Well, you chose to move there!
If you know me, even slightly, you know I'm not an outdoors person. There's a lot of other things I'm *not* on a serious basis, like a morning person, but I'm really not an outdoors person. When it's summer, there's bugs, and the heat, when it's springtime, there's the hatching spiders and the rain... in the autumn, after the gorgeous colours-all those leaves fall, bringing in ants, and mess. But there's a special season reserved for the most direct loathing, in my eyes.

Winter. Cold. Snow. Freezing temperatures, slippery roads, people driving either so conservatively they are a menace, or people driving without a seeming care in the world, which is a whole different type of danger. Snow... that really pretty white stuff... I like to see it on the trees, on the yard, perhaps even on the house. But isn't there something that could be done about it falling on the roads ? Did I mention cold? I am not a good "cold" person. I whine. I moan. I hibernate. Yes, I am much like a big fat bear, in more ways than one.

So... hating winter as I do, and cold, and definately snow..WHY am I living in New Hamster .. I mean New Hampshire? Home of the Frozen North (sorta). Where this year alone we've already had about 30 inches of snow? THIRTY INCHES. probably a bit more. Where today, when my child has off school, and I have a full day of errands, stitch-shopping-where she was going to start learning to stitch, and I was going to get to spend time at my awesome LNS, take my bright child to lunch at Pizza Hut where she gets a free pizza for being an awesome reader, and grocery shopping (yes I'm one of those nuts that enjoys grocery shopping)... today when I have ALL that planned, scheduled and happily plotted, it dumps FIVE INCHES of SNOW on me overnight. Not just snow. Heavy, WET wnow. All the schools in the area are delayed. NH got a sucker punch surprise, no one was really prepared for it. Beautiful.

So, why am I here ? Well women have done stupider things for Love. My DH lived here when I met him, and I moved here, for Love. While a noble reason (and I love my DH and adore our married life, my life being infinitely better now) I really think I didn't plot that out all the well. True Love is blind they say... I disagree. Right now, True Love is just damned cold and buried under snow.

What a Whirlwind lately!
Lots of things have happened in the last little while! The biggest and best, of course, is that I have the most awesome LNS! They've asked me to go along to Nashville Market for them as a buyer!! It's incredible, and I'm so excited. Not only will be I be there, seeing new designs, threads, colors, etc... before they actually hit the market, BUT it's 3 1/2 days away from my house! No DH, no DD...heavenly. Mind you I love my family, but *I* never get a vacation!

My Brownie troop really outdid themselves! We've sold over 1600 boxes of cookies so far...They all want to go to camp! I think about 100 of those boxes are for the Operation Solider for the Troops in Iraq. We can still take orders too, so some of the girls will have even higher numbers :)

Stitching--I've fallen desperately in love with Mystery 8 from Chatelaine. The second part came out on the 1st, and someone has it done already. It's stunning. I can't believe I will actually be stitching something so gorgeous. This second part uses my all time favourite Silk'n Color too!! Medieval Mulberry-Yum! In fact, I'm off to stitch now!

Take care of yourselves, and be good!

Working Through the Clutter!
I think all the papers, books, mail, junk mail, etc.. I think it all breeds once it hits my house and then stealthily, sneakily... deposits itself in unseen corners, already precarious piles, and anywhere I'm not actively looking at that moment. How else would the pile in the basket on the microwave--that should only have pens, a few candles, and medicines--get SO high?? Or this pile of "I'll get to those later.." papers, notes, to-do's et al .. just simply take over my desk. I mean really, I think that might be wood there, but I'm not sure.

Then there's the cross stitch clutter. Whoooo-boy. Dh tends to blame my stitching stuff for ALL the clutter, but I don't think he's right. But stitching stuff does tend to define our lives at times, marking us--like when He goes to work with an ort stuck to him from when he sat to put his shoes on-- and reminds of my obsession with cross stitching crop up at the oddest moments--like in the car yesterday morning, and realizing there's one heck of a long strand of floss stuck somehow to the windshield wiper. How it got there, I have NO idea. As I looked at it however, I tilted my head and said.. that is such and such color from that model I just did. DH looked at me like I'd lost my head. He wasn't sure, he said, what he was more frightened of..the floss *being* there, or the fact that I could identify the color. Silly man.

