Late in the week update....

The last couple of weeks have been bonkers!! I didn't realize that it had been a week since I posted until I got ready to write the book review earlier. UGH!!

Work was crazy last week with it being our year end and the beginning of this week was hectic. I wanted to get out of the office by 3 on Tuesday so it meant a bit of a rush to get some things done.

Tuesday night, the city set off fireworks at the park up the street from my condo and we had a block party with food and drinks and the neighbors. I was able to leave work early to get to the store and pick up some last minute things and then come home and start setting up with my neighbors. It was hot as hell out there, but I think we all had a great time.

Of course, that meant that I didn't post anything for Tiny Tuesday. I didn't even make a block!

My evenings have also been all about watering. I keep trying to get the dogs to pee in the shaded grass in the common area and they keep trying to sneak past me and pee in the full sun grass directly in front of my condo and Kim and Aaron's condo. So we are trying to keep the grass well watered and repair damage that they did back in May. This means that I am watering about an hour each morning on the weekend and at least 20 minutes every night. Did I mention that it has been hot as hell? Luckily, there isn't much grass to water considering the condo living.

And I haven't been able to walk the dogs since Monday morning. It has just been too miserable at night and pretty humid in the mornings. We will get back to it eventually.

On the bright side, I think that Lula realizes the issue with the heat and hasn't been sending me memos via puddles and piles on the floor!

And speaking of Lula, there were some fireworks being set off after the city fireworks. I was in the process of taking the dogs out and only had Lula out to visit with everyone and she freaked out when something went off. My neighbor thought that he could help her cope so he held her tight and was talking soothingly into her ear when another one went off and she freaked again. She ended up pooping on/right next to him. Poor girl! So we recuperated on Wednesday and she got to rest a lot!

This weekend, I have plans on getting at least 1 quilt quilted and finishing up the Scrap Squad top. I have all of my tools ready to go and I am excited about finishing the top and seeing how it turns out!! And I am pretty sure that I know what the quilting plan is for it, as well. I can't wait to show it off!

I have to remember to take some more pictures, but here is one to show how happy Lula has been. She loves the basket 'o dog toys and had it about half empty before I piled everything back into it. She is just a bundle of energy and would play for hours if there was someone to toss a toy for her!

Hooray, hooray!!

I just emailed a file to the bosses that I was working on all week! The last three hours or so, I was working on the file while watching TV so it probably took a little bit longer, but I was able to get the file done. Woo hoo!!!

Now, I have some blogs to catch up on and emails to respond to and then I have the rest of the weekend (and Monday) to be as crafty as I wanna be!

But right now, I have to pee the dogs.... lol

Miscellany

This week is getting to be a bear at work. I have to get the depreciation budget for our 2012 fiscal year done this week and it will translate into a couple more late nights. And possibly some work over the weekend, but I am trying to avoid that.

In any event, I have some thoughts. Bear with me. It is my blog after all.

1. My mug rug was completed last night and taken to the Guild meeting tonight to swap out. I think it was well received. I also received mine (and Barb's, but that is another story) and I love it (well, both of them!). No pictures yet because I am being lazy after a long day at work and a Guild meeting.
2. I ordered 6 GO dies last week and they were delivered today. No pictures of those yet. They are actually still in the wrappers! I hope to get to cutting this weekend.
3. I finished reading U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton today. I haven't read one of her books in at least a year and it was so comforting to come back to an author that I know and love! Now, I am ready for V is for... whenever it may come out!
4. Since Regina is making great progress on reading Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (book 3), I can start reading Drums in Autumn which is book 4. Yahoo! How are the rest of you who started the Outlander series coming along?
5. I am thinking that I want one of those widgets that shows what books you are reading to put on my sidebar, but I am wondering if I will have to update it too much. Or even if people care about what I am reading. Or what is on my sidebar.
6. Today is Wednesday which makes me think of Year of the PIGS. If you haven't posted about how you store your PIGS and UFOs, there is still time to post and enter HERE. And if you haven't read the other posters answers, you can find their links in that post as well. I had thought about doing a motivational type post today, but it didn't materialize. How about this.......    YOU CAN DO IT!!! With the 'it' being whatever obstacle you are facing at this moment. Does that work?

