Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night!

Jeezus, it took me 45 minutes to figure out the Picasa Collage function! Doesn't the computer know I am supposed to be stitching and not figuring out why it's having a temper tantrum or realizing how inept it's owner is at figuring out techie stuff? So I could have done better with the collage but the light wasn't blazing into my apartment like it usually is when I got home and the pre-stated technological issues kind of made me lose my steam on my "hey, let me learn how to make a collage...sounds cool!" mood. I do kind of dig how the words go in all sorts of different directions though. One day...I'll be good at the photo-taking and collage-making. I promise! But here's the L&K ABC Lessons a la collage with more normal lighting than that last snap.
Someone had asked what my plans were with the ABC Lessons and my answer is that I'm not very sure. I can't picture it up and framed in my apartment but I can in a house. I bought this kit as a reminder to myself to strive to be and do all the things suggested in this sampler. Some days, I find it hard to not let the little things get to me...and with the stress of the past year...even more so. This should probably be hung up on the wall though...so it's a constant reminder to be kind, to scatter joy, to understand others and to x-ercise...amongst other things. We'll see how this piece ends up.

I realized as I was driving home and setting the plans for this post that I should have taken pictures of my floss tosses for Gwendolyn and Mary Wigham before organizing it all into floss away bags. Oops! Too late now...I guess it will be a surprise! But here is the floos toss for the BBD Red Sampler that I'm making for my mom. I'll be using 32 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Exampler (surprise!) with WDW Lancaster Red, CC Clay Pot and GAST Antique Rose.
I didn't want to go as dark or bright as red but wanted something close. I think she'll like these colors and they will be complementary to the "Mom" piece I gifted her last year. I'm sure she'll put this piece in the same room.

And I almost forgot...hence crappy picture...that it's time to share my TUSAL progress. I'm three days late!! The jar is only 1/3 of the way full despite stitching my little heart out! Most of the colors on the top are from the ABCs so there is a lot of brown with some green, blue and pink thrown in for good measure.
I don't have any new stitching to show. What little I did over the weekend was more and more leaves for my Snappers border. It's boring. I don't want to stitch more leaves or photograph them either. I'm debating whether to continue with the leaves to try to catch up or start the BBD since it's sitting right here. Decisions, decisions.

I leave on vacation in FIVE days!! Yay! I have the feeling stitching time will be scarce leading up to the trip since I have to get the apartment in order, figure out and organize what I am taking with me and make sure I get my mani/pedi in before leaving! I can't wait!! I just hope the weather cools down a bit over on the East Coast! I'll touch base before I leave for sure and will probably post while away....maybe.

Hope everyone is having a stitchy Tuesday too.

Until next time...

Happy Dancing Friday!

I was determined to finish L*K ABC Lessons tonight. It is way late and too dark to take the level of photos that I'd like to but I can't resist sharing my happy dance now. Ta-da...c'est fini!! Yay! I really, really needed a happy dance! (Click photo to see close-up)

Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons
Crescent Colors overdyed and DMC as kitted
32 count Antique Ivory Belfast

I might take some more pictures after work to practice photo collages so I may subject you to more photos later. For now, it's time to peel off and head to bed. How am I going to get up in 6 hours?! *The boy* is gonna yell at me for staying up so late on a school night.

Next project focus: ripping out cursed Snapper border and finishing that sucker up already! You know...before I stomp on it and throw it out the window from frustration! Hmmm...maybe that shouldn't be my next focus!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Nights

