Tis The Season For Exchanging

After being completed for months I can finally share my Christmas exchange ornament as it's found it's way into it's intended home.

To add to our Christmas excitement, Wednesday Alex's Boys Choir performed at the Premier's Open House at Centennial Place. It was sooo nice. I'm seriously contemplating skipping his school concert next year and simply going to see him sing there. No crazy non working family members that show up hours+++++ in advance so their husbands can waltz in at the last minute for a front row seat for his lazy a** to compete with. It burns my biscuits that I make the effort to leave almost an hour early and still get stuck in the back. Anyway, I got to see Alex sing for 30 minutes without any competition for space or pictures (much better than an hour and maybe seeing him sing 3 times, now that he's in the choir). Then the boys were escorted up to the Premier's office to sing their rendition of Rudolph, and my son was just so darn cute he actually got a picture taken with the Premier himself.

It was honestly what I needed to brighten my Christmas spirit. It hit an all time low Tuesday. Shock doesn't even begin to describe what state I was in after I got the list of victim's in a fatal crash back home. I'm sitting there reading Facebook status's looking at the surname's and as mom's listing off their first names I was still sitting there hoping one of them was the survivor in the list. One was a neighbor, and was one of the involved parents that you sat back and admired, the one with the big wave and smile no matter where you passed him. Another was a classmate who would alway liven up any Church server's get together (think co ed alter 'boys') and youth group with his mischievious ways. He was one of the faces you'd expect to see at Christmas eve service no matter how old we ever got and just seemed to beam as his own family grew. While I didn't know the third personally, his wife was in my class and one of the sweetest people you could meet. It absolutely breaks my heart thinking of what she will go through with her two young daughters in the future. Six children left fatherless, two celebrating their first Christmas's without their fathers, sad just doesn't seem to cut it. :(

Deck the Halls...With Norwolk Virus

Oye, what a wild couple of days...well weeks it's been and the last two days have topped it off. We had our staff Christmas party Saturday evening and I woke up a little worse for the wear ;) However, that passed but later that evening I couldn't even look at supper, which was probably a good thing. Alex woke up Monday morning and was just dancing outside the bathroom door. He was in no state to be transported so it required staying home (which wasn't soo bad as I was queasy), he started to feel better but then I was up with him early+++ scrubbing floors, bedding, bathroom linens, you name it. Ewww... Sad thing is today was his christmas concert and he's been practicing for months with the boys choir. He was soo looking forward to singing and I was really looking forward to watching him. At least his choir sings next week at the Premier's open house so I'll be sneaking over to listen.

November? Now where did that go. I was dreading it, loathing the thought of 5 days of travelling back and forth to Sussex for work. With Matt's commuting situation I don't get alot of help around the house and getting back into town at dinner time was very draining, along with doing all of the other chores and running around. I had one weekend booked off to recoup but that quickly got snatched up with an unexpected cancer diagnosis (early) on the other side of the family and trying to be supportive of my other half even though that whole situation leaves me in some strange limbo. Throw in some Fifth's Disease, a Christmas Bazarre, attempting to get the house ready for Christmas, the whole nine yards and well, I'm pooped! However I did get to sneak away for one glorious day of stitching at Faith Ann's and as soon as I locate my camera's batteries I'll take a pic of my new pinkeep ornament. :)

Mini Finish

2008 Dragonlet - Dragon Dreams (Ornament Frame from Michael's)

Why So Serious?

Not that my trick or treater was The Joker, but his haunted warlock did channel a little batman ;) Happy Halloween

Working With What You've Got

Well, I 'finished' that LK ornament. I picked it, one because I had a frame it could go in and that could be ornamentified and 2, I didn't have time to kit anything this morning. So instead of spending the insane amount to have it like the ornament issue (stitch a gift 12.00 + LK buttons 2.50 US) I took my 40% coupon (6.99*.60) and grabbed some red buttons out of some package I picked up a couple years ago at Michael's and came up with....

Not too shabby, although this would have a whole lot more meaning if it where Alex's first stitched piece. Who knows, he should be able to learn and crank this out quite quickly :P Sadly I neglected to 'finish' Heartfelt Harvey, even missed ironing him this evening. A true sin considering there was a great deal of design behind him (If I attempted to chart redwork, it would be a blob, plain and simple ;)) So here he is...and hopefully will get some felt loving this weekend...

I have to lol as I surely to goodness thought these would come after quite a few others that I'd like to stitch ;) Thank goodness I have some vacation time to catch up on my priority list.

When They Think You're Away, The Deer Will Play

I do not live in the middle of no where, I live in a very populated subdivision (yes the yards are a bit bigger than city limits) but our end is also close to the main road. For some reason this does NOT deter deer from visiting our home. My hubby had a good chuckle this summer when I came home to two of them in the yard and boasted in the morning that they left my tulips alone only to return from work with not only the tulips mowed down, but the buggers took the bulbs. Well...imagine my surprise when I woke up from sleeping off a migraine monday, and decided to check on my son's science experiment in my kitchen window and there were two deer having an all you can eat buffet on my burning bush (of course when I'm in the process of restaining it!)

Caught Red Leafed!

Tell you're partner the lilac bush is not suitable cover

I see he's come out of hiding

That's right, don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!

Move Along...

Please go visit Brenda across the way, I hear she has lots of delectable flowers to keep you busy

Just In Case There Was Any Doubt...

The LK ornament from this year's JCS CAN be stitched in less than a lunch hour (and I take a short one ;))

Upcoming Picture Alert

Hooray, I have my first finish out of this year's JCS all ready to be, well finished... Between the weather and some busy walking buddies, oh and a lack of motivation to go through my stash when there was a piece of white cloth sitting right on top, Heartfelt Harvey made an appearance this week. He was on my like list, maybe not near the top of the 'gotta do it now' list but one colour of thread and well, no serious stash diving was quite appealing ;) I can't wait to back him with red felt and finally get to try out my rotary pinking edger. No more attempting to line up the shears (plus it'll keep them sharp for actual sewing projects). Now I just need to fire up the camera and take a pic!

Nothing of great magnitude to report this week besides Alex bringing home his proofs for his school pics and they aren't too bad ;) The mailman was also nice to me this week and brough my SB Into The Night that I picked up when Traditional Stitches had their birthday sale and my new Turbo Jam Elite set arrived :) Now I have plenty of stuff to re-energize my weightloss plan :)

This weekend is thankfully low key. I'll be at Michael's at openning as my shelf is on sale...and when I checked yesterday there was only one left, then I plan on dropping by the church bazarre and maybe taking Alex to Science East where admission is free tomorrow. He absolutelyl LOVES it there, cool hands on science experiments all set in an old prison, complete with a couple prison bar doors left....and the old exercise grounds were converted into an outdoor playground complete with more fun exhibits. Really, every little eight year old boy's dream! Sunday's looking rainy so here's hoping we'll be hitting our crafting reserves ;)

We Made It!

