Hand dyed yarn!

I experimented with dying yarn myself. I bought some fisherman's wool by lion brand, which is nudged 100% wool with the lanolin still in tact. Anyway! I used koolaid and food coloring, mixed it into mason jars (quart size) until I got the desired saturation. Be sure to Satan wrap your work space. I used some old, worn out cotton t-shirts to keep my mess dry and to test the color out before I put the dye in it. After that, I soaked my yarn in water (presoaking) and then dried it out as best I could. Then I put a plate into my microwave, dipped the yarn (one piece at a time) into the jars to absorb color. Put the yarn/jar mess on the plate and nuke them. How long depends on your microwave, mine was 6 minutes on high. Then, take out the yarn and rinse the dyed portion until the water is clear. Repeat with all colors and sections as desired. After all is dyed, wash the yarn with some mild soap and lukewarm water, then lay flat to dry. Ta-da!

Spina Bifida Walk N' Roll! Woo!

This is the current fruit of my labor to make posters for the annual Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky's Walk N' Roll fundraiser! It's like the relay for life or race for the cure, but only for kids born with spina bifida. I made a few rounds at work and managed to scrap together $50ish. Money was so tight, anything that I would love to donate is put into gas, posters, and time to get my baby across the state to Louisville, Kentucky and do the walk. At 9 am EST... When we live in CST... *face palm*

Anyway! I am very excited about this! I'm hoping to raise even more money next year and actually have extra funds to donate a good portion of it, myself. I have had a few friends to help me work on these, though! At this point, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not being more involved. But I have had a few volunteers from my friends at work that have helped me create these beautiful little posters! I will even post one of myself... And the poster I masterminded... Don't laugh! Hurt my little feeling... Yes, I only have one. And right now it's shame. (Just kidding!)

There will be a guest speaker at the fundraiser tomorrow. He is like Tony Hawk, only in a wheelchair! It's AMAZING what people can do when they are passionate! His name is Aaron Fotheringham. You should definitely look him up! Wish us luck tomorrow!

The poster and I.

Whitney and her work of art. Thanks, Whitney!

Bridget and her masterpiece. Thanks, Bridget!

Good thing gone wrong...

I'm feeling a bit vexed today, as my daughter and I were supposed to go to a fundraiser across the state to raise money for spina bifida research. Buuuuut, that didn't work out. 

We were about halfway there when my truck overheated and I had to pull over and sit on the side of the road for about 20 minutes. I took off again, I couldn't accelerate, and so I pulled over and turned off my truck again. Thinking it prudent to not test my truck, I turned around and headed home. I drove for about 3 minutes and had to pull over and sit on the side of the road for 20 minutes. I did this for about... Oh.... 3 hours? That was a blast with my daughter (who is two, I might add) and my mother who just got released from the nursing home after a catastrophic car accident. We had enough wheelchairs and walkers to stock a medical supply store... I digress! We were only about 70 miles from home and it took us 5 hours to get there. 

No fundraiser, no fun walk, no outing. Just a blown head gasket and some garage saling as we were pulled over and parked to let the engine cool down. But I did make a few fun finds. An antique hand mirror, comb, and hair brush for my vanity. Also a handmade wooden moon for my porch. We made the most of our situation, but I do believe today was a bust. 

My truck is just about shot. And now I have to look for a new one. I'm a bit bummed, but I'm thinking about a Mazda RX-8... Enough room for a car seat thanks to the third door and sporty enough to be fun to drive. But I love my truck. *sigh* This is rather distressing. Especially since we're trying to get our bills caught up and Christmas is coming up quickly! 

So much for trying to get bills paid off and getting some money squirreled away. Murphy's Law. 

Working, Knitting, Thinking

So, my place of employ has recently implemented a policy that we are no longer allowed to use streaming of music of video websites. Fair enough. Up with productivity!

So, from hence forth I shall be knitting my little fingers off! I am currently working on these adorable mittlets that I found on here. So far, the instructions are plainly written out and easy to follow, except I can get a bit lost in the text and my eyes wander and I end up combining the next four lines into one thing... So! I'm having a tough time. Once I get them complete, I will post a picture and another link to the lovely Miss Shantha Rose and her pattern.

I was, before that, working on a market tote. I got a little frustrated with the repetition of it and put it away for the moment. But, I will finish it. Eventually...

As a clarification of my last, angsty post I will post a picture of my little girl. This picture is relatively new. On her second birthday, to be exact. Anyway, here it is!

This is my precious baby, Keelia!

Incensed at the machinations of this stupid system!

OK, as my first blog, I have to say that this will be one of those ranting and raving posts that everyone loves to read and agree with or flame and hate on. Normally, I try to be optimistic and thread humour through my issues to make them easier to deal with. But this is one thing that I cannot abide by, and that is injustice and discrimination against children. My child, in particular, has suffered since birth with a disability of the body, not the mind and has been treated like garbage because she has her wits about her.

