Paradise Lost!

I started Paradise Lost.  I couldn't sleep & I have been stitching in the middle of the night.  So I also had to frog some of what I have stitched. 

I think I am stressing which is why I am not sleeping. 

This week is Catholic's Schools Week.  I am dreading it.  Activities & time wasting galore.  It is much calmer this year than in years' past, but still lots of lost time that will never be made up.  I lose all my plan time on Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday.  Not happy about that.  Means more things I have to complete on my "free" time. 

Hannah has to be at church tomorrow by 7:30 AM to help with the youth group breakfast.  She has to be at the 12:30 Mass since she is reading the introduction.  I have to be at the 8:00 AM Mass with my fifth graders since we are responsible for that Mass & neither of my partner teachers can make it.  I am just going to hang at school in between & work in my room.  I am hoping to get a lot done.  My TA is on a mission to clean out all my cabinets & is working her way towards my desk.  I think I need to hire her for the basement.

Today I grocery shopped, did laundry & cleaned.  I stitched a little too. 

I have an orthopedic appointment Wednesday.  I am hoping to get my PT scrip renewed.  If I do, this means I can start running again.  I am slowly coming to accept that I may not be running the Lincoln Half this year.  My achilles is still tight in both legs & the flexibility is not coming back as fast as I hoped.  I know from what I have read that I am lucky my achilles were not detached to correct the problem, I guess I am just impatient and want quicker results.  The pain is definitely better than before the surgeries. 

I think I am going to go and soak in the tub before I do my stretches.  The jets really seem to help loosen the tendons & reduce the swelling.  Then some more stitching till bedtime.

Snow Days!

I ended up not going back to school last week.  That puts us at 6 snow days so now we are in school on Monday the 18th.  As I told the kiddos, I would rather be in school when it is cold, than when it is hot.  I am scheduled to go to Florida with my friend Sally June 2nd.  We are letting the rest of our families come too, but it started out as a girl retreat, but then the guilt made us invite the kids & husbands. 

Hannah took the high school entrance exam (YIKES!  I am going to have a high school student) Saturday.  We are still debating Private/Catholic vs. public.  We are lucky that our public school system is excellent and they are building a brand spanking new high school 3/4 of a mile from our house.  It will only have freshman & sophmores next year.  Hannah has always been in parachoial, but she would also qualify for the gifted program in the public.  She is bright & has unbelievable ITBS scores.  It is a hard decision.

I began LK ABC Lessons last week.  Making good progress.  Still can't find my camera.  I am beginning to freak.  Need to keep looking...

LK is Finished

I finished the border on my LK Christmas 2008 kit last night ~ start to finish was 10 days.  A record for me.  Now I need to find my camera.  I thought it was here, but it must be in my classroom.  I found the charger, but no camera. 

Still waiting for the fabric to come in the mail for the LK ABC chart so I started LK's Time for God last night.  I stitched the word "worship" and went to bed. 

Hopefully the linen will be here today so I can start it tomorrow night.  I actually have a lot of school things to do today to get ready for the week.  My friend Sally picked me up & took me to school for 2 hours.  I am not supposed to drive until the stitches come out.  I got some things knocked off my list, but still have a lot to do.  My doctor's appointment for tomorrow afternoon got cancelled so now I have to go Wednesday morning.  I am hoping the stitches will come out then. 

No news yet about Dh's BIL.  They are doing an EEG today to see if there is brain activity.  I hate the waiting so I can only imagine what the immediate family is going through.

The weather here is awful.  There is already 22 inches of snow piled up into huge mounds, it is -17 today, and now we are going to get more SNOW!  Probably a snow day on Wednesday.  I don't want a snow day yet.  I would like it toward the end of January.

Back!

I can't believe how long I have stayed away from my blog. I have been superbusy & overwhelmed this year. I just had my second surgery due to a foot deformity. The pain had been going on for quite a while (probably 2+ years) but got so much worse as I trained for the Lincoln Half. I did finish the half. Then spent most of the summer trying to get answers about my feet. I have now had 2 surgeries & there is a big difference in everything. The second surgery was yesterday morning. While I am having pain from surgery, I am not having the other pain.

STITCHING FRONT: I recently started stitching again. I am working on a LizzieKate 2008 Christmas Kit. I am loving it. I haven't stitched since Saturday though. I was getting ready for the surgery and such. I am hoping to get back to it today. I was bad today & ordered a bunch of leaflets from Downsunshinelane. I also ordered linen for Paradise Lost. I am hoping to start that in January. I am going to use the DMC conversion. I just can't justify the price of silk (plus DH might have a coronary if I do it).

