With Heartfelt Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings that I am overwhelmed and humbled by them.  I am thankful for so many things, too numerous to list but I'm gonna list a few of them anyway!

I am thankful for:
My faith- Without my love of Jesus, I don't know where I'd be
My husband - who loves me through and through
My Second Lieutenant and the Lovely Jenna - they bring such pride and joy into my life
My health - for a tough old bird of 52, I have just a few aches and pains that are expected.
My hearth - It's not a palace and it's a work in progress but I love it!
My job - I love it and am thankful everyday that I have a means to feed my needlework addiction!
My critters - They teach me unconditional love every day.

My friends - Wow, I am thankful for you, dear blogging friends!
My hobby - A 30 year addiction.

And much more.

I am not as eloquent as other bloggers but when I look at what God has given me, I am amazed, grateful and thankful.  He promised to meet my needs but He's certainly met my wants too!

Have a wonderful day with your family and friends.  The DH and I are trekking to Rochester to have dinner with Jenna's family.

Enjoy your day!

Check out the Giveaway

Hi! The Linen Stitcher is giving away a really nice OOP Carriagehouse Samplings pattern. American Sampling!

Go check it out and sign up!

Have a great day everyone!

I'm Back...

Hi everyone! I'm back! Did you miss me? Yea, like a bad rash! LOL!

I took a little break from my life. I was exhausted mentally and physically. I was so surprised by how much the wedding took out of me. And, I've been dealing with a bunch of personal things here at home. I decided to let some of my commitments go, take a break (and give myself one too!) and make peace with some of the stuff I can't control. That's a first for me cause I am a control freak extraordinaire. I am feeling much better.

Anyway, I've been stitching. First off, I finished Notforgotten Farms, Parson Brown.

I stitched him on 28ct lugana with DMC. It came out pillow size so I went and picked out some homespun fabric to back him and I'll have another snowman for my collection.

Also, I'm working on a few exchanges and a Christmas gift or three. And, I am stitching ornaments for Jenna and Mike. I've finished 2 ornaments so far, a Prairie Schooler and one from Angel Stitching that was in the '06 JCS ornament issue. But I've not put them together. Recently, I've developed a fear about finishing things. Mainly, because I've ruined a couple during the finishing process. So I've decided that I have to have quiet to concentrate and not rush things. I've discovered that I like the stitching process more than I like the finishing process.

Are you looking forward to the holidays? I approach them with caution because this isn't my favorite time of the year. I'm not a fan of the hustle and bustle and with the economy, our resources are tight this year. I've been bummed about that and I'm having a hard time knowing that Santa's pack won't be as full as it was in Christmas' past. I don't have any vacation either so the holidays overall will be different. Usually, I have 2 weeks off but this year with the wedding and a forced vacation via a July 4th shutdown, my vacation is very short. The 2nd Lieutenant won't be here on Christmas Morning (he's off making holiday memories with the lovely Jenna). Different indeed!

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'll be posting more often and if I get enough light, I'll try to take some pictures (if my dinky camera cooperates). So stay tuned!

Anyway...I'm off, I've got to get ready for tomorrow. It's back to the work week for me! Thanks for stopping by..I do appreciate all of you!

No longer a Cadet

Yesterday, Mike commissioned into the Air Force as a Second Lietenant. The ROTC detatchment had a little ceremony and here are the pics:

Mike and Jenna:


The Lietenant:

And all of us.

We are very, very proud of our son!

More Wedding Pics

Ok, some more wedding pics...the snapshots are coming in from friends and family.

This is me coming out of the church right after the ceremony. I love the dress! I do wish I'd worked my arms a bit...but...hey...it is what it is.

Mike and Noah doing some line dance...the kids and their friends danced the entire reception. Of course, I did too. Made a proper fool out of myself.

Jenna dancing to the same song. I love her dress. You can see some of the "bling" on it. All pics are clickable and will get BIG.

And the happy couple.

Stitching is going very well all of a sudden. I've gone from famine to feast. I'm back 100% and want to start everything I see (which is very, very dangerous). I allowed myself to start Notforgotten Farms, Parson Brown, a very cool snowman. I'm stitching him on 25count evenweave with the recommended DMC. I did change out one color cause it faded into the fabric. I'm planning on making him into a nice homespun Winter pillow. He'll join the other Frosty Friends in my collection.

Oh, if you are interested, today is the last day to sign up for the Blackbird Exchange Blog Round 3 exchange. Pop on over and sign up. Or email me. Names will be assigned tomorrow. We've got very talented stitchers in the group. No lack of creativity in this bunch. Please join us for a fun time!

Thanks for stopping by. I love when you visit. I enjoy your comments and I hope you enjoy your time in Joanie's World. Stitching pics soon cause I've made enough progress to share. My progress is distinguishable now, not just blobs...hee-hee!

Slowly, slowly my MoJo is coming back

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my last post. I am getting back to normal and feeling more like myself. A few nights, I went to bed with the chickens (one of my Mom's fav sayings). And I am stitching again. Small things. I can't stand the thought of stitching on anything BIG.

So, I worked on Where My Heart Blooms, the house is about 1/2 done now and I am about 3/4 of the way finished. About this time in the progress, I usually just focus on that piece and finish it. It's like an obsession. But I haven't gotten to that place just yet. Soon, I bet! And I am working on the Plum Pudding freebie and I am working on October from Mary Garry. I've stitched that little witch before but gave her away.

I cleaned my house today. It's mostly clean. I stitched most of the afternoon, put out some of my Autumn decorations (I LOVE Fall!!!) I ordered new drapes for my living room (got 'em from JCPenney at 50% off which softened the blow when I told the DH how much they cost).

It's been a good day!

Have you been watching out for the new market releases? There are MANY that I want but I will practice restraint and do my very best not to purchase, um-mm, much. (I'd like to say I am only going to stitch my stash but I would be lying. I am trying to do that. I have so many cool patterns and I love them all!)

I love the new Carriage House Samplings! Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow and the tombstone are too cool. But I am drooling over the new Goode Huswife release, the Colonial Garden Series book. I will buy it and it will be my Christmas present to my self. Everything else that I love will go on a Wish List. Unless I lose my resolve, get stressed out, the planets align and I lose 10 pounds. At that point, there's no telling what I'll buy!

So what's on your Must Have list and your Wish List?

Out of Sorts

Have you ever been like a bird that flits from one thing to the other? Have you ever done that and got so overwhelmed by your lack of focus that it made you somewhat nuts? And gave you small anxiety attacks? Well, that's been my week.

Unfocused

Unproductive

I am blaming my short attention span to the wedding. I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just that's been our FOCUS for the last few months. Now that the wedding is past us (and the kid's are sailing to the Western Carribean as I write you) I realize that there is so much that I let go while preparing for the wedding. And now, there's too many things to focus my attention and energy on. Too many things that need my attention and too many things vying for a piece of me.

Work is insane. Hence a small anxiety attack followed by some really negative self-talk about not being able to handle this job (insert rolling eyes here...). I know that we are busy and yea, I am behind on a few projects but not enough to make me hyperventilate. Which I did and which is terribly perplexing.

Cross stitch is everywhere too. I can't focus on just one project and I can't stitch for more than an hour or so cause I get all fidgety. I've worked on a Prairie Schooler Santa from Santa and Snowmen. It should have been an easy-peasy finish, except, I can't count. Frogs.

Then I came across a blog devoted to smalls, Stitching Smalls with Friends so I had to start an autumn design. I decided to do a small Plum Pudding Needleart freebie called Blessed Be. I thought that it would be fast and easy...Nope. No attention span. Fractured attention span.

So, I decided to write here for a little bit and then go for a walk. It's a gorgeous day so I should at least spend a bit of time outside because before to long it will be too cold and snowy to walk outdoors.

Then maybe I'll be a little more focused and can make a dent in my autumn design.