Tasting New Cultures with Try The World

When my son gets bored and has absolutely nothing else to do, he likes to surf the net and see what kinds of interesting things he can find.  Quiet often I'll log into my email and find links regarding cars, fabulous photography, obscure news from around the world, etc.  A few weeks ago I received an email that was link upon link of sites that you can buy subscription boxes from that contain a variety of food, household goods, crafts, etc.  Being the good mom I am *wink, wink* I checked out each link.  Some of them were things I would probably never buy, and some of them looked interesting, but were too expensive.  Then I clicked on one that looked pretty good.

As part of my new life I've decided I need to be more adventurous with food and going places instead of just working & stitching, so Try the World looked great to me.  I can try new food AND not leave my house, lol!  Actually, if I can try food from new cultures in my own house, I might be more willing to then try a new restaurant that serves that kind of food.  So I figured what would it hurt to use part of my "entertainment" budget to give this a shot.

Last week I received my first box from them.  It was the Marrakesh box.  Once I opened the outer packaging, I found another box inside that looked like Tiffany box of foods.

Who wouldn't want to open a box that looks like this to see what kind of yummy treats it holds inside?!

The first thing I found when I took the lid off was a card describing the products inside and a little booklet telling you about the culture and offering a couple of recipes.

Now that I knew what was in my box, my next step was to remove the packing materials and get down to the goodies.  I already knew there were 6 items in there, but I wanted to see what they were.

I received a package of biscuits/cookies, cous cous sauce, a tin of sardines, a jar of kefta rub, a bottle of argan oil and a box of cous cous.  Fantastic because I've never had ANY of these items.  I texted my son pics and told him I got my first box.  His response..."you need to do a blog post about it".  I agreed, but said I wanted to wait until I tried some of the items first.

Tonight I decided to use both the cous cous and sauce with my dinner.

I browned some ground turkey, added the sauce and put it on top of the cous cous.  It wasn't bad, but I was expecting it to be spicier.  The cous cous reminds me of REALLY dry Cream of Wheat.  I followed the directions on the box, which made 2 servings, and have enough left to make another 4-6 servings.  I think the next time I make it I'll be sure to add it to a vegetable dish that has some sort of dressing with a kick to it.

I'm already looking forward to my next box!  If this is something you'd like to try, just follow this link and save $15.00 on your first purchase.  And if you decide to do it, please share with me what box(es) you get and what you think of them.

Saturday at Springs Preserve

Once I knew I was going to be moving to Las Vegas, I started following various pages on Facebook and Twitter of places I could go and things I could do.  One of them was the Springs Preserve.  Their website describes the place as "the premier place in Las Vegas to explore the valley's vibrant history through interactive science and nature exhibits, botanical gardens, hiking, trails, and live animal shows."  Sounded like it was right up my alley.

I went out there last Saturday, but there was some kids event going on and the parking lot was full, and I couldn't get onto the property.  As I'm not familiar with that side of town, and have been told by several people that it's "not the best place to be walking around by yourself", I decided against parking at one of the shopping plazas and walking to the preserve.  The new plan...go back yesterday and be there first thing in the morning when they opened.  Why the rush you may ask?  Well, they had a chocolate exhibit going on that ends today and I wanted to see it. I sometimes think chocolate is my second love behind stitching, LOL!

So, yesterday morning I got up, met the group of stitching ladies I've recently had the pleasure of meeting for breakfast and then took off for the park.  I got there and paid my admission fee (I'm quickly learning that NV residents are usually 1/2 price, or at least receive a significant discount, compared to tourists, so always carry your ID if you're a resident!)

I found the layout of the park and their map rather confusing, so I just started wandering and figured I'd eventually find what I was looking for.  First stop...the chocolate exhibit!  I was the only one there and it was basically just an exhibit where you walked through and read about the history of chocolate and looked at some pretties.  Needless to say I was disappointed as the description of the event lead me to believe it would be more interactive.  We won't discuss the fact you don't even get a piece of chocolate at the end of the exhibit.  I mean seriously, why tease people with a chocolate exhibit and then not give them a little piece to nibble on?!?!  Anyway, here are some of the pics I took in the exhibit.

After the chocolate exhibit I wanted to go to the butterfly exhibit.  According to their map, it was at the far side of the property.  And a walking I went.  As you walk along the path you're winding your way through the botanical gardens.  They were nice, but not what I'm used to.  I mean, I am living in a desert now compared to N.E. Ohio where things are a lush green with lots of vibrant color in the spring and summer.  Tulips?  Where are my tulips?  Certainly not here!  And even if they were, they would have probably bloomed 1-2 months ago.  Also along the path, were several metal butterflies painted differently.  Here are some pics of just a few of them along with the sign that describes them.

Once I wandered the path, down stairs, up stairs, around buildings, etc. I made it to the butterfly exhibit.  It was the smallest one I've been too.  Certainly smaller than the Corbin Conservatory at Stan Hywet that I've been to many times.  They were allowing 45 people in the exhibit at a time, which made it very crowded and hard to move around, as the walkway was narrow and went in a u-shape.  It also made it hard to get photos of the beautiful creatures flying about.  I took a couple, but they're nothing to write home about.

Once I was able to get out of the exhibit, I wandered through the gardens back toward the exit.  The cacti were really neat, and there were a few other sites to see.  I'd love to have one of those huge tall cacti with the arms to decorate at Christmas with lights.  I know, I'm strange.

My entire time within the preserve was about 1 hour.  It wasn't a bad trip, but I think I had myself psyched up for something more exciting.  And unless there is some fantastic exhibit in the future, it's not really something I feel the need to spend money to get into again.  No worries, there are TONS more adventures I can have in my new town & state.  

Until we meet again...Happy Stitching!
 

Spring Stitching Retreat in Las Vegas

Last Sunday was a beautiful day.  Not only was it warm and sunny, which is the norm here in Vegas, but it was my first "outing" with people other than coworkers.  There are two stitching retreats in Vegas each year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  This past weekend was the Spring retreat.

There are no designers or classes at the retreats.  It's basically just a room full of ladies (and one man) working on whatever they want to stitch on for the day. To me it's more like a "stitch-in", especially given the fact the "retreat" is only 7 hours long.  Either way, it was a great day!

I got to enjoy views like this at the golf club where it was held:

And we received a free kit to make this:

It' not quite my "style" so it may end up in my stash and eventually go to a new loving home as part of a giveaway prize.

The biggest dilemma I had for the day was what piece to take to stitch on.  I'm always hesitant to take new designs with me places, as I've had a design "stolen" before where another stitcher basically copied what I was doing and released her own version of it before I did.  Big lesson there!  Sorry, I digress.  

Anyway, I decided it was time I pulled my Pinwheel Christmas Quilt back out. 

When I took it with me Sunday morning I had all of the solid green in the bottom left pinwheel was done.  During the retreat I worked on what will be the gingham pinwheels.  Not a lot of stitching for 7 hours, but there was so much to do...walk around and look at what people were stitching on, look at the displays of finished items, eat lunch, get lots of tips on places I should go check out (I had to tell a few of them more than once I had only been in town less than 3 weeks when they kept looking at me in dismay that I hadn't been to this place or that and didn't know all the quilting stores yet, LOL), and socializing with some lovely tablemates that I hope to call friends down the road.

I've decided this will be a "chill" weekend.  I'm going to Stitchers Paradise later to see about getting some fabric for a new series I'll be designing.  And I'm going to the library to get my library card.  Yay!  There is an art gallery in my local library (which by the way is HUGE!) so I'll check out the current exhibit while I'm there too.  
 
My stitching project for the weekend will be to finish the last 25% of my latest dog silhouette (yes, you can see a portion of it in the picture above) and get that released to my wholesaler, and then a little work on the PCQ.  

I should also have the next Modern Dictionary piece released soon, as it's currently off at the finishers getting some custom touches & the photography done.  Until then...Happy Stitching!

Finishes and Food and Fun

I had a great first full week in my new town of Las Vegas!  Minus missing my son terribly, there are so many positive things and I'm grateful for this opportunity life has given me.

Since I'm back to working just one full-time job, I have more stitching time than I've had in quite awhile.  This past week I was able to complete the next model in my Modern Dictionary series.  It's been shipped off to Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts and I can't wait to see what she cooks up on a custom finish!  I can't show you pics of that piece yet, but will share a WIP pic of my next dog silhouette.

I'm stitching it on a piece of 32 ct Belfast Linen in "Glacier" by Picture This Plus and am using DMC #832.  I just love the color combination!  I'd like to have it finished by the end of this week, but we'll see how things go.

The next best thing to more stitching time with this life change is all of the fresh fruit and produce I'm able to get cheaply and so early in the season compared to being back in Ohio.  I think I'm going to become an addict, LOL!  It has also prompted me to return to my goal of trying one new healthy recipe per week. (I talked about that here).  

On Saturday night I decided to try a corn & tomato salad.  It was so fresh and crisp and I couldn't stop eating it!  My dinner was a big bowl of it along with some fresh ciabatta bread with fresh butter. Did I say I'm in love with all the fresh food out here?  If you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here.

And because I just can't seem to get enough of all this yummy goodness, I had more of it for dinner tonight.  Now if only I can put down my stitching long enough to fit exercising into my schedule also.  Eh, why shake things up yet.  Haha!

But, Vegas isn't all about stitching and fresh food to me.  I've decided I'm going to try to visit one new place each weekend.  What's the point of living in a new town, in a completely different part of the country, if you don't get out and explore your surroundings and the culture.  So, with yesterday being Easter, and my first holiday here, my boss's lovely wife didn't want me spending the day by myself, and invited me to join them for the day.  Not only did I enjoy a delicious Easter Brunch, but she introduced me to the Bellagio Conservatory.  This is just one of the many pictures I took there.

It was gorgeous and the flowers smelled wonderful.  The best part?  It's FREE!  All I have to do is make the 15 minute drive to the casino from my apartment, park my car, and go wander through some beauty for a little while.  I've already looked and the next new exhibit starts on May 15th with the Summer Exhibit.  And if I want to go later in the day, they have live music every day also.

Well, I think I've done enough rambling for the night.  It's now a few minutes after 8pm which means Antiques Roadshow and my stitching are both waiting for me.  I'll be sure to post again soon and tell everyone about the stitching retreat I'm going to next Sunday.  Until then...Happy Stitching!

A New Home & A New Weekend Routine

Well I safely made it to Las Vegas and am getting settled into my new apartment.  We've had record high temps here the past few days.  Most of my neighbors have their A/C running and I have my patio door open enjoying the fresh air and the lovely breezes that come through (most of the time).  Yes, you can tell that I'm the one new in town, lol!

It's been many, many months since I've had my weekends free to do what I want.  I'm having a hard time getting myself motivated today to finish unpacking boxes.  My kitchen and bathroom are 100% settled, the living room is about 75% and my bedroom only about 50%.  I keep sitting here staring at them, knowing I need to get up out of my recliner and take care of the boxes that keep staring back at me, but seem unable to do so.

So far today I've made breakfast, given myself a pedicure and watched A LOT of TV.  Boy how I've missed my cooking shows on PBS on Saturday mornings!  I've also caught up on some blog reading.  That has also not happened for months.  I've really enjoyed seeing what others have been doing with their creative juices.

I've decided this WILL be my new routine on weekends.  Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on living in this exciting town and being a slug on the weekends, but I DO plan on giving myself the time to relax and just enjoy life.  I already have outings planned for the next several weeks including an Easter Brunch, stitching retreat, Italian festival and of course, plenty of stitching!  And as of right now, at least once a month for the next several months I will have friends & family that will be visiting Las Vegas, so there will be time for catching up with them.

So with that, I think it's time to fix myself some lunch, unpack a few boxes (just so I'll stop feeling guilty) and then do lots & lots of stitching.  I may have been working 7 days a week for the past 6+ months, but that didn't some my creative juices from flowing and I have lots of design ideas that need charted & models stitched.

Until the next time...Happy Stitching!

My "Top Secret" Project Revealed

If you follow my Facebook page, you've probably seen me posting for a little while now about a "top secret" project I've been working on.  Well, the time has come for me to finally reveal what the project is...

What does that photo mean you may ask?  Let me tell you.  

For the past 43 years I've been "visiting" the state of Ohio, as I've always known I'm meant to live in a warmer climate.  Today I officially start my cross country drive to what will be a new life in Las Vegas, NV.

I recently had a fantastic opportunity present itself for me to resume a career with a wonderful employer that I had worked with for a few years in Ohio.  I will be taking on the position as Office Manager in a restaurant franchise he co-owns.  This is great news for Stitchnmomma, as I will no longer be working 2 jobs 7 days a week and will have a lot more stitching time.  Yay!!!  My stitching time has been rather limited over the past several weeks as I've spent a TON of time dealing with the logistics of moving almost 2,200 miles and packing all my possessions for the move.  Anyone that has ever done a long distance move will understand what I've been dealing with.  Even though I haven't done much stitching, my creative juices have still been flowing and I have several new designs already sketched out waiting for me to chart on the computer and stitch the models.

