Friday Book Report- The Story of O

I read The Story of O because I was told it was much like the Fifty Shades Trilogy and it is on the 1001 book list. It only cost a $1 on the kindle. But it was nothing like 50 shades. Yes it dealt with S&M but this book is dark and sad. Abuse that O, the main character, endured for what she thought was love and then made herself believe that she was proud of herself for enduring the pain and humiliation. I kept reading this book because I hoped and prayed that at some point she would wake up and smell the coffee and leave and live a life of dignity but it never happened. To my disappointment.  Why this book is on the 1001 book list I am not sure. I really did get to know the character and start hoping that she really would get herself out of the situation but it ended to sadly. It´s a quick read of only 132 pages but I had to put it down often because what I read was just too much for me to digest. Realizing that a lot of the books off of the list leave me feeling depressed and sad.

Monday Knitting Update.

So had a busy knitting week. I knit a whole sweater in 3 days! It´s for my 2 year old but still. I knit Langstroth in the smallest size. I still need to weave in the ends and sew the armpits and block it but I liked the sweater. It kept me from being bored while knitting but not so integrate that I couldn´t watch something while knitting. I did make a slight boo boo. I did knit the pattern for the next size up so it is off center a bit. But I think my 2 year old can deal with it. I´ll just not make the same mistake with my oldest´s sweater. Almost tempted to make one in sock yarn for the bellydweller and make it  a button up or a full body suit. Let´s see how much I can actually get done before this baby pops out.

I also knit a little on the square Feel and See blanket.

I know I had told myself that I wouldn´t start a new project until I had finished at least 2 of my current projects but I couldn´t help myself with this sweater.

I also organized my unfinished projects a little and found a few of my designs that I was in the middle of designing and hadn´t finished. I guess I better start back on those.

I´m in full force training mode for the Ravelympics and after knitting that sweater for my little man in only 3 days I believe that I will be able to finish Snowbird in 17 days. But before I can start on another project I have to finish something else that I have started and not finished yet. What to pick though?

How are you training for the Ravelympics?

Saturday Personal Update- Decided on a Birthing Center

We stopped in St. Louis on the way back and checked out the arch.

It´s been quite the week. We started it off driving back from Pennsylvania to Tulsa, OK on Sunday. We did it in 2 days. It was a LONG drive for me as pregnant as I am. Thankfully it was just me and the hubster and not the 2 kids too. Then on Tuesday we drove down to Oklahoma City to pick the kids up. They had such a good time with their grandparents that they almost didn´t want to come back home.

Now we have been getting back in the groove of  being home. Getting back into a routine that was shaky at best before we went on our trip. I´m still having a problem getting things done around the house and keep up with my kids´ needs and my needs and my husband´s needs. Most of the day I would like to just sit on my couch and knit or surf the web but that is not really an option. I have nights, like Wednesday night, where I couldn´t fall asleep because I was worried about having to deliver this baby here in the USA. Then I had nightmares for the rest of the night about Dr´s delivering my baby after knocking me out and it was too early. They kept my baby and I didn´t get to see it. My all time most feared issues about childbirth. I got 4 restless hours of sleep that night and then the next morning had to be mom. That day was filled with too much TV, Sandwiches, letting the boys cut paper with safety scissors and Thomas the train track laying. It was a rainy day too so my boys were mostly inside not counting the time they went to pet and hold the cats. I was so tired. I did make créps though for snack time which I was proud of and we sat and ate that together.

I´ve decided on birthing center, that we toured yesterday, since I will not be going back to Iceland this time around. I am against a lot of the hospital procedures here in the USA. I´m against having an IV when I am not ill, I don´t need to be monitored constantly (childbirth is a natural process), I want to move around and eat if I want to, I´m against being checked all that time (I know when I am ready to push there is no need to constantly check my progress), I don´t want to deliver on my back (laying on your side or squatting gives the baby 30% more room in the birth canal than if you have pressure on your tail bone), I don´t even want to be in the presents of Pitocin (evil painful drug) and I don´t want an Epidural (comes with more complications than it is worth). If you want more information on why I´m against a lot of the hospital stuff then read the book The Thinking Woman´s Guide to a Better Birth It´s not just granola crunchy mambo jumbo. It is a book backed with research. I´m looking forward to a peaceful birth where I get to labor how I want and need to labor. Where I can have my baby the way I want and how nature intended and not strapped to a table unable to even move my legs. As you can tell I´m passionate about letting woman´s bodies do their thing and believe that most of the time it is the medical model that causes issues. But I´m also a mother of 2 and had 2 natural births in a birthing center already that had a Dr on call if needed. Never saw the Dr. Just the nurse midwives. My kids shoot out with out problem and all that is needed from the midwives is a little coaching, catching, some clean up and a few stitches. 

