Where Oh Where Did My Little Blog Go?

Yesterday I wrote a very long blog post, somehow it never made it here. Hmmmm......very frustrating.

Crafty Endeavors

After a long, tiring search I found my instruction book to my sewing machine. I'm hoping to get that thing threaded sometime today and actually make an attempt at finishing DS#3's quilt. Of course the book and the accessory pack were in the very first place I looked three days ago, but somehow I just didn't see them. The book was tucked in between pictures of the boys, and the accessory pack was wrapped up in some folds of fabric. But they were in the very first Rubbermaid bucket I looked in.

I've been pondering the old Granny's Flowers flower block and I think I'm going to give it one more try and then go back to good ol' granny squares and ripple afghans. I think my crochet life can be very fulfilling with just two things in my repertoire. That last word doesn't look right but spell check approved it. Anyway, I'll give it a whirl sometime this weekend.

In cross stitch news I've been working on BOAF's Peace. I'd show a progress pic but honestly there's just not a lot to show. I've accepted the fact that I'm a slow stitcher and will always be a slow stitcher. The finished project is a lovely thing but I'm all about the process. I can't help it, I love crossing those little Xs. It never ceases to amaze me how a bunch of little thread Xs allow me to create such beautiful pieces of art.

Weekend

This weekend is my little hick town's Mardi Gras Parade. They haven't cleaned up the beach so the parade route will run along backroads. Come on guys, just skip the parade this year, we all understand. Ivan was a mean bastard and messed up our lovely little beach community. Do we really have to declare to the world that we are such hillbillies?

Speaking of the Weekend

It's the first of the month and we are broke. Somehow the extra money we set aside for bills so that we would't be broke this weekend got spent disappeared. I really hate the first of the month. I guess more responsible people don't mind the first of the month rolling around.

Wednesday was a snow rain day for me. It would have been perfect had the computer not crashed. Of course even with the computer crash it was pretty good. I miss SAHM World. I know that in this economy I should be very thankful for my job and the meager amount of money it brings in and I am. What I make covers groceries around the first of the month and the rest of the month it's our "eating out going to the movies" fund. But all that being said I miss being with my kids. My oldest will be 17 in a few weeks and I missed almost all of last summer with him and most of the school vacations. So I'd be kind of happy if they sold the business and I didn't have to be there any more. We can go back to being a one income family and starting to budget again. I dn't need a lot. Although I've told DH as soon as we get this weekend I'm planning on making a few big purchases before I may be unemployed.

Material Girl

My recent venture into the land of materialism has shocked even me. I'm usually pretty happy with my life, everyone has little times of sadness but for the most part I love my life. Right now though I'm on this mission to acquire things! I think it's due to the lack of S.E.X. over the last couple of years. I've been good about using stuff in the stash and while I haven't been on the Abstinence Wagon, I haven't been having major S.E.X.capades. My stash aquisition has been limited to charts and fabric or thread for charts already in the stash. It wasn't necessarily intentional just my stash is full of designs I *heart*. The new stuff just hasn't screamed out at me, "take me home!" Which is a good thing.

I've managed to keep my yarn and wool purchases to projects I am working on or plan to start in the very near future, my recent LionBrand woolease order is a perfect example. It's for the Crazy Quilt afghan out of the BH&G Crochet magazine the exact title escapes me at the moment. Not enough coffee in the system. Now the stashing of Red Heart yarn from the store who shall not be named does not count. Those purchases are limited to $20 at any given time and that's stash building. I have it here when I want to start a new project. I know a lot of folks like to snub their noses at RH acrylic but have any of you taken a moment to feel the 100% acrylic ponchos in the stores these days? Let me tell ya the RH acrylic is far superior and no where near as scratchy as the stuff I felt while browsing through TJ Maxx the other day. My respect for RH acrylic has gone up quite a few notches. I have developed a deep love for Noro's Kureyon though. I would love to buy as much of that as I can afford if only to look at it. The colors are absolutely beautiful. I want it all.

Anyway back to the whole materialism thing. We are getting another family computer. 5 people + 1 computer = a very unhappy family. So I told DH just count on getting a new computer in the next few weeks. I'm going to get the dresser out of our bedroom, I can just keep my clothes in a laundry basket in my closet, that whole dresser thing is way overrated. This new computer will be only for me and the DH. The kids can fight all they want over this one. It's only a year old, practically new. I'm getting an iPod. It's a complete and utter luxury item but I want it and it will be mine. Now I'm really wanting my own personal private laptop but while I like to dream I am a realist and that is about as big a dream as I've ever had.

I'm hoping to order my floor stand from Nordic Needle next week. I can barely stitch without my hand going numb in about 5 minutes so I think it's going to be money well spent. I've been cringing over the $129 price tag but when you think that the $30 cheapie stand I purchased at the store who shall not be named ended it's existence in this world as a catapult for DS#2 school project, that's $30 that could have been spent on the Gripit Legend. Also on the Nordic Needle list is Easy Grapher software for designing my own cross stitch charts, mostly to graph out favorite quotes for some throw pillows. Then there's the Electric Quilt software I'm planning on ordering from the Keepsakes Quilt catalog. Not to mention lots of nice quilting fabric, also want to place an order with Patternworks. See is my materialistic nature shocking you? I'm great about making wishlists, sorta my dream list of things I want but I never really think about actually buying the stuff on there unless the opportunity presents itself, right now I know one way or the other I'm getting everything on my list. I feel really selfish right now. Sort of ashamed, but I can't help it. I go to bed at night dreaming about fabric, yarn, cross stitch stuff, my new computer, my iPod, I'm awful.