I'm So Weak

This would be the JLO winter coat I bought for myself last night at Burlington Coat Factory while on my trip to the states. I think I'm becoming a coat connoisseur. I'm supposed to be on a spending freeze and that didn't last all that long. I tried though. I really did. I left the store and then ended up back there, as if on remote, to spoil myself. I don't know what I've done that I think deserves a spoiling, but I did it!

I don't know that I always trust the price tag when it states Suggested Retail price of... $200. This is what the tag read and I paid $99.00. I put the coat on and it felt like a hug. That was the deal breaker of the shopping freeze right there.

I'm not a lover of winter. As a matter of fact I hate winter, but this year it will be much more enjoyable with my new coat! If I have to suffer through the cold and yuck, I want to look good doing it!

Stitching Stuff

I'm just cleaning up my stitching for the evening errrr, for the morning. I'm here at work and I'm exhausted and happy all at once.

I was able to stitch just over 5 hours the past two nights while working 6p-2am. Tonight's showing has 17 colours on my desk and another near pic update. As much I seemed to be changing colours after only 2 or 3 stitches, I think you can really notice a difference. The flower section is much fuller looking. My week is pretty full from here on out, but hopefully by next Tuesday or Wednesday I'll have another update shot to share.

With my upcoming move to the condo, I had to switch some of my shifts around to enable me to be around on Todd's schedule to help him move stuff. This is good and bad.

Bad: I'm working evenings.
Good: I'm working evenings so I can stitch while I'm at work.

I'm a really sick turn around shift tonight. Off at 2am and back in to work for 7am. Ugly and gross no matter how you slice it! I will fall into bed tomorrow night a zombie.

That's all the nattering I have for you tonight.

Sweet dreams to all!

Wildflower Rhapsody - 45 + hours

I'm figuring when life gets crazy, put needle to fabric and you can create magic. I'm not so sure about the magic, but I'm certainly making some good progress with my stitching.

I pretty much finished up the flower jug and then focused on cleaning up the remaining stitching on the left side of the design. I'm nearly finished all the stitches between the water pump handle the edge of the pump. I'm getting in to the time consuming part now. All and all I still love working on this piece which is good!

I'm working one more late shift this week 6p-2am, so I could very well be back with another update sooner rather than later. Don't hold your breath though, because we all know how hectic my life can get in the blink of an eye!

As always, thanks for looking and for your wonderfully supportive comments!

Life, As It Is

Things here have been hectic to say the least which must be obvious by the fact that I'm never here anymore. I post quick book reads and even quick stitching updates and that seems to be all I have time for anymore.

I'm in a cycle of my life that I hate. I know I should be happy, what with the building of a new house. That is not turning out quite how it was envisioned. The ground breaking was to be August 15th. As of now, this very minute, we are 10 days behind and it will be longer than that before we get the house started.

The problem being that the lot is 50' at the front and 46' at the back, starting right at the very front of the yard to decrease. So, the problem being our house layout was planned with a 50' lot in mind, but to be true it really is a 46' yard. Translation: Our house is too big for our lot. We need to shave off 18". In the grand scheme of the whole world that isn't much, but in a house it is huge! I'm lost at trying to contribute valuable ideas. Cute boy, on the other hand, as annoyed and frustrated as he is, has been great about coming up with ideas. The problem being faced right now is to get the architect to return calls and now the contractor!

This would be the most recent update on the house. So, rather than being here posting progress pics of the house, I'm here updating you on the melodrama surrounding the non-building of my home. Such fun!

Other aspects of life are going well, I guess.

I'm full time at my job now. It has taken me 9 years and 1 month to move from part time to full time status. I've worked in a full time capacity for the majority of the last year with a few part time schedules thrown in to keep it stressful and interesting. I'm happy to be full time to know I'm off every weekend and paid for holidays. I've been officially time since August 14th and just filled out my paperwork on Friday. The first phone call I made this morning was to the dentist. I can not wait to go to the dentist! The funny things people worry about and I'm worried about getting my teeth properly cleaned. Ya me!

