A little upcoming excitement…

 

It promises to be an exciting summer.

(I’m doing a little celebration gig!)

♥

JoAnn

P.S.  Nice job as the photographer, Liz!

Sweet…and sour!

I love the  semi-annual conference of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Two days of uplifting messages have renewed my soul and given me hope for overcoming my weaknesses and imperfections.

The main thing I have learned is that one must keep on trying and never give up; that we are loved despite our sins.

We all have them!

The only perfect  person to live on this earth was Jesus Christ.

I am proud to be a member of a church that encourages service and love, too.

Speaking of never giving up….I have been trying to make a baby quilt.  I have worked, and worked, and worked, trying to copy an idea I saw on Pinterest.  (Click to view.)  I found this cute material at Joann’s Fabric store  for one side. 

And this was my attempt at copying the blocks on the back.

It was supposed to be a simple, three step process.

Cut, glue, stitch. 

Done.

Did I mention that I’m not perfect?

Here comes the sour.

Instead of spray gluing the squares, I basted them.  It took much longer and I think some of the pieces got turned a bit.

My measurement system must have been off.

I did the binding before I quilted. (Big mistake!)

My rows weren’t quite straight.

By the time I got to the last row I had so much extra material with no place for it to go.

I had worked too long to abandon the project, not to mention the cost of the materials. 

And…

There were too many rows of stitching to unpick and start over.

I’m not quite sure how I’m going to fix the problem, but the quilt is now one row shorter. 

I cut it off.

I figured it would be easier to fix without all the extra material- it would never fit!

It is a good thing I have extra binding material.

So…

even though I had good intentions, I have fallen short of my desired goal.  I’m not a true perfectionist (just a wanna-be one) but I did spend a lot of summers trying to learn to sew with the 4-H program and I took home economics in high school, and I am not proud of my work.  The edges of the squares are supposed to fray after it is washed, and I am hoping that will help hide some of the imperfections.

Like I said above, I won’t give up and quit, although it might be a painful fix.

So…since I’ve been doing some deep thinking today

here are my observations comparing my quilting project to succeeding in life:

1.  Find and read the instructions first-don’t just look at a picture and guess, when help is to be easily found.  Even if you have to pay a little money for a pattern.

2. Follow the instructions.  Someone already figured out how to make  it work.

3.  Take the time to do it properly, using the right tools.

4.  Do things in the correct order. 

5.  Fix little mistakes before they become HUGE ones.

6.  Accept your limitations and don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t perfect (within reason).

and finally,

7.  Never give up.

Listen to all of his great message here.

:

Listen to his wonderful message here.

 

Links for quotes.  Click here.

 

Remember that we are all “works in progress”.

I hope we can be kind and patient with each other as we strive to overcome our weaknesses.

Have a great week!

JoAnn

Easter/Spring has arrived!

 

With Easter and the warmer weather arriving:

we have opened up the playhouse,

picked out cute Easter dresses,

 

gathered together with family,

 

decorated Easter eggs,

hunted for eggs and candy,

visited with cousins,

showed off our loot,

enjoyed our sisterhood,

(We missed you and your family, Linda!)

laughed at our “good taste” in shirt buying,

AND

introduced our future new daughter-in-law, Brittany,

Not a bad start to a wonderful season.

Now, to enjoy a week off school!

JoAnn

 

Wearing of the green

Do you ever feel like you slept through a holiday?

That somehow it came and went without much fanfare?

I am usually at school on St. Patrick’s Day and my students always make a big deal out of whether or not one remembers to wear green.

Some come with green shirts, green pants, bright green socks, green shamrocks painted on their faces, and I’ve even had a few brave students with sprayed green hair.  There are usually some  who are more subtle and have a microscopic hint of green hidden underneath five layers of clothing-just so they can fool you.  I always have some little shamrocks ready for the unsuspecting ones who “forget” and come unprepared.

This year the day came on a Sunday and not one person tried to pinch me.

  Not even one!

Well,  I was at church. 

And I did have on a green sweater,

but nobody even mentioned the fact that it was St. Patrick’s Day.

* * *

My sister Linda helped decorate for a ward party, using the holiday theme to welcome members of a newly created ward to a soup party.  The pictures in the mosaic above show how fun and festive the tables in the gym looked.

She found the cute leprechaun on Pinterest and had some big ones made at a copy center.  A coaster plate was covered with gold coins and little shamrock cutouts.  Green pillows were put on benches to make things welcoming and cozy.

Green plants always give a nice touch to a gym-turned-party-setting, and a big rainbow and pot of gold (a covered plastic Halloween cauldron) was a fun stopping point for the sweet-toothed folks. 

The decorations were really easy to put together, not that expensive, and yet festive and fun.

* * *

I saw this idea on Pinterest.  Looks pretty refreshing for the holiday.

Link

* * * 

Below are some pictures I took in Ireland a LONG time ago (and sadly, with a cheap camera).  I really love this place!

 

 

Thank you to the beautiful country of Ireland for giving us a fun day to celebrate. 

(Even if I did almost miss it this year!)

JoAnn

It’s a boy….and another boy… and a new house to boot!

As many of you know, the grand-girls in our family outnumber the grand-boys by 4 to 1.

While we love our little girls, we are excited to announce that we are expecting TWO little boys in July.

Our daughter Heidi and her husband Ovidiu are expecting their first baby, and our daughter Liz and her husband Karl are expecting their fourth, both boys-just one week apart.

(Sorry, no current belly shot.)

We are thrilled!

And

Our son Andrew and his wife Irene just moved into their brand new home.

Pretty exciting, wouldn’t you say!

JoAnn

Life’s been a little busy…

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Ever have one of those weeks when you pretty much run from thing to thing?

It seems like there isn’t time to clean up one mess before the next one starts.

New deadlines hit before the thing you are working on is out of the way.

Half finished projects get buried under new ones.

Yup.

That has been my week.

I feel a little like Lucy and Ethel did as they tried working at the chocolate factory.  Just as I think I’m getting things under control-the conveyer belt gets cranked up a notch and the new stuff comes flying at me faster and faster.

Do you remember how they started putting the chocolates under their hats, down the necks of their dresses, in their pockets, and in their mouths to keep them from falling off the end of the conveyer belt? 

That’s what I’ve been doing.

I have piles of papers tucked under my desk at school (and a cart full that I brought home to correct).

Unfolded laundry is hiding in the guest bedroom.

Things that need to be attended to are covered by new things that need my attention right now.

I know things will slow down a little, but this wild ride is getting more and more common.

IS THERE A SOLUTION FOR HECTIC-LIFE-SYNDROME?

 

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I know I am my own worst enemy.

I can’t say “No”.

I’m slow and methodical.

I enjoy being involved.

I want to do all the things I’m doing.

Some things are out of my control (job requirements).

I guess I’ll just hang on and hope things settle back down a little.

In the meantime, there isn’t much to do but try and hold on and enjoy the ride.

Maybe I need to go find some sweet chocolates to keep in my pockets!

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

Family Rules…

 

Do you have family sayings,

or little phrases that get used a lot in your home?

Or even things that might be interpreted  a little differently by your family than by others?

Whenever one of us says something not quite accurate or correct someone will always reply back with,

“Two twenty, two twenty-one.  Whatever it takes.”

The real quote from the movie “Mr. Mom” goes like this:

Jack Butler: No problem. Come on over here Ron. Let me show you what I'm doing, taking advantage of some of the time off. To, uh, add a whole new wing on here. Gonna rip these walls out and, uh, of course re-wire it.
Ron Richardson: Yeah, you gonna make it all 220?
Jack Butler: Yeah, 220, 221. Whatever it takes.

When I think about advice my parents always sent us off with I am reminded to “Wear clean underwear.”  (In case you get in an accident.)

“Always return home with the person you went with.”

“Carry a dime to call home in an emergency.”

(Yes, I am pre-cell phone age.)

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

“Honesty is the best policy.”

“Be kind.  Don’t leave anyone out.”

Many times I would send my kids off to bed with,

“Good Night.  Sleep tight.  Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

(Not sure how that last part encouraged sound sleeping.)

How many of us have been told to eat our dinner.  “Just think of all the starving kids in China.”  (I think the country part changed over the years, but when I was young it was China.)

Well, last night I got a phone call from some of my daughters who were out shopping.  They had found a wall hanging they thought would be perfect for our family room.

Would I like them to buy it?

 

How could I resist?

Now, when they come to visit I won’t have to preach,  nag, or offer any unwanted advice.

I’ll just tell them to go read the wall!

What sayings does your family use?

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

P.S.  It is snowing here in Utah again!