benefits

So arriving in my work email (which I'm checking via webmail, but most people only check in office), is the "open enrollment coming up" email. It states, "Additional details are on the way in the coming weeks." Yes, weeks as in plural. Problem is, open enrollment starts in a week from Monday. Hello!! Don't we need our information BEFORE open enrollment starts???? Like, duh, that would help! Especially since our medical insurance provider is changing (back to the one we had just before the buyout), our dental insurance provider is changing (not that it matters to me - I have a cheaper plan on my own), our pharmacy benefits are changing to a new provider, and there are new eligibilty criteria for the upcoming year. So it's not like we can just elect to re-up everything we've got, since EVERYTHING is changing. Even our Flex Spend is changing - the max amount is higher now.

Timing, people, timing. It makes a world of a difference.

So once I get my packet (Monday, hopefully????), I'll have to begin the whole "provider search" to make sure my primary care plus my two specialists plus the new specialist I'm seeing the 2nd to last day on the current plan are on the new plan. If the new one is not on the plan, I'll be cancelling her in the next week or two. No sense in going to see her once and then having to turn around and do another "new patient exam" with the next one. Let's just hope this new plan doesn't have anything against allergy shots. According to the reactions I get each time, I'm nowhere near ending them yet.

~QB29

Feeling Better!

Thanks everyone who prayed! My temperature was normal today :-). Let's just pray it stays that way 24 hours. I could tell before I took it that I no longer had a low-grade fever. I've had lots of energy today and even cleaned! I mopped both bathrooms, the entry way, and the hallway. I scrubbed on my hands and knees in front of the washer/dryer and the back entry way (it needed it!). I also vacuumed the stairs and upstairs hallway and cleaned the upstairs bath. I still need to take care of laundry, but that's a never-ending tasking, and rehang the shower curtain liner - I soaked it while cleaning the bathroom.

Hope y'all are have a fantastic weekend!

~QB29

3 words:

GO BIG BLUE!!!

~qb29

The Results

Suspected H1N1 flu. Test was inconclusive, but he said it's possible they just didn't get enough germs to test it. Given my asthma history and the fact that of the 5 co-workers and 4 of their kids who have been sick in the past two weeks, at least 3 of them have test positive for the flu, so he's treating it as such. I'm on Tamiflu, my asthma meds, and as needed, Ibuprofen, unless any complications arise. Of course it goes without saying, lots of fluids and rest. I can return to the land of the living on Monday, providing there are no complications.

~QB29

Fever

My fever was 101.2F when I got home from work today. I didn't realize it was that high! I'd been having chills since after lunch and have been wheezing most of the day. I'm doing a breathing treatment now and then heading to the local walk-in clinic. If it's the flu, I really hope they give me Tamiflu. With asthma, I can't afford any complications. A little ol' sinus infection caused me weeks (maybe months, I lost track) of flareups last year. I don't need any of that this year!

Keep me in your prayers. I'll update later tonight or in the morning.

~QB29

Friendship Bag Swap

Remember the cute green and pink little bag I blogged about a few posts back? Well, here's the cutie that I received in the swap. Jenn at Frugal Front Porch made mine. She also included a handmade Christmas ornament and a cute key chain and some other goodies. Didn't she do a great job? I love the colors of the bag.



~QB29

Pink Baby Quilt Finished!

Picture's not the greatest, but it's finished. Except for the label, lol. I just had to call and check the spelling of the name. Done before the baby shower for a change, though not before the baby's birth. The baby was a preemie and is still in the hospital. They are anticipating she'll go home beginning of November. Our church is hosting a baby shower on the 22nd for the mom. The family had just joined our church when the mom began having complications. The baby was delivered a few weeks later. I machine stitched the binding, but I definitely need practice. I followed the directions that came in a magazine this month - I think the AQS magazine.

~QB29

Finally getting to sew some!

Guess what? I got to sew this week. I made not one thing, but two. First up is a little friendship bag. I participated in an online swap and made this for my partner. Mine came Thursday; I'll post a pic of it soon. My partner liked brights. When I went shopping, the quilt store had these two paired together, and I couldn't resist. I mainly followed the pattern, but used a whole piece in place of the 5 1/2" X 1 1/2" pieced top of the little bag. I also used grosgrain ribbon in place of making fabric handles. I used one of my "fancy" stitches to quilt the top and then 3 parallel lines on the bottom. It was a fun and easy pattern to make a cute little bag.





I also was able to get together with a friend tonight to sew. Another friend from church was there as well. I made a hooded towel. I've been wanting to make one of these for awhile and since my nephew's birthday is this week, I figured now as a good a time as any. At first I was going to do a puppy dog, but then decided Elmo would be better. I swung by Walmart on the way to pick up the towels. I followed these directions. I did modify them a bit, rounding the hood part some (like making the corner on a purse) and added the face.



Doesn't my table lamp make a good model?

I hope to get a baby quilt bound (the one that Jill quilted for me) this week as well. The baby shower will be in two or three weeks. I can't go to the shower since I have class that night, but I'll drop it at church or send it with a friend. I'm also working on a quilt for the lady at church who was hurt in the car accident.

Loving fall break! No classes Monday or Tuesday, though I still have to go to work. No homework in theory. Had two tests this week and 1 coming up the week after fall break. So no massive amounts of homework for a few days!

Hope y'all have a great weekend! I may be too busy enjoying my sewing time to visit any.

~QB29

DRUNK DRIVING

In less than 8 weeks, my church family has been involved in two severe drunk driving incidents. On August 1, John Carr was struck and killed by a drunk driver during the cycling portion of a triathlon. Seven weeks and a day later, Angie Tedder was hit head on by a drunk driver. The driver has died, but Angie is in the hospital. The news is reporting her condition as critical. She's suffered multiple broken bones, including compound fractures of the knees and elbows, both femurs, her pelvis, and other injuries. It's been less than 36 hours since the accident and she's already had 2 surgeries.

Why?? Why do people think it's okay to drink and drive? Why do they think they can just do as they please? Sin is sin. There will ALWAYS be consequences. In the last 8 weeks, 4 children lost their daddy, 2 of them just in elementary school. A wife lost her husband. A husband has to see his wife severely hurt. A family is hurting because their loved one choose to drink and drive and has now died. Is it worth it? All the pain and suffering and heartache you cause? Is ALCOHOL really worth it?

~QB29

Pray for Angie Tedder

If you could pray for Angie Tedder today I would appreciate it. She is a lady from my church. Last night, while she was heading home after the evening service, another vehicle crossed the center line and hit her head-on. Two other vehicles were also involved in the accident, sending Angie, the driver, and two others to the hospital. Her husband was in the vehicle behind her, but was not involved in the accident.

Here is the latest update: Please keep praying for Angie Tedder - broken pelvis, femur, ankle, shattered kneecap, broken arm, many other injuries including cuts and bruises. She had surgery last night, but I'm not sure why. The news media is reporting her condition as "serious". Our local NBC affiliate has listed her condition as critical as of late this morning.

The news is also reporting that the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident by crossing the center line was taken to the hospital in critical condition. His name is Kenneth Carter. Pray for him/his family also. The police are saying that alcohol was involved :-(. He has since died.

There is no word on the two others that were sent to the hospital, so I'm assuming their injuries were minor.

~QB29

riding the rails 9 patch quilt

~QB29

9-11

I will never forget. For my generation, 8 years ago today was our Pearl Harbor, our Nov. 22, 1963. It is a day that was engraved on my brain.

Eight years ago today I was a carefree college junior. Fall semester had started the previous week, but I was home still, packing for my study abroad. I was to leave on the 13th for 3 months in Mexico to further my Spanish studies.

I had worked the night before, the 5pm to 1am shift, at Kroger's, as I had done all summer long. I had only three things planned for that day. I had a haircut scheduled, my last night of work, and a quick trip to my mom's school to visit her classroom. I slept in a little, knowing it would probably be my last chance to do so for awhile. After waking, I made a bowl of cereal and sat down in the family room to watch TV while I ate.

The show "Live with Regis and Kelly" was what came on when I turned on the TV. I saw an image of the Twin Towers, one of them on fire. At first I wondered, "what new movie are they discussing?" After several seconds I realized that the scene was too eerily for a movie. It was too quiet. The screen shot was still. There was no panning like there would be in a movie. I began to pay attention to the TV. Suddenly the second plane hit the towers, and that's when I realized this was live, it was real, it wasn't a promo for an upcoming movie. I hurriedly finished my breakfast and got dressed. By then I had some semblance of knowledge of what was occurring.

I left for my mom's school. She needed the digital camera and had left it at home, so I was taking it to her. As I drove, I listened to the radio. I don't remember which station. It didn't matter. They all had it on. As I drove, one of the towers collapsed. I cried the rest of the way there.

