This is who I am

It’s Wild & Goosey around here

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Terri | 1 comment

I had a lot of sewing time yesterday. I got started on my guild block not too long after I finished my name tag. I’m happy with my color choices and will get back to working on it later today. I actually got 2 of these units finished

I probably would have finished the whole block except Wild & Goosey was calling my name! I got all the paper piecing finished on it yesterday and put the sashing in this morning. I am in love, and it was fun remembering what projects some of the scraps were from. I did learn one thing, and that is I don’t have very many light fabrics in my stash. I have a decent stack of non-Civil War FQs and yardage that I will be cutting into when I start the next one. I haven’t decided how often I’m going to make one, but I need 80 total to make the quilt as shown in Quiltmaker.

1 down. 79 to go!

It left a wild mess on my cutting table, and I’ll be ironing and cutting into usable pieces everything there before putting it away.

I’m trying to implement Bonnie Hunter’s Scrap User’s System. You can just make out one of my scrap bins in the above photo, and I’m digging through it a bit at a time. I have a similar, more stuffed one for my civil war fabrics but that’s what I use for Farmer’s Wife so I won’t be going through it until I finish those blocks.

1 Comment

Posted in Bonnie Hunter, Guild Block Challenge, Quilting, Wild & Goosey

Check that off the list

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

I started pulling fabrics for my name tag yesterday as soon as I finished my stitching and sewing post. I wanted to include some charms, including the one I received for last year’s missed Shop Hop that started the day I had emergency gallbladder surgery.

This is what I came up with:

I still need to come up with an idea to pin it on, and am thinking of using just a flower pin, or a smaller basting pin.

Now on to my guild block. I’m watching/listening to Outlander for the 3rd time while sewing. Sigh.

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Posted in Quilting

Weighing In

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Terri | 4 comments

Beginning weight: 266
Last week: 255.8
This week: 252.6 (-3.2)
Total loss to date: -13.4

Beginning measurements: (C 45.5 – W 47.8 – H 54.8)
Last week / This week:
Chest 45.2 / 44.7 (-.5 / -.8)
Waist 47.2 / 46.4 (-.8 / – 1.4)
Hips 54.6 / 54.2 (-.4 / -.6)

Beginning Fat%/BMI: 47.2% / 40.6

Last week / This week:
Fat 47.2% / 47.4% (+.2 / +.2)
BMI 40.6 / 40.6 (0 / 0)

The only thing I have to say about this week is that the first 4 days of the week I felt like I was hungry all the time. I made a point of trying to increase my water by tracking it. I also added in a physical activity day this week.

Next week’s goals are to continue to track my water, and add an additional physical activity day.

4 Comments

Posted in Weight

Stitchin’ and Sewing’ Stuff

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Terri | 2 comments

I headed out this morning and got a couple more books spiral bound. I’m trying get a couple done every month and I still have quite a few to do. It’s helping me decide if it’s a book I love, or one to part with.

I’m still working on getting myself organized to see that I get sewing done. Out of sight, out of mind for me if I don’t and I forget what I want to work on. The list I’m working on now consists of projects I’ve already purchased fabric for.

I really want to get back to my Farmer’s Wife. I ♥ paper piecing! I already have several blocks printed out and ready to go but fighting with the book was no fun. Now I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

The other book is 1 of 3 Bonnie Hunter books I have. I bought String Fling specifically for this pattern:

Jamestown Landing. I won’t be able to get started on it until I get my Union Star runner finished because I have so many blues pulled for it. Of course, after I got the book, I immediately fell in love with a few more, especially Pineapple
Crazy.

These 3 paper pieced patterns are first up in my to-do list.

I need a name tag for Civil War Club and then remember that guild meeting I talked about on the 5th? I went, and I joined, and I need a name tag for that, too! I have some charms that the quilting fairy gave me during Quilt Camp that I’m going to incorporate into it some how.

I am an official member of Nimble Thimbles and the Arizona Quilters Guild. The guild members were so very welcoming and I had a good time. There are several things that I’d like to participate in, one of them being their Scrappy Block of the Month Challenge. They pick a color each month for 9 months and I make whatever block (needs to be the same block) that I choose out of those colors. At the end of the year, at the Christmas Party, they want you to have a finished flimsy. I need to catch up, so I’m going to attempt to make one every 2 weeks, working backwards, starting with this month’s color…Blue! LOL I’ve chosen Fox and Geese from Quilter’s Cache as my block. I’ll need to make a purple, pink, green, yellow, orange, and gray, to catch up.

I’m also going to start piecing some Wild & Goosey blocks (another Bonnie Hunter design found in May/June 2013 Quiltmaker) from my scraps. I haven’t decided what to do with this one yet as far as how often, but I’d love to do a block a month for now until I see how many scraps I’m going to have to use without cutting into yardage/FQs.

And last but not least, I have a stitching finish! I can’t remember the last time this has happened and this little design was just the thing I needed to get my stitching mojo back. I’ll be taking it to my framer at the beginning of September.

Mister starts back to school next Thursday, and I’m looking forward to us being back into a routine. I never feel like I get anything done when I’m not on a schedule of sorts.

2 Comments

Posted in Bonnie Hunter, Farmer's Wife, Finishes, Jamestown Landing, Wild & Goosey

Mountain Climbing

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Terri | 4 comments

I’ve been busy! I meant to post yesterday but the day got away from me. Mister and I headed to San Tan Mountain Regional Park yesterday morning for our first hike. This place is practically in our backyard, we drive past the road to it almost every time we go anywhere, and we say “one of these days we need to go check that out.” Yesterday, that day finally arrived.

It’s been 30 years since I “climbed” a mountain. We were stationed in 29 Palms, California, the first few, very broke, years of Mister’s military career and as the only married couple in his training class, our house was the hangout since we lived off base. There were about 5 of us (with a few added in every now and then) that traipsed around Joshua Tree National Monument, on more weekends than I can remember. It was free entertainment and we had so much fun. As the only girl, I got lots of boosts when rock climbing, that I repaid gladly with home cooked meals. I never knew who I’d find asleep on my living room floor most Saturday or Sunday mornings. That was one of my favorite times as a Marine Corps wife. It’s so sad to me to see that vandalism has been taking place there and that many of the places we played have been closed or access has been reduced.

But that was 30 years ago, and we’re talking about yesterday. I thought I was going to pass out before we stopped! LOL It was 8:00, 85°, and I hate to sweat. I’m learning to get deal with that last one.

Walking around my neighborhood is nice and boring and I only make it most a mile. Walking half way up a mountain, even a small one, is certainly not boring. As first timers, we took the, recommended by the Park employee, shortest route. 2.2 miles in about 45 minutes. Up, down, around, back and forth, up, up, up, then down. I was worn out and had a great nap yesterday afternoon, thus no blogging 😉 I didn’t cook much of a meal either. Grilled hamburgers. Total slacker.

This morning my calves are talking to me and I get stiff in a few other areas if I sit still too long. Not as bad as I thought it would be. We’re headed back on Friday. In fact, we’re thinking of making this our Friday morning routine.

4 Comments

Posted in Life

Studio stuff

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Terri | 1 comment

I’m still stitching sporadically on Good Things. I received a new cookbook from Mel last week and have found myself reading it instead of stitching. LOL Thank you Mel. I will definitely be using some of those recipes.

I’ve also been working in my studio. Mister finally got my cork board put up, and cut some shelves for over my computer area. I’ve usually only ever been able to listen to my TV when in my room because it’s an old flat screen that turns everything negative looking unless you’re standing directly in front of it. That rarely happens, even if I’m standing at the cutting table, where the TV is. We went the DirectTV route this week and I now have no TV reception in my room. I’ve decided to get a Wi-Fi DVD box so I can stream Netflix/Amazon movies, and I’m going to be upgrading my TV, too. We took a little shopping trip last week to buy a new router and I found exactly what I’m looking for. I still haven’t painted in there, but my “box of influence” is sitting at the top of the stairs waiting on me to take a piece of it to Lowe’s to match a paint color.

Here’s what the wall looks like for now:

The cork board is going to be trimmed out in white to match the other trim in my room, and I’m going to cover the cork. That’ll have to wait until I get the room painted since I want a fabric that will go with it.

Remember this stack of plaids, in the corner, from Son’s quilt?

I tried to give it away (the person never showed). I am a dunce. I completely forgot that Nephew-J also traveled the world since his dad was in the Air Force. I’ve decided to use it and made him a Bonnie Hunter Bricks and Stepping Stones quilt. This quilt has been high on my to-do list and I know I have plenty of black and neutrals in my stash for the 4-patches. I can’t wait to start cutting into them again.

Tonight I have my very first Quilt Guild meeting. I feel like a kid showing up in a new school district. 😉

1 Comment

Posted in Quilting, Stitching, Studio

Numbers don’t lie

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Terri | 4 comments

This is going to be another painful, for me, post. My last weapon came in Wednesday and I purposefully put it aside and didn’t touch it until yesterday. I’ve had some “that’s life” things going on this week and I didn’t want it to influence the decisions I was making. I know that events are going to come up where I make not-so-healthy food choices (like that PBJ I had). I can’t believe how angry I was with myself over that, but I’m glad. I now have things on my grocery list that will help me make batter decisions in the future. Now, here’s my new weapon:

I have a first generation Tanita scale that is over 6 years old. Actually it about 12, but it belonged to Mister first, and it was 6 years ago that I used it last. I know this because it’s set for when I was 49. The directions are long gone, and I’ve thought about replacing it many times (Mister has a newer, high-tech version), but it still weighs fine, so I decided to get a hand-held weapon that will calculate my fat percentage and BMI. Ouch. In the past I probably would have wept. Now I’m just mad that I let myself get to this.

So. This week’s numbers:

Beginning weight: 266
Last week: 257
This week: 255.8 (-1.2)
Total loss to date: -10.2

Beginning measurements: (C 45.5 – W 47.8 – H 54.8)
Last week / This week:
Chest 45.5 / 45.2 (-.3 / -.3)
Waist 47.8 / 47.2 (-.6 / -.6)
Hips 54.8 / 54.6 (-.2 / -.2)

Beginning fat%/BMI: 47.2% / 40.6

Was I disappointed to see a 1.2 pound loss instead of something in the 2’s like it’s been? Yes, but then no. I’ve lost 10.2 pounds in 4 weeks! It’s been so easy! Frightfully so. This past week I ate bread. I drank a beer. I went out to lunch. I had an ice cream. I had movie theater popcorn (without the extra “butter”) and I shared a diet soda with Mister while we enjoyed a movie. These are the “that’s life” things that I mentioned in the first paragraph that I know are going to happen. That I want to keep happening. This time, though, I refuse to wait until tomorrow to get back with the program.

The movie was yesterday afternoon. I had an excellent breakfast and lunch, enjoyed that popcorn and diet soda (well, not so much the soda), then had an excellent dinner. No, I’m not going to make an excuse. I’m not going to “blame” the lack of a “2” on water retention from the popcorn last night. I’m going to “blame” anything at all.

This morning when I went downstairs for my coffee I found this on the counter.

Mister told me he pulled them out to read the contents/nutrition info to decide whether to keep them or throw them out 😀

Oh, and there’s one more weapon I completely forgot about. The camera. I’m not going to shy away from that anymore either. I’ve lost too many wonderful memories because of it.

4 Comments

Posted in Life, Weight

Ginger Beef Stew

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Terri | 1 comment

This is one of those recipes that I’ll be tweaking the next time I made it, but man oh man, did I love it. I wanted to eat the leftovers for breakfast the next morning but made myself wait for lunch, and then there was plenty for Mister and I to have for dinner, too!

Ginger Beef Stew

2# stew meat
2 lg yams (Not sweet potatoes. You want the yellow ones.) Cut into bite size pieces
4 lg carrots, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery chopped
1-2 T fresh minced ginger
1 can coconut milk (whole fat, and shake it before you open it)
1 T coconut oil divided

Cut up your veggies, and mince your ginger before starting. Pour the milk into a dutch oven, stir in the ginger, dump in the veggies, and set your heat to medium low. Divide your oil into a separate pan, and brown half the meat. Dump the whole thing into your dutch oven; add the remaining oil and meat to your pan, and brown it up. Dump it in. By this time you should have a good simmer going on your dutch oven. Stir everything up the best you can. It’s going to look like you don’t have enough liquid, but it’s going to cook down, and thicken up.

Cover and cook for about 25 minutes. Stir a few time and check the tenderness of the meat and potatoes.

NOTE: Next time I make this I’m going to cook it for 20 minutes, then add in my potatoes and cook for 15 (or until they’re tender). My potatoes were too soft for me. I will share those results.

As shared in my previous post I’ve had a good weekend. Another trip we made was into Scottsdale to visit the Williams-Sonoma store. I received a birthday gift card 3 years ago (I know, bad, bad Terri) and finally spent it on this month’s new kitchen tool(s). I love them. If you bigify the picture you can see on the bottom the different grinds you can get. The pepper grinds down to super, super fine (6 different grinds altogether), and the salt had 3 different grinds.

It’s been a lazy day for me. After staying out so late last night, I got out of bed really late and watched NASCAR, baseball, and now NFL’s on.

1 Comment

Posted in Kitchen Tools, Paleo, Recipe

I heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend,

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Terri | 1 comment

who heard from another you’ve been eatin’ bread.

Yep. I ate bread. 🙁

I’m so disappointed in myself.

Last night we had tickets to see these guys and 5 minutes before we walked out the door Mister informed me that we were not leaving early enough to stop for dinner as I thought he had said the night before. I made myself a PBJ, and literally choked it down with a small glass of milk.

We had a great time at the concert. We both agreed that is was one of the best concerts we’ve ever seen and the encore was phenomenal. They both came out and played together.

Not the best of pics, but good enough for me, considering I was using my phone.

It’s the summer of concerts for me. Late last month we saw Motley Crue and Alice Cooper. Next month there’s a night out with the girls, but I’ll wait to blog about that.

1 Comment

Posted in Concert

Recipe correction

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

I realized tonight, while whipping up some Refrigerator Oatmeal, that I incorrectly stated 6 tablespoons of agave/honey. That should have read 6 teaspoons (I have a 2 teaspoons, spoon). I’ve corrected the recipe to read 2 tablespoons.

I hope I’m not too late.