I'm in the process of getting Princess ready for back to school. I took her today to file the paperwork to transfer schools. She didn't transfer because she needed to because of the eventual move, but because she just wanted to transfer schools. Her and I started her back to school shopping today, as well. I've usually finished it up by now, but things being what they are, I've been delaying. Her and I are heading to the States on Wednesday night to do some shopping. With Princess, should be a good time.

I don't even know where to begin with the Queen's situation. I found out today she doesn't plan on going back to school in a week. She's going to go to a Second Chance program instead. I'm so frustrated I could scream my head off or cry until I'm all cried out, but I'll not. What is the point? She will be 18 y.o. in February and I feel like her life is just - NOT! I'm not sure if you know what I'm trying to say. I don't even know if I know what I'm trying to say here. I look at her life and it breaks my heart. I know I can't do anything about her situation right now, but to sit by and watch your child squander away what could have been, should have been, a good life, is just painful. I guess I'm just left to love her right now. I hope that is enough because I'm at a loss for anything else.

I think that is as much of an update as I can mentally formulate right now.

Know I'm around even I'm not blogging!

Hugs,

~TT

You Make Me Smile

It was bound to happen and one night it did, poppa came home and it was just us kids... oh sorry that is a Garth song. I got lost there for a minute. What I meant to say, it was bound to happen, that someone would nominate my blog. I think not because I deserve it Velda! More because I'm easy! LOL

1. The winner can put the logo on her/his blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you nominated.

I shall list my nominees and the reasons why.

1. Velda - You are of my heart. My ability to just 'be' is gift not offered by many. I love you!

2. Bre - I tip my hat to you. You've really become an inspiration for me. I eagerly await each new post to see what new challenge your conquered.

3. Cathey - You are one of the most incredible women, I'm yet to 'meet'. You're hilarious in the face of life's challenges and your approach to life and it's many peaks and valleys is the way I would love to tackle things I'm forced to face!

4. Amy - Your attitude is awesome! Your commitment (as much as you are struggling right now) is incredible. You rock!

5. Chiloe - Your stitching is an inspiration and a joy to watch grow.

I never expect for others to follow along and post their own, just consider yourself acknowledged and appreciated!

The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs

Casting on! It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia's store linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. Finding a pattern! And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. These women are of different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit. The Friday Night Knitting Club - don't you want to join?

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Book # 22 - Phenomenal is the word used to best describe this book. I've never read a book twice, but this one I could very well read again and again. It was incredible. If you've never read any of the books I've listed here, and you're wanting to one day, this is the one I suggest for you.

Awww, The Vision of Tranquility

I took this picture on my way to work the other day. This picture is pretty, minus the hydro wires, but doesn't really even touch the true beauty.

This is where I want to be, what I want to feel, how I want to live. I'm far from that, but it's okay to dream, right? It will a while before I'll feel this sense of peace I sense in this picture. I'll get there one day and until I do, I'll come back to this picture for a mental pick up.

Wildflower Rhapsody - 40 hours

I'm back!

I've been trying to commit to my stitching a little more the last couple days. It's amazing what you can accomplish if just given a desire and the time to spend.

I'm so happy to have found my stitching mojo again. I know there are some that have commented on other blogs about their missing mojo. Well, rest assured your mojo just may be on the way home to you. I thought mine was lost forever, but it seems not to be the case. I couldn't be happier to know I'm working towards another finish.

As with each time before this and for every time to come, thank you for your encouragement and kind words. It is for my adoring public I strive to be the person you 'see' before you. It is with you in mind, I pull each thread and cross every 'x'.

Married Lovers - Jackie Collins

Cameron Paradise, a stunningly beautiful twenty-four-year-old personal trainer, flees her abusive boyfriend in Australia and ends up in L.A. Cameron soon gets a job at a private fitness club where she encounters the city's most important players. She has plans to open her own studio, and while every man she meets comes on to her, she is focused on working hard and saving money to achieve her goal. Until she meets Ryan Lambert, that is. An extremely successful independent movie producer, he's married to overly privileged Mandy Lambert, the daughter of Hamilton J. Heckerling, a Hollywood power-player son-of-a-bitch mogul. Ryan has never cheated on his demanding Hollywood Princess wife, but when he meets Cameron, all bets are off. Only internationally bestselling author Jackie Collins knows what happens when lust and desire collide with marriage and power. And the results lead to murder.

