Stitching Update

This week I've focused mostly on Dragon Knot. The colors are fabulous. If you could see it in person because the pictures do not do it any justice.

The entire project to date:

The section currently being worked on:

I did do a little bit on Holly but not enough to justify an update picture. I'm also itching to kit up Tigerlily and just might do that today if I get the time. This weekend has just flown by!!!!

I spent majority of Saturday dealing with the purchase of my new car! Then I had friends over for the LSU baseball game (we won!) and to watch the movie Twilight! Today is going to be busy too! I currently have a load of MY laundry going right now, then I need to clean up the kitchen from last night's festivities, run errands and then off to my Dad's to clean his house and do his laundry. With my Mom out of town and him working on the house to get the renovations done, his laundry and cleaning has NOT been done. My mother would be mortified!!! LOL! And not to forget that LSU plays again tonight at 6!!!!

Here she is.....

Isn't she just beautiful? 2009 Toyota Corolla LE. I absolutely love it! This is the first car I have bought that is brand new. She only has 34 miles on it!!!!

Although I am sad to give up my Altima. But it was time. So instead of mechanics' bills I am now paying a car note!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! I am 34 years young today. Although to be honest, I don't feel a day over 25! Things haven't been so great lately, but I'm going to use today as a starting point for good things to come!


So what did I purchase when I went on my run to the LNS in New Orleans? I bought the Letter M by Nora Corbett and Tigerlily of Nora's Pixie Couture collection. I bought all the materials for Tigerlily and will start that one WHEN I finish Holly! One at a time!!! LOL Or at least that is what I tell myself! I am toying with the idea of doing all the pixies in the collection. Has anyone seen the new ones just released? I just might have to buy those too!







On Sunday, I had lunch with two old friends from high school, Joy and Sarah. Joy lives here in town and I see her often but Sarah lives in Houston and is now a mom of 2! So it is very rare that we get together. It was fantastic to see her. It's always like we've never been apart from each other. We can always just pick right up from where we left off! Her two girls are adorable! Eden is 2 1/2 and talks and talks. She is absoluletly the sweetest thing! Zoe is 7 months old. Didn't get to spend to much time with her as she napped through the whole lunch, which means she was quiet and thus a very good baby!







I also saw the movie Wolverine on Sunday with Joy. All I can say is that Hugh Jackman is one very sexy man!!! If you liked the X-men movies, you will like this one!



Today, my actual birthday, I didn't do very much. To be honest, it was just a normal day off. I did do some shopping and indulged myself at the bookstore and Ulta. I picked up the book that the series True Blood is based on, Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I've only seen the 1st 3 episodes of the series so I'm hoping to enjoy the book. I had hamburgers with my dad at the house and then some birthday cake. Then I did my dad's laundry! LOL! My mom has been out of town for a while now and well, with all the renovations my dad is doing to the house, things are not being done!





While I was at the house, I just had to take pictures of some flowers from my Dad's garden. I think they are just absolutely beautiful!








On a side note, the verdict has come in about the car. It seems that my brake lights were not going off and thus drained the battery. My dad and a friend of his pried out the brake light switch and are hoping to replace it this week. But while digging around in the car this weekend, my Dad also found that my radiator is cracked! Oh yay! So the final verdict is: time to buy a new car! Soon!

Cross Stitch Update

I do have an update on stitching! I actually was able to get a few hours of stitching in the mornings done while I was waiting for my sister to get ready! While on vacation I worked on Dragon Knot 2! I am loving the way this piece is really starting to come alive! The pictures do it absolutely no justice at all! The lighting here is pretty dark since we are having an overcast day!

I've also started a new project. I know I shouldn't have but it has been calling to me! I started Nora Corbett's Holly. This picture is pretty out of focus but was the best of the many I tried to take! The picture below it is of the final product.

This weekend is my birthday weekend. My birthday is Monday, Memorial Day. So I am treating myself to a trip to a LNS in New Orleans. I am sure I will find something but just what it will be is the best surprise!

I am also going to get caught up on my sleep, get back into a routine and clean my apartment. Now a days, one needs a vacation from the vacation!

