Keebles World

Finally, that horrible holiday is over!! I'm still reeling from all the social interaction, but it's done. And thankfully, it will be my last Christmas participation. My days of putting myself in excruciatingly uncomfortable situations for the sake of others is at an end. If I don't want to do something, I'm not gonna do it...call it New Years Resolution #1. But more on resolutions later. It's been a while since I did a stitch update, but mainly because I have been stitching like mad! I have actually finished another row of my little Highland girl and only have two full more rows to go! Here's the day after my last update on her: And here's where I stopped on Sunday: Here is where I ended last night: And here she is in her entirety: When I actually work on her, it just flies by. It will be really hard for me to do fractional stitches ever again after working on a HAED. I think that's why I have such difficulty switching back to th...

Here it is - the cheaply made, 3 year old could do it stitch that cost a bloody fortune to frame!!! I am also doing this blog from my phone, so I hope it works!

I've been working again on A Summer Ball, so lets show that progress first. On Friday I started here: and yesterday I finished here: But today I spent my time working on my little Highland girl and ended up here: I know I'm ending a bit early, but now that I'm *gasp* a "day" person, it's getting close to my bedtime! As the same with the TUSAL, I'm looking forward to next years and hopefully the finish of all three of my current projects!

Instead of merging this post with the final IHSW, I figured it deserved one of its own! My final pic of my ORT jar for the year is in front of the amazing pillow I bought at the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World. The picture really doesn't do the pillow justice! Considering how little I've stitched in the past couple months, I'm really surprised the jar came closed to being filled at all. I'm definitely looking forward to next year's TUSAL!

This weekend is the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and it also happens to be the last of 2012. Pretty exciting! I only missed one this year, so I did pretty good, but not good enough...next year will be better! Now that I have my stitching mojo back, I've been going crazy on my little Highland girl, but I have also started working on A Summer Ball again (thanks partly to Vickie over at Reading and Stitching and the fact that I think it will look really good in my office). So good luck everyone and hopefully we will all have a really big stitching send-off to 2012!!

We had our work Christmas party Saturday night. I haven't gone in many years due to the fact that they are boring, that the religious faction has blocked the alcohol availability, they've been in horrible restaurants, and most importantly, because I'm not a fan of most of my fellow co-workers (as most of you know). This year was different...there was the promise of co-workers embarrassing themselves by singing karaoke, there was finally bar access, it was in a really good restaurant, and finally, my new position requires me to at least show my face at such functions. So T and I braved the bad and managed to actually have a really great time! Sure, I didn't do much socializing (shock), but the Guinness element and Tony's great company definitely made it worthwhile (and it didn't hurt that I looked absolutely amazing!). I did somehow manage to get a big bruisy knock on my noggin (and I'm still not sure how - hopefully I didn't make a complete ass out...

Well, all my work on the redo of the Breast Cancer project was in vain. I gave the person it was made for the choice between the two, the first simple version and the second linen and silk version, and she chose the first version. I'm still gonna give her both of them, but only get the first one framed for her (since framing cost a fortune...if this wasn't such a weird shape, I'd just frame it myself like I always have before, but this will require the professional touch). I'm not too terribly bummed, because, like I said in previous posts, it was a learning experience with the linen and the silk thread, but at the same time, ugh. It cost an absolute fortune getting the thread and the material together (as well as the time it took ordering it from different vendors because the color wasn't right). The money spent on the redo would more than pay for the framing. I've spent months avoiding this puppy like the plaque because I didn't want to work on it, ...

First off...I completely forgot my TUSAL for the month of November! So, to get it out of the way, here's my Ort jar sitting on my favorite piece I brought back from this Disney trip, my Cinderella Castle Big Fig: Next up...I have done it! I have finished The Ribbon Topiary (for the second time!): I'm still not sure if it's better than the much simpler (and much cheaper) original. I've learned a ton of lessons from both of them (mostly that I ain't ever gonna touch silk thread again unless I absolutely have to!): But here is the piece de'resistance of this weekend...I've started working on my little Highland girl again!! As a reminder, here is where I left off: And here is this weekend's progress: The fun part of stitching now versus the last time I left off was the added bonus of Zachary's clingyness that started when I got back from Disney...he won't leave my side (not that I'm complaining). But it's a bit difficult...

I am a horrible blogger, a horrible stitcher, and a horrible friend (or at least it seems that way lately!). I have been holed up in my house just vegging. Post-Disney Depression still lives large in me. But I do have a major rant. Since starting my new position, I've been super busy with cleaning up everything and getting everything back on track (my predecessors didn't have the time and very important things got left on the side of the road, some for several years). Plus, the added "bonus" (torture is more like it) of covering my old job when the transcriptionist is off (my punishment this week and part of next) on top of my real duties. One of my big new projects has been setting up the billing office with new computers (10 in all). The process started out very smoothly, until I hit the first major snag, one computer was infected with a virus that copied over to the new computer. Easily enough fixed, but I started being more careful and started scanning t...

Throughout my post-Disney depression, I always end up reading more...the only form of escape I can get in my tiny little world. And as the good little Janeite that I am, I always turn to my favorite author to get me through. But you can only read her books and watch the movies and adaptations so many times. I do love a good Jane-inspired novel as well as the real thing. Not so much the "continuations" or the period-inspired (and I really don't like the Jane as a vampire or Jane as a private eye kind of novels). It's the the modern re-tellings or the inspired by's that get me. And there is nothing better than the modern characters that get stuck back in Austen days and interact with Austen characters! I also like the historical references about the period as well as Jane herself. But have you ever tried to find one of these on Amazon? One never knows what to look under. You find one you like and look up the author to see if they have written more or re...

Rarely in life do you find that "perfect" restaurant. Imperial was mine. I've been going there as long as I can remember. I knew the staff very well and they knew me. They had been with me through college, through marriage, through divorce, through jobs, through illnesses...basically, just through life. They knew my family and friends and we all ate there together. The chef would see me coming and smile really big and just say, "Mongolian Beef!". He would always make sure there was plenty and it was fresh just for me. It wasn't a popular place in town, mostly because many years ago when it first opened, it was different...not your typical McDonald's type Chinese. People went once, hated it, and never went back. But, like any restaurant, it went through changes and got much better over time. I tried to change people's opinion and did managed to make a few converts over the years, but never enough to keep them busy. It was the only Chinese...

Yes, it's real...and, as per usual, for me it's pretty serious thanks to Asperger's, but "regular" people get it too (or so I'm told). I've spent an entire year planning a trip that is over with in 11 days. All my energy has been focused on one thing for such a long time, and in a flash it's over. That would be upsetting for anyone. Toward the end of the trip, I'm ready to come home, but once I get home and am thrust head first into the "real world", I want nothing more than to go back, or even better, start planning the next trip! It makes me moody and I don't want to talk to anybody or go anywhere or do anything. But at the same time, I can't bring myself to organize our trip pictures or put my new pins up in their books, it's just too depressing! There is no place in the world that makes me at peace like Disney World does. I did upgrade to an annual pass, so once I get a new vehicle, I can go whenever I want, but I ca...

Since it's been so long since I've posted a stitch update for the Ribbon Topiary project, I first better post the last pic of my progress: And here is what I got done last weekend: It's the first real stitch progress I've made in months. I will be so glad to finish this project so I can get back to my little Highland girl. On other fronts, I won an autographed copy of John Taylor's new book (the audiobook version-I'd much prefer a real book, but since I've never won anything before ever, I'm not complaining...much). As you can tell, it's still in the plastic. I was really looking forward to reading his book, but I just can't bring myself to open this, partly because I don't like audiobooks and partly because I don't want to mess it up since John's hand actually touched it! Zach is doing better, but still not out of the woods yet. He's really upset because this new food only comes in wet version. He gets wet and dry...

What Zach thinks of the Piggies from Angry Birds: I know I haven't done my IHSW update yet, but I have good reason...Zachary is sick. He has bladder stones (again) and is peeing blood. He also has a severe bladder infection. Removing the stones is a major surgery, they pretty much have to gut him, take out his bladder, split it open and empty it of all the stones, then scope his urethra for stuck stones, sew his bladder back up, fill it with liquid to make sure it's not leaking, then stick it back in, and finally sew up his gut leaving about a 5-6" scar. He's had the surgery twice already and now that he's 12, it's more dangerous than ever if they have to do it again. But, so far, the stones he has are all pretty small. One is stuck at the end of the urethra, two are stuck in the base of the urethra, and there are two stones free-floating in his bladder. The kind of stones he grows are like little maces, they aren't smooth but rather covered in ...

I know I just changed the color of my site, but the darker color just didn't suit me, so I changed it yet again. I was trying to go for a fall/winter look (or as fall and winter-y as purple can get), but I think it was miserable and oppressive, so back to the lighter I go!

I haven't stitched since last month's pathetic attempt, so there is nothing to report Ort jar wise, so hopefully I will be able to rectify that this in the next couple of days during the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. Now that Disney is over with, it's time to get back to the real world!

OK, so I've technically been home for well over a day, but I needed a bit of "me" time after all that "people" time. Considering how bad my memory is, I doubt a few Disney review will happen, but here are a few highlights, first the bad: Am and I are both getting old! Between the bad troubles, headaches, sore tummies, and feet trouble, both of us had a rough time! The days of enjoying the peaceful October time in Disney World is now over...I've NEVER seen it so crowded! I now understand why people complain about the groups of drunks at the Food and Wine Festival...they were everywhere! Having drinking contests and just being general idiots, but it was the large quantities that was shocking. What is up with the store CM's lately? Did they ALL have to go through some new training course that taught them to move like snails? I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to just rip the scanner out of some CM's hand and check out my stu...

