Build your own Hell LOL!

Bill Gates
Circle I Limbo

DMV Employees
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

General asshats
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle IV Rolling Weights

George Bush
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Qusay Hussein
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Uday Hussein
Circle VII Burning Sands

Saddam Hussein
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

Osama bin Laden
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

Stitching Questions

Now that I got THAT off my chest, I'll move on to some stitching blog questions from the past month.

What is your opinion of Internet "freebies?"
I think they're great! I have quite a few from TW, Mirabilia and L&L, as well as others from various designers. It allows us to try out a certain style without buying spending the money. I think it's very decent and smart for designers to do this as it's a way to get people hooked. My only problem with them is how there are always people who have to ruin it and sell them as kits or sell just the chart on eBay to make a few bucks. Some designers have stopped making freebies available online, a few others went for some time without any because they felt very betrayed by the customers who did this.

Given the option, would you rather buy a chart and get the material and floss together yourself, or buy a pre-packed kit?
Nine times out of ten I'd rather buy everything separately. Some kits are OK, like I have a TW kit that came with evenweave and has been pretty decent. Most kits have substandard floss and fabric, and if you run out of floss you have to contact the distributor because you usually cannot exactly match it to your DMC or Anchor floss. When I buy my first Chatelaine I plan on buying one of those kits containing everything but the fabric, then I'll choose the fabric. It's easier than separately ordering all the beads and specialty floss.

How many strands of floss to you prefer to stitch with? Why?
Usually two. I like the look of two. Some people prefer three but to me it's too thick and I don't like stitching with that extra strand. If I were to do over-one stitching, I'd probably stitch with one strand. Since I rarely stitch on anything bigger than over-two on 28ct., two strands works well for me.

How do you deal a "stitching slump?"
That's when I take the time to indulge my other interests or learn a new one. I re-taught myself how to knit during my last one. I enjoyed it, but it's not something I can do a lot because it makes my hands fall alseep. I also tend to get reading done during those times, and last time I read McCollough's The Thorn Birds and Tolkien's The Silmarillion, which I will have to read a few more times in order to allow everything to really sink in. I also use that time to sometimes make melt & pour soaps and getl candles.

Last I checked, suspects still have rights

There was a short-lived conversation at one of the stitching boards yesterday, revolving around that murder suspect on the crane. Some people were insinuating he should be hit by lightning, be told to jump, etc. Well, last I checked the Constitution applies to criminal suspects as much as the rest of us. Granted, there are times that I think people don't get the punishment I personally think they should get. I realize this often happens because of overcrowded prisons. I still haven't made up my mind about the death penalty either. On one hand, I didn't cheer when I lived in FL and they executed Bundy. However, I wasn't really upset about it, either.

So, should we just let mob rule? Should we go back to the ol' "hang 'em high" days and figure that if we think a person did it than the must have? If we think a man raped a woman we should just go out and drag him behind a car, I guess. What if it's found out later that the woman lied? Well, I figure the guy probably did something in his past that called for a death by dragging, so no harm done, right?

I don't understand how people who call themselves Patriots and good Americans can sit there and sentence people to death before they even get a damn trial? Of course, many of you know that I'm considered anti-American by the same people because I have audacity to question our government -- Bush, Clinton, whomever. Just because I don't like Bush doesn't mean I think Clinton was God, folks. I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's our JOB and DUTY to question our government! We all should do it -- yes, even those who I don't agree with should do it. Where did this attitude of "We cannot question the government in a time of war because it's anti-American" come from? My ancestors didn't fight wars for me to sit here and say, "Well, I must never question my government. Those in charge must know what's best for me, better than I know for myself." Sorry, ain't going to happen.

Not sure how I got off on that tanget, but it bothers me how some people can say they love this country but it's obvious they only love those who believe exactly like them and hate the rest of us.

Slept 10 hours last night

Man, I feel better! I was at work about 2 hours early yesterday and couldn't sleep well the night before. It was the day we had the photographer come in to take professional photos. I had set it up and people who submitted their charity work for my "Making a Difference" booklet qualified for a free 15-minute photo session as the boss was paying for it. If a person wasn't in the book they paid $50. It was my way of getting them to have professional photos done and I'm only using professional photos in the book, plus I think I received a few more forms than I would have otherwise because people knew they'd get a free photo out of it. In the morning I was doing a lot of reminding and making sure people remembered the time slot for which they had signed up. I had about 22 of us on the list and everybody actually made it, even those coming from other offices. I have to be honest -- I was floored! It's a good thing LOL! I was so surprised that everybody actually showed up. After things went so well yesterday I'm worried about what will happen to day to even it out :)

Since I'm in the booklet I had some taken, also. I have discovered that the right side of my face is much more photogenic than the left side. I may or may not post my picture here. I'm not sure if I want some people to have access to it, but we'll see. I won't have the photo until probably next week, anyway. I was pretty happy with the result.

A finish (almost) and more progress on WFS

Well, I brought Halloween (Twisted Threads) to work to finish because I thought I only had to finish that cat then would scan it in after I was done. I only brought the black floss because I forgot there was one more piece of candy corn to stitch, on the "H". I can finish it tonight in about 30 minutes tops, but wanted to scan and post it today anyway and cheated on my sidebar by saying it's my latest finish :) I made the one "L" a little lower and added a spider bead to it to give a little dimension to it.





I also put in another five hours on Waiting for Ships and am sharing it below.

Quickie post

I could easily live the rest of my life without hearing another person saying, "been there, done that." It's just sooooo condescending the way people say this. It's all in the context of course, but I hate it when somebody's having a bad day or really going through a problem and another person simply says "been there, done that" in a way that completely makes the original person feel about 2 inches tall because she or he actually feels bad about what she or he is going through.

Thank you.

Shipping and handling; my stitching list from Hell

1. Lately I've been seeing a lot of posts at various boards complaining about high shipping and handling charges. If you know ahead of time how much a company is going to charge to ship you an item and you hit the "order" button (or whatever) anyway, then deal with it. Yes, many places use flat shipping rates. It's a pain, but I understand it. They'd rather get people to buy more to justify the $4 or $5 flat shipping rate than to "waste time" on a tiny order and charge $1 for actual shipping. We did this at Piano Lane because this is exactly what the higher-ups wanted. It's not the best customer service in the world, but I do understand the concept.

If you buy something from eBay you really MUST get the S&H charge in writing before you buy. If you don't and somebody charges you more than you think is fair, you're SOL. Believe me, I learned the hard way on that one and always check before I bid.

2. My stitching list from Hell. One of the stitching boards I visit is called "The Wagon" (need to update my sidebar and and it). I'm a SOS, which means "stash only stitcher." I have acquired all sorts of fabric and charts through the years -- sales, eBay, trades, exchanges, etc. Now that I'm just not making much of an income I've decided to use only what I have in my stash already and only buy the floss, beads, etc. needed to finish a design. Folks, after going through my stash I realize that I could do this for many years. I guess I knew that already, but seeing it in black and white really brought it home. I actually sold off some of my stash when I was unemployed but didn't have the heart to give up this stuff since I truly believe I'll stitch it some day. Anyway, here's my WIP list and my kitted (fabric and chart only) list.

First my WIPs. Believe it or not, my list has actually gone done a little since I started StRIP at the beginning of the year. The percentage at the end is how much of the design is finished.

1. 2000 L&L angel - 40%
2. Waiting for Ships - Mirabilia - 70%
3. Christmas Flourishes - Mirabilia - 85%
4. Sweet Dreams Santa - Vermilion - 20%
5. Halloween - Twisted Threads - 85%
6. Angel of the Sea - L&L - 15%
7. Spring in the Air - Just Nan - 10%
8. Spring Queen - Mirabilia - 20%
9. Ouroborus - Dracolair - 10%
10. Lady of the Flag - Mirabilia - 40%
11. English Garden Welcome - TS - 20%
12. Guardian Angel - L&L - 50%
13. Sleeping Beauty - Mirabilia - 20%
14. Earth Dragon - Cross My Heart - 5%
15. Stretch - TW - 5%
16. Angel of the New Dawn - Mirabilia - 15%
17. I Shall Wear Purple - Leisure Arts - 10%
18. Starry Night - Dimples Designs - 60%
19. Angel of Love - L&L - 65%
20. Christmas Jewel - Just Nan - 85%

Christmas Jewel would be finished if I could remember the safe place in which I put it while waiting for the rest of the Kreinik to come in. :bang

Now unto the REALLY embarassing list. I've collected quite a bit of fabric over the years through sales, Ebay purchases, swaps and exchanges and haven't been able to keep up with the stitching. I'm only listing the large and medium projects I have kitted. My one saving grace is that very little of this is hand-dyed and I bought it back when I was making a decent salary so that now I can work from my stash. [i](By kitted, I mean chart and fabric and nothing else.)[/i]