OK, that is enough information for tonight. Maxie is giving me 'the look' that tells me it is time for bed. He said I can post pictures tomorrow night. :)

Friday Night Sew In Results

Yesterday was our Holiday party at the office. We had a brunch instead of the normal lunch fair and it was wonderful. I much prefer the breakfast fair to the catered ham, potatoes and overcooked green beans! When the party was over, we got an early release so I was on my way out by 1:45! I made a couple of stops to get some Christmas presents and my new glasses modified a little and then was home by 5 PM when my usual time is around 6.

Considering that it was the FNSI, this was awesome!! I contemplated taking a quick nap, but decided to just go ahead and load a quilt on the frame and get to quilting!

I spent about an hour and a half loading the quilt and making a few passes. I had some trouble with the top thread shredding so I took a break for dinner, cleaned the kitchen up, clipped the pups toe nails and got back to it. After just over another hour, I was done with the quilting and decided to go back and fix the spots where the thread had shredded. By this time, my back was killing me, but it was well worth the extra effort and I don't have to worry about it again.



You can see the bright blue marks on the quilt - this is painter's tape and how I mark the spots where there are threads to be buried. Seven spots where the thread shredded and then 1 for the bobbin running out. When I realized that the thread was shredding, I made a big effort to slow my movements down and not be in such a rush. As you can see by the absence of tape at the bottom of the quilt, this is just what I needed to do.

And a close up... I just did a medium sized stipple. The top thread was a brown, teal and tan variegated Lava brand and the bottom was a gold'ish Bottom Line.



To see how others fared, go to Heidi's blog post and click through the list!

Slow week

This week has been a pretty slow week. After the excitement of the weekend and quilting on the frame, I ended up feeling like crap Sunday night. When I woke up on Monday, I didn't feel any better and I went back to bed until almost 11. The dogs were very happy that I lounged on the bed watching TV all day. Tuesday, I was feeling up enough to go into the office, but I still wasn't feeling like myself and when I got home from work we ended up sleeping most of the evening away.

Wednesday, I finally felt like myself! Woo hoo!! So last night, I spent the evening cleaning up the kitchen, folding laundry and putting most of it away and just doing an all around straightening of my bedroom and sewing area. I think that after a little more work tonight, I will be ready for the Friday Night Sew In!! Have you signed up yet?

The other thing that I got done last night was pre washing some flannels to pair up with other fabric to get some more practice quilting done. I am going to try to get another quilt done this weekend so that I can work on good quilts very soon. I have 2 of my good quilts waiting and then 1 for Regina and I want to use pantos on all 3 of these. After that, I have another quilt to do for Shellie.

And with all of this going on, I have still made time to let you readers know about giveaways! You're welcome! ;)

Maisy is just happy that I am feeling better!

He paid up!!

Back in January, I was working on the depreciation budget at work and one of my bosses promised me cookies for the long week that I put in. I have been nagging mentioning it to him ever since and he finally said last week that he would have the cookies on the Friday before the upgrade weekend. That was yesterday. He paid up!! Although, he got cookies from Blue Chip instead of the Great American Cookie Company, but he got a couple of Snickerdoodle like ones. They are quite yummy!



Maxie says,

"Won't you share with ME?"

Heck, no!!

Busy Weekend

I've mentioned a couple of times on here that work has been hectic. For those of you that I chat with regularly, you hear a bit more of it! Basically, we are upgrading one of our largest software programs to a new version. The company made a lot of changes to my parts of the program and we have tried this upgrade several times before, but this is the closest that we have gotten to it. Tomorrow, the current system will be turned off and the conversion begins.

Although I have been at my job for just shy of 4 years, I have never been involved in the testing process because my old boss was so knowledgeable on the system that she did the testing herself. I am now glad that she did what she did because there is no way that I would've been able to accomplish all of it.

Of course, right now, I can't believe that I had time for the testing along with the budgeting and all the other parts of my job that I have been doing without any back up since the old boss left. That is, of course, a story for another time. :)

So tomorrow, the upgrade begins. I have a few things that I have to get done before and just after the system is taken down and then I have to find busy work to make it through the rest of the day. Of course, the big boss did say that I could leave once I have my jobs run and that should be by 2 or 3. I will have to play it by ear and see how I feel.

Now, the fun part comes on Saturday when I have to sit by the phone and wait for the call to say that the data conversion is complete and then I can log onto the system from home and check for the presence of data and start running post job reports. Then, just for a bit of added enjoyment, I get to run to the office on Sunday at 8 AM (cough, cough) and validate data and then wait for a noon meeting to decide whether or not we can go with the new system.

What this means for me is a truncated weekend. I have no idea what time I will be finished on Sunday, but I will be able to take something into the office to work on while I wait for the meeting to begin.

It also means that a boss will make good on a promise that he made in January for cookies for all the work I did on the budget. I can hardly wait!! They should be waiting for me when I get into the office tomorrow. Expect pictures!

I should be able to sew/quilt tomorrow afternoon and evening and most of Saturday though. And the weather should hold out that the dogs and I can enjoy a bit of fresh air, too!

Speaking of dogs, Maisy says...

"And why aren't you sewing or binding or cutting fabric NOW?"

She's right... I gotta go!

March Friday Night Sew In

The gals running the Sew Ins decided to make the third Friday of every month a Sew In night. I think it's perfect!! For March, the night will begin my birthday weekend! :)

Go to Heidi's post and sign up to participate!!

I'm actually thinking about taking the whole day off. I could get a couple of quilts quilted during the day and still sew at night! It will depend on how the software upgrade goes that week at the office....

Socks and Snow

Early Monday morning, the area's third snowstorm in 10 days began and the news was saying that it would be the worst of the 3. I don't think they were joking. I made it to work in an hour and a half, but with the snow continuing, we got an email that we could leave if we felt uncomfortable with staying later. On my way home, I got stuck on a main street that wasn't plowed and is just 4 or 5 blocks from my office. Luckily, I was able to get myself unstuck within several minutes, but I was kicking myself for even leaving the house at all!!

After another hour and a half drive, I made it home to quite a few inches all over the place. I shoveled a bit with my neighbor and then the dogs and I crashed and watched TV. When we went out for the last time, I saw that my neighbor took care of the dogs and shoveled a ledge in the snow around my front 'yard' so that they could have a spot to do their business. Very nice!!

This picture is from this morning and you can see the dog ledge to the left. And the pile of snow just gets larger to the left.



While all of the shoveling was going on, I was working on my second sock. I was planning on sewing a little last night, but since I was doing so well on the sock, I decided to just continue with it and I finished it around 9:15. I did over compensate the tension of the stitches on the second sock and after trying both socks on, I'm not sure which one feels better. The second sock is very snug, but the first sock is really loose in the foot area. And since there is enough yarn left, I started another sock to see how my stitches looks. I will be pulling out one of the first 2 socks to finish the third and end up with a good pair that I can wear. Then, I am trying a different pattern to try and get a better fit!

So far this morning, I am going into work late because the news is showing lots of accidents and bad road conditions on the highways. I'm sure that there won't be many others in the office.

Stay Warm!!

Sewing on Friday

This week at work seemed like such a long week. There were issues galore and questions and interruptions and people just acting crazy and like they lost their mind. Such a rough week!!

In spite of that, I had energy last night and I sewed!! I made this cute bag for knitting socks. I love the one that Sue sent me, but I figured that I needed another to go with all this yarn that I have gotten. I just love this blue and brown dog bone fabric!



And my order from JoAnn's showed up yesterday! Now, I can take the library books back and enjoy these and make notes in them as needed. And this Sock Ease yarn is pretty soft!! All of this was from the gift card from my granma so it's Christmas presents and technically not my own purchases. This means that I'm not breaking my no book buying goal! :)



Both of these books have great pictures and descriptions!! And I look forward to using them to make more socks!

Friday Night Sew In

Well, things didn't work out quite the way I imagined they would last night. :( I had to work on the budget at work and it took longer than I anticipated. I didn't get out of the office until after 6:30. Then, I had to hit the grocery store and pick up something for dinner. I didn't get home until 8. UGH!

I had some issues getting moving, but I finally decided to just knit on the baby cap that I started earlier in the week. After about an hour, I got the baby cap finished...



... and started having some issues with my vision and focusing on the yarn and the TV. The dogs and I were in bed by 10:45 and luckily I was asleep pretty quickly so that I could avoid the full blown migraine symptoms.

At least I got the cap done and am migraine free this morning! Woo!!

Not much going on...

