Rain today - no running...

Okay - technically that's not why we didn't run, we were too tired, so I changed the alarm but when I did get up it turns out it had been (and still was) raining real hard so we couldn't have gone running anyway. So that worked out good (cleared the conscience).

But I will still go to the gym today! So last night, I get home, relax a bit then my boyfriend and I drive into boston to meet up with my mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner near MIT. That lasts a few hours, then back about 10 so the night's gone. So we read a bit and go to sleep.

On the annoying side - the internet is STILL out, I called again, they're still doing maintenance and it should have been on in a few hours (this was at 5 last night), but it's still not on this morning. So not only did it cost me what I could have made Sunday night working on the site, but now it's costing my boyfriend parking, 12 dollars a day that he doesn't have because he couldn't order his permit which hopefully he can do today at school (after he pays the 12 for today). I'm ready to strangle comcast. So I emailed them my complaint, so it's in writing as well as in a few phone calls where I dumbly didn't get anyone's names.

Still no stitching - and there wont' be tonight if the internet is back, if it's not back I will be stitching so I'll update tomorrow... now to enjoy my hot tea and find some work to do...

Patience is a virtue

Do you feel cross stitching requires patience?

Of course it does. There are many a times when I'm not patient, trying to speed along and then I find the mistake and I have to take it out. That's when I find myself getting frustrated and have to stop and relax. Cross stitch to me is very relaxing, when I find that I'm not relaxed I have to stop. That's why stitching by deadlines is tough but I have managed by keeping myself organized to not have to worry about deadlines too much, except lately when life gets away from me and I'm just SO busy I can't account for my time.

I recommend to anyone starting cross stitch - first stitch something for yourself, no deadlines, and then you can relax and really enjoy it, it's easy to be patient with a piece when you enjoy the actual act of stitching it!

Lawschool life begins...

For my boyfriend anyway :) Today is his first day and of course, heading out this morning, the road we take normally to I-90 is closed for paving! So it was a long drive out of the way but I think he made it okay and I was just 10 minutes later than expected at work.

So far so good - we ran this morning, at a real good pace too, we also ran saturday but it was SO hot I almost passed out! Now if we just get into a routine, mon,tue,wed,fri,sat running I'll be all set. Then mon,tue,wed,thur,fri at the gym and I should be able to get in great shape. Plus I even ate a healthy breakfast this morning (real oatmeal with a sliced banana in it).

The weekend:
Not so bad - Friday night I got home and we went out to walmart and target, got a bunch of stuff including some furniture (a tv stand and a wooden mini bookcase thing for movies and cds). Then my boyfriend put them together while I cleaned the apartment and finally around 12:30am we were finished and went to bed.
Saturday we went to Best Buy and bought the tv we had picked out, then ran some other errands, got back and set up the tv and put away groceries, then my friend and her boyfriend showed up. We all just relaxed then I cooked up a big dinner (including a salad which is really good of me).
After dinner her boyfriend left to go hang out with friends and my friend and I went shopping a bit to chat and relax, then came back and hung out more, watching olympics. Sunday we got up and went into Boston to meet up with her boyfriend, walk around Boston Common and Quincy Market --it was roasty toasty out and real humid so after lunch we just left, and all got stomach aches on the way back!
After coming back they left and we just relaxed, I got a few things done while watching a movie then went to work on the website and the internet was out! I called comcast, no luck, they said to wait till the next day... so no work for me last night, i'd like to tell them they cost me 100 dollars at least!
Stitching:
Luckily this did give me time to stitch and I worked on the RR, the moon is almost finished, then I just have to decide what else to add and I have some small flowers to stitch randomly throughout. I should definately be able to finish it by next weekend with a 3 day weekend.
This week:
So I plan to work, run, go to gym, eat healthy, work on the website and stitch if there's time left over. My only official plans are wednesday night going to my uncle's house and then Saturday going to NY for the weekend. So that gives me lotsa time :) We'll see how this goes...

Ahhhh Ragweed Season!!!

Now I know why even on Allegra the past 2 days have been rough - the Ragweed pollen count is HIGH. Ugg - i hope the season is short, this is real real bad. I think after my dentist appt. I may just go home, use sick time for the rest of the day. That's 3 hours of sick time.

On other news -- Stitch Night was awesome of course. Let's see...

What I stitched
I worked on the round robin (the band sampler), stitching the happy moon over one on 28ct. Made some progress, it's hard to tell the yellows apart, especially stitching such tiny stitches, but the only part I messed up on was the bright pink cheeks! Had to frog a bit and fix it.

What I bought
Sale bins hit again, this time not for myself but for my friends in the RR - I bought a surprise for each of them plus some other little things that I will make into little gifts for them. They've really been such great friends this year, I'm so glad we're going to continue and have another RR!

Other than that I chatted, I was actually really quiet tonight, but I did talk a bit and I listened a lot. There were less people there last night, but also some new people. It was great fun and I can't wait till the next one in September.

A quick note: I got home last night and my boyfriend had put the coat of primer on 3 walls in the diningroom! Awesome! He's going to do the paint today. That leaves the other 3 walls which are mostly kitchen. He's just the best!

So the weekend report:
Today I will clean the apartment top to bottom when I get home. Hit walmart - haven't been in a while and need some stuff. Hit the grocery store after I figure out what's going on for dinner Saturday.
Saturday my girl friend is coming with her boyfriend for the night. So I'll probably cook up some dinner, not sure if her boyfriend will be going into boston to meet some other friends or just hanging out with us. My boyfriend offered to go out to my uncle's for a bit to give us some time to catch up but we'll see how it goes. Either way, there will be tons of chatting I'm sure, maybe sunday we'll go into boston a bit, i could use a trip to boston common.
Then it's my boyfriend's first week at law school starting monday! What a change this will be, but i'm sure we'll get into some sort of routine. I just hope my routine includes plenty of free stitching time!
And now with a headache, stuffy nose, sneezing and overall feeling like crap - I need to stay at least until my dentist appt at 12:30 so I shall get some work done!

Today is going to be rough...

I can hardly keep my eyes open. Yesterday went by so fast - and I have a ton of reading to do at work but that's part of the problem, it's putting me to sleep!

I did no stitching last night, my cousin had soccer practice so my aunt and I walked during that, got back, ate dinner, then I literally fell asleep! I woke up at 11 and went up to bed. Tonight though I will be stitching at Stitch Night! I can't wait. I'll either work on the RR more or on an old WIP and work on the RR this weekend.

I definately ahve to get to the gym today, missed it yesterday (but did run and walk so I don't feel bad). Today there was no running though - so i'll go to the gym, tomorrow i'll run but then I have a dentist appt. at lunch time so no gym.

My aunt brought me some gifts she got in CA - a cross stitch kit - it's adorable, and will look great in my bathroom if I have time to stitch it up. A leaflet of quilt block cross stitch designs which are adorable also and they have a cute idea for a quilt made of them - so my mind is twirling! And a little fabric bag/container, kind of a miniature yarn basket - that i'm sure I can fill up with some stitching goodies and keep on my livingroom end table (next to my stitching area). It was really nice of her and I hope I thanked her enough!

Well (yawn) I think I'll go to sleep now, i mean read some more documents :)

Day 2 running, done! and Book reviews...

That's right, we did it again - got up early and ran - farther this time too! Tomorrow I will be at my uncle's so no running but I'll still go to the gym at least.

No stitching last night, we ordered pizza's and then I started to work on the website, problems with the router caused long delays and finally after a while I gave up (did get some stuff done though). So I read and went to bed :)

'The Princes of Ireland' -- by Edward Rutherfurd, was very interesting. I just finished the unabridged book on tape. At first it's tough because you get to know some characters and then after their story it switches to a new time/new characters with a few connections back. It would have been easier to read instead of listen to because I could have gone back and checked dates and stuff. But it was very entertaining and I definately recommend to anyone that is interested in Irish history (dealings with religion and England really hog the end of the book but the first story is GREAT).

'Rich in Love' by Josephine Humphreys - this one I'm reading, I'm on chapter 4, when it's complete I'll give a quick review. So far it's capturing attention just fine, I can see some great potential too.

'The Namesake' by?? I'll fix that later - It's my next book on tape, and I know I really wanted to read it so it should be good.

Can you tell I also like reading? I do have a 30-45 minute commute each way to work everyday so that's plenty of time to listen to a book on tape, now if they were only cheaper! My aunt's library has books on tape she said, I'll have to find out if they're open Wednesday afternoons and I could stop there on my way to her place.

So tonight I brought my laundry and my cross stitch and I'm ready for a night of chatting and relaxing with NO computer at all :) Tomorrow night will be a night of stitching and chatting big time a my LNS and I can't wait for that either. For now - it's back to work (actually have work today!!!) And I'm sure I'll be back here tomorrow bored :)

Now for my regular blog of the day (weekday anyway)...

Last night was a little bit of everything. I got home, and my boyfriend had cooked up some delicious pork chops and spanish rice. It was great. After eating I cleaned up and worked on the website while he watched a movie. Our landlord hooked up some of our cable ports so we have more options (4 in the bedroom, 2 in the livingroom now).

Then I got out my stitching and started on the moon stitched over one on the round robin band sampler. It's small but I think it will look good if the backstitching comes out okay - i've never stitched over 1 on 28ct and then backstitched, we'll see how it goes. Then after an hour I read for half an hour and then went to sleep. Perfect schedule for me.

This morning is was up bright and early - 5:45, and my boyfriend and I went for just over a mile run. It was great, and I feel good for doing it. I still got to work by 7 too, so I can still go to the gym, lift then leave at 4 to get home. Perfect! Then work on the website some more and maybe more stitching :)

Well I actually do have some reading to do for work so I'm off to continue the day!

Designer Wishes...
What would you most like your favourite designer to design next?

This one is easy - a dragon, plain, simple, elegant, maybe a little sparkly, not too large - somewhere between 5x7 and 8x10 with nothing else, no maidens, castles, people or anything, just a majestic dragon.

Then along comes Futuristic by TW - perfect :) I'm happy. I have so much to stitch right now that I can't wish for more.

My boyfriend is actually here for good...

Sure is a wierd feeling - a good, but definately different feeling, kind of a feeling of permanance. Now hopefully we can not kill each other :) Seriously though I think things will be great, we both have our own things going on so we won't be stepping on each other's toes or anything.

Friday night - what a storm! I stitched for 5 hours, watching Lifetime and listening to the lightning. It was interesting. I started and finished the teapot for the round robin that's due on Monday. It came out real cute, the backstitching really added to the piece and I'm so glad to be done in time. Now if only I could do that with the other RR that's already started.

Saturday I relaxed, went grocery shopping, picked out something new to try out for dinner sunday. My boyfriend showed up in the afternoon so we unpacked him a bit, then we went up and met my aunt, uncle and cousins for dinner and went back to their house for a while. They just got back from a week vacation at a beach house so the kids are still a bit wired from that, but also tired from that. The youngest, is 6 months, and she is starting to really move around, almost crawling, so she's fun to watch, and she loves to watch her sisters playing.

Then Sunday I baked a pie, got the steak ready for dinner later and then we went shopping. I bought a bunch of shirts at Kohl's - for great prices, then we went to best buy. I think we might get a 27" flat screen tv for 350 soon. I have to pay my bills and see how i'm doing on spending money. Funny that I think carefully about that but then a cross stitch retreat comes along and I spend over 300 no questions asked - i may have to work on that a bit, but then again I do work hard and the one thing i enjoy is stitching so I should be allowed to treat myself if i can afford it. I'll just get a cheaper car :)

The rest of sunday ... my brother got dropped off and I made dinner - a broiled herb steak, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. All pretty good. Then we had pie which was good and I took my brother back to school. After that I got to stitch for an hour - I finally started my boyfriend's piece so I could try out my stand - Peacefull Sillhouette, I just decided I'd start it a bit but then put it off till I finish the RR. Since the background is half stitches I did get a nice chunk done though. I think the piece will go relatively fast for a large piece and I hope it looks great framed. I will probably pay to have it framed professionally since it will be a "gift" for my boyfriend. At least I'm looking forward to working on it, so that will help it get done faster.

Stitching Goals for 2004:
Finish Band Sampler RR
Start and Finish last piece in other RR (hasn't come yet)
Finish pouch from Celebration that is almost finished
Finish Herb Sampler for kitchen
Finish Noah's Arc baby sampler piece for friend
Any other RR or exchange piece that comes along

That's it, I'm sticking to my goals. This is what i have to finish this year, i will definately stitch on other pieces, especially with all my retreats and stuff, plus I have some quilting to do. I almost quilted this weekend but i seemed to have misplaced the handles to the teacups that i am appliquetting so i have to figure out what happened to those - what i pain in the arse! If i don't find them i'll put that block off and start another.

So that was my weekend, now I'm off to a meeting with my cookies :) I'm allowed to eat junk as long as I go to the gym at lunch time - and I'll run today, maybe 2 miles! I'll do the question of the week later ...

Friday - 8 hours to go.

Then i get to go home and start my weekend. This weekend will consist of, first cleaning out my boyfriend's closet so he can move in his stuff, then doing some dusting and making something for dinner.

Then Saturday maybe going to the Audi dealership to test drive a new car :) And find out if i can afford one (yea right). Then maybe finding a Honda dealership to test out a real car that i can afford.

Sunday maybe my brother will come visit from MIT, so we'll take him shopping wherever he needs to go. Maybe we'll start the painting process in the diningroom, one wall at a time :) I would like to get under the bar done - and the wall by the hutch would be easy then. So maybe 3 walls done and save the long wall and the kitchen areas until another time. It's only 2 coats, one of primer, one of paint. But most importantly this weekend I will sleep in! Maybe we'll do some clothes shopping too.

I worked on the website a good deal last night - on setting up the SSL, so far he's got his CC payment stuff integrated which are some big checkmarks so after the SSL is setup I can do the invoices and the UPS needs to be done and he should be ready to go besides the little things that he doesn't need done to go live. I hope he's seeing this like I am. We'll have to do a few dry runs with a credit card and stuff but hopefully all will work fine.

So I'm hoping that finishes up, next week I really need to cross stitch - I need to finish 2 RR's, one I will try to do next week, the other will be late because I"m going to put it off but they know me and will trust that I'm just busy and will still send it on as soon as I can. So tonight maybe i'll get the threads together for the other RR which is a small teapot and maybe I'll finish it this weekend - that would be more than awesome! Nothing like getting my hopes up :)
Alright - it's been an hour and I'm already bored but I think my paper finally printed out!

Almost time to go to the gym...

Hopefully i'll get there today :)

Last night i was a total ditz, i took care of the dog, then went home and met up with my parents so they could see my apartment, then we went to dinner and i came back to my uncle's -- but i had FORGOTTEN to get my baking stuff - stupid! Luckily my aunt had some cake mix and frosting, but upon searching everywhere I could not find ANY vegetable oil!

Well 123 stitch saved me there, i posted a message asking for help and butter was suggested as a substitute, worked great but now I have to buy cake mix and frosting to put back in her cupboard today. But the cupcakes were a hit - yummy yummy and it's not even lunch time yet :)

So I'm off to the gym - get a good workout in, maybe they'll be a cupcake left for me when I get back and I have dinner left over from last night or tacos for lunch. One more night before my boyfriend moves in ... he's been going out with friends, was out real late last night and he sent me a text message which woke me up around 3 am - i hope he's recovered today and was able to work and can go out again tonight to see his other friends...

Oh before I go - i found out a "good" friend of mine who was going to be gone for months doing a hike across 3 states, after a week her and her boyfriend decided it wasn't fun and quit, so she's home - but hasn't called, i only know because my mom saw her last week and told me. I wouldn't even hesitate to call her but now I wonder why she hasn't called me after I last conversation got cut short and she has a ton to fill me in on (plus I don't have a phone number to get a hold of her since she got rid of her cell). We'll see - I'm busy this weekend getting my boyfriend moved in, after that i'll see what happens... now no more delay, i'm off to the gym!

It's a good day...

That's right - today is good, fun and productive.

This morning started with a meeting, got a lot of questions answered and a lot of discussion that needed to be done. Then at lunch I headed to the gym... and my car wouldn't start! My battery was dead. Well this sure turned into something. 5 of us out there, first we checked the battery with a volt meter - 8v, then jump started it, checked it, 16v - so it was definately the battery not the alternator. So then a guy at work took out the battery for me and drove me to walmart to get a new one and put it in. Worked like a charm.

Then i ate and a joke email started going around and now i'm baking cupcakes to bring in tomorrow, cupcakes in ice cream cones anyway - really wanted to try that out.
Then a few minutes ago one of the taller guys in the office taped the air duct shut so the A/C isn't coming in anymore - and it's already warmer! Pretty soon i'll be wearing shorts to work (probably not but i can dream right) ;)

So - more interesting: Last night I went to an LNS in Littleton. It was nice - very large, lots of stuff, tons of needlepoint canvases which are new to me, never seen one, lots of yarn and tons of charts and stuff. I bought one chart by Sweetheart Tree with a bee charm for it, and some beads that i needed. I liked it but i like the cozy arlington store more - it's nice to have options though!

Today my little brother is going to college, my parents just dropped him off, he's going to MIT. I'm so proud :) Plus he'll be real close, he may take the train out sunday to see the apartment since he hasn't been there yet. Tonight after taking care of the dog i'm going to go home and get the mail and maybe meet my parents quick on their way home so they can see the new furniture. Hopefully they'll still be around at 6 when i can get there - only half an hour left till i leave work, then take care of the dog and head home - i'm hoping traffic is light but there's no guarentee either.

So today is good - i'm in a good mood and my boyfriend is moving out here in 2 days!!! I can't wait!! Now i'm off to write some stuff up so i have something finished today ;)

Heirlooms

If you were to stitch something to be passed on to future generations of your family as an heirloom, what would it be and why?

I would want it to be something that really represented who I am as a stitcher, something I love, something I put a lot of time and love into... so basically not anything I've done so far :) Maybe Celtic Woman Sampler by Enchanting Lair, I'm looking forward to getting this sometime and stitching it in some beautiful overdyed threads on some hand dyed linen. I think the verse is lovely and it would be something I'd love to pass down even though I myself am not Irish, but love the history and tradition itself.

And the car is sold, not much else done this weekend...

I went "home" this weekend, Friday night we didn't do anything really, saturday we spent at my family's house, had dinner there and then played poker most of the night. Sunday we did nothing again, went out to lunch but that's it. Then my boyfriend had someone interested in his old car (prelude) and they came by and drove it and stuff. After I left they offered him 1900 cash and he took it, he could have gotten more if he had waited since he hadn't even listed it in the want ads yet but he's glad to just be rid of it and not have to deal with the want ads anyway. Plus there are a few problems with it which these people probably will want to fix so by lowering the price it makes that easier for them. Unfortunately money is so tight right now that it doesn't help him out much, he can basically pay off his computer and 1/4 of his books but he really needs to work a lot this week and get some more money together to get him by until his loan money comes in.

So I went home, packed everything I needed for the week, locked up the apartment real good and read until 9:30 I think when I went to sleep. I was exhausted and I know the next few nights will be me getting to my uncle's after work, taking care of the dog, eating and then working on the website so i figured i'd relax last night. Hopefully I can do a lot of work this week and get the site working well. I just want this to be done.

So no stitching, my grandmother finished the hand towels she stitched for me with my herb patterns for my kitchen. They came out great and will look great with my other herbs that have to be quilted together still but at least are finished (from my RR).

Well I'm back to the exciting place of work! Better find something to do ---- going to be a long day but gotta get back into going to the gym so i'll be here until 5 probably.

Stitch Night was awesome!!!

I will elaborate... I showed up late, mostly due to turning the wrong way on rt 3 and then on turning back hitting really heavy traffic! But I got there before 7 and had till 9. I met everyone, about 12 people there, mostly women but one man and all ages which helped me feel very comfortable. I sat in the corner and chatted with the women nearby while I stitched. Everyone was working on such beautiful pieces!

Then I checked out the sale bins - what a surprise! For 99 cents each I bought 10 patterns, 5 of which are the Shepherd's Bush months that I want to do in my next RR - they usually go for about 4 dollars! Then I found 2 Couchman Creations patterns i really wanted, both tigers that go with True Love II which I have already. Then I got some Autumn patterns. I couldn't believe my luck, it was great!

I have to say I had such a wonderful time, I'm horrible with names and I'm really hoping I remember a few and I can't wait to go back in 2 weeks! I want to finish the RR i'm doing now so I have something new to bring and work on. Of course by then I'll have 2 RR's due to be mailed out soon after so hopefully they are done. I need to stitch this weekend.

I am in a serious stitch fever mode, but I still have 3 hours of work then a 2 1/2 hour drive to my boyfriend's and i'm sure i won't stitch tonight, we'll probably get dinner and watch a movie or something. It really depends on if we go to the race track this weekend, if it rains then we won't go probably. Now i'm hoping for rain so i can stitch (and that's bad because i'm the one that wanted to go :)

Well - work is dragging because it's friday and i want to go home, but i'm in a great mood and i can't wait to see my mom this weekend and show her my new patterns. Plus at least I have a little work today, i worked on the website for our work project and now i'm doing some visio stuff, nothing of great importance but at least it's something to do!

Plus I booked the B&B room for my sister and I in September. It's all set, we are having our very own stitch night, and i will bring my true light ott light because i don't think the lighting will be very good there but who knows. Plus we can hit "With Heart and Soul" on sunday to shop!!!
Alright - back to work -3 hours to go and counting!

Busy busy me...

I can't wait till this weekend, we technically have no plans, except maybe heading to Saratoga for the races - but other than that we can do NOTHING at all!

