I started working on Liberty Fence. The grass kind of blends into the background, but I think it'll work. I like it, and that's what's important. I'd like to hang it in the shop, but if they don't want it, it's not that big of a deal. After stitching over one on 32 ct., this over two on 28 seems weird.
I spent most of yesterday morning organizing and kitting up projects. The ones that use overdyed threads are very hard, because they don't repeat very often. My big projects and my new little ones that are all DMC, though, are a pain. They are all repeated. So I have to figure out which one I'm doing first, which threads I've already put in a project bag, and why this color isn't where it's supposed be. Now what do I really want to work on? I want all three of the Mirabilia holiday fairies. Now where do I find the money? I've applied at Michaels, but they're not really hiring right now. I guess I'll go back to cleaning my mom's house every two weeks. That will get me all three kits in a couple months. That is of course assuming we don't need it for groceries.
Money's VERY tight now. I don't know how we're going to pay the bills. We can't get the car back from the towing company because we can't afford to pay them, but the bill is running up every day we leave it there. To top it off, my glasses, my rings (none of which are really worth anything, but all are very special to me), and my new Less Than Jake CD in the car when they towed it. Even my wedding ring is in the car! It was just a "temporary wedding ring," meant to last until J. could afford to buy me a diamond. So it's not worth more than $30, but it had alot more sentimental value. So does my $5 ring. It just a small sterling silver dragon, but J. got it for me on the first day of our honeymoon, at Chimney Rock Park. Anyways, I digress. I'm going to my mom's tomorrow to ask her advice. I just can't figure out where we should go from here, and I don't think J. does either. Every day he has a new plan, but none of them are very realistic, or practical. Most of them involve going back to only having one car. He usually wants to sell both cars and put the money towards another one. Which not only means going back to that frustration I have not missed, but a car payment! We can't afford the bills we have now, let alone another one! I had my nails taken off last night, so that'll save us $50 a month. J. was doing very well on cutting down his smoking until the accident. Since then his stress level has gone through the roof. He's still trying, and doing good at home, but it's hell for him at work. He wants to get a new job, but he probably won't find anywhere in town that'll pay him starting what he makes now, and we can't afford for him to make less. I think he'll get over it on his own. I hope so. We don't need any more changes right now. This is part of why T. still isn't potty trained. Every time we get close to six months without a major change, something happens. We moved, we had D., we moved, J. went to bootcamp, J. came back, and now J. wants a new job. Besides, any more big changes this week, I think I'll lose my mind!

I have finished Dragonwings! It's only a week late for J.'s birthday! I actually finished it at 11:58 last night, so I guess it's only six days late. J. was in bed when I finished it, so I left it out for him to see, on the back of the chair, with a note that said, "Happy birththday/anniversary/Father's Day!" When I got up this morning, I could see that he had moved it.
I love it! I think it turned out well. It looks better in person than the picture on the chart. The picture on the chart seems a little blurry to me. I doubt mine is much better though. The lines in the border are so crisp in real life! The over one section came out much better than I expected! This was my first pattern that I've completed that had any over one. I am proud of myself! I did enjoy the stitching, but it was hard to start and end threads. I plan to do my other over one charts (like Merlin And Aurthur) on 28 ct. I think it might be a little easier that way, but probably not much.
The new owner has decided to hang my Time I Spend Stitching. I was going to ask about this one yesterday, but she wasn't there when I went. The old owner loved it though and said she'd recommend to the new owner that she hang it. We'll probably go down there Friday, since J. decided he wants to help pick out the frame. Of course he won't on Friday, and then I'll just pick out what I think looks good. It doesn't need a mat. All it needs is a black frame. I think a medium sized one, with a little design but not much. It needs very clean lines, and should still be fairly simple. I think "modern" may be the word I'm looking for, but I'm not sure.
Now I'm going to work on Liberty Fence. Then I have the two new Mother's Wisdom, three new Lizzie Kate ornaments, and a new Lizzie Kate Snippet, A Brother, all for the shop, hopefully. When I saw A Brother, I loved it. I would love to hang it in the shop, and then one day in the boys' room. I also want to do a Garfield chart for T. My dad gave me an old chart he had (from 1978) called Garfield's Diet Tips. On the top, it has Garfield jumping into a bowl of ice cream. T. told me he wanted it, so I decided to just do the ice cream bowl part for him, and add, "Bonzai!" underneath it. Then of course there's my three never ending (and never worked on) wips. For now though, I'll just do Liberty Fence. Then I'll take a week and do all the small projects. I think I'm going to try to work in In Every Nest, for the shop, too.