I'm writing this before it being "stitchy night" since it's already 8pm and *the boy* will be making his nightly call at 9pm. Looks like I will not be getting much actual stitching done! But so far, it's been a good day! Before lunch, I managed to find a copy of the Treasures in Needlework magazine that folks have been drooling over (me included) which includes the American Sampler by Sandy Orton from 1993. It was very hard to find! I can't wait for it to arrive!When I came home from lunch, I was greeted with the arrival of the JCS Halloween Issue. Following is the interior page of the ornament patterns included in the issue. I really like the Glory Bee Oct 31 ornie in the upper right corner and the Ladybug Lanes Happy Owl-o-Ween ornie in the middle. Those two are my favorite. Now to find the time to stitch them up!
Thanks again to everyone who offered book recommendations to me last week. I finally finished The Queen's Fool by Phillippa Gregory last night...a little late. After work today, I stopped by the library. I wasn't sure if I was going to check out a Jane Austen book since I felt like some "light and fluffy" reads but the moment I walked in, Pride and Prejudice jumped right out at me...it was an omen and so I took it home with me as well as three others. I'll be spending a lot of time reading the next three weeks especially considering the airport time and flight time, etc. These books will come in handy.And here is where my L*K ABCs stands. I was really hoping to share a happy dance but this neck/shoulder pain has resurfaced and my stitching mojo has kind of taken a tumble. So I am trying the lap stand I've had buried in the closet to see how my progress goes. I'm almost ready to shift the q-snap to the right and stitch "Y" and finish "Z". Ohhh...so close!!Once this is finished, it's time to frog the Snappers border (again!) and make starts in the projects I am taking with me to RI. I think I'll take the BBD Red Sampler, Mirabilia Gwendolyn, Barbara Ana's Spring Biscornu and maybe, just maybe...the Snappers since they aren't too far from being a Happy Dance too. As for Newton, I think I might pull different DMC for his body...it's just not doing it for me right now.

Just a couple of announcements before I peel off.

Melissa of The Daily Mel is having a fantastic Giveaway to celebrate 8 years of blogging and 1000 posts! Can we say wow?! She is giving away a huge and very generous package! Go visit and sign up. The photo and link is in my sidebar. Congratulations Melissa!!

Also, Susan K...I tried to email you the answer to your questions but it bounced back to me 2x. Maybe you can email me back with an alternate address?

And my movie review of the week. I went to see Julie and Julia. One word...fantastic! I really enjoyed it. I can see what people mean about wishing there was more Julia than Julie as Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are fantastic and the scenes of Paris...stunning. There was even a shot of this quirky bookstore I visited in Paris in 2000...brought so many memories back and made me wish I could go now...when I can appreciate it more and am not suffering from a broken heart like I was back then. But that bookstore was a wonderful escape for me.

Ok, folks...*the boy* just emailed me to tell me he's sleepy and calling early so better peel off for sure. Hope you all have a great week.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

This week has started on the wrong foot. As an example, yesterday started off with me forgetting to set the alarm and waking up at the same time I should be at work! Total scramble to get to work and from there it was ok until after work. I was all gung-ho about trying out a new recipe and went to the grocery store to get the ingredients. As I walked back to my car, I realize that I had a flat. So I give AAA a call and a very nice tow-truck guy came and helped me with the tire. But by the time I got home, it was late and I didn't feel like chopping or cooking anything. So I scrounged around the fridge to find something to eat.

I hate dealing with car stuff! So now I am trying to figure out where and how to get my flat fixed where it won't take a lot of time or money. If I didn't feel so "omg, I am running out of time", I don't think I would mind the inconvenience but lately, I just feel like I don't have enough time to get everything done and I feel so unaccomplished...and then I feel all frazzled and stressed out.

So even though it's Tuesday, I'll be dealing with tire repair more than stitching. This may be good seeing as stitching has been feeling a little stressful and annoying lately. First, there were the Snappers...again...and the second border mistake...which I have yet to rip out. Second, there was the whole being unsure about my Mary Wigham fabric and my "oh my gawd, the sky is falling" reaction and now...now there is Newton.

Newton is the baby announcement I am making for my friend Claire. It came as a kit on aida cloth and I switched out the fabric for a cream lugana. I started working on this Sunday night...just as a little diversion and to say I made a start. But as I was working on it, I felt as though the colors might have been mixed up because Newton is coming out lighter than how he shows up on the picture. Here's how he is turning out so far. I haven't put in too much time and he's going to be small at 8"x8".
This is how he is supposed to turn out. I didn't like the white since you are supposed to stitch the bubbles and the tub in white and what's the point if you can't even tell! Hence the creamy lugana. But I kind of feel like Newton is a little more on the yellow side than on the brown side.
So I wonder if I should continue stitching and see how he fully looks. Or if I should just go pull some DMC, make a start on the other side and see which one I like better. Scrap it and find something else. Stitch it and offer it up as a giveaway to someone else. And the last two options are only because I saw a better-suited design. But that other design also comes as a kit...from the UK...and is supplied with the same Anchor thread and can get pricey considering the conversion plus shipping and the fact I would switch out the Aida fabric anyways. It's a lot to spend for essentially just the chart and the cheap thread. I suppose I should go with my original choice and work with it considering it's pointless to have so many birth announcements especially as I would only go to the trouble for very few people and I don't forsee me having children to keep them for myself! *sigh* Anybody have any thoughts on this one?

