June 30, 2007
Crazy Days!

I've been very busy with work with both of my bosses out of town for 2 weeks. That leaves me to take care of it all. We have a temp who comes in, she's great and helps with the phones and people coming in but it's been very hectic. This morning I had to make 2 deposits for work and then I got some things finally in the mail! So Tori and Dawn, your gift is on it's way.

I've almost finished one of my 'Vog On socks and will cast on for the other. Love the pattern but I'm having trouble figuring out the Picot Bind Off. I'll get it. I've also started a Mystery Stole 3 KAL, it's kind of cool. You are given the pattern in clues and nobody knows, except for the creator Melanie, what the stole will look like finished. I haven't casted on yet, still figuring out my yarn choices. And I must pick from stash as my scale hasn't moved in 2 weeks. The good news there is it hasn't gone up. I'm jonesing to buy yarn....oh yes, I'm an addict. I almost did without realizing it about a week ago, i almost bought yarn and was 2 clicks away from ordering and said, "Oh crap....I can't buy yarn!" And this was for a good cause, it's to help Annie Modesitt who's dear hubby has been diagnosed with cancer. Does that give me an excuse? Maybe? Perhaps? Well, if you'd like to help, go check out her site and go to the link, We Love Annie.

Suffering from a migraine and girl troubles today, but I took a pill and slept for awhile and feeling better now except for this dang heat! I bet it's over 100 today! Keep cool and have a great weekend!


Posted by Mitchypoo at 4:03 PM 0 comments



June 28, 2007
Friday's Feast #7/150


Appetizer
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear most days?

8 - 2 sets of earrings, 2 rings, a toe ring and a bracelet.
*update I forgot a pearl necklace and a watch, so I usually wear 10 items!

Soup
What is your favorite instrumental song?
I'm really bad with song names, but instrumental made me think of Joe Satriani and any of his guitar solos. Now you know I'm a product of the 80's.
Salad
Who has a last name that you like?

I love the name Holly Golightly from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. In fact, when I was divorcing I was changing my name back and found out that I could legally change my name to anything I wanted and I considered changing it to Holly Golightly.

Main Course
Name a popular movie you’ve never seen.
I can't remember the name but it was Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn and they were going down the river?...
Dessert
Fill in the blank: Nothing makes me more content than like when I'm knitting.






Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:44 PM 14 comments



June 27, 2007
Thursday Thirteen Edition #19


In honor of my cousin who is having a birthday on the 4th of July I present to you...
Thirteen Things about my cousin Cindy that Mitchypoo loves!
  1. She's a nurse by profession but a caretaker by nature.
  2. She lets me call her Cin or Cinders.
  3. She's a good and loyal Wife and Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Step-Mom, Aunt and Cousin.
  4. She's got a good sense of humor and lets me kid her.
  5. She's adventurous.
  6. She's a knitter and we all know that knitters are cool people!
  7. Her life is never boring, she's always entertaining.
  8. She loves animals.
  9. She loves people.
  10. We share many memories growing up together that still make us laugh.
  11. We've survived boyfriends, husbands and still can laugh about it.
  12. She was there while I went thru some really bad medical stuff and she calmed me down and comforted me. She was also there during another bleak period and I'll never forget how she helped and supported me.
  13. She's special to me and always will be.

Happy Birthday Cin! Love ya!


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Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:06 PM 7 comments



June 25, 2007
What I did this weekend...



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Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:12 PM 1 comments



June 21, 2007
Friday's Feast #6




Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have.
Oh, I have so many... One is that I like things to be even. I like someone's name to have an even number such as I like the name Mary because there is 4 letters, but Kim or Kimmy I don't like cuz it has 3 or 5. My full name is even because I spell it with one L and with the space between it's even. Michele ****** ~ a total of 14.
Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?

Piano. I use to take lessons in my 20's and never mastered it, but someday I'll take lessons again.

Salad
How long is your hair?

The shortest it's been since I was in Elementary school, it's above my shoulders. A big change for me but I really like it.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?

Hard one to remember. Maybe it was a cousin.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

Coffee Grinder. It's a must if you enjoy really fresh brewed coffee.



