Some friends of mine from church have convinced me to join them in their "Biggest Loser" contest. What was I thinking? Oh well, I know they will help to keep me motivated! They are both VERY competitive so this will be fun. Thanks Lisa and Cristie, I needed that little kick in the behind to jump start me again!

ok...so this little funk has been here and I cannot get rid of it. I have been working in my sewing room trying to get rid of it. I wish I could figure out what was going on and just wiggle my nose like Samantha in Bewitched to fix it....wouldn't that be fun? To be able to make things happen with a twitch of the nose? hmmmm.....maybe I should practice twitching my nose? You know, with the full moon tomorrow...stranger things could happen!

Oh good grief! So much has happened lately and my blog and other internet fun things to do have been put aside. I think it's because I am on my computer all day at work that I really don't want to be online much when I am home. I am really liking my new job. Working at Wellpoint/Anthem in the State Sponsored Business Dept (aka Medicaid) is very fast-paced. The day goes by so quickly that sometimes I am soooo shocked to see what time it is. There is hardly any downtime....which is good! I would rather be steady than sit waiting for the phone to ring. I work in Medical Intake...so I deal with hospitals and doctors' offices and other healthcare providers in IN, KS, WV, and SC. And each state has their own little rules that vary from the others. Thank goodness I have all my resources at my fingertips or I would be going more crazy than I am! lol

I did get some sewing done this past week. I started a small wallhanging that is done except for the embroidery on a few of the blocks.

We worked in the yard yesterday cleaning up some of the flower gardens. I was so surprised to see what all was beginning to emerge for spring! I am so definitely ready for spring!!!

Well, that's all the news I have for today...hopefully I won't be gone for so long the next time! lol

This is Chuckie. He thinks he's a lap dog...but the problem is that he weighs close to 100 lbs! But he's a big sweetie and an even bigger baby....just let it thunder or the wind blow where he can hear it!

Do It Well

In whatever you do, do it well.
When you make the effort, give your best to it.
You cannot cheat life, so don't bother trying.
If you compromise your integrity, it will quickly drain away and you'll always regret the loss.
When you do what you do, do what is right.
Even though you think no one will ever know, you will always know.
You will know, and that makes all the difference.
For real confidence comes from a job well done, and confidence is worth more than gold.
It doesn't have to be perfect, though the closer you can get, the better.
What you must always do, in whatever you do, is your best.
The quality of what you experience in life depends on the quality of what you give to life.
Make it good, make it right, make it honest, and add real, lasting value to your world.
-- Ralph Marston

Uh oh...I'm slipping! I didn't realize it had been almost a week since I was last here. Wow! I guess time is slipping by as well.

I have been busy...had a job interview yesterday. Waiting for a call back or to call her on Monday. Fingers crossed! I am definitely ready to go back to work!!!!

I am also ready for spring! I want to start seeing green grass and be able to have the windows open...love fresh air in the house.

Well off to get more coffee....

The last few days I have been quite the domestic goddess! I made two table runners on Thursday. Friday (yesterday) I made new curtains for the laundry room. I also made homemade vegetable soup and french bread for dinner. I love using my bread machine to make the dough. So much easier-just put it in and let the machine do the work!

Last night for dinner we tried something new. I have been seeing the commercials for the new McDonald's Big Mac Wrap and thought "I can make those!" So last night, I made them. I used ground turkey (we VERY rarely eat ground beef anymore) and they were awesome! I used the smaller size tortilla, layered a half a cheese slice, shredded lettuce, pickles, part of a turkey burger cut in about 2 inches slices, and 1000 Island salad dressing. Folded it the tortilla like a normal and wrap and VOILA! My hubby said we definitely have to do those again!

In other news, Sunday we went to my mom's house to help with some things around the house that she can't do. Well, mom and I cleaned out her yarn stash-I now have a tote of yarns to do something with. (Like I really needed more yarn, but didn't want to hurt mom's feelings.) Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby and found this cool pattern to crochet totes out of yarn. So that will help with using up some the yarns.

Just a couple pictures of the snow we are getting today. These are of two of the gardens in the yard...

The Dance

The Dance

I have sent you my invitation,
the note inscribed on the palm of my hand by the fire of living.
Don't jump and shout, "Yes, this is what I want! Let's do it!"
Just stand up quietly and dance with me.

Show me how you follow your deepest desires,
spiraling down into the ache within the ache,
and I will show you how I reach inward and open outward
to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, every day.

Don't tell me you want to hold the whole world in your heart.
Show me how you turn away from making another wrong without
abandoning yourself when you are hurt and afraid of being unloved.

Tell me a story of who you are,
and see who I am in the stories I am living.
And together we will remember that each of us always has a choice.

Don't tell me how wonderful things will be...someday.
Show me you can risk being completely at peace,
truly okay with the way things are right now in this moment,
and again in the next and the next and the next...

I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring.
Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall,
the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will.
What carries you to the other side of that wall,
to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?

And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the
clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other,
let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving
those we once loved out loud.

Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance,
the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart,
and I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet
and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again.

Show me how you take care of business
without letting business determine who you are.
When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us
shout that soul's desires have too high a price,
let us remind each other that it is never about the money.

Show me how you offer to your people and the world
the stories and the songs you want our children's children to remember,
and I will show you how I struggle,
not to change the world, but to love it.

Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude,
knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging.
Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words,
holding neither against me at the end of the day.

And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest
intentions has died away on the wind,
dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale
of the breath that is breathing us all into being,
not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.

Don't say, "Yes!"
Just take my hand and dance with me.
--Oriah Mountain Dreamer

This is from the book that I have been reading. So far it's been very thought provoking!

Was busy in the kitchen this afternoon...made homemade eggrolls for the first time. They were really good! I even made a dipping sauce that was really good. Saw the recipe for the dipping sauce on Emeril Green on Planet Green.

Well, the new year and decade are here! Woohoo!

I have been working on finishing up a quilt. I quilted it 2 days ago, and started putting the binding on it yesterday. I just have to finish sewing it to the back of the quilt.

Well, I hope everyone has a great New Year!