Mirabilia
April's Blue Diamond
Winter Queen
Autumn Queen
Summer Queen
Blossom Harvest
Fairy Treasures
Under the Friendship Tree
Amethyst Fairy
Queen of Peace
Scent of Old Roses
Deepest Love
Garden Musis
Madonna in Garden
Savannah's Curtsy
Rose Celebration
Christmas Wishes
Touching the Autumn Sky
Garden Verses
Aida the Garden Fairy
Mermaid of the Pearls
Queen of Freedom
My Lady's Garden
Nantucket Rose
The Dreamer
Woodland Fairy
Bedtime Friends

MLI
Celtic Noel
Celtic Spring
Angel of Grace
Enchanted Alphabet
Queen Anne's Lace
Sweet Dreams
Children's Garden
Secret Santa
Oh, Christmas Tree

Just Nan
Winter Haven
Strawberry Sampler
Be My Valentine
High Hopes
Snow Business
Christmas Peace
Tapestry Heart
September Song
Victorian Violets
Gillyflower Grace
Batty Hatty & Boo
Be Merry

Sweetheart Tree
Shamrock Sampler
Grape Arbour
SamplerPanache

Man, it was cold Friday night!

I slept in my winter fleece pajamas under two comforters and was still a little chilly Friday night, and the windows were shut. It's hard to believe that June is getting here soon and it's still cold at night. I actually prefer this over the heat and humidity we are usually getting by now, but it's very surprising. We've actually had a spring season this year, and a long one at that. I'm hoping this means we'll have a mild summer.

I was on one of my message boards yesterday for a few minutes. I don't know why I continue to be amazed by some of the pettiness. I swear -- get enough women together and everything gets catty and petty, get enough men together and they have to have pissing contests. It gets a bit disgusting after a while. Anyway, the big thing was over a woman saying she had added two "children" to her family. She has two new kittens. Somebody got their knickers in a twist, thinking it was going to be about "real children" and not pets and seemed offended. Yes, people seem to go looking to get offended over something. Then of course the normal debate started over whether people should love their pets as much as others love their children, blah blah blah. Who the hell cares? Why does it bother one person so much if another loves their pet as much as one would love a child? It's not like a child is being overlooked because the person loves her pet. What's wrong with a person actually caring for a pet instead of treating the pet like it's disposable and giving it up as soon as the animal gets older or the person has a baby or something? What's the harm?

Jeesh! If that's enough to get somebody angry, I think I'd rather now know them. God only knows how he/she would react to something that really IS offensive. Everybody has times when some stupid thing sets them off, and I realize that. It just always seems to be the same people who constantly have a hair across their asses.

Stitching progress

I'm up to 40 hours on Waiting for Ships. I can't believe how quickly she's stitching up! I still have to swing by AC Moore soon to pick up a few DMC colors I'm missing, but I have most of what I need. I replaced the light green #8 Kreinik with a slightly different color #4 Kreinik. I hate using #8 on 32ct. because it's too thick. I'm also going to use regular beads instead of petite beads and had to change the color on one of those. There are so many shades of beads out there that I doubt it will make a difference.





When I ordered the beads and treasures for WFS, I also ordered a bunch of crystal treasures for that Mirabilia Crystal Chandelier that I had promised my dad ages ago. He fixes chandeliers and sells them on eBay and I thought it would be nice for him. I left off the heart treasures as I thought that was a bit fancy for him. I was having a big problem getting enough of the Mill Hill glass teardrops for it. I went to a bead shop and they didn't have what I was looking for, either. Finally I bought these cylindrical crystal beads and I think they work well. I actually think they're better in the end because they're less feminine than the glass teardrops, if that makes sense. You can barely see them in the picture as they are clear, but in "real life" they show up better.

Got tagged

Well, since Taneya tagged me, I better be good and play along :) I have to think about who I'm tagging.

Choose 5 and complete the sentence...
If I could be a scientist . . .
If I could be a farmer . . .
If I could be a musician . . .
If I could be a doctor . . .
If I could be a painter . . .
If I could be a gardener . . .
If I could be a missionary . . .
If I could be a chef . . .
If I could be an architect . . .
If I could be a linguist . . .
If I could be a psychologist . . .
If I could be a librarian . . .
If I could be an athlete . . .
If I could be a lawyer . . .
If I could be an inn-keeper . . .
If I could be a professor . . .
If I could be a writer . . .
If I could be a llama-rider . . .
If I could be a bonnie pirate . . .
If I could be an astronaut . . .
If I could be a world famous blogger . . .
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world . . .
If I could be married to any current famous political figure . . .

