Friday was getting the old futon we cleaned out of the house to my coworker for his daughters sewing room. woot! We did a bit of shopping and then home to play with a new standing lamp. Which did not fit where we wanted but I move a few more of them around and it worked in another place.

Then I was busy around the house picking stuff up and putting things away etc and doing I'm not sure what. Honestly I can' t remember but I didn't sit down much and I was running around the house a lot and also working on a crochet project. Mel was busy in the shop but went to get Ben, I hit costco for things we needed for the weekend and then it was home for left overs for dinner. Ben had had a really good week and we watched some tv.

Mel and I sat up way too late watching Young Justice but that was okay. I got up at just before 6 and packed the car to head to 12th night, got Domnall and then headed to Ari's. We packed things in her car and were on the road to the event on the NW side of Phx. We arrived at 930am and kibitzed with people. It was cooler than I expected but snuggled up in my Hrafn cloak it was all good. Domnall got troll setup and Ari (dressed as the White Witch from Narnia) went to Laurel's circle. I worked on the crochet project and got to a point where I realized the stuffing was in another bag in the car so I pulled out a knitting project. The "men" were confused by me switching projects mid-circle. Sorry guys gotta keep my hands busy. But it was a good circle and there was laughter and mirth and some good discussions. Got done and then handled some good arts business with the Kingdom MOAS. She got the taste of stern but helpful peer. And got the Hrafnheim/BTY laurelate opinion on the competitions and what we need to do to fix them which is dust off and nuke from orbit and try again in a few years after we've gotten folks into making things and have a good time.

Got to sit court and eat a wonderful spread that Ari and I brought. Took care of Dom since he was stuck at Troll and chatted with public_shaylan and Bran. Good times. Throughout all of the afternoon I chatted with folks and worked on the crochet project which I finished. A cute bunny for Baby Cora Jade.



The pattern is fiddly but I like it. Then I worked on the baby hat which is the Moochi by Woolywormhead for another baby, Miss Virginia Anne. We left about the time they were going to start serving feast and headed to Uncle Bear's Brewery for booze and noms. So tasty.

We got home just about 10pm and I got home, unloaded, unloaded the cooler and then immediately took a shower and then parafin waxed my hands. Mel's been restoring his early 1800s Canadian Production Wheel and its a lot of hand scraping to get the old finishes off and well, I've been crocheting or knitting too much so yes, hands better. And then I collapsed into bed. Mel was amused but understood me being tired.

We got up early again the next day for war practice/polling. I woke up poorly but drugs and coffee helped that tremendously. Got to the event with more coffee and donuts for the household and then sat at court working on my knitting and then chatting with Mistress Cecilia in our tent for hours with other folks in the house. Benton was good and played around the tent or on the play ground with other kids. I finished the one hat and cast on another in the same pattern for another baby (as of yet unknown name/gender and still in uetero with their mama). But the first hat is cute and it needs a wash and block.




Polling was good and then it was the long slog for the knights circle to then have court. Sighs. The household packed everything up (we only had 2 men (a squire and a man at arms) and the ladies of the house did everything else. Sighs. But things were in the van minus the few benches we needed for evening court. Court ended a while later and Benton and I quickly jetted for home. I was done and tired and just wanted to not be outside. I was annoyed about a few things but oh well. Chatting with my apprentice made tings better.

Dinner was the most amazeballs pork ribs. That morning I had gotten the roaster out, poured in 2 bottles of Guinness and the then liberally applied Montreal Steak Seasoning and Garlic powder. I set the temperature to 275°F and we left for the day. I turned it off at 6pm. OMG! soo good. Mel had made some ramen the day before and we had a simple dinner of ramen and ribs. So good. Seriously. We are making that again.

Yesterday I finally made it back to the gym. I decided leg day was where the year needed to start and I did good. Didn't do squats since the room was full but I headed off to the leg press machines and switched off with another guy. Ran into some of my young engineers (we will all be at the gym at the same time Wednesday it looks like) but all good. I hit the treadmill and while I didn't over push I was amazed at how having working lungs helps with running. Seriously, my legs were pulling not my chest and that felt wonderful. Yay for a controller medicine.