I bring this stuff up because I am, you see, trying to de-clutter our house, our lives, and even my stash. Toss stuff out that is meant to be (take THAT junk mail and old phone books!!), catalogue stuff ( I do in fact want to get a comprehensive inventory of ALL my stash soon) and reorganizing and prioritizing what is left in the space it's in. I expect I'll be doing this for a while!!

Be good to yourselves!

Monday, sleepy Monday (Apologies to U2)
I typically never sleep well on the times DH is out of town. The bed is too big, there's a noise, etc. This time, it's been really really cold. And of course, that little snowstorm that dumped 20 inches of snow on us in about 12 hours. I had worries about my furnace, especially after the big BANG I heard last night, but for the most part we muddled through. I however, am really sleepy today.

I have a long blog writing itself in my head right now. I'm too tired to do it justice, but it was sparked by a blog entry from last year, Jan 12th to be exact. Before you go looking in the archives, for some reason-that entry disappeared from display. I copied it for myself though, and tripped over it this weekend. It was a very interesting read.

The initial ordering period for Girl Scout Cookies is nearly over! Tory is almost to the top level of "earning".. which will seriously help us when it's time for camp this summer. The day camp here is *excellent* and she had a blast last year!! I am continually impressed by what the GS Organization does for these girls, and I'm loving watching my 12 girls grow, and blossom. Our service project is going really well too--I'll know more the end of this week about how many boxes our troop is going to send to the military in Iraq. I'm SO tickled that the girls got so excited about this. I am trying to figure out if our troop can afford little notecards to send letters along with the cookies.

I'm nearly done with the second installment of Mini-H from Chatelaine. It's one of the smaller mysteries, just 3 months, and it's Amethyst:) I'll post a pic when it's done. I also had a really REALLY small finish yesterday, a SB kit of a tiny heart.. just 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches. I'm not posting a pic of that, as it's a gift :)

Oh I nearly forgot. THE PATRIOTS ARE IN THE SUPERBOWL!!! Again!! It amazes me, in this day of 'superstars', this team continually gets the job done with many of it's starters injured. I think I really like them because they have fun, they are so supportive of each other, and they manage to overcome LOTS of setbacks. This Pats team this year seriously reminds me of the Red Sox calling themselves "A bunch of idiots who love to play baseball." Not sure I would call either of the team's members idiots... but they all sure do love what they do. It's really refreshing!

Wow did this get long... Y'all take care today!

uggghhh--Morning
Yeap, no happiness for me this morning. I'm just totally wiped out. On Tuesdays I just drain myself completely for my Brownies, and it always takes a day for me to recover. Last night we made fleece hats & scarves. I wonder how many of the 12 will be wearing them today ? I know my daughter is wearing hers!

The cookie sale is well underway! My DD alone has 6 boxes donated for the Operation Soldier project :) I hope we get many boxes....It feels good to know we're sending a piece of home over to the military that have no chance of getting it otherwise. The girls are pretty excited too! We taught them to say "well you could send a box to a soldier in Iraq!" If someone says they can't buy because they are on a diet :)

Off to finish my model. Be good to yourselves

Good Monday Morning!
I'm typically NOT a morning person. This is because typically I'm up late, as a historic night owl. To me, any hour before 9 am is ungodly. I however married a man who gets up at quarter to 6 every morning *shudder*. I pretty much get up at 7 am now to get the kid ready for school and shoo them both out the door. I used to go back to bed.

I'm finding that I get up and get moving now more than I used to want to. Especially when I have things to do. I spent a LOT of time yesterday getting laundry caught up, making dinner and reading up the house in general. **side-note: If you're not from Central PA, you probably have NO idea why I'm using "reading". To Read Up (pronounced Red) is to generally clean up, not CLEAN** So this morning I was in great shape-Dishes all done, laundry really close to caught up. My husband, at 6:30 decided to help me by putting away the baking dishes that had dried overnight. Well, the noise he made could have woken the dead. But I got up, and right now, I have not much to do for *general* housework. I made tea, made DH some PB toast, got DD ready (which was easy since I laid out everyone's clothes last night), made the bed and they both went out the door without a fuss, organized with happy Mom kisses.

I'm not sure who the hell I am lately! LOL But if you promise NOT to tell DH, I'll admit-I kinda like it.

Miles to go before I sleep....
Today I feel like that line from a poem I don't even know the rest of. I can't even confirm it's a poem! LOL That just works right into my day today, that's for sure.

As many of you know, I"m a Brownie Girl Scout leader for my daughter's troop. I love it, I have 12 little girls that are just adorable, and it's very rewarding. We're gearing up for Girl Scout Cookie time, which starts... Today. There's also a program we can do, in which people can buy a box of cookies and we'll donate them to.. somewhere. We've decided we want to send them overseas to the troops serving in the US Military. You would think this would be easy to get local companies involved to help pay to ship this stuff over, right? Wrong. You would think I could get a phone call back from someone in the NH National Guard, right? Wrong. I honestly feel like I'm slamming my head into a brick wall. I just want our girls to feel like they've done something really good in their service project. It's hard enough to get 6-8 year olds to want to GIVE something to someone, harder still to get them excited about it.

I look at my stash lately, and think "Why?". I've got 15 WIPS that aren't anywhere near completion, There's this wishlist of stuff I so much want to do, and I can't muster ANY enthusiasum these last few days. DH says it's because of the model I'm doing, but that's not it. I love this model, am excited about IT. It's the housework, and errands and SNOWDAYS that sneak up on me and keep me from working on it. I just want to build a cabin out back, heated-with a couch, a fridge, a stove ... a BIG couch, not a uncomfy one. Lots of lights and blankets and my stash. I'll come cook and clean here in the house for the family, and come sleep here. That would be nice.

Guess I'm in a crappy mood today, huh ? Well ya'll take care of yourselves, and be good to each other.

You are 80% Cancer

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness. Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connect to your soul. You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable. Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings. You have great vision and can be very insightful. In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself. Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend. You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Gaining motivation

I have a thousand things to do today, and yet I can't seem to motivate myself
to do *any* of them --I hate being or feeling unmotivated!

THe laundry won't do itself, however. So off I go!

Wrapping up 2004

What a year! Many things happened this year, from personal to world events. It's pretty widely known I don't focus too much on the world events stage, so I'll keep this pretty simple.

Stitching this year seemed to be more of a chore then anything else. I couldn't seem to get moving on many things I wanted to work on, and obligation stitching just seemed to take me over. I managed to finish only 4 projects this year: Indigo Rose-True Love Sampler, Just Nan-Teachers touch the future, Just Nan-Friendship Sampler, TW-Futurecast. That's *it*. blech...

Personally it was my 1 year wedding anniversary this year, we indeed made it. It's been a struggle now and again, but I think we've grown as a couple, and people. Our financial situation has improved *slightly*, mostly due to better budgeting and being more frugal. I've gotten much stingier about spending for stash, especially since I'm SABLE for several lifetimes. My children are healthy, and smart and funny. My daughter, all of 7 years old now, is settling down some it seems in school, and I hope this is a glimpse into the rest of the year. Her teacher has such a challenge with her! My step-son thinks just because he'll be 16 in 7 months that means his parents are eager to teach him to drive! NOT! My husband's company was sold, and not only does he still have a job, he is the logical choice for a promotion. He's been with the company 7 years, and deserves this management position. It would be a raise (which we desperately need) and recognition that he rightly deserves!

Stitching this coming year is for me, me, me!! Well, okay sorta. I'm finishing up a model for Dinky Dyes right now, and then will throw myself headlong into the Chatelaine's I have on the go. I would like to finish Enchanted Dreamer by Mirabilia this year, and of course make some more progress on the other Mira's I've got going. My only "give away" goal this year is to do 3 each of M Designs Peace, Hope & Love ornament trees. I'll make these a gift to my in-laws this Christmas. I'm also in 2 round robins, and while I love doing these, I'm a bit worried about the time line on the House RR. I'll be fine, I'm sure though.

I am also resolving to write more often in this blog. Somedays I always feel I shouldn't whine about my life, or that less than 1 person even cares :) But this is for me, so I'm going to start talking more in here. Fair warning, lol, it won't always be sunshine and roses!

Friendships this year have been up and down. I'm not sure what it is about me that causes me to either anger people or alienate them. Whatever it is, I'm finding that those who have shown themselves to be good friends I could call at 3 am if I had a problem. That is comforting, especially since more than half of these people I've never met.

All in all, 2004 was a good year. I'm happy to see it gone, and truly look forward to our lives this next year. I think we're just going to get better and better.

Take care of yourselves.

Angi

Home again, home again...

