Thanks everyone for your kind words on my Autumn Queen finish.  I still can’t believe she’s finally finished!!!  I did get a small start on Summer Queen last night.  I was amazed to find that she has neither Wisper or any Krenik braid… woohoo!  Those were the bits I left until the end on Autumn LOL

It’s the time of year of looking ahead, and I’ve been giving it some thought for the last few weeks.  What can I realistically resolve to do for 2009?  Here’s what I came up with:

General….

Listen to More Music - I have multiple iPods filled with great music and I rarely listen to them.  Both DH and DD have music as their constant companion.  I need to have more music in my day.  To that end I asked for one CD for Christmas (David C00k) and bought two more afterwards (Prince - Purple Rain and Styx - Greatest Hits).  I also bought a new set of headphones as too much time with the little Apple buds hurts my ears.

Play More Games - We are a gaming household but I will go weeks without touching any of my games.   I will watch everyone else play, but no controller hits my hands.  How can I finish PuzzleQuest or Lego Batman if I don’t play?

Work Smarter - I won’t work more, nor can I work less, but I do need to work smarter.  I  have a surplus of things that need to be done…and when I try to do them all, I do none as well as I’d like.  So, I need to be more proactive about setting priorities and delegating what I can.

Read - I read 66 books last year, with 19 of those in December.  Based on my GoodReads updates, I can see that since I received my Kindle, my books/month has increased.  Of course, part may also be that I’m paying attention to what my GoodReads friends are reading and add those to my “to-read” list!  In 2009, I want to read more than I did in 2008.

Stitching….

I’m taking the idea of Guilt Free January to new heights….

Unless I’ve worked on a piece since January 1, it is not considered a WIP and I’m not feeling guilty!

That’s right.  As of this moment, I have ONE piece in progress…  Summer Queen.  Now, you and I both know I’m not a true One-At-A-Timer and I’ve already planned for two more starts this month.   I want to keep that WIP number around five, not counting my Winter RR or the Fair & Square Exchanges (the only not-for-me stitching I plan to do this year).  That means once I’ve touched five projects, I’ve got to finish one before I start another.  Thankfully, I’ve got lots of small-ish items either started or kitted.

Goal - alternate new projects and pre-2009 projects.  It’s a goal, we’ll see how close I get….

So that’s the plan for the year.  :)

My first finish of 2009:

Mirabilia’s Autumn Queen

32-ct white Jobelan (click for bigger pic)

Finished: Jan 3, 2009 (started 2003!)

Next in the series will be Summer.  While I had planned to stitch her in lavendars, when I pulled her original floss today I found she’s actually Tiffany blue and not the turquoise-y color that the picture suggests.  I’ll keep her blues.  She’ll also be on the same white Jobelan.

Tomorrow I’ll post stitching plans and other goals for the year.  For now, I’ll just say I had a very nice Christmas

What I have left on Autumn Queen:

•  Strip of wisper on the left side of her skirt
• Backstitch around wisper on the bottom of her skirt
• Crystals and beads below the fold (below her waist)
• Tassel to the right
• Bead ropes (done after she’s washed and pressed)

The three new starts:

• Mirabilia Summer Queen (in lavendar)
• From Sea to Shining Sea (LHN)
• Lizzie Kate’s Boo Club (DH bought me the floss and fabric for Christmas)

I would add Mirabilia Bluebeard’s Princess to this, but I am having a heck of a time finding fabric.  If I can find something I like, it will be four starts.

Happy New Year to all!

A quick update:

All gifts arrived in time and were well received for Christmas.  I’ve added a pair of gorgeous sapphire earrings to my jewel box

AQ is close…probably today and some of tomorrow to be done!

Three January starts planned.

• Cookies Baked - made three kinds today: Oatmeal, Pecan Puffs and Spritz
• Gifts Wrapped - ok, there is still *one* due but according to UPS it should be here today
• Dinner Planned -  menu done, will pick up ham Tuesday
• Books Read - was that on the list?  Sure….

Stitching….well….

At least I’ve made progress on *something*

First, the Fair & Square Round 10 results:

Received from Jane (ultimately a biscornu, I think).  I love the colors:

Sent (from JCS 2008 Ornament issue - the Ink Circles Design):

(click for larger pic)

That little guy in the middle is a bottlecap pincushion (the third one I made with the Christmas tree guys below).

