The End of 2010

A quick synopsis of some of what has been going on.....
Well it has been since August since my last post. Alot has changed, and happened. 

 Mom went back to Florida sometime in September, before my birthday. But not before she made sure she "conned" Rosie and Allen to take her to the hospital due to pain. Which in turn caused and brought attention to a huge communication issue. The Drs found an aneurysm in her back and told her she didn't have long. False. She does have an aneurysm- found last year from Dr in FL. It has not grown or moved. We ( Ash and I ) were made to look like the bad guys from the Butte gang. admittedly we did not know about her health problem till the Dr visit.Mom has always been a hypochondriac, therefore Ash and I took her complaints as with a grain of salt. As it turned out when she got back to FL and Butch took her to the DR he was told that the aneurysm did not move or grow. The pain was from her back and the arthritis she has. Did Butte call at anytime to inform us of Mom or to say sorry for the accusations? No. Are we spending holidays there anylonger? No Ashley and I do not feel we are welcome. We feel like we are not good enough for them any more. Oh well, their loss.
It took awhile but I finally got the remainder of the payment for the quilting class I am teaching. My student kept giving me excuses. I also have quilted for customer several quilts. Starting new classes up again in January. As Peace Valley Quilts we have attended several shows to check them out for next year, and participated in some shows. We will be doing the Civic Center, Clancy Middle School, Butte/ MT Tech,and Boulder Christmas shows next year. The business is slowly but steadily building. The way Boulder supports businesses I don't believe I will ever have a store front though.
As far as work goes. I am still working as a Temporary. Now, however I am working at AT&T. The pay is awesome. I am a meet & greet person, no stress either. The only thing I don't like is the hours. I would love to off by 5.... But I am working and beggars can't be choosers right?
Thanksgiving consisted of Erin, Ash, and I sharing a fried turkey, PA Dutch Potato Filling, and the r est of the normal items. Rachel and Brandon were in Libby with his family. Christmas will be in Belgrade w/ Rachel and Brandon. We are going to have dinner ready for when Rachel gets off work.
The plans for the wedding are coming along smoothly thank goodness. Rachel and her girls along with Wanda and I went to Billings in Oct and she found her dress. It is gorgeous. Can't wait for Ashley and Brandon to see her, they are going to be pleased.

Wow. Really?

Has it really been since June since I posted? Wow- So much has happened.
I am finally back to work. I am working thru the Temp Agency AtoZ for the VA. It is 40 hours a week, and hopefully will lead to a permanent fulltime position.
My Quilting Business- Peace Valley Quilts is slowly taking off. I have recently quilted Tresa's quilt, am in the process of making 5 quilted handbags, and have made 3 aprons for the Wiebe's, quilted a small quilt for Shirley too. I scheduled 3 classes, we'll see who I can get, and how many students attend. I was also asked to teach the Service Learning Club to make pillowcases in September.
Mom has been here since the beginning of June. It has been a long summer. Mostly because of Alzheimer's and Demensia.  she needs the volume up so loudly it is ridiculous. Memory, both longterm and short term are shot.She doesn't like chicken, noodles, broccoli w/out cheese, and so much more. She shuffles very slowly, and drinks very little water- and wonders why her urine smells.....Hate to say but I am counting the days till she goes home.
Shirley can't move to Glendive in the apartment she was looking at as she makes too much money. She says it is because they look at the gross income and not the net. its a shame they look at it that way as she really needs to get closer to family and a place for Bill that is close to a hospital.
Well I better go- need to make the bed so we can sleep tonight. Try to get back on tomorrow and let you know about Erin her most recent relays....

Quilting...& Stuff

Well the Quilt Class is over. Both ladies finished their quilt tops. They both look very nice. I will be quilting them as soon as I am given the go ahead. Emily is finishing her binding, Tresa has completed hers. I made labels for them today. 

I worked in the sewing room today putting away a bunch of fabric Shirley gave me. I am going to miss her. She is hoping to move to Glendive to be closer to her daughter and family. Going to move Bill to the VA over there. I understand why, but still am going to miss her greatly.

I want to get back downstairs to work on the quilts I have to put on the machine and the one I need to bind yet. I finished the binding on one last week when I was in Arkansas. Now just to label it.

