WaHoo!! Now what?

I honestly didn’t think
I could do it, but I finished stitching the monthly Bent Creek Snappers (the original series) tonight
before the end of the year and with one night to spare.  I can’t remember
when I started on this one, but I am pretty sure is was sometime in 2004. 
I don’t remember working on it in 2005 at all and I believe, but I could be
wrong, that I picked it up again some time last year.  It is done…with
the exception that I haven’t added the snaps.  I decided to wait to do that
until right before I get it framed.  Sean asked me how much it was
going to cost…I just smiled and said "A lot" while batting my (very short)
lashes at him.  A look of concern came across his face, but then he
asked where I was going to get it done now that the LNS is closed. 
Thankfully, I still have my framing goddess to frame things for me.  I have
the perfect place to hang it in our house.  Right above the sliding glass
doors in the dining room. 

 

Now I am
wondering…what to stitch on next?  Like many other stitchers/bloggers, I
have spent a good deal of time thinking about my stitching goal list for next
year.  I have
a few WIPs to finish and many, many projects I want to start.  So do I
pick up a WIP and work toward finishing it…or go wild and crazy starting
something totally new?  Decisions, decisions.  I think I will stare at
my goals for a while and see if anything shouts out at me. 

 

Oh, and my friend gave me a beautiful
fob for Christmas
that she made herself.  It is so pretty!

 

I haven’t given an
update lately about Daisy Mae.  She is about the same
behavior-wise.  Which basically is bad.  And when I say bad…I
mean BAD!  But she is oh, so cute!  And gives you these big brown sad
eyes all the time, it is hard to resist her.  She is not housebroken
yet, but is getting much more time out of her crate.  The schedule just
wasn’t working.  So we try to make sure we take her out based on eating and
drinking times, then giving her longer periods out of the crate on her
leash.  She will eat anything so we are also working on that still and
she destroys 95% of the dog toys.  She loves sitting with me in my
stitching chair and we have worked it out so that I am still able to
stitch.  Sean says she is a Mama’s Girl and she won’t snuggle in his
lap the way she does in mine.  But I think she still could become a
Daddy’s Girl just like JoJo and Hannah.  Though JoJo was pretty much
obsessed with him from the get go.  The cat remains loyal to me
though.  HaHa!  This is funny, because I am not the cat person in the
house…he is!… but a dog person.  Jaz is my first cat but she is
such a dear that she won’t be my last.

 

 

I am pretty ticked because I still can’t get
into MSN Spaces to update my blog or blog site. 

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Happy Holidays!

I sent this on Thursday to
post to my blog…but it has been lost somewhere in cyberspace.  MSN Spaces
appears to be lost somewhere too since I am unable to access it.  This
happened last month too for a few days.  Hopefully it will be back up
soon….I am hoping this time it post but who knows?

 

It has been a great
holiday so far.  Except for one little thing that is making me
annoyed.  Sean is on vacation, yet yesterday he spent half the day on the
phone with work and has again today.  He is actually working on the
computer right now!  Other than that, it’s all good.

 

Christmas Eve morning,
Hannah and I made some more cookies…very good and Hannah loved them.  My
parents arrived around lunch time, so we got a pizza and I spent the rest of the
day preparing what I could in advance.  Before bedtime we opened one gift
each…new pj’s all around.  Hannah got matching pj’s for her and her
American Girl doll, Lilly.  Hannah’s were way to big.  I ordered a
size up from her size right now totally expecting them to be a little big, but
they look more like three sizes to big.  She loves them though and I think
she will be able to where them until she is ten.

 

Christmas morning came
way to early.  Of course, Santa had made a stop by our house
during the night.  Though I did manage to almost get the turkey ready to
put in the oven before Hannah got up.  After that was done we opened
gifts.  Hannah received many wonderful gifts.   Her "theme" this
year seemed to be Hannah Montana and American Girl though she received other
things, too.  From us, Santa and Mima & Pop-Pop she got a bed,
a dog house (for Lilly’s Coconut) and some outfits for
Lilly, a compass, High School Musical sheets, tons of AG books, a gift card for
clothes, the 2007 Holiday Barbie, two Wii games…one was Hannah Montana, four
games for her DS…one was Hannah Montana that is different than the Wii game,
two CDs…yes, that’s right, one was Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, a Hannah
Montana watch necklace (seems to be her fav gift!), MileyWorld fan club
membership, Hannah Montana Dance Mat with DVD and tickets to see Hannah
Montana/Miley Cyrus Concert.  Wow!  That kid really made out. 
LOL

 

Sean and Hannah got me
lots of new clothes and a few necklace/earring sets.  Santa brought me a
double string of pearls necklace and a Scene It xBox game with
controllers.  My mom & dad gave me a Mickey watch and snow globe along
with a gift card to JC Penney’s and Carnival Games for the Wii.  Sean got
lots of new games for the xBox, some Penn State shirts and sweatshirt, shirts
and ties, an Eagles watch, Friday Night Lights season one DVD, the Heroes
graphic novel and Santa brought him the PS3 with a game.  He was surprised
about that because we had decided last year that we would rather get the Wii
from Santa and he really didn’t need the PS3.  He has sorta hinted a lot in
the last month or so about if he had one….

 

We gave my parents gift
cards for the movies and dinner.  Last year they said it lasted them thru
to the summer.  We also gave my mom a necklace and earring set, a sweater
jacket like thing that she loved and a Pampered Chef thing for breaded meat
(though it can be used in other ways).  We gave my dad a Briar Rabbit
hat and framed sketch of Briar Rabbit that we had done while there in October
and a DVD set of the three Superbowl games that the Redskins have won.  I
think he really liked that cuz I heard him tell my mom she was just going to
have to watch it.  For his birthday (which was on the 18th) we
gave him a Soduko handheld game.  He is totally addicted to
Soduko.   My uncle and his wife gave Hannah Monopoly Junior Princess
Edition (she already has it, but I was very proud of the way she
didn’t them know & just said thank you) and a box set of
101 Games that include Checkers, Pick Up sticks, Snakes and Ladders, Chess,
Chinese, German and Italian Checkers and tons more.  My cousin (who
married my uncle….long story) made Sean and I a beautiful flag afghan that we
love. 

 

We had a good
traditional dinner made by yours truly.  Oddly, one of the things I make
very well came out iffy.  My stuffing was to dry.  Everything else was
good.  We had turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes in chive butter,
green beans, corn casserole, broccoli salad, deviled eggs, watergate salad and
pumpkin pie.

 

Since our guests (my
uncle & his wife also come for dinner) left by five, we decided to head out
to the movies.  We saw The Waterhorse Legend of the Deep.  It
was really good.  But people really do need to learn the way to behave
during a movie…in other words, stop talking.  I paid to watch a movie,
not listen to you retell every scene after it happens.  We had
already planned on seeing Alvin and the Chipmunks 
yesterday…very cute movie.  But really, people!  Stop talking during
a movie and teach your kids to be quiet too!  Hannah has been going to the
movies since she was about 2 1/2 or 3 years old and she knows not to talk during
the movie.  So you can’t use the excuse that they are just kids…teach
them now or they will be like that when they are adults too.  Isn’t so cute
then is it?  Oh, and popcorn is to eat not throw or spill on the floor and
seats.  One other thing, and then I will get off my soapbox, stop kicking
the seat in front of you and/or make your kids stop. 

 

Today is jammie
day.  Though Sean did take his car in early for an oil change.  He
came home with flowers for both of us.  We have just been hanging
around.  We played Carnival Games on the Wii, played pick up sticks and now
I am surfing the web.  I plan on stitching soon too.  I don’t have to
cook since we have tons of left overs.  Tomorrow will be another relaxing
day though we do plan on running a few errands and picking up some Thai food for
dinner.  Saturday we are planning on going into DC to see the National
Christmas Tree.  Sunday is football for Sean, so stitching and gaming for
me & Sweetpea.  Monday we are planning on going to the outlets and
watching movies.  Hannah is excited for Monday because she will be allowed
to stay up until midnight.  Tuesday will be another Jammie Day! 
Wednesday Hannah will be heading back to school… :0( for me, but she
loves school for which I am very grateful.

 

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The Good, The Bad, The Happy and The Sad

Yesterday was the last day that the LNS was opened.  Sadly, my friend decided to close for various reasons.  It is sad on several levels, one of which…where oh where will I spend my Wednesday afternoons and most of my Saturdays?  Thankfully, we are still going to be getting together for stitching days about once a month.

 

Yesterday was also the day that Sean’s family came to celebrate Christmas.  We had some appetizers I made, exchanged gifts, chatted and then went out to dinner. 

 

Today after church, Panera and a quick stop by Best Buy, Hannah and I finished wrapping gifts, made cupcakes and some cookies.  These cookies are so good…I wasn’t sure there would be any left for company.  My parents are coming tomorrow and then my uncle and his wife will be here for Christmas dinner.  And of course, I would need cookies to put out for Santa tomorrow, so I had to stop myself from eating them all, but I really wanted to.  Oh, and I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but the Pioneer Woman rocks!

 

Tomorrow Hannah and I are going to make another cookie and I have to make a Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, Broccoli Salad, these bacon thingies and brine my turkey.  I am sure I will think of a few other things that I can make ahead of time so that I will have less work to do on Tuesday.  

 

I did finish stitching December Swirls snapper!  Just tonight.  I still have to finish the border before I can have a total happy dance for finishing this project, and I am not sure that I will finish it by the end of the year like I hoped but I am still going to try. 

 

Sadly, I MSN Spaces isn’t working correctly because I am unable to sign in and post a picture of the finished snapper.  Oh, and as always, I am getting sick.  I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a cold during Christmas. 

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Do you believe in Miracles?

While out running errands with Sean on Tuesday my cell phone rang. It was my niece that lives in MO. She just wanted to call and say hi. She wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas. I told her calling was gift enough for me. The next day Hannah and I went to Hallmark to get a couple of birthday cards for my Dad and my niece (same one)…she will be turning 20 on Christmas Eve.

 

Early Thursday morning my mom called. My niece’s mother had called to let us know that my niece was in the hospital on life support. What? They weren’t sure yet but thought she had a stroke. After I took Hannah to the dentist and dropped her off at school, I talk to my parents again, they are going to fly out there. I called my niece’s mother (she and I were friends in high school & she dated my brother) M, she told me that T was on a ventilator and had a brain aneurysm. She wasn’t improving and they weren’t sure what was happening yet. They were going to do a CAT scan and MRI.

 

Later that night they did surgery to get some blood off the brain and if I understood right, they removed a piece of the brain as well. My parents got there late Friday afternoon and when they called me late Friday evening, T had been taken off the vent and was breathing on her own. Saturday she was moved out of the ICU and is continuing to improve.  She is awake today. 

 

I can’t begin to tell you what a relief it is that she is doing so well. My brother, her father, passed away in May 1993 and she is his only child. And T has been thru so much in her short life not only her father’s young passing, but she has recovered from another illness that took a toll on her kidneys. She is on a transplant list and receives dialysis six days a week.  

 

I know she has some recovering to still do but I do feel that our family has received another miracle…this one a Christmas one. 

 

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Monday Mumbles

It is a cold, wet day.  I am not positive but I don’t think it has stopped raining all day.  Daisy likes to sleep in on days like this…why can’t it be rainy on the weekends when I don’t have to get up?  Though I can safely say that she is sleeping thru the night.  Now if only she would housebreak.  She is still having an accident at least once a day.  Oh, sometimes she will go a day or so without having one, but that is unusal.  I am not sure what we are doing wrong since we do follow a schedule.  More time and lots more patience I guess.  

 

Stitching wise, I think I am back on track.  I am stitching more this month so far than I did all of November.  I have decided not to stitch on And They Sinned in order to finish, I hope, the snappers by the end of the year.  Yesterday I started the November Twirls snapper and I think I am making good progress.  Now, if the laundry would do itself, dinner would cook itself, the dishes, dusting, sweeping, etc. would all do itself, I would get much more stitching done.

Yesterday we decided to have lunch at P.F. Chang’s.  Yummy!  I always enjoy our meal there.  Since we were at the mall that has the William-Sonama we went in there as well.  I wanted to get the turkey brine that the Pioneer Woman mentioned on her blog, but they only carry it in November.  Can you believe it?  Don’t lots of people have turkey for Christmas dinner as well as Thanksgiving?  I know we do.  It has been that way my whole life.  We also have ham at Christmas but we still have a turkey.  So the lady working there assured me that their brine (which is really for pork loin, chops or chicken) would work just as well.  I usally make my own brine, but really wanted to give W-S’s a try. Fingers crossed that this one is good. 

 

This year I am going to be trying several new cookie recipes (again thanks to the Pioneer Woman & also Food Network’s 12 Days of Cookies newsletter) and I can’t wait to get to baking.  One of the recipes from Pioneer Woman is a must bake with Hannah and I know she is really going to enjoy making them.  I don’t know that she will eat them, but we shall see.  She is just so gosh darned picking.

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Another Snow Day

Due to yesterday’s snow, school was cancelled for today.  I had plans to meet a mom friend for breakfast, but since we are friends to to our kids we just dragged them along with us.  Then they convinced me… more like Hannah guilted me :0) …to let Hannah go home with them for a playdate.  After I picked Hannah up we headed home for a late lunch and to finish up some laundry that I started while she was off having fun. :0)  Since school was cancelled so was TKD so we spent the rest of the day in PJ’s relaxing.  Though I haven’t gotten any stitching done yet. 

 

I did manage to get a few more Christmas cards done and since Hannah’s school pictures came today…finally…I was able to seal several more cards to mail.  I read on someone’s blog to keep the cards from becoming overwhelming to do a few a day, so that is what I have been trying to do.  I am half way finished.  Yay Me! 

 

I did finish stitching October Curls snapper though I am still working on the border.  I should have finished this one Monday but we last power for 2 1/2 hours…during my usual stitching time! ( I also missed Heroes!!!!!)  You can’t stitch by candle light.  So Wednesday I went by Wal mart and bought two battery operated lanterns…one for me and one for Hannah. They both do a pretty good job of lighting a room.  I don’t know if I will be able to stitch with it, but I will try next time the power goes out.  Could be tomorrow or could be eight years from now, but I am ready. 

 

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Snow Day!

I woke up this morning, took Daisy outside and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.  After I feed her, took a shower, got dressed and got Hannah up, I took JoJo out and there was a bit more on the ground.  But not enough to cancel school.  By the time, we were ready to leave for school…there was a lot more snow on the ground.  I dropped Hannah off, offered a friend a ride home from school and took off to Wal-mart.  I got a text message shortly after that school was dismissing two hours early!  After Hannah got her homework done, we bundled up and headed outside for fun in the snow.  Bath, dinner and now sitting around trying to stay warm since the PTA meeting was cancelled too.

 

Daisy was funny out in the snow.  She isn’t really sure what the heck it is or what’s going on so she just runs around acting all crazy.  She finally did what she was suppose to do though.  Then ran around like crazy again.  JoJo is acting crazy outside too but it isn’t her first snow…she is just happy to go out without a lease on. 

 

Tonight is Stitch Nite…but Wendy closed the shop at the normal time.  It hasn’t stopped snowing all day.  She needs to get home safely.  But I am still planning on getting some stitching time in.  Hannah goes to bed soon and Daisy goes in her crate…she has been out of it since five snuggled up next to me in my chair.  She is a mama’s girl, much more than JoJo.  She can’t stand it when I leave the room she is in and she can’t see me.  Back to stitiching, I am almost finished with October Curls Snapper…only two more left after that. 

 

I did get a new chart the other day in the mail from Down Sunshine Lane.  Little House Needleworks’ Brave Hearts.  I wasn’t sure which I would want to stitch it with so I ordered both the silks and the cotton threads from Crescent Colours.  Now I know I have fabric that will work for it so I have to just pick some out.  I think I will start this one very, very soon. 

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HaPpY dAnCe!!

Back in September Sean and I attempted twice (pre-sale/general public) to get tickets to the Hannah Montanta/Miley Cyrus concert in DC.  We even tried for Baltimore, but sadly we were not quick enough and didn’t get tickets.  Of course then we read and hear on the news about the crazy contests and out of this world re-sale prices. We were disappointed but tried to figure out what to get Hannah for her big present. 

 

Yesterday I decided to double check my junk mail folder to make sure that nothing went there that shouldn’t have.  Things always go there that shouldn’t. I found an e-mail from MileyWorld (fan club site that we join for Hannah) that explained that for one day only tickets would again be on sale for fan club members only.  That day was today.  So at noon Sean and I both got on the Ticketmaster site.  No luck for us.  Then I hear Sean say "oh, shit!"  He had decided to try one more time and somehow managed to get tickets for Baltimore!!  So for Christmas Hannah is going to get tickets to see one of her fav singers and star of one of her fav TV shows.  I am so excited for her and can’t wait to see her face Christmas morning.

 

On the stitching front, I went to the LNS this afternoon.  I stitched on Bent Creek’s October Curls snapper.  I have decided that I really want to finish this series before the end of the year.  (I think I can, I think I can!)  We also talked about getting together for stitching gatherings after the shop closes. 

 

Tonight Sean and I are planning on watching movies we have had from Netflix.  And I plan on stitching as well.  On that note, before I go, I guess I should decide on my stitching goals for the month.  I am going to keep it so short, because it is a busy month and I am really trying to have a finish by the end of the year. 

 

Stitch (and finish) on Bent Creek Monthly snappers with border

Stitch on And They Sinned on Sundays

 

I know not a lot, but with the busy holiday month I think I can handle this. 

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