Three And a Half Years Later.....

Hey, you!

Wow! So it's been three and a half years since I've last logged into Blogger and posted a stitchy (or not so stitchy) blog. I'm gonna be totally honest, I don't even really remember how to use this thing! So bear with me folks.......here's what I've been up to....

Remember Finn?
Yes, Finn, my new puppy from my last postings three and a half years ago. Well, he turned four last week and is still the love of my life. And he has a sister now! A one and a half year old Great Dane St. Bernard cross named Peaches. They're besties :-)

 
 Oh, and I learned to weld....
In an intensive eight week welding program with the Canadian Welding Bureau. I kicked ass at it, had lots of fun, graduated with honors, successfully obtained six different welding tickets, and never managed to convince someone to hire me.

I traveled to.....
Mexico, Tallahassee, Kansas City, Ottawa for white water rafting, among other places....

   

 I had a life- changing experience.....
When I lived in Montreal for a month and attended an intensive 300 hour Moksha Yoga Teacher Training, and am now working as a yoga teacher.....

 
 I got dressed up a couple of times...

I moved....
In with my partners where we have been cohabitating for a couple of years now very happily out in the country.

Annnnnnddddd if you're still reading....
Here's what I'm working on now!

Noel 2009

Joy and Peace

 

  
 It's so awesome to be back and reading all of your blogs....I've missed this so much! Good night everyone!

Shoes?

I have a question for all of you stitchy stitchers out there :-)

Does anyone know of any free patterns for shoes? I'm looking to make a greeting card with a stiletto shoe on the front. Thanks!!

The Liebster Award!

Good morning everyone!!

My friend Lizy over at http://lizylovelystitches.blogspot.ca awarded me with the Liebster award! Thanks Lizy! If you aren't following Lizy's blog, you should head over and check it out. She stitches some amazing pieces that look so real they could be photographs!

Details of the award:

Liebster is German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved. The Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers to spread the word and help the newer gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy where accepting. 1. Chose five up and coming blogs fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster too. 2.Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. 3.Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award too with links to their sites. leave comments on their blog so they know about the award. 4.Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know.                                

I'm going to cheat a little bit and break the rules. For now, I'm just going to share my 5 random facts....I'll go through my list and find some blogs to award this with a little later....because I'm lazy and haven't finished my first coffee of the day yet :-P

1. I'm an Arizona enthusiast- Erin and I went there on vacation a few years ago and I've been obsessed and fascinated with the state ever since.

2. I collect thimbles from all over the world- anywhere I go, or my friends go, a thimble comes back for me.

3. My life revolves around my 4 month old Shiloh Shepherd Finnigan. He's my bestest little buddy, and my handsome boy. I'm way too obsessed with him.

4. I SUCK at all forms of art. It's amazing that I can do needlecrafts because I can't handle any other form of crafting. LOL don't even get me started on scrapbooking- it once gave me an anxiety attack haha!

5. I live for reading, stitching, gardening, and going to the gym- these are my passions in life.

                                                                                                             

I Won!!!

I'm really late posting this, but...I won a giveaway from Shelley's blog
http://shelleysartsyfartsylife.blogspot.ca

I won these great little pattern books...

I see lots of projects in these books that I'd like to get going on....THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH SHELLEY!!!!!!

A Couple of Lisa's Finishes

Happy Sunday everyone!

I've had a great day....gym, dog park, a visit from Lisa, Holly and Cait....baked zucchini bread...very nice way to spend a snowy Sunday!

Lisa brought a couple of finishes to show me...and you guys :-) Here they are! The Wizard was a printed pattern, and the second one is absolutely gorgeous, and my picture does it no justice at all.

What, Oh What to Blog About?!

This is my dilemma of late. There hasn't been much stitching happening (but there will be on Sunday because I'm going to my parents for the night woohoo!) and there haven't been any significant life events to talk about. So I've just avoided blogging altogether.

So...hmm. Well, Finnigan and I discovered a local dog park. We now spend 2 hours there every afternoon. He plays with his friends and I've been cordially invited to join the "grey chair group"...a group of 3 people who are there at the same time every day. I couldn't be more thrilled hahaha! So I have people to chat with while Finn plays. The best part is that he comes home exhausted and sleeps for hours afterwards.

