Weekends are too short!!!

I think we need to petition the "job gods" that the work week be 2 days and the weekend be 5 days!  This weekend was another weekend that I didn't want to end!

It was another gorgeous spring weekend!  Warm temps and lots of sun!  Spent as much time outside as possible.  Took Duke out to the new dog park where he proceeded to make new friends.  Or at least that's the story I am sticking to!!!  My perfect baby acted like a monster!  He seemed to be "attracted" to a cute little shih tzu and well, he let her know it.  Over and over and over again!  It was quite the embarrassment for me!  Thankfully the owner of the dog had a good sense of humor!  When we weren't at the dog park, Duke spent time out on the patio sunning himself.

I got to see Stacy and Marly Grace for a brief visit on their way home from their cruise.  We had a yummy lunch at Chimes and I got to open my souvenir from Mexico.  This pretty tile that my sweet pea Marly picked out for me.

I've also been steadily working on Cassady's baby quilt. I think I am making great progress. 

The entire quilt.  As you can see I have Jill, the spoon and the plate to finish along with the flowers in the border.

Jack is finished!

Almost finished with the Goose!

I may actually get the quilt done in time.  MAYBE

On the job front, well, it has taken a life of its own!  I have been praying for guidance.  What is the career path I should be on.  I went back for a 2nd interview with a really great company in the next town over.  They spoke of a possible 3rd interview, which I agreed to if necessary.  I've heard from 2 people on my reference list who said that the company has contacted them. Yay!  Shows they are interested in me!  BUT, then, today, I find out that an opening has come available at my old place of employment.  My old boss called me today to talk about it and if I'd be interested.  I said Yes.  Yep, I am crazy.  But I miss the work, I said I wanted more pay and well, who knows?  I can't turn away opportunities waiting on other opportunities.  I am confident (or at least pretending to be) that the right choice will become apparent to me!

Dancing with the Stars starts tonight.  There are many "stars" that I do not know but then there are some that I can't wait to see dance, particularly Kirstie Alley and Kendra.  I like my "reality" tv!!  :) 

Fun Weekend!

Oh, how I wish the weekends would never end!  Mondays are just so loathsome!  Especially the Monday following Daylight Savings Time!!! 

I had a great weekend!  It was fun and the time just flew by! 

Friday
Friday started with an interview for a great position that would keep me busy and with a company that seems to be pretty great and STABLE!  Unfortunately, I was only able to meet with one of the three people I was supposed to meet with so I am hoping to be called back for a 2nd interview.  The person I met with said that he felt confident I would be, but one never knows!

Stacy and Marly Grace rolled into town Friday afternoon.  It has been quite a few months since I have seen them last.  Since football season! Way too long!

We went to dinner at a local favorite, Parrain's!  Great seafood.  We had fried green tomatos with a remoulade sauce, charbroiled oysters, and fried shrimp.  Yummy!  After eating so much we had to do something to work off all that food so we went to Perkins Rowe which is a local shopping area. Great area to walk around and do some window shopping.

Then we finished up the evening by watching LSU beat Cal State Fullerton in baseball.  It was a close game but we were victorious!  The game also had one of the worse collisions I had ever seen in a baseball game.  Looked like they forgot they were baseball players and were football players instead!  While we watched the game, Marly kept herself busy coloring and making me a beautiful picture of a sunflower!

Saturday
Saturday, we packed in a bunch in the morning!  Stacy and Marly Grace were to head to New Orleans to catch a cruise ship.  So, we went to breakfast and then while Stacy went to pick up her mother-in-law, and Marly and I waited for Stacy's mom to arrive at my place, Marly and I cleaned up my patio.  I know, real fun, huh?  But it was such a beautiful morning out, it needed to be done and Marly offered to help.  Who was I to turn down free labor?  :)

Once I got them all off to New Orleans, I headed out to see a movie.  I chose Red Riding Hood.  I liked it.  It was different.  Definitely  not a traditional fairy tale. But if you aren't  interested in werewolves or witches, not a movie for you!  And it definitely was an "adult" movie. Not for children to see!

Sunday
Started off at the dog park with Duke.  A local park recently underwent some renovations and is now open.  It is a beautiful park.  Has a section for large dogs and small dogs.  A fishing pond.  New tennis courts and facility.  Walking trails.  Duke go to roam around for about half an hour with no leash on and then I got to walk around the trails for another half an hour. 

The rest of the day was laundry, watching LSU beat Cal State Fullerton in the 3rd game of the series (we swept the series!), and a quick visit with my parents.  It was definitely a lazy Sunday!

Daylight Savings Time, though, is not my favorite.  I like the extra sunlight but the hour we lose really messes everything up.  I went to church on Saturday so I wouldn't "oversleep" on Sunday.  But then Sunday night I wasn't tired and couldn't get to sleep so I tossed and turned all night.  Getting up Monday morning was a fight!  Blegh!  Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll be back into a routine again!

Stitching
Not much progress has been made since last week.  It's been busy, busy, busy.  Hopefully I will have something to show next blog entry but I'm not promising!  LOL  Stacy and Marly Grace are back in town on Saturday again and we have plans.

Spring is here!
I can tell spring is here.  Not by just the film of green pollen on everything but by all of the upcoming events: parties, baseball games, concerts.  It is going to be fun and busy time!

Ponytail and glasses kind of day!

Today is one of those days where one wears their most comfy clothes (not necessarily pjs, in this case, I have on my favorite pair of yoga pants and LSU sweatshirt), hair is in a ponytail and glasses instead of contacts!

Yesterday and today was supposed to be the "big" ice storm!  Instead it just turned into very cold, overcast, rainy days.  Schools, businesses, and state and city governments are closed down.  As I write this, I am looking out my balcony window and I see a very heavy fine rain.  Ok, maybe there is some "winter mix" in it but it just looks like rain to me! 

It's been a movie kind of day so far.  It's only 11:30 and I've already watched Moonstruck with Cher and Nicholas Cage and Mr. Deeds with Adam Sandler and Wynonna Ryder.  Up next, Cutting Edge!  I know, very odd assortment of movies but entertaining none the less! I haven't had to pull out any DVDs yet! 

Since I am stuck inside for the time being, I am working on my stitching, the laundry, and may even pick up a book to read a chapter or two.  I FINALLY finished Trinity, the book that my Dad wanted me to read.  It was totally out of the norm for me to read that type of book.  It was historical fiction, which I do read but it had very little romance in it.  Well, it shouldn't.  It was about the Irish Republican Army.  I'm very glad I read it and it gave me great perspective on that particular movement but it was very HARD to get through it! So now, I have moved on to Lord of the Rings.  Or at least I am trying to.  I just finished the prologue and am posed to begin chapter 1.  And yet again, I am just not getting into it!  My friend Jill is currently also reading it and enjoying it.  I just don't know what my problem is with that book.  It is like I have an aversion.  I'm going to have to just sit down and start reading it and hope I get past the first chapter.  It is one of the books on my list of those that need to be read!

It has been so cold that Duke will go out only if his sweatshirt is on.  That's a biggie.  He is not a "clothes wearing" kind of dog.  Despite my efforts to dress him in cute stuff.  He is just too macho for that! LOL
Here he is in his Harley Davidson sweatshirt. He's even taken to wearing it in the house. 

I have been stitching on The Kiss by Mirabilia.  I should be working on other projects but this one is such an easy stitch.  It is quite enjoyable to work on it and see the image slowly appear on the fabric. I am hoping to finish up the bottom portion this weekend.

All this yucky weather and posts from my friends who live up north, make me so glad that I do not live north of I-10!  I couldn't imagine having these super cold days for more than a week at a time or not be able to leave the house because of huge drifts of snow!  I hope that those who are currently experiencing all of these snow storms that you are safe, warm, and dry!!!

Happy Holidays!

I've been negligent in my writing on the blog.  It is a combination of things.  Busy.  Stressed.  Life.  Friends.  Family.  All of those combined have left me very uninspired! 

I've been spending a lot of time with my parents on the weekends.  Life has thrown me a huge curve ball and I'm lucky that I've been able to go to my parents for counsel and solace.  We've had our typical family dinners, been going to church together, and enjoying Saints games and Lady Tiger basketball games.  The week is time for work and spending time with my friends and dog.

I completed all my shopping today. My last gifts to pick up were for Duke.  His stocking has been hung and stuffed full of the goodies.  Now he is pouting because I won't let him have any of it yet!!!  Nope, it is for Christmas!  Yes, I do take each item out on Christmas morning and let him pick and choose that which he wants to play with.  I also make sure to bring one of his new items with us when we go to my parents. Now all I have to do is finishing wrapping!

On a side note, and kind of a sad one, poor Duke's mother, Molly, passed away today.  She was just a year older than Duke and died of heart failure.  As many of you know, Duke has a heart condition also.  It is being treated with medication and I hope that he has a few more years ahead of him because we are aggressively treating it!  He seems to be doing well on the medication and is even gaining weight so I hope that at his regular annual check up things will continue to look good and we won't have to add any more medicines!

I have been stitching.  Here and there.  When I am home I've been vegging out and watching movies.  Being very lazy!!!  I've been working on what will one day be a Christmas stocking for my sister.  Not this year of course, maybe next year! 

It is time to start working on my goals for next year.  I'll review my list from this year and either carry over those that haven't been completed or cross off that which I have completed.  I might even add on a few more.  I know that I have quite a few projects that I hope to finish in 2011 as I didn't have very many finished this year!

Hope that all of you have a Happy Holiday!

Another Overdue Post

Where has the time been going?  I feel like it is just flying these days!  So much to do and so many things on my mind!

Weekend with Marly
Two weeks ago I was able to spend a weekend with my 9 year old niece.  We had so much fun!  She made her first pizza (it was quite nice to not have to cook dinner!).

We also made yummy caramel turtle brownies!

We watched movies, Shirley Temple's Little Princess and Alvin and the Chimpmunks, The Squeakquel.  I have to admit, the Alvin and the Chimpmunks movie was very cute!  I want a cute little chimpmunk that can talk, dance, and sing like Theodore!

Marly was also able to see my parents.  We had a great lunch at a local soda fountain (yep, we still have one of those) where we had the best cheese burgers and fries! 

We also did crafts.  Of course we did!  Or rather she did and I just pitched in when needed.  She made Christmas ornaments, Christmas magnets, and a Thanksgiving scene which will make an excellent centerpiece for dinner! She had a blast doing those! 

Then we watched the LSU Alabama game.  Yep, we've raised her right.  She is a little Tiger fan.  She did crafts during most of the game allowing me to focus on the game but then she watched the 4th quarter with me and we cheered our Tigers on to victory!

New Job
The new job is going well.  So much to do.  At times I am so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start so I just pick up one thing and try to see that one task to the end.  At this point, that is about all I can do.  But I am enjoying re-learning things that I had forgotten since college due to lack of use! 

Thirty One Gifts
Thirty One Gifts.  Has anyone ever heard of it?  I hadn't until I was invited to a party for it.  I mostly went because it was being given by an old high school friend and I like to catch up with her every once in a while. Anyway, Thirty One Gifts is a business that sells things like purses and totes in different styles, patterns and you can customize with monograms.  You should check it out if you have the chance.  I was able to get Christmas presents for my Mom and my Sister.  Two checked off my list!

Duke
Many of you know that I have a little miniature poodle named Duke.  He is 11 years old (this December).  He's my baby but he is also an old man!  Recently he got sick.  An upset stomach.  It lasted for 2 days so I took him to the vet.  The vet said that something just didn't agree with him and he should be fine in a few days BUT, yep there is always a but in there, he did not like the sound of his heart.  Two years ago Duke was diagnosed with a heart murmur.  Very common in little dogs.  However, since his last checkup which was 6 months ago the murmur had become worse than they thought it would and are now recommending medication.  So now my baby is on heart medication.  It isn't too bad.  The pill is so tiny it is easy for him to take but since he's been sick I can't tell if the reason he is moping around is cause of his stomach or the new medication.  One of the side effects of the medication is that it will make him loopier and more lethargic. He's not playing with his toys anymore which kind of bothers me but like I said not sure if that is because of the medicine or his upset stomach.  However, he has been eating everything in site which is very unusual for him.  I guess I'll just keep an eye on him for a few more days before calling the vet again.

Mad Tea Party
I have been stitching.  In fact I was able to spend the weekend stitching as I stayed home to watch over Duke.  So between football, naps, and parties, I stitched on HAED's Mad Tea Party.  I'm hoping to finish one page of this pattern as it is one of my stitching goals for the year.

Spring is here!

Green!!  Green everywhere!  The trees, the bushes, the grass!  Anything outside is covered in green pollen!!!  I washed my car on Sunday, within 5 minutes it was covered in a fine green dust again!  Oh well, at least I got the first layer of pollen off!!!

Spring has arrived fully in south Louisiana. I hope it stays!!!  It has been beautiful weather!  I have a new sitting area for my patio that I am enjoying immensely in this wonderful weather!  Duke and I have enjoyed the time outside over the weekend.  Here are a few pics:

My new patio chairs (courtesy of Mom and Dad)

One of the lakes down by LSU by City Park. 

 Duke and I enjoyed a nice long walk there this weekend.

Part of the trail at City Park. Everything is just so pretty right now!

Duke sniffed his way through the walk.  Had to "mark" everything!  Sigh

I do have some stitchy stuff to share but Blogger is not cooperating in the upload of photos right now!  I will try back later! 

Highlight of my day....

The highlight of my day was when I came home to walk Duke.  I took him for his usual afternoon walk and when he pooped....it was NORMAL!!!  Yippy! 

I know, this sounds totally absurd but if you knew the week I'd had with him, you would be excited too! 

Weekend before last, the poor baby was boarded as I was in Houston.  My mom was nice enough to pick him up on Monday so that he didn't have to spend the entire day there as I was at work.  Monday was a typical evening, him ignoring me because he was ticked that I boarded him.  Hey, not my idea!  My mom won't watch him anymore!!! 

Tuesday night, I was awakened by gagging noises at 3 am.  He then proceeded to throw up on my arm as he was sleeping on my arm.  Not a big deal.  Not exactly the best experience, but it wasn't much.  So I got up, cleaned off my arm and the bed.  No sooner had we settled back down, turned the light off, that I hear him making noises again!  Can I say, I never knew a little poodle, who weighs less than 10 lbs, could have that much puke in him. It was everywhere!  All over the bed's comforter and mostly, on me!!  But can I say, he didn't have one drop on him!!!  I had to change the bed sheets, my pajamas, and clean the comforter.  The comforter was removed to the living room and is now at the cleaners.  I figured that would be the end of it.  Nope, every half hour to an hour, he was up with diarrhea. 

While he did not gag again till Friday evening, every night he was up at around 2 or 3 am with diarrhea that lasted till I had to wake up.  I have been exhausted!  I can't even imagine what it would be like if I had kids!  This is a dog!!!!! At least with him, I can put him in his kennel or drop him off at the vet.  I don't think you can do that with kids!

Needless to say, I have been anxiously awaiting the night where he finally slept through the night (that was Saturday night) and the time when he had "normal" poop again.

I am a happy dog owner once again! :)

Bath Day

Today was bath day for my baby, Duke! I always find it amazing how he seems to know what is about to come next when I reach down and take off his collar. He is so funny! He runs away as fast as he can, jumps on the couch, and lays on his back! Like that is going to keep me from bathing him!

This pic is of Duke just getting out of the bath tub. Not a happy camper!

This is Duke. He's been dried, combed, and fluffed. Time for him to relax now!

The Good, The Bad...and the ugly?

I know I am a little bit early on a weekly wrap up, but it's been one of those weeks!

This has been a good week and a bad week. The good parts were that the bad weather finally went away and we were able to clean up and start enjoying spring again. I was able to connect with My Sailor and have lovely nice long conversations with him (it's so rare we get the time to do that!). I've been busy working on some projects and have almost completed some of them! The bad, or not so good, part of the week was that a staff meeting has been called for our subsidiary next week and the COO, CEO, and human resource manager will be there to help with some "personnel matters." Nope, not a clue what that is. The theories are flying though!!! #1 theory: we are all being laid off. There are a bunch of other theories but to be honest, none of us know what it is about. But in today's economy, who knows? I'm amazingly calm about it though. I'm not so sure if that is a good or bad thing?

I will try to have some pictures to put up of completed projects (fingers crossed!). Maybe some pictures of my time with Duke. Hope to get out to the dog park or the levee to give him some time to run and play! That is if it doesn't still look very wet out there. There is nothing worse than wet dog and then having to give him a bath!!!!

Great Weekend

I've been working on Buzz. He's 75% completed. I am hoping that I finish him up by next weekend! Then all I will have to do is finish him as a photo album. Maybe this can be an Easter present? Hmmm, I won't put a deadline on it because I will never meet it then! LOL!

This weekend was super beautiful here! Sunny skies, warm weather, not a cloud in the sky! I was able to take Duke to the dog park two days in a row. On Saturday he was so well behaved and played with the other dogs. On Sunday, he decided he was going to be a grumpy old man and be by himself. Should any other dog come by him, he snapped at them. We only stayed about 40 minutes. But in that 40 minutes he managed to get super duper dirty so he was whisked to the bath immediately upon our return home. He spent the remainder of the day, when not sunning on the patio, on the back of the couch.

The weather was so nice so I took the opportunity to start doing some spring gardening! I went outside and cleaned up my patio area and planted a bunch of new flowers. These are only some of my flowers on the patio. Many of them are from the past few years, having survived even the freezes of the past winter! But I have a few new ones. It was fun getting dirty. I so rarely do that.

Spring is here!

Today was a beautiful day! Ok, I admit, I didn't know that till I left work today, I was still able to enjoy some of it! Duke and I took a little walk in the business complex across from my apartment. Got a little sun and fresh air after 5 days of rain! It was so nice to move around, clear the head, and well, I think I actually got a little pink today! LOL! As you can see in the picture, the azaleas are blooming! It was 80 degrees today and it is supposed to be in the upper 70s to low 80s for the rest of the week!

Has anyone seen the new Passione Ricamo patterns? I am lusting after Spring Beauty Princess. I am trying to refrain from purchasing this one. I've never done one of these patterns, although there are some very beautiful ones. I might put this pattern and the fabric for it on my birthday list. I can hold off for 2 more months. My birthday isn't that far away!