I have a feeling life is not going to slow down for a few days. We were away from home most of Sabbath and didn't even get to attend church (missed a couple exits on the freeway and ended up the wrong side of town). I spent all day Sunday with my mom.
Hubby worked all day yesterday and a good portion of last night. Then he was on the go today. He's sleeping now but will be up at 10pm to work all night tonight as well. He's guessing this will be a very busy work week.
It's a good thing he's scheduled for vacation all of next week! I'll probably be taking a small vacation from some of my normal duties as well so that we can spend time together. I haven't been seeing him much lately.
This afternoon I tagged along with my hubby on the way to his client appointment. He dropped me off at the library, since it was right around the corner from the client's office. I spent two blissful hours in the library and brought home a HUGE stack of books. I know I won't finish all of these but I'm so happy to have options!
On the way home, we saw a homeless guy on our freeway exit. He couldn't have been more than 21 or 22 years old. I wanted to bring him home and give him a place to stay for awhile but hubby's not comfortable with people knowing where we live when we don't know them. I know it's important to be safe, since I'm a housewife, but it broke my heart to see that kid standing there. It's not fair! There shouldn't be homeless people in this country.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Random thoughts
Today has been an awesome day. My bathroom was clean before 8am. Usually I put it off until the last minute. I did 15 sit ups this morning (wimpy, I know, but better than Wednesday's attempt). I am ready for the Sabbath - dishes washed, dishwasher emptied for tonight and tomorrow's dishes, and church clothes ironed.
My menu for next week is planned. I still have to create the shopping list, but that should be pretty simple as we have most of the what is needed.
Hubby took me to the library this afternoon. I love libraries! I found a couple books on archeology, a fiction book that's been on my to-read list for awhile, and a book on vegan baking. When I opened the book, the first recipe I saw was for vegan waffles and it required no unusual ingredients. Score! Hubby also picked out several books for me to read - one on Mark Twain, one on Mozart, and another on a Chinese duchess(?). All three books are chunksters (over 450 pages) and will take me weeks to read.
We also made a quick run to the grocery store tonight to pick up bananas and avocado. We came home with bananas, avocado, vegan ice cream, spring rolls, and a new brand of frozen waffles that were on sale. My hubby speaks my love language - food!
I hope everyone is having a great Friday and will have an even better weekend!
My menu for next week is planned. I still have to create the shopping list, but that should be pretty simple as we have most of the what is needed.
Hubby took me to the library this afternoon. I love libraries! I found a couple books on archeology, a fiction book that's been on my to-read list for awhile, and a book on vegan baking. When I opened the book, the first recipe I saw was for vegan waffles and it required no unusual ingredients. Score! Hubby also picked out several books for me to read - one on Mark Twain, one on Mozart, and another on a Chinese duchess(?). All three books are chunksters (over 450 pages) and will take me weeks to read.
We also made a quick run to the grocery store tonight to pick up bananas and avocado. We came home with bananas, avocado, vegan ice cream, spring rolls, and a new brand of frozen waffles that were on sale. My hubby speaks my love language - food!
I hope everyone is having a great Friday and will have an even better weekend!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Quilt Design - Help me pick one? :)
Today I finished cutting out my red paw prints fabric. I had fun laying out all the squares on the floor and envisioning what the entire quilt top will look like. For some reason, Bruno always decides to come help! Today our other cat laid down on the blocks as well but she didn't stay long enough for me to get her in the picture.
When I laid all the squares out, I realized that I needed to sew together some more of the four part blocks. Since I've been working on this quilt since April (off and on), I couldn't remember if I knew I needed to make more blocks or if I thought I had made enough. Either way, I'm short.
I have a ton of the 8" squares. If I use all of those, I only need to make a few more of the four block squares. The blank spots in each photo are where the four block squares will go. What do you think? Which design do you think looks better?
Option 1 - as viewed from the bottom of the quilt
Option 1 - as viewed from the top of the quilt
Option 2 - as viewed from the bottom of the quilt
Option 2 - as viewed from the top of the quilt
Option 2 will be the easiest to complete as I would be using all of the solid 8" blocks I already have cut, plus make a few more of the 4 square blocks. I don't mind doing extra work and going with option 1 if that will look the best. I'm just afraid option 1 will look too busy with all of the smaller squares (think top 2 rows repeated all the way down) as opposed to the larger solid pieces in option 2.
I just can't decide! Which one do you think is the better design?
When I laid all the squares out, I realized that I needed to sew together some more of the four part blocks. Since I've been working on this quilt since April (off and on), I couldn't remember if I knew I needed to make more blocks or if I thought I had made enough. Either way, I'm short.
I have a ton of the 8" squares. If I use all of those, I only need to make a few more of the four block squares. The blank spots in each photo are where the four block squares will go. What do you think? Which design do you think looks better?
Option 1 - as viewed from the bottom of the quilt
Option 1 - as viewed from the top of the quilt
Option 2 - as viewed from the bottom of the quilt
Option 2 - as viewed from the top of the quilt
Option 2 will be the easiest to complete as I would be using all of the solid 8" blocks I already have cut, plus make a few more of the 4 square blocks. I don't mind doing extra work and going with option 1 if that will look the best. I'm just afraid option 1 will look too busy with all of the smaller squares (think top 2 rows repeated all the way down) as opposed to the larger solid pieces in option 2.
I just can't decide! Which one do you think is the better design?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
New swimming suit
Hubby and I were not expecting a long weekend as he was originally scheduled to work on Labor Day. However, at the last minute, the boss realized it was a holiday weekend and everything was rescheduled. So, we decided to take advantage of Labor Day sales and replace a good portion of hubby's work attire.
As a unexpected benefit to all of our shopping, I found a new swimming suit! I have lost 45 pounds since the beginning of 2009. My old swimming suit was purchased at my highest weight and I realized this weekend how much I've shrunk out of it.
I spotted this cute swimming suit as we walked into Macy's. My old swimming suit made me feel immodest even though it was a standard 1-piece. This swimming suit is like wearing a little dress and makes me feel much more covered.
I was rather shocked by the sticker price. That tiny amount of Lycra retailed for $98! It had been marked down to $73.50, then $49. Yesterday's final sticker price was $29.99. Much better!
As a unexpected benefit to all of our shopping, I found a new swimming suit! I have lost 45 pounds since the beginning of 2009. My old swimming suit was purchased at my highest weight and I realized this weekend how much I've shrunk out of it.
I spotted this cute swimming suit as we walked into Macy's. My old swimming suit made me feel immodest even though it was a standard 1-piece. This swimming suit is like wearing a little dress and makes me feel much more covered.
I was rather shocked by the sticker price. That tiny amount of Lycra retailed for $98! It had been marked down to $73.50, then $49. Yesterday's final sticker price was $29.99. Much better!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Building Habits - Week 3
My habit building is still going well. A couple evenings this week the dishes were only completed because I didn't want to confess I was lazy. Oh well! I'm not really noticing much of a difference with the cat boxes being cleaned every day but the clean dishes... that is a blessing. It feels so good to walk into the kitchen and see that the counters are clean and that the sink is empty.
This week I am going to continue working on building my previous habits plus add one more. I really need to start flossing daily. I don't know if it's better to floss in the morning or the evening but I'm going to pick mornings because my motivation is higher earlier in the day. My next dental cleaning is the day before Thanksgiving so I have added incentive to establish a good flossing habit.
Habit #1 - All dishes washed, every day.
Habit #2 - Both cat boxes cleaned every morning.
Habit #3 - Daily flossing.
Accountability really is a useful tool.
This week I am going to continue working on building my previous habits plus add one more. I really need to start flossing daily. I don't know if it's better to floss in the morning or the evening but I'm going to pick mornings because my motivation is higher earlier in the day. My next dental cleaning is the day before Thanksgiving so I have added incentive to establish a good flossing habit.
Habit #1 - All dishes washed, every day.
Habit #2 - Both cat boxes cleaned every morning.
Habit #3 - Daily flossing.
Accountability really is a useful tool.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Another set of squares
My days are starting to get into a pretty good routine. Now that the apartment is basically clean, daily chores don't take nearly so long. I'm finding I have extra time for reading, quilting, and snatches of quality time with my hubby between his client calls.
I wish I could work on my quilting more, but the injury from my car accident keeps flaring up. Several years ago, I was hit while sitting at a stop light. The other driver didn't realize the light was red and slammed into the back of another car, which then slammed into me. The police estimated the driver at fault was going 45 mph when she hit us. My car was totaled and I have permanent damage to my shoulder. Leaning over a rotary board or sitting perfectly still at a sewing machine for awhile causes my shoulder muscles to start feeling like they are on fire.
At least when the accident occurred, I had just made the payment on my car that flipped it right side up so I wasn't left with financing and no car!
Today I was able to cut out all of the squares on my tan fabric. All that's left is to cut out squares from the red doggy paws fabric and then I can start sewing it all together! Hopefully I'll get to start on that tomorrow, provided I'm ready for the Sabbath on time.
I wish I could work on my quilting more, but the injury from my car accident keeps flaring up. Several years ago, I was hit while sitting at a stop light. The other driver didn't realize the light was red and slammed into the back of another car, which then slammed into me. The police estimated the driver at fault was going 45 mph when she hit us. My car was totaled and I have permanent damage to my shoulder. Leaning over a rotary board or sitting perfectly still at a sewing machine for awhile causes my shoulder muscles to start feeling like they are on fire.
At least when the accident occurred, I had just made the payment on my car that flipped it right side up so I wasn't left with financing and no car!
Today I was able to cut out all of the squares on my tan fabric. All that's left is to cut out squares from the red doggy paws fabric and then I can start sewing it all together! Hopefully I'll get to start on that tomorrow, provided I'm ready for the Sabbath on time.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
National Sewing Month
I didn't know that September is National Sewing Month until a promotional email from Jo-Ann's Fabric hit my inbox several days ago. According to the holiday's official website it "began in 1982 with a proclamation from President Ronald Reagan declaring September as National Sewing Month 'In recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation.'"
How exciting! A quick Google search revealed numerous websites hosting National Sewing Month projects with free templates and instructions.
Also, several websites are hosting huge giveaways. I am most interested in this giveaway, hosted by Jo-Ann's and Martha Stewart. You can enter the drawing daily and there are some really great prizes! I'd love to win a Rowenta iron or a gift card or even a new sewing machine!
In honor of National Sewing Month, I'm going to make a commitment to finishing my grandfather's quilt top. Once that is complete, I'll try to also finish the quilt top that I need to return to the church. And if there is extra time after that (HA!) I'll make the cloth napkins I've already purchased fabric for.
How exciting! A quick Google search revealed numerous websites hosting National Sewing Month projects with free templates and instructions.
Also, several websites are hosting huge giveaways. I am most interested in this giveaway, hosted by Jo-Ann's and Martha Stewart. You can enter the drawing daily and there are some really great prizes! I'd love to win a Rowenta iron or a gift card or even a new sewing machine!
In honor of National Sewing Month, I'm going to make a commitment to finishing my grandfather's quilt top. Once that is complete, I'll try to also finish the quilt top that I need to return to the church. And if there is extra time after that (HA!) I'll make the cloth napkins I've already purchased fabric for.
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