I worked on The Castle a little bit. I got bored quick though. I stitched some greenery, and after a day, I put it away.
Then I started Sweetheart Fence. I finished the ground, and put it away, too. Now I'm working on Avatar again. My fabric for Cascade should come in Monday. Another new start!
I got my new Harry Potter book today. I'm not ready to read it yet, though. I'm still rereading the first six. I'm taking my time, and I'm a few chapters into Prisoner Of Azkaban. I'm not in a hurry for it to be over, despite the desperate desire to know what happens next. Problem is, I can't talk to my sister or do much online until I finish it. I'll get there though.
I took Tobi to the new movie Wednesday. He wasn't scared really, but one particular scene that made him jump two inches in the air. I'm sure anyone who's seen it knows what it was. He didn't get upset, though. I don't think he even blinked! He loved it, but I don't think he understood everything going on. I think I enjoyed it, too. I won't know for sure until I see it again.
I will, though, when Jymi comes home. We're planning to spend a whole day at the movie theater. Jymi wants to see Harry Potter, The Simpsons, and Bourne Ultimatum while he's home. I think we'll see Bourne last, so I can't go to sleep if I want. I'd love to see Harry Potter again, and I'm dying to see The Simpsons, but I couldn't care less about Bourne. I knew Jymi was dying to see it, though, and it comes out the day before he gets home. It's only two more weeks until Jymi comes home! He's counting down the days, and I've got it marked on a every calender, and a calender in every room.
Darin once went up to Jymi, looked at him, said, "You're not mommy," and walked away. It reminded me of the old TV show Dinosaurs. I used to love it when I was little, so I added it to their Netflix list. They got it last weekend, and loved it! So I bought it for them. They've watched the whole set, and Tobi and I are currently watching the second disc. Most of the shows I've rented that I watched when I was little now suck. I actually called to apologize to my mom after watching an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse. Dinosaurs is still hilarious though. I've really enjoyed watching it again, and realizing all the "grown-up jokes" I never got. Stuff about environmentalism and the difficulties of trying to raise a family. I still love that baby!

Labels: Books, Jymi, Movies, New Starts, Stash, Sweetheart Fence, The Castle

This Jymi's reaction when I explained to him why Darin spent Friday night at Grandma's. After all the errands I had to do (see my last post), I went to pick up the boys from my mom's. When I got there, my sister and her kids were visiting, too. Darin had been crabby for about a week, and threw himself on the floor, screaming, because we made him share the toys. I tried to calm him down, but I couldn't. My sister picked him up and rocked him for a few minutes, and of course he fell right to sleep.
I felt like such a bad mother, that I started crying, too. They told me I was a good mother, just over stressed. They also said part of it was his age. They reminded me that Tobi had been just as obnoxious about everything a couple years ago. My mom told me about calling Grandma when I was Darin's age, and threw a tantrum that lasted two days over a video tape. Grandma had told her, "When you were that age, I also had your brother, and another one on the way!" At that, my sister and I both said, "Poor Grandma!"
Darin fell asleep around six. We all had dinner, and at eight, my mom suggested I just let Darin spend the night, since he hadn't moved since Kathy put him down. So Tobi and I went home. We both slept twelve hours that night, and the three of us were happy to see each other the next day. My mom said the first thing Darin said when he woke up was, "Where's Tobi?"
I've been working on Kitty Love. I've gone as far as I can until I get the color I'm missing. There's not much left to it.
I've got The Castle on my Q-Snaps now. I'll work on it next for a couple days.
Tobi has a pre-screening test for kindergarten at school. They're testing to see what each specific child needs to focus on during the next year. I had to reschedule Tobi's though, since they scheduled his test for Jymi's last day home. I explained the situation, and they said it was no problem. I know I shouldn't worry, because Tobi's very smart, and it's just to see what he needs to work on, but I'm still a little nervous about it. Wish us luck!

Labels: Jymi, Kids, Kitty Love, Real Life Sucks, The Castle

I got a wonderful surprise Saturday afternoon! Jymi called and told me he was going to get to come home for a day! He came home Saturday night, and he didn't have to leave until this morning! We took the boys to see Shrek The Third, and then had dinner with Jymi's family. We hadn't planned to tell them he was back for a day; all the good-byes had been said, and Jymi didn't want to do it again. His dad called to invite the boys and me to dinner for Jymi's grandfather's birthday, and Jymi answered the phone. So we saw them all again. The boys loved the movie and dinner, and I loved that we all got one more special day together.
I worked on The Castle Saturday, after Jymi gave me the good news. Before then all I wanted to do was sleep. Not bad for only a couple hours.
I didn't work on anything for the Black Swan SAL. I had better things to do on Sunday (see above).
Today I will work on The Castle again, but first I've gotta go to the post office. My Dragon Dreams exchange piece is going to be almost a week late going in the mail. Another picture coming soon!
I also want to thank everyone for their hugs and thoughts. I was pretty depressed in my last post, but I'm feeling better now. I know he's safe right now, and will be while they're training. That will help my mental health for a couple months.

Labels: Family, Jymi, Kids, Movies, The Castle

It's been a full and wonderful week. I had a nice birthday, and an even nicer day after my birthday. "The boys" (read as Jymi) got me a beautiful Chinese doll, which I will share a picture of when I'm not so lethargic. My sister also got me a necklace of a heart with a key cut out of it that says, "He who holds the key can unlock my heart," and a necklace with the key for Jymi. I never thought he'd go for it, but he's worn it since that night.
His coworkers all put in money to buy him a laptop, so he can get email while he's gone. He works with some very nice people.
We shopped, packed, and had pictures made. Jymi had some old friends come over for awhile. My mom watched the boys one night for us to go see a movie. We saw Spiderman 3, and we both agreed not to take Tobi to see it in theaters. Not because it was scary, but because most of the time he was Peter Parker, and if he's not in the Spiderman suit, Tobi's not going to pay attention.
All in all, it was a very nice week, until last night. Knowing that was going to be my last good night kiss for awhile was hard. Today he went down to the armory, and I had to go down later, for my ID card. He was able to sit and wait with me for most of the three hours, which was nice. I was very happy to not have to talk to the "Army Wives." Women who were horrified at the suggestion of getting a job, and did nothing but complain about how long they had to wait. They were in a hurry to wait for their husbands to be let so they could go to dinner. After watching them, Jymi no longer minds that I don't want to go to the support meetings. I will get to see him at least one more time, right before he gets on the bus to leave. He may get to come home one night this week, but that's a big maybe. He may also get a couple days off when they're done training, before they actually go overseas. Then we'll go down to see him there.
I've done good today. My eyes are so dry after crying so much last night, I don't know if I could cry today. I'm trying to keep myself distracted, but I'm afraid to go to bed. That was the worst when he was in boot camp; laying in the bed by myself. I have to know that I will fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, or I know I will lay there and cry. At the end of Jymi's training, I was going to bed at three and getting up a six, almost every night. It's all good though. It's more time for stitching.
The boys are taking it well, but I don't think they understand. This morning Tobi asked where Daddy was, and I told him he'd gone to be a soldier. Tobi's now absolutely sure that Daddy's fighting evil alien robots, and nothing will convince him otherwise. Darin hasn't say anything about it, but he's only been gone a day.
Stitchy news now. I've finished two models, to be released in June, I think. With my birthday money, I bought Invariance, Tending The Dragon Sleep, Desire, and Cathedral. I've gridded the first page of Invariance and will start it Tuesday. SALs until then. I'm hoping to actually work on The Castle for the first time in awhile. It will depend on how depressed I am tomorrow, though. Have a nice weekend!

Labels: Finishes, Jymi, Kids, Models, New Starts, Real Life Sucks, Stash, The Castle

I got as far as I could with my model, so I stitched along on The Castle Saturday. More rocks. I'll work on it again, today. I'll probably stitch more rocks.
I also worked on Jymi's stocking yesterday. I didn't get much stitching done. I had to do laundry. Jymi insists on having clean clothes to wear. Of course, Jymi's only got four pairs of pants, where the boys and I have enough clothes to last two or three weeks. Jymi did stop to look at it though, and told me it looked nice. For Jymi referring to my stitching, that's a huge compliment.
Now back to The Castle, and more rocks.

Labels: Jymi's Stocking, Models, The Castle

Jymi and I went out with his friend, Jason, and his fiancee, to dinner and a movie. We went to see The Number 23. I thought it was pretty good. Jymi didn't think he'd like, because it's a serious movie starring Jim Carrey. He was wonderful though. He was still funny in the beginning, but in the beginning, he's just a normal, goofy, everyday guy. I've seen too many comedians in dramatic movies that try so hard to be serious, that there are no jokes at all. Most of the time, those movies aren't any good. It is easy to find the number in real life. The year I was born (1985) adds up. My address is three numbers, and they add up to twenty. We went to be that night at 12:19. Jymi was 23 when Darin was born. We started dating on June 9. 6/9. 69/3=23. This weekend, I participated in 2/3 SALs. No, I haven't lost my mind. It's just fun, and it bugs Jymi.
Saturday, I really meant to work on The Castle. I had to finish a thread on Tobi's stocking, though, and that was it. Once I picked it up, I couldn't switch. I'm going to finish the drawers today, and then I'm going to start my Dragon Dreams exchange piece. It should only take a few days, but I'm expecting a new model soon. The exchange mail date isn't until May, so I've got plenty of time. I want to get it done soon, though, so I have plenty of time for the finishing. My mom's going to help me, but she's also having her gall bladder taken out. I don't want to bother her right after she has surgery.
Sunday I worked on Jymi's stocking. It doesn't look like much, but I finished the star on the right, and did all of his name, over one. Next time, I can actually start the picture! I haven't decided where to start next, but probably the tree.
Sunday night, I started to feel bad. I took something to make me feel better, but it made me very sleepy. Jymi, who's been doing lead all weekend, got up at nine for work, and didn't wake me until he left at ten. I was still pretty dopey though, and I went back to sleep at eleven and didn't get up until two. I had to get groceries, because there was noting in the house to eat. I felt better after I ate, when we got back. After that, I did finally work on The Castle. Still stitching rocks. I always feel like I've made progress, but it never looks like much. I'm still feeling sick and sleepy. Jymi left this morning at nine, and I didn't hear him at all. Not only did he leave without my noticing, but another guy came over, in, and left again (Jymi was giving him a ride to the plant)! I'm awake now though. Not moving fast, but I'm alive. I hope veryone else is feeling better today!

