I Stitch Therefore I Am

a lovely giveaway, and some other goodies too!

2012-02-14T22:59:00.000-05:00

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having another fabulous giveaway! Click here!

Today was a good mail day- I got a free shopping tote from Country Living magazine (got a free subscription with my Coke Rewards points), and my Victoria magazine. I looooove this magazine- my mom got me a subscription for Christmas. :)

And I stopped by my friend Diana's house and she had this for me-

She subbed to World of Cross Stitching and then decided she wasn't going to stitch anymore, and instead of cancelling it she is giving me her magazines. :) She is such a sweetheart.

No stitching yet tonight. :( Hoping to get a few stitches in but it's getting late- we'll see..

Time flies..

2012-02-13T22:49:00.000-05:00

Didn't mean to wait this long to post! I haven't been making too much progress on my stitching, I feel like kind of a failure in that department! And I have no one to blame but myself-stay on the computer too long, snuggle with Ginger, etc. But anyway.. I didn't mean to start off on such a downer! Here is my progress on Beach Cottage- I have made some...

I've been reading a really good suspense book lately-it had me hooked from chapter 2- I would say chapter one but I am still trying to figure out how it fits in to the story. lol It's The Innocent by Harlan Coben, it's excellent so far!

Speaking of books, my hubby watched a chick flick with me last night- "Something Borrowed". Originally I wasn't so sure about it, seeing as how the whole plot revolves around people cheating on their significant others, but it was surprisingly good! I was thinking about reading the book, but I am on the fence- most of my friends gave it really good reviews, but a lot of people didn't (on goodreads) so I don't know..

Here is a pic I took of Ginger today, outside she looks so small, but in the house she looks big- hee hee..

I got her with her tongue out, can't believe I caught it! And it wasn't even on purpose! :)

Giveaway winner for the towel leaflet..

2012-01-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

Was Judith(Musicwoman)-Judith please email me your address again- I don't think I kept it. Thanks! Email link is in my profile. Thanks! Stay tuned for another giveaway soon everyone!

Happy dancing.. I finally finished something!

2012-01-29T00:23:00.000-05:00

This ornament has taken me forever- it was my lunchtime project- and after a while it seemed I was always running errands at lunch, then we got Ginger so I started coming home at lunch to feed her and take her outside(not that I'm complaining) so my stitching time has been limited. I have found a few minutes here and there, and today, thanks to the stitching group that meets at our local quilt shop once a month, I finally made some real progress. So tonight I was determined to finish it! I'm not sure I am real happy with the beading, it's not the way I usually do them.. but I really don't want to re-do them either. I don't know. I don't remember the fabric I stitched it on but I did substitute some colors -CC Desert Mesquite for Olde Willow English Ivy, WDW Hazelnut for Olde Willow Quaker Churchyard Adobe, and I think all the othe colors I used were the recommended ones. This is from either the 2002 or 2003 JCS Ornament issue I think- all I have is my working copy handy right now and it doesn't say on there.. but the copyright on the pattern is 2002. Well I better get to bed, it's getting late- just had to share!

Finally finished the tree!

2012-01-25T23:31:00.002-05:00

I know, it's not much of an accomplishment, but it seems like it has taken me forever to finish the tree- I'd start falling asleep, it would be time for bed, Ginger would want some attention... finally I am moving on to the roof!

And now I would like to share some info, especially with my readers in the CT area- via different Corgi communities I have come across a family whose Corgi has run away. They were visiting in CT for the new year, and on New Year's Eve he was scared by the fireworks and ran off. There have been many sightings of him since but no one has been able to catch him. Please keep an eye out for him if you live in this area, his name is Andy and there is a $2000 reward for his return. Here is a poster-

and here is the website for more info, including a map of sightings, etc- http://bringandyhome.wordpress.com/ .And those of you who live to far away, like me, please say prayers that he will be brought home safely. It has got to be so horrible for this family- I can imagine what it would be like for me if Ginger was out there. Thanks so much!

And please don't forget to check out my giveaway in my previous post-I will draw a winner sometime this weekend.

Oh and almost forgot my TUSAL update! I am going to try to be better about it this year- but I must admit most of this thread has been from frogged stitches on the project I have been working on for my friend..

A little progress , a giveaway winner, and another giveaway!

2012-01-22T23:04:00.001-05:00

No stitching done yet this weekend(hoping to remedy that in a few minutes!) but here is my progress on Beach House as of right now- just some progress on the tree- maybe I will finish it up tonight.

Hoping for a better stitching week this week.. I am still frogging on the other project..

And now for the Dawna Barton leaflet winner- Tracy! Congrats! There were only two takers on this one so I made slips of paper with each lady's name on them, shook them in my hands, and let one drop out. :)

Here is my next giveaway- I will draw a winner next Sunday, since that seems to be the day I can remember to do it. lol It's for the Leisure Arts leaflet "Floral Trims for Fingertips". Please comment on this post only if you'd like a chance, and remember to leave an email address if you don't have a link to your email in your blogger profile.

Sorry the photo is a little blurry!

And here is a picture of Ginger I took this weekend. I love how she looks in natural light. :)

I almost forgot!

2012-01-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

To pick a giveaway winner - so sorry! I took an idea from Edgar and let Ginger pick the winner. I had no BOD(bowl of destiny) handy, so I put them in front of her and mixed them up a bit and you know it only took a couple of seconds for her to bite one- as she loves putting EVERYTHING in her mouth(I think maybe she is part goat)- and she picked... Kimberly R! Kimberly, I will be emailing you shortly if you have an email link in your blogger profile- if you don't please email me at angelrose1108 @ yahoo.com. Congratulations!

and without further delay here is my next giveaway-

This leaflet by Dawna Barton. Please leave a comment on this post and make sure you mention you want to be in the giveaway.. thanks!

No real stitching done this weekend- I had good intentions- I got caught up in frogging. Hope to make more progress on Beach House this week.

My Jane Austen-inspired necklace and other stuff..

2012-01-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

I found this locket with this lady on it at Michael's the other day- it was the last one on clearance and I knew I had to have it.. then I found this other pendant on clearance as well and picked it up too- originally I was going to hang them on a chain but couldn't find the right one, then I thought about ribbon and I found this today at Michael's when I went for some needles- and there you go!

Sometime I would like to try making my own pendants and charms- they have the supplies to do so- but this will do for now. :)

I have taken on a new project- (actually 3 but I am taking them one at a time). A good friend of mine from church used to stitch and had started one or two projects, and had the supplies to start another, but found she could no longer stitch comfortably so she asked me to finish them, and being a stitcher offered to pay me, since she knows how much time goes into them! This is the first one I am working on-

It's from an old 80's leaflet- I'm not sure of the name cause the pages she gave me were torn out of it- but this particular pattern is called "Star Gazer." I just found some stitches I am going to have to frog but I did stitch a little on it- the only part I have stitched was the rose and some of the stitches around it.. the rest is all what she had done already. This is the first time I will have finished a project someone else has started- it's kind of fun, especially since I like the design myself. :)

I have been working a little on my never-ending ornament "Decorating the House." This was my lunch time project but since I have been coming home most days to let Ginger out(until her bladder gets bigger- lol) I haven't gotten much done. I did finish the snowflakes though and only have the border and beads left to do. I have also made a little more progress on "Beach House" so I'll post a picture of that soon.

Here is a picture of Ginger- she fell asleep on Rob last night and I thought it was so cute the way she had her paws curled up. ♥

For more pics visit my "Ginger blog" at http://gingereverday.blogspot.com. :)

a quick post at lunch..

2012-01-13T11:53:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder to all my swagbucks peeps that today is Mega Swagbucks Day! Today if you search you are more likely to win large amounts of swagbucks than on a normal day. They are also having a code extravaganza, keep an eye on my widget to the right. :) To check for codes, click the Code icon then the "check for swagbucks code"(or something like that) button.. it will tell you where to look. Once you get the code, type it in the gimme box on the swagbucks homepage.
If you're not familiar with swagbucks, its a great reward site where you get virtual dollars, "swagbucks" for searching using their search engine, as well as other things, like surveys, games, polls, etc. It's completely free to sign up and you can use your swagbucks for great prizes l.ike Amazon and Starbucks gift cards, toys, and lots of other things. If you're interested simply click here . Did I mention you cann also earn swagbucks through redeeming coupons? If you print coupons through the link on their site (under the "Earn" tab) and use them you will get 10 swagbucks for each coupon redeemed!
Well better go for now, will post later with stitchy stuff!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T21:40:00.000-05:00

A bit late.. I know! Hope everyone had a great New Year's- ours was quiet but nice.. just stayed home, the four of us. :)

I've made some more progress on Beach Cottage, but not last week :/ I was so lazy on the stitching front last week..may have put a couple stitches in, I don't even remember. But here's what I've done so far-oh and I think someone asked me if this is a Country Cottage Needleworks design- it is! :)

I've taken on some new projects too- a friend of mine asked me to finish some projects for her, so I am going to take a look at them tonight and see which one I want to do first. She also gave me several British cross stitch mags(with the free gifts still in them!) They are awesome! I haven't even finished looking through them yet and have found so many future projects- there's even a little Corgi design in one of them! :)

OK, no takers on the last giveaway(if anyone changes their mind just let me know!) So here is a new one.. I will draw a name at the end of the week. :) Just leave a comment on this post and let me know in the comment you want to be entered in the giveaway.

August 2005 of Cross Country Stitching magazine :) Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

How is the weather where you are? It's been lovely here, perfect to take Ginger out and run around with her, but I admit I do miss the colder temperatures, and am starting to wonder if we'll get our annual snow..

Finally I can show you!

2011-12-29T22:01:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-19T22:39:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-12-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-14T22:29:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-02T20:35:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-12-01T22:29:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-27T22:20:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-11-20T22:04:00.002-05:00

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..

2011-11-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-10-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-10-22T23:33:00.001-05:00

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..

2011-10-16T22:36:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-10-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-10-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

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!!

2011-09-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

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..

2011-09-04T22:15:00.000-05:00

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!

A finish!! At last!

2011-08-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

J is finally finished! It feels so good to finish something! Now I am trying to decide if I am going to put the alphabet on hold to get some other things finished or just go ahead with K.. hmmmm...

We made it through Hurricane Irene safe and sound. Here are a few photos of things afterward-

This is, sadly, the bright pink Crepe Myrtle from a previous post. They have since cut away the fallen part and it is just a shell of it's former self. :(

On a happier note, my plants still stand, thanks to Rob and Hanna putting them up against the house..

still standing!

Things are getting back to normal, again.. the kids were off school Monday because so many were without power but were back today.

I've been watching "Lost in Austen" on Netflix- I haven't ever seen it and I'm very curious how it's going to end! Though I'm not sure I should stay up that late... another decision to make.. hmmm...

ok maybe now that school has started..

2011-08-25T21:49:00.000-05:00

Yep, first day of school pics! My little one is in 1st and my oldest is in 7th! (which made me tear up a little when I thought hard about it today)..
anyway, as I was saying, in my post title, maybe now that school has started I can get back in my stitching groove.. it's like lately I know I should stitch and I want to, but other things take me away and I get wrapped up in them, and then it's time for bed. So after I post this, I WILL stitch. I will! I haven't decided on what yet, but I will stitch for a little while.
Rob and I celebrated our 18th anniversary on Sunday. We have never done anything really special for our anniversary, not because we don't want to celebrate, but because finances or schedules don't allow. Well this year it worked out that we actually could do something. Our friends kept the kids overnight and Rob and I took a little trip to Wilmington, NC. We had such a great time, as we had not been on a trip alone since I

don't know when- our honeymoon maybe? Yikes! We ate at Bonefish Grill Friday night- we had never eaten there before as we don't have one nearby. It was sooooooo good.. shrimp and scallops that melted in my mouth, nice atmosphere.. after we get Harris Teeter to build a store here (our page has gotten over 2000 likes, before the deadline!) , we will have to work on getting a Bonefish Grill here. :) We stayed at a very nice hotel on the riverfront, and after dinner took a night time walk on the river walk. They had a section of the street closed off and had a live band, and tents where you could buy food, drinks, etc. It was really neat! Then the same section of street is closed off on Saturday for a farmers market.

Saturday we walked around downtown and checked out some of the shops- Rob bought me some opal(esque? not sure if they are real or not) turtle earrings from one of the shops.. went to the Celtic Shoppe and got some Christmas tea. It was extremely hard to control myself in that store, what with the Celtic CDs and jewelry and all.. but I was a good girl. The town is very dog-friendly- dogs are allowed in lots of the shops. We stopped for an iced mocha at a cafe called Java Dog- when we went in a man was there with his little fox terrier on a leash, just as calm and good as he could be. The cafe had a giant coffee cup with dog biscuits in it that you could give your dog. Very cool!

Well enough of my rambling- here are some photos from our trip- here are a couple of views from our room-

My breakfast at a great little place called the Dixie Grill- they put their pancake/waffle syrup in Coke bottles!

Their coffee was really good too!

When I saw this, I immediately thought of our fellow blogger and friend, Edgar!

One of the trolleys you can ride for free- we never did but maybe next time!

Sorry these are a little out of order- here is a night view of the river walk and the festivities

This was painted on the side of our hotel :)

Where we ate lunch- Paddy's Hollow- delicious!

The Cotton Exchange- where the Celtic Shoppe is, as well as Java Dog and a lot of other neat little shops!

One of the restaurants on the riverfront- would love to eat here next time we are there. We didn't have time this time.

I should've gotten some close-ups of this fountain- there were statues of turtles on it. :)

And one more- the kitty in the window of the Celtic Shoppe- he weighs 19 pounds! He was so sweet.

Ok, if I am going to get any stitching done tonight, I better finish up here.. I have a few more photos- maybe I will post them in the next day or two, and hopefully some stitching progress as well! ;)

A little update..

2011-08-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a bad stitching week for me. I haven't been giving my stitching the time I should.. I will try to do better this week! I have been obsessed with something rather odd.. our local chamber of commerce has created a facebook page to bring a Harris Teeter grocery store to our town, and the company has said if we get 2000 likes to our page by the end of the month, they will explore further putting one of their stores here. I have been trying to get the word out to my friends and getting after them to like the page. I know it seems kind of strange- but Harris Teeter is a higher end grocery store, and we do not have one in our town at all. Our grocery stores are limited to Walmart Supercenters, Food Lions, and an IGA, and our Target has a limited grocery supply, as most do. None of these stores offer double coupons. Walmart of course has the most competitive pricing, but as a result they are continuously busy and often have shelves that are picked over. Harris Teeter offers double coupons daily up to 99 cents, and sometimes super double coupons up to 1.98! I'm sorry to ramble, just wanted to let you know why I haven't blogging/stitching as much.. I know it's kind of a weird reason. lol
I did start a new project a couple of weekends ago- Beach Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks. I have gotten a little done- here is my progress so far-

Yesterday I took David to run some errands-but since it was relatively nice out and not too hot, we made a stop at the park to ride the train the Kiwanis have for the kids. We did that first, thankfully, because it started sprinkling as we were riding. David wanted to go look at the fountain before we left, because sometimes they keep koi fish in it.. there were no fish but I did take a picture of our fountain. I think I have posted a pic of it before but I just think it is really lovely!

Good thing there were no fish in there, as the water was pretty green! After we stopped by the fountain, we headed over to the library to return some books and get some more. After we left the library, the rain got a lot worse, in fact I had to stop on the way to the store because it was raining so hard I couldn't see! Fortunately I had brought a book and David had his library books.. so we pulled over into a park and read and waited for the storm to pass. :) We are supposed to get more rain tonight, and are actually under a flash flood warning. We'll see what happens!

EEK!

2011-08-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted- time flies! I haven't been stitching as much as I should- have been getting into couponing and also swapping coupons with some friends, and that takes a little time.. also been spending too much time on facebook- I don't mean to- I will get ready to sign off and then think of something I wanted to look up or someone I need to message, or just get wrapped up in a game. I really need to set a timer when I get on there, and sign off when it dings!

I have been getting a little stitching in on my lunch break project - "Decorating the House" by Brightneedle, from one of the JCS Ornament issues.. am stitching it one over one on 32 count something or other.. hee hee.. I think it is a Silkweaver fabric of some sort.

I have been working a little on Summer House too this week- will post a pic soon. I'm almost done with the trees, have a chimney to stitch and then I can start on the sky. Then comes alllllll the beads.. sigh.. maybe it will go faster than I think. :)

My garden has been surviving the heat, some of it anyway.. here are some new flowers that have popped up recently-

I have a couple of other plants that are growing really tall but no blooms yet- maybe they are waiting for cooler temps! I know I am!

As far as books go, I am still reading Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien.. I am in the home stretch now, less than 100 pages to go. I confess I am reading the notes that go with the stories but not all the appendices, I am a huge Tolkien fan but I just can't read through all those minute details. I am really enjoying the book now because it is dealing with the characters I'm familiar with, from the main trilogy. Tolkien's imagination just blows my mind - his world of Middle Earth is so detailed and planned out, I just can't even express it. It's just amazing.

School starts soon- hard to believe! I will miss seeing my kids a little more but look forward to getting back into a routine. I hope it is a great year for both of them. Only about 3 more weeks now!

Thanks for checking in, I know I haven't been the best blogger for a while now.. thanks for hanging with me. :)

Catching up...

2011-07-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

I just realized I had a bunch of photos I hadn't shared with you yet- I did share some on my photo blog but I thought I'd share those and some other here too. :) The weekend before last I went to my friend Mandy's house for a Scentsy party.. I didn't buy anything.. :( But I did come home with some free goodies anyway. The Scentsy lady gave me a free travel tin because I came early and helped get ready for the party- and after the party our friend Emily and I stayed around and hung out with Mandy for a while, and she asked us to come help her pick out her vegetables in her garden. This is what we picked-

Mandy had way more than she would use so she took a few things and set them aside and let us take whatever we thought we could use. I got a couple of eggplants, a cucumber, some tomatoes, a green pepper, and some banana peppers. :) We have been having some lovely salads with fresh vegetables the past couple of weeks! Rob cooked up an eggplant as well. I am blessed to have such a generous friend!

