For anyone who might be interested, I’m having a cookbook giveaway on my other blog. It’s for an autographed copy of Rocco DiSpirito’s “Now Eat This” cookbook. You can find all the details on how to enter in the cookbook giveaway post.

Until next time …

Time for another weekly day book journal entry. Given how busy my life is right now, doing these entries may be about the only way my blog gets updated for a while.

Outside my window …. it’s dark … again.

I am thinking …. that my life is just going to be complete chaos for the next 2.5 weeks between interviewing to hire a new employee, studying for school, and packing to move.

I am thankful for …. the last U.S. combat troops leaving Iraq today. I just wanted to share my immense thanks to all of our troops for their service to our country, especially to one of my tri buddies (Jennifer) who is in the Air Force and flew 113 missions while in Iraq.

Around the house …. boxes, boxes everywhere.

I am wearing …. my favorite jammy jams.

I am loving …. the new laptop I got for work.

I am hoping …. that the weather breaks soon and that there will be some relief from the hot temperatures we’ve had this week.

I am stitching …. Plum Blossom Kimono by Margaret Bending (pics below)

I am drooling over …. the Penne Alla Vodka recipe I’m planning to try on Friday.

I am sorely tempted by …. the new graphite WiFi Kindle.

I am reading …. Sadly, still plugging away at CompTIA A+ Certification: Essentials 2009 Edition for my A+ certification for work.

On my iPod …. Catching up on the Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone podcast.

On my mind …. nothing at the moment. I’m just chillin’ out and catching up on my DVR.

On my To Do list …. For Thursday: interview a potential candidate for the D.C. job, 2 meetings, setting up a new system for network monitoring, plus all of my regular day-to-day tasks.

From my picture journal ….

The top photo shows my current progress on my Plum Blossom Kimono counted canvas piece designed by Margaret Bendig. I’m stitching it on Congress Cloth using various silks and a few metallics. The lower photo shows a close-up of the Milanese Stitch (the dark gold square) which was a new stitch I learned last weekend.

Until next time …

I’ve seen this on a few different blogs, and most recently on Annette’s. The idea is to post a Day Book Journal entry each week as a brief snippet look into my life. My plan is to post these each Saturday since that’s the day of the week where I tend to have the most free time for compiling the entry. I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll get it posted every Saturday, but my goal it to get it posted on as many as possible.

I have modified my version of this Day Book template from what Annette had on her blog. I decided to add in some things that would be meaningful to mean when I come back in the future to review my entries.

Here goes …

Outside my window …. it’s dark and a gentle breeze is blowing the leaves around on the tree.

I am thinking …. that going to bed at nearly 2am wasn’t a good plan since I’m supposed to be at my LNS at 10am for our monthly all-day Saturday Stitch.

I am thankful for …. having a chance to spend the day with dear friends for a day of girl-talk, laughter, and time well spent.

Around the house …. there’s so much to be done as far as packing goes in preparation of my move coming up in four weeks.

I am wearing …. shorts and a black tank top with lace trim.

I am loving …. this season of True Blood!

I am hoping …. that I don’t have to work as many hours next week at work

I am stitching …. Mary Wigham 1790 from Needleprint

I am drooling over …. Lady • Dot Creations Butter Stitching Portfolio

I am sorely tempted by …. Liberty Hill Limited Edition Salem House Stitching Box

I am reading …. Sadly, CompTIA A+ Certification: Essentials 2009 Edition. I have to get A+ certified for work per a requirement by the DoD.

On my iPod …. Indigo Girls Strange Fire

On my mind …. the aforementioned A+ certification requirement. I need to at least sit for the two exams for the certification by Sept. 30, and HAVE to pass them both by Dec. 31. If I don’t, I could lose my job.

On my To Do list …. setting up interviews with candidates for a position I need to fill in our office in Washington, D.C.

From my picture journal ….

My favorite yogurt (Chobani Nonfat Greek) is now available at my neighborhood Target store. They are even carrying the full line of flavors, including my personal favorite … pomegranate!

Until next time …

Yes, I know I have already have the Mary Wigham 1790 sampler as a WIP, but I just started her again anyway. I actually do hope to finish them both one day, but then again, I hope a lot of things. Here’s a pic of my latest version:

Fabric: 40-count Antique White Newcastle Linen
Fiber: Blue Bunny floss from Hand Made by Nina
Stitched 1 over 2
Progress as of 1 August 10

The main reason I decided to start her again was because of the fiber. I saw it on Nina’s personal blog and absolutely fell in love with it.