So...you can see my stitching dilemna. Nothing seems to be going according to my stitchy plan. The only thing that is behaving is my ABC Lessons. Here is how it stands as of Sunday. Excuse the poor picture. I took it off the Q-Snaps and it was so wrinkly.
I only have two more rows to stitch! This is probably good though because even though it's behaving and coming out beautifully...I am getting a little tired and bored of stitching letters. I'm ready to see a picture transform in front of my eyes! Maybe it's time to pick up a Mirabilia.

Thanks to everyone who offered a positive comment about my Mary Wigham fabric freakout. I went to NiaH on Sunday to have a look at other fabrics and I decided that Fawn was good to go. I think I'd prefer the lighter threads to pop on the dark fabric than darker threads to pop on lighter fabric. I knew this when I originally picked it out but apparently I forgot! But now, fabric is cut, serged and ready to go!

Tonight...I think I will pick up a book instead of stitching...once the whole tire dilamna is straightened out.

Hope everyone has had a better start to the week...

Until next time...

Woo!! It's Friday!

It's about fricking time!

What a week...very busy and non-stop. But it was a good week. I worked out twice and didn't die which is always a good thing and my muscles are still talking to me two days later. Yay...working out does mean less stitching though. That's the sad part.

But I am so happy it's Friday since I have a totally relaxing and self-pampering weekend planned. Lots of tv and videos, lots of stitching, an appointment for a nice facial treatment and possibly a new hairdo; a quick jaunt over to my local street festival; as well as a trip the the LNS and a mellow dinner with a good friend planned. All the makings for a nice weekend. Woo!

Yesterday, I was surprised by these being delivered at work!
A lovely bouquet of 3 dozen mini roses sent to me by *the boy*. How sweet! No special occasion...just because. I gather he misses me...I miss him too. They came in lovely colors of red, apricot, burnt orange and yellow.
See! Pretty! I've put them in a prime spot right next to the tv so I can enjoy them while being a lazy futon potato and watching tv.

So tonight, I plan on catching up on my tv programs...

And reading a little bit of this...
And stitching a little bit more on this...
I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend planned! Enjoy and have fun!

Until next time...

Edited: Oh my...almost forgot. Go check out Patti's blog. She just became a grandma and is having a lovely giveaway to celebrate! Go over and wish her congratulations! You have until 9/4 to put your name in for the draw.

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Nights

Whew...I didn't think I was going to make it! I feel very frazzled this week so far and my previous post is just a tiny example of all the buzzing going on in my head. I don't know what it is but it might me all the work deadlines and the busier than normal week. But it's good to keep busy, right? I went to exercise class last night and didn't die so that was good and have class again tomorrow. I like this class...the teacher is fun and I feel like I actually worked out. I figure if the 2x a week class works out fine this week, I will try to incorporate a yoga class into the mix next week. I've been curious to try a local yoga studio for weeks. The yoga class I was enrolled in through the rec center just wasn't cutting it for me.

Anyways, I'm blabbering on and you folks want to see stitchy stuff. I have some recent stash acquisitions to show but didn't get my act together enough to take photos before the camera battery died.

But I do have this little bit of progress to show. Little by little, I've been working on my ABC Lessons since my whole border fiasco on the Snappers and I finished the Q,R,S row. This a fun and quick project. I only have three more rows to stitch and it'll be finished.
I am dying for a finish so I think I will continue on with this one until it's done. I'm hoping to get the next row (T, U, V) completed by the end of the weekend. The next couple of days are pretty packed for me so not much stitching will be accomplished by my weekend is fairly free. I can get a lot done if I actually concentrate...and stop surfing the net for even more stash! My hope has been to finish one of my projects before my vacation because I want to start Mary Wigham, need to start my friend's baby announcement and a small gift for my mom's birthday. I better stitch faster!

Thanks for all the positive comments on my Mary Wigham post. The lady at the shop didn't actually tell me I was nuts. It was more "You're stitching on Fawn, but it's so dark! The darkest anyone is going with is Examplar" and it stirred up a lot of doubt in my poor indecisive noggin. But it's growing on me and I realized I forgot to pull all the threads for a proper floss toss. Duh.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the week!

Until next time...

Great Weekend!

