52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: If I could have one superpower...

If I could have one super power it would be the power to heal. It would be amazing to be able to use my hands and words to heal people of their illness but also of their hurts emotionally and not just physically.

Having lost my mother to cancer so young, I often thought about how I wish someone could have touched her and taken away the cancer.  I wish that she would not have had to suffer and go though all that she did.  I know others that have been sick and needed healing and I wish I could have been the one to do it.

So many people walk around with pain that's not physical.  Pain from hurts that they have experienced along their path.  Sometimes it's right on the surface and you can see this pain like its a physical feature. It makes me sad when you see this pain in young kids that shouldn't have to carry it.  I just want to take away all their sadness...not by giving them material things but by being able to heal the pain that they have had to go through.  Tell them they didn't do anything wrong and they didn't deserve it.  I would like to be able to say what they need to hear to let the past go and to heal...and forgive. 

Not sure exactly how my super power would work but I think it would be a miracle to have the power to heal those I love and those that I come across.

What would your superpower be?

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: If I could be anything in the world...

This topic was another hard one for me...I think this is a running theme with this linkup.  I like that it's pushing me to think about things.  I struggled with this one because I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it.  This is what came out when I began writing.

When I look inside and ask myself what I would like to be, my first thought is I am already a mom.  I've always wanted to be a mom and I have 2 precious girls, who make me a mommy.  Growing up, I always wanted to be in a mother/daughter relationship.  I would look at my friends and see them with their moms and wanted that relationship.  I knew that while I love my father and we have a good relationship, it's not the same as I would have had with my mom. My mom would have understood a lot of what I was going through and she would have been there for me like no one else could have.  She would have been mine...my mother and many people take that relationship for granted.

For those of you who don't know, my mother Carmen Delia Martinez passed away January 7th, 1987 of breast cancer.  I was 6 and a half years old and I miss her everyday!  It's hard to describe growing up without a mom.  I had a step-mom but she had her own kids and it's not the same.  I had older sisters, who have been like mothers to me throughout my life, however, they had their own lives and their own children to mother.  I feel I turned out fine but it wasn't always easy.  I pray often that I will be there for my girls for all those moments that I missed having my mother there for me...like my wedding and the birth of both my girls.  When they do have their babies someday, I plan to take a month plus vacation and spend the time helping them learn to be a mom themselves.  They might be ready for me to head home after that but I plan to be there for them through it and for as long as they will let me. 

I always knew if/when I had a child I'd have a girl...I picked out her name when I was young and was very thankful none of my sister took my girl name.  Naming my first daughter after my mother was the easiest decision I ever made.  It's funny that she looks SO much like my husband's mother yet she is named after my mom.   She has a bit of both her grandmas in her forever!

Back to the topic, if I could be anything in the world...I would be what I am and I would be a mom to my 2 dearest blessings Carmen and Maria.

What would you be?  Is there something you already are that you always wanted to be?

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: My Biggest Weakness

Dessert...dessert is my biggest weakness.  

JUST KIDDING...If I thought last week's topic was hard...picking just one weakness was harder. Again I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this post. I am flawed as all humans are.  

I wake up each day with a plan for the day. I go to get started and I get distracted...distracted by what I have no clue! 

This often is paired with tunnel vision. I get so focused on what I am doing that I forget about other things.  I am very capable of multitasking, however, things that I deem important are usually where I put my focus.  Those important things get done 110% but the others go by wayside and sometimes get forgotten.

How this effects my daily life is that I tend to forget to do things. It's not that I intentionally try to forget them.  I always have good intentions, however it's my follow through that really bites the big one!  People who know me know I need lots of reminders to do things.  If I don't do something right away...just keep reminding me because I probably forgot or am focusing on something else at that moment.  I know this can be frustrating for many, especially my husband. He doesn't understand how I didn't see something right there!  I just never focused on it.  I don't do it on purpose, it's just the way I have always been.  I know this about myself though and have worked hard to get better at it.

Thankfully, I have never forgotten my children and am always aware of where they are.  They are my world...so I try to always be in tune with them...it's everything else that often times gets set aside.

This weakness is something I am aware of...without it I would be a better mother, wife, friend, and person.  I would probably manage my home better...think how this distractedness effects cleaning when you have a time crunch...