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Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:25 PM 12 comments



June 20, 2007
Thursday Thirteen Edition #18





I'm still trying to keep on track and continue to lose weight but I have a huge sweet tooth right now. I almost had some Baskin Robbin's ice cream tonight, but I resisted. So I'll drool over the pics of some of my favorite sweet treats.


Thirteen favorite sweets of Mitchypoo's ...



  1. Creme Brulee. This is the ultimate desert for me.

  2. Cupcakes!

  3. Godiva chocolates. The quality is really good. Expensive, but good.

  4. Purists may say that white chocolate is not really chocolate, but I love it anyway.

  5. Custard pie. My Mamacita makes a mean custard pie and it was also my Father's favorite.

  6. Key Lime Pie. Another favorite that I have a hard time not ordering if I'm at a nice restaurant.

  7. Sweet Tarts! A favorite since childhood.

  8. Cheesecake. Mamacita is the cheesecake queen. She has a large repertoire of different types of cheesecake.

  9. Chocolate Shake.

  10. Truffles. You can get these at Target and they are the best.

  11. Peach Cobbler. Heated with melty vanilla ice cream ~ of course!

  12. I'm such a kid.

  13. Hot gooey Chocolate Sundae. Geez ~ I really want ice cream I guess.

Hungry??

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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Posted by Mitchypoo at 11:39 PM 14 comments



No matter how others behave, I keep peace in my heart.

I started on my 'Vog On Socks last night. I'm using Francis Patrick yarn in a really pretty colorway called Mountain Wildflowers. I had started another sock using this yarn, but I did not like it so I decided to use it for this project because it's really beautiful yarn. Here is a link to a pic of my started project on Ravelry. Speaking of which, I hope all of you who have signed up have received your invite to be on Ravelry because it's really, really.....really cool! And if you did get on Ravelry please add me as a friend, I am mitchypoo on there.

I think we're finally going to have a knit night tomorrow. We being my best bud Jul and me. There is a knit shop that is open late til 7 pm on Thursday's and that works for us. Other knit nights are from 7-9 pm, but frankly, that's too late for both of us. Yes, I'm an old lady... :) Geez, what happened to the nights when we didn't go out until after 9 pm and would come home sometimes as the sun would rise. That was a long time ago and truly, I don't miss those days too much.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 9:47 AM 1 comments



June 18, 2007
This is a new day. I begin anew to claim and create all that is good.

The weekend was a bust... I was just not feeling well and so I did a lot of knitting and sleeping and not a fraction of what was on my to do list... Today I made it to work, I'm wearing my black and white, my skin and eyes are clear from all the sleeping, but I'm starting to sneeze and my body is already tired and it's barely lunch time. Zicam is not taking care of it. Or maybe it is and it would've been worse? I don't know.

Yuki is coming tonight but if I don't feel better I won't have her massage me. My skin gets sensitive when I don't feel good, it's hard to explain but I know that it will not be soothing and relaxing if I'm feeling icky.

I'm still in love with Ravelry and I encourage any knitters and crocheters to check it out. I've been busy logging some projects and yarn and needles on the site. I've joined a Knit Along and also wanted to plug it. The KAL is for the new Knitty pattern called 'Vog On. If you'd like to join us, please go visit us at 'Vog On Knit-A-Long. I plan to make mine like the 2nd pic of the pattern, longer in the leg. I haven't chosen my yarn yet, but it'll be from stash because I have 5 more lbs. to lose to buy yarn.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 12:49 PM 1 comments