She was born with myelomenigeocele spina bifida. In short, her spinal column didn't finish forming and her spinal cord isn't a cord, but rather like a pancake. In addition to this delicious picture, the spinal "pancake" was protruding from her back, all wrapped up in a meningeal sac and fluid. She had to be delivered via C-section at a large hospital and immediately moved to the NICU. She had to be laid on her stomach and monitored constantly due to newborns having a knack for apnea on their stomachs. She had surgery at 36 hours old to make her spinal "pancake" into a spinal cord and line it up in her back like it should be. The surgery went very well and her recovery was speedy and miraculous. Normally, recovery from a major surgery like that takes several weeks and lots of pain medicine, but we were released after day 9 and she didn't even need Tylenol for pain. Needless to say, my daughter is a trooper.

During our hospital stay, we were contacted by a social worker who asked us if we intended on applying for Social Security Disability. We said we were, as we were a young couple with a tiny income and less means. We applied with the understanding that we would not be denied since she was diagnosed and treated for her condition since birth and it will cause permanent nerve damage that will affect her mobility in the future and possible mental side effects.We applied and didn't receive word for over six months. When we did receive word, they asked us a few questions about how she has recovered ad what we thought and we answered favorably because everything we'd been through had been fairly well, thus far. The person making the call said he would be in touch and we never heard from him again. Two months after that phone call, we got a letter from the Social Security Administration saying that there was nothing medically wrong with our daughter and she was denied. We hired a lawyer to fight this and he told us it was pointless and not to bother trying again.

Needless to say, I was pissed off. My daughter, who has now been diagnosed with GERD and tibular torsion (twisting of the shins and tibia bones), was perfectly healthy and uneligible for help. Right. And I'm 5'9" and am hotter than Giselle. *Insert eyerolling here* Well, I kept applying (by myself) until they accepted my daughter. At that point, we were receiving maximum benefits because I was out of work and my husband hadn't received his promotion (which I'm very proud of him!) and were renting the upper portion of my mother's house. Yes, we were very broke and very much in need of help. And we received it, for a time, thankfully.

Then I started working again. I found a very good job which I love and I make better than minimum wage without a college degree. I was thrilled. And then the payments got cut in half. OK, we can handle that. Since I'm working and bringing in an income, that's fine. Our expenses are no longer higher than our income. We're making progress! Yes!

And then we used the extra money to save up for a house down payment. And then we found a house. And then we bought it. And then they discontinued her disability entirely. And then we had to start going to specialists 3 hours away on a regular basis. And then we got told that because we make too much money for her to be disabled, she doesn't get Medicaid anymore. You see where this is going, right? Do I need to go on?

Anyway, at this point, my daughter is now 2 years old, she has to have special braces to keep her feet straight, we're having some difficulty potty training her, she goes to physical therapy every Friday, and she sees a specialist 3 hours away at least once a month. Not to mention the diapers we go through because of her bowel/bladder problems. And gas. Oh, and did I mention we have to have a walker for her to use to walk with? What about a stander so she can bear weight on her feet properly? And specially made outdoor toys so she can be outside and enjoy the sunshine. It adds up, people. Quickly.

Now you can see why we're a bit peeved about them cutting the disability checks. And now I'll tell you something else. Did you know that they only consider income and assets, not expenses, when deciding whether or not you're disabled? It doesn't matter what the doctors think or if you are in dire straits. If you make enough money that you're at or above the poverty line ($20000ish a year, I think) then you don't get what you need to help you survive.

Now here's my rant and rave. It's been a long time coming and now it's arrived! I am of the opinion that if you live in America and have to have a urine test to get a job, you should have to have the same urine test to get assistance. I work and pay the taxes that help disabled and underprivileged Americans get through their lives. I think that since I have to work and pay those taxes and have to have urine tests to make sure I'm an upstanding member of society that everyone who takes my tax dollars needs to be tested for drugs as well. If everyone who received benefits was tested, there would be less abuse of those funds and more funds to go around. People who are using them for their own personal "get high" cash can get lost and let the people, like me, who are actually working and TRYING to get ahead and make sure my daughter has a good life can get the assistance we need.

And also! They need to take into account expenses of the necessary variety. Grocery bills, doctor bills, medicine, housing, utilities, and possibly transportation. Maybe they would get the picture. Even those of us that are working still need to live. I work to live, I don't live to work. So I'm sorry I don't earn lots of money. I'm doing my best, and progressing. But I've made mistakes and have taken setbacks and I've also been proverbially knocked down a few times. I'm working on it. But don't you DARE take it out on my child. She is an innocent little girl that needs help. So get your head out of your ass and frigging help her, you jerks!

Rant over. Thanks for reading! :o)