I have been working on my letter "J" in the Stitcher's Alphabet this week- I did work on it a little since I took this picture but only got a little more of her kimono stitched.

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to work on this tonight or on the Brightneedle ornament I've been stitching.

Oh, I almost forgot- here are a few more photos I took at Mandy's. She has a stray cat that she and her family have kind of adopted- it recently had kittens! Here are some pics I took while there-

Nothing hidden in this photo, I just thought the flowers were pretty. :)

I am going to be having some small giveaways soon- so watch this space! :) I am going to try to post more often as well, and check blogs daily too!

A birthday surprise giveaway!

2011-07-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

It's Valerie's b-day and she wants to give someone else a present! :) Click here to read her post and enter!

At Home with Jane Austen is finished!!

2011-07-08T20:22:00.000-05:00

And here is a much better pic than yesterday- sorry about that!! Please excutes the wrinkles- I would iron it but I know it will be folded up until I get my dad to make a frame for it. :) I used a lot of substitutions for this cause I didn't have a lot of the threads- here is what I used in case it can help you too!
CC Poblano Pepper- same ( I also used this to sub for another color and didn't realize til I was almost finished!)
CC Spinach- same
CC Plum Paisley- WDW Concord
CC Cashmere- Dinky Dyes Tea Tree
CC House Wine- SSS Mulberry Wine
CC Rosy Glow- SSS Bubblegum
CC Joshua Tree- GAST Chamomile
CC Old Oak Tree- same
CC Creeping Jenny- CC Poblano Pepper
CC Tartan Plaid- same
CC Really Teally- GAST Peacock
CC Little Pink Peony- Olde Willow Ballerina
CC Sassy Brass- same
I really enjoyed stitching this one, thank you Tanya for such a great design!!

I upgraded my phone the other day, as mentioned briefly in the previous post- I was taking a pic or two to see how it does- I took this one of a tree down the street cause it was just so pretty and bright!

and also of some fluffy clouds I saw this evening-

Sorry, it looks like I can't enlarge the pics from my phone!

Now I am trying to decide if I want to start another project or just work harder on the ones I've already started.. any thoughts?

An almost finish and a test

2011-07-07T21:43:00.002-05:00

Trying to blog from my new phone! Here is a pic of At Home with Jane..I'm so close to finishing but I have to get up early tomorrow!
(OK, it didn't work so great this time- can't rotate my photo and the pic didn't turn out so great! A better picture soon..)

Long time no blog..

2011-06-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

So sorry!! It seems like I do well for awhile keeping up, then I get lazy again.. or sometimes I just get writer's block and I'm not sure what to blog about, especially when I am making slow progress on stitching projects! But here are some updates anyway!

This is my progress on "At Home With Jane Austen" as of tonight-

Sorry for the bad photo- it's getting hard to fit it all in and still get close enough!

And here is my progress on "Summer House"- I have been working on my lunch break on this one- but have also had some errands to run from time to time on my lunch break so it has been slow going..

I'm finally on the upper portion of the pattern- the blank spots in the bottom half are going to be beads. I almost always do my beading last, like my mom taught me. :)

We are minus one kid right now- Hanna is visiting my brother-in-law and his family for a little over 2 weeks-kind of a present for being on "A" honor roll all year. She has been gone one week so far. I miss my girl but I know it is a good experience for her! And she is having a lot of fun!

David and I went to see "Cars 2" yesterday. It was really cute, and better than the first one, I thought. I know many reviews have been not-so-good because the movie isn't all about Lightning McQueen, but I thought the change was nice, and he was in the movie enough given the storyline. David was super excited to go- we kept it a secret to surprise him, right up until the last minute.

That's life in a nutshell here- better get to bed- I have to work tomorrow! Thanks for being patient with me. :)

Finally some finishes to share with you!

2011-05-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the letter "I" of the Stitcher's Alphabet. I was almost finished with it and I ran out of beads! Short delay- went to my somewhat LNS the next day and got some. I can always count on her for having any Mill Hill I need!

and here is a bookmark I finished for my friend Mandy-her b-day is coming up. :)

I gave it to her today and she really liked it. :)

We had a nice Memorial Day-spent most of it with Mandy and her husband and their kids. We had a great time, as we always do with them! And lots of good food! :)

But I do hope everyone took a moment, at least, to remember what today is all about.

Those who fought and died for our freedom, and those still fighting today.

Progress on At Home with Jane Austen

2011-05-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

Here it is- I got quite a bit done this weekend.. I am a little upset because I realized right before I put it away for the night that I have to frog one of the windows and I'm not sure how much I'm going to have to rip out. :(

The other day when Hanna was making scones, she had the lemon that she used the zest from for the scones. She and David decided they wanted to eat it. In the first picture of David, he is NOT intentionally making a inappropriate gesture- it's just the way he's holding the lemon! I debated about posting it but it's such a cute pic of him otherwise-

I think they were hamming it up just a bit- don't you?

A Swagbucks holiday special!

2011-05-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

Swagbucks, the best place to get free stuff from searching and more is celebrating Memorial Day next week with a special Score Four and Twenty Swag Bucks promotion - they'll have 4 special Limited Edition collector's bills available, and if you can snag all four by the end of Thursday, you'll get a bonus 20 Swag Bucks. ALSO, this Thursday they're have a Swag Code Extravaganza, a day filled with fun, games and the opportunity to snag over 40 Swag Bucks worth of codes throughout the day. Be sure to visit Swagbucks all this week for opportunities to win big!

Not a member yet? Sign up through my referral link and enter the code MEMORIALDAY when prompted - it'll pad your account with an extra 50 Swag Bucks on top of the 30 that everyone starts with. Get started earning your reward points today!

Really, swagbucks is one of the easiest ways to earn free stuff on the net. I have gotten 5 free Amazon gift cards this month already! I hope you will check it out- it's completely free-but even if you don't, thanks for being patient and reading my post! Oh and did I mention they have a coupons section too- just print and redeem- and get 10 swagbucks for every coupon redeemed! :)

Progess on Jane coming tomorrow.. :)

finally an update!

2011-05-21T15:32:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry it's been so long since I posted- life carries me away sometimes.. I couldn't even tell you all I've been doing, just running here, there, and everywhere- and when I get home I haven't even been sitting down and relaxing until late. This past week was pretty much a non- stitching week for me- I was just so lazy- but I did get a lot of progress made on "At Home With Jane Austen" last night while watching The King's Speech. My mom and dad bought it for me while they were here in April and I finally got a chance to watch it! It was so good. I can definitely see it being considered a classic someday years from now. Colin Firth was amazing in it, and I'm not just saying that because I ♥ him! ;)

While I haven't finished anything since the snowman, I did complete a couple of things since I last blogged. I had stitched a couple of Mother's Day cards last year for my grandmas, with the intention of making them into flatfolds, and it never happened. So this year I made them into cards and finally sent them! Rob even helped - he had the idea to make a frame out of one so he measured and cut it for me and everything. Here they are-

More recently, Hanna had to do a project on a country from a list of countries given by her teacher. They didn't have Japan(her favorite) so she picked England(my favorite! and her 2nd or 3rd I think). She had to either do an oral report or cook something from that country. She and Rob looked through many recipes, but either we couldn't get all the ingredients or they weren't convenient to take to school. So they made my first idea, scones. They turned out great! She made cranberry orange-

and blueberry-

She did pretty much everything herself- I wisked one thing for her and Rob helped her cut them, so they'd have enough for everyone. They were delicious! I think I am going to make some in the near future!

More soon- I will post progress on Jane at the end of the weekend! :)

A free way to help tornado victims

2011-05-09T21:31:00.000-05:00

I know most of you have seen my posts about swagbucks- a great way to earn free stuff, no strings attached! Well, now if you are not already a member and you sign up, you can donate your swagbucks to help the tornado victims! Click here to sign up, and here to donate your swagbucks. If you have any questions, please email me- my email address link is on my blogger profile page. Thanks!

More pictures and a finish

2011-05-05T21:11:00.001-05:00

First, a little more about my finish- it's a Prairie Schooler as I mentioned before.. I stitched it on MCG Textiles linen from Michael's. I didn't use the recommended DMC threads- here is what I used- all GAST- Oatmeal, Forest Glade, Maple Syrup, Mulberry, Bittersweet, and Soot. PS had the hat, mouth, and pipe all the same color, but I changed the pipe to brown.

Now for some pics from the museum yesterday, and hopefully a video if I can figure out how to put it on here.

looking through a kaleidoscope

in the elevator

on a caboose

can you find the wolf in this picture?

Inside the butterfly sanctuary! It's not the best video, but it gives you an idea of how many were flying around! They were landing on us too- it was so neat! It's easier to see them if you expand the video to full screen. Enjoy!

Loads of pics (but no stitchy ones)

2011-05-04T20:37:00.000-05:00

In fact, I have so many pics that I will probably post them over the next couple of days-Mom and Dad's visit was great! We went to one of the aquariums while they were here- here are a few snaps from that day-

an albino turtle in the hatchery

we also went to the beach-

like my new nail polish?

I'll post some more soon- I have some great ones from today- went with David's class to the Life and Science museum- and they had a butterfly sanctuary!

A surprise giveaway!

2011-05-03T21:56:00.000-05:00

over at Edgar's lovely blog. ( <---- click there) It's celebrating his 4 years of blogging! :) I love his blog- if you've never read it I highly recommend you check it out!

I've been a bad blogger..

2011-04-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

again! I promised you progress on Jane and I forgot to post it. I posted this pic on my photo-a-day blog too- but here it is..I finished the top and added house to the roof. :) Sorry it took so long- I have been trying to get my house spiffed up for Mom and Dad; they will be here tomorrow! I am so excited! And to make it even more exciting- the library book sale starts tomorrow! :)

A blessed Easter to you and yours!

2011-04-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter to everyone! Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating, worshipping, and spending time with family and friends. We had a great day. Here are a couple pictures of the kiddos-

and a special treat- in one of the bushes near our church, there was a nest, with baby birds in it! Luckily the mama bird was out looking for food so I got a couple of shots.

A man from my church helped pull the branches back so we could see them. We were careful not to touch them or the nest! See the tiny beak in the first picture?

Now on to something a little more serious-my mom has asked me to post this-it is about the daughter of some friends of theirs- so I can promise you it is not a hoax or one of those forwards you get that are years old and not updated. Please keep this family, and most of all, this 12-year-old girl- in your prayers. This is quoted from my mom's e-mail:

" Sophie is the subject of this request. We found out this week that Sophie has an fast-growing form of cancer. A tumor has encompassed one of her lungs, including the aorta leading to it. Because of its size and location, it is inoperable at this time. Sophie will be going through approximately 21 weeks – 3 days on, 4 days off - of aggressive chemotherapy, in order to shrink this tumor. Please pray for Sophie, her family and the doctors at the Air Force base in Hawaii, who are treating her."

Please keep Sophie in your prayers-my dd Hanna is 12 and I can't even imagine what this family must be going through.

And also, I am sure this goes without saying, please pray for those affected by all the tornadoes recently- in all the states that have been hit. We have many here without homes and I know so many other places do too. Please go through your cabinets and closets and donate what you can to those who have lost everything.

Sorry this has gotten so sad!! I promise my next post will be more light-hearted. I am off to work on Jane now- will post progress pics soon!

Catching up..

2011-04-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure where to start really- it's been so long since I've posted! Just been keeping busy- Little Man turned 6 a couple of weeks ago-

I just realized his cake was upside down.. lol

He and I took a trip to the park the other day with my friend Mandy- didn't get any of him playing because he was all over the place- but got some nice shots around the park!

There were squirrels everywhere! Mandy and I were sitting on some risers near a gazebo, watching David play, and the squirrels were scurrying around - I wasn't really this close to this one above, but I think the one below thought we had some food-

He was only a couple of steps down from us.

Here is my progress on Summer House as of this past week-

I didn't make much progress on At Home w/Jane last weekend, but have made a bit this weekend. I will post progress tomorrow or Monday.

Tomorrow is Easter- one of my favorite holidays! What a joyful one! Celebrating that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, to save us! Tomorrow is the Easter breakfast at church, the egg hunt for the kids, and of course the worship service. :) I made this lovely coffee cake for tomorrow.

My mom used to make this quite a bit, and I love it. Made with things you already have in your pantry, on the top is a mixture of flour, brown sugar, butter/margarine and cinnamon- when you bake it, it oozes down in to the cake itself and it is just delicious! I'm not sure where the recipe came from, so hopefully I'm not infringing any copyrights if I post it. Here it is if you're interested!

Ingredients for cake: (for 8x8x2 baking pan, double for 9x13 pan)

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp melted shortening (or oil)

1 cup sifted enriched flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

for topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp melted butter/margarine

1/2 cup chopped nuts (if desired)

Combine sugar, egg, milk, and shortening(or oil)

Add flour sifted with baking powder and salt. Mix well and pour into paper-lined (or greased and floured) baking pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon/brown sugar/flour/margarine mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 min.

Enjoy!

And Happy Easter to you and yours!

a bunch of great giveaways!

2011-04-13T09:15:00.002-05:00

And they're all on one site! Tangerinedream73 is having them on her blog. <--- click there. And good luck!

Oh, and my mystery flowers? (see previous post) I am pretty sure the are weeds. :P Corn speedwell to be exact. Guess I will be doing some pulling later today!

How does my garden grow?

2011-04-12T20:12:00.001-05:00

I went out to the garden today and there were so many nice surprises! Look at how big my phlox is(are?) getting!

We have another strawberry blossom-had two but I think the birds got to one. >:(

And the seeds I got from Target are growing, as well as what I think are my alyssum

Argh- blogger keeps turning my pictures sideways all of a sudden! I keep trying to re-upload them and blogger is turning them. :P My lavender seems to be off to a good start too- hopefully it will do better this year than the last- the summer heat fried it last year.

I did a quick project yesterday and the day before- a good friend of mine from church's mother passed away (who was also a friend of mine) so I stitched her this little card. She is a stitcher also. :)

Let's see if blogger will keep this one right side up!

It was out of the Sept. issue of the UK mag Quick and Easy Cross Stitch- not sure what year because it says September 144 on the cover?! It has copyright 2006 on the inside so maybe that's what year it was. I attached the design with just brads- I figured that way if she wanted to take it off the card and use it as a bookmark or do something else with it, she could. It was stitched on linen with DMC threads.

Oh, I almost forgot- does anyone know what this plant is?

It has been popping up in almost all of my pots- I thought it was one of my flowers but now I'm not so sure, as those small buds aren't getting any bigger. I know the larger plants are strawberries, but wasn't sure if I should pull these others or wait a little longer. Thanks for any input!

On the stitching agenda tonight is "I" again, so I better get off of here and get stitching! Hope everyone is having a great week!

I ♥ Michael's grab bags!

2011-04-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

David decided today he wanted me to buy him some addition/subtraction flash cards(Lightning McQueen of course) at Michael's- I could hardly turn that down! So off we went.. and of course I had to look around.. they had a few grab bags for 2.00 and after trying to see what was inside, I picked one.. look at the great goodies I got!

I have been wanting some flowers like those, to put in a pretty vase or hanging thing of some sort..I don't have a Cricut of any sort so if anyone wants the Cricut cake tools- post a comment with your email address- I will email you and get your address and mail them to you. I only have one so first post first serve! I also got this pretty bird-

I have been eyeing these for a while but couldn't justify spending even a few dollars on a knick knack(and one I really don't have room for.. lol) but they were 60% off, so how could I resist?

I checked on my garden today when I got home and look what I found-

My phlox have started to open! I was so excited- I love these flowers..I'm seeing many buds on my others too, so hopefully with the warmer weather we've been having they will open soon.

I just finished watching "The Lord of the Rings-Return of the King." I have been re-watching these movies the past week or two; I just love them. Even though I know what is going to happen, there is still a sigh of relief when the one ring goes under the fiery lava. lol I am always stunned by the beautiful scenery and the special effects in the movies as well.. they are just amazing and so lifelike!

As you see from my previous post, I finished The Secret Garden today-I had seen the movie but never read the book. I am so glad I read it! While the movie is quite good, it doesn't do the book justice. If you like the movie and have never read the book, I highly recommend it, especially now in the spring. :)

Well, that's about it for now- going to go work on Jane some more before bed. :)

2011-04-08T12:19:00.001-05:00

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this book! I had already seen the movie but the book was so much better(which is how it usually is.) It made me want to get out in my garden and stay outside all day..it made me smile, it made me cry. Definitely a good book to read in the spring!

View all my reviews

a Jane update

2011-04-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

Going to work on Summer House tonight! Today was pretty good for a Monday, it's been busy but I'm finally relaxing a bit, watching Morning Glory. So far it's pretty good! Short and sweet today.. gonna go stitch and watch the movie. :)

Nature walk

2011-04-03T20:53:00.001-05:00

Well, sort of.. David and I took a walk to the 'cardboard dumpster' today- we aren't allowed to throw cardboard in the regular trash- and David asked if we could take a walk. So we did and of course I took my camera and saw quite a few natural beauties on our little block. And I took a couple of David too of course.

Does anyone know what these berries are?

Also spent sometime in the backyard- David blew a few bubbles, and drew with the sidewalk chalk. I noticed while we were out there that my violets have germinated into the grass!

To bad they will get mown down when the mowers start mowing. Also found other pretties in the grass..

and look how my viola have grown!

and here again is my miniature gardener. :)

He loves to help in the garden!

Will have a stitchy photo soon- off to work on Jane again! :)

A quick blog before bed..

2011-03-26T23:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos I've been meaning to post.. one or two of them may also be seen on my photo blog. First, this past week's progress on Brooke's Books Summer House-

Finally moving past the ground floor to the front yard- yea!

Last weekend we had some beautiful weather- Hanna had a friend over so I took David to the park for some quality mom and son time(and to keep him out of the girls' hair.) Some of the trees are starting to bloom in the park-

and of course David got some play time in as well-

The next night was the night of the 'super moon!' Try as I might I cannot get a good night time shot with my Canon- if I set it to night shot it uses flash and doesn't look too great and if I do an 'auto' shot it doesn't look much better. But here is the moon anyway- if compared to my prior moon shots you can tell it was quite a bit brighter!