I took a much needed break from internet-ing, and feel better for it. I am a bit more balanced, and rational. :) Well, somewhat rational. Okay okay, rational and I aren't always good friend, but I'm trying ;)

In stitching news, I've finished Indigo Rose's True Love Sampler, and Teresa Wentzler's Futurecast!
The wedding sampler is for my BIL and his new wife, just a few months late! :) I'm really pleased with how it came out. I omitted the queen stitches in the border, and under the last band I personalized it with their initials and wedding date instead of some satin stitched flowers that were there. I'm thrilled to have it finally done, that's for sure.

Futurecast was my first TW finish ever, and I'm pretty happy with how she turned out. Yes, the dragon finally told me that she was a "she" and her name was Moonshimmer :) I like how it came out, although I wasn't all that confident with my colour choices for a while.

If you go to my webshots to see the pictures, make sure you click normal view to see them best :)

That's all for today... Take care of yourselves.

Comes The Dawn

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul;
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning,
And company doesn’t mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises.

And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,
With the grace of a man or a woman,
Not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomarrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way
Of falling down in mid flight.

After a while you learn that even
Sunshine burns if you get too much;
So you plant your own garden,
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you can endure,
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth.
And you learn, and you learn,
With every step, with every good-bye,
You learn.

*** Author Unknown ***

Is it over yet??

The Election, I mean. I'm sorely tired of all the negativity and the vitriol I am seeing spun these days. And that doesn't even begin to touch what comes from the candidates. I'm finding myself distanced from people I once felt so close to, because the negativity and the disgust they hold for beliefs I hold, hurts. I think I've done pretty well in my life in not judging my friends for their belief systems. I believe that each person has a right to feel and think what they wish. Who am I to lump my friends into a "stereotype" ? I would never pigeonhole a friend as a "conservative" and say mean things about conservatives. Nor would I do the same for liberals.

See, my friends and family are just that. Friends and Family. We aren't going to agree, we aren't always going to feel the same way about things. But I have always hoped that the friends that I hold close to my heart, and the family (both natural and chosen) would in fact be able to see past any differences in beliefs. I'm finding that harder to believe as this election year winds to a close. People that I have shared time with, jokes, laughter, tears... Have said some of the most painful things. Things that if I took them to heart would shatter a friendship, make me never speak to family members again. I don't understand what makes Republican and Democrat "Labels" make people suddenly... Not the same. I mean, I didn't change, right ? They really haven't changed. I know many of my friends have different opinions on many core issues than I do. Things like health care, abortion, pregnancy prevention, and many others. I knew that when I became their friend. I guess I felt they knew the same about me. I never thought it would "change" me in their eyes. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't. I just know that there's an empty spot around me lately, that used to be filled with friends and family that seem to be separated from me now by that great chasm called "Political Party."

I don't see people in my life as Republican, or Democrat. I don't even see them as Cross Stitcher, or non-Cross Stitcher. I don't see them with any other prejudice than my heart. And my heart misses my friends...

Still sick : (
I'm not sure what this germ is but it's nuclear powered I think. I'm still sick! Still have a sore throat, and now DH is sick too. Luckily DD hasn't caught it but *sighs* I just want to feel better so I can clean my house up so I can feel like I can stitch.

I haven't stitched in 2 weeks, I don't really feel I can do it when I have so much else to do.

*blah*

The voice, it is gone...
So i've been battling with a sore throat now for the better part of a week--no big deal right? Sunday I start coughing...hmm, okay..no big deal right? Monday morning I feel like a Mac Truck has hit me and I'm down for the count. But okay, I sleep all day and no big deal right ? And then, Tuesday morning happens.

Tuesday was a very important day for me. It was the first meeting of my Brownie Girl Scout Troop. I took over my daughter's troop from the old leader when she stepped down last year. I'd been in Scouting for years as a girl, but never a leader, so this was new. I'd been preparing, writing handouts, getting paperwork ready. My co-leader and I had our meeting planned. I had the parent's meeting planned. And then Tuesday morning happened.

I lost my voice.

Not totally, not at first. It faded in and out throughout the day. It resembled nothing more than rough gravel and it was hard to talk above a low speaking voice. Then it got hard to talk above a whisper. As I rushed through making my copies at Kinko's (250+ EEK!!!) I wondered how I was going to get through the evening. Twelve little girls. Then their parents. Missing this was not an option. I'd been looking forward to it for months.

