Wednesday Whinning...

It is Wednesday and tomorrow Robert (older son) and I take off for Pittsburgh for the President's Day Hockey tournament there. My mother - from Minnesota - called last night after watching the weather and asked if they would cancel the tournament due to snow. Well, I guess that is a reasonable question...but since the majority of the teams seem to live around that state, and we are the only 'wacky' hockey team to fly across the country for games...I highly doubt that the tournament will be cancelled. The only thing that might be worrisome is that our flight from here to there stops in Dallas...and, well, I'm not sure that I really want to get stuck there. But, I will get things packed up, we will get on the plane tomorrow and go...and whatever happens we will deal with; no point in stressing over something that hasn't happened yet. But it might be a good idea to pack a clean pair of underware in our carryon...just incase :)

Not a whole lot of stitching going on here in the last 24 hours. Last night, Matthew, DH & I went to a school board meeting. Matthew's elementary school was the spot-lighted school this month and he has been involved in a new Character Development program which the school wanted to present to the board. The program is called Positive Action. It has been developed and coordinated by the teacher that Matthew had for 2nd and 3rd grade, but it is student lead. The kids develop little skits highlighting certain character traits...in September they did a skit on Positive Self-esteem...this month it was the Golden Rule. The develop the skits, practice during lunch and afterschool and then put on the skit in front of their peers during school assemblies. So, last night, Matthew & the rest of the Positive Action group, put on the Golden Rule skit in front of the school board and the community of Dublin, CA who were in attendence in the audience. They did an awesome job!

Tonight...well, it will be time to put the finishing touches on packing for the trips. I will get all the clothes around and packed after I get home from work...then after both boys' hockey practice, I will wash those stinky things so that we can pack them tomorrow. Then it is off to snowy Pittsburgh for me and Phoenix for DH.

Gotta run friends...take care!
Lisa

Monday's Mumblings

Well, here we are back to Monday. Did you watch the Superbowl? This was the first time in a long time that I watched the majority of the game. I guess because DH and I lived in New Orleans for several years (from 1991-1995...right after we got married & out of college - a perfect time to live right near the French Quarter...no responsibilities and young enough to party). And because, it was on, it did provide a good background for stitching which I worked on "A Walk in the Park". Here is where I am:

I just need to stitch up the white dog bones below the words, the dog's name (Maxwell) and the dates (1995-2009). I was hoping to have it done before this coming Thursday, but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen as all of us (DH, 2 sons and I) will be departing for hockey tournament on Thursday.

As mentioned, I will be traveling with Robert (older son) to a tournament in Pittsburgh while DH and Matthew (younger son) will be going to Phoenix. Last week, when I wrote about this arrangement, I got a few questions..."How did DH get lucky?" Well, DH travelled the last 2 times with Robert (Seattle in December and Texas in January) while I got to stay home with Matthew and spend time with him. So it is time for him to go with Matthew. And, to be honest, while I would love to be the one to go to Phoenix for it is warmer there and no snow, DH and I have the same belief of the importance of spending time with each of the boys. So we take turn in our travels with each...Divide and Conquer!  

Another question I get: "When do we get time to spend with each other?" DH and I find sometime here and there...but the time we have with our boys seems so short. Especially now that Robert is 14 and Matthew is 10 - college or jr hockey isn't too far away - so the time we spend with them is priceless. And, DH & I know that our time will come again and we will start a new chapter in our lives...ooopps, sorry for getting so sappy. Maybe it is because Valentine's Day is around the corner?

Anyway...this week is going to be crazy as I will not only preparing myself for travel, but all of us and I will also need to make sure that I have all of Robert's teams information with me as I am the team manager. So, if I don't post for awhile...please forgive me as I will be running around with my head cut off. However, if I do post, I am probably letting off stress and steam, so you will have to forgive me for that too.

So...have a great week as we head into President's Day and Valentines Day weekend! Take care and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

It is Thursday (my Friday)

Good day readers, it is finally Thursday - which is my Friday. Tomorrow is my day off. Well, I am going to start my post off with some stitching news first...I finished model-stitching the CindyMae design and completely finished it (as a pillow...I think that I can tell you that) and will be getting it into the mail to her today so that she can post it as the finished product when she posts the pattern for sale. I really enjoy model stitching for her, for I feel that it has developed into a wonderful friendship between Cinday and I. I will give you all a heads up when she posts the design "Doggone Days, Doggone Napping."

Now that I can check that off as a Happy Dance, I can move onto my next project:

"A Walk In The Park"

Little House Needleworks

My sister (I have 2 sisters - both younger; the one I am refering to is the one in the middle) made the tough decision of putting her dog down back in December. Max was very old (I think close to 17 years old) and just wasn't getting around very well at all. Because Max had been her friend through all her ups and downs for over a decade, it took my sister a while to come to the decision. So, when surfing http://www.123stitch.com/, I came across this pattern and decided that it would be perfect (as Max was a black dalmatian...black dog with black spots). I started this on Tuesday...and only got the white tree and one park bench done. When I get a alittle further, I will post a status photo.

In addition to this project, I can pick up Mary Wigham again. This is where I have left off:

and that was back in December. She has been calling out my name, but I guess I have been deaf to it. She will get to see the sunlight (hopefully, we are suppose to have more rain) this weekend.

So that is the stitching news...hockey wise? Well, the boys have had their normal practices this week and are scheduled to play some games over the weekend. Next week, President's Weekend, is the time when Robert (older son) and I will be departing for a tournament in Pittsburgh, while DH and Matthew (younger son) will be heading toward warmer climate in Phoenix. But that is still a week away...so don't need to stress about that travel yet.

Until next time, remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often

Lisa

Monday's mumblings...

I am up and going on this still dark morning of Monday, February 1. Hard to believe that January is already over - it feels like the month was just a dream. Like I went to bed on December 31 and woke up on February 1...I remember bits and pieces of the January dream, yet I cannot put my finger on everything that I accomplished or did. I guess that is why I blog, so that I have the ability to look back and remember all the things I did and that I shared with you.

I had a nice weekend - and I hope that you did too. Robert (older son) didn't officially have any hockey practices this weekend because the majority of his teammates were at the second round of the Select Camp Tryouts, which unfortunately when he participated in the first round (back in mid-December) he was just getting over bronchitis and didn't perform up to his potential; therefore just earning an alternate spot (which he wasn't needed). However, Matthew (younger son) had hockey practice on Saturday - which Robert (older son) was allowed to skate at; so DH and I had fun watching the Brothers skate together. Matthew's current coach was Robert's coach back when Robert was a 2nd year Squirt (the age division containing 9 and 10 year olds), so Matthew's coach loves to have some of his past players come out and skate with him.

After practice was over, we all went out to dinner at Scott's Seafood restaurant at Jack London Square in Oakland. It has been a very long time since we enjoyed a nice sit down restaurant dinner as a family. We do periodically go out to dinner as a family, but to the local sushi restaurant or the salad bar place (either Fresh Choice or Sweet Tomatoes) - so going out to a nice restaurant was a treat. I enjoyed a mixed grill fish entree which consisted of a few prawns, salmon and mahi-mahi. The restaurant did a great job of grilling it without any butter or oils; even the server came over to let me know that the potatoes on the side were cooked in butter and asked how I wanted to deal with that. He suggested dry baked potatoe, but since I allowed myself to enjoy the plentiful sour dough bread I asked about just giving me a helping of the steamed veggies, which they did without any butter too. I know what works and what doesn't work with my aging body and it is nice to come to a restaurant which will work with you and even assist in the matter. They even accomodated Matthew (younger son) with a plate of noodles (without oil & butter) and the marinara sauce on the side.

After dinner, we walked over to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop so the boys could get their milk shakes. DH decided to try their new hot chocolate shakes. Hot Chocolate shakes...not a good idea, so save your calories dear readers. They take milk, warm it up, put in chocolate syrup and then the ice cream of your choice, a little whip cream and a cherry. Well, there is something about warm milk and ice cream...let's just say that by the time the lady handed DH the cup, no ice cream could be found and the taste wasn't very good. Maybe it was because of the strawberry ice cream DH requested, I don't know. Me? Well, like I said I enjoyed the plentiful bread that was brought to the table during dinner...so ice cream was not for me.

Sunday, Matthew (younger son) had a hockey game in the late afternoon, so I decided to get out the crock pot and make some swedish meatballs for lunch...great pre-game meal: protein from the meatballs and carbs from the noodles. This is a really simple recipe...just get a package of meatballs (not the italian kind, just a basic meatball - I get the cocktail meatballs from Trader Joe's) tossed in a crock pot with some beef or chicken gravy, wortersire sauce and chicken broth. Let that cook on high for at least 5 hours. Then I take out the meatballs, stir in some sour cream and then put the meat balls back in. (if interested in a more detailed receipe, please leave a comment and I can get you the specifics).  Since each kid likes the meatballs with a different noodle, we needed to go out and get some egg noodles...so we decided to take a family walk to the grocery store. It is about 2.5 miles round trip - nice to get out in the sunshine.

Anyway...the boys enjoyed their lunch and the rest of the quiet afternoon. We left for the game around 3pm - which Matthew's team won.

I did get some stitching in over the weekend and about ready to put the finishing touches on the CindyMae design I have been model stitching. Hoping to have that complete by this week.

Thank you for visiting...hope I didn't bore you too much! Have a great week and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

L*K Exchanged received

Today when I got home from work and went to the mailbox, I found a little puffy package waiting for me from Lori...and look at the beautiful pinkeep that I found inside (Bridal Bear decided to model with the beautiful exchange):

Isn't it beautiful? The colors are so soft (she used GAST threads) and stitched wonderfully on 28ct fabric. According to a notecard Lori enclosed in the package, this was her first pinkeep she has ever made. If she didn't write that in the card, I wouldn't have been able to figure it out as it was perfectly made!

Attached to each pin was a small clear Swarovski crystal, which added a lot of sparkle and I am sure added with a lot of love. The ribbon...well, that was chosen by her youngest son and I believe that he did a wonderful job of finding the perfect ribbon - it is soft in texture and color - the perfect finish for the pinkeep.

And look what it is sitting on...a little stand. Lori spoiled me with adding this in the package. Thank you so much, I love it. I have set it on my nightstand, by my bed, where I have all my exchange treasures displayed.

Well, my friends, my weekend has begun as I am off of work tomorrow - which will give me a little "me" time while DH (is at work) and the boys (are at school) are out of the house. While housecleaning should be on the "to do list", I might just put that off for another week and make some time to stitch...good idea?

Take care and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

January Ornament Swap received...now I get to show you the finish :)

I found out that my ornament I sent to Sharon for our 2010 Ornament Swap was received, so I get to share with you another finish - yahoo! I am so glad that she received it and likes it. Sharon now has 5 new ornaments to adorn her Christmas tree in 11 months (didn't we just take down the tree?).

The ornament was a design from the 2009 JCS Ornament issue. In the magazine, it was stitched all in white, but I decided to use some hand dyed fabric (I used blue food coloring and it turned a pinky/lavendar...go figure) and stitch it in a red theme. I used varigated reds as well as adding some Krenik blending filament in red. It was a fun stitch!

Looking at the calendar it is hard to believe that January is just about over. Next month both boys have a hockey tournament...in two different places during the same weekend. DH will be travelling with Matthew (younger son) to Phoenix and I will be travelling with Robert (older son) to Pittsburgh. It has been a while since we all have had to travel at one time - but that is the life of our hockey family. Any readers in Pittsburgh? When I travel for these activities, it is fun to see if there are any blog friends in the cities we visit for hockey tournaments.

Well...not much else going on...so I will end this posting for now. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Remember to Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Finally a finish to post and just a weekend update

Good day blogger friends,
I hope that you all had a good weekend. Ours here was very nice...and I will share a little of the activites in just a bit, but thought I would post a stitching photo first (YAHOO!). I saw that Lori received the L*K Rnd3 I stitched and finished for her. So without further ado, here is what I stitched:

L*K..."Love"

Fabric: Pink/Maroon-ish color...something I had in my statsh

Thread...used the colors called for, but added a little JAB heart button in place of a stitched design

I saw this pattern when I was shopping in NiaH last month and, knowing that I had a L*K exchange to stitch, decided that it would be perfect for Round 3 which was so close to February. According to Lori's post on the L*K blog, her wedding anniversary is also in Feb - so my decision to go with this pattern sounds like it was a good one!

Well, that is one exchange that made it to it's new home...as soon as Sharon shares that she received the ornament from the ornament exchange we are doing, I will post that one soon. At this time, I am still model stitching for CindyMae, who just announced that she will be published 2x this year in The Cross Stitcher magazine - August and September. I am so excited for her. When I first met her via blogging, she was creating free designs and then started working on some to sell via internet. Soon we became friends and I started to stitch some of the models for her so that she can upload photos of what the design will look like.  The design I am working on right now is called "Doggone Napping" and it is a counter part to "Cat Nap":

CindyMae Design...pattern available (click the link)

Again, I am so excited for her and everything she has accomplished in the short amount of time! Congratulations Cindy!

Ok...now that I finally had a stitching post going, I thought I would also (bore you)...here are a couple of photos of Robert from his tournament in Seattle over MLK weekend - this is the tournament that he and his hockey team - San Jose Jr. Sharks Bantam AAA - won.

Hockey filled our Sunday yesterday, with both boys playing games. Robert (older son, pictured above) had 2 "league" games versus the LA Jr. Kings Bantam AAA; Robert's team defeated them in both games....Way to go Sharks! And Matthew (younger son) had an evening game, which they won as well. Good outcome to a great hockey Sunday!

Hope you are having a good Monday! The boys are off of school so we are all relaxing today!

Until the next time...remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Time to pack up the Ark and get sailing...

Mrs. Noah, busy at work...after folding the laundry and storing it on board SS Arck, she grabs her clipboard and starts to check off all the animals...

2 giraffes (male/female)

2 alligators (male/female)

2 lions (male/female)

2 zebras (male/female)

2 elephants (male/female)

2 monkeys (male/female)

etc...

With all the animals accounted for it was time to set sail, for there was another storm on the horizon..."Noah, husband, time to get off that sofa and get on board."

Ok...not very nice, I know. But by the looks of the sky, we are in for another strong storm. After 2 on Sunday, 2 yesterday and one doozy that included thunder and hail this morning...I am getting tired of all this rain. I know, it is good in preparation for the dry summer as I mentioned the other day, but one gets tired of this dark, gloomy wet weather.

Nevertheless...it is great stitching weather!

Take care everyone and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often (even if you have to do it under the umbrella)

Lisa

Tuesday's thoughts...

My Tuesday started out very early when DH and Robert (older son) got home from the hockey tournament in Texas at 12:30am. Due to the weather in California, their plane was delayed 3.5 hours and had the stress of being stranded in Texas attached to it...but all is ok, as they did get home early this morning...to which I am grateful!!!

Robert's team managed to make it into the championship and won that game. This is their first championship win for the year. Congratulations to Robert and the San Jose Jr. Shark Bantam AAA team!...to which I am grateful!!!

