Knit, purl, and a very tiny person

I'm hard at work on that baby blanket still. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it at this rate. It's beginning to drive me nuts. Especially since I still have so much more to work on. A dress, a scarf, a shawl, socks, and on and on and on goes the list. Next year, I'm starting in January!

I spent some time with Mom and Little Bird today. Not as much as I would have liked, but still, some time. I had to run into Savannah to try to find something to make it easier for Mom to nurse, only for the store to be out. And, to add to it, the local Walmart had it. I drove in circles, but it was fine.

Little bird is so tiny. Unfortunately, she's just too long for the preemie onesies to fit her. The newborn stuff swallows her. She does have a few outfits, but still. She's just so tiny!

It's been a rather dull day. I went to mass this morning, which was lovely, and spent time with my Mom and sister, which was great. I'm getting better at admitting that, yes, I do want to hold her. Once I'm holding her, I'm fine, it's just saying that I want to hold her that I have trouble with.

Hey, nobody said I was normal.

Other than that though, it's been a dull day. I worked on my room some, made some tentative plans to get another book shelf and maybe a hat stand, if I can find one. I'm waiting for the beads to arrive for the St. Francis of Assisi/Pope Francis rosary I'm planning.

My computer and I continue to be at odds over Catholic TV. It's getting a bit ridiculous. Hopefully I'll be able to work it out soon, because this constant struggle to get it to do what I want is more than a little frustrating.

So far, I've been doing pretty well with praying the rosary nightly. I'm struggling with the bedtime/morning alarm a bit, but we're getting there. Slowly, but with prayers, surely, we're getting there.

I'm not sure if I want to randomly generate a saint tomorrow, or if I want to do something a little different. I'm tempted to do a post on St. Francis, but I'm thinking about finding a saintly Franciscan instead. I'll figure it out, and if you want to leave a comment with your opinion, I'd love to hear it.

Yours always,
Tara

Long days, poor internet connections, and disappointing schedules

I've been up since this 6 this morning, which I'm sure to many of you is hardly worth note, but given that I usually don't get to bed until midnight/1am, it's a bit of a thing to me. Truthfully, I need to start getting up earlier. I like watching sunrises, though I prefer to be inside to watch during the winter months, but that's not the point here!

Anyway, I was up early today, and I'll be up early tomorrow as well, because I'm going to swing by my mom's and make sure my brothers get off to school while mom takes Little Bird to her first doctor's appointment. Little Bird is doing quite well, especially given that she was just over three weeks early entering the world. She's tiny though, just a few ounces shy of six pounds, and no fat whatsoever on her tiny body. We had to buy some preemie clothes, because all mom had was newborn size. She's really sweet though, and the boys love her.

In other news, the internet connection on my personal computer here at work is continually mercurial and difficult. I can't listen to Catholic Answers Live, or watch EWTN without skipping, pausing, and glitching. Youtube works fine. Oh! And tonight I tried to watch Catholic TV (a new discovery, which is brilliant) and had worse luck with it than I do EWTN! This is getting ridiculous!

My work schedule is more than a little disappointing this week. I guess that's what happens when you can't work a full week, they cut your hours even more, but I'm hoping it's just a temporary thing. I'm going to talk to my supervisor this week and see what's going on with the schedule. The good news here, I guess, is that I'll be opening the shop a bit sooner than I originally planned. A friend of mine is coming over to help me take pictures of the items I'll be listing. I need to finish the Pieta rosary and the St. Patrick chaplet.

I've also got beads coming for the St. Francis of Assisi/Pope Francis rosary coming soon. I ordered some lovely dark wood beads for it. I've got my eye on some other items, including some resin for jewelry making and some drill bits for bottle lamps, but everything is due time. No rush.

I'm hoping, since my last few plans have fallen through, that I'll be able to make my trip to St. Augustine on the 11th. I don't really want to go alone though, and that looks increasingly like it might be the case. I'm used to this, truthfully, my parents, though they tried, were never very good at planning trips like that (hence, why we never went to Paris, Rome, Whittenburg, or the Medieval jousting in Worms despite living in Germany for 6 years.) Even with the trip to Disney we took before my Papa died. That was me planning that, thanks, and if Papa and Granma hadn't been the primary monetary force behind it, we still would never have made it.

Anyway, all of that aside, I'm looking forward to the week. I'm basically broke, and tired, but I think this week will be a good week.

Yours always,
Tara

Why do days sometimes seem so long?

Today has been a good day. I met up is two of my friends for lunch at Molly Macpherson's Scottish Pub, which was brilliant. I loved seeing them and spending time with them and the food was really good. Fish and chips, yum! I'm actually really picky about my fish, and I actually really loved it.

Despite all of that, today still seems really long.

My sister still has yet to enter the world, which has my mom worried that when she comes, she's not going to give much warning at all. Which, given everything so far, would actually be really accurate to Little Bird's personality.

Work has been incredibly dull, which is a good thing, but doesn't help to make the day seem any shorter.

Ah well, I guess that's just life.

Yours always,
Tara

 

I finished the pumpkin baby hat, with little I-cord vine and leaves. You can just barely see my long-suffering St. Patrick sitting underneath it in the picture. He goes with me to work every day, poor fellow. It's not too bad, I hope. He sits on the desk, smiling gently from his perch.

 

I've also almost finished reading The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song, which means I'll be moving on to The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living.