Labels: Jymi, Jymi's Stocking, Models, Movies, Real Life Sucks, The Castle, Tobi's Stocking

I only managed about an hour on The Castle yesterday. We had a busy day.
I reorganized my charts last week, and went through them all. I listed all the ones I really want to stitch, and had over 150. So I've decided to put myself on the fifty project challenge. I'm restricting it to charts and kits, though, because for most of them, I'll still need threads and embellishments. I do have fabric for at least fifty, but I also get my fabric of the month from Shakespeare's Peddler, and I'm not cancelling it. That will probably be the only fabric I get, though. Of course, being broke has also influenced my decision. So it's all for the best. That's all for today!

Labels: Project Challenge, Stash, The Castle

Saturday was The Castle SAL. I stitched more rocks. I never get very many done, but I always feel like I've made great progress. Today's the Teresa Wentzler SAL, so I'll work on it again today, after lunch.
Sunday was the Black Swan SAL, and I worked on Jymi's stocking. For the second week in a row, I did nothing but Kreinik. I finished the band, though, and next time I can put his name on it. He's going to be James, though. I know he's not going to spell it "Jymi" forever, especially since he doesn't really like being Jymi/Jimmy. At some point, he going to start asking to be James.
In non stitching news, Tobi is registered for school. He's going to go to the same school I did. I remember it being alot bigger. They still have the same art teacher. I saw her in the office. I even managed not to cry. I wanted to, once I got back in my car, but I didn't. They told me I could bring him during the summer to walk around to see the school, when there's no other kids around. There will also be an open house where he can meet his teacher. Jymi and I decided we're going to drive him back and forth. In our neighborhood, all the bus riders wait at the corner, and I don't want to let him do that by himself when he's still so little. Now to make it through his first day.

Labels: Jymi's Stocking, Kids, The Castle

In my last post, I mentioned I was going to rent a car to go to Virginia. Guess what I learned. You can't rent a car without a major credit card, and if you manage to, you still have to be twenty-five to drive it. I was so ready too scream! I understand why they have to do it that way, but it's still irritating.
So we had to wait until Jymi got off work Thursday night, and we borrowed my mom's car. We left Friday morning, and got to Virginia around lunch time. We couldn't afford to go the Marine Science Center, like I planned, but my dad bought the four of us tickets to the circus (he had to work, so he couldn't go with us).
It really was the greatest show on earth, but not because of the clowns or elephants. The best part was watching the boys. We had great seats (they're normally the floor seats; it's a basketball arena) We were in the second row, and close enough to smell the elephants. We were also close enough Tobi got to shake hands with the star clown, which made his day. Darin had fallen asleep by then. They both loved it, but it started at Darin's normal bedtime. He fought it as long as he could, but he fell asleep during the second half. Everything was wonderful.
There were only two problems; everything was so expensive and PETA. My dad gave us some money to get the boys souvenirs, and they each got a light up thing, and they were $39! I told myself the money was going towards the elephant sanctuary. Now I have no problem with PETA's ideals. I am all for ethical/kind treatment of animals. Handing out information on the treatment of the animals in front of the circus is fine with me; I will read it over. When they start handing out comic books that show elephants being hunted and tortured to my very small kids though, that's a different thing. When they are scaring the hell out of my children, that is no longer a peaceful protest. I'm glad I flipped through it before I let them have it.
We got our car, and left Saturday morning. It was a long trip back, especially since we had to stop by my mom's and my sister's before we could go home. Our new car is a 86 Honda, and it's butt ugly. It's was in our price range though, and now I have a car during the day. Which is great, because I don't have anything to feed the boys for lunch, but I can go get groceries.
I've made some progress on Persian Iris Garden. This is going to be last picture of this one for awhile. I'm getting sick of it. I can make good progress when I can make myself work on it, but I never want to. So I think for the moment, I'll focus on Tobi's stocking during the week.
I keep wanting to start something small as a break from all my bigger projects, but the first thing that comes to my mind in Merlin And Aurthur. How's that for a small project? I have kinda decided to start something small once a month, just to break the monotony. I've also halfway decided that this project will be one of the Stitch Every Holiday series, but I can't pick which one. I could either start with the beginning of the series, the beginning of the year, or do whatever month it is. I guess I'll see which one I have the most threads for already.
Yesterday was the Black Swan SAL, and here is Jymi's stocking. I didn't get much done, but I didn't pick it up until nine. We spent Sunday cleaning, unpacking, and relaxing.
Today, after I get some groceries, I'll work on The Castle. I've got plenty more rocks to stitch.
Before I go, here's last week's SBQ. What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used? The smallest I've used is 36 ct., and I have one that has to go on 40 ct. to fit in the frame I want for it, but I prefer 28 or 32 ct. I have stitched over one on 25 and 28 ct. I also stitched on 32 ct., and that time I was supposed to. The first two times, I didn't know I was supposed to stitch over two. The largest I've used is probably 14 ct. aida, unless you count over two on 25 ct., which works out to be 12.5 ct. Isn't math fun?

Labels: Family, Jymi, Jymi's Stocking, Kids, New Starts, Persian Iris Garden, Real Life Sucks, SBQ, The Castle, Tobi's Stocking

First, here's a picture of The Castle. I did work on it yesterday for the Teresa Wentzler SAL. Aren't my rocks pretty? Aren't all the colors pretty when they're scanned and not washed out by the flash from the camera? I'm really enjoying it. Today it's back to Persian.
I'm leaving tomorrow, but since I'll only be gone a couple days, I doubt I'll take any stitching. I'm going to spend eight hours in the car driving up, then the afternoon dealing with the new car. After that, we'll have time for dinner and visiting with the boys' godparents. Thursday, I'm gonna take the boys to the Virginia Marine Science Museum. love all the fish and touch tanks. It's very child friendly. They'll also love the otters. They always like to play. There's also a temporary penguin exhibit, and Darin loves penguins. Then we'll have dinner, and come home. I'm hoping that they'll wear themselves out at the museum, so after dinner, they'll be ready for bed, and sleep the whole way home.
Now for the silly stuff. I've been tagged by Julie. Here are the rules. Five Questions and Five Things.
For the first part, 5 Questions - my dear readers can ask me five questions--either in comments or feel free to email them if you'd prefer. I'll answer them in the blog as soon as I can.
For the second, Five Things About Me. Here are the rules: 1. Get tagged. 2. List five things that have not been revealed on your blog. 3. Tag five others.
I can play the flute, the saxophone (though I've had the most practice on a tenor), and a keyboard. I cannot read piano or sax music though. I'm too used to the high notes of the flute music. I can't really read music below the staff.
When I was a toddler, I bit my tongue off. Eww, right? I fell on the kitchen floor, and bit it almost completely off. My mom then had to drive extremely fast in the snow (the one time it snowed in Georgia when we lived there). After they stitched it back on, my mom took me home. It's good thing the cells in your mouth are some of the fastest to heal, because that night I pulled every last stitch out. I guess that was the first time I frogged. I didn't have to have it restitched though. It had healed enough.
I've been reading adult books since I was in fifth grade. In second grade, I was reading on a eighth grade level. The cause of my love for reading was Disney's Beauty And The Beast. The heroine liked to read, and I wanted to be just like her.
I am the only female member of my family with a thyroid, and will soon be the only one with a gall bladder. My mom is going to have hers out soon. I'm supposed to have mine checked regularly, given that kind of family history.
I like kids video games. I can't play shooter games, or Zelda, or anything else like that. I can kick but at Harry Potter and Spongebob games, though.
I saw this on Abi's blog, and I already know I have no life (signaled by a number of eighty-five), but it looked like fun.
(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
( ) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
( ) The Princess Bride
(X) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
(X) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(X) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
(X) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(X) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(X) The Grinch
(X) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
(X) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(X) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(X) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(X) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) E.T.
(X) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(X) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
(X) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
(X) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
(X) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
( ) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
( ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
( ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(X) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
( ) Highlander
(X) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
(X) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(X) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal
Total: 122, and at least half of what I haven't seen is on my Netflix list.

Labels: Fun Stuff, Movies, The Castle

Here's what I've done stitching wise lately. I've finished Irish Coffee. My last project that used Whisper, I was told to use a (clean) toothbrush to fluff it up. It didn't do much, though. I recently heard someone say try Velcro, so I decided to try it. The first Velcro I could find was on a pair of Tobi's old shoes, that just happened to be by my stitching chair. Jymi came home right as I started. He took one look at me and said, "If I put a shoe anywhere near your cross stitch, you'd freak." He was right. It's all done now, and I'll take it to be framed in April.
Here's my progress on Persian Iris Garden. Impressive, huh? I only spent one day on it so far. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I hate the Silken Pearl. It's a pain! So of course when I screwed up, what did I have to rip out and restitch? The Silken Pearl.
I'm not getting the kit for St. Petersburg any time soon. It's now official. I did go ahead and pay for the class. I guess I'll get what I need when I get there and can afford it. Jymi had gotten his big thing with the tax money already, and felt bad that I wasn't getting mine. Especially since I always put off getting what I want to pay the bills. He offered to sell his Xbox 360 for me. I appreciated the thought, but it wouldn't have paid for the kit, and we would've had to put it toward the bills, anyway. So in a couple weeks, when I sell Jymi's old car, I get the money to put towards it. Jymi's also gonna try to do lead next month, and give me a little of the extra from that. We'll see, though.
I did work on The Castle yesterday. It was only a hour and half, but I made enough progress to feel good about. I showed it to Jymi, who complained he couldn't see anything in it. The boys like to asked what it is, and I show them the book. Every single time, "WOW! A dragon!" Anyway, now I'm off to stitch the columns on part four!

Labels: Finishes, Persian Iris Garden, The Castle

Nashville is over! I can now show pictures of my last two models! Are you ready? First, I stitched Triangularity, the last companion to Labyrinth and Maze. Progress pictures are up in my Webshots, and start here.

The second one is Snowfight: Purple. This is the one that we thought the mail had lost. Now, Blue and Red remind me of Chris and Tobi (throwing snowballs at each other), and this one reminds me of Alex (playing nicely by herself and getting caught in the crossfire. Now I just need one either ignoring the other three, or sneaking up on them, and I'll have Darin. Now I'm tempted to restitch them each and putting the kids names on them. Progress pictures for this one start here. I guess I've stalled enough, so now for the picture!

I have also finished Irish Coffee and started part four of Persian Iris Garden, but I'm saving that for my next post. I don't want to break Blogger with the pictures.
Jymi's been sick since Wednesday. I haven't been stitching since then, because I've been busy taking care of him. We've also had some finacial problems this week, and I've been a bit depressed. I haven't really wanted to do anything but sleep. Thanks to the money problems, it looks like I'm not going to be able to get the kit for St. Petersburg White Nights. Just another thing to make me depressed.
I didn't work on the Saturday and Sunday SALs, but I've got The Castle on the Q-Snaps. I will work on it today for the Teresa Wentzler SAL. Until tomorrow, when I show the pictures!

Labels: Jymi, Kids, Models, Persian Iris Garden, Real Life Sucks, The Castle

It's 11:30 in the morning, and I'm ready to go to bed. My sister and mom our out of town on a quilting thing, and I get to babysit. Which means I get to borrow my sister's van to pick up the kids from school. I had planned yesterday to go to the Medicaid office and the grocery store, come home and have lunch, and go pick up Chris and Alex. As I was getting ready to leave, the school called to tell me Chris had a fever, and I had to come pick him up. So I had to go to the Medicaid office today. If you've ever had to deal with Medicaid, you know that in itself is enough to drive you to drink.
We got there, and there was one person ahead of us. He told me last time he was there, there was only one person ahead of him, and he still had to wait two hours. We only had to wait about ten minutes, but that was in the waiting room, where they had coloring sheets. Once we got in the office, we had to spend another half hour in there, where there was nothing for the boys to do but put there mittens on and off, and ask if we could get back in the car yet. Kathy's car is cool, because it has a DVD player. After they did all the paperwork, they told me to call my worker in Columbia to let her know it was coming.
We came home, and I got the boys settled. Then I called the general number, since I didn't have the number for my worker directly. I was on hold for ten minutes, when my phone beeped. Leon called to tell me he had kept Chris out of school and taken him to the doctor. He did ask that I still pick up Alex, because he didn't want to drag Chris out in the cold again. No problem. I go back to the line on hold, to find out they've hung up on me. So I call again, spend another five minutes on hold, opening all those letters they've been sending me, and find the right number. So I did finally get through. I am so sick of doing this every year, but what else can I do. Health insurance costs almost as much as our rent, and we can barely pay that. Sorry for the bitchfest, but I needed to unload.
Since I had to sit in line at the school, I got A Wee Bit Irish ready to start. I got a good bit done yesterday while waiting for Alex. I may get it done today. I've just got one more shamrock to stitch, then the words and button. I've got an American flag button I'm considering using, too. The deciding factor is going to be whether or not there's even room. I thought it might be nice, since we're both much more American than Irish, but it's both out heritages. My family came over on the ship with Lord Baltimore way back when, and that is why there's still alot of us up there. Jymi says his family came over after the potato famine thing. We both love Irish/Celtic/Gaelic things.
I used Weeks Dye Works Envy for the border. I think it's one of the most beautiful colors they make! Everything else is DMC (310, 700, and 704). It's stitched on 28 ct. Crystal Highland linen from Picture This Plus. I've got Irish Coffee kitted up for when I finish this. It's goint to be on the same fabric, so they'll go together. I still need to get the Whisper for it, but that's it. I have it, but it's in the bottom of a very crowded drawer, and I haven't felt like digging through it. I won't need it for a couple days at least anyway.
I finished my model Friday, so I did participate in the SALs this week. Here's my progress from both day of The Castle. It's not much, but I've been busy with real life.
I also did the Black Swan SAL. I got a little done on Jymi's stocking. Again, it's not much. Sunday I had to go get the van, and Jymi wanted to spend the day watching Ghost Hunters in the dark.
Friday, I got my payment for my last model! All kinds of great stuff! I got the new Teresa Wentzler book, Christmas Elf Fairy (Mirabilia), Dragons Welcome, When In Rome, and Egypt (all Cross Eyed Kats). I also got a new pair of scissors, a skein of regular Dinky Dyes silk, and a Dinky Dyes Oops Pack. I got some gorgeous silks in it, and a few cottons, too! I gotta tell you, it was hard not to drool on them! Now I'm going to get a little stitching in on In Every Nest before I have to leave to get Alex.

Labels: In Every Nest, Jymi's Stocking, Kids, Models, New Starts, Real Life Sucks, SBQ, The Castle

Here's my progress on The Castle from Saturday and Monday. Not much difference. Saturday, Jymi's friend had to go spend the day visiting various family members. So Jymi was bored, and sat around in my stitching chair all day, getting mad at video games. As I've mentioned our living room is small. So small that there is not room for a couch, and if Jymi's in the arm chair, I either have to sit at the computer or on the floor, which hurts my back. Monday, he went back to work, but as soon as he came home, I had to run some errands, and by the time I was back and we'd had dinner, it was ten, and we had to go to bed. Jymi gets up for work at 4:45, so we usually go to bed at nine, but he had to stay up to see 24.
Sunday is now the SAL day for Black Swan on the Needle And Thread board. I'm still mad at Avatar, so I worked on Jymi's stocking. I think I made some nice progress on it. Saturday, while Jymi was hogging the TV, I was recording a Hex marathon on BBC America. Sunday morning, Jymi's friends picked him up, and I shoved the three of them out the door, locked it, and spent the day watching Hex and stitching. It's a little distracting, what with Azazeal being so sexy. So he's evil; what man isn't at least a little?

Labels: Jymi's Stocking, The Castle

I just wanted to post a picture of The Catsle. I worked on it yesterday for the Teresa Wentzler SAL. What's amazing is Jymi could look at it and tell what part of the picture I was stitching. I've been working on it staraight out of the book, but I gave up on that last night and went to the library to make working copies. We've got a copier/scanner/printer, but it's out of ink, and at the moment, it's alot cheap to go make four copies at the library than to buy more ink. The librarians were so happy to see me walk in at 8:30 when they close at nine.
I've been working on Persian, too, but not enough to bother posting a picture. I'll continue on it when I get my lazy butt off the computer.
I haven't gotten any of the Irish stuff kitted, started, or anything. I've decided to wait until I finish part three.
Jymi has a friend who lives in Florida, and he's visiting for the week. He's a nice guy, but whenever he visits, I don't see my husband until he leaves again. Tonight they're getting Japanese food and playing video games, while I babysit. Tomorrow we're all going out to McAllister's Deli for dinner. Their plans are to watch movies and play video games. Tobi and Darin's plans? To wach movies and play video games. Are the similarities between five- and three-year-old little boys and twenty-six-year-old men astounding?

Labels: Jymi, Persian Iris Garden, The Castle

I don't have too much to say today. Here's my progress from the Castle SAL yesterday. I didn't feel much like stitching, but after dinner, the boys and I sat down to watch Pete's Dragon. Stitching on The Castle just seemed appropriate. I'll pick it up again on Monday.
Jymi had drill, so it was just the three of us. He called me about four, but the battery on his phone was almost dead, so it wasn't for long. They told him they would probably only have to more drills before they left. I think that was a big part of my mood yesterday. Ever since then, it's felt like I had a lead ball in my stomach, and it's always very cold. Then again, it is winter, so maybe it really is cold. I just can't bear to think about it. I guess I'm still in denial, but I hang out there alot, and they know me there.
I'm still working on part three. The second carpet went alot faster than the first, and hopefully the last two will go as smoothly. This is why rotations just slow me down; it takes me a couple days to get into a groove, where I really enjoy the project. The first carpet took me five days, where the second only took three.
I had to go to the lns to get some needles, and to see if my Halloween thing was framed yet. They told me the beginning of November, then never called. So I hadn't been in. It was ready, and I paid some on both of them. Framing's especially expensive when you can only afford to pay ten dollars a week and you don't get a discount. In the sale bin, I found Irish Coffee. I'd always liked it, but I wasn't sure I'd stitch it, or if Jymi would like it. I don't drink coffee, so it's going to be a sort of gift for him, for the kitchen. I wouldn't pay the regular price for it, but for half off, it was okay. I also got another Hob Nobb Doodle to do (this will make three that I haven't done yet), but this one's for Jymi, to kinda go with the Irish Coffee one. I got A Wee Bit Irish. I've got a quarter yard of Crystal Highland from my fabric of the month club last year, that I haven't made any plans for, so I think I'll do them both on it. I was planning on taking them at the next framing special in April, but I guess it won't matter that much if Jymi's gone. I was considering working on them while he's at work, so he would be suprised. I may still try, but I'm gonna finish part three first. I've gotta get some new fabric scissors first anyway. Cutting the sparklie fabrics dull the scissor blades quickly, so I don't want to use the nice Ginghers my mom gave me (because I could never afford them on my own). I think I'll start the little one tomorrow, when I get up. I can get some cheap scissors tonight after Jymi gets home. I'm gonna go pull the threads now, as my brain seems to have stopped working. That way, as soon as I get up, I can get started.

Labels: Persian Iris Garden, Real Life Sucks, Stash, The Castle

This post will include a recap of my 2006 stitching, 2007 stitching goals, December accomplishments, January goals, and my one night stand (no, not that kind,as a coat check girl at a party).
At the beginning of 2006, I had four projects started: Toys And Games Room Stocking, Avatar, Skeleton Crew, and Dragons By The Fire. I did finish Skeleton Crew. The others are still waiting for me to get around to them. I also started and finished five Mother's Wisdom charts, twenty Christmas ornaments, (four Dragon Dreams, twelve Lizzie Kates, two Cross Eyed Kats, one Raise The Roof, and one Monsterbubbles, for an exchange), five shop models, eleven designer models (released as four charts, one hasn't been released yet), four for gifts or exchanges, and twelve for myself or my family. I also started, but haven't finished, In Every Nest and Persian Iris Garden.
The totals: I started the year with four projects, I started another fifty-eight, and finished fifty-seven, ending the year with five works in progress.
My goals for 2007 are pretty simple. I want to finish (in no particular order) Toys And Games Room, Avatar, Dragons By The Fire, In Every Nest, and Persian Iris Garden. I also want to start and finish Brittercup's Antarctic Penguins: Penguin Family for Darin. If I finish Persian Iris Garden, I will start another Chatelaine. I'm not sure yet whether it will be Taj Mahal or St. Petersburg, but probably the latter. When/if I finish both stockings and the wizard, I want to start Merlin And Aurthur for Jymi. I also want to participate is The Castle SAL, every weekend when possible.
Speaking of The Castle, here's what I got done on the first day! All twenty stitches of it. I only managed to get in a few minutes, obviously. The picture on the right is to better show the fabric. It's 28 ct. Crystal Mercedes Cashel linen from Picture This Plus.
My goals for December were to finish the model. Plus start, finish, and ornamentify the new Dragon Dreams Christmyth ornament, sew Grandmother's butterflies into pillows, pick a project to stick with until it's finished, and kit up The Castle for the stitch along on New Year's.
The model's finished, along with the Wyvern. I had issues with the sewing machine, so the pillows didn't get made. They did get yelled at, though. I'm working on part three of Persian Iris Garden, but I'm switching when I finish this part. I did get The Castle all ready to go.
My goals for this month are to participate in The Castle SAL every Saturday and the Teresa Wentzler SAL every Monday, finish part three, and then pick another project.
I babysat my sister's kids Friday, and afterword, since we both needed to drive up to Charlotte, we decided to ride together. She had to stop by her husband's theater, because they were getting ready for a big fancy New Year's party, and he needed to try on his tux jacket. We all went shopping, first for Leon's tux stuff, then to spend the gift card Jymi gave me for Old Navy. On the way home, Kathy was telling me about the party. They had senators secretaries calling trying to get tickets! They were all sold out very quickly. Then she asked me what Jymi and I had planned. Jymi and I usually just hang out and watch a movie. She asked if I wanted to work at the party, since it paid ten dollars an hour, with ten hours guaranteed. She said it would just be bussing tables, and making sure everyone had champagne for the toast at midnight. Jymi and I talked about it, and I decided to do it.
Saturday, she kept the kids, so Jymi and I could go to dinner and a movie. It was good for both of us, to help keep us up late, so we'd be ready to stay up late the next night. She was working, too. So we had a nice dinner at Olive Garden, and then we went to see Casino Royale. Jymi's a big Bond fan. I enjoy them every once in a while, because I have to be willing to be bored for an hour before they get interesting. I did enjoy it though. It was nice to have some quiet time together. We had to wait an hour for a table at dinner, so we had some time to just talk.
Kathy picked me up at about three, Sunday. We had to drop her kids off at our mom's, and then drive up to Charlotte. At five we had the meeting, where everyone was assigned jobs and told the rules. Leon told us, "This is going to be a very high class crowd. So if you see any having sex in the auditoriums or using cocaine in the bathroom, to let me or one of the other managers know immediately." That kinda freaked me out, but I have to admit it didn't really surprise me. I didn't want to be the one to find someone using drugs. I was assigned to coat check with two other people, and once the rush had died down, I was to go inside and bus tables. I was the only person assigned to coat check who actually showed up there once the people started coming in. That was fine with me though. If I had to stay outside all night hanging people's coats and giving them green bracelets (to tell who was over twenty-one, so the bartender wouldn't have to worry about IDs), that meant I wouldn't have to worry about to "high class" people with drugs in the bathroom.
They had a photographer to take pictures of everyone as they came in, and also to get some candid shots. There were quite a few with Leon (one here and here), and a couple of me (here and here), but Kathy managed to not get her picture taken. At least not that I've found. If you want to see more, go the calender, December 2006, Ballantyne Village New Year's party. They have several groups.
They even had fake paparazzi to take pictures and scream when the people came in. At first Kathy or Leon would come out every hours or so and ask how I was doing. I'd ask them to get me a Sprite (the soda, beer, and wine were free, but I don't drink much), and told them I was fine. Kathy told me on the way home that she had been worried about me because they had alot of assholes upstairs, where she was helping with one of the pay bars. We didn't really have much to deal with. Around eleven, we had a few groups of teenagers show up and ask what the cover charge was. We had to explain that this was not a club and all the tickets were sold out. One tried to steal one of the green bracelets, but the bouncer saw him take and kicked his butt back out. They stopped checking on me at eleven. They had to get the champagne toast ready, and clean up the mess the drunks were making.
After midnight, everyone started to leave. I didn't know I'd get tips for bringing people their coats, but I made $25. We also had to hand out papers with the numbers of the cab companies, and make sure nobody left with alcoholic drinks. There was another girl who'd been taking tickets before midnight to help give the coats back and pass out papers. Right after midnight we had a small problem. A woman had gotten champagne dumped on her from one of the balconies, and was very upset and wanted her money back. We found her a manager to talk to, and then she came and yelled at us some more. I understand why she was upset, but we couldn't do anymore for her than we already had. We took her name and number, and one of the managers will take care of it when they had more time.
Around one, we did have the one and only real asshole. I saw a girl in tears talking to the police officer, and her boyfriend walking away angrily. From what I gathered, he had hit her just before coming out. He then yelled at the police officer. He started to leave, but then the police officer told him to go. Of course if it was what the officer wanted, he couldn't do it, and he tried to come back up. The officer stood in his way, and the man tried to throw him down the stairs. After that he was arrested. Everyone kept saying how stupid the girl was for not wanting him to go to jail. I didn't think of it that way, though. I felt so bad for her, knowing she was going back to a man (and I use the VERY loosely) who treats her so badly. She will spend so much time in pain over him, and she may never get out of that destructive relationship. He was the only one who acted like asshole out where we were, and I didn't have to deal with it. Thank goodness!
All the customers were gone by about two, and then we had to clean up all the broken balloons and glasses. We were supposed to be there until three, but it was closer to four when we finished. I got to take home a peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake, and some balloons for the boys.
Kathy drove me home, and it was about 4:45 by the time I got to bed. Jymi was sweet and let me sleep until 1:30. Then he made me stay up for the rest of the day, because he knew if I went back to sleep, I wouldn't sleep that night. He was very sweet, watching the Absolutely Fabulous marathon I'd recorded the day before, even though he doesn't really like it, because he knew I'd stay awake to see it. He enjoys it, and laughs, but it's not something he'd watch of his own free will. It wasn't until both boys and Jymi had all gone to bed (at 11:30) that I got to start my Castle. Of course, I didn't get much done, since I had to find the right size Q-Snaps, the book, the middle of the fabric, and by then I only had time to get one length of thread before it was no longer New Year's.
I hope everyone had a happy New Year, and have a great 2007!

Labels: Family, Goals, Holidays, Movies, Persian Iris Garden, The Castle, Work