I'm Sorry. I owe you a post.

Yesterday was crazy. Meetings all morning, work in between and all afternoon. Then my husband and I went out last night to the furniture store and bought a new couch and club chair recliner. VERY excited! Both pieces are in stock so Chris will be picking them up next Monday. So I totally forgot to post my update AND the winner of my little giveaway.

Here I go...

108 days smoke free
1613 cigarettes NOT smoked
12 days added to my life
$445.00 saved.
No thread purchased

And now the winner of my giveaway... I did that random number generator do-dad and it gave me #12 back. #12 is... RACHEL! Congratulations Rachel! Please email me your address and I will get your little goodies out to you. Thank you to all who commented. I will do another giveaway soon. They are fun!

Update on the Wii Active 30 day Challenge. I like it. I went strong until the weekend hit because I just wasn't home all weekend. Nor did I do any exercising yesterday because we got home late from furniture shopping. So I will be starting up again today. But I like it. I work up a nice sweat for the 20 minutes I do the routines. I'm going to forge on.

Punkie is in New Hampshire with my in-laws for the week. They left yesterday and will be home on Saturday. I slept in this morning until 7:00; it was very nice. I have a few evenings of Mama-Free duties so I plan on doing some sewing.

End of last week and over the weekend, I finished quilting the pinwheel wall hanging and I sewed the binding on - I just need hand sew the back. I did a practice run with the machine embroidery with a shirt that I bought Punkie. The design is a bit off-center and a little too low on the shirt but I don't care. She'll wear it anyway. So now I feel a little bit better about embroidering a shirt as a gift. I think with the gift, I'm going to mark the area on the shirt where I want the embroidery in pencil to be BEFORE doing anything. I have a hard time visualizing, even when the machine shows me where the design is going to go. Why do I have these ideas AFTER the fact? I guess that's why we practice.

I will post pictures soon of everything. I would just like to have them all done.

Enjoy your day!
Jen

I've Waited Long Enough

I am ready to bust open those Clementine fat quarters! I have waited long enough! 3 whole weeks! I'm ready.

I pretty much caught up with some of my more pressing projects. The little tote that I wanted to make is done. I have started quilting the pinwheel wallhanging so I should be done with the quilting in the next day or two. Binding strip is made. I just need to attach it. I still need to machine embroider the T-shirt with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger but I'm scared. I'm afraid. I'm afraid to do the machine embroidery. But I'm going to try and get over it.

So, since those projects are pretty much done, I'm going to start my SIL's Clementine quilt. I will post progress pictures soon!

Very excited!
Jen

100 Days Smoke Free Giveaway

Okay, today is really Day 101. I first want to say THANK YOU to everyone who cheered me on and supported me and to those who shared their own quit stories and tips. I truly do appreciate it. I love this other group of virtual friends that I have. You all are great! ♥

Do I feel accomplished? Kinda sorta. Do I feel healthier? Kinda sorta but not really. The 10 pounds that came with these 101 days isn't making me happy but I'm doing something about it so I won't dwell on it. Do I feel richer? Sure. Smokes are up over $6.00. Too rich for my blood!

The big question is do I miss it? And my answer is YES. Yes I do. Not so much in the car like I did in the beginning. I found that chewing gum is working for me. I miss more of the social aspect for me as well as the boredom. When I was bored at home, at work... anywhere, I would go out and have a smoke. Now I eat. At least at work they got rid of smoking on campus on January 1st of this year so I couldn't smoke anymore at work even if I wanted to. I miss it when I'm stressed out.

I won't lie. I MISS IT. And work is getting really stressful for me. The calling to smoke is getting really strong. My mom (the smoker) told me to call my doctor and get a prescription for the continuation pack of Chantix so that I have it when the call to smoke gets really, REALLY bad. The medication really does work or I would still be smoking. I just need to find my stress outlet and not let it be food.

Anyway. That's my confession for the last 100 days. And here's my giveaway. It's not much and I want to add a little bit to it but for now you'll at least get what is pictured.


The little quilt pattern is adorable. I bought several months for myself. I haven't made one yet but I plan to when I get laid off at the end of the year. I'm collecting projects NOW when the money is coming in. LOL. I should probably be paying off my bills. I'm doing that too but a girl needs her fabric and patterns too!

So if you are interested in my giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner on Monday, June 29th. How does that sound?

Good luck!
Jen

Last Day of School

Punkie (and Mama) made it through her first year of preschool with no problems. PHEW! Punkie has learned a LOT in school. According to her report card (more of a progress report), Punkie has mastered ALL the 1st year preschool benchmarks and was well on her way of mastering ALL the 2nd year preschool benchmarks. Meaning, she's pretty smart for a 3 year old and is neck and neck with the 4 year olds going into Kindergarten in September. She can recognize 51 out of 52 upper and lowercase letters. It didn't say which one stumped her but I'm curious. I'll have to ask her. The progress report had a bunch more to say but I'm working from memory.

Here she is on her last day of school...



The fabric baskets were very well received. I had Punkie color on brown paper bags and write the teacher's name on the bag... did I take a picture of them? NO! I'm so mad! But I wrapped the baskets in cellophane, each with a thank you note inside. Punkie was so proud to hand them out. She decided which teacher got which basket.

I didn't think of the contents that I would be putting into the bag or I would have used a stiff interfacing to give the basket more structure. The bottles and such were a bit too heavy for the fabric so the sides collapsed on themselves. But I stuffed them with tissue paper to help. I also have a different way to try to do the lining. I will have to give it a try for my own basket. I bought fabric for it but I haven't gotten around to making one for myself. But I'm happy with the outcome overall. Even happier that it ALL came out of my stash!




Today is my 100th day of not smoking. Come back tomorrow to see what little goodies I'm giving away in celebration!

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Sugar Cookie Recipe

BQS (before quilting (&) sewing), I was very much into cookie and cupcake decorating as a hobby. But then I realized that someone needed to EAT all the goodies so I found another hobby... quilting and sewing. LOL.

Marsha asked me to post the sugar cookie recipe that I used for the sugar cookie crosses that I made. I forgot where I got this recipe so I don't know who to give credit too but the recipe is great for cut-out sugar cookies. AND this dough can be frozen. Bonus when you have lots of cookies to do. You can make the dough ahead of time, freeze it and use when needed. I have frozen my cut-outs, my flattened rolled out discs of dough AND my baked cookies. I'm all about saving time when it comes to sugar cookies as they take a LOT of time to decorate.

Couple of tips....
- well, I listed my first tip above. Freezing my dough.
- I bake frozen as well. At 325'F for a few extra minutes
- I roll my cookies to 1/4 inch OR 3/8 inch. Depends on my mood and how many cookies I have to make. If I have to make a lot, 1/4 inch to make use of all the dough. Not so many cookies? 3/8 inch.
- I roll my dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper using wooden dowels that I bought at the hardware store cut in half. I think the wooden dowels work better than the rolling pin spacers. AND they are much cheaper.

Okay - recipe time. Please note that the whole recipe can make up to 5 dozen, 3" cut out cookies. If you don't need that much, the recipe can be cut in half very easily.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter (I use 1/2 unsalted butter-1/2 salt for the flavor. The recipe seems a bit bland without it).
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla (I use 1/2 vanilla - 1/2 almond. I have also make orange flavored sugar cookies, lemon flavored and strawberry flavored by using different extracts or flavorings but make sure you use 1 tsp. vanilla. The cookies taste better).
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (I usually roll out my dough and place the flattened pieces in the fridge. Once I'm done with all the dough, the first piece is ready for cut outs and baking).

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet (I bake on parchment) at 350'F for 8 to 1o minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. Cool on cooling racks before decorating.