What else. Well, the Hunger Games comes out tonight at midnight here. Erin came from London to see it with me. It'll be a short visit, she has to leave tomorrow night. I work at 5 tomorrow morning so we aren't going to the midnight show...we're doing tomorrow afternoon.

It's been super-warm here the last few days....25 degrees!!!!! But it's starting to drop and will be back down to 4 by Monday. I did manage to fall asleep in my zero gravity chair reading and got a sunburn. Then I bought sunscreen....and it's rained ever since.

I made cookies this morning. They're insanely healthy and actually turned out really well! Here's the link to where I found them

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html

The store I work in is taking part in setting a world record tomorrow....I think they're calling it "history in the breaking" and it involves the most people ever to simultaneously break a piece of parmigano reggiano cheese. It's rumored that each piece of cheese involved in the breaking cost $1500. I don't know....seems like the money could have been better spent paying employees more than minimum wage (wink-wink, nudge-nudge Loblaws Co.)

I guess I should show you some pictures of my handsome buddy Finn! OMG I'm such a pathetic proud Mama!

My beautiful boy at 4 months

This is what he does every day when I dry my hair....what a hoot!

On top of the world, playing with his friends at the park

Finn sleeping with his Doggie

March WIPocalypse and The Alligator

Whoa....lots of you guys have WIPocalypse finishes this month!

I've been working on The Bookshelf and Too Windy....

 

I'm really, really loving working on both of these pieces. Unfortunately, both have suffered some puncture wounds.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:

The Culprit:

What a Nut!

This is what happens when I fall asleep on the couch. I woke up and couldn't find Finn anywhere. I searched high and low. I finally found him....hiding in the bathroom eating a sweet potato that he stole. Good grief!!

Lisa's Stitching, and a Finn Update!

Good Sunday morning to you all!

I made a page called "Lisa's Stitching" that you can find alongside my other pages. My friend Lisa stitches some amazing pieces, but she doesn't have a blog. I took pictures of them a few weeks ago to post here....someone should see these amazing finishes! Sorry that the pictures suck...it was dark out and I was impatient LOL!

So Finn is 12 weeks old today!!! He makes me SO happy, I love this puppy. I can't believe I've only had him for a month...it feels MUCH longer! He drives me nuts biting and whining and stealing everything in sight, but we're working on it :-) Here are some pics!

My Mud Dog

Snowy Puppy!!

Finn at 12 weeks!



Oh, Jax, How I Love You!

So. Who's heard of Sons of Anarchy? It's a show about a biker gang in California called Sam Cro.... (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original).

I started to have a pretty annoying cough a month ago after an 18k run in -15 degree weather. I thought it was a cold, but it's just kept getting worse. Since Monday I haven't slept for more than 2 hours a night because the cough is constant. Then...yesterday...I got to work, coughed, felt a pop and then stabbing pain under my ribcage. I could hardly stand up, breathe, sit down, and coughing was unbearable. I was lucky enough to get an appoitment at the day clinic yesterday afternoon and long story short, I'm now on antibiotics for a bacterial lung infection, an inhaler because my lungs won't stop spasoming, and a pain killer because I tore the muscle under my ribs. Holy....friggin....PAIN that torn muscle is causing!

So I have nothing to do but lay on the couch and watch Sons! Woohoo! Watching Jax strut around in all of this sexyness is making me feel sooooo much better. It's strange that I love this show I suppose....but I do have a soft spot for bikers. My parents were park of the biker gang world for the 10 years before I was born and most of their friends now are bikers and retired bikers. Maybe it makes me feel at home or something. If only a real life Jax would come my way LOL! And Katey Segal plays the badass wife of the club leader and is Jax's mom....which is hilarious, I'm totally loving seeing her as a total badass bitch. Not used to that!

A Tasty Treat Fakeout!

Good morning everyone! Thought I'd share a recipe for a super-sweet treat that is all-natural and insanely healthy.

Chop up 2 big handfuls of pitted dates. Throw them in the blender with the juice of 2 lemons. Add a splash of water to get things moving and blend until smooth-ish....chunks are okay. Scoop out golf ball sized portions, roll them around in unsweetened coconut and let set in the fridge. Enjoy!

February WIPocalypse!

Hey everyone!!

I've only been working on The Bookshelf this past month, and I'm determined to get it done! Here it is before....

...and this is it as of last night!

One of my friends from running and I started getting together to stitch. It's made a huge difference because it forces me to actually take the time to sit down and work on something, which is awesome. Her name is Lisa and she does a lot of amazing stitching. I'm going to make her a page at the top of my blog this weekend with pictures of all of her finishes....make sure to check it out!

She and her Mom made me this Q-Snap cozy....it's super cute!

Cake Baby!!

Check out this masterpiece...yep, it's a CAKE!!!!

Fridays with Finn!

I cannot believe how fast this puppy is growing!!!!!

Finn, 8.5 weeks old

We've spent our week hanging out, and learning not to bite. I look like a drug addict with tracks up both my arms because of this puppy's sharp teeth! He has a few gaps still so I think he's teething pretty bad.

I took him for a walk around the block yesterday and he did GREAT for half the block then he sat down and started to shake so bad! I don't know if he was cold or scared but I had to carry him the rest of the way LOL!

Stitching and snowstorm today....it's the perfect kind of day :-)

My First Day as a Mama!!

Well, it finally happened, I picked up my puppy Finn yesterday! I'm not sure what I think quite yet. I LOVE him, he's perfect...but holy crap it's a lot of work!

I got off pretty lucky because I was assigned the most laid-back of all the puppies. He slept for the whole 2 hour ride home...

...and then slept some more when we got home...

...then he posed for a "welcome home" picture

And then he played with Holly and Cait for a while...

Annnnnnnd back to sleep!









I think my second thoughts stem from the fact that, as a Shiloh Shepherd, he'll weigh between 120 and 130 pounds when he's full grown, which means I have to, without question, have him trained properly to listen to me. Having an out of control dog who weighs more than you do is a bad, bad idea. All of the training techniques I studied seemed so easy in theory but now that he's actually here, there's nothing easy about it! YEEK!

Stash Enhancement in London!

One of my favourite things to do when I visit Erin in London is to go to the Thread and Eye cross-stitch shop. It's fantastic, and has such a huge variety of stuff. I only get to London twice a year, so it's always quite an event! This time around though, things didn't quite go as planned.

I was only supposed to stay in London until Monday, but when we got to the shop Monday morning we discovered that they're closed Sundays and Mondays. We were so disappointed....but I decided to switch work stuff around at home and stay until today so that we could visit the shop....and it was sooooo worth it!! Here's what I got...

Erin got a handfull of patterns too, but I didn't get a picture. I had to drop her off at school and start my trip back home as soon as we were finished. If you're ever in London, make sure you visit this shop!! The woman who was working was so friendly and helpful. In fact, when we left, Erin said "wow, I can't believe how much I just learned in such a short period of time." They're awesome in there!

Other trip highlights include.....

-me driving on the 401 all the way from Peterborough to London, right through Toronto...this is a first time for that, I usually go a different way to avoid the highway because I'm terrified of it...but I did it! Twice, and LIVED! It even cut my trip from 6 hours down to 3.5!

-our delicious pizza making...

Erin and the best pizza ever!

-watching the final episode of our favourite show, One Life to Live together (which was soooo awful, and ended with a major cliffhanger that's going to drive me crazy for the rest of my life!)

and......

-the ill-fated hike, which I feel no need to re-hash LOL!

Two Blondes and a Blue Trail

*hum the Gilligan's Island tune as you proceed*

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful hike.....
That started on this blue-marked trail,
Watching birds that we did like.

The mate was a mighty travelling girl,
The skipper runs, knits and purls...

Together they set out at four o'clock,

For a one hour walk.

The weather started getting cold,
Our thighs felt bitten by frost....

We saw a cabin that looked quite old,

And realized we were lost.

The forest started getting dark,

The snow was really deep....

We looked for the trail that was once marked,

Our courage we did not keep.

We emerged into an open space,

No footprints could be seen...

The sun was moving from it's place,

Into the dark we would have been.



But then we saw a yellow thing,
Sticking high out of the snow....
We now had hope from which to cling,
We were in a golf course, we now did know.

We found a fence and a trail beyond,
We approached it, our hope refusing to fail...
And although we're hindered by our hair of blonde,
We found the blue trail....
We found the blue trail.