Long Time Between Posts

Well, well, well. Its been a long time between posts. Things have been very busy and much has changed!
I'll start with the work situation.
I am now a full time homemaker. I am very happy about this. It's where I feel I am most needed and most useful. Of course this means lots of cutbacks but it's been worth it.
Cut backs have included going from 2 cars to 1. (1/2 the insurance, gas and maintenance)
Making more things from scratch.
Eating more veggies and grains and less proteins and prepackaged foods.
(this last one hasn't made much of a difference because the cost of food has really gone up the last couple of months)

Next is the knitting.
Knitscene purchased another pattern for the Winter/Spring issue. I don't know yet if they will publish it until the issue comes out. It's not my best work there were alot of factors that contributed to that. Mostly time. I've definately learned much that will help me out for the next time. Such as writing the pattern before I get the yarn. In the past I would wait for the yarn and design from there since I wanted to get the feel of the yarn first.
I do hope this design makes it into the magazine. I'm on pins and needles until I find out.

Next is the kids.
I am homeschooling full time..YAY!!!!!! It has been an uphill treck but a wonderful one. I think I am learning more than the kids.

Pictures of projects to follow soon.

Making Myself Crazy....Take One

Why am I making myself crayz you ask? I mean crazy. Actually I think that typo looks kind of neat.
Anyway back to the crazy.
I love to knit. I love designing knitwear. I love to teach my kids. I love to reorganize rooms. I love to have a clean house. I love deadlines. But when you stir them all in the same pot at the same time you don't get love, you get....you guessed it......crayz.
I think that for the next few months I will be doing strictly Christmas knitting.
Finish organizing my classroom area. (must be done by 7/31/08)
Finish my general lesson plans for the first 3 months of school by 8/15.

Since I can't stop cleaning my house all together I'm going to start a chart system again that lets the kids know what needs to be done and when so that mom can have some help.

There is so much that I want to do just right and I get all afraid that I am going to mess it all up but then I have to remember that God says to be anxious for nothing, but come to him with prayer and suplication and know that He is in control and He will make things work out one way or another.

What was that quote?.....
Pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you.

I also like....
Courage is not the absence of fear but feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

God Is Good.

Dear Diary,

Dear Diary,
Tomorrow I turn 32 years old. Where did all the time go? In just 4 more years my darling daughters will be 18 years old. It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant with my Kayla. I was so young and scared and although I now know I could have done better I also know that I didn't do too badly either. I can look back at all the things wrong I have done up until now...(like complaining about the past.....wait a minute....d'oh![smacks head] ) But I've made sacrifices and I am starting to see the fruit of those sacrifices.
Thank You, God, for blessing me when I had no reason to be blessed, and for being merciful to me when I had no right to receive your mercy and for Your grace in those times I had no right to that either....which is like all the time, let's face it. We both know how imperfect I am and how I am sure I don't know how You don't loose your patience with me.
Thirty two years of blessing and trials, and blessings through trials. I know You are not done with me yet (thanks for that because there is still so much I want to do) so although I may complain and pout (sometimes) keep using me for Your Glory!

Sincerely You Servant,
Luanda

(for those that don't know, God is my diary. I just thought you like to see a little slice of that)
Keep Knittin!

Patterns in The Works

Well, on Thursday I overnighted my submissions to Knitscene and today I got the comformation that they received it. I had everything ready a week in advance of the deadline but at the last minute I decided to hold on to some of them and I replaced them with new. It's only three submissions but I felt very strongly about them so I sent those in. Hopefully one (or all three) would be accepted but that's not up to me right now. I will be sending in some other design ideas to JCA and another source.

I am currently working on a little eye candy exclusively for my blog. I can't give too much detail but I'll be posting a sneak peak in just a few days.

In the meantime here is my finished hourglass sweater fresh from the blocking table.

enjoy!

It's Been Far Too Long...

and I have many, many things to show you! There's been quite alot of knitting and finishing going on.

First let me present to you ... Mikey's Tomten. Made in shades of grey Lopi size 10 needles (or was it 9?) The only mods I made was that I made the sleeves a little shorter (the Mikester doesn't like rolled up sleeves). I loved the pattern and I have yet to put on the green border and buttons but he likes it just like that. He just clutches it closed... as shown in the picture.

Next, is a little magic show where I (insert famous magic name here....Luanda the Great Perhaps....naaa too pretentious) take 7 skeins of this yarn

Follow this pattern.....And get these results.........

This was a sample knit for one of my favorite LYS's...Stix-n-Stitches, Montclair, NJ. Here is a picture of the sweater among the other yarns of it's kind in the shop.

