Moved to WordPress

I have been working some with WordPress and I've decided to move my blog over there. If you want to keep track of my silly rantings and cross stitch stuff, please link to my new blog at: http://bayoustitcher.wordpress.com/

It's gonna be great!

I started on Pompeji by Chatelaine today and I think I'm just going to love it! The colors are beautiful and so far, it is stitching up rather quickly. It is nice to be finished with the stitching leporello, just waiting on the finishing supplies to come in to put it all together.

I jumped off the deep end (again) and bought a new aquarium. It's a fifty-gallon with bright light technology. I'm going to have African chichlids (colorful freshwater fish) and if I get back into the hobby, I'm going to set up another reef tank as well. I had one for quite a while, but it went belly up for some unknown reason and I got frustrated and sold it. It was really beautiful and so peaceful to sit and look at. This freshwater tank will be fun, too. I'm building an under-gravel jet system and I picked out my rocks from Jim Stone yesterday. I've cleaned them all up and I have to wash the gravel sometime this weekend. I'm waiting on a pump to come in for the UGJ system and then it will be ready for some fish!

Back to work we go...

I have decided that I can't wait until I retire. I used to wonder what I would do with all that free time, but I cleaned up my craft room yesterday and actually took a good look at my stash. If I live forever I don't think I could stitch all that stuff! And most of it is stuff I still really want to stitch! I just have to change my mindset about stitching from my stash. Sometimes I look at it as obligatory stitching and then it's not fun. Those that know me won't be surprised, but I don't like to be told what to do! So, I have to be careful about how I approach a project.

Since I've finally finished the Leporello, I have been working on "Four Saisons" by Anagram. It stitches quickly, as there are only two colors and it's 25/1 so it's not too hard on the eyes. I'm just not excited about it like I used to be. I still think it will be pretty, but there are other things I'd rather be stitching, but this project is almost halfway done and I feel like I should work on it and finish what I started. I should probably just do what I want since this is my hobby and not a job!

I went back to work last night for the first time since my cast was off. Everybody was looking at me so funny because I only had the cast on for two weeks. They know it's still broken, but we all have to work extra duty and you can't do that with a cast. I think it will be fine, the only time it hurts is when I forget about it and put a load or pressure on the wrist. If I get in a fight at work, I'll just have to hit 'em with the other hand!

One more day and a wake up!

I can't wait until Sunday gets here! This #*@^ wedding will be over and hopefully things will get back to normal. I actually tried to stitch last night, but an hour later I had done LESS than I had already done when I sat down! Yes my friends, I worked for 40 minutes stitching, found a problem that I did the last time I stitched on it, so I had to take out all I had done plus some of what I had done last time. Therefore, the frogs were definitely at my house, under my chair, and under my skin!

Speaking of skin, I can now see my left arm as I convinced the doctor to remove the cast after less than two weeks! He had a splint made for me (this cool stuff is really supple, they wrap it around the bottom half of your arm, then it gets hard and looks like that stuff they make the rawhide bones with) and told me to wear it as much as possible. I can't wear it at work, so I'll have to be really careful, as it needs about three more weeks for the bone to heal.

I finally finished all of my stitching for the leporello! It was quite a challenge and I'm sure I haven't seen anything yet as we still have to put them together!

It will be another busy day, as the rehearsal is tonight at the church followed by a crawfish boil for the rehearsal dinner. There's all kinds of crazy people all over town so if you live in Baton Rouge, beware!

Casts are not for me!

This cast is driving me insane! I almost cut it off at work Tuesday night. One of the guys has broken both arms twice each and says he is great at taking off casts with a dremmel tool. I haven't done it yet, but I can tell you it is lurking in the back of my mind! I asked the P.A. to give me a splint instead and he said he didn't think that would do it...only because he didn't think I'd wear it! Ahhh, the hazards of going to the same doctor for a long time...they get to know you toooooooo well!

I stitched some last night at work on my last piece of the leporello but it was so busy I didn't get to finish. Hopefully tonight I will be able to finally finish it!

Pompeii is here!

I got a happy in the mail and email today. I finally got accepted into the group for Pompeii and my supplies for it also came in the mail today. I'm going to take it with me to work and slobber over it!

Don't Climb in your Sock Feet!

This is what happens when you climb in your sock feet...at least when you are over forty! Oh well, it could have been worse. It is definitely a break in my radial bone near the wrist, and my carpals were smushed into the radial bone as well. So, a cast it is! Since I have a wedding in two weeks and my outfit I just bought is green, I went with the green cast. I haven't gotten to try stitching with it yet, hopefully I will get some stitching time in tonight at work since I'm stuck on the desk in the office.

Ssshhhh!

Not everything posted here should be shared at the LNS. I have two stitching worlds, one at the LNS and one in cyberspace. Very few of the people in each of those worlds repeat and if these worlds collide it will be the end of independent Theresa (only those that watched Seinfeld will get that)! Anyway, if you are a "double-friend" and want to talk about something posted here that doesn't involve the store, please do it away from the LNS!

I had planned on finishing the last big part of the leporello today but forgot about our sampler group meeting tonight. I have been working on that blasted Christmas tree from the Victoria Sampler Christmas Heritage piece. It is very tedious! It doesn't look like I'm going to finish the tree before the meeting so maybe I will count down and begin working on the next band at the LNS. The tree is too difficult to do without utter silence!

Some "real" photos of Pompeii

Check out this pic of a stitcher's progress on Pompeii and a link to her blog

OMG!

I don't know what I was thinking, but I just ordered the complete chartpack and joined the group for "Pompeii Garden" by Chaitelaine! I just couldn't help myself. I think I have now completely lost my grip on reality. I have so many other things I need to finish. I think I may need professional help!

Nice Friday night!

Friday night was a very nice evening. I had driving school during the day so I had the odd Friday night off (I work every Friday normally). I went out to eat with friends and then had them and another friend over for some stitching at my house. We had a really good time, got some stitching done, quelled some rumors, started some others, and vented a lot! It was a really fun evening and we will have to do it more often!

I have gotten a decent bit done on the last big Leporello piece. The last piece I did wasn't hard, I just struggled because I just wasn't "feeling" it! But the end is near, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, so I'm being a good troop and marching on!

Victory!

Thank God in His heaven and all the angels and the saints, I've finished part 7 of the leporello. As usual, it turned out very pretty but I just really struggled with this one. Anyway, only two pieces left and it will be done! In the meantime, while I was struggling, I managed to make these two Mill Hill pin pillows. I think they are so cool and they weren't difficult. I'm thinking about designing an LSU one and having a little class at the LNS. We shall see!

No fun stitching for me!

I swore on Tuesday night that I was going to finish part seven of the leporello and I just couldn't do it. I'm so tired of working on it that I couldn't bring myself to finish! All I have left on that part is a little bit of backstitching on the vines and the beads. Maybe I will be able to finish it this weekend.

I got the wedding sampler back from the framer and the saga continues. It was supposed to be double-matted and it wasn't. No problem you think, just take it back and have her add the other mat. Well, there is filet in the inner frame and it has been discontinued. We thought we would have to go find another to match the frame but luckily she had just enough to fix it. I'll be glad when this thing is over!

Ouch

I have had a toothache for a couple of days and haven't done anything but go to work and read on the computer. Seems like every time I get in the groove with my eating right and working out something throws me off track! Pretty hard to run when your whole face hurts! I'm going to the gym this evening though and at least do some weights before work. I didn't get into the dentist today so hopefully tomorrow they can fix my face!

Catastrophe Avoided!

I got a phone call this afternoon that could have been a catastrophe! Well, a stitching catastrophe anyway. The wedding sampler I did for "Taylor and Trisha" (see post below) had a spelling problem...the bride spells her name "Tricia"! We took it to the framer over two weeks ago and so I just knew it would be too late to catch her. Luckily, I called and she said that she was taking it home tonight to begin putting it on the board. How lucky was that!?! So, needless to say, I went straight over there, picked it up, fixed it, and brought it back before closing time. WHEW!!