There is not much going on here this week other than working. Job stability is a wonderful thing, but having to work late 3 nights this week is for the birds! Luckily, I'm almost done with the project and I should be able to leave a little early tomorrow!

Unfortunately, I haven't done any sewing this week and I am so tired right now! I'm looking forward to the Friday Night Sew In tomorrow night and I was hoping to get a few things done around the house tonight so that I would be free to sew all night and all weekend.

I need to figure out some goals for the weekend, too, so that I can keep myself on track and not get sidetracked by anymore UFOs or new projects. I tried to jot some down while I was working today, but I was making great progress on the budget that I just kept working. And then my boss mentioned the cookie pies that you get at the mall with the icing.... Thank goodness it was late in the day because I couldn't concentrate on anything else after that...

I think he promised me a cookie when I get the budget done! I'm going to have to ask him about that tomorrow....

mmmmmmm.......... Coooookieeeees!!! YUM!!!

Wait.... What was I talking about? :)

Thursday Update

I don't have any new quilty things to update about, so I thought that I would give a rough update on my week so far and my plans for the weekend.

Monday I came home from work sick and Tuesday I stayed home all day. I'm feeling much better! It was a stomach thing. :( I was able to get my quilts ready and sent to Indy for the show, but that is the only thing that I did for 2 entire days. Well, that and watch my TiVo.

Wednesday night, I treated myself to Mexican take out and it was awesome! When I was full, I felt like napping and I even laid down with a pillow on the floor, but the dogs were jumping and playing and the nap just didn't happen. I ended up watching a few episodes of The Closer on my computer that I had missed over the summer and cleaned up my sewing area and bedroom.

Tonight, I was planning on starting laundry, but I don't feel like taking the stairs so much. I was just starting to work on my 9 patches when the orange Bobo had a blow out and lost the facial stuffing. I had to do minor surgery, but he is healed now and Max is happy.

As for this weekend, I have to go into the office on Saturday for this software upgrade that we are doing, but I am hoping that I am not there all day. Other than that, I will be sewing all weekend! I have a list of things to work on for October and I am hoping to make a major dent in it this weekend.

Now, I have to go and update my white board with my To Do/Goals list broken down into manageable segments. It always helps me feel like I can accomplish anything when it is broken down into easy pieces. Plus, I like being able to cross things off the list more often! :)

Anyone else have good plans for the weekend?

Weekend progress

When we last left off, I had finished the OBW top and was working on piecing the backing. On Sunday, I finished the backing and did a little housework.



I'll be able to take the quilt in to be quilted at the shop tomorrow when I go in to teach a class.

I also had a few kits of blocks to make for the Friendship swap with one of my Guilds. I made 4 blocks on Sunday and the 5th this morning.



After putting laundry away and straightening up the house a little, I made a wall hanging top out of the crumb blocks from the Bonnie Hunter classes.



I also cut the backing and made the binding, too. I plan on getting it quilted this week.

I had wanted to cut out a few more blocks, but that just didn't happen. I had to work this evening on some reports for work and I had some difficulty with the laptop. It all got done though and it's a good thing since it is back to work tomorrow. :(

Some minor updates

There have been a few things going on so I thought that I would just take a little time and update everything all at once.

Weather ... and allergies

Last weekend, the weather here turned very cool - the high was in the low to mid-70's. It was wonderful! I threw the windows open and slept in the night air Friday night. It was wonderful! And then, when I woke up on Saturday, I felt like I was in a bit of a fog. Work was not good on Saturday. When I came home, I opened the doors and windows and the breeze was lovely! But ... I had no energy. I ended up going to bed at 10:15 with a migraine.

Sunday, I was semi-productive ironing scraps until about 1:30 and I realized that I couldn't see anything and I was having a retinal migraine. **Side note - I have retinal migraines on a somewhat regular basis. I have been to doctors for them and no one can give a definite answer on what causes them. Each one individually lasts for roughly 45 minutes and I can only see spots of what appears to be TV fuzz. End note** The odd thing about this migraine was that it was like instantly not being able to see anything. So I got a large drink of water and laid on the couch with the dogs. They were tickled pink!

Around 5, I woke up and was still having issues with my vision, but I was also starving. I got some easy dinner and a cold compress and sat back down with the dogs and listened to the TV. It took until 6:30 for me to be able to see anything without feeling dizzy. I was worn out, but I finished the pile of scraps and got everything sorted. And I was still wide awake at 11.

