Squeeze

I mentioned the band Squeeze in an answer to one of my Wednesday Hodgepodge questions, and I received a comment from Joyce about not knowing who they were. Well, like I need an excuse to post a video from my favorite generation of music, the 1980's, but I thought I'd help her out a bit! Most people know Squeeze from the song "Tempted". I never liked this song (and still can only barely tolerate it-which is why I don't feel the need to post it). Glenn Tillbrook didn't sing this song, Paul Carrack (who later became the singer for Mike + The Mechanics) did, which is probably why I didn't like it. Like I mentioned in the Hodgepodge question #6, I wasn't a Squeeze fan per-se in the 80's, but, looking back on it, I did love the song "Hourglass" which came out my senior year of high school:


From the early MTV days, I also remember liking "Another Nail In My Heart" and that's when I first thought Glenn Tilbrook was really cute, but didn't pay that much attention to him after that (at least not until my Disney World encounter with him). I also thought that Jools Holland was adorable and even remember seeing his picture in a Smash Hits mag from way back when. Some music television watchers might recognize his name...Jools Holland does a music show called Later with Jools Holland that showcases bands from every genre (including some very big names) and has been on for many years. But here's Nail:


Most early 80's music listeners will know Squeeze from "Black Coffee In Bed":


Here's a live version of "Pulling Mussels From A Shell" (a song that has grown on me over the years):


Granted, the years haven't been kind to Glenn, but I still think he's one of the most sexy men on the planet and, if I'm honest, the years haven't been kind to most of the 80's brood. Unfortunately, I still have tunnel vision and see them as their former selves...Robert Smith probably scares small children now (or so I'm told by my much younger co-workers), but I still think he's one of the hottest men in music, so there you go! You can take the girl out of the 80's, but the 80's will stay with her forever (and the cow-lick in my hair that wants to go the 80's way, proves its more than skin deep-but deep rooted to my very core! HA!).

Excitement Abounds!!!

I'm not sure why this news makes me wee-my-pants excited, especially considering that I go home and stitch practically every single night anyway, but I have somehow managed to talk my bosses into letting us have a needle club at work! Yea me!! So, once a week, after normal business hours (there is really no such thing as "normal" hours in a lab, but we'll give it our best shot), we shall all conviene together and do whatever kind of needlework we do.

Instead of stitching last night, I got all my stuff together for my chosen project and spent the entire night winding bobbins. So, who's the lucky project, you ask? I've just been itching for an excuse to start work on a HAED Quick Stitch, and I figured this would be the perfect forum for it...Jasmine Becket-Griffith's (no shock there) QS Angel In Lilac! Since my office got redecorated (due to a busted pipe), she shall match my purple walls quite nicely (they are about the color of her dress)!



I have already ran across glitch #1...the chart calls for DMC 776 (Medium Pink) and DMC 3326 (Lt Rose). Problem is, at least at my local Hobby Lobby (the only store we have that carries anything cross stitch in my town), 3326 is rebranded 776 and they are exactly the same color...there is even a 776 in parentheses underneath the 3326. I looked online for the reasoning and about four years ago DMC renamed 776 to 3326, but apparently there wasn't a 3326 before that time (best I could tell), so I'm not sure if Hobby Lobby's thread is four years old (not a shock there) or if DMC still issues the same color with two different names. I frantically scoured my entire thread stash to no avail last night, and, as a last ditch effort, ended up going online and ordering both of them from 123Stitch (as well as their Anchor counterparts). Both were listed as their proper color names, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure there isn't enough differences in the color to hurt its use in two separate locations, but I do have the little matter of OCD nagging at me constantly. Plus, I was really hoping to do this without spending much money and using the resources I already have, but life's never been kind to me that way, and I should have known better.

Another thing about my local HL that bothers me is that they don't carry 3860 Cocoa, and I don't think I've ever done any project that didn't call for that color, sometimes in bulk! They don't even have a slot for it! Shame on you Hobby Lobby (and for your personal politics...but I'm not going there). Besides, I don't know why HL is a craft store anyway, the amount of crafts they actually carry would fill a closet!