Unfortunately, there is a negative side to this move.  My "baby" will be staying in Ohio with his girlfriend and her daughter.  I'll really miss our family time as well as the weekly dinners and game nights!  However, lots of families make it work, so we will too.  I'll just have to add a new line item to my budget for travel for us to see each other. :)

On Valentine's Day I shared this picture on Facebook, but didn't say where I was.  I took this picture from the lakeview overlook close to Hoover Dam with Lake Mead behind me.  Part of my trip involved looking at apartments while I was there.  That was the "business" aspect of my trip.  The pleasure side gave me an opportunity to do some sight seeing, including Hoover Dam, which I briefly saw on a visit in February 2010, when it was cold & rainy the entire weekend. 

While I was in town, I also sought out the ONLY cross stitch and needlepoint store that is in Las Vegas.  It's called Stitchers Paradise and it's a fantastic store!  I was thrilled with the selection of fabric, fibers and embellishments they have and know I'll be able to purchase great supplies for my models.  Sooooo....if you're ever in town, let me know and we can meet up at the store.  They've got a table where stitchers are welcome to gather and stitch any time they want.

With all of that being said, I hope you'll be patient with me while I make the drive and get my home set up again.  I'll do my best to access my Facebook page from my phone until I get internet connected in my new apartment.  I can't guarantee emails, as when I was traveling in February MicroSoft locked me out of my account for security purposes when I tried accessing it from a different IP address thousands of miles away.   The fun times we have with today's modern technology, LOL!

Until we meet again...Happy Stitching!

 

WIP Updates and Cabbage Salad

It's that time of week again that I'm dutifully doing my blog post.  I find mine aren't as witty as some others that I read, but we all have to be who we are.  And as my son tells me often, I'm old & lame, LOL!

It's been another busy week around here of work, healthy meal planning & preparation, exercising, some more packing of the house, and of course...stitching!!

I've made quite a bit of progress on my latest pattern model "Two Blessings" and was thrilled to actually get a photo that shows the fabric color more realistically.  I've made even more progress since this photo, but haven't taken a new pic yet since this past Monday.

This blog has been a great place for me to put my plans & commitments out there to the world and feel like I'm being held accountable for them (even though I'm not sure anyone else cares).  More progress was made on the "Warholesque Family" last week and I'm already looking forward to spending a few hours with it tonight since it is Saturday and my dedicated day to work on it.

As you can see, I was able to finish the blue border on Zach.  His face still needs filled in, but as I haven't been to the store to get more white floss it will have to wait.  I had someone ask on my Facebook page how I could possibly be out of white floss.  It is a good question.  When this piece was started I was only using DMC "blanc" for my white.  Since then I've decided I like the B5200 Snow white better, as it's a brighter white.  There are plenty of skeins of B5200 in my stash, but no "blanc", which is what I'll need to pick up.  A trip will be made to the store this week not only to get floss for various projects, but also to pick up some fabric I'm going to need for future projects.  I figure I might as well get it now and prep it, which includes washing before use while I'm still living in a house with washer & dryer conveniently located vs. a high-rise apartment building with laundry facilities 4 floors down.

The exercise & weight loss plan is still on track.  The weight isn't coming off as quickly as I'd like, but I'm hoping with nicer weather for more walks and increased water consumption that I'll see more progress.  And yes, exercise is happening.  Here's a pic of my activity for this week.  I'm still hoping it warms up enough to get outside for a 2+ mile walk today.

Healthy meals are becoming a pure joy!!!  Granted, I don't enjoy the time it's taking to track down new recipes, I do like having new things to try and create new menu possibilities.  I'm also finding the longer I go without eating things like Little Debbie snacks, the less I crave them.  Wait.  I should be honest.  My body isn't craving them, but my mind still is.  I'm trying substitute weekend snacking of cookies, chips, etc. to healthy alternatives and doing things like grabbing a spoonful of the current salsa/slaw/salad that is in my fridge.


This week's recipe was a cabbage salad I made.  I originally found this recipe online.  I'm not a big fan of beets so those were a no for me.  I also don't have any pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in the house.  In fact I'm finding with not restocking in advance of my move the end of the month I'm running out of a lot of things! However, I did have that red cabbage in my fridge I picked up at the store and needed to do something with.  I decided to use the vinaigrette portion of the recipe and then do my own modified salad.  This is what I came up with:

I used 1/2 red cabbage, 1/2 red onion, 2 stalks celery and 1/4 bag of matchstick carrots, plus 4 oz. reduced fat feta cheese.  As I previously mentioned, I kept the vinaigrette dressing the same as noted in the recipe.  It was good and a definite will make again!  :)


I think I've probably bored everyone enough for this week.  Be sure to come back next week for pics of more stitching progress and and update on whatever healthy recipe I choose, which I'm clueless about at this time.


Until then....Happy Stitching and be good to yourself!  


P.S.  I also signed up for a stitching retreat in September that will be just about a 1 hour drive from me.  It will be my first ever retreat and I'm totally stoked to be going! 

Stitching Progress and Healthy Eats

It's been another busy week for me.  We'll be moving exactly 4 weeks from today, so this past week I started the chore of packing boxes.  I learned a long time ago that if figure out what you're not going to need and pack 1 or 2 boxes a day it makes it less stressful.

That also means since I've started packing that I've had less stitching time.  However I have done SOME stitching.  I've been working on some pendant necklaces for a custom order.  This is a picture of them (l-r:  green mermaid, black anchor on pink, sea shell, pink mermaid and black anchor on grey).  I still have starfish I need to stitch.  After that the customer will let me know which 3 or 4 she wants.  Whatever is left WILL be put up for sale.

I also got a TINY bit of stitching done on the model for my next pattern, "Two Blessings".  There hasn't been much progress made, but some nonetheless.  One of these days I'll be able to get a decent picture of what the colors actually look like.  What you see is DMC #554 on a very light jade green aida.

As part of my packing & cleaning, I've come across some projects I haven't touched in a REALLY long time.  I decided last Saturday that it's an extremely rare occasion that I actually work on any stitching that is for me.  I pulled back out my "Warholesque Family" piece and did some work on that.  I said I was going to commit myself to working on it at least one night per week, most likely on Saturday.  I'd love to get this piece completed so I can hang it on the living room wall at our new place.  My pooches may be gone now, but there's still me & Zach.  Needless to say, I was super excited today when I realized it was Saturday and that means I could work on this piece again (as soon as the starfish pendant is done!).

I have also continued on with my quest to lose weight and be healthier.  The new recipe I tried this week was a cherry tomato and chick pea salad.  Chick peas (aka garbanzo beans) aren't something I normally eat.  It's not that I don't like them, I just don't know a lot of uses for them, besides hummus.  So I saw a recipe on Pinterest, which seems to be my go to place lately, and decided to try it.  It was really good!  I have leftovers of it and will have some more tonight with dinner.  I also have an avocado that needs to be eaten before it goes bad, so I think I'll add some in there.

 

I've decided I'm much better at taking pics of cross stitch vs. food, lol!  Either way, if you're interested in the recipe for the salad, just click the photo.   While I was at the store picking up green onions to put in the salad I grabbed a small purple cabbage. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.  I might possibly roast it.  Either way, I'll let you know next week what I decided to try.

Until the next time...Happy Stitching and Healthy Eating!  :)

Corn Salsa with Chili Lime Vinaigrette

I know I normally combine posts to include both some needlework updates and my healthy recipe of the week, but this week I'm doing them separately so I can post this one directly on Pinterest.

I didn't experiment with anything new this week.  I have too much going on, as well as preparing to move houses next month.  And for any of you that have done that, I'm sure you know it means cleaning out the pantry, fridge & freezer.  I decided this week to stick with one of my faves for the past few years...Corn Salsa with Chili Lime Vinaigrette.

I first came across this when I bought a small container of out from a deli.  It was fantastic...but expensive!  I decided I could make it myself cheaper and probably healthier.  The recipe itself is pretty simple.

2 cans sweet corn - drained & rinsed
1 can beans (I typically use kidney or black beans) - drained & rinsed
Orange or Green Pepper (or both!) for color
Red or Green Onions
Celery

When it comes to salsas and salads, I don't stress over correct measurements on the vegetables.  I figure you can't go wrong.  If I'm using 2 colors of peppers I put in 1/2 pepper each.  If it's one color, use the entire sweet pepper.  Celery is usually 2 stalks.  I put in about 1/2 cup of onions, regardless of kind.

Before making this recipe, I had never made any type of vinaigrette before, so off to the internet I went to see if I could find one.  And I did on SparkPeople.   I've changed the recipe slightly to use products I like better.  Below is my version:

2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 c. olive oil (choose what YOU like, full-flavored or light)
3 tbsp white vinegar (I've also used apple cider vinegar)
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp chili powder (make sure it's good quality)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

Fair warning, this IS a spicy dressing, and with most things spicy, it will taste more so the 2nd day than the 1st, so you might want to use the cayenne sparingly on your first attempt.

Simply mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar or cruet and shake well, then pour over salsa and let sit for 30+ minutes prior to serving.

I've used this salsa over/with many other foods:  canned tuna, turkey burgers, shredded chicken, or mix with some shredded greens for a great salad.  Either way, don't be afraid to experiment and make it your own.

I hope you enjoy this, and feel free to leave any comments below!  Happy HEALTHY eating!



P.S.  I have been trying really hard at eating healthy, drinking more water and exercising more to not only lose the rest of the weight I want to, but to live a healthier lifestyle.  This pic is just some of the healthy food I picked up at the grocery store tonight for meals this week.  :)

Set Backs and Progress

Unfortunately last week was a very trying one for my family.  If follow my Facebook page, then you already know about my dad being admitted into ICU a week ago today (last Monday).  Thankfully, he's no longer in ICU, but is still in the hospital and anxious to get home and get on with life, but at a slower pace for awhile.

Since I've been at the hospital every day since then, most days for hours at a time, and even overnight with no sleep when he was at his worst, I haven't had much time for stitching or healthy cooking.   There were days I basically wasn't eating anything other than bananas, yogurt and apples.  Thanks to those days I was able to take off some weight last week.  I do have to give some big thanks to friends of mine that provided home cooked meals so Zach and I had something decent to eat, as he was spending as many hours at the hospital as I was, in addition to both of us still trying to maintain our work schedules.  I must say between the two of us and my oldest sister, we basically covered the hours from mid-afternoon until the following morning so my mom didn't have to be there constantly.

Once they were able to move him from ICU, I was able to spend a little more time doing what I like to be doing...stitching and designing my next pattern.  I even took some pics for you.  :)

Over the last couple weeks, I've been working on stitching a new model for my "Laughter Is" pattern in between other things, to send off to Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts for a nice professional finish.  I realized after I took the pic and was editing it that I didn't put the noses on the masks.  Looks like I need to do that before I send it off.

I also finished stitching this heart keyring that was a cover kit with a recent issue of CrossStitcher Magazine.  I'll list it in the newly created "charity section" in my Etsy shop sometime in the next few days.

This picture is of my 40 minutes stitching progress on the model for my next pattern.  I absolutely dislike trying to get decent pics of green or blue fabric, as they seem to give me the most difficulty.  This piece is actually a "very light jade green" fabric, and not grey like it looks in the photo.

I'm looking forward to being able to do more stitching during my "free time" along with healthy cooking & exercise and the dreaded cleaning and starting of packing the house for our move the end of next month.  

And since I have committed myself to making at least one new healthy recipe per week, I made one tonight to make up for missing last week.   Here's a pic of the "veggie slaw" I made tonight.  I tried a couple of bites of it (it was after dinner) and really liked it.  It has a very "fresh" taste to it.  I'll definitely be making it again.  I followed the recipe pretty close, but as it's basically a salad, there's flexibility with it.  If you're interested in the recipe, just click the photo. 

Oh yeah, and I even went walking tonight after work & a hospital visit before I started doing laundry, cooking, etc.  I'm looking forward to nicer weather this week that will hopefully will allow me at least a few days of outdoor time.

Until the next time, Happy Stitching and Mangia!

Nerdy Words Periodic Elements Cross Stitch Pattern

It's been a crazy, busy week around here, but alas I'm making sure I get my blog post in.

I think I'll start with my xstitch stuff today.  I mentioned earlier in the week I would have a new pattern to share with you.  Here it is....NERDY WORDS!  

The pattern itself is 114 elements of the periodic table that have all been individually charted so you can create your own words or names.  I had a lot of fun stitching them, but I think even more fun picking out the words.  It was sort of like doing a word search puzzle.  :)

If you're into that kind of thing, and you're interested in the pattern, just click the photo and it will take you to my Etsy shop where you can purchase it.  If you're a buyer for a LNS reading this post, yes it will be available through my wholesaler.   

And of course you know that the finishing of the "wine" hangtag and photography were done by the ever-so-talented Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts.    I have so much fun working with her to create the perfect presentation of my designs!

So now to the not so good news.  :(

If you looked at my weight tracker at the top of my page you'll see I actually put on weight this week.  I thought I was being better than evidently what the scales said I was.  I have been eating some junk, as it's already in the house and I just hate to waste money.  Plus, I'll be moving the end of next month and who really wants to pack groceries and move them.  That means I've been eating a lot of canned soups & stuff for lunch.  On the other hand, I've also been eating bananas, apples, yogurt, humus, various veggies, etc.  And we won't discuss the m&ms or E.L. Fudge double stuffed cookies!!!

On the positive side, I DID try a new healthy recipe last night and I love it!!  I made Healthy Broccoli Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing.  Here's a pic of my bowl.  

I will say, there are some things I would definitely change.  I would only use about 1/2 of the salt, as I'm not a big salt person and I thought it was too salty.  I would also use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds.  I compared nutrition info on packages of both at the store and went with the pumpkin because they are supposed to be healthier, but found I'm not a fan of them.   I will DEFINITELY be making this dish again.  If you want the recipe, click on the photo and it will take you to the Pinterest posting where the recipe is.  

Now to figure out before Tuesday afternoon what recipe I want to try next week.  I'm thinking Zucchini Crisps or a Veggie Slaw.  Hmmm....  I guess you'll just have to tune in next weekend if you want to see what I decided.

Until then, happy stitching and bon appetite!

Is There Anyone Out There?

I know, it's been entirely way too long since I've blogged about anything and I wouldn't blame any of you if you've stopped looking at my blog over the past several months.  Unfortunately working two jobs and running Stitchnmomma leaves little time for things like blogging, exercising, reading, etc.  However, I'm going to have more free time on my hands, so I'll be back.  

A lot has happened in the past several months.  I've started selling my cross stitch patterns with a wholesaler, I've stopped making items and selling at the galleries that would only sell my items on a "consignment" basis and I've put back on about 1/3 of the weight that I worked so hard to take off a few years ago.  If you follow my Facebook page, you know about all the other little things also, as I do post there on a daily basis since that's where the majority of my fans are at.

I've decided since spring SHOULD be here (Yes Mother Nature, I'm talking to you!) and I'm going to have some more time on my hands, that it's time to get serious about doing things for ME.  I miss feeling well.  I miss having the time to prepare & eat healthy foods.  I miss my outdoor walks and bike rides and doing pilates.  I miss having the time to read a book or stitch something I want to stitch just because.  Yes, I am going to be self-centered here, lol!

I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Julie & Julia.  I recently watched the movie and actually felt inspired by it.  No, I'm not going to cook my way through a Julia Child cookbook, as yummy as that might be.  Instead, I'm going to do something on the healthy side.  Being a realist, I know I don't have time to do even one new recipe a day, so I'm going to commit myself to making one new HEALTHY recipe per week.  With a new recipe a week I'll soon have a larger variety of dishes to put into my daily menus.  And I'm going to share those here, along with the progress on the rest of the weight I want to lose (see my new ticker along the top of my blog).  I figure if I put it in writing, there has to be at least one person of the 240+ that currently follow my blog that will help hold me accountable.  I'm going to use recipes I'm finding on Pinterest, in cookbooks I currently have and any that you, my readers, want to share with me.  

For those of you that may not care about what I'm eating, I'll be posting plenty of pics of my stitching stuff too.  Not only am I working on new pattern models, but I'm also going back and restitching some of my older patterns so they can be finished and photographed by Rita at Snowberry Needlearts to give them a lovely professional look prior to listing them with my wholesaler. 

Oh, and if you like to read, I'll probably share some too about any recent books I've finished.  I recently found the Mitford series by Jan Karon and am currently working on the 5th book.  I'm also in the middle of reading the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben. Yes, there's a wide variety of books out there that grab my attention, so you never know what book (no electronic devices here) you'll see me carrying around.

Do you have a favorite healthy recipe?  Share it in the comments below and if it sounds appealing I'll try it and let you know what I think.

Do you have a favorite LNS where you'd like to be able to buy hard copies of my patterns?  Feel free to drop their name and city and I'll see what I can do.

In fact, feel free to share ANYTHING in the comments below.  I always enjoy conversing with my friends/fans/followers!


 
And with that, it's after 1pm here and my stomach is growling.  I think that means I should probably figure out what I'm going to eat that's healthy since all I've had today is cookies and m&m's for breakfast.  Hey, I had to get it all out of the way before I committed to being a better, healthier person.  Ciao!

Is "Stitch" M.I.A.????

Yes, unfortunately "Stitch" (as many of my Etsy friends refer to me) has been Missing In Action.  It's been over a week since I've done a blog post.  :(

Sadly my 70 hour work weeks have started interfering with Stitchnmomma.  Not only have I not been blogging, but I haven't even had the time or energy to stitch.  I've had to make the choice that sleep is slightly more important right now.

Please stay with me through the holidays.  My work schedule will slow down after that and I should be able to resume my routine on, hopefully, a normal basis.  Until then, I will blog as much as I can, and with any luck even be able to get some stitching in there too.

What a Mess!!

I've been so busy lately between work and jumping from project to project trying to get things made as quickly as possible for my Etsy shop, to be shipped to The Good Goat Gallery, for various charity projects I've volunteered for, gifts to be made and custom orders to be finished that I haven't taken any time in between projects to clean up & reorganize my stitching supplies.  (nice run on sentence, huh?  LOL!)  This is what my current stitching area looks like...

All of my floss has been piling up, I have a box of metallic threads that hasn't been put away and the pile is photocopies of patterns, books and various magazines I've been stitching patterns from.  And of course you can see the current project I was working on last night/this morning sitting on the arm of my recliner.  If you're wondering what the plaid thing is on the floor, that's one of Max's dog beds.  He has to be within 1 or 2 feet of me at all times, so I slide it right up against the loveseat and he's a happy camper.  :)

I work the closing/night shift tonight, so one of my priorities for the day (in addition to dishes & laundry) will be cleaning up this mess!  This is a picture of where it all SHOULD be...

This is the hutch of Zach's old desk, which is currently used as my sewing table since it won't fit in his bedroom (or go up the stairway in this old house).  Along the top I keep my binders with all my Stitchbows in them (LOVE them!! and yes, they are labeled with the numbers in each binder), my boxes that still have floss bobbins in them (working on using all of those up) along with spools of metallics, etc., and files I've made (all in various categories that are alphabetical) of misc. loose copies of patterns and then all of my projects that are on large scrolls, 17x17 Q-snaps, etc. that won't fit into the drawers of my craft bins.  In the cubby holes I keep my stitching magazines, calendars with patterns and anything else like that.  I have a couple of small built-in bookshelves on the other side of the living room where my hardbound books are stored.  (I didn't take a picture of those).

So now you know that even someone like me that tries to be organized can be a messy pig also.  I guess that means I should get off the computer and get busy cleaning!

Happy Stitching!  :)

Saturdays in the Fall

I thought I'd give everyone an inside look at what Saturdays are like in the Stitchnmomma household in the fall....

Lots & lots of College Football, with the Ohio State Buckeyes being the team of choice.  Yesterday was followed by the Navy v. Penn State game, then Florida v. Tennessee and finally Texas (hook 'em horns!) v. Ole Miss.  Man, that's a tiring day, lol!

With homemade pizza and typically plenty of other unhealthy food.

Sometimes stitching happens, and sometimes it doesn't, as was the case yesterday.  The Bucks game was just way too exciting with tons of action!!  I don't know how much stitching will be done today either since the girls are coming over for our monthly stitch-in.

Sin City

Today I thought I'd share some of the pics I took in my recent weekend trip for my birthday (thanks to some awesome friends) to Las Vegas.  And you know how the saying goes...What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so you can't see all of them, lol!

The Blue Man Group on Steroids, lol!

La Reve (Cirque du Soleil) at The Wynn

 Italy & Chocolate - 2 of my favorite things in life

 The Parasol Bar at The Wynn

This isn't really my style of bike, but I was in awe of the artistic talent it took to do this amazing metalwork!

Yeah, you can see we were big winners...NOT!

My last fabulous meal before leaving Sin City.  Damn it was good!