Economic Crisis?

The Economy

So this month everyone wants my money.

I received an email from my student loan agency indicating that they want the equivalent of a car loan in payment next month. Right. They can take my car first.
I got a call from the pharmacy, my super special medicine's copay is now 25% of the total cost rather than twenty-five dollars. The end result is a cost the rivals a standard car lease note. This is monthly.

Remember the quote for the new garage door panels was $440 and I learned that the garage roof is leaking.
I just paid off the $200 allergist bill from 2008 and apparently I failed to pay the water bill last quarter.

So,everyone wants my money. Money, that I would love to give. I figure the less that I have the less others will ask for.

It makes perfect sense to me.

I have decisions to make. Do I continue to take the medicine and request a lowered student loan payment? Do I replace the garage door panels and ignore the leaking roof?
Do I stop taking my allergy shots and take more allergy meds? Do I pay the water bill or see how long before they shut it off?

Do I start making scarves and sell them to raise money?
Do I use my income tax refund to pay off the evil Bank of American bill or the furniture bill or get the new garage door?


Well, in the midst of thinking about all of these tough personal economic decision I get a long letter from JCPenneys in the mail. It is not a bill. So I open it with hesitation. Did I go over my limit after my salon visit and purchases of now 300ct sheets?
More bad news, i think. But no. This is what it read.


Am I missing something?

In the corner you can see the note I wrote. I hung it on the fridge so that my housemate could see it.
I have friends that have been informed by their credit card companies that they risk higher interest rates if they keep their accounts open. I just do not get it.

I have already diverted my yarn money to my salon budget. I figure that for 2009 healthy hair takes precedence to increasing my yarn stash. I rethink that decision every month.
I am trying to pay off bills so that I can totally dedicate my finances to paying back student loans not to go on spending sprees at my favorite department store.

As for updates on my crafty projects, I still haven't finished the Dummy Clapotis for my mother. Actually I haven't finished anything since February.

Predictions - Other People's Kids

I predict that at some random hour Cousin L will call me to inform me that he will not be picking up his children because either (a) he will arrive into town too late or (b) he will arrive into town too early.

He will promise to pick them up in the morning. I further predict that he will not. He will not arrive until Sunday afternoon.

I predict that Trey will insist on sleeping on the floor with the threat of peeing in my guest bed.

I predict that Lil'T will insist on sleeping with me in my bed with her knees in my back the entire night.

Those are my predictions

They have been with me since Wednesday when their father dropped them off 3.5 hours before the agreed upon time.

Someone, send rum.

When a Hooker gets Sticky

My knitting update. This is what happens when a good hooker goes all sticky.


I would like to write about the great kettle issue. I received the bestest yarn in a Cancer Swap last July. This is what I it looked like when I wound it. The two larger balls did look different but I attributed that to the technique.

I went to the website and found this swatch for the colorway
. As you can see it looks different than the wound balls.




I didn't know what to think. It was my first skein of kettle dyed yarn.


I finally found a pattern that I wanted to use and I thought that I had plenty of yarn for it. I selected the Dummy Clap. Of course, being a newer knitter I grossly underestimated.




So, I used my handy google skills and ordered two new skeins in the same colorway.






This is what I received. Looks a little different, right?Kinda like it doesn't freaking match at all. right?
Where the original skeins were purple this is lilac. Where it was orange - this is lemon . Magenta becomes rose. Satisfaction becomes Nightmare. What am I to do?
People dared me to start a thread the Ravelry Big 6 about the dangers of kettle dyed yarn. I didn't accept those dares.

It was suggested that I frog the 30 inches I have so far and restart using all 4 skeins at once. As a newer knitter that mortifies me.

So, I went on UK sites and ordered 3 skeins of the yarn in the equivalent colorway. I am hoping that the UK sites have the darker version. If not, I will have a total of seven. Somehow I know this not going to work in my favor.

And this the year that I was going to be prepared for my mother's birthday and have her gift sent to her early.

I should have just crocheted it. It would have run out a lot sooner.


Update!
The colorways from England are an exact match! The colorway for the states had two notations for the colorway (704 and 668). The ones from the UK had one (668). I matched the second set of numbers and it was perfect.

I would also like to mention that CableFreak has honored me with my very own colorway!

My Award

Musings of a Fat chick nominated me for an award.
Who, Me?

It is called the The Honest Scrap Award and it has rules.
I do not make this stuff up.