Anyway, I've digressed (again)...back to the main subject...I now have another project that's getting moved to my WIP's! I have four works in progress going at one time! It's complete anarchy! I'm vowing that I will keep the project at work and not take it home for any reason. Hopefully, that will keep it from affecting my work on Pea (which I seem to be avoiding, although by no fault of my own, stupid head).

I do still have my worries about a HAED QS in general. I worry about the quality and the detail level, especially since it will be my co-worker's first view of a HAED (and some of them have never even seen a cross-stitch project in progress). I wanted something that was easy, but looked complicated and a HAED is the best option for that. The lack of backstitching, half-stitching, and quarter-stitching always speeds things up...just straight full crosses. I also always grid a HAED (not usually a kit) and that always makes things much faster for the counting. I will have to be more careful and make my backs look better than I normally would especially since I will have eyes upon me, but I am capable of it (I just usually end up being too lazy and not caring what the back looks like).

So wish us luck! More than likely, after several weeks, I will end up being the only person who shows up, but that's OK!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Seems like lately I've only been doing stitching updates and Wednesday Hodgepodge posts, but living in headache-land has pretty much limited the rest of my life somewhat. But it is Wednesday, and life must go on, so without further ado:

1. What is something you'll never forget about the age you are right now?
This is the age I'm getting skinny for the first time in my life. A pretty big deal.

2. What's a household chore you've never done? How have you managed that???
There's not one I can think of...from cleaning to maintenance, I've pretty much done it all myself at some point to varying degrees.

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain?
I'm not sure nature or nurture shapes our personalities. I think that we are probably predisposed with a certain amount of natural traits, we are nurtured with more, but ultimately, it's up to us how we define ourselves...serial killers who come from good backgrounds, scholars who come from bad backgrounds, it's all about the choices we make and a person can just as easily go against their nature or upbringing at any moment and make a different decision.

4. Friday (February 28th) is 'Something on a Stick Day'...funny because Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me an idea for a question relating to this topic. What's your favorite food eaten on a stick?
I'm not a big fan of food on a stick...but the dark chocolate covered pineapples you get at Karamelle-Kuche in the Germany pavillion in Epcot in Disney World would be much easier eaten on a stick than just lose in the container.

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?
Does it have to be one of the five? Four of my five are super-heightened anyway due to the Aspergers (I'm blind as a bat practically, so eyesight is out), but my sixth is the one that I rely on more than any of them. It makes it much easier to assess people and situations just from the vibe in the room versus waiting to discover their true intentions (which is often too late). They say that an Asper is more attuned to the six sense anyway because of the heightened awareness of all things around them (or spidey sense, as I like to call it). I certainly know this to be true in my case.

6. What's the best music, theatre, or sporting venue you've been to? What made it great?
As a lifelong die-hard Duranie, I should probably pick one of the many Duran shows, but actually, one of the first times I went to Disney World as an adult, when they used to have the West End Stage at Pleasure Island. Squeeze was playing live on stage, for free, in the middle of God and everybody! I had never really been a Squeeze fan up until that moment, but I have been in love with Glenn Tilbrook ever since! It was also the absolute worst my Social Anxiety Disorder had ever been, but I was so enthrawled, that even though my Mother decided to leave because she had a headache, I stayed on by myself to finish watching the show. I think that moment also changed my relationship with Disney World and let to several solo trips a few years later. There are only three placed on this earth I feel most comfortable...home, work, and Disney World and I do honestly believe that particular moment with Glenn and the boys is what changed it for me.



7. It's the last week of the month...in five words or less bid adieu to your February.
Here's to a headache-free March! (I'm counting headache-free as one word)

8. Insert your own random thought here.
All things considered, as bad as February has been, at least I'm properly back on the diet track!

IHSW gone

I didn't do so hot stitching this week, even with an International And Hermit Stitch Weekend. I did alright on Friday, I even left work early. But a day out with my T-Boo and a sudden massive headache on Saturday night goofed things up stitch-wise. Sunday morning was spent still dealing with the headache, but by mid afternoon on through till now, I did manage some stitching.

