Everything's Healing

Our sunburns are healing nicely. Dh is even starting to peel. I'm thankfully not in pain anymore.

I've been stitching again on Deepest Love . I don't think that I've made bad progress for 2 weeks but I may not finish in 3 weeks like I was hoping.

While talking with mom at lunch yesterday, I learned that she also wants to go to the ren fair but dad won't go so I may end up going again with her beside the second trip that I planned to make with DH. I don't mind going 3 times at all! I enjoy myself too much and it will be fun to see mom go nuts over everything.

When I opened up the office this morning there was this guy outside wiping down his black lexus. This is really a futile exercise here in Georgia right now because the pollen will once again overtake your car in a matter of hours. I thought at first it was a customer but he turned out to be a salesman for Zales and gave me an invitation to a sale and a coupon for an extra 10% off. This would be a great thing if I wore jewlery more often. For the most part the only jewlery I wear are my wedding rings and watch. I wore a necklace at the ren fair and I'll sometimes wear a necklace for a special occasion but that's all the jewlery that I wear. Oh well.

Ren Fair fun

I had a blast at the Ren Fair on Saturday. We saw lots of shows (sword swallowing, birds of prey, hack and slash, battle of the sexes, jousting, battle chess). I enjoyed every one too. We didn't go on any rides but that's okay. I took a chance at dart throwing and DH tried his hand at knife throwing. We wandered through all the shops and by the time I left I had a complete outfit (dress, corset, hat, necklace). The only thing I didn't get was shoes but I have some at home that will be perfect for our next trip.

I've also decided that I'm gonna stitch up the dragon dreams birthstone dragons for DH and me and sew them into little money purses. I'll make mine to attach around my wrist and DH's to attach around his belt. I tried very hard to get DH into a costume but he just wouldn't do it. Don't you guys think he'd look great in a muskateer or pirate costume?

He did get called in by the swords though. We wound up going home with an excaliber sword and dagger and with an axe that split in the middle to reveal a sword. The best part was that we only spent $70 on the weapons which I'm ashamed to say was less than my dress alone.

The store that we got the weapons from was a pirate store near the jousting arena. The store has an auction at 4pm every day where they let things go at very low prices. We got the ax during what they call "trust the pirate". They say the amount they want ($15 in our case) and you put your hand up if you are willing to pay the amount without seeing what you are getting. We had watched them play a round at $10 and saw some awesome things given away so we played during the $15 round and made out beautifully.

The only bad part about the trip is the horrible sunburn that both DH and I recieved. I didn't realize just how badly we burned until we woke up on Sunday. I was sick all day and poor DH has a few blisters on his forhead. I burned on my neck, chest face, and shoulders. DH only burned on his face but his seems worse than mine. I will definately remember the sunscreen next time!

I also got to see valerie. She sat with me while I watched Battle chess and while we watched Robin and Maid Marian get married. She looked like she was having a lot of fun even if she was working.

hump day again

I'm still working on white on Deepest Love but it is coming along nicely.

I've been searching the web for free hardanger designs now that I can do the basic stitches but I'm finding that I still need to know more stitches. I emailed Susan and asked if they were going to have an intermediate class anytime soon and she said they were discussing it but didn't know if there was a lot of interest because most of the girls in the class didn't like it. I told her that I would definately come.

Not much going on at home so I guess that's about all the news for today. My life has gotten boring but in a good way!

ouch

Last night was pretty dull. We watched Ray which was a good movie. I enjoyed learning a little more about Ray Charles. We ate supper and went to bed. I guess my great weekend wore me out more than I thought.

I woke up this morning with a migrane so I'm sitting here at work typing as quietly as I can and hoping that the phone doesn't ring too much today. I can't wait till I can go home so I can sleep with a cold rag on my eyes and lots of excedrin in my system.

Oh Happy Weekend

Saturday started out very early for me with us leaving the house around 7:30am to head to Maria's. I managed to get lost on the way, so I called Maria and she talked us while we headed the last few miles to her house. We then headed to Rome. We arrived at the store a little before the class started so we were able to look around a little and talk to Susan for a while.

Class started with the buttonhole stitch which everyone hated. We worked on it for 2 hours and then broke for lunch. I was a little frustrated at this point because so many of the other people in the class kept asking me why I was there since I had already done some beginner pieces of hardanger. I told them that I was there for clarification that I was doing the stuff the right way but they kept poking at it. Maria kept me sane though since I was able to spend the extra time helping her get the hange of stuff. The lunch was a little rough so I didn't eat much. After lunch we moved on to cutting the fabric, wrapping bars, and doing dove's eyes. I did learn that I had been doing the dove's eyes wrong. I was also very pleased with how easily Maria got the hang of wrapped bars and dove's eyes.

