Dang, where's the time gone?!

But there are other, non-baby reasons for my relative radio silence. One of the reasons is because I had to go to the dermatologist for this weird wart-like thingie on my right thumb. Right where my thumb hits the spacebar. It didn't really bother me when it was there, but after it was frozen off.. YEOWCH! If you want the details of the procedure (and a funny story that involves a lot of screaming from me) you can check out my LJ here - [link]

So yeah. It's finally healed, by the way, at least to where I can type without too much discomfort. I could use my pliers, though! I didn't make much spectacular. Mostly filling orders and "stock" items. Although I did make a nifty necklace for myself that I will upload when I can get Brian to take a nice picture of me wearing it.

I've also been knitting a lot because not only is it fall, but knitting I can pick and put down a lot easier than I can chainmaile. And Lemony needs socks. She's like all other babies in that socks will not stay on her feet for more than 5 minutes. She even kicks/rubs them off in her sleep, so I'm trying to develop (in my typical mad science knitting fashion) socks that stay the Hell on. I've already made one pair, which I will be uploading shortly.

And in my usual "Taking on a million things" fashion, I've decided to learn Japanese. I've got computer lessons, books and flashcards, so wish me luck! It's been a while since I've flexed the language muscles, and who knows? Maybe Lemony will pick some up, too.


So yeah, baby aside, I've been busy. I hope eveyone had a nice Halloween. ^_^ And who's doing NaNoWriMo? ~SR388 is doing it again, and he needs writing buddies! [link] Go and friend him.

Later!
Crazed


She can say "Ma ma"!

And I yell at for having too much on his plate...

Little help? Anyone out there in Internet Land opera fans who can toss me some nice alto solos? I seem to have found myself with a talent contract and I need to make a demo tape very, very soonish.

As in by this upcoming weekend.

I will also take any suggestions for other kinds of music that fall in the alto range.

So... Any suggestions?

EDIT: Luckily, I have more time! Huzzah! So I can take time to actually learn pieces and be a bit picky.

The List, with links to examples:

Alegria - [link]
Whatever Lola Wants - [link]
Caro Mio Ben (my old solo) - [link]
When You're Good to Mama - [link]RGUEbqZo3A

And thanks for all the cool selections. The songs above are ones I already know I can sing. I'm still pondering more choices and testing them out, so feel free to toss more ideas at me.


She can say "Ma ma"!

I feel like I've leveled up recently!

I'm working with materials I had previously only used if someone had commissioned them from me, I've got some proper hammers and a large bench block, I've met someone with connections to local blacksmiths, and I've found an amazingly useful book on armor reproduction that's a treasure trove of information. Add to that a ton of useful BlackBerry apps (yes, I own a crackberry) that I can use to run the business end from anywhere and my new lightbox that saves me tons of time on photo editing... There's definately been an upgrade!

Bonus: Lemony's schedule has stabilized to where she's sleeping through the night and has definite nap times during the day, so I can plan maille and shop time. She's also taking less time to eat, so I don't have to hang out in the rocking chair 95% of the time like before. From what I am told, she is a dream baby. She only cries when she wants something, she likes baths, loves to cuddle, and sleeps soundly. Our parents are amazed and pleased. ^_^ I also have a Moby wrap that I wear her around in. I can't maille while I've got her all cuddled against me, but I can type and do some housework, so the house is slowly starting to look liveable again.

In all, things are going awesomely. And Brian is a huge help, as usual. So expect more deviations and activity from me in general. ^_^ But I've got things to upload to Etsy, so I've gotta go.

Later!
Crazed


She can say "Ma ma"!

Lemony, to be exact. But luckily babies like schedules, and will often set their own as she has.

This means that I've been able to pick up my pliers and get on the Internet on a regular basis! ^_^ I still need to get some time for photographs and forging clasps to finish off some pieces, though. But at least I've been mailling and damn, I've missed it.

Heh, it also looks to me like we have a future femailler in our arms! She's grabbed my earrings and instead of yanking them, gets this "Oooo" look on her face and just rubs the maille between her fingers. We learned long ago that babies in general love chainmaile, but it's nice to know that she likes it. She also grabs my necklaces and just holds onto them and runs her fingers on them. ^_^ I can't WAIT to teach her!

Oh, and here's a picture of Lemony. I haven't had a lot of time to upload things from my camera to Flickr yet, but I can do it with a single button clck on my phone. So it's not the best-quality image, but it's what I've got, okay? ^_^ [link]

But I've got to get ready for D&D.

Later!
Crazed


36 Weeks Along - Getting into the home stretch, here!

Yep, she's here!

:cheer:

Lemony Khymira O'Hagan was born on May 11th, at 1:11 in the afternoon! ^_^ She was 6 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 inches long.

My water broke unexpectedly on Saturday so we had to go into the hospital. Usually a woman's body goes "Oh, crap! The water broke?! We'd better get this show on the road!" and voila, labor begins. (Random Fact - contrary to popular media portrayal, a woman's water doesn't usually break until well into labor, often not until the very end.) But my body wasn't ready for her to show up just yet, things being three weeks early and all, so I had to be induced.

Luckily the midwives are AWESOME, and only gave me a little bit of medicine like we wanted. The IV drip started at 2 units and I think went as high as 20. They started me at 2 and only ever went as high as 8. The nurse mentioned that usually the obstetricians will start it at about 14 and crank it up from there. O_O So we're lucky.

Anyone reading this who is planning on reproducing, I HIGHLY recommend using midwives if you've got access to them. They'll be as hands-off or as hands-on as you like, and whether you're trying for the all-natural route or want a lot of drugs, they'll support you in it. They're great. ^_^

Anyway, although I did need a bit of inducing drugs, I didn't use an epidural, which was my big goal! ^_^ And Brian did a great job getting me through the contractions during the whole thing as well. Because I didn't have the amniotic fluid to cushion the contractions, all the pain went straight to my lower back. That was pretty awful. But Brian kept pushing on my back throughout the whole 8 hours, and that made a world of difference. He also used a lot of guided imagery/hypnosis relaxation techniques to sort of send my pain receptors on a little vacation.

I only had to push for an hour or two, and although I nearly broke the hand grips on the bed (whoops) Lemony was born without much hassle. I was actually able to get up and walk a half hour later. ^_^ I didn't go far, but I think that was a big help to me mentally. I really dislike not being able to move, so knowing that I was able to bounce back that quickly was a relief.

And Lemony was fine. She did have a bit of jaundice so we had to take her back to the hospital so that she could go into phototherapy (basically a large light box that floods her with blue light). She came home - again - yesterday and is doing great. Still a bit golden in the face, but otherwise she's fine. ^_^

But Brian is done with the curry and I need to eat. I will post links to pictures as soon as I can get them off my phone and on-line.

Later!
Crazed

PS - Go give your congrats to ! He's a DADDY!


36 Weeks Along - Getting into the home stretch, here!