budgeting works!

I am on a serious debt diet. I mean serious.
I am already an avid couponer and a menu planner. I am also a bit of a "prepper" in that I am a little crazy about having enough food in our house to last us if there were an emergency. I feel really uncomfortable if I don't have a lot of food in the house. While I am not like totally a hoarder, we DO use what we have, we have enough to comfortably feed us for at least a month at all times.
And, I get a serious thrill from hunting down a bargain. I am always searching out new ways to get stuff for free or nearly free. My latest foray is drug store rewards card shopping...

But we have a lot of debt too, from when we were not making a lot of money, and I was a stay at home mama. There wasn't a blogosphere then (Oh how I wish there had been!) and we lived week to week on a sgt's pay with 4 little ones. But we survived on his pay and ashamedly, threw little extras here and there on credit too. Soon enough, those little extra amounts made big, big amounts. Although we've been paying the minimums for YEARS now, the amounts never seem to go down.
My goal is to... this year, pay down my credit card to half of the amount I now owe, AND by this time two years from now, owe NOTHING on that credit card.
So, I looked around, and went with the Dave Ramsey approach. (I already had his total money makeover book and workbook) I bought his envelope wallet(half price at Christmas;) and went to the commissary today with my goal (I was worried it might be too low) and a menu plan for the month. I bought EVERYTHING we will need for a month and even some stock up extras (cookies for a buck a bag, cereal for a dollar ten a box and riesen chocolate chews for 49 cents!)
And when all of my coupons were taken away (41 bucks in coupons:) I made my goal AND had 75 bucks left over. 75 dollars! 75 dollars to pay off on my credit card! I thought what I had budgeted was too low by about a 100 bucks, and to come in at 75 dollars less than my low amount was a miracle. We are spending a ton less than the national average per person for food for our family.
One other goal is to NOT eat out this year. I have been writing down how much I spend in my spending notebook, and it is sad, but in one week, I spent over 30 bucks on McDonalds. I mean, honestly, how do you spend 30 bucks on Mickey D's, in a week?? But those coffees and quick trips to pick up a burger really add up. I'm not so sure how I'll do with this one, BUT, I figure if I absolutely forbid myself, that will curb most of my spending in this area.

Anyway, I am trying new recipes too, that save us $$, like making homemade yogurt in a crockpot. (We eat a ton of yogurt around here) and we'll see how that does. It'll be done in the morning. Also made "cowboy beans" for the first time ever from dried beans, and they ROCK! So good with cornbread. Definitely a recipe that I will make again.

Well, off to celebrate the countdown with Dick Clark and my family! Have a happy new year!

Back in the Saddle Again

I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I last blogged. I guess being a full time working mom with a very demanding job has gotten to me. I am also not good with time management and I frankly lack energy and the will to make myself do things a lot of the time, from the rest of my life being so harried and full. That is one of the things that I want to change in the new year. I thrive on routine, these days off tend to make me tired and lackluster. But with all that in mind, and knowing that I DO have the ability to change, I am setting myself up on a schedule.

Looking over last year's posts, I really saw that I was looking for fulfillment in creativity. That hasn't changed much for me, but I have come to realize that I also tend to jump from one idea to another looking for something to become good at before I really become good at anything. So, that is goal number one this year. Focus on one thing at a time, for one month at a time. This month it is going to be my finances. I am going to set up a budget ala' Dave Ramsey's cash envelope system, write down everything that I spend, and read my two favorite blogs (passionatepennypincher and moneysavingmom) every day. My goal is to get our grocery budget down to a 120 bucks a week, for everything, including all toiletries. I think I can do that, especially with the supercouponing I've been doing and with the surplus of groceries we have around here because I have been stockpiling when there are great deals. (Right now we have 30 boxes of spaghetti in the garage from a really great sale:) So, spaghetti carbonara, anyone?

I love that the end of the year ushers out with it, any old stuff that you don't want to keep. You can start anew with the new year. It is like a renewal of the soul in the heart of winter. I love getting reorganized, setting goals, and getting started on the right foot for a new year. God sure planned that well!

Freezer Cooking

Been cooking in advance of school starting again.

So far today, I've made ...

• chimichangas (16) from this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/make-ahead-chimichangas-57027

• incredible blueberry/nectarine and shhhh! (spinach) smoothies (14) ( I freeze these in ball (plastic) freezer jars and take out the night before for breakfast the next day

• Crockpot chili (cook meat and put all ingredients together in a bag to just toss in the crockpot on cooking day) (4 recipes )

• Cooked a ton o bacon for future meals (we'll see if this makes it to actually being made into meals with 4 "boys" in the house :)

And we'll see what I get done tomorrow, but that is a pretty good start...

Screaming deal!

