Gratuitousness at it’s finest….

Ok, so this is a completely gratuitous post just because someone specifically asked me tonight when I was going to update my blog again. You KNOW who you are!

Ok, just so it won’t be totally gratuitous, I have gotten in some stitching and I’m now about 90% done on No Late Knight Snacking. I was hoping to finish it this week, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time now given how busy I’ll be this week. I might get a chance to finish it up this weekend though.

Sullen Sunday

I apologize for not having updated in a bit. Life has been a combination of insanely busy and being in a bit of a funk. Just when I think I’ve made headway in dealing with stuff in my life, it creeps back up again and I fall face first into it, usually accompanied by food. Maybe one of these days I’ll figure all of this shit out so I’ll stop feeling like I’m losing the battle with the bricks.

As for stitching, I’ve gotten some done this week which is amazing given everything else going on. I got in a couple of hours of stitching on “No Late Knight Snacking” and a couple of hours on the “other” project which shall remain a secret for now.

Now, to catch up on a couple of memes:

From the Friday Feast:

Appetizer
Approximately how many hours per day do you spend watching television?

It depends upon the day. I have been known to go 2-3 days without watching any TV, yet on other nights will sit and watch 3-4 hours of it in a single sitting.

Soup
Which colors decorate your kitchen?

Hmmm, none really. I have pale wood cupboards and beige appliances. Maybe I should consider adding some color?

Salad
Name 2 brand names you buy on a regular basis, and what do you like about them?

See my previous entry regarding name brands I use.

Main Course
What is your biggest fear?

Growing old alone.

Dessert
If you could wake up tomorrow and find yourself in another location, where would you want to be?

Somewhere warm and tropical. Oh, and I would need to be independently wealthy so I could enjoy it without having to work.

Bonus Birthday Question
What’s your favorite flavor of birthday cake?

My favorite cake is carrot cake, without a doubt!

From the Saturday Slant:

Standing in line. Waiting for that download. Sitting in traffic. Ignoring the commercials.

When your imagination begins to knit, what quilt unfolds? Of what do you typically daydream?

My daydreams are quite varied, but generally revolve around relaxation. This is most probably due to the high levels of stress I feel in my daily life. I typically daydream of vacationing at some remote locale. I imagine myself sitting on a tranquil beach with an umbrella drink, a good friend, and a good book.

At other times, I imagine myself making my way through Ireland one pub at a time. I have a dear friend who recently made her way through England one pub at a time and it sounded FABULOUS!

Ten on Tuesday

From Ten on Tuesday:

Ok, I will preface this by stating there are VERY few things in life that I can’t live without. That having been said …

10 Brand Names You Can’t Live Without in no particular order:

Cingular - Yes, I do need my cell service!
Diet Rite Cola
palmOne - love my new Tungsten T5!
Weight Watchers
Bath & Body Works (pretty much anything in Warm Vanilla Sugar)
Q-Tips
Folgers
Davinci or Torani (either is fine as long as I have one of them for my coffee)
Tivo
Pogo.com

Ok, here is my own addendum to this meme.

10 things/activities that I would prefer to NOT have to live without:

Cross stitching
Reading a good book
Cuddling under the blankets on a rainy day
Having a good cup of coffee and working a crossword puzzle on a lazy Sunday morning
Staying up until the wee hours of the morning talking with a good friend
Hearing my niece laughing & calling me “Auntie M”
Walking along the beach and smelling the ocean air
Spending an afternoon at the ballpark watching a baseball game
Cranking up the tunes and going for a drive
A nice glass of White Zin

Stitching Update

I finally got in some decent stitching time again the past couple of days. I’ve been working on my “No Late Knight Snacking” piece as part of the Needle & Thread BB Dragon Dreams SAL.

I had a somewhat productive weekend. Saturday morning was the kick-off meeting with my marathon training group with Team in Training. For anyone interested, I’ve started a separate marathon blog just for my training & fundraising updates.

I thought this was interesting. It’s the Daily Dirt from Friday, May 13:

1. So, What is your favorite desert topping? Caramel
2. What do you dip your fries in? Now, ketchup. Before losing weight, mayonnaise
3. Do you get the grated parmesan cheese at restraunts? Not usually
4. Salad dressing all over, or on the side? Definitely on the side & then I just dip my fork in it
5. Frosting or sprinkles? Frosting, preferably chocolate

Tagged!

