May 30th Day Late Monday Update

Memorial Day weekend was a blast. We had several friends and family members over to camp and just had a blast. 2 days I didn't even carry my phone. What a nice break. We are all exhausted but it was fantastic. So I'm a day late. Trying to get back to normal after the fun holiday weekend.

Let's see what little stitching I did get done last week.

Monday I got Week 21 of the Blackwork SAL added...

Printing this week right now for when I get this posted. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I kept working on Simple Treasures...

Soooo loving it still. I think I will keep working on it till June 1st and then get June Year of Celebrations stitched up.

The rest of the week was a blur of getting things ready and having a blast. So thankful for this campground and all the memories we have made. When everyone was packing up and heading home Jeremiah was all smiles. Someone said I don't want to go home. Jeremiah said quickly I fixed that and made this home haha. Goofy kid. He just LOVES it here. I admit I do too. 

This week is supposed to be HOT HOT in the 90's almost everyday. So after I get my working out done I should be stitching time. Hopefully.

Have a great week. Love yourself. Find a reason to smile. Feels good!

May 22nd Monday Update

Hello Friends. I am behind on blog reading again haha. No surprise there. I hope to catch up soon.

Let's see what fun I had stitching last week...

Monday is the new release of the Blackwork SAL. Only 7 more *pout pout*...

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on a finally finished the May Year of Celebrations Season 2 piece...

 (6) May 17th

May - A Year of Celebrations Season 2
from Hands on Design
Stitched on 32ct Dark Cobblestone Lugana
Using Suggested Classic Colorworks Threads
Started May 10th. Took 6 Days 

 

 I really really wanted to finish it so I could start one of my new kits from vacation...

Simple Treasures a Dimensions Kit

Like I said in one of my vacation posts. I found this at a tiny yarn shop in OBX North Carolina. I had wanted this one for years. Then with losing mom honestly I took it off my wishlist on 123stitch. I haven't worked on a beach themed one since losing her. But....seeing this in the store. After the sweet lady said I was the first customer of the day at 1:30 in the afternoon. I paid double the price from 123stitch. I had to have it. We do take time to enjoy life's simple treasures. We loved our trip. So I will stitch this in honor of all those wonderful times at the wonderful ocean. Thursday I got started. This weekend was IHSW so I made every excuse I could to stitch haha. Even after a busy busy day Saturday getting the campground ready for the season.

I had this piece of 36ct Fabric Flair Bahama Blue fabric in my stash. I love it. The 3rd photo shows a bit better how dark it is. I love it! It's a typical Dimensions kit. 1 strand here. 2 strands here. Half stitch. Cross Stitch. But when I look at it I love the way it looks. 

I'm off. Lots to do for this weekend's holiday time. We have several friends coming to enjoy our beautiful campground. Have a wonderful week. Love yourself. Smile. Enjoy the simple treasures.

May 15th Monday Update

A normal week update for me. Let's see what I've been up to this week...

Tuesday I did up Week 18 and 19 of the Blackwork SAL...

I was glad to catch up. As always I loved both sections. Wednesday I got started on the Year of Celebrations May piece. I really really want to start the Simple Treasures kit but I know May should be done first so I don't get behind. So I try to stitch fast....of course it's crawling haha. Worked on it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday...

Saturday was my 44th birthday. Sunday was Mother's Day. It was hard without mom but we rocked it. It was finally a warm weekend and we got a lot of stuff done. Unwintered stuff haha. Time to switch from the winter shower back to the normal one. Dad is already talking about what we will do different next year so I'm pretty sure everyone has accepted we are going nowhere haha. It was great to be so busy.

Sunday afternoon Fred kept asked me What I was thinking? Honestly nothing. I was enjoyed peace. I was happy about the new coming week. Happy about plans. Just happy. It's so different. Yes I miss my mom. Yes I wish I hadn't lost her. But she was unhappy and so unhealthy. Life is just different now. I feel guilty but I know she would want me to be happy. To be okay. So be okay I will. She is at peace.

Have a wonderful week. Love yourself. Smile.

Home Sweet Home

 

We made it home Sunday safe and sound. We decided to take an extra long travel day Saturday. Even though it was a long day we made it to our hotel in Mineral Wells, West Virginia. My favorite pizza place is within walking distance. So got to have it again. Then we happily slept. In the morning a friend who lives right there was able to come over and visit. So we left about noon. Got home about 6pm. 

Yesterday Fred had off work still. So we did some spring cleaning. Got all our travel goodies put away. I organized some things that needed done. I watched an episode of Hoarders while gone and that always makes me want to organize haha. We also grabbed our groceries for the week.