That's it. It's a great cookie recipe. I hope you get a chance to make some.

Jen

Another Monday is here.

Wow. Another Monday, huh? Well, here's my post.

99 days smoke free - come back sometime this week for my 100 smoke free days giveaway.
1494 cigarettes NOT smoked
$412.00 saved. I wish. I've been slacking there. I need to start paying myself again but I'm too lazy to go to the ATM to take out the money. I have a secret stash of cash at home but I haven't been adding to it
11 days to my lifetime have been added

No thread purchased.

I bought this over the weekend. I haven't used it yet. Well, I checked out my neighbor's before I bought mine.

I'm getting bored at the gym AND I would rather do something in the morning for 20 minutes or so before getting ready for work instead of going to the gym after work. But I think I can't get rid of the gym all together. SO, my plan is to do the Wii Active 3 to 4 times a week and get to the gym as much as I can. Work schedules between myself and my husband are kinda crazy these days. Makes doing anything after work hard because of Punkie. I like to have her home as soon as I can so that she has time to decompress from her own day. I hate when I pick her up late, throw her in the tub for her bath and then put her to bed. I don't get to spend much time with her and she doesn't get to relax.

I'm hoping this will get me motivated to get off my @$$ and get this weight off. My cousins are on a diet together (helps when they live in the same house) and one has lost 13 pounds, the other 6. I'm jealous. I don't want to be the "fat" cousin at family reunions. LOL.

I've also been busy, busy, busy on the sewing front. I will post pictures soon. I think today will be a double post day as I have pictures of the teacher gifts that I made.

That is all. Wish me luck on the exercise. I'm going to need it!

Jen

This Little Piggie Went to the Market... This Little Piggie Stayed Home...

We have 6 piggies in our backyard. I know the picture shows 8 but 2 went to their new home already. Chris bought the piggies on Sunday and we will be raising them..... for the bacon (and pork chops and pork roast and tenderloins...). So the piggies have no names. Truth is, they are CUTE at this age and I don't go to the pen to visit them because I know they will end up in my freezer. Once they are bigger, I really don't care because they STINK and aren't really that cute anymore!


We aren't keep all 6. Only one is ours. The rest are going to various family members and friends who bought the pig but we are raising until the time comes.

OINK!
Jen

Me, My Daddy, My Grandpa and Tractors

Amelia loves machinery. LOVES it. If it has an engine, she wants to drive it (as long as she has her ear protection on). If it has a horn and you let her play with THAT, she will be your friend forever.

My husband and Father In Law collect antique CAT crawler tractors. The rustier, the better. They love going on the 'hunt' and driving through towns looking in people's yards, in the tall grass. There's usually a tractor hidden. A 'gem' in their eyes.

A few weeks back, there was an antique construction show over the border in Rhode Island and my husband and FIL brought some of their 'gems' there to show off and play. I took Amelia to the show to break up our day and she can feel special getting a tractor ride when all the other little boys just watch. LOL.

My FIL and Punkie are driving the tractor while Daddy is working the grader behind it, smoothing out the road.



And here's a REAL antique grader... horse drawn! - That's how they did it in the WAY BACK (Little House on the Prairie time!). LOL.

I don't see the thrill. I'm sure he feels the same way when I go ga-ga over a new fabric line coming out! LOL.

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Monday, Monday

I'm slacking in blogland. I have a bunch of things to update - things that we did, things that I've worked on in the last week or so but I haven't had time to organize my pictures off my camera. So hopefully more posts will be coming in a couple of days.

93 days smoke free.
1389 cigarettes NOT smoked
$383.00 saved
10 days added to my lifetime

No thread purchased.

I think my husband is going to do a "lifestyle change" with me. Maybe that will help me get motivated and back on track with the whole weight scene. We'll see.

Enjoy your day!
Jen

My Monday Post

I usually post in the morning but I forgot today. I have the start of a cold coming on so I'm just not with it.

