Busy busy busy

It's been busy.  I feel like there is so much going on, my head is swimming!!! 

Life is a buzzing....

The past weekend my friend Stacy and her son, my nephew, Parker, stayed with me.  2 adults, 1 child, in a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment.  Fun times!!!!  Stacy got the bed, Parker got the couch and I, being the ever gracious hostess, slept on the air mattress in the living room.  My back is still "yelling" at me for that one!!! But it was so much fun!  We had lunch at one of the favorite local spots.  I was able to introduce to Parker the "best cheesefries" in town!  When he's a little bit older, I'll let him have one of the many international beers that the restaurant also has.  Until then, the cheesefries will have to do!

Parker is coming again this weekend to visit.  And this time he is bringing his 18 month old sister!  Yikes!!! It has been forever since I've had a toddler around here.  That ought to make for a very interesting weekend.  I think I'm ready.  Breakables are out of reach of little one's hands.  I've got "finger" foods for all the meals. I've pulled out my old dolls for her to play with.  Parker is easy.  He is fascinated with all of the books I own.  Ok, so he can't read most of them, but I have a few.  He discovered my book, "Collection of Lewis Carroll Works", this past weekend. I think if I hadn't paid attention he would have snuck it home with him!!! We are also going Halloween costume.  Tradition.  Every year, my mother and I take the kids shopping for their Halloween costumes.  We'll only have the 2 of them this year, their older sister is staying home for a birthday party but she has sent me many text messages this week to let me know what costumes she likes.

I have to say that my mind is currently full of lots of thoughts.  I've been presented with an opportunity to pursue a new career.  In the long run, it can be a great thing.  But it's the beginning that could be kind of rough.  I have some decisions to make and it is going to take some serious thought.  Please pray that I make the right decisions!

A Finish!

Woo hoo! I have a finish!  I finished the Christmas gift I was making for my friend Stacy.  It is Passione Ricamo's Welcome Fairy.  You can't really see some of the details, like the sparkly thread in the wings or the "trail" behind the butterfly.  I have to say it turned out beautiful and it is a very easy and quick stitch!

One Last Item...

I have always wanted a Raggedy Ann and Andy set.  But my mother has always said that they were too expensive and she was right.  I couldn't even bring myself to buy a set for myself.  However, I came home the other day and my mother had left me a surprise. She bought me a set!  So after 35 years, I finally have Raggedy Ann and Andy!  Sigh.  I love them! :) Yes, I am still a kid at heart!

A Stitchy Update

I promised a stitching update and here it is!  But I am going to lead with a picture of my cute baby niece.  Today was her first day at "school" and from what I was told, after this picture, it was all down hill for her!  It was her first time to be away from Momma!  But isn't she a cutie?!!!  Love her to pieces!



Ok, now on to stitching.  I'll start with the Mary Engelbright quilt, which is for my niece Cassady pictured above!  It is slow going on it.  Not because I don't want to finish it, I just find stamped cross stitch so incredibly tedious.  I have no patience for it what so ever!  But I do try to pick it up occassionally and do some work on it. 

The part that has been completed thus far.

Close up of the area I am currently working on.  I hope to finish Mother Goose in the next 2 to 3 "sittings".  But of course,  I have to pick it back up again!!!  Looking for some motivation, other than that deadline of Christmas looming over me!! 

Next, my "traveling" piece.  This HAED I typically keep in my travel bag.  But I had such great comments on it that I pulled it out over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend and worked on it.  I am stitching it 2 over 1 instead of my usual 1 over 1.  It gives it more of a "tapestry" feel.  The jury is still out on which I prefer.  Doing it 2 over 1 is definitely more work as it gets difficult to put the needle through.  By the way, I am doing it on 25 count Lugana. 

Before...

After working on it over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend

Keeping my fingers crossed, I hope to have a finish this week!  If I do, I will update the ole blog with a pic!

Have a good week!

Football!!!

I'm just a little late in this post.  Been busy!! Have lots of good things that I am preparing for in 2011 and well, the preparations must begin now!!! The only reason I am sitting down to write now is because I am avoiding another writing project that I've been requested to do by my Aunt for my Cousin.  Get into that one later.

Anyway.....

LSU's first game was last weekend.  Yep, it was a win.  A really, really, really ugly win.  Truthfully, we should have lost.  North Carolina may not have been the better team but they wanted it more and it was evident by their play on the field!!  I have a feeling that it is going to be a really long season.

The Saints first game was Thursday night.  No one can say that Louisianians do not know how to give a party!!!  A parade.  A concert with Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift. All day national television coverage of the activities going on around New Orleans. It was quite the event. 

The game went as I thought it would.  Saints win but the Vikings hung in there and made it an interesting game.  Although, and this is just MY opinion, Favre really needs to retire.  He looked so old!!!!  Either he needs to retire or he needs to practice some more with the team.  Their passing game was terrible!!!

It's Football Saturday here for me!  I am enjoying the day with some really good games.  Currently South Carolina and Georgia are battling it out then I'll flip it to the Florida and South Florida game to see who wins that.  Next up will then be Notre Dame and Michigan which will then lead into tonight's LSU and Vandy game!!!  Woo hoo!!!  Unfortunately though Alabama and Penn State play at the same time as LSU so there will be a lot of channel flipping tonight!!

Does it sound like I am parked on the couch in front of the tv?  LOL I bet it does.  But I'm not.  I've been cleaning.  My mother found all of my old cabbage patch dolls and I spent some time washing the baby clothes and cleaning the dolls.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them but they are now acceptable to be "out in public" again.  Since I was cleaning those, I decided to clean up my porcelain dolls that I have.  That has kept me busy most of the afternoon. 

I should be writing an inspirational letter to my younger cousin, Will.  His mother asked me along with a bunch of other family members to write an inspirational/encouragement letter to Will to read at his junior year retreat.  What does one write?  I feel like I have writer's block!!!  The other sad thing is that because he lives in Omaha, I haven't had much interaction with him.  Not to mention the 18 year age difference.  I'm hoping to be inspired soon!  Wish me luck!

Ok, enough for now.  Must watch some football.  Catch up on the scores.  I should have some good update pictures on some stitching progress by the end of the weekend!

Bring it on.....

I can't begin to describe the joy I was feeling last night as SEC football kicked off with South Carolina playing Southern Miss.  The return on SEC football!!!  Been dreaming of it since LSU played their last game on January 1.  One more day and the Tigers will be playing!!!

I did my grocery shopping today, thankfully.  It was already a zoo!  I can't even imagine what the stores will be like on Game Day.  But I am totally ready.  I have my beer, mango run, chips, dip, makings for taco soup.  I am READY!!!!  It will be football Saturday for me!!!  Football will be the only thing on my tv on Saturday! I may do some things around the apartment, but other than that I will be soaking up SEC football which I have dearly missed!  The day will start with  Game Day on ESPN.  It is being broadcast from Atlanta which is where LSU is playing tomorrow's game. Then I will watch one of the many games that are on tv up until 7 pm which will then start the LSU game!!!!!

I have been paying attention to all the stories that are coming out about our opponent, the Tarheels. At last count, the Tarheels would be down 15 players, 6 ruled ineligible by the NCAA, 6 suspended by the school and 3 that weren't allowed to make the trip because they are still being investigated. Gotta love NCAA violations!!! If we can't win against a team that is down 15 players, 8-9 of them starters, then we are going to have some serious PROBLEMS!!!


 
Yes, I bleed purple and gold. But I'm not any more obsessive about it than the next person down here in south Louisiana. I was just raised right.  A GRITS (girl raised in Tiger Stadium). I wonder what shirt I will wear tomorrow?  Yes, of course it will be a LSU shirt but will it be white, purple, grey, or gold?  So many choices! 

Life is good!  :)