Cookie Lee Website

Here is my new Cookie Lee website, where you can view the catalog and information about Cookie Lee jewelery. Enjoy!

Relaxing? I Think Not!

Yesterday, I unexpectedly had the afternoon off thanks to my mom. So, I decided to hurry over to Moscow and finish up some last minute things before I leave next week. First stop on the list was a pedicure for my poor, tired feet. They are now beautiful and soft, with bright pink toe nails. Hopefully this will last longer than a few days!
The next stop was the tanning bed, in a last-ditch effort to prevent serious vacation sun burn. I have never tanned before. In fact, I wear 30 spf on my face every day to prevent wrinkles and sun damage. I'm a "burner", not a "tanner," and I prefer to keep my skin young and healthy as long as possible. However, every one has their price, and mine happens to be a sunny beach vacation.
The lady that did my pedicure told me that tanning was very relaxing. I must say, so far I disagree.
First, there was a big, very bright, neon pink piece of card stock at the front counter with the message "NEW BULBS! Be cautious, or you'll be this color!" So, already I'm a little freaked because I have the complexion of Snow White, and it's been a long, cold, sunless Winter.
The girl at the counter suggested I go with 5 minutes, saying "We've had people burning at 5 or 6 minutes before." This I do not find comforting! Then, I'm directed into the tanning booth, which is in a row of about 10 booths strung together. The door has slats in it (non see-thru), and the walls don't go clear to the floor or the ceiling. There is no lock on the inside, so I can only assume that it locks automatically once shut. So, I am still not assured or relaxed.
Since I will not be using the nude beach on vacation, I've brought my swim top along. I do not relish the thought of being walked in on naked at the tanning bed, or the thought of a sun burned chest. I press the button and lay down, trying to relax. However, every noise and every sound of a door being opened gives me the urge to look up and make sure it's not the door to my booth being opened. In the short 5 minutes, I find it impossible to relax, and my toes are not even warm when the lights go off.
When I left, I felt nothing. I am finding it sort of creepy and eerie that only 5 or 6 hours later I felt like I spent a few hours in the hot sun. As I quilted last night, my back began to feel warm, and when I went to change into pajamas, I was startled to find that my abdomen and back matched my toe nails. I even have a perfect white imprint of the tie on the back of my bikini top.
Thankfully, I am much less colorful this morning, with no soreness. I might make it back to the tanning bed before Tuesday after all. And maybe next time, I'll forget my top, because that line across my back is not so attractive. I might even be able to relax a little more. If I'm lucky, I might retain a hint of color by the time I leave for Jamaica!

Geese on the Water-Pieced

Here is a picture of the finished quilt top we created to use the At Water's Edge border print. It is really beautiful in real, and can also be made using the green or the linen colored border. Kits are now available, and are $97.95 including the ruler/$83.95 if you already have the Flying Geese x4 ruler. The quilt size is appx. 77x95. Kit will include top, ruler, and binding. Not so bad for a twin/full sized quilt, and you get the ruler that you will use on other projects!

I hope to quilt this today, this afternoon. After that I will add it to the kits with a new, hopefully better, picture.

Happy Birthday Will!

Will is 4 today! It doesn't seem possible that it has been 4 years, yet he is getting so big and tall that I can hardly pick him up. Will is learning a hard lesson in patience today. This is the first year he really understands what is going on, and he is having the hardest time with the fact that he can't open his presents until this evening. The girls wrapped them in the bedroom, with the door shut, and he did his best to peak underneath and catch a glimpse of something. "I'm just looking at the crack," he told me.
All day Will has been exclaiming, "I love my birthday!" As he ate breakfast, as he watched the Backyardigans, whenever he gets the urge he proclaims loudly, "I love my birthday." Wait until he unwraps his new Geotrax stuff, I won't see him out of his room for a week!

My Shrinking To Do List

I am updating my to-do list as I finish things. For now, anyways, it is shrinking. Hopefully this will keep me accountable!

Quilting Product of the Week-Flying Geesex4 Ruler

This week, in honor of my new quilt "Geese On the Water" I am choosing the Flying Geesex4 Ruler. Selling for $19.95, this ruler makes flying geese easy to make, and super easy to adjust to various sizes. The ruler includes markings to make flying geese up to 3.5" x 7" finished size. The best part? There are no wasted triangles to cut off with this ruler! Save time and fabric making 4 blocks at once, and no waste! This is a significant savings. I am able to include the ruler in my new quilt kit, (quilt picture to be posted tomorrow or Wednesday), and the savings in yardage pays for more than half of the ruler!

The method used with this ruler will be so time saving for you, you'll use it for all your flying geese from now on! This is one tool definately worth the investment. I've sold out, but I will have more in stock later this week.

My To Do List This Week

My To Do List is looking rather scary these days. Here's how it looks so far:

1. Quilt Simplicity**Done**
2. Quilt Merry Go Round **Done**
3. Quilt my At Water's Edge quilt, "Geese On the Water" **Done**
4. Oh Yeah, Finish piecing "Geese Over the Water" **Done**
5. Plan Moda-University meeting for Thursday. **Done**
6. Mail out Moda U information to long distance members. **Done**
7. Finish outside quilts that I promised before April 1 (currently 2 quilts left)**Done**
8. Get Will's Hair Cut (Because if I leave without doing this, he'll look like a neglected, shaggy little kid and I'll look like the mother who was too intent on vacationing to notice her child's increasingly sloppy hair do)**Done**
9. Attend the Bee Bop Shop Hop Meeting in Coeurdalene Monday
10. Pack for Vacation
11. Work out every day (Because it's do or die time) **M-done T-done W Th-done F-done Sa Su M Tu**
12. Download printer driver to new computer **Done**
13. Find Printer Driver CD so I can download it to new computer. **Done**
14. Throw Will a Birthday Party (This one comes with it's own list of to-do's, like get cake and icecream, wrap presents, invite family, etc.)**Done**
15. Pick my sister up from the airport Wednesday (because she's the only one crazy enough (runs in the family, crazy does) to agree to watch my kids next week)**Done**
16. Write a "Quilting Product of the Month" blog entry **Done**
17. Cut kits for "Geese On the Water" **Done**
18. Get a Pedicure (because it's a criminal offense to let my feet see the daylight of Jamaica the way they look after a long north Idaho winter)**Done**

Phew, I have a lot to do, maybe I should get busy!

Triple Play-Great Fun!

We returned from a quick trip to Triple Play today. The kids had a great time, and it wasn't too bad for us parents either! The hotel is connected to the Triple Play facility by a sky bridge, so it was super convenient. The kids spent almost the entire afternoon and evening yesterday in the water, except for dinner and a trip to the bowling alley. Will whined the entire hour of bowling about wanting to go back to the pool, so we went back to the water park for the last 1/2 hour they were open.
The Triple Play water park is a great park if you have little kids. Will, who's turning 4 Wednesday the 26th, could even ride the body slide by himself. The slides end with a dead-end, not in a deep pool, so there was no risk of him not being able to swim out once the ride ended. He had a great time and climbed the 4 flights of stairs over and over again to go down the slide. He is fearless, and loved it, even if his sisters wouldn't go with him.
You'd think the kids would've had enough, but we returned to the water park today from 10am-12pm before we checked out. They emerged from the water with red eyes, exhausted and cranky, but they had a great time.
Now it's back to work for one more week. The Simplicity quilt is getting quilted, after a slow start. My quilting machine was suffering from abandonment issues and had to be coaxed into running without skipping stitches.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I thought I'd write a quick note before we leave for our kids' Easter surprise. They don't know yet, but we're headed to Triple Play until tomorrow. Hopefully it will be quiet there with Easter and all. I should say it will be quiet until we get there, because no one ever accused my kids of being too quiet!

I've loaded the beautiful Simplicity Quilt onto the quilting machine, (absolutely one of the most beautiful quilts with applique I've seen lately) so I can get right back to work when I get back tomorrow. The time is flying by, and soon it will be April 1st and Vacation Time!!! I can't wait, but there's still lots to do before I can leave in good conscience.