The label for Joe's quilt

FINALLY...I am able to get to the finishing touches for Joe's quilt! My goal for the past several days was to trim/label/bind so I could hand sew this weekend. That just did NOT happen! But today I am getting it done! WOOHOO!!!

Here are 2 pics of the label!



Have a great day!
Hugs
Laurie

It's Friday...

WOW...where has the week gone? I have done hardly ANYTHING in my sewing room. I did finish quilting Joe's music quilt. I'd post a pic but there's really nothing to show. Tomorrow I hope to trim it up, prep the binding, and sew it on. I also have to make the label. Then all that is left is the hand stitching!!!

Tonight is date night with DH. Our concert last week with the KC Orchestra was AMAZING!!! We really enjoyed it...except for the idiot next to me who didn't think the announcement of "please turn your pagers and cell phones off" applied to him! GRRRR...more than once he opened his phone to see who had called. At intermission he told his chick he had 8 phone calls to return. DH heard that and said, "It's Saturday night...is the guy a pimp?" LOL...that's my dh's warped sense of humor! But honestly...what adult man gets that many phone calls on a Saturday night???

Not a whole lot going on here which is JUST FINE!!! Have a great weekend!!!

Hugs
Laurie

Work yesterday...

Well, I survived my first day of work! I just had to laugh because not one of the managers knew I was coming! AND...the person they want me to replace, April, was who was training me! That is the ONE person that Paul did NOT want me being trained by!!! The managers on duty were so apologetic. I said no problem! What I had to learn is the numbering of the tables/sections and how to seat properly. THAT is the hard part for me. I know how to greet people and be friendly!!! :0) April did fine but she definitely is NOT trainer material! LOL I will go back today at 10:15, again with April, which cracks me up...but I believe Paul is the morning manager so he might have me doing some other stuff. Time will tell! I definitely need to get better shoes though! I might just wear my tennis shoes today! ;o)

Joe stopped by last night after working. I had bought him a few things for his apt. while I was at Target. He just LOVES his new place! Then he called me a little after 10pm and said that Ryan (a coworker at the liquor store Joe works at) was coming over to see his new place. NOW...I was THRILLED to hear this as Ryan is a SUPER kid. He and Joe get along so well! Joe said to me, "Mom, Ryan is someone who I should be hanging around with. He's never smoked pot and never will smoke pot. His friends don't either!!!" I said, "I'm glad to hear that!" Joe said, "Well Dave was not a good living arrangement for me with all the drugs he and his wife were doing every day. I am so glad to be out of there!"

SO...WOOHOO...this mom continues to be happy with Joe's progress!!!!!

Have a great day!
Hugs
Laurie

What a day!!!

WOW...what a day. It started with my weigh in I lost half a pound since Friday. I was very frustrated...I have lost more fat and built more muscle...so that is GOOD! :tu I did complain a bit though. I am tired of hearing "be patient...the last few pounds are the hardest to lose". YEAH i said...but it's been 3 MONTHS!!! SO...after a bit of whining...the gal who runs the place sat down with me. Marcia said she suspects that my body is taking everything I am giving it and keeping it because of my exercise. She put me on the first menu of maintenance which is higher in carbs. No longer exact menus for each meal but 1200 calories broken down into fruits/veggies/carbs/proteins and eat them as you wish. I am SOOOOOOOO excited to have dairy products back...along with lots of other things!

Next, it was off to helping Joe move in. Things went very well there...just a lot of trips up 3 flights of stairs! It was good exercise for me AND Joe!!!

After several trips to and fro we got him moved in. Dan met us at the Goodwill and Joe bought a couch and a couple of end tables. Funny thing though...Joe saw this kidney shaped black table with a set in glass top. It was only $25 but it was wobbly. I said let's find out why it's wobbly. So we were shaking the table gently and Joe said I think it's down at this end. I said, hmmm...let's turn it over and see exactly WHAT is wrong with that end. WELL...I did NOT know that glass table tops are NOT secure...the glass SHATTERED to the ground!!!!!:eek:eek YEPPERS>..the glass top was in a gazillion pieces. I said "Oh SH#$" and there was a grandpa and his little granddaughter standing there. I apologized profusely for that bad word.

SO...I told the lady that i didn't know what the policy was about such accidents but that I would pay for it. She said she didn't know either and would check. She came back and said, it's ok...no need to pay but all of the employees here get to whip ya once! I said "Bring it on!" Then Joe decided that he wanted the frame and would have Dan make a center for it in his Woods class at work. The guy gave it to us for $5!

Then Joe went to run a couple of errands and a guy saw me moving some stuff into Joe's apt. He said do you want this microwave cart? I said are you going to throw it away? He said yep. I said sure! He also had a little wire shelving unit on wheels and I said how bout that? He said want it? YEP! SO...I got those for Joe for FREE!!!

Dan was bringing something up the stairs and the guy asked if we'd want this 4'x2' throw rug as well! YEP!!! THEN...Joe came back from getting his big stuff from the house he was in and I told him about the "stuff". We saw the man who gave them to us and Joe thanked him. He came out with a toaster and asked if Joe wanted that too!!! Joe said is there a microwave in there? :lol:lol There wasn't but the guy, it turned out was the maintenance guy for the complex! I was relived to know he was such a kind soul!!!

Then Joe took us out to get pizza for dinner...it was a PERFECT day!!! Steve and I are WAY more happy that he's in this new place than in a house that is going to get out of hand with drugs. Joe told Steve (I left them to chat a bit at dinner while I came home) that he thinks his former roommate is doing crack as well as other stuff. Joe said he hasn't smoked pot since August and he doesn't want to go there again. Steve asked how old Dave is and Joe said 33. Steve said to Joe...and if you kept on the old track you were on you could be where Dave is today. Joe said he knows that but he doesnt' want to get to that point in his life. Moving was a MUST!

Steve told Joe too that he is an AWESOME manager at Moe's. He said and you know from me coaching you in soccer that I don't hand out compliments like that easily!!!

We will continue to pray that Joe stays on the straight and narrow!!!

Tomorrow I start work...should be interesting!!!
Hugs
Laurie

Today's Project

My oldest son, Joe, is a huge music nut. He wants to go to school for music production. SO...he found these panels on ebay and asked if I could make a quilt out of them for him. I said when you are independent and out of the house! LOL...SO...now that he is moving into his own place on Monday he's been bugging me to get this done for him! It was a challenge as the panels are a very thin 100% polyester and trust me...it doesn't like meeting up with 100% cotton! LOL...There a couple of minor issues and I think they will be ok when quilted...time will tell! Here is the top!


And here is a close up of the guitar fabric...Joe has taught himself how to play the guitar and that is why we bought this for the borders. NOW...I wanted to surprise him with this because he has said several times, "Mom, you have til Super Bowl Sunday to get my quilt done!" LOL...TOday I was listening for his "HEAVY" footsteps upstairs(my sewing room is below the kitchen where everyone enters the house) because I had the top pinned to the rec room carpet in order to do the borders. I heard "softer than Joe" footsteps and figured it was Dan coming home from work. All of a sudden I hear, "MOM IT IS AWESOME!!!!" DANG IT...it was Joe...he saw his surprse but only with the sashing strips and not the guitar border. What's a mom to do! LOL



Now I am going to go put on some makeup, figure out what outfit I want to wear for date night with DH. We are going a restaurant that serves great seafood and then to the symphony orchestra where a gal and guy perform with the orchestra and will do the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Should be fun!

Have a great night!
Hugs
Laurie

Mid-Life Crisis????

I believe I'm in one! LOL...I waited until my crisis was healed b4 posting! 2 weeks ago I went and got a tattoo! It is a celtic knot (which represents my love of quilting) that symbolizes a mother's and her children's hearts intertwined. It is done in purple and pink with shading...I might go back and have it colored in solid...it's on the inside of my left leg...and I LOVE IT!!!


