Another PIF Arrived!

I hope that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. I was still somewhat battling the cold/sinus thing and didn't exactly feel up to par, but enjoyed the night as best I could. While DH watched the Gators play and my DS was at a friend's house I passed out candy to approx 300 kids!!! No kidding! I'm glad I had purchased that extra bag of candy on top of my regular supply. After all the kids were gone and DS was safely home I went to bed! The sinus drainage is still wanting to linger, but I do feel better.

I have been busily stitching on Clare's piece for our Quaker RR. I just have a few more stitches and it will be finished. It will be in the mail on Monday for sure! Clare chose the prettiest autumn colored threads. Perfect for this time of year. As a matter of fact the name of the thread is Autumn Arbor by Gloriana. I promise to post a picture of her piece next week.

My final PIF piece arrived at Ann's. Here it is:

Prairie Schooler
ornament from "December"
Fabric: 10ct Stardust Heatherfield
Threads: Mostly recommended DMCs
Changes: green pants to blue for more of a "jeans" look
red for house to a brown for a "log cabin" look
Whisper used for Dog fur

Until next time...take care!

Happy Halloween!

I found out that 2 of my PIFs have arrived safely at their new homes. So, I actually have a couple of finishes to show you.

Here is Deb's:

Lizzie Kate Flip-It
"Friends"
Fabric: 28 ct. platinum linen
Recommended threads

I was just drawn to stitch this for Deb. She has been so sweet with her emails of encouragement over the past year. :-)

Here is Leigh's:

The Dragon has been modified slightly
from a freebie pattern by Dragon Dreams
The Sunflower is from Prairie Schooler's 1994 Santa
Stitched on 28 ct. ivory evenweave
Threads - my choice

A close-up of the dragon & sunflower

Leigh had told me she really liked dragons and sunflowers, so when I saw the little dragon pattern holding a coffee mug I decided to modify him slightly to hold a sunflower. And...voila!

On the work front...I've put my resume out at a couple more places. Still no real news.

On to other stitching...I sat down and made a small list of gifts I wanted to get stitched before Christmas. I think I will be able to get it accomplished. Making the list has helped. I will post pictures as they come along.

Best to all and have a fun & safe Halloween weekend!

PIF, Summer Movie Thoughts, Last of Summer Vaca Pics & Life

Well, I can't believe over a month has passed since my last post. Life here has been sooooo busy. I feel like I have been saying that for over a year now. But, I am still waiting for things to slow down.

First off...here is the beautiful PIF I received from Janaina. Isn't this towel pretty? You should see the back. Her stitching is flawless!!!

Speaking of PIFs...Deb, Leigh & Ann...please, don't give up on me. I am almost finished with my gifts for you 3 and hope to mail them out before long. One is completely ready to be mailed, one is stiched, but not completed and the last one I am about 1/2 way through stitching. So...please, know that I am working on it and will mail them all hopefully by Oct. 1st at the lastest.

Update on my boss...she is doing remarkably well and if you didn't know she had had this surgery done, you wouldn't know. She went on a trip this week with her sister and will be gone most of next week as well. This brings up things with my work...I am still pretty swamped there and also in the process of trying to find a new job. My boss is wanting to retire and sell her business, so....

Summer Movie Thoughts:
Bandslam...I really enjoyed this movie. Great music!
GI Joe...enjoyed it more than I thought I would, an enjoyable action movie
Post Grad...really cute
My Sister's Keeper...good, but sad. Different ending from book
Ice Age 3...cute, but not as good as first one
The Ugly Truth...I cannot tell you how disappointed I was in this movie. Very disappointed.
District 9...much more violent than I like...walked out after 20 minutes and went to see Julie & Julia
Transformers 2...not bad. Thought the first one was better.

Top picks from summer...no particular order:

Star Trek...loved it! I especially loved Spock!
Harry Potter...always great!
The Proposal...great summer comedy/romance
UP!...such a sweet, wonderful movie!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine...really liked this alot. Much better than X-Men 3
Julie & Julia...Meryl Streep was great as Julia. Loved the relationship between Julia & her husband.
Time Traveler's Wife...sad, but good


Last of the Vaca Pics:

