Quick Update

So much for trying to blog more. LOL It has been crazy around here. I think I am spending more time in the car than I actually do at home or anywhere else. My kids are really keeping me on my toes but that is fine. It is their time to shine and have social lives. :)

Since my last post, there has been a Homecoming Football game (we are 7-1 and won that day), a Homecoming Dance (DS had a great time even though I was practically biting my nails all night hoping he had a good time), last night's band competition (we came in 3rd) and all the after school activities DS is involved in. I swear I am picking him up at school after hours 3-4 times a week and school is only in session 5 days a week. LOL

As for DD, there have been 2 intense school projects, shopping for Halloween costume (medievel princess/damsel sorta thing), Halloween Party at school sponsored by the Home and School and just her general carting around to various friends' homes.

That leaves little time for me. Between all the school functions and activities, I am trying to keep on top of the housework, shopping, bill paying, etc. So that means, my stitching time has suffered or as I like to put it, my ME time. In the past two weeks I think I have managed two evenings of uninterrupted stitching. Now that sounds like a lot of time, but really we are only talking about 1-2 hours. After the next two weeks, I should have more time but not really because Thanksgiving is around the corner and that means Christmas is not far behind. ACK!! I have no idea where the year went. I think most of it is in my car. LOL But that is okay. I am glad that my kids have lots of friends and activities to attend. They are not "popular" but they hang out with great groups of kids.

We had horrible rain on Friday and the HS football game was rescheduled to tonight. I am not happy about that because it seems that Sunday is my only day that I have no where to go. So this afternoon will be another rush in getting DS ready for the game. Then it starts all over again. Hopefully next Sunday will be a free day for me.

So for most of today, I have laundry to do, dinner to cook and a band t-shirt to wash (he wore it last night and only has ONE). Then I have to get him to and from school. But at least it is later in the day that he has to be at school and not the middle of the day when I get most of my work accomplished.

I need to take pictures but the outside of our remodel is finished. It is stuccoed, sided and cleaned up and it looks great. If you were to ride by the outside of my house, you would never know that the inside is about to be a mess. But that will wait til after Christmas. In the meantime, DH has lots of prep work to do in order to knock down some walls.

Well I guess that is about it from here. I am sure I am forgetting something but I just wanted to post a blog entry to let you know I am alive and well. I just spend lots of time in my car. :)

Beautiful!

That describes the day here. Finally, after what seems like forever, the humidity has broken and it feels more seasonal around here. I don't think our temperature is going to even reach 80 today. I am so ready for Autumn. It is my favorite time of year and I can't wait for it to get here.

In other news, the roofers are here putting on our new roof. The outside of the addition is now complete other than the siding and the roof and the odds and ends that DH needs to finish. There is also one more window that needs to be installed and I think that is happening this weekend. I am thinking that in the next month that from the outside, people will not know that there is still much to be done. It will look like home again. Probably in a month, I will start the panic mode because the inside will be more ripped up than it already is. LOL The target for my new kitchen is next spring. Lots has to be done before the kitchen can be installed. At least I will still have my old kitchen. I have to take pictures to show you. I have been lazy lately when it comes to my camera. I hope to remedy that soon when I am back into the swing of my "school routine".

I went back to stitching on my car project which is the Victorian Sink from a UK Cross Stitcher magazine. There is not much more to finish. Hopefully today I will finish up the cross stitching and then get to the backstitching.

Last night I sat so nicely with Chef's Wardrobe. There is still not enough to take a picture because it is white on white (well antique white actually) and it is just a white looking blobby thing. Maybe by next week, I will have more finished and will actually take a picture.

School is going good for the kids. They are settling in nicely and I have to admit that I don't have the nervousness and anxiety I had last week. I have my moments, but that is all they are. It passes quickly when I realize that I am getting back into my routine and with any luck, I will have a weekend free from housework. It has been a long summer as weekends were about the only time for me to get things done. And I don't work outside the house. Strange, but true!!

