Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Great day at work

Anne S

Today’s been the third day in a row where things have been “mental busy”, and I’ve been pulled in a million directions … the project leader of a massive project we’re working on has been sick the last couple of days and not in the office so I’ve taken over a lot of the work and providing input to making big decisions etc … and I’ve thrived on it!  I got some incredible comments and feedback from the project manager saying that I’ve stepped up to the plate and exceeded all expectations, and the next project he gets he’s going to sit back and let me drive it and just have a weekly catch-up or provide help when I need it … feels pretty darned good!

I had a wee chat to this particular manager when I came back from holiday, as he’d (unbeknownst to me) been attending project meetings without me, so I was out of the loop – then when he needed me to step into the breach to assist I didn’t have the background knowledge to be able to assist.  I pulled him to one side and told him that I needed to be more involved, so that I can help take some work off his shoulders and to provide me with more enjoyment in my role … that little chat has really paid off, and I’ve certainly been thrown in amongst the pigeons over the last few days … and loved it!

It’s been so busy I’ve hardly had any time to ponder over “the feral one” – while the hours have been really long again the last two days, my enjoyment levels are through the roof – I work so much better under pressure … and being put into the position of having to make snap decisions and handle crises as they arise is probably one of my fortes.  That’s why I really loved the overnight shifts when I worked on the Hotline in Melbourne – many times it was just “you” on the desk when the “proverbial” hit the fan in, say, Frankfurt airport for a customer and you had to find a solution right then and there so the customer could board the aircraft … I really do miss that part of my old job 😦

Unfortunately, since a bit of restructuring happened about 6 months ago, nowadays the pressure is just from being overworked – but it’s more a challenge of the amount of work which is just draining and mind-sapping, it’s not a challenge where you are learning anything new or building your skills in any way, you’re just at the beck and call of the other sites and follow their instructions like a little lamb … gone are the days when we used to have a major input into decisions that are made, even though we are 3 levels higher in pay scale!  Probably one of the main reasons I’ve been so unhappy at work recently … I’m bored sh*tless because I’m not getting any mental challenges.

Even at home Mum used to comment all the time that I’m always having to try something new, be it crafts or whatever, ‘cos my mind always needs to be challenged – she still has the remnants of those many challenges in her garage at home ‘cos there are many craft supplies in there that didn’t make the cut once I got bored … silk fabric painting, fabric dyeing, basketweaving, glass painting etc … after a few sessions it was a case of “I’m bored now, what can I do next?……” – I’m not quite sure why I stuck to XS, but it’s the only craft that I picked up and never put down again – perhaps because I also did a number of classes in the early days as well, so I dabbled a little bit in hardanger, silk ribbon embroidery, stumpwork etc … and now XS is my little sanctuary of peace and quiet where I actually don’t have to challenge myself, but the fact that every design I stitch is different there is a separate challenge in itself …

Anyway, this week has been a blessing – it’s been mentally challenging, and I’m learning so much … I’m enjoying it so much that I’m thinking of cancelling two days annual leave I have booked at the end of next week, so I don’t miss the final stages of the project (it’s being pushed back by a week) …

I’m too knackered to stitch … but it’s OK … it’s a rewarding and fulfilling type of knackered … 😛

It’s also probably got a lot to do with why I’ve been waffling on and on here on the blog too – perhaps I also chat more when I’m happy 🙂  With any luck the bliss will last a while longer … although fingers crossed this raging sore throat I’ve had all day will stay at bay and let the bliss continue! 🙂

Beading, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Prize Draw offering

Anne S

4th Blogaversary

Prize Draw !!!

As I briefly mentioned earlier, I am offering a (slightly belated) prize draw for my home-made beaded scissor fobs to celebrate four years of blogging and waffling online. 

I’m offering four prize fobs – one for every year I’ve been blogging.  The way it will work is that winner #1 gets first choice from the below selections, winner #2 gets the next choice, winner #3 gets the 3rd choice, with winner #4 getting the final choice.  Of course if winner #4 really hates the remaining choices, I may be able to whip something up in a preferred colour scheme, depending on what beads I have to hand at that time 🙂

How do you enter for the prize draw? 

Simply leave a comment in this post only, stating that you would like to be entered into the draw.  Please ensure that your email address is provided, along with the fobs that you prefer, in order of preference, eg 1st choice = #1, 2nd = #5, 3rd = #2.  If you only like 1 of the fobs, feel free to just put your name down for that one – if you are one of the winners and your preferred choice has already been taken, I might be able to whip one up in your preferred colour choice if I have suitable beads available at the time – no guarantees though! 🙂

I will leave the draw open until the end of the month – so you can leave a comment throughout the month of October – at the start of November I’ll draw four lucky winners out of the proverbial hat and get them out in the mail to you.

So, which fobs can you choose from?  I’ve tried to have a reasonable selection of colours, so fingers crossed you’ll find something you’d like to win.  Here goes (all are numbered to make it easier to request a specific selection in your preferences):

Note:  The prize is NOT for the scissors in the photos, it is ONLY for the beaded scissor fob 😀

If you are having difficulties viewing the fobs due to the high number of piccies, please go to my Webshots folder and view them all there 😀

 1. Fob 0014

 2. Fob 0023

 3. Fob 0045

 4. Fob 0052

 5. fob 04

 6. P1020780

 7. P1020790

 8. P1020802

 9. P1020826

10. P1020842

Beading, Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Updated pic of Acorn Needlebook

Anne S

Here’s a better view of the finished section of Periwinkle Promises’ Acorn Needlebook:

P1020815

You may/may not be able to tell, but the different green is in the final leaf on the top right of the centre acorn section, along with the backstitching on the top half of the same stem.

So far no more stitching done tonight as I ended up taking photos of my scissors fobs (I’d actually made more over the weekend than I remembered) – and I made another two identical copies of one of them tonight as I love the blend of the beads together … unfortunately I’ve now run out of those beads, which is a shame 😦

And I’ve also run out of camera battery … now all I have to do is find my battery charger … LOL – I feel like I’m living in the Bermuda Triangle right about now!!! 😛

Before my battery ran out, though, I did manage to grab a really quick of two pairs of earrings I made for myself recently too … there just may be a few more pairs in the making soon too – I’d forgotten just how much fun making jewellery can be! 😀

P1020814

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Nearly Hump Day already!

Anne S

happy_hump_day_camel

I still laugh when I think of that term … “Hump Day” – I’d never heard of it before moving to Aussie, and remember the first time I ever saw it … sitting at my desk in the call centre, a ‘flasher’ went up on the wall advising it was Hump Day today … bearing in mind, a Flasher isn’t some pervert in a raincoat (well, not in this situation anyway!) – in the call centres many have a neon display on the walls on which messages flash up during the day.  Mostly it is in relation to the number of calls on hold etc, so you can time your rise in blood pressure according to the colour of the wall display – green static text means all is good in the world and customers aren’t getting hot under the collar (aside from those that awake in a whingeing state and continue like that 24/7 regardless of the situation) … when the text turns to red, wait times are starting to build up somewhat … then when the red text starts to flash, it’s time to reach for the blood pressure medication (which is probably what the customers are doing at the same time!).

Anyway, I digress … I remember sitting at my desk watching that little neon board glowing green with “Welcome to Hump Day” text, and smiling to myself while raising one eyebrow (I’m so multi talented doing two things at once), thinking how cool it is that Aussies are so organised that they have an entire day devoted to … um … humping.  It also means that everyone has a fair chance at it LOL.  It was days later before I finally had to cave in and ask someone what it actually meant – giving them no end of amusement at my expense!!

For enquiring minds, according to Wikipedia they have the following to say about Hump Day:

An American English idiom for Wednesday is “hump day”, a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting “over the hump.”

Quite boring when I found out the true meaning … I much preferred my version (even though I did realise there was not a day dedicated to humping – just my perverse sense of humour interpreting it that way) 😉

Anyway, enough of the waffle and twaddle – and on to MUCH more important things!  Tonight I managed to find my temporarily misplaced Lumix camera (perfection-plus for those stitching macro shots – I’ve missed it heartily!) … which means I can finally take some decent photos of recent scissor fobs and stitching … aaaaand I’ve decided to offer a little giveaway just for the hell of it (well, kind of a mini blogaversary, seeing as I actually missed my anniversary a couple of weeks ago!) of one (or maybe a couple) of my scissor fobs.  I’m going to create a separate post just for the prize draw comments, so watch this space very very soon …

In the meantime, I’m off to find a glass of Chardy and put my final stitches into my Acorn Needlebook pincushion – might even squeeze in another episode or two of Season One of Buffy 😀

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

A bit of a Rotation happening

Anne S

Today has been the perfect weather for being lazy and having a ‘crafty’ day – I spent a few hours making some more scissor fobs and working on my stitching rotation while watching Season 1 of Buffy (I’m new to Buffy – my flatmate left me the whole series to watch while she’s away, bless her).  The weather has been shocking all weekend, with wind and rain present for prety much the entire long weekend, but it brought out some lovely rainbows in the late afternoon today 🙂

Rainbow 2

Rainbow 1

Stitching-wise I finished my first rotation slot by completing 4 sections of Boo Club – these are sections 5-8 … unfortunately I still haven’t put my hands on my little camera that I use for all my macro/stitching work, so the photos are really bad (not to mention they’re taken at night) – the colours in these one are WAY different to the piece in real life.  With any luck I’ll find my camera before I finish it all … I’m really missing my little Lumix!!

