Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!!

The little girls wouldn't stand still
Angry Bird and Iron Man
Angry Bird was the escort for the Princesses
We had a great night with all the kids and Grands, nothing like a neighborhood that is overflowing with little ones to trick or treat with!! My sweet hubby was a hit in his Angry Bird costume, it amazes me that all the little ones know the angry bird game, what's up with that?
My tail is dragging, lots of time in the kitchen today getting supper and snacks ready for the big night and a trip to town to pick up a small gift for the little boy's next door. I scored big at Williams Sanoma 75% off Halloween sale, more on that later, for now Nanny is ready for bed!!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Digging in the dirt with the boys

Sweet Potatoes before
No tater can be left behind
carrots before
Carrots after
Hubby and Tyler helped me dig sweet potatoes and pull one of the beds of carrots Saturday before we get a hard freeze, nice to have some guy help around the place for a change!! The rest of the day was hanging around the house with our little man just having fun, we miss our time alone with Mr. Ty boy so when it works out we steal him for the day.
Sunday has been Kara day, lots of "Dickle Dickle" (tickle tickle) with Papaw then to mommies work to show off her Cinderella costume. The little girls are so funny dressed up in their costumes, they act like they really are little princesses. Hubby thankfully fits in his "Angry Bird" costume, no need for me to rip out seams and add a little or fabric.
Tomorrow will be filled with lots of cooking and baking getting ready for Halloween with the whole family. So looking forward to whipping up some goodies with my favorite bowl licker (is that a word?) hanging around the kitchen.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Surprise Extra Time

Piecing Complete!!


I got 6 free unexpected hours yesterday afternoon!! Karsyn had her 1 year check up so she left at 1:00 leaving me a free afternoon. Instead of frittering away the time I decided to make a go at finishing the Harley quilt so it can head to the long arm quilter next week when Hubby heads back north. This quilt is a whopper measuring 90in X 126ins, Hubby should have plenty of room to cuddle up under this monster. I fear he will want to use it in our room as a bedspread, that ain't happening.

The girls are down for their AM nap, it's time for me to get busy mixing up cookie dough and putting together a pot of chili for carry out when the Daddy's pick up the little girls. The big girls love when they get off work and don't have to worry about whats for dinner and since I have no idea when my better half will roll in chili will be easy to warm up for a late night meal.

It's sure to be a weekend of all out running around and activities with all the kids and grands while Papaw is home and of course Monday night is Halloween (please let the "Angry Birds" costume fit) We always have a long list of to do's around here, hubby enjoys having time at home doing guy stuff, beats the heck out of setting alone in a hotel room each night. I could care less if we get a thing done, it will just be nice to have my best buddy home for a few days.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Special Treat

AJ the beagle and I are in the bed early tonight after a dose of NyQuil with Billy Graham's newest book "Nearing Home". I hope the NyQuil will ease this cold a bit and I know Mr. Grahams book will sooth my soul. I wasn't much for Mr. Billy in his early years, he was a bit too fire and brimstone for my taste but over the last 20 or more years I can't help but snatch up anything he or his late wife writes. Their home is only a short 2 hour drive from our house, his boyhood home is of course just a few minutes away, he feels like an old neighbor!! I also picked up a cook book (big surprise!) but that one will have to wait for another day, tonight it's just me and Mr. Graham.
Today was use up some gift cards I have been hoarding from my Birthday. I hit the quilting store first to pick up stabilizer for the embroidery machine (Christmas cards should be super special this year) along with using my gift card, (thanks Val) I qualified for a free Christmas program $79.99 value, score one for the home team!! Then I was off to the book store to use an additional card. I have a good size pile of gift cards, customer rewards vouchers and freebie deals to use but until I can knock out this cold my energy level can't hold up to the rigours of shopping the deals. Both of the books I purchased today were 30% off with an additional 10% off from our family membership card so I still have a few bucks to use later on.
Tomorrow is my Karsyn day, I need to get her to the pottery shop to start her 1 year old serving dish, if I can find the energy to lug the little chunky monkey to the store we will give it a shot. Karsyn is wide open, this should be a real adventure!!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Christmas PJ's

Another project is in the books!! Ya Me
Our big girls Christmas PJ's bottoms are finished just waiting for me to figure out what tee shirts and maybe an embroidery design I want to put with them. I went with fabric that is not traditional Christmas so we can get a little more wear out of them than just during the holiday, I also used cotton fabric so we should be able to wear them in the spring, fall, and winter. The little girls will be in red PJ's the little boys will be in green, not sure about the big boys yet. I may just hit Old Navy or someplace and pick up something inexpensive for them, our big boys aren't much for the PJ fashions!! Once I figured out how to put the pockets in the seams they came together pretty fast but it took 11 yards total in fabric so this was NOT one of my more frugal endeavors!!!
I also finished up the scrapbook this afternoon and delivered it, wheeee it was nice to get two big projects off my plate, the kitchen looks like a tornado has been through but I will tackle that tomorrow!
The final thing on my gotta get done today list was to finish up a Birthday gift for a buddy. Jackie your very late gift is on the way, sorry time got away from me this year. I will post photo's in a few days, don't want to ruin the surprise.
Tomorrow I hope to cut up the rest of the Harley tee shirts and maybe even get some piecing done on the Harley quilt before Hubby heads home. My goal was to have it to the long arm quilter by tomorrow but that ain't gonna happen.
If your a scrapbooker or card maker head over to 1/2 dozen blog listed on the right side of this page and check out her cards that are PUBLISHED!! Congrats Carla!! She even made the centerfold! My Cricut is getting a little dusty setting in my "room of sin" Carla has inspired me to dust it off and do a little something if and when I ever get caught back up around here.