The Winter Rain Storms are strong right now. As I am spinning on my stationary bike and updating my blog, I can hear the waves of rain hit the front window. Being somewhat near the ocean our storms literally come in waves (like the waves of an ocean). While it is a mess to get around town in, it will definitely add to our moisture and will help keep down the number of fires we could have during the summer dry months...to which I am grateful!!!

I am sorry to report, but once again I don't have any snapshots of my stitching projects of finishes. However, I do have some news...I have totally finished my L*K Rnd 3 exchange and my January OSE (for Sharon). They have been photographed (which I will share as soon as I hear they have received them), they have been packed up, envelopes have been addressed and I should be able to put them in the mail today...to which I am grateful!!!

Today I woke up hearing the rain on my window, not really wanting to get out of my warm bed in order to get my spin in this morning...but I did and feel really good about it. In my email inbox was the latest edition of Living Life Fully's E-Zine. I get their daily emails and then their monthly notification of the E-Zine. Sometimes I read them and delete them...sometimes I find a reading that really "hits the spot" of what is going on with me at the moment...and sometimes I find a gem that I would like to share.

In this edition of Living Life Fully, there is an article on Committment vs. Attachment. Attachment: "is a reflex, an automatic response which often may not reflect our deepest good"....Committment: "is a conscious choice, to align ourselves with our most genuine values and our sense of purpose". Anyway, if this is something that interests you, click the link: Living Life Fully's e-Zine, and have a read.

And with that I will end this post for the day. For you, my friend, I am grateful that you took time out of your day to visit. May your day be blessed with my Love, Life, Laughter and Stitching!
Lisa

Weekend update...

Hello dear friends,
The weekend has been nice and somewhat quiet so far. With DH and Robert (older son) in Texas for a hockey tournament, I have a few less people in the household to manage (LOL). Matthew does have some hockey committments this weekend, the first was a scrimmage with a team in his age division last night. Matthew's team won. It was a good game, followed by a potluck which the other team was also invited - which made for a nice evening. Today, Matthew has another game at 11:15 and then in the afternoon the team is doing Lazar Tag; which I signed up to participate in too (yes, it was open for parents and siblings...thought I would see what this game was all about).

On the stitching front, which I have not written about in a while...well, I have just about finished 2 exchanges which are due mailed by the end of the month - 2010 OSE and the L*K Rnd 3. They are stitched and prepped for the finishing I am going to give them. And since tomorrow is MLK Day (Martin Luther King Day), and there is no school (and I will be home from work), I am planning on sitting in front of the sewing machine and accomplishing those finishing touches so that I can get them in the mail next week. I have also been working on some model stitching for CindyMae - it is a really cute design which coordinates well with the Catnap pillow I did for her, but this one has a napping puppy on it. Oh, yah, if you visit her website, she has just added some wonderful Valentine designs (model stitched by April)...don't you just love how we blogging stitchers support eachother :)

So, bottomline...with most of my stitching right now exchanges or model stitching I do not have anything to show off again...and MW is feeling neglicted. I do miss Mary, but I would like to get my "committments" accomplished first so that I can dedicate my attention when stitching Mary...it is not a good one to loose focus while stitching. Nothing worse than trying to frog 1 over 2...well, 1 over 1 is hard to frog...but frogging is no fun, so no stitching Mary without focus!

Oh, yah...one more thing...watch out for the dreaded software virus that is going around right now. We have one laptop at home that is sick with it. I haven't done a lot of reading about it, but I have read that it has come from some of the yahoo groups and/or downloading software from some of the social communities (aka facebook). So, make sure that your antivirus programs are good...but just be careful!

Well, it is time to stop rambling on...Have a great Sunday and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Aaaaahhhhhhh....end of a week...

It is Friday. It has been a very, very busy week. Mostly, it was due to extending my hours at work, which I am definitely not complaining about, but it is something that just changed my routine. I think that I posted some about work earlier in the week - but quickly...I have a part-time job in a global company working in the Communications & Marketing department. "My boss" is in our Duxford, UK office; she was in town this week as we were starting a new/large project regarding our company's website, so we were interviewing webdesign companies. While here, she did my performance review from 2009 (which was wonderful) and we set my 2010 targets (lots of fun and exciting things to work on!). The meetings were wonderful, the review was great and, well, basically it was so nice to have someone to talk with all day (normally everyone stays in their office/cubicle or is travelling to all the other offices and it is quiet). But I do have to say that adding that extra hour or hour and a half does change my week...basically I was going from work right to picking up the kids and I am use to having that time to myself to either catch up on some household things or just to sit and stitch. But it was wonderful having "my boss" in town.

Last night we didn't have any hockey practice to deal with, so after I got home from work I did take some time to catch up on the grocery shopping and laundry. That always makes things see better. Also, DH and Robert (older son) are leaving this morning for a hockey tournament in Texas...so I used the evening to get them organized and packed up. Yes...I was the one who got most of the things done for their travels...Yes, I know that they are capable of packing their own bags...Yes, but if I don't do it when I want to do it, then they decide to pack and organize when I want to relax and then it seems like the stress level rises 100% because something is missing that I have to find...so instead of waiting until they are ready to tackle the packing, I go ahead and just do it! If they have anything to complain about, then I can say "you should have done your own packing."

