Doctor's Visit

So, the little one is now two months old and it was time for her checkup. She HATES the doctor (mostly because she gets stripped and then they stick pointy things in her ears). It was worse because it was time for the 2 month shots. There were 3 shots and 1 oral immunization. She was almost inconsolable (Daddy fled the room).

After that torture, we went to pick up Mommy's comic book that just came in.



I was a big Farscape fan and they are officially continuing it in comic books. This is the third book so far.

Also got the taxes done. Can't wait for the refund. Turbo Tax rocks! We should have enough for my teacher training!

A Trip to the Store

This week was my return to work so I haven't been blogging as much as usual. Had a great weekend so far--spending Friday with my husband and going out with the whole family today. Hit the comic book stores and picked up the new Muppet Robin Hood and the second Muppet Show Comic Book (they are continuing the show in comics and it's quite good.



I've made some progress on my winter teacup. Stitching over two threads and using three strands of floss. It's all DMC and I thought I had most of it but there were a couple colors that I didn't have so we had to make a trip to Aidaworks...

Also got two books. The first one came out in October and I have been looking for it recently but went through 4 Barnes and Nobles to find it. It's the conclusion to The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (awesome author) called The Islands of the Blessed.



The other I started on Audiobook but had to take it back to the library but it was really intruiging but not my normal. I picked it out because of the title which is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It's a mystery written by a deceased Swedish author.



I also joined Dragon my Needle and her Totally Useless Stitch Along. Not much in the jar yet but there will be more with the DMC I have to wind onto bobbins today.

Have not heard from the winner of the giveaway yet. If I do not hear by the end of the week, I will draw a new winner.

And the Winner Is....

Life in a Nutshell! Please email me at gadgettrek@yahoo.com so I can get your contact information. Thank you to all who entered!

Our Favorite Games

We have been playing a lot of games in the house lately. Some of them are your normal board games, some of them are a little different. Here are the popular ones as of late.



We got this version for Christmas. Em gets bored with the normal version (I think it's the keeping track of paper money) and this one seems to keep her attention more. Guess it's the calculator age. Why else would she be required to have a TI-83 Plus in 7th grade?



For a similar reason we've been doing the CD-ROM version of The Game of Life. Plus, the Enhanced Game is fun with its revenge and little games



Since we're all geeks (well Em is a geek in training), we find this game hilarious. It makes fun of all things Dungeons and Dragons. Like the tagline says, you beat monsters (with names like Potted Plant and Plutonium Dragon) with weapons like The Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid while the other players try to backstab you.



This is one for fans of the French Revolution. You win this game by getting the most points off the heads that you collect (like Marie Antoinette is 5 points but Hero of the People is -3 so don't get him).



This game has tiles that you use to build cities and roads and rivers and cloister and you have little people that you use to mark what you are building but beware of other players who encroach on your territory. We love this because you never have the same map twice.



This game is hilarious. Another one that makes fun of roleplaying Dungeons and Dragons, 4 adventurers have returned from adventuring and are in a tavern. You win when you are the last player who is not passed out or thrown out of the inn for lack of gold. You play cards that let you gamble or cheat the other players out of money and drink cards that make you drunker. (My mother thought this was an actual drinking game when I first explained it to her but it's not).

A new Start

I have decided to put "Family Portrait" on hold yet again so that I can start Ken's birthday/anniversary present early. I found an 18 count bell pull at Jo-Ann's yesterday so I can use that instead of hunting for Chalet fabric which I don't think they make anymore.



Today was my first day back at work in 7 weeks. Fortunately, I am off the phone today and also tomorrow. My job is very technical so there's a lot of computer systems to remember but after watching several co-workers today, it's all coming back to me and I was even able to help some of the newbies who joined the team after I left.

I have also decided to start another scrapbook. I am not one of those "detailed" scrapbookers who like do an entire scrapbook a week. I prefer to take larger chunks and scrapbook those. I also try not to use a lot of predone stuff and prefer to do a lot of my own lettering and such. I tend to get nice paper (my first scrapbook used a lot of plain cardstock but I've sort of graduated from that now). My scrapbooking tools include a centered ruler, a paper cutter, a glass mat and exacto knife and Zig pens. I have a few scissors and punches but overall, I do most of it on my own.

I have four scrapbooks:

• To Boldly Go Where No Joy Has Gone Before (Birth-High School)
• When Harry Met Joy (College-Present)
• Disney 2005
• My Favorite Things

I have decided to finish off my When Harry Met Joy scrapbook and continue the new one with my marriage and the birth of Zoé.

Here are some pictures from When Harry Met Joy:


This was me at midnight magic for Harry Potter 5. I cheated a bit on the lettering. Found a Harry Potter font online and printed out the text and used it as a stencil for the gold which I cut out with an exacto knife (my fav tool).



I chaperoned this youth rally and made that logo entirely freehand out of cardstock.



A tribute to my father who died in 2006. I photocopy my newspapers at Kinko's so they don't fade or yellow.



I like to do cutouts (especially when the background is boring). This was my college graduation.


We had another Disney trip and they make such great premade stuff that I decided to buy some and use it. Their 3D stickers are amazing.



I made the frame in this one using a photo I had taken.



These are the last two pages that I did, segueing into me getting married. I had a lot of fun designing them. There are a lot of stickers but the lettering is all me and I used mettalic gold and silver pens (I also love Zig pens as well). One more page to go and this scrapbook is FINISHED!

Progress

I made some more progress on Family Portrait. I'm taking a new approach to stitching this. I'm taking it in sections and stitching all the cross stitches and doing the backstitching right away. So far, it's working out nicely. My next section is going to be the grandfather clock.

Maternity Leave Blues

I'm supposed to come back from maternity leave today. I was supposed to switch shifts with my husband so I would come in at 2:30 pm instead of 6 am (6 am is not going to work with breastfeeding an infant who is fussy in the evening). Everything has been approved but they will not switch us for 2 weeks. There is no way I can handle being to work at 6 am. I will not get any sleep. Hoping for a miracle...

Switching projects

Principal stitching has been completed on the stocking but I'm switching to the Koalas.

Brrrr

Hello from Dallas-Fort Worth where my phone tells me that it is 16 degrees (it is actually warmer in Milwaukee right now which is sad). The normal temperature for this time of year is like 50 degrees. My husband promised me warm temperatures if I married him.........where are they, dear?



One of the things my Mom sent me for Christmas was a set of cross stitched sheep that my Grandma Marks did. She was an accomplished cross stitcher but she never taught me, I picked it up on my own after she had died. She loved birds and most of her pictures are of birds.




My grandma also did this set of birds. They aren't stitched on aida or evenweave or linen. They might actually be stamped cross stitch but I'm not sure.

Another giveaway (not by me)

Feathers in the Nest is having a giveaway for a lovely chart, charms and a frame for a project.

Calico Prairie is also giving away a bunch of cross stitching stuff.

Giveaway

As it is rather chilly outside, I have decided to give away my diamond lace shawl. It was originally knitted to be given away anyway.

To enter, comment on this post and include the current temperature. One extra entry for being a follower and another for posting a link on your blog. Last day to enter January 19th. Winners announced Jan 20th.

My Favorite Things PIF

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

So, I won Gil's PIF on her blog which means it's my turn to Pay It Forward.

To enter, leave a comment on this post which includes a list of YOUR favorite things (it can be short). I will take entries until Jan 31 and on February 1, I will select 3 people to receive a small stitched item made by me in the next year. As always, you get one extra entry for being a follower and one extra for posting a link to this on your blog. If you are selected, it will be your turn to Pay it Forward

Goals for 2010

Happy New Year everyone!

I've taken a bit of time off from the blog because my daughter has been fussy as of late and hasn't given me much time to stitch because she wasn't feeling well and of course wanted to be held.

So, this is my list of projects for 2010:

First, the progress on the stocking:



Next on the list is a project I started last spring for my friends Luke and Jen for the birth of their daughter Nora. It was supposed to be done last summer (oops...). It's called "Family Portrait from the Cute and Cuddly Cross Stitch book




This is my current progress:

Next, I'm going to do a bellpull for my husband, who loves his tea. It is a set of four teacups (one for every season) out of the July/Aug 90 issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts.



Only problem is I can't find the Chalet fabric that is mentioned. I need to find a suitable substitute.

After that, I have two more stockings to do.

A needlepoint one for my stepdaughter Emily:



and a Gold Collections one for my husband:



I wanted to do the SAL with Rae but I'd already picked up these kits.