Scrappy Hearts

On the Wall

Just the other evening I completed all of the little blocks for my 30's buck-a-block quilt. Tonight I began the process of cutting the fabric for the star point setting borders that will surround each of the little blocks. Feeling very hopeful that this quilt will be getting done in the not too distant future. Color me happy!

Project Life, Week 21

Life has a way of getting better and better! Each week seems to be fuller and filled with more surprises and good stuff, this week was no exception. There was time to sew, a trip into Philly, evening runs and yes, even time to pause and reflect.The peonies that we purchased a week ago had bloomed. Sunday was a good day to be in the yard. The lawn got mowed and the branches I pruned from the roses were tied up and moved to the curb. I prined the butterfly bushes while Mark took care of the deep weeds in the back yard and planted the hydrangea and salvia.

Monday I finally bit the bullet and registered for the Danskin Triathlon in September. There is no turning back now!

Tuesday, Mark traveled to Cape May for a political meeting so I hopped on the high speed line and visited Athleta to scope out tri-wear. A very relaxing evening. Jason was not able to meet me because the Philly Beer Awards were the same evening. I am so glad that someone posted a photo of the event on Jason's Facebook page. I copied it to my computer and printed it out for Project Life.Wednesday it was an atypical day. I had a district training session which had me out of the classroom and home a bit earlier than usual. I never go out to lunch, but since I was not in my building, a group of us decided to head to SaladWorks. It was good to be out and about. 

Thursday and Friday passed in a blur. Days seem to do that these days, especially when they are jam packed. We planned a trip to the beach for the weekend so I did spend some time getting my bike ready and putting the bike rack on the car. There was some running and sewing and schoolwork. Then, Saturday morning!

I was happy to have photos to fill up my photo pages, it didn't seem like I had taken all that many. I added an additional style A page, cut in half, to hold the extra photos from Saturday.Photos from Saturday morning are on the front side of the insert. I also included a photo of Jess on the slip 'n slide, from her Facebook page. I just love that I can capture photos of my kiddos and include them in our Project Life album.The back side of the insert includes photos from Saturday afternoon and evening. I just love when there are enough photos to warrant an insert.Photo printing went so much quicker this week. I currently use an HP Photosmart B8550, large format printer which has worked really well for most of the time I have owned it. This week, just like old times, not many issues at all. I probably should have been able to get this post done by Tuesday evening, which is always my goal, but Monday I was still in holiday mode and really was not interested in spending time trying to get Week 21 done. Photos or not.

As usual, I am going to share my link over at The Mom Creative where, because of my late posting, there are several links to many other versions of Project Life. Take a minute to peruse the pages.

As always, if you are the least bit interested in Project Life, I urge you to check out Becky Higgins' site. I just love recording our family happenings this way. Takes the stress out of the process and allows me to go with the flow. Just love it!

Can we sit and talk?

Who could resist such an invitation? So, that's exactly what we did. 

School, reading, friends and fun times were just a few of the topics we covered. We laughed and giggled and shared a gorgeous afternoon sitting at the water's edge. Just me and Em. Perfect!

Can we sit and talk?

Who could resist such an invitation? So, that's exactly what we did. 

School, reading, friends and fun times were just a few of the topics we covered. We laughed and giggled and shared a gorgeous afternoon sitting at the water's edge. Just me and Em. Perfect!

Getting Ready to Tri

Mark and I headed out today with a plan to get a bike helmet for me. Well, we got just a bit more than just the helment.

We spent the weekend biking around Barnegat Light with my old bike and a borrowed beach cruiser. Today, while looking at helmets, we noticed that REI was having a huge sale. Need I say more? The truth is that I would have needed a new bike prior to my race in September. The price was right and this now gives me the opportunity to train on the bike I will be riding in the triathlon. It is all good.

Getting ready for the triathlon is going to require a great deal of training and a few more pieces of equipment. But, I am ready to begin. Looks like I am on my way!

On the Wall

Green, not my favorite color, to say the least. But, I just love the latest block I completed for the 30's Buck a Block quilt that I am currently working on.

Look at that little block. The quarter square triangle squares in the center just make me smile. There are now 7 months of blocks completed and the final five are just about ready to finish up. I have lost one half triangle square. It probably got into the laundry and may never be found. That is a problem when I use the washing machine as my ironing board, little blocks just slip away. I will be doing a load of laundry tonight in the hopes that I might recover the missing piece. 

I think this is going to be such a pretty quilt. I am loving the opportunity to work with such bright, happy fabrics.

Project Life, Week 20

  As I look back over the past week, I am always amazed at what we accomplish in any given day. The funny thing is, I am always wanting to do just a little bit more!Mother's Day started Week Twenty! What a great day we had. Running, regular chores like laundry and sheet changing, outside work like weeding, and then getting ready for the work week. In the midst of that we had Jason join us for dinner! What a great time we had hanging out in the kitchen.

