Happy Birthday... to Me!

Today is my 56th birthday! I love birthdays. I enjoy celebrating the fact that I've made it through another year (relatively unscathed!). Usually my birthday celebrations consist of dinners out with the kids or my folks or Dan. But this year I wanted to celebrate in a different way. So I'm throwing myself a birthday party.

Tomorrow I will be joining 11 of my closest friends and family for a girls only birthday luncheon. We're going to The Spicery in downtown Glendale. It is located in an 1895 house, and is filled with lace, flowers, antiques, and vintage decor. I'm so excited! I will be sure to post photos tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to a birthday breakfast this morning. A birthday lunch with Jessica and Adam. A birthday dinner tonight. And a day filled with x-stitching! For me, it's the perfect way to ease into my 57th year...

The birthday girl with Duke

Week 32 - Stitching Update

It's been so long since I wrote a stitching update that I had to go back and count the weeks. In doing that I discovered that I had gotten off a week somewhere along the line. So I marked my calendar so that I know what week is what in case I don't update again for a long stretch!

I have been stitching every day. It's just that my progress seemed so slow it wasn't worth photographing. I have also made a few purchases, but they've been filed and it's not worth the effort to sort through my stash to pull them out for a photo. Plus I just have to stop buying patterns. I am swamped with patterns I want to make. Even if I live long enough to stitch them all, I'm not sure my eyesight will hold out!

With that in mind, I've already been thinking about the patterns I'm going to choose for the Crazy January Challenge for 2013. I'm picking out all small patterns. I already know I'm not going to finish the challenge pieces I chose for 2012. This will be the 2nd year in a row that I will not complete my challenges. It can be discouraging. So, I'm going with small stuff just to repair my self-esteem.

I had to take a break on Katie's stocking to work on a birth sampler for one of her friends. It is a quick stitch. I think putting the stocking aside will give me my second wind to finish it when I pick it up again.

Of course, let's not even talk about the fact that I have four stockings to go for this year. Yeah, I know. It's not going to happen. But I'm going to be in denial until at least November 1st...

Almost finished!

I'm Still Around...

Gee whiz. Just noticed I haven't posted for two weeks. I've been so busy with grandkids, appraisal work, cross-stitching, Pinterest crafts, and planning my birthday party that I just haven't taken the time to blog.

I created a new board on my Pinterest account. It's called "Look What I Did" and I'm going to post the projects that I try on there. I don't want to just pin things... I want to do things! This past weekend I worked on a Pinterest project and as soon as I can get a photo I'll share it.

On Saturday, Katie and I took Sunny to a dance studio for a trial session. Although she was too shy to participate much, she does want to dance. So this fall she'll be starting a weekly dance class. I can't wait for the recital in the spring!

Thunder chatters away in a language all his own. He has a great throwing arm and is even starting to catch the ball occasionally. He crawls in hyper-speed, but still won't let go and walk.

Rascal has had a "hot spot" on his front right leg for over three years. It used to come and go, only showing up every few months. I did take him to a vet to have it checked out a couple of years ago and they pretty much said they didn't know what it was (really?!). We took him to our family vet a year ago and he recommended a home remedy. It has steadily gotten worse so now we have to have surgery. He will be immobilized for over a month after the surgery. I'm apprehensive about him getting around. He's too heavy for me to lift and carry very much. I'm sure he'll figure out how to adjust. I sure hope so!

Here's a few random photos from the past two weeks.

Sunny and her best buddy Rascal

Thunder and his best buddy Gramps

Rascal after a day with the kids

Summer after a day with the kids

Duke after a day with the kids... do you see a pattern here?!

Today...

... we're already off to a fun day!

Colorado Tragedy

Photo from The Denver Post

I have wanted to post something about the shootings at the movie theatre in Colorado for days. I just haven't been able to organize my thoughts. I've read several items that have been inspirational and moving. Today I came across a blog post from a woman who was there. Since I wasn't there, my words could only describe what I think it might have been like, or what I think I might do in that situation. They would carry no authority. Please check out this account. This is what I hope I would be like after surviving a tragedy.

Photo from The Denver Post

The Science Center

Thanks to my friend Joanna, we enjoyed a visit to the Arizona Science Center yesterday. Jessica, Sunny, and I joined Joanna, Kat, Brody, and Quinn for a fun time. I wasn't sure Sunny would be old enough to appreciate it, but she had a blast! Of course, anything involving her friends is fun for her. I didn't want to lug my big camera, so I used one of Dan's appraisal cameras. The photos are not very good, but you'll get the picture...

TUSAL and Grandkids

I'm still only working on Katie's stocking. I haven't posted a picture in so long, because I think it's hard to see my progress from week to week. I promise there is a picture coming soon. Here's my TUSAL for this month. TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long. It is hosted by Daffycat. You can click here to join the fun.

There was some good sharing going on at my house on Monday. Sunny and Thunder played with puzzles together and then Thunder was very good at sharing his hammer. In fact, he's a much better sharer than his big sister is!