I started here on Friday:


And finished here tonight:


I really wanted to get this row done, but no such luck. Hope everyone else had better progress!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's the biggest change since your childhood in the way people think or act?
In general or toward me?

In general, I think there is a definite lack of moral turpitude nowadays and it seems to be getting worse everyday. I fear what the world will be like in 10-20 or even 30 years. But then again, isn't that what every generation says about the upcoming one? But the thing I've noticed most is the complete lack of chivalry from men...it wasn't Regency England when I was a kid, but it was a lot better then than it is now.

The biggest change toward me is the fact that I've learned to control my little Asperger ticks and I am able to appear "normal" to the masses. Someone who meets me now might think I was a little weird, whereas someone who has known me all my life is often a bit scared of me. I'm proud of my progress seeing as it's taken me almost a lifetime to achieve it.

2. The Olympic Biathlon involves cross country skiing broken up with either two or four rounds of target shooting. Which part of that would stress you out more? Or would you love them both equally? I'm definitely not a sports person, but are those not the two weirdest things in the world to put together, shooting and skiing? I would probably hate both. I hate guns and skiing is too much of a lack of control and that is not acceptable in my world.

3. February is National Canned Food Month...what is your most often purchased canned food item? What was in the last can you opened?
Considering I'm on a meal replacement diet, I haven't bought any canned food in months. But when I do, it's usually canned tomatoes or canned spinach and rarely any others. I don't care for vegetables much on a good day, canned fruit is disgusting, and I'm not really big on canned soups and stuff.

4. What river (anywhere in the world) would you most like to cruise?
The Thames. Actually, I wouldn't mind a flat overlooking it.

5. It's the middle of the night and you can't sleep...what do you do? Count sheep? Toss and turn? Watch television? Or do you get up and do something productive?
I have to force myself to go to bed every single night...sleep isn't easy for me to do, unless I'm already in it, then it takes an act of the heavens to get me out of it. The only way I ever fall asleep is to picture a scenario in my head and play it through...like a storyline. A popular one is, winning the lottery and building my dream house. From the building stage, through the move, to furniture placement, I imagine all the stages. During Disney planning time, I often plan the trip out step by step (although it never works out that way). My brain never stops and the only way to relax it is to focus on one thing and let it play out (although the scene may start the same, rarely ever does it end that way). This process will often spill over into a dream and take on a life of its own (and also leads to the next night's process).

6. How important is keeping your cool?
For me, vital. The Aspergers causes me to throw some pretty public tantrums sometimes, which, in turn cause my Social Anxiety Disorder to force me so far inwards from the shame of the public humiliation, it takes months for me to crawl out again. I have no mouth filter either, and when I'm heated, the things that come out my mouth, although true, have been known to be quite painful to others.

7. I've got white stuff on the brain so why not run with it? White lie, wave the white flag, white knuckle it, white wash a situation, or white as a sheet...which phrase could most recently apply to your own life in some way?
White knuckle it through the headaches I've had this week that leave me white as a sheet and all the while waving the white flag to the headache gods, but I white-wash the situation so others don't worry (or see my real pain) and white lie my way through my competency to effectively do my job with some of the headache meds on board.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Why aren't there more cross stitch stores in my area? Some things you just can't buy online!

Ugh

As some of you may have noticed, my weight loss tracker either hasn't moved in a while, or it has gone in the wrong direction. I wish I could blame it entirely on the headaches or the copious amounts of catered food we've had at work recently, but that's just not the case. I've lost my motivation. Disney has always been my only real motivation for weight loss, and since the realization that I might not even be able to afford to go this year has struck me hard, it's put me in a mood, to say the least...a mood that usually ends at Sonic (a lot).

Sorting through Disney pictures isn't helping much either, and frankly, it's just bloody depressing me further. So I've decided that while I'm in this funk, I am not even gonna touch those stupid pictures. It's not like the rest of the family are beating down my door to get them and I still don't have their pics for editing anyway.

