Snow day!!!

Finally!  I have been waiting for a decent snow ever since we got Ginger- and we finally had one last night. It started out sleeting, and it did for a long time.. I was starting to get nervous that was all we would get.. but those beautiful flakes finally started falling. :)  Now that we live out in the country the roads do not get the salt treatment that we are used to in town, so it was not safe to drive to work, and I got a snow day! And to make it even better our kids had a snow day yesterday, and dd cleaned pretty much the whole house so I was able to relax today. :) I admit I was quite lazy and did not get much stitching done.. in fact I am hoping to do some after I post this.  I have just been working on the "Keep Calm" freebie so I can hopefully get it done in time for my friend's birthday. Here is my progress so far-

I was working on it last night and got a little sleepy as right now I am just stitching straight rows of brown. I need to plug away at some more tonight.

And now for a few snow pics-

Please pray for us as I am pretty sure I will have to go to work tomorrow and the roads still are not good, as far as I can see! I think dh will be driving me in the 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Slow but steady..

Making progress on these projects- here is the Alamo-

And this is on the project I am working on for a friend .. The teacup on top was giving me fits cause I messed up somewhere - but since this picture was taken I think I have gotten it straightened out.

I had to take Ginger to get some shots on Saturday. Usually she is really hard to keep still in the car- she will climb from my lap to the passenger seat. But on the way home I held her in the passenger seat for a couple of minutes and she actually stayed! So I told my son to take a picture. He is not old enough or talk enough to sit in the front seat yet.

She looks like she is posing! Hee hee

 

DS and I had some quality time this weekend- he had been bugging me to make some gingerbread cookies from a mix I bought so we finally did. Didn't have any icon but they were still yummy, and made the house smell wonderful!

I went to the dollar store this weekend also- to buy some tissues and see if we could find DS some if those bracelet rubber bands.  I took a look at the framed art just for fun and found this- 

Isn't is surprisingly pretty? It's even better in real life because it's kind of shimmery. I'm not sure where I am going to hang it yet.

Now that the days are getting longer again the sun has been setting as I get off work- I love getting photos when the clouds look especially neat. 

Well -that's about it for tonight - hope everyone has a great week!

Lone Survivor

Rob and I saw this movie tonight.  If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it.  I'm not sure how much you may know about it- but it is based on a true story of some Navy SEALS and the only one that survived has written a book about it. He was also present during filming to make sure it was as accurate as possible. This movie will give you a whole new respect for our military. 

Just my little movie blurb- will post again soon with "normal" stuff. :)

Alamo progress

As of today- had to rip a good portion of this out and re-stitch - that's why it looks like I haven't gotten much done. 😕 Well that, and I have been bad about making time for stitching. That is going to change.

New Year, New Start

Happy new year everyone! Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy new year.  We did here- after a long month it was nice to have a day to share together as a family and relax.  It was a crazy month, and not just because of the Christmas preparations. 

Early in the month my husband had hernia surgery- it was something we had put off for too long and our old doctor had ignored for too long.  I had switched doctors and got my husband switched over too.  The new doctor's office took one look and set him up with a surgeon.  His surgery was around the first of the month.  They kept him a couple of days after then let him come home.  He was home a few days and started experiencing a lot of pain, more than normal for the procedure.  So we went to the local ER- scans and x-rays had shown that the mesh did not hold- so he was taken to the hospital he had the original surgery at and was kept for about a week after the almost -immediate surgery.  The hospital was about an hour away so it was a lot of driving back and forth, leaving the kids with friends, etc. But he is home now and recuperating, and was in time for Christmas, thankfully.

I have been doing a little stitching here and there; I am hoping with the start of the new year I can get back into my old stitching habits and get some things done.  The Alamo is still a WIP, and I have also started a gift for some friends- it was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but that didn't happen. To inspire me I can do a little stash shopping- I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway on Laurel's Stitchery's facebook page and won a $20 gift certificate for her shop! Was browsing tonight- such decisions to be made. I know that fabric is a must, as I am always running short of good fabric.