Tami’s Winter Neighborhood Round Robin is in progress:

This is the last house on the right on X’s and Oh’s Twas Twilight on Main Street.  I’ll do the street in front with the horse-drawn cart, too.

As for the new start that is currently enchanting me….Nora Corbett’s Poppy (Pixie Couture Collection)

(click for larger)

Love the colors.  Love the design. Thankfully I’ve got *lots* of time now that all Christmas shopping is officially done (yup, even Mom).  Just waiting on the various delivery men (UPS, Fed Ex, USPS) to finish off the the wrapping.

Finally  - a pic of K & Nero goofing off today:

First, I owe the Blog a slew of pictures.  I received my Round #10 Fair & Square(s) which I love, my squares have also been received and I have been stitching on my Winter Round Robin.  I was also seduced to a new start which I am desperately in love with and ignoring everything else on my list…… Anyway that will be tomorrow’s post.

For today, here’s a rundown of my morning:

7:00a - Get Z up for school.  Get myself ready to leave.

7:45a - Leave with Z.  Drop him at school.

7:50a - Starbucks.  Salted caramel hot chocolate.  YUMMM

8:00a - Gas Station - fill my car with premium gas for $1.91.  That’s right.  Less than $2 for 12+ gallons.  How, you say?  I shop at Safeway which allows one to accumulate $.10/gallon gas “rewards” based on grocery spend. I had 15 saved up since Oct 1.  I paid $0.149/gallon.  Score!

8:10a - Best Buy.  I think there were three cars in the parking lot.  I guess folks didn’t realize they were opening an hour earlier.  Picked up one of two items on the list for my spouse.  Interestingly, there were *no* cashiers open.  I guess you can come in but you can’t actually buy anything….  (Asst. Mgr. helped me).

8:25a - Target.  Again, not many folks in the store, but the cashier did recognize it was the “calm before the storm.”  Found everything on my list (and then some) and the missing item from Best Buy.

9:10a - Borders.  I had a coupon for 40% off two Blu-Ray DVDs and had a couple on my list for DH :)  Couldn’t pass that one up!

9:35a - Mervyn’s.  Technically, this wasn’t on the list but well…..  No Christmas presents bought, but I did find school uniform pants for Z for $6.40 (incredibly cheap, that) and a couple other useful bits.

10:15a - Back home to order the last two Christmas gifts from Amazon.  (Hard-to-find CDs for spouse)

With that I can state that I am *done* with physical shopping for Christmas with one lone exception (my mother is being very slow with her wish list and I’ve not gotten enough brilliant ideas for her).  DH is tasked with gift card purchases, so that’s on his list, not mine! LOL

Time to wrap.  I have one box to send that needs to go out tomorrow

As of today, I’m on vacation!  I will return to work on January 5th.

The company I work for does not allow rollover of unused vacation time to the next calendar year.  It’s “use it or lose it” for all employees.  As I’ve been on several high profile, demanding projects this year, I didn’t have much opportunity to take any significant amount of my vacation. I was left with four weeks to burn off in November and December.

I’ve been working on my list of “things I want to accomplish” for the last several days.  I realize that by posting it here, there’s a fairly high risk of me not managing much of it.  LOL

The Stitching List:

• Finish Autumn Queen (for DH)
• Finish Spill (my 15-sided biscornu design)
• Stitch next Winter Neighborhood Round Robin (have chart selected)
• Finish socks for my SIL (started)
• Two Christmas Ornaments - stitched & finished (this will be a stretch)

You may have noticed my “currently reading” box on the left there has been changing almost daily.  I have read through the books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward.  I’ve finished the first six books in the series in record time….and many late nights.  I’m now on the Insider’s Guide and it is an absolute joy.  There are interviews with the Brothers and they make me laugh out loud :)  April 2009 is a looooong way away!   Don’t be fooled by the cover art - this is a great fantasy series that happens to have a bit of sex (ok, more than a bit).  Vampires, action, love, plot twists and turns…  what more could you ask for?

I was off work for the last week and evidently took a blogging break, too!

My week’s accomplishments:

Really enjoyed Twilight on Friday night

I read four books in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series.  Addictive series, I must admit.

I made three bottlecap pincushions (Wed) (one is off for an exchange, so here are the other two):

I stitched and finished a Turkey Ornament (Waxing Moon Designs “Happy Turkey Day” in DMC on Willow Green Cashel) for the Seasonal Ornament Blog (yes, it’s actually a pinkeep.  I have a basket with several and I wanted him to hang out there all year)

Made Thanksgiving dinner for my family - only the four of us this year (turkey breast in the slow cooker -came out very good!). Kylie had pie duty.  She made one pumpkin and one pecan.  Both very tasty.

Celebrated my 11th wedding anniversary with my dearest husband on Friday.  I am a lucky woman.

Watched a couple movies:  Hancock (liked it) and The Lake House (can’t believe I missed this one until now!  I adore Keanu Reeves…)

Completed kids’ Christmas shopping.  Waiting on spouse to decide if he wants XM or Sirius portable radio so I can finish his.  Have at least a list of items for the extended family…..

Completed the “take home workbook” from my certification class last week.   Haven’t received the results yet.

Went out on “Black Friday” but found very little traffic!  DH and I failed to score the Blu-Ray player we were hoping to get (out already at first place), but he did get the same player for just a tiny bit more at another store that afternoon (and without any crowd).

Took kids to see Bolt on Friday.  Good kid movie.

Ordered (and received) fabric that I hoped would work for Bluebeard’s Princess.  Splash Cashel from Picture this Plus.  Ummm….no.  It’s just way too bright for me (very turquoise-y).  If anyone is interested in taking if off my hands, please let me know.  $25 (what I paid and I’ll cover shipping).   I also got a cut of Babbling Brook Jobelan, but that’s not giving me the warm fuzzies either.  I’ll do a bit more stash searching on my holiday break (starts Dec 10!) to see if I have anything that may work.

Claire tagged me for a meme…

Here are the tag rules:
Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog.
Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Here are my six random things:

1 - I’m terribly addicted to a game on Facebook called PackRat.  You just wouldn’t think collecting “cards” would be so much fun.  Thankfully, I am not alone in this pursuit. 

2 - I hate horror movies.  Mike (DH) will rent a bunch and he and Kylie will happily watch them while Zach and I find other amusement.

3 - I enjoy cooking/baking but don’t feel like I have a lot of time to do either.  I tend to make more “involved” recipes on Sunday and keep it as simple as possible during the week.  Even then, Kylie cooks more than I do during the work week.

4 - Meatloaf and green beans are the yuckiest things ever.  Blech.  Brussel sprouts, beets and squash are yummy.

5 - I read voraciously.  Fantasy and mystery are the preferred genres, but am enjoying more romance lately.  They usually have a touch of fantasy or mystery woven in (Nora Roberts, for example).

6 - When I’m driving, I usually listen to the “80’s on 8″ channel on XM.

I stopped at Ulta on my way home tonight (training is done…thank heaven) as I was in the mood for some new nail polish after seeing Missy Ann’s recent manicure.  I have my biweekly nail appointment (fill and pedi this time) tomorrow.

As you might guess, I’m partial to red polish:

(Click to big-ify for a better look at the colors)

These are all OPI (Buy 2 get 1 free!).  Left to right:

• Don’t Toy With Me
• Little Red Wagon
• Ruby for Rudolph
• Chick Flick Cherry
• An Affair in Red Square
• Bastille My Heart

Now I just have to decide before my appointment tomorrow at 10.

No Friday night Stitchathon for me tonight.  Kylie and I are going to see a movie.

If you’ve noticed my GoodReads box on the left, I’ve been making my way thru the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.   I blame this on my Kindle.  It’s incredibly easy to “click” up the next installment and have it delivered instantly rather than find time to either make my way to the bookstore (and hope the next book is in stock) or wait on a delivery (and in the meantime get absorbed in something else).  I did take enough of a break for Swallowing Darkness (latest Laurell K Hamilton - good, but it’s time to get this woman an editor to tighten up the story. Yikes.  Nice ending, though).

Next week I’m on vacation!!!  I will be all alone at home Monday - Wednesday.  I foresee a pantry and bedroom de-clutter and some serious stitching time while continuing Battlestar Galactica.  I’m halfway thru Season 2 and Season 3 was delivered this week.