At her school, I signed in at the office, where the staff was gathered around a radio or little TV. I went upstairs to my mom's room, tears streaking me face, wheezing. When I got up there, she became all worried about me. I had just gotten over a case of pneumonia, had asthma, and was getting ready to leave the country. She thought I was sick again, too sick to go on my trip. I tried getting out to her that we had been attacked, but finally managed to say, "You'd be having trouble breathing too if you cried all the way here and then ran up to the third floor." At that, she dragged me out to the hallway, and I was able to tell her we'd been attacked. At first she didn't believe me, but then realized that I had to be telling the truth. She got the TV on her floor and turned it on for her students.

It was a long and sad day. I remember still getting my haircut. Both the stylist and I watched TV the entire time. I worked that night. It was even worse than working Thanksgiving or Christmas. Everyone came in, preparing for the worst. No one knew what tomorrow would bring, and all were stocking up just in case. There were even rumors that the gas supply would be cut off and/or gas would be over $5.00 in the morning.

At some point I received word that my trip was postponed. They were able to reschedule us for 6 days later. Getting on the plane and flying didn't terrify me a bit. Being out of the country when a war started was my fear, but I went anyway.

Life changed for me that morning. I can't put it into words, but my life changed. In an instant I was different. I was still me, but my understanding was different. My view of life was different. I grew up.

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to support my country. I am proud to support those who defend me, who fight for me, who protect me.

To quote Lee Greenwood's song, "God Bless the USA"

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

~QB29

Coming Soon to a mail box probably not near you...

Here are my BOM blocks. I was behind and am late getting the August block in. It is the oriental xquisite block. The September block is the churn dash. The floral Jacob's Ladder are the "thank you" blocks we send to the organizers of the swap.


I'm not too sure how much sewing I'll get in this weekend. I'm suppose to be babysitting Bubby and Bubba starting this afternoon, but my sister called and said both are home sick from daycare. So, one of the benefits of being an Aunt is being able to say, "No, not coming, they need their momma!" We'll see if my mom and I can get them tomorrow for the rest of the long weekend. School work's also picking up and my first homeworks are due next week, so I do need to dedicate some time to them. If I sew any, hopefully I'll get to post.

Have a great weekend!
~QB29

FQ Giveaway

My friend Linda is having a series of giveaways. Last week she gave away a UC bag & fabric. This week it's 7 FQ. Check it out!

~QB29

Pay It Forward

A while back, Jill had a Pay-It-Forward on her blog. I was one of the lucky winners!. She gave me my wallet over the weekend. Now, I have to Pay it Forward. I will make a gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave me a comment on this blog and wish to participate. Once you receive my gift, you need to make the same promise on your blog and get 3 bloggers to send a homemade gift to. You do have to have a blog to participate. It’s a nice way to spread the love!

~QB29

driving, driving, driving

me crazy! I get to campus, check me email, check Blackboard for class notes (not up yet), and took an accounting quiz. Then I headed to my classroom to claim my seat - this is the class with 31 students and only 30 desks. I'm certainly not going to be the one that has to cart a desk in, lol. Two other students came in shortly after me and then a third one stuck his head in the door saying class had been canceled. He said he got an email. The guy sitting behind me checked his email on his cell phone. Yep, the department secretary had sent an email saying class was canceled. So two classmates and one's friend and I went out for Mexican. I'm home now, checked my stuff online, and now heading up to sew and get ready to do it all again tomorrow.

~QB29

getting home ...

took me twice as long as usual! We sat still for just shy of 1 1/2 hours on the interstate. From what I could tell, there was a jack-knifed truck or overturned car a couple of miles up in the construction zone, two tiny lanes w/out any shoulders. Needless to say we were not moving any where.

I got home and got everything in and checked my mail. I had a little present from Natalie. It's a little tract holder for my purse and looks really cute. I'll hopefully get a post this week. I'm too tired to dig out my camera. I still need to determine what I'm wearing tomorrow. Too bad the weekend has to end and life has to go back to work and school.

Have a great week!

~QB29

Baby quilt pieced!

Sunday Morning Happenings .... Jill actually sews!


Max (above) and Masiy (below) have been great. Max is squished between my thigh and the chair arm as I type.


And I finished piecing this baby quilt. I started it last night around 10 or so and had the center almost put together before calling it a night about 1:30. I finished the center and got the border cut before heading out to church. When I got back, I added the borders, mitered!



The backing will be the print that's in the border. It was an easy FQ friendly pattern that I picked up at the quilt store liquidation store I stopped by the other week. I had purchased the butterfly print some time ago. I pulled it out of my stash this week and started grabbing coordinating tone-on-tones to use. One more top done! It will go to one of the new baby girls at church.

