Beach Cottage is finished!

Yippee! I finished it last night- it took me so much longer than it should have, but I do like the way it turned out.

Please excuse the less-than-stellar photo and the wrinkles! I would really like to frame this one in a rustic white frame.. we'll see what I can find!

We had a good weekend- I tried to get a little housework done Saturday while Rob was at work, then took David to the library and the park.

We are really blessed to have such a lovely park, with a mini-train for the kids to ride and lots of blooming shrubs and trees! Not many were in bloom yet though.

Then later David and I met Rob for lunch(Hanna was at a friend's) and did some running around. First stop was to the pet store to see Ginger's grandma(the lady who owns Ginger's mama and who sold Ginger to us).  Ginger was so excited to see her and always loves the attention she gets from the staff and customers at the pet store. :)  We ran a couple of errands and I stayed with her in the car, then we went to see my friend Diana, who had seen her pictures online but never met her before. :) It was quite a day for Ginjy and wore her out! Here is a pic from the car- it was a bit hot on Saturday.

LOL! Her tongue is almost as big as she is.

Sunday was a nice day too-unfortunately David was not feeling so great- had an on-again off-again temperature, scratchy throat, stuffy nose.. :(.  So he stayed home with Rob and Hanna and I went to church and Sunday School/Bible Class, then came home.  I ate some lunch and took a nap, got up and watched a movie, did some stitching, etc.  I won't bore you! I have been starting to train Ginger to come when called, now that the weather is nice.  We have to do it on a long leash cause we don't have a fenced in yard.. she's catching on quick (partly cause she likes the treats.) Tonight I made a little video cause I think she's cute when she runs.  Well, I think she's cute all the time. lol

And here's a couple pics of some flowers growing wild in our yard-

I am a little sad we didn't have snow this winter, but I do love spring flowers!

Busy, busy...

Thought I would post quick before bed- things have been pretty busy here lately.  It seems our weeknights are all full of places to be and the weekends are playing catch-up on housework and other things I've been meaning to do.  I have been squeezing in a little stitching time here and there. I've been working on my friends projects most nights, when I have the itch to stitch.. some nights I just sit and watch TV cause I'm pooped! And been working on Beach Cottage some mornings between Hanna and David going to school.. there is a 40 minute in-between time.  I will post progress pics on my friends project soon- right now it doesn't look much different cause I am filling in where I had to frog before- except I do have the window frame at least one row around on the sides that hadn't been started yet.  Here is my progress on Beach Cottage- just the top of the tree and a little backstitching to go- hooray!

I have been a bad girl in the stash-buying department lately- I said I would try not to buy any for a while and just stitch what I already had, since I had so much- but I got an itch to try to find some OOP Blackbird Designs patterns- so I hit ebay and then found others I liked/wanted too.. also caught a good sale at an ONS here and there- so here is what I have acquired. I was super excited to get "Flea Market Souvenir"- I have been looking for it for a while and found a needlework shop in MI that had it- I think it may have been her last one because when I went back to see if she still had it posted after I ordred(so I could tell others that wanted it), it was no longer listed.

Unfortunately I found an LNS that had gone out of business in my search- Needle Delights-she had some clearance posted on her site(www.needledelights.com) and I came across it in my search. It's where I got BBD's "Trifle from a Friend." It makes me sad so see so many LNS's going out of business.

I took Ginger for a walk today and we saw some signs of spring already-

These little violets(at least I think that's what they are) are growing randomly in my lawn!

And Ginger was so tired from our walk, she eventually fell asleep, while playing no less. I thought it was so funny and cute. :)

Night night!

Been meaning to blog all week..

Since last Sunday actually! Time seems to get away from me.  Last weekend we took a trip up to Raleigh, to go to Trader Joe's, do some other things, so I got quite a bit done on "Beach Cottage!"

Can't say I got much done on it this week though- so this is progress as of today. I have also been working on my friend's project, I'll post a picture of that soon. 

I finished a good book today- A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton. It was my first(and the first!) Kinsey Millhone book I've read. I enjoyed it! It wasn't s super pageturner, but sometimes that's ok. Easier to put down when something else needs to be done.  Now reading another of the Virgin River series- Temptation Ridge.  I'm going to see how this one goes. I enjoy the series, but sometimes it's a bit too unrealistic to me-the men are all  so sweet to their wives, all the people in town seem to be good looking.. granted I read books to "get away", and they don't have to be very realistic all the time, but it seemed the last one I read was just a little too sticky sweet. Like I said, we'll see how it goes.

We spent quite a bit of time at the mall this weekend, off and on.  Hanna's school collected over 1200 pairs of jeans for "Teens for Jeans"- they give gently used jeans to less fortunate kids.  Aeropostale was running a deal on this, so every kid at her school got a coupon for 25 % off a pair of jeans.  She needed some so we went yesterday to look- got her a pair of clearance jeans and a second pair on sale, which was the pair we used the coupon on. I love a good deal. :) I went back today to the mall with the kids; I had to get a gift for a friend that I forgot to get yesterday.  While there I saw the cutest purse, a little different from the ones I usually use.  It was on clearance and I picked it up, carried it around for a bit then talked myself out of it.. but I am still thinking about it.. I really don't need another purse but it was sooo cute. What would you do?

Ginger is doing well. :) Still have a couple issues we are working on but overall she is a good little puppy.. she has been very snuggly this weekend which has been nice. :)

Had her playful moments too!

Oh, and I forgot my TUSAL update.. here it is.. not much different from last time but I have been stitching, I promise!

I will be listing several older kits and cross stitch items over the next week or so, including some P. Buckley Moss ornament kits, so if you are interested please check them out! My seller ID is hannasmom1198. :)

Time flies..

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! :)

Finally finished the tree!

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!

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. :)

Happy New Year!

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!

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! :)

Stitching progress and our Christmas tree..

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

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

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

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

A nice day...

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

What a ham!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A little update..

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!