Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada...

Another crappy week at the scales last night. Despite dropping my points a little (I changed my points profile from spending my work day on my feet to sitting all the time), and working my ass off at Taekwon-Do and some running the scale didn't budge. At this point it just seems so very hard and frustrating because the scale doesn't budge, or budge that much. Also you don't have very many "non-scale victories". These two factors make it hard to feel like I'm experiencing any progress. In the last few months, I've given up or cut down a lot of my favourite treats, I've also pretty much cut out all artificial sweeteners and even these changes haven't made the difference I was hoping for. I guess its time to stop denying myself the things I was enjoying a few short months ago as treats. Also Weight Watchers isn't about denial but moderation and making smart choices. I know I have come so far, and I'm so much better for it. Its just so hard when you have a goal in mind, not far out of sight and no matter how hard you're trying its just as far away.

I've been plugging away at Blackstone Fantasy Garden and still really enjoying putting in the outlines for the knotwork.

Tomorrow after work, I have to clean the house arrrrgh! I've been putting it off all week and now I'm out of time and it has to be done tomorrow!

Wahoootieeee!!!!

Well its late, after midnight and I have a lot to blog about. I've been staying off-line the last little while to maximize my stitching time! Which really wasn't much the last few days.

First, I had a lovely weekend visit with Beatrice! She fed me good and healthy meals, we visited, and we stitched. I had several treats this past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday I got to see Adriana, Beatrice's 92 year-old mother... who still stitches! It was so nice to see her again. I was also pleasantly surprised to get to see Kathy both days! We stopped by Kathy's place on Saturday to welcome her back to Canada (she had arrived on Friday), then on Sunday she found the time to come and stitch with me, Beatrice and Adriana for the afternoon... heaven!

Do you remember that little motif I shared with you just a few short blog entries ago? Well I was actually quite sneaky, and stitched another side and turned it into a fob for Beatrice.

Second, I found out yesterday that my blocks for round 12 of Fair and Square arrived at my partner's yesterday.

Sapin Noel

cGazette94 (blog)

Stitched on : 32ct Natural Linen

Stitched with : DMC variegated floss

Third, yesterday was weigh in day at Weight Watchers. I'm down 0.5lbs this week. Not bad. After that meeting, we also had a new addition to the family... meet HUNGRY!!! He was hanging out with my Paradigm Lost while I was making something to eat. Isn't he cute????

Fourth, and finally.... HAPPY DANCE!!!! Paradigm Lost is finished (Started October 31, 2007)!

Paradigm Lost

c Long Dog

Stitched on : 32ct Queen Ann's Lace Joblean

Stitched with : DMC colour variations #4240

Everyone wanted an opportunity to pose with Paradigm Lost tonight!

Now I'm off to bed!

Looking Forward to the Weekend

Yay! Tomorrow is Friday, did I ever mention how much I love Fridays because that means the weekend is about to arrive! Also, tomorrow I'm off-site at some workshops instead of my usual day in-day out monotony. In the morning I'll be packing my car, heading to the workshops then hitting the road to go visit with Beatrice for the weekend!

This is my first weekend visit with Beatrice, and I'm really looking forward to it! Also Beatrice is a very active singer in a choir. This Saturday her choir is putting on a show, and finally I'm going to get to hear her sing! I'm looking forward to this! Of course there will be stitching and gabbing as well! See you tomorrow Beatrice!!!

I've gotten a little stitching time the last few nights... not lots but at least putting in some needle time. Here's where Paradigm Lost stands when I packed it away for tomorrow's trip down the 401.

Hi Mum! (my Mum has started checking in on me... isn't that sweet???)

Paradigm Lost Progress

Well it was a slow stitching night tonight, I didn't get too much done... pretty much started the numbers and that's it. I find these days I'm not getting a chance to settle down to stitch until after 8PM. That's just not enough stitching time LOL!

Anyhow here's where PL stands as of tonight.

Long Weekend -- Day 4, the last day!

