I’ve been thinking about hosting an old fashioned Quilting Bee this weekend. I have a quilt top that is finished and I know that I want to tie the outer edge and hand quilt part of it and probably machine the rest. I just don’t want my sitting room tied up all month with a quilt that I’m tying. If I invited people over on Saturday to work on it with me, I think I could get it done in a day. It’s the 2nd of the [url=http://www.shondratasha.com/g...]Harry Potter Quilts[/url]
On another good side, I finished all of the nasty Hi-lights fiber in Noah’s Ark last night. 2.5 hours and I’ll be ready to post an updated picture. I’m hoping to finish the rest of the ocean in that time.
There is something about sorting through 24 years of Just CrossStitch issues looking for design ideas for baby samplers and finding articles on samplers in colonial times and how stitching began.
We found one issue that had the history of the needle. The oldest needle is 26,000 years old and made of bone.
DS#1 pointed out that I have around 144 issues (I have every one issued including the year that was mis-numbered). He felt it would be too much for him to look through them all. So I looked with him. We found some great ideas for him to stitch for his teacher and we found enough history to complete that part of his project. Tomorrow we start graphing.
Twas' just in the evening on an everyday night The sunset was over, we had turned on the lights. Homework was done and practicing too; The dishwasher loaded; there was nothing to do. Liz was up reading; caught in Underdark, Mom on the couch, stitched Noah's Ark. When what to my wondering eyes should appear? But the boys and their father all in good cheer, They stood concentrating on the table in front Where a chess problem loomed, white - mate in one. They stared and they pondered, reached, and withdrew, Until one of them shouted the answer he knew. He reached for the knight and moved it with glee, Announcing to all, "That's mate; checkmate in three." Then the others turned back with furrowed brow To see if they could block it somehow. The first one in triumph started to crow When the second son shouted, “I see it, I know.” As father gazed on, his face full of pride, The boys played it out, not caring which side. Their dad turned to me with a tear in his eye, I’m so glad I married such a great guy.
1. When did you first start stitching? Around the age of 8 or so. 2. How long have you been stitching? I guess that makes it most of my life. 3. Did someone teach you or did you teach yourself? My grandmother taught me. 4. Describe your first project (if you can remember!). Mama took some gingham and drew x's in some of the squares so that they formed words and pictures. I don't remember ever finishing it. 5. When did you first realise that stitching was for you? In college when I was working on tapestry canvases to calm myself before tests. I had some dorm mates that made fun of me for doing such "women's work" and I really realized that I would rather give them up as friends than give up the stitching.
They've changed the calendar ads so they don't relate to the particular blog anymore. I was so hoping to get beagle and pet stuff up there one day. Oh, well.
This morning started out as an I can't find... morning. I couldn't find the clothes I wanted to wear, I couldn't find a parking place, I did find the friend I was to meet and we had a great time.
There are some people that no matter what happens they are positive. There are others I've met that see the storm cloud behind every silver lining.
I love the kind who are positive no matter what the circumstances. To quote "[i]When you hit rock bottom at least you're on solid ground, a dead end street is a great place to turn around" (thanks Wynona).[/i]
None of us is truly in control of our circumstances, feeling like you're in control is an illusion. The only thing that we honestly have control over is the way we act or react to the situations around us. Most of us react instead of taking the time to think and act. Too many people are willing to abrogate the responsibility for their actions to someone else. I have news for you, unless you are posessed, the devil did not make you do it. At some point will and agency came into play. At some point, no matter the situation, you had a choice on how to act or react and you chose. There are natural consequences to actions and if one is lucky, they may be tempered in mercy. Sometimes though, it is not beneficial for a parent to lighten the consequences for a child, but that's another pet peeve for another day.
I'm sure I can't be the only person to find being around the "always negative" people a drain on my energy. I find being around the positive people uplifting, energizing and a great experience. It rejuvenates me and makes me want to be like them. I do my best and it's getting easier.
Sometimes the hardest part of growing in a job is knowing which tasks to say no too.
The out of town boss was in, last week he had asked which direction I wanted to grow in - Sales or IT. I said Sales.
So today he asks me which of the IT tasks I can take on from a co worker who gave her 6 months notice. I told him that there weren't any of the tasks that I could take on and then I gave him recommendations of employees that I felt could handle the tasks he listed. It felt really good.
When he asked about one of the IT tasks that used to be assigned to me that isn't being done, I told him that my understanding was that it was being done out of the Florida office and if that wasn't the case, why did I continue to fax it all to Florida anyway?
I also gave some suggestions that I don't think were appreciated like letting some of the tasks that are being done by IT go to other departments. There really isn't a reason for IT to continue doing them especially when it requires information from one department for IT to do it in the first place.
I also did really well in not telling him that the employee that gave him 6 month notice is telling her friends that she's leaving a lot sooner. Seems the company she came from has openings and even though it would be less money, they've offered her a management track. She's been doing a managerial job for us without the title. Seem the title may mean more than the money to her right now. But what do I know, I just work on the floor from day to day with these people but I don't have a management degree from college.
Maybe I'm getting better at this business stuff after all.
Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. [b]Buddha [/b]
We need to cultivate and attitude of gratitude. [b]Thomas S. Monson[/b]
I’m grateful I have an incredible husband who isn’t interested in watching sports on TV, who loves to go outside and do things with the kids, does homework with them and cooks incredible meals. I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head, food on the table and enough left over to pay for stitching stash. I’m grateful that I have a challenging job and not a boring one. I’m grateful that I’m smart enough to figure out a way to create income outside my job so that I can leave it someday. I’m grateful that all my family is healthy (not counting the allergies). I’m grateful that I have good friends to help me keep my sanity. I’m grateful that I get to leave the office right now and not come back until tomorrow.
Sometimes it's nice to get reminders that people are thinking of us.
Over the weekend, my husband updated my wedding band. It's now a platinum celtic knot on the side with the diamond resting between two sapphires. He's putting a pink sapphire in where the diamond used to be on the old ring.
Also, I've had several reminders today on setting priorities, organizing and knowing where you're headed before wandering out to the road.
I have a tendency to save long emails from people or companies when they don't have to be responded to urgently. I may dash off a quick thank you note and save the mail for a later reading.
I didn't realize how much I was putting off until I hit 50% of my box load and had over 100 emails and none of it spam.
I'll admit to having trouble with procrastination. I think that's why I'm behind where I want to be on a lot of things. Other people tell me it's because I can't focus. I'm not unfocused, I'm just good at multi-tasking. But if I focused more then I would get more done. Funny how I get more done at work if I have more to do. I do hope tomorrow ends up being a productive day. It's the state elementary chess tournament. That means I have a whole day to sit and stitch and pat my boys on the back, and cuddle them in an unobtrusive manner when they lose.
I bought a cross-stitch kit of an Ancient Thistle Needlecase eons and eons ago when my now Dungeon Master Daughter was still a Highland dancer. I used to work on it while she was dancing. I found it a few weeks ago and decided to finish it up. (my stitching used to be atrocious!!) Well one of the floss colors was missing. Pulling out my color cards, I determined is was DMC 928. I don't stitch with DMC if I can help it. (Silk or Anchor, baby!!) Well I could have run down to Walmart and grabbed a skein but what would I have done with the thing when I was done with the 20 - 40 stitches I had left. So, I put out a call to my 'net friends and Voila!! I have 18 inches of 928 from the [url=http://pub178.ezboard.com/bte...]TWBB[/url] friend down the street who has also converted over to Anchor and doesn't need DMC anymore. Gotta love friends on the 'Net.
I would have posted this Sunday if tblog had been up.
There's something just wonderfully relaxing about being the only person awake on a Sunday morning. Being alone with just the sound of [url=http://www.glennyarbrough.com...]Glenn Yarborough [/url] on the stereo.
You are a complete literary geek, from knowing the classics (even the not-so-well-known classics and tidbits about them) to knowing devices used in writing, when someone has a question about literature, they can bring it to you and rest assured; you know the answers.
1. What was the last song you heard? Some Jazz song on the community access channel
2. What were the last two movies you saw? 10 Commandments and It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (they were both on the 9.99 rack this Friday)
3. What were the last three things you purchased? The above mentioned DVD's, groceries, a shirt and skirt from the $5 Tshirt shop to wear while DH shot pictures at the beach.
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? finish my March ornament, go to women's conference (done), work 5 hours on Fortunate Traveller, and spend time with my incredible man.
5. Who are the last five people you talked to? DH, DS#1, DS#2, DD and Tawney - my daughter by another mother.
My baby girl had today off school. She asked if it would be okay if she could go to Mark's all day. I asked who Mark was, he's a senior and he's okay, he's DMing a session and he needs a Rogue and she loves playing a Rogue and he did promise that he would bring her home. I told her to be home by midnight.
My baby girl's at her first boy/girl party and she either is clueless or thinks that I'm clueless. I'm not too worried about it. After all, he's in AP Chemistry and he's a Dungeons and Dragons geek. Just the kind of guy I would have fallen for in school.
There was something that I was going to write about earlier and my DD thought it was cool and would make a great entry but I was driving and didn't write it down at the time and now I can't remember.
When entertaining, do you plan your guest list by those you could invite without cleaning the carpets as opposed to those who you can’t have over until you clean the carpets and repaint the front hallway? Don’t you just love the people that you can have drop in without worrying about whether or not the house is clean? Then there are those who just blanch at the sight of beagle hair on the couches.
Wish Bear You are the dreamer of the group and believe that things will all turn out exactly how you want them to be. Your extreme optimism often annoys your friends but they realize that you do have the power to make your dreams come true. You also keep an eye out for your friends, always looking out for them.
DH took me to a Asian buffet (they claimed to serve Thai, Korean, Japanese and Chinese). It was all pretty bad. The sushi rice was stale and crunchy. The Korean BBQ was all fatty meat. The Pad Thai had no heat at all and we won't discuss what they were serving as Chinese food. :(
The only good part was my fortune in the fortune cookie (which was also the most edible part of the meal).
[b]Admire those who succeed, and learn from their success.[/b]
You are mermaid of light! You love shiney objects and you are often seen from sailing ships wearing pearls. You are very mysterious. Bright objects you love, but you are also very self-centered.
Unfortunately, I see too many businesses where service is no longer offered to the customer. The employees are sullen; they seem to feel that mediocre is “good enough.” I’ve seen it in the last two trips I’ve had to Disneyland. When Walt was alive, Disney prided itself on doing the impossible. The park was spotless, the bathrooms clean, they had “cast members” that cared about the people. The last time I was in the park, I informed a cast member (with a broom and a garbage can) that someone had vomited in the sink in the bathroom. They glared at me and replied, “So what do you expect me to do about it?” I looked at her and said, “I expect you to get someone to clean it, if that isn’t your job.” She huffed at me and walked off. I don’t know if it got cleaned until the “regularly scheduled maintenance time.” But it’s the attitude that bothered me. I realize that Disney hires kids and that kids today have no clue about work. They don’t see the dream that Walt envisioned or if they do they don’t care. Eisner isn’t the motivator and dreamer that Disney needs to continue Walt’s dream. As long as they put in the minimum amount of work and still get their paycheck, that’s all that matters to the cast members anymore. The pride in making the experience unique is gone. But why should a Disney cast member have a different attitude from any other worker in America? Why should any worker take pride in their job? Why should employees want to go above and beyond the call of duty to make the customer happy? Don’t they realize that the customer is ultimately the person creating their paycheck? If the customer doesn’t come back, then there is no money coming in. But then, we don’t teach basic capitalist economic facts in the schools anymore and parents don’t teach the value of work at home. But that’s another rant for another day.
Napoleon Hill spent years researching the lives of successful men. He wrote a book on it called the Laws of Success. In a brieft nutshell, here they are.
1. Have a definite chief aim. 2. Self-Confidence 3. A habit of Saving 4. Initiative of Leadership 5. Imagination 6. Enthusiasm 7. Self-Control 8. Do more than you’re paid for 9. Pleasant Personality 10. Accurate Thinking 11. Concentration 12. Co-operation builds Teamwork 13. Profiting from Failure 14. Tolerance 15. Practicing the Golden Rule
I still can't get ImageReady and Photoshop to save my slices as separate files. It says it's saving them but when I try to open them in Dreamweaver they aren't sliced. Maybe I should try the 28 hour download for Fireworks trial version. :? I can save the slices separately in Fireworks. Wonder how much trouble I would be in if I did it on the T1 line and the office computer?
Then today is the 11th anniversary of the birth of my 8 pound 3.5 ounce, 19.5 inch long pre-mature son. Yes, he was premature and that size. His lungs weren't fully developed and he wheezed for 6 months. He's always been my cuddle bug, although now he tells me he's too big for it. He's the one who has lost legos to the beagle's tummy. He's now the Dungeon Master for his friends and has always been a math and chess genius.
If it's March 2nd - Happy 100th Birthday Dr. Seuss.
