Vacation Update

Omigosh where did the time go?? Wednesday was spent mostly taking care of Phoebe (ie: smelly cat). Mom and I had our first experience bathing a kitty, well that was interesting but at least she was no longer matted in poo. The vet took her in and was going to try to fix her up so that the spca would take her and thankfully was going to bill the spca. We didn't know all what was wrong with her besides rhinotracheitis, had this have been 7 years ago I'd probably have taken her in but Alex and the house are pretty demanding...along with hoping/wishing to expand the family in the next couple of years. I don't think I'd make a very good kitty mommy. After Phoebe was left in the hands of a very compassionate vet who we trust with making the right decision what to do with her when all of her conditions we took Alex to his first trip to a national park Kouchibouguac.

Thursday we relaxed where it was raining, dad had to retrieve Steven from Fredericton as he's in a wedding this weekend so Alex got some girly time. We also got in our trip to Estey's, it's definitely changed since the son took over :( Or maybe I'm just that accustomed to William's fish and chips back home. I got back to working on Matt's stocking, I'm trying to keep it under wraps and surprise him at christmas.

Today we headed to the market, where we started our vacation a week ago, then took some pics of some living room sets so Matt and I could make a decision on our wedding gift. Tonight we're hoping the rain stays away so we can get to the Napan fair, amoungst their exhibits is a cross stitch one...guess where I'm heading ;)

And to finish off, some more pics from the week (had a very cute one of Alex swimming at Kouch...until I realized he had some MAJOR butt crack...sigh) Alex, Pappy and Jazz

New Brunswick Day Bouncing At Middle Island

Feeding the Goats, New Brunswick Day Middle Island

Goat Watching

Sand Condo Construction at Escuminac

Look What the Tide Washed In! Escuminac, NB

On The Boardwalk Escuminac, NB

A Couple More Happy Dances

Our First Christmas - Lizzie Kate

Sampler's and Such -Pointsetta JCS '05

Viva La Vacatione!

Ok...my spanish is very rusty! ;) It's been so nice vacationing, we've been to escuminac beach, market, Moncton for a girly shopping trip and just relaxing. Today's been a bit hectic. On our way home from Moncton (with a car load of goodies and stash) we came across a little calico cat on the road. He/she looked pretty neglected so we tried to take it to the spca which was closed. Now when we went up there today, trying to be responsible pet loving citizens they wouldn't take it, told us it had an infection and to put it down ourselves! What the goodness is the SPCA for then?? Anyway the vet wasn't in and the very nice (and not overly impressed with the local SPCA) receptionist was getting ahold of the animal control officer and the managers to see why the goodness we should be reponsible for putting down the poor cute (but ill) kitty before it's appointment at 2. :(

On to much more happy news, I was able to pick up the thread yesterday to finish my Lizzie Kate Our 1st Christmas ornament, yippee!! I did really well and kept my stash bill tame ;) I've been stitching away here and there on Matt's holiday stocking...why even when I'm not working does there never seem to be enough time??

Officially On Vacation

Pics like this are what I'm looking forward to this week...and some ornament finishes to boot!

Testing The WatersFirst Gap in the Grin!

Snow - Glory Bee

Don't Peek - Little By Little Design Co.

Happy Birthday Eleni!

Happy Birthday Eleni!! I'm really looking forward to her birthday luncheon today. Usually someone (actually both of us) are on vacation on this day but with the long weekend being late we can actually go out. Although today's noon hour was at a premium. Where we're usually not in town I didn't even think about it and made an appointment at the spa for a lash tint (I anticipate swimming a bit next week and don't feel like being attached to a tube of mascara...the joys of being a red head with blond lashes), so when Angela sent me a reminder/invite I rescheduled. Not two hours later our project manager sent out an invite for lunch for today where so many of us are going off on vacation in the next couple weeks, I politely declined :)

Well, yesterday was a little hectic. I've been pricing tires ever since I got the inspection back on the van and just out of curiousity checked out Canadian Tire before heading to the Miramichi Friday where I probably would have gotten Walmart to install a set (ours doesn't have an automotive department)...of course they were on sale THIS week! So while showing them to Matt who pointed out the Goodyear model that we had nothing but problems with both times a set were put on the Corolla were also on sale (plus they're touring tires, not what I was looking for traction wise) I headed down to CT, ordered my tires and made an appointment to put them on tonight after Newbody. When I got home I called mom and dad to tell them the good news, as dad keeps giving me not so subtle reminders that they marginally passed their inspection, and when mom relayed the message I then heard in the background 'Oh and I would have put them on for her next week...', being on my comeback ready little toes I replied, 'well they aren't paid for yet I can always cancel', *dead silence* :)

Matt and I enjoyed one of our Movie Night's from the stitching bridal shower. We rented V for Vendetta which was really good...after I got fed up with the first five minutes being so dark and changed the setting on the tv, I knew it was supposed to be a dark movie...but not that dark ;) As it was a 'date' night I didn't get to stitch, which was really hard seeing as one of my packages came in from SBB! I did however finish my Snow ornament by Glory Bee from JCS 2004 on break at work ;) Last night I also made the filling for a tortiere for Matt while I'm away and started packing the non essential clothes for a quick get away Friday morning :)

Tonight Matt is back on schedule and picking up Alex and taking him to the library, so I can go to newbody and then head up to the garage, stitching in tow!! :)

The Owl Has Flown The Coop!

Omigosh the Owl is gone!! There's a beautiful old home on Smythe (one of Fredericton's main arteries) that for decades has had an owl in their front porch. Well...ok stuffed animals are gross but this one was a celebrity. Throughout the years, and even changes in ownership, whatever the season or weather, the owl was dressed appropriately, a santa suit for christmas, rain coat for the spring, you name it...the owl even went into mourning when Princess Diana passed away, draped in black and holding a queen of hearts card in it's wing. The house has been for sale on and off for the last two years and when we drove by today it was completely cleaned out...including the owl. Sigh...

Last night was quiet. We tried out a new recipe and then headed out for a bike ride. Both Matt and I really need to put some air in our tires. Alex is really flying on his bike now... By the time he was bathed and ready for bed I was pretty tired myself and didn't stay up much longer than to marinate the pork tenderloin for supper.

Today I should be able to wrap up my Glory Bee ornament on break, I can't wait!! No plans for tonight besides maybe putting some new tires on the van. Although if it's nice out I probably won't and just relax outside. I can't believe it's August already!! Where has the summer gone?

Why Do Weekends Go So Fast?

D'oh...photobucket was having issues last night so I couldn't post the pics this morning I was hoping, sigh...

We had a relatively low key weekend. Saturday I headed over to the Avalon for a much over hair cut. I don't know why every summer I put off the summer crop until mid season and suffer through most of July with hot heavy hair that can only be put in a ponytail that ends up losing all volume by the end of the day. Alex almost cried when I told him I was going, he thinks the ideal woman wears makeup and a ponytail (he's obsessed with them) so after I assured him that my hair would still be long enough to put in one, minus a couple pieces of my layers hanging out he was fine. I took advantage of the warm weather and did a tonne of laundry and had it dry outside on the line and on our rack. As I was driving back from the spa I thought I'd bring up a trip to the waterslides when I got home, but Matt was pretty tired so we stayed home. Alex and I set up the slip and slide instead and I took some pics of him...and thankfully the neighbor across the road wasn't in any pictures without his shirt on ;)

Sunday involved mowing the back lawn and more laundry, and we'd made arrangements for my brother to watch Alex in the afternoon so we could finally see Pirates of the Carribean :) I did the groceries first and picked up Steven on the way back, I even managed to finally pick up some frames, one for my Katie's Eggs finally caught my eye and another for our group wedding photo and autographed photo mat. Oh...and I finally got some hangers to put them up with and some other framed pieces that have just been sitting around waiting for hooks. I LOVED the movie, but forgot to stay for the teaser at the end of the credits, darn having such a nice day to make you feel guilty for being in the theatre so long. Afterwards Matt drove Steven home and I made some applesauce meatballs for the boys. After supper we went for a bike ride. Alex can really pick up some speed on his new bike, we ended up driving down to the cul de sac at the end of our street and back, only to have Alex beg to go out again, so this time we went a bit further to the cul de sac behind our house. After the bike rides and then him mastering the monkey bars finally you'd think he would have been tired, hah! I finally got to do some stitching at 9, way passed his 8 pm bedtime. I didn't do much, just stitched in one of the four instances of the word "Snow" on my Glory Bee ornament :)

Today should be a bit better, it's supposed to shower at some point so hopefully we'll then get some stuff done around the house (like installing our new light fixtures) and then I'll get some stitchy time :)...Thankfully it's only a four day work week for me and then it's vacation!! :)

Catching Up

I'm back!! What a crazy week. Alex and I haven't been feeling too hot (well actually we have been too hot, maybe that was the problem). We were both pretty lethargic! To make matters worse I was finishing the ornament that I really wasn't all that motivated about...now that it's finished I'm so relieved (I hate having half done pieces lying around).

We hadn't gotten much sleep due to some wicked thunderstorms, then the day after one of them Matt's computer (the alpha male computer) just stopped running. I tried powering it on for him and the light flicked once and nothing. It made for putting up with one grumpy boy!! I offered the use of my computer (his two year cast off) and he took me up on the offer...meaning no piccy posting last night for me :( He thought his power supply might be fried. I thought just the way the thing half powered on and died was weird and turns out my conclusion that the on/off button had issues was the correct diagnosis...yay, we can return the additional power supply!! However that does not bode well for work that'll need to be done to replace it...and the fact that I have the same case and notice my button isn't always 100%.