If I could be a professor I'd teach history, probably either focusing on the American Civil War or Russia in the 20th century. I'd also like to teach about Peter the Great and WWII in general. I've been told I would have made a good teacher, but I think people are just being nice.

If I could be a writer I'd write epic novels similar to The Thorn Birds. Although the main characters are of course Meggie and Ralph, you get to see the entire family as it ages and lives through all sorts of events. I find that very interesting and always thought it would be interesting to write about a Russian family living through WWI and WWII, the revolution, and eventually showing the grandchildren seeing the end of Communist Russia. I also think it would be interesting to write stories using Tolkien's mythology, but one would have to be very well immersed in his writings in order to do justice to it.

If I could be a musician I'd either be a concert pianist or play bass in a rock band. Of course, I actually can play piano and have never played bass, but I'd love to learn. I find a good bassist really adds something to a band, more than the typical bass lines they seem to play.

If I could be a painter I'd paint landscapes in the manner of Monet. I love his work and especially all the pretty blues and purples. Many of you know I think that almost any cross stitch pattern would look good on some shade of blue fabric. I don't know what it is about the color blue that I like so much. I guess it's because it's calming, as are the light purples and lavenders.

If I could be a chef I'd cook a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner from scratch. Now when I cook a lot of it isn't from scratch because I just don't have the time nor inclination to go full out for Thanksgiving. If I was a chef I think I'd love it.

Snagged from Terri's journal

Your Taste in Music:

Classic Rock: Highest Influence

Progressive Rock: Highest Influence

80's Alternative: High Influence

80's Pop: High Influence

80's Rock: High Influence

90's Rock: Medium Influence

Alternative Rock: Medium Influence

Hair Bands: Medium Influence

90's R&B: Low Influence

Adult Alternative: Low Influence

Heavy Metal: Low Influence

Old School Hip Hop: Low Influence

Punk: Low Influence

How's" Your Taste in Music?

I'm actually a little surprised that "Heavy Metal" is so low. However, the heavier bands I like (Queensryche, Kings of Metal, Metallica, etc.) weren't listed and the ones I'm not as crazy about (Slayer, Pantera and Megadeth) were. I knew I was a big Classic Rock fan but never realized how much of the alternative stuff I like. I guess some stuff is considered alternative by others but not by me :)

WTF?

OK, don't have too long before I have to finish getting ready and start the public transportation trip to Arlington for my great-uncle's burial. However, I just saw this mentioned on a board I visit and HAVE to bring it here. This is about the stupidest thing I've seen in a while, folks, and we all see some pretty stupid stuff on the boards!

Disclaimer: I'm not making fun of Christians, as I am one. However, these people are beyond rationality and make no sense.

So, I found this article about a group of people (about 43) who want to ban the Internet from all American homes. After all, you know that those who know what's best for us must rise up and save us from ourselves, right? The group is called the UCAWWW (United Confederacy Agains WWW) and the founder insists, "The internet is nothing but filth to steal our children from God and truth."

The punchline? At the bottom of the article the same person says, "We have many ongoing projects, and soon we'll be proud to announce the grand opening of our website."

Things that make you go "Hmmmmmmmm."

Then I checked out the website that is currently up, and it gets better. It has the big red circle with the slash through it and says WWW in the center, which I would assume means "No WWW." Fine, I can understand that as it's their message. However, underneath this it says, "WWW = We Want Worship! So does that mean that the WWW inside the circle is for "We Want Worship" so they really don't want worship? Consistency, people, consistency! Then they have a picture of poor Pope John Paull II working over a laptop, so I guess he's really The Devil.

Anyway, thought some of you folks would find it interesting. I gotta get going, so everybody behave themselves for a day or two (yeah, right).

P.S. I hope that this is really a sick joke from somebody who has nothing better to do, but knowing how people are, I have the feeling it's completely true.

I finally did it

I made the appointment today with the head of my company to discuss my salary. It's not until Wednesday afternoon so I have a little time to make a list of exactly what I've done for the company since I started there. The worst he can do is say "No," and then I'll know what I have to do next and start sending out resumes again. I think he'll probably give me some sort of raise but not what I deserve. We'll see what happens.

It was nice to see some people post this weekend on a board I visit about women who choose NOT to have children. It's good to know there are parents who understand that not everybody should have kids and respect our choices. I think most of the people who read my blog are also in that category, so I thank you, too :) So often we get the typical crap about it that it's refreshing to see people using their brains about the issue and not just have knee-jerk reactions.

