Palm Trees, Flamingos and Beaches

My kids

2012-01-23T21:07:00.000-05:00

Hannah was so hyper when I picked her up today. She asked for my video camera then she & Elijah went off and created this start to finish. I only uploaded it when they were done. They are definitely without a doubt my kids! Love you guys!!

My yard

2012-01-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

I have a Cattleya Orchid that was given to me 3 years ago, and it FINALLY bloomed in December!! I was hoping it would be pink, and wow what a surprise!! Here are other pics from my yard in the winter time. I'm so looking forward to spring where I can really start working back there. It's a work in progress, and I love where it's going...

Cattleya Orchid


Cana Lily

Purple Salvia

Roses

Ruella

Pink Gnome guarding my baby Teacup Roses

Looking for squirrels

Christmas and the New Year

2012-01-22T13:02:00.002-05:00

For some reason, Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas usually does. Maybe it's because it was my first one as a single mom. Maybe it's because the weather was unseasonably warm. Maybe it's because my budget was almost non-existent. Maybe it's because I worked so much, I just didn't have the energy to put into it what I usually do. Maybe it's because the kids weren't here to wake me up uber early like they have every year since they were born (they were at their dad's). I don't know, but Christmas is my favorite holiday, yet this one I was ready to see it go.

At work, we had a secret Santa exchange, and my person wanted Christmas ornaments. Being on a super tight budget, I bought one and made one. Well, the one I made (although the letter is really crooked) got me into the mood to make more for my family. I made photo books on Snapfish for each of the families and tied an ornament on the package. I used all scraps from my stash and ones my sister gave me, and didn't use a pattern, but I think they turned out pretty cute...

Pillowcases for my niece & nephew's bdays...

Let's Play Catch Up

2011-11-12T09:30:00.004-05:00

Wow, another year! This year was busy with all kinds of things like a new job, family adjustments, wedding engagements, new babies, etc so I didn't make very many projects. Here are some that I was able to work on...

1. Charity quilt (adapted from the Charm Squares Baby quilt pattern from Sew, Mama, Sew!)

2. Baby quilt for Lilian Rose (Elephants on parade pattern from fat quarterly issue 2)

3. Baby quilt for Kolton (inspired by a quilt that was made by QuiltDad)

4. Fabrics for a new quilt for my mom.

I don't even have pics of the ones in progress...I'm afraid 2012 will be starting out with quite a few UFOs.

Baby quilt top finished

2010-08-01T13:02:00.004-04:00

So here's the top for the baby binkie I'm making for a lady that I work with. I hope she likes it! It's one of the blocks from the newest Fat Quarterly issue. I'm thinking of machine quilting it, since she's due in the next few weeks.

My kids are visiting family in Michigan until Tuesday, and gradma

sent me some fun pics of them with their cousin's llamas...

Last night I got to babysit my nephew/godson...isn't he a doll??

I've also started Texas Frecle's Hexagon Charm Quilt Piece-Along. I've never really liked hexagons, but she makes it look fun, and I like the simplicity of it. She's even got videos for people like me that are visual learners. I started last night and have 5 hexagons down, a zillion more to go. I would like to make this for Hannah as a graduation present. Since you don't repeat any fabrics, I'm needing about 1,100 fabrics, give or take a few hundred lol! If anyone is interested in a fabric swap for getting their hexies done too, let me know. Have a great Sunday!

I'm in love...

2010-07-29T23:17:00.004-04:00

I'm in love with this new pattern! (Elephants on Parade by Tacha Bruecher...pattern available in this awesome eZine)

I'm in love with these surfin' monkeys for my nephew...

I'm in love with these fabrics for my new nephew...

I'm in love with this awesome dino fabric...

I'm in love with these too...

Elvis Tote for Hann

2010-07-28T21:26:00.004-04:00

My sister made the most awesomest tote for Hann. She takes it everywhere...to the skate station, pool, beach, sleepovers...everywhere. She wanted a new one that was a little bit bigger, so my sister sent me this tutorial and man does she make it easy! I made mine a little taller and wider than the tute and think it turned out pretty good. Next time I'll use some stabilizer to give it some gusto, but all in all Hann loves it. Her friends have already requested ones, and since the fam will be vacationing until Tuesday, I think I'll whip them out while they're gone.

