blame it on the rain

We have had such ups and downs the past several days. For one, I feel like I live in Forks, WA without my vampire. Today is the sixth day for rain. Tuesday was really our only break with very little sunshine if any, but we’ve been living “under a constant cloud of rain and haze”. I know Cameron is dying to get outside. I’m cooped up and I’m tired of the rain ~ makes me feel bad.

I don’t have a lot to report stitching wise. I said before that my current rotation is on hold because I have a really important project (sorry, cannot mention it yet) that I need to concentrate on and finish. I am making progress so that’s a plus.

Jose has been slightly ill since Friday. I picked him up from school and he wasn’t well. I couldn’t get him in to see the doctor so we went to our doctor’s walk-in clinic. They tested him for strep and flu, but thankfully those tests were negative. Jose has severe allergies and a double ear infection. He’s on a ton of medicine because he is absolutely miserable. He’s on 2 prescription drugs and 3 over-the-counter drugs. He’s feeling much better now that we have this under control.

Cameron has been such a stinker lately. He has decided it a good idea to wake up at 2:00 am and want in our bed, but mama and dada won’t be having that. Last night was the third night in a row for this behavior and we’re exhausted. He cries all night! It’s unbelievable. He’s snoozing right now and understandably so. I should be sleeping too. After putting him to bed last night (around 8:30) he decided he should get so upset that it makes him vomit and so that’s what he did. It took me at least 30 minutes to clean that all up and I missed a lot of Dancing with the Stars. [I did see who was eliminated to which I totally disagree with. As likeable as Ty Murray is he should have been the one to go not Lil’ Kim.] Ugh!!! Anyway, Cameron is all off right now. I’m going to blame it on the rain (isn’t that a verse in a song?).

DH passed yet another Microsoft test for work to which I happily and proudly scream out that he nailed this test. He received a PERFECT score of 1000. 700 is passing. I'm so very proud of him. He studied for a month and a half. Lots of sacrifice was made in order for his study time to be uninterrupted. Congrats to my DH!

I’m sorry this post is so utterly boring. I have felt so guilty about not posting sooner but to add drama to this already theatrical week my Internet and email have been down for just about 2 days, so today I have it back and that means catch-up; if I can even squeeze that time in. I can’t believe this weekend is Mother’s Day. Jeez!

Talk soon!

easter weekend

Me and ALL my boys had an uneventful weekend, weather wise. We had a rather gorgeous Easter weekend. The weather was warm and pleasant and the sun was out the entire time. On Saturday, DH and Jose assembled a rocket to launch in the backyard which worked splendidly. They had lots of fun doing this together. And I cannot believe I actually got a snapshot of the rocket taking off. I must have clicked the button at the perfect time (maybe NASA would be interested!).

Easter Sunday was calm and quiet. We hung around the house in the morning and after noon time we headed over to Nana and Papa’s house for Easter baskets and an early dinner. We had baked ham with all sorts of side dishes and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was really, really good!

It was nice watching the boys hunt for their baskets, although it didn’t take much hunting to find them, and by the time they did it was all over. Me and DH even had a basket from my parents which was really cool. My mom got me a bag of Spring Time M&M’s and a chart called Bluebird by The Victoria Sampler. I didn’t get to work on my Long Dog Sampler at all on Sunday, but I did get to work on the Traveling Stitcher by LHN ~ the ‘needles’ portion anyway.

I’m trying to learn how to build my own photo light box so photos of my stitching will look more crisp and clean. My camera’s flash is too much and me trying to manipulate that is not enough, so lighting is my flaw. I just need something that gives an overall even appearance. I like consistency and I’m not achieving that on my own. I’ve done a couple searches and have found at least one helpful tutorial. In case you’re interested click HERE.

That’s it for now. I believe we’re having Hamburger Helper for dinner tonight. Yep, sounds easy enough. 24 is on tonight too. Talk soon!

so many things…so little time

I have many things to talk about and it's been awhile, so first things first...

Twilight review…I read the book and have finally witnessed the movie. First, I did enjoy the movie. Let’s not forget that; however, I was disappointed a little. It was missing something. Maybe it was the director. I felt the movie missed so many topics that the book hit on that I felt were important to the story line. I felt the movie to be choppy and too “piecey”. It jumped from one scene to the next without the fade of that particular scene having a conclusion. For example, the girls are at school discussing prom and driving into Port Angeles to buy prom dresses. Bella wants to go and all of a sudden they are there trying on dresses. Less than 2 minutes later we see a book being handed to her and now she’s being barraged by strange men; Edward appears. It just happened all too quickly for me. I felt like the movie was sped through.

I understand that “Hollywood” has to take a hundreds plus page book and mash it down to 90 minutes and maintain substance, but other movies have fared better with WAY more complexity in the story, such as The Pelican Brief, The Firm, The Da Vinci Code (just to name a few) that had a tremendous amount of conspiracy and twists and turns, and those directors managed to keep the content. I feel Twilight lost this. Twilight was such a success with words that it didn’t stand a chance at losing its audience on the silver screen. People were going to almost automatically like it no matter how bad or good it was. There was a bias.

The only thing from this movie that remained faithful to the book was Bella and Edward. I think the two actors playing Edward and Bella were perfect for the part. What I wouldn’t kill to be Bella, really! The amount of intensity and passion these two share. The anticipation of “taking” each other, but having to endure such restraint, especially when Edward softly commands her to be still, don’t move…OMG!!! He had me there. A line like that floors me. What a turn on that scene was. I would have made him take a bite. Heehee

I hear that New Moon is also being made into a movie and that it’s getting a different director. I’m glad if that’s true. Maybe the next movie will be right on topic. I am glad I saw the movie. I own it and plan on watching it over and over and over again to get my Edward fix. There is enough of him to go around ladies. :o)

"My heart belongs to my husband, but neck belongs to Edward." Anonymous

Saturday…I went to moonlight stitching with mom at our LNS and it was really fun. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously. My mom saw an old friend, Katie, from the original sit ‘n stitch evenings from years ago so that was a treat for mom. Melissa joined the party as well and brought along her two table runners. Go to her blog and check them out ~ so beautiful!

Crafting area…I am making great progress in my creative-domain! This is where I do everything - rotary cutting, piecing, sewing, ironing, sorting, organizing, and looking for projects, etc. You name it; I do it there, except for stitch. I either stitch in the living room with my Ott-Lite or in bed.

I finally alphabetized my single charts into magazine holders and they have been relocated on the new lower shelf. I like this a lot better. This isn’t all the charts I own though. I have scissor fob kits and singles, smalls, etc. These are just in other places in my area. Since I’m still not done repositioning everything I can’t show photos just yet, but I will in do time. I am happy with how things are turning out.

Groupies…I recently joined another Yahoo! group. (The photo is clickable.)

I started contributing to the Blackbird Designs blogspot so go and check out that little place. I’ve always been familiar and an admirer to BBD, but just until recently have I become addicted (hence BBD addict sidebar photo) to the designs. In my very humble opinion I feel the designs have changed over the years and I really like the new look. I don’t know if it was intentional or even noticeable on their part, but I really am enjoying the new look of all their designs. I see a new design and have this aching feeling that I have to have it. What about you?!

Finishings…For the last few days I’ve been busy finishing up a couple projects. I have cleared another current rotation project – Stacy Nash’s Hallows Eve Sampler Pillow.

Design: Hallows Eve Sampler Pillow
Designer: Stacy Nash Primitives
28 ct Autumn Fields (front/back)
DMC 301, 310, 612, 730, 838

This took way too long! Granted, every Friday wasn’t a good stitching day; therefore, no stitching was to be had, but it is done…finally! I loosely stuffed it with Poly-fil. I didn’t want it to be stiffly stuffed with fluff (I’m a poet and didn’t know it). I added my own touches by attaching a black key to the front and added my initials in a ‘hallows eve’ kinda way, along with stitching one of the keys 1 over 1. I didn’t coffee stain or use walnut crystals because the Autumn Fields is over-dyed. I didn’t free hand cross stitches either. I like how it all turned out.

I’ve mentioned a couple times about making a punchneedle case for my new Cameo needles. I already have a needle case for my Russian punchneedles with a needle punch design atop the clear plastic container. It’s an Erica Michaels design I received when I took her punchneedle class years ago. The container houses my Russian needles perfectly; threaders and all.

The dilemma was I didn’t want any ole’ plastic container case for my Cameo. I wanted something a wee bit nicer. Besides, the threading needles are much longer than the Russian threaders, so I was going to need something more substantial in width ~ at least 7” wide. Since most of the designs I punch are folk art and/or primitive, I thought it only appropriate to use my Civil War fabrics. I am extremely fulfilled with this accomplishment! No pattern. No design. I just went with the flow and my result was perfect for me.

Design: Pig and Chicken
Designer: Hooked On Rugs
Thread: WDW
Fabric: beige weaver’s cloth

I added several little touches after my brainstorming of the needle case. I free hand stitched my initials on the wool inside. I added two buttons; one for decoration and one to hold the case closed. I used walnut crystals to stain a piece of hem binding that came from my grandmother’s stash of lace and hemming pieces. I used the blanket stitch to attach the wool. I used interfacing and a 1/2” thick piece of batting between the main fabrics; both to give stability, and it worked! I used Mod Podge to affix the pig and chicken to the top/front of the case. I’m really happy! In fact, I did a little dance last night!

Oldies…I wanted to share the very first needle case I ever stitched and finished by myself.

The design is from Olde Colonial I picked up from CATS back in 2004-2005. Since I was a ‘virgin’ at this kind of thing I didn’t notice until after I assembled it that I’m off by one stitch on the “5” of 2005 ~ I went too far. I was really upset at the time, but now it doesn’t bother me so much. It’s funny to look at it, but it’s also a reminder at how far I’ve come and where I started. I love my little scissor and needle case. I wouldn’t change a thing. :o)

Cameron speaks…FINALLY!!! Cameron is saying ONE word. He is saying “Mama” with intention. And when I answer him, ‘yes,’ he has the most excited grin. He knows he’s speaking and I’m so proud of him. It sounds so sweet to finally hear. I’ve been waiting a long time to hear his little voice utter sweet little words like ‘mama.’ It’s music to my ears.

On a very different note, Cameron is throwing things…ALL things. It’s a difficult phase to address. I’ve sought out some mommy advice from Tanya and she’s been very helpful. Jose went through this very same thing, but not to this extent. Cameron throws the tray from the highchair which can really hurt someone. It also makes for a very loud crash. Even though this phase isn’t funny, the other night we were eating dinner and had smoked salmon dip as an appetizer. We’re happily enjoying our meal, and as if God wanted to throw something down from heaven, a pacifier came and landed in the dip. SPLAT!!! It made quite the interesting indentation in the dip. We had a very difficult time controlling our laughter. It was surprising to say the least.

Cameron has been enjoying the outside. He cries if we don’t let him out and I believe he thinks he’s Pink Panther, or either Mr. Bean, but he’s making attempts to find a way outside without assistance. We have to be very conscientious about locking doors around here. We were at my FIL’s a few weeks ago and he has a doggy door. I know I don’t need to tell the story, but guess where we found Cameron? Yep! Heading out the dog door. We locked that up real quick bc my FIL has a 2-3 foot deep pond. Very scary place!

Other…Not that anyone cares, but it is part of my ‘makeup’, I am waiting to receive my gun carry permit in the mail. I completed the application process, had my photo taken, background check done, and was fingerprinted. We’ve purchased the gun I’ll carry, which is compact called a Glock 19. I’m not excited per se, just waiting around for yet another HUGE responsibility to maintain.

Jose…Jose returned to school today from spring break. I’m a little relieved bc Cameron can get back into his normal routine. Not that I had him off of it with Jose around, but it gave me a challenge that’s for sure. I’m not relieved bc I’ll have to leave here around 2:30 everyday to pick him up. Not that I don’t mind picking up my son, it’s just that I don’t feel well today and going out in this sunlight makes me feel ill. I was going to take Cameron to the park today, but I feel too bad so it’ll have to be another day. It’s in the 70’s today so that’s a bummer.

DH…I’m going to end this post on a silly note. I’m sure most of us can agree that men are much different than women – much different doesn’t even begin to explain the difference, does it?! The other day I walked into the kitchen and this is what waited for me.

Why do men do this kind of thing? My DH can take apart cars and put them back together. He can do plumbing and electrical work. He works on computers and can fix any mechanical toy or machine (he’s educated for this). He’s a sharp-shooter. And can solve just about any problem even though he has no training in most fields. He can just do these things. HOWEVER, he cannot load a dishwasher to exhaust all usable space and he cannot open a waffle box. What is up with this???!!! I’m going to quote Anne Hesch in the movie Seven Days, Six Nights when she speaks to Harrison Ford and asks after they’ve crashed onto a deserted island:

Anne: Aren’t you one of those guys???
Harrison: What guys?
Anne: You know…one of those guys you give a tooth pick and a shovel to and they build you a shopping mall???!!!

That is my DH, but not with a waffle box. Ugh!!! And as if that wasn’t enough, what’s wrong with this picture?

I must have wakened in another house. Who keeps motor oil on the counter around food??? Please! If anyone knows, I’d like to hear about it. I’d like to know I’m not alone here. Have a wonderful Monday and a fantastic week!

zoology

Today was a warm and sunny day. Not a cloud to be had and the high was 78 F. What better way to spend the day than heading to the Nashville Zoo. We live 8 minutes from it and we're members now (thanks to Nana & Papa!). There aren't any photos of any animals on this trip except the gibbons. No, this visit was reserved for horseplay and some outdoor fun. We did see some animals, but this was about me and my boys spending quality time together having fun and being boys, ahem, and a girl. I am exhausted now though. We were there for 5 hours ~ hard.......to........swallow!

When we entered the play foam area Cameron just stood there and surveyed things. He checked out all the kids running around, some screaming, some jumping, some twirling, and he stood there like a bobble-head. Slowly, but surely little shy grins escaped the corners of his mouth and finally he went to be a kid or rather a jumping sumo wrestler if there ever was one. He started doing those butt flops again (see my 'two monkeys jumpin' on the bed post'). Parents kept calling Cameron Elmo; some kids too. I think that confused Cameron bc it only made him look around and wonder where was that Elmo.

Taking a break and watching the kids play. This is the only time you'll ever see this child sit still and "look" normal. It was my first time.

Scoping out the place to find Jose. Gritting those teeth with intensity. Where? Where? Where could he be???

A-HA! Jose, I see you! (He spotted Jose across the play yard.)

Cameron and Jose were making their way to a bigger slide than this one and ran into a little girl that told Jose 'she liked his baby'. LOL

Jose can be the kindest, most loving of brothers. But he can be a booger too.

We have a runaway Cameron. He thinks he can go anywhere Jose goes, but he so can-not!!!

These are some of the gibbons and they are active and loud. In fact, a little animal fact here is that when these things start singing they can be heard 2 miles away. They make this really intense guuuuuuuuuuuuuulp noise, but they do it over and over and over and over and over...you get my drift. They are so cute, at least to us they are, and they are the big attraction at the zoo. We came by in the evening to say goodbye to them and there they were sitting on the ground seeing us out the door. Bye-bye loud ones.

two monkeys jumpin' on the bed!

Click on video BELOW to see the monkeys in action.

the day after

It's Sunday night and I've worked on my designated-day rotation project off and on, along with last minute laundry; and since I cannot show off my Sunday piece because it is a gift for an admiring pair of eyes, I can only give you a ~*hint hint*~ peek.

Waterlilies silk ~ floss used in "secret" project

Piece intentionally blurred

Today was a lazy and quiet day. DH went out to a gun show and was nice enough to go Krogering on his way home (he is a fine fine husband, isn't he?). He picked up quite the young bird for us to eat this chilly and cloudy evening. We had rice and buttered bread with our little chicken.

Before

2 hours later ~ yum yum

The boys have been busy playing independently as well as a team. As most 11 year old boys do, Jose had been in his room most of the day playing video games, with a periodic peek into the rest of the house to see what we were up to. He did manage one chore which was to clean up the dogs' business from the yard and afterwards he fed our beasts (dogs). Here were the boys earlier today playing together.

Cameron really isn't playing...but he thinks he is! LOL

Cameron always has a watchful eye on his big brother. Cameron wants to mimic and copy every single step and move Jose makes. He's watching Jose push the buttons and shift the knobs on the controller. What's funny is that when Jose is at school I have to keep his door closed bc Cameron will surely get into trouble in big brother's room. However, there are times I have to get in there for laundry and pick up and Cameron will immediately grab a remote, turn the TV on, and power on the Xbox 360, Wii, Xbox, Playstation II; you name it Cameron turns it on and starts pushing buttons and shifting knobs...just like big brother! He stands way too close to the TV though.

Monday I have a doctor's appointment with a new neck and spine surgeon. To make a really looooooong story short, I've had chronic back pain for 8 years. I've had all medical makeup work I can possibly have and I've undergone all types of procedures and tests. I've had plenty of diagnosis, but nothing anyone can do about it. I've had to learn pain management and adjust my life accordingly. The only thing my body hasn't gone through with respect to neck and spine is surgery. Lately I have been experiencing the same symptoms as in previous years, but also new ones. Maybe THIS doctor will have the cure once and for all. I'm just hoping that maybe one day in my lifetime there will be something that'll help me.

Tuesday is going to be a much better day - hooray!!! Me and my mother, with Cameron in tow, are going to a quilt store that we've never been to called The Quilter's Attic. I am looking soooo forward to this outing. It's going to be so nice to visit a new store. I've lived here since 1993 and never have I been to this place. Sad, yes, I know ~ you can make fun. I won't hate you! LOL

Here is some tub time with Cameron. He loves loves loves taking baths!

Hey...who's down there?!?!