 

I get back to working on the baby blanket tomorrow, and I'm so thankful that the weekend is here! I have work to do on my room, more clothes to go through and so on, and I'm going to try and go to morning mass this coming Sunday. I usually attend the 10am mass, because I'm lazy and like to sleep in. It also makes it easier to avoid going to my family's Baptist church.

 

I'd like to start getting everything in order for Christmas soon. Presents, decorations, and such, all prepped and ready for the upcoming holiday season. I know I'm starting early, but I have too, with most of my gifts being hand-knits and with my appalling lack of decorations of any kind, I need to start now so I'm not perpetually broke when the holidays season does arrive.

 

I've got several books on my to-read list, including the Cape Light series, and a variety of Catholic books. RCIA classes start the week following next and I'm excited.

 

There are no Irish dance classes for beginning adults so far, which is disappointing, but not an insurmountable problem, by any means. Man made instructional DVDs for a reason, after all, and it would be more enjoyable than pilates I'm sure.  

 

There's a festival coming up that I'd like to go to. It's on the same ay as my appointment with the tattoo artist, but I'm sure I can work with that. I can go after the appointment, though it'll be nice if I can get a ride, and therefore enjoy the more spirited aspects of the fun without breaking my rule of no drinking after imbibing...even if I am still well under the legal limit. Unfortunately, I live with a tee-o-taler, and I hate putting my mom out. (Besides, if she wasn't pregnant, I'd be the Designated Driver. Or step-dad would be...)

 

There's not much else to say today. Hopefully there won't be any interruption in Saturdays with the Saints, but tomorrow will be kind of busy, so no promises.

 

Yours always,

Tara

Minor Disappointments

So, L was unable to go with me this afternoon to mass. Her baby wasn't feeling to hot, so she asked if she could go with me Sunday instead. This means that Sunday, I will once more brave the crowds at the Cathedral instead of trying the (slightly) smaller parish of the priest who's working with me.

Well, I hope he is, anyway. Still haven't heard from the deacon, so, in keeping with what I was told Tuesday, I'm going to email the priest. If he doesn't get back to me by Wednesday, I'll be making phone calls again.

Is it obvious how frustrating I find this to be, dear readers?

I also stopped by the store with the Catholic books and such. The only problem is how small a selection they have and how little of it is would be useful to me right now. After I've been confirmed (assuming that's what happens) then it might be good, but right now, most of it would go over my head. Oh well.

Both yesterday and today I have completely ignored my usual rule about cutting back on soda. Yesterday was because I needed quarters for parking, and today because, so far, I just wanted a coke. After I finish this one, I'm back to tea and kool-aid.

The bottom just fell out with a resounding CRACK! I mean, really! I'm hoping it clears up within the next ten minutes, because I have to go out and would rather not drive in that sort of weather. No because I don't like driving in the rain, but because I don't like the way other people drive in the rain.

It's like a little in-climate weather and suddenly no one can remember how to drive and frankly it's annoying.

I don't mind them being cautious, but there's a difference between caution and stupidity.

Anyway, I'll chat with you later, my dears.
Yours always,
Tara

A slow night

I am so bored! It's a slow night here, and it's driving me nuts!  The good side of it is that I can turn the volume up on the computer and listen to Catholic Answers Live, which is nice, but there's usually more going on at this time.

Really, I can't complain, I do enjoy the quiet. It's just a little disconcerting when you aren't expecting, or even hoping for it. (In fact, if you spend more than a day around small children, unexpected silence quickly becomes something dreaded, something I haven't yet gotten over)

Either way, I'm still bored, so that's no help. Idle hands, so to speak. I could knit. I'm less than halfway through a pair of baby booties, but truthfully, I just don't feel like working on them. I have to, I want them done by Sunday so I can give her the booties and the mittens I made earlier this week, I just don't want to work on them.

I've still been attending the evening Sunday school at my mother's church, even while attending mass on Sunday mornings. Part of this is just to see my mother, part of it is because, as much as I think I'm going to swim the Tiber, so to speak, I can't definitively say just yet. And part of it, dear readers, I shamefully, and shamelessly, confess, is because they feed me dinner.

Yep, free food.

My friend Cas has two boys, and the youngest of them apparently thinks it's awesome that his mom can repay me (for picking him up or other such things) with food.

The way I see it, free food is good food. There are a few notable exceptions, and I am careful of where I fix my plate, but generally, if you tell me there will be free food, I will go. I might not listen (several school functions come to mind) but I will eat.

This may, of course, be the wrong thing to do, but I'm 21, almost 22, food is a big priority.

Of course, H would glare at me. For all that I often think with my stomach (even going so far as to navigate by restaurants), I still don't eat as much, or as fast, as she does.

It's actually terribly funny, because we'll go out to eat at this Mexican joint, and they will all order the lunch specials, and I'll have one little chicken enchilada and some chips. Afterwards, as we leave, I'll mention how stuffed I am, and she just glares at me. I'm also usually one of the last ones to finish eating, which I imagine helps.

I also really need to work on my room. It's a bit....well, a lot, of a mess, and it's long since passed ridiculousness.

I guess tonight is just going to be a slow night. Just a short post. I can't promise I'll be back tomorrow morning, but I will definitely post tomorrow night. I have to tell you how mass with L goes!

Yours always,
Tara