Last week I was pretty, well for lack of a better term, blah! We really truly enjoyed ourselves at Boo at the Zoo in 07 and that was completely thrown up in the air by some people we don't see alot 'dropping in' on the day we'd be going. This lead to some tension. I'm on the once a year event plans only get cancelled for emergencies plan. Friday, I vented a bit and sent what my tentative agenda would have been if we went to Moncton to DH. It made alot of sense, weatherstrip windows in the morning with draft stop, leave because it stinks and let the air exhanger deal with it, look at pillows at Pier 1 (I'm no style diva but cranberry, forrest green and navy weren't doing anything for my couch, in cotton anyway), drop off a Christmas present, have supper and go to Boo at the Zoo. It was an effective and relatively cheap use of the day, I mean if we caulked at home we'd probably have been at the movies (spending the price of Boo admission + concessions), had supper, probably gone to some other activity which would have cost money and I'd have had to pay into the 'evil' Canada Post to get a gift sent. Concessions + postage almost covered our gas in the Corolla ;)

So, I laid out my master plan and avoided DH when I got home ;) He came to see me while I was working downstairs and asked how I was going to pull this off with the 'company'. I suggested he call to see what time of the day they planned on 'dropping by' because if it was early enough we still would have time to at least go to Boo...Well turns out there was in fact a change of plans so we ended up having Saturday to ourselves (my head could have done with sooner notification, tension is no fun!).

After visiting Faith Ann and our favorite Beaver at the Esso for apple day we started caulking windows and were out of the house at noon. I didn't find my pillows at Pier 1 after all, but found them bundled (sweet) at HomeSense. Of course on the way walking from one store to another did my DH not run into one of his friends? I mean for a guy that rarely goes out but he can run into someone he knows just about anywhere, restaurant in my parents home town, drive in theater in the middle of nowhere (seriously)? Sometimes I have to wonder ;). We quickly left there and zoomed over to my matron of honor/Alex's godmother's house to visit with her family and couldn't get over how much her little guy had grown since July. He definitely looks like 'someone' and not random infant A ;) Alex adored playing with him. He'd make such a doting big brother.

We didn't want to overstay our welcome (had infant, I know I appreciated short visits) and headed to Vito's as I've never eaten there before, the chain restaurants are always too big a lure for me ;) Yum! Then it was off to be creaped out by ghoulies, zombies and creepy clowns at Boo at the Zoo. It was nice to be out in the crisp fall air, getting some walking in AND revving our heartrates just a wee bit ;) After one of the Haunted Manor shows (music driven lights display and fireworks) we headed back to the car and back on the highway :)

Until Next Year Zoo...

Happy Happy Dancing

Hooray! I've got two more projects out of the way so I'm free and clear to play with the ornament issue :) I apologize for the dark pics, 5 minutes before we have to be out the door to catch the bus didn't leave alot of time to play with a camera who's batteries are on life support ;)

Britty Halloween Kitty - Brittercup DesignsHalloween Fairy aka:Haley - Mirabilia

Friends Shouldn't Let Friends...

Stitch over one!

What was I thinking? Sure the Trick or Kitty Treat ornament out of the Halloween JCS is adorable, but it has taken longer than Haley (who btw should be finished after Alex and I make a quick trip to Walmart and Michaels after work). Thankfully though I'm on the last part, the darn tail, so it might be done by the weekend ;)

Last night was stitchy night at our end of the woods. It was quite a busy evening as Matt had to work out of town due to the holiday and that left me running to get Alex to basketball and then home, drop him off grab my stitching stuff (which is easier said than done when there is the slight chance you could be 'done' before the end of the night) and back downtown. Good thing I had a 4 day weekend to rest up for the evening's marathon. :)

Speaking of the holiday we had a really nice Thanksgiving. Mom and dad arrived Saturday and shortly there after mom, Alex and I ventured out apple picking which was a blast. Alex nominated him self the official rotten apple cannon and mom played with Newton's law a couple of times :P We had a fairly quiet evening, doing a little dinner prep here and there (big turkey dinners do not need to be stressful!), shopped and put on our first family viewing with the new Plasma tv/Blu Ray. I <3 Iron Man.

Sunday was also fairly laid back, started the day with some eggs benedict, went to church and then put Tom in the oven after his traditional butter massage and salt rub. The house smelled divine. Later in the afternoon we were joined by Mathieu's mother and his grandmother which made him very happy. Dinner was perfect and we didn't move too much afterwards. Dad and Alex braved public swim after the inlaws headed home but we were content channel surfing ;)

Monday mom and dad headed out after a yummy breakfast at the Blue Canoe and we well...vegged. I had a nice long nap and then mowed out front lawn for the last time this season. It was so nice to have a vacation day where I didn't need to cook. The kids also had Tuesday off of school so I took a flex day to stay at home with the monkey. We had fun painting ceramic ornaments, reading and then hitting up the halloween maze at one of the local greenhouses. If only being a SAHM paid what my IT job does, sigh...

Ornament Issue Review...

P10-11
Blackbird Designs - not that the pattern itself wows me but it's a stocking ornament that looks like a real stocking
The Sweetheart Tree - would have to be framed
Cherished Stitches - On the fence, looks nice on the cover but this angle does nothing for me, nor do the tassles

P12-13 (Favorite Pages)
Val's Stuff - Definitely on the highest priority list
Samsarah - Right up there too
Primrose - Grows on you but the long appendages are a bit freaky

P14-15
The Victoria Sampler - LOVE IT!
Prairie Schooler -very cute, love the blues and reds
Elizabeth's Designs - changing some of the colours could help this
SB - Nothing about this calls to me remotely, maybe I'm too attached to the old series

P16-17
Full Circle Designs - Love it!
Jeannette Douglas - Very cute, I'm thinking maybe changing the wording on the 4 of this style and mounting them in a single mat alternating between tree and ornament. That frame would bend my branches
Nordic Needle - change in colours required, burgundy, forrest green and gold perhaps?
Cindy Valentine - again a change in colours would be a huge improvement here, maybe a light blue fabric with a monochromatic blue stitching and silver beads, or a white opalescent with Blue Lavender or Tropic Seas (Caron) with silver beads
SS with S - please give us something with some real stitching or give this slot to someone who really designs. Harsh yes I know, but I've seen some of the 'rejects' and it's just NOT FAIR!

P18-19
Imaginating - Will stitch this, just not on Aida, and probably dress up the wire hanger with some funky glass beads
Sue Hillis - Change fabric to a pretty mottled cafe au lait colour and change the stitching to cranberry or pine, I've never found white on red gives good coverage

P20-21
Wildflower Stitchery & More - There's just something about the whimsical nature of this one, both stitching and finishing that draws me in...as normally I'd prefer if my angel had hair :P
Prairie Moon - wish there was a little more variation than last years ornament but a set of these on the tree would be nice (when I get around to stitching the first one)

P22-23
LK - Well...it'll be a good piece to start my son off on stitching, and I can quickly finish it for him with a novelty fram from Michael's. Again though step it up!
Brightneedle - this series is cute but I usually limit myself up to stitching over one once a year and that allotment has been used up

P24-25
Cross Eyed Cricket - Don't have a clue as to what this has to do with Christmas, but it's cute
Loopy Lou Designs - Needs a darker mottled fabric to really make it pop

P26-27
Raise the Roof - too cute
Dragon Dreams - When don't I absolutely LOVE Jen's designs? Definitely Alex's ornament for the year.
Charland - Quick cutie
Heartstrings - Always loved their Santa's, just never seem to find the time to stitch them :(

P28-29
Kitty & Me - Gorgeous
Brittercup - Love it, but it'll have to wait as I think it would lose it's whimsy over 2 and I don't feel like stitching over one any time soon.

Ornament Issue ~ Hooray!

Hooray, I finally got my copy of the ornament issue today!! The poor guy at the magazine shop across from my office will be happy that I'm no longer stalking him ;) Initial reaction? The traditional 50/50, however I think that's more indicative of my slump than anything. That's pretty much been my general reaction all year to any new releases. I mean once your stash exceeds your life expectancy there comes a point where you're alot more choosey on what you do ;) Plus it cheeses me off to no end when some of the designs just don't step up to bat when there are many new designers that create beautiful works...and can't get a foot in the door. I mean I know that everyone's tastes are different but there is one ornament that's been in the issues twice...with no changes (thankfully not this years). There are some snowmen definitely on my list and of course a dragon for Alex :)

To Sell or Not To Sell...

No not my house! No not my stash...well maybe no not my stitchy stash...



MY SIZZIX!!!



Sigh...I wish it were an easy decision. The more Alex grows and is active in other activities I've come to cherish what free time we have and that really means my all over the board crafting just doesn't happen anymore, and the situation won't change in the immediate future. I will probably still make cards and such but I just haven't been using my Sizzix as much for that purpose anymore and it's sad to see such a huge investment just sitting there. Now to figure out if I should bundle it as one package, bundle the dies and just how to go about selling it (kijiji/ebay/who knows...)

Haley ~ My Mirabilia Halloween 'Fairy'

Really...I did just find the camera and got some of my photo editing software reinstalled ;)

Now I just need to wait for the last pack of beads and spool of Kreinik to come in and she's gtg (oh yes and a little piece of her left boot). I have an exchange finish but that post will have to wait until November, sigh...

September

Ack...Do you ever have the feeling that someone pressed fast forward on your life? Welcome to my world!! After a severe sinus cold we were already into the exhibition and back to school. We are soo delighted with Alex's new teacher, definitely a nice switch from last year!! Alex's reaction? 'Mom, I've got my first permanent boy teacher!' Meet the teacher was also a big switch from last years disorganized chaos session. Agendas were ready, there was a structure for the meeting and I left confident Alex is in pretty good hands.

Then we were left to deal with extracurricular registration for the year. I definitely cannot pull off the four nights a week anymore, plus I don't think the reduction of family time is acceptable. So, we had to make the difficult decision on what to cut. In the end it came down to scouting at the moment which was due to the change in time more than anything. Alex goes to bed a half hour before it even ends, so if he was to go it would be more like an hour before he changed, and wound down enough to fall asleep, not something I was looking forward to dealing with in the morning. He's also up to full days 4 days a week at school (our school district has half days for elementary) and he is tired come bed time as it is. Where the program runs all year we may put him in later when things are a bit more quiet.

Stitching wise Haley (Mirabilia's Halloween Fairy) is just waiting for the last kreinik and pack of beads to come in :) I managed to locate my camera when I was packing up for stitchy night Wednesday so I should be able to take a picture soon. If that doesn't give any indication on how crazy the rest of the summer went I don't know what would ;)

Today we're off to the Miramichi to visit mom and dad for my birthday weekend and then on Monday it's the big 3-1! I'm really looking forward to some yummy mexican food with the girls at lunch :)

August

Summer seems to fly by no matter how you try to slow it down and savor every moment of sunshiney goodness. It was soo exciting to send Alex to camp for the first time (even if it was only a two nighter). I did pretty good until we got to the gates, got a little choked up but he was so excited it was hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. His generation seems to be better prepared for camp than mine ever was. Within moments of picking him up he wanted to know if he could go to the 5 day camp next year, lol. Although next year I think I'll send him with a garbage bag with holes and a pair of swim trunks for the entire week, he was pretty much cleaned out when we picked him up (bad combo of untidy consellors and parents that just don't give a crap, I mean his name AND phone number is on everything). But it's important to keep in perspective just how much fun he had ;)

Our vacation this year was a bit different in tempo, but that wasn't a bad thing. The timing of the long weekend (when I take my vacation to get a freebie day) didn't sync with when they have the Napan fair at home. It rained on and off alot of the time but I think that finally forced me to slow down. I got alot done on 'Haley' the new Mirabilia 'Fairy' out of Cross Stitch and Needlework. Why she's called Halloween Fairy, I have no idea. I mean there's already a Halloween Fairy kit out and well...don't Fairy's have wings? Also on vacation mom and I got away for a little shopping day in Moncton, and I must say I was quite well behaved :) We also had a wonderful trip the the Aquarium in Shippagan and I think the biggest news of all....Alex finally can ride his bike! Within about 45 minutes of taking the wheels off and some guiding by Pappy (he was pissed with me for making him wear his Caillou hoodie that I could care less if he ripped falling) he was off and biking on his own! Sweet! We wrapped up our trip with a visit from my aunt and uncle who my boys have never met so that was quite neat as well.

The last couple weeks have been busy. Alex has been in not one but two vacation bible schools and loving it! While I don't advocate willingly keeping young children out of church, our absentee-ism was more exhausted working mom related, I am in awe of his genuine enthusiasm.

Last night wrapped up skating lessons and soccer so I have a free week next week, sweet!
Skating solidified that he wants to try basketball this year and has given up on hockey (yippee), basketball has better hours, registration is hundreds of dollars cheaper and gear = sneakers which would be about the same price we'd pay for the skate portion of his hockey gear. Not to mention his parents were big time into basketball :) Hopefully my supplies will arrive next week to finish Haley, and I'll locate my camera post vacation and upload some pics :)

Summer Pics

Summer Eats

Summer Treats (homemade chocolate ice cream anf fresh strawberries :))

At our subdivisions Lake :)

Hayride at the Campground - Bear Island NB

Hiking at the appropriately named 'Alex' Creek - Mactaquac NB

Alex riding the Kamikaze

Me coming in on the Pro Racer

Meeting Hunter

Clan Côté

It's Been How Long?

Omigosh it's been over a month *eek*

"Time flies when you're having fun" well that about sums up my blogging absense. We went straight from Homework/Karate/Swimming/Beavers to one night of skating lessons & soccer (1.5 hours of stitchy time, yippee) and the rest of them family time bliss. We've been frequenting our subdivision's lake and hitting up the wading pool, weather proofing our wood structure, hiking, picnicing and just taking advantage of the beautiful weather AND not being soo scheduled.

The only activity I booked for Alex is a two night stay at Green Hill Lake later this month which I thought would give us plenty of time to do stuff. Ha! Most people have some sort of appreciation for all that we do and respect that these two months are really the only sort of reprieve that we get, of course it's not those people that are showing up this weekend or asking for my son to visit next week. Factor in my vacation and Matt's on call schedule and we ended up having to schedule both camping and our Moncton Magic Mountain trip this week (and prepare for campany, arghhhhh!) or else we'd be at the two weeks at the end of August, one of which will probably have Alex at vacation bible school in the evenings and being at the complete mercy of the weather which for the past several summers has been cold and wet. I mean if I wanted to send my son anywhere it would be up to my parents which have a very close relationship with him and there just doesn't seem to be any time.

Anyway, our first family camping trip was a success. We didn't get into our original planned campground but meh... This one was smaller but had a Christmas in July celebration going on so there was plenty to do. Alex loved having a bit of freedom to bike around our section and just go play with kids. We got stuck beside some 'rowdies' (there are lots of offensive words I'd love to sub that with) but what mattered most was Alex was happy and not letting some drunk ding dong parents take away from that. Magic Mountain was also a blast. We have a little wiggle room with our vacations so we decided if it was nice Wednesday we'd head to Moncton and all the stars aligned for us :) The crowds were a bit more than I was expecting for mid week but it was a really hot day. Alex did the Kamikaze for the first time (huge vertical drop slide) and I got a pic which I'll post when I get home. He's definitely a thrill seeker. We also got to visit with Lisa and her new baby Hunter. Alex was on overdrive as he's never really been around a baby that small before. We wrapped up the trip with dinner at St Hubert (sigh I couldn't convince the boys to go to The Lonestar) visited Roots for me and Matt hunted down his season 7 of Stargate and we were good to go. Needless to say we're all a little tired today.

Now...on to stitching. Surprise, surprise, I actually finished something! Scratch SB's Pumpkin Hill off of my to do list!! I have an 'ornament' almost done too that I started on the way to Bangor in June as well. Weird :) Anyway, hoping to post some pictures tonight :)

Picture Time

Woo hoo, two finishes in a week. It's a record for 2008 which has been soo insanely busy I couldn't tell you if I'm coming or going half the time. I shouldn't have bought the 'Mom's Taxi' shirt last summer, it had an odd way of coming true! I apologize for their slightly crooked nature, my camera has NOT been cooperating lately.

Willy of the Snowman Trio - Stitchy Kitty (buttons still in the craft room)
Mill Hill Kit (had to do something at all those karate sessions this weekend)

My favorite Birthday Boy and his Mario cake :)

Happy Birthday Alex :)

Omigosh, where have the last 8 years gone? We started the day with a balloon ambush on him in bed and I drove him to school so he could hear his birthday announcement on the radio. I did some wheeling and dealing at work to take off a couple hours and picked Alex up at school. We then headed to Kingswood for some play climber and arcade tokens followed by ice cream and a rousing game of badminton until the black flies drove us inside. Matt managed to get home early so we started presents and headed out for dinner at Jungle Jim's. Needless to say we had one happy kid. We also indulged on the yumm mario cake mom made and watched a video of Baby Alex (and that's a whole other story) while he received a couple of phone calls. He was pretty darn excited to hear from his uncle in Argentina. :) He said he didn't want the day to end, and I can't blame him. I didn't want the fun to end either!

As Promised

Some pictures :) We had a wonderful weekend on the Miramichi. We made the trip up to celebrate both dad's (Sunday) and Alex's (Monday) birthdays. The weather didn't cooperate with doing alot of the fun outdoor activities up there (our hike was cut a little short) but it was still a really nice visit. We all went out to see Indiana Jones 4 and loved it. Alex was in seventh heaven. Not only was he getting to see Indy on the big screen, he managed to sit himself inbetween both bags of popcorn and was double fisting it into his mouth ;) Afterwards he added some bling to dad's birthday cake with some jelly beans and kept eyeing the Super Mario cake mom made him. We had a lovely lunch before presents and cake today and then started the trek back home. Weekends go by soo fast up there.

Now on to those pictures...

Mill Hill Bunny Ornament

Paddington modelling the chenille scarf I sewed this month (yes me sew)

Ready for Alex's 8th birthday

She Stitches....

but can she pick up a digital camera and update her blog? Guess that'll have to wait until we return from our trip the the Miramichi this weekend. I finally managed to finish something during Karate class this week. Normally I go walking but Mother Nature was not permitting it. So, I finally finished the little Mill Hill beaded bunny ornament I started on stitchy night. The bug is biting again but I'm still trying to figure out what to stitch up next. I may do another ormnament but chances are I'll likely either be starting Lady of the Mist or restarting In The Arms of An Angel within the next couple of weeks :)

In Peace

WILSON, MARIANNE AUDRÉE The passing of Marianne Audrée Wilson, of Fredericton, occurred on May 25, 2008 at her home. Born on June 1, 2004, she was the daughter of Kevin Wilson and Isabelle Roy. Besides her parents, Marianne is survived by her brother, Henri Wilson; maternal grandparents, Carol Ann Bernard and Christian Roy; paternal grandparents, Diane Grant and Gilles Wilson. A Graveside Service was held at Hermitage Cemetery for the immediate family under the direction of York Funeral Home. Marianne fought a brave battle against leukemia for more than half of her life. She came to rest at home peacefully with her family by her side. In lieu of flowers, donations to the IWK Foundation (www.iwkfoundation.org) or to the Children's Wish Foundation (www.childrenswish.ca) are suggested.

Dear Marianne,

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet you in 2006, your infectious smile engraved a special place in my heart that day. You were definitely the best 'secretary' Caris ever had. We've watched your journey ever since you were told you'd have to be brave beyond your years once more but like a glorious sunset you were gone far too soon. Your parents have refined the word strength in my mind. You and your parents had so many adventures that most of us of sound body put off until tomorrow for far less that what you are going through. Please watch over them. You've made me cherish my health son far more than I ever thought possible and put into perspective many things I used to be far to impatient with. Thank you for making me want to be a better person. I am very sad to hear that your brief time on earth has come to end but find comfort that you are finally at peace.

Rest well little one,

Katie

Welcome to the World

Dear Little Gabriel,

As pleased as we are to hear of your safe arrival you've given your parents an aweful scare showing up months before they were expecting you. Alex cannot fathom that you are only slightly bigger than mommy's 1 lb weight and hopes your wires don't hurt too much. He loves your 'sunglasses' but thinks you must be awefully cold with no clothes but we reassure him that your incubator is quite toasty.

Please grow strong little one in the weeks to come and we're hoping to visit you at the IWK this summer. Give your mommy and daddy a squeeze for us the next time they're at your little cocoon.

Love,

Katie, Matt and Alex :)

Life's a Dance

Yes, I've been a very negligent blogger. I've come to realize I was suffering from some burnout. Alex being super busy with some afterschool activities (4 nights a week) combined with a husband being highly in demand at work and some new health weirdness just made my free nights a wipe fest. What down time I'd usually use for stitching was replaced with some catching up on Facebook and even that was cut down somewhat keeping up with the crappy hand life has been treating our friends. we're praying that two of our close friends have happy endings to two very rough pregnancies. We're praying that two of our university pals find peace and balance as they part from their 11 year relationship. And finally we pray for strength, painfree days and peace for a former coworker who's soon to be 4 year old daughter will sadly lose her battle with the monster that is cancer (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mariannewilson).

All of that being said, I've just been too drained to stitch at night, especially the last one. Part of me feels like whipping off a princess piece or attempting to organize a quilt but I fear it would be too late and when I think about a memory quilt...would it have the same theme or is there something else I can do? I thought I would be stitching some baby pieces but with everything up in the air with one I just can't motivate myself to do anything. So what to work on? I'm too tired to decide.

Things are turning around though at the homestead, we knock off one of Alex's activities this week, and the other (that consumes 2 nights a week) in two weeks time. There's stitchy night tonight which will be good. I've also gotten to see my family twice over the last two weeks after a winter induced hiatus that was far too long. Mathieu and I also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary yesterday. Oh, and during my time at home during the flood I finally managed to SEW something! I tried my hand at my first chenille scarf, I'll definitely have to upload the picture of it after I get some batteries for the camera :)

Until then...

Water Water Everywhere

I had planned on writing a nice post about our wonderful girls getaway to Maine when I got back Sunday but I figured we'd be coming back to a drier area instead of an increasing flood. I have been soo distracted at work, thankfully our home is far away from the flood zone but my office is downtown and well, when it starts to cover the streets you begin to wonder... So I thought I'd share a couple pics, eventhough I think you really have to know the area to realize just how much water is truly covering it. It's been surreal having local schools closed and well...even the office. Thank goodness I can work from home.

Behind my office, three streets up from the river

The cosway to where the walking trail is that I usually jog on

Road and On ramp to the bridge covered
The Green where we had a number of our wedding photos

Where Oh Where,

Did the weekend go? I just wanted to crash and burn Friday. I got out for my power walk at lunch, did some head shots for an upcoming promotional campaign at work on my break (now if that's not motivation to lose weight I don't know what is), picked up the van from it's tire change and servicing, picked up the remaining groceries, cooked supper and then was back out the door with the boys for swimming. Matt came along and we decided to go walking, although I've come to find he's not as fast...and we happened to run into one of our old university friends who lived in the neighborhood we were walking in. It was kind of nice getting caught up without Alex hiding behind us or wanting to get the show on the road. After the lesson was over it was auto bedtime for the boy (the timing of the lesson is perfect for a shower and change into pjs at the Y) and we flaked on the couch with some Stargate and stitching.

Wednesday I started Willy from Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio and I adore him. I decided to go DMC for him instead of the variegated option mostly because I don't find it adds to the project that much. The only place I could have seen benefiting from it is his scarf but I'm more than happy with it. That's the one change in my stitching that surprises me the most I guess. There was a time where everything had to be EXACTLY as charted...and really this got to be expensive, especially for pieces where it wasn't noticeable, and it just takes a bit more time to individually stitch each one. Not to mention that around here the threads don't seem to be nearly as variegated as the models which is quite frustrating. I now use a little more discretion using it mainly in pieces that are either going to a)stay in our house, b) have big blocks of colour c) require a multicolor variegated d) is a sampler or e) quaker'ish/country/LK patterns. That being said, I can't wait for my Simple Stitches Nativity to come in.

Saturday we were up fairly early and headed to the city's farmer's market for some sausages, orange juice, local blueberry wine and lox. Somewhere along the ride to pick up a new button for Matt's pants and the low fat crackers and cream cheese to go with our little feast the week's activities wore me down and I retreated for a 4.5 hour nap. After that we packed up my stitching and Matt updated his pod casts and we headed to McDonald's. I'm not big on the place so my WW points were saved for the wine and crackers. Alex had a blast in the new playground and was drenched when we took him home. He was quickly sent to bed and we cracked open our little treat, stitched and watched Patriot Games for the hundredth time (we're really exciting)

Sunday was busy as well. There were Christmas lights to bring in, taxes to do, a van to vacuum, sheets to wash, painting and reading sessions with Alex and an Usborne party to go to :) I was pretty good and stuck mainly to my list. I got one extra book for Alex for his birthday which he'll love and that qualified me to pick up two math practice books half price (which we've been looking for) so that was good. Somehow in all of the craziness I managed to get the majority of Willy's scarf stitched along with his face and scarf. I think I'll be sleeping the entire way to our girlie getaway this weekend ;)

Do You Ever...

Have the feeling the week is never going to end? Welcome to my world. Alex schedule just got a little more hectic lately with Karate and swimming in the mix. We've adjusted quite well after prepping for a couple of weeks. So...when you have
-follow up trip to the doctor
-vehicle maintenance
-field trip
-parent teacher
-stitch night
Fall on on the same week, look out ;)

Stitching night was fun. Alot of the girls were pretty hyped up about retreat, although Cathey, Faith Ann and I are opting for a get away next weekend instead. The way this week has been I think I'd be sleeping and not enjoying it anyway. I got a start on Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio last night which works up surprisingly fast considering I was gabbing more than stitching ;) I was pretty impressed with how much of the hat was stitched considering. Although I pretty much collapsed in bed upon arriving home!!

What's up this weekend? Nothing...well at least not on Saturday as I need a real day off. Unless of course Matt's motivated to put up the new lights in the kitchen. Sunday I have an Usborne party to go to. I looked over the catalogue and am going in with a firm list of books for the moment, one baby shower gift and two for Alex's birthday Although I plan to sit back and gather lots of information for private orders throughout the year. ;)

Life Is Full Of Meetings And Partings

Life is sprinkled with a handful of profound moments. One that sticks in my mind was while I was being driven home by my husband after finding out my grandmother had passed away. I was looking out the window in my distracted grief ridden state and there were people leaving their offices for the day, people gathering groceries and other out walking their dogs. Eventhough my world had stopped, millions of people in the world were travelling full speed ahead completely unaware of my misery and the realization that someday my life would go forward again, eventhough significantly altered was as calming as it was profound.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We prepared Matt a birthday breakfast before work. I went walking at lunch to get some decorations and Matt arrived home to streamers balloons and two red head blowing horns at him the second he walked in the door. He loved his cards and gifts from near and far and once that wrapped up we headed out for a delicious meal at Jungle Jim's. We ended the festivities with ice cream cake (not my fave but I wasn't the birthday boy). Matt unfortunately had a trans Atlantic work call to deal with after Alex was in bed so I hopped on the internet to find out a dear stitching friend's world had 'stopped'. It made me reflect on that car ride and how we'd been hurtling forward oblivious to what had been happening all day. While we were celebrating the anniversary of one of our family entering a world the day will forever be marked for another as when their loved one left the world and for millions of others, it's was just another day.

Needless to say this morning's break involved finding a sympathy card for Tracy (of Fiddlestitch Cottage) which I find difficult. I just can't bring myself to buy a 'deep' card. It's not that I didn't appreciate any I've recieved in the past. I try to find one that expresses to that the recipient that we're thinking about them, the ones left to mourn. I find it frustrating that so many focus on either the specific loss or the 'freedom' of being deceased. However, I did manage to find 'old faithful' and am contemplating either buying the remaining stock or incorporating the following verse into handmade cards.

"Please remember, in your sorrow,
you have many friends who care.
You're someone very special,
and you're thought about in prayer."

You're in our thoughts and prayers Tracy

Happy Birthday Hubby

Although it's been insanely busy here, I'll take a moment to wish my DH Matt a great big happy 35th birthday!! :)

Nothing Makes You Feel Old Like...

'The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's multi-platinum album, "Hanging Tough." '

20 years, ack!!!!!!

Now to figure out how to get to one of the concerts ;)

Last night was the first night I actually got to sit down and do some stitching all week. It's just been 'one of those weeks'. Hopefully if all goes smoothly the Easter Snapper will be complete this weekend and I can move on to a couple of other potential projects :)

However it will be a busy weekend around the house. Some old friends of ours are visiting from Moncton so we're going out to dinner this evening. Then there is the air exchanger to finish installing and the new light fixtures to put up. On top of that there are some prep things to do for Matt's birthday and dinner prep to do to make next week run smoothly. Alex starts Karate lessons two nights a week (although this session we're only committing to going once a week) and swimming so were' going to be busy for the next couple of months. Our slow cooker had better not go on the fritz ;)

April Fools

I wish! Our e-mail has been down since 11. I'm beginning to feel pretty cut off from the world!

April Showers

Wow, is it April already? March just seemed to go by in a blur!! I had intended to get back to blogging like I was, however there were just a number of things happen post post that had me bitter or negative (holiday plans, work, school, you name it) and I was afraid any minor post would turn into a big tirade. So now that most of that has blown over, here I am ;)

We enjoyed our first Easter in our own home this year and that was wonderful. It was soo much fun hiding eggs and being able to put them where ever I pleased. It was nice to be able to go to our own church and then come home and actually relax. Previous years we've travelled and that side of the family insists on throwing a big (although rapidly shrinking) party at the location we're staying so there's no time to rest and usually we end up helping out. Instead I threw a turkey in the oven and sat back all day and had one of our groomsmen's families come over for the afternoon. We offered turkey but they had their eye on a 'big city' restaurant supper and I don't blame them. I know I enjoy restaurants that we don't have around here when I travel as well. So...we had a quiet turkey dinner that was scrumptious, did the bare minimal clean up and laid back and relaxed. Woot!

Stitching wise I've been working on Bent Creek's Easter Snapper. Back at Christmas I'd been aiming for it to be up in the house before the holiday however our discussion on where we were spending our holidays went in someone's ear and out the other and this lead to another back and forth argument and really killed any interest in the 'festive' part of the holiday. Thankfully things worked out in the end, the 'party' was moved to a date and time we couldn't attend and the second I had word of that I pulled the project out, knowing it wouldn't be finished but it was still fun to work on that weekend. Sadly there's been an attack of the frog that's set back progress a bit :(

Other things keeping us busy have been Alex's big swim up to Cubs and a bunch of home improvement projects. We've been a little stir crazy with the amount of snow still on the ground and that's been a big motivator in fixing some things in the house. First off is our lack of an air exchanger. When we bought the house we knew we needed to put a new one in (the old broken one wasn't even in the house) so you can imagine my shock when I'm minding my own business looking at mirros and Matt flies through the isle looking for the car keys because he's got a whole new system by the door of the store. Matt also go the light over my kitchen sink replaced, why on earth the original owners put in a florescent that hung down under the canopy is beyond me.
So that left the three lights in the kitchen/dining area as the last of the original 'yuck' light fixtures and miraculously...Canadian Tire had the replacement set I'd been eyeing on sale. So installation of the new Venmar started Saturday, however as with all home improvement projects it didn't go as planned, eventhough we bought the same system the piping and vents had become bigger so again to CT to buy a reciprocating saw to cut through some floor boards and the exterior of the house...so sadly no light installation this past weekend. Instead I have a new control panel hooked up that is smaller than the old one...so the hall could use some paint, and my basement looks like something out of funhouse with all the things hanging not yet hooked up to the system. On the bright side, the china cabinet had to be moved to install the new vent which then made it possible to center. I've been wanting to hand a picture over it (Bent Creek's Wedding Row) but never felt it was worth taking all of the crystal and stuff out to move it, and it would look odd without the china cabinet centered.

So as you can see, this hasn't left much time for blogging. Although April is looking like a more 'open' month than March with only a girlie road trip to look forward to ;)
Until next time...

It's Getting Chilli

Well actually it's getting warmer but Chilli's Gift by Stitchy Kitty is now complete!

Chilli's Gift - Stitchy Kitty on SMF Ares

But just in case you were wondering, we've still got a tonne of snow!

Stick A Fork In It!

Just like my vacation Miss Vicki is now DONE!

Victorian Christmas Eve - Nora Corbett

Like any good vacation I've been AWOL most of the week and loving it. I'm almost afraid to log into my e-mail, the most I've been doing online is glancing at my Facebook page this week ;). I don't usually completely disconnect for such an extended period of time but March break seems to be the one week of the year set aside for doing so.

This year Matt actually took the break off with Alex and I so there was alot of vegging around the house, minus the couple hours of paint touch ups I did in the craft room. We took Alex to two of the toonie movies playing, The Waterhorse and The Pirates That Don't Do Anything. Both of them were worth more than the price of admission. The other toonie movies we'd already seen so we didn't venture out of the house Wednesday at all. While we were at the mall we took advantage of the children's booksale at Chapters and found some additional deals on clothing at The Children's Place, my ultimate favorite kids clothing store.

Thursday Alex and I packed up the van and headed to the Miramichi. Since then I've been relaxing quite comfortably here, stitching without the normal distractions of our household, learning to put up moldings, heading to the gym and just zoning out :) The plan is to return to Hanwell today but that will depend greatly on the condition of the roads later this afternoon and the weather. Right now the weather has settled down from last night's storm but the roads are still pretty bad. So in the mean time I'll have to do the toss up between the next project and settle in to rewatch The Goonies with Alex :)

The Simple Life

I was doing some hunting around for release dates for Alex's new 'love it' series Captain Underpants and I came across this gem at the end of the author's comic version of his life:

I swear, I'm going to see about having that printed on a shirt!! Sometimes you can just have enough of educator's flip outs over any behavior that isn't perfect and not be a 'neglectful' parent who doesn't care. It should be ok to support our children with their homework but let them make a mistake without people presuming that we could care less. It should be a right to take back family time and let our kids be kids after the recommended 10 minutes of homework per grade level and not feel like we're setting our children up for failure. With the number of commercials now that promote the message 'Just be' it would be nice if we could revert back to simpler times when children were allowed to 'just be'!

A Wedding Meme

1. Where / how did you meet?We met at a Computer Science Beer Garden, he thought I was dating my roommate (obviously male)
2. How long have you known each other?9 years
3. How long after you met did you start dating?After running a couple back ground checks on him we were dating within a month
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?6 years, 5 months, 6 days
5. How long was your engagement?8 months 24 days
6. How long have you been married?21 months 8 days
7. What is your anniversary?May 20th
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?60+
9. What kind of cake did you serve?Irish Cream fondant cake with wild berry butter cream
10. Where was your wedding?Fredericton, NB
11. What did you serve for the meal?Wild Mushroom Ragout on puff pastry, Turkey dinner, chocolate mousse cake
12. How many people were in your bridal party?3
13. Are you still friends with them all?I hope so!
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?bah!I don't think I've ever seen him cry
15. Most special moment of your wedding day?I can’t think of any thing that was more special that anything else. Although I did like it when our son joined our first dance
16. Any funny moments?Definitely. A certain groom didn't listen to where he was supposed to get dressed and when we arrived at the hotel my matron of honor kicked him and her husband out...when we got upstairs we found her husband's pants and she had to run after him. Then there was the misfiring of the champagne on our way to the picture site...I think my poor matron of honor is still deaf.
17. Any big disasters?Waking up VERY sick
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?Still planning it
19. How long were you gone?I'll let you know when we go
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?Not a thing, although maybe I would have gotten a pick of our get away vehicle
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?Left
22. What size is your bed?Queen-Just like me :P
23. Greatest strength as a couple?We are polar opposites so we've got everything covered
24. Greatest challenge as a couple?Division of duties
25. Who literally pays the bills?I do, then I bill him
26. What is your song?We played Amazed by Lonestar at our wedding. Although I Love You Then I Hate You may have been more appropriate :P
27. What did you dance your first dance to?At our wedding Amazed, at a club Believe by Cher
28. Describe your wedding dress.White, double beaded spaghetti straps, train, organza wrapped at the waist in the front openning over a smattering of crystal beads. Simple and whimsy
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?NO CARNATIONS! Other than that the ladies had white Callalillies, DH had a double mini callalilly pinned to him and the rest of the men had red roses.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved?No, mine is an eternity band and it's next to impossible with the channeled diamonds

Are We There Yet??

Thank goodness March break is around the corner! I think I used up all of my fun time on Cathey's Pink Party Saturday :)

Alex got home safe and sound from a trip to Matt's parent's shortly after I arrived home from the party. He had Thursday and Friday off of school so I had suggested that he could go up with Matt to work, meet his grandmother and spend the night and come back with Matt the next day. However the words 'next day' were completely LOST on someone, he must have tuned me out in shock after I even suggested the issue. Thankfully it was Baiden Powell day at church and he had to be back by Sunday at least. I figured it was a short visit, that didn't involve us having to drive all the way up there and me ending up with a migraine, it scored some brownie points with DH and it should relieve the 'we're not coming for Easter' blow ;) Alex informed me that he only cried 3 times, so I guess we'll hold off for another year on a full week of summer camp. However we have been looking at a 'mini' camp that only runs two nights for him to try out.

This week has just been a nightmare, Alex's snowpants didn't come back from his visit which involved having to stalk the SMT station. He forgot his homework at school Tuesday and due to a snowday yesterday and beaver's tonight goodness knows when he's going to study for his spelling test. DH has been on the lazy side and it's NOT the week I need to have to spend extra time picking up his slack, especially where this has NOT been the funnest week in the office, arghh...

However there is a small silver lining ;) Avoidance of those who drive me nuts has led to a bit more stitching and definitely reading time. I was soo relieved when I got to putting the first colour into the top of the border and both sides matched up on Miss Vicki. I'm really hoping I can wrap her up over the March break. Then maybe I'll be able to stitch up Bent Creek's Easter Snapper in time for Easter.

Speaking of March break, what's on the agenda?:

-Finish touching up paint in craft room
-Sanding headboard for craft room (as I have to return the sander)
-Hopefully move Alex's play bins down to the play room to free up some closet space
-Disassemble change table
-Stitch
-Family Trip to the Clay Cafe
-See The Waterhorse at the toonie movies
-See The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything at the toonie movies
-Head to the Miramichi
-Read :)

Fired!

Well not me but my plate :) Here it is back from the kiln

Got A Plan Stan?

Omigosh, I think I finally have some idea just what I want to stitch this year! It's not that I don't have the bug but last year was soo goal oriented with the completion of the family set of
stockings that I seemed to be going through a commitment rebellion of sorts.

So here it goes so far...
1) Victorian Christmas Eve by Nora Corbett (heading in the home stretch)
2) Pumpkin Hill by Shepherd's Bush (seeing as I started it the night I forgot Miss Vicki)
3) Far Far Away by Shepherd's Bush (started last year while waiting for Miss Vicki's fabric)
4) Crescent Dreams by Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
5) Toss up between A Dragon's Garden or Fairytale Sampler by Dragon Dreams (Alex's Christmas present)
6) Ornaments!!!
7) 1/3 of Snowman Trio
8) Easter and Halloween Snappers by Bent Creek

Now that's the list for now although it leaves plenty of room for other projects. One I'd really like to do would be MLI's Isabelle's Garden although Firefly Fairies, or even finishing Guardian Angel would be neat as well.

Crafty Photo Session

Nora Corbett's Victorian Christmas Eve ~ aka Miss VickiCeramic dragon painted for Alex

Alex's new pencil holder for his homework space. Painted by one Alex Côté :)

Confessions of a Negligent Blogger

Omigosh, it's been how long?? I guess it's just been one of those months. Since I last blogged Matt had a week of on call work that disrupted my sleep to no end. I figure I don't get bonus pay for the phone waking me up so the next rotation one of us is sleeping elsewhere! Mom and dad had an extended visit due to the snowstorm but it did make for a nice relaxed celebration of her *number censored* birthday. By wednesday all of the excitement and the cold Alex had been
harboring caught up with me and now I'm stuck with a miserable cold :(

Needless to say however all of the downtime has led to a bit more stitching (progress pic coming soon) and alot of reading. If someone had told me this time last year that I'd be picking up a new book series in the summer and be pretty much done all 16 books this time last year I would have laughed at them. Now I'm trying to go between what books to read next. I'm halfway through Sue Graton's Kinsey Milhone series which I really like, I have a new Laura Childs scrapbook mystery to read (but that'll be quick), Monica Ferris' latest paperback stitching adventure or maybe I'll try out the new Joanne Fluke book I picked up the other day. Say what people will about Walmart but if they're going to offer new books to me at 6 dollars and change I'm in ;)
In our Miss 'Vicki' SAL I have digital scrapbooking to thank for letting me pull ahead a little (perhaps). I really like working on this piece and can't wait until the main stitching is done so I can stitch in the whisper and play with the beads. After that I have a number of potential projects but goodness only knows what'll be next ;) 2008 is plan free year, maybe a gift here and there but otherwise I'm plan free....maybe because I desperately need a weekend of finishing!!

On the family side of things Alex continues to grow up before our eyes. This weekends revelation? He no longer wants characters on his underwear!! Omigosh, I think I was his age when I finally got to the US and got a pair of Underoo's as Canada seemed to be lacking in the cool underwear department. I mean years of Saturday morning cartoons brainwashed me into thinking they were a must ;) Mind you it's probably cheaper this way but still, not nearly as much fun. Part of my time this past couple of weeks has also been alotted to creating a new book blog for Alex. I kind of wanted a 'check out' spot to send friends and family to if they ever wanted to pick him up something without having to do a mental inventory of what books he likes and has everytime, I have it over on my sidebar to actually catch a glimpse at what I was doing. This weekend we also went over to Faith Ann's DS' pirate party yesterday which Alex is still talking about, if I didn't know how exhausted she was I'd hire her as my next party planner ;)

Deja Vu

Wasn't I just posting about visits from the tooth fairy??

Alex pre-tooth loss ;)

A Little Update

Victorian Christmas Eve - Nora Corbett Progress as of Feb 3/08

Smile

Ack! I came home Monday to a gap toothed smile ;) There are alot of things that you learn to handle when you're a mom, give me stinky diapers, give me vomit but loose teeth gross me out, Here's hoping the adult teeth come in as nicely placed as his baby ones were *crosses fingers* Well, it's finally time I shared my progress on Miss Vicki. I apologize for the picture quality but it was a bit rushed. Apparently in my backstitching blitz yesterday I forgot to do her mouth, eek! She'll be perfect once the white is in her fur but where it's whisper I'd like to do that last. Sigh... Here's hoping the border goes smoothly after the two big green sections are done. I really can't wait to get back to the ribbon.

Yesterday Faith Ann asked a very interesting question. Assuming I had no WIPS what five projects would I start guilt free.

1) Heirloom Nativity - Victoria's Sampler (need pattern, thread packs and fabric)
2) Toy Gatherer - Shepherd's Bush (need kit)
3) Lady of the Mist - Mirabilia (kitted)
4) Santa's Magic - Mirabilia (need kreiniks)
5) Touching the Autumn Sky - Mirabilia (maybe need fabric)

The one I see starting first is Touching the Autumn Sky, I'm still getting warmed back up to doing large pieces and it would be perfect. Plus I have the pattern and threads in my stash, although I'm thinking about ordering something from Silkweaver for it ;) A close #6 would have been A Dragon's Garden by Dragon Dreams but I'm still trying to decide what colour I'd like to stitch it on. It would be perfect in Alex's room!! I'm curious, what would your 5 guilt free starts be?? :)

Lost and Found

Well last night was day two of working out at home and it worked out well. Alex really enjoys doing his homework in our family room and his toys downstairs are getting ALOT more attention now. I like that I'm still getting my workout in but by the time I'm done Alex is also done his homework, it is definitely condusive to more family time.

After Alex was in bed I did a little surfing then Matt and I had a nice night curled up on the couch watching one of our seasons of tv shoes that we got for Christmas and Vicki made her grand appearance. She's coming along slowly but surely, the ruffle at the bottom of her coat definitely doesn't stitch up as fast as her coat did. After that thoug I can't see the border taking as much time. Atleast with the ribbon it divides it up into mini goals :) I really can't wait to get to put the whisper in beads on, I think she's going to be very pretty :)

In other big news, I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I got Alex tickets to the Backyardigans as part of my mommy/son christmas gift, it was to be a mommy son night and we're heading there with Faith Ann and her DS. I put them where I thought was a safe place, one that wouldn't end up bringing the tickets on the Grand Falls leg of the trip. Well...I've been looking for them ever since we got back! Thankfully because they're internet tickets they can be reprinted otherwise I was looking at praying for available seats and shelling out more money. Hooray! Now I can look forward to our 'date night' again :)

Love These

Well, I've seen Barbara Ana's freebies at cyberstitchers for awhile now and love them, and need to figure out how to clone myself to do them all. Now I see some of her other designs that I adore (I think it's the bright colours that draw me to them) are for sale so I guess they'll be on on 'what to buy' list when I'm done my 50 projects. I really need to update my total ;)

Cross Stitch Designs by Barbara Ana

A New Year, A New Look

Well out with the old template in with the new! I don't know why I waited so long to change! Definitely much easier to add new things to the blog with the new template editor. Maybe my reluctance to change is a sign I really am getting older ;)

We had a low key but busy weekend. With the freezing rain we weren't going anywhere Friday or very early Saturday. This involved quite a bit of vegging and still frantically searching for Alex's Backyardigans tickets :( I had a hair appointment in the afternoon to look forward to and the boys were going out themselves to take care of Alex's mop so I did a bit of decluttering. At least the items made it to the bag even if the boys somehow did not make it to Value Village. I've done my share now they can do something! I met them at the mall and ended up being early so I checked out the awesome sale at The Children's Place. Alex has snowpants for at least the next year if not two after I picked up 2 pairs at 8.50'ish. I ended up kicking myself and making a second trip so in total I got 2 pairs of snowpants, one pair of cargo pants that roll up (really neat) into shorts, a fooler golf shirt, a rugby shirt, a gorgeous knit sweater, a genuine leather belt and cozy but heavy weight cotton jammies for 76$ after tax. Yay, a big chunk of his back to school shopping is taken care of. There's nothing like getting top notch and preppy clothing for cheaper than discount store prices ;)

Where we had both vehicles at the mall and were heading home we decided to try out a restaurant just past the ramps to turn off to head to our place via the TCH. Needless to say Alex was very excited about the place as it had gallows and free pool. The service was great and the food was standard but good pub fare. Not the fanciest place but we had fun and the fact it was named after a bit of New Brunswick history it wasn't a bad alternative to the usual dinner rut. After supper I rushed and got together the DMC I missed kitting up for Vicki, grabbed a kit and some fabric to show Faith Ann then jaunted around the subdivisions to her house ;) It was a whole lot of fun sitting back and stitching, playing Wii and investigating the Cricut machine. Although me being me got there and forgot Vicki at home so I have yet another WIP, this time my Pumpkin Hill kit from SB. :P

Sunday we stayed in, it was too cold! Matt assembled my new Nordic Track Elliptical and I did some organizing/labelling with my new label maker that I got for a steal after Christmas. I love it! I also made the boys these for all of their hard efforts constructing my fitness equipment :)

Four!

The "Four" Tag...

4 JOBS I HAVE HAD
Babysitter
Tim Horton's Coffee Girl
'Playground'/Summer Camp leader
Office Assistant

4 MOVIES I WATCH OVER AND OVER
I'll just include the adult ones as they have no Alex influence
Mr and Mrs Smith
Star Wars
The Holiday
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

4 PLACES I HAVE BEEN
North Conway, NH
Charlottetown, PEI
Toronto, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario

4PLACES I HAVE LIVED
Miramichi, NB
Moncton, NB
Wolfvile, NS
Fredericton, NB

4TV SHOWS I WATCH
Heroes
Smallville
Doctor Who
Holmes on Homes

4 PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARILY
Faith Ann
Cathey
Shannon
Mom

4 FAVOURITE FOODS
Mexican
Chinese
Popcorn
Fish and chips


4 PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE
Home
Miramichi Home
Disney World
Because You Count


4 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
Vacation
Christmas
Days off with Alex
Stitchy nights

4 PEOPLE TO TAG
anyone who feels like doing a meme :)

Morning Has Broken

Well...that moment of silence lasted a bit longer than expected. I'd start to write something and it would be a page long rant about how tactless the news outlets have been over the bans of 15 passenger vans before the families and friends even had a chance to bury their loved ones. There's a time and a place for everything and that side of the coverage reaked of those hobious people that start itemizing and claiming posessions before the deceased is even in the ground. My heart ached all week thinking about the proper side of the story, every day there seemed to be one more little detail in the local coverage that would bring a set of fresh tears. Alex and I wore our black and red Wednesday and needless to say I'm a bit more drained than usual this week.

However...the week has had it's bright moments :) Including stitchy night!!! There weren't as many girls there this time around but Faith Ann and I were there with bells on (hehe, I even picked up my firt christmas gift for 2008 on the way down. Due to the late return home from the holidays I was zapped when I came back to work so I fell into the rut a bit sooner than expected so I was more than happy to stay there even as the girls dwindled out. 'Vicki' is coming along beautifully. I'm finally onto the blue ruffle in her skirt but I see in all of the Christmas excitement I didn't notice the small but crucial second column of colours so I need to make a trip to the craft room to update my project box, yippee!


This weekend thankfully isn't too busy. Matt should be putting my elliptical together, and depending on how I feel I'm going to touch up the paint in the craft room, which will probably be delayed to next weekend. There's a trip to the spa for a haircut planned for Saturday afternoon and then a girl's evening Saturday with some stitching and Wii :) Other than trying out my elliptical my butt is going to alternate between my pc seat and my reclining couch :)

A Moment of Silence

Words cannot begin to describe the impact of this tragedy on the baskeball community, the city of Bathurst and New Brunswick as a whole

Rest in Peace Phantoms

Happy New Year

I hope you all had a merry christmas and a happy new year!

We had a lovely Christmas. From the second we arrived safely on the Miramichi I was having SEVERE second doubts about spending Christmas at our house this year. I absolutely love it there. A beautiful real tree, a cozy fireplace and of course sleeping in the same bed I had every christmas in my memory. Alex was soo fun to watch this Christmas. However all great things come to an end and we had to make the second leg of our trip. We got to spend some time with our new sister in law but the preparation for 'the party' and some snowstorms had me crawling the walls. It was also affirmation that with my migraines and over sensitive hearing that I'll never be able to live in an open concept home. Due to a snowstorm we arrived home late new year's eve and at some point standing in a 3 ft snowbank loaded to the brim with Christmas presents and a house with no food before me that giving up my 'perfect' Christmas wasn't going to be so bad after all. Trying to explain just how much travelling exhausts me seemed to be lost. 'Just cut back on the cooking and decorating'. You know what? I LIKE doing that part, I'd like nothing more than to sit back after Christmas dinner, enjoy my tree and enjoy all of the stuff stashed away in the freezer until new years and have people come to us for a nice dinner or something instead of us travelling all over the province. I want to sit in my new PJ's, reclined in one of the most comfortable chairs known to man with my Ott light and stitch while Alex plays with his new toys and be more than ready to put them away New Year's day. Mind you I need my parents Christmas morning though ;)

In between our trips to Miramichi and Grand Falls we dropped by the house to drop off some of our presents and waiting in the mail was the fabric for 'Vicki' ie: Victorian Christmas Eve by Mirabilia. Well, let's just say she saw alot of stitching time when we were at the inlaws. Mind you I was visited by the Frog! In other stitching news I think my stitched gifts went over pretty well this year. I stitched my parents SB stockings to match our set and Tracy got Lizzie Kate's 'Only Dull Women Have Immaculate Homes'.

By the time new years day rolled around I was exhausted, hence the blogging hiatus. We'd just gotten the driveway cleaned out when our neighbors skiied by to inform us of another incoming storm, Yuck! It's a good thing I had a couple days off to help shovel, put away gifts, catch up on laundry and dismantle the Christmas decorations, again more exhaustion.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, I'll finally be able to try out my Christmas presents!! Matt got me an elliptical for Christmas where Alex's ever changing demands just don't make the gym as feasible as it once was and I'm going to make a stew in my new Pressure Cooker from mom and dad, needless to say I'm VERY excited!!