Knitting update

I was checking the pattern online to see if there were any corrections for the pattern. Sometimes with printed patterns there are mistakes. The pattern corrections are then posted on the internet site for the company that made it. Well I was reading that the arms were suppose to be 21 inches long for the small and 17 inches long for the medium and large. Seems wrong to me. So I checked the pattern online for corrections. UGH. They didn't post a correction for sleeve length but they did for increasing the width of the front panels. Here is the correction.

LEFT FRONT
With larger needles and 2 strands of yarn held tog, cast on 30 (34, 38) sts. Work in k1, p1 Rib for 7 in. (18 cm), end with a WS row.
Next Row: Knit 25 (29, 33) sts, sl last 5 sts to a holder. Continue in St st, inc 1 st at each side edge on next row then on every 10th row for a total of 30 (34, 38) sts.

If you take the word "side" out of the pattern and leave "each", like my printed pattern said, you are actually doubling the number of stitches that you increase. This is going to make the sweater very wide on the top. I am hoping I can make some adjustment when I seam it all together.

I just would hate that this sweater will be unwearable unless I take apart the two front panels and do them over again. I am just going to persevere and hope and pray that it turns out right and I don't run out of yarn.

Knitting at a fever pitch

OK, so I started a sweater for my mother in law over a year ago. It was suppose to be a Christmas gift for last year, I think. Or maybe it was a birthday present. Either way it didn't get done.

Now I do have my excuses but none that exonerate me for a year of knitting with no finished product.

Connor has twice taken the knitting off the needles and unraveled it. Twice I actually lost a needle. And a few times I just couldn't figure out the pattern and got long periods of knitters block. This usually was corrected when I got some knitting advice from my mother, who is a pro.

Now I am on the last leg of the pattern. Sleeves! I took the kids to the park this morning and brought along my knitting. Aaahhhhh missing needle. So I wasted two good hours of knitting time. I just found the missing needle on Doc's bedside table. So its time to pick up the knitting again.

My deadline is Thursday morning. I have to finish both sleeves, knit the button hole band on the right front, sew all the seams... back, two sides and two sleeves, knit the collar and place the 9 buttons. You can see the sweater coat pattern here. Its a pretty big project but I am almost done.

Next will be a sweater for Avery done is pink. Oh my eyes will be so excited after knitting oatmeal for the last year.

The house is quiet... its Christmas Eve Day.

Doc just left, taking the kids out to lunch while I continue moving furniture that does not need to be moved, dusting things that haven't been dusted ever, (I am trying to not look up and see the dust on my ceiling fans), reallocating the decoratives and putting off pulling out the vacuum.

I hate cleaning in the South! Why, because no matter the temperature outside I can not help but drip with sweat which makes me very annoyed and irritable.

So its quiet in the house. The bathroom still needs cleaning and the vacuum is calling to me but I am instead sitting here at the computer with the fan blowing on me. Sweet bliss is this.

This year is the first time we will be having guest to our house for Christmas. I am excited and a bit nervous. My anxiety rose when the numbers kept rising. All the in-laws and one of Edward's co-workers are to sit at our table for Christmas dinner. I ran out first thing this morning and bought another turkey breast... just in case. And thank goodness I found my Ativan. My dentist prescribed it for my root canals. It is an anti-anxiety medication. If it doesn't put me right to sleep it should take the edge off and maybe even decrease the amount of sweating too.

As I was helping Avery straighten her room this morning I took it upon myself to reach under her dresser. And what to my wondering eye should appear but Cullen's Game Boy lost for almost half a year. My blood pressure rose clear out of sight as I realized his main Christmas gift was a replacement hidden under the tree. And Cullen said "Now what will Santa bring? He can not bring this too me!" Aaaahhhhhh! But I digress.

Besides the two turkey breasts, I am making asparagus with lemon sauce, squash and dressing casserole, a spinach salad with cranraisens, walnuts and feta cheese and a hot bread with butter. The dessert and appetizers are to be supplied by my two mother-in-laws.

So while I sit here cooling off, I feel like everything is under control. 26 hours before anyone arrives. I may be deluding myself though. Or the quiet has permeated my head and left me with a sense of peace that will soon dissolve with the opening of the front door.

Plan B: Ativan.

Happy Holidays!
May your Christmas be filled with the peace and love of a little baby born in a manger.

Mugged and Mad!

I just got back from paying a traffic ticket. It has been on my mind for weeks. I have tried to pay it on line. But the mechanism to do so has been disabled so I had to go down town to the Police Department and pay it there. No way did I want to go to court. I finally went today, just three days before my court date. I was figuring $80-$100s for a fine. And whenever I thought of the amount I inwardly cringed. But I am cringing no longer. I am furious. I just paid $160 for not stopping completely at a stop sign. After my shock at the counter, I paid the fine and left. I then looked at my receipt a few minutes later in the car and read that I had actually paid a "traffic fine" of $45 and an "Assessment fine" of $115. Excuse me? What?! I have tried to call the city courthouse to ask just what is an "assessment fee" but they are not answering. So what to do next. Well I wrote a letter to the Chief of Police. My only regret at this point was not CCing the Mayor. (Never mind I just recent the letter with carbon copy to deputy police chief and the mayor.) I wonder if I have caused any upset at City Hall?

Dear Sir,

I am writing after being shocked at the fine I just paid for "running a stop sign". $160 which included a fine of $45 and an assessment fee of $115. I am appalled.

First of all, I paid the fine because I trusted that the officer was right and I did not come to a complete stop. However, I did not "run a stop sign" as was stated on my ticket. But I am sure I did not follow the law to the letter. Having the police officer stop me has increased my awareness at every stop sign and for that I am grateful. But now I am just mad. I have always taken great comfort in the number of police officers that Ocean Springs has on duty. I see them everywhere. Lately, however, I mostly see them pulling people over. People are talking about the amount of tickets being given out. Putting two and two together I wonder how much money is being made on the nit picking of police officers in this town.

As I tried to do some research on traffic tickets in this town I could find almost no information on how the amount for fines are determined and what an assessment fee is as well. I would like to see a list of these fine and administrative fees that make up the charges drivers are getting charged for each particular offense. I think it should be posted of the web site for public knowledge. I would also like to know how the revenue from traffic tickets of last year compares to this year. Can I find that on the city's annual report? Are officers and court personnel paid through the revenue that traffic fines bring in? And if so if this not a conflict of interest.

I hope you might be able to answer some of these questions for me.

Thank you for your time.

Stephanie Lanza Harvey

Loving her doesn't seem to be enough

Avery's behavior chart from school is horrendous. Over the last week she has gotten 2 yellow and then 3 red marks on her behavior chart.

At her school a green is a warning to stop behavior. The next warning the child gets in a yellow. They have to move their car out of the garage and put a yellow marker on it for the rest of the day. They lose half of their recess and treasure box at the end of the day. A red is "three strikes and your out" mark. They lose all of recess and the end of the week treasure box. Their car is marked red. Avery's car is predominantly the only car outside the garage and the kids are giving her a hard time about it.

In the last 5 days I have gotten notes home from the teacher saying Avery is misbehaving in cafeteria, during rest periods, on the playground and during instruction time. She has even been holding up her middle finger to people. I have no idea where she got this but I suspect the bus.

Avery's behavior at home has not changed. But there are issues we have been tackling for a very long time. They include attention seeking and continually doing things even after she has been told no. For me she is very high maintenance. I love her to death but I work very hard to set limits with her and it is exhausting. And the only result I get is anger, frustration and a daughter who says "I don't like being your daughter".

Let me give you some examples of her behavior. Avery walks into the room where her Daddy and I are talking.

"Daddy?"
"Avery me and Daddy are talking. Please wait."
"Daddy? Daddy?
"Avery what did I just say to you? Daddy and I are talking here."
"Daddy? Daddy?"
"Avery, listen to Mommy. Let us finish our conversation."
"But Daddy..."
"No Avery, wait!"
"But Mommy, daddy..."
"Avery! Stop it! Leave the room until we are done."
Blank stare
"Avery do as I ask. Leave the room."
"I don't want too."
"Avery I am going to count to three. If you are not gone you will go to time out."
Looks at me
"One"
Still looking
"Two."
No movement
"Three. Please go to time out."
"No mommy! No!"
"Go to time out NOW!"
She puts up more resistance but eventually
she leaves the room, fake crying.
Then she calls from the time out chair which is across the house about when she can get up.
She will not stop until she is answered.
And on it goes.

Now this is just 3 minutes out of my day and we play this scenario over and over.

I have tried taking the hard line. I have tried being soft and compassionate. Neither changes the behavior. If she is not the center of attention she will make herself the center of attention. Sometimes its through positive behavior but mostly its through negative behavior because really noone can give Avery ALL the attention she craves. If there is one person in the mall that is NOT looking at her she will do whatever it takes to get that persons attention. She will dance, or say something in a loud voice to get that persons attention. Whatever it takes.

When she was younger she would have to one up her brother on any experience her had. She would make up a story like "Mommy, when I was 4, I picked apples in the field too and I picked 20 of them." Because Cullen had gone on a field trip and had this experience she needed to get the same attention he was getting. For along time she would tell stories about how she and Uncle Wally did things together. "Well, when I was Uncle Wally's daughter..." I guess she figured since she wasn't my daughter, but Uncle Wally's, that I could not confirm or deny she made up stories.

I took Connor to the pediatrician and Avery hung, literally all over Dr Fain. hugging him and kissing his arm while he tried to talk to me about Connor's treatment.

I spoke with her teacher this morning about what is happening at school. She was thinking something was happening at home. Well, really nothing has changed at home. Just the same old battles fought daily. She says that when Avery wants to say something is school she can not be put off even if it is an appropriate time. She will be asked to wait to speak but she just kept saying... "Ms. Sharp! Ms. Sharp" over and over til she got a warning.

Ms Sharp behavioral problems usually get sent to the cafeteria where they have one on one teacher interaction and are kept busy with lots of work. But Ms Sharp does not want to do that. If Avery has a red already and the day is not over she is being sent to time out in the classroom.
She says Avery is behaving in timeout.

We talked about whether she is just too young for kindergarten still or whether its Christmas time, or whether its something behavioral that she might need to be tested for. The decision was made that we would wait til the Holidays were over and see if anything changes. Ms Sharp also said that she would try and come up with another system that might motivate her to better behavior.

I am really at a loss. I have been struggling with how to interact with her in ways that counter some of this behavior. But so far I have found nothing that really works. Loving her does not seem to be enough. I spend my time googling topics like attention seeking, mother-daughter relationships, ADD. But there is not a book that explains Avery.

She has wonderful energy. I get such joy just looking at her. She is smart as a whip. She is very creative and artistic. She is determined and strong willed. All things that will do her good as she grows. Yet she can raise my blood pressure in an instant.

Stephanie is getting old.

For the last few months I have been struggling with some health issues. The headaches and nausea that went on for days on end were the worst. Multiple chiropractic visits did nothing to alleviate the pain when usually this is all it would take. My energy was almost non existent and I was sleeping a lot. The house is in a shambles and my mood was depressed. After trying to get into the doctor, any doctor, for weeks. I finally saw my GYN.

Blood Pressure

At the time of my appointment my blood pressure was 189/110. Yowsa! Heart attack, here I come! The doctor put me on a diuretic which she doubles a couple weeks later to better manage the blood pressure. Diuretics lower blood pressure by causing the body to rid itself of excess fluids and sodium through urination. If the desired effects aren't achieved with diuretics alone, in combination they may enhance the effect of other blood pressure medications.

