my first quilt

I have been meaning to blog about this quilt. I have never made a quilt and quilting is something I have always wanted to do. I am too cheap to go take classes and make something already preset. I watched a lot of YouTube vi dos and searched a lot of websites to come up with something I knew I could manage. The type of quilt is called a "jelly roll" quilt. The strops of coordinating fabric is rolled up into one big roll and you then you sew the strips together. It's not as easy as it sounds so I had to make a practice one.  learned a lot from just doing that. I finished the quilt top and could never find time to get it basted and binded before the baby girl who going to get this came into the world. I found a lady who helped me quilt it on her longarm sewing ma cine ( a huge expensive machine) ) and she basically did one side of the binding and I finished the backside by hand. that took a long time too.
I think it turned out pretty cute for a beginner quilt. I hope Baby Meredith will use it forever and pass it on to her children. Quilts are fabrics woven together with love!

it's a good thing...

A long time ago when I stayed at home, I watched Martha Stewart on television and she always ended her show with this phrase..."it's a good thing".

There are a few good things happening in my life right now, a far cry from last year and I hope this trend of "goodness" continuous because Lord knows I need to keep going and get back on the mountaintop.

First, I'd like to begin with the hubs and I. Things are going well, we are getting along a lot better and I think a big part of it is that I have really tried to bring my "control freak" nature down to a minimum. I always ask myself if the situation I'm unhappy about is worth the effort to be right. Most times it isn't. I no longer take responsibility for his actions or even his recovery. I focus on me and what I need to do to become a better person. This is not to say that we wont' ever disagree or argue about stuff. I just know we are in a better place than we were six months ago.

I have been contemplating for awhile now about starting a small photography business. I am in no way an expert photographer, I just like taking pictures and experimenting with photography. I am still learning my camera's ins and outs. I I basically just want to do it for fun and charge a minimal fee for my time. I think the pictures are near professional and as time goes on and I learn certain editing techniques, I can make them look better. I know from experience that there are a lot of people out there who wish they could afford professional pictures but can't so I think this would be a great opportunity for me to build a portfolio and maybe even go professional one day, who knows?? The part I am figuring out now is how to publicize myself and what I offer. I'm thinking about doing a Facebook page and uploading some of my work. I have created a web album and I am trying to figure out how to share that without people stealing my pics. I have coined the name "loveyameanit photography" because I always say "loveyameanit" to my family and friends. I heard a woman on a t.v. show a long time ago use this when she was saying bye to her friends and I liked it so much I use it all the time. Knda like when I say "derduhder", got that little diddy from a teacher I student taught with! Funny how we stick to little things.

So, onto some other big news! I thought this should be it's own post but I ma including it in here because well......it's all good!

Back in September, I attended a seminar at Centennial for weight loss surgery. My aunt, my brother, and my husband have all had bariatric surgery so I already knew what they would be taking about. I thought it over and wrote a long list of pros and cons about doing this myself. I had to meet certain requirements and one of those was a psychological evaluation. Well, we all know I am looney but they had to make sure I would follow plan. After a long few month and one denial of benefits from insurance, the lady I was working with at Centennial called me on January 22tn and said that insurance had approved my surgery!

So now comes the hard work and dedication and lifestyle changes amidst all he other challenges I deal with emotionally about being overweight. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited but this is like a new life chapter for me. I don't want people to think I am taking the easy way out and it's a big step towards a healthier life. I know I will stumble along the way and make mistakes and beat myself up for dumb stuff. The great thing about having this done at Centennial is the support system is out of this world! I will have access to so much support, it's unbelievable. I have my first appointment with the doctor I chose on Friday Feb. 1st. His name is Dr. Dyer and I chose him for one really important reason, he is a believer in God! He says that Jesus is his Hero! I loved that when I read it!

Anyway, for those of you who read this blog, I wanted you to know because you will be seeing gradual changes in me over the next several months and it won't be hard to notice. I have to say that I have wonderful friends and church family that I know will pray for me and be my cheerleaders!


I am still looking for that ONE job in teaching. For now, I focus on the fact that Grant has a fabulous teacher and is learning so much and even if he has to go back to a Metro school, I think he will be so successful because of the greet foundation he's had. That is what is most important to me, his happiness and weal being!

I have high hopes that 2013 will be ".....a good thing!"