I did it!!

Today was supposed to be the first day of a week long vacation from work, but the phone calls started before I even woke up and I was in the lab by 2:30p. Typical. The ONLY good thing about being on salary is at least I did waste a vacation day with the three hours worth of work I ended up doing, but it's still not officially a vacation (and I'm sure tomorrow will suck just as much).

Despite everything though, a very late night last night and tonight, I finished Lilo and Stitch Otherwise, and under my goal of 300 hours...although just barely at 292.73 hrs. Anyhoo, on with the pics! I left off here last weekend:

Finished the row just a little after 11p:

For a total finish:

I got it ironed and ready for mounting (and then off to Hobby Lobby for framing). I am having trouble deciding on how though. I'm not quite sure it's the kind of piece that should be matted. I may wait a few days before I decided for sure (and if anyone has any thoughts, just let me know). I'm not sure how I'm going to spend the rest of the year stitching yet (my gut is leading me to Alice and the B's), but I'll do a regular weekly stitching post as well as my final year's totals (which are SOOO gonna suck).

Oh, and in case anybody didn't notice it, the hidden surprise in the picture did actually turn out in the stitching (although it still creeps me out a bit):

A hidden Nemo...lying on the ground...a fish...lying on the ground...ugh. I wonder about the intentions of the artist.

And just like that...

One of the weirdest things about being an Asper is how much control I give to my emotions despite the screaming of my logical brain at my idiocy...I am quite aware of how I should be reacting to situations, but knowing and doing are always two separate things in my world. Nine times out of ten, this is why I end up with headaches and it's why I've had a headache since last Friday. My work issues aren't because of me or anything I'm doing, it's because I'm allowing another person to expose and manipulate my insecurities...my brain knows this, my emotions see finger-pointing and stares from people who aren't even involved in the situation and, unfortunately, emotions trump logic every single time.

Last night, I stopped by the drug store to refill my meds and then to get Chinese food (I'm weird that way too, caffeine, MSG, chocolate, all the things you are not supposed to eat when you have a migraine tend to clear mine up). On the way home, I turned on the radio (meaning my iPod...I'm too old to get what is being played on the radio these days), and three songs played in succession. First up:

Perfect example of the state I'm in now. Next came:

Suddenly, my head started winning the war and I was just thinking how grateful I am to have my boys when the penultimate song came on:

And just like that, all my work problems were put into perspective and my headache started to wain, even before eating the Chinese. Today, I'm not completely headache free, but I'm in a much better state of mind.

This year we've lost a lot of great artists and I know that one day I'll lose one of my boys too, but for now, I am so grateful that I have them and have had for 35 years of my life (and here's to 35 more years). 2017 WILL be different because I will make it so with the help of four guys from Birmingham.

As to the backstabbers at work:

Weekly Stitching

For the first time in a very long time, I spent almost all Christmas weekend living in headache-land and it totally sucked. Unfortunately, I know exactly why...the joy that is my job and some very particular co-workers. Thank goodness I get to go back to work tomorrow and start it all over again (insert sarcastic smirk here).

We've also spent most of the weekend without water (except at night). Apparently, the jerks next door were illegal digging and broke a water main. Sick headaches and lack of water do not mix well, so I tried to stay as drugged up and knocked out as possible (which is why I haven't been online all weekend).

And what happens when I do get online? I find out that George Michael is gone too. 2016 is the worst year ever. If I knew of a New Year's party, I would actually go just to kick this horrible year out the door!

I did get some stitching done, most of which was today, but still. I left off last week here:

And at least made it to here tonight:

Thank goodness I spent a lot of time stitching before the weekend and there wasn't a lot of confetti in this section. Unfortunately, I can't say that about the last page.

It's still up in the air whether or not I'll finish before the end of the year, but I am hopeful. At least I've got some time off around New Years. I initially took vacation days for the new pup, but since he's still sick, it will be a while before he's ready. Again, I'm pretty hopeful that all will be well on that front too. Why do I even bother with hope?

Bam got a red ball replacement from both his Mommy and his Auntie Am. He's having a hard time deciding which one will be the official new red ball (even though one is actually purple - believe it or not, that was Auntie Am's gift). I will say that squeaky balls and headaches don't go well together though, so it hasn't been pleasant.

Guess we'll know for sure whether or not I finished Lilo and Stitch by next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.

I also got RAK'ed again this week...meet Bringer of Light by Jasmine Becket-Griffith:

And the really cool thing is that it's an oldie which means NO DITHERING! At least I have plenty of new stash for 2017...that is if I manage to finish my already started projects that I've been ignoring since Lilo and Stitch. I am looking forward to getting back to a normal rotation again.

