Ebay feedback question?

I emailed the ebay seller about the yarn I was looking for. She said she had it and would send it to me with a price plus shipping. I decided to buy one of her auctions, to spread the shipping cost as 1 ball of yarn didn’t seem worth the shipping. Ends up, like I said in the previous post, that she sent the wrong yarn that I needed. However, I do like the yarn I got from the auction that I bid on. I am going to keep both yarns that I bought, but I do kind of feel tricked.

You see, she told me that her supplier told her the ocean was tidepool, colorway. However, I also provided her with the color #. In addition, I emailed her through the original auction that I had bought the tidepool, so she could see in that picture they weren’t the same. I think she told me she had it, then looked and didn’t have it. She waited over a week to ship it, then shipped the wrong one, knowing I wouldn’t send it back. Who sends back 1 ball of yarn? In addition, since I didn’t buy it through an auction, I can’t really give her negative feedback for it, you know? Not that I think that I would, but it is all weird.

Of course, even though I paid her right when the auction ended she has sat on my feedback, which pisses me off because I did my part. I paid her. She should give me positive feedback.

I want to give her positive feedback and state that I love the cotton twist (which I do!) However, also mention that I got the wrong iceland. Is that bad? I know I should drop it…just tell me to drop it.

By the way…How many credit card applications do you get per week? Tony and I have been getting almost 2 per day, for each of us. It drives me bonkers…plus, I have noticed the envelope keeps getting bigger and bigger, like they think we didn’t see it the first 50 times they sent us them in just 2006.

I think I did good on my test. The scantron part was fast and easy. The written part was more difficult as I had to draw info from the black hole (aka my brain.) Also, I guess we needed to hand in review questions and of course (like the bad 6th grader I felt like) I didn’t have them. Honestly, I had no idea they were due as he scribbled that on the lab board last Thursday and with all of the other junk he had up there, I read it like labs due and didn’t see it was reviews. He said I can hand it in on Thursday (with a 2 point deduction…oh well.)

Also, he mentioned on my last quiz that I was missing a quiz. I talked to him about it and said to him, “don’t you remember when you made an example of me in front of the whole class?” He couldn’t believe he did that…apologized, and then told me luckily I can drop a quiz. Yes, he mentioned that already….sigh. I swear I will get through this like a good student. I just have to be schooled on remedial crap. Wait until I get my test back and get one of the only A’s in class (yeah, so what if I am a little cocky.) I think the teacher will look at me differently and realize some people don’t need to turn in remedial homework to do well on the test. In fact, everyone used a study sheet….guess what, I didn’t. Stupid, maybe but I didn’t feel I needed one. School and learning is for me and either I know it or I don’t. I was the second person to turn in my test, I guess because I wan’t reading through a study sheet.

Yarn…problem

I thought my Yarn problem of not having enough Crystal Palace Iceland – color tidepool (7247) was solved. It took almost 2 weeks for the ebay seller to send the yarn and it isn’t the right one. She sent me color ocean, 7258, which is gorgeous but isn’t what I needed. I just found out from the ebay seller that the yarn rep told her the 7258 was tidepool, but it isn’t. She said if I send the yarn back she will refund my money. Ugh. It isn’t worth sending the yarn back as you all know I can find use for it. I just need 1 ball of tidepool and now as far as I know, it doesn’t exist anymore. Blah!

I also bought 10 skeins of cotton twist, isn’t it shiny and gorgeous? (sorry for the lighting…it is raining outside and I just snapped a quick pic.) It is 30% rayon and 70% cotton. I want to make the Angelica Sweater which is suppose to be made with 100% silk.

Do you think I can substitute with this yarn? There isn’t any stretch to it, does 100% silk have stretch? I hope the ebay seller just made a mistake and has the yarn I need. Otherwise Sierra’s sweater might stay unfinished or I will have to rip it and make it a Madeleine sweater and I just don’t have the time anymore for that, darn school.

On my last post, thank you for all the kind comments. I have finally stopped crying about it all and am trying to relax a bit. I actually know where Tony is coming from, but wish he wouldn’t go that direction. You see…without getting all in mental about things…people do mimic how their parents are. I do not want my relationship to mirror how Tony’s parents are….yet, that is what he is doing, unknowingly or not. I do think Tony needs counseling, but I also think that is something he needs to go do on his own, not have me make him do it.

