Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! We did :) The weather here was pretty strange .. saturday it was 70 and beautiful, sunday it rained like it was never going to stop, and monday it was 70 again and clear skys by the afternoon .. so we did yardwork on saturday, stayed in our comfys on sunday and watched some of Indy and all of the nascar race and rented Deja Vu (great movie .. a big confusing at times, but really good). Monday I putzed around, sorted some stash, laundry, took a nice walk, and then we went to dinner and to see the 3rd Pirate movie .. I really enjoyed this one! much better than the 2nd one. One of my favorite lines from the movie .. Nobody move, I dropped my brain! lol .. I soooo relate *grin*

We've spent the last couple of weeks picking out carpet and hardwood for our house. We've lived here 20 years, original owners .. and the house is slowly falling apart! Last year we re-landscaped the front yard .. 20 years growth took over the front! and we had to replace the roof. Now it's time for the inside .. we decided to hardwood the upstairs entry way, hallway and Robert's bedroom. This house is a bit odd, it was built on a slope; when you enter you enter on the bedroom floor, then walk downstairs to the living areas .. anyway, my craft room (which was Chris' room before he moved out) was hardwooded (really it's inexpensive lament) last year when I redid that room. We decided we liked the look of my craft room floor .. so decided to bite the bullet and hardwood the rest of the upstairs. The carpet upstairs will be ripped out on thursday and the hardwood will be installed on friday .. Robert is soo excited! already planning his "new" room :) The carpet won't be here until around the 15th .. so we have a couple of weeks to pack up the house and get all the furniture moved. I am sooo excited about having new carpet!!! I'll take pictures when everything has been installed :)

On the stitching front .. it's been slow going for me .. not sure why .. I did stitch over the long weekend though. Can't show and pictures yet cause one is for an exchange over on FGBB and the other is one of my PIF's :) Just have a few last minute touches and both will be ready to hit the mailbox. Tonight I started another PIF *woo hoo* lol .. and seriously thinking about what I want to stitch next.

Thanks everyone for the comments you left about the anniversary piece .. I can't wait to get it back from the framer! Hoperfully it'll be this week :)

I'm grateful for long weekends :)

IT'S DONE!!!! Woo Hoo! I didn't even iron it before taking a picture .. I was too excited to get it done and see how the frame looked with it .. and ya know what, I love it! and you all know I've been weird about changing the colors and all .. but I'm really really pleased with it .. now off to the frames tomorrow!

Ohhhh now I get to look through all the projects and see what to work on next .. hope I can keep from starting something new! lol .. I have way too many wips :)

I'm grateful for finishes :)

It's been a great weekend so far .. had lunch with my dad and his gf then took his two dogs and our two dogs to the off leash beach .. it's been overcast here but not cold .. out time at the beach was soo much fun and the dogs have been sleeping all evening .. think we wore them out!! lol DH fixed a yummy enchilda dinner and we watched Bobby on in demand .. it was a wonderful movie!

Tomorrow is the nascar race .. it was rained out saturday night .. then I get to go and pick out my mother's day present .. flowers for the front hanging baskets *smile* and then dinner with the whole family .. I'm really looking forward to that .. and not having to cook! lol

I didn't get any stitching done last week .. did put a few stitches in the Anniversary piece this evening while watching the movie .. hopefully more stitching tomorrow and I should have it done! and then I can move on to something else .. my rotation has gone to hell in a hand basket lately .. and I really want to get back to it .. hopefully this next week! Maybe I'll start posting my rotation more consistently and that might keep me on track? or will it? lol

I have a picture of my new dishes .. thanks for the suggestion Michelle .. it is fun seeing all that color! .. soo here's the new dishes ... check out all the different sized bowls! lol


I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day with family and friends .. and here's hoping all you mothers get time for some stitching too!

I'm grateful for comments on my blog .. I love them :)

I'm finally stitching again .. feels great! I was a bit worried about the names/date .. but I think it turned out really nice .. I'm so close to being done .. have a bit more of the silver rose to do and a few roses and it'll be done .. the frame for it arrived last week .. it's awesome! My goal is to get it done this week and off to the framers .. wish me luck!

Had a nice weekend .. the weather here has really been nice for spring time. Saturday was just the usual house stuff, cleaning and laundry .. watched Running with Scissors, very strange movie, but really good. Sunday we went to breakfast with Chris and Monica (my oldest DS and Ddil) and then went to Macys .. I got new everyday DISHES!!!! Woo Hoo! lol .. I have had new dishes in over 15 years .. the reason we all went to pick out dishes is because we decided on Fiesta ware and I wanted everyone to pick out their own place setting .. omgosh we had a blast! I got red, of course lol, DH picked persimmon and I can't remember exactly what the kids picked out but I know have a lot of very colorful dishes in my cupboards lol

Thanks everyone for your comments .. yes I am feeling better and so far no one else at home is sick.

Adana .. yes we did have a vistor at work .. what was it a couple of weeks ago now? Unfortunately we didn't have any advanced notice .. I didn't even get to see it on TV :( For those who don't know what I'm talking about .. I work for Boeing, in Everett, WA .. if you watch The Today Show, Matt Lauder does this "Where Is Matt Lauder" janut around the world every year .. this year he started here, at Boeing .. I heard it was a great piece.

Hope everyone is having a great week and getting lots of stitching done!

I'm grateful for color in my life :)

Happy May Day! I have some very fond memories of making May Day Baskets when I was little and going around the neighborhood hanging them on front doors. When my boys were younger, we would take those green plastic strawberry baskets .. weave ribbons through them .. fill them with flowers and deliver them .. I remember lots of smiles and thank you's .. nice memories :)

I've been here but very quiet .. came down with that horrible headcold/virus going around .. I'm soo tired of coughing! I haven't done any stitching lately .. just haven't had the energy or focus. Hopefully I'll get myself back in stitching mode soon! I received an order from DSL and ohhhhh I love everything I ordered! lol .. and of course I want to start them all right now! I'll take some pictures tomorrow of my new stash so you can drool along with me :)

Thanks everyone for your comments ... I just love reading them! I've decided to do the roses in garnet to tie in the names/date that will be in garnet also .. the frame is on the way for this piece, so I really have to get it done!

lol Ruth .. I'll never be like you .. this changing all the colors around has made me a nervous wreck! lol
I'm grateful for bedtime ...

Sad sad day across the nation .. please keep the families of the slain children at Viriginia Tech in your thoughts and prayers .. and hug your kids, call a dear friend you haven't talked to in a long time, call your parents .. reach out to those around you .. you never know when they will be taken from you.

I have a couple of finishes .. finally! lol .. I finished In Every Nest when I was at the retreat last month .. I just love this silly design!


and I finished another Christmas ornament that was on my list .. I didn't realize until I took the picture that I still need to add his bell around his neck .. but here he is anyway ..

and here's my WIP .. the 25th Anniversary piece I'm doing for my best friend and her DH .. it's a Sisters and Best Friends design that I bought at the retreat .. I love the design but the colors just didn't work for me .. I've changed them but like I've said before .. I'm really uncomfortable with making color changes .. Lisa's colors were shades of blue .. that's why I picked the verigated blue thread .. I like the rose above the 25 in all silvers, since the 25th is the silver anniversary .. I think I'm doing their names and wedding date in WDW Garnet .. she carried burgandy roses .. and the little green thingys are actually little roses all over the fabric .. I think I'm going to alternate garnet and gray roses .. or maybe just all garnet roses .. whatcha think?? honesty please *smile*


I hope you all have had a great weekend and are doing lots of stitching!

I'm grateful for my family

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their family and friends. We had a great busy day .. the weather really cooperated ... it was sunny and beautiful until about 5pm, then the rains came.

I'm really looking forward to this coming week .. I didn't stitch at all last week and it's starting to get on my nerves .. I'm really looking forward to working and then coming home and stitching. Here's a very loose interpretation of a stitching rotation I've been thinking about ..

Monday - S&BF's class piece; Chicken
Tuesday - 25th Anniversary pattern; for my best friend's anniversary
Wednesday - MDesign's presonalized sampler
Thursday - 25th Anniversary pattern
Friday through Sunday - Christmas ornaments/PIF's/Exchanges

I have sooo much I'm wanting to start .. but I really want to get a couple of the class pieces finished and the MDesign sampler .. I'm about 1/2 done and really enjoy working on it .. but then it's not much fun to not enjoy what you are stitching on is it? lol

I'm grateful for times in the sun .. few and far between as they are this time of year *smile*

Wow, can't believe it's Saturday already .. seems like I just posted about the retreat .. how time flies when you are having fun .. lol. Haven't done any stitching this week .. but I've been sorting and putting all my stash away from the retreat. Today was housecleaning and getting the Easter Baskets together .. we have a family tradition that started about 28 years ago .. we put together Easter baskets and deliver them to our friends and family late Saturday night so when they wake up in the morning, the Easter Bunny has been there :) When Terry and I were a bit younger and we didn't have any kids .. the Easter Bunny deliveries happened about 2 or 3 in the morning .. we really didn't want to be caught! lol .. over the years the amount of baskets that we deliver has increased and decreased, depending on who was in our lives at the time, well other than family lol and of course what's in the baskets has changed over the years .. depending on finances and other stuff .. it's almost like Christmas .. I start looking for fun silly stuff for the baskets about 3 months before .. and sometimes I bake .. we always dye eggs.

Thank you all for the comments you leave .. I just love hearing from everyone :) I've decided what I'm going to stitch next .. I'll post my loose rotation ideas later .. dinner is burning! lol

I'm grateful for family traditions ...

Grab a cup of coffee or tea .. this might be a tad long lol ....

I had the most wonderful time last week at A Stitcher's Retreat, once I got there! I'm really glad when I travel I like to arrive a day early .. I left Seattle Tuesday morning .. arrived in Detroit about 4pm. I was supposed to have left Detroit for a 20 minute plane ride to Toledo at 5:15 .. well Detroit got hit with a spring thunderstorm that decided to stall over the airport! I got to spend 2-1/2 hours in the little plane on the tarmak trying to see if the airport would let us leave .. long story short, I finally arrived at my hotel in Toledo at about midnight .. it was a long day! Wednesday was check in day at the retreat .. I got to sleep in because I didn't have a long drive to Sauders Inn. Once I found the Inn, I was still too early to check in, so I had fun looking around the little town of Archbold and enjoyed lunch at The Barn Restaurant. Stitcher's starting arriving about 2ish ... we all hung around in the lobby stitching and getting to know each other .. I was stunned to see that about 85% of the women were there at last years Stitcher's Retreat. There stitchers from 24 states, Alaska the farthest away .. I think there were 83 stitchers total. We got checked in to our rooms about 4ish and had a couple of hours before dinner to rest or stitch or walk around and investigate the Inn .. I did a little of it all :) Dinner was at The Barn Restaurant, buffet style and very tasty. After dinner we got to do some stash shopping *smile* .. and I had a great time spending way too much money! The designers bring all kinds of goodies to sell, even some things that you can only purchase at a retreat. There's pictures of my purchases, the class pieces and assorted pictures of the retreat in my webshots album titled 2007 Stitchers Retreat.

When we checked in we got our reschedule of classes that we had signed up for .. I forgot what I had signed up for .. it was like 6 months ago that we picked our classes .. well, I found out that I was in classes all day on Thursday! lol .. My first class was from 9-12 with Sisters and Best Friends. The Sisters are really fun and great teachers. The class piece was a sheep with flowers around. They love to play with stitches and emblishments. The sheep design had some over one and some over two stitches .. there was wool for some of the flowers, beads and buttons and a very yummy piece of 19ct cort linen. Lunch was next .. then off to my 2nd class ...

With Ann and Liz from BrightNeedle. I am soo glad I took their class .. their designs are so delicate and different from what I usually choose to stitch .. but I really enjoyed their designs, and I learned something!! woo hoo :) I really really learned how to stitch over one. I've stitched over one a couple of times in the past but always got frustrated, not because of the side of the cross stitch, but because sometimes I would lose my stitch .. and I never really understood why. I'd been told before about a horizonal thread and a verical thread, but never really understood it .. and now I do :) over one is still not the most relaxing stitching for me, but now that I know how to do it the right way, I'm hoping I start liking it more :) The class piece is a bag with a very pretty design and saying stitched on the front and back, a needle holder and a pin cushion. I might not make everything because my finishing experience isn't great .. but I know I'll be stitching the motifs probably more than once lol. So this class ended at 4 and then it was time for the "optional" class I signed up for with Sisters and Best Friends .. again :) This class piece is a companion piece to the sheep .. it's a chicken, using again wool and beads and buttons to create another fun design. By dinner time, I was a bit stitched out! lol After dinner there was more stash shopping to do .. then it was off to bed for me ..

Friday was the last day of the retreat .. after breakfast and checking out .. we had our last classes, it was a round robin 3 teachers and 50 minutes per class .. it was great fun and a nice way to end .. You'll see in my pictures that we really did stitch at the retreat! lol .. I enjoyed myself soo much that I've already signed up for next years retreat!

It is nice to be home .. now my big decisions are what to stitch .. I have like 4 or 5 projects from the retreat all started, plus all my other stash .. I need to retire just so I can stitch! lol Sorry if this post rambled *smile*

I'm grateful for my time with fellow stitchers ...

This one's for Jamie ... my new favorite song! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXS0nEOx_20

I found this on Jamie's blog. Please copy the verse and photo for your blog and carry on the chain of friendship! Leave a comment so we can all follow the chain!


Holding Hands
This picture shows a line of little girls holding hands facing the immensity of ocean waves.
Alone they might be washed away, but together they stand strong.
Thank you for holding my hand somewhere along the way when I was facing a wave of my own.
I hope you will reach for my hand when your own wave threatens.
All of us girls...
Old and young...
Near and far...
Hold special memories of good times we've shared.
We've had our share of hard times when our friends were there to make us feel better.
We've shared...
our hearts
our times
our secrets
our fears
our hopes
and
our dreams.
Let us never break the chain of friends!

I'm grateful for lazy sundays ..

Happy Friday! Here's a picture of my progress so far on In Every Nest .. gotta love those little chicks! Stitching for the weekend will be on an ornament for the March SAL on the Christmas Ornament Blog I joined.

Tomorrow I'm doing a bit of housework and then meeting a gf for lunch and shopping .. I really need some new black jeans .. mine are gray and holely lol

I also have to starting getting ready for a little trip I'm taking next week .. I'm soo excited! I'm going to a stitching retreat .. put on by A Stitcher's Retreat ... I just can't wait! I attended their retreat last year in New Harmony, IN and had a wonderful time. I'm really looking forward to the classes and seeing the Inn .. it looks so beautiful and relaxing :)

Thanks all for the comments about spring; the quilting books; and my coffee finish .. I wish my yard had daffodils like that picture .. unfortunately the squirrels seem to eat them as fast as I can plant them lol .. but we do have some wonderful daffodil fields and tulips fields about an hours drive north from me .. the last couple of years it's been sucha raining March and April that the tulips didn't last very long .. hopefully this year it will be better .. I'll take pictures .. it's really spectacular to see.

Before I forget Lizzy .. here's the VC silk conversion for Spot of Coffee, would work for Spot of Tea too Sally *grin* .. the first numbers are the DMC numbers followed by the name and number for the silks ..
676 - Cardamon 4101
420 - Haywains 4131
869 - Haywains 4133
3022 - Tree Moss 5235
3023 - London Fog (Weeks)
3051 - Resenda 3351
3052 - Verdigris 3349
3787 - Earth Star 5219
3857 - Rufous 4447
3865 - Natural 5201

I'm grateful good books that go on and on ...

Happy First Day of Spring! We had all the crazy weather that comes with spring .. rain, sun, sleet, snow, more rain and it was about 40 degrees all day .. gotta love Spring!

At lunch today I finished a terrific book .. I would highly recommend it to everyone that loves to read .. and if you quilt, all the better .. you'll understand more than I did! lol .. the book is called The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini .. it starts a bit slow, but half way through I was definately hooked .. and by the end of the book, yep, I was crying .. lol .. I'm really a whimp! Anyway, I understand there are a series of these books .. my friend at work is reading them and is bring in book 2 to me tomorrow .. Let me know if you've read the book(s) .. I'd be interested to hear what other women think about it.

I finished Lizzie*Kate's Is It Coffee Yet? This was such a quick stitch .. I splurged and bought the pillow for it .. I just love it!



but I think I'm a little coffee'd out lol .. so I started In Every Nest by Raise the Roof .. quite a fun Easter stitch .. and it's sooo my family! lol

Thank you all for the lovely comments .. I really enjoy reading what you write .. and it's fun seeing new people leaving comments too .. waving HI :)

Lizzie .. you asked for the conversion that I did for Spot of Coffee .. I post the conversion over the weekend for you and anyone else that wants it .. also nice to my records!

Sally .. Spot of Coffee is also chart to say "Teatime by the candle's light ....." not trying to enable you or anything *smile*

I'm grateful for sunny daffodils ....

Hot off the q-snaps it's Spot of Coffee .. finished!! I stitched this on R&R (32ct) Iced Cappucino. I converted the threads to VC silks and loved working with them. If I was going to stitch this again, I would pick greens that were a few more shades different .. you can't tell very well that there are two greens in the leaves. The color for the coffee pot and cups was DMC 3023 (lt. brown gray). I didn't find a conversion that I liked, so I used WDW London Fog .. it's the only varigated thread, but I like how the pot and cups kinda stand out. I did enjoy this stitch and can't wait to get it framed and on my wall :)

Sunday evening already? Where do the weekends disappear to anyway? It was a pretty good one here .. Friday I went to dinner with Chris and Monica and a couple of fiends of theirs. We had yummy mexican food :) Terry and Robert went to see the movie 300. They loved it! But said it was definately a guy flick lol.

Saturday was spent running errands, got my hair color touched up, and finally got caught up on the laundry! woo hoo! Terry and I also started going through our closets last weekend .. finally throwing old old clothes .. it's truly amazing what we are getting rid of! I think I'm done going through mine .. now I want to sort and organize by colors and everyday vs work clothes .. I do that every few years but it never lasts very long! lol

This morning I got up, started a nice big pot of chili, then left for the airport with Monica, to pick up Chris .. he had flown to Minnesota late Friday night for a friend's wedding. He's known Amanda since they were in 1st grade .. I'm really glad he went .. and he had a wonderful time! Got home and watched the Nascar race from Las Vegas .. soooo boring! I did stitch a bit this weekend on Spot of Coffee .. I'm getting pretty close to being done! The picture is washed out from the flash ..

I'm grateful for laughs with my kids ...

Thank You Sonya! I received my PIF from Sonya today .. what a sweetie she is! Look at the wonderful scissor fob she stitched for me .. you stitch beautifully, and your finishing is very nice! Almost too nice to use .. almost *grin* .. and she sent a couple of goodies with the fob .. that coffee chart is perfect for me! lol .. looks like she really does read my blog :) Thank you very much Sonya!

I stitched on Spot of Coffee Wed and Thurs .. have the house done and I'll take a picture of it tomorrow .. it's been such a fun stitch!

I'm grateful for paydays :)

I was tagged by Cheryl the other day .. It's called Five Questions and Five Things...Here's how this works: For the first part, 5 Questions - anyone reading my blog can ask me five questions, either in comments or feel free to email them if you'd prefer. I'll answer them in the blog as soon as time allows.

For the second, Five Things About Me. Here are the rules: 1. Get tagged 2. List five things that have not been revealed on your blog 3. Tag five others. Here are 5 things about me ...

1. I work as a project analyst at Boeing .. December started my 27th year there! I've had a variety of jobs over the 27 years .. the group I work with now, I've been with for the last 13 years. I work with buyers and our suppliers, helping delivery data to the supplier so they can build the parts of the airplanes. I also am 2nd generation Boeing .. my dad retired after 33 years.

2. I lust after a 1969 Red Ragtop GTO :)

3. Besides loving to cross stitch, there are lots of other crafts I've tried and enjoyed very much .. although to this day I still can't sew a straight line! Frustrating to say the least.

4. I know I've mentioned that I am a coffee lover .. but I don't think I've mentioned that I have a serious addiction to coffee cups .. and I do mean serious .. I can't seem go shopping without one screaming take me home with you! lol

5. I love to read .. I don't do as much as I want to .. but I love snuggling down with a good book.

Wow, I wasn't sure I could come up with 5 things! lol .. hope it wasn't too boring for you *grin* I think I'll tag ... Sally, Kim, Sonya, Anna, and Sandy. Have fun ladies *smile*

I'm grateful for weekends that are productive, but not crazy ...

SNOW! and it's almost March! lol It's hard to see, but we've had snow all day long .. nothing has accumulated on the ground because it's just warm enough .. but since the sun went down, it's getting colder and looks like we actually might have some snow on the ground in the morning! Strangest winter I've seen in Seattle for years and years .. could it be global warming? nah *smirk*

Thank you all for your hugs, prayers and well wishes about my Dad. He's home and doing well. He's tired, but that's to be expected. He's actually following dr orders and taking it easy, which is no small feat for him .. but he is looking forward to getting back to his walks with his dogs .. before he started feeling really winded from this blockage, he was averaging 3 miles every other day :)

On the stitching front .. I have a finish!! woo hoo :) The design is from Bent Creek. I took a couple of classes with the sisters last May at A Stitcher's Retreat. This piece is called "Tree of Me" .. it was intended for each person to personalize the tree with things that meant something to them. A lot of the women personalized their trees with things about their families .. I decided to be very selfish about my tree and I personalized it all about me .. it was really fun to do. I added the cat and dog because animals have always been part of my life. The "badges" that hang from the tree are all things that make up "Me" .. the race flags, the coffee cup, the music notes, the reindeer, the needle and thread, and the sunflower. This was really a fun stitch .. can't wait to find the perfect frame for it :)

I thought I would post a picture of my Family Sampler that I've been working on a least one night a week .. I just love how it's coming along :)


Think I'll go work on Spot of Coffee now, and watch the snow falling .. why is it soo peaceful to watch snow falling??

I'm grateful for snow ....

Thanks everyone for the well wishes for my Dad .. the procedure went really well today. They found only one main artery blocked, put in a stent and Dad gets to go home tomorrow! It really is amazing how far medical science has come! Anyway, I'm just glad this day is over .. and very glad to know that my dad will be ok .. the cardiologist says he has a really strong healthy heart :) I'll be taking another day of from work tomorrow to take dad home and see if I can do anything around the house for him .. his dr said there won't be any physical restrictions for him, but I will offer to spend a couple of days with him if he wants ... but he tends to be very independent and pretty subborn .. so I never know if he'll take me up on my offers to help or not. lol ... ok off to bed for me ... night
I'm grateful today went so well ...

My up and down weekend .. started out nice with dinner and a movie Friday night with Terry (DH) and Robert (DS#2) .. we went to see Jim Carey's new movie called 23 .. the reviews haven't been great, but we all really liked it, different than we expected, but very good. Saturday started out normal .. housework, laundry, and then I was going to watch the Busch race and stitch. That changed when my dad called about 4pm to say that he wasn't feeling good. Same problems as he had a couple of weeks ago, he was having problems breathing and started having some chest pressure, more than he had two weeks ago .. his gf was at the house and they were going to call 911 again .. so a call to my brother to tell him what was going on and off to the hospital I went. They checked him out and got him stable in ER and said it looked like he needed an angiogram, the ER doctor was pretty certain that there is a blockage somewhere that is causing these symptoms. He was admitted and his cardiologist was called and said he'd see dad Sunday morning. Well after the doctor visit this morning, they've schedule him for a angiogram for Monday morning at 7:30am. Definately a blockage, but until the angiogram, they don't know the extend of the blockage. I know they do these procedures all the time and I know they can fix whatever they find pretty well .. but he's so scared .. scared what they might find, but more scared how it may change his life .. all those unknowns. I'll be meeting my brother at the hospital tomorrow about 6ish .. dad really wants to see us before they take him for the procedure .. heavy sigh.

The rest of my sunday was spent vegging and not concentrating on much of anything .. I did stitch a little bit, and watch the end of the Nascar race today .. my boy Matt, sweep both races at California! WOO HOO!!! that was one nice thing about my weekend :)


I'm grateful for my brother :)

Pay It Forward .. WOW! It's full .. and thank you for signing up .. I think we'll all have fun with this! I already have a couple of ideas of what I want to stitch for a couple of you *grin*

Also, thanks for your comments about Spot of Coffee .. it's nice to see new names posting .. I'm having a great time reading everyone's blogs and seeing all the beautiful stitching you all are doing.

With the Oscars on Sunday, when I found this on Karen's blog .. I just had to take the movie test .. it's really fun!

To quote her: "It's been said that allegedly if you've seen over 85 moviesyou have no life.... Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films onthis list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x'sby the ones that you have seen. Add them up.. and post it."

LOL ... I've seen like 121 movies on this list! but hey, I do have a life, don't I? lol and there are still sooo many movies I've seen that aren't on the list! Well .. it was fun :)

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(X) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
(X ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
(X) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
(X) 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
(X) Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong
(X) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
(X) Surviving Christmas
(X) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
(X) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
(X) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(X) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
(X) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(X) E.T.
(X) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She's All That
(X) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
( ) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X3
(X) Spider-Man(
X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
(X) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
(X) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(X) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(X) Krippendorf's Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
(X) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
(X) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
( ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(X) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
() Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

And now I'm off to watch the final episolde of The OC .. yea, besides watching a lot of movies .. I'm also a TV junkie .. and even though I'm OLD, I have really enjoyed this 20something soap opera! lol

I'm grateful for a DH that cleans up after I cook :)

Pay It Forward .. As most of you know, I've just been blogging for a few months .. when I first started reading all the blogs out here I started seeing all the posts about PIF and how excited everyone was .. and then watching what everyone was stitching for their online friends, it was sooo exciting! Once I actively started blogging, all the PIF's were full, then came Sonya's post and well, long story short (lol) it's my turn to offer mine. A Pay It Forward (PIF) exchange is an offer to make a small gift for the first 5 stitchers to respond to this post with a comment that they would like to sign up. If you sign up, you then will post a message like this in your blog and see if you can collect five folks to stitch for. I will get your gifts out to you as soon as possible - within the next six months! If you want to sign on with me, I will need your postal address - please email that to me at michele11wa@yahoo.com I shamelessly copied a lot of the above blurb from Sonya's post, lol) .. anyone interested??
I'm grateful for payday :)

Finally had a good night of stitching on Spot of Coffee .. here's a picture of my progress .. I really do love this piece .. and not sure if I'll rotate it or if I'll just keep stitching on it .. what do you think I should do? lol

Sunday night after the race I went to a movie and dinner with my neighbor Joan .. we went to see Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore .. it was a funny movie, definately worth seeing in the theatre .. but it'll be a great rental too! I do love Hugh Grant movies .. and Drew's movies lately have been very good :) Do you have a favorite Huge or Drew movie? I think my favorite Drew movie was 50 1st Date with Adam Sadler and who didn't love Hugh in 3 Weddings and A Funeral? Off to bed for me .. night ...
I'm grateful for monday to be over ...

Saturday was a really nice day .. got a lot of things done around the house and Terry worked on cleaning the garage .. Chris came over to help out in the afternoon, he shares the garage with us, not much garage space in the condo he lives in lol .. his wife, Monica, went out of town this weekend with a gf so after working all day around the house we went to dinner at Applebees .. yummy yummy yummy :)

I finished the Christmas ornament I've been stitching .. it's by Glory Bee, Noel, from JCS 2006 .. I really liked the way this came out. I need to kit up my next ornament .. think it'll be the LHN one from the same JCS ornament magazine.

Sunday is .. DAYTONA BABY!!! WOO HOO .. CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THAT GREEN FLAG DROPS! Yes, my house is all excited about the race today! We are big NASCAR fans .. My favorite driver is Matt Kenseth #17 .. I'll be making enchildas with green sauce for lunch and will be stitching and rooting for Matt .. Hope it's a great race!


Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
I'm grateful for my quiet time when the house is asleep ...

Yippeee it's almost Friday! and I'm sooo ready for a nice quiet weekend :) I haven't been stitching much this week .. too tired to really concentrate .. I've put a few stitches in the Glory Bee Christmas ornament I started last week .. I'll post pictures over the weekend .. I really want to stitch on Spot of Coffee .. I think I'll focus on that piece this weekend.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes .. Dad seems to be doing well .. which is such a relief!

off to bed for me ...

I'm grateful for soft pillows and warm blankets

Happy Valentine's Day *smile* .. some think this is a "Hallmark" holiday .. I just think it's a wonderful time to treat a friend or loved one to a smile; a little chocolate; a flower, a nice cup of coffee/tea .. or just a hug .. ENJOY!

These are the tulips I bought today .. the silly reds ones just won't cooperate! lol


I've been emotionally all over the place these last few days .. and have spent way too much time in emergencies rooms! Everything has turned out fine .. but what a long couple of days .... let's see if I can give you the condensed version ...

I was on vacation last Friday .. took the day off to play with my dear friend Lisa. Every year she and I take a day off around each other's birthdays to have a girls day .. this was our play day for my birthday .. anyway, we meet for breakfast, went shopping .. I found two wonderful pairs of shoes woo hoo! .. then we went and saw two movies, yep lol two! We saw Dreamgirls and Freedom Writers, with lunch in between. I would highly recommend both these movies to anyone out there .. Dreamgirls was soo much better than either of us expected! and Freedom Writers was soo inspiring. After the last movie Lisa and I decided we needed to finish the night with margaritas .. left the theater and turned the cell phones on .. she had a message from her oldest son (he's 22) .. long story short, he passed out at a coffee house he and his friends hang out at .. was out for only 2 or 3 minutes .. seemed like forever .. so he was on his way to the ER. Lisa's husband was out of town, so I asked if she wanted me to go with her .. we spent the night in the ER, got home about 3am .. but Jairir, her son, is just fine .. they ran tons of tests and scans and couldn't find anything, but he's to follow up with a neurologist this week. Needless to say Saturday was a total wasted day for me after being up all night .. I stitched and napped and did get a bit of laundry done .. it was definately a slug day. Sunday was nice .. felt rested after a good nights sleep .. did the usually sunday stuff, getting ready to go back to work and took the dogs for a nice long romp at the beach again.

And now comes Monday .. it started out being a very typical Monday at work, until about 12:30 when I got a call from my Dad .. all he said was Michele, this is your dad, I don't feel well and I've called 911 .. I'll call you back later .. and hung up on me! Needless to say I made a couple of quick calls .. one to Terry (DH) and one to SIL to get my Brother .. told them to get their butts to dad's house .. turned off my computer, told my friend Pat what was going on and left. We all made it to his house before 911 was ready to take him to the hospital .. he had been having shortness of breath for a few days .. monday morning he had an episode again which scare him so he called 911 .. we spent the last 30 or so hours at the hospital, they ran all kinds of tests and scans .. verified that he hadn't had a heart attack, verified that he didn't have any blood clots that might be blocking his lungs, did a a heart ultra sound and a stress echo test and verified that he didn't have any blockage .. which is all good! but what brought on the shortness of breath issues?? Right now the cardiologist isn't sure .. but is pleased with all the test results .. so he upped dad's high blood pressure medicine and put him on a diatric (excuse the spelling, I'm sleepy! lol) and he's to go back and see him in 2-3 weeks.

Whew .. what a fun couple of days! No stitching for me last night or tonight .. usually when I stitch when I'm tired or stressed, I tend to frog more than I stitch .. I think I'll stitch on Spot of Coffee tomorrow and I'll post a picture soon :) Thanks for listening!

AND .. thanks for all the comments on Pursue!! I really enjoy reading all the comments .. and nice to see a couple new ladies reading and commenting .. thanks!!!

I'm grateful for my dad .... Love You :)

WOO HOO!!! Pursue is done!!!! I finished it yesterday (saturday) .. I just love how it came out .. and can't wait to get it framed. I'll be stitching this again for a very dear friend that doesn't stitch, but loved the sentiment .. but I'll wait a few months before I start it again .. lol that border is nice, but sooo boring to stitch!

I have Spot of Coffee all kitted up and ready to start on tomorrow .. I'm going to stitch it on a piece of R&R Linen, 32 ct Light Espresso using Vicky Clayton silks .. I love the colors .. what do you think?

All in all the weekend was lazy, but nice. Other than stitching on Saturday, I watched a couple of movies .. An Unfinished Life and The Invincible .. both really good rainy day movies. I decorated for February, Valentines stuff and good old laundry. Today is Monica's (DIL) birthday .. this evening we went to dinner at Buco da Beppo's .. yummy yummy yummy! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy GroundHog's Day! lol .. what a silly holiday this is .. wonder if we will have 6 more weeks of winter? Wouldn't bother me cause I love winter .. but spring is my 2nd favorite season .. so guess I wouldn't be too unhappy with some spring :)

I just love this crazy groundhog ... I grew up with a mom that decorated for every holiday .. I thought we were Irish when I was young because we celebrated St. Patrick's Day! lol, even after my brother and I moved out, she continued to decorate for each and every holiday that came around .. one of their dear friends remarked once that they were surprised she didn't decorate for GroundHog's day .. that got to be an ongoing family joke through the years. My mom taught me well about decorating .. and how you can start out with just one or two items for a holiday, and if you take care of your things .. you'll end up with a very nice assortment of holiday decorations .. well, when Bent Creek (I think they are the designers) came out with this cute chart .. ya know I had to stitch it .. unfortunately my mom had passed away by the time the chart came out .. but every year when I put it on the mantle, I have a good little giggle and tell her, see mom, you can decorate for EVERY holiday!

I stitched more on the border for Pursue Tuesday night and tonight .. I really want to get this done .. and look .. it's getting close! I should be able to finish this this weekend .. especially since we'll be watching the Superbowl, but really don't care who wins :) Speaking of the Superbowl .. anyone partaking in any Superbowl sales?? Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday .. Happy February!

Didn't get much stitching done over the weekend .. too many things to do! Got my hair cut and colored on saturday, then came home to DH cleaning! So of course I jumped right in and we spent the day cleaning and cleaning and cleaning lol .. when Robert got home from work we decided to go out to dinner and a movie .. we went to see The Departed. If you haven't see it, and can stand the f-word said hundreds of times .. it's really a good movie .. it's about the mob in Boston .. kinda bloody too .. but we all enjoyed it. Sunday was laundry and grocery shopping .. and Robert and I took the dogs to one of our off leash parks. It's down on the Puget Sound in Edmonds .. we are having the most incredible weather .. really sunny, about 50 and giving us all a teasing feeling that it's springtime! of course the evenings cool down to about 30 and there's lots of frost in the morning .. anyway, with the weather like it's been .. we had to take the dogs down for a good romp .. and boy did they love it .. they ran and played with other dogs and swam and just had a gay old time :) We ran into Chris and Monica and a friend of their's .. they were heading down to the regular beach to walk when we sawa them .. so they came over to the dog area and we chatted and watched the dogs going crazy .. it was a fun afternoon.

Last night is 3 hours of our favorite shows .. Prison Break, Heros and Studio 60 .. great cause I get lots of stitching done! lol .. I worked on the border of "Pursue" .. I almost have the top portion done, which means I'll have 1/2 the border done, hopefully tonight .. I really want to get this done before I start on anything else .. who would have thought that a border could take sooooo long to stitch! lol .. I received my fabric for Spot of Coffee last week (thanks Mary Kathryn!) and I'm dying to start it .. but first things first .. get the border done! That'll be my mantra for the week :)

I'm really enjoying everyone's comments .. thanks bunchs! and keep'em coming :) Nice to know we are all a little weird, isn't it, Kim :) lol

What Fun! I was tagged today lol .. first time and I've really enjoyed reading about all you weird bloggers! hee hee .. thanks Anna and Mary Ann *smile*

The rules: Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write in their blog of 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.

Here's my 6 Weird things ...

1. When I eat M&M's I eat all the colors up the brown ones .. save them for last

2. I don't like my food touching .. I don't do very well at buffets! lol

3. I always have to have a pillow in my lap, kinda hugging it, when I'm sitting in a chair or couch

4. When I eat a hamburger, I get all around it first, then I can eat it normal

5. I have a serious thing for coffee cups/mugs and reindeers (and not just at Christmas) .. I have really trouble not buying them when I see them .. in fact I have a large collection of coffee mugs hanging around the soffett in my kitchen

6. When I have ice cream (coffee is my favorite), I like to stir my spoon around in the hard ice cream until it becomes like soft serve

Weird enough for ya? lol

OK .. here's the 6 people I'm tagging ...

Sally (http://stitchingplace.blogspot.com/)
Shelleen (http://shelleensmusing.blogspot.com/)
Chelle (http://themerrychelle.blogspot.com/)
Kim (http://upnorthxstitching.blogspot.com/)
Lisa (http://jayderose.blogspot.com/)
Adana (http://www.amberseeker.blogspot.com/)

Little finishes keep me going ... this was really a fun little stitch .. actually I like PMP's alot. I'm a huge Wizard of Oz fan, so of course I had to have it just for the sentiment!

In between stitching the PMP, I've been working on my personalized sampler. I ended up frogging last night, while watching Gilmore Girls .. It wasn't that I was off count on the sampler .. I just didn't like the way the colors were coming together .. this piece is one where I get to make all the decisions about what colors would be what letters and/or motifs .. and well, unlike a lot of you .. I don't often deviate from what a designer chooses for her design .. I mean I'll find fabric in my stash that works with the floss, and do some conversions if I don't have a specific color of floss, but really that's minor changes .. so I keep 2nd guessing myself. After frogging and then playing again with the colors, I feel better about my choices and will jump right back to it this weekend.

I've also been working on the border for Pursue .. I do love the border, but dammm they get boring to do and you'd think it would go fast, but nooooo! lol here's a look ...

sassy_mom2

I really would like to finish this .. my fabric for Spot of Coffee should be arriving soon .. and I'm really itching to start it .. but I don't want tooooo many WIPs! lol

Looks like colds are good for something lol .. I spent a few hours yesterday making a list of ornaments I would like to stitch this year .. here's the list ..

From JCS 2006
Angel Stitchin - Christmas Joy
Country Cottage Needleworks - Winter's Eve
Glory Bee - Noel
Little By Little Design - Winter Joy
Lizzie Kate - Happy Holidays
Prairie Moon - Mistletoe House
Praiseworthy Stitches - The Bird's Carole
The Workbasket - Quaker Reindeer

From 10th Anniversary Collection
Sam Sarah Design - Star of Wonder
Glory Bee - Merry Christmas
Shepherd's Bush - Joyful Night
Mary Garry's Sewing Cabin - Reindeer on the Roof

In between blowing my nose, taking my meds and napping I also did a little stitching .. worked on the border on Pursue Your Passion and did a couple of letters on the sampler I'm working on .. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Sure glad it's Friday .. I'm doing nothing but watching movies, watching some football, stitching, and a little laundry .. I have got to get over this crud!

Snow and Sniffles .. it was really pretty this morning waking up to it snowing. We got about 3 inches overnight, but it's not supposed to stay around long .. it's warming up, unfortunately. Here's a picture of Chip enjoying a bit of snow play this afternoon.

I think I'm losing the battle against these sniffles .. started yesterday and it's definately getting worse .. even with my dayquil/nightquil

Not sure I'm going to stitch tonight .. hate to stitch when I'm sick, all I seem to do is frog frog frog lol Maybe I'll look for something mindless to stitch, where I don't have to count a lot lol .. think I'll go make some more tea and veg on the couch .. night ...

brrrrrr we are really having some cold cold weather. I think the warmest it's been since last week has been about 28 degrees and that little bit of snow we got is still around. The dogs are so funny with this cold weather. Maddy, our 7 year old golden retriever, loves the cold and the snow. Sometimes she just goes out and lays on the deck in the snow and takes a little nap lol .. Chip, our 1 year old chocolate lab, is a bit more of a whimp when it comes to the cold .. does what he needs to do outside, plays a bit and then wants in, and if you don't jump right up and let him in, he starts to shake and looks sooo pathetic! Doesn't look like it's going to warm up much before middle of next week .. brrrrrrrrr

I had a nice birthday .. decided the day before that I really didn't want to spend my birthday at work .. so I took both thursday and friday off on vacation .. sure did feel good! It was just really nice to wake up, have my coffee and just relax .. in the afternoon I went and had a pedicure and my nails done. My family took me out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill .. yummy food :) I got a docking station for my ipod from Terry (DH) and Robert (DS#2), 2 wonderful pictures of Seattle from Chris (DS#1) and Monica (DIL).

Friday my good friend Lisa and I were supposed to get together .. we always take a day of vacation for each other's birthday's and go and play. Because of the weather we decided to reschedule our day together .. I didn't want her driving home late in the evening with all the black ice we've had around here. So I spent the day cleaning/reorganizing my stitching room, filled a bunch of freebies and leaflets that I'd been ignoring .. kitted up a few projects and made a list of floss that I need. I still haven't finished deciding what I'm going to order from Drema for with my birthday discount, but I think I'll definately be ordering some overdyes, can't beat 25% off :)

I finished a cute little stitch by Lizzie Kate, called Joy, from Tiny Tidings XI. I love the banner :)




And there's a picture of one of my WIP's .. I started this last October, it's called Pursue Your Passion by Blue Ribbon Design .. I only have to finish the design around one of the hearts and then the border and it will be done .. I just love this piece ... the words mean a lot to me .. and of course I love the color lol .. I'm using Gloriana Silk, Garnet, on a very yummy feeling piece of white evenweave.




Sorry the pictures are sooo big! Maybe I should go back to using webshots, at least that way even though the pictures are thumbnail size, you can click on them and enlarge the picture .. what do you think???

IT'S SNOWING!!! Woo Hoo!!! Yes, I am one of those crazy people that love the snow .. I don't even mind driving in it .. it's just the other drivers I don't like lol .. I'm not sure how much more we'll get, I'm hoping for a big dump! but you never know in Seattle what it'll do. I know the snow came at the wrong time of day .. started about an hour before most people, including moi, commute home .. took me about an hour, usually about a 25 minute commute, which isn't bad .. and from what local news is showing, my commute was extremely fast!

The first picture is our Christmas tree that is out on our back deck .. I'm thinking about decorating it for the birds :) The second picture is a japanese maple in our front yard .. told you it wasn't much snow .. but I love it anyway :)




Thanks for the comments on the sampler I'm doing .. if you ever get a chance to take a class from Mary, do it .. she's a kick and a great designer! Maybe someday she'll release the chart .. I'm sure there would be lots of stitcher's interested in it :) She taught a Christmas ornament class at the same retreat .. I have pictures of the tree and wreath pieces in my Webshots album .. different colors, but fun designs. http://community.webshots.com/user/sassy_mom2

I stitched on the sampler last night .. finished F, G and H .. but I'm not happy with H .. I stitched it in the cream silk, and it's just too big of a letter to do in cream .. stands out too much .. so I think I'll make the "i" in cream, cause it's small and frog H and pick another color for it .. why is it that the entire time I was stitching H, I knew I didn't like it .. but I kept on stitching it anyway .. crazy crazy crazy!

That was one of the strangest football games .. neither team played well .. just when it felt like the Seahawks were getting some momentum going, Dallas had to run back a kickoff to touch down .. and then wow, would you ever have expected any quarterback to bumble a hold for a field goal like that? We were all surprised and of course excited that we get one more game! Mary Ann, were you and your DH rooting for Dallas??

Christmas, heavy sign, is almost put away .. a few odds and ends and then the cleaning and putting back the everyday stuff .. my goals every year is to have my house back to normal by my birthday .. think I'm on track :)

Here's some pictures of the sampler I'm doing. I took a class from Mary of MDesigns last October in Myrtle Beach, SC. The piece she designed for the class is a sampler that we got to personalize. First we got to chose our fabric and threads from 3 different color pallets. After picking our colors, we then got to work with the sampler pattern and start to make it our own. It was really fun trying to figure out what motifs I wanted that told of our family. I choose a few words that means things to our family .. like joy, believe, laughter .. each of our names will be on the sampler as well as DH's and my wedding date, DS#1 and DIL's wedding date. I love sunflowers so I will be replacing the "flower" motif with a sunflower. There are also beads and charms that can be added to the sampler .. I might have the family look at buttons/charms and see if they want to add anything to the sampler. Here's a few pictures ..








We're off to go to dinner with our neighbors .. late Christmas celebration with them .. can you think of anything better to celebrate with friends than Margaritas and Enchildas? lol

I'm grateful for DH and DS#2 that actually don't mind helping to put Christmas away :)

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS START TODAY!!! WOO HOO!!!!!



The Seahawks play the Cowboys later today .. game starts at 5pm .. and we're sooo excited!!! DH and DS#2 are going to the game .. DS#1 and DIL invited me over for dinner and watch the game with them. I'm planning to work on putting Christmas away and then I'll head over to watch the game about 4ish.

I stitched last night :) Started a personalize sampler by MDesign .. I'll take pictures tomorrow ... I love it already, the fabric is yummy and the threads are VC silks and wonderful to stitch with so far :)

I've had more productive weeks that's for sure .. lol .. first week back to work after the holidays is always kinda rushed and crazy at work .. add to that needing to put Christmas away, but not feeling 100% .. been fighting a sore throat and just too tired to do much once I got home from work .. thank goodness it's almost the weekend .. my mantra for the weekend will be "undecorate"!! lol

Very little actual stitching happened this week .. but lots of thinking about what I want to be stitching. I got my birthday discount letter from Drema (Needlecraft Corner). I'm not sure what all I will get, but definately need some threads and some fabric. I have an MDesign tree with my name that I would like to do on red fabric, using white'ish silk and maybe some ornament cuts .. I really need to spend some time going through my charts and trying to decide what I want to stitch and get the fabric ordered. One chart I'm really excited to start is LHN's Spot of Coffee. I ordered some silks from Vikki Clayton tonight for this chart :) I've only used silks once (gloriana silk) with the pattern Pursue, by Blue Ribbon Design. I haven't finished the chart yet, but I've enjoyed stitching with the silk so much I wanted to try some more. I have a sampler all kitted up from a class I took last October from Mary of MDesigns .. Mary choose to kit up class piece with VC silks. I'm planning to start that sampler this weekend.

Downloaded a few more cds this evening for my Ipod .. Rod Stewart's Song Books (1-3), Elton John's 11-17-70, Carole King's From My Living Room, Soundtrack to the Bodyguard, Soundtrack to Coyote Ugly, and a compliation cd with Dion and Ricky Nelson. I'll be rocking to good tunes at work tomorrow :) Time to sync Toto (lol, that's what I named my Ipod) and then off to bed .. night all

Heavy sigh .. so it's back to reality tomorrow .. work and school .. and time to start putting Christmas away. DH and DS will bring the Christmas boxes down from the attic and I'll start putting it all away in the evenings .. my goal is one room every night after work. The lights outside can stay up a little while longer .. probably will start this coming weekend to take them down. This week is always depressing for me, going to back to work after our holiday break and taking all the decorations down .. oh well lol

I did some stitching today while watching football .. finished an older kit by Bent Creek called Wish Upon A Flake .. I still need to iron him and put the ribbons and buttons on to make him into a small banner .. thought he turned out really cute :)


sassy_mom2

I've been thinking about my stitching goals for 2007 .. I usually don't set many goals for myself about my stitching .. kinda takes the fun out of it for me .. but I do know that I want to stitch more consistently this coming year. I would like to get at least one ornament stitched every month and have a UFO that I really want to finish .. it's a dimensions kit that my dad picked out and asked me to stitch for him .. about 5 years ago! It is a picture of wolves in the forest, more colors than I'm used to using in one project, but I really want to finish it for my dad .. so I'm think I'm going to set aside Wednesday's as UFO night. I'll have to see if that works for me :)

night .. Michele
I'm grateful for my blog .. I enjoy writting here and enjoy reading the comments :)