Turtle Soup

3 Loves and a Hate

2011-10-14T01:44:00.003-06:00

I read about a very cool site called Print Friendly. I added a link to it on my bookmarks bar, and when I am on a page, I just click it and it pulls up its print preview page. (You can also just go to the site and copy and paste the link from the site that you want to print something from.) From there, you can delete any of the content, pictures, etc. to make it how you want it. I just printed a recipe that had a bunch of pictures in the directions. I only wanted the first picture of the made recipe, and deleted the rest easy peasy, without having to save it to Word and work from there. Love it!

Pinterest.com Very fun site that is like a big online bulletin board. You can pin any of your favorite recipes, sewing, crafting, scrapbooking or cooking tutorials, quotes, blog posts, home decor ideas, etc. That link takes you to my boards if you want to follow my pins. It is such an easy way to keep track of things, especially if you are like me and you have a million things bookmarked, recipes, inspiration pictures, etc. saved to your computer. Here is one of the quotes I have pinned.

Source: asdfghjkllove.tumblr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Good one, huh?

I really strongly dislike, OK, hate the big colorful ads that Windows Live has added to my emails. I use 2 different email programs because it is easier for me to read them all if I separate the emails I get that way. (I get blog emails, recipe emails, sewing group emails, etc. Why yes, I do spend too much time online. Why do you ask?) I was considering switching it all to gmail, which is an awesome email program.

Thanks to Jake though, I found out about Google AdBlock for Google Chrome (my favorite browser.) YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE ad-free browsing and especially ad-free email. LOVE.

What Floats Your Boat?

2011-09-15T01:02:00.006-06:00

I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that I haven't had the mental energy to blog lately. (What? But I've written so much haha.) However, I did have one idea that excited me a little bit. I am going to jump on here sometimes and share some of my favorite things, happy things, or whatever is floating my boat. So, here goes:

1. The internet's plethora of recipes, grain-free, dairy-free, whatever you need, it's out there.

2. A book called Self Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurities Behind

3. My sister's very fun long visit.

4. My brother and his wife coming, and the funny stories they shared.

5. Nieces and nephews

6. Shrinky Dinks

7. DVRs

8. The Pursuit of Happyness movie. I just watched it last night and was thoroughly engrossed. Did.not.want.it.to.end.

9. Lark Rise to Candleford - I have been getting the dvds at my library and holy cow, I am so in love with this series. It ran 5 seasons on PBS and is a MUST watch. SO, so good. This show proves that quality shows can be produced, acted beautifully, be brilliant and engaging, and not be full of garbage! YAY.

Happy 2011

2011-01-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

I can't really say I'm sorry to see the back end of 2010. So much has happened to throw our world upside down, but so much has also happened that brought lots of sunshine through the clouds. Like the birth of this little joy:

And watching this little sparkle grow.

We started last year with my dad planning to start some heavy duty cancer treatments. We are thankful beyond thankful that he got a 2nd opinion and decided to do a lighter treatment that is working beautifully! He got a horrible case of shingles and a worse case of postherpetic neuralgia. Which superbly sucks. He is in constant pain still. Praying hard for that to go away this year. PLEASE!! My mom got cancer too. She flew through treatments with flying colors and is cancer free now. My cousin is in the hospital right now in a coma due to being crushed by a truck in a nasty car accident. We are praying for miracles for him and are seeing some already.

This year, I am hoping for some miracles. A cancer-free family, a pain-free family, a family who has all the babies they want. For my cousin to be able to heal fully. I am hoping for Jake to be able to find some answer for his anxiety and ADHD. For him to not stress so much about school. And for the back and forth to his dad's to not disrupt his life and friendships too much. I am hoping to find answers to my illness. Ah... just to feel well. THAT would be such a huge miracle. To do small things like cleaning up after cooking, (If I cook, I'm toast, and have to clean up later, not because I want to put it off, but because I literally do not have it in me), or simply being able to cook a meal a few days a week instead of a few times a month. How heavenly it would be to have that kind of energy. Or to be able to go grocery shopping, AND put away all the groceries within the same few hours. I get home, sit on the floor and get stuff in the freezer and fridge, and the rest sits out while I rest, sometimes for a couple days. Nice, huh? To be able to go to all 3 hours of church without it taking all I have for the week. (I just go to 1 hour, and I'm so grateful it is later for us this year - which makes it 1,100% easier for me.) To be able to exercise without it making me hurt so much, and taking all I have for a few days. The ones for me are my small and simple wishes, that really aren't so small and simple after all. Don't take those things for granted, K?

I truly am so blessed in so many ways and I'm so grateful for all my nieces and nephews that bring light to my life. For my family that I love so much. And for the health and strength that I do have. I am grateful for my wonderful Savior, who is also my friend.

And I'm grateful for all of you that read my blog. Thanks for reading, and commenting!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope this year brings your dearest wishes to fruition.

P.s. - did you notice how cool the date was yesterday? 1/1/11 and just think what it was at 11:11. :)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T02:16:00.003-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I hope your day is filled with joy and that your new year is filled with peace and love.

Flowers in the Winter

2010-12-15T20:52:00.002-07:00

Here is a bit of sewing for 2 of my nieces that I started way back in the Spring, finished this fall, and am just now getting around to posting. As I've said before, the treatments I am doing have been wiping me out really bad, so I'm just glad I got them done while they could still wear them! I got excited about making these when I saw a striped onesie at Old Navy. This striped/big applique combination has been calling to me ever since I saw this and this at Mini Boden. Mini Boden does some amazing appliques. I actually like the strawberry one best, but this project just seemed to call for a flower. I was so excited to find an XL Women's shirt in the same stripe so I could make something out of it for Sarah to match her little sister Gracie.
So here's Sarah's skirt. (I figure she can wear leggings with it for now, right?)

And Gracie's top went through some changes. It actually started out as a onesie, but my sister doesn't love the look of those on an older baby, so I cut it off and hemmed it, and then added the white sleeves from another shirt to make it a layered-look long sleeved top!

Here is the shirt I used to make the skirt for Sarah:

Maybe I'll do a tutorial for it one of these days, although the pictures I took were all in the middle of the night and not great!

And lastly, here is a little thought for today:

Just remember in the winter

far beneath the bitter snows

lies the seed, that with the sun's love

in the spring becomes the rose.

---The Rose

Christmas Shopping and Legs

2010-12-13T00:35:00.004-07:00

Jake and I did a little Christmas shopping this weekend. He found all these legs in a pile at Sears and since there was seriously not a single person working on the 2nd floor where we were, he took his time building statues with them. And I laughed. We had fun.

My phone camera takes terrible pictures, but hey, at least we have a shot to remember the silliness.

Holiday Wish List Meme

2010-12-09T09:11:00.007-07:00

I figured my son would kill me if I had the chance and didn't enter this giveaway, plus it is fun to share this information here!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
Calmness, peace and happiness.

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?
Our real traditions are Christmas Eve - we get together with my family and exchange gifts, which is an amazing time. And I've just decided Jake and I are going to have a pj tradition. Getting jammies on Christmas Eve is my absolute favorite tradition from growing up, and we haven't been doing it - we are going to start! Maybe for Christmas morning, we'll start a green smoothie tradition to counteract that stocking full of candy!

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A trip to Pennsylvania to see my nieces, nephew and sister!!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

Hmmm... using decorations we already have... making cookies and wishing I didn't...

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
"Guess Who" was one of my favorites, and we also played "Restaurant" with bubble gum and candy that was made like food, or that we made to be like food. For instance, we would put Big League Chew, and gum balls together in a bowl for spaghetti and meatballs. Ahh... the awesomeness of being a kid.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
I am going to reinstate the pajama tradition.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

Other than my sister's, I would choose to go somewhere sunny like the Caribbean, Hawaii, or to visit my friend Kristen in France!!

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. I know my son would love an XBOX 360. He already has his favorite gaming system - the Play Station 3, but he would love to be able to play some of the games his friends play on the XBOX.

2. A Wii - I think it would be fun to do the Wii Fit, and Jake would love to have a Wii!

3. I'd let my son pick out some games - I know there are a ton he'd love. I'd let some of my family members pick some games too!

Action Shots

2010-12-08T05:24:00.006-07:00

We got some fun action shots when Jake was snowboarding in our driveway during one of our big snowfalls a couple weeks ago. He was so excited that it was snowing so much that it took some of the ickiness out of it for me. He loves sledding, snowboarding, etc. He gets creative thinking of things to use for sliding down the hills. We have skateboards without wheels covered in tinfoil, plastic, wax, etc. He's nothing if not imaginative. This is actually a plastic snowboard that we found at Toys R Us. We used the burst option on my camera so that I didn't only catch the picture right before or after he caught air!

He gets a little blurry.

Ok now he's just a phantom snowboarder. Which is kind of awesome.

There he is.

He had fun!

Go Ahead, Make My Day

2010-12-01T23:22:00.008-07:00

I haven't blogged forever, but I was sitting here unashamedly and at the top of my lungs, singing "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Miserables on repeat in my Itunes, and was thinking about the best moment earlier today and had to share it.

I read my horoscope out loud to Jake in kind of a silly announcer voice. It said:

"Feel free to take charge today, Natalie. You are able to win people over with your smile. Talk with the people and get a feel for their wants and needs before you proceed with your plans. Realize that your actions will have a profound effect on the people around you. This is your opportunity to shine. Take advantage of your tremendous communication skills and your ability to relate to others."

And then he said - Wow that is perfect for you. That is you in a nutshell. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I about died. 1: That he would say something so amazingly wonderful. and 2: That he thinks that. Totally made my day, week and year. I couldn't believe it. I am hoping to gain a more positive self-image, and I'm really working on self-love. I just can be so super hard on myself, and of course I had the negative commentary running through my mind "yeah I express myself well when I'm not stumbling over every word like an idiot," etc.......) so that is why this meant the world to me. Happy day. :) My son is a sweetheart.

Healthy and Tasty Greens

2010-09-06T01:03:00.008-06:00

For my birthday, I received one of the best gifts ever! This beauty:

A Vitamix! We found her second hand on Craigslist and I am in love. It is a blender with 2 peak horsepower and makes beautiful green smoothies. It is such a great way to get veggies in our diets and I am so excited to quadruple my veggie intake! (Or more.) I have known for a long time that I needed to increase the amount of vegetables I eat, but usually could only bring myself to get 1 or 2 in per day at most.

Right now I have 6 jars in my fridge. A couple for my mom, a couple for Jake, and a couple for me. I make Jake's with a lot more fruit, some yogurt and less veggies so that he will drink them. You can barely taste the greens! I could make them with a little less, and you wouldn't be able to taste them at all. Really! Hopefully, he will get used to the taste and I'll be able to add even more greens.

Aren't these pretty?

The bright green one was the first one I've made where I felt like I had to write the recipe down. I have just been throwing in whatever sounded good together, including kale, parsley, spinach, carrots and carrot tops, strawberries, blueberries, apples, etc. They have all been good, but this one is my favorite so far. If you are going to make green smoothies, you can tailor them to your own tastes - you can use lots of fruit, you can make savory smoothies with only veggies and maybe a tomato... whatever your heart desires. I don't like it too sweet - smoothies that are all fruit are way too sweet for me, but adding some fruit in with the greens makes it delicious.

Pretty Bright Green Smoothie

1 to 1 1/2 C. water

1/2 small to medium head of romaine

2 large stalks of celery

3 large handfuls of spinach

1 frozen banana

About 12 oz pineapple chunks (I used canned because it was all I had, but fresh would be fantastic.)

Dropping In

2010-08-25T19:09:00.003-06:00

I have some pictures to post, but I don't know how to get the printer to download them from our memory card, and too tired/lazy to figure it out right now. So I am just going to stop in and say hi, I'm still alive, and will put up some posts with pictures soon. Jake has started 9th grade. I'm so glad he has a fun class - percussion - because it makes the whole day better for him. I am struggling with getting up with him at 7 am, because for some reason morning hours are the only hours I ever really feel like I sleep. I don't want to miss the time with him though. He is just growing up too fast.

