Thursday 15 March 2012

Things are a changin'.....


I can't think straight. I need to knit this out. I wish I had time to do
that.... 





We made one hell of a huge decision this week and my brain has never been in
such non-stop mode. 

There is so much that I need to do right now that it's proving to be quite
difficult to sit at my desk and get through the work day, without getting distracted and lost in my own thoughts. My heart is racing fast as my to do list continues to grow, but this little brain of mine is reminding me to stay optimistic, be positive AND don't forget to breathe!


The hubs and I are different people now then we were when we moved into our
house a year and a half ago. The past year has graced us with an eye
opening, life changing experience of the loss of a parent. That experience
forced us to take a step back and re-evaluate our life, our goals and our
aspirations. We've grown up, we've lived and learned, we've figured some
stuff out about ourselves as indivuduals and as a couple in a marriage.
We're not ready, nor interested in having kids anytime soon, we don't need
fancy things, we have everything we need. We have each other. We want a different type of life.














I'm a small town girl who knows there's nothing better then the fresh ocean air on an early summer morning, and my husband is on the road to becoming a full time singer songwriter.  City living just isn't going to cut it anymore....







Thursday 8 March 2012

Why not smile?

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”


~Abraham Lincoln






Happy Thursday! Enjoy the SUNSHINE


 and double digits today! 


Monday 5 March 2012

Lots of Love in my knits...



“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather he will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?”





I think I may have Found a little something out about Natasha....we might be on our way to Finding Me….

I have always been a knitter. My Grammy Carson taught me when I was young, the Garter stitch and I have always been the best of friends. I find it so therapeutic to sit and knit. It's meditative and the finished product is always a treat! BUT..now...I'm pushing myself to learn, to try to create and design on my own, and I am really enjoying it! I want to do something with this passion that I have.....

There are a whole pile of knitters out there - young, old, busy moms, single ladies, men and kids; and the greatest thing with knitters is that we're all willing to help each other out. There are so many online resources to help you get unstuck with a stitch or any new-to-you technique; there are a ton a knitting blogs with so many beautiful patterns and inspirational knitters, that it makes it easy to find an answer somewhere! It's just great! It just gives me so much motivation to create, create, create!

Creative energy is an amazing thing! It's the best kind of energy for me! It keeps me awake at night and gets me up bright and early in the morning. I am always so excited when it’s time to get started on a new project, to see how it's knits up, to hold the finished piece up and think...I made that! A ball of yarn, a pair of knitting needles and my own two hands -Amazing! My hands are tingling with excitement just thinking about it and I wish I was home now, sitting with a cup of tea, needles clicking, mind at ease.


I started this past weekend off [Friday afternoon at 3pm!] with a trip to Cricket Cove to purchase my new set of Knitter's Pride Dreamz Interchangeable  Circular Needles! A couple of months back, one of the girls at Cricket Cove Knit Night showed us all her new set, and I have not been able to stop thinking about them since! Finally!!! They're mine!! 9 sizes, 4 different sized cables, the needs are made of birch wood and each stained a different color. They are amazing! I also bought 9 balls of SIRDAR Snuggly Baby Bamboo yarn! It's sooo soft, so pink and so lovely. It glides right off my needles! I thought this baby blanket project was going to be tricky; however, it's been a breeze! The pattern is fool proof and it knits up quite quickly. I actually had to walk away from it a couple of times yesterday because I want to take my time and enjoy the process; I don't want it to be over by Friday!

I set my self up with a dedicated Knitting Room in the house, this weekend as well. I finally have my own space to organize my projects and knit in peace. I am sure my hubby will appreciate the lack of knitting articles and accessories scattered about all over our house, and the extra space that's now available on the kitchen table. While I was setting up, I took the time to look through the dozen or
so knitting books that I have acquired over the years. I came across one book in particular that I have had forever, but haven't really taken the time to read. It's called Compassionate Knitting: Finding Basic Goodness in the Work of Our Hands by Tara Jon Manning. I didn't think I was the only one that used my knitting as a meditative technique, as a tool for contemplation, but I had no idea it was actually a thing. The book really only has about 5 pages of ideas regarding this, an intro, I'd call it- but those 5 pages are jam-packed. The book is made up of 20 patterns aiming to assist you in benefiting personally from the creation….. to take the time to be in the moment of your stitches, to be mindful of what you are creating, to leave snippets of your self within the pattern.

All crafters find their craft calming; but for me, there is something special about the repetition and the easy glide of yarn between 2 needles in knitting that really soothes my soul.

Pics below :)

Happy Monday! Enjoy your week!!

Oh--and I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy. Oh man. Soooo good. 






New Needles - DREAMZ


My Knitting Space




BabyBamboo and Dreamz


Work in progress 

Thursday 23 February 2012

It's that time of year again...

“Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when it's morning again, they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.”


Dull and damp and dark and cold….that's the weather. That's how I am
trying NOT to feel! Thank Baby J for out newly purchased treadmill or I
wouldn't be getting any sort of exercise at all! I am the worst this time
of year; really having to fight hard to stay 'mentally healthy'. Too much
time on my hands to stay inside and think…there isn’t enough yarn or pages
in a book to keep my head from spinning with thoughts this time of year. You
know...the woe is me thoughts.....those stupid thoughts that have time to
sneak up on you when you have time to let them....yep. Those. I am trying
really hard to keep them at bay. Consider the fact that when you smile, even
if you don't feel like it, the act of smiling actually makes you feel
better; like you are smiling for a reason. I need to keep busy with new and
exciting knitting projects, books that are total page turners and time with
friends and family. That's what I need to do. I need to make myself feel
happy and be happy and do happy things in order to Really be HAPPY!

Soon enough it's going to be SPRING! Fresh air, flowers and running OUTSIDE!
I can't wait!! We have so many plans for the summer and we are sure to be
travelling here and there for Shaun's shows on the weekends! I have big
plans for some shawl wearing when we're in Quebec. I started my shawl with that
trip in mind; thinking it would be the perfect place to show it off on cool Summer nights while sipping wine at Shaun's gigs!

As I said yesterday, my newest knitting project is the Holding Hands Baby
Blanket. I have so many lady friends who are expecting little tiny's this
Spring and Summer! I have to get my baby-knit on!! I won't know how long the
Holding Hands Baby Blanket is going to take me until I get the first one
finsihed; which needs to be by May; so I am hoping I can manage that! I think
it's such a lovely blanket that I'll master it and make it for all the new
babes!

Speaking of Babies -- We had one of our little nephews this past weekend for
a sleep over. We're not ready for a baby. I don't really need to say
more...but I will.
Growing up, I was never one of those little girls that had any sort of
vision for her wedding day, I didn't dream of my dress or even the guy who
might be my husband. I didn't have a set # of children I'd like to have, I
didn't even really want them at all. I just wasn't that girl. I'm still not
that girl. Don't get me wrong, I met the guy and he became my husband, but
he's nothing my imagination could have mustered up...he's much, much more. We
got married and it was the best, most perfect day of my life.
Now..we're just doing our thing. We're young, in love and function
incredibly as a couple in our marriage; but we are still too separate to become one
[aka: make a little tiny] before we've found ourselves. I have no idea who I
want to be when I grow up and my husband is working so hard on making a
career out of his passion [with my whole heart and self supporting him along
the way] that it's just not something that we need or want right now. We
can't raise a little tiny person to become someone when we've yet to become
someone [an individual with true passions, talents and love for our own
independence] ourselves. It's really hard to not feel the pressure when
everyone around you is having babies and talk, talk, talking babies. It's as
if my mind is trying to convince myself that it’s time, it's ok, we're ready,
it's what we're supposed to do, it's part of the timeline - get engaged, get
a Puppy, get married, buy a house, pop out some babies! That's what you do.
BUT - I DON'T want to! Maybe not ever. And you know what? That's OK! That’s
totally ok with ME. And HIM too!
For those of you that are reading this thinking...I remember that talk
Natasha and I had about babies…the one where she said, maybe in a year or
so. Well…that was me going through one of those societal driven phases
where I nearly convinced myself that's what I wanted. I didn't. I don't. I'm
not ready. We're not ready.

That felt...Really. Good.

I suppose I could just keep ranting, since it feels so amazing! There's
something else I need to address. I have a real f*%#ing Potty Mouth and I
need to fix that!! I should add it to my list of goals, because it's getting
ridiculous! I can't even say one sentence without inserting the word F*%#.
Happy, sad, angry, excited, stressed, mellow, relaxed...it's all the F*%#ing
same! So...here's to me trying to fix that. It's not ladylike, it's not
pretty, it's not nice, it's NOT NECESSARY!

Well then...

This post was much longer than I had expected it to be. Enjoy ;o

Oh wait - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins!!!!!  Oh my goodness. What an awesome read. I can't put it down!! I am halfway through the first book and I am so glad there are
2 more because I can't imagine the story ending! We picked up the hardcover box
set at Costco on Friday night. I made a deal with my hubby that he could
start it first even though I was dying to get my hands on it.  I secretly picked it up last
night and OMG!!!  We are trying very hard not to hurt each other over who gets to read
it when. AKA - I am trying to be very sneaky with my reading time to make
sure that I finish it first so I can start the second one first! He's too
slow! So...really, you should just get this book and READ it asap!

Happy THONG THURSDAY! 




A must read *3!!!! 





Went Skating last week! Lovely! Just lovely! 



Wednesday 22 February 2012

Even more proud of this!!!

"Completed knitting projects make me sooo happy!!"
~Natasha LeBlanc





I finished this lovely shawl last night. It's warm, cozy, gorgeous and was not difficult at all.





Here is my next project!!


This is the Holding Hands Baby Blanket. Isn't it so beautiful!!!??? It's going to take me a while so I've got to get started asap! DO you know how many stitches are in this bad boy!!??
59,502!!!! 

Tuesday 31 January 2012

I did it!! I did it!!

"I am so friggin' proud of myself right now!" 
~ Natasha LeBlanc


All I need to say tonight, is….. I just finished knitting my very first hat! Gorgeous eh!???? 



Monday 30 January 2012

Well, Hello.

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”








So.... a 'once a week' blog eh? That turned out well.

I didn't stop writing because I succeeded in finding myself. I wish. That is definitely 
NOT what went down. It just got...well...time consuming. Life got busy. I
stopped taking the time to unload and refresh...for several months.

I can't say that it's really been a problem. I think I've been too busy to
even notice. That is, until I ran into that certain someone that pointed out
my lack of commitment to my blog posts. [Thank you to that certain someone].  So, really though...at the very least, I should be able to post once a week. I'll try to keep you all updated on what I'm up to, how I'm doing and all that fun stuff.

I'll be honest and say that I certainly don't want to take the time to try
to recollect the last 5 months of my life. It will take forever. It's been
good. I've been good. My hubby has been wonderful and little Bean is still
little Bean.

Let’s talk about her first, little Bean -- I had to be a tough Mom and take her to the vet this morning [without Shaun, this is quite a feat for me --I don't do well with anything hurt, bloody or remotely painful] because she pulled one of her toenails off [but not really] and we weren't able to cut it for her. We made sure to keep it clean with salt and water all weekend but it wasn't falling off so we decided to take her in to have it removed. O to the M to the G! The vet looked at me this morning and said, "Is it ok if I hurt your dog?" I looked at him like...WTF? What kind of question is that? Maybe try wording it-- are you ok with her being in pain for a split second?!! I said "No." He then explained that she could either be sedated [which would cost $150 on top of the $100 to have the nail removed] or she could just be awake and feel the pain. I told him, "Well...I guess you'll have to sedate us both!" BUT - that is a TON of $ and I knew she could handle it and I knew Shaun would say she could handle it; so, she did! I sat in the waiting room with tears in my eyes and my ears covered [no way I was going to hear her little yelp!] for what felt like 10 minutes, which was only 2! The vet said she did amazing and now she’s good to go. Oh, little Bean!  She gets an entire paragraph in this post. Lucky puppy!


Well…how about a small list of the other important stuff:

- We're going to be an Aunty and Uncle for the 5th time! My 3rd oldest
sister is going to have a Baby in July!

-My Dad and I finished plastering and sanding the walls in the basement
family room. It's ready for paint!!

-I ROCKED the shit out of the Miss Movember run and I have the medal to
prove it! My sister-in-law and I wore felt moustaches and crossed the finish
line with a huge hug and a few [VERY, VERY HAPPY] tears!

-I knit 86 LitKnits for the Botsford Christmas Bazaar and sold 32. Hmm. I
like to think I was just in a bad location. I'll sell more next year. They
are adorable and I am not giving up.

-My Birthday was wonderful. I spent it with my family and some close
friends. That's the best. Oh, and I’m 25.

-Christmas without my father-in-law was bittersweet. It's insanely sad to
feel all kinds of [missing] in one room, it's also incredibly lovely to be
surrounded by such an amazing family that love each other so much.

-My hubby and I hosted a very successful Christmas Day with my family. Very. Successful.

-We spent New Years Eve in Saint Andrews. It was nice. It's home.

-I didn't meet my 2011 Reading Challenge Goal of 40 books; I only made it to 35. That's still pretty damn good.

-My amazing husband bought a new [AMAZING] NORD keyboard for his upcoming year of non stop music!

-I still enjoy my job.

-Our little Bean is just as adorable as she was in October.

-I volunteered to read and review a novel by a local author. It’s coming
out in April. My review is going to be on the back of the book. This makes
me incredibly happy.

-I have been knitting up a storm. I started my very first big project. A shawl just for me!!

-I am learning how to knit cables.

-I miss my old co-worker and I love my new one.

-I am not sure if it's a Café I'll open or a knitting store with a coffee station.....

-I've learned that there aren't enough pieces of myself to pass around, I am
not good at being a busy or pretend person. I have come to terms with the
simple fact that those relationships and friendships that truly mean
something to us, are the ones that we need to put our true self and
effort into.

-I will never give up coffee.

-I am looking into purchasing a treadmill. I am not a 'go outside to
exercise in the winter' kind of gal. Can't do it. Won't. Nope. A walk to
breathe in the nice fresh air, maybe. Running? Hells no.

-My 2012 Reading Challenge Goal is 42 books. Why I upped it by 2 when I
didn't even make it to 40 last year is beyond me.

-I love my hubby more and more Every. Single. Day.

-I had my annual review at work today. It was good. I am going to be
certified to be able to do some more important stuff. That makes me feel
good.

-I don't like Tash or Tasha, but I do have a thing for Nat. Feel free to
call me that.


Happy 2012! It's going to be a really great year.

There. I like lists. See some knit pics below. And my recovering Baby Bean
too.

Nat






Cable Hat - 1/2 done
Shawl -- I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but… :) 
My little Bean all bundled up in her blanket, tuckered out from her morning at the vet.
Could she be any more adorable?