Out of Office

The summer weather is officially upon us and we have been very busy enjoying lots of family time and the glorious sun. My lack of blogging is a result of a visit to Grand Forks to visit the in-laws - we just got back into town at the end of last week and in a couple weeks we are off again to my hometown to visit my folks. Needless to say, blog posts will continue to be sporadic from this end.
Time is ticking and I can feel my anxiety growing. My maternity leave is nearly done; I have less than 2 months before I'm expected back at work. There are moments when I am overwhelmed by feelings of anticipation, dread and guilt. But mostly, I am just trying to enjoy every minute with Simone. Each day she is changing and we are having so much more fun now - I do wish these days could last forever.

A Beautiful Mother's Day

It shouldn't be a surprise that Mother's Day has taken on a whole new meaning to me. But strangely enough, all week I've been thinking of this day and how I've developed a whole new appreciation for my mom, my mom-in-law, and all the other mothers who share this incredible role.
Mr. Hubby was extremely thoughtful and generous to me. Not only did he surprise me with this stunning bouquet and gorgeous antique tea pot, but he also let me sleep in late this morning and made a trip through the tim horton's drive-thru for fresh coffee and egg sandwiches. Ok, I know that a drive-thru for coffee and sandwiches isn't exactly a mother's day brunch. But first of all, we are on a tight budget and secondly, if you have had one of these egg sandwiches, you would understand what all the fuss is about.
I also wanted to share a photo for this weeks "This is..." post.
This set of dishes reminds me of my Mom. She served every meal on these dishes when I was a kid; including chicken casseroles, soups, spaghetti, roast beef and cream of wheat. I remember studying the flower design while pushing the peas and beans around on my plate - always trying to avoid eating any vegetable. Lots of memories of my mom setting the table, serving us dinner, and making daily conversation. Thanks for all the good times Mom!

This is...

I've missed this meme the last couple weeks, and now I'm all confused. I thought this week's theme was the "flashback photo", where we are to post a photo of us pre-1985. But apparently I am wrong, and there is a new topic regarding Mother's day. I'm totally in for that one and will post again tomorrow.
But for now, here is a silly little pic of yours truly - proud as punch in my bucked tooth and frilly pink collar glory. I think it was taken in 1981, but I really don't know for sure. What I would like to know is how the heck my hair stayed so straight back then. I want it back! LOL.

Free Embroidery Pattern!

Well, it's about time I start sharing something on this blog. Recently I've been getting this nagging feeling that my blog is far too selfish. I spend so much time soaking up inspiration from all the fantastic blogs out there, but I'm not making any effort to give back. And since I'm on a crazy embroidery kick lately, I thought it's about time I share something. Here is a quick little pattern that I sketched up last week which I call "Quiet Birds".
I always find the repetitive stitches of embroidery (and knitting) to bring me incredible peace. Some may find it tedious or boring, but some days, I could just go on and on stitching forever! Anyways, I hope this pattern brings some inspiration to others out there. If you do stitch it up, please send me an email with a photo! I would love to see how you interpret the image. And thanks again for all the inspiration out there. Happy stitching!

Directions: To print the pattern, click on the image below and save to your desktop and print or just print from the source. You can adjust the size with a photocopier or in your printing options. (Since I haven't yet mastered Adobe Illustrator, you will have to live with a hand drawn sketch...eventually I will learn how to make vectors. Until then, please bear with me!)
I used several different stitches when I embroidered the pattern which you can see in the photo above, but even just a straight stitch would look wonderful. I also think it would be lovely as redwork or blackwork. Have fun!

Embroidered "S" Keepsake

I finished it! Here are some pictures:
I had to get everyone together in the crib to document the keepsake pillow. As you can see it is a green elephant march for the bedding theme.And here is a silly picture of Simone as a science experiment (just for the heck of it).
Hubby's idea: how much static energy can we produce from rubbing our baby's head with a blue fleece blanket. Obviously she was on board!