What has helped me are lists...when I don't forget the list or lose it that is.  Lists save me.  I write lists all the time so that I can stay focused and keep on track with things.  I use my reminder feature and calendar alerts on my phone A TON!  I'm often ask Siri to remind me of things because she never forgets!  I just hope I don't miss the reminder popping up.

I also have prayed that I get better with this.  It's something I'm not proud of and something that has hurt people who are dear to me.  I never intended to hurt them but it has and I am very sorry for that.  It's a weakness that I hope some day I can say I don't have but until then...I just have to keep training my focus to get out of the tunnel and look beyond!

On the bright side of this, once I focus on something it gets done!

What is your biggest weakness?

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: My Life 5 Years From Now

I'm really not sure why this was such a hard post for me but I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about what to write. Usually I always have a 5 year plan in the back of my head but for some reason I'm having a hard time figuring out what mine is currently. I think I wanted it to be more enlightening but for now I'm just going to write and see what comes out.

My life 5 years from now will look much different but similar to what it is now. What I'm picturing:

We will still be living in our current home that we just closed on in Feb and I hope that it will truly be a home and not just a house. The kitchen and bathroom will have been redone and we'll finally have the landscaping I envision. The playroom will be organized and truly set up as a playroom. Essential I hope that all our major renovation plans are completed and we just have smaller room redos left to do.

In 5 years, my girls will both be getting ready to go to Elementary school. Miss CGR will be 7 1/2 and going into 2nd grade and Miss Ria will be 5 and starting Kindergarten.(I know this is 5 years from now, but I started shaking when I even thought about Carmen going to 2nd grade!) They will hopefully get a long great still and be each other's best friends. Hopefully we'll be on some great summer vacation 5 years from right now and enjoying ourselves before the new school year!

5 years from now, Special K and I will be gearing up to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary that December and hopefully have FINALLY taken our wedding honeymoon or at least have it planned that year. We still hope to make it to a cabin up north for some time together some day.

I hope to be a better wife and mother, as I know there is always room for improvement.  I want to be the best I can be both for my husband and my children.  I pray often about being what they need and being able to support them in the ways that are best for them.  My relationship with my husband is as important as my relationship with my children.  For them and for us, we need to put effort into making our marriage as strong as possible.  It's never going to be smooth sailing but that's ok...I just hope that we are there for each other for the rest of our days.  I hope that we can set the best example for them on love and security.

Sadly I'm not sure if our pups will still be with us. If they haven't crossed the rainbow bridge, then they will both be very elderly. Jackjack would be 15 and I anticipate having a lot of trouble walking because of his early onset of arthritis. Abigail would be 13 and probably still crazy and silly as ever! If they have crossed, then sadly we probably won't have any dogs in the house. I've agreed to not get any more dogs for a long time since Carmen is allergic to dogs and our schedules are just too crazy the way they are now for a new dog. I still can't imagine our home without dogs...so we'll see if I can keep my promise here.

I'm sure I could go on and on about how I will have all these amazing finished knitting projects and spinning away still! I can't imagine stopping that soon as I feel I am a Knitter/Spinner with capitals...not just someone who knits and spins.

My life 5 years from now will hopefully be full of family time as it is now. I know my nieces and nephews will be off at college or off starting their after college lives but I hope we still see them all often and my sisters are still around to get together with regularly.

I hope that I have found a church home by then. I feel a bit lost without one and I miss having my church community.  I hope to continue my nightly devotionals and to grow in my faith and share this faith with my girls.  I feel it's so important that they grow up with a church home and I need to start taking the steps to make this happen.

Well...hope you enjoyed this post...it's not what I envisioned for it but I think I wanted to make it bigger than it is at this moment.

Happy Blogging! 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?How often do you think about your 5 year plan?

Blogger 411: All you need to know about Me and my life.

I recently came across the blog "From Mrs. to Mama." It's a great mom blog that I have enjoyed catching up with. She posted this link up last Tuesday but I just found it and wanted to join up before it closes!

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I have been blogging for over 5 years.  My first post went up on April 2, 2007.  I've written about this recently in this post, however, it started out as a place to write thoughts/online journal and no one really read it and then became a knitting/dog blog and now it's this mash up of all things me.  It's changed so much as I have changed in the last 5 years and I have a feeling I'm not done changing so this blog will change as I do.