Do you ever feel sometimes like, “how dare you talk about things like that…in public/online…” Well, maybe by me talking outloud about this stuff it will help me continue to be okay with myself and maybe help others who are having similar problems be able to talk about it or atleast realize others are going through it.

Design trials – aka Valentine dream top

I have to admit this isn’t what my “dream project” was suppose to be, it kind of morphed into this as I was working on it. The original was a tank top, but I decided would be too cold for this time of year. This was originally 2 inches wider, but I ripped it all out and took it in as I thought I would be too wide…boy was I wrong. I think I would have been right the first time. The top on Sierra is too small, but the arms are the right length. I am very happy with how I got the arms to fit on the top and I think I will use this method for other tops that I design in crochet as it seems to work for me.

I tried the top on Madeleine and it fits perfect around, but the arms are too long. The arms are worked from the bottom up, so I would have to take the arms off and then rip them, which would be a little bit of work, but not impossible to do. The heart motif kind of lost its shape on the top after I sewed it down.

As much as this seems like a flop, it actually is a success as I got the arms on and I like how they look and I got the basic design down. Really, I would have to make several versions again if I wanted to make this into a pattern. (I am not a one shot gal like some of you guys!)

Anyone have a skinny daughter with long arms?

Will it work?

Here is the sleave seam for a crocheted top that I am designing. I am still trying to get the idea of creating something with sleaves. Do you think this will work and these will fit together like this? I am thinking so… I guess you will have to wait and see, probably tomorrow.

Oh, and Kelly, my crochetville “handle” is earthwhisper.

Science Lesson

Everyone (well most of us anways) knows the air we breath is oxygen and the air we exhale is carbon dioxide (or CO2,) right?

One would assume that the Oxygen we breath in is converted to the Carbon dioxide we exhale, however that assumption would be wrong.

Did you know that your food you eat is broken down to its basic elements and the Carbon from your food is what you exhale?

So you may be asking (or you may not) what do we do with the Oxygen we breath in? Well, as your body is making energy for the cells from the food you eat and it is going through different reactions it has these hydrogens that have no where to go. The Oxygen you breath in bonds with the hydrogens and you get…..yep, Water!

It is Thursday night, and I have a little bit of homework to do and then I will be getting back to my yarn.

Woot!

Deneen sent me The Crochet Stitch Bible. I am so thrilled. Did you know that I did not own a crochet book? I can’t stop looking at it and I am trying to study…oh, one of the hardest chapters of the Microbiology book…here are 3 words to make you stop wanting to read my blog tonight…

Kreb Cycle
Fermentation
Glycolysis

Need I say more? Thanks Deneen…(ps…I sent you a little something in return.)

I have also been tagged by two people. Did you know I have never been tagged before? I will do it by Friday.

Microbiology in terms of Yarn

First, I made it to class early, got the seat I wanted, and aced my quiz…woot!

Secondly, I think it is funny as we were talking about DNA, how I was in my mind relating it to yarn…

teacher: DNA has double stranded DNA that form a ring.
in my head: hmmm, that looks like crocheting with 2 strands of yarn in the round.

teacher: humans have double stranded DNA in a double helix
in my head: yes, I see…2 strands of yarn, almost done in double crochet, but it twists and is definately done flat, doesn’t connect…

I also wondered if it was bad ettiquette to pull out yarn in class. I didn’t, but I had it readily available and periodically I kept thinking about it.

The funniest thing though is my teacher ran to the back of the lecture room mumbling to himself and then changed into a wig, glasses/nose, and a lab coat and changed his voice. He looked like Mr. Nudo, yes I know that actor passes away a few years ago.

Since I have been studying and being a parent and well, doing all the other millions of things that I do, I don’t have any progress pics. Sorry.

ps….I mailed out a bunch of packages today. I mailed out some RAOK’s. I mailed out the wool for my Winter wool partner at Crochetville. I mailed out my blog contest gifts.

