Yawn.

There still isn't much going on around here. At least nothing fun or exciting or, I'm sorry to say, even remotely interesting. If it bores me, and if I write about it, I'm certain it'll bore the pants off you. So hold tight to those knickers.

Let's see. Monday I took a test to get a certificate for my notary application. One of my employers, (our HOA) became very insistent that I become a notary public. I really didn't want to do it, but they agreed to pay for the whole thing, and since I want to keep that job...

Yesterday I spent the late afternoon helping my local best friend get her house ready to put on the market. That was a complete bummer. Not the cleaning part, but facing the reality that my closest local friend is moving. Ah well, I've always been able to find therapy in a bucket of warm water and Murphy's Soap, and that's just what we did. So she decluttered and packed and I washed and wiped. We accomplished a lot, including making the kitchen sparkle and doing some major cleaning in the living room. The Ex-husband, (who by-the-way will get 1/2 of the house proceeds), has made it clear that he refuses to lift a finger. Complete ass-hat.

Today is sales tax day. Par-tay, right? Woo hoo.

But before I rush off to that, I'll show you my recent stitching. Here's the rough stitching of my house for my Souvenir Sampler.I'm using this as a guide for the actual house that I'm stitching in the sampler, and I started on that last night. I'll add a few more details, like somethings that will look like flowers, and if I'm really ambitious, maybe other stuff.

And if you're curious, here's my actual house: I know the roofline in my stitching is a bit off...but I wanted it to fit in the space it's given in the sampler. So this works for me.

Okee Dokee. See you next time.

I haven't had much to blog about for the past couple of days. It's been very quiet around here. Although it's been a little boring, my house is reasonably clean and all of the laundry is caught up. AND, I've pre-cooked some meals for this week. I could get used to this!

Colleen passed her driving test on Friday. She was pretty darn happy. Me? I bought another box of hair color. The grey seems to come out so much faster these days...

I went back to working on DT's Souvenir Sampler again. I put that down months ago. So I started to work on it and realized that I was at a spot that called for a big house (Anna - you know where I mean). All along I knew I wanted to put in a house that looked like mine, and none of the houses in the pattern book quite fit the bill, so I decided to start from scratch and design a house of my own.

Let me tell you - it took me all weekend to stitch a little mock-up. Draw, stitch, rip, redo. But I think I have it about right, so now I'll go to the actual sampler. And I'll have photos then.

Did I forget something?

I forgot to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you get to do whatever you love with whomever you love today.

Now, now. Think clean thoughts.

Somebody stop me.

Sampler Cove's Rhapsody in Red
Stop me, stop me, stop me. This is too gorgeous. I love it, but will I ever actually stitch it? I'm afraid that I'll be tired of red after I finish my current red sampler. So - - -

Then there's this one: Sampler Cove's Spanish Bleu.
I want this...badly.

These designers are surely out to kill me.

An Amazing Trip!

What can I say about this cruise? It was the most fun I've ever had on a vacation...EVER! I'm so glad that my dear, dear husband came up with this idea and convinced me to go. (Sometimes I'm a real stick-in-the-mud) Evidently I've kept him around for 25 years for some pretty good reasons. However, why on earth he puts up with me...well, that's a puzzle.

Start with all of the perks of a winter cruise - Fantastic meals, warm and beautiful days followed by gorgeous sunsets, sparkling clean cabins, excellent service, and new and beautiful islands to visit. Then add the music!

Imagine seeing your favorite perfomers in very intimate settings. For six nights we were entertained by the amazing musical talents of Lyle Lovett, EmmyLou Harris, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Brandi Carlisle. They all played in the main theatre of the ship, but if you know about cruise ships, you know how small those venues are. And then there were bonus shows played in rooms the size of your favorite small neighborhood bar. And from time to time you'd catch a glimpse of your favorite performer stopping by the piano in the casino and just breaking into song.

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band absolutely took my breath away. EmmyLou Harris radiated talent and kindness. Shawn Colvin really took me by surprise - and she was wonderful. And those were only the headliners. We found some new (to us) musicians to love. There was Gaelic Storm, (positively rocked), David Ryan Harris (sexy fellow), Edwin McCain and Buddy Miller (two old favorites and always fantastic), and the mellow Earl Klugh.