NOW...for the news I promised you this morning! My oldest, Joe, has struggled with stayin employed at one place more than a few months. He's been homeless, broke, and in DEBT. Coming up March 1, he will have been employed at 2 places for a YEAR! WOOHOO!!! And he's working to pay his student loan off, bought our old car and is paying for that, the ins. on it, and his cell phone. We have been his bank since he hasn't been able to get a bank account. He moved out in Nov. and it is NOT a good situation. We are pretty sure his roommates are ripping him off financially and that they are makin their money selling drugs. NOT GOOD...SO Joe said he needs to get out and we agreed wholeheartedly. (the good news is he didn't sign the lease, his roommates did so he's not locked in) I made some phone calls to apt. places on Monday, we looked at a place and put in an app. It will save him about $200/month and that doesn't include the decrease in his gas costs. We co-signed for him because we didn't think he'd qualify on his own credit. BUT HE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then today...well, is there any better way to wake up than this? I turned on my cell phone and the voice mail "whoop whoop" sound went off! SO...I said to myself, AH, Sarah called after I went to bed. (she was supposed to call me after her job interview at 8PM last night and I heard nothing.) But the voicemail wasn't from Sarah...it was from Joe.

I will save this voicemail FOREVER!!! And remind me when he's made me upset to listen to it! The voicemail went something like this:

"Um, hi mom. It's Joe. I just wanted to call and tell you thank you so much for your help in finding me a new place to live. I have to tell you how much I appreciate it and how EXCITED (he giggles) I am to have qualified on my own for the apt too!!! I have had such AN AWESOME day and it's due largely in part to you and dad!! I am so thankful that you and dad are helping me pay off my loan to Target (he'll pay us back but we wanted it off his credit) and helping get my student loan back on track. It's just such an AWESOME feeling to be doing this on my own! And I REALLY REALLY appreciate your help...and dad's, I'll call him tomorrow and leave him a message but I thought I might catch you awake tonight. I just had to say THANKS!!!!! I appreciate your help!!! (he giggles again) I am just so HAPPY!!!"

I have listened to that message 3 times already! My heart is SO FULL and HAPPY!!! I pray that Joe is "getting it"!

THEN...there's Sarah. Spending money like she's got it! And she doesn't! She has to pay a LOT of the bills now that she's at a CC instead of WIU. I just shake my head on that one. She should hear about the job tonight...she'd get $4/hour and her tips being a server, which is what she does here. She said she'll probably get hired but is unsure of how many hours she'll get. Time will tell on that one.

Have a great rest of the day...OH...here's a pic of my 5 blocks for the Hazed and Infused quilt.



Have a great day!!!
Hugs
Laurie

"STUFF"...and thanks!!! :-D

I haven't posted for a few days! I have been busy with "stuff"! When you are a mom there is a lot of "STUFF" to deal with! Lots of it is GREAT "stuff" though! I'll catch ya up later!

Also, thank you for all the kind words with my daughter's situation! They were greatly appreciated!!!

I thought I'd share my lone star quilt with everyone. I took this class with Jan Krentz online at Quilt University. Jan did an AMAZING job teaching that class and I would take it again in a heartbeat!!! It was a true challenge. If you want to see more about the work entailed just go to my webshots site. There's a LOT of "STUFF" there! ;)



Today I am going shopping at the mall for clearance bargains. I need some new clothes!!!! WOOHOO!!!

Have a great day!
Hugs
Laurie

Kids and why I'm TIRED

*SIGH* I went to bed last night at 11PM and at 1:45AM I woke up to a sound downstairs and thought "Eh, the kids are still up." Fine...no problem...but I never went back to sleep. At 3AM I could see thru our bedroom door that there was still a light on downstairs. Sure enough, I came downstairs and there was Sarah. I told her to get to bed since we had to be up and on the road at 7AM to take her back to "school". (I put it as "school" cuz she's been kicked out of her 4yr university due to lack of progress and is going to the community college there.)

Anywho...I went back to bed and was still awake at 4:30AM. UGH...I awoke at 7AM and got up, showered and took DD back to "college". Turned around and came home...arriving at 6:30. DH took me to dinner!

In the mean time I found out from Kevin that Sarah broke a spindle on our banister at 1:45 AM when she tripped coming down the stairs...that was the noise that woke me up. I called Sarah and said when did you think you were going to tell me about the spindle? She said she was going to call me tonight. I said good grief, we spent 5 hours together today and you couldn't tell me????? She thought I'd be mad cuz when the boys, Kevin and Dan, chase each other in the house I always yell SPINDLES!!! LOL...I told Sarah it was an accident and stuff happens but to TELL me!!

I'm tired...I think I'll have one or two of the 4 major food groups...A BEER...and go to bed! ;)

I hope to get some quilting in tomorrow...HOPE is the operative word there!

Hugs
Laurie

Tagged by Judy! ;o)

OK...I guess I've been tagged so here goes!!!

Four jobs you've had: Hospital kitchen worker, Elementary Ed tchr, Curves for Women, Health Club, Longarmer, but the MOST IMPORTANT JOB...MOM!!!

Four movies you could watch over and over: Miracle on 34th St., It's a Wonderful Life, A Beautiful Mind, The Notebook, Hoosiers, Coach Carter, Stand by Me, Breakfast Club...and many more

Four places you've lived: Rochester, MN (birthplace), St. Paul, MN, Apple Valley, MN, Burnsville, MN, Overlandd Park, KS

Four TV shows you love to watch: What About Earl, Law and Order, Boston Legal, The Bachelor (I KNOW I KNOW...but I find human nature interesting)

Four Places You've Been on Vacation: Banff, Canada, Toronto, Canada, Brussels, Amsterdam, London, Orlando, Palm Desert, Scottsdale, San Francisco

Four Websites You Visit Every Day: My newspaper in MN, Blogs, Yahoo Family group, Big Horn Quilts, EZBoard website with friends

Four Of Your Favorite Foods: Pizza, Beer (oh YES IT IS A FOOD!!! LOL), Chicken, Salmon, Steak, Buffalo

Places You'd Rather Be: HOME in Minnesota

Four Albums you can't live without: I'm not sure that I can't live WITHOUT these CD's, but they are my favorites at this time: Faith Hill's Firefly, Kenny Chesney (any of his CD's), Shania Twain (her older ones), Aaron Neville (any of his CD's)

Four People you'll pass this on to: Laurie Ann, Darilyn, Jeanne, Joanne

Life in KS today!

Well, the snow above is what is going on here in KS at the moment!! Winter Storm Warning...2-4"! LOL Being from MN that just makes me laugh! MN wouldn't even call that a Storm WATCH, much less a WARNING!!! But, it's a great day to accomplish the fun pictured below!!!

YEPPERS...those are 2 homemade pizzas! One sausage with green olives and the other pepperoni with black olives!!! I have one more pizza crust in the bread machine!! Wanna know why I'm making 3 homemade pizzas??? (the third one will be sausage/pepperoni/g&b olives/onions/green pepper) Well, here's why...Kevin's college friend had a buddy from Alaska come into town . I had told Adam that if Jamie came into town to call me and I'd make pizzas and have them over for pizza and beer! He called last night!!! How COOL is that??? Most people never take me up on my offers so I am THRILLED!!!

I made 2 more blocks for the H&I quilt top! It's a good project when one doesn't have a lot of time! ;0)




Hugs,
Laurie

2 Wasted Quilting Days

First of all, THANK YOU so much for the fun comments on the Hazed and Infused post! Marathon Quilter suggested that I use my story and picture of the tap on my label! GREAT IDEA!!! Thanks MQ!!

So, yesterday I had the bright idea of making a New York Beauty out of those colors...tried my hand at Karen Stone's NYB book that I have with the patterns and templates...DISASTER...TOTALLY DISASTER! I loved the color combinations that I had chosen but the workmanship was probably the WORST I had ever done...YES...the WORST!!! So, that blew my quilting time yesterday!

Today I had planned on quilting all day because I wasn't going to have a car. My son had work, physical therapy, and a dentist appt. BUT he came back from work at 10am and said he didn't work until 5pm!!!!!!!!!! LOL...so he went back to bed and I decided to run some errands. I tried on some aerobic shoes and then went to Talbot's where I dropped almost $400 on clothes on CLEARANCE!!! The only problem, dh needs to take me out to fancy places...so we'll see what I do. (the fun part of that shopping spree was when the gal said there's pants to this ensemble...did you see them? I said no, but if you have a size 12 I'll take them. I did and tried them on at home and they fit like a glove!!! WOOHOO!!!)

When I got home I decided that I just HAD to make a block out of the H&I fabrics. What to do??? I grabbed my book by Judy Hopkins, "Around the Block Again" and picked a 12" block. Here is the result of that block. What I'm thinking is to do a variet of 12" blocks and just make it a sampler! But who knows...that could change! LOL



This didn't photograph very well. The green is a very bright lime green and the dark purple is a purple that leans towards being a black-purple)

I hope everyone had a great day!!!
Hugs
Laurie

DH and I like our beer! YES, this is quilty!

My husband and I really enjoy drinking good beer. There is a restaurant here in KS called "Old Chicago". They have 110 different beers, tap and bottle, and you sign up to be a World Beer Tour member. When you become a WBT member you get a plastic membership card and every time you drink a beer you get credit for it. Once you drink 110 DIFFERENT beers (you don't get credit for drinking the same beer 2x) you get your name on a plaque at that location. Along the way you get prizes too!!! Tshirts, sweatshirts, bottle openers, BBQ tool set and more! They also have various themed mini-tours that you get a tshirt for when you finish it! TOTALLY FUN!!!

SO...now that you have the background here is my story! One night we were sitting at the bar and one of the taps (Hazed & Infused) caught my eye. I LOVED THE COLORS! (and the beer!) ;o) I kept telling DH, I gotta make a quilt out of that beer tap! Being the dork he is he said, "Wouldn't it be easier to make it out of fabric?" DUH Well, needless to say I could NOT get the image out of my mind. We bought a 6 pack of the beer at the liquor store, but it just wasn't the same as having the tap from Old Chicago. One night last week we were in the restaurant eatin gand the mgr. came up to us (we know the mgrs because DD works there) and asked how our holidays were. I then said, HEY, can I have the Hazed and Infused beer tap? He looked at me kinda funny like and I said I HAVE to make a quilt out of those colors! He said hang on a sec and came back with an EXTRA H&I tap and gave it to me...PLUS he brought out a bucket of old taps. I took 5 of them in exchange for making him a tshirt quilt. I know I probably am coming up on the short of that stick but it's OK! SO...here is the tap that I coveted and now own!

A couple of days ago I thought, "It's time to pick fabrics for the H&I quilt!" So, I did! All of these are out of my stash!!! WOOHOO...STASHBUSTIN' IN '06!! I also laid out the Joen Wolfrom's color wheel device on top of the fabrics so you can see how it works. I don't use this often for my color choices, but I was so intrigued by the tap that I wanted to see if it fell into one of her 5 categories:

*monochromatic (one color)
*complementary (2 colors directly opposite from each other on the wheel)
*analogous (7 colors next to each other on the cw)
*splilt-complementary (2 complementary colors and add 2 colors on either side of ONE of those)
*triadic (3 colors equi-distant from each other on the cw)
And it DOES!!!!!!!!!!! It is SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY! How COOL is this???!!! Now to find the PERFECT PATTERN! AH, the hunt of the PERFECT PATTERN! I"ll find it somewhere! Someday...

So here is a picture of the fabrics, the left column are purples (the very deep purple didn't photograph well, it looks almost black but it is a black purple), then blues, yellow greens and yellow). This should be FUN!

Oh, here is a pic of the WBT tshirt quilt I made for DH and I cuz we had waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many! We have finished 4 full tours and are on our 5th!!!

I am going to PIECE today if it kills me! I probably will go get lunch at Moe's and then crank out quilting the rest of the afternoon! WOOHOO!!! I spent a whole day cleaning this pit of a sewing room so now it's time to mess it up! LOL...I even dusted behind stuff and pics and got cobwebs outta the corners! Do I REALLY want to mess it up????!!! Aw heck...WHY NOT! Have a great day everyone!!!

Hugs,
Laurie

For those wanting to lose weight

I clicked on a diet banner on my yahoo mail page last night. It sent me to the Discovery Channel website. I haven't looked closely at this whole program because I don't want to register, but this much I know:

*it's free
*you can get 8 weeks free at Bally's if you join (unsure if there's a contract committment or not and you certainly could do your own exercise if you don't have a Bally's)
*getting the Discovery Channel is useful
*if you register you have access to lots of menus and recipes

Also, I did a google search typing in "free online diet programs" and there were a LOT of them! One is Ediets.com, along with many others.

I hope this helps anyone trying to lose weight this year! Remember...it's not a DIET but a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!!! Change just one thing a week in your diet. Maybe this week it's drinking less caffeine and more water every day, next week it's eating a piece of fruit instead of a cookie everyday, the next week you eat veggies instead of potatoe chips. Small changes like this will add up and make your LIFESTYLE CHANGE easier!!! Going cold turkey is HARD HARD HARD!!! Trust me, that's what I did on my LIFESTYLE CHANGE and I warned my family I might become a B#@*&!!!! LOL Forewarned is forearmed!!!

Also, exercise, ANY type of exercise is important. BUT...if you hate the exercise you chose find something else. You won't stick with it if you don't enjoy it! That much I know!!! Maybe today you walk for 10 mins...tomorrow 15...next week 20 mins...and so. Do what your body says you can do. It's important to listen to your body!!!

I need to get back on track after the holidays as well. This week has been tough but I am determined to make my goals BEFORE 2/1!!! I HAD 4 lbs to lose to goal BEFORE the holidays...it might be more now! But I have told myself I will weigh in again on Friday.

Have a great day!

I'm STUMPED!

I am seriously stumped on this. About 3 weeks ago I got a card in the mail with a $25 gc to the LQS here. Signed, "Secret Pal".

Today...a delivery to my door. The delivery gal said, "Are you Laurie?" I said yes. She said, "You have a secret pal!" ARGH...WHO IS IT??? She said a pretty nice one too! There was a note that said "Your kindness warms my heart!"

This is 2 months in a row and it's making me NUTS!!!! The one local person I think it is vehemently denies it...which I would too! I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy!OH...and the thing of it is, I did NOT join a "Secret Pal" deal...

(SIGH)
Hugs
Laurie

Haven't posted for a few days...still sick

Hi Blogger friends! I have not felt well still! I had wanted to do some quilting the past couple of days...some long, hard, fun days of just QUILTING but I didn't. I managed to get a few hours in but that was it. I ended up lying on my bed and watching TV for a couple of hours this afternoon. I hope this cold will break soon...I haven't felt any better yet with the meds so it's obviously bacterial.

I hope you are all getting more done than I am! ;o)

Hugs
Laurie

P/A Blossom Progress

Well, here are 12 blocks done...36 to go! This quilt is going to require sunglasses to look at it! LOL...but I'm lovin' how it is turning out. I haven't sewn these together yet...just have them on my design wall.

I'm going to press some fabric now and then call it a day in my sewing room! ;o) It'll be time for New Year's Eve games soon!

Have a safe one!
Hugs,
Laurie

Have a Safe New Year's Eve

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year's Eve. I am still sick, but maybe a smidge better than yesterday. Hopefully as the day progresses I'll feel better.

Today I'd like to press some fabric and possibly work on my P/A Blossom some more. I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I also would like to go to jazzercise at 9:00 this morning. I'm sure that would help.

Our New Year's Eve tradition of 23 years or so:

We play games in the afternoon and drink really good beer!!! Then we fondue. We do a cheese fondue with bread cubes and apples. Then we do a peanut oil fondue with pork, steak, tator tots, carrots, brocolli, and cauliflower. We have a horseradish/sour cream dip, garlic butter dip, and a tomato sauce/brown sugar/steak sauce dip for our main course items. THEN...for dessert we do a chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, and bananas. We have a really good bottle or 2 of wine during this long meal! Then we lay sit on the couch and watch TV or a movie and drink more of that good beer! WE HATE TO BE ON THE ROAD...it is a very enjoyable way to bring in the New Year!

What are your plans?????

I'm sick...and my HOT date

Why is it when a person has great plans for the day that person wakes up feeling like CRUD??? I woke up at 4AM with a HORRIBLE sore throat...it felt like I had a marble in my throat the size of a half dollar. Woke up at 9 and cold hardly talk it hurt so badly. So I showered and went to urgent care. The Dr. said it's not infected yet but she suspects a sinus infection is brewing cuz I have a lot of fluid below my eardrums. So, off to the pharmacy.

Then Kev had an appt at the hospital at 11:15 for his back. He saw a pain guy. We are going to do some physical therapy for the remaining 2 weeks that he is home. He also was told to try Yoga, stretching, abdominal work, and weights to strengthen the back. But as long as he's physically active to expect to have pain. Then I had to stop at Moe's to get Kev's work schedule from Joe so I could get the therapy sessions scheduled.

Now I am waiting for DH to finish lunch and we have to go to the grocery store for our fondue food for tomorrow. It'll just be Dan and us. We're almost back to just DH and myself for New Year's Eve! Things tend to go full circle!I'm not sure what I'll do the rest of the day cuz I'm really wiped out. I didn't even go to jazzercise this morning. I suspect I'll be in bed early though.

My HOT Date was FUN!!! I felt like a million BUCKS and DH dressed nicely too! ;o) The food at PF Chang's was great! I had Kung Pao Chicken! YUMMY!!! Then we went to Old Chicago and met up with our boys and let Sarah wait on us!

And YEPPERS...we still have 2 SHOPPING days left before stash BUSTING begins!!!! HAVE AT IT LADIES!!!

Still Stash Enhancing! LOL...it's only 2005!

I had a gift certificate to my LQS so I HAD to go shopping! Besides...I have a quilt to make for a book! And these are the fabrics I picked out! It was so fun to shop but I don't think I've ever made a 3 fabric quilt before! I sure hope this turns out great!

Laurie Ann asked if I got my brown/pink jog suit...and the answer to that is NOPE! I got a blue one instead! It fits nicely and blue is a good color for me. I did have DD look at that brown/pink one yesterday while we were shopping but she still vetoed it! TOO MUCH PINK on the sleeves! (sigh) I give up! UNLESS it goes on clearance!!! Then it's MINE!

Yesterday DD and I went shopping! It was fun and we did some damage! Sarah spent most of her Christmas wad. She bought a sweater/2 tops/jewelry and something else. I bought a wool, double-breasted jacket (not really a blazer but i guess it is), a brown sweater turtle neck tank to wear under it, a pretty pink cable knit sweater that has the old cowl neck (I wasn't sure about it but sarah and dh said it was gorgeous on me), and a pair of brown boots! SO...I told DH he has to take me out tonight! We are going to go to PF Changs on the Plaza and see the lights tonight. I also said to him that your jeans and OLD sweatshirt won't cut it when it comes to attire! ;o)

Well, I gotta get going! I have a hot date with the DH tonight! WOOHOO!!! Have a great rest of the day!
Hugs
Laurie

An intimate look at our Christmas!

I have enjoyed reading everyone's stories about Christmas and wanted to share more with you! Here are some pics from our holiday! If you click on them they will be larger and you can see more!

This picture above is of my family at my dad's house. That is my dh Steve, myself, and my oldest Joe in the back row. In the front is Kevin, Sarah and Dan!


This is a picture of my sister Linda, dad Joe, sister Jane in the back row. Brother Tim, myself, and brother Jeff in the front row. This picture was taken at my dad's house. Mom died in '92. OH how I miss her at this time of year.



This is my family and our traditional game of hearts on Christmas Eve! It is a TOTAL BLAST!!!!! And let me tell you...NO ONE...I repeat...NO ONE wants to lose! LOL



This is my dad and all of his grandkids and their significant others! What a crew!!! What is truly amazing is that we all still LOVE to get everyone together! That happened this year! WOOHOO!!



This is a picture of my niece on dh's side entertaining the little kids (oh wait, that's my 16yo Dan there too) until gifts can be opened! LOL...they are playing Simon Says!



And last but not least...my DFIL and his cowboy quilt! That is my DMIL in the pic with him! I think he liked it! NO...I KNOW HE LOVED IT!!! It was truly a hit! Another quilty gift delivered and appreciated!

So there you have it! Christmas with Laurie and her family!!!