Dusting Off the Sewing Machine

Remember that time last September when I took a quilting class (if not, read about it here.)? It's only been about nine months, but this past week, I finally made progress!

If you've been keeping up with the Womacks, you know that Marcus has been doing a lot of traveling the past two months.  Last week, he was in northern Alabama on a mission trip with his Jr. High youth, and when I found out my friend and co-worker, Pam, was an experienced quilter, I recruited her to help me move forward with my little old t-shirt quilt.  Pam is our Africa Field Manager and, therefore, spends about a third of her time on the field in Africa (imagine that!).  You can read about her many adventures on her blog, Pam the Nomad.  So, my goal is to finish the quilt by the time she jets off to the other side of the world again!

The first thing I did was lay out all my squares on the bed to decide how I would place them:

Next, Pam reminded me how to work the sewing machine! Even though I've had the machine since I was about nine years old (it was a Christmas present from my uncle one year), I clearly haven't put it to good use in quite some time. Needless to say, my sewing skills were pretty rusty, but with a little help, I picked it right back up (it's like riding a bike!). 

After a refresher lesson, it was time to start putting the squares together!

I made two rows of five squares, then ironed the seams before putting the two rows together.  And here's how it turned out!

I am so pleased with my work! I ran out of the backing material, so I have a few more squares that need that ironed on, then I can put the rest of the rows together and finish it!  

While I was busy sewing away on the machine, Pam was also hard at work crocheting this beauty:

(As you can see, Max was a fan.)

I am so thankful for new hobbies, the fun times I'm reminded of when I see all the different t-shirts I'm putting together, and good friends who teach me new things (and keep me occupied when the hubby's away!). This was our first, but surely not the last of summer nights filled with frozen pizzas, yummy cocktails, good friends, and lots and lots of crafting!

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Summer 2011 is officially in full force! The Womacks (mostly Marcus) have been on the go for the past month and are ready for more!

Summer started with Marcus traveling to England for a school trip! Marcus spent several days in class in Salisbury, and visited Oxford, Bristol, Stonehenge and London. He returned with a wonderfully tacky William and Kate umbrella for his royally obsessed wife.

While he was gone, I spent a fabulous weekend with these two lovely ladies:

Learn more about that trip on Leisha's blog here.

As soon as Marcus got home, we headed off to Texas to celebrate with some dear friends who were tying the knot!

Meet the Pitcocks:

and the Litzlers (off to Hawaii!):

We were so blessed to be a part of these amazing celebrations! The weekend was extra special for us as we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  After the weddings, we headed back to Nashville, but not without a couple days at the beach! The road trip continued with a pit stop in Baton Rouge to see this pretty girl...

...(and the Kappa Delta house at LSU!!)...

...and finally arrived at the fancy schmancy Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi!

We spent one glorious day at the beach, stuffed ourselves with delicious seafood, and of course, squeezed in a quick stop the outlet mall!

It was so nice to have some time to ourselves and celebrate the past year. What an incredible year it has been! Yes, there have been trials and lessons learned, but it has been full of the Lord's goodness. I am so thankful for a husband who puts God first and loves his family (and me) unconditionally. As my parents celebrate their 30th anniversary tomorrow, I think about the next 30 years with Marcus and am so excited for the journey ahead. 

For gifts, we decided to make each other something, but to give the traditional first anniversary gift of paper.  Marcus made me a sweet photo album with his favorite pictures of us. He also cheated a little and gave me a beautiful necklace he picked out in London. I guess I also cheated a little- I painted a canvas for Marcus, which technically isn't paper, but it's close enough, right? It was my first time making anything like this, and I was really happy with how it turned out!

The words are from one of our favorite songs, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

Before I go, I have to give a shout out to the other man in my life, my amazing daddy.

I love being your Sweet Baby Girl! Happy Father's Day!

Pot Roast Take 2

It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since the infamous pot roast incident that resulted in hot oil splattered all over my face.  I'm happy to report that I've survived and haven't left the kitchen yet! Our first year of marriage has included some ok meals, and even some that had to be thrown out (thank goodness we have a Little Caeser's close by!). But we've also enjoyed some really delicious dishes too and one of our new favorites is pot roast and roasted veggies! My mom passed this roast recipe on to me and it's not your traditional pot roast, but it's super easy and goes really well with roasted carrots and potatoes. Yum!

Easy Crockpot Pot Roast

4 lb. pot roast

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet onion soup mix

1 cup water

Place pot roast on two pieces of foil (make a cross out of the foil). Mix together soup and soup mix.  Spread mixture over the pot roast, making sure it covers all sides.  Wrap the roast in foil and place in crockpot.  Pour water around the roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Roasted Veggies

potatoes (depending on size, 1-2 for each serving)

carrots (3-4 per serving)

small onion (we don't actually eat the onion, we just like it for flavor but you can add more if you want)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut veggies into small pieces and place in single layer on baking pan.  Mix together olive oil and spices (may need to adjust depending on amount of veggies). Pour mixture over veggies and toss to coat each piece in the mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.  Test with fork and continue baking if needed until soft.  Some of the smaller pieces will get brown and crispy- so tasty!!

Hope you enjoy!