2008 Knits

Making this mosaic, I surprised myself with how much knitting I've actually completed this year. And I know this isn't everything. I made some Christmas gifts that I didn't photograph.

Happy New Year everyone.

disco xxx

I don't usually do this,

But I really want to set some goals for myself for 2009.

1. Lose 40 lbs. Seriously, since I had Matthew 3 1/2 years ago, I've put on a lot of weight which I really am fed up with carrying round. I'll break this down into a pretty achievable 1lb per week. I just stood on the scale and am weighing in at 173lbs.


2. Get my lazy ass to the gym for a one-hour session at least once every week. I remember the days of 5 times a week, but I do want these goals to be realistic.


3. Drink less than 14 units of alcohol per week. That's the 'safe' number (apparently). This might be my toughest challenge, but I really need to address how much I drink.


4. Have this house sold and be living in the cold by next fall.


5. Knit everyone in my family matching hat, scarf and mittens for no.4 :0) I don't mean we'll all match each other, just that each person's set will be matched ;0)


6. Switch off my computer when I'm not using it. Or at least every night.


7. Get a proper job, after achieving no.4


8. Knit 12 Hats for alex- a very achievable 1 per month.


9. Read 20 books. That's my 12 bookclub books, plus a few. I sometimes don't like the bookclub selections and miss making my own choices. I really need to make more time to read.


10. Procrastinate less. This clearly also needs a lot of work - I started this post yesterday and it's taken me til late afternoon to put it up on the blog!

Happy New Year :0)

Where dreams come true.

We just got back from our first family trip to DisneyWorld. Four years in Florida and you'd think we'd have made it before now. But we wanted to wait til both our boys could enjoy it.

I'm glad we did wait - they both LOVED it. As did Mom, Dad, Nanny and Pepe.Our first stop was Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet the guys favourite characters. Kachow!

Here are my little mouskateers in Pooh's playground.

Talking of Pooh! Here they are on the ride home this afternoon......pooped!

What a FABULOUS vacation. We are all in love with Disney and planning on returning soon. We only made it to two parks and there's SO much more.

Yes, we have some knitting content.....

Hats for Alex. This is my 2008 contribution, knit throught the year. Just over 1 a month. Not very exciting, so I livened it up with a pool shot, to warm all you Northerners up :0) If you've got a stash of them, send them in ASAP to count towards Trillian's 2008 total. And how could I NOT post a(nother) Christmas shot of my boys. Here they are on Christmas morning - Matt has his Knuffle Bunny (thanks Nan & Bob) and is wearing his new Lightning McQueen sunglasses (thanks to Santa for filling his stocking).

And you see the big red thing behind Teddy? That Matt's 'new' bike. Teddy got a real new bike (it's on the other side of the tree, out of shot), but all day they were saying how Matt's 'new' bike looked EXACTLY like Teddy's OLD bike. You've gotta love the innocence of the small people.

Happy Boxing Day

Merry Christmas

From me and mine, to you and yours :0)

Confessions of an Unfit Mother

So, not the worst week in my journey called 'motherhood', but certainly not my best. A whole catalogue of misdemeanours this week.

On Monday, I forgot it was Matthew's snack day at school. No biggy - they have some reserves for situations like this and on Tuesday I bought replacements and even remembered to send them in with him on Wednesday. I don't always remember these things - one week I sent him twice without his packed lunch!!!

Then on Wednesday, after my lunch, I sat down on the sofa with my knitting and the CNN news. Next thing I know, it's 2.20pm and his school is on the phone asking why I haven't picked up him and his buddy (we carpool - they pick up Matt in the morning to drop him at school, I pick them up from school and bring them home). Even worse, the friend always asks to come to our house after I pick them up. That day I'd asked his mom if that was ok, and she agreed as long as he was back home by 3pm to go to gymnastics.

Well, we pulled onto their drive at 3.05pm, and obviously there was no playtime. Luckily the parents have a sense of humour and laughed when I said I was napping!!!

So Thursday, I had promised to take my boys along with Teddy's girlfriend, who we also carpool with, to the "Orange Juice Factory" after I collected them all from school. Of course, I forgot that the boys had a dentist appointment that afternoon.

I called girlfriend's mom in the morning to tell her and she said that girlfriend had been talking non-stop about the trip. Doh!!! So, we're going tomorrow morning instead.

Hopefully my final infraction, of this week, anyway, was at the dentist. Poor Teddy has to have 3 cavities filled. This is on top of the 2 he already has filled. And there are another two they're going to 'keep an eye on'. Bad mommy needs to make sure teeth are brushed AND flossed and juice is off the menu.

Ack!!! At least we're all still alive.

Onto a much prettier subject. Y'all were right about two of the paintings in my living room being Van Gogh's Starry Night and Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. But the prize goes to Beverley who guessed at this painting by Monet. It's called The Thames Below Westminster and is, appropriately, housed at the National Gallery in London.

Beverley, something will wing its way to you real soon :0)

I've been really lucky to have seen some of the most amazing paintings in the world at some of the most beautiful galleries in the world. Mona Lisa at the Louvre, a bunch of Goya's, including Saturn eating his Son, at the Prado in Madrid. My all time favourite, Van Gogh's Starry Night at MOMA in New York.

London has my favourite gallery of all though. Tate Modern on the South Bank. It looks over the river directly at St Paul's Cathedral, houses some of the best and most controversial 'modern art' and most incredibly.....it's free.

So, here's a question for you "Best Art?". Discuss/Blog

Have a fabulous weekend :0)

ART

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

16 Impressionist, 7 Islamic, -2 Ukiyo-e, -21 Cubist, -15 Abstract and 2 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

I really liked this quiz, seen on Jo's blog. It's true, I LOVE impressionist paintings. My living room has three framed posters to prove the point. Here's a quiz for YOU. The paintings feature a night sky, a London waterfront and a day in the park. Can you guess the three artists? I'll send a little something in the mail to anyone who can guess.......