Hungry's Trip to the LNS and Lunch Out!

Claire and I had a lovely day out today! We first went to the LNS, A Stitch In Time. Neither of our wallets came away unscathed.

Me & Hungry at A Stitch In Time.

Claire oogling all the lovely models in the shop.

My New Stash.

By this time it was well into the afternoon and all three of us were hungry!

Claire was enjoying Hungry's company.

Hungry also kept us away from the very tempting dessert menu.

After lunch the storm clouds started to roll in, but we went to the beach anyhow! We were there for maybe 15 minutes when the first drops of rain started to come down. I got a few photos and a quick swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

We plan on going back to the beach tomorrow, this time earlier in the day, and to spend a few hours out there.

Did you know that deep down inside Hungry is a Trekkie? He was having too much fun with Claire's husband's memorabilia collection.

Naughty me hiding this all the way down here... sorry I'm not confident enough to give you the full body shot!

Vacation Catch Up

Hello D... BBSW readers! I know I've been pretty quiet so far this week. Of course I am on vacation, a girl can't be expected to blog every day while she's away.

So far this trip down to Jacksonville has been rather quiet and relaxed, compared to my March trip which was a whirlwind! As you all know, this trip isn't for me, its to check up on Claire. Claire is doing well, and is a good place mentally and spiritually. We've had some good and frank conversations over the last few days, I'm happy to know she's got such a good head on her shoulders! I know that the loss of a child just cripples some people.

We have been busy since I arrived, just not running around seeing all the sights and photographing the world (as is my habit). Saturday we went out to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and did the groceries (how domestic).

I have to say this is one of the worst pictures I've ever taken... I must of been hungry, its not in focus!! This is Claire and her husband at lunch on Saturday.

Sunday afternoon, once Claire and her husband got back from church (I had a nice lie in), Claire and I went shopping! We did way more walking than buying (which can be a good thing).

That would be where I saw this lovely hibiscus.

Monday (yesterday) boy did Claire and I do a lot of walking! We hit the outlet malls in St. Augustine. Once again I got some new clothes! There were also a couple of items I didn't buy back in March that I was able to pick up this time around! I also got... my bikini! Oh my gosh! Now to find the guts to wear it at the beach... of course I have no other beach wear so there's little option.

Yup, here's my pink little number from Tommy Hillfiger!

Today was a quiet day, we stitched, and I made it into the local Weight Watcher meeting. After my first week on maintenance I'm up 0.4lbs... I think being on vacation, not eating as I would at home, and being able to eat more... I did very well. However tonight I sure pushed the boat out! I had a low point dinner at Boston's , but then we went to Cold Stone Creamery, what ice-creamy decadence! I'm going to have to walk a-lot to work this off!!!

Here's where Todd's stocking stands as of tonight.

I think tomorrow we're hitting the LNS - A Stitch in Time!

Okay Mum, I Made it Safely

Last night my Mum asked me to post on my blog that I made it safely to Claire's in Jacksonville Florida. This is the post Mum! I'm here, I'm safe, and I've given Claire a super-big hug! What a relief it is to see Claire and know that she's doing okay!

I have to say my trip down here was a little interesting. I can tell you that this girl (body) doesn't do 4am very well! Then when I got to the airport, waiting to check-in for my flight to Detroit the computer system for Northwest Airlines went down for all of Eastern US!!! They had a plane load of grumpy passengers at 5am... as they couldn't check anyone in, the staff was starting to do it manually when the system came back up. I was surprised that they got us all checked in and off the ground in time. The bonus to this, they waived the baggage fee for all passengers that saved me a few bucks. Oh yeah, word of advice, don't sit in the very last row of the plane... very noisy!!!!

I got to Detroit on time, with a little to spare so I walked around the terminal... big mistake! I came across a Mrs. Fields and I've heard all about their cookies. I was actually okay until I saw they had this chocolate/peanut butter square and caved in. That was a lot of points, and oh so tasty! We were late getting off the ground in Detroit due to a line-up on the tarmac which but my arrival 30 minutes late.

After dropping off my stuff Claire and I met up with her parents for lunch at Ted's Montana Grill. I had the most yummy bison burger! We followed lunch with a stroll through a couple of shops, I got to hit Jo-Ann's but only came away with a few fat quarters (yes Mum, I was thinking of you!).

This evening has just been relaxing, talking stitching, stitching, and a walk once it cooled down outside.

Safe N' Syracuse

I arrived safe and sound in Syracuse, N.Y at the dinner hour tonight. My drive and border crossing were trouble free. Boy, those customs officers are getting a little nosy, or you feel like you're getting the 9th degree! This particular one wanted to know who I knew in Jacksonville, how I knew Claire, and what did I do for a living. It seems these days its more than where you going, how long are you going to be there, and do you have anything to declare.

I was a good girl, and shortly after settling in I went for a good 45 minute brisk walk. Its nice to stretch the legs after a couple of hours in the car.

Only a few short hours in the U.S., and I'm already shopping! I went to a nearby Michael's and picked up these great spools of ribbon for $1! I also got some flower head pins. Then I wandered around The Christmas Tree Store for those of you not familiar with this store... its essentially a crap shop. I got these two cute little bags! I was able to find a red one with my initial on it, and I got a blue one without an initial. Did you notice whose come along for this latest adventure????

Well I'm tired and I have to get up at "freakin' early o'clock" to get to the airport. I'll be giving Claire a huge hug by lunchtime tomorrow!!!!

Bittersweet Victory

Tonight's weigh in at Weight Watchers went well, I lost 2lbs this week! This meant that I could finally hand in the Doctor's note I got at the end of May but then my weight fluctuated so I couldn't hand it in. With tonight's loss I'm one pound below the number on my note, finally I could hand it in and go on maintenance.

Since March I've been playing with the same couple of pounds, never getting any lower, I've been 8lbs within my goal weight all this time. It was time to face the facts, that my body didn't want to get within the recommended weight range I was assigned by Weight Watchers.

So about 16 months later I'm 63lbs lighter (I was aiming for 70lbs but my body just won't go there), I'm in a size 8 whereas I was never this small as a teen, I'm healthy, and active. There is just so much more I can do now, my foot is pain free, I can walk for hours, I can run 10K, I have so much energy at Taekwon-Do. I couldn't ask for more.

Now I should recap this weekend on the road (again)! Friday after work I picked up Christin at the bus stop and hit the road. We arrived at her parents outside of Kingston in time for a healthy dinner. The evening was spent stitching where I finished this little gem (and watching movies since it was raining).

Red Threads Letter "V"

c2002 Rosewood Manor

Stitched on : 28ct Opalescent Lugana

Stitched with : Carries Creations Midnight

Saturday we made up for the walk we missed out on Friday night... well Christin and her Mom walked, I ran Curl Road. This road starts with a downhill, levels out for a short while then has a steep hill at the other end. So if do this road there and back, you end up going up TWO hills.

When we went out back to check out Mom's new garden we met this little fellow... Reggie 2 or is it Reggie 3 (garter snake)??? They thought they had one snake (aka : Reggie) it turns out they have at least 3.

We then ran into town quickly where I picked up two new tops (yay!) and we had ice cream for lunch (oh we're bad!!!). In the afternoon I had to take a nap! I was pooped, all this road tripping is catching up with me! The evening was wrapped up with another healthy dinner, a nice long walk, a visit with the neighbour, a piece of cake and Peanut M&M's (my weakness).

Sunday was our true stitchy day! Christin and I had to pack the car back up (after I went for a morning walk) and head to Beth's house... this month's hostess. I have to say that Beth is the BEST COOK EVER! You never leave her house unsatisfied and hungry! Lunch was fantastic, and dinner was divine! There was of course treats in between! Oh and someone who I shan't name (REBBECCA) brought the evil, evil Peanut M&M's. So when you get to the pictures you'll see the usual suspects, and we were pleasantly surprised by Adriana being in attendance! It is always a pleasure to see my favourite almost 93 year old stitcher!

Adriana

Beatrice (Adriana's Daughter)

Christin

Beth

Judie

Rebbecca the evil Peanut M&M enabler!

I would share stocking progress with you but when I ran out of a shade of red I realized I made a STUPID MISTAKE! It wasn't a counting error... it was not reading the key, it should of been a blend instead of one colour. Needless to say my stitching time was spent frogging! See... I am human (most days a stitching super hero, but the odd day, I'm like the rest of you)!

I finally finished the finishing on Flip Flops... its ready to get packed in my suitcase! Yup, tomorrow night after having dinner with Kathy (mmmm fajitas!), I'm packing my BIG suitcase. Why the BIG suitcase, so I can take it half empty in case I come across any great clothing or stitching bargains. Thursday after work I'm driving down to Syracuse, N.Y. and Friday morning I'm off to Jacksonville, FLA. to go hug my best friend. I will have my laptop with me so I will be in touch.

Stitchy Post

Before I head off for my stitching weekend with Christin I thought I'd update you on my current project and a small happy dance I had this evening.

Here's the stocking...

Red Threads Letter "C"

c2002 Rosewood Manor

Stitched on : 28ct Opalescent Lugana

Stitched with : Carrie's Creation - Bordeaux

This is yet another monogram ornament for this Christmas.

Its Been Days and Days!

Hello BBSW readers! Its been far too long since I've blogged! First of all, I wasn't near a computer Friday-Monday afternoon, and I'm pooped!!!

Let's get down to immediate business. Despite a terrible migraine I wanted to get my weigh in at Weight Watchers over and done with. Just as long as I had been away from the computer I hadn't tracked either. Good news, I stayed the same again which was the best I could hope for after the last 5-6 days. I also have barely stitched since Friday so I'll save a stocking update for another day.

Wednesday after work I headed back down to Brighton! Ann was in Toronto helping out Dan's Dad for a few days, Dan and I met up with Beatrice and her husband for a nice dinner in Trenton. The rest of the evening I spent working on Todd's stocking.

Originally we were going to head out to the Holstein Rodeo on Thursday but since Ann was returning that day and was tried after being away for a few days we postponed our departure for Friday. That morning while Dan was at work I took Paddie and Molly for a walk in the nearby orchard. I followed that up with a brief run on the treadmill. Beatrice came over with lunch for the two of us. We had a great visit and stitched for awhile. I was hoping to put in a long evening of stitching, but for some strange reason I was pooped and it was early to bed for this girl!

Friday morning we all loaded into the motor home, dogs and all and hit the road for Holstein! I have to say travelling in a motor home is great, you can go pee any time you want to!!! I was able to stitch for a good 3-4 hours during the drive.

Here's the Rodeo site from the air... all those white rectangles... trailers and lots of them there were at least 600-700 sites booked for the weekend! I think there was more than 6,000 people in attencance, on Saturday they served 4,000 breakfasts and about just as many steaks that night! We were told they were serving one steak every 5 seconds!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday I barely had time to breathe or stop! Once we got the 50/50 ticket booth set up I spent 3-5 hours each day running the stands/bleachers at the Rodeo selling tickets! Thank goodness we had a beautiful weekend, with nice temperatures and sunny days ideal for running around!

Friday night's entertainment was Deric Rattan (now I'm not a Country Music fan so these names mean very little to me).

Saturday after dinner I was treated to a helicopter ride! The pilot was great, he offered to do the photographic tour for me... I told him I wanted the exciting ride! Boy what fun I had up there in the air!!!

Saturday night's entertainment was Beverly Mahood followed by the Road Hammers. I was so exhausted that despite being camped behind the stage I fell asleep to the VERY loud Road Hammers!

Sunday was our last day at the rodeo, and we didn't get back to Ann & Dan's until almost midnight. We got the basics out of the motor home, took showers, and all fell into bed! What an adventure! I had a great time, got some good shots, but boy it was exhausting. Hungry did come along for the road trip, but unfortunately the poor guy never got out of my stitching bag!

Here's some of my shots (when I had the time) from the Rodeo.

Waiting to ride the bull.

Look at that air!

*Cough* *Cough* Dusty!

Whoa Boy!

Yeee-Hawww!

Hang in there!

These guys are CRAZY!!!

