Weekly Recap 1

First of all, I think my "word of the year" or motto for 2016 will be:

“Reject Apathy”.

I wrote this down on the 29th of December and the phrase has been with me ever since. It originally came from an Our Daily Bread devotional. I think this will be my “word of the year” or motto for 2016. On the other hand, when I see, read or think this phrase, I also think “survive” or “survival”. You know, some days, it is all I can do to just survive. So, maybe 2016 will have two separate words for me. Ha!

"Survive"

My previous words of the year were:

2011 – Do
2012 – Finish
2013 – Anew (Afresh)
2014 – Focus
2015 – Persevere [Endure] [Pursue]

2016 – "Reject Apathy" or Survive [Survival]

At this moment, I cannot decide which one to pick. So, I am going to use both.

source: B.C. Comic Strip on GoComics.com

Honestly, I do not think I will have a new "New Year" resolution list. I will just keep on keeping on what I have been doing in the past. I still do a #finishyear list started years ago. I carry it over to the New Year.

Instead, I think I will just have a weekly recap post. This effort will probably die just like the rest of my efforts do. Ha! But hey, I am going to try. At the very least, I am hoping to have at least one post a week if not more. There were periods of time on my blog where I was gone for months and this worried a few of my friends.

Anyway, this post will cover everything from the 1st of January through the 9th of January. So, slightly more than a week. From hereon, the weekly recaps will cover Sundays through Saturdays. And, the posts may cover anything or nothing. It will be whatever I decide. Ha!

• Town Squares

  We went visiting town squares and did some antiquing on our vacation which was December 19 through January 3rd. In case you do not know it, I adore town squares. There is something about old towns that makes me happy. I love it when Dan decides to drive through an old town square even if we do not stop. I just love viewing the old courthouses and the buildings in the square. I have been taking selfies at courthouses whenever we deliberately stop and roam. I thought they would be proof that we were at those places! Ha! And besides, the pictures will be kind of like a picture journal of town squares.

  Anyway, we went to Lockhart and New Braunfels on January 2nd. Lockhart had a fairly healthy town square that I loved. If only the weather was more cooperative! It was raining and miserably cold. I have been to New Braunfels before and their "square" is extremely unusual. A gazebo in the middle of a oval roundabout with the courthouse on the outer edge. I would return to both towns again.

  We often stop at antique stores and I was delighted to have found not one; but, six lane mini chests on this trip! Getting six chests let alone one is a very unusual thing to do. We also found an upchucked nightstand (or end table) for $36. We will be fixing it up and re-purposing the item.

  FYI: I plan to blog about our vacation. At least, the loot I ended up with on our vacation! Ha! :-)

• RV Supersale Show

  We are shopping around for a camper and trying to decide which one we would love to have and get. We do have a budget and it is not all there yet. Most likely, we will buy a gently used one because that is the best way to go within our budget. But, it does not hurt to attend these shows and get a first hand look at the campers we may be interested in. There were three campers that we liked. Now, it is a matter of research and looking at other models/brands. We had fun and it was a good "date" if you want to call it a date. Ha!

• Sickness
  • I was sick from January 3rd (evening) through the 6th. I started to recover on the 7th. I am not sure what caused me to crash other than two out-of-town trips (three days at Christmas and the day trip I mentioned above) along with eating food that I do not usually eat including on New Year's Eve with some gluten free food that I never tried before. I did try to stay gluten free while out and about; but, it can be so dang hard! Anyway, I crashed with a terrible headache, body ache and stomach troubles. And, from then on, I slowly but surely recovered with bouts of stomach issues. So, because of this, most of my week was wasted.

  • An incident landed me in the local urgent care just after midnight January 9th. I woke up with my left eye screaming in pain from something - most likely a speck of dust. We tried flushing the eye which was successful in the past; but, it did not help this time around. Dan looked and could not find a thing. Because I was in extreme pain, he / we made the decision to to get me into local urgent care which is open 24/7. They put drops in my eye which deadened the pain and gave me immediate relief. I was still feeling like something was scratching my eye; but, pain killers helped me cope. They could not find anything and flushed the eye out. The doctor mentioned a variety of possibilities including an ulcer and we found that one unbelievable.

    Dan and I talked when we got up in the morning and we both think I must have been rubbing the eye in my sleep scratching the eye causing the pain. I still had aches and the eye area was puffy that morning; but, it was a heck of a lot better. I have medicated eye drops and if I still have issues, I will be seeing an ophthalmologist.

• DIY, Quilting and / or Crafts
  • I framed the five 100 blocks that I won through a recent blog hop by Quiltmaker.
  • I decided to join 2016 Finish-A-Long: Quarter 1 and I will be blogging my list soon to officially join the "party".
• Books

  I managed to start and finish Revenge of the Witch {The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #1) while sick. I gave it a 3 (out of 5) on Goodreads. Maybe I am spoilt by all the good books I have read in both child- and adult- hood that makes me think this is not the best writing for young adults. Do not get me wrong. It was a good story with a good plot line and whatnot; but, I think it could have been better. Maybe the author improved with the second book? I will know when I read that one. Yes, I have it. I actually have Seventh Son which contains Books 1 and 2 of the series. By the way, the book is young adult fantasy.

Quarterly Review of my #FinishYear list

My Word of the Year & #FinishYear list

Source: piccsy.com via Lee Ann on Pinterest

Well, I feel like I am an utter failure. Why am I not surprised? Let's review:

Here is my original five:

1. I am going to finish learning how to swallow a pill. I may not ever learn how; but, I am determined to try.
2. I am going to finish the Layer Cake Quilt. In the process, learn to machine quilt.
3. I am going to finish saving up for “new” car. We only need a couple more thousand.
4. I am going to finish walking a mile (two miles is the ultimate goal)
5. I am going to finish cleaning / purging the office. I can only do this if Dan helps the process as half the stuff in there is his. I hate to nag him; but, this is important to me.

And, here is the original secondary list:

• I am going to finish making meal plans (every two weeks).
  {I started and completed the first plan on 1/2/12.}
• I am going to finish writing down thoughts frequently – once or twice a week – journal style.
• I am going to finish organizing my fabrics onto “bolts” – 2 or 3 a day should get me there eventually.
  {I started this on 1/4/12.}
• I am going to finish taking a picture at least once a week
  (I started this on 1/2/12.)

So, Let's see. How am I doing?

1. I never learned to swallow a pill; but, I still try from time to time.


2. I started the process of getting the setup to get the Layer Cake quilt finished; but, it's been so slow because I am so darn slow! And now, it's at a complete standstill because we're in the process of closing on a house. And, then we've got to move, which means I have to take apart my setup. I decided not to start machine quilting the Layer Cake quilt until after we move. Speaking of which, I'm already designing the "studio" in my head and even have scribbles on paper; but, I cannot really truly plan until I know the final dimensions of the room. So, it might be awhile before I have the room; but, I am praying that the process will be fast and I'll be back to doing sewing/crafting in a heartbeat.


3. We are still saving up for a car and I thought I would have enough by summertime. However, I did a little research into the car I have been wanting and well, I think I am just going to have to focus on getting a different model! I did not realize that the 2 or 3 year old cars I wanted were still that expensive! Sheesh. So, it is a setback for me priority-wise. However, I still would like to get a new second car by the end of the year and hopefully, it'll be a decent car for Dan to drive back and forth to work and I'll take his gas guzzling truck for when I need to go do errands or go to the grocery.


4. I successfully walked a mile. In fact, I've been walking around the block three times every morning until I went quilt shop hopping several weeks ago and fell off the bandwagon. The walk is slightly over a mile and the block itself has a slight incline. So, it gets my heart pumping three times (once every lap). I need to get back to walking every morning; but, I have been busy!


5. The office has been cleaned out and purged. Yay! So, this is no longer on my list.

As for the secondary list, I think I am a little more successful with this endeavor.

• I have been making meal plans every two weeks. So this is a success.
• I have been jotting down things here and there. However, I think it could be a little more often.
• I did start out by wrapping fabrics onto "bolts" every day; but, I fell off the bandwagon over a month ago. I'll pick this up again when we move.
• I am also taking pictures more often; but, I haven't been tracking when and how often. I also have been very bad at letting them sit in folders without even looking at them.

My last word has nothing to do with this review; but, everything to do with the house we're in the process of purchasing. I have been cleaning up and somewhat halfheartedly packing the last two weeks. I guess I do not want to commit to packing until we close on the house. This is the furthest we have ever gone and it is looking good so far! All we lack is the survey of the property (which will be done within 3 - 5 business days); but, the application is going forward. I am really praying that this will be closed by the date stated on the contract and I am needlessly worrying. I cannot control what happens with the bank and their appraisers. So, why do I worry? Because it is my nature! Ha! Anyway, things are looking good at the moment.

Tuesday's State of Affairs

Note: This is formerly known as Fabric / Quilty / Crafty / DIY Tuesday. I've changed it to "Tuesday's State of Affairs" until I can come up with a better generic title. Any suggestions?
First of all, I just have to give a shout out to I have a Notion store. I bought a very small item from this store for the first time not long ago. I received the item along with a refund on shipping! Needless to say, I was immensely impressed. Most businesses would have just kept the change. But, not Kelly! By the way, Kelly has a wonderful blog that I follow which often gives demonstrations and tutorials including items in the quilting world.

Now, let us move on to the state of affairs in my fabric, quilting, and sewing world. One item I have on my Finished Year List is to "finish organizing my fabrics onto “bolts” – 2 or 3 a day should get me there eventually". Well, I have been consistently organizing my fabrics onto 'bolts' every day. I have been doing at least six most days. This is what I have done so far:
Fat Quarters and Quarter yardages. Note: the ones with the key tags are quarter yardages.
Half Yardages and One Yardages (or more). Note: the Half Yardages are on your left and the other is on the right.

So far, I've been organizing the fabrics by blenders and novelties. The categories may expand as I get more fabrics onto 'bolts'.

So, what have I been doing sewing-wise? Sad to say, the Layer Cake Quilt (backing) has not been touched since before Thanksgiving. I need to get back to it. In the meantime, I have been sidetracked. I am currently working on making something for my cats.
I discovered that BOTH of my cats love flannels. They were caught several times sleeping together on two flannel shirts that were tossed on the bed. Now, you have to know my cats. They are not at all fond of one another. But, I guess flannel brings them together. Ha!

Anyway,I bought these flannels at a bargain and I am currently turning them into bed runners. The one that is ready to sew is actually an orange color with the same print as the brown. We'll see how these turn out as I am just winging it - using idea(s) and pattern(s) that are in my mind. Ha!

My Word of the Year & #FinishYear List

Source: piccsy.com via Lee Ann on Pinterest

I tried the UFO concept with Judy at Patchwork Times; but, I was an utter failure with that effort. I think it's because it focused only on the crafty/quilting part of my life. The Word of the Year, which replaces a list of resolutions, was a better effort for me. The word is often a concept that we desire to embrace, a quality we wish to embody, or something we wish to have more of in our lives.

My word of the year for 2011 was “do”. I accomplished more than I ever did before. There is always room for improvement though. I decided to make “finish” my word of the year for 2012 and extend the word “do”. They complement one another, don’t you think?

But, I still need something more than just a Word of the Year. I’m a list person. I need something to shoot for. Most of the time, making resolutions never worked for me and I think I know why. They tend to be too general and need to be a little more specific to work.

Jon Acuff turned on the light for me with his ”Finish Year” concept. He is doing a series of posts to help us set up our lists. I think this concept may just work because the focus is on efforts not results, which may be the biggest bane to my existence.

{Start from the last link I provided above and work your way through his newer posts to get the gist of what “Finish Year” is all about.}

So, I listed items in the car on the way up to the Dallas area to see family before the New Year. Dan wanted to know what I was doing; so, I explained the concept to him and how it is done. He kind of joined in with his own list.
Here is my original list:

1. finish the Layer Cake Quilt. In the process, learn to machine quilt.
2. read at least six books
3. hand quilt Dan’s quilt
4. clean / purge the office
5. clean / purge the Master Bedroom
6. make meal plans (every two weeks)
7. save up for “new” car
8. make flying geese blocks using charm squares and special ruler
9. take a stitch on Tuesdays
10. add money to house fund
11. walk a mile (two miles is ultimate goal)
12. either relearn to play piano or learn to play a mandolin
13. establish an etsy shop for crafts
14. write down thoughts frequently – once or twice a week
15. design a quilt
16. learn to swallow a pill
17. organize my fabrics onto “bolts” – 2 or 3 a day should get me there eventually
18. finish the cross-stitch project that is half done
19. take a picture once a week

Here is Dan’s list:

1. finish the mustang!
2. relearn/play the banjo.
3. finish the desk/nightstand
4. learn custom framing and matting.
5. finish professional photography – at least establish a SmugMug account and even get some business cards

We are supposed to wean the list to five. Dan is fine. However, I am not! Ha! So, on the way home from the Dallas area, I weaned down the list. Let me tell you, I had a difficult time weaning the list down. I noticed that there were several small items that could be done every day until the task is completed. So, I weaned my list down to five keeping the original list separate so that I can add to the new list whenever one is eliminated. I also created a separate list that could be worked on in a routine manner (aka Flylady).
Here is my five:

1. I am going to finish learning how to swallow a pill. I may not ever learn how; but, I am determined to try.
2. I am going to finish the Layer Cake Quilt. In the process, learn to machine quilt.
3. I am going to finish saving up for “new” car. We only need a couple more thousand.
4. I am going to finish walking a mile (two miles is the ultimate goal)
5. I am going to finish cleaning / purging the office. I can only do this if Dan helps the process as half the stuff in there is his. I hate to nag him; but, this is important to me.

Here is my secondary list (in no particular order):

• I am going to finish making meal plans (every two weeks).
  {I started and completed the first plan on 1/2/12.}
• I am going to finish writing down thoughts frequently – once or twice a week – journal style.
• I am going to finish organizing my fabrics onto “bolts” – 2 or 3 a day should get me there eventually.
  {I started this on 1/4/12.}
• I am going to finish taking a picture at least once a week
  (I started this on 1/2/12.)

I've placed my #FinishYear list inside my calendar organizer for safekeeping and easy reference. Here's to hoping for a more successful year!