My needle is ssssssmokin' but I am not!

Quick updates:

First of all -- and most importantly -- I can't remember if I posted the update about my oldest son's lump. I'm at home on dial-up (ewwwwww) so I'm too lazy to go see previous posts. The bottom line is that the lump DID shrink (thank God!) so our doctor feels it was an infected lymphnode after all. *major happy dancing*

Now for everything else...

Today made 8 days that I have not smoked. Wow. I honestly can't believe I've made it this far. *patting self on back* We'll see if I can add just one more day to that total. Sometimes I have to make it minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour, but the ultimate goal is still one day at a time.

I have three -- count them, THREE -- finishes for 2008 now. *more happy dancing* Two were works in progress (WIPs) already and one was a quick stitch. The first finish is the Mill Hill kit "On the Range". The second was the "April" Lizzie Kate Flip-It. The third was "Horses" mini-block by Hinzeit. I'll be taking "On the Range" and "Horses" to the framer's tomorrow. The "Horses" will only cost about $12 since I have the frame already, and the MH one should be fairly cheap, too, since I won't have it matted or anything. I know, I know, I could easily frame these myself but with school starting tomorrow, I won't have the time or energy. Besides, I want both pieces protected by glass anyway. The frame jobs shouldn't be done for 2 or 3 weeks, so please be patient for pictures. :-)

Speaking of pictures, I took a picture of the "Racing" Hinzeit I finished not too long ago. I also took pictures of the rest of the stuff my mother stitched for me that's in various areas of my house and of the WIP picture of the LK Flip-Its on one piece of fabric. Maybe one day this week I'll get to transfer the pictures from my camera to my hard drive, then get 'em posted here. No promises but we'll see because it's such a PITA. ;-)

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is getting some great stitching time and that 2008 is a good year for all.

Still not smoking -- for now!

Okay, it's officially been 4 days and I have not smoked, nor have I murdered or harmed anyone. *deeeeeeeeeep breath* I'd sure love to have a cigarette. *another deeeeeeeeeeep breath*

Thanks for the votes for my next projects. :-) We'll see what gets started next but it'll probably be at least a few more days. Realistically, it'll be another week or two.

Feel free to check out my Photobucket account. I just spent the last hour or so cleaning it up. It's all nice and purdy for everyone to look at now. Lots of stitching pictures are in there from 2004 to present. The link is on the right-hand side of my blog under "Favorite Places on the Net" (or something like that).

Gotta run...hopefully I'll get some stitching time shortly. If not, maybe I can just poke someone with my needle. That should make me feel better. *mwah hahahahaha*

As requested, here are some pictures. :-)

Okie dokie, let's see what we've got here...

Here is my Bent Creek Zippie kit "Snowman" all stitched and framed. He now sits with my other snowmen I leave out year 'round. That snowman collection just keeps growing and growing. Wonder how it does that? *hee hee*

Here is the small gift I stitched for my mother-in-law from the "All God's Chillun" leaflet:

Next, here is the picture where I have completed one more pattern of Heart in Hand's "Words of Wisdom". It's teeny-tiny but turning out very cute! That's a quarter in the picture to give you a size reference. Just 8 more of these patterns to go and it'll be complete!

Here's the WIP picture of Mill Hill's buttoned and beaded kit "On the Range". All of the stitching is done and the top 1/3 or so of the beadwork is complete, but you may not be able to tell in the picture.

Now, here's my WIP picture of Shepherd's Bush "O Beautiful". It's amazingly gorgeous and I am very proud of my work on this one.

I think that's it for my updated stitching progress pictures. I haven't done enough on square 6 of the Town Square afghan to warrant posting a picture -- yet.

Happy stitching, everybody! I'll be stitching my lil' non-smoking heart out in about an hour or so. :-)))

Lots of stuff to blog about...

Well, as of January 5th, 2008, at approximately 4:45 PM, I smoked my last cigarette. *ahhhhhhh* With the help of Commit cherry-flavored lozenges, I have not smoked since then. WOO HOO! I can't remember the last time I made it this long without smoking. The nicotine gum seemed to just piss me off, quitting cold turkey never lasted beyond 8 or 9 PM, can't do the patches because of my skin allergy to the adhesive, and I'm too chicken to try Chantix or any of the pills/drugs on the market for smoking cessation. These lozenges are da' bomb!!!

