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November 30, 2007

How do you make a hormone?

Don't pay her.

Ba dum dum.

Ever since I've been pregnant and all talk turned to hormones I've had this goofy joke running through my head. I can't say the word without telling myself the joke. It's almost as annoying as the effects of said hormones. Which, incidentally, are KICKING MY ASS this week.

Yes, it's true, I've been working nonstop. I've had a couple of nights of not a lot of sleep. These may in fact have added to the ridiculous crying jags, but I prefer to blame the hormones, and the fact that my husband left on a trip yesterday. I swear on the day that embryo attached itself, I have become more and more attached to my husband. Usually it's no big deal if he goes away - I take off myself to see my sister and the kids or a friend or whatever. But this trip - this trip it was all I could do not to BEG him not to go. I know he sees it as a last trip on his own (which I've told him isn't the case) and he's been so stressed at work lately a part of me is glad to see him go - but I miss him so much it's making me cry. All the time. So I blame the hormones. (See, I told myself the joke again.)

There are good things on the horizon though. Like today is the LAST DAY of working like a maniac. If I can get all the things I need to get done DONE today, then I'm just about done for the season. Sure, there are always holiday cards to bang out, but they aren't nearly as time consuming as processing jobs. All of my deadlines are just about met and things should be good! Clients are happy. I'm tired. Another successful year. (This one doubly successful compared to last year! Grow business grow!)

Tomorrow I head out to my sister's for some downtime with the kids. I come back the same day as my love and then it's time to hunker down for THE kid. A new year is just around the corner and I can't wait!

Posted by Cara at 09:43 AM | Comments (25)

November 28, 2007

Belly Shots

Hold the vodka, please.

Since you're all so into progress shots - I thought I'd share a different kind - still progress though!

That's my lame attempt at a self-portrait. I had to enlist the Daddy-Cam for some decent-ish shots.

These pictures were taken today - 23 weeks, 3 days. Depending on what book you're reading, that puts me somewhere in the sixth month.

Although the profile shot and the back fat aren't the nicest, head on it's so cute! I'm really enjoying my belly these days - I think it looks so pretty! It's got a nice shape and I guess I'm carrying in the front? No stretch marks YET (they're coming - I got stretch marks on my boobs and hips in adolescence so I'm not naive enough to think I'll be immune. And before you start telling me about all kinds of miracle creams, the scientific research I've read is that stretch marks are genetic. You either get them or you don't.) Georgie likes my belly too. Which makes it doubly nice. Thanks for letting me share!

L, C

Posted by Cara at 12:39 PM | Comments (78)

November 27, 2007

All work and no play

makes me very, very cranky.

But I did get a chance to start my Oblique. After a lot of measuring drama (imagine me yelling into the phone "I ran out of tape!" and that one totally believing me!), I settled on the size 46 - which I think is like the large. My chest is measuring 43 right now (pre-pregnancy I was a 40) and I figure when my milk comes in I'll be about a 56, but I don't have to button the sweater. In fact, I may not put buttons on it at all until, you know, next winter. I see this as a cozy big blanket of a sweater and I'm completely unconcerned about it fitting my post pregnancy body.

I got gauge with 9s (which hopefully means the sweater will go FAST!) and then I was reading over at Emily's how she was concerned about the twisted ribbing pulling in around her hips and I went up to 10s for the ribbing. I'm very pleased with how it's working out.

I actually had about ten more rows done but about two rows ahead of what you see here I added an extra yo. On the next rs row I realized it and dropped it, but it caused some stitches on the left leaning lace section to be...big. It was absolutely driving me CRAZY so I ripped back. Yes, yes. I tried to fix it without ripping back but it wasn't satisfactory to me and it's my sweater so if I feel like ripping back ten hard earned rows then I'm going to do it. I feel like I have absolutely no control over my life these days (read my body is NOT my own) and if I can have some control over my knitting I'm going to do it. ;-)

I know the last picture I posted of the yarn looked a lot bluer. This picture is much more accurate. It's gray. A very nice gray with a definite blueishness to it. I adore the yarn and I think it's perfect for this sweater. Beaverslide Catbird for the skimmers.

I'm working non-stop. I work in my sleep. My dreams are about work. It's kind of sad. But it will all be over soon and I'm meeting all my self-imposed goals. There's not much time for anything else though. This weekend I may be out of town, and if that's the case, I hope to do some knitting. I still have my birthday as a goal for this sweater - about a month. The work will end and I may just knit all day and all night and wouldn't that be FUN! We'll see.

