Finally I can show you!

A finish! I stitched this for my mom quite some time ago but just finally sewed it up and sent it to her. She got it today(even though I sent it last week Wed. or Thurs. PRIORITY MAIL. ahem.) anyhoo.. here it is. She loves teddy bears. :)

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! Ours was really nice. The kids and I went church after we opened gifts, and by the time we got home Rob had Christmas dinner/lunch just about ready. It was delicious! Then we just spent the rest of the day relaxing. :) Ginger had fun opening her first Christmas presents, but she didn't care much about the presents at first, she'd just keep the paper in her mouth and take off with it!

I am finally making some progress on Beach Cottage.. I haven't worked on it yet tonight, but here is my progress as of last night-

 

Please excuse the wrinkles!

I have another pattern to give away- this is the pattern-

Sorry the photo isn't so good-I had to find one online because the one I have has one of the houses cut out of the front?! (someone gave me the pattern) Anyway, all the patterns are intact.:) So if you are interested just comment on this post and mention that you want to be entered in the giveaway.. and please leave an email address. Thanks!

and you know I have to post a picture of Ginger- before Christmas she was into the presents under the tree quite often, and after she kept going under the tree and getting ornaments off the tree and chewing on them(if we didn't catch her right away), or just running around the tree.. anyway- here is one of the times she got caught. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Giveaway winner!

Sorry I am drawing late for the magazine giveaway- I am so scatterbrained sometimes! The winner is- Renee G!

I haven't had a chance to stitch yesterday, been running here, there, and everywhere.. hoping to get a ittle in tonight on Beach Cottage since I haven't worked on it for a while.  I am finally done with Christmas cards, most presents are wrapped, it's a good feeling!

Finally a finish, and some ornaments completed..

I finally finished "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals. :) Just before fall ends!

And here are some ornaments I had finished stitching a while back, but just made them into ornaments tonight, for David's teachers.

Prairie Schooler freebie

I believe this is a freebie also, but I can't remember who designed it!

Also, I have started another daily blog- maybe I can keep this one up, ha! It's pics of our new puppy, Ginger- I will still post pics of her here sometimes but started this blog since I know I will always be taking pics of her-

http://gingereveryday.blogspot.com

Maybe I can keep this one up better than my photo of the day blog- I may take another stab at that one first of the year. :)

A Christmas giveaway!

No, it's not my giveaway(mine is below)- Terri of DixieSamplar is having one! Click here to check it out!

Not much stitching-but another giveaway!

Well between Christmas preparations and getting Ginger, I haven't gotten any stitching done- hopefully soon- maybe after I get my Christmas cards finished.

You know I couldn't get a little dog without dressing it up at least a little bit- so we got Ginger some antlers tonight. :) I wanted to get this cute little collar with bells on it, but it was a little pricey and I knew she wouldn't leave it on, so didn't waste the money. The antlers were much cheaper- and she didn't mind them too much but they were a little loose and kept falling off.  We did keep them on long enough to get this picture-

She's such a good sport! :)

Here is the giveaway- an oldie but goodie-

It's got several nice patterns- including the one on the cover, a Christmas mug design, an angel design, a small wedding sampler, a design of a puppy(a yorkie or some other shaggy-ish dog) and some chicks, etc. Just comment on this post and I will draw a name on Sunday. If you'd like to see photos of any of the other completed designs just let me know via comment or email(email address link is on my blog profile.)

Our furbaby came home early!

I got a nice surprise today! The lady who sold Ginger to us called and thought she was okay to come live with us - she is only 7 weeks old but was weaned and doing well, very social etc.  So we brought her home today. :) Here are a couple of pics-

I will get some better ones soon, everyone wanted to play with her tonight so it was hard to get good photos.  Needless to say, I haven't gotten any stitching done tonight.. been having too much fun playing and snuggling Ginger!

Giveaway winner!

