It's been a while

I haven't posted in like forever. But I'm back! Yay!

So from September until December, I had to deal with family issues regarding my aunt. I had thought I was doing the right thing getting more involved with her healthcare and getting her to see her doctor and see a neurologist (due to memory issues-some really scary) and her pacemaker checked. She really needed to see her doctors but it took a huge toll on my physical and mental health. In December I basically had to completely step away from that situation due to continual chest pains and what I now know was pretty major depression. I kept going to work and functioning but I was a mess and I was getting to a point where mentally I was not in a good place. So I fired my aunt and gave her to my brother for his birthday. I have been working with my medical team and we have been adjusting some medications and they agree that it's best for me to step away from the situation even though it is still my problem. I just don't have to deal with my aunt face to face so that it doesn't set off another downfall. I can say that I am doing better but I have more work to do. I'm actually interested in stitching and other things again that I just didn't feel up to doing during those months.

Fast forward to New Years Eve... I decided the day after my aunt that I wanted to do something impulsive and fun. I wanted to go to Niagara Falls for New Years Eve. I called my friend (who was concerned about my impulsiveness) and asked him if he wanted to come. He decided to come. We had talked about going to Niagara Falls for New Years Eve for a few years. I wanted to see the fireworks over the falls and see the concert they have televised cross-country in Canada. The weather was warm and rainy but we did have a morning that was absolutely gorgeous. The weather held off so that the evening wasn't ruined at all. I went up on Friday after working a half day and came back on Sunday. We decided to book a massage for Sunday which was absolutely amazing. I felt like so relaxed afterwards that I felt like melting butter. He said his massage was the same. We stayed at the Marriott Fallsview which has the most amazing views of the falls as long as you book a room with a falls view. It was expensive especially considering the weekend but it was sooooo worth it. I was going to go even if he did but I'm glad he came. I think I needed to see him and just relax after some of the 4 worst months I could remember. I would recommend staying there and I hope to do so again in the future as well as getting another massage there. 

I also applied for the teen job that opened in the Teen Room in November (another reason I was super stressed). Well I applied during that entire fiasco time and withdrew but then reapplied with the job was posted externally. I found this past Monday that I got the job. I will still have the same department head and I will still be covering in the children's room a lot until they fill my spot so essentially nothing changes but my title. It's not a promotion but a lateral move. If being a Teen Librarian isn't for me, then I can always apply for the job back downstairs when it is open again. My spot tends to only stay filled for a few years before people move on. Usually they either have babies or they get branch jobs that are a promotion for them. I think I'm excited but I'm still a bit wiped from it all so I don't really feel anything other than to get my mind frame on the new task ahead.  I would love a vacation now but I know I have one coming up in the end of April, Celebration of Needlework in Nashua. I am signed up for an evening stroll of the marketplaces before it opens the next day, the Friday night social and 2 classes on Saturday. I'm looking forward to just relaxing and stitching or even not stitching. And shopping (mostly stuff at Target) but my friend and I might go on a stitching field trip but we might not depending on what we want to do and the weather. If the weather is anything like it has been here, I might have a hard time staying inside. 

I'm having trouble typing past my last stitching photo but I wanted to thank everyone for their concern over the past few months especially when I dropped off. (Thanks especially to Meari!) While my posts might still be slow in coming, I am hoping my stitching will go faster. Maybe I'll have a finish to show the next post.  Maybe I'll have a few pictures of my trip in January if I keep my blog posting up. :)

So now onto my stitching:

Here are the latest pictures on my three WIP's:

Birds of a Feather Sampler by Glory Bee (still working on it but I'm getting there). This was as of 3/17/2012.

Lizzie Kate Double Flipits: yes the original and I'm still working on it but I've put more work into it since January than I did in the past year or so. I assume the amount of work I have done is since some time towards the end of February 2012.

Halloween Fairy by Nora Corbet (but it might be her Mirabilia line, can't remember) I don't think this picture has changed much since my last post in September but I thought I'd put it here since I'm hoping to start working on it when I'm up in NH next month so I can see more progress on it.