Another WIP Update

I got lots of stitching done during the past couple nights of Bowl games. After months of not picking up my stitching at all, I am really feeling the itch!

WVU did announce yesterday that Bill Stewart had been hired as head coach.

Fiesta Time!

Squee!!! The WVU Mountaineers won the Fiesta Bowl (48-28)! Woo-Hoo!!!! Not only did they win, they dominated the game. And they did it with an interim head coach. No other team has won in this Bowl season with an interim head coach. (Our former head coach quit and headed to U. of Michigan in December, and would not coach the team in the Bowl game.)

This win is good for the school, good for our conference (Big East), and good for the state of West Virginia. It was very nice to see the positive coverage on the state/school during the pregame show and the game. WV is cast in a negative light a lot of the time.

Rumor has it that the interim head coach will be announced as our new head coach later today. Even the players were making a case for him last night, with our star quarterback pretty much saying just hire him already!

Congratulations 'Eers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Better...

Last night DH decided he needed to go to the hospital. So after bloodwork and a cat scan (to rule out appendicitis) we discovered it was just a G-I bug. But he did get 2 bags of IV fluids and some pain and nausea meds, so that was good. At least he didn't need surgery like I did.

Laying in a hospital bed may not be a good opportunity for stitching, but sitting and waiting for your husband to be treated is.....

It just keeps getting better

Last Friday I had my gall bladder removed. It was, in the words of the G-I doctor, "packed with stones." So that explains the stomach pains I've been having since summer. While laying about in a hospital bed sounds like an excellent opportunity to get some stitching done, the reality was that I just didn't feel good enough.

This morning, DH woke up with food poisoning, or perhaps it's a stomach virus. Either way, he's in bed and I'm trying to take care of him, DD, and myself. The toughest thing is I'm not supposed to pick up more than 10 pounds for another week, so I can't pick up DD--she weighs about 27 pounds. Which makes things like diaper changes and washing her hands at the sink very interesting.

I did do some stitching last night on Springtime Roses. I've put down the secret project until I can get the silks it uses rinsed. The good thing is that DH gave me my own digi cam for Christmas, and it's hooked to my computer--so no more waiting on him to download pics from the camera so I can post them! Yay! I'll be taking a pic of Springtime Roses later.

Blah

I've been feeling really blah lately. I think it's a combination of the cold weather, DH not letting my parents visit for Christmas, and missing my friends (none of them live around here). I have been stitching...and the "secret project" is coming right along.

Happy Halloween!

DD is going to be a butterfly. She *loves* butterflies. DH kept an eye on her last night while I worked on the wings. I couldn't find our wire cutters until a few days ago, so I couldn't make the frame for the wings....which meant I couldn't draft the pattern and cut out the fabric to cover the frame.....or sew the fabric....arrgh. He got her ready for bed and brought her in to say goodnight as I was finishing hand sewing the fabric covering the wings....she took one look at the wings and shouted "Butterfly wings!" with a big smile on her face. Priceless. I still need to make/attach the elastic harness and make the antennae. Both of which I need her little body for. And she's still asleep. So I'm waiting.

I also had a good laugh at myself...trying to remember how to thread the sewing machine and wind a bobbin. I actually had to drag out the manual. I don't use the machine often, the last time was probably 5 or 6 years ago.

And yes, I will post pictures. (and I even remembered to get pics of the frame before I covered it, so you'll get to see that too!)

Still here

Sorry I've been gone so long....I just haven't had anything to say. I haven't stitched, and I haven't been reading much. I can't seem to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. I still need to take those stitching pictures.

I am really proud of DD....when we were at my parents' house, my best friend (that I've known since kindergarten) came over and brought a toy. DD loved the toy, and when best friend was leaving, she took the toy to her and said "Thank you" without any prompting from anyone. Not bad for a 2 year old!

Checking In...

DD is now officially 2 years old, and she got a thumbs up report at the doctor's office for her checkup. She woke up crying at 6am this morning.....not a pleasant way to wake up on Saturday for Mommy and Daddy. Oh well.

Haven't gotten much stitching done. I still need to take more pictures and post them.

Wow!

WVU won the NIT Basketball Championship game last night. Yay! If they couldn't go to the NCAA Tournament, at least they won the next best thing.

DD can count to 6. She's not even 2 years old yet. I think she could count to 10, but she refuses to say 7. Won't even attempt it. I know she doesn't realize that the numbers represent specific quantities. She was counting blocks as she stacked them and the number she said as she stacked never corresponded to the actual amount of blocks in her stack...she just said numbers, in order, from 1-6. Today when I put her down for a nap she was saying "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (pause) 8, 9, 10" I didn't think a 23-month-old could do that, so I'm a little shocked.

Oh the irony....

Now that's it's getting warmer, we're getting ads left on our driveway. The type that are in a plastic baggy with a small heavy something to weigh it down and dropped on the ground. I don't like this type of advertising--it's just littering to me. We went on a walk yesterday evening and I noticed that about 1/3 of the driveways still had the ad that I picked up from our driveway 2 days before. I wonder how long these will be there--all the mailboxes are at the street, so you figure people walk down the driveway at least once a day....are they just lazy? (Maybe they think the company that left it will come back, notice that they haven't picked it up and take it away?) This morning, there was again an ad sitting at the foot of the driveway when I went out for the newspaper. The nice thing is, it's trash day, so the can was at the street waiting for the trash guys to collect. So I only had to walk 5 feet to get rid of the offending litter, er, ad. The irony? It was an ad for a local trash collection service. Too funny.

Girls' Night Out

My DSiL, DNiece, and I went to a fund raiser for DN's school last night. It was a combination Bingo/Raffle deal. I actually won 2 Dr. Seuss books from the raffle, and I won Bingo once (on one of DSiL's cards so I graciously handed the prize ticket to DN who picked out a pink change purse for herself). DSiL won Bingo once (a Disney Princess kite for DN), and won a bike helmet from the raffle. DN won Bingo once, and got herself a BIG ball point pen. All in all, a very successful night out.

DH stayed home and kept DD. Who unfortunately was not the same sweet little girl after her nap that she was before her nap. I think I jinxed it with my post yesterday!

My sweet little girl is back!

And I hope it's not temporary. She was good as gold all morning. She happily splashed through her bath, and had no problem with the outfit I picked out for her to wear. I was going to take her out for lunch, but it started raining and I just didn't feel like dealing with it. Maybe next week. If it's sunny.

A little of this, a little of that

I actually stitched a little bit last weekend. DD was napping while DH was watching NASCAR qualifying, and I was able to get about halfway across the last band on the blackwork before she woke up.

She surprised us by saying some numbers out loud while "reading" a book. I had been working with her on letters, but not numbers....

I think she's got the last of her molars coming in--she's been really fussy the past few days. To the point of crying and saying "NO! NO! NO!" when I get her dressed in the morning. And I was putting on one of her favorite shirts. She usually smiles and laughs and says "Sirt! SIRT! Pan! PAN! Ka! KA!" ("Shirt, Pants, Socks") when I dress her. I hope the terrible twos aren't starting early. I've been putting Baby Orajel on her gums, and that seems to placate her for a while. I can feel maybe one spot that a tooth could be starting to break through.

Eh

It's snowy. Not nice fluffy snow either. Sleet-y, freezing rain-y, snow-y, changes every 10 minutes or so kind of snow. On the plus side, I got The Sims 2 Seasons expansion pack yesterday. So now it can be summer in SimLand while it's winter in RealLifeLand. Yay!

I need to get out

So earlier this week I told DH "I think I'll go to the mall on Wednesday." and he replied "It's supposed to snow on Wednesday." And wouldn't you know--there's a layer of white on my yard and driveway today, and it's still coming down. Arrgh. I guess I'll go tomorrow or Friday, depending on how much more ends up on the ground. Sigh.

Getting out of the house

DH has a new position at work, and his office is now located at a closer facility to home. This means I could possibly get involved with a local community theatre....and there's one maybe 10 minutes (or less?) away. I haven't checked it out other than "I know it's there", so I'm planning on seeing a show sometime to see if it's somewhere I'd like to get involved. The last theatre I joined had "clique*" problems, and I no longer live near that one anyway. I've heard that there's a person from theatre #1 that is involved with theatre #2, so it'll be interesting to see if theatre #2 is clique-y too.

