Graduation~Class of 2005

Last night, our oldest daughter Kayla, graduated from high school. It was so wonderful to see her up there in her cap and gown and receive her diploma. Words can't express how proud of her we all are. After graduation they had a all~night party at Avery Point. No alcohol and completely chaperoned. I just got home from picking her up at the high school. It sounds like she had a wonderful time. She is now sleeping and will probably sleep for several hours.

We are planning a graduation party for her today. There should be around 40 people attending. So, needless to say, we will be very busy preparing today. I'm going to go and stitch a bit this morning and then get things underway. Our guests will be arriving around 3:00 this afternoon. I hope all goes well!

Feeling blue

I woke up this morning, feeling pretty blue and it's not going away. It's kind of nervousy blue feeling if that makes any sense at all. Anyway, I know it's probably because there is so much going on right now. Between end of the year school activities, Kayla's graduation, Kayla's graduation party and finances. I feel stressed! I keep trying to say to myself that everything will be okay, just take it one step at a time, and then I think I'm good to go and whoop, something happens and it gets me down. It doesn't even have to be something major. I can't stand it when I feel this way. Kind of anxious too. I stitched for a bit this morning but it didn't help much and I have kept myself pretty busy today, but in the back of my mind is this "feeling".

Anyway, I need to go check the date for the deadling to enter the fair. I so hope I can make it. If not, I will keep on working on her (Blossom Harvest) until she is done. I do love her and want to hang her up soon! I just checked the date, and entry forms must be received by July 1st! I know I won't have her done by then, but I don't have to have her done until July 6th. So, I will just have to wait and see how much I get done by then and make my decision.

I guess I better go take a bit of time to work on her. Enough said for today...

Stitching progress

Just a quick note, I did stitch yesterday. I believe I got in just about three hours and made some good progress on the white of her dress. I may not get as much stitching time in today, I am deeming today "Crazey Wednesday". Here is why:

8:30 am ~ DH's doctor appointment
9:30 am ~ Dump run
12:00 pm ~ Tara and Katie come home from schoo
1:30 pm~ Krista's graduation
2:15 pm~ Bring Kayla to work (DH will do this while I stay at the graduation)
2:30 pm ~Dear MIL & FIL come over to help build pation
5:15 pm ~ Bring Tara, Billy and Katie to Nina's
5:30 pm ~ Senior banquet for Kayla

I am probably forgetting something, but I'm hoping not! So, perhaps I can squeeze in some stitching time this morning!

The need to finish

Okay, I'm going to do my best to finish Blossom Harvest. Even if I don't get her done in time for the fair, I'm going to finish her. I will be so disappointed in myself if I don't. I'm thinking if I can get 20 hours a week in, there may be hope. I know that is a lot of time (for me anyway) but this is important to me. School is out the end of this week, so I can stay up later more often. I can stitch more in the morning because I won't have to wake anyone to get them going for school. I will try to spend less time on the BB's and more time stitching. I'll update my blog every couple of days to post my progress. I have to be determined! I usually do very well under pressure when it comes to completing things. Time to shift in to gear and GO!

What I forgot...

I mentioned telling about the book I just finished and the RR I'm joining. I just finished Moncia Ferris's new book Embroidered Truths. For those of you who aren't familiar with her books, they are needlecraft mysteries. I really enjoyed this newest one and finished it in a few days. I have all of her books and she comes out with one sometimes two in a year. I eagerly await her next one!


I joined a Round Robin. It will be "Any designer band sampler" and the first mailing date is in late September. That will give me plenty of time to plot what I want as far as size and color are concerned. I look forward to getting that set up.

I wanted so baldly to stitch last night, but fell asleep in my chair. All the hard work of painting and cleaning and putting together photo albums into the wee hours of the night are catching up to me. I just had a cupof coffee and hope to put an hour or so of time into my stitching after I complete this entry.

It is Father's Day today and we have a special dinner planned for DH. So, I doubt I will get much time this evening. Well, off I go!

Time to stop and take a deep breath...

WOW, that felt good. I have been so incredibly busy lately. As I have mentioned, I have been painting. Well, my small bathroom became a huge project. BUT, it looks wonderful! I went with a color pink, (close to DMC 3609 I believe), the trim is white and I purchased a border to run along the center of the walls. The border is pink/purple and is all fairies, butterflies and flowers. It is lovely. I also bought a few squares of linoleum for the floor soft powdery blue marble. It really compliments the room. Then I purchased a plain white shower curtain and a sheer curtain for the window. I found one of those metal tiepacks I think that's what they are called. You pull the curtain back and it hangs in it. The one I bought had a pink diamond ball on it and really sets it off. Now, can you even guess how much it cost for my new bathroom? Under $30.00. Is that great or what? I love the "oops" paint at home depot. They have gallons of paint that are returned because someone changes their mind and they resell the gallons for $5.00. I am so excited about the new look. I told DH and the kids that it will now be referred to as the "powder room". ~LOL

The rest of my time this week seems like it has gone to sorting out hundreds of photos. As a gift to my wonderful father-in-law, we took his photos and sorted them and purchased albums for them and put them all in. We gave them to him tonight, because DH works all day tomorrow. Well, my FIL was thrilled. I'm so happy that he was pleased. I think the world of my in-laws and we are very close.

