Stitching Re-direct

9:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Today I spent almost 3 hours working on Sistine Chapel. Got 260 stitches into it, and nearly 1/2 of the 2nd column completed. What I realized is that working on the S.C. as I had originally intended to do, won't give me any time for anything else this year. This will not only make me cranky, but will make me give up and the S.C. will end up in my pile of WIPS. So I have decided to dedicate 1 week a month to working on it. During that week, I will stitch on nothing else (unless its a traveling project) but the S.C. But, when the week is finished, the S.C. gets put away and I move on to something else. For now, the other 3 weeks will be working on ONE project from my WIPS pile, so I can try to get some of them cleared up. I have several smaller projects which I can kit up and take with me to soccer practices over the spring. That way I will always have something to stitch, and hopefully accomplish the projects I need to finish. As I am always adding to my "Want to do" pile, I have to be careful not to add more projects to my WIPS LOL. Will take a picture of the S.C. at the end of this week (Thursday night 1/15) and post, and then beginning Friday, finish working on Quilts in the Garden. I would like to have that one completely done by the end of the 3 weeks, and think it is very do-able if that is all I am working on.

Tonight was nice. We had a very nice birthday party for Robert. He is in the "hippie" phase, so we got him a sweatshirt/jacket with peace symbols all over it, a matching bandanna, 2 c.d.'s with 60s music on them, and a peace symbol key chain. He seemed to have loved the gifts, even though I thought they were a bit corny. As I watched him unwrap them, I couldn't help but think how grown up he has become......and yet, how young he still is! I remember when I was 18, I thought I was finally an adult, and couldn't wait to prove myself to the world. But looking at him, makes me realize how young 18 really is! It is going to be very hard to watch him graduate and leave for the Army in May. I didn't realize how it was going to effect me emotionally before tonight.

Friday Housework????

8:11 PM Edit This 0 Comments »




Today is supposed to be my housework day. You know the day where the house gets put back in order, so that the kids can destroy it over the weekend?! Yeah, well I decided not this week! I haven't had the energy to do much at all, specially not housework YUCK! So, I decided to clean on Monday...once the monsters (I mean kids) go back to school, and the house can at least stay presentable for a day or so, instead of feeling like I have done it all for naught.

I managed to post an update for week one, of my Sistine Chapel today. I was only a day late, which I consider quite good considering!


Have a long weekend ahead of me this weekend. Tomorrow Zech will be home for the day. I love having him closer so we can be more involved with him, but it also really takes its toll, as he requires so much extra work then the other children do. We are going to be going out to my parents tomorrow evening to celebrate Robert's 18th birthday. I can't believe he is already 18...where did the time go? Seems like just yesterday I had him, and a few months I will be sending him off to the Army~and his Independence!


Sunday we have a soccer game in Morton at 3:15. My goal is to go back to church in the morning as well. I will have to take Tim to work after lunch, then head to Morton for the game. Then after the game, I have to bring the kids back to Pekin, and head back to Morton for a board meeting. I would take the kids with me, but we are going to be discussing some serious stuff, and its my first meeting as secretary, so I want to make sure my attention is where it ought to be. I had hoped to have had a laptop by this meeting, to make taking notes easier for me, since it is so hard for me to write....but that didn't happen, so will just have to do the best I can.

SC Week 1 Update

3:23 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

This is my first update photo for the project Sistine Chapel (an Artecy project). I had committed to getting at least 1/2 a page done each week~but as you can see, that did not happen! I think the fact that it had a ton of confetti stitches, as well as our new family member (Otis), I may have set an impossible goal for the first week. I am going to attempt to have the first 1/2 page done by next Thursday (1-15), and from there hopefully stay caught up. After I took this picture, I got about an hour and 1/2 more done on it, so that the first column is completed, along with the first 10 rows of the second column.

Thursday's= Grocery Day

8:39 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Had to go out in the terrible, cold, mean world again today~and do the detestable~ GROCERY SHOPPING. I don't really know why I hate it so much, I just know that I do. I have been going when Tim is home to go with me, but it still wears me out so much, that all I want to do when I get home is sleep. So for the most part this afternoon, I sat on the couch with the puppy and dozed.