My plan for tonight is to sit and stitch again and veg out in front of the t.v. It felt nice last night and I plan on it again tonight. What a stress reliever!!!

Have a great day everyone!

Quick Post

I have a busy day ahead of me, but I wanted to write something before the weekend begins.

DS does not have an ear infection and his ears are squeaky clean. He has caught a cold and has now become a miserable whiny little man. I guess he realizes that if he feels this bad, he isn't going to be hanging out with his friends on their usual Friday night get togethers.

Thanks for the compliment, Berta. I thought that Chef's Wardrobe was so cute and will look nice at the entrance to my new kitchen. I told DH I need wall space, lots of wall space. LOL

Judy, when you are done with your wife send her my way. I really need help today.

On my agenda today is to bake cookies for the marching band bake sale tomorrow. Tomorrow is the first football game and we have a concession stand and a bake table. I want to do my part and the way to do that is stress myself out and make a good impression as most of these parents don't know me. Good way to get my foot in the door of high school. A girl has to start somewhere.

I am also baking something to take to my sister in law's for when we jar the tomatoes on Sunday. I know I am making cookies but I want something else too. Hopefully an idea will come to me between now and tonight.

I just pulled all my boxes of empty mason jars out of the "new" cantina. What a haul!! I have over 12 boxes of jars and that doesn't count the ones I gave to my sister in law a month ago when we had visitors from Italy.

Because we ran out of jars (a first in many years), father in law told us we MUST do more especially since we will have more family visiting from Italy between Christmas and New Year and again during 2008. So with that said, the order at the farm is for 50 baskets. We have never jarred that many tomatoes. Sunday is going to be a very long day. But I am not complaining. It is a family day and even though the work is hard, we enjoy each other's company and we get to catch up on things. Only problem is we spent the majority of the summer together and there is not much to catch up on. LOL I am sure we will still have lots of laughs. We always do. I am blessed to have such a good family.

Tomorrow is the first time DS will march onto a football field. I am so proud and I cannot wait to see that moment when I spot him on field in his band uniform. I have to remember to charge the camera battery and take lots of pictures.

DH will be unable to attend the game. A major part of our addition is happening. They will finish the upstairs part but that means ripping up the roof. Don't ask what it entails. I am afraid to ask and am grateful that I will not be home during that part of building. All I know is that tarps are going to be my friend for the next few days and I need to pray hard for no rain or high winds. :)

Saturday night we wash and pick over the tomatoes. It will be a long night. Then Sunday is the actually cooking and jarring. I should take pictures to show you our process. It is comical to those that have no idea how we cook that many tomatoes. We do it outside because I don't think there is a stove big enough in the universe to help us out. :) Propane is our friend on Sunday and 6-7 tanks were filled the other day.

Monday I plan to enjoy my Labor Day. I have no plans and if all goes well between now and then, I will be sitting and watching t.v. and stitching. Oh and we will barbecue something. I will think of that later.

Well I best get the dishwasher loaded and butter out to soften. I also need to get clothes into the washer and dryer.

To my American Friends, have a Happy Labor Day! To my overseas friends, have a Happy Weekend!!

More Hours

There I said it...I need MORE hours in a day. This week has found me out and about at various appointments.

DS went to the dr. on Tuesday and is loving the fact that he is 2 1/4 inches taller than me and 2 inches shorter than his dad. The boy is 5 feet 5 1/4 inches and 119 pounds. We are going back again this morning so the nurse can read his TB results (can't even find where the needle went, thank goodness) and he needs to get his ear cleaned out. He has been complaining about his ear and the dr. can't even see if there is an infection. He just guessed that there wasn't because of the absence of a fever. We will find out later today.

Then yesterday DS had Freshmen Orientation at the high school. To say he is loving going to the school is an understatement. I just hope he stays this happy once he actually has to open a book and work. LOL

Tonight he has band practice and then Saturday is the first football game and the marching band will be present. Between now and then, I plan on making something for the bake sale table and I need to charge my camera battery so I can take pictures.

