Okay, not really. I have finished the wagon on Tobi's stocking. It only takes me a couple days to get sick of this one. If it's not done by October, I'll put everything else away and finish it. There's not really that much, but it just drives me nuts!
I'm going to work on Jymi's stocking next. I'm gonna try to finish the picture of the castle before moving on, but no promises.
I bought some more charts. There's a big shock, huh? HAED had a Fourth Of July sale, and I decided I'd only buy two charts this time. That lasted until the next morning when I decided on two more. I also bought a story keep last night, too. I'm done now, though, until the next sale. I bought Angel Of Capricorn, Isis, The Awakening, Forest Light, and Oriental Courage.
I'll start Courage when I get sick of Jymi's stocking. I'm just going to stitch the black on a piece of Picture This Plus Crystal Phoenix I already have. I think it's the perfect shade of red, and then I may actually finish a HAED in this lifetime! I considered doing Strength for Jymi, since he likes dragons with wings more than Asian dragons, but I don't think he'd use it. He doesn't read much anymore. Even when he was home, he hasn't really read a book in awhile. He never had the time, and when he did, he didn't want to have to use his brain. Maybe I'll do it for my niece, Alex. I know she'd love it, and she reads constantly.
I added two tickers to the top of my blog. I'm so excited about Jymi coming home, and he is, too. Last night he said he'd been down all day, just wishing he was here. Jymi is not flying home now. His friend Paul, who lives about ten minutes away from us is renting a car, and they're going to ride together. That way they can leave as soon as they're set free. They'll get here sooner, and be able to stay longer. Jymi's decided while he's here, he wants to have a party for Darin's birthday, see Harry Potter, and get a new tattoo if we have the money. Since he's not flying and I don't have to buy a plane ticket, we just may. He just wants something small. I want Selina Fenech's Motherhood. I want to make her tail blue, and her hair brown, though. We'll see. Other than Darin's party and the movie, we're just gonna play it by ear.
Tobi and I are still going to see Harry Potter a week after it comes out though. I have the perfect attention span to watch movies again and again. Again, I'm figuring if I wait until it's been out a week, and take Tobi to the first show on Wednesday morning, there won't be as many people. Jymi understands.

Labels: HAED, Jymi, Jymi's Stocking, Kids, Movies, New Starts, Stash, tattoos, Tobi's Stocking

My goals for March were: participate in The Castle, Black Swan, and Teresa Wentzler SALs, continue with Tobi's stocking (finsh at least the shelves, maybe the drawers), and maybe start something small. I SALed when I could, and I did finish the shelves and drawers. I did my Dragon Dreams exchange piece, which could qualify as my small project. I also started a model.
Time for my April goals. First up is to finish my model. Of course, I'm also gonna try to do the SALs, when I'm done with the model. Other than that, I just plan to work on Tobi's stocking.
Now for last week's SBQ. Do you have a system for organizing freebie charts in your stash? If so, what is it? Do you print out copies of all of the freebies that you find on the web (that you think you might actually stitch) or do you maintain electronic copies of them until you are ready to stitch them?
Mostly, I print them when I'm ready to stitch them. I have different folders for different designers. The ones I do have printed are organized in my notebooks by designers.
No current stitching pics to share. So here's a picture of the chart for Land Of Enchantment (Heaven And Earth Designs). I got the email version in a trade awhile back, but the printer ran out of ink after about ten pages. We got more ink recently, so I printed the other twenty something pages. I'm currently having a hard time resisting starting one of these. I went to get needles yesterday, and debated whether or not to get fabric. Maybe when I finish Tobi's stocking.
I did find out that the peeling on my tattoos was normal. They're done peeling now, and they itch like mad. Jymi says I'll be ready for my next one as soon as it stops itching. I'm ready now, I just don't have anymore spare cash, and I want to lose more weight before I get another. Between two kids and depression, I've gain about seventy-five pounds. I've lost seven, though. I'll get my next one when I've lost at least fifty.

Labels: Goals, Models, SBQ, tattoos

This is my very first tattoo! It's about three inches wide and six inches tall, on my right shoulder/back.
We went Friday afternoon, and got there about two. There was nobody else there, and since I wanted Jymi there with me, I got to go first. My artist was very nice, and started in a section that wouldn't hurt as much, so I could get used to it. About an hour after he started, he got a call from the owner that the health inspector was coming. So I got to take a break, while he found all the necessary paperwork, made sure the bathroom had been swept, etc. When he started again, he apologized for the delay, and said he hated having to stop in the middle like that. After another, more painful, hour the outlining was done! Jymi had a different artist doing his (different artists, different strengths), so once my outline was done, he went ahead and got started with his. It took another half hour to fill it in. The artist said that my skin was too soft; he had to keep going back over it to get it dark enough.
I can't get a good picture of my second one. It's about two inches by two inches.
After my first one, my artist needed a cigarette break, and I needed a drink. So I went and sat with Jymi for a couple minutes. I was there when the health inspector told Jymi's artist that everything was great, and gave them their paperwork. That's always reassuring.
Then it was time for my second one. The little one only took about twenty minutes, total. I added the boys' names. I got it on my left breast, because they'll always be close to my heart. Cheesy, I know, but true nonetheless.
It was then that my artist told me I picked a big design for my first tattoo, and in a few places it came close to my spine, which is why it hurt so much at the end. The little one barely hurt at all.
I'm having issues now, though. The lotion Jymi got to put on them started to peel off what skin had started to grow back. So I had to go back to the ointment you use the first few days, which can drain the color if you use it too much. Now there are a couple spots on my big one you can see it's pulled some out. You should get them touched up every few years anyway though, so I may just have to do it a little sooner.
Jymi got his in the middle of his chest. I sat with him after I was finished, and there were a couple times he was about to cry. That was painful. Much worse the my big one, I'm sure, but I've still got him beat. I gave birth. Twice.
It's gorgeous though. The picture does not begin to do it justice. His first two tattoos (an Egyptian eye, and the Japanese Kanji for father) look very sad in comparison. When he was finished, the artist took a picture of it for his portfolio.
Saturday, we had the deployment meeting. It was boring, and only created more anxiety for me. The boys had fun at the child care, though. Tobi drew over twenty pictures for me. At first, I thought he was taking home other kids' pictures, but they all had his name, and little men with light sabers, so I know they're really his.
I will post my goals and answer recent SBQs later. Jymi's got the week off so I can only have five minutes at a time on the computer!

Labels: Jymi, Real Life Sucks, tattoos