Trying to get back into the swing of things

It is nice to have the washer fixed! While we were lucky to have an alternate way of getting the clothes clean, I missed having the ability to just "throw a load in" and get it done while in my pjs. In fact, DH has been wearing the same pair of jeans for the last few weeks - dirty. According to him, they are the only ones that fit and it was hard to figure out a way to get them washed without wearing them. Glad that the washer finally got fixed, or those jeans would have just got up and walked to the laundrymat by themselves very soon (if I didn't throw them away first).

Since I really couldn't leave the repair men (yes, it took two to totally take apart the washer and reassemble it with the new parts) by themselves and I didn't feel comfortable getting on the stationary bike...I got a great opportunity to sit and stitch...perfect way to pass the time, don't you think? This allowed me to get even further on the ornament I am making for Sharon (aka "daffycat") from the Ornament Swap Group. I am definitely having fun stitching this. I learned from my mistake that caused the delay of Lori's and I am using the same piece of evenweave linen from my stash to stitch Sharon. The threads just lay so nice, flat and even, which makes it perfect for these ornaments I am making this year for each of the group members. Lori just posted photos of all the ornaments she received during her month of January...visit Ornament Swap to see!

Once the repairmen left...and the first load of laundry was put in the fixed machine (can you guess what it was???? If you said Hockey underarmour you are correct:)), off I went to the grocery store to restock the pantries and refrigerator. I know that I left Matthew and DH behind over the weekend - boy, did they eat up everything in sight! The store manager at the grocery store was even commenting on the amount of food that I was purchasing...but he knows that I have 2 growing boys and a husband at home I have to feed.

It feels good to be getting caught up on things and getting back into some sort of schedule. But I know that it will not last! We still have some hockey tournaments coming up - Robert's Pacific District tournament is here in town the first weekend in March, Matthew's team goes down to LA to play a team from Czech Republic the second week and then to Phoenix the third week. Technically the season is winding down, but already spring teams and summer clinics are showing up on the website and the boys are hinting at what they what to participate in. Yet the spring and summer activities aren't as involved as the season ones, so we do find a little more down time starting in mid to late March.

Well, my blogging friends, time to sign off on another posting. Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Home from Michigan

Well I am home from Detroit, for what will probably be the last travel tournament for Robert and his hockey team for the season. They have Pacific District coming up in a week and a half...I am hoping for a good outcome, but...

The weekend was pretty good. The boys did fair...they made it to the semi-finals, but lost to the Motor City Metal Jackets with a score of 4-3. It was an exciting game as they were down 4-0 in the 3rd period and started to battle back, but the game ending buzzer rang before they were able to tie it up.

Aside from hockey, we had to deal with the excitment of a winter storm which dumped 8+ inches of snow on the Detroit area on Sunday.

The view outside my hotel window on Sunday afternoon when the winter storm started

Of course, the California boys were ready for a snowball fight :)

We got home after 1am this morning and I have taken today off from work to catch up on household things...after the washer repairman finishes up with the washer. They are here right now installing the new parts - basically rebuilding the whole thing - as I type this. It will be nice to have this fixed, as doing laundry is a big part of my daily routine :)

On the Stitching Front...I have started the ornament for Sharon for the Ornament Swap group. I like what I am stitching and it is coming out nicely. It was the perfect thing to work on while on the airplane.

That is about all for now...until next time, remember...
Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!
Lisa

Time to catch up!

Phew...what a Valentine's weekend! It was fun but exhausting! Especially my, 40 hour day that started at 5:30am on Sunday morning and ended on Monday at 9:30pm. I did catch a few catnaps when I went home Sunday evening to put the boys to bed; Monday morning when I came home to wake up the boys & get them ready for school and later on Monday after I picked them up from school. Crazy, I know! But very happy with the way Valentine's was handled in our store and the way that our employees helped to get everything produced and delivered. Sure, there are always things that store owners can do better and there are alway customers who aren't satisfied...but after hearing that some of the other franchise stores weren't able to make all their deliveries on Valentine's day - I feel very good that we did.

Now, back to reality and "routine".

