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!