Happy Friday everyone!

Pewf! It's been a hard few days I must say. But I have managed to pull through.

I got my exchange piece off in the mail just in time thank god! While I love doing exchanges I have no idea why I procrastinate in sending them... I could have just sent it when I finished the piece buttttt noooo I have to put myself through the extra stress of waiting to send it off and then the stress of wondering 'How am I ever going to make it to the Post Office before it closes tonight!!!'. Unfortunately, this will likely be my last exchange for quite sometime I think. I found out late last week that I would be losing my job at the end of the month :( 

Lots of cuts at work and I got caught in the landslide. While the thought of no longer working at I place I have come to love is so disappointing, I have decided to take it in stride. There's pretty much nothing that could be done seeing as I had zero seniority. It had nothing to with my work and everyone has been so supportive. So I'll walk away in a couple of weeks having made some great friends and having learned so much more than I ever thought I would. I also have a lot to be thankful for besides as well. I mean I could have been moved into a new house with a massive mortgage and no way to pay it. As it is right now, I live with family and  all I really need to worry about it a couple of bills that my Employment Insurance will more than cover. So I'll be ok financially. So with that, it back on the job hunt for me.  

Over the past couple of years I've been applying to the occasional job ad and have had a couple of interviews. No job - obviously. With everything that has happened recently I've really got to thinking about how I need to approach any future interviews. I need to work on being clear and to the point. I find when I don't know an answer I tend to bable. ENOUGH OF THAT I say! I'm going to try and prepare more and perhaps even make out a list of possible questions.

Secondly, I've got to work on that thing called confidence. Jeez, I used to have oodles of the stuff, but lately I don't know exactly where it might be hiding. Practicing before an interview should help, but I also need to sell myself better and have more confidence in my abilities. I know I'm smart and have a lot to offer I just need to start acting like it. I also need to have confidence in me as a whole. In the end I think I need to start taking care of myself and work on some of the body issues that have been accumulating. I've never been a skinny girl and I have no desire to be, but I do want to get to a healthier me. Not one who is huffing and puffing after a couple flights of stairs. ENOUGH OF THAT! I've joined a gym and have a couple of sessions booked with a personal trainer to plan out some goals. Having been there a few times as this point I'm feeling great! I have more energy and even my boyfriend says I look more invigorated (God love him lol).  I hope to eventually be able to complete a spin class... which I tried to attend the other day... yeah that didn't turn out so great haha... Didn't even last 10 minutes and my butt is STILL hurting from the seat. Given that I used to own a bike when I lived in Europe - which I used ALLLLLLLLLLL the time, I don't really understand how I got to the point where peddling for short periods standing up got to be so hard, BUT, I digress. Confidence starts and finishes with me, and if I'm not feeling good about the skin I'm living in then confidence will be hard to come by. So here's to new beginnings! I'm ready for what the future holds and I refuse to get down on myself! There's lots of opportunities out there and I'm ready to dive in head first!

Ciao for now!

Melissa

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I've been procrastinating with posting this post (tut tut on me)! So I finally made myself snap a few pictures last night - Couldn't very well have a pictureless post now could we?!

Still busy in my little corner of the world and last week the cold hit me again... which seriously affected my stitching productivity. BUT it could have been worse. I could be down with that life-sucking, send-you-off-to-bed-for-a-month flu I had at the beginning of January. So by comparison this one has been fairly mild. I hadn't been feeling quite the same since January so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I got sick again. So I took a little time off to focus on getting better (... which was just as well because Old Man Winter had whipped up some nasty weather for us that day). I napped all day and really tried to take it easy over the weekend, hoping to encourage my immune system to get back on track. I'm feeling much better now and I'm really hoping to feel 100% again pretty soon. Now if only this dry throat would just bite the dust!

All the winter storms and all this sickness/injury that has been plaguing me lately has left me yearning for spring. I can't say this enough. I can't wait to see the soggy grass make a fresh green appearance from under the snow and for the tulips to start poking their heads out of the ground. I'm literally starting to have dreams about Spring, so mother nature - if you're listening - its time to bring a little bit of Spring to NFLD! Now only if it worked that way haha. Welllll - wouldn't you know it, I think she heard me!

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

By: Lorie Hill

March roars in like a lion

So Fierce,

The wind so cold,

It seems to pierce.

The month rolls on

And Spring draws near,

And March goes out

Like a lamb so dear.

We all know the saying - In like a Lion, out like a Lamb - wellllll it's literally been peeing out of the heavens since March 1st - hey at least it isn't snow! I don't mean a light rain or anything I mean full blown down pour.  We've had 4 days of rain to awaken to... dare I say it... a spring like sunny morning today!!!! I really hope that our weather stays true to this saying... although I know that we're likely to have one more snow storm before Spring starts to pop her lovely head out of the soil. But hey! A girl can dream can't she?!

I guess you could say I'm reallllly in the mood for Spring too because of the exchange piece I'm stitching. The theme this month is Spring/Easter and I'm having oodles of fun putting together a package for my exchange partner. Too bad I can't show my stitching just yet!

But that's not to say I don't have stitching to show you. Since I had such a low key weekend, I resumed my post in the stitching chair and watched my boyfriend play games allllllllll weekend. I'm sure he was in his absolute glee... me... not so much. I actually don't mind the odd game as long as it has a good storyline. But boys... they just LOOOOOVE their shooting games. So I stitched and stitched and stitched with the soundtrack of 'bang, boom, kaBLAM' in the background. I haven't shown a progress pic of Nantucket for some time now so you'll see quite a bit of difference. I'm over halfway done now! It's looking so great don't you think?!?!

By the way, I actually managed to get pictures this morning with the fleeting morning sunlight *GLEE*

You'd say I've never seen the sun before...

I'm powering through this one for sure. All the different motifs and sayings are great little stitches and usually when I start one I can finish it pretty quickly and see lots of progress. I guess that's what's great about samplers!

Now I should mention I'm not completely innocent on the gaming front... a couple of Sundays ago I fell into the trap of the gaming monster myself. The monster...

Dear god is this game ever addictive...

Now let the epic battle between stitching time and gaming time begin!!!

Until next time,

Melissa