The bottom sail on the middle mast took me a month to do. All the other colors in that mast took me two days. Then I was back at doing the sails again. After anther three weeks or so, I finished the middle mast. I did the skeletons and the railing within another week or two. Then it was the sails again! That's when I put it down for a couple months. Now, thirteen DAYS later, I have finished all the sails! I scared T. and D. dancing around the room! It's not a finish, but it is definately a happy dance! What amazes me, though, is how quick it went. Hopefully, the rest of the ship will go as quickly. Then I could have it done in a couple months!
I sent a picture of my Snowfight: Red to the designer, and she put it on her website. I also asked about model stitching, and she is sending me a small piece to do as a model, and also as a test piece! That's when I scared J. dancing around the room! He said congratulations and seemed really happy for me. He read the email, and told me it was great. Of course, it's written in cross stitch, which is a foreign language to him. "What's stash and how do you get paid in it?"
Sunday and Monday, I went over my calories. I did my strength training a day late, which means the second time this week will also be a day late. I haven't done alot of cardio this week either, but I hope to go walking this evening.
Here's a pic of my entire Skeleton Crew so far. Please excuse the big grey blob that is Tinkerbell. As soon as J. and I get out of bed, she gets in, and she didn't care that I was taking a picture. Enjoy!

After ten days working on the front mast of Skeleton Crew, I finished it this morning! I had planned to start Sweetheart Fence as soon as I completed the mast, but I think I'm gonna keep working on this until I'm sick of it again. I'm just a little scared to stop when I feel like I'm finally making some progress. I still don't think I'll finish it before September, but it's going alot faster than I thought!
Thursday and Friday both I went over my diet goals. But I did get all my strength training and cardio stuff in. Amazingly, I lost THREE pounds! I'm not sure how I managed that, but I'm not gonna worry.
I had a horrible day at work Saturday. I had to deal with every framing customer that came in. Now I don't mind doing framing, but it's definately not my favorite thing. It's right there next to "rearrange models on the wall just to change things around." But most of the time, the customers are nice, it's fairly easy to pick mats and frames, and a snap to enter into the computer. All the customers Saturday were grouchy, cheap, older women who wanted the most complicated frame job ever for under $20! One of them was framing calander pages! I don't understand it. I finally got one of the other girls to help her, as I had tried every mat color we had and nothing would work. On top of that she came in ten minutes before closing time! So after that, the boss of the day told me I could go on home. I was gone within a minute!
J. decided before I left for work that he wanted pizza for dinner. I told him fine, but to wait until I called him when I got off work to order, so it would get there the same time I did, and I could have hot pizza, too. I called when I got in he car to tell him what I wanted, and it was already there! He had ordered a pepperoni and chicken pizza. I don't like pepperoni. So I was not at all in a good mood when I got home, and he decided to play with the lock on the door while I tried to open it. I got so frustrated, I cried in the car for about ten minutes out of stress. Then when I came in, T. asked me, "Mommy sad? Mommy got boo boo?" I went in the bedroom and cried some more, and J. came in to see what was wrong. I told him about how I'd had a bad day, I had only asked him to do one thing and he didn't, and ended with "I don't like pepperoni!" which, as bad as I felt, still made me laugh. It sounded pretty silly. I always eat last when we get pizza at work, and he usually gets it for lunch and we have leftovers for dinner, so it's not very often I get hot pizza, and I was kinda looking forward to a hot Italian sausage pizza! So hopefully he'll remember next time. It also irked me that he didn't save me any chicken strips. I didn't want any, but it would've been nice if he had considered me.
After dinner, I sat on J.'s lap and he cuddled me and I felt a little better. What made me feel alot better though, was the tickle war we had with the boys. After the war was ended by Mommy and Daddy, I went and laid down in the bed, when who should join me but the two cutest guys I've ever seen. I always know that when I have a bad day at work, my boys will make me feel better.

It's been awhile since I've posted. I spent Saturday babysitting my niece and nephew, so I got very little stitching done. Sunday, I got alot of the sail on Skeleton Crew done. J. worked all day; so I could get some done. I love him to death, but I can't get anything one when he's home. It was the same on Monday. Tuesday, I had to work half a day. Michaels had DMC 5 for $1, so I took $10 out when I cashed my paycheck and bought 45 skeins. Wednesday, J. was off. I fell asleep in the chair, and he woke me up to ask to buy a video game. So since he got a new toy, and he didn't know I'd been at Michaels the day before, we mad a deal where I got more thread. So I bought the pack of DMC variegated thread I've been wanting since forever, and another forty skeins or so. My list of colors I need is down to about fifteen. I finished the bottom sail on Skeleton Crew, and have almost finished the entire front mast! Tuesday, while at work, my fabric came in for Sweetheart Fence. I wanted to start it this month, but I can't put down Skeleton Crew. I will start it when I finish the front mast.
I've stayed in my ranges most days. I went over Sunday, and yesterday I went over FIVE calories. I haven't been walking everyday, because I've got huge blisters, and every time I walk they just get bigger. I did my strength training Tuesday, and I have to do it again today. I don't think I'm gonna lose two pounds again this week.