Wednesday was just frustrating. I hate being the 'mean mom'. DH and DS called up north to tell the other GP's about him losing his first tooth, then they 'offered' to pick DS up at DH's work and take him up to their place for the day to which I said no. That would mean 5 hours in the car for Alex and that's just mean, besides which the round trip that they'd be pulling is the same length of time to our house which they refuse to visit. So yet again, I...the one who's been bending over backwards for these people am made out to look like the bad guy for not wanting to subject my poor little 6 year old to all that driving, and to the care of people that are not overly involved in his life, anytime we go up. The only time he sees them is when we have the time/energy/money to go up there and the majority of that time is spent at/preparing some sort of big family event so Alex's one on one time is limited. Matt's like "well wouldn't a day off be nice?", wait...I still have to go to work, he's at a daycare he adores anyway throughout the day, I still come home to the same work load of house stuff and still have to cook supper, plus he'd be arriving home with a very cranky kid who's been cooped up in a car WAY too long. No thanks. We'll readily accept applications for housecleaning, taxiing and laudry though ;)

From that conversation though we did get some semi exciting news, Matt's brother bought a ring for his trip over to Switzerland. He apparently met the love of his life while vacationing in Cuba, headed over to see her again shortly after our wedding, they've had some sort of e-mail/phone thing going on and I guess there's no doubt in his mind on what he wants to do, so we've kept our over cautious mouths shut (we waited over 7 years to get married...so we're on the other extreme ;)). So I may just have another sister in law, we'll have to wait until he arrives back in the country to hear in two weeks...although I'd still prefer if one of those brother's of mine would settle down...I swear I'm going to be a grandmother before I have any nieces or nephews!

Progress Pics from Weekend :)

Penguin Hugs from Paw Prints Designs
JCS 2004Christmas Joy Angel Stitchin'

JCS 2003

Best of Intentions

Last night I had alot of intentions, I intended on taking some pictures of the finished ornaments..I'd intended to go stitch with the girl's, but with a head cold that's been draining I decided reluctantly to 'save my spoons' and listened to mom's advice and 'went to my room'...well it wasn't really my room, it was the couch and I dozed in and out of Doogal last night. The sniffles and sneezes are interrrupting my sleep though...or maybe it was just the anticipation of Matt's interview today.

I was a little more mobile after 9 and I stitched some on Little By Little's Don't Peek (JCS ornament issue), which I started 2 years ago and my tastes have changed quite a bit so I find it a bit of a struggle to stay motivated on doing it, but it seems a shame to just leave it where it's half done.

This weekend is another 'non travelling' weekend and besides a hair appointment and pump I don't really have any reason to leave the house (unless we decide to take Alex to Woolastock to the water slides) so my idea of relaxing this weekend would include

• 
  Finishing one CC Holiday Mitten
• 
  Ornamentifying NN's Holiday Hardanger and The Sweetheart Tree's Merry Christmas bellpull
• 
  Ornamentifying at least one of Paw Prints Penguin Hugs, Dragon Dreams Peace, Dragon Dreams Not A Creature Was Stirring, Lizzie Kate's Holiday Mitten, Sampler's and Such's The Holly and The Ivy or Winter Wheat...I'm leaning towards Not A Creature Was Stirring though ;)

Mini Monday Milestones

Oh my! I came home from a Body Pump, Body Jam and grocery run to Alex with a big closed mouth smile on his face...which made me suspect as to what the boys were up to while I was gone. Sure enough when he smiled again I noticed the gap where his baby tooth had been loose...I can't believe he lost his first tooth (and am so glad I wasn't there for it, it makes me squeamish!!).

Yes...so Sunday was busy. Some of the girls at the gym were doing there certication videos this weekends for Body Jam, the new Les Mills program to be offered at the gym. I got an exclusive invite to Friday's but couldn't juggle Alex as the child minding is on summer hours. So Sunday I wasn't surprised that I was approached again about sticking around for another certification video. I, myself have veen interested in getting certified to teach and where it was the regional coordinator doing her video I thought it would be prudent to stay (and I was really curious about what the new class was about). Well, after shimmying and shaking for an hour I was in love...and had a couple new dance moves too boot ;) But let me tell you...between that and a new Body Pump release I'm pretty darn stiff today.

Saturday we didn't end up going to the lake. Matt's on a boycott of all extra activities associated with his work. Apparently he asked descretely for a reference...which didn't end up being discrete and going all the way up the directoral chain and HR stating that it is against company policy to give references. What a load of crap, that's a great way to keep your project managers, literally trapping them. Anyway, this has Matt stressed out about his interview with the department of education tomorrow *fingers crossed*. It would be so nice to have him working in the same town...let alone on the same street. Not that he isn't overqualified for the position, but the fact that it's a bilingual position is definitely helping his chances. So while Matt spent the day brushing up his ASP knowledge I put the finishing touches on Angel Stitchin's Christmas Joy and Paw Prints Penguin Hugs, laced and framed by Dragon Dreams Imagination Creation and ironed some ornaments to prep for a finishing frenzy this coming weekend. It was pretty muggy so Alex and I headed to the movies to see Monster House (and gave Matt some quiet studying time). It was a pretty good movie. After Alex and I picked up some wedding pics I'd ordered in the morning and some light fixtures to replace our living room entryway and hall lights and ran into an old friend from highschool on the way out of walmart. Why oh why is it that when I finally run into someone I haven't seen in years do I never think to exchange contact info??

Today I'm feeling pretty rotten...I either have an allergy or some sort of cold. I've got the itchy watery eyes and have been sneezing for the last 12 hours...on top of getting little sleep as Matt's pager went off at 4...then he didn't remember to turn his alarm off...then when I finally got back to sleep he showed up to turn it off (already done) and woke me up again...not a good start to the day. If we didn't have a self imposed deadline of Friday for this build's reporting I seriously would have taken a sick day today...which I may still do at lunch if I wrap up.

Baby Crocs

Yesterday my gym buddy decided she was going shopping instead of to the gym so I decided to get Alex a pair of Crocs halfway through the lunch hour. His sandals are on borderline need of replacement and the crocs he can wear into the fall so I invested in those instead (and skipped trying to find sandals his size so late in the shopping season). I'm just about to turn where the kids rack was and I was shocked to see Matt's cousin Alison there (they live somewhere near Poole Ontario...I can't remember exactly where their new house is). What are the chances?? Anyway I had a good chat with her and depending on their schedule they were thinking of dropping by in the evening.

So after work I picked Alex up in a hurry. I honestly didn't think they'd be able to make it, they're on a whirlwind trip around the maritimes and I'm guessing the grandparents were pretty lonesome for their two children but I cleaned JUST in case. Alex was content with a homemade pizza for supper and then we drove over to the soccer field...which we normally don't do but I wanted to be able to drive back quickly incase we had company. The bonus to this was I got to bring my comfy lawn chair instead of my fold out one and got to stitch through practice. The end is finally in site for my Angel Stitchin' Joy ornament, which for some reason I started back when the ornie issue came out in 2003 but never got past the chickadee.

We returned home and still no company, but I was quite happy vegging with a clean house. I went downstairs and stuffed and finished the ho ho ho box only to find my Kreinik ribbon was 1/16" instead of 1/8" so it'll have to wait until the moncton trip to be Tree ready ;)

Today, it's raining and the weekend isn't looking too promising (possibly the tail end of a hurricane)...cancelling our trip to Oromocto lake but after two weekends of travelling it's a welcome break...May actually get to see Monster House with Alex too ;) I'm hoping to finish putting furniture in it's places this weekend where we'll be home, although it'll depend on Matt's preparation schedule for his 'meeting' on Tuesday. Wish him luck ;)

Got Croc?

Yay, yesterday I bought my first pair of Crocs, and love them. My feet are always so warm that having shoes that stay cool is awesome. Although I'm still trying to figure out how people go bike riding with them, I tried last night when Alex went for his nightly ride and I found my pedals very uncomfortable (but they are kind of rugged looking), oh well...

Last night was super muggy. I got to be a good samaritan and help out a CTV reporter on the walk to the car as she was trying to cover the story of the Show The Truth rally they'd had and wasn't able to locate her camera man before the news broadcast. Luckily I walked along and had a pretty much identical height and build so she was able to use me to set up the camera for her solo report. Of course this was on one of the busiest streets in Fredericton during rush hour so I'm sure a bunch of people that I know drove by and were pretty darn relieved when they didn't see me on the news...as it's a subject I could rant on for hours. I got caught in a downpour going from the grocery store to the van after depositing some money (yeah...the bank is in the grocery store, who 'woulda thunk it' 10 years ago). Knowing I would get soaked running anyway I took the walk at a leisurely stroll, it was actually pretty refreshing. Thankfully the only things I had picked up in the store were water proof, a bag of fries for the boys and a Spud Trooper to go with Alex's Darth Tater (which he adores) for Christmas...yes, I do my Christmas shopping while it's a) available and b)preferably not at full price. Mathieu thinks this approach as cheap (but he's a slacker shopper), I prefer to view it as thinking about people year round, and looking for the perfect gift all year ;) Now to try to find Artoo Potatoo locally...

