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It’s been a while since I’ve done a life update. I guess because we’ve settled into a bit of a routine now.

WORK: Mine is going well. It’s been a bit challenging trying to learn everything when I’m only there a couple days a week, and with everyone sharing the work, but it’s coming together. Scott’s is… going. :/

HOUSE: We moved! We upgraded to a two bedroom apartment a bit more central to work and family. The apartment is small, but nice, and I love the neighbourhood.

EXERCISE: I joined a new gym near our new house and it’s GREAT. They have an epic gym area, swimming pool, and lots of classes, so I’ve been able to add yoga and swimming back into my exercise plan (in addition to weights). Scott started biking to work (10km each way!), and still plays basketball and the occasional extra game of soccer or more basketball.

CRAFTS: My latest project is creating cross stitch patterns that I am trying to sell on Etsy. It’s hard though!! I have to make the patterns, test stitch it, photograph it, list it, and then advertise it. I’ve got two patterns in my shop but I still have SO much more work to do.

I also taught Scott how to crochet, so we’ve been making granny squares to eventually turn into a blanket. The biggest challenge is getting our tension to match each other.

FRIENDS: I’ve still been going to trivia most weeks with my internet friends. They are great. I also get together with a sub-group of them to Stitch n Bitch every month, which is fun. We usually eat lunch, and then crochet/cross stitch.

We used to go to a different trivia night with some of Scott’s friends but the pub changed the night so that is off until we find a good replacement.

We had Jemma and Damien over for a games night the other weekend. We played Wasabi and Carcassonne. I think we are getting close to teaching them Agricola!!!

VISITORS: Cassia and Pablo came to visit Melbourne with two of their Spanish friends. We went to Chin Chin for dinner the first night (1.5 hour wait!!! but really tasty), and then did a mega tourist day the next day at Brighton Beach, Fitzroy, and the CBD. I hope Silvi tags me in her pictures because I didn’t take any. :/

Natasha has arrived in Australia as well. She’s in Sydney at the moment, but we expect to see her in the next couple weeks. I can’t wait! We’ve got the guest bedroom all set up ready to go. :D

SUMMER: One really hot day we drove out to Sorrento back beach to play in the tidepools. It was lovely but Scott severely sunburned his feet which was SO GROSS. It wasn’t that hot of a summer, but it is lingering a bit. It’s still been above 30°C most days, but thankfully it gets cool overnight, so it’s been okay.

SKELETON: My FOMO about not sliding this season hasn’t actually been that bad because 1. I still get timesheets from Whistler to analyze, 2. the World Cup races are on at very convenient times here so I’ve been able to watch most of them live. 3. Instagram stories make me feel like I’m right there, and 4. My old coach Rob has been keeping a daily vlog. So yeah, that’s cool. The final race of the season is next weekend, in Korea on the future Olympic track! Should be interesting.

OK I can’t think of anything else at the moment, so… hasta luego.

 

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My last two cross stitches were big projects. Each one took about a month!

I found the pictures online and used a website to convert them into cross stitch patterns.

MR KOALA

In progress.

Finished.

Close up.

The back. AHH!

MR OTTER

In progress.

Finished.

Close up.

The back. Not as bad?

I think I will get these framed up properly so we can hang them up as a pair. I’m VERY happy with how they turned out.

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I just realized that I never actually posted my 2016 video on here. I spammed it everywhere else, but not on the ol’ blog. So… here it is! What an epic year it was.

My favourite clips are Feb 29th, May 12th, and May 21st. :D

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This year I decided to make shoes for the nieces and nephews for Christmas presents. I knew the kids were going to get literally heaps of presents so I wanted to get them something a little different.

Ava is the youngest. I got the smallest shoes possible and they’re still too big. Oops. Also there are no cute animals that start with “V”. These might be my favourite of the lot though!

Next is April, who loves the Wiggles. It took a little prodding, but then she recognized Emma and the rest of the group.

Seth got Avatar shoes. These were fun to draw and shade.

Beau’s are from Pokemon Black and White. I don’t know which Pokemon those are but he says they are the best ones. :D

And lastly, Noah got Dragon Ball Z. He’s been requesting a pair ever since I made his dad some Wolverine shoes.

It was fun making all of them! Scott picked all the pictures for the boys. Each pair only took a couple hours once I got started. And they’re all done with permanent fabric markers and Scotchgarded so they can get wet, although I would try to avoid it if possible.

I would love to sell custom shoes, but I can’t legally sell anything with copyrighted material. Technically you’re not even supposed to MAKE things with copyrighted material, but I don’t think companies usually mind if it’s just for fun. But making money from it is a different story.

Feel free to email me with any ideas you might have though and maybe we can figure something out.

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I know a lot of people considered 2016 to be pretty crappy… but to be honest it was one of the best years of my life, for sure. I’ve picked 12 pictures here but that doesn’t even come close to including all the awesome things that we got to do. I feel very lucky and grateful, and will reflect on my year fondly.

The IBSF World Cup coming to Whistler and getting to meet my skeleton hero, Martins Dukurs.

Finally finishing my crochet blanket. That’s an ipad by the way… the blanket is enormous. I also did A LOT of crossstitch.

Not coming in last in my final skeleton race of my career. I actually ended up finishing 4th out of 8, behind three very talented national team girls.

Being my own personal island in a cenote in Mexico. Renting that big house with 11 great friends was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Experiencing Antelope Canyon, my top road trip bucket list place. It was just as cool as I hoped.

Exploring Yellowstone National Park on opening day. Scott’s roadtrip bucket list place. Seeing Old Faithful erupt 5 minutes after we got there without being able to check the schedule.

Spending a ridiculous amount of time and money to go to the Jorna Indian restaurant in Ipswich. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Walking half way across Spain to get our ticket into heaven. Destroyed my feet but it was definitely a cool experience.

OK well this isn’t really a highlight for Scott, but it’s still one of my favourite pictures of the year. Eating all the cheese possible in France.

Turning 30 in Thailand.

Being brave and making new friends in Melbourne.

Lots and lots of family time. This picture is from Christmas Day.

2016 Video Every Day project coming V V SOON!