Measi's Musings

Archive for the ‘Celebrations & Holidays’ Category

My mom’s off doing an errand, so I have a few minutes to do a quick blog post while I’m waiting for her to arrive at my house this afternoon.  :)

My first finish of 2011 is in the books – just in time for my mom’s belated visit for Christmas!  It’s Windows of Faith, Hope and Peace from Primrose Needleworks, and was featured in the 2010 ornament issue of Just Cross Stitch.  It’s stitched on Silkweaver 28ct opal. Porcelain, and I decided to stitch the entire thing in DMC 334.   I did not make the cord on this one – I had a piece of off-white cord lying around, and wanted to use it up.  Mom loved it, and she’s VERY impressed with the finishing.  Hooray!

The ornament took up all of this week’s stitching time.  I had a lot more left to do than I thought.  So this next week I’ll be working furiously on the UFO RR piece due to be mailed on January 24th.

The Feb 2010 UFO RR is wrapping up.  About half of the pieces have now returned home.  My final round was spent stitching on Catherine’s adorable little baby quilt.  I completed one of the hearts and a sheep on it (top and bottom right corners on the photo) before sending it home on Monday (she received it on Friday).  Her piece isn’t quite done, but it had fantastic progress over the course of this robin.  This is a very large piece, so I struggled a bit to get a good photo – sorry about the angle.

For anyone reading who is interested, a new Unfinished Object RR is starting, and it’s now in the signup stage.  So if you’d like to check it out (and the previous versions), please go HERE.  The link will take you directly to the new robin starting up, but if you go up the forum hierarchy, you’ll find other robins.  It is a lot of fun, and if you have a piece that’s been stalled for a while, it’s a great way to get it moving again.  It just requires a long commitment.  Usually these robins will take just under a year to complete.

I’m going to get a few other things ready around the house before Mom gets here.  I’ll be catching up on blog posts this week now that the holiday/birthday/massive work deadline/Mom visit stretch is over.

Thanks for stopping by!

Erich and I bought new smartphones for Christmas, and I was thrilled to see a WordPress app.  I doubt I’ll post constantly this way, but I wanted to try it out during my lunch break.

We received a wallop of heavy snow yesterday.  The final totals were somewhere in the 15-20 inch range by the time it ended yesterday evening.  I’ve heard a few places in Western Massachusetts received over two feet, but that’s not in the area where we generally travel.  Usually we have a lot of drifting, especially in our backyard, but the snow this time around was far too heavy.  The roads were plowed well for the most part.   Our commute from Providence to Boston took its normal amount of time.  I was amazed!  Everything looked gorgeous too: the trees were flocked with tons of snow.  Only the very top of the trees were bare – where the morning sun could reach.  I took several photos along my commute this morning. The photo with this post was taken Rt. 28 north, heading into the Blue Hills between Randolph and Milton, Massachusetts.  Erich was driving – can you tell I took this through a windshield? (I sure as heck can’t!)  The rest of the photos will get uploaded later.

So much of this week’s attention was on the impending storm that my 36th birthday was just a little speedbump.  I went to work (knowing that I would most likely be home Wed.) and afterward Erich picked me up at the office for dinner.  We went to Addis Red Sea, a small Ethiopian restaurant in the South End.  It’s not far from the little studio apartment (aka “The Beast”) I lived in when we started dating.  It felt good to be back in the old neighborhood.   Despite the rent costs and how tiny my place was, I loved living there.  It’s such a cozy neighborhood with a very active social scene and all of the best of what I love about Boston (the cozy brownstones, brick lined streets, teeny tiny backstreets, etc.)

Mom is coming up this weekend for the postponed holiday celebration, and she said she’s making a cake for me.  (Mmmm… mom cooking)

Back to work with me… stitching news will probably come sometime this weekend!

So 2010 is gone (thankfully), and a new year has started – hopefully 2011 will be a good one.  Like so many other people, I start thinking of goals I’d like to accomplish for the year, although I am reluctant to actually voice them – because anytime I do, it seems that I’m setting myself up to doom the dreams.  But I have a few hopes for the year.

House

We’ve now lived here for over five years, and we’ve only managed to get one room in the house repainted. That needs to change.  My goal is to get our bedroom repainted and get the bathroom painted & the vanities changed out.

This spring I want to build the other two planting boxes in the garden to finish the above-ground planting bed pattern we started last year.

