Thursday, December 31, 2009

La Fin

So comes the end of another year. Three hundred and sixty five more days under our belts. Why does it seem that each year that goes by, moves along faster than the last? Time slips away so quickly as of late, it's a bit scary. I remember being a child and not being able to wait until I was older and grown up so I could do whatever I wanted to. Now I can only wish that I could stop time or at least slow it down a bit. Mom was right. She always said don't wish your childhood away. One day you'll wish you hadn't.

Looking back, I have learned a lot of things that I will take with me into the new year. One of the most prevalent is to trust my instincts more. They are usually right and even if they are wrong, you learn from those mistakes. Bad things happen and we make the wrong choices sometimes. Along with that comes the reality that that is how we grow. It's what helps make us who we are and builds on the mold of who we will become. I am also trying to grasp the ability to stop holding onto those dark days. Nothing good becomes of that and after a while, you realize it's a lonely world when you are sad all the time. 2010 will be a much happier year, *that* I am going to count on.

Resolutions are big this time of year. I'm not for them nor am I against them, really. Although it seems that they are made only to be broken. I am not trying to be cynical as I know that there are people out there who actually follow through, it just seems, more often than not, they are broken. I don't establish a resolution per se, but I do make a wish list of the things that I'd like to accomplish. I suppose it's sort of the same thing. It's only a degree of seperation by saying "these are the things I'd like to do" versus "these are the things I am going to do". Less room for that feeling of failure, I suppose.

So with out further babbling (well not much anyway..hee hee), here is the start of my incomplete "wish list" for 2010:
  • Be happier and smile LOTS more :)
  • Spend more time with my kids.
  • Complain less. What good does it do anyway?
  • Finish projects that I begin!!!
  • I have two quilts in the making already that I want to finish in 2010
  • This may be far fetched, however I would love to begin to learn French. It's a beautiful language....
  • I've seen a lot of people take on the "photo a day for 365 days". I'd like to do this. Have a peek at my Flickr along the way. (that sounds a bit dirty...lol)
  • Oh....! Stop starting sentences with "so" or "ok"...stupid bad habit and poor grammar. I see I've done it twice in this post alone... lol
Well that's just a few of the things that have been swimming around in my head for a spell. I'm sure the list will grow. Do me a favour? Keep me in check with these things, will you? ;)

I hope all of you had a great 2009. Thank you for tagging along with me on this journey. I wish you well in the year to come and may it be filled with many happy memories. Just remember to live life to the fullest, love much, and laugh often. Remember to be good to your friends and keep them close, they are a part of your foundation. Most importantly, remember to be happy!

Alright, time to put on my pa-gee-jays and curl up with my hook and yarn and slide in a good movie. Ahhhh...the little things in life that make me smile :)

Before I go, I will leave you with this video. It's not your typical Pearl Jam song, but I love it so.....

Pearl Jam - Just Breathe


Talk to you next year. Ya'll be good now, ya hear? ;)

Much Love!!


Sunday, December 27, 2009

In The Works

I haven't done a post in a while for anything crafty so I thought I would take a minute and share a few of the things I've been working on. I've been so busy lately but somehow I've found the time to keep my hands busy. I guess it's one of the things that keeps me sane. It's my yoga, so to speak :)

First is a photo of a quilt I've been working on. I actually put the top together in one day but now I need to actually quilt it, then bind it, and then to complete the look, it must be washed to fray the edges. I'm hoping to finish it this week. I will post a photo of the finished product to see the difference.

Christmas Quilt
Fabric is called Cotton Blossoms made by Moda. Blocks are 10" with 5" squares on top of that, then a 2.5" square on top of that. I used two Layer Cakes which is enough for the top and binding! Easy peasy :)

While browsing Flickr I ran across a photo of a crochet block of a daisy and thought it was cute. After some research I learned that the woman who designed it, Krystal, has people mail her completed blocks in exchange for the pattern. She then takes the blocks and completes afghans and gives them away to charities. What a wonderful idea! I joined her Yahoo group, received the pattern and made one up today. I don't see myself making my own afghan with it but I will definitely send her some blocks for her to use! If you want to do one yourself, check out her blog HERE to get the details.

