I know I know..

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"

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!

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!

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.




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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!

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

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..

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!

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!

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..?

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!

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

Almost forgot!

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!

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!

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! :)

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

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..

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!

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!

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! :)