There were lots of "Open Mic" days, with the winner playing a short set the following day. Dave and I were floored by the amount of talent on the ship. Just ordinary people like you and me, who carried their guitars onboard and just sat down to play. It was incredible.

We met some really interesting people - it a very diverse group, with people from all over the US and Canada. And we learned a lot about the music industry that we didn't know before.

And now for the photos. Sorry - you MUST sit through these!

This is us in our hotel room in Miami. I was playing with the timer setting on the camera.

See the ship in the background?

The view leaving Miami

Dave onboard during our first day at sea.

Cozumel! Margaritas! Tacos! Guacamole!

Dave loved shopping at Grand Cayman....not.

That's our boat over Dave's shoulder!

Jamaica. I'd like to go back. Just not to Ocho Rios.

Our last night onboard. Lots of laughs at dinner that night. A perfect way to end a fantastic trip!

We're back!

And I had the time of my life! This was absolutely the best vacation I've ever experienced, bar none. More later...

In exactly three days....

I honestly can't think of anything else. I'm working by butt off to have all of my work finished (and next weeks work pre-finished) by Saturday, but can I concentrate? No. Thinking about this trip keeps wiggling its way into my brain when all I should be working on are bills to pay, reports to finish, and paychecks to process.

Three more days, three more days....

Another good reason to hide your scissors.

Forget that you don't want your family opening wire-wrapped packages with your favorite sewing scissors. Forget that they want to open cans with your lovely little and expensive collectible scissors. I mean, we all know that those are pretty good reasons to hide your scissors. But then there's this:
When you go into your fabric stash to find a piece of fabric and well, well, well. Here's one that's the right color and the right count, but one of your children has decided that they need a piece of it. And for some ungodly reason they don't need a corner of it. They need the very middle of it.

What the heck. If I had hidden the scissors, they might have gnawed it out with their teeth. Sometimes you just can't figure.

Who put the tree...

In the Tree of Life, baby?? I did!

I promised myself that I'd finish that tree over the past weekend, and I did it. Mostly. I actually finished it during my lunchbreak today. There was a moment of panic while I was stitching and taping the chart pages together and guess-timating which stitches had been left off the chart. I realized that if I hadn't guessed correctly, the tree would be wonky and I'd be screwed. But fate must have been smiling on me Sunday, because it all came out perfectly. Or maybe it was my dad. This Sunday's mass was for my dad, and if anybody was a meticulous hobbyist, it was him.
So here it is - The Tree in the Tree of Life.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as accurate with the top alphabet. Who would have guessed that there should be an "I" between the "H" and "J"? Where was my head? Looks like I have some ripping to do. But really - it feels minor after finishing that darn tree. And then I'll put this away for a little while and work on some little, cruise-friendly stuff. Maybe an ornament or two, and I have another block exchange in the works, and several little LHN charts.

This time next week we'll be boarding a ship in Miami.

Hm. I've just finished a complicated part of a BAP, and I'm packing summer clothes into a suitcase in the month January...Can I be any more blessed?

I'm still in Payroll Land

But I'm almost done. This year I seem to have more end-of-the-year kinks to iron out than usual, but then again, I've had a very unusual year. It's safe to say that my mind wasn't always in a working place during the end of October, and if I made mistakes...well, it's not tragic. A pain in the butt, yes, but tragedy? No.

It's been a busy week all the way around. Colleen had a doc's appointment in Pittsburgh this Monday, so I let her drive all the way there, which was 50 miles of highway and city driving. I managed to keep my stress level under control, and it paid off because by the end of the drive she was driving confidently. Her test is scheduled for this Tuesday. Keep all of your fingers crossed for her, OK?

No stitching so far this week. I've been working solid till suppertime, (don't even get to see Judge Judy, which totally sucks) and I've been in bed pretty darned early. I just seem to be exhausted by 9PM.

But I've been saving some more of these Prom gems for you. Believe it or not, these are all from the same catalog. And before you read on, I do want to say that I seem to pick on this redhead a lot, but she really is stunningly beautiful in other photos. I just think the photographer uses her terribly, and if I were her I'd take some of that angst and knock his/her block off.