Well, this is it... the end of my extra long weekend! I shall enjoy every moment of this last day! Its been nice having a weekend of little to no commitments, and no housecleaning on the horizon (the house really needs it but for now I'm ignoring it). Paradigm Lost has been a joy to work on and I'll be putting in one more day's work on it (today).

After today I'm sad to say I have to put away PL for a few days! *Sniffle, sniffle* The deadline for Fair & Square round 12 is looming... actually its next Monday! Ooops how did time get away from me... oh right that darned Top Secret Project! This will be the last time I participate in Fair & Square, I've enjoyed the exchange... I think I've done about 10 rounds but I find I'm stitching the basic same type of designs over and over! I'm getting a little bored/tired of it, and wish I would of gotten partners with a wide range of tastes/requests. As much as Prarie Schooler and Cottage Country Needleworks, etc. is all the rage I've come to a point I just can't stand the stuff anymore! This primitive/simplistic stage that stitching is going through really isn't me (it never was), I've bought so little stash over the last two years, because this is all that's being put out on the market. So I'll be delving deep into my own stash and pulling out stuff I've bought over the years that I just love and keep meaning to stitch. I know styles and fads come in cycles and my tastes will come back around again in popularity.

I'll just get off of my soapbox now...

Long Weekend -- Day 3

Yesterday was much a repeat of yesterday, except I got a run in... so I won't bore you with the details, just the progress pictures!

I should be able to finish that motif today.

Long Weekend -- Day 2

Yesterday was a wonderfully lazy day! We slept in, watched movies, I stitched and took a nap and stitched some more! What more could a girl ask for?

Here's where I'm starting out this AM.

The Start of My Long Weekend!

Its a four-day weekend for me, and I've really been looking forward to it! We have nothing special planned, except for dinner with Todd's folks on Sunday. We slept in this morning, had breakfast, now I can just settle in to stitch.

I worked a little bit on Paradigm Lost last night after I got home from all my running around. So here's where I'm at this morning before I put needle and thread to fabric....

I hope everyone enjoys their Easter weekend!

Well I Don't Know How I Managed THAT!!!

Well I got a huge surprise/shock at the scale last night! Somehow I lost 4.5 lbs this last week! I honestly have no clue on how I did this. I know I did my best to eat within my daily points, and not eat too many of my weekly points. I also exercised, made it to the gym twice and ran at home. I think I also finally relaxed a little over this and stopped stressing out about my weigh ins. I know stress can make your body hold onto its weight, my body will let it go when it wants to. My goal for this week is to keep those 4.5lbs off, if I loose a little well that's a bonus. This means I am now 6lbs from my goal weight!

I'm back at the top secret project. Its progressing, but slowly working out really cuts into a girl's stitching time!

Since it is April 1st I suppose I should review my goals for March and set new ones for April!

March Re-cap

Stitch two ornaments - Only got one done

Finish top secret project - Nope!

Work on Paradigm Lost - Yup, and enjoyed it!

April Goals

Finish top secret project

Stitch three ornaments (one to make up for March)

Work on Paradigm Lost

Stitch Fair and Square rd. 12 (the last round I'll be participating in)

Since I can't share the top secret project, how about an updated picture of Paradigm Lost????

From The Top to the Bottom, From the Bottom To the Top

This week, I suddenly found myself with a little more stitching time when my back started acting up (it is feeling much better today by the way!), a trip into the chiropractor turned up a pinched nerve. I was still tender for a few days after that so I haven't really worked out since Tuesday night. So instead of working on the top secret project I've got tucked away I've been plugging away on Paradigm Lost. So now on the left hand side I've gotten from the top all the way to the very bottom! I just want to keep working on this piece lately!

For the fun of it, here's a picture of Todd! He rarely lets me get descent ones of him so I thought I'd share!

Weekend Stitching Update

Oh the agony! The weekend is over. We had a nice quiet weekend here. Todd played video games, and I stitched... oh and made soup! I made great progress on Paradigm Lost.

