Finished a Page and snow day!

Today I woke up to snow falling down in blizzard format.  However, school was not canceled so I got up, got dressed, had breakfast, and started driving to school.  My car fishtailed all the way up my small hill and I just slid on back home. I got an unexpected snow day while everyone else had a school day.  My backyard is so pretty.....scroll through the pictures and check out my page finish on my HAED - A Wintery Heirloom

Here you go!!!!  It looks great!  I have four pages finished and only 20 more to go.  I have two more pages on this row until I get move to the next one. Loving how it is turning out.

Puppy Love and my Birthday!

I started my Art of Disney Puppy Love project.  I have officially stitched Mickey Mouse's Butt!  It is not often a person can say that...but there is his little butt.  Below is what the design will look like when finished!

Today was my 41st birthday.  I was home sick.  Can you believe it???  I actually had to come home from work yesterday at noon because I was running a fever.  However, I didn't get to enjoy my sick day like a should.  I got an email around 9:00 am reminding me that I had paperwork due at the main office by 3:00 pm.  Did I have this finished??? NO...so I had to run to the High School and pick up my files so I could finish the needed paperwork.  While I was out, I also had to stop by the library, Post office to mail my Round Robin, Walmart, Jimmy Johns (for Mark), Allens (local grocery store) and then Sonic.....while it was pouring snow out of the sky.  I was happy to get home!!!  paper work was finished with 15 minutes to spare!

We were supposed to go to Red Lobster for my birthday but because I was sick and it was snowing...no dice!  We will go later on..Bert, my cat brought me a wonderful gift that he laid at my feet in front of my stitching chair...isn't he a thoughtful cat? Luckily my DH took care of it for me so I didn't have too....

Santa of the Forest and Valentines day

So this week of my 2013 project list was Santa of the Forest.  It is a little blurry but you can see the sparkles  on the fabric.  Next time, I will get a better picture.

I decided to go to Tulsa on Saturday and play at the Silver Needle.  I found this beautiful green opalescent fabric from Picture this Plus. It is Crystal Jade, an opalescent fabric.   I LOVED it from the moment I saw it! This is going to make a perfect fabric for my Disney tablerunner. I still have to order the fabric..since this is a table runner, it is going to be a HUGE piece and very pricey since this fabric is $0.08 an inch....luckily, I talked to my friend Kim, over at Kim's Northwoods Discoveries, said she would stitch fabric around it and turn it into a table runner for me!  I have such fabulous friends!!!

                                       

Valentines Day was an exciting day in my household.  I woke up to Jag biting Gibbs on the neck, Gibbs yelping like a little girl.  He then wouldn't come into the bedroom because Jag was still in the doorway.  I had to get up, drag him in the room. In order for him to come in the room, he had to jump on the couch and then the bed because he was scared the cat might bite him again.  Sigh.....  When I went into the kitchen, I had these beautiful roses awaiting me, along with a GC to my favorite day spa!!!  For dinner, Mark grilled us steak and lobster tails!!!!  I have a such an awesome husband!!!!!!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book Blurb: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My Review:  I will be the first to admit that it was the cover that drew me to the book.  I am a sucker for girls in ball gowns.   I listened to the book on audio as I sat and cross stitched.  I found myself being sucked into this futuristic world and I couldn't turn off my Ipod.  I just had to find out how the story ended...which it ended as a cliffhanger!  I am anxiously awaiting the release of the sequel.  

Just a disclaimer, this is a teen novel so there are teenage angst. The story reminded me of the TV show the Bachelor where there are 35 girls trying to be queen and win the heart of Prince Maxon.  Of the girls you will find the nice one, the bitchy one and then there is America.  She is very outspoken and isn't afraid to tell the prince exactly what she thinks.

I won a Kindle!!!!!

I am so excited!!!  I won a Kindle from the author EJ Copperman's facebook page!!!!  EJ Copperman writes cozy mysteries about  Alison Kerby a single mom who buys a house on the Jersey shore.  She wants to turn it into a guest house.  She finds herself sharing a house with two ghosts. One is Maxie, the previous owner of the house, and the other is Paul, the PI who was investigating Maxie.  Paul and Maxie want her help in solving the mystery of who killed them both.  

I won the Kindle and all five of his books!!!!  I had already read the first two before I won so I am very excited to order the other three!!!!  Night of the Living Deed is the first book....I highly recommend this series!  I just love it!!!

Mill Hill Train Depot Finish!

So excited!!!!!!  I have a finish!!!!  I finished my Mill Hill Christmas Village Train Depot.  I love how it turned out!  It is stitched on 28 ct. Blue Breeze Opalescent Jazlyn fabric.   I know the kits come with perforated paper, but I don't care for it.  I LOVE the fabric!!!!!!    I have been working on this for about 2 weeks...since it was a one page design, my goal was to finish it instead of the 1,000 stitch rotation I am stitching my other BAP's.  

I was checking my project list, I still have three designs I haven't even touched yet!!!  Can you believe it?  I have so many projects in my rotation it is taking 2 months to stitch on each one.....Loving this!  I think I am going to pull out my L&L Santa of the Forest design.   I think I am going to put my Disney table runner on hold until after I get back from my retreat in June.  I want to look for the perfect pink opalescent fabric....I need to touch and feel the fabric.  Maybe I will take a drive up to Branson and go to Ceilia's samplers...then again, I could take a road trip to Tulsa and visit the Silver Needle so I can play in their fibers.  Decisions, Decisions.....

