Crocheted Costumes

I love to sit in front of the TV and crochet.

I've been talking about going to a gym, but who has time when I have projects?

Some past projects:

Baby shower gifts for Nicki

Baby Bunny Photo Prop

Rug out of Sheets

Baby Blankets

My friend Asmahan had a baby recently and she asked if I could make a candy corn costume she saw on pinterest. It was just a cocoon and a hat, not hard at all.

She has the cutest little baby.

The candy corn was a pretty easy project, and I'm glad Asmahan liked it (the sweetie pie got me a gift card to a restaurant, I really appreciated that). 

My second project was just for me. I was so excited to find a free pattern for a mermaid tail. I am crazy about mermaids. They must be gaining popularity because I have found three different free patterns now. I was really excited when I found the third pattern, because it used a special stitch that made it look like scales.

The pattern can be found here. I started the project and sat down to watch some TV. I usually re-watch Friends or the BBC Pride and Prejudice (it's eight hours long) because I am looking at my project the majority of the time and miss parts. I am currently watching Xena. It's incredible cheesy but we used to watch it with my Dad when we were kids, and it's good crochet TV because I don't mind missing parts. It's a lot of fighting scenes where she is flying through the air and kicking butt.

So I sat through three Xena episodes which meant I had spent two hours on this project when I realized....the maker of the pattern was using UK abbreviations. Which are dumb. A DC in UK means single crochet, but in the US it means double crochet. A TR in UK means double crochet, but but in the US it means triple crochet. (Which one makes more sense to you?) So I was making it too big but I didn't figure it out until I had done the entire top band and gotten to the scales.

So I pulled it apart, pouted a bit, and started again.

Then I got to the bottom fins.

Yeah, that's not right at all. The stinker switched to US abbreviations. I thought her DC meant to single crochet, but it really means DC which means it was TOO SMALL. I briefly considered just leaving it, but it looks like a seal. I had to take a little break from the project at this point.

But once it was finished it was GLORIOUS. I love it. I don't even have a baby to put in it but I love it.

I do, however, have friends with babies.

This is Nicki's little Harper. She is the perfect mermaid. Nicki said she was kicking her legs and flapping the fin and it was adorable.

I handed my phone to J and he swiped to look at the other pictures and was surprised to find this picture:

His reaction was very comical. I had to explain that when I texted Nicki to ask if she wouldn't mind putting her little girl in my mermaid tail, Nicki texted me back with this picture. He looks great too.

And I want one of those tails. I wonder if you can swim in it.

What is the probability of that happening?

On Friday morning, my work phone rang. It was Joseph. "You need to call me on your cell." Calls can be recorded on my work phone so I knew it was something private and his tone was scaring me, so I asked, "Is it bad news?" Joseph said, "Oh, it's epically bad news."

Of course I immediately freaked out a bit. I walked away from my desk and called him.

Joseph: There's a car in our house.
Deidre: What? Did Jacob drive into the garage?
Joseph: No, there is a car in our house. Some guy drove into our house.
Deidre: (laughs) Oh, that's not too bad. Wait, was anyone hurt? Are my animals ok?
Joseph: No, everyone is fine. Deidre, there is a CAR in the HOUSE.
Deidre: Well, insurance will pay for it. As long as no one is hurt, that's all that matters.
Joseph: The police and firemen are here, I have to go.

I got this picture from J later

I went back to my desk and my coworker asked me if I was ok so I told her there is a car in my house. A few other coworkers wandered over and said, "WHAT?" My friend Deni IM'd me and asked what the commotion was about so I wandered over there and told her. Our other friend Casey Hall was sitting at her desk so he heard too.

Deni: Are you going to go home?
Deidre: No, what am I going to do, stand around looking at the hole in my house? Joseph is home. I'm not taking PTO for that.
Casey Hall: You have to go home. You have to take pictures.
Deidre: No, I don't want to.
Casey Hall: We'll go with you. We'll just drive by really quick and then leave.
Deidre: Fine. I don't know if I should appreciate you being good friends or be upset because you're busybodies.

We drove to my house, said hi to Joseph, took some pictures. The guy who drove his car into our house was standing around on the phone; he looked like he was ok. A reporter from Fox 10 walked up and offered to put us on the news. I wasn't there when it happened so I didn't have anything to say to a newsperson ("Uh, yeah, I was at work...and you can see the big hole in the house, so....uh...yeah..."), so after taking pictures we left and went back to work (stopping to pick up some donuts). When we got back to work, Casey Hall sent out a department email:

In honor of Deidre’s house getting hit with a car this morning I brought in some donuts….enjoy!!!
P.S. Don’t worry Nicki and HP (the chicken versions) are unharmed!!!

He included pictures.

Remember that I named my chickens after coworkers? I hope management found that amusing and not creepy, because emails went out like crazy and just about everyone was alerted (including different regions). Someone found the news story about Joseph and that was passed around as well. I got all sorts on IMs and emails and people walking by. My phone was blowing up with text messages from family (and later friends who saw it on FB). It even got around to the EMG (executive managers - the head honchos) and they emailed to ask if I was alright. I made a joke about the news reporter getting Joseph's dimple side and oh how handsome is he. Everyone kept telling me I was handling it very well.

Here's the news story:
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/23610328/2013/10/04/car-lands-on-porch-of-phoenix-home

I don't think anyone cut the driver off - it's a residential street. He actually crossed to the wrong side of the road to get to our house. But the most compelling piece of evidence is the lack of skid marks. I think he was either passed out (medical condition?) or was texting because he didn't stop at all. My house stopped him. He just barely squeezed between my garage and large tree.

I feel bad for the driver. He lives a few houses down. That has to be pretty embarrassing. I wonder what will happen to him if his liability limits aren't high enough. Because my homeowner's insurance company will pay for the repairs, but then they will get the money from his auto insurance (it's called subrogation). If it's not enough they can try to go after him, which would not be good for him. So let that be a lesson to you all to carry adequate liability limits. Yes, I am an insurance nerd, but you just never know when you're going to hit someone's house.

At the end of the day I came home from work and I checked out the damage (we hadn't been allowed inside earlier in the day). The insurance company had worked quickly and had a crew out there that demo'd part of the wall and boarded it up. My end table and lamp are busted. We walked around outside and there's damage to the porch ceiling. We went over to the flower bed where the guy ran over, and I notice something on the ground. My two decorative mushrooms that Mom bought me that I love so much are completely busted to pieces. I started to tear up and Joseph gave me a hug, and said, "Aw, I knew you'd be upset about that." We laughed that a hole in the house didn't faze me but I'm very upset about the mushrooms.

There might be good news in this, we're going to have to see. I was going to use part of my bonus in February to paint the house because it needs it, so they may end up painting my house for me - I don't think they can match the paint. Also, if they can't match the current flooring (which is all scratched up), I would get new flooring throughout my house. That would be wonderful. And I think they're going to have to paint my living room, including the ceiling, so the section where there is brown paint on the white ceiling that has always bugged me a little will be redone professionally. So it will probably look better than before. I really, really hope I get new floors throughout my house.

They're coming tomorrow to start the repairs. I think an engineer is coming to check for structural damage. I wonder how long my house will be in shambles.

I am so glad the weather is nice out. We spent a good chunk of the weekend with our doors open, trying to catch a breeze, since there is a hole in the wall anyway.

Seven Year Wedding Anniversary

When did I get so old?

I love going out with this man. He still makes me laugh. It was fun to get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant. Our anniversary always falls on Arizona Restaurant Week, when the restaurants are offering great deals, so we always try somewhere new. This year St. Francis and the food was amazing.

I'm still waiting for my marriage to go to crap, just like everyone has ever so kindly been warning me. So far he still appreciates me and I still like him, so I guess they're just going to have to wait a bit longer.

My birthday

My birthday was on a Sunday this year. So I had the whole weekend to celebrate. Or a week and a half...

Friday night Deni organized a get-together after work.

Brian and Katelyn did a wonderful, wonderful thing and left Chicago early (they do pest control summer sales in Chicago) just to be home for my birthday! It was wonderful to see them.

Casey Hall and HP. The birthday get-together was "technically" for HP too since her birthday is three days before mine...but she left early so it no longer counts.

Casey Hall's boy Caden, HP's boy Daelen, and my Lily, back from Chicago.

Laura, Nicki, Andrea, and Deni.

Jude, Brian, Brian's wife Jenny, and Jarod (Laura's husband).

J, Jacob, and Brian, doing their "band" pose. I had to re-take this picture four times, they were worse than girls.

After dinner Brian and Katelyn came back to our house and we hung out. It felt wonderful to just sit and talk again. And Katelyn did my nails! I love having my nails done...or my hair brushed...I am a monkey who needs to be groomed.

When I woke up on Sunday morning for my birthday, the chickens had laid an egg! Which I don't think I've shared the chicken news since we got them....So one of the chickens died. And it's kind of an awkward situation because I named them after coworkers. HP Dos, Nicki, and Judith (after Jude). All three chickens looked the same to me so I had to choose who died. That was an easy choice (Jude). Well ever since one of the chickens died, the other two stopped laying. So this was my first egg in weeks.

About time, I was getting ready for a chicken dinner.

Just kidding. I couldn't kill and pluck a chicken. Too much work.

Sunday night we had family dinner and my Mom made me a cookie cake and the best dessert ever...pazookies.

I was going to take Monday off but I had some meetings, and J needed me Tuesday to sign documents for our home re-fi, so I took Tuesday off. He let me know that Tuesday was the very last day I am celebrating my birthday. I may have over-used the phrase, "But it's my birthday" to do whatever I wanted the last five days...Ice cream for dinner, not cleaning dishes...It's very effective.


We got up early and signed the paperwork for our home re-fi. Thanks to Bank of American for their bad customer service when we tried to get the mortgage insurance removed from our loan, we started shopping around, and we are going to save $40,000 and will have our home paid off in 15 years. Take that BOA.

Then we went grocery shopping. Came home and ate the donuts we bought while shopping. Put down pre-emergent in the front yard, planted flowers, swept the front walk. I tried a craft for Deni (making a baby crown out of lace for baby photos - there are tutorials online) and failed miserably.

Stanley Steemer came to steam my carpet and chaise lounge which Micah has been peeing on. I ordered a dog gate from online and he has lost his privileges to the front room. I'm sure he'll just find somewhere else to pee, but since my house is hardwood, I don't really care. I just don't want it on my living room rug. Apparently by urinating in my house he is expressing his displeasure and anxiety. Other than that he's a good dog. Just a stinker.

I did complete making a toy giraffe for Joseph's brother's wife Cami, who is pregnant with a baby. She loves giraffes, just like me. I made an elephant for Deni. Posts for that will be coming soon; I need to type up the pattern for the giraffe since I made it by modifying the elephant pattern.

We are going to end my birthday celebration by going to get ice cream. Better yet, free ice cream, which is just what this spendthrift gets excited about.