Soon I'm going to have to put PL away again for awhile. I've got a gift I want to stitch up for a friend of mine. I'll be showing my progress as I don't intend it to be a top secret gift. Also I just found out my best friend Claire is pregnant! Yup, so since I stitched her wedding sampler (Teresa Wentzler's) its my job to stitch her baby sampler too (TW's again)! So I'll be showing these two projects off in the near future.

The Halfway Point

This morning when I woke up I forgot one of my New Year's rituals! It was time for out with the old... emptying the ort jar that is! Lots of pretty colours in there from 2008 eh? I decided that this year I'd have a bigger and better ort jar! This is the vase that Todd sent me flowers in for our anniversary. Let's see how full it'll be at the end of 2009!

I set myself one little goal for my Christmas break (please I don't want to go back on Monday!), to work on Paradigm Lost, to hopefully get to the half way point. Tonight, I managed to do that! I've now stitched pages 1-6, only 7-12 left to go! I'll break from PL for a little bit to stitch up an exchange piece that I'd like to get sent out shortly.

After hitting the 1/2 way mark tonight I pulled out a quick little stitch! This finished up very quickly and is cute, my floss colour is a little wacky but I like it.

Believe Ornament - Freebie

c2008 Tanya Marie Anerderson/The Sampler Girl

Stitched on : 30ct Lakeside Linen Coconut Macaroon

Stitched with : WDW Noel

Now how about a PhotoHunt, I really mean to do these things on a regular basis, then I get lazy! Here's #132 : Family

This is Todd and I from Thanksgiving 2007 (can you tell? I'm fat!) on the 1000 Islands Boat Cruise, we had a wonderful weekend! Family is a strange thing for me, my parents are immigrants so all I have here in Canada are my folks, siblings, niece and nephew. I now have an extended family through Todd. We aren't a close knit family that makes a big deal out of holidays and birthdays, rarely are we all together and when we do there's always some kind of tension. I love my family, but I don't like to see them too much (except my parents). Todd really is the closest person to me besides my Mum who calls me almost daily LOL (and only lives 15 minutes away!).

Number 5... Number 8

I think right now the numbers 5 and 8 are my favourite numbers!

First, the number 5... that would be the page I just finally finished on Paradigm Lost! Yay, this latest large motif felt like it took forever. This one measures 6.5 inches across, its a big one, and fairly densely stitched. I've actually made a start into page 6 which doesn't have a lot for me to do on it, hopefully it'll be done in short order (my goal is to be half done by the time I return to work next week).

Next, the number 8... that would be the size jeans I bought yesterday! Wahootie, a size 8! Now not all size 8's are created equal not every pair of pants fit at that size but these ones do and they're mine! I also stepped on the scale tonight at Weight Watchers... amazingly I managed to loose 2.5 lbs over the holidays! Wahooo 14.5 lbs to goal! So, that proves you can enjoy your Christmas treats and dinners and still loose.

Yesterday (before going shopping) we met up with Christin for lunch and to exchange Christmas presents. Christin as usual really spoilt me! She got me a HUGE pack of Sharpie markers in all kinds of cool colours, a dragon calendar, two Ice Dragonlet figurines, dragon earrings, a Celtic cross pendant, floss-a-way bags, a Dragon Dreams Chart, and a fat quarter of 32ct Queen Ann's Lace Joblean. Christin is a huge movie buff so we got her a bunch of DVD's that were on her wish list. I also stitched her a few things.

First you'll remember this recent happy dance, it was perfect for Christin.

Normal is Just A Setting

c2008 Lizzie Kate

Stitched on : 28ct Natural Linen

Stitched with : GAST & WDW

I'm not sure if I'm going to blog or not tomorrow so I wish you all a Happy New Year. My next post will be my year in review and my outlook for 2009!

Fob-o-Rama

Its been a slow couple of stitching days. Between three days of family dinners (oh weigh in on Tuesday may be scary!) and not quite being in a stitching mood not much has gotten done.

I did do the finishing on the fob I stitched a few days ago. I'm very happy with how it turned out.


Then today I decided to stitch another one! I think its due to working on such a huge project like Paradigm for so many hours at a time that I feel the need to break it up with smaller pieces. I'll do the finishing on this one tomorrow.

