My brain hurts

I'm not sure if it's possible, but I think going back to work has given me a brain ache. I came home yesterday from my first day back at the middle school with a flippin' migraine. Mind you, I had a relatively stress-free day, had the office to myself and basically spend the day sorting through emails and piles of paper just to get things organized. I was wrecked when I got home! I had a probably more stressful day today, in that I got more of an idea of what I was to be doing and actually had tasks to complete, etc... yet today I don't have a headache. I'm tired, but no headache. So I really attribute yesterday's ill-feelings to the thinking equivalent of "brain freeze." After four months of chilling, knitting, tutoring, and doing household projects, going back into the role of School Psychology threw my poor brain for a loop.

I got my books in the mail yesterday, though, so I had that to come home to. After I took some pills and a nap, I flipped through those suckers. I really liked looking at the animal knits book, and I have some projects I'd like to try out... but I think the Ann Budd books are going to be extremely handy. They're pattern books that provide the patterns for VERY BASIC projects, with the information on how to add/change details to your personal taste. But more importantly, the patterns are given in chart form in which you choose your yarn gauge that you are working with and the size of the object (i.e. gloves for a child's size, or a hat with a certain circumference), and you simply follow along with the pattern, inserting the numbers from a chart as you go. This allows you to not only knit with whatever yarn and needles you want, but it gives you a great blank canvas on which you can add your own designs (like intarsia, or stitch patterns). The one is all different project (hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, and a basic sweater) and the other book is all sweaters. I can't wait to try out a pattern...

However, I am still working on the turquoise raglan. Getting there! I have about 2 inches left of the torso before I end with 2 inches of 2x2 ribbing. Then all I have left are the sleeves. I tried it on yesterday and it seems to be the correct shape and all of that. So that's a good sign! Though, as my knitting time has been drastically reduced, it probably will not get done by Mother's Day as I'd thought it might. Thankfully I wasn't counting on it as a Mother's Day gift!!