Well, I tried to blog from my tablet, but it definitely does NOT like the wireless service here! Luckily Am brought her laptop, so I'm not totally without! Drive down was almost uneventful, until we hit the heaviest rain I have ever driven through with the added bonus of it being 10 pm in heavy interstate traffic going 70mph...not good times! But luckily that didn't last long. First impressions of our first value...ugh. It was clean and nice because this wing has only been open 3 weeks and it was fairly pretty...but, and I guess there is always a but, I have never seen so many kids in one place in my entire life! I don't think there are that many kids in the actual parks! And not just the typical 2.5 kids to a parental unit, more like 5 or 6 to one parent! There is no way anyone can control that kind of brood on their own, especially in a place like Disney. So now I'm coming to you live from Wilderness Lodge and all is right with the world again! Bed is 110%...

...the day before we pack up and drive down to Disney! Thanks to everyone for your kind words and all my Disney blogging buds...Vickie, Joyce and Abby, I'll be thinking of you, so if you're ears start burning, you'll know why! Same to my non-Disney blogging bud, Madison, Boo To You!! Katy...bestie oh mine...one day it will be us going! Tony...bestie oh mine 2...ditto...no excuses! I say I'm gonna blog while I'm there, but I'm not gonna promise anything. Disney is a difficult place to get free time. I always plan to take notes of funny or weird events, but only do the first couple of days (which is where the blog might come in handy). Am is a master at trip notes though, so I'm not worried about documentation of important events. Zachary could care less for all my pre-trip preparations...his Gram is gonna stay with him so he can be in his own environment. He probably won't even miss me! But I will call him anyway, just to annoy him since he...

First off, thanks to everyone for my B-day wishes! Work made sure it was ruined, but I thank everyone anyway. Here's to hoping for a better one next year. But the subject of this post is Robin Hood, The Series . I watched this show faithfully and absolutely loved it from it's first airing. It was an amazing show, one that gave me Richard Armitage (which, in itself is an amazing gift!). But, and there is always a but, because of my impatience, I knew ahead of time what was going to happen at the end of series 2 and it completely ruined the series for me. I stopped watching it before the inevitable happened. Someone eventually told me how the complete series ended and it just strengthened my resolve that I had done the right thing to stop watching it. It was a major sore spot for me for a long time...the thought that they could do what they did to not only an amazing legend, but one of the greatest romances of all time! I never bought the series on DVD past the firs...

First up...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Today was my big day! I never work on my Birthday, so this weekend will be when I start packing for Disney! I'm usually more organized than this and have it all done by now, but I think it's because flying takes more preparation and, since we're not flying this time, my prep brain is not working as fast. Flying is a very stressful thing for an Asper and it takes ton of mental prep and considering how work has been the past few months, I don't have the mental juju to get through a flight anyway. But alas, enough about me, on with the show...You've made it! It's weeks or even days before your trip and you think you're ready...but you'd be wrong. There are some finite details that make the OCD'er not only feel better, but make for a better, more controlled trip. I spend months loosing weight because my vacation clothes are a smaller size and I usually also spend that time on the treadmill, but I have done a cra...

Keeping in theme with my current blog series, I thought it apropos to share with you this YouTube clip. This Sunday starts the new series of Once Upon A Time, and I, for one, can not wait! It's been a very long time since an American show has gotten (and kept) my attention, but this one certainly has because Once was practically made for me - the perfect combination of romance and drama and most importantly, Disney! ABC.com has a great introduction to the first series with a few major exclusions(for those that haven't seen the first series...it's out on Blu-Ray and DVD now, go get it!). There is no mention of August/Pinocchio, Ruby/Red Riding Hood, Jefferson/The Mad Hatter, Ashley/Cinderella, asylum patient/Belle, or even the dragon/Maleficent (although Red, Belle, and Maleficent in dragon form do show up in the clip). Considering they are an integral part of the storyline, they definitely could have gotten their appropriate screen time if the narrator didn't ramb...

So you've booked your resort package...picked your hotel, ticket and dining options as well as planned your transportation, now you have to sort out a schedule. Disney is not a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of place (not that any place is so for an OCD). Parks are open at different times on different days, there is the Extra Magic Hours to consider, if it's during a party night the Magic Kingdom closes at 7 (Mickey's Not So Scary or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas), during the Food and Wine Festival there are special events on specific days. Then there are events in the parks every day, parades, stage shows, and fireworks that happen at specific times. You need to know these things before booking your dining reservations. The window between when you have to fix your schedule and book your 180 plus 10 dining ressies is very small...the park schedule is released only days before your dining window comes up. This is why the scheduling time is the mos...

