A New Year

Yay!!!  2010 is finally here!!  I, for one, am VERY glad 2009 is over.  It wasn't the best year for me. There were some high points.  Hubby and I celebrated our 25th anniversary with a virgin trip to Europe - what a blast!  While in Germany I met a woman whom I've been corresponding with ever since - my e-mail pen pal, Eva.  Daughter 1 got engaged to a wonderful young man.  My quilt, Spring Break, was accepted into the IQA Celebrate Spring exhibit and traveled around the country. Yes, there were some good times.  But I'm hoping 2010 will be a happier, less stressful year.

Last year at this time I had a long list of goals for the year.  No, I didn't accomplish every one of them.  But I did get a ton of them done.  As a result, my stash of fabric is more organized and I made several monthly stash quilts.  Okay, so they're only quilt tops now, but hopefully this year they'll get quilted.

And the BIG accomplishment:  on August 26 I finished my year-long quest to abstain from buying fabric.  It was a life-changing process - I'm still hesitant to buy fabric even now!  I really stop and think before I make a purchase.  I don't buy fabrics now unless I have a project in mind for them.  Our bank account is really happy about this change.

This year I've decided not to make a list of specific goals.  I'm not going to pressure myself.  But I do have some general goals in mind.

1.  Make the most of each day.

2.  Quilt those tops I made last year!

3.  Buy some pretty yarn and start crocheting again - a long lost love.  I've been inspired by Attic 24.

4.  Finish the Mickey quilt - yes, I'll continue with my Mickey Mondays.  (Sorry I missed one last Monday!)

5.  Stop feeling guilty for taking naps.

Will I publish another book?  I hope so, but I'm trying to take some pressure off myself.  So if it happens, great.  If it doesn't, that's okay.  Can you see a theme here?  No pressure, hopefully less stress!

I am looking forward to another year of blogging.  This year though, I'm not going to tie myself down to only talking quilting.  I'll show my crochet projects.  And I also plan to share some recipes here and there.  I've discovered some yummy dishes over the last few months, so I'll pass them along to you here.

And the wedding!  It will be in December, so I'm sure I won't be able to keep my mouth shut about this subject!  I want to enjoy every minute of the planning.  We bought the wedding dress a couple of weeks ago.  It's truly beautiful!  I ordered fabric last week to make a quilt for the happy couple.  Actually, I'm making them two quilts - one for the wall and one for snuggling.  These will be fun projects, stitched with lots of love.

So I'm ready for the new year.  MORE than ready!!!