Happy Monday!!!

Or should I say sad Monday.... hubby starts his new job today.... he's off to Venice and then all over Europe. This new job is "supposed" to work better for us (the operative word is SUPPOSED). He's on about 20-23 days on and around 20 days off..... we'll see how it works. He might even see if it works to do 20 on and 10 off. Anyways, he'll be doing japanese tours so it should bring in more money than he's making now, plus he's used to doing these tours.... the people are so much easier to work with and not such long hours like his last job. The only part that sucks is that he's gone a bit longer. The sacrifice better be worth it. Anyways, we enjoyed our couple of days with "Ba" a lot! We went to Sarnico on Lago d'Iseo to visit with our friends Marino and Elena and their family. That town is so much nicer than ours! They actually do stuff for their citizens like installing AWESOME parks for parents and kids. They have great markets and the city is just so pretty on the lake.... we would totally consider moving there if we could.... G even told me to look into the real estate listings on the web. Even Paratico would be nice. It's on the other side if the river but it literally feels like all the same city. That little bridge in the photo is what joins the towns. Plus the city has so many beautiful villas all along the lake.... like so beautiful George Clooney should seriously consider buying one. They are fantastic. If you google Sarnico you should find some amazing picts.

Anyways, I know I am trying to keep up with the Monday Mojo thing but I'm not really upto it today.... sulkingis more my mood I suppose.... but I won't leave you empty handed... I found this little linky for a great do it yourself project at The Long Thread... It's an adorable little kids' drawing case.

Happy Friday!

So last night was the premier of Sex and the City 2....

OMGosh I want to see this! I just caught wind from my mom that my sister got herself some tickets to go see it in Red Deer with some friends.... I HATE HER! haha! Just kidding! I want to see this so bad.... I saw some picts of how the girls were all decked out... GORGEOUS!!! I loved SJP's dress! I could never pull off a neon yellow/green dress but she sure could. Oh how it makes me want to go shopping!!!

Anyways, not too much else to post. Hubby will be home for a few days (YAY!) before he starts his new job (hope it goes well). Isabella keeps telling me she wants to go to the beach so I called Ba (that's what we call dad) this morning and told Isabella to tell him. He laughed. So we'll see if we can at least swing a trip to the lake where our friends live.

Well.... that's just it. Yep, I woke up this morning thinking it was Thursday. I must be trying to bump up the days so hubby can get home sooner. I swear i already went through Wednesday this week but apparently Tuesday was so much work it equalled 2 days in my head.

See, Sofia woke up at 6:30 yesterday morning (usually she's a 7:30-8 am kinda girl) and it totally threw off her whole day. She was whiny and cranky and grouchy and throwing herself on the floor in a fit kind of mood.... ALL DAY!! I swear, I asked myself why I haven't taken up drinking yet as a hobby. It was just that kind of day and of course when Sofia is like that it affects miss Bella too... oh, 2 cranky females under the age of 4.... so much fun! Then Sofia cried bloody murder cuz she didn't want to go to bed even though she was sooooo tired. That went on for about an hour.

Then hubby mentions on the phone last night he might have found a new job... (ok, it's so hard to find jobs here now it's next to a miracle to find one). Now wait for it... hubby calls this morning to tell me he'll be home Friday for a few days!?! Ok, at this place now, he's hardly been home... ok he's been home 3 days in a month and a half. Then he tells me he changed jobs!!! Ok, here we go again. Ok so I usually leave that stuff upto hubby as he's more experienced in that field and knows a lot of the companies or people who have worked for them.... wow! I hope this works out the way he wants it to. He said he had an agreement to work a little and then have some time at home, etc....

Anyways, I'm so glad I got the kids pooped out this afternoon... they're both sound asleep at 9 p.m.! Can I get a woot! woot! Ah.... momma might just relax with a glass of wine tonight and work on the skirt I've been making for Sofia. Evening folks!

(Image is linked to my photography shop "Eye Poetry")

I love this show.... Gillian McKeith is so flat out honest. I'd love to have her help in losing the last 5 kg from both pregnancies. I've decided to try (and the important word is TRY) to eat a litter better, lighter and just basically get this body back to what it used to be.... curvy and sexy. I have this sort of (I think) lumpy body.... ok hubby would say I look fine but I AM the one who would like to be like I was and that's why I need to do this. Wish me luck cuz I sure could use it!!!

Sweet Notes on Sunday.

Well I've been busy this week. I had a few card orders and I'm trying to finish up some work for a bride-to-be for her wedding. I also got asked to make a hat for a lady who works at the coffee shop right by my house. She wants one for her neice and said she just loves the hats I made for the girls. Friday my best friend back in Canada had a baby girl... Alyssa Eileen... she was almost a 9lber!!!! Very cute. I'm anxious to see more photos in the future and to hear how big sis Brenna is adjusting. I guess I better get that surprise for the new baby finished now!

Yesterday hubby was home. He's been gone for 2 weeks for work, oh the life of a tour bus driver (especially these days with the whole after effects of the hit on the stock market.) Hubby was lucky to find work... it just really sucks that he's gone for 2 weeks and only home for 1 day. The girls are totally out of sorts when he's home too. Sofia especially. Ok, so she's the baby and can be a bit of a whiner sometimes but holy man! Seriously, she is so draining the days G is home. All she does is cry all day and wants to be physically attached to G all day. If I try to change her she cries. If it looks like I'm coming to pick her up, she cries. If I'm actually holding her and need to put her down, the waterworks come flooding in! Seriously, I think I need to drink the days G is home... Sofia just might be more tolerable! haha! Thank goodness Isabella usually behaves.

Just a little shot of my table-top-balcony cherry tomatoes. So cute!

Anyways, we got some good news! We got a new playhouse for the girls... FREE!!! Ok so it's not new new... but it's new to us and that's all that matters. Everyday when we walk to get groceries we pas "nonna Maria's" house and her neighbour has a playhouse in the backyard I have been eying up. It doesn't look like they use it and I never see any smaller kids there so maybe they are all grown up I think. Of course I never remember to ask Nonna Maria. So yesterday I made hubby drive by to take a peek at it and see what he thought... there were people in the backyard, YAY! So he asked them about it and first thing they said was "want it?" HELL YEAH! G didn't even have to pay for it!! BONUS!!! The cheapest one we've found costs over one hundred euros!!! Can this frugal momma get a WOOT WOOT! So hubby brought it upstairs to put on the balcony (with a little help from our friend Adriano who showed up at the perfect time might I add.) It just needs a good cleaning. It's covered in cobwebs and dirt. Should be a fun day today when I let the girls go out on the balcony.

Yeah, I think they like it.

Just a shot of our little "garden" and playhouse.

Thursdays, Thoughts. I've been busy lately... apart from my girls that is.

I have a few Etsy shops (see the right side for my links) and my birthday cards (especially my ice cream one) have been selling like hotcakes! The ice cream theme must be a wildly new popular theme for birthdays! I actually did this card up for a friend a couple of years ago. Anyways, I have it in a sort of girly style so I thought I'd offer a version that would suit the little gentleman in your life. I also added a cuppy cake invite for my clients. It's oh so scrumptious! I'm just in love with it now! I might have to try and spin it for a baby announcement! We'll see. Here's the two new cards:

So I have been staring at this computer so much lately I felt I needed a non-electrical craft release. I bought some fab fabric fat quarters off Etsy and have been trying to decide what to do with them. Originally I though I might make a cute little clutch but I've been seeing so many cute skirts on Etsy lately I thought I'd use the fabric for a new skirt for Isabella.... I'm trying to figure out the best way to work it so it will work for Sofia too.... we'll see what I come up with.... I am sewing it all by hand... yes I'm throwing back to the days of pioneers...haha! I actually am doing this by hand because I don't have a sewing machine... it's on my "honey I want" list. Apparently hubby's brother has their mom's old sewing machine so I asked G to call Davide to see if I can steal it from him for a little while until I get my own. G's sis is coming this weekend to bring some little ride on cars for the girls. We are in search for a little playhouse for the girls to put on our balcony for the crappy rainy days and for the super hot days. See our condo's backyard is in full, super hot sun in the afternoon. It's just too hot even for me to be out there. I figured at least they can play in the playhouse on the balcony with the blinds pulled and still get some fresh air. I hope we can find a used one cuz really, those plastic houses don't really get too worn out before the kids grow out of them.... heck, then maybe we can pass it onto Elisabetta and Alessandro. Ale is G's nephew and we recently found out they are expecting! And it gets better! Betta is due right around Sofia's birthday! Maybe we can celebrate together! I'm already on the hunt for baby gift ideas!.... I might have to make a cute monkey hat or something!

So that's about it. I'm trying to get my Suzy Homemaker on and actually craft something by hand. It's no less strain on the eyes but for some reason it just feels so much more relaxing. As soon as I get it done, I'll post some photos.

