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i really need to move back to Dallas...love it here SO much more than TN!!!

Realization

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Just realized my aunt has everything I want:

-a divorce
- a cozy, adorable & beautifully decorated home
- a good job
- lives alone with her 17yo son

-it's like I'm seeing my OWN future being played out before my eyes!

Texas...here we come!!

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~E and I are headed to Texas today!!!

~Wish me luck as this will be his first flight and to say I'm nervous would be an extreme understatement.

~I fear that all that complaining about kids on airplanes when I was single may backfire on me now and I may become *THAT* mom with the noisy child. Oh I sure hope not. Thankfully it's only about a 2 hour flight.

~I've downloaded a few Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes to my iTouch for him and I'm banking on them to help us through the trip. If not, there's always the alcoholic drinks on board, right? For me AND him. Kidding!! Or not.

~This is my first trip back to TX since March 2007.

~I'm SUPER excited to finally be meeting a long time fellow blogger & fantastic photographer....Miss Andie!!! Woohoo!! We are going to take lots of pictures (yay!) & eat some good food (double yay!)...maybe even some frozen yogurt...I heard she likes it! So do I!!

~On Sunday, the 27th, E and I will be having lunch with 2 gals i used to work with way back in 1997!!! A LONG TIME AGO!! I cannot wait to catch up with both of them.

~I also hope to visit with a scrapbooking friend, although we won't scrapbook, it will be nice to catch up and she can meet E too.

~There are so many things I want to do on this quick trip...to name a few...Ikea, Stonebriar Mall (love the atmosphere & they have a merry-go-round), Yummy Restaurants...too many to name.

some favorites...

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Once again, courtesy of Tumbler...

i'm quickly becoming obsessed with vintage spools of thread. they are so cute!

this just screams NYC to me...specifically Carrie Bradshaw's apartment, don't cha think?

i've seen this numerous times on Tumblr and I love it more everytime.

And while I'm not a fan of "love", this is freaking adorable!

NYC-->love!! What an awesome picture!

Adorable pillow. I want to make one!

Central Park in the winter time--->dreamy!

pouting

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~that is what I will be doing on Tuesday....all day!

~why you ask?...well, because I will be the ONLY Grad Assistant in the office this week, even though it's only 2 days, it's TWO days longer than any of the other GAs. I say "UNFAIR"!!!!

~GA #1 went home to TX TWO weeks ago already...and still gets paid the full month...technically we are "salaried"

~GA #2 lives locally and was MIA last week so I'm assuming she will not be there this week either. Wonder what happened to the 20 hour work week for GAs.

~GAs #3 and 4 - their supervisors are out this week and so told them they didn't need to come in. Wow!! How nice is that!! Again, they will still be paid the full month....AND did I mention that one of them was out last week with her sick child....just like I was the week before...yet I will be reporting to work at 8am (ish) on Tuesday and I will NOT be even a little bit happy about it.

~who wants to place a wager on whether my supervisor comes and tells me I can leave early or that I don't have to come in on Wednesday??? I'm not thinking there is a good chance of that.

~so freakin' unfair.

~i'm pissed really.

quilt 2 in progress & other sewing endeavors

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finished piecing this tonight. now have to come up with a back for it, then it will be ready for quilting. it measures 40x60 (or so)

still haven't completed my 1st quilt...procrastinating on doing the binding as it frightens me.

also trying to put together an "artsy clutch" but i don't have the little elastic loop...

also working on quilt #3 which is the PINK THEME quilt for me.

i met a lady on line who said she'd send me a bunch of her stash as she just has TOO much and used to work for a fabric company so she is always getting more and more...i'm waiting for the package of goodies to arrive to see if there is any pink fabric I can use as well as a fabric that would work for the binding on quilt #1.

i need to make another checkbook like the one I made the other day. my aunt says she needs a new checkbook and then the daycare owner/friend said the same thing.

oh and i'm also working on this cute little camera case (for my point & shoot)...sort of stuck on the binding here as well...ugh. and then I'll have to do a button hole and that freaks me out beyond belief...

really hoping that someday (soon) i get good enough at this to put a few things in my etsy shop...*sigh*

couldn't have said it better myself

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Courtesy of Tumblr:

The average person tells 4 lies a day, or 1460 a year, a total of 88,000 by the age of 60. And the most common lie is: I'm Fine.

energy savings, really?

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~someone please tell me how much energy can be saved by closing a parking garage for 3.5 weeks? there aren't many lights on it anyway.

~the garage i park in at work is closing TODAY until January. they neglected to say WHAT TIME they are closing it so I did not feel safe parking there today. it would be my luck they would close it at noon and i'd go to leave at 4:30pm and not be able to get to my car. instead i am back to parking in BFE & freezing my ears off as I walk to my building.

~i thought about parking on the street, but either the spots are 2 hour time limit or they are metered and I've already paid $167 to park on campus for the school year, so why in the heck should i fork out more dough to feed the meters.

~so this is how my day started. hopefully it's not a sign of how the rest of the day will be.

~i'm still in a quandary about going thru with the starbucks job. i hate that most of my weekend will be spent there and for peanuts and when I say peanuts, i mean VERY little money...is it REALLY worth it? I finally got O to say that he didn't think it was worth me being gone all that time...when I previously asked him, he said "i don't care"...but what he really meant was he didn't think it was worth it but didn't want to tell me what to do. i can almost guarantee that if I do go thru with it, he will be quick to complain about all the time he has to care for E by himself which will make me feel the need to quit and look like an idiot in the workplace. so you see, it's a lose-lose situation for me...just can't decide HOW i want to lose.

ETA: After consulting with a few more people to get their input (and because I seem to be majorly indecisive) I have decided to pass on the 2nd job, continue to be broke, but able to be at home and play with E....and that's worth millions.

reminiscing

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~i've been reminiscing lately, particularly about the past year which in turn led to thoughts of 2008 (yes, 2008, not 2009)...a difficult year and one in which I would not normally rate high on "my fave years" scale, except for E's birth of course....but now the more I think of it, 2008 was pretty darn great! (that rhymed!) Here's why...

~feb 2008: E was born.

~may 2008: job fiasco, which sucked @ the time, but it turned out that I got to spend the rest of the year at home with E and that rocked.

~august 2008: ran into a gal @ the mall who was in my birthing class and who now has evolved into my best-mom-friend.

~august 2008: started taking E to Mother Goose classes with above mentioned friend. rhymes, singing, playing, stories...tons of fun!

~september 2008: started participating in bi-weekly play group, which was great fun at the time, despite the big "crash -n- burn" it turned out to be recently.

~october 2008: no obligations to get up early, be anywhere, do anything...could stay in my PJs with E all day long if I wanted to.

november 2008: pushed E around the mall in his stroller as I casually window shopped fantasizing that I had countless dollars to spend there.

~december 2008: interviewed & received GA position @ UT so I could return to finish my Masters.

So it was fun while it lasted. 2009 has sucked in comparison. here's hoping 2010 is on the upswing.

*this is your "positive-themed" post of the month. I cannot promise another "happy" post prior to year end...but it's always possible...just not likely.

randomness

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~it's a ghost town here at work today & tomorrow. everyone who is "anyone" is away at a conference, so clearly I'm "no one". while i love the peace & quiet, I am once again bored stiff. I wish I had brought my book! Dang!

~I think my next sewing project will be this...with a different fabric though.

~I lost another 1.6 lbs on WW this past week. That brings the total to 12.6 in five weeks. I'm hoping to hit the 15lb mark by Christmas!!

~my cousin was accepted to Boston University. I'm happy for him, while simultaneously feeling like more of a failure myself. isn't my self-confidence spectacular?!?! more like non-existent.

~my dad turns 73 today. my step-siblings & I all went in together & got him a Kindle. it's so cute teaching him a little technology. he already bought/downloaded his first book.

~looks like i'll be taking a 2nd job at Starbucks inside of my local Kroger. I have mixed feelings on this. I could definitely use the income, but I hate that most of my weekend will be spent there instead of at home with E. I also found out how little I'll be paid...and I received a whole extra .35/hour for my previous ONE year of experience at Starbucks back in 2007. Whoop De Doo...35 cents...are you freakin' kidding me? Also, there are no SBUX benefits as I'll be a Kroger employee (I knew this going in, but it still stinks). The only "bennies" are 10% off SBUX stuff and Kroger-brand groceries....eh...not that great really. I may be starting there on Friday or Saturday of this week. I still have time to back out, but seems stupid of me to do that when i'm as broke as I am. i feel like i have no choice...especially since my "all talk, no action" husband hasn't gotten the 2nd job he keeps talking about getting. if you have advice on this semi-dilemma, i'm open to hearing it.

~i changed the ringer on my cell phone to "all I want for Christmas is a real good tan" by Kenny Chesney...because really, that IS all I want....if Kenny comes along too, that would be good. a real good tan--->means many uninterrupted hours relaxing in the sunshine...pure bliss...i used to take those moments for granted...i'd give anything for them now. if i had the $$ i'd even resort to the tanning booth at this point - always SO relaxing.

~i have not been able to wear my wedding rings since I was about 6-7 months pregnant. now that i'm FINALLY losing some of the remaining baby weight, they just may fit again soon...I refused to have them made bigger. While I may not always ever like what they represent...they are gorgeous, so hopefully I can wear them soon. My personal goal is by Christmas...that will also help reduce any accusations and/or rude comments by family members I may be visiting post-Christmas. Oh and people won't give me "those" looks...you know....like I'm single with a child or something (gasp!)....they happen...they REALLY do.

~i guess that's all I can come up for now. happy tuesday.

book recommendation

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I just have to share a good book when I come across one...I mean a REALLY good book. This was a quick read (220-ish pages) and it sucked me right in and I finished it virtually in one day - yesterday.

A unique story for sure and definitely "deeper" than the usual chick-lit books that I read. I totally fell in love with the two main characters AND their relationship....that's all I'll say so as to not spoil it for anyone who may be interested in reading this one.

I even emailed the author to tell him how much I loved the book. This is the first book he wrote. He emailed me right back to thank me and told me he is working on a sort of "sequel" to this one - WOOT!!! Basically the sequel will be the story told from the lead male character's point of view.

So if you are looking for a great, quick read....pick up this book!!

*I am NOT receiving any compensation or free books etc. by posting this....I'm simply sharing this with you all as I truly loved the book.

miserable in 0-60

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~it really sucks how quickly i can shift from happy to miserable...all thanks to one single person.

~so much for TWO nights of peace, tranquility & happiness...he came home early...WAY early.

feels like saturday

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~I guess that's what happens when you only work 4 hours THE WHOLE WEEK!! that's about 16 hours short of what I'm supposed to work each week...and I'm still 4 hours in the hole from when I was sick an entire week. lovely!

~while i'd like to say how wonderful it has been being off of work all week...the only reason it happened it because E has been sick...WAY too sick to go to daycare. can't wait to pay them for their fine service this week. (yes, you still have to pay if your kid is sick or doesn't attend-I hate that...but understand it...sort of).

~on wednesday he took a turn for the worse (103.7 fever!!) and we returned to the Ped after seeing her on Monday. the antibiotics he was on were doing NOTHING and so the lucky little guy got a shot. ouch!

~later that day I drove cross town to campus for my appointment with a sports doctor to look at my shoulder. it's messed up...big time...at least that's how it feels. turns out after my exam and 4 x-rays...she says it's probably tendonitis/bursitis...really? WTH? it's way too painful to *just* be that. so now I have to do arm/shoulder exercises everyday, take an anti-inflammatory pill & ice it...um daily!! yeah, we know what the chances of that happening (daily) are...not very good. wednesday I did the exercises. thursday I picked up & took the meds....maybe today i'll ice it. i suck at these kinds of healing plans. i do hope to get better at it though because I have to return to see her in 3-4 weeks and I don't want to fabricate my story about it not being ANY better when I followed (exactly) her instructions. :) so even though it's freakin' cold outside...i'll ice my shoulder.

~the doc asked how I injured it and sadly I did not have a concrete answer for her. i really have no idea, however earlier in the day on wednesday as I lifted my 27.8lb son into his car seat...I wanted to scream out in pain...so i think it's safe to say that lifting & carrying him around is NOT helping. his car seat is in the middle of my backseat (it's the safest place!) and the movement of leaning over to plop him in place is hard. so now I will be more patient and let him climb into his seat...he's a big boy anyway, he can do it.

~on thursday we trekked back to the Ped for a follow-up and thankfully he was doing MUCH better, although not quite 100%. she mentioned giving him another shot, but then decided to try a breathing treatment. it made a huge difference (so she said after listening to his lungs post-treatment) and so we went home with a nebulizer & picked up some Albuterol at the Kroger Pharmacy to do breathing treatments 3x each day through Sunday. I can already see a significant decrease in his nasty cough. Hooray. He hates the breathing treatments though. it takes about 10 minutes and he tolerates maybe 2-3 sitting still and then I have to chase him around the coffee table trying to get as much steam in his face as possible...it's a blast...really. i should get the video camera out for this...he also got a new antibiotic too. after all of this...all I have to say is he BETTER NOT get sick for the rest of the month...we are flying on the 26th and flying with a 22 month old is scary enough, i don't want to fly with a semi-sick and/or congested 22 month old....nightmare!!

~so while today is friday, it feels like saturday to me. E and i are meeting mom @ the mall for lunch & some (window) shopping. i do have to buy my immediate family Hallmark cards though, so i'll get them outta the way while there. E was going to have his pictures taken with Santa on monday (not at the mall) but with him being significantly UNDER the weather, we changed the appointment to today at 3pm. there is a local photo store here and they have the most rockin' Santa EVER...seriously!! We went there last year and even though E was not crazy about Santa, we got a few good pictures. They only charge $25 (same or less as mall) and they take their time, you don't wait in line & you get an 8x10 included. that is my biggest complaint though...who the heck wants an 8x10 of their kid w/Santa?!?! not like i'm going to frame it, ya' know? so it's all a big scam so that you then order a few 4x6 size etc.. and they make more money. all things considered however, it's still better than standing in line @ the mall for some creepy Santa.

~and the highlight (seriously!) of my weekend will be being a single mom...through Sunday. O is being sent a couple hours away for a job that has to be done over the weekend (yay for pre-Christmas OT hours!!). He left early this morning and won't be back 'til Sunday. O wants E and I to drive up there on Saturday night to stay with him, but I'm thinking "UM NO"....I would rather savor my "single" time...every last second possible. thank.you.very.much. The funny part is that we had been planning to go to this same area on Sunday to visit my dad anyway. He will be 73 on the 15th and so we are meeting my sister & her husband there and taking him out to lunch/dinner to celebrate. We also all went in on buying him a Kindle as he is a MAJOR bookworm. I can't wait to see his face when he opens it.

~so since E and I will have the day to ourselves on Saturday, we will do our regular grocery shopping errands...i guess i'll have to do the grocery shopping this week since O will be out of town. grocery shopping will be followed with a lovely Christmas cookie baking session. due to being on WW though, the cookie extravaganza has been cut back to ONLY making the delicious Peanut Butter Blossoms...you know, the ones with the Hershey Kiss in the middle. Yum!! Do you ever wonder WHY they are a "holiday" or "Christmas" cookie though? Nothing about them really "screams" Christmas. It's not like they are gingerbread flavor or have eggnog in them or some other bizarre holiday ingredient.

~on an unrelated note...about a week ago i applied to work at the Starbucks inside our local Kroger. a gal I knew there is moving & she said they are hiring for her spot and she'd put a good word in for me. when E and I went to Kroger Thursday morning, i talked with the other gal there that I know (i go there too often) and she offered to write down my name and talk to the HR lady on my behalf. She also suggested calling the HR lady myself in the afternoon...which I did...and got the lovely response of "the managers are reviewing applications & will call you if they are interested"....really? she made it sound as if NO ONE had said ANYTHING to her AT ALL. i'm certain that at least the gal I spoke with today DID talk to the HR lady. she sure seemed nasty to me on the phone though.  oh well.

sewing: love & hate

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~i am enjoying sewing....when things turn out as they should & look "normal"...which honestly is not often.

~i don't sew straight lines very often...I think there is a little "guide" I can get to attach to my sewing machine to help with this...going to hunt that down tomorrow.

~i'm SO frustrated right now cuz I bought THIS KIT...looks super easy, right? Like, anyone could make these!! Well, apparently anyone BUT me...why when I cut the mittens, sew them & turn right side out the thumb is totally wonky. I made 2 attempts, failed both times, getting stuck on the crap directions that came w/it. Packaged them back up hoping for an email response from the seller...then maybe, just maybe I'll try again.

~the past few evenings...or hours here & there, I have stared at this picture trying hard to imagine HOW that super cute little iPod case was created. I made one attempt so far at how I thought it was made....and well, let's just say it wasn't pretty. WTH? Why is this SO freakin' hard? :) I want to crank a bunch of those out & put them in my Etsy shop...at this rate, I would make maybe .01/hour being the crappy/slow sewer that I am.

~i've successfully made two scarves. sold one. (thank you Emily)!! The bummer is that I can't wear mine 'til I lose a few more pounds and can comfortably fit back into my brown leather jacket. I think that scarf will rock with the jacket.

~i have my first quilt back from the quilter-lady. tonight I cut off all the excess batting/fabric so it is officially ready for the binding...the MOST difficult part from what I've heard in the mad-quilting world. LOL. I'm thinking the best fabric to use for the binding will be a solid brown...of course, I don't have any but NONE of the fabrics that I do have will work with it. Bummer!

~i sort of have 2 other quilts in progress...i'm cutting pieces for my "all pink" girly quilt that will be just for ME ME ME. I still need to collect more pink fabrics though so that will be slow going since I don't want to spend $$ right now.

~i did make a good start on a quilt similar to this one though. most of the same fabrics. i just love them - they are so "fun and happy" looking!! can't wait 'til it's finished.

missing you...still

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~i still miss you. every.single.day.

~i wish you could have met E.

~i wish E could have met you.

~i wish for just one more day spent with you.

~i cannot believe you've been gone for 15 years today. for me, it's been an eternity.

~i remember every last detail of that awful day.

~it hasn't gotten easier. i miss you & think of you every.single.day.

a few of my favorite things...aka...blogs!

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~spent the day today nursing the health of an almost 22-month-old.

~we made a trip to the pediatrician, then to Kroger for medicine & a quick stop at WW to weigh in and discover that I've lost a total of 11 pounds in 4 weeks. Woohoo!!! My goal was 10 lbs, so I'm quite happy with those results.

~being that I'm short on time today, I wanted to put together a quick post and thought I'd share some of my favorite blogs with my readers...here ya' go!!

Nichole - she is a general surgeon in CA & I've been following her for close to 5 years! She's great & always has interesting blogging material!! Visit her blog!! Hurry!!

Optimistic Pessimist - a great read! She is an excellent runner and recently finished the NYC marathon. She is witty, sweet & fun!! Read!!

Rachel - just moved from OH to NY and it's been fun following her blog AND her move. She's crazy in love with her boyfriend.

Fidgeting Gidget - been following her for about 6 months now. I just love her. I SO need to meet her in person as I'm certain we would be fast friends!! She is all kinds of crafty!!! She also has a house in Michigan and one in which I intend to visit her IN come next Spring!!

Beth - she is hilarious!! she is also an elementary school principal and therefore has endless blogging fodder. I also love her because she is going to cross the finish line (close to last) with me in the WDW Princess 1/2 Marathon.

Dawn - this one goes without mention. I've been following Dawn since the beginning of time, or so it seems. She is my long time blogging friend. I cannot wait to FINALLY meet her in March 2010!!

There are countless MORE blogs that I love and read regularly...it would take me forever to list them all here, but maybe I'll start a regular post where I feature a few of my favorites...what do you think?

Enjoy!!

and today...

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i made a scarf!!


if you want one. i can make you one for $20. let me know.

change in plans

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~we woke up to this...
so I did NOT go to the store. It's 2:30pm and I haven't left the house yet.

instead I made finished this!!


using this tutorial... it's FAR from perfect, but it's complete.

The zipper thing is crazy-difficult. I think I may stick to quilts and other non-zipper related items.

Off to shower now...the snow is all melted (it's still effin cold though) and so we are off to dinner & a movie!!

Saturday to do...

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~i'm officially DONE with the semester. woohoo!! completed my dreaded Stats final tonight. it was somewhat painful, but I'm glad it's behind me.

~on to the weekend...busy day Saturday. I have quite the to-do list:

~vacuum house.

~grocery shopping 

~finish putting up outdoor Christmas lights. (brrrr!)

~put up Christmas tree & decorate.

~meet lady @ 3:45 @ local McDonalds to complete one Craigslist transaction

~meet quilt lady @ same McDonalds to get my quilt...all I have to do is the binding & it will be complete!!

~go to mom's house. have her take pictures for our Christmas cards...hopefully we get a decent picture.

~leave E with grandma & off to dinner & a movie...a quarterly occurrence in this household.

~we are going to see "2012"....not my first choice...oh well.

why i'm annoyed today...

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~i know it seems i'm often quite annoyed...well maybe i am. that's just my life right now. oh well.

~today i'm annoyed because:

*I have my Stats Final tomorrow morning @ 10:15am and virtually no time to review for it until around 9pm when E goes to bed. Looks like I might be up late tonight.

*O has a this fabulous ability to make me feel as if I'm not allowed to EVER go out for dinner with a friend. Or I go & suffer his wrath. Marriage is so effin wonderful!

*Being taxed with crazy tedious project at work. It's either complete boredom or complete idiot/tedious projects. Gee - what a great addition to my education!! (which is what this position is actually supposed to be).

*The fact that I cannot leave the office until 4:30pm today. Straight to pick up E. Then home, make dinner, bathe E & then put him to bed. Like I said...no study time 'til 9pm-ish.

*Friday cannot get over with quick enough for me (this semester has sucked a$$).

*The fact that I have not been able to do any sewing for more than 48 hours now. You see, I'm addicted to it, so ultimately I'm having withdrawals. I'm dying to make a cute little case for my iTouch!! I also have to finish a Crayon Roll Up for Heather/Catherine!!! :)

*that darn Stats test is sucking up any time I would rather spend reading Shanghai Girls!! It's sooooooooooooooooo good and I'm almost done with it!! Would finish it tonight if I didn't have to study. Argh! This school stuff really stinks sometimes!!

OH LOOK!! Two "happy" things to post about...(for all you Negative Nancy haters!)

*I get to wear comfy track pants & a sweatshirt to school tomorrow for my test. hooray. i'm always having to dress up for work. this will be a nice change.

*I listed 2 things on Craigslist this morning and already have both sold. Yippee!!!

work vent

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~i've been quite frustrated with my work situation for a while now and the frustration is finally starting to bubble over.

~not only am I grossly underutilized; when I am given something to do, I am talked to as if I were born yesterday. I am constantly made to feel stupid...or that my supervisor thinks I am stupid.

~feelings of being stupid then get over-analyzed and I feel like she doesn't want me here but there's really nothing she can do about it. i don't know why she would feel this way as i've always done what has been asked of me...but still.

~last week she finally admitted to me that she SUCKS at delegating (alternatively worded of course). while she has TWO to-do lists on her desk, I am bored out of my mind. a person can only read so many blogs, write so many blog posts and surf Etsy for so long. i'm sick of it all.

~a few months ago i felt that my supervisor and I had really connected, but that is no longer the case. there haven't been any "issues" or anything, it's just that she's well, weird. she is very hard to figure out. one minute she's nice, the next minute she is over-the-top business-like as if we have just met. i don't get it. what's the deal?

~now that i'm STUCK here for (one semester) longer than anticipated, I'm miserable just thinking about it. i don't feel like I really fit in here. in my defense, there are TWO other GAs who have expressed the same feelings, so I KNOW it's not me.

~i don't want to sound ungrateful or anything. i'm lucky to have this position and there are excellent perks to the job...i.e. free tuition & health insurance, but is it so much to ask for the environment to be at least a little bit friendly??

I want Wednesday...

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Now that it's December, I thought it would be ever so appropriate to share a few items on my Christmas list...I would LOVE a SBUX giftcard...or actually I already have a card, but it has a big fat ZERO balance...so you could just reload it for me (card# 6042 4210 2723 9414 - you know, just in case, tee!!) that would be great....now that I'm on WW, I have successfully limited myself to 1-2 Iced Chais per week...a true miracle in itself.

Any of the gazillion fabrics I have found & fell in love with on Etsy.

Or this super cute wristlet I also found on Etsy!! Adorable! I tell ya' that site is dangerous!!

10 inch tube pan...for after I lose a gazillion pounds and can freely bake again!

And now I'm to the point where I realize I didn't ask for anything that exciting for Christmas...you know, a couple pair of running socks - for the running that I haven't been doing lately...along with a couple of running shirts...yawn! I so need some new running motivation...just not feeling it these days. can I get that for Christmas? (I did miraculously squeak in a 2 mile run last night though, apparently not enough to satisfy that fussy Nike Mini gal over there!)

I did ask for an iPhone with 1 year of paid service, but it was more of a joke than anything cuz I'm about 99% sure it's not going to happen for me. *sad face*

In the end, I asked Santa for Kroger & WM gift cards...to offset our grocery bills...you know, cause I'm practical (and boring) like that. *sigh*

I'm starting to lose my Christmas cheer....

quilting

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~whoa...this quilting interest of mine is getting out of hand.

~i am finding (way too) many fabrics that I need want.

~now that someone showed me that Etsy sells SUPPLIES for crafting & not just completed crafty items...well, i'm crazy addicted to that sight. this may cause me to have to file bankruptcy. kidding...but I could easily spend a small fortune there.

~i am also a bit confused on some of the quilting lingo...for example...they sell "rolls" of fabric, cut into 2.5x40 inch strips...they are called JELLY ROLLS!

~there is also a smaller roll referred to as a DESSERT ROLL!!

~and then there is a packet of cut pieces called a LAYER CAKE!! WTH?

~oh and this interest of mine is not just limited to quilting...it's sewing in general.

~you saw the crayon roll ups...well i've since made 3 more and have another in progress.

~i want to make a scarf! similar to this one. i love it! I found a tutorial here to help me along.

~then there's this 'coin quilt' (another strange name) i want to make...i love the fabrics too, may have to replicate this one.

~i'm also trying to make these little zippered pouches (NOT that fabric though). I'm a bit stuck on cutting down the zipper...it has to be whip-stitched after it's cut down! I also need a zipper foot for my sewing machine...which apparently is either a high shank or low shank...um, ok, whatever that means. I need to remove the entire foot & take to the store so they can tell me what kind I need. I forgot to take it to JoAnns today. Boo! I love the fabric i'm using for these so I'll post it when I've got one completed.

~then there's this one!! see what I mean?! I cannot stop. It's addicting. This orange quilt is just so freakin' adorable though.

~and well...i bought these fabrics (yes, from Etsy) last week so I can make a quilt similar to this one. it just screams fun! look at those colors!

~oh and um, i sort of bought these fabrics too...to make a quilt for E.

~someone needs to take away my internet access...

~i would really like to take a quilting class to at least see if i could manage the actual quilting part of the process. i need to see if my sewing machine even has the capability. honestly, many people have the quilting done elsewhere & focus on the piecing of the quilt top and back (that's the fun part anyway). i'm hoping the lady who is quilting my 1st quilt calls soon to say it's ready. she thought she'd get it done over the holiday.

~my current WIPs (works in progress) include a pink color-themed quilt for ME. i'm still cutting pieces as well as collecting a few more patterns. working on one crayon roll & i have those zipper pouches in progress, but can't do more 'til I get that zipper foot.