The girls thought Miss Angi sounded funny. Most of them know me as 9 of the 13 (1 absent) are classmates of my daughter's. The Brownie Smile song was pitiful--cause I couldn't sing a note. My co-leader, she is the outdoorsy, active type. I'm the music, artsy craftsy type. We'll work well together ;) But, the song was just sad. I even had to tickle some of my new girls to get them to smile. We'll do better next week. They liked their activities though. They enjoyed the Chinese jump rope game. We only had one bumped head, causing an already loose tooth to get looser and bleed. (Just how fast can I get that first aid training? and thank heavens for the Daisy leader-and mom of one of my Brownies-next door who is a nurse). Most, if not all my parents showed up for the parent meeting, and even put up with my voice. I got a cookie mom volunteer, and a good feeling from the group. They even told me to rest my voice. I think we'll all do well together this year.

My voice is still gone ... even worse. The whisper is almost as good as it gets today. I'm coughing, and feverish, and just want to die. But last night, I was in heaven. I love the Girl Scouts. I love what it teaches girls. I love how it empowers them to believe in themselves and their skills. I love how it brings girls together. I'm going to love my troop. I already do. My voice was a very small price to pay.

Monday, Monday...
Well it was another exciting weekend here! (not) I got little to nothing done besides running kids here and there, grocery shopping, laundry and watching Patriots win (again!!). Other than that, the weekend was pretty quiet.

Was working on something and realized that printer ink had gotten onto my fabric. So into the Orvus that piece of fabric went. Thank heavens it all seems to have come out!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

It's Friday!!
Yes, it's Friday folks! Thank heavens! Sorta... My busiest days are coming up. Saturdays the alien has soccer in the morning, and then there is shopping to do this weekend. My stepson comes over on the weekends, and of course now there is football. At least the Patriots play this weekend, AND they are the early game this Sunday! WHOO HOO :)

I've made a little (read LITTLE) progress on FutureCast. I'm not sure I like how he's coming out, but I'm kinda stuck now. We'll see, maybe it'll be okay. I"m hoping to pop out to the border today and feel like I *really* got something done. We'll see. I'd also like to complete one of the next to last bands on the wedding sampler I'm doing. I am like >< that close to having it done, and yet I'm dragging my feet about it.

DD is home from school today, so I imagine there'll be much snuggling and sweetness .... well okay I can hope right ??? I've got handouts going for my Brownie parents, we got our first two meetings plotted out yesterday, and I'm starting to feel like I might have gotten a handle on this. *snorts* Self-delusion, gotta love it!

Welp, ya'll take care of yourselves today!

Progress... maybe?

Well, I haven't done much stitching of anything lately. I went to a GTG at Kari's house this past weekend with tiggerpoohs, and had a blast! They however gave me such a hard time (in fun) about not having any TW Wips or completions that I spent all day Sunday pulling colors for FutureCast. I have put a few stitches into him and we'll see how that goes. :) I'm really close to finishing the True Love Sampler, and then it's off to the races on the rest of my projects for the holidays *sighs*. I never used to do obligation stitching. I won't do it next year. Blech.... Although I'm lucky that everyone I stitch for Loves it and appreciates it.

I'm almost ready for our first Brownie Troop meeting, and the parents meeting that night *eek* I'm organized, and just hope I don't totally flop with the kids! :( I'm very excited though, I love Girl Scouts, and what it can do for girls.

Not much else to talk about today... Ya'll take care of yourselves!

Gratitude...


I'm so grateful to my online family! :) To my in-laws. To my friends... to everyone who helped my daughter reach her secondary goal in the fundraiser!! If we could have sold 10 more items, we could have won her the DVD player she wanted, but she did sell 90, so she's getting the electric scooter. I'm so thankful to have friends like ya'll!!

My secret stitcher sent me Just Nan's WinterHaven *boggles* I was stunned!!!! And so grateful. I love this chart, and now need to figure out just how I want to do it, and in what type of threads.

Life is pretty damned good today :)

It's wrapping paper time!!

Between now and Sept 27, my daughter is trying to earn a DVD or CD player. She is selling wrapping paper from Innisbrook. You can order through their website, and have it shipped directly to you, and she will get the sales credit! The great part about this is, her school earns 50% of all sales!!

Here's the link:

http://www.innisbrook.com/acb/basket/index_child_reg.cfm?internet_id=20563&DID=7

if that doesn't work, please email me for her codes!! :)

I thank you in advance, and if you order.. she'll send you a thank you email!

**** Apparently Innisbrook's server is working overtime, and is hard to reach during the day. If you have problems, maybe at night would be better ? :( I'm sorry if anyone gets frustrated:( Thanks! :( ****

Thanks so much!