♥ I Love My Geek ♥

Mark surprised me with a card he had made up. 

He's actually had a lot of them made up (around 250 of them) so that he can leave me messages ☺

I ♥ my geek

He really is a romantic at heart.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• Spring weather. We've had a wonderful taste of spring this week. It was nice to be able to hang out the washing on the line and get it dry on the same day. 
• Music ~ fun to listen to and sing along with. I've been watching X-Factor again this week. There have been so many talented singers on the show. I would hate to be the judges and try to decide who gets through to the live rounds.
• Mark has shown me how to use the command line in Linux. I am now able to convert mpeg files that I have recorded on the computer into avi. No more deleting the recorded tv shows I want to keep :)

What are you thankful for this week?

Out & About

Mark, Brodie and I went out Op Shopping this morning. We managed to get some bargains. I got a new ball of crochet cotton and Mark found some attachments for his camera.
The best thing about going out today was buying our lunch from a Chinese restaurant. I wont need to cook dinner now. The photo above was my lunch. Pork and vegetables. Yum!
Even Angus got to have lunch out today. He's at TAFE on Wednesdays and I always give him some money to buy lunch. He was talking about getting McDonalds. Looks like it will be an easy tea tonight where everyone can 'catch' their own meal (~_~) I love days like that.

WIP - crochet baby stuff

Here's what I have been working on recently.
I noticed that using 2 different ply yarn & the same size hook can make a big difference in the sizes. The white item is 4 ply and the pink is 3 ply. The pink one seems a lot smaller.
Back to finishing the cardi (-_-)

Cast On Baby

This video was shared in the Knit4Charities group the other day. I finally got around to watching it this morning. Thanks AussieMaria I saw it on your blog and just had to share it here too (~_~) 

What a fun yarn shop!! Go Knitknackers! 

Blown Out Of Proportion

I finally get Mark to join us at the dinner table for a meal. The first time this week since Tuesday evening. Brodie is talking loudly as per usual and Mark asks him very politely to speak softer. He had only just woken up and wasn't feeling the best. Brodie takes goes off his nut and think he is being told off or that Mark has had a go at him. He gets louder and angry then storms off to his room. Leaving his dinner on the table (it's still there I don't feel like moving it).

I'm just sitting here thinking why on earth did this happen again? Why does Brodie go off at the smallest of things? What did I do to deserve this? Thank goodness Angus is at a friends place and didn't get to see yet another one of his brothers little explosion. Enough is enough. I don't know what to do.

Both Mark and I feel that Brodie just wont own up and take responsibility for his actions. He blames everyone else for the things that happen to him. He doesn't see (or doesn't want to see) that it is his choices that will either make something go well for him or turn badly.

The way he speaks to Mark and I is very disrespectful at times. Sometimes he is extremely rude and even crude with how behaves. I think he forgets that we are his parents and not his "mates" even though we remind him a lot.

I can see how this affects Mark. It makes him feel horrid to the point of feeling physically sick. I fell at a loss. Torn between Mark and Brodie. I don't like how Brodie's behaviour affects everyone in our home.
Sometimes I just wish that he lived elsewhere. I know having him move out of home would only change the geography it wont solve the problem. It's getting to that point where I will kick him out if I have to.

Having a child with Asperger's Symdrome and a partner who has Borderline Personality Disorder can sure be tough. It certainly makes for a very interesting home life.

Finished Item - Baby Dress ... And Other Stuff

Wow I have been so side tracked today that I never thought I would manage to do a post today. I've been a complete GEEK on the computer. Well on two computers actually. I know what you're thinking two computers and you didn't get the time to post until now? You see I wasn't exactly sitting at the computers I was just getting them to work for me (converting tv shows I had recorded and wanted to keep) while I was busy doing other more important things like crocheting (~_~) and catching up on the shows I had recorded on my PVR (Personal Video Recorder)

I was adding the finishing touches on this baby dress. It's from another pattern by Heather at Just Crochet.

Pattern JC90C

I was adding buttons and sewing in the ends. For some reason my doesn't look quite like the one Heather made but I think it's still pretty.

After all that time (hours and hours) converting the shows I had recorded off the TV only one of the conversions worked. The one on the Linux machine. The one on the windows computer didn't work. Oh well. I might try that again tonight & let the computer work on that while I sleep. With any luck it will be good to go in the mornings ready for editing.

For the geeks out there who may wish to know what version of Linux I've used it's lubuntu which is on the netbook Mark gave me. Mark set it up for me a while back but I've only just started using it to convert files. I don't know a lot about it but I don't mind using it. At least I don't have to worry about getting any nasty viruses on it (~_~) that's one bonus on having a Linux machine.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• Yesterday and today we've had the first taste of Spring, my favourite season. The weather has been beautiful! 
• Since "Spring" is in the air I've been doing a touch of spring cleaning. It's made our home look a lot tidier.
• Music. I've been watching X-Factor and there have been so many talented people auditioning. They really amaze me.
• Brodie - he's been getting off the laptop and going out and actually doing things! WTG Brodz. It's so good to see him doing stuff instead of hiding away like a hermit!
• Mark - he's been doing lots of odd jobs about the place and that's been very helpful. Thank you.
• Angus - he's been doing his assignments AND handing them in. Sometimes its very difficult to get him to hand stuff in. He said he feels pretty good that they are done (~_~)

What are you thankful for this week?

I Hear Voices .. well Singers Really

Yes I know there's more music videos. What can I say other than I cannot help it. There are so many talented young people out there auditioning for X-factor. 

 This first video is of a 14 year old called Vendulka Wichta. She is one talented girl and she is so cute!

 

This next video is of Angel Tupai aged 19. She has a HUGE voice. The judges were simply stunned by her performance. WOW is all I can say!

 

Amazing Voices

Last night was the start of the new season of X-Factor. There were three auditions that had me hooked right from the beginning. The first one was by 18year old Bella Ferraro. Bella recently left school to pursue her singing.

The second was by 14 year old Shiane, who didn't even know how to hold the microphone properly and needed to be shown how to use it effectively. The judges didn't seem to think that she could sing when she first walked onto the stage. She proved them wrong. In fact I don't think Shiane Hawke really knows how amazing her voice is. She's awfully shy and seems to be anyoung 14 yr old. 

 

This last person is Samantha Jade. She's a 25 year old who has had some music experience. I don't know her whole story but Guy Sebastian knows her from the music scene.

I hope you are able to see the videos. If you can't you can try the Aussie X-factor website. Hopefully the videos will work there. 
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/x-factor/

Finished Item - Galaxy Tab Cover

I finished making the cover for Mark's Galaxy Tab last night. I messed up the lining though (o_0) it was too small and had to make a second one. Thankfully there was enough cloth left over from my first attempt to do it. The lining I messed up is large enough to fit a kindle so it wont go to waste. I'll just make another kindle cover.

The cover before sewing all the bits together.

All sewn together with the eyes added.

The lining was sewn in by hand.

Next to the Tab so you can see the size. Its about 10 inches x 7 1/2 inches.

I ended adding a tab to the back to make sure it was all secure and snug inside.

I really enjoyed making the cover for Mark's Tab. It worked up pretty quickly and it was a nice change from all the baby stuff I have made recently. I almost feel inspired to make myself a cover for the netbook Mark gave me (~_~)

Sing, Sing a Song ...

I was watching Country Music TV yesterday when I heard this song by Stephanie Jansen. She's from Australia. She's been a backing singer but this is her first solo song. I like & I hope you do too.

 

WIP - crocheted tablet cover

Mark has a new toy. It's Galaxy tab 10.1 version 2. Sorry I don't have a photo but it looks like an iPad. It looks so much like them that Apple took Samsung to court. However it runs android which in our opinion is better.

I decided to make a cover for the tab to protect it. Mark wanted an android logo on it. I found logo & went to http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/ to convert it into a chart format.

I've made the front & back panels in bottle green & the android is bright green. I will also be lining the cover with a micro-fibre cloth. That ought to be fun because I don't use the sewing machine very often. Thankfully I only need to sew in a straight line.

I'm off to do some more crocheting. Then the 'fun' part, all the sewing.

Naughty Kitty

Don't you look so sweet and innocent?!

My sweet kitty, Rory, was a very naughty boy this morning. At around 7:30 am he had caught a bird and brought it inside to show me what he had done. We had feathers everywhere. The poor bird however was too hurt to be saved :(

So much for the bell on the collar that Rory wears. It obviously didn't scare the bird away in time. Rory you can catch the mice and the bugs but leave the birdies alone, ok?

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• Op Shops and finding bargains. I found some new acrylic yarn in the loveliest shade of blue/green. It's very pretty.
• Sunshine. It's been very cold and wet of late and that little bit of sunshine makes up for all that cold weather.
• My heater - even though we got the gas bill the other day (o_0) it was a doozy too. Normally we have our bills already paid by the time the bill arrives. All these price increases and carbon tax has made it a lot higher than I had hoped. I'm still grateful that I have my heater though.
• Having enough funds to pay off the gas bill. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Misbehaving

I've not been terribly well behaved with my eating lately. I feel like I have been a bit on the naughty side of things by eating biscuits (cookies) and chocolate. Although when I stepped on my bathroom scales it showed me that my weight has stayed the same. My blood glucose levels have shown that I haven't over done things. Only once was the reading higher than it should've been. So I guess I haven't really been as 'bad' as I thought I had. 

My latest copy of Diabetic Living arrived the other day

At least now I have some more healthy recipes to check out since the latest issue of Diabetic Living arrived. Some of the food looks sooooo good!

These look much better than plain old toast with vegemite for breakfast.

Yum!! 

I'm off to go read some more and work out whether I have any of the ingredients I need to make some of this yummy goodness.

What's On & Off The Hook

Here's what I had been working on over the past week. 

Two more baby cardigans, well three really since I started a new one.

The yarn I used was Shepherd Baby Wool Merino in 4 ply. It's so soft and I love how it looks. I've run out of that yarn now so I have started using some of the stash that I got last week from ebay. 

All I need to do now is put the buttons on the cardigans. I just need to work out what colours to use.

My current project - another preemie jacket. 

My Performer - He's A Winner

Last week Brodie participated in the West Gippsland Music & Drama Eisteddfod. He played his guitar and performed the song Breathe by Alexi Murdoch.

Here's a video I shot of him last year playing the same song.

I'm so proud of him for playing at the eisteddfod in front of a lot of people. It took a lot of courage for him to do that. WTG Brodz!

 

What's On Your Desktop?

Here's what my desktop looks like this morning. Although I have my desktop photos set on random rotation for a bit of variety so I never know what picture will come up next.

What's on your desktop?

Finished Item - Baby Cardi

Here's what I have been working on this week. I have also been working on another baby cardigan in the same yarn. I'll share photos of that later.

I'm off to do some more crochet & some sewing.

When Worlds Collide: Virtual v Real

Brodie lives on his computer or maybe I should say he lives most of his life through the computer. He's a bit of a Facebook-aholic. His virtual world and real world overlap a lot. Sometimes he has problems dealing with what happens online and it oozes into our world. There have been many times where we have to help Brodie deal with things, help him learn from these experiences or just pick up the pieces. While there are times when there is an easy solution to problems there are plenty of times when I feel like I am banging my head against the wall.

Social media has it's place. It can be a very good tool if you know how to use it well. It can help people keep and maintain friendships. It can help create new friendships or even help you find lost friends. It can also do the exact opposite. Relationships can be damaged beyond repair and can cause many problems in the real world.

Having a family that has multiple disabilities including mental health problems can make things extremely difficult when it comes to 'life online' and life at home. I feel that sometimes Brodie's Aspergers causes him to misunderstand what people write. Online you cannot see a persons face when they have written something. Words may have a double meaning and can often be taken the wrong way. You can't always tell when someone is having a joke or are deadly serious. It can be confusing to "normal" people let alone someone who has a disability or a mental health problem.

Can you imagine what it is like when two people who have difficulties reading people in the real world get upset and misunderstand one another online? I know what its like. Its hard. Very hard.

Picture this: Someone has in the past been diagnosed with schizophrenia. They don't want to be medicated. Being medicated means that their creativity is inhibited. I totally understand that. Personally I would hate to be lose my creative side. I also understand what happens when you choose not to medicate. There can be swings in behaviour. You can be fine for months and then slowly you become paranoid and behave totally out of character. You can do things that you would NEVER think of doing when you are well.

Now throw into the mix someone like Brodie, who has Aspergers. Both of these people have difficulties socialising in the real world. They are much better 'friends' in the virtual world. They interact with more people and are even better at it online. There are still problems with misunderstandings but usually they can be explained and sorted out relatively easily (most of the time).

Now throw a spanner in the works just to complicate things a little further. The other person is having an extremely bad week. They are not medicated. The Aspie is joking around online having fun and the other person doesn't understand what the Aspie is joking about. They explain that it isn't funny, at least to them it isn't. Personally I didn't see what was funny about it either but that's beside the point. Words get exchanged. The Aspie is now scared, upset and is having a panic attack. For all you know the other person is anxious and upset too.

What do you do? Soothe the Aspie? Try and find a way to solve the situation. Get the Aspie to block the other person on facebook or set them to restricted profile? Run away and hide? I quite like that option but obviously you cannot do that. Running away from a problem never solves it. It only changes the geography.
If you were faced with this. What would you do to help out? Would you even bother to help out?

Sometimes I truly wonder whether social media is worth it considering all the problems it creates in my world. In Brodie's world. The virtual world is spilling over into our real world and I'm not always sure that it's a good thing.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• being indoors - its been raining cats & dogs here with lots of hail & thunder
• having a good heater that works well - its cold outside brrrrr
• my crochet - it keeps me out of trouble
• Luke (our parcel postie) he's been busy bring stuff to our home (~_~)
• visitors - not for me but for Mark. He's had a few people visit lately and it makes him happy

What are you thankful for this week?

Bulk Baby Yarn

I've been shopping on ebay again. No surprise there. I had to bid on this auction. Normally I just got for the buy it now items but this lot had 31 balls of baby yarn. A mixture of 3 and 4 ply yarn. Since I have been on a baby clothes crochet kick I just had to make a bid. I didn't think I would actually win but I am so glad I did. By the time I factored in the postage it cost me less than $1.20 per ball. I know that the larger balls are around $4 - $5 each in the shops so I definitely got a bargain.

I'm off to make up some more baby items which I'll set aside for another one of the Knit4Charities charity of the months focus groups. They're not being collected until November so I have plenty of time to make some items for them and plenty of yarn to use up too.

My Patterns

I started organising my crochet and knitting patterns today. I have plenty of space in the filing cabinet to add more (~_~)  I still have some more sorting.

Darn. I tried posting this last night from my phone but it only saved it as an email (o_0) it was actually meant to post yesterday. Sorry the photo is blurry I took the photo with my mobile.

Ready Mr. Music! Play Me A Song

Brodie's new electric guitar arrived late last week. He's very pleased with his purchase. He's played it a few times now and I must admit it does sound really good. Maybe when he's up to it and is in a good mood he will let me record a video of him so that I can share it. 

It's certainly a lot smaller than his electric acoustic but it's definitely a lot heavier.

Garage Sale Finds

While Mark was out on his motorbike this morning he 'accidentally' found a garage sale. He phoned me to let me know that they had a 3 drawer filing cabinet for sale. The one we had was a little two drawer thing that was filled to breaking point. Okay that was a slight exaggeration but it was full and the drawers were getting harder to open even though I had a major clean out with it not long ago.

Anyway I agreed that a new one would be good so he bought it and we went to collect it a short time later. That was my first mistake. Little did I realise how much of the lounge room we would have to clean and reorganise so that we could fit the new filing cabinet in. After much dusting, vacuuming and tidying up it's now in the lounge. Not a bad bargain for $30. It's in pretty good condition too. I've kept the top drawer free for ALL of my knitting and crochet patterns (~_o) Now I wont be leaving them lying around or in the wicker baskets under the coffee table.

Here are my other bargains ...

How pretty is that box? I just had to get it when I saw the flowers on the lid. It's so pretty. I have no idea what I will use it for yet.

I also got these sheets. Yep we still have a double bed. I know lots of people now have queen size or larger. When I saw these I had to snap them up. I would never be able to find such a bargain in the shops. Complete sets (flat & fitted sheets with two pillow cases) for only $3. It would've been silly to leave them behind.

Random Mobile Photos

I thought I would make a collage from some photos that I had taken using my mobile phone.

Plus it gives me an excuse to move the photos from my phone to my computer (~_~)

My sleeping beauties! 

As you see I love taking photos of Rory.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• the Olympics - it's been exciting watching the basketball, rowing, swimming, hockey, gymnastics, equestrian events, tennis, wrestling and a stack of other sports. Although I am a little sad that all the good stuff happens overnight while I am sleeping.
• Ellie got to go home from the hospital today. I'm extremely thankful for that (~_~) She only had to stay in hospital for three weeks

How adorable is Ellie in the little cardi (size 0000) I made her. 

• for not feeling sore after my 'work out' yesterday
• my crochet. It helps keep me sane & out of trouble

What are you thankful for this week?

Fun Outdoors

Brodie & I joined an exercise class this morning in town *shock horror* It was held outside in Civic Park. Although it was cold outside this morning I sure worked up a sweat. It was loads of fun & I didn't over do it. In fact Brodie & I shared lots of laughter as we "worked out" so it didn't feel like a work out.

I wanted to join a group so that I would get moving & not sit around so much. The main reason for this is I want to maintain my weight (or even lose a little more) and to keep getting good blood glucose levels so if that helps then I'll make this a regular thing. I'm not too sure yet though. I might be able to decide after another session or two.

After our session we went for a little walk around Civic Park to cool down a little and take some photos of the pond. Brodie used his new camera (he swapped his motor cycle helmet for Mark's point and shoot digital camera) and I used my phone.

Where we did our coreball exercise class

I love this little waterfall.

Not that you can see it but there was a beautiful parrot hiding in that tree.

I don't feel too bad after our little fun outdoors. Although I do feel like I could probably use a cat nap right now *yawn*. I checked my BGL when I got home and it was 5.4 mmol. Which I think is pretty good after brekky and exercising. I must have done something right (~_~)