I am looking forward to this 4 day weekend (Martin Luther King weekend)...the boys have Monday off of school as it is a US holiday. So, today I will have the house to myself, as I do with my typical Fridays off and then Monday it will be Matthew (younger son) and I...until the other two come home Monday evening. So I see a lot of relaxing, stitching and hockey in our plans here at home! I hope to have some stitching stuff to show you at the end of the weekend!

Have a good day and remember....Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often! Lisa

A gift for me...and the "official" birthday boy

I don't know if you will remember, but I have been (and still am) a participant in the L*K exchange. Round 2 was due in the mail around Thanksgiving...and I did complete mine and sent it to the assigned exchange partner. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the exchange partner hasn't acknowledged receiving what I had created & sent, nor did she send anything to me (it seems that we were eachother's partner). Because I am well aware of "risks" associated with participating in exchanges, I got over it and signed up for Round 3 - I love the people I meet through these exchanges and I love to stitch & finish & share with others. Nevertheless, an Angel Stitcher contacted me and let me know that I will not be forgotten...so without further ado, here is what the mailperson delivered to me yesterday:

"Life's a picnic" by Lizzie Kate

Stitched and finished as a pinkeep by my Angel Stitcher (Lisa V)

And I found the perfect place to show it off...on my little wall shelf with my fruit and vegetable dishwear. This design is so me! Watermelons...strawberries...pears...well, I live on Watermelons (as long as the grocery store has them in stock; we seem to be at a low point right now).

Thank you Lisa...while you definitely didn't have to do this, I so appreciate it and love my new addition to my kitchen shelf, where I will be able to enjoy it every day!

The Bithday Boy

Well, my oldest turned 14 years old yesterday. It is hard to believe. I still remember the day/evening that he arrived...fourteen years ago. I looked like I had swallowed a watermelon, and this is before I ate as much watermelon as I do now. After going into the dr for a check up and complaining that I was getting so big, they decided to do an ultrasound which showed that I would be delivering a baby between 9 to 12 lbs (and I am a pretty small person: 5'3" tall and pre-preg weight was 102...when I was pregnate with Robert I gained 60 pounds). So I was scheduled to be induced the next day; and after 16 hours I had a 9lb 2oz bouncing baby boy. It was one of the most incredible things that I ever experienced (until 3.5 years later when Matthew came along). I am very proud of Robert and all that he has accomplished in his 14 years. I pray that he continues to find excitement and enjoyment in life, learning and physical activity. I feel so blessed that he is in my life!

Happy Birthday Robert!

Robert (now 14years old) and Matthew (10.5 years old)

Have a great day and remember...

Lisa, Love, Laugh and Stitch often - Lisa

A walk in the woods on Saturday

I know that many of you out there are in a deep freeze or covered with hundreds of feet of snow - so I hope that I don't upset anyone when I share with you photos and stories of our Saturday walk in the woods. Around our neighborhood, we still have some undeveloped land; one reason is because of an army base being nearby and some of this undeveloped area is used for their training drills (that area is fenced off). And some of the area has been deemed a park or a nature reserve. Anyway, wintertime in Northern California typically means cooler weather (low 30s in the morning and mid-50s in the afternoon) and rain...and lots of fog. We have been talking about taking a "fog" walk through the woods, but we didn't get outside yesterday until 9:30am and most of the fog had lifted by then. But we had a great time exploring the area... I hope that you enjoy our walk and maybe, just maybe it will give you hope that spring is on its way to you.

Our Walk in the Woods

Because of all the rain we had, the wild mushrooms were plentiful...as well as the moss and other fungi that grows on the ground and the trees. And the grass and floor covering was so green, you can almost say that it "hurt yours eyes". What I enjoy in a situation like this is when the grass is so green, there really is a contrast between the green of the vegetation and the brown/gray of the leafless trees.

 

There was a little spring or creek that had some water running. There is nothing better than listening to nature...hearing the "babbling" of a brook as it runs through its trail it has created in the woods, as well as the 

call of all the birds.

Getting out and exploring was good for the boys. Lets them get out in nature, explore the holes dug into the earth (who could live in those? our neighborhood skunk? maybe a racoon? or could it be a mountain lion?). It also provides challenges - like getting over the babbling brook without getting wet or climbing an old oak tree.

Robert and Matthew really had a good time. Matthew had made this nature walk with DH while Robert and I were at one of his hockey tournaments, so Matthew was our nature guide; and he did do a great job of leading us through the trails, pointing out some neat sights and making sure that we took the correct paths down the hills so that we could go down by the stream without breaking our necks.

Well, thank you for visiting. I hope that you enjoyed our walk - hopefully you were able to do it from the warmth of your house and you didn't get water in your shoes and chilled fingers like we did. Oh, here is one more picture in endure...Matthew and I (remember it was an early morning walk for I'm looking like I just got out of bed)

Have a wonderful Sunday...until next time, remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often (hopefully I can do some of the later activity today)!

Lisa

A clean dog, a visit to the eye doctor and a soon to be 14 year old

Today was my day off from work and it was pretty relaxing. Although I get a few things done. First up, was to take Bruno to the groomers. He is an outdoor dog. Our house has a nice set up, for Bruno has an indoor place inside our garage where he sleeps and eats and then there is a door to the backyard where he does his...."thing". We take him out for walks/runs, but haven't let him into the house since we moved here because he is a big dog and has a tendency to chew things. But, as the vet always says when we visit, "My, Bruno, you are a happy dog aren't you?" And I think he is. Next week he gets to see the vet to get his yearly check up and rabies shot.

Yesterday, Robert (older son) and I went to get our eyes checked by the eye doctor. I do this once a year, as I am very near-sighted and my eyes seem to continue to get worse (but I did find out that they haven't changed in the last year, which is a good thing!). However, we found out that Robert was slightly near-sighted so it was time to get him glasses, which he will only have to wear to see the whiteboard (remember when it was a blackboard or referred to as the chalkboard?). Poor kid, I guess he got my "eye genes", for when I was in 8th grade my eyes started to change and I got my first pair of glasses. After his exam, he tried on several designs of glasses and settled on a pair that he like and feels that he will be able to put on in school without feeling to embarrassed (I took a photo with my camera in the store...I think he looks "smart" in those, don't you).

And speaking of Robert, his birthday is Monday...and he will turn 14. Fourteen years old...OMG! It is hard to believe that I will be a mother of a 14 year old. I am sure that I will post a memory of the day he was born as I always get sappy on the birthdays of my sons!

On the stitching side of my life, I did take some time to stitch on a L*K exchange today, but don't have anything that I am able to show you...I am sorry, but know that you will understand.

Well...time to get the boys ready for bed. Tomorrow Matthew (younger son) had a hockey game in the early afternoon. So I bid you "good-night" and remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

The week is marching by and my weekend starts now.

Wow, what a first week in 2010. On one hand, I don't remember what I did or didn't do; on the other hand I feel like I have been going...going....going. We went back to our "normal" routine which includes school for the boys, work for DH and I; and the hockey practices Monday-Wednesday. I have been doing just "ok" with some of my goals...I have been ingesting less sugar (haven't totally omitted sugar gum or a little candy yet) and doing my situps/pushups/weights, which has been a focus of mine this week. Little baby steps to change a life style is my motto.

At work, which is something I don't talk about much, I have been getting ready for my boss to visit next week. Strange as it sounds my boss is located in our Duxford England office. We basically communicate by primarily email. I am looking forward to her visit as we are getting ready to start some very fun and exciting projects. In fact, today I was ask to present information about our Website redesign project to our upper manager via a conference call...and I was nervous. Ten years ago in a previous job, which was at a party store company, I was in public relations/marketing/advertising and my main responsibilty was the PR part of it...I would fly to different states where we had stores and get on local tv talk shows and talked about "how to plan parties", or "how to uniquely wrap Christmas presents", or showed the trendy Halloween costumes. You would think that talking to a speaker phone wouldn't be nerve wracking for someone who use to do tv talkshows...but my stomache was tied up in knots. But it was fun and I think I did a good job - so I feel good and honored that they would let me do something like this.

So, here we are at Thursday...I will be leaving in a few minutes to pick up the boys from school and we are heading to the eye dr. Time for me to get a check up and there is a need for Robert to get checked out as a note from school said that he doesn't see very well.

Until next time, remember...
Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

MW update and hockey photos

I wanted to quickly post a photo of an update of MW (as promised) but, please note, I didn't get as far as I had hoped before posting an update. Yesterday I spent the morning taking down the Christmas decorations and tree and vacuuming up the needles from the old fake tree, the afternoon at Matthew's championship hockey game (which they, unfortunately lost in 3 OTs) and just getting ready for the end of the holiday break (the boys started school today and I went back to work). But here is MW...

It is coming along...but didn't get as much done as I wanted over the weekend. I have started some exchange stitching projects and also had the hockey tournament. And speaking of tournament, I thought I would share some photos we purchased and scanned in...

Here is Matthew (younger son) - various photos from the Winter Classic Tournament in San Jose, CA

 

And the best photos...it is a 2-photo series where Matthew was working hard to take the puck away from the opposing team by lifting his stick away from the puck...and the one below it shows Matthew successful in stealing the puck away, turning to try and stuff the puck in the net. Unfortunately, the goalie (whose family is good friends of ours) stopped it.

We are definitely proud of Matthew, for he really worked his tail off the whole tournament! Actually the whole team played very well...nevertheless, after the 3 Overtimes in the championship game, they lost. Oh well...there is alway another game and another tournament!

Have a good week everyone and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Happy New Year (one day late)

Happy New Year to all. I hope that everyone was able to celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 in some fashion. Ours was a very quiet one, for we are in the middle of another hockey tournament, so we had just come back from Matthew's (younger son) hockey game Thursday late afternoon, had a little dinner, played a little family game, enjoyed our 9pm (celebrated the New Year on the East Coast) and then stared the bed time routine. I think that we all were in bed around 10:30pm.

As the saying goes...

EAT

SLEEP

HOCKEY

And that is about all we have done since December 27th...some days we even repeated that list a second time if there were 2 games or 2 hockey events in one day. But there are worse things in life that we could be doing.

2010 Goals and Projects

I haven't had much of a chance to read many blogs lately, but those I have read have started posting their goals and projects for 2010. One of my main goal (which unfortunately at the rink yesterday I broke) is to cut my sugar consumption down and eventually cut it out all together. What I am referring to is the large amount of candy and sugared gum I consume, especially when I am sitting around at the rink or at work. It is in those kinds of solutions where I am either "bored" or "focus" and just need something for my mouth to do - like chew. Unfortunately sugarless gums contain a faux sweetner called sorbitol, which I seem to be sensitive to and causes a lot of discomfort after I chew several pieces of gum. There have been many studies in health magazines, which say chewing gum can help you think or chewing a piece of gum after a meal as a dessert will help you know the meal is over and you will eat less. The problem with me is I go through a lot of bubble gum in one sitting...so I need to remember "everything in moderation" is ok.

That is one goal as it pertains to eating; another related goal is to work on adding weights, sit ups and push ups to my exercise routine.

And stitching...I would like to or have signed up for:

1. Finish MW by the end of the year

2. 2010 Ornament Exchange/Swap

3. Keep exchange signs up managable - continue with L*K

4. Finish Friendship RR - stitching on the remaining RRs and then as soon as mine gets back, finish it!

5. Continue to model stitch for CindyMae

I think those are nice simple goals to have - I am sure that I will have other projects that come up over the course of the year, but these are the ones that I would like to focus on!

I know that there should be other "life style" goals I should have that would cover family (extended and nuclear), financial goals and marriage. To cover all of those, I think stop procrastinating would definitely help in all facets of life.

In Closing...

I though I would add that above sub-title so those who skimmed the above, knew when I was getting ready to finish this post :) I have been working on MW when I allow myself to sit. I have finished another motif and started on another. I am planning to finish it and then post another photo Sunday as a closing to the week and the holiday break. I have 2 exchanges to get done and send out before the end of the month - one is the 2010 OSE (aka Ornament Swap Exchange) and the other is Round 3 of L*K. I also received a new pattern from CindyMae, which I am looking forward to stitching. It is a counterpart to "Catnap"...so those who are dog people stay tuned!

Have a great Saturday! Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often! Lisa 

A Promise Kept - MW Update

Well, I finished another motif on MW this evening while waiting for the outcome of Robert's Quarter Final game (which DH was texting me the highlights) and watching Ghost.  I thought I would make good on my promise and post an update of MW...so without further ado:

I thought I would put the thread I used for the last motif I stitched in the photo to show you that the brown and the greenish color is from one strand called School Yard. While I stitched the motif, I worked hard to make sure that not only did the design come out looking symmetrical but also the colors. Sometimes it meant that I would stitch with the brown near the needle...allowing me to stitch with the green color. When I came to an area that I wanted to be brown, I secured my end and cut it. Then I moved the needed so that the green color would be near the needle and I would stitch in brown (did that all make sense?). It is different, but I like the way it looks.

Well...off to bed for I have another early alarm (4am...gotta get in my exercise before I take Matthew to the rink for his hockey clinic)...Goodnight!

BTW...Robert's team won their game in an overtime shootout. The score was 5 to 4. So, they move to the Semi-Finals tomorrow morning at 10:30...Go Jr. Sharks! ****Edited at 3:30pm on 12/30...Unfortunately, Robert's team lost 3-1 in the semi-finals****

Holiday = Stitching and, of course, Hockey

Phew...I am so glad that we took advantage of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! What I mean is, those are the only two days during the boys' holiday break that we didn't have to do anything or go anywhere...those were the two days that we literally stayed in our pjs and hung out at the house. For since Saturday, when DH and Robert (older son) left for Seattle for Robert's hockey tournament, we have been going...going...going. And it looks like we will be on the move for the rest of the break (boys go back to school, and I to work, on Jan. 4th).

A Trip to the LNS...Needle in a Haystack
Last Saturday, I took DH and Robert to the airport in the afternoon, which was great timing to go to my "not so" LNS where I met up with Valerie. Valerie and I are doing a mini SAL with MW. She got there before I did, which was good as she needed to spend sometime looking for some fabric for some projects she is getting ready to start. As soon as the fabric decisions were made, she joined Matthew (younger son; who was playing on the computer...nice to have wireless abilities at NiaH, keeps kid busy). We got an opportunity to "Show and Tell" about each of our MW for we each brought ours to show. It is always fun to see fellow stitchers' projects in person to look at their fabric and colors of threads - while pictures are nice to see, in person gives you a better look at the vividness of the colors. And, according to Matthew, "it is interesting to see how different our projects looked"...even though we are stitching the same pattern, he thought it was "pretty cool" that we could use different colored fabric and thread...doing the same thing; but not. It is fun when my sons pick up on these things and take an interest in my needlework hobby.  Anyway...Valerie and I had a nice time visiting and doing a little stitching.

I will get a photo of my MW posted tomorrow to show you my status.