Well, I have never had just two people enter for a giveaway, and I didn't want to do "eenie meenie miney mo", so I wrote "G" on five slips of paper(for GoldenAngelsWorks) and "J" on five slips of paper (for Judith) crumpled them all up separately, shook them in my hand, and picked one without looking.  And the winner is.. Judith in Germany! Judith, please email me at angelrose1108@yahoo.com with your address and I will get it out to you soon! 
And don't be sad Golden Angel, I have another book you might be interested in- I will email you.  If you don't hear from me by Sunday, email me at the above email, I am having trouble emailing people via blogger links.  Thanks!
That's about it for now- have a busy weekend ahead- going to visit with my friend Mandy tomorrow, maybe work a little more on puppy-proofing the house, taking the kids to the city's Christmas parade, then Hanna and I are going to see her friend perform in "The Nutcracker" tomorrow night. :) Sunday is church, then Rob and I are going Christmas shopping! Early for a change! Hope to get a bit of stitching done here and there, and have something to show you on Monday!

Stitching progress and our Christmas tree..

I think I forgot to mention last time that we got our Christmas tree up.  :) This was a bit interesting as Ro has gotten a recliner since last Christmas and we have a small living room- it required a bit of rearranging and putting our rocking chair in another room for now.  Anyway, here it is!

And here is my progress on Beach Cottage and Autumn Side- hoping to finish Autumn Side this weekend. :)

Sorry the snaps aren't that good- for some reason my flash wouldn't go off when I took the one of Beach Cottage!

Only two more weeks til we get Ginger--- it is so hard waiting! I am so excited. We have pretty much gotten everything we need- just need to get a baby gate to keep her in the kitchen while we're at work(just until she is fully house-trained), and her harness and leash- but we want to wait til we get her to do that so we can get the right size.  I know she will be a bit bigger than when we saw her last! :)

an oldie giveaway

Hi all! Will post stitching pics soon, but wanted to go ahead and post this. I have quite a few older/books magazines I have laying around here and I will be giving them away on here over time.. would do them all at once but can't afford to mail them all out within a few weeks! So my first giveaway is for the Precious Moments book #3-Dear Jon.  Sorry the pic is not so good!  Scratch that- can't find my SD cad so here is a pic from the internet-

The booklet is in pretty good condition- a few bends here and there-all the patterns are in great condition.  I'll keep the giveaway open until Friday. Please comment on this post only if you are interested.  I know it's old so if no one wants it I won't be upset! :)  Feel free to share with someone you think would be interested. :)

Meet Ginger!

I am one happy lady today!! We are getting a Corgi puppy! Her name will be Ginger and here she is-

I am soooooo excited!!! We will get her in mid-December, when she is eight weeks old. We met her in person today and it was hard to let go!   She is my early Christmas present. :) I have to share with you the neat story of how we got her.  I have been interested in getting a Pembroke Welsh Corgi for a while now, but couldn't afford one.  One day I struck up a conversation with a lady who worked at the local pet store, and mentioned at some point how bad I wanted one, but couldn't afford what most breeders charge.   She then told me she had a Corgi, and would probably breed it eventually, and wouldn't charge an exorbitant amount for one.  So I gave her my business card and she put it in the pocket of her apron.  This was probably at least a year or so ago give or take a month or two.  Well at the pet store they have three different aprons they rotate for different times of year or something like that.  Her puppies were born in October a week or two ago it was back to the apron she was wearing when we met.. and there in the pocket was my card! So she called and left a message for me at work- I called her back and everything just seemed to fit into place from there- her price was very reasonable, my hubby said we could get one. :) , we really wanted a female and there was only one in the litter! :) She knew how long I wanted one so she said she would tell everyone the female was spoken for.   I am so thankful and feel so blessed.

On the stitching front, I've made a little progress here and there, I will post it soon..

Sorry I've been absent again..

It's been busy here lately- Mom and Dad came to visit on Friday and stayed til Monday.  We had an awesome time as always! Friday night we all went out to eat, to celebrate most of our birthdays- mine of course was Oct. 27, Dad's was Nov. 2, Hanna's was yesterday, and Mom's is on the 24th. Saturday Rob had to work and the rest of us did this and that- started the day at Starbucks♥, did a little shopping.. took Mom and Dad to the Thistle Bee Quilt Shop, and out to my somewhat-LNS to pick up the beads for Summer House- which ended up being too big... so I'm back to square one.  It was my own fault, I didn't bring the piece with me and forgot I had used the petite beads. Sunday we went to church in Raleigh- Mom and Dad are Greek Orthodox and we don't have any Orthodox churches for miles- so we went to All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church.  They were dedicating their new sanctuary-which is just beautiful!

We also saw some nice fall colors on the way-

The photos really don't do them justice!

Here are a couple more I took near home-

And last but not least- some stitching progress on my Brightneedle ornament- I'm starting to think I should've put it on a slightly darker fabric, but oh well, live and learn! ;)

Oh, and my baby girl turned 13 yesterday- how time flies!!

Look- her hair matches my dad's car! hee hee..

Birthday goodies and other stuff..

Hello everyone! I don't think I ever posted this like I said I would- here is progress on my weekend project, as of tonight..didn't get too much done this weekend- been running here and there and everywhere..

It was my not-quite-fortieth birthday this week.. I had a good day.  Had to work but work wasn't too stressful, got a nice gift from my boss..then that night the family and I went out to Chili's for dinner; I had been craving it for a while.  I had margarita-grilled chicken, with black beans and rice.. it was delicious! Rob and the kids gave me a Starbucks gift card(always a favorite with me♥) and some gift cards for some shops so I can get some retail therapy. ;) I also got a surprise gift from my aunt- these beautiful thread caddies- to replace my plastic and velcro Lo-Ran ones. :P I LOVE these. Here are a few snaps-

They are so nice- you just take the rings out of the Lo-Ran ones and put them in the little slots in the cloth one.. easy peasy! And it's so nice to tie them shut- I know the velcro on one of my old caddies didn't work, even after I replaced it. I had a hair elastic around it for a while..this is so much better!

It has gotten much cooler here this past week and I am loving it.  I have actually been able to wear my sweaters! Yay!! I think it supposed to warm up later this week but only in the low 70's. :)

The kids are psyched for Halloween tomorrow-I was all set to take them trick-or-treating Friday night and then found out that trick-or-treating was actually on Halloween this year! Usually they have it on the closest Friday, so I was surprised! I was also kind of glad because the semi-annual library book sale started Friday night. :) Five paperbacks for 1.00! And I found a couple of real treasures(in my opinion)- Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe(as mentioned in Jane Austen's Emma), and The Watsons/Emma Watson by Jane Austen- I don't believe she finished this one but I believe the edition I got was finished by someone else- we'll see how it is!

Well, I better be going, it's late and in addition to work this week I also have to do some cleaning as Mom and Dad will be visiting us this coming weekend! Woohoo! :) I can't wait. :)

A nice day...

I had a pretty nice day today with (and without) my kids. :) Started the day out by taking the kids to Krispy Kreme for some doughnuts- LOVE their pumpkin spice doughnuts!  Hanna wanted me to take her picture in a Krispy Kreme hat(so did David) so when I tried to take the picture of Hanna, this is what I got-

What a ham!

After Krispy Kreme we ran to Target and picked up a few (non)-essentials.. then I took the kids home and went to The Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe.  I mentioned them in a previous post I think, quite some time ago.. they carry beautiful fabrics and some Weeks Dye Works thread too, so I pop in there from time to time.  Well the last time I was in there, I found out they are having a monthly get-together for stitchers, to just bring whatever we are working on, and stitch and talk, a chance for us stitchers to meet other stitchers! So I went today and had such a nice time.  I had to leave after an hour/hour and a half to get the kids fed,etc.. but I am hoping to stay a bit longer next time. :) I did make a little progress on "Beach Cottage" at the get-together, I now have some beach for my not-yet-stitched cottage-

I probably would have more done, but sometimes I just talked instead of stitching and talking at the same time. :)

I also stopped by the local farm stand today and picked up some mums- every year I say I am going to get some and I never do- so I finally did! At 3 for $10 how could I resist? here are the ones I picked up:

I also have some more zinnia coming up in my garden- I love the way these buds look- they almost look painted!

I won a giveaway at Tickled Pink In Stitches ! I would post a pic of what I won but I am going to make it for my mom- so Mom if you are reading this, don't go peek! ;)

I have also worked a bit on "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals today- I'll post progress on that tomorrow night or next week, since that is my weekend project and I hope to work on it some more tomorrow! :)

Well, I guess I better be off to bed- have church tomorrow and then some major house cleaning to do.. :P Hope y'all's Sunday will be more relaxing than mine! :D

Just a quick post..

It's been a busy week here and not much on the stitching front- I did start a project last weekend- it's my weekend project- and I got a little stitching done on it yesterday on the way to Raleigh.  It's "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals- I think this was an exclusive chart for message board members- I have had it a while- here it is so far..

And I am a proud mom- last weekend and the weekend before was our county fair, and Hanna won some ribbons for her artwork!

She was disappointed she didn't get 1st place/best in show, but I am excited and proud no matter what ribbon she won. :)  That's about it-  hopefully things will be a little slower in the evenings here and I will have time for a better post.

a Beach Cottage update..

Well, Hanna found my camera! It was in Rob's car- it must've fallen out of my purse when we went grocery shopping on Sunday. Phew!!  And here is a picture of my Beach Cottage so far, as promised- not much longer until I can start working on the top half! :) 


Yesterday evening I went out to check on my garden and look what I found-

I just love when I'm able to get shots like this, as they are so rare! Some of the seeds I bought were supposed to be a butterfly mix I think so this must be from them! :)

The weather here has been slowly cooling off.. I've been happy to wear a sweater or poncho in the morning. The weather really has been lovely but I would like it just a bit cooler..I'm ready to wear long sleeves!

I've been trying to catch up on my blog reading and I am so glad I've been reading everyone's blogs; they are inspiring and getting me to put down the laptop and get stitching again! And reminding me there are so many projects out there I still want to do. :) Thanks everyone for the inspiration! 

A giveaway and update..

Sorry again I have taken so long in posting..it had been a while already and then my laptop cord died and I had to get a new one.. ahhh you don't want to hear my excuses.. ;) But my laptop cord really did die. And we no longer have a desktop computer.

Been doing a little stitching- working some on my lunch hour on "Decorating the House" (some progress pics on my photo blog) and also on "Beach Cottage." Arrghh just realized I have misplaced my camera! I think it's in my car and it's cold out there.. plus I'm in my pj's.. so pics tomorrow.

Here is a photo of a pink flower that turned up in my garden- I buy mixed seeds cause I like "never knowing what I'm gonna get" so these were a beautiful surprise! I have two so far and it looks like another one is going to bloom soon.. This one is saved on my computer so I can share it with you.

And since this is pink.. let me mention a great "pink" giveaway over at Tickled Pink in Stitches and a great post about breast cancer detection.  DJ is an inspiration and a survivor!

I did just come across a picture of "Decorating the House" - got a little more done today that isn't showing in the picture- the upper window is finished. Now on to the roof!

Well I better go- will remember my camera tomorrow and try to remember to post those photos! I also have a new start- "Autumn Side" by San Man Originals. :)

Ack! I am so sorry!!

I forgot to draw for the giveaway!! So sorry! OK, I listed everyone's name, then numbered them randomly, then had dh pick a number from 1-12.. and the winner is... Robin!! Congrats! I will get it out to you on Monday. :) Enjoy!


Today was a busy day- this morning a local church had a clothing swap/giveaway.. you could bring clothes, take clothes, or both.  I brought a ton of stuff I wanted to get rid of.. found a few nice things for myself and a couple things for David.  Hanna picked out her own stuff for the most part, except for one thing I picked up and she snatched out of my hand. hee hee.  We then came home for lunch, and then we went to a zumba-thon for a friend of one of the instructors.  She is a breast cancer survivor and we were trying to raise some money to help her out.  :)  It was a blast- so many different instructors and a lot of people getting together for a good cause.  They also had door prizes- and I actually won something cool for a change! Usually I don't win or I win something I will never use. lol Today I won this-

Which is funny because Rob is the main cook in our family, but I am generally the pancake  maker. :) And it will be sssssssooooooo nice to make several at once instead of making them one at a time!

I must confess, speaking of zumba, that I mentioned in a previous post I was going to a zumba class in a parking lot. I was lazy that day and didn't go.. 

Been making some good progress on Beach House.. will post a picture soon. 

Oh.. remember that beautiful Crepe Myrtle tree I posted a few posts back? Here it is post-Hurricane Irene-

now that they have cleaned all the broken bits away. :( 

I know I am being pretty random in this post- sorry- 

I recently finished a really good book by Luanne Rice- Safe Harbor, and now I am re-reading Mansfield Park again.  I have only read it once before and the other night Rob turned on the movie for me, and it made me want to re-read the book. I went to find it and realized I didn't have it! I thought I had all of Jane Austen's finished works! So I ordered it from Amazon straight away.. and got it free, between Amazon gift cards from swagbucks and Amazon Mom free 2-day shipping.

And I know this sounds silly, but I'm glad the people on the cover are small- when they have all those old pictures on the cover of different ladies and such, I always picture them through the whole book, although now I just think of the people in the movie.  Which is better I guess! :) 

Frustration and a giveaway..

First the frustration- I have been working alot on Summer House, really wanted to get it finished.. had left spots open for beads instead of stitches to add a nice touch.  Well I get to my beads and realized I had not really planned well and now I need to buy almost all my beads before I finish.   The local place I buy my beads is about 30 min. away and closes before I get off work, and I am sure she is closed tomorrow(though I might double check) so it will be another week or two before I can finish. Darn it! Anyway here is where I am at-

Looks like I will be working on "Beach Cottage" tonight instead! Oh well.. I like that one too. :)

I had mentioned a giveaway several posts back and then I kind of forgot about it- I apologize!  So given that fall is just around the corner, I thought I'd better post it- it is for an older pattern- Bent Creek's Cat O' Lantern-

Please leave a comment on this post only, with a way I can reach you- email, or if you have a blog and a contact link is in your profile that's fine too.  I will draw at the end of the week. :)

Other than that the weekend has been fairly uneventful- yesterday afternoon I took a long nap, probably alot longer than I should have. ;) I also took David to the library.  Today the kids and I watched "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue"  after church and lunch. Cute movie!  Then Rob and I went to Sam's Club to look at some things- they had a great deal going on today- you could upgrade to a Plus membership for $17.58 instead of the usual $100. They also have something new(I think it's new-haven't been there much lately) called evalues, if you have the plus membership.  It's kind of like coupons that are loaded to your card. For instance, today they had a 3-lb container of grapes for $4.98 but with the evalues you got $2.00 off at the check out.  Great deal for our family, cause we all love grapes! I don't know if we will be able to renew next year though cause I really don't think I will want to pay $100. ;)  I think they are doing it through tomorrow so if you have a Sam's membership you may want to call your local Sam's and see if they're doing it. It has some other benefits as well, especially if your Sam's has optical and a pharmacy.

No big plans for Labor Day here- may go to zumba in the morning- our Y is closed so us zumbaholics are gonna zumba in the parking lot. :) Then later gotta go grocery shopping.. but that's about it I think! Hopefully I'll get a lot of stitching and/or reading in tomorrow!