I saw the light

Today is a happy day all the way around. Hopefully, this will signal the long-awaited end of my general state discontent and bitchiness. As you can imagine, my family hopes the same thing! Because I am a bit scattered, I will be doing the bullet point post.

• Happiness the first - I am starting a new job on the 27th, pending the drug test. Unless aliens happen to inject my veins with something in the next few days, I should pass with flying colors.
• Said new job comes with health insurance that starts on July 1. Whoo-hoo. Only one month of COBRA.
• The hours are great - 8 to 4:30. I don't think I will really miss the hour lunch, given that I can sleep a few extra minutes in the mornings!
• Walmart, Target and the grocery store are all at the exit I will be using for work, so it will be easy to do a quick run.
• Caleb starts his new daycare on Tuesday and he is excited about it. More than I am. Me? I am a sniveling wreck just thinking about the fact that he will have to go through the process of making new friends. Ironically, it just occurred to me that I will be doing the same thing at the same time. How dumb am I?
• Happiness the second - bagatelle is doing pretty well. On the trip that we took to waterpark hell the Wisconsin Dells last week, we stopped at 2 different store in small towns along the way and I sold to both of them. I have sold back nearly 50% of what I have put into the business so far. Not to bad for just 6 months.
• While in Baraboo, I found the cutest yarn shop. Seriously. If I could have moved in I would have. I was seriously irritated that I didn't have my camera with me. She had a fantastic selection of Cascade, just as good as Lakeside Fibers in Madison. For the Harry Potter fans, she is getting the new book and the corresponding Cascade that has been specially dyed to match the house colors. With those, I think she said she would have around 100 colors in stock! The shop also boasts a gift shop and coffee bar, a sofa or 2 and 2 HUGE kitchen tables in one of the best lit shops I've ever seen.
• Happiness the third - I think the universe is trying to tell me something. Today I received this from Trek. It's my prize from the contest she was running. It is a top whorl spindle and just under an ounce of chocolate brown roving. This must be the kick I need to learn to spin.

all's quiet on the blogging front

I'm guessing that the recent quiet from knit bloggers is due to unusually nice weather rather than their sudden demise. We're planning on taking advantage of it as well and are heading to the Wisconsin Dells today for a short stay at a water park. It is an actual city that is on the Wisconsin River. It used to be a quiet place full of cabins that you could rent. Now it is Water Park/Tourist Trap Hell. Everything is overpriced and crappy. But Caleb loves it and we found a sweet deal. The newest thing is that the better resorts are building indoor and outdoor water parks on their property so you don't have to leave at all. The are great but run about $200/night.

The job hunt is going very well and with a modicum of luck, I should be employed by the end of the month. Currently, there appear to be 4 strong contenders.

One company told me that they are putting together an offer. I really liked the people I met and the atmosphere seems very good. However, the pay will be my rock bottom minimum and a huge step backwards.

The second is in telecom and the base salary is okay with a commission structure. I don't clearly understand how much selling is required for the position and that makes me nervous. I am the only candidate that has been presented for this job and it seems like a lock. I just need to meet a couple more people face-to-face and they will be putting together an offer that same day. Why they can't give me the offer now if they are sure it will happen, I don't quite understand.

I had two other great interviews this week. One is in HVAC and I should find out today or tomorrow about that. This one is currently my top choice. The pay will be outstanding and the people seem really nice. The company is growing and the person who currently has the position is semi-retiring and they decided to add another full time person rather than just replacing him altogether. I see this as having a great resource on hand to help during the first few months in a new position.

The last opportunity is seems like the best fit, but the commute will be about 40 minutes each way. It is really just too far for me - I hate the thought of leaving Caleb in daycare that much longer every day. They have asked me back for a second interview and I will go on it just because I can't afford to rule anything out.

Hopefully this all goes well. We will most likely need to have COBRA for the time that I am off of work because of Eric being ill last fall and I don't relish the idea of having to pay that huge premium more than one month.

Dreamin' large

I was reading through my bloglines this morning when I came across this post that intrigued me. Over the years, I have given my dream home lots of thought. Mostly when I buy a losing lottery ticket and am waiting not-so-hopefully for the actual drawing.

