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!  :)

Time for Change

Thought it was time to change the background and layout of the ole blog.  It's been quite a while since I've done that.  Thinking of doing a few more changes but didn't want to get all wild and crazy just yet!

Need for control
I must be in need of "controlling" something.  Not sure what or why I need to control, but it manifested itself into me scrubbing the bathroom from top to bottom on Saturday. I don't clean like that.  I'm more of a maintenance type of cleaner.  But somehow I got it in my head that I needed to clean it.  I have to admit, I feel better. LOL! The cleaning frenzy has spilled over into Sunday too.  Cleaning up all my files.  I loathe filing! Which is evident by the paper that I have everywhere!

Favorite time
Only one more week and the opening game of LSU's football season will be here!  It seems like forever since their last game on January 1.  Let's hope they put that lost behind them and come out strong.  Now, so everyone can know, they will be on national TV, your local ABC channel, I do believe at 7 pm.  They are the college football game opener.  They are playing North Carolina in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  Game Day will also be broadcasting from there. 

Time for Review
September will be here in just a few days.  That leaves only 4 more months of the year left.  I was looking over my goals for the year.  Yeah, I haven't done so well!  LOL  But that's ok.  Here's a recap of the goals:

1. Pay off another debt. I was really good this past year and managed to pay off 2! I hope this year to do the same! As of today, hasn't happened.  I'm making my payments and a little more but life has had some unforeseen expenses crop up!  But I'm optimistic.


2. Put money away in savings! This wasn't exactly accomplished in 2009 so hope to improve upon it this year! Hmmm, this one isn't coming along as great either.  However, I do have upcoming events in 2011 that I need to start buckling down and saving for TODAY!

3. Get a passport. I just think this is something I should have. What if I want to go on a cruise or go to Mexico? Need one for those these days! Nope, hasn't happened!  LOL

4. Find a new place to live. Be it a new apartment or maybe a new home that I purchase. Ok, let's not get crazy! Buying a home is a HUGE commitment. Not sure if I am mature enough for that yet! :) Hasn't happened either. In fact, just signed another 7 month lease.  I just can't find a place in the same location I am at the rent price that I am paying. 

5. Be open to new things. Be it love, a career change, a move to a new city/state. Whatever it is, I want to be more open to the change! I'm not sure how to evaluate this one.  I think I've been more open.  I've had to be.  There are events that have occurred in the past year that if I allow them to, will jade my perspective on a lot of things. I can't let that happen.

Now for a few stitching goals:
1. To not buy any new patterns. (Now if someone else buys it for me, I won't turn it down!) I didn't quite make it, but I can report that I only bought ONE new pattern.

2. To buy only stash needed to complete patterns I currently have! I've adhered to this one!

3. Finish Cassady's baby quilt. Still working on it.  Hope to have it finished by Christmas

4. Finish Jason's new baby (not born yet) baby quilt. Still working on it.  Hope to have it finished by Christmas.

5. Finish HAED's Dragon Knot (that's an ambitious one!) At the moment, this one has been put to the side for other projects.  But I hope to pick it up soon.

6. Finish 1 page of HAED's Mad Tea Party To date, this one has been a travel piece.  On vacation I was able to get some done on it.  I may pull it out soon and do some work on it.  This one I am doing 2 over 1 so it is turning into more of a tapestry type piece.  It makes it a little more difficult but I can't wait to see what the effect is since I typically stitch HAED's 1 over 1.

7. Finish 1 page of HAED's Queen of Hearts Haven't pulled it out to work on this year.

8. Complete Nora Robert's 'M' All materials have been bought but still has not been kitted up or started.

Fifth Anniversary
Today is the 5th anniversary of Katrina.  For many people across America this is an insignificant date but for us in South Louisiana, we will remember it to the day we die.  It was the day that all of our lives were turned up side down.  The changes that have occurred over the past 5 years in my sleepy little home town is amazing.  This weekend I began watching Spike Lee's "If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise".  I watched 2 of the 4 hours. The documentary revisits New Orleans for the 5th anniversary.  It's a sad, tragic, emotional story that is still ongoing.  If you get the chance, check it out.

Stitching Updates

I have a few updates to share.  I've been busy with work, friends and family but I've been taking some time out to do some stitching. 

