Goofin' Off and Tapping Into My Strengths

I apologize for a partial hijacking of my normal stitching and quilting blog to mix in some time management stuff.  I am working through time management on my own so that I can get back to the activities that give me the sanity I need to get through the other "stuff" that goes on in my day-to-day life.  I have a great life and am not complaining--I just feel like the past year has gotten away from me.  Feel free to read through if you think you're interested or just scroll on down to the day-to-day fun stuff with quilting and stitching pictures.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. 

We only have today. Let us begin."  --Mother Teresa

There is so much truth to this.  I can't worry about what time is past.  I can't recoup the time I've lost.  I just need to reorganize myself and my time so that I can just begin with today.  

Tapping into my time-management strengths

This past year has come and gone.  I wasn’t able to accomplish many of the things I would have liked to.  Recognizing I want to get more done in 2020, I’ve realized that I’ve got to treat my time like an investment.  If I want to make 20 charity quilt tops in 2020, that means I’ve got to invest my time in gathering fabrics, rulers, rotary cutters, and other quilting supplies; cutting out shapes; and sewing these precious squares and triangles to create completed tops.  That precious quilt top is the return on my investment…and the interest on that return is knowing that children, families and seniors will be able to enjoy a warm quilt that was made with my time, sewing machine and love.  (Isn’t love the most important investment to include in a quilt?)  

That’s what my 2020 is going to be about…taking back control of my time so that I know that I’m spending it the way I need to so that I can feel fulfilled and still be of service to others.  I’ve come to realize that even though I don’t always feel in control of my time—like when a Disney comes out with a new discount promotion and I have loads of vacation requests coming from clients unexpectedly OR the dishwasher breaks two months after the warranty runs out and all dishes need to be washed by hand during the holidays OR a family member is having an emergency and I need to go spend a large chunk of time at the hospital—despite all of that, I really am in control of many aspects of my time.

In order to take back control of my time, I need to take a deep dive into my life and look at my tasks and see how I can restructure them and put a new schedule in place.  I know this will me to take a self-examination and be honest with myself about some things.  In addition, I’ll need to some tools to help me along.  I have read more than my fair share of self-help books, so I need to go back over my notes and thoughts that stood out to me and see if I can recognize what has helped me in the past.

Assessing my strengths (and weaknesses)

I have reached a point in my life where I have begun to discover my strengths and appreciate them for what they are.  

• I am a great listener.  
• I accomplish the most when I am using a checklist.  Some self-help gurus say not to make checklists.  Without my checklists I would not get much accomplished.  
• I am organized (although that organization may occasionally look chaotic at times to an outsider).  There is a method to my madness.  
• I have a love and compassion for people and a desire to help them.  
• I am good with numbers and enjoy looking for a good bargain without sacrificing value.  
• I believe in quality over quantity—once I have mastered something to the point I can produce great quality, the ability to produce more quantity follows suit.  

Like any investment, I need to figure out which of these brings the greatest returns towards my end goals for the coming year.  I really missed the mark for my goals in 2019, and looking at the list I can see how not leveraging those strengths changed things.  I need to remember that I can’t try to do everything…or I’ll have time for nothing.

Now that I’ve talked about some of my strengths, I guess I should admit to and come to terms with my weaknesses.  

• I try to do too many things.  
• I try to please too many people and often don’t leave enough time to do things for myself.  
• I sometimes suffer a little too much FOMO (fear of missing out).  For example, I want to join a quilt-a-long because I see so many of my friends doing them…except the projects that I really want to work on like a charity quilt don’t fit the guidelines of said stitch-a-long.  

It's time for me to set some guidelines for meeting my goals in 2020 and recognizing and embracing which of my strengths will help me accomplish these goals.  It's also time for me to diagnose which of my weaknesses are hindering me the most so that I can work towards eliminating them or improving them.

What are your strengths?  I am glad we don't all have the same strengths.  The world needs a variety of talents and strengths to create balance that helps us function as a whole.  Thank you to all my fellow bloggers who share their strengths, tips, and talents.  I have grown so much because of you and all that you so willingly give impart!