For the most part I don't want anything too extravagent (unless we win the lottery - then all bets are off). Honestly, I would rather live in a smaller house and be able to do more things then be saddled with a mortgage that strangles us. That, and I am not keen on cleaning. Give me one or two extra rooms - these can be converted attic space or a finished basement - as long as it is clean and dry - I'm good.

But my ideal crafting room is pretty clear in my mind. It would be sunny and well lit with full spectrum lighting. Yarn and fabrics would be displayed beautifully in cubbies and shelves along a wall. In plastic to keep them clean, of course.

I would definately need both a sewing machine and a serger. The work space for sewing would also have a table with a permanently mounted self-healing cutting mat.

This would also be where I would have my spinning wheel and drum carder. Yes I know I don't spin yet, but I've tried it a couple of times and I enjoy it so much. It is another of the things that my hands just seem to know how to do. It just makes so much sense to me. Of course, I haven't done much and the fates will smack me for sounding cocky.

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I haven't been knitting much for myself, but have been whipping out the washcloths and felted hats. My goal is to have have about 30 hats for the fair and at least that many washcloths and handbags. Right now I am currently at about 25 washcloths and 7 hats. I've also have an inventory of about 15 bags. It doesn't sound like much, but it is quite time consuming to get all of them made.

Not much progress has been made on Sizzle, but I am feeling the need to get working on it. I really want to get it done before the end of the month so that I can wear it during the summer.

desperately seeking mojo

As I am sure is obvious - I have lost my blogging mojo. If found, please let me know. Rewards available.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record - life has been crazy. I finally reached my breaking point and left my job last week. This is good and bad. I get to spend some time with the family before Eric goes back to school at the end of June - good. But, we don't have health insurance at the moment - bad. I have more time to interview - good. None of my suits fit properly anymore - bad.

Overall, I am SOOOO much happier. It really is the best thing for our family even if the next bit could be a wee bit scary.

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Most of what I have been knitting of late has been for profit and I have been sewing quite a bit also. To date there are over 20 washclothes knit for the craft fair in November. I have also been working on a few other things. Now that I have a bit more free time I will try to post more regularly.

Fire

I have been composing this post in my head for the last 12 hours or so, but can't think of a decent title for it, so you are stuck with whatever lameness I put up there. Sorry.


Saturday was such an interesting day. Friday, my hubby, the cold-calling extraordinaire, made some contacts at businesses in Madison, just over an hour from where we currently live. We decided that on Saturday, we would take a day trip back to the old haunts, have a picnic lunch and try to sell some bags.


We were in the small town of Stoughton and had just stopped at a great vintage shop called Montage. (Sorry no website) The owner, Karen, another knitter, was very fun to talk with. She bought several bags for her shop.


While we were there, we walked through the downtown area for a bit. There was a couple in their late 40's or so (I am a terrible judge of age) who had 3 baby goats with them. They were sitting under the awning of a shop on Main Street so passers-by could stop and pet the babies. Caleb was fascinated with how soft they were. Truth be told, so was I.


Amazingly, they were just 24 hours old. It seems that they separate them from their mother so that they bond with people and are more docile. These wee goats will be shown in the local fair coming up this summer. The woman said that they milk the nanny goat and then bottle feed the babies the milk to aid the bonding with humans.


We were just getting into the car to leave town when we heard fire sirens going off. We looked up at sky and saw thick black smoke. Following the smoke back towards the ground, we realized that the fire was right in front of us.


The police were already on the scene blocking off the street the house was on. Because it is a small town, the fire fighters are volunteer and were starting to pour in to the firehouse which was a block from the burning house. We were concerned at first that there could be injuries, so we stopped (a safe distance away) to see if it looked like they needed any medical assistance because there was no EMS on the scene yet.


After looking more carefully, it became apparent that the house was abandoned and that whoever started the fire got out safely.


Neither of us had seen an actual burning building before so, like most of the other people downtown yesterday morning, we decided to gawk for a bit. It was astonishing just how quickly the fire spread.


After talking with some of the other people standing around, it looks as if there were a couple of 10 year olds who had been using the abandoned house as their headquarters and the two of them were seen running from the area that morning.

We happened to have our camera on us, and took a few pictures. I am linking to the flickr set so the page doesn't take too long to load.

We had more stuff that we did yesterday, but I will post about it later...

another meme

I discovered this meme over at A Knitted Frenzy and because I am in desperate need of blog fodder, I dove in!!