The kids are doing very well in their new schools, and Ginger is well also.  We had a little scare with her a month or two ago- she must have gotten into something she shouldn't have, and was a bit sick, but thankfully with some medicine and some special canned food, she is fine now.  (and always expects canned food with her dry food now, unfortunately. ) She has gained a little weight but is not unhealthy, as you can see in this photo taken at Christmas.

 

As some of you who have been reading my blog for a while know, I had some links to the right for my webshots albums- wish list and items for sale/trade.  Well evidently webshots was bought out in 2012 and I was sent an email that I needed to save all my photos because they would no longer be available after such and such a time.  WELL- I did not see that email- I have a tendency to let my emails pile up and probably purged it in some mass email purge at some point.  This is a bit upsetting because I'm not sure I had some of those photos saved anywhere else. Grrrrr. Oh well.. there is nothing to be done about it now. New year's resolution: Keep a better handle on my email accounts.

 

I was really so excited- since we have a new house I wanted a new Christmas tree- we had one of those fiberoptic ones from the 90's and I hated it - the lights just do not have that glow.  Well my dh knew I wanted a new tree and fortunately a friend of his from work was getting rid of one or two- they have a large house. And he got us a new tree for a steal.  So this was our tree this year-

I ♥ it. I don't want to take it down!

 

Well that is life in a nutshell here- thanks for sticking with me! Will post some stitching pics next time(I know, I probably said that last time.)

 

OK, have you all given up on me? I hope not. I do have a good reason.. as you know we were house hunting- well, we bought a house! We moved in late June- but it really took a month or so- our lease at our old place wasn't up until the end of this month- so we took our time- bring a car load or two over just about every day and unpacking it.. did a little painting but the house was pretty much move in ready. We are really blessed- the house is about 32 years old but has been completely redone- new siding, new roof, new windows, new heat/AC, new dishwasher, and it was just in our price range.  Sometimes I still can't believe it is really ours.

Things are finally getting back to 'normal'.. I didn't do much stitching at all while we were looking for a house or while we were moving, so I am really excited to have some time for that again, and I do plan to keep my blog up better.

There will be something stitch-related at the end(a little giveaway!) but before I go here are some photos from the new house- more or less.   We live out in the country now and the drive home from work is so beautiful- I drive past lots of farms and open land- it's so peaceful!

 

The sunset can be seen from my back yard, as well as the open sky and lots of cool clouds-

 

Ginger likes the backyard too- it's fenced and has lots of room for her to run. This was taken on a day when she had run about for a while and was ready to go in! Please excuse the poop scooper. :-O

 

We also had a baby bird drop in- Ginger was very kind to him- only sniffed him and didn't try to eat him or run him off.. we cared for him a bit and then he evidently was able to jump or fly away because we couldn't find him later that evening.

 

I have also started planting- these are my hydrangea on their better days- bugs or disease or both have started getting to them.. any tips? I am a bit new at this..

 

And here is a snap of Gin, pooped out with her Gumby-

 

I almost forgot! One of our last days at the old place I was walking Ginger and happened to see this little guy- thankfully he was still there after I got my phone.

 

Last but not least- the giveaway.  It is just a little one- I realized after winning this pattern in a giveaway myself that I already had it.  I thought I had given it away previously but I guess I never did.  So here it is-LK's Cross Stitcher in Residence.

 

I admit I am trying to get my blog back "out there" again- so if you share the giveaway on your blog you will get an extra entry! Please leave a comment on this post only if you want an entry, and let me know if you are posting on your blog. Thanks so much, and I really appreciate all of you who keep checking back with me after these lonnnnng breaks. ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long time no post..again..

I am so sorry.. thanks to all of you who still check in with me from time to time.. I am still here, just a lot going on..

Here is my progress on The Alamo- I have gotten a little bit more done since I took this.

I have since finished the left side and the bottom of the section and started on the next section to the right. :)

The azaleas are in bloom here- or were- a lot of them are already losing their petals.. but here is a photo of a butterfly in some that my mom took when she was here.

They are so beautiful and some of the bushes get so huge!

and of course I have to share some Ginger with you-

She is still cute and silly as ever.

 

Will post more soon- thanks for stopping by!

 

Sorry it has been awhile..