Yarn Found

I drove and called all over my area (as well as other areas near relatives) and nobody had the yarn I was looking for. I did google searches and posted on bulletin boards and finally, emailed the ebayer that sold me the yarn. I came to this realization this color must be discontinued as nobody had it stocked. Then, the ebayer emailed me and told me she had more of this yarn…Yay!! Of course, I only need 1 ball and I knew I would be paying a lot with shipping and all, so of course bought some more yarn from her, to make the shipping cost not so bad. I bought Berroco Cotton Twist. I am way over my yarn budget this month. However, I have some thing I need to list on ebay…cloth diapers, photography paper, video cable, cell phone cameras…

Yesterday, I got this Thick envelope in the mail from the….du..du…du…dum….IRS. (WTF!!!) I ripped open the envelope and started skimming and noticed the IRS was telling us they think we owe them $4,000 from 2004 taxes. Tony keeps pulling the paper out of my hands. I finally grab everything, run in the house and tell him I need 30 minutes of silence to figure out what in the world is going on.

I finally get to the part where they think we have made $21,000 more in 2004 than what we reported. (Um…hello? If we made $20K more, don’t you think I would have noticed that?)

Theory #1 in my head was that this was Tony’s dad’s income as they have the same name and we have had some credit problems because of this. I call up the IRS and get all the info on how to appeal this, etc. However, decide it would be better to actually talk to a person to find out where they got that number. I do get a real person, without really waiting that long (about 5 minutes) and find this out:

In October/November the IRS starts building cases against people. I guess they look over everyone’s tax returns and check to see if you did them right. In December, Tony’s empoyer sent the 2004 W-2 and another W-2 (we are suspecting from the previous year) and it looked like we had made twice as much money. Then, Tony’s employer sent in a corrected W-2 for 2004.

So, the IRS did have the corrected W-2 and they are closing the case and everything is okay, we do NOT owe $4,000. I did get his name and ID # and if I don’t get a letter in about 6 weeks I am going to be calling again.

You would think Tony’s work would warn us…”hey, by the way, we screwed up on your W-2′s so expect a big thick envelope from the IRS….” Talk about HEART FAILURE! We are much more relaxed now, but I will admit Tony and I both had a moment of panic.

Everyone is feeling better, finally. Madeleine ended up having an ear infection, but you can’t really tell.

I got an 84% on my Quiz in my Microbiology class. It was on Chemistry. That isn’t bad, but I could have done better. Two of the problems said to choose 2 and I only chose 1 because I didn’t spend enough time reading the question, I didn’t read choose 2. There were also a few of the questions I overthought. I hate that! This quiz is actually a small percentage of my grade. I want A’s. I have a quiz tomorrow on vocabulary words. I will be studying that tonight.

I need to make myself some wrist/fingerless mitts as my hands/wrists have been getting cold at school. I have the yarn to finish my “dream” idea, might work with that tonight (between studying.)

I am considering taking a Yoga for Back Care Class. It costs $69 and is one day a week for 10 weeks. I think it will be worth it, though… (We won’t talk about my gym membership I have had for 6 months and only gone twice. )

I did try and cook a healthy dinner tonight. Chicken, grilled in a pan w/ a small bit of bbq sauce, broccoli mix, and brown rice. Thanks for all of your comments on my food rant. I actually don’t cook with box mixes, but I know a lot of people who do. I have been aware of transfatty acids for a long time and also the dangers of eating too much high fructose corn syrup.

btw – has anyone else tried those Aussie Bites, that you can buy at Costco? They are made with oatmeal, honey, sunflower seeds, and other natural stuff. Yum!

Friday will be a big mailing day for me. I need to mail out my Wool package. I am also going to be mailing out my blog contest prizes and I am putting together some “just because” packages…I also am going to be mailing out a lot of thank you cards!

Almost

Remember this yarn? It is Crystal Palace – Iceland in colorway Tidepool. The yarn practically melts on my needles. It is really soft and the lanolin has made my hands very soft. I am making it for Sierra, but she hates the colors and says she won’t wear it. I am going to finish it anyways, because it is a really fast pattern (started it on Friday.) I am hoping once it is finished and she tries it on she will change her mind. It is bulky weight yarn and the pattern is out of the Rebecca Baby + Kids #8 magazine, It is kind of hard to tell because the wool is springy, but it is a K2P2 Ribbing. I ordered this yarn off of ebay and have not been able to find this color anywhere else….sigh.

***edited to add…help, I ran out of yarn…***

Do No Harm

Since I am sick today (figured out, we all have the flu…the real flu, not the stomach flu…)…anyways, my mind started thinking randomly about some things, one of them being the food industry and the responsibility it has to bring healthy food to its consumers.

50 years ago…I am just going back that far because it seems that it was around that time boxed foods and the food industry just started developing. Before that time you pretty much bought whole products, like meat, fruits, veggies, flour (yes I know it is processed) and made your own foods. My grandmother, 80 years ago did not go to the store and pick up a tv dinner. Americans were thinner and people of those time lived to be in their 90′s (or atleast in my family.)

Today, there is fast food at every corner of town and there are store shelves lined with foods to make our lives easier. Easier, meaning we aren’t spending the whole day cooking for are families so they can have nutritious meals. We need fast, like 20 to 30 minute meals. Sometimes we can do 60 minute meals, if we don’t have to stand in the kitchen that long. The food industry has pretty much accomodated us accordingly and I swear to them, quicker is better, regardless what is in it.

The generations of knowing how to cook and what is healthy to eat are getting older and the younger generations are walking into stores expecting to pick up a box of something with a side of chicken and expect it is healthy for you. You take it home, cook it for your family and then realize one day the stuff you have been cooking over and over is terrible for you. It is high in sodium, it is overly processed and has bad things in it that mix in your body to make really bad fats. We as consumers are getting fatter and I don’t see much move in the food industry to be responsible in creating healthy balanced (and fast) meals.

Now, I am not saying that I am not responsible for cooking healthy for my family. I am just saying that everwhere you look it is bad, bad, bad. Let’s just say there are 25 restaurants that surround my house (within 5 miles.) If I walked into any of those restaurants, how healthy will I be eating? Even the step above fast food restaurants are pretty unhealthy, I am talking about Red Robins, Chilli’s, or Applebees…,granted Applebees does have some weight watcher items on the menu it still isn’t uber-healthy. Just because it says weight watchers doesn’t mean it is healthy for you. Oreos are on the weight watchers diet, did you know that? Weight watchers is portion control. However, Oreos cannot be good for you. They are super processed with junk that did not exist in our diets over 60 years ago.

Who is going to be the person that gets rich off of providing healthy (not diet fad) food? Who will be the first Healthy Fast food alternative? I am talking drive thru and EVERYTHING on the menu is healthy, good for you, and is a balanced meal. I would definately drive thru…even if it tasted like card board (which is funny because rarely does real food taste like cardboard…it is the real stuff.)

There are so many times I am rushing the kids around and think to myself, I wish McDonalds wasn’t so unhealthy. Yes, I do swap the french fries for the apples in the kids meals. Still, the nuggets are so bad, ever seen SupersizeMe?

There are some nights my mom will call and ask me what I cooked the kids for dinner. These are nights we ate whole grain crackers, cheese, apples, and carrots. What? It is balanced. So, it isn’t your average dinner. What is an average dinner? Honestly, what do you do when you are rushing around town and are looking for something healthy for dinner. When you run home to cook a quick meal, what is it?

On Friday I go into my new doctor to discuss my health. The first topic we will discuss will be my weight. I already know my downfall and that is not knowing enough healthy well balanced meals to cook that are easy and cheap and also not eating enough food earlier in the day and then by the evening I am starving and eat too much bad food. It is this time that a hamburger is okay in my book because I starved all day….not so good. It is at this time I will give him my, “I am trying look”…and then ask him for suggestions at which time he will tell me:

Eat less carbs, more protein and ______this many calories. On paper it seems so easy. I guess I will have to use my sarcasm (defense mechanism) and tell my new doctor that I have strategically readied my body for famine…

It is my responsibility to take care of my body and to eat healthy and to provide healthy food for my family. However, think about this….it is the resposibility of medicine to pretty much Do No Harm. Is it really asking that much to have the food industry take on that same responsibility? After all, it is the food industry that is nourishing our nation.