Last IHSW of 2012 - Results

I've been working again on A Summer Ball, so lets show that progress first. On Friday I started here:

and yesterday I finished here:


But today I spent my time working on my little Highland girl and ended up here:


I know I'm ending a bit early, but now that I'm *gasp* a "day" person, it's getting close to my bedtime!

As the same with the TUSAL, I'm looking forward to next years and hopefully the finish of all three of my current projects!

Last IHSW 2012!

This weekend is the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and it also happens to be the last of 2012. Pretty exciting! I only missed one this year, so I did pretty good, but not good enough...next year will be better!

Now that I have my stitching mojo back, I've been going crazy on my little Highland girl, but I have also started working on A Summer Ball again (thanks partly to Vickie over at Reading and Stitching and the fact that I think it will look really good in my office).

So good luck everyone and hopefully we will all have a really big stitching send-off to 2012!!

IHSW and TUSAL

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

Updates, IHSW, & TUSAL

Here we go with a combo post, frankly because I'm too lazy to split these up.

I'm two weeks into my new job and I have yet to work less than a 12 hour day (so NOT according to plan). But boy has EVERYTHING changed! I'm even more stressed out now, but it is such a good kind of stress! I leave everyday with such a sense of accomplishment! I also haven't had a headache in two weeks (and yes, I'm sure I just jinxed myself).

It hasn't been all wine and roses though. My old co-worker took on the transcription part of my job, she's doing it all by herself now. Problem with that is, when she's off, I still have to cover her. Needless to say, she was off last Thursday and Friday and it made for some incredibly hairy moments. It was even way too much for me and I snapped at people who kept bothering me (alot apparently, I heard my name and "bitch" mentioned in the same sentence quite a few times...gotta love the supersonic hearing and heightened senses that comes with Asperger's!).

But all the trauma of the past couple of days managed to scale me over a giant wall I've been ramming my head against for the past couple of weeks. I've been bogged down by this feeling of something akin to guilt by the fact that the docs didn't hire someone to try to replace me, they just divided all my other work up between several others. I've watched these people becoming more and more stressed as the days have gone by, especially since they keep insisting on coming into my new pretty office to dump their crap about how horrible work is for them now, how A is doing more work than B, it's all my fault because I took on too much responsibility in the first place, yada yada yada...blaa blaa blaa.

I may have been "rude" (someone else's word, not mine) to people both Thursday and Friday (but that's nothing new so why it was surprising I have no clue), but the utter lack of respect I was shown just made me see that all this "emotion" I've been feeling (be it guilt or something else) has been wasted on those that don't deserve it. They whine and bitch and blame, but still expect me to do the double-load and manage their lives at the same time. Suck it up and take it people...you are many, I was one and I handled everything just fine all by myself for not only the past two work days, but for the past 17 years. The only thing I feel now is sorry for the next co-worker that comes into my office to whine!

Oh, and P.S., when you piss me off, don't come into my office 10 minutes later to tell me how mean I was and expect me to be all calm and rational and apologize. I won't be over it in 10 days, let alone 10 minutes and, after all this time, these people should know that. What part of "leave me the fuck alone so I can get this mountain of work done" wasn't clear the first 5 times I told them? Expect on time 6 to get a new asshole chewed! If you don't respect me, how in the hell do you expect me to respect you by being civil?

On the diet front, I also really haven't lost any more weight in the past couple of weeks, but we've had all kinds of food events at work and I still haven't had the time to exercise. Come hell or high water tho, tomorrow I'm gettin on the bloody treadmill!!

