Needles and Pens

It's sloooow going, but I did get one wall painted today, so here are the new colors for my soon-to-be office/sewing room: I found the wallpaper border on clearance, and it had that little touch of red to blend with the gaudy red carpet, so it was perfect! (My first choice would be to put in new carpet, but sometimes you just have to work with what you've got.) I hope to be able to jump right on this project tomorrow and get the painting finished, then I can start moving in over the weekend. Yay!

Whether the weather is cold Or whether the weather is hot We'll weather the weather, Whatever the weather Whether we like it or not!

I've been meaning to join in the Tackle it Tuesday meme over at 5 Minutes for Mom for quite awhile now. It just seems like a great incentive to get some things done around here, so today is my first Tackle it Tuesday entry! My kids' school is closed today, not for snow, but for extremely icy roads. We had an unusually warm day yesterday, followed by rain, which froze overnight. Thankfully, I have no errands to run today. But I do have a big project to tackle and I'm getting more nervous by the day about getting it done, as my son has been bringing his stuff home a bit at a time and its really beginning to pile up! It's actually an ongoing project, and if you like, you can read more about it here . SO, the project today is to scrape the old wallpaper off of my "office" walls. Probably one of my least favorite jobs in the whole wide world. lol Fortunately, the wallpaper only covers about the top two feet of the wall, on three walls. It took me days to get all of...

Okay, these weekend binges have got to stop. I know I shouldn't be unhappy as long as I'm losing and not gaining, but from Monday through Friday, I lost two pounds -- from Monday to Monday, only one. For two weeks I've done this and its just frustrating! I mean, with so little left to lose, I'd really like to just stick with losing two pounds a week and get it over with already! The bright side of all this, though, is that I am seeing how my body works, so when I do finally reach that goal weight, I'll know what to do to maintain it. I see that one day of binging will add a pound, and will require a little extra diligence in the days that follow, or the pounds will just keep adding back on -- again. This weekend the problem was a trip out of town. Food choices are tough when you're eating out. There are healthy choices out there, but there are also lots of temptations, and once I give in a little, I give in a lot. (I didn't just order the 6" sub at Su...

What a great theme this week for the Photo Hunt -- old-fashioned ! I love all things old-fashioned , and I had several items to choose from, but since I'm so into sewing, I thought I'd share my very old-fashioned , antique Singer treadle sewing machine. (Come to think of it, our brown shag carpet is pretty old-fashioned , too... and I don't love it so much. LOL) My husband got the treadle from a friend who was just happy to be rid of some clutter from his garage. Well, one man's junk is another man's treasure! Sadly, this treasure is in very bad condition, but I hope to restore both the machine and cabinet and actually use it someday. (Despite treadle machines being old-fashioned , I know of many quilters who still prefer a treadle for quilting.) Here's a closeup of the machine. Weren't these old machines beautifully decorated? And the very old-fashioned attachments, found in one of the cabinet drawers: Check out these cool attachments! So there's a q...

Just a little update on the quilting front. Yesterday I finished up these block-of-the-month blocks from 2007. First, the scrappy 9-1/2" blocks from Country Quilters USA : Next, the blue and yellow 12-1/2" blocks from Country Quilting Square : I'm so relieved and excited to have these done!

I wish I had all good things to report about my diet today, but this week was a struggle. I had a really hard time resisting "bad" foods, and I'm not completely sure why. Possibly, I'm relying too heavily on artificially sweetened snacks, so I'm not getting past the cravings like I should. According to the Atkins plan, you should limit artificial sweeteners to three servings per day. I know I've been going way over the limit because, well, there are just SO many yummy sugar-free sweets to be had! And I love my hot tea, sweetened with Splenda, especially in this frigid weather we've been having. Nevertheless, this is something I need to work on if I want to be rid of these cravings. (sigh) So I made it through the week on sheer will power, but over the weekend, I lost it. My sister and her family came for a visit and we were deciding what to do for dinner. I said, "Pizza." She said, "What are you talking about? I thought you were low-carbing...

