We've all survived Christmas. The boys got a nice haul. For their one early present, they both picked the one from my dad. Tobi went for the DVD/game shaped one, and Darin went for the one in penguin paper. Shouts of "Star Wars" and "Thomas" filled the house. Tobi got Attack Of The Clones, completing his Star Wars DVD collection. Darin actually got Percy, to go with his Thomas The Tank Engine Lego set. The boys decided that Jymi could open a present early, too, so they him their gift. When I told Jymi I couldn't get what I'd planned to, he guessed I'd gotten season five of 24. I told him no, because technically, that's what the boys got him.
That night, when I took off my shirt, Jymi noticed my bra had a hole in it, and told me to open a specific present. Inside the shoebox he wrapped, was a gift card to Old navy so I could buy some new jeans and shirts, and some cash, so I could finally buy some new bras. The best part of it was, he promised not to come or ask me to take the boys, because he knows I'd end up spending it on them. I went last night to spend the cash. Let me just say now, Victoria's Secret sucks. All their bras run small. I did find some that fit at another store, and with all the sales, I saved almost as much as I spent. Friday, I'm driving up to Charlotte to spend the rest.
The boys had a wonderful Christmas. They were amazed to see all that Santa had brought! Darin was excited by his books, and Tobi was over the moon about all his Star Wars guys. It's now his "Star Wars collection." Jymi's parents gave him even more Star Wars Galactic Heroes. He still need Yoda, and then he's got everybody he loves. I wish they made a General Grevious.
When Darin opened his Diego playhouse, he really got in the mood! It was the first time he's ever torn the paper off that fast! He loves it. I'm ready to return it. It's the only present they got this year that requires batteries. Tobi got an Imaginext castle, which Jymi decided was really cool while he opened it. Tobi's going to take his Christmas money and get the dragon to go with it, and some more people.
Darin was all about his bath time pirate ship. Tinkerbell likes Diego's playhouse, too. She keeps walking through it, and chewing on Mama Jaguar. I gave Jymi a copy of Eldest. He loved Eragon, but he hasn't wanted to spend the money on the hardcover sequel. When I wrapped it, I noticed it was a special edition. It has all these extras in it, including a list of all characters and places, a preview of the next book, a picture of the cover, and some other stuff. He was really pleased, but now he wants to reread Eragon first.
The "boys" got me my favorite present. It's a charm bracelet. It's got two little boy charms, one for each of them. They remind me so much of my boys. They're standing, smiling, with their hands in their pockets. I can see my boys doing that, only it's scary when they do it. When they do it, I know they've done something else, and I have to o see what they've broken, drawn on, or put the cat in. Between the two boys, there's a heart, for Jymi. It was so sweet.
The picture is just my obnoxious cat, hiding in my blanket. We had a nice time at Jymi's grandparents. The boys made out like bandits. Once again, shouts of "Thomas" and "Star Wars" filled the room. The boys loved everything, even the clothes! In fact Darin's favorite present was the Buzz Lightyear pajamas. He insisted on taking all his normal clothes and putting them on. Jymi was a little disappointed. He was hoping for more gift cards, so he could get a Wii. He loves everything, though. Jymi's grandparents gave me a beautiful bracelet and earrings to match!
On the way to his grandparents, Jymi scared the hell out of me and the kids. He decided to take a dirt road, that's usually shorter. Unfortunately, it was raining, and there was a huge puddle. Jymi tried to drive through it, and we hydroplaned, which was very scary since the woods are very close to the woods. We got through it fine though, no accident, no injury, just a small heart attack. As soon as we turned off the dirt road, though, the car stalled! The engine had flooded. We tried for about fifteen minutes, to get the car started. Jymi, then called his dad, and when he got off the phone, he tried the car one more time. Of course, then it started. Thank goodness!
After Jymi's family, we went to my mom's. My niece and nephew both loved their presents. The boys got even more stuff. They got nine movies, if you count the two copies of The Little Mermaid as one movie. We're giving one to my sister's kids. My mom knitted me a hat (white thing in the picture), and crocheted me a purse (blue thing in the picture). It's from the Happy Hooker book we got her for her birthday. She made a red one, and decided to give me one for Christmas, but that I wouldn't use a red one. So she started a black one for me. I came over for something, and saw the red one. I told her I'd like one in blue or black. So she gave the black one to my sister, and ordered more of the special nylon yarn (she had to special order it from Mexico) in blue. I love it! All in all, we had a wonderful holiday!
My grandma also had an exciting day! She told her chiropractor about her foster children one day. He told his friend, who's a reporter for the local newspaper. He came out to the house to interview her! After the interview, he said it was such a heartwarming story, they were going to put it in the Christmas edition! Come Christmas day, she was on the front page! She was so embarrassed by all this fuss! As she said in the article, "Babies are babies. They need love." If you want to read the article, here's the link.

I have been stitching on part three of Persian Iris Garden, while I try to pick my next project. I still haven't decided. I am not really planning a one at a time thing, so much as a one at a time until I get sick of it and move on to something else. If anybody else has an opinion, I'm still taking suggestions.

Labels: Family, Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Persian Iris Garden

Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy Kwanzaa! Happy any holiday I forgot, too! I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday!
Today is our first day off in forever! The last few weeks, even on Jymi's day off, we've had a hundred other things we needed to do. So the last few days, we've been at each others' throats! He's exhausted from work, and I'm stressed out from spending ALL my time with the kids and worrying about their insurance. I love my kids, but ever once in a while, I need a break! By some freak of nature, Jymi got today and tomorrow off! So last night, my sister watched the boys, and Jymi and I went to see Eragon. Jymi's read the book and said it was okay, but they left out most of the things that made the book so great. I haven't read it, but I probably will when I run out of Gregory Maguire books (two more after I finish the one I'm on). It was nice to be just the two of us, even if it was only for two hours.
On the way home from the theater (or at least on the way to Kathy's), we stopped at Best Buy, to finish our Christmas shopping. I had planned to get Jymi's sister a gift card, so she can get another game for the Wii she's getting (she's getting so much, I don't want to hear about how we owe Jymi's parents money this year). Jymi had planned to get one for Kristi, and his cousins, too. They're not kids anymore, but they're both younger than him (one's younger than me, the other's a few months older than me), so he wanted to include them. That was fine with me, so we got three. Then, when we got home, I had to go out to the grocery store for some Christmas cards to stick them in, and some wrapping paper for two more Santa gifts for the boys. It was all 50% off, which was great!
I came home to find the boys in their room, with their faces pressed against the window. When I got out of the car, I could hear them screaming, "Mommy's home!" I brought everything in, and Jymi went in and said, "Yes, Mommy's home, but it's time for bed. Go to sleep!" I went in to say good night, and had to re-tuck them in. I usually do it, the same way every night, and Jymi doesn't know my way, which to the boys is the only way. They (especially Darin) can't go to sleep if their blankets are in the wrong order, or if they're missing Teddy (Darin's favorite teddy bear), Wolfie (Tobi's wolf who "keeps the monsters away"), and Puppy (Darin's otter, and, no, I don't know why). After that, I wrapped the last two of the boy's presents. The only thing still not wrapped in the TV, and we're not going to wrap that.
Today we are not doing a thing! Jymi's in our room, watching a movie, relaxing. The boys are watching Blue's Clues. I'm also being lazy, playing on the computer! Just a nice, relaxing, lazy day. Before bedtime, the boys each get to open one present.
There's no time to relax tomorrow. We're getting up, and opening presents. Then we've gotta give the boys a bath. It's easier to bathe the cat. Then we're going to Jymi's grandparents for Christmas dinner/lunch, and to open presents. Then we go straight from there to my mom's, for another dinner and presents. By the time we get home, it'll be bed time, for all of us. It'll be fun, but it will also be exhausting!
Hastur- I would love to do a SAL for Dragons By The Fire! I'm doing the Teresa Wentzler SAL on Mondays, and the Castle on Saturdays, but any other day is good for me. Please continue to help me pick! All help is appreciated! Happy holidays! God bless us, everyone!

Labels: Books, Family, Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Movies

I can't decided on my next project. I don't like the number of projects I have started. There's one more I'd like to start right away, but other than that, I want to keep working on the ones already started. Please help me choose. They all have pros and cons. Here they are, from oldest to newest.
First is Tobi's Toy's And Games Stocking. The reasons I should work on this: it's almost two years old, which is longer than I've let a project go, it's one of my family's traditions, and I don't want Tobi to be jealous that Darin has a stocking and he doesn't. The reasons I don't want to work on it: it never seems to end, there's no way I'll have it done by this Christmas, and I'll have to sew it together, and I currently hate sewing machines.
Next is Avatar: The Wizard Of The Wind. The reasons I should work on this: it's a year and a half old, I've only worked on it maybe three days all year, and Jymi likes it. The reasons I don't want to work on it: it never seems to end, I never feel like I'm making any progress, and it seems like there's always so much left to do.
The there's Jymi's Dragons By The Fire Stocking. The reasons I should work on this: it's only barely started, I don't want Jymi to be the only one in our family without a stocking, it's a year old. The reasons I don't want to work on it: it's only barely started, there's no way it'll be done for this Christmas, and if/when Jymi leaves, it's going to kill me every time I pick it up to work on it.
There's also In Every Nest. The reasons I should work on this: it's only barely started, I could have it finished this year, it's a small, relatively quick finish, to boost my confidence. The reasons I don't want to work on it: it's entirely converted, which I hate doing and keeping track of, it done with overdyes, which I'm not always in the mood yo work with, and I don't know what I'm going to do with it when it is finished.
Last, but definitely not least, is Persian Iris Garden. The reasons I should work on this: it's huge, it's gorgeous, I'm not allowing myself another chatelaine until I finish this one, and I LOVE the new White Lights. The reasons I don't want to work on it: it's on 32 ct. black, so I can't see well enough to work on it in the evenings, I haven't had the extra money to get the bead packs yet, and it's almost all silks, so I have to wash my hands even more often than usual.
Help me out, please! Thanks!

Labels: Avatar, In Every Nest, Jymi's Stocking, Persian Iris Garden, Tobi's Stocking

Since Jymi took last Monday off to be with his dad, he got this Monday off, too. There's a safety rule about having to have one day off out of every seven. So I took the model to the post office, and then went to Michaels to see if I could find a fiber optic tree. All they had were eight foot trees. They were half off, but they started at three hundred dollars! If I'm gonna have a tree that big, it's gonna be real. So I went across the street to Target, and I found one. I mean one. I got the last green one they had. They still had plenty of silver ones.
After lunch, I took the boys to see Santa at the mall. When we got there, though, Santa had just left for his lunch break, so I let them play in the play area. I never thought of my boys as particularly well behaved, but they were compared to most of the other kids there. They'd come up and shove Tobi and Tobi wouldn't do anything back. He wouldn't even say anything mean, and as big as Tobi is, he could've taken any of them if he wanted. I was very proud him. He played nice with all the kids, no matter how they treated him. Darin didn't want to play with the other kids. That's my boy, the loner. They were very excited to see Santa while we were in line, but when they were next, they got shy. Once they got up there, though, Tobi started telling him that he wanted Cars, the video game. They got their picture taken, but the scanner still doesn't work.
In the evening, after dinner, I put on A Muppet Christmas Carol. Jymi was on the computer, and got his current Netflix movie, and was going to watch it in the bedroom. By the time he finished what he was doing on the computer, though, he was "sucked in" to the movie, and he enjoyed it, too. Tuesday, we watched the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The boys sat entranced, while Jymi and I discussed the pros and cons of each version. We both like the original better.
Yesterday, Jymi stayed home again, because he didn't feel well. Tobi didn't feel good either. So I went out and finished our Christmas shopping. All we have left is something for Jymi's sister, and she's already getting so much. She just getting a gift card for Best Buy. I had planned to get Jymi a James Bond boxed set, but they were out of my price range. I did find something else for him, but I can't say what. He keeps trying to figure out/find it, and I wouldn't put it past him to check here. I put it in another box, so he couldn't guess from the shape. I also put in plastic bags, so he couldn't shake it. I had gotten Alex a bouncy ball maker for her present at Michaels, and also the last color I need for The Castle. I took the ball kit out and stuffed the bag in the box. When I went to bed, I remembered the thread, which I had left in the bag! Jymi told me to write it on the package, because he'd forget. So we now have a present that says, "To Daddy, Love Tobi and Darin," in one corner, and, "My thread is in this box," on the other.
I had planned to go to the DMV to try to figure out the car stuff, and I stopped at the bookstore, since I finished Son Of A Witch. It was very good as long as you remember that Liir is not Elphaba, and he's also never had any guidance at all. He doesn't know what to do with his life, and is just struggling to survive each horrific event, until he knows what to do. I'd read lots of bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it, maybe because I can relate to Liir's aimlessness, and the way he finds purpose to his life.
At the bookstore, I got Mirror, Mirror, and decided to see if they had No, David!, one of Tobi's favorite books. Lately, they've been more interested in books, but the only one they ever want to read is Alphabet Soup by Scott Gustafson. It's a good book, but every page is like a tongue twister. When I'm really tired, that's not a good choice. When I got to the children's books, they had a big display of Dr. Suess books. They were three for the price of two. So I got The Cat In The Hat and Green Eggs And Ham for Darin, and The Lorax and No, David! for Tobi. I am very eager for Santa to bring these. I can almost recite Alphabet Soup in my sleep.
Darin found a purpose for Jymi's whip. It's Tinkerbell's new favorite toy. She'll keep playing with it for an hour after we've quit. She's such a funny, psychotic, little kitty.
Here's the answer for those of you who couldn't find the happy dance. I finished it Tuesday night. I tried to be crafty yesterday, but it just didn't work out. I got some fabric to finish Jymi's grandmother's butterflies, but then the bobbin on the sewing machine ran out out on the first seam. After an hour of fighting with it, I figured out how to wind a new one. It was exactly how I tried the first time, but it didn't work the first time. So I started hand doing it. I had a small tantrum, and found that then the stupid machine wanted to work. So I ended up having to re-wind the bobbin on the machine. Jymi thought this was hilarious. He's very lucky I didn't throw anything at him. Then I couldn't re-thread the machine (it's borrowed from my mom). After another hour of fighting with the stupid machine to try to get it threaded right, I gave up, and had another tantrum. The boys were in bed, and it was just Jymi, laughing at me, so I started yelling obscenities at it.
I also got the word that my ornament exchange has been received. It's Feliz Navidad, by Monsterbubbles, from the 2006 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue, on 28 ct. Midas Jazlyn from Picture This Plus. I made some changes to suit what I had on hand, but I think it came out well. I found a pretty tin at the grocery store, and filled it with a bag of Ghiradelli special holiday chocolates. They come in peppermint bark, eggnog, and spiced cinnamon with nuts. I bought us a bag of the peppermint ones to keep here. I also sent some floss, and a calender. My grandma gave me some calenders charities have sent her, and I put one in the package, since we don't need eight calenders. I should stop writing about it now though. Thinking about the chocolates is making me hungry. I guess it's close enough to lunch time.