Weekly Stitching

Considering that I had a VERY long work week, I still managed to get a chunk of stitching done. I left off here last week:

And, although I finished the first page and got a chunk of the second page done, I'm still too far behind to finish by the end of the year:

I'm still holding out hope that the extra days around the holidays will give me adequate time to hit my deadline though, even with the extra work time that I'll also be putting in next week.

I did go back to therapy this week. I'm trying to be better at recognizing when things are going south and I'm making the effort to head them off first. The therapy itself doesn't help a bit, but I think that talking it out with someone who has no interest in me whatsoever makes it easier to say things out loud that I need to hear so that I can process it better internally. The joys of being an Asper!

I'm going to try to get caught up on reading blogs next week. I know I've been horrible about it lately and I've missed seeing everyone's progress. I've also managed to get way behind in emails yet again. I've really got to try to do better all the way around.

Oops, I did it again!

Despite only having a 25% off sale, I couldn't help myself and ended up getting yet another HAED to add to my stash.

Jasmine Becket-Griffith, Voodoo in Violet


So much for my new cross stitch storage shelves and all my room to "grow". I've already out-grown them!

R.I.P. Red Ball

Almost 20 years ago, a cheap dog toy that was included in a doggie stocking arrived at my house. Zander was its first owner and he loved red ball even though subsequent years saw the introduction of a blue ball, green ball, orange ball, and even a pink one (which mysteriously disappeared into the trash can because I hate pink). Although every single ball was the same (other than the color), red ball was the only one that ever got played with. Then Zachary came along and the red ball wars begun. It wouldn't take them long to start fighting over it, so red ball would get "put away" for a while until they could share it (which only lasted a couple of weeks before it got put up again).

Once Zander was gone, red ball became the sole property of Zachary who loved and played with it almost every single day...that is until Bam came along and the red ball wars were renewed in earnest. Red ball stayed "up" until Zachary also passed and it became Bam's favorite companion. It went everywhere with him and he never ate or slept without it. Granted, it had to be occasionally bathed in the dishwasher to get the "doggie slime" off of it, but it survived through all the love and torture it was forced to endure.

For some reason, Bam decided that red ball had lived enough and last week he murdered it...in cold blood. I'm not sure if red ball committed a heinous act to deserve such a fate or if Bam has serial killer tendencies that I'm unaware of, but needless to say, I'm going to have to deal with red ball just as I did with pink ball, but I haven't been able to do it just yet. Bam spends a lot of time searching for his missing red ball now (I'm not sure if he knows what he has done...could he have blacked out the entire incident?).

The search for a replacement red ball has begun, but it's darn near impossible. They just don't make them anymore and "any 'ol red ball" ain't gonna cut it (neither will the thousands of other dog toys, both cheap and expensive, that he owns). Granted, it's kind of a relief because I knew that red ball wars would start again once the new pup arrives, but poor Bam looks so lost without it.

So, in dedication to a cheap rubber toy that has brought so much joy and envy into my household, R.I.P. Red Ball...you will be missed.

Please forgive the graphic nature of this photo...sensitive viewers may want to turn away and not look at the crime scene photo:

Weekly Stitching

I didn't get to stitch the entire week, but I tried as much as I could. I left off here:

and on Monday night I finished the row (finally):

And I started the final row on Tuesday although I didn't pick it back up again until Friday. After a bit of work on Saturday night and a half day today, I got a chunk of the first page done, although not nearly as much as I needed done.

For me to finish by the end of the year, I've got to be finishing more than a page a week. With having to work double shifts for over a week, I don't think that even the extra time over the holidays is going to get this finished by the end of the year. Ugh. I'm still hanging on to hope though. Even if I don't get it finished, I'm still going back to a full rotation again come January. I'm ready to go back to HAED stitching again.

Bam's new brother will hopefully be well and ready to be adopted within the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure Bam knows what's coming yet, but I hope they love each other at first sight! I mean, who wouldn't love this face?

He seriously needs a haircut, but with it being 20 degrees outside, I don't think it's a good idea right now...he'll just have to meet his new brother in hippie mode.

Weekly Stitching

Another week down and still I've barely stitched, but I'm still trying. I left off here last week:

And I STILL haven't finished the row yet:

I really wanted to spend the entire weekend stitching, but I had my work Christmas Party Saturday night. Friday night I wasted trying to find an outfit and most all day Saturday was spent getting ready for the wasted time at the party. I did, however, get up and sing karaoke without being completely drunk (although I did wait until barely anybody was left so not too many people can attest to it). I'm just glad it's over with. Now if I can make it through a week of covering for a co-worker mid-December, then maybe I can finish this project before the end of the year!

Thanks to some amazing friends, I got RAK'ed some new HAED patterns this week, Frost Dragonling Max Colors by Jasmine Becket-Griffith:

and Mini Clockwork Dragonling by Jasmine Becket-Griffith:

Overall, despite the heavy work week, it was the first one in a very long time that didn't suck because I had other things (and friends) to distract me! Thanks guys!