Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Yowsa...a week already

Just thought I'd drop a quick line to say I've been a busy girl.

Yes, I have done some sewing. I currently have 6 frog bodies to stuff and embellish. But I didn't want to share them until they are done.

Next week is Spring Break and I'll have the Munchkins home with me. Yay! Of course that "Yay" will probably change at about 11 am Monday morning....just wait. I'm planning on a few fun things while they're out of school. Manicures, pottery place, Mexican lunch out, and maybe a trip to the bowling alley. Nuggets seems to think she's got some "special" talent for bowling, sigh.

Y'all take care and I'll post some fun stuff soon.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Just 'cause

I normally ignore these things but I just thought while the Munchkins did homework....

1. Do you like blue cheese? Blue cheese dressing with steak fries and a cold beer.....mmmmmm

2. Have you ever been drunk? Many, many times. Christy and Kate I hear you out there laughing.

3. Do you own a gun? No, but have considered getting one only after I get trained on safety and how to use it.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Fruit Punch

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Always. I'm always convinced that it's going to be bad news.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Yum, grilled, with onions, chili, and cheese in the summer

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's A Wonderful Life

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee and diet Coke. OJ on the weekends.

9. Can you do push ups? Nope. I'm a girlie girl.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? It WAS my gold bracelet, the very first piece of jewelry Hubbie gave me that got lost at Grady Hospital this summer.

11. Favorite hobby? Quilting

12. Do you have A.D.D.? When it is convenient

13. What's your favorite shoe? My leopard print flats

14. Middle Name? Anne, with an "e"

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I hate doing 2nd and 4th grade homework, I'm going to sew when we're done, I need to finish up the GS Cookie thing

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Diet Coke, coffee, white wine

17. Current worry? About how the economy is effecting my family

18. Current hate right now? How my 7 year old doesn't listen to me

19. pepsi or coke? Diet Coke

20. How did you bring in the New Year? At a New Year's Party.....drinking too much alcohol and playing Rock Band on the Wii

21. Where would you like to go? Caribbean, Greece, Italy, France, Disney World

22. Do you own slippers? Yes, and I need new ones.

23. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Bright pink

24. Do you like sleeping on Satin sheets? Hmm, don't know.

25. Can you whistle? Not really

26. Favorite color? Alltime-Blue, Whim-Red

27. Would you be a good pirate? If Johnny Depp was involved and pirates could take daily showers, yes.

28. What songs do you sing in the shower? One's that I make up about my Munchkins and pets...

29. Favorite Girl's Name? Lily, Rose, Caroline, Marilla (that's for you, Honey)

30. Favorite boy's name? Jackson, Andrew

31. What's in your pocket right now? Empty baggie from walking the dog

32. Last thing that made you laugh? Something someone said at work

33. Best bed sheets as a child? Ones that had Grandma and Grandpa pillowcases

34. Worst injury you've ever had as a child? gash on back of head from where my sister pulled the footstool out from under me and I fell backward hit my head on the fireplace and had stitches after being strapped down in a papoose thingy they had crushing the lolipop they gave me, after my Dad jokingly said he could see my brains leaking out in the car on the way to the hospital (yes, it was a very traumatic experience)

35. Do you love where you live? Like alot, yes. Love, no. Would love living on the beach.

36. What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor, teacher

37. Who is your loudest friend? I'm pretty loud, so I can't hear anyone else

38. How many dogs do you have? 1

39. Does someone have a crush on you? I don't know

40. What is your favorite book? Any of the Sookie Stackhouse books right now. If I had to pick one, it would be To Kill A Mockingbird

41. What is your favorite candy? Anything chocolate, Snickers, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

42. Favorite Sports Team? University of Georgia

43. What song do you want played at your funeral? I don't know, something that makes people think of me that's not too sad

Friday, March 20, 2009

Friday, Friday, Fruga!

Yep, here I am again, for my Friday dance. And to introduce.....drumroll please......Fruga!
This is Fruga. She was born between the Hedges in Athens. She grew up from a small tadpole to become very popular sorority girl at Georgia. Her sorority was frog exclusive and she made many friendships there. Naturally, she still tries to attend as many Georgia home games as possible, and still sings "Glory, Glory" with gusto.

