Busy, Busy!

Hello my lovelies!

Can you believe I was off for 10 days and my apartment looks the same and I'm running around like a chicken with her head cut off?! Some things just never change. I do have to say that I had a wonderful time off from work and it was mighty hard to drag myself into work Tuesday morning.

In the last days of my furlough, I managed to:

~Go to the Walt Disney Family Museum and learn more about the man behind those fantastic movies I loved as a kid (who am I kidding, I still love them now!) and Disneyland. It was wonderful.
~Tried chinese soup dumplings which I'm still on the fence about.
~Saw The Artist which was fantastic and I recommend highly is you like classic films, the silent era and/or black and white cinematography. Loved it!
~Had a facial and was told by the estetician that I have nearly flawless skin and who was shocked that I was 36 because she thought I was 28. God, I loved that! I'd keep her if I wasn't so loyal to my Russian estetician who I've been seeing forever.
~Read a book...The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. It was a good read but I preferred The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose.
~Made a pot of soup.
~Saw My Week with Marilyn which I was pleasantly surprised over. Michelle Williams did a great job exuding the spirit of Marilyn and the insecurities she must have felt during her rise to stardom. Fantastic and I recommend this one too!
~Had a nice visit with an old friend who has the knack for making me believe the things I don't from other people. You know, the comments about being beautiful and having a lot of things going for me and being a good person. It's rejuvenating to hear and I've decided to listen for a change, hold it close to my heart and allow it to carry me through. I feel a little spring in my step and feel better than I have in ages!
~Saw The Descendants. Sad movie but well done.
~Met up with a friend who's starting a new relationship. I hope I imparted some good wisdom. "Don't change because they want you to. Change because YOU want to. Don't lose yourself. Be true to who you are." I'm hoping I don't lose another male friend due to female jealousy and insecurities but only time will tell.

So you can probably imagine that I haven't gotten as much stitching done on my furlough as I had hoped. And I did not start my Fairy Moon BAP on New Year's Day. I've decided to carry on with my stocking until it is done and I need to start a small project that a fellow stitcher was kind enough to lend me the chart for and can be my "carry around" project since I can't take the stocking with me anywhere. Once I finish the stocking, I'll start Fairy Moon and it will obviously have to be my "at home" project since it's so big!

In the meantime, the stocking seems to stitch up fairly quick and I am about halfway done!

I somehow need to find the time to put away Christmas and drag a tree down three flights of stairs! It's much more fun to put up decorations than take them down!

I noticed that I am about 6 followers away from hitting the 200 mark. I'm planning a little surprise for when I hit 200 followers and to also say goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit. The year wasn't how I had dreamed but it was a good year for me nonetheless and I'm incredibly grateful to put that terrible streak of bad luck behind me. It will be time for the Dragons to have their fun. So if you're not a follower, become one! I'll have a little surprise worked up in the next couple of weeks or so.

Until next time...

Buh-bye Weekend!

Ugh...Monday already?! How did that happen? I really could use another day. I'm sure there are loads of people who feel that same way too.

I had grand plans this weekend...they pretty much evolved around staying at home all weekend in my pajamas.
See...me in pajamas...these ones are my favorite...red stripes and super warm and comfy.

And watching movies and tv.
I was all ready with my netflix which consisted of Season 1 discs for both The Closer and Bones. Two shows I enjoy which *the boy* doesn't really like watching with me due to the violence and "ewww" factor.

But sometimes, the best laid plans have a couple of bumps along the road. This weekend I felt rather blah and down even though I had it all to myself. I had told *the boy* I needed the weekend to myself since I was worn out and so tired of the stressed and hectic pace of the last few weeks. I wanted to be a futon potato and relax and let tv and a few pampering appointments take care of things. I indulged in sleeping in until 11:30am and soon thereafter I received a call saying my Sunday massage appointment had been cancelled. I really wanted a massage because of the stress and tension but there is also the factor that it's hard getting an appointment with my massage therapist! I headed out for my manicure. Since I had this gift certificate the crazy Russians gave *the boy* to give to me for a local salon, I figured that would be a treat. I was rather disappointed in the ambiance of the salon not to mention they were running 20 minutes late, were super disorganized and did a rather crappy job on my nails. I would not recommend the salon to anyone and ponder doing a yelp review. After the manicure, I looked at new phones and I think I picked out my future cell phone and then headed to Peet's where I did a rather good job of scalding my hand with piping hot coffee. Ouch! And then headed to the neighborhood taqueria for a taco and got the girl who didn't know how to even make one. I had to remind her what went in one as she skipped over ingredients. *sigh* And after all that I had to head over to the parentals so not really the most relaxing day. I was rather spent and cranky after it all.

