This is T., D., and my best friend's son, A. in our kiddie pool last summer. We let them play in the pool together for awhile, before we went shopping. They get along fine, but they also bounce off of each other, so we have to have lots of energy to take all three of them together anywhere. They outnumber us.
I'm almost to the halfway mark on my model. I plan to get there either tonight or tomorrow. The first part of Persian Iris Garden was up today, and I was finally approved for the class. Martina had been on vacation, and had lots of emails backed up, I'm sure. I figured it would still be a week maybe before I was let in since she only worked on this stuff Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but I guess she's doing a little extra to cath up. It doesn't make much difference; I haven't got anything to do it on or with yet. They didn't have the majority of the suplies at work, so I've divided up what I need to get into three forty to fifty dollar batches to order. I have ordered the fabric. I may ask for some of the threads as payment for the model. I'm still working it out in my head.
I also ordered an eighth yard of 28 count Crystal Monster Mash Cashel Linen from Picure This Plus, for Raise The Roof's new Liberty Fence. My Snow Fence will be done on Crystal Glacier, and my Nautical Fence is on Crystal Zephyr. I don't want them all to be on blues, so I think this will look good. My hope is it will be like green grass with purple fireworks in the background. If I don't like it when I get it, I'll order a piece of Crystal Carnival, again for the fireworks effect, but without the green background. I'm also think Crystal DaVinci and Crystal Baroque would give a good fireworks effect, too. If nothing else, Crystal Spring would make a good solid background. Crystal Jazz wouldn't be bad either, but it's mostly blue, which I'm kind of trying to avoid. I bought some Crystal Sorbet for Sweetheart Fence, but later decided to use Crystal Whimsey instead. I just got it Saturday. I get Shakespeare's Peddler's automatic fabric of the month, and that was last month's color. I can't wait to see what May's color is. Probably Monster Mash.
I'm doing better on my diet. I'm eating less, and drinking more water, but I'm still not exercising like I should. I may go walking tomorrow. I didn't weigh in today, but I will tomorrow.

I finished the section of the model I was working on. I am now exactly 1/3 through. I also sewed together Giving and Song, last night. I've now done over half of them. I'll take them to work with me tomorrow. I also got everything all ready for The Time I Spend Stitching. Now all I have to do is get a new needle out, measure in, and start! I'm really excited about it! I love specialty stitches! And I love the colors! And I love the way the colors look on the fabric!
I did good with my diet yesterday. I'm still sore, and don't really feel like exercising, but I had to have a pack of fruit snacks after dinner to get to my minimum calorie range. I mad macaroni and cheese for lunch yesterday. I know this is one of D.'s favorite foods, and his favorite brand, so at the store I got the bigger size so we could split it. (T. does not lie mac and cheese, so he was not really left out.) My two and a half year old son ate more than I did! I was a little astounded, and kind of happy. It meant I stopped eating when I was full, and my diet was going well. I don't really have to worry about D. gaining weight, because he is still so little (who puts a toddler on a diet; they're even cuter when they're a little chubby!). He's also got his daddy's build. They are both bottomless pits who NEVER gain weight. I swear, if I didn't love them so much, I'd hate them!

This is D. on his first Halloween. He was about 2 1/2 months old. My mom bought him a vampire teeth pacifier, and made him a small cape. It was very cute, and just a little weird. It's okay though; he'll fit in with the rest of us.
I've spent most of the last couple days sitting on my butt, stitching. I'm about 1/3 through the model. It's going very quickly. At this rate, I should be done in the middle of May. Tomorrow, I'm going to sew together my ornaments, so I can take them to work Friday.
I did it! I signed up for Persian Iris Garden! I don't get any discount on the thread pack or bead pack through work. So I'll order the beads, but I'll buy the threads separately. The only thing I can't order from work is the Dinky Dyes silk, but there's only one, so it's not too bad. This way I can also only buy what I need. I'll buy the threads for part one, and not get the other until they are called for. I'll order the fabric this weekend. So when I finish the model, I'll do part one, my May ornament, The Time I Spend Stitching, and try to get a few stitches in Avatar, also know as the bane of my existence.
Thanks to PMS, I have eaten too much lately, and hardly exercised at all. I've been so sore the last couple days, there's been no way I could've done aerobics. I've done good all day today, but we're having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, so it may not last. I may go for a walk either before or after my nail appointment.

Here are a couple pictures of my floss toss for The Time I Spend Stitching. The first one is very true to the fabric, and the second is true to the threads. The owner of the shop was a little hesitant about the colors, but I like them on this fabric. It will definately catch your eye. Part of the reason I picked these colors was because we don't sell them. The point of hanging models is to help sell the supplies. So I am trying to help sell the things that aren't already selling. We have alot of sampler customers, who would love this chart if they would take the time to read it. The problem is they see the dragon on top and the teddy bears in the design and think it's a kid thing. I love this pattern, and the line "that child who love colours and textures at play." So I'm playing with the colors. Hopefully it'll turn out as good as it looks in my head.
Still working on the model. J. went to the store yesterday and bought the second season of 24, so we watched a disc of that. I got fair amount of stitching done, considering I actually have to watch 24. Most of the tv shows I watch, I only listen to, and look at my stitching. I don't think it'll be any problem to have this done in time.
I was bad yesterday. I weighed in at 150, up two pounds from last week. I think I can blame it on water weight, but I didn't feel like keeping track of everything yesterday. I'm going to do better today. I've done my aerobics, and I could tell it had been too long since the last time. Here's hoping I can control myself today!

This is my nephew C., Christmas 2004. I told him to smile so I could take his picture. As it is, this is one of my favorite pictures I have of him.
I have almost finished the first section of my model. I got a good bit done last night. I worked on it while watching Rent, though, and had to put it down because I couldn't see through my tears well enough to stitch. I enjoyed the movie though. I plan to finish the section today. When I finish it, I'll sew together my ornaments, since I got some mat board at work.
I picked my birthday project. Yesterday, I bought The Time I Spend Stitching, and fabric and threads. I plan to hang it in the shop, so I couldn't use the Dinky Dyes. I picked out Mulberry linen, a new (at least to us) purple/magenta color. I pulled Weeks Dye Works Chartruese, Fiesta, and Santorini to replace the Dinky Dyes, and Jealousy to do a row of hearts instead of the teddy bears. The original color didn't show up good on the fabric, and when our customers see the teddy bears, they think it's a baby sampler and don't bother to read it. If people would stop to read it, we'd sell alot of them. With the colors I picked, it will be hard to miss. I will post a picture of a floss toss next time. I also decided that I will treat myself to Persian Iris Garden. I don't get the same discount on the bead packs, since the shop doesn't. So I have to talk to the manager about ordering it. It is just too beautiful, and I cannot resist it. It's not like I spend this much all the time. I don't feel guilty about it, but I'm not going to mention it to J.
J.'s now off the night shift. He only had to work Friday and until midnight Saturday. He's got today to get back on schedule so he can go to work Monday morning. It's the first time we've had a day off together in almost two months.
I was bad yesterday. With J. gone all night, I spent the evening "cheering myself up" with peanut butter cookies.

This is T. He was about three. That is his cat, Kiki. She was brought home for me, but she has always liked T. best. God forbid you tried to touch him while she was there. He always feel asleep on the couch, and she on top of him.
The night shift hell has started already, and J.'s only just left. We got in a fight his morning because he was tired. We got over it quickly and we both apologized. After that I told him to go to bed; I did not want to see him again until he had slept. Last night, he bought me Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy for an early birthday present. He's also gonna get me Phantom Of The Opera and another cart for all my stash. My fabric and thread drawers on the one I have are to full.
I've been working on my model. I haven't made as much progress as I'd like, but it's not bad either. I know I won't get to sleep before midnight, so I'll hopefully get alot more done. I got Dragon Dreams Messy But Mine. All I need now is fabric and time. I saw on a message board where somebody allowed themself to start a new project on their birthday. I think I'll try this, too. I am tempted to get everything and start Chatelaine's Persian Iris Garden, but that's a BIG project. I guess it'll depend on if I get any birthday money. Even with my discount, it's a VERY expensive project. I'd also love to start Dragon Lake by Black Swan (which I have everything but a few threads for), Draco by Cross Eyed Kat (I need a couple threads and fabric), or Dragonwings by Enchanting Lair (I have everything, J. requested this one when he saw it on the Enchanting Lair website while I was looking for something else). I've also got two Raise The Roof fences to do, and they have a new one coming out next month. Maybe I'll just reach into my stash and pull out something. I am going to do a Cross Eyed Kat freebie called Celebrate With Me for J.'s birthday. It's similar to Wanna Trade, but the dragon has balloons and the mouse has a present, so it's a birthday thing.
I've been good yesterday and today. I haven't exercised, but I will try later. I haven't felt well today. For now, I'm going to treat myself to a cookie, and watch Hitchhiker's Guide while I work on the model. So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Since I can't post pictures of my stitching, here's an obnoxious baby picture. All I can say is made good progress yesterday. The picture is D. at 2 1/2 days old. Our first full day home from the hospital was also the first day J. had to go back to work. I was scared to be home alone with the two boys myself, so I went to my sister's. She took this picture, and lots of others that day. This has always been one of my favorite of his baby pictures.
J. called me from work yesterday to tell me he starts night shift Friday night "until it's done." They're hoping to have it done Monday, but it could be a week or more. J. has never been good with the night shift. It's hard to sleep here during he day. It's hard enough to sleep in in the mornings! I hope it doesn't take long. I can't sleep when he's not there, and I was looking forward to seeing him again.
As for my diet stuff, I was bad yesterday, too. So far, it's not been a good week. Hopefully I will not gain anything, but I know I haven't lost. I won't be doing my aerobics today, but I may go for a walk after work. The good news is, since I'll be at work most of the day, I should stay in all my ranges! I have good news! One of my other goals for weight loss was "be whistled at" or something to that nature. Well last night, I went into Subway, and the three guys sitting there hit on me! While there was not a chance I was going to talk to them, it did make me feel a little better about myself. For now I will have a Nutrigrain bar, some water, and get some stitches in on the model before I have to get ready!

I finished Giving in the early afternoon yesterday. However when I went to stretch them, I found I only had three pieces of mat board. So I stretched the fronts and one back. I also made the cording. By then, I was so irritated with them, I didn't sew the one together. I'll get more mat board at work tomorrow, and sew them together Friday. Then I can take them in Saturday instead of Thursday. I also sorted out all the stuff for my model last night. I started it this morning.
I went over my ranges yesterday. I did my aerobics this morning. I'm seriously considering getting Bojangles for lunch. It's not good for my diet, but it's soooo good. It'll be okay if I eat good the rest of the day. Anyway; back to my model!

I finished Song last night. Today I will do Giving and stretch them. Tomorrow I'll make the cording, sew them together, and remember to take a picture this time. I got the stuff for the model yesterday. I decided to finish my ornaments first, since it wouldn't take me long. I'll still have plenty of time. It's a very cool project. For my payment for iFob, I got All Greek To Me and the Dinky Dye that goes with it. I'm very pleased with that. I may be able to go to the shop tonight without the boys, in whihc case, I may do a floss toss and pick out the fabric. Although, I probably won't get to it this year. When I finish the model, it's on to Avatar, and after that, the two Christmas stockings. I will not start any new big projects until all three of those are finished! I know I'm making progress, because last week, I had four big projects! Can you tell I'm STILL dancing over Skeleton Crew? I took it to the framer's yesterday. I was very eager to get it out of my house!
I was a bad girl yesterday as far as my diet suff is concerned. I didn't do any exercise, and went over most of my ranges. We went out to Applebees for dinner to celebrate the end of the outage! J. will be back on his regular schedule next week. The only difference in his schedule this week is he'll have Thursday off instead of Friday. I'm so glad! Now I can walk everyday again. I can work my normal schedule. I don't have to find a babysitter. I'll get to see my husband sometimes. It was worth celebrating.
Now I'm going to clean up the house some (insert shocked gasp here; I do not do housework). J.'s dad may stop by (I don't understand why, he's going over there tonight), and J. asked me nicely to clean up a little. I will pick up the kitchen and living room, but that's about it. It's J.'s turn to do the dishes, and I refuse to do any until he washes some. The last time he washed dishes was October. After cleaning, I will do my aerobics and strength training, shower, do breakfast, and spend the rest of the day stitching! Yay!

This is Song so far. Yesterday, after finishing Skeleton crew (still dancing from that), I had Easter dinner (lunch?) at my in-laws, and then I cleaned up all my stuff. I had some threads that needed to be "baggied" and, of course, all the threads from Skeleton Crew needed to be put away. By the time I had finished all that and got out all the new threads for Song and Giving, it was seven. J. was home, and we were fighting over who got to eat the leftovers. His grandparents are AMAZING cooks. They make exceptionally good macaroni and cheese. And we both needed a shower, and we were both exhausted. So not much progress on Song. I hope to finish it today.
This is my model for Cross Eyed Kat. She has put the picture up on her website, so I think it's okay to show mine. It's called iFob and will be released at the online show. I think they look really cool! I love the Dragons Welcome. There's a shock! I have all her other dragon charts, what's one more?





I decided not to bother keeping track of my nutrition stuff yesterday. With eating at my in-laws, I know I ate too much, and I know it would be almost impossible to really keep track. I did good, but not great. I tried to not take any of the desserts home. I told my grandmother-in-law I was trying to lose weight, and her reply was, "So am I. That's why I'm trying to give it to you!" She's such a nice, sweet person, I couldn't tell her no. So we now have Rice Crispy Treats, chocolate suckers, and Peeps on our kitchen table, and what's left of the half a cheesecake she sent home with me in the fridge. The Rice Crispy Treats she had made just because J. always liked them so much when he was little. J. had to work, and couldn't come, so I brought home a plate of leftovers for both of us. J. was not happy when I told him that was both our dinners. He left me half (which he was not happy about), but it turned out he couldn't have eaten it all anyway. He finished his plate and I asked if he wanted mine. He said no, he had just enough room left for some cheesecake. This was when he (jokingly) threatened to fight me for the cheesecake. What can I say? My husband's a dorkball. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED SKELETON CREW!!!! It went so fast, once I sucked up my intimidation and got on with it! I finished it around 11:45 this morning. Now I will try to squeeze in Song and Giving before the model gets here. I know I can do that, and get my model done by the deadline! After this monster, nothing scares me!

I didn't finish Skeleton Crew. I stayed up until 12:30 Friday trying, and then decided I'd better get a little sleep. I got up with J. at 4:45 and immediately started working on it again. I had abou 2/3 done when I had to leave. I over estimated everything on this ship until this stupid sea serpent. I did finish the fish, when I got enough of the serpent done to count. So I still took it to work, and typed up the frame order. I'll just bring it back on Monday. I was going to finish it last night, since I didn't have to get up this morning. I was halfway through with the white on the serpent's head, when I got so dizzy I could barely hold my head up. I guess it was from lack of sleep, because I feel fine this morning. I am once again ready to tackle my sea serpent! This time, I shall victorious! I think I should name him, instead of calling him my serpent all the time, but hopefully today will be the last time I mention him. That's why there's no picture; I'm waiting until I finish it today. I guess today's not a bad day. It's exactly one month after I started working on it again.
I was fairly good yesterday. I went over my fat range, but that's it. I weighed in this morning at 148. I'm down another two pounds! I am now about where I was after I had T. When I started weighed 160, which is what I weighed after D. Today probably won't be very good, since I have to go to J.'s grandparents' house for Easter dinner. They alway have so much great food, none of it healthy, low anything. I'll do my best! Happy Easter!

I took this picture this morning, and planned to take another first thing tomorrow morning to show how much stitching I got done in an average day. However, I've decided to try to finish it tonight! Yes, I will be VERY tired when I go to work tomorrow, but I will go in with my ship to be framed!!! I finished the water and the last skeleton. I have started the sea serpent. Except for the head, there's not much to him, and even the head's not that much. That only leaves the fish, and they won't take but maybe half an hour. I may leave them until morning. I got an email today, that my next model is in the mail, so I've been trying even harder to get this finished.
I love this rush! I love needing to have it done like yesterday. I'm so much more productive under that kind of pressure! Everyone thought I was crazy for leaving all my reports for school until the last minute, but that was the only way I could do it! I will try to finish the serpent tonight! I WILL take it to work with me tomorrow!
I also bought some new stuff. I got Dragonwings, Autumn Dragon, and Spring Dragon (all by Enchanting Lair) in the mail yesterday. It took a long time to get here. I had started to think it had gotten lost. I ordered Messy But Mine by Dragon Dreams, and got some threads I ordered. I also got my new Lizzie Kate ornaments, Song, and Giving. These will be my April ornaments, if I finish my ship tonight. I'll still have a couple days before the model arrives. Each one will take me a day to stitch, and then another day to put them both together. I should be finished with those by Wednesday, and that's about when the package should get here.
I stayed in all my ranges yesterday and today. I didn't do any exercise to speak of, but I did carry in alot of heavy groceries, so I get some points for that! I weigh in the day after tomorrow. I think I did pretty good this week, so that means I'll have gain four pounds! Now I must go; I hear the serpent hissing!

I finished the words! I did, "16 M," last night, and, "en On A Dead Man's Ship," this morning. After I get done writing this, I will start on the water. I plan to work on the water the rest of today, and Friday. Hopefully, I can finish it in that time. I have to work Thursday, and probably won't get to stitch then. I work Saturday, too, but I may have an hour or two before J. gets home to stitch. Then I can finish the last skeleton. Sunday and Monday I'll do the sea serpent. And Tuesday I will do the fish first thing in the morning, and when I go to pick up my check, I will take it to be framed! At least that's the plan. The very hopeful and optomistic plan!
Yesterday afternoon, right after I finished my blog entry, I got an email from Kat Rocha. She is sending me a big model to have done by June. Once I get it, it will be all I work on. So I decided to get as much done on Skeleton Crew as possible before it gets here and not worry about an ornament this month. If I get a chance to do Snowfight: Blue, great If not, oh well. With any luck and no housework I can finish Skeleton Crew by next week! Maybe the ornament will sneak in there, too. I don't know when she'll be sending the model, so I may not get it for another two weeks.
I did good yesterday. I didn't walk, because when J. got home, he was so tired, I didn't want to leave him to deal with the kids. I was afraid he'd fall asleep before the boys did. I did stay in all my ranges, though. I did some aerobics this morning. I think I'm going to go over my fat range today, but I'll be in all my other ranges. As soon as J. gets home, I've got a nail appointment, so I may or may not go walking this evening.

I've finished the witch on Skeleton Crew! I don't particularly want to put it down, but if I don't do my Christmas ornament for April now, I won't do it until May! So I will start Snowfight: Blue tomorrow. Tonight I've got to cook dinner, eat, go for my walk, shower, and go to bed. So I don't really have any stitching time left for today.






When I get back to Skeleton Crew, I will do the words, the water, the skeleton, the sea serpent, and then the fish. Maybe I can get the words done, too, this month. I may still finish it by my birthday! Yay!