Knocking it out a little at a time

Halloween decoration for Daughter #1, Its hard to make it out from this photo but it is a spider web with a spider hanging from it
Top of the spider web
A friend made the spider web above that I had to copy because it was so cute, easy and cheap, no matter what I tried I can't get a good photo of it :( Here is what it is, maybe you can visualize it. Take an umbrella that is already broken, you know where the material has separated from the frame, remove the rest of the fabric then spray paint the frame black. Cover the frame with some spider webbing and hang a spider from the bottom, I added a string of lights just for fun that were on sale for $.99 cents. Hang the whole thing from the handle upside down and you have a fun unique decoration that cost practically nothing. Our Daughter will be hanging this on her front porch, it will look much better than hanging from my ceiling fan!
I wish I could say I finished all my running around yesterday but this cold did me in, I will have to knock out a few more things today or tomorrow. This morning I HAVE to finish up the custom scrapbook. AJ the beagle and I are set up in the family room, maybe I can find something on TV to distract me and keep my rump in one place to complete this thing. I'm not crazy about making blank scrapbooks for others, I like to have the photo's so I can do some cropping, resizing and such to add interest to the album.
Our Christmas PJ's are completed! I had enough fabric to make myself a pair to match, now I need to clean out my PJ drawer and unload some of the crappy things I wear over and over again to make room for the cute ones. I didn't get to any stores to look for a tee to wear with them, that will have to happen on a day I don't feel so under the weather.
You might want to skip this part because I am gonna rant a bit. One of the things I do watch on TV is the news, but since last week when Libya's president (don't know how to spell his name) was killed I have had to turn the news off. I can't stand to see the mob that was beating and eventually executed him in vivid color. What sort of people do this kind of thing, next we get to see his beaten body laying in a refrigerator on display so people can walk by and take their picture with his corpse. I don't find this eyewitness coverage news, it is disgusting. We are asking the brave men and woman of our country to risk their lives for this sort of culture, I find it disgraceful. How can we ever win a war or help liberate a country who has moral code such as this. I am a firm believer in a strong military, our country should never be afraid to defend itself but to sacrifice our soldiers for the evil that is being displayed for all to see is too much. Even more disheartening is the commentators and news folks don't seem fazed by the graphic footage, some seem to even imply the Libyan people are justified in the manner he was killed and is now on display. We need to bring all of our people home and let the barbarians have at it.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Some Day's

Tyler had more interest in the tractor than anything else, He is his Papaws boy!
Karsyn so wanted to get her hands on the baby goat, how darn cute are these little girls!
Ms. Karsyn
Saturday started off bright sunny and cold, perfect day to meet for a big breakfast then on to the pumpkin patch and hayride, until.......
Daughter #3 called to give me the Dr report on Kara. Kara began breaking out in a rash Friday afternoon on her trunk, she had been running a low grade fever for most of the week, by Saturday AM she was covered from head to toe. Diagnosis... measles from her booster shot the week before. Holy Hannah. It should all clear up in a few days and she will be fine but she needs to be watch closly NO PROBLEM!!
Next dilemma Daughter #1 is big time prego, measles and pregnancy don't mix so it was a call to the OB, since Daughter #1 is in her last trimester they said she would be fine, the other little ones are up to date on their shots so hopefully once Kara recovers we will be done. Poor little Kara.
I had a sewing class to make Christmas PJ's in the afternoon, was it 12:00 or 1:00? I don't have a fancy phone that I can look at the Internet so I called a friend who I knew would be close to her PC to check the time for me, it was listed as 10:00!!! What the hey, that can't be right, I paid for the class on Monday in the store, looked at the website on Wednesday to get the supply list that wasn't posted then called the store on Thursday to get the supply list, no one ever said the class time had been changed. So I called the store to see if maybe they had added the AM class and that the afternoon class was still a go. Nope due to the traffic problems we are having in the area and requests for an earlier time they changed the class, no phone call or e-mail to update the customers. She informed me they had the right to change or cancel classes as stated clearly on their website, I should have checked the website to see if there had been a change, no refunds for missing a class. Talk about customer service, these people take the cake, the ladies working in the shop are wonderful, the owners are terrible and have been since the store opened over the summer. I am to say the least done, I have a $20.00 coupon I will be using this morning, I hope to spend $19.99 and walk away never to return. I know how to make PJ's but have never done french seams, that was pretty much the only reason I was taking the class to begin with.
Before we hung up I informed the store owner that I might be out the $35.00 for the class but I saved myself 1/2 of a tank of gas and $100.00 I was sure to have spent after class when I would find something I couldn't live without, she could have cared less. Turd
I spent Saturday afternoon cutting and sewing in my own peaceful home with college football as my background noise ROLL TIDE. I have now completed, not 1, not 2, but 3 pairs of PJ's and the 4th pair is ready to whip up today after I spend that durn $20.00!!!
I am off for a day of errands, one of my least favorite things to do :( Hubby needs an additional prescription drug picked up and mailed to him, need to order the food for Daughter #1 baby brunch and check out the room we will be having it at to see what sort of decorating will need to be done, pick up a can of black spray paint for a Halloween craft, and look for a tee shirt of some sort for the big girls to wear with their Christmas PJ's, if time allows and I get feeling creative I might alter the tees in some way for the big girls.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Living well on the amount you make