Now this week we will be busy attending end of school year activities and getting ready for our oldest DD's high school graduation. She graduates Friday and we will have a big party for her Saturday so we will be busy again next week.

I do hope to get some stitching in this evening and the rest of the week. July is fastly approaching and I'm going to be so disappointed if I don't get Blossom Harvest done in time for the fair. I just remembered that I mentioned in my previous post that I had something particular I wanted to write about. Now for the life of me, I can't remember, LOL. I'll have to go read and take a look. That's it for now...I think :0)

What was I thinking? Weird HAED experience

Okay, so it's close to 90 degrees outside and the dewpoint is in the 70's. What do I decide to do? PAINT! Yes, again. The downstairs bathroom is really tiny and I have had the paint since January. I figure, I'm on a roll. I did the living room in less than a week, how long could a tiny bathroom take me. The difference...three layers of wallpaper that need to be torn down. I have one small wall left. I have blisters on fingers and a big mess. I really am going to shoot for being done by Thursday. Did I mention I will tile the floor as well. It is a very small bathroom and I think I have enough tile left from a previous project, so why not? The second I started tearing the wallpaper down, I thought..."Why, why now in this heat?" Then I answered myself with this: "Because you don't think! duh" Oh well, can't stop now. I am going to buy a border with fairies in it and hope to stitch Petal Fairy for the main wall. But, who knows when that will be. Which reminds me, my fabric for Petal and Water Mermaid (HAED) should be in this week from Mindy at SMF!

And speaking of HAED, I had a kind of weird experience. I really like some of the designs, not crazy about a lot of them. Anyway, I asked to get Water Mermaid without the background and was told it would be an extra ten dollars. Okay, no problem...I understand. I figure I will go with the regular print and do the e-mail version to save money. I have only purchased one HAED prior to this. Well, I was told that it would take an extra 40 hours worth of work and I should receive it in two weeks time. I thought, no problem. I have plenty to keep me busy. I went and paid for it on Friday the 10th and on Saturday the 11th it was in my e-mail. Does that seem weird? I was thrilled of course, but confused. One person told me one thing and another told me something else. No biggie, just thought it seemed odd. I really love some of the art work, but I don't plan on obtaining a lot of them due to the size. Water Mermaid shouldn't be too bad, since Mindy at SMF has this new fabric Oceanic, she did for this pattern at someone's request and I thought I would take advantage of it as well.

That's it for now...off to read some posts and then hit the hay. I need to remember to talk about the book I just finished and the RR I'm joining. I'll do that tomorrow!

Changed my blog look~reached goal~Sunday message

I wanted something a bit more brighter. I love pink so I thought this would do. I accomplished my goal for the weekend and stitched almost four hours! I may finish her in time, who knows?! I was really hoping to get a picture of her this weekend but no go. Perhaps next weekend. I will have even more done by then! Who knows how much! Rain is in the forecast for this week, so maybe a bit more stitching time is on its way. I am really enjoying my stand. It is so much more comfortable. I hope my MIL can come over later in the week to give it a try. If she likes it and doesn't buy herself one, I may tell DH that it would be a marvelous Christmas gift for her.

Well, today was Sunday and the kids and I went to church (DH works Sundays), and I was so glad the Billy (2 year old son) stayed in the nursery with one of his older sisters. It's been over a month since I had heard a message and I get kind of down going to church and only getting to be in the nursery. I can tell, I was meant to hear the message today. Ever get that feeling? I love our Pastor and he definitley keeps your attention. The message today was about praying and how you need to know how to pray. I won't go into any long detail, but this message today really helped me think about a lot of things. You see, I'm a born again Christian and so are three out of five of our children. My DH is in agreement with me taking the kids to church and I know he believes in Jesus, but I'm not sure he gets the meaning of salvation. I pray for him but maybe not in the right way. I think I can pray in a way to help him more.

The kids only have two more weeks of school and I am happy to get out of the mundane (sp?) routine. I will probably still awake early for I love the mornings, especially if I can stitch. But just the hussle and bussle of getting everyone off at different times starts to get old come June. I know when it's time to be back, I will probably be happy to be back in my routine. ~LOL~

Well, it's late and I better get to bed. I'm hoping the BB's will be back to normal soon, as I'm sure most of you that read this hope so too!

Fellow bloggers...

On the Mirabilia BB there is a post for people to add their blogs so we can read them and kind of sort out where they are. I liked this idea since the board is moving slow due to less posting. Well, what a bunch of talented bloggers! I went back and skimmed through mine and was bored :0) There are soooo many talented writers out there and I enjoyed reading your entries. It inspires me more to keep mine updated and to be a bit more creative.

On a different note, I have to stitch! The fair is less than a month away and I still have quite a ways to go on Blossom Harvest. I will be so disappointed in myself if I don't complete her in time. You would think, with my new stand, that I will be at it more. I think it was just the painting that took me from her this week. Also, I really want to work on Arthur & Guenivere. I am going to promise myself, for the remainder of this weekend, I will get stitch no less than four hours on Blossom Harvest! I am also going to try to stay off the computer. So, I will let you all know how I did come Monday. Wish me luck, I will need it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's been keeping me busy...

Well, I have been very busy cleaning and painting. All the trim in our living room, I repainted a very pretty creamey off~white. It seems closer to white than off~white. The color paint is actually called Swiss Coffee. Anyway, we have this "gigantic" built in book case in our living room where I display various knick~knacks and needlerolls, small pictures, sachet's that I have stitched or someone has made for me. I had to take everything off scrub the shelves (you never realize something is dirty until you clean it, lol) and then paint it. It took me most of the day to finish the living room (five kids and DH keep me busy, oldest DD was getting ready for her Senior Prom :0), and I am delighted at the outcome. I ordered some curtains that were deeply discounted on~line through JCPenney and hopefully they will be in early next week. The room is on the smaller side and this definitly makes it brighter.

I have only been stitching about an hour a day this week, wanted to do more but I got into the painting project and it stole stitching time. I really want to snuggle up to my new stand and put some hours into Blossom Harvest (I know you are probably sick of me talking about her, and I am anxious to complete her), but I knew we were going to have high humidity this weekend so today was the day to complete my painting.

I purchased the new Monica Ferris book. Shee writes needlework mysteries for those who may not know this. It is called "Embroidered Truths", I have only read about 60 pages or so, but I know I will probably finish it in a few days. They are very quick reads and I have all of her books now.

I did manage to wind 50 skeins of floss on to floss bobbins this week for my HAED Arthur & Guenivere. I hope to really dig into that after Blossom. I also ordered from Mindy at SMF the Oceanic fabric for HAED's Water Mermaid. I think she will look lovely with Mirabilia's Enchanted Mermaid. Seeing how I was placing an order anyway, I ordered Bewitched Opalescent for Petal Fairy as well.

I have found myself going to the Mirabilia BB a bit less lately, as I'm sure many of you have also. It just doesn't seem the same, being able to use just the one forum. I do agree with this and know it's just a matter of time before all is fixed. I miss the questions of the week an being able to go to the different forums. Counting the days until everything is back!

As I mentioned, our oldest DD is at her Senior Prom. She looked so pretty, I wanted to cry. Time sure does fly. It seemed like an instant ago she was learning to walk. Now, she's learning to drive. I can't wait for her to come home and tell me how it went.

Well, off to go check a few BB's and then perhaps stitch!

EZ BB's down...my purchase...Back on WW

Well, it is driving me nuts about the ez boards being down. I can't get to the Mirabilia board at all and I am still having a hard time posting on the HAED BB. Yes, I am know a HAED fan. I purchased Arthur & Gueneviere (sp?) at a discount and put in a few stitches to test it. I am stitching it on 25 count Ice Blue Lugana, over one thread with two strands and using the tent stitch. It will be a very different experience for me, but I'm looking forward to it. I have picked Blossom Harvest up again and am working on the yellows. I really want this done in time for the fair, the first week of July. It will be my first time entering a fair and I'm very excited about it.

I am also excited about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8194736903#ebayphotohosting
I'm hoping my link works, if not just copy and paste it. I have wanted a stitching stand for a very long time. I found this one and knew it was in my price range if I was willing to give up a few things. No more FOTM, sold a bit more stash, no more buying stash. Let's face it I have enough to keep me very busy for a long time. I also plan on this being my birthday present. So that should work out. I have a hard time holding my scroll rods and q-snaps. After a little while, my wrist hurts. I'm not sure if this is related to my carpal tunnel or not. So I think the stand will work out nicely. I'm thinking if my MIL likes it we may get her one as a birthday/Christmas gift combined. Hopefully, she won't read My Blog ~ I don't think she does. If she does, hopefully she won't tell me (hint Sally if you do, don't let on, LOL)

In a previous blog update, I wrote about my trunk. Well it is wonderful! A bit bigger than I thought it might be, but I love it. It is in my front hallway so you see it right when you walk in. I have it opened with my needlerolls, hankies and doilies in it. It really is nice.

Well, I feel sad that I can't comment on the Mirabilia BB, about the new fairy. I'm not sure if I like her. I definitly don't like the wings. Otherwise, I think she's cute. I'm curious to read the feedback from all of my "buddies" on the Mirabilia BB. Hopefully, the problems will be rectified soon...