I have to say it was an easy knit. The pattern was interesting and well written. The yarn was soft and yummy. The colors are not my favorite but they really work well with the sweater. It was a quick knit at 14 st/4" on size 10 1/2 needles.

Confession time....this is my very first sweater worked in pieces. I usually work sweaters in the round because I really don't like the sewing up. But I must admit it wasn't so bad. Maybe because it was new to me but I found this to be very quick for me. The whole project from swatching to weaving in the ends took me about one and a half weeks. I was tempted to keep the sweater but instead, I'll just knit another for myself. Maybe out of wool this time?

Lots of Good Stuff Going On!

Ok so my last full day of work was on Friday......YAY! so there are lots and lots of plans being made around here. I had alot planned for this week and little by little am getting it done. Today I spent the day with my mom and we went over curriculum for my daughter that she has been homeschooling. My youngest son and my youngest daughter will be home with me for now and my oldest son and daughter will be starting homeschool in September.
This week since my other two have off from school I decided to make it a week vacation with lots of work planned and field trips to parks and museums and libraries..... I love it!

On knitting related news.... I have not purchased yarn since November (for myself...I did for swaps thinking that didn't cound against my yarn diet but...well, that was cheating and that's that) Anyway I have been really good until this Friday and Monday. On Friday I went to Stix-n-Stitches just to pick up a book and saw sale yarn.....good sale yarn. So I spent about $50 on good sale yarn. I will be posting pics soon.
This week end I showed my sweater in progress to my hubby and he suggested that he thought it would look nice a little longer (my impatience has caused me to knit short sweaters for myself and others...he is so tactful, I love him for bringing me back to reality) I then told him that I didn't have enough yarn to make it longer ..I mean I had exact yardage. So he said words that I never thought would come out of his mouth...."Don't worry, just get some more" So I headed down to AC moore to pick up 2 more skeins of cotton ease in Stone and lo and behold what did I see?
Sugar-n-Cream was on sale for 99 cents. So I purchased some to make seat covers, rugs and place mats for my kitchen and dinning room. So there went another $50. That was exactly the amount I was going to allow myself for my birthday in June.....I almost made it to my birthday...so close and yet so far!
Well I told my husband what I did because we have agreed on full disclosure on all spending and I said that I was going to return it (I clearly wasn't thinking clearly with all those project ideas and yarn on sale distracting me) He was really good about it and told me to keep it but in the future stick to buying what I had on the list only.
I so don't deserve him. If the circumstances were reversed I don't think that I would have been half so gracious. I have alot to learn.....Ain't no man going to be more gracious than me...I've got to start working on that ASAP!

On the Road Back to Where I Belong

I have truly been blessed! I am not totally caught up with my bills but I am getting really close to paying off my debt and living on a cash basis (no credit for me, thank you). My last full day of work will be Friday April 18th. (Can I get an Amen?) I will still be working somewhat mostly from home so that I will be able to have a little income for the family (Can I get an AMen?) I'll be able to get my home to rights. (AMEn) And the best thing of all I will be able to start homeschooling again in September (AMEN!!!)
The days are full of promise! It's been very hard these past few months and I must say it was really in a fog for what seemed like a long time. I must admit that I was loosing faith. How stupid of me to ever doubt my Lord and Saviour. He loves me and I just needed to wait for Him to work his miracles in my life. Me being so impatient almost missed the blessing.
Until next time my friends, I now go to do some curriculum research.

Some Things About Me

I have been reading some of my favorite blogs and I came to the realization that there are some things about myself that I would like to share.
My darling step-daughter is an artist! She has always been a sketcher and a dreamer. Well, my mom has arranged to have her take art lessons from an artist friend whose work has been sold around the world.
I was a little concerned about this out come because of finances and the lack of dedication many children show when presented with these kind of opportunities. However, it's been a blessing to see my daughter come home after an art class and display her work proudly to us. She has produced many wonderful and beautiful things above and beyond what the teacher has assigned. She had been lacksidaisical (sp?) about it at first always claiming that she didn't have the time but once we set a time every day to work on the techniques taught to her she has surely blossomed. That girl is very much like a little child in a 13 yr old body (by little I mean 5 yr old) in that she is very forgetful and her though process is not what you would expect from someone her age. I sorely want to see her happy and successful as an adult and I think we've found something she really enjoys and is really really good at. Of course the las thing I want is to limit her to any pre determined vocation (this is a problem that many times produces unhappy, unproductive, rebelious kids, right?) however I think that the qualities most needed in any occupation is attention to detail, determination, and pride in work done well)
Alright so maybe the above narrative is not about myself but we all are proud when someone we love and have worried over is doing well, aren't we?