On the International Hermit And Stitch weekend front...gosh am I completely ashamed! I stitched through about two episodes of Downton Abbey tonight and that's all! It's definitely my worst IHSW yet. But when you are working on a project you're not really into (especially one you have already done once), it's hard to keep at it. I'd like to say I accomplished a ton of other stuff instead, but that would be a lie. I played apps all day Saturday while finishing up series 3 of the Vampire Diaries, and today T and I went and saw Nemo in 3-D. But here is the sad fruits of my non-productive labor:


As far as my Tusal goes, I can't remember what last month's looked like, so if this one was different, I would be surprised. But here it is anyway, placed on the free framed pin set I got from buying a Disney gift card:


I have managed to get caught up on everyone's blogs (although I didn't post comments because I have been reading for several hours and I'm a pooped pup). These new work hours suck! Normally this time of night I'd normally still be at work, only to come home in a couple of hours and stitch like crazy till the sun came up. Now, I'm nodding off as I'm typing. How people get up in the morning to go to work will always baffle me. Give me a night shift anytime!

And that's about it for now! I am determined to start my new Disney OCD planning series next week (along with my own preparations for my October trip, which I am ashamedly behind on). We'll see how it all goes! Let's just hope I managed to make enough people hate me last week that I'm finally left alone this week! Hate is an emotion they can throw at me all day long, I can just put up the walls and shut them down completely. It's the easiest energy to block (love being the hardest). They are just spoiling their own vibe by filling it with useless negativity.

The Ribbon Topiary

For my IHSW, I started the redo on the breast cancer project that I did for a friend a long time ago. I haven't given the original to her yet because I wasn't happy with it and I never got it framed. The original instructions called for linen and silk thread, and even though I was a long-time stitcher, I had never done a stitch with anything other than 14ct aida and DMC and basically couldn't afford the linen and silk thread. So I went through about 10 different pink aidas trying to find the right color and used variegated thread to make up for the silk color (and basically ended up spending more than it would have costed to get the proper stuff).

Here is the first modified version I did:


And here is the picture from the designer showing what it's supposed to look like:


But the more I thought about it, the more I decided to give in and redo it. I've become a better stitcher and decided I was ready. I found the linen, but couldn't find the right count (I ended up with 30 instead of 32...that probably should have been my first clue I was doomed). I ordered the proper thread (Thread Gatherer's Silk-N-Colors Sailor's Valentine), but mistakenly ordered only one skein (which isn't near enough). The site I ordered the thread from didn't have anymore, so I ordered from another vendor, and this time ordered 3. But when they came in, the color wasn't close to similar even though they were labeled appropriately (they were just the same base pink). I emailed the vendor, but they basically just gave me the old "hand-dyed colors vary" and pretty much told me I was screwed. I understand that there is differences in dying lots, but this wasn't even close to the actual thread or the manufacturers guide picture. So I just ate the $30 cost and ordered another 3 from yet another vendor, which also turned out to be exactly like the second batch. I finally realized that it was the thread manufacturer goofing up and I was pretty much screwed.

It's really hard to tell from this picture, but the top color is the proper one and the bottom one is what the other two vendors sent...the proper color has a purple-gray streak in it and the wrong color has more of a tan-brown streak:


I just gave in and decided to work the project with the off-colored thread, so here is where I got to this weekend:


It's not that hard to stitch, but it's boring and is taking a lot longer than it should and I'm really not happy with the colors or the material (it's way too hole-y), but I'm gonna see it through. I've also done more frogging so far on this puppy than I think I ever had on anything else. My TUSAL jar has doubled in size! I'm gonna keep at it, but it may take a lot longer than I expected. I thought that since I've already done it once, it would go quicker this time...that's what I get for thinking!

IHSW August-delay

For some stupid reason, I thought that this weekend was the IHSW, but apparently it was last weekend! My life is flying by so fast right now I can't keep track! So, since I missed it last weekend, I'm gonna do it this weekend (because I haven't missed one since I started blogging and I don't want to break tradition now).

I do also want to give big thanks for everyone's kind comments about my head and my stitching. You guys have been great! Another week is passing and still work is kicking my tail feathers, but I'm determined to be a better blogger after the first of September has come and gone! Besides, I gotta focus on planning a Disney trip, it's just around the corner!

IHSW results

It sure doesn't seem like I did much, but it sure felt like it! I'm gonna back up a bit and show a before pic:


Here's Saturday's finish:


And Sunday's:


Her face seems like its more squashed than it should be, but I really won't know until I get the framing finished. If only patience was a virtue of mine, it would be SO much easier!