Pregnancy news: I'm in the slog-o-rama part of it all. There's nothing really good to look forward to except the actual BIRTH. I feel the baby ALL THE TIME. All the time as in oh my god give mommy a break for three seconds PLEASE. Unless of course I realize that I haven't felt it in a little bit and then I'm all poking and prodding my belly begging the kid to move. I definitely look pregnant. I'm getting bigger by the second and now I'm obsessed with my nose. Does it look bigger? Georgie hesitated ever so slightly and I think I cried for an hour. The hormones are BACK with a vengeance thank you very much. And I still feel sick much of the time. The puking has all but stopped, but that doesn't mean I don't still feel like puking. Ah pregnancy. Hardest thing I've ever done. Ever.

Kim posted the other day that there's now some unwritten rule about not blogging knits in progress, only FOs? I am SO out of the loop. You'll get plenty of progress pictures here because honestly, that's what I want to blog about. I NEED progress pictures. And don't you know? It's all about me these days.

Posted by Cara at 09:17 AM | Comments (47)

November 21, 2007

Now this makes me happy!

Sarah and I bumping bellies in DC!
THANK YOU SARAH! Totally gave me the smile I needed today!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 08:24 AM | Comments (35)

November 20, 2007

Little Boxes

See that dramatic picture up there? All black & white and arty and stuff? That's just a portion of the 45 boxes that Ann and Kay packed for me yesterday. I say they packed because really all I did was provide packing supplies and cheese. Lots of cheese.

So we've got 45 prizes. I haven't picked the winners yet, but I will. Soon. Last night I went on a bit of crying jag. It started with a real and/or perceived hurt and then devolved into sheer exhaustion. Every waking moment of my time is now spent working (and reworking) client orders and it's stressful to say the least. Tomorrow is my last photo shoot of the season. Tomorrow. One of my most dreaded days of the year.

A lot has changed in the last year - supremely so - we've gone from the ridiculous to the sublime - or maybe not because this whole pregnancy thing is ridiculous a lot of the time, but still, just because we're 180 degrees from where we were last year doesn't mean I'm completely over it.

And to make matters worse, I've heard a very sad rumor about a member of my favorite band. The rumor - while completely unfounded - is bringing up lots of bad memories.

I hate Thanksgiving.

I did cast on for my sweater and it's looking completely lovely even if I've only managed to knit about ten rows. I hope to be done with the ribbing very shortly and onto the body. Wouldn't it be so nice to have a new sweater for my birthday? I doubt it's going to happen, but I can dream. If I can sleep. Comfortably enough to dream.

Sorry for the bad mood, I just can't help myself today.
Prizes awarded soon. Thanks for your continued patience.

Have a good week!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 10:05 AM | Comments (36)

November 16, 2007

Ain't No Stoppin' Me Now!

Well, except for the 80 million hours of work I have - but no matter! My yarn is here!

Isn't it unbelievably gorgeous?! It's Beaverslide in the Catbird colorway. And I think I may have finally gotten gauge!

It only took three tries. The top swatch is Huckleberry Heather on size 7s. I got 19 stitches to 4 inches. The second swatch is Thimbleberry on size 8s and I got 18 stitches to 4 inches. Yesterday, after I was done working for the day, I immediately wound up a skein of my new yarn and didn't go to sleep until I finished the swatch. Catbird on size 9s - and while the swatch is still drying, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get 17 stitches to 4 inches on size 9s. In moss stitch. One funny thing about this project and this yarn - when I used Beaverslide for my Central Park Hoodie the swatch was in stockinette and it bloomed with washing considerably. This time - no bloom at all. I think it has nothing to do with the yarn and everything to do with swatching in moss stitch. There's no room to bloom what with all the purls and knits snug up against each other. No biggie! Imagine how fast this sweater is going to go on 9s!

I love the color, I love the yarn, I love the pattern. I'm all about the love baby! I have no idea if I'll be able to cast on this weekend. I'm so busy I can't think straight. And I still have to measure my ginormous boobs to decide which size to make. But it's all good! If I can sneak some time, I'll try to cast on today. At least once the project is cast on - all I have to do is pick it up and knit. YAY!

Have a great weekend! I'll try to have something to show you next week!