Cleaning?? Whats that? I haven't been able to keep up on my flying at all! Really depresses me when I can't seem to do the simple things to keep up (the swish and swipe and the clean sink). I just seem to have no energy for anything that isn't completely required. I did finally make it to church last night~but by the time I got home I felt like I had been through a marathon. People just don't understand how hard it can be at times for me. Simple things like going to church, suck out my life blood. And when I do go, I have to listen to everyone go on and on about how I haven't been there....... Even my friends don't seem to listen when I tell them that its the little things that wear me out~and I have to pick and choose what I am going to do.

Then of course you add to all of it the fact that I have this cute, adorable little puppy who is not potty trained yet, and you add in a whole new set of circumstances in which I am responsible for care taking. We have had some successes, which make me feel like continuing on, in the potty training area. But it also seems for every success, we take 3 or 4 steps backwards. I know it takes time, and I am trying really hard to remember what a wonderful pet he will make once he is trained. But sometimes its hard to remember that he is just a baby and I have to give him a break.

Course generally just about the time that I am ready to give up, he does something cute, like chase after his little tail stub...and all I can do is laugh at him. I bought him a little blue sweater today, to try to keep him warm, but he still shivers all the time! And we found out recently, he is scared of heights......so there is no fear of having him sleep on our bed, as he doesn't like being that far off the ground LOL.

As for my hands, they were particularly empty today, for once again I got NO Stitching done. This really has to stop, as I am sooo cranky from not having my stitching time! Tomorrow morning, while Tim is home, I am going to take some time alone to stitch. And then he is off again on Sat, so hopefully I will get a chance again then. Once Otis is potty trained I will be able to leave him where I don't have to watch his every move, and then I can go back to my regular schedule. Its just right now, I don't know how long that will be. I am way behind on my Sistine Chapel. I still have 10 rows to do, in order to finish the first column, and I was supposed to have the first 1/2 page done by today!!! Talking about that, I have to get a picture of that and post it to the group as well~even if I haven't meet my goal~to keep me accountable.
Well I am going to play a game of poker, then it is off to bed for me.

My Cat Thinks its a Dog

9:28 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
This is a picture of Max, our cat. The picture does not do him justice, but it is the only one I have been able to take so far. So, a bit of information is probably needed first, on how Max came to live with us. Back in late Sept. or early Oct, during the height of High School Soccer season, (and Hurricanes), we came home one day from a soccer practice to loud howling coming from our under our deck. On further inspection, we discovered the source of the howling was a rather large and angry cat. I immediately suspected that the cat had been a run-a-way, and had told my children to leave it alone, in the hopes it would run back to its owner. A full week went by, and the cat never left under our porch. Of course by this time, I had to give it some food (although I have a stinking suspicion he was eating plenty of mice to keep him happy). The cat would come out and sit in my daughters lap, or mine, but would not stand still long enough for us to figure out if it was a boy or a girl. So we decided to name the Cat MAX (for Maxine or max-a-million {later determined to be Maxwell} depending on the sex~to be discovered later). Anyway, after two weeks of a cat living under my porch I realized that someone had probably put him out. (This has been happening a lot lately with the economy and people being unable to take care of their animals.) I discovered that Max was a he, and that he was fixed and de-clawed. So we did the next plausible thing........we invited him in. He didn't stay! As soon as the front door was opened, he ran back outside and hid under our porch. A week or so later, Tim and I opened the door one day to leave, and Max walked into the house (much like he owned it) and has never left!

So now on to the part of the Cat thinking he is a dog. Here is my case:
  1. Max Begs. Anytime you have food, he will sit at your feet and attempt to get you to drop your food to him
  2. Max Fetches. When playing with the dogs, if you throw a small toy, Max will not only chase after it, but will also pick it up and return it to you.
  3. Max Eats Dog Food. Need I say more about this one???
  4. Max knows commands. Max knows how to come, and sit, and lay.
  5. Max loves his stomach rubbed.
  6. Max plays with the puppy, as if he is a puppy himself. The chase each other all around the house, the cat chasing the dog, and vice-versa. Max will pounce on Otis, pinning him to the floor, steal Otis's toy and on and on...

So as you can see, our house has a strange assortment of animals. We have a Gecko (Buddy), Two goldfish (Kiko and F-I-S-H), a Cat (Boots), and three dogs (Abby, Otis and Max~who has S.I.D (species identity disorder)).