Today he's headed back to work and normal life should resume. I weighed in this morning. I unfortunately have gained my lost weight back. I really gave up these last few months. Just wasn't feeling it and ate very badly especially on vacation haha. But....I am starting again. I am ready to focus more on my eating and making smart choices. Also of course moving. But I will be working stitching and now reading haha. I will figure this out. I promise to myself I will.

Stitching related. Can't wait to do up the 2 sections of the Blackwork SAL. I missed last week because of vacation of course. Yesterday another section was released too. I need to do the May Season 2 Year of Celebrations piece. I am planning on starting the new Simple Treasures kit some time. I think I will switch out the Aida for a piece I have in my stash though.

 Okay. Well Have a great week. Enjoy life. Smile. Love yourself.

Oops Vacation Day #8

So I really was going to log every day then something weird happened....I just relaxed! What?! Seriously though I just let myself go and I feel amazing. Today I finally took time to upload all our photos on Facebook so if you are friends with me there please check them out. Let's see a quick recap.

So last post I said something about severe weather went north. I guess an hour north of us got a EF3 Tornado and a lot of damage. Crazy!

Monday was the 1st of May. My mom's birthday. So we went to our favorite breakfast/restaurant here. It was delicious. Then we came back to our condo to pick up Spike. We drove to Bodie lighthouse and was able to sprinkle some of mom's ashes. Then we stopped at a parking lot where they do kite surfing on the sound and admired the crazy people who do that. Spike loved it. He was so curious was they were doing. Then we made it Hatteras Lighthouse my mom's favorite. I was able to sprinkle another little bit of mom there. For her birthday. Perfect. We came back and went out to eat a delicious buffet because all you can eat crab legs. YUMMY! Jeremiah was so happy.

Tuesday I literally don't remember what we did haha. I'm sure it was food related haha. *edited to add* Hey I just remembered haha. We took a shopping day. Antique mall, t-shirt place, yarn store and got 2 cross stitch kits that were way over priced but I like helping little brick and mortar type stores. Delicious BBQ in our condo for the evening meal.

I've wanted the Simple Treasures design for a long time. What perfect place to buy it than here at the ocean. The red truck just had to follow it because that's too cute.

Wednesday we went to the aquarium. It was fantastic as always. First time Fred was able to go there. He told us he could definitely see why we enjoyed our time there. After that we walked around the area and enjoyed the scenery over in Manteo.

Thursday we ran up to Currituck Lighthouse. It was really busy so no ashes spread but Jeremiah and me decided to just enjoy having the last little container of mom with us. We kept talking about how we were taking her with us. Come on mom let's go over here. Yes we are weird but we really enjoyed the thought of her being with us.

Today is our last day here. We went back to our delicious restaurant Jolly Roger. Stopped at a few more stores. One was a book store. We stopped yesterday and I got a book because I used to LOVE reading but haven't read in forever. When we got back I started reading and fell in love again. So we had to go back to the book store because you can't have just one book right? We talked about when we get home to make like an hour to sit on the deck and read together as a family. Love the idea now to follow through. Then back here. We all went out to the ocean again. This time Spike finally played in it a little. He much prefers his pond at home though. It doesn't move and it tastes a lot better than the salt water haha. Here at our condo we have a washer and dryer so we relaxed and did up all our laundry for the trip. Tonight we are going to another delicious crab type restaurant so we can eat ourselves sick haha. Yes I have to start my lifestyle change all over when I get home haha.

Tomorrow we start the trip home. 

I must take a moment to say Wow. What a trip. I literally shed some tears one day because of how amazing this trip has been. Spike has been amazing!!! Being here with just our little family is amazing. We love being together. We have no stress. We just enjoy every moment. Literally why I didn't end up getting on to blog. We were just enjoying life. Enjoying the moment. It was perfect. I miss my mom dearly but a friend said she thought this trip would help with our mourning and it really has. Yes it was hard to be here at first without mom. But...it now feels like we have done it in her honor. In her memory. Also as our own family. We will continue. We will still be able to travel. We can be okay. I feel it. 

Plus I'm excited to go home. Our home life is no stress too now. We love living at our happy place. We love what life is bringing. We love thinking of what is ahead. Just can't stop smiling. 

Thanks for listening to be catch up haha. Now I'm off to enjoy my last evening here.

Vacation Day #3

Our first full day here in OBX. We all slept great in our beautiful condo. Woke up whenever we wanted to with no rush. Love those days. Took showers and ate a breakfast here today. 