Speaking of Christmas, I'm finally ornamentifying! I've got 2 corners completed on my Ho Ho Ho box and the laced backstitching is actually quite easy, and alot less messy than gluing ;) Stitching the same design 6 times was a bit repetitive though. This whole exercise is a warm up for the holiday mittens :) Tonight is going to be hectic. Matt neglected to mention he was changing his schedule to accomodate a blood test so guess who has to take Alex to the summer reading program?? And it's stitchy night so I'm going to have to bring him along (which he doesn't mind at all...he's been to a stitch in before and thinks they're all great). Seeing as this means I'm missing Newbody again this week I informed him that he was taking over all library duty for the next month!

She's Back!

Yay, I'm back after a brief hiatus!! So what have I been up to??

Thursday: Mom came for a visit and we went over to the Gram's house for the last time :( Then we cheered ourselves up and went to The Devil Wears Prada which I really enjoyed++ I felt like channelling Meryl Streep's Miranda when dealing with the local Honda's small engine department. Week two of no mower and after a promise to have it up and running after a carburetor repair, which they missed in the summer tune up, the _________ hit the fan when they called back the next day and wanted another 100$ for an electrical component. After a 'Do or Darwin' argument with the service manager about how it wasn't a blank cheque for service we started dealing with the manager and they finally checked over the entire beast...with the component arriving tomorrow and being installed for free after this fiasco...myself (the lawn mower in the family) would have opted for a new push mower at CT but the other half is still holding out hope for the self propelled...arghhh...

Friday: I met mom for a wonderful lunch at McGinnis, I love going and splitting an order of nachos. There were a number of calls back and forth as Honda was supposed to put in a used component to get the mower running for the weekend but it blew too (I have a really strong feeling that it's not fixable), so instead of meeting mom and Steven at my house when I was to drop the mower off (I love having a van but hate being the 'delivery' person all the time) we met at Tracy's and started our Caravan to the Miramichi. Dad was out waiting on the deck when we pulled in and Alex pretty much flew out of the van and within the next 15 minutes I found myself at the beach. We relaxed/chatted stitched until about midnight, very nice

Saturday: Omigosh I slept in!! That was soo nice. Mom had some eggs and bacon on too, I'm not used to being spoiled ;) After lunch we got ready for a trip to the pool after mom went to work. Alex loved splashing around but should have had his supersuit on where we haven't had much of an opportunity to go to the pool lately (a session with that seems to reboost his confidence level). After a good hour and a half swim we headed home and vegged, me plugging away at the ornaments that had been awaiting dad's supply run to Moncton and the boys were playing Luxor. For supper we headed out to Estey's for some fish and chips, yum. I wasn't able to get tickets to the Irish Festival (which wasn't that big a disappointment, I really was more in the mood to visit after not being home for a visit since Christmas besides a brief stay over for Lisa's wedding) so dad and I rented The Legend of Zorro. It was an enjoyable rental, but I'm glad I didn't have to add babysitting and concessions on to see it! It was during Zorro that I finished the ornament

Sunday: Lazy day, I slept in big time, unintentionally, especially considering I'd been in bed by midnight. We planned on going to the pool after a lunch at Boston Pizza but it started to thunder in the distance so the boys decided to play on the beach and I decided to check out the clearance sales for clothes for our February trip to the Dominican. I bought my FIRST BIKINI!!! I'm no Cindy Crawford in it but it looks pretty good :) It'll be much better when I'm back to my normal routine at the gym which has been in a flux with summer vacations and reduced class times. Sadly enough the time came to leave. Alex wanted to stay there until I came back in 3 weeks to pick him up! I don't think he realizes how hard it is for me to leave too ;) We lucked out when gassing up a) there was a 'gas war'...which is odd considering the province is supposed to be regulated...and b) the guy ahead of me paid the wrong pump, mine and his bill was 10$ less, woo hoo. We dropped Steven off and proceeded home to unpack.

Monday: Muggy Muggy Muggy!! I only went for a 40 minute walk at lunch and felt gross! I picked up the groceries and a bunch of supplies for our trip to Oromocto lake Saturday. I didn't realize Matt had the windows still open when he left so the house was muggy :( I prepped the maple pork and sweet potato fries and then setup the rec room for dinner and a movie (Alex found our old VHS copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when we were at mom and dads) By the time the movie was done it had cooled down enough downstairs to be comfortable in front of a fan. By the time I went to bed I had more HoHoHo's stitched in on my box (that part is a pain) and I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to do the sewing tonight.

Tuesday: Yay, all caught up. There's nothing like a HUGE protest to wake you up in the morning. Good for them! I'm 100% behind their cause, and even if I wasn't there is absolutely no way such a 'business' should be allowed to set up shop in a public school's back yard. Tonight on the agenda?? Hopefully a run at the gym either at lunch and if not, after work (Matt's in town for bloodwork), then it'll be arriving home to dinner in the slow cooker, some time with the boys, followed by some stitching, woo hoo!!

Just Another Happy Dance

Sampler's And Such The Holly And The Ivy (JCS 2002 Ornament Issue)

Just a quick post to share my little happy dance as it's too hot/muggy to be upstairs to compute :)   I was hoping I could 'capture' the effect of the blending filament a bit better but it's just too hot to mess with the camera.  More on the awesome Miramichi weekend to follow ;)

Got Racoon?

First of all, thanks for the compliments on the nordic needle ornament :) I don't know what it is lately but ornaments are very appealing.

Barbara - You could definitely come over and play, we just need to figure out a much more efficient and cheaper system of transportation over to NB :)

Shannon -Yes...dad actually does go to the stitching shop for me. Right now we're without one where I live and he happens to do some work/meetings from time to time where the best stitching shop in Atlantic Canada is. A couple of years ago the girls from the shop dropped by my spot at retreat to tell me how much they enjoy his visits (I guess he hams up his lack of stitching knowledge ;)) What a saint ;)

Last night was busy++ Matt was late picking me up which was NOT a good start to the evening, especially since he was borrowing MY vehicle to fix the lawn mower. Then he took to most illogical, traffic ridden, km's of back tracking route to pick up Alex (I'm a 'I drive a V6, therefore every single traffic route is memorized based on a magical formula of km's, traffic lights, traffic patterns, speed and right turns to get the most of my gas', he's a 4 cylinder standard 'I'm not in a hurry so why bother' person...therefore I hate it when he drives my vehicle). After picking up Alex and him starting to head North when the house is SOUTH I asked him where on earth he was going he pulled over the vehicle and let me drive. After we got home and returned Honda's call (we drove past the dealership but did someone want to stop???) I got the burgers on for supper and then packed up Alex to take him to the summer reading program (in the most fuel efficient manner possible I might add). Thankfully my stitching was still in the car so I worked on my HoHoHo box while they read their stories.

After our trip to the library Alex and I headed to the Coop to check their supply of Holey Soles, as the store carry Crocs downtown only had girly colours (for Alex) and no mediums for me...no luck there either. So then we headed to Walmart to pick up my test set of wedding pics which I'm VERY happy with. I was worried when the ones we got back from the superstore were all over processed. We went in to have a peek at what they were clearing out in the garden center and somehow a hose reel like Matt has wanted was there (wasnt' there the other week when we actually had the gift cards on us). I picked that up, hooray! Next trip in I'll be getting some new light fixtures for our entry way and hall, double woo hoo!

I finished the stitching on my hohoho boxes after Alex went to bed, now to do the backstitching border, lettering and then assemble. It was muggy but I felt soo much better after a nice shower and went to bed. This morning I looked out and my hummingbird feeder was empty and covered in mud. It's been emptying alot faster and originally I thought it might be my neighbors brat messing with it as one of the yellow flowers was off it...and on the steps. I doubt any little hummingbird could do that. Well after some internet research I see it is quite possible that it wasn't the neighbors beast but a racoon....now to find a new place to hang it that I can actually still watch the birds! Anyone want a racoon??

Today mom's coming over for a visit and do some paper work for the sale of the house :( (well :( to the sale of the house, not to having a visitor, that's a :)++). Alex was sooo excited to hear we'd have a house guest!

Happy Dance Pic

Well...it's not ornamentified (thankfully only a seam here and there to make the ends pointy, and I'm debating restitching the bottom little motif...I was so hoping the variation in the thread would get closer to the dark it started off as. Nordic Needle's Hardanger Holiday Ornament from JCS 2004. I really should have taken the pic against a different surface to show off the doves eyes, although I'm sure they'll look pretty on the tree...Now back to stitching the Ho Ho Ho Ho box from that issue (and crossing my fingers that dad got into the stitchery shop in Moncton so I can finish my mitts!)

Another Evening...

Another evening another thunderstorm...

Last night was pretty low key, Alex and I went to the church strawberry supper and split a plate of food (the heat kills my appetite). It worked out well as it was a cold plate of ham and turkey, with a variety of salads, I'm not a ham person and Alex doesn't do turkey. I had a delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert and Alex got a home made ice cream, we then got a take out plate for Matt and headed home.

I got the lawn mower out just to see if it would run before it goes to the shop today...and of course it did...until I went past one of the evergreens out front and it pushed back the throttle and stalled it, never to start again. I was so ticked I almost cut down the tree. Yes, I realize it is the lawnmower that isn't functioning properly but that tree shouldn't be there, it's in the easement portion of the property so really it should go before we get attached (and it grows a big root for us to take out).

I went back inside and put Alex in the bath and started reorganizing my cross stitch supplies. They'd kind of gotten out of order lately for some reason (wedding perhaps). After I tracked down some loose bobbins, put Alex to bed and talked to mom on the phone for a bit I sat down, watched the lightening and finished stitching my Nordic Needle ornament from the 2004 JCS. The boys were running late this morning (Matt needed my van) so I didn't get a chance to upload it into blogger, sigh...

In other news it's looking like we won't need to ask the travel agent to put us in a separate part of the resort with we go to the Dominican in February, I guess we're the only ones from the grooms mother's side going. I guess it will be private after all ;) (although it's too bad for the groom, but after the lopsided numbers at our wedding, not a big shock).

Photo Finished

Well, here's some long overdue pics ;)

Alex celebrating Canada day (wearing his lama shirt Uncle Travelling Pat brought back from Peru...yeah we know how to show pride in our country ;))

Then of course there's him slipping and a sliding...and thank your lucky stars I'm BEHIND the camera...no one needs to see that ;)

Embracing My Inner Geek

I'm back!!! The highlight of the weekend, seeing Superman Returns, woo hoo!! I have always loved the story of Superman, and watch Smallville religiously as it's the back story I'm most interested in and the movie touched on my favorite parts of the story. The trailer had me embarassingly choked up with the archived Jor-El speech, so for anyone that's seen it they can just imagine how I was throughout the movie ;) I was totally embracing my inner geek ;) The theatre we went to is one of the last in the area which still has real butter instead of that goodness aweful butter flavored oil crap, so we could almost look over the fact that they wouldn't let Matt switch the medium pop for a medium slushy which is the same price, weird...

Alex got a slip and slide this weekend as well. It took about a day for him to figure out how to actually use it, not sliding on his knees and not climbing across it combat style. I took some pics which I'll post later, and spare you those of me in a bathing suit giving directions ;)

I did get some stitching in this weekend, I didn't bring Guardian Angel along as I knew I was in for some sporadic stitching so I brought my CC Mitten, but realized when packing that I didn't kit up the Kreinik and mill hill that I needed. So I brought along my Sampler's and Such The Holly and The Ivy from the 2002 JCS. I had a severe attack of the frogs, sigh, but now all of the outlining is done (it's a stained glass ornament), the berries stitched in and the holly leaves, now to wait for my SBB order so my WDW Ivy can come in and I can finish that part (and the mittens).

Last night we had a wicked thunder and lightening storm. It made the trip to the car a bit scary being able to see it come up the river (the car is a block and a half away from the office). Although by the time we left Tracy's it was cleared up enough that I put our 'family movie' night back on the schedule. Alex picked out Sky High, which Matt and I were just dreading watching...but I don't know who enjoyed it more, Alex or us ;) Matt was completely sold after he found out Bruce Campbell was in it ;) I started up another ornament I'd had kitted for awhile but never stitched (well I did start but had to toss the first after making a counting/cutting error) Nordic Needle's holiday Hardanger Ornament from the 2004 JCS. It feels so good to use up some of the kitted projects!! One of these days I'm going to actually physically kit up the materials (right now they're not really set aside for a project, just on their brand ring or in the floss or fabric box) so I can just grab and go.

In other news, Matt was successfully drawn for his moose license. He'll definitely enjoy himself. Now to figure out what I'm going to do where Alex and I'll have the weekend to ourselves ;)

Another Sunny Soccer Day

Sigh...the mower still won't start consistently, what frustration when you were hoping to have your lawn mowed before you go away. Yes, you read it right, a trip this weekend. We'll be heading up north for a brief visit to Grand Falls to visit the inlaws. Although before we leave the mower is going to go back to the shop and there'll be a whole lotta complaining going on, what horrible service.

Anyway, last night after the lawn fiasco and making a pizza, Alex loaded up his wagon and we headed to the soccer field. I brought my mittens along to stitch on but I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted, there was alot going on conversation wise. First off Alex saw his classmate that lost her brother last month and went over to talk to her before practice...I was sitting on pins and needles hoping he wouldn't make one of his '6 year old that's still getting ahold of the whole concept of death' comments. Then the family beside me started talking about french immersion and I started to feel a little better on my compromise between school location and the program. Then another mother was going around dropping the 'I'll have to look into other sports for my son where he can't play hockey next year' line an aweful lot.. We're personally against raising out taxes for another community's hockey rink program that we had no input in and have no intention of ever using.

As for tonight after pump I'm hoping to finish one mitten and see how finishing goes before I start the other...there's going to be a solo mitten for awhile ;) I'm hoping to pull out the dragons tonight but if not I'm sure I'll be doing some work on them tomorrow at some point...I'm hoping the Sunday portion of the visit is fairly quiet so I can work on my Guardian Angel. Who knows ??? Just expect a frazzled 'just had a whirlwind weekend' post Monday ;)

The Hump Day Report

Last night everything seemed to be on fast forward. Alex and I arrived home to rush through making a batch of 'hybrid' hamburgers and then we all packed up and headed to the library's summer reading program. We listened to the reading of two great mystery books (the whole theme is getting 'clued' in on your library), then they had some thumb print painting and vegetable stamping for the kids to do before they got their log books stamped and picked out some new books. Matt and I took turns during the painting to browse the books ourselves, I found a book of cross stitch ornaments that I know some of the stitchers in our group have used (in fact the exchange ornie I received from Lucy is out of that book). I'm so excited that I can now make the companion piece ;). Alex required a good scrubbing when we got home last night and I spent bath time cleaning the remainder of the bathroom as the MIL is coming over Saturday night.

After Alex was tucked in bed I finished the scotch stitching of one side of the mitten (the most involved mitten, as stitching around the little area where your initials/date are supposed to go is REALLY annoying). I was so excited to move onto stitching the front of the mitten when I noticed the only ball of perle cotton in my bag was white...I'd left my 3033 at work!! D'oh! I had enough left to get half the band done on the front of the mitten and that was it, sigh...although this did give me a chance to do some frogging on the Sampler's and Such ornament from the 2002 edition. I also did some more tidying up around the house so there wouldn't be a mad dash to do so Tonight/tomorrow.

This morning I put some dough in the bread maker for tonight's pizza, it's another busy day with soccer tonight. This time I'll at least have some projects ready ;)

'Hybrid Burgers'

1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 lbs ground turkey/chicken
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 gloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp light worchestershire sauce *optional*
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp each cumin, salt, pepper
1 egg white

The recipe gives a yield of 4 but we find it makes 6 nice sized patties. I also make a second batch of meat for a later date and freeze (omitting the egg white until we use it) where ground poultry comes in 1lb packages.

The Thunder Rolls

Holy smokes, we had one wild thunderstorm last night!!! Of course the lightening started AFTER I was soundly asleep (I love to watch it). I woke up at three ready to growl at poor Matt for inconsiderately turning the hall light on when I realized that it was awefully loud and I was facing the exterior wall, it's hard to believe lightening could brighten the room more than our two lamps ever do!!...It was so close too. For awhile I could barely count between lightening and thunder. I had a hard time getting back to sleep, more so than usual as I had tornados on the brain. I still can't believe we had a confirmed F1 in the province.

Last evening was quiet. Alex and I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some ground beef that was on sale, on our way there we passed the baby section. Alex took one look and turned to me with the most serious expression "when you get me a baby brother and sister you're going to have to start buying those *diapers* you know...and you're going to have to buy a potty". Guess I know where his baby priorities are...waste management ;)

I wasn't feeling too hot so I lounged around, made a crab quiche for Matt and roasted some pork souvlaki for Alex and sat down at the pc and looked up the Calico Crossroads Holly Mittens which are the next ornament I want to do...the one I searched high and low for a skein of perle cotton for the other night before soccer. Well...while I was on the internet, I read something that I can't believe I forgot! There's an error in that JCS, it's not perle 5 I needed (which I was thinking would be REALLY bulky), it was perle 8...so in a flash I was down stairs and in the drawer where my perle cotton balls hang out and voila, there it was...so no dragon or guardian angel progress (although I did finish the white part of her wing at lunch), it was on to the mittens. I've seen the set done once before and thought they were gorgeous and then a single mitten (without the crystal charms) was on the retreat exchange tree last year and I figured if two people could follow the instructions and finish it so could I ;) I'm getting really excited to put up the tree this year ;)

Canada Day Weekend

I love long weekends!! I had planned on doing a Canada Day post...that was before the parade though. Saturday we awoke to gorgeous weather and it was so nice, all of the stores were closed so there wasn't that feeling of...am I supposed to be doing something...besides enjoying the gorgeous weather. Alex and I chilled out down in the playroom, me with my Summer's Magic Dragons and him having a grand old time with his little people, especially now that there were obstacles for him to drive around (still hadn't gotten around to moving the last load of furniture from my grandmothers). In the afternoon, I mowed the beast of a lawn and Matt had a support call so he couldn't join us for the parade. The parade itself was pretty neat, a 'green' parade with no gas powered vehicles allowed (although they made an exception for the seniors float), it started to spit rain though just as it was starting so we headed under the nearby underpass and climbed up on the concrete a bit so we could see...however climbing up was easy...we weren't thinking of how to get down. I now know how cats get stuck up in trees ;) Anyway, I decided the easiest way to get Alex down was to walk across to the crushed rock and onto the grass. This involved navigating around some glass and having a very excited kid take off as the hong kong group was coming with the really cool dragons, and me turning to grab him and smacking my head on the underpass *OUCH*. I sat out the parade, which thankfully wasn't too long without the whole slew of floats and went home to have a nice nap. The fireworks were amazing this year, I don't know which was more wired, them or Alex (who was insisting we check the weather network on the hour to make sure it wasn't going to rain again). A full 20 minute show!! We had perfect timing and arrived just as they were getting started (although this meant walking past a whole lotta drunk people). By the end of it though the combination of the scrape and goose egg on my head and the 20 minutes of explosions gave me a large enough headache that I was tucking Alex in bed in my sleep.

Sunday rained...and rained...and rained some more! Which has the lawn now looking like it could use another good mowing!! It was muggy though so Alex and I were hanging around in the playroom again, more work on the guardian angel's wing ensued. It did clear up for a bit when we went out to meet the man buying our old stove and went out for supper, then I stitched and watched the lightening...much more fascinating than the summer reruns. And what may I ask is up with CBC only bringing back Dr Who in October, ack! That was our summer staple last year!!

Monday was absolutely gorgeous. I cleaned off a new dresser for the computer room while Alex watched Sesame Street and brought the drawers upstairs. After 11 though we were outside enjoying the weather. I cleaned out Alex's pool while the clothes dried on the line. After lunch he was ready to swim and I was ready to stitch poolside. Matt even put together my composter, woo hoo. I didn't finish the white on the wing like I'd hoped but I may just sneak some stitching in on it tonight to finish that off. I also got to go to Body Combat, which I normally don't get to do where Matt's not in town Monday's and where it's at 5 it makes juggling Alex impossible. We even got Alex's new 'castle' of a bed arranged last night when he was in the tub, it's higher than our bed where it's a box spring and mattress on a captains bed. He LOVES it though. Hope everyone had a safe and fun Canada Day weekend (or just weekend if it didn't apply) ;)

Closing a Door

Woo hoo!! There's a new stove in the house, well new to us that is. It looks so much better, cleaner and brighter than the one that came with the house which was white at one time but lived for years with smokers before we moved in and no matter how much I scrub it shows it, and there were 'non digital dials' *gasp* and fake wood on the handles *double gasp*. Mom and dad were trading theirs for Gram's self cleaning ceramic top so we did a three way switch, now mine is up for sale/free...

It was really hard going over to the house last night knowing it would be one of the last, if not the last time I ever got to go in and have free reign over the house my grandfather built. There's a large delluded part of me that hope to turn around the corner of the dining room and find the living room still set up with the pictures in the corner and my grandparents talking away in their chairs, CBC on the tv but no body watching. There's no longer a box of cookies waiting in the cupboard by the sink, no more stockpile of chips in the first floor bedroom closet. All the easter egg hiding places are gone (and with all the nooks and cranny's in that house it made for at least 15 good easter egg hunts). My brother's and I are no longer attempting to scale the entry to the living room or sneak from the granny suite's basement apartment all the way to the second floor guest room past our parents and grandparents in the living room when they thought we were tucked in bed. Even the apartment I stayed in in university seems bare. It was hard going through Alex's birthday this year with the memories of being 'trapped' in that apartment's bathroom with no phone to call Matt when my water broke and bringing Alex there for his first night's sleep out of the hospital before we moved up to Grand Falls (briefly). It just seemed so empty without all of their love and laughter there :( I know it's only a 'house', but saying good bye doesn't get any easier. :(

Before mom and dad arrived I went on a frantic stash hunt as Alex had soccer and I didn't have a new 'easy' project to take with me (I wish Mirabilia's had a 'book' option instead of the great big charts...). Found the fabric for the Calico Cross Roads Mitten ornaments...couldn't find the perle cotton ring...found my Holly ornament from the 05 JCS...couldn't find the JCS...Found the fabric for a Sekas and Company stocking from one of the JCS, Watercolours ring was missing...and 15 minutes before practice I finally came across my summer dragon's that I've been wanting to finish, woo hoo!! Now...after all that racket and a kid complaining that we weren't walking over (the weather looked foreboding) we arrive to the field and it had been cancelled. Somewhere between 4:30 and 7 they'd added potential thundershowers to the forecast and the soccer association takes this very seriously after we had a girl killed by lightening (in a freak sunshower'ish storm) during a soccer game a couple of years ago. So... I took this as a sign I should start cleaning my craft room! It's looking much better. The fine details of organizing stash have yet to be dealt with but at least there's a space to layout and sort stuff now ;) So here's hoping I can do some of that this long weekend now I have some monkey help now that Matt's going to be in town and on call instead of over in Europe. Then maybe I'll be able to get a 'Christmas in July' finishing day for a whack of ornaments one of these weekends...my craft room would appreciate that immensely ;)

Happy Dance Pics and Post 300

Wow, 300 posts already!! My how time flies. Last night was pretty low key. I had the acrylic nails removed :( Then Alex and I went to the summer reading club kick off at the library and he enjoyed the puppet show immensely. On our way home we noticed the Irving in city limits had upped their gas 5 cents a litre (probably before taxes drop and regulation comes in Saturday) but the one out in our community hadn't so I topped off and sent Matt to do the same with the Corolla. After getting Alex bathed and put to bed I finished off my ornament, what a quick stitch (especially considering the 1152 stitches ;)), and helped Matt do up his resume for a posting with the department of education *fingers crossed*. Thankfully it's a bilingual position and I know when I applied for my competition I was the only one with any french, no matter how rusty. So here's hoping!!!

Now onto the recent happy dances...

St. Nicholas Needle Roll- Shepherd's Bush I Love Stitching-Hobb Nobb Designs
Holly- My Heart's Garden

Math and Stitching Don't Mix

Phew...Alex's cold is completely gone. What a weird experience. Last night I got home to a muggy house and had Starvin Guy Chicken Pot Pie on the menu (it was supposed to rain according to the weather network when I made the menu) and the chicken was already cooked in the slow cooker so I had to proceed. I was so hot and sweaty by the time it was in the oven you'd have thought I'd been to the gym, and after all that work my appetite was completely killed. And working through a 'crabby kid who'd been sick and lacks sleep' episode just made me want to shower and lay down.

So, there was no progress in the craft room last night, sigh...The kitchen was clean though after Matt neglected to do so the night before due to his muffler fixing & support call tying up the evening. I really should page him when he gets behind on his end of the housework ;)

After Alex was in bed, a new batch of hummingbird food cooling in the fridge and the living room tidied up some more, Epicure order placed, Matt persuaded me to sit down and compute for awhile. I was multitasking at the console, playing and starting the pinwheel stitch border around my current ornament, what sadist puts that in??? ;) It's a good thing I love stitching as when you get down to it, to do the 36 pinwheel stitches it actually means 1152 individual stitches...for an ornament border and that's not including the alternating round leviathan stitch in the corners ;) It's a good thing us stitchers don't think of these things often!! The only reason I even got close to calculating that was I was stitching in bed and Matt went to shut off the light....1/4 of the way into a pinwheel.. Well I said just let me finish it and after seeing the needle move and move and move he thought I was going on and stitching more...so I then gave him the number of stitches per pinwheel, math in hobbies is scary ;)

Bring on the Caffeine!

Oh my, my head hurts and I'm sooo sleepy. Last night ws finally a decent stitching night (although I was mucho disorganized). Eleni and Angela joined me in a little stitching and bitching which was fun, Matt even had to go fix the bolt on the exhaust system on the Corolla so it was an 'uncensored' conversation ;) I really needed it! I was on a hemstitching fix and finished what needed to be done on my SB needleroll and then moved on to my Guardian Angel after locating her. I REALLY need to 'dewedding' my craft room, I think that's what I'll be dedicating my Flylady 15 minutes to tonight...Ready set Timer!

I had really good intentions of posting pics and blogging last night, but Alex started coughing a bit when the girls were over, which he hadn't done all day. And then the second the door closed after the girls left and Matt was on a very loud cell phone support call I could hear him coughing and gasping over the conversation so I rushed into see what was wrong. I've never had to deal with croup when I couldn't just walk out into the cold air and have it clear everything up.

Needing a shower I put on my swimsuit (oh the modesty ;)) and thankfully I'd just brought up a clean bathmat so Alex layed on that where I could keep an eye on him and inhaled some steam which helped. Matt's call was still loud and I wanted to keep an eye/ear on Alex so we went downstairs and camped out. He fell asleep as we were flipping through JCS ornament issues and he was picking out his fave ornaments ;) Too cute ;)

This morning I felt like my legs were in tar and my head was throbbing from lack of sleep, I was up like a shot every time he had a hard cough, and do you think I could find my started Summer's Magic?? Heck no. So I grabbed a kitted up ornament and off I went to work. It's going to be a LONG day!!

