Catching You UP!

Well, we are getting down to the wire. About 6 weeks left before the delivery date, and Emily is feeling mighty tired. I can't blame her, I remember how I felt when I was carrying her.
Yesterday, I went out and bought the pack n' play - Classic Pooh version. We are going to keep it in its box until we are ready to set it up. We've got to clean the den up first. I've got to wash the slipcovers on the furniture and clean the floor, and clean the doggie nose and paw prints off the French door glass windows, and dust this room really well. Vacuum it first to get the big hunks of doggie fur out of the way.
But we have decided that today is clean up the kitchen day. So that it is. We will work hard and have a lovely kitchen in return. In case we get it done early, we will turn to the den and work in here next. Or in the living room/dining room. Then we'll pick what room we do tomorrow. And just take it one room at a time until we are done. My studio will be last on the list. And I'll ask Michael to help me with it. Actually, last on the list will be the whole downstairs, but that whole mess can wait till after New Year's to be dealt with, as can our rearrangement of my studio and our master bedroom. Right now we are just going to get them cleaned up.
I've got to order the cake and the vegan cupcakes for the baby shower that Paul, her "man of honor" at her wedding is throwing for her. I'm in charge of the cake, and the balloons to be put at the intersections directing the people to the party - so on party day, I've got to go have the balloons made up and have the dowel sticks ready and tie the balloons to the dowel sticks (actually I'm going to duct tape the ribbons to the dowel sticks, along with a piece of cardstock with an arrow on it showing the way to go, and on party day, I will go out early and push these into the ground before the party starts. The party starts at 7pm, and so I'll go around 4:00 - 5:00 and put the balloons up. At 4:00, I'll go pick up the cake and cupcakes. Then come to their home and put up the balloons and arrows. Which I'll have made up earlier and have ready to go. And I'll go pick up the balloons at 3:00 or 3:30. I've got to drive out to their place to count the number I'll need and the number of arrow signs I'll need. WHEW! This is a lot to do! And my friend, Janet, will need directions to get out there, or else she can follow me out there, when I come back to the house after putting up the arrows and balloons, and delivering the cake and cupcakes. She is being awesome and is bringing her famous Mexican dip and scoops to hold everybody till everything is ready off the grill. Plus she is bringing her stadium seats - our extra fold up chairs, and I'll bring ours too, for it looks like there will be about 20 people at the party. And not enough seats for everybody. But surely some of the guys will volunteer to sit on the carpet. Emily, being the pregnant one, is claiming the recliner.

I keep getting the feeling that her water will break at the party and it will be a rush job getting her to the hospital. I'll have to grab her dogs and put them in my car and take them back to my house and then go to the hospital. And the show will begin!!!!!!!! Well, that probably won't happen, because that would make her 20 days early on her pregnancy, and I have a flair for the dramatic, but I can imagine it all!!

That is all for today.

A New Size

Hi! Well, I had to go out and buy new jeans. My old ones were falling off of me. I was in a size 26 when I started Weight Watchers in March. Then, when they got too big, I had a pair of size 22's I found in my closet, and they fit fine. Then, they got too big, and so I went jeans shopping again. I went to Lane Bryant, and picked out a pair of size 20 jeans, figuring that would be the size I would need, and they went on fine, but were large in the waist, and in the thigh area. I thought to myself, surely this cannot mean that I should try on a size 18 pair of jeans! But I made myself go back out to the jeans, and I found ONE pair of size 18's and brought them back into the dressing room, and cautiously tried them on - I just knew I was going to be embarrassed at trying them on - if even I could get them up, they surely wouldn't button or zip up. But I did get them up, and lo and behold, they buttoned and zipped up easily! You could have knocked me over with a feather. ME wearing a size 18!!!!!! If I knew how to do a cartwheel, I would have done one! Well, those suckers were MINE, and I could hardly wait to tell Michael and show him. So I bought them, and got them home and put them on with a fitted top and came in to show him and he was WOW! You really can see that you have lost weight! I told him what size they were and he was so proud of me. Heck, I'm proud of me! When I got on the scales this week, I only registered one pound lost, so that was disappointing, but I'll take it. It is better than a gain or a .2 loss. If it takes me a year to lose the weight, then it does. I'm sticking with this until my goal weight, and then beyond that, because I don't want to put the weight back on. After I reach my goal and become a lifetime member, I'm still going to go to the weekly meetings - they will be free for me, and I will continue to count my points and get my tracker, and keep track of what I am eating all day long. This is a lifelong battle, and I have to keep my guard up. Unless I can work up to some exercise, this is going to take me a year and a half more to get to my goal weight.

I'm down to making the sleeves on the sweater. Otherwise it is done. YAY!!!!! Gotta go get a little help from Sandy at Mosaic for the sleeves, because they look pretty darn big and long enough now, while I should be doing another set of 9 rows. I'll see what Sandy says. And I still have the cuffs to do on them. I'm using the magic loop method instead of 4 DPNs. Those were driving me crazy. I may end up buying a longer size 7 Addi Turbo today to make it a little easier on me. I'm using a 16" one now, and it is a little tough to use. I'll see today and get Sandy's opinion on it. They are $18 each, and I gotta decide if that is how I want to blow another $20! The little sweater is so adorable, and being newborn size, it is so tiny and delicate! Just so precious! This is one to hand down to the next generation.
After I finish the sweater, I've got to finish the jester hat, so that is off the needles too. Then I have a kimono sweater to finish up. And a baby blanket to knit. I'll work on that after the baby comes, and I am babysitting him while Emily is at work. I can sit and knit while the baby sleeps - hopefully. I'll drive over to Emily and Chris's place and bring my diet cokes and a few snacks, and my knitting and glasses, and will use the time to get my knitting caught up. Hopefully, Emily will be able to keep the same job she has had, but the firm is splitting up and Emily is thinking that they are going to eliminate her position. So she'll have to go back to being a hearing reporter, which is fine with her, it just means that some days she will work 4 hours, some days no hours, and some days all day. But she makes good money doing this work. And she works at her own decision - they call her and ask if she is available for X day and Y day, and she can take both of them, neither of them or one of them. But I think she'll take as many as she can get because the money is good for her in this job. She is considered an independent contractor.
Well, more later. I'll take a pic of the sweater when it is done and post it. And the overalls that go underneath it, which Sandy is making for me - bless her heart! Sandy is tops in my book!