What I've been up to!

Howdy! It has been awhile since I have posted.  I completely missed the last IHSW.  I stitched but forgot to sign up or check out any blogs. Somehow the third weekend just passed me by.  I have been doing my fair amount of stitching.  I finished my second 2012 challenge project.  It was from a magazine and I believe it's called Spring Angel. I started in at the beginning of this year and it went pretty quickly. Now I just need to iron and frame it.  I have also been working on a RR.  It's an Andy Warhol-esque piece.  It is going slowly, but steadily.  Also have a pic for that.  And in addition to stitching I have become enamored with The Hunger Games.  I saw the preview for the movie a few weeks ago and thought to myself that I should check it out and see what it was all about.  I had heard the name before but didnt' know anything about it. I finished the first book in about 4 days.  Just finished the second book last night.  And I hope to start the last book tomorrow.  I have also reading another book called Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.  It is about a family and Hurricane Katrina. It is based on a true story. My boss recommended it to me and I just finished it yesterday as well. 

I am going to Orlando twice this year! Woot!  I am going by train at the end of April (it's pretty cheap to take the train!) to do wedding stuff with my sister who is getting married in August. Yea! And then going back again, driving this time, in August for the wedding/vacation time.  I can't wait! 

On to some pics!



My 2nd finish for the 2012 chalelnge



My current progress on my RR. 

Great Weekend!!

The above pictures are my stash haul from the HAED 50% off sale for Leap Day. I have never done a HAED design but I couldn't resist the sale! I am exciting about starting one soon. 

So I started this past weekend at the hair salon. (costcutters is not really a salon, but you get the idea!) I got my hair cut and my eyebrows waxed.  I didn't realize how long it had been since I had my hair cut.  It looks much better now.

On Saturday I took my bestie out for her birthday.  We went and got a mani/pedi at the local nail place. She had picked a nice pink color. I went with dark purple on my toes and blue on my fingernails.  I love the blue color.

Then we went to eat lunch.  We were going to the Cheesecake Factory, but the wait was 45 minutes and it was already 2:15!! So we ended up at Kabuki where the wait wasn't supposed to be as long but it was.  It was yummy and worth the wait I guess. 

I also got some more stash from a store that is going out of business. Bummer that it is going out of business but yea for discount goodies.

 

I also got the beads and special thread too.  So I should be set for awhile on my stash. I also managed to get some stitching in.  I have been working hard on my Three Little Maids project.  I also have been working on my RR. I don't want to post a pic because I want it to be a surprise when the person gets it back.  But it is an Andy Warhol-esque project.  I also put a few stitches into my TW Noah's Ark, but not enough to post a new pic. 

And lastly, the hubs and I went out for dinner last night to PF Changs. We had a coupon for 20% off that was expiring.  It was yummy-licious!  Then we stopped by Barnes and Noble and I bought a new crosstitch magazine.  There was one that had a LadyBug fairy by Joan Elliott that I really wanted, but that was the only thing I liked in the whole magazine so I didn't get that one. I ended up with Cross Stitch Gold which had a Cinderella type design, a Japanese latern which I loved and some other cute designs.  I also bought the book, The Hunger Games.  I have never read them or really heard of them before, but I saw the preview for the movie and it looked good.  So I am starting that book today.  That about wraps it up. 

Thanks for reading my blog!

February Wrap Up

So, February has come and gone. The worst part of February is that I had to have my kitty Apollo put to sleep.  He went downhill real quick and was very sick.  He was almost 15 years old. It was so hard to do. I miss him a lot.  But we still have his brother Oreo. It's still weird sometimes because I expect Apollo to be sitting on the bed when I get home.  Other than that, February flew by in a blur.  Nothing much happened in February. I did decide to give something up for Lent. I am not Catholic, but no matter. I tend to eat out a lot at lunchtime, which is not good for my wallet or waistline. So I gave that up for Lent. Its not been as hard as I thought.  I just hope it continues to go smoothly. 

Upcoming goals for March:
1. Finish RR project and sent it back to its owner (just started last weekend and its a larger size project so it'll probably be near the end of March)
2. Get back to Jazzercise. I have gained about 20lbs in the last few months and I can't let all my hardwork go to waste! So I need to get off my butt and get moving!!!
3. Finish at least 1 of my Crosstitch Crazy Challenge projects

Okay, that is enough goals for my first goal setting session. I have always been goal oriented but not when it comes to my hobbies.  So we'll see how I do with this.

My First TUSAL!

So, my first TUSAL and I'm late! Well, better late than never I say.  I haven't been stitching much but I did do a lot of stitching yesterday which is reflected in my jar.  Everyone seems to have great pics of theirs, so I used the desk calendar which has cute pictures on it.  Hope to stitch more today.  Here it is!

February IHSW

So February was my second official IHSW and I am sorely disappointed in myself.  I hardly got any stitching done.  I had grand ideas of all this stitching I was gonna get done...and didn't.  Friday night I was all ready to stitch, but my stomach was acting up and so I felt like laying on the couch and doing nothing...which I did and then I fell asleep early...so no stitching done on Friday.  Saturday I had a bunch of errands to run, left home at 830am and didn't get home until 5pm...I did go and see the movie The Vow which was very good btw.  I did do some stitching on one of my 15 Crazy Crosstitch Challenge.  I can't remember who the designer is, but it's called Baa Baa Baa and it has 3 little sheep.  I am sure it'll look great when it is done, but it is not very exciting to work on.  It's all white, ecru, light blue that looks like white, light peach that looks like white...so pretty boring. But I can see the round shape of sheep #1.  Sunday, what did I do?? I didn't sleep well the night before so I dozed some and didn't feel the stitchy bug.  Then the hubs and I went to PF Changs.  Super yummy!!! I finally did hanker down and start stitching on my Asian project.  I was really in the groove and stitched for several hours.  Finally quit at midnight because I had to get up early and go to work.  So, some stitching done, but not as much as I would have liked...but heres to another IHSW!!!

January Wrap Up!

So the first month of 2012 was okay.  Full of some sickness and some health and hoping that February proves to be a better month than January.  The good things: I got my new stove in January. Yea!   I started my Crazy Crosstitch Challenge in January.  I started 15 projects, some WIPs and some new ones.  I finished one! Yea! The bad, well, I got my first cold since being diagnosed with RA almost 2 years ago.  It was a doozy.  I am on immune supressing medicines which makes me somewhat more vunerable and I could tell with this cold.  It was a long drawn out illness and I missed 2 days of work and I am so glad that it is finally gone. That was the longest cold I have ever had! I also got put on blood pressure medicine.  Bummer!  One of my RA medicines causes my blood pressure to be high. So yea, a new drug.  But if it helps then I am okay with it.    I also had 2 biopsies on 2 moles and they came back atypical, but not cancer. So yea!  Then Robert (the hubs) had to get a biopsy on his thyroid for a nodule the doctors found.  Read between the lines, needles, pain and no anesthesia.  The the waiting started.  We had to wait about 5 days to get the results.  There were 3 outcomes: 1 cancer 2 not cancer and 3 inconclusive. It was a long 5 days, but great news, the nodule is benign so no cancer. So, double yea!!  So even though we had a trying month, it all ended with good news.  Robert and I just have to both follow up with our respective doctors in six months.  We feel blessed this month and are grateful for our health even though we had a little bit of an unhealthly start to the year. Here's to a great and healthly February 2012!!!

Me and the Hubs!

Friday Night Foodie!

So tonight for dinner I had decided to make fettucine alfredo with chicken.  Well, I have a pasta maker that attaches to my KitchenAid mixer so I decided to make fresh pasta.  It was only my second time making pasta.  It was all so yummy and worth the extra time to make it all from scratch.  To me it tasted just as good as Olive Garden.  First I mixed the dough to make the pasta.  Just eggs and flour.  Then I let it rest for about 15 minutes or so.  Then I cooked the chicken.  Attached the pasta roller to the mixer and flattened the dough and made the fettucine.  Lastly I made the alfredo from scratch.  It was real butter, real whipping cream and parmesan cheese.  A little salt, better and nutmeg and we were ready to go.  Definitely not a healthy meal but it was so yummy.  Will definately make this again..  Don't really wanna know how much fat was actually in the sauce. 


My pasta dough resting.




Making the fettucine




Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken



The Weekend Is Here!

So the weekend is finally here and I have no plans whatsoever.  It is Saturday morning and I am just sitting here with nothing to do. I have no errands to run, nothing pressing that needs doing, no groceries to buy...Hmmm....the possibilites are endless....

I am still recovering from a pretty bad cold, but feel good enough to enter the world.  I was thinking about sitting and stitching the day away, I do have my Crosstitch Challenge to think about....still got 14 projects to complete.  I also just realized that the new movie One for the Money came out yesterday.  And I love Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum books...so that is an option.  I also would like to get a few things done on my ever present to do list.  Not pressing things, but things that in time I would like to get done. 

So, as of right now, still don't think I know what I'm gonna do.  What is everybody else doing this weekend??? Whatever it is, I hope its a good one!

Random Kitty Picture-Oreo and Apollo

My first IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend)

A few days ago I came across a blog that talked about the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend.  It happens on the third weekend of the month and you stitch as much or as little as you can or want.  I have been sick over the weekend, but I managed to stitch a lot since I was just sitting at home.  I really enjoyed knowing that I was participating with lots of other stitchers around the world in our favorite hobby. 

So here are some pictures from my stitching weekend.

My start on a RR

PW A Quilt For All Seasons June

Alphabet Heart Finish

I Love a Rainy Night.....

It has been a cold and rainy day here in NC.  I have a horrible cold and am glad that I have the weekend to recover.  I was smart enough this morning to make some Savory Winter Soup in the crockpot before going to work.  It was great to come home to the yummy smell of the crockpot.  I made a grilled cheese and the soup was amazing!  Check out a picture. 

Savory Winter Soup

So, this is my first blog post.  What to say.  First off, I hope this blog allows me to share with others the things I like to do and how I like to spend my free time. 

Currently, I love crosstitching and that seems to be my main hobby.  I am currently doing a Crosstitch Challenge 2012 on my facebook crosstitch group.  The challenge is to choose 15 projects, new or WIPs and for the first 15 days of January, to work on each project. I did that....then the rest of the year you work to finish all 15.  I actually have 16 projects and I did work on all of them except one during the first 15 days of January. 

 I also enjoy cooking.  I just got a new stove about 1 week ago and I love it.  It is one of the flat top stoves, in black.  It's amazing!  I like trying new recipes whenever I can.  I also just got a bread machine for Christmas and am starting to experiment with making fresh bread.  I have made bread several times the old fashioned way, but wanted something easier for times I am too lazy to make it the old way!

I like to make my own homemade cards.  I use some rubber stamps and embellishments to make all kinds of cards for my friends and family.  I don't make them too often because I have so much stuff it takes me forever to get it out and forever to clean up after making my cards.  I have also started making ATCs, which are Artistic Trading Cards.  It combines my love of crosstitch and card making. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ATCs, they are baseball sized cards that you can put a small crosstitch (or anything else for that matter) on and embellish it with glitter, stickers, whatever your imagination can come up with.

I also make jewelry, but it has taken a backseat recently to crosstitching.  My favorite bead store closed awhile back and I haven't been beading much since then.  I still enjoy it and know I will get back into it with time.

Birdwatching and gardening are my other hobbies, along with reading and watching movies.  It is a little too cold for gardening right now, but a great time for staying inside with a good book or movie.  I just got a Kindle for Christmas and am really liking it so far. 

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and I hope to make some new crafty and cooking friends!!