You Go Girl!!!

I would like to give a big "shout out" to my incredibly talented cousin Lori! I know I have blogged about her before, she is the one who got me to start blogging in the first place. Lori recently finished illustrating her first book! It is being released in the Indianapolis area tomorrow and nationally on Valentines Day! I am going to the launch party tomorrow and will get my own personal autographed copy of the book.

If you have a second, pop on over to her blog and congratulate her on her success. If you want to pre-order your own copy of the book, you can click on the picture below...

Success couldn't happen to a more deserving person!!

Finished!

I finally finished the "tree house" quilt I was making for my husband for Christmas. Better late than never I always say!

I finished it last week before I left for Florida to visit my parents.

I made the entire thing from my "stash"...

It gave me an opportunity to practice my "free motion quilting". I am loving free motion quilting! It is like drawing with a sewing machine!!! I'm not great at it yet, but can see a great improvement from the start of this quilt to the end. I can't wait to do another one!

Time to Reflect...

The end of the year always seems to be a time to reflect on what we have accomplished, and all that we would like to accomplish. In honor of that, I am sharing this that I saw this over on Lori's blog. I had fun going through the list and thought I would share it. You are suppose to cut and paste this to your blog and bold all the things you have done. It was interesting to see how many of the things I have done (64 out of 100 is not so bad!), and how many I would still like to do.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Feel free to do it yourself and share with your friends. I hope the upcoming new year brings you all the joys you are hoping for.

I'm BACK...

Ok, so I've actually been back from Malaysia for over a month now, but just now getting around to blogging. Things have been a little crazy, with trying to recover from some serious jet lag, getting thrown right into Thanksgiving, and now Christmas!

For anyone who entered the giveaway I had posted about before leaving for Malaysia - I've not forgotten about it. I will still pick a winner sometime soon and let you know who it is and get their gift on the way.

I was prompted to blog today when I got an email from tipjunkie that my vintage fabric covered Christmas ornaments were going to be featured!

I have had lots of visits in the past few days from people who have seen them on Tip Junkie! Thanks for all who have stopped by to visit. Sorry I haven't had much new creative stuff right now to blog about, but please stop back by after the first of the year when I hope to get back into the swing of things.

If I don't manage to post before the "big day", wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

Malaysia

Yes, I arrived safely in Malaysia.

After a very long flight. Actually 4 flights - FW to Detroit, Detroit to Tokyo, Tokyo to Singapore, Singapore to Penang. Total travel time was about 34 hours!!

Penang is an island off the western coast of Malaysia.

There is a 12 hour time difference from here to home, so contacting family has been quite a challenge.

I have been very tied up with the work I was sent here to do and had not had a chance to see much of my surroundings until today. Here are some pictures I took today...

I could have just stayed at the beach all day!

Only for my 7 year old son would I hold a large python and malaysian pit vipers!!!

The butterfly garden was amazing!

Some interesting creatures we saw throughout the day!


Being in a "jungle" the flowers were beautiful!


I will be here another 2 weeks, so if I get a chance to see some other sites, I will share them with you.