Fabulous Thursday

Hey!

How the heck are you?

I'm doing pretty well, thank you.

I took the afternoon off work yesterday

and had lunch with my

"sister from another mister".

(Don't freak out...that's just a saying

when two gals are so much alike

they really should have been sisters)

LOL

I've posted about my friend, Julie, before.

We seriously are two peas in a pod.

Except she likes dark, primitive fabrics

and I like cheery, modern fabrics.

Other than that,

we are identical.

And I forgive her for this

one, slight difference.

:o)

So here we are right after I picked her up

at work for lunch.

(Julie on the left and me on the right)

I thought I better tell you that

because you might not be able to tell us apart.

***wink***

We're just crazy.

I made her the cute little

Catch All Cutey

from Melissa

at 100 Billion Stars.

You'll have to excuse the shadow.
I made this at 5:00 in the morning.
Just cause...
you know...
she's that special.
:o)
So special that I made the pouch
in 'her' colors.
I put my iTouch next to it
so you can get a feel of what the size it.
I know you're going to want to make one!
So hop on over to the tutorial
and get busy.
I PROMISE you won't be disappointed.
Swear.
Cross my heart.

I know y'all are just dying to know what we had for lunch.
We were good girls
(darn it!)
And had this luscious
oriental salad.

We ordered it with grilled chicken.
But I won't lie.
We really wanted that crispy
fried chicken.
Our hearts are thanking us right now
for staying away from the grease.
But my mouth is watering
thinking about that crunchy chicken.
No worries...
I'm not giving into the beast!

On a side note,
if you're not busy on April 20th,
that's the night for the
Friday Night Sew In.
They're doing something really special,
so click here  to sign up.
That's actually my 27th wedding anniversary,
(oh for the love...how did that happen when I'm only 29?? LOL)
but I'm pretty sure I'll be fitting some sewing in that night as well.
I hate to not help out with something like this.

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!
xoxo
Cindy

Friday Night Sew In

Last night I took some much needed time

to lock myself in my sewing room.

I love Friday Night Sew-In's.

You can get the button for this monthly event

here

It was great therapy to shut the world out

and just be in my room creating all these yummy projects.

I got 2 quilt backs sewn together

and they'll be off to the quilter today

(thanks, Sarah!)

I have two more quilt backs to go

and then I will be caught up with those.

Melissa from 100 Billion Stars

designed this adorable tutorial.

I love her patterns.

They are so easy to follow

and the end result always makes me happy!

Plus, as you know, she's just one of my all around

favorite people.

If you aren't already following her blog,

you really should.

She has been a HUGE inspiration to me.

I used Good Fortune by Kate Spain

for everything but the strap.

For the strap I used Terrain,

also by Kate Spain.

(cause, you know, I think she's pretty awesome too)

Melissa & Kate go well together,

don't you think?

:o)

I also made this zipper pouch

using this pattern

This pattern has GREAT instructions for zippers.



I hope you all have a great weekend!

Mine is full of busy things,

so I'm glad I had last night to myself.

I gotta say,

I do like my own company.

LOL!

Make it a good one!

xoxo

Cindy



Mouthy Stitches Swap

Look at this gem I received in the mail today!!

How cute is all of this?

As you know from my previous post,

I participated in the Mouthy Stitches Pouch Swap.

And mouthy it was!

But I have to tell you

that the amount of talent out there

is just incredible!

Every single pouch I looked at

I loved.

Wendy from Crafty Womble

secretly had my name.

I have to give this gal credit.

You may, or may not, know this,

but pink is my favorite color.

From reading a few of Wendy's comments on Flickr,

pink is her LEAST favorite color.

So I'm thinking that creating this pouch for me

may have been a little torturous.

But, Wendy, I will tell you,

that your work is stunning!

This pouch is so unique.

And it is an honor for me to receive it.

See...Wendy, though crafty, has only been sewing

since the end of last year. 

Can you believe it?

I can't!

Here is the back of the pouch

Pretty awesome, eh?

And check this out:

How adroable is that little embroidered needle case holder

that attaches to the inside of the pouch?

(I LOVE hedgehogs!)

And the scraps she sent me...

well....

how can anyone go wrong with

those beauties?

Thank you so much, Wendy!

I dearly love all of this

and will carry it with pride.

And thank you for suffering through all the pink.

You didn't suffer for nothing.

I truly love it.

And it's my favorite.

xoxo

Cindy



Make A Difference Monday



source

Happy Monday!!!

Today's idea is very simple.

I came across it as I was getting groceries this weekend.

I was in a bit of a cranky mood.

(my sister will vouch for that)

Yeah...I was one of those cranky,

foul-faced grocery shoppers.

I truly despise getting groceries.

It's on my Top Ten list

of least favorite things to do.

So as I was being crabby

and thinking about how miserable

I was, I looked around the store.

It was full of people like me.

There was one rare woman in the bunch.

And I ran into her.

She smiled.

Not just a

"I'm smiling because I have to" smile,

but a smile from her heart.

And do you know what happened next?

I smiled.

Not just a

"I'm smiling back at you because you smiled at me"

smile.

It was a

"OMG...this is what life is about"

smile.

She said, "Excuse me",

as she turned the corner in front of me.

And I couldn't help but let my heart get all warm

because her joyous smile was contagious.

I said,

"Absolutely!  You have yourself a great day!"

See....I forgot.

I let my surroundings dictate

my attitude,

forgetting my attitude is just that.
MY attitude.

I control it.

And I can give in to the Negative Nelly's around me,

or I can smile and keep on keeping on.

They aren't kidding when they say smiles are contagious.

And I'm not saying that I didn't go ahead and give in to the

grocery gremlins who turn my heart into stone

after I ran into that little angel.

But I will tell you it made me think.

It made me write this post today.

So something good came out of one little heartfelt smile.

My challenge to you this week is to do just that.

When you are out and about,

look someone in the eye and give them that heartfelt smile.

And who cares if they smile back or not.

They might be shocked, because the world they live in

doesn't leave much to smile about.

You never know.

My guess is you'll make that teeny bit of difference to someone,

just like this little gal did for me.

Let me know!

xoxox

Cindy

Makeover Update

Good morning!

I can't believe I didn't post my update yesteday

(as it was the first of the month)

I can't beat myself up over it.  :o)

So, as I have mentioned,

I  have been extremely busy.

Actually more busy that I probably have ever been in my life.

Which leads to stress...

Which then leads to improper eating....

and I could really beat myself up over it.

But instead, I'm giving myself a pat on the back.

I started to fall off the wagon when things were getting a little nuts

Getting home from work at 9:00 at night,

starving,

doesn't make for a good combination.

I did start gaining weight.

5 pounds to be exact.

BUT....I caught myself

and as of yesterday,

I was only 2 lbs up from my Feb 1st update.

So come April 1st

I will have even happier news.

Because I am not giving in to the stress monster.

I'm learning to take time

to be selfish

and the tiny bit of extra time I have

outside of taking care of my family,

is mine.

And only mine.

And I treasure it.

This is the year I make a difference.

Even if it's only with myself.

Because that is OK!

It's not selfish.

It's taking care of myself

so I can better be there for others.

And when time is limited,

one has to focus on themselves.

Or life is lost.

I'm not giving up on my resolution.

I'm going to make it.

Have a great day!!

Much love & hugs!!

xoxoxo

Cindy

Where does the time go?

Do you ever feel like you have a hard time

just keeping up with life?

That's kind of where I'm at right now.

But no worries!

It's all good!

Just extremly busy.

So.......I have to apologize for not being prompt on posting the

Make A Difference Monday

posts.

(I figured out how to use my webcam tonight.  LOL)

But I do promise that as soon as things slow down a bit,

I will be back to regular posting.

I have been able to get a bit of sewing done.

My pouch for the Mouthy Stitches Pouch Swap is complete

and shipped!

Here's the front:

and the back

I hope my partner likes it!

(ppppsssttttt - Melissa - I didn't use a pattern!)

I finished this up last weekend at the quilt retreat.

(more to come on that...I have something pretty amazing that I'm working on for the gals that were there)

If I have their permission,
I will post it next weekend.

I brought this pattern with me to retreat as well.

It was a hit.

Several of the gals made this cute little pouch.

Here's the one I made

This pouch was probably the easiest thing I have ever made in my life.

No lie.

Cross my heart.

If you are interested in this pattern, you can get it

from the Little Red Hen

here

AND....they have free shipping until Feb 29th.

What are you waiting for?

Hop on over!

:o)

We also had a visitor this week.

He landed right on the very top of our pine tree.

(which is incredibly tall!)

But with my zoom,

I was able to get this picture.

Pretty magnificent!

A bald eagle.

Beautiful.

I have a little something for you to take time to read

and meditate on this week.

30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself

It has lots of great advise.

So take it or leave it,

but aleast give it a read.

Okie Dokie?

Have a great week!!!

XOXOXOOO

Cindy



Tastefully Late Tuesday....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I am so sorry I've been MIA.

My life is crazy right now,

but it will slow down!

Or I'll figure out how to become better organized.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to learn how to become better organized.

Which is A-OK.

I know I've missed the last 2 Monday's

to 'make a difference'

and I very much apologize.

I do promise to be better about that,

but it falls under the

'learning to become better organzied'

category.

But hey....lets not focus on the negative!

This weekend I had a lot going on.

My cousin was having her daughter's birthday party Saturday.

She turned 2.

So I got home from work Friday night and made a couple little things for her.

She likes Tinkerbell

(hello???  who doesn't??)

so I made her a little pillow out of my scraps of

Tinkerbell fabric and minky.

And this little monogrammed bag so she can carry her baby dolls

If you are interested, the tutorial for this bag can be found here.

So...I am leaving you with this challenge in regards to making a difference.

Depending on your finances,

I want you to make someones day.

You can either leave your change in the vending machine.

Pay for the persons lunch behind you.

Send a a donation anonymously to pay someones delinquent utility bill.

(all, or part, of it)

I will be honest.

I am not tight with my money when it comes to

giving help somewhere along the way.

Nothing makes me feel better

than to share what I have.

Trust me...it's not much.

We are in NO way rich financially.

But it's just something that brings the 'feel good' out when you do it.

So that's your challenge.

And you can't tell anyone,

because if you do,

it doesn't count.

It means you've done it for all the wrong reasons.

So go out and give and have fun and see what it does to your heart!

Until next time....

xoxo

Cindy