Got my last piece from Wiebe Pottery. A pie plate, and it is a beautiful Emerald Green. Now just to bake a pie, I'll be making a Shoo fly this week for Mom.

Going to Kentucky next week for work, and I may have one in July also. They are paying me per diem, plus expenses. I am still unemployed, however resumes are out all over. I am keeping my fingers crossed something comes soon.

An update....

Well, for starters I am still not employed however I will be working as a floater for HealthTronics over the next few weeks to cover everyone else's vacations. I am going to Arkansas next week. I may be going to Kentucky again later in the month also. I have applications in at several different places. I know I am going to have trouble finding pay here in MT like I was getting with HT.
I started quilting classes with Emily and Tresa. They opted to do a Queen size quilt. Next week will be our final class. Tresa will be done, Emily however I am not sure. She has her outer border to put on and make her binding as well as her backing. I will be quilting them also, after they are completed. Ashley and I decided to give those that go through my classes a discount on the quilting cost. I am going to do another class as soon as I get back from my trip. It will be called the Evening Star Wall Hanging. I am also going to do a block of the month quilt. I will post pics when quilts are completed. I finished a wall hanging for Emily, Italy map from a towel. Sunshine Health Mine also placed an order for Bath Salts. They were made and delivered also. Peace Valley Quilts is slowly picking up.
I have been asked by Dawn to show the kids how to make pillowcases for a Service Learning Project.
Erin is moving to a new place in Butte. She will be sharing the rent and house with a friend. A Melanie that is on the tv news. She is also making a quilt for friend and her soon to be husband. I cut out everything for her - she just has to sew it together.
I am working on several quilts at this time. Two need to be binded, 2 are ready to be quilted,  1 is getting sewn together, and 1 is waiting for Julia's blocks so that I can put it together, and 1 in the drawer waiting for Ash's "Man Cave" to be completed. We will hang hat one in the room. His Mom made that one with her Mother.
I am going to make some pot holders, aprons, and table runners for the Farmer's Market this summer- better get working on that.
Hmmm- even though I am unemployed I am still very busy. I like that.

My job

Well it finally happened- we knew it was coming but ignored the signs. I was called today by my boss and given my walking papers. Montana is just not busy enough to keep me employed. So I guess I am looking for a job, gotta get something quick don't want to get behind.Alot more has been going on but this is by far the main thing and puts everything else on the backburner. Now A job hunting I go..... I am getting 4 weeks pay, plus up to 160 hours PTO,. and Pats wants me to drive the van back to TX- they will fly me back. Once it hits I'm gonna be really pissed.

We did it!!

On Thursday we became an LLC. I met with Lorien @ Vision Quest to go over QuickBooks. We discussed our intentions with our business, and she suggested we become and LLC. 

I made 4 Shoo Fly Pies yesterday. Two for Vicki, Rachel will be picking up them up this afternoon. And got some items together for Erin to make the quilt she is doing for her friend in ND.

The pillowcase bands are all completed, now to do the cases. Then put them together. For some reason it has been hard for me to get downstairs to my machines, but down the steps I will go. Afterall I have 2 blocks to finish for my CW Quilt as I am calling it. Then I wait for Julia's 2 to show up. Oh, I am making some more for the quilt to even out the quilt. You should see the design I am doing. This is the 2nd quilt I have designed.

I have 38 fans on my PVQ fan page, it is sooo cool. I will have to come up with a contest or something soon. Maybe something for the 100th fan, or when I reach that. What's cool is I have some that just happened across me on the search.

Oh, and guess what!! I am starting quilting classes!! Teaching them. I have 1 student for sure, Theresa Larson. Emily Mathiason is thinking about it. We are going to go shopping for her material on Friday if she is going to take the class. Things are really picking up. 

The Enterprise Healthmine got their Bath Salts delivered on Saturday.

Well I better get back to crackin' downstairs...

Verification

Verified PayPal with my bank this morning. So hopefully sales will happen.

Took a walk yesterday near the State Park (within 5 miles) of our home. Erin ran with  the young pups while Ashley and I walked 2 miles. It was a glorious day. 

