A WIP, a finish, and February's Loot Crate!

On the drawing challenge, even with the darned prompts I'm kind of going through a block.  I suck, sorry.  My family and I are all finally feeling better.  My back still hurts a bit, but I think I will be okay while my husband is away.

I have a WIP of my Geisha finally because I finished all those darned little flowers:

Last time and this time.  I've started on the back stitching in the blue areas now.  I haven't been working on her for a little while because the way I have to sit with my scroll frame doesn't allow for me to move around much and that hurts my back.  I was able to stitch for a long time the other night and so I decided to share what I've done.  She's still going and definitely not forgotten!

I have been waiting anxiously all week for the next Crochet Crowd clue, so to kill time this week I worked a bit on my daughter's blanket AND I made her a little owl purse because she is always digging in my purse.  I figured she would like to have her own, so this is the one I made:

The pattern was a freebie from Red Heart and you can find it HERE and make your own.  This one was definitely a fun little one day project.  

I want to update with my friend's birthday gift, but I don't think she has received it yet (sent it across country, you know).  I figured I better wait until she gets it before I post pictures because I have no idea if she reads this or not.  

Alright, last, but definitely not least, here's the Loot Crate!

First off, we have the reveal!

Lots and lots of stuff that I was excited for.  This crate was kind of heavy compared to some of the previous ones.  

Next up:

Don't know why this is sideways and I really have no idea where the tiny screwdriver came from.  Anyway, that is a 100 card Superfight deck that is Loot Crate exclusive.  I have never played Superfight, but I read the directions and I would love to play this.  The Munny figure is actually something that I constantly look at when I'm at the book store and debate buying but never actually get.  Glad I got one in the Loot Crate because now I don't have to debate!

Next we have:

This is a novel that I've actually never heard of.  I'm really behind with my books and movies and what-not.  I have added this to my queue for reading and I'm hoping it's good.  It definitely is intriguing.  

Something for my son:

Again, I have no idea why this is sideways.  In my files, when I look at it, it's not sideways.  When I click to change the rotation, it shows it as being right, so...I think I broke the picture.  Sorry for the blurriness, I usually take the pictures with the iPad, but it was dead.  The man cub snagged that Hex Bug as soon as he saw it.  Lucky I actually got a picture of it.

And finally, the BOX IS A BOARD GAME!

I haven't played it yet because my kids are destructive and so I want to play when my kids are in bed.  My husband has been working at night, so he hasn't been available and I am NOT going to play by myself.  I love board games and so I'm hoping my husband and I can play it soon.

Mmkay, off to check on The Crochet Crowd again to see if the next clue has been released.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Drawing 3 & 4

I was very, very sick yesterday, so I kind of cheated in my drawing prompt for day 3.  I doodled on the cover of the book:

Drawing challenge day 3 - Doodle

I know it doesn't really count, but I was really sick all day yesterday.  I spent a good 80% of the day sleeping.  So this was what I had the energy for.  I realize it's not much.

Drawing Day 4 - Fishing Fly

I know that the prompt was really looking for something like a lure, but I didn't want to draw that.  I went in a comic direction again, so I drew a fly fishing.  I need better colored pencils.  I have been using the kids' Roseart ones and I am really not a fan.  The drawings look good in person, but then when a picture is taken, the coloring looks TERRIBLE.  Makes me sad.  I feel like it ruins a good drawing.

I haven't crafted in a couple days because I've been sick and I've been taking care of sick kids, but I figured I could at least update with this for now.  Going to start on my blanket tonight, my daughter's is getting challenging so progression is going a lot slower now.  Happy stitching, everyone.

Drawing challenge day 2

Today's been a little bit better.  Still hurting and anxiously awaiting my doctor appointment tomorrow.  I already finished my week 2 afghan clue:

X's.  I wonder what this is going to end up being.  I was thinking XOXO or even tic-tac-toe, but now I'm not so sure.  Maybe flowers of some sort?  Who knows.  The picture really doesn't do the colors justice.  It's a deep turquoise and watermelon pink, but for some reason it just looks purple and pink.

Anyway, I have my second drawing for the 30 day challenge.

Day 2 - Coffee Cup

Don't mind my very shaky lines, I'm out of practice.  Anyway, when I choose my drawing prompt, I open my book to a random prompt and that's the one that I do for that day.  Today, I thought it was perfect that I sat down with my coffee only to open my book to "coffee cup."  I figured I would just draw my coffee sitting on the table.  My crochet hook looks terrible, my yarn looks terrible, but the coffee cup is the main focus and guess what, that's what my actual coffee cup looks like!  I was going for a comic book feel, so I hope I captured that.

Off to go work on my daughter's Rings of Change blanket.  Happy stitching, everyone.

Started my 30 day drawing challenge

Now my daughter has whatever my son had.  She has a high fever and has been throwing up.  I don't think I'll ever be able to eat mac and cheese again.

Last night after she finally went to bed for a little while, I sat on the floor in the living room sanitizing every single toy that my kids have and if it couldn't be sanitized, in the garbage it went and remember how I said I was sitting on the floor?  Well apparently (obviously) it's a lot harder to get up from the floor than say a chair or a couch.  I found out the hard way.

I went to stand up and naturally my German Shepherd has decided that any time I move she has to get in my face.  This time she knocked me back onto the floor when I was almost all the way up.  Funny thing:  it was really painful.  In frustration towards my dog knocking me over, my kids being sick, and me being in a lot of pain, I punched the wall in front of me.  I hit the wall so hard that the very heavy wall clock fell down and landed on my other hand.

So my pinky's top knuckle was dislocated (luckily not broken) and I hate the world.  Oh yeah, and I'm sick now, too, with whatever my kids had.  Yay.

Things can only get better from here, right?  Silver lining and what-not.

I do have a mystery afghan WIP since I finished the week one clue last night before the world imploded again.  So here it is!  I'm going to be working on clue number two today since my pinky isn't going to hinder me from crochet.  Anyway, here it is:

Woo hoo!  Twenty granny squares...my favorite (sarcasm).  I do like the new clue.  I saw someone had posted a picture of one of their finished motifs and it looks really neat.  Can't wait to get started.

I did some drawing today because I mentioned forever ago that I wanted to do a 30 day drawing challenge.  Well, the reason I hadn't started was because I am having kind of a drawer's block?  Is that a thing?  It's writer's block but for drawing, you know.  Anyway, I found a journal at Barnes and Noble that had 500 drawing prompts for 5 dollars.  I figured it might help work me out of the funk.  So without further ado, here is day one!

30 Day Drawing Challenge-Day 1

I chose Graffiti

In my drawing prompts book, there are random "topics" to draw, so I chose graffiti because it's something I have never done before.  I don't think graffiti drawing is really my thing, but I did have fun doing this.  I am not sure what I'll pick tomorrow!

Okay, off to work on my mystery afghan clue.  Happy stitching, everyone!

**EDIT**
My Geisha WILL be worked on eventually, but the way I have to sit while using my scroll frame is kind of painful right now.  She WILL be done eventually.

Can't catch a break

Valentine's Day was fun...until it wasn't.  Valentine's DAY was great, Valentine's evening and through the night was terrible.  It all started with my toddler saying, "My tummy hurts."  He then burst into tears and so I made him go to the bathroom.  He didn't do anything, so I asked him if he wanted a bath to help him feel better.  He said yes and when he was in the tub, he started crying again and telling me his stomach hurts.  So I picked him up to put him on the toilet and as soon as I picked him up he threw up all over me.

Then, because I tried to move him over to the toilet so that he wasn't throwing up on me and the floor anymore, I threw out my back.  I jarred myself so badly that I screamed and scared the kids half to death.  My son's already throwing up and my daughter's crying because he scared her...then Mommy screams.  Probably pretty terrifying.

I tried to stand up, but I couldn't.  I had to drag myself (because even crawling was excruciating) to the living room where I knew my phone was.  I called my husband and it rang.  And rang...and rang.  I finally got to the message and I was bawling into the phone, begging him to please answer his phone and to come home immediately.

I hung up and not even five seconds later he was through the door trying to help me up.  I pushed him away and told him he needed to go take care of Vincent.  I just laid on the floor crying (did I mention I was in a lot of pain?  Because I was in a lot of pain) and trying not to move.  My daughter was sitting next to me rubbing my back.  

When my husband finally got my son and the bathroom cleaned up, he came over to me and helped me up.  He got me to the couch, but I couldn't find a good way to sit that wasn't really painful.  My daughter climbed into my lap and kept saying, "'S'okay, 's'okay," and petting my hair.  Who knew a one year old could be so sweet?

Eventually, once we let my son throw up a few more times, we all went to the hospital.