After the class, I spent all my store credit on bead and treasure supplies for the mirabilia mermaids. I also picked up a chart from Enchanted Lair called Be the Dragon.
Maria wasn't feeling well so we then headed back to her house. On the way to her house, I started to feel poorly as well so after a quick hello to Antonia, we headed home and Maria headed to a drugstore.

When I got home, I sat on the couch and stitched for a while and then headed to bed cause my stomach was just upset.

Sunday morning, we got up at 8am and started picking up and cleaning the living room since I knew Angela was coming over and that a couple of other people might stop by too. We spent 2 hours cleaning and got the front of the apartment looking nice. I then sent DH to the store for drinks and ice. Angela showed up around 11am and Cris was far behind her. I then sent DH out for pizza cause I had a craving. We spent the afternoon talking and stitching and Cris even managed to put a few stitches into her neverending project. Cris left around 2pm so she could get home in time for her DH to go to class. Angela and I continued to hang out and stitch till almost 8pm. She managed to get over halfway done on her project.

DH's friend Mark stopped by with his wife and son and took DH away for a while to go to comic shops. They returned a lot quicker than I thought they would because Mark's son had fallen and hurt his head. They hung out for a while with an ice pack on the kid's head and Mark's wife picked up her son from her ex. Once she came back with him, the two boys got a little out of hand and loud. I was very grateful to see them go so I could get back to stitching and talking to Angela.

Overall it was a very nice weekend. I need to take a progress pic of Deepest Love tonight. I managed to finish her tail and all the kelp and now I'm working on her scarf.

10pm adventures

For months, my oldest boy, Smokey, goes over to the door at 10pm and asks to go outside. We started taking him for his walks at this time cause that's when he loves to be out. After a couple of walks, we noticed that there was always a little black cat out at that time too. Smokey was fascinated by the little black and tried to approach the cat every time he was out but the little one ran off whenever we got close. We jokes that Smokey had found himself a little girlfriend (he's fixed so he couldn't do anything).

We stopped taking them for walks after Mischief's great escape a month or two ago but Smokey has continued to go to the door at 10pm every night. Last night we decided to take pity on him so we took him and Mischief for a walk. I really didn't expect to see the cat. Smokey was calmly sniffing some bushes as he loves to do and then his head darted up and he tried to run to the dumpster. I wouldn't let him go to the dumpster. I kept him about 15 feet away from it cause I didn't want him getting near the gross stuff. I tried to pull him away but he wouldn't budge. Then I noticed some movement. The little black kitten was slowly working it's way toward Smokey. It actually came right up to him this time and they sniffed each other, then layed down facing each other and were completely content.

I slowly worked my way over to them and the little black let me pet it. It even let me lift its tail so that I could see it was a boy. He was obviously a tame and well fed kitty so I guess his owners live in our apartment complex and let him roam. I guess he was just shy of strangers at first but really missed seeing Smokey.

I think it's so nice to see Smokey make a new friend.

Do I really look like a large woman in her 60's

It's 9:30 in the morning. I've already been told by 2 different people that I didn't give them correct info. Both people dealt with J and not me. I don't understand how they are confusing the two of us. I'm 29, blond, size 16 and irish. J is in her 60's with dark black hair. She is much larger than I am (I could wear one of her pant legs as a skirt). How are they mistaking me for her?

The only thing that I can think of is that since I've been here for so long (started Feb 98) people think that if they talked to a woman, it must have been me.

I'm not sure which is more insulting... being asked if I'm pregnant or being mistaken for a woman who is over twice my weight and age. *shrug* At least they aren't confusing me with my 67year old male boss.

I'm very excited about this weekend. On Saturday, Maria and I are going to Norwood's. While there, I'll be handing over Griffin Kitten and recieving lots of stash in return. The money I got from Griffin Kitten was enough to buy all the charms, beads and Kreiniks for all 7 of the Mirabilia mermaids. Deepest Love is going well and I should have the tail stitched up by Saturday morning. Maria and I will also be taking a Hardanger class. I've been teaching myself but I wanted to take the class to make sure that I'm learning correctly and it's going to be so much fun to be able to spend time with Maria before she leaves us for the great white North (PA). Sunday, it looks like I'll be hanging out with Angela for another fun day of stitching and girl talk and Maria may be able to make it to that for a little while too.

I love my husband but I've really missed girl talk. I think that's one of the reasons I've became such fast friends with the stitching group down here. Not only do we have common interests but I've been starved for girl talk too. I didn't realized I missed it until the first gtg that I went to which was ironically at Maria's. I love knowing lots of people in the Atlanta area now and it so fun when they call or email me to see if we can gtg for something. I love the big gtg more cause I get to see everyone but the small ones are great too cause you get to catch up with the individuals a little more. I can't wait to hear Maria's moving stories and Angela's new job stories :) (no pressure guys)

Next Saturday, I think that Dh and I are gonna head to the GA ren fair. I'm excited about going and it'll be nice to see Valerie's husband and son in costume and maybe I'll even get to say hello to Valerie if she's not too bogged down with her assistant director duties.

wonderfully relaxing weekend

This weekend was the first weekend in almost 2 months where DH and I had absolutely no plans. It was so nice. I spent most of the weekend in my PJ's curled up on the couch stitching and watching movies.