We had a really fun last bit of Summer. My brother and his wife visited my sister in PA and brought my nephew Sam back with them, so we got to spend lots of time up at Gram and Pa's house watching the kids swim, jump on the trampoline, etc. Kids are such a miracle of life and are my favorite kind of people to be with. They are filled with unconditional love, fascination with almost everything, joy, purity, and beauty. I am so grateful for them and the happiness they bring us. I love how my parents have taught me to appreciate kids and babies. They delight in every little action and movement, and I have definitely inherited/learned that from them.

8/9/10

2010-08-09T01:28:00.004-06:00

I'm just dropping in to say "Hi" since it has been so long! I thought it was such a cool day to have a birthday... 8/9/10, so I had to post it!! I think that means it will be a great year! I'll try to post some updates soon.

Cake Wrecks!

2010-06-26T20:54:00.003-06:00

I took a break from my sleeping/resting/sleeping schedule that NAET has so kindly required of me to do something super fun! The people behind the hilarious Cake Wrecks blog came to our town and my sister Suzanne, her friends and I love the blog, so we signed up to go! John and Jen are the married couple behind the blog and are both so funny. They shared a slideshow of some really crazy (and some creepy) cakes and then we stood in a long line so that Suz, Kara and Jana could get their books signed. John came around and talked to us in line so that was cool. He took this picture of the crowd while they were doing the slideshow. (This picture is from their blog - I just cropped it so you could see us a little bit.)

See those faintly circled partial heads? From left to right, the circles show me, my sister Suz, Kara's forehead and Jana. It only looks like there are people sitting in between us because there were a ton of people there. We are straining to see the screen because it was kind of low and the place was packed to the gills. We had so much fun!

Updates

2010-06-11T04:58:00.006-06:00

Thanks SO much for all the kind words and prayers for my dad.

He is in the hospital with shingles. He is in a lot of pain. But anti-viral and fluid IVs are helping him get better. Ironically, the cancer drugs didn't make him sick (yet... crossing fingers) but the anti-viral pills he was on sure did. He is off the cancer meds for now so his immune system can fight the shingles.

Just so you know, if you ever get shingles (and now that I have seen pictures of my poor dad, I sincerely hope you don't), apple cider vinegar can really reduce the pain, and possibly even shorten the time you have the virus. I found this link and my dad said that before the acv, his pain level was very literally at an 11 on a scale of 1-10. And he has a high threshold for pain. After a few treatments of letting gauze soaked in acv sit on his face, the pain went down to a 5. I am so glad he had some relief and that he is now getting good care at the hospital. (He was too sick to even make it up there the first couple of days.)

I am finding things to eat again and am not quite as frustrated. That's good. Because I need to eat.

I have a tiny bit of energy back, and am not in bed 24/7. Yay.

Jake is enjoying Summer!!! I LOVE how relaxed and happy he is during the Summer. We are friends, instead of me having to drive him all the time to finish homework, etc. etc. He does chores with hardly any complaints because he wants to earn allowance.

I loved the Little Dorrit series that just played on PBS. SO GOOD. Did anyone else catch it? Their Oliver Twist was amazing last year too. I'm so mad I missed the airing of Emma earlier this year!

My Dad

2010-06-03T21:30:00.008-06:00

I wanted to share a little about my wonderful dad. First, some awesome pictures.

My mom and dad in 1965. Aren't they hot stuff?! My mom has had some seriously wicked hairstyles in her lifetime, but that is another post entirely.

Holding my older brother Jeff. Good looking much?

In a kiss sandwich with me and Suz

Being silly with Sam. He has to be the funnest grandpa out there.

My dad has showed Jake support many, many times by coming to school concerts, church talks, and by helping him build the winning Rain Gutter Regatta boat and an unbelievably sleek Pinewood Derby car for Scouts. (Where are those pictures?) I can't honestly be more grateful for how he has been there for him.

Always doing fun things with the family. He LOVES those grandkids.

It is such a privilege to have my dad as my father. He has a beautiful testimony of our Savior and shares it. He is brilliant. He has such a generous heart and he has blessed so many in so many ways. He loves his family and is committed to his family. He always wanted to give his family the very best and has. He has taught me about integrity and that living a righteous life is what brings the greatest joy possible. He has loved my son like he was his father and was a constant companion for him for so many years. He bonded with him in a way that even his own father didn't. He gave him so many hours of his time, of his life. He taught him about science, math, life, being a strong person, and being there for those you love.

I am so thankful for a dad who blessed me with so many amazing opportunities in my life that have broadened me so much, and that he saw the importance of family vacations. We have made some amazing memories that way. A dad like this is priceless and precious beyond words. A dad like this is loved beyond words to describe. Thank you Dad, for everything.

It is hard to post about this, but if you would say a prayer for my dad, I would really appreciate it. He starts two medications tomorrow for the multiple myeloma he was diagnosed with this fall. One of the drugs he will be taking is a chemo drug, and one is a very high dose steroid. We are very worried about how the side effects will affect him. I am grateful for the advancements in medicine that will hopefully help him fight this thing hard and have many good years left.

What I've Done This Weekend

2010-05-30T21:54:00.008-06:00

First of all Happy Memorial Day. Are you having a nice long weekend? I hope so. I was so excited to have a long weekend all to myself to get some stuff done. Jake is at his dad's house, and I wanted to clean and sew and finish up some things on my very long to do list.

But nope. This is what I have done almost the entire weekend.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, get up, eat, read, rest, rest, sleep, sleep, sleep, and over again.

But I didn't look this pretty.

Some Fun

2010-05-29T02:52:00.016-06:00

It's no secret that my favorite times are when my family all gets together, and the more in town the better. My sister came with her kids last week, including my new PRECIOUS niece Gracie. That girl is a charmer! She smiles and goos constantly.

We had sooo much fun! The kids always have a blast together and I adore playing with them.

This little girl is growing up! She loved feeling like she was one of the big kids and "drawing" with them.

My favorite time bar none with the kids, is lying down with them when they are going to sleep. They snuggle right in to me, and they aren't going anywhere, they're stuck with me. We tell or read stories and talk about stuff, and it seriously doesn't get much better than that. I think it is heaven. Jo doesn't, because I am not good about making them go to sleep and after playing hard all day long and waking up early, they need to. (Sorry Jo. Sometimes I can be good, I promise.) But seriously, I don't get to have this much fun very often!

Jake is proving to be a great cousin to all these little ones. He made lots of grilled cheeses and made Gracie smile by kissing her tummy, even when she wasn't in the mood to smile. Having little brothers (his dad's) has been so good for him! Here's his hand holding little Gracie's.

Jo is moving to Pennsylvania, so we had the best time picking out decor for her new place.

On a completely unrelated note, I loved American Idol this season and don't want to see its demise. I loved Lee all throughout, liked Casey a lot and then fell head over heels for Casey about a week before he went off, and now I can't get enough of him. He is such a good guy! AGH those long legs. That ready smile. Those eyes. That voice. Swoon. (Oh, and the AI judges? I've grown to really like and value Simon, but now that he is going, can he just take the others with him?)

Mad

2010-05-14T03:21:00.002-06:00

I have to admit, I'm mad. I don't eat any grains. Zip, zilch, nada, not even a grain of rice. (I did cheat for my book club and Mother's Day, but that is very rare.) I don't drink milk, can't use buttermilk, cream or sour cream in recipes. Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, cream cheese (am I making you hungry?) are all no nos for me due to allergies. No refined sugar, I stay away from most anything sweet, except to use a low glycemic natural sweetener for certain recipes in small amounts. I found I could live with this. It was hard but with a lot of searching the internet, low carb books, etc. I have found a good bunch of recipes I can live on quite well when I have the energy to cook them.

Enter extreme and constant bladder pressure, sometimes excruciating pain. This has been going on for years, and is really, really bad at times, and others it is bearable but always uncomfortable. Nope, no infection. Yep, I've had it checked and even x-rayed by doctors. Another super fun mystery in my life. I've been told this may be caused or exacerbated by a food allergy. According to a natural doctor, I am allergic to hot peppers, as well as grapes, olives and a couple other things. No olive oil? Fine. Grapes are too sweet for me right now anyway. But these babies?

I am not huge on really spicy food, but I had no idea how much this little fruit/vegetable/spice was used in things, including my own cooking. I didn't realize how much I relied on it and loved it.... from the scrambled eggs my dad taught me to make with a couple dashes of hot sauce for flavor, (it doesn't make them spicy!) barbecue sauce, worcestershire sauce, or the delicious pork made so easily in the crockpot with salsa and enchilada sauce... (OK I did realize that had it in there, but seriously? That is one of our most favorite and easiest dinners.) I would not have guessed that 8 out of 10 dinners I am drawn to has some kind of hot pepper ingredient in it. I wasn't mad about grains. I coped. I wasn't mad about getting rid of most dairy. I coped. But this, I can't seem to live with.

Silly, huh?

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

2010-05-06T00:38:00.005-06:00

I just love the book I found for the book club at my house this month. William Kamkwamba is a humble African with such an inspiring story. In his home in Malawi, his family went from being poor, to suffering through a terrible famine. He wanted so badly to attend school so that he would have a chance to make something of himself, but they couldn't afford the $80 per year it would take and he had to drop out. Only about 2% of people where he lives have electricity and even that is spotty. William is resourceful though, and well, he and Jon Stewart will do a better job telling his story than I could, so I'll let them tell you. He has a sense of humor and enjoys Jon.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

William Kamkwamba

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Here is William's website. This is a MUST read book in my opinion! If you want to watch more, there are a few good videos linked on his website. Here are two more of my favorite videos: 1. Soon after people found out about his windmill and was just learning to speak English 2. His own presentation 2 years later

Modeled photos!

2010-05-03T23:52:00.003-06:00

I get SO excited to see my nieces and nephews in things I make them!! I love seeing pictures of them period, so with them in something I made is just the crème de la crème. I made matching outfits last Summer for my niece Sarah and her best friend. Here is a picture of them together in them!

How sweet are these two? My sister's friend is an amazing photographer and she took these pictures of the bffs for posterity!

And here are photos of Sarah in the butterfly dress I made a while ago! Sarah had a butterfly show-and-tell day at school and was excited to wear it.

It was a windy day. She's the cutest thing!

A Blankie!

2010-04-14T15:31:00.001-06:00

Speaking of focusing on other sewing skills, I took a serger class! I had previously only mastered the straight stitch on it and was impressed with myself if I could thread the thing in under 20 minutes. Well now I have learned some new skills! I hope I don't forget them before I can use them all.

One of our class exercises was to make a blanket. It was pretty simple, but they taught us to cut a little rectangle in it where we start serging so that when we come back around to finish, it looks nice and professional instead of just serging off in a diagonal. I also used Woolly Nylon in the loopers so that the thread would fill in a little more and be softer than regular thread.

I chose to make a little blankie for my newest niece Gracie Jayne.

Here is the sweet little doll wrapped up cozy in it.

I think she likes it!

Pokemon and Barbie

2010-04-11T01:56:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I've shared any sewing so here are some pajamas I made for nephew and niece.

Pokemon jammies for Sam! I actually made these a couple months ago, or at least finished them then. This applique was a bear with all the little pieces, but I love the results!

Modeled picture!

Sam... I love you. Is it weird that I cannot see a picture of my nieces and nephews and not want to be right there in the same room playing with them?

And here are some Barbie jammies I made for Sarah:

She asked for some at Christmas and I did start back then - good thing I made them big enough to fit in the fall still! I sent them to her last month. The Barbie head and name on the shirt are from a pillowcase I got on ebay for a dollar. Sweet!!

