I made a monkey. His crown-y hat looks sort of Rasta, and his overalls look much like lederhosen. Is there really anything else I can say beyond that?

In honor of the BCS championship game next week, and in honor of my friends Kathy (LSU) and Mandy ('Bama), I made a crimson and purple cowl to wear. I counted stitches to ensure equality and show no favoritism whatsoever!

A friend of mine from work has embarked on a challenge, and I feel compelled to follow along. She, and now I, vow to go a year without shopping for clothes. We've set slightly different rules for ourselves, but the spirit is the same.

I have a lot of clothes. Some of the clothes I have (let's be honest, A LOT of the clothes I have) don't get worn. Some because they don't fit right, some just because I have so many clothes but I only have a limited percentage in high rotation. So, I am crying "No mas!"

First I will clear out the stuff that doesn't fit. I am working on losing a bit of weight, so the items that I just slightly outgrew can stay, but...let's call a spade a spade and say that I've got a few suits and dresses that won't ever fit over this middle aged ass ever again.

If something wears out, I will replace it. I will get rid of the expired item in order to buy new, though. No more "let's just keep this for casual wear" when I get a nicer sweater or something. I won't pay out of pocket for anything new unless a comparable item is being trashed. This goes for shoes, too.

I got some gift cards for Christmas, and once I clean out the clothes that don't fit I may need to use them to fill in some gaps (jeans are a likely option now that I've admitted that I'm not a size 6-8 anymore). But I will stick to the face value of the gift card, not use it as a starting point (many of my $25 gifts cards in the past have resulted in shopping sprees beyond the $75 mark...) I am going to try to avoid buying any clothes even with the gift cards, using the money for some pretty jewelry or home goods, but I'm not going to set myself up for failure right from the start!

Paring down and not bringing new clothes into the mix may force me to start looking at new options for making outfits. It will also reduce the ever growing laundry pile that is threatening to take over my side of the bedroom, which Hubby is convinced is going to spring to life and attack us while we sleep.

Wish me luck, because it ain't gonna be easy for me...

Schmutzie told me to do this.  I like Schmutzie, so I hope this makes her (and others) smile.

I love the smell that lingers after I’ve been baking, and the sly way my kids try to sneak the cookies off of the cooling racks before I put them away; how Hubby tries to be quiet and unobtrusive when he comes into the bedroom after I’m asleep, but often fails; the way my implausibly high heels make me feel just a little bit powerful; finding old family pictures and seeing resemblances I never knew existed; the whooshing sounds of milk being frothed; the texture of Patons Stretch Sock yarn on the soles of my feet; hearing random “Raising Arizona” quotes from my kids when I least expect them; painting my toenails in the dead of winter, even though no one else can see the fabulous color; when a meeting gets canceled and I get an hour of my day back; the snuffles and sighs of a sleeping baby; a lit Christmas tree in an otherwise dark room; the smell of sunscreen mixed with salty air; waking up because my body is rested, not because an alarm broke my sleep; Heat Miser and Snow Miser; the unspoken rhythm of movements as Hubby and I navigate a tiny bathroom in the morning without getting in each others’ way; getting to keep all of the Heath bars after Halloween, since no one else in the family likes them; the sheepish look that people get when they are caught seat-dancing or playing air drums at a stoplight; free food samples; the stained glass rose windows at my church; Facebook groups with inside jokes (my IOM Wolfpack knows what I am talking about!);  the angels that take on unexpected forms (like elementary school principals or café workers); getting respect from someone I respect;  Fractured Prune doughnuts; the Toys R Us and Disney store locations in Times Square; Christmas ornaments I’ve had since childhood; little girls wearing Easter hats; the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade; holding hands; a dusting of snow on the holly bush in front of my house;  coffee shops in grocery stores; four generations in one room at a family party; game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals when I have nothing invested in the outcome of the game; vegetables from my own garden; “Sports Night,” especially the first season; when no one is looking when I fall down (literally or metaphorically); a hot shower after shoveling snow; grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon.    

A year ago, I was dealing with a psych hospital stay for Princess (the fourth of the year). Today she is in school and I haven't gotten any emails or calls about any meltdowns. We made it through the whole year without any inpatient hospital stays, and the one crisis call a few months ago was resolved fairly quickly.