UPDATE ~ I just found the pattern designer online. Her name is Tammy Tadd. Here is her website, her blog, and the link to the pattern, Fatty-Fatty 2x4. The only change that I made was that in the original pattern, her small 4-patches are the same 2 colors throughout. I alternated the blue and the green to bring in more colors from my focus fabric. Check out her site - she has lots of great patterns. I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for her stuff when I look for new patterns.

~QB29

Saturday Happenings

Guess what? I'm Ninja Approved!




I've been a busy beaver here at Jill's. Last night I finished piecing this paramedic/EMT baby quilt. It is for a baby boy at church. Both his momma and his daddy are paramedics/EMT's for a nearby fire station. I found the focus fabric when I visited Indy a couple of weeks ago. The coordinating prints are all from my stash. I did buy some blue marble today to use for the backing. I should have enough of the black to use for the binding.



I also got the yellow borders added to this YBR quilt this morning. When Jill and I went shopping, we picked up backing, binding, and batting for it. I happened to find yardage of one of the purples used in the YBR blocks at the 2nd quilt store we went to. I decided to use if for the binding. The backing I picked up at the first quilt store and is a very light cream, almost white, print. Jill helped me load it on the frame this afternoon and I was done quilting it by 7 PM, including a 30 - 45 minute nap/quiet spell on her couch. I just did a simple meander on it.



I'm going to work on piecing some baby quilts tonight. I'll post pics if I make any progress.

~QB29

fun weekend ahead of me

I am staying with Jill this weekend, and we are having our very own quilt retreat at her place. A couple of friends in the area may drop by as well. She's letting me use her Lenny & Squiggy to quilt some lap sized throws. I'm planning on piecing some baby quilts, too. We're also going to stop by the new fabric store in town. It's actually a yarn place that's expanding into the land of quilting. This weekend's suppose to be the grand opening. I'll try to post pics throughout the weekend.

Hopefully I'll be Ninja-Approved :-D.

~QB29

weekend plans

1. errands (post office, library, quilt store)
2. cleaning (floors, bathroom, laundry)
3. sewing
--->> finish paramedic top (baby size)
--->> add border to YBR (lap size)
--->> cut & piece Disappearing 9-patch (lap size)
--->> baste & quilt paramedic top
--->> swaps sewing (SBS Blue/Brown/Tan & SBS H3 Christmas)


~QB29

My Bonnie Quilt

In all it's glory, but not a great picture, here is "My Bonnie Quilt". I finished piecing it this morning. For some odd reason, I actually got up with my alarm. Usually it takes 4 alarms and an hour to wake me :-(, lol. So I used that extra time to finish adding the purple and to cut and sew the brown border. The purple has more red in it than the picture shows.



~QB29

The Verdict is In ....

It was the soap! There's still a little bit of soap suds covering the drain, but no standing water and no leaked water or suds. I'll add some more vinegar to my walmart list and run the dishwasher again tonight with just the vinegar. From what I saw online, it could take 2 or 3 vinegar runs to get rid of all the dish soap. So glad I caught it when I did. I definitely would not have wanted to deal with the mess had I run an actual load of dishes with dish detergent plus the dish soap residue.

Well, I've got to finish my Walmart list and then off to shop.

~QB29

dishwasher blues

Well, the good news is now I know WHY you don't use dish soap in a dishwasher. No, it wasn't me, it was my roommate. A few weeks ago I noticed the mat by the sink was wet, like someone had dropped a pot of water on it. I assumed my roommate had had a mishap with some water, no big deal. She mentioned to me a few days later that when she had run the dishwasher, some water had leaked out. I had noticed soap "stains" at the base of the dishwasher and realized that's where they came from. I thought, hm, is the dishwasher broken? I told her we'd just keep an eye on it next time the dishwasher ran. A last second thought caused me to ask her what soap she used ... ta da, that's the problem! She used regular dish soap. Apparently, she's not used to dishwashers. I showed her where the dishwasher soap was and let her know to use it and only it from now on.

Fast forward to today. My kitchen needed mopping and sweeping and I thought to wipe off the soap stains from the bottom front of the dishwasher. Of course, that leads me to loading the dishwasher with a couple of plates in the sink and that's when I noticed it ... standing water! Yeah, from the dish soap incident - neither of us eats at home that much. I unloaded the dishwasher, mopped out all the water, and wiped down the insides. I then googled. Apparently, using dish soap can cause this issue. So I decided to run a test run. Within a few minutes there was lots of bubbles in the bottom of the dishwasher, from the remaining dish soap in the pump. I know, an icky thought! From what I googled, I saw that adding white vinegar would help. So I've got an empty dishwasher running with a cup or so of vinegar, waiting for bubbles, water, or nothing. I'm aiming for the nothing. To be safe, I'm babysitting from the kitchen table, lol.

If all goes well, we'll say that was the issue. Then I'll be heading to walmart for a few things I need around here.

I had hoped to finish piecing the wallhanging I'm making from Saturday's workshop, but at this point that's not happening tonight. I took my 16 blocks, laid them out 4 x 4, and added a 1" purple sashing/inner border (totally inspired by Bonnie!). I need to finish sewing the top purple border and then add the bottom purple border - the bobbin ran out of thread and I ran out of time to deal with it this morning. I have a brown that I'm using for the outer border. I think it frames it nicely. I'll probably do a 3" border, maybe 4". It will be around 27" - 30" square. I need to check how much I have of the brown, because I want to use it for my binding as well. Since this is "My Bonnie Quilt", I think I'm going to hand quilt it using Baptist fans, like she does a lot. It will go up on a wall in my sewing room when finished.

So far so good - guess that means I have to mop the floor completely on my own, lol.

~QB29

Sew Many Ways Giveaway

http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2009/08/give-away.html

Check out Sew Many Ways giveaway. It's a bunch of Thimbleberries squares!

~QB29

Bonnie Hunter Workshop - Friday

I had an awesome time this weekend. I met Jill, Linda, and Cathy at Jennifer's guild in Indy. The QGI was hosting a Bonnie Hunter weekend! She spoke at the monthly meeting (which I missed due to a clueless moment getting off the interstate) and two different workshops - one on Friday and one on Saturday. Jill and I stayed with Jennifer's mom, Carol. Jennifer followed us there so we could chat ... I think we kept her up too late, lol. It was rather late by the time we went to bed. We did get to ooh and aah over Carol's quilts - she's does great work!

Friday, Jill and I got breakfast at Denny's before heading to the workshop. We sewed away, working on our blocks. We all got at least one block made. Here are our blocks (borrowed from Jill's Webshots album - a digital camera withOUT a memory card is as good as a digital camera withOUT batteries. I remembered the batteries, but the card was (and still is) in my laptop)

Mine


Linda


Cathy


Jill



Jill and I were about the only people that did not order the boxed lunch. We ran out to eat when the boxes were delivered. We decided that we were not that hungry, but then we spied a Baskin Robbins! Jill teasingly asked if I wanted ice cream for lunch and I told her I was game :-D. She treated me since she was a day late wishing me happy birthday last week. Linda's expression was priceless when we walked in with our ice cream. I think the rest of the ladies wondered where their ice cream was. And in one of my many red moments, here I am:



I ended up getting to two whole blocks sewn. I did get lots of partials put together; they are in my bag waiting for some sewing time this week.

After the workshop, Jill and I checked out a nearby quilt store, Quilts Plus. They are in a strip mall type of place and have two or three of the spaces. They have lots of fabric, which is very beautifuly displayed. I did buy 3 yardages - 1 yard of a paramedic fabric and 1 1/2 yards of each of 2 different stripes that I can use in baby quilts. The stripes were sale/clearance - 30% off. The paramedic fabric is for a couple at church who just had a baby. Both mom and dad are paramedics. We then hit JoAnn's to buy some plastic totes that were on sale before heading back to Carol's. If I think about it tonight, I'll add pics of my purchases.

Once back at Carol's, the three of us headed over to Jennifer's for a cookout. Jennifer graciously hosted all of us for supper. Her kids are super cute and made me miss my Bubby and Bubba :-(. We had a good time. Her dh grilled for us and we had some homemade gaucamolee! After we ate Jennifer showed us her sewing room and her longarm. It's always fun to see other's sewing rooms.

I'll post about Saturday later this week!

~QB29

Weekly Quilt Goals

1. Assemble "My Bonnie Quilt" wallhanging (16 crumb/heart/star/letter blocks from a workshop with Bonnie Hunter)
2. Cut/piece top for gentleman at church (housebound due to Alzheimer's)
3. Add border for lady at church (#2's wife, housebound caring for him)
4. Piece baby boy F quilt (paramedic theme)

~QB29

Bonnie Hunter

Just under 11 hours to go :-).

~QB29

Friends

Last night I updated my facebook status to read:

It's always nice to find out that friends are quilters!

And now for the rest of the story -

Natalie, who attended my church while completing her law degree, found me on FB last night and friended me. We must have been on at the same time, because as I was checking out her page, she was checking out mine. Guess what we noticed? We both quilt! and we both blog! So here's her blog. Pop on over and get to know her.

~QB29