Daisy Square
It's in the blocking stage right now, hence all the pins, but you get the idea :)

Last but not least is a preview of what I am working on now and a project that will be next. The preview of what I am working on now is actually what the bright colored yarn is sitting on top of. You can't really see it (that is on purpose) but once it's done, I'll post a picture. It's been in the making for about a month and I'm almost done! Yay!

Next In Line

I am drawn to bright colours in the winter time. Winter here is very colourless. It's all white. Not that there is anything wrong with white, it just gets boring after a while. These yarns will be used to crochet a bag and then it will be felted. I can't wait to start it but I have to finish my other project first. It's going to be sooo cute! :)

I know you noticed the turtle!! I was at my local yarn shop last week and when I was checking out I happened to glance towards a basket on the counter and squealed. Yes, literally. The owner was giggling at me when I asked her if those were turtles....lol. He is actually a tape measure. I'm not too keen about pulling his wee tail to make the tape come out but then I get to push his belly to retract the tape....lol. I just couldn't resist!

Much Love!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Winning Isn't Everything

"Four out of five dentists surveyed recommended playing hockey." ~Author Unknown

I went to my first hockey game of this season tonight and I had so much fun. I had forgotten how exciting and intense those games were. I missed it.

The best part was that I finally got to see the Ice Hogs beat Milwaukee while I was at a game. Every other time I've been to a game where Milwaukee was our opponent, we lost. I was beginning to think I was bad luck for them...lol! No, not really. Milwaukee is a great team who is freaking fast and they play awesome defense. Even though we won 4-2, they had twice as many shots on goal than we did. Yikes!

There was only one fight though because the refs kept breaking them up before they could really begin. Then all of a sudden Rabbit and Hobson dropped gloves and went to it. Hobson got a few good punches into Rabbit but it looked more like a hugging match than a fight...lol.

Another interesting thing I noticed tonight was while I was watching the fans. It was kind of along the same lines of what I noticed while at the Shinedown concert as well. I am what you would consider a "people watcher" I guess. People are fascinating because everyone does their own thing. Everyone participates differently. Like at the game. There were people there that cheered full on and held nothing back, yet there were those that even though they were decked out in team garb, they only sat and watched. Not a clap, or a cheer or a high five. Just sitting quietly to take it all in. I don't quite understand those kind of fans because I'm one of the ones screaming and cheering and yelling at the refs, but just the same, I find it interesting. Just like I'll never understand why people go to a concert and just sit there. They don't sing or dance or even stand up. I suppose it's their way to be "in the moment". Everyone appreciates things in their own way and I can respect that. It was just something I noticed that always seems to pique my interest...

Much Love!


Thursday, December 24, 2009

Eve Of Tomorrow


I cannot believe that Christmas is tomorrow. This year flew by so fast that it seems like we just celebrated last years. It's odd because even my daughter commented that this year went by so fast. I never ever remember being a child and thinking that time went fast. Time is supposed to go slow for kids. She's not the only child that I've heard that from either. I'm not really sure what to make of that.

Even though it came upon us extremely fast, I'm ready for it. The ground is covered with snow, my home is all spiffed up and smelling like cinnamon and apples. The presents are all wrapped and under the tree filling the kids with wonder on which gifts are theirs. I always choose two different papers and wrap each kids in a different one but do not tell them which wrapping is on their gifts. It keeps them guessing...hee hee! I also realized this year that either I need to buy bigger stockings or smaller gifts for the stockings because they never fit..lol. My kids know about the secret of Santa but still enjoy the surprises left in the stocking. I think it is because its the one thing they can open before I get out of bed...lol.