I want to go through all of my books and make some serious critical decisions and get rid of excess I’m never going to read again.  We just have too much stuff.

Self

I’m terrified of getting hurt when I try to lose weight and get exercise.  It happens every time.  BUT… I will try.  I’m setting a goal of 20 pounds.  It’s not a ton, but right now it looks like a terrifying mountain to me.

I want to set up a routine for blogging – not just about stitching, but reflecting on things in my life.  I’m setting a goal of twice per week – specifically for non-stitching thoughts.

Wanderlust

I have one small corner of Rhode Island still to drive.  Once the weather’s warmer, I will allow my wanderlust to go wild.

I really, really want to go to Vermont this year.  It’s the only state in New England that I’ve never been to.

I also want to go to Western Massachusetts – again, one of those strange areas I haven’t spent much time in.  I just want to get in the car, pick a road number, and see where it goes.

Stitching

Will be addressed in my next post.  :)

I’m hoping it will be a very good year.

Per my last post, I’m honestly quite happy the holidays are coming to an end… and honestly, glad 2010 is ending, too.  It’s been a rough, tiring year.  Thankfully, both Yule and Christmas were nice and quiet.  I wound up being quite ill on Yule, so didn’t sit for the Sabbat.  I don’t think I got out of my pj’s all day on Saturday.  Mom had planned to come up for the weekend, but with the nasty storm that came up the east coast on Sunday, I suggested that she not make the drive (it’s over five hours in pristine driving conditions – for which the holidays and snow would most definitely not qualify) and that we put off Mom & Daughter Christmas until later.  So… the visit is pending for sometime in January.  It’ll be a mash of my birthday and Christmas, which is fine.  It’ll be less chaotic anyway.    I have a slight feeling that Mom was a bit ticked at me for suggesting the rain check, but really – it was horrible on Sunday, and she would have been in it the entire way up.   With the dog because the timing wasn’t good for the kennel.  Just – way too many variables here for my comfort.  I’d much rather do it on a relaxed weekend later.

The storm wound up dumping somewhere between nine and thirteen inches of snow… I think.  It’s a bit hard to tell due to all of the blowing snow, but the piles on the side of the road are significant.  Sunday night was an honest-to-god blizzard.  The snow was just howling by the windows.  Sunday wasn’t much better in the wind department, although it stopped snowing sometime mid-afternoon.  The winds died down this afternoon, and it was pleasant to be outside at lunch – cold, of course, but not painful with the calm air.  I’ve heard rumors that we may hit the upper 40s for New Year’s Eve, so I’ll enjoy the snow-covered ground while I can.

I admit – as much of a pain it is to navigate at time, it’s awfully pretty outside right now.

Erich and I bought new cell phones last week as a mutual Christmas present.  We both got Droid 2′s, and I’m still trying to learn my way around it.  I loved my old phone, but with Twitter and Facebook becoming more common for me, it was time to upgrade.  We have my old phone as a standby in case something happens.  On Friday (my day off), I’ll get some photos uploaded of two gorgeous ornaments I received from Rachel, as well as my received ornaments for the Teresa Wentzler and Life’s a Stitch exchanges via Yuku.

So now this week I’m starting to get my thoughts together for stitching in 2011.  As of right now, my stitching for the year looks as follows:

• Wrapping up the UFO RR that started in Feb 2010 – pieces get mailed home in January
• Continuing with the UFO RR that started in October.
• Starting the Mirabilia RR for 2011.  My RR will be themed around the Queens.  I’ve bought the patterns I was missing.  Now I just need to prep my fabric with the layout.
• Starting the new UFO RR that begins in February.  I’ll either send Walk in the Woods or Apache Wedding Blessing for this one
• Guilt Free January – I’m keeping this pretty low-key this year.  I’ll be starting an HAED piece in January with the other RI Stitchers girls.  I also plan on starting Pocketful of Peppermints by Blue Ribbon Designs, Leaping Cat by La-D-Da, and I Love New England by the Sampler Needlework.
• Other than that, I’m planning on spending the entire year WIP-killing, STRiP-ing… however you want to term it.  I’m not going to do an organized rotation, due to the RR’s.  Instead, I’m just going to scream-stitch and see where it goes.

I’ll be tidying up my WIP list on Friday, and sometime over the weekend I’ll update my stash list.  Off the top of my head, the WIPS I really, really want to tackle this year and finish are:

• Witchy Washy
• Apache Wedding Blessing
• Cats on a Staircase
• Floral Bellpull
• Walk in the Woods

Anything other than that will be a bonus, but I’m certain that I can get these five done.