Yay! I had a great weekend! It was busy and I had to drag myself out of bed with a crane to get to work this morning but it was a fun and productive weekend. A lot of the events revolved around food.

Friday night, *the boy* took me out for pizza nearby and then I spent the rest of the evening in this ADD circle of stitching, watching tv, looking on the computer for god knows what and trying not to succumb to a food coma since I ate one breadstick too many at dinner. Don't you hate when you do that?!

Saturday, I did a ton of errands and then dragged *the boy* to the farmers' market one town over from me. Let me tell you, it's amazing the number of people who have complete lack of consideration for a person on crutches. They don't move out of the way, people push, they are too busy yapping on their cell phones and don't pay attention where they are going and then there are the kids going in all different directions including crashing straight into his leg. We saw that one coming through and the kid was like a little runaway toddler. Luckily his mom caught him/her right at impact so it softened the blow. At the market, we bought a truckload of stuff...apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, tomatoes, shallots and green onions. We were crushed to see the *sold out* sign at the blueberries stand! We absolutely love farmers' market!! After that, I took a nap from all the running around and being in the sun and *the boy* went on a neighborhood adventure. After my *you need to exercise and get out!* and *no, I'm not driving you the two blocks to Safeway* rants of the past couple of weeks, the boy is much more adventurous. It's good...he has to get his heart pumping to improve circulation so that hopefully that bone of his heals. After our respective jaunts to dreamland and the hardware store, we got ready to head out for dinner. I had told *the boy* on Friday, I wanted to have a nice dinner out and then I remembered this Cuban restaurant that I have been wanting to try for at least the last three years! So we headed to La Bodeguita del Medio. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! We decided to hit the appetizers and just share everything. We had croquettas, empanadas, mussells, greycliff conch/shrimp chowder and the cuban sandwich. How we finished everything is beyond me. We were stuffed to the gills. I probably should have run a few laps just to work all that food off! Everything was amazing! My only complaint was that the drinks were done with a light pour instead of an average or heavy pour. I'll probably just get wine next time. And there will definitely be a next time. YUM! OMG, drooling just thinking about it...

Sunday, I treated myself to a lovely massage and then dragged *the boy* to the farmer's market on my street. Yes, we are crazy farmers' market people! We got fresh prawns for dinner and a blueberry muffin for *the boy* and I got a much needed coffee. Again, they were out of blueberries! *The boy* and I had made a barter. He would make me lobster ravioli with prawns if I made blueberry muffins. Since the farmers' markets' were out of blueberries, I had to head to the much dreaded Costco. So more errands, blueberry shopping and quick housesitting stop before dashing back home so I could get *the boy* and we could go see UP. It was a great movie and we saw it in 3-D. I like 3-D but I didn't notice very many 3-D scenes in the movie. Maybe it's just me. I'd recommend it. It had some really funny parts, and sad parts and scary parts and parts that were heartwarming. Go see it! But if you have kids that are scared of dogs, they might get scared in the movie. After that, he made me dinner and I made him muffins...both which turned out great! And that was the end of the weekend!

Wow, I've rambled...hope I didn't bore you to tears! As for stitching, this is all I can show for it. I finished the ABC row!

Five rows down...four more to go!I finished that first row on my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons and that's about it! I always have such grand stitching goals! But I only have about 20 stitches left in my sheepie and the button to sew on! I'll have abother HD before you know it. Now to decide what to do with it. After that, the week and weekend will be devoted to RR and exchange stitching.

Time to bring my rambling post to an end. Hope you all had a grand weekend too. :D

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Well, I'm writing my Tuesday update one night early. I had plans tonight to go out with a friend but at the last minute she asked me if I could postpone to Tuesday night so I'll be having a juicy burger, fries and beer and following that up with a movie. Umm, this will not help my quest to lose 10 pounds but I promise to take a walk after work each day thereafter. I swear!

This weekend involved a lot of sleep and rest so I didn't get a lot of stitching done but I did manage to make it to the end of the row I was working on on my ABC Lessons. So I finished off the D, E, F and G row. I am loving this project!!
I will have to put ABC Lessons aside for the time being to work on some smalls. I'd like to get as much done on Wishful Sheep to see what I'll need to order since I know I will run out of some of the silk. I decided to sign up for the HoE Christmas in July Exchange and need to get started on that for my partner and I am dying to start on Barbara Ana's Spring biscornu. It's such a fun and whimsical design and I figure it's something I would like for myself and can learn how to put together a biscornu all at the same time. I have everything for those two smalls kitted up...just need to sit down and stitch!

