Life on Planet Sally

I know we are well into the new year, but I do hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and are well on their way to achieving all those resolutions. As for moi, I made no resolutions whatsoever this year. It's not that I am a lazy citizen or an apathetic person, it's just that this year I am going to be a realist and not make any silly commitments to myself that I cannot keep.

These days I am happy to make it home from work in one piece and still have some energy to keep up with my spunky toddler. I usually eat dinner standing by the counter while I'm chasing Simone around the kitchen. We play a few games before bath and bedtime and I often pass out on the couch after my lame attempt at cleaning the kitchen. Are there other Moms out there feeling the same level of exhaustion and lack of interest in everything? I just can't seem to catch up these days!

So, this year there will be no attempts to go to the gym regularly, I will probably eat too much ice cream and cookies, my house will be a cluttered mess, and my wardrobe will consist of jeans and t-shirts. I think the biggest promise I can make to myself is to try to enjoy the days I have with my family and not get too overwhelmed by the day to day madness. That is my goal until I can reclaim some personal time and refocus a little attention back to myself. Now, I'm going to upload this photo and check out my favourite blogs before I get ready for bed and gear up for another day of insanity!! Good night friends!

Illustration Friday - Strings

I suppose this image hasn't got much to do with the word "strings", except for the fact that the little piggy is hanging onto strings from the balloon. But it has been ages since I posted anything for illustration friday, so I thought I'd just submit this illustration anyways.

My style this week is actually quite far from my typical watercolour/painting style. Lately I've been doing loads of photoshop work at my crazy job and I have been inspired by a lot of new digital illustration out there. Artists like Alberto Cerriteño and Camille Rose Garcia. I have never been a huge fan of digital illustration until I heard about these talented artists. Rather than the flat, sterile look of vector art which I have always found unappealing, they have added depth, organic detail and texture to their illustration. In my opinion, they have pushed digital illustration to another level, and it has inspired me to try my hand at it as well. Of course, I do plan to get out the watercolours and ink again, but for now I'm exploring the world of photoshop and truly enjoying it for the first time ever!

Life in the Fast Lane

Ok, just in case there is anyone out there who may stumble upon this blog...the Mighty Sally still exists! Lots going on and not even an extra moment to sit down and tell you about it until now. Here is the quick update since my last post:

• Simone turned one year old. Yay! I must say, I am relieved to get past the "baby" stage of parenting. This was probably the toughest year of my life and the fact that we survived, completely in tact, was definitely worth celebrating! Now, onto the next challenge...the toddler years.
  
• After re-entering the workforce and settling into a routine, everything started to fall into place. I learned to speak adult language again, and found a few moments to myself in the form of lunch break.
  
• After going back to work, I promptly found another job here and quit my old job here. Start up company, exciting projects, better salary, better benefits...how could I refuse?? Well, the timing was a bit awkward, but hey, we can't always pick and choose when opportunity will make an appearance!
  
• Simone started walking a few days after her b-day!! Huge milestone and we are so proud.

With all this change going on, I am one big ball of tension! Starting back into the workforce was a challenge in itself, but of course I had to complicate it by finding a new job. Stress is at a level 10 right now and it is attacking me in the form of hives, fatigue and moodiness. Geez. You cannot imagine how many times this week I've asked myself: What are you doing???

I hope I will have a chance to update you again soon . In the meantime, check out my art portfolio which I slapped together for the job interview. It would have been nice to create a nice fancy portfolio website from scratch, but really, who has the time?? Certainly not this mommy!

Back to Reality

So, the year long honeymoon, also known as my maternity leave, has ended. I have been thrown back into reality, a daily rat race complete with crowded trains, cubicles and cold saran wrap sandwiches. No more happy baby gurgles to greet after nap, no more funny smiles or sloppy baby kisses. Instead, my days are filled with the corporate jargon of the hour and the painful drone of my computer.

It has been a tough first week back at work. I still have friday to get through before the precious weekend with my family. But Simone has been a trooper! She has handled this transition with relative ease, all the credit goes to her wonderful Papa who has chosen to be her main caregiver while I bring home the bacon. (And Oh, how we've missed those paychecks!) They have spent the week frolicking about the neighbourhood - walks to the park, hikes by the ocean and visits to the YMCA. They're having a blast, and I must admit I feel like I'm missing out! I call them at least 3 times a day to see what is going on.
Mr. Hubby, who I shall now refer to as Papa Harry, has decided to journal his new role as Mr. Mom. He's created a brand new blog where he relays all the crazy situations from the day, and I think it may help me feel a little less out of the loop. If you want a chuckle, you should go there immediately! Many silly situations are a-brewing when Mom leaves the house.

In the meantime, I will be updating this blog as I can. This is a stressful time and we all need to adjust. I'd love to knit or draw to ease some of the tension, but the reality is that I'm running at fully speed until 9pm and by then I just want to put my feet up and watch some mind numbing reality show. I do hope it gets easier soon because leaving the house each morning brings on the worst knot of anxiety I've had in a long time. I hate missing out. I hate saying goodbye to my family. But I just keep telling myself, going to work is the best thing I can do for my family right now. It will make me a better mom...right? Suddenly I can relate to all those articles about the "guilty working mom". Well, here's hoping my next post has lots of happy times to share! Now go over the Papa Harry's blog and have a laugh :)

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!

Look Who's on the Move!

Look out world, here she comes!



(Oh dear, I just realized that I exposed my cluttered living room. Now you all know what kind of housekeeper I am. Please just watch the cute baby, try to ignore the mess!)

Show and Tell

It's been awhile since I posted anything crafty, so here are some of my latest projects.

A tea cozy that I made for my mom from this book.
The picture along side the pattern was so enticing that I just had to make it...but somehow it just didn't turn out quite as beautiful as I anticipated. In fact, it has also doubled as a silly toque in our house. Do you still want it, Mom?
I'm not sure if you remember this post, but finally, after all this time I got around to finishing the rocking chair. I'm on a bit of an embroidery streak these days.
On the go, I've got Simone's quilted pillow. I wanted to personalize it for her, along with some pretty flowers in pink, red and blue.
Hope you are all enjoying a lovely Monday morning. It's raining out here, but it hasn't affected my bright mood. Last night was the first time in 9 1/2 months that I didn't have to get out of my bed! Simone slept an entire 11 hours and only woke up once to kibitz for 15 minutes. After a few nights of painful sleep training, our little stinker is pulling the long shut eye. I'm so proud of her and I'm ecstatic to begin recovering from sleep deprivation. Hooray for sleep!

Didn't Make the Cut

Just thought I'd share a little ink drawing I did for mr. hubby's Creative Writing Guild.
Unfortunately, the group decided to go with an artwork by one of their fellow students rather than mine. Which is fine. Really. I mean, it's a beautiful painting they chose and I do love the colours. So I'm over it. Completely. In fact, click here so you can have a look see for yourself. I'll be over here waiting for your return. LOL
Sorry, Hubby Hubberson, I just had to give you a hard time ;) Tee hee.

This is...

This is my latest discovery.

Simone sprouted her first 2 teeth!
I couldn't figure out why she was so incredibly cranky for the last few weeks until one morning last week I discovered a pearly white poking through. Yes, it all makes sense now. And thankfully I have my happy baby back. At least until the next evil whitey decides to rear it's ugly head.

I *heart* British Columbia

Here is a little piece of heaven that we experienced this past weekend. Our friends live and work on a small island off the shore of North Vancouver called Anvil Island. We had a wonderful time enjoying the scenery and soaking in the peace and quiet.
When I'm visiting local places like this, I can't imagine ever living anywhere else.
Simone also enjoyed the luxurious spring sunshine. I can't believe she just turned 9 months!

This is...

This is...my perfect dinner party.I can't say my imaginary dinner party would be filled with deep, intelligent conversation. I have chosen people based on pure entertainment. Oh, and a couple awkward moments between Martha Stewart and Conan O'Brien, I absolutely love the chemistry between them. Also, I just realized that my dream job would have to be working on the Martha Stewart show, organizing all the cooking and craft demos. So, I need to be seated next to her so I can possibly schmooz myself a job. I've had a secret crush on Jack Black since he put out that movie, School of Rock. And Gordon Ramsay would be there just to criticize the food (which I would hire a catering company to do, by the way) and keep everyone humble. Ellen and Portia seem like a super hilarious couple and I'd really like to meet them. There you have it...my perfect dinner party. I can't wait to meet everyone :)

Illustration Friday ~ Save

My doodle for illustration friday.
I ran out of watercolour paper and the next best thing was a grocery bag. It got me thinking of groceries which, for some reason, led me to think about milk...or perhaps spilled milk. And what is the point of trying to save it? "No sense crying over spilled milk" is how the saying goes. So there you have it. Now you know my strange mental process to get to this illustration.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Enjoying the moment

These last few weeks have been wonderful and exhausting all at once...but maybe a bit more on the exhausting side of things. Our button, Simone, is not a very good sleeper. She is nearly 9 months old and has never slept through the night and she doesn't really nap much longer than 30 minutes these days.
I think many other Mom's have experienced a baby like this, and I can't help but think they all handle it miles better than I can. But I desperately miss sleep. I miss closing my eyes and waking up on my own, well rested and cheerful. Instead, I am jolted awake more than a few times each night to the sound of my baby crying for me and I find myself jumping out of bed before I even know where I am.
Now, I am not one of those people who can manage on 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. I've always needed a minimum of 8 hours of solid sleep a night in order to function properly. So you can imagine what I must be like after 8 1/2 months of this sort of broken sleep. I am often cranky, depressed and always obsessing over any sort of sleep issue. I haven't had the energy to do my hair or put on make up (even though the dark circles under my eyes are begging for it!) and never mind my wardrobe...I still haven't shed those last 10 pounds! My poor hubby. To say we are both looking forward to the first night that Simone sleeps 10 hours straight, is definitely the understatement of the year.
Well, now that I've given you the long winded pity party of my current situation, I should tell you that I am making every effort to cherish these days. Before I know it, Simone is going to be running around, blabbing away and I'm going to wonder what happened to those sweet infant days.
I must make the effort to stop, take a moment and consciously appreciate the time I have with her. The way her little fingers reach out and scratch, pinch or poke new objects and her knuckles get so round and dimpled.
...The way she smiles just for me
...The way she absorbs the world around her. What is she thinking anyway?
When I think of those little things, I can get through each day.

This is...

This is my jewelry box. Simple, functional and completely sentimental.
Harry's Uncle Bob from Grand Forks made this for us a couple years back. He and his wife Helen (whom Simone Helen is named after), are the most wonderful, generous folks I have met. Uncle Bob has a quaint little workshop in the backyard where he spends most of his time trying to come up with little projects to make out of scraps and leftover wood he finds around town. I guess you could say he is a "green" woodworker. I am honoured to have this jewelry box, it means a great deal to both Harry and I that we have something made by Bob. Even though I don't have a great deal of jewelry, this box will always have a special place in our home.

Pay it Forward for my 100th post!

Hello all! I just realized that I have officially posted 100 times on this blog. Woot!

I am so grateful for this blog. It is my own space in this world where I can express myself however I choose. The blogging world has proven to be an incredible source of inspiration and encouragement and so far I have made many wonderful cyber friends. Thanks to all of you out there who have read my posts (even the lame ones!) and left so many lovely comments for me.


So, on this celebratory note, I am so excited to announce that I am participating in pay it forward! I found out about it on Flossy-p's blog and hopped on the bandwagon as soon as I read her post. Now I can participate, so here is how it goes:


The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me, sometime within the next 365 days. Who knows when it will turn up, or what it will be, but rest assured, it will arrive. All you have to do is promise to make the same declaration on your blog, and send out gifts to three of your lovely readers.

I'll also choose a random blogger to send a gift to, so leave a comment, even if you're not in the first three! Make sure I can contact you in some way, either via blog or email.

In the next 365 days I'll be getting a parcel from Flossy-p, and in turn, I must send out a handmade gift to 3 more people. And on it goes...so hurry up and leave a comment already! I can't wait to send out some handmade goodness.

Illustration Friday ~ Homage

An homage to the hollow tree
The hollow tree is a massive red cedar located in Stanley Park, Vancouver and just this last week it was announced that the tree has had the biscuit and it will have to come down in May. This giant tree has been a part of the Vancouver park for 1,000 years; however, due to the severe storms that hit our area in 2006 and the ripe old age of this beauty, the tree poses a safety threat and now we must say farewell.