Other random aside – the Totally Useless SAL still lives for 2011!  Pop over here to join!

I’m not exactly one who rejoices during the holiday season.  For the most part, it’s overwhelming to me – the parties, the insanity at the malls, the expectation to be cheery at all times and what not.  If anything, I struggle with more depression than normal during December – and most of it is holiday overload.  The fact that it begins earlier and earlier every year?  By this time of the year, it’s torture.  I nearly lost it with the chaos at the mall on Friday night when we went to see Tron.  The crowds were just so overwhelming, and I still hadn’t quite recovered from my claustrophobia during the fun, but very crowded, office party the night before.

I do try to avoid dealing with the holidays for as long as humanly possible.  If need be, I’ll pay the extra money for overnight shipping just so I can avoid dealing with it – because  I know once I make a step out into the world of “Holiday Season,” it will consume time until the 25th.  So as always, I’m doing gifts… this week.  I still haven’t started on cards, although I expect I’ll get them done this week, too.  (IMHO, as long as they’re out by New Years, I consider them on time).

I think part of the frustration is pure loneliness.  Among most of my friends, I never get acknowledgments for my religious holidays, even though theirs are always surrounded by celebration and joy (and my good wishes to them).  Yule, like other Pagan holidays, passes with barely a thought – and certainly few comments from the non-Pagans in my circle of friends (who know I am Pagan).  Even if I make a comment on Facebook to wish others a happy so-and-so, nothing is returned.  I don’t think it’s anything personal against me, but still… it’s one of those things that just makes me retreat just that little bit more.  I get that my faith is not seen as real or valid by a significant chunk of the population.  I’ve gotten that for years. But dammit, it would be nice to get some acknowledgment from the friends who have known me for half my life – during which time I have always been Pagan.

I will say this – I’ve only had one run-in with the fundie “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” obnoxiousness so far.  I replied very quickly with “Goddess bless you,” and kept walking.

Perhaps a good sitting for Yule will make me feel better.

Has it seriously been almost a month since I updated?!?  The time is flying!  I suppose this will be another huge catch-up post, then.

Announcements first:

One of my friends and fellow local stitchers (HeraChronicles) is having a Christmas Giveaway on her blog.  Go over HERE to check it out!

The Rhode Island Stitchers group now has a BLOG.  :)  We decided that while being on Facebook is great, we also want something a bit more flexible to share info about the group, what we’ve been doing, what we’re planning, and what we’ve discovered.  Stop on by, say hi – and if you’re in the area, please stop in at one of our events.  :)

Signups for a new round of the Unfinished Object (UFO) Round Robin is starting over on the yuku boards HERE.  Right now the planned start date is in late February.  So if you have a stalled project that you’d like to have help with (and in return, help others with theirs), pop on by.  :)

Random life news:

Thanksgiving weekend was fun, albeit all over the place.  We went to Erich’s dad’s house up in New Hampshire for Thanksgiving Day and had a nice, quiet day with them.  Erich had to work Friday, so it was only a single-day visit.  Friday evening we headed out to Brewster, Mass. on Cape Cod for our annual weekend with friends.  This used to be a LAN party, but along the way a lot of us got married.  We bought houses.  Kids are starting to come into the picture.  All of those events means that there isn’t the money to blow on upgrading computers anymore.  So for the last three years, it’s been a bit more free-form.  We do a full Thanksgiving dinner (I cook, because I do make the best turkey around), which is a welcome change from the weekend full of Bagel Bites, taquitos, and oreos of younger years.   This year Erich ran a weekend-long session of his Saga-edition Star Wars d20 campaign.  I take advantage of the weekend to catch up on some stitching amid the cooking.  It was a good time, although next year I’ve asked that I’m not the sole cook.  I’d like to enjoy a bit more of the weekend.

Work’s been pretty good.  I had a great yearly review, and I’m finally settled into somewhat of a routine with my workload, even if it is still a ton of work.  I’m crossing my fingers that the week between Christmas and New Years is quiet so I can do some serious file clean-out for storage and start the new year feeling like files are under control.

Erich’s also enjoying his new job so far, which is great.  I think after being stuck on a phone all day at his last job, being able to get up and go around the building on tech requests is a welcome change.  He definitely seems much happier these days (which also helps me feel better).

