Stressed and starting to panic.

There are only 10 days till Christmas. 

I said I would limit the number of handmade gifts that I made this year, in order to limit my frustration and stress levels in the pending weeks prior to Christmas.  Therefore only make 3 “gifts” for Christmas 2010, but then my aunts and cousins wanted some pillows to remember my late uncle, and there was really no way to say no to that, and then they asked “could they be ready by Christmas” and of course I couldn’t say no, instead I said “Sure, no problem”.  So that brings the handmade project list to 6 things by Christmas.

Do you want to know how many are started?

Zero.

Do you want to know realistically how many days I have to sew 6 things (3 of which are new projects that I’ve never made before and there are bound to be some kind of issues).  Two days.

In all reality two full days (a weekend to be exact) should be plenty of time to finish my pending list of doom.  However we all know how I’ve been this year and procrastination has become my fault (although still second to complaining about work...lol)

I’m going to need to buckle down. Focus. And get things done. Anyone want to make a bet?

Okay, i’m off to shower.  I can’t decide if i’m going to go to the staff party tomorrow night and if I am what am I going to wear?  I bought a new outfit tonight, and just not happy with any of it.  Top/ Skirt or shoes.  I think they are all going back to the stores they came from.   Why does dressing up have to be so darn hard!

Catching Up

Okay its 12:20 in the morning, and I’ve been sewing since 8:30 tonight, but I’m determined to get a blog post in today!

So here is my Blog Catch up.  Truth is I’ve been writing in this on my desktop since Saturday.  It’s been too long since I’ve made a real post and I need to get back to reality and back to blogging.  As a good friend said, “I’ve been a bad blogger” and it’s true I don’t even have an excuse for it.

What have I been doing since the summer you ask? Since unfortunately that was my last “regular” update.  Even if you’re not asking, I’m going to re-cap for you. (‘cause let’s face it a four month detailed update could take a while!)

Well I’ve been up to lots and yet, a lot of nothing. 

It’s been a bit crazy since we’ve moved. We settled in quite quickly since we had visitors for the first three or four weekends.  But it didn’t really start to feel like “home” until after the first month or so.  It just felt weird at first like we were visiting but that’s long gone and it’s our home now and it feels pretty darn good!  Even though there is always something to be done, it’s nice to know that you’re coming home to something that is truly yours.

Our house

We jumped right into summer and as usual we had a bunch of weddings that kept us pretty busy.  We also had a steady stream of visitors to the house for a while. I just checked back to my day planner and we actually had something on the go every weekend for 8 consecutive weekends from the first weekend we moved.  That will wear anyone out in my opinion!  

Sarah & Gary's Wedding - August 2010

Because we constantly busy I felt like all we were ever doing was cleaning! We’ve been learning that with a house with 2 extra bathrooms and a lot more space than we’ve ever had takes a lot more to up keep.  Not that I mind it one bit, it’s just taken a few months to get the hang of how to keep things an acceptable “tidy” level.  It’s also a battle sometimes who is doing what and where does this go and where do we keep whatever it is the other person is looking for.

I still don’t have decent pictures of the house with our stuff in it.  Project for this weekend I guess.  We are having all of Paul’s KW crew over on Saturday for a house warming, so more cleaning and then I’ll take some pics to post.  I will also give me a chance to show off some of our Christmas decor.

Okay, its late and I need to try and get some sleep.  But I’m going to make a list here of updates that are coming – hopefully keep me on task , I mean after all I am a list maker and a good list always puts me in the right direction. (I just don’t always get to the end!)

Blog Topics to Come:

Summer Garage Sale Finds

Canning Tomatoes & Pickles

Our nephew Rhett

Paul’s trip out west and is surprise gift home 

Steph & Steve's Wedding

Sewing Show Loot

Sewing Round up from May till November (seriously this is supposed to be a craft blog, and I haven’t actually blogged about crafting since MAY!?! You can officially stop following me for this reason alone, although, I swear it’s going to get better!)

Currently...

... super stressed out about work

... waiting for biore face/nose strips to dry on my face so i can be super pretty for Steph's wedding on Tuesday!

 

... love that I got two packages in the mail this week!  

... feeling semi-relaxed after having a super hot oatmeal bath

... wishing that the package from sears was what I really ordered (free motion foot), and not some random useless foot for my sewing machine...grrr

 

... excited for my week off to relax with friends and get some sewing done!

... SOOOO excited for Stephie & Steve's wedding on Tuesday! Can't wait to share their day and see everyone all dolled up and pretty looking

... loving my Pauly and the beautiful Tiffany's necklace he brought home for me from BC last week!

... looking forward to the Milton Fall Fair this weekend, even if it's just Pauly and I going.

 

... going to watch one (maybe two) episodes of House season 6 then heading to bed

... thinking about how I should get my hair cut tomorrow - short bob? stylish angle bob? 

okay, lame update, but update none the less.

I owe a real post

...but seriously too tired.

While sitting in bed, on the lap top returning emails and catching up on some blog reading, I came across this, and in particular this.  How totally awesome is that quilt.

I'm so in love with it.

I need to find more time to quilt. And I want to start canning and pickling things in particular tomatos and pickles. Yum.

Here's to finding more time and doing things for me. 
(And that will include some blogging and picture taking and showing off my new house. Real soon. I promise.)

So cool!!

Okay I know I owe a real post and some pictures of the new house, not to mention my 52 week photos for the last few weeks, but look at my cool titles!

Cool eh!  I found this link a while ago and it has great detailed instructions on how to change your title fonts - to anything you want.  It only took me about 20 minutes to get the whole thing set up and I'm so pleased with the outcome.  Now my header is less to be desired and needs some work, but i'll get to that eventually.

I mean i'm still unpacking and should be done a million other things right now (like the hours of work I brought home) but one day of doing nothing is good for your soul ... right?  Beside I actually did accomplish quite a bit today and don't feel the least bit bad that I didn't do any work today.

I do have a lot of work to do tomorrow though - actual work not just things around the house - although I have that too! And I think my sister and brother in-law are coming for dinner.  But i'm hoping to be back with a better update along with lots of photos!

woah.

Moving is a lot of work, so sorry for my lack of posting. (I seriously just wrote packing instead of posting, clearly my head is still in moving mode)

We are at the new house - almost one full week here.  Its starting to feel like home, but to be honest I still look around and feel like we are just "visiting" and we'll have to go back home soon.

I can't write much or post any pic's yet, cause my camera cord is still in a box somewhere.  But hopefully later this week.  I'm actually working on plans tonight instead of relaxing or sleep like I'd much rather be doing.

We had Uncle Barry up for the weekend, and it was definitely a good thing, he motivated us and helped us get so much done around the place.  Then Paul's mom and Steve and grandma and grandpa came down today for a visit.  They bought us a brand new freezer, it was a surprise, cause we thought they were bringing us their old one.  But its great!  We are so excited that we can stock up on stuff now!

Okay i'll post more with pictures this week, but right now I need to motivate myself to get some "work work" done, cause its going to be a very bad week if I don't.

So much to do and so little time

I feel like i'm running around in circles.  And yet instead of doing things that really need to get done, i'm updating with a quick post.  Hoping that if I get my thoughts on down, perhaps I'll feel more calm. (likely not)

We are moving in 16 days!! In those 16 days I need to finish packing up our life.  We still have the entire Kitchen to pack, the bedroom, the last bit of my craft room, the rest of the living room and the bathroom.

Basically bits of every room have been started, but nothing is fully done. I can't wait until its all done and we are there. I'm so glad that at this point I don't have an "un-packing" deadline.

Although in the next half hour I still need to:

• finish eating lunch
• pack my stuff for a night at michelles
• get dressed in real clothes
• tidy the kitchen

Okay. Must. Go. Finish.

ps: I'm excited that Michelle and I (and some of  her neighbor friends) might go to Demetres tonight for cake and ice cream!  That's probably exactly what I need!

Busy Busy Weekend

So busy that I'm posting about it on Tuesday.

I can't remember a weekend where we've tried to fit so much and still felt good on Sunday night, probably because we had yesterday (Monday) off. I suppose it could have also been that we took possession of the house yesterday and the excitement was just too much for us to actually be tired.

Busy weekend started Friday Night with a trip to IKEA for midnight madness.  It was madness.

The lines were crazy, this was taken at ten to twelve.  But we got some good deals that made it worth while for us, which made me glad we went.

Saturday we went to the lawyers office first thing in the morning to sign all the paperwork for the house and get it out of the way. We made a quick stop to Zellers and Kitchen Stuff Plus to pick up a few more things, then home for packing.  There was lots and lots of packing and re-organizing.  And sadly it still looks like we've barely packed a thing!

Saturday night we went to the Science Center with Scott & Krista to check out the Harry Potter exhibit - it was great.  We ended the night at the Mongolia Grill for a great dinner.

On Sunday, we did more packing, grocery shopping, we both took a long nap in the afternoon (we were wiped). Our plans were canceled for dinner, so we had hot dogs and went to see a late movie. Shrek The finale chapter.  It was great. 

Yesterday was the big day.  Lunch with Dave & Erin at their place, it was so great to just sit and relax in the sun and chill out.  Then we got the call that the keys were ready! So we went home loaded up the car, and headed out.  It was so exciting.  

We made another trip to home depot to get paint and other stuff.   By the time we came back to the city (had dinner at Montana's) and went to 2 more Home Depot's looking for the BBQ we wanted, I was exhausted. 

What a weekend! 

currently...

...dreaming of a new sewing machine after reading this post.
...waiting for dinner to be done (the bf is making taco's)
...thinking the week might get worse before it gets better (in work related areas)
...bumbed that mom isn't coming down anymore to help pack.  1. because she has to have surgery :S and 2. because it means I actually have to start packing myself.
...contemplating all the packing that actually needs to be done. blah.
...wondering what that cocktail was made of at the Flare party tonight - it was very yummy. 
...hoping that we can see our house on Thursday while we are in town
...thinking of what has to be done before we move and what can just wait. (ie. need house insurance immediately and need to schedule movers, everything else can wait)
...hoping that once we move my life will settle down a bit (or at least feel like its settled a bit)
...wondering if I should sort and reduce things we don't really need as we move, or just move everything and deal with it there.

oh so many things on my mind and so little time.

Happy June 1st Day!

13 years ago I spent 90% of my summer at my grandpa's trailer.  We danced and sang and hung around the camp fire.  I kissed boys I only saw during the summer, ate tons of watermelon, and swam every day.  It was a fantastic summer.

I was 16 and having the time of my life. That summer we had my aunts old video camera and us girls (my sister, and my two cousins) would video tape ourselves dancing around on rainy days to "oldies" music.  We'd laugh and occasionally get into a fight, but it's a summer we will never forget. 

On one particular day that summer my cousin Ange had the video camera and was giving a play-by-play as she video taped around the room.  The camera's date in the corner of the screen said "June 1st".  "Happy June 1st day" she said, and ever since its been our special holiday.  Despite the fact that we've all forgotten since then that the day she saw "June 1st" on the camera wasn't even June 1st it was some random day in July, but we can't remember that random day so we celebrate today. 

Our own specially little holiday to kick of the camping season and a time to remember dancing around, falling off couches, endless laughing and being a kid in the summer. 

This is us at my cousin Sam's wedding a few years ago.  I wish I could find a picture of us from that summer but with all the packing going on around here, that's a lost cause.


Happy June 1st day girls!  Love you!

Currently...

