Appreciation

I really enjoy doing things for people. I like making cookies for people (especially my hubby). I like sewing for people. I like doing things that make people smile. Because I enjoy doing things for people, I do it a lot. I've noticed though that while I do a lot for people, much of it is unappreciated. Some of that is completely reasonable. I shouldn't expect my kids and husband to say thank you for everything I do for them. I shouldn't expect my boss to say thanks for every pair of pants I hem. HOWEVER- if I go out of my way to drive someone somewhere, I think that expecting a "Thank you" is completely reasonable. If I go help someone who locked their keys out of their car, I like to be told "Thank You". And if I spend hours making a quilt for someone...can you guess what I'd expect? If I take 2 hours out of my day to go visit someone I don't want 20 minutes of that visit to be spent telling me I don't visit enough. If I care enough to buy or make you a Christmas present it would be nice to know that you care enough to visit me or at least call me a time or two before the next Christmas... Just to clarify: I don't expect anyone to gush about how wonderful I am, (I know I have many faults). I don't expect long elaborate thank you notes with beautiful pictures of the gifts I give in your home. Just tell me thank you and mean it. Show me that you appreciate me. Ask me how I'm doing when I drive for 40 minutes to come visit you. Or I'll assume I'm not appreciated or needed in your life and will stop bothering you by doing things for you. BTW, this is not aimed at any specific person. I just needed to air my general frustration and remind people not to take others for granted.

Urgent Care

One of my pet peeves is misuse of the Emergency Room. Especially by people who aren't paying the bill themselves, so they aren't concerned by the cost. To help appease my frustration I will give examples of when an Emergency Room visit is appropriate: If you think your life is in danger, Part of your body may be permanently damaged, You have a new onset of SEVERE pain, Severe breathing problems Chest Pain Major bleeding Sudden unexplained loss of consciousness Referred to ER by Primary Care Physician If none of those is the case, try Urgent Care. Urgent Care clinics are appropriate for: Minor burns or injuries Broken bones needing x-rays Sprains and strains Earaches Minor allergic reactions Fever Flu-like symptoms Rash or other skin irritations Mild asthma attacks Animal or insect bites Minor broken bones Minor cuts and lacerations Many of the above are also able to be treated by a Primary Care Physician. Our PCP is excellent and can treat anything listed in the Urgent Care List. The doctor has even stayed late to pull a crayon out of my son's nose so we wouldn't have to go to Urgent Care. The co-pays for the Emergency room is typically significantly more than Urgent Care and Urgent Care is only a little more than a normal Dr Visit. Even if you aren't paying for it, please keep in mind that your choices of care affect premiums and taxes of those who are paying. Thanks for reading my rant.

Marriage advice

One of my friends got married today! She looked so beautiful and happy. I'm really excited that she gets to start the wonderful adventure called marriage. While driving to the reception I thought of all the advice people gave me before I got married and what advice I would want to share. My first advice is: if you're arguing about something and it is near or after your bedtime, agree to disagree until morning, and go to bed together. Talk about it in the morning, if it hasn't resolved itself during the night. 2nd- its ok to disagree. Just because you're a couple doesn't mean you will agree on everything. And that's good. It adds variety, and gives you things to talk about. 3rd- have a safe word. This is a word you can say that let's your spouse know you're getting frustrated and something needs to change. You can use it at social functions for help getting out of an awkward situation, if you're arguing and getting upset, or if you're just feeling overwhelmed, anytime really. 4th- don't hint. Hints just don't work, especially for the majority of guys. I realized that hints didn't work, and I was frustrated because I like surprises, but I want more of them at certain times. So now i'll have this conversation with Karl: karl, i have a hint for you- aren't those beautiful flowers? I would love some flowers like that sometime soon. Did you get the hint? Sounds stupid, but I get flowers and it doesn't require Karl being a mind reader. 5th- communicate. Talk about everything. Don't assume! 6th- learn your love languages and your spouse and act accordingly. 7th- and most important- make your marriage yours. Ignore all the advice people give you that doesn't work for you. Forget about past relationships and old ideas. Do things the way that is best for you as a couple. 8th- love each other and pray together. Good luck- anyone else have advice?

My Awesome Husband

I have an awesome husband! A number of things have happened lately to help solidify this in my head, it's already solid in my heart. Some things I love about Karl-in no particular order: His hugs His love of learning His constant need to improve himself His kisses His smile The many inside jokes we share How he loves to hold me as we go to sleep His determination to provide well for our family His testimony of the gospel and his love for Christ His mustache The way he proposed His love for our boys His faith in me and my abilities His awe of me The way he walks up behind me and hugs me while I'm doing dishes His warm legs he lets me put my cold feet against while we sleep The way he says "oooh, ahhhh" when I show him a finished project How he tries to record or rent movies he thinks I'll like The fact that he goes to see movies he's not interested in because he knows I want to. The beautiful ring he gave me almost 9 years ago He brings me flowers That he knows how to encourage me to be the best me He loves me Because I just love him

UFOs

Dave's Bernina is having a challenge to finish UFOs. Those are those Unfinished Objects laying around your sewing area, in totes and under other projects, waiting to be completed. For every UFO you finish you post a picture on their fb page and get entered into a drawing. This is what I have so far: This darling monkey was torn last year and needed stitched up:

This fleece jacket was started many years ago. I bought and cut out jackets for Karl, Kaleb and I (since that is all the members our family had at the time). The other 2 got finished pretty quickly, but this one has been hanging around since then.

After I made my brother Mike and his wife Niki a quilt I had a lot of leftover polka dot fabric. I cut it into squares and started sewing them into another quilt. When I got the pieces back out I changed the plan for one quilt into 2 and made these 2 quilts:(They are for sale if anyone is interested)

A few years ago I started this wreath quilt, and finished it last month.

Last Christmas I got energetic and started 3 more wreath quilt wall hangings,even though the first wasn't done. (These are for sale too)