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Book #21 - I love love love a tawdry read every once in a while. This book fit the bill perfectly. Since I've been on top of Jackie Collins' offerings for quite some time now, I don't get the opportunity to read her stuff too often. I was pleasantly surprised to see she had a new book out.

This book was everything and more you would expect from a novel of this genre. I read late in to the night and all day just to finish it. Now that I've finished it, I'll miss it.

Destructive Daisy

Daisy has taken it upon herself to destroy her purse. I came home from work to see her purse on the dresser so she could no longer shower the rec room with her purse stuffing. Cute Boy was babysitting and Daisy took full advantage. Bad girl! ;)

I guess you can't make a rag-a-muffin dog a lady no matter how you dress her up.

Wildflower Rhapsody - 35 hours

Hard to believe I actually have a stitching entry on a stitching themed blog. Who'd a thunk it?

I've been so busy with life lately that I've had no desire or better yet, time to stitch. I'm working evenings this week and I was determined to make progress towards another picture block! I did it and couldn't be happier.

I'm going to focus on this piece until it is finished, as much out of a desire to get it finished as I am because the only other piece in my possession is Halloween Fairy and I'm in need of supplies for her.

So, Wildflower Rhapsody it is, all in it's mish mash point of completion. Is it obvious that I have issues with focusing on one thing. There is a plant pot that is partially finished, one that is 99.9% done and then the water jug started. I'm avoiding the flowers a little bit because are beautiful yet nasty to work on all at once. I guess every stitch needs to be crossed so how I do it shouldn't matter right?

As always, thanks for looking!

Wildflower Rhapspdy - 35 hours

I used the Photobucket addition and holy wow, is this big! LOL

Country Music and No Surprise

How Much Do You Know About Country Music?

You Know A Lot About Country Music You listen to it all, the new and the old, you pay attention to the words and I am guessing you like what you hear because you know a lot about country music.

How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic

Now this one, I agree with. I'm a country music crazy!

My Word Marilyn!

What Classic Bombshell Are You?

Marilyn Monroe You are Marilyn Monroe! You are a true sex goddess. Men want you and women want to be you. Your body is flawless and you are the epitome of beauty. You love being in front of the camera and it shows.

How do you compare? Take this test! Tests from Testriffic

I don't believe it. I really don't. Flawless body and the epitome of beauty. I must have not answered the questions honestly, because I just don't see it as fitting me at all. Hmmmm

Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair - Laurie Perry

If you've ever been dumped, duped, or three minutes from crazy, you'll love Crazy Aunt Purl. Side-splittingly funny and profoundly moving, Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair is the true-life misadventures of Laurie Perry, aka Crazy Aunt Purl, a slightly neurotic, displaced Southerner trying to create a new life after her husband leaves her to "get his creativity back." (Whatever the hell that means.) But will she get her groove back in a tiny rented apartment, with a mountain of boxes, visible panty lines, and a slight wine-and-Cheetos problem?

"I was a thirty-something woman living alone with four cats. I was probably going to be divorced. I was on the short bus to crazy. I pictured my grandmother making hoop-skirted yarn cozies for the toilet paper. I pictured myself making doilies for furniture that I did not own. I saw my cats wearing knitted hats with lace appliques. From my vantage point, knitting seemed like 100 percent of some road I did not want to walk down."

Yet, surprisingly, it's knitting that saves her and emboldens her to become fully engaged in life again — to discover new friends; to take risks, however scary; and to navigate the ins and outs of the modern dating scene.

"Dating has changed in a decade. Now there is a higher chance of meeting someone who has an internet porn addiction than someone who has a job. In Los Angeles, your dinner companion might have served time in Pelican Bay or run a meth lab. Or, worst of all, he might spend all night talking about his agent, his craft, and what it means to grow as an actor. Then he'll ask you to read his screenplay."

And such is life in this quirky, irreverent memoir, a spin-off of the blog phenomenon, www.crazyauntpurl.com, one of the most successful online diaries in history, exploding to an international fan base of enthusiastic readers. But don't worry, you don't have to knit to love Aunt Purl. You just have to know what it feels like to have loved, to have lost, or to have taken a leap of faith.

We've all been there: Pass the wine.

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Book # 20 - OMG what a hilarious book. I really wish I'd discovered this book when I was in the early days of my separation. It would have given me a good chuckle and a few moments of clarity. I suggest this to any and all whether you've been divorced or not. It his great fun!

Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, the bombshell bounty hunter from New Jersey, already has problems. Her relationship with Joe Morelli is so complicated it's now over. Plus, her attractive, if terrifying, mentor and tormentor Ranger has decided he's ready to collect his reward. But Steph can always count on her family to add to her troubles. When her mother and Grandma gang up to insist she finds their neighbour's missing granddaughter Evelyn and her child Annie, Steph can't refuse. Mabel Markowitz signed a custody bond guaranteeing Annie would stay in Trenton after her parents' divorce. Now Evelyn and Annie have vanished, Mabel will lose her house to True Blue Bail Bonds Agency. But following their trail is not simple. Where have they gone? What does property lord and war game fanatic, Eddie Abruzzi really want? And why is a giant rabbit stalking Steph?

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

Book # 19 - Typical storyline. Funnier than I've found the last few books. I was shocked by ONE happening which was great!

Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police. But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book #18 - This is my first ever Patricia Cornwell and based on this one, there will be more. I really enjoyed this book. Not the smartest thing to finish it at 12:30a when you have to work in the morning and you're home alone. Again, not smart!

A Day In The Life of....

a sauce pot of a puppy.

Told by Daisy - My mommy attempted to strip her bedding today, but I had other ideas. She thought she could lure me away with treats. Does she really think I'm that easy? Hmmmph! I showed her who was running this show and as much as she thinks it's her, I know different! I let her think she's got it going on, but when I don't want to do something I don't. It is plainly obvious to everyone, but my Mommy and girl (Princess) that they know nothing about the art of manipulation. One bat of my big brown eyes and I'm the winner of every fight!

This picture tells of the abuse I live with day in and day out. My mommy left me in the yard by myself and I got into a world of a mess. I dug up in front of the shed and was hiding in the cool dirt. Don't I look lover-ly with my muddy muck paws. Again, I win. Mommy abused me and now she's fawning all over me apologizing for leaving me in the yard to my own vices. I keep up with the pitiful abused expressions until I can no longer stand the constant petting and kisses. It is fun! I tell ya, the life I live is a-w-e-s-o-m-e! I've got this family wrapped around my little finger, okay maybe not my little finger, since they all seem the same size really. You know what I mean!

Awwww, a dog's life

Job's Tears Finished and Framed

Not the greatest clarity, but you get the idea. I love the frame, but I'm not sold on the amount of mat. I think there is too much mat and not enough fabric. At first, I absolutely hated it. That opinion changed a bit over the days it was sitting in my office.

This gift was presented to Susanne (Sam) on Wednesday. Here last day of work was Thursday and we wanted her to have it before her last day to try and stave off the emotions of the situation. I worked, but not really. :)

The frame was sitting on her chair when she came in to the office and when she saw it she gasped. Hand on heart she kept saying "OMG, I can't believe this. I'm going to have this forever". I was crying, she was crying. It was when she explained, the comment 'I'm going to have this forever', that I really choked up. She is going to give it to her daughther when she passes (I don't want to think about that). It was pretty special. I'm honoured to be able to be part of giving her such a perfect gift.

It took Sam about 5 minutes to say to me, "I watched you stitch this over the years. I watched you and loved it! I can't believe I watched you make this for me." I quit bringing out in front of her when I got close to the end because I was fearful of the fact she would realize it was being stitched for her.

I give thanks to the girls in my office for contributing to the framing and making this gift possible. Love you!

August Distance Challenge - Yankee Stadium

July's Distance - 32KM
Distance To Go - 292.7K

August
1- 1.1K - walked the block at work

I'm hoping for a more physical driven month than previous months. I'm going work towards a goal of 45KM this month.