Ugh...the internet!

Yes, I know I'm extremely opinionated, often to the point of obsession (you could blame either the Aspergers or OCD for that). That's why I typically don't read comments about things I love because I tend to get quite upset sometimes (and I NEVER post comments anymore because I often get into a cyber war). But, because of the events last night, I've found myself scouring the web more than once today for more information and, since my blog is for my big mouth, I thought it best to post my comment here instead on numerous boards and websites (my anger level is pretty high right now). And it's been a while since I stepped on my very high soapbox, so here I go!

Those that watch Once Upon A Time (the only American show I watch regularly and actually like) got a shock last night, a major character died (and that's all I'm saying because you may not have watched the episode yet). OUAT fans knew it was coming, the creators told us in January a major character was leaving the show, we just didn't know which one. Yet the backlash on the news stories today has been atrocious to say the least, mainly because most people think the creators are pandering to the shippers of the OUAT community by making sure the pathway is clear for two other characters in particular to get together.

I'm not really a shipper fan and the whole concept is weird to me...the story goes where the story goes and changing it in your head or even in writing won't change the original (and, for those that don't know what shipping is, you take your two favorite characters, mush up their names, and create your own love stories based on those characters, aka Rump-Belle, Captain Swan, etc). And I thought I was paranoid and controlling! The shippers of the world take their character mash-ups VERY seriously and get offended if they don't get what they want (remember the whole Harry-Hermoine versus Ron-Hermoine issue? Even JK herself has come out and publicly said Harry and Hermoine should have been together...although I still think it was to appease the shippers...if she didn't like the Ron-Hermoine storyline, she shouldn't have wrote it).

Having said that, I am a huge fan of Jane Austen fan fiction, but I typically go for the modern re-tellings rather than the 'continuations of the stories' or the shipper stories. I have a huge collection of Jane Austen-inspired books and movies, but most of them are all modern day retellings. There are notable exceptions, "Lost In Austen" is one of my favorite mini-series of all time. I refused to buy the "Death Comes To Pemberley" books, but I did break down and watch the mini-series and I'm glad I did because I absolutely loved it (even more than the Austenland movie, which I have the book for and really like it...but the movie was lacking and even JJ Feild, our most recent Mr. Tilney, couldn't save it).

But I've gotten off the path I was trying to take here, so back on track...what angers me about the comments flying around today is the fact that people are focusing so much on the shipping aspect of Once, they seem to be missing a huge part of the Wicked Witch of the West/Oz storyline. What did the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, The Lion, and Dorothy all go to see the Wizard for? A heart, a brain, courage, and to go home. An actor wants to leave the show, what better way to tackle one of those quests than the character's death...and let me explain how.

The new curse has brought everyone back to Storybrooke and away from their home in the Enchanted Forest (or whatever land they are from)...aka Dorothy's Oz quest (although that is arguable because some characters prefer Storybrooke to the Enchanted Forest or wherever, so I'm not sure that is the right direction for the home link yet). We learned last week that the Witch took Charming's/David's courage by stealing his broken sword...aka the Lion's quest. She's made numerous comments about Rumple's brain...aka the Scarecrow quest. It makes sense that the best way to get a heart is to kill someone that is loved, ergo the bereaved loses their heart, and which better heart to take than that of a hero...which ties up the heart, aka Tin Man's quest. There still could be another "home" storyline if I'm wrong about the new curse theory and, since Dorothy's answer came from within, they could take it in that direction (maybe Regina finally finding her "home" with the Charmings or Robin Hood for that matter). Considering we're only 17 episodes down for the season and the way everything seems to occur in the last two episodes, there is still time to deal with that aspect (although they've got some explaining to do about where the memory potion for Emma came from, how Hook got out before the second curse hit, and the whole 'Cora is everybody's baby-mama' issues).

Granted, there was another shocking death on another show last week (which I don't watch) that had the internet all abuzz and my OUAT news is very little compared...but OUAT is MY show, so I'm more focused on it. There was also massive publication about Once Upon A Time In Wonderland getting cancelled (which is hilarious to me since it was only meant as a one season show anyway). I do watch Wonderland, but I honestly don't really care for it and I really only watch for OUAT crossovers (that supplement the storyline for OUAT).

