Well, either the Mayans were wrong, or the people who are supposedly "experts" misread information because...well, we're still here. SO...now that it's December 22nd, and only 2 days left until Christmas Eve, I figured I'd wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwanza, Solstice,
and any other special day you might celebrate.
Today is my LAST day to get sewing projects done for Christmas gifts, and I'm already 2 gifts behind. The good thing is that one only needs a few more tweaks and it will be finished....the bad is that the 2nd one hasn't even been cut out yet!!! So that's where I'll be spending my day (well, most of it). I have "grand plans" of getting some whole wheat bread made as well as some more cookies, but I'm not going to try and kill myself to get them all done...sometime things just have to be let go.
So far, I've gotten 2 new skirts done for DD and pajama pants done for DD and DS.....they already know that most of their presents from us are clothes since they grow so fast, but they also know that most of their stuff from the grandparents will be toys, so I suppose it all balances out in the end.
I hope that you all are safe this season and are sharing with your friends and family....may you have wonderful holidays and a fantabulous new year!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Christmas is coming!!!
It's 12/13/2012....Christmas is fast approaching....are YOU ready???
Yesterday was my 40th birthday, and yesterday was no different from the day before....same old, same old...lol.
BUT...I had a fabulous day with birthday wishes, cupcakes, etc......AND the presents are all wrapped and under the tree, except for the one we had to order from Target - a rolling kitchen cart to help corral all of my kitchen gizmos AND give me more work space.
The tree has been up since Thanksgiving, though not as full of lights as in years past, but next year there will be more lights, and maybe even a second tree (upstairs). The children are under a warning....for every night that they stay up past their bedtimes, they lose a present, and it takes 2 days of going to bed on time to earn 1 present back. Thomas has lost one, but he's on his second day of going to bed on time, so tomorrow he will be able to put the present back under the tree. It sucks that we have to do this, but they are acting up and showing their butts....apparently having one of Santa's elves watching them doesn't help curb their behavior.
In the coming days, our schedule is practically insane.....tomorrow is breakfast with my husband and son, Saturday is dinner out with my girlfriends, Sunday, we rest. Monday I have to take my son to an appointment, Tuesday I have an appointment and I have to help my daughter make cookies for her class party (I refuse to make them because she signed me up without asking), Wednesday is her class party, Thursday I have a cookie and ornament exchange, Friday we rest, Saturday or Sunday means Mother will arrive for a visit....and so it goes......fun fun fun.....
And so it goes.....if the postings drop off between now and January, well, now you can see what I'll be doing....
And if I don't post again, Have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous New Year!
Yesterday was my 40th birthday, and yesterday was no different from the day before....same old, same old...lol.
BUT...I had a fabulous day with birthday wishes, cupcakes, etc......AND the presents are all wrapped and under the tree, except for the one we had to order from Target - a rolling kitchen cart to help corral all of my kitchen gizmos AND give me more work space.
The tree has been up since Thanksgiving, though not as full of lights as in years past, but next year there will be more lights, and maybe even a second tree (upstairs). The children are under a warning....for every night that they stay up past their bedtimes, they lose a present, and it takes 2 days of going to bed on time to earn 1 present back. Thomas has lost one, but he's on his second day of going to bed on time, so tomorrow he will be able to put the present back under the tree. It sucks that we have to do this, but they are acting up and showing their butts....apparently having one of Santa's elves watching them doesn't help curb their behavior.
In the coming days, our schedule is practically insane.....tomorrow is breakfast with my husband and son, Saturday is dinner out with my girlfriends, Sunday, we rest. Monday I have to take my son to an appointment, Tuesday I have an appointment and I have to help my daughter make cookies for her class party (I refuse to make them because she signed me up without asking), Wednesday is her class party, Thursday I have a cookie and ornament exchange, Friday we rest, Saturday or Sunday means Mother will arrive for a visit....and so it goes......fun fun fun.....
And so it goes.....if the postings drop off between now and January, well, now you can see what I'll be doing....