1. Pick 7 or so blogs that make you happy
2. Let them know and post their names on your blog.
3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

So my list of blogs that make me happy -

1. Dooce - I read it everyday.
2. LILIbou
3. RDXDAVE -
4. H3Dakota
5. Sue the slow knitter
6. When Suburban Girls move to the city .. This blog is on facebook
7. DCSKnits
8. dixiepeach
9. Fernmonkey


Me
1. I have a beauty kiss on my nose
2. I am a hooker
3. I am a terrible flouncer
4. I have trouble with gauge
5. I have crazy guilt when I go over the swap limit
6. I am hooked on paranormal romance novels
7. I know that hoar, Libilou - Actually, we have never met
8. I am a xenophobe
9. I fear zombies but not vampires because they are not real.
10.I think Fernmonkey has a great life

How I Caught My Cold

I have been at home with a cold for three days now. I felt it coming on around 5:30 pm on Tuesday as I walked into the crochet ministry. The ladies kept asking me if i was okay. I thought it was just allergies. The weather had changed as if often does on Ohio. I assumed that something was flying around in the air just to make me miserable.
While at the crochet ministry I turned in a child's blanket that I completed and worked on a blanket for a friend.
These are the squares that I am using ======>
I participated in a granny square swap on Ravelry. I mailed 20 squares and should receive 20 squares in the mail. Unfortunately, I am short six squares. I have to make up the difference. The swap ended in February. I am hoping I get a surprise in the mail this month.
Anyway, my plan was to go to the crochet meeting then make my way to a craft store to pick up some new yarn. After that I would pick up dinner.Too bad that I left my wallet at work.I know. Who does that? I can't believe that I did it.
So I went home with no wallet and warmed up something frozen for dinner.
The next day, I was ill. I ached, I hurt, I coughed, I wheezed and stayed home. I convinced my co-worker to bring my wallet to me. I slept all day.
The next day, I watched movies on the internet and three loads of laundry. Say what you will but I really detest the theaters. You need only work there for a few months to know why.

I have been home for three days. Tonight I am missing a birthday party. It sucks. I am congested and I sweat when I eat.

So, I have been thinking about how I contracted this cold.

My office was recently evicted from our original location. When I drove to work each day, it was easy. Just three turns and 3 minutes each way. I loved it. After the third turn, I would pull into my favorite spot in the parking lot. In the new location there are winding roads to follow and a desperation to get there early enough to get a good parking spot. I decided to park in the parking deck each day to avoid the whole parking lot vulture thing. I have to leave home ten minutes earlier than before in order to accommodate the brisk five minute walk to my office.

I have been doing this for two weeks. Last Friday, I left the office to attend a meeting. I briskly walked to the parking deck. To my favorite level. The orange level and walked towards my car. I like parking in the full size parking side of the deck but on occasion I will park on the compact side just to prove how small my SUV really is.
My car was not on either side of level orange. I remembered having a dreaded allergy shot that morning and figured that I had parked on the green level or an upper level. I looked on the green level. I walked the two flights to the upper level.
I was stumped. where the hell was my car?
I mean I have had nightmares where my car has disappeared. I have them as often as I used to have those "I missed the school bus" dreams or the "I was registered for a class that I didn't know about" dream. Now they are replaced by the "The zombies are after me" dreams or the "I can't remember the number to 911" dreams. Come on. You have them too.
After about 20 minutes of this I called Onstar.
I forgot to mention that I work on a college campus. Good parking spaces are a premium. The parking deck while a short walk away from my office is still a great location that fills up by 9:30 am. I have myself timed to insure my favorite spot that is vacated each day by a commuter student after her 7:30 am class. I am thinking about adding her to my holiday card list.

Anyway, I asked Onstar to honk my horns and flash my lights so that I could find my car. The assistant asked if the deck was crowded. She was concerned about scaring people when the car would suddenly become alive. I coaxed her into doing it by assuring her that it was definitely in the parking deck and I would hear it.

Two minutes and probably a mile of walking up and down later, I decided that my car was not there. Onstar transferred me to the theft-recovery department. I just couldn't believe that my car had been stolen. I called my co-worker. He suggested that I parked in a different lot. Well that was an easy suggestion but I could not for the life of me figure out where. I decided the check the farthest lot from where I was standing first. This happens to be the closest lot to my office. I avoid it each day because it fills quickly. It was a long walk. A really long walk, but I knew if it was not there, the next lot would be closer. My heart dropped when I saw my car near the tennis courts.
I had been walking around the parking deck, breathing in car fumes and exposing myself to the cold for 45 minutes. I walked into my meeting with my head down, face flushed and frozen fingers, very late.
And that is how I think I got my cold. Karma for probably scarring the shit out of some college students walking past my car when the lights and horn were going at it.

I swear the strangest things happen to me.