Tomorrow is my reboot day, I'm starting fresh again. I'm operating without motivation for the moment, heck, maybe I'll discover that it's highly overrated and isn't needed! Who knows! But at least my pounding noggin got me out of a stern lecture from the diet doc today (of course, me starting the conversation off with "I know I've been bad and I don't feel like hearing it" might have had something to do with it). So here's to new beginnings!

Stitching

Long week and very little progress (or at least not as much as I wanted). It's really hard to stitch when you've got a migraine, and lucky me, I had one for most of the week. But at least a few minutes ago I finally finished the ugliest (and hardest) mattress layer.

The week started here:


And ended here:

The day that is today...

Today was that holiday that isn't polite to say in singleton conversation. I think I've mentioned (one or two times) in a very polite manner (yeah, right) how I feel about this day's celebratory practices.

This morning, bright and early ("bright" is never a moniker that will ever be associated with me, no matter the time of day, but I digress), I once again woke up with a headache that has now been present for four days...great, something else to look forward to today. I went about my routine tasks, getting ready for yet another "fun" day at work, but it wasn't long before my phone rang. The ringtone "Parachute" by Cheryl Cole only means one person...my beloved bestest friend in the whole wide world...Tony. My first thought, "Oh my gosh, something has happened! Someone is dead!" (because he is also quite aware of my morning moods). But that's not why he called. He called to wish me a happy today (I still can't bring myself to say the word) since he forgot to email me this morning. Granted, my headache didn't disappear (or even dwindle a bit), but my mood sure improved! Is is true that the kindness of one person can make someone's day!

Later on, after arriving to work, the calls on the overhead pager started coming in..."so and so, come to the front please" and one after the other, loved-up co-workers came prancing back with their V-Day bounty in tow...flowers, candies, more flowers, more candies, etc, etc. Some were obviously bought at the local quick shop and some cost more than my paycheck, but it wasn't long before this place started to smell like an old lady drowned in rose perfume. I did expect this, in our entire building there are only three singletons...me, of course, and a divorced woman close to sixty who still acts married to her ex-husband (although he is married to someone else), and another girl, who's attitude will pretty much guarantee she will never get anyone (well, not without paying for it, and even then she still might have trouble-can you tell I don't like her?).

I went about my daily duties, ignoring the banter of the masses, "Oh, your flowers are so pretty!" "You're man is so wonderful", blaa blaa blaa. I had to step out for a bit (it is payday, afterall, and we don't get to do direct deposit here) and returned to find that I too had received a delivery (and thank god I wasn't here and had to do the walk of shame to the front office). Granted, they weren't from a secret admirer (but I'm still waiting Mark Owen...you know you have a crush on me!) or even a man at all...but from my little sister, Am. Beggars can't be choosers and they were gorgeous!

Thanks sissy! And since you don't EVER respond to my texts - FYI...I still need your Disney memory cards!!! Oh, and please raid your closet for your fat clothes...Mother has taken it upon herself to dump with me her wardrobe and you know how much hers and my tastes differ! I'm in horror at the thought of wearing some of these clothes! I'd rather wear my oversized baggy clothes that spend one second in 95% of what she sent!! S.O.S.!!!

So, in honor of Tony, how about a music video (I haven't posted one in a while)...his ringtone, Cheryl Cole's Parachute


And for Am...the song that I always associate with our relationship, Darren Hayes - Cruel Cruel World. Since Darren hasn't released it as a single, this is a live version, but Darren is often better live than produced, so no worries there!


Am and T...happy you-know-what day back!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

My good friend, Cathy over at Tales of the TCKK Family, has been doing the Wednesday Hodgepodge for a while. I've always enjoyed reading her posts and have often thought about what my answers would be to these questions, which is what led me to finally click on the link and sign up for the Hodgepodge myself...so here we go.

1. What makes love last?
I've actually never seen love last in any capacity...not in the love of a husband, or a parent, or even a friend, so I'm not sure it can last. It is a feeling and feelings are never constant. You can work to keep the feelings intact or stable, but if you ever stop working, it easily dies. I've never seen true love in action, so I can't speak on it.

The Beatles made their U.S. debut fifty years ago this week. Are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite Beatles tune?
I don't hate The Beatles and given the choice between The Beatles or The Stones, I'd easily pick The Beatles (although I've never understood that analogy since they are two completely different types of music), but I don't go out of my way to listen to them. If I was choosing music around that generation, I'd probably pick the Monkees. If I had to pick a favorite song, it would probably be Hey Jude (because I've always had a soft spot for Julian Lennon) or St. Pepper's, but I can't say I know too many more than those.

3. Valentine's Day-your thoughts? Do you celebrate in any way? Do anything special for the people you love? Expect anything special from the people who love you?
Evil holiday meant to isolate and ridicule singles and make them feel inadequate and lonely...but I'm not too bitter about it! Given the choice, I would probably be more than happy to get a dozen roses and a box of chocolates!

4. Steak or burger...you have to choose. Now that that's settled, how do you like it?
Steak, bleed'in, but not moo'in.

5. The Hodgepodge lands on the birthdate (February 12th) of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is quoted as saying, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test his character give him power." Do you agree? Why or why not?
Agree. Nothing corrupts a person more than power and I've never seen it any other way. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give someone an inch and they always take a mile. I've even had trouble with it myself.

6. Honest Abe's picture is on the US penny (1 cent coin) so I'm wondering...what do you do with your pennies (or your country's equivalent)? It's been suggested the US stop making the penny, and two bills have been proposed suggesting just that, but neither were approved. What say you?
All my pennies (and other change) gets saved for Disney. I think pennies are needed...the removal of it means that everything will either have to be raised or dropped (and I'll bet it will be raised) 4 cents - which is probably why the government wants them removed.

7. Do you think pop culture deserves serious study?
Recent pop culture...no. And, come to think of it, I can't say that even past pop culture needs "serious" study except in a reflective capacity. Do we really gain anything from knowing what the popular art or music was three hundred years ago? The only thing that studying popular culture grants us is the knowledge that just because someone is popular or unpopular at the time, doesn't mean that stay viewed that way for future generations. Van Gogh is always the first artist that springs to mind, but how many others died in poverty and unrecognized until long after their death? Austen, Monet, Poe, Keats, Darwin, the Brontes, Galileo and so many others that were not only unappreciated but sometimes executed for their beliefs. Just take the Romantic poets...Keats, Shelley, Byron and the lot were the Beibers and Cyrus' of their generation, wasteral druggies who really served no purpose to their contemporaries (although the thought of Beiber or Cyrus becoming icons like the Romantic poets scare the crap out of me!). Contemporary study can't reflectively or objectively view the current climate due to the heightened emotions...once the fires die and the wounds heal, only then can we view the past with an open mind.

But then again, taking the other side of the argument (a bad habit of mine), studying contemporary culture documents it for future study. Studying the past gives us insight into who the icons of the day really were and make us seriously reconsider their importance to the day. With everything we know of Washington and Kennedy now from discovered documents and accounts, their private lives and their goings-on, should we view their place in history differently? Were they really good presidents, or just put on a pedestal by the people of the day, not to be questioned by future generations? If we had documented proof that Shakespeare really was illiterate, would it change our view of his plays or just transfer our affections to the proper author? Picasso is always a sore spot with me, but an example of the opposite...because he is a "sort of" contemporary and we have documentation of his life, should that affect how we perceive his art? (Although, I've always hated his art for this very reason, so there you go.) Can you paint a woman in a loving light if you hate women? Isn't that just faking it and doesn't that belittle his accolades as a "great artist"? All good questions for future generations, but without the facts being documented, even Beiber could have ended up canonized if we weren't a "document everything" society and given the mindset of his fan base.

What do I know? I still listen to the same music from 30 years ago, still worship the Renaissance artists, and still love Classical British literature. Has a popular icon's importance changed in my eyes when their personal failings come to light? Sure, it's happened once or twice, but, nine times out of ten, my spidey-sense picked up on their hidden shortcomings in the first place and I didn't like them to begin with. Will Duran Duran, Take That, or even Darren Hayes be important to anyone a hundred years from now? Probably not, but they were always a big part of my life. But I've never been one for following popular opinion and, at least to me, only my opinion matters anyway! HA!

8. Insert your own random thought here-
How does one move a mass volume of collectibles across country without breaking any? A thought that has been on my mind a lot lately for some reason (like I could afford to move cross-country anyway - but once I win the lottery, I've got a lot of Disney stuff to move to my house in Golden Oak!).

Stitching

Another week, another row finished. I'm over halfway through the ugliest (and hardest) of the mattress layers, so it should be smooth sailing once I finish the rest of it.

Started the week here:


Finished the row yesterday:


And didn't do too much today, but got here:


Still barely anything else done in the rest of my world. Plus, I had a crappy week last week and only lost 3/4 of a pound (and probably the same this week). I've got to get back on the wagon! Here's hoping anyway.

So sorry!

I know some of you have been having trouble seeing my new stash...I thought I fixed the problem, I had forgotten to change the permissions for the pics. But dumb me also forgot to put them in the set in the first place! Please let me know if you can see them now and I'll repost them below:

Aimee Stewart - Treasure Hunt Bookshelf (now corrected to the large version):


Aimee Stewart - The Dreaming Tree


Aimee Stewart - The Butterfly Ball


Jasmine Becket-Griffith - The Three Fates


Disney Dreams Series - Lady And The Tramp

Ice on a trailer

After two days of ice fall, it's over (for now). The ground is a solid sheet of ice, but the roads are pretty much clear. Crackhead neighbor salted my porch yesterday for some weird reason (and probably without clothing). The walk from the driveway to the deck is the scariest part (and where I fell more than once last ice storm). I tried to get a pic with my iPhone this morning without breaking my neck, which is why isn't not the best pic in the world. If I was thinking properly (not something I can do first thing in the morning), I still haven't taken my good camera out of my purse from our weekend road trip and could have gotten an amazing shot. The sign of a bad photographer...not willing to break ones neck for the perfect shot.

This one will have to do (for now):

Ice sucks!

You'd think living in the South would comfort us in warmth and sunshine year 'round...but that just isn't the case. We never get blessed with snow, instead we get blanketed in ice (and believe me, snow would be much better...I love snow. I even don't mind driving in snow.). Ice, on the other hand, is an entirely different creature. I HATE ICE! I hate driving on ice, walking on ice, falling on ice, trying to get ice off my vehicle, trying to get out my front door even, etc. Our portion of this latest winter storm was yet another good dose of ice. Yea us.

I did the unthinkable this morning, I actually got up early to do all the fun stuff that comes with ice removal, yeah, I got up early...it's a miracle! My screen door can't open because the ice piles up in front of it, so first step is to pour boiling water at the door crack and continuously open it bit by bit until I can get outside. So, in typical Keebs fashion, I get to the last inch I needed to squeeze my fat butt through the door, and somehow manage to dump boiling water all over my hand (and of course it would be my left hand - the only hand I use). Flub #1.

I walked very slowly and carefully across the yard because I vividly remembered the last ice storm and the three falls I had in that very area...one fall in particular was pretty severe (I fell on my back, but the base of my neck ended up bruised like I had tried to hang myself). My hand is hurting, but I'm making my way to my drive and my poor little iced-over Rogue.

Of course my vehicle is worse than I imagined, even the door handle was completely iced over. Time to go back in for warm water (didn't want to chip paint or crack windshields). Another slow journey back to the front door, only to discover that the screen door handle is completely frozen and I can't get back in the house! Now what? My back door has been sealed for years because after we moved my trailer, It shifted and got stuck, so no getting in through the back (plus there are no stairs anyway and it's five feet off the ground). I live in a trailer park 'hood, so there is no way I'm knocking on a neighbor's door (especially at 8:30 in the morning), it's 10 degrees and I'm stuck on the porch with puppies barking at me through the glass! Flub #2.

Luckily, I had my phone in my pocket. First call, work, only to get voicemail, but I left a message anyway. The first words out of my mouth were cordial, trying to explain the situation, but quickly turned to a cussing rampage about the merits of coming to work on a day like this where there won't be anything to do anyway because every other human is locked up safely in their house. Good thing they know I'm looney and unstable, or I'd probably be out of a job. Flub #3.

Next call, Auntie Mary, who just lives a few blocks away. I begged her to show up with hot water and an ice pick and hurry because I was freezing. Meanwhile, My front neighbors (I call them the crackheads) apparently heard me banging on my door handle and one of them came outside, with nothing but boxer shorts on...no shoes, no shirt, nada! Dude didn't even look cold and I'm wearing three layers (thankfully) and shivering like a child in a horror house! Who knew that one of the benefits of crack usage is internal warmth...I was born perpetually cold, maybe I should be a druggie...but I digress. He did manage to break the ice with a screwdriver, but not without some added commentary.

In the process of ice breakage, daddy crackhead proceeds to tell me that I could call on them anytime, that I'm the best neighbor they have, and that he watches me coming home everyday (yes, he actually said that...great, now I'm being stalked by crackhead neighbors). I just completely ignored all his comments, quickly thanking him for getting me in the door, and bolted like my pants were on fire, leaving him standing on the porch in his undies holding a dangerous weapon. Flub #4.

My Aunt finally shows as I'm tending to my burnt hand almost 22 minutes later (don't know what the hell took her so long, she has a garage for her vehicle and only lives a couple of blocks away). But I think she felt guilty about taking so long so she de-iced my car (by this time, I was ready to just pack the day in and get back in bed). I just let her do all the work and had a Coke Zero. Flub #5.

I was finally able to get on the road to work about an hour from when my initial fiasco began, only to be tightly tailed by a Honda car most of the way to work. I say most of the way, because I pulled a meanie and hit my brakes a bit too quick (shame on me...I knew what the outcome would be and didn't care). I slid a bit, but he ended up sliding into a parking lot (I didn't want to be horrible and do it next to a ditch, but it did cross my mind more than once - so you see, I'm evil, but not Satanic). I'm sure my karma is gonna take a hit for that one, but hey, karma is a two way street and he got his back, so I think Flub #6 should be just 5.5.

I have spent the entire day at work doing crap work because there is nothing good to do (just as I said, everyone else in the world is tucked safely in their own homes, so we don't have any work). As long as I spray burn cream on my hand every couple of minutes, it doesn't hurt so bad. There are no blisters (yet), but the skin is all smooth and soft, so I know they are coming. I decided to share my fun with you guys. I wish I was home stitching (but watch the burn will make it hard and I won't be able to stitch for days...then see how south my mood goes). Plus, there is more ice on the way for tomorrow. Yea me. Note to self...melt the ice on the door handle FIRST before exiting the building!

ICE SUCKS!

Stitch lag

I figured once I got to the mattresses I would start to slow down, and I was right, but not for the reason I thought. I've been stitching as much as usual, it's just really slow going because it's a bit confetti'ed.

From Monday:


To today:


I did add new stuff to my stash this week thanks to a super HAED sale (that is still going on, by the way). Most of which are Aimee Stewart's.

Treasure Hunt Bookshelf (completely mad at myself about this one...I chose the wrong pattern, I meant to get the large version of this)


The Butterfly Ball:


and The Dreaming Tree:


I did decide to go ahead and splurge on another Jasmine Becket-Griffith as well...if there is one thing I've learned about HAED's, they don't always stick around forever. I've been drooling over this one for a while and I didn't want to miss out.

The Three Fates:


I also added the new Disney Dreams offering - Lady And The Tramp:

Not really sure why I buy these, I will probably never stitch them...must be a Disney thing.