Thursday, August 14, 2008

Veggies and Log Cabins

This past Tuesday, I put feet to my thoughts. I've been doing some thinking lately about how I feel. You know - tired, run down, foggy brained, etc. I know, a lot of stress can cause issues, but we all have stress, right?

So, I've been thinking.....my body needs nutrition. Not just stuff I LIKE to eat, but stuff that's good for me. I mean, seriously, lattes and chocolate don't do much for you nutritionally, you have to supplement occasionally with really nutritious foods!!! I've decided to cut out most of the Dr. Pepper, which I love, and drink more water. Cutting out lattes is NOT an option. I want to eat better, I don't want to kill myself!!!

So Tuesday, I hopped into the car and drove myself and Dear Younger Daughter to Farmer's Market. When the three older kids were young, it was a weekly trip. We went through so much fruit and quite a few veggies back then. Of course, it was fun for the kids to get to pick out their favorites and they were much more likely to eat them if they had picked them out! Even with two of the older kids gone most of the time, we still have to eat. So, Dear Younger Daughter and I bought the place out! Nectarines, plums, onions, sweet potatoes, broccoli, celery, lettuce, avocados....and the list goes on and on. It was hot and tiring, but it felt so good to be investing in the right foods!

When I got home, Mom helped me cut up veggies for about 1 1/2 hours. What a haul!!! She cooked collard greens and we cut up stuff for salads and for cooking with. The only way all these veggies will actually be used is if I have it ready to toss into soups, salads and dishes! I made a pot of veggie soup that night for dinner and Dear Hubby finished it off the next day. Looks like I need to make another pot!!

Here is a pic of the salad I am trying to eat everyday. Not a difficult thing, really, I LOVE salad. In this bowl we have: Romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, purple cabbage, red onion, bell pepper, avocado and slivered almonds. It's the world's best nutritious salad!!

I know that I have food sensitivities to "trashy carbs". I feel awful when I eat them and yet, they are what I crave!! So, out with the trash and in with the good stuff.

Now, why would I put all this out in the public? I guess I want the accountability to keep it up, and I hope to encourage us all to eat better and to take better care of ourselves. Sure, we'd rather grab something and go. Eat something "easy and quick", but we know what we need. We've got to keep our strength up for quilting!!!

Now, on to the quilty stuff. I've been working on those Off Centered Log Cabin blocks for a while. My original intention was to make a quilt for our king sized bed. Well, when Dear Hubby moved into the hospital bed, the king sized bed went out of the room to be replaced with a full sized bed for me. So, I'm working on making 100 blocks for my bed in our room instead. Hey, it will take less time and blocks, so it works out great.

I know there are many options available when wanting to audition layouts for quilts, but I sat down this morning and worked on Publisher and came up with three layouts for my Off Centered Log Cabin blocks. Please note: this is not perfect work, just me messing around on the computer. Some of the "tiles" are off a bit. Just try to ignore that.

Here is how I did it. I took pics of three blocks. I cropped them so only the block appears in the pic. Then, I copied and pasted them into a Publisher document. Made them smaller and copied ALOT more of them. I lined them up side by side, in the layout I wanted. 10 blocks x 10 blocks. They are 7 inch finished. Then, I used the rotate thingy and turned them around and around to get the design I wanted. When I was done, I grouped all the "tiles" and saved it as a picture. And here you see the work I did this morning. I may play around more with some other designs, but I'm liking the first one best!

Feel free to let me know which one you like best! And remember, this layout is only using three blocks. I'm actually using about 400 different scraps to make this quilt. Every color imaginable! This is just for auditioning layouts.




Happy Quilting and Healthy Eating!!

15 comments:

Sweet P said...

Mmmmmm . . . salad . . . I'm coming over. The only item I would add to your salad is pea shoots.

I like option #2 for your blocks. It's an uncommon setting and I'm all about being uncommon.

Paula, the quilter said...

I've always been partial to the barn raising setting (pic #1). I crave trashy carbs too and also feel bad when I consume them. Of course, being extremely sensitive to soy doesn't help because soy is in everything. I just stay away from preprocessed food including the organic, healthy stuff because it too contains soy.

Ruthie said...

I love the barn-raising!

WhiteStone said...

Oh, Nice fabric selection even if you hve done only three blocks. Love the diagonal set. BTW, how does your Mom cook collards? We like them but I think we are the only ones in our area that even know what they are. LOL

Diane said...

I like the first one the best. Is Publisher easier to use than Electric Quilt? I have used Word to paste quilt blocks in for writing instructions but I haven't used Publisher.
I love the look of your salad. It makes me real hungry!

calicodaisy said...

Hey Paula: I like the diamond one. It looks like the colors are rippling out from the center. I, too, gave up Diet Coke for home consumption. How I love that sweet bubbly, but it has to be no good for me everyday. I can get some on the road, but I've done well not to purchase it for the house. It's good to have accountability - especially blog-wide! -- Michele

Jeanne said...

Good for you on your new eating plan!
The salad looks delicious. I would choose the first layout, although the last one is a close second.

Maria said...

I like the first option, although it's probably the most common. I'm going away with Honey next week, and then I have to get rid of the trashy carbs too! Thanks for the push!

Libby said...

Farmer's Market is always such fun. I love the community feel not to mention all the yummy, fresh goodness to be found.
I like all the block layouts but seem to favor #1 just a smidge more than the others.

Sara said...

I know what you mean by eating healthy. We started improving our eating when J started CC and I had surgery. When fair came around we really didn't want fair food, it didn't seem that appetizing - all that grease! Good for you for changing your eating habits!! I know I feel better when I eat healthy!
Also I like layout number one!

Hannah B. said...

Good for you Mrs. Wy! You keep eating healthy, ya hear? Eating right takes FAR more thought and planning ahead for meal time, but in the long run, it is worth it. Do remember that God made chocolate and coffee beans, so don't rid yourself of those essentials! :) Love you!

Patti said...

I agree with you - my favorite log cabin setting has always been barn raising. Sometimes I do a star with the blocks in the center for a variation.

Good for you eating so well. I'm sure you will feel MUCH better. I know I do since I started Weight Watchers on July 2nd. One thing to remember - there is a LOT of calcium and other vitamins and minerals in that latte. As longas you get nonfat milk and either no flavoring or sugar free it's a good choice. I love the flavor of coffee so I just get them with no flavoring at all. A 20 oz. non fat latter is only 3 weight watchers points.

Marilyn Robertson said...

I think the first quilt setting is my favorite. We have been trying to eat better here too - such a battle!

Anonymous said...

The first quilt is my favorite, I love the ripply effect. I too ate better over the past few days and made up some salads. I threw in some cashews and egg yolks too, it was yummy.

Fabricmom said...

I like the first layout. I too have been trying to eat better. I have been walking too. Keep up the good work.