100 Days Of Happy - Part 7

It is hard to believe I'm on the downhill side of my 100 days of happy. With today's list I will have recorded 70 things that have made me happy over the last 70 days. What I am finding is some days are easier than others, but over all I'm not struggling too much to find something that makes me happy each day. And that is a pretty awesome thing.

11/21/15 - Day 61 - Marley Relaxing. It is still a very slow process with Marley, there are days he seems to want to join in with us and other days he doesn't. This morning he came out and went up to Sharla to get his ears rubbed and then went back several more times. I figure next week we will lose all ground we've made with him because we have to take him back to the vet for more heart worm treatments and he has to stay over night. But I'm happy for any progress we make.

11/22/15 - Day 62 - Tree Skirt Progress. I've made those scary cuts and have started piecing it together. I have to have it completed by next Sunday to deliver to Trey and Jess. If all goes well I hope to be quilting it no later than Friday.

11/23/15 - Day 63 - Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. Ok maybe not a chicken dinner but I was lucky enough to win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 12 from the awesome Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts.  She is the one who designed the Dog Gone Quilt quilt, which is so much fun and this magazine has a reindeer in it that she designed.  I can't wait to get my hands on it.

11/24/15 - Day 64 - Tree Skirt top is finished. It went together very easily and I am so glad. I made a quick trip to the post office to drop off bee blocks and then just sat down at the sewing machine and sewed until it was done.

11/25/15 - Day 65 - Light Traffic. It was so nice not to have to wait forever in traffic this morning. If I could move away from all traffic I would. Rare is the day when I don't have to sit in traffic taking Sharla to work, but today was one of those wonderful days.

11/26/15 - Day 66 - Thanksgiving. It is a quiet day here, we're not doing our family Thanksgiving celebration until Sunday. But I'm not going to complain about an easy day. It means I can do things like load the tree skirt onto the long arm, then watch a couple of movies with Sharla and just relax. A great way to spend the day (plus Sharla did all the cooking). And an added happy moment was when Marley came and visited us in the family room. We were afraid after having to stay overnight at the vet for his last heart worm treatment, he would be scare of us again, but he wasn't and that made us very happy.

11/27/15 - Day 67 - Today was a hard day. Last night about 11 pm a kid driving too fast on wet roads lost control and took out our fence. I am very thankful that no one was hurt, but it has put a real damper on our day/schedule. My dogs are used to going out when they need to, and don't like to go potty while on a leash. But we made it through the day, and I even got to do some quilting which made me very happy. So even on bad days, it is important to focus on the happy things.

11/28/15 - Day 68 - Retail Therapy. I used to do the whole black Friday shopping thing, in fact most of the time I would complete my shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, but I'm so over all of that. But I did want to do a little shopping for Small Business Saturday so I went to my local quilt shop. We got the back for a quilt and several quilt patterns. Not a lot, but enough to make me happy.

11/29/15 - Day 69 - Gifting the Tree Skirt. Yes I know that this post is almost all about the tree skirt, but it makes me happy to do for others and especially for those I really love. Trey and Jessica asked me last year on Christmas Day for a tree skirt, and I got it done just in time. Luckily they were out of town until Saturday night, so they didn't need it sooner. I think they were happy with it and that makes me very very happy.

11/30/15 - Day 70 - Sewing Progress. I got to sew on other things besides the tree skirt. I loved doing it, but I've gotten behind on other projects. I'm almost caught up on my Midnight Mystery QAL. I'm really loving how it is looking and can't wait to see the next clue later this week. I really do love to piece and quilt and so anytime I get to do either, just makes me happy.

Ok that wraps up 70 days of Happy on my quest for #100DaysOfHappy. I am enjoying the process of picking one thing per day, but to be honest there are lots of things that make me happy everyday. I am blessed to be loved, employed, healthy and happy and I can't ask for more than that.

A Lovely Year of Finishes - November Completes

Wow I can't believe that November is already over. I wish I had gotten more done, but I did finish my one main goal for the month and made some progress on other things. So let's see how I did.

1. Trey and Jessica's Tree Skirt. It is finished and it was delivered to them yesterday at our family Thanksgiving dinner. I'm very pleased with the completed project but I will say it did challenge me. I had to cut some of the pieces on an angle, not something I've done before and I had to make bias binding also a new trick for me. But they were happy with it and that makes me very happy. I didn't think to take a picture with it and them until after dark, so the lighting sucks, but that is ok.

