New Month

Holy WOW! It's already July.  Ken and I were talking about this last night, and we would really like to know where the first half of 2012 has gone. We know that we have been busy, and we know that there has been a lot of things that have gone on.  Ergo, we know that we lived during the first half of the year, but it seems to have gone far more quickly than possible.  


Isn't that just the way with the world?? As a child, the days take forever! Each day seems to last and go on and on and on.  (Especially when you perceive that you're bored.)  Then, as an adult, you have responsibilities, and you're figuring out what you want from life and how it should work.  Sadly, you have your proverbial shit together, and time goes way too fast. Bummer!!!


On Friday night - very late - Mandy's best friend Kiley showed up for a sleepover.  These two have been friends since Kindergarten, and even the two of them attending two different schools now has not changed their hearts to each other.  It's a really awesome thing.  Sadly, as Mama, I really wish these two could control themselves when together.  Mandy gets territorial when her friend is around which caused Jordan to fall all the way off her loft bed. Scared the holy hell out of Mama!! Thankfully, Jordan seems to have only suffered a bruised ego and some soreness.  Ugh!  Mandy and Kiley spent the time squealing - very loudly - and running around.  Their excitement was too much to handle.  Mama's patience was completely tested, but the girls had a great time.  A few reminders of the house rules became necessary, but the two of them pulled it together.

I hid in my office for a while in order to not explode because of the noise.  It helped me to get some stitching done.  Headphones and Netflix with my stitching supplies, and I was rolling!!  My results on the Jordan Fairy as of Saturday night:

Sunday morning, I got out of bed early with Ken.  He and a couple of the guys from the Gun Club had to go down the hill in order to pick up some ammo. I took the time to redecorate the house for July. I changed out the candle holder, the front door wreath, the pattern of the month that I have been stitching, and then I created the new July living room arrangement.  


I had actually purchased the supplies last year, but I forgot to make the pictures using Heritage Makers.  I really love the materials that I had purchased, and it all came together really well.

This month will be busy with a two day getaway for me and Ken and then the fishing trip with the girls at the end of the month.  We are really hoping the rest of the month will be relaxing.

Trap Shooting and Crafts

Ken took Mandy and Jordan with him to the Club for the Quail Forever Trap Shoot this morning.  I charged Mandy to get some pictures of Ken, and she did a pretty good job with the little Nikon camera. It was an incredibly hot day, and I was really surprised that Ken and the girls didn't get home until noon.  

While they were at the Club, Taylor helped me to pack away the Spring decorations in the house, and she did the majority of the work for the June decorations.  She has discovered that cutting out the photos is a major pain in the ass, but she really loved watching me explain how and why I do everything to make the Living Room centerpiece.  The flip flop was a really cool idea even though it seems a bit small compared to the rest that I have made. Taylor really loved that I took a picture of her with the new decoration.

Again, it's not as big and fancy as I have been making in the past, but it is a really cool addition to the other summer decorations.  It was really fun changing out the candle accessories and the  wall hanging. Now, the house is set for Beach Mode.


I had settled in to re-do my stitching for the night, but Ken said that he had talked to Ermanno at the Trap Shoot, and he and Barbara were wanting to come over tonight. Well, I stitched until they got to our place, and we set up for some poker. Before I knew it, we also had Michael, Dave & his wife Jonna and the grandkids over.  

There's nothing better than an impromptu get-together! We played poker and had a great time, and I finally had to cut things short because of an early morning Staff Meeting - but it wasn't until 1 am! It was great to have friends over and be as crazy as we are.  The best part is that Barbara still tries to claim that she's shy.  Yea, right!


At the cigar break, everything went even further in the crazy department. I don't know what it is about the men wanting to touch each other, but they do. Ken could not get enough attention as always, so he was constantly in the thick of things.

I really hated having to get to bed before everyone was done, but I just couldn't justify staying awake any longer and missing the Staff meeting in the morning on the final week of school (thank GOD it's the last week!).


Ken said everyone left at 1:30, so I didn't miss too much.  

Time for May

The weather is once again warming up. This crazy weather has caused Ken and me to share a wonderful cold. I have been down with it for a week already, and Ken now is on his second day. The girls seem to have managed to avoid it, which is good.


I have been making the jokes that Mother Nature needs to take her HRT to help with the menopause symptoms: hot one day and cold the next.


The good thing is we are loving Daylight Savings Time again. I love having the sun up until past 8 pm. The new month got me working on a new decoration. I put the Easter Basket away and made a Spring Bouquet. I have got to work on my bow-making skills, but Ken and Mandy loved this new creation.

Ott Lite

I have been cross-stitching since I was 18 years old.  I have made tons of gifts for others such as wedding samplers, baby bibs, etc. that I hope people treasure as they were intended.  I love to make things and see people's faces when they realize that it was actually hand-made and (hopefully) looks great.  Now, my grandmother really tried to teach me to crochet.  It's what she did, and she wanted me to have something feminine that I could do.  However, I just can't crochet.  I even tried it again last year and figured I was older and wiser, but even with the lessons, I was hopeless.  Cross-stitching, however, was something that I was able to teach myself, and it's something that I enjoy.  I am always amazed, however, that it also relaxes me.


When I was younger, it was no problem to stitch just about anywhere.  I had just a few supplies - basically, I bought kits and worked those and put them to the side.  My first "major" purchase was a craft bin from Michael's because I had finished kits that needed to be organized, and I was starting to purchase ahead when I saw something on sale.  Then, I purchased boxes to hold the DMC Floss, and I started to be sure that  had colors on hand.


In all of the years that I have been stitching, I have received magazines with tips and ideas, and I have met other people who passed on tips and tricks!  But now, there is Facebook!  I am armed with so much information, and I know that this need to purchase things to have "on hand" is called having a "stash."  My crafting area is now a third of the closet in my office as well as another entire portion of the room and organized and contained in fabric bins.  I've added things for the scrapbooking such as ribbons and glue for when I will create with what I made digitally, but most everything I have in my "stash" is for stitching.


In the 1990s, I started hearing about Ott Lites.  They are very expensive lights that crafters are using because there is no coloring to the bulbs. You get replicated sunlight where ever you have their product.  Initially, I saw them and started drooling, but I was in college and $200 wasn't anything extra that I really had. Then, I was married, divorced, and married again with children.  My second husband (the girls' father) was not-so-nice.  I managed to scrape some money together and purchased a floor scroll frame.  This was a HUGE purchase for me!! It was something that the ex felt was "frivolous and stupid" but it made stitching so much easier for me - I didn't have to hold the fabric in my lap and move it around.  I actually wasn't ruining the fabric as I stitched!  As much as I wanted the Ott Lite, I didn't know anyone who actually had one, and I wasn't willing to risk things making another large purchase during that marriage.  


After leaving the girls' dad, I lost most everything I owned which included the cross-stitching supplies. I had already taken the girls' birth samplers, but I made the mistake of leaving their pictures.  He did actually send the cross-stitching stand back to me, but I think it's because I had three friends who were cops who went to pick up some stuff, and he figured if he sent that along, he would look good.  In the last 5 years, I have built back up my "stash" and it's more impressive than ever.  Ken does not mind me having a stash, and that is one of the reasons we have our monthly "allowance" - we can spend our money how we want.


So, one of the Facebook groups was talking about the Ott Lite and how great it is.  I've started working on Linen which is more difficult to see, and at night, it's even harder.  Factor in that I now have astigmatism in both eyes, and I had to make a decision - what the hell am I going to do so I can keep stitching???


Voila!  The Ott Lite.  I had coupons for JoAnn's - which I'm getting to be a pro with (I haven't paid full price for anything in over a year!), and I also noticed that the lamp I wanted, which is normally $200, was on sale on the JoAnn's website for $99.99.  Nice!  So I called the local store and asked if they had one - which they did, but only one.  I put it on hold and got my ass over there as fast as possible.  Luckily, I printed out the website showing the price and then added the 25% off total purchase code that I had received on my iPad.


The store was not having the sale, but because the lamp was on sale on the website, I got it at the lower price AND I even got the 25% off total purchase because I was only using one coupon.  SCORE!!!!  So, this $200 Ott Lite only cost me $80.80 after tax.

I was so excited that I set the light up as soon as I got home.  I had already picked a location for it - um, right behind where I stitch, and I got it all placed and set up.  I went with this model because of the nickle finish which matches the rest of the house, and then I called Ken out to see my new, pretty purchase!

Ken saw it, and he liked it so much that he made the decision that this purchase could come out of the Household funds rather then my money - EVEN BETTER SCORE!  Talk about amazing, but Ken saw the difference in the light and said it would help all of us to use it.  Whoo-hoo!


I waited until the evening to really take this light for a test.  Here is what my area looks like with the regular light:

And now, here's the same area with the Ott Lite:

Holy smoke!!  Look at the difference!!!  There's just no comparison.  I was able to see the colors clearly, I was able to see the fabric better and after an hour of stitching, my eyes weren't straining and tired.  It was great!!  I was quickly able to go back and find where I had a mistake which is why I stopped the other night.  I was able to get further on the dress and no problems at all.


Oh my happiness!  There is no way that I could have gotten this Lite without Ken.  Not only would I have never been able to justify the purchase on my own (he told me to go ahead and get it since it would help so much), but then he decides the family could use this purchase and to keep my spending money for other things.  Wow!!


So, I was able to finish the one color of the dress and then the shaded part of the dress:

I love how clear it all is now.  Nothing looks "yellow" in the pictures, I didn't have to clean the pictures up - they are amazing!!  Now, the only thing I have to do is figure out how to deal with my eyes when stitching close-up and then looking further away at the television or talking to Ken or the girls.  That is still a problem, but that's it now!  

Making progress on a lazy Sunday

Ken and Taylor went to the AVGC action pistol shoot this morning. Mandy & Jordan stayed home with me, and they colored and played while I stitched and kept working on the Letter J Fairy. 

A Pacific Storm was supposed to roll in, and the winds were high all day. I could see large, black clouds to the south, but they weren't moving in, so I just waited. 

Mandy kept loving and hugging on Addie and at one point, she tucked a blanket around the dog. Being a great sport, Addie just lounged around and enjoyed the attention. 

After Ken got home, he worked on figuring out the check engine light on the truck (he didn't replace the gas cap properly), and then we went to Mollie's for an early supper. Ken had wanted to go to the BBQ place near our house, but it went out of business again, so Mollie's it was. 

We enjoyed our supper and as we were walking to the car, the rain started. By the time we got home, the storm was here, and the rain was falling hard, sideways. Ken started a fire, and I stitched while he took a nap. 

I have made some really good progress on the Fairy. I'm hoping she'll look great once I backstitch. The most difficult part is the Fairy herself. Once I'm done stitching her, the letter J will be simple. There's a ton of beading to do, but I don't mind it since I have beading needles, a new invisible thread and a tacky finger. Whoo-hoo!

I joined another stitching group on Facebook for a lady who started her own fabric dying, and not only did I win one of her samples, but I saw a great Jobelan that I want to use for the trick or Treat Fairy pattern. I'm getting totally out of control with fabrics now that I have discovered them. 

Letter J is coming along nicely.  Working on linen has gotten a bit easier for me, but my eyes really start to go buggy after a while.  I had to frog some of her dress out, so I decided to call it a night.  Not too bad...

Jordan Fairy - WIP

Finally!! I have made some progress, and it's beginning to take shape. I'm still working slowly to be sure I get the stitches in the right place as well as to ensure that everything lines up. I cannot begin to imagine making a huge mistake and having to frog anywhere else.

Ahhhhhhh.......

Nora Corbett's Letter J WIP

This is my fourth attempt at starting this stitching piece. This Work in Progress has started taking my sanity! I never thought that stitching on linen would be so difficult. OK, I figured it would take time, but it's slowly pulling all of my brain cells out my left ear!


Ugh!! I am a member of a stitching group on facebook that deals with Mirabilia & Corbett's work. All of these ladies have gorgeous pieces & mine looks like......well....is there something worse than looking like crap??


I really hope this looks better as I get more done. I have two more letter fairies to do, and I really don't want them to all suck.

A New Stitch

I purchased the Nora Corbett alphabet fairies for the girls, and I love the patterns. The recommended fabric is linen, however, and while I have started the project, I'm very stressed out at trying to learn something new.

The fabric is Wichelt 32ct in Water Lily, and it seems so fragile to me compared to Aida. The Crescent Colours floss are gorgeous, and I'm sure the use of a ton of Mill Hill beads to use on it will only add to the beauty.

I have seen plenty of these fairies completed on other people's websites, and I'm very worried it will not look as good as others. So, here goes a new attempt....

Coffee Apron Done

While Ken and the girls worked on reloading or shooting all weekend, I was intent to finish the Coffee Apron that I started some time ago.  It was really something I wanted to check off my list especially since I intend to wear it.


I bought this apron and directions from Stoney Creek.  The actual one I wanted was back-ordered for 5 months, but this was was finally sent to me at no charge because of the waiting.  The chart was a Stoney Creek design, and I loved that it had green in the cups.  


By Sunday morning, I was so close to being done.  I had to outline the cup on the right and add some beans and wording.

By Sunday night, I was so excited!  I had finished the last touch, and it was done!  There is such a sense of relief when I finish a project, and I have created something!  

I added a couple of Debbie Mumm coffee cup buttons to the top straps for an added decoration.


Now all that is left for me to do is to put some fabric on the back to protect the threads during washing, and this apron is wearable!

Week flew by

The week went by before I was able to stop and get much done.  Having been out of my office last week, I knew that I would have a lot of work to catch up on, but I was still, sadly, still unable to prepare myself for everything.  


I have also taken on the challenge of Project 365 which is one picture that captures each day, and it's barely February, and I found that I have already missed a day because I was having too much fun!


Valentine's Day was here.  The girls couldn't wait for Ken to get out of bed so they could give him his gift.  They got Ken a travel size of his cologne for his new travel bag.  Ken made a big deal out of the pretty box that he got, and then he was really happy to see the gift itself.  (You can see that Mandy was having a difficult morning, and she was not wanting to participate in happiness again.)

But then, I handed the girls their Valentine's from Ken and myself, and they were all smiles!  I used Heritage Makers to create a unique card for each of the girls, and I created square flip books for each of them.  The sentiment for each book was overall the same, but I made changes to match each of the girls' abilities and talents.  Of course, they loved seeing themselves in a book that reminded them that I love them and why.  

Each of the girls took the books to school with them along with their own HM made Valentine's to share in school.  Jordan and Mandy came home with a ton of Valentine's that they got from their classroom shares, but Taylor was disappointed that she only got a couple.  I tried to explain to Taylor that once the classroom exchange is over, that we only start getting cards from those who are truly our friends.  She is having such a difficult time transitioning from a child to a teenager.  Ken and I have worked with her a lot trying to help her to understand the social changes that have happened and will happen and our hopes is that she won't get caught up in the drama that is already occurring.  

Ken and I made sure to pay the PTO to deliver the girls an added Valentine that day, so they were excited to get an extra card and candy.

During the day, Ken and I went to see a movie, "Safe House" with Denzel Washington.  It was a great movie that kept us on the edge of our seats, and I found myself exhausted at the end of the movie from being tense.  We enjoyed getting out and into the movie theatre rather than waiting for the movie to come out on DVD to see it.  We also laughed to notice that we were the youngest people in the theatre that morning for the Tuesday Discounted day.  Ha!  

After the movie, we enjoyed going out to lunch - Red Robin as usual.  It was nice for us to have some added time together, and despite the fact that it was "Valentine's Day", I was completed absorbed in the fact that Ken makes it Valentine's Day for me every day.  

Interestingly enough, Addie apparently did not feel loved at all this week.  She has been pawing at us to remove our hands from our computers or to get our attention, but she has started taking to sitting on her haunches and putting both paws on us to get our attention and make us take notice of her. I managed to get a picture of her doing the two-paw attention manner.

Surprisingly, we suddenly had snow!  It's mid-February and we got snow.  I was just wearing shorts and flip-flops last week, but I looked out my window and saw it snowing.  I tried to get a good picture, but I couldn't capture the snow actually falling.  The picture I did get only shows what it looked like at the beginning.  We only got 1/2 an inch of snow and it was gone before nightfall.  Thankfully, the girls had school the next day.


On Friday, Ken wanted to go to the Club to shoot and meet up with some friends.  He kept inviting me, but my sense of responsibility kept winning, and I kept trying to get my work done.  I was no closer to getting my Transition reports done than I was on Monday.


However, after having more arguments with some of my co-workers who insist on making my life hell, I gave in and went to the range to literally blow off steam.

I used both of my autos that I had at home.  Ken had altered the grips on the Sig .40 for me, so I finally got to use them, and then I practiced with my Kahr.  My Smith is still at the manufacturer's, so I'm without it, but it was great to get some range time in.  I worked on dominant and non-dominant hand, single shooting at steel.  There was nothing better than hearing the "Ding!" when I hit.  

Ken noticed that I was doing much better with my left hand than my right, and he kept trying to see if I would suddenly shoot better with my dominant hand, but it didn't work out that way.  Apparently, single handed was better with the Left.  

I had fun with the picture and posted it on Facebook.  An old high-school friend of mine saw the picture and started messaging me to get some information for his wife.  They live in Florida, which is gun-friendly, and I offered some advice.  Scott used some funny names for me, and I joked around that they should be on a business card for me.  So, Scott made this card with the names he gave me and some of the information from my Facebook page and sent it to me.  I thought it was so awesome that I posted it on my Facebook page and giggled.

 On Saturday, Ken and I attended the Annual Gun Club banquet.  We were very excited since we had worked to get great raffle prizes donated, etc.  It was also going to be more fun for us this year since we knew so many more people than in the previous years.  


Unfortunately, my pathological picture-taking problem did not occur that night, and I did not take one picture with anyone.  Ugh!!!  I found this picture of the Grumpy Golfer - which is where the banquet is held - and that is the picture to commemorate the Banquet.  Ken teased me at the end of the night when I remembered that I had my small Nikon in my purse and did not use it once.  What good is paying for the cameras if I'm not going to use them??  


Oh well.  Ken and I had a great time visiting and enjoying the company of our friends.  We were disappointed in some of the election results, but all in all, we have hopes that the Club will prosper during the next year.  I only had to buy one drink during the night - the rest were purchased by others, and I just enjoyed myself.
 

Sunday, I spent the day on the couch finishing Jordan's stocking holder.  I cannot believe that this little thing took me so long to stitch.  Of course, working all of the hours that I had, reading 7 books, and dealing with the family have taken more time from me than I want to admit.  I love the feeling of completing a project - it's really nice.  Jordan loved seeing her stocking holder and now cannot WAIT until Christmas so she can use it!


Now, I have to get ready for a whole new work week.  I'm hoping to get some relaxation in while dealing with the crazy schedule that I have and the orneriness of the girls to contend with.  I swear sometimes that they plot and plan how to drive me insane, and they do a very good job.