Free hug Campaign

I HAD to post that video, which I found, once again, at IzzyMom's.

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Have a great week end!

Deeeeetroit Basketbaaaal!

I have never really been a fan of any kind of sports, but the one thing that I like is to see the local team perform great and be part of the party.

The first time that I really celebrated was in 1998 in the city where I was born, watching the French team becoming the soccer world champion after beating the Brazilian team. I watched the game on a big screen with hundreds of fans, and after the victory the city just exploded. I marched on the streets with some friends and was caught up in the excitement. We danced under a building where a guy had turned his speaker towards the street and created a temporary night club, and we danced in the fountain in the middle of the city...Lots of fun!

I was also really excited when the Detroit Pistons won the 2004 NBA Championship. I sat in my living room watching the games even though I had never been interested in basketball before. And now I am cheering for the Tigers!

And last night I got to go and see the Pistons play. They played against the Washington Wizards and won 101 to 94. I had never been to a basketball game before and I had a ton of fun. I enjoyed being so close to the players, and hearing the excitement in the stands (even though the Palace was pretty empty since the Tigers were playing game 3 of the Playoff.)

Now that I have a little taste of how fun it can be in the stands I have a lot of catching up to do! I'd like to see another Pistons Game and a hockey game should be cool to see.

Knitting!

So as I mentioned before, I have signed up for Secret Pal 9. My secret pal seems really nice, and I can't wait to discover who she is!

As far as knitting goes, I have found yarn to make my sweater. There is a little craft store called My Craft Room that offers 2 hour classes, which I attended a couple of times. I went in 3 weeks ago and inquired about which kind of yarn I should use for my project. The lady directed me to a $4 yarn skein as she cautioned that it was "nothing special." To be honest, I don't need any fancy yarn to make my very first sweater. Depending on how this one turns out we'll see if it's worth it to splurge next time or just give up!

So far I have knitted the back, one arm, and I have made about 7 inches of the front. See I wish that I could show pictures, but turns out I destroyed our digital camera when I went to Montreal last.... Don't want to write too big, husby is reading and he's not too happy about that. The yarn is red and I have made some decoration on the front with seed stitches. It calls for a hood, but I am not sure if it would look good with a hood...we'll see.

The big news is actually that I have started to knit a sock tonight! With 4 needles and everything. It is coming along nicely, although I am dreading the heel. So my question is, when do you become an intermediate knitter? Do you have to have actually finished a sweater and a pair of socks. I guess as soon as we receive our new camera I'll post a picture of the unfinished sweater and the beginning of my sock and you (yes hundreds of you who read my blog religiously!!) will be the judge. Do I deserve to be called an intermediate level knitter?

True Beauty?

I was over at Izzy's blog where I stole that video:



Amazing hu? Izzy also has other examples (click on samples) of people who have been touched up, and honestly I think that the natural look is a lot better. At least they look human...

Happy Birthday and Allergic Reaction

I celebrated my 26th birthday last week end by going out Friday night with my co-workers. We are a handful of young and fun people and I had a blast. The only problem was that I had been fighting a cough for over a week and it was not getting better. It was pretty annoying to not be able to finish a story without starting to choke in the middle of a sentence and then I couldn't stop coughing. Which brings me to the allergic reaction.

Since my cough was not getting better, I went to the doctor's on Friday and he prescribed me some antibiotics. I didn't take it on Friday because I was going out, but I took my first dose Saturday and the second on Sunday. While I was taking my shower yesterday morning I noticed that my armpits were pretty itchy. After I got out my scalp started itching. I noticed throughout the day that my head itched as well as different part of my body, but since I was busy at work I didn't pay too much attention...Until I got home and I noticed the hives. When I tried to go to sleep my whole body was itching so bad that I couldn't sleep.

Husby looked up some information online about the medicine and it said "if you get hives call your doctor immediately." (maybe not exactly like that...) So we did, and he didn't call back until after we had fallen asleep. His recommendation was to get some Ben*dryl and come back in the morning to get a shot. I kept sleeping since I was feeling fine until 3 am, when I woke up feeling so itchy that there was no way I could have gone back to sleep. I had to go get the medicine right away.

I got my shot this morning, but kept scratching ALL day. After work I went back to the pharmacy to get some pills this time and it worked really well. Now it has been 5 hours since I took it, so I am really itchy again. I just took another dose and I am hoping that it'll quickly go away so I can get some decent sleep tonight...

Up until yesterday I always answered "nuting" when docs asked me what I was allergic to...not anymore and i won't forget about it, because I would not want ot have to go through that much itchness ever again.

Ben*dryl has taken effect I can go to sleep now!

Artsy

I found this cool website here, go check it out. Keep clicking to change colors!

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

SP9 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I have not had a lot of experience with a lot of different yarns, so I could not name a specific yarn that I like. All I can say is that I can't stand yarn that itches..I really like when the yarn is really soft.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Right now my needles and hooks are just in a little box that has nothing special...A pretty box to keep them would be a cool thing to have.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I learned how to knit as a child. My mom taught me, but I never made anything more than scarves until recently. I have only made hats so far. I am really excited to start learning new points and make cool things, but I have to figure out out to get some cheaper yarn (see my previous post)

I learned how to crochet when I was about 17, and I have made a few items. I have made 2 tanks tops, some booties and a hat for my niece when she was born and I started the blanket that matched the booties and the hat, but never finished it...she is now 2.5 yrs old. I have also made a cool hat for my mom that I lost while on a boat, and I made a purse.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, I do have an amazon wish list, but it is under my real name...I would need to re-create it to share it with the world!

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like mostly flowery scents such as gardenia, lilac, and Jasmine. I really don't like candles that smell like food, like Banana Nut Bread; for some reason it upsets my stomach..

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Husby calls me "Cookie Monster" because I LOVE crunchy cookies like chocolate chip cookies or Oreos.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do not spin, but I have done a Mosaic. I am also working on a cross stich project that I started the day of my husband's bachelor party (we have been married for 2.5 years.) My Mother-in-law tells me that it'll be ready for my daughter or son's wedding (We do not have any child and aren't planning on starting for a couple of years...)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like all kinds of music. I like classical, reggae, R&B, Rock. I don't like Metal, or Country too much. I do believe that my computer can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love the color red, and I like orange. There are no particular color that I can't stand.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married with no child. I have 2 dogs. A basset hound whose name is Louna and a Newfoundland whom we call Remy.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I do wear scarves. I have a couple of hats, but I would like to own more of them. I think that they really add a something to an outfit.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
So far it's a hat...but as I said, I have not ventured myself into more complicated things yet...

13. What are you knitting right now?
There is a class that meets every Wednesday and I am planning on going today and start a sweater.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes I do

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I do not have enough experience to have a preference yet.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I have started a sweater a long time ago, but I don't plan on finishing it because it is WAY too big, so I guess I don't have any UFO on the knitting front. As far as my crocheting goes, the purse is technically not 100% finished, I still need to do the lining and I started it around March 2006.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I think that my favorite holiday is Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
No, I don't collect anything.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I do not have any knitting/crocheting magazine subscriptions, but I went to B*rnes and N*bles and looked for a book/magazine with patterns for beginners that still look cool and wearable and I had a really hard time finding anything.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I want to learn how to make socks, how to use circular needles.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
See question 21!

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
October 7th!!

National Midwifery Week

Midwifery is always on the back of my mind. I think about it everyday and it always makes me happy and excited. But as I have mentioned in the past, I am not sure which path to take to achieve my goal.

I have been thinking about doing a nursing degree to become a Certified Nurse Midwife. I love the idea of having a nursing degree to fall back on when I have young children and can't be on call for a while, but you can read the issues that I have about being a nurse here (Interestingly enough I wrote that post almost exactly a year ago.)

Husby has thought in the past about becoming a Physician Assistant. He loves helping people and I think that it would be a great thing for him to do. Since he has a business degree, having all the medical experience to be admitted in the program takes a lot of time and effort, and because we both just graduated, it's nice to get settled and enjoy our new status and save some money before going bankrupt some more.

But since I am considering doing a nursing degree and I am not too thriled about it, we started talking about myself becoming a PA. We are going to go to an informational meeting to see if it's even feasible, but I was reading a book last night that is meant for people to figure out if they are meant to become PA, how to get in etc...and something struck to me.

One of the advices that the book gives is to show your passion when you write your essay and during the interview to be accepted in the program. They explain that even if your grade are not as good as some other applicants, if you really show that you are passionate about the career, they might see this as a being the drive that you need to study one more hour, or read one more book than other less enthusiastic students would...and this is a problem.

The only true passion that I have and that would drive me to go the extra mile and to learn more and more is to learn about how to take care of pregnant women and to eventually being able to see their babies being born. Imagining myself as an OB/GYN's Physician Assistant does not get me all excited, it would only be a mean for me to eventually become a Midwife, and as Husby said, if we pay the amount of money that it takes to do the PA program I don't think that I'll be able to pay again to do a Midwifery degree.

There are a lot of things that I think about doing in the meantime (until I figure out what the heck I am going to do) and I think that doing them might very well help me. I would like to be a lactaction consultant. I think that it would be a great first step. I would definitely enjoy becoming a doula, but I would have to have a long discussion with my boss...I would LOVE to go to a Workshop at the Farm, but I just realized that that would have to wait until May 2007 anyway...

The sad thing is that a year later I am still in the same place regarding midwifery, but I believe that everything happens for a reason, so until I figure out which step I will take next to reach my dream, Happy National Midwifery Week!