"Meet Laurie!"

I finished my scrappy quilt. I named it Laurie after my beloved grandmother that passed away in 2003. I just have to add the label, and I'll be finished. My friend Jacquie, who is quite the amazing quilter sent me a tutorial to help me learn to grid quilt. It wasn't hurt, but pretty time consuming. It was totally worth it though. This quilt makes me smile. It's happy and full of surprises just like my grandma. I hope she's smiling from heaven. The binding has little polka dots all over it. The colors are kind of crazy, but I think they all flow together in perfect harmony. Amandajean at Crazy Mom Quilts helped me learn how to make a scrap quilt quite awhile ago, and I find them so fun. Always a challenge, and always a surprise!

Toodle OO!

C

My Scrappy Quilt

Iknow you all thought I left blog land forever. Life is nuts, and I just haven't had the time or desire to post for awhile, but I thought you'd all like to see this, so here goes. I pulled out my sewing machine the other day on a a rainy day along with my basket of scraps. This is what I have so far. I'm calling this the "Laurie" quilt in honor of my beloved grandmother. She loved the outdoors, and the earth tones and nature prints remind me of her. I'm going to dedicate it to her on the label. I need to bind it, so I will post photos of the completed project whenever that happens. It measures apx. 48x66". Here's the link to the photo that inspired the color scheme.I'll try to check in every now and then. Toodle-oo!

C

Crock Pot Breakfast-Brilliant!

photo by Betizuka

ETA: We tried the below mentioned recipe, and it wasn't too great, but the idea is. I'm on a mission to find crockpot breakfasts because it was perfect to wake up and have breakfast. I want to make eggs with onions, peppers, etc, and just make a piece of toast to complete breakfast. I'm going to experiment, and if I come up with a keeper, I'll share it here on my blog. If anyone comes up with something PLEASE share. It really is a heavenly idea.

For the life of me, I don't know why this never dawned on me before. I am flipped over my crockpot, and use it to cook dinners all the time. Not until recently did it EVER occur to me to use it to make breakfasts the night before. I don't like breakfast that much, but I ALWAYS make my kids a hearty breakfast. I know that is a very important time to eat. Without energy, kids will just be limp rags when it comes to focusing and learning. My daughter doesn't like the traditional breakfasts too much, and chooses to eat leftovers such as spaghetti and pizza quite often. As long as it fills her up, I don't care. A light bulb went off the other day when I read that some people use their crockpots the night before to have a hot, and hearty breakfast waiting as soon as everyone awakens. BRILLIANT-I tell ya-BRILLIANT. This will make hubby, kiddos, and mama happy. Can it get better then that? I haven't tried this yet, but here's one that looks very promising off All Recipes.com. I'm adjusting the portion size to 8. That way we'll get two breakfasts out of it. The first time will be hot out of the crockpot, the second, quick heat up in the microwave. I usually have the portions ready in individual bowls, and cover and put in the fridge. In the morning all we have to do, is pop the serving in the microwave. Even serving things up takes precious morning minutes, so I do as much as I can the night before.

1. Slow-Cooker Western Omelet

Let me know if any of you try this, and if you do think I'm brilliant, please don't hesitate to tell me. LOL! Love ya all!

Toodle-oo!

C

Baby Steps and Hopefully Organization will Follow

photo by aka cretivity



In my never-ending quest to get my life more organized, I was reading some websites to help with organization this weekend. I've decided I really need to get serious about making myself a "realistic" plan I can stick to. This is how I'm going to attempt to learn to schedule my week:

Monday
1.Start a load of laundry (Immediately hang and put away. I've been doing this pretty well for awhile. It's life-changing to not have the laundry monster trying to eat your legs. I try to remember to bring down hangers from upstairs so they will be ready and waiting when the laundry is hot from the dryer. This is a huge time saver for me.)

2. Pay myself first: I started an on-line book club with some close friends again, and am really enjoying reconnecting. Reading is important to me, so I'm scheduling that at the beginning of my day to start the day off right. At the beginning of my reading time, I'm going to get serious about my time with God. I like the devotionals from this siteThey are quick reading but filled with quality and questions to ponder. I'm also reading this-the Bible in a year-I'm using the classic reading plan. I am scheduling an hour every morning for this "refresh me" time.

3.Weekly Home chores: Mopping, sweeping, vacuuming,meal planning, changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms, etc

4.Whatever Flylady has on tap for today.

5.At least 15 minutes of decluttering, that never ends.

6.Straighten up after dinner, make lunches for next day, and hopefully relax til bedtime.

Tuesday:


1.Start Laundry

2."Refresh Me" time (see Monday for details)

3.Grocery Shopping Day (When Needed)

4.Flylady assignment

5. Declutter

6.Straighten up, lunches, relax

Wednesday:


1.Laundry

2.Refresh Me time

3.Flylady

4.Declutter

5. Girl's Day Out (I go out to lunch and thrift shopping with my best bud on this day)

6. straighten up, lunches, relax

Thursday:

1.Laundry

2. Refresh Me Time

Flylady

3. Declutter

4. Errand Day

5.straighten up, lunches, relax

Friday:

1.Laundry

2.Refresh Me time

3.Flylady

4. Declutter Day (dedicate more time to weeding out-up to a few hours)

5.straighten up, lunches, relax

Saturday and Sunday: Come what may, but since the family is home, schedules are pretty much out the window. LOL!

Hubby has a week off in Nov. and coming up with a plan to dejunk a lot of stuff. Our home is small, we just have too much stuff for the space we have. I'm not the "cat lady" with stuff to the ceiling LOL! but I just feel so much happier when things are organized. It's a job and a lifestyle, but I keep plugging away at the dream. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't meet every task everyday, but at least I have something written down now.

Hopefully this schedule can help some of you too. If you have your own plan or any thoughts or ideas to share, I'd LOVE to hear them. Have a safe week.

Toodle-00


C

How about Ramsey/Beck 08?

Photo by Gary Hymes



Thanks for the kind response to my last post. I'm fighting anxiety every day because I am truly DISGUSTED with the US gov's handling of this debacle. Yes-as Linda from Las Vegas said in a comment on my last post, the whole WORLD is in crisis now. In my heart of hearts I believe this tragedy was man made, both parties were at fault, and it was propelled by pure, unadulterated greed! A second grader could have seen the train wreck that was imminent with these "dummy loans." I didn't realize it would put the WORLD'S economy on the brink of disaster though.

I did not put myself through the debates last night. I just couldn't do it, and from what I've heard about them I made a wise decision. Hold on America (and the world) It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Photo by The Rocketeer
I know people either love or hate Glenn Beck on CNN. I happen to love him. He's fighting harder for America than ANY politician ever will. He says he wants nothing to do with being a politician, but I'd vote for a Dave Ramsey/Glenn Beck ticket in a heartbeat. They both have common sense, and they both care about what happens to the American people. Here is a link to read Dave Ramsey's latest response about the economy.

Where are the trials? Why did AIG use over $400,000 of their (no make that OUR) government bailout money to treat some of their people to a premiere beach resort vacation a few short days after begging on bended knee for help? How are they allowed to steal from us, YES steal from us with no penalties, no investigations, not even a slap on the wrist? Who is going to step up to the plate and save us? WHO? WHERE are you, whoever you are?

What kind of a nation is going to be left for our children? Oh PLEASE let a miracle come. I pray every day. I still believe in God, and I still believe in the values that my country was founded on.The US government sold us down the river, and they got away with it. Shame on them!!!!

Toodle-oo!!!!

C