Changes

Wow! I feel like so much has been going on lately! But I've come to a point where I feel like I need to take charge of my life because life is running me over!!!! After visiting my family, well, I just kind of felt like somewhere along the way in my life I took a wrong turn! Have you ever been going somewhere using a navigation system and when you take a wrong turn the system tells you "recalculating route"? Well, I feel like my inner navigator is saying over and over again, "recalculating route."

I'm pretty happy with where I am currently working. It's not perfect but I like what I do and well, I'm thankful to have a job at all! Especially since 3 days in a row there were articles in our local newspaper about companies in the area doing major layoffs!

My poor car is still dead. Dad just hasn't had the time to look at it. But I'm fortunate that I've been able to use my mom's car as she is out of town till the end of June! I had already decided that I needed to purchase a new (or previously owned) car this summer so now it's just bumped up a little bit earlier! So now my decision is do I go practical and get a Toyota or do I get something fun like a Mustang? Honestly, it'll come down to what my insurance payment will be! LOL!

Living arrangements. I have been in my current apartment for almost 4 years. I would like to move to a bigger place. One with lots of storage! Well, one decision I've made is to start looking for a home to purchase. I think I am ready to have something of my own. So I've begun to start looking at some properties. I'm just not sure if I want a cute condo/townhouse or an actual home with a yard so Duke can play! Of course, price will be a big consideration and I'm kind of picky about what area I want to live in.

Love life. well, basically, there is none! LOL! Things have gotten to a point where my sailor and I have grown apart. I don't think we can get back to where we were as the distance is just too much for us to overcome and well, I'm not going to move to be with him since he is probably going to be transferred again in a year and with the state of the economy, well, I need to keep my job. I have signed up for Eharmony so maybe I will have some stories to share with ya'll. Hopefully funny stories and not nightmares! Yikes!

I'm happy that it is summer time! I'm looking forward to hopefully some road trips to the beach in Mississippi. Next month I do have a trip to Ft. Walton Beach scheduled for work but luckily I have tons of free time so I will be enjoying the sand and surf!!!! Then in August I like to make it to Gulf Shores. There is also many weekends that will be spent by the pool!

So while I have much sadness, I'm hoping that with a plan laid out, that I will get through it!

Back from Vacation

I am back! It was such a whirlwind! It went by in a flash! I did not want to come home!

I saw so many relatives. It was so nice to reconnect with my aunts, uncles, and cousins! On Saturday was the graduation party. On Sunday was the graduation. Monday we went to the zoo and to a movie. My family crammed so much in that I am exhausted!

Below are two slideshows sharing some pictures from my time in Omaha!

This one is the graduation party and the graduation. I think we all posed with each other so many times, my cheeks were hurting from smiling!

This slideshow is when we went to the Henry Doorly zoo! It was awesome! I have to say, it's even better than our New Orleans Audubon Zoo.

Let the Adventure Begin!

Tomorrow I head off to Omaha to see the family! I'm pretty excited since I haven't been there in about 10 years. My sister arrived today. She texted me earlier telling me that tomorrow is Thursday Taco day at the Forum! I asked what that was but she said she wasn't quite sure but Grandpa was really excited! So that is where I am heading the minute I get off the plane tomorrow, to Thursday Taco! LOL! Can't wait!

But before getting there I've already had adventures. First, I got off work an hour early so that I could finish packing and get Duke to the vet on time. Darn car wouldn't start. Dead as a doornail! Thank goodness Dad was off work and out. He swung by to pick me up and then back to his house to pick up Mom's car since she is already in Omaha. Darn thing is so dead you have to use the key to unlock all the doors cuz the switch on the inside does not work! I have no clue what is wrong. Dad said he'd look at it this weekend! Good thing I will be out of town!

Then I dropped Duke off at the vet. Poor baby. Not only is he being boarded for a week but he is also having his annual check up and a dental cleaning! Yep, he is not going to be a very happy doggy when I get home!

While I did get packed, I am going to have to repack because I threw everything into 2 suitcases with no rhyme or reason so that I could get back to my Dad's house for the evening because he wanted me to bring home dinner! I'm staying here because he is bringing me to the airport for 6:30 am! Yuck! Means we have to leave the house by 5:30! Boy, I hope I wake up! Good thing it's a two hour flight from New Orleans to Chicago. I can get a nap in!