And if I don't post again, Have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous New Year!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
bonding time
So, I posted a little while ago about making quilts from jelly rolls of fabric. The first one is 99% done - all quilted, binding attached, but then I found a place where stitches popped, so I will put it back under the needle and re-stitch that area.
Meanwhile, #2 jelly roll quilt is done except for attaching the binding.....and that's where the bonding time comes in. DD (age 9) wants to help me do "something" so I suggested she and I work together to get the binding done. For the past 2 nights we've had between 30 and 45 minutes of non-stop handsewing and chatter time.
She has some interesting questions, a lot of which make no sense to me at all, and we just ramble about how I learned how to sew, why her stitches look "stupid" and mine don't, etc. I've told her that it takes time and practice to sew as fast as I do (much like my typing speed, it only gets better the more I do it)....anyway, I also had to tell her that I wasn't sewing nearly as well as she currently is when I was her age. So we keep working together. I have a 3rd quilt that I need to get to work on, but it can wait until we are done with this binding...she'll help me with that one as well.
It's interesting to sit and talk with a 9yo girl who has an older brother. Sometimes her questions are about school and friends and clothing, which I can usually handle. But sometimes, she comes up with questions that are both frustrating and heart breaking - like why is her brother so stupid about certain things and why does he always seem to yell at her......yeah, ouch. I have to remind her, yet again, that her brother has Asperger's, which means he has a form of autism, which further means that the way he sees things, thinks about things, processes things, is NOT the same as how she does and that some things are difficult for him to understand, regardless of the fact that he's almost 4 years older than she is.
I have the feeling that this will be a life-long discussion, but at least she is asking questions and we are talking about them. At least we are doing things together and learning more about each other.....bonding....it's something that's kind of new....who cares if her stitches are REALLY close or that she pulls them so tight that the binding puckers a bit...all that matters is that we are spending time together just being together and talking together......
Meanwhile, #2 jelly roll quilt is done except for attaching the binding.....and that's where the bonding time comes in. DD (age 9) wants to help me do "something" so I suggested she and I work together to get the binding done. For the past 2 nights we've had between 30 and 45 minutes of non-stop handsewing and chatter time.
She has some interesting questions, a lot of which make no sense to me at all, and we just ramble about how I learned how to sew, why her stitches look "stupid" and mine don't, etc. I've told her that it takes time and practice to sew as fast as I do (much like my typing speed, it only gets better the more I do it)....anyway, I also had to tell her that I wasn't sewing nearly as well as she currently is when I was her age. So we keep working together. I have a 3rd quilt that I need to get to work on, but it can wait until we are done with this binding...she'll help me with that one as well.
It's interesting to sit and talk with a 9yo girl who has an older brother. Sometimes her questions are about school and friends and clothing, which I can usually handle. But sometimes, she comes up with questions that are both frustrating and heart breaking - like why is her brother so stupid about certain things and why does he always seem to yell at her......yeah, ouch. I have to remind her, yet again, that her brother has Asperger's, which means he has a form of autism, which further means that the way he sees things, thinks about things, processes things, is NOT the same as how she does and that some things are difficult for him to understand, regardless of the fact that he's almost 4 years older than she is.
I have the feeling that this will be a life-long discussion, but at least she is asking questions and we are talking about them. At least we are doing things together and learning more about each other.....bonding....it's something that's kind of new....who cares if her stitches are REALLY close or that she pulls them so tight that the binding puckers a bit...all that matters is that we are spending time together just being together and talking together......
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Stress.....why always at this time of year?
So...we just had our Thanksgiving "break"...yeah right.....'
Friday night, around 1145 or so, DS knocked on the bedroom door and yelled, "Mom, I just barfed"...lovely. So, DH rocketed down the stairs as fast as he could, then asked what I needed him to do (long story...short version is that he gets sick if others are...fun, huh?). Got him in the bathroom and gave him clean clothes while I started cleaning the floor....thought things were settled when I went back to bed (around 1am), but later Saturday morning found us in the ER because of radiating belly pains towards his appendix.
