Sunday's Report - a day in the city & a finish!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Yesterday we decided to do a "family thing" as it will probably be the last Summer Saturday where we find all of us home together. After breakfast, we jumped on the BART (Bay Area Rail Transport...kind of a light rail system that runs around the bay area) and rode into San Francisco to play "tourist".

On Saturday mornings, the Ferry Building has it's farmers market going. Just like all the local farmer's markets, you will find a large amount of beautiful produce, bakery good and other delicious items. However, the market in San Fran seems to inflate the prices a little versus the local farmer's market, probably because of the amount of people and the tourist who also visit it.

The ride on BART from our place to San Fran is 45 minutes - we typically get off at Embarcadero and walk down to the Ferry Building. Walking around the market, we enjoyed the free samples of plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines (the "pit" fruit crops, which are plentiful right now). In addition all the heirloom tomatoes are ripe and have begun to be harvested. These make for beautiful fruit/veggie stands (the vivid colors are wonderful). We had to stop at the Hogs Hallow Oyster booth, because Matthew (youngest son) is into eating oysters...go figure, he has always been my picky eater.









We broke away from the farmer's market crowd and started walking down Embarcadero to Pier 39 (the Ferry Building is Pier 1) where all the sea lions hang out. We stopped to look at them and headed down a little further to Fisherman's Wharf, where we stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant which had a great view of the bay and Alcatraz Island. We at at the Franciscan...it was ok. If you are coming to eat crab legs, steamed and cooked in garlic butter, then this is the place to go (especially with the wonderful view). However, our family isn't quite the garlic butter group. We did enjoy a wonderful prawn and crab meat cocktail.

After lunch, we started to walk back to the BART station (DH and boys stopped at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream outpost near Fisherman's Wharf). We got home around 4 o'clock. It was a nice afternoon!

While DH was reading/napping and the boys were resting/playing computer - I went down to the kitchen and sat at my sewing machine where I put the finishing touches to my PS Exchange! Yahoo! Tomorrow I will be able to get it in the mail - and as soon as my secret partner received the item, I will post a photo. I am so happy with the way this came out and I cannot wait to show you! Now I get to move onto another project...I have a few in line, just need to determine what comes first. I might hold off on the Mary Wigham, until after the boys go back to school and our school/work routine gets going. Then I can definitely focus on it.

Take care everyone...Remember to Live, Love, Laugh and stitch often! Lisa

L*K Exchange made it to Canada!

I heard from Angela P. this morning and she received the L*K Exchange I made and sent to her. She said that she was getting ready to leave, when the mailman handed her a package...which she felt the need to open immediate - and was excited to see what was inside the box. I was happy to hear that she liked it.

I stitched "Cross-Stitcher in Residence" by Lizzie Kate using the majority of the colors the pattern called for, except for the door, which I substituted with the same color as the roof (the door color called for matched the fabric and I just didn't like how that was looking). Also, I attached a silver star where the heart button was suppose to go - for there is a "star" living in Angela's house.

On the back of the pillow, stitched a little spool of thread and added the saying "Come in and Stitch awhile" - thinking that kind of tied the whole them together. I settled on finishing this as a long pillow, because I read on Angel's blog that she likes long pillows. And it sounds like this exchange was well received.

Angela - may the pillow bring as much happiness and enjoyment to your residence as it gave me while I stitched it for you!

Now all of my exchanges I have completed and sent have been received. It is really a good feeling to be involved in an activity like this! In addition, I am enjoying assisting CindyMae by being a model stitcher for some of her designs that she is creating. I just finished another one last night and it really is cute.

With that finish, I spent sometime last night organizing the two Friendship Sampler RRs I have in my house. First, I will be adding my heart to Simone's. I have a DMC varigated red picked out, my heart chosen, a working copy made of that area - so I will work on that today and hope to have it complete sometime this weekend so that I can also add my heart to Ann's...I would love to complete these and be able to send them on their way to Karen; but don't want to promise, just incase life gets in the way over the weekend.

The other stitching projects on my "to do list" is my PS Exchange (mail date: Sept. 1; I have everything kitted up ready to go...this will be my next project after I finish the RRs)...then it will be time to organize my Mary Wigham. I received my fabric from NiaH earlier in the week and have downloaded & printed out all nine sections, so I just need to sit and determine the color scheme. Oh, yeah...I still need to finish my sister's anniversary gift too.

It is interesting how quickly a hobby can turn into something that has a "to do" list. However, as long as it doesnt' invoke stress, I think that it is ok. Stitching is something that brings me happiness; it is a good method of relaxation for me and a great outlet for my creativity. Nevertheless, it is alway a good practice to do a "reality check"...for if this hobby and passion becomes stressful, a "have to do, and/or a task - then I will need to re-evaluate all the things I sign up for. However, right now it is perfect - and I am enjoying everything that I have signed up to do!

So may your passion for needlework continue to bring you much happiness and enjoyment!

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

What 'cha been doing?

I have been doing my part (still) to help the economy improve as I build up my stash some more with some Prairie Schooler patterns and a few Lizzie Kate. I signed up for Rnd 3 of the PS exchange and hope to stay with the L*K Exchange after this round, so I felt that I should have some new things to pick from as I continue to stay with these exchanges. Participating in exchanges was one of the goals I set out to accomplish as I was a newbie in the cyber stitch world. Through this activity I have come to know many people - it really is adding a wonderful element to my life!

