Web of Life update!

I can hardly believe I am posting this on time! I actually had some time to get some stitching done the last coupla days. I worked on Web of Life. And was actually able to get a lot more done than I thought I would! 

Well, we are now living in a nice hotel. This is the view from our 8th story balcony:

 It is really beautiful!
And here is my progress on Web of Life:

I got alot more done than I thought I would. And this morning I was able to get some work in on Tree Branch. I will share progress on that in about 5 days! See yah then!

The Abbey- first progress update for June

And it may very well be the only update for the month of June, we just have to see how things work out with us moving and all, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for stitching and posting, and what my internet situation will be as well. 

This time around, I didn't get much in. Thank goodness for insomnia the past two nights, or I probably would have only gotten 1 hour in.  I am so stressed over this move and making sure we have everything and everything is getting done that I am absolutely EXHAUSTED come 8 or 9 p.m.  Then a few hours later after a "nap" I'm wide awake and making lists in my head of things to do, until I finally just give in and get up and get my day started. But not wanting to get into the endless list, afraid of waking up the household with the noise, I sit and stitch instead. So, that's a good thing...I guess.

They came yesterday and packed up our first load.  Which included my stitching stuff! I'm a bit nervous, as I had all my stuff in a plastic "File cabinet" looking thing, and they said I had to send the cabinet with the furniture, it was too big, and they took all the stitching out and just packed it in a cardboard box. Now I'm thinking I should have just told them "No, just leave it,and I'll send it in the big haul.", but I didn't. But hopefully it will arrived unscathed, keep your fingers crossed for me! (Just to clarify there is the "essentials load" that goes by plane, and it's things you will need right away when you get to your destination...dishes, my stitching, my books! Clothes, etc.,  The second haul is the household goods, which is basically everything else, and it travels by boat, so it can take up to two months to get to you.) So, I was between a rock and  a hard place....do I send it in it's safe plastic container but have to wait two months for it to arrive, or do I chance it to get to me safely and arrive just about the same time I do? Hard call.

But oh well, I have 5 projects in my bag to go with me:

-The Abbey
-Tree Branch, Winnie the Pooh (Which won the vote to take SVE's place, by the way! Thank you, all who voted!)
-Sunset Run
-Web of Life
- Ornaments (For Plane and car travel)

So, I should have plenty of stitching to keep me busy for awhile, plus I'll be taking my Kindle (80+ books) and 10 paper books, and a few other things to keep me occupied. Plus a 2 year old who will need to be entertained as well. So I'm hoping this month and the move go quick.

Now for goals.  I did really badly this past month, just so busy with stuff for the move.  Aaaaaand doinking around on the computer too much.

May Goals

STITCHING

-Finish Snow Valley Express

-work on page 7 of the Abbey (at least 5 hours)

-Work on "Web of Life" (at least 5 hours)

READING

-Read 4 books (I read 6!)

-Get to page 575 in DQ- Nope, didn't even pick it up! But I'm taking it on the trip though, so hopefully this month!)

WRITING

-Write 17 letters-nope, only wrote 5!

-Write 2000 words on newest piece of fiction-NOPE, didn't even work on it!

June goals

-Stitch when I can

-Read when I can

-Write when I can

I'm not making goals really for this month, I'm stressed enough without worrying about goals! LOL...So I'll pick up goals again in July, I think. 

Thank you for reading! And Joyful stitching!

I need your vote! What to stitch next?

So, now that I am done with Snow Valley Express, I need to find something to fill that spot! So! Like a good girl, I went WIP diving!  Started pulling out all my WIP's to see if any called my name, and I'm thinking that these two called the loudest! But help me pick which one, I have a sneaking suspicion which will win, but I can't decide.

First up is "Tree Branch".  The last time I worked on this was around the time Alyssa was born in 2011. Then in the hub bub of being a mom, and all, it got shuffled back into the pile, and forgotten. It depicts Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Piglet sitting in a tree. I started this YEARS ago! Probably around 10 or 11 years ago, and now that I have a little precious girl who I think may enjoy it, I want to get it done, before she grows to old to appreciate having a Winnie the Pooh piece in her room.

 Next up is this one:"Sunset Run", and I started it probably about 15 or more years ago! (Wow! Have I been stitching that long?! Yup, it will be 20 years since I learned the craft and fell in love, this summer!) It depicts a horse sillouette running along water at sunset.

 Here is what it will look like when it is done.

I have many other pieces as well, but these two jumped out at me the most. Help me decide!! Thank you! And thank you all for your lovely comments on my finishing of Snow Valley Express. You were all so encouraging during my struggle to get it done, thank you for that!

I did it! I did it! I did it! Snow Valley Express-FINISHED!!! Wooo hooo!!!!

I was sooooo happy to finish this train this morning!!! I wanted to have it done before we moved next month in time to give to my dad, and it is DONE!!! I started this in Dec. 2004!!! And finished May 2013!!! I was not stitching it for most of that time, for most of it, it sat in the WIP drawer, and I ignored it! But, I was SOOO relieved to have it finished!! 

 Next up, I have to share! We had our family portraits done on Mother's Day, and I think the one of Alyssa is absolutely ADORABLE!!! I love her little bare baby toes!! We got the old time-y antique type ones! I love how everything is all in Sepia print except for the basket of flowers! They are the original color!

Today I had to go the dentist...ugh...but I did alright! ALOT better than the last time I had to go, last month. glad that is over now! Now all I have to focus on is the move! The house gets packed up next week! GASP! I am super excited though for this next chapter of our lives! 

Now go dust off those dancing shoes and do the cha cha with me! I'm happy dancin'!!!

Web of Life Update

I got a little bit more work in on this one during this round of my rotation.  Not quite as much as I would like, I have just really been in a huge slump.

Last Sunday I went to the ER with bad chest pains, everything turned out ok, but since I have high blood pressure, I thought I needed to get it checked out. And I have just been a couch potato this past week. I sit and play with my daughter or I watch TV, sometimes I play around online, but not even in the mood to do that much.

I know one thing that I did do more of, which probably accounted for the lack of stitching this week, was I participated in a read-a-thon that one of the groups I'm in on Goodreads hosted this week. I read three books and a total of 16 hours. Now I think that is done, I will probably put more effort into my stitching, as after all that reading, I am burnt out on IT!  I just feel burnt out on EVERYTHING lately. I just don't care. I have this move looming over my head, and I feel overwhelmed, I think, so I'm procrastinating, and it's kinda just sliding into my hobbies as well. I don't know if that makes sense.

I hope to get out of the slump this next week, though, because it is Snow Valley Express time for the next 5 days and I REALLY need to get it done before we leave, and the next 3 or 4 weeks just look so hectic! So, who knows how much other stitching I will get done, I feel like I just need to focus on it, until it is finished, then after I give it to my dad, and settle into our new place I can figure out where to go from there with projects to work on. We'll see.

I hope you are all having a nice long holiday weekend!

Wow! Don't pass out! I'm posting on time! The Abbey progress!

I am actually pretty pleased with the amount of work I got into this project this time around on my rotation! It is gettin' there!  SOOOO close! But then again, when I'm done with x-stitching I got to start back stitching! Grrr....I am not looking forward to that!

Late Update-Snow Valley Express

I wish I could say I did great on this project this go around, but I'm afraid I just can't. I got 3 thread lengths in on it! THREE!!! Sigh. I can't believe how absolutely lazy I have been lately. I don't know why either! All I ever want to do is either play computer games, or watch CSI Miami. (I have the first 6 seasons on DVD and I watch episode after episode.)

I'm not motivated to stitch, write or read. My three favorite things in the world.  My monthly goals are suffering badly! I feel like I'm in a life slump. The only thing I have been doing other than staring mindlessly at screens (computer or TV) is housework! Yeah, it befuddles me too! I hate housework! But when I feel that I can no longer sit and stare, I clean! What is wrong with me?!

So, yesterday I broke down and signed into bloglovin'.  I am really not happy about that!I have one particular e-mail that I use for my book blog, and the google reader that is all books, and I have a different one for stitching. So if I sign into blogger with the one e mail I get to my book blog, and it correlates with my book google reader. However, when I signed up for bloglovin', I didn't realize I was signed into my book google reader, and so I signed up with my stitching e-mail, and imported my book blogs, and so then I went back and had to sign up for my stitching blogs with the e-mail I use for my book blog stuff!! It's all so confusing! I'm so frustrated with the whole thing! But! one thing I found out, is how ridiculously easy it is to search for cross stitch (or book) blogs! I just put in "Cross stitch" in the search bar  and up came about 200-300 blogs all about stitching, I think I followed them all!  LOL....which is probably bad. Then I went and looked up book blogs and added even more, and then I looked up "snail mail" and there are a whole bunch of those too! This could get out of hand quickly!

Pretty soon, I will find myself not doing my hobbies at all, but just sitting and reading about everyone else doing the hobbies I used to love! LOL....I am seriously thinking that in 2014, I'm signing out of the internet, for a year. Just go old school for awhile. Whenever I mention that to my hubby, he laughs. Is there a 12 step group for internet dependency? I could probably use it!