So....now we have a freaked out child with Asperger's, ADHD, and anxiety issues, unable to take any of his medication because of getting sick, stuck in the ER for 4+ hours. First attempt to get an IV line in failed and the poor nurse felt so bad about it. Second attempt was fine...but during that time, a 3rd nurse came in, looking at me in an accusing manner and asking if there was a problem and if they needed help....what the heck was up with that. I snapped at her that it was as under control as it was going to be at the time, and she left....later I got to talk to her and explain everything, but seriously, at the time I just wanted to smack her.
CT scan, blood work, pee in a cup...everything came back normal...only thing they could think of was that he pulled muscles when he was getting sick....
He's better now, but is back to his normal whiny self, half-assing his school work and mouthing off....
Seriously?? I already have seasonal affective disorder (aka seasonal depression) so I'm stressed out enough as it is, but to have to go through this as well??
I think tomorrow is going to be a baking/cleaning day, just to help clear my head and refocus
Friday night, around 1145 or so, DS knocked on the bedroom door and yelled, "Mom, I just barfed"...lovely. So, DH rocketed down the stairs as fast as he could, then asked what I needed him to do (long story...short version is that he gets sick if others are...fun, huh?). Got him in the bathroom and gave him clean clothes while I started cleaning the floor....thought things were settled when I went back to bed (around 1am), but later Saturday morning found us in the ER because of radiating belly pains towards his appendix.
So....now we have a freaked out child with Asperger's, ADHD, and anxiety issues, unable to take any of his medication because of getting sick, stuck in the ER for 4+ hours. First attempt to get an IV line in failed and the poor nurse felt so bad about it. Second attempt was fine...but during that time, a 3rd nurse came in, looking at me in an accusing manner and asking if there was a problem and if they needed help....what the heck was up with that. I snapped at her that it was as under control as it was going to be at the time, and she left....later I got to talk to her and explain everything, but seriously, at the time I just wanted to smack her.
CT scan, blood work, pee in a cup...everything came back normal...only thing they could think of was that he pulled muscles when he was getting sick....
He's better now, but is back to his normal whiny self, half-assing his school work and mouthing off....
Seriously?? I already have seasonal affective disorder (aka seasonal depression) so I'm stressed out enough as it is, but to have to go through this as well??
I think tomorrow is going to be a baking/cleaning day, just to help clear my head and refocus
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Quilting progress
So....after hearing about the possibility of a "jelly roll race" on patternreview.com, I decided to give one a try. First quilt was from the equivalent of half a jelly roll....so I added borders. It is completely quilted and only needs the binding added to be finished.
Today I finished quilting the 2nd, made from a complete jelly roll.....on a different machine from the first one because I managed to break the foot I used for the first quilt. I was lucky enough to be able to get to a local sewing machine shop and get a replacement foot, so I tried it on my Kenmore and YES! it fit!!!
2nd jelly roll quilt is now ready for the binding as well...however, I haven't cut the fabrics for either binding, which I guess will be my project for tomorrow. Oh, and I already have fabrics for a third jelly roll quilt, which will be started once these other 2 are finished and I've done some work on finishing the last 2 pairs of pajama pants that I need to get done before Christmas.
Phew! Lots of work going on here....JR #1 has flannel for batting and a cotton back, JR #2 is just a top with fleece serving as both batting/backing, and JR #3 will be similar to JR #1 with flannel as the batting.
Meanwhile, on the baking side of domesticity, the only one eating the pumpkin bread is my daughter and I've made it clear that I won't bake anything else until the pumpkin bread is nearly gone.....so she's been taking it to school for snacks and having it as her pre-bed snack. For some reason, even though I basically made this one from scratch (didn't puree the pumpkin on my own), it doesn't seem as appealing as the batch I made from box mix. Next up on the baking schedule are: brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and molasses cookies....whenever more bread gets eaten.
On the laundry side of the house, the homemade detergent is doing quite well. We are up to 15 loads, and the clothing is still clean and fresh, stains are coming out just fine, and there is no residual fragrance to make my allergies act up.
Off I go....Parade, then cooking, then relaxing, and Friday will see me doing sewing and/or quilting while the kids veg out...what is everyone else doing???
Today I finished quilting the 2nd, made from a complete jelly roll.....on a different machine from the first one because I managed to break the foot I used for the first quilt. I was lucky enough to be able to get to a local sewing machine shop and get a replacement foot, so I tried it on my Kenmore and YES! it fit!!!
2nd jelly roll quilt is now ready for the binding as well...however, I haven't cut the fabrics for either binding, which I guess will be my project for tomorrow. Oh, and I already have fabrics for a third jelly roll quilt, which will be started once these other 2 are finished and I've done some work on finishing the last 2 pairs of pajama pants that I need to get done before Christmas.
Phew! Lots of work going on here....JR #1 has flannel for batting and a cotton back, JR #2 is just a top with fleece serving as both batting/backing, and JR #3 will be similar to JR #1 with flannel as the batting.
Meanwhile, on the baking side of domesticity, the only one eating the pumpkin bread is my daughter and I've made it clear that I won't bake anything else until the pumpkin bread is nearly gone.....so she's been taking it to school for snacks and having it as her pre-bed snack. For some reason, even though I basically made this one from scratch (didn't puree the pumpkin on my own), it doesn't seem as appealing as the batch I made from box mix. Next up on the baking schedule are: brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and molasses cookies....whenever more bread gets eaten.
On the laundry side of the house, the homemade detergent is doing quite well. We are up to 15 loads, and the clothing is still clean and fresh, stains are coming out just fine, and there is no residual fragrance to make my allergies act up.
Off I go....Parade, then cooking, then relaxing, and Friday will see me doing sewing and/or quilting while the kids veg out...what is everyone else doing???
Monday, November 19, 2012
frustrated baker
Darling girl said, "I *love* pumpkin bread!" SO I made some from scratch, sent a loaf in to one of her teachers, and sliced the other 2 loaves (recipe makes 3 loaves and I didn't want to bother figuring out how to cut everything down) for snacking. I also made, at son's request, peanut butter blossom cookies and plain peanut butter cookies. Well, all the cookies are gone (oh yes, including the plain sugar cookies), but the pumpkin bread remains. I thought about doing some baking today, but there's still bread in the snack bowl.....guess I'll wait a few days.
I have the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies as well as molasses cookies, but I don't see why I should bother when, after making something that was asked for, it's still sitting uneaten. Ah well...guess that's what they'll be snacking on for a while longer. Since we aren't having a big hoo-hah for Thanksgiving, I might do some baking then....if the mood strikes.
I've finished the quilting on 1 quilt, am over halfway done on the 2nd quilt, and haven't even cut the fabrics for the 3rd, but I can work with this....the first 2 need to be done as soon as I can get them done, the 3rd is planned as a Christmas present.....but, I broke my free motion foot for my Kenmore, which is my daily sewing machine. I'm working on #2 quilt using my EuroPro and the darning foot....stitches are longer, but it seems to actually be going better since I'm in the 3rd quadrant already.....off to help the son with Boy Scout stuff
I have the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies as well as molasses cookies, but I don't see why I should bother when, after making something that was asked for, it's still sitting uneaten. Ah well...guess that's what they'll be snacking on for a while longer. Since we aren't having a big hoo-hah for Thanksgiving, I might do some baking then....if the mood strikes.
I've finished the quilting on 1 quilt, am over halfway done on the 2nd quilt, and haven't even cut the fabrics for the 3rd, but I can work with this....the first 2 need to be done as soon as I can get them done, the 3rd is planned as a Christmas present.....but, I broke my free motion foot for my Kenmore, which is my daily sewing machine. I'm working on #2 quilt using my EuroPro and the darning foot....stitches are longer, but it seems to actually be going better since I'm in the 3rd quadrant already.....off to help the son with Boy Scout stuff
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Shock at the grocery store
So, it's that time of the month - payday {sigh}. That means paying bills, of course, but it also means trying to get the best grocery deals for the least amount of money. Right now, we are trying to pay of medical bills in addition to the regular monthly bills, so things are a little tighter than normal around here. With that in mind, I sat down and went through circulars yesterday and matched up what coupons I had - minimum of stuff, but things I can build several meals around. I thought I was done and ready to go...I was wrong.