Boo Club 5-8

After I put Boo Club away, I managed to put a few more stitches into my Acorn Needlebook by Periwinkle Promises, finishing the main piece of stitching.  This was put on hold originally because I ran out of the dark green silk in the kit.  I did find, however, that the new skein of silk that finally arrived is a totally different colour to that that was in the kit … the needlebook is for me, so I just stitched it in the ‘odd’ colour – I can tell the difference, but it’ll be fine.  I then stitched up the three pieces that will be the needle pages – I just have the pincushion left to be stitched, then it’s time to put it all together I guess (once again, sorry for the dreadful photos).

Acorn Needlebook

Acorn Needlebook pages

Not sure how much more stitching I’ll get done this week – I guess time will tell …

Beading, scissor fobs

Gift for Tessa

Anne S

Just a really quick post to show a scissor fob that I sent to Tessa last week – I’ve just heard that it’s been received in one piece, so I can show it now.  Tessa loves ladybirds, so when I saw these ladybird beads a while ago, I just had to get them – and then decided to make one into a fob for Tessa … I was lucky enough to find a ladybird charm to finish it all off 😀 

Glad you like it Tessa 😀

Scissor fob gift H

Uncategorized

Congrats to Giovanna

Anne S

Tonight we drew the name of the lucky winner of the Summer threads out of the proverbial hat (actually it was numbered tiddlywinks out of a little plastic container), and Giovanna’s number came up (number 5, ‘cos that’s the order the comments were received in) – Giovanna, if you let me know your mailing address, I’ll try to get them into the mail tomorrow for you – otherwise it’ll be next weekend when I get to the Post Office next 🙂

Tomorrow will be a very busy morning for me – time to swap my expired Victorian drivers licence for a brand spanking new New South Wales one … yippee!!  Then it’s off to pick up my sewing machine from the repair shop so I can get back to sewing some quilted wallhangings etc – the poor thing has not been a happy camper and hasn’t sewn in a forward straight line for some time – serves me right for not getting it serviced straightaway after being gifted it, but never mind, it’ll be as good as new when it gets back home tomorrow and I can start putting it to good use … double yippee!!

And a TRIPLE YIPPEE is due for it being a public holiday on Monday and having a long 3-day weekend … it’s been the week from hell at work (I’vwe been giggling all afternoon for the last couple of days due to over-stress), and quite frankly I don’t want to think about it again until Tuesday morning when I have to.  Of course, if things continue to not go well next week, there’s a slight possibility of me having to fly up to Brisbane for a day’s work, so in some ways that’d be good LOL 😀

I have to admit I’m having major misgivings about my job at the moment – the job itself is um, ho-hum, kinda – very stressful, and not particularly rewarding in itself … but the worst thing is that since a couple of new team members have started, I really really dislike our team of staff!  And we recently had to have a desk shuffle which put the two main characters that I dislike with a passion right in my aisle, with me sharing floor space with the one person that I really and truly struggle with.  Perhaps that’s impacting on my level of enjoyment the most at work, but I have to admit I’ve never ever looked forward to my weekends and home time like I do now … 5pm just can’t come quickly enough for me each day – BIG words from a workaholic like me!

Anyway, enough whining about work … it’s time to hit the hay for the night … Katie and I just sat and watched a soppy chick flick which had us both in tears tonight (PS I Love You, which I’d never seen before … serious tissue supply required for that one!), followed by the latest episode of Supernatural, thanks to the magnificent world of downloading online due to the fact that Channel Ten can’t be bothered screening it until next year (insert as many expletives as you’d like in here, as they’ll be accurate) … after a great night in viewing and watching Katie dress up in her upcoming holiday gladrags, we polished off almost a big bottle of cider (Katie) and Chardonnay (me) and it’s time to get some shut eye before the alarm goes off at 0800 for me to put my ugly face on for my drivers licence photo 😀

I’ll just close with a further quick Congrats again to Giovanna! 😀

Cross Stitch, Stash, Wishlist

Gay Ann Rogers – upcoming class

Anne S

Enabling alert – This one is really really pretty … Check it out, if you dare! 😀

http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Pre-Week_2.html

But I think the cheaper price is this week only (it’s for an upcoming class).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I’ve also just been really bad and finally enabled myself, after seeing so many people stitching this first one … but I couldn’t buy one without the other, so these two have just taken a trip through PayPal and should be arriving via email shortly 🙂

Jardin Prive-My Lady's Quaker

Jardin Prive-Gentleman Quaker

You too can buy these from Jardin Privé 😀

This one I haven’t actually bought yet, but it most definitely HAS to go onto the wishlist – love love love this one, don’t know why I haven’t seen it before now!  And now I’m going to stop looking!!! … Back to cleaning out the bedroom 😛

Nora Corbett-Bluebell Pixie