Mushy Memories

Mr. J and I are doing some heavy duty spring cleaning in the basement.  It's been an eye-sore since Mr. J moved here, and it's only gotten worse. 

I've wanted to develop/finish the basement since I moved in over 3 years ago, but just never got around to it - nor had the money (not that we have the money now).  Being that I'm at home and have the time - AND - thinking of Master K's upcoming mobility, I want to try and make the most of the space that we have, spread out all of the furniture/things we have and get rid of the clutter.  I'm hoping to have the project complete before I return to work in November.

So...while cleaning out old boxes I stumbled upon a number of old items - as far back as my childhood.  Some of the more semi-recent (within that last 10 years) items were cards from Jeff (the ex).  Now, I did get rid of a lot of stuff after we parted ways, but these pictures and cards were packed away in a box that I thought only had high school stuff in it. 

It was nice to reminisce a little about how much 'in love' we were with each other.  The silly notes we left for each other and the funny/lovey dovey cards we gave to one another.  It definitely took me back to the good 'ole days when we were young, in love and just having fun.  Oh, how things can change.  But people change - people grow up and apart - and that's OK.  It was great once, but has long been over and put to rest.  Although, was nice to remember the fun that was once had between me and my ex, even if only for a moment.

Back into the swing of things...finally!

We've been home for 2 weeks now, and I've finally caught up on all the laundry and upload the rest of our pictures from our trip to Jamaica. The first week back was slow for me. I caught a bit of a sore throat on the way home, and it knocked quite a bit of energy outta me for about a week. I managed to drag my ass to kickboxing and volleyball the last couple of weeks, but that was about it. Although, I did get back into my usual workouts late last week.

Unfortunately, Mr. J is has been feeling under the weather all weekend, so we weren't as mobile as we would have liked. However, it did give me a chance to tackle our picture project. The wedding pictures were easy; given that they were presented to us in an album and on a CD. Our other pictures had to be downloaded from the camera, uploaded onto the web, and then, of course, I had to play with them. I started by uploading them, one by one, to my google account when I realized that Picasa 3 would be faster, quicker, creative, and a lot more fun. I put together a little collage to show a sample of our picks, but you can go here to view our 500 pictures of Jamaica, or view the slideshow on my sidebar.

Crafty these days

Once again, I have decided to give as many personalized gifts as possible this Holiday season. Over the past number of months I have been working on many crafty items for friends and family for birthdays, Christmas, and baby shower gifts.

I started up a beautiful baby blanket for my girlfriend who had her baby in August. I stalled on the baby sweater, and because it was for a newborn I pretty much gave up trying to get it done. I will eventually finish it, but there is no rush at the moment. So I switch to another project, which I had already had in mind for her and the baby. They decided on a nature theme for the baby's room, so I figured Bernat Satin was the way to go in the sable colour. I had used this yarn to knit my nephew a blanket, and it is wonderfully soft. If I stick with it I should have it done by the end of December.

My neices 5th birthday is coming up mid-December and I wanted to do something extra special. She is turning 5 after all. I found a plain wooden jewelry box at Michael's, and figured I would paint it in her favourite colours (pink and purple), decorate it with sparkles, stickers and her name, and finish it off with a picture of herself. It has turned out really well, there are just a few finishing touches I need to complete. Plus, to put inside, a pink handmade bracelet. I am sure she will be thrilled.

As for mom, I have been knitting items for her newly renovated kitchen, and assembling a Christmas centerpiece.

I was going to try and do some paintings for family and friends, but the time seems to be slipping away. I still plan to do them eventually, they just might not be Christmas presents.

For me, I enjoy giving personalized or small gifts, rather than the extravagant. There seems to be more thought, time, patience, and love I give something I made.

You might be interested

What have I been reading:
As I believe I mentioned already, I was reading The Glass Castle. I didn't really enjoy it all that much - a little too depressing for my liking. But I plugged through and finished it up about 3 weeks ago.

In April, I started reading The Te of Piglet thanks to Mr. J. I own the The Tao of Pooh, and have read it on a number of occasions. I guess Mr. J thought it would be good for me to read the second book. It was enlightening, however, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Tao of Pooh.

My current reads I started a couple of weeks ago. Mr. J lent me World War Z. I have read the first chapter, but put it down because I was much too engrossed in The Walking Dead. The is my second time reading trade paperback graphic novels. My first was Fables. R:tAG started me on them during my visit last fall. I really enjoyed them, and have continued on with the series. In fact, I also just finished reading volume 8 Wolves. I highly recommend both series; The Walking Dead is fantastic. It has been a long time since I haven't been able to put down a book.

Finally, I spent some of my weekend reading old posts. I was feeling particularly interested in remembering my time in Oxford. At least that is where it started, and then I started going back even further and reading older posts. I stumbled upon this post, and remember recently talking about it at Jenn & Al's wedding. Of course I had to watch it again. So good!

What have I been working on:
I am finally about 3/4 done the baby sweater that I started way back in the fall. It is a great little sweater, and I am using some nice, soft light green yarn, however the pattern is all screwed up. I called upon The Knitting Queen back in the fall for some help, and she provided me with detailed instructions that I still reference (due to my large gaps in knitting). Initially the sweater was just a project, but since my girlfriend announced her pregnancy it has become a gift for the baby - which is due in August. I should finish it in time, no problem.

I was also planning on knitting a blanket for the baby, but we'll have to see how dedicated I am to knitting over the summer. I usually only knit in the winter, but I have been picking it up here and there when I am not too busy, which isn't very often these days.

My most recently completely project is the painting I did for Jenn & Al as their wedding gift. Of course, they didn't get it in time for me to present to them on their wedding day, but I advised Al that it would be coming shortly. I got to work early this morning and finished it off in about 3 hours. Now all it has to do is dry. Because I use oils, I like to make sure I give it plenty of time to dry. It should be in their hands at the end of June. I hope they enjoy it.

What have I been active in:
I am still going to the gym as often as I can. However, I have been fairly active practising for Corporate Challenge over the past number of weeks. On Saturday, we competed for the first time in the Bowling event. We placed 6th. On Monday and Tuesday, I will be busy competing in the Volleyball. On Saturday, we have the Slo-Pitch tournament, and the following Friday is my last event - Horseshoes. I am looking forward to the remaining events.

Everything else:
I am busy with work. I have started playing Diablo II again. My brother and his family are coming to visit this weekend, and Suzi the week after that. Life is definitely staying interesting and busy. Good times!