seeneed

5 years

2009-01-31T18:35:38Z

Oh big deal happened this week. It has been 5 years since my mastectomy. Showed that ongologist!!!!!!

Ice storm

2009-01-31T18:29:05Z

Oh my gosh, I'm getting really sick of my own company. We had a huge ice storm here in MO on Monday and I didn't get out of my house again until Thursday afternoon. Then I went over to mom's and broke off he ice on her steps. I really needed to see people. I can only stand the solitary life so long and 3 days of my own cooking is way too much. I knitted, I made a purse, I watched a bunch of shows from the DVR and cooked some really good ratatoulli.

Yesterday I went to an evening knit-in at my favorite yarn shop. Have to say knitting with those women is the highlight of my week. They make me laugh and are intresting.

No prospects on the job front. Gosh I hate looking for a job. It is so degrading. I've expanded my search to almost the whole country for a product manager job or a contracting job. No bites yet. I'm hoping that some of the tourist jobs around here will start popping up in late Feb or early March.

Today I'm not feeling great so I'm back to doing the sitting on the couch thing. Hopefully this isn't the crappy flu that has been going around since I'm supposed to leave for the east coast on Thursday.

My life is a changing

2008-12-13T02:33:02Z

Well, things are being shaken up in my life.

My contract with AT&T ended on Dec. 3 after 2 years. It is painful because I've loved working from home and making excellent money. But the job was frustrating and not at all fulfilling.

I interviewed for a job running a franchised AT&T wireless store and was offered the job but turned it down because I wasn't willing to work for $6.65 per hour plus commission. When I told the HR person I wanted more money on the base she proceeded to explain the stuff she already had explained to me. Three times she offered me the exact same stuff she had offered me originally. Not my idea of negotiating. I just didn't want to take a job that was so restrictive. No vacation for a year, once in the building I wouldn't be able to leave for lunch or anything, working 3 Saturdays a month and managing 3 or 4 people that weren't good enough to promote in place. Not my idea of a minimum wage job.

So I've been talking to a few contractor companies and one might have some opportunities in London England, and another might have some openings in NJ. I'd love to go to London for a year or so and I'm thinking of going to NJ again for a while. I just can't wrap my head around taking such a large cut in pay especially since my retirement fund has been hit really hard. I was seriously thinking of just retiring and working a fun little job but I don't think I'm going to feel comfortable doing that with the economy so bad. Hopefully I'll be able to find a good job.

Right now I'm in California with my Mom at Bre's house. Tomorrow we are going on a Norwegian Cruise to the Mexican Riviera. So looking forward to it. None of us has been on a cruise before and so it should be fun.

I've made several more purses since my last post. Really enjoying it and I've started carrying one of the bags I made. Learned what I need to change on the next one. I've knitted a couple of baby hats. I just wanted to knit something small and Bre has a couple of friends that are having babies.

I have a long list of things I need to do while I'm off work and I've applied for a local job at one of the theaters. I probably won't be able to get a local job before March so I think I may go to NJ for a couple of weeks to visit friends and see some shows.

Bre is disappointed. She was ready to close on a house in Long Beach and a week before the scheduled closing there was a gang shooting at the house. She has decided the neighborhood is too rough for her to feel comfortable and is backing out of the deal. Now she is having to start the house hunting process all over again but I'm so glad the incident happened before she closed rather than after.

Ramblings

2008-10-05T15:44:13Z

Made it out to California visit Bre. We went to the orange county car show which was fun. They had a couple of really cool concept cars which I loved.

We also went to our favorite sushi place and a quick visit to Downtown Disney (guess I'm not that into shopping lately cuz I didn't find anything much interesting). We also picked up the treadmill Bre bought from a friend. It was a nice relaxing day with the kid.

So found a new show I think I'm going to like. Sanctuary debuted on Friday and Sci-Fi and it was intelligent and exciting. It may be a little darker than I usually like but gotta love the cutie that is the behavioral scientist and I'm an Amanda Tapping fan from Stargate SG1.