Hockey...
As I mentioned, Robert's team is in Seattle playing in a tournament there. They finished up the round robin portion yesterday, winning all three games and putting them into first place in their divison. During the second game, played Monday afternoon, Robert scored a goal (2nd of the season) and played so well, the coaches chose him as the MVP of that game. Yahoo! Didn't take long for the proud papa to call me and let me know!

Today they start the elimination rounds, beginning with the sweet sixteen. Robert's team will play at 2pm today. Keep your fingers crossed!

While they are up there in Seattle, Matthew and I are at home...but not vegging out for he is participating in a wonderful clinic. It is called "Hands and Feet" - they work on a lot of puck handling skills and some skating. They start out the day at 8:30am on the ice for an hour and fifteen minutes, followed by 1hour of off-ice training with the trainer (which sounds intense, but due to the number of kids and the age group - 6-11 year olds -  it isn't too difficult...more waiting around between turns then actual activity; oh well it is a clinic during the holidays), and then they have another ice session from 11:30-12:45pm.

What do I do during this time? Well, aside from helping him tie/untie his skate in between each activity - I have access to the rinks fitness room where I can go workout if I didn't get in my workout prior to leaving home and I can stitch! Today I was able to get this ol' body out of bed, so I will probably be doing some sitting and stitching...and visiting with other hockey moms!

New Year's

What are your New Year's plans? Ours...well...DH and Robert get back probably Wednesday night so we all will be together during the last holiday of 2009/first holiday of 2010. However, it is Matthew's turn to participate in a tournament, which luckily is here in town.

However, I remember as a kid one of the best New Year's parties my parents threw. I cannot remember what year it was, but I must have been in high school at the time. My parents had a tradition of celebrating this holiday with 3 other families (just the adults though). Prior to New Year's eve, my mother went out and got each of the families matching flannel pjs (both men & women)...they wore them all night, through appetizers and the potluck dinner. At midnight, after the toast, they had a big midnight breakfast. I remember the fluffy omelette that one of the other father's made. Unfortunately, while I was allowed to stay up until midnight, I didn't feel much like eating so I did end up going to bed right after the ball dropped. But I know that, to this day, that party is still talked about in my parents' circle of friends.

Well, thank you for visiting. I am sorry that I didn't have any photos to show - but I promise to take a photo of my MW and show you the status tomorrow. Take care and remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

'Twas the day after the holiday...

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We really enjoyed ours. I was the first to wake up (4:30am), as I wanted to get my workout in before the boys jumped out of bed. I was amazed that I had finished, had time for a little nap and a couple of stitches on MW before the boys got up...it was about 7:30-ish. I remember the days that they would beat us out of bed with excitement. Well, I did find out the reason they slept in...it was because they were all up at midnight. I guess Matthew's (younger son) cell phone got some text messages from someone he didn't know, which woke him up as well as DH and Robert (older son). After DH told Matthew just to turn him phone off (there is some common wisdom for you), DH went back to bed; and I guess Robert stayed in Matthew's room for a little while until he finally grew sleepy, returning back to his own bed. All of this went on and I was sound asleep.

Once everyone was up, we headed downstairs to see if St. Nick made a visit...

Matthew found that the chocolate milk was drank, the chocolate crinkle cookies were all gone except for a few crumbs...even the carrots, which were left out for the reindeer, were eaten. Matthew said that he was glad that he put out that 8th carrot...see, there was some debate whether or not Santa would need Rudolph this year because the weather here in Northern California has been nice. But when Matthew got up, he noticed that there was a little fog - so Rudolph probably was needed and got his carrot, too.

After cleaning up Santa's midnight snack, Robert started to read the letter that Santa wrote him in response to the letter he left by the fireplace...and then Matthew read his. Santa said that he was proud of both boys for their school work as well as their work ethic in hockey and thus tried to fullfill some of the wishes.

Both boys enjoyed new hockey gear, which included new shoulder pads for Robert, gloves for Matthew and sticks for both. One of Robert's biggest hockey wishes was to have a full size net to practice shooting on (Thank you Santa!) and Matthew's biggest Christmas present wish was for a TechDeck ramp (which is a little ramp to use with his miniture skateboards...Thank you Santa!)

Robert also unwrapped a couple of new games - board games that is...Boggle and Spy Clue. So, during the day we played some family games. Boggle was a lot of fun. Just incase you have never played it - it is a game where you mix up a letters and then you have 3 minutes to spell as many word you can. After the 3 minutes is up, everyone takes a turn to read their words - if anyone else came up with that word then you have to scratch it off your list. We really had a good time playing this game - let's just say we all were really good at making up words. It has been a while since we laughed that hard!

So, between opening the presents - enjoying a lunch of mac-n-cheese and lit'l smokies - and playing board games as a family...and hanging out in our pjs for the day...it was a great holiday.

And...oh, yea...what did Santa bring me?

My first design pair of Gingher Scissors (arn't they beautiful?)

"A Friend" by Little Leaf Designs - Elizabeth's Designs

"January and February" by Little House Needleworks - the new month design kit

18"x27" Lakeside Linen 36ct Vintage Lt. Examplar (for the LHN months project)

2 bags of Fabric odds & ends

I must have been a very good girl!

Well...until next time remember: Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa