Granny square

I wrestled with my granny squares at class today and managed to produce this fully finished square... watch this space for more squares over the next few days!!

Wedding stress

Went to see the venue today and just came away with another long list of things I need to sort out. It is now starting to involve timings and until I hear back from the church about this I can't really progress! Today I have managed to contact a hair and beauty person and a venue decorator (whom I won 20% off for in a competition at a wedding fair). I have also started seeing who can come to the evening party. I had a look at how the refurbishments were coming along at the venue. It used to look like this:

But currently looks like this:

Today I also managed to get hold of our architect. They are working on the last drawing now and then I will need to get my planning permission and after the wedding the work can begin!!

Tried to make some granny squares out of a new crochet book I bought. One kinda looks like the pattern in the book but somehow I seem to be expanding each time I do a new row. Still it is class again tomorrow so hopefully she will help me make sense of where I am going wrong! I swear I will spend the whole 6 weeks just learning granny square patterns as there seem to be so many different ones!

Sooo tired

Threw the boyfriend a surprise party with all his friends (that he hadn't seen for ages!) last night and I am so tired now lol. It was a great night though and he utterly loved it, he had been pacing around the house as he had no idea what his surprise was!

I think I have a hair and beauty person and one of the boyfriends friends makes cakes so she is going to do us some cake toppers of the pair of us which was can keep as a memento. I also had a meeting with the headband lady (who kept us there about an hour chatting to us!!) but I think we have come up with a design I like, but it needs a little editing as it is too expensive at the moment!!

I have now lost almost half a stone of weight so I am very pleased with that, not really at the stage where I am noticing it myself though when I look in the mirror which is a shame. I am determined that I will not have a chubby face in my wedding photos!!!!

These are the granny squares I learnt to make this week :D Next week I am going to find out how to do them with more than one colour! I may also ask how I do various different types of squares as I would like a variety of different patterns and designs. One of the girls last night had a crocheted top on and I was figuring out how it was made and what stitches had been used. 

Job applications

I have applied for two jobs at Dogs Trust doing Education work, so fingers crossed for an interview. I am not holding my breath that I will get either of them as I never seem able to get jobs at the moment :( I am totally not going to mention my bad knee at all!!

Other than that I have been making up wedding invites (not managed to sort out the inside of them yet but I think I need to be feeling patient in order to do that!!) and organizing things like car tax. I can't remember if I said that I have also booked my hen weekend to Paris. I can't wait for that. 

The diet was going really well right up until this afternoon and it kinda died a death. But I will pick myself back up again and keep going. I didn't have any chocolate or sweets but I just had a soft moment. I have thrown away the stuff I didn't eat though so I won't be tempted again!

Wedding stuff

Today I went to a wedding fair in York and have sourced a few more potential things for the wedding. I think I have someone for the chair covers, a car (fingers crossed!!) and someone I liked make up wise! We have also been through the wedding fund and figured out that we can just about afford the wedding (though we are still short for the honeymoon). I have told the BF that we need to tighten our belts for a while and stop spending where possible. This means that I need to keep myself amused for not much money! If I can cut back on petrol it would help an awful lot as this tends to be a large expense for me. 

These are some of the wedding placements I have been working on, I still have plenty more to make but they have gone away for a few days as I was starting to make silly mistakes with them:

This is my January submission for the Stitch-a-long Christmas pact that I am part of (we are supposed to do a Christmas related thing each month so that we are not stressed come Christmas).

Hog is now at the RSPCA, he did have something wrong with him so I felt pleased that I had at least picked up on it. 

Crochet class

I had my first crochet class today and this is what I created!! It is all the basic stitches that I will need, next week we are going to move onto granny squares and then I can begin my throw!! 

This was the location down my the Foss where I walked Tess today, she is snoring away beside me at the moment as she was worn out by all the sniffing and running :)

A quick summary of other news:

* The car passed it's MOT (thank God!!)

* Vets say I can run puppy classes with them

* I have booked in to run a training class with the vet nurses as to the problem behaviour stuff I do and then in March I will do a small presentation for owners with firework phobic dogs. 

This is a picture of Hog. He will be going to the vets tomorrow and from there to the RSPCA. He seems to have something wrong with his breathing and I don't really want to be a hedgehog nurse. I have enough going on with the other pets and having his cage in alongside Bramble bunnies is really inconvenient!

Wedding gown

Tried my wedding gown on yesterday, it looks soooo fantastic :D

It won't have a train at the back and the tiara will be different but this gives me an idea of how I will look. I just need to loose some weight now. I am going to try to start from this moment (rather than tomorrow that never comes!!). I have not been good today with my eating but I think the wrong time of the month is coming and that it is hormonal!! 

I have managed a visit to the gym (cut short by a sore knee... done too much walking recently), to pick up my new knitted moose and several phone calls (one of which was to confirm that my veil is currently being delivered... eek!!). Still lots I can be getting on with over the next few days. Tomorrow I am starting a 6 week crochet class which should be fun. I can then get started with crocheting myself a big blanket.

Long walk

Today I went on a long walk with the dog as punishment because I got up at 9.30 (shockingly late!!). I cleaned out the hedgehog, removed 4 ticks from him and weighed him. He is now 358 grams so he has put on almost 10 grams in the last five days. 