Oh Target, how I love thee!

Ok, so not really, but it is the store I shop most often at. We are pretty limited in my local area with shopping choices. And, I happen to be really fortunate (not) in that if I want to do any serious shopping I have to cross a bridge which charges me 3 bucks to do so. I try to stay on "this side of the bridge" and only go across when I have lots to do on that side of the world:)

But tonight, went to Target and had 2- three dollar coupons if I bought 2 Johnson and Johnson red cross first aid items (go to money saving mom for the link to the coupons). My DD is going to camp for the next couple of days and needed a small 1st aid kit, so I bought 4 of the first aid kits that they have in the travel size section for 97 cents each and got 6 bucks off in coupons. Score!
I also bought gauze pads for 1.72 and had 2-2 dollar coupons. So, I made $$$ there too. It is like getting paid to shop:) Love that!

But the best deal of all tonight, was something that I have kind of a passion for. I love love love fountain pens. The Cross kind are my favorite. I love the way they write. I love the old fashionedness of using a fountain pen and I love the way my handwriting turns out when I use a fountain pen. And the black onyx pen is my favorite of all. Had to run by Office Depot and get copies of forms for the camping child, and saw (gasp!) a Cross fountain pen set! Two of my favorite pen. TWO! I asked how much they were. And I think the guy must have been confused, because I KNOW that I paid the same price for just one pen about a year ago. He told me it was on clearance because they didn't have the case, he would give a discount and my teacher discount on top to boot! I got two of my favorite pens for the price of one and a 25% discount on top of that. I just feel so blessed at the moment. I am one lucky girl!

Hope you score some great deals too!

5 things in 5 days reveal

I took the 5 things in 5 days challenge. (It was 10 things in 10 days but I came to the party late:)

And, of course, I have been working on about 7 more projects at the same time.

I am loving having time to work on things for my home. I've been pretty busy with work and my family activities over the school year. It is so nice to have time to think about what I want to accomplish at home now too.

So, my original goals were to:

1. Finish the peg board sewing organizer! (My first diy project of the summer) DONE!

2. Organize sewing desk and get the rest of my room cleaned up (its too trashed for words right now) DONE!

3. Chalkboard paint the back of the front door. Add frame. (I am forgetful and hope this will help!) (Have to find a big frame too!) (So, I am rethinking this one. I am not sure if what I envsion would be cute enough)

4. Sew 2 skirts for my daughter on newly organized sewing desk:) (in process)

5. Closet makeover. (in process- a WAY bigger job than I originally anticipated)

I added making these darling apothecary jars that I saw online at the Drab to Fab blog. They went from this...

to this....

I have an idea in mind for our entryway using these on the newly repainted sofa table that I use as a family organizer. But so far, it is just a place for everyone to dump their crud as they enter the house. It makes the rest of that area feel really small and cramped and it always looks messy.

And I added painting our hutch bottom and sofa table to the mix) I still need to stain the top of the table in the picture like a dark walnut, but that is all, really.

And finally, finally, finally, it is going to be summery around here soon! We have had cloudy cold overcast skies for a few days. Tomorrow it is supposed to be nearly 80 degrees and nearing the end of the week nearly 90! Yahoooooo!

Ok, off to make dinner and then paint some more!

Things to do, Things to do....

We had my daughter's birthday party here the other night.
It was so much fun. We made "designer"T shirts for the movie and ate hamburgers off the grill.
Since I have three teen boys, mostly we have boy parties around here. Lots of shoot'em up video games with lots of shouting and (pretend) fighting. I hate the "boys will be boys" argument, but it is in their natures to to wrestle and shout and compete. In ten years time that will transform itself into protection for their families and the ability to compete in the world.

But, when we have girl parties, we go all out around here.(not that we don't for the boys, but they want different things, again that boy/girl gender difference thing) SO...
We (hubby(isn't he a great dad??) and I) went to see the premiere of Eclipse at midnight with 9 preteen girls. Now, the Twilight movies aren't my cup of tea, but you have to love a character who says, NO! I won't have sex with you before marriage, even if he is a demon/vampire/soulless creature. I grew a little soft spot for Edwaaaard that night. Just a little one though. And then, after the movie, we had a sleep over.

I am glad that I have gotten to be the mother of both boys and girls. I have learned so much about both genders that I never would have believed if I had not had both. And, I am glad that I had more than one boy because my boys are all really different in personality.

Anyway, I had just gotten my sewing area cleaned up and all ready to sew on when the party happened and now, everything has been shoved onto that desk (since it was a clean area, of course) and I have to start all over again. That seems to happen a lot around here.

But, I did get the sewing pegboard up. It looks fantastic. I am still working on the pegs though, so no pics yet. But it isn't quite ready to show the world yet.

I also got the materials for all of my upcoming projects at Home Depot. I got the boys' tub scraped free of yuccky old caulk and am going to be adding the new sealant and fix the floor in there and fix the surround.

I have guests showing up tomorrow afternoon, too, for the 4th of July, so I have to get all of that sort of stuff done too. I have about 800 irons in the fire at any one time. I wish sometimes that I was the kind of person who dilligently does one task at a time, but I suspect that it is not in my nature either.

Well... off to get some coffee and get started on my projects. It is chilly and cloudy here today after a few days of sunshine. We are supposed to be cloudy/rainy until the 5th of July. You have to love God's sense of humor. He is good in all things!

Have a great day- whatever you do!

Been reading a lot of designer blogs

I love summer! I actually have TIME to do things that I want and all right...need to do (ok so housework is in there too, but only 15 minutes at a time:)

So, I was blog hopping and found all these great blog sites and am totally inspired to redo like my whole ENTIRE house. I am loving this great yellow color on the walls with big white baseboard and black accents. So beautiful, calm and elegant. Actually, the pic is from the Target website... Target, who knew??? Love, love, love it!

Anyway, one of the blogs (can't find the link...) was about accomplishing ten things in ten days. I am going to take up that challenge, but have to halve the list because, of course, I am 5 days behind everyone else, but better late than never!

Here's my list.....

1. Finish the peg board sewing organizer! (My first diy project of the summer)

2. Organize sewing desk and get the rest of my room cleaned up (its too trashed for words right now)

3. Chalkboard paint the back of the front door. Add frame. (I am forgetful and hope this will help!) (Have to find a big frame too!)

4. Sew 2 skirts for my daughter on newly organized sewing desk:)

5. Closet makeover.

Here's my rest of the summer list...

6. Get garden cleaned up (copper tape for slugs)

7. Make 4th of July fizzy drinks and deck out the deck and front of the house in style

8. Make tippy pots decoration for the front of the house (sooo cute) (14 in. pot and 3 8's)

9. Revamp sewing chair

10. Baseboard for the house.

11. Big mirror redo in my bathroom (show and tell blog inspiration)

12. Paint bookshelves, add hidey curtains (dropcloth covers and skinny tension rods)

13. Paint the sewing table

14. Curtains for the bathroom?

15. Kids bathroom floor, toilet seat and the bath (3/4 round and plumber's goop)

16. Spray paint the shoe baskets. (hee hee, no more day glo yellow!)

17. School stuff, math thing with Karen, reorganize files, and color code....

and so much more.....

Oh and time to play and just relax and enjoy summer and my hubby and my kids.

Well, no time like the present. Better stop blogging and get started!

Opportunistic Grocery Shopping

I am working on becoming a "hounder". That is someone who gets stuff free by stacking coupons and being an ubershopper. Sometimes you can even have the store pay you. Money Saving Mom has a lot to say about this. You should check out her website.
However, there is one draw back to this kind of shopping besides the time that it takes (well, two or three drawbacks really)
1. You have to plan really well and know your coupon stash/what's on sale/and what coupons a store has so you can stack them.
2.You have to buy things that you might not buy otherwise, for instance eggo waffles for $.47 a box, not a food we normally buy because we make our own (but if they are free or close to free, who cares?)
3. You can't really meal/menu plan this way because you never know what is going to be on sale and if it will match with your coupons. I find this frustrating a bit as I am a menu planning kind of girl.

So, as with anything slow and steady wins the race. It is fun though to get really good deals on things and there is that sly moment of shopping victory when you feel like you are sticking it to the man by being a really smart shopper.

Anyway, off to Target to buy dog food!

Summer's Coming

Have you heard about the 2010 Summer grow along? This lady started a group, we are all planting the same plants, and will do things with the plants. For instance, planted peppermint, so will be making recipes with peppermint. We also planted thyme, chamomile and edible marigolds. I am still on the hunt for chamomile. I am going to go to some of the local garden stores tomorrow to see if I can find some. She will send you an email every week if you sign up too!

It has been wet, chilly and raining to beat the band here this week. I know that summer is coming, but we are having a wet wintery throw-back. Maybe it will be nicer next week.
We have these funny bank commercials here, along the lines of the (insert your weird job here) we salute you. But it has to do with things that are peculiar to the pacific northwest, so socks and sandals guy is one of them. But really, living here, you can almost see why people do that.
Yesterday, went to my daughter's track meet, and it went from pouring down rain, to sunny, to windy/blustery to sunny again. All in about 45 minutes. My sandals that I wore to the track meet were not a great thing to wear. If I had had socks, I might have just put them on!

Anyway, have plans to sew this weekend, a new nightgown, and finish the skirt I am working on.
I have a lot of school stuff to do too, before the end of the year. I also want to continue working on my blog. But it will be nice to have just a relaxing weekend. Summer's coming!

Times- they are a'changin....

I keep making changes to my blog, when I can fit them in. Usually at night or in the wee hours of the morning.

Tonight, I added the flowers to my title. And changed the fonts of all of my blog. I am self taught, so everything looks a little wonky, but I am pretty proud that I can do this.

The wind is blowing and blowing outside and I need to get to bed, so night y'all!
Keep learning new things!

A background investigation

I learned how to add a background to my blog page! Don't you love it? An old dog can learn new tricks!

Next, I'll learn to download and add photos, and after that the world is my oyster!

I feel strangely powerful right now.

Thank so much to Chocolate on My Cranium for the tips. Love, love, love her blog!

Ho hum Mother's Day

My hubby made a mistake and it happened on Mother's Day. Poor hubby!
So, I rolled with it. The mistake was like this, see? We have a science center membership and when they get the newest IMAX movies in, they send us an email so we can see them. Pretty cool, right?
Well, poor hubby got the email and didn't think about mama's day. He got tickets for us all to go see Ironman 2 on a Sunday. So we did. Left a little after 12:30.

It took us about an hour and a half to get there because of traffic. Crazy, busy traffic. And it is a GORGEOUS day outside, GORGEOUS! The likes of which we get here in the NW about 2 times a year. GORGEOUS! And what are we doing? Sitting inside watching a movie. Sitting inside watching a very bad movie that is all hoochie mama dancing girls and lecherous self centered arrogant guys and things blowing up. Scarlett Johannsen wore, musta been, 6 inch heels. She walked funny in them, and you know that was some guys idea of sexy. Get real! Dude, next time YOU wear those shoes. Seriously!
It took about another 2 hours to get home, so most of the day was shot by the time we got home.
But we grilled turkey blue cheese burgers for dinner, so all was forgiven.

But, really, that's what real moms do. They go to movies they hate, wipe noses and hineys, clean up barf and every other bodily fluid with no snarky remarks, dash to the store last minute because even though she could command a battlefield with the precision and preplanning her home runs on, her loving child "forgot" at the eleventh hour, she will watch umpteen baseball/soccer/track-meets/football games in the rain/snow/sleet/sun and smile through them all because that's what moms do.

Happy Mother's Day to all you had-to- go -see- Ironman -2 -mamas out there. You rock more than Ironman and you don't even have to wear the suit!

Sunday Night Calm

Sunday night has to be my favorite night of the week.
I can look forward to a new week, with new things to accomplish and I have usually set the last week straight and have cleaned the house somewhat to have a nice start to the new week. It just makes me happy to have that order and calm.

I've also found a new love. I love fountain pens. They write beautifully and make you feel like your words are elegant and beautiful and worth writing down. I have bought five of them this week on ebay:) for less than one that I would buy at Office Depot. I admit it, I am a nostalgia buff too. It tickles me to think that my pen could have written words of love to a child or a husband. I can't wait to get them in the mail.

Not too much creating this week, just a coupon notebook, a very sad sourdough bread, and a shopping list to go along with my monthly shopping. I grocery shop once a month for my family. This time I had 65 bucks worth of coupons, woot! Last time was 45, so I am increasing my savings every month. And no, I don't buy stuff just because I have a coupon for it. I only bought things that we would normally use and it had to be a good price to begin with. For example, I passed on the 55 cent off of the pringles in a bag, 6 for 3.99 (youch!). Instead, I bought the pringles in a can (4 of them) for 99 cents each and used the buck off coupon. I got way more pringles for my money. I left the other coupon on the pringles packet for someone else to use.
I am only learning to be a couponer, but so far in two months, I have saved over 150 bucks. Not bad!

I am going to teach my students to oil pastel their mother's days gifts this week. I have been messing around with gesso and painting everything cardboard that I can get my hands on, toilet paper tubes, the thing that the paints came in, and little itty bitty frames. Too cute! I love gesso, it is a new friend of mine.

And on a last sad note, last week a student at our rival high school lost his life in a car accident. His name was Noah. At the time of the accident, I was sitting on the couch with my own Noah, watching a movie. The thought that that poor Noah's mom would give anything to trade places with me, has been haunting me all week. That poor mama, that poor family. It makes you grateful and want to hug your kids a lot more, even if they are teenagers and you can't stand them right now.

Ok, off to clean my face with the olive oil mix and get to bed. Hubby is coming home tomorrow after being gone for three weeks. Yeah!

She makes a fabulous discovery!

I have all right skin, but it is never drop dead gorgeous. I hate going to the spa, (too foo foo for me, so facials are out) and I worry about chemicals in my body (you would too if you had colon cancer at age 39), so I have used Noxzema for years, since my teens and while my skin was soft and clean, it never felt just fabulous.
Enter simple mom blog and her oil cleansing method. and voila! I am a changed woman!
You mix one part olive oil(very good for you) and one part castor oil( I DRANK this when I was preggers to bring on labor- didn't work:0) together, mix by shaking and that's it. You put a quarter sized amount in your palm, apply to your face and rub it in. Put a hot wash cloth over your face and let cool until room temp(a minute) and then rub off excess with the washcloth. My skin is GLOWING and is as soft as a baby's behind! And all of the rough bits under my lips and next to my nose are soft and not full of gunk anymore. I am amazed! Try it YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Easter Sunday

There are sometimes when you go to church and it is like the message that your pastor is speaking is just for you. I know that it isn't, but it sure feels that way.

I have been a little sad since that brouhaha with the woman at church. I've been avoiding going, even on Sundays because I have felt so guilty. I know that I didn't mean to offend the woman, but I was feeling guilty about abandoning the rest of my group of ladies. I haave been heavy hearted about it.

But Pastor was talking about Christians who have turned away or used-to-believers. I have and always do love the LORD. But I have wandered away from my church. I let my faith fade because of a rude woman and that should never be. But, I also KNOW that it is Easter and Easter means renewal and redemption. And I know that I need to remember that I am redeemed. Everything else is really immaterial. God is good!

I have been practicing with my camera. It is a beauty. I bought the Nikon 5000D book for dummies. I want to take a class in photography this spring or summer. I also bought a book that is really helping me to plan out what I want my goals to be in the art realm. It is called The Artistic Mother.

This weeks list of mades...

I made a cloth cover for my stenographers notebook. I will try to figure out how to add pictures and download to the blog with the new camera.

I am making potato cheese soup in the crockpot (as we speak) with ham from Easter. Also made the whole big Easter dinner and cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Thrifted a ton of vintage sheets from a thrift store that was going out of business. Cute stuff. Also got a few tea towels. I am eagerly awaiting my Crafty things to do with tea towels book that I ordered on Amazon. I also bought a beautiful little table that I put in a nook that we have in our formal dining room. Got an incomplete set of blue and white china with the sweetest little teacups for 5 bucks.

I changed my whole classroom around on break. It was time for a change. I love what it looks like now. My kids came with me. It was nice to have their help. I can't wait to see my students reactions tomorrow.

Hope you have the happiest of Easters. Remember, HE is RISEN, and that makes everything all right...

utter and absolute failure- but heck, who cares? Or... renewal is always an option

I admit it, the 365 blog was a failure. I don't have the time everyday to get on and blog. And my camera which was going to take pictures of my creations is not something that I can even get my computer to accept anymore.

But I have been working to save money to buy a new camera and today is the day! I have researched and, for my needs, it came down to a canon or a nikon, specifically the canon rebel tsi or the nikon d5000. I am leaning towards the nikon because it takes better pictures in low light.

I admit that wanting to have pictures for my blog is a large reason why I want a camera. I also want to create art. I want to learn something new and I want to capture my kids while they are still young. Time is fleeting! I wish that I had had a camera when my kids were young. I really miss my babies.

But anyway, life goes on. I am going to rectify what I can now, and change my errors. It means if I have to save for four months to buy a camera then that is what I do.

I just got a great new book for my birthday. It is called The Artistic Mother. It is everything that I long to be in a book. My eldest child gave it to me. Will report back on what I am learning. I think the 365 project might just be on hiatus, because the universe seems to be moving to help me meet my goals. TTFN. Gonna go buy my camera!

ebay and a wish list

We went on vacation last week. Cruised on down to San Diego with all of the kids and my hubby. 2 10-hour days in the car to get there, but SO worth it! We went to the SD zoo- a phenomenal place, love the animals and how well they are cared for. I am one of those people who are on the fence about zoos. I love that people can go and learn and appreciate animals that they have never seen in nature, but on the other hand, it makes me sad that there are zoos. It would be best to have animals in their natural habitats. But the San Diego zoo was a phenomenal place.
Also went to Sea World, and Disneyland, Coronado Beach, and the Science Center. I also cut my hair off really short, but I love it- so easy to take care of! It was a whirlwind time away, but really fun and relaxing too. Hard to believe we did all that in just 5 days!

I was wishing that I had a really good camera. I want the Canon Rebel so I think I am going to have to dedicate my savings to it this next four months. I really want a good camera. I took the little digital point and shoot thing that I have on vacation, and it does the job, but has this delay thing that makes me crazy. You have to shoot and anticipate like 3 seconds in advance. I can't tell you how many shots that I missed because the flipping flash and delay would be taking their sweeeeeeet time.

But before we went on vacation I was stocking up my sewing supplies for the big blitz that I am planning. I found that you can buy all sorts of things on ebay, especially things like sewing materials. I think people go and buy them from estate sales and yard sales and things and resell them. I bought scads of thread and notions like snaps, set snaps, needles, buttons, elastic and tons of bias tape and just everything that you would find in your grandmother's sewing basket. I figure that I have saved a ton of $$ over buying stuff like that at Joann's, even with shipping.

On a side note, I made a ton of women's cloths last month from some old flannel that I had left over from Christmas jammies (instructions for cloths are on the Hillbilly Housewife website) and used them this time round. I was thrilled that they worked really well, even better than the store bought pads. I had no leaking, none! and that in itself is pretty much miraculous. I have been told that there is a chemical in the store bought kind that enhances blood flow, causing more symptoms in women. I can say that that seems to be the case for me. I am sold! I admit that I was nervous using them at work on the first days, as a leak could be really embarassing, but nothing like that happened (although it has before with the disposable kind) And I am thrilled that this is my little way to stick it to those companies who charge so much for those disposable things. I never have to pay for them again! Woo hoo! I feel victorious! And hmm, if I save 8 bucks a month, in a 100 months, I can pay for my camera with the savings!

Well, off to watch the Olympics, women's figure skating!

Oregon orangutan predicts Colts will win Super Bowl--

Oregon orangutan predicts Colts will win Super Bowl--

Well, if that's the case, then we Washingtonians know that it will be the Saints to win.

Now how dumb is that? Letting an orangutan pick your bet for you? I guess its about as dumb as a groundhog weather predictor, but still.. Isn't there better stuff to report on?

Went with Monkey to go pick up his corsage for his date to TOLO tonight. While driving there saw the first sign of spring-- so super early this year, but the pink rhodies of our neighbors are in bloom. I couldn't believe it! And not just one, a whole bush of them. It's not even March yet.

Also saw something that I am going to take a picture of- made me laugh right out loud.

Cancer free is the way to be!

You know, I am remarkably blessed. Just amazingly so...
I am still cancer free after a year. And it was confirmed by my doc yesterday.

Looking back on that time in my life, when I was diagnosed, you would have thought that that would be terrifying and stressful. But, for me, it was a blessing. It sounds sick, I know, and I do not mean in anyway to demean or diminish those who are still fighting. (My prayers are with you, fight on, you can do it!) And I know that I had it easy. I almost don't deserve the title of cancer survivor, because mine was cured, quickly and apparently efficiently.(praise GOD!) And now, a year and a bit later, I am still well and I am so grateful.

As for the 365 project, I am still chugging away. Since my last post, I have made a big dent in getting our bedroom back in order and remade into a haven of peace and calm.
I made plans with a friend to take a photography course. I want to be a "real" photographer and learn about f stops and what slr is and not have a phd (point here dummy) camera anymore, but a real one with lenses and flashes.( hoo hoo hoo!)
And, we still have Jack here until tomorrow, so we are taking him out to dinner tonight for our last night with him. I told him he is my son who lives in China, now. I am really going to miss him. He bought an itouch as his thing that he wanted most from America, (boys are just the same everywhere:)

And finally, I was taken to task last night in my bible study group because I called one of my ladies, honey. ( I actually think I called them all that at one point or another) but this woman took special offense at it. Now, if you know me, I call everyone honey or hon. The post office guy, salesclerks, my students, my husband, my kids, the neighbors, they all get it. I do not discriminate. It's a general term of friendliness for me and a part of my speech that I am not even conscious of. But I was lambasted by this woman in front of everyone in my group because she thought I was being demeaning to her and to the other ladies in my group. I was not meaning anything like that in any sort of way. I don't know what to do now, though because I cannot imagine being in a group with this woman and I am the leader of the group, so I can't just not show up, not when all of my precious other ladies are counting on me to be their guide. And because it is an unconscious habit, I can't be sure that I won't do it again. In my head I was trying to formulate a defense, and even in that I used the word honey.
I was so upset, I just bawled as I was leaving last night. I know that Jesus said we would face opposition on his account, but sheesh, I never expected it from a fellow church member. And I know, reading this, it sounds like a little thing, but this woman really blasted me and really embarrased me. She was trying to draw others into her wrath in her comments (She said to another woman, I saw you wince when she called you THAT (like I had called her son of Satan himself or something else just as hideous instead of an innocuous, hon) and now I am not sure how to deal with the other members of my group. I just have no confidence now and I was trying to do a good thing. Do they all think poorly of me?
My precious son said, Mom you should have said Honey,let me tell you something, if you don't like honey, I can think of a whole host of other things to call you.
At least my family has my back.

More of the continuing drama next week.

totally fallen off the wagon!

Ok, so we are really busy right now, and the first thing to go is usually any time to myself (ie time to blog, read personal email, or create or make anything)

And I was standing in my ubermessy bedroom on Friday morning, with its beautiful new carpet, and my gorgeous new-to-me-sewing/craft/computer desk ($40 at the Goodwill and its huge and solid oak!)( thank you God!) and I looked around at all of the boxes that I still have to unpack and find places for the junk that is in them, beating myself up for not having them taken care of and I thought, it's ok. I can leave them there for a little while longer. I am not going to beat myself up over them still being here. I was busy taking care of the really important things this week... helping out my baby sister, making what might be a once in a lifetime trip for our Chinese exchange student pleasant and hosting impromptu teenage guy get togethers. (I need to keep waaaaay more frozen pizza in the house) So while those things aren't tangible, they are real. They require creativity and patience and a joyful attitude.

And today I have time to do something, so I am blogging, and I will sew something from the stash of projects that I want to make on my beautiful new crafting desk. I'm also going to go get my nails done, just for fun:) and I will get one box, just one, put away, tidied up, and taken care of.

I hope that you have a great day too!

made my bed.... does that count?

I am falling behind in my quest. I admit it. Not too many tangible creative things made (I want to sew....)
Monday I was finishing my cafe notebook, all the innards are there, it just isn't decorated.
Tuesday, I started doing the velcro dots for my numberline for my classroom. GREAT idea, but it needs a zillion velcro dots which I HAVE ordered from feiner supply, but they aren't here yet, and I was using what I had in my classroom. I'll post a pic of it when I am done with it.
Also, Tuesday, I made a new room arrangement (we had gotten new carpet in our upstairs rooms) and I guess that you could say that that is a tangible thing because you can walk around and touch it, but it doesn't feel creative.
Yesterday I made it to spin class and to our church's marriage building class, doesn't count as a tangible thing.(sad face)
I have a ton of ideas for things I want to make, and fabric sitting here just waiting to be used, but it is the TIME/people-need-my-ATTENTION factor that is so hard. I wish that I could give up sleeping, but I am a mess without enough zzzz's.
And I can't believe that it is Thursday already. Where does my time go?
All righty, gonna whip myself back into shape... Tonight, I will make something creative or at least start it. I can do anything for 15 minutes:)

bread, wine and the play offs

I am very excited that my beloved Cowboys FINALLY won a play off game. It was awful, that thirteen year stretch without a play off win.
Now, we are on to the play the Vikings next week. I think it is really sweet that Romo is going to play his childhood hero. I mean, can you imagine? I think that is how you would know that you had really arrived. The guy's jersey that you wore in middle school is now across the field from you and he is trying to beat YOU! And it is a testament to Favre's staying power. I really do like Favre, he's a class act, but it is time for the Cowboys to win and win and win! Go Cowboys!

Friday night was my book club. We read Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It is a book about Dr. Paul Farmer, who is a modern day saint, as far as I am concerned. He is trying to cure Tb around the world and to bring Haiti simple, good medical care. I couldn't believe that I was reading about a doctor trying to cure tb (yawn as a subject) but I was riveted. It was a fascinating, well written, interesting book. I couldn't put it down!

As to what I have made, Friday I worked really hard to get my CAFE reading notebook set up. Put in the individual pages for each kid and am getting things in place to start an intentional reading assessment center for my kids that I need to target with a lot more intensive instruction. I have to catch them up. I won't let them fail.

Saturday, I made a choice. I was feeling pretty blue in the early afternoon. I have been working really hard and haven't had a lot of time to recharge me. So, I decided to treat myself and go and get my nails done. It was really relaxing. I love that chair that you sit in for the pedicure. It rolls up and down your back. It leaves me a bit sore the nest day, but it is fabulous otherwise. Releases all that stress! The toes are Cowboys blue! The fingers are french manicured. I feel pretty, girly, and relaxed. And, you have to admire the salon that I go to--they had the football games on. I got done right in time to see kick off.

I have been trying to not go and spend money when I am emotional. Its a goal to stop that kind of spending, but I have been good now for 4 months, so getting my nails done was a small treat, and well worth it.

I made bread this afternoon. We were out and I didn't feel like going to the store for more. I want to become more self reliant and less store reliant. I haven't made homemade bread in a while. My picky family only likes the creepy white wonder type bread, much to my eternal sadness. How could you not just love homemade bread. I used Chocolate on my Cranium's white bread recipe. I made 3 regular white loaves and a 4th cinnamon bread for breakfast. I have this really cool bread proofer to my oven. It makes bread rising a snap, especially in the winter when our house seems cooler.

Gotta go put the bread in the oven......

things on the to do list

This week has been a challenge as far as time (for me) management goes. I broke down and bought dinner out one night, just because we were so harried. I can control what I need to do, but it is harder with the kids who pop up with things. We have a weekly family meeting on Sunday nights, but it is surprising how many things that they "forget" that I am required to attend (Chinese meetings, have to return this and the next night, get this and on and on and on...)

Anyway, I thought if I put a to do list together for what I want to do, maybe it would be helpful.
So, here goes...

1. watch the Cowboys beat the Eagles this weekend in the playoffs:)
2. finish the cloth project that I am working on
3. finish the notebook print outs and make copies
4. make a list of projects for the future
5. download pictures for a digital scrapbook
6. do the weekly prep and plan and menu planning for the next two weeks
7. move all of the furniture from our rooms into the boys room for next week when we get new carpets in the upstairs.
8. make a cover for my legal pad. (I have to hunt the blogosphere to see if there are any tutes out there:)

Well, off to work!

Some days its hard to make even a bowl of cereal

Well, we are in day 4 of the 365 make something every day challenge. It is day 2 of returning to school.
Yesterday I made a another set of liners. They are turning out pretty nicely. I wonder how they will work.

Today, I am making an assessment notebook for my classroom. I think it is going to be a two day or more project. The creative person in me wants to have a notebook party and get a ton of my teacher friends together and we all create our notebooks, making them super cute and organized, because there is NOTHING like that feeling of being well prepared with uber cute supplies:) If I could figure out how to bottle that feeling, I could rule the world. I think I became a teacher JUST because I love school supplies. I think I am really an office supplies junkie. Really. It might be the hot new addiction of the millenium. I can see me now, in a therapy session for Office Depot junkies. Hi, my name is Karen and I am addicted to sticky notes in a rainbow of colors and don't even get me started on those cute retractable sharpie pens.
Seriously though, I should, I should send out an email and host a notebook party. (The notebook party was suggested in the CAFE book that I am reading for book club.) I will MAKE that a resolution for this week too. (Ha! Two things made today!)
I just have to find a time that works to do it.... Hmmmm. Maybe I need a trip to Office Depot to look for just the right pen to write the notebook party time into my planner ;)

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

I made a new bag for toting around library books. I made it from a pillowcase. I went to Creative Kismet's blog and used her tutorial. It took less than 30 minutes start to finish. It turned out really cute! I wish I had my camera.I could whip up about a million of them to use as grocery totes, book totes, etc. Pillowcases are going to be high on my thrifting and garage sale list now.


I also "made" a complaint. I emailed Comcast and complained about the football line up today. I knew in advance that we weren't going to get the Dallas game. I THOUGHT it might be because they were going to show another game, like the Chargers or some other west coast team. No harm, no foul. BUT NOOOOOO! We were treated to Hillbillies on bikes. I KID YOU NOT! Fox showed these dumkoffs on motocross bikes and had this yokel who was "comically" commentating in a well, the best it could be called is hillbilly voice- no disrespect to any hillbilly. I was livid. It is one thing to not show a game because another closer team is playing, but to show stupid stuff instead, just makes me mad. And it wasn't even like it was something important to motocross, that stupid show was like something you'd see on World's Dumbest whatevers.

But my lovely husband took me to the Blazing Onion where we got to see at least highlights of the Cowboys-beat-the-Eagles game. Woo hoo! 24 to 0! 2 shut out games in a row and we play the Eagles again next week in the play offs!

Well, I am off to make fajitas for dinner! I am going to make some homemade bread and rolls tonight too for school lunches tomorrow.
Then, we are back to our normal schedule for school nights. The party's over!

The 365 project- Making it one day at a time

This year, I am starting a 365 day project. I am going to make something everyday this year.
It is in part, a reaction to the fact that I don't feel creative enough and I don't feel like I "create" enough. Creating things through sewing, cooking, baking, and other small projects is a great stress reliever.

I am going to attempt some rules (which I am sure that I will break, but as they are my rules;)...

1. I cannot use "make" as in "make a reservation" any more than twice per week.
2. There should be some tangible thing made everyday.
3. I should use what I have before I go out and buy any materials for said projects.
4. The things that I make should be useful and helpful to my life, or to others.


Yesterday, the first official day of the project, I made homemade bagel bites for my kids,(I figured that it cost about $3.90 to make 24 mini bagel pizza halves.) shredded 2 pounds of cheese for later use and made a scrumptious-good-as-a-restaurant dessert.

Today I am in the process of cutting out and making the materials to put together for women's cloths. I am using a wool sweater that got put in the dryer accidentally and the leftover flannel from the kids' Christmas pj's.

I hope that you had a great NEW year!