#Winning

I have joined to ranks of my friends Tasha and Joanne and won the Canadian Living Craft Blog Weekly Giveaway!  The prize is perfect for me -  an adorable knitting pattern book to knit farm toys!  Having grown up on a farm, and as the aunt of two young and adorable farmers, I will definitely be making all of these projects.  There is even a pattern to make a barn!  I am so excited!

Too cute!!

If you have never entered the Canadian Living Craft Blog giveaway contest, here is my overwhelming endorsement that you should.  There is normally a new giveaway announced every Monday, and prizes vary from books to supplies for many types of crafts.  For your chance to win, all you have to do is comment on the "Weekly Giveaway" blog post.  They usually pose some sort of question for you to answer, so it's pretty easy to think of something to say. The winners are chosen randomly, and I love that you don't have to sign up for anything to leave your comment.  Also, I think the odds of winning are pretty good, as I've never seen more than 180 comments on a giveaway post, and most times the number of comments is far lower than that.  The contest I won had only 30 comments and they had two copies of the book to giveaway, so I had a 1 in 15 chance to win...and I won!!  Also, there is no moratorium on entering the contest after you've won, so if win and you like the following week's giveaway, go ahead and enter that one too!

Here is the link to the current giveaway: Giveaway for the week of April 25, and as of now (9:30pm on Monday night), there are only 10 comments!  Readers have until 11:59pm on Sunday May 1st to write a comment.  Be sure to read all the guidelines on how to comment (you can only comment once) to ensure your entry is part of the draw.

Good luck!  I hope you win a cool book too!! :)

An Open Letter

Thursday April 21, 2011

Dear April 21, 2011:

I am not impressed.   See photo below for details.

Love,
Jen

Adjusting to a New Schedule

I started my new job last Wednesday and basically as my body adjusts to my new schedule, all I do is work and sleep.  I've gotten most of the work attire I need for now (I'll post pictures when I am not working or sleeping!), so this upcoming long weekend (3 whole days!) I can focus on my on-going life and craft projects.  I have a list of blog post ideas that I just haven't had the chance to write about, but I am hoping at some point soon I can stay up later than 9:00pm and work on them! :)

And how is your week going so far?

Spring (Car) Cleaning

Like many cars following a Canadian winter, my car was very, very dirty.  Any attempt to clean it throughout the winter was negated by any use of the car, as it would instantly return it to its previous state of filth.

But thankfully (for a million reasons) it is now Spring.  The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the weather is warm enough to get outside and clean the car.  I'm a bucket of soapy water kind of car washer, and I've never really gotten into automatic car washes.  I just prefer to thoroughly clean it myself.  It is a little more time consuming, but on a nice Spring day I actually find it enjoyable.

The car is now clean (inside and out!) and I have a Before and After shot to prove it.

BEFORE

AFTER

I also had my all season tires put back on this morning and I've stored the snow tires for the summer.  That dreaded time called winter is now officially done.  Bring on summer!!

A Change Will Do You Good

Holy Crap March!!  You were a menace full of too much news.  I feel like I am finally finding my feet after a whirlwind of good news, bad news, and having to wear dress pants far more than I normally care to.

I'm leaving the bad news in the past, but the good news is that I am starting a new job on Wednesday.  For the job I will have to continue to wear dress pants far more than I generally care too, but I'm going to take it as a learning experience and possibly something that is a necessity now that I am over thirty.

I have never had a job with a dress code before, so I know this 'business casual' thing will take some getting used to.  Especially since my default outfit is jeans and a t-shirt/hoodie, and my preferred clothes are "comfy." I think I have more PJs than regular clothes, but I will soon have to start balancing out my wardrobe.

Yesterday I began my search for some business casual clothes, but I didn't really know what I was looking for and I am never in the mood to buy clothes.  Grocery shopping? I could do that all day.  Clothes shopping?  It's like pulling teeth.  So I didn't add any business casual clothes to my collection yesterday, but I did find a pair of track pants for only $10 that I have been wearing pretty steadily since I bought them.  I am sure I will buy a few more pairs (there are assorted colours, and they are only $10!), but they are doing nothing to solve my business casual problem.  I'm not worried yet, as I'm sure I can piece together three or four passable outfits, I just have to pick up a few more over the next little while.  And a steamer - I absolutely refuse to incorporate ironing into my day.  Wish me luck!

What is your dress code at work?  Have you ever had to train yourself to wear clothes out of your comfort zone?