86 days smoke free - I have decided to have a giveaway celebrating my 100 smoke free day. So you only have 14 more days to wait. LOL.
1288 cigarettes NOT smoked
$350.00 saved - not even close in my wallet but that's okay.

No thread last week.

So. There's my "Loser Monday" post. Can you tell what I'm in denial about?! LOL.

I did do some sewing over the weekend. I made a cute denim jumper for Punkie and a pair of pajama/lounging capris for myself. I had an all day pattern reading lesson on Saturday. I'll have to take some pictures.

That's about it.
Jen

My Darling Clementine...

My, my, my... what have we got here?

Delivery from the Fat Quarter Shop! Well, what's inside?!

Oh my darlin'! Oh my darlin'! Ooooh my DARLIN' CLEMENTINE!


And a Sewline pencil. LOL.

The charm squares and pencil are for me. The blue and orange FQs and yardage is for my SIL's quilt that I will be starting soon. Very soon. She wanted a blue and orange colorway quilt and Clementine fits that bill so well! The orange is ORANGE like the fruit. I love it! And I'm glad I could just get the blue and orange FQs. But I have a feeling I will be buying more of them for myself.

I soooooo want to tear into the packages NOW but I can't. I have too much on my sewing table that need some attention. Once those projects are done, I will start the blocks for Charlotte's quilt.

It's going to drive me crazy! I left everything in the box and put it away. Out of sight, out of mind. Let's hope...

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Batter Up!

On Memorial Day weekend, Punkie and I went to a family birthday party. At this birthday party there was a tee ball type game (Better Batter Baseball) that Punkie could not get enough of. Chris and I decided that if she really wanted the toy, she would have to use her own money to pay for it; trust me... this little girl has a ton of it! So, a deal was hatched and Punkie agreed. So I took her to Walmart over the weekend to see if they had it.

Check her out!

Waiting for the ball to load up...

Keep her eye on the ball!

Lining up the swing!

She knocked it out of the park!

I love her expression on this one. Keep your eye on the ball!

Even Daddy got in on the action!

After all that baseball excitement, we went out for some ice cream. What a treat!

Have a good night!

Jen

I found another one!

Another giveaway! Check out Vickie and see what she's willing to let go! 4 winners in her giveaway!

I want that pin cushion!

Jen

Giveaway from Lanie Jane

Found out about this on Rachel's blog. Lanie Jane is having a giveaway. Of what you ask?

THIS!

NICE! Go over and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Good luck! But not too much good luck because I want to win! LOL.

Jen

I'm a bad blogger

Seems like the only thing interesting or news-worthy to report on lately is "loser Monday" and I'm not even losing! I had hope on Friday, things were looking really good. Then the weekend came AND I'm PMS'ing really bad. So, that's all I have to say about that.

In other news...
79 days smoke-free
1179 cigarettes NOT smoked
$325.00 saved - not in my current stash. I've been a slacker there too.

6 new spools of embroidery thread purchased. I need to order a little girl's plain white t-shirt and then I will be in business.

In sewing news:
I have all 4 fabric baskets standing with their handles attached. I'm working on getting the liners done. I would like to have them done for this Thursday so that I can bring them to my ceramics class to show them off. Chris goes back to working Thursday nights after this week so I won't be able to go to ceramics. By the time I'm back there, Amelia will be out of school. I'll see how much time I'll get to sew in the next couple of days.

I'm also getting ready to quilt the pinwheel wallhanging and I want to make a cute little tote bag for the birthday girl. Every little girl likes purses. But why can't I find what I want!?! I have in my mind either a black/white/pink OR a black/white/aqua fabric trio for the tote. I can't find any cute black/aqua or pink fabric anywhere. Why is this so difficult? I guess I'll have to change the color scheme and just go the fabric store and see what fabric "speaks" to me.

Have you tried Ocean Spray Cranberry Pomegranate juice? YUM!

Enjoy your day!
Jen