It is funny. I have sewn some clothes for Sarah, and when I started to do that, I worried that the boys would feel left out, but I think it is hilarious that no, they were fine... Sarah actually felt left out and wanted more pajamas! haha! I think it is partly the personalization that goes into them with their favorite characters, etc. Their parents don't love characters on their regular clothes (neither do I) so it makes jammies extra special. I am getting a wee bit tired of pajamas, but it makes me SOOOOOO happy when they love them, that I will probably make them for as long as they want them. At least a couple a year. I think/hope. I do have fun figuring out what to do for the appliques, and getting creative there, even though sewing them can be super tedious. I just want to work on other sewing skills. I am working on some construction jammies for Andrew and will share soon!

Easter

2010-04-04T22:20:00.007-06:00

I have been out of town so don't have much energy to post my own Easter thoughts, but was so touched (I bawled) by this. I appreciated her forewarning, so read that, and check it out.

Easter is by far my favorite holiday and message, even over the wondrous time of Christmas. It is not my favorite because they hung my Savior on a cross, but because He rose again. I hate that he had to suffer so much, more than any of us have in even our very darkest hours, but because He did, we can have our sins washed away and live eternally with Him and our loving Father in Heaven. That is a message of true HOPE.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my redeemer lives!

--LDS Hymn book p. 136

My Cousin Wrote a Book!!

2010-03-29T18:35:00.002-06:00

My very talented cousin Braden Bell has written a book! It is called The Road Show and is an LDS fiction novel. You can join a giveaway here for his book - it ends in a couple days, so go now!

Braden is such a fantastic guy, an amazing dad and husband, writer, singer, etc! My first memories of him are when he would ask me the spanish words I knew that I was learning in pre-school. :) I don't know why that memory sticks in my brain, but it does, along with the words el gato and el perro.

There is a description of his book here: All About the Roadshow and you can find endorsements for it, and more about Braden here.

Dang, too bad I don't have a picture scanned into the computer of me as a green pepper in our road show one year, or I would have graced you with it.

Jamie Oliver Would Be Proud

2010-03-28T02:36:00.008-06:00

I have mentioned briefly that although I have had some trouble losing weight, I have been able to lose some, which is beyond wonderful to me! Jake and I are very much enjoying the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution. I totally agree that there are just way too many processed, preservative-filled, unnatural foods being eaten in this country. I don't even think it is the fat causing the problem. I think it is all of the processing, additives, etc. that are causing us health issues. But these foods are easy and convenient, that's for sure.

This meal doesn't look that fabulous, but when I dished it up, I felt good about it and it tasted great!

My mom made Spaghetti Squash Primavera when she was doing a Fat Flush plan and was kind enough to share some with me. It was filled with veggies! She couldn't use many spices or salt, so I added a few and some garlic salt and it was delicious. I have a love affair with garlic salt. I adore it. The Simply Organic kind is WAY better than the others in my book. Good thing salt is recommended for me. The cauliflower doesn't look great since it has been sitting in the fridge for a few days, but trust me, it was delicious. I am learning that roasting vegetables = awesome. Here is the recipe I used - yum! I covered it for the first 25 minutes so that it wouldn't burn.

I have been on a grain-free and sugar free diet (almost completely) since last August. It is supposed to keep my blood sugar very even, which is important when you have adrenal insufficiency like I do. It has proven to be good for weight loss too so that is great. My biggest challenge is to get more veggies in. When dinner time comes around, I most often have all the energy of a slug, and sticking something in the microwave can take all my energy. And... I hate frozen veggies. So sometimes I will cook a big batch of stuff later at night and we'll eat it the next day, and then have leftovers. I can eat leftovers for days... I think I am just glad that there is food that is made already. Being chronically sick lowers your standards a little, but that's ok. Especially when the food is good to start with.

Recently I made the yummiest chicken!! If the spicy/sweet combination floats your boat, then you have to try Spicy Honey Chicken It is delicious!! I don't have a grill so I just baked it for an hour, and added the sauce in the last 10 minutes. I did both breasts and wings and she is right - the thighs were the best! The breasts were good too though. Try it!

April Fool's Day

2010-03-27T17:23:00.003-06:00

Here are some great ideas for April Fool's Day!

These are from the family fun magazine. I love the grilled cheese and sushi ones!

Here is some really fun candy broccoli too.

Do you get in to April Fool's Day much? Jake loves the idea of it, but doesn't love being tricked much. He would probably love some of these!

This Too Shall Pass!

2010-03-11T03:49:00.011-07:00

This video is amazing. I read that it took over 60 hours to make it because they had to do so many takes. I really like the lyrics. "You know you can't keep letting it get you down... And you can't keep dragging that dead weight around. Let it go. This too shall pass." Here is another version of it that I love, although nothing compares to this Rube Goldberg machine version.

The homemade video for OK Go's first single, "A Million Ways" became the most downloaded music video in history. And their dancing on treadmills video for the song "Here It Goes Again" was the top favorited music video of all time on YouTube, and won the YouTube Award in the Most Creative category in 2006. I hate it when songs swear though, and while the word in this song is more forgivable, the awesome treadmill video takes Christ's name in vein which I really hate. I love their creativity though! Here's a "behind the scenes" video of how they made it.

On a completely different note, if you want a chance to win a Janome sewing or embroidery machine, (I do!!!) check this out!

Lil Blue Boo Challenge Winners and Our Weekend

2010-03-07T00:13:00.007-07:00

The final 15 are up if you want to go vote! I am not among them, but that is ok! I really just enjoyed creating and getting the juices flowing for this. Plus, Sarah has 3 new outfits now!

Also... do you want to win a yard of some of the cutest fabric ever? Just comment on this blog!

Jake and I have had a fun weekend. Even though he was snowed under with homework (and even did homework for hours on a Friday night which is UNHEARD of for him) we have enjoyed just hanging out. Luckily his Aunt Anne helped a lot with his math and I have been helping with the other stuff including making up games for a science project. Want to do a science crossword anyone? How about a cryptogram on volcanoes? No?

You know those times when you just get along and enjoy each other's company? (This still happens, but becomes a little less often when you get a teen/pre-teen!) It has been that way this weekend and I have loved it. It probably had nothing at all to do with the fact that Jake had a big meltdown Thursday night from all the school stress. OK, it had everything to do with it. He has been so much more relaxed and happy and we have had some good talks, and some time just hanging out and watching tv.

Ohh! I just remembered that I forgot to share a funny picture from Spirit Week at Jake's school. Here you go:
They got to dress up as nerds one day! He had blue stripes in his hair another day! These types of things help make school worth it.

Gracie Jayne

2010-02-23T21:36:00.011-07:00

Welcome to the world Gracie Jayne!! My sister had this beautiful baby a couple of weeks ago, and has been sending us the sweetest videos of her. I am already completely in love.

At the hospital with my mom

Coming home from the hospital

She isn't starved for attention. These two scramble to hold her every chance they can. I bet they are great helpers. I can't wait until I can hold her myself!

Sharing a Couple Tutorials

2010-02-19T18:21:00.009-07:00

I found it! This is the tutorial I used for my rosette dress. What did we ever do before google?? (It took a few searches on a couple different days. Now it is saved in my bookmarks!) It is a great tutorial and an easy way to make a big difference in a garment. I want to do some on a top for me. Who's coming over to do it with me?

And here is a similar one where she uses felt and just one layer to decorate a pillow!

LBB Challenge Gallery is Up!

2010-02-19T09:26:00.005-07:00

Here is the gallery of all the entries for the contest. There are so many amazing and creative ideas here! I know what my favorites are (How about that monster hoodie!?) and I think the judges have quite a job before them to narrow it down to a top ten!! Here is Ashley of LBB's post about the gallery. My entries were missed somehow when she posted yesterday, but are in there today!

3rd Entry

2010-02-16T00:55:00.018-07:00

OK this is my last entry for this challenge. What do you guys think? I am calling it the funky gilded butterfly dress.

This one shows the color the best. I edited to add this one because the other ones were looking a little too fluorescent to me! It can be hard to get good pictures! I would have loved to share some modeled ones but these are for my niece in Minnesota and didn't get them there in time. (Well one outfit did, but she hates to get pictures taken lol.)

I used some super soft t-shirt weight knit and the Sienna Dress pattern from Lil Blue Boo and added ribbing at the bottom to make it sort of a bubble/long sweatshirt dress. (Remember those that we used to wear in the 80's??) I also added some ribbing to the sleeve, and pieced the applique. I don't know if I'll ever be so happy to sew a straight seam again after sewing all the little pieces of that applique!! I used Tulip brand fabric spray paint glitter and sprayed each color of fabric really well and let it dry. Then, I cut out the applique using an image I printed out on freezer paper and used Steam a Seam Lite 2 to attach it to the dress. Then ironed that on, and sewed around all the edges!

For the center, I decided to get funky and try something totally different. I rolled up some brown nylon chiffon, and wound and sewed some silver embroidery thread around it. So the little butterfly body is 3-D! Then I used the silver embroidery thread to hand embroider the antennae. This was a fun challenge that Lil Blue Boo offered and I love her patterns!

2nd Entry

2010-02-16T00:26:00.009-07:00

This is my 2nd entry in the Lil Blue Boo contest!
Take this cute pattern
and two old t-shirts

...and you can make this! I used the old t-shirts to make this skort. I loved how I didn't have to hem the under shorts - the pattern guides you to just use the existing hem - sweet!! I appliqued the skort and top (I bought the t-shirt below) with a rose motif from some cute brown and pink floral fabric I found at Joann's.

See the cute little undershorts? I know my sister will love that for my niece!

Seams In My Dreams and Chapped Lips

2010-02-15T18:35:00.005-07:00

I have been hard at work on some sewing for a contest! This has been very different from my usual rate of just doing a few steps here and there when I am up to it. I have been pushing it hard and will crash afterwards, but it feels good to get things done that I want to do! Just before I fell asleep last night, I realized my mind was just full of seams and fabrics, and appliques........ Also, I have chapped lips. Why do I get this from sewing so much you ask? Well, apparently I stick my tongue out between my lips when I am sewing on my machine, especially if it is something I have to really watch and be careful with. Skiing sounds like a better excuse for chapped lips, or hmmm... maybe kissing... but hey, I get mine from sewing.

The contest I am entering is this one.

It has been really fun to push myself to create something

a little different and see what I could come up with!

OK first up is a dress I made from this pattern. I added some gathers to the middle piece and the bottom piece and then made these fun rosettes for the neckline.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T18:26:00.011-07:00

I told Jake I needed him to make me a valentine this year, and he sat right down and made me this. What a cutie. He printed the real heart out from the internet and cut it out. The Feliz Cumpleanos is because he is silly and learned it the other day in Spanish class. :)

I have been working on these two skirts for a while and am excited to share them! I love the colors of this fabric line all together like this. This is Sarah's outfit:

And here is Elise's outfit:

And here is the sweetest little punkin' ever in her outfit:It ended up a bit too big, but I guess that means it will still fit her in the fall!

Jake is 14

2010-02-03T16:03:00.012-07:00

He has been for a couple weeks! I guess I am finally somewhat resigned to the fact that he is just going to keep growing up on me. He looks like a 16 year old, so I guess I can be grateful he is still only 14! I love the person he is becoming. He is so much fun.

Here he is opening his presents.

This is the cool little finger drum set my parents gave him, which looks like his big drum set that he got for Christmas. Yep. He really did. I can't believe I did it. I found a great set on ksl classifieds and got some mute pads. He loves them, and sounds good (and loud.) My camera broke on Christmas Eve(!) so I haven't shared pictures of Jake and his drums yet, but I will.

And here he is....

driving! I let him drive around the church parking lot for a bit. I was worried this would lead to a lot of asking if he could drive all the time, but even though he loved the opportunity and did well, he said it scared him a little and he got his fill for a while.

And here's a silly picture of my brother Curt just for fun.

I'll be sharing some sewing pictures soon so tune in!

Chuck is Back!!

2010-01-12T22:34:00.003-07:00

Chuck, how do I love thee?

This show just makes me smile. The mixture of goofiness, romance, fast moving spy stuff, comedy, etc. I love it. It looks like Zachary Levi has gotten more buff for this season. I guess it's all that Kung Fu he's been learning.

I am so excited this show is back for its 3rd season! If you missed the first 3 episodes, you can watch them for free here!