I got home and Ben ahd his first Red day in a very long time. I think he was over tired from the weekend but we shall see. I had a quick bite to eat before heading to scribble where I got all of the names and did one full text for the awards for Sunday. Then I effed one up cause I tried to erase and it wasn't dry (headdesk). Then I headed (at 10pm) to Target for essentials like eggs and papertowels. le sigh but I got home and into the shower by 1045 so I call that good.

Today I'm feeling less sore than I expected but I'm sure tomorrow that will be different.

But all in all a good weekend though not doing anything I wanted to be doing like sleeping in and just hanging on the couch....oh well. I have to adult.

Wow, things have been busy. When last we left this blog I was getting ready for Southern. The getting ready actually went okay once I got the boy to bed on Wednesday night. I managed to get his sweater done and everything basically ready for Ed to pick up in the trailer on Thursday at 630am. I had to make some muffins and a few other things but the morning went really well. Benton and I and Asa made it to site about 1pm. It was a nice drive and very uneventful. We got there and the camp was mostly setup which was awesome. I'll have photos of our awesome camp when I get the camera downloaded. I took very few pictures while at southern due to Benton wrangling but all good.

We got the rest of camp set up and Asa did the kitchen setup which turned out awesome. We had space for everyone and the new benches made our camp awesome. After the first big night Storvarr and Derrick decided to make the fire pit bigger and reorganized the benches. It was way awesome.

Mr.Benton did okay at the event. He had a hard time napping but did at least get one per day. I wish he would have taken more but it is what it is. He also was more hungry and I'm not sure if that was due to the cool weather or if he wasn't as comfy in the pack n play. He kept waking up about 2 am and needing to feed before going back to bed. That was rough on me since I'm not used to getting up for extended amounts of time. Plus on Sunday he cut in another tooth and was pretty irritable. The nice thing was that he didn't bother anyone with his screaming at 7am since everyone else had/has kids. Lots of oragel later he was napping well while we packed up camp.

The one big goal I had for the event was to get back on the field. So Friday morning I got myself together into armour. It took me a bit to get my leg wraps done right and my elbows adjusted but all in all things felt about like they did when I stopped. I need to take my armor in...so I guess that is a good sign. I did some pickups with Rudiger which was good cause my right elbow still wasn't quite right and it needed to be adjusted. Those pickup fights got my jitters down and when it was time to line up and got myself to the 2nd rank and told Charles that I would be echoing his commands what ever they be. The first layon was called and things just started working. I wasn't hesitant I just went into the fray and kept piping up when things needed to be fixed. The second pass charles just told me to take a side and we had a good time. After 18 months out of armor I had walked right back in to where I left off. That felt really good. By the 2 castle battle though I was tired and shakey. I ate a muffin I had brought with me but I could tell I was at the end of my energy limit. I helped mop up the end of one battle and then fought the second of that set and when I had to run I knew I was done. The boobs were too full to let me do that comfortably with a sports bra and armor that were too loose but I felt good. I took my leave and headed back to camp to change into dry warm clothes and then headed off to pick up the boy from the arts area where he had been playing while daddy did wood working

It should be noted that mel didn't feel really well. He had been sick earlier in the week with a cold and then worked hard Wed/Thursday doing setup and then didn't eat enough those days and then drank a fair bit on Thursday night and he was sick in the morning. Poor guy. Once he got food he was way better but this is further proof that I need to make sure that he eats enough...he's been really bad about that lately. Luckily by the time I was off the field he was doing really well. Mr. Benton was happy to see me and we had a nice time in camp making sure he was happy and that everyone got lunches etc. Though little boy needed a nap and I finally had to walk around the site to make him crash out just about dinner time.

The one thing I have to say is that since I was breastfeeding I really couldn't drink..I could have a bit but not get the nummy buzz I had been looking forward to. That sucked. I wasn't looking to get tanked just a nice warm buzzy and well, that makes it two southerns in a row of suck in that respect. All in all it was a fair event. I did spend way too much time in camp and while its a very nice camp I really didn't get to see people or even really look through merchants or take classes. I need to work on that.

Sunday dawned grey and we knew we were going to get rain. Mr. Benton had been up since 530am and was cranky. We finally got him down for a nap so we could pack and just as we were really getting things going the rain started. I got the tent packed up thanks to Avis and Reinhardt watching Ben and then I got us home in good measure. I was tired and the boy slept the entire way home on very very rainy roads. I let the boy loose so he could caper about the living room. Being a camp site I only let him crawl in the pack n play so he wanted to stretch his legs. It was cold and rainy at home and I started making pots of Teavana tea. When mel got home hours later he was very happy to have tea. We got everything unloaded (minus some blankets in teh car) and then showers. Benton napped while I was in the shower after his afternoon feeding. I fell asleep with him and the cat asleep on my lap. LOL. We had a nice dinner with Ed and Candace and a very nice dessert at Somethhing Sweet with Mingo before it was time for Benton to go to bed. We were in bed at 9pm and it was blissful to sleep in our own beds. Mr. Benton woke up when he lost his binky at 4am and we couldn't find it. I had to dig in the camp stuff for a spare but then we were all back out again.

Mel went to work yesterday and I slept in a bit. I got up with just enough time to make myself coffee before benton was up for food. He ate really, really well and then was back out for the count at 715am. I got to enjoy a few hours to just myself before I got dressed, took the boy to daycare and then started in on the house. I did all of my war laundry and all of Benton's. I handwashed all of the wools. I picked up the frontroom and vacuumed it. I cleaned the bathrooms and in general made the house better. I got dinner made and a apple cobble made since I had apples that needed to be used. I did find out that honeycrisps are not juicy apples so I should have gotten the butter content up a bit on my crisp but it was still tasty and there was only one serving left after scribble last night. Scribes like cobbler. By the time I got home with Benton before scrible I was tired and I didn't even have the energy to pull out my knitting but I felt really good for getting lots of things done and that makes the rest of the week getting ready for our SD trip better since I won't be worrying about the house so much. I still have laundry to put away and my modern stuff to wash but its all good. Now I also have time to contemplate all of the holiday knitting/crochet I need to do.

Well, I have to say being 5 weeks from my due date at the war was awesome and not so awesome. I had lots of folks checking on me, lots of help with anything I needed, lots of squires being overly helpful compared to their normal helpfulness (this is good, they all are usually awesome but were extra specially so), the EMT's checked in with Ivan on the field to see how I was doing, I got rides when I was tired and escorts where ever I went. The not so awesome parts were having issues with my hip. I had it go out and then the muscles seized. After a bad nights sleep and getting it to shift I spent the day not too happy but managed to have Bill put the muscles back in place really nicely. I have to say all of the work I've been doing for the upcoming birth on my breathing really helped with the pain of bodywork. I used a few different techniques and that was good. I was proud of myself. Our household did awesome. Mariah got a commendation from an out of kingdom baron for her fighting of their champion, Thomas went a long way in the Outlands prize and the cancer tourney, my classes went really, really well. I had so many "lightbulb" moments for people that is was very happy for me. I even taught in the midst of the sandstorm and my An Tir students were awesome.

I braved out the weather in the bar with my students while the boys in camp got things handled. We didn't loose anything but took 3 tents down for precautions. Got back to camp for lunch and didn't teach my second class to the one student who is from Atenveldt and I can talk to later. We all camped out in Kolo's tent while Joany made me sit and eat and made everyone else lunch. Bless her. We made some decisions and I realized that my best plan was to go home. Rain was coming and knowing me I would not have been of any help in anything or tried to do things. Witnessed the knightings and took some pictures and then got changed, packed up the car with everything mel didn't need and headed home. I had to stop about halfway since I needed a snack, potty break and was falling asleep while driving. The day was more stressful than I thought. Got home, unloaded and showered. The girls were very happy to have me home but had yakked up cat food all over the house. Yuck. I went out to dinner with Uther, Candace, Harmony and Ceevee. It was nice but I was so tired. I came home, made some phone calls and then was in bed by 10. I slept okay but I was up and to the bathroom a lot. I'm glad that I was not camping. I wouldn't have made it to the bathroom in time. I woke up to text messages twice and then headed off to breakfast. I thought I was feeling better but most of today I've been icky and sleeping. I did manage to get my laundry all done. The girls have been snuggly and well...I think all in all I'm glad to be home. I missed court but I guess Mel won the Toys category.

