It's An IQ Official Announcment!

"If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."
– Michelangelo Buonarroti

Good morning! So I have waited this long to tell ya that Dear Gina is going digital! IQ  Yep yep yep... I am now not ONLY hand guided, but digitized too! I am still a bit deer in the headlights about it all, however I am so excited to add this to the mix! It will relieve physical ailments, increase production, and you wouldnt believe the boost in the brain to go with it!

Now... lets discuss the learning curve. OMGoodness.. I just did 8 hours of training and I feel pretty stupid trying to remember it all. So... that brings me to this... I am going to MQX West for a weeks worth of training!!! :::Happy Birthday to me::::singin:::::

Hopefully by the weeks end, I will be Proficient ( on the outside eh) on my new lil computer!

The beauty so far for me is that I can not only work better, faster... but still indulge my artful side and hand guide my custom quilts:) I am just THRILLED! ( and a bit nervous, but more thrilled, so I will concur the nerves,...)

I have a week to get my self together because I'M REALLY GOING!!! Colleagues, and teachers, and vendors, OH MY! :::::: I did not mention hot tubs, no I did not:::::Nor wine:::::

I havent been to a teaching convention since MQS 07!!! Well... I suppose life pretty much came to a screeching halt after that eh? CLIC

Ok, second cuppa... Shoot.. I have no Foodie Friday for you people! Thanks be to my BFF Linda, I'm walking much more than cooking! Last night I just threw chicken on the grill and tossed a salad! I'm a bit bored with foods, but its ok cause Im working on the weight loss. and the cirrculation, and the sugar levels... Just working on me.

I miss my kids. I wish to go see some of them, tell them the news, and love up on them for a day, then come back and stick my nose back in quilts... maybe I will go for a day.. We shall see. I missed Justin's birthday yesterday due to much training craziness here. He liked his gift, however its just not the same for Nonni.

I better move it.. I slept in and man I'm gonna pay for that one!

LYG!!



Happy Birthday Justin!

He is an officail TEENAGER!

Where did thirteen years get off to anyway? An btw, I SO DONT FEEL THIS OLD. ( today)

Happy Birthday Dear Grand Teen O mine! i am glad you liked the gift, wish I could have been there... altho it was pretty noisy when we spoke! I'm glad Mom made you Halibut too! Nonni loves you!

No White At Night

I figured out why I'm fat. The shampoo I use says, "for extra body."

I should use Dawn dish washing liquid. It says,

"Dissolves fat that is difficult to remove."

Yep

This is my arsenal to do warrior battle with this new found problem O mine. All of them are quite the YAWN, save one. No White At Night. (center) It's easy, its sensible, and its working.
The most difficult for me is getting in the 30 minute walk, and omitting the starch at dinner. I believe that if I were to follow the American Diabetic Assc diet, I would be failing. I weigh, nor measure nothing. I count nothing. I read labels, and I am mindful of what goes into my mouth.( sugar!)  That's it. I pray everyday that I keep going. I pray that it lasts. ( I'm not so good of a "closer" )
A good woman knows her limitations eh?
The good doc has 3 easy rules.
Eat 3 meals a day ( no skipping) *for me I must add in a few healthy snacks
Eat the right amount of protein at each meal.(3-4 oz)
No white at night.
Period.

Ma was right about the "white" evils...(sugar, flour, starches)
I can still have a bread or a pasta or a potato.. I just have to have them for breakfast or lunch.
The most remembered words of the doctors for me is this.
Eat like a King for breakfast,
 a Prince for lunch,
 and a Pauper for dinner.
My previous menus were just the opposite. My bad.
I learn everyday eh? I hope that I always will.
Gives a whole new meaning to Eat, Pray, Love I tell ya!
Keep me in your prayers, and thanks for the continuous encouraging emails! I need ya!
Love yer guts!
G

"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."– Tuli Kupferberg

MM Catch and Release Fun

Mornin`. What does this MM bring?
<---hopeful, as always.
What did you peoples do over the week end? You already know what I did! Burnt myself out on pillow cases! lol No way! Im still on them! I have a stack going now for the Womens Shelter in my area. I havent done stuff for them in about a year. Its time. I hope my Elna holds out. Its about dead! I dont know, it screams bloody murder at me and I've done everythig to fix it... escapes me. Today I have a panto and then my BIGGO Love letters from the cival War Quilt. I need a design wall for stand and stares. Altho I did find some cute stencils in my stock. 121 blocks, its going to be the sampler to end all samplers...lol
I'm sippin and shopping... I need a Nano shuffler for walking my butt all around town. Its so cool, small, and downright techy!