Some sewing!

2010-01-09T23:00:00.002-07:00

It felt so good to get some sewing done before Christmas!!

Ooga Booga jammies for these three

Pictures courtesy of Tiff. She is such a good photographer!

Matching skirt and birdy top sets for Sarah and Elise

close-up of embroidered applique

Christmas and my dad

2010-01-06T01:54:00.018-07:00

We had the most amazing Christmas. It was just SOOO good to be with family and all the people I love so much. Being with all the kids every day just fills me up like nothing else does, and my family members all bring something to our family equation that I love. Here are some of the fun pictures (thanks to Tiff for the best ones!):

Elise loved the big kids

The kids' favorite thing was to lie on the floor in a row and take turns having this gorgeous baby sit on their backs!

Jake climbing the pole

Sword fighting - all the kids against Pa - what a good sport!

All of this was made more exquisite because of some news we got in the last couple months. My dad has cancer. He has had immune system problems his whole life and things were getting so much worse with not being able to fight anything off and then keeping it colds/sinus infections for months, that he insisted on more immune system testing. I'm glad he did. They showed that his IgG was way too high, and the other immunoglobulins were all very low. That is indicative of a rare cancer called multiple myeloma. This was confirmed with test after test. He needs to start treatment right away, and the treatment for this is extremely aggressive. He will do a 96 hour full-time heavy duty chemo cocktail the first time and then they will give him six weeks to recover, and then do it all over again. He will have stem cell transplants of his own stem cells to start fresh and hopefully build a new immune system. Then he will be on chemo drugs for about 1-2 years after the initial 5 months of heavy chemo. He is in very strong health otherwise and is quite proud of his low cholesterol and 117% lung capacity! Because of this, the doctors have high hopes that he could live for years after this treatment, and this helps us to cope with the fear of what is coming with the chemo.

I love my dad so much. "Beyond amazing" doesn't even describe him. He has been the greatest second dad Jake could ever have. He has given us so much I could never list it all. Most of all, family and the gospel are first priorities for him, and he and my wonderful mom have built our family on these precepts which have made all the difference in my life.

Why yes... I do need help.

2009-12-01T00:24:00.009-07:00

Psychological help.

I absolutely love browsing sewing blogs. Some of my favorites are not even in English! It makes me feel broadened a little though, to be able to stick the link through google translate and read most of what they are saying. It makes the world feel a little smaller to me and I love that.

Think this is too funky with the armbands?

Some of the European sewing and clothing is more funky, or at least funky in a different way than the U.S. styles, but I am drawn to them. (This is definitely one of the less funky things I have considered.) One of my "issues" in life is seeing so many different styles that I start to wonder what my sister and sister-in-law will think is normal for me to sew for their kids! I think I probably talk myself out of way too many things. Why the anxiety... WHY????? :D It keeps me from getting lots done, I know, aside from the energy riddle. I worry if I can do it, what part I will screw up, what if I do it and they hate it, how the neckline might be too stretched out, my seams aren't perfect, will it fall apart, does this really go together... ACK! Obsessive much? It is actually a wonder I get anything done!! I swear that inner voice is like a sick, leather whipping, psycho sometimes! Don't be scared of me. I don't usually let that part spill over to other people. Really. In fact, I don't even think all that stuff matters that much! Just doing something and having fun doing it is seriously such a joy. So why can't I let go of the dang obsessiveness?! It is good to be self-aware at least. If I know I am anxious, and I am aware of it, then I can at least know that I am being weird or freaking myself out and talk myself down some. I think I need to go meditate.

5 More for Turkey Day

2009-11-26T05:48:00.006-07:00

Today I am so grateful for life and the beauty in it. Here is my list of 5 for today. (I was going to do one yesterday, but life got in the way!)

1. modern medicine

2. energy medicine

3. that I get to have dinner with my family today.

4. that I have lost a little weight

5. gamma globulin

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Thanks so much for all of your feedback about my blog - it is working now, I think/hope! and for your always kind comments. I am grateful for you all!

Five a Day

2009-11-24T02:18:00.007-07:00

Five things I am grateful for today:

1. FAMILY - you guys are wonderful and I love you all!
2. Jake - he is such a great kid and fills my heart with love each day.
3. the gospel, good church leaders, scriptures, guidance, the SAVIOR (Yeah I'm cramming that all into one so I can fit it in!)
4. good books
5. that my sister and brother and spouses/families are coming for Christmas ... WOOOHOOOO!!!

I have a question - is my blog only showing up green to you, with the pink writing, and no brown background? It keeps doing that for me so I wanted to check. And - can anyone tell me how to just get a cute banner at the top - and favorite sites for that? I love this background, but it is not displaying correctly, plus the design takes up a lot of space. Thank you for any help or feedback!

You gotta swim

2009-11-17T03:16:00.017-07:00

I like the song "Swim" so much that sometimes I come to my blog just to listen to it. It is at the top of my playlist to the right if you want to hear it. Andrew McMahon, the singer and song-writer for Jack's Mannequin wrote the album The Glass Passenger during and after his battle with Leukemia. It is full of deep emotion. I read that he said he wrote this album to get someone through a bad day. Some of his songs are not my thing, but I love Swim and a few others. I just love what the iTunes review says about Swim: "Swim may be the album's spiritual center, an expression of dogged resolve in the face of dark forces." You can view a video of the trailer for Dear Jack, the documentary of the diagnosis and battle with Leukemia here.

You gotta swim

Swim for your life
Swim for the music that saves you
When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven't come this far
To fall off the Earth

The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking the armour, yeah

I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Through nights that won't end
Swim for your family, your lovers
Your sisters and brothers and friends

Yeah you gotta swim
For wars without cause
Swim for these lost politicians
Who don't see their greed is a flaw

The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking the armour, yeah

I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There's no shame in driftin'
Feel the tide shifting
And wait for the spark

Yeah you gotta swim
Don't let yourself sink
Just find the horizon
I promise you it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love
Just keep your head above

Just keep your head above
Swim

Just keep your head above
Swim

Just keep your head above
Swim

When asked in an interview what he has learned from his experience with Leukemia, he replies: "If I could say anything, if I've learned anything from it - you never know what's coming for you. I don't say that to instill any sort of paranoia, but the point being, you don't know that you might not wake up tomorrow, and it's you or your friend, or some other possible road block that you might not know happen. You try and make sure day to day that you're living, not so that you are prepared for something like that, but you're living in a way that would make you okay with it. That could mean a lot of different things to a lot of people. For me, it's as simple as trying to live a life as a kind person, and doing things that I'm proud of, and looking after the people that I love in my life, and being as connected to the things and people that hold you in and are special to me." - Love that.

Presents

2009-11-17T01:39:00.014-07:00

Miss Sarah had a birthday a couple weeks ago. This is what I sent her:

A shirt I hotfixed with a rhinestone "5"

A set of jammies with a funny thing she said stenciled on them

and little treat bags for her and Sam

Here she is in her "5" shirt with flowers from her daddy for her flower party.

I just love this picture of her getting her toenails painted! I miss her and wish I could have been there to celebrate her birthday with her in person!

Aunty Ollie Giveaway

2009-11-11T00:22:00.008-07:00

One of my "when I get well" dreams is to become a clothing designer - mostly for kids. I have always loved apparel - it just excites me! I saw this giveaway and thought I'd enter because 1- what the heck? I could win stuff for my nieces (and maybe nephews?) And 2- the clothes are fun and I like to dream about being a designer like Aunty Ollie some day. You can join too - you just post a link on your blog!

Does This Zit Make My Butt Look Big?

2009-11-06T04:03:00.006-07:00

I promise I will stop dedicating posts to Nie so you do not tire of them. But I was going to email Stephanie a long email in response to this post and decided I wanted to say it here since it describes a big part of my life right now. I know it is long and I hope it is not too depressing. It is real, and hard, but I am so blessed too.

Stephanie, You are as beautiful as anyone can be. You are the most remarkable person and so lovely inside and out. Seriously, the inner beauty that you contain could not compare to model beauty - they are tiny smurfs in comparison to your giant beauty.

I relate to this particular struggle, because I have a chronic illness (Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction) that has taken my looks and thrown them against the pavement with a splat. I have huge cystic acne that takes forever to heal, I have gained 100 pounds, I am pale and my eyes are sunken in with dark circles under them that never go away. I could go on, and yes, I know it could be much worse, and this may seem very petty and dumb in comparison, but it has been so hard to lose the sense of identity I had tied to my looks.

I feel so much worse when I exercise that I can't handle it, even though I used to love it - so I can't seem to make a dent in the weight, even on a grain-free, hardly any natural sweetener diet. So many systems in my body have gone haywire, including my thyroid and adrenal glands and I know they play a part in that.

I have also lost some of the things I could do that I tied my identity to, at least for now. I haven't accomplished the things I have wanted to in life. I guess the Lord has a much different plan for me. It is difficult when many days, all I can do is go from the bed, getting up to go to the bathroom no less than 1,000 times, to the computer so I can sit up for a while and be awake, to the couch and then back to bed with my greasy hair slathered to my head, in my pajamas and hope that no one looks too closely when I pick Jake up from school because I look like a scary mcfright show. But I try to remember who I am on the inside. I know I put too much stock in what others think of me and my weight gain (when I do actually use the energy it takes to shower and go out in the world). It makes me hide from the world. But not you. You are courageous in the face of losing the easy movement in your skin, the worldly beauty that you knew before. You are courageous, even though you look different than you did, and different to the world. You are beautiful beyond compare.

Love emanates from you. God's love. Pure love. Thank you for sharing your beautiful self with all of us. You inspire me daily to forget the things that don't matter and focus on the things that do. Thank you, above all, for reminding me of Christ's love.

The Old and the New

2009-10-27T00:44:00.013-06:00

Here is Jake before one big day this month:

Falling backwards fast so that he is blurry.

Mug shot
Laughing because he thinks he's so funny

And NOW:

He got braces!!!Being silly again
And again. (My camera was on the red eye position so it took longer to take the picture after I'd push the button. So Jake thought it was very funny to smile and look like he was taking a nice, normal picture and then to jump up real close, or lean back real fast, or do a serious face!) He keeps me smiling. I guess they never stop being silly.

This cute kid has been sick in bed for a week! The doctor thought it might be swine flu. Whatever it was, it was something else I tell ya. He could barely move. And all this happened right at the end of the term when everything is due and he missed tons of tests, etc. Crazy! I am just glad he is on the upswing now.

Also, I love this blog post.

Thank you BYUTV and other notes

2009-09-28T04:51:00.003-06:00

Today I am thankful for.... BYUTV. If it weren't for you, BYUTV, I would not be able to have such a nice Sunday when I am not able to make it to church.

But, because you do exist, I get to have a nice Sunday spirit in my home. I get to watch Women's Conference in my pajamas on my couch and (thanks to dvr) pause it if I need to go to the bathroom or make a snack. I get to record a nice little talk by John Bytheway for a great Family Home Evening with Jake.

I also am so happy that I have The Old Testament Made Easier that I borrowed from my mom. It makes the Old Testament infinitely more readable for me, and much less weird. 'Cause let's face it, there is some weird stuff in that book of scripture. Some very interesting stories, just some weird and confusing stuff too. So it is making a world of difference for me for this time around of reading it. I can't remember if I thought it was this strange before, but I did have college teachers, seminary teachers and Sunday school teachers guiding the way the last times I read it.

Other good reads: I am reading Catching Fire - the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy. At first I thought the Hunger Games was too sickening of a premise for me, but I read it for a book club and was hooked. It really pulls you in and I loved it.

I wanted to say thank you for everyone sounding off on Jake's homework issues! You are all so great and it all helped. I actually almost erased that post, but I'm glad I didn't because it was good to hear your ideas, and good to hear we're not alone. He is hanging in there and I am trying not to add stress to his stress! He also had fun in Hawaii last week! I need to do some updates and I will try to be better at it. I hope you are all doing well!

I'm Not Ready

2009-08-24T01:42:00.005-06:00

for Jake to go back to school. It just doesn't seem like it is time. It has been so fun to just relax with him and watch a show together or play games. Summer went by too fast and now he has to sit through 7 hours of school and come home and we have to deal with 1-3 hours of agonizing homework. It just doesn't sound fun to me. Jake gets stressed ->which slows him way down at getting anything done -> which makes me stressed because I want him to get to bed at a decent hour -> which makes him more stressed -> see the pattern? He is a smart kid and does really well in school. There is just this big obstacle for him when it comes to doing his homework, and I think it happens at school too. He freaks out inside and it slows him down. Way down. It is weird to me with him because he is such a wonderfully capable person, and this doesn't show up with anything but schoolwork.

A half hour of homework can take up to 2 hours. No joke. I end up going upstairs to cool off just because the whole process is so dang frustrating.

SO... do I just take myself out of it? Just say calmly and reasonably that it is homework time and to start. Try not to be bothered when he is not doing it for 3/4 of the time or when he is sitting there staring off for 30 minutes between each math problem. Just let it go? Would that help him to take charge of it? He does care how well he does. But also gives up and just wouldn't turn something in if he thinks it is too much. And once that happens, he starts to feel behind and buried and the stress gets bigger. And there are also times where he legitimately needs my help. And then drama and trauma ensues. Why is it so hard? Do I just keep at it, trying to stay balanced between being patient and keeping him on task? What do I do when I am just not up to dealing with it all?? I guess just let him figure it out for himself. Or call Gram, or Anne.

If that doesn't work, can he come live with you during the school year?

It is funny - when he does homework with Anne (who does tutoring), he gets a ton done in a short time. AAAAAAAAAGGH what am I doing wrong?? Is it just a mom/son thing? If you have any ideas, please let me know. On the other hand, he thoroughly loves and needs the friends and social aspect of school and this gets even stronger as he gets older. He is a people person and it drives part of him a little crazy to be stuck home alone with just the two of us all the time. (Although he needs his down time too.) He thrives on being with people. I just need to somehow pull my head out of it and not stress when he is stressed so homework can go a little more smoothly for us.

Sorry this is so dang long. I even cut some out! And this format makes it seem even longer. Thanks for sticking with me, if you did.

A Bundle of Yummy

2009-08-19T22:36:00.016-06:00

Here is my little niece Elise in a onesie I appliqued for her. This onesie was given to my sister-in-law Anne with a really weird applique on it, so we pulled it off and I did the birdies on it instead. Could this baby get any cuter? Dang! I want to eat her up!

And you'd think all she does is smile...

...and goo and try to talk to you. She LOVES when you talk to her. She is definitely a people person already. Hmmm... could she be her mom's daughter?

And her brother Andrew, the entrepreneur has been busy this summer. Busy doing what? Making money. He had a farmer's market with my dad's veggies from his garden and some magnets he made, and he made $25.00. I think I just found a new summer job for Jake next year. Maybe Anne and Curt won't have to worry about putting Andrew through college - if he keeps going at this rate he will take care of it himself. He is so cute and funny. He is always selling candy and wanting to do lemonade stands. He brought me some snickerdoodles for my birthday (made my day!) and he "snicked my doodle!" He told me it was cauliflower under the foil and I believed him. Little trickster. I love the phrase "snick my doodle." Anne said he kept saying he was going to snick my doodle the whole time he was making cookies.

Glad To Be Alive

2009-08-17T01:18:00.006-06:00

It has been a whole year since this happened, so many of you may know all about this, but I was really touched by it today and wanted to devote a post to a remarkable woman.

Stephanie Nielson is an LDS blogger who has had a very strong following on her wonderful blog which celebrated the small moments of family life that make it all worthwhile. She is a dear person, and so is her husband. Last year, they were in a plane crash that killed their friend and severely burned and almost killed both of them. I guess the Lord saw fit to put these tremendous people through a true refiner's fire when He gave them this trial but Stephanie is healing and writing her blog again. She hiked the Y Mountain Saturday to mark a year since the accident. Her husband Christian had burns on over 30% of his body and Stephanie had burns on over 70% of her body and was in a coma for over 2 months.

I sometimes feel so awful physically, and grow so incredibly tired of it, that thoughts like - getting in a car accident and passing from this life might be a big relief- but then I take it back and apologize to the powers that be. In reality, I am so so very grateful for my life, and all the many blessings in it and I have no desire to leave Jake behind until we are both much, much older. I just wanted to say how grateful I am for my life today. I have so much. I love you - family and friends. I love the Lord. Stephanie is a beautiful beautiful person and she still appreciates the small and the big things that many of us often forget. I celebrate her and her life. The Lord has quite a plan for her.

Here's a quote from the New York Times about her and her blog: “People don’t understand that of course Stephanie had days where she was crazy and wanted to pull her hair out... Her relationship with her husband wasn’t perfect. But she chose to focus on the beauty.

“And the more she focused on it, the more she had.”

May we all do the same.

Since Today Is My Birthday...

2009-08-09T00:01:00.006-06:00

And I am turning 37 (ACK! Where has all the time gone!?)...

I decided to share 37 Random Facts About Me

1. I think it would be awesome to learn to fly an airplane.
2. I have been parasailing and loved it!
3. I would really love to go hang gliding.
4. Bungee jumping doesn’t appeal to me because I think it would yank my back completely out of whack and I would hurt.
5. For one whole summer, I wouldn’t (or would only rarely) swim in our pool when I was younger because of all the snot I always saw people wipe from their noses.
6. I thought it was cool when my cousin Camille plugged her nose when she swam, so I did too, and now I ‘have’ to plug my nose.
7. I absolutely LOVE L-O-V-E LOVE riding on a boat, in the front with the wind in my hair.
8. I love wind.
9. I would really, really like to prove to myself that I can make money at a great job that was meaningful to me.
10. I would REALLY like to feel up to doing more than lying in bed all day every day. REALLY.
11. I love heat. When I was in High School, I had a heater in my room and knew how to use it! I think I probably kept it at about 75º in there.
12. I love sunshine and spring and summer and dislike fall and winter.
13. I don’t like mushrooms. All I can think about is that they’re fungus.
14. Sometimes I eat cinnamon straight out of the spice jar.
15. I think hairspray is icky. I don’t like the smell. I don’t like the feel of it in my hair. And I really can’t stand the feeling that it is on me anywhere, and it feels like that once you spray it on your hair, because that stuff goes everywhere.
16. My favorite meal in college was Special K cereal. But that was also when I really got into learning to like vegetables.
17. I don’t like chocolate. Well... not that much.
18. I like chocolate chip cookies, but pick out some of the chocolate chips. Ok –I’d pick them all out if I could.
19. I don't really like candy.
20. I do (unfortunately) like baked goods and bread.
21. I think carrot cake (without raisins or nuts) is way better than chocolate or vanilla cake.
22. I don’t tolerate a lot of noise very well.
23. I feel things extremely deeply.
24. Life would be a lot easier if I didn’t.
25. I read constantly. I often have a novel, a self-help or health-type book, and something else like a church magazine going at one time. I can’t focus well on the non-fiction, but I like to learn that stuff so I try. I have to have a good novel going at all times.
26. I am very interested in alternative medicine.
27. I really like things to be pretty and am very aesthetically-minded. Ie: cool fonts, pretty paper, my surroundings, clothes, etc.
28. I’m kind of scared of people.
29. I like words. I LOVE word games. One of my top favorites is where you make as many words as you can out of another word.
30. I write to people better than I talk to them.
31. I wish I had more kids. Like 4 altogether.
32. But I would need MUCH better health.
33. I love water. It is the only thing I really like to drink.
34. I think the voice is the best musical instrument. (not mine)
35. I like to travel and see different places. I even like to be in different cities that are near to me just to be there and see what they are like.
36. I like natural foods and rarely eat refined sugar. I try not to eat processed stuff.
37. I don’t eat or drink dairy, except for cheese, which I seem to tolerate just fine.

Me in 1974 (age 2) with Jeff

Got kid's art?

2009-08-05T10:23:00.004-06:00

Well you have to go and submit it here! This guy is brilliant. He even says so himself. (Which makes me giggle.) And meanwhile, you gotta go check out what this word genius says about my niece Sarah's art. Remember to dance with the triangles today!

Music Camp

2009-07-15T03:05:00.017-06:00

We had such a fun night Tuesday night. My mom, dad, JoAnna, Sam, Sarah and I all went to see Jake play the drums and cymbals at East Canyon Resort (a campground with a general store, restaurant, pool, etc.- my kind of campground!) He got to go to a music camp up there for 2 days and it ended with a concert. Jake did a fantastic job and it was gorgeous up there in the mountains. What a fun place!

Playing the congo drums

and the cymbals

the band in the pretty pavillion

On another musical note (ha ha get it?) you must watch this video from America's Got Talent. I probably would not watch this show myself, but Jake likes to watch it and it is great to have something to watch together. It is these stories that make me glad that I do. I love this guy. His tears at the end just topped it off for me.

4th of July Part 2

2009-07-15T02:22:00.011-06:00

I guess I was being too ambitious saying I would post these the next day. Here are the rest of our 4th of July pictures. We had a lot of fun! Here's yummy little Elise in the flag onesie I appliqued for her. Andrew and Elise togetherJake did a great job manning the fireworks

Sam and Andrew got to pick out which ones we did next. They danced, screamed and jumped all around when each one went off. It made the night 10 times more fun to see how excited they were.

And here's Elise with her hand over her heart. I guess she is as grateful for this country as I am.

It's a Grand Old Flag

2009-07-05T23:14:00.010-06:00

Andrew had requested some 4th of July jammies back when I finished his St. Patrick's Day pjs. He wanted the flag to be a pocket. Well, since Sam is in town (YAY!) and has always loved flags, I couldn't leave him out! When I told them I was making them, Sam very hopefully asked if they were the kind with the flag going all the way across instead of little ones all over. Luckily, that is exactly what I had planned and cut out already! So here are the flag jammies. With many thanks to Gram for helping me to match the stripes. I cut these out of Old Navy Men's boxers which made the stripe-matching a little harder but was perfect for the fabric! I finally finished these on July 3rd and brought them to Sam and Andrew with chocolates in the flag pockets on the shirt. (My mom stuck a flag in it for this picture.)

When I brought the jammies out to them, they were so excited that they went and changed right then and there in the playhouse. (We won't mention the streaking to run upstairs to get some underwear since they just had swimsuits on.)
My mom wanted them to tuck just the center part of their shirt in so we could see the blue part of the flag, but then they both proceeded to tuck their shirts in as far as they could. When we said "oh wait...." Sam said they needed to do it that way because then they looked nice "right Andrew?" :) Andrew agreed. Did I mention how much I love my nephews?

There are already so many pictures in this post, I will wait and post a couple pictures of Elise being patriotic tomorrow. I hope you all had a happy 4th!

A Little Piece of Heaven

2009-07-03T22:54:00.009-06:00

Welcome to the World Miss Elise Kimble!

What is it about babies that makes it so you just can't pull away. They just lie there sleeping and you want to sit and watch. This precious bundle was delivered on June 14th to Curt and Anne and they are pleased as punch. In fact, we are all in love with her. My dad insists that if you went up to heaven to find the most beautiful baby to bring to earth, it would be little Elise. She is as precious as they come and doesn't want for attention when family is around!

Smiling for her dad on her first day home from the hospital.

She is a long awaited and special blessing and I am so glad she is here!

A Short Update

2009-06-24T18:03:00.005-06:00

I've been called out! I just HAD to come post! No, really I am glad that Jana called me out and made me think that someone actually cares what I post! And now she can't steal back the ADORABLE turtle scrapbook paper she got me. (Thanks for that Jana - you rock!!) I need to keep up better. I have actually gotten a little online job. It is a fun one where I get to work with a great lady selling fabric and sewing supplies! It has been really great to learn new things. It has been keeping me busy, and I just haven't had the mental energy to post here. Know what I get in return for my work? FABRIC! And sewing notions!!! Pretty fun huh?

Of course this has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. It gives me more inspiration and even more ideas floating around in my head just begging to be made!! I wish I was a super fast sewer with tons of energy, who just turned things out daily - maybe then I could keep up with my mental sewing! Looking at fabric all day just gets me drooling over it more, but I am hopefully building up a little resistance! So there's an update. I will try to post more soon. Jake is having a great summer so far.

Worth so much more than money

2009-05-23T04:28:00.009-06:00

This right here is what keeps me going.I mean, tell me that doesn't warm your heart. For me, there's no better gift. It is like the pure love of a child captured and put into an envelope and sent through the mail. This was Sarah's "thank you" for the clothes I made her. It is a labor of love, I tell ya. There's nothing like my niece, nephews and Jake to remind me that life is worthwhile and full of joy and beauty.

Oh my gosh I love the people she draws. From the banana/triangle people above to these guys with their awesome hair. I. love. them. (Don't mind the bleed-through from the other side of the paper - it just means there's another picture to enjoy.)

I think this one looks like a treasure map. See the xs to mark the treasure spot? And the little fish in the pond in the middle? And the maze that adorable little person had to walk through to find it? See those letters at the top? She does some good letters for only 4 years old! OK, end of love fest, but these made me so happy. Thanks Sarah!

To Curt

2009-05-08T03:21:00.012-06:00

a.k.a Curty, Cuteski, Curt the Dirt Squirt, and MacGyver.

You are one of my favorite people. I'm so glad I got to grow up with you as my brother. I remember being so proud of all my scrapes, cuts and bruises when we compared to see who had more. And I know that you have exceeded my score by at least a trillion. I remember running away to the barn, and you taking your food sticks. I remember feeling like I wasn't all alone in the world because of you. I felt like you "got" me when we were little and trying to figure out life. I remember looking up to you, even though you were my little brother. I still do. Even though you don't love being social, you have such an enjoyable and lovable personality. I have always loved your sense of humor and your sense of style.

People in the neighborhood used to call Curt MacGyver because he could make anything out of anything. The legendary fort with electricity, the luge run he built in his yard this year, and much more. He is always doing fun and crazy things. My mom was tending his son Andrew and they were talking about Curt's big rocks in his yard that he uses to build obstacle courses and mountains for his little all-terrain remote control car to climb. She said, "I wonder if anyone else has a dad as crazy as yours." He pretty quickly responded, "My dad." (pretty smart for a little guy. My dad is definitely the pre-cursor to Curt.) And then as he was walking away he said, "And I'll probably be like that."

Because you know - dads who build Luge runs, obstacle courses and motorcycle and sled/snowboarding jumps in their yards are where it's at.

I love you Curt!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! And thanks for being a great brother.

2 New Outfits for My Little Sarah Girl

2009-05-04T02:57:00.010-06:00

The skirt is Onion pattern 20021. The top is from Target, and the pin is made by me. My first hot fix bling efforts ever. I have been informed that Sarah now likes anything she thinks is "pretty". I hope she thinks her new outfit is pretty! (This is the same girl who refused to dress up like a princess at a princess party - which I'm sure was the dream of most of the girls there!)

Knit play shorts - Ottobre pattern 3/07 #10. Top from Target. These were fun projects!! I loved both patterns - pretty easy but satisfyingly cute!

p.s Suz, Kara, and Jana - your rice bags are next!

I Love This Guy!

2009-04-27T02:36:00.004-06:00

This is Zachary Levi in the UK leading a huge crowd to Subway. The notes here say it was over 200 people. I heard Zac Levi saying it was 600 people in another video. He gets behind the counter to help make the sandwiches!! (You may not be interested in this but I just had to post it.)

Save the Nerd Herd and get to Subway today!!!

Footlongs for Chuck and other notes

2009-04-25T23:26:00.012-06:00

Do you watch Chuck? It is only my FAVORITE show on TV. So pleeeease I am begging you... go to Subway on Monday, April 27th and buy a footlong. Then leave a comment in their comment box that says "Renew Chuck" or "Save Chuck" or something like that. And then watch the show LIVE. The stupid networks might not renew it again and I will be so sad if they don't. I just think it is hard to find good, funny, quirky, intelligent, and pretty clean shows like this on TV and I love this one. So please help me ...

Other notes... I sure wish I could have maintained my girlish figure like my mom did. She's lookin' hot don't you think? But I'm not so sure about the hairstyle.
It looks good on Andrew though.

Sarah's new outfit

2009-04-19T01:55:00.006-06:00

I heard that a cute little girl needed some Summer clothes. So, naturally, I got busy.

The flower has frayed edges.

I hope my little niece Sarah likes her outfit.

Happy Easter Peeps!

2009-04-12T17:27:00.005-06:00

I love Easter and the new life it represents. Spring is by far my favorite season. I just love watching the world come to life again after the deadness of Fall and Winter. I love the story of the resurrection and that we have the knowledge that we get to live with Heavenly Father and Christ again because our Savior died for us, and then rose again. I am so grateful that none of us have to die spiritually, but need simply to repent of our sins and we are reunited with the Spirit in this life, and if we choose, with our loving Savior and Father in the next. It truly is a plan of happiness.

And on the lighter side, Jake and I dyed Easter eggs last week. We got kind of silly and had fun. Jake thought I was a goofus for thinking it was so funny that I was making a Humpty Dumpty. What can I say, sometimes I get slap happy. The paint was all gloopy but what do you do? Jake made an awesome storm trooper!

Weekend

2009-04-07T03:08:00.010-06:00

We had a nice weekend. How about you?

Jake got to go to Moab.

I got a nice break and finished this:

And watched conference. My favorite talk was Jeffrey R. Holland's talk about our Savior. I wish those who think we are not Christians could just watch maybe an hour of conference. Or better yet - THAT talk. It fed me and filled me. I also loved Elder Scott's tender words. What was your favorite?

Update in Pictures

2009-04-02T05:30:00.015-06:00

So, apparently I don't do real well without this:

My gamma globulin shot. It has become very hard to get at the moment. For the last few weeks, I have been feeling very much like this:

Humpty Dumpty after the fall.

Thanks for bearing with me. I did get some gamma globulin now but don't know when I will be able to get it again so I'm trying to take it sparingly.

Last week, I did get to enjoy this:

Jake's percussion concert. They got to play on garbage cans, which was pretty dang cool. And those are his best buds on either side. Mitch and Forest.

Jake is having so much fun learning drums in his percussion class. He is doing fantastic, even though he has only been in there since January and all the other kids have been in there since the beginning of the school year. He picked it up so fast.

Forgive me while I take a moment here to ponder Jake's cuteness.

Thank you for coming Grams, Pa and Suz!! And thank you Grams for matching that sign (that is pointing to Jake's head) so well.

Hmm... who's butt is higher? Let's just call him Jakey-longlegs.

I also got to enjoy this:

Jake's General Music Choral Concert. I hate to say it but I was not looking forward to this one. (Part of that was that Jake wasn't excited about it or the least bit proud of it. He thought they all could have sung much louder and better, which I think is kind of funny for some reason.) I ended up enjoying it thoroughly though! It was fun to see all the kids that age and their interactions, what they wore, etc. I am ending up really liking this age that Jake is right now. I completely dreaded it, but he is doing well and I really like watching him go through his junior high experience so far.

Farbenmix Olivia Dress -Warning: Bad pictures but cute dress

2009-03-10T01:36:00.026-06:00

I am so excited about this dress!! It is from a pattern by a German company called Farbenmix and is called the Olivia dress. I have found that for the most part, European patterns have way better sizing than U.S. patterns. Not only are they much more consistent (you find your size, that stays the same from pattern to pattern, as long as you stay the same), they are just drafted for better fit in general!

This especially applies when compared to the "big 4" U.S. pattern companies: Simplicity, McCall's, Butterick and Vogue. Their sizing is all over the place and your size in one pattern doesn't transfer to other patterns.

It varies and if you really want to ensure a good fit, this would mean making a test version of almost every garment you made. (Yeah right! I'm lucky to get something made once.) Whereas with Ottobre (a European pattern magazine), once you find your size, it will stay the same for all the patterns you sew. Less work is always a plus in my book. On the other hand, the U.S. company Kwik Sew is a great company with good drafting and some independent companies are also great.

The right side looks like it is all funky here but really, both sides are the same! I love the cut of the dress and how it flares out.

My sister's camera is dying so these aren't the best pictures, (neither is mine - I need a better way to take pictures than on the floor!) but at least we get to see cute Sarah in her dress.

Sarah the model. I *LOVE* this picture! I love that girl! She hugged the phone last time I called them. I almost hopped on a plane!

CREATE

2009-03-07T06:29:00.002-07:00

Beautiful video from lds.org "mormon messages". Since I can't create the best thing of all -babies! right now, I will create other things!

Rice Bags

2009-02-26T20:42:00.004-07:00

My sister Jo requested a couple of these babies to keep the kids warm in the freezing Minnesota weather. (You pop them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and they stay warm and can be used as heat packs.) I decided to make her one too. And then I just had to make one for Andrew to give with his birthday present, and of course one for Anne also! Utah weather calls for this kind of comfort too! I loooove these and also the heating pad on my bed. They make me happy!

For Sarah, the Diego lover

A T-Rex for Sam

Andrew's Stegosaurus

I made one like this for both Jo and Anne

Sorry about the inconsistent labeling. My cursor was jumping all over the place! I don't know what's wrong but this site doesn't like me to post pictures and label them! Thanks for looking at all my sewing I have shared recently. I like that it looks like I am a prolific sewer when in reality, all this took me months to finish. I drive myself crazy with ideas and things I am dying to make, but I am slow! All your comments totally keep me going.

The End of the Rainbow

2009-02-16T23:36:00.010-07:00

At Christmastime, I got to take my cute little nephew Andrew with me to JoAnn's. I absolutely couldn't resist letting him pick out his own fabric for some jammies. First he was kind of leaning towards the red valentine fleece. Then he found the Snoopy St. Patrick's Day and was all for that! Then he was super good while I did the rest of my shopping there (decorating my thread rack with gummi lifesavers.) He was so fun to have along. I even bought him his own little retractable tape measure since he promised he wouldn't complain when I had to measure him. He told me jokes and wanted me to tell him one, but he told me it wasn't funny because he'd heard it so much already. (Curt's "freep who.") I just have to think about him and that kid makes me smile.

When I made the kids their stocking jammies at Christmas, he said "Hey - you should have made it so the stocking would open, so we could put things in there!" I had actually wanted to do that very thing, but by the end of those, I was definitely ready to be done, not to mention I was out of time! So... we decided this shirt HAD to have something that opened on it. At first, we were thinking of a shamrock and then we thought of a pot of gold and got really excited! I had a bunch of sewing to finish before I made these, but it turned out so perfect, because these were finished last week, which just happened to be... the week of Andrew's birthday! (He's a Valentine's baby - no wonder he's such a sweetie.)

The best part of all was when he got up from his party, picked the pjs up, and with a sly grin, stole away to his room to put them right on! Now THAT is why I love to make stuff for the kids. Aggh this kid is CUTE! He was even sick that night, but he was so sweet, polite, happy and grateful for every single present.

Oh - and he is holding chocolate gold coins in his hands. This is what he was dying to have to fill his pot with. Thanks to Gram for going all the way out to Zurcher's to get them!!! He walked around all night proud as punch having them in his pot.

That was a good collaboration. I think Andrew and I need to work together more often.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T06:34:00.009-07:00

Jake is my valentine this year and that's ok with me. He is at an age where it is hard to know what to give him for things like this though. I didn't want to spend a lot and I knew there wasn't much he'd get too excited about. And he certainly doesn't need anything new. So, I found this cute idea and decided he would at least like the novelty of it. I know we've all made Rice Krispy Treats a million times, but here are pictures of the process anyway, just for fun.

Mmm... butter and marshmallows melting together.

Adding the Rice Krispies

Then I formed it into a "kiss" shape

I taped these together to make the little paper that comes out the top.

