Sunday Catch Up

[JillW]

A new week is here! (... plus I feel that January is going by SO quickly!).

Did you get everything accomplished you had hoped to last week - and what are you looking forward to doing or accomplishing this coming week?


As for me, being retired, I don't always have a big to do list - or have a lot places to go.
Monday and Tuesday morning, I helped out at a resale shop (where I work one day week - just to get out of the house) clean up as they are moving to a new location.
I created a few Chalk Couture projects and signed up to sell the items at a tea room / mercantile shop in a small town near us.
I started a new "better me" plan, hoping to shed 25 pounds that have snuck up on me over the past 4 years! Changing eating habits is huge for me because I am a junk food junkie! I've been concentrating on eating nothing processed - eating lots more fruits and veggies. It's been a little difficult, but I am going to stick with it.


Next week I don't have a ton planned

Visit my sister who is 14 years olde than I am and is homebound
Create a few Valentine themed chalk projects to sell

[Becca Bonneville]

Where is January going?! I was just telling Sara that January is just flying by!!

The chalk couture sounds fun! Yay for the Better Me! I can def be a junk food junkie as well!

I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to. I am working today to hopefully finalize some of my projects. On my list..

Wrapping up a winter collection today to release on Jan 25th.
Wrapping up projects I have with Catherine Pooler Designs
Getting back on the horse with weighing/tracking my food (I lost a ton of weight a few years back but during this perimenopausal time it is creeping back up on me)
Getting my house organized. I feel like with the holidays and then having Covid it is all over the place
Preparing for my Spring garden

[craftytam]

It was kind of an unproductive week this past week. Sometimes the stress of having my mom & mother-in-law living with us overwhelms me and I get nothing done. lol


Went to DMV to renew my driver's license (Yay...don't have to do that for 8 more years!)
Moved 7 Costco yellow-black bins of stuff needing to be scanned back downstairs so I can work on them.
Took my mom to her dentist appointment.
Worked on converting files from .png to .tiff so that ACDSee tagging will stick (sometimes mindless tasks help!).
Prepared for and had Crafty Day (a group of ladies that comes over and works on various projects-some scrap, others misc crafts) on my birthday on Saturday. Lots of fun!


There's not much (other than the usual housework, cooking, scrapping) on the calendar for this next week. But I am having lunch with a friend on Wednesday. I call it "therapy lunch" :D

[SeattleSheri]

I agree that this month has just flown by! Jill, I'm intrigued, what is Chalk Couture? Becca, I can't to see your new collection! :wub:

Yesterday I focused on some home projects and didn't leave the house. Today we're planning to take Tyler (7) to the museum and I have some errands to run. I need to take my mom to the store, cut Tyler's hair, etc. I also need to get a couple hours of work in sometime this weekend (it's as lot easier for me to power through my to do list on the weekend when I'm not distracted by 10 meetings a day and the constant flow of emails/IMs, lol) :p

[JillW]

Where is January going?! I was just telling Sara that January is just flying by!!

The chalk couture sounds fun! Yay for the Better Me! I can def be a junk food junkie as well!

I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to. I am working today to hopefully finalize some of my projects. On my list..

Wrapping up a winter collection today to release on Jan 25th.
Wrapping up projects I have with Catherine Pooler Designs
Getting back on the horse with weighing/tracking my food (I lost a ton of weight a few years back but during this perimenopausal time it is creeping back up on me)
Getting my house organized. I feel like with the holidays and then having Covid it is all over the place
Preparing for my Spring garden


Good for you for making changes, I totally understand how the weight creeps back on. I too am tracking and weighing food and really hope these hunger pains go away soon!

I'm anxious to see your new release!! :wub:

[JillW]

It was kind of an unproductive week this past week. Sometimes the stress of having my mom & mother-in-law living with us overwhelms me and I get nothing done. lol


Went to DMV to renew my driver's license (Yay...don't have to do that for 8 more years!)
Moved 7 Costco yellow-black bins of stuff needing to be scanned back downstairs so I can work on them.
Took my mom to her dentist appointment.
Worked on converting files from .png to .tiff so that ACDSee tagging will stick (sometimes mindless tasks help!).
Prepared for and had Crafty Day (a group of ladies that comes over and works on various projects-some scrap, others misc crafts) on my birthday on Saturday. Lots of fun!


