Who are these children and why are they calling me Mom?

I sit at my computer completely brain-dead tonight - brain-dead from 5 hours of mini-golf, shopping and chauffeuring. It's after 10:00 p.m., there is a Frankie Muniz movie blaring on the TV, and I hear occasional eruptions of hysterical pre-teen giggling in the background. I don't even want to see what those girls are up to. D#1 and D#2 were on Spring Break this week. Since we don't take our vacation until summer, I decided to take a couple of days off and spend some time with them.

Yesterday, we saw Paul Blart, Mall Cop (save this one for the rental queue). Today, we drove over to Opry Mills Mall for shopping, 18 holes of Glow Golf, and more shopping. This mall is 45 minutes from our house - one way - and being trapped behind the wheel with a 12-year-old and 10-year-old and their warped senses of humor is much like being locked in a rolling insane asylum. D#2 was fairly exhausted when we left the mall, but then, I made the mistake of feeding them. All I can say is do you remember Gremlins?

Never ever feed them after midnight? Well, I fed my gremlins earlier than midnight, but I believe it has had the same effect. Whew! They have been swinging from the rafters since we got home.

Seriously though - I haven't been able to take any time off in past years during the girls' Spring Break. I am so glad I did this year. Just a couple of days of doing nothing but fun stuff will be time we all remember - even if all we did was go shopping and act silly for a while.

Sock it to me

It seems I've caught the sock bug. After I finished the Vomit Socks , I realized how much I love the feel of custom fit socks.

So I made a pair out of San Diego Yarn self-striping, which, after another crass comment from D#1, I have dubbed the Vomit Socks - Take Two. Although I did these in straight stockinette, the self-striping pattern kept me going. I'm not sure how well these socks will wear in the long-run. They seem a little pilly after just a few wearings. Maybe the fabric is just blooming a bit. I'll update after a few more wearings and washings.

Last week, I finished my Corny Toes from Maizy yarn in Night Shades. I love the socks and the feel, but this yarn was a pain to work with - very splitty. I'll let you know how they wear.
The next pair will be out of the Wildfoote I bought at Smoky Mountain Spinnery two years ago. I frogged the Crusoe sock that I had done in this because it was just too big.


Waiting in the wings are the following sock yarns:

Cascade Heritage - bought last fall at Smoky Mountain Spinnery.

Kroy in off-white. I bought this on clearance at Michael's for $2.49 a ball. How could I possibly pass that up?

Koigu - Wow! Did you know how expensive this stuff is? I had a gift cerificate left over from Christmas, so I splurged.

I'm thinking of making this instead of socks with the Koigu (but I'll need more):

Swirl Shawl

G.O. Derby!

Calling all volunteers! G.O. Ministries is looking for volunteers to man the souvenir trailers at the Kentucky Derby again this year. Volunteers are needed for 4/30, 5/1 and 5/2 (Derby Day) to sell the official souvenirs at the Derby. This is a great way to people watch, and there are so many interesting people to watch, and a fun way to raise money for a wonderful ministry. For more information, please see: http://www.goderby.blogspot.com/

I DO NOT like to work retail, but I've participated in this the last 2 years (and will be there again this year) and it is a blast! Oh, yeah - and I won $30 on Big Brown last year.

Thanks, ya'll!