May IHSW

I didn't forget this month!! LOL!!! I had every intention of posting earlier today but two back-to-back closings had me running around like a maniac after lunch and I'm finally settling down for the day.

Guess what? I finally put needle to fabric and started Lily of the Valley by Mirabilia. There's not much to see as yet, other than her legs, but I'm hoping to have more done after the weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, I'm tied up most of Saturday judging a piano competition. Sunday will see us on a date with the new Star Trek movie, whoot whoot! I'll find some time to hermit and stitch with you guys though.

How about you? Planning a hermitty weekend or crazy one?

Friday Random(ness) Afternoon Question

Haven't done one of these in a while. :)

I've been chiseling through my reading list the last few days and have been reading that life has been hectic for us all. I had planned on posting some cute pictures from a dear friend. She had sent these to me after one of my busier days, and this seems to the the perfect occasion!

Have you ever been this tired?

Here's wishing us all a very restful weekend!! :)

A Post-.. or is it Pre-IHSW... Post?

I just checked the calendar and guess what? Another IHSW is coming up on us next week! This means that not only did I not stitch for April's IHSW, I haven't posted in three weeks!! Yech! I've thought about it and even had a post formulated in my head with cute pictures that a friend sent me, but nothing saw fruition.

I've been under the weather for the last few days and have used the opportunity to catch up on emails and some blog reading.

On my end, this is what's been going on, in a nutshell...

April's IHSW was a total wash! I didn't put one single stitch in. It was a horrendously busy week with work and all my best stitching intentions went out the window when we went shopping instead. At least 'shopping' starts with an "s." LOL!!

It started with me being too lazy to make lunch and suggested hopping across the street for a lettuce wrap at P.F. Chang's. Well, after lunch, I thought, why not stop at the Coach Outlet? After all, it was practically around the corner! My old bag is starting to fray and I needed a new one with a taller phone pocket. In we went and what do you know?? 50% off bags and 60% off clearance!! Well, really, how's a girl supposed to resist that kind of a sale and walked out with these beauties.

We live across the street from one of the biggest outlet malls in the country but the last time we stopped in was probably two years ago. Since we were there anyway... I mean, walking is good exercise, right?LOL!!

Sunday ended up being a movie day. I can't remember what we watched, but they were really good movies. ;)

Remember when I mentioned I needed a bag with a longer phone pocket? Well, that's cos I finally decided to put my 8 year old cell phone to rest and get an iPhone! With the notary signing job, I needed to be able to access documents on the road. I also needed a laptop and MacBook Air, here I came!!! :D I do love my tech toys. ;)

I did stretch out Lady A, but haven't gotten her framed yet. She's up on the bedroom wall though. I'm thinking of just a simple black frame for her. One of these days, we'll hop in to Michael's and see what we find. In the meantime, this is what she looks like on the wall. What do you guys think?

I managed to put a few stitches into a new pixie. I've started stitching Lily of the Valley for a dear friend, although, you might have to strain to see the stitches in here... LOL!

Whoah, this turned out to be a long post!! Apologies for rambling on! Till next time, lots of hugs from me to you. :D

April IHSW

YIKES!!!!! I'm so sorry, Hermitters, I'm way late this month with the IHSW sign-up. I didn't realize till 1am this morning that we're on the 3rd week of April.

My new job as a Notary Signing Agent has kept me really busy, and while that is wonderful, I'm hoping that as I get more used to it, it'll settle down some.

I haven't put in a single stitch since Lady A was finished and some stitches are going to happen this weekend, by hook or by crook!! Are you joining me? :D

Ducky Update!!

"They hatched!!!"

That was the message hubby sent me while I was getting paperwork ready for a mortgage closing. Of course, I had to stop everything and tell the ladies at the office! :D

Everyone at hubby's office building has been waiting on pins and needles for this day. They were starting to worry that the eggs were dead and if mama duck was going to sit and incubate till her heart broke. :(

Then, they worried about how the ducklings would fare if they fell from the ashtray since it's about three feet tall. So, someone brought a blanket and surrounded the base of the ashtray with it. You can see a bit of it on the bottom right of the picture.

I didn't get to see the wee ducklings till early evening and, oh my!, a day old and already too cute for words!! There are still a few eggs that are unhatched, so fingers crossed that they'll peck their way out in the next day or so.

The pic is kinda fuzzy as hubby didn't want to disturb them too much, but bless his soul, he took a vid for us too!! :D

Cost Cutting

Hi my dears!! Thought I'd do a a quick 'life' update. I wanted to thank all of you once again for your support and encouragement over the last few months. Things are continuing smoothly on the Notary Signing Agent front. We're very busy and are constantly adding new signing agents. Any of you in the US happen to be notaries and want to make more money on the side? :D

Would you be interested to see if I can help save you some money on your monthly utility or telecommunication bills? CLICK HERE for more information. I would love to have you as my customers! :D

The best thing is, ACN is available in 23 countries worldwide, so CHECK IT OUT and see if you can save. After all, more money saved, means more money for stash!! :D

Teaching is going well. The kiddies are adorable as always. Speaking of which, I'm off to go do that.

Stay tuned for some pictures tomorrow... not sure of what yet. LOL!!!

Don't forget to CLICKY-CLICK HERE to see if you can save some money!!! :D

Lady Alexandra - Reimagined

*drumroll* Presenting...

... Lady Alexandra!! (or as I loving call her Rady Arex. AHAHAHAHAHA!!!)The last stitch went in at about 4pm EST yesterday and I am so pleased with how she turned out! :D

The Particulars:
Lady Alexandra by Mirabilia
Color conversion by Vanessa M.
Facial rechart by Heidi B.

Fabric: Merfolk's Morn, 32ct hand-dyed  belfast by SMF
(Gifted by Brenda D.)

Stitched 2 over 2

Floss: DMC, Kreinik

Beads: Mill Hill, Pearls

Started: December 7th, 2012

Finished: March 29th, 2013

I changed her earrings, ring, and tiara to pearls to match her necklace. I, for one, would never be dressed to the nines and have non-matching jewelry. ;) The chopsticks in her hair are stitched with kreinik.

The beads on the 'tendrils' of her dress were changed from the original blue to a light lilac.

Apart from the above changes, all the beads were as charted. I love how the purples of the beads and floss blend and compliment each other so perfectly. I'm such a tone-on-tone girl. :)

I shall leave you with more close-up pics, and a shot up her skirt. ;)