It should not come as a surprise to many that because of my love quilting, all things nerdy and cooking that I prefer sedentary hobbies, those that involve sitting or standing in one place.

So it comes at no surprise to me that I don't have the following;

-upper body strength
-lower body strength
-endurance
-flexibility
-the ability to run for over 2 minutes

I decided to change that. I turn 25 this year in August and decided that I needed to do something fantastic, different, and monumental.

Enter-- Disneyland's Annual 1/2 marathon.


First of all, I have never run in my life.

Second of all, my body hasn't seen constant physical activity in the form of exercise since I was a freshman....in HIGH SCHOOL! (I took massage therapy and billiards in college to fulfill my phys-ed reqs)

Lastly, I have never gone to California in my life!

I read up on it and knew that this was it....especially because it takes place 2 days after my birthday, and 2 days before my first wedding anniversary. I knew it was meant to be!

I talked with my husband about it and after much deliberating we have decided to go all in. We registered, we tour gyms and filled out a membership for one and we already have one day under our belts of going to the gym!

From here on out I'm officially training for a half marathon!

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

You can follow my husband's journey on his blog, Run Nerd Boy Run!

--still prefers sewing and cooking but is pulling out sneakers--
dre

I've been so excited about this but I've been keeping it on the DL until the article is officially out!

I'm in American Patchwork and Quilting! 



The story starts like this...my mother who has her own blog posted about the 13 quilts that I made before my wedding as my dowry quilts--the post is here. My journey up until my 7th quilt is posted on my old blog--DEFENESTRATE.  After that I decided to buy a house, plan a wedding and still keep my personal goal of completing my quilts---blogging just wasn't working for me by that time. So the story was brought to the attention of APQ and soon after the post they contacted me to have a tiny blurb about my quilt.

APQ has been the magazine constant in my house since I was 8. One of my first quilts was make from a pattern on an APQ cover. I have lost hours and hours of my life pouring  over APQ and their lovely patterns and the different color choices. I've left my mother's closet (which is where her stash is) with one in hand and debated with her about the different color options. APQ is where you read about REAL quilters. I could not believe that they wanted to do even the smallest stories about ME.

And when they asked me to send them my quilts---so they could take pictures (real pictures I tell you!). I was beyond giddy and so excited to see the article. I'm so happy and appreciative of them for the opportunity to share my quilting journey to the altar with so many!

In compliment to my mom's post about the making of the quilts--here's a special quilting edition of Where Are They Now?




My first quilt ever is downstairs in our den (Ryan's man cave) so that I can curl up under while we're watching movies.

Stash buster (2) and Shiloh (8) sit on my sofa's for any guests cuddling pleasure.


Green Monstah (7) and Wild Things from Oz (6) are living in my spare bedroom.

Hospitality (5) welcomes everyone displayed on my wall in my dinning room.

Make life (4) is draped on my dinning room bench.


Ryan's and Dre's Quilts ( 3 and 9) are on the master bedroom's bed and keeps me warm at night.

First star (13) is draped on my sewing room chair (I'm a bit too big to cuddle under that).

Beth (12) is packed up to go to Texas to be displayed at a the Dallas quilt festival--she made her debut at the Lowell quilt festival and placed! She's going places!



Sunkissed Stamps (8) is currently packed and ready to go with me to my Modern Quilt Guild meeting in February for show and tell.

Lastly, House of Stars (10) is currently living at my aunt's house getting some love from my Cousin--forgot to snag a picture.

All in all the process of making these quilts was unforgettable and have made these quilts a priceless treasure for my family. I want to thank husband, Ryan, who supported me through this whole process and dealt with some of my quilting craziness--this includes stepping on a pin that fell from a quilt, having to remove the little strings of fabric from his clothes and even driving me to the hospital when I sliced a bit of my finger off with a rotary cutter, not to mention constantly reminding me--"have you quilted today?" I also want to thank  my aunt for being not only my go to fabric provider but also for helping me bind merely DAYS before the wedding. Lastly, but most importantly, I want to thank my Mom for sending me the email about this tradition that inspired me, she dealt with frustrated sighs and phone calls when I hit a snag, "missing" fabric scraps from her fabric stash when I was developing mine and when things started getting crazy closer to the wedding she was there to help me out and step in when needed.

--feeling so blessed and happy--
dre

First of all, FW blocks post has been delayed until tomorrow...due to busy time at work today. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't post about it today, so to make up here's a short and sweet post about resolutions. :D

I don't necessarily believe in personal resolutions. If I did some of the following would be on my list....

-go to the gym
-stop hitting my husband over the head on a regular basis
-break a bad habit-like not proof reading my blog post before I post

What I do believe in, is cleaning out your fabric closet at the beggining of the year and making "the list".

Over last two years "the list" has been solely dedicated to finishing my quilts before my wedding. So this is my first year creating "the list" as a Quilter (note the italics and capital Q--I'm going legit!). "The list" is what projects I want to do for the upcoming year, it's something I can walk up to and check off at the end of something and feel super accomplished. XD

So I sat down two days after new years and wrote the list....here it is.

In honor of creating my list, I did all 5 of my required Farmer's wife blocks aaaannndd worked through all but one color of my Family Homecoming Quilt (from All in the Family by Camille Roskelley).

I am on a roll over here! I'm hoping I keep that momentum going!

--wondering if there's an inverse relationship between sewing and doing chores--
dre