Can I have a bite of that cookie...?

I don't have any updated cross stitch photos to share with you today, so I thought I would share this little nugget of "melt-in-your-mouth-deliciousness, with you. How do you like that for being descript? I came across this cookie recipe while searching some blogs and printed it out and decided to try it. You should understand before I go any further, that my family is a die hard cookie family. I have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I done for years, with nuts of coarse. I would make a full batch just the like the recipe called for and they would be gone the next day without a crumb left behind. Now in my family there is only my husband, myself and my 5 and 7 year old daughters and my stepdaughter on alternate weekends. We all look at each other and swear that we each only had like 5 or 6 and we don't know where the rest went. When I make multiple batches I have been known to put them in our big freezer and LOCK IT so DH does not sneak in there and steal any. I have self control though! At least while there are people in the house. When the kids are at school and DH goes to work I may have one or two. Sometimes in the craziness of my day I might lose count, but I'm sure it is not too many, but my rule of thumb is; If I made them... I can eat them!

Don't get me wrong we like are cakes, brownies and cheesecakes, I believe in equality around... I just made a chocolate chip cheese pie for my stepdaughters birthday (to die for!)...sorry to get off of track- when I start talking desserts I go a bit crazy. Now back to the cookies. They are called Cinnamon Cookies, you can find the recipe here. They are really easy to make, just allow enough time for them to harden. I put mine in the freezer to speed things up. These cookies were almost gone by the evening I made them, and I didn't start to make them until after dinner. We are a bad, bad family. I think we may need an intervention.

I hope everyone has a great Monday! Please let me know if you try out the cookies and liked them as much as we did. I have another recipe I will pass along later this week. Pumpkin drop cookies with pecans...love them!

Where has the time gone...

Well DH has taken the kids out for a walk, so I have finally found some time to myself to sit down and catch up on some things in my life that I have let slip by. I have started working part-time and am finding it hard to adjust to making time for myself. I'm sure there are alot of you out there that can relate. Well I decided that today that must end! I'm no good to myself or my family if I don't take care of ME!

I have a Happy Dance to share with everyone! I finished Tigerlily by Mirabilia. This was my my first Mira I have done. I wanted to do one of the smaller ones to see if I would like all the bead work and I loved doing it. Here she is in all her glory!

I took some close-ups to show the bead work. Whenever you see pics of these you never get the full effect of all the beadwork that goes into them.

The beads really give the piece alot of "bling".

My next project is Morning Glory. She is one of the latest Pixie Coutures that was put out. I just recently started so I don't have much to show for her. She has the greatest colors and alot of beadwork also.



I did my beadwork on Tigerlily as I went along. I read up on how to do the beading and some people wait until the end and others bead as they sew. I was planning on waiting until I was done sewing, but I put a few beads on to see the effect it had and I was hooked. I couldn't stop putting them on. I did have to be careful towards the end so as not to crush the beads in my q-snaps. I put a piece of thin cotton quilt batting between my cross stitch fabric and my q-snap covers to help protect my fabric and it also helps to keep my fabric tight.

Here are some of my other WIP that are in my rotation lately. I have Blossom Hill Sampler:


I also have Blessings Abound, a freebie by The Cricket Collection:

We are sitting down to a big pot of bean and ham soup tonight. It has been windy and cold up here in New England all day. One of those days you just want to sit by a big fire and watch some good old classics. For me that would be Pretty In Pink, Breakfast Club, Top Gun and St. Elmo's Fire. Can you tell I grew up in the 80's? My husband doesn't let me go to the video store alone. I hope everyone is enjoying the change in seasons. Thank you for visiting and I apologize for neglecting myself, I will work on it. Have a great week!

WIP Updates...

Thank you all for the wonderful comments you left about my daughter's cross stitch stocking, they were very nice. I am going to give it my best try and see if I can finish DH Christmas stocking for Christmas. I have been working on it a little every evening. Here is a current picture of where I am at with it. I have added a few more people to the bottom of the stocking. I am going to start to add backing stitching once they are complete, so as not to leave all of it to the end.


I have also been trying to finish a smaller project that has been sitting around calling my name. I think I would like to make a small pillow out of it and give as a xmas gift. It was a freebie, called Tree of Life. I really liked the design, although I think making it into a pillow will give it a bit more color and give it some "life".