Yet again!!  Life carries me away sometimes..my stitching has been suffering!! Trying to get back into the swing of things.  We are house hunting again- I got my credit score where it needed to be and hopefully I can keep it there. :) I am so looking forward to us having a place of our own.

I have been getting a few stitches in here and there on The Alamo.  My 7-year-old has decided he wants to learn how to stitch- so in the mornings when I stitch I am trying to help him also. :) Here is my progress as of late-

I have also picked up my LK Mystery Sampler again- not much progress on that yet but I am hoping to remedy that soon. :)

Book winner!

Well, we only had three entries so the odds were pretty good for those involved. :)  The winner is Pat Matejcek! Congrats Pat! I will send you an email to get your address. I hope you enjoy the book. :)

Not much else to post - it was a busy but non-stitchy week- what little time I did have I was engrossed in a book- Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.  It is so good!

Will post more soon!

I didn't forget!

Today was to be the last day of my book giveaway- but there are only a couple of entries- so I thought I'd post about it one more time.. if you want to enter please comment on this post. (click it! :) ) I will give it til Sunday the 3rd.

I have been working on the Alamo quite regularly-I took Hanna to her judo class tonight and had some time to stitch on it.  This is my progress as of tonight.

I have also been working on a freebie- from Grilles by Maryse- still just stitching green but I thought I'd post a pic. I took it the sam way I took the Alamo pic but it wouldn't turn out as good-

 

We had a bit of ice the other day - I heard there was a moment of snow but I didn't see it. :(

Here are some pictures I took around the house-

 

This is our rosemary plant-

and I think this was basil-

And this is a bush in the front of our house that's mostly dead. Looks prettier this way. :)

 

It only lasted a day or so then melted.  I am still hoping for one snow before winter is over. We didn't have any last year and I want to see how Ginger reacts to it. :)

 

 

Love this pic-she looks like she's posing!

 

 

Hello.. wondering I should eliminate the LK Sampler page since all the parts are out now- any thoughts?

I forgot to mention in my last post that I have added several things to my stash for sale page- more to come..

I just found these on my camera card and don't remember if I ever posted them.. so I thought I would because the sky was so pretty that night!

I thought I had a recent picture of the Alamo and I can't find it.. will try to remember to take one tomorrow.

Rob and I went to look at some open houses today- one house was really cute but too small.. it was not much bigger than our current place. It was a bit too far out from town anyway.  There was another open house nearby that was way out of our price range but we thought we would look for fun.  It was a beautiful home, but even if we got approved for that much, we wouldn't be able to afford the payment! We had a helpful conversation with the realtor there though- we met her at an open house we went to a few weeks ago and she remembered us.  We talked to her for a while- so long that we missed the last open house we were going to go to. lol

I have actually done a bit of stitching this weekend, on the LK Halloween sampler- for now I will keep posting the pics on it's page but may do away with it.  When I created that page I had planned to have it done a lot sooner! ha!

Well that's about it here- hope everyone has a great week. God bless!

Back again! And a book giveaway..

Hello friends,

The
 holidays are over and hopefully I can start posting more often!  I have gotten quite a bit in on The Alamo since the kids have gone back to school, since I work on it in the mornings while David and I wait for school to start.  I will post a more recent one soon but here is one I took fairly recently.  I have also been working on a free pattern from Grilles by Maryse (I think that's the site).  I really need to take a pic of that one as well but it's just a bunch of green right now.

The house hunting is on hold, unfortunately.. I got the corrections made on  my credit report and got the rapid re-score done.. and it did not help as much as we thought it would. My credit score is still a bit shy of where it needs to be to qualify.  The loan officer talked to someone at the credit bureau and gave us some suggestions of what might bring it up some more, but it will take some time. :(  I am not going to give up until we are in our own home though!

