A Happy Dance!

Spite of certain insane myself mutilating three fingers from my left hand with a kitchen knife while trying to slice a sweet potato I actually managed to have first happy dance of this year just now!
As it is a model I just show you a tiny teaser...

Honestly speaking I could have had this HD days before now, but it has been a bit hectic for most of days, I have been quite tired lately and I have also stitched three different projects on the same time which delays the individual happy dance.
Admittedly it still lacks finishing, but with a bandaided left hand it have to wait for few days...

A sad, sad thing...

I have suffered from bouts of sinusitis symptoms few times after The Flu (took two weeks) and I finally managed to deduce the cause of it: chocolate!
Milk chocolate to be precise, as milk increases the mucus production (asthmatics should avoid dairy in all its forms) and in my current state it seems to be enough to block my right maxillary sinus. (Though I am dead sure that part of this is caused by the dust from the pistachios my mother and bits_2_whole ate last night.)
Now I just need to wait few days and eat some dark chocolate and hope it won't cause similar symptoms... (As I have used chocolate as a sleeping draft lately.)

And Masa has recovered well from his tiny operation, though he's still a bit sleepier than normally (but isn't that how castrated toms should be: lazy asses? *grin*).

Acchoo

Well, I didn't get the position in $COMPANY, neither in the other company where I applied to and was invited for an interview - though noticing that the other interview in the other company stopped when the interviewer heard that I actually have plans for future (I, the one who dares! O_o) I wouldn't have wanted to work there anyway -, but my former supervisor promised that I can use her as my referrer when I apply for work, so my situation has improved.
And now I think I will only apply for jobs which last couple of months, or are very flexible with the needs of their employees.

My saving project also confronted another setback in form of Masa: he's going to be, he has to be, castrated today as day before yesterday he actually marked me... He has never marked anything before, but for some reason his hormones have become overactive during the visit to my mother's, and that was enough for me.
Eventually he also gains from the castration because he's not tortured by his unsatisfied desires - maybe he will even gain some weight and starts to look like a cat who's not starving.

Meet Your Daemon

Click for a readable picture.

Meet Your Daemon - The Golden Compass Movie Test

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 257

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Mist :: Blue
2. Eating :: /me wants breakfast
3. Beacon :: Yuck!
4. Speaker :: Phone
5. Episodes :: Parts
6. Conference :: Call
7. Sneak attack :: Hmmm.
8. Medic :: Para-
9. Web :: This
10. 2008 :: Now

SBQ: Guilt Free January

This week's

Stitching Bloggers' Question

is:

Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in "Guilt Free January?" If so, what are you planning on starting?

I am not planning to start anything I have already planned to start (i.e. new models) and I try to attain guilt-free attitude considering my lousy progress in Virtual RR.

Nuts hunt the squirrel

 

ETA: Regarding the latter picture... Lady turned 14 years young in 26th and still she looks rather, should I say, lively. *grin*

Je ne regrette rien/ Car ma vie, car mes joies...

As seen last year: yet another meme!

And the finishes for year 2007...

The beginning and the end

It is few seconds past 2008...

As seen last year firsts of firsts' and lasts of lasts'.

Firsts

January: As it is few seconds past 2007...
February: 1. Dye fabric for Loy Krathong, Seasonal Dragons RR and for the Hand-dyed Fabric Exchange.
March: Yes, it's official now!
April: Testing my tolerance for mushrooms with a hearty midnight snack.
May: 1. ... you get extreme high from just launching designs?
June: Appetizer: Name something you think is “the best.”
July: Three out of four (I'll reveal the secret of fourth design soon...):
August: Kristine Herber from Dragonfly Stitches is apparently having a hardanger bookmark Stitch-A-Long in her Yahoo group and guess who has expressed her willingess to join?
September: I say ... and you think ... ?
October: Sometimes you get the best of ideas when you are in fever delirium... like this one:
November: It's November already...! O_o
December:Ladies, gentlemen, goats and lifeforms from another planets, let me to introduce you a herd of homing dragons!

Lasts

January: Do I need to explain why my goaling failed this badly? *grin*
February: 7 hours, 46 minutes.
March: (It has been odd piece in a sense. I never have had a need to modify the chart while stitching (other than fix drawing errors - I do those),but I spent last night stitching it and redrawing parts of it.)
April: And all the sudden I notice that I remind myself of someone by quoting this... but I do it just because it fits.
May: It seems to me that good things are beginning to happen in certain areas of my life, and, some parts of me don't think it's a coincidence as good things began to happen after I made the decision (maybe I should begin to refer to it as The Decision...) to take a break and concentrate on important things.
June: I think it's there... now, off to make my morning coffee! (I have been up for hours, but I got this stupid idea to finish designing T3h B1g S3kr1t Pr0j3ct...it's almost done, I just need to decide between two little details and two layouts - and, of course, the floss (I'm quite sure that it will be stitched on 36 count Edinburgh flax linen).)
July: (And of course I forgot to call and book new call for another day...)
August: (Cross post from Tales from Periphaeria... I am sick so I hope you bear with me.)
September: I had some manic tootbrush fun while cleaning (i.e. all the tiny places have not just been wiped and rinsed, they have been toothbrushed),which means that I am not only getting better, but that my ADD symptoms are decreasing (- or getting worse, who knows).
October: That is why I posted about the Fang as I knew some people may miss it otherwise - I have been waiting for this design since she launched her new site so I was well prepared.
November: 0.
December: I keep it short and sweet, just to give me less space to stitch what I really want to.

It has been hell of a year: the birth of Periphaeria Designs, health issues with Neko and Ronja and my own health failing worse than ever... it has been very difficult year and I could have survived without certain parts of it, but everything happens for a reason: I am just not ready yet to understand why.

I have also learnt what real friends are and managed to let go those who just don't fill the requirements. I have learnt to stand on my own more, and I have had to learn to be less harsh for myself.
I want to specially thank Jenna (and Terry) for helping me to make Periphaeria Designs to come true faster than I anticipated, and I like to specially thank Jenna, Leena and Linda for their continuous support at the right times as I have had my share of self doubt during these months, even I haven't admitted it.
And thank you all who have been supportive on my quest, even the smallest words of support have meant and mean the world to me.

I would also like to thank the man who once was my sunshine because of the long chat we had only couple of days before the year changed.
Yes, those dreams about Sol saying that he is sorry were messages from him... saying that he is sorry for hurting me.
Sol, if you read this: thank you for everything you said. I really appreciate it.

I realised today that for a first time in ages I have the feeling of having a future, that life is not just concentrating on this moment because I can't think of the future.
I have goals, I am in process of acquiring tools to achieve my goals (I have 2nd interview for the $COMPANY in Thursday and an interview in another place in... Thursday. *grin* And the goal is clear, to add yer another continent to my Visited continents count - and acquire at least an experience, if nothing else.)

Happy New Year to you all!

May this year be prosperous in every possible way - and may stash fairies grow your stash!

Goals

As I am coughing my lungs out and have been awake last two hours because of that I probably can just as well look at my December goals and set some new ones for January...
The spiel goes, as usual, like this:

strike and green equal a success. Orange is for "put some work to said piece, but not enough for a success", and red goes, as you guess, for a failure.

The goals for December were:

1. Participate Stitch-A-Thon with Loy Krathong. Participated, though not with Loy.
2. Work on models. Done, one stitched, another one will be almost done when the year changes.
3. Stitch and finish the Cross Stitch Lottery piece. Done.

   Additional:

   • Winter Dragon on Christine's RR - it will be mailed out in the beginning of January to reduce the risk for it to get lost while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

And the goals for January, 2008:

1. Work on models.
2. Participate Stitch-A-Thon with Loy Krathong.

I keep it short and sweet, just to give me less space to stitch what I really want to.

Stitch-A-Thon epilogue - finally!

Now that I am well enough to claim that I am not sick anymore (excluding the cough) it's time to introduce my SAT failure...

I only stitched this in Sunday, because I used Saturday to trim and grid the fabric by hand, before I had to call it quits because my muscles and joints began to ache too much to be allowed.

Unconscious Mutterings

Happy Dance #48

...even though this is only a stitching happy dance (finishing will follow when I remember to take some fabric with me from home):

But, as it is Linda's bourse and an unpublished design I give you only a teaser...

2008 Stitching Goals and 2007 recap

2007 Recap

1. Collect as many Teresa Wentzler designs as possible.
   Bought both Fantasy Collections, three booklets and got one as an exchange goodie: altogether 30-something new TW designs.

2. Start and finish Egyptian Sampler.
   Started, not finished.

3. Stitch at least one hardanger design.
   Started, not finished.

4. No more than two ongoing exchanges (which include stitching) at one time.
   I think I managed this.

5. Stitch at least one of my own creations per month.
   I published 27(!) designs: two in The Gift of Stitching, five complimentary designs, three exclusive complimentary designs and 17 "regular" designs.

6. Finish Alter Echo.
   No.

7. Keep list of all finishes.
   Managed.

Goals for 2008

1. Finish Egyptian Sampler.
2. Finish Loy Krathong.
3. Finish Flashes of Gold.
4. Stitch at least one of my own small designs per month.
5. Keep list of all finishes.

Better to keep it short, don't you think?

Happy Dance for the Cross Stitchers' Lottery

Beautiful, isn't it?!
This is my entry for Cross Stitchers' Lottery.

Tidbits:

• Design: Autumn
• Designer: Linda Chacewater
• Fabric: 36 count Summer Khaki Newcastle linen
• Other: The colour scheme is by me

This gorgeous design is designed by a dear friend, Linda, who has a talent for designing, but is not (yet!) a selling designer, though I am one of those persons who try to encourage her to take the plunge as she surely could give so much to the stitching community with her designs.

Autumn has been real fun to stitch and I am already thinking of different colour schemes for it...
I think I sense another addictive design.

(Cross posted to Cross Stitchers' Lottery blog.)

SBQ: Gifties

Behold, I am still on the face of the Earth, in case anyone has missed me, but I have been, and still am, sick with a nasty case of cold. Nasty enough to keep me in bed either sleeping or blowing my sinuses out and eating tons of logenzes to ease my throat - and it makes me spend my nights watching silly B class documents...

This week's

Stitching Bloggers' Question

is:

Did you receive any stitching-related gifts for the holidays?

No, but my father gave me some money which I spent mostly on some Teresa Wentzler patterns.

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 255

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Health :: Not in the office right now (my throat is sore...)
2. Tacky :: Tactless
3. Heels :: High
4. Yay! :: Eh?
5. Model :: Airplane
6. Gather :: Collect
7. Best gift ever :: -
8. Clients :: Oh my...
9. Stomp :: Foot
10. Clothing :: Fabric

SAT: a goal

Before I abandon my little blog for a while... SAT goal as posted on Stitch-A-Thon:

I won’t stitch Loy Krathong this month (*sigh*), but I will start Flashes of Gold, which is my RR piece at Solarium Sublime’s Virtual RR#1 - and I will be SATting with it because my start is well overdue.
And this is how it will look like when it grows up:

 
(Click the pictures to see it bigger.)

Though, the fabric I use is, once again, hand-dyed so there will bea difference as it’s more muted, lighter and marbled shade of navy. (Iwould provide pictures if I hadn’t already packed my cameras and stash.)
My goal is to stitch half of the first section (cunningly numbered 1.).

I am planning to get back to Loy In January, but who knows… I have models to be stitched so there may be more delay.

And now, I'm off to pack my stuff. Until next time... be good.

A Translated Meme

Snatched from Adelheid, and as it is a Finnish blog this meme is translated:

1. How did you choose your blog's name and your blogging name?
   Ah well, my blog's name has changed so many times that it's probably best just to tell about the first and the current:

   1st: My Therapist...and the greatest one is Love.
   What can I say? This blog was started when I was separating from my ex-husband. I believed in love, but not to the love we once shared.

   Current: Just thinking aloud... Life would be easier if it was simple
   I changed the name to Just thinking aloud... when I returned from Bangkok in summer 2006, because I was in a state of shock and knew nothing about anything... and only thing I was good at was thinking aloud.
   Life would be easier if it was simple came in around last winter when I was pondering over relationships - because life really would be easier if it was simple, duh.

   ETA: The ID... oh my, Sol used to call me Snow Queen and as that nick was taken when I registered the name I went with princess.

2. Why you started a blog?
   See the question one. Having a blog was cheaper than seeing a shrink.

3. What's the best thing you have experienced through blogging? And what has been the worst?
   Good: I have met great folks all around the world and made friends. ^^
   Worst: -

4. What will happen to your blog in 2008?
   It will have its 2000th entry... hopefully the content will improve in quality. *grin*