Friday Book Report- Tricks

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read Tricks by Ellen Hopkins for my book club. It was good. Nothing eyeopening really. As a therapist this is not new news that kids from all walks of life can end up in prostitution and that it all doesn´t look the same. Both boys and girls get sucked into the industry and most of the time out of shame or necessity. I guess I´m just a little jaded. Nothing in this book brought me to tears like others have said in their reviews but I guess I have heard some horrific stories in my profession and if I cried about all of them then I wouldn´t really be very therapeutic for the client or be able to function in general. The author could have played a little more into the shame that comes with getting in this line of work and that being the reason they don´t contact home. That kids with good parents do this and then don´t come back because of how ashamed they are of who they had become.

I would have liked the stories to be all told at once. Like start with one character and finish that story and then go to the next. It did keep my interest and this is one of those books where I just had to finish. It´s a quick read though. If you have a bleeding heart or think homosexuality is wrong then this is not the book for you. Move on. But if you want to learn more about how children get sucked into this profession and how the real world works in countries where the underbelly of society is swept under the carpet because the people that think these people that do drugs, prostitution, or are homosexuals are not worth societies time, then this is the book for you. America has lots of human trafficking because people turn a blind eye to it. These kids often have no where else to go and are doing the best they can with what they have.

If you have read it what do you think?

Combined Knitting and Simplisity Post

I´m back from my vacation trip to Pennsylvania. I did some knitting but not as much as I thought I would because I brought the wrong size needle with me. Stopped at an amazing yarn store in Bethlehem, PA and bought a set of needles to support breast cancer research and after that I was able to start knitting. 

See and feel blanket with the new needles that I bought in PA

Knitting a shawl off the top of my head. Will write up a pattern if I end up liking it.

Knitting robot mittens for my little boy. The pattern was made for adults but I used sock yarn and size one needles to make it little boy size.

And my living simple multipurpose tool this week is this amazing basket that I found. It's a picnic/shopping basket. This week I used it to keep our snacks in the car on our trip, I took it to the farmer's market to keep our purchases so that we wouldn't need plastic bags, I just packed it with our snacks for our trip to the splash pad today. It also collapses really nicely when you are not using it so that it doesn't take up too much room and I could see myself using it to keep a knitting project if I had a spare but I use it too much on a daily basis for everyday sort of things.

What do you have on your needles?
Find anything amazing that you use all the time to reduce and reuse?

I guest blogged for a friend that is working on similar issue of reducing and reusing. Here is the very personal post that I wrote for her on personal growth and being happy with what one has.

Saturday Personal update

The yarn tent at the Cherry St. Farmer's market

At 9am. there is still plenty of produce to buy which we did.

We went to the Cherry St.Farmer's Market in Tulsa, OK again this morning and got our produce. We also got breakfast there of fresh pastries.

Plenty of people and dogs at the market today.

I'm getting back into knitting and actually enjoying it again. I was to the point of not knowing if I wanted to pick up the needles for a while which shows how bad off I was. But by being at home and resting and knowing that I am doing what is best for me and the kids I am starting to like my hobbies again. Even planted my veggie garden. But if this keeps up and I can knit through some of this yarn I have then I might even buy some yarn from the Farmer's Market.

Me and M walking (or in my case waddling) back from the farmer's market. 

This upcoming week I will be taking a road trip to Pennsylvania with my husband to meet a friend there. My in-laws have offered to take the kids for a week so me and the hubby will get to just be the 2.5 of us. We plan on taking a day trip to New York and I can't wait. I've never walked the streets there as an adult. If you live there or have been there often do you have any advise or pointers? I'm excited. Mostly to get to sleep all I want. LOL

Hopefully I will get to do some antiquing and peek in on some yarn stores along the way and share some photos with you.

What were you up to this week?

Wednesday Simple Living Update.

Tomato, peppers, eggplant and thyme plants.

Watermelon plant

I am finally planting my garden. When I went to the farmer's market I realized that I really need to grow the things I like and are easy this summer. So I planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, plenty of squash both winter and summer, cucumber, okra and melons.

I use the square foot gardening method. growing more in less room. This book has really helped me grow amazing food in little room. Worth every penny.

Bought two of these for less than a single plant because they were doing poorly at Lowe's. Now they are doing well and producing strawberries.

I bought some plants since I started so late but the squash and cucumbers and melons are still OK to start from seed now so I used the seeds I already have and hope that they are not too old to use.

My peach tree is coming right along.

Had to add a photo of the Oklahoma Coneflower

Are you growing a garden this season and if not what are your reasons?

Monday Knitting Update- Travel Knitting

Consensuses were from last week´s post that for the Ravelympics I will be knitting Snowbird and I chose the yarn that I was wondering what to do with the week before that to knit it with.

This way I am staying true to my reduce and reuse and not bringing anything new into my house and using what I have. I believe I will be the first to knit Snowbird it in stripes though.

OK again I am going to need your help on deciding on something. Next weekend my AMAZING in laws are taking my kids for a whole week! Yes I know I am pampered. Well, my husband and I have decided to take a road trip to go visit a friend and check out Pennsylvania. I´ve driven through there a few times but not really looked around. Might even take a day trip to NYC which is only an hour´s car ride away. 

Here is where I have a problem making up my mind. What should I take with me to knit? I have some works in progress that I might just finish (what a concept) but which one?

Should I finish my Faraway, so Close shawl?

Finish designing my Feel and See Blanket?

Or something else from my Ravelry Unfinished Patterns?

What are your favorite projects to take with you on trips? I have plenty of yarn, lots of sock and lace weight yarn so maybe if you guys come up with good suggestions then I might start something new as long as I wouldn´t have to buy any more yarn.  

Saturday Personal Update

This morning we went to the farmer´s market on Cherry St. and this was our bounty. We got there a little late so there wasn´t much of a selection left. But we will be able to finish this off by the end of the week and maybe get there earlier next Saturday. I´ll take my camera with me and take some photo´s of the yarn stand there which has yarn made by local fiber! Will have to look into that more next time.

This week has been full of water play dates. We spent Memorial day at my brother´s house where they set up their pool and we got one of my nephews a double slip and slide for a late birthday present and my boys really enjoyed that. We had a splash pad play group meet at Riverside Park on Wednesday and the boys had a blast splashing in the water there. This is the fun part of summer and being a stay at home mom.

The not so fun part of my week has been my raging hormones, horrific allergies, and my 4 year old testing every boundary followed by throwing horrific tantrums when he doesn´t get his way. Don´t know how many times I have asked God to grant me the Strength to be a level headed mom this week.

How was your week? Anything amazing happen?

Friday Book Report- Fifty Shades of Grey

This month I finished the Fifty Shades trilogy and will write a review on the first one today. The first book is Fifty Shades of Grey and I was not able to put it down after I started reading it. The main characters are Christian, a power hungry CEO that is only in his late 20s and Anastasia a girl in her early 20s that is graduating from college and trying to find a job and start her career as a editor. They meet when Anastasia was doing her sick roommate a favor and went to interview him as this young, successful, CEO for the school paper. It was an instant attraction but Christian has specific sexual needs and Anastasia is a virgin. The books are about how they have to work through their differences because they are unable to live with out each other. This is an unusual love story but if you really think about it then it is a typical love story where people have to learn each other´s limits and that we sometimes overstep because of what we believe our needs to be. When we are in love we also might let another person get away with things that you would normally not be ok with but as you see in this book that doesn´t work out. As I stated above this is a trilogy. When this book ended I was in tears. I had to get the next book right then and there to know what happens next. I read all 3 books in one week. NEVER read that much in one week. WARNING: there is a lot of sexual situations in these books. This book gives you a glimps into a specific world that a lot of adults play with or try. Even though that world is not for me and a lot of the activities that happen in this book are not anything that I would ever want to try, it was interesting to learn why people do this and get a better understanding of how people handle these situations.