"You've got to be kidding. Aside from the obvious fact that this black dress makes my hair and skin look completely artificiial, and aside from the fact that the cut is rather Morticia-like, you've put me in a photo with two other girls wearing the exact same dress! And evidently all of the crotch area glitter is making my friend in red over there very itchy. So look at my face. I'm getting annoyed. Please... get me out of here."
"Oh ho. Oh Boy. Really funny. I'll bet you thought you had me fooled. I'll bet you were all, "Sure, just change the dress and give her a nicer color, and she'll never know she's wearing the same dress as the other girls...AGAIN!" But I'm on to your little tricks. And you've even moved me to the back of the photo. Did you think I wouldn't notice from back here?

So now I'm really peeved. C'mon guys. I'm through being Miss Nice Model. Now get me a different dress before I open up a big can of whoop-ass. "

Yikes!

Too much to do, and too little time! But I managed to squeeze this finish in over the weekend:

It's for the Bride's Tree SAL, and it's from a JCS ornament issue (1998). The designer was Needle and I. I switched out the DMC 221 and used one of those new dark red DMC variegated threads instead.

Now...I would love to scan and send a few more "interesting" prom fashion pages, but those pesky employees insist that it's payday so I have to get cracking.

See you tomorrow, I hope!

You've gotta love prom season

Or...I clearly had too much time on my hands last night.

I'll be the first to admit this: I'm not a girly kind of girl, and I'm horrible when it comes to fashion. Not that there's anything wrong with being girly and fashionable...There are days when I know it would be extremely useful to have some kind of fashion sense. It's just not me. I wear blue jeans most of the time, except for in the summer when I switch to khaki shorts. I like a nicely tailored shirt. I wear my hair straight with no fuss. If I'm wearing mascara, a little blush, and Chapstick, I think I have on makeup. I don't often carry a purse, but if I have my purse, don't ask me for tissues, a comb, or chewing gum. I simply don't have those fashionable supply-carrying traits.

There are no pairs of pantyhose in my dresser drawers. I buy shoes only under extreme duress (except running shoes - those are easy), and when I do buy shoes I usually hate them after wearing them once or twice and then I go back to my sneaks and my loafers.

OK, so you get my point.

This has frustrated my family over the years, but they've learned to live with me and work around me, and even to find humor in my deficiencies.

So...nothing is more foreign to me than the catalogs that we get in the mail during Prom Dress Buying Time. I just don't get it...but luckily I have a teenage daughter to help me navigate these waters. Dangerous waters. Expensive waters. And although she's more girly than I am, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and even though we start off saying "Ooooo, Prom Dresses", we end up laughing ourselves silly and wondering WTF the photographers and models were going for when they shot the catalog.

The first of many Prom catalogs arrived yesterday, and we were gleeful! But as we started looking through it, well, as usual, something was just off. Before I get all snarky, please realize that I think most of these dresses are stunning and I could only dream of looking as beautiful as these models in one of these creations. But the way they market them - well, it's perplexing. So this one we'll call the ANGST catalog, where all of the models try to look as aggravated and p.o.'d as possible.

Exhibit One:

(OK honey, just look like you want to rip my face off. There. That's it! Perfect!) Ruffly: This prom is lame. I refuse to go inside. I refuse to have any fun at all.

Flouncy: Me too. I dare them to make me have fun. In fact, I double-dare them.

Exhibit 2:

Purple-y: Listen, I know for certain that we ordered the Vegan meals. I understand that it wasn't one of the meal choices, but you should make an exception. And it's certainly none of your business that we're all wearing leather shoes and have animal tested hair product in our hair. Just give me my freakin' food! My daddy paid good money for this.

Brown-y: I could snap you in half.

Maroon-y: And I would enjoy watching her do it.

Exhibit 3

Standing Girl: Why oh why haven't our dates picked us up yet? I told them: Meet us on the beach by the deadest looking trees you can find. I guess I'll just keep looking wistfully to the North.

Reclining Girl: You really are too much. It looks like you've screwed up another prom night for us. I might as well take a load off and I won't even worry about snagging my dress on this dirty old driftwood tree because we're obviously going to miss prom again. Oh joy. And the approaching rainstorm is perfect. Just perfect.

And besides angst, there are the photos that are just plain weird. Like this one:

Exhibit 4: What has happened to my feet? Just how in hell do you expect me to dance feet that are on the wrong legs? Please put them back in their proper places.

Exhibit Five: Blondie:I told you to eat something this week. Now look at you. I hope you don't think I'm going to stand here holding you up all night.
Skinny: Your dress looks like cake. Yummy, yummy cake.

And finally, Exibit Six:
Come along my little darlings, I said I'd find you some little dates and that's just what I'm going to do or my name isn't Gianty Giantess.

Slumpo

I don't have any stitchy news today. I've been in a big old slump for the past week or so. No worries, though. It's usually just a matter of time.

BUT, I did want to thank you all for the nice comments about my box. I know that sometimes I sound ultra-critical, but I really do like it. You know how when you make something, you always think of all the ways you could have made it better? I suppose I was just thinking out loud.

I've been on a box kick lately. Especially boxes with latches. See, I've recently moved my stitching chair. To make a long story short, now it's in a relatively high traffic area in the house and my supplies are open to the ravages of two teenagers, one husband, and a crotchety old dog. Usually a nice bag will work sufficiently well to store stuff while I'm not working on it. But this seemingly innocent-looking old dog can ruin days of stitching in a matter of seconds because in reality she's an ornery, spoiled thing who will grab the thing that's nearest and dearest to your heart and rip it to shreds if she doesn't get her own way. Photographs, important financial documents, cash money, wedding bands (not chewed up - actually swallowed), homework, science projects...You name it.

So, when I started stitching downstairs again, I realized that I needed a storage box that closed and did so securely. And since I wasn't sure if I could decoupage on titanium, these wooden boxes with latches seemed just right.

Who knows, this dog may make me look silly by deciding that she loves the flavor of paint and Modge Podge, and she'll reduce this box to splinters. But I'm hoping that it'll take more than a few minutes and I'll catch her before she gets to the linen and silk inside.

Comments on Comments

Hey - don't think that I'm intentionally ignoring your comments! I keep reading them and then thinking to myself that I need to respond with a note or two, and then I just forget or get side-tracked. But so help me, I'm not an ignoramus.

Any-who. Here's the deal about the Grill Pan.

I didn't go expensive or professional or even heavy. Since it was a new tool to me, I just wanted something of adequate quality and at a reasonable price. Then if I didn't like the grill idea on the whole, I wouldn't feel like I had invested a small fortune on a kitchen appliance that would just take up space, gather dust, and eventually be donated to Goodwill. (like my bread machine, pasta maker, springform pans, and apple peeler to name a few) I had read good things about this Calphalon pan that went for $39.99 at Target, so I jumped.

The first meat I cooked in it was marinated chicken breasts. Easy, hard to screw up, and usually salvageable even if you really screw it up badly. They turned out reasonably well, but if you try this type of pan, avoid these two mistakes that I made from the get go:

1. Make sure the pan gets hot before you add the meat. And I mean hot. On my electric stove, I don't usually fry meat in my pans much above Med or Med High, but this pan needed a high heat to be more grill-like. That required patience and when I'm hungry, patience is in short supply! But the results are worth waiting for.

2. If you marinate the meat, let most of the marinade drip off before you add it to the pan. I'd almost suggest blotting it off the meat. It's not like your outdoor grill where excess marinade just drips off and down into the flames. It pools in the base of the pan, and because the ridges aren't particularly deep, the excess marinade acted kind of like a gravy, boiling the meat rather than grilling it.. Once again, the "grilliness" suffered.

So, with those lessons learned, my next few meals were were awesome. (fish, chicken, and pork) I even experimented with sliced mushroom, zucchini, and asparagus, all with great results. (I cooked them alongside the meat as it was finishing)

I haven't tried it in the oven yet, although it says that it's oven-safe. I have this idea to grill some apples then top them with brown sugar and oatmeal and bake them...Maybe I'll use that apple peeler after all.

More comments on comments later.

A quiet house

My house is back to being pretty quiet again. I took Johnny back to school Sunday, and despite all of my griping about mess-making and sleeping in, I miss him terribly. Ah well.

I visited a Joann Fabrics while I was in Meadville and I bought a bunch of cording and trim to finish ornaments and boxes, etc. For example:
I needed to trim this box that I had decoupaged earlier.
I didn't take any close-up photos of the box. It was my first attempt after several years at this (I was probably a Brownie the last time I did it...) so it's pretty rough. And painting? I clearly have a lot to learn about how to paint. But I made it with the intention of keeping it for myself, because I knew it wouldn't be perfect. Or even close to right.

