Soccer Quilts are DONE!!!!!

The quilts for my son's college soccer banquet on Sunday are DONE!!! The first one here was actually made in 2004. I hung on a quilt rack during soccer seasons. Now it is going to be given to Jessice, their team manager/stat girl! She DESERVES it!!!

And here is the finished product of the star siggy blocks from this post. (scroll down to see the signing part) Remember that?

I did a meandering star pattern on the borders.

The background of the center medallion was done in swirls...kind of a water/wind looking fill. I used a blue/yellow variegated thread on the whole quilt.

And here is the backing. I did manage to get rid of quite a bit of my soccer ball fabrics! WOOHOO!!!

I'll take pictures at the banquet and post an update next week! Have a good week everyone!

SURVIVOR...

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my diagnosis of breast cancer. I HAVE KICKED CANCER IN THE ASS...and I am proud of it! (here is my story In honor of that I had my last tattoo done today. I had a breast cancer ribbon done with some music notes around it. The music notes were in honor of my dh's love of music. I am not one to have his name tattoed on my body but music notes works! It was kind of creepy cuz I told the l) ady tatoo artist that I wanted the BC ribbon with some music notes around it. I also said I want it smaller. She said no problem. I hemmed and hawed about telling her how many notes I wanted but decided against it. The notes were my love for dh. I was STUNNED when she showed me her drawing...there were SIX notes...as you look at the pic you will see that I feel the top 2 notes are dh and I and the bottom 4 are the 4 kids. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was a SUPER day!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and post #400!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!! I hope you have a day full of family, food, laughs, good health, and gratitude! In this day and age we are living in, I have a LOT to be grateful for. I wanted to share a few of the things that I am grateful for.

First is the love of my life, Steve!!! Over 26 years ago he asked me to dance at his sister's (my best friend) wedding and we've been dancing ever since!!! I am thankful that he has a job and one that provides well for us. He also LOVES his job and enjoys going to work! I love you Steve and am thankful that God gave you to me!!

I am also grateful for my only daughter. She is working hard to be self sufficient and is pretty successful at it! She is a CSR for Staples Promotional Products and she LOVES her job!!! I love you Sarah and am grateful that God gave you to me!!!

Then there's these two yahoo's! LOL...my oldest and the 3rd child. Both are great kids. The oldest struggles but is working hard at living on his own! The 3rd guy...well he'll be our only college graduate in May! It will be amazing!!! I love you Joe and Kevin and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!

Then...there's Autumn! She's my DD's dog and I just LOVE her to tears! This is a picture of Autumn when there was a thunderstorm going on. She is a scaredy pants during storms and you can see the fret on her brow...just LOVE this one!!! I love you Autumn and am grateful that God brought you into our family!!!

Then I can't let this post go without a picture of my AWESOME girlfriends!!! I'm gonna miss the daily contact when I move! LOVE YOU GALS and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW...last but not least...I saved the BEST part of my thankfulness for last!!! Dan, our youngest, has been a part-time firefighter in Johnson County. He applied for a full time position last week and it has been tense waiting to see who got the job. It came down to him and a guy named Mike. Mike is about 8 years older than Dan but Dan has logged more hours than Mike. Dan also has been dedicated to the JCFD since he was 14yo. He found out at about 4pm yesterday that he GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH it was such a HAPPY day here! LOTS of hugs and tears (my tears) that his hard work paid off. Chief Johnson told Dan it was close and he almost flipped a coin to decide. But instead the Chief went through both of their work records and he told Dan he chose him because of his part-time hours logged and his dedication to the department. Chief Johnson did tell Dan that he wants him to work on his maturity! LOLOL...I can't tell you how many people tell me that Dan is the most mature 19yo they've ever met...and they are right. That comment stemmed from Dan getting a page an hour before he was told to meet with Chief Johnson for a second interview on Monday. Dan said he was so nervous that he stuttered a bit! GOSH...I would too given an hour to prepare for something you hadn't anticipated! But anywho...Dan is now a full-time firefighter and starts work on Sunday! SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is selfish about this for me is that since DH and I are moving back to MN (dh is already there for his new job), I have peace of mind knowing that Dan is employed full time and will be OK without his mom nearby!

SO...here are pics of Dan as a little guy who knew then he wanted to be a fireman, him going to work at JCFD, with a firetruck at the department, and lastly, his helmet!

I love you Dan and am grateful God gave you to me!!!!! Stay safe and thank you for being a public servant!!!!!

SO...there ya have it...my 400th post and why I am thankful!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post #399

Not a lot going on...just wanted to get this one out of the way for the big #400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thought I'd share this silly picture of my BIL from last Christmas!!

North Park Coach's gift

WOOHOO!!!! I was able to cut the center medallion to fit the borders! WHEW!! I am very pleased with how this turned out so far! I wanted to have the top assembled before my son came home for Thanksgiving and I did! I am going to wash this now to get rid of the glue. I didn't want to use fusible web so I used Aileen's glue to hold the pieces in place so I could do the zig-zag stitching on it. It worked pretty well...so the quilt will not be stiff now! WOOHOO!!!

Now for the backing........and then load it on the machine and bind it! I am well ahead of schedule...it needs to be done by December 5th or 7th...whenever the banquet is...I haven't heard yet!!! Stay tuned!!!!

Quilt progress!!

I have gotten a couple of great days in on the quilt for DS's college coach! I am VERY pleased with how it is turning out. All of the zig-zag is done and all that is left is to assemble the siggy blocks and figure out how big to cut the center medallion! (the quilt isn't hung on the design wall very well so the letters look a little wonky. I believe they are balanced better than they look in this pic! (fingers crossed) I hope to get the siggy blocks stitch together tomorrow! It sure felt GREAT to quilt today!!!

QUILTING!!!!!!!!!!!

I am working on this!! The zig-zag stitch is being done around all the pieces! UGH...then I will work on the letters that I need to put on there. WOOHOO!!! It feels SOOOO good to be quilting!!!

Catching up...

I was gone for a week and could not upload any pictures. BAH...so here is my week in a nutshell!!!

Last Wednesday, our son Kevin and his college soccer team had their first conference playoff game against the #1 team in the conference. We managed to score first and that was AWESOME!!! Then our luck turned, starting with a bogus red card against our top defender. SO...for 3/4 of the game we played a man short and were down 2-1 at half. Do you think DS is a bit upset at the start of the second half????

The boys fought hard...very hard and ended up losing 4-2. DANG...this pic tells it all...no words necessary. The Gathje soccer era came to an end that night...my heart was aching as well. *sigh* I've been a soccer mom for 21 years...this transition will be hard. I am SOOO very proud of Kevin though!!! (the athlete with his head down is the one who was kicked out of the game...his last game as a North Park Viking as he is a senior.)

I drove back to MN with dh and was bored silly! LOL...on Saturday my niece got married. Here is my sister (mom of the bride) and my dad walking her down the aisle.

And...introducing Tricia and Ryan...the newlyweds!!! Don't they look happy?????

Then on Sunday, DH and I drove around a bit looking at condos. I think we might've found something in Minneapolis that we both like. It would be new construction and I would get to pick out all the "stuff"! Time will tell...I waver between being excited about condo living and wanting a house with a yard. This is a huge decision and not one to take lightly.

I drove home today...sleeping in my own bed will be super. Also...i need to get my eating habits back...I've gained at least 10 lbs since this whole move stuff happened. I HAVE TO GET CONTROL BACK!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today would be my mom's 78th birthday. Unfortunately, God called her to him in May of 1992. I still miss mom terribly. It amazes me how often I want to talk to her about NOTHING!!! And sometimes I want to talk to her about EVERYTHING!!! (does that make sense?) She was a women of faith, grace, dignity, and integrity. She set the best example of how to live life to the fullest!

Mom died of ovarian cancer and was so full of faith and courage through her 7.5 year battle. I remembered that during my battle with breast cancer almost 10 years ago. God truly blessed me when the woman I call "MOM" gave me life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!! Some day we'll be together again!!!
LOVE YOU!!!

EXERCISE...

...YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DID!!!!!!!!!!!

Life's been B*U*S*Y

WHEW...life has been a trip lately!!! LITERALLY! LOL...from KC to Chicago to Minneapolis...then tomorrow it's to Bloomington IL to Chicago and Sunday it's back to KC! WHEW...I don't have a CLUE how many miles that is...but let's just say it's a TON! (just entered the info into mapquest and it says: 2081.14 miles once I get home on Sunday!!)

Last Saturday night it was Senior Night at North Park. We were honored to be presented at half time with our son Kevin who is in his last year of college (YIPPEE) and his final season of soccer (BOOHOO). What a great night it was!!! LOVE YOU KEV!!!

After Saturday's game and some play time in downtown Chicago on Sunday, DH and I headed back to Mpls for the week. Here was the gift God gave me Monday morning out of the 26th floor apartment here downtown! A GORGEOUS sunrise! Absolutely soothing to the soul!

Remember this post?...well, yesterday I spent time with my sister working on the quilt for the coach. This picture shows the North Park logo blown up and on the front window so we could be sure we got the pieces laid out properly on the background.! What a lot of little pieces! Patience was definitely needed here...but it paid off!!!

And here we have a picture of the Viking ship laid on and glued down on the background fabric. I will take it home with me and do the stitching and continue to embellish the quilt! What do you think? COOL huh? I'm excited to get this one finished!

Thanks for stopping by. Check back for more surprises on the NPU quilt!

I am off to shower and head to Target for more stuff DH needs in the apartment. Then I might check out a condo here in Mpls. I also have a lunch date with a girlfriend! WOOHOO!!!

OH...our house has been on the market 6 weeks now today. We had 4 showings in the first 2 weeks and not a single one since...that's 4 weeks without a showing. NOT GOOD! If you could shoot a little prayer for this housing market and economy to improve it'd be great. This living apart, 400+ miles apart, from dh is not fun!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great day!!

EXHAUSTED...

Yesterday at noon, Dan and I left home and drove 5 hours to Springfield, IL to watch Kev and his North Park soccer team play soccer. The game got started late and then went into overtime. NP lost 3-2 in OT but we had our 3rd string goalie in and a ton of reserve players. Our starters needed some rest before the final 2 regular season games and post season play starts.

At 9pm, Dan and i started our return trip back home...we arrived at 3:00am and i was probably asleep by 3:45am. Alarm rang at 7:50 and I was out the door with girlfriends to attend the Holiday Mart here! WOOHOO...shopping was fun but I was EXHAUSTED!!!

Early to bed for me! More shopping tomorrow night! YESSSSS!!!

I worked at the LONGARM!!!! WOOHOO!!!

My sister made this quilt...it took awhile but it turned out beautifully!!!

I hope she likes it!!!

The blocks are signed!!!

Here is an update to the previous post! I had every intention to take pics...as Sue suggested...and here they are! the boys were so appreciative of the free meal! And i was so appreciative of the blocks being done! WOOHOO...actually, I have 2 that I need to have sign but that's not bad out of 24!!! YES!!!

On the way to Chicago though, I stopped at my FAVORITE rest area! it totally ROCKS...it's clean and a quilter's heaven! Check it out!!!

Here is DS and a few of the guys...

This is Nate and Nemo...both seniors!

Hopefully the quilt won't take too long!!! GO NORTH PARK!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO...I QUILTED!!!!!

After many many many days, a lot of them weekends, getting this house ready to be on the market, I FINALLY QUILTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It felt so good too!!! I am making a quilt for my son's college soccer coach. Kev is a senior this year and I wanted to make something special!

I used a pattern from Buggy Barn which will make the borders of the quilt. The center will be the Viking Ship from the university's website that I will get blown up a bit in order to fit inside the star border. I am taking the stars to Subway (near the university) tomorrow, before the game, so the boys can sign them. I bribed them by saying if they showed up I would buy them a $5 footlong sub! LOL...ya gotta do what ya gotta do...and I did NOT want to leave them with my son! NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Kev is responsible but I don't trust the boys to do it properly without my supervision! LOL I'm getting excited about this project!

I had a heck of a time finding bright yellows so I didn't do it scrappy...I used one yellow. Time is of the essence and I just didn't have time to go to a 4th or 5th LQS when they are over 30 mins away. This will have to do!!!
the yellow stars...
the white stars...
a sneak peak of what it might look like when it's done...
Can you tell what their school colors are? LOL

Update...

Remember this post??? It's the one about the steam dryer in dh's apartment. Well...he tried to dry a load last week and after 6 HOURS he gave up as well! I called the office and they had it checked it the next day. The handyman cleaned out several lines and when DH got home from work he said his JEANS...yes JEANS...were bone dry!!! NOT damp to the touch...but BONE DRY!!! So I guess the steam dryer does work...as long as it's in proper working condition!

I sure hope to quilt today! FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pics from the fun weekend in Chicago!

It was such a great time in Chicago! here are some pics to prove it! LOL It's also my oldest's 25th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE!!!

DH having a little fun with me at dinner Friday night!!!

The kids and their paternal grandparents...LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic!!!

My 4 kids all together! It had been awhile! What fun we had!!!

A beautiful day for a tour of NPU...North Park University! This is DH, his mom, Dan, Kev, and dh's dad.

A little post-game photography...Kev was being a dork! He scored a goal and the team won 3-0! WOOHOO!!!

YEP...a great weekend was had by all!!!

back home...

I am back home after being gone for 8 nights and 9 days. It will be great to sleep in my own bed tonight but it won't feel so good cuz dh wont' be here by my side. this morning, at a motel in a suburb of chicago, dh and i had a tearful goodbye. he was headed back to mpls and i was headed back to kansas city. i cried for about 3 miles of my trip. dh said his trip from rochester to mpls was longer today than it was last week (last week he was headed north to me).

I HATE THIS...and so does dh. I hope this house sells QUICKLY...doubtful though...but I got married 26 years ago to live with my husband...not to be in separate cities/states.

I LOVE YOU STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Weekend ahead...

I am sitting here in a hotel in Glenview, IL. I have a few things to do today but the most exciting thing is that all of my kids will be here, along with DH and his parents, for the weekend!!! Tonight we'll have dinner together and celebrate our oldest's bday (it's on monday) and just enjoy being together.

Tomorrow I am not sure what we'll do to kill the day, but at night we'll watch Kevin and his college team, the North Park Vikings, play soccer! WOOHOO!!! Then Sunday will arrive and we'll all head our separate ways!

I will enjoy this blessing that God has given to me!!!

Steam Dryer...

Remember the steam dryer in the previous post???? Well let me say this...I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER buy one of those things! I had a small load: 3 tshirts, 1 pair of shorts, 1 hand towel, my jammie bottoms, 3 pairs of undies, 1 bra, 1 pair of socks, and a nice shirt. I turned the dryer on for 40 mins on high heat. The clothes were still WET! Dh said, the lady said they would be damp to the touch. YEAH, DAMP not WET! SO, I turned it on for 120 mins while we went to dinner and the Eagles concert (amazing concert btw!!!). When we got back to the apt. around 11:30 the clothes were not as wet but still wet IMHO. SO...I took out the undies (they were dry), the socks, the bra, and turned it on for 20 more mins. STILL not damp to the touch. I wanted to go to bed so I took the clothes out and laid them across the back of some chairs and on the shelves in the bathroom so they would dry overnight.

UGH...dh will NEVER get his clothes dry...NEVER EVER EVER EVER with that thing! How can a person expect to fold damp to the touch clothes and not have them get moldy?????

I'll take my regular old dryer anytime...thank you very much!!!