This week's Photo Hunt theme is " important ," and I had a hard time settling on just one idea. There are so many important things in my life; my faith, my husband, my children, my home, the list goes on and on... But this morning I took a drive to the corner gas station for a fill-up, forgetting my gloves, and in the few moments it took to place the nozzle into the tank, two of my fingertips were nearly frostbitten. This morning's temp: -22F. Not counting the wind chill factor. In temperatures like this, warm gloves or mittens (as well as coats, hats, scarves and boots) are extremely important . Not to mention the importance of a good home heating system. Just over a year ago, we installed a geothermal heat pump in our home. It runs on electricity, extracting heat from ground water which is pumped up from a well, through the system, then expelled into the pond in our front yard (this is known as an "open loop" system). Of course, our electric bill is h...

The room shifting project continues. This week, we've been working on sorting and organizing the toys in Tim's (my youngest) old bedroom, moving only the ones he still wants into his new room. Being the youngest of four kids is a mixed blessing -- for me, if not for him. For this child, there has never been a shortage of toys. In fact, almost every toy and book that ever belonged to the three older kids has eventually come to rest in his bedroom. Obviously, there's no one else around to take on the overflow, so it's time to do some decluttering! We decided first to tackle the hundreds of children's books (this picture shows just a small portion of the whole collection): Of all those books, these are the only ones he really wanted in his room: There was a much larger portion that I couldn't part with, so they went on a shelf in the basement. Some have special meaning, others will be good research material for my own children's writing. Notice, there's s...

Our bunny, Texas, is on my mind today ( see yesterday's post ). I've never seen another rabbit lie back for a foot massage. We miss you, Texas!

Texas came into our home in June 2007, just a little ball of the softest fur you've ever felt. She spent the summer in her hutch in a shady corner of our backyard, enjoying the cool breezes and daily doses of love and sweet clover. I've never known a rabbit that so enjoyed being held and cuddled. When the cool fall weather turned to wintery cold, Texas became a house rabbit. She lived in Emily's bedroom closet and learned to use a litter box. Being so close at hand, we all grew more and more attached to her. Sadly, Texas passed away today. Why? We don't know. It seemed she was fine one moment, gone the next. As I told Emily, sometimes these things just happen. Small comfort to a devastated child. But we'll find comfort in knowing that Texas' short life was a good one. No rabbit was ever loved more. And she will be missed...

It seems my body has taken up right where it left off back in August. No big induction weight loss this first week, but I did lose two pounds, as I did steadily each week last year. The tape measure was more encouraging, as I've lost a half-inch from my chest, waist and hips, plus a quarter-inch from my arms. I have to admit, my results were a bit disappointing at first. Usually when I begin induction, I will lose 5-6 pounds the first week, followed by another 4-5 on week two, before slowing to the healthy two-pounds-per-week pace. But I'll have to embrace the slower start as a good thing, assuming that my system is burning at a steady pace, and considering that, when I had those big numbers, I was much more overweight. So, it's all good. I just have to maintain what I'm doing and the pounds will inevitably come off. I only have twenty pounds left to lose, so could very likely reach my goal in ten weeks or so -- even before shorts and swimsuit season. Sweet! ;o)

A little background: Last summer, our 20-year-old son moved out on his own for the first time. This sparked an immediate flurry of bedroom shifting, as the youngest two each moved to what they thought was a "better" bedroom. I supported the shift wholeheartedly, excited about the prospect of finally having a guest room. The kids' rooms came along nicely. First, the 12-year-old daughter moved into the 20-year-old's ex-room. The carpet was shampooed, the formerly black walls, painted a soft blue and green (two walls of each color), and a sweet wallpaper border of African baby animals was hung. The speed at which this transformation occurred disappointed the 20-year-old to no end, but I assured him that we always have room for him if he should decide to move back home. The nine-year-old then moved into the 12-year-old's ex-room. The carpet was shampooed, the formerly pink and green walls painted a very mature and "manly" burgundy and beige (two walls of eac...

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog ! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible! Boy, would I love to win! I mixed countless dozens of Christmas cookies in December, and eight loaves of almond bread, between Thanksgiving and Christmas. All with my little hand mixer (and my hands, when necessary!). I'd love, love, love a stand mixer... Thanks, Red Sox Mommy , for the link to this contest!

This week's Photo Hunt theme is "skinny," and I had a really hard time coming up with an idea. Skinny... skinny... What do I have around here to show, "skinny?" Hmm... Then it finally came to me. Duh. Needles ... and Pens ... LOL (In case you hadn't noticed, that's the name of my blog!) Join the Photo Hunt !

