...Well, it's near to the first of the month, so let's do the rundown of what's up, down and sideways. Again, it's shamelessly stolen from Annette who stole it from Erin and I don't know where she got it.

Note: If you haven't already done so, the latest DMC skein trade entry is up. I posted it yesterday.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

No magazines this month unless you count Reader's Digest and even then I've only skimmed through it. I spent some time reading through the Nicholas Sparks' "Dear John" which has to be the only Sparks book to not move me to tears by the time I finished it. That was a bit of a surprise, but it was a nice story.

I also managed to catch up with James Patterson's Alex Cross series and read "Mary Mary" and "Cross" back to back. I got started on Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" but it's really not grabbing me.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

No movies of special note that I can think of. We've just been watching the usual fare on television: NCIS, Grey's, CSI, and a wonderful little show on BBC America called "Robin Hood" - another brand new retelling, with more veering away from the traditional story and moving towards the interactions between Robin and some guy who took over his land and his girl (sorta). It's rather well done, and I recommend it highly.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

None this month that I can think of, except for Easter. That was a big get together at one SIL's house and much food was consumed and discussion happened and watching of golf occurred. That's about it for special days that I can recall.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

No gifts given, none received. Oh wait, I did receive a little something, but I need DH to pull the picture out of the camera before I share it with the world. And that reminds me, I need to thank someone for it.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

None.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

No new restaurants, no new recipes - at least not that I can recall. It was a long month.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I bought tickets to see Chicago while sitting on a mountain on the last day of August. That should hold me over nicely until I get to see Genesis in October.

I still have to make my flight plans for Hershey...

What were this month’s disappointments?

Just the usual work stuff, but I don't think that there was any new layoff that I can recall. Oh yes, two analysts that I've worked with for a long long time are leaving the company. Apparently they've "had enough" and don't have new jobs. They're considering some good time off instead.

I don't blame them. 8 years is a long time to work somewhere without some sort of recognition or advancement. I wish them luck finding new jobs, because they're going to face what I've faced for the last year - beautiful resume, no advancement.

What were my accomplishments this month?

I'm still alive and still employed - that's the same as last month. Around here lately, that's a significant accomplishment.

I've figured out that I've got to frog a bunch of the model I was working on, but that's only because the sparkly stuff doesn't look right just laid over the stitches. It totally needs to be part of the stitch. So a-frogging I have been.

I also managed to make sure that my MicroStrategy project didn't land in someone else's hands, although I think the doorknob I work for was thinking about reassigning the project. I just took charge and ran him over (gently) during a meeting and made sure that it stayed my responsibility.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

Well, the baseball team has a 4 game losing streak. That's been hard on the kids. They do great at practice and screw up at the game, and let it get to them. I've been trying to improve their morale, but it's just not happening.

That's it for this month... I know. Totally boring. But I've probably forgotten some really cool things along the way, and there are a couple of details I've purposely left out because they're good blog fodder.