A kiss for my valentine!

I might take him to do something later too, if he's not too tired after his overnight scout camp last night.

Retro Day

2009-02-11T08:20:00.009-07:00

While I am waiting for my sister to get her package so I can post the pictures of the things she hasn't seen yet, I just had to post this picture. It's All for All or "spirit week" at Jake's school this week and there is a different theme for every day. They usually have a strict dress code/uniform so this is really fun for them to be able to wear different things.
I L-O-V-E 70's dress up. I don't know why, I just do.

Does it get more stylin' than this?

p.s. - I want to say thank you so much for all the positive comments on the outfit. Every one of them made my day. I wish there was a magic wand that could make me stop second-guessing myself so much!!

Finished Sewing!

2009-02-08T21:25:00.002-07:00

I have finished sewing a bunch of things!! I've had some things hanging around that I have been wanting to finish. I work a little here and a little there when I have energy, so things can take me forever but I am so happy these are all done! I am going to post the pictures over the next few days.

This outfit is for my niece Sarah. Here's the top - my dad said he hated it and it was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen. Don't hold back Dad. So I guess I'm curious what you think. Is it ugly/cute/in-between. Or wait, maybe I don't want to know. Be a little gentler than my dad, please. And Mom, you don't have to answer.

I don't know if the ties at the neckline will bug her, but hey, I thought it was cute. And that's what's important right? Well that, and that the receiver of the gift likes it too. And I learn more with every project so that's good too.

This skirt - I kind of morphed another pattern from a skort pattern to a skirt because I didn't have a basic skirt pattern on hand - I hope it fits and works.

Some Fun Linkage

2009-02-07T05:12:00.001-07:00

Black Apple's Cinnamon Rolls - wow.

Ikea's "Find Your Design Style" Quiz - I was Country Balanced. Hmmm not sure about that, but it was fun. This takes a minute to load. Quiz is at the bottom of the page.

This blog totally makes me giggle. Thanks for finding it Tiffany.

And you can't possibly miss engrish.com. This one has me laughing this morning. And this. This and this. I am seriously in tears. #2 really gets me here. Ok the whole thing is hilarious. My cheeks are starting to hurt now. Seriously. I need to stop now. No more. I think mistranslation can be pretty funny in every language. English is just so different from these languages that it makes for some tough translation work I guess!

And in other notes... Chuck is finally back. How much do I love Chuck? I haven't watched the new one yet though. Because then I wouldn't have any to look forward to watching. So I have to wait until I get another one on my dvr. I like the delayed gratification.

I'm a Winner!

2009-02-05T05:00:00.002-07:00

My mom and my sister Jo gave me a gorgeous earring and necklace set for Christmas. It was so fun and I realized that I had forgotten how much earrings can really spark up the face and add that touch that makes a difference. My sister-in-law Anne is awesome at making jewelry and has made me some lovely jewelry in the past so I haven't completely gone off the jewelry boat. I am starting to care a little more about my appearance nowadays instead of just thinking about comfort.

Well... guess what?! Now I am adding these beauties to my jewelry collection!!!

I WON THEM! How exciting is that?! I can't believe I won - I entered the contest on the Mormon Mommy blogs just for fun by commenting, and lo and behold, I am the happy owner of beautiful new earrings. Second Sister's jewelry is exquisite and I wanted to share a few of her pieces here.
Pretty stuff. I love the names she gives them too, like Orchardist's Wife Bracelet, and Miss Havisham Bracelet.

It just goes to show you, it never hurts to enter a contest even if you don't really think you'll win!

THIRTEEN!

2009-01-31T03:30:00.020-07:00

Hi. I've been under a rock for a while. Or kind of like 6 feet under. With a breathing tube. At least that is what I have felt like.... so I have been missing from blogsville, but I am alive again and that is a beautiful thing.

My question is -

How does this:

Turn into this?

Seriously?? Where did the time go? Jake turned 13 last Sunday! He is such a ray of sunshine and I am so grateful he is my boy. (I am still calling him my "boy" even though he is 2 1/2 inches taller than I am!) He is a kind and caring kid who loves hanging out with friends, doesn't like much of the food I make, loves his little baby brothers (his dad's), doesn't like homework, has a propensity for noise, likes his percussion class at school, is fun to hang out with, and who lights up my life.

13 Things about Jake

1. He's an extrovert and he loves to be around people and where the action is.
2. He's funny and he LOVES funny things.
3. He loves gadgets and everything at Think Geek and Extreme Geek.
4. He is smart.
5. He has lost all but one baby tooth.
6. He is 5' 6 1/2"
7. He craves down time and freedom to do whatever he wants.
8. He loves music (and is an expert on the drums on PS3 Rock Band.)
9. He is great at figuring out technology.
10. He is a ray of light.
11. He is not judgmental of others.
12. His favorite TV shows are Mythbusters on Discovery, and Ace of Cakes and Challenge on Food Network.
13. He has strong family values and loves family.

Image Mosaic Fun

2009-01-23T00:53:00.009-07:00

I found a fun site today. It turns your regular photo into an image mosaic. It turns this:

Into this:Pretty cool, huh? Can anyone guess correctly which year this picture of Jake is from? If you guess right, I'll give you a hug... or a kiss. Didn't you hate it when your mom used to say that when you were young and you were looking for some sort of tangible prize? Someday, maybe I'll do a giveaway but for now, I'll just send you an air hug or an air kiss. Despite that, please still guess.

What I Did Today and the Push-Up King

2009-01-18T01:55:00.011-07:00

Want to share in my joy for today? Taaa daaaa!!

I organized my pantry!! I'm not sure why my legs ache like I ran a marathon after this, or why my feet felt like they were going to shrivel up and fall off. (Other than that it is normal "me" but -why?- you know?) I am so grateful I slept so long last night and actually had the energy to do this. It feels so good to not step on stuff when I open the door to get something. And I can find everything I need!

And in other household happenings...

Jake was the push up king at Scouts the other night. He did 15 in under a minute and only one of the other boys came close at 13. They are trying to build up to at least 30 but still, I was proud of him. Sometimes he worries that he is not awesome at sports, but after a few months of a hard core P.E. teacher, he has gotten in great shape. He's always in pretty good shape because he is very active, but this was intense physical activity they were doing every day. And the good thing is he is sad for that class to end! (It is a half year class.) Well, I mean it is good because he liked it - and I thought the teacher was a little too hard core, so I wasn't sure. But he did and he got to see how practice and work can build great skills and how it feels great to be in fantastic shape physically. Now it's on to General Music for him.

My sister Suz and car dancing

2009-01-14T20:36:00.004-07:00

We're Nads, we're Suz
And we really cruise!
We rock, we rule
And we're really cool!

Me and my sister Suz used to car-dance. We would get goofy and laugh and we made up awesome songs. Like the one above. What, you don't think that's awesome?

I just posted the doofiest comment on her blog, and I have been so burned out and tired today that it was kind of nice when I made myself laugh. And you know what? Suz will laugh too. And I love that about her.

I've been reading

2009-01-10T01:24:00.010-07:00

I'm coming down from a high to tell you all that you must go out right away and find it and read it. It is unbelievably delightful. It has charm, depth, romance, history, humor, it is touching... it has it all. When I finished it, I wanted to turn the pages right back and start it all over again. I have only felt like that one other time since I was little! (And I can't remember which book that was.) I kept checking to see that I still had plenty of pages left because I wholeheartedly didn't want it to end.

It is about people during WWII that live on the island of Guernsey (near England) and they create this society as sort of a book club by accident, - really to fool the German soldiers occupying their island. A friendship is begun with a woman author (authoress?) in London and they all become connected through letters. We learn about the people on the island, the occupation, and the authoress and they are all wonderful characters who you just want to keep reading and reading about. I can't do it justice here but I do give it my highest recommendation!

The Bachelor

2009-01-06T05:20:00.004-07:00

I watched The Bachelor on tv last night. I am completely sick of that show but I think Jason is such a great guy, I want to watch this one. Within the first few minutes, nausea set in and I remembered why the last ones made me want to toss my cookies. I also remembered why I like The Bachelorette so much more than The Bachelor. Girls. They can be so catty and so icky. The selling of themselves at the beginning totally turned me off. I'm sure they tell them to say why they should be chosen, etc. but blech. (How do you spell blech?) And how about the girls choosing who should go off first?? That was awful.

The whole concept of guys chasing after girls instead of the other way around just appeals to me so much more. I think it is good for the guys and is more fitting for their nature. They like to work at something to win it. They appreciate it more that way. And I think having 25 girls vying for their attention is actually counterproductive to the whole process of getting them to decide on one girl and settle down. But Jason is down to earth and in it for all the right reasons. What a cute dad he is!

I really liked Melissa so far and I had some other likes and dislikes. What did you think?

Christmas Jammies

2008-12-29T03:21:00.023-07:00

What Was I Thinking?

I made some jammies for my niece, nephews and Jake for Christmas. I was excited because I had all this super soft microchamois fleece fabric. Perfect for Christmas jammies. They were a big project to take on, not only right before Christmas, but they also had feet in them, and the fabric turned out to be very stretchy and hard to manage. I thought I could handle it and I wanted to tackle the challenge. Hmmm... maybe next time I will listen to the voice of reason and pick one challenge instead of a bunch at once!

I was going to write a 3 part saga but I decided not to bore you with the grim details about how I serged Sam's feet in inside out so the gripper fabric would be touching his feet instead of the ground. That's helpful isn't it? Ever try unpicking serging on jiffy grip fabric? Well, if you live your life and never have to, you will have lived a good life. (At least that was my thought that night at 3 am.) I had machine troubles, sewed Andrew's waistband in wrong, my hems were terrible and wavy, the list goes on. And guess what, Christmas is over, yes? Well, the saga doesn't end. Sarah's were way too big for her - I think I must have gone with Andrew's inseam on those accidentally because they are the same size otherwise. Oops.

So tonight, I am shortening them. Not even sure what I am doing because they have elastic at the bottom and then the feet. I should have just folded out the excess and serged that. But I wanted the seams to be straight (which is actually impossible on this fabric!!!)so I measured and cut, pinned and serged, thinking it was going to be OK. But guess what? Would these unruly beasts EVER be sewn right by this bewildered seamstress? NO. I sewed the foot on backwards. Yeah, I'm good. I think I better stick to some easy stuff for a while. And take my time when learning new things- I think it was just the Christmas frazzledness more than anything. I DID learn a lot and the kids are soooo soft and nummy in their jammies!! And they love them so that is all that matters.

If anyone that reads this uses a serger - this tip is really helpful for frogstitching (rip it, rip it) or unpicking serger stitching.

There's a picture in my last post but here are some more. They really did turn out cute and I'm still totally glad I gave them a shot. Did I mention how cute these kids are or how much I LOVE them? It has been such a fun Christmas being all together and having my sister and her family here.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T11:37:00.006-07:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas and that you will be blessed with health and happiness in the new year!

Behold.. the Neon Atom

2008-12-20T04:46:00.007-07:00

This is Jake's science project. He had to be creative with what he used to make a 3D atom. Our first ideas were hula hoops and sports/toy balls. We ended up with this. It looks like it is not a circle in the pictures, but it is. I'm not sure where we would have been without my dad's help. My mom even went to Toys R Us to get balls. Don't mention you need help to these guys, or they are on it. Stat. With my dad's put-it-together, fix-it know-how, my mom, the poster queen, and Jake's great ideas, we pretty much rocked this project. At least I think so, but I'm biased. :)

What is it about when someone tells you what to do?

2008-12-16T03:15:00.010-07:00

I have been really good with my eating for about a week. I've been trying to eat actual food during the day. Yeah, I know novel idea huh? No Power Bars, Balance Bars, etc. Just actual meals. When I have no energy at all, this is a lot harder than it seems! I love when I make a big meal that I can eat for a few days. I'm not that picky. My sister in law gives me leftovers too, which totally rocks. And other times, there's nothing to be found. Anywhere. So I just wait until I have energy to make something. And sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Poor Jake. Problem is, he doesn't like anything I make, unless it is pasta. So, a can of soup or spaghetti for him. I do have oatmeal for breakfast usually so that lasts for a while.