I slept fitfully Sunday night since I had all of the sleep during the day. When my alarms went off, I called into work and let my boss know that I needed the day off. When I went in the bathroom, I was shocked at the large dark circles under my eyes. I had to think about whether I had accidentally run into something and given myself shiners! I went back to bed and felt a ton better when I woke back up, but I stayed home from work the rest of the day because my head was still pounding an throbbing from the sinus pressure.

I'm much better today and actually went into work today.

Cable/Internet connection

The last 4-6 weeks, I have been having severe connectivity issues with my cable modem. When I kept my laptop up in my bedroom most of the time, I wasn't having any issues so it may have been as long ago as May. Wow! Anyway, I have had to unplug and then plug back in the modem each time my laptop lost the connection. It got to the point that it was up to 5 times in an evening before I would get sick of getting up to unplug it. And I wasn't even downloading tons of data when this would happen. I'd be chatting with Regina on Facebook or reading blogs - not anything like downloading a TV show's episode on iTunes. It was very frustrating!!

On Monday, I had finally had enough! I figured that the very least that I could do on my allergy induced sick day was call the cable company and demand service! Or ... you know... ask what they could do for me. :)

The first part of my call was spent talking listening to a man with a slight accent talk very fast and mix my number up like 3 times. Then, he asked for my email address. I debated hanging up and calling back. I told him pass on the email and what my issue was with my service. He told me like 3 times that it was a connectivity issue and he would send me back to a customer service representative from my cable company. Now, this new guy I liked! He ran some tests while I was online and told me that the issue would either be with my modem or the wireless component which I own. He tried to tell me to just watch what lights were on when I was having my issues. I said OK. We sat silently on the line for about 3 minutes. Seriously - 3 minutes. I jumped when I saw that the lights on the modem went out. I said, "Something just happened." He said, "It looks like it is the modem."

Luckily, my cable company has an office in one of the local malls that is very close and I was able to stop by there on my way home from work today. They swapped out the old modem and gave me the newest one that they are using and it has the Turbo Power Boost that they are promoting. Woo! They guy also asked if he could review my bill to try and save me money. Uh, YEAH! So after a few minutes of chit chat and him tapping away on his keyboard, he told me that he saved me $4 a month and gave me Showtime and Starz and all of their extra channels. Woo hoo!! I remember when Starz came out and that they always had very cool movies on their channels. This is awesome!! I also get the On Demand that goes with those, too! Score!!!

Dogs and sneezing

Or rather, reverse sneezing. Maisy developed this annoying habit a few months ago. Some days, she does really well without having a single episode and, some days, we can't be outside without her gagging for breath. Basically, when a dog is pulling air in through their nose in a manner that makes them sound like a duck. Actually, Maisy sort of resembles a duck in the way she flounders around when she is having an attack.

In June, the vet told me that it sometimes occurs in overweight dogs and it is normal and there is nothing that they can do for her. We just have to suffer. *sigh*

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Indianapolis. I took a couple of classes from a teacher. You may have heard? Bonnie Hunter? You already knew that? Hmmm... Well, when I went to Indy, I boarded the dogs. Can you see where this is going?

I now have TWO DOGS THAT ARE SUFFERING FROM REVERSE SNEEZING!!! This is very frustrating. Extremely frustrating. It is very loud and obnoxious and there is nothing that they can do to keep from doing this. I feel so bad for them! I hope it is just a passing thing. For every one's sake!

Weekend off

This weekend, I am not working at the shop at all! I am very pumped about this! It will be my first weekend in town that I am not working all month. And Becca is coming up to quilt on my frame. I still have to clean the house up a bit and get some things ready for me to work on, but I am very pumped about having the whole weekend to sew! It will be nice preparation for Labor Day weekend with another 2 days off from both jobs! Woo hoo!! I ought to be able to bust some stash! :)

OK, I think that is all of the updates that I have. Last week, I sent out 7 packages and they have started arriving. Two were received yesterday and at least one so far today. I can't wait to hear if everyone likes their prizes!

Sorry about the long, not very quilty post!

A lizard in Cincinnati

Seen at work

Running out of time

I am trying to get myself organized to finish things that need to be finished before retreat. *sigh* It's exhausting!

