I'm back! With many pictures!

Okay finally got my internet back up. A month seems like forever when I'm not blogging, I missed you guys and your blogs so much! Thanks for the support.

Okay so now for pictures, here are my non stitchy ones first:

There was a Pumpkin Festival mid October and so the girls and I went together, my DH felt he had to go to Graff instead of joining us. what a bum!

The girls had to get their faces painted. The little one is a butterfly and the older one is painted like a princess. :)

Some playing in the Hay with my friend Ruby and her son Carson

Some jumping balloon action, LOL it was this huge castle and to the right or her left is a huge snake, she flipped once she saw its head.

Here's my oldest just chillin after finishing her turn in the jumping balloon. :P

And here they are in their Halloween costumes last night. I took both girls trick or treating while my DH set up his insurance and went to the German store off post. He missed the whole thing so I'm am not happy with him to say the least. He even refused to help with the pumpkin carving! Maybe he hates Halloween?

My oldest was a Halloween Princess and my youngest was a Belly Dancer And here is our very first pumpkin too. :) Okay I am going to make a new post for the stitchy stuff since blogger is being stubborn.

Still not online yet but wanted to jump in and post quickly while I have internet access. I am working on the Miribilia Halloween fairy and I am taking pictures so I can post them up later and I am working on round 3 fair and square exchange for Peg. I didn't realize the deadline was so close. Its on November 2nd, yikes! Okay well I need to get stitiching so I can mail on time. I should be back up within another month. I am so sorry I am offline and not getting to blog as much, too many problems here and all.

Happy stitching and Happy Halloween everyone!

An Apology

I am so sorry for being gone so long. We have been having trouble with our phone company and the bill and we have been fighting with them over it. Anyway they turned us off which also means no more internet. Though things should be fixed and back up and running by Halloween. I know its a long time and I will try my best to make it up to the library to post every so often, though there won't be any pictures until my home internet is back up. I have been stitching though. Lets see I finished crocheting my older DD's sweater and she loves it so much she wears it to school everyday, I finished it the day before school started. I then started on a pretty blanket that seems to be preogressing slowly and now it will be even slower since my youngest DD took off with my hook and its now lost in the house. I got my older sisters bday present out to her though I haven't heard anything from her about it. And I have been cross stitching on my Chinese Goddess of Mercy, which is coming along great. No small projects though I need to start working on those xmas gifts. How has everyone else been? I have missed out on everyones blogs and don't even have the time to read any today as my older DD has an appointment off base with her German Dr. Its just a check up though so nothing to worry about.

Some very late pictures & F&S Exchange

First I want to say I'm so sorry Carol and Cheryl for posting these pictures so late. For the past 5 days I have had two little ones throwing up and very cranky. More cranky than usual since their daddy and his entire unit are on total lock down until further notice since Tuesday.

I received the postcard from Cheryl from our exchange. I thought it was pretty cool so I wanted to show it to you all, its all the way from Scotland:

And then I also received this beautiful birthday gift from Carol. A cute little fob, the charm says laugh which I definitly could use more of. Thank you so much Carol!

I also received my squares from Ulla for the F&S exchange so here is what she sent me:

She still hasn't received her blocks so you will have to wait to see what mine looked like that I sent to her.

And lastly here is what I have gotten done so far on the first sweater. The front and back and one sleeve which are all attached so far and what you see attached to the hook is what I have done on the second sleeve.

Bday gift from Dawn And Selina And some Crocheting

Sorry its taking me so long to post this. I received Dawns wonderful gift on Wednesday. Unfortunately thats also the day our computer completely crashed. It said windows was no longer there and so we had to completely re install windows and am now working on re installing everything else. Dh finally reinstalled the camera software last night but I was too tired to post anything. Okay enough yapping heres her wonderful gift:

The orange and brown thing is a bobbin potholder, its so cute! I want another, lol. And do you see the adorable needleminder? It has my initials on it and its my favorite color, purple! And she included 2 adorable kits. And she cross stitched that cute Happy birthday fold. Thank you Dawn!

