crocheting, in between naps

Between naps I've been keeping myself occupied by doing a little crocheting. I got this book a while ago and like the different shapes/motifs that is included in it. Having a bad cold at that time of the month (I know, I know, tmi) should be illegal-but at least I'm learning some new interesting crochet stitches like dc2tog and dc3tog(:
now back to my nap!
xoxo

just the facts....

.

~one of my children has been in her p.j.'s for almost two days straight, only was she now convinced to get dressed to go out and get ice cream with her dad and sister.

~our little kitty is being very adventurous, not so long ago he hid himself in a kitchen drawer one morning after I had dropped the girls off at school. I was on the verge of tears. I had looked almost everywhere in the house-until I pulled open a kitchen drawer and found him (he was just lying there-looking completely unfazed).

~I'm still drinking my morning decaf, and its past three in the afternoon.

~I need to catch up on my garden reading.

~ I have knitting needles sticking out my hair at this moment
(probably should be reading instead of knitting, huh?)

~I made soup for lunch today, so we could have it again for dinner.

~I'm hoping for an early bedtime, for everybody.


Happy Monday!

making Valentines

The weekends go fast don't they? After church yesterday we had some people over for lunch (which included jerk chicken). After sunset my husband went out to get a few things and I requested ice cream (didn't I just say something about healthy snacks?)
Well I ate a bowl of rocky road last night as I surfed the web, then I knitted a little and finally went to bed. This morning the girls were telling me that we needed to go to the store today to pick up their Valentine cards for their school parties tomorrow, but I suggested that we make some cards instead. I have a stash of stuff, paper wise, that needs to be put to use- so today we did some cutting, gluing, and a little stamping~

making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

cut-out, originally uploaded by *nichole*
.

making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

making cards, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

now we just need to add candy to the cards, wonder if I have a stash of that around? (does extra dark chocolate count, I don't know since its full of anti-oxidants and all:)

snack time

~today's after school snack

~my snack of choice lately, dates and slivered almonds

We try to eat relatively healthy snacks, but of course there are times we eat a cookie or two. Anyway my snack of choice lately has been dates with slivered almonds. Dates are so sweet, sticky, really they are natures own caramels. Just a few of them help subdue that sweet tooth of mine-they are full of good stuff too. Here are a list of snacks that make there way on our table after school and on the weekends~

*chips and salsa
*apples with nut butter or cheese
*bananas with nut butter
*crackers
*granola
*cut-up pieces of pineapple
*oranges
*toast with some spread
*popcorn popped in coconut oil and topped with a little butter and brewer's yeast

snacks of course should quell those hunger pains, but shouldn't fill us up.
I notice that the higher quality of the snack the more satisfied I feel (which really is the case with most of the food we eat).

Have a great weekend, and have some great snacks!

this and that~

I am

~working on knitting up an owl family, two more to go


~painting on a big yellow canvas (more on that later:)


~liking the blues on this recently thrifted vase


~glad we saw a rainbow today


this weekend also included church, ordering pizza Saturday night, attending a birthday party (for a classmate of my youngest daughter), vacuuming, with Sunday evening being topped off by a deep, deep cleaning of the upstairs bathroom-yeah. I love seeing the shiny chrome on the hot and cold water knobs-again.

a few glimpses of the day....

~plants by the window


~leftover chai tea from this morning



~my oldest taking a little nap after school


just sharing a few moments from this Tuesday.

hanging out

~perler beads

~making a star

~basket by the couch

We've been hanging out at home these last couple of days, just relaxing-eating easy meals. Next week we will be back to our regular schedule plus I will be starting Master Gardening classes. The class meets once a week (for about three months) and will cover all aspects of botany, horticulture, and other key aspects of gardening. I'm excited about this class and hopefully can keep up with the weekly reading and class work, but really I think this challenge will be a good one for me. In the meantime we'll enjoy the last few days of just hanging out at home, being lazy, and bringing in the New Year.

Happy New Year!

Sunday talk

small house, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

well lets see what we did this Sunday~

~realized that making my bed at the beginning of the day gives me the feeling that the rest of the day may possibly be organized, (possibly of course is the key word).

~got a little more Christmas decorating done, however I'm looking for a particular set of ornaments that I just can't find- maybe I'll continue the search tomorrow.

~did some knitting while watching football, the 49er's beat the Seahawks!

~ate waffles for dinner, including some curry onion waffles made by my hubby.

~washed and twisted my youngest daughter's hair-the tangles were aided by this product, so glad I found it at the local co-op.

~got some of these water globes for my plants from Ross. In all actuality I think they are a little silly, but I like the colors of the globes and they were of sale, I mean deep discount.

~realized that tomorrow needs to be my down day, because the rest of the week is going to be hectic-tutoring,piano practices, school Christmas play (two performances in the same day), church Christmas program, and some baking to do (or maybe buying-just depends).

The busyness of this time of year can catch me up in a whirlwind, but really this year my perspective is that what gets done will get done and what doesn't, doesn't- (or it can wait) because in the grand scheme of things I know I should be focusing on my loved ones and not on my expectations of what the "right" holiday should entail. Letting go (which isn't necessarily easy for me and my control freak tendencies) is perhaps the biggest gift we can give to ourselves and to others.

this evening

Our Monday night consisted of the usual-homework, dinner (squash soup with turkey salad sandwiches-yes still eating turkey), showers and chores.
I did however find a couple of moments to sit on the couch to look at a Josh Groban dvd (checked out from the library), knit a few rows-really just a few, and browse thru a couple of magazines~


~aren't these slippers so festive, maybe I could knit two pair, for the girls knitted gifts




~look at those cute animals and owls!


Josh on stage singing (I'm kinda silly to take a picture of my tv :)



~ribbed hat in progress, can you see my copy of MSL magazine peeking in there? I somehow just can't resist her Christmas/Holiday issues


~sweater, coming along slowly

so from now until Christmas, I'll get in one stitch at a time (hopefully more) whenever I can, wherever I can-because realistically I'm no jack rabbit when it comes to knitting, I'm more of a "tortoise" speed (perhaps tortoise and speed shouldn't be in the same sentence, huh?)
Have a wonderful evening!

at home....

~by the sink


~in my lap


I've got a little knitting going on, the pattern is here.

Have a good weekend!

the afternoon light

~on the plant

~on a bowl of fruit

~on small hands

afternoon light
signalling that another day
is close
to another~
beautiful light
making
the simple
seem
remarkable.

right now I'm...

liking my hot pink toes


making coffee


using my ironing board as a table


braiding hair


loving this book

Have a good one!

Wednesday morning...

~beds are still left unmade


~the rain is watering the plants, so I don't have to


~coffee is being sipped from my "new" thrifted mug

Today I have a couple of errands to run, then here at home I have some laundry to do (of course) and then I need to make dinner (my husband suggested quiche for dinner, which was a bit of a surprise). So quiche and a salad for dinner sounds simple enough. I'm enjoying summer but it seems to be going at warp speed. After fourth of July summer goes fast!
I haven't scheduled many activities this summer for the girls, no camps or anything like that-I'm a procrastinator when it comes to registration forms -but I think they will attended at least a week of Vacation Bible School and maybe some swim lessons in August, but for right now our daily schedules are pretty much flexible and I'm okay with that.

lunchin' outside

Despite the terribly hot weather and humidity yesterday (and see I've been wanting this hot weather for my garden) the girls wanted to eat outside. My natural instinct was to tell them that it was way too hot, but then I decided to go along with their wish. After all saying "no" at times gets a bit old.

They told me they want to do it again today-but popsicles are needed.

today I'm~

** having a little tea to help with my stuffy nose (my spring allergies are acting up)

** doing a little knitting

** tackling the never ending laundry pile
** planning to eat leftovers for dinner
** going to try to fit a little nap in somewhere

I need slow days like this to help balance out the not so slow ones.
happy Wednesday~