Is laundry a hobby?

Because I certainly spend a lot of time working on it. I can't even seem to get to the end of it all before a new batch piles up again.

Speaking of hobbies, I was mentioning my blog to a work friend and how to come up with post ideas. She recommended going back to my hobbies and showing you some of the projects I'm working on. Great idea, but which ones?

Cooking?

Embroidery?

Decorating? You are looking at five years' worth of Canadian House and Home, Style at Home, Better Homes and Garden, House Beautiful, Living Etc...and many others. I've got all this inspiration and some how my house still is undecorated. Maybe less time reading about decorating and more time doing? Perhaps, hoarding might be an issue too.

Fitness?

Miniatures? No progress there lately.

Sewing?

Knitting?

or maybe some crochet?

Jeez louise (sorry for the strong language, but I've just got too many interest. I guess that's why I don't have time for learning photography, painting, gardening, visiting with friends.

But I do have lots of inspiration.

Ways to annoy your cat #7

Purple Ringlets

I was sleeping off a night shift when this joyful event occurred, but Javier and Lizzie assure me that no cats were harmed during the taking of this photo.

Please excuse my absence

I'm afraid I don't have a doctor's note but if I did, it certainly would look like this...

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Yes, we went on a holiday. After a brief stop in L.A....

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...Lethbridge, Alberta that is (we call in LA of the north) for a skate competition, we jetted off for a week-long holiday in a much sunnier climate.

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This was our second visit to Palm Springs and first time with Lizzie. We rented a house through VRBO (awesome way to travel as a family, BTW) this time instead of a hotel and it had our main requirement for accommodation --

A pool!

We logged many hours in or beside the pool.

Of course that's not all we did.

We smooched! -- celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary with a hike in Joshua Tree National Park.

We had a picnic at a lovely oasis at the end of the hike. Those tiny little figures are Lizzie and Javier and we made a few friends on the way back.

I've never seen a wild tortoise before. Some other hikers pointed him (her?) to us. It was so fascinating to watch him. He made some neat little noises and poised for some photos.

I almost jumped out of my skin when Lizzie came across this guy. I am so not a fan of snakes, but this guy had some spunk.

We also did an overnight trip to the real LA so we could go to Universal Studios.

And went on this ride.

One of the best rides I've ever been on, but I will confess I did toss my cookies at the end. Not for those prone to motion sickness.

We did a bunch of other things too. Go-karts, mini-golf, a bit of shopping, but the best part was just being able to spend time as a family and have a little downtime.

Here's a picture of me looking more relaxed than I have for a very, very, long time.

Ah, holidays. The best cure for anything.

Optical Illusion

Which robe is shorter?

Wish List

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I'm an extremely blessed with a wonderful husband and daughter, a fantastic extended family, a beautiful home, lots of travel opportunities, and my dream job so really I have no needs in my life that are not fulfilled. Having said that though, I still think it's important for a girl to dream, right?

So I present to you my WISH LIST 2011.

Juiceman JM550S

1. A new juicer. My $50 juicer was making some ominous sounds this morning and stopped working a few times so I suspect a new juicer may have to move from the wish list to the need list as I make fresh green veggie juice nearly every morning.

Vitamix

2. A high-speed blender. A recently purchased a Magic Bullet and before that I had a small generic smoothie size blender. I've been doing a lot of research into Vitamix blenders and I've decided that this should be in my home. Enough said.

And guess what? Javier agrees. We might look at getting one next month. I've been saving my pennies to buy one but Javier thinks that we may have to buy one with household funds instead. Yippee!

Excalibur Dehydrator

3. A dehydrator. Changing my eating habits last springs sparked an interest in alternative cuisines including raw food. I try to avoid as much processed food as possible, preferring to make things from scratch. I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies now, but I still like to snack. I love things like dried fruits and kale chips and there's a whole world of "raw" desserts, breads, and crackers that can be made with this little baby.

Canon

4. A DSLR Camera. It's time to leave my little point-and-shoot in my purse for spur of the moment photo ops. Of course, this will also involve learning how to take use a DSLR camera.