I've been saving this post until the end of the initial planning stage for one very particular reason - it encompasses all aspects of the initial planning phase, booking, dining, and transportation. I'm not a fan of staying off-site. There are way too many perks to on-site guests (which I'll get to shortly). It drives me nuts when people say they stay off-site because it's cheaper. That couldn't be further from the truth! Yes, your actual hotel stay might be cheaper, but the benefits to staying on-site save you so much money, it all works out in the wash. Most people only see the initial costs and don't factor in all the little expenses that occur once you get there, which leads me to these infamous benefits I keep mentioning. You can safely assume that ticket prices and your meals will be cheaper if you get a resort package, simply because Magic Your Way Packages and dining plans aren't available to non-resort guests (although you can book dining r...

This is gonna be the easiest part of your planning...transportation. How far away you live or how quickly you want to get there will determine your arrival method, be it planes, trains, or automobiles (yeah, I know, that joke is getting old). We usually fly, but this time we are driving. But however you get there, transportation while you're on property is easy...Disney takes care of that for you! We book airfare pretty early, just because flights to Orlando fill up fast and I want to be guaranteed a seat. I don't do well with the unknown. But, for those more adventurous people, you might get better fares by waiting (or you might end up having to drive). If you do fly, transportation from the airport comes pretty straight forward as well. You can either rent a car, use a car service, use a taxi (the most expensive option) ,or use Disney's Magical Express, a free (yes, I said free) bus service provided by Disney for resort guests only. They not only deliver you to ...

After the last post, you should have a good handle on resorts and tickets (or completely confused by my ramblings, either is a possibility). But this post deals with the subject of the Dining plan and dining reservations, the most nerve racking and exciting part of the booking process! As the same with the ticket options, there are different levels of dining plans as well, but I'm really only going to discuss two of them (for the simple reason I only have experience with these two); the quick service dining plan and the basic dining plan. I guess I should first describe the different meal levels (yes, Disney does so love their levels). Snacks, which, believe it or not, consist of a lot of choices from rice crispy treats to Disney cookies (my personal favorite, they are huge and thick and doughy in the middle-perfection!) to Mickey head ice cream treats to chips to soda to donuts to turkey legs, to fresh fruit, to well, you get the point. Then there is quick or counter servi...

Here we go with part 2 of my Disney planning series... Once you’ve got your dates in mind, the next step is to book your trip. First step is your Disney World package, then depending on where you live, you have to decide how to get there, either by planes, trains, or automobiles which will also affect how you get around not only Orlando, but also inside WDW. But one step at a time…let’s start with the WDW portion of your trip. There are several ways you can go about booking a Disney trip, either online, through the phone to Disney central reservations, or through a travel agent (although I don’t get using a travel agent…why pay extra to have someone do the same job you can do yourself with a bit of research-Disney doesn’t offer very many discounts privately that they don’t offer publically, the travel agents just know what they all are (as could you with that magical tool called research!). And what are websites like Travelocity or Expedia but online travel agents? We book direc...

Hopefully with this series I will be giving you an idea of what it's like to plan a Disney trip in the only way I know how, with gift of OCD. There are many levels of OCD, my particular brand leans very heavily on the obsessive side and not so much on the compulsive side (although I do have my moments), but needless to say, it makes for great planning! But my social issues wreak havoc and play a huge part in planning as well. But as Buck from the Country Bears says, "hey Henry, lets get on with the show"! It never ceases to amaze me how people don't do research on this particular vacation destination. You wouldn't go to Europe or even new York without planning. I've discussed in the past how huge Disney World (or WDW for short) actually is, and considering it's twice the size of Manhattan, one would think a little bit of planning would be in order. But a lot of newbies make the mistake of thinking of Disney as their local amusement park, in need of ...

Here we go with a combo post, frankly because I'm too lazy to split these up. I'm two weeks into my new job and I have yet to work less than a 12 hour day (so NOT according to plan). But boy has EVERYTHING changed! I'm even more stressed out now, but it is such a good kind of stress! I leave everyday with such a sense of accomplishment! I also haven't had a headache in two weeks (and yes, I'm sure I just jinxed myself). It hasn't been all wine and roses though. My old co-worker took on the transcription part of my job, she's doing it all by herself now. Problem with that is, when she's off, I still have to cover her. Needless to say, she was off last Thursday and Friday and it made for some incredibly hairy moments. It was even way too much for me and I snapped at people who kept bothering me (alot apparently, I heard my name and "bitch" mentioned in the same sentence quite a few times...gotta love the supersonic hearing and heighte...