Celtic Hearts

Stitcher's World

Stitched on : 28ct Platinun Lugana

Stitched with : DMC cotton & Kreinik #4 Braid

More Paradigm and the Scale

I got to spend Tuesday exactly how I planned (can you tell I'm a night owl as my posts when I'm not working are well after 12 am!), I got the tree up and decorated, gifts wrapped under the tree, stitches, and went to Weight Watchers. I know, it doesn't sound like a very exciting day for most people, but for someone like me who is often very busy its heaven!

First up I wanted to share this picture with you. The computer was shut down, I was getting ready for bed when I went into the washroom to find this... Cuddles and Hunter sleeping in very close proximity. This doesn't happen very often, the boys tend to tolerate each other and like most sibling they very easily annoy each other.

This entry is just full of cat antics today! It wasn't long after I had the tree assembled, I was about to start "fluffing" the tree when the next thing I knew... there was a pair of yellow eyes staring out at me!

So here's my progress on Paradigm Lost. I finished the good sized motif I was working on before bed last night. Also added in another snowflake, heart and crown, an elephant and the letter d. I've started on another small sized motif a star which I should be able to finish up in a reasonable amount of time. Then its onto another HUGE and densely stitched motif!

This morning I made a copy of the picture for Paradigm Lost so I could cross motifs out as I stitch them. It really helps to put the project in perspective.

I'm not sure exactly how much stitching I'm going to get done on Christmas Eve. I need to go pick up a few last minute groceries, and put gas in the car. Then I need to clean the house, as my parents should be coming over for dinner. Of course this is weather permitting, once again we've got some nasty stuff coming! 5-10cm of snow, then changing to freezing rain and ice pellets then to rain and back to freezing rain! A real mess! If the roads aren't in good shape we've already agreed to postpone dinner to Boxing Day.

I got a pleasant surprise at the scale tonight, I'm down 2lbs... and at Christmas time! I'm sure all the exercise helped. Which means I should hop on the treadmill tomorrow time and energy permitting. Over the next 3 days I've got three meals to deal with! First Christmas Eve, which I'm making and its totally friendly, Christmas Day with Todd's family, the Boxing Day at my Parents ( I'm not too worried about this since my Dad has been watching his weight for years and my Mum's meals are always prepared in the friendliest yet tasty manner). Also I told everyone, no big assed Toblerone bars this year please!!!

Thank You Secret Santa (Stitcher)

I got a bit of a surprise/shock today when I found a wonderful gift waiting for me in my inbox! Someone out there in blogdom has been kind and generous enough to gift me with a $25.00 gift card for eHandcrafts! I'd like to share with you my Secret Stitcher's lovely words :

Wishing you and your family the joy and happiness of the season and more of the
same in the coming New Year.

Merry Christmas to a wonderful stitcher and blogging friend,
From Santa

So to whomever you are, thank you so much! I haven't made my selections yet... but when I have I will be sure to share with all of you. You really brightened up my day and my mood, and faith in the Season. I think tomorrow I will put up my tree and think of you while I put each stitched ornament on it.

I had a lovely, peaceful day at home by myself today. Also, it was a little too cold to go out! So I planted myself in my favourite stitching chair, watched episodes of Star Trek : The Next Generation all day (see I'm a geek!) and worked on Paradigm Lost. I'm still plugging away at page 4 but the end is in sight. Its taken me all day to get near the end of this good-sized motif. I'll have to measure it tomorrow and tell you how bit it is, but nowhere near as bit as the 6" one! Tomorrow I can look forward to starting page 5 (out of 12).

Also tomorrow is ... Tuesday! Argh, the dreaded weigh in day! I've managed to be active the last three days, so I'm hoping this will counter-balance the few treats I've had this past week. On Saturday I did a 5K run, Sunday I spent an hour shovelling the driveway with Todd, and tonight I went to Taekwon-Do and got a nice little sweat going.

See you tomorrow (actually I should say today since its well after midnight)!