Shalini's Sewing Space

Oooh Look, Another Stitching Related Post.. They are so few and far inbetween. Here is the promised picture of the Angel of Love WIP. The first picture is from 2 years ago, which I'm only including for comparison purposes. So that you can see I *am* actually stitching. LOL. The 3rd picture is the truest in terms of colors. As of December 4th, 2004 This picture is on webshots and it doesn't let me download the bigger one as JPG. Link takes you there. As of November 19th, 2006 As of November 25th, 2006 Thanks Erin and Sene for the sweet comments. The journaling makes me cry too, everytime I read it :)

Many thoughts This isn't going to be a coherent entry :) (Like it is ever. Huh) First off, Thanks for the comments on the new look. I can't take credit for the new title "Expression Alley" though. While watching TV and creating the new header, I started thinking along the lines of "Expressing". This blog is all about expressing, afterall. Expressing in written form, or in art in the way of scrapping or stitching. First thought was "Express Lane". Created the header and asked DH what he thinks. He said "Huh? This doesn't make any sense and makes me think of Grocery Store Express Checkout Lane." LOL! I said that this is where I express my thoughts, so it is *my* Express Lane. He said it still makes him think of the checkout lanes. Dumped it. Next thing he said was "Expression Alley". Bingo. My first thought was it's something out of Harry Potter. Diagon Alley, Expression Alley. Love it. I LOVE Harry Potter. So, that was it

Recap Let's do it in Fast Forward. Thursday Start cooking Thanksgiving Lunch/Dinner early morning before breakfast. Done in 1.5 hours. Breakfast, cleaning, etc. until the guests arrived. Grey's Anatomy after they leave. I'm supremely pissed at ABC for showing only a couple of minutes extra of GA. In the Ad, they said "A thanksgiving episode so big, we couldn't fit it in 1 hour!" So, instead of doing a 2 hour episode (which I assumed), they tack on a couple of minutes. Arghh. But, it was a darn good episode, so I guess I'll keep watching :p Friday Sleep in a little and then get ready for shopping. We didn't really need any electronics so we missed the craziness at Best Buy, etc. We went to Lowes instead. No breakfast, we decided to do brunch a little later. We had to get the Christmas Tree. No sales on the trees, and to add insult to injury, the tree we selected was out of stock already. Had been for 2 weeks, and no more were ordered. They checked the

Quick post I'm sorry about the header issue. I'm working on fixing it. It seems very attached to that spot in the template and won't move forward. Arghhh. BTW, How do you like the new title? I rather like this one, so this should be it for a while.

Yummy Thanksgiving I'm stuffed! M & M had brought Pav Bhaji - a dish made with mashed potatoes, and a whole bunch of boiled veggies, spices and lots of butter. It is eaten with hamburger rolls. Yummm. We had this as a snack with tea, but it was so tasty all of us were pretty much stuffed to eat lunch! We hung around till 6 and then had lunch. LOL. I had prepared Mutter Panner and Aloo Gobhi curries along with regular sides. Not very elaborated, but yum. No more eating today. Layout time! Brrr Credits: Everything from Miki Ferkul's Winter Weather Warning kit at ScrapbookElements.

Just to show you How hard my life is! LOL! I have all these pretties to play work with over the weekend. The only obligations are with the CT kits, which are so pretty themselves! ScrapArtist Robyn England Robyn England is giving this kit free on her blog if you sign up for her Friends Mailing list! Gina Miller Gina Miller has her goodies at ScrapBook Byts for 50% off this week! Ztampf CT Kits - Miki Ferkul I also have another Miki's kit - Velvet Vision that is being released on Sunday! Not sure if it's okay to post a preview without her permission, so I won't. Apart from all the scrapping, we are celebrating ThanksGiving tomorrow with some friends. I also will do some stitching and hopefully get an updated picture of the Angel of Love. Last, but not the least, Happy ThanksGiving! Have a great holiday weekend.

Eek! I just realized that I've got the year wrong on the Christmas LO It is 2004, not last Christmas!! Mehul wasn't so small last year! We have decided to wait for the Day After Thanksgiving sales to see if the price on the tree we want goes down. DH also has plans to tour at least 2 other stores (Staples, Sears) that day. Should be interesting to go bright and early with Mehul in the tow. I'm finishing up some work that was due end of this week, but since it's a long weekend, I have to finish it early. Grump!