I got to sit in the hospital getting x-rays and shots.  My son went home with some anti-nausea meds.  My husband left me at the hospital so he could put the kids to bed.  It was only 8:30 at night, but my son was exhausted and my daughter was starting to get crabby.  The doctors and nurses kept asking me to move my legs which was really painful, then when the doctor asked me to roll onto my side was the worst.

Finally, after x-rays, an anti-inflammatory shot, and a Valium, they were ready to send me home. I'm on bed rest for the next week and I have a follow up appointment where they're going to re-evaluate everything and see if they can't help me manage my pain.

This morning is the same.  I can't stand up on my own, I can't sit down on my own, and I never, ever once thought that putting on a pair of pants would be the most difficult thing I do today.  

Thank God for wrap skirts.

Brain Zaps

Brain zaps are extremely frequent the last two days.  I am not doing well on Welbutrin.  That being said, my shrink put me through this weird autism screening because he thinks I have high functioning autism.  So I went through this screening and had to fill out this questionnaire in a room by myself and then my therapist and two other therapists were observing my reactions and behaviors while filling it out.

Apparently they think I have ADHD.  I didn't think so, but when he handed me a checklist of behaviors for adult ADHD, it was pretty easy to see why he thinks that.  So now I'm waiting for my doctor to try me on something for that and she's going to cut me off the Welbutrin.  Thank God Welbutrin doesn't give withdrawals.  I've only been on it for a week, though, so I would have probably been fine anyway.

I am so tired of this back and forth bouncing around trying to figure out what's going on.  I just want to feel normal.  This crying at the drop of a hat thing is really aggravating.

OFF THAT!  Because it's too depressing.

I just found two new patterns for crochet that I'm going to use to make my friend her belated birthday gift.  She's getting Sailor Saturn stuff.  A beanie, a scarf, and some gloves.  It stinks that I am too late because she is on a skiing trip right now.  I just got the yarn yesterday, I couldn't find it in store so it had to be ordered.

My poor Geisha is still sitting because I can't focus on it.  I HAVE done some of it, and I'm done with the blue, but the flowers still aren't finished.  Even with working on it for a while I feel like I didn't make much progress, but I work slower on confetti stitches.

I DO have a WIP of my daughter's blanket:

This is 40 rounds (I think) into the blanket.  I have roughly 70 more rounds to go.  I think this blanket is a twin size, but I don't remember.  I'm off my rocker, what can I say?

I just got my first mystery afghan clue today and I have to make 20 motifs.  I can knock that out in a day, so I'm not going to worry about starting until my friend's stuff is done.  Hmm...yep, I think that's it.

Time to go watch Frozen with my kids for the thousandth time.  Ugh...I really, really wish my kids liked something else.  Happy stitching, everyone.

Random "I'm still alive" post

I am still experiencing extremely painful headaches so I have not been cross stitching.  I quit my antidepressant cold turkey because my doctor won't refill my prescription and instead switched me to a different one that is not an SRI.  This means I'm going through severe withdrawals.

I'm extremely sensitive and very irritable.  I have the painful headaches, nightmares, and a weird symptom where it seems that my eyes and brain are not on the same page.  Like my eyes have to "reset" or something.  It's really odd.

I'm only talking about this to y'all because I just kind of needed to vent.  I'm very frustrated and I'm hoping that this goes away soon.  The nightmares are the most debilitating thing for me right now and the worst part is that they're extremely, extremely real.  I hate this.  I really, really hate this.

Don't mind my venting.

Apparently I lied

I have been having these massive headaches lately, so I haven't been cross stitching.  I lied about not crocheting until the mystery afghan apparently because I uh...started a Rainbow Dash inspired blanket for my daughter.

This is done in all neon colors and black.  This is actually a second attempt as I had made it to the blue you see and realized I had counted wrong.  So I fastened that blue round off and made the other attempt into a matching mini blanket for her singing Rainbow Dash that she sleeps with every night.  

I am actually two rounds past what you see in the picture.

I went to the doctor about my headaches and the doctor has put me on all sorts of medicines.  I have a follow up in two weeks and if the headaches aren't better, I have to have my head scanned.  While I was at the doctor's office today, she also noted that my tonsils are huge.  She said that if the allergy medicines that she put me on don't help with that, I'm going to have to have them removed because the right tonsil is starting to block my airway when I lie down.

So...yay?  It's been a stressful week, but the crocheting has been keeping my hands busy and keeping my mind off the worrying about my health without contributing to my headaches.

I'm going to lie down a bit and hope my headache goes away.  Happy stitching, everyone.