If you end up making one, I'd love to see a pic :)

My Frustrated Rant

2010-07-28T00:07:00.005-04:00

Fat Quarterly's 2nd issue came out today and I got it!! You can get yours here (careful, their site is addicting!!)

I fell in L-O-V-E with the Elephants on Parade quilt pattern and decided to make one of the blocks. Since I'm needing to make 4 baby binkies STAT, I got my scraps together (including a new fabric I got in the mail last week that I'm geeked about using), ironed them and prepared to start cutting, wrote down the instructions and cutting measurements (my printer is out of ink) and lo and behold I don't have enough variations of the colors I picked, or any other color for that matter. 2 years ago I "took a break" from quilting and sold ALL of my fabric & tools. Last year I got back on the horse and am still trying to build a decent stash. Why on earth did I get rid of all of my stuff in the first place??

What is Marryoke?

2010-07-26T08:52:00.002-04:00

I came across some fun Marryoke - which is the wedding party and/or guests lipsyncing to music. Here's a fun example. Be careful...it's addicting. :)

Our first try of doing a Lip Dub during a wedding from Positive Pictures on Vimeo.

My birthday

2010-07-17T12:23:00.006-04:00

I had the most awesome group of peeps at my previous job! I miss them so much! Here they are in all of their awesomeness :)

All of the group

The Gang minus Mr. Roy

Mr. Roy

I had to throw this one in...work it Justin!!

Playing Catch Up

2010-07-17T11:56:00.008-04:00

So....deep breath...here we go...

My sister, brother-in-law and niece & nephew came to visit us from Arizona a few weeks ago. We had a blast! We went on Ripley's Ghost train tour, which was as expected...cheesy but fun none the less. We didn't find any "apparitions" but it was fun watching my EMF (?) thingie going off when my cell phone would search for signal.

I thought the lady next to me was going to have a heart attack lol! I did get freaked out when we were in the Ripley museum (in pitch black) and I took this picture...remember it was pitch black and in a flash I see this image...

My mind thinks it looks like the pshycho scene where the reent reent reent song will begin at any moment lol! It's amazing how your mind can play tricks on you in the dark. I can't wait to develop our film from the tour, but knowing me it'll most likely be Christmas before I get around to it. After our tour we went to Kozmic Bluz in St. Augustine to eat. I have to say that they have the BEST cheese fries around and thanks to them I am totally hooked on Sangrias :)
Harry Potter closet at Kozmic Bluz

Eric & Jer Hammin it up
Me & Diana

We all loved Eric's flying story, but not as much as Diana! :)

And now for meanie faces:

An "I'm Grounded" poem by Hannah

2010-07-13T12:21:00.005-04:00

The World Has Gone Dark
by Hannah Poli (copyright)

Oh the terrible woes that have befallen on my life
All because of thyself
The trees are not flourishing
The grass is not green
The birds have stopped thy beautiful song.

Oh the reminiscence of the days gone by
Of thyself on roller skates having fun in merriment.

I failed to calleth my parents
And received a punishment too terrible to mention.
All in the doing of thyself.

(Does anyone know the moral of this poem?)

Our (Almost) 48hr film project

2010-07-12T23:41:00.006-04:00

Here are some pics from our 48hr film project. Tomorrow I'll go into details...I'm still lagging from 3 hours of sleep this whole weekend but it was fun :)

Michelle checking sound

Adam, Eve and God rehearsing

Quiet on the set!

Me & my helper

Our junior producer

God sleeps.

God loves root beer!

Nathan finally sleeps (for a little while at least)

Mary and her coffee

Nathan can't compete with my garden hose!

Nathan and Bethany rehearsing

Action (finally!)

We use what we can...

Action

God sleeping (again)
Nathan playing with our prop

Day 2 doing into Day 3

3am script writing Day 1 going into Day 2 while Nathan documents

48 Hour Film Festival

2010-07-04T09:37:00.000-04:00

I'm sooo excited!!! Need I say more?

Has anyone seen April?

2010-05-01T17:09:00.004-04:00

With so much going on, once again another month flew by. One day I won't have to work a zillion hours to make sure the bills get paid, kids get fed, etc. I started on my sister's birthday quilt and have completed one row. If I post pictures of how it will look, then the surprise factor will be gone, so you'll just have to wait. Did I mention that she and her clan are coming for a visit??? I'm soooo excited! One of my nephews came to visit and is back in Michigan. We had fun while he was here, and can't wait to see him again in the middle of June!
Both of my other nephews are coming for a visit in June too! Yay family!

Hannah got the viral stomach flu. She yacked 10 times yesterday (she counted). Luckily today she's been able to keep everything down. I hate it when they're sick and you don't have any way to "fix" them. It really makes you feel helpless.

We took Hannah to her junior high orientation this week. Yep, JUNIOR HIGH orientation. I want to start crying again just saying it. I miss the little girl I held in my arms and sang to. I blinked and now she's becoming a young lady. Being at the junior high brought back so many memories from when I was at that point in my life. Yep...the gym still smells like the gym haha! Little man got excited watching the drummers for the band. He was still trying to look cool nodding his head to the music...what a sight!

Hann's new 'do

2010-03-07T22:50:00.002-05:00

Hann's new 'do
Originally uploaded by dpoli2

Hannah wanted a new 'do, so I watched a few vids on how to do the side bangs and the right way to thin out her hair with a razor comb. By the time we were done, it looked like I shaved a sheep, and she still has this much hair left. She loved it so much she fell asleep sitting up so she wouldn't mess up her hair haha! Oh to be 11 going on 12 again. I can't believe she'll be in Junior High this year. I was always told not to blink, and I did.

It's already March??

2010-03-02T22:29:00.002-05:00

Where oh where did February go?? I am sad to say I didn't finish "Quilt of Super Awesomeness" in time for Valentine's Day. I'm STILL quilting it. Hand quilting is by far my favorite, and is super relaxing...usually. However, I have so many projects I want to start on, but made the resolution this year to not start a new project without finishing the prior one first. Wow this is a hard resolution craft-wise! I cut the pieces for one of my sister's quilts and arranged them on my design wall. I have not (and will not) start sewing them together until I finish Hannah's quilt. So, in the mean time I have drawers full of new fabrics that are calling, no screaming, my name and the quilt on the design wall begging me to sew it together. The temptation is too strong...

If I Were

2010-02-08T08:09:00.003-05:00

Securityville and Handbags & Handguns started me thinking, so I'm going to play along...

If I were...
If I were a month, I'd be June.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Saturday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be noon.
If I were a planet, I’d be Earth.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a Great White shark.
If I were a direction, I’d be northeast.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a sofa.
If I were a liquid, I’d be a tall glass of sweet tea.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a blue topaz.
If I were a tree, I’d be an oak.
If I were a tool, I’d be a rotary cutter.
If I were a kind of weather, I'd be sunny with a gentle breeze.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a piano.
If I were a color, I’d be raspberry.
If I were an emotion, I’d be happy.
If I were a mythical creature, I'd be a unicorn.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a cantaloupe.
If I were a sound, I’d be ocean waves crashing on the shore.
If I were a car, I’d be a blue Lexus.
If I were a food, I’d be anything chinese.
If I were a place, I’d be a beach.
If I were a material, I’d be flannel.
If I were a taste, I’d be strawberry flavored.
If I were a scent, I’d be a dryer sheet (fresh and clean).
If I were an object, I’d be a camera.
If I were a body part, I’d be a mouth.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.
If I were a song, I’d be anything '80s.
If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be flip flops.
If I were a flower, I'd be a stargazer lily.

What would you be?

I won!

2010-02-07T00:08:00.002-05:00

Wow! I'm super excited! I won Securityville's RuffleSkinny scarf giveaway. Click on the blog name to check out her awesome collection. I'm doing a happy dance :D

Finished Project and Little Man Designs

2010-02-05T22:43:00.006-05:00

Other than the bubble in the red middle section, I love everything about this project...
For some reason the red looks way brighter than it does in person. Maybe it's just my monitor...

Little Man loves to design on my fleece wall. He made this quilt for me : )

Me and Little Man. I feel as worn out as I look. I'm just glad I have 2 days off of work!

Hannah's quilt update & new project

2010-02-03T21:42:00.007-05:00

I'm really happy with the quilting so far on Hannah's Quilt of Super Awesomeness. I'm giving my fingers a few days off so I can work on some little projects for a few people. I'm still pushing to have it finished by Valentine's Day...fingers crossed.

Kitty Kitty can't stay away from Hannah's quilt. Every time I sit down, she has to be on it, even if it's just a piece of the corner or batting. She must know that it's for Hannah. She's actually balancing on my legs that are stretched out onto the ottoman. I don't know how she does it haha!

Here's one of the side projects I'm working on. The picture is horrible, but it's late and everyone's in bed, so the lighting is bad. I'll try to take a better picture once I'm done. I love the vibrant colors in this. It gives me the warm fuzzies :) I got the basic design from one of those fake credit cards that come in men's wallets when you buy them. I loved it so much I tried to build off of it. I'm still trying to learn and develop my own flavor. I've been a pattern person for so long, I've been too scared to venture out on my own...until now. Thanks to Jacqui from Tallgrass Prairie Studio, I've been experimenting left and right. I'm a little bummed on this piece. I drew it smaller/skinnier, but I haven't quite grasped the scaling aspect of things, so it's thicker than I wanted. Oh well, chalk one up to experience I guess.

Elijah's Filmstrip Completed & New Fabrics

2010-01-30T11:51:00.005-05:00

I found out Hannah took my camera to a friend's house, so I had to borrow mom's camera (thanks mom!). As promised, here are some pics of little man with his new binkie.

Connecting Threads has a mega close out sale on their fabrics. I ordered these and they finally came in yesterday! I love them so much I'm tempted to order more before they're gone.

I'm A Sucker for Puppy Eyes

2010-01-23T22:53:00.003-05:00

I finished little man's quilt a few hours ago. He was so excited he begged me to give it to him tonight. I told him he had to wait, since it is his present for Valentine's Day. When I was putting it in the dryer, my husband brought him in the laundry room and whispered to him that if he gave me the puppy eyes, maybe I would let him have it early. Well, needless to say I caved, and he's now sleeping with it. I've never been one to wait, so it was kind of a relief haha! I am back to working on the hand quilting for Hannah's. I guess she'll be getting hers early too :)

I'll put pics of little man with his new binkie up once I find where Hannah hid my camera lol!

Elijah's Filmstrip Quilt Update

2010-01-17T20:47:00.006-05:00

I've been working all afternoon and got this far...all that is left is putting the rows together and adding borders. He changed his mind and wants me to quilt it with the sewing machine. It's been years, so I'd better practice first :) The 2nd picture is his 2 favorite blocks...candy and kitties haha! I have to say this is BY FAR the fastest quilt I've ever made. My back is killing me, so I think I'll sit and quilt on Hannah's for tonight and piece his top together tomorrow. I have the day off woo hoo!

Baby Filmstrip

2010-01-17T12:23:00.005-05:00

Ok, my quilting ADD crept up on me faster than I had anticipated. I've got Hannah's Quilt of Super Awesomeness on one craft table and started cutting the pieces for Elijah's quilt. I have decided to do a black version of Crazy Mom Quilts' Baby Filmstrip. I think with all of the crazy fabrics he picked out it'll look adorable, and since he LOVES taking pictures, the title is perfect! I'm starting to freak out a little because I have 4 weeks to finish both of these bad boys in time for Valentine's Day. I figured if I go ahead and piece his top, then I just have quilting left to go.

I'm also going to try and conquer my fear of binding. I usually just leave enough of the backing to fold over the front so I don't have to worry about bias and the dreaded mitered corners (I'm cringing just saying it). However, my need to begin conquering my sewing fears is motivating me to try it. I think I have successfully done the regular binding method ONCE since I started sewing almost 10 years ago. Wish me luck!!!

A New Template

2010-01-16T10:18:00.002-05:00

I found this adorable template while browsing the net. I have to say it's still worth the trouble of the changes I needed to make to it, and the changes I can't yet figure out. It gave me something to keep my mind other than the yelling, squealing and laughing that comes from a sleepover party with 3 11year olds. I'm glad they're having fun, I'm just maxed out.

Hannah's "Quilt of Super Awesomeness" as she calls it is coming along nicely...slowly but nicely. Confession: I've been addicted to a few choice bloggers' sites on here and am sooo excited about trying some of their projects that I can't seem to focus on the one I'm on. Fingers crossed I'll be able to work on each project until completion BEFORE beginning a new one.

Hannah's Valentine's Day Binkie Update

2010-01-12T20:37:00.004-05:00

My husband thinks I won't get these done in time by hand quilting, but I see that as a challenge. I love the look of hand quilting, and the receiver knows how much I care for them because I took the time to show them...my way.

Sooo Cold

2010-01-11T08:05:00.003-05:00

I knew it was going to be cold today, but when I got up and checked the weather I almost went into shock. It is currently 16 degrees, but with the wind chill it's 8 degrees! Now that is expected of the norhtern states like Michigan, but in FLORIDA?!? I moved from Michigan to get away from the cold haha! We've had this cold "snap" for going on 2 weeks now. One positive thing has come out of this...I taught the kids how to build up some good static to shock each other. :) Today would be a perfect day to stay home in my jammies with a fire log and quilt the day away!

What an awesome project!

2010-01-06T00:24:00.000-05:00

Mom's Christmas Binkie

2010-01-05T10:09:00.006-05:00

So mom just sent me pics of her new binkie I made for her for Christmas. I'm excited about it because I didn't use a specific pattern, just went with the flow. I put 4 sawtooth stars in it...one for each of us girls (and in our own styles). I also added a log cabin to represent the times we all spent at Mr. Chamberlin's cabin. Mom's been asking me for a binkie for a few years now...I'm glad I was able to finish it in time (I was literally finishing it up as we were getting ready to go to her house for Christmas.

Hannah's "Quilt of Super Awesomeness"

2010-01-03T10:30:00.001-05:00

So I finished the blocks for Hannah's quilt last night. I'm going to add (2) 6" long strip to the top and bottom to add length (and provide a fun place to stripe quilt). I really wanted to have 5 rows of blocks, but my budget only allowed enough fabric for 4 rows of blocks.

I ran out of the pretty colored fabric as I finished the last block. I also ran out of the brown fabric as I finished up the last block, so I'll have to wait until Friday to get some more. I let Hannah arrange and rearrange the blocks how she wanted them. I think it looks fun. Hannah is sooo excited she doesn't want to wait until Valentine's Day to snuggle up with it haha! She has named this quilt "Quilt of Super Awesomeness" Man she's a card! haha!

Jacquie, thank you so much for your great tutorial on the Wonky Log Cabin. It didn't turn out quite how I had pictured it, but for my first one I learned a lot and already have things in mind for my next one! It was so liberating not having to follow a strict pattern where the slightest wrong cut or crooked sewing line would ruin the entire block. I LOVED making these blocks!

I'm thinking this year I'll buy a white felt wall so the pictures of the tops show up more. The

background is a nice chocolate, but because of the black felt you can hardly tell. Oh well. :)

Here are some close up pics of the blocks as I was putting them together.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T11:32:00.002-05:00

Happy 2010! I can't say I have a long list of resolutions for the new year, as I try to work on things each day all year. I'm excited to start on my next quilts.

I took the kids to Joann's last weekend. They've been begging me for the past year to make them new binkies. I decided to make them new ones for Valentine's Day. Originally I was going to make a red, black and white one for Elijah and a pink, white and chocolate one for Hannah, but once we got to Joann's I thought it would be fun for them to pick out their own fabrics. Here are their selections...

Hannah's choices:

Elijah's choices:

Elijah got really overwhelmed at all of the fabrics and so after an hour of him looking at everything, I finally told him to pick 6 that he really liked and I'd figure out a way to make them work. I'm thinking large sawtooth stars with a solid black background, or rectangles with solids in the middles...I have 1 month and 2 weeks to figure it out and get it done haha! Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T23:31:00.002-05:00

Wow I totally forgot I even had this thing. I can't believe how much has gone on in my life since the last time I wrote in here. We have a new addition to our family, a cat named Kitty (even though I call her Meow Meow since that's all she does). She gets along with Spencer good. The only problem is that I can't keep the dog from eating the "treats" in the cat's litter box...gross! Any ideas would be welcomed :) Christmas was nice. The kids got a lot of cool stuff and had a blast playing with every single thing they got within 4 hours. It's like they were on a tight time schedule haha!

So the binkie I started last year got stored away once I started my job in February. Until a month ago I was working 2 full time jobs and quilting was the last thing I had time for. I quit one of my jobs and pulled it back out. I'm proud of myself for totally being brave enough to try the whole improv thing. I think it turned out good. I made it for my mom for Christmas and an "I appreciate you" gift. That woman is AMAZING! The embroidered square design came from one of the girls I work with. She is always doodling and I fell in love with this doodle so much I had to stitch it. Thanks Michelle! I'm waiting on mom to send me some pics of the finished quilt so I can put them up here.

For now, here's one of it in progress...

My next project is going to be a Wonky Log Cabin like the one here http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/search?q=for+dana . It looks so fun and is right up my alley. Fingers crossed it won't turn out like that purse I tried to make 2 weeks ago. That was a total nightmare. At least I can salvage some of the fabric haha!

Merry Christmas!

Hurricaines and Colorado

2008-09-07T14:45:00.001-04:00

We're really glad that Ike is not heading for us, since Fay did so much flooding damage. However, we're not really out of the woodwork yet, since he still could turn towards us (eastern side of the state). I pray for safety for all of those that are in his path.

Thanks to my awesome mother-in-law, we got 4 tickets to fly out to Denver, Colorado week before last. It was so much fun! We didn't stay around Denver, but went about 2 hours out all the way around in just a few days. We weren't sure that we would even be able to leave Jacksonville, since Fay was hitting as we were leaving. Luckily our flight was the last one out before the airlines started to cancel flights. Unfortunately, it was one of the scariest, jerkiest and bumpiest take offs I have ever experienced. I was actually holding a vomit bag. We got there safely and the next day started to explore the dinosaur museums, went fishing, attempted to see the fossil beds (funnel clouds were spotted, so they didn't reccommend we try it), went camping, and had a lot of fun. Once we got home, the kids were ready to pack up their stuff and move out there (I am right there with them). Maybe in the next year or so Woodland Park, CO or Manitou Springs, CO will be our new home town. :)

Somedays I really hate computers

2008-06-02T22:17:00.000-04:00

I have been fighting with this computer for going on 3 weeks now. 2 trojans decided to take up residence on my hard drive and even brought a nasty desktop wallpaper/screen saver of bugs crawling around eating my monitor. After every effort and every spyware removal tool was exhausted to no avail, I had to face the inevitable...reinstall Windows XP and all of the programs that were on before. Since I am a videographer and video editor, that was a lot of programs. After finally getting back in business, my internet went down and Comcast's helpful (extreme sarcasm) support team was able to do nothing. So, long story short, I cancelled them (good riddance) and went with Bellsouth/AT&T. I finally got my modem and kit today and I'm almost there. Since Murphy's Law was made for me, I can't fully use my internet because the account number isn't valid for registration. Now I have to wait longer to be fully up and running. At least I can catch up on deleting the 900 spam messages in my inbox until then...

The Baby Shower

2008-05-08T10:49:00.001-04:00

What a fun tea party baby shower! It was at a tea room in Mt. Dora, FL and wow! They served pomegranite iced tea with lemon slices and mint leaves, finger sandwiches, home made strawberry whipped cream and cranberry biscotti...Words can't describe how cool that place was, so here are a few pics.

A binkie for Baby Trey

2008-05-04T10:38:00.001-04:00

DSC07546
Originally uploaded by dpoli2

A Baby Shower Gift

Thank you Tall Grass Prairie Studio for the inspiration for this one. I loved the Vintage Windows quilt and really wanted to go "wonky" but time constraints (2 days to start and finish) made me chicken out haha! If I had machine quilted it would've been faster, but I love the look and meaning of hand quilting, so the machine part wasn't an option. I had time to prewash and dry it as well. Thank you again!

Beautiful Day in Sunny Saint Augustine

2008-04-25T13:33:00.000-04:00

It's such a beautiful day here in Saint Augustine! 82 degrees, gentle breeze blowing through the palm trees and friendly people. I'm working with my sister today at her coffee shop, and having a great time. We even experimented with a fun drink...Tuscan Afternoon Latte. Mmmm! Sounds fun as well as tastes fun! I'm doing good staying away from the yummy cookies they sell here. Luckily I packed a Slim Fast peanut butter crunch bar :) We've met people from Hawaii, Georgia and Iowa today. I know it sounds wierd, but I love tourists. You can find out fun facts about where they're from and listen to fun accents from all over the world. :) Guess I'd better get back to work. Stop by if you're in the area and say hi!

New Binkie and the Park

2008-04-22T17:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a great day. I took my son and niece to the park. Unfortunately it was already super hot when we got there, so the slides and most of the equipment were too hot to play on. They did take advantage of the sandbox though. :) Today was really beautiful as well. Elijah is my money saver. He'll save until he has enough to buy what he wants. Hannah will spend it as soon as she gets it, for fear that it will literally burn a hole in her pocket. I took Elijah to the dollar store to spend his set $2. He ended up with a neat car set (because we really need 20 more cars laying around to step on) and a "party set" as he calls it. Yep. Out of all the toys in the store, he went to the housewares section and bought a set that came with a matching plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife and cup. They had every color imaginable. Out of all of them which did he pick? Purple. I knew as soon as he grabbed it I wouldn't hear the end of it from my husband haha! His favorite color is pink and Jeremy's having a hard time with that. I say it's just a phase and a color. He's a mama's boy...what do you expect? haha! Last year when he broke his arm, I had to talk him out of getting a bright pink cast. Another exciting day in the land of being a mom :)

I'm struggling with how I want to lay out these blocks in the quilt I'm working on. I'm not going by a pattern (they kind of bore me anyway). I always start with a pattern, then it turns into something totally off the beaten path by the time I'm done, so I figured I would just do what came to mind. I think it's because my quilting ADD usually kicks in about mid-project. :) Scrappy quilts are a bit more difficult, but I enjoy it more. My favorite is the hand quilting part anyway haha! I'm sure the layout will look completely different by the time I get done anyway, so I'll update the pictures once I actually get the rest of the blocks done and the top pieced.

Past Projects

2008-04-17T18:16:00.000-04:00

I figured I would put some past projects on here. I'm currently working on a quilt without a pattern (a first for me). Since my favorite part is the hand quilting, I figured maybe without a pattern, I would find a new love for piecing the tops. Once my camera batteries are charged, I'll put up some pics of where I'm at. :)

I got to visit my sister at her coffe shop in Saint Augustine today. We experimented with frappucinos and iced lattes...probably not good for my diet, but treats now and then are ok. Since I won't be helping her work tomorrow and Saturday, I have time to hopefully finish the top of the quilt I started last week.

Reliving the '90s on my walkman

2008-04-16T21:03:00.001-04:00

It's amazing what you find when you start cleaning, and I don't mean the surface cleaning you do before company comes over...the deep cleaning that only comes from boredom or the need to remove clutter. I found my tape player/walkman and a bunch of tapes from the '80s and '90s. I'm so excited! As I listen to Lisa Loeb's Tails cassette, I'm reminded of living in Michigan after getting out of the Air Force, my sister crashing her new blue Ford Escort into a tree on Broomhead Road, driving my dad's big red stick shift truck while listening to this tape, meeting my future husband, jumping on trampolines, my first apartment. It's truly amazing how a song can make you remember so much you have tucked away somewhere between dropping the kids off at school, dinner, dishes, etc. I wonder what songs I listen to now will make me remember 10 years from now...