When we were planning this trip I asked an online friend Wait just how close to here do you live? She was little under 2 hours away. So we planned a meet up in the middle. We decided to meet at a little town and they had a delicious Mexican restaurant. We have been friends online for more than 2 years. We talk about every day. So nice to meet in person...

We had a lovely visit though it was too short. Then we hurried back to our condo. Bad storms were rolling in. Luckily the worst of it went north of us. Boy the sky was pretty and we had a gorgeous rainbow out our window. Yep this place is the gold at the end of a rainbow in our opinion too...

Tonight we went and grabbed a quick carry out BBQ meal. Delicious!

We took Spike down to the beach for the first time. He's never seen waves so he was very confused. Why is the water moving? He played and ran. Though it did have him on his toes because he didn't quite like it he thinks haha. Plus when he caught it and grabbed a mouth full he shook his head and was like what's wrong with it! I was laughing the whole time.  Great day!

Vacation Day #2

Love this photo. Even caught Spike smiling.

Last travel day. We had 5 and half hours today. We left Mt Airy a little late because we had to arrive here after 4pm. Fred found a neat cigar warehouse place along our route so he was as happy as we are in stitching stores haha. I'm happy he found it. It was a little more than an hour after we hit the road. Then we came the rest of the way.

We arrived safe and sound in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina...

The ocean is finally out our window again. We got here about 6pm. We unloaded everything into our condo which is very lovely. Fred and me ran to the grocery store and got a few essentials then picked up pizza on the way back to the room. Ate and then I got busy putting everything the way I needed it to be haha. OCD comes in handy. Want this place to look nice you know. Jeremiah took him place relaxing and being on Youtube...

Poor kid just hates traveling haha. We walked out on the balcony and looked at the ocean when we first got here. A beautiful shrimp boat was out in the water. Jeremiah and I hugged and had a good cry. Just so crazy to be here in OBX without mom. We feel her with us yes but not physically standing beside us. Just crazy. I think it is really good for both of us. Like an end to our mourning maybe. If she's not here beside us she has to really be gone. So maybe we can heal better. After leaving here. Maybe. We'll see. A lot to do before we leave. We are here till Saturday morning. I'm glad we have a lot we are looking forward to.

Tomorrow I setup a meeting with a friend who I've been friends with online for 2 years now. She lives a bit north of here so we are going to meet up half way. Can't wait!

Plus we are going to take Spike out to the beach for his first time. Can't wait to do that either. As much as he loves the pond we think he will love it. First up though....sleep.

Vacation Day #1

 Oh how I missed using that title. First trip since Vegas in 2019. We all missed it. 

Spike decided he was going to drive and made Fred ride in the back haha. 

We hit the road this morning at 9 am. We really wanted to get a lot of hours done today but you just never know with traffic and weather. It was rainy the whole day of course but Fred doesn't mind driving in the rain. We stopped at a lot of the rest parks to get Spike out and stretch our legs so that made the overall trip longer but broke it up for us to stretch too. We made it to our first special destination. One we visit every time we come by on Interstate 77 through West Virginia...

The Artisan center called Tamarack. It's a very overpriced gallery of artwork of all kinds but mom LOVED stopping here. Jeremiah and I was happy we didn't cry but boy you could just feel mom with us today every step. It was wonderful. It was in her honor. We could have just went by. The boys had ice cream and they enjoyed it. After that stop we drove 2 more hours to hit our hopeful destination for today...

Mt Airy, North Carolina. Fred drove through Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia today. Thanks Fred!! We got here at 7 pm. All checked in and got food. Now to rest.

Again Spike did amazing. No problems at all with the long ride. He is amazing to travel with.

Tomorrow we have 5 and half hours left to get to that beautiful ocean again finally since 2017!!

Apr 24th Monday Update

Finally got over that fun cold. Sniffles and coughs galore. Jeremiah is all better too. Wohoo.

Monday I stitched up Week 16 on the Blackwork SAL...

Tuesday I finished up the April Hands on Design Year of Celebrations Season 2...

 (5) April 18th

April - A Year of Celebrations Season 2
from Hands on Design
Stitched on 32ct Dark Cobblestone Lugana
Using Suggested Classic Colorworks Threads
Started Apr 1st. Took 6 Days.

 

I just love the little bunnies. So cute. May will be delayed till we get back from vacation.

 

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Beer Dragon won and came back out to play...

Saturday we went out shopping. I needed some new vacation shorts and capri pants. Luckily I found some at Burlington for cheap and I was a very happy girl. We also went to Menards are got a new cabinet for outside to store our cooking stuff in. Then we met up with dear friends who are moving out of state. We will miss them just stopping by but they will still be up to visit. It was a long fun day.

