Good habits

It was a long day yesterday. But just before I rolled into the driveway on the way home at 10 PM, I decided to gas up the car. On the way to my class last night, I noticed that gas prices went anywhere from 113.9 to 122.9. That was in a distance of about 30 KM. Yikes - I'm not gassing up at that higher station. Fortunately, the lower priced one was the closest to me. I wondered if the price would change from the time I left to the time I got back and NO - it was the same price. The price tends to be much higher in the morning and then it decreases as the day goes on.

So for those that are too tired to fill up the car the night before, you're going to pay for that! Now I have a full tank so when I leave for my workshop this morning I won't have to worry about the gas tank.

I also needed to put some air in my tires. I guess everyone has those sensors on their tires now. I have one leaky tire which they can never seem to fix. While at the gas station last night even though it was very late for me to be out, I figured I might as well get that taken care of.

Yep - only one tire was low. And the air pump was still working. As I drove up a man was putting air in his tires. By the time I was ready to put air in the tires (had to check the pressure on all four), he had left and the pump was still ready. So I filled up my tire and got in the car. The pump stopped running while I got in the car. I saved a whopping $1.50!!!  But even more important, I'm trying to get myself into a good habit. Fill the car up at night instead of waiting for the morning.

I know, there are people who had it drilled into their heads to fill up the tank the moment it hit 1/4 empty. Now, what's the point in that? I usually wait until the light goes on. I like to live on the edge! I've also never in my life run out of gas. Those old rules about condensation in the tank in the winter - don't believe them. I've had my car running on fumes and it starts like a charm in the cold winter mornings.

The other good habit that I'm trying to get into is making my lunch. No, let's rephrase that - making it when you're NOT in a rush. I was tired when I got home last night and I didn't make my lunch or pack my bags for the workshop today. However, the first thing I did after I took the girls and boy for their "we need to empty our bladder" walk was to pack for the workshop and then make my lunch. I know - those who have excelled at time management are shaking your heads. But the old me would have tried to cram three hours of sewing in, instead of doing these simple tasks. Which is probably why there's a pile of paperwork sitting around. I avoid things I don't like to do and then do it only when it's urgent.

I'm getting better. A long way from perfect, but better. I can almost call myself efficient in the non-quilting world. 

The meeting/training session yesterday was fun and informative. New sewing and embroidery machines and I now have one of them sitting in my front hall so I get to play with it a bit more. Heck - a LOT more. I'll be blogging on QUILTsocial about that in about a month and I'll post the links when it happens.

In the downtime, I was having a peek at the embroidery software. Oh boy - I NEED to get up to speed on this software. The cool things that one can do are AMAZING!!!!  I'm going to start scheduling one day a week in my calendar that is PLAY DAY. That's very important and NONE of us do it. So I'm going to make it a habit. I'm not sure what day I'll pick and I'm not sure I can afford the time in the next two weeks, but I'm going to plug in some dates right now. DONE - Tuesday is the new play day at my house. That just means that I'm going to have to work my schedule around that date. Won't start for a couple of weeks as I have a few things that urgently need to be done.

While I was at the meeting, I managed to get all the pieces ripped out of my blocks that needed to be changed. When I got home, I replaced most of them. Later this afternoon, I'll be able to get those blocks together and hopefully get the quilt top on the long arm. I'm debating between custom and overall. But I can do fast custom for something like this and I really think it needs two different thread colors.

Today's workshop is on improv piecing with a twist. It's going to be loads of fun and I can't wait to see the end results.

On that note, I'd better get out of here. I've got a wee bit of paperwork that I'd like to clean up before I leave this morning and let's not forget the girls need a walk. This is the sniffing and exploring the neighborhood walk.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!