Fwd: print please

Begin forwarded message:

From: Diane Lassonde <shopcreationsunlimited@gmail.com>
Date: June 5, 2019 at 1:17:00 PM EDT
To: "Jennifer M. Lassonde" <2lifeinfocus@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: print please

the best day

yesterday was one of the good days.

one of the very very good days.

it should have been a normal thursday. well slightly better than normal

because it was mom's birthday

but we didn't have plans to celebrate until saturday.

the docket looked like this

work

yoga

home

relax and knit

and enjoy having the house to myself for a few hours.

what happened instead was far better.

here's why.

I called Mom to say Happy Birthday in the morning. She had missed my earlier calls

so I message her on Facebook and she said she was enjoying the day at home.

But it was strange that my call didn't come through.

After looking for my call she found a voicemail with some VERY good news!

She's starting her new job in the Hull School System in March and has what turned out to be a great transition plan from BMC!

She called me all excited!

The day was off to a good start.

At some point in the day, Mom and I were talking again and she said she had a $400 credit for Jordan's furniture that needed to be used up by the end of the month. She and Dad didn't need anything. Did I want to go look and see if we could find something for my new craft space? Sure! Why not!

Mom picked me up at the train. We made a quick detour to Lumber Liquidators so I could order my flooring. Cork. This stuff! Pretty cool right?

From there we headed to Jordan's. At first we weren't finding anything in the Clearance Center, but we were still having fun. Then, we found this gem.

It swivels and its wide enough that I can tuck my legs up beside me if I want to. Its a gorgeous linen fabric in a neutral which I can easily jazz up with a hand-sewn pillow and perhaps a knitted or crocheted afghan? :)

I thought I loved it but I wasn't 100% sure and we still had "money to spend" on that coupon. We found out the credit could be used in the regular store too so we browsed up there. All the while I was terribly anxious that someone was going to get "my chair" so I was absolutely sure this was the chair I wanted! We were almost out of the store and heading back to the Clearance Center when Mom noticed this table.

It's bar-height and has a decent amount of storage underneath! It was great.

But expensive!

And off-white (wouldn't match my walls at all).

Still, we snapped a photo and schemed about how we could convince Dan to build it!

We wandered back downstairs and found some bar stools that were considering for a bit, but one didn't have a price. When mom turned around to flag down the sales associate, she saw this:

The same table- in a stained finished- not painted! The chairs are different, and the price was drastically different. As in half priced!

It fits my intended dimensions perfectly and has a leaf that makes the table 5x5 square if I needed the extra space. Its perfect for sewing or scrapbooking or almost anything really!!

The lighting was a little wonky in there so here are 2 photos from the website:

(I didn't get those fabric covered stools- though they are fabulous looking!)

It was too good a deal not to get the chair too and my urge to protect my "property" at the store confirmed my gut that I loved both of these things, so we found a salesman and checked out! I was one happy camper!!

We swung into Christmas Tree Shops to look for fabric but found none. I did find a really cool green fabric ottoman that's small (yet has a storage inside) and may just be perfect (and if not, it will be returned). From there it was time to eat! It was after 7p, and we headed towards The Chateau (so I could use up a gift card-- making progress on those 2012 goals).

Its a charming place. I'd never been there. And boy the service was fast. We ordered our dinner and in 10 minutes it was at the table!

And as if dinner wasn't good enough,

we met up with Dan, Shawn, Jollsie and Jill at Spazio for a glass of wine.

It was a ridiculously and silly time (as usual).

Mom and I Skyped with Jeff, Riley and Garret from the bathroom (because the bar area was too dark). The kids thought that was just hysterical- we kept shutting off the light and they'd laugh and laugh.

Yes, it was a day for the record books.

Fun, productive, delicious, silly, fantastic!

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you to the moon and back!

2012 Goals

Yes, its February and I'm only now publishing my 2012 goals, despite the fact that they were written just after the first of the year.

I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a fantastic year (and its already off to a great start).

Here are my goals (and some 1 month in updates):

Knitting

• I don't want to get too specific as to plans for knitting projects simply because I do get a lot of knitting done every week/month and I'm always craving new things.
• But, I don't often knit for myself. I may cast on something for me and then I get an idea for a gift and I go to town on that, neglecting my own knitting. Partly its because I work best under deadlines (which are built-in when you're gifting something) and partly just because I truly enjoy seeing others enjoy my knits...
• Goal: Knit at least 3 items for myself (not counting the shawl that's nearly done)

Progress to Date: So far so good! I have a pair of fingerless mitts nearly finished and I'm going to swatch for my sweater this weekend!

Photography

• Goal: Take a class. Any class. Anywhere. Any format. Just learn something new and valuable.

Handmade Gifts

• I did well for Christmas this year but I could have started some things (beyond my knitting) earlier in the year and gotten even more handmades complete.
• Goal: Start real planning (not just for knits) in May.
• Goal: wrap gifts early. Be creative. Be green.
• Goal: Try something new in handmades for Christmas 2012.
• Goal: Track all gift giving in 2012, not just Christmas giving (note: I started this in 2011 but didn't keep up with it).

Use it Up

• Dan and I have had a stack of gift cards for years- some nearly as long as we've been together. This is the year we're using them! (What a problem to have, I know!)
• Goal: Use up all of the gift cards we received in 2011 or prior! No excuses. Aiming for at least 1 per month.

Reading

• I've been listening to a lot of podcasts and radio shows lately and I love them all. I really feel like I've learned a lot (especially about knitting) and have thought about things/people/topics I otherwise wouldn't have. But with all the podcasts I haven't listened to an audiobook in months. I need to get back to that, as I'm truly missing it at this point. I think there's something to be learned in books that you can't get elsewhere and I can't completely shut that medium out of my life.
• Goal: Read more! At least 1 book per month.

Progress to Date: Fail. No books read in January.

Get Healthy!

• Disclaimer:: I hate the typical "lose weight" new year's resolution. It irks me. I hate the influx of people at the gym and the ads on tv... but here I am adding it to my list of goals (not resolutions, mind you). I saw Jennifer Hudson looking smoking hot on the Weight Watchers commercial and Dan and I chatted about how great she looked, and I signed up the next day. Its only been a week but I'm obsessed. I've realized I'm a rule-follower- in fact I'm having a hard time using the "extra" points they give you each week because that feels like cheating to me, but I'll figure out how to use the system to work best for me. I need more structure- this seems to be working and I'm already feeling better. I'm hoping this momentum will sustain me through the year.
• Goal: Get moving. Do some form of physical activity at least 3 times per week for 30+ minutes (ideally more).
• Goal: Take vitamins every day!
• Goal: Be lighter at the end of 2012 than at the beginning.

Progress to Date: I feel weird actually publishing this here, but in the interest of full disclosure- here goes. I've lost 6.6 pounds as of today! I feel great. Its not exactly easy but its not super hard either. I feel better. I am starting to notice small changes in my appearance and I'm happy. I'm also taking my vitamins and easily exercising 3 days a week. So far I'm hitting this one out of the park!

Playtime with Riley and Garret

It was so wonderful having Garret and Riley back home over Christmas! I had missed them so incredibly much!! I took some time off work and enjoyed some low-key play time with them at Mom and Dad's.

Garret was having so much fun putting these beads on and off of each of us! I think he almost strangled Grammy by accident!
I can't even believe how tall he's gotten! He's such a boy now, and not just a baby. He took a couple days to warm up to us (well except for Pepere) but soon he was snuggling up and wanting a kiss and being his normally sweet self :)
Riley is just gorgeous! So smart and inquisitive. And did I mention-- gorgeous? :)
A big squeeze for her baby in front of the Christmas tree!
After some playing, Grammy offered to let Riley help make some cookies. A tough job, but she's a tough girl :) And she had a little help from her Auntie!
After the stirring got tough, she realized it was way more fun to just play with the dough, which was especially sticky and messy! But it was all in good fun!

Messy girl!

I think the kids opened presents every day! The fun of being home!!

Riley's favorite gift from Santa was her dancing baby. You actually plug an ipod into it, and it dances! And Riley dances too! Very very cute! Actually the best part was probably that once I took out my camera, Riley asked:

"Can you send that to someone?"