2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
I started my college career at the University of South Florida and spent 2 years there.  I then took a leap and went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and got a B.F.A. in Computer Arts, specializing in 3D Character Animation.  Not sure I really thought that degree through all the way but it's what I saw myself doing until it was actually time to do it and now I haven't animated in so long I wouldn't even be sure where to start.

3. Where have you traveled?
I grew up in Panama and traveled throughout the country, however, there are still places I would love to go back and see.  I have mostly traveled throughout the US.

4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
A house! Pay off my student loans! A minivan! (Yes, that's three)

5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
Lying, being mean to children/pets, and neglectfulness

6. What is your favorite movie?
Shawshank Redemption

7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
I mostly drink water and at least one cup of coffee in the morning.  For a treat, I love me some Cranberry Ginger Ale or some Maracuya aka Passion Fruit juice.  My alcoholic drink of choice is beer then wine...specifically either a Blue Moon or Stella Artois but I've been getting more into stouts as well.  And I like both red and white wines depending on my mood.  Summer time a light white wine is nice but I love good red wine too...on a cold day a glass of red wine warms you right up!

8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
Me time consists of all things fibery, be that knitting or spinning.  A comfortable spot with a nice view or TV show/Movie and my knitting or spinning and I'm a happy camper.  I love being able to spin or knit outside but in the FL heat...that is NOT possible most the year.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
Oh this is so hard!  Right now I think it would be Home Depot or Lowes because well...not really ready to go into details why but soon.  Otherwise, I would think Target would be nice because we'd be set on diapers and living for a while.  I know this all sounds so practical!  I should say some store to buy new clothes or fun stuff...but honestly I can't think that way right now.  I'm in the land of saving and being practical so this is the answer I have now.  Some day it may change. :)
 
10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
 Oh I am sure there are many many many of these but right now I just can't pin point one to share.  Let's just say I have a tendency to shove my foot right into my mouth. 
 
11. What day would you love to relive again?
I'm not sure I can answer this.  I started by thinking my wedding day but then Carmen wasn't there and so that's out.  Then I thought about her birth...umm...really not sure I want to relive actually giving birth to her when I already got through that...not that I'm not up to giving birth again but I already gave birth to Carmen.  Check that off my list and move on.   Then I thought about those first days with her...but I was SO tired and learning so much that it's not the best option either.  I would love to be able to experience all the firsts with her again and be "awake."  There you go...the best answer I can give.

12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
America Ferrera

Photo Source

13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
My first job was the first summer after high school and I worked for a temp agency doing computer jobs.  In college, I worked for the computer lab in the library at USF.  When I got to San Fran, I worked at a Fitness Club as the front desk person and got a free membership!  SCORE!  I also worked at the Children's Museum, and for a short time I worked for a small indie coffee shop that was right down the street from where I lived.  Oh and I worked at Border's downtown San Fran in the coffee shop there.  That's where I first started drinking coffee...I knew I could get it to taste as good as it smelled.
 
14. Show us a picture from high school or college. 
High School Volleyball days.  I'm on the far left.

15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
I would love to go to Italy! 

16. Show us the most current picture of you or you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you. 
Here are just a couple from the last month of our little family...I'm sure those who read this blog see LOTS of pictures of my family. :)

 

17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
In 5 years, I see myself as a mother of 2 or 3 kids(don't tell my hubby as he only wants 2), our 2 pups getting older but hopefully still around, and still happily married to Special K.  I see us owning a house and finally having finished any major renovation I'm sure any house we get will need.  I'd also like to have taught more people how to knit and spin!  I've only taught several people how to knit but really want to spread the spinning love!

Happy Linking!

This link up closes 7/24/12 at night...so if you want to join...get on it!

Was there something I shared in this link up that surprised you?  Something that didn't? Let me know if you join so I can read your answers too!

Thankful Tuesday on a Tuesday! and a Knitting Needle purchase!! and a meme!

Today I am thankful for tax refunds. I know that I will not always get money back on tax day but I'm very glad that I did this year. I am mostly thankful because I was able to finally order my Knitpicks Option Set!! YEAH!! I really wanted these for Christmas but I did get some great presents and Special K did spoil me though!! I can't wait until my order gets here!

I've also been searching for my wedding shawl yarn. I've narrowed it down to a couple but need to see them in person before I decide. I'll keep you posted!

I'll try to keep my work craziness to a minimum but it is still pretty crazy and I'm having a tough time. It's only Tuesday and I feel like I already need the weekend to come. Today was a little bit better than my crazy Monday but I am NOT looking forward to the "horribleness" that is going to be tomorrow. I really can't explain right now and I can't share what is going on but when it's all over then you will hear ALL about it.

Also, Paula tagged me with a meme:

4 Things About MEME

4 Jobs I’ve Had:
Receptionist, Computer Lab Assistant, Computer Animator, 3D Layout Artist

4 Movies Watched Over and Over:
Rent, Anne of Green Gables, Newsies, Shawshank Redemption

4 Places I Have Lived: Panama City Rep. of Panama, Tampa FL, San Francisco CA, San Diego CA

4 Shows I Watch: Grey's Anatomy, Eli Stone, Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters

4 Places I Have Been: Chicago, Houston, Ohio, North Carolina

4 Favorite Things To Eat: Chocolate, Ice Cream, Chicken Marsala, Sushi

4 Places I Would Rather Be: in bed, at a yarn shop, in the country, at the beach

4 Things I Look Forward To This year: My WEDDING!!!, Spring Break, My DC Trip, My secret project!

I tag whoever reads this and would like to join in the fun!! :)

I'm off to relax for a bit and put my feet up!! I have a couple more days to finish my Rainbow sock and I'm on a roll with it so it should be a breeze to finish before the end of the month.

Happy Knitting!

Update on sidebar!!

It's late and am heading to bed. I started updating my blog roll on my side bar today and I got through a lot of the blogs I read but I know there are a couple more than need to go up. If you are one of these please don't hesitate to let me know I missed you. I'll finish this list hopefully later this week. In the mean time I have a big announcement tomorrow so keep close for that!! :) I'm so excited I'm about to burst!

It's been a great weekend. I got to relax and spent time cleaning and actually got a bit of knitting in. I took the dogs to Special K's softball practice today and they had SO much fun running around. Well, Abby ran around chasing the ball and Jackjack was on a lease close by. He does not have a great recall.

Special K grilled both nights this week and it was delicious!! Tonight we had steak fajitas with some grilled veggies on the side. They were amazing. Last night we had steak too with some veggie skewers. I was never a big steak eater until I started dating Special K. :) I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but it's a YUMMO thing!!

Well. I'll try to get some knitting pictures up this week. Tomorrow I'm working all day and then heading to a memorial service for a close friend's father in the evening. Her father passed pretty suddenly and I only wish I could have and could be there for her more. She's going through a tough time and helping her family and mom get everything in order. Please pray for her health and sanity.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm off to bed it is late and I've been on this computer long enough.

PS. You will also notice some new ad spots. If you have an ad you want to add please let me know.

New look! Bloggy Fun.

Check out my new look. I'm still working on a new banner but I edited the html of my template. ;) I found out how to do this from Tips for New Bloggers. If you have any questions on how to edit your blogger I'd go straight over and just search for it. I have a couple other things I'm working on. Oh and I still haven't gone back and added my blog roll yet because I may use another way to do it. If you have a button then it's back up there already.

I'm trying to add some new feeds for my blog too. I'm starting with this one Technorati Profile. I'm still confused about this but I'll work on it.

Stay tuned for an update on my weekend. :) and knitting.

New buttons. :) , stitch markers.

So...I took a quick break and made some buttons. :)

One is for my blog. :) Grab it if you'd like!!



The other one is for my Yarn Crawl Post. :)



Hope you like them. :)

I made stitch markers for my swap pals this weekend. Well...I didn't make them all. I went and bought some nice beads and sat watching football and started working on them. It's my first time making stitch markers and I had fun but I had a tough time getting the wire completely wrapped like I wanted it. I think the beads were too big. Special K noticed and asked if he could help me. He got it and ended up taking over. :) I was so happy. Not that I didn't like making stitch markers but Special K has not always understood my knitting but tries to be very supportive. This was the first thing that he did knitting related and I couldn't get the smile off my face for a while. I packed up my goodies for my Football-along swap pal and dropped it off at the post office on Monday. I hope she likes all the goodies I sent her.

These are the ones I had him make me with the left over beads. It's also a tease for my HSKS 3 swap pal!! Didn't Special K do a great job?



Happy Knitting.