Mar 31/09

Here is a picture of my work in progress. They are from a Jeannette Crew book called "Snow Folks". I am using my scrap thread box to stitch them so each "twin" is slightly different from the other although that may be hard to see in this photo. These designs are quick and easy which is great for my little brain that is exhausted at the end of the day when I fall on the couch and dig out the stitching.

In the meantime, I am working the same number of hours of work, but we have less overlap of pharmacists so my workload is higher because I am usually the only pharmacist on duty. My boss has been trying to help out by covering breaks and lunches so that I can get a few minutes to myself in an 8-hour shift, but some days that does not happen and my only moments of peace are when I hide out in the bathroom! Unfortunately, I think that some anxiety and depression are being triggered so I am trying to take good care of myself to avoid falling into that hole.

At the same time, I am beginning the overhaul of my research paper on microfinance whose final draft is due on April 14th. I was feeling rather blocked and overwhelmed about re-working 20 pages of stuff, but have hit on a technique that seems to work for me. I am writing a short document in a conversational style as if I was explaining over coffee what my paper is about. This style is helping to identify the important bits and the story I want to tell in my paper.

My remaining waking moments have been spent contacting, interviewing and reviewing potential team members for my Habitat for Humanity trip to Mongolia. Things are going well so far and have chatted with some really great people.

I know that I get bored if I do not have several big projects on the go, but I should do more thinking about the scheduling of these things. The paper is due April 14, car inspection is due in April, my Rotary club has a fundraiser on May 2, I leave for Mongolia on June 25, I work full time..........No wonder I am just wanting to curl up in bed and pull the covers over my head.

Mar 27/09

No pictures to post today although I may post some later on the Christmas ornaments I have in progress. My main focus in life at the moment is supposed to be a research paper which is due in a few weeks. The first draft did go in a few weeks ago and it was ripped apart/discussed during Monday's class. I have spent the week digesting the comments, mostly because I did not have time to even open up the document again what with working 7 days in a row since we are short staffed again at work. Family issues have reared their ugly head so time has been spent dealing with those things. On the plus side, my Thursday night curling team won the league last night. My brain has been so out of focus that I did not know we were playing the championship game until friends of mine playing the game beside us told me. I thought that they were pulling my leg until I asked one of the men on my team. You can imagine my surprise when we ended up winning the game and we were named league champions. Life is its usual chaos here in my little corner of the world although I see the sun is shining from vantage point here at a window at the university library.

March 15/09

My stitching has been replaced by all of those notes that Hayes is sleeping on top of. This paper on microfinance and poverty has to be emailed in by Wednesday at 9am, but I have pretty much over-researched and written the bulk of it. Now, I am writing the introduction and the conclusion while fine tuning my arguments and writing style. My problem is editing.....there are so many things that I could write about because this is such a huge topic. Being focused and clear are proving difficult for me.

Mar 4/09

OK, so this is not the straightest photo I have ever taken! I was trying to move the cat out of the way at the same time after having to sweep up the cat litter that gets tracked EVERYWHERE in this house by the 3 furry ones. Anyhow, back to the cross stitch. This kit is a Daydreams one that I bought in Connecticut this summer. It was on mark down because it was missing most of its bits, but I had the cloth for stitching and stitched the design using the picture on the box as the pattern. To clip it all together, I "borrowed" document clips from work and slid them on before unhooking the silver bits that act as levers for the clips. A bit utilitarian, but the clips work and one more thing has been finished in the big pile of stuff in my craft room! I am chipping away at organizing and reducing my cross stitch and craft stash so that it is not completely overwhelming if I ever get accepted to grad school. Packing and moving all of the stuff would be a daunting task, to say the least!

Mar 3/09

Yesterday, I was showing my boss the framed "Wreath of All Seasons" when he made a comment that got me thinking. He was surprised that I had the patience to do cross stitch which got me to thinking about me and my personality and how it can surprise people to find out that someone is a cross stitcher. Then, I got to thinking, well what does a cross stitcher look like so here I am!

Don't mind the fat lip, I bit the inside of my lip yesterday and it is swelling to historic proportions!