Keebles World

Yes, I totally failed on the WIPocalypse for this year! I had a major stitching gap that lasted more than 6 months due to Disney planning and have just now started up again. So lets first visit my 2013 goals: I wanted to finish A Walk Through The Highlands, which I did, so SUCCESS. I started here: And finished here: A Summer Ball didn't even get close to finished, but I did complete the first two pages. I started here: Finished page 2: And I'm now here at the start of page 3 of 6: 35th Anniversary Celebration barely got touched (I really hate working with this navy material). I started here: And only made it here: None of my "Plan To Start" projects got touched other than the secret project (which got finished): The rest stay in the stash for next year: Sleepy Hollow Mural: Angel In Lilac: Tanglewood: Or Abigail Patecleaver: I did start a new project not on the "Plan To Start" list - The Princess And The Pea. It ...

As much progress as I've made on The Princess and the Pea over the past week, I had a major incident that caused four (yes, I said FOUR) hours of frogging! I have a bruise on my thumb to prove it (thread goes in much easier than it comes out). There have been numerous times where I've picked up the wrong thread, but I have never actually forgotten to change a color with a symbol before, but that is exactly what I did on Saturday. Here is my before the weekend progress: I really should have taken a picture of all the thread I had to frog out, but you can still see the remnants of the carnage and here it is after the fun: And I did manage to still get to here by the end of last night: It really doesn't look like much on the picture, but it is 28ct Monaco, so you can only imagine the huge area it covered...probably approximately a third of a chart page. Oh well, all done and fixed now. That's the really good thing about HAED's...they move along extraordi...

You know, I could whine about a lot of things...I'm poor, I'm alone, I'm still fat (although working on it), I'm not happy with my job, etc, etc...but I have the most wonderful pups in the world and that makes everything else ok! My little old man Zachary (who is more like a loner cat than a dog) doesn't like to be touched or played with, but he stares at me constantly and you can feel the palpable jealousy when Bam comes anywhere near me. Then there is my baby Bam, who in public seems like the sweetest, most docile creature in the world, but when he is in the privacy of his own home, has demonic-like qualities that only a mother could love. It's really hard to get both to show their true nature, but here ya go...Bam sticking out his tongue only moments before he pounces on Zach and Zach just staring in that creepy, stalkerish sort of way that only (again) a mother could love: Merry Christmas to all my blog friends from Keebs, Zachary, and Baby Bammers!

This is the first International and Hermit Stitch Weekend I've done since the spring, but I did manage a pretty good chunk of work. I didn't work much on A Summer Ball...I had made it through page 2 before the weekend started: And was here: But only made it this far (I really HATE working on this project...HAED's have spoiled me for life): I spent the majority of the weekend working on The Princess And The Pea (I really forgot how much I miss working on this!). I ended here back in April: Got here on Saturday night: And here on Sunday night: That B5200 is a MAJOR pain to work with and you can't even tell from the pictures that it's any different than regular white! Oh well, at least there wasn't a lot of it! My major conundrum now is how to handle the "Stitching My First Heaven & Earth Design & Friends" Blog post...the last time I posted Princess was "Week 4-April 3". If I continue counting in weeks, should ...

The day after I got back from Disney was diet doctor day and I had gained 16 lbs, but most (according to the nurse) could be attributed to water weight (since she couldn't get blood out of me, not an easy feat on a normal day, but darn impossible when I'm retaining fluids). Today was my first real return to the clinic and, although I have lost 12 lbs from last Tuesday, I'm still in the gain category, so my ticker has gone down. It happens. As much as I was glad vacation was over food-wise (I was really sick of eating), getting back on track this week has been really hard! The day after last week's visit threw me into a Sonic run and got me hooked back on popcorn chicken. I've had them a couple of times this past week. Then, we had our work Christmas party Saturday night, which means food and booze consumption (and there was no way I was gonna sit in a room with people I work with without food and enough booze to forget where I am, but not enough to lose the f...

The "secret" project is completed and it's been gifted to its recipient, so I guess it's OK to show it: I've also made a bit of progress on A Summer Ball - From here: To here: I'm filling in the white bits now, and it's pretty slow going. I also had a pretty nasty fall on the ice and it has caused a lot of difficulty with stitching. I hate ice! I much prefer snow, but we don't get a lot of that around here, we just get ice. Oh well, as long as I'm making a little bit of stitching progress, it's still progress!

Well, I'm back...again! This trip was much better overall, although it did have lots of "moments". Am and I had an amazing time...when we were alone. I've decided that traveling with our Mother is hell on earth and don't even get me started on Am's godmother...that woman has satanic qualities and if I never see her again for the rest of my life, it will be way too soon!! The whole MagicBand experience was much better this time and I did eventually start to enjoy using it (might as well, it's going to be Disney-norm soon enough). I kept my annual pass separate from the band and I think that helped as well. My little monsters didn’t take too kindly to being boarded either and now they both have colds. Poor Bammers had a panic attack when they were bringing him out to me and everyone in the waiting room was freaking out! He does sound like he’s dying when he does that. Once he realized it was me holding him, he calmed down and literally hugged me!...

A whole weekend without obsessing over Miranda! Such Fun! (Although, if I'm honest, I did change my computer wallpaper to that of the lovely Tom Ellis). On to the main attraction...Doctor Who: As per usual, the Human-Doctor 10 and Rose story got completely ignored! Why?!?!? I just knew that this special would HAVE to deal with it since the one thing Doctor Who always seems to preach is "don't cross your own timeline because some things in time are fixed moments and cannot be changed", and, using that theory as my compass, how else would they use Billie Piper and David Tennant if not as HD10 and Rose? Well, not only did The Doctor cross his own timeline for most of the show (hence David's participation), but he did it, at one point, 13 times (including a cameo by the new upcoming Doctor Peter Capaldi). Billie's appearance was somewhat weird and very hard to explain, so I'm not gonna try. I guess it should matter that she was there, but without scr...

I'm still trying to beat a headache, so forgive me if I don't make sense. I've been sleeping most of the day (which is gonna make for difficult sleep tonight), but I figured I'd post some exciting news...I actually stitched a bit this past week! I worked on A Summer Ball for the first time since March! This is where I left off: And this is where I got to last night: It's a huge chunk of page 2. I don't think I'm ready to delve head-first back into the HAED, but I'm getting my feet wet again. I also finished the "secret project". I'm not ready to post a pic until I get it framed, so it's still in secret mode. But the big news this week is a total Whovian dream...this is the celebratory week for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who! There are a ton of shows being aired this week, including a movie about the creation of Doctor Who, all leading up to the 50th special on Saturday night, The Day Of The Doctor. I think, more tha...

Dear Ms. Life, Thank you for accepting my apology (probably only temporarily, but I'm grateful, nonetheless). Turns out the leak that flooded my office was only a busted water pipe instead of a cracked foundation, so I should only be out of my office for a bit more than a week versus the original quote of 3-5. Plus, and here's the big bonus, the docs said I could paint my office and didn't say no when I said purple! Maybe they weren't taking me seriously, but I'm going out first thing Monday morning to get the Disney paint samples before they figure it out! Oh, and BTW, I'm assuming you got my new list of "those that truly deserve your rath" and I hope they provide you with enough ammunition to torture them for many years to come! You're welcome!

I learned a long time ago, never say, "my life can't get any worse", because life is a mean-ass bitch and just LOVES to prove you wrong! I try really hard not to piss Ms. Life off (although calling her a mean-ass bitch really doesn't put me in her good graces, but since she already hates me, why not?), but I have really been on her torture radar this week. Work has been really rough and crazy-mad anyway, but Ms. Life didn't feel that was enough of a punishment, so she decided to flood my office! For 99.9% of the other employees in this building, that wouldn't be a problem...but I'm the IT Director and my office is full of computers! Computers and water never play on the same side of the dodgeball field. Luckily, the water didn't end up in the actual server room next door. I've spent the past two days moving everything out of my office (which smells HORRIBLE and I may never be able to not smell this, even in the safety of my own home...it's...

Well, first off, I goobered on the diet this weekend. Not too bad though, just added grilled chicken strips to my soup and had a few tablespoons of peanut butter...I wanted spaghetti, so it could have been MUCH worse. I didn't take my pill yesterday (there were numerous factors involved, probably the dominant one being laziness), but needless to say, THAT won't happen again (never again will I second guess their effectiveness)! I can't believe I made it two weeks straight eating nothing but powered liquids anyway. I don't think I goofed up my work so far and don't think I'll have any troubles getting back on track...the whole ordeal scared me a little bit! Hopefully my doctors appointment tomorrow won't be miserable. I'm still trying to decide if I should offer up the information that I cheated, or wait until asked (I won't lie about it, just don't want to have "the conversation" if I don't have to). Thanks to everyone and yo...

Yesterday was end of week one as well as my weekly doctor visit for my new diet. It really was a pretty easy week and I had very little trouble other than my typical exploding brain syndrome. Today my headache has subsided enough to realize that I think I'm starving to death!! Never thought I'd be better off with a headache than without! I will definitely be going to bed tonight with my stomach growling (not helped by the fact that my extra shake is now gone). A lot of people have been asking me how I feel about eating the exact same thing every day, but for me, the structure is probably the easiest part. Lack of choices means I don't make the wrong choice. I did get new flavors for this week though. I went with the chocolate pudding instead of the vanilla, but it's kind of gross. There is only one other flavor, lemon, but I can guarantee I won't be touching that with a ten foot pole. Next week I'm going back to vanilla. The Cream of Chicken soup is more fi...

Finishing the countdown with the smallest post of them all, we are at #1....please be upstanding for...The Yachtsman Steakhouse inside Disney's Yacht Club Resort! (Leave it to me to make food #1). New favorite alert!!! LOVED the atmosphere, the food, and even the wait staff at this place! It definitely makes the top three (and right now sits at the very top...Artist Point and Le Cellier are really gonna have to impress in December to topple it). C-O-W!!!! (didn't get a lot of good "around me" pics because people kept staring): mark this down in your calendars people...I actually ate the bread (typically hate bread)! It came with roasted garlic and sea salt honey butter: I got the White Truffle Mac & Cheese as an appetizer and it literally blows Le Cellier's Mac & Cheese out of the water! My New York Strip with Brandy Peppercorn sauce (easily cut with a fork) and White Cheddar Twice Baked Potato (which didn't get eaten much since ...

#2-The Camera I wasn't planning on getting a new camera for this trip, but my mother put the bug in my head by saying, "You're not getting ANOTHER new camera this year, are you?", so I couldn't help myself! I ended up going with the Sony RX100m2. It is a point & shoot, but they don't get better than this little beauty! I debated long and hard over the mirrorless, but ended up deciding I wasn't photo-knowledgeable enough to handle a mirrorless (and I will never be able to afford a DSLR, and who would want to lug one of those around anyway). Never once did I use the flash or a tripod and I still managed to consistently get good pics! I also never took it off of auto mode (so imagine the results I could have gotten had I learned how to use it BEFORE I went!). I also found myself taking tons of pics of flowers that I never noticed before. This is a very photo heavy post, so prepare yourself and, without further ado, the favorite pics of my Disney...