Glacier National Park...Montana

Red Canyon...Glacier National Park...Alberta, Canada

A moose!...near Red Canyon...GNP...Canada

Grinnell Lake...GNP...Montana

Hidden Falls...on hike to Grinnell Lake...GNP...Montana

Old Faithful...Yellowstone National Park...Wyoming

Hot Spring...Midway Geyser Basin...YNP...Wyoming

Buffalo!...near Canyon Village area...YNP...Wyoming

My favorite area of Yellowstone...the pools of West Thumb Geyser Basin...YNP

A float trip down the Snake River...Grand Teton National Park...Wyoming

The Grand Teton Mountain Range...Grand Teton National Park...Wyoming

Craters of the Moon National Monument...Idaho

Oregon Trail...Oregon Trail Interpretive Center...near Baker City, Oregon

Multnomah Falls...Columbia River Gorge, near Portland, Oregon
Twilight Trivia Note: This particular Falls can be seen in the background of the Vampire Baseball scene. It can also be seen briefly when Bella & Edward are talking near the river.

I WON!!!

Oh, my gosh! I won! I won! I won! I can't believe it! Tanya of The Sampler Girl had a drawing on her blog for anyone that stitched her freebie design "Eat, Drink and Be Scary" and sent her a picture by Oct. 8th. And...I actually won! I was able to pick 2 designs of hers for winning! I can't wait for them to arrive. I will post a picture of my choices once they arrive! :-)

I signed up for a PIF on Janaina's blog and so I am Paying it Forward to the first 3 people that comment they are interested on this post. I will send you something stitched by me within the next 365 days, but you have to make the same offer on your blog and continuing Paying it Forward!

I haven't done much stitching the past week because I have been painting my son's bathroom and new bedroom. He has decided to move from his old room into one of the other rooms in the house. The old room had a large picture window in it and since Hurricane Ivan took out the large oak tree in front of it the sun has been beating into that room each morning waking him bright and early and making his room about 10 degrees warmer than the other rooms in the house. So...time for a change. I will post pictures once he gets his room set up the way he wants. Be prepared though...he picked orange for the color!!! But, really, it's not as bad as you might think. It's a dark pumpkin color, not a bright orange.

Recent movie thoughts:

• Beverly Hills Chihuahua - Cute
• Fireproof - a very good movie with a strong Christian basis. Deals with love and the difficulties of marriage and trying to continue to make it work. Made by the same people that made "Facing the Giants"
• Ghost Town - OK, not great. Parts were very funny, but I expected more. No chemistry between two main characters. At least in my opinion.
• The Longshots - Good family movie. Based on a true story.
• Nights in Rodanthe - Very good. Of course, it's Nicholas Sparks, so bring the tissues. Quite a few differences from the book, but still very good.
• Eagle Eye - Very good political thriller!

WOW!!!! Finally a good week!

I finally have some good news on my end.

Check out the wonderful gifts I received from the Pay It Forwards I was involved in. Aren't they great?!!!

The pink "Mail Art" envelope on the top left is from Dawn. It arrived in a clear envelope and has my address and her return address stitched on it. How cool!

The chocolate (YUM!) and fabric and threads are from Melanie. She dyed the fabric and threads herself! Isn't that awesome? She sells the threads on her website. Check it out. I already have 2 small projects picked out for 2 of the threads. Will definitely have to find something wonderful for the fabric. I need to go search through my stash!

In other good news...

I received a job offer this week from a small accounting business owned by a friend. The pay isn't any better than where I'm at, but it works with my schedule and the pay is guaranteed. That's been one of the main problems I have had with the job I am currently at. My hours were cut drastically in December and have not been consistent since. One week it will be 18 hours, one 12, etc. I started out with 26 hours per week. Not to mention that about a month ago we didn't get a paycheck on payday. It was a week late. The next time we got paid she told us to "hold" the check until she told us it was OK. I can't handle that. I need to know when I'm getting paid, that the paycheck is good and that it is consistent. The only bad part...the job doesn't start until mid summer and I will have to stay where I am (if the business lasts that long) until mid May. But, at least I have something to look forward to.

Anyhow...it's great to finally have a good week and some good news in this new year. As for my stitching...I'm still working on my train. It's coming along pretty nicely. It would be wonderful if I could finish it by the time I left my current job. Maybe I can. :-) Wouldn't that be great?!!!

Here are my latest movie reviews:

• Bridge to Terabithia - good family movie
• Ghost Rider - enjoyable if you like fantasy, comic book stuff, somewhat scary scenes
• Music & Lyrics - Good. I really enjoyed this romantic comedy quite a bit
• Catch and Release - AWFUL!!!!!!!
• We Are Marshall - good family movie
• Night at the Museum - good family movie
• The Pursuit of Happiness - Very good