I have fallen behind in my blog reading and posting. I have donations to show, but I need to take pictures and write down who they are from. And I have cleaning to finish.

This morning, I got to work early so I am leaving early to go by the library and then to pick up my new glasses. Then, I'm going home to quilt a baby quilt. And I am making great headway on the nickel quilt for the shop. I'd like to be to the point of needing borders this weekend so that I can finish it up.

I also have an update to give on a notion that I tried out last night that I love. I bought it in January or February with a promise to post my thoughts on it. I'm finally ready to.

Right now though, I have to get back to work and finish up some month end close items. At least my iPod is fully charged and loaded with some awesome things to listen to!

Awesome day!

Even though I worked today and it was sooo busy, it was a great day! Katy and Barb and I realized a couple of weeks ago that our birthdays are all within 4 days of each other. Here are a few highlights from the day...

*****

On my way into work, I got a call. Here's a transcript:

Me - Hello

Caller - Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Jill, happy birthday to you!

Me - Mom, it's the 21st!

Caller - Oh...

Click.

*Giggle!*

*****

Barb worked with me today. She called to tell me that she was walking into the building and to let her in and that she brought something for us to share. Donut holes! Yum!! We snacked on those all day! Thanks, Barbie!! BTW - we will totally have to work on them to do the sick animals quilt!

*****

A few hours in, Katy and Sarah showed up. They had bags which I didn't think anything of at the time. And since it was Katy's birthday today, I was a little surprised that she actually came into the shop. Barb and I were helping some customers and we both had our backs turned to Katy and Sarah and then we turned back around at the same time and saw these:




Well, I didn't get a picture of Barb's, but she had one, too. Isn't that just the cutest little cake? It looks almost too good to eat! But I will!!

And this is the second year that I have had a mini cake just for me. I like this trend!! :)

*****

While Sarah was there, we picked fabric for my sample. Jan wanted to use this line of fabric and I was glad that she picked it. I am going to make this one to keep.



I have a few things to work on first, but this one has to be done before retreat. I had planned on cutting the 5" squares at the shop today, but there was such a steady flow of customers that it didn't happen. I think that I will make the time after work next week to go in and do it after hours.

*****

Bubba's home!! I still haven't taken him out of the carrier yet, but I am very happy to have him back. Once I got home from work, I was able to get a few more things finished so that I can sew all day tomorrow. I am sure that he will be happy to get back to his place of honor tomorrow and I will have lots of pictures to post of what we get accomplished!

Until then!

At least 1 finish...

But it was just at my JOB. We are in the process of upgrading one of our main software systems and it affects the majority of my work. I had to test 2 different parts of the system and it has been dragging on for months! Seriously, we have been doing this since December.

Anyway, the budget is done. Software testing is done. Things at work should be returning to usual. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders!

I feel so good, in fact, that I am taking tomorrow afternoon off! And having my eyes checked. I know, tons of fun, right? Well, I have not had my eyes checked or new glasses in a year and a half so I am due.

Tonight, I have just been relaxing and watching TV. I have prepped my label for Lover's Lane and started pressing some pieces to finish some blocks when I get Bubba back. But now, I am sleepy and think that it's time for bed. And tomorrow while my eyes are dilated, I should be able to clean a bit. I mean, do you really have to be able to see in order to dust? We shall see!

My Quilt Shop

Best Friends Quilt Shoppe is participating in the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show next weekend, March 5 - 7 in Bloomington, Indiana. The Shoppe has gotten into several shows that will be new to us this year and this is the first of the new shows. We have been working overtime to prepare for the show. I am the Jelly Roll Princess because I have been cutting 2 1/2" strips and rolling up the rolls. :)

This afternoon, I left my day job early for a dentist appointment and then I went to the shop. I rolled some jelly rolls and then folded fabric. While I was folding fabric, Jess, one of the shop owners, asked how I felt about going to the show to work on Saturday. Saturday is a big day at the shop since it's our quarterly Open House and to be asked to go to Bloomington is a big deal to me!

So, I have to check and see if there is someone who could let the dogs out while I am gone because it would be an all day event - leaving at 6 AM and returning late in the evening. But if it all works out, I'm wondering which of my blog readers will be in Bloomington, IN on March 7. :)