A Shopping Excursion

OK, so I lost 40 pounds (and have successfully kept it off for two months thankyouverymuch). Clothes shopping should now be a happy occasion, yes? Well, not so much. See, nothing fits. Or rather, very few things fit. Specifically, pants. After weeks and weeks of trying on countless pairs of jeans and pants, I managed to find two pairs of jeans. The happy part is that I like them a lot. However two pairs of jeans and an ancient pair of yoga pants will not see me through the winter.

So, today I set out with a mission. I. WOULD. FIND. PANTS. THAT. FIT. Don't mess with a woman on a mission. She will be successful! And...I was! I scored four pairs of pants. Go, me! The store websites won't let me swipe the images, so I'll have to link. Sorry.

These from Banana Republic http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=26496&vid=1&pid=762409 in new trench. Need hemmed, but I love them! Yay for on sale (marked down another 10% in the store).

From Talbots:
These in a brown color not on the website: http://www.talbots.com/online/browse/product_details.jsp?id=prdi25055&rootCategory=cat70010&catId=cat1030039&sortKey=Default&section=Regular&conceptIdUnderSale=cat70010
These are the most incredible feeling pants ever. I think I could live in them. Which is a good thing because they cost a fortune. More than I normally spend, but hey, I was on a mission! Bought the dark green color http://http://www.talbots.com/online/browse/product_details.jsp?id=prdi25273&rootCategory=cat70010&catId=cat1030039&sortKey=Default&section=Regular&conceptIdUnderSale=cat70010
And finally, I found black dress slacks on the sale rack that don't seem to be on the website.

I had to post because this is such a victory for me. I was on a mission and didn't get derailed! Only the Banana Republic pants need hemmed, so the others are ready to wear. I have pants!!!!!! Celebrate with me!

I'm a Winner!

OK, probably NOT the post title you are expecting given my absence from blogland the past couple of months. Nonetheless, I am indeed a winner. Of multiple things, even. It's been a good month. :D

In the early part of October, I won the door prize from my LNS's Market Day. It's a "Pamper Me" basket:

I was really surprised, because I never win anything. Apparently, Lady Luck decided I should be a liar.

On the 19th of October, I won Annette's 19th Day of Halloween Giveaway. SO MUCH FUN!

Annette's very talented daughter made the bookmark! Isn't it awesome? And, the equally talented Annette stitched and finished the spooky house mattress pincushion, which now takes place of pride in my collection! I love seeing what Annette and Missy Ann put together each day of the giveaway.

I thought my lucky streak had ended because I quick bought a lottery ticket and didn't win. Boo Hiss! But, I was proven wrong by Madam Luck yet again this week. Holly messaged me to say I'd won the fall scissor fob giveaway on her blog! Yipee!!!! You'll have to admire it on her blog for now, as she's just now mailing it to me. Which means, I get to stalk the postie again! lol.

So there you have it, I'm a winner. Just in case you were wondering.

Other things I've been up to: well, mostly high school volleyball and cheerleading with the girls. Volleyball ended last weekend as Diva's team lost in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Not to worry volleyball fans. Club volleyball tryouts begin THIS weekend. And the fun continues. Friday night is the last regular season football game. But then there are playoff games and basketball season begins before Thanksgiving (Perfectionist Child cheers for football and basketball games). When we are not on the go to a game of some sort somewhere, it seems that my house is a revolving door of teenage girl athletes. Most of whom have taken to calling me "Mom" regardless of biology. The grocery store loves me almost as much as the girls love to be fed. I like to think the girls would love me even if the groceries ran out. Let's not think about that too hard.

There has been very sporadic stitching. If you visit the Chatelaine BB, you know about the WIP-kill Contest I am running there (if you don't and you are a stitcher, check it out). My entry for the contest is Medieval Town Mandala. My progress as of 10/15/2010:

As usual, I can't take a decent photo of my stitching to save my life. One day....

I also worked on Nativity Story Table Runner a bit. I'm about 75% done with this and have finished the entire length across the bottom, which is the most stitching intensive portion.