June 14, 2007
Friday's Feast #5




Thursday Thirteen Edition #17

Thirteen Things about Mitchypoo!
  1. I love pearls. I love them because they come from the sea and are one of God's gifts. I have a set of potato pearls, white cultured pearls, black cultured pearls, a pearl ring and a black pearl drop pendant for my strands.
  2. I cannot say the words "smoked oyster". It just never comes out of my mouth right. I can say them separately, forwards or backwards, but not together.
  3. When I was in elementary school a so called friend and her older sister called the police department and said they were killing me in their kitchen, complete with screaming noises for affect. They scared my poor Grandmother to death showing up looking for me and taking off to try and find me. I was walking home from school and was so embarrassed when they stopped and asked my name and made me get in the car while my friends laughed at me and wondered what I did.
  4. I use to be a high jumper in grade school and was quite good at it. I went to a meet one time and remember seeing Dwight Stones. My coach told me if I continued I could qualify for the women's Olympic team someday. I wish I had continued. My mom just told me that I won the gold medal at said meeting where I saw Dwight Stones and it was my first competition.
  5. I cut the tip of my middle finger off and they were able to reattach it. It happened when I was 12.
  6. I broke my pinky toe by hitting a juniper stump while going to feed the chickens in Oregon one day. I am not kidding! I was really pissed because I had been complaining to the then hubby to remove that stump. He promptly did it after a trip to the emergency room.
  7. I once dated a guy who went by the name Ragnar, he was a Viking re-enactor. There is no accounting for taste. But he was absolutely gorgeous!
  8. I was once a Mary Kay representative...
  9. I have met Kim Novak. The older film star who was in The Birds. She lived in the dinky town I lived in in Oregon. She may still live there. She was married to a retired veterinarian and they were having some work done on their home, of which my hubby was in construction and worked on her home. She was very nice to him and to me when I met her. Her house was beautiful and they had a huge barn and they raised Alpacas. She allowed them to be in her house. She had a regular persona and a Kim Novak persona. She must have been in her mid 60's when I met her and she was still movie star beautiful.
  10. I have seen Prince's purple house in MN. He lived near my cousin.
  11. I was once a contestant in a Beauty Contest. I did not place.
  12. I've always been a care-taker.
  13. I use to have janitors at school hold stray dogs and then I'd tell my parents that they followed me on the way home from school. This entry is courtesy of Mamacita! I have always been a sucker for animals.

** I don't know why some of your dropped off my Mr.Linky below, feel free to add your info again.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!



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Posted by Mitchypoo at 2:06 PM 15 comments



June 12, 2007
Entrelac

I've finally got it! I don't know how many times I've tried to master entrelac patterns and I just got so frustrated and put it down. I've had cyber friends send me detailed directions to no avail. But Lupinbunny's Entrelac Template finally made sense to me and looky what I did...
It's an entrelac bathroom towel that I'm making. It's 9 squares wide and will probably take both skeins. It's a lot of fun to knit once you get it. I have a scarf that I want to get going on in Entrelac but I'll use 3 squares across and maybe bigger squares, we'll see. I was up too late last night knitting on this and again tonight I just knit away.
These are my 5 lb. socks that I'm making with Francis Patrick hand dyed and it's the yarn I purchased after losing my first 5 lbs. I love the colors. I'm hoping to buy my 10 lb. skein soon but not sure it'll really be anytime soon because I'm, frankly, struggling right now.
Oooh, Summer Knitty is up! I love wisp, of which I have a pale pink yarn I think will be perfect for it. I love 'Vog On and Coupling. I have socks in my future!

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Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:43 PM 2 comments



June 11, 2007
Nature thrills me, renews me, and refreshes me.

I was sick on Friday and stayed home. Something wrong with my tummy. Started feeling better Saturday which was good because I watched my friends girls Saturday night. The girls are 10, and twins who are 4. They were well behaved. We played and they went swimming and then we had dinner and then a bath and then to bed.

Mamacita's car overheated Friday on the way home and so I had to go help her. I took it in this morning to be looked at and it seems she may need a new radiator. But she loves her car. I got a shuttle to work and will pick it up after work.

We went to a Cat Show on Sunday, sponsored by Cat Fanciers. Our first cat show! It was really pretty neat. It was held indoors in 1 building at the Orange County Fairgrounds. We watched some cat judging, saw many different types of cats and fell in love with a Sable Burmese. Mamacita liked the Burmese too but likes the champagne color. We got a few cards and we may buy one in the near future. She'll have some champagne kittens in about 6 months. They are gorgeous cats, they are small but sturdy, round head, short hair and very cuddly and companionable. This 3rd cat will be my brother's cat, who's afraid of cats, so we're working on that. I think it'd be so good for him to have a companion like that. I think if he gets used to a cat, he'll be fine.

I got an invite to Ravelry!!! And wow, is it cool! I am logging in my stash and needles and projects and have a friend on there already. They are not yet ready, but are inviting people as able so go sign up and get your name on the list. So far, I'm so excited about this site, it's really great! And I found a pattern on there for entrelac and FINALLY have got it I think! I'm working on a bathroom towel for my bathroom and will post pics tonight. I'm so excited that I finally got this. I've tried entrelac many times and haven't been able to master it, so I'm happy about this. I see entrelac scarfs and a wrap in my future!

