Happy Family Day!

First off... 

If you didn't see it on the Balanced Needles Knitting & Quilting Facebook page, we didn't make the Top 10 for the MOMpreneur Award of Excellence 2013.  However, the experience was still amazing, and we are so grateful for all the great support shown by everyone.  Best wishes to all of the business women who participated in this year's competition.

And now for something completely different...

Happy belated Valentine's Day too. I'm so glad it's Friday, and that this is the Family Day long weekend, which means next week is February break!

I realize that not everyone gets the week off, I'm just lucky to work in an industry that does take the break.  The discussion around the staff room this morning was all about how many weeks until the next break, which really made me wonder if it has been an unusually busy six-week stint since we came back from Christmas, or if we're all just tired of winter and looking forward to the short break at Easter means we're looking forward to spring?

Plans around our household for the upcoming week include a lot of studying, Russ is working on his Masters and is taking a few distance classes from University of Tasmania, and sewing, I need to finish my sample quilt(s) for the "Bargello for Everyone" class I'm teaching at the Saskatoon Quilters' Guild Inc. Spring Retreat (May 10-12, 2013).  Unfortunately, this means that our 'tit nounours will still need to go to daycare for part of the week, but we should get in some good "mommy and me" time in later in the week.

Busy times, but all for the greater good.  Right?

Until next time,
Dez

And now we wait...

The voting period of the MOMpreneur Award of Excellence 2013 closed on January 31, and I'm beginning to realize that every time I wanted something as a kid and my parents said "ask again later" may have helped me to get through the next few days.  Every time I check the website, which has been 5 times this morning (and I'm at work) the front page looks like this:



 

 

So, what started on Friday as every hour or so of me going back to the site to "ask again later" now has me resigned to waiting until today before I check again.  Nothing so far...

I don't know if no news is good news, but I'm choosing to believe it could be in this case.  I'm not holding my breath, but a Top 10 finish would be amazing! 

On another note, my brother and sister-in-law head back to Australia this week.  I'm excited for them, that they are embarking on the next chapter in their life together.  I'm nervous that Ian might suddenly realize they are gone when he goes looking for them and their space is empty, anyone with suggestions on how to explain this to a toddler who just started to say "un-da" (which we think means Uncle Derk)?  I know that everything will work out in the end, it has been a blessing to have them living with us these past few months and now I have a reason to collect the ill-fated penny:  save 'em for a trip Down Under!

Next weekend I hope to get the basement space re-organized and back in use as my sewing studio.  Which may also mean getting some partial walls in place to keep the wee one out of the utility room, as the current state allows for free movement from one to the other "through" the wall.  I'm hoping that with a little training on which parts of the studio are "nos," that Ian will be able to enjoy spending time downstairs with me while I finish the prep work on the quilts I need for the Saskatoon Quilters' Guild Spring Retreat class I'm teaching in May.  Could be an interesting lesson for both of us.

Until next time,
Dez