Since Food Lion doesn't put their circulars in the Sunday paper (because their specials don't run from Sunday to Saturday like every other store), I decided I'd check out their circular while my son was in karate class today - figuring I had an hour to kill anyway. Well, in that hour, I shopped, found great deals, matched coupons (don't forget that if your store has a coupon kiosk, you can scan your bonus card, or enter your phone number if you don't have your card, and it will print out coupons based on your previous purchases). In the end, I had steaks, shrimp, chicken breasts, turkey sausage and turkey bacon, lunchmeat, some canned goods, frozen veggies and 2 Red Baron pizzas in my cart - all either on sale, with a coupon, or marked down because the sell by date was today or tomorrow. Total spent: $96.39...yep, less than $100 for food to feed a family of 4!
Next step, and I believe I mentioned this in a previous post, MEAL PLANNING!! After writing everything down on my inventory list, I sat down and started planning our dinners. Breakfast is always fend for yourself, as is lunch for most of us. Because the cafeteria where my husband works is currently closed, his lunches are made from dinner leftovers, so I try to cook a little more to make sure that he has something to take with him. I had thought I would get about 2 weeks (to the next payday) worth of dinners planned, but once I started working on them, I ended up with......FIVE weeks of meals planned!! Now, some of this was food we already had in the freezer, but most was from the food that I bought today. I called hubby dear and told him I wanted to celebrate beause I've *never* done this well before.
Now I have to look at the lists I made for the 2 other grocery stores that I like and see exactly what we NEED from them....one store has bread for $0.88 per loaf as well as a special this week where, if you buy 4 GM foods, you can get a free gallon of milk (and with milk almost $4/gallon, we could use this....we use GM foods anyway), so I will go there for that since it's on a regularly traveled route. The other has canned cat food, cat litter, roasts all at decent prices, and I need to go there to pick up Rx meds anyway. BUT.....that should only be another $60 or so.....so for $150, I will be able to feed my family of 4, plus 2 cats and a dog for 5, maybe 6 weeks??!!?? HELL YEAH!!!
Since Food Lion doesn't put their circulars in the Sunday paper (because their specials don't run from Sunday to Saturday like every other store), I decided I'd check out their circular while my son was in karate class today - figuring I had an hour to kill anyway. Well, in that hour, I shopped, found great deals, matched coupons (don't forget that if your store has a coupon kiosk, you can scan your bonus card, or enter your phone number if you don't have your card, and it will print out coupons based on your previous purchases). In the end, I had steaks, shrimp, chicken breasts, turkey sausage and turkey bacon, lunchmeat, some canned goods, frozen veggies and 2 Red Baron pizzas in my cart - all either on sale, with a coupon, or marked down because the sell by date was today or tomorrow. Total spent: $96.39...yep, less than $100 for food to feed a family of 4!
Next step, and I believe I mentioned this in a previous post, MEAL PLANNING!! After writing everything down on my inventory list, I sat down and started planning our dinners. Breakfast is always fend for yourself, as is lunch for most of us. Because the cafeteria where my husband works is currently closed, his lunches are made from dinner leftovers, so I try to cook a little more to make sure that he has something to take with him. I had thought I would get about 2 weeks (to the next payday) worth of dinners planned, but once I started working on them, I ended up with......FIVE weeks of meals planned!! Now, some of this was food we already had in the freezer, but most was from the food that I bought today. I called hubby dear and told him I wanted to celebrate beause I've *never* done this well before.
Now I have to look at the lists I made for the 2 other grocery stores that I like and see exactly what we NEED from them....one store has bread for $0.88 per loaf as well as a special this week where, if you buy 4 GM foods, you can get a free gallon of milk (and with milk almost $4/gallon, we could use this....we use GM foods anyway), so I will go there for that since it's on a regularly traveled route. The other has canned cat food, cat litter, roasts all at decent prices, and I need to go there to pick up Rx meds anyway. BUT.....that should only be another $60 or so.....so for $150, I will be able to feed my family of 4, plus 2 cats and a dog for 5, maybe 6 weeks??!!?? HELL YEAH!!!
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