I finished a fairly good book the other day- The Death List by Paul Johnston. I had gotten this book free from a book service and it was pretty good. Some of it was quite graphic, and the beginning was a little slow going.. it picked up in the middle and then I didn't want to put it down. From what I've read on goodreads though, the sequel is just as graphic and I didn't care for that much, so I think I will not be reading it. Now I'm reading Hurricane by Karen Harper, which I thought maybe I had read, but now that I am reading it, realize I haven't. So far it's very good. I've always liked Karen Harper's suspense novels.

Well, I must get to bed..thanks for hanging in with me when my posts are few and far between!

Progress on I

2011-03-18T21:17:00.000-05:00

This is my progress as of yesterday- it's the weekend now so I will be working on Jane.. lately I'm feeling like the slowest stitcher ever! In fact I need to get off here and get a few stitches in. :)

2011-03-14T12:36:00.001-05:00

The 5th Horseman by James Patterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great intallment in the Women's Murder Club series. As usual I couldn't put it down. There was only one tiny detail that bugged me- there was a patient in the hospital who was 5 years old and his parents left him there alone overnight. Really? I have a 5-year-old and he would be so scared if I left him alone in a hospital overnight- and who would do that really? I know it's trivial but it just bothered me.

View all my reviews

A book review and Jane Austen progress

2011-03-11T21:21:00.002-05:00

Where The Road Ends by Tara Taylor Quinn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A good page-turner- but seems like the plot was semi-stolen from a movie that shall remain nameless.. read it and you will see what I mean.

View all my reviews

Here is my lastest progress on "At Home with Jane Austen"-

and a tree I took a picture of the other day- I love seeing all the buds and blooms as the trees get ready for spring!

2011-03-10T09:11:00.001-05:00

Timeline by Michael Crichton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If there was a 4 1/2 stars, that's what I would give this book.. the only reason I don't give it a five is I was anxious for the story to get going at the beginning- but I guess that's because I'm not a "science person", and the beginning was a lot about physics and quantam this and that. As I read, the pace picked up and up until I didn't want to put it down. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller.

View all my reviews

Stitchy update coming soon!

I know I know..

2011-03-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile between blogs again- I'm sorry.. time gets away from me. I had another Premier Designs jewelry party for my friend Emily last weekend.. ladies even if you don't usually support the home-based businesses like Premier and Pampered Chef, etc.. I highly recommend having a Premier Designs jewelry party. Their jewelry is reasonably priced, made in the USA, and they have a great hostess program. The company is also founded on the Biblical principal. Not only do you get 30% of your party in free jewelry, there are added bonuses where you can earn even more. I earned $363 in free jewelry at this party! I was/am so excited. There are so many things I want out of their catalog and got a bunch of the things on my wish list.

That aside, I have been stitching a bit, trying to make more time for it. Made a wee bit of progress on "I"-

and am hoping to squeeze in a little time on Jane tonight, and hopefully tomorrow too, so I will show you my progress after the weekend.

The weather has been very nice lately- last weekend David and I went outside to check on the plants and see how they were doing- I did a little weeding and David wanted to do the watering.

I have to watch him though as sometimes he gets carried away.. also saw that my viola are perking up nicely- this one plant anyway-

The others haven't started blooming yet. From the looks of things our strawberry plant germinated into a lot of the other pots.. I left some but pulled some too so they wouldn't choke out what was in the pots. We'll see how it goes.

Progress on "I"

2011-02-23T23:16:00.001-05:00

It seems like I am moving so slowly on my stitching projects lately- it's so frustrating! I know it's just that I have too many hobbies and not enough spare time. It doesn't make it less frustrating though! Here is my progress on the I from the Stitcher's Alphabet-

I had an insurance class today out of town- the drive is so nice- even though it's two lanes almost the whole way, it's through lots of rural area and nice scenery. Not all of it's pretty yet- there is still alot of brown trees and grass- but I did see some trees budding and lots of this-

I think it's thistle but I'm not sure? I don't think heather grows around here. :) Anyway they were nice bright spots in all the brown fields. I would've gotten a better picture but there wasn't many places to pull over.

Just a reminder if you are interested in signing up for swagbucks(free stuff, no strings attached!), see my post here. There is a special code in that post that will get you and additional 50 swagbucks if you sign up and use the code by the 28th at 11:59 pm EST. The sign up link is in that post also. :)

Well, off to bed- sorry I haven't posted more- like I said stitching progress has been slow.. hopefully I can find more time (or just manage it better) and get something accomplished!

2011-02-23T18:07:00.002-05:00

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. I was a bit skeptical about this book-whether I would like it or not- as it deals with abused children and depending on how graphic it was, wasn't sure I could handle it. Well thankfully it wasn't too graphic, and let's just say I could've read it in one day if I hadn't had to go to bed. I didn't want to put it down; I had to know what happened next. While it was a very sad story, it was riveting.. and there was a twist at the end I did NOT see coming. I would've given this book 5 stars but I was a little disappointed in the ending, though it was realistic.

View all my reviews

Will be back later tonight with stitching etc!

2011-02-22T10:37:00.000-05:00

Death of a Stranger by Anne Perry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very good mystery! While not a book I couldn't put down, it was very good and kept me guessing. Many surprises and unexpected twists and turns. The ending was suspenseful but rather abrupt.

View all my reviews

Very good book! If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes you will like this book.

I know, this isn't a stitchy post.. will have one soon!

It's Swagbucks birthday- now is the time to sign up!

2011-02-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

A month or so ago I posted about swagbucks.com - a great site to win free stuff, no strings attached, including gift cards for Starbucks, Amazon, and so many more, as well as other great items- MP3 downloads, things for kids, games and accessories for game systems as well as the game systems themselves. Well Swagbucks' 3rd birthday is this week, and they have given me to offer my blog readers to earn an extra 50 swagbucks when you sign up here. They already give you a nice amount of swagbucks for signing up, and this will be in addition to those. The code is 3rdBirthday149, and it is case sensitive. It is also only for people signing up for the first time, and will expire at 11:59 pm on Feb. 28th. The site also has a coupon section where you can print coupons from your computer, and when you redeem them you get 10 swagbucks for each coupon redeemed( it does take 8-12 weeks, but free is free, right?) I really hope you'll try it out- sign up, search for anything via swagbucks.com or search.swagbucks.com (make sure you're signed in) and you'll start winning swagbucks! I generally win 3 or 4 times a day for searching, and you can search for anything. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me- a link to my email is in my blog profile. Have fun! A stitchy post will follow soon! (That's the hunky Swag Guy aka TSG, above. ;) )

Progress on Summer House, and a facebook question

2011-02-10T21:58:00.000-05:00

I am making slow progress on this, but it is progress!

Question for my fellow facebook users- my mom got locked out of her account because she messed up her password too many times. (It was saved and when my dad updated her computer she lost it.) Now she can't get in no matter what she tries. Anyone had this happen? Is there anything that can be done,short of creating a new account? It seems like contacting facebook is next to impossible- you can email them but may not ever get an answer, and they have no contact phone number. Just throwing it out there, any help would be much appreciated!

OK, going to get off here soon and stitch on my "I" in the Stitcher's Alphabet! :)

I can now show you..

2011-02-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

the ornament I made for my friend for Christmas..well.. it was sent a bit later than that.. lol

The most progress I've been making on stitching is on a gift for my mom, so I can't show you yet. And my other progress is slow going.. although I did give in and start something new- The Sampler Girl's "At Home with Jane Austen". This picture's on my photo-a-day blog, but I'll put it here, just in case you don't check that one. :)

I know it's not much- but I was tired that night. lol

Well, just got the news- two-hour delay for school tomorrow! :) Wonder if they'll end up calling off school- I kind of want them to, but I kind of don't..

Gosh, I kept thinking of stuff to blog about when I couldn't get to a computer and now I can't remember what it was.. argh.. more later! lol

Awsome Barnes & Noble deal- especially if you are a swagbucks member!

2011-02-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

Today only(I think) get a t$20 Barnes & Noble gift card for $10!! AND earn 315 swagbucks!! Not signed up? Click my link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/austenfan

It's free, and you earn FREE stuff! How great is that? And usually through their shop & earn sites you don't earn swagbucks for gift card purchases, so this is a wonderful opportunity to build your swagbucks balance.

Will post some stitching photos soon-have a great night!

2011-01-31T22:38:00.000-05:00

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first Temperance Brennan book I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be going back and reading the others in the series. I think it's probably good I have never really watched the "Bones" series as I hear it is not at all like the books, and I know if I had watched the show regularly I would be comparing the two. The only complaint I had is that at the beginning of the book- the bit of history about Evangeline and Tempe's friendship, while necessary, seemed to drag on a bit and I was anxious to get to the present day part of the story.

View all my reviews

What to do..?

2011-01-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

I just joined a Sampler Girl Jane Austen SAL- I guess I should've checked my supplies first cause I don't have any fabric large enough for most of my SG patterns- I did find one that would work but I'd have to stitch it all over one, and it's a fairly large piece..the fabric is 30 count. I've done small pieces over one, but never a large one.. hmmmm...

Not much new going on here-my friends and I are going to a Premier Designs hostess appreciation brunch tomorrow- should be fun! Mom's morning out! :)

Here is a pretty picture I took this evening- I know- I can't resist a good sunset! lol

A stitchy giveaway!

2011-01-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

Jan at Belfonte Notes is having a blogaversary giveaway! Click here for details! Happy stitching! Will post again soon. :)

Almost forgot!

2011-01-24T23:19:00.000-05:00

I told you I would post my little giftie for my mom when she received it.. well she got it last week, so here it is. I stitched it up last year, and Rob sewed it up for me the other day.

I don't remember the designer on this one- I think it's from an old Leisure Arts leaflet- one of those ones that has all different sayings in it. Stitched with DMC on linen. Sorry the photo is a little blurry!

I haven't gotten any stitching done tonight, but did get a little done at lunch. I have a late zumba class on Monday nights, and tonight I hung around and talked with friends so I got home late. I'm not sure which WIP I'm going to work on now.. maybe put a couple in a rotation. I am WAY behind on my Stitcher's Alphabet!

Hedgehogs finished!

2011-01-23T23:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do this weekend, pumpkin bread is not made.. did not finish the ornament I wanted to finish.. but I got the hedgehogs done! Anyone interested in this freebie can find it here. Lots of other great free patterns too!

Also saw something kind of cool on the way home from picking Hanna up from a friend's- a rainbow -or a piece of one- with no rain! No rain at all today! There was another piece of it too, presumably the other end, but we didn't get a picture of that one. Hanna took this one.

See it? :)

Second hedgehog finished!

2011-01-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hoping to finish this one up this weekend. Then on to the bigger projects and maybe a rotation.

Here are some pretty clouds I saw today-

But for a really beautiful sunset head over to my 365-day blog !

To my readers that signed up for swagbucks- tomorrow is "mega swagbucks day" where most bucks you get for searching will be 11 or higher- so give it a shot! And I'm not just saying it cause I will get matching bucks. ;) Just search from the swagbucks homepage, or search.swagbucks.com. It really does pay off, I just posted my 3rd amazon gift card this month! Gonna buy goodies for my new Keurig. :)

Not much news, it's been a slow week at work..I did go to a ladies' dinner/potluck at church on Tuesday night. We had quite a spread! Roast, potatoes, carrots, green been casserole, cinnamon apples, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, and lots more.. we had a really nice time!

I picked up my Jan/Feb issue of Just Cross Stitch today- I was so relieved to get it because after I saw the designs by Plum Street Samplers and Praiseworthy Stitches I had to have it. The sampler by Carol Emmer is lovely too, as well as some of the other designs! Now I just have to finish up some WIP so I can start something new. :)

Well, I guess I better head to bed.. I've been staying up too late lately and am starting to feel it!

Finally, a stitchy photo! :)

2011-01-16T22:11:00.001-05:00

Here is the latest progress on my hedgehog freebie. I finally have one whole hedgehog! :)

This weekend was fairly uneventful.. Hanna had a friend stay over last night- yesterday did some running around, but nothing out of the norm. We did stop by the library to drop off some movies we'd checked out, and I saw this beautiful tree in a nearby parking lot, and silly me forgot I had my camera in my purse. So today when I took David back to the library, (unfortunately it had closed already), but I did get a picture of this beautiful tree, and some of it's berries that had fallen. For a close up of some of the tree, click on my photo-a-day blog button on the right. :)

I did also complete a project this weekend, something I had stitched for my mom last year and forgot about. (hangs head in shame) But with the help of my husband and his sewing skills(so unfair he is so good at it and I am not), it got finished. So as soon as I know she has received it, I'll share it here! :)

A new blog and some snow pics

2011-01-13T22:38:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Not only posting two days in a row, but two posts in one day!!! Thank you to those of you who signed up for swagbucks under my link. I forgot to mention if you get people to sign up under you, you get matching swagbucks for all they get for searching, up to 1000 swagbucks. It helps out alot!

But enough of that, I know some of you don't give a hoot about it! :)
My new photo-a-day blog is up - Here is the link: How Do You Measure a Year in the Life? I hope you will enjoy at least some of the photos I post throughout the coming year. :)

Speaking of photos, here are some of our Christmas/day after Christmas snow. It was beautiful, even if it did cause our power to be out for about 10 hours! :-O

Hope to have some stitchy pictures for you soon!

And now a break from our regularly scheduled programming..

2011-01-13T11:32:00.001-05:00

LOL! I hope I don't bother too many with this post- just wanted to share about something I started doing in the last few months and thought I'd share, in case it could help you too! :) Some of you may have noticed my Swagbucks banner in the sidebar. I don't even remember how I found out about swagbucks, possibly a couponing blog or something.. anyway. Swagbucks is completely free, easy, and fun way to get something for nothing. Really! Swagbucks gives you virtual dollars for searching the web with their search engine(no download required), taking surveys, watching videos(even cooking videos with the likes of Paula Deen!) and playing games, among other things!! Swagbucks helped me pay for several of my Christmas presents this year, as they can be redeemed for gift cards to Amazon, Sephora, Starbucks, Itunes, and more, even pay pal cash. The most recent way is the games. You can play for free and earn a some random swagbucks, or spend a few swagbucks to enter tournaments to win larger amounts. There is only one swagbucks account allowed per household, so if you don't like to play games, your kids could play them for you! :) And you reap the swagbucks. To sign up for swagbucks (you get some instant swagbucks just for signing up, and extra if you enter the code in the next line!) click here- this is the sign up without the games. To sign up with the game link click here- Free Games. Use the code SBGames to get your additional swagbucks. :) (to enter your code, go to the swagbucks home page, enter the code in the empty box under your info in the top right hand corner, and click "Gimme.") The code is good only til 11:59 pm PST so hurry! And again,no downloads are required, and swagbucks will not spam you! Hope this benefits you like it has me! OH, and one more thing- swagbucks now has a coupon section- printable coupons you can use, and once redeemed will earn you swagbucks. Read more at the site, or if you have any questions feel free to email me! And now back to your regularly scheduled program.. ;) Happy swagging!

Will blog more later today- have some snow pictures, etc!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am a couple weeks late.. sorry! You know how it goes around the holidays..we had a very nice Christmas. Rob's mom came to visit from Christmas Day to New Year's Day, it was so much fun having her here! And we got a little spoiled, as she brought many baked goodies with her! I didn't get many good Christmas pics of the kids this year- Hanna was sitting beside me so it was kind of hard to get pics of her, but I did get this great one of David opening his Criss Angel magic kit- he wanted one sooooo bad(and so did Dad!)

and a picture of our tree of course-

One of the things I don't like about our pre-lit fiber optic tree is it just doesn't "glow" like a tree with traditional lights. It was prettier than this- the picture really doesn't do it justice.

Ah, here's one of Hanna- looks like she wanted her picture taken huh? hee hee..

And here is a pic of the kids and I with my mother-in-law- Rob doesn't like getting his picture taken.

And David took a ride back to the parking lot on the luggage cart-

Mom's plane left pretty early- we saw a nice sunrise on the way home!

On the stitching side of things- I have finished something this year, but I can't show you yet! It's a gift for a friend and I haven't sent it yet. But here is something to hold you over in the meantime. I have had this stitched for my MIL for a while, but finally made it into a flatfold so I could give it to her for Christmas. She always likes going to the ocean when she's here. Thank you Vonna for your great tutorials!!

And lastly, I was reading Paulette at Plum Street Samplers blog today, and she is doing something and I have been thinking about doing it too. It's a 365 day blog. Basically you post a picture a day, I'm assuming one you have taken that day. Since I love taking pictures I think I may give it a go, though by looking at hers I know already my picture-taking skills lack in comparison! I will post a link here when I get it set up.

Busy busy busy!

2010-12-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

I know, I'm not doing so well at keeping my word, about blogging more often! I'm sorry! I haven't forgotten, it's just been a crazy month. Rob was on a business trip to WI for a week, so I was on my own with the kids. I am so thankful for a great boss, who let me go get Hanna every day so I wouldn't have to pay the day care to keep her! The kids both had things at school that week too- Hanna had a chorus concert, and David was in a pirate play.
My stitching has been slim to none- I need to get my stitching mojo back! I did however assemble some ornaments to give the kids' teachers- their last day of school before Christmas break is tomorrow. We had an 'ice' day today- not much snow, just ice and sleet, so school was called off. So I got to stay home most of the day with the kids, and it was a blessing because I would have been up late tonight doing those ornaments otherwise! I shouldn't have waited til the last minute. I will confess that none of these were stitched recently- just assembled recently. :)

I am also a bit embarrassed about the wrinkledness( that a word?) of this last one, granted the light does highlight them a bit, but I ironed and ironed this.. I thought I had gotten them out, or at least pulled it tight enough to smooth them a bit, but I guess not. :( Well at least it doesn't look this bad in real life. I was just trying to remember the designs of all of these- the first Santa was from an older magazine or leaflet I think- not sure of the second designer either. :( The third is Homespun Elegance I believe and the last one is Lizzie Kate I think. :)
I am nowhere near ready for Christmas- have almost all my shopping to do yet-but I am trying not to stress out! I will post a picture of the Christmas tree soon. Oh and I almost forgot-every year our town has a 'town lighting' night.. I don't think I have posted any pics from this yet. I want to get some better ones of downtown when it's not so crowded because it really is pretty. But here are some for now.

The snow is not real, it's a snow machine! :)

my 99 cent sale on ebay and other stuff!

2010-11-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

Long time no blog again, I am sorry. Seems life keeps getting in the way.. that and I need to limit my time on other computer related things(facebook!) and put aside some time to read blogs and update my own. Today I listed (and re-listed) some old leaflets and magazines on ebay- a few Christmas Cross Country Stitching mags, some old Precious Moments books, and a few other things.. all starting bids at 99 cents or less. I am going to list some more too but right now I need to take a break. It takes a while to list things! Plus I have to get ready for zumba class soon. Oh - my ebay ID is hannasmom1198, if you're interested. ;-)

Last weekend my parents came to visit- we had a great time as always, but kept very busy as always. Mom and Dad were here all day Monday for a change- usually they leave on Monday- so I took them to Waynesborough Village, where I took the kids a couple of weeks ago- and got a few more snaps.

This is Kitty Boo-one of the resident cats- she followed us (or sometimes led us) from house to house.

Stitching progress has been slow-I need to buckle down and get some things finished. I may put projects for myself aside and get some Christmas ornaments/cards/gifts done.

Here is the Christmas ornament I've been working on-

and here is the hedgehog freebie- don't think I will have it done for this fall. lol

Thanks for your patience with me! I will try to post more soon. If I don't post before then- have a Happy Thanksgiving!

H is finished!

2010-11-07T23:22:00.000-05:00

and H is for Happy Birthday and Hanna too! My dd will be 12 tomorrow! We had her party this weekend so she could have a sleepover.

A good time was had by all! Here is one of the two of us- your kid is never too old to sit on your lap, right?

Not the best picture of me but oh well.. :)

And last but not least, here is H!

Took me long enough, huh? Now on to I! I will get it kitted up soon. :)

Look what I finished on my birthday!

2010-10-28T23:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the crappy pic- now I am going to start a couple of new things- I need to start working on Christmas gifts, and also am going to work on a little hedgehog fall freebie.. more to come...

Progress on H, pretty clouds, etc..

2010-10-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd post a little bit this evening.. I have been working hard on "H" the past couple of days so I thought I would share my progress. This had been on the back burner for a little while so I thought I should get back on the ball.

Sorry it's a little blurry, I took three and they all looked the same. My auto-focus was not working so well this evening!

We had a cloudy day most of the day today-rain and storms off and on-and I saw the neatest clouds this morning- they looked almost painted. I tried to get some good shots- it was hard with all the power lines though.

You may have to enlarge them to get the full effect-especially on the first one.

I had a nice weekend- didn't get much done in the way of stitching but took the kids and Hanna's friend to a local historical village. We've lived here for years but have never been there. It's free and it was actually a nice little park. It's made up of old homes, offices, and schools that have been re-located from different places in the county. Here are a couple of snaps-

And the kids had fun clowning around in front of the old outhouse-

And just a few more- it was such beautiful weather that day!

Sorry this one's not so good, was hurrying to catch up with the kids! This is an old doctor's office.

Thought the view of the trail was pretty too. :) Well, that's about it for now.. I am close to finishing "Wishing Waiting Hoping", so hopefully I will have a finish to show you soon!

Some great stitchy giveaways!

2010-10-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

There is one At Willow Tree Pond, and one at Dixie Samplar Designs. Both very generous! Be sure to check them out!

2010-10-22T08:52:00.002-05:00

Ireland by Frank Delaney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great book full of Irish folklore and legend, with a lovely story right in with it. It was a bit long, but a surprise toward the end made it all worthwile.

View all my reviews

Didja miss me?

2010-10-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I just can't seem to get back on track wih blogging! But in my defense, I do have something to show for my time away! Just finished "Cat-O-Lantern" tonight!

Not sure what I'm going to do with him yet..

And a couple of other pretty pictures to share- I see alot of sunrises taking my kids to school- here are a couple pictures of the beautiful sunrise yesterday-

Other than that, not much going on besides the usual. After this weekend, our next few weekends will be busy- Halloween weekend, then Hanna's birthday party, then my parents' visit and my 2nd Premier Designs jewelry party! :) Oh and my birthday is next week! :) No big plans for that though..

a fun weekend...

2010-10-10T21:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a fun but busy weekend here! Friday evening I went to our semi-annual library book sale- I was very self-controlled as compared to previous sales, but still ended up spending about the same amount of money, because the books Hanna wanted were hardcover, and they cost more. Oh well!

Saturday was our annual church picnic- you may remember pics I posted from last year. The family who hosts the picnic at their home has a lovely yard. Here are some pictures-

A fun time was had by all, and everyone brought delicious food! We also had a beautiful day weather-wise, as you can see!

Today Hanna and I went to another Premier Designs jewelry party, which was also a birthday celebration for my friend Cheryl, who is a breast cancer survivor and has been several years cancer free. I stitched her a little pillow that I thought might be appropriate-

I think it turned out pretty well, but I really do wish I was more proficient with a sewing machine! I see so many ladies finishing their needlework in beautiful and creative ways but I just don't think I know my way around a sewing machine well enough to try. Maybe someday..I guess sometime I need to practice on something that doesn't matter! lol That's about it here.. sorry I had been so long in posting- I was working on this alot and didn't want to post any pics til I had given it to her. Now I'm trying to focus not only on my other WIP but maybe some Christmas gifts as well.. so much to stitch, so little time!

A beary cute giveaway!

2010-10-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

Ginger at Bearbits is giving away another cutie pie!

Here's a close up. Just click here or on the post title to check it out!

Giveaway winners!!

2010-10-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone! Just a quick post before zumba class to announce my giveaway winners. Please email me at angelrose1108@yahoo.com with your addresses. Thanks!

Bent Creek's "A Little Christmas"- Robin (of Crafting with the Stitch Witch)
Twisted Threads "Autumn Acorn"- Patty C. (of Hanning on by a Thread)
Sampler Girl's "Jane Austen on the Weather"- Catherine (no blog, aka catgerenser)

Congrats ladies! I love giving things away but always hate that I don't have enough for everyone to win. I will give more things away in the future, so keep an eye on this space!
And thank you so much for reading!

A finish and some giveaways!! Because I now have 101 followers! :)

2010-09-27T20:05:00.002-05:00

Well, I finished "Jane Austen on the Weather" today- I took the majority advice and used a darker color.. however I didn't use the same color as the lettering, I went a shade darker. I think the year was just too light without something to define it. Excuse the wrinkles! If anyone is interested- the colors I used were Gentle Art Forest Glade, Gentle Art Hyacinth(thanks again Babs!), WDW Concord, and WDW Lilac. It was stitched on 32 ct HCG Textiles (or is it MCG?That one they sell at Michael's. lol)

Now for the giveaways!! I am so excited that I have 101 followers that I thought I would give a little back. :) I wish it could be more. Instead of giving the three charts away as a group, I thought that I'd do three separate giveaways. Please leave a comment on this post only- let me know which charts you'd like to be entered for, and your email if it's not in your blog profile. If you post about the giveaway on your blog let me know that in your comment also and I will throw in an extra entry for the chart(s) you want! Thanks!

Jane Austen on the Weather by the Sampler Girl

Autumn Acorn by Twisted Threads

Little Christmas by Bent Creek

I'll draw a winner on Saturday Oct. 2nd. :)

Need opinions please..

2010-09-26T15:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, as some of you saw in a previous post- I am stitching "Jane Austen on the Weather" and changed the colors a bit. I am almost finished-but the color I chose for the block surrounding the year doesn't look right(it was gray.) So I stitched the year, but should I add the box around it in a different color, (suggestions please :) ) or leave it be? This is what it looks like right now.

Sorry for the crappy pic! Thanks for your opinions. :)

A quick finish and other odds and ends

2010-09-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

First of all, wow! I have 101 followers! I can't believe it! I will try to have a little giveaway or something soon.. I'll see what I can come up with. This week I found out my baby David has his first loose tooth! And immediately I thought of this old Journey's End(aka Sampler Girl) freebie from 2002(?) That's when I printed it anyway. So I stitched it up quick and finished it as to be ready for the big day.

I know it's not perfect.. it's only the 2nd time I've done a tin and the 1st time I didn't have Vonna's great tutorials! I will get better with practice. :) I would show you the inside too but I am having problems with this weird blogger uploader, it keeps turning my pictures sideways and I can't get it to turn them back.

Let me try a different way-

Oh, and it was stitched on ivory 28 ct monaco(I think) over one with one strand of DMC-

colors used are DMC 310, 817, 809, and 824. The pattern didn't have any recommended colors. I let David pick them.. except for the black for the wheels.. there is actually only three colors for this pattern but I added one more. :)

David liked that his tooth would have a 'bed' to lay on, he wanted to know if it could have a blanket too? lol

I forgot to mention last weekend I went to a clothing swap a church was sponsoring- you brought clothes you didn't want anymore, and you could look through clothes other people didn't want anymore. Or if you had nothing to donate but needed clothes, you could take some for free. I cleaned out my closet and brought a few things, and really got some nice things! I won't bore you with all of them but I did find a fabulous sweater (if it will EVER get cool enough here!) and it was so pretty I took an up close of it-since it was brown but had other threads woven into it-

It looks kind of light since it was under my Ott-lite, but it really is dark brown and has all those different colors in it too- it's so pretty!

I had to drive to a meeting in Raleigh on Thursday- my boss directed me this way I had never gone before- well my husband said we had but I didn't remember it-it was so nice! Hardly any traffic and the scenery was beautiful-

I think it will be especially pretty once the leaves start to turn! :) May have to take a trip that way again- to the Lazy Daizy maybe?

Friday my son's class and some others had a parents' picnic- moms and dads (or other loved ones) got to come eat lunch on the lawn with their kids. I decided I would take a picture of David to commemorate the day. Well he figured out that when my camera on my phone makes the shutter sound that he could change his face just in time. So I kept thinking I got a picture of him smiling and instead I got this-

Then this-

And finally this-

Hooray!!

And last but not least- progress on the ornament I've been working on- I haven't been stitching on this every week like I should. I need to get on the ball! But here it is so far.

I really like how the brick stitch looks on this! Well that's it here- hope you didn't mind all the pictures! I will post again soon.

a surprise giveaway from Edgar!

2010-09-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

Edgar is having his annual hobbit birthday giveaway (I think that's what he calls it-lol) - do pop by and check it out here. And do check out his blog while you are there, it is beautiful and a joy to read!

another completion

2010-09-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a Sampler Girl freebie finally framed- I can't believe I stitched it in 2008! I thought it was last year. Granted I did wait a while to get the frame from my dad, but I must have put off framing it longer than I thought. Anyway- here 'tis-

I was going to frame Bent Creek's "Blackbird House" yesterday- got it out and contemplated removing the button before I ironed it- but didn't- there was some really bad creases in it and I was having a hard time getting them out so I kind of forgot about the button, and when I flipped it over the little blackbird was all broken. So now I have to wait to frame it - will have to order another button. I really need to start rolling my projects up instead of folding them- the creases are so hard to get out after so long a time. That or I need to start finishing all my projects into whatever I plan to do with them, right after I finish stitching them.

Well I was sitting in the Sonic drive-thru the other morning (I love their jr. breakfast burritos and they are only 1.00!) and while I was waiting at the speaker I saw this- I hope you can make out the moth/butterfly- not sure which it was-I think a dark colored butterfly-

It's on the yellow flower in the front. I was so glad I had my camera with me, even if it didn't turn out that great! The kids and I also saw some deer not far from our house the other day- and got pretty close- but as soon as I got the camera they ran and I just got a couple of blobs. Oh well.

And last but not least- a sign of fall-even though it continues to be in the 90's (ugh) here-

Blogfrog test

2010-09-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

I hate to think that because of my sporadic posting I have lost some readers- and my blogfrog widget is showing no recent Blog frog readers- now I know not everyone belongs to BlogFrog, or may forget to sign in before reading blogs- but could someone who is a BlogFrog member sign in and read my blog? I want to see if my widget it working. Thanks! I will post more later..

a finished finish!

2010-09-12T22:07:00.000-05:00

I can now show you the gift I made for my friend Melissa for her birthday- I stitched this up last week and put it together today. Here is a close-up or two and a picture of the birthday girl- hope she doesn't mind me posting it! :) (or her mom, as she took the picture!)

She thought it was really neat!

a finish and frustration

2010-09-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

Well, "G" is finally finished!

I am so happy! It took me much too long to finish this. I have already pulled threads for "H."

I was stitching "Jane Austen on the Weather" tonight-I am using GAST Hyacinth for the lettering, and ran out wth just a few letters to go! Argh! Does anyone know an online needlework store that only charges actual postage? I don't want to pay $2 in shipping for one skein of thread. lol I know I ordered from one once but I can't remember who it was.. Wyndham Needleworks maybe?

A blog before bed..

2010-09-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

Finally some progress to show you.. I have worked on "G" tonight.. it's gotten somewhat put by the wayside due to gifts I was working on, etc..now it is all stitched and ready for beads, which I hope to do sometime this weekend. Given what an easy stitch this was it took me wayyyy too long!

I have also been working on a little one by 4 My Boys called "Wishing Waiting Hoping"- here is how it looks as of right now-

and while I am posting pics here is my TU SAL update- I don't even think I posted one last month!

The other day I happened to look into my ort jar, and thought, this is kind of a pretty angle for a picture too, so just for fun I took one for my update like this:

It has been a relaxing evening- due to a rearranged work schedule Rob was not watching TV tonight, so I had it all to myself after David went to bed-I am watching "The Lord of the Rings-Two Towers". I love all the LOTR movies so much but they are so long I never have time to watch them- and I really like the ents and some of the parts in this one so I decided to watch it. Though I forgot there wasn't much of the elves and Rivendell in this one and I love them too, so I may watch "Fellowship of the Ring" next time. :) I love them all though, really.

Hanna is at her first lock-in, at a local church. She went with a friend and from the updates I've gotten it sounds like she is having a great time. It was for middle school kids only. :)

Ohhhhh well it is really so late here, I guess I better get to bed as I have zumba class in the morning. Plus there is a cricket hidden in my kitchen somewhere and his chirping is starting to bug me. Hopefully I will have time to finish watching my movie sometime this weekend..

This n' That

2010-09-05T20:03:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone- I have been remiss in posting again and I apologize. In my defense I did try to post from my cell phone the other day but it wouldn't go thru. I used to be able to post from my phone with no problem, now all of a sudden it isn't working.

I don't believe I've posted my progress on "Jane Austen on the Weather" ever- I picked this because it's been sooooo hot this summer, and ironically I may not even finish it before the cooler weather hits. But I am sure here in NC it will be hot next summer too. I changed the colors on this one-sorry it's a bit blurry- I took it with my phone at work. lol

I sent the kids of to school the past couple of weeks-David started kindergarten(sniff sniff) this past Monday and Hanna started on the 25th. And I always take pics of the first day of school so here they are-

I also framed LK's "Count Your Blessings" and gave it to my friend Holly. This is the frame I originally used for my flip-its but I will just have Dad make me another one. :)

I have currently put my other projects on hold to work on something for someone- can't post pictures cause she might see it. :) but I will once it is given.

I am also going to be listing a ton of old stitching mags and leaflets on ebay in the next day or so. I started today but didn't get very far- I have listed a few Cross Country Stitching magazines from earlier in the decade. I plan on doing the rest tomorrow, before ebay's 'free listing' promo is done. lol My ebay ID is hannasmom1198- I may have a link in my sidebar- I don't remember!

Well that's about it here- please don't give up on me, I will really make an effort to post more often. Thanks for reading!

A "G" update..

2010-08-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

Thanks for being patient with me! Hanna starts school tomorrow so hopefully things will be back on a routine again and I will be back posting more often. This summer has been far from lazy! I have been making some fair progress on G though- "Summer House" is put by the wayside for now, probably will be for a while. I am going to get into fall and winter mode soon! Here is my G as it looks today-

I also started a 4 My Boys design-"Wishing Waiting Hoping", last weekend. Didn't get very far so maybe I will post a pic after this weekend. :)

As I mentioned before Hanna starts school tomorrow- she is very nervous. Last year was her first year at the middle school and was not a good year for her- several kids were verbally bullying her, saying no one liked her, calling her names etc. Needless to say she is NOT looking forward to tomorrow, and I just hate it. Please keep her in your prayers- that she has a better year, and realizes what a great kid she is. I hate to see her like this.

Well, it's going to be an early morning tomorrow! I better be off to bed. Thanks for "listening"(reading.) And for hanging in with me this summer! I know my posts have been sporadic at best. I will try to get back on the ball!

A giveaway and updates...

2010-08-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

First, the giveaway! Not mine but I will be doing some soon...Belinda at Designs from Blue Ribbon Girl is having a great giveaway. Click here for details!

I have been really lazy with my stitching lately- I guess it's cause it's summer and we're not in our usual routine, plus I have been doing lots of reading this summer and sometimes I get too involved in my book!

My Premier Designs jewelry party was fun, as I mentioned in an earlier post- thought I would share with you all the free jewelry I got!

They have beautiful jewelry- I need to stop looking through the catalog because I keep finding more things I want.. I think I am becoming a jewelry junkie! lol

Here is my progress on Summer House-

I'm making some progress on G too, but so far it's still all blue and gray- so I'll post a pic of that when it looks a bit more interesting. :)

I took Hanna to the eye doctor the other day- she was looking forward to it cause her sight had been a little blurry lately- she was really hoping to get glasses, believe it or not. Well she got her wish!

She really likes them and so do I. I was hoping she'd enjoy reading more now, but no such luck. :( I just love to read so much it's hard for me to understand why she doesn't! She has a ton of books -some given to her, some we bought, that she supposedly wanted, but she never wants to read any of them. It's so frustrating!