The Quilt

Well, there wasn't too much going on this week to report on. More snow and snowshoes, but that is becoming routine. So, I thought I would share with you all quite possibly the biggest project I have ever tried to accomplish. We are comming up on 4 years since I started it! Granted, I have not worked on it consistently the whole 4 years ... maybe that is why I am bringing it out again to show you. That should be sufficent motivation to get working on it again. That and the fact that obviously I'm not too busy to be doing something productive with my time!

I started this quilt with intentions of it being a wedding present to Tanner. I'm kinda behind schedule! I got this nice little book that is walking me through the whole process step by step. It is the first time I have attempted a quilt and I still really want to do the whole thing by hand. So far, it is all hand pieced and about 1/3 of the way quilted by hand. If I ever do another one ... I will definately be ok with using a machine!

My Office

I got the bug again the other day to rearrange my office. It has had several different configurations, but I think this might be the winner. I have everything I need in my reach, I don't seem to get a glare from the window, and the heating vent is not blocked (that is key this time of year!).

The first picture is of my desk. Some day I am going to paint it and change the drawer pulls, but it has served me well for quite some time now! I enhanced it this time with a countertop that was leaning against the wall in the weight room. I have a lot more desktop space now. It is wonderful!

The the next picture is of my "couch" on the opposite wall. I love the quilts, and again, someday the wall is going to be painted. The pink is leftover from the people we bought the house from. This was thier little girl's bedroom. You can also see the "dog couch." Drake spends most of his time here when Tanner is at work.

Finally, my view out the window. That is why I picked this room for my office. There is a lot of snow on the ground right now. In the summer, I get to watch the antics of the neighbor cows. They had a few calfs this year that kept me entertained!

Haircut

I got my hair cut this week! I love getting my hair cut. It is so relaxing. It is like a cheap man's spa. I mean really, someone else is washing your hair and then playing with it. Plus there is nothing the do the whole time but sit there and talk. And she even uses that wonderful, mysterious hair dryer and strange products so that when I leave my hair looks full and soft and wonderful. I love the whole thing!

What my hair looks like when I am done with it is always another story. I should have taken a picture of how she styled it and these pictures of what it looks like when I style it (or should I say, don't style it. I'm not sure washing and waiting for it to dry counts as styling!). A world of a difference! Some day I am actually going to learn how to style my own hair and make it look good. Until then, I will have to settle with the fact that no matter how wonderful the cut is, and how great it looked when I left, if I put no effort into it on my own, it will always look exactly the same!

So here are pictures of my new hair cut. I wanted to share them anyway, even though most of you will probably not be able to tell a difference!

New Snowshoes!

I got to use my new snowshoes! Well, part of the time. We really didn't get enough snow, so the part of the trail that someone had already been on was really too packed down to use them. But my fat little dog and I got in some exercise and some fresh air and some beautiful scenery today anyhow! I have to really be on top of this exercise thing now that I am the team leader in a Winter Wellness challenge. No more excuses about snow on the roads!

Snow .. or lack therof!

Nothing all that interesting has been going on here, other than the snow has all melted. It has actually been raining here the past few days. :( I finally bring myself to buy a pair of snowshoes and the snow all melts before they get here! So, in honor of what Northern Michigan is supposed to look like this time of year, here is a picture I took from our backyard a few weeks ago. It was pretty early in the morning which I think is why it looks so blue. Hopefully it will look like that again soon!

Winter Sports Park

I got to try snowboarding for the first time last weekend. There is a place in town called the Winter Sports Park where they have a sledding hill, a rope tow for a skiing hill, a hockey rink, a rink for ice skating, and a warming hut all for free. I have run there in the summer, but it is a very bustling place this time of year! So, on a whim I decided to try to use Tanner's snowboard with my little snow boots. It actually worked rather well. Well, the snowboard worked just fine. I could use a little more practice! Here is Tanner helping me with the bindings.

And this is me catching my breath after a taxing effort. The first challenge was actually getting up the rope tow. Apparently, it was difficult even for people who knew how to control the snowboard! Then I spent most of time on my butt coming down the hill. I also think I felt more comfortable going down with the wrong foot forward. I'll have to experiment with that more. And carving is definitely a challenge! I will have to get over to the park a few more times before I spend any money at the real slopes!

The Gang

We had such a great New Year! We have really connected with a group of other young couples through our church and have been having fun spending time with them. First, we all met after work to go showshoeing on New Years Eve. It was Tanner's first time snowshoeing and I think he and Drake really did have fun. Here Tanner is helping Dominque up after a little fall. Check out the size of those snowshoes. No wonder it took a few minutes to get used to them!

After working up an appetite, we headed to Martin and Dominique's place for fondue, Guitar Hero, and games before watching the ball fall for the 100th time in New York. Such great memories! Here is the whole gang ... along with Tex, Martin and Dominique's Great Dane.