

The girls are not in any mood for bed tonight in anticipation of heading to my grandparents for the weekend.  They still have two more days of school to get through, which kills them.