Many people have high blood pressure and do not even know it until their major organs start feeling the effects, i.e. heart. This is why high blood pressure is called the silent killer. Symptoms include:

headache
dizziness
blurred vision
nausea
water retention

If you want to know where your blood pressure lies on in relationship to the AHA's grid here is some information for you.

American Heart Association recommended blood pressure levels

Blood Pressure Category	Systolic (mm Hg)		Diastolic (mm Hg)
Normal	less than 120	and	less than 80
Prehypertension	120–139	or	80–89
High
Stage 1	140–159	or	90–99
Stage 2	160 or higher	or	100 or higher

I returned to my doctor for a follow up 2 weeks ago and received the results of my blood tests.

Thyroid

It seems my thyroid is not being managed with the synthroid I am taking. My T4 was only .41 and they like to see it at 1.50. I have an underactive thyroid which was diagnosed after 2 miscarriages in 2002.

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone. Since the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to "run the body's metabolism", it is understandable that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism. In my case, the cause is inflammation of the thyroid gland which leaves a large percentage of the cells of the thyroid damaged (or dead) and incapable of producing sufficient hormone. The most common cause of thyroid gland failure is called autoimmune thyroiditis or Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

The function of the thyroid gland is to take iodine, found in many foods, and convert it into thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body which can absorb iodine. These cells combine iodine and the amino acid tyrosine to make T3 and T4. T3 and T4 are then released into the blood stream and are transported throughout the body where they control metabolism (conversion of oxygen and calories to energy). Every cell in the body depends upon thyroid hormones for regulation of their metabolism. The normal thyroid gland produces about 80% T4 and about 20% T3, however, T3 possesses about four times the hormone "strength" as T4.


These are symptoms of Hypothyroidism:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
• Coarse, dry hair
• Dry, rough pale skin
• Hair loss
• Cold intolerance (can't tolerate the cold like those around you)
• Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
• Constipation
• Depression
• Irritability
• Memory loss
• Abnormal menstrual cycles
• Decreased libido
  

Carbohydrate intolerance/insulin resistance

When I told my doctor that even with the diuretic I was still getting headaches and nausea we continued to talk until she suspected that I am having issues with simple sugars. She referred to this as insulin intolerance. Here is what I found on the web to clarify what she was saying.

Carbohydrate intolerance/insulin resistance is a term used to signify that the body's cells have become resistant to the insulin produced by the pancreas due to too much stress. In a normal person, about 40% of consumed carbohydrates are converted to fat. In a person with CI, that number increases to 50-60%. The excess insulin can cause blood sugar to drop too quickly, and then the adrenal glands must kick in to get the blood sugar back up. Not only will this cause more stress on the adrenal glands, but usually too much glucose is released, further causing the pancreas to produce more insulin. Around and around it goes. Eventually, the body must produce more and insulin to metabolize the same amount of glucose. CI is caused by a number of factors; some of the more common reasons are increased stress hormones, a diet containing hydrogenated fats, a food allergy (milk is the most common as it has been shown to attack the beta cells of the pancreas - this is why children under 1 year old are advised not to consume dairy), too high of a carbohydrate intake, and caffeine. Insulin resistance can cause the following:

• Block major hormones including DHEA and the conversion of T4 to T3 ( this related to hypothyroidism.) as well as lowering growth hormones.
  
• Elevates blood pressure
  
• Elevates Triglucerides and LDL, the "BAD" cholesterol.
• Causes an increased chance to gain weight int he upper body.
  
• Cause PMS and Polycystic ovaries in women
  
• Decreases energy output, especially after eating.
  
• Gives a craving for sugar - A "sweet tooth"
• Cuases the hands to go numb and "fall asleep" at night, or induce a "pins and needles" feeling" down the hands, especially during exercise.
  
• Causes irritability

My Treatments

Weight loss - blood pressure
Exercise - all
Diuretic - blood pressure
Increase synthroid from .125 to .150 - thyroid
Limit intake of simple carbs - carbohydrate intolerance

**If a symptom pertains to me I have put it in brown.