Marvelous Monday Update 6/30/08

Appreciation
I'd like to thank everyone who visits my blog and leaves comments. I appreciate each and every one! :) When I first started blogging, it was a way for me to journalize things that were going on in my life (The first to go is the mind, ya know!) as well as share the stitching I manage to get done. It seems in the few short years I've been blogging, I have a following! LOL, it always amazes me when my blog and I are discussed in R/L amongst stitchers. :) A special thanks for the enormous amount of comments on Mime and Pink Carnations. Wow!


Movie Monday
Freedom Writers
Starring Hilary Swank. Based on a true story, a young teacher (Swank) inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

*** Excellent movie! I actually watched it twice and plan on buying it.


The Ninth Gate
Starring Johnny Depp. Based on the book The Club Dumas, Corso (Depp) is a questionably sleazy rare book dealer. He's hired by a mysterious patron who has just come into possession of one of the only three copies of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows (a 17th century occult text said to give its owner unimaginable power). The man hires Corso to track down the other two copies and compare them to his, but complications - both natural and supernatural - arise at every turn.

*** Another excellent movie if you like suspense with supernatural themes.


Broken Bridges
Starring Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, Lindsey Haun, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson. A fading country music star (Keith) returns to his hometown, where he reunites with his childhood sweetheart and also meets his 16-year-old daughter (Haun) for the first time.

*** I liked this movie, too, even though there wasn't anything gripping in the movie. My goodness Haun can sing! When she sang at the end, it grabbed right onto my heart.


Shopping
Try as I might, I cannot leave JoAnn Fabrics without buying something. They had fabrics on sale for 30% off. Aren't these the cutest summer fabrics you ever saw? I thought they'd make nice pinkeep, fob, or flatfold backs so I bought 1/4 yd of each.

Thanks to some enabling from Shari, I'll be heading back for their July 4th sale! I want to make some of those floss tags everyone is talking about, and it seems the Notions Wall will be 50% off! There's also some linen in the clearance fabrics that I want to pick up and try to stitch on. And fabric quarters are 99c! I have two large bins of regular (non-stitching) fabrics and yet I *think* I need more. I'm terrible, aren't I?


Stitchy Stuff
I went to the Goodwill store on Sunday and found a suitable frame for Mime. I tossed the mat and saved the artwork (Who knows? Might come in handy). The frame is a bit scuffed up, so I am going to paint it a light peach color. I decided not to use mat board, but instead use 1/8" spacers that I'm picking up from a frame shop today. I've already got Mime laced up and ready to be "popped" into the frame once it's ready. I've PIF'd the chart to Izda in Puerto Rico. She's been *really* patient in waiting for me to finish Mime!


Freebie



Worlds Greatest Cross Stitcher
Book: Crafting Cross Stitch Cards by Sue Cook
For more details, see MyCraftivity.

Pink Carnations

Last fall, I bought a plain wood box at Michaels. After removing the hardware, I sanded and stained the inside and outside. Once it was dry, I put the hardware back on. What do you get when you combine this...


...with this?



After 4 hours....

Outside Pink Carnations
Finished: 11/08/07 Time: 29.5 Hours
Designer: Sweetheart Tree
Fabric: 28ct Graziano pink checkered linen
Fibers: DMC Threads
Embellished with Mill Hill Beads

InsideI bought additional gingham linen to make a matching needlebook and scissor fob to go along with it.


Here's what some friends had to say:

My gosh, Meari, I am in awe of your skills. That is just beautiful! I bow to your creativity!! ! Wow! ~Lynn

Meari, that is just amazing. Very nice work! ~Janet in TX

Your box turned out terrific. ~Gabi

Beautiful, Meari! I love it! ~Betty W

What a great job you did Meari, congrats on the finish. ~Leslie F

It's just beautiful. ~Judith T in CA

Meari, Really, really pretty! Great job! Wow! ~Shannon M

It's absolutely beautiful, Meari! ~Tracy W

Meari, your box is just beautiful... a great finish! I just love the Sweetheart Tree Pink Carnation design! You have used it in a lovely way. Know you are proud of the finished product, and should be! ~Shirley in KY

Really nice Meari. I love how you stained it as well. Great job! ~Petra

Meari, Your finishing talents are just awesome!!! You rock, girl!!!!! ~Barb in TX

Meari, Your pink carnations box is absolutely gorgeous!! ~Mary B in Northern IL

It is very pretty. You always do such a nice job. ~JosieAnn

That is a beautiful box - I'm in awe! You should definitely enter the fair. Good luck! ~Lynda

What a beautiful finish Meari! I love it! ~Karin in NV

You keep this up, you will have another class you will need to teach!! Wonderful finish, I have several boxes myself which are unfinished and in a drawer somewhere. Now you are making me go find them and see if they are worthy for finishing!! ~Nancy M

Meari, I just love what you did with the box and your stitched piece. ~Marl

Hi Meari, Your box is just GORGEOUS !!!! ~Patti

Your box is beautiful, Meari! What a wonderful job you did. And I agree with you about Freedom Writers. It was an excellent movie. ~Sandy

Fabulous finish Meari. You and your work are remarkable. ~Tina

Your box is fabulous, Meari! Congratulations and a rhumba or cha-cha!!!! Great perseverance and creativity! BTW, I love your movie reviews--keep them coming, please! ~Patricia (Dr. P in NC)

Meari, Your box is just perfect, so beautiful. I love it . That stitched piece is sooooo beutiful. Amazing great work ~Tinna

I love it Meari! What a gorgeous box you've made. ~Marcy

I have to say your box is absolutely beautiful! You have inspired me to do something special for my future daughter in law! Keep up the great work you do......I love looking at your projects! ~Sandi in IL

What a beautiful box, Maeri! ~Josephine

Meari, I LOVE your Pink Carnations and the way you finished it! All
my favorite colors too! ~Pam in IL

OMG Meari.....That is beautiful, you are so talented! ~Mary I

This is so pretty Meari!! Congratulations! Do you need my adress LOL? ~Eva in NL

WOW! WOW! WOW! I am totally speechless. Your talents amazes me. Keep it up! ~Vicky L

Wow Meari!! That's really gorgeous!!!! I love how it turned out too!! I want to do one!!!!!!! ~Pam K

I love that box!!! ~Glenda

Mime with Balloon

BIG HUGE HAPPY DANCE!

Mime with Balloon is a Something Special kit by Candamar Designs. This has been a UFO for a long, long, long time. It was given to me as a gift from my brother wayyyy back when I first started stitching. The copyright on the chart is 1987, so I'm sure it was around that time when I started it. Over the years, it got buried in my stash never to see light of day until 2006 when I found it again. I decided I really should finish it. So here it is, almost 2 years later... FINISHED! Woo Hoo!! (Can you tell I'm thrilled?)

Mime with Balloon
Designer: Candamar Designs
Started: 1987 Finished: 2008
Size: 14x18"
Fabric: 14ct white aida
Floss: Cotton

I learned a new stitch with the completion of this project. The Bullion Knot was used to create a dimensional rose. It was a little tricky at first, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad.


Now... What to do with it?

Random Observations

Sunglasses on

Sunroof up

Windows down

"Get A Haircut" by Thorogood plays on the radio

As I enjoy the morning commute to work... the whole 10 minute drive... what do I spy?

I saw a woman driving her car and BRUSHING her teeth! LOL My first thought was "Does she spit, or swallow?" If she spits, does she open the car door and hack it on to the pavement? Or, does she spit out the window and hopefully some unsuspecting follower doesn't get a mouthful?


Later at lunch, I stop at the PO and a guy parks across the street. He's tall so in no time crosses the street and makes a beeline for the PO. He opens the door and stands back swinging his arm in the grand gesture allowing me to enter first. LOL, don't know the guy, but graciously I said "Thank you!" He actually said, "You're welcome." Gotta love when men open doors for women. :)

Please Meet...

... Mr. Rip-It!



On one of my groups, there was a contest to name the frog in Nancy J's garden. I suggested the name "Rip-It". Makes sense, doesn't it? Rip-It, Rip-It... LOL There was a vote... and out of 10 or so choices... my suggestion won! LOL, I still can't believe it. I am amused!!

Nancy sent me a nice prize for thinking up the winning name.



Crescent Colors-Hickory Stick; Six Strand Sweets-Rhubarb, Ripe Banana, Cantaloupe, & Pink Grapfruit; and a little froggie button.

The following freebie charts were included, too:

• Early Riser by Mosey n Me
• God Bless the USA by Rhodes Butterfly
• Bee Free by Barbara Ana Designs
• Bunny & Wreath designs by Imaginating

Thank you very much, Nancy!! :)

Women vs. Men

NICKNAMES
• If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
• If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

*** This just shows women are more mature then men! ;-)


EATING OUT
• When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
• When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

*** Usually everyone just looks at me to figure it out.


MONEY
• A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
• A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

*** But it was on sale!


BATHROOMS
• A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
• The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

*** I actually have --- items.


ARGUMENTS
• A woman has the last word in any argument.
• Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

*** Yes, indeed!


FUTURE
• A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
• A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

*** Debateable... I've always been the one to worry and plan for the future.


SUCCESS
• A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
• A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

*** I just wanna know where the men are who have a JOB and make equal or more than me. Yeah, a job would be good!


MARRIAGE
• A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
• A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

*** Change is good. It's called growth!


DRESSING UP
• A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
• A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

*** We wanna look good for the men! FWIW, I only get dressed up to go shopping, so there.


NATURAL
• Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
• Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

*** From one who suffers from the morning Medusa Syndrome, how does this happen?? It's just not fair.


OFFSPRING
• Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
• A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

*** Isn't this the truth!!

Marvelous Monday Update 6/23/08

Accomplishments
• Planted huge planter
• Pulled sod off 4x10' plot, and broke up soil with a shovel!
• Planted tomato plants
• Mowed the yard
• Sprayed weeds growing in cracks of driveway & sidewalk
• Unpacked 5 boxes
• Trimmed hedges


Sunburn Update
By last Friday, my skin started peeling... and peeling... and peeling. I'm not exaggerating when I say it came off in sheets, not flakes, sheets! No amount of moisturizing saved me. I bought a new tube of SPF50 sunscreen.


Stitchy Stuff
I finished the stitching on Victorian Pansies Needlebook. As soon as I make it into a needlebook, I'll post a pic. It's a companion piece to the fob I did last year. Hopefully, I'll get that done this week along with finishing two Christmas ornaments.

I stitched on Quakers Rule by Milady's Needle. At 40ct over-two, I can only stitch on it for a few hours at a time due to eye strain.



Lastly, I spent a couple more hours stitching on Mime last night. I'm soooo close to being done. Here's what it looks like:

I don't know what the pink haze is at the bottom of the photo... It's not on the stitched piece!


Freebie



USA
by Trail Creek Farms
(stitched by Jinger)

Health & Happiness

Happiness is right! I was doing a happy dance last night around 10:30pm. I *finally* finished my June ornament after 19 hours of stitching and frogging (6 times!). I re-worked the lettering and changed the border and design to accomodate the new lettering.

A Christmas Wish For Health & Happiness
Designer: Blue Ribbon Designs
Fabric: 18ct fiddler aida
Fibers: DMC floss, Kreinik Blending Filament

Marvelous Monday Update 6/16/08

Movie Monday

Because I Said So
Stars: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham & Piper Perabo. Daphne Wilder (Keaton) is a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. As a single parent, she has raised three fantastic girls to become the kind of women any mom would die to have. The only problem is she drives her daughters crazy. In an effort to prevent her youngest, Milly (Moore), from making the same romantic mistakes she did, Daphne decides to set her up with the perfect man… through the use of a personal ad and doesn’t tell her daughter. She chooses a smart, sexy, rich, architect for Milly. While “interviewing” potential candidates, Johnny the lounge singer watches from afar. He suggests to Daphne that he could be a match, but was quickly shot down. He takes Milly’s business card and goes to meet Milly on his own. Daphne pushes, cajoles, suggests and nudges her way into Milly's smallest of decisions. Comic mayhem unfolds as the well-intended mom continues to do the wrong thing all in the name of love for her beloved daughter. Will it be the architect? Will it be the singer?

*** I really enjoyed the movie, and for once thanked my lucky stars that my mother isn’t that way. Although, she did make it known at the wedding reception I was single! Back to the movie… It’s definitely a chick flick, and had some funny parts.


Come Early Morning
Stars: Ashley Judd. Lucy (Judd) is a 30-something woman who keeps waking up with a stiff hangover and a guy she doesn't even want to look at. If coming to grips with why she keeps repeating this pattern isn't enough, Lucy also begins to realize that she needs to get in touch with her family past and, more importantly, with the person she has become.

*** This was an OK movie. The best part of it was her realization that she needed to come to grips with the past and to stop using it as a crutch for her behavior. She had a good thing going (in the movie) with Jeffrey Donovan and screwed it up. He's a cutie!


Hope Springs
Stars: Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver, Mary Steenburgen. British artist Colin Ware (Firth) discovers that his fiancee, Vera (Driver), the love of his life, is going to marry another man. Distraught and despondent, he gets on a plane for America and ends up in the tiny town of Hope in New England. At first, Colin is depressed, but he soon finds more than a shoulder to cry on when his innkeepers introduce him to Mandy (Graham), a beautiful nurse. All's going well and Colin has almost forgotten his old flame until Vera suddenly shows up with a surprise her own. Turns out she faked her wedding invitation in an effort to get him to wake up and marry her.

*** This, too, was an OK movie. I'm not a big fan of Firth's so maybe I'm biased. LOL Vera was a very manipulative character, and Mandy was too flighty for a nurse character.

Did everyone know that Blockbuster is offering non-new release rentals for 99cents? Maybe it's just my BB in an effort to keep up with competition since a new Family Video opened up and their rentals are WAY cheaper. I belong to the $9.99/yr BB club where I get a free rental each month and rent-one-get-one on Mon-Wed. So I got three movies for 99cents! Can't beat that.


Freecycle
I can hear it now... "Not the Freecycle speech again!" LOL Freecycle is great! First the good...

1. I received a small Toro battery-powered weedeater from a lady who bought a new one. She was really nice, and what a talker! It's kinda small, but it'll work until I can afford to buy a larger one. Snowblowers, hedge trimmers, lawnmowers... Can you say $$$?! I was so excited about the weedeater that I used it right away when I got it home. :)

2. I received a brand new 5-gallon bucket of paint from another lady. I had planned on painting the living room/dining room so this will come in handy! :)

Now the bad...

Some people are just plain rude. About 2 weeks ago, I offered a 5x13 piece of carpeting that was on my garage floor. Last week, a lady contacted me and said she wanted it so I sent her a pic just to make sure that she liked it. Toward the end of the week, she emailed me that she still wanted it. I emailed her back that I was busy with the wedding and I'd get back to her afterwards. Within a day, she sent me three other emails that said things like, "Do you still have the carpet or what?" And the scary one was: "I found your address on Freecycle and drove to your house to get the carpet, but didn't see it at the end of the driveway like you said. There was a blue one in the backyard but I wasn't sure if that was it." Now... First of all, my address is NOT listed anywhere on Freecycle. Secondly, it takes guts to go to someone's house UNINVITED. To walk around the property??? Lastly, I didn't tell her that the carpet was at the end of the driveway. I emailed her and told her it wasn't my house she was at and that she had me mixed up with someone else.

I just thought... W-O-W!


Stitchy Stuff
I've had a box of stash sitting by my computer since last year that needed to be scanned and put on my stash-for-sale blog. (There's also a link in my sidebar) I finally was able to get some of it added to my blog.

Over the past several days I've spent an enormous amount of time stitching and frogging... stitching and frogging... stitching and frogging on my June ornie for a SAL I'm involved with. Who sent the frogs???

No, Nancy... I wasn't frogging because I was drinking. LOL The problem was that I didn't thoroughly think through the lettering on the ornie when I charted a new set for over-one on aida. I'm working on A Christmas Wish for Health & Happiness by Blue Ribbon Designs. The design is really for linen/evenweave but I grabbed a piece of 18ct aida and started stitching before I realized there was over-one AND over-two stitches on it. Here's what it looks like after 16 hours (16 hours!!! LOL):




Skin's On Fire
What were 5 grown women thinking when they ventured out to sit poolside at a company function? Well, we were thinking it was going to rain and we wouldn't be out there long, that's what! Two of the women could be my mothers, btw! None of us were too smart on Friday.

Saturday was pretty rough for me. I felt ill and had tremendous pain shooting into my shins whenever I stood up, due to too much sun. My skin was on fire all day Saturday and into Sunday. With a big bottle of "Aftersun Aloe" next to me, I spent the bulk of the day on the sofa on Saturday. By the end of the day, the skin on my legs started feeling 'funny' so I got curious about what was in the Aloe. Looking at the label, the first ingredient was water. The second ingredient was ALCOHOL! No wonder my legs were feeling funny, I spent the day slathering alcohol all over them. Nowhere was aloe listed in the ingredients. I think it's a crock tha the name of the product even contains the word ALOE when it's clearly not.

I was finally able to put on shoes Sunday. Could you hear my Dad? "Did you learn anything?" I decline to answer that on the grounds it might incriminate me later. Trying to be helpful, he sent me home with two large containers of medicated heavy moisturizer that is supposed to be for his hands because they used to get so dried out while working. I've been using it, hoping that I don't peel too badly.

Today, Monday, the heat is gone but my shoulders and chest are still pretty tender. Comparing notes with my coworkers, I'd say I fared the worst. Lucky me! *This* is why I don't normally go out in the sun.


Father's Day
This year, I came up with a brilliant idea for a Father's Day gift. A month ago, I asked my Dad to figure out what size tarps he needed and I would get them for him for Father's Day. Guess what? He got too busy in retired life and never got around to it, LOL. So he got a gift card to Menards instead. I told him he'd have to buy his own. ;-) More about my Dad HERE.


Freebie



A Christmas Wish of Health & Happiness
by Blue Ribbon Designs

4 1/2 Hours of Stitching

and this is what my legs look like. I was wearing capris so the top part of my legs are pale white and below the knees are lobster red.


It was an afternoon "play day" for my firm so I sat poolside in a lounge chair enjoying strawberry daquaris and stitching, while a few coworkers read books.

Today, I can't even stand without being in pain. The bottle of Aloe has become my new best friend. Can you say "Ouchie"?

What did I stitch? I started stitching my June ornie for a SAL. Unfortunately, it has a combination of over-one and over-two... and I started stitching on 18ct aida. I've had to rework some of the design and have spent a lot of time frogging. Three times so far!

Tagged by Chiloe

Chiloe tagged me with a Meme I haven't done, so here goes:

Foundation
Yes, I use it when I wear makeup which is about once every other week.

Mascara
Yup (same as above)

Day Cream
If this is "moisturizer" then yes, every day. With SPF15.

Favourite Make-up Product-
Don't have one

Perfume
Mambo

Nails
Mine are real and medium length if I don't break them off doing "stuff" around the house.

Hands
Can't stand dry hands. I have lotion in my purse, at home, and at work.

Feet
Pedicures are a must, and daily moisturizing otherwise they're like sandpaper.

3 Products to bring on a deserted island
Sunscreen, Moisturizer, Hair Conditioner

Women I admire for their beauty
Beauty is internal.

Women with the best sense of style
None come to mind.

My ultimate dream
To have enough time to get everything done and still enjoy life.

How do I define womanhood
Strength... it's what helps us with family and life.

Favourite fashion publication
Don't have one.

Tag... You're it. I'm not going to tag anyone specifically because I've tagged most of you in the past. LOL

Flatfold #6

Back in April, I stitched up Peace on Earth by Linda Stolz. It was an exclusive kit created by The Silver Needle. I was the lucky recipient of this as part of a giveaway on Shelleen's blog. (Thanks again, Shelleen!) POE was stitched on 10ct gray aida with all specialty threads: two different mini suedes, fuzzy stuff, fyre works, perle cotton and over-dyed threads, plus included Mill Hill star embellishments. It only took 6 hours to stitch up and was a fun piece to stitch. I've finally had time to make it into a Flatfold. It's the 6th FF I've done. I really think they're fun to make.



Other FlatFolds I've made can be seen HERE and HERE.

Marvelous Monday Update 6/9/08

Stitching
I did manage to put in about 5 stitches on the Victorian Pansies needlebook, while I was trying to teach the girls to stitch. Five is better than none, right?


Weather
It was so HOT and HUMID on Saturday! Saturday night and ALL day Sunday, we were hammered with rain... rain... and MORE rain! Torrential rains and heavy winds. I think we're good on the rain for a while.


Wedding Photos
I started downloading the wedding photos last night. I was so excited at how beautiful they turned out that I was up until after midnight working on them. I think I took 300 photographs. I sent the bride/groom about a dozen as a preview. They're definitely going to have a hard time choosing from the previews.



Freebie



Alphabet Tree
by Blue Ribbon Designs

The Sleepover

I can’t really say for sure what time the girls went to sleep. All I know is we all were in our respective rooms with the doors closed and 11:30pm was the last time I looked at the clock. I expected to hear them chattering away, laughing, and giggling into the wee hours of the morning. Apparently, I didn’t hear a thing! In the morning, they informed me about all the “shenanigins” that occurred after we went to bed.

On Sun, my oldest niece (who is 16) watched a DVD while the younger girls (12, 10, 9) learned...

Stitching!!

I let them each look through my magazines and books to pick a project. My one niece kept calling me teacher and raising her hand every time she had a “problem”. Basically, I walked around the perimeter of the bed helping them with their issues. S caught on pretty quickly. She was the oldest and was excited when I told her she could take her project home to work on. I also gave her a fairy kit that Terri sent me with a bunch of fabric a while back. The oldest niece caught on much better this year than she did last year. The youngest still had trouble but did much better this year, too.

I sent them all home with their projects and extra thread if they wanted to do something on their own.

The BIG Day

5:50am Alarm goes off. It's Saturday morning

6:00am Stumble outside half asleep so Celeste can go potty. How can a little dog be so happy ALL the time? And why does she think she needs to go outside FIRST thing? Does she have a party while I’m sleeping?

6:02am I notice the sun is shining. Thank God! It’s going to be a great day.

7:00am Look outside. Fog EVERYWHERE. OMG. Receive a text messge: “Be careful, the fog is thick.” No kidding! I say a little prayer: “Please God don’t let it rain.”

8:45am Leave the house to pick up the bride at the church.

9:20am Arrive at the church. TWO bridesmaids see me pull up and they hop out of their cars and follow me in the church. No bride.

9:55am Still no bride. LOL

10:05 Bride arrives 35 minutes late because the person doing her hair and makeup wanted it “perfect”. Keep in mind the bride arrived at the person’s house at 7am. LOL Have to say though, the bride looked beautiful!

10:10am Brother calls me: “Where you at?” We were 10 minutes late meeting him for the morning photo session. By that time, we were in the car and on our way.

11:00am First photo session done. Fog lifted… overcast skies… very windy! Bride’s dress and veil blowing in places where they weren’t supposed to be.

11:15am Groomzilla Brother is PO’d because his slacks are too big, don’t match the groomsmen’s slacks, and shoes don’t match. He goes up the block to call the tux shop and chew some @ss. LOL, gotta love the bro. He pulls no punches, either.

12:00noon Groomsmen are all dressed. Bridesmaids are dressed. Maid of Honor is NOT dressed. We were supposed to be going to the park for photo session #2. The bride finally told her “We’re leaving!” LOL

12:30pm Photo session still going on. So HOT and HUMID. Everyone complains about the heat. Some sit in their trucks with AC to keep cool. I literally felt the sun beating and burning my back. I have a sunburn on top of a sunburn! Afterwards, a groomsmen tells me: “You didn’t complain about the heat once!” LOL, well I was too busy with the speed photo session: 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, 3 kids, 2 ushers, 4 parents. That’s a lotta people! At one point, I totally forgot the bride's name and I needed to get her attention so I pointed and said: "Hey you in white, bride!" LOL I couldn't believe I just couldn't remember.... Must've been the heat. Yeah, that's it! That's my story...

2:00pm Ceremony starts. After half a dozen shots, I realize my flash isn’t going off. Crap Luckily, only the cord had come loose. I reshot the first few. Toward the end of the ceremony, batteries in flash were going dead. Crap I flip the old ones out, shove new ones in.

3:30pm There’s some confusion as to WHICH door the bride , groom, and wedding party are going out. Actually, the bride and groom decided it was the front door, but there was some miscommunication and the bride’s father had everyone standing outside the side door (which was originally the plan but it changed earlier in the week). The bride and groom got into the limo while I photographed it. Then back to the altar for the final bridal party shots. Session #4.

5:00pm Arrive at the reception hall. The doors are locked. LOL Everyone is sitting in cars or standing in front of the doors. Bridal party is driving around in the limo partying it up. Skies are looking pretty ominous.

5:10pm Someone unlocks the doors.

5:15pm The rain lets loose. From then on out, it rained and stopped, rained and stopped. Not just light rain. Sheets of rain! I guess my little prayer helped.

6:00pm The reception starts.

An "interesting" thing happened... another woman walked into the reception... wearing the SAME dress as mine! I think my jaw dropped to the floor. People were doing a double-take because from behind they thought it was me (after seeing me ALL day in the dress) and wondered when I'd taken my hair down. I heard later that one of the bride's family went up to the woman and she said: "Don't EVEN say it!" My consolation was at least it happened at the reception only.

I had planned on taking the groom’s girls (my nieces) home with me at the end of the night. While at the reception, another niece wanted to come home with me (my other bro’s daughter). By the end of the night, both girls were trying to talk me into bringing home yet ANOTHER girl who was the daughter of the bride/groom’s neighbor whom I didn’t know and had never met. I really had to laugh about it because it took me back to when I was a kid... because we did the same thing.

Nieces: “Auntie, can Savannah stay over night too?”

Me: “I don’t know. Who is Savannah. Where’s her parents?”

Nieces: “Hold on, we’ll get her.”

They come back with Savannah.

Me: “Who are you? How do you fit into the wedding?”

S: “Oh, I live up the road from (bride/groom). We’re neighbors.”

Me: “Are your parents OK with this?”

S: “Yeah, my Mom’s OK with it.”

Me: Skeptical. “Where are your parents?”

All three: “They’re outside. They said it was OK and wanted to know what you said.”

Me: LOL, call me crazy but I’m not about to totally believe three little girls who are trying to connive their way to a sleepover. I go outside and introduce myself and make sure they’re totally down with letting their kid leave with a stranger.

Mother: “Oh, I saw you earlier today and I told R… THAT must be (the groom’s) sister. They look SO alike. We’re OK if S goes with you, as long as you don’t mind.”

Me: Thinking to myself... Alrighty then.

I must be “OK” through association with my brother. LOL I didn’t mind having an extra kid. What’s one more, right? She wasn’t any trouble.

Unbelievably, we were all home and in bed by 11:30pm.

Mime Update 6/5/08

I've been working on Mime... Yes, again! Maybe this will be the year I get it finished. I ran out of the gray thread, so I had to substitute a DMC equivalent. Hopefully, no one will be able to tell.

Marvelous Monday Update 6/2/08

Where did May go??? Spring came and went, now Memorial Day, and the official start of summer! Time flies by so fast... unbelievable! What have I been up to?


Movie Monday
OK, so who went and saw Sex and the City? I was asked to a movie and dinner by J (the friend who has fixed my mower, tuned up my car, and got me the great deal on the snowblower). Originally, he wanted to go see the Indiana Jones movie. Jokingly, I asked if he was not a SATC kinda guy. So we ended up going to SATC! I think J was one of 4 men in the audience. What a trooper! My brother told him he could tell me he was going to get popcorn and just not come back. LOL (Thanks bro!) I'd never seen the tv show so I had no idea what it would be like. Wow, some steamy scenes!


Evening at the Theatre
*As said with a british accent* Saturday night, I went to see Nunsense at the local community theatre.

Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show, so they take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of “Grease.” Here we meet Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices; a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun wholost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head. Featuring star turns,tap and ballet dancing, an audience quiz, and comic surprises, this show has become an international phenomenon. With more than 5000 productions worldwide, it has been translated into 21 languages.

It was a great production. I actually knew 2 of the "nuns". I ran into two high school classmates, and the LNS owner at the show. :)


Stitchy Stuff
I'm rather excited about how much stitching I've been able to do. Maybe it just seems like a lot since I haven't done much due to school. I've worked on Victorian Pansies Needlebook, the companion piece to the scissor fob I did last year. I've also done some work on Mime, and I'm working on a flatfold for an online class I'll be teaching in July.


Wedding
NO! Not mine. My oldest brother is getting married this weekend. I was asked to be the wedding photographer, so I had to get my wedding gear in order -and- shop for something to wear to the wedding. I spent about 4 hours shopping on Saturday and came home with 3 nice dresses, a pair of shoes, and jewelry. I'm really not a clothes shopper and tend to buy a lot at once when I do. Much to my chagrin, I found out that night that I developed a Farmer Tan. Won't that look lovely with the sleeveless dresses I bought. Now to decide... which to wear!


Mulch, Mulch, and More Mulch
I am still working on putting mulch down around the bushes of my house. It's a 6-bags-at-a-time project because that's how many I can fit into the trunk of my car each time I go to buy some. Seeing as I had the farmer tan going on, I thought I'd try to even it out some while working in yard by wearing a bikini top yesterday. Not sure that was the brightless light bulb that came on because I now have a slight burn on my back. LOL Luckily it's not too bad.


Freebie




ABC Sampler
by From My Heart Designs

Who Needs An Electric Chair?

I don't need an electric chair or the governor... I can electrocute myself all on my own, thank you.


*Sputter, Cough, Choke* Restart the mower. *Sputter, Cough, Choke*

I say to myself: "What now?" as I observe the lawnmower engine trying to remember what J told me to do if the mower started running funny.

In my vast observation of the piece of crap mower, I saw a cable dangling. I know enough about mowers that I knew the cable was *supposed* to be attached to the spark plug, which is where power comes from. In my limited wisdom, I reached down to attach the cable... WHILE said mower was running... and promptly electrocuted myself.

You can bet it didn't take long at all for me to let the thing go and shut the mower off.

Phone Call #1: Get J's voicemail. Crap. Darn. (Turns out he was mowing, too.)

Phone Call #2: Mom says Dad isn't home. He's at Uncle F's. Strike Two.

Phone Call #3: *sleepy* Hello? Jackpot! Hey bro... how do I... Thanks, and sorry for waking you up from your afternoon nap. (I could go for one of those!)

Just crimp it with pliers and snap it back on. Imagine how well that works when the mower is NOT running. No electrocution!

Later, I tell J and after he gets done laughing at my electrocution story he offers to get me a rubber "boot" for the spark plug.