Finding Balance...with coffee?

Recently I have had a struggle with finding balance. Our lives can get so crazy, I suppose its natural to lose your centre every once in awhile. However - when it happens - I don't like it much.

(Some might say its a control thing!) Maybe thats a part of it too, but feeling balanced and centered keeps us sane. Well, me anyways. A perpetual worrier and planner can be scary when off-balance. ......And nobody wants to see that! LOL Remember the waitress from last week? She almost saw it! A good lesson is don't withhold food and martini's from an unbalanced woman!

Anyway, today I took a step towards finding my centre again. Sometimes we stress and worry and try to keep it to ourselves. I regained some perspective through a simple cup of coffee with a wonderful friend this morning. I'm feeling better already. Coffee....so simple!

All over the place

That has been my frame of mind lately. I had a great little break in the big city but returning back to the routine has been a challenge.

However I am back to work tomorrow for only a couple of days so I really need to focus and get some crap done. I took a few vacation days next week so I could have an extra long weekend but looking ahead at some work emails I missed (ignored) this week, I now have a committee meeting Wednesday so I guess I better go in for a few hours. Plus, during the conference I learned that some of our legislation has changed that directly effects our organization and employees......and its been in effect since January.......Crap........I guess I better study it ASAP.

Ahhhh, I wish I was back in the city......but nevermind!

Anyway here is another example of me all over the place. This is a little rug I am currently working on - and as you can see I am jumping all over the place with it.

Note to Self: Learn to FOCUS!

Down the Rabbit Hole....

As I previously mentioned, I am travelling for work this week. Three days in the big city! After arriving yesturday, registering for the conference etc I had an opportunity to see "Alice in Wonderland" in 3-D at the IMAX. What a fun movie to see in 3-D. But it just confirmed one thing for me.......What the heck is up with this Johnny Depp - sexiest man thing??? I just don't see it. He kind of creeps me out!

The movie was fun ----but the drive to and from the IMAX was an even bigger hoot! My friend was trying out a GPS unit. OMG the GPS voice guy was hysterical. The machine kept yelling at us. It was dark and rainy so it was difficult to see at times but this machine kept yelling TURN LEFT, TURN LEFT. Well, of course that made us start laughing and then we would miss the turn. Then Mr. GPS would start screaming new directions....TURN RIGHT NOW.

When we finally got back to the hotel - we were both in desperate need of a martini and some food. We took a seat and waited and waited and waited. The waitress walked past us about 15 times. Were we invisible??? So finally we got her attention and asked to see a menu. She snapped she would be right back! Huh? And then we waited, and waited, and waited. Now its around 10pm and I'm hungry and I get cranky when I'm hungry - so things could turn ugly real quick!!! She is strolling around, clearing tables, chatting up the "visible" customers and I'm fuming. Then I see a man walk in and stand by the bar talking to her. He looks like a Manager. Now the wheels are turning.........so I continue to stare in their direction. She is naturally oblivious but HE notices. He approaches the table to see how we are. We ask to see a menu and VOILA - he brings us one! Finally!

Tonight we are eating somewhere else!!! While at first blush it may sound like a rocky night, it was great fun, with LOTS of laughs, a few stories, eventually some food and drink and a few questionable text messages!

Treasures

Sunday evening I received an email from Deanne Fitzpatrick with the subject line "You Won".
I won...? It couldn't be........Must be some kind of early April Fools joke, eh? Well it was no joke. I had won Deanne's monthly basket!!
I could hardly contain my excitement. I wasn't able to pick it up until today at lunch time and the wait was brutal. I couldn't wait to see what little goodies she had selected this month. Here is the basket she had all done up for me. The urge was to tear through it right there in the studio, but again I showed great restraint as I wanted to take a picture for all of you before I started rifling through it.

OK - enough with the restraint! There is a great hoodie sweatshirt with one of Deanne's patterns printed on the back, some wool, note cards, a book, a dvd and even a fancy felted bar of soap!!!

WOW - All treasures! I don't even know where to begin with the thanks. But thank you Deanne for your generosity, for the warm welcoming atmosphere whenever anyone enters your studio, for sharing your talents and thoughts with us, and for just being you!

Whatcha making Mom?

This is the view I have from the kitchen when ever I am trying to cook. Millie is so nosy that the second she hears me move a dish or a pan she jumps to the end of the sofa to see what I'm making. And once she actually smells something cooking, she keeps that pose but adds a nice little whine to it. I had to snap this picture while I made breakfast this morning.



I have not been adjusting well to the time change this week. It really seemed to do me in. Plus Friday afternoon at work I started feeling not well and by 4pm I felt absolutely green. A little stomach virus I guess, so today was the first time I could really handle doing much in the kitchen.



I haven't even felt well enough to tell you what arrived in the mail on Thursday..........my new Townsend Cutter!!!! I finally gave it a test run this afternoon and finished cutting the wool to finish the water on the Beach Bum. Ohhhh, I love it. All thats left on her is her hair and I'll have to pop into Deanne's shop this week for some roving.



Til then I am starting another little fruit tree pattern. Too soon for pics. Tomorrow is a long busy day so I don't anticipate much hooking time so I better get some done tonight. More wool to cut........yeah Townsend!!

Another one "hooked"

Remember Kim S, our new Hooker recruit? Well I am pleased to report that she appears to be "hooked". She finished her Rose chairpad and after a lunch hour visit to Momz Wool has started her first larger rug. She brought it in to work today to show her progress and agreed to allow me to take some pics.

She picked Corinne's pattern "Little Fishies". She is doing such a good job. I didn't take a photo of the back but it is perfect too! She is still at the early perfectionist stage and tells us that she keeps pulling out (reverse hooking) and starting again. I laughed and told her that she would have to get over that or else she would never ever finish a rug.

Here is Kim proudly displaying her work. It is quite a large rug for a beginner but she is up to the challenge. Its so much fun to see someone else get excited about a craft you are addicted to! I think we will be seeing lots of great things from Kim S. in the future.

Peek-a-boo

Spring is here. It has been un-seasonably warm the past week. And every morning when I stick my head out the front door to grab the newspaper out of the mailbox, I look down hoping to see a sign of the season. And this morning look what I found peeking out from underneath the dead leaves.......... TULIP SPROUTS !!

Then later this afternoon it was Millie's turn to go to the Beauty Parlour for a little Spring Spruce-Up. When we arrived the groomer said she had a surprise to show me. She came around the corner holding this adorable little Yorkie - her new baby. "Lucy" was a year old and was neglected so Terri took her. She is about 3 1/2 pounds - Millie size! What a sweetie, but little Miss Millie got her nose all out of joint watching me hold the new baby. What a spoiled brat! Hehe So to make it up to her I bought her this new little chick toy to play with. When she bites it - it plays a funky chicken song! I was quickly forgiven. Below is the little darling - all pretty with her new friend.

In case I don't get to post tomorrow - Happy St. Patrick's Day to all you Irish and to all you wanna be's!

Yawn......I want my hour back!

What a terrible week to lose an hour! What is normally a great treat and another of the great things about Spring, turned into a negative this week. As you can see I haven't posted for a week. I was dreaming of a quiet restful weekend but this house was like Grand Central Station all weekend. Company coming and going, and even a surprise visit from a cousin from Ontario passing through.

Another bad sign of Spring is what I like to call "Meeting and Conference Season". Last week I was on the road 2 days plus had a 7 hour (Yes, I said 7 hour!) long budget meeting. Now if that doesn't suck the like out of you ---nothing will!

Budget meetings continue this week and then I hit the road again next week for 3 days. I used to enjoy these little trips but now with Mom's care, it just becomes another scheduling/juggling problem. However....I gotta make a living!

I am slowly progressing on the Beach Bum rug. But I am too lazy tonight to take a picture. I'm not happy with the color of the flowers on the bathing suit so I think I will pull them out and try something else. I wanted to make the bathing suit the same as one my Grandma used to wear at the cottage but the yellow flowers are too close to the flesh color. Too bland, so they gotta go.
I'll post a picture next time.

Kim

Please, Please....Pull up your pants!!!

OK, Seriously - this is something we should not have to see! We have had some tradesmen working in our building lately and quite frankly, you shouldn't be seeing a moon in the middle of the afternoon!!!

I'm coming out from the mail room this afternoon and a very similar version of this photo was facing me! Come on guys......I shouldn't really have to say this.........but just to avoid any future confusion on your part.........

WE DON'T THINK THIS IS SEXY!!!!!!

After my eyeballs stopped burning, (lol) I did a bit of quick internet research and I think I may have found the answer. On the site http://www.ehow.com/ there are some very simple instructions on how to remedy this far-to-commom problem. Pay close attention to these instructions:

Step 1 - Buy and wear a BELT. (You may even have to cinch it in a little)

Step 2 - Pull your pants UP before bending to perform the task at hand

Step 3 - Suspenders. These are handy because as you walk around all day they are pulling your pants up, so when you enter the squat position, your pants are already locked and prepared.

Step 4 - A belt AND suspenders. This is how the airline industry is run. Safety back-ups are key to performance. Why take chances?

Please feel free to pass on these instructions to anyone you know who could benefit!

HAPPY MONDAY LADIES!!

I'm on Strike today!

Today I took a stand -----NO CHORES. I'm officially on strike until tomorrow. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Warm, with a bright sun reflecting of whatever snow was left. An almost perfect Spring day.

So I figure I deserve a day off. I packed up the girls and we went for a little drive and then to a restaurant for supper. Yesturday was go, go, go.

But I did get a chance to finally meet my cousin Tracey's new baby Chaz. They live a few hours away and hadn't got around to introducing him to all the family until now. Isn't he sweet?? However, about 2 minutes after this pic was taken, I got to see his temper! LOL He wanted to move around, so I spent the next 40 minutes or so walking him around the house. Everytime I stopped - he wailed! But I didn't mind one bit! We don't have many babies around these days so I was cherishing every moment with him.

I finally got to pick up the hook about 9pm Saturday night, so I got a little done on this fun little beach rug. She reminds me of my Grandma years ago at the cottage!

Now its time to organize snacks for the big Oscar night. Auntie and I like to watch to see what everyone is wearing and make fun of some of the speeches that go on way to long. Geez, do they really have to thank every single person they met since they were in diapers?? LOL

Kim

2nd sign of Spring

The 2nd sign of Spring has arrived! I told you in a previous post that the first sign of Spring was Tim Horton's Coffee Roll Up The Rim to Win contest.

(By the way, I still haven't even won a darn free coffee) One of the men at the office felt sorry for me the other day and gave me his free donut winning tab, but that doesn't count - That was just a sympathy donut! LOL


Anyway - back to the 2nd sign. I'll bet that you can't guess what is in this little brown paper bag....... Its small.......its sweet.........its only around at Spring-time..........

Did you guess yet?????

Its Maple Cream Leaves. OMG they are soooooo good. Pure, creamy, sugary delight. Spring IS just around the corner!

Kim

Lunch-time Hookin'

Today we combined 2 of my favorite things ~~ Food and Hooking. Our new-recruit hooker, Kim S and I spent our lunch hour at Corinne's house. Kim finished her first project, the old rose chairpad and has been itching to start a new project. So Corinne invited us over so Kim could experience Momz Wool. Even Corinne's mom Nancy showed up.

What a great time. Our charming hostess even made us lunch!!!! Chicken salad and cheese on a warm bagel with potato chips. Yumm. It was perfect, but she didn''t have to feed us.......but it sure was a nice touch! hehe

We sat around the table snacking and gabbing while thumbing through hooking magazines. Then Corinne came around the corner with an armload of some of Nancy's finished rugs. Just beautiful but unfortunately I didn't have my camera.

The other Kim was wide-eyed with excitement! LOL There was so much beautiful wool around her, she didn't know what to do! But before we left, she managed to pick out one of Corinne's patterns and we helped her pick out some wool to get started.

It was a great THURSDAY......(see Cathy G....I even know what day it is today!) Hahahaha
Kim

In like a lion

Well, yesturday morning March roared in like a lion. So I'm hoping that the old adage holds true and it goes out like a lamb! I woke at 6:30am to the sound of freezing ice pellets driving into the side of the house. Brrrrrr! But fortunately it cleared up some by lunch time.

It has been a busy week so far. In fact, when I woke up this morning I was positive it was Thursday. After dressing and going downstairs for coffee and the newspaper, I was seriously ticked off to see the date on the paper said TUESDAY! How could that be?????? I guess it just goes to show you what a busy day Monday was! lol

However, I have been on a roll with my hooking. I finished hooking the birdhouse rug last night and as soon as I finish this post I will begin binding up the backing. I love how it turned out. AND I didn't buy any new wool! Woohoo - a first for me. All of these colors were custom dyed by Momz Wool . My Olympic inspired gold background is Strong Yellow Gold, the leaves are Aquarius and the roof/post wood and red berries came from a beautiful transitional dye that Corinne was experimenting with. And the stems on the leaves are from gorgeous yarn I purchased from Jen at Fish Eye Rugs last fall. Love it.......

Well, gotta run and get this rug bound. The next project is calling me ---a fun beach inspired rug.

Kim