In the photo above, you can see my orts jar. It's the new moon and here is the progress on my jar for the Totally Useless SAL. I decided to just put thread ends in my jar. I think the fabric bits and floss tags will clutter up the jar too much so my jar still looks pretty empty. Most of the threads contributed lately have been from my giveaway scissor fob and my ABC Lessons project.
Hmmm, maybe I should throw in those floss tags and fabric bits after all! I wish I could stitch faster to get this jar more full!

Well, that's about it for me as I have a pest of a boyfriend who keeps trying to distract me while I blog. But before I leave, the lovely CarolR is having a scissor fob giveaway! She made them herself and there will be three lucky winners! How cool is that?!? I've posted a picture with link on my right sidebar. Go and have a looksie. All you have to do is sign up by 5/29 and do a little shoutout about the giveaway on your own blog. Easy! Good luck to everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and has a nice week ahead. I have a fairly easy week but busy weekend coming up. My parents leave for their annual four-month trip to Central America and *the boy* has his birthday on the very same day...next Sunday. I'll be busy bon-voyaging and happy birthdaying. Why'd it have to fall on the same day!? Anyways, not sure how much stitching or posting I'll get done in the next week but I'll definitely have an update afterwards.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are my Stitchy Night

Just a quick hit and run post today since I actually didn't get any stitching done today. My friend met me after work and we took a nice long walk in the neighborhood and grabbed a bite for dinner. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was watch some tv and relax. That was hung up by techie issues I'll explain in a bit.

For now...stitchy pictures. Below is the small progress I made on my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons. I'd have gotten farther if I hadn't received a visit from a small frog. I had finished "Dream" and then realized I made a mistake and had to frog four letters and start that bit over again. Since it's a long weekend coming up for Memorial Day, I hope to get to the end of this row by the end of the weekend.
And here is my travel project, Wishing Sheep by Shepherd's Bush. I've been running so many errands that I actually haven't worked on this much. Most of the progress was made while waiting for *the boy's* doctor's appointment. That place *always* runs late!
Anyways, I was hoping to come home after hanging out with my friend and do a quick posting and then watch tv. No matter what I did, my photos kept uploading sideways. Grrr!! I told *the boy* and he's all, "Oh, I'll show you how to rotate pictures". For being a nerd, he can be a dummy sometimes! Like I don't know how to rotate pictures!! Well, I showed him what happens and so he took it upon himself to find out the problem when I had resigned myself to just watching tv and so then he wouldn't let me watch my program because he "figured it out!". So I will share his genius with you guys. I think a lot of people have been having the same problem with their photos and blogger and you know, it's really frustrating. Apparently, it's well known that Blogger has a photo bug problem. I have this problem more on my home computer than at work but I really shouldn't be blogging from work. Don't tell anyone...ok?! Apparently, you need to open your photos in paint and save them as PNG because there is photo data in JPG that is telling Picasa it's a sideways picture. And computers are supposed to be smart! Ha! Anyways, this smart guy named Peter talks about it here. It's an added step to use Paint but it's better than uploading your pictures 50 million times and throwing your computer on the floor in frustration. Hopefully that helps other stitchy bloggers who aren't techie.

Also, I got the ornament preview JCS magazine issue in the mail yesterday and was really disappointed in the ornaments. There wasn't even one that I wanted to stitch! I hope the christmas issue is a lot better. But despite the ornaments not being my speed, I really like the Italian Tile piece and will have to figure out how to work on that sometime sooner rather than later. :)

Ok, time to go but I hope everyone is having a good start to the week!

Until next time...

H, I, J, K

Thanks for the showing of support in regards to my previous posting. I've been trying to deal with it all and we'll see what happens. Changes will have to happen soon.

In the midst of my emotional ups and down this weekend, I've managed to finish another row in my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons. This snap makes the fabric look a little washed out. In real life, it's a warm-toned lovely fabric. I've finish the letters H, I, J and K.
I'm off to start the row that contains D, E, F and G.

It's 90 degrees in what is supposed to be foggy San Francisco. I am dying! For all you folks that think I'm a wimp, I live in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment with no air-conditioning. Ugh...would love air conditioning right now! And as a dummy, I've held off the laundry until today so I have already gone up and down the stairs (no in-unit machines) eight times today. My quads are screaming! As I type, I am leaning against a cold ice pack to keep my core temperature down. The two fans and having all the windows open didn't help much but I finally feel a nice breeze blowing through the apartment now. I think I might actually look forward to being at work tomorrow just to have some aircon as the temperature will be high again. I can't wait for the fog to roll back in!

Well, I'm off to round up that last load of laundry and relax with the ice pack and stitching.

Hope everyone is having a happy weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Tuesday night flew by and I didn't stitch as much as I had hoped. I told *the boy* Tuesdays are my stitchy night and my "public" expects to see some pictures so he had to leave me alone and he was good about it. I got distracted with the computer and trying to tidy up my stitching area though. I made a very small new start. Here is Wishing Sheep by Shepherd's Bush.
My vision is to stitch it up and display it when there are birthdays at *home* which is now May and October. This sucker isn't getting finished this month though. It was purchased as a kit and the instructions said to use one strand of silk over two threads on 32 count fabric which was all included. I started it with one strand and I didn't like the coverage. It was too thin! So I decided to see how it looked with two strands (above) and I like it much better but I am sure to run out of the silk provided this way. Has this ever happened to anyone? I know it's silk I can probably find at NiaH but it seems like an added expense right now. I might move forward until I run out and then put it aside until my next shopping spree at the LNS. What do you all think?

I also pulled out the Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons again. This is really an enjoyable stitch! I only managed to stitch the letter "H". Harm no one...I loved stitching up those little sheep! This week is a busy one! Yoga on Monday, doctor today, yoga tomorrow and *the boy's* doctor appointment on Thursday as well as Wicked Thursday night! Claire and I bought tickets to this show in January! It'll be nice to relax and have a night out after the madness lately. This weekend is unscheduled so far but if it hits the high 80's like they're forecasting this weekend, you can probably find me lying on my living room floor with the ceiling fan blowing at me on high speed. I just don't function very well under such heat. Yep, I'm a total weather wimp. If *the boy* is allowed to be off the crutches...he'll probably drag me all over the place in his excitement to finally walk. We'll see what happens.

Not much stitching planned until the weekend...hopefully.

Until next time...

L, M, N, O, P

Well, I've been very busy stitching over the last three days. It has been the best three days so far this year! *The boy* understood I needed to stitch or I might string him up on the balcony so he's been very good about giving me my space. Every once in a while, I run to the other side of the apartment to show him what I've done. He thinks this is *cute*. I'm just so excited to be stitching! My goal for the weekend was to get two rows done in ABC Lessons, frog some of my BC Snappers border and to finish my giveaway project. This was in addition to spending most of Thursday in an embroidery class. I reached my two rows in my ABC Lessons project! Yay! I'm very happy that I reached this goal. I love stitching on this and it was very hard to put aside.

I got a late start on stitching today so I am behind on my goals now. I woke up late and then got an annoying phone call from my brother which ensued into a fight over Mother's Day. He refused to make a reservation for dinner tomorrow and insisted that I do it. Since I wouldn't be paying for dinner and he complains about my choices anyways, I refused and he called me a bunch of nasty names and disinvited me to tomorrow's dinner. Can I mention that my brother is 19 years older than me but acts as if he is 19 years younger! He treats me quite badly and it's disheartening to have a fight with him every holiday. I *hate* dealing with family stuff on holidays and it fills me with dread because things always end up badly. I had to explain to my mom when she called me why I wouldn't be joining them for dinner. My brother told them I wouldn't be coming when he finally decided to make a reservation somewhere. So I had to tell my mom I wasn't invited because my brother and I had a fight in which he called me a bunch of names. My mom was shocked and upset. I hate that a special day has been ruined because my brother is such a jerk. I know my dad had a talking to with him because my brother called me again and left me a message calling me a bunch of other names and saying that I ruin all the holidays. I wish he'd realize he has a problem and it's him that ruins every holiday by being such a jerky-jerk. It left me feeling sad and I didn't get my mojo until late in the evening.

Now I must return to finishing the giveaway gift. I hope to finish it tomorrow between the errands and Mother's Day plans. I still am moving forward with my personal plans for mom's special day despite them being ruined by my brother. My plan was to bring a big bouquet of flowers which I already have picked out and ready and to go pick up my mom's favorite cake at this little bakery in North Beach. Flowers and cake always make my mom happy. Shes a quiet one and doesn't like being out too much. She and my dad also have a ton of allergy and dietary restrictions which make picking a restaurant really hard. I think they cancelled on my brother and if that's the case, I might pick up some chinese takeout for a feast at home. Simple but nice.