Posted by Cara at 09:00 AM | Comments (27)

November 14, 2007

Home, again

Bruce was GREAT! DC was GREAT! Mrs. and Mr. Crafty Snargle were GREAT! (There are belly bump pictures - stayed tuned - Sarah's got them!) The hotel was GREAT! The pool at the hotel was empty, but for us, and FANTASTIC! Having G find the Exorcist Steps in Georgetown and me slyly downloading Tubular Bells on my cell phone to scare the crap out of him was PRICELESS!

Visiting the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial on Veteren's Day Weekend (or any day really) was too much for this pregnant mama. I lost it. All those names. Everyone of them had a mother. Too, too much for me.

Obviously I'm home and I'm completely overwhelmed. Work is nonstop now and the shooting should end this weekend (cross your fingers the weather holds out for me!) and then it's processing non stop for the next few weeks. The baby reminds me of her or his presence at every opportunity. I finished my second Oblique swatch, but it has to be measured and washed and measured again. I should have my yarn in a couple of days and I'm hoping to cast on immediately. I WILL KNIT THIS SWEATER.

Not sure when I"ll be back this week - but the prizes for SPIN OUT will definitely be announced sometime next week. I hope. I don't want to promise because that will just add to my sleeplessness, but I'm doing the best I can.

Thanks.
L, C

Posted by Cara at 09:10 AM | Comments (15)

November 09, 2007

Too Legit To Quit

This is how much I love knitting again!

As soon as I hit publish on yesterday's post I went rummaging through the yarn bins to find some Cascade 220. I started a swatch immediately and knit the whole train ride to the dentist. (NO CAVITIES! NO PREGNANCY GINGIVITIS! NO ASPIRATING ON MY OWN PUKE AND DYING! Thanks guys!) On my way home, I had a conversation with Margene and she said what about Beaverslide, which I used for my CPH, and I LOVED and I said I thought about that but was thinking that the Cascade worked so well with Ariann and Oblique kind of reminds me of Ariann and she insisted that Beaverslide would be perfect. So I got home and consulted with Ann and we agreed that maybe Beaverslide was the way to go. We both consulted our colorcards and settled on THE most gorgeous smoky gray - CATBIRD - and I started a new swatch immediately using some of the leftover yarn from CPH.

Let's not discuss how I should've been working when I got home from the dentist. Let's talk about the fact that I was so excited about knitting that I totally blew off the work I needed to do. YAY!!!!!!!! Anyway, back to the swatch. We should all remember that Beaverslide blooms considerably when you wash it, so I measured the swatch (and got about 19 stitches to the inch in Moss Stitch - the pattern says 17) and washed the swatch. This morning I measured it and I don't see that big of a difference, honestly. Maybe it's because of the Moss Stitch? There isn't as much room to bloom as there is with Stockinette? The good news is I'm going to swatch AGAIN! (Who knew I'd be so excited about swatching? Things were really really bad there for awhile. One of you guys should've stepped in!) I have about two sweaters worth of Beaverslide in my stash (SHUT UP! Who cares that I just bought another sweaters worth? It's YARN. We LOVE YARN!) and I'm going to use a yarn a bit more similar to the Catbird - re: no tweed - and swatch on size 8s. I used 7s for the first swatch. I bet I get 17 stitches easy peasy. I can't WAIT for my new yarn to come!! YAY!

There was a comment concerning the yarn change and drape. Yes, the yarn called for is very drapey. It also has lots of fibers in it I won't touch - like Angora. And Mohair. Sure the Beaverslide has 10% of Kid Mohair in it, but it doesn't bother me, and I think with the open pattern and the larger needle size the Beaverslide will drape very nicely. My swatch on 7s in Moss Stitch has pretty good drape already. So I'm not considering it a problem.

Hope your weekend is FULL of wonderful knits! Thanks for reading!

Posted by Cara at 09:39 AM | Comments (49)

November 08, 2007

Open Wide

Look what I did last night!

I knit! For a long time! And even though I messed up the first repeat on every pattern row, I LOVED IT! The color is still off on the photos, but trust me when I tell you I'm loving the pattern and I'm loving the yarn. It's all I can do to get through the purl back row (something I usually love) in order to get to the pattern again. I've got 40 more rows in the first chart (I think I did about 20 yesterday) and I'm almost through the first skein of yarn. I think I'm going to need seven total, so that should let you know how much more I've got to go with this. BUT THAT'S OKAY! I'm enjoying myself. There are no races here.