2. Bee Blocks. Done and in the mail before Thanksgiving. I'm very happy to have them done. They were both fun blocks, and I love the colors each queen picked. I think I will be doing more of both blocks in the future and I can't wait to see the finished quilts.

3. Midnight Mystery QAL. Well I didn't get totally caught up this month, but I've completed October's instructions and am about half way done with November's instructions. If November had one more day I would be in good shape.

4. Turning 20 BOM. No progress, but I hope to work on it some tomorrow.

5. Sharla's Box Trot. No progress

6. Memory Quilts. No progress.

7. Callie and Beau's Wedding Quilt. No progress

8. Revamp Sewing Room. I have made some progress here, but I'm still tweaking it. I also bought some storage containers so that I can put fabric for projects together. This will be especially helpful where I've already purchased the backing fabrics, because they take up a lot of space right now.

9. Marley's Block. No progress.

10. Quilt Something Else. No progress.

I didn't do great this month, but it has been a crazy busy month for work, so I've not had as much down time as normal. I made great progress over the holiday weekend and hope to carry the momentum into December.  But I did get the most important one done and so I'm happy!!!   Today I'm linking up with Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and Shannon of Fiber of All Sorts.

100 Days Of Happy - Part 6

In case your not really counting here, this post will be 60 days of things that have made me happy. How awesome is that? Sometimes it is easier to focus on the bad things around us, and I know that I struggle with doing that as well. But focusing on things that make me happy, really helps keep me in a happier frame of mine. I'm running late which seems to be my normal these days, but I figure better late than never.

11/11/15 - Day 51 - Freedom. Today is Veteran's Day and I'm so happy to live in a country where I am free to do and be as I want. I am also very very thankful for all the men and women to serve to protect me and my rights.

11/12/15 - Day 52 - Bee Blocks Done. Well partially done. I finished my blocks for The Stash Bee and they are lots of fun and very colorful. I've not done a star like this before, but it was really easy with the half square triangles. I can't wait to see how my fellow bee mate makes these into a finished quilt.

11/13/15 - Day 53 - Old Friends. Today I attended the retirement party for an old friend. I got to see lots of old co-workers and friends. It was great to spend time catching up and seeing everyone. And I've very excited for my friend as she moves to the next step in her life.

11/14/15 - Day 54 - Buy One Get One Free Frappuccinos. Ok I love my frappuccinos, and luckily they don't come in one of those evil red cups...insert laughter here...I could care less about red cups. But I do love a good deal and mix that with my favorite drink and I'm a happy girl.

11/15/15 - Day 55 - Progress on the Tree Skirt. I've been working away, I have all the blocks pieced and now need to cut them down.  That scares me just a little, because if I mess up I'm in trouble. But I'm happy to be making progress.

11/16/15 - Day 56 - Finished Bee Blocks. I finished the blocks for my second bee, The Bee Hive. I even got all the fabric cut and the label made to go with them. I just need to get them into the envelope and make a trip to the post office (which I hope happens by Friday).

11/17/15 - Day 57 - Sewing Room TV. We changed our plan with Verizon which meant I had to get new equipment. With the craziness of work I hadn't had a chance to get everything installed. But decided today was the day. After doing the family room/office, I called Sharla and asked if she used the TV in her room. She doesn't. With her eyesight she prefers to watch things on her ipad. So I did a little re-arranging and now I have a TV (with a cable box and roku box) in my sewing room. This means I can watch TV or Netflix.  Yeah!!!!

11/18/15 - Day 58 - Fabric in the Mail.  Sssshhhh don't tell Sharla, but I bought more fabric. I just couldn't resist the Massdrop of Alison Glass's Abacus fabric. I am in serious love with her fabrics and have a real weakness for low volume, so how could I resist.  It is so pretty and makes me so happy.

11/19/15 - Day 59 - Two Cups of Coffee. And not any old coffee but homemade by Sharla coffee which is the best. I could have drank 3 or 4 of these, they were so good. I love a good cup of hot coffee on a cool morning. Unfortunately we've been running late this week and Sharla hasn't been able to make us coffee, so we've had to settle for McD's coffee. Today was different, lucky me!!

11/20/15 - Day 60 - Bee Blocks Packaged. I had really hoped to get to the post office today, but that just wasn't possible. But I did my blocks all packaged up to be sent. The plan is to get to the post office on Monday, which will still be a week earlier than I have on other months.

So another 10 days of happy gone, but not forgotten. I am having fun picking something from everyday that has made me happy. I'm trying to get better at photographing them, but I'm not sure I will ever be 100% on that.  I'm off to start writing my next ten days worth of happy, because I've had lots to smile about this weekend.