LIFE: My child is now an 8th grader. I can't believe it. She is taking the Catholic Schools High School exam in 2 weeks. We still aren't sure if she is going to go there though. They are building a new high school 3/4 of a mile from our house. She qualifies for the gifted program there & might actually get a better education there because of that. I am still teaching 5th grade. I only have 19 students in my homeroom - 58 total in the grade. I have a very challenging student this year. I think he is mentally ill. He drains me (and my partner teachers). By the end of the day, it is a relief that he is going home. Our counselor is an awesome support system & has really helped.

I celebrated my 40th birthday in Vegas with my awesome Dh, his brother & his brother's companion. We had a great time. I got a Kindle from my mom, dad & dh. Saw several shows - Cher was the best=). I also had a surprise party at home. My sister and Dh conspired and threw me a party I will never forget. I had no idea what they were up to. I even tried to get out of going with her because I wanted to go stamping.

30 lbs by July!

I need to lose 30 lbs. I have already lost close to 50, but I need to lose more. I want to enter my 40's better than I did my 30s. I have so much more energy now than I did a year ago, but I want more. I am recommitting myself to getting healthier.

I went to the gym this morning. In 30 minutes, I ran 2.6miles and burned 388 calories. Thanks to my asthma and the cold I have acquired, I am now coughing, a lot. Lesson learned: use inhaler before working out.

I am now off to school. I have to grade papers, write lesson plans, and all the other fun things associated with school. I have a HUGE list to make it through. My goal is to have it all done before I go back on Monday. New quarter/semester, new start. Fingers crossed on this one.

I was up at 3:50 AM so I stitched for about an hour on Bushel and a Peck before getting dressed and heading to the gym. I have forgotten how relaxing stitching can be. I think I am going to do this everytime I can't sleep.

So I stitched Saturday...

and Friday night too. I worked on LHN Little House Neighborhood. I started filling in my first house. I finished the door Friday night and the windows and filling in Saturday morning (in between loads of laundry). Saturday afternoon I went to stamp club and the library. I learned how to make cracked glass cards. They are way cool, but really time consuming. I don't think I would want to make mass quantities of them.

Then I came home finished the laundry, cleaned out my closet, put away ALL the laundry in the laundry room, and made dinner (and cleaned up the kitchen). Then I graded papers, worked on lesson plans, figured out my problem with the gradebook program (that the person who is supposed to do did not figure out), entered grades, updated the fifth grade website, and worked on my portion of the newsletter. I went to bed at midnight and cute little puppy woke me up at 7 wanting to go outside and have breakfast.

Today I will work on papers, finish up newsletter, finish up my social studies plans, go to school and make three weeks worth of copies, and hopefully stitch some more in the evening. I need to go to church (don't think we will make the 8 AM Mass) and buy groceries for the week. DH is working 4 to midnight so my evening will be quiet since Hannah needs to study for a test and complete her homework.

I also need to continue on my cleaning spell. I need to get Hannah to dust the rooms and I need to mop some floors. I also have a little laundry to do. All of my dress clothes and sweaters from the last week or so. I really LOVE my new washer and dryer. They are soo efficient.

I was very bad and signed up for two automatics at Downsunshinelane. One is the new Sea to Shining Sea by crescent colors and LHN (6 parts - starts in October) and the other is this cute bug series (4 parts and starts mid-September) by crescent colors and Country Cottage Needleworks. I want to order the linen they have for the bug series, but I should be good and use what I have in my large stash. I also ordered Toil and Trouble by Plum Street Samplers (and the thread). The colors are gorgeous. I just can't seem to stop...(heading hanging in shame)

I DID IT!

Today Sally picked me up at 7:15 and off to Chalco Hills Park we went. We (along with my partner teacher Anne) did a woman's tri-athalon. It was non-competitive and a great experience. Last night at my stamping club, they told me they couldn't believe I was going to swim in that lake. It was gross! I am not a swimmer, it is the one thing I truly do NOT enjoy doing. It was the hardest part of the whole affair. I biked two miles and ran 1 1/2 miles. Hurray for me! We have agreed that we are really going to do the Lincoln half-marathon next May. After that we went to Netties for lunch. Definitely the best lunch I have ever eaten after the workout we had.

I came home and took the longest, hottest shower. I washed my hair twice and scrubbed my face and brushed my tongue. I swallowed some lake water and it left a horrible feeling in my mouth (even with spicy mexican food to eat). I feel really clean and fresh now!
DD spent the night at my moms. My sister is supposed to be bringing her home, but so far no sign of her. I want to go shopping. A lot of my pants are not fitting since I have lost so much weight. I have a couple of coupons I would like to use! DH is in Colorado with his brother for the weekend.