Random suits this year!

Thanks to the puppy dog alerting me (repeatedly) I found a little hedgehog wandering in the garden the other night. He only weighs 350 grams and he should weight more like 600 if he is going to survive until spring, so he is living in Pepsi's indoor bunny cage (as he never uses it himself!). I feel I am doing my bit for the wildlife of the UK as hedgehogs have been in decline. He keeps stuffing himself each night so I think he will quite quickly put on the weight he needs. He has been named Hog... because I am just that original!!

Been to church again (I am quite enjoying going and soon I get to hear my bands being read!!) and food shopping. I even got a magazine that has about hedgehog care in it so I can swat up. I have emailed the BF the email addresses he needs to invite my side of people he wants out for his Stag. Probably a visit to Doncaster to the races and then a night out :) I have also emailed my bridesmaids about the measurements needed for their dresses. So now I don't have any outstanding wedding jobs apart from paying a deposit for the flowers. Then I will have a few days breather before I plunge back into making wedding invitations!!

I have been plodding on with making earrings and have also been doing my cross stitched wedding placements. I went wrong on a few though so have put them aside for a few days and will then be able to come back to them fresh :D

We have also visited the venue and seen their mood board (the were having to redecorate due to water damage), this seemed ok but I really need to see it when it is finished in February. The BF has also chosen where he is getting his suits from so that is another check in the puzzle!! I probably need to get out my wedding book and tick off what I have done. Oh and I have paid the deposit for the DJ. I didn't think I have accomplished much the last few days but it seems I have. The diet is also going quite well which is scary lol... diets never go well for me! 

ummm may be moving

The BF has seen a promotion in London which he is going to apply for. I am fully behind him if he wants to move (I get roving feet and like moving to new places, evidenced by four big moves  to different parts of the country already). There is also the fact that it is much easier to get animal related jobs down south... no doggie creche in Bedford!! :D Plus the extra £9000 a year the BF would be earning would be very nice lol. He kinda tends to get jobs he goes for too as he waits until he is 100% sure that he can do the job. 

2014 certainly is turning out to be a random year!

Still frighteningly motivated...

The motivation continues, I am keeping up with stuff around the house, walking the dog each day and have even made it swimming (not to the gym yet though!). My new years resolution to enrich the animals life is going well for the dog and the hamster but I need to extend this to the rabbits outside. I really need to sit down and use the internet for inspiration. 

Wedding wise I have booked a DJ and chased up about my veil (I should hear next week). We have an appointment for the BF to try on some suits and with the venue to check out their mood board for the changes to the decor. I still have lots to do wedding wise but I am getting started on the place settings that I am stitching. I think I have about 14 and I will need about 50 so there is still a long way to go! Where possible I am trying to personalise them for people, hence my dad is getting a cavalier stitched on his :)

I have a few crafty finishes to report:

My friend inspired me to try earring making, I don't find it relaxing at all but I like the finished products. I have finished off another couple of pairs but will wait until I have a few more done before I up load any pictures. 

I still need to continue on with my reading as I am still collecting books but not really getting through them! I also need to get more exercise into my day... but I am no longer eating chocolate and have been trying to do more about the house to keep myself active. Watch this space... I really want to loose as much weight as possible before the wedding *I really should laugh at myself, I have been trying to loose about 7 stone since my accident 7 years ago and apparently it is impossible*

Wedding gift list

Well we went over to Sheffield today and sorted out our wedding gift list. It felt weird at first but we got the hang of it in the end and managed to come up with a short list of things. We really want money towards the honeymoon but I know some people will want to buy us stuff. I wanted the rabbit jelly mold but the boyfriend wouldn't let me put it on lol. 

Yesterday I got two new tyres fitted onto the car, washed the car and sorted out a replacement phone. I also ordered some wedding shoes that I need to try on, I am hoping they fit but not holding my breath. I checked my business account is up and running. 

Still not got these owls finished off though :s

New year = new me!!

Well what a start to the new year! 

I have been diagnosed with labyrinthitis and am on tablets to help with the light headedness, they seem to be working so fingers crossed!! Tomorrow I am getting back to the gym again so hopefully I will be alright even if I am a bit dizzy. 

Yesterday I moved around the big spare room and it looks lovely now. I also switched the furniture around in the study and had a big clear out. I think it will work much better this way and I even get to look out at the garden while I work :)

Today I did lots of small jobs, including renewing my driving licence, sending off various bits of post, tidying my bedroom and loads of phone calls to do with the wedding. I then went out on an hour dog walk. Tonight I am going to finish off the owl cross stitch I have been doing for the boyfriend's mothers 60th as I finally managed to get the thread for it. 

My new years resolution is to put more time and energy into enriching the lives of all my animals

But also this year I am going to: 

*Learn how to use my sewing machine
*Make a skirt
*Learn to crochet
*Continue learning to make earrings
*Loose 2 stone before the wedding
*Learn to waltz for the wedding
*Project manage my extension for the house
*Do at least one class on some random form of crafting that I have never done before
*Learn some basic Manderin for the honeymoon
*Get my business up and running!!!

This list will quite probably be added to lol, I feel that I am making a good start though even if I am a little dizzy at times!