As I knit this shawl, I'm loving the idea of shawls as a wrap for new babies. I imagine my babe all snuggled in my handspun Seraphim. A sleeping baby on Waves in the Square. PERFECT! I'm loving the knitting so much that when G told me he was going to be using MYthe computer for awhile this morning, I pulled out a sock! YIPEE! I'm in the middle of the heel flap on this sock, so the end is in sight. Wouldn't that be fun!

Today I even thought about a baby knit. I was showing G the sock (the purple rain monkey) and he just loves purple these days. He said we should dress our baby in purple all the time! No pink or blue stuff for our kid. And I said purple and RED! (Lately my nursery fantasies have deviated from the peaceful sea green I've imagined for so long to purple and red. What can I say?) Then I said we should bring our baby home from the hospital in RED! For good luck! (In stark contrast to the more traditional gender neutral white - which has some sadly funereal qualities in certain cultures.) Immediately I wanted to knit my baby a red sweater for coming home! (But I can't. I'd feel so guilty and god forbid if anything went wrong. Superstitions are silly and meaningless unless they mean something to you.)

Anyway, I just love to knit. That's all.

Today I have to go to the dentist, which is very important for us pregnant gals. On a normal day I hate going to the dentist, no matter how much I love the women in the office! (Hi girls!) But now I'm all freaked out that I'm going to have throw up too. And that it will hurt and there will be tons of blood. But we all gotta do what we gotta do and it's better to go than not go. Wish me luck. And no cavities. I don't know what I'll do if I have a cavity! Fingers crossed!

PS - SHIT! I just saw this and want to cast on THIS SECOND! And I'm thinking Cascade 220 would be PERFECT for this!

Posted by Cara at 09:42 AM | Comments (43)

November 06, 2007

It's A...

HUMAN!

Exactly what we wanted! Whew! We were worried there for a minute or two.

The ultrasound was really long, and honestly painful. The baby was VERY uncooperative apparently. Wouldn't stop moving around and then it would hide itself and more than half of the ultrasound I was on my side with my back to the tech and the doctor so they could see what needed to be seen. Finally they got all the measurements they needed (I'm telling you my belly will be bruised tomorrow) and declared our baby PERFECT! (At least as far as the ultrasound goes.)

We didn't bring a video tape (I couldn't find one this morning) but in the end, the ultrasound was so long and they had so much trouble that Georgie started to read the paper. Every now and then I'd tell him to check things out (my head was behind the screen, as I thought it would be) and he'd look and then get scared he was going to see something he didn't want to see (like some kind of gender identification) and look away. I was like, honey, that's the umbilical cord.

To top the day off: WE FINALLY GOT SPRINGSTEEN TICKETS!
The baby WILL be hearing The Boss in utero. We're going to have a nice weekend in DC and catch the show on the 12th. I can't wait. A little bit of relaxing. A little bit of Bruce. And a whole lot of my favorite boy and my other favorite boy. Or maybe my favorite girl. ;-)

Here's another picture. A foot. I'm bruised on the outside AND inside. YAY BABY!

PS - I've had some questions about Spin Out prizes. I have NOT awarded them yet. It looks like I'll be doing that right before Thanksgiving. My elves will be coming to help and hopefully I'll have a break in the workload before then to post the rest of the prizes that I haven't posted yet. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I apologize to all the people who donated prizes and all the people who bought raffle tickets. THE PRIZES WILL BE GOING OUT! I promise. Thank you all for being so patient! I really appreciate it!

Posted by Cara at 04:07 PM | Comments (70)

November 05, 2007

Halfway

Sometime in the night last night I passed the 20 week mark on my pregnancy. That means I'm halfway there! YIPEEEEE! Although that also means, holy fuck - I'm halfway there!

The other night I was sleeping and I guess I was on my back and my belly was exposed (I was probably scratching it when I fell asleep) and G said all of a sudden it moved like I was being donkey kicked from the inside. DUDE! I WAS! The baby's all over the place now and Georgie still hasn't had a really good feel, but at least he could SEE it.

Someone said in the comments the other day that I seem to be enjoying the pregnancy now and I have to say it's true. I get all emotional when I think about it, but I just love feeling my baby move inside me. And I'm loving the changes in my body. My boobs may be huge, but they're matching up nicely with my growing belly. I actually feel kind of sexy in a whale-ish type of way. And man can I dance now! We were listening to some 2PAC the other day and I could shake that booty like never before! Guess it's all those loose ligaments! How do YOU want it? [WARNING: link NOT work appropriate.]