Here’s my progress on my other over 1 version of Mary:


Fabric: 36-count Maritime White linen from Lakeside Linens
Fibers: Variety of GAST, CC, and WDW
Stitched 1-over-1 using tent stitch

In other news, I got a promotion! Yep, I’m now officially part of “the man” since I’ve been promoted into management. The down side right now is that it’s meant a lot of long hours as I’m getting up to speed with my new role and responsibilities. Hopefully things will settle down soon. The up side is that I now have a private office with walls and a door and everything! YAY for no more cubicle land!

That photo was taken before I was completely settled into my new digs. It doesn’t look exactly like that now, but it’s pretty darn close.

On the move front, it looks like I’ll be moving into my bigger place over Labor Day. I definitely have a lot of work to do in the next four and half weeks to get ready! I just keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it once I’m in my new place and have all the extra space.

Ok, that’s all I have time for right now. Until next time …

Amazingly enough, I’m still sick, but think I may finally be rounding the corner to good health again. I’ve literally been sick since July 1. It initially started as just a summer cold. It then progressed into a sinus infection, so I went to the doctor and was put on antibiotics.

As of Friday (July 9) I still wasn’t feeling well, so I went back to the doctor. After another exam and a chest x-ray, I learned that it had developed into an upper respiratory infection. The doctor was concerned it might turn into pneumonia, so I was put on a stronger antibiotic with a steroid pack booster. I actually felt a LOT worse on Saturday, but I think it was my body finally just trying to get all the crap out of my lungs. Each subsequent day has been a bit better, so I’m hoping by mid-week that I’ll be back to my normal self again free of the hacking cough.

So, what’s the good side to all this illness? I’ve gotten in quite a bit of stitching time. I participated in the July Weekend Stitch-A-Long on Facebook. I decided to pull out my Plum Blossom Kimono to work on it. This was a class I took last summer at my LNS from local designer/teacher, Margaret Bendig. I haven’t worked on it in quite some time, so I thought this SAL would be a good time to give it some attention. Here are my before & after pics showing the progress I made this weekend:

Before (as of Saturday morning):

After (as of Sunday night):

I’m so excited to have all of the outlining done! Doing that much pearl cotton outlining on Congress Cloth is pretty boring, but I made it through. Now I’m really for the fun part which is filling in all those little boxes with lots of pretty silks.

Of course, the whole weekend wasn’t spent just stitching. There was a lot of studying that happened as well. My college classes started on July 1, so I’m back into the world of having to study. It hasn’t been very fun given I’ve been sick, but I’m doing OK since it’s mostly been a lot of reading so far. I might not have felt the same way if I had been sick and was trying to write papers, too.

I’m currently in the process of studying for the CompTIA A+ certification exams. I have to obtain this certification for my job per a DoD requirement by the end of the year. The nice thing is I can kill two birds with one stone because I can use the A+ certification to knock out two of my college courses as well (IT Fundamentals II & III). It’s basically an entry-level IT certification, but it’s been long enough since I’ve done basic hardware/software troubleshooting that I’m definitely having to study to brush up on all the various beep codes, printer error codes, etc.

In other personal news, as if I didn’t have enough going on already, I’ve decided to move. I’ve been living in a one-bedroom apartment since my divorce six years ago. I finally decided I’ve had enough of being so cramped and will be moving into a two-bedroom apartment. Not only will I have a larger living room/dining room area, but I’ll finally have a craft room again, too!

Until next time …

I’m getting very close to yet another finish. This time it’s on Snow Garden from Blackbird Designs. Being sick for nearly a week has clearly been very beneficial to my stitching progress.

Here is the progress I’ve made between my most recent update (July 1) and today (July 6):

I can’t believe I’ve made so much progress! I’m doubly amazed when I take into account that I’ve finished two other small pieces during that same time frame. This is absolutely not my usual stitching speed. Go me!

I am a bit perplexed over one aspect of this design. My colors definitely look much different than the model photo, even though I am usually the recommended fabric and fibers. I’ve gone back and double & triple-checked to ensure I used the proper colors in the proper places, and I did. The only elements that really look the same to me are the peacock and the tree on the right side of the design. Some portions of the border are almost completely lost into the linen in my piece.

This is one of my greatest annoyances about model photos. The finished product just doesn’t always look the same. Even though I still love the design, the colors of mine just don’t pop nearly as much as in the model which is what attracted me to the design in the first place. Oh well, what’s a stitcher to do?

Until next time …

In honor of yesterday being Independence Day here in the United States, I decided to do a bit of patriotic stitching. I stitched this little piece from start to finish yesterday.

The design is called “Liberty Ewe” and is a freebie that was available a couple of years ago from Sharon Crescent of Crescent Colours. The original design calls for her cotton floss, but I substituted and used some of her Belle Soie silks from my stash. It’s stitched on a piece of unknown 36-count R&R linen. It’s from an R&R grab bag I purchased at Needle in a Haystack during my San Francisco trip in December.. I looked at a few pictures on the Norden site and think it might be Mockingbird? Anyway, I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Until next time …

If you are a fan of the Gingher designer series scissors, here’s a great giveaway! Missy aka Birdy over at Eat Stitch Love is giving away a pair of the Mia scissors. I love the plaid design on these so much! Head over to her blog for all the details.

Until next time …

I want to pose a question to those of you who blog and are also active on social media sites. Do you find you blog less often now? I have definitely noticed that about myself. I know that many of my regular readers (based on those who frequently comment) are also friends with me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. I tend to post photos and quick updates of what’s going on in my life in those places. Accordingly, I don’t feel as much “pressure” (for the lack of a better word) to update my blog as often. I’m just wondering if others have found the same to be true. Please leave me a comment with your thoughts.

In stitching news, amazingly enough, I actually have been doing a little bit. I stitched a summer pinkeep for Kim as part of a seasonal exchange. After that was away in the mail, I’ve been working a bit on “Snow Garden” from Blackbird Designs as well as another secret project. Here are some pictures of the exchange:

The pinkeep design was taking from the “Friends for All Seasons” chart by Lizzie Kate. I also included the “Small Sampler 1” chart from Ewe & Eye & Friends, a couple of skeins of Dragon Floss from Polstitches, a couple of skeins of Soy Luster floss (one solid & one shadow) from The Pure Palette, and a pack of strawberry blank notecards.

Here are some close-up shots of the pinkeep by itself:

My Dovos were for demo purposes only and weren’t part of the exchange. Sorry Kim!

This was my first attempt at doing a scissor pocket on the back. I thought it turned out ok, but I definitely learned some things that I will do differently next time. For example, I didn’t leave a bit of slack in the pocket when I assembled it. As I was sewing, the pocket kept getting tighter and tighter to the point that it pulls slightly downward. If I had given it a little leeway at the beginning, I think it would have come out much nicer in the end.

Here are my before & after progress pics on Snow Garden:

Previous Progress

Current Progress

I know it’s not much progress, but at least it is noticeable. I try very hard not to compare myself to the speedy needles of some of my other stitching friends whose speed is simply astounding! I just seem to be in a bit of a stitching slump this year, and I’m not sure why. Normally by the mid-point of the year, I would have at least 10-15 finishes, but this year I only have three. The sad part is that I know my time available for stitching is about to get drastically reduced, too.

That leads me directly into my last bit of news. I’ve officially gone back to college to finish my degree. I dropped out of college at the start of my senior year back when I was 21 years old. I said I was just going to take a couple of quarters off, but somehow that mushroomed into taking 25 years off. One of my biggest regrets in life has always been not finishing my degree, so now I’m going to remedy that. In fact, my plan is to finish my Bachelors as quickly as possible and then go immediately into a Masters program.

I have chosen an online competency-based program through Western Governor’s University. It’s basically an independent study program where each student goes at their own pace. They will also allow students with extensive real world experience to test out of some classes. I decided this particular model sounded perfect for me, so let’s hope that it is! I guess I’ll find out soon enough given that I start classes today.

One of the best parts is that since the university if fully accredited, they qualify for tuition reimbursement through my employer. w00t! By the time I get my reimbursement checks each year, I should hopefully only spend around $1000-$1200 out of pocket annually. That means no student loans!

I suppose that’s the last of my news & updates for now. I will try my best to update as often as possible, but please understand that I’m likely just uber busy between work and school should I disappear for extended periods of time. If you want to keep track of me more frequently, I would recommend Facebook.

Until next time …