I haven't updated my ticker because I'm trying to weigh once a week on Wednesdays. But this weekend, especially with not feeling well, has been a challenge. It's getting harder but I'm still moving on and making changes. It won't be perfect and that's kind of hard for me to accept, but I am. Overall, I'm better than where I was.

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Posted by Mitchypoo at 9:11 AM 0 comments



June 7, 2007
Friday's Feast #4




June 6, 2007
Thursday Thirteen Edition #16





Thirteen Places that Mitchypoo wants to travel to!
  1. Venice. I want to go on a gondola and go under the Bridge of Sighs. Preferably with my love where he'll profess his undying love for me. See my favorite old movie with Sir Laurence Olivier and Diane Lane called A Little Romance and you'll understand!


  2. Egypt. I want to see the pyramids.


  3. New Zealand~ My spinning wheel is from New Zealand, I'd love to go see the Ashford Company and also they have more sheep per capita than people. How cool is that!


  4. Naples, Italy. There is suppose to be a place called Cafe Michele that has the all time best italian pizza. Well, it's my name and i have to try the best pizza!

  5. Maine, USA. I'm going to eat so much lobster I'll probably get the gout!


  6. Ireland. I want to see the colors, all shades of green and I want to learn more history of Aran knitting and get some yarn from there!

  7. Germany~to see where my ancestors came from and learn more about my Prussian heritage and history.

    Banff, Canada. I like the name. And I hear it's really beautiful there.

  8. Thailand~I love the food and I'd love to see it.

  9. Paris ~ Everyone has to go to Paris don't they? But my Grandmother would be so upset, she detested the French for some reason.


  10. Norway~for the yarn and knitting for one.

  11. Spain~the food looks spectacular.


  12. Ayers Rock in Austrailia. I have to see it for myself.

  13. Japan ~ Because of my love of their culture and their art.

Have you been to any of these places? What was it like? I'd love to hear about it!




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Posted by Mitchypoo at 11:35 PM 16 comments



I am willing to see my magnificence.

The scale was up 1 lb. this a.m. but I'm not feeling defeated. I know that I've made good changes and I'm doing well and I think it's normal to fluctuate. I'm still continuing with my efforts.

Mamacita and I went to an Adult Education Award Ceremony last night where my brother received an award for a Technology Certificate. He goes to the Adult Education classes during the week and he earned this award by learning more about computers, email, word processing. He received a pin and a certificate. And of course, my camera batteries died as he was given the award...dang it! Very proud of him!

Did you know you can do traffic school online now? Yes sir and that is what will be occupying my evenings until I finish my class. I don't know how many times I've had calls from upset people with an increase in their auto premium and they had the option to go to school and did not. It's insane not to, it's definitely worth your time and money. For us in CA, it erases the ticket from your record.

I got a letter yesterday and my mammogram was good! One thing to check off the list. Now if I could make myself get in the habit of doing self-mammogram monthly. Do any of you do that? How do you make it a habit? I'm curious how many women do it, they say it like every woman does, but I wonder. It's like flossing your teeth, I wonder if I'm the only one who struggles with it, I cannot make it a habit.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:18 AM 3 comments



June 5, 2007
When I listen to my inner guidance, I am on the magic pathway.

I had a bit of a struggle last night. I was able to get rid of the headache earlier with excedrin migraine and I was very thankful for that, but I believe my blood sugar dropped in the afternoon and I started to not feel well. I felt very anxious, just not well. When I got home I needed to just sit for awhile and knit to calm myself. I wasn't even hungry for dinner so I did not eat. But then I felt like I needed to eat something so I had toast, whole wheat toast with a slice of cheese and some cinnamon sugar. I felt better after that. I decided to listen to my body and just take care of me. I also got the munchies after feeling better and succumbed to about 1 tbsp. of cheese dip and some chips, but only about a handful, so all in all, it could have been worse.

The scale was the same this a.m. and I feel great this a.m. Getting ready to have my muesli and organic yogurt for breakfast.