Elf-ing Around Last Week

I was able to attend a work conference last week for my travel business.  It was held at the Sheraton Grand Seattle.  Since the conference included complimentary valet parking, Mr. Goofin' Off and I decided to carpool in together for the day.  He starts work at 7:00 a.m. and the conference didn't start until 10:00 a.m., so that gave me about three hours to do some reading, catch up on emails, and visit the gingerbread display at the hotel.  You could actually see his building from the room where the conference took place. 

Mr. Goofin' Off's Building is the One With the Large Diagonal Beam

The theme for the gingerbread display this year was "ElfLife".  Often, the lines for the displays can get very long.  Fortunately for me, when it opened at 9:00 a.m. in the middle of the week, I was the only person there.  I got to spend quite a bit of time enjoying the gingerbread displays.  Here are a few shots of my favorites: 

Gingerbread Display Inspired by the Movie "Elf" - (Santa, I know him!!!)

Inspired by the Keebler Elves

Santa's Workshop and Elves--Wait, Is That Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks as an Elf?

Aren't they just so delightful!  

Goofin' Off With Update from the Week of 12/08/2019

Okay, so it wasn't much...but it was something.  As the winter begins to wear on, I needed to work on something with color.  I went to Etsy and found a design I fell in love with.  I made a new start and will be rotating this with my Mickey and Pirate Friends piece.  This new project's pattern is only four pages...and three of those pages are partial pages.  I'm not telling you what it is just yet.  But here is my start.  

Progress on New Project as of 12/16/2019

This may not look like much stitching to you, but for me this was a real win to sit down and work on this.  I am so excited to see how it will turn out.  This will be a block that I will be sending and donating to Love Quilts. 

Any guesses yet?  It's hard to tell from this picture, but this is going to be loaded with lots of purples and pinks...just what I need to beat the winter blahs.

Goofin' Off With a Little Bit of Time

The year is coming to a close real soon here.  I can't believe how long it's been since I posted.  The past year has been pretty good with my travel advisor job really taking off last summer.  I feel lucky and grateful for that and have been able to check a couple of items off my bucket list this past year in addition to planning vacations for clients.

We had a new addition to the family in 2019..thanks to Mr. Goofin' Off.  Hubby knew the minute he saw it that he wanted it and what he wanted to name it (yes hubby likes to name his cars).  It has been named Nemo.  Although we've had Nemo for a number of months now, he's actually only been driven a few times.  Nemo has needed a lot of tinkering and Mr. Goofin' Off loves to tinker with cars.  It's a win-win!

Welcome to the family, Nemo!

As I write this post and reflect back on this past year, I am reminded of a little whimsical prose written by Dr. Seuss:

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?
--Dr. Seuss

The year has flown by.  The holidays are upon us.  As I have pondered the past 11 months, I am grateful for all the wonderful things that have happened.  But I have also felt a large hole in my life where my quilting, stitching, charity work and blogging were.  My time has been limited by my new career as well as helping in taking care of my dad.  

Since my mother passed away last year, my dad has needed a lot of extra time.  Early in the year we moved him into assisted living.  Then we began the task of getting his home ready for sale.  This was a monumental job because my parents had lived there for over 50 years and raised five kids there.  I like to tell people my mother was an organized hoarder.  It was unbelievable how much stuff she had managed to tuck away under beds and oozing out the dozens of closets throughout the 2700 sq. ft. house.  It was all good stuff and in brand new condition.  She liked to purchase clothing and knitting and sewing projects through catalogs.  It would have taken her several lifetimes to complete all the projects that she had bought.  I guess a lot of us quilters, cross stitchers, or whatever type of crafter you are, can relate to this (I write as I stare into my closet overstuffed with fabric).  It literally took us weeks of working 20 to 40 hours a week to go through everything and get all the items that were donate-able donated.  

Then this fall my father fell in his assisted living apartment and broke a hip.  He spent time at the hospital, then three weeks at a rehab center.  This time, he really needed more help when he left, so we found a fantastic group home for him.  My brother and I had toured a number of homes and this was the only one we felt good about.  We were so grateful that they were able to take my dad on and for the care and compassion he receives there.  

Professionally, this year has been great, too.  The month of July I booked more travel for people than I had the entire year before.  I now have money coming in each month.  I have met people at conferences and through my travels that have become great new friends.

I've even checked some things off my bucket list.  For Halloween, I went to Disneyland with my two sisters.  I dressed up as Edna Mode to go trick-or-treating at Disneyland.  What a fun experience!

BUT...

...there has been next to no time to quilt or cross stitch or work on charity projects.  I just don't feel complete at the moment.  I am committed to doing better in the coming year.  I'm coming at 2020 with full steam ahead.  I'm so excited to see what I can accomplish this coming year.  

All About My Time and Priorities

I know that in order to give myself more time for things that are important to me--and absolutely necessary for me to keep my sanity when things get insane--I must start making some time for myself to do the things that I enjoy.

I've already gone and purchased my planner for next year.  I understand that everyone's day has 24 hours...that's 1,440 minutes...which is 86,400 second.  Once a day is gone, we can't borrow against yesterday's hours...or trade for tomorrow's minutes.  I need to make be sure to prioritize my days to get the most out of my time for them.  I've got to plan better to be sure that the things I want to get done have the time allotted for them and not just wait for "spare time" to magically appear.  

My 2020 Planner and Pretty Pens to Get Me Started

In the past, I've been able to reshuffle priorities to be able to accomplish what I want to...like charity quilts and cross stitch projects...especially Disney projects.  It's time to get back to that.  I know if I'm willing to invest more to quilting and stitching that I'll be able to get some sanity back in my life.  

In order to feel like I've had a successful 2020, I know I'll need to find a better balance that will keep me on track to finish some projects and start some new ones.  I'll try to keep you updated on this journey (although blog posts will probably be the best indicator).  I look forward to jumping back into the swing of things.  Now for a pictorial show of how much I have (or maybe "haven't" is a better word) accomplished this year.  

Time for Quilting in 2019?

This is where I left off at the beginning of the year.  I had picked out these fabrics for my first (and apparently only) quilt of 2019.  I had cut out all 624 pieces and...that's where I stopped until about June when we finished getting my Dad's house ready for sale.  

By the end of June I had managed to sew a few pieces together:  

Where I left off last summer.

It felt great to sit behind the sewing machine and piece together these triangles.  But that was the last time I sat behind my sewing machine.  Because in mid-July, my business really took off.  I'm not complaining about my business.  I have lots of fun helping people plan their vacations.  It's a real win-win for both my clients and myself.  

As things quieted down a little at the beginning of Fall, I had my first conference to attend (in Florida, of course), a wedding to attend in Portland, Oregon, my dad took a tumble and broke his hip, we had to find a new place for my dad and get him moved in, and then hubby had a conference (back to Florida).  I just haven't managed to get my sewing machine back out.  It's time to take back control of my life and get back in the sewing room.  

Stitching Time...

Now I have managed to get a little stitching in.  And this is where I am now with my Mickey and Pirate friends cross stitch piece.  Hey, any progress is still progress in my book.  Right?  

So thanks a million for following me through this journey of my 2019.  Now it's time for me to put some time management skills to work and find more hours for the activities that will bring me some sanity.

I look forward to reconnecting and keeping up with all of you, my friends.  Wishing you all a Happy Holidays for all of the great things that you are celebrating this coming month and into 2020.  

Goofin' Off into 2019

I was just looking back at my last post way back in August, and I once again realize how precious my blogging family is to me.  It's been a surreal few months since I last posted, but the Goofin' Offs are back in business and ready to reconnect.

Quick update on my projects for those that come here just for the cross stitching and quilting eye candy.  I am looking forward to having more time this coming year to work on my projects.  I really, really missed having a lack of time last year.

Here is where I left off my last post with Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch:

Mickey & Pirate Friends CS 08/02/2018

and here is where I am today:

Mickey & Pirate Friends CS 01/08/2018

Yay!  We have a skull and crossbones.

I'm afraid to say I didn't take pictures of my last quilt finish.  I have begun being better about taking pictures again.  So here are the fabrics I picked out for my current project.  Sorry, there aren't any Disney fabrics in this one.  All but one of the fabrics were graciously gifted to me by my mother-in-law.  

Fabrics for Quilt #1 of 2019

I spent some time during the holidays cutting out all of these pieces for the quilt center--all 624 of them.  I'm not sure if this will be a record for me or not.  I know many of you do centers with thousands of pieces, but I am just not there yet.  It's not a competition, right?  It's about the journey.

Quilt #1 of 2019 - 624 Pieces Cut for Center of Quilt

Now for a quick update on the happenings of the Goofin' Offs.  My last post found me spending time with my mother who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  At that time, she had been given about another month and a half.  Mr. Goofin' Off had a conference being held at the Disneyland Hotel, so of course I decided to join him.  My mother insisted that I not miss the trip.  She loved to travel and made it clear that no matter what happened, no one was to cancel a trip during her illness.

While Mr. Goofin' Off was in classes the first morning, I headed off to check out the Pixar Fest goings on.  Here is the entrance to the newly themed Pixar Pier.  

New Entrance to Pixar Pier

It was really well done.  I spent the morning there taking pictures and journaling.  I found a nice quiet corner and enjoyed the Pixar music in the background and watching the families spending time playing together.  It was a beautiful morning.  Here is a video I put together with the pictures that I took that morning of the new Pixar Pier area.

When I got back to the hotel later that morning, I received a call from my younger sister who was up staying with my parents for a long weekend to help my mom.  My mom had taken a turn for the worse that morning.  They were taking her up to the hospice center to see if they could stabilize her.  From that moment on during the trip, things were pretty somber for us Goofin' Offs.  I debated whether or not to fly back to Seattle to be with my parents and siblings, but whenever I talked to my mother on the phone she insisted I not come home early.  

Lone Bird of Paradise Flower at Disneyland Hotel

Back at The Disneyland Hotel, I found this lone Bird of Paradise flower blooming.  My mother loved this type of flower as it reminded her of some our happiest family vacations to Hawaii.  In some odd way, it provided me comfort throughout the week.  

When we flew home at the end of the week, I went to visit my mother at the hospice center.  She looked extremely weak but wanted to know what new things we had seen.  When we came back the next day, she had lost consciousness.  I am grateful I had that one last conversation with her in person.  The next week was spent waiting with various family members in her hospital room at the hospice center.  They moved her to a nice large room to accommodate our large family.  It had a beautiful view of the the Puget Sound.  My mom always liked a good upgrade, so we embraced this room change as her final upgrade.  She passed away on August 18th.  

My father has Parkinson's and is legally blind.  As you can imagine, we have been spending a lot of time helping with things around his house and making sure he gets dinner every day.  He has finally agreed to get an apartment in an assisted living building.  I am glad he came to this conclusion on his own.  We have to wait for an opening which may take a few months.  However, this gives us a chance to start helping him clean and prepare for the move.  We are hoping his move will help take some of the pressure off of the family and help things get back to a normal state of being.  

So now you have all the updates.  I am excited be back and am glad that things are getting back to a new "normal."  I can't wait to re-engage with all of you.  

Love,  Mrs. Goofin' Off

Linking Up With:  

• To Do Tuesday

Goofin' Off During a Crazy Summer

I can't believe how fast this year has been going by. I have so many things on my plate and am always missing my blogging friends. I know at some point things will calm down, but it will be bittersweet. As always, working on my quilting and cross stitching is my sanity saver.

I'll give a few updates on my projects before I let you in on what's been going on with the Goofin' Offs.

First up is updates on my large Disney Cross Stitch project:

Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 02/23/2018

Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 08/02/2018

Back in May I started a new quilting project for Project Linus. Although it doesn't use any Disney fabrics, I have changed the original pattern to use up some blue scraps. I honestly thought I had taken more photos of this project, but I guess I was mistaken. It's assembled with black, white, and assorted blue scraps.

To start with, here is a picture of all the black fabric cut out.

Black Fabric Pieces All Cut Out

Below are the first sub-units starting to be assembled. Notice the beautiful glass rose from Beauty and the Best in the background? My nephews gave it to me for Mother's Day this year. We just so happened to be at Disneyland at the time, so it has a lot of extra special meaning for me. 

