Hello?!?! Is anyone still out there??

Well, hello there!! It has been a very long time since my last post. I could appologize and give all sorts of excuses but the reality is I was bored of quilting and needed a break from it. I was also much more focused on my health (still am)..but with the colder weather on the way, it must be time for quilting.

I did manage to buy some fabric this past summer (because really, even if you aren't quilting....you still need to buy fabric).

I am doing really well on my new healthy choice lifestyle. I am still not smoking. It was 8 months on November 3rd. I like to think I have kicked the habit for good. A little voice in my head says....still be careful...once a nicotine addict always an addict. So I don't take for granted my strength to not smoke. I work at it everyday. I tell myself how gross smoking is, how much it smells, how much it costs, etc. (these are all true...but for someone who really enjoyed smoking, it is important to tell myself how awful it is to smoke.)

I have been walking and walking and walking. I am now up to 4 miles (6.6 KM) 5 days a week. 32.5 is my exercise partner on the weekends. I emailed 32.5 this week and told her I was in need of a little bit of ass-kicking workout. (she has been away of vacation and thus I slacked off a little). Vacation for 32.5 is a vacation for me...lol. Well, let me just say I paid for that little mistake quite dearly. I'm not sure if you are aware out there in blogdom but Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser needs to be a little bit fearful of 32.5. 32.5 kicked my ass and then some. Made me run 5 one minute sessions at 4+ MPH. Just to show her I wasn't afraid of her (oh, ya...I was terrified) I ran one one minute session at 5 mph. OK, so she didn't scream at me to take my hands off the treadmill like Jillian does...but she did give me the evil eye. LOL.

I recount this story with a smile on my face knowing that I would have never achieved what I did today had it not been my very good friend...and I hope she knows that I love her and I am just teasing. (I was a little bit afraid of her though)

Tomorrow we are working out again and god help me....I wonder what she will make me run.

Catchup Time

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Summer in southern Ontario has been slow to come this year. We have had lots of rain and little sun. The rain has made for a very very lush garden.







I need your help. What is the name of this plant?? It is the prettiest plant in my garden and I haven't got a clue what it is. I don't remember buying it or planting it....I don't remember having it in my garden last year. It is a real mystery. Any ideas?? Here are a couple pictures.





I took the plunge last week and bought a new car. My van was on it's last legs and it was going to cost $3,000.00 to fix it. That seemed like an awful lot of money for a 2001 Pontiac Montana. So off I went car shopping. I quickly discovered that buying a used car was actually going to cost me MORE than buying a brand new car. So in the interest of boosting the economy and helping the struggling car industry I bought a brand new 2010 Pontiac Vibe. I love it. I've named her the Silver Bullet. Huh?? What do you mean, people don't name their cars?? (LOL)









I'm still on track with my healthier lifestyle. I am proud to say that I am still a non smoker. It wasn't easy...but nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy. I still have moments when I would like a smoke but luckily I have the strength to ignore the craving. I also have 32.5 sitting on my shoulder telling me that a cigarette would not be enjoyable in the least. I have 18 weeks of not smoking behind me and the thought of starting back at day one is just too terrible a thought. I am so proud of myself for quitting smoking, I'm not kidding when I say I think there should be a parade everyday to celebrate this achievement....and fireworks and cake....lol.

I'm eating better, I didn't think it was possible to eat 7 to 10 fruits and veggies a day...but it is possible. It's funny when I look at the food in my cart at the grocery store now compared to 6 months ago and it's night and day. 6 months ago it was all highly processed foods,coke and chips (my staples). Now I look in my cart and it's full of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, skim milk & yogurt. I am sure my stomach and bowels are still in shock wondering what the heck is going on.

I'm up to walking 2 1/2 miles a day(4K) on days when I am really feeling good I push it up to 3 miles (5k). My Cardiac Rehabilitation instructor tells me by Christmas they want me jogging 5 miles (8K). That will not be pretty site...LOL. I have also enlisted some of my buddies at work to work out with me during the work day. We set aside 10 minutes 3 times a day and do resistance band exercises. The weirdest thing is happening to me. When we first started doing these exercises I would look for all kinds of excuses to not do them...now nothing stops me from doing the exercises..I even catch myself looking forward to it. We do them 5 days a week and we alternate between leg band exercises one day, the next day we do arm band exercises.

OK, I think I have gotten everyone caught up on my life.
Take care everyone!!

Happy Birthday Canada

Spring Cleaning a couple months late

I finally got around to cleaning out my basement this weekend. I had tons of things that I had out grown, no longer liked or wanted, or just didn't fit in with my current decor. The sad thing is, I have never thought of myself as a packrat. Every spring and fall, I go thru my clothing and get rid of things I haven't worn in a while or things that don't fit. I pack them up and take them to Goodwill. However, when it comes to household items, I just banish things I no longer like or want to the basement.

I really have to break myself of that habit...because this is what happens when you don't get rid of stuff semi-anually.









Some of these items are going to the dump, some of these items are going to my cousin up north who is setting up her appartment, and the rest is a donation to my mom and dad who are going to have a charity yard sale in the fall.

This weekend I also signed up at the local community centre for a one month pass, which allows me to swim, skate, or walk. The community centre has a great indoor track. 13 times around equals a mile. I know I have a treadmill, and I have been using it for the last several weeks, however I just don't get the same workout on the treadmill as I do on the track. (don't ask me why, I have no idea LOL) This also gave me an excuse to go out and buy some more exercise goodies. I bought a "lap counter". It is really a pitch counter but it does the same thing. You just click a little button each time you go around the track and you don't have to keep count in your head. It is far to complicated having to walk and keep count all at the same time...lol.

I am really starting to see the change in my body as well, I don't think I have lost any more weight (I'm not a big fan of that damn scale) but all my clothes are just hanging off me, so I'm happy with that. People keep telling me the pounds will start to come off too, but for now I am just happy that my clothes look like they belong to someone else. Hopefully 6 months from now they will be in the Goodwill pile.

Last but not least.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to my Dad.

You're pretty cool for an old guy dad.



Even if you won't wear pink or yellow.
Love you lots.

What a beautiful day.

Well, I have not quilted in quite some time and I'm thinking about closing down this blog and starting a new blog that is more about daily happenings. Sometimes I'll write about quilting, sometimes gardening, sometimes healthy eating, you get the idea. I haven't really decided yet...but if I do start a new blog I will let you all know. :-)

Today is a beautiful day in Southern Ontario...it is sunny with a nice breeze and not too hot and more importantly not too cold.

Usually I walk in my basement on the treadmill or on the track at the YMCA. Today I walked outside...I put on my ipod shuffle turned it up loud and hit the road. I walked from my house to my parents house. OK, so no one told me that walking outside would be harder than walking on my nice treadmill. LOL. You see, outside there are hills (uphill hills.....LOL) I don't have that problem on my treadmill ;-). All is well though, I made it to my parents and lived to tell the tale...and I did it in 37 minutes. (I am very pleased with that time.)

Before I started out for my walk I made myself one of these.



The Famous Green Monster.

A couple blogs I follow (Polly and Sarah) are always letting their readers know how good they are. So the other week I jumped into the Green Monster craze.

I changed Polly's recipe just a bit.

My recipe was as follows:

1 cup of skim milk
2 handfulls of organic baby spinach
2 heaping tablespoons of Vanilla Activia Yogurt
5-7 chunks of frozen banana. (probably a whole banana. When my banana's get too ripe I peel them cut them into chunks and freeze them)
1 teaspoon of raw sugar.

OH MY GOD!!! It was heaven. Now, please keep in mind I am probably the pickest eater on the planet...this thing was TO DIE FOR. Super Yummy and very filling.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Is it really the end of May??

For those of you in Southern Ontario you will know that our weather has not been very spring like. We have been lucky to have quite a few sun filled days but it is cold and windy.

Me and my Gardener did some gardening and lawn work this weekend. I took pictures last weekend and this weekend. My gosh can you ever see the difference in just a week. Just imagine if it was actually warm out...lol






















Now look at the pictures I took today and see how the garden has grown.















I even managed to get a sewing project done this weekend. 32.5 came over and *cough* did *cough* helped me make a curtain for my gazebo. It looks great and helps block out my neighbours backyard.



That's my weekend in a nutshell.

Spring has sprung!!

And my mind is racing in 100 different directions and none of them include quilting.

I worked on my yard today and it is really starting to look nice. I pulled about 10,000 dandelions. Thank goodness my gardner (DAD) has a fancy shmancy dandelion plucker. You can do it all without having to get down on all fours. (not a pretty site..lol)










The Happy Gardner.


My mom and dad.

It was a little cool today...about 11 degrees celsius (about 52 fahrenheit)but it was sunny all day.

I also did some work on the inside of my house the last few weeks. The Canadian Government is offering a tax grant to people who do renovations on their homes...so I took advantage of that and had my stairs and upstairs bedrooms recarpeted. I also had a little painting done.


Here is a large picture so you can see close up how disgusting my carpet was...don't you just love that huge stain?? I have no idea what it was that was spilled on the carpet but it went right through and even stained the wood subfloor underneath...yuck!




Before.


After.



I had the woodwork painted out on the stairs. I am so glad I did it.

Well, my blogging buddies, I think that brings my life up to date.

I hope everyone is enjoying their springtime. Happy Quilting!!