I also received a generous gift certificate from Selina to linabear and so I ordered three biscournu patterns:

Autumn Flowers

Bellflowers

Shared Love

Thanks again Selina!

And in the meantime my cross stitching has slowed a bit. I'm not working on anything though it all nags at me to stitch something. Instead I have been crocheting these sweaters for my girls in Red Hearts Plum pudding. I know its still summertime. But I plan to give the sweaters to my DD's in November for their birthdays. One is on the 14th and the other is the 24th on Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure how long they were going to take so I wanted to start now. Their going pretty fast though. I started on Destiny's first and I already have the front and back done and am working on sleeve #1. Heres a preview from a few nights ago. I'll try and take another picture tonight. And Hopefully I will have some stitching to show you too soon since I have a charity square due Oct 1st and I haven't even started it yet! Yikes!

Heres a close up of the squares. The front and back are made entirally of little 2 inch squares. I had to make something like 72 squares for Destinys sweater. And heres what pattern I am doing so you know what they will look like when finished:



This is from Hooked on Crochet magazine August 2005 in case anyone wanted to know.

Exchanges

Just posting that yesterday afternoon I mailed out my monochromatic colour exchange and also my squares for Ulla for the F&S Exchange. I'll post pictures of both once they are received.

Birthday gifts, exchanges and a new finish!

First of all I have to say a HUGE thanks to Jenna and Michelle.

Yesterday I received a gift certificate from Michelle for Down Sunshine Lane. I was thrilled and heres what I got:

Romance In Bloom by dragonfly stitchersAnd San Man's Winter square. I also bought some beads and some Krienik floss and some beading needles since mine are too big for the beads I have. Again Thanks a ton Michelle! Its okay that you didn''t get a chance to send something stitchy. :)

And Jenna had my name for the xmas/bday club. She heard I really wasn't doing much of anything for my bday so she sent me 2 packages full of wonderful gifts:

Notice anything? Look at what she stitched. That's Right! Its part of the set I ordered last night! LOL She made a sachet, scissor fob with scissors, Altoid tin made up beautifully, and a biscournu. The scissor fob she stitched over one on some very tiny count, maybe 32 or higher. She also included 3 hand towels to stitch on, 4 fat quarters, some awesome cross stitch fabrics from silkweaver, some french cards with a matching journal. And a bunch of floss, which Jenna I can tell I didn't have. Theres some DMC including a Precious Metal effects, The Gentle Art threads a couple of carries creations, and some six strand sweets. I feel so spoiled these last two days. THANK YOU SO MUCH JENNA!!!!

And now onto stitchy finishes, I completed the second and final picture for my older sisters bday, now thy both needed washing, ironing and framing which I will get done this week.

Sorry for the dark picture. This fabric really is much lighter.

Brittercup Designs

Kitty with Mouse

16 Count Mint Aida

5 x 7 Inches

Also since my partner for the May Flowers Exchange flopped on me and didn't send, Judith who was running the exchange was oh so sweet as to send me a replacement, which I recieved the other day. Its just beautiful and I plan to fill it with lavender.

Thank you Judith!

HAPPY BDAY TO ME!!!!!!

Here is the second one I have decided to do for my older sisters bday. Though I haven't really gotten much done of it. I had migraines for nearly 3 days straight. No meds were working for me. So here is the little bit I of what I accomplished last night, before I got to talking to my lil sister on the phone till 430 am

As for my bday so far it hasn't been much of anything. Carol and Dawn both emailed saying they have sent me something. What sweethearts! I'm also in the bday/xmas club thing Becky started but I guess my partner is late sending out, though no email, so I guess I will email Becky so she can email my partner and see whats going on. Though the mail has been slow getting here lately so it could just be that. My family is also sending me gifts but I won't gt them for another month since thats about when they'll remember to mail them out. DH is still asleep, he got off work at 0600 so he'll be up in another hour or so.

Well, I guess I am just going to relax on the couch and stitch the hours away. Chores can wait for tomorrow. :P

Finish!

Kitty with frog

Brittercup Designs

16 count Mint Aida

DMC Floss

5x7 inches

Well, this was a quick finish. It only took me a little bit of last night and today. It was so much fun, I think I will do another for her too. This will fit into a 5 inches x 7 inches frame. I also completed the finishing for my monchromatic exchange but don't want to post pictures since I don't know if my partner reads this so as soon as she receives it I'll post piccies!

Britty Kitties

Okay so I have finished the stitching on my monochromatic exchange. I just got into this groove last night and kept going till I was done. So tonight I will do the finishing and package it up. And since my older sisters bday is September 11th and she loves cats I decided to make my next project her bday gift. Its the top one in the frame:

Okay so I have ben working on my monochromatic exchange, but can't really show it to you yet. The mailout date is August 15th and I have ben dragging on this one. Not that i dont like it, I just feel like I am going through a 'I don't feel like stitching' thing.

And even more disappointing. My birthday is coming up on the 12th of this month and I doubt that the family and I will get to do anything at all for it. We have hit a snag in the money for at least the remainder of the year. I won't be participating in anymore exchanges until our finances are better and that also means no more stash buying for me either.....

The DH is now on 12 hour night shifts and comes home at 0600 and sleeps half the day and is useless the rest of the day till he goes to work. So I now have his extra duties it seems like. I still have PIF gifts to mail out too but it seems like they will be waiting a bit longer to go out. So since I have no real progress pictures to show you of anything I will leave you with this picture of Ruby. I found her this way when i woke up in the morning a few days ago. This is our bathroom.

Stitching and Castles

Well here is my Chinese Goddess of Mercy so far, I was stopped because my frame fell apart. so the DH took a day before he got around to fixing it for me. So in the meantime I worked on some PIF gifts and won about 16 new packages of Mill Hill beads on ebay for $20.00 USD. I crocheted this little needlebook too yesterday afternoon:

And here's it opened up:

And now for some fun pictures. This past Saturday we took a bus for 5 hours to visit two of the most famous castles in Germany, Hohenschwangau and Neushwanstein. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside though but they were awesome and we all definitly got more excercise than we had bargained for. It was a 20 minute walk one direction to one of the castles and then 45 minutes to the other castle in the opposite direction, and we were rushing all the way just to make our tour times.

This one is the princess castle but from the backside as thats where the trail was to go up it. We didn't have time to go around to the front and take pictures. We had a five hour drive back and a bunch of people waiting on us so we plan to go back on our own next time, it should only take about 3 hours to drive there the way my DH drives plus we have a GPS so we won't get lost like the bus driver did.

Neuschwanstein Castle
Southwest Bavaria, Germany Built: Construction began in 1869 by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. Pop culture connection: The design pays homage to the operas of Richard Wagner. It served as an influence for Cinderella's castle in Disney's Magical Kingdom, and Oroduran Castle in the 8th Pokémon Movie. Highlights: Its fantastical nature isn't owed to an architect, but to theatrical set designer Christian Jank. It features a room made to look like a cavern, and a secret flushing toilet in the master bedroom.

Trips and surprises!

I havdn't realized it has been that long since my last post. So Sorry everyone! Just working on some PIF gifts and still thinking about what I am going to stitch for my monochromatic exchange.

This past Saturday I went on this very long one day trip to Weinfurtner Das Glasdorf, its a glass making place near the Czech border. I had high hopes for it since we were suppose to get to see them making the glass. It was only suppose to be a three hour drive there and it turned out to be four hours since the driver got lost. We spent hours there looking around but never saw anyone actually making anything. What a dissapointment! The landscape was pretty though. It was a four hour drive home too. I went with a group of people and the DH stayed home with the girls.

Here's as you walk into the place.

This is an actual fountain with running water down the sides.

And upon my arrival Saturday night, the bus got back on base at 930 pm. My DH and DD's gladly welcome me back and I explain to him while we were late. Turns out the guy at the CAC place that coordinates the trips had no clue there was a trip or even how to get in touch with the driver so my DH was worried the entire time we were late. We were suppose to be back at 8 pm. Anyway my DD's tell me there is a surprise for me at home so what do I see when I walk into the door, this darling 5 month old little kitten, so everyone meet Ruby:
Please ignore the stack of sirty dishes. As you can see my DH doesn't do dishes so after being gone for 14 hours, I had a dirty kitchen to clean. Anyway, Ruby has taken to the kids very well, she plays chase with them and even punces on them like there just huge kittens, lol.
I'll try and post a stitchy update tomorrow. :)

My name is Dorky Dippin Dunkin

can't wait to hear what your new name is. This just takes a minute and will make you laugh. MY NEW NAME IS IN THE SUBJECT.....DON'T LAUGH UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOUR NEW NAME IS ..
We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute. Please don't be a bore and ruin it. We all want to know what your new name is! Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. If we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.. Here is your dose of humor...
A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, comment here. And don't go all adult - a senior manager is now known far and wide as Dorky Gizzardsniffer!
The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Under pants And the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names... So:

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:
a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny. And remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day. Put more laughter in you life!

Exchange piccies

Today my squares cam in the mail from the F&S exchange. Here's what Tanya made and sent to me along with some scaps of fabric, thanks Tanya I love them:

Also my bookmark exchange came in from the Robins Nest. Catherine also sent me a pattern and the charms that go with it. The bookmark is designed by teresa Wetzler:

And heres another WIP pic of my chinese goddess, almost done with this page. Thank you everyone for all the kind comments on her, its rally helped keep me working on this moon.And one last picture. Its Destiny's school photo. Kiley is in it because the lady was so nice enough to put her in it. They normally don't do that kind of thing and I wasn't allowed to tell any of the other parents.

Chinese Goddess WIP

Okay so seeing everyones huge projects coming to life made me think of the BAP I have sitting in the office that I haven't touched in months. Why? Because that moon is huge and I am still on the first half and doing never ending DMC 745. I've used up two skeins already and still going if that gives you some idea of its largness. Anyway almost done with the second page of the 20 page pattern, though two of the top pages are completely empty. Anyway I got about 22 rows completed yesterday and I hope to get this page completed today.

And then I had to share this photo I snapped last night. This was Kileys way of not going to bed. She has daddy wrapped around her little pinky.

2nd and 3rd PIF gifts

Well, I completed my second PIF gift and made some headway on the third, which I will complete today.

And here is the current WIP to be completed today It will be a cupcake pincushion, It still needs decorations and its wrapper.

EDIT: later on today:

I finished the pincushion cupcake so be honest everyone. :)

And also it has been brought to my attention that I didn't have a link to my wishlist so now it is up there in the sidebar below my completed projects link.

Crochet Hat

Well, this is what I have been working on sicne yesterday. Its the beginnings of this cute hat pattern I found in on of my crochet books. The background you see is my diningroom chairs. My DH is rearranging everything in our house so now our house lookslike we are moving in still after 2 years or almost 2 years of being here. We got our names and their fav colors for the monochromatic colors exchange so now I have to think up what I am going to make for it. This will be fmore fun though since of their fav colors is also mine.

Baby Blanket

Well, here is my progress so far, but I ran out of red so it looks a little lopsided right now. But once its completed and then blocked it should be fine. I have the yarn on order so when it gets here I can continue it, so for the meantime its getting put away and I am going to get working on those PIF gifts again. I'm so behind on them, its driving me crazy. And since I feel like crocheting the next PIF gift is going to be crocheted. =)