I am piggy backing on a post from Carla over at http://halfdozendaily.blog.com It got me thinking on this chill Saturday morning. Why not answer the questions yourself to see how you stack up, are you living the life you want or the life the world says you should be living?
Do you avoid a lot of the expenses that many of your peers spend money on, such as technology and meals out?
We are so not into all the latest gadgets that continue to come out, my cell phone is 7 years old I think I have the only flip phone left in the US. Hubby has a much more updated cell phone but only because his company requires and pays for it. We have 1 television in the house, that might be another oddity to others, 1 desktop PC also many years old and 2 laptops, the laptops were both priced under $300.00 obviously not the best on the market but they get the job done. I have medical issues with food additives so we don't eat out much, breakfast is the one meal we tend to eat out and I can enjoy it as most breakfast foods are cooked fresh its also one of the cheapest meals to eat out.
What’s your typical meal
Home cooking for sure. Most of our meals are old recipes we both grew up on nothing fancy.
We grow and preserve as much as we can, by fruits and veggies that we can't/don't grow from a local farm. The majority of our meat is also from local farms. I'm not much into the organic deal, too much of it comes from other countries that have no checks and balances, they also charge an arm and a leg for the stuff. I like to go with local farmers, most of them can't afford pesticides, hormones and whatever else are put in foods these days, I also don't worry about outbreaks of food contamination, we know where our food comes from.
What about clothes?
When I was working outside the home I had to have clothes, now that I am home full time I go for comfort over style. When I have the little girls its tee shirts all the way(they are messy little boggers) Lightweight sundresses in the summer with flip flops, jeans and tee shirts in the fall and winter. I still have enough clothes left from working a full time job to wear(I fit in) if I need to dress up. Hubby is on a construction sight most of the time so jeans and tee shirts are about it. I have a thing for "life is good" tees, Hubby collects Harley tees. I spend way more than I should on things for the Grands, and like to treat our Daughters to things they might not be able to afford.
What about going on dates?
Hubby works out of state so much that when he is home every day is a date day. Just watching TV together or mowing the lawn is a special treat for us. We don't go to the movies much because we wouldn't agree on what to see and I know we would fall asleep anyway. Eating a home cooked meal is a real treat for him since he has to eat out most of the time when on a project. We like to pack a lunch and take a ride on the Harley or go on little mini vacations with the bike. I do think it is VERY important for couples to have time for themselves away from the kiddo's. The marriage is the most important thing in a family, if the marriage fails the family fails so you need to do whatever it takes to stay connected and committed.
Do you indulge in any luxuries?
Yep, no question about it we do spend on big ticket items sometimes but always with cash!!! The boat is one example, but we don't use it enough to justify the upkeep so it will go on Craig's list as soon as hubby is around to unload it. My sewing machines are another, while they are not the top of the line they are from one of the top of the line companies around. The Harley was another big ticket item my hubby wanted once we had all our girls walk across the stage to receive their college diplomas, we didn't blink and eye when it came time to make the purchase. Other than that we don't go for fancy cars, trips, purses, shoes and such. We are really low key and enjoy the simple stuff.
Do you have health insurance?
YES!!! Thank goodness hubby receives insurance from his company, we pay extra for me to be on the policy. Don't get me started on Obama care!!!! What a crock of s......
Do you have any savings for emergencies?
Yes, without our emergency fund we would be forced at times to pull out a credit card. Our emergency fund is the difference in getting a good nights sleep and walking the floors with worry, everyone needs an emergency fund!!!!!
Do you anticipate or look forward to having a higher salary one day?
Na, hubby is about as far up the ladder in his profession as anyone can go. He makes a very good salary we just need to be better stewards of what we have.
What about retirement–do you plan on ever saving enough to retire?
That's a BIGGY at our house, we are at an age where retirement is hopefully only 10 years or so away. We save diligently towards retirement but with the economy in such a mess and not improving who know how much is enough? And will what we have saved for 37 years be gone tomorrow if the economy continues to spiral down. In the past when things were not so crazy with the economy we were on track to have a comfortable simple retirement. All we can do now is continue to save and VOTE!!!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Fast Food

Here is my fast food, black bean soup. Canned beans from the grocery store, garlic dehydrated, cilantro dehydrated, onions dehydrated, bacon from bulk order, chicken broth from freezer, canned tomatoes from the garden. Took maybe 5 minuets to put together!
Apple spice cake, store bought box
Bread from the freezer along with the bean soup to share with our Daughters and a friend still leaves me plenty of leftovers to eat on for a few days.
I should have believed in the weather forecaster yesterday that we had a cold front coming in!! How could it be 82 degrees one day then the next 51!!?? Yikes it really felt cold after the warm temperatures we have been having. I figured a pot of soup, some bread and a Carmel apple cake would hit the spot but with both babies around for the day it had to be super quick before one of them latched on my leg. Had I thought it was really possible that it could have turned so cold I would have put a pot of black beans on to soak the night before, instead I had to go with grocery store canned beans. I used a store bought box cake mix from the pantry and home made bread from the freezer, no time to grind wheat and make up bread when the little girls are on the run.
As much as I fuss over the long hot summer of canning dehydrating and freezing food days like yesterday are when all the work really pays off. I will still have to dehydrate more onions and garlic to make it over the winter as we didn't get nearly enough out of the garden this year. I added that to the list of things I need to pick up from the farmer pretty soon so I can get busy on that along with apples to work up into apple sauce and apple butter, not sure I will even mess with dehydrating apples this year, hubby is the only one who really enjoys apple chips and he is not around often enough to use them up.
I did very little work in the Christmas room yesterday, by the time I got my shower during nap time there was very little time to dig in too deep. I think I am an all or nothing sort of person. I want to get it all done at one time I have no patience to have something drag out for days. I have both girls today, Saturday is a bust with the pumpkin patch and a sewing class, looks like Sunday will be spent in the room trying to finish up what I started days ago. grrrrr
AJ the beagle and I hit the chair after supper last night to catch up on the news, next thing I remember was me pushing her to wake up and stop snoring (or maybe it was me snoring) anyway we were in bed by 8:00PM. At 4:00 AM we were both up wide awake ready to start the day, I am going to regret this early morning come about 3:00 today when the little ones are at their peak!!!
Not sure why you can't make comments on the blog right now, fro the life of me I can't figure it out. It could be that I have been using the laptop instead of the PC to blog on but that shouldn't make a difference I wouldn't think.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