Whether or not Wonderland characters will end up in Storybrooke remains to be seen since this series for regular OUAT is already finished. I figure that maybe they could carry over Jafar's character, but I can't see the others making it over and fitting in, especially since Wonderland is occurring in an entirely different time period. And I hope they don't try to do another spin off show because it was a bad idea from the get-go and that whole Neverland storyline suffered from the writer's pulling double duty (half a season of five characters fighting amongst themselves while trying to get through a forest got old after a while). There is a huge difference in OUAT this second part of series 3 versus the first and it almost feels like the first season all over again!

So shipper-obsessed commenters of the Once Upon A Time world...get a grip! The creators/writers have made it quite clear NUMEROUS times that public opinion won't sway their storylines (they apparently didn't change any Lost storylines for shippers, why start now?). It's over, the character is dead, onward and upward (but this is a fairytale world, so I wouldn't 100% rule out his return)! But, if I wanted to take a shipper's opinion, I'm glad the character died last night...they were in the way of another possible relationship that I kind of like the idea of! Where I differ is I'm willing to accept the decision of the writer's and follow the story accordingly. If I decide I don't like where it's going, I'll stop watching it. I've done it before with other shows (although, I have the feeling OUAT will be over long before I get sick of it...that show was made for this little Asper-Disney freak!).

Soapbox dismount...for now! It's time to start preparing for the April A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Stitching

I didn't work on Pea this week...I was testing to see how my Disney alphabet for the A to Z Blogging Challenge would go. I did another chart from CloudFactory to see how long the characters would take to stitch. I haven't mounted it or framed it yet, but here it is:


Granted, they took longer than I wanted them to, but in all fairness I was using hoops (which I never do because I can only stitch one-handed). I much prefer scroll rods and a stand, be it lap or floor, so both hands can have access. It's also been a while since I used Aida, and, even at 18ct, it took some getting used to...evenweave Monaco or Lugana is much more forgiving. Heck, I even found using two threads instead of one a bit of a challenge! I keep saying it, but HAEDs have ruined me for life! I ended up having to frog half of the first character (I can never remember if it's Flora or Fauna that is green) because the stitch was big I could see the flaws in the pattern...instead of stitching from the top to the bottom, I had to stitch from the bottom to the top to make it look clean.

But since I was on a two-thread, aida roll after Sleeping Beauty, I decided to work on A Summer Ball this weekend instead of Pea. Plus, I just needed a mattress break. It's been a very long time since I've worked on Ball, so here's a reminder where I left off:


And here is where I finished tonight:

This is going to be amazing when it's finished, but I really HATE working on it! The half and quarter stitching, the backstitching that doesn't line up with the colors, the lack of detail in the face, etc, etc. If I didn't love the overall of this chart, I would scrap it all together.

The challenge begins in a little more than a day, so the future of Pea is in question for the month of April, but I'm still expecting a summer finish for her. A Summer Ball, however, is going back on the backburner for a while.

Needle Club - Week 4

Still didn't get through the peach areas on Angel, but got pretty close! It is really hard to stitch and socialize, but I am enjoying working on a different project in an entirely different environment.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's that time again for the Hodgepodge! I'm not really sure how this will work out during the April A to Z Blogging Challenge, but only time will tell.

1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far...'throw caution to the wind', 'three sheets to the wind', 'run like the wind', or 'see which way the wind blows'?
How 'bout 'the winds they are a'foul'? That better suits my March! This year has got to be better soon!

2. Your favorite green food? Your favorite dish made with your favorite green food?
Spinach. I could eat spinach in varying forms every single day of my life (and it's probably one of the only vegetables I actually do like). My favorite way to eat it though is raw as a salad base with cheddar cheese, grilled chicken and whatever salad dressing I'm favoring at the moment. I also love it in alfredo, but I think my pasta days are over now (thanks to my stupid diet).

