Quilt inspiration

So it's been a really long time since I've blogged and this morning I want to avoid doing my work. I was checking out some quilt blogs and found some inspiration and need to write down a list of all the ones I want to make. Maybe if I write them all down I might eventually get them done. Yesterday I decided that as much as I like being a part of the virtual quilting bee world I don't think I'm going to participate next year. It just feels like I have too much on my plate right now. I'm going to finish up this year's bee in September then take a break. Maybe I can finally get some of my many projects done. So this is my very long and extensive list of quilts I want to make. I don't have pics, well except for in my head: 1. Churn Dash solids bee quilt (nearly done, but just finally figured out how I want to put it together) 2. Sunday Morning Quilts bee quilt (need to make a few more blocks myself) 3. Circle jeans quilt (that one shouldn't be too bad to get finished up) 4. Herring bone weave for Elise's teacher (need to get that one done soon). I also have enough fabric to make one for me too :) 5. Basket weave quilt 6. I spy fruit jar quilt 7. White star quilt (have made a few blocks but stopped working on that one) 8. Baby quilts for Liz, Michelle and Gina. Have the stuff just need to make them. 9. Solids rectangle quilt (saw this in a magazine this week and I already have tons of scraps for it) 10. Jacob's 4th of July quilt (top is already complete, just need to baste and quilt it!) 11. Crazy quilt for MIL with all her old fabrics. 12. Cross Stitch quilt from MIL (have the blocks just need to sew together) I think that's all I can think of at the moment but that is a very long list considering how long it takes me to put something together. At least they aren't in any sort of order. I'm sure there are more and if I think of any I'll have to edit the list.

Ok. I'm trying to upload pictures. Let's see if this actually works. These are Elise's Kindergarten pics. She's such a doll :)

Quilt blog and stuff

Last time I tried to post it was near impossible. But it worked out and here I am again. This time it's all about quilting (I know, I know, it hasn't been for a while!). Well I've been blog stalking once again and I love looking at quilting blogs. I really, really want to start my own. I would love for that to be my new profession seeing as the ones I have now I'm not really liking at the moment. Oh well. Guess when I win the lotto my fantasy will come true. Honestly I just don't have time for sewing these days and since I don't have a dedicated space it's really hard to say I'll just sew for 15 minutes a day. Sigh. Well if I did have a quilting blog what should I name it? Hmmm. Gotta get thinking of that. Maybe if I think of a name I can create it and get it moving. Maybe it should be something like "Wishing I had more time for quilting". Nah, too long. Need something fun and short. I'll keep thinking. Any suggestions post it here. I'd also need to find a new blogspot. I mean I like blogspot, but there's too many issues with posting pics. Guess I'll have to do some research if I finally buckle down and get serious. By the way, dropped 4 pounds already :) Hehe, just had to slip that in.

What a difference a day makes!

As you all know I've struggled with weight forever and a day. A few months ago I tried really hard to do the calorie counting thing. I even had Lindsey on my side to help with the accountability. I saw results at the beginning but then it just started going the wrong way. Basically since I stopped breastfeeding I've gained 30 pounds, something I'm uncredibly unhappy about. I was racking my brain trying to think of the best thing to do to get my body back. I went on youtube the other morning and watched a lady talking about her vertical sleeve gastrectomy, the same weight loss surgery I had nearly 3 years ago. She said that over the course of a few weeks she wasn't eating like she should and gained 10 pounds. Then in one weekend she started to eat the way she knew she should, getting all her proteins in, and lost 7 pounds. Well that got me thinking about what I did after I had surgery. I basically was eating all protein, very little carbs. So I started looking into Atkins. Now I know what you all are thinking, this lady has been on the diet roller coaster, not one more thing. I talked to my co-worker and my brother who have both done it and been very successful when they were doing it. So I asked them about it and they both agreed it was very good for them. My co-worker had originally lost 96 pounds in one year doing it and then stopped and gained most of that back. She said she was willing to go on it with me again and help me. My brother's advice was be well prepared and don't cheat. Easier said than done of course. So yesterday morning I decided to try it out. I knew I was a sugar and carb addict. I knew I needed to give that stuff up but I just couldn't. It really is my drug of choice. Yesterday I weighed in at 252 (not happy writing that number!). I ate probably 25 carbs total yesterday, compared to my usual daily intake of at least 250 (according to my numbers on My Fitness Pal). I didn't realize really how much I had been consuming. Yesterday though was amamzing. Normally I'm really sleepy during the day and this whole time I thought it was because I don't get enough good, quality sleep. WRONG! I'm sleepy because I was eating carbs all day long. I ate protein for breakfast and for a snack and was wide awake. The worst for me is mid morning and after lunch. Well I wasn't sleepy at all and I didn't feel sluggish and I wasn't starving either. I was full and satiated. And the funny thing was that I typically crave sweets in the afternoon and yesterday I didn't. Well I was anxious to find out how I did on the scale so this morning I weighed in at 249.5. What the heck!?!?! How is that possible! I haven't lost in months :) And I'm feeling incredibly better. I'm amazed at what a difference a day makes. And I really feel like this is going to be a lifestyle change for me. Proteins and veggies are so much better for me than sugars and carbs.

