Scissor Fobs for Fun

I was feeling a little crafty this afternoon and this is what I made. I'm not sure how many more I will make, but so far I've had some fun.

This one is made of pink beads spaced with silver metallic-like shimmery beads. I really love the soft look this has, and the heart is the perfect touch.

Here is my second attempt and a fob. This one uses a turquoise stone spaced with chrome coloured beads. I love this more subdued look and still the adorable little heart dangly.


I never really consider myself crafty, but this has really got me thinking now. What to do next...

UFO Sunday

I've really been so busy with holiday travel and work to dedicate much time to my stitching. I miss it and hopefully with life supposedly slowing down in the next couple days I should be able to get back to somewhat of a routine with my pieces. That is unlikely to the point it is probably laughable. A girl has a right to dream!

I'm always tooling with my approach to work pieces and trying to get closer to finishing things up, so here is another new one from me. Since I'm trying to work 1 hour per week on my UFO's, chosen piece Halloween Fairy I've decided since I work most weekends, I will use Sunday as my day to work 1 hour on my UFO. I am going to work 1 hour on Halloween Fairy every Sunday and then the remainder of my shift on Enchanted Fairy so I can still make some progress on her. She's much too early in the process of being worked to be neglected just yet.

Any stitching time I find throughout the week will be dedicated to Love with A Capital. I'm getting close to the finish line with this one, so I'm hoping another 40 hours will see this one complete. Can you imagine that, a finish within the first quarter of the new year? WOOHOO!!

Off to put needle to fabric with a wonderful cup of Chai tea at my side. The small wonders of life surround and astound me.

Halloween Fairy 10 hours

Here is what she looked like at 5 hours, prior to 1 hour per week as a UFO focus piece. I'm amazed at the difference of only 5 hours.

After the 5 hours. She's really starting to look like something now. WOOHOO


I'm loving this new way of working on UFO pieces. Thanks so much Chris for the idea.

Enchanted Fairy - 10 hours

Here is my colourful blob of nothing, really. My goal for starting this piece was to get 10 hours done and then go back to my other pieces. Well, here is my first installment. Doesn't look like much of anything yet, but I think for 10 hours it's a pretty good amount of stitching. This piece is going to be a lot of fun, at least that's the way I feel right now. There are blocks of colour that move quickly and enough other colours to keep my interest.

My next goal with this piece is to work on it on Sundays. Sunday is usually the day of the week I choose to work on my 1 hr per week UFO commitment piece. Since most of that will done at work, I will work 1 hour on my UFO and the remainder of my shift I'll work on Enchanted Fairy.

Thanks so much for any and all compliments. You're awesome support!

Dear Santa Dennis

Here is the first of two stitched Christmas presents I'm giving this year. The first time I saw this piece I fell in love with it and I must say, the feelings haven't changed.

I'm giving this to a friend of mine that works as a security guard here in 'my' hospital. Dennis started popping in to our office to check on us and from there started popping in to visit and friendships ensued.

I started this piece quite some time ago and originally it was going to be my piece. As the piece came together Dennis would see the progress I was making, and would kindly comment. He would joke around that I stitch him one too. Well, I'm not restitching this piece for him, I'm giving him mine.

I'll tell you a little bit about Dennis. He is an honest to goodness, true salt of the earth man. He has seen me through many ups and downs in my personal life, offered hugs when needed and a strong supportive shoulder when that was the answer.

Dennis is one of the most giving and generous people I've even known. There are many positive things that can be said about Dennis, but one of the things that most touches my heart, is his thoughtfulness at Christmas time. You see, Dennis plays Santa here at the hospital. He comes in on the weekends during the month of December to have pictures taken with the staff's children as well as our younger patients. Dennis is a wonderful Santa! You should hear his 'Ho! Ho! Ho!", and his beard which he starts growing in around September so it's good and full come Christmas time. Christmas day you'll find Dennis down in Paediatrics giving the little ones a break from the sickness and heartache they are saddled to be replaced with a giggle and a vision of Santa himself. It is in this spirit that I part with my beloved Dear Santa, as there is no one more fitting than Dennis to receive it.

I know for certain, the world would be a better place if there were more people like Dennis walking the streets. I love you, Dennis. Merry Christmas.

The Insanity Returns

I know not too long ago I posted my plans for what I wanted to do to get some pieces finished. Well, (yes, I know Velda) I'm thinking again, but not really changing things just adding pieces to the 'want to start this year' list.

FOCUS PIECES
Love With A Capital L
Hydrangea Harvest
Job's Tears
Summer Breeze
Wildflower Rhapsody
Enchanted Fairy

UFO PIECES
Halloween Fairy
Treetop Sampler
My Stocking
Giggles Girl
Middy
Angel Proclamation
Be Warm Be Welcome
Bubbles
The Bride

My goal was to have one of the top listed pieces as my focus piece and finish it while working 1 hour per week on my UFO pieces and move pieces up in to the focus spot as I finish things. The key to that is actually finishing things. LOL

Now, if the wonderful women on the Cross Stitch Crazy board would stop posting all these new and lovely patterns, I would be not so tempted to start so many pieces. You see how I'm not taking responsibility here? Sneaky me.

I reserve the right to add to this list as I feel the need and will probably do so a half dozen times over the coming year. So, without further adieu, my list for this year:

Want To Start (in no specific order)
Stocking for Alyssa (may have found one)
Mirabilia Valentine's Fairy
Mirabilia New Year's Fairy
Victoria Sampler's Heirloom Christmas Sampler (scares the hell out of me)
Princess Piece for Lily (have to find it)

I do these posts so often, I must drive you nuts. I do this and then it inspires me to get to my stitching and make some progress. That will not be the case today since I'm at work right now and won't find a minute to stitch until I'm at work on Saturday. Oh, how I love this hobby errr...passion of mine.

The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen

Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

PECCAVI

The Latin is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman's brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It's a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O'Donnell - Jane's professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club.

On tony Beacon Hill, the club's acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us. With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it's clear that someone - or something - is indeed prowling the city. Soon, the members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own - or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?

Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning.
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Holy wow! Gross, just a little bit. I really enjoy this series. There was an OMG moment and when you get there, I think you'll know what I mean. It blew me away, with my upbringing and my history. I'm sure it happens, probably more than I would expect, but it blew my mind.

Book # 39 ~ I'll be lucky to make it to 40 books read this year and I was hoping for 100. Funny

A Day of Dreams

If I've ever lived a day of dreams, this would be it. Yesterday was my Christmas present from Lily; concert tickets to see Keith Urban.

Lily and I planned to spend the entire day together hanging out and it was everything I'd hoped for and more. We left home about 9am and hit the road, but not before hitting the local Starbucks. Armed with Todd's GPS we were Ottawa bound.

The drive up was uneventful until we hit the heart of Ottawa traffic. It was snowing like crazy, not Raining on Sunday, but snowing on Friday. We drove to the Place D'Orleans mall where I bought a necklace and earrings to match my Christmas dinner outfit and another little present for Todd's oldest daughter. Now, to find something for little daughter. We then hit another mall. In this mall I found a present for Todd, and the best shopping find of the day. Lily and I each got a new coat. It is a mid-calf length black dressy coat. The store was having a sale and these coats were regularly $100.00 each and we bought both coats for $102, with taxes. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to wear mine. Not that I'm dressing up today, let me tell ya. My feet are killing me. I just want to wear my running shoes all day, not that my running shoes are comfortable, but that is for another day.

