Back in July, I signed up for a PIF on CJ's blog. I was so excited when I opened the box!
I've been admiring CJ's baskets ever since I saw them on her blog. They are so beautiful and she is so talented!! To top it off, she makes cards, too.
Another view of the basket :)
As if that weren't enough, there was a pretty handmade little box, and a bag of Ghiradelli chocolates. CJ said the chocolate was from her son. What a sweet little guy!
I wonder what's in the box????
The cutest little flatfold I ever did see! I love it!!
CJ is such a dear lady for taking time to create such beautiful things. Big thanks to her (and her little one) for the PIF gifts. I had a stressful night, and this definitely brightened my day and put a smile on my face! :D
Not only have I been nominated once, but FOUR times!
Friendship Award
Carolyn and Rene passed this award on to me. Thank you for thinking of me. :) The friends I've made in the online stitching community are priceless. Some I've met in person, others I've yet to meet, others I may never meet... You all hold a special place in my heart.
Here's a description of this special friends award:
These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. Choose eight friends to share this with.
So here's my list and I would love to include so many more:
Akila presented me with this award because she thinks my blog is brilliant! I've already passed this award on to others, so I'm going to defer to that list, found HERE. Thank you Akila for awarding me :)
I actually received both grab bags at the same time, however I'm just a bit behind in getting the second post up. I don't know... call it "life gets in the way" LOL!
Without further adieu...
DMC Color Variations. These are the newest CV's. This was on my wishlist!
Gentle Art Sampler Threads Special Edition - Spring Collection
Waterlilies by The Caron Collection (Woo Hoo... silk threads!)
Assorted Rainboy Gallery Threads & Mill Hill Needle Threaders
Olde Willow Linen Thread Watercolours by The Caron Collection
DMC #5 Perle Cotton These will come in handy for cording :)
Magnetic Needle Tugger This was on my wishlist, too!
A nice long piece of linen banding. Love the blue border!
32ct 18x26" French Mocha Linen
Assorted pieces of linen. Aren't the colors great?!
At the end of last year, I ordered a couple of grab bags from Country Cottage Framing and Needleart. Shirley tries to customize each GB according to the stitcher's likes. I received mine the other day, and am *so* pleased! Here's what came:
FROM MY WISH LIST:
3 Red Thread Snappers by Bent Creek Two more and I'll have the entire series. :)
Four Letter Words Four letter words are naughty. I know I shouldn't say it. But, I *have* to... S-N-O-W!!! Yes, my area got more SNOW. Everyone, including myself, is soooo ready for it to be done. Alas, it's only February so there's at least another month of white possibilities. This time, we had 5" dumped on us and to add a little more fun to the mix, Mother Nature decided to whip up some winds. So while trying to blow snow, the winds created white-out conditions blasting me in the face with COLD WET SNOW. Talk about refreshing! An hour and a half later, the driveway was clean. I was cold, wet... and looked like an abominable snow goddess! Two hours later I felt like Granny. Every joint in my body hurt. :(
Stitchy Stuff I've been struck by the stitchy-itis bug. I really tried to fight it off, really I did! Once it sunk its teeth into me, I was done for. Yes, I started a new project. A small one. Well, relatively small. I started Flip Flop Trivet. This is what it looks like after 15 hours:
Giveaway This time it's something stitchy-related. If you'd like to be included in the giveaway, leave a comment with your name and email addy (if you're not a blogger). What's the giveaway? A beaded scissor fob! If more than one person is interested, I'll put names in a hat and pull one on Sunday. Winner will be announced next week.
A Request I am looking for a Victorian floral design. A freebie would be nice. The trick is... the design cannot be any larger than 17W x 18H. Does anyone have ideas? Feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email. Any help would be appreciated. :)
School It's hard to believe I'm already starting the 6th week of class. Two more weeks and the session is done! I've done fairly well on the tests each week, getting 94-100%. I'm so thrilled with that! I have no idea how I've done on the homework assignments because the instructor hasn't made his feedback readable online. He keeps promising, but so far no dice. As for the group class project... My group is *barely* started. The rough draft is due next week and thus far I have received no information -none-nada- from my classmates so that I can write the report. To say I'm worried is putting it lightly!
