something different

For some reason, I find this commercial extremely funny.

Filler

I know I've been absent lately. Lots of family stuff is going on that I'm dealing with and I'm extremely grateful to H for being my rock and keeping me sane.

Here are some things that help me focus and recharge.




Some nail art that is quite messy/sloppy up close but I got compliments on it so I'll take it. Even though I applied a base coat, my nails got stained the lovely green color. I did a little break from them to give my nails a break but should have some more to show next week.




I did a sock yarn swap with the Monstersock group on Ravelry and this is my package that arrived. I'm already in the midst of knitting these and throwing in a few more bright colors.

Like I said above, Hector really makes me happy even when I'm grumpy and blech. We go dancing although sometimes I just watch him dance. Our local watering hole is convenient place to dance and the lights were fun so I enjoyed taking pics of Hector shaking his groove thang.






I knit a baby sweater and Hungry Caterpillar for my cousin Grace who is expecting a baby boy in September. I'm excited for them and expect more knit items in the future.





The kids and I have been looking forward to the Anime Expo convention since April and I got even more excited when Josh said he wanted to wear his Link costume. It still fits but he outgrew his shoe covers, so Hector to the rescue...He managed to find the perfect sized Uggs at the first thrift store for $8. My hubby is the best!









Here is Josh in action...he really loves this and even wore a long sleeved shirt in July. That's dedication.



The expo was a blast like usual. I saw these hats a lot and liked it even though I didn't find out what it was from till later. League of Legends which looks like a fun game but it's PC and honestly I don't have time for all that. Our waitress at The Yardhouse complimented me on the hat since she knows/plays the game so I got some info from her. This year the kids really thought about what to buy in their budget which made me proud. Josh got that Pika-Boo shirt he's wearing and Tyler bought an adorable book called Stupid Fox and some prints for his room. :)

Like I said again and again, Hector really looks out for me. He took me for a walk to show me something nearby. Right in front of the Chinese restaurant is this awesome curb marker...





It's on a busy street so I would never see it driving by but H happened to see it while running and had to show me. :)

And to finish this very long post, I will end it with this photo from our Korean market that has the most interesting products. It's very amusing to read some of the names.

Off the Needles

I'm definitely knitting but way behind in photographing them. My mom's car was acting up for the past 2 weeks so we finally put it in the shop for repairs where it has been for the past week. That means my mom needs transportation and I'm the chauffeur which is good and bad. I'm learning patience, haven't got it but trying... So this week has been daily trips to grocery store and the doctor's office since this was the week where my mom had scheduled eye surgery. The good news is that her car is ready although we want to limit her driving so we shall see how this goes.

Okay, back to knitting. I'm currently working on a sock project from the Cookie A sock yarn club which is fantastic. The December pattern Arrow has jump started my sock knitting again and I'm at the foot so almost complete. The club yarn is by Tanis Fiber which is fabulous. It's kind of funny how much I've learned over these years about sock yarn. Words/terms like MCN (merino, cashmere, nylon blend) & twist all contribute to the fabric of the sock. This yarn is MCN which I read some knitters do not like to use for socks because some do not hold up well but here is where the twist part comes in. I can't get all technical because I won't describe it accurately but I know enough that this yarn will be durable and extra soft/squishy. I can't stop petting it. I do know that I want to buy more and see how it all comes out. Maybe a scarf...

Now the Arrow pattern is textured and easily memorized. Josh guessed the name of the pattern just by looking at my socks. :) I'm so close to finishing but I got a tad sidetracked with a hat. That was a great leftover stashbusting type project called Scrappy Gems Fair Isle hat.




I must stay focused on my socks so I can get to other projects waiting in the wings. 

Meanwhile, I'm obsessed with this T-shirt I thought Tyler might like (he does) and I love saying this because it cracks me up...





Have a great weekend!

Go Speed Racer

Several years ago, both kids were really into Speed Racer which was made into a movie. We had Speed Racer Hot Wheels and every type of Mach 5 available.

The other day when the boys and I took a short hike in Palo Verdes, we got back to the parking lot to see this.




I was super excited but both kids didn't seem as excited so I just took a quick shot of it. It seems that the owner is a huge Speed Racer fan.

Weekend Antics

I had a really fun weekend. I got to hang with some girlfriends for some dinner and the LA Kings game. We went to The Farm for dinner where I had a burger with bleu cheese and a watermelon margarita. Yum.

We were there early so we were able to stake a spot behind the stage of the pre-game show. Well, Kat and I did. I think the others watched us act goofy. See here is the proof of us waving and grinning like fools. I took picures from my taped recording.

Kat in the Bailey hat/me in gray hat.

Add caption

The game was awesome especially when the Kings win 6-2. :)

I also picked up a nice find at a garage sale. It helps that my SIL keeps an eye out for me. She was having a garage sale with some of her friends to earn some spending money for Paris and her friend was selling this camera.



Canon A1

She sent a text pic to me asking me if I was interested. Um, yes. How much? $25 for everything, camera, lens, flash and bag. SOLD.

I took it over to the camera guy who put a battery in it and the camera turned on. Yay. It needs some sponges replaced, shutter mechanism fixed/lubed and cleaned. Dean said it's a great camera and he should have it ready in a couple of days. Double yay!! He's going to clean the lens and eye cup too. I'm sure Dean will give me a quick tutorial when I pick it up. I have to remember to bring some film to start right away. I'm so excited.

Canon A1 SLR.

It is super heavy so I ordered a camera strap but I think I need to wear my wrist support to hold this thing. :) So stay tuned to future photos.

scattered

With digital cameras being so popular and relatively affordable for any budget, each member of our family has a digital camera. Hector has a weatherproof Olympus that is very useful in water, beach and snow situations so that is the one I'm focussing on today. He has a large memory card so there are tons of pictures going back a couple of years.

I took his camera with us to San Diego because we were planning on going to the Legoland water park. Unfortunately, it was overcast with some sprinkles so I never took it into the water but I did manage a few pics of the kids in the lazy river. Hopefully the weather will be much warmer next time we go.





They made some new friends so hung out with them on the lazy river...



One out of  two looking at the camera is pretty normal.



Even with his wetsuit on, Josh didn't last very long in the chilly water. Then yesterday when he swam in Grandma's pool in the 80* heat Josh played & swam in the water for 2 hours. That's a record! :)

Also on the camera is the parasailing outing that Hector did with Sherri. It was bright and early on a Sunday morning at 7:30am.





The parasailing company has a cute happy face sail...and there they are airborne with Sherri being more airborne!! :)

For your amusement...

or it's really for my amusement. Driving around with the kids while talking to Kat on my bluetooth, I brought up how I don't know pig Latin and Kat starts spouting off and taught some right on the spot.

I finally got around to googling it and if you need some brushing up, here is the link.

Source of Amusement

My youngest son was given an assignment of researching a California Indian tribe. He has to decorate a vest with pictures and information. One of the things he had to come up with was an Indian name for himself. I searched online and came up with a Native American name generator.

You type in your name and the gender and poof, your Indian name comes up with the meaning. So with Joshua,  the meaning came up Friendly Short Rainbow which is really cute. I decided to try Deborah and Debbie that came up with totally different meanings.
Deborah came out as Sour Singing Snow Goose and Debbie came out as Beautiful Butterfly Showing Beautiful Wings. I guess I can be both depending on my mood. :)

Check out yours!!

For your amusement...

or not but this sums up a typical day at the pharmacy. I've been out of the 'biz' for about 5+ years but this article brought me right back to those crazy times at the pharmacy.

Why it take so long to fill your Rx at the pharmacy...


And while humorous and slightly snarky, this really DOES happen more frequently and I thank the Lord that I don't work in retail pharmacy any more!

Thanks Hector!! :)

Chilly

Here is SoCal, the weather drastically changed in a matter of a day. Hot one day and then a drop of about 40* along with rain for good measure. It was nice to have that cooler temp and of course I had to add to it by visiting a couple of ice rinks. One was to watch the Kings practice on Friday & on Staurday to take Josh to his ice hockey session. :)

On our way back, Josh sees a package on our porch. Hmmm, Hector was expecting a package but it's addressed to both of us. A mystery since it's from the Vermont Company. I open it up and this is what is revealed....



Whu-uuuut?? A commemorative tin of shortbread cookies with the Royal Couple. Okkkaay. Oh, my mom sent it to us. Known for her unusual and often quirky gifts, I didn't know what to make of it. Why?

It turns out that she sent that for our anniversary (November 9th) which is kind of funny. And sweet in her own weird way. :) My friend Kat already claimed the tin since she totally digs this kind of stuff. I guess I'll have cookies with my tea...