In parliament

I have no good reason as to why ive been away from blog land for over 2 months! Im trying to think back and recall anything particularly blog-worthy but there's nothing, life has just been really busy!

In May we spent a week on the beautiful isle of Arran. We can see across to Arran from where we live and its only a 30min car ride then an hours boat crossing but we've never been, despite having wanted to for years. It didnt disappoint! Beautiful scenery, idyllic beaches, tranquil little villages. We loved it and will definitely go back. We will climb Goatfell one day when the boys are old enough to walk that far!

This month i went back to work having been off now on 'maternity leave' for 2 years. This week (my 2nd week in the job) i got to down to London and amongst other meetings, attend a reception in the House of Commons!!! I've stood outside the Houses of Parliament loads of times and had the usual tourist photos under Big Ben etc but i have never been inside on 'official business.' I was pretty awestruck!

Getting organised

The school year has just begun and im thinking about the end already. I bought this chart to stitch for Caleb's teacher. Knowing how long it takes me to stitch anything i thought i'd just get organised and start now in the hope that it'll be stitched and finished into something by the end of June :) I can do that, right?!

I haven't posted in a few weeks mainly because we were without internet at home for over a week. I sure realised how much i rely on it; for food shopping, paying bills, contacting friends....i was lost without it!

Lets see, what have we been doing...

I ran another 10K race and got a new PB! 60minutes 7 seconds. Im documenting it here so i dont forget. I have no more races planned until May now.

We took a long weekend break to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary back at the beginning of the month. We travelled just an hour over the water to Drimsynie and had a nice wee time together. The views were beautiful and it was nice to break the cycle of the norm! 4 days was enough though, we started to feel a bit cooped up in the caravan with 2 small kids.

I completed my Jogscotland Jogleaders training and i am now qualified. I have started up my own business called Just Jog and am starting my first running group on Monday. Lets hope some people turn up! See my previous post for the link to the facebook page, go like it :)

I have some work on the horizon which i am super excited about; some sessional work with a charity that encourages active/healthy lifestyles through jogging. Totally perfect for me! Ive had a year off now and im ready to do something else. 1 or 2 days a week would be good.

Caleb is enjoying his new nursery and ive made a great new group of mummy friends there. We've got lots of social things planned in the next few months as a group; dinosaur digs at the science centre, a disco/party night for us mums, a party with Santa at the famous toy store Hamleys for mums and kids. Its gonna be great.

Its my baby boys 1st Birthday 2 weeks today!! Where has that year gone? I am having a 1st Birthday party lunch for him and other wee baby friends so i need to start thinking about that.

So thats about it. Apologies for this rather bitty post, ive written it over the course of about a week, adding a few lines here and there. Have a good weekend :-)

Work sucks

Well.......i got the job. So i really should be thankful for that, yes? Im not. They refused my part-time request and i get the job only if i work full-time. Which i don't want to do, but i have to. If i don't i would effectively be resigning and would get no redundancy and wouldn't be able to get benefits in the immediate future. It makes me sick because i feel like they've tied my hands and i've been left with no choice. In this economic climate and the sector i work in, who is going to say no to a job?? I could be out of work for months/years. I love my job and im good at it, i just dont want to do it full-time.

BUT.....i really need to be grateful. A lot of people have been made redundant through this merger and will now really struggle to make ends meet. I did really well to be offered a position, it was a very competitive process. My boy loves his childcare. My part-time request will be looked at again in 3-6months. SO....this is a short-term situation and i need to accept that, deal with it and be thankful for what i have in life.

For my SAL partners

I've started 2 new pieces recently which i'm stitching alongside some stitching buddies. CCN's snowflake serenade with Kathy and CHS Alphabet Sampler with Suzanne. This is a picture for them to show that i am stitching along!

Kathy - i told you my progress has been slow. I will be stitching on it more today!

Suzanne - i made quite a good start this weekend. More than i thought i would manage anyway! Its fun to SAL with you ladies, i really need that kind of motivation!

CHS Alphabet Blocks is huge!! We are aiming for a block a month so that will make for a finish in May 2013 LOL I hope i keep up! I am stitching mine on one BIG piece of linen, because i have no imagination. Suzanne is making a book! So impressive!

No news on the job front. I felt my interview went well which is all i could hope for. Normally i am a disaster in interviews but this one was good (in my opinion). As i've previously written though, it may be the hours that'll be my downfall. Its a full-time job and i only want it part-time so that could lose me it. Then i will be made redundant. I will probably hear today......eeeeek!

