Plum Blossom Kimono & Life Update

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 …