Linda came in with one the other day. I darn near squealed! I 'll put it on my L.I.S.T.

 For now, I best get busy... my Fitbit is telling me that I'm sitting too long! Have a marvelous Monday!
PS: I was invited to guest blog at Mom About Town! Go over and read it! And then send me a "Ya done good Buttercup"...LOL
MM Include:

 Pillow case fun
A good stash for gift giving
Gifts coming by Fed Ex to thrill me!
Guest Bloggin`!
Reccomendations from local LQS
Battle buddy to walk with
Fresh tomatoes on the vine everyday!

It's Raining Pillow Cases!

Throw Your Hands In The Air ------And Wave `Em like You Just Dont Care!

And make a bunch of pillow cases for no particular reason!

So I'm obsessed with them.. I admit it.. Its super fun, quick, and I think I'll just use them for gift wrapping! lol

Anyway, heres the directions if you peoples want to become hooked with me. Or... maybe youve moved on to postcards, hand dyes, etc... Remember when I couldnt move away from the Swarvarski crystals? Wow.. I have an addictive personality me thinks. Thank God I dont live in Vegas! Whoa!

Standard pillow cases:

Cuts are selvedge to selvedge approx 42 -44  inches

Sleeve: 9” x 42ish

Accent  2” x 42ish ( fold and press lengthwise)

Body     27” x 42ish

Lay sleeve face up

Lay body on top of that… face up

Lay accent piece on top of that raw edges on top, folded edge on bottom

When all pieces are lined up straight, Pick up end of body and fan fold it on top of all creating a tube.

Now pick up sleeve and cover all. All raw edges should be even at top. Pin, do not grab the fan fold. You should be pinning 5 layers of fabric total.

Stitch ¼ inch across top, where pinned.

Now pull the center fan fold out, keep pulling until all out. Press.

Square up getting rid of selvedges.

With wrong sides together, pin and stitch down long side and pivot and stitch across the bottom in ¼ seam. (Make sure your accent seams match up)

Poke corners after turns to have a nice square edge.

Turn pillow case right sides together and stitch again ½ “ seam on top of under seam.

Turn pillow case again.  This has created a flat fell, or French seam. (No raw edges)

* Be mindful to back tack your opening when you begin to stitch.

Great Grand gift Ideas! 

 I'm sending Shawn a little sleepytime book,and a car, inside a pillowcase! Funnily enough the car says excedrin pm     LMAO!!!!!

Favorite Prayer On My Way To Lights Out

I know I have probobly written this before but I am certain that it bears repeating from time to time, in case you're getting old and crotchety.. oh geez did I say that? mercy. Sometimes the "funk" gets me, and I need to remember my faith. My love. (S)

May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you..May you be content. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is a prayer of Saint Theresa who is known as the Saint of the Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. I think it was Sandy Quilts who actually gave me its author! Must be leftover from childhood days for me eh? ( No, Im not regressing, shuddup)

Then ya add a lil G "ism" LOL

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you will be critized anyways."

Eleanor Rosevelt

I think I need a kid fix. Or a new Pandora charm... something?

Carnita's Con Pico! ! MQX! Blima! Oh My!

My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry;

to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.
-- Maya Angelou

Well said Maya:) Ditto...........

Morning! Just sat down for my second cuppa in front of my think tank and notepads. I have already been over to SLO, then to a friends, and now, I'M ON IT! I must get this roast roasted... I'm singing Happy Birthday to my BFF Blima, and TRYING to make ready for my trip to Machine Quilters Expo conferance in I think 17 days??? WOW! I dont have a thing to wear! I think I need a new piece of luggage! Too bad, bigger fish to fry eh? Lately, I have been running full throttle Mach one with my lion mane flying and I dont feel accomplished! Last evening after our power walk I had the biggest headache in my eyes that I truly thought I was having an attack of some kind. I am such a boob too... pain "handling" is not a longsuit of mine. Its still with me, albeit faint. Press on I must.

Happy Birthday to Blima

and I so wish I was tripping to Montreal too :( I love ya Blim.

Ok, foodie Friday....I'm making some Carnitas. I cant have white at night per my new book..( No White At Night)  however I found some wheat tortillas that are low in carbs with no sugar, so I'm giving them a try. ( I'll get back to ya on that one) I have also reduced fats and Now the recipe of Moms will be in my range. ( 40/30/30) We actually SHOULD have this for lunch as opposed to dinner, so I may very well keep it in the fridge til tomorrow! Drilling in my head every moment of every day is Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a shopkeeper, and dinner like a pauper. Frankly, I'm becoming quite bored with dinners, which used to be a great love. I pretty much sing while preparing dinner, wine in one hand, spoon in the other. Changes they say.... Ok... in the words of Charlie Sheen.... WINNING!

• 4 pound pork shoulder roast 
• 4 cups (or more) chicken broth 
•  1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/4 cup brandy
• Lime wedges

Cut off any chunks of fat from pork and reserve; leave small pieces of fat attached to pork. Combine pork, reserved fat, 3 cups broth, and next 4 ingredients in deep 12-inch skillet. (or dutch oven) Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours, adding more (hot) broth or water by 1/4 cupfuls if necessary to keep pork partially submerged.

Uncover; boil pork mixture down until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir in brandy; boil until liquid evaporates and meat browns and begins to get crisp, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cool meat slightly. Discard any loose pieces of fat and garlic cloves. Shred meat into strips; return to skillet.

Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet. Cover and crisp pork over medium heat, stirring, about 5-10 minutes. Season with more salt, if desired. Serve with warm tortillas, squeeze of lime,Guacamole, fresh pico de gallo ( tomato salsa) OMGoodness our celebrity garden tomatoes are so good its snack worthy anytime!!!

You can also serve with sour cream, but not looking for extra fat here.....lol

Also Im skipping the chips, the beans, the rice, the margaritas...:::SIGH::::WINNING:::::I will, however make a nice salad. ( Thank God I adore veggies eh?)

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill, when ready, do the last skillet step.)

KIDS: Grams secret ingredient? Cumin... not fond of it..lol This Nonni prefers extra garlic:)

X Factor Premier

Did you watch it? I couldn't wait to see Simon and Paula again:) That Pop star chicky Cheryl, sure is pretty eh?
What was that Siamese character about? And they said yes? :::Shiver:::: I went to bed scratching things.. however, entertaining it was. I cant figure out how in the world they filter those thousands of people who turned out to audition! Wow, what a job!
SIDENOTE: I'm sitiing here reflecting on the show..sipping my first cuppa... HURTING from the punishing walks I'm taking daily. Everyday I SO dont want to go... but I go... I hope I go everyday. But not today. Cause I hurt. But I'm going. Grunt.
Okay I'm back.
I hurt last night too... during the show... oh jeez...did you just feel like a pooch wanting to break out into a HOWL a few times??? Mercy.
I think the commercials beat the show! I am partial to great commercials though.
I'll give it some time, but I dont think LA Reid compared to the DAWG. I see they are trying to recreate his personna eh? Still, it was good to see the dynamic dou together again:)
Today I have the nerve conduct test. I'm in hopes that someone can turn off my toes! Have a great day blog readers, I'm in the shower!

See! On a Tell All Tuesday

Quality is not cheap.

Cheap is not quality.

So.......what (good stuff) happened yesterday that  I just felt?? Two quilts were accepted to compete at PIQF in October! Woohoo! Bubbling Beauty and Oriental Bliss!

Told ya!

Other Tell all Tuesday news.............Not a drop in the bucket but I'm down a few pounds and I'm walking my lil legs off!

Just in case ya wanted to know?  I dont know if its sheer fear or the FitBit, but I'll take it! And BTW, freaking H.A.R.D.

Did you know that if you drink iced water instead of tipid, we actually burn more calories? Yep, yep , yep.. the body, once ingested, has to heat up the water, therefore keeping metabolism reved up... I didnt know this? Learn something every darn day. Now if I can just un bore myself with foods. I am craving pasta.. or a baked potato...oh! no! CLIC

What are you peoples making for Christmas gifts? I'm stumped. I am a bit obsessed with pillow cases right now, but Walt and I would like to delve into the dye world... I think Vicki should drop us some tips for beginners. (hint hint)

I know! Fit Bits All around!  LOL I do get a bit tunnelled sometimes eh? Hey, enough chit chat... I'm burnin daylight on a wool quilt and a custom breathing down my neck... gotta go! ( oh I wish I hada Go! )



Be Who You Are

"Be who you are and say what you feel,

 because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”

 Dr. Seuss

Good Momday morning:) I feel something good will happen today! No clue why.. I just do. Check back with me tomorrow...lol

I spent the week end sewing/quilting and mindful food intake.. ok, and pricking my fingers. grunt. ( Lord I hate that) Now one would think that since I prick myself all the time on the long arm, I'd be used to it eh? Nope.

