What I've Been Up To:

I've mentioned before that I've been sewing a lot lately, and a few of you asked to see my projects. So here they are!

This bag was one of my firsts. It serves as a "carry all" mostly for church. I love the black and white lilies and I chose a red batik for the lining.

This has been my purse for a while now. I love the print.

This is a new bag. Very slouchy and casual. It doesn't show up in the picture that well, but the print is a mint green toile.

This was my most ambitious handbag, made from an Amy Butler pattern with her fabric. I love this bag and use it a lot. I made one like it in slightly different fabrics at the request of a friend.

And the BIG project? My first quilt! Made solely with my fave designer's fabrics - Amy Butler. I never intended to become a quilter; I thought I would use my sewing machine for cool handbags and some basic garment construction. Well, it didn't take me long to discover that garment construction is not my calling in life and as much as I love sewing bags, I like the scope and size of a quilting project. So I have already started some others and have a list of more I would like to make!

I pieced this one and then Dan's Aunt Nancy, a wonderfully talented quilter, actually machine quilted it for me (my machine is too tiny for that part!) And then Dan's Grandma put on the binding - so this quilt was definitely a family affair!

This pattern is really simple, just squares and rectangles, but I hope to try some more challenging patterns in the future. For now, accomplishing this was enough to pique my interest in future quilting endeavors.

So that's a sampling of what I've been up to lately. Hopefully I'll be posting some more soon, and possibly opening my own Etsy shop!

Oh great, now I can't enjoy my Diet Coke, either . . .

http://newconnexion.net/articles/index.cfm/2001/03/aspartame.html

Heard at Church Yesterday . . .

"The Gospel is not a check that gets us into Heaven, but the currency of the Christian life."

This makes me never want to drink soda again . . .

I received this info from a newsletter from my chiropractor:

Drinking soda is bad for your health in so many ways; science can’t even state all the consequences. Here’s what happens in your body when you assault it with a Coke:

Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash.

The average American drinks more than 60 gallons of soft drinks each year, but before you grab that next can of soda, consider this: one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. Not to mention the fact that it’s also your largest source of dangerous high fructose modified corn syrup.

Here's my question, though. Does all this stuff happen if I drink a Diet Coke?

If you find yourself with a few free moments and are tempted to turn on the Olympics . . . don't. Instead, watch this interview from Larry King Live with the Chapman family and praise God that He is given the glory, even in tragedy.

And have a box of Kleenex close by.