Christmas Cradle Purse

I finished another
Christmas project.  I have been wanting to make a bunch of cradle purses to send to Pine Ridge, at Christmas time. For the Elder Project. They will give their things you send them, to their grand kids. So, some of us make things to send so they can give their grand kids things.  

And here it is closed. With the yarn I used to crochet it.  I used Irene Duquette's Cradle Purse pattern.

I found these dolls at Walmart. I bought them before. I used to get soft bodied, baby dolls that were three inches long; at Walmart. But I can't find them anywhere now. :/  And these were the only doll bottles I could find (at the Dollar store).  They are as big as the dolls. Sigh... I remember when I was little, they had little tiny white plastic baby doll bottles. I wish I could find some like that. Walmart doesn't have much. We don't have a Target here. Sears doesn't even have toys, here. I haven't checked JCPenney, but I'm pretty sure they don't have any, either.  Sigh..  :( The closest Toys R' Us is an hour and a half away.    Having all boys, I never found all the doll places to find things. So..  :P    Anyway. I hope to get a bunch of these made, with as many little things to put in them as I can find.  We'll see.. (And some better dolls, that are like real baby dolls.. Like the one in this post- first picture.)

Mrs. Claus Dish Soap Apron

I saw THE cutest Mrs. Santa dish soap apron after doing some googling yesterday. I pinned it. But there wasn't any pattern- all the links were broken or were not right.  So...   This morning I (wasn't awake yet) found this pattern (which is what I mean by the link is not right..), and made it in red and white. I did a little apron and mini Santa hat.  I used this pattern for the dish soap apron.   And this pattern for the Mini Santa Hat.  I made the little white apron up myself.  I think I am going to try and make one more like the one I saw online..   Still kind of cute, though. And I technically have one gift done for Christmas.  :D  Woo Hoo..

Finally, an F.O....

I finished this Santa Cocoon and Hat set yesterday.  I was almost done with the cocoon, I just had to finish the white trim and the yellow "buckle". Then I did the hat.  I'm going to save it for December for B.O.J. Maybe I will have more finished by then, to send, too. I think this sleep sack is so cute. I should do some pumpkin ones, too.

I started a Santa Treat Jar for a Christmas gift...  I guess that means I've officially started my Christmas gifts. :P  I think this is so cute.  I am going to make it for my Dad and step-Mom.    Maybe I'm also getting out of my "not wanting to crochet anything", funk...    Last night I was watching Law & Order SVU (only the re-runs, with Detective Stabler).  Cabot had a lavender scarf on. I couldn't see it very well from the couch, so I asked my husband if it was knitted or crocheted.  :P   He said it was knitted. I told him he didn't know..  ;)   But it made me want to make one.  Lol

Here's Duke; looking at me while I was taking pictures. He kept tilting his head, like "What is that noise?"   :P He's my buddy.  He's laying under my chair, now..   You can see all his hair on the table, too-- I just cleaned that off yesterday, and by the end of the day it was covered again. :/

Okay, I Guess It's Officially Summer Break..

...I like how no one told us today was an Inservice Day?  So we went up to the bus stop and sat there, waiting.....   Finally I call the Transportation Department to see if the bus is really late or what... No school today?  And tomorrow is only a two hour day. ??  Who is even going to go?  That seems so stupid, to me.  No one even said anything to me, at work; yesterday.  I guess no one tells you anything, here.  We never got a school calendar for the year, since we moved here at the end of September.  And who would even think to look online...   Oh well...  I guess it's officially summer break.  I asked Eon what he wanted to do for his first day of summer break.   "The normal stuff. Play xbox."  He does want to go fishing. :P  Maybe I could take him.  Although it looks like it might rain.  

ETA: We weren't the only ones who waited at the bus stop...  My husband said he saw two or three other kids just in our sub, standing there waiting for the bus when he was leaving for work.  ?  

Technically, it is already summer vacation for me; and for Eli. Eli's last day was Friday, since he is exempt from taking exams. My last day was today. My boss asked if she could hug me before I left.  ???  I do not get her. The last month (until the day I gave my notice), she was on me every day, either yelling or berating me for some miniscule thing..  Ever since I gave her my notice, it's like everything is back to the way it was in the beginning.      Anyway... Eon has two more days.  And the last day is only two hours.  (?) 