Sunday we knew we wanted to take our outdoor tarps down. Even though this week the temperatures are crazy low haha. We wanted them down a put away before vacation. So we did that. Then my Grandpa called and asked us to come over. Fred is good with tech stuff and Grandpa needed him haha. So our relaxing ended up being going over there. Then we ran to town to take recycling and grabbed dinner. So needless to say no stitching Saturday or Sunday. It was a lovely weekend though.

 

Guess what?!?! Only 4 sleepies left until we leave!!! I can't wait!!! Is it time yet?!?! I will finally get to blog about traveling again. I miss it. Lots to do to get ready but that will help pass the time at least.

Have a wonderful week. Smile. Love yourself.

Apr 17th Monday Update

This is going to be a boring update...

Monday I put in the next part of the Blackwork SAL...

Love the celtic knot. Then Tuesday I woke up sick. It's very normal for me this time of year. No wonder why our temperatures go up and down. All the trees have bloomed. We hit 82 this weekend and turned on our AC. Today it's 30 degrees, snow, and 60 mph wind. Of course right after dragging out shorts for the weekend. I couldn't concentrate all week on stitching. So that's all you get haha.

This weekend we had our Easter festivities here with family. It was beautiful weather and we had delicious food. Spike took his first swim and was so happy to be back in the pond...

There is 11 days till we leave for vacation. I'm pretty sure I will go crazy by the time it gets here haha.

On a serious not today marks 6 months since my mom passed. How could it be 6 months? Seems like yesterday and yet so much has changed. I miss her laugh. I miss her hugs. I miss her. I know she is no longer in pain. I know she is with her parents again. I know we will be okay but Wow. 

Love yourself. Smile. Stay healthy. Now I'm off to stitch up the new Monday's part of the Blackwork SAL.

Apr 10th Monday Update

Wow what a weekend. First let's see what stitching I did last week.

Monday I did Week 14 of the 27 tiles for the Blackwork SAL...

After that and every day through Thursday I worked on Season 2 of Year of Celebrations...

Just across the bottom left but we had a busy busy weekend.

We attended our first ever wrestling convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

We got to meet 13 wrestlers. 10 signatures. 2 live event wrestling events. Countless memories. Our faces actually hurt from smiling. Spike did AMAZING on the trip!! It was just an amazing event. Jeremiah was so adorable. He said several times Wow this is just amazing. Then Sunday he sweetly said I'm serious top 5 favorite things I've done in my life. I never thought I would be able to say I met these people. Now I have. Can we please come back next year? So we agreed to make it our yearly Easter weekend tradition. He hasn't stopped talking about it yet haha. 

Wrestlers we met.....MJF(AEW), Health Slater and Ryno (WWE), Ruby Riot (Soho now AEW), Moxely (Dean Ambrose now AEW), Renee Young (now AEW), Jimmy Hart, Sgt Slaughter, Mick Foley (My Favorite....I was shaking....I got a hug!), Kevin Nash (WWE), Eric Rowan (WWE), Dan Hausen (AEW and lots of other stuff), Rikishi. We also seen the others in attendance just didn't work to meet them all. The lines were long for a lot of them. It was so worth it though.

We had a fantastic amazing unbelievable time. Now to try to rest up. It was long nights and lots of walking/standing. 

Plus 3 Friday's from now we leave on our big beach vacation. Can't wait!!! Especially with our little travel loving Spike now.

Apr 3rd Monday Update

 Here we are another Monday. Let's see what I was up to last week.

Monday I stitched up another cute section on the Blackwork SAL...

Several people said it looked like a garden fence. I've seen this week and it's a beauty. Little larger along the right side there. So I'm looking forward to getting to it.

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on the Spring Gnome while Beer Dragon let me haha...

Thursday we went over to my Grandparents and had a nice visit. We went out to dinner and got groceries so no stitching. Friday I didn't stitch either. In the evening we battened down the hatches. They were predicting severe storms. Then I saw some photos that a tornado hit 15 miles away. Luckily we had nothing other than heavy rain and wind. No problems though. It's definitely Spring time. Have to be weather aware. 

Saturday our weather turned horrible cold. The boys went over to help a friend of the family install internet. I got a start on the April Year of Celebrations...

Sunday was warmer again haha. The boys went over to a family member to help with some damage from a different storm. Jeremiah had a blast both days helping the guys.

Beer Dragon demanded attention since he had been up all week...

Maybe I have him convinced one day is enough a week. We'll see.