Tick-Tick-Ticky For a while now, I've had a rattling/ticking sound coming from under the hood of my car. The only thing was... It was intermittent. You know how it is when you take your car to the shop with an intermittent sound? It won't happen when you get it there and then you look dumb. LOL
The sound starting happening more regularly and became a bit louder so I called the mechanic to have it looked at. Bearings in the supercharger going out. Can't replace *just* the bearings, though. Oh no. Have to replace the ENTIRE supercharger. Was quoted a price of $1800 for a reburbished SC. Ouch!
I did some research and found that it's a common occurence with the amount of mileage on my car. Yes, I could drive the car without a supercharger, but mileage would really be bad. Maybe that would explain why my mileage has been so bad? I also did some research on prices of superchargers. I'm pretty sure the mechanic called the local GM dealer for pricing on a refurbished SC because when I called GM the price was the same. I know from past experience that the GM dealer's pricing is astronomical compared to everyone else's. I called around at some other places I found on the internet and their prices were about 1/3 of what GM quoted. So guess what? I ordered the part, had it shipped to the mechanic, and he's going to install it. The best part of it... the part has a lifetime guarantee. Others I'd looked at came with a guarantee of 3 years.
Unfortunately, with this latest repair I won't be able to go to the stitching retreat I had planned on for this summer. Bummer! :(
Weather Mother Nature really pulled a not-so-nice one on us this past week. The week started out really nice. Sunny with temps in the 50's. I even saw some people riding bicycles to work. The next day, rainy and cold with temps in the mid 30's. On Friday night, my area received 3" of snow. So, guess what I spent my Saturday morning doing??? Today, I woke up to a temp of 7F. Brrrr!
Stitchy Stuff I made a floss tag out of the ladybug I stitched last week:
Design: Love Bug Designer: Erynne Chard Time: 2 Hrs to stitch Fabric: 14ct pink aida Fibers: DMC floss Embellishments: Eyelet
I stitched this reindeer back in December, and finally got around to making it into an ornament. I'm not sure if I like how it turned out....
Design: Pendouille Sapin RENNE Designer: Valerie at Bonheur de Brodeuses (French) Time: 2.5 Hrs to stitch Fabric: 14ct white Aida Fibers: DMC Embellishments: Blue satin cording
Movie Monday HANGING UP: Starring Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, and Walter Mathau.
Meg Ryan plays “Daddy's favorite daughter” who is over-extended in this comedy about loving, laughing, and learning to let go. Meg Ryan’s character, “Eve” is a party-planner, a streched-too-thin mother, wife, sister, and dutiful daughter. Eve's harried life has become even more complicated by her reliance on modern technology: cell phone, fax machine, lap top, and answering machine. Walter Matthau “Lou” is her ailing 79-year-old father, a grouch who is admitted into the hospital with memory loss. Eve tries to recruit help with her father from her two neglectful sisters: Georgia (Diane Keaton), a New York publishing tycoon who runs her own magazine, and baby sister Maddy (Lisa Kudrow), a self-involved soap opera actress. Hoping to please her father, Eve also tries to reach out to her mother (Cloris Leachman) who abandoned the family years earlier. Eve finally learns to let go and to "hang up" on the pressures, obligations, and responsibilities of being a do-it-all woman. This movie was Walter Matthau's last film before his death in 2000.
It’s a good movie and brought tears to my eyes because I could relate to the struggles of “doing it all” and dealing with family.
GONE BABY GONE: Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monahan, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman.
A 4-year old girl, Amanda, goes missing in Boston and the case attracts widespread media attention. Patrrick (Affleck) and Angie (Monaghan) are private investigators are hired by the child's Aunt Beatrice to find Amanda. Twists and turns involving drug dealing, stolen money, and making deals in order to get Amanda back ensue. The exchange at a nearby quarry is botched and Amanda is believed to have drowned. Captain Doyle (Freeman), whose own daughter was also killed years before, takes responsibility and goes into early retirement. Through a series of events, Patrick discovers the botched exchange was a forgery and visits Doyle for answers.
I had a hard time staying interested in the movie. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that an ethical dilemma occurred and makes you think, "What would I do?"
P.S. I LOVE YOU: Starring Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (HOT!), Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, Harry Connick Jr., and Kathy Bates.
Gerry (Butler) and Holly (Swank) Kennedy are a happily married couple until he dies of a brain tumor. Deeply distraught, Holly withdraws from her family and friends until they descend upon her on her 30th birthday. They are determined to force Holly to face the future. As they rally around Holly and help organize her apartment, a cake is delivered, and on it is a message from Gerry. It’s the first of several - all ending with the sign-off P.S. I Love You. He arranged to have these delivered to her after his death. As the seasons pass, each new message fills her with encouragement and sends her on a new adventure. Gerry's words guide Holly on a journey of recovery and rediscovery.
Filled with humor and sadness, I really enjoyed this movie!
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU: Starring Jennifer Anniston, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Kris Kristofferson.
A group of interconnected, 20- and 30-somethings navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex--and hoping to be the exceptions to the "no-exceptions"; rule. Gigi just wants a man who says he'll call--and does--while Alex advises her to stop sitting by the phone. Beth wonders if she should call it off after 7 years of committed singlehood with her boyfriend, Neil. He doesn't think there's anything wrong with their unmarried life. Janine's not sure if she can trust her husband, Ben, who can't quite trust himself around Anna. Anna can't decide between the sexy married guy, or her straightforward, no-sparks, no-drama standby (i.e. “nice guy”), Conor. He can't get over the fact that he can't have Anna. Then there’s Mary, who's found an entire network of loving, supportive men, just needs to find one who's straight.
Based on the book by the same title. This was a cute movie, and probably every woman can relate to “reading the signs” of human behavior. Most notably, if a guy is interested he will call. If not “He’s just not that into you” despite whatever he says to your face. I’ve discussed this with friends and have tried to impress upon this point. Even so, I’ve caught myself stumbling over this one from time to time. But for the most part, actions speak louder than words.
Night at the Theatre On Friday night, I saw "Run For Your Wife" at the local community theatre. It was one of the better ones I've seen... very hilarious! A packed house, and the cast had the audience rolling in their seats.
A comedy about bigamy, a dull man, John Smith who is a taxi driver, turns out to have a two wives in two cities a short distance apart. Because of an accident too complicated to explain, his worlds collide, and the police are called in to investigate. The taxi driver tries to keep one wife from learning about the other. Whenever possible, the play makes fun of stereotypes (dumb cops, swishy gays and prefeminist women who think only of getting their man into bed). To complicate the plot, almost everyone is mistaken for someone else, one wife for a nun, the other for a transvestite. Much of the confusion derives from the cute terms of endearment characters use for their mates. John’s upstairs neighbor unwittingly becomes an accomplice in trying to hide the truth from the wives. In the end, of course, they both find out.
School I received my first test back and scored.... 100%! On essay questions!! (Thanks to the bonus essay question). Not so sure I did as well on the second test, though. The instructor *did* clue us in on something: He will give us partial credit for answers slightly related to the question. Meaning if he asked about IT structure, he'd expect an answer along those lines and not what was at the circus performance we saw over the weekend. LOL!
I'm getting a bit nervous about the class project. Our team "leader" said last Monday night: "I don't mind be the leader and turning in the stuff, but I don't have a lot of time to do this. I work all day and I have three kids plus my wife is pregnant." Well now! The other two of us work all day also -AND- we have lives outside of work and school. *Humpf!*
Blogging First, I'd like to thank my readers for all the comments. They really do encourage me. :)
Secondly, My-O-My am I so behind on my blog reading. My reader says I have 1000+ blog entries to catch up on. How does that happen so fast?? I'm plugging away at it, so bear with me.
Third, I'm never at a loss to what to blog about, but in case anyone else has this problem....
In The News Have you heard of Fluffy? No? Fluffy is 24 feet long, weighs 300 pounds, and is 15 years old. Fluffy's waist is the size of a watermelon. You're probably thinking... What the heck? Fluffy is the world's largest exhibited snake.
Why am I edifying you with this snake? Because on the radio last week, the announcer said: "This is the largest snake since Rod Blagovich." LOL! For those not aware, Blago is our esteemed (NOT) govenor who was recently impeached unanimously by the Senate. It would've been unanimous with the House of Reps, too, except his sister-in-law voted to keep him.
Stitchy Stuff Before I put my Christmas decorations away, I thought I'd take a pic of all the stitched ones I've made and that others have made:
For my birthday, Nancy sent me a gift certificate for Silkweavers. I bought a beautiful piece of fabric that arrived in the mail this past week:
Thank you Nancy! Now what should I stitch on it???
Believe it or not, I actually had some time for stitching this week. Not much, but some! Progress so far:
This is my version of Erynne's Love Bug chart. I think I'm going to make it into a floss tag.
Yum-Yums It's been a while since I've shown my culinary skills, so here goes! I made Shrimp Creole with white rice. Easier than I thought it'd be and very healthy!
I know you’re out there – somewhere. I just can’t find you, but I digress. I know there are good men out there who are interested in getting to know women, who know what they want out of a relationship, who have learned from past mistakes, who have got their act together, etc. etc. For those guys, I say kudos to you and I sincerely hope you find yourself a good woman... like me, for instance!
I could stretch the truth a little and *say* I’m in my 30’s. After all, that’s what everyone tells me. Call it good genes (People used to say the same about my mother, too.) But hey I’m not. I could also say I’m fit. But I’m not. LOLOL However, I am not grossly overweight either. Needy? Nada. Sensitive. Heck yeah. What woman isn’t? Let’s see – what else is wrong with me? I’m blind as a bat without glasses. Oh yeah, I have a sarcastic sense of humor (could be good or bad) and if you ask my opinion, better be prepared to hear it.
I could list out all my good traits… but really, what fun is that??
Dating Dating Hell... That's how Christine describes dating for the single girl. LOL! I have to say the older I get, the more humor I find in the lack of desirable characteristics I see in men. The best part about it is... They really have no CLUE what the problem is! I *still* hold out hope that there's just ONE (I only want one, I'm not greedy) good one out there... and he only has to be "good" in my eyes. Of course there are the givens: a job, a place to live, a car, and good hygiene (LOL). He doesn’t have to be GQ – In fact, I prefer the average looking guy. He doesn’t have to be Einstein – Just needs to be able to hold a conversation. He doesn’t even need to be Romeo – Putting in an effort counts a lot with me. There is one thing he needs to be proficient in, and that's using the phone. Call when you say you will! How hard can that be? Am I asking for too much???
With that said, I know how ya'll LOVE (OK, maybe not "love" but get a great kick out of) hearing about ex's so here goes:
XBF4 - He texted me a couple weeks ago that his ex-neighbor’s wife died. She was 80+ years old. I met the neighbor and he’s a nice old guy. In a moment of weakness, I texted back to give the neighbor my condolences. Big mistake. Big. Huge. (Pretty Woman, LOL) XBF4 started texting me the feel-sorry-for-me messages (I’d heard it hundreds of times in R/L while dating him.)… How he should be the one who should be dead. Why are all his friends dying? Yadda Yadda Believe me, I’m not without sympathy that the elderly woman died. However, I no longer have compassion for his ploys for attention. So... what did I do? (Bad me!) I texted him back to not text me anymore and to seek therapy. After a few choice words from him, silence. Somehow though, I don’t think it’ll stay that way.
S – Texted me last Tuesday: “I’m going to be in town on Wed.” (Yeah, so? My friend said the same thing when I told her. LOL) I didn’t respond back. I was too busy doing my homework. After a a year+ of not being a couple, he only wants one thing... and he ain’t getting in the barn.
C – Texted me today: “Good morning!” Do ya know how you can tell if someone has typed a message, or if they’ve gone to their sent messages and just hit “resend”? The text says: "(Duplicate)". Well C just went to his old sent messages and resent it to me. Nice.... (not). For fear of having my BFF come slap the crap out of me if I responded (LOL, just kidding on that. Maybe not, you’d have to ask her for sure!)... I didn’t text him back.
A friend of mine has been getting tremendous pleasure out of seeing the “matches” that a personals site is sending me, compared to what they’re sending her. Mine – Unattractive, VERY overweight men who think they only have a “few extra pounds” *and* let's not forget the ones who say they're 45 and I'm not exaggerating when their photos look more like 65! (Maybe in their mind they're 45, reality NOT) Hers – Short, thin, guys who are either the rockstar or bad boy wannabes with sunglasses, tats and do-rags on their heads. Incognito? It’s times like this that I’m glad I have my profile turned off so that these guys can’t see me. My friend? She laughs her rear end off at me every chance she gets and I’m not so sure I’m finding humor in it. LOL, who am I kidding. Yes, I do!
February already??? I'm not complaining, mind you... It just means one month closer to warmer weather!
School I received my 2nd diploma in the mail last week! Yay!! I decided not to go through graduation ceremonies this time (been there, done that). I *did* graduate Magna Cum Laude, though.
I'm in my 3rd week of class for Business Information Systems now. We had our first test last week (and will have one every week!) and I'm guessing it wasn't too bad, seeing as I was the first one done. It consisted of 8 essay questions and one bonus question. I put an answer down for each one. I'll find out tonight how I did. There is a lot of information crammed into each week's schedule between reading, notetaking, homework, and the group project. Since it's an accelerated class, each night of class is like 2 weeks of a normal class. Ugh!
I had the worst headache imaginable by the time class ended. I'm hoping it was due to the lack of sleep I got the night before. I could hardly drive home my head hurt so bad. It worried me some because I've never had a headache like that and it was on the opposite side of my head where they usually occur. It was bad!
Giveaway Winner Last week, I offered up a VHS Sexy Abs tape. There were a few who were interested, so I had to draw names out of a "hat" so to speak. The winner is: Kathie! Congratulations, Kathie -- Please email me your address and I'll get the tape in the mail to you.
Another Blog Award! I was really touched when Carolyn and Margie nominated me as one of the recipients of this award. Thank you so much to both Carolyn and Margie for their kind words. :) It's my turn to spread the love by naming five others to award:
Christine - She does fabulous memorials for the Soldier Memorial Project, and puts the funniest things on her blog.
Courtney - Not only is she a sister in crafting, she's also a caring friend.
Nancy in Illinois - Has the greatest sense of humor, and is one of the best at stashing!
Barb - Stitches so many beautiful squares for charity quilts.
Velda - For all her great photos, and interesting blog entries.
Dating As Deborah says, "Men are like buses. Another one will come around every 15 minutes." After the latest incident, I feel it's time to get off the current bus. It's way too early to play the "I'll call you tomorrow" game and then not call. It hasn't just happened once, but 4-5 times now. Add to it that he doesn't call throughout the week, waits til the last minute to make plans, and flakes out on plans. I received a VM at 1pm on Friday to cancel plans for Saturday, and asked to reschedule for Sunday. I texted back saying I had plans. I keep thinking: If this kind of stuff is happening early on, what would it be like later? A friend of mine suggested I send him a text telling him to "lose my number." I think I have given him plenty of chances. When's the next bus?
I am an avid stitcher and photographer, but, I also have a variety of other hobbies and interests.
Feel free to leave me comments by clicking on "Comments" at the bottom of each blog entry.
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