Wow, It's, like, March and stuff....

You must imaging this post with a sufer dude accent...if you please.
So, like anyway, I blinked and all of a sudden it's like March, and not just March but like almost April, dude. Like so much has happened in that time I totally forgot about my blog... Sorry dudes and dudettes.
Back to normal now.
April 18th will be my official last day as a full time employee..........(can I get a whoop-whoop?) At that point I will be working one day a week @ the office and I will be doing little things here and there at home.....yeah!!!
I am sooooooooo excited there is so much to plan and do!
My Goals are as follows(by the way don't you just love goals?)

#1 I will be using the month of May to put my home in order again (routines and cleanlinesswise)
#2 I will plant a small garden for tomatoes and herbs ( to start off with)
#3 I will make it to ladies prayer meeting every Wed morning ( I so miss this!)
#4 I will start planning next school year so that I can officially start homeschooling again
#5 I will keep an account book for any and all money I spend and share it with my husband on a regular basis in order for us to reach our financial goals.
#6 I will work on forming a habit of looking for real bargains when shopping and making things from scratch as often as possible.......

The goals are basically to simplify and strenthen our home base.
Thank You Lord for listening to my prayers. Please let me use this opportunity to do Your will with this family You have entrusted me with!

Mid Febuary Check In

I was looking at my goals and I must say I have not kept two out of the three financial goals I set for myself so far. I haven't done too bad but I've done bad just the same.
This entire week I've been eating out for breakfast and lunch at work which has cost me quite a bit of cash. And I have not done my tithes and offerings. This is a classic example of setting goals but not setting up a plan to meet these goals.
Knitting has been just ok. Nothing major has been done.....the little guy in my life has been sick for almost a week now and I haven't been able to stay with him at home (thank goodness for my mom!) because we are short at work. When I am home I have no creative energy left for knitting. Vegging out on the couch or reading a story to the kids is just about all I have energy for. Then I find myself waking up at 3 or 4 inthe morning and not being able to go back to sleep until a few hours later....hence this post at 5:30 am.
I gave my notice at work that I will be leaving but that won't take into effect for anther few months. I figured that giving my boss a heads up in advance would make finding a replacement easier. I would still like to work there but the hours are too long and the environment is not the best. Most of all I miss being home with all my heart!!!!
The one thing that would make coming home for me possible is re-financing our home to include our big bills. By doing this we'll be able to free up alot of cash to help pay my credit cards off sooner. Once that is done I'll be able to take my kids out of school and start homeschooling again.
One thing is for sure I am not going to allow one week of not meeting my goals to discourage me and keep me from trying. Well I am finally getting sleepy again. Until next time my bloggy friends!

Fabulous February

My goals for January were a bust. Well, not a total bust because I did make some headway on them. For February my financial goals are as follows:

#1 Lunch from home......I will give myself a $5 budget FOR THE WHOLE WEEK for little things like gum or an occasional soda. Otherwise my lunch will be brought from home and whether or not I like the left overs I am going to eat them. So much food wasted it's disgusting!

#2 My stashalong goals were fulfilled in that I did not spend one penny on yarn I did however purchase a $5 knitting book on clearence which I regret because it was quite crappy. It's almost like I needed a fix or something. But as far as needles and yarn are concerned I held out. Each time I felt the urge I went ahead and spent some time with my stash and plugged away at my current projects. My goals for February are the same except that I do need a set of good wooden double pointed needles. I split my #2's. Any suggestions on some hard needles that hold up to much abuse?

#3 Use my paycheck after paying my tithes, offerings, gas and groceries entirely to payoff credit cards.


Now for my knitting goals.....

#1 Finish my husband's socks for Valentine's day.

#2 Finish the Master Knitter program and send it out b4 the 20th

#3 Start the hourglass sweater in cotton ease

Spiritual Goals.....

#1 Read my Bible every morning

#2 Study what the Bible has to say about marriage and family

#3 Be faithful to my tithes and offerings

These goals are relatively simple but the way my life is right now I must keep them so in order to be able to simplify it more.

Until next time my bloggy friends.....

Belated Post....Goals

I was working on this post last week when I got distracted and then totally forgot about postin it. Wanna see it? here it go.........

Two posts in one day.....who'd a thunk it. I need to get down in writing New Me resolutions.....these are basically some of the previous resolutions that I had made last year with some new resolutions thrown in for this year.