Rule of Four

There, I got an e-mail from Lisa doing this and I figured I'd just put it up in the blog ;)

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Tim Horton's Girl
2. Software Developer - Andersen Consulting
3. Software Developer - Human Resources Development Canada
4. Software Developer - Caris

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Star Wars
2. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
3. The Notebook
4. Ever After

C) Four places I have lived
1. Miramichi
2. Moncton
3. Wolfville
4. Fredericton

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Smallville
2. Lost
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Battlestar Gallactica
~and plugging away at my collection of Buffy The Vampire Slayer disks~

E ) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Ottawa, Ontario
2. Charlottetown, PEI
3. North Conway, NH
4. Kingston, Ontario
~Yeah...definitely looking forward to the Dominican this winter...~

F) Websites visited daily:
1. All the Stitching Blogs
2. My fave stitching bulletin boards
3. msnbc.com
4. people.com

G.) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Chips
2. Fish and Chips (Estey's or Williams)
3. Ribs
4. Popcorn

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On the Miramichi
2. On a Stitching Stash buying weekend with Cathey
3. Hanging out with my boys at home
4. BodyPump @ The Gym

I) Four people likely to respond
Well anyone that would like to do it ;)

Just Another Manic Monday

Yay, what a productive weekend!!! After coming home on a mini high from getting Alex's school situation straightened out (minus the paper work) and a rockin body pump class, doing some end of school celebrating and getting the monkey to bed I sat down on the couch, popped in some Indiana Jones and finished I love Stitching (Pic to follow this evening hopefully). Yay!!

Then on Saturday I got up and finished (with the exception of ornamentifying) my SB St. Nicholas needleroll. It was overcast and cool out so I started up the mower and did the front and back yard. After that we combined some errands that I needed to do (pick up some floss and pick up my fabric for the LK First Christmas ornament from Tracy) and had supper at Quiznos. Saturday is Matt's 'cooking night' and if that's his idea of cooking that's fine by me ;)

Sunday morning, after helping Alex get a couple words that he didn't know in Dr Seuss' I Can Read With My Eyes Shut (omigosh the boy can read) I finished reading A Murderous Yarn which to date was one of the most interesting of the needlecraft mysteries are read but the who dunnit was pretty easy to figure out unfortunately. I did pump after lunch, forgot to drop by Shurgain :( and headed straight for Groceries, d'uh. We then packed up for a picnic supper at O'dell Park, which was interesting. We got there and I'd forgotten the bbq flipper and lighter, and accidentally brought breakfast sausages instead of weiners for Alex. He actually liked the sausage hotdogs (we didn't tell him the difference) better than any he's had before ;) We then headed to Wilmot park to go to the wading pool, Alex met up with some of his friends there so by the time we got them all out of the pool they were all pretty blue ;)

Yesterday was just one of those days, we got one of 'those' phone calls about going 'up north', probably why I was in a preoccupied/forgetful mood. You know, those phone calls where you're bothered about travelling to places where the people think 6 hours of their time is a visit but you should be there 48-72 hours??? Arghh...

I can't wait to get back to stitching Guardian Angel tonight, I did squeeze some time in yesterday but tonight will be fully dedicated to stitching her ;) Especially after the Monday morning I've had. Not to name names but a recently married male someone ;) put a torn bag back in the bags to reuse pile and in the rush I grabbed it and put my needleroll in it to ornamentize over lunch...well didn't I get to the parking lot at the office (free parking is a block+ away) and realize that it fell out somewhere on the trip., thankfully it wasn't windy today and I found both it and the pattern, phew....

WOOOOHOOOOO

Could you hear me at 4:15, I finally got ahold of school board and Alex is now back in his normal school. I never thought I'd be excited about early immersion but woo hoo!

Is the Month Almost Over???

TGIF it's Friday. What have I been up to?? Well, I'm going on day three of waiting for the school board to get back to me on early immersion. What?? Early Immersion, something we've been completely against due to the lack of English instruction time but lets digress... Wednesday I'm happily working away at my desk when I get this dead serious call, 'your son Alex goes to ***** school', at this point I panic thinking there's been an accident, then I get this complete BS about English being full and he'd have to go to our zoned school. Our school district looks like someone took a hatchet to figure out zoning and guess who's on the line (on the road to our house the zone flip flops between the two schools four times). I immediately panic, I'm the only parent in town during the day (not by choice), the daycare's in the other zone either do not fit our needs or the references I've checked have not gone well, plus we love Alex's childcare provider, I a)can't leave the office every day at 2, b) can't put off all car maintenance until the summer (need car back by 2) so we're waiting to see if we can register him in early immersion as there are supposed to be a number of slots open. I don't understand this zoning crap, there is NO ONE at our house from day to day, we arrive there at supper and leave there early, why they need THAT house number in an emergency I don't know. They obviously don't think that women are capable of working real jobs either. I HATE compromising our education strategy but our hands are truly tied, and with a red hot housing market we can't just pick up and move and afford the inflated asking prices (besides the fact we love our home).

I was so stressed out I didn't even notice the big bag Faith Ann was taking out of the van when we went stitching that night, when the girls yelled surprise I kept looking around as to who they were surprising...it turned out to be a bridal shower for me!! WOW, I feel truly blessed!! The last stitching night fell so close to the wedding that they thought I wouldn't make it so it was scheduled for this month, cool :) It was so nice to be able to sit back and enjoy without thinking of all the wedding stuff I needed to do, it provided the same pick me up that Eleni's surprise shower had back in march (before wedding panic kicked in). Needless to say I didn't get much stitching in that night, I was just in shock!

Last night Alex had soccer, he was so excited to wear his new shin guards. We broke with tradition and drove over, it was getting overcast and I didn't want to end up walking home in a thunder shower. I got a little stitching in and caught up with Nancy on how the Spring retreat went. I tried really hard to finish my Monica Ferris book, but two days of extreme stress took it's tole and I was out like a light at 10.

This weekend I'm really hoping to be done I Love Stitching at least. We're going over to watch Matt's ball tourament weather permitting tomorrow. I'd like to go over and have a lunch date with Alex...also possibly at McDonalds or maybe even at the Diner, for some milkshakes. I really don't know what he'll decide ;) Then Sunday there's NOTHING on the schedule, woo hoo. Just some Guardian Angel Stitching!!! :)

Hungry As A Horse

Oh my, lately at Alex's school they've been learning 'where does my food come from?' and this topic fascinates him. We've been very careful around the meat subject because I fear if he analyzes it too much he might go vegan! Case in point I was making a dish with ground beef the other day and he told me that maybe I should only use ground beef in his friday tacos so we didn't kill too many cows as there might not be any left to make milk for the growing boy! this then lead to the discussion on the types of cows, good grief. Then this weekend I went to put out the garbage and noticed a bunch of apple cores, odd, they'd been there un touched for a week... I walked into the living room to find Alex eating an apple (I was so happy that having healthy snacks out and ready was finally getting noticed), then he asked me if horses liked seeds...so I take it he learned Friday that horses like apples at school ;)

In other Alex'isms we were informed that he wanted what sounded like 'kiss a donut" with the windows open as we drove in the van to Cars. It was only half way down the road that Matt figured out he wanted a Kia Sedona! (I hope our Chrysler and Toyota's feelings weren't hurt too much). Apparently a couple weeks ago Matt woke up to a very concerned Alex who informed him we could not buy a Kia Sedona. Matt caught completely off guard in a saturday morning haze asked why...Alex had just seen the commercial that showed the side impact curtain airbags deploying and he's been told on multiple occasions that he DOES NOT ride in ANYONE's front seat because airbags are not made for little kids and can kill them. He later asked me a question about side airbags in the back and I explained how they were different than front ones and safe for kids....now he thinks that's great and wants a Kia Sedona...most little boys dream of a high price foreign sports car, mine dreams of a budget minivan!! ;)

Last night I didn't get much stitching in at all, I did some pricing of china as I have some teacups to sell that won't fit in my china cabinet and called Tracy to find out the specifics about today's school picnic. There was a message that said don't take them to the creek during or after the picnic...well I was like where on earth is the picnic and is this a half day as the school is commonly referred to as the creek, I needed to be set straight that the note meant the ACTUAL creek ;) I stitched for a little...up until the hurricane's scored goal two and then headed for bed.

Tonight Matt and I have a date, woo hoo! It's hard to believe it's been a MONTH since our big day!!

The Weekend Report

Sigh...Friday I had great stitching goals for this weekend...I had two small projects that were really close to completion but that was before 'the e-mail'. Around 8:30, am I get the 'when's Alex's birthday party??' e-mail, followed by the 'my parents are coming to town' e-mail. Great...the lawn hadn't been mowed (and they were spraying so it had to be done), everything else was behind around the house after some much needed R&R. So I skipped pump after work and went straight to mowing....and then into cleaning mode. I get soo uncomfortable with the state of my house when I have company that I know make comments about other people's housecleaning, I find it very stressful.

Then...Saturday I woke up to seeing the blasted bunny run passed the bathroom window so when I went to look out the front window at the latest damage to my hosta I noticed the solar lights at the end of our driveway had been stolen....which coincidentally happened yet another night when the neighbor's son had friends over til 3 am, and the neighbors across the road were also hit....but really, it couldn't have been her bong chucking son or his friends right?? Why doesn't Darwin enforce his theory ??? ;) So we had another nice LONG chat with the RCMP Saturday morning. After lunch I took Alex to his birthday party (sigh...still no stitching) and it was so nice to meet even more of his classmates. Saturday was so long and drawn out (and I couldn't take advantage of the sunny day due to the spraying) that I was pooped when I went to bed.

