FLASHBACK FRIDAY

fun with cousins and grandma and grandpa hilbrant in naperville. i believe this is the last time that all the hilbrants were all together at one time. we have since added two more little hilbrants to the family and it's probably about time to try this again!

BUSY AND PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND

i accomplished alot this weekend....starting with friday evening, finishing the quilt for the diningroom table. today i finished quilting the runner for the spare bedroom. i have not yet sewn the binding on but wanted to show pictures anyway. as i've said before, i'm still in the learning stages of machine quilting as well as being fairly limited on the finished size that i can quilt with my machine. BUT, i'm pleased with how this one turned out. again, as i look at the pictures i see lots of blemishes but those are things what will just have to come with time and practice. i did a feathered border on this quilt as well and love how that turned out. i will be using this border again. i have many tucks here and there but again, practice will help that. here are just a few of the photos i took.

during the time this weekend that i wasn't working on sewing projects i was playing taxi to aubrey. there were many social events that she needed to attend this weekend! she is becoming quite the social butterfly. she had a movie night with a friend from school on friday evening and saturday night another classmate had a birthday party at a skating rink. the party was in eldridge so i decided that i would just stay at the rink and hopefully stay in the shadows to avoid her clinging to me and not taking part in the fun. as it worked out, the rink was reserved for the party alone, not available for open skating so we had the building to ourselves! it was perfect. as it happens most the the kindergarten class had not skated before so it was a good thing we had the rink to ourselves. the little skaters took turns skating with the birthday girls parents and sisters. by the end of the night it was fun to see how they all improved! our school has a skate night at the same place once a month for just the students in our school. that night will be next tuesday and it looks like we will be joining in the fun there once again.

by sunday afternoon it was time for a break! the house was clean, sewing projects completed, social events attended to, and chuck due home from dallas later in the afternoon aubrey and i both had time to sit and relax for a change.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

This flashback is doing double duty. first off this is a studio photo (sorry the scanner isn't working well so i just took a picture of a picture!). aubrey was nine or ten months old.....not sure exactly but i do have it written in her baby book....just didn't double check. this is one of my favorites. we had the picture printed in black and white (as well as a few prints in color.) aubrey is also wearing the dress that i wore in my studio photos at about the same age. so, flashback of the early aubrey days and flashback even further back about 43 years!

COMPLETED PROJECT

finished results......

my first attempt at machine quilting with a simple feathered border. as i look at the picture i see things i would do differently like spacing.....

the body of the quilt is two inch squares of tone on tone creams and taupes.....

simple feathered corners......

all in all i'm proud of this quilt. it is the first one that i've done that hasn't been completely stippled. i was deteremined to do something different on the borders. i do have a lot to learn yet, but am feeling much more confident and willing to try more things. my one problem is marking the quilt.....i'm looking for something that will brush off easy....i don't want to always have to wash the quilt after it is complete, and i don't want the finished product to have markings all over it.

WIP

this is a table topper for the dining room. i still have the border to finish but am having problems finding a feathered border wide enough to work.

this is a runner for the spare bedroom. i still need to pick a pattern for the border and finish the other blocks.

as i've normally hand quilted, i have found that stipppling is the easiest for me to work with right now. i'm practicing so i can become more comfortable following a pattern. i'm hoping to get at least one of these quilts done by this coming weekend.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE TWO WEEKS MAKES !!

i have mentioned before that i have joined an online exercise group. i am pleased to report that after only two weeks i have made some great progress. i have steadily taken off 7 pounds, (could have been more but the weekend was filled with birthday parties and of course cake and icecream! YUM) i have also taken off a few inches total in my waist and hips. that number alone was a huge eye opener....i've always been one to gage my progress by what the scale says....i've never started a workout/weightloss routine by doing any type of measurement. it has been nice to actally "see" the difference in both the tape measure, the scale and the mirror.

now after a bit of a layed back weekend i'm ready to hit it hard again. stay tuned for more progress at a later date!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN !!

today, one of aubrey's best little buddies turns FIVE !

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN !!

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY

aubrey was two when these pictures were taken. here she is golfing with daddy and uncle brian in charlotte north carolina, at the ballentyne country club.

LETS PLAY THE NAME GAME !

I CAME ACROSS THIS NAME GAME ON ANOTHER BLOG I WAS READING. THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO TRY. I THOUGHT MY NASCAR NAME WAS FUNNY....GRANDPA WAS EITHER RALPH OR BILL DEPENDING ON MY GRANDMAS MOOD!


Your Real Name: DEANNA

Witness Protection Name:(mother and fathers middle names) ARLENE DEAN.

Secret Spy Name: (your first name spelled backwards) ANNAED.

Nascar Name: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad) GEORGE RALPH FREDERICK WILLIAM SAMUAL.

Detective Name:(favorite color, favorite animal) RED HUMMINGBIRD.

Soap Opera Name:(middle name, county where you were born) LYNN MUSCATINE.

Super Hero Name: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning) THE PINK MARGARITA.

Fly Name:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name) DEON.

Street Name:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie) MOOSE TRACKS CHOCOLATE CHIP.

Rock Star: (current pet, current street) NONE MEADOWVIEW LANE

PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on) SNOOPY GROVER

YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle) DEAIZZLE

YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets) BLACK SNOOPY

STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav. candy) HEAVENLY PEANUT BUTTER CUP

IT'S NEVER TO LATE !

I have decided to share some of my New Year's Resolutions.....I don't think it's too late....but since it looks like it is no longer January and February is already almost half over why don't we call them "goals" rather then resolutions!

1. Read more to Aubrey - she is starting to really pick up on words and reading. I just want her to love to read like I have learned to love boxes.

2. Get into better shape - not only exercising but eating better and trimming off all that extra weight I carry around. I want to feel better about myself and be healthier for my family.

3. Be a little more frugal - only buy what i need rather then so much impluse shopping. fabric is my BIG downfall!

4. Sew more - i never seem to sew as much as i want to. I want to get to my sewing room everyday....even if only for a few minutes.

5. Finish more projects - I have way too many things going and Ibecome overwhelmed and that makes it hard to finish.

6. Use more of the fabric that I already have on hand - this is part of #2. my goal is to only buy fabric if it is absolutly necessary. I don't want to buy it just because it's cool! but because I NEED it.

7. Spend more time outside in the yard this spring and summer - last year I neglected my gardening and lost interest so most of the flowers I bought kind of went to waste. I also want Aubrey to play more outside with the neighbor kids and on her bike. This will be our first training wheel free summer!

8. Go to more garage sales and auctions - there are so many treasures out there. it is always a sence of accomplishment when you find something for next to nothing!


These are just a few! I have to say that I've gotten a good start! I've started a good exercise routine that I do daily and I'm eating better. I've cut down on wasteful spending in the fabric store. I've only bought 2 yards of quilting fabric and 1.5 of a decorator fabric and I have used them both up almost completely! I have also pulled all my (well not all of them....) unfinished projects together and am hoping to come up with a "plan" to get them all finished!!!! Maybe i'll not start another "new" project until one unfinished one is done ???? Yeah.....I know.... Or I can have the goal of one unfinished project needs to get done per month. ?? We'll see. Still working on the plan for that one!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Three years ago at the local skating rink Aubrey gives ice skating a try...............this picture was snapped right after she took a bad spill on the ice and right before we quit for the day! Although she remembers this she is anxious to get out there and give it another shot!

I have joined yet another group!!

Joni called me one day and asked me if I would take part with her in an on-line exercise group. ???? How exactly does that work?? Don't really know but I've decided that it's time to do something with this pitiful body so, lets go for it!

Sunday Joni and I did our measurements and a few exercise test. And that was more fun then the Super Bowl???? The group we have joined is for exercise. It's not a "diet". From what I can tell there isn't much fat on the other girls that are joining! It is just designed to keep track of cardio and weights. Every two weeks we are to do our measurements and exercise testing and share with the rest of the group.

Monday was day one! I began be getting up at 6:00 A.M. and putting in a Denise Austin Fat Burning Workout DVD. OH MY GOD......AM I OUT OF SHAPE !!! I also go to Joni's over my lunch hour and do some wii fit. I have worked on mostly yoga there. I've found that I really like it so I think I'll be looking for a yoga class or maybe just a yoga DVD.

I have also changed my diet. Basically, I removed one of my favorite food groups! M & M's.

So, on only day three of the exercise plan it's amazing the difference in how I feel! Each morning I'm able to keep up a little better with my exercise DVD. I've also done well with my eating.

If you notice over there to the right I have a "coming soon" thingy......... Well, my plans is to attach a link to another blog that I'm keeping with Joni to moniture our progress. We felt we wanted to show everyone what we are doing in hopes to be held a little more accountable to the task at hand. As soon as I get the right link going I'll share it with you all.....besides.....we figured only about five to ten people read this blog so it isn't like everyone in the country will be reading it!!!

Wish us luck! AND thanks for your support!!