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!
Locked out...no...couldn't get in? Yes! The ice storm before last I went outside to de-ice my vehicle and, when I tried to get back in the house, realized that the screen door handle was frozen solid and I couldn't push the button to open it. Luckily I had my cell on me (but unluckily, my aunt - who just lives a few blocks away - took too long to get here). In the end, crackhead neighbor heard me cussing and banging and came outside to help (wearing nothing but pants...no shoes, no shirt, with two inches of ice on the ground) and I was eventually able to get in.

On the opposite side of that, last ice storm I was stuck in the house because there was a foot of ice blocking the door and it wouldn't open. I had to be dug out from the outside by a co-worker (and crackhead neighbor again...dude is everywhere!!). Good thing there wasn't a fire, I would have burned alive (but then again, I probably would do that anyway trying to save my Disney stuff).

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monsters Inc.)...of the green characters listed, which one's your favorite and why?
Even though all those characters can be tied to Disney in some way (Yoda - Star Wars now owned by Disney; Shrek has Eddie Murphy, aka Donkey, who was also Mushu in Mulan and in The Haunted Mansion movie; The Wicked Witch is now the lead evil on Once Upon A Time and Walt has owned the rights to the Wizard books for many many years; Oscar is a Henson, which is owned by Disney; The Grinch was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft...a major Disney vocal artist whose voice is heard all over Disney World (Grim Grinning Ghosts anyone?); and Mike is Pixar, again owned by Disney), I'm gonna pick the Disney-est of them all...Kermit! I'm a child of the 70's and grew up watching The Muppet Show. He's not my favorite muppet (that distinction is meant for Gonzo), but he's definitely a strong #2.

5. "The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive."~Joe Batten Do you agree? Why or why not?
I'm not a leader, so I couldn't speak from the standpoint of one, but I think hope is a very personal thing. No one has the power to influence my hope's existence but me, but that could be just my Asper self controlling everything. No one has ever given me hope, or taken it away for that matter...but I have let them, therefore, it's still mine to disperse.

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in it's title.
I can't think of any of my all-time favorite songs that do actually have an emotion in the title, so I'll have to settle for a song I love (and my current ringtone), Lily Allen's The Fear...specifically the part of "and it doesn't matter 'cause I'm packing plastic and that's what makes my life so f'ing fantastic, I am a weapon of massive consumption, but it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function".

7. What's a road trip you'd like to take?
I would always say Disney World, but I've been itching to go west through the Rockies or Grand Canyon. I've been almost everywhere east, but not so much west. But I've also been craving to go to the Parthenon in Nashville (which is only about four hours away). Heck, now that I'm thinking about it, I've also been dying to go to the cross stitch store in Memphis (about an hour away). But, as far as I know, my next definite road trip will be to the Arkansas Scottish Festival in Batesville (about three hours away) next month.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
If I had a dime for every time I got woken up before the buttcrack of dawn to a stupid computer question whose answer was the old reliable "have you tried turning it off and on again?", I'd be rich (or at least a dime richer today). I am NOT a morning person and your stupid computer problems (that are, 9 times out of 10, your fault anyway) important enough to wake me up!!! Phew! I've been holding that in all morning!!

March IHSW

Another International Hermit and Stitch Weekend has come and just about gone. I'm giving up a bit early partly because I need to start going to bed at a normal hour, but more importantly, I finished row 6!!

I started Monday here:


And finally finished row 6 today:


Which means my little Pea Princess now looks like this:


And I did manage a little bit more before I decided to throw in the towel:


Only four more rows to go!! Oh, and as an aside, row 6 picture number ended up being exactly 100...thought it was a bit interesting!

Blogging From A to Z April Challenge Theme Reveal Day!

It is almost time again for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge! For those that aren't aware of what the challenge is, you post a blog entry for every letter of the alphabet on every day of the week (excluding Sundays) for the entire month of April. There are as many different themes as there are participants and even those that pick the same subject matter usually approach it in very different ways. Some people manage to complete the entire challenge, while a surprising number drop off after only a couple of days. Obviously, given the quantity of participants, reading every blog on the list is darn near impossible, especially while you are trying to keep up with your own posts. But I have found some pretty amazing blogs from the challenge and I look forward to finding even more!

