The Good, The Bad, and The Adorable

The Good News: I’ve been working on a new wrap.

Sweet Potato Guernsey Wrap

It will eventually look like this. My goal is to make it look like that before October, because the color seems to lend itself well to pumpkin patches and marching band competitions. (I really miss the faded out Levi’s that somehow ended up in my suitcase after a 1990 drum corps show. They were perfectly frayed and worn out into a lovely shade of sky blue, and they’re exactly what I want to wear with this wrap. Wrap. To me, a wrap is a sandwich. This morning I used the term heavy-handed incorrectly. I need to knit less and read more. I fear that I’m no longer getting smarter.)

The Bad News: Argh. There seems to be a lot of bad news lately. My kids have decided that they no longer want to ride the bus. (I realize that doesn’t necessarily qualify as bad news. Stick with me.) The way they approached this new transportation plan with me was really quite mature and admirable (they’re not feeling very safe on the bus lately), so there was no way I could turn them down. Because I’ll now be dropping them off and picking them up, I’ll be losing a little over an hour of my day. And speaking of time, I’m finding that I’m already a bit over-extended these days. I realize that sounds so silly because I’m a freelancer! I (mostly) set my own schedule! BUT, it appears that I’ve bitten off a bit more than I can chew (Those damned cliches. Rattlesnakes, indeed.) and two of my current projects are proving to be more than I can handle, and I absolutely despise admitting defeat, but isn’t admitting defeat early on better than doing a crappy job and then running out of time? Last week I got all confused and I embarrassed myself by asking ridiculous questions when presented with the final chapter of an ongoing freelance project, and because of that I’ve been doing some hardcore evaluating of Everything That Currently Eats At My Time as well as Everything That Currently Eats At My Brain. This morning we received some horrible news about a friend’s family, and that news picked us up by the necks and slapped our faces and all we could really do was go buy some sponges (I had a coupon) and stare off into the distance and not say anything.

I’m afraid I’m not doing very well at a number of things, and it’s a bit of a concern and I believe I need to step back and think about this and figure out where my mind is. (I went to college with the wife of Black Francis.) One of my biggest fears is that I’ll become mundane and unmarketable. I’m starting to smell both of those things, and it’s bumming me out. Normally when I put on my self-doubting hat (every few years), I start singing songs about quitting Fluid Pudding. I now know better than that. (I also know that avocados all smooshed up and mixed with diced apples equals a delicious lunch. The only thing that makes it MORE delicious is making a wrap out of it. Wrap! Look what I’ve done! Full circle. Closure. And, scene.)

Scout’s birthday was last week. We celebrated by buying her a sweater and allowing the groomer to remove all of the matted fur.

I know.

She’s not happy. She’s also not allowed in the dishwasher. ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>

22 thoughts on “The Good, The Bad, and The Adorable”

  1. I’m already mundane and unmarketable. So much so that I’ve decided to build my brand upon that fact. Care for some lemonade?

  2. You are so not mundane–how many people would take a sexy time photo of the family dog? And how many people write as well as you do? Not very many people! :) Life is a slog sometimes, but you are not. You even have a productive hobby! None of mine are, unless you include production of additional me with all these cookies I eat. I salute you.

  3. Two things:

    For a moment (brief; shining), I looked at your dog’s forehead and thought, ‘That’s the most stylish Ash Wednesday cross I’ve ever seen on dog or human! Such progressive Catholics in St. Louey!’

    And the only thing that could’ve made this post better was if the first sentence lacked one letter and actually read, ‘The Good News: I’ve been working on a new rap.’, followed by some serious Sir-Mix-A-Lot-like lyrics about knitting.

  4. The color of that wrap says “crisp air, clear skies, jeans, and a little something to keep me warm.” Man, I love Fall so much!

    I’m sorry to hear about the girls and the bus – although I endorse your solution, I wish it did not have to be so (for your sake, and theirs, and the other children on the bus too…..)

    I don’t see you as mundane. I cannot comment on your marketability in the free lance world (because it sounds like you free lance some very complex and esoteric stuff) – but I will say that if you decided to “monetize” this site, I would not object. At all. Heck – if I had to pay a small annual fee to read, I’d probably subscribe like you were NPR! Just sayin’.

  5. I’m telling you 2012 can eat it. Doom and gloom is every where!

    The bus is a scary little community. I remember those days. I remember them too well. You’re a good mom for taking their side on this issue.

    Love you and your family.

  6. Step 1: Subscribe to audible.com and download books that you can listen to on the drive to and from school, to and from school, that way you get your reading in every day.

    Step 2: stop measuring yourself and your accomplishments to others, because while others seem to have a totally glamorous, exciting, chock full o’ success lives… they’re sitting in a bathrobe with cankles and making everything up.

    Step 3: Get big post-it notes (the ones with lines that come in exciting fab colors) and write lists of stuff. Cross stuff out as you do them and feel the accomplishment… especially when you write things like “take a poop”, “breathe”. For stuff you don’t accomplish, crinkly up post-it note and throw it away

  7. loving the wrap….wish I had a pair of jeans that fit like that and I do recall a pair I had about 10 years ago…
    Scout looks adorable, BTW…

    What is a headache-relieving food? Anything? Quick, I’m melting here….I know, I should probably sleep but my kids aren’t allowing it….just out of curiousity–I know you suffered years with those horrid things….avacadoes all squished up (aka guacamole) sounds really good right now…

    Happy Monday! (so glad it’s almost over)

  8. I always want to make the projects that you post – it’s insane. I have unfinished objects all over my house and now I want to start a guernsey wrap. I’m going to have to tell myself no, and that’s not a word I like to hear.

    Hang in there.

  9. My mom gave in and starting driving me and picking me up from school and I’m still grateful 20 years later. It was just more than I could handle.

  10. Wait, WHAT? I’m sorry — I might have misunderstood something. You *bought* your dog a sweater? Woman, you call yourself a knitter. Have you no pride???

    I too endorse your supportive solution to the school bus issue. No matter what, there’s never enough time in the day for *you* — it goes with the territory. Turn it into more quality time with the girls, and you’ll be way ahead of the game. Truly, those rides to and from school? Opportunities for conversational gold! And also? Blizzards! :-)

  11. Hmmm, our cocker spaniel Alex was allowed to “pre-rinse” all the dishes he could reach on the bottom level. This contributed greatly to an increased sense of self worth.

    Our current mutt is much too mannerly to partake in such behavior. She also has very short legs.

  12. Mundane and unmarketable? Never! My daughter rarely rode the school bus for the same reasons…you go Mom! Judging from the look in that dog’s eyes, I would be sleeping w/ one eye open…at least for the next few days.

  13. I feel bad because I have no clue what you freelance AS.

    I feel I should know this information.

    But I cannot believe you would ever be mundane and unmarketable. I am continually baffled by your coolness. Why are you not gradually becoming as uncool as me? What is your secret?

    However, given my lack of understanding of what you do this comment doesn’t have much credibility. HOWEVER, research shows that self-doubting people are actually much more competent at work. SO HAH! Science proves it!

  14. Love the Guernsey wrap…proves that I should have knit mine in a solid to show off the texture.

    Your pup does have the defiant look about her…no telling what trouble she will get herself and possibly others into now.

  15. The knitted wrap is gorgeous.
    The avocado wrap sounds disgusting (I hate the green slimey things)
    The dog… I won’t comment on dogs with clothes on.
    And how on earth do you get a dishwasher so shiny? (did you clean it for the photoshoot? Because if you did I could suggest other way to gain more me-time!!)

  16. You only don your self-doubting hat every couple of years?! Mine NEVER leaves my head. Wishing (longing, really) that I could be your kind of “mundane”. . .

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