Last night for the first time in forever, I stitched and had fun and can't wait to do it again today and tonight. I don't have pictures yet, but I received my order from 123 Stitch and started "Chef's Wardrobe" by Sue Hillis. It felt great last night to be stitching. It is like finding a long lost friend. Starting something new was just what I needed and this design is much smaller than what I have as WIPs (Tesori and Coffee).

As soon as the camera battery charges, I will take pictures of the things I ordered and if I stop with just stitching white on white, I will take a progress picture of "Chef".

It is going to be a busy weekend. Besides the football game on Saturday, we are jarring our tomato sauce for the year on Sunday. I know I have blogged about it before but my DH's family jars tomato sauce every year. So this weekend we will be spending quality time with DH's sisters and brother in law and jarring sauce and of course having the first pot made for Sunday dinner. Monday should be low key and I think (I can't remember) we will be spending it with the neighbors that we went away to NC with. Then it is just a day before the kids go back to school. I can't believe it. Summer just whooshed on by. But I am ready for Autumn. It is my favorite time of the year because I love the cooler weather and all the pretty colors you see during those short months.

Well I best be going for now. I need to get some housework done before I trek out to the dr. with DS.

TGIF

This week was very busy for me but in a good way. I spent the majority of the week schleping DS to Band Camp, pulling out school supplies, making lists for school stuff and getting over a cold. It is all worth it because after today, I should be DONE and waiting for the first day of school.

Today, we are going to get DS's HS uniform and shoes, DD's shoes and the rest of her school supplies. I need DD to try on her uniform but it should fit her as it was a little big on her last year. I also need to bring DS's band uniform to the dry cleaner.

Last night, we went to the HS to see the "preview" of the marching band. They were awesome and so was DS. He didn't miss a beat and DH and I were so proud. I am so excited for his first game in September. After the preview, the school provided us with a pizza party and we had fun and even met another parent or two.

The best is that DS feels he belongs at that HS. It seems like yesterday I was obsessing about whether the right choice was made. He had the choice of three schools and three good schools at that. He made the decision and I told him last night that he made the right one. To see him smile and interact with the other band members made my heart swell. I only hope that he does well academically. Then the money we are spending will be well worth it. :)

I did manage to buy some new stash. It is for my new kitchen and I will take a picture once it arrives. Of course it is mostly coffee themed things. I also bought supplies for said charts including a few magazine charts I want to stitch. Now I have to wait for it to arrive. :) In the meantime, I plan on doing a freebie and will kit it up some time this weekend.

This weekend should be downtime for all of us. DH will be working on the addition and me and the kids will be taking it easy. I just have some cleaning and laundry on the agenda.

Speaking of the addition, it is coming along nicely. DH hasn't really been doing much because of our family from Italy and vacation, but last night BIL and DH were working on the second floor. They need to prepare in order to build the final part of the walls. A support beam will be put into place and DH is hoping to have it finished or at least almost finished by early next week. I will try really hard to post pictures this weekend or early next week so you can see the progress that has been made.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Note To Self

Note to Self: Never go so long without buying stash!!!

With that said, I have spent some time looking for something new to stitch. Of course, I have "new" stuff in my stash but that is not good enough. I want to BUY something new. The past couple of days have been busy with DS and DD but during my off time, I have been going to my favorite ONS sites and filling shopping carts. Goodness, since last year lots and LOTS of stuff has come out.

I am noticing that I have picked out lots of Autumn type stuff. That is really a no brainer. I love Autumn and all that goes with it. Then there is the Christmas stuff. Then there are the miscellaneous stuff that I just fell in love with. So as of this writing, I have nothing bought. I need to trim it down. I have to pick out favorites and then just buy it. But it is so hard when I want it all. Unfortunately, the wallet says differently. If I could just win the lottery...

Things around here are getting back to normal after vacation and the whirlwind that I called summer. DS is loving Band Camp. Anna, if you see this (I know you are away), my DS is going to a high school on the mainline pretty close to where we both live. Yesterday was a long day for him. He was at school from 9 AM til 8:15 PM. Today is the same schedule. Last night when I arrived at school, the marching band was outside practicing. They looked and sounded awesome. I am getting very excited to see them all in their band uniforms at the first game. Tomorrow night is the "Parents Preview" and we will see them march for the first time. Then there is a pizza party afterwards. Very nice. I am loving this school. And I think DS is too. I notice he has less butterflies with the days leading up to that first day in September.

Yesterday, DD had her 10 year old well visit. My baby is now 51 inches and 71 pounds. Gosh it seems like yesterday when she was 20 1/2 inches and 7 pounds. I swear I blinked. LOL Before the dr. visit, we went to some of our old haunts near our old home. We went to Target and I got her some new pjs and her school bag. We went to the big Barnes and Noble (it has a coffee bar there) and spent some time there. Then we drove off to the dr. and spent time catching up there. I used to work there and love seeing everyone twice a year.

Right now I am trying to plan out our day. I do have a couple of errands to run but they could wait til tomorrow. I am still debating on what to do. I have some laundry to do and straightening to do. So things are pretty much up in the air today. Chances are with just me and DD home, we will do the errands. I need to check my surplus school supplies and see what she still needs and maybe we will add that to our list for today. I don't know. I plan on enjoying my day.

I also need to make a decision about what to buy stitching-wise. I have already picked out a freebie that I printed out and can start that after I place my order. That way I am at least stitching something fresh and new.

Hopefully the next time I post, I will have goodies to show you. :)
Have a great day!!

It's Friday

Woo Hoo!!! I am so glad today is Friday. I thought it would never get here. I have spent the last three days decluttering, dejunking, cleaning and emptying DS's room. I told him last night I better never, ever see his room that way again. Of course I know I will. He is 13 and the teen years have just begun in this house. But what a job!!!

Right now, I am washing all of his new bedding and waiting for the furniture truck which should be here between now and noon. DS was so excited this morning. I just hope all goes well and the furniture is in place before he gets home from school.

...Well forget the above. The furniture was just delivered and it looks beautiful in DS's room. I will have to take a picture of it before he gets a chance to mess it up. LOL But it has to wait til I wash all the new bedding.

This weekend DS will be going to the 7th and 8th grade Valentine Dance at a nearby restaurant. He went last year and had a blast. I hope he has a great time this year. This will be his last mixer at this school.

Also, he will be making his final decision this weekend about high school. DH and I decided yesterday after an anxiety-filled week that DS has to make the choice of high schools and we will support his decision. We want him to be happy and it is time that he makes a choice with just some input from mom and dad. :) I will keep you posted about the big decision some time next week. We only have til February 28th.

In stitching news, I am making good progress on DS's graduation announcement. I am liking my color changes to the school colors and will make sure I take a picture. I am kind of jumping all around as I want to get the personalization done before I go further. That has to be perfect and I have it charted out but it doesn't look great charted out. I will only know once it is stitched next to what I have stitched so far. I will definitely take a picture of it some time next week.

Poor Tesori hasn't been touched since Monday. I made a mistake in the lettering for "Adige" and frogged it. I haven't picked it up since. The only reason is that I have been too busy emptying DS's room and trying to keep up with normal household stuff that is really being ignored right about now.

AC Moore is having a floss sale this week and I am pulling out some charts so I can get the floss needed. It has been awhile since there was a floss sale and I know I have some charts that need DMC that I know I don't have. I have lists in lots of charts with missing floss colors so I plan on gathering them up in the next couple days and organizing it and then shopping for the colors needed. I also plan on revamping my Project Challenge. My list is in my sidebar so I will be updating that. I am thinking of adding on to it as I really don't want to take any of the charts off of there. So it is looking like I am going to be at about 30 or more projects. But these charts are already in my stash and it looks like it will be awhile before I can buy anything other than floss and fabric. I also plan on starting a wishlist. I have been seeing some new charts that I want but I am being good. Sometimes it helps to not have the extra money to buy so the challenge is perfect for me at the present time. :)

I best be going as I need to start putting DS's clothes and whatnot back in his room and I need to switch the washer and dryer with the next set of bedding.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ash Wednesday

Today is the start of Lent in the Catholic religion. In the past few days leading up to today, I had no idea what to give up or what to work on for the next 6 1/2 weeks. Lots of things going on here and I figured I would wing it. But of course, being the Catholic girl that I am it has been nagging at me. Going into Church this morning, I still had no idea. Last year, I was going to recite one decade of the Rosary each day. Last year was the first year that I failed miserably. I did pray but never found the time to pray the Rosary. I do not know what happened. But last year I had some low points during Lent because I broke what I was going to do to better myself as a person and as a Catholic.

I went to the School Mass today as the 4th grade was "in charge" of this Mass. My DD who is also in the choir and 4th grade had a speaking part of the Mass. It was a biggie. Her and another girl read during the receiving of the ashes. She did a great job both at reading and singing. Sister Margaret really does a wonderful job with the choir and the children preparing for each of their respective Masses. (DS's 8th grade Mass was the one right before Christmas break). Now here was my daughter on the very first day of Lent. DH tried getting off work for this 1 hour to see this but he had to be at work because of an emergency situation. I know he felt bad but hey, I represented my family today. To say I am proud of my DD and DS is such an understatement. I am absolutely beaming and I should be beaming every single day. Somehow DH and I are doing a wonderful job raising our children though some days I will admit that I am failing. I sat near my DS's class and when his sister stood at the podium on the altar, he was straight in his seat staring at his sister almost cheering her on. She is shy and you could see how nervous she was. She kept biting her lip and I swear she was going to be bleeding by the time I reached the altar to get my ashes. But she did great. I guess DS and myself sent her the best vibes in the world during the 10-15 minutes she was standing there reading. She was wonderful.

I got back to my pew and waited while the rest of the congregation was receiving ashes. At that moment, I still didn't know what to do about Lent. I can tell you that I felt wonderful sitting there amongst the school and the many parents that were present at this Mass.

During Communion I will still reflecting on what to do. My mom never let me "give something up" because she always felt that like New Year's resolutions, a Lenten offering will be forgotten way before Easter. She was right. I am no good at giving things up. I always had to do something to better myself or strengthen my soul and spirit. Those stayed with me way beyond Lent and to this day some of those things are part of my daily life. I like that.

After Mass was over, the principal talked and she pretty much echoed what my mother always believed and what she instilled in me. As you can see, at that point I still had nothing, nada and zip to do for Lent. I pretty much was not leaving Church til I had something. Then it hit me. I so lose my patience for the stupidist of reasons. I always say God didn't give me patience. He did, I just choose to ignore it. And lately I have been ignoring patience by not really listening to my kids, DH or friends because I am thinking of other things or there are things that have to be done. Do they really have to be done at that moment? The answer is NO. They can wait. After witnessing my beautiful children today at Mass, I realized they aren't going to be this age and this little much longer.

You know from other posts that DS is going to high school in a few short months. DD will be the big 1-0 and I will be another year older. So for this Lent, I am working on my patience. It will be a sacrifice because I have some bad habits associated with the lack of patience. I have a tendency to ignore the need for patience. This time I know it will work. I need to stop and listen to my kids, DH and friends. I need to stop what I am doing because whatever I usually do can wait til a short time later. I need to enjoy each day with those that I love the most. That all involves patience.

Wish me luck...I have no patience.
P.S. I am also not going to hit the snooze alarm either. That gives me 15 more minutes each day to gain patience. :)