 We have fun plans this coming weekend. We are attending our first wrestling convention. WWE, AEW, and several other companies is having wrestlers come. We got to meet them. They are also having vendors setup. Questions and Answer panels. Two big wrestling expo shows. Jeremiah is going to explode haha. He just can't wait. Fred has Friday off work so we can head down to Indianapolis and get there early. Spike gets to go too. 

Mar 27th Monday Update

I missed WIPocalypse again. I was going to add it to today but I want to get off this computer and stitch. So maybe later this week. Anyway here is my Monday update though.

Let's see what I did last week. Monday same as every other Monday I did the new section on the Blackwork SAL...

Using DMC 550 on 28ct Davinci Evenweave. Week 12 of 27 in now.

After that on Monday I started the Spring Gnome. Worked on it Tuesday and Wednesday too...

I wanted to be in love with the Spring Gnome but I couldn't get into it because Beer Dragon wouldn't stop yelling for more attention. Like he hasn't had enough lately? But he came back out Thursday and Sunday...

I just had to finish the column I was working on. Plus I see one of his beautiful wings now!! I would love to say it's over now but the next column is yelling for attention. I mean we'll get to see more of that wing!

Friday Jeremiah went over to visit my Dad and Bev for the night. I had an afternoon to myself. Instead of stitching I relaxed and watched shows. Fred and me had a nice evening alone. Saturday we picked up Jeremiah and went to a flea market that we go to every year. It was my mom's favorite winter flea market.

There was a gentleman setup that my mom LOVED their tee shirts. So much so that she requested to be wearing one for her funeral to me many many times. So I wanted to share with him about that. I made it through it with Jeremiah and Fred's support. Gave the guy goosebumps and he was honored to hear it. 

We had a great time and was happy to continue the tradition in mom's honor. 

Yesterday the weather was beautiful. We sat on the deck and enjoyed the sunshine. Today back to cold and windy haha. You can sure tell it's Spring. Up and Down Up and Down. Sometime soon though it will be time to be outdoors. Until then I need to stitch haha. So I'm off to do just that. 

Have a great week. Love Yourself. Smile.

Mar 20th Monday Update

I am feeling a lot better today. I was in a funk last week. Back and better though. Just needed to do some things to make myself better which luckily I'm getting better at recognizing. I walked away from a commitment that was causing me way too much stress. I feel a ton better now. Anyway on to my stitching which is why you are here...

Monday I stitched up the next awesome section for the Blackwork SAL...

Week 11 now of 27. I will really miss this one when it's finished. It's so exciting to see each new section every Monday. 

After I finished that section up I picked up Beer Dragon. I worked on him every day but Saturday. Here he was last Monday...

I was wrong though. I had finished page 3 and started page 4 on this photo. So that little section is the top left of page 4. Here he is now...

Just background so even though confetti stitching it went really fast. I'm on Day 67 now. I still love every moment working on this one. It will be back out soon. 

Today is first day of Spring so I can start the Spring Gnome...

That is of course after I finish up the new section for the Blackwork SAL haha.

Friday we had a great St Patrick's Day...

The boys shirts read Master of Malarkey mine read Let's Day Drink haha. We got to go see the band we love that much. They was at the local Elk's lodge. Jeremiah always gets called out by the lead singer and makes him feel so special. Love it! Dad and Bev came out with a lot and lot of other people. Seriously I bet there was more than 50 people. It was a great night. Saturday we got our taxes filed, groceries, and then went out to Fred's fav cigar bar to hang out. It was a nice day even though no stitching. I made up for it Sunday had lots of time on Beer Dragon.

This week is a slow week nothing much planned other than Saturday we are going back to Fort Wayne to go to a large flea market we attend every year. First one without mom. Crazy every time I say that.

 Have a great week. Love yourself. Find your triggers and get away from them. Smile.

Mar 13th Monday Update

Time change is really kicking my brain a loop but I will give you a quick Monday update then go rest.

Monday I did Week 10 of the Blackwork SAL...

Loved this section....just like I've loved every section so far haha. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on March of Season 2 Year of Celebrations. Wednesday I finished it up...

 (4) March 8th

March - A Year of Celebrations Season 2
from Hands on Design
Stitched on 32ct Dark Cobblestone Lugana
Using Suggested Classic Colorworks Threads
Started Mar 1st. Took 5 Days. 

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked on Beer Dragon again. I am on the last column for this page now...

Saturday we had a nice day out. Sunday was a blur. I need a do-over. So... I need to get off this computer and go spend the day stitching. Love yourself. Enjoy your week. Good luck adjusting to the time change. Somehow we got this...