I got a package of Caribou Coffee in the mail yesterday. 2 lbs. of coffee beans and a really cool mug! Thanks to a gift card from my Auntie. We don't have Caribou Coffee here in CA and I really do miss them. They have a blend called Amy's Blend that benefits the Susan G. Kommen Foundation for breast cancer. Amy was one of their coffee roasters who died from breast cancer and they do it to honor her. The blend is available in May and October. I missed May, it sold out. Will have to try again in October.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 9:13 AM 0 comments



June 4, 2007
I sever my ties to the past and live in the wonderful now.

Happy Monday! I like Mondays, it's a new beginning and I hardly ever have an awful Monday. I woke up saying that I was going to sell a policy today. No reason, I don't have anything in particular in the works but that was the thought in my mind. So around 9:30 a man walks in that I've never seen before and says, I need liability... so he had a terminated auto policy and wanted to start his auto policy again. Turns out he needs to come back with the proper paperwork in order for me to start he policy. He hasn't come back so I'm not sure it'll actually happen but I couldn't help but think of my thought this morning when he came in.

Mamacita had a bad fall at the mall yesterday. We were in a store, I was going to buy something and in line and Mamacita was waiting outside with my brother. Then one of the workers came up to the line and says, Do we have a Michele here? She told me my Mom fell and so I dropped everything and went to the front of the store, she was sitting down but she got tangled up with one of their tables, trying to get out of the way for a lady with a stroller and she fell on her knees and one arm. She was OK, but wanted to go home and ice, so we did. I put tiger balm on her neck last night and she assured me she didn't hit her head and was OK and didn't need to go to urgent care. She went to work this a.m. and when I talked to her she was so surprised, but she felt great. The store people were very nice. It could have been worse, so I'm glad she is OK. She even wants to go walking tonight. I think I can think of it this week, so that's the plan for tonight.

Last night I grilled eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, red and orange peppers for the week. And I also made salads for me for the week. Feels good to be prepared. I ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen yesterday and i had a bite of Mamacita and Gary's pizza and had my own California Club pizza but was full after half of it. Took it home but Mamacita will eat it. And I didn't gain this a.m. so that was great! It felt good to be in control of my eating even at a restaurant.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 12:30 PM 0 comments



June 3, 2007
I have a happy, fearless and loving heart.

My ticker changed! I'm down 8.5 lbs. I'm afraid this high will end soon...which I'm aware that the loss will slow down as I have less to lose, but for now I'm going to enjoy my success. I know that I'm doing well and I can totally tell in my body. I told Mamacita that yesterday while shopping in Costco I noticed the difference because my body feels more energetic, I didn't dread having to go aaaallll the way to the back to get the produce and then aaaalllll the way to the other side for whatever. And my back is not aching at all, nor the heaviness I felt in my joints. It's just amazing to me.

We're going to the mall today to do some retail therapy. Gary wants to go and we'll go have dinner there too. I am determined to go out and make good choices, even at a restaurant.

I finished my Tofutsie socks and I really love them. The feel of the yarn is very nice. I started my 5 lb. socks and WOW I love this yarn. It's called Pastel Spring and it's really beautiful. Pics to follow.

Enjoy your Sunday!


Posted by Mitchypoo at 11:37 AM 1 comments



June 2, 2007
I look with wonder at everything around me.

I'm down 7 lbs! 3 more and I can buy my 10 lb. skein. I received my 5 lb. skein of yarn and it's beautiful. I'm going to call them my 5 lb. socks! I will have to mark the yarn so I don't forget. I feel so much better in this last week just by changing my diet it's truly remarkable. I lost even though I have not been perfect. I had fish tacos for lunch and a bean and cheese burrito, chips and taquitos for dinner yesterday. The difference, it was OK to have that and I didn't finish it all because I was full and I don't have to and I knew that it wasn't that I blew it so who cares, I knew that I'm okay and there's no getting on the wagon again. So this a.m. I had my whole grain Ralston cereal that Mamacita made and then after picking up my brother I came home and had some cantaloupe. I'm off to costco to get some goodies, like edamame and did you know that they have organic food? I was amazed. So I'll get some romaine and field greens, vine tomatoes, and fruit.

It's overcast today and I love it! Reading a really great book called
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It's a page turner...guess you know what else I'll be doing this weekend. After I get some work done around the house.


Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:18 AM 1 comments