I left town a week ago today and flew to Cincinnati for the International Quilt Festival!  My sister Grace picked me up at the airport, she had driven in from Eastern Kentucky and we enjoyed a night of driving around Covington and Newport, Kentucky, towns immediately across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.  In case you didn’t know, the airport is actually on the Kentucky side of the river too.  We enjoyed a great dinner on the patio of a wonderful restaurant, overlooking the river with a full view of downtown Cincinnati, and spent time getting caught up.  I love getting together with my family!

Following dinner we headed back to our hotel and tucked ourselves in for the night, getting much needed rest that would allow us to conquer the vendor booths at the quilt festival over the next 3 days!

On Friday morning, we left the hotel just after town and found our way to the convention center in downtown Cincinnati.  Can I just say, between Covington, Newport and Cincinnati, I have NEVER seen so many one way streets!  Drove us crazy!  But, we did eventually find a great parking lot that wasn’t full (surprisingly) and it was connected by a skywalk to the convention center.  We made our way in and, after buying our 3 day passes, we started to hit the vendors.  We managed to take a “Create on the Spot” class where we made fabric covered picture frames, and then it was time for lunch.  We had to go up 2 flights of escalators to the food vendors, but found some good, but expensive, food and sat down for a bit to rest our feet.  In the mean time, our mom and sister Karen had made their way from Indiana and met us just as we were finishing our meal.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping the vendors and did one more “Create on the Spot” class where we were taught how to make a paper pieced petal shaped bowl.  Of course, that project wasn’t finished in class, so it’s currently in my UFO pile.  I best not leave it there too long or I will forget how to finish it!

Anyway, we spent Saturday and Sunday doing much of the same and Sunday afternoon, I finally did it.  I found myself at the Janome booth, buying a sewing machine!  I got a really good show deal and got them to throw in a free motion quilting foot too.  I’m happy to say, my new machine arrived yesterday.  Yes, shipping it was way cheaper than paying the airline to check it, plus, since I was shipping to another state, I didn’t have to pay sales tax, so I saved all the way around!  More on the machine later.

The festival ended on Sunday, but we stayed over until Monday so we had more time to visit.  The trip was a ton of fun and we found very good restaurants all over the place.  So, when we weren’t eating at the festival, we were eating extremely well, and a moderately priced budget!  All those one way streets and all those restaurants, probably all within a 5 mile radius of each other, who knew!  I’d definitely go back there again.

I have lots of pictures, but none downloaded just yet.  I’ve been trying to get paperwork together for our new roof, damaged by hail, and all sorts of other stuff, so I hope to get to downloading very soon.  In the mean time, here is a photo of a shirt Grace embroidered for her daughter this morning, I think it’s super cute!

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Each family is responsible for creating some sort of decoration for one game during the spring season that can be attached to each player’s locker prior to the game. My daughter was very specific this year and said she wanted me to do something that was 3D. So, I searched and searched for ideas, keeping in mind that I was trying to stay relatively inexpensive. After scouring the internet, I decided to create magnetic bottle caps. Once I acquired all of the supplies, this was a pretty simple task!

I purchased a pdf file from an Etsy seller and was able to add player names so each magnet is personalized. Here are a few photos of what I did.

After printing the sheet of personalized softballs off my printer using card stock, I used a 1 inch circle paper punch to cut them. Then, using double sided tape, I secured them to the inside of the bottle cap in which, I had used a black Sharpie around the outer edge to create a “framed” look.

After securing the softball to the inside of the bottle cap, I topped it off with a clear plastic self adhesive circle. This makes the artwork stand out and gives it a more finished look. I also attached a strong magnet to the back.

So, I’m done, and on to another project!

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This is my tutorial on making a “stacked” hair bow.

Supplies for each bow:

• 2 1/2″ grossgrain ribbon, cut 2, 11 inches each
• 2 1/2″ or narrower ribon, cut 2, 9 inches each
• 1/4 inch wide ribbon, cut 1, 3 inches
• hair clip of choice (I use a 3 1/4″ curved hair clip)
• button or other decoration of choice
• floral wire
• wire cutters
• glue gun

Step 1: Using glue gun, glue together ends of each cut ribbon to form 4 circles of ribbon

Step 2: Put the 2 like pieces of ribbon together, using a piece of floral wire, approx. 6 inches in length to tie them together in the middle. Repeat for both sets of ribbon. You will now have 2 pieces. From the larger set (in this case, the black/white checked), use the wire cutter to trim off excess floral wire.

Step 3: Place smaller ribbon set on top of larger ribbon set and use the excess floral wire to tie the top to the bottom. You will now have 1 piece.

Step 4: Turn ribbon set upside down, apply hot glue to center and press hair clip into hot clue. Let this set for about a minute before going to next step.

Step 5: Using one hand to open hair clip, place a dot of hot glue inside clip and immediately press wrong side of 1/4″ ribbon onto dot. Place a 2nd dot of hot glue on top of the ribbon now attached to the clip and immediately wrap 1/4″ ribbon around the bow and back to the clip pressing the opposite end of 1/4″ ribbon into the glue dot inside the clip. Cut off any excess 1/4″ ribbon.

Finally, and this step is optional, add button or other decoration to hair bow using hot glue.

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As I’ve mentioned on this blog numerous times, I have high cholesterol.  I manage my cholesterol through diet and prescription medication.  One of the items in my refrigerator that I probably use more than any other ingredient, is butter.  I have sticks of real butter for use in some recipes, but for the most part, I use butter that comes in a tub.  In other words, it’s not exactly real butter.  But, that’s okay, because it tastes like butter and it’s way lower in fat and all the things that can cause my cholesterol levels to go up.  I started out using a certain brand of tub butter, but recently switched to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spread.  Even my husband noticed the difference and we really like the taste!

Imagine my surprise when I learned about the Toast to the Red Carpet – LIVE, presented by I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! inviting movie fans to watch the live stream on Facebook, February 26 from 3-4pm (PST).  Celebrities will be dishing about the red carpet fashions plus there will be a culinary expert dishing real yummy foods along with recipes so we can make them at home too.

Speaking of recipes, here’s one I enjoy making because it tastes good and is super quick & easy.

First, cut chicken breasts into cubes.  Do the same thing with veggies like yellow squash, zucchini and bell peppers (use red, green & yellow).  Spray all of the ingredients with “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” cooking spray, making everything good and wet.  Toss everything with rosemary and lemon zest.  Put it all onto skewers and pop into the broiler.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through, turning at least once.  After removing from the broiler, spray again lightly with the cooking spray and sprinkle with lemon juice.

I like to serve my kabobs with brown or dirty rice and a side salad.  This is a quick, tasty and low fat meal.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter is giving me a coupon for a FREE tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spread and I’m passing that coupon along to one lucky reader.  To win, leave a comment on this post telling me why you will be watching the Toast to the Red Carpet – LIVE, presented by I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

All comments must be posted by midnight February 26 (CST) and only 1 comment per person please.  Also, you must have a mailing address in the U.S.A.  Don’t forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner!

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I am not good when it comes to any type of dieting.  I am fortunate that I’ve never been way over weight, but I know I could stand to lose a few pounds.  At this time of year it’s difficult to keep from adding pounds with all the great treats everyone is busy making.  Just the other day I was given a box of homemade chocolate pretzels.  It took all my will power to not down the entire box before I even got home!

To help me keep the excess pounds off so that I don’t look like a blimp in January, I try to eat healthy, low calorie meals that allow me to have a few extra calories worth of treats.  I think that’s why I really like the Slim-Fast 3•2•1 Plan, it pretty much allows me to follow my own plan without sacrificing taste, allowing me to feel satisfied, not hungry, throughout the day.

The Slim-Fast 3•2•1 is easy to follow and it’s flexible.  Each day I can have 3 snacks like fruit, veggies or even the Slim-Fast 100 calorie snack bar which is specifically designed to help curb those in between meal cravings for sweets.  Also, I can either drink 2 Slim-Fast shakes or eat 2 meal bars each day.  I like drinking the creamy milk chocolate shake for breakfast and the other one as a late lunch.  They keep me full while providing balanced nutrition until I cook dinner in the evening.  The shakes come in other flavors too including French vanilla, rich chocolate royale, cuppuccino delight, and strawberries n’ cream.

Finally, as part of the Slim-Fast  3•2•1 plan, I try to fix a balanced 500 calorie meal for dinner.  I’ve also learned that it helps to remember that half my dinner plate should be vegetables, 1/4 should be protein (meat) and the other 1/4 should be whole grains. 

I also like Slim-Fast because it’s available where I normally do my grocery shopping so I don’t have to make an extra trip to another store just to get it.  Heck, it’s even available at Amazon.com.  If you can’t locate it, check the pharmacy section of your grocer and don’t forget to “like” them at http://facebook.com/slimfast

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That’s right, I’m almost done with my to do list and ready to sit back and simply enjoy the holiday.  I finished my shift this morning and am now sitting here organizing my grocery shopping list and coupons, getting ready to head out the door to get the supplies for Christmas day dinner.  It’s just the 3 of us, so we keep it pretty simple.  We enjoy a spiral sliced ham, some scalloped potatoes and a vegetable or two.  We never ate our asparagus at Thanksgiving, so I think I will try to buy more today, that would go nicely with ham.

I got a few gifts wrapped yesterday and need to go get some gift bags and/or shirt boxes in order to wrap the remaining gifts.  Found out through my daughter that my husband did actually buy me a gift (a rather expensive one at that) even though he said he agreed we wouldn’t exchange with each other this year.  So, I went out and got him something yesterday.  It’s not the gift I really truly want to give him, but I can’t afford that one right now, so went with a plan B, I just hope he’s not disappointed.  Anyway, it’s wrapped and ready to go under the tree.  We don’t put gifts under the tree until the night before Christmas, a tradition started when our daughter was born.

So, I’m off to the grocery, wish me luck and I am hoping it’s not too crazy and crowded! 

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I actually sat down with my husband tonight and asked him if he would be all right with he and I not exchanging gifts this year.  I think he looked relieved and he agreed that we would skip it.  I could go out and buy him something, but it wouldn’t be what he really wants and I would be wasting the money.  The same is true for him buying a gift for me.  We are just in a number crunch right now and I told him I would rather wait a bit and get him something I know he wants and get it when I can afford it.  I just am trying so very hard to not use credit cards!

Thankfully I was able to order most of my daughter’s gifts online and was able to use Paypal.  It’s like my secret stash of funds.  It’s where all my online earnings go to throughout the year and I really never spend it except at the holidays.  It’s a very nice little fund that puts a smile on my face and has once again made holiday shopping easier on the wallet!

Maybe I need to get back to sewing and selling items, that was certainly another way of getting extra funds!

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