Pretty happy I got my new kitchen curtains done! It took me 3 hours to make them but I got there in the end and im very pleased with the result!
so tired
I hate night shift. I really do. Its not the actual working at night part-that doesnt bother me, its spending my 2 days off recovering from no sleep! I just worked four 12hr night shifts and have spent the last 2 days sleeping or on the couch doing nothing because im so exhausted. And the fun part is, I get to do it all again soon! I love my job so much but I do wonder if switching from intensive care nursing to a different type of nursing where there are minimal or no night shifts would be worth it. My friend who I went to university with and worked in intensive care with me for 3 months got a new monday-friday no night shift job teaching nursing students. And she gets paid as a level 6 (im a level 5 despite being out of university the same time as her!) so not doing shift work she would still make up the money from penalties. And I have way more experience then she does, she has only done surgical nursing for the last 3 1/2 years then 3 months ICU whereas ive done 1 1/2 years now of ICU and before that I worked everywhere- emergency, medical, surgical, paediatrics, maternity, cardiac, mental health. But I still dont feel im finished with ICU yet. Im going back to uni next year to do my masters and im thinking once I have my masters in ICU nursing I will pretty much be set for most jobs and can give up night duty! Hell, im only 24yrs old anyway, I suppose another 3-4 years of night duty wont kill me.
Despite being incredibly tired yesturday I did manage to make a skirt! I found a long pink & purple printed dress I was going to sell in a garage sale a few weeks ago because it doesnt fit me anymore (and I doubt it ever will) but then realised I could make a skirt out of it. It turned out ok, for my first go I was impressed. I just cut the top part off to the height I wanted it, sewed an elastic casing on the top, weaved some elastic through, sewed the ends together & voila! Didnt have to hem it or anything! It sits about mid-calf level and will be a perfect around the house skirt. Ill take a photo eventually.
Some of you might know I am trying to lose weight and im doing a little side blog of it. So if any of you are in the same boat or would just like to pay a little visit to see how im going, go visit me at www.thehealthysnoozingkitten.blogspot.com/ its still under construction, but then again, so is every other area of my life!
I so want to buy a house! Im tired of renting. Granted we get a great deal here, we only pay $300 a week for a 2 storey 4 bedroom house with double garage & a yard. We rent off my husbands mum & stepdad and there are no inspections and we can have pets. They could easily get $400 a week for this place so cheap rent is great. But still, I want a little place to call my own. Just has to have a big backyard for 2 dogs (we only have 1 dog but really want to get another german shepherd...a male this time..as a friend for Lucy. Already picked his name too- Leon) and a double garage. This house currently has 4 bedrooms but im sure we could get away with 3 (one for sleep, one for guest and one for my sewing room!) We thought about buying the house we are renting but I really dont like this neighbourhood. There are always people fighting and gangs of white trash on the roads & last year an old man got stabbed to death about 100 metres away from our house. I cant leave the house after dark on my own & even during the day I keep all the windows & doors locked. I caught a guy trying to get into my garage last year, he said he was looking for his dog. I told him it didnt walk through steel into my fucking garage and to get off my property! I feel safe when I go walking but im sure noone will try anything when I have a 35kg german shepherd dog next to me! My actual neighbours are ok, they keep to themselves and I live in a samoan community and they are very family & community oriented people who look out for each other. Its just the white trash which needs to be cleaned up. My husband & I have very different tastes in decorating/renovating aswell which sucks. He loves all the modern minimalistic shades of black & grey crap while I like french country- wooden floors with white walls and wooden or white furniture with colourful pieces & a garden full of flowers! Ah well. As long as I get to decorate the sewing room & eventually the nursery ill be happy. Well todays project is to attempt some new kitchen curtains with the fabrics mentioned in a previous post- white, charcoal & printed ties. Fingers crossed they turn out ok!
more fabric!
Well im pretty sure im set for fabric for the next few years! Got my second order of fabric from www.duckcloth.com.au and now I can start planning some projects!
A green, white & blue spotted skirt with a blue peek-a-boo petticoat
White, pink & olive skirt with olive peek-a-boo petticoat
Yellow, red & white skirt with red peek-a-boo petticoat
Gorgous white, pink, red & yellow print skirt with charcoal peek-a-boo petticoat
Solid white & solid charcoal for curtains in my kitchen and the print for tie-ups
I have no idea what to do with this gorgous print. I have enough fabric for either 1 dress or 2 seperate items. I think a whole dress may be too much of a good thing. I dont want to start cutting into it until I know exactly what I want to do because its too gorgous to use incorrectly. Suggestions? I have 110cms x 150cms of it.
