I completely blew off my To-Do List (see previous entry) yesterday. I had a great reason. My wee tiny Tupperware cake tote arrived and I needed to make a wee tiny cake so that I could take a picture. Here is the picture:

Yellow Cake with Molasses Caramel Frosting. I got a cavity licking the bowl.

You can get your own from the Tupperware website. It’s meant to be a CD holder but holds a mini layer cake perfectly.

1) What I Was Doing 10 Years Ago
I was just finishing my first year as a House Mother at the boarding high school attached to my alma mater (seriously, I wouldn’t make that up). I was also working on Art Education certification to go with my BFA - with my hours in the gallery and the hours for the house mother stuff, hey, free degree. The year after that was much more interesting.

2) 5 Things on My To-Do List for Today
pay bills
get the sketches for the t-shirt backs finished and scanned
grocery store
grocery list (these are probably in the wrong order)
wrap a present from Great Gran to Mom (Mom is here so she won’t read this until she gets home)

3) Snacks I Enjoy
CAKE, cheese, bread, cookies, crackers (I could go on)

4) Things I Would Do If I Were a Billionaire
Invest! And build a feral cat sanctuary. By the time I am through with the sanctuary, the invested money will have made more money and I can have a foundation that helps me locate projects to fund. Oh, and I bet my Mom and Dad would move here faster if I built them a house.

5) Places I Have Lived
Georgia and Alabama

6) 5 Peeps I Wanna Know More About:
I haven’t been able to keep up with who’s done this one already.

Now it’s time to get to work on my To-Do List! I should write “Smooch Ellie” on there so that I always have something to cross off. Happy Weekend!

Finally! Photographic evidence! It might even be admissible in court.

Happy Memorial Day, y’all.

Michael attended Startupriot in Atlanta to pitch his new company.* Ellie and I went along to practice our Travel Skills and visit my folks for a couple days. This trip was double our Experimental Overnight to Biloxi for Free Cone Day: twice as far, two nights, one night without Michael at bedtime - which we’ve done before but not in a “strange” place. The trip went smoothly, with one exception: a significant unwillingness on the part of the aforementioned baby to nap. I finally got her to sleep and just left her on my lap. Luckily, I could reach the strap of my knitting bag with my toe and my laptop was already in the bed.

My folks have the wi-fi. And I love them for it.

I was satisfied with this arrangement until I finished both the legs and realized that my pattern was downstairs on the kitchen table. I desperately wanted to call my Mom from my cell phone to get her to bring it to me, but I was afraid that would rouse the kid. My Darling Sister Favor of the Day had been used when I texted her to call Mom to tell her why I never came back from putting Ellie to sleep. So I resigned myself to reading blogs until the nap was over. Progress reached a standstill until the next morning.

Those are Gracie’s feet.

I didn’t get a whole lot done in the car due to the ban on front seat knitting, so I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life aloud instead. When Ellie was awake, I sat in the back to entertain her and knit a little when no one was looking.

In an effort to get this Napping Situation under control, the new strategy is a loose schedule (she IS only three months old) coupled with a napping routine that is similar to the bedtime one. I won’t jinx our progress by telling you how well it is going - but the fact that I am blogging should be a hint.

*He says to tell you if any of you are interested in investing in a early-stage technology company, to send an email for more information to: michael@divvs.com

I finished the back of her romper!

She’ll be three months old tomorrow.

It’s kind of sad that this feels like a major accomplishment.

It’s even sadder that I just this moment realized how far behind I am on this year’s CounterPain Squares.

Added later: I am absolutely enjoying every second of time with Ellie (including Unhappy Hour)! I think my current slowness in project completion has more to do with my current project not lending itself well to fits and starts. The CounterPain squares, however, are much easier to just pick up. Now that I have remembered that they exist…

Happy Mother’s Day!

And just in case you think I don’t knit anymore:

I love cables. They are my favorites.

Those are armholes! I added two inches to the length since she is a ridiculously long baby.

All around the country, May Day Sock Swap Pal’s are reveling their True Identities! My Pal was Marisol who packs a swap box filled with awesome:

Yellow and Green! And Mamie!

The overall theme of the package was “Organic” which is wonderfully appropriate for spring! The yarn is SockPixie’s Cashmino in Buttercup! Marisol knows that I covet the fairy colorways so she sent me one of my own (Did I mention that it is the kind with cashmere?). There is also chocolate, tea (green and camomile citrus), a little teacup (tea party size), a sweet votive candle with a pretty beaded hanger, citrus Soak, a couple sock patterns and a copy of Kiwi magazine (a great little eco-friendly magazine). Not pictured above: More chocolate (there was a bite out of it), morning glory seeds,(already in the yard) and some beautiful floral stationary (I couldn’t get a photograph where you could tell what it was). Marisol even included a strawberry bear for Ellie!

The butterfly buttons are precious!

What sock swap package is complete with out the socks?

Elphine’s Socks. They are toe up - she is so much braver than I am!

As you can see, they fit my feet like a glove. But they look good as knee socks for her Lil’ Cowboy too. The yarn is Merino from Yarn Botanika in the color “Organic Greens.” Two New To Me sock yarns in one swap has to be some kind of record. I love them, Marisol!

Speaking of sock yarn, I am on an unofficial sock yarn fast. I will never get it all photographed and possibly cataloged (which will never, ever happen but a girl has to dream big) if I continue to add to the pile. Fasting should also provide me with a greater appreciation of the sock yarn I already have. Laura caused me to break my fast with her limited edition Pink Ribbon Sock Kits. The Susan G. Komen Foundation gets $20 of the purchase price. I think I can recover and continue to resist the temptation of future purchases.

Would a Funky Monkey Kit count as sock yarn? I love me some monkeys.