There's not much (other than the usual housework, cooking, scrapping) on the calendar for this next week. But I am having lunch with a friend on Wednesday. I call it "therapy lunch" :D

The Crafty Day sounds like so much fun Tammy! I imagine it is a nice reprieve from your "daily duties". May I ask what sort of craft you are currently working on? I hope you have a wonderful lunch w/ your friend!!

[JillW]

I agree that this month has just flown by! Jill, I'm intrigued, what is Chalk Couture? Becca, I can't to see your new collection! :wub:

Yesterday I focused on some home projects and didn't leave the house. Today we're planning to take Tyler (7) to the museum and I have some errands to run. I need to take my mom to the store, cut Tyler's hair, etc. I also need to get a couple hours of work in sometime this weekend (it's as lot easier for me to power through my to do list on the weekend when I'm not distracted by 10 meetings a day and the constant flow of emails/IMs, lol) :p

Sheri, do you work from home? You sound like a very busy mom and business woman!! :)
Chalk Couture is basically a chalk paste and stencil craft - it is so easy (and just about as quick as it easy). The nice thing about it is that the signs (or whatever) can be chalk painted and then changed up as it washes off with water. Here are a few of the projects I did this past week
https://i.postimg.cc/ZK0b25x3/Image1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/fyJG2JQR/Image4.jpg
Painted the 2 hearts and the pitcher on the bottom shelf:
https://i.postimg.cc/m2MLB6K2/Image3.jpg

[SeattleSheri]

Tammy, I think we were writing our posts at the same time, so I didn't see yours before I posted. Is there a way for you to batch process your .PNG to .TIF conversion? I'm glad Crafty Tam day was a success! :wub:

Jill, those are so good! Love it! What a fun craft. Yes, I WFH! We have an office close by, but I only rarely go in for special events since I have very few stakeholders locally, so there is no benefit to being in the office (I have team members in 5 time zones and no one is co-located). I work with a lot of people in the eastern time zone, so I find myself in a lot of early meetings - and those are much easier to take from home too (I have a 5:30am meeting on Tuesday after the MLK holiday - I'm just grateful I didn't have to travel to go in person).

[craftytam]

The Crafty Day sounds like so much fun Tammy! I imagine it is a nice reprieve from your "daily duties". May I ask what sort of craft you are currently working on? I hope you have a wonderful lunch w/ your friend!!

It was so much fun! And, yes, a wonderful reprieve! I usually scan or scrap on Crafty Days. They started as scrap days, but some of the ladies no longer scrap, so they bring other projects. Two ladies were crocheting, one was working on Ukranian eggs (AMAZING...Google it) and two of us were scrapping.

[craftytam]

Sheri, do you work from home? You sound like a very busy mom and business woman!! :)
Chalk Couture is basically a chalk paste and stencil craft - it is so easy (and just about as quick as it easy). The nice thing about it is that the signs (or whatever) can be chalk painted and then changed up as it washes off with water. Here are a few of the projects I did this past week
https://i.postimg.cc/ZK0b25x3/Image1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/fyJG2JQR/Image4.jpg
Painted the 2 hearts and the pitcher on the bottom shelf:
https://i.postimg.cc/m2MLB6K2/Image3.jpg

These are so awesome, Jill!

[craftytam]

Tammy, I think we were writing our posts at the same time, so I didn't see yours before I posted. Is there a way for you to batch process your .PNG to .TIF conversion? I'm glad Crafty Tam day was a success! :wub:

Sheri, there might be an easier way, but I figured it out through trial & error. This is my process:

1) Using Bridge, select the file you want to convert. Previously, I was able to select a whole designer, but something changed and now I'm having to choose each kit file (and the alpha file separately if there is one). I start with the alpha, go through the process and delete the .png once they have been converted.

2) In the upper search bar, select advanced search, under Criteria, select >filename >contains >.png and then click find

3) When all the .png have come up, select all of the items. Then under Tools hover over Photoshop and select Image Processor.

4) A box will come up. Under 3 - File Type check Save as TIFF and LZW Compression and click Run

This will create a .tiff file within the original file. I double-check that there are the same number of .tiff files as .png files, then delete the .png and move the .tiff into the file.

Somebody else might know of a better way (or one where you don't have to do individual kits! lol), but this is my method :) Hope it helps!

[HavaDrPepper]

I just took it easy this last week except for going to the grocery on Friday. Most of my time was spent learning Affinity Photo. I'm taking a boot camp at another forum and also watched quite a few YouTube videos.