It's always something

I took a few breaks yesterday to work in a set of coasters
My plan of spending the day in the spare room in PJ's all day didn't work out the way I planned but that's the way it goes some days. Hubby called to ask if I would pick up his prescription and get it in the mail. I could have waited until today and stuck with my original plan to dig into the mess in the spare bedroom but that would mean I would have to load up the little girls and drag them into the post office. Now the little girls are always up for an outing they love throwing things at each other in the car and a ride in the twin stroller attempting to grab everything within reach is a heck of a fun game but I'm not up to it!!
I did get a pretty good start in the room, with any luck I can dig in again this AM when the girls go down for a nap, maybe by tomorrow I will have things in order! While I was running up and down the stairs putting things in the right place from the spare room I decided to load the embroidery machine with some Halloween coasters, I know the machine well enough now that I don't have to watch it make every stitch and I got the fabric for Saturday's class washed, dried and ironed so the day wasn't a total loss but I do long for a day to just hang out at the house in my dirty tee shirt and a pair of sweat pants!
Hubby and Tyler now skype at night before Ty heads to bed, they decided last night that Papaw should be the "fat red bird" from the angry birds game Tyler likes to play. Daughter #1 told me Wally world has the costumes in adult sizes for a pretty good price, the problem is that my sweet hubby is a size 3XL. I have added a trip to Wally world to my ever growing lists of family requests, I'm thinking maybe I could buy 2 adult costumes then sew them together to get something Papaw would fit in. My family has no idea the cost of fabric, it really has gotten out of sight expensive if you don't get in on the sales. I wouldn't even venture to guess the price of making a costume from scratch for a angry chubby red bird in a 3XL

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

A day at home!

Cheap trick for Daughter #1 porch, spray painted plastic pumpkins
Today's to do, organize Christmas gifts and make my list of what's still needed.
For the first time in a long time I can stay at home today!! No errands, running around with the little ones or plans outside the house. I'm thinking of spending the day in my PJ's while working on the spare room getting Christmas gifts organized. The mess on the bed is just the tip of the iceberg, the real problem is in the closet that will no longer close due to things spilling out. I have been dreading this job but today I am excited to get started. My hope is I have enough squirreled away that I won't have to do much more shopping. Hubby is headed home for Halloween, I have a day set aside while he is home to do what I hope will be the last of our Christmas shopping. Octobers budget is going to take a hit but I will be able to stay away from the stores and avoid some just to cute to pass up spending I seem to get sucked into once the real shopping season begins.
I went to the experts yesterday to get advice on balancing out the Harley tee shirt quilt, they agree I will need to add an additional column of tees then balance it out with a wider border on the sides than I will put on the top and bottom. The other suggestion was to do away with much of the bottom of the quilt which I'm not willing to do, I understand their point that it is so large he might not use it as planned but I want to keep all the shirts in the quilt. I picked out the backing while I was there but held off on purchasing it until I know for sure what the finished size will be. I know it will cost an arm and leg to get it quilted but we only give each other a few gifts so this will be his big gift, I now just need to order one more thing and he will be done. YAA
An additional reason for getting a jump on Christmas is "Baby Bubba" may arrive the Monday after Thanksgiving. Daughter #1 will need lots of extra help with her holiday decorating, shopping and cooking. Bubba is estimated to be another 10 pounder if he continues to grow at the same pace so he needs to come on into the world a little early. If my schedule will hold up as planned I can set back and work on Christmas stockings for the little ones while the world is swiping debit and credit cards the month of December.
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Will your family set a tighter budget for gift giving or exchange names for extended family for the first time?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Quilt in progress

I added little details to some of the blocks, like the tag from the back of the shirts
Added a few pockets here and there
I got what I thought was all the piecing and sashing done yesterday, looks like I will have to add more :(
I put it in high gear yesterday and kicked some butt around here. The biggest to do was getting the quilt for hubby pieced so I wouldn't have to relocate each square into another room before the little girls arrive today. I'm humming along at a good pace, taking breaks throwout the day to get little odds and ends done around the house and to break up the time at the sewing machine so I wouldn't get bored, it worked out well until..... When I finished the last column of sashing and laid the durn thing out I realized I had a tower of quilt squares, not a quilt at all. Back to the drawing board to add at least one more column or maybe two of tee shirts to balance it out. So far I have 32 tee's in the quilt, if I figure right it will take 18 or 19 more tee shirts to get it in balance then on to adding a border. All of the extra work will have to happen at a later time, I need to get back on track around the house and yard, pay some bills, make a list of additional fabric I need for the quilt and get a little organizing done. At least the majority of the work is done on the quilt, after I get it balanced out I will be taking it to a long arm quilter, no way am I going to even attempt to free motion quilt something this big.
I am not even bothering with a to do list today, I figure I will start in one room and work from room to room until the little girls arrive in the afternoon then get back on it when they leave. I have been spending a little to much time at the sewing machines an not nearly enough time on domestic endeavors lately. I have a sewing class again on Saturday so that will have to quench my sewing thirst for the week. I also have to fit in a custom ordered scrapbook before the 28th that I haven't even begun to work on.
Daughter #1 will be having an ultra sound today to determine the size of "Baby Bubba" he is due to arrive December 8th but Mommy is getting VERY large, we figure the Dr will schedule her C section early this time since her babies are going to be so close together. The month of December is crazy every year, this year will be a real challenge with the new arrival and Moms recovery time. I hope to get my ducks in a roll by the end of the month around here and for Christmas so I will have the time and energy to celebrate our newest arrival!! Thankfully the fall weather keeps me pumped up and ready for whatever comes our way, I love fall!!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's a start