Burt's Bee's!
So I got a sample pack of this stuff ages ago and I loved it but forgot about it! Lately ive been very much into organic stuff...food, fabrics & now beauty stuff and I came across a website that sells it (I cant find it anywhere where I live!) and I just had to have it! Ive always had okay skin, I had acne when I was a teenager but for the last few years its been pretty good. I can get away without wearing make-up which is great. My main problem is my skin is just so dull. And im already getting dark circles under my eyes (thanks to being a shiftworker). So im gonna give this stuff a go and try stick to a regime and hopefully it will help my skins condition. What do you guys use in blog world???
these are a few of my favourite things...
First up....my sewing space. I just LOVE looking at peoples sewing spaces and I know mine is boring but hey, it might inspire some suggestions for improvement! Its pretty boring at the moment, we are currently cleaning out & sprucing up the spare bedrooms and eventually id like to get a much bigger desk for sewing like my study desk but unfortunetely study comes first so study gets the bigger desk. But this desk is ok for now, even if it doesnt match with anything else (all my other furniture is dark-almost black wood). Starting from top right is my wooden treasure chest which originally was my wishing well at my wedding. This photo does it no justice-its such a beautiful box and this is my temporary fabric storage to keep dust off my fabrics. Going anti-clockwise, next is my small collection of sewing & knitting books. Next is a little wicker basket with all my thread thrown in plus a pair of knitting needles. Next is my sewing machine. One of the first projects id like to do is make a cute new cover for it instead of the boring white one you get with it. On the left side bottom shelf is a pink box filled with clothes that need repairing, my iron, and a box with yarn in it. Bottom right side shelf is all my favourite magazines (Frankie, Yen, Spook & Peppermint) and a scented candle to keep them from falling over. Middle right shelf is a wicker tray filled with small containers containing various buttons, and behind that tray is a big plastic tackle box with my scissors, bobbins, various sewing machine attatchments etc. Mainly its to hide my dressmakers scissors from my husband! Eventually id like a bigger desk with a matching bookcase to go beside it keep all my books, magazines and fabrics & knick-knacks on and I want to get a pinboard to go above the desk to pin up inspirational pictures etc.
I got 1 of 2 orders of fabrics delievered today yay! The piccie below is of some gorgous 50cm x 110cm fabrics with the most gorgous prints! This photo does the colours no justice, they are so bright & vibrant! My favourite out of this lot is the bottom left hand pink, white & olive print. Ive also ordered some solid colour fabrics, one of which is the same olive colour which im going to use as a peaking petticoat under the print to make a cute skirt.
The piccie below is of a bundle of fabrics 50cm x 110cm and they are 100% organic cottons and my god, they are so nice to touch! So soft! A huge difference to the 100% non-organic cottons above. I think I will be buying organic cottons from now on. I know they are more expensive but they are just to die for! Anyway, I bought this lot in a bundle and couldnt really get to see the exact prints for each one, the majority I love, there are a couple im abit puzzled about how to use because they are very childlike fabrics & all my nieces have been cut off from the family (long story!) so I might hang on to these until my friends baby is abit older (she was only born last week afterall). The green, white & blue spots fabric (second down on the right) is just so much more vivid then this picture and I bought a solid bright blue fabric to do the same peaking petticoat skirt idea with.
Ive seen a few other girls do this on their blogs, showing off some piccies of their week through their iPhone....so here's my week so far:
Mmm, vegetarian nachos!!
My husband asleep with Yoda (normally these 2 hate each other so I thought this was just too cute!)
Yoda stretching out in the sun
My husband after work ( he is a paramedic) and our gorgous Lucy relaxing on the bed
Me holding my friends beautiful baby girl Alexis who was born last Thursday. She slept like that for 3 hours while we gossiped..what a beautiful relaxed baby!
New Credit Card!!!
So someone got a brand spankin shiny new credit card today yay!!! I know its bad, but hear me out- its a low interest one and im using it to consolidate my other 2 credit cards, so overall its a good thing! But im desperate for fabric and I dont get paid til next wednesday and I couldnt wait to order these cute fabrics from www.funkyfabrix.com.au
Fabric bundle: 12 half metre organic cotton fabric.
Fabric bundle: 5 half metre cotton printed fabric.
Im thinking of starting out with some cute cushions for the guest room which we are doing up, maybe some softies for my friend who just had a baby, and I would like to attempt a tote.
Last weekend my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, her boyfriend and my husband & I had a garage sale. OMG people go nuts at garage sales!!! There were actually people fighting over stuff it was insane! My husband & I didnt have too much stuff to contribute but we did manage to sell an ugly blue futon we have had for years for $40, my husbands fog machine which I made him get rid of, and I sold a few old handbags & clothes. When I was going through all my old clothes I found a gorgous silk printed dress which is way too small for me and I was about to sell it but realised I could alter it to a cute skirt instead. Its amazing how now I try to look at things differently like old clothes and think of a way to alter them now I am able to with my sewing machine. Im looking forward to being totally self sufficient when it comes to making ALL my own clothes and homewares & eventually my future childrens clothes.
My knitting project is slowly coming along. At the moment its just a square ( about 10cm x 10cm) but for my first scarf its getting there! Im hoping to be finished in time for next winter (which is June 2011 in Australia).
Im back at work this week, starting with 4 night shifts from Friday. My 6 weeks holidays went way too fast! Im pleased I got my root canal over & done with before going back to work though. It actually wasnt as bad as i thought it would be and despite the cost ($800 and thats with private health insurance!) im glad I went with it instead of the extraction. I didnt want to start having my teeth removed at the young age of 24! Otherwise I had an alright holidays. My house is spotless, I slept in til about 10am most days and spent a few hours down at the beach everyday with my dog. I also caught up on my reading...ahem..magazines. I subscribe to the following: Frankie, Yen, Spook & Peppermint. I had about 6 months worth of issues I hadnt read yet due to study commitments so it was loverly to catch up on my favourite craft & fashion mags. I also read a few books: The Bride Stripped Bare by anonymous & im still getting through The Lord of The Rings (yes the whole 1000+ pages of very small text) by J.R.R Tolkien. I got to catch up with some very dear friends who I havent seen in ages which was great, we all met during our first year as nurses and although we have all taken different paths in our careers & lives we try to keep in touch as much as possible.
Ive learnt a few things over the last few weeks which id like to share.
1. Family comes first. My mother-in-law had abit of a nervous breakdown a few weeks ago and despite having 7 children only 3 of her children were there to help, along with myself & another daughter-in-law. She owns her own coffee shop and works 70 hours a week so when she was admitted to hospital she needed help to keep her business going until it could be sold (the business is the main source of her stress). I thought it was very poor that only 3 of her children offered to help in any way. She was very grateful to those of us who helped her during that difficult time. And after all, isnt that what family is for? To support each other in times of need?
2. Karma is a bitch. Well, im hoping so anyway. I believe that if you put out positive vibes, surround yourself by positive people and do kind things everyday you will be rewarded by karma. I also believe if you do the opposite, you will get a tonne of shit thrown into your universe. And im hoping this happens to a certain bitch who has ruined a loved one's life and is a manipulative disgusting excuse for a human being. I have never seen anyone be so evil and im waiting for karma to come back and bite that bitch.
3. Dog is man's best friend. My dog, Lucy is my bestest friend ever. She is a german shepherd & is 20 months old. She is also a total nutcase and all she wants to do is play and be with me & my husband. The joy I feel when im playing fetch with her or walking along the beach with her or sitting on the sand with her while watching the waves is incredible. She is so loving & loyal and to her my husband & I are her everything. Other dog owners will know exactly what im talking about, and if you dont have a dog I highly recommend getting one if you are able to. The loyalty & love they give is unconditional.
Well ive just had a sudden crash in energy levels and cant be bothered thinking or typing anymore so I will leave it at and add to this list as needed. Goodnight!
Baby!!!!!
Well im just so happy today! My good friend & bridesmaid Charliene gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who she named Alexis Renay at 2am this morning! Mum & baby are doing very well. Ive been thinking about what kinds of baby & kid things id like to make and im going to purchase the pattern for this gorgous elephant toy from www.kelanifabric.com.au how cute!!!
hair envy
So this is how long my hair was up until about a month ago
Then I got abit carried away and cut ALOT off. Mind you, it really needed it as it was just split-end central! I dont have a current piccie of my hair right now and I cant be bothered getting out of my PJ's to take a pic now but its exactly like the pic below of Rihanna's hair
Im considering extensions but I think I need to grow my hair abit longer first, especially as its so short at the back. I dream of long gorgous hair like the pic below.
ramblings-totally NOT crafty related!
I can see this blog is slowly becoming a craft blog as I become weirdly more attracted to fabric, thread & yarn but it did start out as an 'anything goes' blog and I feel the need to talk about what is going on in my head right now and keeping me awake at crazy hours! Who knows, maybe one of my delightful & loverly readers will have some wisdom to share with me.
So, the story is: im a registered nurse. I graduated from university in 2006. For the first 3 years of my career I worked as a general nurse in lots of different areas (emergency, high dependency, medical, surgical & paediatrics). Since April last year I have been working in an intensive care unit which is classed as a level 2 unit (meaning we get very sick patients but really really sick patients like trauma or neuro are sent to the bigger hospitals). During this time I have completed a program called transition which is a 12 month program and gives me 2 subjects credit towards a postgraduate course at university in the specialty of intensive care. Now my plan so far is to go back to university next year and do the remaining 2 subjects I need to get a postgrad certificate. From this I can then study further towards a postgrad diploma or further into a masters degree. Right now im thinking I would definetely like to get the postgrad diploma level but am still unsure about masters level. The problem with nursing in QLD is that there is a HUGE shortage of specialist nurses and while they are making more uni placements for student nurses, I fear that in say 10yrs time it will become impossible to move up the career ladder without extra qualifications as these specialist roles become filled.
I cant decide if intensive care nursing is the specialist field I want to be a part of. Im quite happy in the little hospital I work in now but I fear that not having the bigger hospital experience will drag me down. I have been toying with the idea of maybe applying for a job in a big hospital intensive care while I study to get those few years experience. The only thing stopping me is that I HATE driving! It would be a good 1hr commute to the big hospital compared to the 10min drive in my current job. The other thing is, my husband & I are planning to start a family in 3-4 years and I really dont like the idea of spending 2hrs a day driving to work when I have kids. Having a family and being there for my children is not something I will sacrifice. But then again I love my job and really feel if I put my mind towards it I could really move towards having a bigger role in intensive care nursing. Im also interested in the idea of being a teacher/facilitator to student nurses. I love having student nurses and they always say they enjoy working with me and learn something and I feel I would be good at that job. But then again im thinking maybe that is a 'down-the-road' kinda job and I should further my experience in ICU nursing first.
My husband is a student paramedic & he will be fully qualified next year. Now after he is qualified he has dreams of going abroad (with me of course) to work all over Australia & overseas in our respective fields. Im scared this only throw another spanner into the works in relation to advancing my career. And of course there is the added cost of more study. I would like to own my own home before we have kids and it will probably cost me another $20,000 in more study. Of course there is the added benefit of getting paid more for having that qualification.
So as you can see I am really stuck as to what direction I want my career to go in and its doing my head in! But it does feel good to get it off my chest and write it down. Think I will go do some knitting to calm me down!
Strumpets Crumpets Blanket of a different colour Giveaway!
I love Strumpets Crumpets blog! I have been following it for ages and its one of my favourite blogs! Go check out her blog now!
Sewing is hard
Well I finally sewed something today! After several attempts at trying to get to know my new sewing machine abit better (with plenty of rejection!!!) I have made....drumroll please.......a cushion. Yes, I know its just 2 pieces of square shaped fabric held together by 4 lines of sewing, but I am so happy with myself that I have finally sewed something!!! Just goes to show even someone as unco-ordinated as me can learn how to do something! So, enough about praising myself for something so simple to so many of you loverly crafty ladies. Here is my cushion- the photo is crap but its pink & white stripes and is being modelled by my less-then-impressed Yoda who I woke up just to model for me!
Okay, back to sleep now my baby boy. At least you got a comfy cushion for today's work!
I have started to knit!
As boring and as silly this probably seems to all you amazing crafters out there, I am so proud of myself! I have finally learnt how to knit!!! And because of how proud I am of myself here are some photo's of my first cast-on & first row ever! I got to about 10 rows but I keep missing stitches and it looked horrible so I have started over again and am aiming to make a scarf. Keeping it simple!
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