The One Where I Suck at Multi-Tasking

So, last night I decided to be crafty. And of course, I know the first thing you all think-- "Oh, she worked on those two (2) baby-boy blankets that she has barely started and needs to have done in TWO WEEKS!!" But you would be wrong of course. And I didn't even work on the big-sister blanket either. Nope. I started NEW PROJECTS.

Ok, so neither of them are Big projects, but still. You would think I could, you know, maybe finish one project before I start another? But no. That is not how I roll. I have 50-gabillion projects going at any one time. Because of my terrible crafting ADD. (And by the way ... it is nothing short of a miracle when a project actually gets FINISHED!! Because I LOVE to start things and never finish them. Because I have crafting ADD.)

So, I was working on my NEW, PRETTY iMac last night and I was doing a little blog work ... I was looking in Blogger help and discussions, just trying to figure out how I am going to adjust my template ... you know ... just browsing, and thinking ... trying to learn some HTML ...

So, then, while I am waiting for a page to load (my new iMac is super-fast! But not fast enough for my internet ADD I guess) I decide that I want to try this photoshop picture coloring thing. I want to take a color picture, make it black and white, and then take a little part or two of the picture, and turn it back to color. You know, so you end up with a mostly black and white photo, with some element that really stands out with color? Cool. So I open up photoshop and choose a cool picture of BB and start to color away ...

So then, I decide that this picture would look REALLY CUTE in this little mini scrapbook that I am going to make for my sister. So I start printing other pictures and break out the scrapbook stuff. So I now have scrapbook stuff strewn all over my bed, the computer running photoshop and a million other applications ... and I am running around between all of them.

Soo ... progress made? Picture is about 95% done. Scrapbook is 25% done and minus the cool colored picture that is not done yet. Blog is 0% improved, it looks exactly the same as it has been since the beginning. Tune in next time, when I start making cards and refinishing furniture instead of completing TWO (2) baby-boy blankets!

The One With Introductions

So ... I think I should introduce my family, and give them nicknames so that 1) I can talk about them and everyone will have a clue who I am talking about and 2) Nicknames are so fun! And faster to type! 'Cause I am lazy!

So first, my fiance. I will call him The Technician (or T for short! Cause of the laziness!). He works with mechanical/electronics stuff all day long for Big Computer Company. He wants to be the Master and Commander of all electronic and mechanical devices in our home. For instance, just last week we got a new pretty iMac ... I got home before he did and set it up all by MYSELF (not that it was hard, Macs are SO! EASY! to set up. Really, all I did was plug it in, turn it on, and there you have it. But I digress.) So, then a few days later we got this TV thing-a-ma-jig where we can watch and record live TV on our Mac. This time we were both home ... so I was hooking it all up while he was cooking dinner (yep, he cooks! more than I do!) ... but he was hovering. He hooked up one part of the cable thingy. Asked me lots of questions. Gave me lots of advice. Now, I am certainly no Technician, but I think I am fairly intelligent. I know my way around a computer, and I can definitely read directions. But still, he hovered. Kind-of annoying.

Although, having a Technician in the house is certainly not all bad. There was that time when I dropped my cell phone in a cup full of soda (don't ask). And T came to the rescue and took the whole thing apart, rinsed it out with water (WATER!! I freaked out ... wasn't the whole liquid thing the problem in the first place?!?), let it dry and then re-assembled it, down to the last tiny little screw. And then when he turned it back on ... it worked! Good as new! He worked some technology MAGIC! (of course, a few days later I then dropped it on the sidewalk where it bounced a few times and then landed in a pile of snow ... and it hasn't been quite "good as new" since then ... but ANYWAYS ...)

Ok, so then there is our oldest son, age 6. I will call him Big Brother (or BB). He loves being the center of attention. He will talk for hours about anything and everything. If you listen to him, he will talk. He is also a great athlete and a little daredevil. He is confident, has attitude, and loves to be in charge.

In contrast there is our youngest son, age 4. I will call him Little Brother (or LB). He loves BB to death. He follows him around, repeating everything he says and asking him lots of questions. LB asks everyone lots of questions. I cannot even count how many times I have answered "because I said so, that's why!" after finally getting fed up with a series of (approximately twenty five hundred) why?s. LB is also the little errand boy of the family. "LB, go get dad a beer!" "LB, ask dad if he will let us do gymnastics off the couch!" He is still at the age where he loves to go do stuff and get stuff for all of us. I know he will get tired of it someday, and start refusing, but in the meantime ... "LB, hold this ball of yarn for mommy!"