Have a great Thursday and I'd love to see what you are all busy with!

So appropriate...

I am so in love with the show Glee.... and my girls, well, they love this song. It comes up on a commercial here and everytime it's on, they dance and try to sing... so how appropriate we mix the two...

Wow! I got awarded another blog award! Well, guess it's a good thing I dusted off this thing and am trying to get back in the swing of things. I have to thank Being Zara and Zidan so much for awarding me this. My whole intention originally was to blog so family and friends can keep up with us and our goings on but I have kind of changed things up along the way... good to know people actually like some of the musings that pop out of my head.... well, and the photos don't hurt either I am sure.

Ok , now onto the award stuff...

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1.) Thank the person who gave you this award.
which I can check off my list as I did it above (if you read my previous posts youèll see I seriously have to make lists for EVERYTHING.

2.) Share 7 things about yourself

1) I am a huge Sex and the City fan..... I think I know every episode off by heart and if I watch it in Italian I still know exactly what they say in english cuz I can read their lips.
2) I am a closet fan of Jessica Simpson.... ok, she may say some stupid things (but who doesn't every so often). I mean I want her clothes, her hair - even if it is fake, her fabulous hairstylist to the stars BFF - cuz who doesn't need a BFF who KNOWS HAIR! I'd love to have boobs the size of hers and still not need a bra - ok I got her beat on the size but hey, I'm still breastfeeding.... I know, don't get started on that...
3) I am a shoe and purse-a-holic. I really should go to meetings for this and I believe I have passed it onto my daughters.... my 3 year old passes a storefront and has to stop and touch the window and stare in amazement.
4) I took interior design technology in college.... then I wanted to take construction but at the end of 2 years I figured I had enough schooling for a while. ha! Now I'd love to be able to go back and learn something else.
5) I am learning crochet all by myself. I am not doing too shabby at it also... I made some of the cutest hats and headbands for my girls.
6) My next learning project is sewing. I used to sew and really miss it. I see so many super cute outfits for wee ones and purses etc (of course I had to mention purses!) on Etsy, I want to make my own. I even asked hubby for a sewing machine.
7) I miss our house. When we lived in Viking (Canada), we had a big house with our own yard not one you have to share with 10-15 other condos.... I miss it. the space for the kids to actually run in the house on rainy days, a big yard for them to play in in the back yard on warm days... a swing set of our own.

3.) Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic! (Wow! Again, not sure the kids will allow me time to list 10... we will see).

http://traceyjanedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com/

http://attic24.typepad.com/
http://babblingsofamommy.blogspot.com/
Again, Sofia is crying, gotta go!

Wow! I won my first blog award! Good thing I got back to blogging. Well, Tv's Take gave me this little award but there's apparently a catch! You are supposed to share the sunshine love by passing it onto 12 other favorite blogs.... wow! 12! I'm not sure the kidlets will allow me enough time to list 12 so I'll add what I can.
http://www.sweetopia.net/ - seriously, these cakes are AMAZING! I'm in love with the Cake Boss but these I would have to say are even better!
http://www.thefarmchicks.typepad.com/ - beautiful visual eye candy.
http://www.theletteredcottage.net/ - I love her sense of style
http://www.tidymom.net/ - so many wonderful things!
http://www.tannyps-rubbish.blogspot.com/ - Tanny has the best cards! She's so creative and a friend of a friend too!
http://www.cutsewrepeat.blogspot.com/ - absolute craft heaven! so many wonderful projects, so little time!
Well, that's all the kids will allow... gotta go make lunch!

Here's a few things I'm lovin' lately!
(links below left to right, top to bottom)

Fabulous Fabric, Cute Wall Decal, Ruffled Skirt, Ruffled Bloomers, Noodle Noggin's beanie, Flower beanie perfect for me, Russian Nesting Dolls that I've always loved, Gussy bags, Make Your Own Cupcakes,

So here's another thing I'm lovin'... those damn skinny jeans.... oh gone are the days when I would try to wear these...

The other weekend when we were out and about doing some shopping when hubby was home, we saw this chick with cute skinnies on and those adorable little bootie high heel shoes and hubby asked my why I don't wear something like that. Ok, I have to admit, when the girl walked passed, even I turned to look... of course this girl was your typical young Italian girl I see EVERYWHERE here.....stylish, THIN! I told G it wouldn't happen until I lost some of this weight I still had from the babies... (ok, so I know it's ben 17 months since Sofia was born but in my subconcience I believe that I'm still holding onto some weight because of the breastfeeding... ok crock of SH*T). I mean, look at these girls.... Beyonce is known for her lucious curves and Jessica Simpson isn't size 00 anymore and is fine with it (despite the terrible critisizm she's taken over THOSE jeans). Why is it that when I went to H&M and actually tried a pair on, all my mind said was "Holy crap you're fat!" I really only have 4 or 5 kg to lose to return to pre-baby (Isabella) weight but I am so not motivated to get on it these days even with the summer looming in. Arg! Maybe next fall..... did I mention I ate buttered popcorn while writing this? Yeah.... that's like eating ice cream while watching Biggest Loser. Maybe tomorrow...

Friday's Fun Finds

Well, this little card has been crazy popular these days! I think I've sold 4 or 5 of these this week! (That's pretty good as my shop is still fairly new.) I have another card like it in shop but in different colours. I had a client ask if I could make the same one with orange, pink and green and voila! I think that person had an awesome idea!

Now onto a little find:

I found this cute how-to t-shirt bracelet at U-Create (wow, I just realized how many hyphens are in this sentence!) Anyways, Ashley from Lil Blue Boo was nice enough to share the tutorial with everyone... I thought it was just plain cut but also a great way to use up any great scraps of fabric you have laying around... RECYCLE! First person I thought of was Maddy my neice. Apparently she and her friends are into making friendship bracelets.... ah, that takes me back! Sitting in class with string and a safety pin, busily working away at making the coolest bracelet while I should have been paying attention to the teacher... Anyways, pop on over and check it out.

Well, that's it for today folks. I'm pooped an am off to bed. Hope you have a great Friday evening!

Well, today was busy.

We did a bit of shopping this morning.
I finally remembered to buy some grappa for hubby. He was on a tour with clients one time and they were given this drink to try. He was told that if you put rose petals into grappa and let it sit, it makes a wonderful flavoured grappa like the one they tasted. Ok, so this chick isn't at all into grappa (gimme a glass of wine and I'm happy) but we'll see if his concoction works like the other time he tasted it. If you aren't sure what grappa is like, imagine drinking terpentine.... ok so it's not that bad but I believe it's comparable to Newfoundland's famous "screach" I believe it's called. Germans have their schnapps, Russians have their vodka... Italians have grappa.
Anyways, G bought me beautiful roses for Mother's Day so he said when they start to wilt, wash them off and stuff them in the bottle...

This afternoon, both girls fell asleep during "quiet time." I've started calling it this as Sofia needs her nap and usually Isabella doesn't want to nap and fusses... hence "quiet time." Sofia dozed off right away and I turned around to look at Isabella on the couch and boom, out like a light... "YES! QUIET MOMMY TIME!" No, not "mommy productive time" or "mommy clean the kitchen time"... "Quiet Mommy WASTE TIME time". I got a chance to check out some blogs I've been wanting to check back into and found a few new ones... of course, they are all crafty or sewing ones.... just what I need to jumpstart the ideas of "oh I should try that". As if I don't already have enough to do. Let's see..... I started a bag for my double stroller so I actually have my own cup holder - yep, it's not finished.... I have a gifty for my friend Sherry who's expecting.... yep, not quite finished yet either... let's see..... I have to finish flowers for Sofia's sun hat.... and I have a bunch of yarn I bought to make some more flower headbands and hats and whatever else.... plus I'm waiting for fabric to arrive so I can sew myself a purse (yes the one mentioned in a previous post). I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I seem to be good at that these days.

As for forgetting things.... did anyone ever tell you (assuming you have kids) that after the birth of your children, you lose all memory? I didn't see that one in any of the books I read.... or at least I don't remember reading it ;) Lately my memory has gone to pot! I'm surprised I haven't left a kid somewhere. My hubby gets so frustrated cuz he'll tell me to do something for him and in a few days he'll ask me about it and I'll respond with "What? You asked me to do that?" I think it's just that I have such a busy day that if it's not something on the usual routine, it easily gets forgotten. Anyone else find this? I'd love to hear!

This afternoon turned out with a surprise. I got the kids in the stroller so we could go pick up a few more petunias (crazy flower lady me) and when we got there, the shop was closed..... ah, wonderful Italy. Yes, it's normal. I just didn't realize that flower shops fall under the category of businesses that are closed Thursday afternoons.

See there's a lot to remember when you want to do shopping here as well. See, some coffee shops (like the one near our house) are closed Monday until late afternoon because they are open Saturday and Sunday. Restaurants I believe are closed Tuesdays.... for the same reasons.... grocery stores are closed Thursdays... same reasons I believe. Now for the twist... if I was to go into Cremona (the city across the river 4 kms away) the days would be different. Why? Because it is a different region (that's province to us Canadians or State to Americans). Hell I'm screwed! Like my brain doesn't function well enough to remember to buy grappa for my hubby for like 2 months among other things.

Anyways, it didn't make the long walk quite so bad. Since we were there I decided to check out the street near the shop. Turns out there's a nice quiet little park/playgound back there. If you know me, you know I have an issue with this and our town.

Our town has 2 playgrounds built quite close together ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY that runs through our town. Ok so you are thinking that doesn't sound quite so terrible.... wait for it....neither one has any sort of fence or hedge or anything around it! Let's just say the girls have never been to them because it's totally not safe enough for me. There are semi truck just motoring down that road. Hell, cars don't even stop for us at the crosswalk.... surprisingly it's usually the semi truck that stop for me to cross the road. I told hubby that one day I'm gonna have to pop open my shirt just to cross the road... maybe then someone will stop! One time a car was slowing down to stop and SOME ASSHOLE IN A BMW ACTUALLY SPEEDS UP AND PASSES HIM! Yes, oneday someone is gonna get an apple or water bottle chucked at their car!

Anyways, this playground is right near where I go for groceries so now we can make a pit stop there and let the girls play on the slide and swings. Isabella was so pleased she actually didn't fight coming home tonight for supper cuz I said we'd go back tomorrow if it wasn't raining.

Well, that was my day... and my usual rant about idiot Italian drivers... and Castelvetro's playgrounds..... (ok enough ranting already - back away from the keyboard!)

Hope everyone else had a productive Thursday!

So first off...

Like the new bloggy look? I figured why not change things up a bit? I was tired of the old look and the photo needed to be updated. I don't really have time to redo one myself so I went to one of those sites where they have templates....Shabby Blogs is one of my favs (see link in top left corner). So yellow normally wouldn't be my choice of colour but I went with this one because I'm in serious need of something sunny. It's been raining cats and dogs (almost literally) here lately. Infact, the River Po has overflowed again and G heard that the floating bridge at Piacenza is closed. Anyways, getting off topic.... so this leads to my first tip of today:

Tip 1:

Changining up or customizing your bloggy:

Super easy even for the most html illiterate folks.... for example, head on over to Shabby Blogs and she gives you the code AND instructions of how to set up your background. I was so happy to find her blog months ago as Blogger really has no templates that even remotely appealed to my shabby, crafty style. Shabby Blogs even has headers and tags for you to use for free plus a lot of extra cute blinkies as well. It's not the only site out there but it happened to be my choice. So get out there and give your bloggy a little springy facelift!

So as we live in a condo and have no backyard of our own (we have a "public condo backyard") and I love to garden and plant flowers we decided to give our balcony a little lift. We planted window boxes with pretty petunias of all colours.... and I think I might try to convince hubby we could use a few more... and we planted some pots too. I decided this year we would try to grow some tomatoes... I mean in summer we have full on sun in the afternoon so it gets good and hot out there.... our tomatoes should love it! Here's a little tip for giving your plants a little boost....

Tip 2:

A little kitchen fertilizer of your own...

So I save the shells from egg to crush up and put in my pots.... We have really clayish dirt here and hubby went and got me dirt (instead of the bagged kind) and now I don't have anywhere to dump it... so why not try to make it "better"? We're doing our own little "sort of" compost thing.... I am trying to add egg shells and every so often I also add some coffee grounds as I've noticed my flowers really seem to like it (don't add to much folks). They must be reacting to all the caffeine (haha!). I have been adding the old dead flowers from my petunias as well.... we'll see how my tomatoes do this summer.

Tip 3:

Clean out your drains - naturally....

So I needed to clean out the kitchen sink drain as there's always some food that ends up in there, and I found this cool tip somewhere on the net. Put some salt, baking soda and vinegar down there and let it sit and fizz for a few minutes..... Then add hot water.... voila! This works great on cleaning up your kitchen sink as well. It's much better than dumping harsh chemicles like Draino down there don't you think?

Happy cleaning!

So it's Post-It Note Tusday over at Supah's blog.... so here's mine: