Easter PIF

Ok, it's time for a PIF.  My friend Carol hosted one on her blog and I was one of the lucky recipients. So, here are the rules:

Here are the rules:

1. I'll send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.

2. Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.

3. The items must be new and not used.

4. If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.This PIF is very simple and easy to do I hope you will join me.

I've decided to do this for Easter, so you have until April 15th (Tax Day) to sign up.  I will pick 3 winners, so if you want to participate, leave me a comment telling me so.  Good luck!

Catching up

I have been so busy trying to stay afloat in my two classes this semester that I haven't had much time for anything else!  However here's to catching you up on what I have gotten accomplished.

First, I started a new art class last Tuesday.  It's taught by the same woman that teaches the other class.  For the two classes, I pay $25 a month, get two nights of practice, and two gifts that I've painted myself.  Not too shabby!  It's also cheaper than psychotherapy!  This month, we painted wildflowers.  First, we practice on waxed paper.  Then we paint on art paper.  Finally, we painted on a clay pot.  Here's the results of my hard work.

Sorry, it's not a very good picture.  That was the best of the bunch!  I'm going to plant a flower in it, bake some yummy treat and give them to some friends of ours for Easter.

I finished stitching on the model for Flowers-2-Flowers and sent it back to them.  As soon as they give me permission, I'll post a pic.  Now, I'm stitching on a denim shirt for our Hoosier Stitchers retreat in two weeks and a model for Carla Rizzie.  I HATE WASTE CANVAS!!!!  I think I'd rather do french knots!  Carla's model is really coming along nicely, it's all in black and red on white jobelan.  I can't wait to finish it!

I finished "Queen of Babble in the Big City" by Meg Cabot.  It was a cute, light read.  Or listen in my case.  Now I'm listening to "The Master Quilter" by Jennifer Chiaverini.  I love this series!

I spent my gift card for Kohl's.  On Friday last week, I went to the Kohl's in Homewood and found the meat grinder attachment that goes to my Kitchen Aid mixer.  I've been wanting one for quite awhile so I snatched it up.  That left me $57.  On Saturday, we left Mariah at Lifetime Fitness for Parent's Night Out.  For $15, you can leave your kids from 6 to 10pm for pizza, juice, swimming, rock wall climbing, and various other activities.  Rich & I went to Qdoba for dinner.  If you've never been there and you like real Mexican food - GO!!  We had street tacos - mini tacos, 3 beef and 3 pork, that came with 2 helpings of Adobe BBQ pinto beans and 2 drinks and the grand total was $12.  And they were awesome!  After dinner, we went to Kohl's in Orland Park.  I wandered around picking up all kinds of things, but being practical and putting them back down.  I looked at new clothes for myself and for Mariah - Kohl's clothes are soooo expensive though. I looked at things we had been wanting for the house, nothing really yelled at me.  Until we rounded a corner upstairs.  Sitting on a table in the middle of the aisle was a display of The Sharper Image's Kobo ereader.  Normally, they are $250.  These were marked down to $59!  Besides the $57 on my GC, I also had a $10 coupon to use.  So, I took a look, asked a bunch of questions (which of course none of the teeny bobber sales clerks could answer.  One even asked me 'What's a Kindle?' when I asked her if the Kindle ebooks were compatible.), and finally took the plunge.  My grand total was $54 so I still have $3 left on my GC!  I have been dying for an ereader.  My textbooks can be downloaded to an ereader so I won't have to carry my backpack around.  It slips into the pocket of my purse so those times where I have to sit and wait, but don't want to pull out my stitching, I can pull out my ereader!

I got a PIF from my friend Carol the other day.  She had hosted one on her blog and pulled my name.  She kitted up her favorite LK chart for me - Housework Never Killed Anyone.  She sent me a lovely piece of 32 ct antique white Jobelan, all the WDW threads and Mill Hill beads for it and a pretty nail file all inside a mesh zipper bag.  Thank you so much, Carol! 

Sometime within the next month, I will be sending out a PIF to a lucky follower here.  Stay tuned for the details.   

Well, that's it for now.  How was your week?

Wonderful Day!

Yesterday was a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!  First, yesterday was my last day at Moraine Valley Community College.  Mariah is on spring break next week and it just isn't practical to take my $135 paycheck and put $60 in the gas tank & pay $50 for a babysitter so I can drive an hour & a half to go to work 2 days.  So, I'm taking next week off and then Office Team is going to find me something closer after that.  I'm still hoping to get hired at Family Video, but it's not looking like I will.  Anyway, just as I was getting ready to leave work yesterday, everyone came out and gave me a beautiful bouquet of tulips, a calculator from MVCC, a pen, a $100 Kohl's gift card and a card that everyone wrote in.   I was blown away.  They made me cry!  I can't imagine what it would have been like if I had been an actual employee instead of just a temp.  I really liked working there, it was just too far.

Then I came home and went to the library for my one-stroke painting class.  Last night we made shamrocks.  I like shamrocks.  They were lots of fun!  We made a picture and then painted a shamrock on top of a tin can. 

As far as stitching goes, I've almost got the model for Flowers-2-Flowers done.  I should be able to mail it back by Monday.  Then I need to stitch my shirt for the Hoosiers Stitchers retreat next month.  Then I have 1 more model to stitch and back to my Crazy 15 project SAL! 

I finished listening to Janet Evanovich's 'Sizzling Sixteen'.  Now I'm listening to 'The Queen of Babble in the Big City'.  It's pretty good!  I gave up on the Murder Room.  I just couldn't get into it.  I'm reading 'Aunt Dimity Digs In' instead. 

So, how was everyone else's St. Patrick's day?

RR finished!

I finished my piece for Arlette's RR.  It will be in the mail on Monday.  I'm enjoying this RR and al the different piece that everyone has chosen.  My piece is the one in the bottom right.  Now I'm working on a model piece for a new designer "Flowers 2 Flowers". 

I started my new classes this week.  Boy, are they rough!  I had 200 (yes, I said 200!) pages of text and problems in Algebra, as well as 2 discussion questions to answer and reply to every day.  Then I had to take a test.  My World Cultures class was much easier.  I had to write 2 papers, not a big deal.  So I thought!  I got the grade back on the first paper.  While the instructor gave me 30 out of 30 points for it, she said that in the future I should use our text as the main source, that I obviously hadn't gotten it yet, and use APA format for citations and references.  Now, first, the only other source I used besides our text was Webster's Dictionary.  The textbook was quoted and referenced in my paper.  Second, she gave us a template that she wanted us to use for our papers.  I downloaded the template and saved it to my computer, then typed the paper directly into the template.  For my references, I used the Center for Writing Excellence that is on the left of our screens when we sign into the classroom.  They have an APA reference & citation generator so that you know you're doing it right.  You plug in the information and they format.  I responded to her critique and gave her all this information.  I asked her if she could show me the proper way to do it (since obviously the way I've been doing it for the last 2 years is not acceptable).  Her response is that Webster's Dictionary is not appropriate to use in our class because it is too simplistic (one of the requirements for the paper was the definition of 'art' and it was not in our textbook).  Her response to the APA portion was this:

     "And in regards to the APA, I was just trying to give you a heads up that you are missing some of the formatting intricacies. Take a look at the templates and try to identify how your paper looks different from the template." 

I have no clue.  I typed the paper directly into her template so they look exactly alike.  I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing.  If she starts marking my papers down for not following the correct format, I'll have to push harder as to specifics.

Mariah's 1st swimming lesson went very well yesterday.  There are 2 other little girls in her class.  For the first time ever, she actually played in the water without clinging to someone!  I was so excited!  She cried & cried before the lesson because she didn't want to do it.  Now she wants Saturday to hurry up and get here so that she can go again!  A funny note, I bought her a new swimsuit which happens to be a bikini.  It's really cute on her.  I was helping her put the top on yesterday and she said that it looks just like a bra, but without the bumps! 

I finished "Quilter's Legacy" on Friday.  Now I'm listening to 'Sizzling Sixteen' by Janet Evanovich.  I love Stephanie Plum!!  Granny kills me.  And Ranger, well, we'll just leave him in our imaginations. . . mmmmmmmm. :)

Well, that's my week.  How was yours?