To Take my Mind Off Stressful Things

I've been seriously lagging behind in posting my finished socks. But it is still August so I officially made it. My Noro striped socks that I always fall back on when I am bored. This pretty pair is for me.

This is a great way to use up my Noro sock yarn although I am getting low in my inventory. Hopefully I will get more eventually....

Here is a blurry picture of my Uptown Boot socks that I finished in Indio earlier this month. Very warm socks that will be perfect for cold climates.

I'm stressed over our Ireland trip falling through. The travel website/company messed up terribly and I don't really feel like dealing with them plus that great package is no longer available. After spending 3 hours searching for other deals and places to go, I did find another package to Ireland although it's a different county and we would be in a hotel for the same price. I do need to step back and calm down first.

Video Time

I finally got around to uploading some video from our trip (Josh & I) to the Wild Animal Park...I combined everything I had into one movie.

For my friends that aren't on Facebook...

my August socks.. Ta- da!!!

This above set is my 2nd attempt at toe-up 2 at a time socks which I'm starting to enjoy now that I kind of know what I'm doing. Self striping yarn in manly colors which I originally intended for a male but changed my mind. I do try to match up the striping in hopes that I might be able to match the stripes on each sock. Close but not quite. I'm not so anal that this bothers me. I actually like the unique flavor it has! This pair will be great for the cold weather in Ireland and I will keep them!!

The pair below are top down, cabled boot socks that are very dense and warm. I finished these in Indio and am modelling them in the 108* heat. I did make a mistake in the cabling pattern that you might or might not be able to see or notice. Brain fart.

Also for moi...

I have more socks to knit and maybe some other non-sock items too if I can manage it...have a great weekend!

Indio trip

My friend Kat has a timeshare through Worldmark (?) and she has been wanting to take us to Indio because there is a lazy river on the property. Okay, we finally figured a time to go so that is where we went on Monday to Wednesday. Of course, the weather was hot, like around 108* so the pool and lazy river was a huge plus.

We had an awesome 2 bedroom, 2 bath place with kitchen and it was perfect for us. The pictures above show the great view of the pond, pool area and mountains. The kids got to sleep on a Murphy bed which they got a big kick out of. Lots of drinks and popsicles to keep everyone hydrated and we were good to go.

We didn't do too much besides swim, eat and sleep. I also brought the PS2 to play some games (Guitar Hero). We had a really nice relaxing time. Thanks Kat!!

Buh-bye

Here are pictures of the black widow that I sprayed with Raid yesterday. It came out when I was watering the marigolds by the porch. A few weeks ago I saw a larger one but it was way too fast for me to spray or take a picture. This one didn't move so maybe it was on its last legs.... they are very cool but not near my house....

Snore N Roar

On Wednesday, Joshua and I headed off to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for our excursion. The plan was to arrive at the park and enjoy the animals before checking in at 4pm for the official Snore n Roar program. I had us all packed and ready to go at 9am and we finally arrived around 11am so that wasn't too bad. But boy, was it hot about 90 degrees hot!

We grabbed a quick lunch and a souvenir cup to refill it many times throughout the day. We walked a lot and there is a lot to see! Lemurs and various birds are fascinating. There is a trail to hike to view some of the animals but we opted for the tram. The line wasn't too bad and we managed to hop on earlier since we were a party of two. We saw cheetahs, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeasts, and so much more! After that we had to have another round of refreshments of soda and cotton candy! Yum.

There was a little water play area so I let Josh get soaked to cool down while I watched the balloon ride. I'm not sure how much it cost but the balloon can hold probably about 10-15 people and it's attached to a cable so they can bring you back. They say the balloon goes up to 400 feet and then they pull you back in. It looks like fun. I'd do it when we have the entire family together and also visit in the cooler months. Ugh.

We had to walk back to the car and check in our luggage at the parking lot kiosk. We still had a hour before check-in so we saw The Bubble Show. It would have pretty cool but the bubbles were not behaving with the heat and wind. They also did the Mentos in Diet Coke thing which Josh got a big kick out of that.

Checking in was quick n easy. Our luggage was waiting for us but we had to bring it to our tent. We also received Snore n Roar T-shirts and Wild West was the theme. I got us a premium tent which includes sleeping bags on a queen size bed and there are also 2 more cots so it can accomadate at family of four. We had a wood floor instead of packed dirt and were central to both bathroom areas. I was surprised but we actually had electricity. Enough for a lamp, fan and mini fridge. Ha, that's my idea of camping!!

No time to relax because it was time for an info meeting by the fire pit, then dinner of hot dogs and BBQ and a 2 hour nightime tour of the park. Our tour took us to the other end of the park where we learned about the "wild west" animals like the condor, porcupine and prairie dogs etc. This was followed by an animal presentation which is a surprise until the very end depending on which animal wants to 'perform'. We got Archie a horned owl....very cool. By this time it was getting dark but nope, we had a roping lesson. Josh didn't want to try but I did. I learned how to coil the lasso and swing it around my head then let it fly. I missed the cow haybale twice but I'm gonna blame darkness on that!!

We finally make it back to camp for some popcorn. smores and refreshments. Josh drank 3 cups of hot chocolate which came to haunt us later that night. Wild Wes led the group in some campfire songs which was really fun but I had enough. We left to take a much needed shower and get ready for bed. The bathrooms were located a short walk away but Josh had a little 'accident' in the middle of the night (2am). He drank so much and fell into a deep sleep. I had a paper cup ready in case he woke up and needed to go but he woke up after the fact. Yikes. Poor guy! I had to strip off his PJs and he went right back to sleep. Ugh. I couldn't fall asleep until 3:30am after that. I listened to the lions roaring and some bird sound I didn't recognize and took a walk to the restroom where a I saw about 5 bunnies running around. By then I was tired and fell asleep.

6 am and I hear a wake up call outside our tent. Another announcement at 6:30am and we were all packed up. Breakfast was a 7am and Josh ate everything they had to offer...scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes. More hot chocolate... We bring our luggage to the check out area and take another 2 hour tour to a different part of the park. We saw the cheetahs roaming about which was totally cool and 4 baby cheetahs in the nursery that were adorable. The babies will soon get their own dog/puppy companion since they are used to sticking with the siblings for a long time but will be separated so instead they get doggy buddies. Cute. Another surprise animal encounter this time with prairie dogs and our Snore n Roar time is up.

We had a great time. Josh loved the tent but I'm not sure if he really paid all that much attention to the animals and presentations. He had his binoculars around his neck the entire time and loved to look through them. If I had a choice, I'd try to do the sleepover during the spring or fall for the cooler weather but it was lots of fun!