Mao Asada landing her triple axel via about.com

5. Miss Lizzie consistently landing her axel jump. She's been working on this for 1 1/2 years, finally landing one outside the jumping harness a few months ago, but it's still a very difficult jump for her that she struggles with. Every time she sets up for the jump I say a little prayer for her.

Prevention

6. A Flat Belly. I work out at least 5 days a week, eat very, very healthy, and I STILL have a bit of a belly. It has definitely gotten smaller, but I WANT THE DARN THING GONE.

And one more addition...

American Feast Blog

7. Somewhere to store all these extra appliances. Ha ha ha

Keeping busy

I LOVE days off!

But we all know that days off aren't really days off, right?

So what have I been doing?

CLEANING

This new little steamer I picked up is working great on cleaning my grungy grout. But it still takes a lot of elbow grease. 5 hours and I'm only 2/3 done in the kitchen!

EATING

I discovered that one of our local chain grocery stores installed a new sushi bar. Sushi made to order, not shipped from 2 hours away. Yum!

MORE CLEANING

Laundry stops for no one.

EXERCISING

I've done my workouts every day since I've been off. Sweat never felt so good.

MORE EATING

Morning oatmeal with blueberries and lots of decaf lattes

REGISTERING

I got Lizzie signed up for spring and summer skating already. That has to be some kind of record.

PLANNING

My goal is to get three weeks of menu and grocery lists finished before I go back to work. One week down, 2 to go.

All this is worked between cuddles with kitties on the couch, taxiing Lizzie to school/piano/skating, and having a dinner waiting for Javier when he gets home from work.

I could get used to this life.

Brrr

Rain must have cold toes this morning.

Kindle-ing

When Lizzie got a Kindle for her birthday, her mama ordered one for herself as well.

Oh how we love our Kindles. We carry them around like they're security blankets. But up to now they've been unprotected from the elements.

I searched around the internet and found some lovely ones, but when I realized that Lizzie and I were faced with a completely unscheduled Friday afternoon last week I devised a plan that we would make our own.

Luckily we have a sizable collection of felt in the craftroom so we had plenty of supplies.

I presented this plan to Lizzie when I picked her up from school and her creativity machine whirred into action. Before we pulled into the garage she had a vision. It involved clouds, sunshine, and green grass. Wishful thinking towards spring, perhaps?

Lizzie's case is on the left and mine is on the right. I had originally planned to make a simple sleeve, but Lizzie wisely advised that we had to be sure our precious Kindles did not accidently slide out, so we had to bring in the buttons.

These are the finished products. Not the "rays" of sunshine around the yellow button closing Lizzie's case. I went with a more conservative choice.

Lizzie felt the backside of her case needed decoration while mine remains unadorned.

Both Kindle cases are made of double layers of wool felt for extra padding. Lizzie thinks we should start a business. I was just happy to have a crafty afternoon with my girl.

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And now I present a gratuitous Ollie photo.

He's trying to catch the snowflakes.

It's all about balance, right?

Work & life has been anything but balanced these last few months. You know the feeling?

Like a tightrope...

Most days, I'm running from work to Lizzie's skate practice with nary a moment to breathe.

I'm constantly trying to squeeze in time for exercise, preparing healthy meals, cleaning the house, and spending time with my family in between all the other things.

But there's good news!

No I'm not quitting work. I do love my job so much.

But I woke up this morning realizing that I'd be off for a whole week!

Yippee!

I plan to spend the week reclining on the couch, eating bonbons and reading cheap novels.

No, not really, I already have a vast list of tasks I plan to accomplish.

But I'll actually have time to get it all done.

On a completely difference note, aren't all the images adorable. I need them to be in my house somewhere.

Source for all photos: Nouvelles Images

Ella in the sun

We have sunshine.

See here's proof. Haven't had much of that in the past few months.

It's been chilly.

My latest creation, Ella Bunny (from this book), promptly headed

to that window sill to make the most of the afternoon warmth.

Yay, I'm finally back to crafting again.