Finished the bag I been working on last week. I think it turned out pretty cute and I'm thinking I might try to sell it on Etsy.com

Catching up

2008-10-01T20:07:19Z

Well work is slow so I thought I would catch up my journal a little. I wanted to share this cool picture of a web that was outside my window. It took me a little to figure out how to get my digital camera off automatic but I thought the results were worth it.

Life here is good. Had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago, didn't make much money but got rid of some stuff. I'm thinking when my contract ends in Dec. I'll sell some stuff on ebay.

Been doing some sewing in addition to knitting. I'm learning how to make bags and really enjoying it. My aunt who has moved down here is big into quilting so we are always visiting quilting shops. I'd much rather visit knitting shops but I go with the flow and there are way more fabric shops in this area then there are yarn shops so I just go along. There is some very cool fabric around and some of it calls to me so I've decided to start making some bags. Think I might try to sell some of them on etsy.com Not sure if they are good enough but it is worth a shot.

I'm headed to California this weekend to visit Bre. Can hardly wait to see her!!! She got us tickets to see the Bonnie Hunt show and we are going to go bike riding on the beach and visit her work as well as some places in downtown LA which carry purse hardware. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure she'll find time to do some triathalon training while I'm there.

The weather here is awesome. Sunny and cool. My favorite time of year and now that I'm eating local honey my allergies don't seem to be bothering me too much.

I'm not looking at my stock portfolio since I'm sure it will make me crazy. But I'm assuming I'm going to have to keep working for a while more. I'm hoping I can get another contract when mine ends in Dec.

TV is interesting this year. Like Chuck, and Pushing Daisies, and Bones, and Eureka, and the Big Bang Theory (this is a show all nerdy people should watch), and of course Dr. Who and Torchwood. I think I might like The Mentalist. I know I like the lead actor. What a cutie.

Still knitting up a storm and right now am working on a sweater for my mom. I'm even going to be teaching a beginning knitting class starting Oct. 7. Hope to meet some nice people that way. I really enjoy the women I've met at the knitting group in Springfield.

New Car and Bre's Visit

2008-06-27T15:56:09Z

This is my new little Smart car. Got to pick it up on June 19th and I'm very very lucky to have it. I put my reservation in for the car at about the end of April but the waiting list is over a year long. I was willing to wait but I thought I would put my name on the orphan list (an orphan is a Smart car that someone ordered and then didn't want when it was delivered). I called the dealership in Kansas City on Wednesday June 18th and requested to be put on the orphan list and the sales person asked me what I wanted. I told him a Passion in one of the bright colors (this small of a car needs to be bright). He said I'll call you back in 10 minutes. They had an orphan just like I wanted and would I like to have it today. I about jumped through the phone yelling yes.

So on Thursday my mom and I drove up to Kansas City and picked it up. Isn't it cute. I'm so excited. Got 42MPG on my first tank of gas. Whoohooo. Plus the best part it was cheap enough that I can keep my Xterra in case I have to haul something or more than one person wants to ride with me.

Then on Friday Bre flew in from CA, and I picked her up at the Springfield airport. On Monday we drove to Memphis to meet a friend of hers who had just moved to Alabama. We saw Sun Records, Graceland, Beale Street. It was a nice trip. I was much more impressed with Graceland than I thought I would be. Everyone had always said how disappointing it was. I enjoyed it very much especially the private plane.

Now I'm working today then off to Ottumwa IA this afternoon to see the quilt show my aunt is organizing and one of my favorite singers, Christine Lavine. Should be fun.

I have to say I will be glad when July comes and I get a weekend to myself. I have been booked every weekend in June.

seeneed @ 2008-06-27T10:38:00

2008-06-27T15:38:31Z

Sometimes I just love nature. Today I saw three small fox in the field. It was so cool. But then some times I'm not a big nature fan like the other day when I saw a rotten old crow take a baby bird out of a next and eat it. Chiggers are another rotten part of nature around here.

I went to Owensboro KY this weekend with my mom and our friend Betty to attend the Mystery Theater Festival. I was spurred to attend because they were going to do a radio production of an episode of Remember WENN. This festival was created just for me. I love theater so much and I've been reading mysteries since I was in third grade when my grandma gave me monthly issues of The Happy Hollister Mysteries. I got to see 4 radio productions and then an new staging of an Agatha Christie play that was rediscovered after 70 years. It was such a great weekend. The only down side was the drive home after the matinee.