And yesterday I was able to satisfy a fantastically intense craving: bagels and fish. Specifically, a bagel with cream cheese and baked salmon. From Murray's. MMMMMMMM. So good. It didn't even give me indigestion!

I've made some progress with my knitting as well. Last night I was able to fix my mistake and figure out a better way of reading the chart. Now I can glance at it and know where I am without having to count boxes and stuff. Really, not brain surgery, but my hormone laden brain can't handle much these days. I hope to have a progress picture for you soon, but two rows a day doesn't make for a lot of progress.

Tomorrow is our big ultrasound! I'm excited about it, yes, but I'm also a bit bummed. I know that I'm not going to be able to see half of it at least. The techs at the hospital where we go are very SERIOUS about their jobs. Not that that's a bad thing, but my head sits BEHIND the screen while they take their measurements which means I can't see squat. It's only when the doctor comes in will she turn it to face us. I know I shouldn't complain because I just want everything to be healthy and all, but really - I want to see my baby! That shouldn't be a big deal. Everyone else I know gets to watch their baby the whole time. I guess I'll just have to be content with watching G watch the baby. Again.

I'll report back tomorrow - but no, we're still not finding out the sex.
Have a good one!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 02:21 PM | Comments (43)

November 02, 2007

Home, For Better and Worse

Before I say anything else, I want to say that I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER! Puking is no longer an every day occurrence. My energy levels are pretty high. My spirits are SOARING (with every kick they go higher and higher.) Really. I feel good. Not as good, physically at least, as I felt before I got pregnant, but definitely the best I've felt SINCE I got pregnant. Which, really, is such a relief I can't tell you.

Halloween was EXHAUSTING. Three parades, numerous costume changes, a veritable trick or treat mob scene and I'm spent. Yesterday I was not feeling well (and I didn't even eat that much candy) and I ended up puking before I left my sister's. It was all I could do to get on the train and climb into my own bed. The kids were as cute as ever loving on my belly and talking about the baby and all the Halloween stuff - I didn't take one picture and we didn't get a chance to paint my belly - but it's all good. I miss and missed them terribly, but I can't tell you how happy I am to come home to G. I miss him beyond belief when he's not with me - I've said it before, but this pregnancy is so much more fun when he's around than when he's not. Last night I gave the baby a stern talking to - NO KICKING UNTIL DADDY COMES HOME! While most of the time I'm still feeling those flip flops, I'm also getting TRUE kicks. And last night I thought I might have felt a body part - a really hard part of my belly - when it wasn't hard anywhere else. Anyway, so already the baby doesn't listen. I told it not to kick and all it did was kick until G got home. Then nothing. They say kids will make a liar out of you all the time and mine's starting young. It's just so much fun though! I thought I'd be freaked out and I'm just loving it. I love my baby!!!

And I'm loving my knitting! Although barely any progress was made. I knit a couple of rows on the train down to my sister's and a couple of rows on the train home, but I realized I made a mistake on one of the decreases and I have to rip out a couple of rows. No biggie - and I'm not feeling the pressure at all - just loving the knitting.

In not so good news, we found out today that they are going to start drilling outside our apartment in the next month or so. We've known the "exterior project" was in the works for awhile - they've started on other parts of the building - but now we've been given notice that our apartment line will be soon. Basically, for the very end of my pregnancy and the beginning of my poor baby's life, there will be men in scaffolding outside our windows with jackhammers. We will have no window access at all (they all have to be sealed against the dust) and they're removing our balcony so the sliding glass door will have to be locked off. The window seals aren't that big a deal - we seal our windows every winter. But the noise is unbelievable. I've heard how horrible it is near the apartments they've been working on since the summer and I'm not sure I'll be able to take it. Can you imagine? Nine months pregnant and men with jackhammers everywhere outside your windows? Can the noise hurt my baby? Estimated completion is May. Yeah. Right. The whole thing is really making me nuts.

Needless to say, we're ratcheting up the house hunt. We've lived in this building for sixteen years. Long enough, don't you think. I'm dreaming of a yarn room!

I'll end with some good news! My brother's engaged! YAY JEDD AND JEN! The best news - she's a knitter!
Back to work. Hopefully some knitting will be accomplished this weekend.
L, C

Posted by Cara at 02:44 PM | Comments (31)