It's extremely modest to say I'm Disney obsessed. I have Aspergers and OCD...Disney is more important to me than 95% of the humans I know! So the overall theme subject was a given. The problem was which direction to take it in this year. In 2012, I tackled my favorite things at Walt Disney World, from the parks and resorts, to the rides and shows, and even the food. In 2013, I did actually try a different subject, TV Anorak: An American Intro To British TV, but very early on realized I missed Disney too much and I ended up creating a second challenge post on Disney characters (absolutely madness and I will never do two posts for a challenge again!).

If, for some crazy reason, you're interested in reading my previous challenge posts, they can be found here. But I should warn you that I'm not a writer, my grammar is atrocious, and, despite the moderator's pleas for brevity, most are the length of War and Peace!

But back to the matter at hand, I came up with at least ten or so different Disney directions to fly in, but none of them "had me at hello". On a night when my mind was as far from thinking about the challenge as it could be and I was scouring Etsy for cross stitch patterns (as I often do), the fat lady began a'singin!!

drumroll please...

Keebles' Disney Character Alphabet Cross Stitch

Tada!! Thank you!! Thank you very much!! But seriously, I haven't noticed a lot of stitching-themed challenge posts (or Disney-themed, for that matter) and as an avid cross stitcher, the marriage of the two suits me just fine.

A company I've bought charts from in the past, and who I regularly check for updates, sell character-themed alphabet charts. Granted, my dream Disney Character Alphabet was a bit different then their pre-designed patterns, but they also do custom charting, so just a small series of emails got me exactly what I wanted. If anyone is interested, the company is called CloudsFactory and they can be found on Etsy or their website Cloudsfactory.net and they really are a pleasure to deal with (anyone that can put up with me must be given their props)!

My plan is to stitch a character a day and post its completion before midnight of its assigned day (or at least midnight in some timezone...it's always midnight somewhere, right?). Just posting my stitching progress should help keep my posts brief (unlike this theme reveal post). Whether or not I actually manage to finish a character a day or if Saturday becomes catch-up stitch day, remains to be seen. I'm not planning to reveal the project in its entirety until the final post just to add to the fun! Oh, and please don't ask me for copies of the pattern. There are copyright laws at play here folks.

So, here's to another Challenge finish in April!! Good luck to everyone and I'm excited to see where this year's challenge takes us all!!

Needle Club-Week 3

We were a bit short this week versus last, but things moved along much quicker because I wasn't having to stop as much with interruptions:


I was really surprised to see her head already starting to appear. Definitely making me feel much better about a quick stitch! It was 6 or 7 pages in and a row down before my little Highland girl's head appeared. But the face will be the deciding factor on how I feel about it. And, with all the pink, I'm not so sure now that it's gonna look good in my very purple office.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Thursday marks the first day of spring...to celebrate would you rather plant a garden or go for a walk in the woods? Would either of those activities be possible on Thursday where you live?
I would love to be able to plant a garden, if I had a yard (which I don't), but I am absolutely terrified of masses of trees, so the woods would completely be out of the question!! Besides, this is the South and woods around here mean you would probably get shot by some redneck hillbilly looking for dinner (I kid...sort of). But, in any case, neither would be possible on a Thursday...it's a work day!

2. When did someone last spring something on you? (or when did you last spring something on someone?)
People pretty much know not to spring anything on me (I don't do well under pressure and tend to explode, often very vocally) and I think the "do under others" mantra holds true with this one and I try to not spring on others! I'm the kid who used to open Christmas presents long before Christmas and rewrap them so I would know how to react on the day. As far as springing out at me, I tend to punch first and flinch later, which is why I can't go to haunted houses at Halloween...I'm afraid I'll assault the poor kids hired to scare people!

