I'm a little bit weirded out.

I was talking to a friend who is still in the group I resigned. She and I were friends long before group.
The leader of the group is who I had the major issues with. Her complusive lying, her using me
as an excuse for not doing stuff so others wouldn't get mad, having unreasonable expectations, and personally, I think she's a bit unbalanced.

I've already mentioned running into them after they ate at my favorite restaurant. That was weird because while most of them didn't complain a lot about it, I didn't think it was a big hit. In this group, ethnic food means Chinese or Mexican. To me it means Ethiopian or Indian. So I thought it was kinda odd that the leader changed the plans at the last minute to go to my favorite place.

Friend told me that last week, while they were all out, the leader ordered a big piece of chocolate cake with whipped cream. I thought for a second and couldn't remember her ever ordering anything like that before, but it was usually expected that I would order that option :) I said to friend "That sounds like something I would order." Friend said "I know, that's why I told you." which means she noticed the weirdness too.

I don't think leader is dangerous or anything, but it just feels weird. Thank goodness she doesn't know about my blog or I could have a stalker! :)

Whoa....all of that whining....I should go back and read my blog more often. It turns out I was feeling crappier than I was aware of, which is not necessarily a good thing.

I ended up getting an outer ear infection from swimming (gee, I wonder if I sign up for dance class if I will fall and break something - maybe I should think about piano lessons instead). While I was there, I asked them to check for a bladder infections just in case. Any symptoms? No. Well, ok. Again, I had a particularly nasty one where I should have been screaming in pain. I did let out kind of a scream when I looked in the mirror that morning though - that could have been a clue too. So after a couple of days of a super anti-biotic, I am back to my more usual self and I'm no longer thinking about amyone's mortality :P

I talked with husband about my wanting to go hiking on my schedule and he looked at me funny and said I should go when I want to go. It's a total non-issue with him so what a waste of energy worrying about it. I ended up going to see my mom with daughter yesterday because of appts and things and that worked out really well. We went to my aunt's house (mom didn't bother to call her and let her know) where she had cooked a HUGE meal for one of my cousins so we all had a great, old fashioned dinner - the kind with homemade rolls and stuff. I spend a couple of hours in her pool and managed to keep my ear dry and felt much better after that. And of course, I got a lot of blackberries to bring home from my aunt and tomatoes from my mom. Mom doesn't look well though.

As far as knitting goes....there is still the bind off for the second sock to be done. Good grief. I've started a few things for Baby B, but nothing seems right. I found a yarn where I thought the bit of color looked red enough in the shop, but once I started knitting, there was no way to deny it had pink in it. I felt that wouldn't work. Then I started something yellow with the gifted yarn, but the yarn is an old acrylic that was nowhere near soft enough. Then I started with a pretty,
soft aqua from the gifted yarn, but felt I needed to know whether Baby B is a boy or girl before I could decide a pattern to make. We find out, hopefully on the 14th. I guess I want to make things for THIS baby, not A baby, if that makes any sense.

Another day of feeling weird as my work week ends and I haven't yet decompressed. This is getting to be a pattern so consistent I could set my watch by it :)

I'm feeling anti-social. I've unsubscribed from newsgroups even. Although I check on one to see that a friend in Haifa is still posting and is ok, but otherwise, I don't even feel like reading them.

Sunday was mom's birthday and since I had to work that day and was going to have most of the week off, I called her and said I could come and spend the day after her birthday. We talked about going to my aunt's house where we can lounge around the pool and I could get all of the fresh blackberries that I can use. I get along really well with my aunt too, so I was looking forward to it.

Then my daughter said she wanted to go too, so now it's going to have to be on one of her days off, which this week, is Tues and Fri. She wanted to go Friday because then the husband gets home earlier and the dogs wouldn't be left alone so long. I said ok. Now I just found out husband will be home later than usual on Friday. This will not be ok with my daughter. *sigh*

So now I have to decide if I want to go ahead and go by myself and have daughter upset with me, or do we go on Friday and have daughter upset all day because of the dogs. All of this and I just wanted to spend a nice day with my mom and my aunt.

I've also been wanting to go to Clifton Gorge and hike around.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/location/clifton.html

I went there when I was in Girl Scouts and I haven't been back since. I thought I'd do that and then spend some time hanging around Yellow Springs.

http://www.yellowspringsohio.org/

It's a neat town with a lot of neat shops. Well, husband has said he wants to go hike around there with me. Ok. But he has leg issues and that limits when we can go even more than his work schedule does. Then we would have to deal with daughter either going too, and leaving the dogs, or daughter not going and being upset.

Why does it all have to be so complicated? I have the schedule that I can do these things pretty much when I want (the ONLY perk of my job, btw) and yet I feel encumbered by others and their
issues.

Hmm.....ok, what I need to do....is go ahead and do these things with the understanding that I will do them again with them when their schedules line up with mine. I wonder how that will go over....

Bouncing back.

Today I slept in - after falling asleep earlier than usual last night. Feeling well rested sure beats feeling the opposite.
So I decided to take the day off. I'll tell my boss it felt too weird being ahead of all of my quotas - ha! I spent time on the couch with the dogs watching epsiodes of Arrested Development. I need to finish season one so I can start watching season two.

Then I went to the mall and purchased a swimsuit. It had a big tag saying

LOOK TRIM
FEEL TRIM
IN SECONDS

The tag lied :P But I am less self conscious in this suit than my other one. I had to get it with the butt being too big so that's annoying. After the torture of trying on suits, I got myself to the pool. It turns out the suit is a bit constricting when I try the rotary breathing thing. It doesn't take much to throw me off with that though so I guess I'll get used to it. I also see what a slacker I am when I take lessons. I was out of breath way too soon tonight. The jacuzzi wasn't working, darn. I was hoping to sit in it and knock some of this excess fluid out of me.

At the mall, I also bought a NY Times crossword book. It was hard to figure out what to buy because they looked too easy or they were all Sundays. I'm assuming Sundays are the hardest....I wonder if that's right...so I ended up getting Will Shortz's funniest puzzles book.

Hesira, I think the Betty in the show will turn out to be a winner, but I still struggle with the title. I don't like the word association I imagine people will do, conciously or not. Yeah, I have some issues....:P

I'm hoping to turn the air conditioner off tomorrow - then I will really feel more like myself again! :)

Weird day.

Work - people still responding totally opposite of previous heat waves, as in now they act concerned about me instead of annoyed at me.

Work 2 - at one house, I looked through a photo album of a baby that was stillborn at 5 1/2 months. The mom is still very upset and she had just got the pictures back today so it seemed like a compassionate thing to do to go through them with her. Very sad.

I got home and in my email was the weekly pic I get from my DIL showing the weekly development of Baby B. I usually get excited to see that, but today, I couldn't look.

Went to see Word Play with a friend. I've never tried a NY Times crossword puzzle, but now I feel compelled to. Anyway, as we were getting good ice cream, friend said someone was waving at me. I looked over and there was the group I recently quit, or what's left of it. Awkward moment, but chit chat happened. What's weird is they were supposed to be at Bonefish Grill tonight but changed plans at the last minute. Ok, so that's not so weird, but instead they went to one of my favorite places - Aladdin's. And still complained about it. *rolls eyes* There were only 3 of them there.

Then I got home and found out there is going to be a tv show called Ugly Betty. I should be beyond getting bothered by something like that, but apparently I'm not. *sigh* I need to go to bed.

I have only the binding off left to do on the sock but somehow it's not getting done. No wonder I'm not a very prolific knitter. A friend inherted a ton of yarn so he went through and gave me all that he thought looks like baby yarn. Score!
In return, I showed friend how to make granny squares. He felt much better after I told him the directions he was trying to follow were horrible. Leisure Arts, why do you do it that way? Daughter liked some of the yarn and says she still wants to learn to make things. Oh boy. We have a way of frustrating each other when I try to teach her something. Anything :P

Lucy had an eye injury that seems to be healing after a couple of trips to the vet. My poor baby. She could have lost her sight.

I'm sitting here instead of working because I have a nail in my tire and I don't feel like hanging out at NTB. Maybe if I offer to feed my husband at my favorite Indian restaurant, he'll go with me and we can drop it off and then go eat.

I found a way to make the excessive heat work for me in getting people to cooperate, jobwise. Yesterday I drove with my windows down so when I knocked on the door, people were sympathetic that I had to be out working! Since we have the air on in the house, I drive without it to get the fresh air I want, so it works out well. I doubt it will work when I have to go places where the people don't have air conditioning though.

Speaking of work issues, I got a memo saying that because of the VA mishap with info, people got a letter telling them not to give out any personal information to anyone claiming to be "official". So if I go to any of those places, I am expected to convince them the letter was wrong and to go ahead and tell me personal stuff. Yeah, right.

I'm convinced quitting the group was the right thing to do, for many reasons. I don't really miss it at all, and I've found myself even busier with people I am more in sync with. Funny how that worked out.

I finally got to the end of Zuma today. I was in level 12 forever. For a long time, I liked Luxor better because I played that one first, but now I like Zuma as much - since I won I guess.

Weird dream. Yeah, I know, people writing about their dreams is something boring to everyone else, but 1) I rarely dream - you have to get to REM sleep and that's a problem and 2) the dream was based on dreams. In the dream I was asking someone why there is such a lack of communication. The answer was because I don't have horrifying, scary dreams.

Something else that hurts my brain.... I went to see Forbidden Planet at a theater downtown with a friend. It's a sci-fi movie made in the 50s. Ok, so to enjoy something like that, you have to suspend all logic and reality, etc. I usually don't have a problem doing that and I did enjoy this movie. It was a bizarre experience. But there was one line that I can't let go. He was talking about a big number and said....."it's 10 to the power of almost infinity." ARGH!!!!! How could they say something like that??? :)

I miss the beach. For years I was able to go and not have to pay for lodging because my inlaws owned a place in Hilton Head. They sold it a few years ago and now a lack of beach time is bothering me. I don't want to pay to go though, so that's a problem.

Here's the first thing I have made for Baby B. I think it looks cuter than the picture shows, but I'm biased.

It's been a while since I have worked with worsted weight - ow. I couldn't believe my hands became sore from using size 8 needles. I used 100% cotton and was surprised I'm not so in love with all cotton yarn anymore. What is happening to me? I have a nagging feeling I may become a person who eventually prefers working with wool.....that's too much for me to comprehend at the moment :)

Happy July. Where is the summer going? I kind of like that winter goes by faster than it used to, but I don't like it when summer goes too fast :(

I've gotten a little feedback on my exodus from the group. I'm even more certain that it was the right thing to go and my instincts about a person were right. Note to self - I am not compatible as a good friend with a delusional, complusive lying, passive-agressive person.

I have to decide what's next for me. Do I want to join another group of the same sort? It has been suggested that I start my own. I don't know. I found a knitting group that looks interesting. For those of you who may read this and be stuck with the stereotype of knitters, this group's last meeting was cancelled because it conflicted with the Gay Pride parade and Comfest and some were going to be
skating with the roller derby team in the parade.



Maybe some of them are in the group. Anyway, from what I can tell, the group appears to be very diverse. Definitely worth checking out, I think. But this idea that I will look for a group that I want to be a part of and not just worry if I will be accepted is so nice. Why didn't I think of that before?! :)

Speaking of roller derby.....I can only scratch my head and say "Huh?" But then I was around in the 70's - it's not a fad I expected to return :)

I have started knitting a baby hat. For the first time ever, daughter is showing an interest in learning this craft. She wants to make a baby blanket! She's a lefty though and at the moment angry with me because the air conditioner isn't turned on, so I don't think it would go well if I tried to show her now :P