Yesterday, I got home late - due to heavy heavy traffic by I-95 (128 for those MA people) and then I organized all the garbage that goes out tonight and got a few small things picked up, ate dinner and settled in to work on the website for 2 hours. Then I went to bed and read for half an hour. Some reason, even getting 7 hours of sleep, when I wake up at 6 I'm exhausted and even now I would love to just fall asleep. I think I enjoy sleeping tooooo much!

Tonight is Stitch Nite!!! I can't wait, first I have to get home by 5 to hit the bank, which means I have to leave here some time before 4 in case i hit traffic. Then I will head home, take out the garbage, eat dinner and start cleaning up. Then I'll head to Arlington for stitching, then back to finish cleaning and packing. Tomorrow night I am leaving straight from work to head "home" to my boyfriend's house. That way I get to see my parents this weekend.

The weekend after my boyfriend is moving out here so this is really my last chance for a while. Especially since we need to spend a weekend or 2 painting the diningroom still - so easily I forget that little task! Plus next week I need to organize and clean out his closet so he has some place to move in to. I really should buy a desk because I need one desperately to help keep things in order. My closet is layered with things which could go in a desk so that space could be used for storage of things that are currently throughout the apartment. Plus I need someplace to put my computer and the livingroom end table isnt' quite doing it for me because I'd like it to be a bit "nicer" and neater in there, not full of computer cords. Ho hum! Well I think it's time to break into my hershey kisses - i've been here for 2 hours, it's almost 10am - that's good enough!

A very long night...

I assumed last night would consist of me coming home, maybe ordering some chinese, and getting some work done..

instead, my boyfriend is putting his new laptop together (a good thing), and then we find out the xp cd he has is not bootable and the cd that i have that is bootable is missing, it turns out my little brother "borrowed" my case of computer cds when he wanted to borrow a game - so we drive all the way up to NH to visit my uncle to get the bootable cd, what a pain! So it was a long night of driving, i drove back so he could play on his new laptop, he installed the Doom3 I bought him sunday but since I went to bed as soon as we got back and he still had video drivers to install I have no idea how it worked out.

Needless to say, i didn't get any work done and i'm exhausted and it's only Wednesday! I can't believe it. So tonight I will work double time on the website so tomorrow i can still go to stitch night without a guilty chip on my shoulder. Now i just need to get some work done today and i'll really feel like i've accomplished something this week (yesterday was all meetings!)

A little change ...

I played with the template a bit, I like the change I think.

Still no stitching done here, I did however work on the website last night, got most of the graphics done too, a little touch ups left for tonight then it's on to security.

We went to Jiffy Lube last night, they said that the people on friday put the wrong oil filter on, so they fixed it and changed the oil again. Unfortunately I checked this morning and it looks like there's a small puddle under the car again! I will have to inspect when I got home because I took my boyfriend's car to work again today. After the oil change we went to best buy and target, at target we got a few things for the apartment, mostly decorative things, a small rug for the hallway, which kinda looks dumb because our hallway is so long, some pictures to hang, a wooden box to put in the livingroom (can hold remotes and stuff) and an ironing board. We then had some fun hanging up the pictures.

Tonight will be more of the same, working on the website, same as tomorrow, but thursday is stitch night so it will be dedicated to 2 1/2 hours of stitching i hope. Today I have a doctor appt. with a new doctor, I need to make sure I have directions to get there now.. so i'm off to look before our meeting at 9.

Furniture is here!!!

We had a very up and down weekend. Friday night I got home, cleaned and then started priming the 3 walls in the bedroom that were left. My boyfriend showed up around 9:30 and I was still painting, so I finished up while he relaxed a bit then while I showered he blew up the air mattress for us to sleep on (the bedroom smelled too much like paint).

Saturday we slept late, painted the last coat on the bedroom walls and then got cleaned up. We had to drive to the Fedex place to pick up his package, forgot the slip with the tracking number, drove back to the apartment then back to Fedex, then finally to my uncle's house, we hit some heavy traffic though and we showed up at his house 2 hours later than originally planned.

Finally though we headed out to get the furniture, it all fit perfectly, got it to the apartment and got the loveseat and tables in no problem. Then while the guys worked on getting the couch through an impossibly small door I put the feet on the loveseat and waited. Finally, after almost giving up they got it through - and it all looks great. Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy it for long because we were starving and wanted to get back.

Saturday night we ate pizza then played video games until around midnight, slept in again and then played with the girls all morning. Finally around lunch time we headed back and put our new tables together. Finally the livingroom was complete. We took the tape and plastic off everything in the bedroom and got that all put back together then I cleaned while my boyfriend showered. After everything was cleaned up we could finally just enjoy!

Then we went to the mall to get me some clothes for work, not realizing the mall closed early on sundays (at 6) so we ended up rushing after finding a great deal on some dressy pants, 4 pairs of pants for 100 dollars. The shirts we weren't so lucky with, I got 3 shirts and a pair of shoes for 120. Usually I can do much better but we were stuck with just Filene's open till 7. So maybe next weekend we'll hit the mall again, especially if i go home we can go to the mall I'm used to and go to H&M.

Now for the frustrating part, I got my oil changed on friday (finally), and then saturday when I moved my car so we could unload the truck we saw that my car was leaking oil badly, so they messed something up at jiffy lube. Unfortunately they were closed already and not open on sundays so there was nothing I could do about it. So today I have my boyfriend's car for work and he's going to take my car back and have them fix the oil filter, they must have put it on wrong.

So i'm crossing my fingers that that goes well and my car doesn't break down on me now. My boyfriend is staying here until his laptop comes in the mail which could be today or tomorrow (UPS). Luckily I bought Doom3 to keep him occupied sitting around the apartment all day - just came out and he played last night and loves it. We're hoping it runs better on his new laptop though because on my computer you have to run it at such a low resolution that you can't enjoy it as much.

Well the week begins, doctor appointment tomorrow and working on the website most nights this week. Not really looking forward to much free time. Thursday night though I want to go to my LNS for stitch night 6:30-9, bring my RR i'm working on and maybe finish up another star and the flowers in the center of the stars. I think I"m taking a break from the gym today because I'd like to get home early (3:30 if i don't take a break). Then tomorrow I have my appt. so no gym but wed and thur i can go to the gym. Maybe we'll go running when I get home tonight. What a plan...

Yea it's friday!

I love fridays (after work anyway), but it's still morning time. Last night I went grocery shopping like I wanted, and 6 of the 10 books I had ordered from Barnes and Noble arrived - i got 10 books for 26 dollars, mostly hardcover too! I love shopping the discount section. Then I dusted everywhere real good with the swiffer duster that I love! Then I cooked up some steak and rice for dinner, unfortunately I made enough to bring for lunch today but I forgot it at home! I also have another steak we may cook up tonight or I'll cook it Sunday and have it for lunch monday.

Then I started to not feel well - so I didn't clean the bathroom or vacuum like usual, but since my boyfriend is coming a little later tonight than usual I figure I can get most of the cleaning done when I get home after a trip to Walmart. I want to get the livingroom real clean so we can move the furniture in this weekend no problem, then we have to move the bedroom furniture around once my boyfriend gets here and start the painting process for the weekend. I may have to start that before he gets there depending on when he shows up, my estimate is around 7 though.

My brother has been considering coming to visit this weekend but he's not sure he has a way to get out here, I told him to ask mom to borrow the car, his truck probalby can't make the drive. I hope he does, he could help with moving the furniture too and he hasn't seen the place yet.

So since I wasn't feeling well I decided to at least stitch while I watched Lifetime (I haven't had cable in 4 years so having lifetime back is great!) I got a star complete on the RR I'm working on. I think I'm going to do 2 stars on each side but I may try to fit the moon on one side instead, i just think it may be too large, unless I can scale it down myself - hmmmm...
Around the stars are going to be little floating flowers, I wasn't going to put them in but the stars don't stand out much so now I know i'll have to put them in. I hate doing small confetti stitches with overdyed floss where you can't use the loop method. I would like to work on this again this weekend but I may be too busy. Then I have to get the floss for the teapot RR together so I can get that little guy done (they're both due at the end of august).

This is actually the last piece in our International RR, and after the teapot piece I have one more in my other RR which is newer but much quicker paced because it's all US. I've made great friends with the International RR and I think we're going to just start another one right up as soon as we can :)

Hello out there...

I think I changed it so now comments can be made, we'll see if this works - I also added the blogpatrol so i can see if anyone even reads this thing, all good things to know, am i alone in the universe ??

I wish I had brought my stitching or quilting to my uncle's last night, but i did get a lot of time to read. Next week they will be on vacation so I won't be going there and the week after they're gone and I'm house sitting so i'll be there the whole week, closer to work is nice. The week after that my boyfriend is going to be out here for good - what a change that will be (good hopefully).

So I did nothing last night, chatted with my aunt and read, then slept fitfully. Tonight will be a LONG night - after work (which I can leave early since I came in early), i must go to the grocery store some place, then clean the apartment top to bottom, including dusting which I hate - the blinds, the fans, the furniture, then vacuum real good and maybe - just maybe then I can relax. I need a walmart trip but that will have to wait a bit.

Since I have nothing good to say more I will go back to reading my slides for work ... till next time....

I am tired...

feeling wiped out from my workout I think. I've been doing real well going to the gym Mon-Thur though, just got one more day this week.

Let's see - tons to fill in about the weekend. Friday night my mom came by, my boyfriend and I took her to ACMoore and then we all went to dinner, then back to the apartment to play cards and eat shrimp.

Saturday, we went to Arlington, to Cross Stitch Unlimited (can't wait to go again!) it's such a cute little shop with so much to look at, i felt overwhelmed. There were many patterns on the walls and one of them (Just Nan which is new to me) I decided to buy, little did I know it was in 3 parts, at 6.50 a piece but I bought all 3 plus some overdyed threads. I found out they have a stitch night 2 thursdays a month and i'm looking forward to popping in!

Next we went down the road to The Fabric Corner, browsed and bought some fabric, they have a beginners quilting class starting in September that I am now signed up to take, every other tuesday night. It's hand piecing and hand quilting (no machine required at all) so I'm psyched! I have most of the other things needed, like a matte and rotary cutter and scissors.

After that we took my boyfriend out to lunch at a chinese buffet (as a thank you for driving us around and waiting for us while we shopped). Then my mom left for my sisters and I spent the rest of the night stitching happily away. I finished the little house on the round robin i'm working on and it came out great, now for the stars and then it's done.

Sunday we gave up on painting and just relaxed, drove around looking at houses for sale in the area, dreaming since they all go for over 400,000, even the tiny ones.

Monday after work I painted the Kilz on the bedroom walls that needed it (covers the water damage), that way we just have to prime with the green over it and then paint, we could just paint 2 coats but we have more primer than we do paint. And I worked on the website every night Sun-Tues. Tonight I'm looking forward to not looking at a computer after 4:40 -- 40 minutes to go :)

Last night on my way home I stopped by JoAnn's - the one here has a great selection of fabric, it's just a pain to get to since you can only get to it going one direction on rt. 9, but i can always stop on the way home some night if i need to.

Besides stitching for these RR's i'm really looking forward to working on my quilts, WIPs. I didn't realize how close to done my bugs in jars quilt is (i don't like the quilt so i haven't picked it up in a long time), so i may at least finish the quilting and then just put off the binding. My scenic quilt needs to be quilted but more importantly a pattern for quilting it needs to be picked out and i'm at a loss. Then there's my Debbie Mumm teapot quilt, which still has a lot of appliquet, I'm not doing it like in the book, I blew up the patterns and I'm hand appliquetting it instead of by machine. So far I have 2 of the 5 blocks done and a third almost done, a stack of teacups that's just missing the handles. I'd like to get this one done for my diningroom because it's a perfect kitchen theme and it will really stand out, plus since I haven't finished it yet I can more carefully coordinate the fabrics to match my green walls.

So stitching (besides RR's) will be on hold until the website is done, i don't have enough time, i really only have some time on weekends and i think it's going to be quilting and working on the RR's. Then after the site is done (maybe by september) i will pick up my stitching again, maybe finish up my herb sampler for the kitchen since I'm SO close to done on that one and it'd be nice to finish something kinda large, then start the one for my boyfriend. I'm also joining a SAL in January 2005 - but that's pretty far off, that's a sampler, all in one color so i'll need to do some shopping to pick out the perfect fabric/thread combination.

Some BAD news I got this week :( Big Bummer - the Mystic, CT retreat I wanted to go to is full - and I can't go to the Monday/Tuesday one because it'd be real hard to get those days off of work and then get another friday in november off of work. I'm not 100% sure I can't, i'm on a waiting list in case someone cancels and now that I think of it i may be able to sqeeze in the days off - i'll have to talk to my boss, but i'm not sure it would look good.

If however I don't go - I will take around 150-200 of what I would have spent on it and do a shop hop that weekend in this area, there are a few LNS's and it'd be great to just treat myself guilt free. But only time will tell - November is so far off, i couldn't believe it was already full (and i sent my check in on friday), but she'll hold it in case it opens up.

Alright well this was a long long entry - now i'm headed back to the message boards to see what I missed and kill the last 30 minutes of my day!!!