I've lost a few pounds and taken a few walks. I think I'm on baby steps with a fire alarm pulled. Yes. Thats what it feels like. A constant alarm going off in my head. I had fun with two new toys this week end.

One... I have become a little obsessed with making sausage pilllow case! Yep, Making adorable pillow cases for all the grands, in a tube shaped way. Serious fun. Secondly, My sis in law Sheena sent me a great lil motivator and to my surprise the darn things working on me!

FitBit is its name. Its a little techy toy personal trainer. It measures my activity, sleep patterns, and food intake. I think its quite comforting to know that by lunchtime I can know how many more calories Im allowed for dinner instead of playing Russian roulette!

I thought it was a glorified Pedometer, however much to my surprise, its much much more! After three nights I am already trying to adjust my sleep because I dont like my pattern!

So I wear this lil thing clipped to my bra and everytime I walk by my computer, it syncs automatically and records all my stats.One of the cool things too is that it also KNOWS all the nutrition facts of the foods I put in, so that I can see if Im getting the correct amounts of each food group. One night I ate a bit of fruit in the evening and shot my blood sugar off the charts. NOT GOOD. I now know that a handful of nuts would have done better. Baby steps. grunt.

Now I dont know if this will last, or if its just the new tech toy, but I'm going to give it my best to find out. Thank you Sheena for the encouragement! One day at a time.
I'm off to get my fatbut  FitBit moving...lol !

Marvelous Mondays include:
New tech toys!
Sausage pillow cases, what fun... ( simple girl)
Caring blog readers who send me encouraging emails.. LYG
FINISHING a project
Fresh yummy greens here on the coast
fabric stashes to play
Hope on a Monday

Happy Birthday Jake! 27 OR 7????

You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes.” ~Walter M. Schirra

Mom will take age seven, for a dollar:)

Happy Birthday Lovie!

Ellen Degeneres Should See This!

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."
– Lao-Tzu

I'm tellin` ya... I dont know why Ellen hasnt contacted me yet! I have so many strange things to tell her!
Okay... Look at this... Do you EVEN BELIEVE that Marshalls could do this to their patrons? Come on! Throw some donations in this jar while salivating over cookies and candies below! I personally spied the shortbread cookies and my eyes traveled up only to get the big SMACKDOWN of my recent diagnosis. While the cash girl was ringing me up I was fumbling for the camera in total disbelief. She asked what I was doing and I told her that this is soooo wrong on Soooo many levels. She, on the other hand, was clueless.
As I looked down the stretch of cashier stands, every single checker had the same candy/diabetes donation display units. W.H.A.T. 
 T.H. E.  
H.E.L.L.????
OK, so I'm over it... But if any of you peoples have a direct pipeline to my Ellen.. please tell her that I KNOW that one day we will meet and chat about these wierd things in life.
Love yer guts,
 G

Back To It

You havent seen the last of me is my current year long theme song!

Ok, how about... I get knocked down, but I get up again, and you're never gonna keep me down?

So its Monday, new day, new week, she lives.

How are you? Did you get ENOUGH 9-11 remeberance-ing? I did. Sheesh. Like I really needed another emotional roller coaster! I swore I wouldnt bawl the brown out of my eyes, but who wouldnt? I did. It was the children singing NY to the firemen all over the city. Clic

I'm working on a sweet restoration quilt of Beatrix Potter. That will be after I spend a few hours giving Greta Gammil a badly needed spa treatment. I really dirtied her up last week and the lint is atrocious! When I use the Perma core threads its a good bet I'll be cleaning a lot more than if I had used GLIDE eh? You betcha.

I'm doing quite well on the new food intake from NO WHITE AT NIGHT book. I havent cheated at all, but the scale refuses to budge as of yet. I look down there in total shock every other day. WTH???