I’ve been tagged…

by some needle pulling thread.

Choose 5 and complete the sentence and then tag 3 other bloggers…

If I could be a scientist . . .
If I could be a farmer . . .
If I could be a musician . . .
If I could be a doctor . . .
If I could be a painter . . .
If I could be a gardener . . .
If I could be a missionary . . .
If I could be a chef . . .
If I could be an architect . . .
If I could be a linguist . . .
If I could be a psychologist . . .
If I could be a librarian . . .
If I could be an athlete . . .
If I could be a lawyer . . .
If I could be an inn-keeper . . .
If I could be a professor . . .
If I could be a writer . . .
If I could be a llama-rider . . .
If I could be a bonnie pirate . . .
If I could be an astronaut . . .
If I could be a world famous blogger . . .
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world . . .
If I could be married to any current famous political figure . . .

If I could be an athlete . . . I’d participate in a marathon. Oh wait! I AM going to participate in a marathon in October. I guess I AM an athlete.

If I could be an inn-keeper . . . I’d open a bed & breakfast on an island with wonderful beaches and incredible sunsets.

If I could be a chef . . . I’d open a vegetarian fusion restaurant.

If I could be a writer . . . I’d write mystery/thriller novels with a strong female main character.

If I could be a linguist . . . I’d be cunning. Sorry, couldn’t resist when I saw it in the list.

Hmmmm….now who shall I tag? How about Lorna, Haze, and Rachel.

Work, work, work…

Work has been insanely busy for me this week. Not only have I not had time to stitch, I’ve not had time for reading really either. Well, actually, I have had a bit of time, but it was spent unwinding and trying to convince myself that I DO actually need a job and shouldn’t just quit. LOL

New Website

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve purchased my own domain, so my cross stitching site will soon be moving. I hope to have the new site up and running later this week. My blog will stay at this same URL, however.

Here is the new URL:

http://www.socalstitcher.com

Thanks!

Sunday Brunch - 08 May 05

Sunday Brunch:

1) What is your birthday, what time were you born, what astrological sign are you, and what city and state were you born in?

I was born on February 17th at 7:05am in Manchester, Tennessee. I am an Aquarius.

2) Are there any famous events or famous people that share your special day?

Celebrities that share my birthday:

*Michael Jordan
*Hal Holbrook
*Paris Hilton
*Rene Russo

Some famous events that occurred on February 17:

*The first ship passed through the Suez Canal (1867)
*Swan Lake was performed for the first time (1895)
*Newsweek magazine was published for the first time (1933)
*The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, MA (196
*Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match in Philadephia (1996)

3) What did you do to celebrate your last birthday?

I went and visited a dear friend out of state for several days.

4) What is your best birthday celebration that you can remember?

I suppose it was when I turned 25. My SO at the time through a HUGE party (around 100 people) that started at around 5pm. There was a massive cookout and he had even hired a band to come and play. We partied until around 3am.

5) What is the best birthday present you have ever received?

A free plane ticket to go visit my friend in question #3. It was technically a Christmas present, but I used it for my birthday. (Thanks again, Anna!) :-)

Are you more… for May 4

Are you more…

01) In a shower where you can’t get the temperature just right, likely to set the temperature to hotter than you like or colder than you like? Hotter
02) In a restaurant (that you MUST eat in) where they can’t get the spiciness just right, likely to order the food spicier than you like or blander than you like? Spicier
03) A person who sleeps soundly or a person who sleeps very lightly? Lightly
04) Aware of your prejudices or believing that you have no prejudices? No prejudices
05) A great neighbour to have or an undesirable neighbour to have? Great neighbor to have
06) Believing that people, as a species, are capable of a lot more than we think or believing that people, as a species, simply are what we display now? Capable of a lot more than we think
07) Likely to throw a drunk idiot out of your party or likely to mutter quietly and just not invite them again? Throw them out
0 Yourself when around adults or yourself when around children? Around adults
09) Into the 12-grain whole wheat bread or into the regular white bread? 12-grain whole wheat
10) Someone who couldn’t go 3 months without beef or someone who couldn’t go 3 months without chicken? Neither. I’m a vegetarian

Relief!!!

OMG! I am SO happy right now! All of my test results came back negative, so I do NOT have leukemia or hemophilia! This is such a HUGE relief! I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this later, but for now, I’m too giddy to write about it.