Taking Into 2016 . . . ?

Hey there! As I head into 2016 I have made a decision. .   . . I am limiting who and what I take wth me . . .
You ask, "what does that mean??!!!"
Well, it means I'm done chasing the impossible  . . done begging people to be in my life . . done dealing with toxic people and situations . . .
This, my dears, is the year everything changes . . if you spit on me for helping you, I must walk away and let you struggle alone . . if you ridicule me for who I am and what I stand for I must walk away as you don't deserve my presence  . .
I am a beloved child of the Almighty God and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect  . . . . I have a future in Him that I must chase passionately  . . I have no time for drama. . no time for begging people to be part of my life . . I would love to have all of you as a positive presence in my future, but the decision is yours entirely  . . .
If you want me around,
          then you must pursue me . . .

Quilting ~ Praying ~ Thinking

New Years Eve  . .
Matt and I are beginning our movie marathon with "RIPD" . .
Plotting our takeover of the world in 2016!!!

Make Your Home a Haven Challenge +_+ Day 44

Praying all evening  . .
Cleaning random areas . .
Laundry . .
Dishes . .
Chicken chili for supper . . .
Prayers for peace and safety . .
Asking Him to sift our lives . .
Remove people and places toxic to us. .
Bring closer those He needs for us . .
Give us clear signs for both . . .

34% Savings at CVS

I just couldn't resist even though I had no manufacturers coupons with me. I went in for the deal in milk~ $1.69/gallon after CVS bucks :)
Then I saw coffee (CofFeE) on sale!!!! WooHoo!!!!!!! The Folgers and Cafe Bustelo were on sale for $2.99/each!! Wow!!!! Of course I stocked up and now have enough coffee for a while. Yea!!

Miss Lori's Snood

All finished and gave it to her . .
Hoping she enjoys it  . .

Quilting Before Work . . .

Good morning!! How are you?
This morning I dropped Matt off at Berlinsky's Scrap Yard wth his six (6) bags of crushed aluminum. Hoping the scales work in his favor and he has a pocketful of cash as he walks home!!
Then I drove on to work arriving seven (7) minutes early~ a good opportunity to sit in my office quilting while I wait for the others to arrive. . . .

My Paid Work~Out Program!!!

Time for a bit of bending and stretching  . .
Spring is around the corner!!!

A Break to Quilt and Pray

Quilting at my desk today as I was concerned it might be too cold to quilt in my car . . .
Quilting prayers into every stitch . . .

My First Crazy Quilt

Lunch and quilting and praying  . . .
There is something about prayers while quilting  . . .

300 N. Pine St. , Joliet, IL 60435

Snowy day in the life of a parkway  . . .

Day 364/365

A light snowfall is forecast for our homestead today.

My First Crazy Quilt

This is my first ever mitered corner . . .  not sure it's regulation, but hoping it passes muster!!! Regardless, I'm very pleased with it.
:-]

Joy Dare •_• December 29, 2015

3 gifts of hope~~

:) deeper friendships

:] friend confiding

=] new circle forming

My Paid Work~Out Program!!!

Happy Snowy Workout Day!!

My First Crazy Quilt

Okay, folks, I think this binding concept may be just what this quilt needs!
Looking like it may have a crisp clean finished look . .
I'm relieved.

My First Crazy Quilt

Buttonhole stitches for the top of my binding . . trying to be as precise and neat as possible  . . hoping to have a shot at a ribbon at the county fair . . wondering how stiff competition will be in this category in 2016.  . . . ?

My First Crazy Quilt

Piecing the first corner  . . I am so winging this as I can't find any detailed explanations in my books and don't feel like looking at YouTube videos  . . so far I think this will be correct  . . .

My First Crazy Quilt

Fabric for the binding  . . . now to measure and calculate carefully then cut it into strips  . . . Hours of sewing yet . .

Day 363/365

Today is a day of catching up on bookkeeping in my cubicle . . a different sort of day of praying while I work  . . a candle burning on my desk reminding me to pray for peace here . . a certain peace and comfort in this solitude . .

Day 362/365

Snowy windshield  . . .

Day 362/365

300 N. Pine St., Joliet, IL 60435 . . watching the snow accumulate  . .

Miss Lori's Snood

Almost finished!! Hoping to tie it off tonight!!!

Joy Dare ~ December 26-29, 2015

27th~~A gift found, shared, saved . .

(: Peace

(: Love

(: Souls

********


28th~~ 3 gifts lingering. . . .

:] family ties

:] His divine plan

:] peace in prayers

*******

29th~~ 3 gifts of hope . . .

:) sentimental/symbolic items saved

:) prayers

:) open honest conversation

Day 362/365

6:48am~ the fire is barely smoldering yet we are comfy  . . still about 58*F in our bedrooms  . . 31*F outside with a 26*F windchill  . . we are currently having light rain but will be back to a frozen mess very soon  . . meanwhile Matt and I are enjoying our movie and contemplating getting ready for our day . . .

Day 362/365

6:03am and the fire is barely smoldering . . this is disheartening as I'd really like to rely on it as our primary source of heat . . .
The thermostat is set at 50*F yet my bedroom, at the far end of the house from the woodstove, is 59*F!! So, despite my all-night struggle to keep the fire going, we are comfy. And this was accomplished using primarily wet firewood that basically had to dry in the stove as it began to burn!!! It is currently 31*F with a windchill of 23*F . . .
We still have that crazy winter storm advisory as well as a high wind advisory in effect and next to no wood drying indoors. Our tinder bin is almost empty and the kindling bin is empty. We have some dry branches that Matt still needs to saw in half (maybe this evening while watching a movie?). He has ventured out front to haul in more wood (awesome son-isms!!!) and says there's ice on the front of the car. He watched a car drive by then listened to it slide down our hill . . . the drive to work may be interesting  . .
So far this morning I've had 16oz of coffee, refilled my 32oz cup and Matt has started another pot so I have coffee to drink at work (going for ultimate coffee buzz??!!! . .  . .
How is it looking from your homestead?

Miss Lori's Snood

Knitting a few more rows before work . . .
Knitting and praying and coffee and enjoying "Home Alone 3" with Matt . .
Life is good and we are blessed!!!

Day 362/365~ Wind and Winter Storm Advisories

It seriously sounded like it was raining so I peeked out. . . according to the weather map the frozen mix already passed over and my driveway is still bone dry!!
**embarrassing happy dance **
Maybe my morning commute won't involve icy streets and a whole city of people who've never driven on ice and snow before (I'm pretty sure our local government switches out experienced winter drivers with southerners yearly) . . . one can only hope!!! 

Day 362/365

3:38am~ I do believe I've finally restarted the fire successfully!!!
Now back to dreamland  . . .
Zzzzzzz . . .

My Paid Work~Out!!!

Well, my paid workout started at 8:19am as I drive super slowly this morning making me five (5) minutes late to work :( Matt unloaded cleaning supplies from my car (I purchased yesterday), I turned I receipts and change then drive Matt to Boys and Girls club (too icy for him to walk down that crazy hill by work!!) . . after that I salted some of the sidewalks as this ice is treacherous!!
Glad I drank so much coffee!!!

Day 362/365

3:37am~ restarting the fire yet again . .

Day 362/365

3:12am~ fire went out so restarting it . . .

1000 Marble Challenge :-: Week 117

Wow! Another good week here on the homestead  . .
Matt says, "because we had fun and I poked you a lot!" He does love to poke my ribs, arms, back  . . . ok, anywhere I might not expect (obviously an inherited tendency~ pokey-pokerton)!!!

Day 361/365

Day 361/365

A shopping cart in the Menards parking lot is all he needs for fun!!!

Hairstyle by Hannah Nsa

Today I am so blessed (even more than usual!!) . .
Today a sweet young lady by the name of Hannah Nsa did my hair for me . .
Now I'm all prettied up and so spoiled!!!

Day 361/365~ My Day Off

Productive day . .
Dishes washed  and laundry hung (poor people homestead style!) . . more laundry running as I need to get towels and wash cloths out on the line before the storm hits  . . need to remember to add salt to rinse cycles for all laundry we hang outside so it won't freeze!!

Day 361/365

Keeping damp/wet firewood lit is tricky  . .
We definitely need to get more organized!!!

Day 361/365

Day 361/365

Good morning, all!!
Coffee and laundry are going . .
Matt is snoozing happily all bundled under comforters  . .
I've been outside to haul in firewood twice (Matt forgot) and have a decent fire going . . 
After a long look at bills vs my income it is apparent that more costs must be cut including, as much as possible, use of the furnace . . by heating with free firewood we can keep our Nicor gas bill low  . . . with colder weather, ice and snow on the way we need to get on top of our firewood situation and stock up, cut to size and stack properly!!
Going to be a busy day!!!