Not much to show for 6 hours of class time!
The tee shirt quilt class was informative and well worth the $$ spent to learn the tricks of the trade however we never took our machines out of the cases :(. I felt so sorry for the instructor that no one was able to get a single thing pieced, the store takes great pride in their classes, rarely do you leave class with an unfinished project. The snag came in that we only had 3 irons and ironing boards for a class of 15. Each shirt had to have stabilizer ironed on once we did the first sloppy cut, lots of waiting around for a turn at the irons.
I was able to get a lot more done once I got home yesterday evening but I don't know how I will get around to piecing the quilt. I have the little girls for an extra day tomorrow so I will have to get the thing pieced or move and rearrange the squares into another room. Piecing a quilt was not on the 10 to do's list for today, time to drop back and punt I am thinking. I can only hope piecing the thing will go much more quickly than doing the cutting out!!!
The secret of the construction is using a mesh stabilizer in each quilt square, that is also the hidden cost that has put this quilt in the category of the most costly quilt to date. I've used $70.00 in stabilizer alone so far, grrr. If you were working with normal size shirts the cost would be cut in half I would think, however I am working with 2XL and 3XL shirts here folks so my quilt squares are 14 1/2 and 16 1/2 inches wide, the length varies in size according to the pattern on the shirts. To and a little interest I am cutting up a few shirt fronts with pockets and spent a crazy amount of time seam ripping some of the collars to use the Harley Davidson tag from the back. So far I unloaded around 30 tee shirts from hubby's closet to use, sad to say it didn't make much of a dent in his tee shirt stash but something is better than nothing right?
So here is my new plan of action for the day
1.) Give the house a lick and a promise
2.) Plant the garlic
3.) Finish painting the pumpkins for Daughter #1
4.) Throw something to eat in the crock pot
5.) Work my tail off on piecing the quilt so I don't have to start all over on the design

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Action Packed Day

Kara found the perfect pumpkin for herself.
The giant pumpkins were her favorite.
Our little girls at Karsyn's 1st Birthday party, they are such good little buddies
Karsyn's party outfit was super cute but she wouldn't stand still so I could get a good photo
Cake and ice cream were a big hit
I don't usually blog on a Sunday morning but I am doing anything I can to prolong a little more time in bed with a cup of tea! Yesterday started out bright and early with a trip to the pumpkin patch with my sister and Daughter#3 family after breakfast out. Kara is really low key, she likes to hang back and watch whats going on without going nuts and running around (my kinda gal) She enjoyed the huge pumpkins on display, hated the farm animals, hayride was so so, wondering around the pumpkin patch was a bit dirty for her taste. I take Daughter #1 and family next weekend, it will be interesting to see how Karsyn reacts to her first trip at the patch.
Back home for a bit of sewing and spray painting plastic pumpkins for Daughter #1 porch then off to Karsyn's first Birthday party. Unlike Kara who is very low key and laid back, Karsyn is WIDE open, the kid never stops. Daughter #1 had her party at a play center that was worth every dime of whatever she paid the folks, they did a wonderful job of playing games for all age groups, dancing and enjoying snacks along with cupcakes and ice cream. It is such fun to see the little girls interact with other children most of whom were older, when they would see each other they would start laughing and head off together for a little girl time then off they went again in different directions, soooo darn cute!!
I need to get off my rump and begin packing for an 8 hour (I won't be staying that long) tee shirt quilting class. I'm excited to see how you officially make a tee shirt quilt, I made several years ago but I was just winging it. The tee shirt quilt will be a Christmas gift for hubby and even more importantly it will help unload the ridicules array of Harley tee shirts he has jammed in his closet. If all goes as planned I will be home early enough to get garlic planted that arrived in the mail yesterday and enjoy a quite evening at home with AJ the beagle.
Have a great Sunday, put away the to do list and do something fun!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Here There and Everywhere


The photo's above are from Daughter #1 jewelery party last night, she has her house all decked out for Halloween, I don't. I am thinking I will pass on the Halloween decorating this year. I do have some really cute things I have collected or made over the years but the idea of dragging it all out of the attic just to pack it up again then pull down everything for Thanksgiving doesn't appeal to me. The little girls are to young to care, Tyler is so busy in his social life these days he isn't around much and I won't be home for the holiday as we spend it with our Daughters and the grands in their homes for Trick or Treating these days. I figure it is one less thing on my to do list. I might just pull down Thanksgiving/fall and leave it up longer. I'm getting slack.
I have had very little time at home this past week, other than Tuesday when the floor guys were here. I have had to be out and about since last Friday and I will be on the run until Monday of next week I think all the ripping and running around has stolen some of my mojoe, I am such a home body!!
Today is breakfast out with Daughter #3 then home with Kara for a few hours, off to gymboree to return Karsyn's Christmas PJ's (she needs a much larger size) then maybe a little spot cleaning around the house. Saturday is the pumpkin patch with Kara in the AM then Karsyn's 1st Birthday party in the afternoon in one of the worst days for traffic all year (NASCAR race, Renaissance festival, along with MAJOR road construction) Sunday is a 6 hour tee shirt quilting class that I am looking forward to but I so long to just be home and enjoy the fall weather!! Thankfully I have been turning down lots of engagements and get together's lately because the calender was getting mighty full, if I can hold on until Monday I will get back to my regularly scheduled life!!
Do you ever have times where you want to just be home, lock the doors, turn off the phone and just be? I need to do a better job of carving out time to be at home. This time of the year until Christmas can get overwhelming with all of the festivities I hate felling frazzeled. I have declared next Monday and Tuesday as at home, off the roads, enjoy some quite time, get in a little sewing and organizing around the house days. It's time to back out a bit and stop being a people pleaser!!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