My 15-yr-old son, Steven, was diagnosed with shingles last Thursday. Since the development of the shingles, he noticed a lump a couple of inches below his armpit. We had it checked out while at the doctor's office for the shingles and the doctor says if it's just an infected lymphnode, then the size of the lump will decrease by Friday, January 11th. If not, well...the lump has to come out. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Meanwhile, I thought maybe I had better not try to quit smoking with Steven's lump issue. I mean...what if it turns out to be something horrible? How would I cope with the added stress until our follow-up appointment on Friday the 11th? Blah blah blah...whatever. I finally convinced myself that whether this lump turns out to be something or nothing at all, there will always be a "crisis" to deal with. Might as well face life as a non-smoker. The sooner, the better. :)

Now for stitching updates! Yay! With my serious dedication to not smoking, I have stitched for hours and hours and hours. I got all of the stitching on the Mill Hill "On the Range" kit completed and have now done about 1/4 of the beadwork. For my Lizzie Kate monthly Flip-Its on the Tattersall fabric, I've done the border for the April stamp and have started stitching the word "April". I'll probably get that done and start filling in the space around "April" before bedtime. (Unless I get a bad nicotine craving...then I would just go straight to bed. LOL) On the Shepherd's Bush "O Beautiful", I got another row of words done and two more steps/bands. It's now about 1/3 complete. WOW!

I guess the Mill Hill "On the Range" kit will end up as my first finish for 2008. Instead of having it framed professionally (why bother?), I think I'll just order a frame on-line and do it myself. Let's be realistic here -- How hard is it to frame a piece that's done on perforated paper? ;-)

Hopefully, Shepherd's Bush "O Beautiful" will be #2 on my completed challenge list. Who knows?

Steven's shingles and lump, my quitting smoking, and some serious stitching marathons have kept my little pea-brain busy. The boys' school starts in the morning and mine starts a week from tomorrow. So, look for more rambling updates soon. Meanwhile, thanks for the comments, support, and kind words. They really mean a lot to me. For those of you who comment, feel free to post links to your blog(s), too. I'd love to take a peek!

One more finish for 2007

I got in one more finish for 2007 -- just a small snowman. It was from a Bent Creek Zippie kit. I got the frame stained yesterday and hope to get it framed tonight or tomorrow.

December 31st found me frantically ordering a bunch of stash I don't really need but just HAD to have. Now that it's 2008, I'm officially on the 10/25/50 Challenge wagon. *full body shudder*

Here's my 10/25/50 Challenge plan:
1. No ordering of any new stash unless it's something needed to complete a project I already have (like threads, etc.), or unless it's a deal I can't pass up (like an incredible price or limited edition type of thing).
2. Complete as many projects as I can instead of buying new stash. I don't know yet if I'm going for 10, 25, or 50. We'll just see how long I stay on the wagon and how much I get done. The main goal is to buy less and stitch more.
3. Try to stay on the wagon for six months. A year would be better but 12 months of no stash buying??? Are you kidding me?!?!?
4. Afghan squares count as one finish. Projects that are difficult to finish (like a framing job that makes one want to scream and hurl the entire project across the room, difficult ornament finishing, etc.) may be counted as two finishes.

That's basically it for my 10/25/50 Challenge guidelines. You can follow my progress at the top of my blog. It may be slow going but I'll get some finishes posted up there eventually. ;-)

Over the past few days, not only was I able to complete the Bent Creek Zippie Snowman, but I also got some goooooooood stitching time in. YAY!!! I had what I call "Project ADD", which is where I basically hop from project to project. Got a couple of hours in on my Mill Hill kit, got the second part done on the "Mother's Wisdom" project (over one - ack!), and got quite a few hours in on my beloved afghan. Ahhhhhhhh, that felt good! Still no school for about a week and a half, so we'll see how much damage I can do between now and then. *mwah hahahahaha*

Hope everyone's New Year is starting off great. I love reading your comments! Thanks for reading and posting. :-)