Our efforts to find other malls went awry since we didn't know the names nor did we have addresses which is always helpful when using a GPS. Onward to Ikea we head at this point, which is right near where we're going to dinner with Todd's niece. Ikea was somewhat of a success. I bought a couple clear glass bowls, a 12 day present for next year for Velda (now I have 3 of a total of 12 presents). I also bought Lily a shoe rack for her room and my vanilla scented tea lights I buy every time I'm there.

Dinner bound we are. This is were I have to tell you, I love Todd's niece. She works for Montana's restaurant, so we meet with her there every chance we get. She is one of the most adorable, genuine people I've ever met. She just adores Lily and Lily in turn, looks up to her. It is really sweet. We sit and chat with Tash for about an hour and half, but departure time approaches much quicker than expected. With hugs and kisses and promises to see each other over the holidays, off Lily and I head to our date with ever gorgeous Keith Urban!

We got to the Scotialbank Place about an hour before the concert is due to start. I was wrong on the start time. The time I thought the concert was to start was really the time the doors opened, so needless to say we were a bit early. It made it much easier to find parking though, so all in all things worked out okay. They always seem to anyway.

If I told Lily 'Thank you' once yesterday, I must have told her 20 times. I think she was about ready to strangle me by the end of the night. The gates finally open and we head to our seats. Our seats were for section 302 Row E Seat # (I forget). We go around the concourse and get to section 302 and there is a sign that says that section is closed because of lighting and sound equipment being hung in our seat area. The woman working this section sends us on to another section, this time 308. There were are told they are giving us new tickets in place of our originals because of the situation with the equipment. The 3 women there pick through their tickets for the best of what is available and we end up in Section 308 Row M seat # ( I forget). There beside us is 2 men and then on the other side is a young guy, and who I would think is his girlfriend. They man beside me introduces himself as Gary. He is there with a friend of his, while their wives are down BACKSTAGE meeting KEITH URBAN! OMG moment. So, we chatter for a little bit and then Gary notices there is a Scotiabank Place employee up behind us talking to some other seat transplants, and he is exchanging tickets with them. The employee is called over to us and Gary talks to him and the employee asks if we're all together, we say yes, him, his friend, Lily, myself and the young couple beside Lily. We are all give ticket upgrades to Section 105 , Section J Seat #15 & 16. These seat numbers I know because I have the tickets in my hands. You wanna talk about an OMG moment!!! We were all just stunned. We were so close it wasn't to be believed. I went to the concession stand and bought the two men a beer to say, 'Thanks'

Not soon enough the concert starts. I'm a fan of Gary Allen, have always liked his music, but I never really followed his career or seen any of his live shows. After last night, I'm a huge fan, not just a fan. Man, can he sing. His stage presence is incredible. He moves well, sings even better and just seems like an all around great performer. He talked a bit about dark times in his personal life and how, Best I Ever Had, helped him through those times, brought tears to my eyes. Knowing the story behind his struggles and to hear him speak of them even vaguely and in such brief terms, was difficult. I had a blast his Alright Guy. It was just a fun tune to hear him perform live. Watching Airplanes was incredible. You'd have thought you were listening to his CD, he sounded so good. He would come out on the extended portion of the stage with this little twinkle in his eye and big grin on his face. He, much like Keith Urban, looks as though he is having a great time with life and his music.

How do I put to words the kind of performance Keith put on? No matter what I say, or how I say it, I will not come close to doing it or him justice. The show starts off with the screen black and then on the screen comes up 59 seconds, and the countdown begins to zero, at which point Keith is standing the middle of the stage with fading light shining only on him while he signs the opening verse of Once In a Lifetime. Where the tempo picks up, the lights come on with a bright flash and there is the rest of his band and we are underway to a show of a lifetime.

There are so many highlights. There was the girl with a sign that read "I'm Rural, but I'll go Urban". This girl and her sign were in our section near the bottom and Keith brought her up on stage. She latched on to him for dear life and who could blame her. She got herself a hug and stole a couple kisses and for a time refused to let go. Keith took it all in stride joking that he had to get back to work, 'okay, honey you gotta let me go now'. What an absolute doll.

The stage was set up in a t-fashion with a round area at the end. Keith and the entire band
came out there to perform a couple songs. One of them, Making Memories of Us. The lighting was dim and the camera was just one Keith with shadows playing on his face. Oh so sexy!

I have to say my favorite song performance of the evening would have to be Raining on Sunday. I've always liked this song and always struggle when asked to choose a favorite song, but no longer. My favorite Keith Urban song is now Raining on Sunday, and that is as much as a result of his live performance as much as from the fact that I would love to live out the song. Oh, to dream....

I'm not a professional concert goer by any means, but I've done enough to know good showmanship and Keith Urban, even the second time around does not fail to impress. I've never seen a show where the performer smiles as much as he does, and it is a genuine smile. This is a man that loves what he does and it shows. He is down on his knees, playing the hell out of that guitar and as much as it is just him and his guitar, you feel a part of it. There is this most adorable grin on his face when the crowd sings back to him, and how he interacts with the fans is awesome. There was a time when he was down on his knee playing, and a guy moved in with a camera and they did a cheek to cheek head shot and Keith just smiles the whole time.

There was a time when Keith came out for an encore and down he sits at the piano and plays White Christmas. OMG it was awesome. Still at the piano, he thanks the crowd for remaining fans and giving him a reason for getting his ass back on the road. As expected, the place goes crazy with screaming and clapping fans. Keith just sits there, again with a smile, but this time with teary eyes. Oh, to be the Kleenex that wipes away those tears. He then says that he is dedicating this next song to his wife, who couldn't be here since she is working, and he plays Got It Right This Time. WOW To have someone love me that way, and sing to me that way. Phew, someone turn down the heat in here.

I made an amazing discovery while at this concert and it's a big one. If I were only able to one performer for the rest of my life, it would be without a doubt Keith Urban! That is saying a lot, and those that have known me awhile will remember my Garth Brooks obsession, so this is huge.

Lily, from the bottom of my heart, I can not tell you enough how much your thoughtfulness and generosity mean to me. I've tried so hard to not show that Christmas is about family and friends more than gifts, but you have to know this is the most thoughtful gift I could have ever received. Thank you, sweetie.

I just want my tea

I've been trying to cut back on my beverage purchases at places such as Tim Horton's, but namely Starbucks. Over the summer Starbucks became a major addiction for me and one that was making quite the dent in my pocketbook! My bad. So, here is my saga of the day. Really, if all I have to worry about (ya right) is this I should consider myself very lucky, which I do and I am! It is all the more painful because I am trying to cut back on such spending excursions because they do all add up!

I've played around with various ways to curb the habit, cut back whatever I could do that would save me some money and still get me my 'fix'. So, I've tried to only go to Tim Horton's when I'm working. I don't work every day and I still don't go every day I work, except tonight I broke down and went to Timmy's. Darn it, it is 1:30 in the morning. I just crawled out of the warmth of my bed and hit the cold hard pavement in a very cold car to come to work. That qualifies as a treat moment if I've ever had one. A trip to the Tim Horton's Drive Thru was in the works. I even broke a $20 to do so, something I hate doing. I'm in a 'Peppermint Tea' phase at the moment. I'm very much a phase eater and drinker in case you weren't aware. I get my tea through the little Timmy's window and I'm so happy. All is right in my world again. I have the warmth of the tea within reach, but it is such a treat I'll wait until I get to my office before I drink it. I will savour it before I start slugging away at the menial job task of preparing the call schedules for the morning shift. It will be just me and my tea for a few moments of blessed peace. Oh no it wont! My peppermint tea is plain old tea BLEH. I'm so sad. It's just not the same as my sweet minty tea. This is like a mini let down in my night. Oh poor me! Do you feel my pain?

I know in the long and short of it this isn't a big deal, but I love those moments of peace and quiet with a warm cup of tea in hand. I still have all those wants, but the taste is all wrong. I'm off now to my menial job task with the wrong tea. Maybe another day I will be blessed with my tea of the moment and actually have that warm fuzzy feeling again.

Double Cross - James Patterson

Just when Alex thought his life was calming down into a routine of patients and therapy sessions, he finds himself back in the game--this time to catch a criminal mastermind like no other. A spate of elaborate murders in Washington D.C. have the whole East Coast on edge. They are like nothing Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. With each murder, the case becomes increasingly complex. There's only one thing Alex knows: the killer adores an audience. As victims are made into gruesome spectacles citywide, inducing a media hysteria, it becomes clear to Alex that the man he's after is a genius of terror--and he's after fame. The killer has the whole city by its strings--and he'll stop at nothing to become the most terrifying star that Washington D.C. has ever seen.

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I had some difficulty getting in to this book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. There were things that happened that annoyed me. I wont get into those annoyances, I'll leave them for you to discover on your own.

Fight of Flight

Why is it that sometimes life's just like that? I'm soooo damn tired it's not even funny. I don't think that I'm so much physically tired, but emotionally exhausted. Is it that I'm too much of a pushover and people 'abuse' that or just expect that I will continue to be pushed and prodded. One minute I'm travelling along in my happy old way and BAM here it comes again!

I sometimes feel as though I'm surrounded by negativity and then I in turn become negative. How to stop the cycle? I'm living one life that is pretty much divided into 15 different sections. Let me list them and see if you feel as dizzy as I do just thinking about it. I have on my plate on any given day the following things to contend with:

• The craziness of my job and the shifts involved
• Lillian and trying to balance my time with her (her thinking she's a burden)
• Worrying about Alyssa doing her thing on her own (way too young)
• Finding time for the gym
• The everyday running of my house and all that it involves
• Trying to find time for Todd....
• Worrying about my finances and the mess I've made of them
• The added burden I've placed upon myself with my finances and thinking I need to get another part time job
• Dealing with ex-husband and the havoc he is dishing up right now
• Balancing the old life with the new and the emotional turmoil that always presents

For the most part I very much love life. This feeling I have right now is one I deal with from time to time, but not no matter how many times I've felt this way, it gets no easier. It's as though when life is good, it's really good and when it's not....look out.

I wonder what is more difficult, living in a verbally abusive relationship; one that was predominately run by emotional blackmail and heartache in the last years? Or, what I do now, running from place to place in a state of never being able to do enough for others. I love helping out, I love being able to be depended upon to help out, but sometimes I just want the same in return. I don't ask for much, but when I do it would be the most amazing feeling in the world for an instantaneous 'yes'. As I said, I don't ask for much.

On another front, but one from the list above. I applied for 2 part time jobs yesterday. One is with a temporary agency. I don't expect to hear back from it, but you never know. Right? The second job I applied for, which I'm hopeful about is at a local pharmacy here in town. It is only 12 hours per week, which would be a good amount of hours to bring in a little extra money and not so much to completely undo me physically and emotionally. My plan is to get this part time job and use half of the money to pay down my debt (on top of my regular payments) and the other half will go into a savings account for new boobs. I know! I know! Frivolous dreams of a girl that should be thinking of other things. :)

I will conclude this whining session. I don't really like the idea of two posts back to back that are rather heavy and filled with negativity, but I more than needed to get these things out of my head. You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog reading.

Love ya's bunches and bunches.

ETA: I just did a very smart thing. I'm not always doing smart things, but this one is good. I know my ex-husband is gearing up to take me to Family Court, so in the event I have to pay him back any money I've taken a lump sum of $1000 and put it into a GIC. It doesn't pay a lot of interest, but the additional $30.00 per month might just be enough to help out. I know one thing, it's better than the money sitting in my savings account where I can get to it easier than in the GIC. In the event I have to pay him back (GRRRRR) a lump sum I'll be able access this money within 24 hours. Doing that withdrawl is going to be uber painful!

Funny how a little thing like this can change one's outlook. I'm still very much in a contemplative 'why bother' state of mind, but I do feel somewhat better than I did when I started this post. Push on or give up? Push on is my choice.

Emptying My Head

My head is all over the place this morning, so I'm not sure how much sense I'll be able to make of this post.

Things in life are a combination of good bad and everything between right now. My personal life is in an awesome place, my finances are atrocious. The situation with my husband (should be ex husband by now) are, oh just soooo awesome-not! He is trying to financially sink me and if I don't play my cards smart or at least smarter than I've been he will surely succeed. I'm worried to death about my oldest daughter that is out there in the world trying to make it on her own, but is struggling mightily! I don't know what to do about it or her. Short of hog tying her and dragging her home, there really isn't much I can do. Sit back and watch is what I have to do at this point.

Lily, my youngest (14 y.o.) seems to be in a great place and for that I'm happy. She has done some amazing things lately for which I'm very proud. She bought me my Keith Urban tickets for which I'm very pleased and so excited to do with her. I'm thankful for the gift, but it is the bigger picture that really touches me. Her generosity is second to none and I say this in complete acceptance of the fact that this little girl is a princess through and through. She loves things and wants things, but she is putting her wants and needs aside to give to others. I can't even begin to tell you the pride I feel when thinking of her and her actions.

Alyssa, my oldest (16 y.o.) is a different story. I am very proud of her, but for completely different reasons. She isn't in a place where I would like her to be, nor probably a place she wants to be either, but she is rising to the challenge she's created for herself and doing the best she can with what she has in front of her. I couldn't ask for more. These last few months have been difficult for her and for me, but she is showing such personal growth. It is a proud moment to know, I may have had a hand in some of the troubles facing my daughter, but I raised a very strong, independent thinking young woman.

Now on to my own issues; my weight. I've gained a wee bit this week, but I'm good with it. I ate as if every day were my last day on earth this past week. I had an epiphany moment yesterday and it wasn't a pretty happening if I do say so myself. I use to be very much a stickler for numbers, still am to a certain extent, but as far as clothing I've moved on from that but not completely which was apparent by my episode yesterday. I went shopping for new dress pants to wear to Christmas dinner at Todd's sister's house in a couple weeks. I took in sizes ranging from 3 to 7 since I've never bought pants in this particular store before. Well, lo and behold, I fit best in the 7's. I could have managed with a 5, but if I gained anything more than a pound I'd be in trouble, so what is the point of that. You must be wondering now what is the point of this little story. My point to this and my epiphany moment is that I have to be more diligent in my weight loss efforts. Not because of my clothing number, but because I'm carrying a lot of flab in my midsection and up towards my breasts. It was upsetting to see this, when at one time I'm was 'cutting in' at my abs and now it seems all I'm 'cutting' is cake! I know I can do this I just have to find the will power and the drive, okay maybe a bit extra time wouldn't hurt too. In all seriousness I'm worth the effort and that is the bottom line!