1. Where is your favorite place in the whole world? Northeastern Brazil. I love the easy generosity of the people who welcome you into their lives with such a passion that you can easily forget that you only just met them. Each and every time I return to Latin America, it feels like a homecoming for me. I only wish I could afford to go more often.

2. What type of food could you eat an entire bowl/container/box of? Besides chocolate? I am a huge cheese fan, most kinds except blue. Something about eating the active mold culture grosses me out. But count me in for the typicals, cheddar, swiss, even american. I adore feta and gruyere. Don't forget the brei, camembert, Parmesan, and romano.

3. Who is your favorite author? I don't know that I actually have a favorite author anymore. I used to read all the time, then I picked up the needles. Now, I have remedied the situation by learning how to knit by touch, at least stockinette and by loading audio books onto my iPod. I like reading chick lit - if only to live vicariously. I met my husband just after my 20th birthday, so the whole dating scene is somewhat foreign.

4. If you could do anything and actually get paid for it, what would you do? This one is easy - knit. I love it passionately and would love to be able to earn a living that way. Either that or sleep.

5. Who would you choose to take a cross-country road trip with (living, dead, historical, etc.) and why? I would love to travel with my little sister. We so rarely get to do big things together, funny what motherhood does. As kids, she was the most obnoxious creature on the face of the earth, there just to torment me. Yet, once she became a mom, well, it was the beginning of a whole new dynamic. Since then, we have not had the opportunity to do as much together, first she moved back to our hometown, then I moved to NYC. Now we are living in the same state again, but nearly 4 hours apart. I miss her more than I realize most days.

She is funny and wise, able to see through the crap that people erect around them. She inspires me to be a better person.

Although - at the end of a long road trip, it might just be like the time we went to the Dakotas in the late model Caprice Classic. Halfway though, my parents shoved the huge cooler in the middle of the back seat so we couldn't reach each other!

• Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me, please.”
• I will respond by emailing you five questions of my choosing.
• You must update your blog with the answers to the questions. Whether you like them or not.
• You have to include this explanation, and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
• When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

What a wild ride

As always, I am continually surprised at how busy I am. It seems that no matter how I try to shed the extra responsibilities, they always seem to latch on, like leeches or barnacles. Take your pick.

We went up to my hometown 2 weekends ago for my cousins wedding. I was so worried about it at first. Not the travel, but just the fact that he was getting married. He was always so babied and immature. I was so happy to see that he has grown up nicely in the last year. Not only has he gotten so handsome, but he has really grown up, after talking to him, I really think that he is ready for this. (I know that you can't tell from this picture, but they are a really cute couple.)

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While we were there, my family and I also celebrated my birthday which is coming up later this month. My sister rocked and got me this absolutely fabu gift. I'm tempted to go back and get this for myself.

The yarn feels very nice. I don't know if it is superwash or not, but it is 100% wool (so, really, how can it be bad?). I actually like the olive drab color.

The needles are a bright orangey-red plastic and the kit come complete with plastic darning needle and directions for a man's sock. I have other plans for this though.

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While at my parent's I was able to sell 3 more bags to the shop that had bought some previously. I am ecstatic that I won't have to wait until November to recoup the money I've put into this.

Over the last several months, one of the area Hancock Fabric's has been going out of business. A few weeks ago it closed its doors permanently, but not before I scored the haul of a lifetime.

I had been watching prices carefully and purchasing as fabrics fell below my threshold. I was able to get some very cute, high-quality fabric this way. However, the final weekend was a complete lark for us. On the last Saturday that the store was open, the prices had dropped to 80% off retail. At this point, you had to purchase the entire bolt or roll, but for that price... Heck yeah. That day, we walked out of the store with 5 rolls of decorator fabric and with our wallet $45 lighter.

Not realizing that it was the last day it was opened, we decided to head back to the store on Sunday to see if they would be willing to bargain on any of the remaining items. When we walked in, they announced that they were closing in an hour and that the decorator fabric (which I use for the bags) were 50 cents a yard. We went all out and spend another $45 that day.

After getting home and assessing the damage, realizing that I don't have any place to store that much fabric, I totaled up the original retail price of what I purchased and discovered that I had bought near $1950 worth of fabric and spent under $100.