sicker than the proverbial dog...

I even asked to leave work early, though by the time I got to go it was 4:45 which I suppose isn't that early for most people but it's early for me as I'm usually working until 6 or 6:30

Went to Tesco, picked up ready made lasagne so that even Tom could cook dinner and when I got home I went to bed until 9-ish. Just had my dinner (kids ate earlier because Tom did manage to cook the lasagne). Cat had to dish up and told me she managed to get some in the toaster, so that's going to be interesting to try to clean out tomorrow.

Last night Cat burnt her hand helping to dish up dinner so she's off the cleaning rota for at least a week. Bless she has blisters on two fingers and a thumb from grabbing a saucepan handle that Tom had turned around over the gas ring. Hate seeing my baby hurt.

Gifts from New York

I should have taken a pic of at least one of these more quickly because it didn't last long :(

The mug was from the Empire State Building but the handle snapped off whilst I was drying it :(

Here are the remnants...

And I'm not sure I get why a New York souvenir is made in China, seems a little unpatriotic to me.


DKNY Perfume - Delicious Night


And a couple of postcards that arrived after A returned.



There was a T-shirt too, but it's in the laundry as I type so might get a pic taken of that another time.

It's that time of year again

for the dog... time for his twice (or sometimes three times) a year hair cut.. and the look of utter disdain I was getting from him just had to be shared.

Let's hope we make friends later when I'm done !

Friday updates on a Saturday...

And so far not much that takes my fancy :(


Holly & Berries from Little House Needleworks


Simply Live by the Primitive Needle


Now this is more like it..


The Snowman from Lilipoints :) I love the style of this French design house

And this isn't new, but I do love it


What In The World? by Funk & Weber Designs - delightfully quirky and interesting enough at first glance to draw you in to figure out what it is all about!

~snickers~ enough said really :)
Friends by JAR Designs

And whilst I really don't like the thread used to model stitch this, I think it would look gorgeous using something a little more subtly variegated...

Pizzazz by Ink Circles (and unless I'm mistaken the thread is Pizzazz by Carrie's Creations)

Work on a Saturday...

This was the view from my work today (from our new position on the 8th floor) - as you can see it was a bit foggy! Though it did brighten up later.




And this is my desk because I've been promising to take some pics of my home from home for quite a while now!

Elusive daughters

Sometimes I try and take a picture of my daughter... and miss



And then sometimes I get lucky!

The Geek Test

Saw this on Kristin's blog and had to have a go myself. I scored .... 32.37414%

Weight Loss

For sometime now I've been trying to lose some extra pounds I put on. I ended up at 175lbs and very unhappy with it... well this week I finally got to 150lbs. My interim goal this year was 148lbs and I'm so close :)

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

Take the Quiz here!

More window shopping

Although i probably don't need to buy most of these as I've got lots of New Stitches magazines and the patterns were originally in them.

Bargello MasterClass



Bargello Sampler



Florentine Sampler



Hardanger Sampler
(Norwegian, perhaps someone's travels are influencing me ;) )



Satin Stitch Sampler
(this one is so Scandinavian!!)

That hamster again...

After her earlier escape attempt documented below, she was returned to her main cage (a Rotostak Jungle) Since then she has decided she liked her short taste of freedom, and set about eating her way out.

Pictured below is the plastic part that used to hold her water bottle. As you can see she has eaten away about three-quarters of it.



Foxed! Or should that be Hamster-ed? I replaced the water bottle container with a china bowl for her water and a jam jar lid to cover the hole (with duck tape over the top)



Eventually I'll have to get a new cage for her but I'm going to get another Rotostak one and join the two together to make a super hamster environment :)

Small stitchy update

and it is a small one.. spot the difference between this pic of the Fairy Garden RR and my last update!!!

sometimes i like to window shop...

and that doesn't mean i'm going to buy more stash (i have enough to keep me stitching for years) but it's fun to see what's new out there

There is this one from La-D-Da that appeals to my quirky side



Cotillon by Papillon Stitches



Bird by Carriage House Samplings
(something about this one looks so 1970s)

A post is long overdue

as i was reminded earlier by a Certain Someone. We are going to a concert soon to see this guy sing with Queen (at the O2 arena in London) and can't wait. I pretty sure they are going to play this song but i really hope they do. It's a real rock classic.

Update on Catherine

Well despite looking decidedly green this morning it appears Catherine's toe isn't about to fall off, it does however have an ingrown toenail with infection present so she's on some anti-biotics for a week. I didn't get to work until 12:30, and when I got there most of my daily work hadn't been done so I had a crazy afternoon and now i'm tired!

Morning off work today...

as have to take Cat to the Dr's. What to do with the almost two hours until the appointment? Washing, ironing, paperwork. vacuuming?

Cat says I should just sit on my butt and chill.

New York, New York

A Certain Someone has landed in New York. Wish I was there too, so many places I could visit in the Big Apple

On my wish list would be:

• The Empire State Building
• The Statue of Liberty
• Grand Central Station (this has been in so many movies!)
• The Museum of Modern Art
• The Guggenheim
• Ellis Island
• Ride the Staten Island Ferry (another regular movie moment)
• Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art
• Saks 5th Avenue
• Bloomingdales (a girl has to shop)
• Times Square
• UN Headquarters

and the list could go on and on.. but at the moment I'm only dreaming

* and i'll admit this list is probably a little predictable and i might find some more unusual places to visit if i really was going to NYC

Edited to add: if i really was going to NYC you can bet that I'd be arranging to meet up with my dear friend Margaret (i didn't miss you off the list, I was thinking places rather than people.. maybe i'd get to meet Miss V too!)

you know you're getting old...

when your daughter introduces you to music that's 'cool'

Having said that I quite like the latest thing she shared with me.. Paramore



And i only wish i had as much energy as Hayley the singer does...

New offerings

In the world of Cross Stitch that have taken my eye

Dutch Beast - Ink Circles


Peregrination - Ink Circles


Tiny Tidings XIII - Lizzie Kate


Blackberries on Gingham Biscornu - The Sweetheart Tree

Spider Pig....

well spider hamster anyway. I was cleaning out Catherine's hamster so I put Brandy in the spare cage whilst I worked on her Rotostak Jungle (the thing is a nightmare to take apart and put back together - Krypton Factor reborn)

Whilst I was finishing filling up with new bedding I noticed the hamster getting a bit athletic. I missed the first time she did this and failed but this time I caught her on film. I think her name should be Houdini (please note the old cage is broken so there is a gap big enough for her to squeeze out which is why I put her next to me when I'm cleaning out her cage)

Step 1: Stretch a bit


Step 2: Defy gravity


Step 3: Squeeze!


Step 4: Freedom!

Ouch, wouldn't like to fill out the insurance claim

for this...



what you're looking at is what once used to be the fastest road car in the world, the 250mph+ Bugatti Veyron. This one seems to have met it's maker on a road not far from where I live. The list price for this baby is a cool £840,000.

Spot the deliberate mistake...

Do you think CNN was just testing us today?



(click on pic to open bigger image)

This is one of my favourite poems...

"LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY"

The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In another's being mingle--
Why not I with thine?

See, the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower could be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea;--
What is all this sweet work worth,
If thou kiss not me?

By Percy Bysshe Shelley.

What can I say except sometimes the romantic in me escapes from the box I keep it in?

why on earth...

would you do this to a West Highland Terrier ????



(Picture courtesy of CNN's Daily Snapshot 11-09-2008)

Stitchathon week...

on Cross Stitch Crazy and I haven't put in a single stitch yet this week. I'm hoping to get a few stitches in tonight, but it's already late and i'm tired so I doubt it will be an amazing amount!

Tokio Hotel at the VMAs

I have to post about this just for Catherine, as she loves Tokio Hotel and they won a MTV VMA yesterday (the first international act to do so for some time)

Here's a clip of Best Newcomer Announcement and Bill's speech. I've been subjected to lots of TH over the past few months and it's not often that Mr. Kaulitz is lost for words!!!



It might also explain why my sweet red-head has turned into a funky black-haired music loving tween!

Moving day today

Not house, but desk.. today I start work at my new desk on the 8th Floor. I started on the 6th so I guess you could say that my career is moving onwards and upwards!

There are a few good things about this move

• I'm right next to the Learning Quarter so I have easy access to all the course materials and books
• The floor we are on has less people so stays cooler and it's quieter
• We are away from Medium Business who consistently don't meet their targets and rely on on Large Corporate to pick up the pieces towards the end of the month after we've met ours
• It's easier to develop a closer working relationship with the Relationship Assistants and Relationship Directors I work with every day
  

Today we also had a training session on giving Feedback (both Supportive and Corrective) which I found useful, plus I got the chance twice to stand in front of people and talk (10 people, good practice for skills I might need later as my career progresses)

I signed up on Friday for a course called ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) - I probably know most of the syllabus but there are parts that will be new to me, especially PowerPoint and Access. Again skills I might need further along my career path.

I may even get to stitch in a bit, but cooking dinner for me and the children and it's already 8:30pm - sometimes working until 6:30 every night sucks.

My daughter

keeps asking me when i will write about her in this blog as her name didn't show up in my Wordle, so here is her starring moment.

She took this pic herself today when we are the farm.

Saturday Afternoon on the Farm

Auchenhamper Early Morning Surprise
She's a beautiful girl and one day I will be riding her :) though today I didn't (see further down)


One Curious Llama checking out the visitor!


Portland Rare Breed Sheep


Riding Dulcie and weaving between poles....
This time mum got a ride around the paddock!

Don't get your tinsel in a tangle...

This is one of the latest offerings from Lizzie Kate and a timely reminder that Christmas isn't that far around the corner!

Slow Stitching

Most of my WIPs are becoming WISPs* as they are making such slow progress, I think I managed a whole 21 stitches last night before I felt too tired. At this rate it will take me until the end of never to finish anything.

As for my work project, that hasn't even made it out of the project bag I keep it in for at least the last week :(

My Work Project is the ABC RR as it's one colour and not a complex chart and I figured it was something I could pick up and put down without too much bother


*Work In Slow Progress

Stitching update

Here's the latest update to my Fairy Garden RR - i think qualify for the slow stitcher's club

More window shopping.....

Creepy Crawly - Blue Ribbon Designs



This one appeals to my slightly weird sense of humour

Something else I've found that I like...

Sixteen Birds - Rosewood Manor