Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Procrastination...

...will kill me every time.  I'm the Queen of procrastination, and it really bit me in the ass this time.  About a week ago I received a fantastic surprise in the mail from Myra.  I was the very lucky recipient of one of her sewn project bags.  She picked out totally adorable Halloween fabric, making it perfect for the Halloween rules project we're doing as a SAL together (and no, I haven't stitched on it for a month).

The procrastination bit comes in that I didn't do the right thing and immediately get my tush up to the computer and send her an e-mail thank you that night.  The next morning my internet woes started.  To make matters worse, I never even thought to send her a hand-written thank you through snail mail until the day I got internet back.  How quickly I forget some of the rules of politeness my mother raised me with.  Now imagine the guilt I felt when I finally did get internet back, and before I could even send that e-mail thank you out, there's a very concerned email from Myra wondering if I was ok, since I had dropped out of blog-land for a while.

Anyway, she's forgiven me (I think), life is getting better, just hectic, and I'm trying to solve my time-management problems (I probably never will).  Lots of updating to do in this post.

WIPocalypse is due today (thank you so much to Measi for the lovely e-mail reminder, I'd totally spaced out on the moon date).  I don't have too much to show on that.  No real progress on Halloween Rules since you last saw it for Theme-a-licious.  My primary focus has been on Christmas Garden (my BAP challenge piece).  Crappy picture, both for the colors and the wrinkles, but I'm lazy and don't iron my pieces just for pictures.

My January wrap-up for Theme-a-licious was due a week ago (eep!), and I'm just going to say, look at the picture above!  The theme was gardens and flowers, and I think Christmas Garden fits perfectly.  I also got a finish in of Poinsettia House, but no picture.  Right now its so dreary and overcast, it would be useless to try and take one.  I promise I'll post one once I actually get it finish-finished.  Oh, and then there was the partially stitched sunflower on Halloween Rules.

The theme for this month is Fangirl February - stitch on designs from your favorite designer.  I'm going to make it a BBD month, and tie it in with WIPocalypse and try to get some done on Anniversaries of the Heart, and more of Christmas Garden.

If I haven't been stitching, or surfing the web reading blogs, what the heck have I been up to?  I started classes for my MBA on Feb 1 (just in time for the internet to go wacky), and that's all online.  No spending hundreds of dollars on books, but I need an internet connection to read them online, they can't be downloaded.  I swear the first tuition check I get from the VA is getting spent on a tablet of some sort so I'm not tied to my damn computer.

I  joined a gym in January, and I've been getting into the routine of exercising.  Monday and Wednesday mornings I have a session with a personal trainer at 6 am (gasp!).  Mon, Wed, and Fri I do gentle Hatha yoga at 1 pm.  Tue and Thur is water aerobics (mom joins me for this), and scattered in there I do some extra cardio work.  I've been hitting the gym at least once a day, 6 days a week (I feel like I almost live there).  Despite all of this, and religiously logging what I eat and staying below my goal calorie count for the day, I seemed to have hit a plateau already.  In fact, I actually gained weight.  I'm trying to be optimistic and telling myself I'm getting muscle mass back (which weighs more than fat), but its hard.  Maybe I should just ignore the scale and just use the old stand-by of "how do the jeans fit."

Grandma.  In some ways she's doing better, in others a lot worse.  Last week when I showed up at her place to take her for the weekly hair appointment, I saw she'd forgotten to take not only her morning pills, but also the evening ones from the day before.  Mom and I decided to bring her home, so she's been with us for the last week.  Daily trips to her place and phone calls to remind her to take her pills and eat weren't enough.  There aren't any obvious signs of distress, she's not on oxygen, she's not incontinent, she doesn't wander off and get lost.  She's just tired all of the time, has absolutely no short-term memory, and has become an extremely picky eater - meaning she's not really eating anything and trying to survive on Vanilla Ensure drinks.  Grandma is having a tough time deciding who's bossier - me or my mother.  At least I sneak her small amounts of chocolate as rewards for various thing.  Yeah, I know, not the best for a diabetic, especially when that's one of the meds she had to quit taking due to kidney problems.  Its time for us to re-evaluate where she's living, the care she needs, and come up with a long-term solution.

Sorry I wrote a novel about so much personal stuff in what is supposed to be a stitching-focused blog.  There just seemed to be a lot to catch up on and explain why I dropped off the face of the earth.  I've got a little surprise planned, and some other great things to post about, once I get some more stitching finished.

25 comments:

Ranae said...

What a spooktacular bag from Myra
CG is looking so pretty. I can't wait to start mine.
Take good care of your gramdma, I wish mine were still around

Faye said...

Isnt Myra the best??? Love your progress stitch also!

Margaret said...

It's good you finally did get in touch with Myra after your internet problems. Sorry to hear about your grandma. Hope things get better with her. Love your Christmas Garden -- gorgeous! Good for you with the gym. Isn't it amazing how much books for class cost now? I'm always amazed at how much DD has to spend on hers. Good luck with the MBA classes!

Catherine said...

Myra is awesome! Love your stitches...keep up the good work at the gym, and good luck with your classes! Enjoy the time with your grandma as much as you can..I wish mine were still here...

Lesleyanne said...

Gorgeous project bag from Myra. Sorry to hear about your internet problems. Your BAP looks great.

Christine said...

Great progress on Christmas Garden, and the project bag is gorgeous

Lois said...

Lovely progress on Christmas Garden! Love the project bag from Myra! I've been a lucky recipient of one of and I love mine. Good for you getting to the gym. Aren't internet woes the worst, makes us realise just how addicted we are to being online, doesn't it?!?! Hope your Grandma keeps a bit better.

Giovanna said...

Wow, that bag from Myra is so smashing - good for you! Great progress on Christmas Garden too. I hope you find a way with your gran, these situations can be so hard for everyone.

cucki said...

wow what a spooky sweetest bag..i love it so much..super sweet..
your stitching is very lovely like always..
hugs for you xxx

Chris said...

Myra's project bad is wonderful! I love the fabric.
I hope that your Grandma continues to improve.
Christmas Garden is looking great.
Keep up with the exercising. I am experiencing the same thing. It is so frustrating and I have been wicked hungry this week :( UGH!

barbara said...

Lovely stitching!

Vickie said...

Lovely stitching. I am praying for you and your family. :)

Siobhán said...

First rule of thumb (IMHO): Do not apologize for what you write on your blog. It is YOUR blog. There.

Love the gift from Myra! Your Christmas Garden is looking great, too.

Good luck with the MBA stuff and your grandmother, too. Thinking of you!

Sally said...

What a gorgeous project bag that you received from Myra.

Love your Christmas Garden. Every time I see it I fall in love with it more and more.

Sorry to hear about your Grandma. I hope things improve for her.

Good luck with the class and the gym. I bought an exercise "game" for our Wii console and I'm exhausted by the time I've finished. I was disappointed to see that I hadn't lost any weight and had put a little on so like you I'm thinking I must be building up muscle!

BrendaS said...

Christmas Garden looks GORGEOUS. Are you using the called for threads? or are you using silks?

Myra said...

As I told you - no need to apologize. :o) Christmas Garden is gorgeous! If I were in the mood for a big project this would be the one. I will be keeping your Grandmother in my thoughts and prayers, I know it must be difficult right now.

Melanie said...

The bag from Myra is lovely, and I'm sure she understands. Your making great progress on Christmas Garden, I love the colors on it.
I hope you can find a better arrangement for your Grandma, and as for sneaking her a little chocolate I'm sure it won't matter too much as long as it's not all the time, after all a little bit of what you fancy does you good.

Nicola said...

Thinking of you, your Mum and Grandma. It is never easy for all concerned and it is hard to get old.

Your Christmas Garden is coming along so beautifully.

Ziggyeor said...

Wishing the best for your Grandmother.

Good luck with school and don't procrastinate on that! Stitching fine but it's easy to let online classes slip.

Love the Halloween Bag.

Great job on Christmas Garden.

Lynn said...

Awesome bag from Myra! Her creations are wonderful.
Christmas Garden looks gorgeous! I'm still waiting for my floss to arrive for mine.
Hope things improve with your grandmother. I know how difficult it can be when you are faced with those kinds of decisions.

Carol said...

Oh, Myra's Halloween bag is just darling--she is the best seamstress, isn't she? I really admire you for going back to school for your MBA, Missy--best of luck! I'm sure you'll be a stellar student :)

Shelleen said...

OMG I LOVE the Halloween bags. Myra did an amazing job.

Keeper of the Crowes said...

Sorry for "procrastinating" on commenting! You should be so proud keeping up your exercise routines. I know how difficult that can be. Your Christmas Garden is looking beautiful. Hope you have a good weekend. You and your grandmother are in my thoughts!
Linda

Penny said...

Love the project bag from Myra.
Lovely stitching on Christmas Garden - it is such a pretty design!
Good for you with the exercising! I've decided to put the scale away and go by how my clothes fit. :)
Hope your grandma is feeling better - they are special people. :)

geeky Heather said...

So since I'm wayyyy behind in blog reading, I cannot make any deleterious comments on your "procrastination". =) Christmas Garden is stunning!!