And finally, I went shopping. If you poke around Missy Ann's blog, you will find her scissor crypt instructions. I'm making one. Actually, I'm making several, and a large tool-keeper crypt, too. I needed a few more supplies for my first boxification attempt (which WILL happen before the end of the year). And, I had so much fun making cosmetic bags for the volleyball team senior night (oops, need to share that photo eventually), that I decided I needed to make one to hold my GPS (pronounced gee-pus in this household). The photographic evidence:

A close up of the larger crypt and the bats I found that must live nearby:

In the photo of the whole, you can also see some crochet trim and buttons. Annette is going to teach me how to make button trim while we're in Houston next week! WOOT!!!!

I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell you something, but I'm all tapped out for today. That's all I Have to Say......

THIS!

Not for those sensitive to f-bombs. But, oh so very much THIS!!!

Goals? What are those?

OK well, I've been partially derailed this month. Most of you know DH was injured in a bicycle accident on the 22nd. Since then, there has been little accomplished in this household that didn't revolve around him. While certainly he didn't do this on purpose and cannot change the fact that he has needed a great deal of help to do everyday things as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, he has still been...well, I'll be kind...a typical male patient. Let's just say that my going on Diva's volleyball trip to Memphis has a lot to do with DH still being alive. I do want to know how I can do every load of laundry in the house on Thursday, be away for two days, and come home to EIGHT loads of laundry that needed to be done before going to bed on Sunday. I recognize one load was Diva's volleyball clothes, but STILL.

So, you get a partial goal vacation this month. To summarize: I did some stuff. Didn't get to other stuff. Completely punted a few stuffs. My life is so exciting.

What you really want: pictures of stuff. :-D

Earlier this month, I took two very amazing classes through my LNS with designer/teacher Susan Greening-Davis. Susan KNOWS STUFF. I learned tons about finishing and textiles. What I really like about her is that she shows you the technically "right" way to do things, explains the logic/reasoning, then tells you when it's really needed and when you can get away with cheating. She's all about the end result. I also like that her designs and kits are focused on finished items. Her stuff isn't available through LNSs, only through her trunk shows. Most are limited editions and include everything you need to finish the project. Here's what I bought:
Spooktacular Stitching:

Celebrations of needlework 15th Anniversary Spot Sampler:

Starry Night Hanging Ornament:


The class projects were a stitching seat cushion with pockets for your stitching supplies (very handy for Moonlight Stitching at the LNS) and a discontinued Longaberger basket with doo-dads for holding supplies. There are not photos of the finished product, but here are pics of the kits and my progress:



Really, the best part of the classes was just talking to Susan. Worth the cost of the classes. She's traveled all over and studied needlework and textiles. Font of knowledge. My dream is to take one of her needlework trips abroad. I think she's working on one to Ireland for 2011 or 2012.

Later this week, I will post updated pics of MTM and NSTR. Those are the only projects to see any stitching progress this month. I'm hoping September will be more productive!

I did buy boxification supplies to further my ambition to be Melissa. I bought The Book with the fabulous instructions, and Fabrics.com had a silk dupioni sale, so I indulged a bit.

Don't know when I'll actually make one, but my hope is to make at least one before the end of this year.

August Goals/ July Progress

That's right, time for goals again.

Stitching Goals for July

1. Stitch two small projects while at the lake (Red Dragon Bookmark by Dracolair and Oh Christmas Tree by Charlotte's Web Needlework in the 2009 JCS Ornament Issue). Not really. Red Dragon is half finished. Didn't have as much stitching time at the lake as I expected.


2. Complete the finishing for the slipper portion of Snow Queen's Slipper.Nope. I have all the supplies, but I seem to be suffering from finish-finishing anxiety.


3. Stitch 10 hours on Nativity Story Table Runner. YEP and then some!


4. Stitch 10 hours on Medieval Town Mandala (hoping that will finish the current town).YEP, see post below for photographic evidence.


5. Make a master list of all the projects hiding in my closet that have been stitched but are in need of finishing and determine finishing requirements. Nope. Still living in denial. See #2 above.