3. We often think of spring as a time for new beginnings. What's something you'd like to start doing this spring?
I don't like changes in my routine (Asperger's can be a powerful thing). I don't really think of spring as a time for new beginnings...spring is time for that blasted daylight savings time, one of the worst times of the year! I'm more of a summer girl - the hotter, the better! Given the ultimate choice, I'd love to win the lottery and move to Golden Oak and only ever leave my house to go to Disney World...if that can be accomplished by spring, all the better because I'd hate to try to move my record and tape collection across country in a smoldering truck cargo hold.

4. Where do you like to sit in a movie theatre? When did you last sit there, and what were you watching?
About third or fourth row back, directly in the middle. Partly because I'm blind, and partly because the rowdy teenagers typically sit in the back. To tell the truth, I can't remember the last time I went to the movie, but I do know the next time...it will be for Maleficent in May.

5. When you meet someone for the very first time, what do you want them to think about you?
Hopefully, I can walk away from the meeting and be completely forgotten (which usually happens). I don't usually put myself in situations where I meet people anyway.

6. March is frozen food month (yes, really!). Besides ice cream (gotta make you think a little) what's your most often purchased frozen food item?
When I was actually purchasing real food (and not doing my meal replacement diet) I pretty much lived on Lean Cuisines. My freezer would be full of them. I don't eat a lot of ice cream and I usually really have to be in the mood for it.

7. What's something you avoid?
People, places, things...the list of things I DON'T avoid would be much shorter!

8. Insert your own random thought here
I have a headache today and I'm not a happy camper. Ugh.

Weekend stitching

I didn't get much done this week and I'm still not finished with row 6. I am determined to finish this row in the upcoming week. Monday started here:


And today ended here:


But despite a horrible week, I did manage to get the house cleaned yesterday (for the first time in forever) and both boys got haircuts this morning.

Baby Bammers went first:



Mr. Grumpy-Pants Zachary always goes last because he is a total prat when it comes to haircuts (and the one time I did him before Bams, Bam thought he was supposed to behave like a prat as well).



Everytime I swear never again because Zachary really is horrible. He fights me the entire time and I'm so afraid I'm gonna hurt his old bones. But I just can't bring myself to take them somewhere and leave them in someone else's hands for hours on end. Plus, they never cut them close enough and you always have to take them back sooner than you want to. If I do make mistakes, it will always grow back (usually too darn quickly). When the cutting is done, it's bath time and nail cutting time and, well, basically they hate me like mad for a couple of hours. But once bedtime hits, I am guaranteed a veritable snuggle fest because they think they are freezing to death!

New Stash

Yeah, like I needed more stash, but Heaven and Earth Designs was having yet another sale. If I've learned anything about HAED, if you see something you like, get it (even if you may never be able to stitch it)...not all designs stay on there forever, and more than once I've had a design I really liked get retired or removed way too quickly and I end up missing out. It's kind of like shopping in Disney World...it may seem like every store carries the same things, but if you see something you want, buy it immediately, because if you don't, you will a) never see it again at another store; and b) went you go back to the store where you saw it originally to get it, it will no longer be there. But without further ado, here's my new additions:

Faces of Faery 70 by Jasmine Becket-Griffith (shock):


Faces of Faery 167 by Jasmine Becket-Griffith:

(both of these were purchased with the idea of a possible future Needle Club project)

Rapunzel In Rococo - Jasmine Becket-Griffith:


The Headless Horseman (I have this thing for Sleepy Hollow-themed anything, but especially art and this has often been my Halloween time wallpaper for my laptop):


and finally, The Space Traveler (my first full-fledged Doctor Who project - not including the mini Etsy patterns I've bought):

Needle Club-Week 2

Much better week attendance wise...we had four in total (and one onlooker, so five if you count her). But I have to say, my fears were right, I got far less stitching done in a group than solo. It's hard to talk, help others, eat (because they decided to order out and make a party out of it), and still stay focused on your own project.

