Archive for June, 2007
Baby Brain?
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Does this “Baby Brain” phenomenon go away with the morning sickness?
Say yes. Please say yes.
Today I’m in a total fog. I can see out my eyes, but am really having trouble connecting with the stuff that’s out there.
Last night I went to the bookstore to look for a book someone recommended to me. I didn’t find THE BOOK, but I glanced through one of those “pregnancy over 35″ books. (I’m 35.) It was so scary. I was like, I do NOT need to be reading THIS. I mean, talk about stress inducement.
I did have fun (later, at home, away from scary over 35 pregnancy books) looking up our potential baby names on the baby name wizard…it’s a site that shows you the popularity of any name throughout history. All of the names we’ve picked out for girls or boys are less than 100 in 1 million babies! You’d think you’d pick maybe one or two really rare ones, but all of them!
Over the weekend, we did the “ring test” to see whether it’s a girl or boy, and it’s either a girl or too early to tell. The ring just hung there perfectly still. I think it’s a boy, and my sister in law Kim thinks it’s a boy.
Posted in baby | 15 Comments »
That brown sweater from the back of the book
Friday, June 8th, 2007
Lots of people are asking about that darn sweater in my author photo. I finished it last summer, and I have been partway through the pattern for months (almost a year) now. I intended to have it ready for download LAST fall…but it’s still not ready. Albatross, anyone?
I know where it is and I have my notes. So. I just need to get it in gear, find a few quiet hours, and finish it up. It’s going to be for sale on my site but I’m not sure exactly when.
As soon as things slow down a little bit and I can get it finished up.
Warning: Pregnancy talk to the end of the post…SKIP if you don’t care!
I totally jinxed myself when I told everyone that I have no morning sickness. Most days I wake up completely fine (although early) and can go through the whole day without even a little bit of nausea. But then days like today…I just want to get back in bed. But I can’t. ‘Cause I’m at WORK. Hugo’s usually pretty good to me…but today something has him all worked up.
I’ve been making smoothies every morning, with fruit, yogurt, and soy milk. That’s how I make sure I’m getting all Hugo’s vitamins for the day (plus I take a prenatal vitamin and omega-IIIs) then after work I get the juicer out and throw in arugula (”rocket” in Germany), tomatoes, carrots, etc. so that I get all THOSE. I’m not a breakfast eater, generally, so I know there’s no way I’d eat 2 bananas, a peach, half a carton of strawberries, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of soymilk all before lunch if it wasn’t a smoothie. And work is so tiring for both Nate and me lately that I’m prone to just throw in a pizza after work, take a shower, and go to bed. So…the grinding up of healthy foods so that they can be consumed quickly and effortlessly has been a really great thing.
Some foods are just too strong. I can’t eat mustard or salad that has Italian dressing or balsamic vinegar. Texture is a big deal…no bean burritos. Rice is good. Smoothies are good. Pizza, for some reason, is good. Spaghetti. But anything too flavorful or texturally weird is bad.
Today my smoothie has a peach in it that’s slightly less than ripe. So the smoothie is TART. And Hugo doesn’t like it.
I was talking to a guy at work whose wife is having a baby this week sometime. I asked him how her first trimester was and he said, “She hated me. She hated all foods that she used to like. She was very very angry.” So I’m a little better off that that, at least. I’m not angry at all, but I am really tired! Which probably does make me a *little* grumpy.
But man, yeah. I’m SO TIRED!!
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 21 Comments »
I’m home!
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
Well, I’m home. Sitting on the couch in my underwear and a tank top. It’s about 100 degrees outside/inside…our AC needs to be FIXED, yo! Hugo is HOT! (We’ve been calling the baby Hugo.)
Apparently we missed a huge storm in Dallas by a few hours and are two of the few people who actually made their flights out. We got to Dallas early, and I asked about standby room on an earlier flight. They said they already had 166 people on standby for that one…so we were actually lucky to get our later flight!
I talked to a rep the other day about the patterns on the site and wholesale-ing them to shops. She said I’d do better to have at least 20-25 patterns, rather than 8 or 9. So if someone carries the LINE, they order more. The booth next to me had about 70 patterns in their line. So. I need to get to WORK. I wonder how long it takes to get 70 patterns together and tested and edited and photographed and printed up. Years.
SPEAKING of that. I have to do a very hard thing that I’ve been putting off for a LONG time. I have to increase the prices on the patterns on the site. If I sell a pattern to a shop, they have to know that the customers are going to actually buy it and not just go online to buy it cheaper. I was talking to a woman this weekend who owns a shop and she was telling me that it’s a real moral dilemma for her. She always tells the customers, “We have the pattern, and we have to sell it for $6, but you can get it online for $5.” And I can see how that sucks.
SO. I know most of you guys, especially those who’ve been readers for a while, have already bought the ones you want….but I want to give you the chance to get the ones you don’t have at the current prices. I’m going to raise everything up to $6, and all the new patterns that come out from now on will be $6 as well. That’ll take me about a week, so by the 12th of June.
Posted in just chit chat | 4 Comments »
Sunday night!
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
Here we are back in the hotel room before 9pm again! (Mom and I took pictures of each other relaxing after the long day!) I said, “hey Mom! Let’s take pictures of each other relaxing!” and she started laughing at me.
It’s great, though, because after all day talking and rushing and signing and smiling (as much as I LOVE that stuff…) it’s nice to just lie back against the feathers and relax, rather than trudging to a party in the rain. We were in the elevator and one lady said, “I hope we can find that Lifetime movie on the TV” and we looked at each other and nodded. “Sounds GOOD.”
Today I met the Threadbear people in person after SO LONG. They’re the first people to ever buy a pattern from me and sell it in their store. Aaaw. They’re just as cute in person as they are online. I met La Chic herself in person yesterday! I don’t know exactly why but it’s surreal to meet so many of these online people from back when the knitting blogger ring had 50 people on it…in person…at one time.
I saw Lucy Neatby and Nicky Epstein today. They both hosted that Knitting in the Heartland convention that I’m hosting in April ‘08. (Which you should definitely come to if you’ll be near Kansas City.) I didn’t TALK to them, but I SAW them. I’m bad at just going up to people. I always like it when people come up to ME….but for some reason I get really shy. In fact, I met a woman in the bathroom with really neat hair who recognized ME from online. She asked me if it was weird to meet people who know me that I don’t know…and I actually really LIKE it. I love having feedback and meeting people face to face. If you ever see me, please say hi!
I’ve been spending time scouting out yarns for Glam Knits. You’d think I’d have all this in the bag already, but it’s hard to decide! I’m really drawn to sparkly things. Did you guys watch the spelling bee? Did you see the girl who wore the 25 bracelets on her arm for good luck because she found looking at sparkly things really soothing? I’m in that sort of magpie mode right now, myself. So. Look out! Sparkles and Cashmere and Ribbons and Beads and Velvet and Silk and Alpaca and Angora and Bamboo for YOU.
By the way, have you seen the new Malabrigo laceweight? They handed me a swatch that measured about a foot by a foot, and it weighed NOTHING. It’s f***ing incredible. And and the people who run that yarn company are so cute. I was over there thanking them for providing yarn for a project and the one man said, “Well. Thank you for picking us…UP? Is that how you say it?” I love accents. When I meet a non-native English-speaker, I never correct them. The language is so much more interesting spoken by foreign people. I LOVE it. So. Anyway, I have a hank and I’ll show it to you, but it’s at the booth. We didn’t carry anything back to the hotel tonight. I had dinner with my publisher and some other neat people.
There was my editor, Jessica, the editorial director Jay, Danielle and her very nice friend who sat too far away from me for me to hear her name, and Karida. I really like Karida’s yarn, too. I haven’t had a chance to play with any yet, but the colors are amazing.
I’ll take a picture of my booth tomorrow so you can see what it looks like. It’s not as elaborate as SOME…but I think it looks neat. I’ve got hot pink tulle on the walls and big star-shaped lanterns that really light up. Mom has been awesome at helping out in the booth!
So. I had my 9:30 meeting, and it went well, but I won’t know the result for a couple MONTHS. So forget I said anything for awhile. I did pitch one book yesterday and it sounds like that one might fly. So that’s a good thing! It’s not for babies, though. I’d LOVE to do “Baby Glam!” Doesn’t that sound SO CUTE?! aaaaaaaaaaaah. cute.
Posted in just chit chat | 5 Comments »
TNNA=Tired!!
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Today was the first whole day of the show. I saw lots of friends, lots of great knitting gear, went to a really nice party….and am now in bed under the covers at 9pm!
Last night, my mind was doing one of those marathon anxiety sessions where I try to get the whole rest of my life planned out in one intense session. It never works, of course, but sometimes I just can’t shut down. Even lying there exhausted. There are SO many things to plan.
So it felt like an early morning today, even though I’m usually up and out the door before I even woke up.
I have a 9:30 meeting tomorrow morning that could mean a very cool new project. Cross your fingers!!
Posted in just chit chat, events | 3 Comments »
Baby Post (Skip if you don’t want TMI!!)
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
I’m realizing that I’m going to have to interject these little updates, because this baby is all I think about. Or, not ALL, but most of what I think about. Your comments on the last couple of entries were so encouraging that I just want to share my thoughts.
So please skip the baby posts if bodily functions/baby talk makes you uncomfortable. (I’ll put “baby” in the title, so you’ll be able to tell right away.) I know that before I got pregnant, I really would have had NO interest. Last winter a pregnant lady wanted me to touch her belly when her baby was moving. I was like, “Um…Gross. No.” So believe me, I understand. (And the baby was my *nephew*!! And the lady was my sister-in-law!!)
I’m about two months pregnant, and the baby’s doing really well. I haven’t had much morning sickness lately at all. Sometimes I’m really tired, and sometimes a little dizzy, but no all-day sickness. I had a little bit of spotting a few days ago, and the midwife said it’s probably due to things attaching to the uterine wall. Not everyone spots when that happens, but apparently 20-30% of people do and it’s no big deal. In my opinion it’s encouraging because it means that my body’s doing the stuff it should be doing.
I’ve been a little nervous about this pregnancy after the fibroid surgery, but my surgeon is confident that I can do this, the nurse practitioner is really positive, my midwife is really attentive and returns my calls, and I feel just great. So every day that passes, I feel more and more relaxed.
I’ve lost 4 pounds in the last couple of weeks…stopping drinking beer, eating several small meals instead of just lunch and supper. Also sweets seem really overly sweet to me, so I’m not eating junk so much. Granola, fruit, smoothies, juice, etc, have become my snacks of choice.
Even though I’ve lost a few pounds, I’m definitely puffy. Especially in the belly and the hips, but I can see it in my face and arms, too. I’ve read that it’s typical to put on water weight in the first trimester, and then lose it in the second. But we’ll see. I’m definitely not showing-showing from the baby, but this water weight is really riding front and center….very odd. It makes me wonder if my body is trying to add extra padding as some sort of safety measure thing. (post-surgery tummy-trauma memory?)
My fibroid surgery was last August, so it hasn’t quite been a whole year. I wonder if my hormones and everything are even all the way back to normal after that? I feel good, but I’m just HUGE.
Bodies-bodies. So fascinating.
So far, we don’t know the sex (we do plan to find out) but I have a reeeeeally strong feeling that it’s a boy. In Nate’s family tree there are lots of boys, but in my family, there are more girls. The likelihood of red hair and brown eyes is overwhelming. Nate and all 3 of his brothers are brown-eyed redheads, and so are my sister and I! But none of Nate’s brothers’ kids are redheads (and there are 4 altogether.) There are 3 blonds and one brunette. So we just don’t know! Red hair is recessive.
I’m so thrilled to be going through this!! Every time I stop and think, “I’m really having a baby” I CRY! I just can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to get to DO this.
Posted in baby | 15 Comments »
TNNA Book Signings
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
In case you’re at TNNA (or coming tomorrow) here are the times I’ll be signing (free) books:
Saturday:
When…/…Where
10:30……North Light Books
1:00……..R&M (distributor)
Sunday:
10:30……North Light Books
1:00……..Checker (distributor)
Posted in Book Talk, events | No Comments »
Hi from TNNA!
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Mom and I are in Columbus!!
Last night I taught my class, and there was a *great* group of students. We chatted the whole time, it was so fun!
Today, we got up at the crack of 11 when Yahaira called us to tell us that her room wasn’t ready yet! So she came up and we all sat around chatting about books and publishers until we decided to go over and set up the booth. After lots of climbing on tables and safteypinning of tulle…we finished the booth and went to lunch. At lunch I met Leah, who always makes my patterns look so amazing.
After lunch, we decided to take it easy and rest up until the fashion show. I had one garment from the book in the show…it’s always fun to see my sweaters on PEOPLE, instead of the mannequin.
For supper, we (me, Mom, Cathi, Lauren, Yahaira, and Leah went to Zen. Yum! Tempura rice bowl. Fried tofu! Green tea!
OK, tomorrow I start taking photos.