DH has finally sucked me into comic books and I ended up buying $30.00 in comics for me this weekend. DH spent quite a bit more at the comic convention on Sunday but he found several things that he'd been looking for for over a year so he was very excited.

I spent the weekend working on "Deepest Love". I've already managed to finish 2 colors and get over halfway done on a 3rd color. This beatiful mermaid is stitching up much faster than I thought. I'm not gonna take a WIP pic until Friday though so I can show a whole weeks progress when I do (I may have the tail done by then).

We turned dad down about the car and thankfully didn't have to deal with too much rebound about it (I have a wonderful mom for cooling dad off so much). After turning down the car, we looked at our schedule this week and then second guessed ourselves. DH has to be at work early on Tuesday and Friday this week for training and I have to drop DH off at work on Wednesday so that I can have the car to go to my Ethics class so that means another really early morning. Oh well, who needs sleep.

I filled my prescription for the mini-pill and took my first pill. Then I started reading through the bill long paperwork that comes with it only to read that if you have liver tumors, you shouldn't take this medication. Well I HAD liver tumors but they are gone now. The worry prompted a call to the doc this morning and she says that I should be fine since my liver shows no sign of tumors or stress but if I start to have problems again, to stop taking the pill right away. OH BOY! You can bet I'll be watching my tummy like a hawk for a while!

Griffin Kitten is finished

Griffin Kitten

It took a total of 67.5 hours over 21 days and I got $210.00 in store credit. Not bad for my first commissioned model piece right?

On the life news, my dad called last night and said that he wants to take me car shopping on Saturday morning to which I replied "I'm not looking for a car". He explained that he wants to buy me a car so that DH and I will have 2 cars again. I told him that it was too big of a gift and he told me that he considered it payment for us teaching him how to use the computer to get a start on his appraisal business. I told him that we would show him how to use the computer and that we didn't need payment. He won't listen.

I don't want to take a car from him. I'm a 29 year old adult and I've been on my own for 11 years now and I've been working and earning my own way for longer than that. If I wanted a second car, I would go buy one. I have a completely clear credit car that I could put it on. DH and I have decided to wait until we pay off the Nissan before we get another car so that we'll only be paying on one car at a time. We don't want to pay the extra insurance right now either. We're putting every spare penny toward bills so that we can get them payed off so that when we start trying to have kids next year, I can be a stay at home mom while they are small.

The other point that I can't make to my dad is that if he gives you something, he constantly reminds you that HE did it for you when he's drunk (which is more often than I like). He also likes to tack on that we wouldn't have been able to do it without him (which we could have) and that he takes care of us (not hardly).

I've also learned that my brother is getting booted out of the Marine Corp and put on permanent disability. They've been unable to fix his back so he no longer fit for duty and he's unable to work at any kind of physical job. He says that he and his fiance (argh) are going to come down here and live with mom and dad until he can find a job and get a place of their own. I love my brother dearly but he can't manage money so I know that my mom and dad will contstantly be needed to give him money while he's near.

It's amazing how much you can love, hate, appreciate and find fault with your family all at once.

poor client

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from a man that was at his ropes end and thought that I would share it with you after reading Valerie's muffler story. So here goes:

Client took his car to a muffler shop (name omitted to avoid me being sued) to have the muffler replaced. They told him it should be ready the next day.
Employee of muffler shop replaces the bumper and takes it for a test drive. While on the test drive, he decides to go by his girlfriend's house to surprise her. When he gets there he finds her there with guy she is cheating on. Employee then uses clients car to try and run over the guy and wrecks client's car. Employee then flees the scene and takes the car back to muffler shop.
Owner of muffler shop sees that employee wrecked the car so he takes it to his friend at the body shop to get it fixed without telling the client (very wrong).
Client comes in the next day to get his car and owner tells him they've run into some problems and it's going to be a couple of more days. Client asks for a rental car since he didn't plan on not having his car for that long. Muffler shop refuses. Client leaves angry and says that his car better be done in 3 days or he's calling the cops.
When client gets back in 3 days car has been repaired so muffler shop gives him the car and charges for the muffler replacement but never tells him that the vehicle was in an accident while in their care.
A couple of days later client is woken up by the police pounding on the door with an arrest warrent for him due to the hit and run. Client spends the night in jail and is bailed out the next morning. After taking his paperwork showing the car was in the muffler shop at the time of the accident, client is cleared of the charges. He does however now know that his car has been in an accident. He goes to the muffler shop and asks what happened. Shop refuses to give an info.
Client calls me for advice. I tell him to call the police and ask them to obtain the info. Client calls police and they come to muffler shop with copy of the report showing the car was in a hit&run accident. Owner breaks down and tells them everything. Cops get insurance info so Client can get diminished value and so forth. Insurance refuses to pay. Client hires a lawyer. After the vehicle is inspected, client finds out that repairs are substandard and his $15K car is now only worth $5-7K. Very mad client. He called me to tell me all about it and let me know that he had hired a lawyer and was pursuing it himself.

Wow that took a long time to type out. Thought you guys might enjoy the story. It's one of the few I've been told where the person telling it to me was in the right while working at this job. I will definately not be taking my car to this muffler shop. The kicker to it all is that they didn't fire the employee till the cops told the owner the accident was hit and run so who knows how many other cars he "test drove".

the bad always comes after the good

I was so excited about my wonderful news on Monday only to come crashing down on Tuesday.

The first bad news was that DH had fallen and his left foot was really badly bruised on Tuesday morning. We thought it was broken but thankfully the exrays show there is no break so he should be fine in a week or two once the bruising goes away.

The second bad news came when I tried to order an IUD only to discover that our insurance does not cover birth control at all. I can't afford to pay $500 right now so the iud is out. We are gonna give the mini-pill a try. Dh has promised to set an alarm even on the weekends to remind me to take it at the same time every day so that it will be effective. I was looking forward to the iud so that I wouldn't have to remember to take the stupid pill but oh well. Life goes on. Both problems solved for now.

I'm still plugging away on Griffin Kitten. I'm getting a little irritated that it has slowed down so much as I work on the half stitches. I worked for 3 hours last night and it doesn't seem like I've gotten anything done on it. *sigh* I really want to finish it this week so I can start on Deepest Love. I'm in the mood to work on a mermaid not a griffin.

I now have to plod through a very boring day at work as it's not even 11am yet and I've run out of things to do so I have to pretend to be busy till 5pm when I get to leave. I hate days like this. I much prefer the mad rush that makes the day fly by.

*HUGS* for everyone.

wonderful news!

I've had a wonderful weekend and a great day so far today.

We got up early on Saturday and went to Piccadily's all you can eat breakfast where we proceeded to pig out royally. Then off to do some errands and home for an afternoon of stitching and laundry.

Sunday was full of more stitching and laundry and some other minor house chores. We also went to the movies and saw Sin City. I really disliked this movie. The stories jumped around too much for me. They were telling the stories of 4 or 5 or maybe 6 different people and jumped too much for me to keep it straight. It was also in black and white with splashes of color here or there and my eyes hurt by the end of it but I think that's because it was only black and white for several parts of it without any gray to soften it. I got a lot of stitching done on Griffin Kitten. I'm down to just 1 color of green cross stitch left and the 3 colors of half-stitch. WooHoo. I may finish that tonight.

Today, the doctors office finally called with the results of my CT scan. He says that everything looks great. My liver is fully regrown and completely healthy! *happy dancing the jig* The obg also called and I get to start on the progestogen Iud next week too so no more worries about accidental pregnancy. I've done some furter research too and actually learned that this Iud is more effective than the pill that I was taking before! I really wished that the doc had warned me about the possible tumors from the pill and given me the iud option 8years ago!

Also got the added boost of my webshots stats coming in today and it shows 43 vies of the fobs and this blog is the only place that I placed the link so either the people I know are reading are looking lots of times or there are more people reading this than I thought... hmmm... Hope your enjoying the read! I also got a huge 87 views on griffin kitten but I also posted it on the TWBB but that's still a lot of people looking! Thanks guys!

Hope you are having a great day! I may have to go out for a celebration pina colada tonight just because I can!

please say it's Friday!

Sorry about dropping out of sight on you guys. I've been laid up with the head cold from hell for the last two days. I've dragged myself back into work today cause I must make money.

I've managed to get Griffin Kitten up to 40 hours and I've finished all the greys and browns of the body so I only have the blues, reds, yellows, and greens of the wings to go. I will definately be making my goal of finishing before the 16th of this month.

My DH asked if we had gotten any pranks at work today and I told him no. After thinking about it for a minute, I wondered why anyone would even want to try to prank their insurance company. I mean, if you file a claim as a prank, your insurance either goes up or you get into trouble for filing false claims so you wouldn't want to do that right?

He said the people around his office have done a few things, like sending an email saying there was free food in the breakroom when there wasn't and putting post it notes on the bottom of the optical mouses to stop them from working.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous April Fool's Day and that the pranksters out there are enjoying themselves too.