How Cute

How cute is this cake plate, it is a Birthday gift from AJ the beagle's Aunt Debbie, LOVE it. Thank you my dear friend!
I went out yesterday morning with a friend for breakfast then on to some running around we both needed to get done, it turned into a 11 hour marathon. Needless to say not a whole lot got done around the house! However I was able to knock out countless errands that needed to be accomplished now and in the future.
First stop was to exchange a bracelet Daughter #1 gave me for my Birthday for a larger size and add a few charms to it Hubby wanted me to buy as a gift from him. Holy Hannah that stuff is expensive. I'm not a jewelry person, my wedding rings and a watch are about it, of course no southern lady worth their weight would not have some pearls tucked away but they only come out for special occasions. The good thing to come out of the new bracelet is our big girls now have something to buy me each year. Daughter #1 requested a charm for Karsyn's first birthday gift, knocked out two errands on one shot but the cost was shocking.
Do you every have times where you are just ticking away at the frugal living thing, your focused and on fire then suddenly the floodgates of spending seemed to open up and the money starts rushing out? Ya, you know what I'm talking about right?
Next stop was the mall for my friend to update charms on her bracelet to celebrate the arrival of her first Grand (she has a different brand than mine) Gymboree was on the path to the jewelry store, Kara needed a new outfit to wear to the pumpkin patch/hayride next weekend. Just a quick stop, (Ya, right). I went ahead and picked up the grands coordinating Christmas PJ's, the mall is my LEAST favorite place to go, better get them while the getting was good.
On to the "grouchy" fabric store that was in the area, I needed shashing and border fabric for a class I am taking Sunday. I didn't get distracted by the bolts of new arrives, but I didn't pay attention to prices, I needed to get in and get out. Costly mistake.
Daughter #1 needed a 9 inch red ball or something to use as a head for a hungry caterpillar center piece she is making for Karsyn's upcoming first Birthday. Off to AC Moore to pick up the supplies.While cleaning out the living room I found my Dad's military burial flag that I had forgotten to get a case for,in the buggy it went along with "Baby Bubba's" Christmas stocking kit (I'm sure by Christmas 2012 I can get it finished) and a black wreath I needed to make a Christmas gift with.
Next stop was Target for my buddy to pick up some Birthday and Wedding gifts. Could I just wander around with my hands in my pockets....of course not, I found a perfect Christmas gift for Daughter #2.
I woke up this morning with a shopping hangover, GRRR
Thankfully days like yesterday are rare!!! A few years back it was the norm. I don't really have any regrets from my wild shopping yesterday but I could never make our goal of saving 35% of take home pay this year if I had many blow outs like this. I need to buckle down and get the spare room cleaned out to inventory my Christmas gift stash, but I have so many days already filled to the brim with gotta do's for awhile I just can't carve out any time to get to it until maybe the end of next week. I like some white space on my calender and in my day, how did this overspending and over committing happen?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

New Floor is in!!

Lovin the new Living room floor
Inside of purse
One of the many projects I wasn't able to finish this past weekend is now complete
I love when a day goes as planned, it doesn't happen often so I am celebrating tonight with my feet up and catching up with the depressing news on TV.
The floor folks showed up at 7:30 this morning ready to rock, thankfully I finished moving everything out last night so they could do their thing. The floors turned out so nice, one less room with have carpet to deal with. I think we will end up throwing a cheap rug of some sort in the middle of the room this winter to keep our tootsies warm and keep down some of the echo. As I am putting everything back in the room I am doing a clean out, there isn't really much to get rid of since I unloaded one of the large chairs already but the desktop PC amour needs some major attention. That will be first on the to do list tomorrow. Since the carpet is gone the windows look a little bare with only blinds, why is it when you make one improvement it leads to many more?
While the guys were installing the floor I got busy making a purse for AJ's surrogate Mom who watched her while we were on our Anniversary trip. The pattern called for a jelly roll but I decided to use fabric I had on hand, lots of cutting and piecing involved but I like how it turned out. I put together a tab with a fabric covered button to use as a closure if Aunt Debbie thinks she wants one later on, not sure why the pattern didn't call for a snap or something. While I was cutting up material I went ahead and got 2 more purses ready to assemble for some gift giving later, now to decide what to make with the bits of leftover fabric. It feels good to use some of my fabric stash. I need to use up lots more, my assigned shelf's for fabric in the scraproom are stuffed. Carla over at 1/2 dozen daily has a great post on decluttering around the house. I have been working towards paring down around here for over a year now, it is incredible how much STUFF seems to be lurking in every nook and cranny. My goal for October is to clean out any bits an pieces in the living room then on to the spare bedroom where I have been collecting Christmas gifts, there is a whole lot more than Christmas gifts squirreled away in that room!

Change of plans

Tyler's quilt was the only project I was able to complete over the weekend
This is the last of the Christmas quilts I needed to finish before the holiday's!
We had a change of plans for our girls weekend, my buddy from out of town wanted to check out some of the garage sales Saturday morning for baby furniture, she is expecting her first Grand so they will be needing everything. With road construction, a fall festival that will be going on until Dec 1 over the weekends, and the regular heavy traffic on a weekend it took us close to 2 hours to get to Daughter #1 neighborhood. On a normal day it's a 20 minute drive grrrr. My buddy was able to pick up the entire nursery suite, crib, youth bed, changing table, dresser, cradle along with the bedding and nursery decorations for under $350.00!!!! What a deal, we got on line when we finally got back home to check the original prices, she scored $2,500.00 worth of baby fixins, what a deal. After the ridicules drive back home we ran into some neighbors she hasn't seen in years so we hung out on the street corner an additional 3 or 4 hours catching up while we waited for her Daughter to bring a truck and trailer down to pick up the bounty. After hours more of driving we finally settled in at 8:00PM after leaving the house at 8:00AM. I had Kara Sunday in the afternoon so I'm thinking I was lucky to have gotten a single thing done. That's just the way it goes sometimes, but at least we got in lots of catching up and solved all the worlds problems while driving around. Then it was back in the car for my Birthday party and dinner our girls planned for me.
Monday started off on the wrong foot as well, I watched Karsyn while Daughter #3 took Kara to the Dr for the rest of her shots. The fella's showed up to install the hardwoods as soon as I got her down for her morning nap. Sorry Charlie you are scheduled for Tuesday morning, I hadn't moved a single piece of furniture out and had to unload the ton of glassware in the curio cabinet. On top of all of that I had my first software class Monday night for the embroidery machine, if I didn't take that class I would have to wait an additional 8 months to start a new session. After class last night I got the living room unloaded of furniture and all the extras. Thankfully I don't have any more relaxing weekends coming up, I don't think I could handle another one anytime soon, HA
While the guys are working today I will finish up a purse I was able to cut out Sunday then work on my to do list for the week. I already know it will be a week of frustration due to the traffic problems we have been having along with a NASCAR race thrown in that will start on Wednesday and run until Sunday. The one thing I can do is to improve my attitude which needs to change!!!!!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Bring on the weekend

