Friday, January 30, 2004

Friday!

Well here it is, friday, the beginning of the weekend - the first weekend that I actually have homework due on Monday! And a lot. My computational vision class homework is tough - the first two problems anyway (actually i haven't tried the second one yet but the first is killer) the other 2 problems are in Matlab and really easy, just some basic learning matlab stuff so that was no problem. Boy I hope he grades leniently, i don't know how i'm going to figure out these problems.

Besides that my financial accounting project part 1 is also due monday, but that's almost finished and i think my partner is working on it now. If not i could easily finish it in a matter of minutes because it's all in the book. Besides that i have a lot of reading to do this weekend.

And tonight is date night, my boyfriend is taking me to dinner then we're renting movies and watching movies the rest of the night - tomorrow will be getting more work done (reading while he uses the computer) and then relaxing while he goes out with his friends - cross stitch here i come! Sunday will be the really big homework day and maybe also get some work done.

So I haven't made much progress, none on the round robin - i did embroider a bit on the castle wednesday night but nothing last night since i got home so late. I do want to finish up the round robin this weekend - i think i'm going to work on it right now actually, that way i can start a new piece tomorrow night - the quilt piece probably since that will go quick. I also still have to order the kreinek threads i need for my new RR that starts in march. I should probably order soon - it's going to cost me about 10 dollars! Sometimes we have to make sacrifices! Well - that RR is calling my name!

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

When it snows it snows!

I woke up this morning to a good 8 inches of snow - nice and light, but snow none the less. Luckily it is wednesday so I can stay cooped up and get work done. Instead of work however I proceeded to read for 2 hours this morning, finishing the book Middlesex - which was great! Then it was 11, so I showered and then went out and shoveled. After that I painted a bit - i've been painting (stencilling) this small box I bought that I will put cross stitch on top of. I'm stenciling green/gold leaves on it, all four sides are done now, but I think i will do a second layer of leaves too. After that I finally started some homework, 2 hours of financial accounting and I'm taking the dumb course Pass/Fail! Anyhow, the homework is done for chapter 3 and that means I should do well on the quiz. We have a project due on Sunday that needs more work but i'll do that this weekend I think.

As for stitching - All I have left of Carol's RR is backstitching now - which is great, I can get that to her pretty soon. I also worked on my quilt last night - both of the blocks I cut out pieces for are complete, the large teapot and the sugar bowl. I should scan them in sometime since they're pretty small. Next I have to pick colors out and start the other blocks (3 left to go).

So my priority is to finish Carol's piece - and embroider my castle some more - that's been at a stand still. After that is done a bit I will start the new kit my mom bought for me to make for her on Saturday. Speaking of Saturday - the Quilting Bee - it was up in Latham, it was a really good time, 3 good hours of stitching (on It's Winter) and we went to a quilt store and ate lots of food :) ACMoore was on the way home which has been all moved around so we browsed through that whole place.

Sunday was a walmart trip and that's where I picked up the stencil and paints to start the box. I have to pick out some fabric still to line the inside of the box, but I also need to pick out a cross stitch design to put on top... hmmm.. maybe a dragon pattern for me, or should this be a gift? I can always recreate this - with a different stencil design, this is really a practice one anyway, since I dont' know how to do the inside or anything.

Well - It's back to homework now, read for computer so maybe I can start the problem set that's due on monday! Uck!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Getting there...

Today is one of those days where I need to write a checklist and get everything done. It's Wednesday, class starts up again tomorrow and I have a quiz, and some homework that needs to get done. My little vacation is over. So far I did one reading assignment this morning as well as got my emails done. Next on the list is all of my financial accounting homework, then maybe i'll make the meatballs for dinner if my beef is still good. Lastly it's math homework which is mostly reading for now since the assignment is due on Monday. Then - depending on the time, cook dinner or relax with some stitching. I was thinking of starting my quilt today if i get all my work done, as a reward but it will depend what time it is, it's an appliquet quilt and i'm not real used to appliquet yet so i may need my mom's help and some supplies like freezer paper and starch, iron etc. I could cut out the pieces atleast for a block. Plus I have to decide which colors are getting used where. The quilt is a Debbie Mumm quilt and it's a tea theme, perfect for my kitchen (if i had wall space anyway).

So now that's all i have to do today, it would be nice to get some vacuuming done as well but my boyfriend will be here in the afternoon so i know that won't happen. I can't get work work done when he's around - playing video games as i'm sure he'll be doing again :)

OK - enough dilly dallying, it was good to get this stuff written down but now it's time to get the work done !

Monday, January 19, 2004

And it's Monday...

Well I wasted a lot of time playing this new game with my boyfriend (new to us anyway) - Civ 3 Play the World, it's multiplayer so we can play it together. Everytime we got pretty far though we would get an error and the game would close (this was last night) so today I'm downloading the patch to fix it and then we're going to play again. This game takes hours to win! And we're only playing one computer!

So I started my embroidery, I transferred the pattern to the fabric and started on it, i really like it and hope to work more on it today. It shouldn't take too long to finished and nothing compared to cross stitch.

Tomorrow night i have a job interview for a second job, i really hope I get it i really need the money. So tomorrow I will work on the new website for my current job, then go to the interview. Wednesday will be homework day and thursday is classes. Then back to the real routine with homework on the weekend too. This has been a great few days of doing nothing (especially since I was sick).
I also started reading Middlesex, it's really good so far and I'm on part two. It got great reviews and I'm really glad I bought it. I bought another book too that I'm looking forward to reading and hopefully I'll finish my book on tape soon since I'm down to one more tape - that's Mystic River and must read! It is great too!

Well I'm going to go do something off line so this patch will download quicker - hmph!

------ Added Wednesday :
We played civ 3 all right - for 8! hours Monday. I ended up getting a migraine (my first one ever) and having to get off the computer and go to bed at 8:30 - but my boyfriend is still playing the game trying to beat the computer (it's the same game but i gave him all my cities and gold so he could continue playing). This game is rediculous and I still play it in my head when I go to bed - it just won't go away, it makes me sick thinking about it again! UCKKK!

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Three more days off...

Well my 6 day vacation (due to Monday off) is halfway over. I've managed to get a bunch of chores done, including get the last of the storm windows put on and burn all the garbage. Next on my list is to clean the bath tub and vacuum my room and the bathroom sometime.

I've now put down It's Winter by Sue Hillis (after posting my progress pic in my WIP album) and started on Carol's RR from the first round robin. I figure I'll devote my time to that, finish it and send it on it's way - then back to It's Winter and maybe starting a new one.

For my new round robin i have a few things to do to prepare my piece, but the stitched piece is done already so I just have to section off the fabric and print out the patterns etc.

I'm thinking of starting my new quilt this weekend (week), I bought a bunch of coordinating fabrics yesterday and I'm going to do it all by hand instead of machine (except the actual piecing). This means it will take longer but I think i'll enjoy it more and treasure the quilt more. Another new project will be starting my embroidery piece now that i have the exact fabric i want to use, it's a matter of printing out the pattern and getting the pattern transferred with my mom's light box. Then learning the stem stitch :)
That's all for updates - feeling better, nose is recovering and I'm looking forward to this nice relaxing day!

Thursday, January 15, 2004

I'm Sick!

Well it's Thursday, my second day of class and I have a head cold. I think I was out too much in the cold yesterday, I did my walk at 10am and then went up to RPI for my interview so that was a lot of walking in the cold as well.
Classes Monday went well, hopefully today will go by quickly because I just want to go to sleep. After class I'm off to walmart to get a few things including Tylenol Cold!
Stitching is going well, I've been working on It's Winter and this weekend I'll put it down and scan it then start working on Carol's Round Robin piece from my original RR. The sooner I get that to her the better then we'll all have ours.
I chose my piece for my new RR- it's the gemstone dragons on black 18ct aida. I just have to pick out 7 of them (that way everyone has a choice) and buy the kreinik threads needed for those 7. That's what i'll do tomorrow.
Also on the checklist of today when I get home - storm windows on the windows i need a ladder for - it's going to get colder again tomorrow and my heat just can't do it... so i'll brave the cold tonight and try to get the 6 windows done that are left!

Friday, January 09, 2004

Last day at work...

That's right, less than 5 hours to go and I might never be back working here again - depending on where life takes me.

I just spent 20 minutes applying to some jobs on Monster.com that are in Boston and one in Hartford I think... both places my boyfriend is applying to schools. I haven't looked in NYC yet but that's another option. I haven't been too succesful with Monster.com before but it's closer to graduation now so who knows.

I finished all the stitching in Carol's RR last night - it went really fast, and now I just have 2 beads to attached and it's ready for mailing. That will get done this weekend but i think tonight will be a night away from cross stitching. We're hoping tonight to go to dinner and a movie (Big Fish) - unless my mom is doing a family thing for her birthday then those plans change. Tomorrow night my boyfriend is going out so i'll rent some movies and cross stitch all night again, i'm really looking forward to maybe starting a new project or making serious progress on my new WIP (probably the latter - start a new project after all the RR's are finished). I also have to dye my fabric so maybe sunday i can start that RR- or next week.

Monday I have school all day -then tuesday i'll clean the house and maybe get some work done, then wednesday more work then an interview at 3, then back to classes on Thursday. I have a feeling this will be my last regularly spaced blog, maybe I'll manage once a week from now on but who knows. It sure has been fun and I'll *try* real hard to remember to come let it all out :)

Thursday, January 08, 2004

The home stretch...

I went home ready to spend the night cross stitching, i was staying up till 10, started stitching at 6, i could have gotten 4 hours in, maybe finished Carol's RR... but my mood got changed, won't get into how but it did and i got hardly any done and then just watched tv. I couldnt' bare to pick up my stitching and I really wanted to. It's okay though because I will tonight and maybe i needed a break last night.

So tonight I will be working a bit later since I came in later - needed the sleep, then i'll go grocery shopping and then home to cook dinner and stitch. Tomorrow night we're going to go see Big Fish and then Saturday night I have the night to myself again because my boyfriend's going out with his friends. I will probably rent movies this time and just relax all night again - probably even up late again. Maybe I'll go at 4:30 today and stay later tomorrow, 4 1/2 hours should fly by tomorrow since it's my last day. Today however will drag so I gotta do what I gotta do.

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

My last wednesday here...

So i finally put away the Christmas decorations last night - my boyfriend's are still up but he can do them any time he has much more free time then me right now, and the tree is still up but cleared. I also cooked dinner again (that's two nights in a row!). I may go grocery shopping after work today, get some steak and make egg noodles for dinner. I could pick up some beef too for this weekend, i'm thinking about making home made meatballs. (that would be a first).

I finished stitching the first little person on Carol's RR... Uncle Sam. He looks great. He took 5 hours total so I just need another 5 hours probably to finish her RR completely. I also found some new hobbies - I'm going to try embroidery, this greenwork castle design that this woman sent me, she and her sister designed it and it came out great so i'm going to give it a try. Also sketching, i've been trying to draw dragons, it's hard and my drawings look like children's drawings but i'll keep at it.. something i can do at work for now when i'm bored. I always wanted to be an artist, i loved to draw, i just was never good at it, maybe though, maybe i can practice at it and do better. Starting small, i need to get some models. I'd like to sketch and then turn into cross stitch later so they really have to be proportional to come out good.

So now i've added two hobbies, applied for more part time jobs and i'm never going to have a free second to myself at this rate! All well, keeping busy will keep me from getting lazy, i also want to walk 3 days a week starting tuesday and go to the gym on Mon and Thur (that part isn't hard i did it last semester).

This is my last wednesday here, probably for good because i doubt i'll work here after i graduate (you never know though). Anyhow - 2 days to go, plus today which is 2 1/2 hours over so far (out of 9). So i'll get back to my sketching :)

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Another Tuesday...

I had planned on getting my Christmas stuff packed up yesterday, but no such luck, my boyfriend just wanted to play video games, maybe tonight.

I have just applied for two part time jobs for the spring semester. I'm looking for more work (more money) and hope I hear from one of them. One is web development and the other is a sales associate that has to do with a web development company or something. Either way, I just need some money to save up for vacation after graduation and my current job has a lot of work but I could finish it really quickly and then have nothing again like last semester.

I got 1/2 hour of stitching done last night just before bed. The first little person on Carol's RR piece is almost finished, besides backstitching, then I just have the second one and then on to the next project! I'd like to mail out Carol's RR next week early, along with the floss I bought for Mercedes. Then I'll start on my next RR piece due in March until I get Carol's other RR which should be here soon. After all those are finished I will work on one of my WIPS - not It's Winter - that has to be rotated out for a short time, then I'll start the new piece for my boyfriend that he's been bugging me about. Might as well start it right??

Today is really dragging, it's only been an hour and I'm almost falling asleep. I do have a meeting at 11 but that's it. I'll probably walk again at lunch, really felt good yesterday. Then home at 4:30 which is a change that maybe I can keep up tomorrow and thursday. Thursday is my exit interview since my last day is Friday! I just can't wait for school on monday! That's enough babbling ---- off to find something else to do...

Monday, January 05, 2004

Another Monday...

This weekend was great. First of all New Years Eve was even better than I could imagine, my boyfriend called me at work just before it was time to leave and told me he got a 161 on his LSAT (that's 85 percentile) and it's great news. So the night was a celebration, the 4 of us played cards until about 11:40, then watched the ball drop and then right to bed :) Work on Friday was easy, just 3 1/2 hours then up to Albany to fix a database problem, then home to hang out with my boyfriend. We went bowling after going to dinner and had a great time. Saturday was a more relaxed day and I spent the night alone cross stitching and watching movies. I went to bed around 3am, and my boyfriend showed up at 6am! We slept in till about noon, but then I was up and showered and we went to ACMoore right away.

After ACMoore I organized my newly aquired floss and sat down to cross stitch some more.. in total I stitched 10 hours Thur-Sunday. Besides that I also washed some of my finished cross stitch projects and tea dyed a piece of fabric for my new RR. Unfortunately I washed it too soon and I think i washed out most of the tea, luckily I can do it again no problem. This time i'll put vinegar in the tea.
So sunday was a relaxing day and i really felt like it was a long weekend. I'm not looking forward to my long week of work but it is my last and next monday I start classes again! My last semester! Can't believe I'm almost done with college!