Thursday, I did finish making my Lizzie Kate ornaments into ornaments. I didn't like the suggested wool pack/buttons/no-sew method they used on the models. I prefer just flat mat board ornaments, because we only have a tiny little tree. If I make them much bigger, they won't fit. I used a dark green fabric for the back, and DMC 500 and white for the cording. I took them to work Friday, and while filling out the model slip, thy told me to write down the cost of the tree, and they would write it off. I had not planned on this. I was going to let them hang them on the tree with no compensation. I hadn't planned to get anything, like the framed models I've hung. The manager told me that this was like the framing; it helps display them, and they will sell the ornaments and the tree because of it. So now I get a $35 tree for free. I was pretty happy. And the fabric lady (she's in charge of checking in and ordering the fabrics) even commented on how nice they looked. That made my day, because she does not hand out compliments lightly. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of them before I took them to work.
I also started working on Skeleton Crew again. It's been a while. I was so sick of those sails, it intimidated me and kept me from working on it for a long time. Any other color, no matter how much of there was, didn't seem to take as long. But I put a few stitches in it Thursday, after my ornaments, and Friday before I went to work. I can hardly believe it, but I'm enjoying it! I like working on the sails now. Maybe because it's not so big, or because I'm only doing ten to fifteen stitches at a time. It's the Black Swan SAL weekend, and I considered pulling out my Avatar, pulling out Dragons By The Fire, and even starting a new one, but the truth is, I can't pull myself away from Skeleton Crew. I hope to spend most of today working on that.
Friday, while I was at work, a policeman came in and told us that they would be shutting down our parking lot twice, each time for about ten minutes; the vice president would be driving by. He was going to a fund raiser, and had to pass by us. We said okay (what else were we going to say?), and it was very creepy. They stopped all the traffic on our road, which is one of the busiest in town. Heaven forbid you ever have to make a left turn out of our parking lot. They even stopped traffic on the interstate, both ways. Since we didn't have any customers, we went out and watched the first time he went by. The daycare next door had brought out all the kids, who were yelling and waving to all the motorcycle cops that went by, but could care less about the vice president in the limo. They were so cute. They actually closed our parking lot down for about forty minutes. The manager was stuck in traffic on her way there, due to the road being closed. Right after we came back in, she called to see if we knew why there was so much traffic. We later found out that EVERY police officer in the city was there, along with state troopers, and even a couple of state troopers from North Carolina. They ran out of poilce cars and had the forensics truck at the daycare! Goodness knows what would've happened if someone called 911 then! It was a pretty cool experience!
Thursday I did my strength training exercises, but I didn't really go for a walk. J. had to work late and didn't get home until six. Then we had dinner and I had to get groceries. I didn't get home until eight, so J. and I crawled into bed and watched a disc of 24. Friday I vacuumed the shop since I knew I wouldn't get a chance to do sit ups or push up while at work. And as soon as I got off, I went and walked at the park. Both days I stayed within all my ranges. Friday, despite the fact that I had Pizza Hut for lunch, I had to eat a snack after dinner just to get to 1200 calories. As it was, I only had 1209. I have burned off over 1000 coories this week, and I have lost pounds! I am very proud of myself. Now let's hope I an keep it up! I've got 48 more to go!

This is my Skeleton Crew. I started it last November, and have not worked on it much since Ddecember. I am stitching it on 28 ct. Heritage Cashel Linen for PTP. I was not entirely happy with the piece because of the big pink spot, but I am now fairly sure I have it positioned so that it looks like moonlight coming through the hole in the bottom of the ship. Fingers crossed.





This is my Avatar. I started this last June, and he kepts becoming my sceondary project. He will be the only thing I work on as soon as I finish Skeleton Crew. For a while, the thought of working on him made me want to cry. But I finally think I'm getting over it. I was just so sick of clouds and white thread. (Bear in mind I was rotating between these clouds and the sails on Skeleton Crew.) He is done on 28 ct. Crystal Meditation Cashel Linen from PTP.




This is my Toys And Games Room Stocking. I've had this for about a year. It keeps coming after Avatar. I have done some, but not much since last June. I hope to have it finished by this Christmas for T. since this will be his fifth Christmas. I made the Music Room Stocking for D., but I started it for T. As I looked at the two patterns though, I realized the Music Room suited D.'s personality more, and the Toys And Games Room fit T. better. This is on 25 ct. Mushroom Lugana.









This is all my progress on Dragons By The Fire Stocking. It's done on 25 ct. Gold/Cream Lugana. I started it Christmas Day for J., worked on it for about a week, and that was it. I was rotating back to it, but decided to go back to stitching one at a time. So it is at the bottom of the pile. I hope to have this one done by Christmas, too, but J. will be 26 this Christmas, so it's not like he's getting anything in his stocking anyway. It's just my family's tradition. The first issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts came out the month and year I was born. It had the Northwoods Christmas Stocking, and my mom made it for me. From what Ive beene told, people wrote in to the magazine and requested they make more stockings like that one. So the next year, they made a new one, which my mom made for my sister. And they made a series of nine. Well when my neice was born, my mom made one for her. And then one for my nephew when he was born. While she was working on my nephew's, my brother-in-law pointed out he'd, "been in this family longer than either of those two kids," and he wanted a stocking, too. So my mom made him one. My mom no longer cross stitched when I had my boys, so I picked out two to make for them. Now when I had to pick out one for J., all that was left was the Kitchen and the Stitcher's Studio. Neither one of those was "manly enough" for J., so I picked Dragons By The Fire, since we both love dragons anyway.
And this is Cross Eyed Kat's Snowfight: Red. This is one of the Fantasy Faire '06 designs. It took me about a week and a half. He was alot of fun to do. He's done on 28 ct. Crystal Fog Cashel Linen from PTP. I will finish him into an ornament as soon as I do a few more of the Fantasy Faire charts. I'll do all the similar sized and shaped ones at the same time. I get the boards cut at work by someone who knows how to cut them. I don't mind the stretching and the sewing, but not having to cut the mat board takes about and hour of work off each ornament. But I don't want to bring her one ornament at a time and ask her to cut two boards.
And here are my other recent finishes that I haven't put up pictures of yet:

The first two are Dinky Dyes cats. Tis The Season is done of 28 ct. Crystal Willow Cashel Linen From PTP. Harvest Time is on 28 ct. Crystal Moonglow Cashel Linen From PTP. The frames are eight inches square. I bought the cotton threads that I could, and only bought the silk colors that didn't come in cotton. I don't think I will ever do that again. The silks are so nice and the feel so good! The second picture is Lizzie Kate's Happy Hoppers Pocketbook kit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, so it's sitting in a drawer right now. It's done on 28 ct. Spring Cashel Linen from PTP, which came with the kit, and is more green in person. The last pictures are two ornaments I've finished finished. They are Dragon Dreams Christmyth freebies, on 28 ct. Raw/Opalescant Cashel Linen. I was going to try to finish more of my Christmyth ornaments this month, but I have to do my Lizzie Kate's instead. But I probably won't have any more of those to do until May, so it's all good.

As for my diet stuff, I did good yesterday. I stayed within all my ranges, did my push ups (15), my sit ups (75), and walked a 15 minute mile. Today I do strength training exercises (groan), but I enjoy my walks. No one whining, "Mommy, I want ....," or, "Honey? What are you making for dinner?" I'm trying to lose weight! I'm making ME a pb&j. What are YOU making for dinner?

Hi! I decided to set up this blog to have a place to vent when the world seems to be closing in around me. It's also a place for me to document my weight loss and cross stitch progress.
So here's a little info about me. I'm twenty, and live in SC, USA. I work at the Stitch and Frame Shop. I'm married with two beautiful children. My husband, J. works for a company called Bartlett, and is also in the National Guard. My oldest son, T. is four, and my youngest, D. is two and a half. We have a fat gray cat, Tinkerbell, and two dogs: a jack russell terrier, Lula, and a husky/German shepard mix, Aurora.
I am currently between 155 and 160 pounds, and trying to get to 110. I only started changing my diet and exercising Last Sunday, 3/12/06. In addition to eating healthier, I'm walking 30 minutes every day, doing sit ups and push ups every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and strength training exercises Tuesday and Thursday. So far I've stayed within my calorie limit every day (barely), and done whatever exercises I had planned for each day. I still have to do my push ups and sit ups for today. I'll go for my walk once my J. gets home, because the boys don't like to go for walks with me. And after that I have to go get my nails done.
As my stitching goes, I have four big things I want to finish. I am working on Skeleton Crew by Cross Eyed Cricket, Avatar by Black Swan, Toys And Games Stocking by Better Homes And Gardens/Cross Stitch And Country Crafts, and Dragons By The Fire by Black Swan. Skeleton Crew and Avatar are on the top of my list, because they are going to hang in the shop when they're finished. Employees can hang pieces in the shop for a year and get the framing free. I am planning to work on each of these one a a time until it's finished, starting with Skeleton Crew. Today and tomorrow I will be making the first five Lizzie Kate's 12 Blessings Of Christmas into ornaments. I want to take them in with me to work Friday. They asked me if I would let them hang them in the shop to help sell them. They got one of their feather trees to hang them on. So now I'm off to work out, so I can shower, so I can ornamentify till J. gets home!