But I am so ready to be on vacation! See the family. Eat some good food! I miss it all!

Another Finish!

Yay! Last night I finished the Little Mermaid picture that I was doing for my sister's roommate. It was a quick stitch. Took just over a week to finish! I did it on 25 count light blue lugana!

Now it's off to take a shower! I spent most of this morning working with Dad on the bathroom/closet. He has totally gutted out the master bathroom and closet down to the studs. I spent the morning buying a wet/dry vac for him and then helping him remove all the many nails that were left behind by the dry wall! Not hard, but very tedious! I did whack my big toe pretty good! Thank goodness I hadn't given myself that pedicure yet!!!

I hope to do some more stitching tonight. Just don't know which one to pick up! I also have some good movies to watch!

Update going into weekend....

Ok! Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! Yay! Only one more day of work! I am very excited about this weekend's LSU baseball series at home. It's the last one at home for the season.

It's been 5 days and no caffeine!!! Woo hoo!!!! Even though I have a case and a half of Diet Dr. Pepper's sitting in my apartment, I have not touched one!!!!

I have been doing lots of stitching on the Ariel/Little Mermaid picture. No, I haven't taken a picture and I've decided that I am so close to finishing that I'm not going to. I should (fingers crossed) have a finished picture by the end of the weekend!

This weekend will be spent cleaning the apartment and getting ready for my trip next week! I am going home to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am very excited. It's been almost 10 years, I think, since I was last there. My mom left today and my sister will arrive next Wednesday and I get there on Thursday.

My dad is supposed to remodel the bathroom while my mom is away. There's rumors that I will be hanging dry wall this weekend. Hmmm, I'll keep ya'll posted on that one! Me and carpentry type of work? That doesn't usually mix very well at all!!! LOL!

Does everyone know that HAED is having a Mother's Day Sale? 25% off! This is one of their newest additions and I think it is absolutely adorable and just a touch of "Louisiana"! I've added it to my wish list!

I hope everyone has a good weekend and I promise some photos of cross stitch projects next time!

Day 3....

I so appreciate everyone's thoughts and comments. It was extremely comforting. A little update since last week. Well, I didn't make it to Bon Jovi. Bummer, I know! I came down with a severe case of food poisoning that I am just now getting over! It started on Thursday and I didn't really eat food until Monday. Good news of that little venture though is I am currently kicking the caffeine habit! I had a 1 to 2 cans a day of Diet Dr. Pepper. It's day 3 and none so far! Whew! I've also lost a few pounds and shrunk my stomach to nothing! Yay!

Things are not perfect with my sailor. We talked. Lots to resolve though. At least on my end. He's a typical man. "It's all good." Doesn't that drive you crazy? Anyway, I want to get back to me! Who I was when I first met him. Did my own thing. Had my own life. Only me to consider when making decisions. He's not here, I shouldn't consider him! Now, it won't be to that extreme, but I still would like to get back to me. He'll be considered in major decisions but....I"m just not sure how to vocalize it! He's always been a good addition to my life. May not have been welcomed at first but I guess I'll keep him.

Family so far is good. No test results back yet though. I will be visiting them all next week so I'll feel better to see for myself how everyone really is!

I have been stitching some on the new WIP, Ariel. I hope to have a picture of it soon. Probably the finished project though! I'm just too lazy to take a picture of it, upload to the computer and then post on here! That's a lot of steps!!!!

I hope everyone is having a good week! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

When It Rains...

It pours. Isn't that the saying? Or that everything comes in 3s? Well in my case I've had a load of bad dumped in my lap the past couple of days. I guess you could say I'm feeling a big helpless. Not hopeless. I do have hope it will all get better but so much of it is out of my control.

Where do I start? Maybe with my sailor. Things are not going so well with us. It's been hard. With the distance and living separate lives in separate states. It's beginning to wear on me. Thus I'm taking it out on him. So can I really blame him when he doesn't talk to me? I don't want to talk to me! But I really am at a lost as to explain to him what I am feeling.