The meal was terrific and the company, even better!

Monday started Teacher Appreciation Week here where I live. On Monday I received homemade cookies from my students. Delicious! I love the little tag that tied the bag together. We ran errands on Monday evening, so not like me. I like Monday nights to be calm stay at home nights so that I can recuperate from the day!

Not many photos were taken this week. I am really not sure why it happened that way, but some weeks just go like that! In retrospect that was probably a good thing since my photo printer has been giving me such trouble lately.Wednesday I completely forgot about my nieces' dance recital. I napped instead. What was I thinking?

Thursday I spent the evening at school chaperoning the band, orchestra and chorus students between performances. I think the hall looked great with all the instrument cases lining the walls. Finally, Friday. We were so punchy Friday evening. We were sitting out on the adirondack chairs with a bottle of wine that we finished. Giggly and silly we were! I love the photo.

Saturday brought the Walk for Autism Speaks, a bit of shopping, a meeting for Mark in Princeton and finally a trip to the Home Depot and ShopRite. I included my invitation to the summer style event from Loft. I also need to include the book that my students made for me and the program from the Spring Concert at school.  So many great uses of Project Life! Ali Edwards used mostly photos this week. You can check out here post here! She always does everything with such flair, and it seems so effortless for her. I am hoping scraplift a few of her ideas and use some of my great journaling strips and bling as my schedule eases up and time allows. Perhaps a bit of organization will help also!

As usual, I am going to share my link over at The Mom Creative where Jessica has a couple of techniques for creating labels for journaling.

As always, if you are the least bit interested in Project Life, I urge you to check out Becky Higgins' site. I just love recording our family happenings this way. Takes the stress out of the process and allows me to go with the flow. Just love it!

Thinking it Through

Tonight I traveled into Philadelphia to visit Athleta in Center City. You see, one thing I am very diligent about is planning. I have been researching training plans for sprint triathlons for about 2 months now. I had heard that Athleta had a training plan that they offered, free, in their stores. I just had to get my hands on it!

The truth is, there are so many things that I am unsure about concerning the triathlon. And, now that I am committed, I need to get my ducks all lined up so I can focus on the training. Appropriate gear is just one of those little details. Tonight, I researched! I am taking notes and soaking up all the information I can like a sponge. Training starts next week and it will be a combination of plans that I have found. I can't wait!

"The only requirement of having a dream,

is believing in it."

- Molly Barker

I’m Committed

September 9th is the date and I am all registered. Let the training begin.

Celebrating the Weekend

Early Friday evening, hanging out in our adirondack chairs, sipping wine. Actually, we did more than sip and got ourselves extremely giggly. We love to relax in the yard. The roses are in front of us and usually the sky reflects the rosy color of a beautiful sunset. This is my official happy place.Saturday had us up just a little earlier than usual for the Walk for Autism Speaks. A great day for a walk and a great day to reconnect with so many of Amanda's Pandas. It is truly an inspiring event. I did a bit of shopping before heading home to do the yard. Mark had a meeting in Princeton and once he was home it was out to pick up paint, plants and food. Finally finished the food shopping around 9:15. On the way home a quick stop for soft serve. Yum!Today there were the usual Sunday chores, changing the sheets and doing laundry, but we also accomplished a great deal of yard work!

Last weekend we had picked up some bushes and larger plants to add to the landscaping in the yard, this weekend they needed to be planted. Mark worked on the area just outside the dining room window, next to the patio. We added a white hydrangea and two purple salvia. There were a ton of grass roots left under the fabric from when I had weeded so a good part of the time poor Mark was just dealing with them. We're thinking that something else in the way of plants needs to be added, but we are just going to wait a couple of weeks and see what we move from around the yard.Planting the annuals, trimming the butterfly bush and tying up the rest of the rose bush trimmings for pickup tomorrow, that was my job. I also, finally, washed the chairs for the patio set. Perhaps dinner on the patio is in our future. Next week I need to get out there again to do a good cleaning job on the table and the umbrella. The adirondack chairs in the back could also use a good cleaning!Today we also welcomed the first bloom on our new peony plant. I just love it. We picked up this pale pink peony as well as a deep pink one to plant in the area that was home to one of our butterfly bushes. I trimmed the bush all the way back and Mark needs to dig it out before we can plant the peonies. That should happen one night this week! I can't wait.

There are still many more chores that can be accomplished outside, but we are making good progress and we are just loving the opportunity to work together in the yard again. 

The weekend is nearly over. There are lesson plans to finish and papers to grade. 

So thankful we were able to accomplish so much this weekend and still have time to play. Feeling particularly blessed this Sunday evening.