Thanks Grandma!

My grandmother had a saying that she liked to tell every so often. The older I get the more it seems true! I probably dont have the saying down exactly as she said it but it goes something like this:

If you want something done and you dont care how it gets done, ask your children to do it.
If you want something done, and you dont care when it gets done, ask you husband to do it.
If you want something done now and done right .... do it yourself!


Am I the only one that hates going through the self checkout lane? I swear my husband thinks that if he's the one doing the checkout that it HAS to be quicker. Notice, though, that it's called self check ... not EXPRESS check. It's named that for a reason. I've resigned myself to just lean on the grocery cart and twiddle my thumbs until we're finally done checking out. I mean, seriously .... he picks up a bag of lettuce. "What kind of lettuce is this?"..... I reply "Green Leaf Lettuce" .... to which i hear "Oh" and then way too many buttons being pushed on the screen. Next comes a pumpkin. I swear if he asked me what it was I would scream. Instead I hear "Is there a scanner bar on this?".... "Yes dear... right there. That sticker didnt grow on the pumpkin." Question. Buttons. Beep. Over and over ... and over.

But I look around ... and lo and behold.... there's men galore at this darn self check section. They're all SLOWLY picking up items, turning them over and over to look for a barcode, get a beep and do it all over.

The darndest thing, they all looked so proud of themselves when the walked out of the grocery store. Guess they conquered that piece of equipment. :)

Next time, though, I'm using my Grandmother's advice .... I'll do it myself and go through the express lane. After all, it is named that for a reason.

... and the picture has nothing to do with anything. I just like it. It's a picture I took of the Arkansas River at Spadra Park.

Dreams and Stars

Maybe I should have had this quilt on my bed yesterday for naptime, and I wouldnt have dreamed crazy dreams. It's bright, happy and cheery .... three words that dont describe the way I felt when I woke up from a dream infused nap.

I love Hobby Lobby's 40% off coupons. I decided I needed a little retail therapy today, so I printed out a coupon and took off for town. I live in town, but I still get in the car and go to town. Maybe it's a country thing... not sure. :0

I bought a new quilt magazine. It has several quilts with instructions that I'm interested in trying to make sometime soon. Case is mesmerized by Stars. If he sees one, you'll know it ... because he'll say 'Tars!!!!" Tars!!!!" I'll be sad when he grows a little more and actually says that the right way. :) So I'd like to make him a full sized quilt that he'll always have with him that has stars on it. But I want it to be a good color scheme to grow with him.

I'm sure I'll need more retail therapy soon ... hopefully Hobby Lobby will have another coupon next week.

Two blocks down, seven to go

It's football season, so what better way to describe my quilting endeavors than football'ish terms!! ha ha .. Don't you know every football man fan would cringe if they heard the word "footballish" and quilts in the same sentence!

But seriously, I've got two blocks down and only seven to go. I swear, when I get them all done ... I may run through the house with my hands held above my head screaming "TOUCHDOWN! QUILT COMPLETE!" and then I can throw down my seam ripper and do a little funky dance just like the boys do. Naaaaaaahhhh, I'll just quietly snap some pictures and post them on my blog and call my Mom. :)

Not only is quilting addictive, but apparently it can be contagious! My mom has sworn that she was NOT going to make a quilt. She was not interested in it at all. Yet, she would enjoy seeing what I was working on as I was learning to quilt. Then, the next stage in her contagious quilting sickness was that one day she wanted to borrow all my quilt magazines! tteehhheee... I knew she had the fever then. The next step was that all the sudden I realized that she was buying her OWN quilt magazines and sharing them with ME! I've heard a vicious rumor that she's got a quilt pattern picked out, and is patiently waiting on payday and some free time to escape to the quilt store to get some fabric and get started.

Of course, it's only fair that I can infect her with this quilt fever. You see, not long ago I was asking to borrow her Beading magazines .... and had previously sworn that I was not interested in beading/jewelry. Now I happen to have the cutest collection of beaded bracelets and necklaces that you could imagine ..... and I let my mom borrow my Bead magazines.

Be careful out there ... you never know what you'll catch next!

Sew Delicious!!

I rented time at our local quilt store on the Gammill quilt machine today, and worked on my king size Wash Day Stars quilt. The quilting is complete, and all that is left is to attach the yellow binding strips. I'll get a close up picture of the quilt tomorrow.

I'm very tickled to have gotten this so close to being finished! It's only the second quilt that I've done. You can see my first quilt here. I have the best intentions to not leave quilt projects half done. It's affordable to rent the Gammill quilt machine ($20/hr) and I have the self satisfaction of knowing that I completed the quilt completely by myself..... machine pieced and quilted by lil' ole' me! (well, little'r)

Here is a picture of my quilt top attached to the quilting machine.

I am really excited about having such a wonderful quilt store so close. Of course, it probably is bad news for my checking account! I figure, though, we all have our hobbies ..... my husband loves his motorcycle and is intently looking for an "around town work truck" to buy. How much harm can I be with doing a little quilting here and there. At least it's made in the U.S.A!

<------ This was made in the U.S.A.

hahaha.. I just couldn't resist saying that. Actually, I should check to see where the material was made at, but the block was assembled by cheap southern labor. :) It's a shame to call oneself cheap, isn't it? I should change that to frugal southern workforce.... hahaaa.

This is a new quilt that I've started this week. The picture is of one block, and I only have 8 more to put together! This will be a nice throw size quilt, approximately 60in x 60in. I've had quite a bit of trouble with the angles and pieces matching up point to point .... but I quickly got over being anal retentive and just dived right into placing colors and sewing. It's not perfect, obviously, but I'm tickled with it overall and I think that the finished quilt will be interesting. Nothing to enter into the State Fair, of course, but nifty to me!

Thursday I'll use the longarm quilting machine at the local quilt store and quilt my the king sized quilt top that I finished recently. I can't wait to snuggle up under it this winter! I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.

I did some research and found that a lot of Step2 products/toys are manufactured in the U.S.A. Good thing to know!

This is a picture taken by some friends on their trip to Cozumel this summer. I'd like to be laying on that beach with a nice, cheesy romance to read, a glass of Dr. Pepper or a chilly Mojito (if I want a nap!).

So Christmas isn't that far away. I know you're thinking that it's only September, we have plenty of time to worry about Christmas! But nooooo..... if 80% of toys are made in China and they keep having these massive recalls on toys from China because of lead .... then what are the other 20% of toys that are available that I feel safe buying for an almost 2 year old boy?! I need more time than I have to solve this problem. I mean, if he didn't put everything single thing he plays with in his mouth, I wouldn't be so concerned about where the toy was made at. But, he does .... and I am concerned. This is probably some sort of conspiracy against the U.S. for the Chinese to kill us off one by one or to turn us toxic. Do they let their kids in China play with lead infested toys?? Where is our salmonella infested spinach...I've got somewhere I'd like to send it. Okay, that was overboard..and I'm merely being dramatic. I'd never send salmonella infested spinach anywhere ... unless I have PMS and then no one is safe. :)

At least I know that Case likes trucks and tractors....and I could get him a little Ford Truck to drive around the back yard. Surely he won't attempt to eat a truck ......

And yes, he can only get a Ford truck. :)

I've decided I should post on my blog more often. It feels good to rant about anything I want to and not worry that people will think I'm nuts. :)

No Peeking!

Every time I would go work out at the fitness center, I would semi-obsess over what I was going to wear. I would do a 360 turn in front of the mirror to check and make sure that my t-shirt was long enough to cover my hiney in any position my frumpy body ended up in. So a nice, big, 3X shirt and some workout pants would be my normal workout attire. Now, why in the world I thought I had to check myself out and obsess over what i was wearing, when I always wore the same thing is silly! But hey, it's me.





Now that we have a weight set in the garage, I'm all ready to start working out at home. I'm thrilled that I could actually wear a tank top or a sports bra and shorts while I work out! Those 3X shirts were HOT! (and, by the way, I shrunk enough to need only a 2X!).





So, I'll work out in my garage ... imagining that I'm slim and trim .... wearing much less clothing that I would normally ...... so noone needs to peek in the garage door window unannounced! I'm not responsible for any lack of vision you might suffer from seeing what you may see!!!

Vicious Cycle

Why is it that when you really get in the groove of doing something consistently .... but for one reason or another get out of the groove ...... why is it so hard to get back into it?

I dont know why I had to be so cryptic about it. Working out. The vicous cycle that it has become for me. I worked out very consistent for 6 months and lost about 25 pounds. Then for 6 months I worked out sporadically and held my weight loss at a consistent 25-27 pound loss. It's been a year since I started working out, and I've all but stopped. The cycle of working out, stopping and then getting back into it is so hard!

I keep noticing that my energy level is next to nothing now. If I think back 6-9 months I realize I was much more energetic. I played with Case more. I was up and about more and felt better! Now it feels like its hard to pull me off the couch. But ... the next stage of the cycle is about to begin! My gym membership expired this month and we bought a weight bench set to put in our garage. I'm excited about lifting weights again. It made the difference in me actually losing weight this past year. We also have an older treadmill and stationary bicycle out there too. Soooo... I'm going to get up and work out and get back into the exercise cycle. :)

If I can lose 25 lbs 3 more times .. I'll be at a good goal weight for me! It's so much easier for me to think of it like that .... instead of saying that I need to lose 75 pounds! I just hope that it doesnt take me 3 years to do it!!

I also have a new goal of writing and sending out things for publication. This month I sent in a few things to Blue Mountain Arts for submission to their greeting card segment. If I dont hear anything in writing from them in four months, I can assume a big, fat No from them. But hey, you never know till you try.

Yawn

I don't know if it is because it's starting to become the dog days of summer, or if I'm just lazy ... but I'm so darn tired lately! Of course, it probably has something to do with a certain handsome little 1 1/2 year old boy that I chase around all day!

I've worked on the quilt some this week. I'm sick and tired of it being stacked up in pieces on the kitchen bar. I have two more border pieces to add to it, then it will be ready to quilt. It will be a king size quilt when finished. When I finish the top, I'll get my watercolors out and get started on them again. I miss painting ... but I'm having a terrible time getting started painting again. What I really need to do is get a friggin job. .... ugh!

I stopped using my self tanner ... and also stopped shaving ... hahaha.. Nice, huh. I sound quiet attractive ... lazy, sleepy, hairy and pastey white! I hope I can get by on sheer humor and big heart .... :)

Sew what!

Okay, it's Thursday evening and I haven't worked out at all this week. SEW WHAT! :) I have worked on the freakishly huge quilt that I started a few months ago. I attached a picture of what I have together so far. It should be smooth going from here, though. Mostly just assembling the pieces and sewing them together.

I'll get back on track next week and work out 3 times. I did do pretty good watching my diet, though ... and the scales show that I'm holding steady or even down another pound. I guess chasing a 15 month old around is some sort of exercise. right? :)

When I am finished with this quilt project, I'll get started doing watercolor again. I've been wanting to paint something big! I got into a rut of doing small art cards (2.5 in x 3.5 in). Those things sold really good on ebay for a year or so. When I had to stop doing art for a year, I just never got started selling again. Maybe this spring I can do that again. It was a little bit of spending money and I enjoyed having it. Actually, I think I bought our bowling shoes and David's bowling ball with ebay money. Not bad for "free" money. :)

Guess I'll swig on this bottle of water and then float off to bed.

by the way, I saw a waterbed at Furniture Row today ... I didnt even know they still made them. Sew what! :)

Self Tanner and Shaving ..... part two!

After I went to bed last night, I realized that I titled my blog "self tanner and shaving" ... but didnt talk about shaving!

Not that its a big deal or anything... but I can't leave it undone! :)

Since my legs are now semi-tanned .... I find that I'm much more inclined to actually shave them! Now, I wonder if when I get skinny (yep, when .. not if!)... will I REALLY love to shave my skinny, tanned legs?? haha ha

Happy Easter!

Self Tanner and Shaving

I use to love to lay out in the sun and get a nice golden tan. I would tan quickly, easily and hardley ever burn. Those were my young and dumb days ..... young enough to wear a bathing suit in public and dumb enough to lay out and get a suntan. :)

I guess I'm old and smart now. Old enough to know that I shouldnt be wearing a bathing suit ... EVER ... and smart enough to use a great lotion with a hint of self tanner!

I love the Vaseline lotion with self tanner. It really works! I started just putting it on from the knees down, so that when I went to work out ... the little bit of leg that shows from my capri workout pants would be tan. Now I look freaky .... because I've started putting the lotion on all the way up, but the top half is behind! I have a farmer tan on my legs. Ugh!

I guess my theme song will hold true ... "She's so vain!". Yeah baby. Yeah.

Why do boys eat dirt?

Seriously.... why do little boys eat dirt, and lick chain link fences? Is this some weird way that nature has to prepare women for the fact that they grow up to be grown men that can spread dirt through a clean house faster than a dust storm in the desert? :)

I haven't worked out since the first week in January. I haven't painted anything since late January. I haven't worked on my quilt for two weeks. Is there a pattern here? I'm such a procrastinator. I knew if I gave myself a break from the gym, that it would be hard to get back in there. BUT.... I'm going to! Losing 22 pounds has been inspiring to keep going. To be able to see a difference in the way my fat girl clothes fit is a good thing. Like my friend Dawn, I'm tired of getting clothes in the big girl section. They aren't cute clothes either ... :0

Now that my PMS has subsided. ... my house has resumed it's pre-PMS clutter. :) Oh well, it'll get cleaned in about .... four weeks. :)

PMS and creativity

I think that PMS zapps all creativity. Instead it gives me a big ole' burst of the grumpies ... the grrrrrrrrrrr's to everyone! And for some odd reason, when I have PMS I tend to "nest" like pregnant women do!

For example, this morning one of Case's refrigerator farm magnets slid under the stove. When I pulled out the drawer to get the magnet .... I saw crumbs! And dust bunnies! And more crumbs! And about four other farm magnets too. So, I hauled out the vacuum. After I cleaned that up ... I realized that I hated my kitchen curtains the way they were hanging. So I took down the middle panel. Then I realized that I hated the way my kitchen table was arranged. So I turned it sideways. And then noticed all the dust in the crevices of my chairs. So I dusted that. Then I saw something roll across the living room floor....and off I go ... chasing it with my vacuum ..... OOPS! It was Case. :) He had better watch out or I'll be getting him into the bath this morning too!

:)

So.... PMS must equal a very clean house. And all before 9 in the morning!

Cut, Cut, Cut!

Quilting is funny. You sew and sew and sew strips of fabric together. Then you make sure you press the seams really well. Then ... you cut cut cut it apart! :)

I have cut my strips into 2 1/2 inch segments, and now I'm sewing two of those segments back together to form a square. But I have to sew 438 of them together!!! Good thing I learned about chain sewing, and i'm conserving thread and time.

Havent had a chance to paint lately. Although I do have a nice pile of tomatoes sketched out for watercolor.

It's been hard to do all the things I want to do..... I've started doing jewelry too. I should really dedicate one day for a project. One for jewelry making. One for quilting. One for sewing. One for scrapbooking. And ... I want to crosstitch again .. so there's one for another day!

With all those day's fully scheduled... when is there time for housework and cooking and doing a "real" job?

"Pressed" for time

9'' x 12'' watercolor on Arches paper - SOLD - copyright 2004

I've got all of my 2 1/2 inch strips of reproduction fabric sewed together. Now I have to press the seams to one side before I can cut them and put them back together to make four patch units. I'm "pressed" for time to get it done, though. A little each night, and it'll get done eventually! I'm still excited about the project, though. Will try and include a picture in a day or two.

I have added a picture of a painting that I completed in 2004. I really love how the beach and sand turned out. Have a new goal for the week to try and get another seascape similar to this done and listed on eBay.

End of the line

Just when I think that things have settled down, the family is busy doing their own things around the house, and that the time is prime for getting back to my quilting...... just then, do I realize that I've reached the End of the Line. Line of thread, that is. :)

I had the perfect time to sit down at my Singer and start sewing some strips together for my next quilt. First I checked my bobbin and it was close to empty. I rethreaded the machine to get it ready to rewind the bobbin....and looked at the spool of thread and it only had a few lines of thread left! Sigh, the end of the line of the white spool of thread. And I didnt have any more white. So, my perfect time to quilt turned into the perfect time to play my new Nintendo DS. It's an odd coupling of interests, isn't it! Imagine if someone that was reading this knew I was into quilting....they would think that I was older, perhaps. If they read that I was into watercolors, they too might think I was older too. But, if they read that I love my Nintendo DS, my Playstation 2 and my Nintendo Gamecube...they would think I was a kid!!! It's funny that I'm in my early 30's .... and I like to do so many different hobbies.

The order of business tomorrow is to get to Wal-Mart and get some thread! I want to get this quilt going, because I found a new quilt pattern to do....a butterfly applique quilt!

Too busy to be creative.

all paintings above are 2.5'' x 3.5'' - listed on eBay

With Christmas just around the corner, it seems like I'm too busy to do anything creative. I'll look forward to the slowing down of the new year, and the onset of some slow winter days.

I did manage to create some new art cards to sell on eBay. I enjoyed creating this group. The giraffe is something new for me to try. It was a nice change from doing seascapes and parrots. I did a few zebra cards a several years ago, and they were fun to do too. I think that sometime next year I'll try to work on a new series of African animals. There is an artist that sells on eBay that has a beautiful print of some Hippo's created in watercolor. I love that painting so much!

I do have my sewing machine set up on the kitchen table. But I haven't been able to get out my material and ironing board and get started on my quilt again. That may have to wait until after new years.

The Stitch is back in town!

Well, my sewing machine is back from being serviced. Let the stitch begin! I'm excited to start working on my wash day stars quilt.

I've been working on two small 5 x 7 paintings to hang in my living room. I already have the frames and mats, and just have to complete a painting that's half way good to hang up!

New art cards for eBay

above listed on ebay - see link to right!

I've completed three more art cards and listed them on ebay. The other art cards I had listed ended with one (the sunrise seascape) selling. Anytime I sell a piece of art is thrilling!