Delivered the Bath Salts that Pat at Enterprise Healthmine. She ordered 3 dozen total ( 2 dozen 4 oz, 1 dozen 8 oz).
Last night after dinner I was finally able to get back downstairs to my sewing machine. I made the binding for the purple and green quilt. And I worked on the bands for the 24 pillowcases for the pillowcase challenge. Speaking of the Pillowcase challenge I certainly hope that I get some cases from the Boulder ladies I asked for help from the quilt community.

As for the quilting classes that I am going to do. I am thinking of doing a 9patch/Disappearing 9 Patch for the class and if all goes well then do a Log Cabin class. Then if that goes well we will do a blocks class.

My etsy

I did it!! We will see how well I do. I started selling my quilts on etsy.com. I listed Natural Charm, and Harvest last night. I am soo excited. This is a huge leap for me. Last year sometime Emily mentioned it to me, didn't think much of it at the time. Recently the Wiebe's said they had started and I should check it out. They started selling product there so I checked it out and decided to give it a try. I listed Natural Charm for $160, and Harvest for $230.

Well.....

We are going to put the new scale into use. There is an 8.8lb difference tho. The new scale weighs heavier. It is a digital. Don't like the difference, but what am I to do? My blood sugar this morning was 171, not too bad.

Am trying to get an account set up on etsy to sell my quilts. Am having difficulty loading pics tho. Too many pixels. Contacted Arne to assist me.

Started juicing again this morning. I really need to get back on track. Am going t o get on the wii also today. Went for a walk yesterday.

Phillies had their Season Opener yesterday. first time in several years they won, 11-1 against the Washington Nationals. Obama threw the ball to the catcher- hope he sticks to politics, it was a lousy throw...laughing still. Duke Blue Devils won the NCAA Championship!! Fourth time since Coach K has headed the program. It was a good game against Butler, 61-59.

Have a 3rd quilt on my monster, that's what Darci calls it. Kinda funny. Emily wants me to do a quilt job for her, a picture of Italy. Will charge her $50. Completed another block, for the CW Quilt. Am putting material together for 3 more, want to make some table runners also. Trying to figure a way to do several, then quilt them all at same time on my monster. Need to come up with a name....

We also sold the rebounder for $50, and the daybed for $65.

As for the Weight Loss Wager w/ the Wiebe's- Well Darci and I each lost 11 ponds,  Ashley lost 10lbs, and Arne lost 9lbs. As for the couples- Ashley and I won. They are making us dinner. Since Darci and I lost the same amount - no winner. But we all lost weight, and that is was the ultimate goal. So we achieved that, and we did good, we are all winners. We will just have to continue to lose weight.

Not so good...

Took my A1C this morning. Used the Bayer A1C self check. Have not check for a few years. My blood sugar has been going down steadily. The A1C was 8.4!! Too high!! Not as high as I was fearing but higher than I want. According to the box I need to monitor closely. No dip, what with a recent trip to the hospital due to inability to handle stress and out of control diabetes. I need to work harder on controlling stress, my blood sugar and losing weight.

Ashley and I are going to join a pickleball group. They meet on Wednesdays from 7-9. Hopefully that will help to lose weight. I am down to 218, total of 10lbs.

Finished a quilt last night, so now I have to post a pic. Have 4 more to put on quilter, one to finish- the CW Scout Spirit quilt, and some pillowcases to make. So I better get started. I figure I can get the quilts quilted, then work on the blocks, then the pillowcases. After I am all done then I can bind everything.

I haven't said anything to Ashley 'cept in passing that I am worried about my job. I haven't been busy. 

I worry about the lack of it. I wonder if I need to start looking...

Ashley also has an interview today to be a driver for two guys in Boulder. If he gets it it will be about 4-500 dollars a month extra. Great to pay off bills!!! We can work them down pretty well.

Oh Boy

Well I really need to learn how to control my stress. I ended up in an ambulance ride to the hospital on Sunday. I had a seizure due to not handling stress very well. All because of my sewing room, and helping to get Rachel's house painted. Wasn't worried about that but the fumes were worse than our house painting. Almost as bad as the sealant.

Got my Handi Quilter. It is now waiting to get put together on Friday. Cheryl will be here about 9:30 in the morning. Ashley and I emptied the boxes tonight and placed everything in order downstairs. Will take a pic.

Ashley and I got audited on Tuesday. Michelle really screwed us big time. We are going to get audited for '07, and '09 also. For '08 we owe $4k!!! For the last 3 years we went thru this woman and got money back every year.  I am very pissed to say the least. We are going to a CPA to find out what we are able to do.

Several people heard about what happened Sunday- Shirley L called several times to check, and Mom E called to check on me. Rachel and Brandon were with me for the day on Monday. Shirley V came over to visit me. I am going to try to walk down to the PO, maybe the store to. Gotta get back in the grove. Emily and Colleen were notified of what happened. 
update: I walked down to PO and L&P, I did well. Having the seizure really zaps your energy tho.
We also decided to not got to PA for our vacation. Mom understood, she'll let the rest of the family know. What with what happened to me and the audit we decided we better stay put. Ashley also got the call for an interview for driving guys up to Helena on a daily basis for work. I hope he gets it.

Room Update

Well today Ashley and I finished the first coat of edging, and the second coat on the ceiling. Had to go up to Helena to Lowe's and get more paint. We also picked out the trim we want to use, the light we want in the stairwell, and how we want to do the steps.  Thanks to George Teeling we got the lights up today. If it weren't for him we would still be reading the directions. But with some minor adjustments Ashley and George got the job done. What can I say the lights were made in China...haha. I packed up my sewing room, and closed the curtain so the dust won't be so bad.
I took pictures, I'll post them soon. Gosh I am so anxious to get everything done.

Handi Quilter

It will be delivered on Monday!! I am so excited. The basement floor is getting done next week also. Dan starts Monday morning. Cleaning the room this weekend. Working on putting away my sewing stuff. It will arrive in 6 boxes, over 300 lbs.

No news is good news.....

That's what they say. No news is good news. Awaiting confirmation on the HandiQuilter. I am getting the Avante, if I am approved. I am on pins and needles.... 

We had our second estimate yesterday on the basement. We decided to go with Eagle View Concrete. Not just because he was about $400+ less than the first but we liked how he was, his customer service, he said he was going to come back out at 30 days to check the flooring. He was more explanatory when he quoted, showed us pics, gave us a business card. And told us how he does the door and how he will be able to get the other side to match. When we pulled up the red rug, you know I won't miss it. We were pleased that there were no cracks in the cement, everything in good condition.

Picked up the paint and all the trappings (brush, rollers, drop cloth, tape,...) Can't wait till we get started.

Right now I have several quilt tops floating thru my head. I better put them down on paper.

LongArm Update

Well we went Monday to order the HandiQuilter Avante. Cheryl will place the order next week as there is a promo starting where the shipping is free. I am sooo excited. Now I need to check on pricing for charging customers.

We had a company over tonight to get an estimate on redoing the floor in the basement, and another coming on Sunday. Concrete overlay is what we are looking at doing.

I worked on the CW Scout Spirit Quilt blocks today, and got 2 more done, have 4 left to do then I wait to receive my set from Julia and Rita. I also put the layout on graph paper, looks good if I do say so myself.

I started a cleanse today. One to empty me out. A nice side effect would be to lose some weight while doing this over the next 2 weeks. Could stand to have about a 10lb loss....

Well it is getting late and I need to get some rest as tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Successful

      Success is measured in so many ways. Take for instance: a long arm quilting machine. I have been wanting one for such a long time. I love to quilt, I use patterns and I create my own design. I recently told my husband that in order for me to keep quilting I was going to have to send my quilts to someone who had a Long Arm. This is because the lady that has the machine I am most comfortable using is very hard to pin down to get even one done. I have 3 quilts ready to be quilted, and working on 2 more currently. Also a small wall hanging but that can be done easily on my sewing machine.  I also informed him that in order to have them quilted by someone else we were looking in the ballpark of $100 per quilt. Also let him know that I have already one person who will have me do her quilts. Plus when I do classes for Beginning Quilting we can do from start to finish. So he suggested that we move my sewing room back to the other side of the basement where I will have better lighting, and more room. And he also said that the quilting machine could go. Plus he said I will have access to more outlets in that room. Wow. I was finally able to convince him. That is success. Now to order the Quilting Machine. I think perhaps we were going to do that on Saturday, but when we went to the quilt shop it was closed till Monday. I want to go through someone local so I order everything I need to get started. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!!! I know, I know true success will be when I get it and it is in my sewing room.