6. Attend Moonlight Stitching at the LNS on July 24. YES! Had an absolute blast!

Non-stitching Goals for July

1. Stick to eating plan - lose 4 pounds (I said it would be a tough month)YES - officially lost 5.5 lbs for a total of 35 lost to date!


2. Exercise at least 14 days, including 3 body pump classes.YEP - lost track of exact number but roughly 19 days and five body pump classes


3. Order new sofa. Yes, current delivery date is 8/31, but I'm not holding my breath.


4. Attend ADFP meeting for professional development. Meeting post-poned until August, but unfortunately, I will be unable to attend on the rescheduled date.


5. Determine CPE requirements for the remainder of year and decide which classes to take. NOPE. Really need to do this.


6. Update professional profile and begin to develop marketing plan.NOPE. Total fail.

Yeah, so July was only so-so. Eh. Whatever. In the words of one of my favorite heroines, Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day!" You can stop laughing at/with me.

So what will happen in August? With the start of Diva's volleyball season and Perfectionist Child's football cheering season, who knows! But, in my perfect dream world, here's what I hope will happen:

August Stitching Goals

1. Finish current page on NSTR. Probably about 20 hours.
2. Stitch one of the over-one bugs on Elizabethan Sweete Bag.
3. Stitch 10 hours on MTM
4. Finish THE SLIPPER (really, somebody hold a gun to my head and make me, PLEASE!)

August Non-stitching Goals

1. Stick to eating plan -lose 5 pounds. Will be tough as I am getting closer to my goal which means slower progress.
2. Exercise at least 22 days (see #1 above).
3. Map out CPE requirements for the rest of the year.
4. Update professional profile and begin to develop marketing plan.
5. Figure out new daily/weekly routine now that kids are back to school.

Sorry the formatting for this post is not consistent. Blogger apparently does not like me today and will not let me make the formatting uniform.

So we'll see how it goes. In other life notes: I had Diva's entire volleyball team, varsity and JV (21 teenage girls) spend the night at our house last weekend. I lived and my house is still standing. Judging by the shrieks and giggles into the wee hours, I'm reasonably certain a good time was had by all. Everybody wins. :-D I did have to send DH out for a long bike ride the next morning as he was suffering from estrogen overload. Perfectionist Child had, and lived through her cheerleading initiation (involving much humiliation in front of the football team). I hated it for her, but she took it pretty good-naturedly. Today is/was PC's first day of high school. She was a nervous wreck this morning despite (or maybe because of) the cute boy who hugged her at book day yesterday telling her he hoped she'd hang out with him today. Diva was jealous. Diva still has the boyfriend and the boyfriend-drama. I'm gonna be shocked if he lasts through half of volleyball season. And that's really all I have to say about that!

But I Have Pictures!

So you need to forgive the lack of blogging this month. Seriously, I blinked and July happened. However, I have managed some stitching. Thus, there are pictures which are of greater interest to you than anything I might say, I'm sure! lol

First up: my July progress on Nativity Story Table Runner



And the full view of the 38.5 inches of stitching thus far:


Another big milestone was completing the south town on Medieval Town Mandala. Here's the south town (upside down):


And the obligatory full view:


Kind of excited that I only have one more town to stitch. I love this design, but the towns are SO stitching intensive. I'll be glad to get the last one behind me so I can finish the corner motifs.

I brought out an old friend this month, Elizabethan Sweete Bag. Haven't stitched on it in two years! Stitched the leaves this round. The only stitching remaining are the 8 over one bugs. Seriously wondering what I was thinking to plan to stitch over one on black linen.



Needed something smaller and not on black to stitch on at Moonlight Stitching last weekend at the LNS. So I started block A2 (a Celtic heart motif) of Celtic Quilt. I actually got a fair amount completed despite all the visiting with stitching friends!



Amazingly, my photography doesn't completely suck this month. Moon must be out of phase.

I do need to say that Moonlight Stitching was LOTS of fun! Wendy, Dana, and Melissa were all there, along with several other stitchers with whom I've become acquainted the past several visits. We closed the place down! Not sure I'm gonna make the next one in September. Diva's volleyball team hosts a tournament that weekend. We'll see.

June Progress/ July Goals

Yes, it's that time of the month again, Dear Readers. So how did I fare this month?

Stitching Goals for June:

1. Finish "duckie" band on Egypt Garden Score! All done.
2. Stitch 10 hours on Nativity Story Table Runner Another one bites the dust - see post below for photographic evidence.
3. Start stitching Snow Queen's Slipper Started AND finished the stitching. Minimal progress on the finish-finishing, though.
4. Post final sign-ups for the Chatelaine Smalls Exchange, assign partners, etc. DONE!
5. Mail my own entry for the Chatelaine Exchange Mailed and received by my victim. :-)
6. Take Hanging Gardens to the framer Sadly, no. Just didn't get there.
7. Make hotel reservations for the Houston Quilt Festival YESYESYESYES!!! Hotel AND Airlines booked!! WOOOHOOO!

Non-stitching goals for June:

1. Stick with eating plan - lose 6 pounds Great with eating plan. Just barely made weight goal - but I did make it.
2. Exercise at least 16 days Made 19 days! Go, me!
3. Do the Body Pump class every Thursday Yep. Even convinced Diva to go with me.
4. Buy some shorts that fit Bought two pair then guilt set in.
5. Bite the bullet and buy a new bathing suit (UGH!) Changed my mind after trying on what I have and deciding it would work for the 3 days I have to wear one.
6. Buy some new summer shoes Fail. Didn't even get to the shoe store.
7. Let go of guilt over spending money on items 4.-6. I am SO not good at this.

July will be really challenging. We are headed to Lake Oconee, GA tomorrow to meet up with DH's family for a reunion of sorts. I'll spare you all the reasons I'm not looking forward to the trip and just say this is absolutely NOT a vacation for me and is the source of much stress. The day after we get home, I have to babysit my grandmother so my mother and her fiance can get away for a few days. Gram is in the early stages of dementia and doesn't do well out of her habitat, so I will be spending nights there. Mom hasn't been away from Gram in almost 16 years, so I'm glad to do this for her. But, it does mean more days of little/no exercise for me. With both of these events, it will be July 12th before I am able to resume a "normal" schedule. I'm worried not just about failure to lose weight, but actually gaining weight as a result. Yes, I have been discussing it with my doctor. She's concerned, too. Mostly about the effect of stress hormones on my body. Just have to do the best I can and then deal with the aftermath.

On the other hand, stitching time should be in abundance. Or at least, that is my expectation. Let's see what I can accomplish.

Stitching Goals for July

1. Stitch two small projects while at the lake (Red Dragon Bookmark by Dracolair and Oh Christmas Tree by Charlotte's Web Needlework in the 2009 JCS Ornament Issue).
2. Complete the finishing for the slipper portion of Snow Queen's Slipper.
3. Stitch 10 hours on Nativity Story Table Runner.
4. Stitch 10 hours on Medieval Town Mandala (hoping that will finish the current town).
5. Make a master list of all the projects hiding in my closet that have been stitched but are in need of finishing and determine finishing requirements.
6. Attend Moonlight Stitching at the LNS on July 24.

Non-stitching Goals for July

1. Stick to eating plan - lose 4 pounds (I said it would be a tough month)
2. Exercise at least 14 days, including 3 body pump classes.
3. Order new sofa.
4. Attend ADFP meeting for professional development.
5. Determine CPE requirements for the remainder of year and decide which classes to take.
6. Update professional profile and begin to develop marketing plan.

As you might gather from the non-stitching goals, I am gearing up for a big marketing push for my financial planning/divorce financial planning practice. Now that both DDs are in high school and my volunteer days are minimal, it's time. There is also the realization that slammed me upside the head yesterday when Diva got her ACT scores (very good, BTW), that I have to pay for college in two years time. EEEEKKKK!!!! The need to generate some income has really hit home.