The day after my last post, the computer did finally die. The new one got here that Saturday, and Jymi fought with it most of the evening that Sunday. It was Wednesday before I could really get on and do anything. I've been trying to get all my stuff onto the new computer for the past week. Now that we finally have a halfway decent video card, I can play The Sims 2 again, and I have to admit, that eats up a couple hours of my day. By the end of this weekend though, I'll be sick of it for another month. When everyone's happy and doing what they need to it's not as much fun. I much prefer the chaos of making them have as many kids as possible, while trying to get them to to work, get promotions, and cheat with the maids. It's fun to torment them.
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Our's was pretty good. Jymi called me from work that morning to let me know he'd be getting off at noon, so we could go to his grandparents'. I asked why. It had completely slipped my mind. My mom decided not to do Thanksgiving this year, since she had to work, and didn't feel up to cleaning so everyone could come over. That was fine with us, since it meant we didn't have to rush across town to try to have two dinners. Tobi and Darin were as sweet and well behaved as could be. They've got everyone fooled. Although when we first got there, Tobi announced to everyone that he wanted to play with his little sister. They all looked at me, and I looked horrified, I'm sure.
Jymi's grandparents usually have one long table set up in the den, but this year they had a small table in the kitchen, and one in the den. Tobi and Darin staked out their usual spots (in the den) and ordered "Aunt Kreeky" (Kristi) to sit with them. I also sat with them, since I don't trust them in the nice clean house when they have food, and Jymi sat with me. There was only one seat left, so Jymi's cousin, Kyle sat with us, too. So despite the fact that we were all three adults (Kristi's only 12), we still wound up at the kiddie table.
After dinner, the boys insisted the "Kreeky" play with the toys with them, until dessert was served. Tobi and Darin both decided they like pumpkin pie when Kristi had some, but they had to eat the whipped cream separately. When Jymi's parents left, Tobi and Darin kidnapped Kyle (who is only a year younger than me) to play with the toys. Kyle was more than happy too, though. They played train and Duck, Duck, Goose. Tobi came back into the kitchen to tell everyone that Kyle was his new best friend.
After Jymi's aunt and her family left, Jymi's grandmother told me she had something for me. I couldn't believe it! She brought out two cross stitch pieces she had done years ago. Neither of her daughters stitch, so I guess she thought I'd appreciate it more. I can't explain why but it meant so much to me. Maybe it's cause I'm so stingy with me stitching. I'll have to take pictures when I get a chance. One is a little boy on a tree limb, trying to save a kitten, and it says, "O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust... Psalm 7:1" She said she made it for Jymi when he was little. It's dated 1985, so he was five years old when she finished it. When the next framing special come around, I'm going to have it framed and put it in the boys' room. The other piece is even more beautiful. It's three gorgeous butterflies, done over one on a (I think) 28 ct. patterned fabric. She said she had planned to make it a bell pull, but never got around to it. She suggested cutting them apart and making little pillows with them, which I think is what I'll do. I'm not much of a bell pull person.
Friday afternoon, Latonya called me to see if I wanted to go shopping with her that evening. We ended up going out to dinner, all eight of us (her, her husband, her two sons (my age), Jymi, the boys, and me). She and I spilt a brownie/ice cream dessert, and Darin ate half of mine. We then sent the men home (with Darin on a sugar high, Jymi caught on to my evil plan), and she and I went to K-Mart. She was looking for Cars for Playstation 2 for a nephew, and I was just along for some grown up time. I ended up getting Lego Star Wars 2 for Tobi's birthday, though, and another Doodle Monster for my nephew.
We decided to have Tobi's birthday party Saturday afternoon, because in Jymi's mind, I didn't have enough places to go already. When I got up, I had to order the cake, go to the bank, the bookstore, and post office. I'd finished my ornament for the exchange, and was going to mail it. I got to the post office, and realized I'd forgotten the address. The house is only a mile from the post office, so I go home to get the address out of my email, only to find Jymi's taken the new computer apart in the kitchen! Since the post office closes at noon on Saturdays, and it was already 10:30, I was a little screwed. Then I try to go to the DMV to get the title for the new car in our name. I get the DMVs mixed up though. The one five minutes away isn't the one that's open on Saturdays. No big deal, the one that is open is just another ten minutes up the road. I get there, and it's closed for Thanksgiving.
I went back home and took Tobi to Target to get new shoes with his birthday money from his godparents. We got the shoes, and then went to pick out party stuff. Tobi had asked for a surprise costume party with goody bags and chocolate cake. So we picked out goody bags, and some stuff to go in them. We got Star Wars party plates, Cars goody bags, and Spongebob party hats. It didn't match, but Tobi was happy. Then I decided to look at video game real quick, just to see how much they would be for Christmas presents, since there were about four that Tobi wants. While I was looking, I saw that they had Cars, for Playstation 2, for a GREAT!! price. Since Latonya hadn't been able to find one, I decided to get one for her, and since it was such a great price, I decided to get one for Santa to bring us, too. While the guy was getting them out (both at one time, so Tobi wouldn't notice we weren't only getting one for Miss Latonya), Tobi told him that he wanted Sat Wars Legos, too. Guess I made the right choice.
Tobi had a nice party. We went to Chick-Fil-A, and the kids played in the little play area. Kristi was mad because we had chocolate cake, and she doesn't like chocolate. Tobi had been asking for over a month though, for chocolate cake for his birthday, and I was not about to tell him no. Then she was upset because all the candy in the goody bags was chocolate, but that's what Tobi picked out. She got over it though, and Tobi opened his presents. Jymi's grandparents got Darin two Happy Feet books, too, so he wouldn't get jealous. He's all about Happy Feet and "peng-ins" (pronounced similar to young-uns, gotta love living in the south). We made Tobi open the game last, because the we knew the world would stop once he saw it. He wakes up and wants to play, and the only way to get him to bed is to promise that he can play it in the morning.
I've been working on my model, too, but with everything else that's been going on, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to spend on it.
I finished Wicked. It was wonderful. I expected it to be very much like Politically Correct Fairy Tales; just the funny other side of the story, but it was so much more. It reminded me more of Lord Of The Rings in the beginning, with the history and mythology of Oz, but towards then end it reminded me alot, also, of 1984, with the wizard's oppressive regime. I've started Son Of A Witch (the sequel), but I'm finding it hard to read. Everyone's always so mean to poor Liir, and he's had such a miserable life, all I ever feel when reading about him is heartache. I've heard the author is also working on a book about the Cowardly Lion and the military, but I'm thinking I'm not going to be in the best mindset to read that one anytime soon.
Well, I think that's enough babbling for one day.I'm off to kill a few Sims beofre Jymi comes home and kicks me off the computer!

Labels: Books, Computers, Holidays, Kids, Models, Ornaments

Since I don't have much to say today, here's a fun Blogthing.

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

I've not been posting because there's nothing I can show. I have been stitching alot, though. I got to a stopping point on the model, and I'm currently trying to finish my ornament. I got the embellishment pack in yesterday's mail. It's over one, so I can only work on it in short bursts, but I did get four hours in.
Our computer is dying a slow, noisy, painful to me death. Last time it took me half an hour to get it to turn on. Since then I've been afraid to turn it off. We've ordered a new one, but it won't get here until sometime between Friday and Tuesday. Jymi's very good with computers, so he can take all the memory, and drives, and other stuff out of the old one and put it in the new one, and make a Frankenstein computer. It's the motherboard, fan, and video card we've had to replace. Jymi leaves for drill Friday morning though, and won't be back until Sunday. He won't feel like fixing when he gets home from that. The outage has started, so Jymi is currently working twelve hour days, six days a week, so he won't have a day off until next Saturday. I don't know that he'll want to fix it after work one day. Especially since he'll have to call Microsoft to load Windows again. So it'll probably be next week before I do not want to hit the computer with a baseball bat. It's a good thing we don't have one.
I got Jymi to quit smoking. Since he found out he's leaving, he's been whining that he wants an MP3 player. I've been asking for one for a year, but that's a bitch for another day. He had to have it right now, despite the fact that we didn't have the money. I told he could have it if he quit smoking. He threw the cigarettes away in front of Best Buy. It has (so far) cost us $125 in No Bounce fees at the bank, and as much as that bugs me, if it got Jymi to quit smoking before it had even been a week, it was worth it. He will not be getting any new toys for awhile, and he will have to eat Hot Pockets for lunch for the next couple weeks because that's all we'll be able to afford.
This outage is screwing up my system. I've been two days ahead all week, because Jymi went to work on Saturday. So it felt like Monday, and I've been off ever since. Jymi came home and found I'd lost half my mind yesterday, so that's all the signs of the outage. Jymi's always tired, and I'm always crazy. As much as I love my kids, I need a little break from them everyday. That's a little hard during the outage. Yesterday was particularly rough, because Darin was sick. He's fine today, so I guess it was just a bug. He got very mad at me last night when I gave him a peanut butter sandwich for dinner. Since he wasn't feeling well, though, it seemed like a bad idea to give him Cajun chicken and spicy rice. Call me strange.

Labels: Fun Stuff, Jymi, Kids, Models, Ornaments, Real Life Sucks

Time for this week's SBQ. How many different brands of “complete" embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index cards, palm pilot, etc.) I have all the regular DMC and the varigated (not the Color Variations). That's about it. I have about half the collection of Weeks Dye Works. I've also got alot of Kreinik, Gentle Arts, and Dinky Dyes. I've got a few of lots of others, too; Caron Waterlilies, Needlepoint Inc. Silks, Crescent Colors, Rainbow Gallery, Anchor, and some DMC specialties. For the few I have alot of, I have checklists printed from websites that I keep in a notebook. I need to get some for the collections I only have a few of, because my collections keep growing.
Here's a quiz I saw on Holley's and Nicki's blogs.

You scored as Faramir. You're Faramir of Gondor! Although you are a brilliant fighter and strategist, your parent(s) never seem to appreciate your talent and effort. You have an optimistic attitude, and would be willing to get into trouble if it would get others out of trouble. "I think at last, we understand one another, Frodo Baggins." Which LOTR character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Thank for all your comments about my Jymi's leaving. They are very appreciated. I'm working on accepting it. I told my sister, which means I don't have to tell the rest of my family. Kathy was going to see our mom and grandma that evening, so they know by now. Which works out can I can only stand to talk about it once a day. Jymi started smoking again when he got the news. Hopefully he'll quit when he runs out like he keeps promising me he will. I think he will, because it's getting cold, and he's not allowed to smoke in the house.
The boys are driving my nuts. Nothing new or different. This morning, they came and got in my bed when they woke up, and I turned on cartoons for them. I found out when I woke up and hour later, they'd been in the Halloween candy. I was so mad I threw the rest of it away. The rule is one piece for each time they eat a good meal, and never before noon. They have way to much energy without truckloads of sugar.
That's all I have to say today. Still working on the model which I can't show. I'm also still ignoring my ornament, but I will focus on that next week. Have a nice weekend!

Labels: Fun Stuff, Jymi, Kids, SBQ

So much for the wonderful weekend we had planned. Jymi was supposed to get off work at midnight, Friday night. The station where he was working is over an hour away, so I did not expect him home until 1:30 at the earliest. So at eleven, I decided to take a nice bubble bath and finish The End. I finished at about twelve. All I can say is "WOW!" I'm not usually surprised by movies or books anymore (too much Alfred Hitchcock), but this one left me with my mouth hanging open and crying for characters I never thought I would!
After that, I laid there, digesting it all. At 12:30 the phone rang. I figured it was Jymi, calling to let me know he was on his way home, knowing I would be going to bed soon. It was Latonya, his work partner. She called because Jymi asked her to let me know what was going on. Jymi had been contaminated, and he had to take a shower before he could leave. She assured me that he was fine, but they were going to be late, because there was no way of telling how long it would take to decontaminate him. Well, that sacred the hell out of me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I knew Jymi was home. At one, he called me and said they were going to eat at Waffle House, and then come home. I couldn't concentrate enough to do anything until Jymi got home okay at 2:30. They had one more scare on the way home (Jymi rode with Latonya, and another guy, Joe). On the interstate, the almost hit a deer. It was Jymi, in the backseat, who pointed it out to the driver, who almost missed it (or not, depending on how you look at it)! They did all get home safely eventually.
Saturday, Latonya and another woman Jymi works with, and I went to breakfast and shopping. We had a great time. I got a new sweater to wear when Jymi and I went out and some stuff for the boys. Tobi needed some jeans and a jacket. They also had Doodle Monsters for eight dollars a piece. The boys have really wanted one of these, so I got them each one. I'm thinking of going back and getting one for Chris, too. I got home and took the boys to my mom's, who had Alcatraz bears for them from her visit last week to California. Jymi and I went to dinner, which was nice. After that, we went to the bookstore to buy my mom's birthday present. I wish I had a picture of Jymi's face when I told him I wanted to get my mom The Happy Hooker for her birthday. Jymi also bought me Wicked, because I'd wanted it for a while, and it was on sale. Then Jymi suggested we go to Pineville. It was fine with me, and we ended up going to Best Buy, because it was the only one in the area that carries Ghost Hunters Season 2, which Jymi wanted. We ended the evening by going to see Man Of The Year. It was very good! Laugh out loud funny, and at the same time pretty scary.
Sunday Jymi didn't feel well, so we didn't go to the Renaissance Festival. After lunch, I went to pick up the boys. When I got home, Jymi said he had to go to the store, and he wouldn't tell me why. He asked me to be out side when he got home. I asked if what he was getting would make me mad, and he said I would be sad. So I sit on the front porch, with all kinds of horrible things going through my mind. He came home with cigarettes, and I started yelling at him. He stopped me, and told me his unit called while I was gone. They are going to Iraq in the spring.
I cannot think of any kind of torture that could hurt more than this. Giving birth was less painful than this, and I've had both a C-section and a completely drug free birth. What are the boys going to think when Daddy leaves again? He's going to miss their birthdays and holidays. He'll miss Tobi's first day of school, and probably Darin's, too. What if the worst should happen? The boys are still so little, I don't think they'd remember him. Jymi doesn't want to tell his family until after his next drill in a couple weeks, but I don't think I can wait that long until I tell my mom or my sister. I'll need someone to talk to and cry on before then.
Needless to say, I haven't gotten much stitching done this busy weekend. It seems like everyone else gets the most stitching time on weekends, but I have to do most of my weekly errands when Jymi's home for the weekend. I did get some work done on my model last night, but I did have to stop and cry again. It seemed like everything I had recorded was about the military or people getting shot. I went to bed at one, and laid their and prayed for Jymi to be okay for at least another hour before falling asleep. It's not really surprising that I had nightmares for most of the night. Jymi woke me when he left to kiss me goodbye, and I turned on cartoons to take my mind off all the horrible thoughts that kept going through my head. So much for our wonderful weekend.

Labels: Books, Jymi, Real Life Sucks

Time for this week's SBQ! How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you? I got it from an episode of Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon. I don't remember exactly what happened, but for some reason Carl (the fat boy with glasses and a strange obsession with llamas) yelled, "Stop the world! I want to get off!" It always stuck in my head, especially on those days when everything seems to be crashing around me. So when I decided to start a blog to show my stitching and vent about my strange children, it made sense. It's a place for me to organize my thoughts and keep track of my stitching progress. So this is where I go when I get off the world. It has helped me to relieve some stress. There are not nearly as many days where Jymi comes home and I lock myself in the bedroom cause I need a break.
The model is coming along great! I love it! I worked on my ornament one day. I'm so into the model now though, that I can't put it down.
The money situation is still improving. Yesterday, though we somehow got $200 in our savings account that wasn't ours. I called the bank today, and they've figured out the problem. It was just a typo when they were depositing the money, and it got put in the wrong account. They said they would take care of it, but it's still there. Hopefully they'll get it all worked out quickly. Someone probably needs that money.
Jymi's working extra today, doing lead. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but they pay him about time and a half for straight lead pay, and time and a half from that for overtime. So he ends up making a little over twice as much as his normal pay. Today, he's working for noon to midnight, with a two hour orientation first. He also gets two days per diem. I'm not sure why, but I'm not gonna argue! What are we doing with all this extra money? Nothing too interesting. Most of it's going to pay back my mom and/or bills.
We are going out this weekend with some of it, though. My mom agreed to watch the boys overnight Saturday so Jymi and I could celebrate! Sunday will be our two year anniversary. Saturday night, Jymi and I are doing our usual night out. We'll go to dinner, probably at Applebee's, then to a movie. After that, the bookstore, and then Blockbuster, to get another movie to watch. I'm going shopping with some of the women he works with, so I may get something new to wear. It will be a little awkward, as I don't know most of them very well, and I will be the youngest. Most of them have children my age. When his partner asked if I wanted to go, though, I couldn't say no. As Jymi told her, I never turn down an invitation to go shopping!
Sunday, we are going to the Renaissance Festival! Neither of us have been in about seven years. We never seem to have the money or the time. Especially if we want to take he boys. It's just going to be the two of though. I can't wait! This is looking like it's oing to be a wonderful weekend! The only thing I'm worried about is I probably should've mentioned to my mom that the boys haven't adjusted to the time change yet, and are getting up at 5:30. After this weekend, she may never be willing to babysit again!

Labels: Jymi, Models, Real Life Sucks, SBQ

Tobi was very sweet while trick-or-treating! We went with Jymi's little sister, Kristi (12), her friend (also 12), and her friend's brother (about 6 or 7).
One house had a guy in a Michael Myers mask who was perfectly still until he decided to scare someone. My boys went and trick-or-treated at the house, and Kristi went and stood right in front of Michael Myers man and said, "If he moves, I'm gonna scream!" (He was very good, you really had to watch to tell whether or not he was real). So when she left, he picked her to scare. She kinda asked for it.
All he did was move just a little when she walked by, and scared the heck out of her! She ran to her mom crying, saying she didn't want to trick-or-treat anymore. Jymi's dad told the man off for scaring the little kids, which I don't agree with. He didn't scare the LITTLE kids. He didn't make a move when it was Tobi , Darin (3), and the friend's brother. He scared the twelve-yaer-olds. But Tobi went with him when he did it, and stood on foot from Michael Myers, shook his finger at him, and said, "It's not funny!" in a very authorative way. The he went to Kristi and gave her hug, and said, "Are you okay Aunt Kwissy?" At the next house, he held her hand up the driveway, just in case she got scared again! I was so proud of him! Everyone loved his costume, and remarked that he looked just like Harry Potter. Darin was very cute, too! He would only put them head hood on to roar at people. When we stopped at Jymi's parents' house, one of their dogs freaked out. This was her first Halloween, and she han't seen us since July, so when this short, green person with a tail showed up, she had a fit. She got used to Jymi, Tobi, and I very quickly, but she barked at Darin for an hour. Once Darin came to show me something, with his back to the dog. So she bit his tail. I don't if she thought she was dominant, or realized it was fake, or what, but after that she was okay with Darin. I didn't get a chance to take pictures, or I'd post them. They had alot of fun!
Now for my goals. My goals in October were work on any models I get, and stitch on Tobi's stocking. I've done both of those! I stitch two sets of models (four fobs per set). The one on the left is called Fiber Fobs, and the one on the right is Fab Fobs. I've also started my ornament for the exchange, and finished part 2 of my Persian Iris Garden, just in time to get part 7! I also finished An Arm And A Leg, except for the buttons, and I ornamentified that and my two Snowfights. Not bad.
My goals for November are to finsh my ornament for the exchange and work on my model. I doubt I'll have time for anything else this month. If I do, I'll probably start Kitty Love. I got the chart and most of the silks needed as payment for the two sets of fobs. I still need one more color, but I can start it as soon as I have time. I do want to have it done in time for Valentine's Day. I've already done the first two.

Labels: Goals, Kids, Models, Stash