Christmas is coming.. You see it everywhere now, in the stores, on TV and radio, in the scrap booking galleries and stores, it is here. Still more than a month to go, but okay. We may have found our Christmas Tree. This is the first tree that we're buying together! I initially thought of getting a small tree, 3.5 to 4.5 foot in height. After looking at a 4.5 ft. tree, both of us felt it wasn't the one for us. We need a bigger tree. A 6.5 ft tree at JCPenny seemed appropriate, but it wasn't as 'full'. A friend mentioned Lowes. Off we went, and I (obviously) selected the pricier one, the one which looks just like the real tree. And, it's 7 feet, and prelit, so we don't have to do tedious task of attaching lights. It's really pretty. Girish has agreed on that one, and we are hopefully getting it tonight. I was drooling over the cream and gold ornaments at Michael's the other day. Now I can get them!! Here is the tree. Can you believe it's not a real

Happy Feet (No spoilers..) This movie is awesome. I mean it. Those with little kids, go watch the movie in the theatre. Mehul enjoyed it so much. I'm so glad we didn't decide to do a babysitter, and took him with us. I had kinda hoped before going that he would sleep after watching a little bit, but he was had so much fun! There are a lot of singing and dancing penguins, and Mehul was showing off his moves (from my lap). There are a few very scary scenes, though, with the seal and the whales, but I held him facing the other way. In one scene, when a penguin is sad and crying, he said "Are you okay, Pen-gin". Another time, he said "It's okay" when the said Penguin was sad! He can really understand emotions now. The movie overall is a lot of fun. Most of the kids were in 4 yrs and up, though. Must buy on DVD. It was so funny, right after the credits started rolling, I asked M to sleep, and he did. Just like that, he closed his eyes and dozed off. He was *s

1 hour before we leave for the movie. I just finished this one. Loving this kit. And how awesome is the decorative edge. Christmas 2005 Credits: Miki Ferkul's Ancient Ways :Yuletide kit for the papers and elements. Miki's Pavillion kit for the Alpha. Both available at Scrapbook Elements. Michelle Coleman's Decorative Edges.

I had lost hope.. That I would get to hear this comment again "You have nice hair. Where do you get it cut?" I'm serious, I had lost hope. I have always had nice hair until about 1 1/2 years ago. When Mehul turned 4-5 months old, my hair started falling. I freaked out initially but after reading that it is normal, and the hair just grows back, I was fine. It did grow back. Small fuzzy fiber-like hair started coming out, and I thought it would be fine once it gets longer. Wrong. As I was nursing/pumping for Mehul, my body was devoid of all nutrition for itself. No matter how much I ate, I was always tired and I was looking sick. I look back at the photos and see the dark circles around my eyes. In the hind sight, I see the importance of proper nutrition, but at the time I was so tired to cook anything! The job I had at the time required me to be at work for a minimum of 10 hours, add 3 hours for commute. Talk about missing out on family time. And forget about time for myse

Raining hard here.. We are under a Tornado Watch until 6PM . I forgot my lunch at home today and had to go out to get Subway. It was raining so hard! It's still dark outside. I hope the traffic isn't too bad tonight. Although, this is DC I'm talking about. LOL. We are having some potty training success, although his teacher isn't reporting any. They probably just take them in for a couple of minutes every time. Mehul takes his own sweet time and sits for a good 15 minutes before doing anything at home. He doesn't complain as long as he is kept busy talking. I watched Da Vinci Code last night with DH after Mehul dozed off. It is ok, I like the novel better. Plans for my Birthday tomorrow, this time we actually have plans :) DH is taking me and Mehul to watch "Happy Feet" which is releasing tomorrow itself. It will be past M's bedtime so he will hopefully either be sleepy or sleep through the movie. We plan on arriving early and planting our butts near t

Ooh Sale on my Birthday That's right! Tomorrow is my 30th Birthday. Scrapbook Graphics is having a 50% off sale. How did they know? LOL. They are giving a special gift to spread the word. If you post this ad in your blog and send them the link, you receive a special gift! And, ScrapArtist has announced the Winners! Lisa Whitney, Amber Clegg, Linda Gil Billdal, Robyn England and Christine Honsinger. What a terrific group! I can't wait to see what these ladies come up with.

This one's for Erin She has found a deer in the city she lives in. Reminded me of the excitement I had over 5 years ago, when I first spotted a Deer family standing on the side of the road. See, I'm from Delhi. I am used to seeing cows and buffaloes on the roadside, not deer! So, I screamed with excitement. Now, living on the outskirts of DC for more than 5 years, I am used to seeing them and do not scream. But, it's still exciting to this day. Oh yes, you can spot Deer Crossing signs all over here. And sadly, you can also see dead deer on the roadside sometimes. They usually come out in the night when the traffic slows down, and I have been told that they appear out of nowhere. All you see are two brightly reflecting eyes. I took this picture from my kitchen sliding door. The driveway you see in the picture is our next door neighbor's. They (The Deer. Neighbors haven't moved in yet) visit us everyday. I'm feeling really crummy about a situation. I can't he

First Time Today is the first time M p-peed in the toilet. I wasn't there though DH was. Should we have been video taping? I'm kidding! LOL. I have to talk about Grocery Stores. Why is it that we all are so attached to our grocery stores? You know, you always go to the same store to get the things you can get literally anywhere! This morning I was talking to one of my coworkers who has moved into our city. He asked me about the store we go to. I told him our favorite stores are Wegmans and Harris Teeter . He said he always goes to Giants, a store we Hate. Giants was the nearest store to our previous house, but we wouldn't go there if we could help it. I don't know if it's the prices, the quality, or the cleanliness. I am very particular about the store I go to. And everyone else seems to be whenever the topic comes up. No one has ever said, I'm not particular, I just go to the nearest one or whatever. Why is that?

Alphabet Soup Received my letter from Erin What a perfect letter! M. Comment to this message and I will assign you a letter of the alphabet. Then, post a list of 10 words that begin with this letter and what they mean to you. 1.Mehul No need to explain this. He means everything to me. I'll write what I read in someone's LO, My life began when your's started. 2.Mom Love being a mom. And, love *my* mom. Some things you don't understand, until you experience them yourself. I have more respect for my mom than I ever did before. 3.Married I don't know what I did when I was single. It seems like I've been married forever, and yet, it seems we just got married. I'm still crazy about him! 4.Madhuri Dixit Ok. I remember now what I did when I was single. LOL! Sene and I were HUGE fans. I still love her and re-watch her movies all the time! I'll not go into the craziness we did over her, but we were huge fans :) 5.Masala Lays It's a good thing we don

Nice weekend Taneya came to visit us Saturday evening. We had a really nice time getting to know her. This is the first time I have *properly* met an online friend in real life. I have been to Hershey CATS show once, but that was a quick hello with a couple of people (including The Queen of Blended Threads herself). I really enjoyed spending some time with her. We went out to dinner and then came back home for chatting some more. We talked about everything from Kaleya and Mehul's development (they are about 15 days apart!), to jobs, homes, stitching and scrapping (she is a cross-stitcher and digi-scrapper too), etc. I showed her my progress on Angel of Love, which she happens to have as a WIP too. I also brought out my Scrapbook_In_Progress. She had a lovely Native American design she's stitching with her. Overall, it was a great evening :) Oh, and she has further confirmed my resolve to visit the Biltmore Estate. She has visited twice and said that I would *love* it, looking

You know what they say... If you want something done right, do it yourself! We were just about to head out to get the new potty chair, when I decided to look for it. Myself. I had previously asked DH to look in the garage, in his (M's) room, and in the basement. It wasn't there. So, I looked again in these places. Nope. Then, I spotted a Toy box in M's closet. It was a box in which DH had (supposedly) packed most of his toys. I specifically remember asking him to pack that box while I was packing away Kitchen stuff. We hadn't opened that box after moving because there already are so many toys out. Plus, the gifts he received from us on his birthday (and more later), and from others on his party. Ofcourse, that's where it would be. So, I opened it. And what's the first thing right on top? The pot. And the chair was folded up underneath the rest of the stuff. Whew. Saved $30. Don't worry, it had never been used to do...business. Mehul just used to play with it

It's a good thing, right So, yesterday Mehul's teacher confirmed what we have been suspecting. Mehul is an Artwork Addict. Yep. At home, he may be doing something, and if I call him over for 'Aquadoodle' or 'Stickers' or even a 'Pen', he'd drop everything and come running. Yesterday, when DH went to get him, all the kids were doing playdough. He asked Mehul to get up and got a 'Nooooo'. Awkward moment for DH. He kept asking Mehul to leave but he wouldn't. The teacher said he really doesn't like if anyone disturbs him while doing art. LOL! And DH said he takes after his mom. LOL! Mehul, you make me proud!! I have kept *all* of his artwork sheets he brings home. The filing folder is bursting now, so I have to use another one from now on. I have to scan them and do a LO too. Bought the Artwork kit by ScrapArtist ages ago in hopes to use it for his artwork. In other news, we seem to have lost his potty chair. Now, how exactly does one los

This is a stitching related post Finally, current status of my 10 Projects (I have only identified 8 so far..) 1.TW Heart Sampler 2.TW Harvest Sampler 3.Victoria Sampler Gazebo Roses 4 & 5. EMS Frog Baby, Bumble Bee Baby 6.The small Chatelaine Sampler I had started 7.Fanta Cat Desings Gypsy Allure And finally, 8.TW Tradewinds I'm debating if I should add the Angel of Love to this mix, considering that it is the one that I'm actually stitching currently! It's a huge project (and so are all the TWs). Probably not a good idea. If I make considerable progress on it soon(ish) then I'll add it :p Is that cheating?

Guess that movie Out of the mouth of Mehul. "SharkBait Hu Ha Ha" "DUCK!" "He Touch Butt" "STOP!" "Wa Hu Wa Hu Wa" Complete with all the sounds effects. This boy is crazy about Nemo. In other news, my haircut is looking fabulous. It was just 1/2 inch trimming but I just love the way it bounces. Love. Not much went on yesterday. I reached home around 7:45 and M was asleep by 8:30. Watched some TV, had dinner and off to bed. I tried to do a LO but 30 minutes and nothing, so I deleted what I had. I want to share about the Artist Trading Card Exchange that is going on at The Wagon. You know where The Wagon is ;) If you don't, then you probably don't need to :) I have signed up for the exchange. It seems like fun and you get to interact with the other members. You make the ATCs 2.5 x 3.5 inches, and exchange them with the other members who are participating. This month's theme is "What I'm Thankful For". I'm look

Wish I had my stitching with me My Hair appointment is at 7PM, I have about 2 hours (minus 30 minutes driving). I don't want to go back home and get out again. I guess I could browse at the mall. I had asked DH to meet me there after picking Mehul but he got out early so he went home straight. I'll just go to Macy's (the Salon is at the mall itself).

Some days, I wish DH knew me a little bit better. Other days, I think he knows me way too well. Case in point - Saturday afternoon. We were just sitting around, not doing much. I had already cleaned the topstairs, did 2 loads of laundry, and dusted the downstairs. I also did a LO (which will follow this post). Wasn't feeling like stitching. So, I was getting bored. DH was watching random stuff on TV. I told him like 100th time that I was bored. Hey, let's go out. He said "Uh hum" and continued to watch TV. Sigh. He noticed after some time and said, "We have to go to Indian store to return a DVD, so let's go there in the evening and you can also get Baja Fresh for you while returning." I sorta rolled my eyes and didn't show much excitement. He said "Okay, Baja Fresh is for *afterwards* We should do something before then. Something that involves shopping." Um, Yeah. That is EXACTLY what I was thinking. LOL. So, we went to the Mall and shoppe

Birthday Photos And finally, some birthday photos. Mehul had 2 parties, one at the daycare, and another one at home a couple of weeks later. The daycare party was on October 4th, his birthday. Sene reminded me about the other party photos, here they are. Daycare Birthday Playing outside with the balloon Favorite Gift - Elmo's Workbench On the 4th, at home. We decorated a cheesecake! On the 22nd, we had the 2 Parties in 1 celebration. And finally, a LO. *Credits added Nov. 06 2006* Credits: Everything from Diamante Designs The Necessaties collection. They are unavailable rightnow, but this collection will be made available again at The Digi Shoppe. I made the scissors from a photoshop brush and Diamante's paper. Cool huh?

Still sick, but getting better The diagnosis was 'Begining stages of Bronchitis'. Sigh. We took him at the right time. He was having much trouble breathing, you could hear the heavy breathing. They did an oxygen count test and found it was 93. It should be somewhere around 100. He wasn't wheezing but all the mucus is stuck in the nose/throat area, making it much difficult to breathe. He got a nice warm menthol bath (Johnson's) right after coming home, that helped some. The doctor recommended a higher dosage of Tylenol or Motrin in order to get the fever down, and it worked. He hasn't had fever since Wednesday afternoon. He has been given a 3 day steroid course to help with the mucus. And an antibiotic to keep the infection away. Poor guy :( He hates taking medicine. Today is the last day of steroids (which we didn't want to give, but I guess you have to weigh the positive with the negative). He is feeling much better. I think the steroids are helping. Yesterday,

No Trick or Treating Mehul's daycare called DH yesterday around 4PM. They said he had a fever of over 101 and we had to get him immediately. When I reached home, he looked so tired and down. His cough has been going on for about a week, but it sounded much worse. He kept getting the fever off and on the whole night. DH is home today and has made a sick appointment with the Ped. Poor little guy. He couldn't sleep all night due to coughing and stuffed up nose. It seemed his throat hurts when he coughs, making it all the more worse :( So, yeah, no trick or treating. Good thing his daycare had the Halloween Celebrations for infants, toddlers and 2 year olds the day before yesterday. I got some pictures of my pumpkin. The first photo is in the breakfast area, looking into the Family Room. The second is in his Computer lab at the daycare. I have cropped out other kids but you can see the back of one, and the tail of another one under the table. I didn't realize she was under the