My Model Stitching is on the Web!

Woohoooooooo! I have finally seen one of my finished models for The Silver Needle! I figured that I would never see one unless I went to Tulsa and visited the store, but… lo and behold, I was perusing their site, looked at their Just Arrived section and found the JABC (Just Another Button Company) freebie design that I stitched for them a month or so ago. It looks so nice all finished up! I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing – my own work. 😀 I had to bring up my scan from my Model Stitching album and scrutinize every detail to make sure it was really mine!

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Race to the Finish

Yes, that’s right! At this point in the game, I have more pieces on which I’ve completed the stitching, which are awaiting finishing, than I do pieces left to stitch! And that’s even if I’m ambitious and stitch another small piece for my mom. 🙂

I’m happy, but that leaves a lot of finishing for me to do and it’s not my strong point. That’s 1 purse to make up, 2 ornaments, 2 miscellaneous (ornies, scissor fobs, who knows?), 1 large pillow (and I’ve never done a pillow before), 1 tuck pillow (did I mention that I’ve never done a pillow before?) and 1 piece left to frame. For some reason, I’m nervous about all of it, even the things that I’ve done before. But, I have to take the plunge and sooner is better than later, so I’m not fretting about it at the last minute.

Time to drag out the sewing beast!

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Holiday Eating Tips

Yet another great thought from a cyberboard…

Here are some holiday tips when eating the christmas feast.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday
buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact,
if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where
they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine
single-malt scotch, it’s rare. In fact, it’s even rarer
than single-malt scotch. You can’t find it any other
time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has
10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going
to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It’s a treat.
Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you
think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole
point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on.
Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with
gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat as many times as you feel
is nessessary.

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Really, it’s more like: when the good goes bad and it’s truly ugly.

It’s so disappointing when something beautiful, born out of love for other people on this planet, becomes ugly. The best of intentions can go so far awry, get so tarnished and become such an awful thing, it truly is stunning to me sometimes. Without being too specific, it’s a real shame that a group of people who came together out of love for their fellow man, to give what they can, when they can, has spiraled out of control. It started with someone saying, “Well, I gave what I had and nothing’s been done with it.” A somewhat innocent question, especially if you’re a newbie. It’s easy to forget that our goal is to produce something whenever we’re able, but without the unpleasant pressure of a looming deadline.

I can appreciate the enthusiasm; however, folks have to remember that the group came together to support others who are ill and that many of us who were drawn to the cause are not fully able-bodied ourselves. Many of us are working with limitations and so we don’t produce a regular product.

And yet, now all of that seems to have gotten perverted. Now there is too much finger-pointing, too much of we’re not getting anywhere and our leader is at fault; forgetting that our leader and the previous one, as well, has real issues of her own to deal with.

Life can be cruel, but people can be far more so…

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The Rumors of the Non-Existence of Santa Claus Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Here’s a great reminder of the meaning of Christmas and the Santa Claus that lives in each and every one of us:

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma.

I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she jeered. “Even dummies know that!”

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me.. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her “world-famous” cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. “No Santa Claus?” she snorted. “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”

Off we went to Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

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The Braces Are GONE!

Yes, we have no more braces… we have no more braces today!

Okay, so that just doesn’t translate well from song to text, but that’s just too bad. 😀

That’s my big news for the day, which is all I need to make me happy, so that’s it!

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I Am Not a Slacker!

Honest! I swear; I’m working so hard that you probably can’t even see me as anything more than a blur as I fly past. December is always a busy and stressful month due to holiday preparations at home and end of year pressures at work. Add to that my attempts to move into a new position at work and you get chaos. 🙂

My lists are all that keeps me sane, I think! They are getting longer and longer, but otherwise I would probably forget a lot more than I already am.

I’m driving a poor coworker insane today. Perhaps that is the high point of the day? 😛 I’m documenting a new application that he’s writing and I keep sending him emails when I find little things that are spelled wrong, not working quite right, etc. I know I’ve sent him more than a dozen emails today. That’s what he gets for working at home. 😉 Otherwise, I’d be trotting over to his office every few minutes – better exercise for me!

Anyway, I hope he won’t be terribly sore with me by the time I see him tomorrow. LOL.

Oh, AND… tomorrow morning at 8 AM is my debonding appointment!!! YES!!!!! I’m finally getting my braces off after nearly 18 months. I am SO excited, I can hardly stand it. 😀

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Still Slacking? Still Sick!

Okay, I’m still sick, so I don’t have a lot to post. Missed scrapbooking night last night and was hoping to be able to do some at home, but couldn’t drag myself off of the couch to do so. Had a BAD case of insomnia last night, probably thanks to the Dimetapp I took right before going to bed, so I got back up and stayed up until 5 AM stitching on my dad’s Christmas present.

Just finished stitching and signing the piece a little bit ago, so here’s the scan. Much more to do, of course. For every one item I cross off of my huge list, I’m adding twice as many additional items. ARGH!

Spent a few hours outside today trying to help Terry cut up the huge chunks of poplar tree that came down earlier this week with the high winds. Man, was there a lot of tree to clean up! Finally got the tree person on the phone since they haven’t been returning T’s messages and the answer was that they’re booked until the end of December. *sigh*

Oh, and there’s the whole mess with our school district taxes, the mortgage company and our escrow account. We mailed the tax bill to the mortgage company to be paid out of escrow when it arrived in late July. We got some notices from them about the taxes being due, but disregarded them because we had already mailed it in. Well, we finally get a call from them in late October and – surprise! – they say they never got the bill; hence it won’t be paid by the October 31st deadline, which equals a 10% penalty. Ouch! Okay, so they overnight it on October 29th. We get a final notice tax bill in the mail this week, so we call the mortgage company. They still say they sent it out, but the check never cleared. Call the tax office and they say they never got it. SHEESH! Okay, so at that point we decide this escrow stuff is crap and we’ll just do it ourselves. So, the mortgage company lets us out of the escrow – fine, more work for us, but at least it we know it gets paid. EXCEPT, there’s still the problem with the existing bill that’s due by December 31st or a lien will be placed on our mortgage (cute, eh?). Call the mortgage company back, they put a stop on the check, but say it’ll take up to 60 days for them to get the money back so that they can send it to us. So, what does that mean, boys and girls? That’s right, we have to come up with $4500 out of our pockets to pay the stinking bill (oh yes, and that’s including the 10% penalty from the mortgage company not getting it the first time!) by the end of the month. And we won’t get the reimbursement from the mortgage company until the stop is processed and refunded, which will probably be sometime next year.

!)@#(%&#)$_@!#@(_!!!!!!!

It sucks to be an adult… sometimes.

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The Slacker is Back!

Sorry, out on vacation and now I’ve been sick. Blah! Anyway, I’m back with a vengeance. So much done, but so much left to do before Christmas! Presents are all purchased, but none wrapped yet. The spare bedroom (craft storage) closet has been reorganized, but the room still needs to be cleaned up before company. Frantic stitching continues – nearly completed stitching on my dad’s piece for Christmas, but still working on my sister’s graduation piece. Need to finish (finish, finish – cutting out, sewing on backing fabric, stuffing, adding cording, etc.) a couple of ornaments for small gifts. Just printed all of the photos out last night for a last minute gift idea for my other dad – a small scrapbook of childhood pictures of me and my brother).

So, while the shopping may be done, not all of the presents are! Lots of frames and mats to buy before Christmas. I may have to finally invest in a mat cutter, as the graduation piece for Ginny is a non-standard size.

So much to do and so little time!!!

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Comments Are Gone For Good

Sorry folks, but the comment spammers came back with a vengeance, so the comment feature has been taken away for good. If I feel like it at some point in the future, I will make it available to registered users only.

In the meantime, back to my vacation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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