This is the whole of Dragonwings so far. The other picture is the over one section so far on Dragonwings. I found the puddle of baby oil. I guess D, thought it was water, because he put it in the cat's waterbowl. We also got a notice that our insurance will not cover the repairs to our car. So we will have to have it towed back to our house, where it will probably sit until our next tax return. Deep breaths. It'll all work out okay. Right?

Well, we're back. Actually, we got back on Thursday, but life's been a little hectic.
We drove up to Virginia Beach Saturday. We left at about four in the morning. We got there t about ten. J. drives fast. The boys were pretty good. They were a little silly sometimes, as you can see. We spent the day hanging out with my dad, and the Suttons, some family friends. They had lived down the street from my grandparents when all their kids were little. My dad and their oldest son were in boy scouts together. They consider me to be just another grandchild, and T. and D. are special because they're the first "great-grandchildren."
Sunday we drove up to Maryland to visit my aunt and uncle. They live just down the road from Assateague Island. We decided to drive down, and we kept telling T. he was going to see the ponies. We drove through the whole park and didn't see one pony. On the way out, T. was crying and very upset that he didn't get to see any ponies. Finally, through a clearing, I saw three. We pulled over on the side of the road, and took the boys to see them. T. was thrilled. D. had a hard time understanding that he wasn't allowed to touch them.
On the way back, all three of my little boys fell asleep in the back seat.
Monday, we took the boys to Fort Story beach. T. didn't really want to get in the water, so he and J. built sand castles. D., however, loved the water. He sat on a boogie board, and I pulled him out into the water. He loved it when the waves hit him in the face. He was very upset when we made him get out. After the beach, my dad let the boys play in the grass, and J. and I went up the old Cape Henry lighthouse. J. had never been up a lighthouse before. I remember it being alot taller, but then I used to be alot smaller.
Tuesday, we took the boys to the Norfolk Zoo and Nauticus. T. loved seeing all the animals. D. was mad because he had to ride in the stroller. T. could name most of the animals. Some of them were very close. T. has been calling ducks, "quacks." They have alot of ducks at the zoo (not as part of an exhibit, just everywhere). T. finally started calling them ducks. What do ducks say now? "Duck, duck." We're still working on it. T. loved the lions (which were actually tigers, all the real lions were hiding). In the barnyard animal area, T. and D. got to feed the goats. They had a blast. Then at Nauticus, they got to feed the koi they have outside. D. kept trying to feed the poor pigeon that was nearby. It had hurt it's leg, and couldn't walk properly. It was pretty good at flying away from D., though. J. had alot of fun on the Wisconsin. They had a room open with some hands on stuff for the kids. D. loved the touch tanks. He touched a starfish and a horseshoe crab. We were going to let T. touch the sharks, but he wasn't tall enough.
Wednesday, we went to Busch Gardens. T. and D. had a blast, and so did I. It's been a long time since I could ride that many roller coasters. We got in for free with the "Here's to Heroes" deal. My dad has a season pass, so we also got 10% off of all the food, and souvenirs. T. and D. each had ten dollars from their penny banks to spend. T. got a wolf (with a little extra money from grandpa), and D. got a teddy bear. T., D., and I rode the Katapult together. I was worried it might be too much for D., but they both laughed and "woohooed" the whole time. We saw a couple shows. J. wanted to see the Castle O' Sullivan show. It scared T. a little, but he was okay. We also took him to see the 4-D show, Pirates. T. thought it was the coolest thing, but D. wouldn't wear his glasses. Now J. doesn't ride rides. His parents took him on one that scared the hell out of him when he was little, and he is terrified of most of them. He wasn't sure he wanted to see Pirates. We convinced him it was fine, it didn't move, but in the end, he was ducking when he thought water would shoot out. In the end, he did enjoy it. We also saw the Pet Shenanigans show, which was just hilarious. T. and D. laughed the whole time. They had the cutest breed of cat, called munchkin cats. One of the best things about it was that every single animal (and there were quite a few) were rescued, from shelters, bad homes, ect.
Why are there only pictures for the first day? The disk with all the other pcitures were still in the car when it was towed. Thursday, we left again at four in the morning. We stopped at Concord Mills, to shop a little bit. I got some new shorts at the Old Navy outlet. J. wanted a new video game, so we stopped at EB Games on the way home. I had been sleeping, and J. woke me. He suggested I go get lunch while he got his game. So I did. Boy was that a mistake. I shouldn't have driven right after waking up. On the way back, I didn't see the car in front of me stop, and I hit it. No one was hurt, but our car wouldn't start and had to be towed away. All I can say is thank God, Goddess, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu, and any other powers that be for car seats! D. was very sweet when I got him out. I was half a step away from hysterics, and I was crying my eyes out. I picked up D., and he hugged me, patted my back, and said, "Iy's okay, Mommy. It's okay." The same thing I tell him when he cries. Now we have to find the money to fix the car. I was hysterical for a while, and very sensitive about it, but I'm getting better. J. was as sweet as he could be. He made me eat and drink when I didn't want to. Otherwise, I probably would've gone two or three days without eating. I'm better now. It's no longer playing on a continuous loop in my head.
Friday, I found out Saturday would be my last day at work. I understand why. The new owner said that maybe when business starts to pick back up in the fall, she may hire me back. She did say that I could still hang models in the shop for a year and get the framing free. So Saturday, I brought in The Time I Spend Stitching. The new owner wasn't there, but the old owner and the other girl who was working loved it! This was especially good news since the old owner hadn't really liked the choices I made when I picked them out. It was hard to find the right frame, but we found one. Only one. Saturday was hard, but J. was sweet and held me while I cried for a minute or two. For a couple days, it seemed that everything in my life was crashing around me. I have to tell you, I was extra careful when Iturned on the stove to make dinner. The last thing I needed was to burn the house down, too. I'm not sure why, but I feel better today. I watched Reba last night, and the theme song (I've always thought it was a pretty song) really spoke to me.
"My roots are planted in the past,
though my life is changing fast.
Who I am is who I wanna be."
I'm a survivor. I can live through this. I've lived through alot worse. Now I've got J. to help me.
I didn't get alot of stitching done while we were in Virginia. I did finish the wing before we left, and ripped out one of the lines on the wing that I had messed up on. Some small child (I won't mention that it was D.), stole my blending filament, and I couldn't find it to restitch it. My sister found it when she came over to feed the animals and set it on the entertainment center. So I redid that last night. I have been working on the over one section. It's coming along slowly, but surely. It's driving me mad. It looks like I've hardly done anything, when in reality, I've got over four hundred stitches done. Over one on 32 ct. isn't as bad as I expected it to be, but when I do Merlin And Aurthur, I will definately be using a 28 or 25 ct.
I was going to put up pictures of Dragonwings, but Blogger won't let me. Plus, D. just brought me what used to be a one third full bottle of baby oil, so now I have to find the rest of it. Yay. I love my kids. I hate that I have to remind myself of that, but I do love my kids. I'll try again with te pictures tomorrow!

Here's Dragonwings. I've done a little today, but most of today so far has been laundry and packing. I'm done with D.'s bag, and almost done with T.'s. They both just need more socks. I've got my clothes ready to pack, I just need to actually put them in a bag. J.'s doing his own packing (my baby's growing up, finally) tomorrow. I plan to stay up a little later than normal stitching. I will finish this dragon! I'm sick of this blending filament. My other good stitching news is I found the needle I lost in the bed a few days ago. What makes it great is I found it before J.!
I talked to my mom about our rent problems (she's our landlord). We worked out a deal, and everything's going to be okay. I also asked my sister to take care of the animals while we're gone, and she agreeded. J. made sure he is getting paid vacation time. So everything's good. It is all working out okay. There was never really any doubt that it would, but it sucks trying to figure out how. See you in a week!

to bang my head on. We're leaving Saturday to go visit my dad in Virginia Beach. We still have to pay rent, and J.'s going to get just enough to pay rent. We should be able to get up there and only have to fill up the car once. So we have enough to get up there, and that's about it. We're planning to stay almost a week, but I just don't see how. Every time I thnk about our money situation, I want to cry. It's all so frustrating! Why can't my bank account just automatically refill with money when it gets low? All the other bills are going to be due, too. Then rent's going to be due again! On top of this, I babysat my sister kids today. I was dreading it; getting up early and dealing with four kids all morning. It turns out my two were the brats this time. One of them was throwing a tantrum all day. When J. gets home, I'm going to hide in the bedroom and cry.
Anyway, I'm done venting now. Que, sera, sera. If worse comes to worse, I'll ask my mom for help. We've still got to get someone to take care of the animals while we're gone. Deep breaths.
This week's SBQ is: how many cross stitch books do you own and how often do you use them? I guess it depends on what qualifies as a book. We have some customers who call any chart a book. In that case, I don't have time to count! I'm leaving in a couple days. I pull them out and flip through/fondle about once a week. If it's a book with more than one chart, I have a few. I can think of about six off the top of my head. I have a stocking out of one of those books started. I flip through those every once in a while, too. If it's books about stitching, just full of specialty stitches, or something to that nature, I don't have any. I can't say I really want any.
I'm still working on Dragonwings, but I haven't taken a picture today. I will take one tomorrow, my last one before the trip. I did get a good bit done while babysitting today, considering I was keeping track of four children and a half wild dog the whole time. I'm hoping to finish all the regular cross stitch tomorrow, but I also have to do laundry. We're leaving at about four in the morning, so it'll be too dark to stitch then, but chances are I'll go back to sleep. I will stitch in the car once the sun comes up. I'll (hopefully) be working on the one-over section. If I had known when I got the fabric that this chart had a one-over part, I wouldn't have bought 32 ct. fabric. Cross your fingers for me; this will be my first attempt at stitching over one when I'm supposed to. The first time I started Lucien, I stitched all the black over one, because nobody told I needed to go over two. If the beads weren't already petite beads, my mom wouldn't have told me. She would've let me keep doing it, and just gotten smaller beads. I could tell it broke her heart to tell me I had to take it all out. Now I'm a little afraid to try it, but if I'm going to stitch Merlin And Aurthur, I guess I'll have to get over it.
I've started the laundry for the trip. J. doesn't have any pants to wear to work tomorrow, so I can't go to bed until they're done. I guess I'll just have to spend some more quality time with Dragonwings. (J. laughed when I told him I named the dragon Elliott.) Darn! So to quote Robert Frost: "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." Good night!

Sunday, I took T. to see Cars. I have to say it was pretty racy for a Disney movie. They talked about "hillbilly hell." They big race is called the Piston Cup, and at one point the race car is talking about it. Then Mater (short for Tow Mater, played by Larry The Cable Guy) says, "He did what in his cup?" All the adults in the theater laughed, and all the kids looked around confused. The themes were a little grown up for T., but it was a cute movie. It was alot about enjoying the journey, not just how fast you get there. It kind of reminded me of cross stitch.
I've been working exclusively on Dragonwings. I'm a little afraid if I start Liberty Fence, I woun't want to work on Dragonwwings anymore. Right now, I'm os into it, I'm afraid to put it down. After T. and I got back, J. and I watched a dirty movie: Seconhand Lions. It's a wonderful, sweet movie, but my DVD was dirty, and it kept skipping. We watched it though, and had a nice quiet afternoon. I got a little done on Dragonwings while we watched. Then, yesterday, I ripped it all out and fixed it. So I don't feel like I've gotten alot done.
Considering how broke we are, I sure seem to have gotten alot of stuff this week. I got the free magazines, the stash for my model, my fabric of the month (which I did have to pay for), and yesterday I got a random act of kindness. Sara (RxLady) from The Wagon sent me Teresa Wentzler's The Princess And The Dragon, and some DMC from my wishlist (the colors in the picture are not for the chart). I was so surprised, and it was such a nice gesture. I was moved to tears. I absolutely love it all! All I need to start it is the fabric, two skeins of DMC, and two packages of beads. I think fate is trying to tell me to start a Teresa Wentzler, since I've gotten five new ones this week (three in the magazines, Celestial Dragon, and now this). Maybe I'll do one for my next big project. I am suddenly very eager to do this one.

Here's the rest of this week's SBQ. This is the chair where I sit and stitch. We don't have a couch anymore. So there are alot of times I have to share with some little boy(s).
This is my little cross stitch cart/tool table. The top drawer has Avatar, Liberty Fence, and Dragonwings in it. It is also the home of threads that need to be put away. The second drawer has all my other WIPs, and ornament cuts of fabric. The third drawer is magazines and charts I'll never stitch. The fourth is my "other stuff" drawer. It has charts I plan to do, but don't fit into the bottom drawer categories. That bottom drawer is "favorite fantasy designers" drawer. It has my Teresa Wentzlers, Black Swans, Dragon Dreams(es?), and Cross Eyed Kats. At the moment, it is also home to my ornament making supplies and a small frame until I finish the piece for it.
My stitching bucket sits on top of it, along with all the stuff I pull out of the bucket, but don't put back. My uncle gave it to me for my birthday last year. I keep my scissors and needles in the pocket on the lid. It the top compartments, I keep my markers, highlighters, chapstick, Thread Heaven, safety pins, and a baby thermometer. It's the only place nobody swipe it from, so I always no where it is. Plus, I usually notice they're warm when they climb into my lap, and his way I don't have to move them to take their temperature.
Underneath the tray, I keep Just Another Button Company button packs, threads for Christmas ornaments, a pair of knitting needles, and a thread cutter pendant.
This is my big cart. The top drawer has my DMC. The middle drawer is just for specialty fibers and Q-Snaps. Last, but not least, my fabric drawer. It's probably my favorite! I've got the special cuts is zipper bags labeled with what project they're for on the bottom. I have my regular cuts on top of those, divided by size. That's my stitching area. It's not much, but it suits me.
Yesterday was J.'s and my anniversary. Six years ago, we started dating. We had only met a week before that, but as soon as I met him, that was it. When we met we both we would spend the rest of our lives together. Six years later, and it seems like we just met yesterday and that we've known each other all our lives at the same time. We are still as goofy and lovey as when we first started dating. He knows everything about me. There's no one else as irritating in the world, and no one else I trust more. As much as I bitch and make fun of my husband, I love him dearly. Mainly because he's seen me naked and he still wants me!
We went to see DaVinci Code for our anniversary. We both enjoyed the book. I've heard bad reviews because they left stuff out, but it's been so long since I read it, I'm sure I didn't notice half of it. I only noticed two things that were really different. I also read Angels And Demons right after finishing DaVinci Code, and I tend to get the details of the two mixed up. I really enjoyed it. I'm so over the whole controversy stuff. I don't care if it's real or historically accurate; I just want to be entertained for awhile. During a fairly dramatic scene (when Sophie asks Silas if he killed her grandfather), the fire alarm in the theater went off. The lights started flashing, and then a voice came over the speaker system and said, "Someone has reported an emergency. Please exit down the stairs and through the nearest fire exit." They let us in about ten minutes later, and had the movie going again right after that. I guess someone just pulled the alarm. They gave everyone free movie passes. They were one short on our row, so we just passed two down to the couple at the end of the row, and we just got one. My sister and her husband both manage theaters for the same company, so we can get passes just about any time we want. I've got a couple to take T. to see Cars tomorrow.
After we got home, I decided to show J. his birthday present. At least I showed him what there was. His eyes bugged out his head for minute, and he got a big goofy smile on his face. That is how my quiet husband says, "WOW!" He really liked it. I hadn't started the wing, yet, when I showed him. I got that done today. I stitched a little at work. We were very busy in the morning and right before we closed, but those five hours between were very boring and very quiet. That's normal for show weekends, though. Everyone's waiting for the new stuff from Indianapolis.
When I got home, I had a very nice package! My payment for my model came in yesterday's mail! I got the Dinky Dyes for Persian Iris Garden, plus a couple others. I also got some Gentle Arts threads and a Silkweaver Solo. I got lots of charts! I got Cross Eyed Kat's Prinicpea (I love blackwork and the saying is too cute! Kind of ironic to get it right after seeing DaVinci Code!) and, of course, Post Modern Dogs. She also sent me the new freebie of the little red dragon and the mouse. I also got Teresa Wentzler's Celestial Dragon, Dragon Dreams' A Wizard's Quilt, M Designs' Harvest Moon (which I've always liked, but was never sure I'd stitch, so it was towards the bottom of my wishlist. Now if I never stitch it, I don't feel like I've wasted my money.), and Monsterbubbles' Strawberry Fields, which I had never noticed before. I probably looked at it, and wrote it off as another sampler. The writing is a little hard to read, but now that I've read it, I love it! She also sent my lots of Raise The Roof charts! I got Sam's Socks, Shorts -N- Such, Vlad's Vash Day, Witchy Washy, and the first two monthly charts (which goes through the first four months).
A customer brought in some old magazines for the shop, and I got to go through and pick out any I wanted. I got five. Three had Teresa Wentzler designs in them, one had some cute dinosaurs I'm considering for the boys room, and one had a wolf chart I thought J. might like. Just in case that wasn't enough new stash (like I need any more!), I got my fabric of the month from Shakespeare's Peddler. I'm not sure what I'm going use it for yet.
As for the rest of my life, UGGG! T. and D. are both tired, but throwing temper tantrums because they don't want to go to bed. I think T. has fallen asleep, but D. keeps banging his head on the door to keep himself awake. I gave him some medicine in case he was in any pain, hopefully with drowsiness as a side effect. That was two hours ago. He's still at the door crying. He won't eat, he doesn't need to be changed, and he's been given Tylenol, in case anything's bothering him. He is simply overtired.
Awhile back, I mentioned J. buying movies and leaving us ten dollars for the week. We ended up in the hole, and even though J. has been paid, we are still there. We still haven't paid rent, and I don't know where we're going to find the money to drive to Virginia Beach in a couple weeks! Every time I think about it I get so depressed. I feel like I'm in a big black pit, with monsters in the shadows. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get out, and every minute, the monsters get closer and closer. Then they bang their heads on the door to stay awake. It's time to watch some goofy tv and eat Top Ramen and cheer myself up. The upside to being sooooo broke, is J. has now stopped smoking. He knows we can't afford it. He's now down to his last two cigarettes.

I finished The Time I Spend Stitching last night. Blogger was down, though, so I couldn't post a picture. I wasn't sure I liked the colors at first, but once I got the Chartreuse and the Fiesta in, it looked better. I like it. I don't know that they'll want it in the shop, but it's worth a try. I can't even bring it in until the end of the month, though.
This week's SBQ is really two things: show your backs and a pictorial tour of your stitching area. So here are my backs.










These are my backs for The Time I Spend Stitching, iFob, Dragonwings so far, Happy Hoppers, and Snowfight: Red.
Here is the front of Dragonwings as of last night, before I started. Last night, I finished the neck, but I can't take a picture until J. goes to work.













I've got one more back to show. Kat has put up a picture of my last model up on her blog, so I guess it's okay to put one up on mine. Here is Post Modern Dogs, by Cross Eyed Kat. It will be released this weekend at the Indianapolis show. It was alot of fun to stitch.
I will put up pictures of my stitching area in my next post, since Blogger won't let me put up anymore pictures right now.
To answer a question I hadn't noticed until yesterday: I have all the Raise The Roof fences. I've done the Spooky and Nautical Fences. I'm going to start Liberty Fence today. I want (but have have the spare cash to buy yet) the clothesline series, the monthly series (I'm waiting for the last one to come out), the 50/50 Christmas charts, My Cone Runneth Over, Helga Hag's Beauty Bag, Love Thy Neighbor, and In Every Nest. So I don't have many, but I plan to collect alot.

