Flashback Friday

When I was a Working Girl:

2002

2001

Dear Retail Stores

Please for the love of all things good, stop displaying your fall decor, not to mention your Christmas (no names, Bhobby Dlobby). It is the MIDDLE of summer in NORTHERN ILLINOIS where summer is sacred. Don't take that away from us. Not even a little bit.

And thank you "Through the Looking Glass", cute little store in downtown Grayslake that the kids wanted to go in yesterday during the Farmer's Market, for still having beachy stuff out and not a hint of anything not summer. You're the best.

Favorite Things

Baby Kitty and a daughter learning how to treat animals the right way.

Child Labor.

A birthday gift with a little red "hint" about how old I am. (In my defense, so far these are quite easy. and remember I do have a Master's degree. in science. just sayin.)

Relaxation. Truly an amazing birthday gift. I've wanted one of these forever.

A Lighter Post

After talking to an acquaintance at the pool the other day, I got into my head that the kids needed a slip and slide. I think I pondered it for a bit before but thought it was too dangerous or something. But now I just wanted to get it. It would be fun. So we did get one and it has been a blast! Even though it is not for adults (and we haven't tried it. yet.) it is just a total blast to watch the kids check it out, learn to navigate it and have fun. I was alone with the Monday when they were using it last and I just wanted to capture that feeling forever. I took some video, but I doubt the video will have the same impact as that feeling the actual time it happened. Here are a couple pix. Now I can show you the happy feel good one like this:

Or this awesome action packed one that Jason took on Sunday:

I have to say the second is my favorite.

I also snuck in a bit of sewing (not much) during the kids' naps to finish this pillow. The top was commissioned of my friend Crystal. Isn't it cute?! I added the buttons, flange, back and stuffing. It took so little time that even I had time to snooze a little after I did each step.

Surviving

All day I have really been thinking about an update I saw from my friend from Teen Mother Choices who is going through chemotherapy at this stage of fighting cancer. She described her summer in three words:

EAT (whatever you want)
SLEEP (whenever you can)
PRAY (every chance you get)

She likened this to the best seller with a similar title.

"...this journey is the survivors guide to life, not finding one's "authentic self"."

And what I have been thinking about is that it is a luxury to be able to discover yourself, to live life day to day, to enjoy the little things, even to be depressed for lesser reasons. And how many people in the world are just surviving... physically, and otherwise.

I have also been thinking a lot about things I'd really love to do in the second half of my life. Included in that is to learn more about the environment, health and nutrition, non-toxic household cleaners and become more globally aware. I suppose those things are more important than the rest of my list which includes learning (again) to play the guitar, sing better, learn to speak Spanish and surf.

But I guess my point is that with the luxury I have, I really feel a desire to help those really in need, at least be more informed about the people who are just surviving, how to improve our health so we are not just surviving, how to be kinder to the environment so all can thrive.

And a lighter post will come tomorrow.

I won?

I'm still double checking that it is really true. I won a giveaway from the very fabulous and morning sickness inflicted Crystal. Poor girl, hope you start to feel better soon. I missed my friend Nilsa. She is back from vacay but now is sick with a nasty cold. :-( My family had very nice birthday celebrations for me this weekend. Some Joanne gift cards mean I can now buy that self healing cutting board and rotary cutter I've been wanting for some time now. I also got a print from Swallowfield and a hammock from Jason and the kids!! A hammock is something I've always wanted. Unfortunately some parts are missing so we can't use it yet. They should be in soon though. Can't wait.

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the cubicle. At first I was not in a mood to celebrate this day. I never cared for having a cubicle at work. The times I needed to buckle down and read or write and really concentrate at work, interuptions like conversations, social meetings around the goodies on Friday, loud music and many visits from bosses and coworkers made it nearly impossible. On the other hand, they probably made it possible to hire more people for less, encourage open communication, keep you in the loop and make it easy to get to your (in my case) bench space.

The news yesterday reported of terror and sadness in Istanbul. Two bombs. This really hit home for me as one of my best friends who lives in Dallas is married to a Turkish man who is from Istanbul and still has a mother who lives there.

The kids have been particularly challenging yesterday and this morning. I will be ready to drop them off at the YMCA child care so I can have an hour or so of peaceful workout time this morning.

I had our air ducts cleaned out and sanitized yesterday. Hopefully this will help with my indoor allergies.

The house is shaping up as I am getting more cleaning and organizing done. The main eyesore now is the basement. Not really looking forward to cleaning that!

The Winner IS.....

Just for the record, this was a totally FAIR drawing performed by my son!

Jenn did not win because I like her Taskets (see below post)! :-) She was truly the name drawn from the bowl from my son. The odds were really good on this one, only 7 entries! Good for you guys. But does that mean I have poor readership? Oh well, as long as I have nice readers, it doesn't matter how many I have.

Great New Sewing Helper

I am constantly leaving little sewing essentials in one room while I go to another and find myself needing them. I often temporarily misplace some of my little essentials like the seam ripper, little ruler or little sharp scissors. But GONE are those days! I found the Etsy shop of Jenn Maruska and found her little Taskets. It was just what I needed and boy do I LOVE it. (It's pretty cute too).

She makes lot of other cute sewing essentials and more!

Like this sweet mini quilt...

And a lovely sewing set; needle book and pincushion. Great for you or as a gift!

Go check out her shop today! She's a lovely lady too!

Redo Finally Done!

Here is the project I think I've talked about at least twice but have finally completed. I don't know if it makes that huge of a difference, but I like it better and it seems to make the room look a little grander. I hung the rod brackets 2 inches higher and 2 inches further out. I hung the curtains on ring clips (they used to go on the rod through the rod pocket). I draped the scarf a little deeper so you can see the rod and have it long out the outsides and shorter on the insides. It is a little unfair that the before photos are dark, but hopefully you can see the difference.

Before

After

Master Bedroom After

Ah, good to have that done. My next window treatment change will be in the parlor (living room) and will involve a bit more, but probably not too much more. I'll talk more about it once I've got it done!

Today is the Day!!

Here is a better peak at what is inside the Sunnypond Birthday Giveaway Mini Suitcase. Wow it is amazing that it all fits in there! I will probably miss something, but here is at least a sampling of what you can win...

A handmade (by me) makeup case made from Laura Ashley Fabric, one of my Creative Little Notebooks, 2 striped handmade peppermint soaps, a Fashion Luggage Tag, 2 greeting cards embellished by me, a packet of some organic teas, A bag filled with Smarties candy and other goodies, including crafting supplies, a sheet of pretty flower paper craft embellishments, a painted wooden bird (cute for a craft), a little teddy bear with a ribbon to match the colors in this giveaway. I may throw in a few scraps of fabric and my daughter mentioned something about making a necklace (of foam beads) for the giveaway too. So you never know what else you may get. Oh, and it all comes in a sweet little paper covered suitcasey little box. Click on picture for a closer look.

Here's what you have to do to enter.

Leave a comment (only one comment per person) with some way to contact you if you don't have a blog.

If you buy something from my etsy store and you will earn another entry into the drawing. For each item you buy, you will get an extra entry. If you do buy something, make sure to let me know you want another entry into the drawing.

If you do buy something from my etsy store, remember that Thursday through Saturday is a buy one get one of equal or lesser value for 1/2 off!

Sorry, contest open only to US addresses.
**Drawing Closes at noon on Friday July 25**

Ahhhh, Much Better!

Doesn't this look better to you? I fixed it, it's done. Now on to other things.

And don't forget to enter the drawing tomorrow for my birthday giveaway!

Correction

I messed up on the skort I made below. I knew something was wrong and after talking to the pattern creator I found out where I erred. Basically I sewed the waistband wrong so that the pantaloons stick out too much from under the skirt. It should look more like just an under ruffle.

So I fixed it tonight after seeing the Dark Knight at the Imax (awesome*) and getting home at 10 pm. I really must stop these late nights of sewing. Don't worry, I'm taking a little sewing break for a while.

Let's see if I can get Ella to do more posing tomorrow in the corrected skort and T!

*Movie was great, acting great, the Imax parts were amazing, especially since it was filmed in our fair city... Chicago. I believe Heath deserves an Oscar for that performance, just amazing.

Today's Outfit for Ella

New outfit. Skort is from a pattern by SewSensible. T is from Target and machine appliqued by me after affixing with Steam a Seam 2. I made them both today. She had so many cute poses I had to make a composite!

Also, I found out that my cousin ('s wife) just received her diaper bag gift so I can post it now. Hi Mandi!! Hope you enjoy it.

I also made her a little wristlet. I know how convenient it is for a busy mom!!

Sneak Peek

I have gathered some goodies together to give away to one of my lovely readers on my birthday. I will open up the drawing on Thursday (whenever I get up and post it) and close it at noon on Friday (July 25 - my 39th birthday).

Today I'm working on a skort and matching appliqued T for Ella. Should be quick since it is from a pattern and I have a wonderful ruffler foot (thanks Mom!). Can't wait to post and let you see it.

Then I have started cutting out a purse for myself (from a pattern) and decided to put it aside and not touch it at all (or any other sewing projects) until sometime after our vacation to Michigan.

So after I get the outfit for Ella done I should have some time to tidy up the house more and work on a curtain project requiring moving a rod up and rehanging some drapes on ring clips.

Tonight Jason and I are going to see "Dark Knight" at the Imax in Lincolnshire. I didn't really care to see it until I read some of the reviews. Now I'm game. Jason already saw it over the weekend with my brother in a regular theater.

Since we have gotten rid of cable (meaning no TV channels whatsoever), we are thinking about joining Netflix. All of our videos are now getting old. Anyone out there use Netflix? What is your experience, do you like it?

It's Done

This bag has been the near death of me. I won't even get into all the little projects that went into getting the whole thing complete, or the redos... But here it is!

Cell phone pocket

Water bottle pocket

Inner flap with id slot

Inside with 2 compartements. Back compartment is for laptop and ties overhead with a grosgrain ribbon sealed with Fraycheck. Back part and bottom part of bag is padded with foam to protect laptop.

If you want me to make one of these, contact me in about 2 months when I might feel like making another one!


Next up... Here are the garage sale finds from last week. 50 cents each! I also got the Velveteen Rabbit for the kids and a child's umbrella for Miles since Ella has one and he's been asking for one.



I'd post more today but I have a terrible headache and nausea right now. Plus I need to go help Ella with her craft.

ABCs

A. Attached or single? Attached

B. Best friend? This is like asking me what is my favorite color, I love so many for different reasons.

C. Cake or pie? Pie, preferably with ice cream.

D. Day of choice? Saturday.

E. Essential item? My wristlet.

F. Favorite color? See B.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears.

H. Home town? Schaumburg, IL.

I. Favorite indulgence? FABRIC

J. January or July? July. I'm a summer person. Plus it is my birth month.

K. Kids? 2 of the best (and 2 cats)

L. Life isn’t complete without? relaxation

M. Marriage date? Sept. 14, 2002


N. Number of brothers and sisters? One brother.

O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges or cooked apples.

P. Phobias? clostrophobia

Q. Quotes?

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. - Albert Einstein

R. Reasons to smile? To spread happiness. To make others smile. To feel good.

S. Season of choice? Summer then Fall or Spring.

T. Tag 5 people: Andie, Sarah, Amanda, Jen, Karen

U. Unknown fact about me? I once took improv classes, for a year.

V. Vegetable? Brussel sprouts or spinach.

W. Worst habit? Not resting.

X. Xray or ultrasound? Ultrasound.

Y. Your favorite food? Sushi or Indian.

Z. Zodiac sign? Leo, just barely.

All photos stolen from Jason Wyckoff and his trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Plain Tired

This computer bag project has really had me frazzled. All I want to do it get it done!!! I have been tagged for a meme today and I feel guilty I haven't had time to do it yet. To be honest I've been tagged for memes and an award in the last month and have been too lazy/busy to do them/accept them. In general I need to get a lot of blogging type stuff organized. So for now here's a new photo of Paris.



Hopefully coming soon... My wonderful garage sale finds, the meme, I forgot what else this week has been a blur. Oh maybe a PILL post. And can't forget a little giveaway for my birthday as well as a birthday weekend sale in my Etsy shop.
And by the way. The bag is ALMOST done!!

Sneaking Up on Me

In a little over a week I will hit a "milestone". Most people call decade birthdays a milestone, but for me (at least for age 29 so far), the year before the decade is the hardest. It is the last year you will be able to say your are in your 20's, or in my case in my 30's. I can't believe it. Some people my age are grandmas. I know this for a fact. There may be people younger than me that are grandma's but I have heard of a few cases more around my age. I don't feel like I could be a grandma. Do I look like a grandma? I'm sure I don't act like a grandma, do I? Why don't I feel that old? I guess that is a good thing. But this will be a hard birthday in many ways.

On to other topics. Paris reappeared. I think I know her hiding (sleeping) spot. I believe it is behind our china cabinet and underneath. That is the only way to get underneath, from behind. So we can't even really fish her out of there if she goes. She is so sweet and purrs the second she SEES you. She is cuddly and playful. All that you could want in a kitten.

My iron is starting to leak brown fluid, well the steam is brown. All of a sudden it smells like something is burning and then all the brown water. I need a new iron, or to figure out how to clean this one out? Any good suggestions for a sewing iron? Maybe a good birthday gift. hint hint. :-)

I have had 2 and 1/2 hour without kids. I have regained some sanity. I think I'll take them to the pool today later as it is a scorcher out.

OK, going to HOPEFULLY go cheer someone up. With this:

The Nilsa Bag

I THOUGHT We Had a Kitten...

I saw her this morning. Then the electrician came and she was gone for a while. I started to worry. Then saw her again. I haven't seen her now for hours. She must have a great hiding spot. I've looked everywhere I can think of! I still get worried she somehow got out or something. Well this morning she liked playing with this...

Meet Paris

I have many creations recently completed and many others in progress. Some I will not show because I am not sure the future recipients do not browse this blog.

Here is a fun one. No machine stitching done on this one! I enjoyed the little bit of needlework involved and didn't cringe too badly when using the hot glue gun for most of the rest of it.

barrette holder

Another project in just the planning stages is a special project I'm doing as a custom order for an etsy customer. It is exciting and nervewracking!

Computer Bag

And here is my contribution to SHOESDAY! I'm not going to have enough shoes to last for too long. So this is kind of a lack of shoes day. My favorite summer foot "attire." I finally got a pedicure this summer since Jason landed the job and all. Ahhhhh, great to be pampered and have pretty toes. Well they may not be pretty, but they are prettier than the were. I just love this salon I go to. Everyone there has been so meticulous.

Oh yes, and finally my BIG news. I am the momma to a new KITTEN! A little 8 week old girl kitten. Her name given to her at the shelter is Paris. And we're keeping it. (The name and the kitten). She is very cuddly and purry and lots of energy like a kitten should be. Velvet is slowly getting used to her.