Followers-explanation needed!

Can someone explain the followers bit on a blog? I dont get it.Personally, I add blogs to my google reader and follow them there. I do that with anyone that leaves a comment on my blog. What happens when you click to "follow" someones blog? I know i have followers and i see people appeal for followers. Im curious....please someone explain it to me :)

Havent stitched in a while. Probably a combination of having had a stinking cold and just wanting to lie on the sofa at night and stare at the tv, beautiful sunny days that have kept us outside a lot and Caleb refusing to go to bed at his normal time every night this week.

5 and a 1/2 weeks until we go to Florida!

2009

I am going to stitch an ornament for Caleb every Christmas. Here's what i stitched this year. A Prairie Schooler freebie that i first seen on Hazel's blog. I messed up the finishing a bit by not leaving myself enough fabric so it's a bit messy but i like it nevertheless.

I answered these questions last year and it was fun to read them back today so im doing it again....

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Had a baby!

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I didnt make any last year. This year i am going to make some. Watch this space.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I had Caleb, my niece Elaine was born in August, my friend Emily had Violet in June, Laura had Rebekah in June, Lesley had Benjamin in October

4. Did anyone close to you die? No

5. What countries did you visit? Does England count? Thats as far as we ventured!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Sleep, more me time, my fitness back!

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory? Without doubt the 18th January...Caleb's arrival day!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Enduring an awful labour to have my baby and surviving the first year of motherhood!

9. What was your biggest failure? Not coping well with the lack of sleep that comes with a new baby

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? A few minor illnesses nothing major

11. What was the best thing you bought? My new netbook maybe

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My DH's...patient, kind, a great father and amazing in those first few months when Caleb was born

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? My boss at work

14. Where did most of your money go? Baby stuff

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Seeing Take That in concert at Hampden

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2009? Take That's "The Circus."

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:happier or sadder? Happier

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleeping, definitely sleeping

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas morning opening pressies just the 3 of us. Down to my mums at 11am to open more pressies and have a great lunch with my sister and her husband there too.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? DH, during the days when he's at work

22. Did you fall in love in 2009? Oh yes!

23. How many one night stands in this last year? None

24. What was your favourite TV programme(s)? Felicity, Ugly Betty, 90210, Eastenders

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate might be too strong but my boss' behaviour has shocked and appalled me.

26. What was the best book(s) you read? I read a lot but there isnt one that immediately stands out

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Take That, ny rediscovery LOL

28. What did you want and get? My very own laptop

29. What did you want and not get? An ipod

30. What were your favourite films of this year? I dont watch a lot of films actually so cant immediately think of any particular favourites

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 28 on my birthday and Caleb was only 6 weeks old so that time is all a blur to me!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More sleep

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Lazy, comfy, PJs LOL

34. What kept you sane? DH, wonderful new friends, old friends, mums and tots groups

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Beckham, as always

36. What political issue stirred you the most? I havent been particularly stirred by much, general election in 2010 though that should be interesting!

37. Who did you miss? My bezzas (best friends) who are scattered over the UK now

38. Who was the best new person (people) you met? Caleb, my gorgeous son, Becky one of my new mummy friends

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009 Just how precious life is and how important it is to have faith in God.

I learnt a lot about myself this year...the things i can/cant handle, my strengths, my weaknesses.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

"Show me the way to go home, im tired and i wanna go to bed...."

2008/2009

I dont have many stitching plans for 2009 except for to work on more stuff for me and work on some of the long-standing bigger projects i have on the go like - Cirque des Cercles, the EMS Rose Sampler, LHN Dear Diary series, The baby sampler. It would be nice to have 1 big piece finished, framed and hanging in my house by the end of 2009! I have committed to the 2009 Christmas Challenge and i still have 2 blogiversay gifts from last January to make and send (sorry Juls and Michele for the loooong wait)!

Seen this on a few blogs and thought i'd have a go...........

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Got pregnant!

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I didnt make any last year. This year i think i will but that'll be a future post.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Sherri had Canaan in April, Lori had Isla in December

4. Did anyone close to you die? No

5. What countries did you visit? We went to Canada in February, Portugal/Spain in June and numerous trips down to England

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? My baby!

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory? 6th September was our 5th wedding anniversary and we had a great weekend up in Fortwilliam where we found the most beautiful place - the white sands of morar.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Apart from getting pregnant, starting running and being able to run 10K and raise £860 for charity even if i didnt actually get to run it on the official day

9. What was your biggest failure? Not being able to run the 10K that i trained for months for - due to morning sickness

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Does morning sickness for about 20weeks count?

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new car - Honda jazz

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? So many of my friends who have been so kind this year.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? My boss at work

14. Where did most of your money go? Baby stuff

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting pregnant

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2008? Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box. Our girly haven holidays song for this year!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:happier or sadder? Much much happier

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Seeing friends, more exercise, proper cooking/baking

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Lazying around

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas morning opening pressies with my DH, mum, dad, sister, brother in law and Barney the dog. Christmas meal at 4.30pm with DH, mum, dad, aunt, uncle and Gran.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? DH, during the days when we're both at work

22. Did you fall in love in 2008? Yes

23. How many one night stands in this last year? None

24. What was your favourite TV programme(s)? Lost (i watched season 1, 2 and 3 this year)

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Not that i can think of

26. What was the best book(s) you read? I read a lot but there isnt one that immediately stands out

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Rainbow Fish, DH's band :-)

28. What did you want and get? A new car

29. What did you want and not get? A 2008 baby LOL

30. What were your favourite films of this year? I dont watch a lot of films actually so cant immediately think of any particular favourites

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 27 on my birthday and we drove to Birmingham for one of my best friends 30th birthday party

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less morning sickness and nausea

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Awful. Maternity clothes yuck

34. What kept you sane? Running, friends, my DVD boxsets

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Beckham, as always

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The new Scottish Government - switching from Labour to the SNP. Lots of implications from this, especially at work.

37. Who did you miss? My bezzas (best friends) who are scattered over the UK now

38. Who was the best new person (people) you met? Canaan, my friends gorgeous baby boy

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008 Trust God, in and through all things and all life throws at you. Sometimes there seems no light at the end of some dark tunnels but things do work out, often in unexpected ways.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
Blessed me your name when the sun shining down on me
When the worlds all as it it should be blessed be your name

Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name

You all make me smile :)

I was tagged by Lynn, Squazi , Juls and Jaimie for this award! Ladies thank-you so much! You make me smile too. In fact, everyone who visits my blog makes me smile :) I believe the rules are to pass this on to 10 other people who make you smile. I'll use this as a way of promoting 10 of my friends blogs. But with over 130 blogs in my google reader i can assure you that there are many more people who make me smile.

Donna of Daisygirl Stitching

Lesley of Tintock Tap

Edgar of Blacksheep's bit of the web

Paula of Paula's Stitching Place

Hazel of Quietly Stitching

Lauren of I'll cross that stitch when i come to it

Ranae of The Needle and I

Barbara of Mainely Stitching

Mercy of Pretty in Pink

Deb of Lavendar Rose Ramblings

Back from Exmouth

I had a great time away. The weather wasn't great but it didn't matter, we had so much fun! I have come back so tired that i had to take another day off work! Three nights out in a row just finished me off, i must be getting older ;) We slept in late every morning, stayed out late every night, drank too much, ate too much....the usual girly weekend. On sunday we had a relaxing 3 hours at the spa and then walked to the beach later on. Here's a photo of me (on the left) and my friend at the beach Here's another photo of us out one night


The only bad thing about being away...i came back to way over 100 feeds in my google reader. It's going to take a long time to catch up that's for sure!

Now for a stitching update. Here's the latest on Dollhouse. I finished another room last week.
I bought a little bit of stash the other day. The Kreiniks were reduced from £3 to 99p which was great seeing as i needed them anyway for the next PIF gift i'm about to start working on. I also bought some metallic DMC, i've never used this before. It doesn't feel very nice. I love DMC115, i bought it for a freebie i wanted to start and now i can't remember what it was LOL
On a final note, I was tagged by Rowyn, Noreen and Christine whilst i was away. I have to tell you eight things about myself that you might not already know. Here’s how to play:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here goes:
1. I love drinking tea. Maybe im addicted, i don't know ( or care ;) )
2. I love doing laundry!
3. My favourite TV shows at the moment are: the apprentice, ugly betty and desperate housewives
4. I go into bookshops, type the books i want into my mobile phone and then order them at my local library (for just 20p) which is right opposite where i live.
5. I am very impatient
6. I have been married 4 years in September
7. I was born in Scotland and live in Scotland but i have an English accent.
8. I love sleeping and love a good 10 hours a night (if only time would allow though!)

Now i tag: Mercy, Donna, Michelle, Itching to Stitch, Karen, Carla, Juls and Paula

How girly?

I seen this on Jamie's blog and wanted to have a go too!

You Are 44% Girly

You're a little girly, a little boyish, and probably a whole lot indie. You have your own unique style, and it pretty much defies gender lines.

How Girly Are You?

Quiz

Seen this on a few blogs so thought i'd try it out! Its fairly accurate, not sure that's a good thing though LOL You scored as Harry Potter. You are a very passionate and caring person when it comes to the wellness of your friends as well as others. You're very temperamental and sarcastic, and sometimes you'll flow a little bit over to the arrogant and obnoxious side when your temper gets the best of you. But you're bold and daring and will stand up for what you feel is right with bravery. Harry Potter 78% Draco Malfoy 66% Severus Snape 59% Ron Weasley 47% Oliver Wood 47% Hermione Granger 47% Percy Weasley 44% Sirius Black 41% Bellatrix Lestrange 38% Remus Lupin 38% Luna Lovegood 34% Lord Voldemort 31% Neville Longbottom 28% Albus Dumbledore 25% Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test created with QuizFarm.com

I love blogs

I was a bit sceptical when i started this blog in the new year. Wasn't sure why i was starting it/worried it was a waste of time etc etc but can i just say, i love to blog and read blogs! I think it's great that i get to "meet" lots of new friends from all over the world. I find other people's lives fascinating, I think that's why i work in the social work sector!

I have recently discovered Google Reader. It's such a great way to read blogs and saves a lot of time. I'd recommend it to everyone. Im not a google employee or anything, but it's well worth promoting!

I got this through on an email today so thought i'd share it, made me laugh anyway

You know you're living in 2007 when........

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. (*so true*)
6. You go home after a long day at work you still answer the phone in a business manner.
7. You make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get an outside line. (*i do this all the time*)
8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o'clock news.
11. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your mobile phone to see if anyone is home.
13. Every commercial on television has a website at the bottom of the screen.
14. Leaving the house without your mobile phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
15. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
18. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
20. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list. and now you're laughing at yourself

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's day. We went out for a meal last night as we're busy tonight and tomorrow night.

Before i go, for anyone interested, i still have space left on my pay it forward!

Meet Barney

Meet Barney...our newest family member! Unfortunately he's not ours. My sister and her husband bought him on Saturday. Fortunately they live about 2 minutes away so we get to see him all the time. He's soooo cute. He's a pedigree Shi Tzu, just 8 weeks old. You'd think he was a new baby or something the way we've all been going on! So you can imagine who we spent most of the weekend with!

On a completely different note....apparently today was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. Some one from Cardiff university (Dr Arnall) has come up with a worst day formula which is ([W + (D-d)] x TQ) ÷ (M x NA). (W: weather, D: debt, d: money due in January pay, T: time elapsed since Christmas, Q: time since failed New Year's resolutions to quit smoking, drinking etc, M: general motivational levels, NA: the need to take action.)

I must say it hasn't been true for me. I've had a great day, mostly because i had a day off work seeing as i worked on Saturday. So, i got up later, i went to the gym, came home and had lunch and then went to visit my friend Laura who had a gorgeous baby girl last week (she is just 5lb 8 oz and was so delicate looking and lovely). I spent a few hours with them, came home, made a rather tasty spaghetti bolognaise and am now planning on chilling out in front of the tv and doing some stitching. So Dr Arnall, today was a great day, how do you explain this??

Snow

It's snowing! This is a big deal! When it snows here, life grinds to a halt. We are not equipped to handle snow. It took my sister 3hours to get to work this morning, a journey which normally takes her 10minutes! My husband's from Canada and thinks it's hilarious how stressed everyone gets when it snows. I really like snow when i can stay home but hate having to go to work and travel in it. It's a nightmare!

I was tagged by a meme from Zohrah the other day so here goes....6weird things about me (im not sure they're that weird but i'll let you decide that)
1. My favourite food is chips (fries) and gravy
2. I'd quite happily survive on salt and vinegar crisps if they weren't so bad for you
3. One of my ears sticks out a bit more than the other
4. I love sleeping
5. I cry easily
6. I laugh easily

What flavour Jellybean are you?

You Are a Green Apple Jelly Bean

Of all the flavors, you're the most complex and the most real. A little sweet, a little sour, and totally tangy. People can't describe you, but they love you!

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?