I did good yesterday. I stayed in all my ranges (barely). I also went for a walk. This morning I did aerobics and strength training. I'm planing to go for a walk after dinner. I'm not sure what we're having yet, but I'm thinking baked chicken with rice. Time to cook, so I can leave by the time J. gets home.

I finished my April goal of finishing five ornaments. I did Dragon Dreams Christmyth Unicorn, Giant, Griffon, Fairy, and Pheonix. I've started back on Skeleton Crew. I've done the witch's hat and hair. I will work on it more this afternoon, but I now have to get ready to take the boys to the store. I charted something for a customer (a saying we could not find a pattern for), but of course I'm out of printer paper.
I weighed in this morning at 150. I've lost another two pounds since last week! I've only got forty more to go! I stayed in all my ranges yesterday. I've done good so far, but now I've got to find something for dinner. Tacos sound good. That should even be okay, if I don't snack all afternoon. I walked yesterday evening. I hope to walk again today.
I'm also hoping J. finds out what day he's going to have off this week. This stupid outage is really screwing with my schedlue. I'm probably going to have to find a babysitter for next Saturday. Deep breath. It's all good. Que sera, sera.

I would like to reflect for a moment on the guys in my life.
The oldest of the little boys living with me is my husband, J., who will be 26 this year. He got a small rash from the protective gear he wears at work and is all upset about it. I tell him what to do to help it, and he looks at me funny. It is basically a grown diaper rash, and the best thing for diaper rash is Desitin and fresh air. Yet when I suggest this, he looks horrified! he finally got over, and almost immediately felt better.




The next oldest is our son T. who is four. He has spent most of the week playing or asking to play Star Wars Battlefront. I haven't seen him much.










The last one is D., the "baby." He's 2 1/2. This is a picture of my "baby" looking through my Frederick's Of Hollywood catalog! Congratulations! It's a boy! I'm tired of swimming in the sea of testosterone!









As for stitching, I finished the hull on Skeleton Crew. I've finished Christmyth Unicorn and Giant. I've got the cording made for the other three I'm doing this month. I plan to finish sewing them together today. I'm going to do the Fairy, the Griffon, and the Pheonix. I will do the last four next month. After I finish the ornaments, I'll do the witch on Skeleton Crew, then Snowfight: Blue. It's kind of odd, but I haven't felt like buying any stash lately. Well, I'm going to have to buy a braid to do Snowfight: Blue. Of course, I have gotten alot recently, so that may be partially to blame.
Friday I went over my ranges by a little bit. Saturday I did good though. I didn't get near enough exercise this past week, but I'll go for a walk when J. gets home. Hopefully I will do better now that my schedule is closer to normal. I forgot to weigh in this morning, and by the time I remembered, it was too late. So I'll do it tomorrow.

As of 10:30 A.M., I have finished my model for Cross Eyed Kat! I put it out in the mail, which doesn't go until 4:30 or 5:00, so I never had any doubt I would get it out in today's mail. It's not a big project, but it is a big dance! This is my first model for a designer! It was so much fun, and I love getting to see charts that haven't been released yet! That's so cool to me.
Now that that's finished, it's back to Skeleton Crew. I doubt I'll do any of my other goals this month. I'm just so into it. I have yet to put all my new DMC into baggies and put them all where they go. I paid for that yesterday. D. got into them while I was at work. J. gets some points, though for saving all the labels when he found them. So I've got about ten to figure out what they are. I'm going to check against the reciepts to make sure I've got them all. That should take an hour or two.
I was bad on Wednesday. I went over my ranges. Yesterday, I didn't do any aerobics, but I did get a work out for one arm, winding eight skeins of yarn for a customer. I did good and stayed within my ranges. My sister also joined my diet site. Her doctor told her she needed to lose weight. I hope everything works out for her. Now I'm going to have lunch and do my strength training.

I finished the stripes on the hull yesterday, and started on the solid section of the bottom. Then I got the mail. Going through it I found my model! So my Skeleton Crew is put away until this one is finished. She would like to release it for the online show, which starts April 19. So I figure she probably needs it back at least a week ahead of that to have it photographed and whatever else needs to be done with it. So I would like to put it in the mail this Monday at the latest. I have gotten a good bit of it done already this morning. It shouldn't be a problem to finish it in time. Of course, I can't post any pictures until it's released, but I am taking some, and will put them in my yahoo pictures when it comes out.
I stayed in all my ranges yesterday. I did my aerobics this morning. Blah! The only exercises that really get me are the ones that require upper arm strength, which I just don't have. I'm also gonna get another workout and an exercise in patience in a little bit when I wrestle T. and D. into the bathtub. Then I will wrestle them into some clothes, and then wrestle them into the car. They don't have that much wrestling on Pay-Per-View!

This morning I got an email for ebay. I have it set up so that it emails me whenever a cross stitch item is listed with the words "earth dragon." However the picture shown was now the licensed Earth Dragon from Meineck, but a computer charting of the origninal Peter Pracownik painting. I sent an email to address listed on the artist's website, to notify him to the problem. He was not credited so it would be my guess he was also not paid for it. I feel better about it now, but right after, I felt sick to my stomach. I posted the story on one of the bulletin boards I visit, and since then, a couple people have posted supporting what I did.
I finished the long stripes above the words on Skeleton Crew. I also finished all the light stripes on the front of the hull. I've just got a few dark ones left, and the bottom of the boat, and I will be finished with the hull. I am done with DMC 613, and hope by tomorrow to be done with 611. Then I'll start the witch while I wait for the model. I got an email from Kat Rocha yesterday saying she put it in the mail Saturday. I'm so excited! I can't wait to start it!
I ate too much yesterday. Tacos are not good for my diet. I ate twice as much as I should've. I'll do better today. Today I did some extra aerobics, in addition to my strength traning. I've been doing the Denise Austin Fit & Lite in the morning. I don't really like her, but they are good workouts. It just bugs me that the health expert sounds like she's been smoking for twenty years!

I've met my April goal for Skeleton Crew. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I'm hoping to finish the stripes on the ship today. I'm working on the the long stripes above the words. So my new April goal is to completely finish the hull, and possibly the witch. Alot is gonna depend on how long the model takes me. The description sounds small, but it also sounds like there's alot of stitching in it. It would be a great birthday present to finish it!
The first of May, I will be bringing home one of my models from the shop. I had inquired about doing models for the shop before, but they needed to see a sample of my stitching. When I got their email newsletter, and saw they were hiring, it was too good to be true! I called as soon as they opened, and they called me back later. The owner had known my mom (who also did models), and scheduled an interview for that evening. I brought a couple pieces, so that even if I didn't get the job, I could still do models. The next day I had not only a job, but my dream job! They needed someone most for the only two days I could work, and I got paid over minimum wage! My first day, in the afternoon, the owner told me about the discount and the free framing deal. She asked me if I would let her hang one of my unframed pieces, A Birder's Welcome by Crossed Wings Collection!
My sister had bought the chart and the hand-painted Sky fabric to do it on, but she no longer stitches. We went trick-or-treating with her and her family (we always do; she has lots of cops in her neighborhood; we feel safer going through there), and when we got back to her house she pulled it out. She asked if I would stitch it for her, since she had had it for three and a half years. She knew she would never stitch it. So I did, but I was trying to save the money to get it framed before I gave it to her. Now that was no longer an issue. I asked her if she would mind waiting another year for it. She was as flattered and excited about it as I was.
So I took it in, and the due date was May third. So this May will be one year, and I can give my sister her birds for Mother's Day and as a thank you for babysitting T. and D. so I could keep my job while J. has the outage. I am so excited! This will be the first model I get to bring home!
I lost three pounds last week. I will never understand how. I did good Saturday, but Sunday we went out to dinner with J.'s parents. Despite having a grilled chicken sandwich, I still went over my calories. I've already done my cardio today.
The dinner was not exactly pleasant. J. and his parents both complained the entire time about how noisy the table next to us was, but you can't expect a party of about twenty to be quiet. They complained about the waitress, who was as nice as she could possibly be. When we left they said they enjoyed seeing us, even if we couldn't talk. Well, it doesn't really make any difference to me. I ALWAYS sit between T. and D., and across from J., who sits next to his dad and talks to him the entire time. I always spend dinners with them playing with the boys and wishing I had my own kids' menu to color. I appreciate when they take us out and buy us dinner, but it would be even better if I could be included in the grown-ups conversation. J.'s sister brings her Gameboy and plays video games the whole time. T. loves to play with her, but she won't even talk to him anymore. When I was that age, I was lucky if I got to bring a book to a dinner out, because it is rude! I would never even ask to bring video games!
My family doesn't take us out to eat, but then, my family cooks. They invite us over for dinner all the time. They always make a point to ask J. how work is, or at least make some effort to include him. I know J.'s family doesn't like me, but they could at least be civil!

My goals for March were: finish Wash Your Hands by Heart In Hand, ornamentify Christmyth Mermaid by Dragon Dreams, start and finish The Witch Is In by Prairie Schooler for shop credit, start and finish Snowfight: Red by Cross Eyed Kat, ornamentify all five Blessings of Christmas by Lizzie Kate (Love, Friends, Hope, Charity, and Joy, and start and finish the bottom sail on the front mast of Skeleton Crew by Cross Eyed Cricket. What is it with cross eyed creatures?
I did finish Wash Your Hands, and took it back to work. I'm doing all the Mother's Wisdom charts together on a quarter yard piece of 32 ct. Carnival Belfast Linen, form Picture This Plus. It lives at work while I'm waiting for the new ones to come out. I forgot to take a picture before I took it though. I also forgot to take a picture of my Lizzie Kate ornaments before I took them to work, as I mentioned in a previous post. Lots of people have commented on them, including every single employee! Everyone really seems to like the light green sparkly fabric I used. 28 ct. Crystal Willow by Picture This Plus. I didn't take a picture of The Which Is In, because it does not belong to me. I don't really care if I ever see it again. I almost went blind stitching it on Tobacco linen. It was obnoxiously bright.
I did take pictures of my Christmyth Mermaid and Snowfight: Red, and have already posted them.
I have gotten ALOT more than just the one sail done on Skeleton Crew. I finshed the front mast, the back mast, the windows, the purple, and the back half of the bottom of the boat! I am very proud of myself! All that in only sixteen days. Let's hope I can keep it up.

And now for my April goals! This month I plan to start and finsh the model for Cross Eyed Kat, start and finish Snowfight: Blue by Cross Eyed Kat, onamentify Christmyth Unicorn, Giant, Griffon, Fairy, and Pheonix by Dragon Dreams, and finish the back half of the hull on Skeleton Crew by Cross Eyed Cricket. I don't think finishing the hull will be a problem, but tearing myself away to do anything else might.
As for my diet goals, Thursday I was a very bad girl. J. brought home Wendy's, and I don't really need to say anymore. That, coupled with my lack of exercise this week is not a good omen for my weigh-in tomorrow. I started to redeem myself yesterday, though. I ate well. I had to eat a snack to get to my calorie minimum. I bought healthy food at the grocery store, which is, of course, more expensive than just buying what's on sale that week. I did my strength training, along with sit-ps and jumping jacks. J. got home early so I went for a walk, too. I am going again when he gets home from drill today. I've done good so far today, but I'm ready for lunch now (at about ten) since I had breakfast when I got up with J. at five. I guess that's okay. Fingers crossed I can be home all day and be good.