Virgin Island Update

No, I'm not headed to the beautiful VI, but my Nook was supposed to go there.  (See previous post.)  Well, I just checked the UPS site and my Nook is in a city about 2 hours north of me.  Delivery is scheduled for Thursday, but maybe I will get lucky and I will see it tomorrow instead. (Fat chance!)

At this point I'm just glad that it is in the same state that I'm in!

I'm Not Laughing!

So, I've come to the conclusion that this is just not going to be my month.  Forget the fact that my birthday is in four days.  It doesn't matter.  Plus, I'm another year older!  Who wants that?

Wonder why I'm aggravated?  Well, here's just a few choice items over the past couple of days:

1. Just spent a fair chunk of $ on husband's new work wardrobe since he didn't have any extra money saved for this (...and I did????).  But, I can't send him into a professional environment in shorts and t-shirts, can I?
2. Doctor put me on medicine that isn't covered by insurance because the insurance company doesn't feel that it is "medically necessary".  (It is to me!)
3. My Nook?  Well, Barnes & Noble wants to send the replacement to the Virgin Islands. (Yes, they shipped it to the Virgin Islands!)  That is about 1,500 miles away from where I live.  When I called to complain and change the shipping address to the correct one I had to call twice and my second call ended up lasting 50 minutes!
4. My Internet at home stopped working properly.  We thought it was our old computer.  But no......it isn't.  Our new computer recognizes the wi-fi just fine but it shows no connectivity.  Looks like I'll be on the phone with the Internet provider tonight. ETA: Looks like internet is fixed (for now) on the two new computers.  The old computer still won't recognize the wifi and I'm not in the mood to deal with it.  I think we will just make the old laptop a "permanent" resident on the desk so that it can be hooked in directly to the internet.
5. Husband still hasn't made the second half of the truck payment that is due this month.  I normally wouldn't worry too much, but he won't have a paycheck until after the payment is due.  (Not sure what money tree I'm going to pluck that payment from!)
6. My vacation........well, it is beginning to look like a staycation based on Hubby's new job. (At least that means we won't be spending money on gas and eating out.)
7. The stock market continues to plummet and I'm watching my retirement get flushed down the drain.  (I can't do much about this, so I just shrug my shoulders and hope it will rebound in the next 20 years.)

Now that I reread my list, I do have to say that there are a few spots that lightly glimmer.  After all, the money spent on Hubby's wardrobe gained me some Kohl's cash, so it looks like I will be able to get myself a few things starting Wednesday.  And my vacation?  Well, if it does end up a staycation it will mean that I can get some serious cleaning/reorganizing/stitching/sewing done while Hubby works.  See?  I'm trying to put a positive spin on this!

So, where's the chocolate????

And So It Goes

August continues to disappoint me this year.  My Nook fell off the kitchen counter this morning and this is the result........

Things Are Looking Up

Whew!  I finally made it to Friday.  It has been one heck of a week.  I think that I have cried more this week than I have in a whole year! 

At least there is some good news out of this week.  My husband has made a move to a new career and has landed himself a brand spanking new job.  And while it is scary, I know that it is a good move for him.  (Of course, that hasn't helped with my tears this week.  He can attest to that!)  He will finally be out of the restaurant business and I couldn't be happier.  Now he has a chance to really make a career for himself.  He could end up in management!  It will be so nice to not have to be the "bread winner" of the household.  Maybe, just maybe (once he really gets himself grounded in this job) I could move to a part time status at work.  It would still mean full time during tax season, but it would mean three day weeks during the summer.  I could really get used to that!

In the middle of all of this I tried to keep my sanity by running my needle through my fifteen minute project.  I made it past the point of contention on that L*K piece:

And here it is as of this morning:

I'm getting closer and closer to that happy dance!

Speaking of closer, I also managed to get my needle into another one of my Crazy January Challenges.  Normally I've been stitching on "Beyond My Heart" while with my Stitching Sisters.  But, this week I was able to get a couple of hours in on it while I waited at the car dealership.  (Yes, I was there again.......long story, more crying.....sigh.....)  Now it looks like this:

Just a few more letters and then I will be on to the design at the bottom.  I'm hoping that I may be able to finish this one before I go on vacation later this month.  Guess I'll have to stop crying and get stitching!

Don't worry......I really am ok.  I think I just needed to cry it all out.  Sometimes a good cry is exactly what you need.  Oh, I had that chocolate that I was mentioning.  It was in the form of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Ahhhhhh.............

Have a wonderful weekend and keep your stitches happy!

Personal & Confidential

I want to thank everyone for their outpouring of support and prayers.  I've had many comments and emails due to Monday's post.  I appreciate each and every one of you who responded (and those of you who haven't as well).  This is a tough road and I guess that in the last few days I have reached my limit.

I do apologize to those of you who may have been upset by what I have written.  While this is a very personal "family matter", this is also my personal blog.  It is my outlet for my thoughts and feelings.  I really wish that I could share better news, but as we all know, life is not always roses and chocolates.

Too bad it isn't......I could really use some chocolate right about now!

Oh, and as for the Lizzie*Kate fifteen minute project, I didn't stop here on Monday night.  I pushed myself all the way through letter "S" and I'm now well on my way to the second to last line of the project.  (I hope to post a progress picture again on Friday.)

Keep your stitches happy......if I can, you can!

A Little Too Much

It would figure that I ended up here tonight......

It's Progress None the Less

The last two weeks really hasn't afforded me the progress that I've been hoping for.  However, I guess some is better than none, right?

Here's where I stand with the ABC's of Aging by L*K.  Only eight more letters to go!  I've tried to keep up with at least fifteen minutes a day.  And, for those days where the fifteen minutes wasn't possible, I made up for it with a double session the next day.  I didn't get this finished before the end of the month like I was hoping I would, but I think that I will be able to finish it up before I go on vacation this month.  (Please forgive the wrinkled state, I'm not one to iron until I've come to the end of the project.)

I have also made great progress on another one of my challenge pieces, "Beyond My Heart" by Blackbird Designs.  I'm about halfway done with the words and the design in the upper right hand corner.  I apologize for not taking a picture to show you.  I was running late this morning and I didn't have a chance to pull it out of my bag.

As for quilting, my newest class has really kept me busy.  My homework for this week was to finish cutting 51 strips (2 and 1/2" each), sew them together in sets of three and then sub cut them into squares (6 and 1/2" each).  It was more homework than I was supposed to have at this point, but I started the class much later than the others and I had some major catch up to do.  With all of the sewing and cutting that I did over the weekend I managed to get myself to the same point as the others.


Would you believe that my stack of squares ended up over 2" high?  I don't think I've ever cut that much fabric in my whole life!  I guess I shouldn't really complain....this is just the beginning, isn't it?



It is not just on the stitching and quilting front that I'm progressing slowly.  As of today, we are still trying to conceive our first child.  This month will mark one year since the conception that resulted in the miscarriage.  Things haven't been easy.  I didn't think that this would end up being so hard and I didn't think that I would become so emotional about it all.  I've even resorted to doing things that I said I would never do (ie: charting, over the counter kits, etc.)  I wasn't able to get an appointment with the doctor until the end of the month.  That means that we have to wait that much longer before we can start to explore the reasons why nothing has happened these last nine months.  That having been said, if you are so inclined, please pray for us.  We are doing all we can at the moment and now it is just a waiting game.

In the meantime, try to keep your stitches happy.  I know I'm trying!