This incredible picture was taken from the Hubble Space Telescope.

An expert quoted over at Gizmodo provides some insight on the largest known star nursery in our galaxy: "Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun"

Unbelievable!

Naked in a flash

Can you tell what this dress is made of? Look closely at the skirt...

Lindt chocolate, baby. Yep, 1000 chocolate balls make up the skirt of this little number. The only issue I would have with this crazy expensive dress designed by Lindka Cierach is not the cost of £3,500, my issue is that I would be naked in no time. That and the fact that my husband would be slightly uncomfortable with random people tearing at my clothes with the hope of killing their chocolate cravings.

I heard the news today that a Lindt Lindor outlet has opened up 20 minutes from my house: less than a buck for one of those little chocolate bunnies that usually cost six. You would think I would be rejoicing considering Lindor is by far my fav chocolate, but instead I found myself rocking back and forth trying to calm the evil FEED ME thoughts racing through my mind.

Why can't I crave carrots?

A Taste of My Weekend

Any given Saturday or Sunday morning this is what you'll find Mike and I sipping.

Just a splash of Bailey's does the weekend good.

He's Got My Vote!

AUD $150,000

Cast your vote for Mitchell here.

An Absolute Time Waster

Who doesn't love popping bubble wrap?
Pop away.

Is it really only January?!

Originally uploaded by sharna.

PMS is a crazy thing. I spent a good chunk of last night crying my eyes out and then wilted once again today but this time it was in front of one of my professors. Nope, I wasn't in her office as one might think, I was standing at the front of the lecture room. Thankfully class was over and my back was turned to the majority of my peers. Oh the joys of hormones.

Of course she said all the right things as I blubbered my shaky embarrassed apology while wiping at the never ending stream of tears: you're tired, you're frustrated, you have a tonne on your plate etc. She then assured me that she would help me with my most major issue and suggested I not stress about handing in a proposal that's due tomorrow. Of course I will get the proposal done but at the time hearing those words was exactly what I needed.

One of my girlfriends assured me that I wasn't alone in the 'weeping in front of the prof department' - nevertheless I'm still pretty embarrassed. I need to get some sleep, wipe a few assignments off my plate, finish up the resumes and cover letters that need to be sent out and drink a glass of wine... then I'll feel much better. Ugh.

I would much prefer to drink the wine, go to bed and wake up in May. I know I'm almost there and that I'll get through it but hell, I'm allowed to have the odd self-pity day, right?!

Beautiful Paper
Originally uploaded by words & pictures

You know how I love papercutting? Well I'll now add paper twirling (I'm pretty sure that's not the technical name for it) to my list of paper art loves.

Yulia Brodskaya's work is beautiful, don't you think?

Thanks to Black Eiffel (one of my new reads) for sharing these amazing finds.

Whispered Sweet Nothings

He sits rubbing my socked feet like a good husband and then comes out with these sweet words.

him: "Is it you with the big toe?"
me: "You mean the extra long toe beside the big toe?"
him: "Yeah, it's freakishly weird."
me: "Thanks babe. And what who else would the toe belong to?"
him: "Anyone with their socks off."

huh?

There you have it, I'm freakishly weird, or at least my toe is. Thanks babe.

ADDITION TO POST: I am surrounded by such sweet men. Here is my brother's response to this post, "Yes you are freakishly wierd and it isn't because of your "Normal" Storozuk big second toe. There is plenty of other things that make you freakishly wierd..."
Thanks bro.

Gamer Love Song

Mario Kart Love Song (Original)

I found this video over at Oh, Hello Friend and fell head over heels for it. Whether you're a Super Mario Bros. fan or not you're sure to think it's a sweet song - listen closely to the lyrics. A syrupy voice, unique lyrics and an acoustic guitar: this guy has been added to my favs on YouTube.

I Want One!

Mike sent this pic my way today knowing I would melt when I saw it. I want one.

Weird Obsession

Original Flickr Photos Uploaded By: 1. lets swing :), 2. Two Mills, 3. zero gravity, 4. Morey's Pier, 5. Ride In Action, 6. CNE Swings, 7. Under The Table & Dreaming, 8. Swing in Motion 1, 9. swingtown

I don't know what has gotten into me, for the last month I can't get amusement park swings out of my mind. Bizarre huh? I think I've weirded Mike out by talking about them on multiple occasions.

I haven't been to an amusement park in 8 years (insert sob here) and I didn't even ride the swings the last time I went. What can I do to quench my thirst for a ride on the swings? Will I have to wait until next summer?!

Wasting Time While Time Warping

Looking for a way to waste some time while having a good laugh? Yearbook yourself over here.
The couple up above is me in 1968 and Mike in 1984. Check out those locks... hot hot hot. Thanks to my favourite blog How About Orange... for sharing this super fun time waster.

Two Blogs Too Many?

It seems I'm having a difficult time keeping up with two blogs. I think I might have to dismantle Gingham Skies at least temporarily. Not the business, just the blog. The other option is to move Jabbering Jaime over to Gingham Skies but I'm really not liking that idea. Of course I could simply change my blog name to Gingham Skies but keep the blog address as jabberingjaime.blogspot.com but maybe that would be confusing. The other option is to simply direct any traffic from Gingham Skies over here to JJ and leave everything as is. Argh. What to do. Any suggestions ladies and gentlemen?

Socked in the Face

The long weekend has come to an end and it certainly was not a dull couple of days. For the first time in a very long time I managed to have two late nights in a row and survived to tell the tale; Mike did too but just barely. Let me explain.

Friday night at 1130pm we decided to drive to a nearby city to bowl. Apparently our local bowling alleys are not open past 11pm; why that is I just don't understand. Isn't bowling the happening thing to do these days? Okay so maybe it's not but we had a blast. I've never been ten pin bowling so my first attempt ended up looking (and sounding) more like a shot-put toss than a roll; the second ball nearly took me with it. I finally figured out that there are different weighted balls and then I was on fire. I'm pleased to say that I won one game and Mike won the other two; our competitive pal lost all three. It would be rude to laugh about that so I won't (aloud).

Saturday is when the excitement took place. Mike is an electronic music junkie and DJ's whenever he has the opportunity; he hasn't played out in quite some time so we were both really looking forward to his set. The bar we were at is a bit sketchy inside but has a great patio so I figured it would be a decent night; sure enough a pile of our friends showed up (including a few we haven't seen in a long time) and a fabulous night was had by all. Mike played an amazing set that had the entire place bouncing . The night came to an end and that's when our adventure began.

All of our friends left the bar at about 1:45 am; we left shortly after at 2am after Mike packed up all his gear. Mike and I headed out of the bar and started across the small parking lot located off to the side of the building. As we were walking I noticed three young guys walking towards us, they were talking and laughing, as were Mike and I. Without any warning one of the punks ran at Mike and slugged him in the face. WHAT THE HELL?!

I've witnessed some pretty bizarre things in my life but this definitely finds a place at the top of my list. Mike hadn't even noticed the guys walking towards us, they hadn't been in the bar we came out of, we've never seen them before in our lives. It was a total random act of violence.

Mike managed to stay on his feet, he stumbled and settled himself up against a car to gain his wits while the three little punks sauntered off. Needless to say I freaked out after the slugging. I called the little thug the nastiest things I could think of on the spot and screamed for the people in front of the bar to call the cops (which they did and believe it or not: 911 was busy). All of my yelling managed to attract cops from a street over eventually but of course the guys were gone by then.

The positive in the scenario is that the little bastard used his fist rather than a knife and thankfully none of our friends were nearby because no doubt it would have turned into something much worse if more people had gotten involved. Then again it's unlikely that the little bugger would have had the nerve to hit Mike if others were nearby; I'm certain he was an easy target because of the fact that he had a heavy record bag thrown over his body and a woman at his side.

Mike's okay, he has a nasty bruised fat lip and a sore throat but other than that he's fine. We are both still in shock for obvious reasons.

I wish karma would send me a postcard with a picture of the little beater after she pays him a visit - no doubt he'll get what he's given a few times over and he'll deserve no sympathy. This world of ours is certainly a crazy place.

Ripping with a Glass of Vino

I was hoping to post today with a picture of a new bag I had finally finished sewing but instead I am about to sit on the couch with a glass of wine and a stitch ripper. I love to sew but hate ripping out stitches; one thing I have learned since January when I first started playing with my machine is that a glass of wine eases the pain of ripping stitches. The bag is finished but the strap is almost two times wider than it should be. Oops.

Eye Spy

Vintage Fabric - Ladies
Originally uploaded by my-name-is-annie

Whip Up posted a link to a neat blog called True Up where a vintage fabric is posted each day. I instantly fell for this one here, I thought of my friend Cara immediately. See the two ladies at the top? One with long purple hair and one with short blue hair... That's what we looked like 10 years ago, the little marks next to their eyes look just like the stickers we wore in just about the same spot and were rarely seen without. Too funny.

The life of moi

I've had bags on the brain and really haven't posted about much else lately so here I am with an update on the life of moi.

Life with no school is amazing. This is a short list of things I have done since I finished school:
1. Finally visited Hannah's Tapas with Jess. Martinis and tapas = a perfect "end of my degree" celebration.
2. Try not to get too excited about this one. I organized my kitchen utensil drawers. Maybe not the most thrilling news but I swear less in the kitchen now.
2. On multiple occasions I've breathed in fresh air after work while standing outside in my yard rather than pressing my face up against the screen in my office wishing I was outside.
3. Walked. A 2.5 hour walk with mom on Sunday and a few other shorter jaunts on my own. We live near fabulous paths and I'm finally taking advantage of them.
4. Wandered through the mall just because! Do you know how long it has been since I've gone shopping without a plan? A long ass time. I miss window shopping and am enjoying it thoroughly! I spent 45 minutes in Michael's yesterday and managed to spend $0.00. This is an impressive act of self-control for me. I will admit that I did well at Michael's but heading into the Fabric store with the intent to 'just look' is a ridiculous and impossible feat so no more buying lunches, my weekly lunch bill is going to go towards fabric.
5. Signed up for the next level of Pilates, advanced level classes here I come.
6. Played with my sewing machine. As you can see from the posts below bags are on the brain! I spent two hours tonight surfing the net looking for funky bag handles and have decided that a trip to Japan is necessary. Not at all realistic but I'm allowed to dream dammit.

What do I have planned for the next little while?
1. More bags
2. Some volunteer work. I'm volunteering for a few hours on Friday after work to help the student I spend my days with finish off her community service hours... then it's time to sign up for some regular thang. Still have to figure out what that might be.
3. Making these - you know I have an obsession with bath goodies so why not save a few bucks and make my own? Amy Karol mentioned these on her blog and they sound super easy to make.
4. Celebrating mom & dad's birthdays.
5. Planning our summer trip out West.
6. Eating more gelato.
7. Hitting the gym at least two days a week.
8. Catching up with some peeps I've been missing.
9. Reading. This might not be for awhile yet, I am enjoying browsing websites and blogs but can't find it in myself to read at length just yet. I'll need a bit more time to let my brain rest.

And that is that.

Slacker

My big bro commented today that I've been "slacking" in the blog department this week. My response was: "I didn't have much to say... Shut up." The 'shut up' was thrown in because I knew I was about to hear a snicker and a smart ass remark about how unlikely it was that I didn't have something to say.

Now that I think of it there has been lots for me to blog about in the last week, I just haven't felt like it. I've been in a bit of a funk, not sad or depressed just lazy and unmotivated. The end of my final term is quickly approaching, I'm still in limbo regarding teachers college (I'll know on April 3rd - cross your fingers), I'm bored at work and I've had enough of winter. I'm tired of scraping my windows in the morning, tired of layering clothes, tired of wearing socks and most of all I'm tired of complaining. I want more sunshine and less shiver.

I heard on the news yesterday morning that some weather brainiac has predicted six more weeks of unusually cold weather in Ontario. I can't stay in this funk for six more weeks so I'm forcing myself out of it. Tomorrow I'm going to work my butt off on my final assignment which is due this week, Sunday is family day and Monday I'm going to drag my butt off the couch to hit the pool with my girl Jessy. Time to de-funk.

Ear to Ear

Grab a cup of tea, this was meant to be a short post but it's not... Friends, babies, a new blog I love and some very cool sites are in store for you today. Enjoy!

March break is here and that alone is enough to make me smile. The main attraction this week is a much needed visit with one of my best girlfriends in the whole wide world: Jen! Only 3 more sleeps until I pick her up from the airport - YIPPEE! For the past eight years Jen has been working on cruise ships so unfortunately I don't get to see much of her. It has been a few years since I've had her all to myself for longer than an hour or two so I am super excited knowing that once I pick her up on Thursday afternoon I can hog her for 3 whole days! Wooo hoooo!

I met a fabulous new man today... he is the tiniest little guy I have ever had the pleasure of holding in my arms and his name is Carter. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me when I went to meet my friend Tamara's new baby boy but trust me when I say he is perfectly adorable. Carter was born on February 28th, he was a month early and weighed in at just over 5 lbs. He was 4 lbs something when he went home and his mommy figures he is appx 5.5 lbs today. Carter is the smallest baby I've had the pleasure of cuddling: his lips were perfect little rosebuds, his eyelashes were so teeny tiny they were barely there, his little nose was like a button (literally) and his fingers... ahhhh I better stop or soon I'll be hearing the chiming of a grandfather clock rather than the gentle tic toc I am able to ignore most days.

Here's a closeup shot of the the very simple card I made for Carter, of course I had to use a rub-on transfer:

The blue paper doesn't actually have a burnt look - not sure what's up with the color in this shot.

Other bits from my world...

I found a fabulous new blog named How About Orange which I think is strange, not the blog but the fact that I found it, because just this past weekend I mentioned to Tanya that I am really loving the colour orange lately. Why did I share that thrilling piece of info with her? Because she's the sort of girlfriend with whom I can share such useless bits of info and rather than looking at me with boredom and disgust, or simply ignoring me, as others might she acknowledged just how fabulous orange really is. Anyways, I found this new blog and think it's bloglicious.

While poking about my new fav orange blog I linked to this other amazingly wonderful site: tastespotting and let me tell you, this is one site where I see myself spending many free moments. Links to people's blogs where others have found amazing looking/tasting recipes that they stumbled upon and felt the need to share! Like this one. If you click on the tiny pic it will lead you to the blog... you could land at a blog such as this one - this recipe is not in English, you're all so lucky to have me here to state the obvious aren't you? What is says in a nutshell is: Zuccini "sushi". Grill zuccini sheets, fill with mozzarella cheese or mushroom risotto; roll it up and add color with paprika. I'm such a linguist! not really, it was written under the pic here.

Since I'm on a roll I should tell you that tastespotting led me to thisvery cool site where I see myself wasting more of my study time. On NOTCOT you'll find pics with descriptions that will lead you to cool, quirky and often just plain weird sites incyberland. The following pics were snagged from sites I found while trolling :

A close-up of the pin on this girls shirt - read description below for details.
I need one of these... seriously, I'm a slob.

Lola, a messy eater, has somehow managed again to get a
nasty stain on her shirt just before going out. But the fantastic kotztierchen'
gives the stain a purpose by simply making it part of her outfit. Lucky her!

Check out this crazy hotel in Athens, so cool!

One of the rooms you can rent:

And the hotel pool! Love it!

That's enough smiling for today. Good night!

Home Sweet Home

We're moving, what do you think of our new home?


Yeah right, as if we can afford a castle and a moat. Let's be realistic. This is the new pad:

Can you imagine? No wonder every little girl wants to be a princess: castles are cool. I want to live in a castle. Puh-lease mike! and before anyone asks, no we're not really moving