I made some cupcakes yesterday. Someone brought in some cupcakes for the last day; last Friday. It was a couple other ladies' last day (they just used up their sick days and didn't come in the two days this week). So they were "last day" cupcakes.  I googled a recipe for them, and made them for all of us..  I used this recipe. So yummy. :)

Happy Mothers Day

This is a picture of my Mom and me. I don't know how old I was. Maybe four or five months?  This is the only picture I have with me of me and my Mom. Most of my pictures (I brought pictures of my kids) are in storage..  Isn't my Mom beautiful? :)

Red roses my husband got me for Mother's Day.  :)  

This isn't a very good picture of the front of the card Eon made me. I woke up and saw it on the table this morning. :)  

The inside. Lol..  Nooo, we aren't obsessed with food in this family.. :P

This is the card Eli made me, in Spanish class. Lol  I told him, "I'm going to need Google Translate to read it. But thank you, Eli."  (It just says "Happy Mother's Day")

"Your child, Eli"  I think handmade cards are the best. 

Did I tell you we are obsessed with food?...  ;)  My husband made me Mother's Day Breakfast.  :)

This is an angel I crocheted for a lady at work (the boss that I like/get along with). Her mother has Stage Four Colon Cancer. :(  She's 89 years old, and isn't doing too well. She's at home now.  I thought I would crochet her an angel. 

And, three Pokeballs I have made for Eon so far. Premierball, Masterball, and Pokeball. He said "That should be good for now."  Sheesh. Lol  Glad I'm off the hook for a while.. ;)   I got some yarn today to (maybe) start a Lugia for him.  I might wait til school is done and I can finally relax...  I think that's part of the reason why I haven't been in the mood to crochet. I've been so stressed out over the situation with my boss..

Happy Mother's Day everyone! I hope you got to spend time doing something you love, and with the family you love.  :)

I Quit My Job

I have posted about my job (my boss, in particular)..   Well after the Skyward incident, she has been on me every day this week. NIT picking about every stupid little thing. I don't know WHAT her f**ng deal is.  Wednesday morning I came in and she asks me to come out to the cafeteria. I can tell she already has an attitude (and I do not want to be in the same room with her, let alone talking to her)...  She starts training me to do plasticware (?? I will explain later). I have no idea why she's training me for all these jobs I am pretty sure I do not do..  She shows me where the spoons and forks go.. how to open the napkin holders. I think she is done talking to me so I start walking away, to go get the spoons and forks (and napkins). She says "Do you want to wait until I am done talking?"  ???  (It's like she stops talking to start something with you on purpose?)  I thought she was done talking.  Then she asks if I am okay (she is the one with the attitude, not me!!).   Finishes telling me what all I have to do. Then I ask her "Is this a new job?"  So she says "Come here." We go into her office. She calls Vicky to "witness" everything...  She's sitting at her desk writing and it dawns on me that she is writing me up.   I asked "Are you writing me up? (She shakes her head yes.) For asking you a question?"  I cannot believe this woman!! She wanted me to sign the paper. I said "I'm not signing that." She said "You'll sign it if you want to stay here." I said "I'm not coming back next year. I am sick of the way you treat me."     Immediately after work, I went up to the office and had a meeting with the Vice-Principal (I had called HR, or the Board of Education... not sure exactly which department it was; just the previous day and asked how to file a complaint against someone and they told me to contact the vice principal).  I told her the basics, and sent her an email with specific incidents that had occured, and my "official" complaints.  (It was a long email.)  Yesterday I noticed the Principal came into my bosses office. (My heart was POUNDING... I was like, "Oh great. Here we go...") But he wasn't in there very long and then he left. He NEVER comes in the kitchen.  I bet it was something to do with me complaining. (He did not look happy when he left.)    Well... ever since I told my boss I am quitting, she has been Kissing. My. Ass.   I do not get her!! Today was biggest ass kissing day ever.   She asked me if I had any more things I would like to say to her. I told her that I felt screaming at me was unacceptable. She agreed and said it was unacceptable, and she apologized.   She said she would give me a good reference for a future job if anyone called, and that I hadn't missed a day, blah blah blah...    I am wondering if the Principal has spoken with her about my reporting her. I just got an email back from the Vice Principal. She wants me to come back in to the office to fill out the official paperwork.  :0   It was everything I could do to even go to the office and talk to her. Now I have to go back up there? What if there's a "hearing"?   I don't know what to do...   :(   Part of me wants to do it, because I loved my job and I don't feel I should have to quit, because of her. If she had just been a halfway decent person in the first place, I wouldn't have even quit.  But another part of me feels scared to death. I am not one to make waves or create drama. I just don't want to be walked all over. I just wanted a part time job. I loved my job (except for her, she made a fun, otherwise enjoyable job a War Zone). I was just starting to get to know a lot of the students, and they would just come through my line every day. Like we were buddies. I am really bummed I won't be able to see them any more.   Do you think my boss knows I filed a complaint, and is trying to get me to not follow through with it? My husband thinks so.  Sigh... I wish I knew what to do... :(    On top of all of this, now I have to look for a new job, too.  :/

Eon's Math Benchmark Score

Yesterday Eon told me he got the highest score on the Math Benchmark Test.  I was SOOOO happy!! He got 19 out of 20 questions right. And, got the highest score for all of fifth grade! This is huge for him, because he was doing horribly in math. He got a C on his last report card. And a D and an F on Progress Reports.  I told him if he got his grades up (no C's, only B's and A's) on his report card, I would get him a surprise. Well with 0 money right now, this was all I could do. Some candy an two pokemon card packs. But, I tried to make it special for him.. :D

I made Garlic Beef Enchiladas- Eon's Choice- for dinner. :)   And bragged about him to his Dad and brother.  

And I crocheted him a Pokeball. (Gasp?!!! I actually crocheted something?!!)   It was fun.  Then I showed him all the crocheted Pokemon characters on Ravelry. Then he started browsing Ravelry, to see what other characters he could find. Lol.  He put a couple in my favorites. (Maybe for his birthday? Some of them are huge..)  He was googling pokeballs and all pokemon things online. I didn't know there were so many different pokeballs, or pokemon characters.  I think it's funny that he likes pokemon now. Seems like it was big when I was in high school.  He was showing his Dad all his pokemon cards. His Dad said "When did you start liking Pokemon?"  "On Monday."  We all started laughing.  (Guess you had to be there...)  :P      One of his friends gave him a Pokemon card, and that was it.
Another funny (not, after a while) thing...  Both the dogs think the Pokeball is theirs... They stand in front of Eon (they know he has it behind his back), and make all kinds of noise..  Lolol
I used this Pokeball pattern.

Books and Dogs

Yesterday I got my April Post Card Swap Pal post card in the mail. It's a postcard made from a picture my swap partner took.  She also sent me a little gift, a Starbucks Gift Card.  After this week (hectic), I so wanted a treat. (Thank you so much, Eileen!! And I love the post card.) 

I left the house a little early and went and used my gift card. :D  I had a little "Me Time" in car pool.  I actually finished this book, too.  I almost didn't finish it, when I had first started reading it. Because it just seemed to ramble on and on (and had some political stuff which I could care less about..)...  But I kept reading it in car pool since there was nothing else to do.  After a while I started to get into it.  Funny side note on the author's name: My sister in laws first name is Clare, and my Mother-In-Law's last name is Clark.  :P  (Which is kind of why I got it, too.)  Good thing it is a library book and I didn't waste money on it.  I am reading "Say You're One of Them" by Uwem Akpan, now.  I'm only on page 15, so I haven't formed an opinion yet.

Our oldest son sent me this picture yesterday. Meet "Chomper", this is Duke's younger brother. Same parents, different litter. He has the same Corgi legs like Duke (and he has Corgi ears, too). :P  He is only about five months old, I think? Duke is 11 months. So... 

I took this picture the other night. "Buddies".  :D
Warning: Complaining, True Feelings, and Foul Language Ahead.. If you don't want to hear it stop reading now.
I have tried feeling out my co-workers. I have said some things, but none of them will say anything. My husband says I shouldn't talk to anyone, because they'll probably use it against me to try to make themselves look better/get me fired. So maybe some of you have had similar experiences/know what to do.  I have tried being "non-emotional/putting on a "professional persona". (But this week, I finally-almost- lost it..) I haven't worked in six years, I finally get a job again, and I have the Worst. Boss. Ever..   So, here we go:
I volunteered to stay late Mon-Wednesday this week, because three girls called in (wonder why..)  (My check will be nice, since I only get 15 hours a week. But boy was I exhausted and was it not worth it.)  I don't know what to think about my job yet. I like most of my co-workers. I love working with the students. And all my "jobs" are fine..  But I really, really can NOT stand my boss!!   It's like working with a Bi-Polar Alcoholic.  One minute she is screaming at you (for the tiniest thing!!). The next minute, she is laughing and dancing, and your "best friend".  I have been trying to "ignore" her. (Which is kind of hard, because I have to work with her the most- since it's only me, her and one other boss first thing in the morning).  Well the other morning (Thursday morning), first thing when I went in, she asked me if I had done the Skyward thing (which I only had heard about and got the paperwork for, the previous afternoon-on my way out the door- with no instructions as to when it had to be done by, or anything). I said I hadn't. And I started to say that I had only just gotten it (and I had had a long week since I did her a favor three days in a row covering her ass but who cares about that?... Not her...)  She said "No. No excuses. Go right in the office and do it right now." So I am already getting annoyed.. I love getting attacked first thing in the morning.. I go in the office and sit down to read the paper work. She comes over and yanks the first page back. "You can read that at home if you want." (Now I'm getting pissed... Why does she have to act like this?)  So I start trying to do the website. The instructions are confusing, and I can't think because I'm getting pissed off because of the way she treats me...  I tried entering my username and password I use on the register. It wasn't working. She gets irritated "Read the directions. What does it say?"  (I felt like saying "Fuck you bitch!").  Finally get all that done..  Then she immediately starts in on me about inventory (which, I am almost positive, I never will have to do?...It definitely wasn't in the job description.) Meanwhile, the other boss is wrapping all the breakfast food herself.  (This is my job when I first come in, to get the food out to the students..)  (By the way, we were late getting the food out because of this. Even my other boss- who is the sweetest person you could know- was pissed.)  THEN, she starts in on me about production sheets and shows me on the computer? WTF?? I am on the verge now...  She is such a micro-managing, nit-picking bitch.  I have been working late every day (learning every one else's jobs- which by the way, I have just been pushed into with no instructions, no help!! I had to ask my co-workers and some of them helped me).  I don't know what her deal was Thursday morning.  Anyway, she started SCREAMING at me about the production sheet.  I stood up and said "I don't appreciate being screamed at like I'm a four year old, or some kind of idiot. Over a PRODUCTION sheet?" I had an extremely hard time just saying that. I have never been so pissed off at a boss-and it is only because of the way she treats me- and ready to fight. (Which, by the way, she has to enter the production sheet info into the computer. So if she knows where to put each number, what does it matter if I put the number in two slots, or one? You would have to see the sheet to know what I mean.  By the way, I am not the only one who does this. I don't hear her screaming at anyone else about it, ever!!? And I have only been there four months.)    She apologized (eventually).  I said "Until the next time."  (What I was thinking was something totally different... It's too late, I don't accept your apology, at all. I know she wasn't sorry anyway..)  She asked me if I had anything else I wanted to say to her. (Pssshh.)  I said I didn't think it would be a good idea right now. (I probably would have gotten fired if I said what I was thinking.)   I cannot believe her. I don't know what her deal is.   I have never had such a horrible boss.  Thank goodness there is only twelve more days of school.   I haven't decided what I want to do. Whether or not I want to go back next year.  I  need the job.  But I don't know if it is worth it. I do like having the same days off as the kids, so I don't have to worry about a baby sitter. But, I only get 15 hours a week, and I have to work every day. And I have to deal with her. I guess we'll see what happens over the summer..  I'm not doing her any more favors or staying late or filling in for anyone any more. She thinks I'm going to fill in for the other boss; I can tell she thinks I am.  I'm not doing it. I get yelled at enough just doing my job. I can't take it.  By the way, when all the other girls came in, I hear her laughing and chatting it up with them in the office when they are doing their Skyward thing. ??  (No one else had done it either, and they got their paper work a long time ago?)  She is always doing that. Screams at me, best friends with everyone else..  I don't know what her deal is. I am documenting everything from now on. Wish me luck.      I haven't even felt like crocheting or knitting anything at all, lately. :(

(By the way, Friday, she was laughing, chatting it up with everyone - except me... I have never seen her scream at anyone like she does me.  I cannot stand her!!! Why did she even hire me?)