      I just finished another quilt top, this one is named Sleepytime Sarah. I had enough fabric left to make a wall hanging /doll quilt. So I am working on that now. Had to take a break as Erin decided to take a nap. 

     Another view of success: Getting your daughter to get her taxes done early instead of procrastinating. Erin is now happy as she will see a refund. 

     And yet another view: Seeing your daughter and her fiance buy their first home and plan their wedding for next year. Yep, Rachel and Brandon will close on the 25th, and they have set the date for 9/2/2011.

      I have been working on the wii most every day. I have tried to do the Total Gym approx. every other day for about 10 minutes, and I walk. I am proud to say I have lost 6#s. And so far have kept it off. I am going to do a colon cleanse in the near future. Already placed an order, am going to use natural products so we'll see how that goes. They say that if you do a cleanse you remove alot of garbage, hence you lose weight. Nice side effect but I have actually been wanting to do one for sometime now. So we will see, I just hope it works.

This and that

Goodness, what have I been doing? Alot, but don't know if I can recall everything.

Well I have been very good about getting on the wii for at least 30 minutes a day. I have lost 5# total so far. Must admit I want to lose more! But it will come in time- just can't gain it back. I have been trying to add walking (when it's nice out), and the Total Gym to my routine.

Have been working on 3 quilts this past week. trying to get a Beginner's Quilting class together for Theresa and Emily. They are both interested in attending. the Scout quilt  (that's what I dubbed it) is coming along nicely. We are making 16 blocks, and I have 2 different layouts in my head. Going to put them down on paper today or this weekend hopefully. Am making a strip tube quilt, learned this method last week. So what do I do but stop and try it right away. Also have a RUG (really ugly fabric) which I am making into a quilt and with the extra a doll quilt or wall hanging. I have 2 or 3 quilts that are awaiting the longarm yet, so I guess I add 3 more to the pile. What would be nice it to own my own longarm, and I know which one I want. Just have to convince my husband.

Wow!! wii is fun!

Got on the wii, as I do most days. I think I have only missed one day, and that was because we spent the day with Erin in Butte and visited Holly's new baby boy- Nathan. He is so adorable. I held him, fed him and just cuddled him. Ashley held him also,  and Nate's diaper actually leaked on him. It was funny. To see Ashley hold a baby was sooo cute. Talk about holding a baby, Erin did her fair share of it also. She even changed the diaper. It was a touching scene. Wish I would have brought my camera. When she gets the chance she will be a good Mommy herself.
But I digress. I was talking about the wii fit. Well when I got on yesterday I did the body test again and I lost over 1.something in BMI!!!! That is really encouraging. I was on it for the longest amount of time yesterday afternoon. Over 40 minutes. And I got back on for another 20 minutes, for 1:08. That's actually more than I want to do on a daily basis however I was having fun exercising the time passed quickly.

Wii

We got the wii fit on Friday and I set it up. I got on it right away. Ashley did also after dinner. Boy some of the exercises are something. Those balance ones are tough being as I don't have the best balance. But it did give me an age of 30, Ashley was 58- but he didn't complete all the balance goals in time. When he does it again he'll lower- guaranteed. He registered to lose 2# a week, and my goal is 3#. I just hope we can do it.
We went to see Erin yesterday. We got her bed from Abbey's. She just has to get it delivered. She also has to get the frame from Heidi and Kevin. We also took her grocery shopping.
Oh and we lost a pound each this past week. I want to lose more each week though!

Weight Wager Update, and more

Well yesterday we weighed in with our losses. Arne won the week with a 5lb weight loss. Ashley and I lost 3 lbs each, and Darci lost 2 lbs. We are all going in the right direction. Darci was disappointed w/ her minimal loss. I don't think she should be. When you have a 2-3 lb loss for the week it is easier to keep it off. Less of a chance to regain it. Arne said the first 5 was easy, now it'll be harder. I figure if I can maintain 3lbs a week by the end of the wager I will be at 195, that's under 200! I haven't been that low since the girls were little. And if I can maintain the loss I'll be 186 by the time we go to PA at the end of May!! I just have to maintain it. I have been on the wii every night, and sometimes during the day. The boxing really makes you sweat. I get the fit program next month, can't wait to get started on that.

I really need to get on my sewing machine, and get going on the quilt that I am doing with Julia and Rita. I have their blocks cut, just need to sew them so I can send them. I want to have it done so when we meet for lunch or whatever we can show each other what we accomplished.

I have several quilts ready to be quilted. Want to do them on Betty's HQ. I feel more comfortable on it then any other. Now I just have to talk Ashley into getting one. That will take a stroke of genius.

Over the past few months FaceBook has reunited me with several of my classmates from Conrad Weiser. Perhaps I'll see some of them when we go back to PA for vacation.

We are really looking forward to going to PA for vacation this year. Since it has been so long since we have been back we are a bit nervous to see all the changes. We have alot of people to visit. We are going to be driving out.

Well I better get moving, gotta get on my Bernina.

Weight Wager w/ Wiebe's

Ashley and I entered into a weight loss wager w/ Darci and Arne Wiebe. We start today, and end April 3rd. We will be weighing in each weekend on Saturday morning. The "Biggest Loser" will receive $15 from each participant, and the winning couple gets a dinner out from the other couple. Whether I win or not is fine because the result of losing weight is my biggest prize.

I will cut out chips, and the little bit of soda that I drink, cut portion sizes, juice twice daily, eat a yogurt in the morning, exercise with the wii, and walk as much as I am able.

Ashley started at 193, and I am starting at 228. I have alot of weight to lose...

Ready for Spring

Tired of this cold weather. I am ready for spring to come into bloom.
Helped Colleen welcome people in for the Red Cross Blood drive. I made some muffins for the donors. I used the pulp from my juicer as flavor. I reduced butter and milk, replaced instead w/ pulp.
Erin is out of her funk for now. Rachel and Brandon are still in the process of buying a home. Still wheeling and dealing.
Cut out 2 sets of a block. Now must sew together. This is one for Rita. Will cut out her other one today. Looking forward to seeing quilt finished. We chose some nice blocks.

Winter Wonderland

It is beautiful outside, but am glad I am not having to travel in it.
Update on Butch- He is out of hospital and back at Michele's. Inflammed Colon, Inflammatory Colitis is what the finally diagnosed him with. A form of ulcers, caused by stress. Ashley's sister Annette said that as soon as he walked in the door from the hospital that Mom laid into him about being in Ga for so long and she wanted to go home. Annette also told him that they were going to look at Assisted Living for Mom when they get home. Mom has stated that she is going to stop taking her pills again. Ashley and I remember asking Butch when he moved Mom down to GA, if he knew what he was getting into. We think not.
Holly and DJ had a baby boy Monday night. Nathan weighed in at 7lbs 12oz. All are healthy. Erin was there in the room with them, she assisted in the birth. Erin was so excited.

When Ashley got home Monday night he told me I could order the Wii bundles from QVC. I am so excited. Can't wait to get everything. I have used Emily's several times and really enjoyed it. Ashley is looking forward to its arrival also. I look forward to the assistance in weight loss.
Rita, Julia, and I finally got the definite final draft done on the quilt we will be making. I have my material so I will get started today. I copied all the blocks that are needed, that we decided on. Look forward to getting it done. Am trying to talk Emily into making one also. I think I am going to start offering Beginning Quilting Classes. This will hopefully help in  getting store started.
Rachel and Brandon signed for a house on Monday, can't wait to hear if they get it.
Erin is frustrated that she doesn't have a significant other, like her sister does. She is afraid she will be 35 and single. She doesn't like to hear what I have to say cause I am just her mother. I don't know what to do. I tell her that her time will come, she yeah right. She is depressed and pessimistic. I think seeing Holly have her baby may have started the funk. How can I get her out of this funk?