In the evenings, when my eyes were tired from the computer work, I pulled out an old latch hook I had started many years ago. I've got quite a bit done on it. Once I get my new glasses, I can go back to counted cross stitch.

With the bitter cold weather (forecast of feels like temps of -20), my cousin and I have decided to see if I can get my appointment on Tuesday changed to later in the week or next week. I don't want to go past the end of January so if I can't get it changed, we'll have to tough it out. Main problem is she is concerned about her vehicle in this weather and she has to come 2.5 hours to get to my house. Then the doctor's is 1.5 hours from my house. I did tell her that we could take my car to the doctor's if she can just get here. So the plans for this coming week may change...

[JillW]

I just took it easy this last week except for going to the grocery on Friday. Most of my time was spent learning Affinity Photo. I'm taking a boot camp at another forum and also watched quite a few YouTube videos.

In the evenings, when my eyes were tired from the computer work, I pulled out an old latch hook I had started many years ago. I've got quite a bit done on it. Once I get my new glasses, I can go back to counted cross stitch.

With the bitter cold weather (forecast of feels like temps of -20), my cousin and I have decided to see if I can get my appointment on Tuesday changed to later in the week or next week. I don't want to go past the end of January so if I can't get it changed, we'll have to tough it out. Main problem is she is concerned about her vehicle in this weather and she has to come 2.5 hours to get to my house. Then the doctor's is 1.5 hours from my house. I did tell her that we could take my car to the doctor's if she can just get here. So the plans for this coming week may change...

Good for you for learning Affinity Photo - I will have to Google it!
Oh, latch hook projects! I used to love to do them, they have become popular here over the past few years.
I hope you can get your appointment changed until later in the week when it's not quite so cold - keep us posted!!

[lizziej]

I got instantly behind when I went back to work after being on vacation during Christmas because we hit the ground running preparing for a jury trial that was supposed to happen this past week. That meant working in the evenings at home. The county courthouse was closed for two days on the 9th and the 10th due to snow we got, and that put everything that far behind. I even worked the entire weekend last weekend. I'm hoping this week to finally get kinda caught up (so to speak, because I'm never caught up), but who knows what will hit. Last year was terrible at work.

[JillW]

I got instantly behind when I went back to work after being on vacation during Christmas because we hit the ground running preparing for a jury trial that was supposed to happen this past week. That meant working in the evenings at home. The county courthouse was closed for two days on the 9th and the 10th due to snow we got, and that put everything that far behind. I even worked the entire weekend last weekend. I'm hoping this week to finally get kinda caught up (so to speak, because I'm never caught up), but who knows what will hit. Last year was terrible at work.

Oh I hope you can find your feeting and get caught up a little bit! What do you do for a living? I'm very intrigued by jury trials, true crime, etc etc. I am always hoping I'll get picked for jury duty, but it's only happened once.

[tjscraps]

I have a busy week coming up! I am going to a Career fair to have a booth on Wednesday, so we are leaving Tuesday afternoon so we don't have to leave at 5 am. Then at the Career fair all day Wednesday, back home and then work early the next am. Just adding a bit, it'll be fun but I'm already tired lol

[carrie1977]

My 17 year old has his first formal on the 25th. We took him today for a haircut. Also went to Target to get his girlfriend the Lego roses set and birthday card since her birthday is the 24th. We have to pick up his tuxedo on Thursday and the corsage and boutonniere on Saturday. I'm also charging my camera batteries so that I'm ready for pictures before the dance.

Then just usual work stuff and gym classes this week...

[JillW]

My 17 year old has his first formal on the 25th. We took him today for a haircut. Also went to Target to get his girlfriend the Lego roses set and birthday card since her birthday is the 24th. We have to pick up his tuxedo on Thursday and the corsage and boutonniere on Saturday. I'm also charging my camera batteries so that I'm ready for pictures before the dance.

Then just usual work stuff and gym classes this week...

What fun Carrie! The first thing that popped into my head was great photo ops to scarp!!

[angiekey]

Holy guacamole, Jill - those chalk art projects look stunning! What beautiful work you do!

This week kinda sucked, which doubly sucks since it was my birthday mid-week. Several migraines and two pain flares thanks to the changes in the weather. Looking back, I think the biggest thing I accomplished was to get the "Think Outside the Album" blog post pulled together and posted and two videos created for the SSD IG feed. And my husband took me out to dinner on Saturday night (Saltgrass Steakhouse, my usual b'day request) so that was a highlight.

This week, I'm hoping the migraines let me get a little more accomplished:

Write my next blog post (it's our next "One Template, Many Ways", and the work the Babes have done is stunning!) and create a video for it.
Catch up on last week's work for the Couture Skirt Skills class I'm taking, and then do this week's as well.
Prepare for Chick Trek, the annual "do whatever you want to" crafting retreat I go on with eleven other ladies. We had to move it from our usual summertime slot to the end of January because of everyone's schedules, and I've done almost zero thinking about what I'm going to work on while I'm there.
Finish sewing one pair of panties (I just have to attach elastic to the waist and leg bands) and then sew up the bra and panty set I cut out yesterday.
Plan, cut, and sew a couple new tops for myself - I've dropped 50lbs in the last year, and 3/4 of what's in my closet no longer fits.
And I should probably do some housecleaning this week too. Ugh.

[LeeAndra]

I have a One Door/Drawer project for the year where I clean out one drawer or door (cabinet) in the house every week. I need to do that tomorrow for last week as it got pushed with other things happening at the last-minute. Besides that, my main goal for the week was getting all the rest of my birthday party things planned & I did do that.

This coming week is a (potential) doozy. I'm supposed to travel for work and be out of town Tuesday - Friday but that might be cancelled because of weather. We shall see. With that in mind, I have a lot of errand running & chores to accomplish tomorrow but my kiddo is having their boyfriend over for the day + my mom told me today that she's dropping by for a little bit so I'm not sure how productive I'll end up being. If I do end up going, I'll have a lot of free time on my hands in the evenings but not really much I can do as I won't be able to bring my personal laptop since I'll need my work one. I'll read on my Kindle and go to bed early, I guess?!

My party is Saturday night so I'll spend all of that day doing last-minute things, picking up the cake, setting up, etc. before the actual party that evening. Sunday is my birthday but besides spending it with my kids & husband and watching "Wicked," I don't know what we'll end up doing (but I will need to figure that out before then). Fortunately, I'm taking that Monday off work so I can relax & reset before getting back to the grind.

[carrie1977]

What fun Carrie! The first thing that popped into my head was great photo ops to scarp!!

Yes! I don't get many pics of my kids anymore. They aren't really fans of the camera. :D

[kristalund]

Did you get everything accomplished you had hoped to last week - and what are you looking forward to doing or accomplishing this coming week?

Despite the best laid plans, I didn't get everything accomplished I set out but it was still a good week!!

[Brendazzle]

Last week was supposed to be the week of so many appointments. Half of them canceled so this week we're making up a few.

I have phone calls to make for next steps, on-going therapies for my mini me, and we're just starting our ornithology unit study for homeschool so maybe some backyard birding?

[JillW]

Holy guacamole, Jill - those chalk art projects look stunning! What beautiful work you do!

This week kinda sucked, which doubly sucks since it was my birthday mid-week. Several migraines and two pain flares thanks to the changes in the weather. Looking back, I think the biggest thing I accomplished was to get the "Think Outside the Album" blog post pulled together and posted and two videos created for the SSD IG feed. And my husband took me out to dinner on Saturday night (Saltgrass Steakhouse, my usual b'day request) so that was a highlight.

This week, I'm hoping the migraines let me get a little more accomplished:

Write my next blog post (it's our next "One Template, Many Ways", and the work the Babes have done is stunning!) and create a video for it.
Catch up on last week's work for the Couture Skirt Skills class I'm taking, and then do this week's as well.
Prepare for Chick Trek, the annual "do whatever you want to" crafting retreat I go on with eleven other ladies. We had to move it from our usual summertime slot to the end of January because of everyone's schedules, and I've done almost zero thinking about what I'm going to work on while I'm there.
Finish sewing one pair of panties (I just have to attach elastic to the waist and leg bands) and then sew up the bra and panty set I cut out yesterday.
Plan, cut, and sew a couple new tops for myself - I've dropped 50lbs in the last year, and 3/4 of what's in my closet no longer fits.
And I should probably do some housecleaning this week too. Ugh.


Happy belated birthday Ang! I'm sorry you had a migraine during the week!!! I love reading about your sewing projects! You are uber skilled!!!

[JillW]

Last week was supposed to be the week of so many appointments. Half of them canceled so this week we're making up a few.

I have phone calls to make for next steps, on-going therapies for my mini me, and we're just starting our ornithology unit study for homeschool so maybe some backyard birding?

So frustrating when appointments get cancelled or changed around!! Oh - ornithology studies sound like a lot of fun!! I hope you are able to spot some interesting feather friends!!

[JillW]

Did you get everything accomplished you had hoped to last week - and what are you looking forward to doing or accomplishing this coming week?

Despite the best laid plans, I didn't get everything accomplished I set out but it was still a good week!!

Great attitude!! :wub:

[JillW]

Yes! I don't get many pics of my kids anymore. They aren't really fans of the camera. :D

That's happened with my grandkids too!! (And they are still young! LOL!)

[JillW]

I have a One Door/Drawer project for the year where I clean out one drawer or door (cabinet) in the house every week. I need to do that tomorrow for last week as it got pushed with other things happening at the last-minute. Besides that, my main goal for the week was getting all the rest of my birthday party things planned & I did do that.

This coming week is a (potential) doozy. I'm supposed to travel for work and be out of town Tuesday - Friday but that might be cancelled because of weather. We shall see. With that in mind, I have a lot of errand running & chores to accomplish tomorrow but my kiddo is having their boyfriend over for the day + my mom told me today that she's dropping by for a little bit so I'm not sure how productive I'll end up being. If I do end up going, I'll have a lot of free time on my hands in the evenings but not really much I can do as I won't be able to bring my personal laptop since I'll need my work one. I'll read on my Kindle and go to bed early, I guess?!

My party is Saturday night so I'll spend all of that day doing last-minute things, picking up the cake, setting up, etc. before the actual party that evening. Sunday is my birthday but besides spending it with my kids & husband and watching "Wicked," I don't know what we'll end up doing (but I will need to figure that out before then). Fortunately, I'm taking that Monday off work so I can relax & reset before getting back to the grind.

Your cleaning goal for the year sounds like a great plan!! I hope your birthday party goes well!! Happy happy early birthday! (I'll be watching for a birthday layout or two in the near future!) ;)

[JillW]

I have a busy week coming up! I am going to a Career fair to have a booth on Wednesday, so we are leaving Tuesday afternoon so we don't have to leave at 5 am. Then at the Career fair all day Wednesday, back home and then work early the next am. Just adding a bit, it'll be fun but I'm already tired lol

Good luck with the career fair Trina!! I hope your company can snag lots of good talent!! :thumbup:

[Brendazzle]

Oh - ornithology studies sound like a lot of fun!! I hope you are able to spot some interesting feather friends!!

Thank you! So far today we saw some ibises and I think I saw the osprey out by the main road (but couldn't get a closer look from the car). It's a rainy day so our plans have changed to "post-appointment nap" and I'm okay with that.

[norton94]

Jill your chalk crafts are amazing!!

This week's overarching task is finishing up our new floors and stairs on our main level - the flooring guy is here daily. So my husband/dogs and me are living in 2 rooms upstairs atm. extra bedroom is office and then our bedroom. So I'm juggling trades people and the sawdust.

Monday: I've got a meeting with a wedding planner for my daughter's wedding later today.
Tues: Plumber to hook back up the gas stove and bathroom sink. Insulation for attic. Nerve study tomorrow and then a National Geographic lecture/dinner out with friends.
Thurs: night we have basketball tickets.
Saturday/Sunday: the carpenter for my stairs will be back to work again. He is amazing, but works M-F for a new construction company as a finished carpenter and this is his side job.

[AmieN1]

I'm still out of town (vegas for softball tournament with my daughter) and my husband was in Montana with my son for a hockey tournament, plus our hockey boys had 2 home games (so I had to massive prep for them before I left to be home alone for 2 days)- so not much got done on my sunday- in fact it does give me some anxiety knowing my todo list is just pilling up. We fly home super late tonight & then I work the next 2 days so pretty much nothing is getting done until next Thursday at the earliest! At least next weekend everyone is home & we only have a few activities we have to go to- so time to catch up! I know I'll miss these crazy days in the future but right now these weekends of needing to be in so many places at the same time is stressful.

On the flipside- my son's team got 5th & my daughter's team is 3 wins 1 loss so far with one more game today- so THEY accomplished a lot this weekend! Lol

[JillW]

Yay for the outcome of your daughter and son's games! Man, Amie, you are a busy family!! Hoping you can get things accomplished so your anxiety lessens (I understand that feeling!)