100 Days of Happy - Part 5

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date, ok maybe I'm just late posting my 100 Days of Happy. Not because I haven't had things to be happy about, but because I've been very very busy. I can say this week has been crazy busy. I am looking forward to a less busy week next week. I'm not sure it will be less busy, but I can hope.  But now is the time for next 10 days of happy.  And I even though I've been busy, I've had lots of reasons to be happy.

11/01/15 - Day 41 - Homemade Mac N Cheese. I love mac and cheese in just about any form. I'll even take the blue box if that is all that is available. But I love homemade mac n cheese, where Sharla grates the cheese (and mixes sharp/med/mild cheddar) and cooks the mac in tomato juice. It is total comfort food for me. And Sharla made it!!! I love her!!!!  The photo below is a bowl of the left overs because I didn't take the time to photograph the big pan, I was took anxious to get to eating it.

11/02/15 - Day 42 - Lunch with Old Friends. I had lunch with a couple of old friends, not that  they are old, just that we've known each other a long time. It was fun to catch up with them. I worked with both for years, and I miss seeing them during the week at work. So it was a great time. Love you Linda and Tina.

11/03/15 - Day 43 - Lunch with an Old Friend. Yes it must be old friend week. I had lunch with another old friend today. She retires at the beginning of next month and I look forward to having long lunches with her in the future. But we had a good time and got caught up on each other's lives. Love you Phyllis.

11/04/15 - Day 44 - Soup. It wasn't homemade soup, but it was good. I love chicken tortilla soup, and yesterday was so crazy that we just stopped and got some so we didn't have to cook. Warm soup on a chilly night, now that makes me happy.  It also makes me sleepy, I fell asleep in my chair, but only for a short time.

11/05/15 - Day 45 - Fabric Folding. It has been crazy at work for the last two weeks and I've had to work even on my off days. Add to that I'm so tired by the time work is done, I've not gotten much sewing done.  But I took some time and folded and put away some recent fabric purchase.  It wasn't a lot, but it felt nice to pet fabric again. If I could make a living at folding fabric I would be a very happy girl.

11/06/15 - Day 46 - Sunshine in the Morning. It has been as rainy week and when I walked out this morning the sun was shining and I was happy. Don't get me wrong, I like rain too, but after several days of clouds the sun peeking out is a nice thing.

11/07/15 - Day 47 - Hollywood. He is a crazy dog and will scare anyone away from my front door, but he is also the biggest baby in the world. Since we got Marley he hasn't gotten to snuggle with me at bedtime like he used to do. So tonight I let me snuggle me for about an hour before I kicked him out and closed the door.  I would let him stay in the room with us, but he doesn't like to be behind closed doors.

11/08/15 - Day 48 - Progress on Tree Skirt. I have started piecing the tree skirt and although it isn't going fast, it is moving and that makes me happy. It may even get me in the Christmas spirit early. I'm loving the fabrics on this one.

11/09/15 - Day 49 - Clean Pantry. Sharla took off today because we both had doctor's appointments, then we ran errands and went grocery shopping. When we got home she started a big batch of pasta sauce and I went to put the groceries away. I was just sick of our pantry. It needed a major clean out, and I do mean major. I think Cole took 7 trash bags our for me, and I found things that went out of date in 2007, yes 2007.  It isn't organized, but it is clean and that makes me happy (and very very tired). No pictures, because it is still messy, but at least I can see what is there and I know things aren't out of date.

11/10/15 - Day 50 - More Tree Skirt Progress. I got more of the tree skirt done. I will admit the next step scares me because I have to cut these pieces. I'm scared but I will do it...someday...ok maybe this weekend.

Ok that is it for now.  I will try to be more on time next time, but I'm not swearing to anything. I hope you are finding things to be happy about every day!!!

A Lovely Year of Finishes - November Goals

Well as always I have a long list of to dos and a short amount a time to get them done. But I figure even the littlest things completed are still something off of the list.  I am behind on my QAL/BOMs and I really want to get caught up this month but that isn't my number one goal.  As per my norm, the first item is my main goal and the rest are listed to keep me on track more than anything.

1. Trey and Jessica's Tree Skirt. I have to have this done by Thanksgiving. I've actually started the cutting and hope to get started sewing this week.  I don't want to be binding it on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

2. Bee Blocks.  This month I have the rainbow star flower block for the Stash Bee and the home-base block for the Bee Hive.  Both look to be fun blocks and hopefully I will finish them a little earlier this month.

3. Midnight Mystery QAL. I'm behind so I need to do both October's and November's blocks. Totally doable if I can get some dedicated sewing time.

4. Turning 20 BOM. I'm three blocks behind and still have one more for this month.  Hopefully I will get caught up.  I saw a picture of the finished quilt on Facebook and it is nothing like I was expecting, but still pretty cool.

5. Sharla's Box Trot Quilt. It is staying on the list until it is done.

6. Memory Quilts.  Same thing, can't take them off until I complete them.

7. Callie's and Beau's Wedding Quilt. It will move up the list once I complete the tree skirt.

8. Revamp sewing room.  I've moved around some of the furniture, now I need to work on fabric storage. Ok I need to work on finishing some quilts to get rid of the fabric.

9. Marley's Block. I need to make one more Dog Gone Cute block to represent Marley.

10. Quilt something else. I would like to get 2 to 3 things quilted this month, the tree skirt, box trot and at least one more thing.  I'm not picky on what it is, just want to complete something.

Yes it is a long list and no I won't get it all done. But for me it is more about setting priorities than anything, and I've set my top priority at the tree skirt!!!!  I'm linking up with Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and Shannon of Fiber of All Sorts.

100 Days of Happy - Part 4

Yes I realize I'm late with the part, but I've been very very busy the last couple of weeks. I still had lots to be happy about, but just didn't have the time or energy to write those things down on this blog. So now is the time for me to get the next 10 days listed here.

10/22/15 - Day 31 - Marley Kisses. He is warming up to us a little more, and will actually come up and give little kiss. He is starting to come out when we call his name. He is still very timid, but we are so happy with each baby step.

10/23/15 - Day 32 - Sorting Old Stuff. We have arranged for a local charity to come by and make a pickup tomorrow, so it is made dash of going through things to donate. It makes me happy to get things I don't use out of the house. We went through several boxes as we watched TV and it felt good to get rid of stuff.

10/24/15 - Day 33 - Donation Day. We donated 2 sewing tables, a gas grill, filing cabinet, two plastic carts and about 10 boxes of miscellaneous household items. We were doing the happy dance when they left. Now don't get me wrong we still have way too much stuff, but every little bit helps. Plus we found it much easier to part with things than we have in the past and that is a majorly good thing.

10/25/15 - Day 34 - Tossing trash. It is amazing how fast boxes and stuff add up around here. After the truck left we started breaking down boxes, gathering trash, and just doing a quick trip to get rid of everything. We can recycle smaller boxes with our recycle bin, but larger ones have to be taken somewhere else. It was a great day to just rid ourselves of more stuff.

10/26/15 - Day 35 - Testing a Tutorial. I was extremely pleased to be given the chance to join the Glitterati Army and test Tidal Pool Tutorial by Molli Sparkles. It went together very quickly and I think it would make a very cool quilt.

10/27/15 - Day 36 - Marley's Mohawk. Marley had to go for his first round of heart worm treatment today and his was very very scared, and didn't like me much afterwards. But on the way home Sharla was holding him and she gave him a mohawk and it just was too funny.

10/28/15 - Day 37 - Sewing. With everything thing going on this month I was very behind on my projects and had to do some late night sewing to get my bee blocks done. I finished my Stash Bee block, which I thought turned out very well.

10/29/15 - Day 38 - More Sewing. I finished my Bee Hive blocks and really loved them. I can see doing a quilt of these blocks sometime in the future. Just one more to add to the ever growing list of quilts I want to make.

10/30/15 - Day 39 - No Line At The Post Office. Ok this makes me happy every time it happens. I got my bee blocks on time and I didn't have to wait in line. I was so pressed for time because of work, that I was really hoping there wouldn't be anyone at the post office, and when I pulled up the parking lot was full. So I didn't have much hope, but everyone was busy filling out paperwork, so I went to the head of the line and got out in under 5 minutes!!!!

10/31/15 - Day 40 - Pirate Hookers with Beards. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of this, but Cole dressed up as a pirate hooker along with other guys at his work. Now I did see one photo from his work and it made me laugh, big guys with beards don't make pretty hookers, but they do make you laugh. Sharla braided beads into his hair before he left to get "dressed". I don't think he dressed here because he knew we would take lots of pictures. But it still made me happy, just the thought of him dressed as a pirate hooker.

Ok that is the fourth set of days for my #100daysofhappy. It is fun picking things that make me happy each day. I will try not to be as late next time. but life happens.