I’ve got some counted cross stitch packs that have been sitting in my craft box for Lord knows how long and I think it’s such a shame that they just sit there with nobody to work on them.

I probably bought these years ago and they are still in their packages, etc. The one that I am featuring today is called Pegasus & Colt. The kit has everything you need including the thread, needle, and instructions.

This cross stitch kit has never been opened and I would love to mail it out to the first person that contacts me saying that they would like to have it. Postage isn’t an issue because the pack doesn’t weigh all that much so I will just mail it to you!

There really isn’t any point in me hanging on to it. It’s pretty clear that I’m not going to have any time to work on it… so I would LOVE for you to have it!

The marker that you see on the front of the picture is on the plastic part of the package. I didn’t want you to think that the item was damaged in any way so I thought I would just mention that to you.

“If you are still afraid of reaching out, you have to try to remember that the worst thing they can say or do is ignore you or belittle you. And if they don’t respond well to your attempts at befriending them, you just have to move on, and not take it personally. Blogging requires a thick skin because you can never please everyone.” - November 13, 2007

I love to network with new bloggers. I like to read their posts, I like to see what blog circles they run with, and I like to see where their linkage will lead me.

I have made some fabulous blog friends simply by following the links which is a big reason why I like to leave links and to link to others. I also get excited when I bump into somebody that is new to blogging and you can tell that they are very excited and passionate about it.

The paragraph from the Blog Herald’s post stands out to me a lot. It speaks to me because sometimes attempting to network with other bloggers can be very difficult and hurtful.

Unfortunately there are blog cliques out there and you’ll either fit in OR you won’t. I have to remind myself that it’s not me that they are ignoring and it’s not that they don’t want to be friends with me.. it’s that they are working on other more important things right now and to just keep on doing what I love.

Blogging, Networking, and making new Friends!

A long time ago (almost 20 years) Faith and I talked about getting a tattoo while we were sitting sipping sangria on a beach in Spain.

All these years later we finally went and got it done. American Tattoo here in Chicago is a great place (probably the best place) to get a tattoo if you are thinking about getting one done.

The guys that did the tattoo were great! We got to have them done at the same time. Yes, it hurt but it was well worth the pain. I would describe it as how you might feel if you stayed out in the sun too long.

You can probably see a bunch of different things if you look closely at the tattoo pic.

There’s a heart in the middle which stands for the love that we have for each other and the love that we have for our friendship. There are two swans which symbolizes each of us. There are two Christian fish which symbolizes  faith in Christ. If you look at the entire tattoo you might even see some eyes as in a mardi gra mask.

I think it’s a pretty cool tattoo.
I think it’s pretty darn elegant.
I love it!

My husband was home all week which was nice because he’s been on the road a lot this year. School is going well for him but it was time to take a break from that too. He’ll start back up with school at the beginning of the year and get his bachelors degree in the fall.

This year my husband’s brother and his wife hosted Thanksgiving and it was so much fun! My SIL’s family are very warm and happy people. It’s always tons of fun to be around all of them. We also got to spend some time with Don’s grandpa, his wife, and his late brother’s wife.

One thing that always seems to happen every year around Thanksgiving is that Miss Fiona tends to get sick in some-way-shape-or-form. We had to take her to a brand new Urgent Care Clinic here in Chicago.

The folks that work there are so nice and the doctors (all of them) are very personable. I found out that this new Urgent Care Center is going to be open 365 days of the year from 7am-10pm which is really nice AND it’s not far from my house so that’s a plus. Anyway, the little booger Miss Fiona has pink eye. It’s all cleared up now and hopefully (knock on wood) the rest of us won’t get it. So far so good!

December is going to be a very busy time for sure! We have so much going on between birthdays, family get togethers, church services, walk through Bethlehem, and Christmas!

Today I went out and bought some stuff to decorate our house outside for the holidays. We’ve never done that before so I’m excited about it. Let’s see.. I bought some hanging snow balls for the front tree, lights for the front porch, pre-lit wreaths to go around the lights on our garage, and a pre-lit snowman to greet our visitors. We also going to put up a Disney Princess Tree in Fiona’s room and a Disney Tinker Bell Tree in Kinsley’s room.

I don’t know about you guys but I’m having the most awful time trying to order stuff online. Then I realized that it was cyber Monday. Be sure your firewall is running well and if your online orders don’t seem to be taking then you might want to wait a couple of days until cyber Monday (today) has passed.

That’s all I have for now… sorry I haven’t been around. We’ve just been busy. This week should be interesting because I’m going to try and have the house decorated for Christmas before Don gets home on Wednesday! Fun Fun!

PS I think it sucks that the Texas Longhorns lost to Texas A&M and I think it’s great that Callahan got fired from coaching the Nebraska Huskers.

If you’re curious about the names of the pieces, they’re all cities. If you’re not curious, I hope you skipped this entire paragraph. In some cases the name of the city has some relation to the stone used - even if it’s really a stretch. In other cases, it’s just a city that popped into my head as I looked at the finished work.

I have a specific way of finishing all my new stuff so I can use most pieces as badge lanyards or eyeglass chains or necklaces, depending on what I need for the day. If you don’t know what a badge lanyard is, you’ll have to go to the Flickr site and see what I mean.

If you do happen to visit the site and have any comments or maybe suggestions about designs I could do, let me know - you can leave comments here or there. This is a heck of a lot of fun *and* it’s the kind of mindless busy-work (at least after I figure out the design I want to make) that helps distract me from any anxious thoughts. When the noise in my head gets too loud, I just start stringing beads.

I’m seriously considering putting together a storefront site. I’ve written the county for my DBA, I have the paperwork for a business license and I’m trying to figure out how to get a tax ID so I can buy my supplies wholesale. Buying beads at the quantity I’ve been is pretty pricy at retail. I’ve found several web sites  and some I just stumbled across via Google. I get better prices online, but I don’t know if I could get even better ones if I could buy wholesale. Will have to wait and see. Or, if you know, tell me!

1. How long after you get up in the morning before you open a browser window?
Within seconds of my first sip of coffee.

2. What’s your homepage set to?
My blog, where else?

3. How many sites do you have bookmarked?
Oh my. I quit counting after 30. The scroll seemed to go on forever and I lost my place.

4. Do you get links emailed to you from friends saying “You just have to check this one out” If so, what kinds of sites do they think you’re interested in? Are they right?
Most of my friends e-mail me links to writing sites, upcoming horror or supernatural books, and Native American news stories. Yes, they’re dead on!

5. What do you think you read more: sites, blogs or forum posts.
Wow, that’s a tough one. Off the top of my head, I’d have to say forum posts. Sites and blogs run a close second, but I’d have to say sites, because I’m always googling things for other people who can’t seem to remember they’re capable of typing key words into a search box.

6. If you’re new to blogging what’s the most challenging thing for you about it. If you’ve been blogging for a while what one piece of advice would you give to new bloggers?
The most challenging for me is adding new things to my template without screwing up my whole blog. And for those of you who have been blogging for a while, please HELP!!! LOL

7. Live Journal, Blogger or other - and if other, is it another blogging service or do you have your own?
Blogger

8. Other than AWer’s blogs, what do you think is your most frequently visited site?
Absolute Write is #1. Oh, other than AW and AW blogs, I have to pick just one? Can’t. Daily, when I’ve scoured the threads of AW and blogs, I scurry on to the Plain Dealer, Blogcritics, The Compulsive Reader, my local library access, The Times, and …geez, no wonder I don’t get any writing done.

9. Do you use a site meter? Which one? Any particular reason why?
Yes, I use site meter. I think Dawno suggested it. If not, it may have been Jill. I listen to both of them faithfully.

10. Do people you know in RL “get” blogging? If not, what’s their reaction when (if?) they find out you have a blog?
I don’t know anyone in real life. LOL Seriously, one person I know who did find my blog never gets anything about me, so she wasn’t very polite when she found it. A few local friends e-mail me and let me know they love my blog, but they won’t sign up or comment. Those of you whom I’ve met seem to get my blog and me quite well. Even those who haven’t met me personally, I think, enjoy my blog or you wouldn’t keep coming back.

I guess this is my opportunity to once again say a big “THANK YOU” to all of you who do read my blog and comment. AW is a great place. I couldn’t have picked a better family. And to those who have strayed in from other blogs or sites, “welcome to my home.” The coffee’s on, the cups are clean, and I’m always ready for a relaxing and enjoyable conversation.