Birding and Blackberries

My oldest daughter has been creative this summer. She pulled a juice bottle out of our recycling can and made a bird feeder out of it. After cutting a hole in the front of it she lined it with duct tape so the birds wouldn't hurt their feet while sitting there. She has attracted a variety of birds but we have yet to get a good picture of them feeding. Hopefully you will be seeing some real bird pictures soon.

Today I was that crazy lady on the side of the road picking wild blackberries! They were so good I may do it again tomorrow. 

Priorities

 After I fell in February I had to set some new priorities. Many days I had just enough energy to make it through my work day, some days I didn't even have that. Things that use to come easily for me took some extra effort for awhile. I also spent many hours laying in bed, (and on the couch... the basement floor... next to the dog by her bed... and on and on...) unable to sleep, so I had a lot of time to think. Time to think about what is really important, time to set new priorities and time to talk to God. I did a lot of talking to God and He did some talking to me. God told me to slow down, to rest and not to worry about my to-do list right now. He had me focus my limited energy on only the things that were most important, my family and then my job. So that is where I have been, but I am back and rested and ready to go again. Being a teacher I don't have the stress of work right now. I am excited to spend some time in my sewing room and to share it with you.

 This is a fat quarter bundle of Lucy's Crab Shack by Sweetwater. I have no idea what I am going to make with it yet but I LOVE this line of fabric!

 I have been having fun in my kitchen this week. I've been busy making some different items to keep in my freezer for quick lunches (more time to sew if I am not making lunch every day.) These are chicken and bean burritos. I put this pan in the freezer for a couple of hours then dropped the burritos into one large zip-lock bag. The kids can pop a few into the microwave at lunch time and they are ready to eat in a matter of minutes.

 Made some strawberry freezer jam. This stuff is yummy! We've been making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with it and I have been enjoying it on bagels for breakfast in the morning.

I have been looking forward to cooking my way through this cookbook this summer. I have already made the chicken enchiladas and let me tell you they are heavenly!:-)

I'll be back...

I'm Back...

I have been waiting all winter for winter. Watching the weather, waiting for some white stuff. It is already past mid-February and I think we have only had three days of winter-weather here, and now I am so over it! Bring on spring time!!! Monday we had a little snow, Tuesday we had black-ice. Tuesday I slipped on the ice walking into work and whapped my head on the concrete. Maybe it knocked some sense into me, but mainly it hurt really bad, sent me to the doctor's office, and has kept me from getting much of anything accomplished. I have a slight concussion, got a few extra days off work and so should be caught up on my rest by now. Anyway... on to other things...

I have found some awesome Pyrex pieces lately. Below is a chip and dip set. I think it would also be fun for veggies and dip.

Love the pink pie plate, I have been looking for one. Also found the red fridgie dish minus the lid for a great price. The yellow piece I paid a little more for but am really drawn to yellows and oranges right now.


Have been enjoying time to read so far this year. Three of the books were on my January goals list. I have been focusing on the topic of simplifying as that is a major goal for me this year. All, great books, if you are into that sort of thing.:-) The "No Excuses" book is on self-discipline something else I am working on. (I have only had one pop since January 1st!)


These books are on my must read list for February. Since I haven't been able to read the last week, because of the whap to the head it may be March before I get them all finished.


I have had the chance to do a little sewing since I last posted! Yeah me! Below are two of the reusable gift bags I have been making. I have a goal every month to accomplish something towards Christmas. I find myself with a huge list of things to do in December and always feel crumby because I don't have the time to do half of them, thus a goal every month that has to do with Christmas. You can find a tutorial on how to make the bags here . They go together very quickly and it has been a fun way to use up some of the Christmas fabrics in my stash.


Last weekend I was able to "retreat" with a few of my girlfriends. We did a lot of sewing, laughing, eating and I do believe we solved a few of the worlds problems. While there I was finally able to finish my Swoon blocks. The top still needs pieced. I promise I won't show it again until it is finished.

Catchin up...

I haven't done much sewing lately, I also haven't been doing any blogging. What I have been doing is helping daughter #1 study for the upcoming school spelling bee. After qualifying for the all-school bee she was given 11 pages of words to study!!! She has been really excited about studying ALL of those words, so I have been helping her do that. I have also been trying to take time every day to exercise, something I wasn't too good about last year.

I added a few new fabrics from my favorite lines to my stash. I loved the first Prairie Paisley line so ordered their newest one and also got a layer cake of Kate Spain's Good Fortune


Super excited to get the Urban Cowgirl jellyroll and Reunion and California Girl charm packs.

The little bit of sewing that I have accomplished between the spelling frenzy and all of the exercising is three more Farmer's Wife blocks. I cut the majority of all three blocks using my accu-quilt cutter. Can't wait to use it more!!!

Will be back soon to tell you about the good books I have been reading!

Project Runway... Barbie Edition

I don't watch a lot of television, but I do love Project Runway! My girls have been playing Project Runway with their Barbies. They made all of the outfits you see below using my fabric scraps, scraps of ribbon and lace and lots of scotch tape. They have also been known to make some really cool dresses out of paper they decorated with markers.

This picture is of all the participants.

Here is a close-up of the back row.

and the front row...

Share your fabric with kids, you never know what clever things they will do with it!

Happy New Year!

I really enjoy this time of year, the week between Christmas and New Years. I am always off of work with no to-do list, nothing I have to be getting ready for. This time for me is used to reflect on the old year and make plans for the new one. I enjoy setting goals for myself. This year I am trying a different format for my goal setting. There are a few areas I really want to improve on this year including eating less processed foods, blogging, organizing my house, reading about various self-improvement topics (more about that later), and being prepared for Christmas, yes you heard that right! Each month I will be working towards mini goals in each of those categories. I made a print-out for the month of January and filled it in with some things in each category that I plan to accomplish. I am really excited about this format! Usually I have about 10 or so big goals for myself for the year. This way I have them broken down into smaller mini goals that I can be working towards each month.


Yes, I want to be better prepared for Christmas. Every year Christmas comes and I feel frustrated that I did not get all of the things accomplished for the holiday that I wanted to. This way I am going to get the fabric gift bags made (in January), the homemade ornaments made for my family (this summer), and have the family picture taken this fall for the Christmas cards- so I can actually get cards sent out in 2012.

I will be back with my reading list for the first few months of the year. I spent one day recently browsing Amazon, a favorite beginning-of-the-year tradition. Excited to get new reads! May you all have a blessed 2012!