... wishing it wasn't sunday evening at 8pm.
... so excited that in 22 days we get our house!
... thinking it was a great weekend in the sun up north with good friends and family.
... excited to move up to the 5th floor at work this week, to my own office!
... very nervous that in 22 days we get our house :S
... thinking that sitting in the sun all day without sun screen might not have been the smartest idea - however not nearly as red as I thought i'd be.
... hoping this week goes better then last week and that things at work start to become "normal" again.
... just finished cutting out the pattern pieces (on paper) for my school house tunic
... really hoping that the size I cut out for the tunic is the right one :S
... thinking of things we NEED to get for the new house, and things we just WANT for the new house.
... thinking how busy we are this summer.  (4 weddings, 1 anniversary party, 1 birthday party, 1 new house move, several "housewarming parties")
... thinking that we didn't have dinner tonight, but still full from the BBQ this afternoon!

Whoa.

Sometimes life just gets away from you.  

And no matter how hard you try to keep up, you feel like you just keep hitting the ground.  Then end of March and most of April were like that for me.  I'm going to choose to just put it behind me and move on.  I'm not even going to tell you my excuses reasoning's on why the month was like that.  Let's just chalk it up to a few bad decisions (on my part) and the rest of it was just life. 

But seriously there were a few very exciting things that were going on at the same time. We are DEFINITELY buying a house and we're going to be on TV.  My dad has been saying for a while, we should apply to HGTV's Property Virgins.  How it would be "such a great experience for new home buyers" and "that we are sure to get a lot of knowledge from it" and the fact that we'd get to be on TV.  So the last weekend in March I sent off a quick email giving all the info they required, and honestly never thinking they'd email/ call. 

The next morning (a Sunday!) we get a call.  I think we were both incredibly shocked.  Okay its one thing to write an email and say ya we want to be on your show.  It's a whole other thing when they write you back and say we want you to be on our show.  There was a few things we had to do before they could officially approve us - but we made it through all the stages, and we can officially call our selves Property Virgins!

So on top of the show we actually get to buy a house - that is the truly exciting part.  We've been out the last two weekends and it's weird.  I mean i've had to search for a new apartment almost every year for the last 10 years, but house hunting that's different. 

This is going to be ours we can do whatever we want to it/ with it. And I can't wait.  We have already been through the offer/bidding war once. 

This is us waiting out in our car, on what was a very humid Sunday night. (this was one week ago, yesterday it snowed. oh spring, please stop playing with my emotions.) We lost out on it because of conditions - but we're okay with that.  There are a ton of houses out there.

Okay I think that's enough for one post right now.  I'll be back with my March and April crafty round ups.

Mind the Appearance...

Okay...I'm testing out some new options for the look of my blog.  The new blogger customizable template is really cool, there is a lot you can play around with.  And this was only a half an hour or so that I was tinkering with it last night.  I think there might be a few more changes over the coming week until I find something that is going to fit well. 

Plus I'm hoping to do a bit more blogging and updating as the weeks go by.  Lots of exciting things happening over here in my world,  I just need a few minutes to get then on the page!

Stay tuned!

Lack of posting

and there is no excuse for it.  

Just tired.  Busy and tired.  

But there was some good news this week.  We were officially approved for a mortgage!  And a rather large one at that.  We still can't start looking until May, but that's only less then two months from now.  I can't wait.  I'm so excited to have something we can call our own, and to be out of this city.  I think it will be the start of many good things!

Numbers

I knew it was going to be a busy long day, and what started off not so good, ended on a decent note and I was out of the office and treading through the snow storm by 6:10pm.

I made note of a few random numbers today...

32 - the number of subway stations I passed through on a daily basis (16 on my way to work, 16 on my way home)

11 - pairs of red Olympic mittens I spotted on my way to work this morning

427 - the number of facebook friends I currently have

2 - the number of blog followers I have (thanks Delena & Steve!)

80 - an estimated number of kleenex's I've used since it started snowing around 11 this morning.

12 - the number of times I checked my email/ facebook/ webpage during the course of work today 

3 - the number of ice cream sandwiches pauly brought me home tonight!

26 - the number of inches my amaryllis has grown!

Accomplished Sunday

After a very busy week, I spent most of yesterday relaxing.  Well actually we spent all afternoon running around, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon/ evening napping. And although I had high hopes of getting lots of sewing done, I spent a lot of time searching things on line and planning out projects.