Then there are my aunts and uncles. Let's see, now these are all my great aunts and uncles so with age this is all expected. I have an aunt who is having back surgery next week. It has to do with complications of arthritis. Then I have 2 uncles who it has been discovered that they have spots on their lungs. Both have recently been tested so we are now waiting on the results. One of the uncles was a heavy smoker till 6 months ago, but the man is in his upper 70s. The other one has already had cancer of the jaw back when I was a teenager so for me, this really isn't unexpected.

My friends who are currently adopting a baby now have a fight on their hands. The birth father does not want to relinquish his rights. He doesn't want the baby but I guess in his mind, no one else should have her. She's a baby, not a piece of property!

Finally, there is my sister. She's my baby sister. It's been my responsibility to protect her and make things better. I'm having a hard time doing that when I can't even make things better for myself these days. She recently was in a car accident. Minimum damage to the car but of course now she is having neck issues. Then she found out this week that a close friend of hers is pregnant but this pregnancy is life threatening. I'm not a doctor so I don't know exactly why, but it doesn't sound good. I can't think of a thing to say to even give my sister guidance in this.

To top it all off, I've made myself sick! LOL! I keep everything inside until something has to give. Of course it's either going to be the mental health or the physical health. It's both this time.

I had such big plans beginning in May and going through the summer that I was looking forward to! I am going to Jazz Fest to see Bon Jovi this upcoming weekend. I leave in 2 weeks for a family gathering for a graduation. It's my birthday. I have a trip to Florida in June and, keeping my fingers crossed this is still going to happen, I was looking forward to seeing my sailor in July. But right now, I can't even see past the next minute. I know it will get better, but I'm not patient. I'm more of an instant gratification person. All I have right now is hope.

Stitching Update

I feel like it's been forever since I've had an update. I've been doing a little bit of stitching. It's hard to get it in though with all the beautiful weather we've been having here in South Louisiana and all the activities and fairs going on! But I have been working on Dragon Knot. Not a lot of progress but there is some!

Full effect

Area currently concentrating on

I also started a new HAED, Mad Tea Party, but haven't made very much progress so no pics yet!!!


I am also starting a new one tonight. It will be a small picture of Ariel. It's a request my sister made for a friend of hers. Can't say no to the baby sister!!!

Crawfish Boil

This past weekend was the company's crawfish boil. It was a beautiful Saturday. Mid 80's. Blue skies. Breezy. Sunshine. We all had a good time!

The PAMI Girls

Doug digging in after golf.

Crawfish, corn....and a Diet Coke! I know, should have been a beer!

Kati and Ashley laughing it up!

Jenny and Baby Phil

Two Finishes in One Week!

This is definitely a first! Two finishes in one week! I stayed up late last night and finished up the Buzz Lightyear!

I will return to working on Dragon Knot but will also start a new HAED, The Mad Tea Party! But on e of my problems now is that I have a growing stack of finished projects that I have done nothing with! I need to start framing or finishing them into pillows or whatever so I can give them to the person it was intended for!

Back to Reality!

After a great weekend in Houston, I came back to reality! Or rather, work. Bleh!!! It wasn't all bad though. I'm still recovering from my trip to Houston but am looking forward to picking up some projects this weekend so I hope to have some progress updates to report very soon!

I did have some fun this week. On Tuesday night, some of the girls and I went to the LSU - UNO baseball game. Most of us are LSU grads with the exception of 2 of the girls. One is a grad from UNO and the other is a grad from Tulane. The one from Tulane couldn't make it because her husband currently has chicken pox and she was monitoring her 7 month baby to see if he was going to come down with it! I am very glad to say that LSU won that night. It was close, 8 to 6, but in the end we triumphed (only to lose the next night to Nichols! Ugh!!!!). We had a really good time even though it was COLD!!!! It's April for goodness sakes!!!

Pooh and Fairy - Finished!

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning because I had to return the rental car from this weekend's trip. Yeah, my dad rented a car for me because he is just not confident in my car anymore. Had myself a Mazda 3. It was ok. Handled terrible in the wet weather though. That car is definitely off my list of possible vehicle purchases in the future!

Anyway, I had time today to finally sit down and do some stitching! Of course, it's finally completed only a day too late! That's ok, I'll get it framed and mail it off! This is what I did for Cassady Hope's room:

Full view:

Close up of bear and fairy:

Weekend in Houston

I arrived in Houston on Thursday. Met the new baby Cassady and then off to the LNS, 3 Stitches. I picked up two Dinky Dye patterns with floss and some fabric. I could have spent so much more but I restrained myself.

Other than going to the LNS, the point of the trip was to meet my new niece and to spend Marly's birthday with her.

Friday the kids were off. In the morning Marly and I headed to the mall to do her birthday shopping. We left so early, at the request of her mom, that the mall wasn't open. So we went to Sonic and had French Toast Sticks and talked! We went to several shops in the mall but ended up in a store near her house, Justice for Girls. She picked out a brand new outfit to wear for her birthday on Saturday. That afternoon I took Marly and Parker to lunch and then we got some ice cream and went to the park to eat it and play. We ran around the playground playing chase. There was some excitement when one of the dogs escaped the house and I, along with their grandmother went chasing after the dog. We were so irritated. She ran faster and faster. Finally, the only reason we caught up with her was because the dang dog tired out.

Saturday, being Marly's birthday, we went to the Movie Tavern for the 9 am showing of Hannah Montana. They have a special where you pay for the movie and all you can eat flapjacks (pancakes). It was a cool thing to do. The movie was cute but kind of long. We then went to the tea room for lunch where Marly (and Cassady too) tried on hats. We then spent the afternoon at home opening up presents and then had a barbecue. The night ended with us all watching Bedtime Stories (ok, I must admit, I didn't last the whole movie! lol)

I stayed long enough Sunday morning to see what the Easter bunny had brought and to watch the kids hunt eggs several times. There was severe weather forecasted for the Houston weather and the Baton Rouge area so I left by 10 a.m. It took me forever to get home!!! The rain was so bad, combined with the wind, that you couldn't see anything. So frustrating. But now I am home, but in an empty apartment! Duke is at the boarder till tomorrow afternoon! I can't wait for him to get home!

Whew!

Ok, so the "big" meeting today turned out to be NOTHING! A week of worrying for nothing! It was basically a pep talk. "We appreciate your working here." "These are the plans we have for the future." "Even though you aren't with us at the main office, we still care." It was FIFTEEN minutes long. That was it!

On other news, I am off to Houston tomorrow to see my niece and nephew! I cannot wait. It's been exactly a year, I think, since I last saw them. I will also be meeting the newest addition to the family! I hope to come back with lots of pics to share! I also plan on making a trip to 3 Stitches, LNS in Spring, Texas! I hope to get some good stuff to share!

No finishes or updates to report. I've had a lot going on personally and did not spend that much time stitching. I know, shame on me!!!! But I hope that once I get back from Houston I can get some progress made!

Needle and Floss Exchange

Yesterday when I came home I had a package in the mail from Nancy. It contained the following flosses (along with a book of needles):

The picture really doesn't do the colors justice at all! They are all so bright and springy. The second from the left especially! It is such a deep rich purple. I love them all! Thanks Nancy!

Weekend Update

I have had an overall good weekend! The weather has been beautiful! With the exception of very little sleep on Saturday night, there's not a lot I can complain about!

On Saturday I spent the day with my mom. She went with me to New Orleans as I went to explore Acadian Corner, an LNS. I fell in love with this shop! I was flitting from one display to the next saying "I want this" "I want that." LOL! I finally had to tell my mom I needed to get out of there! I did pick up a few flosses and needles for the ILCS exchange of needles and floss and I picked up material for a new start, HAED pattern Mad Tea Party.

Sunday has been a lazy day. Mostly because I did not sleep well last night. I finished Twilight again and started to read Angels and Demons. That is a really good book so far. I haven't read much but it definitely has me intrigued! I also listened to the LSU baseball game where they beat Georgia (they took 2 out of 3 this weekend to win the series!). I also went out and got me a strawberry shake, yummy!

I haven't done much stitching as I would have liked this weekend but I do have an update on the Winnie the Pooh picture I am doing.