You want to drive?

Once, way back in the beginning part of wonderful husband and my courtship, after much bitching and moaning about his driving, he said off-handedly, "If you don't like the way I drive then you do it". And so it has been since that fateful day. I drive. I drive everwhere, including the 12 day Oregon Coast vacation and the 10 day Alberta, Canada vacation (there was much cursing when we hit Edmonton, I'm ashamed to say it–Boybat was in the car at the time–I think that I managed to form whole sentences using nothing but the f-word–Hey, you hit Edmonton at rush hour with no map and two of what seemed like three of the bridges across the river closed). But with a few exceptions, all has been well with this transportation arrangement.

So I chose today to throw a wrench in it.

I gave wonderful husband the keys to the SUV and let him drive us to Wenatchee to pick up Boybat from Nana and Papas home. OK, there were a few ulterior motives here. One, I'm angling for a new car..."Oh, please drive my car and see how much I really need a new one"–picture me doing some Scarlett O'Hara, hand to the brow, drama thing. The other motive is that I wanted to stitch. I was stuck on a part of this pattern that I just didn't want to do. I figure if I'm stuck in the car with nothing else to do for 7 hours, I'll work my way through it and maybe even get through a couple more bands of the sampler.

Jeeze Louise, I WAS WRONG about that equation. I did make it through the difficult part of the pattern but only just. I was putting the finishing touches on it by the time we hit Spokane on our way back home. I can only imagine you sitting there and saying to yourselves..."Good Lord, was she stitching with her eyes closed?" Well, no...but my car tends to bump and shake occasionally and that sure slowed me down.

My new car is going to have a suspension that would rival that mattress on that commercial with the glass of water on one side while the lady is jumping up and down on the other side. I am going to stitch up a storm on car trips!

Unless wonderful husband's driving really pisses me off again and it takes another 11 years 'til I hand over the keys.

I forgot about grown up time

Ahhh, its been really quiet here the last 5 days. Boybat has been in Washington visiting with nana, papa, aunt, uncle, and cousins. The house has stayed clean for close to a week and I havent stepped on a freakin' lego since Friday!

These past 5 days, we've been doing all sorts of things that we dont normally have a chance to do. We went to a great concert out at the Gorge (WooHoo, Nickelback), ate dinner out twice (with MARTINIS) and rented movies we never get to watch (R rated with sex and violence too!) since we're usually asleep right after Boybat goes to sleep.

5 glorious days of NO Spongebob, Ben 10, or Fairly odd Parents (all of which he watches because they're tv shows that I can actually sit through without wanting to gouge out my eyes and stuff them in my ears).

5 days of not having to practically bribe or threatening him to eat his dinner, or put on his nightnight clothes (yes, I said nightnight, what about it?). No arguments with the other little boys in the neighborhood about who's turn it is to play with the big truck.

Calm, quiet discussions between adults without getting interrupted every 2 minutes so the stuffed animal-of-the-day can ask us questions or sing us a song.

THANK GOODNESS WE BRING HIM HOME TOMORROW! I miss all that stuff and the lively, adorable things that he does that sometimes I take for granted. Its nice to have grown-up time, but I'm really ready for family-time again.

What do mean I’m getting Old?

I need reading glasses. Uhhg. Seriously, I think I’m more traumatized by the idea of reading glasses than the weird snapping noises that your joints make in the morning when you're over the age of 35. I wasn’t phased by the idea that my hair (should I ever stop “enhancing” it) is more grey now in the front than my original color. I’m not even that irritated by the crinkly little lines that I’m getting around my eyes, I kinda like them, I tell myself that they add character. No, I’m cranky that I have to carry around 2 pairs of glasses now–which I never remember to do. Which brings me to…TRYING TO STITCH WHILE I WATCH TV. I’m glad that the majority of people I know cant see what I look like when I sit down to my favorite pastime. They would hurt themselves laughing, I think. Generally I’m on my nice, new, recliner sofa with my feet up, TV on a favorite movie or show (right now Its True Blood–Love the books!) mismatched shorts (plaid), t-shirt (baggy and most decidedly NOT any color that matches said oversized plaid shorts), and 2 pairs of glasses. Not one pair of glasses on and another within easy reaching distance, 2 pairs-same time. I have the reading glasses balanced on my nose to make it easy to read those flippin’ tiny symbols on the charts and find the tiny linen threads (I love stitching on linen, so that’s not going to change), and the regular glasses perched on the reading glasses so I can see the television when it sounds interesting, I’m sure that I look like some demented person with my head bent, staring over the reading glasses and through the regular ones. I know what the next logical step is. I just don’t know if I’m ready to take it. I will someday, suck it up, put on my big girl panties and get …BIFOCALS. Sends chills down my back right now to think about it. It would make it easier on my friends when they have to decide whether they should ignore the two pairs of glasses or gently suggest professional help for the eccentric, crazy lady. Oh wait, my friends wouldn’t be gentle about suggesting anything… they’d be turning blue from the lack of oxygen they were getting between the guffaws.

My "Other" Life

Ahhhh, the house chores are done and I've decided I'm not doing the outside chores today. I am going to write this and then get stitching. I want to get a couple more bands done on this project before next weekend. We've got a lot planned in the next few weeks with the weekends packed with fun family stuff, and a visit from a friend I haven't seen in 11 years.
Its right about now in a project that I get distracted. Like right now. I could be stitching , but noooooo. I'm typing, making bread, wondering what to make for dinner, that sort of stuff...