So everyone will be home soon. I'm not gonna be much help when mel gets here..I hope he is okay with that. I'm feeling pretty icky.

But it was good. I'm so glad that my household is made of win and awesome. I just wish I had been of more help...but man am I feeling delicate.

I also wish that I had more time with Bertana...I got about 10 mins total the entire event. Lame.

Our trip up was good minus the normal stoopid traffic in phx and cars on fire that seems to happen only in AZ. We were very tired when we got in and my ass literally fell asleep while driving. Ack. Mel laughed and I was not amused (grin). Got checked into our nice hotel and then we walked to the Denny's for dinner. It was full of a tour bus of french tourists. Mel had a huge burger and I had salad (was stuffed from my lunch with desert_moloch). Then it was back to the hotel and we watched a bit of tv while I had coffee and mel had a beer or 2. I slept great but could have used much more sleep. I was still pretty congested...especially after getting up to flagstaff. Got our nummy hot breakfast at the hotel and then changed into our finery. Got some looks when we filled up our thermos and then we headed to site.

We got there and things were still being set up but that was okay cause it got us a chance to get a good spot on the erik and be ready to go before opening court. Lots of good awards went out including a Light to msgolda and the offer of knighthood to zippydclown. After court cowboy_r showed up and we got to spend some time during the day together. Woot! yay!!! (*insert happy hamster dance*)!!

Then it was time for the processional. It was hot in the sun but we waited in the shade until the herald started calling. Zippy carried the baronial banner and Ivan's shield and public_shaylan carried our personal banners. We headed up and chatted with Phelan and Amriah and then Deaton said something that broke me completely (he is a DOM!). Since we were at the head of the line it was easy to then hang out with folks and get pictures (I'll upload this evening). Brian got his suprise Knighthood and I gots more cool shots. Mel fought very well and got into the quarter finals. I was nervous throughout...first time we've taken it very seriously and I wasn't sure how his elbow was going to handle things. But it did good and so did he. Was most happy to see another Ysgie King! Go Walrick!

Got back to the hotel after the event and showered and then went out to dinner to the Beaver Street Brewery with Raylee and Craven. Had a very nice time out. Good food, good beer and good conversation. Got back to the hotel and I was asleep pretty quickly. Mel sat up watching tv. We both woke up about 2am with our brains going of all of the things that have now changed. Mel was thinking of shoes, I was thinking of scrolls and the like and patterns of clothes dancing in my heads. Got back to sleep about 330am and slept well. I awoke at 7am and checked email. We got up about 8 and got breakfast and then checked out. TRH and us arrived about the same time and we mingled for a while before court. Court was short and sweet and the tourneys got going pretty quickly. The land meeting was quick too and will make things very nice for our heirs. Then HE Theresa and I sat and watched the tourneys and chatted. Very nice indeed.

Then it was a quick court and packing up and then hilarity with the uses of Mina's tent and then there was a can-can line of doom with Nikki and Renee and I. Snerk. Lots of fun. We made the drive in 3.5 hours and then went out to dinner with american_knight and duchess_asa. Had a really good time and then it was home. I would have loved to have stayed up and watched the House marathon.

Now I'm at work and have been having an interesting time...got a big bonus, had to rehash an analysis cause someone wasn't paying attention months ago (not me) and sat in a meeting where most of us are too busy to take the reins on a project. Sighs. Need to make some phone calls and get things set up for mel to see the doc too. So, here we go, better late than never.