If you'll remember, last week I ended here:


And this week, I made it here:


I did manage to make it through the week without taking it home and it did get easier to ignore it staring at me all week. Once Pea is finished though, I may start taking it home.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you have an interest in learning about your family's heritage? Why or why not? If you know a little bit about your roots, share an interesting piece of trivia or a fun fact about someone who goes way back on your family tree.
When my Dad and I were on speaking terms, he was more than a bit obsessed with tracing our family tree. He tried numerous times to get me involved, but it's not a "cheap" hobby and I could never get the information he needed. Luckily, we are Scottish, so there are tons of records and he was able to go as far back as the 1600's, but about the only interesting data is that an ancestor was the personal priest to Robert The Bruce. I was able to meet (well, mostly online) most of my Dad's family I never even knew existed.

2. Branch Rickey, the baseball exec credited with signing Jackie Robinson, is quoted as saying-

"Luck is the residue of design."
Agree or disagree? Why?
Agree and Disagree. Yes, some people are designed a certain way that their lives fall into place just perfectly (I'm surely not one of them), but it begs the question, who was in charge of the design in the first place...a higher power or are you the construct of your own design? Then again, my other brain is screaming that luck is nothing but chance and no amount of design can change that. I'm not sure my head could handle going that deeply today!

3. In the town where you currently reside, what's your favorite green space?
I don't have favorite green spaces...I prefer to be indoors as opposed to outdoors (although I guess I could say my carpet at home). But when I was younger and my parents lived in the old house, probably the backyard because we had two privacy fences, one of which was 8ft and I could be alone without the creepy neighbor's kid bothering me. I was one of the few kids that hated recess.

4. Who is your favorite comedian?
Definitely Miranda Hart right now. It's not that she's that funny per se, but I relate to her and her humor more than any other comedian.

5. March is National Nutrition Month, and almost everyone needs to improve their diet in some way. What about you? How can you improve your nutrition on a daily basis? Will you try?
I will continue to do the meal replacement diet I'm on and hope for the best. I'm not sure I will ever be capable of eating like I should, but most days I do OK.

6. Which of these green expressions have you 'experienced' in recent weeks -green with envy, green thumb, green around the gills, or give the green light? Explain.
Probably "green around the gills". A lot of headaches lately.

7. Where is one place you don't mind waiting?
DISNEY WORLD!!! And it definitely is the only place on earth I don't mind waiting in line!

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Here's hoping for a better Needle Club today than last week!

Weekend Stitching

I did work on 35th Anniversary Celebration a bit at the beginning of the week. It was great to see characters appear daily...this was last Sunday's progress where Mickey showed up:


And Cinderella started to show on Monday:


But come Tuesday, it was back to Princess and the Pea:


And got here by today:


I came close to finishing the blue layer, but not quite there and no where near finishing the entire row. I found myself spending the entire week obsessing over the work project, even while stitching on Pea. Hopefully, this week will be a much better Needle Club since we're not expecting horrible weather. Looking back on it, I may have had a better week on my own than I would have if the others had been there. I guess time will tell.

And I'm probably gonna cry like a baby in the morning when the alarm goes off...I absolutely HATE daylight savings time. I'm not the least bit sleepy right now. I still don't understand why we do this. It never gets easier to deal with getting up an hour earlier. The only benefit is being able to leave work while the sun is still up.

Needle Club-Week 1

Well, I could blame it on the weather, I could blame it on myself for not reminding people, or I could blame it on others for not following through (which I think is the way my mind is leaning) but needless to say, our first Needle Club ended up a bust attendance-wise. For more than the first hour, it was just me and then only one other person. If I tried to find a bright side, at least I got quite a bit done in 2 1/2 hours (although not as much as I wanted...it was a bit weird getting used to the bright lab lights and the magnifying glasses instead of my trusty magnifying light at home). It was really hard to walk away from it at the end of the time as well. It's going to be really hard not to bring it home to work on. The thought that I'll have to look at it every single day, but not touch it again until next Wednesday will probably break me come Friday or so! I said that it would be a work only project, but I think that I might change my mind about that after a while.

But without further ado, here she is in her whole:


And here's today's progress:


As you can probably tell from my grid lines, I was extremely nervous (which was funny considering I was by myself at the time). I think it's just because I was at work, in a strange stitching environment, versus the comfort of my home. A couple of Xanax and I was able to stitch pretty easily. But, before next week, I'm definitely gonna have to come up with a better chair solution, those breakroom chairs were extremely uncomfortable for stitching!! Here's hoping that next week will be kinder both weather-wise and attendance-wise!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. The expression 'mad as a March hare' originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last 'mad as a March hare' and what was it that made you that way?
I'm like that every single day, and, if I'm specific, just a couple of minutes ago due to a work-related matter and one of my bosses who seems to not like me (for some reason) at the moment.

2. Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going? Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?
I have only been to New Orleans once and I will never go again. The vibes in that place are akin to those in Gettysburg or Savannah and it's just too much for my sensitive spidey-sense to take!

Purple is my life! My office is filled with it (and after my office flooded, I actually managed to talk them into painting my walls purple), my house is filled with it, so of course my wardrobe is filled with it. I will often buy things just because they are purple! I absolutely hate green (my carpets in my house are green-or used to be-and they make me sick to look at) and gold is too much like yellow, which is the second ugliest color to me (pink being the ugliest). One of the few phobias I have (ok, I have more than a few) is yellow candy. I won't even eat yellow M&M's and I can't really explain why.

3. Are you old fashioned?
Yes and no. In moral turpitude and values, yes...in technology and progress, no.

4. Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?
Seriously? It takes me a year to plan a week in Disney World (a place I've been many times)! Everything has to be mapped out to a tee (although it rarely ever works out that way). I even plan my short "day trips" to an extent!

5. March is National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?
Being from the South, and more specifically within an hour of Memphis, I probably should say BBQ, but I'd probably have to go with Malt Vinegar. I'd put it on everything if I could!

6. What's something that easily brings a tear to your eye?
Thinking about my passed-on pup Zander or my still very much alive but absent Father.

7. If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?
I wouldn't. I can't imagine even in my wildest dreams doing that.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Today is our work Needle Club day! Woo Hoo! I doubt I will get any work done at all!

Fun times in the South

Well, yet another ice storm has struck us. Today is my first day back at work because the ice piled so high in front of my door, that I couldn't get out! I literally had to be dug out by a co-worker this morning (and, of course, crackhead neighbor had to get involved)...two hours of slowly chipping away over a foot of packed ice, good times! They did the unthinkable (and for the first time ever) closed our lab yesterday, so I didn't have to worry about getting out on Monday (which meant another day of stitching on the Disney project). Good thing my house didn't catch on fire...I would have burned alive since I couldn't get out! Considering there was actually snow mixed in though, it made it much easier to drive on (once I finally got out and spent another hour clearing the car).

Have I mentioned before how much I hate ice?

Stitching

Another week gone and another row finished!


And here she is in her whole:


As glad as I was to finish another row, it's been really hard to work on these mattress layers and it's slowed me down quite a bit. Maybe I should have started at the bottom and worked my way up, then I'd at least have the Princess and her bear to look forward to. As of now, it's just more of the same boring mattresses and a little green pea at the bottom. I originally thought that the mattress layers would be easy...guess that's what I get for thinking!

Today, I decided to take a break and decided to test out the lightbox I bought over a year ago, so back to the 35th Anniversary Celebration I went! It was February of last year when I last worked on it and left off here:


And today Widowmaker has made his grand appearance:


I have to say, as much as I have always hated working on this project because of that damn navy material, the lightbox really does make a difference and I had a good time today. I enjoyed it so much, I may continue working on it for a while and give the mattresses a break. Tomorrow I may have a different plan.

On a side note, we have about two inches of ice outside right now. I can't get out of my house because the front door is frozen shut. It's gonna be really "fun" getting to work tomorrow. I wish I was in a position to take a vacation day and stay home, but I am grateful I have a job where I'm needed enough not to be able to stay home. Besides, I still have things to do before our first Needle Club meeting on Wednesday!