But I had big plans for today.  I got up at a reasonable hour, cleaned the kitchen, made some banana bread, watched some Olympics, cleaned the kitchen again, did some more looking at websites and projects, cleaned the sewing room. Took a nap, worked on a secret project, watched some more Olympics.  Made dinner, cleaned the kitchen again.  Watched the middle of the Hockey Game, watched the end of Amazing Race, and all of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.

I'd say it was a decent day.  Its going to be a busy week ahead.  I NEED to go to knitting on Thursday night, its been week's since I've been there.  And we are planning to have dinner with Mom and Dad on Friday before they leave for Dominican on Saturday.  Then off to Ripley Saturday morning.  And that doesn't even say anything about work. 

A little glimpse of a secret sewing project I'm working on:

I should have gone to bed over an hour ago.  Heading there now. 

6 years and 1 day

...the amount of time i've been working at my current work place.  Man time flies when you dislike your job.

I don't know if I've always "disliked" it.  I think at the beginning I was very happy to write slides and create charts.  But somewhere around year 2 or 3 things changed.  There are only so many charts you can make before you never ever want to see a media chart again. 

My dad once told me I didn't ever stick with anything.  He was technically right at the time, I "dropped" out of dance classes, curling club, choir, drama club.  Other then high school I don't think I've done something for this long ever. I guess I can finally say dad I stuck with something!

Although its been 6 years at Zenith, this year will be my 8th year since I graduated from College. Unreal to believe its really been that long.  Where did the time go? 

In that 8 years I've lived in 6 different apartments with 7 different people.  I've been through 5 boyfriends and stuck with number 5 for 3+ years now. I've been to over 10 weddings, and have 3 more this year.  I've welcomed 1 "substitute niece" and 1 "substitute nephew", and will be welcoming a real niece or nephew in-law this year.

And although I'd love to leave my job for something more rewarding and self-satisfying.  At the moment its not really possible due to me being too scared to leave for one, and second buying a house this year is my main priority.  So I stick to it, and although I don't always show up on time, i'll be there tomorrow putting in my 110% to get the job done.

I've always wanted to...

... learn how to play the piano.  I've tried at least twice, but my fingers are too short, or I just didn't pratice enough, but I absolutely love listening to people play.

All last night and today I've been listening to the score from the movie "The Holiday" - and I'm particularly in love with this.  I could listen to it over and over. And if your reading this I suggest you take a listen, it will instantly calm you and perhaps make you feel warm and fuzzy instead - specially around the 3:02 mark.  You can just tell that in the movie that was the part where they fell in love. 

ahhh... bliss.

Currently...

... watching Rick Mercer on time shifting. (this show always makes me laugh)

... missing her tootsie since he is away at a conference until Friday afternoon.

... just finished dinner since I was working until 9.

... impressed that I even put together a healthy dinner at 9:30pm. (Chicken Cesar Salad - yum!)

... has something in her eye

... cold - its really quite snowy and slushy out.

... thinking of working on my wild thing quilt after the mercer report - maybe.

... wondering if tomorrow will be better at work then today.

... has a very messy kitchen and should probably clean it, but most likely won't tonight.

... waiting for the weekend so I can visit with my girls friends and hang out.

And just cause a think every post need a picture ...a few shots from our trip to the science center this weekend with my sis and sean.  We went to see the Body Works exhibit and it was soo great!  Long day but worth it.

Long day

Crappy day at work (which went until 7pm) followed by:

- back massage

- eye brow waxing

- shopping for new "meeting" outfit for Friday

- getting new books from Chapters for free thanks to using a gift certificate from my best-est friend.

- dinner at mc'ds with my tootsie

- baked a cake for my assistants birthday tomorrow (chocolate with vanilla icing and coloured sprinkles!)

- quick blog update

- Cup of tea and into bed with new book

 

Overall the evening turned out to be not so bad.  Busy Busy day again tomorrow and Montreal for meetings on Friday - come on weekend!