Page 1 Finished!

I finally finished page 1 of my HAED Colorful World!!!!! It took 53¼ hours spread out over 35 days - much longer than I had hoped. I was making good progress till I started the fundraising stuff at Alea's school (see previous post).

 

This is what it will look like when finished - I hope!

 

This is the front of page one.

 

This is the back of page one.

There are 24 pages total, but 4 of them are just narrow strips. At the rate I'm going it will take 2 years to finish. I just saw a pattern that said "She who dies with the most patterns isn't stitching fast enough" - I think that sums it up nicely LOL!

I also got in a little painting last month - these are some polyresin bunnies I bought over a year ago & never finished - cute little babies!

 

Next week I'll try to post pictures of Tall Sundae & Mermaid Heaven, my other 2 WIPs!

Until then, Happy Stitching & stay out of the mud - a sure sign that spring is on it's way!

Holy Trinity Academy

Alea goes to Holy Trinity Academy in Trinidad - started kindergarten in Sept. even though she wasn't 5 till January. Parents (and willing family) need to put in 35 hours of volunteer time every year, so Tomy & I agreed to "host" the Valentine dance & concession stand, after running the concession stand at the Cad Creations shop grand opening (owned by another class mom). The dance is over - can we all say NIGHTMARE? Tomy & I each  put in a 13 hr day but that was the BEST of it. The food stand at the store opening made only $124, we sold about 10 funnel cakes, 10 wax-dipped roses, & lots of soda. They gave away hot dogs hoping people would buy drinks & desserts - people came & gobbled up 120 weiners (2 & 3 each sometimes), some guy even came & took some for his dog and these were NOT hungry homeless people either. Then we went to the gym for the dance. Nobody had time to do much decorating (there was an away basketball game that night also) so Tomy & I had to do it, then set up the food. Three high school girls arrived at 6:00 & helped finish the balloons & filled the soda coolers. Tom made 3 chocolate cheesecakes & not even ONE piece sold. We sold 30 advance tickets and only 20 people showed up because there was no booze. The wife of the band leader had insisted we hold the dance after the school staff wanted to cancel due to lack of prep time and they caved in to her demands. She & the band showed up at 7:30 (dance started at 8:00) & she proceeded to throw out all of our help, including the school girls, demanding they pay for tickets or leave. Several calls were made to Andrea (in charge but at the basketball game 2 hrs away), but the damage was done.  It started snowing around 9:00, everybody was gone by 10:30 because the band quit & started packing up. The school lost money on the whole mess. Andrea arrived as the band was packing up, she & her family stayed to help us clean up & she kept apologizing the whole time. On the way home I told Tom that I had 2 choices: throw up my hands & walk away from the whole school OR take over as fundraiser chairman (they were looking for one) & help fix it. Well, guess what stupid me did? Alea has 12 more years in the school & they don't get ANY government money so they need all the outside help they can get, plus Tomy won't walk away SO ...... I volunteered. I am now swamped with paperwork -  need liquor & gaming licenses for dinners & raffles, finish events scheduled for the rest of THIS year, & start planning some MAJOR events for next year, plus I have dental surgery scheduled for March 9th (the 1st of several). It means  meetings every week plus trying to get all the parents involved. I've written up a letter of introduction & intent, and a questionnaire for ALL parents & students, hoping to find everybody's strengths & call on individuals for specific jobs rather than a general appeal in the weekly newsletter. We have some exciting new ideas for new events, including a Mixed Martial Arts Expo, a Battle of the Bands, a Mardi Gras Masquerade, & a Mystery Dinner Theatre. In the meantime, the school is now holding the annual Lenten Fish Fry dinners every Friday. Tomy & I worked this past one as the regular crew was at another basketball game - our girls' team made the regionals! If they win Tuesday night Tomy & I will be on Fish Fry duty again next Friday, too.
I haven't had any stitching time in the past 2 weeks, barely keeping up with my email. I started my 1st HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) project - will post pictures as soon as I finish page 1 (of 24). If anyone has any dynamite ideas for a fundraiser please share and all prayers are welcome!

Alea's Party

Alea's 5th birthday party was a smashing success and we are still recuperating LOL! We had 17 people, but only 2 children - Alea & her "boyfriend" Alex. Alea started the day with her presents from Mom & Dad and Grammy Lory & Papa. Alea & her dolly, Pearl, just loved their matching fuzzy pink robes! Mom & I worked all the day before on cake, cupcakes, & pinata. We never got to break the pinata which I think did NOT break Tomy's heart LOL. The party theme was the Princess castle, changed the last minute by Alea, I was supposed to make a doll cake (one of those skirt ones with a doll pick body) but as I was getting out the stuff Alea decided she like the castle pan better so Tomy & I switched gears. We had homemade pizza, salad, chips & dip, punch, and cake & ice cream - lots of everything! The confetti balloons were a big hit with Alea & Alex and we are still finding bits of confetti on things! Aunt Jessi & Uncle Willie got her a scooter so Alex used her bike & they raced around and around the room. Pin the tail on the dragon was fun, especially watching the grown-ups play on their knees. Alea got lots of "messy" presents - markers, puzzles, nail polish, etc. - wish we'd had them during Christmas break LOL!

Finally managed to get pictures uploaded & placed - thank you Meari, Dawn, & Mel! We've spent the past 2 days cleaning up & sweeping confetti. I finally got to do a little stitching - here is my latest WIP, Tall Sandwich to go with Tall Sundae. It doesn't look like much yet, but it does go fairly quickly when I do get to stitch on it. I can't wait to get it finished & hang them both in my kitchen!

We're having another beautiful day today, sun & clouds with a high close to 60, but snow & rain coming in tomorrow with a high only in the lower 40s - guess I'll have to keep the fire going.
Stay warm & Happy Stitching!

My costume was Jar Jar Binks, my favorite Star Wars character! The only problem was I couldn't see without my glasses & they kept fogging up under my mask LOL! I will post more pictures when I get them from DD's camera - Bob was the emperor, Alea was Asoka (from the cartoon) & Tomy was Mara Brood (from the video game). Kyle's wife (Ray's sister) Amy did his face with acrylic craft paints - awesome job! Ray's mom, Kathryn, came in a serape & sombrero with a sign labeling her as an alien.

I spent New Year's day taking down the tree after Alea woke me at 8:00 (got to bed after 2:00). It actually took all day as I felt like a total zombie. I would wash a few dishes, then pack a few ornaments, then do a few more dishes. Tomy put a turkey in the oven but we just picked at it with some leftover snacks as none of us had the energy to cook. The guys went back to work yesterday (late shift, 4 P.M. - 2 A.M.) and Alea goes back to school tomorrow - gives whole new meaning to "and mom & dad can hardly wait for school to start again!". Her birthday is on January 10th so Tomy & I are now planning ANOTHER party - whew, I'm not recovered yet from the last one! I haven't touched my stitching in days - maybe I'm having withdrawal symptoms & that's why I can't function LOL! Guess that's enough for a 1st posting - will add more as I get more pictures .... or some stitching done.

Well, I've finally done it - created a blog! My DD has been trying to get me to do this for a while & maybe 2010 is finally the time ... now what to say? Christmas was hectic, but nice - had SIL's family over & we watched Star Wars episode 1 (in preparation for New Year's Eve) & worked on a jigsaw puzzle. For some reason my kids always slept in on Christmas morning & Alea has proved no different LOL! I was up at 4:00, Bob got up at 5:00, Tomy wandered down around 6:00, Ray showed up at 6:30. By 7:30 we were all wandering around watching Alea's bedroom door so I put on some Christmas music (rather loud) & opened her door. That did it - she was out & under the tree within 5 minutes. Her other grandpa kept telling her there was no Santa & I kept telling her there was, so I guess she was a bit confused. Tomy & Ray have never done Santa for her. In her letter to Santa she only asked for a dolly and confirmed that request when she sat with the jolly old man at her school's Christmas pageant so Bob & I got her a Madame Alexander 18" sweetie & put her under the tree with a tag "to Alea, Love Santa". She grabbed it , hugged it, and declared "I love her"! Later that afternoon she asked me how he got down our tiny chimney so I told her he was magic but I'd left the door unlocked just in case. She nodded & went back to playing so I guess it was acceptable.
The week between Christmas & New Year's Eve was spent preparing for our annual (OK, this was only the 2nd year) New Year's Eve costume party. Last year was just random costumes & everyone sat around in small groups so we decided to have themes & games from now on. 2009 was Star Wars and we had pod races using office chairs & 3-man teams, 2 engines & a rider all joined by holding hands - it was a wild ride! Bob won the 1st race with Tomy & I as engines, but he said he would forfeit his position rather than get in that seat again LOL, so Jessi won (Rudy & Willie were her engines). The Chinese auction was great fun, especially when Willie got a baby doll and then Alea, who was first & last, traded her electric simmer pot for it. There was an abundance of food, including ewok cupcakes, tortilla chips with rancor slime (guacamole), womp rat tails (breaded mozzarella sticks), and swamp juice (punch w/dry ice). At midnight Ray fired his cannon & lit some fireworks, then we came back in for a sparkling cider toast. Kyle won the costume contest, getting a box of chocolates & the honor of choosing next year's theme. He immediately requested Spiderman, so the 2010 theme will be Super Heroes, Villains, & Sidekicks!