What's a rodeo without a few boys on horseback?

What a face!!!

There's nothing more majestic than running horses.

Calf roping.

Perhaps Hungry will put in an appearance this weekend in Kingston! Christin and I are off to visit her parents for the weekend, followed with stitching at Beth's!

Photo Hunt #153 "Four"

It was weigh in night tonight. Good news, I stayed the same yes I'm actually considering this good news. I have to admit my eating was not the best nor closely tracked while I was visiting Kathy. However, I know that before WW I would of stuffed my face for days.


Before I head off to the Rodeo for the weekend, (a nice long weekend for me!!!) I'll leave you with a PhotoHunt "Four".



Here are four of the Snowbirds that I photographed this past weekend.

So what do you think of the new header for my blog?

Stitching n' Gifts

This weekend at Kathy's I really stitched up a storm! The sad thing is you can't really see it here in this picture. I started out stitching white-on-white on Friday afternoon, and I finally wrapped it up tonight... started the green YAY! I think if you click to enlarge you may see all the white I put it... its a lot! Kathy seems to think I won't get this done in time for Christmas. Well she's thrown down the gauntlet... I'm sure I'll have this stocking done by September or October!

When I left Kathy's yesterday evening I came home with two lovely hand-made gifts from Kathy! First is a stitching/pencil case. Well I call it a stitching case because it holds everything I need from scissors and needles down to lip balm and nail clippers. Its amazing how many times when you're stitching you realize boy I could use some lip balm... or look at that raggedy nail! Its all in the name of getting up less to stitch more!

Kathy was making some lovely stitched scissor fobs this weekend using pink fabric and hot pink floss. I whined one evening, showing Kathy my pink fob-less scissors. She surprised me Saturday night with a finished fob! It smells so pretty too, its stuffed with lavender! See doesn't it look perfect?

Well a couple of more days and I'm hitting the road again (Wednesday after work)! I'll be heading that evening to Ann & Dan's in Brighton (yes, back to Brighton again). From there we're going to the Holstein Rodeo! I'm looking forward to the fun pictures I'm going to take!!!!

A Weekend At Kathy's

Well, where to start and where to end? I had an AWESOME weekend at Kathy's! Thank you so much Kathy, for inviting me out and allowing me to do your dishes all weekend. Thanks to Beatrice for hanging out with us Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Also thanks to the Brighton stitching ladies who came by Kathy's today. Each and everyone of you helped to contribute to a fantastic weekend, and it was so great to see everyone.

Thursday morning I had everything, all packed up ready to go.

After work I had a little get together with the girls from the office, then I hit the road, here's my mileage (kilometers of course!) before I hit the road.

Along the way I pulled over for these wonderful critters that I sighted from the driver's seat.

Thursday night Kathy and I of course stitched! Hungry and I were also happy to hit the hay that night, after a day at work and 3 hours on the road.

Friday we hooked up with Beatrice and headed into Coburg to check out the artisans at the Riverfest. Unfortunately they asked no photographs so I have nothing exciting to show you from this little adventure. We had a fantastic lunch at a German restaurant, window shopped, and got back to the van just as the rain began. From Coburg, we headed over to Ann's for a visit and a little stitching. Our evening was spent... stitching of course!

As usual mother nature didn't disappoint at Kathy's!

Saturday Beatrice came back out to Kathy's and we had lunch, stitched a little, then we did another little road trip. This time, into Bellville to hit Michaels, and Reid's Dairy for a yummy milk shake. Along the way back Kathy stopped on a back road so I could photograph the Snowbirds who were strutting their stuff at the Trenton Air Show. I took a lot of pictures, what I've got here are maybe 1/10th of what I took.

That night Kathy, Beatrice, and I stitched again, me on Todd's stocking (I'll share a picture of that with you tomorrow since I've got so much to show you tonight), Kathy was either working on scissor fobs or her Noddy piece. We did take a stitching break and here are Kathy and Beatrice making beaded scissor fobs after I gave them a brief lesson.

Sunday morning, there was no sleeping in ... we were up and at it, to get the house and food ready for the ladies to come over and stitch today!

Judie (of the Cows) was stitching

So was Marie-Paule

Beatrice and her sister Lisa were stitching too

Here's Lisa, Adrianna and Angie all settled in to stitch

Hungry and I were having a good time too!

Sadly, the fun had to end, and I drove back home... here's the damage to my odometer at the end of it all (over 500 Kms!).

So stay tuned for a project progress report and some lovely little gifties Kathy made for me!!!

Long Live the Road Warrior!!!

Ready... Set... GO!

After work yesterday marked the beginning of my summer roadtrippin'!!! My poor little car, car, I hope its ready for a little abuse (good little car, car!). For me summer is a huge season to get out and about to visit my friends! Did I mention... stitching friends, that is a requirement by the way, to be my friend is you must stitch. I am happy to teach you!!! You can ask Christin and Claire they have been properly converted.

Sadly, poor Todd is being left alone at home this season. Silly, silly man isn't taking any summer holidays so instead of staying home to spend an evening with him where he'll fall asleep on the couch and I'll stitch I'm hitting the road!

This weekend : its a visit with Kathy on the shores of Lake Ontario! I'm looking forward to hearing the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore when I go to sleep at night. I know some of my other Brighton stitching friends will be popping by as well. So look for pictures Monday-ish of this adventure.

Next weekend : its the Holstien Rodeo with Ann & Dan!

The weekend after : Stitching weekend in Kingston!

The following weekend : I'm flying to Jacksonville, Fla. to check in on my best friend Claire

This brings us up to August 2nd when I return from Jacksonville. My Mum and I have talked about a few nights in Montreal the following week while I'm still on holidays. Nothing is decided at this point, we'll see how I'm feeling after all that mileage!

Happy Birthday Canada!

Here's a montage of pictures I've taken over the years that clearly represent Canada (well at least in my mind they do!)

Yo yo, Results, July Goals & PhotoHunt oh MY!

Yup I'm officially re-naming myself from TKDchick to Yo yo. Back up again at the scales... up one pound. Am I surprised, not really. Last week was incredibly chaotic for me, my days were all over the place, I didn't take a lunch three days in a row, I worked until 5:30 one night (I finish work at 3:30), then went in for 7am the next day, thus my stress level was up, my organization & planning went out the window. I packed chaotic lunches, I can assure it it wasn't balanced, it was more like throwing already packaged things in my lunch bag... yogurt, granola bars, apples, microwave popcorn, etc. Then there was end of year treats around, with my stress level being up, my resistance was down. One night I had a DQ Blizzard for dinner, the next day I had a cinnamon bun for breakfast (oh if they hadn't had those on the table I would of been okay), then another one for lunch. Then there was a small shared popcorn at the movies. So, as you can see it was all my own fault. But this is the start of a new week and I can focus on organization and better choices.

Today I had my appointment with the Internalist who sent me for cardiac testing about a month ago now. My testing has come back clean, so there are no concerns over my heart (remember my fainting episode?). He did receive a letter from my allergist and between the three of us we agreed to treat this as Exercise Induced Anaphalaxis.

Now onto the fun stuff!!! Stitching and goals! I had a little time with Todd's Stocking this afternoon... before another nap! This evening after Taekwon-Do I pulled out Art Deco Spirits. At the moment its white on white... oh yay!

June Goal - Recap

Finish Blackstone Fantasy Garden - Yeah baby!

Stitch Two Ornaments - Yuppers!

Work on Todd's Stocking - Yes, aren't I a good girl?

Work on Art Deco Spirits - For sure!

Not on the goal list, but I also pulled out Tour des Marques, and worked on it twice!

July Goals

Stitch Two Ornaments

Work on Todd's Stocking

Work on Art Deco Spirits

Work on Tour des Marques

Tomorrow is Canada Day! The forecast is kinda crappy so I suppose I'll be stitching, and if it does turn into a nice day I'll stitch on the deck at the cottage instead.

Finally another PhotoHunt to amuse you with. PhotoHunt #152 "Space"

This was a simple choice, one of my photos of the shuttle launch this past March. One of the most exhilarating experiences in my life!