Trouble in Paradise

Well, I've only been a few weeks at my new job and already I feel like quitting. Talk about a short honeymoon - LOL.

I had a major fallout with another manager that made a brain dead decision and had my staff execute it while I was away. Now my department looks like we’re a bunch of clowns who don’t know our heads from our asses. GRRRRR

Even though the Regional Manager came down on my side when I caught wind of what was going on and put an abrupt halt to it, the damage is done and we’ll be trying to untie this Gordian knot for weeks to come.

I was so mad that I woke up last night around 4 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. When things start to annoy me at that level, it is time to make some changes.

Answering Basic Questions

Some folks have asked me a few questions lately. The first one is why did I move back to Blogger and left Bravenet behind. That one is so very easy to answer. My blog over there was - and still is - being spammed. It got so bad that I had to change my settings to review comments and, when that didn't work, to not be notified when someone commented. Every day there would be 10+ comments that were nothing but spam. You can't see them now because they won't post without my approval, but I just got tired of just deleting them.

The second reason was because I wanted a new look for my blog, something more trendy and "like me". Lisa over at Design a Blog did an excellent job! I love the new design and it truly reflects me and my personality. First of all, I am crazy for turquoise! Second of all, she added the piece "Some Beach Somewhere" which I just LOVE AND which highlights my current flip flop fascination - HOW DID SHE KNOW??? She's amazing! If you need your blog redesigned, you need to have her do it!

The second question I am asked is: Where did I go? and Why am I not posting anymore? If you've followed my blog any amount of time you know that I am a hopeless workaholic. Last month I was busy transitioning everything from the company I worked for, which moved to Chicago. This month I have started a new job at a new company which created a position for me. It's not so much that they wanted me so badly that they invented a reason to have me as much as that they think - and they're not 100% convinced, btw - that my position might be needed, so they are giving it a run. I'll say more about where I work now later.

The third question is the obvious, "What am I stitching? and "Where are the pictures?" Dummy that I can be, I took the Fall Sampler to the Cupboard for framing and forgot to take a picture of it. Sorry - mea culpa, mea culpa. I was able to find one of that I took before it was finished and I added it to the slideshow to the right. I added some others as well. Don't know how long it will take for it to update.

To answer the "what am I stitching question", the best answer I can give at the moment is "Whatever catches my eye. Yes, once again, I am engaging in "Hedonistic Stitching". I am so busy right now that the last thing I am going to do to myself is "force myself" or "feel obligated" to stitch or finish anything. At the present time, I am working on Glory Bee's "Priceless" which is the first challenge of my Sunday stitching group. Each of us is stitching it differently and I am planning that mine will be extremely different indeed, so no pictures until it is finished.

I also started Jeannette Douglas' "Bug Collector" because it caught my eye and I've been wanting to use my Needle Necessities Calypso floss on something for the longest.

I've ordered the supplies for Martina's big mystery of 2006, which I belong to, but which I am not currently stitching. Maybe later this year I will begin.

Stay well - going to work now.

SBQ

Yesterday I pruned some projects from my active list. The projects that remained are the ones I like the best. I feel more focused now and more optimistic that they will be finished.

I haven't answered any Stitching Bloggers Questions, and I just noticed that last week's fits with my current frame of mind.

This week's SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is: How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?

For me, work is first and foremost. I tend to hold very demanding positions which require me to work an average of 50 hours per week. Luckily for me, household chores do not take much of my time as I have someone come in twice a week to clean. The most I do on a regular basis is load the dishwasher, make my bed and handle our mail. The children are grown, I don't have pets at the present time, so there is only one person who requires any attention from me and his job is as demanding as mine, if not more so.

However, because I work so much, I don't always come home in any mood to stitch. I'm simply too tired. Sometimes I just want to totally veg out and rest. However I have found that if I work out after work that I come home energized and wanting to stitch. So even on the nights I don't go to the gym, I will get on my rower for half an hour and it gets the blood flowing and it gives me a second wind so I feel more like stitching.

Nevertheless, I am lucky if I stitch 1.5 to 2 hours a day. It's just hard to fit in more time and this is why I had to severely prune my WIPs

Pruning the Stitching Tree

Well, so much for trying to not do so much. Today I called and ordered the kit for Martina’s yearly mystery (the big one) as well as the kit for Mini-K (the excuse being that it was on sale). I love everything Martina designs, whether or not I have time to stitch it.

I am thinking that maybe I should take a look at those 15 WIPs I have and seriously consider changing the status of some from active to inactive. This will take off the mental pressure I feel about needing to finish them all. At least I hope so. There is one WIP I did not list before because I had turned it inactive. It is Drawn Thread's Toccata II. I retired it because it was one of those "What was I thinking?" type of projects. It's quite advanced and I want to stitch Tocatta I first before attempting some of the more elaborate stitches.

Of the 15 WIPs that I have, I can think of several to inactivate. The Capuccino huck towel can go. Also the lighthouse coasters. I know one isn’t a set, but one is all I need for myself, and I’m not using it anyway, so why pressure myself to stitch three more? The Pig Baby is nearly finished. I really have no use for it, but it being so close to being finished makes me want to keep it active. But what will I do with it if I do finish it? Better to make inactive. Mosey N Me’s If A Flower Bloomed can be turned inactive. I was stitching it for a friend and I ended up stitching something else for her, so there is no pressing need to finish it. Dimensions Lighthouses was started for a Round Robin I never actually joined, so this too can be made inactive. Christmas is now past and the Santa huck towel can sleep until at least September – I’m turning it inactive as well. I have two more lighthouse patterns and I believe I will chose just one to keep active and let the other one go to sleep. Between the two now left, Oberlin and Debbie Patrick’s, I like East Brother Lighthouse best, even though it is the larger of the two.

I am now left with the following Active WIPs, after having pruned 7 of 15 WIPs:
· Chatelaine Mystery VIII
· Long Dog Paradigm Lost
· CSCC The Rose Garden
· Jeanette Douglas’ Sunshine State Sampler
· Debbie Patrick’s East Brother Lighthouse
· Summer Freebie from CC
· Stoney Creek’s The One Who Knows
· Bent Creek Snappers (Sept to Dec + Border)

New Year, Kinder Me

The number one thing I want to do this year is to take care of myself. It’s just amazing how often I put myself last in my own list. I don’t think I am alone in this. Juggling work/family/friends/hobbies can be a daunting task. It doesn’t help that for the past couple of months I have been busy with my company moving out of state and that I am taking on a new position here locally which will require time/energy to learn.

If that were not enough, I have the bad habit of constantly pushing myself to do more. I should stitch more, work out more, spend more time with family, spend more time with friends, blog more, post in groups more, participate in more activities… when is it enough? And more importantly, why do I feel this way?

I think a pruning is in order.