Fruga is my very first try at the reduced frog pattern. She's 23% smaller than the original frog. She has Poly Pellets in her arms and legs and polyfill in her body. I've been wanting to try to make a smaller version and it worked. This is a great use for all those small scraps leftover from making a quilt that I don't seem to know what to do with. I can't part with them, they are so beautiful, but I usually don't have enough to make something else.....until now. Fruga's tummy is the pink UGA fabric that I used to back Nugget's teacher's quilt. And based on how much I have left and the other frog "tops" I've produced, she is definitely going to have some sorority sisters in the near future.
Sidenote, Kristin, if you're reading this, Fruga already has a home, but rest assured one of her sorority sisters might be available as a 28 year old birthday gift for someone I know.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

And so it's done


I finished the "Bribe Quilt" last night. Nugget and I presented it to her teacher today before Parent-Teacher conference. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I snapped it in a rush before we left for our meeting and the wind kept blowing it off the railing. I used a striped fabric for the binding (thanks Kate for the suggestion). This was a test for a Jelly Roll of Soiree by Lila Tueller that I purchased recently. I definitely like this pattern. It was a Moda Bake Shop pattern. There's so much about this pattern I like...the randomness of adding the strips and the organized scrappiness that results. You can chain piece almost the entire top--zip, zip, zip. There are no seams to line up (my kind of pattern). Now naturally there was something I changed from the pattern, I only did one border and made it much skinnier.

As far as what her teacher thought...she loved it! Said it was lovely. I backed it with pink University of Georgia fabric (her teacher's alma mater). I named it,"Sugar, and spice, and everything nice, that's what little Bulldogs are made of!"

Now technically I'm between projects. I could work on my bed quilt (more half square triangles to make). I could make a stacked coin quilt with the doggy fabric I "had" to have. I could work on my art quilt. I HAVE a couple of frogs to whip together. I will HAVE 30 napkins to make for someone's wedding reception. So who knows what's up next.....stay tuned.

PS Evey is feeling much better today. Still sniffing around for cat food to Hoover, so I guess she didn't learn her lesson.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Happiness is...

...seeing my Sunny cat eating again! Yes, we're slowly getting back on track. No more vomiting or "cha-cha". The Vet called today, and the blood test show she's got Inflammatory Bowel Disease and pancreatitis. Both VERY treatable. Basically, she'll be on a low fat diet, steroids, Vitamin B shots and something else that I don't remember. We'll have the blood test rerun in 30 days to check all her levels, but I think we're finely on the road to recovery. I gotta say it warmed my heart when my poor little girl finally started acting hungry and eating with gusto again.

In further explanation, normally I would not allow my cats anywhere near the kitchen counters. However, I currently have a doggy (Evey) on the sofa with a tummy ache from hoarking down too much cat food in the last couple of days. So Sunny gets to eat center of the island. Yes, I disinfect after every meal.

And finally, Sunny's special treatment has caused all kinds of sibling rivalry around here.
"Dude, seriously....? How come she gets all the good stuff?"

Thursday, March 12, 2009

My poor sweet Sunny cat

Last week I noticed that my sweet Sunny was getting very, very skinny. She's always been a little thing but when I picked her up I realized she was all fur and bones. So the oldest Munchkin and I started on "Fatten Up Sunny" initiative. I assumed her weight loss was related to the addition of Evey the dog a couple of months ago. Over this past weekend Sunny just stopped eating. Monday, I realized she had not eaten and was lethargic. So after an Emergency Vet run Monday night, tests, IVs, medicines, another vet visit yesterday, more tests, more IVs, and more medicines she's still not doing great. She's home. Still not eating, but drinking water. The current guess on her diagnosis is hyperthyroidism, some kind of intestinal thing that could be managable, or intestinal cancer. We might know something as early as today or as late as next week on the most recent round of tests.

Needless to say, the oldest Munchkin is very worried. Sunny is her baby.

So keep our furry friend in your thoughts! My sweet little kitty.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Monday, Monday....love this weather.

We just had our first BEAUTIFUL weekend here in the ATL. Mid 60s-70s Saturday and Sunday. I've had the windows open all weekend. And now I'm sitting here with my coffee enjoying the fresh air as I blog, sigh. And all my backyard "pets" are back. I saw two brown bunnies hopping around in the wild area behind our house (baby bunnies can't be far off). And in the pond behind our house we have 4 ducks! Two years ago we had two ducks, then suddenly, we had baby ducks! The Munchkins and I enjoyed watching our duck family grow. Last year no ducks....I was sad. So now that I've spotted the new ducks, I've got my fingers crossed that there are ducky eggs out there. "You got ducks?!" That's for you Kate. And after being stood up by Kate and Jayson, the Hubbie and I went and played tennis anyway. I'm proud to say that after a rusty start, I actually started to hit some good balls.

I did get some sewing in this weekend. Here's what I've been working on.
Leftovers from the SugarPlum Fairy Quilts and a couple of new fabrics added in.
This is part of "The Bribe Quilt." The youngest Munchkin's teacher is having a baby in May. And this has been a rough year for Nugget. She's a "highly spirited little girl who has a motor mouth." Now I'll be the first to admit that she has a hard time staying focused and loves to talk, but her teacher now has her tagged as "problem". I could go into lots of details, but long story short, we're just working towards the end of school here. And in a shameless attempt of trying to get some sympathy for Nugget, I'm whipping together this baby quilt. Her teacher is quite nice and I like her, but I don't think my Nugget has gotten her just due.

On the weight loss front (you all thought I had forgotten), I did fall off the wagon for two weeks while my treadmill was broken. I didn't gain, just didn't lose. And the motivation to keep eating good went out the window. Then through a series of repairs and starts and stops(literally, with the treadmill) that ended with me screaming and beating the non operational piece of exercise equipment (aka THE PIECE OF CRAP), we finally pronounced the POC dead. Now during the on again, off again treadmill saga I did some walking in and did eat good. And we started a "Biggest Loser" contest at work. So drum roll.....I lost another 2.5 lbs! So I'm up to 22lbs lost! Whoo Hoo!

Now sweet story, after I beat the treadmill last week senseless, Hubbie came down and asked me,"How was the walk?" I started to cry hysterically and said I hated the machine and that I would be fat forever. Well, you know what Hubbie did? He spent a good deal of his morning researching and ordering me a new treadmill! Whata man! Until it arrives, I'm getting up early and heading into where we work. They have a treadmill there and it's only 7 minutes from the house. It's nearly impossible to do during the week when I have to work and take the girls to school, but I can suck it up for a week or so.

Y'all take care and have a good week. I'm going to keep doing laundry and maybe go sew on "The Bribe Quilt" since I've already done my 4 miles this morning!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Ta DA!

It snowed in Atlanta. The Munchkins were THRILLED! It turned to slush as soon as it hit the ground.

As promised full size pictures of Chocolat Rose Creme. I love this quilt. I wasn't completely sold on solid brown sashing until the top was finished. This started out as an experiment in a log cabin with different sized logs. My logs weren't sized differently enough. That's why if you look at the center medallions they don't line up. I still love it. I love the Ginger Blossom with the Amy Butlers....sigh....


I've already slept under it. I briefly toyed with the idea of giving it away.....no, it's going to stay with me and yes, I'm selfish.


Now meet Lucy.
She's a belated birthday present for Grammy Kathy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Lucy has a very good friend Ethel who is currently waiting for her eyes, dragonfly, bejewels, and stuffing. They are buddies and share many interests and hobbies. They are ladies who know how to enjoy a formal tea with flies or a night out on the swamp with Cosmos and vodka.
Lucy is made out of some of my favorite Kitty Yoshida, City Girls. And she had to have LOTS of sparkles.

Well, that's what I've been up to. Ethel is coming soon. I now have to work myself up to making a baby quilt and experimenting with my frog pattern reduced.

Y'all take care!