won't be posting for a few days

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am not feeling well, I think the stress and not sleeping has caught up with me. Started feeling horrible last night and it continues today. I probably won't be posting for at least a few days.
Blessings,Joann

Wanted to come back on here before I go to bed. Thanks for all the nice comments that you all left. I am taking some medicine and going to bed it's about 6:30PM so I am hoping for a nice restful sleep.

I also forgot to put up my Weigh in today, I didn't go this morning like I usually do but went this evening around 5PM this weeks loss was 2.8 bringing my total to 22.8I hope to be feeling better soon. Thanks again for all the prayers.

Sunday at the Allen home..

Today Roger and I did some things around the house. I mainly did some laundry, and Roger did vacuum the entire house. We both did the monthly cleaning and maintinence of the aquarium. While we were doing the aquarium it started to rain and then it got lounder and harder. When I looked out side this is what I seen~



Then there was some lightning and some very loud thunder, we don't get lound thunder here in the valley of California so when it's loud it's very loud.

I took this picture as the hail was coming down on the top of the gazebo~


And this was taken out back in the back yard~




I know anyone who lives where it rains hard and a lot probably isn't too impressed, but rarely do we get such a soaking rain with thunder and all.

I came into the craft room and took a look around and decided to take 3 pictures, to show what I plan on working on starting Monday...I will hopefully post an after picture sometime this week.

This is the shelving above where the computer is going to go~





This is some short shelving right next to the window~




And this is the shelving above where the sewing machine is going to go~



I know exactly how I want the craft room to look like when I am done but getting it to look like that will definately take some time.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and will have a very wonderful week ahead.

I can't believe it is almost February, this month has gone by so fast but yet the days seem to drag on. Last night I didn't go to bed until 7AM this morning, I ended up sleeping till Noon, I don't know when this sleep pattern disfunction is going to end but I would like it to end as soon as possible. I was using some Tylenol PM to help me get to sleep for a couple of nights and then I realized that I take medication that also contains some of the same ingredients and it was making me feel sick. I take a pain medicine for my back and my Doctor has doubled my dose so I am getting used to the new amount. This may be some of the reason for the lack of sleep, that paired with the stress is just doing me in. I pray for this new week to give me strength and diligence.

Have a great start to your week Monday morning..
Blessings,Joann

Just trying out a new way to post photos

This post is just to see if I can post pictures in a thumbnail that will get larger when clicked on...*I did figure it out so from now on I will be posting the pictures so you can see them in more detail if you would like*

Thank all of you for your paitence

Molly~

Saturday evening visit...

Tonight I was visited by this little sweetie~




Here she is playing with the toys that we have here for her and Dylan~



This picture I took because she was laying so you could see the pocket of her jeans, we bought this outfit for her for Christmas and I thought the pocket was so cute~*I was able to figure out how to make the picture bigger when you click on it, so you can see the back pocket*





Of course she had to play with Molly~



And also of course Molly had to give her a big slobbery kiss~




She lost one of the dog toys behind the couch and she was looking for it so I just had to get a picture of her leaning over the back of the couch~




And here she is with her pouty face after getting told not to be too close to the surround system speaker~



Then her and Jennifer and Molly of course sat and looked at some pictures~



I also had to take a picture of our little baby (Molly)she is so cute~





She came with her Mommy and I of course always get the camera out to take pictures. I usually take about 30 or so and end up getting only about 10 to come out. She is so wiggly that most of them are just blurrs!!

Today was a very lazy day around our home. I did basically nothing all day other than make dinner. That is pretty sad, I am still having a hard time sleeping. Right now it is 3AM and I am not the least bit tired.

Yesterday(Friday) I went over to my Mom's house to visit with her and one of my sisters. It was a very nice visit. I was there till about 4pm and then came home, made dinner and then Roger and I went grocery shopping..aren't we the exciting couple a date at the grocery store!!

Tomorrow is Church and then maybe getting a plan together for doing the craft room. I hope to have some progress pictures to show you all this week sometime. I do have to say though that at the moment I just haven't been too motivated to get in there and do anything.

I hope everyone has a very blessed Sunday

Blessings,Joann

Weigh in Wednesday's

Today was Wednesday and that means a Weight Watchers meeting. My loss for today was 1.0 pounds, not a lot but I have been so stressed out and my sleep patterns are all out of wack and I have been eating and eating...sad to say but it is true. That brings my total to 21.0 pounds lost. I am happy that I am still loosing and very thankful that I didn't gain.

I am having another late night it's almost 1AM and not sleepy at all, last night was 4AM before I even got in bed, got up at 8:30AM but I also did take a nap for about an hour this afternoon.

I am still working away on the craft room, but it is still slow going, got one shelf that had boxes on it completely cleared off gone through and everything that is staying is right now sitting on my table top and everything else went into the garbage. I have one more shelf to clear off on the West side of the room that is mainly books that are above my computer area. I will relocate them on the East wall and that is where the computer will end up eventually. Since I have been so tired and not getting much rest I feel that I have No energy at all to even do the regular daily things..I did manage to get 4 loads of laundry done today so shouldn't have to do any more until Friday or Saturday.

Blessings,Joann

What a wonderful Monday.....so far!!

I actually got some sleep last night, though not on my own. I ended up taking some Tylenol PM but at least it did get me in bed by Midnight, I was up around 9AM. Today I am working some more in the craft room. There seems to be so many little boxes and such that need to be gone through. They take so much time but if I don't do them now they will just continue to sit here and I won't know what is in them...

Sunday was a very good day Football wise...I am a huge Kurt Warner fan, have been since he was with the Rams so I was overjoyed when they won their game especially since they beat the Eagles (one of the teams I like the least). Kurt Warner has always been one to say right up front that he is where he is because of his Lord and Saviour, I like that about him...Then onto the later game The steelers beat the Ravens and I was very happy about that too, the Ravens being another one of the teams I don't care for...so for me the Superbowl will be fun to watch if either team wins I will be happy but I really want the Cardinals to win...if they don't I guess it would be okay for the Steelers to win.

Today I have nothing planned other than working in the craft room and doing some laundry. Isn't that an exciting day. Probably no actual crafting will get done but I plan on moving some things around in the craft room so that is going to take some time. Roger is planning on working on the grout (replacing it) in the kitchen some time this week so I need to be ready to move things out of the way when he gets ready. When he is done with that I will finish up the stenciling around the other part of the kitchen.

I got a ton of library books when we went on Friday, lots about quilting and some for just reading..I also picked one up about journaling. I would love to journal or write something down everyday but I just don't seem to keep up with it.

Well I hope everyone has a great start to their week. With everything that is going on in our country please remember to keep the United States of America in your prayers, sadly I think we will be needing lots of prayers in the near future..Tomorrow we will be ushering in a new president and even though he was not my choice I will be praying for him, to have wisdom.
Blessings,Joann

Craft room organizing...

Okay sorry I should have posted about a day or so ago but things here have just been hectic. I am not sleeping good, one reason I am up at 3AM posting on my blog!! I have been real stressed out about the no paycheck thing, and then I am also dealing with an issue that is still unresolved...
Anyway I have been trying to keep myself busy, I am still working in the craft room, but pretty much all I am doing right now is organizing and going through things so there isn't much to show for the work I have done..
I did finally get most of my embroidery thread organized, I say most because I just know that once I start going through the rest of my things I will probably find more.

Here is what they started out looking like~



This is how they ended up in the boxes~



And this is after I labeled them(sorry it's a little blurry)~



I am also going through all of my sewing patterns, trying to weed out the ones I know I will not be using and trying to get them into three categories, #1 Clothing, #2 Home decor, #3 crafts. I store them in the clear shoe boxes without the lids on and that way I can see the tops and this seems to work for me..

Here is my big mess of patterns~



Some of my favorite Christmas craft ones~



These are the ones I picked out for making things for my sewing room..and for a purse~



I also have been busy embroidering, I finished the Calendar BOM with the snowman on it, and the Verandah views, under the willow. The Calendar ones I am going to make into small wall hangings and plan on doing a few sets of them as I think they would make real nice gifts for Christmas and they are so quick to make.

This is what the snowman looks like(I did it in redwork, the fabric behind it is the fabric I am going to use to go around it))~




This is Under the willow(The fabric behind is the one I will be using around it)~



I also finished up the first part of the Valentine gift I am making and it looks like this~


My next embroidery project will be to finish up the Christmas wish BOM, I am really having fun doing these embroidery projects...

I had planned on posting a post today about this issue that I am dealing with but that will have to wait for another day as it is time for me to finally get to bed..
Have a wonderful weekend
Blessings,Joann

Weigh in Wednesday's

Today my weight loss was 2.4 pounds...that means that I hit the 20 pounds lost so far mark today and I am so happy with that. It seems to be coming off slowly but at least it is coming off..
I couldn't sleep at all last night, to many things on my mind. I have been dealing with an issue that I finally got fed up with (I will post more about this later) and since I was having to deal with that I did not go to sleep at all last night. I will be back later tonight or tomorrow to put some pictures up of more progress in the craft room and some embroidery I have been working on.
Blessings,Joann

What I have been up to...

Haven't posted in a few days as I have not been feeling well. Today I mainly layed around and watched "That 70's show" marathon That we recorded the other day.

I did start embroidering on one of the heart patterns, could have finished it but my head was pounding so bad I just couldn't do it anymore.

This is what it looks like so far~




Should be able to finish the roses in the center sometime this weekend. I haven't yet figured out exactly what I will be making with it, I am using the pattern for the sachet but I think it will probably just be a small wall hanging. I may even try and quilt it when it's done, don't know for sure.That is one thing I like about these type of patterns, you can put them on any fabric, and you can use them for whatever you want. I have been checking out some of the BOM's out there right now and have been saving up and printing out many of the free ones. I am really hoping to make some nice small wall hangings to practice my quilting on. I want to make something for my craft room and have decided that the room will be pinks and white's. The walls are white and my shleving is white so I plan on finding as many things with pink or even red to go with that. I have changed my mind so many times on what color I want in here, but I really want it to look country and to look girly, so I figure pink and white will do. I have some patterns that have sewing and quilting things on them so when I have finished up with my Valentine's day things I think I will start on that...

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I have lots of housework to catch up on but Roger has said he will help with that..

I finished reading the Duggar book a couple of days ago and it was real good. There were some things that I wanted to say about the book, things that I read in it that were very interesting but right now just don't feel like typing anymore..
Enjoy the picture of the heart embroidery..
Blessings,Joann

Weigh in Wednesday..

Today is Wednesday and it was our Weight Watchers meeting and weigh in. This weeks loss was 2.2 pounds bringing my total to 17.6 pounds lost so far after 8 weigh ins. Roger hit his 10% goal today and I am very pround of him.

Blessings,Joann

My wait is over

Most of you know that I have been waiting for my embroidery patterns from Crab apple Hill studios to arrive...well they came today! I can't wait to get started on them. I plan on making the heart sachet first.

It finally got here~






Heart sachet~



Grandma's tea towels~




Heart of the home~

Update on craft room progress

There isn't much to update but I did take a few pictures so you all could see that I have been working in here. Most of the things I have done can't really be seen, found lots of garbage, and put a lot of things away that didn't belong in here.

I also took some pictures of the presser feet Roger gave me for Christmas..



So here is the sewing area, much cleaner looking than before but not all done yet~







And here is the cutting area, at least I can use it again~







This is what I came up with for storing the wrapping paper until I can purchase a plastic storage one~





This is one of the bins filled with fabric~





Here are some of the presser feet~



The side cutter~





The 1/4 inch quilting foot~

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The 1/4 inch quilting foot with guide~





The open toe walking foot~





And here are two new thread cassettes~





This is where I am temporarily keeping the new presser feet~





I have much more to go through before it will all be done, but it will get done.

Blessings,Joann

Amy Knapp planners

Do any of you use an Amy Knapp planner?? I have used one for about 3 or 4 years. This past year I bought something different and ended up not liking it, so decided to order the Amy Knapp one again. I got an e-mail today saying that my order was going to be shipped, I ordered this over a week ago and was already charged for it so I was just a little bit upset that here I am waiting for it to come and then I find out it will be probably another week or so. I sent an e-mail back explaining that I was upset about this and just a few minutes ago the phone rang and I answered, it was Amy Knapp herself calling to apologize for the misunderstanding, my order actually shipped out the day after I placed my order and the e-mail was wrong. My planner should be here tomorrow. I was very suprised to actually here from her in person. This makes me want to tell anyone I know that if you are looking for a good planner please check out her planners they are wonderful. I was very impressed with her prompt reply and she was very nice.
Blessings,Joann

Sunday evening post

Well my trip to Walmart was kind of succesful and kind of not. They could not find the memory book that I had ordered back in the beginning of Dec. that they said would be here before Christmas!! They did however have lots of storage units I looked at. I found exactly what I want and how much they cost, but since Roger is now going on his 3rd week without a paycheck I can't go out and just buy things. So for the time being I am making due with what I have and then when the time is right and we can afford them I will get the storage things. I did also buy a half yard of batting to practice on for quilting. I have such nice friends in blogland that are so helpful and willing to help someone who has no idea what she is doing!! I found lots of scraps of fabric to use for the practice.
Saturday we finished up moving my Mom's things and it was a very nice day unlike the day before when it started to rain real hard. So now everything is moved. I went and visited with Jennifer and the kids for a little while. They had some new hamsters to show me that they got with Christmas money from my Mom. Katie just squealed with delight when the little hamster went rolling along the floor in one of those balls, she just has to be reminded to not pick it up and shake it....
I hope everyone has a very wonderful start to their week.
Blessings,Joann

Friday's happening's

Today we took our trailer to help my Mom move some of her things out of a storage facility to her garage at her apartment.That didn't take too long but it did start pouring so we weren't able to get everything. We will finish that up tomorrow.

The craft room progress isn't very much yet so no new pictures...I am on my way to Walmart tonight to look at some different types of storage for my fabrics and for my new presser feet for the sewing machine. Someone I don't know who mentioned using a clear plastic stack of drawers for the fabric, so want to price them and see how much they cost. I know I definately want whatever I find to be clear so I can see what is in them.

I am still waiting very patiently for my embroidery patterns to arrive in the mail. I am not a very patient person so this is just driving me crazy. I don't think we have any store around here that carries patterns for embroidery or I would just buy locally. There is one store that I have never been in, maybe I should check it out and see what they sell, it's actually a quilt store but hey you never know.

I am going to head out the door to Walmart get back home and then start reading one of my new books from Christmas..The Duggars 20 and counting, and then I plan on going to bed early tonight. I read my other Christmas book the other day...Multiple blessings, it was real good and I would reccommend it to everyone.

Blessings,Joann

It's almost 2:30 AM and I am wide awake!!

Hello, well I was sitting here in the middle of the night thinking about my craft room and decided to go ahead and post some pictures of it...I feel this may not be the best idea as some of you who read my blog will wonder what kind of crazy woman has a room that is such a mess, just so you know I am just the regular kind of crazy!!

This room(wich used to be a bedroom) besides being my craft room is also the room where everything in the entire house goes when it does not have a home. So it is obviously overflowing with "things" that don't actually have anything to do with sewing or crafting.

Anyway here goes

Roger put a table top around the perimeter of the room and put shelving up on most of the walls

This is the West side table top, this is where I keep my sewing machine, yes it's there you just have to look real carefully!!



This is the South wall~




This is where I have my cutting area~



This is the East wall(where my computer is)


This is the shelving above the west table top~


This is the shelving above the south table top~




And this is the shelving above the East table top~


I have many, many, many boxes under the table top as well, mostly with fabric in them...


I have lots of work to do in here and hopefully it won't take as long as it looks like it will...I was going to start today but then remembered it was a Holiday so I really shouldn't be doing any work on a Holiday right??

I will post updates when I actually see some progress

I guess I better try and get to bed need to be up at 7:00 AM and that isn't too far off.


Blessings,Joann