OK, now for the giveaway- my mom gave me this book because she knows I love Jane Austen and the occasional paranormal romance- and this had both. Normally I am pretty picky about my Jane Austen "fanfiction" but these were actually pretty good, fun little short stories. I especially liked Blood and Prejudice (of course ;) ) and Little To Hex Her, which was the version of Emma.  I'd like to pass this on to one of my lovely blog readers! I will keep the drawing open until the end of the month.. and.. I don't usually do this but if you get someone else to enter you will get an entry for each person you send over! :) Oh, and here is a picture of the book-

and of course, I can't end without a picture of Ginger.  I don't know if she put her blanket here or the kids did, but she kind of reminded me of when kids make "forts" with blankets and whatever else they can find- chairs, etc.. 

I caught her in mid-blink but the other photo I took she had green-eye - and red-eye fix won't get rid of it. :p

Thanks for sticking with me- I will post again soon!

Winter fun with Swagbucks! Earn free stuff, for free!

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It's been awhile...

So, so sorry...I have let myself get swept up in other things lately and my blogging, stitching, and even reading have suffered.. I know I keep saying it but I really need to set a timer when I get online. I think there is a timer on my cell phone; I need to start using it!  I'm hoping to do some stitching when I get done with this post- just have to do a bit more cleaning in the living room and I'll be ready. 

I have been stitching on "The Alamo" at least a bit each week.  I will post a pic at the end of this post, as it is on my phone.

The fall leaves are nearly gone now, but here are a few photos of them while they were here-

 

The week before Thanksgiving was kind of crazy. One night Rob and I were getting ready to go to bed and Rob's heart started beating very fast, and he started having chest and arm pain.  We took him to the ER and they tried to get his heart rate slowed down and stabilized.. it slowed down a little but was still beating fast, so they admitted him to run some more tests.  He was in for 3 days and they found out he has atrial fibrillation.. so he will have to stay on medicine now to regulate his heartbeat as well as medicine for cholesterol and high blood pressure.  He is doing well since. He is back to work and feeling better, thank the Lord.

 

Every year our town has a little celebration downtown to officially turn on all the Christmas lights on the downtown streets.  I took David(Hanna had judo) and we went for a little while. It's always so neat to see all the lights turn on at the same time. I have videotaped it before but I forgot to this year.  Here are a few pics though. Ok, well, more than a few.

The quilt shoppe in their new location- see all the fabric inside?

The magnolia tree in the traffic circle/roundabout

This gives you an idea of how big the tree is!

City Hall

 

a downtown view

 

As you can tell by my son's hat, Krispy Kreme was there. We were a little disappointed because they usually give out a doughnut to each person who wants one but this year they only gave a donut hole to each person. Sign of the economy I guess. But they did hand out coupons for $2 off a dozen doughnuts.  Which reminds me, I have to use that before it expires.

 

I had been wanting to get Ginger a "Mr. Bill" toy for quite some time.. I hit the jackpot when I found one on clearance at Target for $2.  She loved him, but as always he didn't last long.. he was made pretty sturdy overall but she still managed to get the stuffing out of a foot. And the foot was not sewn off from the rest of his body so I couldn't just take the stuffing out of the foot and let her keep playing with him.  :( But here she is with him while she had him.

 

 

We got our Christmas tree up, not as early as usual but up nonetheless.. the kids helped me decorate it. In fact they ended up doing most of it cause Rob and I ended up going grocery shopping. :/

 

 

There is an angel on top of it now, her wings were broken and I had to glue them back on.

 

I have some other big news (no I am not pregnant. lol) .We are trying to get pre-qualified to buy a house.  I had a couple of errors on my credit report that we are trying to get fixed.. I am really so impatient to get moving (no pun intended). Now that I have house fever I just can't stand waiting to get out there and find one.  We have rented our current place for probably about 15 or 16 years. It is entirely too small for our family  now and I am so anxious for some more space, and to do some of the things with our living space I have not been able to do here due to lack of room.  So please say prayers for us, that we will get approved for enough to get our family a nice home and find the perfect one for us.  It has been a long time coming.  Thank you. ♥  And that is one of the more recent reasons I have not blogged.. lunch breaks are spent making phone calls trying to get this credit issue worked out, and when I am online I am scouring realty websites looking for that perfect place. 

 

And last but not least, here is the Alamo - I think I have done a bit more since I took this, I can't remember.

 

I really appreciate you all sticking with me even though I am so sporadic in posting sometimes!! I will try (again) to post more often!