Happy New Year!

It is the beginning of a new year.  May your year be greater than last year.  May you accomplish more and receive more and prosper well.  I hope all have a healthy year and if you have medical issues that they are relieved.  I had a great Christmas.  I spent time with family in Waco and Dallas.  Here we are at Chuy's in Waco with his mom and sister.

We had snow on Christmas Day!  I can only remember that one other time growing up in  Texas.  We drove to Irving when it was raining and before we got there, it turned to snow.  We basically ate and left.  We did exchange gifts.  Here is the quilt I made for my sister.  She is holding it up.  I wanted her in the picture, but she hid from view.  I made a fleece throw for my nephews and one girlfriend.  He just purchased a house.  Both boys moved out from mom's and live together.

The gift that Jim and I gave each other was a treadmill.  We purchased it from his mother.  I has hardly been used and is like new.  We plan to exercise in the evenings, get back on a more healthy diet, and hopefully lose lots of weight.  I personally would like to lose 30 pounds by April.  At the end of the day, we are cleaning out the kitchen.  Any cookies, candy, etc will be taken to work for others to eat or throw away. 

I need to get back to planning meals and shopping lists.  It worked much better when I did that.  Not only on time and money, but we ate better.  Once again, I am planning on putting some changes in the routine and hope they stick.  I know it is important to spend time in God's word each day.  My mother-in-law gave me a devotional book, Jesus Calling that she really loves.  I am going to spend morning reading and meditating on God's word.  Jim and I plan to exercise in the evenings after we eat.  We don't watch a lot of TV, and what we do watch we like to record and then watch without commercials.  I have an applique quilt that I want to work on this year.  Hopefully I can do a block a month.  If possible, I would like to finish a UFO each month.  I like the idea of making a list of 12 and then draw a number and that is what you work on that month.

I entered a quilt in a quilt show.  I hope that they get the form in time and it is accepted.  I entered Magical Fall Flowers in the Jefferson Quilt Show.  It is in January.  I need to sew the sleeve on the back and get it ready to ship out if it is accepted so that they will have it in time.  Last year Jim said he wanted to go to a quilt show to see one of my quilts not everyone else's.  So this year it will happen.  I also plan to put in the Dallas Quilt Show.  I have been working on the Log Cabin Baskets.  I am not totally pleased with the applique, but it is getting done.  I find it hard to manuver the quilt top in the machine to do the machine stitching.  Doing by hand would have taken too long, so I decided to do the blanket stitch by machine.  At least it will be done.

I hope you all have a blesseed New Year's Day.