But that evening, I found a little bit of my stithing mojo and made a small start on my CCN Peace Christmas Ornament. Here is it so far...not bad for absent-minded stitching. I am hoping to finish it entirely by the end of the month. The stitching is no problem...it's the actual finishing that sometimes seems daunting to me.
Sunday was a lot better...I slept in again, watched tv...saw this cute little film and read.
Coraline was a very cute film about how what you want may not always be best or what it seems. I greatly enjoyed it and wheras it was dark, I didn't find it scary...even with the 3-D glasses.

Sunday was a good day but I just wish I had one more day to the weekend! Tomorrow is stitchy night and I don't know what to work on. I know I should work on Edgar's QFRR. I was hoping to strategize between his and the next one so I don't end up stitching the same section three times! And I was really hoping the other stitcher would get back to me over the weekend but it's time I suck it up and take the gamble on which one I do on this one and hope it's a different section on the next one. Housework and stitching...the agenda for tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend...

Until next time...

Weekend Things and Stuff

What a great weekend! *The boy* and I had a funfilled time and I actually started my Monday on a good note. Miracle of miracles! On Friday night, we settled in to watch Semi-Pro with *the boy*. For every 2 Valerie movies, I'll pick out a boy movie off Netflix to share with *the boy*. I really do not understand the Will Farrell draw but whatever. It was an ok movie with a bunch of basketball references I didn't understand or would pick up like 10 minutes later...you know...when the joke is old.

On Saturday, *the boy* and I headed onto Bart for our little city adventure. We avoided the masses by heading through the Financial District and then walking up to North Beach. We grabbed an awesome chinese lunch at Brandy Ho's and walked about the neighborhood running errands. Not too long though because we had to hustle to grab two buses to the Castro Theatre to see Milk. With 15 minutes to spare before the movie was to start, the theatre was packed and we had to climb up to the balcony. I've been to the Castro Theatre tens of times and have never sat up in the balcony but it was very nice and much less crowded. *The boy* was in awe of the old glory of the theatre. I guess I've been there so may times that I now take it for granted but it was funny to see his reaction. The movie was fabulous but very sad considering the subject matter. All the actors did a wonderful job. After the movie, we walked back to Bart to end our journey. Once home, we tucked in to see a Bing Crosby movie called Going My Way. I had never heard of it before but it was very well done and quite funny! We both really enjoyed it.

On Sunday, I told *the boy* I wanted to stay home and stitch. It was supposed to be stormy and I had no desire to be out in the rain. While I stitched, *the boy* went to the grocery store, watched some football, took a nap and made a scrumptious roast chicken dinner. I had such a great day. Before the sun went down, I took this picture of my progress on Donna's Quaker RR. Not much to show but it's progress. I did stitch more after taking this picture and have that bull's horns motif almost done. That was a pesky motif seeing as there were a couple of mistakes in the chart and so I had to do a bit of frogging. With the holiday approaching, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to stitch since I have out-of-town visitors and big family dinners planned but I already have some time slotted for next Saturday to continue on this project. I really love this fabric and dark shade of green!
And after dinner, *the boy* and I tucked into watch Holiday Inn...another Bing Crosby movie. I had never seen it before and it was also quite funny. Not to mention, Bing Crosby's voice is amazing and Fred Astaire can dance like no other! Lots of movie watching this weekend!

This morning, I received an email from Carol telling me she received the birthday package I sent to her. I was so hoping I would time it right and that it would arrive on her birthday but alas, I was a few days late. Here is the pinkeep that I made for her. She told me she really liked it so I am very happy!

Quaker 2008 by Gazette94
32 Count Lakeside Linens Navy Bean
Crescent Colors Belle Soie Blue Lagoon

Carol included some much better pictures of the pinkeep details and extras which you can find on her blog here. I am so happy she liked her birthday surprise! Yay!

Be merry and delight...

Forgetfulness

Ay, what a week. Why does it seem like the older you get, the more weight you put on, the more forgetful you become and the busier you get?! I'm not even married or have kids! I would give anything to be a twenty-something now. I wouldn't have taken all that time for granted and moaned about being "soooo bored!" Now I moan about being "sooooo busy!" and not having enough time to do everything I want. Lately, the things I feel like I've been missing out on are stitching, movie viewing and checking out local events. I don't see much of those things happening until June! My class does finally end at the end of this week. I need to take my final and state certification exam by Friday night. After that, I am free from class obligations...woohoo! I cannot wait...it will be a huge weight off my chest. But freedom does not arrive that easily. I'll have a couple of events to attend between Saturday and Wednesday of next week and then I leave for a long weekend to visit family in Texas. Freedom begins the Monday after Memorial Day. So for the time being...still busy and a tad stressed. I miss my lazy evenings and weekends!

I have been able to squeeze in a little bit of stitching. I finished the stitching on my HoE Freebie Exchange and had started another freebie piece in case I changed my mind on the original freebie I picked. Now the original freebie has grown on me and I think this current freebie would be a good little christmas pillow ornament instead. The colors I picked scream "holly jolly" to me. It's a very quick stitch and I decided to use Gloriana thread. I've never used silk thread before and this Gloriana floss is dreamy! It's very soft and hasn't knotted at all. I haven't been able to progress onto my personal stitching though...not enough time for that. Now I just need to decide how to finish my Freebie piece for my HoE partner. Decisions, decisions...

This weekend, I drove to Alameda to pick up my framed Love You Mom project from The Urban Forest. They have framed a couple of pieces for me in the past and done a good job plus they are the framer that NiaH recommend to their customers. I loved the overall look of the project and the pale gold lattice frame really looked good with the colors of the piece. However, I was a little disappointed. If I'm going to drop $60 to frame a small 7x7 piece of needlework, I would really like it to be perfect. I am very selective about what I take to a finisher since I don't have a lot of extra money to spend. This was a special piece since it was for my mom and for Mother's Day but when I received the framed piece, there was a small little chip in the finish of the frame right in the front and a small little dark mark on the stitched piece itself. Both aren't completely noticable but I know how I turned my piece into her and I am also a completely neurotic perfectionist when it comes to my things and things I am giving away. So I was less than thrilled. Of course, everytime I go to this shop, the framer is never there so I couldn't voice my complaint to the person who actually did the work and see if they could fix it or tell me what to do. I did tell the lady who was manning the store at the time and she touched up the nick in the frame so it wasn't as noticable but it is still noticable to me. I am a little frustrated and don't know if I should let it go or call up the framer and let her know that I wasn't 100% happy with the work done. I do kind of feel like she is the only experienced needlework framer around here. NiaH exclusively refers her and the other needlework shop near me couldn't even name one framer that she knew of. I don't anticipate having anything to frame in the near future...Fairy Moon would be the next project and she only has 40 stitches in her at best right now. Do I really need to be all that specific to a framer that when I pick it up, I expect there to be no chips in the frame and no marks on my needlework?!?! I couldn't very well leave my piece there to take up this discussion with her at a later time as Mother's Day was the following day and I couldn't show up empty-handed. It put me in a tough spot of sucking it up and dealing with it but I guess I'm not dealing with it very well if I've talked this much about it already. Oh, and since I was all preoccupied with the disappointment of a less than perfect piece, I wrapped the gift and forgot to take a picture of it framed beforehand. I told myself to take my camera to my folks for when my mom unwrapped the gift, I could take a picture. And you know what?! I forgot again! Next time I head to the folks, I'll remember to take the camera to snap a shot to share. I was doubly bummed out that I forgot to bring the camera since my brother came by the folks with Mondo, his wanna-be-a-bunny chihuahua. Mondo cracks me up!

In other news, I am totally debating whether or not I want to try this exercise program called the Bar Method. There is a studio very close to my job and it has received rave reviews. The only problem is that it's very pricey. I can deal with pricey if I see good results and am commited to the program. Ummm, commitment would be my other problem. I'm lazy and love to go straight home and veg in front of the tv, stitching and snacking most of the night which is why I need something like the Bar Method. Ideally, I'd like to tone and lose 10 pounds but it's not really the number on the scale that bothers me...it's the jiggles. I am seriously debating trying their introductory offer when I get back from Dallas and immerse myself in the program in that month and see what results come into play. I think I can realistically try to go to the classes 3-4 times a week. If I don't like the program, don't see results or think that it's way beyond the means of my pocketbook, I'll probably just sign up with a local gym that has a cheaper and unlimited yoga program per month. It would be cool if I could go to the Bar Method class at 6am on weekdays before work but that would be hysterically funny as I can't even get up before 7am! How do people get up that early to workout?!

And my goal for the week is to go see My Blueberry Nights before it leaves the theater. I've been saying I would go see it for three weeks now and I am scared it will leave the theaters before I see it. It's a small, unadvertised movie about a lovelorn waitress played by Norah Jones of all people. She is not why I want to see this movie though. It is directed by Wong Kar Wai. If the ex left anything to me (besides loads of frustration), it's an appreciation for movies that are "outside the box". Wai directs films that pull at the strings of emotion and make you think. Normally, his films are in mandarin and subtitled in english but this movie is all in English. I've been dying to see it since it's come out but it's only playing at small obscure theaters in the city that aren't all that convenient to me. I must check this one out! Maybe today?