I'm itching to get back into theatre, and I need something to get me out of the house without DD--of course I love her, but right now it's like a 24-7 work schedule with no time off. DH does relieve me some when he's home, and he will keep her on the weekend and let me go out shopping or something, but as much as I love shopping, weekends are not the best time to go--traffic extreme. And since the point is for me to relax, and there's no way to relax stuck in traffic....I end up just staying home.

*Clique problems: Just one example--A show, in mid-run, was shorthanded backstage. I signed up to work a few nights. The stage manager would not assign me any jobs--they'd gotten used to working shorthanded I guess. So I just stood around, and tried to jump in when it looked like people were struggling. And they wonder why no one wants to work backstage--there's about 3-4 people that do it regularly (every show, every play) and they work out a routine that works for them, and aren't willing to adjust when other people do show up, but complain when no one does.

Shopping Fun!

DD and I went shopping this morning. We went to the mall and Target. We had lunch at Mickey D's, and she was good as gold the whole time. Even though we got home way after her normal nap time (Bad Mommy!) It was a successful trip--I needed some clothes for her in the next size (got 3 shirts at 50% off!). All she had in the next size (which she'll be wearing in the next month or so) were 3 pairs of pjs, and some short sleeved shirts. It's getting too cold for short sleeves now, but she can wear them in the spring. She still needs pants/jeans and a dress. And I got a pea coat. I needed a slightly dressier coat and I've been wanting a pea coat for several years. My *favorite* clothing store (NY & Co) had pea coats on sale, plus I had an email coupon. So I got the coat for 50% off the regular price! Woo-hoo! I am beyond excited! Now I just need some new shirts.....(I haven't really bought any clothes since I was pregnant and needed maternity stuff--about 2 years ago!)

$1 + elbow grease = very happy toddler

DD loves the play kitchen at her cousins' house. She opens the "microwave", closes it. Again and again and again. Friday morning, my sister-in-law and I went to her mother-in-law's church rummage sale. And I found.....a Little Tykes play kitchen. For a dollar. (I think new it probably sold for about $70) Woo-hoo! All it needed was a thorough cleaning--it looked like it had been stored outside. I cleaned it while she was napping (took almost 3 hours--it was very dirty). I've never seen her eyes so big or smile so wide! She spent at least 45 minutes opening the doors--"microwave" and "oven", then closing them. Over and over. That's pretty long for a 17-month old! Now I just have to find a good deal on play pots/pans/dishes/food. But for now, she' s very happy just opening and closing the doors. And I'm happy that she's happy. Could be the best dollar I ever spent.

Small Annoyances

They're laying fiber optic cable in my neighborhood. Which will be nice in the future, but right now it's a pain. Yesterday was trash day, so we had trucks and trash cans lining the street. And noise. Lots of noise. And dirt, from the holes they dug (and left). They parked close to our mailbox, so we didn't get any mail. (If there's anything on the street near our mailbox the letter carrier will just drive on by.) Sigh. So I have to watch for them today, so I can ask them to park a few feet back if they park in the same place. (I didn't say anything to them yesterday because I thought there was enough room for the mail truck. I guess I was wrong.) Very annoying.

Jumping in....

Ok. So when I first heard about blogging, I thought "What's the big deal? Why would anyone want to do that? Why would anyone else want to read it?" Then I read a blog by someone who frequents the same message boards that I do (No, I don't remember whose it was). Huh. More insight to who this person was--thoughts, feelings, life situation. More information than could be conveyed on a simple message board post. It's funny--get a group of people together, and if it's a big enough group, you'll have representatives of all life stages. Young, old, married, already divorced, getting divorced, having babies, going to school, losing jobs, getting jobs, moving.....the list goes on. People cycling in and out of misery/happiness. And the group of people, the community, offers support and advice, shares the joys and heartaches. No matter what the situation is, be it major or minor. Being a part of the community means sharing. Giving for the greater good. Receiving help when needed.

So, What's the big deal? Sharing life. Because we're all at different stages. And we can tell others about our experiences. And maybe, someone else is entering a stage that we just left. And we can leave a light on so they can find their way. That's the big deal.