The house is as clean as it will be getting for now, I don't want to wear myself out before our girls weekend starts tonight!! One thing I planned on doing but didn't get to was to organizing the bedroom I have been storing (shoving) Christmas gifts, to bad to sad, I'm over it. Next week the Christmas stash will be first on my to do list. I have both little girls today I'm thinking Nanny will work in a nap when they go down so I will be ready to rock come time to start up our machines this evening. I've knocked around a lot of different projects that I thought about working on. I've decided to finish up Tyler's quilt along with the 2 tree skirts I started earlier in the week, boring but I'm thinking maybe with company it will go faster. I have a back up plan if I get too board of cutting out a quilt for ME!! I will try and remember to take a few pictures of our creations over the weekend if I can find the camera under the piles of fabric that is sure to be spread over the entire downstairs. Have you done something for you lately? Moms tend to put their wants on the back burner to ensure everyone else has their fun, find some time for YOU!!!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

I made the time yesterday to play with Christmas scraps
I saw a photo of a mug rug at sweetwaterstreet.com that was just to cute, so I gave it a try. I used grommets instead of buttons as they had done because I hate to sew on buttons. I'm thinking I need to order the labels they sell to finish them off, however I might just embroidery some sort of Christmas thing instead (use what you got)
Our wood has been delivered for installation next week, not sure how they expect me to unload the glass from the curio cabinet when they stacked the boxes in front of it.
I completed all but one of my to do's yesterday but I'm not gonna beat myself up over it. Getting a drivers licence took 2 1/2 hours, that's my excuse for not mopping the downstairs, of course it is now the number one thing on today's top 10 to do's. Then I was off to replace bobbins for the embroidery machine that my husband stepped on and broke when he was home, I was able to get in and out without purchasing any fabric, that doesn't happen often, take away another 2 hours of the day driving to and from the quilting store. I was pleasantly surprised that the DMV folks were not as nasty as they usually are but it makes me wonder is waiting in line over 2 hours what our new Obama health care plan will look like if it doesn't get repealed?
Today I have 10 more to do's that will take up the day and evening, I have Karsyn today so many things will have to wait until she goes home to Mommy. A biggy for me yesterday was getting the freezers cleaned out. I now have my list of things we are getting low on so I can start clipping coupons again and watching the sales, fall is a great time to stock up on baking items. We are down to 8 pounds of butter, the last time I bought butter was in the fall last year. Our beef is holding out pretty well, we will have plenty to last until Jan. or Feb. when I pick up our side of beef from the local farm, ditto on pork. The best part of all was to see I didn't have anything mysterious buried in the freezers!! We do have 2 1/2 gallons of ice cream I need to send home with the kids, now that we make our own we have no need for the store bought stuff.
Off to pick up baby Karsyn and a fun filled day of getting it all done so I can enjoy our girls weekend of creating.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tyler's Christmas quilt is coming along, another 5 or 6 hours should finish it up
I cut out 2 tree skirts yesterday (got board quilting) then cut up some of the scraps for a cute extra project, maybe today I can play around with it all.
Free motion quilting takes forever! I am close to 1/2 way done on Tyler's quilting, I got board with the whole deal and walked away for a few hours yesterday, I hope to finish up today if time allows. I have the pleasure of renewing my drivers license today. I say that in jest, the folks at DMV must have training in being nasty to customers or maybe they naturally seek out such mean people. Then it's back home to at least get a start on some housework, Son-In-Law #2 came by last night to remove the 2 chairs I wanted to get rid of along with some dust bunnies we found the family silver! Really I'm not kidding, when I converted the dinning room into a nursery/playroom for the little girls I must have shoved the silverware chest under the living room chair for safe keeping and forgot about it. Now to find a new hidy hole to put it in that I will remember so we can use it for the holiday's.
Carla over at 1/2 dozen daily had a great post on to do lists yesterday, check it out on my side bar. Here are my 10 to do's today.
1.) Drivers license renewed
2.) Bank to deposit refund checks
3.) Post office
4.) Clean out refrigerator/freezer inside
5.) Clean out pantry
6.) Work on Tyler's quilt until I get board again
7.) Make cute project I found on line using Christmas scraps
8.)Vacuum & Mop downstairs
9.) Clean guest bathroom
10.) Clean Guest bedroom

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Oh Christmas Tree

Pattern I ordered that was designed by one of the ladies that work at a local quilt shop. I love the simple design!
Can't have the pattern without the fabric to go with it right?
"Baby Bubba's" quilt is FINISHED!! I used the same flannel giraffe print as the binding and the back
First off for some reason I can't make comments on my own comment section of the blog, what the heck? Maybe with a little more sleep I can figure it out, see the time on this post..2:40 AM as in the middle of the night, the menopause thing is going strong tonight. GRRR
Yesterday I finally got around to running to the quilt store to pick up a pattern I ordered a few weeks back, of course I couldn't leave well enough alone so I picked up the fabric used in the pattern. For those of you that are scrapbookers doesn't this fabric look like the same pattern as some Bo Bunny paper from a few years back? I think I will leave the pattern and fabric on the kitchen counter so I can get right on it as soon as I finish the baby quilts for Christmas. I found 2 other super cute ideas to use this fabric for as well, I have a love hate relationship with the whole wheels turning deal. As with everything in life so many ideas so little time!! We have our girls craft weekend at my house this week, maybe the tree skirt and at least on of the idea's can be accomplished. Somebody better get busy cleaning this house up, company is a coming!! Oh yea that would be me :(
I was able to finish "Baby Bubba's" Christmas quilt yesterday between trips to the shop and a few other errands, now on to Tyler's "Cheater Quilt" today although I soooo want to work on the Christmas tree skirt! I also have a Birthday gift I need to get finished in the next week or so. It's time to prioritize my to do list once again or I will be pulling a few all nighters in the near future.
Our wood for the new floors will be delivered today, yepee! Thankfully we have no need to use the living room over the weekend, I will set whoever can make it in the kitchen, breakfast room and family room. One of the gals that well be coming is going to use my embroidery machine to finish all of her Christmas gifts this weekend, how cool is that! All handmade gifts finished by October and on a frugal budget Debbie P you are my crafting hero.
I will be back after I get some sleep (I hope) with Tyler's completed Christmas quilt (maybe) and at least one room in the house cleaned (dream on)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Sweet Deal