Haven't posted in a few days, and I even missed Wordless Wednesday yesterday, but I have managed to tick a few items off of my to-do list this week: * Balanced my checkbook, got caught up on bills and started my ledger for tracking income and expenses. Made my first weekly deposit into a Christmas savings account. This is a first! * Mailed off my daughter's broken camera for repair, a camera that has been sitting in its box for several months now -- and it's a better camera than my own! She got a new camera for Christmas, so I may be keeping this one. * Finally wrote a review for my last Book Awards Reading Challenge book, Holes , which I actually read long before Christmas. I really need to get going on this, if I'm going to meet the challenge by June! * Stuck with the diet and exercise program. Trying not to obsess! lol * Finished my nine-patch blocks for my next Quilts with Love quilt, and started setting them together. I have a huge box of 4-1/2" squares th...

Holes By Louis Sachar © 1998 Published by Scholastic, Inc. 1999 Newbery Medal winner Holes is the story of young Stanley Yelnats and a generations-old family curse. As the story opens, things look grim for Stanley. Convicted of a crime he did not commit, Stanley is sentenced to serve time at Camp Green Lake, a camp for bad boys. “Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. “It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather! “He smiled. It was a family joke. Whenever anything went wrong, they always blamed Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather…” Camp Green Lake didn’t sound so bad. After all, Stanley had never been to camp before. But Stanley soon finds that, “there is no lake at Camp Green Lake.” Instead, there are endless stretches of desert, scorpions, rattlesnakes, and deadly yellow-spotted lizards. The Warden and camp staff a...

Well, after three months or so of no-holds-barred pigging out, I've survived the first day back on my diet. No sugar, no bread or pasta, definitely no Pepsi (my biggest temptation). Just lots of protein and veggies, water, vitamins, exercise. And I survived! Actually DAY ONE, this time around, was a lot easier than in the past. I actually switched to caffeine-free Pepsi a few weeks back, putting the caffeine headaches behind me. That has always been the worst part of starting for me. I spent the past week working up to this, and actually deciding if I wanted to do the full-blown diet again, as in the past, I've had a problem with my all-or-nothing attitude. But my extremely tight jeans finally made the decision for me. I need to lose ten pounds, ASAP. I refuse to go to a larger size. In fact, I don't think I have a larger size. I got rid of them all the last time around. So for the next two weeks, it's all-or-nothing. Correction: it's ALL. At least until I can bre...

Recently my friend, Angela , posted about " being fearless ," and she asked her readers if they'd done anything fearless this week. As I read that post this morning, I thought about it... ... nope. I couldn't think of one thing I had done all week that could be considered "fearless." It was a completely low-risk week. If you don't count the various drives to the grocery store, school, and etc. (You know how many car accidents occur within one mile of home?) But not an hour after reading that post, I found myself here: Helping my husband shovel snow off of our roof. I have an almost-paralyzing fear of heights. I've been on this roof in the summer, when it was bone dry, and even then I was physically shaking and scared out of my mind. To go up there when it's slippery, slushy, snow and ice, well, that's facing fear in a big way! But I did it. And I shoveled, too. "My side's done." I said, inching my way sideways up the icy shingle...

December delicious... January delicious... Join the Photo Hunt !

This New Year’s Eve, I went through my photo albums and reminisced about all the holidays, birthdays, weddings, and other events of 2007: - My husband and I reached 41 - Our children turned 20, 9, 18 and 13 – lots of milestones! - Three new babies joined our extended family. - Two new pets came into our home. - We celebrated the weddings of family and friends - We saw our two oldest children dressed to the nines for prom... If not for photos, I wouldn’t remember a thing! Fortunately, I do keep records of certain things, too. Heaven knows my memory needs a backup: - My weight fluctuated from 175 pounds, down to 134, then back up to 149 by years’ end. - I quit smoking – for one month. It was my longest smoke-free period in 26 years, and provided lots of insight for my eventual, final, once-and-for-all quit. (Which WILL happen!) - I completed 13 quilts, five were rescued from my UFO (unfinished objects) pile, another two, for charity – and I finally have a homemade quilt on my own bed! - ...

Why it was the perfect gift . Happy WW!