So, that is our family. If you will notice, I am the only female. It is a constant stream of video games and super heros and "bad guys" and toy cars and skateboards ... there is very little interest (read: NONE!) in knitting, crochet, or other crafting pursuits by all the BOYS in this family. I am pretty much on my own in the crafting department ... (and the shopping and the celebrity gossip and the reality TV and chick flicks ...but of course that is what girlfriends (and the internet!) are for!)

The One Where I SHOULD Be Working on Two (2) Baby Boy Blankets . . .

My best friend is expecting twin baby boys in April. So you would think that I would be working on two super adorable little baby boy blankets that I have planned, wouldn't you? But oh no. I am instead working on this very girly blanket to give to their daughter as a sort of big-sister gift. Because that is how I roll. I never work on projects in the correct order. I keep telling myself I will be able to complete ALL THREE of these blankets in just a few weeks in time for the shower. And the reason I am posting the pictures of the big-sister blanket is, well ... that is the only one that I have made any significant progress on. The blankets that I chose to make for the boys are time consuming and complicated. (Because I only have a few weeks to make TWO (2) blankets, so why not try to make the most complicated and time consuming blankets that I can?!)

Anyways, this blanket is a very subtle ripple pattern, crocheted in Joann Sensations Rainbow Classic Yarn ... I think the color is "jewel". It is acrylic, which is usually not my favorite fiber, but for kids is is very washable and holds up to abuse. And this is a "brushed" acrylic so it is very soft.

I am trying to decide what to do as a border ... at first I was thinking of doing dark pink fun-fur yarn as a top and bottom border (their daughter is 2 1/2, but I want to make something that is big enough and sort of funky so that she will be able to enjoy it for years to come) but I decided that the fur yarn would not show off the ripple pattern. So ... a solid color all around? A solid color on just the top and bottom? Use the same color yarn (as the body) all the way around for a border that blends in? Anyone have any suggestions? I think I will buy some sample yarn and experiment maybe ...

So, this blanket works up pretty quickly, and travels in the car with me easily (which is the main reason why I have so much done on this blanket and so little done on the boys' blankets) so it should be done in a few days (other than figuring out the border). And then on to the boys' blankets, which are a whole other story ...

The One Where I am Too Fat

My son (age 4) is playing a (marvel comics) video game on Xbox with my fiance.

Son: "I can't make Spiderman go up there, I need help!"
Me: "I'll help you-- I know how to make Spiderman go up there ... "
Son: "No, mom! You're too FAT to play video games!!"

Ahh ... motherhood. What joy it brings.

The One Where I Start My Blog

Crazy Aunt Purl is the first blog I ever started reading. I can’t even remember how I found it now, but I read one post, decided that we were destined to be best friends (despite the fact that we have never met and live in different states) and stayed up all night that same night reading all of her archives … and I have read everything she has posted ever since. She is my favorite. She makes me laugh, and makes me cry. I really do think that Laurie and I are destined to be best friends someday (but, I am not a crazy internet stalker!! I’m not!!). Then I found Kristy at OK! What Next??, … and Den of Chaos, and Sugar Mommy, and Suburban Turmoil … all of these ladies write about things that really touch and interest me. Yarn, mommyhood, marriage, family …

So I started debating whether or not to start my own blog … I am not really that funny … what if no one ever read it? And also, I am famous for starting projects and never finishing them. If I were going to write a craft-related blog, then EVERYONE would know how bad my crafting ADD is. But the more I read these girls’ writing, the more inspired I got. And then Kristy mentioned joining Secret Pal 10 … so I went to the Secret Pal 10 website and loved the idea … but of course, you have to have a blog … so finally I decided just to do it. Just start a blog already.

My blog will most likely not be as funny or entertaining or inspiring as many of the other blogs that are out there. But I’ve decided to just start writing, even if it doesn’t turn out to be very interesting. I named my blog Jessi’s Crochet Café … Jessi is me, of course. I am Jessica (no one really calls me Jessi other than my fiancé but I thought it was a little more catchy). I love to crochet, have been doing it for years. And of course, gotta have my coffee, and “Crochet Café” kinda rhymes, so there you have it. Someday (hopefully soon) when I figure out how to work all this blogging stuff, I will make my page look more coffee/café themed. For now I have a basic blogger template. I plan to write about crochet, but other stuff in my life too. Because, this is my blog and I can write about whatever I want dammit!

So, more about me … in addition to crochet, I have also just (barely) started learning to knit. I suck at knitting. But maybe someday I will suck less. I also love photography and I used to scrapbook but haven’t done it in ages (crafting ADD). I live with my fiancé in Idaho. We have two boys, ages 6 and 4. I am also a full time student and I work full time as a software systems administrator. Uh, yeah. You could say I have a lot on my plate (which is a mantra that I repeat frequently, especially when asked about housework that needs to be done).

So, that is me in a nutshell. Let the blogging begin!