School was fine. The first day was the longest, but it got better after that. I have already gotten an email wondering why their child was not in the challenge math group when they always have before. The child wasn't last year and I decided to only take those who were for now. I have no problem moving a kiddo up, but I do not want to move one down. Not a good thing for them. I have 22 in my homeroom this year, and they seem pretty good. I have one real behavior issue, but I can take care of him. I had his sister and she was a lot like him. I think I can rein him in.

I have not stitched since before vacation. I need to pull myself together and work on a few things. I'm going to finish up my lesson plans this evening and then I am going to work on my RR. I have two I want to mail this week.

Where is my stitching mojo?

I can't find it. I think I left it at the beach. I have not picked up a needle in over 2 weeks:( If you have seen it, please tell it to come back...I feel lost without it.

Little House Neighborhood!

Here's my progress on Little House Neighborhood. I really thought I would get more done, but life and family kept interfering with my plans. This week is the SAT on my favorite board, but I really must work on my RR that needs to go out soon.

Bad, bad, bad

I started Little House Neighborhood. DH is sleeping and the project I NEED to work on is in thre with him. He is working 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM so I really don't want to wake him when he is sooo tired (that's my excuse and I am sticking with it) so I felt compelled to start it. It was just sitting there and looking at me, calling me to start. So I did. Update later with a progress picture.

Not supposed to be running...

I'm not supposed to be running right now, but I just couldn't stop myself. I did wrap my ankles and wore a brace on my left foot. It actually didn't hurt too much. It is throbbing a little bit right now, but I have it elevated and an ice pack on it. It is so humid today, even at 7:30 this morning it felt like it was 100 degrees. We ran the last 1/2 of our trek this morning. I didn't realize how much I was sweating until I got home. My clothes were dripping wet! I lost 2 lbs. this morning. I am now 3 lbs. away from where I was when school got out. Tomorrow I will go and run on the treadmill at the gym and lift weights. I know I promised Dr. C I would be controlled, but I really need to exercise. I think I might be a little obsessed. I have lost 7 lbs this week, and I really think that the exercise combined with the fruit/veggie diet is responsible. I also have not been snacking like I had been, but I am drinking a lot more water. I just need to keep it up for 3 more weeks! I really want to go back to school lighter than I left. I really seem to have a lot more energy too. I'm not craving the sugar like I usually do!

I met some school friends for lunch today at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I had a pea and potato enchilada with a side of rice. Ohh it was sooooooo good. It was a little cheat off my diet, but I didn't eat this morning because of my long run and I will just be having salad for dinner so I figured it was okay. I drank a lot of tea too! The pea and potato is my absolute favorite dish fromt there. My next favorite is their chicken tortilla soup, but that is only available from October till March. I have tried to replicate it, but mine never tastes as good as theirs.

No plans for tonight. I need to stitch on my RR and get some things ordered for my summer secret sister. I want to mail both by the end of next week.

My sister took my daughter to the zoo this morning. Hannah came home with another stuffed animal. My sister has two boys ~ ages 4 and 2. I guess Hannah "earned it" by being a mother's helper. Hannah does NOT need another stuffed animal. She has way too many!

Bunco Food!

Tonight was my monthly bunco night. It was at my friend Julie's house. She is a gourmet cook. She made lettuce wraps and these chicken wrap things and mini bacon cheeseburgers and mini blt and fruit and veggies. Oh and the desserts were out of this world ~ heath bar pie and ho ho cake! I broke my diet today and ate over there. But I was good and drank water and did not partake of the candy. I am going to get the recipes for the desserts. My favorite was the ho ho cake. It was so chocolatly and lush. I could have eaten the WHOLE thing, but I was controlled.

I am down 4 lbs. this week. I think it is because I am working on cutting out the bad food I am attracted to.

I have not worked on my stitching goals this week. I have hardly picked up my stitching.

Sunday Cross Stitch Update...

I have two pictures to post of what I have been working on. I had to basically restart Bushel & A Peck by La-D-Da when I realized I was one off on the lettering. I basically stitched all day today on it. I am stitching it on 36 count Abecedarean (spelling) blend by R & R.
The other picture is my progress on Bent Creek's Red Threads. I have finally got caught up and I would like to finish it up before school starts.

Garage Sale Update and Such!

Dh and I had the garage sale Friday and Saturday. I dragged everything up from the basement Thursday night. He was shocked I did it by myself. I told him I just wanted to get it up and out of there. If we waited, we might never do it. Dh ended up working all day Thursday because of the tornadoes and other storm damage. They had teams all over NE and IA looking at all the damage. It looks like IA is going to float away. Almost the whole state seems to be under water. My friend has her parents staying with her since their house is now surrounded by water. Back to the basement, it looks so much better. There are still a couple of spots that I need to work on and organize, but the majority of the junk is gone. You can actually see the floor and sit on the couches to watch TV.

We got up at 6:30 Friday and Saturday to set up. We ended up making around $300 and hauled a bunch to Goodwill. Dh has one more trip and then we should be good. I am going to list a few items on craigslist since they are in really good condition and I think we can get more money for them on there. Dd has huge lots of bratz and accessories, barbies and accessories, polly pockets and accessories, and these designer dolls and accessories.

I went walking with Sally this morning. I hurt my ankle Saturday. I dropped my gazelle on my foot and ankle. Both are still slightly swollen and bruised. Thankfully I don't think I broke it.

I made a nacho bar yesterday for Father's day. My mom, dad, sisters and their families all came over. It was a big hit with all. My sister made these mini oreo cheesecake things. Oh were they delicious. I was soo bad and ate three:( In fact, I was a little bad all weekend. I think I am better when I am in school. I can't snack all day long. Today I am eating salad with leftover chicken taco meat and drinking LOTS of water. I am also not going to eat after 7 PM for the rest of the week.

I need to order some more specialty floss. I screwed up on my border and need to rip which means I will now run out of the floss. Since I am going to order, I will order a few other colors I need for a project I am kitting. I worked last week on my red threads. I did a little on CdC, but mostly focused on the red threads. I really want to finish them before the Oregon trip.

My friend's niece was approved for the lung transplant. Continue to keep Megan and her family in your prayers. They are going to really need it in the upcoming months.

I am hosting a bridal shower on Sunday and need to start planning that. From Wednesday on I will be cleaning and such. The wedding is in July. I am also hosting a party the night before the wedding for all the out of town family. It looks like there is going to be about 40 - 50 people. I need to start working on the menu for that. I think I am going to get a cater for the main part of the meal. I can do side salads and such no problem, but I really don't want to deal with the meat. I was thinking about getting bbq pork and brisket for that.

Well my lover (the library) just called and I now have 4 books ready for pickup. One of them I have been waiting on for quite a while so I think I am going to head on over and pick them up. Dd is going swimming with her frienemy at the JCC this afternoon and Dh heads back to work after his 12 day vacation. I am looking forward to a quiet house for a little while.

Friday!

My pedicure was fantastic. My feet feel so good and clean. It's amazing what a great pedicure can do for a woman!

Sally just called ~ she was up all night sick and is too weak to walk. I'm trying to get myself motivated to go to the gym to walk on the treadmill and to lift weights. I am sorely lacking in motivation today. Still

I need to straighten up the living room and vaccumn. DD's friend is spending the night. I am supposed to go to my sister's purse party and to stamp technique club. I don't really want to do either.

I stitched on the Red Threads yesterday. I am just stitching the red thread that runs threw every design right now. I really like stitching the one color. I ordered the thread I needed last night. I am doing most of the designs in the DMC equivalent, but I am doing the border in the required colors ~ bark and cocoa.

Nature's Beauty

I finished Nature's Beauty by Little House Needleworks. I stitched it on a 28 count bone lugana with the recommended DMC threads. I think it turned out beautiful! I want to frame it and hang it in the living room.

Saturday, May 31 Goals

I am going to start my organization frenzy a day early. It is really hot outside and I want to distract myself from the urge to shop. It is feeling really strong today. Though I do need to buy a bookcase and some baskets to go on the bookcase so I can organize the back bedroom.

Cleaning:

master bathroom

kitchen

laundry

vaccumn furniture and floor

Projects:

Guest bedroom - go through closet/buy bookshelf/organize "stuff"

Planning desk - clean out drawers/organize recipes

Closet - clean out all clothes and shoes/sort and organize

Stitching:

• finish the border and bottom flowering plants

Weather!

DH got called into work because of the supercells that are moving through - looks like lots of tornado activity. We are now under a tornado warning. I had gone to help my friend/co-worker move into her new, gorgeous house but had to come home when DH got called in. DD was home alone so I really needed to get home to her.

I have this wild urge to start a new project. I keep looking through my collection and fighting the urge to do it. I stopped working on CDC and picked up Nature's Beauty and started working on it, hoping the urge to start will disappear - so far it hasn't helped.

I officially checked out of school, but I still have things I have to do for it. It seems like I am never free...

CDC Update 2

My stitching marathon for the Memorial Day weekend is over. I have stitched a lot this weekend.

If only housecleaning was as fun as stitching, I would never dread it!

FROG!

Who sent the frog to my house? I just had to rip out a hundred stitches!