Happy May Day!

Happy first of May to you all! Today is my last day before I start working, so I'm in a frenzy of nerves, cleaning, and preperation! Hopefully I can get it all ready and be able to sleep tonight (unlike last night!).

First--Goals!

For April I said:
Goals for April:
1: Stitch & mail JN RR and Spot RR on time! YES!!!
2: Stitch 5 hours on Autumn Faery Spirit NO ! :(
3: Stitch design and mail by April 15 for exchange Yes!!!
4: Meet all mailing deadlines on time. Yes!!!
5: Stitch in PR stitchathon!! Yes!!!

For May my stitch time is going to be very limited, so I'm going to have to be more realistic!

1: Finish Mirabilia RR piece and mail on time!
2: Stitch 5 hours on Autumn Faery Spirit
3: Meet all mailing deadlines on time!

Now for some pictures! I received my PIF from Jenna this week! What a gorgeous bracelet she made me! Thank you Jenna!!

I also received my Mystery Exchange from SBEBB! Karin was the one sending to me, and I love it!! I've posted a closeup as well so you can see the intricate beading!



Have a great day everyone!!

Germs, you have worn out your welcome!

We're slowly recovering here from some sort of NASTY virus--like a bad stomach flu on crack or something. I ended up in the ER Thursday night and even after multiple bags of fluids, was still not hydrated enough for them to be happy! Dan and Tory seem to have gotten milder, yet still nasty cases of it. Tory had to miss her first softball game :( But I am posting a picture of her at the last practice!


I also finished this round of the Spot Sampler RR. This one belongs to Melanie. I'm really enjoying these spot samplers!!



Otherwise we are all on the mend, and things are being set in place for my job to start on Wednesday!

Peace to you!

Presenting Moonlit Orchid

I finally finished it! Took far too long, but I am thrilled with the result. I converted the DMC to NPI silks, and the mill hill beads to Delicas. It is however late, and I am off to bed! Do make sure to click on the picture, the bigger one is much easier to see :)



Thank you for all the well wishes on my job, and also I am so thankful for everyone who reads and comments. It means the world to me!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Wow, it's been a whirlwind few days! No I haven't finished Moonlight Orchid yet, though I plan to do that today!! I did finish a few scrapbook layouts that I was working on, and did some work around my house. My BIG news however is... I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!! I got a GOOD Job!!! Making good money, that I can physically do, and that I have the perfect skill set for!!!! *Dances around like Snoopy!!*

So this will cut my stitching time down drastically, but that's okay! I'll be able to help my family get stable and maybe fix this house to sell it!!

Whoooo hooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Moonlight Orchid WIP

Because Jamie keeps bugging me... *grin* First picture is the last time I worked on it, way back in the fall, the second picture is where I finished up last night.. The second picture is much closer to the real colors..

I missed it!

Having been a Just Nan addict for some time, I don't really understand what was going through my mind the day I passed on ordering the Queen of the Needle Needlecase through The Silver Needle some time ago. I am regretting that so much these days now that the new sampler and ornament have come out.

I keep hoping that somewhere, someone will have bought it, stitched it and would now be willing to part with their chart! LOL Not likely I'm sure, but one can dream!

I need a boat!

Wow the floods in New Hampshire! Honestly I'm not sure if I'd rather the moisture had come as snow or rain--at least with snow there would have been a gradual shift! But a Nor'easter decided to slam into the East Coast and stay for a few days. We had over 5 inches of rain in a little over 24 hours--wild! Dan and I ended up in the back yard, in icy water up to mid calf, digging a drainage ditch so that all the run-off and melting of the 5 inches of ice/snow that was already on the ground could possibly stay OUT of our basement! We're just about at the bottom of a hill, and all the melting from the woods behind us was ending up at the back of our foundation. We'll have to figure out a better drainage system sometime this summer! I have to say I'd rather fix my yard then deal with inches of water in the basement again!

Tory is on her second day of no school due to the flooded roads. I think my husband may have made it to work today--he was having to go miles out of his way though! The road damage around here is worse then even the Mother's Day floods last year. I wasn't here for those ( I was in PA loving on my godson for the first time! :) ) Hopefully T and I can survive another day inside! It's not actively raining now, which is great! I've nearly got my laundry caught up, since I had Dan to fetch and carry the heavy stuff yesterday!

I pulled out an older WIP yesterday to work on--I just didn't want to work on *anything* and really was fighting the urge to start something new. With 44 WIPs, I really don't need to start anything!! I pulled out Moonlight Orchid from Patricia Ann Designs. I converted this lovely piece into NPI silks and had forgotten just how beautiful it was. I had had to pull out the flowers once because my conversion just did not work, but I'm quite happy now!! I got several bands finished last night, and did some work on the everlasting border--smyrna stitches covering just 2 threads (TINY), and in between Algerian Eyelets and Rhodes Squares. Not a problem except it is all done in #12 perle cotton. I HATE perle cotton! So I'm working on the border a little at a time ;)

That's all for me today--off to fold clothes!

Wonderful Weekend

What an amazing weekend I've had! It's been so wonderful that I am not even going to let the nasty weather in NH get me down. I am more relaxed and all the down-time has really given me new energy!

We dropped Tory off with our friends, along with 2 HUGE tubs of my old Beanie Babies. I was quite obsessive about collecting so I had hundreds. They have a little girl and a year old boy that were able to pick out as many beanies as they wanted! We couldn't check into the hotel until 3pm so we went to the bookstore. We spent about 2 hours wandering around there, picking up a few odd books and a thank you card for our friends. We then went to the hotel and checked in. Dan's brother and sister had given him an Escape Romance Weekend for his birthday. When we got to our room there was champagne and chocoate and a vase of roses. The king size bed was piled with pillows and was quite comfy! The package came with a gift certificate for dinner as well. We settled in and spent our time before dinner just reconnecting and chatting. We then got ready and headed out to the resturant.

We picked Radici in Portsmouth, and our reservation put us with the later crowd. I have to say this was the most amazing dining experience I've had in ages. No kids, no time constraints, no pressure. We had appetizers--a roasted artichoke heart dip, and braised short ribs over baked polenta. The ribs literally melted in your mouth, and the dip wasn't bad. Dan liked that one more! We had an imported Italian water since neither of us really drink at all ( I don't like wine). Then it was time for dinner--for Dan Gorgonzola penne with wild mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, for me Osso Bucco. There are not words to describe the deliciousness of this. I was blown away by both the amount of food, and the incredible flavor of it. We of course did sharing, nibbling off of each other's forks! Dessert was last--death by brownie for me, and tiramisu for Dan along with a cappucino. All in all it took us over two and a half hours to eat, and I think it was the most romantic part of the weekend.

We went back to the hotel and snuggled in together, watching (and not watching) some television! We slept ourselves out--I woke up around quarter til 9 to my husband getting breakfast for me to have in bed. It was so sweet! Lots of talking, giggling , and snuggling later we realized we had to pack and head to reality.

Wow what a reality!! It's another storm for NH, bringing snow, sleet, freezing rain and the promise of more to come for *days*. Right now I don't mind :) I think it's time to go snuggle with my daughter and husband and watch a movie. Spaghetti sauce in the crockpot and the warm down comforter is calling my name!

This-n-That...

Not much of a post title, but it was all I could come up with this morning! :) My back has been giving me problems again, but I didn't let it stop me yesterday! I went to the free "Mom's Crop" at the Local Scrapbook Store. They let you use all their tools for free, and of course that just is an easy way for me to decide--oh I need THAT! I can't justify buying a cutting system yet, but I have asked for one for my birthday! I'm enjoying scrapbooking, it's giving me a creative design outlet that is 'quick'. I can get a finished result in as little as an hour, plus I get to go through and relive some of my most favorite moments in our lives!

Leave it up to my daughter to remind me at the oddest moments why I love being a stay at home mom. She came up to me this morning, so I could wrap her scarf around her neck for her. When she does it, and puts her coat on, it gets all bunched up, so it's easier if I help her. After I did it she said " Momma, I couldn't do that without you." My reply "of course you could honey, it's just easier if I help you." She thought about it a moment and said " Momma, you make almost everything easier! I love you so much." Until she has children of her own, she will never know why my eyes misted up and why I'll never forget it. Being a mom is so challenging, but it's moments like that--they make it all worth it.

I'm also thrilled to report that when she plays the clarinet at home for practice it actually SOUNDS like music now!!! Lemme tell you that's a relief! We're both itchy for softball season to start--although there's STILL SNOW on the ground!!

In stitchy news, I finished the JN RR and packed it off. I got most of what I wanted to do on the Spot RR done--checked in with the owner, and I'm going to be able to put on the peacock I wanted! It involved beads so I wanted to check :) I don't have to mail til the end of the month so I have lots of time! She sent LOTS of fabric! :)

DH and I are going on a romantic getaway this weekend!!! It was a gift from his brother & sister for his birthday and I can't wait! Friends of ours from the Church are going to watch DD--they have a little girl who is 3 who just adores her! So from Saturday at 10am until Sunday at 6pm we are just two people without computers or maybe even cell phones!!! :) We need this so much. I don't even think I will take any stitching!!

Wow, longer post that I thought it'd be! Have a beautiful day!
Peace

Happy Monday!

Great weekend around here--nice and relaxing. We kept Easter low key this year, focusing more on quiet reflection. It was nice! We did Sunday brunch at a great place in Concord after church, so no cooking for me! That was even nicer! Tory was invited to color eggs at a family friend's home Saturday night which was nice and fun!

Stitching wise, I finished the Just Nan RR I had and will be mailing it out. It's hard to believe this RR is nearly over!! I can't wait to get my Christmas RR back though. From the pictures I've seen it's GORGEOUS!!

Busy day today with chores and laundry, so I will leave you with pictures of the kid for Easter!

Stitchy update :)

Well I finished and assembled another of my own designs last night--unfortunately I can't show it to you. I'm also not all that sure I'm thrilled with it :(

But I can show you WIP pics of two of my current WIPs!
Autumn Faery Spirit by Passione Ricamo. Stitching on Snickerdoodles Belfast from Sugar Maple Fabrics:


Cirque de Circles by Ink Circles. I love this piece! I'm using Russian Sage premium floss from Vikki Clayton, 1 strand over 2 threads. The fabric is Meadow Mist Reflections from Silkweaver.


Have a peaceful and blessed week!

Goals...

Welllll, March wasn't as productive as I would have liked it to be..

1: Finish last shop model--deliver them by March 15! Delivered 1, second one clarified and no deadline--picked up last JN Square model--no deadline!
2: Start Ink Circles Cirque de Circles SAL March 4th Yes! Not much progress though!
3: Get Mira RR ready to go! Yeap!!
4: Stitch 5 hours on PR Autumn Faery Spirit Yeap!!
5: Stitch JN RR/Spot RR and mail on time! Yeap!!
6: Meet all exchange/mailing obligations! So far so good!

Goals for April:
1: Stitch & mail JN RR and Spot RR on time!
2: Stitch 5 hours on Autumn Faery Spirit
3: Stitch design and mail by April 15 for exchange
4: Meet all mailing deadlines on time.
5: Stitch in PR stitchathon!!

That's it for this month!!

Happy April!

Well March went out with some wind and chill and April is here and cold and wet! And with April comes something from my husband--I'm sneezy, coughy, grumpy, chilly, achy and a few other dwarves! I'm so tired and blah--but it's a virus and it'll go away soon! We also had a great weekend. It was Palm Sunday at church, and once again it was a great service. Our friend Jamie was up from NYC and on Saturday we went on an adventure of batting cages, mini golf and a driving range! Pictures to follow!

I also got a stash order in the mail from ABC Stitch. I am so excited that I got the Just Nan Lady Scarlett's pincushion! I also got some limited edition Dinky Dyes and The Cat's Whiskers designs. I'm so excited!


Here's some pictures from our weekend! Enjoy!

Wow, what a morning!

It's a chilly March morning here in NH, and so the hunt for a hat and gloves right as the kid was walking out the door was frantic, but productive. Tory went out the door with a kiss, a hug and no fuss this morning. I treasure mornings like this--she is ever her mother's daughter and doesn't do mornings well at ALL. Our mornings (and evenings for that matter) are starting to get less chaotic, less frantic--more organized with much more time for snuggles, tickles, laughs and family time. It has amazed me what one Lenten commitment can bring me.

This year for Lent I wrestled with what to 'give up' and what to 'take up'. There are the tried and true "chocolate, mt. dew, snack foods" but honestly if you know me those make you laugh because talk about setting myself up to fail! As I was driving home from PA in late February, a thought that had been rattling around in my head took hold, hard. When I can't let something go, and it pops into my head at the *oddest* times, I usually realize that's God telling me I'm either right, or wrong! LOL This time, the thought that wouldn't go away was "Give up clutter". I mulled that thought over the entire 8 hour drive home, and realized it was not just clutter of my house I (and God) was referring to, although that was (and is still) where I started.

It was also clutter of my heart, my mind, and my soul. I've used this Lenten season to let go of old stuff--emotions-like anger, hurt, pain, envy--and packed away old memories that did me no good. I am uncluttering my heart from the past struggles with organized religion as I rejoice in the Church and the activities and community we've found there. I am uncluttering my soul of old resentment towards God from ages past. And how freeing and joyful it is let me tell you. But also hard.

Easier is the uncluttering of my house. If it hasn't been used in a year, it probably has been or will be either donated or thrown away. If it hasn't been needed in the entire 4 1/2 years I've lived here, chances are I don't need it! Uncluttering our routines and schedules has helped immensely--all of us. It leaves much more time for the things we *want* to do and not a rush to do what we have to.

Now, if I could just find the strength to unclutter my stitching ;)

Peace to you

Ick, yuck and done!

The last few days have been blah-ish days for me. Not even sure why, but there were a few moments of 'why did I even get out of bed?' for me lately. I think I'm done with it, which is good because there's no earthly reason for me to feel that way!! It irritates me when things are going well--and have been--and then WHAM! I feel like the weight of the world hit me. So, having spent a lot of time in prayer these last few days, I feel a bunch better! Woke up this morning feeling more positive, and more energetic. I even got breakfast together for the hubby and kid before they flitted out the door. As little of a morning person as I am, Tory usually eats breakfast at school (75 cents for a hot, well balanced meal can't be beat!) and Dan scrounges for a bagel and yogurt usually with his morning coffee. It was nice to sit together and eat!

I sketched out a new design by me yesterday. It's for a secret exchange, so I can't give you any details yet! :) I hope to get it started next Monday after I have my RR out.

Today is going to be a quiet day--I'll probably catch up on some laundry and maybe dust my living room. After that it's going to be stitch stitch stitch until it's time to make the homemade mac-n-cheese to take to the church potluck tonight!

Peace to you,

Holding Hands, touching hearts..

My closest friends are family of the heart--the family you choose, not the one you're born into. Many of them do not read my blog--some of them I've not yet met face to face. They are no less dear to me and I know I could call them any time, day or night.

I found this on Jamie's blog, and it's so appropriate. Make sure you tell the ones you love that you love them. You never know when it'll be for the last time. Please copy the verse and photo for your blog and carry on the chain of friendship! Leave a comment so we can all follow the chain!


Holding Hands
This picture shows a line of little girls holding hands facing the immensity of ocean waves.
Alone they might be washed away, but together they stand strong.
Thank you for holding my hand somewhere along the way when I was facing a wave of my own.
I hope you will reach for my hand when your own wave threatens.
All of us girls...
Old and young...
Near and far...
Hold special memories of good times we've shared.
We've had our share of hard times when our friends were there to make us feel better.
We've shared...
our hearts
our times
our secrets
our fears
our hopes
and
our dreams.
Let us never break the chain of friends!

Okay it's been a while!

Wow I didn't think it had been that long since I blogged. I've been busy lately with cookies, DI competition, a seriously strained back, and life in general!

As far as cookies go, Tory's final personal total was 408 boxes sold, with 150 of those going to US troops!!!!! I am so proud of her, and so thankful to each and every person who bought from us!! Thank you all! She's been confirmed for camp, in early July and both mom and daughter are excited ;)

Destination Imagination competition was Sunday ( after being snowed out Saturday by a freak March blizzard!). DI is *always* a long long long day--we got there at 8 am and left at 6 pm. We were in Tilton, NH which is just over an hour away! It ended up being a 14 hour day, but it's always fun! I got some stitching done, but not much because of my back.

I strained the lower part of my back on a slip on some ice. This was compounding a strain a few weeks ago, so I'm pretty much in tons of pain! LOL The doctor called in some muscle relaxers and that seems to be helping-it's better today. I've also developed some sort of head cold (thank you March snow grrrr) that has my left ear clogged and echoing. Lemme tell ya that is NOT FUN!

The other thing keeping me from stitching lately is I've taken up scrapbooking. Yes yes, I know--ANOTHER HOBBY????????? Yeah okay--but I don't see me being obsessed about this one! No seriously, I enjoyed what I've done so far, and the only reason I've done so much is that there was an online crop for the BB I've joined. Oh yes, and it's all my best friend Crystal's fault. Completely! If you'd like to see some of my layouts, you can go here: Angi's Scrapbook Album

I'm back to stitching now, and am working on some of my March goals :) So far so good!

Peace,

Beautiful Singing and COLD!!

Last night was the Celtic Woman concert in Manchester NH :) We had floor seats we were all very excited about! The concert was not a disappointment at all--lovely singing, some old favorites from their first tour, all of my newest favorites and some new things I've never heard them do. It was amazing! They are apparently alternating the new girl Hayley Westenra with one of the original members, Maev. Maev has a baby and as another example of how wonderful this organization is, they are switching them so she can spend time with her family and Hayley can meet her own commitments.

Tory had an awesome time, and I think had just as much fun pointing out all the different costumes from the DVD, and figuring out where all the lights were coming from as she had listening to the concert! Because she is 9 and thus short, she got to spend the concert on my and her daddy's knee so she could see! She was thrilled! She was also thrilled to get a t-shirt and I got a tote bag with the floral logo. Yes I know, I need another tote bag like I need a hole in my head!

The weather, however, could have been nicer to me!! It felt like -5 with the windchill or colder when we got to the Arena about quarter til 7. MINUS FIVE!!!!!!!! And our seats, were on the floor. In an ice hockey arena. I don't think I thought this one out that well LOL. I shouldn't have worn the skirt set I did--I should have worn sweats! My feet are frozen still I think! When we got out of the concert around quarter til 10, it was even colder!! It's MARCH for pity's sake!!! We are *supposed* to get up into the 30's today and I swear to God it'll be like a tropical heat wave!! I need to live in a warmer climate--seriously.

No stitching since Monday--I'm really starting to get jumpy and twitchy! Today there will be stitching!! After, of course--cookie delivery!

Drowning in cookies!

We picked up Tory's Girl Scout cookie sale order last night, and wow is there a lot here! And we don't even have them all!! So far she's sold 377 boxes of cookies, and of those sold 125 are being donated to Operation Soldier for the US Troops in Iraq!! I'm so proud of her, and of me too! LOL I don't think we're going to reach her goal of 500 boxes sold (she'd be recognized as a Cookie Diva by the Council then) but I hope to get over 400 boxes with 'extra' sales. Her troop is doing a few cookie booth sales, and she'll get a percentage of the sale, and we can still take orders for a few more days. Hopefully we'll catch the neighbors we missed :) She had wanted to send at least half her sales to the Troops, but we aren't going to do that. I'd love to send more. We got her camp confirmation as well! She's going to 2 weeks of Girl Scout horseback riding camp! Not cheap, but oh so worth it for her--which is why we PUSHED cookies LOL.

So that'll be my day today-- sorting cookies and starting to deliver. Let's hope we can get them out of the house fast--DH is too tempted LOL!

Have a great day!

Not a lot goin on!

Not too much happening today... so I'm going to make this a picture blog! :)
Aren't you glad you chose to read today ? :)

Here's some fav pics of my family!
This is our close friend Jamie who visits us quite a lot! She's become an honorary sister to my kids and I got to teach her stitching, and she's taken to it like a duck to water!

Tory on her way to a soccer game! It's so funny because behind that mouthguard, she still had NO front teeth!!

Her first concert with the clarinet! She looks so grown up.

Dan and Tory snuggling with our Ginger Love Puddle, aka Simba!

My two goofball furbabies--they sleep like this all the time!

Finally my newest start--Ink Circles Cirque de Circles. It's stitched with Vikki Clayton Russian Sage Premium silk on Silkweaver's Meadow Mist Reflections. The floss is a bit more bright/pastel than I thought, and I'm debating ripping it out and changing colors to... something! Not sure what though. It's hard to tell right now, but I don't know how these colors will look in this big design.