Colley’s slowly getting better after the bout of fatty liver disease/hepititis this autumn.  He’s now finally off the meds, and his weight has stabilized at about 10 pounds – which is a full six pounds lighter than he was in July this year.  He has to go back for a blood test to make sure his liver chemicals are back to normal, but overall he just has more energy and is more responsive than he was around Labor Day.  I’m relieved because it was so serious.  The only downside is now he’s having a heavy shed due to the stress and illness – he’s blown almost his entire undercoat, which makes him look even thinner and a bit scraggly.  A new undercoat is growing in thankfully – so I’m not concerned.   He’s going to be really cold this winter, though.  Perhaps this will be the year he finally snuggles under the covers!

Stitching:

I’m in over my head.  What else is new?  :)

I’ve been doing an insane amount of stitching in the last month.  Three ornament finishes (Yes!  Three!), one UFO RR round done, and the other is almost ready to mail home.  I still have a couple more ornaments to do for the holidays, but they’re not quite as stressful now.

So here are the ornaments: (click for a larger photo)

Left to Right, they are:

Teresa Wentzler Beginner Whitework Ornament.  I made this for the annual Teresa Wentzler Christmas Ornament Exchange (TWCOE).  It’s currently en-route to its recipient.
Square from Pocketful of Peppermints by Blue Ribbon Designs.  This was for an exchange with the Rhode Island Stitchers group.
Frosty Blue by Blackberry Lane Designs (from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornie issue).  I made this for the Life’s a Stitch exchange.  It’s also currently en-route to its recipient.

Frosty Blue was a case of not reading directions well – it was supposed to be stitched over one, and by instinct I started stitching over two.  So what was originally to be a 3-inch ornie is now a 6-inch “oh, we have a big gap in the tree here, honey” ornament (blush).  I’m happy with the results, even if it came out HUGE.

I’ll talk about UFO RR stitching in my next post.  Quite a bit going on there!

Hope everyone’s having a good weekend!

- Mel.

First off – Belinda of Blue Ribbon Designs, who taught my class at Stitcher’s Hideaway a few weeks back, has a gorgeous stitchy giveaway happening on her blog.  Absolutely beautiful little sewing companions.  So hurry over there and enter to win one!

It’s been a wild couple of weeks – lots of get-togethers for birthdays, stitching, and such.  Probably the most epic part of the last couple weeks was my amazing win on a penny slot machine at Mohegan Sun the first weekend of November.  I put $40 into the machine, and less than 10 minutes later, I walked away with this nifty ticket in my hand.  All of which, I might add, was won on ONE spin, which put me into an epic number of bonus spins, which payed out 13 times my betting amount (which happened to be the max bet on the machine… essentially $3 per spin).

I might add that I was not the big winner of our group.  One person walked away with over $1,000 on a penny slot that night!

So yes – Star Wars penny slot at Mohegan in the Casino of the Sky.  Go play.  You may get lucky.  :)  As you can see – yes, you can actually win something on those machines.

I have been a crafty queen lately.  Lots of different projects.  I’m in rapid rotation mode these days trying to get stuff done.  Right now I have the following on my plate:

• Rachel’s UFO Round Robin Piece (Mirabilia’s Queen of Freedom) – due to mail home on Monday
• Rahenna’s UFO Round Robin Piece (Dimension’s Oriental Butterfly) – due to mail off Dec. 6th
• Life’s A Stitch ornament/Christmas Exchange – which I just discovered I missed the mailing date for (for some reason, I thought it was by Thanksgiving)
• TWCOE (Teresa Wentzler Christmas Ornie Exchange) – due by Nov. 24th
• Rhode Island Stitchers Ornie Exchange – Dec. 4th
• aaand… gifts.

My holiday gift shopping plans for this year can be summed up thusly:  I never know what to buy anyone, and I’m sick of the gift card route because it feels like a cop-out.  So I’m making ornaments for family.  And that’s what they’re getting.  :)  I have ideas for most of the ornaments I’m making.  Right now it’s just a matter of budgeting time to finish them.

So yes.  I’m all sorts of ornie crazy right now.

I know what I’m finishing for the Life’s a Stitch exchange.  I know what I’m doing for the TWCOE (why yes… it is a Wentzler ornie!).  I have an ornie picked out for my mom.  Otherwise, I’m undecided.

Thankfully, there’s a big long weekend coming up for Thanksgiving in which I can do a metric asston of stitching.  I still have three vacation days for the year, so should I need to take time off to finish up, I will.

I am making progress, though!  I’m quite happy (and why is my Q key sticking?!?)  First off is “By the Full Moon” by Ink Circles.  This was published in this year’s Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  It’s also been developed into a larger piece, called Masquerade (which yes, I bought this past weekend with part of my casino earnings).  I also personalized the back.  Samhain, for the non-Pagan folks reading, is the religious holiday on Halloween that I celebrate.

I also have an ornament completed, but not yet put together.  It’s one of the squares from Belinda’s “Pocketful of Peppermints” sampler that was the teaching sampler at Stitcher’s Hideaway.  I’m figuring that this ornament will go to someone in my family.  I just haven’t figured out who yet.

Tonight (and on the train tomorrow) I’m going to crank progress on the Life’s a Stitch project, since that’s now overdue.  I expect to get it done very shortly and hope to get that mailed off on Saturday.

Friday night I won’t be able to stitch – we’re going to a performance of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged)” over at Fontebonne Academy, where our good friend Tone has served as director for several years.

And at some point this weekend, Erich and I are going on a good ol’ fashioned date to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Gah, busy busy busy!

I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day.  When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another.  I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute.  They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God.  So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day.  Armistice Day was sacred.  Veterans’ Day is not.

So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder.  Armistice Day I will keep.  I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.

What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

And all music is.

- Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions (1973)

We have less than a handful – literally – of veterans of the Great War.   We honor our servicemen on many days of the year.  Please pause and remember the ones that actually brought this holiday about today.

• Claude Choules (1901-present) – United Kingdom. Last seaman and last living combatant of World War I.

• Florence Green (1901-present) – United Kingdom. Last female veteran.

• Frank Buckles (1901-present) – United States. Ambulance driver.

Blessed Samhain, fellow Pagan friends.  :)  May the new year bring blessings to you and yours.

It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! It’s off!!!!! ZOMG IT’S FINALLY GONE!

As of 3:30 this afternoon, the god-awful permanent retainer that had been cemented to my six front bottom teeth is finally GONE. 18 god-awful years of that thing sitting slightly crooked on the back of my teeth, just barely visible above one tooth, constantly sitting against my tongue, constantly feeling gross despite carefully brushing it…

IT HAS FINALLY BEEN REMOVED.

Here’s the thing – I didn’t know it was going to be put in there in the first place. Literally NO ONE explained this was going to happen. I went in for what I thought was a checkup on my removable retainer about a week or so after my braces came off (and to check up on the site), and suddenly I’m fitted with this god-awful thing. And the kicker – NO ONE WOULD TELL ME WHY IT WAS IN THERE. No one. I asked my orthodontist. I’ve asked three dentists – not a single person would give me an answer besides “well, it’s there for a reason.”

I never understood what that reason was – it was on the six teeth that had never needed to move. Those six teeth were the ones that were actually STRAIGHT to begin with when I was a kid!

Today Erich and I had mutual appointments to get fillings done. He went first, and when he was in the chair, he asked the dentist if she could consider taking the thing out because it annoyed me all the time. When I got into the chair, she did the filling, and then she mentions it – asks me if I want it out. Oh HELL yes. And a half-hour later, it was reality.

For the first time since I was 12 years old, I have no wires in my mouth. It feels awesome and amazing and incredibly weird. I keep running my tongue over my teeth where the wire should be (because I was constantly worrying at the thing for 18 fucking years) – and there’s nothing there.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and why yes, my husband has HUGE points to cash in with me now at any time…)

The last couple of weeks have been a tad insane, and I haven’t been able to blog as I’d hoped… even though I keep thinking about it.

SO – as a quick(ish) entry, here’s what’s been going on.

The new job is going well. The pace is crazy busy compared to what I was doing, and honestly… I love it. I love having a ton of stuff to do and to just be able to plug away at everything. The hardest thing, I think, has been accepting that that “to-do” list is now always going to carry overnight. I’d be shocked if I am able to leave one night and have everything done. I don’t think it’s honestly possible – there are just too many things to do. So that will take some getting used to. It’s just a different mentality – not a bad one at all. I’m learning a LOT. I think I’m doing well so far. I’m very happy I made the change. But yeah – crazy busy. And the next couple weeks promise to be even more so, due to a big deadline project.

On April 8th, Erich and I drove down to Pennsylvania – to Reading this time – to attend the 90th birthday party for my grandmother. We stayed at my mom’s the first night, due to how late we got to Easton, and then did the rest of the drive to my grandmother’s on Friday morning.

A good portion of my dad’s side of the family was there – and we had a good time. There was a little tension, as I think is just natural with the personalities. But hey, it’s family – there’s always going to be SOMETHING, right? Grandma’s birthday was lovely, and she really does look great for her age. The family homestead, as always, looked beautiful.

Erich, unfortunately, had to be back up in Boston Saturday afternoon, so he hopped the red-eye Amtrak back late Friday night, which got him back in to Providence early Saturday morning.

I stayed the remainder of the weekend, having a wonderful late-night chat with my Uncle Chris and my cousin Allie until nearly 2 a.m. the first night before we finally decided we should get some sleep. We caught up with some of the “here’s what’s going on these days” chat, but then the discussions went to a more depressing topic – my grandmother’s health.

She’s physically doing very well for her age – amazingly, in fact. She moves well, with no cane, and can still kneel and sit down easily on her own – even to the ground. But mentally, she’s struggling – her long-term memory is okay (the further back, the better), but her short-term memory is completely shot. So much so that she forgets something we’d say only about a minute before. There was a lot of repetition over the weekend. There also was a lot of sadness as evidence of things drifting away. She didn’t remember that I was married. She does recognize Erich and knows we’re together, but she still thinks I live in Boston (I haven’t since 2002), and asked a couple times whether I was still in “the apartment I was living in when she visited me” (her visit was in 1997 – I moved out of there in 1999).

The reality is – she needs to stay in her home. There was a push by my dad and my Uncle Ray to try to move her to assisted living a few years ago – that went very poorly and left her extremely upset. Personally, I think that the needs have changed. Routine and familiarity are vital right now, due to her short-term memory loss. She’s lived in that house since the mid-1950s. She knows where things are, she knows where she needs to go. BUT… she needs someone to check on her now. Preferably daily. Just to make sure she’s okay, that her asthma prescriptions are okay, etc. The problem is that no one lives within a quick driving distance from her. I mentioned my concerns to my dad, and my Uncle Chris and I are definitely in agreement on this.

I worry about her. I honestly wish that I lived closer.

Nine years ago today, I decided to try a little experiment on a whim. Didn’t think it would last very long – internet hobbies rarely seem to, after all…

but it looked intriguing, and so I went onto Diary-X and I started an online journal. And then I started meeting a few people online – one who would become my Maid of Honor in my wedding, one who would become her husband, a couple others who I shared stories of life and geekiness and general fun mayhem with – and I started to come out of my shell a little bit.

From time to time, the writing has lagged off or it’s become little snippets of random nothingness, but I keep coming back to the thing. Nine years of my life are saved on internet diary pages. Scary to think that the following things have happened after I started my online journal:

- Met Erich
- Found a cat (Fizzy)
- Moved in with Erich
- Got a car (via Mom)
- Got into an accident in said car
- Found strength to stand up to my dad
- Found another cat (Gus)
- Met most of my current friend circle within my sorority
- Attended Ivanna’s wedding in NJ
- Attended Melinda’s wedding in San Diego
- Attended Tone’s wedding in Mass.
- Experienced the first death in the family during my lifetime
- Won NaNoWriMo… twice.
- Got engaged
- Bought a house
- Found two MORE cats (Noby & Elly)
- Attended to weddings in the Bahamas, Newport, and Southeastern Mass
- Landed a new job
- Adopted by one final cat (Hoodz)
- Supported Erich when his mom died
- Got married
- Attended two weddings in one weekend (Purk and Erich’s Dad)
- Went to the UK (the day after the two wedding weekend) for an amazing two weeks
- Attended Michelle’s wedding in Chicago
- Bought my first car

Nothing happens in my life. Ever.

The boys are off at BJ’s to do the every-other-month run, and I opted to stay home to get a few things done. The kitchen’s now scrubbed, so I’m taking a few minutes before tackling the bathroom. We have a few people coming over for the Super Bowl tonight. I’m pretty sure everyone’s rooting for the Saints in this household. Rooting for Indy as a Pats fan? May honestly be illegal. Plus, hey – New Orleans needs all the good vibes right now. Indy’s won one recently.

So far, it’s been a good weekend all around. I did a bunch of stitching yesterday – working through three projects on my rotation for 2 hrs each. Spring Queen continues to be the very doomed piece – I had to give it a preliminary bath already for some dirt on the stitches. I must have had a loose pencil in my backpack, and on very light yellow… yeah, instant dinge. Ick. Thankfully all came out. The piece is dry, and I can start stitching on it again next time it comes up in the rotation. I’ll get photos up when I update for the Olympics tomorrow evening.

On other news that I’ve been chomping on all week (and panicking about) – it’s probably one of the few times in my life that I was very, very happy to see my period arrive. Erich and I had a bit too much fun about 2 weeks ago, and yes – while married, no… we’re not in a situation where we really are set for kids. That night, however – well… yeah. So anyway, my brain the next day started doing some math, and then I started swearing profusely. It’s not been a good couple weeks of worry. I’m very relieved that we’re not looking at a baby in 9 months. SO GLAD.

Not that the biological clock isn’t still ticking, mind – but Erich and I need to take care of a couple of things right now that really, really would cause problems had we been pregnant. And I sure as hell was not thrilled with the idea of handling a pregnancy whilst this obese.

I could do without the cramps today, though. ;P

Anyway… break over. Off to get some more work done.

Haven’t posted in a couple weeks even though I’ve been meaning to. Nothing’s wrong – I’m just busy with a bunch of little things now that the new year has started.

Another birthday has come and gone – I’m 35. Oddly, this one does feel different, although I’m not quite sure how to describe it.

Work’s fine. The pace has been uneven, but that’s to be expected in the new year. I’m still stressed about the things that normally stress me, but overall… work’s just fine.

I started on some fanfic early in the month, but I’ve been distracted by all of the other stuff going on in my life. Erich has some gaming dates with the guys in the next few weeks, though – so I may reserve some of my time to just tinker. No idea where it will lead. I’m not putting any expectations on myself other than to scribble some scenes and see if anything takes me anywhere. I’m debating posting draft scenes under a friends’ lock on LiveJournal for feedback… any thoughts?

I’ve been doing a decent amount of stitching, too. As part of “Guilt Free January” over on The Wagon, I’ve started two pieces so far this month: Legends of the Dragons and Astrology Sampler. I’ll post pics this weekend on them. I’ve debated starting one more piece for Guilt Free January to throw some variety into my rotations the rest of this year… I’m mulling over starting Spring Queen by Mirabilia or Witchy Washy by Raise the Roof. Not sure yet… but I probably will get something else underway in the next week or so.

I haven’t, to my surprise, been playing a lot of World of Warcraft. Erich tossed the Guild Leader tag on me earlier this month, and I need to start doing something to salvage the guild in some way. Not sure what yet – it will be a casual setup, but I need to get on the polls I took earlier this month.

That’s it for now – new work just came in, so I need to get offline.

Haven’t posted in a couple weeks even though I’ve been meaning to. Nothing’s wrong – I’m just busy with a bunch of little things now that the new year has started.

Another birthday has come and gone – I’m 35. Oddly, this one does feel different, although I’m not quite sure how to describe it.

Work’s fine. The pace has been uneven, but that’s to be expected in the new year. I’m still stressed about the things that normally stress me, but overall… work’s just fine.

I started on some fanfic early in the month, but I’ve been distracted by all of the other stuff going on in my life. Erich has some gaming dates with the guys in the next few weeks, though – so I may reserve some of my time to just tinker. No idea where it will lead. I’m not putting any expectations on myself other than to scribble some scenes and see if anything takes me anywhere. I’m debating posting draft scenes under a friends’ lock on LiveJournal for feedback… any thoughts?

I’ve been doing a decent amount of stitching, too. As part of “Guilt Free January” over on The Wagon, I’ve started two pieces so far this month: Legends of the Dragons and Astrology Sampler. I’ll post pics this weekend on them. I’ve debated starting one more piece for Guilt Free January to throw some variety into my rotations the rest of this year… I’m mulling over starting Spring Queen by Mirabilia or Witchy Washy by Raise the Roof. Not sure yet… but I probably will get something else underway in the next week or so.

I haven’t, to my surprise, been playing a lot of World of Warcraft. Erich tossed the Guild Leader tag on me earlier this month, and I need to start doing something to salvage the guild in some way. Not sure what yet – it will be a casual setup, but I need to get on the polls I took earlier this month.

That’s it for now – new work just came in, so I need to get offline.