Bre's designs

2008-06-09T16:28:07Z

Oh I keep meaning to post this link. A bunch of the US Olympic clothing was designed by Bre. Check it out. I'm so proud of her.

http://www.speedousa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/category.content/categoryID/f8ccf8b4-12c2-4408-944d-34f56dbf424a/

She also completed her first sprint triathlon this weekend in 1 hour and 11 minutes. Her goal was 1 hour and 15 minutes so she beat her goal and she has been really training hard for a while. In case you are clueless like I was, a sprint triathlon is a 800 meter swim in the ocean, a 6 mile bike ride (I think it is 6) and a 5K run. I think she is amazing. So proud.

Great Weekend

2008-06-09T13:37:34Z

This was a really nice weekend. My brother and his family came down to visit on Saturday. Finally got to take my 5 year old niece and nephew to the dinasaur museum over in Branson. My nephew loves dinasours and I've been wanting to take him for about 6 months. It was worth the price of admission just to hear him ooooohhhhhh when he saw the first dinosaur.

My mom and Chris, my sister-in-law, and my little cousin Cheyenne went along and it was a very enjoyable outing. Then we came home and grilled hot dogs and let the kids entertain us. Gosh they are sweet and funny.

I have to say I'm loving living by family. In my whole adult life I've never even lived in the same state as any of my family until I moved to Missouri. Now my mom is here, my aunt and uncle are in the process of moving down, my cousin Brenda and her family are also in the process of moving here. It sounds like my cousin Brandy may come down as well. It is terrific to have family around.

Sunday morning I took the pontoon out and there were 11 of us. It was a beautiful sunny day but a little windy. Just wish we could have stayed out longer but my brother and aunt had to get on the road to go back home. I didn't do too well docking the boat again. I'm starting to get a complex about it.

The only down side to the whole weekend is I didn't get to spend much time with my brother. He didn't go to the dinasaur museum with us and when we got home from there, he decided to go out with his wife since they don't get to go out alone together very often. I totally understand him wanting to spend time with Chris but he sure as hell doesn't spend much time with my mom and I. I do have to give him credit though he does make and effort to call us on a regular basis.

Customer Service

2008-06-05T17:17:11Z

A month or so ago I decided to replace my water hog toilets with new dual flush toilets which use 1.6 gallons or 1.1 gallons of water rather than the 3 gallons of my old toilets. So since I was replacing the toilet I decided to get the new tile I wanted in my master bath. They put that in on Monday and it looked great. But to put the tile in they had to take the toilet out so I've been without a toilet in my master bath since Monday.

A few weeks ago I decided to line up a plumber to put in the new toilets, but the one that had been recommended didn't call me back. So I could either bother my uncle to do it or try it myself.

Okay, I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with myself. Yesterday, I installed a new dual flush toilet by myself. My mom was here helping read directions and guide me in the right direction for placing screws but I pretty much did it all by myself. The directions were crappy but we eventually figured it out. The only disappointing thing is that the plumbing supply place that sold me the toilets sent the wrong seats so now I have this beautiful new toilet and still can't use it.

I called customer service at the plumbing place and they said they would have the new seats ready just bring the old ones in. Oh and by the way the new seats were going to cost about $6 more per. No I'm sorry or anything. So I asked if they were going to pay for my gas up there (about 70 miles round trip). They came back after checking with a manager and offered to take $20 off so that basically means I get the oval seats at the same price as the round seats. I guess I'm happy with that.

Remember the saga of the shattered glass on my audio stand. Got hold of the customer support at Bello yesterday and had a nice conversation with the lady. She explained that if you hit the glass on the side with a vacuum or something, it can cause the glass to shatter even months later. She also told me the reason she hadn't called back earlier was that she was trying to locate another shelf but since the unit had been discontinued there were none available and she wouldn't be able to do anything for me.

I told her that I understood the unit wasn't under warranty but that as far as I was concerned there was a design flaw with the unit if you could bump it on the side and it would shatter and if she didn't do something to help me out I was going to go to all the web sites I could find and tell my story. She asked me what I would like her to do. I told her I could think of two options.

1. Pay for another piece of glass.
2. Give me a very deep discount on a new piece of furniture.

She asked me to send her a copy of the original receipt and she would see what she could do.

Today she called and said she had checked another warehouse and they would be sending me the replacement glass and they would pick up the shipping. I thanked her and felt good about the negotiations.

So I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself today.

up and down day

2008-06-03T13:39:45Z

Yesterday was a weird day. I was on a high most of the day because I was getting my new bathroom tile installed. It is this beautiful muted blue/gray porcelain tile that the people laying it just raved about the quality. I bought about 10% over the amount needed but the installers were worried they might not have enough. Luckily there was one extra tile left. Whew. It turned out really pretty and I was a happy camper.

Then I was downstairs watching some movie I'd recorded from Turner Classic Movies when about 15 minutes into the show I hear this huge BOOM!!!! I looked around and saw that the bottom glass shelf of my media stand had exploded for no reason at all. There was glass everywhere, up to 5 feet away. So weird. Nothing fell on it. I've had the same equipment on the shelf for years so it wasn't like the stuff was too heavy. Luckily the glass was tempered but it still took a couple of hours to clean up. I'm hoping the manufacturer will replace the glass for free cuz it will be expensive to replace and this sounds like a manufactures defect to me.

Strange day.

Today I'm off for my 6 month check-up with the oncologist. I'm sure everything is fine especially since they have me seeing the physician's assistant but it always makes me a little nervous.

hanging out

2008-05-28T20:21:06Z

Hey gang,

Work is really really slow so I thought I'd bebop over to Live Journal and see what was going on with everyone.

Life at the lake is good. I've had family over the last two weekends for dinner. Gives me a good excuse to clean the house and try some new recipes. Everyone seemed to have plenty to eat and I even had a few requests for the recipe I used on the chicken wings. Go figure.

The weather cooperated this weekend and I took the boat out both Saturday and Sunday. It was great. Now have a whopping 8 hours on the engine. Can hardly wait to hit 20 so I can run it full out for a while.

I've discovered an author that I just love. Her name is Craig Rice and she wrote mysteries in the 40s and 50s. Under the name of Daphne Sanders she wrote "To Catch a Thief" which is one of my favorite movies. I've been on the hunt for some of her books since the library here doesn't have any and have been able to track down most of them. She wrote under the pen name Micheal Venning and those are still on my want list but I haven't been able to locate any of those at a reasonable price. The mysteries I've been reading are in the same vane as Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man". He is another mystery writer I really enjoyed. I love discovering a good author.

I've been knitting up a storm. The picture I attached is the laptop bag I made for Bre. She wanted a pink llama so she drew it and put in on graph paper, I knitted it and felted it.

Right now I'm working on a t-shirt knitted with bamboo yarn and making Bre a little bag for her computer tablet so it doesn't bang into her laptop.

Well the flooring store just called and they are able to put in my new bathroom tile floor tomorrow so I have to go and rip up the carpet. Have a good one

catching up

2008-04-24T02:48:18Z

Oh my gosh. I can't believe it as been 11 weeks since I posted.

Hmmm, well lets see. My mom got back from Phoenix about 2 weeks ago and already she has me working on projects. This weekend we made a couple of wooden boxes to hold her stained glass. The first one was pretty fun to do but by the time we finished the second one I was over it.

I also planted my raspberry and blackberry bushes along with some salvia and vincas. I do need to get some more seeds planted but I've been wiped out by work being so depressing and horrible all I want to do is sit and knit.

The flooding around here didn't affect me or my property but boy do I have really great lake front property now. One bad thing from the floods for me is that there is a lot of debris in the water so taking my new boat out on the lake has to wait.

I've been going up to Springfield on Thursdays to knit with some really nice women. It has been very nice and it gets me out of the house which is really necessary since working at home makes me a little stir crazy.

I've also been taking some gardening classes which are really interesting. That sort of catches me up. At least on a high level.

Super bowl Sunday

2008-02-04T00:56:53Z

Well unlike the rest of the US I have no interest in the Super Bowl so I went up to Springfield today and did a little shopping then went to the knitting store and sat around knitting for about 4 hours. It was really great. They are a very nice bunch of women. I'm working on a scarf that is easy but I'm not really thrilled with the way that it is turning out. The yarn just doesn't have the look I had anticipated. Too bad because it was really pretty yarn in the skein. I'm about half way done with the scarf and going to give it to a friend when it is done. I think I'm learning something from this experience. I'm attacted to yarn because of the color and texture which often leads me to multihued varigated yarn. However the patterns I'm drawn to seem to lend themselves much better to plain colored yarn so i need to start remembering that when I buy yarn in the future.

Gotta Love Southern Missouri

2008-02-02T02:09:42Z

We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday and this morning it was so beautiful piled on the tree branches and the deck rails. The birds were on the deck rails waiting in line for the bird feeder.

Have I told you how much I love my bird feeder. It is set up so I can see it from my desk when I work. It is so cool to see how many different kinds of birds there are around here. So many finches, I never knew.

But then by this afternoon when I needed to leave the house the snow on the drive and on the streets was melted.

I love this place.

Writer's Block: My Favorite Craft

2008-02-02T01:38:50Z

What's your favorite arts & crafts project?

View 144 Answers

knitting

catching up

2007-10-25T01:52:07Z

Well my life has gotten a little bit quieter since my mom left for the winter on Monday. She has been running me all over the place this summer. We had a great time.

OH, OH, big news. I bought a new pontoon boat last Friday. I'm very excited. It was such a gorgeous weekend and we got to take the boat out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is so pretty and can hold 16. I know they say the two best days of a boat owners life is the day they buy it and they day they sell it. Well the day I bought it was awesome. But taking it out on the almost deserted lake on Saturday and Sunday was pretty damned cool.

Lately I've been watching Stargate SG-1. I can't believe it took me this long to discover it. Such an interesting show and great imagination. Not enough romance for my taste but there are occasional glimpses. However, there is some very cute eye candy. I just love Jack.

Dyeing Yarn

2007-08-21T02:48:58Z

finally found a class on dying yarn. So on Saturday my friend Barb and I headed to Rogersville to the local yarn shop and took a two hour class on dyeing animal based yarn. It wasn't very hard and we had a fun time but I don't think I'll probably do much of it. Besides it being messy, I got more pastel colors than the jewel tones I was going for. But it is one of those things I can do now if I want.

Can hardly wait because on Sept. 8th we are going back to take a class on spinning yarn.

Yesterday my mom, Barb and I went down to eat at the resturant at the dock. Watched all the cute fishermen come into the dock in their vastly overpowered boats.

poor bird

2007-08-17T03:51:30Z

Last night I was sitting on the couch watching TV and heard a thunk on the big picture window under my deck. I peeked out the window and there was a poor little bird just laying on the patio. I went back about 15 minutes later and peeked out again, it was still breathing but it was still there. I worried about it all evening but didn't look out again. I was trying to figure out what I'd do if it was dead on my patio. I really get creeped out by dead things. Luckily when I came down stairs, the bird was gone and I was happy I didn't have to figure out what to do with a bird body.

Does anyone else watch "Men in Trees" I think in is such a fun freaky little show.

where have I been?

2007-08-16T20:30:50Z

Good question. I've been in MO and spending lot of time with my mom. Last weekend I went to a knitting convention in Chicago. This is a way different type of convention from the sci-fi ones I went to with most of my friends on live journal!!!!!!

I attended 2 design classes. One on computer design software and on on design principles. They were both excellent. I also went to class on making collars, cutting knitting, and color knitting (intarsia). I learned a ton and spent a ton at the market. All those yarns so little time.

My boat has been on the fritz since the 5th of July which has been very disappointing. I've missed the best of the summer on the lake and had several friends come to visit with no boat. Very sad.

But I've not been bored. My mom got a new embroidery sewing machine and so we've been figuring out things to embroider on all my shirts and towels. That has been kind of fun. Been up to see the neice and nephew a time or two, had them down once and I've had several weekends worth of company too.