Father's day cut into my Guardian Angel progress, we did the big breakfast for Matt, followed by a Kahlua Fudge cake, presents and a trip to see Cars which rocked! We stopped at the Esso for some fried chicken for Matt (I wasn't hungry) and presented him with a bouquet of 'man-flowers' (ie: a pack of Alpine beer). While we were at the Esso we rented Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it was quirky but Matt and I really enjoyed it (snuck stitching in here). I don't know how to even describe it, there was some mystery involved along with some situational dark funny moments (I kind of liken the quirkiness to the pace of Go!). It wasn't the same type of funny as say Wedding Crashers but I did see Matt balled up on the couch laughing quite a few times.

So...I did get some stitching in finally, not nearly what I thought. Guess I overestimated my productivity on a weekend that just wasn't for me!! My two projects...well they're still in need more stitching mode. I have a date this week with Hugh Jackman...oh...just Matt and tickets to see XMen. One can dream right?? So no stitching that night but there is stitching night Wednesday so that should make up for it ;)

When You Think You've Had a Bad Day...

There's always someone who's having one that's worse :( I arrived to pick Alex up at Tracy's and he had on an orange bracelet with the name of the little boy (his classmate's brother) on it. I assumed it was more fundraising for the grade 4 student who's been in the IWK for the last month with a form of cancer, who's treatments were garnering some positive results. Instead I found out he passed away at aroun 7:30 last evening while the school was putting on a benefit concert for him :( Rest in peace Ryan.

Riddle Me This....Some Other Day!

Did you ever have one of those days where innocent (slightly prying) questions just upset you more than usual?? Well that happened yesterday. I was still digesting the Matt being sole commuter issue and the impact on the family finances and worrying that the van's tires would not pass an inspection, in what has to be the most expensive month of the year for us without any unexpected disasters...when along came the first question "are you changing your name?" , well yeah, did that a couple days after the wedding. Then came the "so when's the next baby?", which probably seemed like an innocent question, well that first made me mad then literally in tears. I REALLY would like for Alex to have a sibling and with Alex getting so tall so fast I REALLY miss not having a little one in the house but on the day after another 'more money going out' announcement it was just too much...besides the fact that it isn't solely my decision either. It does bother me that Alex doesn't have a close sibling and yes I know I'm getting older....but 28 isn't old!!! and neither is the 29 I'll be turning in a relatively short period of time!! I don't mind the "we could go on maternity leave together" or the "you're sick and it's morning", that comes with the 28 and settled down territory. The older I get the larger mental note I make to dull any baby comments and definitely try not to make them out of the blue. There's a time and a place for questions that are more direct, but usually you've actually been having a conversation on the issue, especially where you never quite know what someone's going through family planning wise! The older I get the more I realize how aweful my foot tastes ;) Thankfully I was able to calm down in some sort of semblance and thankfully it wasn't someone who's asking didn't make it a very loaded question. Now to quit venting....

Back to stitching...well I could stitch in some sort of peace last night, the tires passed the inspection with the 'fatherly' comment "they passed, but I'd feel a whole lot better if you had new tires on before the winter" (yep, check dad's been telling me that for the last 2 months, saving now...). I diddled around online for a bit and then got back to stitching I Love Stitching. What a quick stitch. What on earth is with WDW not cutting their floss, argh...I HATE cutting hand dyed threads. I always feel like I'm going to screw up the variation in the colour. I also stitched in a Santa on my SB needleroll, if I get an ounce of stitching time this weekend I should have at least one if not both of those projects finished by stitching night Wednesday, woo hoo!!

Today's Alex's first soccer practice of the season, which means I'll have an hour to stitch while I swat flies on the field. He's really looking forward to our wagon ride over to the field. I'm hoping it'll be nice at lunch so I can get out walking, but if not my stitching is ready and waiting!!

Knocking The Wind Out of One's Sails

Sigh...last night was just one of those nights. Matt didn't tell me that he wasn't driving and the driver didn't drop him off first so I couldn't get to pump. Then I found out that his replacement commuter was only temporary (double :() , it's been really frustrating as he has been actively looking for work here. Which during the month of car inspection, registration, two birthdays, father's day and the dry cleaning bill from the wedding was just down right depressing.

After having a good wallow in self pity moment I emerged from the bedroom, tidied up, convinced Matt to go to basic cable and then played a little computer. I started my Hob Nobb design, resolving to be a stash only stitcher for awhile, and finished the first block, then read another chapter of A Murderous Yarn. Today the van went in the shop for it's MVI *fingers crossed*. Thankfully I can atleast wait until the 29th to renew the registration ;)

There's nothing on the agenda tonight thankfully, just some stitching, reading and computing. I'm hoping that maybe we'll be able to get the new table put together and maybe get around to reading the instructions on how to reglue the chairs without making a complete mess of them ;)

In Alex news, he's gone bananas...for Curious George that is. The easter bunny found a Treasury of Curious George at Costco and he now insists on reading at least one story out of that book a night. I'm hoping after school ends he'll be back into his 'chapter book' phase and be wanting to go back to the Lemony Snicket books...I really need to find out what's going on in the Reptile Room ;)

Happy Dance!!

Hooray, here's my The Most Patterns all stitched up by Waxing Moon.  Now just one more craft room piece to go for this year, Hob Nobb's I Love Stitching :)

Party Time

First of all a big welcome and thanks to all those who've found there way over here in the last couple months, I really appreciate the comments ;)

Besides Alex's birthday party we had a fairly quiet weekend. Friday it rained (an ongoing NB theme), so I plugged away at The Most Patterns, realizing that I was missing a DMC, arghhh... This made stitching in the hill not that fun as I had to count around the swirlies (normally I'd have done those first). We did head out Saturday to the mall as Alex was in desperate need of a hair cut, Matt was in desperate need of a shave (out of blades) and I was in desperate need to get out of the house considering it was yet again raining! I headed to walmart while the boys were at the barber's, and finally found Alex pj's that had shorts and weren't 16$ or covered with monster trucks. We then headed to fabricville to pick up some DMC and then it was off to
Quizno's for supper and icecream. I found a new favorite flavor Praline Pumpkin Passion, yum!

Sunday was the big birthday party Phew...5-6 year olds have a TONNE of energy!! The confirmed arrivals met up perfectly with the number I was aiming for (6, one for each year). The kids all seemed to have a good time and it's a good thing I'd made up little extra loot bags to go with the normal ones McDonald's gives out as they were out, grr... but the refills on drinks definitely cost more and we got those for free ;) After the party we headed to one of Alex's little friends houses for a visit, needless to say someone was definitely in need of a bath when we got home!!

Due to our late lun-pper we had some scrambled eggs and bacon. I tried out my sundried tomate dip mix from Epicure in the eggs and they were very yummy! Alex ate his in warp speed and Matt commented on how much he liked it (which is huge in itself as I don't think he was raised much with spices for flavoring in his food). I finally got to pull out my Guardian Angel for the SAL at 8 and plugged away at the wings. Tonight hopefully I'll be able to actually SEE progress ;)

So stitching wise it wasn't as good a weekend as I'd forseen, but it was fun none the less (besides all of the rain). Hopefully though The Most Patterns should be wrapped up this week and then I can move onto the last of this years 'stitching room' projects and then find other smalls/mediums to do out of my DD stash ;)

Thursday's Post

Don't you hate blogger issues?? Here's my Thursday post a day late ;)

Sigh…the rain is back. Well at least I got the lawn mowed last night, just so it can grow all over again!! Be careful what you wish for, our lawn has very few weeds and my goodness healthy ones need to be mowed ALOT more often. Now for a little lawn that wouldn’t be so bad but when ½-¾ or so of your 1.2 acre lot is grass…

As for stitching the last couple of days I’ve had one of those…I’m almost finished but just can’t keep stitching on it things going on with The Most Patterns, I’ve been a good girl and gone to bed early the last couple of nights and that’s meant my stitching time has gone into my SB St Nicholas needleroll! I did however finish reading Unraveled Sleeve though so that’s a finish right??

Last night was a bit hectic at the house too, wouldn’t you know that the door we don’t use and temporarily have the table top set up against until we take the teak table down had people come to it last night. When Matt came in one of the neighbors teens came looking to borrow jumper cables, but Matt informed her that he wasn’t boosting off of our cars (both could probably stand to have new batteries put in before the winter) so she went to find someone to boost from and then came back to the front door to ask for them….so the table top had to move. You’d think she’d have gotten the hint when Matt said he had to get the shed key and came out the other door so I put the top back, WRONG! Back to the front door she came to return them…I must say, she had enough makeup on that if she’d skipped buying for a month she could have bought BOTH of our vehicles new batteries ;) Then Angela brought my Epicure order as soon as she left so our front door was super busy.

After Alex went to bed, I went to check out a message board thread I’d started. I really had felt bad when Hoffman turned Tracy (www.fiddlestitchcottage.com ) down citing, not enough requests. I don’t just love her designs because she’s a friend, they’re just like a breath of fresh air to my stash!! Any time I post a finish on the boards there are always a number of "Where do I find?" replies so I’ve forwarded them on directly to the source ;) (not go to your shop, have them email Hoffman and if you aren’t completely frustrated then I’ll help you). If Hoffman could see how many of those I get of a single post here and there I think they’d see just what they were missing. Now, I’m getting off track…..so I pc vented how I felt my good intentions had kind of backfired but then received a tonne of useful information and support for Tracy on alternate distribution sources and more designer’s to support her. I think because our favorite stitching shop Because You Count’s (which is probably the biggest shop this side of Montreal) primary distribution source is Hoffman and where the other NB talent Dragon Dreams (ok…that’s MEGA talent ;)) and Stitchable Expressions are both distributed by Hoffman there was some tunnel vision on distribution sources. I realize stitching is in a temporary lull so please don’t think that I think of Hoffman as some evil corporate giant…June just also happens to be the ‘patriotic’ release month…which to a Canadian doesn’t mean to much ;)

So after forwarding on the info to Tracy and checking on my WoW priest LizzieKate, I was ready to prep Alex’s lunch (thanks to a screw up at the school where they didn’t take his hot lunch order) and made a little snack with my epicure buys I was ready for bed J
Tonight I’m hoping to at least finish the daisies and maybe the swirls on the hillside of TMP, aiming for a finish this weekend but we’ll see. Alex’s kid friendly party is Sunday so I imagine Saturday I’ll hit some sort of panic mode that I hadn’t planned enough or something ;)

Progress Pics

Here's my progress pics of the Guardian Angel and The Most Patterns (and a little birthday boy snuck in there too ;)) Some minor frogging is required in some spots but otherwise I'm pretty impressed with the progress

A Weekend In Review

Phew...we avoided a flood ;) My goodness we were in for some hard rain this weekend. I got a bit worried when I went to do laundry and walked over the storm drain and didn't hear an echo so I measured the level of water in there on the hour, until it dropped 2 inches :) Matt checked his trench and it was raging and our pipe which froze this year was flowing as well, there was just so much water coming down it was pooling in just about every low point in the lawn. Surprisingly enough our first hummingbird (ever) decided to brave the storm and show up at our feeder :) It was so nice to sit back, stitch and catch a glimpse of our little visitor.

Sunday I was good and stuck to the 'still not finished' SAL, I even picked up some threads I was missing on my way back from Body Pump. Oh my I was stiff after not being there for a week, and that was trip had been another 'hadn't been there for awhile' due to the wedding trip. Now at least our schedule is pretty much back to normal so I can get there my 2-3 times a week :) I was really happy with my progress throughout the day on my Mirabilia Guardian Angel, I have a little frogging to do tonight but after that at least one colour from the bottom of the wing should match up with the top section, making for alot less counting :) The batteries should be recharged for the camera this evening so I'll take a progress pic.

Saturday I got quite a bit of stitching in on Waxing Moon's The Most Patterns. I have the angel stitched in minus her halo and back stitching, and the curly 95% finished on the side. I'm hoping to finish the daisies and swirly grass this week. Mom, dad and Jazz visited late Saturday afternoon and brought over Alex's birthday presents. His reaction to his new spiderman umbrella is just as imagined *dead serious tone* "I've wanted an umbrella my whole life", gee six years is a lot of waiting ;) He was also thrilled with his set of super soaker pistols. After mom and dad did a little shopping for a new vacuum we all met for a birthday supper for dad and Alex at Boston Pizza, the food was excellent, the server sucked! After we said our good byes they headed home (with a quick pitstop to drop off my brother) and I headed home to do some more stitching, after Alex was in bed of course ;) I finally got to watch Along Came Polly and then watch HP and the Goblet of Fire, my goodness I find the end gut wrenching, no matter how many times I watch it.

Friday Alex's birthday went smoothly. Lots of tacos and cake :) We went to see Over The Hedge which was hilarious, even Matt (who's not really into the kid flicks) enjoyed it. We then arrived home to open Al's presents, he was thrilled to bits with his bag of marbles (hooray for the dollar store). I then blind folded him and was about to carry him down the stairs to where his bike was hiding when Matt suggested we go outside and he'd bring it out. Note to self NEVER PRESENT A GIFT OUTDOORS AT 8 PM IN THE SPRING!!! Matt stepped out and asked if we were ready to which he heard a big 'Hurry up!!!!!", we were being eaten alive! After a few adjustments to the bike Alex was ready to drive. He's still getting used to the fact that he can only pedal in one direction (his other toddler bike didn't have a brake) but he's getting there ;)

It's raining again today so we won't be heading to the ball field tonight, maybe just relaxing and doing some stitching after the clothes are put away :)

Happy Birthday Alex!!

Well, we had one little excited boy in the house today...and he hasn't even received his new bike yet ;) I went in his room and woke him up with a soft happy birthday song, and then he got to open one present (as chosen by me...a ninja turtle shirt and khaki shorts for school). He even got to have a taco along with his breakfast (his favorite food). We then hopped in the van and headed to Tracy's so he could catch the bus with the girls. As we were pulling into her subdivision his name was announced on the birthday parade on the radio and you should have seen the grin on his face!! When he openned the door at Tracy's the girls serenaded him with a round of Happy Birthday. More grins ensued ;)

Tonight I'll be picking him up, having some tacos and birthday cake and taking him to Over The Hedge @7. His birthday works out really well with the summer releases ;) Considering that the tacos are ready, as is the cake it should be a fairly quiet night with the boys. I don't know who's looking forward to the movie more, Alex or his mom ;)

Last night was also fairly quiet, after the groceries were brought in and the recycling taken out. I did something I haven't done in years, played the piano! I did get some stitching in as well, working a little bit more on my needleroll and reading another chapter of my Monica Ferris book ;) We got some pictures from Dad's birthday party... the dog managed to steal every shot ;)

This weekend should be fairly quiet. Mom and dad will be down for a day...although welcome to stay more, Matt's dad might spray our lawn (hopefully just dandilion and ant killer, I can't take whatever fertilizer made it grow so much I had to mow three times a week at one point...an acre lot is alot of mowing with a push mower...even with the small stretch of trees in the back). So...no work for me!! Hooray!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Alex is sooo excited it's Pappy's birthday, that means just one more day until he turns the big six. Sigh...where did the time go. Six years ago today I'd be a day overdue, not happy about it at all, looking up on the internet how to induce labor, running out to the brookside mall to buy the rasberry zinger tea (as recommended on the internet) and walk around the mall, drinking it and then heading to Shanghai Noon only to be in labor a couple hours later ;)

Yesterday rocked, the wedding photos came back and I was very pleased with them :) I was confident in our decision however there was that nagging little voice in the back of my head that was like "you didn't go with a big studio, how will they turn out??" Thankfully that notion was squashed, there are very few that I'm not in love with and even those ones are pretty good ;)

I got an e-mail from Matt requesting I be home at 5, obviously he's never walked at least 1.5 city blocks to get his car, driven downtown traffic, picked up a kid who's been playing all afternoon with his friends and doesn't want to leave (Wednesday are half days for primary schools here) and then drive through possible construction and all the parents making a left into Kingswood to take their kids to gymnastics/bowling/golfing (thank goodness they're expanding the road). But I donned my super cape, moved the car to a free parking zone that would cut out a couple traffic bottle necks on break and made it at 5:00 sharp without breaking any speed limits. I arrived home to take out a row of seats in the van, pick up the hubby, grab some stitching and head to Honda to pick up the mower before it closed...then headed to the ball park to watch Matt's first game of the year. **oh forgot to mention I got stitchy stash in the mail yesterday too...now I have my WDW's to work on Down Sunshine Lane's I Love Stitching, my next 'arghh Matt's reading with the light on and keeping me up project'!!**

We had a really good time. There were alot of kids Alex's age there and the fenced in skate park was free of skaters so the kids played there and I got some stitching in on Guardian Angel, thankfully I was at a part in the wing that involved very little counting, just filling ;) I almost got hit once by a foul ball and when I went to retrieve it I had another zoom past my shoulder from the other field, sheesh! We did 2 out of 3 pages of homework which went way passed the rule of thumb 10 minutes per grade level a night and I sent a note explaining where the other page was. I didn't mind as much in the winter when they continually went over the limit, but 40+ minutes in kindergarten when it's actually nice enough to play outside crosses a line.

Matt rented Aeon Flux (which wasn't as bad as people were saying, maybe our expectations were lowered by all the bad reviews enough that we actually liked it) so I got some more stitching in on the angel. I finished another tree on my SB needleroll while Matt did his bedtime reading. This morning I arrived to work early and ready to stitch on TMP until work started...but alas my needle must have been borrowed for the angel last night, sigh... Guess I'll be making a run over to singer at break time ;)

SBQ

Q : Do you collect charts by one particular designer, yet have never stitched anything by that designer? If so, which designer and why do you collect the charts but have not yet stitched any of them?

A : I collect ALOT of charts, Dragon Dreams, Lizzie Kate, Marbek, Fiddlestitch Cottage, Mirabilia, Lavender and Lace, Just Nan...enough to require a craft room to say the least! But the one I guess I've collected and never finished a project by was Stoney Creek. I did start Noah's Sub....life long project and The Witches of Booville but the amount of colour changes in some of the others is such a turn off. I practically need a caddy to lug my current project around if I did one. I also collected most of them BEFORE I got hooked on the other designs and it's kind of hard justifying lugging around a tonne of floss in the big floss box for a 5*7 when you can do a 8*10+ DD or LL and only carry around a little box and have it turn out even prettier. Just Nan would come in a close second, I have the angels as Matt's mother collects angels so they're on standby for Christmas's and other occasions, love the others but just never get around to them, but I have stitched ONE angel so I guess it doesn't count ;)

Maybe The Girls Caught a Glimpse Of This Pic ;)