A year ago, I decided not to do Christmas cards or most of the decorating because I just couldn't summon up the energy. This year my cards went out around December 1, I am taking orders for my baking day (I may ignore some of the requests- I'm looking at you, Vic and Nic, for requesting red velvet cupcakes when you both knew full well I don't do cupcakes for Christmas- but I am paying attention to what people ask for), we don't have any decorations up but that is only because we just got new carpet installed.

Things are busy, but they are good. By Christmas I will probably be crying from stress, as I always do, but this year I can probably be cured by the smell of my amputee gingerbread men and mis-shapen snickerdoodles.

This July brought me a promotion at work (updated PD to recognize how my job has grown) and August brought me a landmark birthday that turned out to be not as awful as I'd feared it would be.

2011 totally kicked 2010's ass, y'all.

Once again, I tried NaBloPoMo and fizzled out. I briefly considered creating some posts and backdating them, but decided that the spirit of the exercise was more important than the actual 30-post count. I wanted to stick to it, but life got in the way a bit this week- school conferences and preparations for home renovations (the carpet guy is in my

I do plan to tune into BlogHer more often and get prompts or inspiration to write more often. I am still trying to find my place in the blogosphere, still trying to figure out my role and my personality in the great mass of wordiness and pictures and links that is the internet.

Thank you to any new readers who have stopped by during this month. I hope you come back and that you comment. I know that my posts are all over the place- the knitters that stop by may not care all that much about my kids, people hoping to see food posts (which will be forthcoming in December, since my bake-a-palooza is scheduled from the 17th-20th) may not give a hoot about pictures of my scarves and shawls, and so on. But I hope that anyone reading this has something that appeals to them and makes them stop back. I plan to be more diligent about tagging posts, allowing readers to zoom in on the crafty or the yummy or the momminess of it all.

Here are some things I've heard or that I've read (and applied voices to, which is not in any way an indication of me becoming psychotic, I promise) recently. Some things are funny and some are sad and some are poignant. (As an aside, I really like the word "poignant." I'm not sure exactly what it is that I find so appealing, but there is something about the sound of the word along with its meaning that I really like.)

"[Hoss] does some really fantastic work. Which is like saying 'The sun shines brightly.'  We just kind of expect it, because that's how it should be." Mr. G, my son's homeroom teacher, at parent-teacher conferences.

"Don't be a dick. Or an asshole. In fact, just to be safe, don't be anything that belongs in undergarments." Tamara Out Loud , in referenced to something she's learned over a year of blogging.

"Chill out space" The term bestowed on the area of my third-grade son's classroom for kids to take a minute to get their heads together. I like the sound of "Little Joe is good at using the chill out space when he needs it."

"God has a bad memory. He only remembers the good things we do." Fr. Greg, our associate pastor, in response to Princess lamenting her guilty feelings for misbehaving or acting out.

We are back from the in-laws, the kids and I. Hubby is out at a football game and spending another night at his parents' house.

I survived another family party, despite Hubby's aunt arriving 40 minutes late and the kids getting cranky. Here are the things for which I am thankful today:

• I am thankful that Princess does not consider herself too old and cool to sit down and watch the Macy's Parade with me.  The boys watched part of it, but she hung with me for the whole morning.
• I am thankful that my MIL and her relatives refrained from discussing any medical issues over dinner. Previous encounters have included a discussion of the need for a colonoscopy (at the funeral reception a few weeks ago), surgery to repair a cervical hernia/vaginal prolapse (the boys' birthday party a few years ago) and the aftermath of sinus surgery (Father's Day a few years back).
• I am thankful that the weather was pleasant, meaning that BIL (who was not expected to attend) could go out and walk the dog while I was trying to gather the kids up to leave, since he is notorious for distrupting them and contradicting everything I say when I am trying to keep them under control.
• I am thankful that MIL wanting to be finished cleaning up from dinner in time to watch the Ravens game gave me a convenient reasons for leaving in a timely manner and getting the kids home and medicated (after I helped as much as possible to get the dishes done so that she really could sit down and relax).
• I am thankful that Hubby's sporadically employed, never married, childless cousin refrained from any proclamations about how I should be caring for my children.

Happy turkey day, y'all. In our house, it's always turkey day.

In honor of tomorrow, I give you Arthur Carlson's misguided attempt at celebrating Thanksgiving.