Marvelous Monday Update 1/26/09

Absolutely Fabulous
Or at least Rene thinks so! She gave me the great honor of this award. Thanks, Rene!

I am supposed to list 5 of my addictions and name 5 bloggers who I think are "Fabby". So here are my 5 addictions, and not necessarily in this order:

1. Quest for Learning
2. Photography
3. Stitching
4. Enjoying Nature
5. Technology

My nominations are:
CJ
Chiloe
Danielle
Erynne
Kendra


Stitchy Stuff
It was a great stitchy mail week! I was the high bidder on a lot of Red Thread Snappers charts by Bent Creek. I tried to be good... but I couldn't pass them up at less than $2 a piece including shipping.

Ocean Voyage
Road Trip
Snowman
Picnic
Connected
Thankful

Sadie from Scotland RAK'd me. She sent me the June issue of the UK magazine, Cross Stitcher. She knows I like asian/oriental designs and thought I'd like this. Isn't it great?!


And then... Virpi in Finland RAK'd me! Look at the pretty envelope it came in:


In the envelope were two Dimensions kits. :)

In Harmony
Stallions At Dusk
A big THANK YOU to Sadie and Virpi! :)

Lastly, Isabella's Garden arrived! I mentioned her in last week's Marvelous Monday post.



Giveaway!
(LOL) No, this is not a stitchy giveaway. I know some of you are trying to get in shape, as am I. I recently got Jeff Costa's Workout #1 DVD and it has the Sexy Abs workout on it, in addition to the main workout. Soooo.. I'm offering my Sexy Abs -VHS- tape up for grabs. Here's the exerpt from his website:

"Sexy Abs gets you off the floor and in control, with a revolutionary 15 minute standing abdominal program that can be done anywhere! Buckle up for a tighter, flatter, sexier midsection with Jeff's signature abdominal workout!"

I'll add that I read reviews on Jeff Costa's workouts and they all were very good. I've used this tape many times and believe it or not, I worked up a sweat in the 15 minute time span. I have neck problems which make it difficult for my to do normal floor ab workouts. Another reason why I like this workout. Oh, and in case you're wondering... There are no striptease moves on this tape. LOL!

If you're interested in this, leave a comment along with an email address to get hold of you. If more than one person is interested I'll draw a name.

It's MY....

...B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y !!!

Or, rather it WAS my birthday on Saturday! What a great day it was. I didn't get any cake or balloons, but it was a great day nonetheless!

I woke up and the sun was shining! It's always a great day when the sun shines. :D I met C for breakfast and then we hung out together until early afternoon. Then, I came home and took a nap. Throughout the day, I received e-cards and and birthday wishes from my online friends (Thanks everyone!!) and text messages from my family. For dinner, my parents then took me out to eat at Applebee's, where I got my Dad to try guacamole. He didn't like it, LOL!

And guess what?? I share a birthday with my good friend, CJ! Happy Birthday, CJ :)

Yup, was a good day!

Tips for a Better Life in 2009

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, or issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or e-mail them to death!)

37. Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Share this with those you care about. May your troubles be less.

2009 Bookmark Challenge

Nordic Needle is sponsoring Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy March 19 to May 7, 2009. In 2008, NN was overwhelmed by the generosity of stitchers. Over 450 bookmarks were donated to the Stitching for Literacy project. Techniques included cross stitch, hardanger, embroidery on paper, blackwork, canvas work, needlepoint, pulled and drawn thread, bobbin lace, tatting, crochet, knitting, machine embroidery, peyote beading, Bargello, Schwalm, and crewel embroidery. There were bookmarks from at least 29 states and 6 countries.


To participate, send Nordic Needle your bookmark(s) by May 7, 2009, and they will be displayed with your name, city and state (or country) in the store. After the challenge ends, a drawing will be held and the winner of the drawing will receive a $100 gift certificate to Nordic Needle! The more bookmarks you send, the more times your name is entered into the drawing and the better chance you have to win!

To find patterns and ideas, go to the NN website and type in "BOOKMARK" in the SEARCH box. As you clean and sort your stash, you probably have scraps of fabric and thread suitable to make bookmarks. But if you don't, NN has a Bookmark Grab Bag.

Bookmark Grab Bag (GBBK) $5.00 value on sale for $1.79
Get four bookmark patterns with 2 skeins of thread for only $1.25 (990-592-0021)

Also, there are lots of free bookmark charts on the web -or- you could make your own out of small motifs of any chart you have. Here's some links I've found:

www.allfreecrafts.com - You can do a search for cross stitch bookmarks, or bookmarks to find more

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/xstitch/collection.html - easy, kids

www.charlescraft.com

www.choccat.com

www.classicstitches.com/

http://crossstitch.about.com/

http://designstash.com/

www.doodle-head.com

http://perso.orange.fr/passion.broderie/marquespages/marquesp1.htm

www.cyberstitchers.com - use the search feature at the bottom of the screen

www.stitchingthenightaway.com

http://www.twdesignworks.com - Knotwork; Renaissance


I'm not affiliated with NN in anyway, however I do believe literacy is an important skill, and reading should be encouraged. For most of us, being able to read is something we take for granted. I was an adult literacy volunteer, and experienced first hand how important it is to the literacy students being able to learn how to read, or improve their reading skills.

Marvelous Monday Update 1/19/09

Weather
HOLY COW has it been cold!!! Thursday, I woke up to -13F actual temps with -35F windchill factors. On Friday, morning temp was -24F (Who knows what the windchill factor was!). By the time I left for work, the temp dropped 2 more degrees to -26F... a record for these parts! There's definitely something wrong when the temp in

• Anchorage, AK is 43F
• North Pole is -8F
• South Pole is -18F

and we are -24F!!! The hairs in the nose freeze! Lucky for me I didn't have a runny nose, otherwise I would've ended up like the scene in Dumb and Dumber! Incidentally, when you do a search for "frozen snot" on Google, there are some really digusting photographs. (LOL... Ewww!)

Oh, and for you who've been following the Illinois govenor scandal... It was so cold outside that the governor has his hand in his own pocket.

By Sunday, temps did a 50 degree swing and was around 23F. How 'bout that?!


Dating
C had the day off on Monday so he asked me out to lunch. However, his furnace had other plans! He woke up to a cold house, and by the time the furnace guy got there it was too late to go to lunch. Bad timing with other things he had going on in the afternoon, too. *sigh* It's OK, though. I told him he had to make it up to me, LOL! Unfortunately, he's out of town for 3 weeks for work. We're gonna try again on Friday.

I know how ya'll love to hear about the 'others' that keep hanging on, so here's an update:

• XBF4 (Ex-BF from 4 years ago) -- Texted me on Monday: "I really do miss you" (Ugh)
Bro Setup (from last year, the one who hooked me up with the snowblower) -- Casually dropped that he's 'seeing someone' (Great!)
• S (Ex-BF from over a year ago) -- Still texts me for whatever reasons he thinks of at the time, and keeps asking if I want to go out (Noooo). I made the mistake of asking him the name of a restaurant he took me to, and he jumped all over that as an opportunity to exchange info for a date. (I think NOT!)

Oh, and the date (who went *poof*) I had before I met C ... Funny thing is: The website did a match-up of our profiles last week. LOL


Stitchy Stuff
Absolutely NO stitching done last week. However, Shelley asked about Floss Storage, so I thought I'd put my answer here. I wind my floss on bobbins... probably because that's what I learned to do *many* years ago and it's served me well. Up until last year, I stored my complete set of DMC floss in the large bobbin cases like THIS. I was lucky to get a Jammers case from a freecycler and moved my bobbins into the double sided case normally used for 1:64 scale die cast cars.


Since the entire DMC set doesn't fit into one Jammers box, I put the remainder into a large bobbin box. When I pull floss for project(s), I put them all into the smaller yellow bobbin box. That way I know at a glance if the color I'm looking for isn't in the yellow case, it's in the Jammer case. I really wish I could find another Jammer case!

For duplicates, I store them in skeins in large ziploc bags sorted into 100's. I'm downsizing my floss dup's in my FSOT blog.




I was trying to be good, REALLY! I found Isabella's Garden and the Copper Penny linen on sale for 60% off and couldn't resist. I think I'm gonna blame it on Shari... LOL... She showed her finish a while back and I thought it was so adorable.



School
Wouldn't you just know that on the FIRST night of class, we get hit with a wicked snowfall. The streets were ugly, but class wasn't called off. This should be an interesting class.... Business Information Systems. Basically, it's about all the sytems and procedures used to run businesses. The instructor is an IT manager at Newell-Rubbermaid. Class is supposed to run from 5:30-10:30pm, but he said he'd try to get us out around 9:30pm seeing as that's about the time people start losing focus. (LOL!) Much to my surprise, I actually participated in class discussion! On the first night of class, even. How about that?!? This is another *involved* class where there will be a test EVERY week, plus homework assignments, textbook reading, -and- a class project due at the end of the 8-week semester. Ack.


What Else?
You've heard about the rubber shrapnel under the hood, and the case of the fallen pulley. Then the sequel. Oh, I know...

My BFF called me Thursday morning to tell me she totaled her vehicle on the way to work. She hit a patch of ice and that's all she wrote. Ended up rolling her SUV and slamming into a snow bank on the highway. Luckily, she wasn't hurt -- Just shaken and scared. When the vehicle came to a stop, she was hanging upside down in her seat belt and couldn't get any of the doors or windows open. The police or EMT's (don't know which) ended up getting her out through the back hatch of the SUV. Believe it or not, she actually went to work after that! Silly girl. I am SO glad she's OK.


In The Doghouse
All men *need* to watch and take notes! --> Beware of the Doghouse