Anyway, those are samplers cut out from old JCS magazines. Most of them were sampler ads. I felt a little guilty about cutting them up, but really - how many magazines can you save? I had given a big box of magazines and unwanted charts to St. Vincent DePaul about 2 years ago, and I still have too many here at home.

I'm working on my January ornament for the Brides Tree SAL. It's a fairly simple house and should work up in no time. But I'm out of DMC 500. I have about 18 inches left. Remember - we lost our local Joann's about two years ago. And the craft department at WalMart is mostly empty. It sounds outlandish, but if I want DMC floss I have to drive 30 miles or more to get it. Un-Freakin-Believable. So, I took the opportunity while I was in Meadville stop at the local Joann's and pick up this floss (among other things). Well, I got home, opened my bag, and found that evidently the wrong floss was stuck in the wrong place, and I had two skeins of DMC 501. I swear that I double-checked it when I picked it up, but maybe I was just too distracted by what seemed a wealth of fabric and thread and scissors and quilt batting and notions and patterns....all of the things that I've been missing lately. It must've set my head a-spinning.

Tree of Life is quietly waiting for me, too, and I'll likely work on that one evening this week.

Let's see...what else? I've watched a few movies recently. LOVED Stardust. Enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma. Yawned through the last few episodes of The Sopranos.

I've read a couple of books, too. Right now I'm nearing the end of Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I've been completely gripped by this book. I can't tell you how many times I've picked it up and put it back down again at the bookstore, but just before Christmas I splurged a little. I had this in my hand and thought well...now or never. I'm glad that I waited until after Christmas to read it because now I can give it my full attention. Awesome story. And my reading buddy has just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, so we're going to trade.

Earlier I read Blessings by Anna Quindlen. Nothing spectacular, but a quick read. And I'm sorry to say that I plodded through Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund. I absolutely loved her earlier book, Ahab's Wife, so I was really anxious to read Abundance when it came out in paperback. It was very disappointing, but was it because Marie Antoinette was actually kind of a pathetic person? I couldn't connect with this character at all.

Bleh. Time to work. Why can't I be independently wealthy?

I've been tagged and now I'll tag Y-O-U

This was a fun and even thought-provoking tag-type exercise that dear Anna asked me to do. So here's the deal:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you've written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be about anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.

This was a bit of a challenge for me, because I'm too lazy to add tags to my posts. So I couldn't just click on a tag and have all of the posts marked "family" at my fingertips. Sometimes I've listed fairly recent posts, because I really don't remember all of the older ones and I got too lazy to keep reading my own blather. Well, here goes:

1. Family: It wasn't easy to find a post that mentioned all four of us, but there was our Easter Portrait post that I think depicts the day-to-day goings on in my house. We're the kind of family that argues a lot, but it turns out ok in the end.

2. Friends: Wow, I hardly write about my friends at all. That was an eye-opener. All I could find was this one post about our old Playgroup. Huh. I'm thinking that it's just this particular stage of my life? When the kids are on their own, I know we'll be doing more things with friends again.

3. Myself: If finding posts about friends was hard because of scarcity, finding favorite posts about me was even harder because it seems like that's all I ever write about!! Me, me, me! This is sort of lame, but I thought this meme was fun.

4. Something I love: Now, I took this literally. There are many someones that I love, but if I could show you one thing that I love, it would be this fabulous lamp. You all know that I love to stitch, and I generally love the things that I stitch, but as far as household decorations, my lamp wins hands-down.

5. My Choice? I guess it would be a post that I wrote in the hopes that it would make you laugh. So, I had lots of fun with the Christmas Uglies this year, but last year I had fun writing The Amazing Race for Parents, too.

OK, so now I get to tag some of you guys!

First I'll tag Nic, whose blog is titled A Girl as Mad as Birds. I've just started reading her, and I absolutely love the title of her blog.

Second - Jennifer at Sweet Pea Stitches. She is newer to me, also, and I'm enjoying her blog and projects.

Then for the third, and she may kill me because her blog is very extensive, would be Dianne at Dianne Rambling On. She always has something interesting to say, as well as great photos and art posted very regularly.

Fourth, if she's not too insanely busy with trying to pack up her family for a big move, maybe Nicole at Island Breeze wants to play?

And last but not least, how about AnneMarie over at Wacky Wanderings? Lovely stitching, thoughtful posts, and fun to read.

Talking clothes

I'm plagued by talking clothes.

Every night, whatever I'm wearing seems to yell at me. It starts at different times each evening, and usually it begins with my blue jeans. They scream, "Hey, give us a rest! Off, off, off!" My legs and rear are usually saying the same thing. And usually I listen to them. I go upstairs, put on my pajamas, and everyone and everything seems to quiet down.

The problem comes when I've put on a few extra pounds. Clothes that were usually quiet until 9 or 10PM start to give me lip earlier and earlier. At the beginning of last week, it seemed to start in the afternoon. After dinner in the evening, the screeching was almost unbearable. Some days I was in my pajamas while I was cooking dinner, which is downright embarrassing when somebody drops by the house and I have to excuse myself to go put on real pants. (Oh. And a bra. But perhaps that's TMI. Don't make a face. You know you do it, too.)

So I'm back to Weight Watchers again and journaling and points and all of that fun. It's been a week now, and my clothes are still yelling, but they're not as insistent.

But this cloud has a silver lining, because I've treated myself to a new pan. Jeez, that sounds kind of pathetic, but I've been looking at grill pans for the past few months and I've talked myself out of buying one each time. I've gotta say - it's terrific. So far I've cooked chicken breasts and tilapia in it, and my family has been very happy. It's not as good as cooking on a real outdoor grill, but it's still pretty darn good. Cleanup is a snap. Why did I wait so long to buy this?

Thanks guys for all the well-wishes about my silly ankle. It's on the mend, and I was able to go for a nice walk the other day - about 2 miles with my brace on. A few twinges, but nothing major. Over the weekend I plan to try a run/walk with it, but I certainly won't try and "run through" any pain. So we'll see.

I finished this little sampler last night. It's for a block exchange in my favorite Yahoo group, and our theme was "Blue". I used another free chart from the incredibly talented Emily. I don't usually like freebies that much, but I just love her stuff. I used DMC 4240, and it has a bit more purple than I might have liked for a blue exchange, but I still think it fits the bill well enough.

So now I'm going back to that crazy tree...

Blue

Sigh. Not much news to tell you here. I'm making decent progress on the actual tree part of Tree of Life, despite the screwiness of the chart. It helps that the tree is symettrical. So all it takes is a little thought on my part. Hah.

I'm working on a "blue" exchange block, too. It's been fun, given my attraction to monochromatic designs anyway!

And I'm feeling a little blue. Took down the Christmas decorations over the weekend, although I left up some lights and snowmen and women. Even putting away the ugly stuff is a little sad. And I'll be taking John back to school this Sunday. It's been nice to have him home, and I know I'll miss him all over again when he's gone. We won't be seeing as much of him over the winter, what with Meadville's crazy weather and all.

We're having some fantastic temperatures today, which would be great for running, but just before the New Year I sprained my ankle. I wasn't paying attention to my footing during a run, stepped halfway off the road and over-pronated it, then just kept on running on it for 3 days until it was good and painful. What a freakin' idiot. And now I'm in a brace and support hose, and forced to take off at least two weeks. Not only do I miss the running part, but now I have to watch what I eat, and my body feels like it's going into shock after spending a holiday season eating lots of sugar and fat and all that other deliciousness.

Well, now that I've thoroughly depressed you all....I think it's time to go make people in my real life miserable, too.

This just makes me smile

Last week Dave and I went to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, where they have an exhibit of Chihuly glass. This particular piece was one of my favorites.

It was a nice exhibit, except for the crowds. And I didn't look at a single plant, which is kind of odd for me.

Back to work...No happy stitchy news today.

2008

I'm so glad to have said goodbye to 2007, I can't even begin to tell you.

Hello 2008! I'm not making resolutions yet. I'm just looking forward to a year with some significant and happy milestones.

This year I'll turn 50, Dave will turn 50, and we'll celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

Can you spell party?

Unfortunately, between now and then I have work to do. I've really enjoyed my week off, and in fact, there's still no school today because of the snow. But my week is over, and there are mountains of paper that need attention.

And if I didn't say it before, Happy New Year, gang!