Finished!

Corporate Cats is now complete!!  YAY!

June 6, 2015

I have another cat WIP that I might pull out to replace this one.  I also have to work on the baby quilt and my crochet projects.  Boy am I glad school is almost done!!  Including teacher workdays, I have 4 more school days.  Then I have 2 full months to spend working on WIPs.  :-)

Have a happy Wednesday!

TTFN
Cat

Cheating?

In 2012, I participated in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge.  I loved it and planned to do it again the following year.  But then life happens ... as always.  This year I considered participating again, but decided to wait a year and prepare myself for this amazing challenge.  I spent the month of  April visiting other A to Z blogs, browsing topics/themes, and hopefully finding a few new blogs to add to my daily reads.  I was totally inspired by a couple crafty bloggers who were completing cross-stitch A-Z samplers.  This is what I will do next year ... YAY!  I found a kit I totally love, opened the package to look at the chart, and immediately began to panic.  "There is no way that I can do a letter a day ... this thing is HUGE!"  (and very detailed.)  I thought maybe a letter every week (or two) would be a good estimate, did some quick calculating, and decided that I better start now.  So that's what I did.

Is this cheating?

In order to make myself feel like I'm not cheating, I will actually do the writing of the blog post on the day that each letter is due.  I'm just getting the pics ready ahead of time.  :)

Also, my A to Z List is coming along.  I moved a couple things around, but the overall theme is still in tact.  A lot of the stuff in this list will be completed over the summer (school is out in two weeks ... YAY again!)  Here is the updated version:

1. complete A to Z cross-stitch
2. try to Blog more
3. Create new lesson plans (for new class)
4. Donate clothes
5. Eat healthier
6. clean out File-cabinet and Flash-drive
7. Get away with hubby for a weekend
8. Hand quilt leaf wall hanging
9. Improve my Interactive notebooks
10. Just relax
11. get new Kitchen appliances (we actually got a new dishwasher ... now for a stove!)
12. play Less games and watch Less tv
13. finish Menu board
14. complete Notebook/planner
15. Organize recipes
16. finish crocheting my Poncho
17. complete the Quilt for my bed
18. Read more
19. make a decision about Scentsy
20. work on "This Cat Does Math" - my second blog
21. Update current lesson plans
22. Visit some A to Z blogs (April)
23. Work on school stuff - Worksheets and Website
24. eXercise more
25. for next school Year, stock up on school supplies
26. plan a visit with my Zoey

TTFN!

Cat

My Lonely Rose

We have a rose bush in front of our house. My mother has claimed to "kill" this bush many times, and we really don't take care of it, but every year it surprises us by coming back to life and gives us just a little pop of color. My one bloom looks so out of place on a brown, bare bush ... but it is very pretty!  It makes me smile every time I pull into the driveway.

It is in sort of a weird spot though (which does explain the many encounters the bush has had with a lawn mower.)  Hubby and I are thinking of trying to re-locate it to a different spot.  In my mind, this is just another way of trying to "kill" the plant again ... but just maybe it will persevere through this new ordeal.  I don't know that I will though.  I'm not a gardening sort of person.  Anyone know how to replant a rose bush without bleeding to death?

TTFN,
Cat
   

A to Z List Update #1

Before spring break ended, I did manage to complete one of my 'A to Z' things-to-do.

        #4 Donate clothes

I spent a few hours last Sunday and cleaned out the closet and dresser, and managed to come up with a big trash bag filled with clothes to get rid of.  I even broke down and got rid of 3 pairs of shoes!  This is seriously huge!  YAY for me!  The bag is currently in my car with a second bag that was filled over the winter.  I have to go through one more thing before I take the bags to Good Will.

I probably would have done more over spring break, but I became totally obsessed with working on my cross-stitch.  I'm still working on it, but not so much now that I'm back to work.

Progress as of 4/11/15

I have lots more done ... just haven't updated a pic yet.  Left cat is complete except some outlining; middle cat has a face; but I had to rip out right cat's dark gray feet and light gray face fur.

I began this project many, many years ago.  It was a kit that I found in a Big Lots.  I don't know why but I started this kit using 3 strands for all the stitches instead of 2, and therefore ran out of a bunch of thread.  The right cat will be a different color gray (not much different, but still different.)  I must have also misplaced some thread because I had to go in my stash for the orange to do the middle cat.

Not that I don't have enough to do, I have also started two baby quilts.  Looks like Corporate Cats may be put on the back burner for a while.  One of the baby quilts needs to be done by May 9th for the shower.  AARGH!

TTFN
Cat 

Spring Break and Crafty Progress

I am so thankful for Spring Break.  About this time every year I get so tired ... tired of getting up so early, tired of the way my classes are going, tired of thinking about the list of school work I need to get done.  I always have big catch-up plans for the week of Spring Break.  I'm going to get things done!

Friday around lunchtime, as I'm beginning to think about packing things up, I sniffle.  Then sneeze.  Then blow my nose.  Then sniffle again.  UGH!

So for the past 4 days, I have been doped up on cold meds!  Today was the first day I felt like doing anything, and actually got out of the pj's and went to the grocery store.   But in between the nose-blows I did manage to pull out a UFO from long ago and start working on it.  Yay for me!

Corporate Cats by Sugarplum Express - This is what it's going to look like.

And this is what I have done as of this morning. 

Over the past couple days I completed the dark gray of the left cat tail.  And today (not shown in the pic) I have been working on the gold tail and feet of the middle cat.  This UFO is not on my A to Z goal list, but it is easy to work on.  I will be working on my list later this week!  :)

TTFN
Cat 

Missing the "A to Z"

It has been months (okay ... well over a year) since I have blogged about anything.  I have truly missed it even though I was never that regular about posts.  I keep reading from my blog roll, and think often about sitting and writing, and then I go do one of the many other things that is in need of doing.  With all of the 'A to Z' prepping go on over the last month, I really did consider doing the 'A to Z' this year ... but I have decided to wait until next year.

Instead I have made an "A to Z" list of goals for me to work on for the rest of this year.  I am a HUGE procrastinator.  I don't want to be, I just am.  I have my hands in many projects, so some tend to get pushed to the side (unfortunately like blogging).  Well no more!!  I plan to keep updating my progress here as a way to keep myself accountable.   We'll see what happens.

1. make Appointments
2. complete Birdhouse cross-stitch
3. Create new lesson plans (new style)
4. Donate clothes
5. Eat healthier
6. clean out File-cabinet and Flash-drive
7. Get away with hubby for a weekend
8. Hand quilt leaf wall hanging
9. Improve my Interactive notebooks
10. Just relax
11. get new Kitchen appliances (this might not happen this year ... fingers crossed!)
12. play Less games and watch Less tv
13. finish Menu board
14. complete Notebook/planner
15. Organize recipes
16. finish crocheting my Poncho
17. complete the Quilt for my bed
18. Read more
19. make a decision about Scentsy
20. work on "This Cat Does Math" - my second blog
21. Update this blog at least once a week
22. Visit some A to Z blogs (April)
23. Work on school stuff - Worksheets and Website
24. eXercise more
25. for next school Year, stock up on school supplies
26. plan a visit with my Zoey

Okay ... a few of these are a stretch, but I have a place to start from anyway.  I'm feeling motivated already.  :)

For those of you doing the 'A to Z', good luck!  I may stop by and take a peek!

TTFN
Cat