Nothing to do with stitching

Today, on our way to preschool, BoyBat asked me a question.
"How come when I get to be as big as daddy I have to leave the house?"
The first thought that came to me of course was, WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM? Fortunately I was awake enough not to say that out loud. What I did say to him was that when people grow up they want to find their own place to live–dorms, apartments, houses–but that was a long way off, he might find that he wants to find his own place when he gets older.
His next question made me teary eyed and I was in danger of dripping mascara before 7 am (which I think there's some rule against, or should be.)
"Will you love me if live somewhere else?"
Try answering that without a massive makeup mishap.
"I'll love you no matter where you are. You'll always be my little boy, even when you're all grown up" is what I came up with. It was simple and true and poignant as he enters his next milestone in a few weeks, kindergarten.
I never thought that I would be one of those parents who cried when he left for the first day of kindergarten, but maybe I'll leave the mascara off until I get to work that day.

Way too busy!

This month it dawned on me that I am WAY TOO BUSY! I haven't had a moment to write a post lately and the minutes here and there that I have had I've been steadily plugging away at the project I started in July.
This week started out with me staying home for 2 extra days to straighten and clean–which I had done the first morning–so I went through a basket filled with patterns, threads, linens and UFOs, and a lot of household detritus at the bottom of the basket (mainly pieces of disassembled Transformer parts courtesy of little one, who has demanded that wonderful husband and I refer to him as BoyBat). I had a lot of fun digging through the layers, finding treasures that I had forgotten about. One of the UFOs is a project that I had designed myself and I'm almost done stitching (it felt like when you find $20 in a jacket pocket that you hadn't worn since last fall!)
I don't remember why I stopped-probably distracted by other shiny objects....but its next on my projects to stitch. Now that boybat is done with t-ball, there might be a little extra time for stitching!

Package in the mailbox

In my mailbox today was the cross-stitch order I place on Saturday. I love opening these packages up. Looking at the patterns in way better detail than I could on the web, pulling out the fabric to feel the texture and then look at the colors of the floss for the last order’s pattern. This is a never-ending cycle for me.

You see, I order a pattern that I like, but cant find out what floss is needed. If its anything other than DMC, I can pretty much guarantee that I don’t have it! So I have to order floss for the previous pattern and often find a new pattern! I wonder if this is a well thought out plot by the online needlework shops or that it just would take a small army to list the colors needed for every pattern. I’m opting for answer two (I’m keeping my eye on you, you online cross-stitch stores, If I hear evil cackling then I’m changing my answer!! –picture me making the squinty, suspicious, eye face)

I wish that there were more local cross –stitch stores around here. There’s only one that doesn’t require a 4-hour drive. I imagine that its got its good points but I just cant get over the toe licking dog and a proprietress so excited to show you the new items that I don’t have time to look at the patterns. I’m a browser, I like to look and explore. I could very happily sit on the floor and look through boxes of pamphlets, leaflets and booklets for an hour to find the perfect new project. I’m considering bringing wonderful husband and little one with me to run interference, but I’m afraid that the dog might lick them soggy.

New Patterns

I started a new pattern this weekend.

Maybe I should restate that. I started a pattern that bought 2 months ago. I had originally intended to take it on vacation with me to work on, but when I’m on vacation with wonderfully patient husband and the little guy I am constantly going. By the end of the day, all I want to do is order pizza (no mushrooms, please) and rest on the polyester bedspread and watch trashy TV (no c-span here!). Since then it has been sitting on my dresser, beckoning to me…”start me, start me, I SAID START ME DAMMIT!” I tried burying it under a pile of clothes that I have yet to get into the dresser, but I still heard it.

I thought about it and decided that what was stopping me from starting it was the idea that I won’t finish it. As I said earlier, I have other “on-hold” projects that date back to before I was even married. I get tired of looking at them and they go in the unfinished project basket with the full intention of finishing them. The regular life of being a mom and a wife and an employee and a freelance designer pushes my “me time” to the back of the list (my “me time” generally consists of either reading–Charlaine Harris right now–and sleeping).

So here’s to starting a new pattern! Boy, I hope I finish it!

Little boys and bugs

Today is t-ball day. My little guy LOVES playing and truthfully, I enjoy watching him run from 1st to 3rd only to run back to 2nd or playing outfield (which, for 5 year olds, means watching bugs and picking grass). I’ve never been into sports, my life philosophy has been “Nature bad, Air Conditioning good.” The bugs and I have an agreement, they get to live as long as they don’t come in the house or try to sting me or the little guy. Yet, I enjoy the time I spend outside with him. The idea that he could spend 10 minutes watching a pile of ants working on the sidewalk doesn't phase me a bit because I know he’s enjoying himself.
What does this have to do with cross-stitching your asking yourself? Nothing, except asked myself this morning if it would be rude/wrong to bring my most current project with me? The answer I came up with was “yes.” The little guy deserves some undivided attention.

Stitching addiction

I have an addiction. It's cross-stitching. No matter what else I try, I always come back to cross stitching. I dont know about the rest of you, but I have 4-5 projects that are always going and cruise the internet for patterns and gadgets. I've tried knitting (who would spend all that time counting...Oh wait..nevermind), scrapbooking (I still do that but its usually only 2 weekends a year when I'm on a retreat), sewing (that lasted all of three days, but I have a snazzy sewing machine that I use to bind the edges of my projects to keep them from fraying), and countless other side tracks, but I always come back to this. There's probably some deep, telling thing about it, but for right now the only reason I can think of is because I like it, and it's calming. If anyone has any better ideas, I'm open...