February Progress and March Goals

So February is just about over. Here is how I did.

For February:
1. Finish one corner of M9-Only a few urns left
2. Continue Bordeaux Sampler SAL-Yup, half way through part 3
3. Start Barnabee’s Quest SAL-Almost half way through the pattern
4. Stitch on Stargazer-About one quarter done with her
5. Stitch on German Garden-Finished page one
6. Participate in Christmas ornament SAL-I sure did
7. Stitch baby sampler for my friend-Nope

I kicked behind!

Here are my goals for the month of March. My rotation might get a bit out of whack for a bit due to my trip to Boston.
1. Finish two pools on Potager du Roi
2. Finish Bordeaux Sampler through part 3
3. Stitch on Stargazer
4. Finish Part 2 of Barnabee’s Quest
5. Finish Page 2 of German Garden
6. Stitch Spring Dragon for Dragon RR
7. Stitch a Christmas Ornament
8. Stitch one hour on My lady’s needlecase
9. Start Mystery Exchange

Christmas Ornament SAL

Over the last two months I have participated in a Christmas Ornament SAL during the fourth weekend of the month. I was able to finish ornaments both months, but forgot to post pictures of it.

In January I stitched Log Cabin Pinkeep by Prairie Schooler. It was a fast stitch and turned out really nicely. It is stitched on 32 ct. Lambswool linen.

This past weekend, I stitched Pear Tree by Little House Needlework from the 2006 JCS ornament edition. I absolutely loved stitching this one. I used the suggested Crescent Colors Sassy Brass for the pears as I had left over from the Mira Christmas Elf Fairy. In that same kit, I had some pretty Spinach that I used for the leaves and border. It is stitched on 32 Antique White linen.

In other news, I may not be around much at the end of next week. Last Friday I got a request to join my boss at a conference in Boston next Thursday and Friday. One of my schools will be implementing a program to encourage positive behaviors and a safe learning environment. This conference will help us learn more about the foundations of the program. So off I go to Boston, leaving Allen and the kitties at home to fend for themselves. Fortunately they are all fairly self-suffecient. Maybe they won’t even miss me:(

Photo heavy…but well worth the look!

So, in addition to taking pics of my stitching, Allen went snap happy with the camera this morning. Let’s start with the stitching.

Friday night was Barnabee’s Quest SAL. As Allen and I went out to dinner and then hung out playing a Legos starwars video game, I actually stitched on this Saturday morning. I finished up part one and collected the additional threads I would need for part 2. I love the fuscia and birdhouse in this part. I can’t wait until next week! Edited to add better picture.

With the warmer weather we have had lately, most of the snow and ice had melted. Our whole driveway was clear and you could almost reach the front door. That all changed when we woke up this morning. We are again playing the “can you find the driveway game?” Somewhere in this pic is our driveway. Can you find it?

Here is a pic our our front living room window.

And out back from the kitchen.

Cooper very frequently does adorable things that warrant taking pictures and sharing them on blog. Miss Zoe is much more sneaky about her adorable behavior and is harder to get good pics of. Here is a little taste of a morning in the life of Zoe. Many of them are out of focus, but that really expresses the nature of the Zoe. She is fluffy and has a hard time focusing!

Here she is on one of her two favorite nappy spots after pets from daddy.

And a close up of her saying “huh?”

Can you see her on her chair?

And a close up of her GIANT eyes!

And Zoe sticking her tounge up her nose…

And last but not least…the only one in focus!

A Little Gardening

Well, another step on our front stoop was finally peeking out from under the ice when I got home this evening. That leaves only two more and the walkway which is still under 12-18 inches of ice. At this point it feels like it will be forever before people can reach our front door again. I thought briefly about trying to take a whack at it with the shovel again today, but it is still a solid rock.

Instead, I was a good Leslie and made my way to the basement and put in forty minutes on the recumbent bike while watching last night’s Criminal Minds. I really like that show, but I still have a hard time seeing Mandy Patinkin without either reciting “My name is Inigo Montoya…” from the Princess Bride or humming a bit from Sunday in the Park with George. Neither really fits in with the character he currently plays!

After a quick dinner, it was time for some gardening. While watching some of David Starkey’s The Monarchy, I was able to get some good progress done on my German Garden. I finished the three triangular trees at the top and added some filled trellis stitch and wather. I am almost done with the top right page on this one! Yay!

Now off to see who gets kicked off American Idol.

Melt away snow!

The last two days we have made it above freezing for long enough to start to melt the ice in the area. We still have a two foot mound of ice on our front walk, but hopefully the next few days will make a dent in that too! Now everything is just wet and muddy…ick!

As for stitching…I didn’t get quite as much done on Bordeaux Sampler as I would have liked. I had hoped to get through all of the blackwork in part 3 this week, but I only managed about half. It still looks fantastic! I really like the blackwork.

Tonight while watching American Idol, I stitched on Stargazer. I am almost to the far left hand of her skirt. Here she is so far…

Off to do some reading before bed. I am currently reading “The Five Empresses”, short biographies of five Tsarinas of Russia. It is a pretty interesting read. After I finish this book, I will be pulling out the first six Harry Potter books. I plan on reading them before the final installment comes out in July. On one hand I am looking forward to it, but it will be sad to no longer have a new book to look forward to.

Movie Meme

A Movie Meme…
I found this on WhizGidget’s blog ently and thought it would be amusing as I tend to watch movies or tv shows while I stitch. The question now is, do I have a life? If you want to do it, but can’t copy the list from here, it worked off of Whiz’s blog.

It’s been said that allegedly if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. I have my own opinion about that, but now is not the time. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, change the header adding your number, and post it.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far: …15 out of 22, that’s not so bad but it’s not great either.

(x) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 28 …out of 43… hey, that’s a lot better, right?

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
(x) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong

Total so far: 43 …out of 66.

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( ) Flubber
(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 51 … out of 90. Almost half. See, I do have a life.

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total so far: 65 …out of 121. Now it’s not looking so good because we’re over halfway through the list and I’m almost to the I Have No Life point.

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) E.T.
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 79 Still doing ok!

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 91 yup, just as I suspected, I have no life
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 101, out of 181.

(x) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
(x) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard

Total so far: 109 out of 200.

( ) High Tension
(x) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
(x) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(x) Kill Bill Vol. 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 121 out of 220.

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix: Reloaded
( ) The Matrix: Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

Final total: 136 out of 239

Well, I definitly have no life:) It is interesting to see the types of movies I didn’t check off on the list…none of the “chick flicks” or many of the pure horror movies. Now I am off to netflix to add a few movies to my queue that sparked my interest.

Toad in the nose and ice on the sidewalk

Over the course of the last week, both Allen and I have had pretty icky head colds. It is no fun, especially as Northern Virginia got a pretty significant snow/icing Tuesday into Wednesday. Because of the lousy weather, schools closed early on Tuesday and they even let administrative staff head home early. By later that night I was pretty convinced things had finished for the evening and settled for the fact that I would be heading in to so groups on Wednesday morning. Boy was I wrong! On Wednesday, I woke up to everything covered in white. I was even more surprised when I went out to start shoveling. I walked all the way down our driveway to the mailbox without making an impression in the “snow”. Allen and I both ended up taking a snow day, primarily because we were barely able to shovel out 2/3 of our drive way by 3pm. We still haven’t tackled the remaining driveway or the front steps. I will be hitting the steps tomorrow…Yippee!

With all the cold and snow, it was a perfect week to curl up and stitch. Cooper sits on the back of the couch next to my head while I stitch and help Allen play Zelda:)

Last weekend I was good and did spend some time working on Potager du Roi (Mystery 9). I got one of the middle staircases completed and started some of the beading. I picked it up again today and started working on the last little bit of this corner-the lanterns around the edge. This picture represents what I had stitched upto a few minutes ago.

Monday and Tuesday as usual were Bordeaux Sampler nights. I finished most of the cross stitches and back stitching in part two that were done in Taro or Malt. I then chose to move on to some of the blackwork in part 3. Monday is a holiday here, so after my dentist appointment and the appraisers visit, my goal is to get the remainder of part 3’s blacwork done. Tuesday will probably be spent with a lot of Diane’s Rouge and over one grapes:)

Wednesday saw my lady Stargazer come out to play. Despite not having the additional Saturday morning time working on her, she is still coming along nicely. I am about 1/3 of the way done with the bottom half of the pattern. As she is rather bottom heavy in terms of stitching, I am making good progress over all. Most of the top half of this piece is the beading of the stars.

Thursday night I wandered a bit in my German Garden. I spent a lot of time back stitching that night. Not too much longer and I will be done with the first page. Yay!

Last night was my Barnabee’s Quest SAL. I almost finished part 1 last night. All that is left is to finish the honeycomb at the bottom and to give my buggies wings and legs. Right now they can’t move much. I am really looking forward to stitching the birdhouse that is at the top of part 2 next week!

Well, now I am off to do a bit more on Potager dur Roi before bed. Tomorrow morning Allen and I are up early to go to brunch with my parents. should be fun…and yummy! I love breakfast!

Long over due!

Well, for some reason, I have been super tired all week and have focused my energy on stitching rather than blogging. I have done a good job at stitching though! I was able to stitch on all my weekly WIPS and made good progress on them all.

Here is Bordeaux Sampler. Just a few leaves and a lot of grapes left in part two. I had really hoped to finish part two this week, but it just didn’t happen.

Wednesday is now my evening with Stargazer. I was paricularly sleepy that night so I didn’t get as much done as I would like to. I no longer have the carry over to Saturday morning to make huge progress each week. I am still really loving her. I also got the beads for her earlier in the week. I had a hard time convincing myself not to pull out my beading needles. As much fun as I have with the beading, it really is easier to save it until the end.

Thursday was a night in the garden. I did a lot of back stitch and had fun with the little butterflies around the pool. They are so cute and I am thinking of making one a “signature” when I finish my bigger pieces. I have always loved butterflies and would represent that it was my piece.

Last night was spent with the bees (and all my Barnabee’s Quest SAL-mates). I made some great progress. I am three bands and some border away from finishing part 1! This is progressing very nicely and is just a lovely piece:)

Since I fell asleep after work Friday and didn’t get but an hour of stitching in, I allowed myself a little more stitching with B today. After dinner I will be good and work some on my Mystery.

And I will leave you with a cute picture of Cooper. This is him chewing on something on the table…bad boy!!!

PS-I had fun answering those questions, so feel free to ask any others!

Some questions answered

So yesterday, I invited readers to ask questions to learn a little bit more about me. Jenna and Cathy both sent five, so here are my answers.

Cathy asked:1. What was your favortite childhood vacation? My favorite vacations as a childhood(and even now) are our family trips to Duck in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Starting when I was about 12 we would always go for a week in August which usually was the week when my sister and I had birthdays. It was always a blast and Becca and I generally each got to bring along a friend. Time at the beach/pool, watching dad fish, the Lost Colony play(complete with misquitos) and the Elizabethan gardens. You couldn’t ask for a more relaxing and fun vacation. I wish I could still go every summer, but work sometimes keeps that from happening.
2. What is your favorite memory from high school? Going to see my best friend perform in a Rocky Horror Picture Show review. Somehow we convinced our history teacher and physics teacher to go and it was hysterical to see them get embarrassed
3. Do you have any goals/dreams you’d like to accomplish? Right now my biggest goal is to get my clinical social work license. I hope to get all my paperwork filled out this week and send in my request to take the exam by Monday. If I get approved, then I just need to pass the test. This morning I got a little nudge on this one as a co-worker wants me to start supervising her in the fall. I need my LCSW to do that
4. What is your favorite season? Summer-no school(not any more for me), birthdays and the beach!
5. Where would you like to retire? I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. On a day like today, I am definitly thinking some place a bit warmer:)

And then Jenna asked:
1. What do you see your life being like in 10 years? Hopefully similar to what it is now with one major exception (see answer to question 5). I am relatively content in my life. I have a wonderful family, a job I enjoy and I like where I live. There is just enough variety that I am never too bored, but not too much is overwhelming in the grand scheme of things. A good balance I think!
2. If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it? I would pay down some of our mortgage, invest some, take a trip to Europe and buy stash and a toy for Allen.
3. What do you like most about your work? Seeing the kids I work with succeed. I especially love it when they have that Ah-ha moment and start making more positive choices in their lives.
4. What do you like least about your work? Paperwork, county politics/budget issues and parents who make excuses for their kids behavior.
5. Are you and Allen planning on having any children? I hope that sometime soon there will be little Saunders on the way. Unless something major changes, we are planning on two. Between two children and Allen, I will have my hands full.

5 Questions

I saw on Cathy and Jenna’s sites that they are inviting commenters to ask five questions. I am going to do the same. Is there anything you would like to know more about me, I will do my best to answer. Just leave your questions in the comment section:)