Stash

I got some stash this week! I havent bought anything for absolutely ages but i seen this on sale at Thread Bear (a fab store) and couldnt resist it! CHS Alphabet Sampler and i also got this one....just because it's pretty and im going to SAL with Kathy!

Ive had a busy week this week. Im working 3 days a week for the next month as im doing a Charity Law training course. Also, my inlaws are over from Canada. This weekend we have a wedding tomorrow and a 21st birthday party on Sunday. Good job these Grandparents are here, babysitters on tap ;-)

Got my redundancy letter yesterday which sucks! Its more a formality as we have a merger looming at work and we can apply for jobs in the new regime but i dont know if i want to. Anyway, im starting to look for jobs and aiming higher. Im a Development officer for a charity but im going to start looking for Project Manager positions. I do have management responsibilities as part of my current remit. My boss is encouraging me to aim high and i know she'll help me with it. I could do it, im just wary of the huge responsibility that comes with Project Management of/in a Charity and the kinds of stress/pressure that could bring.

As an update to my previous post....bad ass stitchy woman removed herself/was removed from the group. Thank goodness!

New job - hurray!

Happy Valentines Day! I got a bunch of lovely Roses and a box of chocolates which we ate last night whilst watching the olympics. There's something not right about stuuffing your face with chocolate whilst watching all these elite sportsmen/women in tip top condition LOL DH is most unhappy with the BBCs coverage of the Olypmics...mostly because they never show any ice-hockey games. As a Canadian he's not impressed at the British lack of interest in his beloved national sport!

Still loving this rotation. Here's my update on CDC (turn your head to the side, i just cant get blogger to post this horizontally). I really want to finish this this year! I have a big space on the wall in my lounge where it would look perfect all framed.

I got a new job! Wooo Hooo! It is such great news. In terms of funding it is no more secure than where i was but i am just so glad to be away. Its terrible to work for a charity where people (i.e. the boss) dont turn up for work, lie, manipulate, bully, make terrible financial decisions etc etc She was not happy when i gave my notice and to cut a long story short i just have to go in for a few hours on Wednesday to wrap up and then im done! Its a great feeling! I start my new job a week tomorrow. My new job is sounding great. The boss has been emailing me lots of stuff already, including a few training courses she wants me to go on. That looks promising!

New Year

My new start for 2010. CCN's The Tea Room. I may have a billion other things on the go but you gotta have a new start for the new year, right?!

New Years Resolutions:

-Body Combat class once a week

-At least 20minutes walking or running or exercise bike every day

-Download and stick to Motivated Moms chore planner

-Eat more fruit and veg

-Floss daily

-Take vitamins daily

Christmas photo 2009

We had a great Christmas with Caleb. He was good fun. His main present was a smart trike and he loves getting pushed around in it. My brother-in-law dressed up as Santa which was funny. Caleb didnt really know what to make of him.

Even more excitment that his first Christmas was a white one. Cant remember our last white Christmas. It was lovely!

So the holidays are nearly over and i return to work 2 days a week starting on Tuesday :( Its going to be a turbulent few months at work with the upcoming merger, and my boss is getting vicious, so im not looking forward to it.

Christmas Exchange no.2

Isn't this gorgeous? Clare doesnt have a blog but we got emailing when she responded to my Christmas exchange request. It is so petite with totally perfect stitching and finishing, a billion times better than mine thats for sure. I love it!

As well as this little beauty she sent all these goodies too! Look at the hat and mitts she knitted for Caleb. Beautiful!

I annoyingly didnt take a picture of what i stitched for Clare, but it was basically the same as the one as i sent Kathy (see previous post) except it was JBW's Peace, Love, Joy.

Been another busy week in our household. Was away with work overnight which was awful. The usual office Christmas party shenanigans going on...tears, fights, bitchiness, backstabbing, totally drunk idiots saying too much they shouldnt etc etc Was awful, just keeping low and getting on with my job, 2 days a week, surely i can survive that?!

Looking forward to Christmas now. Its fun with Caleb! He was 11months old yesterday.

10 months

Another week has flown by. My weeks are busy. I go to various mums and tots groups on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, i work on a Wednesday and meet up with friends and their babies to swim most Fridays. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. Caleb was 10months old on Wednesday. Here is my cheeky boy who's now nearly walking. He is a lot of fun!

Im back at work now one day a week. I hate where i work now. I work for a charity with only 5 people and its awful. There are a lot of lies, backstabbing, corruptness... it's shocking. I work for a boss who rarely shows up. I do the same job (and better in my opinion) as a guy with no experience but who is paid £10,000 more it. Its a corrupt place, full of injustices which could turn you into a bitter person if you didnt rise above it. Thankfully funding is nearing an end and changes are afoot, which will mean reapplying for jobs, but im glad. It's a scandal that the place can run as it is.

This week im off to a wedding down south. Im going on my own as Caleb wasn't invited and DH has work. 2 child-free nights in a beautiful hotel, with a gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna! Bliss! Will be very strange being on my own and i'll miss my boys but i am really looking forward to it as well! I got a beautiful Karen Millen dress off ebay to wear to the wedding.

Ive finished and mailed 2 Christmas ornaments this weekend so i will be able to show pictures of them soon. Have a good week!

Baby Sampler

Thanks for the comments about my job on my last post. Whilst it is totally unfair, i have a peace about it all now...in other words...ive stopped caring about work, the end is nigh there! If i go back, there will have to be a higher salary for me too. If not, i will look for a part-time job elsewhere. Im glad to reach this point as it was messing with my mind too much last week.

I still have a cold but it's not half as bad anymore. I had to take a few sick days and got lots of stitching time in whilst watching my Lost season 3 boxset. I have chosen this piece to stitch for babyT's room
and this is what i have done so far

Im enjoying working on this! Its from The Historical Sampler Company, ive never bought anything from them before but certainly will in the future!

DH and i have just been out walking and then we went out for a lovely lunch. Now i plan to spend the rest of the day/evening relaxing and working on this sampler! Hopefully more progress pics soon!

Grumpy

I have a rotten stinking cold and it sucks. My nose is blocked up, my ears hurt, my throat is killing and im tired and i cant sleep. Im also grumpy can you tell LOL

This is just a bad ending to a bad week. Work is really hacking me off right now. I finish in 5weeks so i shouldnt care but my "replacement" for maternity cover is coming in on a much higher salary than me which i think is hugely unfair. Boss gets round it by saying the new staff member (who happens to be a friend) will be doing a different job but why, if thats the case, have i to hand everything over to him then. He has no experience in the field and is coming from a completely different career to cover the job. Boss knew to get him she'd have to pay him higher because of the salary hes on in his current job. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy who will be great at the job BUT.....we're a charity and it doesnt seem right to me and its really, really bugging me. DH keeps telling me to forget about it - im leaving, i will have a new wee baby soon and might not even return to work there (certainly not full-time anyway) but me being me, it just grates on me, i hate feeling hard done by!! Rant over!

Last night, i wasnt feeling as bad as today so i bought some wee pumpkins on the way home and we carved them. The one on the left is mine, the one on the right is DH's. They make me laugh! We dont celebrate halloween (and it isnt that "big" over here anyway) but this was fun to do!!

Ive got bigger in the last few weeks, check out my tummy now at nearly 31weeks

Climbing

The climbing arena was great. The kids i work with had a blast. I was slightly worried when we got there and i had to sign something that said the centre wouldn't be responsible for death and then when the first activity seen my young people suspended from the ceiling, a long way off the groundand then seeing them climb this far but it was all fine! They're a great group who were rewarded with this trip for their volunteering in the community over the last two years. Im very proud of them.

I think all the worry wore me out because i was in bed at 9pm last night and sound asleep by 10pm. My new stitching start sums up my feelings

So true!! :-)

Cirque is aired again!

I joined The Snowbirds SAL to get me stitching on Cirque des Cercles again and it worked! I will be working on this one night a week. If it hadn't been for the SAL i dont know when this would've come out the wip box again. It is such an enjoyable stitch, i didnt want to put it away for another week!Stash alert!! Woo hoo! Ive been admiring this JBW designs French Country Stocking piece on Wendy's blog and after her last update picture, i decided to buy it. I love it. I don't know if it will be stitched in time for this Christmas though. I am going to stitch it in red, probably DMC115. I also got some dark blue linen and some quilting stash too...rulers etc. I had a hard week at work and worked lots of hours so was able to take today off with all the hours i was due back. It was great. I needed it. Work is really stressful at the moment. My boss is really useless and things are coming to head with the board of directors finally stepping in. Unfortunately it's going to be a really awkward time for me having to tell the board what's been going on. I have a feeling the worst is yet to come. However, im generally quite good at leaving work at work so i intend to have a nice relaxing weekend. Hope you all do too!

*edit" how could i forget to mention this:

Stashing again

My weekend away for work was fine. I always dread going away and then it's never as bad as i think it will be. I had a lot of free time whilst my young person was in training (and guess how i spent it?!) We were staying just outside a wee village called Comrie (about 2 and a half hours from my home). Turns out this was the village my Gran grew up in and she married my Grandpa there. My great-grandparents are buried there. What a coincidence eh?! The village is tiny but lovely. On saturday afternoon i trecked around the only graveyard i could find to visit my great-grandparents grave but i couldn't find it unfortunately. I did find the church my gran and grandpa were married in though. Lovely isn't it?There were beautiful views from the church's grounds. I'll have to see if my Gran had any wedding pictures taken with this background. There are so many gorgeous places in Scotland. I wish the weather was more dependable and then i'd spend my holidays up north visiting places. So i now have monday and tuesday off seeing as i "worked" at the weekend. Great! I have lots to do. The inlaws arrive from Canada a week today and will be with us for 5days which is bearable LOL! Im working all week so i'll only see them in the evenings, Matthew has taken the week off work. My FIL is lovely but my MIL is hard work, so evenings will be fine for me ;) So im going to do some serious cleaning/tidying/organising in the next few days. I also have to wash my fabrics for the quilting class on thursday and im getting my haircut tomorrow. Im quite sure i'll get time to stitch too and maybe fit a swim in at some point as well. Busy, busy.

Secret stitching is doing nothing for my stitching blogging! I have been stitching but have nothing to show! I have nearly finished the stitching for the Specific Designer Exchange on the SBEBB, i have finished my sqaures for Donna for the Fair and Square Exchange and i also finished a wee gift too. I should get them in the post today so pictures in the near future hopefully! I was bad and got more stash recently. Here's my purchases:

Rather than stitch this as one big piece, i think i will stitch 12 little ornaments. Probably not before Christmas this year though!

I also bought Lizzie Kate's "Baby Sampler." I loved this one after seeing it on Hannah's blog. My friend had a baby on the 27th (one month early) and im going to stitch this for baby emma who is only 3lb11 at the moment and is still in hospital. Before i go has everyone seen the companion piece to Cirque des Cercles? It's called Triangular and you can see it here. I can't decide whether i like it or not. Im curious to see what you CdC stitchers think. Thanks Cindy for the link!

My Canadian/British hubby

It's been a busy week. First things first, on Wednesday my patriotic Canadian DH became part British and gained citizenship to Britain. He had to go to a citizenship ceremony, meet the provost (the guy in the picture) and affirm allegiance to the Queen. This is what he had to say:
I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.
Pledge
I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

It's not as easy thing for a patriotic Canadian to do! I think i'd find it hard if i had to do this in Canada (no offence meant to any Canadians obviously). I must say in this day and age i think it's pretty dumb to have to affirm your allegiance to the Queen. I think i would have an issue having to do that and i am British; born and bred. Don't get me wrong, im proud to be British but i think royalty doesn't hold the place that it used to in this country (which doesn't bother me) and this kind of allegiance pledge is so irrelevant. I think the funniest thing about the above picture is that there is supposed to be a picture of the Queen in the background but the guy behind Matthew is blocking out her head LOL.

Last night i went to my first quilting class with my mum. There were 12 ladies there and i couldn't believe it when i met my neighbour in there. She's my age and i see her quite often and never even knew we shared this interest! She even has a sewing machine! I was so glad to have someone my age there at the class, my friend was supposed to be coming but she had to pull out. Anyway, last night was a general introduction to quilting. Rita (the class leader) showed us what we will be making over the next 10 weeks. We're going to be making a tablerunner for Christmas and the design she has chosen will incorporate all the basic techniques we will need for quilting. I can't remember all the technical names yet though! So, we had to pick out and buy our fabric last night. Here's what i chose

The red starry piece will be the big main border. The stripey piece will be the inner border and then i have 3 fat quarters for all the squares/triangles/strips etc that will be in the middle. It took us all ages to choose our fabric. Im happy with my selection anyway!

So, quiltorstitch I may just be coming your way for advice in the near future!

Im not looking forward to my weekend ahead as i have to go away for work again. I hate going away overnight for work. This time, one of the young people i work with is taking part in some training. She has a 3 year old and doesn't want to go alone with her (which is fair enough). So as im her support worker, im going too. It's going to be hard work looking after her 3 year old all weekend. We leave this afternoon and will be there until Sunday. Wish me luck!

Big ship comes to (our) town!

Im back from my work conference. It's been a long and tiring week. I was dreading it, especially spending all that time with my boss, but it wasn't too bad. I still hate going away for work though and unfortunately have to go away again next weekend (no boss this time!) We were in a gorgeous hotel in a place called Aviemore. I managed to get to the pool on Monday night for a swim which was great. The rest of the time was too busy unfortunately. One thing i will say is that the Scottish Highlands are amazing! The drive up was long (5hours) but wow, the views were stunning. I forgot my camera but found these pictures of some of the sites we seen on route! I definitely want to go back up there sometime for a holiday.Tonight the QE2 sailed right past our town! It was cool! The QE2 was built and then launched on the River Clyde 40 years ago and hasn't been back since so this was it making its farewell tour before it is becomes a floating hotel in Dubai next year. It was quite a big event; roads were blocked and loads of people were down at the river waiting for it to sail past. It sailed past our town about 7.30pm tonight.
Im way behind on reading all your blogs but hope to catch up over the weekend. Im off now until Tuesday! Woo hoo!!

Good mail day

I received my Fair and Square Exchange today from Peg. Thanks Peg it's lovely! I was so excited when i received a comment on my last post from Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks!! Diane if you happen to read my blog again, i love your designs and thank-you so much for leaving a comment, it made my day!!

Today i received this....Yes, i know it's last years edition but in the past ive always just used internet freebies for Christmas ornaments. I was never sure where i could buy single issues of this magazine over here but recently Andrea gave me this link to a place that sells them in the UK. Yeah! There's quite a few designs in here i will be stitching for Christmas!

Next week i have to go away to a conference for 3 days. I really hate going away for work. Im going with my boss and was hoping to travel seperately but no, we are going together. A 4 hour car journey. Im dreading it already. It's just far too much boss-time for my liking. Not only that but it's 3 days of small talk and it's not like your working day finishes at 5pm as there are social things we have to attend in the evenings. Im going to hate it, i know because i had to go last year as well :( The one positive of the whole experience is that the hotel we are going to looks amazing!!

Rant

Let the rant begin. My office sucks, it really does. Our charity is situated within a beautiful old church that has been converted into offices. However, the room we have is so awful. Our "office" is the stage of the main hall. They put some wall board up and made it a seperate room, probably to get more rent money. We have one window but there are bars over it. The room never gets any sun, so its never warm. Today they switched the heat off in the building so our "office" is even colder than normal. To make it worse, the local kids drama club use the mainhall and they currently have their easter programme running so for 6 hours of my 7 hour day it is unbelievably noisey. It's even worse in the summer holidays when they have drama workshops for 6 weeks. Aaaaah. And one more thing? Im stuck in this cupboard all week by myself. Its sole destroying i tell you. My colleague is off on holiday and my boss hates the office so much that she never comes in and works from home, leaving me stuck here by myself. I swear i could drop dead in here and noone would know until the cleaners came in in the late evening. I'm not even able to work from home, "someone has to be here for the phones." I think it's so unfair that my boss works from home and i'm stuck here all day by myself. I guess that's one of the perks of being a boss though eh? Sometime i like being in by myself, i get more done and i even stitch, but every day for a week? It's like solitary confinement, it's not healthy. End of rant.

Pay it Forward Gift

This morning i received a lovely PIF gift from Mercy! I stole the picture from her blog as the batteries in my camera need recharged after last night. Isn't it lovely? A beautiful scissor fob. The little butterfly has "created for you" inscribed on the back! This is my first ever gift from a stitching blogger friend and I love it, thank you so much Mercy!

I had a a great night at the awards ceremony last night. I loved it and was totally star struck all night by all the celebs! I think i embarassed my young person as i kept making him go and get autographs of famous people so i could go with him and take photos! I thought i'd be more star struck by the TV celebs but it was actually Scotland's First Minister that i got star struck by, he was so friendly and nice. Mind you it is coming up to elections here in Scotland so that may have been why! I think im getting old when i'm more star struck by politicians than i am by soap stars LOL.

I'm so glad it's Friday, i have had such a busy week. Have a great weekend!

SAL

Im excited to post that Jamie and I started our SAL on Tuesday. We are stitching "Coffee Menu" by Little House Needleworks. We will be stitching on it on a Tuesday evening as we both work full time. Here's what it will look like one day

and here's my start so far

I am stitching it on 28 Ct Raw Cashel Linen with the recommended floss. Looking forward to seeing Jamie's progress! I thought i would get more done but i needed to measure and cut my fabric which took time and then i went to bed early as well!

Tonight i am off to a big award ceremony in Glasgow with a young person i work with. I'm very excited about it as there will be a lot of famous people there!! So i have the morning off but will techinically be "working" until about 1am. It's formal wear so i have my dress looked out already. I hope my young person finds something to wear, if in doubt i told him just to wear his school uniform. I work with quite disadvantaged young people so things like this event are a BIG deal.