Me: "No, it's my camera, not my phone."

Riley: "Well, get out your phone then."

Me: "Ok, I can do that.. Why? Who are we sending this to?"

Riley: "Oisin!"
Even funnier than that? A couple days later she asked if Oisin got the video. He did, I told her. "How do you know? Did you go with him to watch it? No, I explained, Auntie Megg told me he'd seen it. "But he liked it???" Yes, sweetie. He did! SO stinkin cute!

Christmas Eve

I love our Christmas Eve traditions.... and clearly I get so wrapped up in them that I forget to take pictures, but these few will have to do.

After the 1:00 Patriots win, Dan and I headed over to Larry and Leslie's for their Christmas Eve Party. After cocktails and dinner, we played Left Right Center and did our annual Yankee Swap. Anna May mixed in the "Nana Game" for the "kids" too, so it was a game-filled evening.

We spent the later part of the evening at the Tighe's Annual Christmas Eve Party. Fun, fun and more fun!

Aunt Florence, Grammy and Aunt Milly

Jen, Jenny and Meaghan

Melissa and Debbie

Dad and Mom

Me and Dad

Me, Kevin and Mom

Merry Almost Christmas!

Merry and Bright

Christmas Day 2011

It was a lovely day. That nearly sums it up, but here are some things I want to remember:

My (dare I say it) best Christmas present- from my niece and Godchild, Aila. The left half of the ornament is mine and the right half is hers and together we make a full heart. And my heart is so very full just thinking of that.

{A special thanks to my best friend for picking this out because Aila is just too young yet to think of something so thoughtful, though I know when she's older she'll treasure this too!}

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Matt & Krissy's. The kids were SO excited to show us all that Santa had brought them. It was a great mix of over-excited Christmas cheer and some lovely quiet moments like this. Aila had taken over Willy's LeapPad for awhile and was quietly playing away with a little help from Mama. Yes, take note. Aila was being quiet. If I remember correctly that lasted maybe 3 minutes :)
Uncle Dan got in some play time, as he does every Christmas morning :)
Aila's big gift from Santa was her ride-on giraffe. And boy does she love it.
This kind of climb-up-and-play makes me so happy because soon enough they'll be too old and too big and too cool to cozy up to Uncle Dan like this.
Opening gifts with Aila this Christmas was likely the thing that made me happiest all year until that date. Aila and are kindred spirits in so many ways, as I've mentioned before, so finding and making gifts for this little chickie is easy for me. But watching her receive them just made me so incredibly happy. She ooohhed and ahhed and gasped as she opened each package. She wanted to immediately open the gift, play with it or wear it. Right away! And as she opened more and more garments she just kept layering them. This is my silly girl wearing her pjs with ruby slippers, a Dorothy apron and a flowered apron, a tutu and legwarmers that I made for her and her Hello Kitty bracelet and necklace! Priceless.
Willy's big gift from Santa was his Remote Control Polar Express Train! He'd been talking about it for months and had the time of his life moving it back and forth with the remote, making the sounds "CHOO CHOO" with the press of a button!
I love this shot of his little piggy toes peeping out.
It was great seeing my hand knits so well received. I love this hat on Kris. The color is great. Disclaimer- I know she hates this photo, and I'm sorry Kris! But its the only one I have.
Matt had been heavily hinting at his desire for a hat- "one like Conor's!" so that's exactly what he got :)
It was a great morning. Dave and Marilyn came over. We all ate pancakes and eggs and enjoyed a nice late breakfast together. There were rounds and rounds of gifts. Smiles and laughs all around!

We changed up the "schedule" a bit this year and had dinner at Mom's instead of lunch so we didn't have to rush. It was perfect! We arrived mid-afternoon, ate appetizers, had some wine and played games!

The house looked perfect as always!! :)
There was a heated game of Skip-Bo before dinner! Gail gave Gram a card she needed by accident, which didn't bother Gail any. When Gram asked why on earth she'd do that, Gail simply replied "Its Christmas!" Gram's response "Not in cards its not!!"
We ate our traditional Christmas dinner. Sauce. Eggplant (oohh the eggplant), Artichokes, Meat and Eggs. Salad. The works! And after dinner, we did something non-traditional (but great)- we Skyped with Michael and Monique!!
There were yet more gifts to open at Mom's.

Grammy & Aunt Milly

Mom & Dad

--- I bought this hat for Dad- it has lights under the brim. Mom bought her peepers in VT this fall. Yep, they're lighting the world on fire those two! ---

This was another hand knit gift- a shrug that I made for mom. She picked the pattern and the color but hadn't seen it until Christmas.

And after all that preparation and anticipation- another Christmas wound down.

Until next year...

currently

Ok, I need to put some real posts on here and they're coming but I thought I'd do a quick post using the format from Elise's blog post today (because she rocks! a lot!).

counting points [i've joined weight watchers and i loooove it. more on that later]

remembering what winter feels like. because its cold today [finally]

collecting ideas for my new craft space. we've got studs + sheetrock. plaster is next and then the world is my oyster. loving me some pinterest.

considering lots of travel in the upcoming months. skiing. visiting family. beach vacations. lots of fun things ahead.

hoping there's nothing really wrong with my left wrist which has been hurting for a week and a half now. it doesn't bug me when i knit or do yoga [maybe there is a God out there looking after me ;) ] but it does hurt! need to get that fix. doctor's appointment in the morning.

ordering boots! 2 pairs. black. knee length. they look lovely and according to the specs on zappos they should fit. fingers crossed. mama needs some new boots!

celebrating a little bit of weight loss in my first week of actively working at it. i'm not sure how much because i didn't actually weigh myself when i started but i have it on pretty good authority that the number came down. yaay.

enjoying the sunshine that's streaming in my window off of the charles river.

struggling to eat all of my WW points everyday. i know, tough life, huh? of course i could eat junk food and chomp them right up, but when i'm eating healthy i'm struggling to use all of the ones i'm allocated. i'm definitely a rules-follower, so when i hit my daily points limit i stop... but they build in extra points. i'm supposed to use them. need to work out a better plan for this.

choosing to be happy. i'm tired. my body's not used to all of this exercise. my wrist hurts. my skin is soo dry and crackly. its 3:27p and i could fall asleep right now. but i will have a good rest of the day, and i will get to bed at a decent hour and have another great day tomorrow.

Taking Stock- 2011

Nearly 12 months ago (geeez time flies), I set some goals for this year. Some big, some small. Some accomplished, some not, some purposely put aside because they just weren't as important as I had planned, and that's OK too.

So here's how it went!

Photography:

1. Take another class.

2. Take more photos of the everyday.

3. Try my hand at some more semi-professional photo shoots.

Update: I didn't do so well with this one. I had seriously considered taking another course at NESOP this Spring but around the time of registration, we learned that Jeff, Melissa, Riley and Garret would be moving to Illinois, and I chose to spend a bunch of Thursday nights at Mom's with the kiddos instead of in a classroom. Definitely the right decision, and I'm glad I did that. I have no real excuses for not taking more photos the rest of the year though (about 5000 in my albums instead of the 10,000 I took in 2010)! I really hope I can get back into it in 2012.

Crochet

I've done a little dabbling with this craft both during 2010 and already a little bit in the new year. I'm not convinced I'll ever love it as much as knitting, but I already know that it is has a lot of great applications and I want to learn at least the basics with crochet. I have a book that my friend Ellen leant to me over a year now (if you need it back please just holler), and I'm looking forward to tackling some of the squares from that book, even if its just to make a doll blanket for one of my nieces!

Update: I've crocheted!! Not a lot, but enough that I feel fairly comfortable with it. I made a few small items for Christmas, and I made a flower which felt more complex than most things so that helped get me going. I can't wait to try some new fun things now that my gift knitting is finished.

Sewing

I think a Thursday Night Sewing Club is already forming and I love that prospect. My Aunt Florence has graciously offered to teach Mom and me how to sew (Mom knows some basics. I do not). My friends Ryan and Kim are also very interested, and so I think us ladies (plus Nathan when he's free) may just have a grand old time learning how to sew. I'm very much looking forward to it. If I can sew a button on a shirt by the end of 2011, I'll consider that a success since I can't even do that. Anything more is a bonus!

Update: I'm still a very basic seamstress. In fact that's not even the word for it, but sew-er just looks like sewer, so I'm at a loss. I haven't put a lot of time into sewing, but in needing to show Kris how to set up a machine and get going on a project (with no adult supervision on hand), I was able to get us through it. So that's gotta be a sign!

Knitting

I've learned a lot about knitting in 2010 but there's more I'd like to learn and projects I'd still like to accomplish. This year I'm planning to make at least 1 more hat and 2 more afghans (one is in progress now). I will also learn to make mittens.

Update: I blew away the number on the hats (more details in my Christmas knits post). But I realized I really don't enjoy making blankets very much. I get really bored. What else is new.... I moved on to more challenging interesting things, and I'm very happy about that transition.

Make More Handmade Gifts

1. I very much enjoyed this part of my Christmas routine this year. I am planning to update this post with an exact percentage of how much of my gift giving was handmade by me (or others) this year with plans to increase that percentage for next year's Christmas season.

2. Start Christmas crafting by May at the latest. There simply wasn't enough time to do all of what I wanted to do this year. I have zillions of notes saved in Evernote. Lots of ideas. Just need to start executing earlier.

Updates: Done and done. I made more gifts this year and bought more green items when making purchases. Still not as great as I'd have liked, but I'm making progress. Next year I'll do even better! It's all about starting early. When I'm crunched for time, I'll order any old thing online. Starting to knit this summer made things a lot better! I'll definitely be doing that again next year.

Think about Simplifying on a Daily Basis

I'm finding that there is a lot of clutter in my life lately. When I am mindful about how I am spending my time and what I am wanting to accomplish I can do a lot of these things that really make me feel productive and happy.

1. I am aiming to watch less television on weeknights so that I can spend more time reading and crafting.

Update: I have no way to prove this, but I think I do watch less tv than before. I listen to the radio or my ipod while I knit, clean or just putter. I enjoy that.

2. I want to be better organized with my work bag and items I always think I need on a daily basis and yet rarely do (until the moment I need that specific thing and its inevitably at home)... I need less stuff and I need to be more organized= the bottom line.

3. Cleaner car & cleaner home. To be fair neither are actually dirty. But they are both cluttered. It's part of who I am. I'd rather work on something until I drop than to stop 15 minutes early and put everything away (really, that doesn't sound like it's any fun at all does it??). However, at the end of the week it looks like 2 adults, 6 kids and 3 circus clowns live in this small house and as much as it doesn't take me 2 days to clean, its still mildly overwhelming and let's face it, unnecessary. It drives Dan crazy and that's not fair. I am happier when the house is clean and clutter-free and I need to do the little things every day to make that happen. If I put stuff away at night, it will make my morning's easier... It's a good thing all around. I just need to push myself.

Update: No real progress here. Many times this house and my car looks great. And then life gets crazy again and there are piles everywhere and the dust bunnies run faster than I care to admit... and I can't find my lip gloss in any purse I own, but its gotta be there, right? Ugh. Life's a work in progress :)

Pay It OFF

1. Pay off my Student Loan.

2. Pay off my Car Loan.

Update: Done and Done! I'm super proud of this one. Not that I owed much a year ago, but I'm officially debt free and that feels fantastic! :)

All in all, not bad. I'm pleased with the year behind us and looking forward to 2012!

Christmas Card Shoot

Kris asked me to take some photos of Will and Aila for their 2011 Christmas Card.

It wasn't the ideal day for these two rambunctious kiddos but we did ok.

And the other silly, fun photos we got were priceless.

Aila's face in this one kills me! :)

Big man, balancing on a log!

Aila showing off her beautiful jewels (necklace Aunt Diane brought back from Venice)

Big jump!!!

Cutie pie! (Lesson learned for next time- don't show her the giraffe until after we take the photos, though this auntie loves having photos of her with our favorite animal)

Little Miss Personality.

Making their way through the woods together. Doesn't get any sweeter than this.