It is 6-6-06. They re-released The Omen today. To add another six to the mix, six years ago today, J. and I had our first date. J. and I watched She-Devil this morning. It seemed appropriate. He didn't really want to watch it, but once I put it on, he didn't go anywhere. I told him to take it as a warning. I love that movie.
I got my Monster Mash today! I'm still not sure the Weeks Dye Works Emerald will be okay on it, but it will be the first section I stitch, so I'll know right away. I'm getting Highland for my color of the month from Shakespeare's Peddler, and I'll use that if I don't like the Monster Mash.
J. brought home a pack of cigarettes from drill. I could kill him. We both quit, and I don't want us starting again. I am not so much addicted to the nicotine, as much as the psychological associations. I associate it with when J. and I first started dating, hanging out with my friends when I was younger, and sitting in the cool evening outside, relaxing. J., on the other hand, gets mean when he has nic-fits. It was going to be a "just at drill" thing, but now it's a "just for awhile" thing. It has really got me worried. I'll let him finish what he's got, but then that's it. Anymore he brings home are going straight in the trash.
The evil of antibiotics is the taste and that they affect my birth control device. Tonight I take my last dose, and I could not be happier! I hate taking pills! Especially big nasty ones.
I've been working on Dragonwings while J.'s at work, but since he's working nights, I don't have as much time as I would like to work on it. While I was pregnant with D. I bought him a T-shirt with a dragon and a Chinese symbol on it. He got very upset when I wore it; he's trying to save the picture, because he wants a tattoo of it. So he took a picture of it. While I was looking through them after, the Chinese symbol caught my eye. It seemed so familiar! It's the same symbol that is on Dragonwings. I'll start working on Dragonwings again as soon as I get off the computer.
I'm almost done with The Time I Spend Stitching. I have two more rows left, which I'll get done tomorrow, while J.'s sleeping.














After J. left for work, the boys and I had some fun, taking goofy pictures of each other. They were so cute! I also took an updated one of Aurora, since all the ones I had were from when we first got her. She's much bigger now. When we first got her, all we knew was that she was part husky. Since she's gotten bigger, we can now tell that her father was a German shepherd. We also learned that the mix of those two breeds makes a puppy that looks alot like a wolf. Exactly what J. wanted.




A close up of D. He climbed on me while I was tying to take his picture!

T. wanted to take my picture. So, of course, I made a goofy face.

D. and T., happy, healthy, and silly!
I got some good news today. My payment for my last model should go out in the mail today! I can't wait!
That reminds me of one more evil thing! There was an armed robbery at out post office! We got a handout from the mailman yesterday; they're offering a fifty thousand dollar reward for any information. At the end of the shift last Wednesday, two guys held up a driver. Then they got in a car with two more guys and left. Part of what's so scary is that it is right up the street from our house. It's actually right down the street, just past the police station! I always feel safer because we live near the police station, but the post office is even closer! You can see the post office FROM the police station! I hope they find them! It's a small town, so there's a pretty good chance, if they gave everyone those flyers, and not just those of us who live nearby.
I will try to put pictures again tomorrow. Have a (not-so-) evil day!

Everyone is healthy again. We had one more bout of illness after T. got better. No, not J., Aurora. Our five-month-old puppy got sick a few times. Even she's better now though. Thank heavens, it's over, and J., the biggest baby of all, didn't get it!
Aurora has become D.'s dog. Every time he walks by, he has to stop and pat her on the head. She is the first person he says hi to in the morning, and last person he tell good night. She's the only of all our pets he calls by name instead of "doggy" or "kitty". D. is going through a phase now where he plays dead. Whenever he doesn't get his way, he throws himself down and "dies." Now we all ignore this, and he'll get u in a few minutes. Aurora, however, does not understand. Every time she sees D. "die," she sniffs him, then runs to me. Then she runs to D., and back to me. It's kind of funny now, but it's good to know if anything ever does happen, she'll let us know.
I've decided not to worry about my diet too much right now. I will be eating better, and I have almost completely cut soda out of my life. That in itself is a major accomplishment for me. This past week, I've been drinking soda, but that was to help my sore throat and to take my pills. The antibiotic ALWAYS leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, so I take it with a Sprite, to help get the taste out. The summers here are so hot, it's all I can do to drive anywhere, let alone drive to the park, walk for half an hour, and drive home. (The air conditioner in my car is broken.) When it gets cooler in a couple months, I will start exercising again. I can't afford a gym membership. In the meantime, I will still eat better, but I found I have alot more time in my day if I don't have to run to write down everything I eat. It's just more than I want to deal with at the moment. I keep trying to simplify my life. As soon as I get it simplified, I complicate it again, but then I simplify again every January and June.
Now for my stitching updates. I haven't done very much this past week. When J.'s home, I want to work on Dragonwings, and when he's gone, I want to work on The Time I Spend Stitching. I think Dragonwings is looking good, considering I've only worked on it two days. I told someone a work about how I was doing it for J. and that he requested it. She said, "Yeah, when they ask for something, you almost have to do it. How often does it happen?" Which is very true. J. doesn't care about most of my stitching. So I've decided on my next big project. When I finish the three I have started, I will stitch Merlin And Aurthur, by Heaven And Earth Designs for J. This will not be a secret project. It's gonna take at least a year anyway. I will work on Persian Iris Garden at the same time. The class may be over by the time I start this anyway. My latest plan is to finish The Time I Spend Stitching, Dragonwings, Liberty Fence, Avatar, Toys And Games Room Stocking, and Dragons By The Fire Stocking. In that order, without adding anymore projects, except my Lizzie Kate ornaments, which take me a day each. Of course I made a similar plan when I was simplifying in January. It did get me to finish Skeleton Crew, so I guess it works, in a way.
I've got a couple more rows done on The Time I Spend Stitching. I think I may have to rip out the row of fan stitches and redo them. They look fine on the front, but I'm just not happy with the way the thread is anchored. I'm going to go ahead and finish it, and if it still bugs me then, I will frog it. It's not like it'll take me long to put it back in. In fact, it'll probably take me longer to rip out.

My May goals were: finish the model for Cross Eyed Kat, ornamentify Christmyth Hippocampus, Salamander, Pegasus, and Satyr by Dragon Dreams, start and finish The Time I Spend Stitching by Dragon Dreams, put in at least one length of thread on Avatar, start and finish a Christmas ornament, and start part one of Persian Iris Garden by Chatelaine. Let's see. I did finish my model, but it hasn't been released yet, so no picture. No ornaments. I started The Time I Spend Stitching. I haven't even touched Avatar. No Christmas ornaments, and no threads for Persian Iris Garden. I did start Dragonwings, too, though. Bad month for goals. Oh well.
My June goals are going to be much simpler. Finish Dragonwings and The Time I Spend Stitching. Stitch one Christmas ornament. This month, I WILL put at least one length of thread in on Avatar. I also want to start something new this month. I'm not sure what, yet, but something small. I'll do Liberty Fence, if I get the fabric. Picture This Plus is supposed to have shipped our order today, which means I can pick it up next week. I'll leave the ornamentifing till July.
Here's this week's SBQ. Do you collect charts by one particular designer, yet have never stitched anything by that designer? If so, which designer and why do you collect the charts but have not stitched any of them?
I don't really collect any designers' charts. I have a lot of Cross Eyed Kats, and I'm working on collecting alot of Raise The Roofs. I will probably end up collecting all the Chatelaine mandalas, but I'm not sure how many I'll actually stitch.
Now a small rant. I could kill my husband! He spent $50 on movies, and now we only have $10 for the rest of the week. How is it my fault? It's not, so why is he mad at me? I'm sorry, but paying the bills is more important than him being bored! Thanks for letting me vent. J. and I will work it out in the morning. I'm just still mad at him.