Marvelous Monday Update 5/17/10

HUMOR
In reading the comments in regards to my last post, I got the feeling some of my readers thought it was me in the scenario. It wasn't, lol. It was a joke I posted because I thought it was funny.

SCHOOL
I felt *really* rushed toward the end of my final exam. When I looked over my scored exam, I wasn't surprised at the ones I got wrong -- all the ones at the end of the test. :( With that said, I did manage to get a score of 87%. Can't complain about that.

The group oral presentation went pretty well. There was quite a bit of discussion afterwards on our subject of e-waste.

Yesterday, the instructor posted our final grades. Drum roll, please.......

I got a good, solid "A"! Yay for me :) Now, I'm free for two weeks before I start the next semester.


STITCHY STUFF
Since last week was my last week of school for the semester, I was able to get some stitchig in. Finally! I did a little stitching on Gingerbread House -and- LK ABC's. Here's what both look like so far:

Gingerbread House
ABC Lessons

Over the weekend, I went with a friend to look at a house. While wandering through the house, I spotted picture on the wall. Then I did a double take. It was cross stitched landscape, about 11x14 in size. In a heartbeat, I was over to the piece to check it out, lol! It was nice, but the entire house reeked... and I mean so bad my eyes were burning... of cigarette smoke... so I can't imagine what it has done to the stitched piece.


GARDENING
The weather was rainy almost every day last week. (Can you say water in the basement?) Even so, I was able to get plants into planters and hanging baskets. For $3 worth of flowers, I planted two of these huge hanging baskets. In a little over a month, this basket will be over flowing with foliage and blooms. I can't wait!


If the weather holds out *crossing fingers*, I hope to get my vegetable garden planted.

One Day of Employment

So after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a good find for many retirees, I lasted less than a day....

About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store with her two kids, yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance.


I said pleasantly, "Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?"




The ugly woman stopped yelling long enough to say, "Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or stupid?"




So I replied, "I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am, I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart."

My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work.

Marvelous Monday Update 5/10/10

How was everyone's Mother's Day? I gave my Mom her gifts on Saturday, and the look on her face when she opened the Kokeshi Doll was priceless. In her asian accent (It doesn't sound like an accent to me, lol) a little above a whisper she said: "Ohh... Kokeshi!" Then she asked if I made it. She really liked that I changed the colors to her favorites and promptly found a spot to display it.


GARDENING
Spring weather is here. One day it's sunny and 79F and the next day it's pouring down rain. Great for the plants and flowers! Here's a few shots of my spring gardens:

Columbine
Fern
Hens & Chicks
Hostas
Purple Tulips
Striped Hostas
GIVEAWAY
Kathy over at Shawkl is hosting a giveaway and a studio award. Go on over and wish her luck with her new shop opening.


YUM-YUMS
Over the weekend, I tried a new recipe: Chicken Parmesan. It was quick. It was easy. It was tasty! The chicken was very juicy and tender. Mmmmmm!


As a side dish, I made sauteed green beans (frozen from last year's garden). They were yummy, too!


SCHOOL
Last week, the instructor got a stupid, crappy "brainstorm" idea to allow the students to "own the knowledge". What does that mean? We have 3 groups of students that were formed at the beginning of the semester for our group project (more on that later). To "own the knowledge", the instructor decided that each of our groups should take a chapter from the textbook and teach it to the class. Oh. What. Fun. I managed to get through my portion of the chapter relatively unscathed. LOL I do have to say that I felt sorry for some of the younger students who clearly have not had much speaking experience. A few merely read portions of the chapter word-for-word.

This week is the last week of the semester. Not only do we have the final exam, we also have to turn in our group research paper. Our group's project is called: "Toxic Troubles: The Global Issues Surrounding E-Waste" I've sent it to a few people outside my class to see what they thought, and all have said it's very well written (*big grin*) and they didn't realize what kind of problem it is. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to email it to you. In addition to the written paper, we also have to give an oral presetation complete with power point. Oh. What. Fun.













The final exam is a 2 1/2 hour timed exam, to be taken online. Six chapters. I studied most of the weekend and plan on taking it tonight. Oh. What. Fun. (I hope I do as well as I did on the mid-term)

The upside is: After this week, I get a two week break before the next semester starts up again.


STITCHY STUFF
I was able to do absolutely NO stitching this week. :( However, I did get to visit a thrift store and what did my wandering eyes spy?

This is stitched on 18ct off-white aida. The stitched portion is about 5.25W x 11.5H, framed and matted at 12x18. There's a date stamped on the back "Apr 1991" which I'm assuming is the date it was stitched. Anyone know who the designer is? Or, what the design is called?

Unfortunately, it was framed without glass so the fabric is a bit dirty, but I think I can wash it and then re-frame it. I think it'll look great hanging on the wall near my hutch!

I almost forgot.... I paid a mere 79cents for it!! (It really is sad that so much work went into this and it ended up at a thrift store for less than a dollar.)

Financial Planning

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed to find a wife with whom to share his fortune.

One evening, at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.

"I may look like just an ordinary guy," he said to her, "but in just a few years, my father will die and I will inherit $200 million." Impressed, the woman asked for his business card.

Three months later, she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

Marvelous Monday Update 5/3/2010

SCHOOL
I am in my last couple of weeks of International Business. I have to say it's been quite the interesting class, but I think it is the instructor that makes it so. She is young, well-educated, and has traveled around the world.

Last week, I forgot to share some awesome news. I went to see the counselor before I chose next semester's class(es) and found out I have 8 classes remaining before I complete my BS degree. I was working toward a double major in Business Administration and Accounting.

I found out that if I take the right electives, I can actually complete a third major... in Finance. I about fell over!


STITCHY STUFF
Kokeshi Doll is now being featured on the StitchN-Chat homepage. How cool is that?!

Last week, Carol of iStitch asked what I used to cut my mats. I don't have the money or space to have a machine (boy, how great that would be!), but I do have mat cutting hand tools.

I bought these about 15 years ago from Michaels. They're pricey but since I'm a photographer and a stitcher, they've paid for themselves many times.

I also have one of these for mat cutting. It cuts circles and ovals.


GIVEAWAYS
Jennifer over at Feathers in Nest is hosting a giveaway in celebration of Mother's Day. Hop on over to check it out.

Edgar is also hosting a giveaway. He's celebrating his 3rd year blogversary. Surf over to Blacksheep's Bit of the Web and wish him happy blogversary!


CELEBRATION WINNER
Thank you all for your comments in regards to my blog. It was very intriguing as to what my readers found interesting about my blog. :) I put the names in a "hat" and drew one by hand. The winner of the giveaway is........

>> Sharmila (mbroider) <<

Congratulations, Sharmila!