93. Train for and participate in the Sun Run

Progress update on my 101 Things to Do List. Janet has inspired me to start training for the Sun Run this year and we're going to follow an online training schedule so we'll be fit as two fiddles by April 19th.

Today was Day One and I followed the strenuous instructions to the letter. 30 seconds of running followed by 4.5 minutes of walking, repeat seven times. I bundled Sophie up into the jogging stroller (she insisted on wearing her bike helmet) and we braved the patches of snow and soupy fog and dark (by the end of the run, I needed my Indiglo on my watch to read the time). Intrepid joggers, we are!

My plan is to do two runs a week with Sophie and then to meet up with Janet for a weekend run. Hopefully writing this down on my blog will help me stick to my plan!

Begone blueberry stains!

I just have to share this stain removal tip since I used it and it actually worked! (a rare occurrence for me) My nearly-able-to-drink-by-herself 22 month old was enjoying her blueberry/raspberry/banana smoothie and got some on her beloved owl jacket (see the SuperFly Lullabies on Etsy).

I watched this video and did exactly what it told me and the stains magically went away!

How (part of) Trisha's quilt went on a trip to Australia

Back in the fall, when I was working on Trish & Erik's wedding quilt, I ran across some photos of an amazing dress made of selvedges. (If you're not in the know, selvedges are the little strips at the edge of a bolt of fabric that show the designer and the colours used in the fabric.) I cut off the selvedges from the huge piece of green backing fabric because I had a feeling that the amazing dressmaker would be looking for more selvedges in future.

To most people, selvedges are to be thrown away. To Jodie, they are treasure. So, I'm packing up four metres of selvedges and sending them off to Australia so she can create another stunning piece like this:



Check out Jodie's blog for more selvedge projects and lots of photos of the amazing dress. P.S. Jodie, if you're reading this: "Hi! and thanks for getting me inspired to blog about my quilting!"

Scanning Code of Practice

Today's post is a public service announcement about the Scanning Code of Practice. This is a voluntary code put into place by many large Canadian retailers (mostly grocery stores) that says you're entitled to a free product of up to $10 value if your item scans in wrong. You can read this post about the scanning code of practice on paulyblog for more details.


My personal story about this code has to do with jellybeans. I bought some bulk jellybeans from Safeway last month and the $25.68/100g seemed pricey to me, even for those gourmet beans. The bag came out to around $6 and after checking the posted price with the cashier, I was refunded in full. Woo hoo, free jellybeans!

So, next time you see the sticker at a grocery store indicating that they comply with the Scanning Code of Practice, check your receipt and speak up for free food!

101 Things To Do in 1001 Days

Holly's 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days

Start date: November 30, 2008
End date: August 28, 2011

It's the start of a new year and I'm joining the bandwagon by posting my 101 Things list. See Day Zero for more info about what it is and how to make your own. I'm pre-dating my list to November 30th, 2008 since I've been writing my goals for over a month and I ended up accomplishing five of them before posting the full list.

Crafty
1. Make a quilt for Mia's baby by May 2009. (July 2009)
2. Make at least 10 fabric gift bags (some holiday, some general).
3. Make fabric covered thumbtacks and at least 20 fabric covered button magnets using the idea from Jessica Jones' How About Orange blog.
4. Make Sophie a skirt using Oliver + S's lazy days skirt pattern. (April 2009)
5. Make a new ironing board cover ala Marmadaisy.
6. Design my own fabric and get it printed up at spoonflower.com
7. Take part in an online quilt block exchange (virtual quilting bee).
8. Enter a quilt in a quilt show.
9. Personalize at least three onesies for new babies. (one for Maddy given Dec. 23/08, one for Cate given Jan. 22/09, one for Arwen sent Oct. 2/09)
10. Attend a knitting night at Urban Yarns.
11. Knit or crochet a hat. (April 1, 2009)
12. Make stockings for Holly, Dean and Sophie to keep in our home.
13. Make Sophie a pair of flannel pjs for Christmas.
14. Make a tree skirt for our Christmas tree.
15. Clear out my fabric stash by making a scrappy quilt for use as a picnic blanket.
16. Finish the green sweater I'm knitting for Sophie before her second birthday. (Dec 25/08)
17. Give Trish and Erik their belated wedding quilt. (Dec. 26/08)

Home Projects
18. Get Sophie her own bedroom and bed with rails.
19. Get a repairman to fix the dishwasher door that I broke when I fell on it.
20. Get carpet cleaned. (Feb 2009)
21. Get new flooring.
22. Replace annoying blinds in front room. (Mar. 5/09)
23. Replace track lighting in kitchen.
24. Buy an artifical Christmas tree for Christmas 2008. (Nov. 30/08)

Travel
25. Take a road trip to Seattle and visit the Pike Street Market.
26. Take a day trip to Bowen Island.
27. Visit the Brackendale eagles at their peak. Eagle viewing is at its peak from mid-December to mid-January but significant numbers of eagles may be present from mid-November to mid-February.
28. Take Sophie to Long Beach.
29. Hike The Chief.
30. Visit Leavenworth, Washington in December (see a concert or A Christmas Carol).

Cooking/Baking
31. Make Aloo Gobi. (July 23/11)
32. Bake a loaf of bread the old-fashioned way. (Sept. 7/09)
33. Make cut out sugar cookies with flood fill icing.
34. Use dried chickpeas in a recipe instead of the ones that come in a can.
35. Take a cooking course with Dean.
36. Try 10 new vegetarian dinner recipes. (#1: Cajun rice & beans, Feb. 14/09, #2: Vegetable Biryani, Jan. 19/10)
37. Make tomato soup using canned tomatoes and a blender.
38. Find 3 new ways to get vegetables into Sophie. (#1: Fruit plus Veggie juice, Feb. 20/09)
39. Make one kind of preserves (possibly pickles or antipasto).

Eco-Friendly
40. Buy food at farmers' markets at least 10 times.
41. Revive the worm compost.
42. Grow a garden on our balcony for at least one summer. Include at least one edible plant.

Clothing/Accessories/Stuff
43. Find and buy a red winter coat that makes me smile (and possibly twirl).
44. Get a new wallet.
45. Find comfortable, well-made black shoes to replace my eight year old Doc Martens.
46. Get a filter to protect the lens on our camera.

Experiences
47. Go ziplining in Sooke.
48. Go to Diwali celebrations.
49. Go to the letter writing club at the Regional Assembly of Text.
50. Eat at five new restaurants (including dinner once all by myself).
51. Take Sophie to the Family Musik "Jabberwocky" concert at UBC in January 2009.
52. Go to the Christmas event at Burnaby Village Museum.
53. Attend a sporting event at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
54. Go snowshoeing.
55. Go 10 pin bowling.

Geeky Stuff
56. Start my own blog and write five posts. (5th post written Dec. 6/08)
57. Find a solution to our video downloading issue.
58. Write a letter of appreciation to the librarians at the public library.
59. Update the music on my iPod.
60. Put some video and images on my iPod.
61. Download a podcast onto my iPod and listen to it while going for a run.
62. Get a TV connector cable for our videocamera.
63. Create a new website for the Vancouver City Lights Chorus
64. Participate in the 365 Photos in 365 Days challenge starting Jan 1st, 2009.

Practical/Organizing/Simplifying
65. Get a photobook of Sophie's first year printed up.
66. Get a photobook of Sophie's second year printed up.
67. Make DVDs of the home videos we have made since we got our new videocamera.
68. Convince Dean to recycle box of old Peaks.(March 21, 2009)
69. Make a will.
70. Go to an appointment with a life insurance broker.
71. Write up a list of weekly routines (Sophie's classes, visits to playgroup, groceries, meal planning, cleaning, etc).
72. Keep the house 15 minutes of cleaning from ready for visitors for a month.
73. Get our passports renewed before the big rush in summer 2009.
74. Make a list of contributions to Sophie's education fund.
75. Print up wallet-size recent photos of Sophie and distribute to grandparents.
76. Donate or recycle or throw out at least two boxes of stuff from my room at my parents' place.
77. Take the 50% challenge for one month.

Self Improvement
78. Write in my journal at least once a month.
79. Take either a web design or graphic design course.
80. Take a digital photography course.
81. Read five non-fiction books suggested by friends or family members.
82. Write an article for the TTOC column in the VESTA News (likely topic: handy things for teachers to file in the TTOC folder).

Family
83. Make Sophie some homemade Playdoh (use recipe from Green and Crunchy), find used Playdoh toys.
84. Take Sophie to drop-in gym at Kits Community Centre. (Dec 9/08)
85. Take Sophie to Little Nest.
86. Take Sophie to Baby Eats in North Van.
87. Spend a Christmas morning with Dean and Sophie in our own home.
88. Write a letter to Melissa at Vassar (optional: send a DVD along with the letter).
89. Send Grandpa a DVD (of our choir's Christmas 2008 concert if I can get a copy).

Health
90. Resume yoga. Take a weekly yoga class for one term.
91. Attach bike converter for trailer to my bike. Take Sophie on a bike ride all by myself.
92. Use up fitness class credits at Bare Fit and Pregnant. (about 10 left as of Feb. 9/09)
93. Train for and participate in the Sun Run. (April 19, 2009)

Social Conscience
94. Donate to MSF/ Doctors Without Borders (inspired by seeing their Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City).
95. Decide how to donate my climate action dividend cheque.
96. Volunteer for an organization I've never worked with.
97. Volunteer to make quilts on Salt Spring with the Island Comfort Quilt Bee (usually in mid-late March).
98. On the 1001st day, donate $5 to charity for every goal not met.

Social
99. Host a Groundhog Day party including a viewing of the movie "Groundhog Day".
100. Go to a chick flick at the movie theatre with a group of girls (at least four others).
101. Have a sisters' day with Kristi.