Angels Among Us

The photo doesn't do this justice. It truly is prettier in real life.

This is my first Lizzie Kate that I've stitched in what seems like forever. I'd forgotten how fun it can be to do smaller pieces. Hmmmmm

I really hope my special friend enjoys her little gift. Now to figure out how I'm going to finish it. I'm thinking a little door hanger.

November Stitching Ramblings

November didn't see me with as much stitching time as I would have liked. The reasons for this is many; the gym, work, Christmas shopping and decorating.

I was able to get in a measly total of 20 hours 10 minutes.

I logged time on 3 pieces and finished nothing! LOL I did have a little setback though, I started something new, a piece for a girl at work. It is a little piece and one that won't take me very long to finish up.

I'm really pleased with a new development in my stitching life. I've started working on a UFO piece for 1 hour per week. I've said it already, but I'm amazed at how much you can accomplish on a piece in only one hour. Maybe this new approach will help me get some things finished and stave off the desire to always be starting something new. Ya right! LOL

December Goals
Finish the Lizzie Kate piece for my co-worker (friend) - done
Finish Love with a Capital L
Add another 5 hours on Halloween Fairy - 1 hour completed

Doable??? Sure it is!

Happy stitching days to you.

You've Been Warned - James Patterson

For Karen Burns, a talented young photographer, it was only natural to go to New York to chase her dreams. And it was only normal--just to pay the rent while she waited for her big chance--to work as a nanny for a young power couple, an attorney and his socialite wife, watching their two children. But for all the promise, the thrills, and the glitter, there are temptations and there are deadly dangers that come with life among the rich and powerful. Get ready for the Nanny Diaries from Hell.

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I don't even know where to begin with this one. I'm not sure if I liked it or didn't. It was a very strange book. I've passed this on to Pam with the "You've Been Warned" warning, and the promise to let me know what she thinks of it when she's finished. Hmmmm.......

Yankee Stadium - December Totals

I've have tallied my numbers for my Yankee Stadium Distance Challenge.

October 2007 - 19.8KM
November 2007 - 54KM

Of the 662KM it would take to drive to Yankee Stadium, I've only 588.2KM left to go!

I'm okay with the distance I covered for November, but knowing it could have been better is a wee bit upsetting. I will work towards my December goal and hope to do 1KM more in December than I did in November.

December 2007
5 - 3.6K
6 - 9.6K bike
6 - 4.8K treadmill 8/36 minutes
7 - 2.5K
8 - 4.9K treadmill 10/40 minutes
8 - 3K bike
12 - 1.2K treadmill
12 - 8.4K bike
19 - 10.9K treadmill
22l - 5K run (street)
Total - 58.9 KM

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's starting to feel a bit more like Christmas too. I'm usually in the Christmas spirit long before this, but this year I'm dragging a bit. I'm there now and I'm there with a bang.

I pretty much finished all my shopping today. I have a couple things left to get, not much and not much money needed which is always a blessing.

I finished decorating the upstairs tree about an hour ago. It is so beautiful, if I do say so myself. It is decorated in red and gold colours and appears very regal and classy. I am still debating whether to do a tree in the rec room or not. Lily really wants me to, so I probably will. That tree will have a more homey feel to it and be more country themed, which I absolutely love. You see the problem is, I don't want to have to buy a new artificial tree and that is what is needed for the rec room. The tree from last year just had nothing left to give so it was trashed. Lily would like to get a real tree, but as much as I love them, they are so much work. I always struggle with disposing of the tree after the holidays and stuff. Oh, I dislike this indecisiveness.

The shopping is done and the tree is trimmed! Oh, I said that already didn't I. Now, all that is left to do is some baking, visit friends and enjoy the wonder of the holiday season that I fondly like to refer to as CHRISTMAS!!!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Love with a Capital L - 140 hours

Love is really moving along in all ways lately. You can't believe how happy I am to know my instincts were right about this one. This piece has come to mean so much to me for so many reasons.

You stitchers out there, or some of you anyway, may understand the dreaded feeling of those last few sessions with a piece. Questioning whether it will ever get finished, until you're really close and then it's full steam ahead. In light of recent happenings in my life, I now have a renewed desire to get this piece finished and it will be a new found appreciation for my life that I do.

Stitching is a time consuming, and for the most part, a very relaxing and therapeutic past time. Thus far in my life there has yet to be a piece that represents as much of that to me, than this one. It stands alone in its significance of my life and personal growth. This is now a piece I will look back on and truly feel blessed to have stitched at this particular time? Is that what makes a piece an heirloom?

Happy stitching days to all!

Sweet Dreams to you too!

I'm just so happy right now. I seriously want to say something profound and words that will come close to conveying what I'm feeling, but I don't know that I'm that gifted a word wizard.

I look back on my life, to some of the things that put me right here and I know I'd do it all over again to be in the place I am this very minute. Okay, maybe not THIS very minute since I'm at work doing a midnight and I'd much rather be in my bed! I've said it before about being happy for every tear and moment of sadness I've suffered to come out the other side of a divorce and be blessed in the way I am right now. You just never know what is awaiting you around that next corner!

I used to live my life and just live it. I didn't really embrace much in the way of being passionate about things. I mean, I love my daughters without measure, I'm passionate about my health and love working out, but to live and take notice of things around me, I didn't live or think that way. I was too busy pleasing others (still doing that too much), to know there were deeper meanings in things than just doing them. I've since discovered, as much as I'm still running non-stop, to see there is more to life than just being. Embrace the life you life. Tomorrow is a gift yet to be opened. Don't let the hurts of yesterday get in the way of today's happiness. It may be a feeling or moment you never get back. You could very well miss out on something you didn't even know you were missing until it is there. Trust me it happens.

As busy as I am always, I love my life and I love you! Thank you for teaching me to be stronger than I dreamed. Thank you for allowing me the freedom to be me. I love you for the many things you've yet to realize you represent to me. In due time you will! I thank you for you!

Sweet dreams

OMG! Can you hear me screaming

I don't know whether I should cry or scream. My youngest daughter just gave me the best Christmas present that money can buy. I say 'that money can buy', because as much as this is the coolest present ever, I'm trying to teach the girls (and failing miserably) that Christmas is not about money!

Lily just gave me two tickets to see Keith Urban in concert in Ottawa December 14th! I'm blown away. She ordered the tickets through Pam and gave them to me today! I'm soooo excited and so proud of her, you can't even imagine. Included in my gift box was the little turtle from a few days back. She bought him for me as well! What a cool gift! Is it December 14th yet????

Off to my sweet dreams of Keith and knowing that I'm truly blessed with 2 amazing daughters that are fast on their way to becoming incredible women!

What Kind of Flower?

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

Stitching Plan Version 125

I think I'm funny, eh?

I'm always messing around with my approach for tackling all the pieces I currently have started. Trust when I tell you there are many. 15 pieces is insane no matter how you look at it. 15 pieces! What was I thinking? I don't think I was thinking, but I was definitely starting. A little funny again, eh?

I'm now dividing my huge list in to 2 lists, a focus piece list and a UFO list. I will work primarily on the focus piece until it is complete and work 1 hour per week on the UFO list piece until it is complete. My focus list pieces will be long completed before those on the UFO list, so I will then move some of those pieces up to my focus piece list. Follow me so far? I don't forsee many more starts in my future (funny, eh?), so I'm thinking this 15 should start to shrink rather than grow in the next year. Without further adieu, here is my lists:

FOCUS PIECES
Love With A Capital L
Hydrangea Harvest
Job's Tears
Summer Breeze
Wildflower Rhapsody
Enchanted Fairy

UFO PIECES
Halloween Fairy
Treetop Sampler
My Stocking
Giggles Girl
Middy
Angel Proclamation
Be Warm Be Welcome
Bubbles
The Bride

This post was prompted by the fact that I've worked on Halloween Fairy for 2 weeks in a row, 1 hour per week and I'm amazed at how much I've accomplished in only 2 hours. This is going to be a lot of fun. Why didn't I think of this before? Oh, I know, I was too busy starting things to worry about finishing things. I'm really very funny, I think!

Another Start? You're not Serious?

I feel a new piece comin' on! I know I'm supposed to be working towards finishing Love with A Capital L, and I will.


My new piece is going to be Enchanted Fairy

You see Pam and I have started a new piece together every Boxing Day for the last 7 years. This is 2008's Boxing Day piece, but a little early. We aren't sure what our work schedule is going to be like for Christmas this year, so we're shaking things up some. I was looking at our schedule and Pam and I are working together next weekend 2-10 and 6-2, so we're starting it then! I've been bugging her for a bit about starting it early, but is was all in fun and done just to get her going. In case you're wondering, it worked. I've not even seen nor touched the fabric as of yet, because she doesn't trust me not to start it without her. Has she no faith in me whatsoever? Anyway, work being what it is, we are starting her December 1st, only because of the work schedule and not because I'm a pest.

I also happened upon Chris' blog, I'd Rather Be Stitching and she has talked about doing a UFO challenge for 2008. She did have an ezboard started for it, but it has been closed. Not sure why. Her idea is to work on a UFO piece for 1 hour per week . You can focus on one piece or any of your UFO's. I have too many pieces to list every time I talk of them, but suffice it to say I had more than enough pieces to choose from when deciding to join in the UFO challenge. My UFO challenge piece is Mirabilia's Halloween Fairy. I'm going to do an hour on her today for the 2nd week in a row. I love it and don't know how I let her get to the point that she is an UFO. So sad and very silly. The challenge I face now is putting her down after the hour, but I did the first week and will do so again today! Not putting her down would defeat the purpose if I kept working on her, right? I would then finish her and in my excitement to do that, move Love to UFO status.

Who ever thought stitching could get so complicated?

I'm off now to find bobbins so I can start winding floss for Enchanted Fairy. This kind of high is better than any drug I could ever think of, not that I'm prolific in drug use! This is my addiction of another kind!

For The Love of Reading

I'm a big reader although I don't read a near the amount I used to when I was younger. Blame the needle. My reading time has severely dropped off since I've discovered the needle and thread. I love both equally so I try and spend my time doing both. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes not. Anyway, I'm getting off topic a bit.

I was on the Indigo/Chapter's website looking for this Clean Eating Cookbook that I want to buy and one link always leads to another and I stumbled upon this interesting, but disturbing fact. Our school's bookshelves are empty or fast becoming so. Indigo has implemented a program For The Love of Reading, that is trying to raise funds to assist in stocking those empty bookshelves by selling little stuffed animals, such as this little cutie This joins my love of turtles with my love of reading! What could be better than that for me? I'm thinking I need to get myself this precious turtle, maybe after the holidays I will treat myself to a little post holiday pick me up.

There is an online Petition you can sign in support of this program. Reading has always been a passion of mine and it is just heartbreaking for me when I see people that are able to read and don't.

What is worse to me is not the ability to read and not using your ability, but not being able to read period. The thought of never being able to escape to another place via my novels is more than I could handle. I can barely watch commercials pertaining to illiteracy. When the people speak of the shame of not being able to read and the fear of being discovered angers me so much. Not because of the person themselves, but because of the system that put a person in a place that they could continue in school and not be able to read? Did no one notice in Grade 2 when 'See Spot Run' was a challenge? It tears at my heart because I'm sure this person would love nothing more than to read and I think of all the joy my books have brought me and this person has missed out.

I'm off to sign the petition! Will you join me?

What Is A Workout?

A workout is 25% perspiration and 75% determination. Stated another way, it is one part physical exertion and three parts self-discipline. Doing it is easy once you get started.

A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday. It strengths the body, relaxes the mind, and toughens the spirit. When you work out regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows.

A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastinations. It is the badge of a winner the mark of an organized person who has taken charge of his, or her destiny.

A workout is a wise use of time and an investment in excellence. It is a way of preparing for life's challenges and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

A workout is a key that helps unlock the door to opportunity and success. Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary force. Physical and mental fitness are the triggfer that can release it.

A workout is a form of rebirth. When you finish a good workout, you don't simply feel better, you feel better about yourself.

I went to the gym this morning at the gross ugly hour of 5:30. I'm sorry there is no other way for me to describe that hour! I slept well last night, if you can call sleeping well and waking every hour sleeping. I woke up energized and full of life. Very much in a bad mood but eager to hit the gym, I was.

Krista and I hit the mats to work our abs and then the weights. I did a bit of cardio (4KM). I was in a very bad mood as I've already stated and whether or not I get in to why, I'm still undecided. I was hoping the work out would help ease the mood and it did in some small way. That was until I headed to work, but more of that later.

I talked with Krista about setting up a weight training schedule and in her true enthusiastic way, was on board without a moments hesitation! I have a date with her every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30am. I'm really looking forward to this, as I know she is.

The timing of finding this document "What Is A Workout?" was perfect. This is going to be a new day for me. I want to do things a bit differently than I've been doing lately, and one of those things is making a committed effort to better myself mentally, emotionally and physically.

Tribute to Turtles and Me

Taking their home with them wherever they go, Turtles remind us to remember our roots while still welcoming new places and phases in life.
They teach us to appreciate life's simple, true necessities; shelter, food, drink and most importantly, faith.
The Turtle's slow gait requires the animal to have faith that it will eventually get where it is going and that the needs will be satisfied along the way. ~ From ancient American Indian Philosophy

I like the idea behind this and for the most part, think it very much represents who I am and things that are important to me.

The turtle I used to be and the turtle I am now are very different, although I must say they are both represented in the person I am today. Turtling is what I used to do when in tremendous pain and heartache and I was dubbed with a 'TT' nickname, that I now love. It has been quite the journey for me from the turtle of yesterday to the turtle of today and one I'm glad I was able to travel. What started out as a very sad day and life path has turned in to the most beautiful and exciting time of my life. I couldn't be happier and more thankful for the heartache that put me right here right now.

I will be forever tied to the turtle and in the most personal of ways, since I now sport a turtle tattoo on my left wrist, bottom side. It is sitting just at the spot that you place two fingers to take a pulse, which was chosen for that exact reason. This turtle is a symbol of my life in the simplest of ways - life!