#1 Before the opening of the next school year (Sept) I will be home ready to homeschool the kids myself



#2 I will be wiping out my credit card debt before then by at least 75%



#3 I will not use credit to make any purchases (no cash...no purchase)



#4 I will be the cheerful, loving, consistent christian mother and wife that God wants me to be



#5 I will be a better steward of the money that I am responsible for and I will not burden my husband with anything extravagant and/or unneccesary.



I strongly believe that I will get it right this time. The reasons for my having to return to work had alot to do with not doing #'s 2-5 the way I knew I should have been doing. I enjoy the work that I do but there sure is an ache in my heart for the work I want to do at home with my family.

thoughts......

I was just thinking about money. People many times misquote 1 Timothey 6:10 by saying that the money is the root of all evil. However if you look at the KJV translation it says very specifically "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Now money in and of itself is neither good nor evil, nor more than a hamper, a rock or a table is good or evil. It is a neccesity of life. That verse talks about what people who love money and lust after riches do in order to get these things. When we put our love, focus and energy above the Lord we are blinded by that wich we are focusing our energy on.

If however we put our love, focus and energy on the Lord then we find ourselves within His will. Because God loves us as well as those he puts in our lives He will make us want to serve those around us on his behalf. Money and material possesions are selfish and require much if not all your attention to maintain leaving you willing to sacrifice more important things in order to maintain or increase. God, on the other hand tells us in the Bible in Proverbs 16:5 "Commit thy works unto the Lord and He shall establish your thoughts". But how does he establish our thoughts? Philipians 4:8 urges us to "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." The Bible tells us what God wants us to know. It is His love letter to us.

This post has strayed from the topic I originally had in mind which was to talk about how I am going to work on being a better steward of my money.

That will have to wait for another time. By the way, this is a knitting blog so here are some new project to post pictures of....the beginnings of a baby mitered square blanket I'm using left over bits of sugar-n-cream....yes I know it's heavy but it's super keeeeute.

Here I am making a crochet version of the modern log cabin blanket in shades of grey using Reynold's Lopi. (The nights are super cold around here so it will be much appreciated next winter.) I'm using a giant hook so I look forward to getting it done quickly.....well, kind of.

Last but not least are my hubby's socks that little by little are getting to be more sock like in fashion.

It's Been A While

Don't you just love posts that begin like that? Says so much like, "I've been negligent", "Lot's have gone on and I don't know if I'll ever fit it all in", or maybe even "Lot's have gone on but I just don't feel like blogging about it"....I digress

Last month I broke the news to my boss that I would be stepping down as manager if he allowed it to concentrate more on refractions within the practice. At that point I felt that I was no longer being an effective manager (too many reasons to list) and I actually was a surprised that he was actively looking for a refractionist when he had one in his midst. So I offered myself up as his refractionist, he offered the position of manager to a girl within the office that seems to really have her act together and all is well......for now.

I've been feeling the past few months that maybe I shouldn't be there. That I really need to be home with the kids again. But how would that be possible financial circumstances being what they are? The culture of the office is one that I truly do not fit into my values being at times very different from the others. I say nothing and just don't participate in certain discussions without seeming to be unfriendly but I sometimes wonder if I seem "holier than thou" to them. So I've been trying to do my work as hard and as good as I can to be a good example in that case if I can't be in anything else.

For months I've been wanting to witness to this girl in the office and I have scared out of my mind. (You know, the whole rejection issue) Well, I'm happy to say that this Friday I had the opportunity and she listened and seemed open. It was a wonderful experience. I don't expect any change within the office culture because of this but I told her the message now it's all in the Holy Spirit's hands to take it from there.

I don't know what the Lord has in store for me within this job but I pray that He'll lead me and my family now that we are so spread out.

I leave you with a picture of me and Mikey when he was just a few months old

I've been MIA in many areas. Blogging being one of them. There has been plenty of knitting going on but temptation is a major issue with. I haven't been to my LYS much lately because of the annoying habit my credit card and pretty yarn has. The pretty yarn calls and out comes my credit card to bail it out of LYS jail.....sigh....I get more yarn that way than any other. One new thing I have discovered is the swapping available on ravelry. I LOVE IT! It's like purchasing new yarn without the purchase (do you hear the angels singing?)Anyway, I have an enormous amount of Paton's Classic Wool in just about every color.I plan to use it for the month of January. My goals for January are as follows:

1)Finish the TKGA master knitter level 1 program by January 30th

2)Knit my hubby some house socks

3)Knit a skirt (I haven't decided whether to do the Trumpet Skirt from KLS or the Kayla Skirt from Knitscene Spring 2008 (my first design published)

4)Start the aran sweater from Knitter's Almanac.I'll be posting pictures really soon

Luanda