But then I get starved by about 9:00 at night, and I want to eat everything. Is that a good plan for my body? No. So, I am trying to remember just to eat real food during the day. It was going quite well and I didn't feel like eating junk at night. Then, today, while I was lying there ~~fat~~ flat on the table, getting a massage today (the only thing that makes my muscles relinquish their vise grip) the guy starts going on and on about how I need to watch my carbs and that bread is only carbs, and especially watch my fat intake, and I shouldn't eat sugar, etc. (This guy also once went on and on about how I need to exercise. I know. I used to exercise all the time. I loved exercise. It made me happy. It makes me very unhappy that if I do it now, I am even more unable to get out of bed than usual. It does not help to tell me these things. I would give my right elbow to be able to go on a nice jog and not have it make me want to die. But I suppose you can't understand these things unless you have been there. And I hope you don't have to come here.)

So, guess what I did tonight? Came home and scarfed down a half bag of these puppies and ate a cookie. And this is on top of the fattening and delicious pizza my mom got for us at her house. Is it just me or would it be common courtesy to note that it takes a lot of courage to get my half-naked body up on that massage table when I am not even real comfortable with myself in clothes? Dude. You think I don't know all that??? I used to eat really healthy. Grrr. Something truly went awry in my body and I just crave stuff like crazy. Even when I eat real food. It drives me up the wall. I am trying. so. hard. I will be eating some junk for Christmas. So, family, don't expect me to be a saint. But hopefully I can make some progress after that. It feels like no matter what I do though, (I really am good sometimes) my body either just stays the same or gets bigger. Like the fat just wants to stay, like a rude and unwanted houseguest who will never leave.

I Am Undoubtedly a Molasses Gingerbread Cookie

2008-12-11T20:23:00.007-07:00

Quiz: What Christmas Cookie Are You?
Are you simple and sweet or decked out with all the trimmings? Take the quiz and find out what type of Christmas cookie you are.

I was thinking about what kind I would be and I had actually decided I would be this kind of cookie.

And this was my answer:
You are undoubtedly Molasses-Gingerbread Cookies. You're warm, spicy, and multifaceted.

So... get your spicy self over there to find out what kind you are.

I DID IT!!

2008-12-09T03:35:00.011-07:00

I sewed with knit fabric. I have wanted to for at least 2 years and I finally took the plunge. Knits are just so comfy and easy care, you know? Of course, jammies are always the easiest thing to start with because then I don't worry too much if they aren't perfect. These are for my cute nephews Sam and Andrew. Do I need to keep an even score? I have cute clothes in mind for Sarah and a shirt in the works. Darn I wish my sister would move here - it sure would make it easier to try things on them. (And see them grow up, and play with them, and all that good stuff.) But hey, I can thank my lucky stars they are coming for Christmas. Next on my list is Christmas pjs for all of them - so that will be fun!

The ribbing on Sam's neckline is a little wide and Andrew's is a little narrow I think. Next time, I think I would do somewhere in between. And I would extend the sleeves a bit and skip the cuffs there. And maybe do wider leg pants with no cuffs. Unless they like them exactly like this and want more, then that's what I'll do. I aim to please! I sure hope they are comfy and they like them! I had fun learning a new skill.

Tires and Tools Jammies

Ho Ho Ho!

2008-12-07T03:43:00.006-07:00

Christmas Questions from Kara

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper but gift bags are awfully convenient. A little of both is good.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I’m allergic to the real thing.

3. When do you put up the tree? It just depends.

4. When do you take the tree down? That just depends too. Energy and time have to collide at just the right moment.

5. Do you like eggnog? I adore it! But I can’t have dairy. I used to pour it over a bowl of rice and warm it in the microwave – yum!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmm.. Easy Bake Oven… or Laurie Walker the huge life-size doll maybe? (Even though my brothers and dad tortured her.)

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad is not just hard – he’s impossible. We’ve all given up and just make him scrapbook pages.

8. Easiest person(s) to buy for? I really LOVE shopping for most people. It’s probably one of my favorite things ever.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes – one carved from olive wood in Israel.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I usually try to mail some, but it isn’t looking good this year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t remember a really bad one.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Maybe Elf? But I also like all the cheesy ones that are on Hallmark this time of year.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November-ish. I never have it all done early though – it is part of the whole Christmas feeling going out and shopping for presents.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes. One was a candle, and another one was this awesome chocolate violin that I gave to a guy who plays the violin. It was just too perfect.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Nothing in particular comes to mind, although I do like the festive foods like ham, cookies…

16. Lights on the tree? Chyeah!

17. Favorite Christmas song? I like most of them. I love O Holy Night, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, Little Drummer Boy, What Child is This?, I could go on. Oh - and Baby It's Cold Outside is fun.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home! Well, wait… are we talking warm and balmy weather? If so, I’d be all over it.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer & Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner & Blitzen

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I have a star for it right now. I like both.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We do family presents on Christmas Eve, and then Santa and Mom and Dad ones on Christmas Morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Usually the weather and the crummy road conditions that come along with it, but not this year – it’s only snowed once so far.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like lime or light green in with the green and red.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham, turkey, whatever works.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A cutting table for sewing!

Want to win something cool?

2008-12-04T08:24:00.001-07:00

Wall Decals are a great way to decorate. They are less permanent than paint and come in a variety of fun expressions as well as some decorative art. My favorite is the wall art. I mean, I could certainly find a place for this beauty somewhere in my house:

And who can resist this knobby knee birdie?

This one might be helpful around here:

Grosgrain, which is the blog of a talented seamstress who designs amazing clothing and sews for her daughter and giveaways, her new store, etc. is having a ...

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

All you have to do is link back to the giveaway on your blog and you are entered. Pretty sweet.

And while I'm on the subject of cool sites, I think this Brick of Mormon Stories is pretty great.

How Do You Cook Your Paper?

2008-12-03T07:54:00.012-07:00

This was a really cool project for Jake's art class. He did the writing in calligraphy and it was supposed to be funny - hence the "missteaks." (The first letter is a decorative "I".) He did a great job!

When you are done writing and you've erased your pencil marks... then the fun part begins! You burn the edges with a lighter. Then you need to brown the paper and the instructions gave four choices, holding it over an electric burner, baking it, ironing it for a while, or using tea or coffee on it. First we tried baking it. It just said to use a low heat, so we tried 215 degrees for a good 10-15 minutes, but nothing happened, then we turned it up and turned it up again, but nothing much happened.

So we tried the burner method and Ta Da! It worked! The whole thing made our house stink but it turned out really cool. After you are done cooking it, you then turn it over and rub oil all over it to make it look like parchment. Pretty cool project.

He thinks he's so funny pulling a sly one on Mom and hiding his face during the shutter lag time :)

Gratitude Prayers Update

2008-12-02T01:34:00.004-07:00

Hey guys!

I wanted to update how this went because it was such a cool thing. It was a surprise - gratitude prayers are actually a relief! It was a nice change from having to come up with the right things to ask for -or worry about - all the time. I realized that my subconscious mind really thinks I have to worry about things and try to figure everything out, or nothing will be OK!

I just got to look at the good things. What a nice break! It let me sit back and give the job of figuring it all out to Him. That can be easier said than done but, voila! a gratitude prayer accomplished it for me. It made faith take over and that was a beautiful thing. I can rely on Him to know what I need. Sometimes figuring things out and pondering does help a lot, but I need to remember to keep the balance. I did not expect to learn any of this, and I really loved this experiment!

So, on that note, here's a list of things I'm glad about today:

That Nablopomo is over! :D It was good and got me in the blogging mode but it will be a relief also to just post when I want to and feel like I actually have something to say (whether it is significant or not.)

That Jake's big present came while he was gone for the long weekend and he didn't see it!

That selling Jake's bedroom set on Craigslist enabled me to pay for Christmas and his birthday next month.

Happy Christmas time!

Where O Where Did My Internet Go?

2008-11-30T21:33:00.003-07:00

Here's Jake and Andrew last Christmas Eve - reminding us that it's time to start in on the coming Christmas season. It is here!

Natalie's Internet is down so this is a temporary final nablopomo post until she gets it going. (from her mom)

I'm Scared

2008-11-29T22:13:00.003-07:00

of THIS!

What is it about learning a new thing that is so scary and makes me put it off for months and months?? I love my serger - the part that I know how to work. I got her secondhand and she works like a charm. It does more than the one thing I know how to do though, and I'm sure I'll love it even more once I learn!

Not a creature was stirring

2008-11-28T22:02:00.006-07:00

Not even a mouse. And I'm loving it! Every mom needs a break, right?
I'm hitting the sack early tonight. Sweet dreams.

Happy Turkey Lurkey Day

2008-11-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm thankful for:

1. This guy

2. My parents and ALL they do for me.

3. My siblings and all their unique qualities and all they have contributed to my life, including my in-laws.

4. Good friends.

And SO MUCH MORE!!! I hope you're all having a great day!

Sometimes I Feel Like A Nut

2008-11-26T04:33:00.011-07:00

I had some really nice, fresh mixed nuts on hand so I wanted to try my hand at these:

Super Yummy Cinnamon Sugared Nuts

Ingredients:
1 Egg white
1 teaspoon Cold water
1 can Pecans
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:
Beat egg white . Add water and beat until frothy. Fold in pecans. Combine sugar salt and cinnamon.

Add to pecans. Mix. Butter a 9x13 baking pan . Pour the nuts into pan. Bake at 250F for 1 hour.

I did these with the mixed nuts, not pecans. They are simple, and delicious! I only cooked mine for 43 minutes and they came out great. You might like them more crispy though. This could be a fun holiday snack or treat to give people.

I'm Not Sure, But..

2008-11-25T23:56:00.003-07:00

I think Kara and I might be related.

Oops. I turned the wrong burner on. But, I think I needed a new one anyway. ;) All because I was trying to make Jake his favorite breakfast.

Breakfast Burritos... yum!

HOLY HANNAH!

2008-11-24T02:44:00.005-07:00

WOAH. In my half-asleep-wishing I was all the way asleep-middle of the night-blog surfing- I happened upon something that blew me away. I am usually hungry in the middle of the night when I am awake. (problem.) Most of the time I don't have the energy to make something (good thing) but BOOM! This almost got me moving. Almost. Oddly, just looking at it was enough. I opened this site and Hello gorgeous! This huge picture created a feast for my eyes and I have no idea if it is good as it looks but I do appreciate how good it looks. I am not even a huge chocolate lover (I know - blasphemy) but when it is combined in small amounts with something like peanut butter, toffee, caramel, or now... butterscotch, it can really float my boat. I thought I'd share my eye-popping pleasure. And if it's not the same for you, I guess it was just one of those moments, ya know?

What a delightful site. I have happened on it before and seen her adorable and amazing mini-cupcakes that she is known for. As has been attested to, she is one heck of a photographer, and from the looks of it, one heck of a baker! I'd like to try her moist yellow cake recipe someday. But, really. I shouldn't be posting about this. I should be posting about how I am going to lose weight in the new year. Here's to hoping.

I wrote this yesterday morning but never hit the publish button until early the next morning(now)!

Ever Thought About

2008-11-23T20:34:00.004-07:00

Saying a prayer of only gratitude? It is a really good idea for me right now since there has been a lot of asking going on. I am going to hold off on the supplication and petitioning for at least a prayer a day until Thanksgiving. It isn't much, but I think it will help me focus more on what I DO have! And that is a lot!!!

Jake gave a talk about gratitude in church today! He told about Elder Bednar's Conference talk last month when he spoke about a prayer of only gratitude. My mom helped him write a beautiful talk and he delivered it like a pro! I was so impressed and proud of him. Not a single stumble over a word, he spoke at just the right rate, and didn't even seem nervous! Good job Jake! My mom, dad and I got to sit by his little twin brothers and they kept us entertained for the rest of the meeting.