The mail person adorned my mailbox with the August 2009 edition of the Cross Stitcher Magazine. The Christmas Stocking in it is very cute - but for those last minute 4th of July projects there are a couple of very nice patterns, as well as some other fun projects that I will probably put some sticky notes on as possible projects/gifts from others.

Stitching Update...I have been working on a couple of L*K exchanges. The first one is a personal (one-on-one) exchange with Heather (Stitch in Tyme) We set a due date of July 1, so I will be getting this in the mail to her soon and will post a formal photo after I receive the word she received it. It was a fun colorful stitch and finish...I hope that she will like it. The other is for the "official" L*K Exchange and is due August 1. I am about 1/2 done with the stitching of the design, because I wanted to have some time to think about how I want to finish this for my exchange partner - maybe trying something new. However, I have put this aside temporarily because I wanted to do a little something to surprise someone - so I started this new project because I need to get it in the mail tomorrow. So lots of exchanges going on.

After sending the Friendship Sampler RRs down to Karen in AZ on the 16th of June, my house has been without an RR. I miss having a heart to stitch the end of this month...yet it is nice to be able to focus on other projects for a while. Several of the members of this RR has been enjoying weddings, graduations and other wonderful family activities; some have been travelling and some have been dealing with the unfortunates of the economy...so the email box has been a little light with communication, but reading their blogs they are all doing well. Again, it is amazing how this type of activity - Round Robins, Exchanges and Blogging can bring some of us together! It really has been a positive addition to my life!

Update on household life...DH has been very busy at work lately with meetings, early morning conference calls and late night projects. The boys started their day camp last week. Robert is a junior leader (which is a wonderful program the Rec center has) and is volunteering at a preschool camp a couple days aweek as well as a half day camp with older kids (K-5 grade). Matthew is attending the afternoon camp (which Robert is a jr. leader at...so far no problems). While the boys are at came from 1:00-5, I take that time to go into work and put in a few hours there.

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Background info re: my job (skip if not interested)...I don't know if I wrote about my job, but I work part-time at a manufacturing company in the Marketing and Communications department. I have been there a little over 3 years - it has been the perfect job for my life as it is very flexible - allowing me to set my own hours with the only request that once set I am committed to be there. In the summertime, my hours change to reflect the summer camp hours - going in in the afternoon. At the end of May, my boss was laid off - so now I report to her boss who is in our UK office (I have been given a Blackberry so she and I can communicate when it is morning here and before she leaves for the day in the UK). I won't bore you with any more detail, but I thank my "lucky stars" everyday for this wonderful job.
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This week I will not be going into work because they are shutting the office for the holiday week as well as for budget reasons (and because of being part-time-no pay for me). But the boys will still be attending camp, so I will get the afternoon to get some things done without them. DH and I might even schedule a date during that time...which would be nice to have quality time with him! However, the boys still have their hockey clinc...

Hockey...we have one more week of this clinic the boys have been attending. It is the one which is 4 days a week and this is week 6. It has been a great clinic for them - they have definitely developed new skills on and off the ice and had a lot of fun doing it. But getting everything organized and driving the 45 minutes each way and sitting there from 5-8 gets a little old. But like I said, this is the last week of this clinic. Next week we will not have any hockey to run off to...but then the following week (July 11-5) they both have a "tune up" clinic.
"Tune Up?", you might ask. Yes, while my boys have been on the ice without much down time - not all families do this much spring/summer hockey (and some do way more)...but tryouts for Robert is July 17, with the Bantam AAA (13-14yr age group). If he goes through the weekend and doesn't make this team, then he trys out for the Bantam AA the following weekend and so on. Matthew's tryouts are not until last weekend of July.

Well, if you made it this far, I give you a lot of kudos because this definitely got a lot longer than I had originally planned. All the boys are down at hockey...I have made plans to go to see "My Sister's Keeper" with a friend this morning (I'll let you know my thoughts tomorrow).

Thank you for visiting! Hope your weekend is going well and you are able to stay cool if it is hot outside, dry if it is raining and warm if it is cold!
Remember....Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often! Lisa

PS Exchange made it across the ocean!

After a visit to the Year Long Prairie Schooler Exchange, I read a post from yesterday that announced Elisabeth received the pillow I sent her...yeah! I was really getting worried as I did send it out on May 28 (unfortunately I sent it regular air mail because anything quicker was about 3x more...and it had to travel to France). So, now I get to post the photos I took before I wrapped it up and sent it out the door.

The pattern I stitched is from Book 137 - Summer Breeze. I used the DMC colors it called for. I stitched as per the pattern, except for the lines that separated the small squares - it was suppose to be backstitched, but I decided to to 2 lines of xstitch. I think that I used a 32ct evenweave, but don't remember exactally. I finished it as a pillow (this was my first pillow finish, too, using my new sewing machine). Since I forgot to stitch a piece with my name/initials and the date, I attached a tag I had designed several years ago. All in all, I was very pleased with the way it turned out and I hope that Elisabeth enjoys it. The photos I took of it included the Orchid plant I got from the hockey team back in May at the year-end team party. It is still alive after a month (yahoo).

This was my first completed exchange...one of my goals for 2009 was to sign up for an exchange and complete it...so now I have. And I am very pleased with the way this has gone and very excited that my first one was with someone who was outside of US, as it makes it more "exciting". Those outside of the needlework community, who have never heard of exchanges or round-robins, were amazed that I was stitching something for someone I didn't know and sending it off to France. But what I like about exchanges is...it allows me to stitch things and then give them away to someone. I know that I do this for my family, but they don't always find enjoyment in my stitched pieces as someone who stitches themselves and has more of an appreciation for the amount of work that goes in to it. I have now signed up for the 3rd Round of the PS Exchange and will be finishing a couple of L*K Exchange pieces for mail date of July 1 and Aug 1.

Today is day 4 of Summer Vacation...the boys and I are enjoying quiet relaxing mornings. Around lunchtime we typically run a few errands and then it is hockey in the evening. On todays list of errands...Robert will need to turn in some paperwork for his Jr. Leader/counselor position he is doing at the city camp starting next week. He is too old for the camps, but too young to get a job...so the city has this wonderful program where they take "volunteers" to staff "junior" positions, helping out the counselors. In addition, this program also educates the Jr. Leaders about the job finding process...teaching them about writing resumes, going through interviews, writing a "thank you" letter after the interview, filling out job applications, taking responsiblity for their own schedule & communicating to their leader when they need to change the schedule, and then there is an exit interview at the end of the summer. It is a great program. In addition, there are leaders who have gone through the program themselves when they were in middle school and have been hired as soon as they were old enough for camp conselors and other positions with the city recreation program throughout the year.

Hope all is well with you.
Take care and remember: Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Received my first exchange

Yesterday I sent Robert (old son) to get the mail as we were in a rush to get out of the house and on our way to the hockey rink for the clinics. He came running in, yelling "mom, mom, you got a little package from France." Since it is not the "norm" to get anything from over the great big pond, I immediately assumed that it was from my PS exchange partner. I opened it up (for this - I didn't care if we were a little late to the rink...wink, wink). It was a small pinkeep from Elisabeth. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I haven't taken time to look and see from which Prairie Schooler design it is from...but it is very cute and finished perfectally to sit on my nightstand in my room, which has a country feel. I don't know if this happens in most exchanges, but I was also her partner (she hasn't received my piece yet, so I hope that I didn't break any rules by writing this). So, now according to the rules, I wait until my gets received before I can sign up for the next round. In the meantime, I need to start working on my 2 Lizzie Kate Exchanges and getting my RR restarted - so my stitching platter is comfortably & enjoyably full :)

Other notes of Life: The boys have 6 days left of school - and now with all major projects done the light at the end of the tunnel is getting stronger - YAHOO! However because of this hockey clinic they are participating in, we don't get back home until 9pm and by the time the hockey bags get unpacked, boys shower and any last minute-before bed activity takes play it is 10:30 or 11pm before I get to bed. I am not quite a late night person, especially when I try to make a 4:30am wake up call to get my exercise & "me" time. Today I slept in...oh, well, guess I needed to do that. Yesterday my "new" boss was in the office...she was my "old" boss's boss until she was laid off last week. My "new" boss works and lives in the UK, so she flew in yesterday so that we could discuss my job description and how we will communicate due to the time differences. Basically, the job discription pretty well matches what I have been doing just has been enhanced with opportunities to work directly with other employees and outside vendors - all within my part-time/flexible hours. So, I am excited about the possible growth in my job and with the company, while maintaining my family life as a major priority.

Well, time to get the day started - get the boys up and going for school and me for work. Tonight DH gets home from his business trip in Atlanta. It will be nice to start the weekend tomorrow with everyone home again! Have a great day everyone and thank you for reading my blog!

Remember...live, love, laugh and stitch often! Lisa

Summary of completed projects from the weekend

The weekend was a very nice and productive weekend! On the "year-end-projects" for school side of things: "light at the end of the tunnel" is shinning bright for Robert (older son, 7th grade). Over the weekend he completed 3 projects, which only live one on his "to do" list - which doesn't look like it will involve DH or my assistance (YAHOO!).

On the "stitching" side of things (my favorite part): as posted on Saturday, I finished my PS exchange. I downloaded the photos I took of it, which I will save & post after I hear that the recipient received it. Saturday, I made it to the UPS Store in order to get it in the "airmail" so that it will cross the ocean safely in hopes to be there 7-10 business days (so hopefully around June 12 or 15 the PS exchange will arrive at its new home). Being that this was my first exchange and my first finish using my new sewing machine, I am very happy with the way it turned out. And, as a requirement of all exchanges...yes, it would be something that I would be very happy to display and to have - so, I hope that my exchange partner likes it, too.
Another "happy dance" that I can report is a finished heart on Diana's Friendship Sampler RR. She included floss in the colors of her choice and had marked each with their coordinating symbol (i.e. converted the DMC chart with her color selection). The heart I chose used an overydye of a lavendar/pink combination with more pink showing. In her instructions, she requested we "do not stitch more than 5 stitches in a row...making a block design in the heart". While the color changes in the floss I used was very subtle, I could see the blocks. This design stood out more in the hearts which used an overdye with color changes that were more drastic. I enjoyed stitching on her Friendship Sampler and very happy with the way my heart turned out. In fact, Diana's sampler is really growing with hearts and love from all the hands that touched it! (You can see how her sampler is coming along and a photo of the heart I stitched...the pink is really not showing through very well as the heart has taken on a more purple tone...that is the camera's fault).




















Saturday, after the stop at the mail store, Matthew (younger son) and I drove to Hockey X which is the best and largest hockey store in the Bay Area...located in Oakland. Post season, usually means time to get new equiptment and the earlier in the spring/summer we get it the more broken in it will be before tryouts for the next season (which is mid-July to early August). The goal of this visit to the hockey store was to get Matthew a new pair of hockey skates. We hit the store on a good day because we got wonderful service, which is important when getting hockey skates because you want them to fit right. Not only do they measure your feet and then try them one (having the child walk around on their padded floor) - they "bake" the skates for 5-10 minutes in a skate oven and then put them back on the child, tying them tight so that it takes the form of the foot (especially where the ankle area is located). Since I can hear everyone gasping horror..."OMG, that child's feet are going in a hot skate" - let me put your fears to rest. The boot of the skate is warm, but it doesn't burn the child's foot. In fact, my boys enjoy this because typically they have cold feet. Without boring you any further, Matthew walked out of their with our newest investment for his hockey passion.

And...since we were already in Oakland, we drove a little further into the East bay area to my "not-so" LNS (which is more of a LNS when at the hockey store...lol). I had a list with me of the fabric and thread I needed - restart my Friendship Sampler RR (new fabric) and start a couple of L*K exchanges (the thread) - so I didn't expect to be there very long, which was good news to Matthew's ears. Needle in a Haystack does have a little corner of toys and videos for kids to entertain themselves, but I knew that he really didn't want to be there. By having a list of the colors I needed I was able to put him to work finding them (kind of like a treasure hunt for his mother). With fabric and thread in hand, we checked out and walked down the main street through the farmers market and purchased some french bread to nibble on while we drove home. It was a nice early afternoon for Matthew & I...it also gave DH and Robert a chance to get some of their work completed before we got back home.

Sunday, was the day I got Diana's RR done...also had a quiet house from 7am-2pm when all the boys were at hockey practice. Even took the opportunity to get the bathrooms cleaned. So, it is now Monday - and I start a new week as well as a new month. But I will stop here, thanking you for your visit and your patience of this long summary of my weekend accomplishments! I hope that you have a great start to your week and remember....
Live, Love, Laugh and stitch often!
Lisa

Good Mother Fairy gets to do a Happy Dance

The Good Mother Fairy worked some magic Thursday and Friday night to finish her own xstitching project - and gets to do a Happy Dance in celebration of the Prairie Schooler Exchange completion! Last night I put the last stitches into the project and then actually sat down in front of my new sewing machine to create a pillow. As a first pillow is concerned, I am very happy with it. And, as you all know the drill...I cannot post a photo of it until my exchange partner receives it and I get confirmation of that. And she will not be able to receive it until I get it in the mail - which is on my "to do" list for today.

With that done, after I get it in the mail, I plan on working on the two Friendship Sampler RRS I have in my possession...and I am hoping to also make it over to my "not so" LNS today in order to purchase more fabric to restart mine. Since it will be a low-key weekend (thank goodness) with older son trying to knock out a few more "end-of-the-year" school projects today and DH needing to put some time in on his work (before he leaves for Atlanta on business on Tuesday) - I will probably be able to sneak away for a few hours. And tomorrow (Sunday) will be a day filled with hockey practices...so all my boys (DH included) will be out of the house from 7am-3pm, so tomorrow might have to be a "clean the house day". But we will see how things go!

Well, that is all I have to share with you all today. I hope to have the RRs complete and ready for photo postings by Sunday or Monday at the lastest.
Have a good weekend and remember....Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Back to "normal"...whatever that means?!?!

Well, the Mr. and Mrs. Frog stayed through dessert on Memorial Day - which I guess was a piece of humble pie and chocolate ice cream - but things are back on track with the Prairie Schooler Exhchange project. I am now about 90% complete with stitching it - but had to put it down yesterday in order to [help] finish my [son's] 7th grade portfolio project...well, let me back up a little in time...to when the frogs left on Monday at 10 and my DH & older son arrived back home.

During their drive from Anaheim to home (which is about 6 hours), Robert plugged the computer into the car and worked on his Math story (end of the year project for that subject)...he typed the story and then started drawing the "illustrations" for the first 7 pages. When he got home, I was instructed to finish coloring the pages so that he could shower and get ready for bed - ok, so the good mother fairy gets out her special coloring pencils and sets off to work (sorry, I just needed to interject a little sarcasm into this). Waving her magic color wand ****poof*** the math pages are colored.

Now - we go to Tuesday afterschool (yesterday)...it is time to start/finish Robert's 7th grade portfolio project. He has known about this project since mid April (during spring break - a good time to start big projects since we were not doing anything else...right? "Whatever, mom!"). The portfolio consisted of a summary of each of his classes, a paragraph regarding a favorite & a not-so-favorite thing he study in each class, and a summary of his extra curricular activities during the school year. Well, he did have all of that written - so all I had to do was read & edit 13 pages...think again! The good mother fairy sat at the magic computer keyboard for 6 hours revising & rewriting those summaries (or it would have been an embarrassment for a 7th grader to turn in a paragraph stating that: "I liked math. It was fun. I learned a lot. The teacher made it fun. So math was fun this year." Too bad the stitching frogs couldn't have visited last night to help!) while the loving son cut, paste and printed photos and scanned in examples of his work in order for the good mother fairy to glue them on to a piece of construction paper (it seems that the loving son is very glue challenged and it was easier for the good mother fairy to do it right the first time so that there wasn't any need to reprint and re-cut the pictures at midnight). So from 3:30pm until midnight, with only a few breaks to make the boys dinner, we got the project done. Thank goodness!

It is Wednesday now...tonight he just has to draw and color 7 more pages for his Math story - which I hope he can do all by himself (BTW, DH fairy did help color and so some of the work last night too...it was a family project I guess). We have an year-end open house for Matthew (younger son) tonight to attend. It is hard to believe that school is almost over.

Well...I am sure that I bored you enough today with my good mother fairy pity stories - so I will leave you with this reminder: Live, love, laugh and don't forget to stitch often (which I am hoping to do tonight!!!)

Lisa

A Memorial Day visit from the frogs

Just when I was getting ready to leap for joy - for my Prairie Schooler Exchange was getting close to complete - a frog family came knocking at my door...and it wasn't to join in my Memorial Day bbq! While I can't post photos and I can't go into too much detail, as this is for an exchange (and I don't know if my exchange person reads my blog) - but let's just say the whole header of my project will have to be frogged and started over...or I could just leave it out (mmmm...that is an idea as the deadline is fast approaching).

Well, since I needed to take a break from sitting and stitching I decided to get on the ol' stationary bike and get some blood back into my legs and feet.

Just heard from DH and my older son...they are on their way back from Anaheim. Robert's hockey (spring) hockey team won the Memorial Day tournament - so he will be bringing home some more metal to place on his dust collecting trophy shelf. So, that is exciting...I guess the championship game was very exciting as they went into the 3rd period tied 2-2. In the last couple of minutes of the game, Robert brought the puck down to the opposing end and passed to another teammate, who shot and scored. Pretty cool to get the assist on the game winning goal. I also heard that he got slammed pretty good into the boards and has a nice bruise & goose egg on his arm. Well, at least it isn't broken. They stopped at a Walmart and got some ice to put on it a little bit ago...sounds like they are making pretty good time; probably make it home around 10:30-11pm tonight. Hopefully Robert can type while riding in the car, as he still has a way to go on some of his projects that are due tomorrow.

Well...enough rambling...it seems that the blood is flowing back in my legs and feet, so I will be hopping off this cycle soon and greeting Mr. & Mrs. Frog in hopes that they can quickly removed the mistake and I can get this complete soon!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care and remember...Live, Laugh, Love and stitch often (hope that you are able to keep the frogs at bay!). Lisa

My new 10 year old!

"Where has the time gone?" Isn't that the question that we ask ourselves when we see our children grow up - celebrate an achievement or a birthday? Well, my "baby" turns 10 today. It is amazing! As Bubbie (my grandmother who past away November 2008) use to say, "Lisa, you have no more babies - you have only young men." Matthew is my youngest; he is a sweetheart and my social child. There is a mysterious connection he & I have, for he always seems to sense when I am out of sorts - giving me a little wink, an extra hug or a sweet "hello". Except for the day he was born (a quick 2.5 hours of labor), he isn't in any rush to do anything (well, except for homework so that he can go play).
On Friday, he was able to invite his 2 best friends over for a slumber party. It was a very nice evening and the boys found that our old 9-in-1 game table (pool table, fuse ball, ping-pong, etc) was very entertaining. I was worried that the other boys might be bored because we don't have any of the popular electronic (like wii or psps or gameboys). But they played fuse ball and pool, making up different games and taking turns most of the evening. Around 9:30, I got out some glow-in-the-dark sticks and took them for a walk around the block. The sticks curved and the ends attached - I was amazed all the different things they came up with during our 45 minute walk...necklaces, bracelettes, earrings, nose rings, glasses and so on. After the walk it was time for some ice cream & cookies, pjs, brush teeth and then at 11pm, time to get in the sleeping bags. I went up to get in bed myself and fell asleep...around 3:30 some giggling woke me up and I found Matthew and one of his friends still up. I told them that they needed to settle down and get some sleep, which I think that they finally did...only to wake up around 7:30am. Matthew thought it was one of his best birthday's ever! Happy Birthday Matthew! I love you!

Saturday, one of the mother's picked up all the boys and took them to another birthday party (I guess May is a popular bday month!). Having the afternoon free, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to look for a sewing machine. I haven't sewn on a machine since 7th or 8th grade when they had home ec in school, but because I am inspired to make different things out of my finished projects, I wanted to get one. Just a machine that does the basic stitches...nothing fancy...not too expensive, but I wanted something reliable. I choose a Brother sewing machine. So far, all I have done is threaded the needle...I do want to play with it a little and practice...however, I have a big deadline!!!! My Prairie Schooler Exchange is due June 1! So, from 3pm until 11pm last night (with a few breaks in between) I worked on my piece. I am about 85% done with stitching it and plan to be done by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. It is nice to have this weekend to relax and stitch! So, since this is an exchange piece, I will not be able to show you any progress photos...but I will keep you updated on the progress.

On another note regarding the Friendship Sampler RR...I have received the next one for me to stitch a heart on (Diana from The Netherlands). I will need to get out and get another piece of fabric to re-start mine and get it back in the mailing circle (we still have not heard from the lady who has mine and another RR "hostage"). The other lady (whose RR is missing), unfortuantely decided to quit - we all in the group are very saddened by her decision, but totally understand. She not only lost her stitch piece, but special silk floss, and very nice zippered bags...and just the fact that it was a disappointment. I was planning to go back to my "not so" LNS this weekend to get some fabric, but the traffic our of the area where I live is really congested due to the holiday weekend. So, I will have to wait or order something on line.

Well, Matthew and I will veg-out this afternoon - maybe go out for his birthday. My DH and other son are in Anaheim, CA for a hockey tournament (which they are doing pretty good - wone 2 and lost 1...they have another game this afternoon around 3:30pm). They are due back tomorrow some time depending if they make it to the championship game.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! Remember...Live, Love, Laugh...and stitch often!
Lisa

TGI-Friday!!!!!!

OMG...this was the week from H-E-double hockey stick-double hockey stick! I feel like I was almost being punished for enjoying the last few weeks when I didn't have to drive to a hockey rink or stress over running the boys to anything after school. This week was the start to a hockey clinic that runs 4 days/week for 6 weeks...from 5pm until 8pm (and then you need to allow 45 minutes on either side for driving to the rink and driving home). In order to save some $ but make sure that the boys are fed, I pack snacks and dinner so that they can eat in the car and in between their respective ice time/off-ice fitness room. This is a really good clinic for each as it includes 1.25 hours of ice time (skills & drills) and then an hour with a fitness trainer. Each son is group with their age group - which is good because neither is in the same location at the same time, but it makes for a long evening for me.

Nevertheless, I have been able to get in some stitching (unless I am in a deep conversation with other hockey moms making it difficult to stitch). I finished one project - which I will post a photo later this evening. Now I have to focus on finishing the Prairie Schooler project for the exchange - mail date before June 1. I will make it, but will need to use this holiday weekend to really focus on it!

This is going to be a nice quiet weekend for the most part. DH and older son left last night, driving down to Anaheim for a hockey tournament. They will be there until Monday. I am here with Matthew, youngest. His 10th birthday is on Sunday. Tonight he is having a couple of boys over for a little slumber party. We have never hosted a slumber party and, due to hockey, the boys haven't really been to too many slumber parties themselves. So, this will be fun for him. I have used the fact that we will be hosting guests (even some 10 year olds) as a reason to clean the house. It needs it...so this morning I have gotten the first floor good and scrubbed! Nice to start a holiday weekend with a clean house!

Well, I don't want to bore you anymore, so I will end this post here. As promised I will post a photo of one of my finishes later today - as I do need to get this one done too for a friend whose birthday was actually last Sunday. Until then...have a good Friday! Lisa

Weekend Recap from trip to Minnesota

I just got home last night and since I didn't take my camera with me (trying to keep the carryon light) I am relying on my parents & sisters to forward some photos my way...so, I will apologize for not having any at this time.

The weekend was very nice and relaxing - very different feeling than the anxiety I use to feel when I would go to MN and stay with my parents. The sister who graduated didn't have a clue that I was coming in for this event. In fact, she & her husband sent out an Evite for a dinner that they were organizing for after the graduation ceremony...which I didn't respond to at first. I purchased my airline ticket in the middle of April, but still didn't respond. After a conversation with my mother on April 30, she told me that my sister was asking if I was coming...and since she hates being surprised, therefore making it fun to surprise her, I told my mother that I would email her and tell her that I wouldn't be able to come. So, on May 1, I wrote an email stating that "due to all the hockey travel our family incurred since the beginning of the year, our finances were tight and we really needed to cut back inorder to catch up." I continued to tell her how proud I was that after dropping out of college when she was college age - going back to finish college 3 years ago and then graduating now with a Masters was totally unexpected...I would definitely be there in spirit and thought, but just couldn't make it in person. The morning of May 2 my mother called laughing..."you did it," she said, "your sister is pissed off at you big time; she is ready to blast you with an email or phone call to tell you that your priorities in life are screwed up."

She never did call or email. Earlier last week I received the follow up Evite that says, "you have not responded yet." So, to make it official, I decided to respond by saying "no" and wrote a similar response in the comment box explaining why I would not be able to attend. So, I get to my parents' house on Friday - that evening my mother has planned to have both of my sisters and their families over for a BBQ. At 5pm, my graduation sister arrives and I hide behind a wall while she gets out of the car and to the front door...just as she starts to enter with her DH and daughter, I walk over to help everyone in the door. She looks up at me, drops her purse, grabs me and starts to cry. She couldn't believe that I actually came. She felt, with me here, her graduation would feel complete. That whole scene made the trip priceless and definitely worthwhile.

Saturday morning she came over and we took a wonderful walk...it was a cool (38 degrees) windy, sunny morning (a perfect Minnesota morning with lush green trees and the blooming lilac bushes). We walked over 6 miles and talked about everything. It was good. I can't say that we have the most wonderful relationship, but as sisters go we all love and support each other. That afternoon was the graduation ceremony, followed by the dinner and then a surprise party thrown by her husband. My parents, grandmother and I made an appearance and then went back to their house.

Yes, my 90 year old grandmother flew up from South Carolina to witness this graduation as well as visit with her grand-daughters and her great-grandchildren (my younger sister has 2 kids). So, aside from surprising my sister and being in MN for her, I got to visit with my grandmother again - as well as my parents. In fact, after we left the graduation surprise party and went back to parents house, we sat around until 11:30 or so talking...mom, dad, grandma (my mother's mom) and I. It was so nice. Since we have recently lost my other grandmother (dad's mom in Nov. 2008) and my grandfather (mom's dad/grandmother's husband of over 75 yrs - Dec. 2008), there was a lot of memories shared and stories told. It is moments like this that are so special - I feel so blessed!

I got home last night - DH and boys picked me up from the airport. Sounded like they had a good productive weekend: Saturday they worked on year end school projects all day and Sunday they had hockey all day. So it was a good weekend for all.

On the stitching front...I worked on my Prairie Schooler on the plan going to MN and on a L*K freebie ("Friends grow") coming back. The L*K is for a birthday present for a neighborhood friend, which I need to finish up tonight.

Hope you had a good weekend too and are ready to start the new week set before us. Take care and remember....Live, Laugh, Love and Stitch often! Lisa

My RR is MIA...but I will not quit!

I finished my heart on Willeke's Friendship Sampler RR and got it in the mail yesterday (a couple days earlier than that May 15th mail date). I wanted to make sure that it was done and out the door before I left for my weekend in Minnesota. I am really enjoying stitching on everyone's Sampler and watching the progression of them all as everyone is posting them after they complete their heart before sending it to the next person. The big bummer is that one of the RR members has seem to drop out and no one can seem to get a hold of her...and there are 2 RRs in her possession - mine and another member of the RR. So while I stitch, post photos of finished hearts and view the progress of the other samplers, mine sits. We have emailed her, left messages on her blog, phone messages have been left on her answering machine and notes have been mailed. But no response on her part. I hope that when she reads my note I sent or if she reads my blog, to know that it is OK to send the RRs on w/o stitching on them & drop out, if she needs to.

I am very upset that mine is sitting whiles others are growing beautiful. While the easiest route may be to send the last RR out and then quit...I have decided not to. I will probably go out and purchase more fabric, stitch my special heart in the middle and then begin a new RR through the mail cycle.

My decision not to quit...
...is due to the warm feeling I get when I open my email inbox and see an email from the Friendship Sampler RR group
...is due to the satisfaction I feel when I put the finishing touches on my heart/name on another members sampler and send off a part of me
...is due to the Friendship I feel with these other women when I read their emails, their blogs and when I receive their sampler in the mail with their special letter

So, my decision not to quit...is because when the Friendship Sampler RR is over and all the RRs have finally made it home, I would like one with a heart from all the women in this group to hang on my wall to remind me that my life was touched by 17 special ladies from around the US and The Netherlands.

I was also going to post a photo of my status on my UFO:Hockey Rivalry, but I will not be able to post one this week because I have been focusing on getting the Friendship RR complete as well as needed to focus on my Prairie Schooler project for the Exchange because that mail date is on/before June 1...which is coming up quickly. So, I will be packing that project as I get ready to leave tomorrow morning for Minnesota to see my parents, sisters, brother-in-laws and my grandmother (the one from South Carolina - my parents have brought her up for my "middle" sisters graduation from business school).

So...just incase I am not able to get to a computer over the weekend...

Remember to Live, Laugh, Love and Stitch often! Have a good weekend, Lisa

Responsiblity plate is managable...right now!

Good morning-afternoon or evening...whatever time it is when you read this post. Currently it happens to be 4:45am on Thursday morning, as I was able to get this ol' body out of bed and on the exercycle for some exercise before the "real" day starts. Today I am going on a field trip with my 4th grade son. They have been studying California history, which always ends with a trip to Sacramento...the capitol, the old city and a few museams & shoppes. Matthew & his class have been prepping to be the "tour guides" for the capital - which is where this field trip will be focusing. I look forward to listening to his presentation about the assembly room and a few other places around the capitol grounds. The bus leaves the school at 8am and returns around 3pm - the bus ride is about 2 hours one way (so I am planning to bring a stitching project to do on the bus). I have my camera, so I will probably bore you with some photos and stories tomorrow of the trip.

Anyway, this has been the week of Teacher Appreciation - which is now totally complete and thus my list of commitments has lessen (yahoo). The Teacher appreciation week, started out on Sunday with the decorating of the door (which was highlighted in the last post). My 4th grade son and I were the only ones to show up, but I had 90% of it prepped and glued on so it didn't take too long (and I have been down this road before so I knew what to expect). Then Monday morning, I informed the teacher that I would bring the kids into the classroom when the morning bell rung and she was suppose to stay in the room to greet the kids. The first child in line brought in a glass vase w/water and all but 2 followed with various flowers for her. The last two brought her special Teacher "thank you" book and the "gift card bouquet". I always let the kids take the gifts to the teacher - for it is them that need to do the thanking :). Since we have a job share situation this year, I decided to repeat this morning "flower/gift" parade for the other teacher on Tuesday. Both enjoyed the shower of flowers and the gifts. I always enjoy organizing it and doing the projects for it...but I also look forward to it being done!

Now...with this major roomparent responsibility complete...and the hockey season done, thus the team manager responsibilities complete (team party is this Saturday, but I delegated the party details to a few other hockey moms)...my plate of volunteer projects is looking very manageable. Right now my only "committed" projects consist of my Friendship RR and several exchanges...which seem very managable (as they are spread throughout the spring/summer and maybe beyond).
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What have I been stitching on...I have been working on:

1. my Prairie Schooler Exchange (which is due out of here no later than June 1)
2. my UFO: Hockey Rivalry - which I promise to take a photo of and post my progress
3. the Friendship RR - I received Willeke's and will work on it over the weekend, making sure that it is in the mail by Friday, May 15 (to keep on schedule)
   

Sorry for rambling today...it feels so good to have all these big commitments done. I enjoy doing them, but by the end of the hockey season/school year, I tend to get worn down and just need some "time off" from them to enjoy some "me" time and "family" time.

So, until next time (with photo of the field trip & stitching projects)...remember:
Live, Love, Laugh....and stitch often! Lisa

Sunday Stitching post...but no photos

This weekend was a pretty good stitching weekend. I worked on the Prairie Schooler Exchange off and on Saturday - and I made pretty good progress. It seems to be a quick stitch, which is good...maybe I will be able to finish the stitching up by next weekend so that I will have sometime to ponder & work on the finishing part of the project.

Today I decided to take Hockey Rivalry out of the UFO box (I posted it as a goal to complete around New Years...click on Hockey Rivalry for the posting). I worked on that some today in between fixing breakfast and lunch for the kids and helping my older son on his Medievil Helmet. There have been many blogs out there I have read where some of you are working on some very difficult/tedious projects and are able to make some progress on them...so I am inspired and hope to get this project done by the end of the year.

Well...just thought I would post a quick on tonight. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Lisa

TGI....Friday! Weekend plans and Stitching Update!

It is Friday and we are entering the last weekend in the month of April, which is hard to believe. This week we started out with temps in the low 100s (set a record for the warmest spring temp either on Monday or Tuesday when it was about 103 or something like that...once it gets over 100 it is just plain hot). Everyone was running around "complaining" that Mother Nature forgot about Spring...well, I guess we just experienced our 2 days of summer because today it feels like Fall. With temps in the high 50s/low 60s and gloomy - we had to turn the heat back on in the house. Crazy!

We will welcome the weekend with open arms, for DH was busy with finance stuff at work. This means that his routine was to get into work, leaving the house around 7:30-8:00am and getting home around 7:00pm...then taking a nap infront of the tv until about 10pm and then getting up to do more work at home until midnight or 1am. This throws us all off a little during the week. With the weekend here, we will probably have another relaxing one. Robert (older son) has a school event tomorrow morning where he and his academic leadership group from school are doing a "clean up project" at one of the schools in the area. That is the only committed event we have this weekend, so depending on the weather, I am sure that we will try to get in a family activity over the weekend. Oh, yea...Robert does have a history project he needs to work on (which usually becomes a family project). They just finished studying Medievil time period and he has decided to make a helmet, which needs to be wearable - so, I guess that is one the list of things to do this weekend!

On the Stitching Front...
Yesterday, Robert has a class at the community center afterschool - so Matthew (younger son) and I just brought things to work on until the class ended (I find it more relaxing dealing with the kids' activities if I am not running from one place to the next in the car). While Matthew worked on his homework, I worked on the Danielle's Friendship Sampler (*4/25/09**click on link to see Danielle's Friendship Sampler RR) or the RR. Because the hearts are very easy to stitch up, I was able to finish the heart and will stitch my name/state over the weekend in preparation to send it out next week (May 1). I will post a photo of it as soon as name/state are stitched.

Last night I also worked on kitting up my next project...I signed up for a Prairie Schooler Exchange and the mailing deadline is June 1. I ordered 3 different designs (see blog - and "thank you" to Valerie's wonderful comment), I chose the Summer pattern because it is summer time (I can save the santa/snowmen one for the holiday time, just incase I sign up for any holiday exchanges...for I seem to be filling my plate up with exchanges lately). Anyway, I picked out a 36ct Edinbourgh Linen in creme and found almost all the floss in my stash (except for a couple of colors...so I a trip to Michaels is coming up). I am planning to stitch the one on the right and maybe finish it off as an easel (I saw a tutorial for that finishing on Vonna's blog).

Thank you so much for visiting today. I appreciate your time and enjoy reading your comments. May your weekend be full of Laughter and love! Don't forget to live in the now and remember to take time to stitch!
Lisa