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I've been looking forward all year to Missy's "second annual" 13 Days of Halloween giveaway.
So imagine my surprise and delight to find out that Missy has teamed up with Annette to have a 31 Days of Halloween giveaway bonanza! Woohoo!!!
There are two buttons in my lefthand sidebar, one to each blog. On the odd-numbered days in October, click the button for Annette. On the even-numbered days, click the button for Missy.
The rules are simple and you can find them here.
It's going to be a super-fun month! So get to commenting and good luck!
Belinda, of Blue Ribbon Designs fame, is hosting a giveaway! She's celebrating reaching 200+ blog followers! Congratulations, Belinda!
So, if you're in need of a new project bag, tool bag or 1 or 2 of Belinda's charts (don't we all need all those things???), head on over to Samplings from a Blue Ribbon Girl and enter for your chance(s) to win!
Okay, so I'm 5 days late with the "Happy New Year" part, but it still counts, right?
2009 was really a bust as far as stitching, so I don't really have much to post about in that respect.
In other areas, it was an amazing/crazy/busy year! Steven was promoted yet again in January. He's now the Local General Manager for Schwan's Home Service. He's in charge of 6 (soon-to-be 7) routes here in Waco and the surrounding area. It's a multi-million dollar responsibility and I couldn't be more proud of him. This makes three promotions in 2 years! The next step will be up to a District Manager position or a lateral/vertical move into another division of Schwan's. The company definitely offers a lot and we still feel so blessed to be part of it all.
In conjunction with his promotion, Steven was invited to attend LGMU (Local General Manager University), an accredited school within the company, just for managers. Steven was away from home Sunday-Friday, for 13 weeks. Saturdays became very precious to us and to say we missed him would be a severe understatement. He graduated right before our anniversary and then we had a week's vacation; which we all needed.
Speaking of anniversaries; 2009 marked our 15th! Where has the time gone? Steven & I were just 17 & 14, respectively, when we met nearly 19 years ago. It was pretty much love at first sight for me and he caught up rather quickly. He's truly my best friend and I can not imagine my life without him.
Our wonderful children are all doing really well and growing like weeds (the pretty kind...hehe). Andrew will be a *gasp* teenager come August 2010, Annemarie just turned 10 and Olivia will be 9 in just a few months. My babies aren't babies any longer.
Currently, I'm on a mission to declutter and organize our home. I've been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for most of the kids' lives, but I haven't always been the best homemaker, in my opinion. Steven & the kids are on board and helping with the decluttering (including the garage). That alone is helping me more than any of my own determination ever could.
As for stitching in 2010, I'm hoping to take the first quarter of the year to focus on some obligation stitching that I've apparently been boycotting. I've been so distracted, for lack of a better term, by everything I want to do for my home & family, that I've let "doing for myself" fall to the bottom of my priority list. I have come to realize, however, that I am much more productive if I take a little time for me (& my beloved hobby).
Okay, I think this post is long enought. I'm off to tackle some laundry & dishes...and some stitching!
*** Missy's giveaways are over for this year, but I have a feeling she'll be doing this again...yay! Congratulations to all 13 winners! ***
Yes, it's been a year-and-a-half since I posted. So what has prompted me to post again?
I met Missy. Missy is awesome. Seriously. Then Missy told me about her giveaways for Halloween. Then I ran out and bought a new-to-me monitor so that I could use my computer again. Then I ran to Missy's blog and started drooling (at a safe distance from my treasured keyboard).
Missy is giving away goodies for the "13 Days of Halloween". Just click the button in the sidebar (<~~~~~ look over there...it's a cute button!) and get all the easy details.
Good luck to all who enter!
Updates are long overdue, but they're coming!
My template isn't going to change, as it took too much time and effort to get this one just the way I wanted it...LOL However, my sidebars are in need of some serious adjustments! Watch those sidebars!
I cannot believe it's been over a year since my last post!
Shortly after my last post, "real life" decided to interfere with my stitching (and my blogging) in a big way. Steven & I dropped our paper route and I then went to work directly for the newspaper, in their distribution center. For the next six months, I worked 5-7 nights per week, from midnight-7am (and sometimes much earlier and/or later). It was very hard work, but I met some wonderful people and found several aspects of the job to be very satisfying.
Between shifts, I was home with our children while Steven worked. The kids were great about letting me nap in the afternoon...most days...LOL. After their bedtime, I would lie back down for a few more hours and then head back to the paper.
In January 2007, Steven changed jobs. Within a month, we could tell that his long days did not mesh well with my long nights. After much discussion, we decided that it was time for me to be home full-time once again. By this time, we'd made the last payment on our minivan, which made us debt-free except for our mortgage. We also had the beginnings of an "emergency fund" in place. Those were the goals we'd set when we began our paper route in May 2006.
It's taken a lot of time since then to get back to "normal". Stitching this year has been fairly non-existent, save for a few exchanges. I see that changing soon, as I've started a few new "just for me" projects!
I will post soon with pics and details of the projects I've completed and the new ones I've started. I spent days switching my blog over to the new layout and am just thrilled to be back!
I don't think I'll manage another finish before August is over, but I am happy with the three I have!
For my son Andrew's 9th birthday, I stitched a card for him, using a Mouseloft kit sent to me by a friend in the UK. Thank you, Diana!! Andrew had a Luau/Pool Party and the card was very well received!
I also finished two projects on my StRIP list...S&BF's Bad Maid and JBW Designs' Tooth Fairy Pillow. You can see pics of both by clicking the links under the "My WIPs" section of my lefthand sidebar.
My dear friend, Brenda, who was so kind as to send me the chart & beads for the Tooth Fairy Pillow, will also be finishing it into a pillow for my kids to use. You can see the fabric I chose for the pillow here.
That's it for tonight! Have a great weekend, everyone!
Okay, I will (grudgingly) admit that Summer is in full force here in Texas. That, however, does not keep me from thinking of cooler times.
In keeping with the theme of soft breezes and more moderate temperatures, I decided to stitch It's A Spring Thing from the San-Man Originals Secret Shop.
Sandy gave a suggested color scheme, but encouraged stitchers to choose their own colors. I already knew I wanted to use a fabulous "tiny tuck" made by the ever-talented JoAnn. For the design to fit, I stitched it one over one on 22ct fabric. I chose SSS Watermelon, Kiwi Lime Pie & Black Licorice. There were four embellishments included with the chart; a butterfly, leaf, flower & tiny lavender heart.
Due to the size of the finished design (1.75" square), not all the embellishments would fit. I chose to include the butterfly and the heart, as I could not resist throwing a smidgen of purple into the design.
It felt really good to finish something so quickly. I think I feel a "tuck marathon" coming on...LOL
I can not believe it's been two months since I posted to my blog! Time really does fly!
I'm still here and still stitching. As a matter of fact, I just finished up my third model for San-Man Originals. My first model for Sandy was Snow Curls, which is featured in the Secret Shop. I stitched the second and third models for their upcoming retail debut. I'll share pics as soon as they're released!
In the meantime, I've also completed three exchange/surprise pieces. Here they are!
This lovely dragonfly piece was stitched as a present. I'll reveal more after the present has been delivered...hehe
I stitched the design for this teapot ornament (Thanks, Shirl!) for an exchange. The design is adapted from an older issue of Cross Stitch Crazy. I love that magazine!
Last, but not least, is my most recent finish. This is another great design from San-Man Originals, inserted into a tuck made by the ever-talented JoAnn. The little label is tie on with DMC floss and some tiny little buttons. It was a true pleasure to stitch!
During the last two months, Steven and I also celebrated our 12th anniversary! We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at The Northwood Inn. The next day, our entire family went to see the movie, Cars. We loved it!
As for the not fun stuff, we're still running the paper route. It has become easier to get up so early, even on very little sleep. Of course, the constant driving seems to have sped up the rate at which our van needs repairs. Since the A/C was finally fixed, we've also redone the brakes and replaced the shocks & struts, air filters & fuel filter. This week, we'll complete the tune-up with replacement of the PCV valve, spark plugs & wires and the serpentine belt. All that's left after that (we hope) is to drain & replace all the transmission fluids and replace the pan gasket seal. So much for the paper route providing a second income, right? To this point, it's all been going to repairs on the van, instead of additional payments on the van. That should change soon, thank goodness!
I'll close for now. My next post will deal more with the fun stuff, like our son's upcoming 9th birthday party! He's having a Luau and it should be loads of fun!
I am happy to report that I have finished another project from my StRIP list! Yay!
I stitched the Faith freebie from Accents, Inc. on a bookmark edged in dark lavender, using SMS Filled With Hope and Kreinik #4 braid in gold. I also used SMS Filled With Hope for the Nun's Stitches at each end. I'm thrilled with the finished piece!
This bookmark will soon be winging its way to a very dear lady in New Orleans. She was able to repair her home after Hurricane Katrina struck last year, and always seemed in such great spirits. She's definitely an inspirational person! I'm hopeful that this little gift will help her as she faces the upcoming hurricane season.
Also, I am slowly turning the titles of my WIPs (in the left hand column of my blog) into links to a current scan of each project. I need to scan most of them in, or at least stitch enough to warrant a scan...LOL The progress bars alone have been a great source of inspiration to me! Let's hope the scans provide even more motivation to stitch, stitch, stitch!
Little by little, it's all getting done...
Our garage down is now back in working order! A technician out yesterday. Twenty minutes later, the door was going up and down with hardly a sound. The tension coil wasn't broken, just stuck, so no new parts were needed. Yay! I did make certain to get the tech's recommendation on a lubricant, maintenance, etc.
Also, within the next couple of hours, our van will have new brake pads and be ready to go. We also suspect a slight brake fluid leak, which will (hopefully) be easy to find and repair.
That leaves the compressor for the van's A/C system and our roof/fencing. Maybe, just maybe, all the repairs will be done by the end of the month.
I'm very thankful that, so far, all the repairs have gone smoothly. I hope and pray that the trend continues.
Apparently, I can no longer stitch on 14 ct Aida. Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps it was the stiffer quality of the Charles Craft navy blue Aida, but it's just not working.
I've been promising to stitch Sue Hillis' Burger King for my grill-mad hubby. So that's what I started on Sunday evening. I really thought the colors would "pop" on some navy blue fabric (which they do), but to me the stitching itself looks sloppy.
I have heard some say that they rinse their DMC or CC Aida to remove the stiffener. I, however, used to like the stiffer feel for stitching in hand. Now I stitch almost exclusively with Q-Snaps, which I love! Maybe the stiffener plus the tension of the Q-Snaps just isn't a good combination?
Anyhow, I'm going to rip out the little bit I stitched and restart the project on a white evenweave. I've become very enamored of evenweaves. I just love them! And I do still love 18 ct Aida, stitched with 2 strands.
Note to self...rinse the fabric next time...LOL
In some ways, it seems that the tornadoes here never happened and, in others, like it was just yesterday. In reality, it has been 2 weeks.
We finally received word that our insurance adjustor will be at our home on June 4th, and will be prepared to cut us a check that day. More than likely, our deductible alone will cover repairs to the fence. That means that the check they give us should pay for the roof repairs, in full. Of course, we'll have to find a roofer who has time in his schedule. That ought to be an interesting search.
Tomorrow, we also have an overhead door company coming out to look at our garage door. It won't open or close. After the storms, we had to disengage the automatic opener in order to open the door manually. Sometime during all the opening & closing of the door over that long weekend, the tension coil broke. Hopefully, it won't be an expensive repair.
This past Friday morning, we received a visit from a highly-recommended septic service company. Finally, someone who actually knows what they're talking about! The first service we called really scammed up, and I'm still wanting to go about demanding a refund.
This wonderful second service did a full inspection of our system and did let us know that our septic pump and one of our sensors were both no longer working. Happily, the owner had a sensor in his truck that he gave to use, free of charge. He also replaced the pump, but that wasn't free. Several hours and $300 later, our septic system is back in full running order.
Also, we're still waiting on word of a compressor for our van's A/C system. We had some work done on it the weekend of the tornadoes, but it became apparent that the compressor had been damaged when the coolant overheated. Our mechanic is just waiting on the right compressor to come in and then we'll finally have a working A/C again.
I'm in prayer that once all of this over, we'll have a month or two relatively free of large expenses. We really want our focus to be on paying off the van early.
Okay, enough serious talk! LOL I think I'm going to go clean up my "stash area" in my bedroom, just so that I can play with stitchy stuff...hehe...
I stayed up entirely too late last night, but it was so worth it! I finally got around to finishing San-Man Originals' I Love Carrots!
I stitched this on Dyeing4U's Sandy's Sunshine Jazlyn...a color made especially for the San-Man herself. It doesn't show in the scan, but the fabric is a mottled pale yellow & white, with opalescent threads running through it. So pretty! I also used some raffia from my stash for the bow, which I think gives it a "country" feel.
I started this last year, but then rediscovered it when I decided to make a StRIP list. I'm just thrilled with the way it turned out!
It was a VERY long weekend here!
This past Thursday evening, we took our van to the repair shop, to have the air conditioning fixed. We had decided that being "stuck" at home for the weekend would be wonderful. There would be no errands to run, just lots of family time. Happily, the van should be ready tomorrow. We were blessed to be lead to a wonderful mechanic who is fixing our van for a fraction of the original estimate.
Late Friday night, a line of severe storms moved into our area, bringing strong straight line winds, large hail, heavy rain and tornadoes. We spent approximately 30 minutes huddled together in the laundry room, after hearing that a tornado was on the ground 8 miles from our home. At one point, the whole house shook violently. The kids and I were scared, by Steven was fascinated by it all.
When we emerged from the laundry room, we discovered that we were missing nearly 70 feet of our wood privacy fence. Our power was out and the rain just kept coming.
Saturday morning, Kathy & her family stopped by to check on us, as did my in-laws. Our neighborhood didn't look too bad at first glance. My in-laws took all three kids and we stayed behind to do some cleaning up.
By late Monday afternoon, we still didn't have electricity, phone or internet service. Thank goodness we had our gas grill! We did A LOT of walking and a good amount of cleaning. All of our utilities were restored Monday night, 68 hours after the outages.
I did stitch a bit on SMO's I Love Carrots, but it was too humid to stitch most of the time. Instead, I decluttered my son's room and thoroughly cleaned my refrigerator and freezer. It was a good time to do it, as I had to throw away most of what we had stored. Thankfully, the food replacement costs will count towards our homeowners insurance deductible.
We also discovered that we are missing a few shingles and the whole back section of our roof appears bubbled. It could be 2 to 3 weeks before an adjustor gets out here. However, the insurance company told us to call if we end up with any additional damage from more rain before the adjustor makes it out here. There is a possibility of more rain this coming weekend.
To top it all off, we had some problems with the service we hired to pump out our septic system. After a week of phone calls, they finally finished the job today. Now we have a different (and highly recommended) company coming out to do a full inspection of the system, just in case. We're in prayer that the system is fine and that if it does need repairs (pump, float sensor, etc.) that the cost be minimal and the repairs easily accomplished.
We've also found a great way to increase our income. Starting tomorrow, Steven & I will be running a commercial newspaper route. One of us will pick up the newspapers at 3 AM, drop them off at various business and then come home. It's seven days per week, but should take no more than 20 hours per week. The pay is wonderful, as well. If, at any time, we are ill or need to go out of town, we can have someone sub for us. My mom & my MIL have both volunteered to help us, if needed. Isn't that great?!
One last item of interest before I go. Last week I finished up a model stitching project for San-Man Originals. It is a GORGEOUS design and I predict it will be a big seller! As soon as it's released for retail, I'll post a picture.
That's it for now, I hope! LOL
I am VERY proud to announce that I've finished another project on my StRIP list!
At around 3 AM this morning, I secured the last button on JABC's Jingle All The Way. It is stitched on 18 ct Christmas Red Softana (Thanks again, Michelle!) with GAST in Shutter Green, Blue Spruce and Brandy. It will become an ornament for our Christmas tree!
I have two new finishes to report! It's true! I promise! hehehe
I'm a member of Tranquil Stitches and we just started out second "Mini Mystery Exchange". The first one was the Tiny Tuck Exchange, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
This time, our "assignment" was to stitch a piece for a little keychain. I received the honor of stitching one for Shirl, the owner of Tranquil Stitches. Shirl loves samplers, so I chose a "When this you see, remember me" design for her. She's already received the finished keychain, so I can post pics.
This past Saturday, I decided to stitch on the first UFO/WIP that caught my eye. My eye landed on Waxing Moon's You're My Sunshine. It was my first time to stitch on 32 count and/or opalescent fabric, and using the three strands called for in the directions, I had become discouraged. When I set it aside, I'd only finished about a fourth of the border.
However, when I picked it up again, I found it a joy to work on. Three short evenings later, it was done!
I think I'm done updating my blog for the night. That means it's time to work on JABC's Jingle All The Way. Good night, everyone!
Just when I thought my birthday was over, the fun continued :-)
After a slight shipping glitch, my mom was able to present me with my last birthday present from her. She gave me an awesome (and furry!) micro bead pillow, with a matching eyemask. Of course, both items are purple! I have to fight with my kids for the pillow, but they know the mask is not to be touched, except by me. I love both!
Then, just over a week ago, a package shows up at my house, from Down Sunshine Lane. Now I knew I hadn't ordered anything, so I was really puzzled as to what was in the envelope. To my extreme delight, sweet Jorja had sent me a Stitchaholic T-shirt! I love it and have already worn it several times. Even Steven agrees that it's very fitting! Thank you, Jorja!!!
This past Thursday, a package showed up from my oldest and dearest friend, Matt. We met when I was in junior high, as his dad was one of my teachers. We've been friends ever since. Matt is currently living in Hawaii and we all miss him like crazy. Thank heavens for email & phones! Matt spoiled me rotten with LOTS of Hawaii goodies! He knows my weakness for good Kona coffee and sent me three bags, along with Hawaiian tea, lotions, chocolate covered Kona coffee beans and some mad money. Now I simply HAVE to go stash shopping...darn...LOL! Thank you, Matt!!!
And, last but not least, I will soon have the fabric for Stoney Creek's The Lord's Prayer...all thanks to Sandy! She is truly a gem and a fabulous cross stitch designer to boot! She knew I was despairing over no longer being able to obtain this rather large (but odd-sized) cut of fabric from Silkweaver and gifted me with it for my birthday. Thank you, Sandy!
I've done some shopping with my birthday (& babysitting) money, but I'm also hoarding the majority of it until something calls to me. I have some ideas of what I might want to purchase, but I want to wait until something "talks" to me ;-) So the fun can continue until the stash money runs out...woohoo!
We had a wonderful Easter weekend!
On Good Friday, my mom took my kids to a nearby park while I ran some last-minute errands. After those were done, it was back to my house for some Easter fun!
We made a bunny cake, yarn "baskets" (which need some work...LOL), dyed eggs and ate entirely too much candy. Oh, we did eat dinner, but only to justify eating so many sweets...LOL
Saturday, my mom came over again :-) There was more eating, game playing and ummm, eating. The poor bunny cake lost his ears...hehe
Here are some pics!
Andrew, my handsome young man, on a slide at the park...
Annemarie, my beautiful blonde, on the balance beam...
Olivia, my beautiful brunette, on the monkey bars...
And last, but not least, my mom's fabulous bunny cake...
I must say, 30 isn't all that bad...at least not day itself...LOL
The morning of my birthday, Steven headed off to work, with plans to meet up with the rest of us for lunch. At 11:17 AM (the time I was born), my mom rang the doorbell and was immediately attacked by her grandchildren...hehe From home, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants, Summer Palace.
They had a great table set up for us, and while we were waiting for Steven, my in-laws and grandmother-in-law to arrive, my mom & Andrew headed back out to her car. They returned carrying my cake, balloons and a big bag of presents & party decor. Pretty soon, the table was all decked out for a party! And the cake...all I can say is WOW!
Once everyone arrived, it was present time! My children gave me "30th Birthday" themed gifts, including a magic wand (supposed to make me younger), a beaded necklace and a coffee mug. My in-laws gave me two wonderful books by different Christian authors. Steven had me order some cross stitch goodies and I'll be picking out a new griddle. He's so good about honoring my wishes for practical gifts, although he does occasionally sneak in a great surprise. My mom had already already given me with some "mad money" for a recent out-of-town trip and she'd ordered the curtains I'd picked out for my living room. At my party, however, she surprised me with a STUNNING Brighton organizer, to replace the wallet I've been carrying for 12 years. She knows I would never treat myself to something so wonderful and she picked out the perfect one for me! She had also tucked $30 into the wallet ($1 for every year) and had printed off oodles of family pictures, for me to put in my wallet. I was spoiled rotten and I loved every minute of it!
After presents, we ate and ate and ate. Did I mention that Summer Palace has the most fabulous Chinese buffet? All the traditional favorites, including several seafood dishes. Yum! None of us had any room for cake, so it came home with us.
Once lunch was over, everyone headed off to work and my mom, the kids and I headed for the mall. My mom wanted to take me to the Brighton store, to look at some other wallets. She wanted to make absolutely certain that I was happy with the one she picked out and I was. While we were there, I treated everyone to Cherry Limeades from my favorite little ice cream shop in the mall. They were delicious!
After a quick stop at my mom's house to pick up some things, we all came back to my house. We lounged around, talked, watched the kids on their bikes and such until Steven arrived home. He cooked for us that evening...all the fixings for yummy burritos. After we ate, we finally had cake and ice cream. We were all stuffed and vowed never to eat so much again (yeah, like that will happen...LOL).
We also played a couple board games and it was after 10 PM before my mom called it a night. We were all falling asleep at that point. It was a fabulous, fun-filled day...exactly what I wanted!
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