Puppies and babies

7:30 PM Edit This 0 Comments »


I have discovered today what puppies and babies have in common. The answer? Just about everything! This falls under the category of "WHAT WAS I THINKING" LOL. At Least the puppy sleeps through the night! (or at least for the most part) But that honestly is where the difference stops! The only thing keeping me going is the knowledge that Puppies learn faster then the average child. I am hoping to have him completely potty trained (or at least 90%) by the end of next week.

Its not just the potty training though. This puppy wants/needs constant attention. Loves to snuggle and be held, but seldom sits still long enough for me to read a chapter or do cross-stitching without being interrupted. And my living room looks like a war zone with all of the toys strewn everywhere LOL. On the plus side, he is very cute and does like to cuddle! We will have to work on teaching him to sit on ones LAP, not on our shoulders~he prefers to sit on our shoulders like a parrot!

So besides the puppy, isn't much to tell about today. I did spend about 1 1/2 hours stitching on Sistine Chapel, but still don't even have the first row on the first page done! I really believe it will go faster when I get over another row, as there isn't quite so many confetti stitches there. I think I will just continue on with this project through the next week, or the finishing of the first page, which ever comes 1st. I got NO stitching done last night, as I had planned, because I spent the time talking to one of the other moms whose son was there practicing as well. I am not totally upset about not working on my stitching, but I am certainly going through withdrawals from not having a decent amount of time to work on anything! Probably could have spent some more time this evening, but decided to play Poker instead (I know priorities). Truth is, I was to tired to really concentrate on the stitching, so I figured I would do something a bit more mindless. Talking about being mindless, I think I will head off now. Once my game is done, its early bedtime and reading for me!

Monday and Another Change

4:01 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Normally Monday evenings are reserved for quietness and stitching in this house. Josh generally goes off to "This Thing" (A Youth for Christ outing) and Allyssa generally finds herself some quiet reading or television watching to do. Tonight, however, "This Thing" was cancelled. Instead of having nice QUIET time to myself, I am again driving to Morton (20 Min's away) so that Josh can play soccer during the open gym night at our indoor soccer arena. I swear if this kid could, it would be soccer 24-7. I guess it is not all that bad, I will get to take my stitching with me. We are there for an hour and a half, and as long as my daughter cooperates and finds her own things to do, I will be able to spend sometime stitching.

Soccer and stuff

11:52 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Well, the soccer game did not go quite as planned. We planned a team that is one of our two arch rivals. To say it was not a friendly game would be an understatement. Fortunately, there was no blood, and no one was seriously injured...............Except that is for my son, whose ego was bruised severely! Our boys did not play as well as they have in the past. Thinking it had to do with the several weeks off for Christmas, and also the fact that we played on a Sunday afternoon, when our normal games are on Friday night. Non-the-less, there were 20 shots on goal. Out of the 20, Josh blocked 15. (In his view point, he allowed 5 past). It was a very quiet and solemn ride home!

I am just plain exhausted, but also wide awake (I HATE THAT). So here I am at almost midnight posting, rather then sleeping. I am too tired to read, too tired to stitch~which by the way, I did NONE of today~, pretty much to tired to do much of anything worth any good LOL. When I had a TV in my room, I would have curled up in bed and watched some boring history channel show to fall asleep. But we have been without that TV for several months, as it broke.

I have not kept my New Years eve thought of stopping watching all TV this year. However, I can say that I have cut back tremendously. I believe once or twice a week for an hour or two will be okay. Before I was watching every night for 3-4 hours. Silly waste of time!

Okay, well that's all I really have to say right now.

Sleep is Highly Overrated

12:43 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
I haven't been sleeping well lately, even pre-puppy. Last night was the third night in a row with under 5 hours of sleep (an anyone who knows me, knows I need more like 10-12). So to say I am tired, is an understatement.

The puppy did remarkably well last night, after I moved his kennel into my bedroom. I guess the sound of my husband snoring was a good enough sedative, that after a few restless moments of whining and tossing. But after a few deep NO's from me (and the shirt off my back, quite literally), he settled right down and went to sleep. He actually slept longer then I did!

We are off to Josh's soccer game in a few minutes. This is the start of a new year, so his stats get to start fresh. He wants me to keep track of them all, so I guess that will keep me busy during the games at least LOL.
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