The excercise hasnt come yet. I am talking myself into it. I cant believe, nor can family members, that I used to be such a power walker and these days my ass will not get out the front door. HmmmmI sure could use a cookie I tell ya...  clic

OK, so... Im off to the list and I'll make it a Marvelous Monday. You too:)

MM include:

*Great tension on my machine!

*WWF, good temp distraction

*Kids calls, keeps me connected:)

*Thousands of Bolts, and only one nut! ( love the finds!)

*Fresh tomatoes in our garden

*Walts encouragement:)

*the ability to now bounce back quickly from a meltdown:)

Happy Birthday Munz

Happy Birthday Jamie. I will forever celebrate this day. 9x9=81 will ring my ears for the rest of my days.I hope that 27 years loving you is enough to sustain me until I can hold you again. Today I will work on our quilts again.  I do try, Son. I do. I find good stuff and I think good thoughts, but still I wish to share them with you. You've missed so much I tell you! I know that you would love playing Angry Birds, and hated Words with friends. You would been first to have a IPAD tablet, and taught me to use mine. I drove to Idaho alone and you would have laughed at me. Justin was in the hospital and sick as ever! You would have been very upset.You would have been Shawns favorite toy, and your neices would have you so wrapped. Your Dad has had such a rough road, but Im sure that you had a hand in his recovery. I've won some great awards this year Munz. While you would be so proud, I know that you would also chid me for not having your Wooby restored yet. TV would tickle you with all the reality shows. I can see you coming out of my bathroom telling me to "Respect the roll and cover my naked toilet paper!" I miss your your funny good timing.
Maybe a true love would be yours by now. Maybe even a grand Munzy for moi`? Everytime a new song comes out that I know you'd love, I make that little eleven frown in my forehead that you tease me about. It's because I'm missing you. Theres so much to celebrate, or think about today.... Kendalls birthday, friends birthdays, Rudy's birthday, 9-11 tributes... but I can only celebrate the first time I saw your big blue eyes look into mine. I pray that I never lose that memory.
I'm getting better James, but I'm missing you.

Bad Habits

"A bad habit never disappears miraculously; it's an undo-it-yourself project."

– Abigail Van Buren

Forgive me Dear Blog readers for I have sinned.

Now dont start emailing that I am making fun of this confession prayer. Im just writing a tell all Tuesday for ya.

I'm sorry that I have been away. I have been busy re adjusting. A.G.A.I. N.

My fAamily wonders why I hate doctor appointments. I tell them because its ALWAYS un nerving. Drama ensues each and every time. A few weeks ago, same thing as last years mammo scare. Only this time, I am not so fortunate. After my exam I was told that I now have Diabetes. I was listening to the good doctors words and looking in a side mirror at the same time. I saw my Mother. A.G.A.I. N.

While Diabetes is not a death sentence, it is a dibilitating disease that I DO NOT WISH TO DEAL WITH. It looks like I must. I am currently on an emotional roller coaster, determined to win, sad, resolute, pissed off, afraid, and about 10 other emotions thrown into the mix.

I have been on a mission to get better, get things accomplished, get better.... and now this. GRUNT. I know I allowed this to happen. I am not fooling myself. Maybe I thought I was exempt from such a fate. I mean come on... hasnt enough crap happened that I can have some good stuff happen now? I find it ironic that in the same week I had great news, I had this news just after. I am SO not calling bad things to happen! WTH? Ok, so... the resolute Sybil appears. I'm all over this. I will irraticate this from my life. Seven days of the perfect life change in food intake. Check. Excercise, not checked yet. I freaking hate excercise. My idea of good excercise is a couple good hours whirlling a cart around Costco. Grunt. But I will. I'm scouring Craigslist for a treadmill, and Ginger is pumped and ready to do Mommy battle. I need more battle buddies. Come walk your friend, K?

 I swore on myself that I would never suffer the pricking pain my Ma and Grandma did.. but I never DID anything to prevent it. Shame. I spoke to Ma about this. To Munz as well. To Walt, to Karebear, to friends, to all who will listen to me Kvetch. As I said, I go from being determined and strong, to planning my own funeral next to my boy. Its really NUTS I tell you. NUTS.

Okay, so as not to bore you, I will get back to my quilt. Which by the way is the ONLY thing keeping me together. A.G.A.I.N.

Thank God for quilting.

Wish me luck in this quest of mine dear blog readers. For you prayer warriors, please throw me on your list.