Winter Break

My big plans for the time off from work was "NOTHING."  Yep, that's right. I didn't want to do anything but what I wanted for fun. With everyone being sick, it was just that much easier for me to do!! 

The first thing on my list: sleeping in. Ahhhhhhhhhh!! What a wonderful feeling to not be a slave to the alarm clock!! I'm sure that actually getting sleep has been one of the reasons I have avoided the illness and germs that the kids keep passing around. I also have to say that it's great to be able to lay in bed and actually chat with Ken in the mornings rather than hustle and bustle to the routine of the day. 

Another fun thing that is completely selfish of me, is that I have been stitching. OK, I haven't been stitching as much as I had hoped, but the ability to just sit and stitch on my projects without any feeling of obligation or "I have GOT to make the time for this" has also been wonderful. I even managed to make some progress on Jordan's baby sampler.  Yay!

One of the main reasons I haven't been stitching as much as I would like is because I am actually taking the time to catalogue all of the stitching stash that I have. I knew I had quite the collection going, but now I have realized exactly how much I have. Holy crap! 

A little backstory here: My Blackberry phone was dying, and I had limped it along to make it last. At almost 4 years, it was finally time to get a new phone. I deliberated and contemplated the options I had. I agonized over it because I really - REALLY - did not want to learn a new phone or have to go through the trouble of transferring all of my data over. Yuck! Well, I'm not working out of the house, so the Blackberry isn't as "job important" as it once was, and I can sync my Google Calendar to the iPhone since I use it on my iPad. Plus, there's all of the shopping apps and lifestyle apps that I have been using on my iPad that would be so much more convenient in a travel size, so I opted for the iPhone. There is a iPhone 5 out, but I chose the iPhone 4S. For 1) the 4S was cheaper since it was an older version and I got a great trade-in value on my BB, 2) There's a ton more things I can do with the iPhone than the BB, and 3) I can create really cool cases through Heritage Makers.

So, I went ahead and purchased the organization app through the Cross Stitch Guild. I had spent a long time looking at the various apps available for cataloguing, but this was the best one.  I've spoken with the creator, and they are working on some great upgrades to make it even better, which makes me happier that I purchased that one. Most of the apps are very specific: DMC thread, fabrics, beads, etc. The CSG has everything in one location - well, other than beads, but they're looking to add that. 

As you can see, the app allows you to log in everything you have or might have. It will make it so much more convenient for me when I'm looking to kit up a project or to decide which project to do next (since I'll know if I have everything or not). And then there's the ability to decide at a sale what I have and what I don't. Oh the luxury!! Oh, and notice that I can take pictures of my phone screen with the iPhone - I couldn't do that with the Blackberry - cool!!

 This shows me exactly what I have on hand for floss, what I need for a project and what I don't have.

 Jane said they're working on making it possible to create folders, so each of the manufacturers can be separated and then the colors placed in each folder.  For now, I'll have to search by name for the Crescent Colours, Valdani, Gentle Arts, etc.

 Again, I cannot separate by manufacturer, but it's still great to see what I have inside all of the bins. 

And then, I can see who it is made by, what size I have, and then a picture of it!! Whoo-hoo!

This particular endeavor for my Winter Break is taking me a lot longer than I anticipated. It would have been easier if I didn't have such the stash collection, but it's been fun to see exactly what I have on hand!

Another Winter Break item on my to-do list is to spend time with friends. Ken and I were able to hang out with a former co-worker of mine, Jasmine Viveros, and her wife, Sherry along with some other friends of theirs. We had a great time, and not only was it fun catching up with Jasmine, but having adult time was fabulous!!

Ken and I are going to host a New Year's Eve party, so we had to do some shopping. Ken did the grocery shopping with Brian and I dragged Justin to do the decoration shopping. We met at Starbucks for some much needed caffeine before shopped. I enjoyed being able to get a picture of Ken and two of his sons. 

So far, Brian hasn't seemed to mind hanging around. It's obvious that he still doesn't care for me too much, but at least he's made the effort to hang out with his dad. He has locked himself in our guest room when he doesn't care for the conversation or company, so I was rather relieved when he said he was going to spend New Year's Eve at his old church than with us. 

For the last Family Night of 2012, Ken suggested a Blackout Night. Ken, Taylor, Brian and I played Contract Rummy while Mandy and Jordan played their own card game. Taylor and Mandy used their Christmas money to purchase iPod Shuffles, so Taylor kept lamenting the loss of her new electronic, but she didn't seem to mind once she won the card game.  We cheated a little bit after the game was over and while we left the lights off, we did heat up some popcorn and watch a movie together.