I'm Excited About: T-shirt Quilt Update Edition

Here is the long awaited update on the t-shirt quilt I'm making for Frank! I am 98% finished with the front of the quilt - I need to add the border to the top and bottom and then the front is 100% finished and I can move on to adding the back, the filling, and the quilting.

Here are all of the squares laid out on the floor from a few weeks ago. The order changed a bit in the final draft...


And here it is with the navy border and all in one piece!


It is hanging in the basement, please ignore the parts where the lines don't line up quite right. Frank says he doesn't mind, so I'm trying to just let it go.


The theme is mostly Dartmouth with a little Red Sox thrown in for good measure. There are a few other classics in there, too.


We're off to the fabric store today to find a suitable backing. Something soft and warm, but not so stretchy that I end up burning the entire project due to the endless frustration.

I'll update again when it is totally complete - hopefully before the end of May!

Failure

It has become clear to me that I need to schedule and plan out my blogging each week because if I wait for "something exciting" to happen I'm usually not near a computer and then I forget.

For now I'll promise to try harder. I'll also complain about the weather and tell you about my weekend plans.

The weather stinks! It is late April (almost May) and it is FREEZING here! As if this past winter wasn't torture enough, now spring pretends to arrive and then goes away again, making me pull sweaters and wool suits back out of storage.

Our house has been so cold for the past week that I've even considered switching back to the down comforter from the cotton one. Ugh.

This weekend is supposed to be nice...but I'll pack a coat just in case.

I'm going to Front Royal, VA for a women's retreat with our church. I'm pretty psyched about it for lots of reasons:
1. Lots of fun girls are going, we'll have a group of at least 8-10 in the 27-32 range.
2. S'mores on Saturday night.
3. A weekend long Beth Moore study on "loving well."
4. "free time" on Saturday during which I have been given permission to take a nap! (Thank goodness, I need the rest)
5. Back home by mid afternoon Sunday so I won't feel rushed on Monday.

I'm hoping and praying for nice weather, the kind where you wake up and it is a little chilly but the sun comes out and warms everything up nicely. But again, not holding my breath.

I'm Excited About: Weightloss Edition

So, in the last couple weeks something has happened to me. I gained weight. Like, a lot.

I always go through periods of craving sweets and salt, but for some reason it is lasting longer this time and my pants are getting tight. I think it has something to do with the fact that I keep "celebrating" things, and we all know what happens to 'eating well' when we're hanging with friends; burgers, fries, beers, biscuits, birthday cake, baby shower cupcakes, etc.

We're going to the Outer Banks for Memorial Day weekend in 5 weeks and it is my goal to lose the extra poundage I've acquired by then. My plan involves working out regularly (my gym at work finally got a bike, yay!), cut the sweets, decrease bread (that includes fries), and watch added sodium.

I have all of the tools, including good food for lunches at work, now lets see if I can pull (or work) it off!

Ralph Wiggum 2.0

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the popular animated tv show "The Simpsons," and even with the lovable classmate of Bart's named Ralph Wiggum. Ralph has a high pitched voice and says things that usually could go without saying.

I have a particular love for little Ralph because of the nonsense he spews and because of a time in my life when my little brother and his friend would spout off Ralph's quotes at random. Some of my favorites are:

"When I grow up I want to be a teacher, or a caterpillar"

"My fingers taste like fish sticks"

"I sleep in a drawer"

Well, I have good news - there is a new Ralph Wiggum (2.0 if you will) on tv and her name is Brittany. She is a spacey cheerleader and member of the glee club on Glee. So far this season she has given us:

"Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?"

"Sometimes I forget my middle name"

"Her sweater makes her look home schooled"

"When I pulled my hamstring I went to a misogynist"

I love this character, and I hope she keeps delivering these lines!

My Very Own Yard Slave

Hamilton helped me cut the grass the other day.

Don't believe me? Here's the proof:

Green paws and a worn out puppy - proof that he "helped" by running away from the lawn mower for the entire 10 minutes it took to cut the back yard.

Bachelorette, Birthday, Bar Golf, Oh My!

A visual summary of my last two weekends, and the cake in the middle!

Glee!

So, a few months ago when Frank and I moved back to Arlington we gave up cable tv. We used to pay way too much money for Comcast because we have an awesome television so naturally we had to get the HD service and DVR and a million channels, etc etc.

Anyway, we thought we'd give 'no cable' a try. So far, we've cut our monthly bill by $100 a month, signed up for Netflix, and caved and bought a digital converter box (modern day rabbit ears).

When we, and by we I mean Frank, bought the converter box I was happily reunited with some of the simple pleasures in life; Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Alex Trebek, etc. But, tonight I'm being reunited with GLEE!

And if Frank finds out, the digital converter box may disappear - so try to keep it on the down low for a few more hours, ok?