Things that make me .....

I finished my word quilt this past weekend!!!

The blue fabric is hand dyed fabric in my stash 

and the background fabric is snow dyed fabric

 I created when we had snow last winter!

This winter I haven't been able to snow dye...

I played a lot with free motion quilting...

it's always easy to experiment on small projects.

The binding is some of the hand dyed fabric

 on which I had stenciled

with iridescent fabric paint... 

I am happy to have finished this word quilt

but it is a little more monochromatic than I am used to creating

so it may need some embellishing...

not sure yet.

This past week was 'winter break' in New York State schools.

Not really in need of a break from winter 

but Sugarbaby and I made our way down south to warmer and sunnier Florida

for a little R & R...

I always find plenty of inspiration in the little things...

flowers...

leaves...

raindrops...

seashells...

ocean waves...

French desserts...

and sunsets...

Feeling happy!

Tiny (?) changes....

Hoping I haven't bit off too much more than I can chew.....

My word of the year top is done with hand dyed and ice dyed fabrics...

but feeling a little under the weather has messed with my desire to quilt this week.

In the meantime...

I am participating in a 7 day nature photography challenge

 over on Facebook...

and so I have been posting mostly old photos....

that I tinkered with using iPhone apps...

  and Photoshop Elements,...

while I train for a new job....

study for an old job....

keep on top of my Happiness Project....

find time for exercise and meditation...

enjoy some company....

and

knit in my spare time (did I say spare time?!!!)

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur."

-Leo Tolstoy

Happily resolved....

I have several projects going on right now

but it's never too late to start another!!!!

(right?!)

My friend and I are now into our second month of 

The Happiness Project!

The first month went very quickly since we started a little late.

The chapter for February is a great chapter for everyone!!!!

(no matter what kind of a relationship you are in or are working on)

So I came up with some new "resolutions", 

as Gretchen (can we be on a first name basis by chapter 2?) 

calls them...

One of my resolutions this year 

is to practice meditation daily

so I treated myself to a mediation cushion!!!!

and while I work on the second month of "One Little Word" 

with Ali Edwards

I have added this resolution to my one goal to practice this month...

feeling pretty happy :-)

Things that make me go hmmmm....

when I hear this song...

I remember some great times in the early 1990s...

times and things that make me go hmm...

and make me smile!!

But I have a lot to smile about these days....

 sunsets on the ocean....

bikini butt bar stools....

warm weather and aqua blue oceans...

feet in the ocean..

feet in the sand...

improving my running time...

and

a lovable pet, guinea pig

Vacationing,
college girl with a tonsillectomy,
boy with wisdom teeth extraction
has me a little behind in my reading....

I have read the "Getting Started" chapter
and am on to January!!!

Lots to smile about
 and
be happy about this year!!!!

Happiness is....

sporting a pair of socks with artist, Frieda Kahlo....

and 

happiness is....

a pedicure with bright pink polish....

Happy

Even though I explored other words 

for that word of 2016,

I realized that all those other words

(compassion, present, mindful, create....)

lead to my being happy...

So, Happy it is!!!

As I began a bit of exploration into what it might mean to me to be truly happy,

I found this on the Live Life Happy website

words to embrace, for sure.

The day after the race I ran on December 31st,

I got the results of my run.

Now I did this run as a challenge

and to keep my running,

with no expectations...

but the results of my run

surprised even me...

By the way, when I signed in on race night,

the woman at the table questioned me "53?"

WHAT????

Was I supposed to remember my bib number??

So I blabbered my way through

LOL

and then after I realized, 

that was my age!!!!

So there is my age 

front and center!!

Anyway...

out of 1380 runners who finished this race, 

I actually placed in the top half!!!

Out of 726 women running,

in the top half!!!

and

In my age category (50-59),

I placed in the top quarter!!!

Not bad...

and yet, another reason to just be happy!!!

Out with the old...

It's about time that I went to bed but I realized that  I owed one more post for this month's 31 days of blogging challenge. 

So I'm attempting to post from my phone.   In bed. In my pajamas. 

Today I ran a 5k ...

with about 1499 other fitness souls.  Mostly because I could run and it would be a challenge. And it was.  Lots of hills. Lots of people   But I still managed to clock in under 30 minutes. 

As I got ready at home in some running gear, my extra supportive sport bra zipper broke! 

 

Bummer!

But when I  came home tonight and saw it dumped in the garbage, no longer able to support me, I realized a kind of symbolism or irony in it sitting there. Now it seems a coincidence that this idea came to me on the cusp of a new year, but I feel like it's saying, "out with the old, bring in the new!"

This last year has been frought with challenges, experiences I thought I'd never face but I have also learned a lot from them. I'm ready for anything! A life filled with lots of happiness, positivity, love, gratitude, creativity, and wonderful people!!

Bring it on!!!