I'll be back later for a recap on my embroidery class. I know...I am keeping you guys in suspense. It was a great class!

And to all the fabulous stitchy moms in blogland...Happy Mothers Day!!

Until next time...

Tuesdays are my Stitchy Nights

And I am back to regular programming! Woo! The last couple of weeks have been rough. Work has been hellacious and I am in the midst of my busy period of the year with lots of projects hitting the fan. There is a lot of ducking and sweeping up going on in my world...figuratively, of course but that's what it feels like.

Despite getting away for the conference the week before last, my migraines kicked in and I was practically useless! There was one morning where I woke up, went downstairs for a glass of juice and told my co-worker I was going back upstairs for a nap...at 8am! The nap helped immensely! The conference was very informative and the morning speakers were great fun and very knowledgeable. I didn't get much stitching done since my migraine would not go away and it's probably just as well as the lighting in the hotel room was very dim and I forgot my Ott-lite. Oopsie!

This past weekend was rainy and busy. Both days were incredibly tiring. On Saturday, I ran around Union Square in the rain and without umbrella trying to find a good birthday present for *the boy*. By the end of that, I hadn't found anything and felt like a drowned rat. After that, I made my way to NiaH for a nice little shopping spree and bonding time with the lovely Mary. I walked out with a new project I couldn't resist and some linens for upcoming projects and threads to start the BBD freebie. Because of my thread mishap, I think I will save the BBD freebie for my mom's birthday in September. I should have plenty of time between now and then to finish and frame it how I envision. After my shopping spree, I headed over to meet *the boy* who has spent the majority of the afternoon packing up his belongings. I loaded everything in the car and we headed back to my place. Due to the poor living environment there, we decided it best for him to move in temporarily with me. His next follow up with the doctor is next Thursday (not this one) and the next move is fully dependant on what the doctor says at that time. *The boy* will either stay put if the news is good or move back to Rhode Island if the news is bad. It has been a very emotional week of discussion and decision.

Sunday was a nice busy, busy day of outlet shopping! Woo!! I didn't do that much damage there but between the NiaH shopping spree, outlet shopping and finding *the boy's* birthday present last night, the credit card is smoking and being put away in hiding!

I have quite a bit of stitching to get caught up on. I will be putting the finishing touches on my giveaway prize this weekend and getting it off in the mail to Meari but I have become obsessed with my new project, ABC Lessons by Lizzie*Kate. I came home on Saturday just dying to start it and so I stitched a bit. I kept making mistakes though but catching them as fast as I was making them. I suppose I was tired and not so alert for starting something new. Here is how it stands as of tonight. It is stitched on 32 count Antique Ivory Belfast with the called for threads. This is a fun and fast stitch assuming I don't keep getting visits from the frogs. I started in the middle because I'm lazy and didn't want to figure out how much room to save for framing later. I kind of regret that now but will leave things as is.
I am really excited this week. I took Thursday and Friday off to give myself a little break and have a decadent 4-day stitchy weekend. Thursday, I am taking the Intro to Embroidery Class hosted by the Royal School of Needlework! I can't wait! I've always wanted to learn and this way I get to take a calss from the renowned school at the same time! On Friday, I have a massage and hair appointment so it will be a quasi-make it yourself type of spa morning. And then Saturday will probably be lazy and Sunday is Mother's Day. It seems like it's shaping up to be a good weekend. I just need to get through today and tomorrow. I think I can do it!! =)

Since I am actually off and plan on stitching, I plan on also doing updates later on in the week. With pictures and everything...yay!

And before I forget, there are a couple of stitchy bloggers out there hosting giveaways. Edgar is celebrating his 2nd blogoversary on May 9th! Congratulations Edgar! You can sign up here before May 9th and remember to mention it on your own blog (if you have one). Simone is celebrating her 4th blogoversary on May 9th as well and hosting a giveaway sign up here. Congratulations Simone! Remember the deadline to sign up for either one is May 9th and all you have to do is comment and mention the giveaway on your own blog. Good luck to everyone who entered!

Well, time to head off to bed. I hope to update lots this week.

Until next time...