Monday, December 19, 2011

Hello Monday

Hello short work week full of lots of last minute things to do.
Hello last chance sewing for the year.
Hello friends and family who are visiting for the season.
Hello wrapping and wrapping and more wrapping.
Hello Christmas celebrations, I wish you were here more often.
Hello parade of lights on the harbor, I am SO excited to see you
Hello to a beach walk on Christmas morning (and the continuation of a newish tradition).
Hello presents, I am so excited for everyone to unwrap all of your secrets (now, if only my presents will stay secret)!




Wish you were here in sunny San Diego for Christmas.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It's Official

Yep, it's finally official, and I can actually put it in print! I am going to be included in the new Certification Instructor Program for Judy Niemeyer!!!! Yippee! Those of you that know me, know that I have been working on the quilts and application component for a little over a year, so it's really exciting to be selected, and I can't wait to find out who else got selected for the certification program.

And on that note, we have scheduled a few more classes for next Spring -- In Palm Desert, California! I will be teaching Touch of Spring on Friday, February 17th, and Sunday, March 4th. So, if you are in the area and want to learn the tricks to creating this fabulous quilt, call Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations at 760-772-2400 to reserve your spot. There are only 12 spots for this class, so make sure you sign up early. 

Monday, December 12, 2011

Hello Monday

Hello Monday -- I am so glad you are here, and so excited for the week ahead.

Hello Birthday celebrations on Tuesday.

Hello Christmas parties! Work party is on Friday, then a quilty one over the weekend!

Hello final present preparations, just a few more stocking stuffers and mini-presents to buy and wrap.

Hello show scheduling and class preparation for 2012 (yes, it's weird to write that).

Hello rainy week, which means more sewing, please come again more often, but could you just rain at night when I am home....this driving in the rain seems a bit unnecessary (not to mention scary)!

Hello big announcements for the store and the shows, I can't wait to tell everyone!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

My almost birthday

Okay, so it's my birthday on Tuesday (yes I was born on the 13th, and yes, it was a Friday on the year that I was born). I can't quite believe everything that has happened this year, when I put it down in writing it seems surreal! I met some people who I idolize (and periodically stalk on facebook, twitter and pinterest). I met some really amazing people that I had never even hear of. I learned a lot about me own strengths and weaknesses. I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. I learned a lot about faith and grace and even more about trust. Like I said, I can't quite believe the year it's been, and I really can't wait for the year ahead. So hear is to an amazing 2012! 

So, Shawn and I had a busy week, there was the Rusty Crow Christmas party on Wednesday (which was full of AMAZING food, a hilarious gift exchange, and much merryment by all (partially thanks to Chocolate Martinis)). The following morning we drove to LA for a seminar with Loral Langmeyer, a noted business speaker and overall powerful and successful business woman. She gave a talk on her new book entitled "yes, Energy" and she had some really interesting things to talk about. Nothing totally new, per se, but it is always good for a refresher (especially this time of year). So, in the spirit of setting New Year's resolutions and all of the things that go along with those, I thought I would share some of the inspiration that I got from her talk. Hopefully she won't mind...some of these will become New Year's resolutions for me, and some need to be right now resolutions.

1. The power of a mastermind group.....a group of friends who support each other and who you can bounch ideas, questions and issues off of. I really need one of these.
2. The idea that you can say "yes" and figure it out. You don't need to have all of the answers right now, you just need to have the gumption to figure it out.
3. Realizing that the only thing holding you back is your belief in yourself...this one is probably the hardest for me, as I am my own worst critic.

And now, it's time to work on the goals and dreams for next year, and get myself organized, like I said, I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by, so now I need to go catch up, prep for a meeting with the tax man, and finish up some samples.

See you all tomorrow, maybe I'll have some pics of the new samples. 

Friday, December 9, 2011

shamefully stolen

Okay, so I planned an entertaining blog post for this week, one with pictures, and funny captions and some insight into a day in the life......unfortunately, it's a little cloudy and all of my pics are really dark, so you'll have to survive on a moment in life, which whose idea was shamefully stolen from the Pleated Poppy, who apparently stole it from someone else.....


On moment in life.....
watching - the computer screen monitor blink, telling me to get back to work

eating - do effervescent vitamin C supplements count (the target version of E-Mergency) -- I feel a cold coming on so I'm plowing through them this week.

drinking - diet coke (as if any other answer would fit here)

wearing - jeans, black embellished ballet flats, black sweater, silver jewerly

avoiding - inventory, and auditing. They aren't bad once I convince myself to get started, MUST GET STARTED. There, now I feel better.

feeling - inspired, design-wise, must find my colored pencils and do some sketching.

missing - Mom -- it's just not Christmas around here without her.

thankful - for a great year, it started out a little rough, but I finally feel like we've turned the corner and everything is back on track.

weather - a little chilly, with beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds, too bad it was overcast yesterday, today would be a great photo day!!

praying - for a friend who has had some health issues lately, and hoping for a speedy recovery!

needing - more hours in the day

thinking - of all of the things on the to do list that need to get done, and ways to avoid turning older on Tuesday (do you think sleeping all day would work)?

loving - bacon on Sunday mornings (it has become a tradition around here apparently), Mo's Christmas fudge (it really was quite spectacular), my friends who have been so incredible this year, my family and their hilarious antics, my life.


So, what are you doing today?

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Christmas, already?

Seriously folks, time is flying around here! Between all of the decorating, cleaning, party planning, party attending, friend catching up, and birthday avoidance, it's busy around here! It's hard to believe that the 2012 show schedule is just around the corner, I've started getting the emails with directions to venues and information on where to stay, and it just seems surreal that 2012 is literally just around the corner. But before we get there, let's just enjoy Christmas and a little family time.

On a business note, we have scheduled a new set of classes at Amidon in Poway for those of you who want a few more months to work on your Bali Wedding Star, or finish up any of your other in-progress paper piecing masterpieces, the details are :
  • January 26th - 5-9pm
  • February 23rd - 5-9pm
  • March 22nd - 5-9pm
After that we are going to start a new project -- Coxscomb by Judy Niemeyer. Coxscomb is GORGEOUS!!! I am so excited for you to see it. I have just gotten all of my fabrics selected and cut out, so it will be a couple of weeks before the sample is ready, so here is a picture from Judy's site. We'll start in class on April 26th, and have class once a month on the 4th Thursday evening from 5-9pm. Dates are : April 26, May 24, June 28, July 26, August 23, Sept 27. Stay tuned for progress reports.