Meari's Marvelous Monday Update 8/25/08

Stitchy Stuff
Several people have asked what the sparklie fabric is on my latest WIP. In four words: I have no idea! Like a lot of my aida, it's without packaging. Thank goodness for the count ruler, otherwise I wouldn't know what count it is either. So, I'm sorry I'm not much help. :(



I've had Serenity on my wishlist for quite a while. JoAnn Fabrics had it for $3.99 and with my 40% off coupon, I got it for $2.39 + tax. Can't beat that for an entire kit!



School
Waaahhhh... Summer is over! School started last Wednesday. I have the same instructor I had for B-Law II (oooooh, *this* should be fun). Not only do I have the textbook to read, I have to read a book on "management" and write a 7pg term paper/book report on it. Of course, *he* has to approve the book first. Since my boss (CEO) has lots of books on management, I asked him if there were any he'd recommend. He gave me 3! I've already read 1/2 of one and tagged important things with post-it flags. Am I ahead of the ball or what?!?


Getting Fit
In the past, I've talked about my WATP workout tape. I've got the 3-mile Fat Burning one and really love it. It's low-impact, easy to learn, and you get a cardio workout as well as strength training. Here's a YouTube video clip:


I liked it so much that I bought a second DVD by Leslie Sandsone called Walk Away Your Waistline 3-Mile Walk. It's just as great as the other one. :D


Freecycle Drama
As you all know, I've been a big advocate of Freecycle. Last month, the Freecycle yahoo group owners decided to add a new moderator because they have personal problems, weren't able to "man" the group, and felt that it was unfair I was doing it alone. Never asked me how I felt about it, nevermind the fact that I did 90% of the work anyway (certainly didn't mind). So the new girl, Chrissy, wasn't following the rules set up by Freecycle and as it turned out was basically using the site for the greater good -- HERS! Without going into details, I noticed several things happening that just weren't quite right. I emailed the group owner, and got no response. Not surprising, since I'd emailed her in the past two years I've moderated and never received a response. One day, I noticed I wasn't receiving emails from the group which was odd because there's aways posts to be approved. I went to the group site and found out that I had been BANNED. What the heck is going on?!

Needless to say, I was angry and devastated because I had no idea why I was banned from the group. Besides Freecycle, my community has another group similiar to it, but For Sale items can be listed. Several people from Freecycle belong to this other group, too. About a week after I'd been banned, I received an email from a lady who had been banned also, for no reason. She said someone had given my email addy to her and she'd hoped I could help get her reinstated. She then posted a message to the For Sale group telling everyone what went on. A few days later she was reinstated to the Freecycle group.

It worked for her, maybe it'd help me? I posted to the For Sale group stating my situation. I also contacted the Freecycle organization directly, whereby my state outreach coordinator emailed me back telling me she was looking into it. Next thing I know the group owner of Freecycle contacted me asking why I didn't let her know what was going on. What?!? So after some back and forth emails, the owner banned Chrissy from the group. After I was reinstated, I checked the moderator activity and found out that not only was this woman/girl banning people and using the group for her selfish needs, she went and deleted TONS of posts. Just went to the list and started deleting stuff! I asked the group owner about it, and she said "Your guess is as good as mine." WOW! In less than two months, Chrissy turned a smooth running group into chaos! It's pretty much back to normal now. Thank goodness!

With that said, a little GOOD news. My latest Freecycle find:


It's an adjustable dress form. Just turn the dials to your measurements and viola! I've always wanted one of these. Now to find the time to make something!


Yummies
This week, I've harvested two LARGE bowls of lettuce from my garden. Needless to say, I'm eating a lot of salads. :) Here's what I ate while watching the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics:

Fresh Mushrooms, Diced Vidalia Onion,
Tomatoes, and Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Homemade Quesadillas