I've Got Your Number - Sophia Kinsella

Book Blurb: I’ve lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!
 
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!
 
Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.
 
What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life. 

Book Review: I found myself laughing out loud, cringing in embarrassment, and ready to reach out to slap some of the characters.  I can't even imagine the horror Poppy felt when she lost her engagement ring that sounded gorgeous when described.  I really thought it was nice of Sam to let her keep the phone until she starts getting involved in his business.....which  as girl she thinks she is helping but she really isn't!  

This is same author who wrote the Shopaholic series. If you love a good laugh as you read...this is the book for you.  

One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly

Book Blurb: Meg Corey has come to the quaint New England town of Granford, Massachusetts, to sell her mother?s old colonial home and apple orchard. Instead, she becomes embroiled in development plans that include her land?and her former flame from Boston. When he?s found dead in the new septic tank on her property, the police immediately suspect Meg, whose only ally in town is the plumber Seth Chapin. Together, they?ll have to peel back the layers of secrecy that surround the deal in order to find the real murderer? and save the orchard.

My Review: I was browsing the shelves in the library one day and this title caught my attention.  I really enjoyed it and I will be the first to admit that I did NOT figure out who was the killer.  This one had me stumped. I enjoyed every twist and turn in this novel.  This is another one that contains wonderful apple recipes!!!  I felt really sorry Meg with everything she was going through in this book.  Not to mention, I wanted to tour her house!  I would love to see her 200 year old house!   This is the first book in this series so I am going to have to go check out the second one....I want to see what happens with Meg and Seth!!!

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Book Blurb:  April is a busy time for Hannah Swensen and her bakery; the warm weather makes folks in Lake Eden, Minnesota go wild for something sweet. When Hannah hears that the Cinnamon Roll Six jazz band will be playing at the town's Weekend Jazz Festival, she's more than happy to bake up a generous supply of their namesake confections to welcome the band to town. Before the festival even begins, tragedy strikes when the tour bus overturns. Among those injured is Buddy Neiman, the band's beloved keyboard player. Buddy's injuries appear minor, until his condition suddenly takes a turn for the worse - as in dead. Hannah's no doctor, but she suspects that the surgical scissors someone plunged into Buddy's chest may have something to do with it. Hannah isn't sure just how she'll unravel the mystery, but one thing's for sure: nothing's sweeter than bringing a killer to justice.

My Review:   I LOVE LOVE this series!  This is book fifteen and every time I read her books I want to get into the kitchen and bake!  I Love the fact that as your are reading and she is making cookies in the bakery or at home,  the recipe to what she is making is there for you to try along with her footnotes on what works best.   I think out this book I want to try and make her Sinco de Cocoa Cookies..AKA  Chocolate Avocado Cookies...Don't those sound wonderful?

After the fifteenth book, it just feels like you Hannah and her family are your friends too.  I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a good mystery and one who likes to bake!   If you are interested, in this series then you may want to start with the first book so you can get to know the characters.   The first book in the series is called:

   

Janet Evanovich Books

This past week I finished two books from Janet Evanovich.  I LOVE her books!  The first one I read was Notorious Nineteen.  As you can tell from the title this is the Nineteenth book in her Stephanie Plum series.  Stephanie Plum is an ex-lingere seller turned bounty hunter. Not your typical bounty hunter because she keeps her gun in her cookie jar, and it usually doesn't have bullets.  Her partner is a 300 lb ex hooker name Lula who loves to wear spandex.  She has a an on again/off again boyfriend Joe, who is a cop. Then again there is the Hot Bounty Hunter Ranger who makes her knees knock.  I find myself laughing out loud while reading her books.  I usually get them on audio and stitch while I listen.   My husband just looks at me like I am crazy while I am reading this series.

The second Evanovich Book I read was The Husband List.  This was not a typical book from her.  It was set in 1894 in New York City.  Caroline Maxwell is a society girl who wants nothing more than to go to college, study, travel , however she has to follow her mothers wishes to marry a high in society.  Her mother has her eyes set on a duke from England!  Caroline has no desire for this, she likes Jack, her brothers best friend.  

I really enjoyed this book once I realized what was going on in it. But that was my mistake, you see when I first read the year, I read 1984 instead of 1894..so I couldn't understand why they were traveling by ship to Paris, traveling by horse and buggy, plus receiving telegrams.  Once I figured out what I had done...it was GREAT!  The store was excellent, the clothes they were sounded beautiful.  I recommend it.

Victorian Winter - Mystic Stitch

I have say, after stitching several Haeds, I am LOVING this Mystic Stitch!!!   My friends thinks it is funny when I say that this design is only 9 pages instead of my usual 30 plus pages.   Looking at it you can already see the tree tops forming in the corner.  I think it is just amazing how the pictures come alive.

HAED - Last Judgement and Tusk Update

I haven't posted in a while and since I am doing so many projects, I think they should each have their own post.   Here is my HAED Last Judgement- the first 1,000 stitches of it that is.  I love the colors!!!!

Several people have asked about my furbaby Tusk.  Right now we are in a waiting pattern.  The Vet said that 15% of dogs with a torn ACL will develop enough scar tissues that they will walk with a limp and be just fine.  We are hoping for this because if not, then it is a $1200 surgery and 2 months of doggie rehab.  Who knows how much that will cost.   If the scar tissue doesn't form then we will be having surgery within the next 2 weeks....Will keep you updated!!!!