Yvonne and Mary, I'm sad you didn't make it to MO to visit this summer. That would have been awesome. I had a very good time in Chicago this summer planning our trip to New Zealand with Heather, Dinda, Dana, Christine, myself and Bre. That is going to be the best trip ever. So excited.

I've been watching Eureka every Tuesday with my Mom and our friend Barb. I got them hooked on the show and we have a movie night every Tuesday. That has been a lot of fun.

Have to go back to work. I'll try to write more later.

Rainbow

2007-04-30T15:25:45Z

Oh my gosh, I saw the most beautiful rainbow this morning. I got to a place in my drive to work where you could see the whole arch from end to end and it was framing this really pretty horse farm. Days don't start much better than that.

weekend with Bre

2007-04-09T10:43:39Z

Had a great weekend with my daugter. We didn't do a ton but I sure enjoyed spending time with her. She flew in early Friday morning and we stopped in Atlantic City for an hour or so to kill some time before we went on the rounds to visit her favorite surf shops down the shore. It was fun. At one store she found some shoes she liked and had liked the last time she was in the store but at that time they could only find one of the pair so obviously that didn't work. She asked if the they could find and the match and they did so she go this cute pair of shoes for $10. We asked what year the shoes were from and they were from 1991. Hell she got band new vintage shoes for $10. What a find.

She got to see some of her friends and while she was off running around I was knitting up a storm. Am about to finish a sweater and thinking about my next project which I think will be a little t-shirt with a trim of bamboo yarn. I've never knitted with bamboo before and am excited about it. I've knitted a few dish clothes over the last few weeks. Wanted to give a gift to some friends that loaned me some furniture and thought that would be a nice little present besides I saw this cool pattern I wanted to try.

Looks like I'm going to get to work from home starting at the end of May. Yee Haw. Can you tell, I want to go home. Miss my mom, miss my house, miss my stuff and I'm anxious to take the boat out.

traveling

2007-04-09T10:35:26Z

Your Travel Personality Is: The Adventurer

For you, travel is how you learn about the world. And you like to learn the stuff that's not in guidebooks.
You truly have wanderlust. When you're not traveling, you're dreaming about where you'll go next.
And your travels are truly legendary - they leave you with stories you'll be telling for the rest of your life!

What's Your Travel Personality?

damn conference calls

2007-03-30T01:37:33Z

Alright, I'm sitting at the computer a little pissed. I was supposed to have a conference call last night with a guy from Australia. He flaked and I went to have ice cream with a friend. The guy rescheduled for tonight and he is flaking on me again. You would think they would be more considerate than to have me spending my evenings waiting for damned conference calls.

Went to dinner at Chipotle (sp) with Olya. I love those big old fat burritos. Did a little knitting while I was waiting for the call. I've been doing tons of knitting since I got to NJ. It is so nice to sit and watch tv and knit. That is about all there is to do in this little apartment. I will be very happy to get back to my house in MO. It is getting to be spring and I want to take my boat out on the lake.

Anyone coming to visit me this summer?

Bre is coming to visit next weekend. YEE HAW. Can hardly wait to see her. I'll take off Friday and we'll probably go into NYC on Sunday.

Damn, Australia is an hour late calling back when he said it would be a half hour.

Writing of Australia makes me think of "Kath and Kim". I just love that show. Bre and I had such a blast watching it together when I was sick. It is just such a guilty pleasure. If you get a chance, make sure to watch it.

back

2007-03-21T17:15:00Z

Hey guys,

Sorry I have been away so long. Just got out of the habit of checking LJ when I got out of that miserable job in MO.

I'm having a blast in NJ. Love my knitting class each Tuesday night and I've been spending my free weekend days working in my friend's yarn shop. I thought working in the shop would keep me from going out shopping and spending tons of money. Now I just spend tons of money in the yarn shop.

Last weekend I got to see a really fun singer, Christine Lavin. She has people come knit with her before the show. It was really nice and the show was a blast. If she ever comes to your area, she is definitely a fun evening. www.christinelavin.com

This weekend I'm going with my friend Sally to see Ann Hampton Callaway and a new Broadway musical by Kander and Ebb, Curtains. Really looking forward to both.

Well I have to go back to work.

Hi to all,