Last but not least is Blossom Hills Sampler. The more I work on this one the more I like the colors. This one is going to be real nice when complete. I think I will have to frame this one. Almost done with the large flower and a few more stitches on the house and I will be done with that also.

FYI, there is a neat blog called The Pioneer Woman, you can visit it here. Ree Drummond, is her name and she has some really great stories to tell. I tried some of her recipes over the weekend, some we LOVED: Crash Hot Potatoes and some we thought were just O.K, Chicken Spaghetti. She has some specatacular photos in her photography section.

I hope everyone is having a good start to the week. I am off to my horse riding class tonight. Last week my instructor had us cantering without stirrups. I have to say I was pretty proud of myself after doing it. My butt stayed in the saddle all the way around the ring. I thought I was good to after that. Then she informed me that she wanted me to try a small jump with NO stirrups. I repeat NO stirrups. When I signed up to learn how to ride I didn't think I would ever have to learn how to ride a horse without stirrups, much less go over jumps without them. Isn't that why they put them on the saddle, for us to use. Well all went well and I made it over the jump and I didn't fall off. I am going back again to see what she has in store for me tonight. Wish me luck!

Remember to keep stitchin' and smilin'.

I NEED more time...but who doesn't!

When my first daughter was born I had this not so well thought out idea that I wanted to cross stitch each and everyone of my family a Christmas stocking. Well, when I was pregnant with my daughter I had the worst case of insomnia and all I did every night was stay up and stitch, so shortly after my daughter was born I finished my most prized possession ever. I find it hard to take out during Christmas, because my daughter knows it's hers and she wants to hold it and play with it and I just want to get it hung up on the hook and have it "looked at" if you know what I mean. Well after that first child came the second one and time slipped by and the stocking idea came and went. I went shopping and picked out all the other stockings for my family and the idea seemed like a good one, but I just never seemed to find the time, with kids and all.

The other day DH came to me and said "I know what I would like for Christmas." I should give you a little background before I finish with my story. For the past 3 years, DH and myself decided not to buy each other gifts, instead we make something for each other. For example, one year I cross stitched him a design that he picked out and had it framed and he hand painted me a serving platter and had it fired, which I use to this day.

He asked me if I would finish his Christmas stocking for him this year. In my head I just sighed, knowing that I would not be able to work on my current projects with the zest I has planned. I had started to kit up "Morning Glory" by Mirabilia, and I knew that would have to be put on hold. I told him I would give it my best try, but with the time frame I don't know it I can finish something like this.

Here is a photo of the first stocking I did for my daughter about 7 years ago: It is a Dimensions Gold kit, this was before I discovered all these really great designers on the web. I will never go back to kits again, but I have to say, I was very happy with the final outcome of this particular design.


Here is a close-up of Santa holding the Christmas wreath with a tree over his shoulder:


Here is a close-up of his bag of goodies:


Now her is a picture of my DH stocking. As you can see I have a ways to go. There are buildings in the background with a large Christmas tree in the middle with a group of children holding hands around the tree, with various characters in the foreground. Someone standing by a lantern, a girl with a dog, etc. I definitely have a ways to go. There is so much backstitching once the actually stitching is done. All I can do is my best, we will see where that takes me.


I finished my first round with Fair & Square. I had a great time doing it. I will be signing up for another one shortly. Here is my squares that my partner, Darla sent me. Aren't the colors just wonderful! She also was kind enough to send me a cute note card with it along with some hand-dyed floss from Carrie's Creations. What a great experience!



Thank you all for your wonderful comments, I look forward to reading all of them. I love being able to visit "blog-land" each day. It puts a big smile on my face. Remember to keep stitchin' and smilin'.

After the storm...

Well Hanna, did not turn out to be the storm she was predicted to be up here for us on the CT coast and I am very grateful for that. I got a bit worked up from all the hype. We pulled in all the possible items that could have been blown away and put them in the garage, we got any shopping of supplies we thought we might need for a few days early in the morning and then we just waited.
I'm OK dealing with the wind and rain, it was the possible tornadoes that we had a few warnings about that get me really worked up. It started raining about 5pm and rained all night long. I watched tv and stitched to keep my mind busy. I waited it out until around midnight and when we didn't have anymore tornadoes watches for some time I headed off to bed. I woke up bright and early to the sun shining without and cloud in the sky. What a difference a day can make!

I decided to work on Blossom Bay Sampler during Hanna and keep a record of how much I managed to get stitched during the storm, here is my before picture:

And here is my after picture. For the time I spent on it, I would have thought I would have progressed more, but one stitch at a time is better that none at all:

Now I am going to focus on Tigerlily until she is complete. Here is another little freebie from The Cricket Collection called Blessing Abound, which I have been putting a stitch in here and there whenever I want something easy to stitch. You can find the design here. It would make for a great show pillow. The sample they show on the website is what caught my eye, I just love the fall colors.

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog as diligently as I feel I should. I signed up to be an assistant aide at my girls school, just as a part-time position to get me back into the work field. Since school has started I have worked everyday and have not had a moment to sit down and get what I needed to get done around the house. This is the first opportunity I have had. Thank you everyone who has left comments, I love reading them, they make my day! I am off to catch up on a few blogs and do some household duties before I sit down and do some stitchin'.

Quirky...who me?

I read a blog sometime ago, where the author listed 7 quirky things about themsleves. I got a great laugh from some of them, so I thought I might do it myself. I think this is a great way to let people know a little of the odd but charming side of yourself...so here I go:

7 Quirky Things About Me

1. I despise sleeping in a room with AC. I would rather open all the windows and run a fan and sleep with as little on as possible than turn the AC on.
2. I prefer to make chocolate chip cookies when my children and husband are NOT home, then I have no competition when it comes to eating the cookie dough.
3. I have to be in control of the remote for the TV in the evening. DH has gotten used to it and doesn't put up too much fuss. I will give in on certain situations.
4. Once summer arrives, I will only where flip flops and sandals. I won't put on a pair of sneakers (except for exercise) until the weather gets cold.
5. I am a list maker...I especially like to make lists of my meals for the upcoming weeks along w/ the grocery menu that goes with them. I even have them saved in the computer, so when I don't have time to make a NEW list I print out an old one an off to the grocery store I go.
6. I enjoy folding laundry...I can't stand putting it away. I will procrastinate for as long as I can until I have to empty the laundry basket, that is usually when DH does not have any socks left and they are all sitting in the bottom of the laundry basket (then I know it is time).
7. My husband is only ANAL about one thing in his life and that is where the dishes go in the dishwasher (I think it is a mother separation thing). I purposely load the dishes willy nilly just to irritate him b/c I get a kick out of him unloading and re-organizing the dishwasher LOL!!

September Goal List

• Finish Tigerlily
• Finish Tree of Life freebie
• Complete "plaaaid" pinkeep
• Finish and mail squares for Fair & Square exchange
• Finish 2 main trees and house on Blossom Hills sampler
• update Webshots with new stitching photos
  

Here are some of my WIP. I have Tigerlily, she is almost complete. My Happy Dance will be scheduled for sometime in September, I will be mailing out invitations.



Here is Blossom Hills Sampler by By the Bay. I pulled it out last night and did some frogging on the house and now we are back on track. I love this designer and her designs, you can find her blog here, with pics of her work.



Thank you all for who have stopped by for a visit, I look forward each and every day to posting on my blog and I am tickled pink when someone takes the time to drop me a line. I hope everyone is having a great week. Since both my girls are going to school full days now I have started working a few hours here and there. I can't believe where the hours go. Before I know it, it is time to pick up the kids and start all over the next day. I thought once the kids went back to school things for me would slow down a bit and I might get some things done around the house (I was wrong)! I haven't had an hour to sit down and stitch yet. Well I still have the rest of the week to try. Have a great day. Keep on stitchin' and smiling!

Has it really been that long?

Well after an extended break from blogging, I am finally back. I feel guilty for not writing on my blog. I do find time every night to visit all the blogs on my reader though and have been inspired by each and every one of them.

While on my little break, my 82 year old grandmother came up for a visit from Richmod, VA. She is amazing, she is as sharp as a tack. She still drives and gets around just fine. She loves to quilt everyday. She took the train up for a long weekend visit. While she was up she helped me tie one of my quilts that had been sitting in my closet for some time. She taught me how to quilt about 5 years ago, so she loves coming up and seeing what new projects I have done. Now I only have to finish the binding around the quilt and it will be ready to go. Here is a picture of it.(Sorry about the shadows)



This was suppose to be my ugly quilt. Initially I started pulling all of my odd (ugly) scrappy fabrics out of my stash. I wanted to make a quilt for myself so I had something to snuggle with during this coming up winter. As the quilt started to come alive, I actually started to like the fabric choices. My husband saw it and said it was no where near an ugly quilt. As for the border, you will see that is in only on 2 sides, that is not by accident. My grandmother kept telling I put the border on the wrong side of the quilt and I told her I put the border on exactly where I wanted it.

My kids went back to school last week. This is the first year that both my kids are in school all day long. My 5 year old was chosen for full day kindergarten. I have been with one child or another for 7 years, so I was relishing the first day alone. I asked myself "what will I do"? Well I was supplied with the answer. The first day my kids went to school I had my stepdaughter with me for that day, she doesn't start school until the following week. The second day of school, my 7 year old woke up with 102.4 degree temp, so she was home for the day. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Tuesday after Labor Day. Maybe that will be my first day home without kids in 7 years.

While grandma was up for a visit, we took her to Newport RI and drove along the coast and had a picnic. I love going up there, it really captures the feel of New England. I don't mean the touristy stuff, I'm talking about just driving along the coast and then sitting around and watching the waves and enjoying the ocean for the afternoon. Everyone had their kites out and we had a great time. I thought I would share with you a few photos of the day.




Well at the end of our weekend, Grandma still the energy to plant some mums with the kids in the front yard. They loved being able to do that with her. I think most kids love to get nice and dirty and have something beautiful to show for it.



I finally tried my hand at Jambalaya last night. It was from a Cooking Light recipe. It turned out delish.. (as Rachel Ray says.) I love to cook and I am always looking for new things to try. I also tried some Lemon Blueberry muffins from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, they were wonderful. That is where she sneaks is veggies where you least expect it. In these muffins she puts in pureed yellow squash. My 5 and 7 years loved them, along with DH who I had to hide them from because I was making them for the kids breakfast and he just thought they were free game to snack on...that's men for ya!

I am feverishly working on Tigerlily. She is almost done. I hope to be close if not finished by the end of the week. I have also been working on my Fair and Square exchange. This is the first exchange for me. I have spoken with the my exchange partner through email briefly and she was very nice. I look forward to getting to know her better in the coming weeks.

Thank you for all stopping by to visit. I enjoy reading all the other blogs out there, they are so inspiring. I hope one day to be so well read. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

So who reads my blog?

I borrowed this from Dani's blog...Navy Stitching.

I do wonder if there is anyone who reads but doesn’t post comments, I don’t mind as I do read some blogs but don’t comment as well. But it would be nice just to say hello and maybe come and read your blog as well.

So who reads my blog?

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! And if we’ve never met in real life, leave me a comment of your favorite post I wrote and why it was your favorite.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually really funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

3.Do you read my posts from a reader,blogroll or is this your first visit?

On the stitching home front, I have put Tigerlily on the top of my rotation. I am close to a finish and I am at that point that I don't want to put her down. She is my first Mirabilia and I love the way she is turning out. I have Feather Fairy all kitted up and ready to start as soon as Tigerlily is complete. Here is an updated WIP.



Today I am also putting together my first pinkeep. This will be a xmas present for someone this year. Here is a pic of the front and back. Right now they are drying so I will have to finish it later this afternoon. I also have to go on the search for some special ribbon and pins to make this project complete.



Thank you all for stopping by and visiting my blog. I am off to replant some zucchini plants. My kids threw some seeds down at the end of our driveway in their "make believe" garden. Well their "make believe" garden turned into a real one and the zucchini plant now has flowers and is growing like crazy. So I am going to replant it for them in a safer place. Then they can take care of it on their own and I can teach them a few things about gardening, although with their green thumbs they just may end up teaching me a thing or two. Have a wonderful day everyone and keep on blogging!