Mary Engelbreit Baby Quilt:

Made a tiny  little bit of progress on the baby quilt.  I haven't spent the time on it that I should be but I have put a few stitches.  I am currently working on Mother Goose.

The entire area that has been finished to date.

Mother Goose, the area that I am currently working on.

Passione Ricamo Welcome Fairy:

I spent a great amount of time working on this project.  I need to pick it back up and get it finished.  It is such an easy stitch.

HAED Mad Tea Party:

This piece is my "travel" piece.  I work on it when I go on trips.  I was actually able to spend about 2 hours total on it on vacation.  I'm not sure if I have ever posted a progress photo before, but here it is now!

This is what the piece will look like.

This is the piece I've been working on while traveling.  It is the upper right hand corner of the pattern.

I'm Back....

From vacation!  It was so nice to get away.  2 whole days of absolutely nothing.  Sat by the pool, enjoyed drinks, read books, swam in the salt water pool, ran into old friends from home, good food.  It was an over all great time!!!

Here are some pics from the trip:

Our living area in the condo

View of the pool area.  One of the 3 outdoor pools.  It was a salt water pool.

Jill hanging out in the pool.

Me with the turtle right next to the pool in front of our chairs.

Sunset from our balcony.

Patty, Louis and Caroline drifting down the lazy river.

The stage area at Lulu's

Lazy Weekend....

So this past weekend was a lazy one.  No plans.  No where to go.  Nothing to do.  No one to see.  This was mostly because of Bonnie, the storm that wasn't.  I never even saw a drop of rain.  Thanks Bonnie!

Reading Suggestion:
I read a lot but I'm not one to say "Hey, you should read this book."  I'm going to make an exception.  I just recently finished "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir" by Neil White.  This is the author's tale of spending a year in a federal prison that was located in America's last leper colony in Carville, LA.  This book is not one I would have typically read since it doesn't have werewolves, vampires or witches in it.  But it really was a good book.  I suggest, especially for those who are from Louisiana, to read this book.  And if you happen to be in the Baton Rouge area, the author will be at LSU on Thursday evening and at the Jones Creek Library on Friday.

Stitching:
Since I had nothing to do this weekend and I really did manage to avoid doing chores, I was able to get quite a bit done on my new project, Passione Ricamo's Welcome Fairy. This is going fast, but as someone pointed out in a comment, anything seems fast after working on a HAED!!!  This is very true!

Last week's start:

This week's progress:

My Cup Runneth Over....

Boy, I sure do hope I am not jinxing myself!!!  Life has been good this week.  I love my sister dearly, but, geez, she was sucking the life out of me!!!  And money too!!!  LOL!  Ok, she has me wrapped around her little finger, I cave to all her demands! Anyway....

On to the good news of the past week. 

I have officially booked my vacation for August!  My friend, Jill, and I are headed back to the Caribe!!!  I was able to get a great rate on a 2 bedroom condo and we are headed there for a few days of R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N!!!  Cannot wait!!! It has been so long since I've been on a trip with no familial obligations or work obligations. Until we leave, I am on a STRICT budget.  Money has never flowed freely from my wallet but I am going on this trip NO MATTER WHAT!!!!

Recently received an email from my BFF, a doctor in Houston.  She is due to have her 3rd baby girl in November.  Very exciting!!!  She will have her hands full!  In October, Zoe will be 2, then the new baby in November, and the oldest, Eden, will be 4 in December.  Hmmm, I wonder if she planned that!?  Going to make it difficult to make all 3 birthdays.  I only made one last year which was an improvement over all previous years of not making any birthdays!!!  But now 3?  Will make scheduling interesting. Anyway, the down pour of babies continues!

I've been spending some time out on my balcony lately.  Our weather has been good AND bad.  But when it is good, it is so beautiful out!!!  These are some pics I've taken on those "good" days! Duke and I like to sit on the balcony and read.  Ok, I read and he watches all the many, many, many black feral cats that hang out in the courtyard.

Some stitching updates.  Below is the latest update on Dragon Knot 2.  I spent a good portion of the past week working on it. 

This is the full picture:

This is a close up of the section I've been working on:

I've also started a new project on Sunday. The Passione Ricamo design that I had mentioned in a previous post that I was going to do for my friend Stacy.  I finally started it on Sunday evening.  I have to admit it is a very easy stitch and I'm thinking that it may not take me "years" to finish!!

Ok, I have a big week ahead of me.  There are tons of work to be done and today started off with a 4 hour meeting.  Tomorrow is going to start with another 4 hour meeting and Wednesday is starting with a 2 hour meeting.  That's 10 hours of time I am not at my desk.  While I enjoy being away from my desk, my to do list is getting longer and longer!!!!  Which may be a good thing though as I do need some OT!!!!

Hope everyone has a great week!!!

A Good Summertime Weekend

This month I am enjoying my Friday afternoons off!  The company has graced us with an early quitting time of 2 pm on Fridays in July.  Not sure of the reason, but it is a nice treat!!!  It makes a world of difference getting off 2 hours early!!!  Makes the weekend feel almost a whole day longer!!!

I had an awesome time Friday night.  Went to dinner with an old friend and it was nice to talk over good mexican food and great margaritas!!  We then headed to hear a a friend of mine, Boxx, do an acoustic jam with a friend of his.  They did great! (Ok, so I'm just a teeny tiny bit biased!)  We enjoyed some good music and nice, cold, delicious daiquiris!  We must do this again soon!

Saturday morning, upon waking and verifying that the sun was out (weather predicted 50% chance of rain), I put on my swim suit and headed to the pool.  I swam laps for 30 minutes and then laid out for an hour.  I wouldn't say that I am trying to tan because, to be frank, that just isn't possible.  I am very fair.  I typically go from white to red back to white!  If I spend a LOT of time out in the sun, I might get a touch of a peachy color, but that takes a lot of time!!!  So let's just say, I am white and no longer ghostly white!!!  :)

Upon returning to the apartment, I just wasn't ready to shower and put on "real clothes".  So I sat on the balcony reading a book for an additional hour until it started to get really cloudy and thunder rumbling.  The rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch watching Harry Potter movies (are you groaning out loud Jill?) and stitching!!!!  It was a great afternoon to do that because it stormed the rest of the day!!!!

Despite all the rain of Saturday afternoon and night, Sunday was a beautiful sunny morning.  So once again, I put on my bathing suit and headed to the pool.  I did laps again for 30 minutes and then laid out for about an hour.  I love the drowsy feeling that comes over you after you've been swimming and being in the sun!  The rest of the day was filled with getting ready for the work week and stitching.  I'm glad that I went swimming in the morning though.  It didn't rain in the afternoon as it did on Saturday BUT it did get blazing hot!!!

Here's an update on Dragon Knot.  The nights or days that I do stitch, I've been stitching on this project.  I love seeing the progress on it and plus I want to finish it!!!  I feel like I've been working on it forever!!!

Before: 06/30/2010

Now: 07/11/2010

In addition, I took the time to start kitting up a project that I picked out for my friend Stacy.  She has been bugging me for years to do one for her.  She has loved all the ones I have done for her children, Marly and Parker, and has wanted one for herself.  So I picked this Passione Ricamo design for her.

Speaking of Passione Ricamo designs.  Has anyone visited their site before?  They have absolutely beautiful designs and a bunch of freebie designs to download.  Check them out!!! http://www.passionericamo.eu/

This is just a pic of my puppy, Duke!!  He wanted to get in on the action as I was taking an updated picture of my stitching:

Little bit of everything....

My sister is officially back at home in Austin.  Today she had her doctor's appointment.  She is healing well.  Still at least another month before she can begin trying to walk on her ankle but she has been cleared to start driving (crazy, huh?  Drive before walk) and can go back to work on Monday.  She is very excited about going back to work.  I told her she was "sick"!!  LOL!!  Mom will be returning home at the end of this week.  My sister really can get along much better now and my mom has lined up my sister's friends to help her when she needs it. 

I'll admit it.  I'm worried about her.  She is the baby after all!!!  But she is 30 years old and needs to take charge of her life.  But I do miss her.  Now that she isn't around, I have way too much time on my hands to think!  Think = trouble!!!! 

Well, the maternity leave merry-go-round at work has begun!!!  The first of 3 women to leave on maternity leave has gone out.  She actually has gone out about 3 weeks early.  She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and was already 3 cm dilated at her doctor's visit yesterday.  In fact, as I write this we are all waiting to get a text as to what she has had as they induced her this morning and were predicting a baby around 6 pm. 

And to go along with the baby theme (it seems to have been raining babies around here lately!), I have another finish.  This one is for my BFF Jason's new little boy.  I'm a tiny bit late on a gift as he is already just over a month old but there's been a lot going on!!!  I've really enjoyed stitching these bibs!!  They are so quick and make great gifts!!! I plan on stitching at least 2 more of this over the next few weeks/months.

(Aren't the frogs adorable?)

I am still working on all my other projects.  The 2 baby quilts.  The HAED Dragon Knot.  I've also been "itching" to start a new project.  I still have that biscornu kit that I purchased that I am still very frightened to do.  Finishing, other than framing, is not one of my strong points.

Summer time is flying by.  I'm hoping to fit in a short vacation to the beach at the end of August or early September.  With all of the maternity leaves occurring this year, I see lots of OT in my future.  Makes me feel tired already but it means extra money and that is a good thing.  I hit 5 years with the company in September which means I will have 3 weeks of vacation next year.  Awesome!!!  I already have 2 trips in mind.  Well, one isn't really a trip since it is to New Orleans which is less than an hour away!  But it will be for Mardi Gras.  I am hoping that my cousin from Boulder will be able to come in and experience Mardi Gras for the very first time!!!  Then another trip in April to see my cousins in Ohio.  There is a wedding and that seems to be a good time as any to go.  I also see many trips to Mississippi in my future.  My nieces and nephew are moving there, just south of Memphis.  That would be only the reason I'd go to Mississippi other than for football games. 

Cleaning seemed to be a common theme last holiday weekend.  I went through my closet and drawers and cleaned out a bag of clothes and a bag of purses.  I kept all of my Coach purses of course!!! One of my co-workers also cleaned this weekend and found a file of cross stitch patterns.  Louisiana themed.  She doesn't stitch.  LOL!!  She remember getting them but doesn't know what for.  So she gave them to me.  I'll have to see what to do with them. 

It's been raining all week.  I really hope that it stops for the weekend.  I'd like to get out in the sun and continue building on the small amount of color I do have!!! 

4th of July Weekend

It was great to have an extended weekend!  Although I am not one for big events or parties, I still enjoyed my time off and the holiday.

The weekend started on Friday with the movie Eclipse!!!  Of the movies that have been released so far for this series, Twilight, I bleive that this has been the best one.  The actors seemed to be more "natural" (I'm not talking Oscar caliber, just better), the lighting, the makeup, everything about it seems to finally have been tweaked to perfection. Looking forward to seeing how they do the last book into 2 movies. 

Also saw the Harry Potter trailer on the big screen!  Can not wait for that!!!  My co-worker and I already have plans to go see that on November 19th!!!  Then the final installment in July 2011!!!  I know, I can be such a nerd at times!

Spent Saturday with my sister.  We had lunch at a great italian restaurant and then we went shopping.  Not too many shops though.  She was on her crutches, and while she can now put a little bit of weight on her foot, it still wears her out.  We went to Apple to check out the new iPhone.  Sis was scoping it out for her company as she works for a rival cell phone company.  Then off to Sephora where my sister spent an hour just looking at things.  I'm not that into make up but whatever makes Sis happy.  Then we went to Mango's where we got some mango daiquiris (yummy).  Then dinner with the parents.  Mexican.  Need I say more? 

In my opinion, any day that you start off by putting on a bathing suit is a good day!!!  Sunday, Independence Day, started that way.  After making some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, I headed out to the pool.  I love going to the pool in the morning because there are no kids around.  Not that I don't like kids, but I love the peace and quiet of laying out by the pool.  And for a change, the water was actually cold in the pool so it was nice and refreshing when one got in!!!

The afternoon of the 4th was spent with mi familia.  Little sister was having a mini-crisis and was begging me to come over.  So off I went with a six pack of Bud with lime and Duke.  :)  Good times.  We spent the afternoon relaxing, drinking and chatting.  Enjoyed a great dinner my dad prepared for us.  Then proceeded to paint my sister's toe nails.  Yes, I spoil and indulge her a lot. But it isn't often she is home for me to do that. 

We also said our goodbyes. My mom is bringing my sister home to Austin.  She has a doctor's appointment on Wednesday.  She is hoping they give her clearance to start trying to drive and then she can get back to work.  She is begging to get back to work.  But I think she just wants to be in her own home again.  Which I can't really blame her.  Also, the quicker she can start driving again, the sooner my mom will come home. 

It was actually very quiet in my apartment complex this holiday weekend.  Many people must have gone away.  There was no one at the pool over the weekend and very few "get togethers".  And since fireworks are illegal in our parish, it was VERY quiet once it got dark enough to do fireworks.  I heard a few "pops" but nothing very loud and Duke never once whined or barked. 

Monday has been spent cleaning and doing laundry!!!  Getting ready for the new, short work week!  Hope to get a lot done this week.  The boss is on his annual vacation so I hope to make some progress on cleaning off the desk!  Fingers crossed!!!  Thankfully it rained most of the day so the pool wasn't calling my name too loudly to come play instead of clean.  Really shouldn't go out in the sun today anyway as I can feel the "heat" coming off my back where I got a "touch" of sun yesterday!  :)

I did do some stitching.  I hope to have a finish to show very soon.  And some progress on Dragon Knot.  It is coming along nicely.  Just might get it finished this year.  Which is good, I am itching to start a new BIG project but feel guilty doing so when I have so many others that are "in progress". 

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!  Looking forward to seeing Box play at French Quarter Daiquiries on Friday night!!!  Good friends, good music, good drinks!!!  Sounds like a blast to me!!!

Summer = BUSY!!!

It is summertime!  June has flown by so fast!!!  I can barely recall what I've been doing for the past month!!! But I will give it a try!

Stitching

I have been working in some stitching time.  I have too many projects that I want completed to just let them sit by the side!!!  I have been, of course, stitching on Dragon Knot.  I've made some progress on it:

I also had one small finish.  I did a bib as a gift for one of my co-workers who is expecting her first baby.  The baby's room is being done in lambs and sheeps and since they aren't finding out the sex of the baby before it is born, I had to go pretty neutral:

Summer Convention

This year's summer convention was held in Orange Beach, Alabama.  Luckily, the place that it was held was so great, there was no need to go to the beach.  There were a number of pools to choose from and a lazy river.  This place was great.  I had a 2 bedroom condo that put my apartment to shame!!  I was very tempted not to come back!!!  The convention was a great success.  I had more participants this year than I've had in the 5 years I've been putting it on.  The oil spill did not dampen the great time any of us had!!!

Here's a few pics:

Sister Time

My Mother brought my sister back home shortly after her surgery on her ankle.  She's been at my parents house for the past 2 weeks recuperating.  It's been nice having her home.  When I can I take her out to dinner, for coffee, to movies, to bars, etc. just to get her out of the house.  We've seen Sex and the City 2 (not as good as the first one, wait for DVD).  We may go see Grown Ups this weekend.  We are both going to see Eclipse this week but separately.  She just can't wait for me to take her!!! 

Her and Mom are returning to Austin on Monday for her next doctor's appointment.  She may be able to "try" to start driving again. If that happens, she will finally be able to return to work and Mom may come home.  We'll see!

Annual Evaluation

It was annual evaluation time this month.  I was quite pleasantly surprised to have a really good evaluation.  It was actually a fairly painless process this year!  I did get a raise but no bonus.  No money was allocated this year for bonuses.  But, that really isn't quite surprising considering the economy.  I was pleased overall. 

I know there was other things, but I just can't remember what they were!!!  I hope that July and August are just as good or better as June!

Stitching, a Birth and an Accident

It's been a while since I've blogged.  Blame it on life.  Or more simply, blame it on my sister!!!  I'll get into that later.  First let me start with some stitching updates.  I haven't been stitching a lot lately.  I guess the hot Louisiana summer has me feeling very lazy!!!  But I have made some progress on two WIPs.

The first WIP is the Mary Engelbreit Mother Goose baby quilt I'm working on for Cassady.  I've moved on to Mother Goose!

This first picture is all that I've currently completed on the quilt:

The second picture is a close up of Mother Goose, herself, who I am currently working on. That feather actually took 2 nights of stitching to finish.  TEDIOUS!!!

The second WIP I've been working on is Dragon Knot.  I haven't worked on it for a while as I was working on other projects that were gifts for people, but this is one that I really want to finish this year.  I'm once again not sure who will receive this work or if I will keep it for myself, but I am going to finish it!! I've put to much work into it and would love to finish a "big" HAED!

The first pictures is a close up of the area I am currently working on:

This second picture is of all that I have completed.  I am so close to finishing but yet so far away!

Now on to what has kept me from blogging since my birthday!  The good news first!  I am an Aunt again! The day after my birthday, one of my very dear friends from college, Jason, and his wife welcomed a baby boy!  He is absolutely adorable - looks nothing like his father! Sorry Jason!  Love ya!!!  Unfortunately I have no picture to post, I'll have to figure out a way to pull it off of Facebook.  But Brendan Julian is absolutely stunning!!! I can't wait to meet him!

The bad news.  Also the day after my birthday, I was notified, late at night, that my sister was in the hospital with a broken ankle.  Llllooooonnnngggg story.  But anyway, she was told she was probably going to have to have surgery that night.  So I had to do what I never wanted to do which was call our parents at 12:30 am to tell them that their baby daughter (ok, she is 30 but still the baby) was in the hospital looking at surgery.  Ended up that they weren't able to do the surgery that night because of all the swelling.  But regardless, Mom and I both rushed to be with my sister, who lives in Texas.  Mom left early Thursday morning and I left Thursday at noon.  I was working on absolutely no sleep and was amazed that I was able to make the 7 1/2 hours drive with no problem.  I think I was working on pure adrenaline. 

My sister had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon that Friday.  They assessed that her ankle was completely broken and would require plates and screws.  They scheduled the surgery for the following Friday and placed her back into a splint with a fiberglass cast.  I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday just helping my mother out with cleaning my sister's apartment, shopping for groceries and supplies, and helping to maneuver my sister as she cannot walk or drive. 

My sister had the surgery.  2 plates and 10 screws later, she is on the way to mending.  Below is a picture of one of her incisions.  Don't look if you get queasy easily!  My mother has moved in with her indefinitely (wonder who is going to come out of that one alive!) and my father is there for this week to help out.  At the moment my sister has too many doctors appointments to come back home, which is what my father would like her to do to mend.  Her spirits are good.  She is frustrated as she is a very active person but she is definitely learning a lesson in patience and compromise. 

I hope to go back to see her at 4th of July if she is unable to come home.  Give my mom a chance to take a break and give my sister a break from my mom.

Picture of one of her incisions.  She has another one on the other side too.  But see how pretty her toe nails are?  I did that for her!!!

So that is what has been going on.  I've been worried to death over my sister.  But now that she is mending, I am feeling much better.  Which is good because work is keeping me super busy!!  I am working a convention this Thursday thru Saturday and then another one next Thursday thru Sunday.  This week's convention is a local one and it is rumored that Patrick Dempsey is staying at the hotel it is being held at as he is in town filming a movie!!!  I am very excited!!!  I hope I get to see him!!!  Next week's convention is in Orange Beach, Alabama.  Unfortunately the oil spill will make it impossible to get to the beach, but luckily the resort we are staying at has 3 pools and a lazy river!  I only work half days so I am looking forward to some sun!!!  (Cross fingers it doesn't rain!)

I'll try to post some more updates on stitching as I really hope to get some more done.  It's June already and I am no where close to finishing any of my goals from the beginning of the year!!!

Happy 35th

Today was my 35th birthday.  I have to say it was a good day.  I honestly couldn't have imagined it to have been any better than it was!!!

Birthday celebration started this past weekend with time spent with my mom.  We went to a tiny German restaurant in Ponchatoula for breakfast followed by shopping at the outlet mall. 

My actual birthday started at 12:20 am when the text messages started to come in.  I never realized how many "night owls" I have for friends! Phone calls started at 7:45 am.  So much for me sleeping in!!!  I got the business of renewing my driver's license done with early and quickly!  Then the rest of the day was spent receiving birthday wishes, shopping with my mom and seeing the movie "Letters from Juliet".  I highly recommend the movie to anyone who is a hopeless romantic!!!

Dinner with the parents at my absolute favorite restaurant "Louisiana Lagniappe".  That place is so good!!! Then back to the 'rents house for presents.  This year my parents outdid themselves.  I got the book "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" and a pair of emerald and diamond earrings.  The earrings are gorgeous!!!  Love them!!!  This was in addition to the outfits my mom had bought me this weekend when we had gone shopping. 

I've been informed that I will be receiving more gifts in the coming days as my grandparents and my aunt seem to have "lost track of time".  My grandmother called to tell me that her and grandpa were out shopping for my present today and she was excited because she found something she just knew I'd love and was going to mail it tomorrow to be here "in time."  When she showed the gift to my Uncle, he kindly informed her that TODAY was my birthday.  LOL!  She swore to me that she thought she had another week!!! It's all good though.  I don't mind.  I'm just blessed that I still have my grandparents around!!!  My aunt calls being late "stretching out your birthday celebration!"

I didn't know what to expect for this birthday.  Had I gone by my "old" plan, I am so far away from the goals I had set for myself at 18!!!  But I tossed that plan out a long time ago.  I'm thankful to have a job that pays the bills, great friends and a huge, loving family!!! I am actually happier now than I have been in a VERY long time!  (I hope I didn't just jinx myself! LOL)

I look forward to seeing what the next 365 days brings!!

Wet Weekend...Just a little late

I'm a little late posting this update.  But that is because I wanted to post this:

I finished China Blue (or Purple)!!  I fnished it on Monday evening.  I'm excited to have another finish.  I was starting to feel like I'd have very few accomplishments this year!!!  Now I just have to figure out how I am going to "finish" it.  Any suggestions?

The Weekend

This weekend was a rainy, wet one!!!  But it provided me the opportunity to catch up on some stitching projects and reading!!!

I started a new book, a little while ago, that is HUGE.  I think it has over 800 pages.  It is Diana Gabaldon's book, An Echo in the Bone.  It's part of a series that I've been reading for years!!!  In fact, it takes her years to put out a book.  But I've been spending the summertime evenings out on my balcony, relaxing in the quietness of nature (if you call birds chirping and squirrels running across the rails as quiet), reading a few pages of my book!  But with the rain, I wasn't able to do that this weekend so I read indoors.  I'm typically a fairly fast reader.  However, with her books, there is so much detail, I try to slow things down so I haven't even made it to the 100 page mark yet!

Friday night I got to spend some quality time with my friend Bart.  Between our schedules, we just never seem to be able to find that time where we are both free.  Lots of texts and phone calls but no face-to-face time. Between my work and his work, army drill, and kids, there doesn't seem to be much time at all!  So, Friday night I was able to meet up with him, at his office!, for a chat before he heads off to Houston this week for surgery on his back.  Army duty has taken its toll on him and it is time to get it fix!  We are both hoping for a speedy recovery so we can find sometime this summer to spend together!

Friday at lunch my dad gave me a call.  He tells me "You go to those fancy supermarkets, right?"  He was talking about Whole Foods and the local fruit/vegetable stands, lol.  I said, "yes, why?"  He asked me to find him a horseradish.  Not the sauce, the actual radish that the stuff is made from.  Sounds hard, right?  Not really.  I had to replenish my stock of Diet Dr. Pepper on Saturday morning so I went to the local grocery store before heading off to the "fancy supermarkets".  There it was, in the very small section of organic foods.  Ugly looking thing!!!  And expensive too!  $4.99/pound!!!  So I picked up one root, I didn't know how much he needed and my dad happily prepared two crocks of horseradish sauce for himself on Sunday.  Its a fairly easy process, you peel the "bark" off the root, shred the root, and add salt and vinegar.  That's it.  Who knew? 

I caught up on all my DVR'd shows.  Including the new series "Happy Town".  I watched the first 3 episodes only to get to the end of the 3rd episode to hear them say, "Stay tuned to future episodes."  But it didn't say when!!!  No episode this week!  How irksome!!!!  By the 2nd episode I was starting to get invested!!!  I also watched a very bad film that I chose on Netflix because it was recommended.  It was called "Sex and Death 101".  Winona Ryder is in it.  Don't get it.  It is just BAD!!!!  It is about a man who receives an email right before he is to be married.  The email consists of a list of 101 women that he has slept with and will sleep with.  He breaks off the engagement and proceeds to find all the women on the list that he hasn't slept with.  Yep, thankfully it was an hour and a half of my life that I wasted!

Ok, I am off to figure out which project I am going to either start or pick back up on.  There are just so many choices!!!