July TUSAL and stitch update

For this month's Ort jar pic...I decided to put my stitches in a sea of Stitches!


This will also probably be my last update before this weekend's IHSW, so here is my progress to date:


See ya'll on the other side of The International Hermit and Stitch Weekend!!

IHSW time and an update

First up, I have been a horrible blogger lately! But I do have a good excuse-I managed to clock 40 hrs OT in the past two weeks. To say I'm worn out is an understatement. I finally get my stitching mojo back and I don't have time to stitch anymore. It's driving me insane!

I'm gonna try to do better this week, but I do have a small stitch update:

Granted, it's not very much of one for a weeks worth of stitching, but in case I do have another crap week...it will be my last update before the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend this upcoming weekend:

So, for those who haven't done so yet...it's sign up time!

I'm also finishing up the 8th series of New Tricks, so another review is on the horizon! Kate, over at the The Suddenly Kate Show, and I were talking the other day, and it reminded me of a TV series I've been wanting to do a review of for quite some time. It's actually my favorite show of all time, and considering my almost exclusivity for British television, the fact that this particular show is my favorite, might just surprise you! But I will save it for another day.

IHSW results

I had a really good stitch weekend (for a change), but now I'm totally nackered. It was definitely a short weekend.

Hope everyone else got along OK.

EPIC MICKEY COMPLETED!!

With my absolutely maddening week this week, I haven't been able to announce yet that I have finished Epic Mickey! It took everything I had not to restart it immediately, because now I know I could do so much better (plus, supposedly there are different endings for the different ways you play). But, I know that restarting means another week of my life will disappear and considering the IHSW this weekend, probably not a good idea!

For those considering getting Epic Mickey, do it! It really was a good game and I'm really looking forward to Epic Mickey 2 where the characters actually talk!

I also wanted to wish everyone good luck for the IHSW! I haven't made any new progress on any stitching since my last update, and since I didn't manage to get all the thread I needed for the new one, I won't be starting it just yet.

I have made an executive decision about another project that I did, the Breast Cancer project. I did actually break down and call a framer this week and got some rates, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that now that I can use other materials other than aida, I need to redo it the way it was supposed to be done. I'm kind of embarrassed by it now! It looks like a five year old did it! Luckily, I was able to find both the material and the silk thread for the piece, and I ordered it as well. Hopefully it will only take a week like it did before when I was using the aida! I think my stitching ability has grown more in the past year than it has in the 25 years I've been stitching (thanks to the internet and all my stitch blogging friends!). I have learned more than I ever thought I needed to know!

Diet troubles & IHSW

Yep, I had a really bad food week and gained almost half the weight back I lost. But back on track now, so hopefully results will appear once again. Always hopeful, but eternally realistic..that's me!

I am on the last stage of Epic Mickey!! I can't believe it (but then again, considering I've had 4 hours sleep all weekend, maybe it's not that far of a stretch). My Mother's destiny may be safe for now (see previous blog where I tell the tale of how I bargained her life that I wouldn't be getting a new PS2 until I finished Epic Mickey, but did anyway, her saving grace is the fact that it's backordered until 6-21). OCD is a powerful force...when I want something, I usually find a way to get it! In this case, I dipped into my Disney fund. Bad Keebs!). But I must get the final levels of the game finished THIS week because this weekend is...you guessed it....

Yeah!! I haven't been stitching (at all) due to Mickey's interference, so this might be what I need to get moving again.

IHSW May results

I thought that my stitching had gotten slower, but actually, it's just the color of the material that is slowing me down because I worked on the 35th Anniversary Friday night and all Saturday and this was as far as I got:



But when I started working on my little Highland girl again today, I blew through it! I can't believe I made so much progress in one day!


So, overall, it turned out to be a very productive IHSW!!! Hope everybody else got a ton of work done!

IHSW again!

My stitching has been total crap this month, but maybe I just need a kick in the rear from Joyce and the gang, so sign up I did!

