Swirling as a cinnamon girl...

Warning....

I couldn't find anything interesting to talk about 

even after yesterday's rendition of These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Maybe it's because I don't have much creative to post about today...

I spent a good deal of time shoveling my way out of  my parking spot

when the wet snow got packed under my car 

as I attempted to back out...

(maybe the motorcycle wouldn't have been such a bad idea)

and by the time I broke free, 

I was drenched from the rain (not snow!)

and then I had a 3 hour lunch with an old friend!!!

So back at the ranch....

when I opened up my new bread maker

that Nature Boy gave me for the holidays...

it made me think of a fellow Canuck and his song,

Cinnamon Girl...

I am sure you are scratching your head...
and are now convinced that the madness of last night 
has continued!!!

Well...

I looooooooove the taste of cinnamon!!!
I especially loooooove the taste of cinnamon bread!!!

Luckily my new bread machine came with a recipe
for cinnamon swirl bread....

that's when tune of Cinnamon Girl started singing in my head!!!

"..I wanna live 

with my cinnamon swirl

I could be happy 

The rest of my life

with a cinnamon swirl...."

Don't say I didn't warn you....

Step away from the microphone!

(PS ...one of my blog readers (I think I have a few)

 asked if I would 

post about my studio and working there...

great idea, Kathy!

I just have to get there!!!

so stay tuned.....)

.

Failed.... again!!!

I tried and tried... but I just couldn't do it.... 31 consecutive days of blogging, that is.

With weather like this in December in upstate NY...

who could blame me????!!!

A failure is not always a mistake, 

it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances.

 The real mistake is to stop trying.

-B. F. Skinner

Failure is really a harsh word isn't it???

I have made many mistakes this year

but I now realize that 

it was really simply the best I could do at that moment in time

Those mistakes are done

and I need to focus on the joy of the present moment!!!!

(this was my word for 2014... I am working on one for 2016, how about you?)

And yes, there were presents lol!!!

This week, I couldn't blog about my latest projects 

because these projects were under wraps (so to speak)

... or should I say, wrapped!!!

There was a pillow to commemorate a beloved pet...

cookies in a jar to layer...

pouches to fill with junk...

a shawl to knit and knit and knit...

and

cookies to bake....

(wait!!! I didn't bake those cookies!!! the kids did!)

Even with all the hubub going on here,

Amazon left a new house for Olive...

Now that those projects are in the hands of loved ones,

I can move on to the myriad of unfinished 

and unstarted projects

and I will surely have plenty to blog about!!!

Wishing all of you peace, joy, love, and new projects this holiday season!!!

Start the bidding....

Do I hear..???

Yes, 

Olive. Olive you  

is going home with one lucky winner some time in the next week or so....

The quilt, along with the many other "Animals We Love" quilts 

are being auctioned off on eBay

(check out the  Quilt Alliance website- she's the cover girl today!) over the next few weeks...

But the real Olive

continues to entertain us at home 

with her cuteness...

her studiousness....

her squeaky voice...

and her cuddly, lovable disposition.....

In the meantime, 

while you all are bidding on the quilts,

we  are enjoying a little cheesecake

(all one-million calories or so.... I mean, 2 lbs of cream cheese, for goodness sake!)

courtesy of Nature Boy....

and I am putting the finishing touches on my latest project...

 that is getting ready to be packed up 

along with the quilts of the fiber art group I belong to

on a journey around the USA with Mancuso Quilt Fest

 Stay tuned.....

.

Yep, I am....

back in the saddle

doing something you stopped doing for a period of time; Friedman's career seemed to be finished a month ago, but he's back in the saddle and playing for Houston.

-from The Free Dictionary

Yeeeeeeeeha!!!! 

This weekend, I put on my cowboy boots and ten gallon hat

and ...

Okay, I don't own either

but

It seems that I am beginning to find my groove again!!

 

I spent some time at the sewing machine, 

working on a project that has taken many pauses over the past year

 and still has a way to go!!!

This is the now very famous Olive with her late companion, Tinkerbelle.

Originally, this photo taken by my youngest child, "Sugarbaby",

was supposed to be a small quilt 

destined for the Quilt Alliance "Animals We Love" Contest

but the project outgrew the dimensional limitations (16"x16")

(as well as the innocence of the original photo!!!)

and so we all know what happened to that contest..

(a refresher just in case you forgot!!!)

Now the project 

needs a lot more thread and perhaps some added dimension.

And eventually, a title....

Thelma and Louise?

Girls on the Lam?

 

Stay tuned...

I attended a lecture at our local art museum 

entitled "Art is a Feminist Issue"

in conjunction with a current exhibit,

Audrey Flack: Heroines.

An octogenarian, Ms Flack

created an exhibit of mixed media drawings and prints to

highlight women neglected or demonized by history.

The pieces in this exhibit were all completed within the past few years...

 

So maybe my best work is yet to come!!

I also began some hand stitching 

which I find particularly relaxing ...

This project has a deadline so I may have to speed up my relaxation!!!

Not to be confined to the sewing needle,

I dabbled a bit in the kitchen...

and even donned the ol' running shoes...

Life is full of surprises!!!

Time Flies By....

What very mysterious things days were. Sometimes they fly by, and other times they seem to last forever, yet they are all exactly twenty-four hours. There's quite a lot we don't know about them.

Melanie Benjamin, Alice I Have Been, 2010

Why is it that a day is only comprised of 24 hours?!!!

Some days, I need more!

Today, I could have used just a little more time!!!

Besides sleeping,

there was exercising....

working with Nature Boy and Sugarbaby on their homeschool activities...

wading through landlording paperwork....

running errands and chauffeuring the kids...

file photo
(I always see that on important websites or in articles but haven't ever had to use it... 

translation... old photo!)

washing dishes....


and cooking dinner...

(okay, we didn't eat cookies for dinner, but I don't have time to photograph each moment of my day!
so it's another file photo!!!)

 And yet...

the vacuum wasn't turned on...

only gesso was applied in my art journal....

this quilt still isn't bound....

not a stitch was added here....

and the quilt challenge still lies on my sewing room floor...

If only I could have 25 hours some days!!!!

Speaking of time flying by...

my parents (pictured here with me)....

are celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary today!!!!

I love you guys!!!!

Now, I am off to search for at least one minute more today!!!

Up and Running...

(or What I did on my blog-cation- part 3)


Although winters can be looong and gloomy in upstate NY,

it is best to keep a positive outlook on the whole situation!

At least, that is what I kept telling myself,

as I shoveled the newly fallen 15 inches of snow 

on an already full snowbank at the front of our home.

To keep a positive spin on the whole situation,

I generally kept my daily routine...

Many already think my early rising makes me a freak of nature

and that is....

okay!

Throughout my blog-cation,

I continued to set my alarm at 4:00 AM (which means that I do go to bed around 9:00 PM).

WHY??? you ask...

Well, if I get up before everyone else in the U family,

I have plenty of quiet time to read/sew/journal/drink coffee in peace

before I head to the gym!

Mondays bodycombat, Tuesdays and Thursdays bodypump

and the rest of the week, in the gym, I began to step up my running program.

I started running faster and further!!!

One day early in the new year, I had a conversation with a gentleman that I often see at the gym on the weekends. He told me how he started running seriously several years ago but decided more recently, around age 50, to run in races. He encouraged me to try it out.

Hmmmm.....

I thought about it for a while and when a flyer appeared in our gym
advertising the 5 mile Shamrock Shuffle sponsored by a local running club,

I figured I would give it a try!

I decided that I would wait to run outside when the roads were less dangerous for foot travel

but in the meantime, I added a bit of cross country skiing....

and when the weather intermittently improved,
I started running outside....

Last Sunday, I ran in my first race...

5 miles in slightly less than 45 minutes (though officially, it was 45:03)

and I placed 13th out of 26 women in my age class!

And as spring arrives, I can run more outside...

(like the 6.29 miles I ran this Sunday in 55:10!)

Along with exercise, this past December, I celebrated a year of vegan-ism!

I became a vegetarian about 13 years ago

but when my doctor called me a couple years back after routine blood work to say that my triglycerides were slightly elevated (advancing age and family history strikes!), to which he added that diet and exercise would be the first course of action,

I decided it was time to truly watch what I was putting in my mouth!

I have become a much more adventurous cook and baker 

and no... I don't miss meat/eggs/milk/cheese at all! Really!

Even better, 

last summer when I, again, had a physical and blood work, 

my triglycerides had dropped to low normal!!!!

But as this winter descended upon us,

I was still unhappy with the way my clothing fit
and bathing suit weather was approaching faster than usual



so...

I, again, decided to take action!!!!

I had always heard good things about Weight Watchers but didn't want to pay for the program, so I browsed the internet and found a website that calculated how many points would be appropriate to consume each day.

I then found a great app for my iPhone called iWatchr

and started really watching what went in my mouth and you know, it was portion size and the types of snacks I was eating that really changed.

Now about 10 pounds lighter (and very close to what I weighed prior to birthing Teen, Nature Boy and Sugarbaby!),

I feel great!!!

Closing in on 49 years later this month, I have never been healthier

and sometimes, taking some time off to focus on yourself
can be rewarding!!!!

I now realize that exercising early in the day and staying healthy 

keeps my brain running and has really helped my creative thinking and energy too!

And I guess...
 my blog is up and running again too!