Thanks Zeena for the reminder of why I love turtles and the special place they hold in my heart. All this from a little e-mail about a very unique pair of stitching scissors. Isn't life funny like that?!

A Lifetime of Secrets

For the past three years Frank Warren has invited people of all backgrounds and nationalities to send him creatively decorated postcards bearing secrets they have never before revealed. He has shared these PostSecrets on his award-winning blog, http://postsecret.blogspot.com/, in an internationally traveling art exhibit, and in three electrifying books: the bestselling PostSecret, My Secret, and The Secret Lives of Men and Women.

Now, in his most extraordinary book yet, Warren again delves into our collective confessions, presenting a never-before-seen selection of provocative and moving PostSecrets. A Lifetime of Secrets lays bare our private fears, hopes, regrets, and desires, from people as young as eight and as old as eighty. From painful admissions of infidelity to breathtaking revelations and endearing sentiments, Warren’s latest collection will shock and move readers of every age, revealing secrets that have haunted their creators for a lifetime.
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I read through this book once already. It took me about 45 minutes and some of what I read will probably remain with me forever. I may not remember the exact words, but the thoughts and feelings brought to the surface through the words will be their legacy.

I will list a few that struck me. The impact will not be as astounding without the art accompanying the text, but I shall give it my best effort.

My momma bear Thank you for never, ever leaving me alone with him. I wish grandma had protected you. (The post card is the face of a grizzly bear with block lettering)

I saved stamps the whole year long so I could make my grandmother a real crafty christmas present. She didn't make it that long. I can't stop saving them. (The postcard is a mish mash of stamps)

You are what I never knew I have been looking for all along. (Smiling mouth of a woman)

I handed the most important person in my life the drugs that killed him. (Printed on a piece of paper with type written words scratched out and a large sunflower coming up from the left corner of the paper)

New Stitching Goal Layout

I've come upon the idea from another blogger, Chris, that I'm going to try for a while. I stumbled upon her blog and in reading discovered she is trying to work 1 hour per week on her UFO's. Seeing as I have many UFO's myself, I thought this would be a great idea for me, as well. Chris has started a UFO 2008 board. I've yet to introduce myself, but I will at some point.

I'm posting a pic of Mirabilia's Halloween Fairy that I will be focusing on for completion.

Here she is as of this morning at 5 hours
I'll be back with an update in another 5 hours or so.

I had many pieces to choose from as you will see by the following list:

Angel Proclamation
The Bride
Halloween Fairy
Be Warm Be Welcome
Bubbles
Middy
Treetop Sampler
Giggles Girl
My Stocking

Hmmmmm, always thinking, always planning!

Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich

Wild Bill is up to his gonads in trouble. Never the brightest spark, he's hired himself out as a boat captain to some shady American investors who have him ferrying unknown objects -- and the occasional Florida politician -- in and out of Cuba. Everything's going well, until an honest politician realizes the boat-trip will land him deep in Castro's pocket, with Bill's bosses netting a lucrative Cuban real estate package as their reward for securing his vote. When the politician threatens to go public, all hell breaks loose -- and Bill disappears. Dispatched to Florida to find her worthless baby brother, Alexandra 'Barney' Barnaby, the brains of the family, isn't too happy about trading her well-paid-if-boring job in Baltimore for the bugs and heat and bad-hair-day humidity of South Beach. Doing the rounds of Wild Bill's broken-hearted bimbos, she's thinking things can't get much worse than being unemployed and sunburned in Florida. Too bad for Barney -- she's wrong about the getting worse part.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Entertaining and funny at parts.

Love with a Capital L - 130 hours

My most recent updated photo of Love. I'm starting to feel that the end is near on this one. I know in all actuality I have a lot to do yet, but it's easier to believe I'm almost finished.

I'm coming to the realization this will probably not get finished before Christmas, but I'm still going to continue on with it as a focus piece until it is complete, whenever that may be. It's about the journey, not always the destination.

Lest We Forget

I'm posting this a day early because I won't be around tomorrow.

Thank you to the service men and women that afford us the luxury of the life we live. Your sacrifices are much appreciated.

October Stitch-A-Thon Progress

This would be Love at the beginning of October, before the Stitch-A-Thon started.





This would be the end of October after logging 57 hours 5 minutes. I can't believe the difference I've made in one month. I couldn't be happier with the progress! I feel like I'm so close to getting this finished although I know I still have probably another 50-60 hours, but soon enough this will be gracing my bedroom wall. That will be quite the feeling.


Thanks for looking and, as always, happy stitching to you!

Smokin' Needle

I've been inspired! I'm back with another update. I knew I'd get some stitching time this weekend, but didn't expect to find 10 hours. I must admit I haven't done any reading so that right there will free up a lot of time.

I'm more than half way finished now. Pam, always the motivator, thinks if I keep at it I can get this one finished by the end of November. Now wouldn't that be something. You'll feel the earth move if I do, for all the jumping up and down I'll be doing. I'm not sure if I can do this or not, but it is now my mini goal. Wish me luck.

Happy stitching days to you.

Hot Six - Janet Evanovich Book #36

Low-rent bounty hunter Stephanie Plum reaches depths of personal experience that other women detectives never quite do. In Hot Six, for example, a sequence of new and hideous cars bite the dust; she finds herself lumbered with a policeman's multiply incontinent dog; and she has several bad skin days. All this when she is trying to prove her distinctly more competent colleague and occasional boyfriend Ranger innocent of a mob hit; avoid the heavies trailing her in the hope of finding him; and cope with a wife-abusing bail-defaulter with nasty habits such as setting Stephanie on fire. The peculiar joy of this series is the comic sense of place; Plum's New Jersey is one where everyone you meet, even the most dangerous of criminals, was at school with you, or stole your mother's first boyfriend, or gave your great-aunt a middling good recipe for meatloaf. Evanovich has built up an attractive cast of comic characters with Stephanie's extended family and those of her two boyfriends, the dashing and sinister Ranger and Joe Morelli (the cop whose family are only too keen on his marrying Stephanie). Hot Six will not disappoint either her fans or newcomers.
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There are times when I'm exasperated by the naivete of this character and then in the next paragraph I'm laughing my head off. Go figure. I'll continue reading this series, but more for the relationship between Stephanie and Joe than for anything to do with her other story lines or her bounty hunter prowess.

Oh Lukcy Me

It has been quite some time since I've done a post about me. I'm usually going on about my stitching, my weight or a book I've read. There are other things in my life, if you can believe it. Things that make me so incredibly happy.

I find I'm very much more in tune with my feelings and thoughts over the last couple years. I no longer live on auto remote, but more aware of what goes on around me. I've yet to decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Regardless, I'm happy so that is a major improvement and something that I cherish deeply.

My life is still full and busy. I don't know where to find the time to get things accomplished, as well as meeting all the demands and needs of those around me. I struggle daily to find balance between my personal needs to those of what is required of me at home. I'm not home near as much as I should be, but that is slowly changing and I'm home a little more frequently. My time with Todd isn't as much in quantity as it once was, but things are still good. Now that being said, I'm not sure when I'm going to lay eyes on him again, probably somewhere close to a week. It is painful, but such as things are right now!

The juggle of time and schedules that I do to spend time with T is worth it in the end. I'm still very much in awe of how happy I am with him, not to say things are perfect. There will always be an issue of some sort in any relationship. There is this sense of freedom, peace and strength I get from this relationship. I'm not perfect, nor do I expect perfection from him, but this is as close to heavenly as I've ever been, as far as a relationship goes. Being in a long term relationship and to see it end is painful and not something I would wish on anyone, but the pay off for me personally has been huge. I couldn't be happier and it stems from some major personal growth on my part and being able to share in the simple day to day life of him. I find one of my biggest thrills is to see a smile on his face. How is it a smile on his face can bring a quickening of my heart (no lies or exaggeration there)? I'm still in awe of the simplicity and depth of how I feel for him and how I feel when I'm with him. There are times that leaving and coming home (a place I truly love to be) is painful and more difficult than I can understand.

Lily has gotten her first job this past week. That is going to make me crazy busy and really cut into 'me' (translation - Todd) time, but I know that is the gift and burden of a single parent. The alternative is not near as pretty and I'll take being a single parent taxi cab to the alternative any day. I can't believe how much Lily has grown lately. To think my baby girl has her first job is 'WOW' to me! I hope she enjoys her job and learns the true value of a dollar.

Anyway, nothing much else going on in my life at the moment. Just some special feelings for a special someone. I walk around with a sweet smile and a gentleness in my heart that I thought was long exhausted and gone. Oh, lucky me it's not!

Love With a Capital L - 110 hours

I'm back with another update and I couldn't be happier with the progress I made this go around. The left corner piece is the half way mark so as soon as I finish the verse on the right side that is partially started, I'll be officially more than half way complete. WOOHOO

I can't even come close to expressing how much I love this piece (no pun intended). The more I work on it the more I love it. There was a time where I wanted to move to something else and now I couldn't imagine putting this down to work on another piece. It would break my heart.

As always, thanks for looking. I appreciate all your comments and encouragement.

High Five - Janet Evanovich

"Uncle Fred was someone I saw at weddings and funerals and once in a while at Giovichinni's Meat Market, ordering a quarter pound of olive loaf. Eddie Such, the butcher, would have the olive loaf on the scale and Uncle Fred would say: 'You've got the olive loaf on a piece of waxed paper. How much does that piece of waxed paper weigh? You're not gonna charge me for that waxed paper, are you? I want some money off for the waxed paper.' "
The speaker is Stephanie Plum, the glamorous if slightly ditsy bounty hunter from Trenton, New Jersey, and one of the most original creations in recent mystery fiction.

In this fifth entry in Janet Evanovich's increasingly popular series, Stephanie's problems are many and varied. She's not making enough moneypicking up FTAs (Failures to Appear) for her cousin Vinnie, of Vincent PlumBail Bonds; her red-hot love affair with Detective Joe Morelli has cooled off; and her giant extended family is no help at all. For instance, Uncle Fred the cheapskate has disappeared, leaving behind some suspicious photographs of body parts in garbage bags and links to some really dangerous people.

When Stephanie turns to her friend and mentor, Ranger, for financial advice, he gets her involved in a gang of toughs doing instant evictions for landlords. (She complains to Ranger about the job and its dangers, prompting one of the hired thug to say, "Man, you don't like to get shot. You don't like to get arrested. You don't know how to have fun at all.")

Most of Stephanie's charm, of course, comes from her attitude--a combination of the brazen bravado that turns a failed lingerie model into bounty hunter in the first place and the normal fears of a person in over her head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, what can I say? Another in the hilarious life and times of Stephanie Plum. A fun and entertaining read. Damn it to hell!!! I need to know who was at the door at the end. As if I (we) wouldn't read book #6! Who the heck did she call???? GRRRRR :)

Sad Day In My Yankee Heart

I'm a day late in posting this, but it is still something I felt I must do. I've been debating for the last day if I was going to post this or not. As you can see, I made my decision.

It is a sad day for this Yankee fan! Joe Torre is no longer heading up the Yankees and this is something that is going to take some getting used to for me. I have a great fondness for Joe Torre, not just because of all glory he's brought to the Yankees, but more for the quiet manner in which he did it! He is a class act and wherever he goes, whatever he does, whoever hires him in whatever capacity will lucky to have him.

I know my post and thoughts will not do Joe the justice he deserves. Maybe that is just going to be the kind of week Joe's having because the Yankees sure did a poor job of giving Joe his just. I'm sad to know he's leaving or has left, but the Yankees handled the situation poorly and with little class, that it only makes Joe's departure all the more difficult to accept.

Love Sweet Love - 100 hours

Life has gotten the better of me this week, so I'm a bit long between updates. At 100 hours I have almost all the curlies completed, so much so that I'll no longer be doing a running countdown. I will be extremely happy to put them behind me. I've taken a different approach to them, that I copied from Tami , and since I've done that the results are coming quicker. Thanks, Tami!

I am still wanting to work on another piece, but then I think of missing this piece so in the end stay with this one in hopes of getting it finished soon.

The funny thing about how much I like this piece, I've never been much in the way of liking samplers. That was until this piece captured my heart. I love it and can see it becoming one of my all-time favorite pieces, at least in the top 3 of all my pieces.

Thanks for always being here to watch my pieces come together. As always, I very much appreciate your comments and compliments.

Vanish - Tess Gerritsen

A blessed event becomes a nightmare for pregnant homicide detective Jane Rizzoli when she finds herself on the wrong side of a hostage crisis in this timely and relentless new thriller from the New Your Times bestselling author of Body Double.

A nameless, beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. An apparent suicide, she lies on a gurney awaiting the dissecting scalpel of medical examiner Maura Isles. But when Maura unzips the body bag and looks down as the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens it eyes.

Very much alive, the woman is rushed to the hospital, where, with shockingly cool precision, she murders a security guard and seizes hostages…one of them a pregnant patient, Jane Rizzoli.

Who is this violent, desperate soul, and what does she want? As the tense hours tick by, Maura joins forces with Jane’s husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean, to track down the mysterious killer’s identity. When federal agents suddenly appear on the scene, Maura and Gabriel realize that they are dealing with a case that goes far deeper than just an ordinary hostage crisis.

Only Jane, trapped with the armed madwoman, holds the key to the mystery. And only she can solve it-if she survives the night.
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This was a great book; number 5 of the Jane Rizzoli series. As much as I enjoyed the book, the subject matter was extremely disturbing. I find Tess Gerritsen really has a way of verbally painting such a vivid picture it can feel as though you are living right along side the drama of the moment.

If I've enticed one on my blog readers to pick up this book, beware!

Seriously, Slippers

Is that what I think it is? Another needle craft? Seriously? (Said in full Grey's Anatomy tone).

Pam and I went to Kathy's last night so I could learn how to stitch. I know how to stitch, but that is all I know how to do and calling what I do knitting is stretch by any stretch of the imagination. If I get into trouble I don't know how to salvage my mistakes. I would have to keep plugging away with my mistakes and all. I'm a very tight stitcher, which I knew from my previous endeavours with yarn. I have graduated to tight stitches and not squeaking yarn against needle. It was painful to watch. You wonder how I would know how it is painful to watch. Hmmmm. Could it be the bang on impressions done by Pam, at my expensive. She thinks she's a funny girl. I have to agree, but don't tell her I said so!

I'm hoping to turn the above supplies and instructions into Aunt Maggie's Slippers I keep calling them socks, but I am honestly hoping to have myself some slippers at some point in my life. I'll try to be optimistic about this and say, 'I'd like to have them in the next couple months or so, before the spring anyway!'

Stay tuned for future updates and to witness the nightmare or the triumph. I'm not sure what the end result will be, but it promises to be fun, if not a little frustrating too.

Love Is In the Air - 90 hours

I'm making some really good progress this week and couldn't be happier with how this piece is coming together.

Curly count : 27/45 These things just drive me crazy, as much as I like the way they look.

I'm really happy with my decision to focus on this piece for a bit. I do have to give credit to those that pushed me in this direction. You know who you are, so thanks again. I must admit though I'm hearing the faint calling of some other pieces. It is just an echo of a call right now though and hopefully it stay that way. I'll do my best to ignore and see if it goes away. If I can continue with kind of progress I might be successful, lets hope so! I would really like to have another finish this year and this piece is my best bet, I think. Wouldn't that be something, me finishing something?!

Thanks for taking the time to look and to post your comments. They are great to read!

Happy Stitching days to you!

Love with a Capital L - 80 hours

Here in all it's splendor.
















The section I focused on this last rotation. I must have moved when I was taking the photo and I'm too lazy to go upstairs and redo it.





I'm currently working on my 4th skein of floss right now. The last week alone I used one full skein, something that really shocked me. I've been stitching alot this week and hope to continue that trend throughout the month because of the stitchathon on the Cross Stitch Crazy Board For those of you that are keeping count along with me, I've 25/45 curly cues finished. I've devised a plan that each time I pick this piece up, I stitch one strand length of the curly cues. Aren't I so clever???

Happy stitching days to you.

It's Okay!

I really want to get out of the 130's, but I can live with this number for one more week. The only person that can make this change is me. I can talk and talk all I like, but without the walk walk nothing is going to change! Walk Walk! Who the heck am I kidding I want to get back to running! How do I do that if I don't do anything to move????

My goals this week

• Eat more vegetables
• Get in my 8 glasses of water daily
• Do something physical, even 2o minutes 3 x this week

I will not let this define me. I will make an effort to incorporate a new attitude into how I do things from here on out. I love my life I want to be at a place where I can say I love my body!

What Was I Thinking?

I'm the queen of ideas, all kinds of ideas and sometimes they are just nuts!

I walked today for the first time since I've decided to log my distance to Yankee Stadium which is 662 KM.

Now get ready for this because it is huge! I logged 1.2KM today! How great is that?

October
2 - 1.2 KM
3 - 1.2 KM
5 - 5.4 KM (bike)
15 - 2KM (walked to Richardson)
16 - 2KM (walked to Richardson)
30 - 8KM (walked/run with Krista)
October Totals - 19.8

November
3 - 2KM (walked with Todd)
5 - 3.5KM - treadmill 15 laps
5 - 5KM - treadmill 12 laps
7- 1KM - treadmill
8 - 6.4KM - treadmill
9 - 5.2KM - treadmill
13 - 5KM
13 - 13.3KM bike
14 - 2.4 KM - treadmill
21 - 2KM - run on the street. Sorry KP :(
23 - 4KM - treadmill
26 - 3KM - treadmill
30 - 1.2KM - treadmill
November Totals - 54KM

Total Distance Travelled:
Distance To Go: 588.2

I know I'm very sarcastic about how little I've done, but it is a start and I will build on this because it will eventually happen! I must have faith in myself that I can meet the challenge I've set for myself, with the help of my friends. I'm not happy with my body shape right now, but I don't have the drive to push myself to change. That really is the issue! How important is it to me to lose these newly gained 10lbs?

Drop Dead Beautiful - Jackie Collins

Get ready for the scandalously scintillating read only Jackie Collins can deliver! Lucky Santangelo is back with a vengeance--still every bit as strong, sexy, and seductive as ever! But Lucky is older and wiser, and hot to reclaim her power position in Las Vegas. However, a deadly enemy from her past has resurfaced--a person determined to take everything from her, including the family she holds so dear: two sons and an out-of-control teenage daughter who is just as outrageous as Lucky herself. Like mother, like daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In true Jackie Collins fashion this one was awesome! It has been way too long since I've read a Jackie Collins novel. What could be better than widdling a day away with a little smut and a lot of action!

Love with a Capital L - 70 hours

I'm back with another update. Oh, how I love stitchy days. I knew I would be able to find some time to stitch today, but I didn't expect to hit the 70 hour mark. WOOHOO!!!! My stitch-a-thon is off to a great start. Curly cue status: Still 21/45. I was supposed to make some progress on them this go around, but the visit from the frog threw me off track.

Again, happy stitchy days to you.

You Do Know We Live In The Suburbs?

I've made an effort to 'countrify' my front step this year. I'm very much in the way of wanting to be in the country and since that isn't happening at the moment I thought I could bring a bit of the country to me.

I have a funny about the front step from Lily. She is such a quick witted kid and makes me laugh quite often. I'm arranging things on the step and think it's coming along okay. There is also a wooden picket fence in the front of the yard that you can't see in this pic. Lily comes outside to check on my progress and the conversation goes something like this:

Lily- You do know we live in the suburbs, right?
Me- Yes
Lily- Well, it looks very much like the country with this display and the wooden fence along with your front door.
Me- That is the point
Lily-Well, it looks kinda funny this country look and a Camry sitting in the driveway
Me- Ya think? (Insert as much sarcasm as you'd like)
Lily- Maybe you should go all the way and buy yourself an old beater truck and it would be even more country!

The little snot-box although I was laughing my rear off, she has a point. Oh, how I would love to have a little truck. Wouldn't that just about send her around the bend! She probably would like it and not to mention girls and truck = hot!

I need to get myself a little pumpkin and then I think I'll be finished. I just love Autumn and all the colours on display.

September and October Stitching Thoughts

I made some progress on this piece as much as you can't really tell. I played host to that damn frog most of this rotation. The very bottom part, I miscounted 3 times. I ask myself, 'If I can't count past 4 properly, how in the hell did I graduate Kindergarten?' Anyone?

I am going to keep Love as my focus piece for now. I really want to have this one completed sooner rather than later, so I'm going to keep working on it rather than moving all around my rotation pieces. Wish me luck!

This is a new piece I started in September. It is a gift for a friend. What you see here is about 5 hours of work, not a lot, but with all the colour changes, not too bad.


My contribution on the Finish It 3 piece from the CSC board I worked on the red part around the edge and some of the browns, doing fill in work. The fabric that has been used for this piece is amazing, a little difficult to see at times, but absolutely gorgeous. It is now off to Velda. I think she's going to love it and will probably make a lot more progress than I.

September Accomplishments
I was able to stitch a total of 29 hours. I shoot for an hour per day, but fell just a wee bit short this month. I love my life, but sometimes I'm so busy that getting time for 'me' is just not in the cards. Thankfully I have a job that allows me to stitch while I work!

October Goals
There is a month long stitch-a-thon on Cross Stitch Crazy board which is always an inspiration to put needle to thread. It is such fun. I've set my personal goal at between 5000-8000 stitches. I can do this!

Will work on:

• Love With A Capital L
• Finish It 3 piece - Enchanted Alphabet
• Maybe another rotation piece, maybe not.

Happy stitching days to you all.