Turning it around

Thanks to my friend Lindsey for finally getting my big butt moving in the right direction. We started logging on My Fitness Pal 2 weeks ago and when I first weighed I was up to the whopping weight of 240 and really getting depressed about it (read previous posts). This morning, not even 2 weeks in I'm down to 234! I'm so happy the scales have finally dropped and I really haven't done all that much differently. I'm so happy to see that they are finally moving in the right direction. Now I've just got to keep the momentum going. The thing about logging is that it really makes you think twice about eating something you know you shouldn't. But I haven't deprived myself all that much. I'm just trying to eat better, more fruits and veggies, drink more water and get a little bit of exercise in. At first I wanted to start jogging, but that wasn't happening so I just decided to briskly walk 15-30 minutes a day. My legs hurt really bad at the beginning but now they are used to it. I need to be more consistent about it but hey it's a start right! And I have to say that I love MFP. The bar code scanning thingy is so awesome. Just point, shoot and log. That's it! And they have almost every food known to man on that thing so it's really easy to find what you are looking for. Anyway, just wanted to write that I'm in a much better mood this morning (minus the pink eyes! UGH) to see the scales dropping and so happy for the encouragement!!

Need to do something....

This weight is getting out of control crazy. I'm going to try the Fast Diet again and give it a real go this time. I've got to be a little more prepared too. I think that was part of the problem. And the fact that I'm always making excuses. I'm not sure if I'm ready but I have to do something. I need the scales to get on the downward slide. My clothes aren't fitting and I really don't have the money to buy new ones. I was blog stalking the other day on a quilting blog and the lady said that she gets up early to quilt and to exercise every day. She's not a morning person so it's difficult for her to do but she does it knowing that she will feel better after having done those 2 things. Well I already get up quite early but if I can just push it up 20 more minutes I think I can get on the treadmill and just do it. 4:30 sounds really early but I just won't do it otherwise. And if I can do it for 21 days then it will be a habit right? Same with the diet. I was initially thinking to make really really small attainable goals like 5 pounds at a time. So as of this morning I was 236. Really not happy about that since after I had the baby I was 209. I can't believe that in 11 months I've gained 27 pounds. That's horrible. So my first small goal is 6 pounds. I want to get to 230. Then I'll just do 5 pounds at a time. That way it doesn't feel like a horrible amount. More than anything I think I just want to turn the tide of the upswing into a downswing. I feel horrible about myself and I need to change that. It's really hard to do it alone too. I wish Jared was motivated to do it with me but sadly he isn't. I even wish Erik was motivated to do it too. He's way, way, way overweight. Ok, enough writing. Time to get my plan together.

Dishwasher disaster

One week ago we switched out the old dishwasher for a new one. The old one wasn't draining and it was just plain worn out. So my dad decided to buy us a new one. Jared installed it and it seemed to work fine at first. Then the water wasn't draining. So he unhooked pipes and began trying to figure out what was wrong. We had told the landlord about it earlier but he said his plumber was out of town until Saturday. Well we couldn't wait that long and Jared had an itch to do some plumbing. He found a mess in the air gap, he switched out the pipes under the sink and then the real trouble began. It wasn't draining and worse yet it was leaking. So a friend came over to help him. They discovered there was a block in the main pipe. They shot water down it from the roof and with the "help" of Elise turning on the hose the kitchen was flooded. Oh the joys of home ownership, but wait, we aren't the owners! So after the water was shut off they worked for hours more and got water moving through the pipes. We thought we were finally out of the woods. We ran the dishwasher that night and I happily cleaned and mopped the kitchen. Then I walked in from work on Monday afternoon and my dad said it still wasn't working. Nothing was clean and soap was still in the dispenser. I wanted to pull my hair out. Jared's friend came again and they worked until midnight finally figuring out the hot water line was clogged. I threatened to call the landlord in the morning and get it fixed that day! But Jared got off work early yesterday, put in a new line and viola! it finally worked. I ran the dishwasher last night, checking it over and over. The water was there, the soap dispensed and when I woke up today they were clean and sparkly with no leak or clogs anywhere. I think the dishwashing gods have finally smiled down upon us.

Now to the gate.... On Saturday (while in the midst of all the plumbing issues) Jared changed my brakes. When he was done he forgot to check them. We left to go pick up Erik from SAT's and run a few errands. Now normally I open the front iron gate for Jared so he doesn't have to get out. And usually we say a prayer before we go. Neither one of those happened at that moment. So when we started driving the brakes weren't lubricated yet and he was pumping like crazy with no braking going on. We crashed into the gate and it flew into the street. Thankfully(!!!) no one was driving right then, or walking their kids or dogs and we were able to stop. The neighbors were like what happened?!?! We bent the fence pretty good and will probably have to pound it out and do some welding but I think it will eventually be ok. My car has a few more scratches but Jared bought a buffer to buff them out.

Needless to say it was quite the crazy week. I'm so tired and am in desperate need of a vacation, but alas we are broke and can't afford to go anywhere relaxing except for in our minds. I'm hoping to buy a lotto ticket for Mother's Day and win the big one! Here's to wishing :)