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Welcome to my blogs, where I work to inspire and motivate others. I love sharing the art of quilting with others. I also love living a meaningful, healthy life, and teaching my children to do the same. Join me here to find out what works for me, and how you can use it in your own life!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

So, What's so CRAZY about you?

Well, you asked, and I'm answering. Here are the Top 10 answers to the question "So, What's so CRAZY about you?

10. What? Aren't all quilter's crazy?
9. I live in Northern Idaho. You'd be crazy from Vitamin D deficiency too.
8. If you were born with this hair, you'd understand.
7. Have you met my husband?
6. How about my 3 kids?
5. I work 80 hours a week at my own quilt shop not because it makes me rich, but because I love it.
4. The year I opened my store I was living with my "poor old senile mother." That would make you crazy too.
3. The year after that, my even more senile old grandmother moved to town. Let's just say that this town's not big enough for the 3 of us.
2. Well, I was released from the asylum just 1 week before I decided to open my store.
1. I'm not really crazy. I just thought it would be fun to have people asking me this silly question all the time!

Clarkston Quilt Show

This weekend is the Seaport Quilters' Guild quilt show in Clarkston, Washington. I am a vendor there for the first time, and my "poor old senile mother" and I are having a good time.
We usually try to wear matching shirts at the quilt shows, so that people can easily identify us as working at the booth. However, this doesn't come in so handy at other places. For example, when ordering our Iced Grade xtra ice no whip mochas this morning. Why, you're wondering? Well, picture two adult women in matching out fits, ordering identically particular drinks, who give rhyming names when asked for them. Now you know why the guy behind the counter did a double take and waiting for us to start laughing when we gave "Mindi" and "Wendy" as our names. He continued to look at us strangely, waiting for the punch line, as he took our money.
Every quilt show seems to have it's own unique theme question. These are questions that everybody seems to ask. They don't know that the last 50 people asked the same thing, they can't help it, it's the theme! This weekends theme happens to be "So, why are you the CRAZY quilter?" Another version on this theme is "So, what's so CRAZY about you?" This has inspired me to write a top 10 list. Watch for "The Top 10 Answers to "What's so crazy about you?" coming soon.

My Poor Old Senile Mother

My mom helps me at my quilt shop more than I could ever ask for. I often tell her that I'd love to double her salary, but afterall, $0 doubled is still $0. I also try to use her as an excuse for everything that does and could go wrong. My "poor old senile mother" is the answer to all questions. For example:

Question: My kit was a yard short and now I'm unable to finish my quilt. Answer: I'm so sorry, my poor old senile mother put that kit together.

Question: I called the shop and you said you would hold that fabric for me. Now you're sold out. Answer: I'm so sorry. My poor old senile mother must have forgotten to hold that for you.

Question: Has that book I asked you to order for me come in? Answer: I'm sorry, my poor old senile mother must have forgotten to order that for you.

Question: I haven't received my order yet. Answer: I'm sorry, my poor old senile mother shipped that to the wrong address.

I guess you know that my mother is neither old nor senile. But still, makes a convenient excuse, don't you think?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A Glutton for Punishment

Well, maybe just a glutton. Last night for dinner I made enchiladas. They're Monte's favorite, and I haven't made them in forever! But then I had to go and really over-do it by making Easy Oreo Cheesecake. That darn Kraft Foods Magazine is always getting me into trouble!

Suffice it to say that I ate my fair share of the cheesecake! Also, here is how I make my enchiladas super fast and easy (I made this up a long time ago):

Brown 1-2 pounds of ground beef, add 1 small onion chopped when the beef is almost done. You can also add a can of re fried beans to add flavor, and to make the meat go farther.
Open a 16oz can of Enchilada Sauce and pour enough into a 9x13 glass pan to cover the bottom.
Chop a can of olives.
Fill tortilla shells with ground beef mixture, sprinkle lightly with cheese, and roll up. Line these up in the glass pan. My pan usually can hold about 8-10 of these.
You may have left over meat that you can use to make a smaller pan the same way and freeze it for a quick meal later.
Top with remaining enchilada sauce. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese. I like a lot of cheese, but you can use however much you like. Then sprinkle with olives. Bake on 350 until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Serve with salsa and sour cream and enjoy! (Remember to leave room for cheese cake!)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Somebody Pinch Me!

Aiee!!! I have a brain freeze, but it's not the kind of brain freeze you're thinking of! I have a FABRIC brain freeze. Why, you ask? Because Moda has just posted their new fabric releases through October 2008. Instant brain freeze as I browse the new releases. And then what do I come to........Oh no they didn't!

But yes, they did, they've released a new COFFEE line. And immediately, all other lines blur and my eyes are zoned in on one. I'm obsessive about certain things. Reading the latest Stephen King, house cleaning, quilting, and oh yeah, COFFEE!!!!! And now Moda has gone and combined two of my biggest obsessions, coffee and quilting. Now, other designers have created coffee lines. Yet, they're often too fake, cartoonish, and "cheesy," (like the colored yard lights), for my particular tastes. But not this line, Oh No, not this one. If it looks as good on fabric as it does on the website, then I already have one fabric line chosen for Fall. Yikes, do they know what they've done? I see a very big fabric order in my future......

Here is a sneak peak of "Bistro," by Deb Strain:

Best Press Starch-New Bottle!

Today, while unpacking my latest shipment of
Best Press Starch
, I was surprised to see that some of the bottles were taller and narrower. After I compared them and made sure they are still 16 oz. bottles, I realized that they are probably an "upgrade" on the older bottle. What a great idea! The starch itself is already awesome, but now the bottle is easier to grip and use while ironing.
I wanted to post a picture to show you the new bottle, but after spending the last hour fighting with my printer to transfer the picture to my computer, I'm giving up. Maybe I'll try again later......if I don't take a baseball bat to it first!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Snow? I thought this was April

It's snowing outside! Too bad it's mid-April and not mid-January. Not only is it snowing, but my Internet at home is down, AGAIN. It's down more than up these days, so I've resorted to coming into the quilt shop on my "day off" just to feed my Internet addiction. Will is busy entertaining himself by vacuuming the shop. I'll be lucky if there's any carpet left by the time he's done!

The weather is really putting a damper on plans for our yard. Monte and I missed having a yard to improve last year, although we were so busy with house stuff we didn't have time to think about it. This year, we have a list of projects we'd like to start, the biggest of which is a retaining wall. Of course, the weather will break just about the time Monte goes back to work, pushing our projects to weekends only.

We bought some solar lights for our sidewalk this past weekend. They can be switched between clear light or colored that automatically goes from blue to green to red over and over. Monte made me promise not to use the colored option. So, of course, Saturday I hurried and installed them along the sidewalk while he was gone, and set them to colored. I agree that the colors are cheesy, but it was funny to see his reaction when I told him I was mistaken, and the lights don't really have a clear option. "Are you kidding me?" he started, and I'm sure it would have ended with "We're taking them back," if I hadn't burst out laughing.

Snowy weather is good for one thing, quilting! I am slowly coming along on "Makin' the Cut," and I have managed to quilt at least a little every day. I also just started reading The Pillars of the Earth, which is a great book from the beginning. I'll probably spend the rest of today alternating between quilting, reading, housework, cooking, and running errands. If you live in the Northwest, hopefully you'll find something warm to do, and if you live somewhere warm, I'm jealous!