A Great Birthday!

So how do you like this? A two-sided biscornu for my birthday from my friends, Autumn and Marjean. I just love it! Thanks so much for the gift ladies! I had a great birthday yesterday. Daphne, Marjean, and Karen took me to lunch at one of my favorite restaurant's, La Carretta's, and they told the hostess it was my birthday. I had to wear the silly mexican sombrero and they sang to me. How embarrassing! I go to that restaurant in uniform all the time so the wait staff really got a kick out of that! After lunch we went to the house and stitched for a little while. Then we went to the LNS for stitching night. They surprised me with this gift and a cake and it was a great birthday!

Just a "wassup"

Well, we survived the stitching retreat and the only bad thing was the stomach aches from too much food! Seriously, I had a really good time and got some stitching done. I stitched on "Wild Flower" on Saturday and Sunday I switched and finally started "Spanish Wine". It is going to be quite the project! Thanks to our hostess Karen! Tomorrow night is our sampler group and I'll be starting the Christmas sampler by Victoria Sampler. It looks like it will be a bear too!

Taylor and Trisha's Wedding Sampler

I have finished Taylor and Trisha's wedding sampler, the "Love Sampler" by Sweetheart Tree. It was my first Sweetheart Tree project and it went really fast. Tomorrow would make two weeks, but I didn't stitch on it for about five days so I am very pleased. We are taking it to the framer today.

Almost Done!

I am almost finished with "The Love Sampler" by Sweetheart Tree for Taylor's wedding gift. I have two more bands and the beads and I am done! It really went pretty fast since I just started it last Tuesday, but I am really ready to be done with. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a finished project to post!

Constant Changes...

Well, as you can see, I have changed my blog template...again. I just got tired of doing all the html on the three-column template. I liked it better but it was a lot more work and I just don't have time to update all that stuff!

Anyway, I added my WIP's in the lefthand column. Not all of them mind you, but the big ones anyway!

Added to my Tattoo

On Saturday, I added to my memorial tattoo for fallen officers. I added the flowers around the bottom. It really makes the tattoo stand out so much better! I think I need a couple more flowers to make it tie in at the banner.

Still Here...

This past week has been crazy! I haven't gotten a lot of stitching done, but sure did do some buying! We decided on a piece for Daphne's son's wedding gift and it is going to be needed at the frame shop PDQ. I also started my "Wildflower" by Sam Sarah, worked some on my ghost ship, and even worked a few minutes here and there on my leporello and "Four Seasons" by Anagram. I guess I stitched more than I thought! I'm waiting on a pattern to come in from Birds of a Feather as well. I don't know what the real name is, but we call her "Apple Toter"...hehehehehe.

Poor Saints

Well, they had a fairy tale season and it's really sad that it is over. I thought early in the third quarter they were going to pull it through but they just couldn't do it. Hopefully they can do it next year.

On the stitching front, I have been working hard on part 7 of the leporello. I'm really ready to be done with this project.

On the work front, last night was insane. I had to semi-fight a guy, get on the muddy ground to handcuff him, got some pepper spray in my nose. Then another big fight went out, and while that was going on, we had a shooting. I ended up doing CPR on the guy until EMS could get there but he succumbed to his injuries and died at the hospital. He was only 21 years old and from all reports, a good kid. I tell people all the time that nothing good happens after midnight. STAY HOME!

Maybe I'll get some rest on Monday and be able to post some pics of my WIP's. I have a few (hehehehe) and some that I plan to do soon. It would be nice to have them on here so I could keep track!

2 More Leporello Finishes

I'm done with parts 8 and 10 and I started on part 7 today.

Leporello Pics

Parts I've Finished

Weigh-in day

I'm down four pounds from last week! Almost to 30 pounds total loss. I stitched last night and I'm almost finished with part 10 of the leporello. I'm going to post some pics of the parts I've done so far.

Running...is it worth it?