Labels: Books, Gift Stitching, Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Ornaments

I finished my model last night! I'll show pictures eventually, but for now, it's top secret! You'll have to settle for a picture of the ornament I finished last night! I've had everything but the buttons done since October, and I got the buttons probably a month ago. I didn't want to put down the model though. So after I finished the model last night, I spent all of five minutes putting the buttons on, and tying a bow. Next up is the Christmyth Wyvern!
Here's this week's SBQ. Do you have any good internet links to tutorials for your favorite finishing techniques that you would like to share? I like having my pieces framed. I don't really finish much in other ways. I finish most of my ornaments as matboard ornaments, just because I love how neat they look, I don't have to drag out the sewing machine, and I don't usually have to buy anything to do it. I didn't learn it from any tutorial. I just kind of picked it up at the shop. One of things I love about it, is it only takes me an hour to do everything.
Jymi got his Christmas present early. He's been begging for a keyboard for a couple months. Since the night of no sleep, the boys have been alot happier to see Jymi when he gets home. Now that he's got the keyboard, too, Darin can't spend enough time with him. It's amazing what one day with a REALLY mean mommy can do.
They had a Secret Santa exchange at Jymi's work. Jymi, being the dorkball he is, pulled his own name though. So he traded names with Latonya, and he's known the whole time who had his name. She wanted to get him a mini whip as a gag gift, but she made sure it was okay with me first. I woke up this morning to find he'd hung it over the TV. I thought it was funny, but Jymi was kind of embarrassed to open it in front of everyone. She also gave him a restaurant gift card, so he had a real present, too. His boss also gave him a coffee cup, with some nice coffee and cinnamon sticks. So he did get something nice.
Next weekend, we're going to get a new Christmas tree. We're planning to get a fiber optic one, because the boys loved my mom's. Plus, it wouldn't have to be weighted down, which is why we always wait so long to put up the one we've got now. Then we'll take the boys to see Santa. All Tobi wants from Santa is the Cars video game. Good thing Santa's bringing it. Darin will just be happy to see Santa, and whatever Santa brings.

Labels: Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Models, Ornaments, SBQ

Sunday, right after Jymi got home, I went out to get trash bags at the grocery store, about two miles away. Jymi called me halfway there, to tell me his father was in the hospital. I hurried home, and Jymi left. He hadn't been feeling well, and he got to work that night, and was going home, complaining of chest pains. The others there wouldn't let him drive, and called an ambulance. His blood pressure and blood sugar were both very high, and they decided to keep him overnight.
Monday, we took the boys to my mom's and both of us went to the hospital. Jymi's mom called us on the way there to tell us they were going to do a heart catheterization in the afternoon. We'd only been there about ten minutes when they came to get him, because they had an opening, and they could do it earlier. Once they prepped him, it took them two hours to start. They told us it would take an hour. Another two hours later, the doctor called us into the conference room. He said Jymi's dad had three blockages, in two arteries. They put in two stints, and he'll have to go back in again for the third.
He had to stay another night, but he finally got to go home yesterday afternoon. When Jymi got off work we all went over to see him. He's feeling better now, although last night he was a little down because he had to miss his lodge meeting. The boys gave Pops (it started as joke, but the name stuck) a big hug and asked if he was still sick. They're three and five, so we didn't go into anymore detail than that. Jymi and his mom went to go get his medicine, and some dinner. Neither them or us have had time to get groceries this past week. The boys kept Jymi's dad pretty entertained. Darin kept playing fetch with two of dogs, and Jymi and Kristi played video games. It was some James Bond game, and Tobi kept kicking Kristi's butt. It was pretty funny, considering my five-year-old son kept setting his twelve-year-old aunt on fire. He had never played before, but he was so much better than her. He had so much fun, too, and was laughed so hard, you could help but laugh, too.
This has all been very hard on Jymi. He's been snippy, and had completely lost his sense of humor. This is all understandable, but a little difficult. My method of coping includes babbling, and making jokes to keep my mind off of it. He's feeling better now, too. It's all worked out okay now.
Needless to say I haven't had that much stitching time this week. I did get alot done last night, though. I'm almost finished with my model. The shop called today with a stocking someone wanted finished. I know I could use the money, but the idea of stitching someone else's stocking, from a Dimensions kit, with all that mixed up thread, aida fabric, and someone else's stitching (I had to rip out most of The Lord's Prayer I did in a similar situation) just made me want to cry. I turned down the offer. I've got enough to deal with right now without a project I really don't want, and I'm looking forward to finishing something of mine. I'm not starting any new projects (except models) until I finish everything I've got started. I know it can be done, even by me. For now though, it's lunchtime on Wednesday, which means we get to order pizza. Yay!

Labels: Family, Jymi, Kids, Models, Real Life Sucks

I ended up sleeping most of Thursday away. I went to take a shower at seven, and could barely stand up. I figured it was time to finally go to bed. The boys got up at nine, and they came into my room and watched cartoons until I got up at eleven. They both took naps in the afternoon, and I took another nap at about three, for a couple hours. I then tried to go to bed early, but felt sick, as I always do when I haven't had enough sleep. I ended up staying awake until about midnight, when I felt better.
Friday, we had our annual shopping spree at Steve And Barry's. The boys and I each got a new jacket, since theirs from last year are too small, and I haven't had one in years. I've always just swiped Jymi's or worn a sweatshirt. We always get some new t-shirts there, too, since they have some funny one. The one in the picture is one we got for Tobi. It's actually an adult small, and a little big on him, but they didn't have it in kid's sizes. It's not as big on him as you'd think. We'll be buying him adult size clothes by the time he's seven. Jymi and I each got a shirt with an Irish flag, (since we're both of Irish descent). I found one with a witch silhouetted against the moon, that said, "Wicked Witch," that I had to have (probably influenced by my recent reading). Tobi freaked out that saying I couldn't buy that shirt; it was evil.
We then went to dinner with Latonya and her sons. Tobi loved talking to them, and he even won a game of checkers. We took the scenic route home, to see all the Christmas lights. As soon as we got home, though, I had to go back out to Target. Jymi told me on the way home his dad's family's Christmas was Saturday. Thanks for giving me plenty of notice! This year they were just doing presents for kids, so we had to get something for two of his cousins, and his cousin's baby. The two older ones we just gave cash in a card, because they're teenagers and everything they want is expensive. I bought some Peek-A-Blocks for the baby though, since she's only one. I made an effort to find something cool to her without irritating Jymi's cousin and his girlfriend. Then we get there, and the give my boys a mini pinball table! Next year, I'm buying his daughter a drum!
Darin was very sweet at the party. Tobi played mostly with the big kids, but Darin and the baby played together all afternoon. She wanted to play every one-year-old's favorite game, Throw It On The Floor To See How Many Times They'll Pick It Back Up. Darin picked it up and gave it back to her every single time. When it was time for presents, Darin was handed one of his first, and gave it to Trinity. Her dad was the one handing out presents, and he had to find one for her before Darin would open his. As much as he liked her and playing with her, he got very upset when she wanted to play with the train he got. He always got something else for her to play with, before he took his train back.
Then we went to Toys-R-Us, for some Santa shopping. Evidently there was a huge sale, because everyone in the world was there! I spent more time in line than I did fighting through all the people trying to find what the boys wanted. It was the first time in my life I ever thought to myself that I hate Christmas. It bothered me, because I love Christmas. I hate the crowds, the traffic, and the people who seem to think the only way to show their loved ones they care is by going into debt. I also got pretty mad at the people in the middle of the toy store, with six kids just with them, cussing at every other word. Does it not occur to them that maybe they should be more careful of what they say? I did mange to get the boys what they wanted. I'm gonna take the Christmas money they got from Jymi's grandfather and get them some more figures for their castle, and maybe another set of Star Wars Galactic Heroes for Tobi. He got Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 for his birthday, and I got most of his other favorites yesterday (Chewbacca, Anakin, Obi Wan, and Darth Vader, along with the others who come with those guys, C-3PO and Count Dooku, I think). His last favorite is Yoda. He'd probably like a Han Solo, too, but he's not as important. We were going to take the boys to see Santa, too, but by the time we got out of the toy store, Jymi and I were both out of patience. We did see a Santa and reindeer driving by, playing Christmas carols. Tobi and Darin waved and they waved back. We'll take them to really see Santa next weekend.
I got my ornament exchange Friday, from Vicki! She sent me Dragon Dreams' Not A Creature Was Stirring ornament. I love the finishing. She also sent some overdyed threads, some DMC in black, white, and ecru (colors every stitcher always needs), a card, and a chocolate bar. Can you guess why the candy's not in the picture? For once is not because my obnoxious children stole it! I also got an American flag button, from Canada! I didn't get a chance to mail mine until Saturday, but it should get there next week. When it's there, I'll share a picture!
I'm almost finished with my model. Just a few more days. So I should probably get my lazy butt off the computer and fix lunch, so I can start stitching!

Labels: Gift Stitching, Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Models, Ornaments, Real Life Sucks

I am almost certain that my entire family is trying to drive me insane. They've got the straight jacket in the closet, just waiting. Even Tinkerbell is in on it! Jymi's smoking, which makes it very hard for me to not start again. The cat keeps meowing at me and stealing my blanket, which is silly, because the electric blanket is set on high on my bed, and much warmer.
Tobi went to bed at nine, an hour after Darin, just like normal. Darin wouldn't go to sleep though. Tobi fell asleep right away, like he usually does. I laid down at eleven, but I had a wierd feeling in my stomach, and had to get right back up. It was like I'd forgotten something important, or I was worried. So I came back out, only to find Darin was still awake. I wanted to make sure he went to sleep, and at one, I heard Tobi, too. Darin had woken him up, and everytime Tobi started to go back to sleep, he did it again. At two, I gave in, and gave Darin a dose of Dimetapp to help him get to sleep. Darin was still awake, and by now so was Tobi. Again I gave in, and stole a couple of Jymi's cigarettes, and went outside to smoke. It was so nice outside. It was quiet. There weren't even any cars. I could hear the train on the tracks three or four miles away. I came back in at 2:30, because I could hear the boys outside, and it was no longer as peaceful. I seperated them, and brought Tobi into the living room. I put on Return Of The Jedi, because it's a nice long movie that he loves, and he'll sit still through it, and fall back asleep. Without Tobi, Darin was asleep by three. Now Tobi, the king of cat naps, was wide awake though. He sat still, and was quiet, and watched the whole freaking movie! When it was over, I put him in his bed and he went to sleep. That was at four! Jymi gets up at 4:45, so I decided not to bother going to bed. It's easier for me to function on no sleep than to try to sleep for just a couple hours and get back up. So I stole another cigarette and went back outside.
Jymi got up and found me outside. He said he was worried I had run away. We joke that he held my hands at our wedding to keep me from running away, since he knew how scared I was to get married. He considered staying home from work so I could sleep, but they have alot of jobs they have to do today, and if he did, it would prett much screw everyone else. I told him to go; we need the money. He didn't want to, but he went to work. It was enough that he wanted to stay and help me. I plan on waking the boys at nine, so they'll nap in the afternoon, and still go to bed at the regular time. I'll take a nap when Darin does. Tobi can play video games while I nap, and he'll be good.
I was a little productive during all this, at least. I didn't stitch; I've gotta take a long shower and wash my hair before I'll even sit in my stitching chair. I put some clean towels over the stitching I had out before I even stole the cigarettes, so it won't smell. I've been having problems posting pictures on the boards using Blogger, and I hate Yahoo Photos, so I started a Webshots account. I spent the evening seeing just how long the batteries last in my MP3 player (all night, and it still has a little over half the battery left), and adding my pictures to my Webshots album, along with any necessary info. Maybe taking pictures of all my older projects will be my "stay awake" job today. Since there's only five in the house that I haven't photographed already, anyway, though, I doubt it'll take much time. Since I can't show any progress pics, here's one of my tormenters, sleeping peacefully. This was about a year and a half ago, and Darin's first night in his big boy bed. It's also the only time their room has ever been that clean longer than ten minutes.

Labels: Jymi, Kids, Real Life Sucks

Every time Jymi does something sweet, I find out I should be very mad at him. Monday night he went shopping with Latonya, to help her pick out a MP3 player for her son. He came home with an early Christmas present for me: my own MP3 player. He said they looked at him funny when he went to check out with a pink one. Of course people look at him funny when he's out with Latonya anyway. A white boy in his mid-twenties out with an African-American woman in her late thirties gets some odd looks. He said he was also gonna get me a jacket, but he wasn't sure what size to get.
This was all very sweet. When I went to take the trash out the next morning, though, a receipt fell out. It was from a gas station, and everything was abbreviated, like they always are. It looked to me like Jymi's brand of cigarettes, so I asked him about when he got home. He told me he's been smoking for about three weeks now, at work and drill. I was so mad. He said he didn't want to tell me, because I had enough stress in my life already. Having a husband who smokes doesn't cause near as much stress as having one who lies to me. He has apologized, both for smoking again and hiding it from me, but I'm still a little mad at him. He's paying for it, though. He can only smoke outside, and it gets pretty cold after the sun goes down (remembering here, it rarely drops below about 30 degrees F, not considered cold to some people, but it is to us). He also jut bought me all the NPI silks I still need for Persian. He's also gonna buy me the new Best Of Teresa Wentzler book. He says he'll quit in January, but I don't believe he will. I can't make him stop, but I wish I could. All the ways I can think of to get him to stop involve murder, and with Jymi dead and me in jail, there'd be no one to take care of the boys.
It just drives me nuts when every sweet thing he does ends up getting overshadowed by whatever he's done to piss me off.

Labels: Jymi, Real Life Sucks

Here's pictures of the pieces Jymi's grandmother gave me. The one on the right is a close up of the date. I needs a wash and an iron, but it's been folded in her closet for twenty-one years! It's very cute, but not something I'd ever stitch myself. I'm not gonna be able to get it framed until April, but I'm already choosing in my head. I'm thinking probably just a plain medium wood frame. Maybe (and that's a big maybe) a blue mat that looks like denim. It might look cute, but it may also be too much, and darw away from the picture.These are the butterflies. Jymi still hasn't fixed the scanner, so I took seperate pictures so I could zoom in as much as possible. The pictures still don't do them justice.
Here's the back of the first one. Even the backs are beautiful! My over one backs don't look anywhere near this good.
The computer's back to normal now. I have more time for stitching again. I hope to finish my model by next weekend.
We didn't make it to the toy store. Jymi was too tired. We'll go next Saturday. I'm gonna be exhausted. I also have to go to my mom's, the post office, and the DMV that day. I have to go to the car insurance office, too, if I can find the time. Fun. Lots of hurry-up-and-wait places. I may have to treat myself to a new book, because I'm about halfway through Son Of A Witch. I will be done by then, so I'll just add the bookstore to my list, and not tell Jymi.

Labels: Books, Gift Stitching, Models, Real Life Sucks

My goals for November were to finish my ornament for the exchange and work on my model. Done.
My goals for December are to finish the model, start, finish, and ornamentify the new Dragon Dreams Christmyth ornament, sew Grandmother's (in-law) butterflies into pillows, pick a project to stick with until it's finished (yeah right), and kit up The Castle for the stitch along on New Year's.
Non-stitching goals for this month include getting present for children only. Adults and their wants are not in our budget. Children and their wants are only barely in our budget. I love giving people presents, so this may be hard. Other than that, just survive the month and all it's stresses.
Christmas is always a scramble for us. When everyone else starts shopping in the beginning of November, we start trying to scrape together money for Tobi's birthday (November 27), and only after that's taken care do we remember Christmas is not far behind. Last night I bought the boys a new TV for their room for Christmas. I had priced them at Target, and the cheapest ones all had bad reviews when I checked the brands out online. So I got a name brand. What didn't make any sense to me though, was the smaller TVs cost alot more. I decided to pay less for the bigger one. I got out to the parking lot, only to find it was too big to get in my car. It would have fit if the front passenger door opened, but it doesn't anymore. Yes, my car sucks that bad. So I called my mom (she has a SUV) and she took the TV to hide until we have out Christmas get together. Tonight, Jymi's going to get off work early, and I'm going to try to mail my ornament, otherwise it's going to be late. After that we're going to Toys-R-Us. We'll take the boys through the store to make lists for Santa, and then Jymi will take them to look at video games or something, while I pick out what Santa will bring them, buy it, and load it into the car. Since they're getting a TV, they won't get much else.
I've also gotta find two presents for my niece. Her birthday is four days before Christmas, and she'll be ten. She's decided she's too old for Barbies and princess stuff, which has suddenly made shopping for her insanely difficult. She may end up with a gift certificate to Michael's or the bookstore if I can't find anything. She does like crafts and books very much. I swear she's my mini me. She looked just like me when she was born, and the only way to tell us apart in pictures of us at the same age is to look at how old the other people are. Especially since she got alot of my old baby/toddler dresses my mom made.
I've got two SBQs to catch up on. Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each year and for whom? If not, why not? I do stitch ornament, of course. This year, I think I've done eighteen or nineteen, and I plan to do at least one more. I stitched one for an exchange, and the rest are for our tree. Yes I am stingy, but please also remember Jymi and I have only been living together for three years. We haven't had time or money to collect ornaments, and the few we have bought, are too heavy for the little fake tree we have, and we don't have room for anything bigger at the moment. So it need some light cross stitch ornaments. When the boys go to school, I plan to stitch and ornament for each of their teachers. My mom always did for my teachers, and they always loved it. I don't stitch ornaments for Jymi's family. I stitch Just Another Button Company's Oh Holy Night for Jymi's grandmother last year, because she collects nativity scenes. She loved it. Jymi's mom (who doesn't like me anyway), however gave me the dirtiest look that said, "How could you be so cheap?" First of all, for as little as it was, it was pretty expensive. Not to mention the four hours I spent fighting to try to finish it (it was my first attempt at that particular method). In my family, handmade gifts means you are very loved, because someone spent alot of time to make something just for you. I guess the same is not true for Jymi's family.
How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically, do you or have you ever used a waste knot? Usually, I use the loop method. If I'm using overdyes, or an odd number of threads, I'll either run it under stitches that are already there or hold a small tail in the back and stitch over it. I have only ever used a waste knot once, on my very first project, and I'm pretty sure I did it wrong. I just tied a knot in my thread and started stitching. If that piece is still around anywhere, that knot is still on the back. After that, my mom taught me the loop method, and then when I did something with a blend, I figured I could start a thread the same way I ended it, and that would hold it enough.
I've taken a picture of one of the projects Jymi's grandmother gave me, but the butterflies need to be scanned to even begin to show their beauty, and I can't for the life of me get it to work. So that will be my next post! Have a nice weekend!

Labels: Goals, Holidays, Ornaments, SBQ