48 Sub-Units:  A+E (and a beautiful glass rose)

48 Sub-Units:  B+A+E

24 Sub-Units:  (G+D+D+F) combined with 24-Sub-units (B+A+E)

To do a quick catch-up on what's been going on the past six months with the Goofin' Offs:

I have been busy working my transcription job and starting work as a travel consultant. As I continue to find what I enjoy and don't enjoy about being a travel consultant, I think I may at some point change from a travel consultant to a travel planning blogger. I do finally have a website up and running. So far the most-visited page is the page where I keep a list of major sweepstakes that are free to enter and offer grand prizes of travel.  You can find it here.  After all, who wouldn't want to win a free vacation from likes of Disney or Coca Cola.

In March the Goofin' Off family used our cruise credit from our cruise that was canceled last fall. It was a 7-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Oasis of the Seas ship. We enjoyed all the activities this ship has to offer. You can see Mr. Goofin' Off certainly took time to enjoy them all.

Mr. Goofin' Off on the Zip Line on the Oasis of the Seas

Mr. Goofin' Off Climbing One of the Rock Climbing Walls on the Back of the Ship

Mr. Goofin' Off Taking a Nap on the Balcony

We purposely chose a cruise leaving from Port Canaveral so that we could sneak in a few days at Disney World. We had a few days left on our annual passes and really wanted to show Goofin' Off Jr. the new Pandora area. It was a whirlwind few days. 

Goofin' Off Jr. and Mr. Goofin' Off Waiting for the Bus at the Resort
To Take Us to Disney's Animal Kingdom - Pandora, World of Avatar

Disney's Animal Kingdom:  Pandora, World of Avatar

April came and went and was uneventful but extremely busy. I was working and putting together the basics of my website. I'm not sure on some things, but I'm definitely getting better at web design. 

May came with a trip to Disneyland.  Mr. Goofin' Off, myself, and my two nephews went for a quick trip. For the record, my nephews are in their mid- to late-20's, so no little ones on this trip. We had a great time and indulged ourselves in a few dozen (yes, that really is dozen) Mickey Mouse beignets and a number of churros. It was actually a bit chilly for the time of year in Southern California. We didn't mind because it made waiting in lines much more bearable. 

Churro at Disneyland with Cocoa Powder and Chocolate-Spiced Dipping Sauce

May came and my dad had to have a hernia operation. My mother had been having stomach problems and the test results came back while my dad was still in the hospital.  It was stage IV pancreatic cancer. She has chosen not to do chemo because of the side effects and the fact that it would only prolong her life a few months. 

June was a month of adjusting to a new normal. Mr. Goofin' Off and I go over to my parents' house every Tuesday for dinner time with them. We let my parents choose what they want to do. The first month, my mother wanted to go out to eat. At this point, we are bringing dinner over to them every Tuesday and just enjoying time with them. 

July started out with Mr. Goofin' Off coming down with pneumonia...just three days before he was to leave for India. His company has him helping set up a new office in India. The doctor put him on some strong antibiotics and gave him the clearance to travel, so he was off to India for a week. As you can imagine, I was really worried about him while he was gone. Luckily, he came home much healthier than he left. The end of June had lots of extended family come up and spend time with my parents. We had a great time catching up. I had two nephews stay with us during that time and really enjoyed having teenage boys around the house again. I have some pretty awesome family! 

August is here and so much going on. I try to attend at least one appointment every week with my mother's hospice workers. She is really slowing down and sleeping a lot. It's hard to leave my parents sometimes when it's time to go. Mr. Goofin' Off and I are headed out to a conference next week. It was all scheduled before we got the news of the cancer. I am grateful that I have a sister coming up from Salt Lake City for a few days followed by my brother coming up to help at the end of the week. I can rest a little more easily while I'll be gone.

Enough of my ramblings. You are now caught up. Even though things are crazy busy at times, I am grateful for each and every moment of it. I'm looking forward to catching up with all my blogging friends. You all bring such a positive energy into my life.

Linking Up With:

• Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
• Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict