One down, two-plus to go; links

I've finished the first of the cross-stitch projects I'm making for FutureBaby! Of course I picked "Butterflies" to do first because it looked the simplest, but it still went surprisingly fast (just a little over two weeks). And I'd forgotten how addictive crafts can be—look! My fingers producing tangible colorful designs right before my very eyes!

(The finished version is even cuter than that picture, which is a little over-exposed or something, if I do say so myself.)

Now I will let it rest for a couple of days while I, err, hurry up and finish kicking a recalcitrant brief into submission, then I'll look for visible errors, wash it, press it, and tuck it away to be framed once I'm done with the other two. At this rate I may even be able to do that dragon alphabet—have to see how my energy holds up, but really, cross-stitch is great for when I don't feel like I have the brain cells to read or write . . .

I am so ridiculously excited about this.

While I'm posting, have a mixed-bag links dump, because they've been accumulating:

( baker's dozen of links )

ETA: one more link: pregnancy mug shots. (ETA 2: pre-emptive comment: I am wicked tired of people discussing the size of my stomach, so please just assume I've heard it if you're moved to say something in that vein.)