IHSW results

I feel like I stitched every moment this weekend, but I sure didn't get very far!

On a side note, I actually got on the treadmill today! A whole 15 minutes! I know for Disney I usually have to loose 30lbs to fit in my vacation clothes and need to save money, so what do I usually do? Eat like a pig and spend like crazy! Because of my eating habits, I now have to up the weight loss to 40lbs! Yea me.

IHSW pre-stitch

This is where I'm at for the start of the International Hermit And Stitch Weekend:


As per usual, I have to work a double shift on Friday, so I'll be getting my usual late start, but hopefully my stitching mojo will be in full swing!

Good luck to everybody!

It's IHSW again!

International Hermit And Stitch Weekend link

I have been horrible at stitching lately, so this might just be the boost I need! I've also been horrible at reading everyone else's blogs. The A to Z Challenge is taking up a ton of time (but if I wasn't so verbose, it might not be) and I'm trying to read those blogs, but I've only made it to the 400's.

Last weekend was the 33rd Annual Arkansas Scottish Festival at Lyon College in Batesville and T and I had a blast, as per usual! Men in skirts!! Doesn't get much better! Alex Beaton wasn't there this year, which was a bummer, and it seemed like there wasn't near as many vendors as usual either, but it was still fun! But that was the first time I've been that close to bagpipes since my head has gotten so bad, and it had its moments where it wasn't so pleasant.

I stitched on IHSW and got Liebster awards!

It's been a couple of weeks, but I think my mojo is coming back! OK, so I didn't do a lot of work, but I did what I could with a headache. I had to keep stopping and starting, but I'm still proud of my little bit-o progress!  At least I got something done for IHSW!!  So without further ado:

The 35th Anniversary Celebration:


And A Walk Through The Highlands:


Apparently in my absence from the blog world...awards have appeared and two people have given them to me! I have to say I'm more than a bit surprised and humbled!  MangoGirl At Naughts & Cross Stitches and my pal Vickie over at Reading And Stitching both thought enough of me to give me this honor!  And I'm supposed to pass it on.  This is not something I'm very good at, but I'm gonna give it a shot!  Funny thing is, both these ladies would have been one of my five!

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.

2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.

4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

Ok, the bloggers that I am giving this award to are:

1) Katy over at Momuboocrea Island - One of the best things that has come from blogging!  What a great friend she has become and what a fantastic person!!  I can't imagine life without our weather swaps!  But then again, she is to blame for my new obsession for Crunchies!!

2) AbbyBeth at The Tomboy Princess - Another new friend and a fellow Disney lover!  A pretty strong girl who has been an inspiration even if she doesn't know it!  Hope to see you in October in WDW!!

3) The Crafty Princess - Her stitching is absolutely amazing and I find it mind-boggling that she can do so many WIP's at one time!

4) Nikki at Nikki's Stitching - Another fabulous stitcher who never ceases to amaze me at the varying subjects she stitches!  I find myself drawn to her blog just to see what's next!

5) Five wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Mcewan07 at Cross Stitch W.I.P. is the kind of stitcher I wanna be when I grow up!  Her work looks flawless!!

Ok, now for the hard part. 5 random facts about me that people don't know (and for me this will be really tough because I've been pretty forthright on my blog and in life):

1) I'm terrified of spiders, but the bug that scares me the most is ladybugs!  Years ago when I lived in the country, it was a migratory year or something for the little monsters and they covered my house for about a month!  But that wasn't the bad part...one night I opened the back door and thousands, and I do mean thousands, of them fell on me!  A scene right out of a horror movie!  Live bugs, no matter how "cute" covering you is terrifying!  That was about 15 years ago and I still find ladybug corpses in my house upon occasion!

2) I don't eat yellow candy.  Don't know why, I just refuse to do it and always have.  I even pick out the yellow M&M's!  It's not because they are lemon, or pineapple or whatever flavor yellow happens to be, it's just a weird phobia!

3) I was in my late 30's before I ever stepped foot in a liquor store!  It just wasn't something I could bring myself to do.  It's not something I have a problem with now!  I've become quite the wine lover!

4)  Speaking of beverages, I am a total tea snob!  Tea should never be made instantly, herbals are NOT teas, and good tea, made right, needs absolutely no sugar - besides, you can't taste the flavor of the blend if it's sweet.  Oh, and once you get a taste of the good stuff, Lipton tastes like grass!  Totally ruins your dining out experience when you want a good glass of tea in a restaurant and you know the second you taste it, it's Lipton!

5) I miss my daddy.  I shouldn't.  He doesn't deserve it.  It may be our Scottish pride dragging this rift out, but I can't make him love me and considering everything I'm going through with my head, he's got to be the least of my worries!  Guaranteed he doesn't give me a moment's thought I just wish I could do the same.  Wonder what he'd say if he knew I had a brain tumor?  Probably nothing.  I just hate that I can't forget him and I hate that I think about him every single day.  Totally sucks.  I may act all big and tough when it comes to my father, but he is definitely my Achilles heel!

Wow, that's a positive note to end on!

Ok...Hopefully you will stop by and visit my friends blogs!!!  That's the award process!  Everyone enjoy!

Time for IHSW!

Considering I haven't even touched a needle in weeks...I don't hold out much hope of a good weekend, plus I have a hair appointment on Saturday, but I am gonna try to get something done for the sake of the event! I'm not sure yet which one I'll work on, so that will probably be a surprise!

Still no blogs of late because of same problem...had another doctor visit...got meds added, meds taken away, meds upped, meds downed...basically same ole, same ole. Still being doozer-bashed daily so we'll see. He's running me through a steroid pack now to break the current headache cycle but so far no help. He wanted me to take time off, but right now it's just not feasible. Ugh. That's a whole other can of worms!

But anyway, good luck everybody since I probably won't get out another post between here and yon!

What a productive IHSW!

Just not in the stitching foray! Sorry! I did stitch...on Saturday I worked on the 35th Anniversary stitch and got to here:


And Sunday I worked on my little Highland girl and got a lot more done:


So a little bit of stitch work. I'm just surprised I made it two days without a headache!! The progress I did make was in the house work area. I figured I'd better get what I could get done now while I felt like it. But not only did I get the house clean and shiny, but I managed to get a certain child of mine de-hippied!!

Before:


and his cute little butt after:



Trust me, he's not as miserable as he looks in the second "after" pic! He HATES his picture taken (he comes by it naturally)!

I have definitely decided it's time to say goodbye to the Effexor. I'm pretty sure it's why my stitching is suffering, my work is suffering, and everything else is suffering...my OCD kept me motivated and the Effexor is taming it way too much. All I want to do is sit on my butt and do nothing but watch TV (and I pretty much do just that). I've never seen my OCD as a bad thing, if anything, it's one of my finer attributes...it keeps all my bad traits in check, including the Asperger's. And even though the Effexor is helping tame the Asperger's too, the risks far out-weigh the benefits. I'm just not me anymore, which is what I knew would happen. Problem with Effexor is, it speaks for you and wants you to keep taking it. Last time I was at the neuro, I had to control myself to keep from asking him to up the dosage! This may be what I would be like if I were a "normal" person, but I'm not now, nor will I ever be normal and, quite frankly, I don't want to be if this is what normality is (or at least normality for me)! At least when I'm the real "me" I have passion and goals and a head full of magnificent uselessness! I want it all back! Now I just have to ween myself off it again. Maybe since I've only been taking it for a month and a half and only 75mg, I can quit it quicker than last time. I guess only time will tell. But NO MORE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS!! I AM NOT DEPRESSED! Anti-depressants seriously fuck up people who aren't depressed and especially people who are already fucked up and also not depressed! I haven't been depressed since I was a teenager and I ain't about to start now!

Oh, and Vickie, I am SOOO jealous you got the Lion King Kinkade before me!!! (Like how I shifted gears there...yep...there might still be a bit of crazy left in me yet!).