Not much else to say. Tim's snoring over here, and I'm always amazed he can sleep throught it. Of course, half the time he wakes himself up and gets all confused LOL!

Good and bad week

The good is that I went to the pool three times and walked for about half an hour on Wednesday. I skipped yesterday but plan on doing some weight training with those bands I have and/or some more walking. The problem with walking is that I desparately need new shoes but can't afford them right now. So, more than 20 minutes really isn't great for my feet, knees and back. It's something though.

The bad is that I have no idea where I fit in at work. One day I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile and the next the wind is taken out of my sails and that they don't think I can handle anything. It gets confusing, and I wonder if I'm being fed a line to keep me there doing marketing work for a pittance. I really don't know what to think, and I won't go on anymore in this post as I've gone on about it in several previous posts. I get tired of saying the same thing over and over, and I'm sure people tire of reading it -- I do LOL!

I'm going to stitch some more on my mermaid this month. My May goal for stitching is to finish her this month. I'm really on a roll with her and think I can finish her this month. That would be cool! Of course, then she'd sit in a drawer forever until I could frame her, but at least I'd have one mermaid finished :)

Not much else to say, I guess. Tim is working today so I should take advantage of the time and get some cleaning done around here. I don't mind cleaning when he's working, but I take issue with cleaning while he's out having fun with friends. Not that he expects it of me, I think, but why should I only clean when he's not here because he feels uncomfortable? Usually, if he seems me doing something he starts working on some of his stuff in another room, which is nice. He usually ends up cleaning the bedroom because he doesn't like me back here when he's on the computer or watching TV. That works fine for me, but it's hard when I have to straighten my stuff up back here. He only works on his stuff, and that's fine because how would he know what I want to do with my stuff? So, I'll see if I can tackle this mountain of laundry and clean clothes that need to be put away.

April Goals Reviewed

Whew! I was going to do this last night but was dog tired. I ended up in bed at 8:30 and fell asleep watching Harry Potter LOL! I swam a bit faster than yesterday, which is good, but I think that's why I was tired. I worked a little extra to make up for leaving early this Friday, too. So, I didn't get to my May goals yet but I can at least recap my April goals. I hadn't checked them for a while and that was my downfall. I really need to check my goals on a weekly basis so I can stay on track. Otherwise, what's the point of even making them?

April Stitching Goals (in hours)
Finish Christmas Jewel -5 (ack! Can't find the safe place I put this!)
Finish 1990 L&L freebie -5 - Done!
Santa in Fur -5 - None
Guardian Angel -5 - None
Christmas Flourishes -10 - Done
Sleeping Beauty -5 - None
Sweet Dreams Santa -5 - Done
L&L Angel for AQP -5 - None
ornament -5 - Done

April Goals for home
Rearrange my card system -Done
start doing daily and weekly routines - Not really
make appointment with a person to help with finances -Done
swim three days a week for 20 minutes - No, but have gone two days a week
walk two days a week for 20 minutes - No, but have done one day a week
Restart WW plan - a little here and there, not fully into it
Reorganize stitching stash - DONE!
Send at least five resumes a week, assuming the jobs are what I want--I'm not going to apply for just any job -No resumes this month
Re-read David Allen's book "Getting Things Done" -No, how ironic!

Well, the 25 hours spent on Waiting for Ships, a somewhat unplanned start (meant to start after Flourishes was done) could have been used for what I didn't stitch, but she was calling for me to start her and I'm glad I did. She's coming along very nicely.

As for my "home" goals, I'm getting there slowly. Didn't do everything I wanted to do, which means I better make re-reading the Allen book a priority this month LOL! I know why I haven't sent out resumes. It has nothing to do with time constraints but simply because I like where I work and don't want to change jobs again. I have to do this because I am not going to ever get out of debt or be able to save much money by making the amount I make there.

OK, I'm making one goal for this week right now -- I WILL set up an appointment with Harris' assistant to talk with him about my pay. If I don't bite the bullet I'll never be able to make a decision about what I'm going to do. Just do it!!!

Quick post -- Waiting for Ships

Later tonight or tomorrow I need to update my goals -- review my April goals and form my May goals. For now I wanted to post my progress on Waiting for Ships (Mirabilia) after 25 hours. I started in the middle to see how the colors worked. Then I sorta worked my way up to the top because I really like to have the face and hair done as soon as poosible. So, that's why it's a bit haphazzard -- that and I have to pick up some DMC and just ordered some Kreinik. I'm glad I have most of the skin done because that's the part I like least of all. I firgured I'd get it over with. I'm using Solitude from Dyeing4U.