Okay, so I don't really run anymore, I jog. And I haven't done it in some time since I hurt my knee (again) about three months ago. I got up this afternoon and said I was just going to walk, no running, no pressure on time, just walk a couple of miles. The first mile, I jogged a minute or so, walked a minute or so and so on. On the way back, I was feeling pretty good, so I jogged the whole way! I'm happy with that plus I got my cardio out of the way before work.

I did not get to put needle to thread yesterday at all. I will be stitching tonight though, as I will be working Don's from 1800-2300 then going to work from there. I did finish part 2 of the leporello and hopefully I'll be able to post some pics of all the finished parts tomorrow.

Day Four of the challenge

Now, why do I do this to myself? I did really well Mon-Wed and got all of my challenge points. Today, we met up with a friend we haven't seen in a while and went to Las Palmas. I didn't do that bad, having some chips and salsa and chicken fajitas (2). Then for dinner I had three Cane's chicken fingers and two pieces of their toast. So all in all it wasn't that bad and I got all my points today, but I really could've made much better choices! At any rate, I've lost 4 pounds this week so I'm very happy about that. Two more pounds and I will be back to where I was before the holidays!

Now, I'm going to stitch. I haven't stitched at home in a week, and I'm going to do it tonight if it kills me!

First Day's Success

Well, I did it! I stuck to my calories, did a toning workout, and drank all of my water! It was pretty tough in the wee hours of this morning. I finished my day's calories by 0200 and didn't get to leave work for four hours after that. I was pretty hungry, but I played around in my journal and was pretty busy at work the last hour and a half. I found out last night at around midnight that Taylor (my best friend's son and pretty much my own son, too) is getting married April 20th. That gives me about 14 weeks to lose weight. At two pounds a week, I could be down to....drumroll please....162 lbs.! Hopefully I can use that as some incentive to stay on my plan!

Unfortunately, due to all the work and various distractions, I did not get to stitch at all today. I was planning on going to stitching tonight at the LNS but I have to work. At least I should be able to get some stitching done while I'm there. If all goes as planned, I should finish part 2 of the leporello. Then I'll only be three parts behind! LOL

A finish from last year

Here is a piece I did last year for my best friend's birthday. I really like it and it was challenging to stitch. There are a lot of different stitches and it was the first time I had done the ribbon work and bouillon knots. It's a Victoria Sampler, "Good Friends".

And so it begins...

Today is the first day of the "New You" challenge on Ediets. I have been with my team for over a year and they are great! I had lost 29 pounds but gained about 6 over the last two months. So, overall, I'm down 23 pounds and have about 35 to go. It's been a slow process but then again, I didn't get this big overnight! Hopefully it won't be too hard to get back in the swing of things. The hardest part for me is getting to the gym on my work days. Not because I don't have time, but working nights makes me tired no matter how much I sleep. Then again, if I was working out like I should I would probably sleep much better. ARGHH! It's just a vicious cycle. Oh well, here I go again...wish me luck!

Working on this blog!

I just threw this blog together the other day and now I'm figuring out how to add stuff. That's why there's duplicate comments on my welcome area and my first blog. I know I'm forgetful but it's not that bad yet! I'm going to post some actual stitching pictures...eventually.

Just Great!

Saturday my Tivo remote stopped working and so when I woke up this afternoon, I decided to go to Best Buy to get a temporary one until I could order one from Tivo (no one carries the replacement remote locally). I jump up, throw on some clothes, and jump in my brand new FJ Cruiser (it's only two weeks old). I'm pulling out of my driveway and a little boy is riding a four-wheeler on the sidewalk and runs into my Cruiser! He's fine (except for the whipping I think he's going to get from his dad), the four-wheeler is fine, but I got a big 'ol deep scrape in my friggin' bumper! Anyway, so much for starting the day off right. At least he didn't get hurt.

Welcome to the bayou!

Thanks for stopping by my little part of the swamp. I will be using this to post my stitching progress and to keep up with friends and family. Let me know you've stopped by!