FAL Q2 Wrap Up - No Surprises Here!

So much for the idea that the Finish-A-Long was going to get me motivated to finish anything!  I thought I set some very reasonable goals back in the beginning of April, but I still only finished one project on my list.

Here's what I thought I'd get done:

1.  The Family Ties Quilt - I should be ashamed of this since Baby Reagan is already 2 months old.  I haven't touched this in at least a month.
2. That *#&@*#& Christmas Table Topper.  
3. My Dad's Sudoku Quilt - DONE!  (blogged here)

I'm one for three.  Not good.  Not good at all.

How did you do?  



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Work Hard, Play Hard

I got a comment from Jaye this week that basically said, "Where the heck have you been?" and I realized that we have been partying for a month.

In between my temp job, volunteering at the used book sale, and my guild program, The Pit Boss and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary with a trip to Pearl River Resort. It was a relaxing, decadent long weekend that didn't do anything for our weight loss efforts, although I certainly caught up on my sleep! 

We came home just in time to prepare for Gracie's Lucky 13th birthday party.  It was just a handful of her girl friends over to swim, but we had fun collecting "lucky" things for the decorations - pennies, ducks, bamboo, horseshoes, and a giant bowl of Lucky Charms to snack on.  Grace and mom made a homemade ice cream cake because my girl is not a fan of cake.  (I know, right!)  Right in the middle of it all we got a call that my cousin's baby boy had finally arrived and shared Gracie's special day, which she had been hoping for all along.

It was a week of milestones.  We went shopping for her first bikini bathing suit (which she can only wear at her grandparents' house right now) and a cell phone and she got some very sweet gifts from her brothers and grandparents. 

Now I'm trying to get ready for the annual onslaught of family members for July 4th week, plus make sure we have everything we need for the following week when we drop Grace at camp, head to college orientation, get The Bear to the bus for lacrosse camp, and then pick up our girl on my birthday.  I think I have "collapse" penciled in right after that. 

The easy 20 hours a week of work that seemed like such a breeze in May is now becoming quite challenging to cram in, but it's all the very best and most fun kind of busy.  Yes, the Family Ties quilt is languishing and I've not touched my quilts in a month except for a few hexagons on our road trip to Mississippi, but it will all be there when I land.  I feel certain that in late July and August, when I'm preparing myself to take my boy to college, there will be many hours of quilting and not a few tears. 

Until then, I'm working hard and playing hard, enjoying these last few weeks of the five of us sitting down to dinner and the sound of the drums and guitar together in the basement. 

I'll try to post but don't miss me too much.  Go play!




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Menu Plan Monday - Back to Work

It's Menu Plan Monday, and I'm starting my new (temporary) job today.  This, of course, makes menu planning that much more important.  I lost two pounds this week and want to stay on track with my diet and exercise.

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

• Sunday - Whatever looks yummy at Kathleen's Catch, quinoa, tomato salad
• Monday - Crock Pot Turkey Breast, Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes, tossed salad
• Tuesday - Sweet and Fiery Pork, brown rice, roasted green beans
• Wednesday - Pollo Sabroso, yellow rice, grilled mixed veggies
• Thursday - out to eat for our 21st anniversary
• Friday - leftover buffet/subs for The Bear and his buddies
• Saturday -Burgers on the grill with Laura's Lean Ground Beef, tossed salad

Our smoothie to try this week is the Just Peachy Green Smoothie.  I couldn't resist when I found some gorgeous peaches at the Farmer's Market Saturday morning.

What's cooking at your house this week?

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Going to Guild - By Me!

Last night was our June guild meeting, and I did the program!

It was my first attempt at presenting, unless you count that one time where our guest cancelled at the last minute and I scrambled around trying to put together enough information about a 4" block swap to entertain everyone for at least 20 minutes.  Which I don't. 

Everyone was so sweet, even though I was a nervous wreck. I wasn't helped by the fact that I couldn't get the projector to work.  Apparently the cords aren't as "universal" as I'd hoped.  Thank Heaven for Ben, who not only lives just minutes away from our meeting location, but who also loves gadgets and technology at least as much as me, and who had his computer, a flash drive, several cords, and his own projector.  All of which were necessary.  It would have been a quick meeting without him, and I am so grateful.

The program was on social media for quilters, and I really need to thank all of YOU for providing my content.  You have made the online quilting community so rich and diverse and interesting.  You have taught me things I didn't understand and introduced me to technology I'd never used.  You are awesome!

I have to give a special shoutout to those of you whom I specifically mentioned (and linked to in the notes I shared with the audience).  I wish I could have talked about all of you, but went over by about 15 minutes already and have no idea what I would cut out.

• Cara Quilts, Sampaguita Quilts, and The Bashful British Quilter for my examples of the global quilting community
• Sandy, Pam, Sandi, and Frances for just a few examples of podcasts I love
• Bonnie Hunter demonstrating quilt cam on Google Hangout
• Leah Day for proving the benefits of YouTube
• The #TalknT and #QHC crews for answering "Why Bother?" with Twitter

I had a blast - at least once the projector problem was solved.  Have any of you ever done a guild program?  What did you talk about?  What would you like to hear about?

Sighing with relief...



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Menu Plan Monday - VBS

It's Menu Plan Monday, and it's time for Vacation Bible School!  All three kids are now volunteers - Gracie helps with crafts and the boys are in the band - so it's almost like back to school with the alarm clocks and the empty house. 

The healthy eating and exercising is going well.  The scale is not showing any change this week, but I kept having to pull up my shorts yesterday so I'm taking that as a good sign.

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

I have meetings two nights this week, and there are thunderstorms in the forecast, so fewer grill nights are on the list.  I also prepped several items while preparing dinner last night so that the rest of the week will be low maintenance. 

• Sunday - Delicious Garlic Shrimp, Cilantro Lime Rice, roasted green beans and a tossed salad.
• Monday - Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa, brown rice, tossed salad
• Tuesday - Barbacoa Beef, leftover Cilantro Lime Rice
• Wednesday - chicken kabobs, grilled mixed vegetables, quinoa
• Thurdsay - Crock Pot Italian Sloppy Joe
• Friday - leftover buffet
• Saturday - out to dinner?

The Blueberry Banana PB Smoothie was not TPB's favorite, so this morning we tried the Skinny Green Tropical Smoothie.  It was delicious!  I can't help thinking it would be lovely poolside with a shot of rum mixed in and some Beach Boys playing in the background. 


If you're reading this today, please send some good thoughts my way this evening.  I am doing a program for my guild about Quilters and Social Media.  Luckily all of these people are friends - I can't imagine how nervous I'd be in front of strangers!

And in case you're getting sick of nothing but food posts, I promise I'll be back to quilting this week. 

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