I hope all of you are ready for the big day tomorrow, and if you don't celebrate, take a day off and put up your feet and enjoy the day :)

I will leave you with a bit of music that I've enjoyed very much. I heard these guys on the radio this morning and made a note to look them up. I'm glad I did because they are amazing and entertaining too :)

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas



Monday, December 21, 2009

Better Than Fruitcake?

I can't say that I'd want any of these things on my Christmas list, but its a fun jingle just the same. Who knew you could mold Spam (ew ew ew) into a car and that Jeff would look so hot in those striped tights?! Hee hee!

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Cold beer and pickled eggs?! No wonder Santa only comes around once a year!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Past Is Your Future

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." ~Author Unknown

Well, we all survived the snow storm. All in all there was about 12 inches or so that fell overnight and the kids got their wish. School was closed. I would have taken some more pictures, however with the wind blowing and the kids footprints all over, it was just a mess..lol.

I ended up staying home with the kids, which made them happy so they could play outdoors ALL DAY LONG. I can't believe how quiet the house is when they are not in it..lol.

The quiet time was nice. I was able to finish up a few tasks and also finish the book that Zee has been begging me to read. She insisted that I would love it. She was actually right.

The book is called The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written by Brian Selznick. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 2008. This was up for dispute during nominations if I remember correctly because the Caldecott is an award for illustration in a picture book. However, it's quite clear that this book, with a total of 533 pages, is not only a picture book. Yes it has many pages with illustration, 284 to be exact, but it also carries a wonderful story, set in Paris, about a pioneer film-maker and how Hugo changes not only his own life, but the life of that film-maker. I feel they did right by this author in awarding the Caldecott because the pictures are just as important as the words that were written. Without one or the other, it would not have been the amazing book it is.

It is a children's book, but if you get the chance, I encourage you to read it. It really only takes a couple of hours. I'm glad my daughter was such a pest about me reading it..hee hee!

Much Love!!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Snow, You Say?

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." ~John Ruskin

I never really pay attention to the weather. Well, I should say the weather channel. I get the weather by going out doors and looking up! That's one thing I didn't get from my mom. She used to watch that silly channel hours at a time. Why, I will never know, but it was one of her quirks and we always teased her for it. She would just laugh it off and go right back to it. It makes me smile to remember....

So all day yesterday and today the "weather guys" were saying that we were going to get a bunch of snow dumped on us this afternoon, and tonight, especially. They say 12-15 inches, which is a hefty amount of snow..in one night! I was like..blah blah blah...I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, um..I'm starting to see it!! I took Bug to his Boy Scout meeting that lasted an hour and a half. My car was clean when we went in, as was the pavement. When we came out, I had at least 2 inches of snow on my car!! Ack!

I tried to take a picture of a tree in my front yard, but with it snowing so hard I took it from in the garage so as not to get my camera wet, so it's not a great pic, but you get the idea...













Note: Click image for larger view :)


I always love the first snowfall of the year, despite the horrible roads and the cold. It's a beautiful sight when your world is covered in a white blanket. You can see it in a million pictures and oohhh and ahhhh and appreciate the image, but until you see it for yourself, in real life, you are missing out on an amazing act of mother nature.

If it continues to snow through the night I will take more pictures and post them. I'm actually kind of excited to see how much we really get, or if it will just taper off. As of right now, it's still coming down quite hard and the kids are really hoping for a snow day tomorrow. They even got a text message that said to wear your pajamas inside out to help the schools to be closed tomorrow. Superstitious or not, they went to bed with inside out p.j.'s... lol.

Much Love!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

That's My Secret

I was emailed this video today. Lots of mixed emotions with this. Some are cute. Some funny. Some of these are sadly pathetic and some are just plain sad. It also portrays how men and women are so different. One man admits to (I assume) his girlfriend that he ran over her cat, and she admits that she won't let him read certain books because they are full of love poems about him...?? Yikes. Mars and Venus I guess....



The one that hit home was the woman who said, "I'm a lot better before you really know me". I stopped breathing for a moment because it's like she stole the words from my own lips.....then again, that's my own fault and I'm working on that.