Can it be?

I'm really stitching??

Lady of the Flag... 8 hours this week so far, all arm. I can't even remember the last time I worked on her. Looks like my last picture upload was in July of last year, though..

I was let go from my job of 7 years a week and a half ago. I knew it was coming, even knew what day it would be, but it still hurt when it happened. Mostly because I hadn't yet been able to get hired somewhere else.

They did give me some severance payment and I'm listed with several different placement agencies and have a couple good possibilities at the moment. So I'm hoping that I'll be back at a desk soon.

In the meantime, I'm haunting CareerBuilder for jobs that aren't through a staffing agency, puttering around at home, stitching, and spending time with friends. If only I didn't have to start worrying about money soon.

- posted @ Tue, Oct 21,2008 - 19:56:05     | | Permalink

 
Wahooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I fully admit, I'm a fair weather fan...... but......

THE CUBS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!!

It's been a hundred years since our last World Series title and somewhere around 60 since our last WS appearance. And the last time we made it to the post-season in consecutive years, we took it all the way and brought home a big shiny trophy. Can we finally break the curse????

- posted @ Sat, Sep 20,2008 - 17:19:07     | | Permalink

 
Huh? whut?

copyright Planet Karen

So... um...yeah... hi?

Life's been a little scrambly lately and I've been kind of distant from pretty much everything. Until just recently. No, life hasn't suddenly gotten easier. I just realized how focused I've become on certain things to the detriment of others.

Short summary... looking for a new job, dating, fighting with the ex, running my Pogo league, dating, worrying about money, reading.

I need better balance.

- posted @ Wed, Aug 27,2008 - 21:03:28     | | Permalink

 
Checking in...

A group of us from The Wagon got together today yesterday (didn't realize it's after midnight!) at Susan's place on the south side of Chicago for a stitching day. I brought the kids (although I think the teenager would have preferred to stay home) and Chrissie. Oh yeah, and some stash in search of new homes LOL.

With the exception of beads and Wisper, Chrissie's dress is complete! I'm saving the Wisper for the end, even after the beads, and I just haven't bothered to pull beads out of stash. Besides, it's easiest to do those in the office kitchen where I don't have to worry about other stuff on the table in front of me (I'm absolutely TERRIBLE about keeping my desk clean enough!) I also did her boots and am now on wings.

It was awesome seeing the gang and getting out for the day. I wish I could host a day but I know that won't happen while we live here. If nothing else, there's not enough parking.

On the health front... aside from one very inconvenient side effect, I'm doing really well post-op. At the last visit (in May) the doctor gave me Questram to help deal with that one. It apparently binds the excess bile in your system and helps to lower your cholesterol at the same time. Cholesterol is not an immediate concern for me but there is a family history, so may as well be proactive, right? Anyway... Nasty vile horrible stuff. It's a powder that you mix into a non-carbonated liquid to drink. Vaguely orange tasting, gritty as sand, and makes me gag. I've been taking an over the counter fiber supplement in capsule form instead, which is doing a decent job of counteracting the particular side effect but of course doing nothing for the real cause of that effect. A friend just recommended buying high-pulp orange juice and mixing it with that in hopes that the pulp will help to disguise the grit. It's worth a shot, I guess. If not, maybe the next step is smoothies. Of course, if the fiber tabs are enough, I suppose I don't really need the Questram, right?

- posted @ Sun, Jun 22,2008 - 00:02:20     | | Permalink

 
Oh, gee, is it that time already?

Yeah, I guess May is almost over.

The good news is I have been stitching. Not as much as I'd like, but that's the case no matter what's going on. Even when I was in the hospital and the only thing stopping me was a need for morphine.

Other good news is that my Pogo league is doing well. We still don't have as many players as I'd like, but I know that will come. I've almost got my host-in-training ready to fly on her own, which will give us the chance to have mid-day and early evening tournaments.

The not-so-good news is that I have more meds to take after my recent follow-up with the internist. Some will either phase out entirely or reduce drastically as my body adjusts. Others will depend on how my body adjusts.

ANYWAY...

My goal for June is to stitch every day. Even if it's only for 15 minutes. The biggest obstacle is actually getting started each time. But of course I know I'm not alone there.

- posted @ Sat, May 31,2008 - 23:03:38     | | Permalink

 
DMC

As Whiz said, don't panic... I received the following email today from DMC. (I signed up for their mentor program a while ago):

In recent days, there has been a significant amount of information in the form of press releases, media reports, etc. regarding financial difficulties and operational restructuring plans at the DMC corporate offices in France. Those activities and court filings within the legal system in France are directed towards seeking a formal resolution for two divisions within the DMC Corporation (Sportswear fabric and a small chain of retail stores found only in France) that are not related to the embroidery thread and craft activities, which remain the core business of the corporation. In addition, the U.S. division of DMC operates as a separate legal and financial entity with its own financing, receivables, payables, etc, and as such, is not included in any legal filing or petitions to the courts that may occur in France. We are financially secure and fully prepared to conduct business as usual here in the U.S. DMC has been manufacturing needlework threads for 262 years and we remain committed to providing stitchers with the highest quality embroidery floss, specialty threads, needlework fabrics and other supplies they need to continue to enjoy the wonderful art of needlework. We look forward to continuing to serve all of our customers and loyal users of DMC products into the future.
Joseph D. McCabe
President/CEO
DMC, Inc.

- posted @ Wed, Apr 30,2008 - 14:33:45     | | Permalink

 
She lives!

I finished ripping out all the stitching which colors I didn't like and today finally was able to put new stuff back in. Yay me.

Even without the mega-frog, I don't think I'd have been doing a lot of stitching the last month anyway. I've spent the last 30 days setting up and managing a new gaming league that plays in Pogo's rooms. I'd been hosting for another league for most of the last year, but some friends and I decided to split off and make our own. It's slow starting (especially since we decided that we would not actively approach anyone that was a member of the source league) but fun. We really do need more players, though.

So there was functionally NO stitching done in April, which is good cause there weren't any goals either LOL.

Not going to set goals for May beyond "stitch something, anything". I think I can manage that one? :D

- posted @ Wed, Apr 30,2008 - 00:18:23     | | Permalink

 
NOW where's my frog repellent?

Chrissie the Christmas Elf does NOT like me..... I've done a TON of frogging, I'm very unhappy with the reds chosen by Nora - or else by the dye lots I ended up with, I don't know which is to blame.

So far I've changed CC Cupid to WDW Turkish Red. I'm also going to swap out the CC Pink Champagne, but I haven't decided what I'm gonig to use instead.

Cupid was TOO dark and almost indistinguishable from Bing Cherry, despite being a lovely bright to blood red on the card. Turkish is closer to what I wanted and is definitely visible against the Bing. And then the Pink Champagne is just like OMG wrong to my eyes, even without changing the Cupid out.

So no status pics yet because it doesn't feel like there's much status to report. Unfortunately, I probably could have been done by now if I wasn't so dissatisfied with the colors....

- posted @ Tue, Mar 25,2008 - 23:16:34     | | Permalink