Do you ever feel...?

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed? I do. I have so many things running around in my head, ideas for school, ideas for home, ideas for quilting, ideas for cross stitch, ideas for scrapbooking, ideas for everything! There are only so many hours in every day and I know I don't use them as wisely as I should.
I recently signed up for, but didn't finish, a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking called Design Your Time. I started with the best of intentions and found out that one of my biggest time suckers is this silly computer. I spend hours every day looking online at wonderful projects and blogs and get so many ideas and then...I am overwhelmed.
So, what to do? I can't stay away from the computer altogether, that would be too hard! Instead, I need to take a better look at my time and start deciding how to better spend it. So, I am off to take a look at some projects I have started and decide how to spend some of my time. And hopefully, become a little less overwhelmed in the process!

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it? 2012 already! I swear time flies by faster the older I get. I have a lot of goals for this year. I have a few online classes I have signed up for and am super excited about. I will share more about those as I move through them.

Another thing I am going to try this year is a concept about 52 Lists in 52 Weeks. I read about it on Two Peas and thought it sounded fun. I followed the link to Get the Words Out and decided to play along. This week's prompt is What's on Your Plate for Today? So...
1. Clean up the book/magazine mess along my side of the bed.
2. Create a few scrapbook pages.
3. Get our new printer up and running.
4. Make a grocery list.
5. Spend some time with the hubs.

Since it is already 1:00 in the afternoon I guess I better get crackin'! I'll let you know how my list goes.

My Favorite Place

We just got back from spending a few days in my favorite place in the whole world: Door County, WI. For those of you who are not familiar, Door County is the "thumb" of Wisconsin. It is a pristine area. There are a number of small towns with just a few hundred people in each. We like to stay in Sister Bay. The sunset above was taken in Sister Bay our last night there.

I absolutely adore Door County. I like the pace we keep up there, very slow and relaxed. We rarely have some place to be at any particular time and it allows us to just be a family. I have so much fun hanging with the Hubs and daughter. My MIL came too and I think she had a good time with us.

One of our big traditions is to play mini golf. We always go to the same spot, Pirate's Cove. We always go after watching a sunset in Sister Bay. And my husband always wins. This year my MIL was dominating the first few holes but then the Hubs got his game on. I did manage to come in third place and I even hit a hole in one! In fact, I think we all hit a hole in one at some point. The funny thing is, the only place we play putt-putt is in Door County. We have several courses right around us but it never occurs to any of us to go play. We really should, we always have a good time.

This picture, sillly as it is, really captures Door County for me. It was taken at sunset in Sister Bay. The picture really shows how much we relax and let loose on vacation. The two of them just having a good time and making each other laugh. And me taking the time to take a silly picture instead of one that is a little more posed. I did take a really nice one of Hubs and daughter but I thought this one really captured them so much better. I'm thinking Christmas card. What do you think?

Cowboys and Aliens

The Hubs and I just saw "Cowboys and Aliens" tonight. It was really good! I shouldn't be surprised that I liked it because I like both Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. Clancy Brown, who I think is an underrated and quite brillant actor, plays the preacher. The movie also showcases the talents of Adam Beach, whom I hope someday returns to "SVU."

I was surprised by the character Harrison Ford plays. He is gruff and not very pleasant. It just seems outside the norm for him. His characters are usually quite charming. It was neat to see him doing something so different.

And Daniel Craig was awesome! He pulled off the American accent fairly well. I liked that his character showed some humor and wasn't quite as intense as 007. Another thing he pulled off well was his shirtless scences. Can you say, "YUMMY!!!!"

Anyway the plot of the movie was new for me. It was about aliens coming to wreak havoc on the Old West. I wasn't sure it would work but it really did. I would totally recommend this movie. Evidently the movie is based on a book so I'll have to search that out. There were two things I particularly liked about the movie: I really liked is how the movie gave a different look at American government policies of the time. I have read several reviews that said this was a commentary on Manifest Destiny but it really seemed to better reflect the ideas of Imperialism. But what do I know? I only teach fourth grade.

I also liked that Olivia Wilde was not a woman in need of the protection of a man. I am not going to tell you the details, you'll have to go see it yourself but I would like to say: You go girl!

One more little sidenote, and I can't believe I am saying this, I really liked "Cowboys and Aliens" much more than "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II." The book is just soooo much better than the movie could ever be, as usual.

So to sum it up: Go see "Cowboys and Aliens." It really is pretty good!

Don't be fooled!

The first picture you see is of my sweet kitty named Sophie. We adopted her and her sister Reggie from a student of mine when they were teeny tiny kittens. They are both wonderful cats...most of the time.

This picture of Sophie has her laying on the kitchen table, enjoying a sunbath and a nap. Just overall looking cute, sweet and innocent. Do not be fooled! This cat is a menace.

You need proof, you say? Alright, I present picture two for your consideration. That is, or was, a $12 ball of yarn, destined to be a beautiful scarf. I had it on my cutting table, a good four feet off the floor. Sophie somehow managed to haul her rather ample butt up there, grab hold of the yarn, and begin eating it!She got from my craft room, down the hall, around a corner, and into the upstairs tv room with this yarn halfway down her gullet! What kept her from eating the whole thing? My husband noticed her and scared the yarn right out of her. The damage? A good 3 yards of that yarn are now covered in...something. I think it might be a mixture of cat spit and bile. EWWWW!!!

Anyway, so much for the plan to knit a pretty scarf. I'm not sure I have enough clean yarn left to do the pattern I was thinking of.

*sigh* Damn cat.

125 Blocks

It really seems that a pile of 125 nine patch blocks should be larger or taller or more substanial somehow. But, sadly, it is not. These are the blocks I have put together for a Miss Rosie's pattern called Wayne and Gordy. This has been a very easy pattern and fun to put together, as all Miss Rosie's are, but I really haven't taken much time with this one. I started this quilt waaaay back this winter at a Calico, Canvas, and Colors retreat. Then, it got put aside as life took over. I have decided to make it for my older brother who is recently divorced. So, my goal is to have this puppy pieced and borders added this week. Then, I can get it sent off to be quilted and voila! My brother has a Christmas present!

I'll be back with a photo of the pieced quilt soon...I hope!

There's a toliet in my bedroom!

What a great title for a first post, hey? This is my new blog where I plan to share pieces of my life, my home, maybe my family, and my projects.

Above you will see the project we are currently working on: our master bathroom. We have lived in this house for eight years and the only with we've done in that room is paint over the walls that were sponge-painted with poopy-color brown paint. We have ignored the lineoleum that is three inches too small, the leaking faucets, the light fixtures that keep getting calls from 1986 to please return, and a myriad of other things.


This year, we took the plunge. We decided to re-do the bathroom...finally! Sadly, we are going to be working in phases. Phase One is happening this summer with a new tiled floor (that covers all the subfloor, WOOT WOOT!), new faucets, new lighting, and new mirrors. Phase Two will happen next summer (hopefully) with a new countertop to replace the one the previous owners burned with their cigerettes. Phase Three, which is super top-secret cuz I haven't told my hubby yet, will be to replace the shower and shower door.

So, the beginning of Phase One explains why there is a toliet in my bedroom. It isn't there anymore, thank goodness! I will post more pictures when we have completed Phase One. In the meantime, here are some work-in-progress pictures. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!