Yesterday after hubby headed back north I set up the sewing machine and began working away at "Baby Bubba's" quilt, just as I was getting into a good rhythm Daughter #1 called to see if I would shop for a dining room set with her. The answer I wanted to give was no, however that's not what we Mom's do, so I responded "Sure head on over we will hit the warehouse sale"
I am REALLY not a shopper, to me shopping is making a list of what we need, investigating the best deals around then going in for the kill and getting the heck out. Daughter #1 is a SHOPPER, to her shopping is entertainment, I knew my day was doomed.
We live in the furniture capital of the US area, there is no need to pay full price for anything furniture related!! This time of year is the end of the market showcase so you can get pretty good deals on odds and ends from last years market samples. The clerk let us know right off that their inventory was low but the new sample pieces would be in next week...humm could be some super deals I am thinking. I ran into the chair pictured above that was marked down from $1,099.00 to $699.00 also a nice chest of drawers that Daughter #2 needed for her bedroom that was marked down to under $300.00. Now the wheels were turning. I have been needing a new chair for the den for a few years now but my chair is so broken in that I haven't wanted to part with it. My sweet hubby who doesn't pay attention to much in the decorating department until Christmas time has been making fun of my poor old chair for awhile, today just might be the day to put the old girl to the curb. We didn't find a table and chairs that Daughter #1 was interested in but we did find a chair that was perfect for "Baby Bubba's" room at a great price.
I talked to the clerk a bit about the new shipment that was coming in then we got down to the prices listed on the pieces we were interested in. Right off the bat she took $50.00 off "Baby Bubba's" chair, OK sold, how about the chest of drawers? Yep $50.00 off as well. We loaded the chair into Daughter #1 SUV for her hubby to unload then I was back at the store for the chest in my SUV for Daughter #2. By the time I returned to the store I was ready to make a move for the leather chair if the deal was sweet. It took a call to the owner who was still at the furniture market but I got the price of the chair down to $550.00!! That's half off, well worth the money. Of course the chair, ottoman and chest wouldn't all fit in my car so after 2 trips back to the store and lots of lifting and moving of furniture at home AJ the beagle and I settled in for the night in our new chair.
I had moved the old chair and ottoman to the kitchen until I can get it to Daughter #1 house next weekend for their neighborhood yard sale, seems AJ the beagle doesn't care for leather so she spent the evening in our favorite chair alone in the kitchen. I have hopes that once the old chair is out of the house AJ will take a liking to the new one so we will have a place to snuggle at night together. I am contemplating unloading a few more big pieces of furniture around the house this morning, we have accumulated to much over the years that we have no use for and are just taking up space. I'm thinking a pot of chicken and dumplins could coax the Son-In-Laws to haul it all to the garage sale.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Hitting the mark

My goal for September was to save one full paycheck out of the 3 we would be receiving in September. We meet our goal and a tiny bit more!! After playing around with some numbers last night I figured out what I think we will need for the next 2 weeks and transferred the rest to savings!! How you ask did you meet such a lofty goal? I kept my happy rump at home for the most part and lived off the overstuffed pantry other than milk and eggs. It seems to me September flew by, at the start of the month it seemed like a longgggg way to September the 30th, next thing I knew it was upon us.
With hubby home the past 2 weeks I was afraid the spending plan would be out the window and the goal would never be meet however we were so busy at home we didn't have any time to go crazy at the home improvement store and we stayed away from Wally world! The one purchase we made was to order hardwood floors for the living room, the wood will be delivered next week with instillation the following week. We have agreed we disagree on the hardwoods for the living room for a few years, I hate trying to keep the carpet cleaned hubby wants the soft warm feel of carpet. After the hardwoods are in I will be looking for a large area rug that is reasonably priced so we can have the best of both worlds. We used cash from his recent bonus to make the hardwood purchase, gave 10% of the money away then shoved the rest into savings, we don't need anything else and surprisingly we don't want anything else. It's funny now that we are in this be more frugal for close to a year deal we are enjoying what we have so much more and don't have a wish list a mile long like we have in the past!!!
I have worked on Octobers spending plan a bit this morning but October is such a crazy month I can't seem to land on a good plan. I do know if I don't go into the month with a plan money seems to slip away when I'm not looking. I decided to have next week as a no spend week (maybe) then revisit the spending plan next weekend. I have soooooo much to organize and sort around the house that being grounded for a week will be welcome!!!! Hubby was able to spend all day yesterday in the garage doing a big clean out with visits in to see the little girls and I now and then when he needed a break. I must admit I was jealous of what all he accomplished and very surprised at what he gave up and took to the dump. I will have my turn at a clean out Monday in the spare bedroom, our Christmas pile has outgrown the closet, filled the bed and is flowing onto the floor. I know I am not done Christmas shopping but I have a heck of a good start. I now need to organize what I have, make a list of what more we need then watch the sales. I'm thinking a week of taking stock around the house will help clear my mind for Octobers spending plan. Expect next weeks posts to be about organizing, donating, and finishing up some sewing projects that need to be finished and one that I want to try.
Off to enjoy one last day with my better half on our first REAL fall day, its cool with a brisk north wind perfect for a fresh loaf of bread, a pot of soup and something sinful for desert