Catching up on my blog reading I found out that Lori received the ornament I made her for the Ornament Swap, so now I can show you what I stitched:

"Snow Wishes" by The Victoria Sampler
Designed by Cathy Jean
Just CrossStitch 2009 Special Christmas Issue 

Stitched on fabric from my stash (which didn't have the count information on it) and substituting thread (but keeping true to the colors called for). It was a fun project to stitch and I was so glad to hear that Lori received it! Now it is time to figure out what ornament I will be stitching & finishing for the March recipient...mmmm, time to pull out all the ornament specials again :)

Six days until the repairman to return to fix the washer. We have received all 3 boxes of parts to replace the bad ones. We are making due with washing the clothes through other means, but it is a hassel - lugging the dirty clothes to the car...but it has to be done. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well next Tuesday and we will have a working clothes washer :)

That is about it for now...just catching up as well as getting ready to leave for Detroit, MI with Robert & his hockey team for a tournament during President's weekend. So, until next time...

Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa

Mid-week already

Well, we find ourselves in the middle of the week and, while I don't necessarily want to rush it, I am glad that has arrived.

It has been a crazy week already - especially yesterday due to the visit of the washer repair man. Don't you just dispise the "window of time" that you get assigned when you set up an appointment with a service man? The four hour window - either 8am-12pm or 1pm-5pm - where you have to sit at home waiting for this person to come and determine what ails your appliance. Thank goodness that DH stepped in to be at home to wait so that I could stay at work in order to visit with my boss who was making her yearly visit to my office from the UK. DH arrived at the house at 1pm and waited...and waited...and waited. I got home around 3pm after picking up the boys from school and took over the "waiting station" while DH made a couple of fruit arrangment deliveries. Because I had to leave for the boys' hockey practice, DH came back to wait. Let's just say that this whole thing made for a very stressful sllituation, especially after I had called Sears and the local company they contracted to service our washer to find out what the timing status of the visit would be...

Me: "Hello, can you tell me when the repair tech will arrive?"

Customer Service: "Well, we send him a message to call you to give you an estimate."

Me: "That would be wonderful, but this is the 4th time I have called and asked for this information. Each time I was told that I would get a call back, but that has been 2 hours ago...I just want to know so that my husband and I can plan what we are going to do."

Customer Service: "Oh, madam, I apologize for this inconvience I will send another message to the tech to call. But you do know that he will be there between the hours of 1pm and 5pm."

Me: "Yes I know, but after being inconvienced since 1pm and sitting here at 4:30pm, it would be nice to know if he will be coming today before 5pm or if I need to make other arrangements."

Customer Service: "Yes, I understand...looking here it appears that there are 2 more appointments ahead of you and that he is still scheduled to be there before 5pm"

Me: "So, you are telling me that it is now 4:30pm and the tech still has 2 more appointments before he gets to me AND he is still going to be here by 5pm. This is definitely not good because my husband needs to be back at the store at 5pm, which obviously isn't going to happen is it - - - but I guess that is ok with you all because he will have "arrived" by 5pm, well within the window of time."

Customer Service: "So, do you want me to reschedule since this is obviously an inconvience...mmm...we can reschedule your appointment for next Monday."

Me: "You are kidding, right? We have waited here all day, waiting for this appointment which we scheduled a week ago - irritated because we have been calling to get the status of a tech who hasn't called back - stressed because it is close to 5pm and if we would cancel and reschedule we would have to wait another week to see the tech...no we will wait."

I left DH at the house when I had to leave with the boys for hockey...the tech finally showed up exactly at 5pm and diagonosed our washer as pretty sick :( It needed lots of new parts, which had to be ordered, which of course would take 10 days to arrive. So, we have a new appointment set up for Feb. 22...sometime between the hours of 1-5. AHHHH! Oh, well...we will deal - especially with trips to the laundromat or the neighbors house...it is an inconvience, but it definitely is not the end of the world!

So, aside from this - I do want to announce that I FINALLY got Lori's ornament in the mail for the Ornament Swap...it was due in the mail on or before the 31st. I feel so bad, as I don't like to make committments if I don't/can't follow thru. I am grateful that she and the group understand :) As soon as I hear that she received it, I will be able to show you what I created. The next one is due in the mail on/before March 31...I better to get thinking what I want to do and start stitching!

Hope all are doing well!

Take care and remember...
Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa