I did it!

Now that school has started I get 7 HOURS of mommy time most days. In the next few weeks all the room mom things start and the fall party planning and the library volunteering, can't wait for that. I have found it kinda hard to fill my day, I am embarrassed to admit! I am loving being a stay at home mom!!!

I have been collecting wool sweaters all spring and summer and finally started making the mittens that all the sweaters were intended for. That takes a few hours of the day. I am looking for a few craft shows to try and sell them at, but I am nervous about how to display them and package them.....I am such a worry wart! I did start an Artfire page to try to sell them on. 20 pairs a mittens is even to many for me to use. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year.....wink, wink!


Here are some of the mittens!






More to come. The sweaters are finally staring to make an appearance in the local thrift stores!

Breath Deep

I guess I should not have complained about not having anything to talk about yesterday. After my last post I chased the dog around the yard screaming because she had her sights on a squirrel. Well she caught the darn thing. I got to her smacked her up side the head a little with a broom and that stunned her enough for the squirrel to get loose. She spent the next hour or so roaming the yard in search of the meal that got away and picking the fluffy tail fur out of her mouth. Fast forward to today. After dropping Nathan off at school I was chillaxing on the couch with a nice cup of coffee and my computer. I heard this crazy amount of noise coming from the kitchen. The dog was laying on the couch next to me so I had to investigate the strange noise! I got to the doorway to the kitchen and saw the noise maker.




A SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!

I think it was the tailless wonder seeking revenge on the dog! I screamed like a girl, of course, and ran down the hall to wake up my hubby. He works third shift and after the screaming incident yesterday he was less than thrilled to be drawn from his peaceful slumber the same way. I passed him the dog so we would not repeat yesterday's show and headed back towards the kitchen. I peeked around the doorway and saw that the squirrel had climbed up the curtains and was now SITTING on the curtain rod. Insert blood curtling scream here!!!!! The squirrel, at this point was just looking for a way to get away from me screaming, launched itself from the curtain rod to the middle of the kitchen table. Seriously. I was hysterical. I am generally a laid back perso, but stick a little beady eyed beast in my kitchen and I am a mess!!!!

Never again will I complain about the nothings going on in my life!!!

Lost in my own world

Sad to say I haven't had much to write about. I have been cleaning and organizing each room in the house with very little success! My new sewing machine has sucked me away from everthing that I had on my list to tackle. I need to find the motivation to get back at the list and just take it one item, one room at a time. I think I have been overwhelmed at the 9 years of basic neglect that I have had for everything including my family. I have finally been given a chance to catch up on all that I have missed when I was working full time, I need to take advantage of this time and make good use of it!!

A long process.......

Who knew that organizing my crafting mess would result into a total remodel of the laundry room.....

I guess I should have ;-) Sadly the laundry room has been the same since we moved into the house 8 years ago. It needs an update so I am going all the way. And to keep with the weirdness of this house there is, of course, oil based paint on the walls, trim and cabinets. Yeah! So for the first time ever I am priming everything before painting. You could tell there was oil in the paint because over time the oil started to seep out of the walls, leaving orange rusty looking spots all over. I really hate to paint and tonight it took forever because Nathan wanted to help. So we got on our painting clothes and dug in. Two and a half hours later the room looks much improved with just the one coat of primer. Sad I know!!! Hopefully I will be able to get the color on in the next couple of days and then get the floor in over the weekend. All this while pushing the washer and dryer around and still using them!! Come on now I have a 6 year old boy! I need the washer!!!

Before:

With one coat of primer:

Missing in Action

I have decided to tackle the spring cleaning a little early this year and tackle all the home projects that I have made so many excuses not to do over the years. I am trying to remember to take before pictures too, so I can post my many transformations. I will see these projects through til the end too!!! I am a notorious quitter when it comes to home repairs and remodels. I get bored with the job, or something else takes me away, like my six year old. So many ideas and so little time!!! I guess I need to get back to it!!!

Snowy Monday!

Can you believe there wasn't a snow day today. It is going to snow all day today. And yes I was driving when I took this picture! But the roads were so bad I was only going about 10 MPH!! I was very unprepared for school this morning and forgot to pack half of Nathan's things, but thankfully I remembered his snack and his library book. Its never a good thing when leave things at home.

I wish I could post a ton of my craft project that I have completed over the last several days, but once again my sewing machine has been acting out, which means no projects completed. Sad to say I might be getting a new machine here soon. I can't live without my sewing!!!!!

It's Monday Right?

Being a stay at home mom now has really messed with my mental calender. I have had to start using a dry erase board stuck on my refrigerator and my calender in my phone to keep track of my life. I feel like I am doing twice as much as when I was working full time. Maybe it is just that the things I do are taking me all over, when I was working I just went to one place. I am trying to organize my life and my home and that seems to be taking a lot more time and money than I thought it would. I am now looking for the perfect area rug for my living room and cute boxes to decorate the bottom shelf of the side table I just picked up on clearance. So much to do! I really feel like just filling up tons of boxes and taking everything in the house to Good Will!!!

Happy Valentine's Day early

I got home today and was told by my wonderful 6 year old son that he bought me flowers. Of course they came from my husband, but Nathan did get to pick them out. I couldn't be happier with his selection either! Very pretty Nathan and Mark. Thank you both for a wonderful start to the Valentine weekend!!

On a side note I signed up to be a sales consultant for a direct sales company called Thirty-One. I am very excited and can't wait to get all my fun info and products in the mail and start sharing these awesome bags and accessories with all my friends and family...I mean come on now. What woman does not buy a purse or a bag every couple of months!!!

Trying something new........

So I got a laptop finally after years of wanting one!! Of course, I am very excited and want to try out all it’s bells and whistles right away. I brought it home, plugged it in and fired it up and wouldn’t you know it the darn thing won’t even connect to the Internet.

Today I am out over at my good friend Marissa’s house watching her daughter Elizabeth and brought my computer along to see if it will work on another network which it did. GRRRRRRRRRR!!!! So now I can use the computer everywhere but my house. I will have to figure out what is wrong tonight, because that just won’t fly.

There is a pretty cool feature on my new computer though called My Blog that connects me right to my blog…..hence the name, without even pulling up an Internet page. Pretty cool, so during nap time I am checking this out!!! Now I just need to figure out which button to push to post this!

Definately not a cat person

So my mother is off on her girls ski weekend in the great up north ans has left me in charge of her two cats. I am not a cat person, so it always makes me laugh that I am the one who is always called upon to care for the little buggers. Right now I am trying to type with on of them perched on my arm, purring and kneading away at my neck. You would think that these two cats would be a little more independent since my mother is hardly ever home. So Nathan, my six year old son and I sit here in my mother's house, waiting for the cats to lose interest in us so we can make out great escape and move on to the all important issue of what to make for dinner!!

Sorry Hubby!!!

My house has been over run by sweaters!!! Right now I am taking a break from sorting laundry to take to Goodwill, but I really think I am using the "cleaning out the closets" as an excuse to go on the hunt for wool sweaters.

I decided to "thumb" through the usual blogs I follow when I saw that my favorite sweater addict was having a giveaway contest. Well I wouldn't be a very good follower if I did not put my name in hat!

So here is my blog entry and you should check out her blog at http://resweater.blogspot.com

Great sweaters, tips and projects.

Times.....they are a changing.

Since my last entry I have found myself in the downsized and unemployed population. I had a great job for almost 9 years, but lately I found myself in a rut. Trying to make the best out of everything, I started to formulate a plan almost immediately. I have been spending a lot of time crafting and writing and reflecting on the choices and situations that have brought me to this stage in my life. I deserve a fresh start. I am going back to school that much is for certain. I am fortunate enough to live in a state that will help me pay for that. I don't like to accept help, but I am going to now. I will continue to sew and share my crafts with as many people as I can. And, of course, I will enjoy as much time with my family as I can. Change is uncertain, but I plan to embrace it!!!

My New Obsession!!!

I am obsessed with finding wool sweaters. I have started targeting all the local thrift stores. So far I have been only a little success. 5 sweaters that actually felted down so I could cut them up and make mittens. One was a total bust. Not sure why, the tag said 100% wool. Oh well. You win some you lose some I guess. I can't wait for my next great search!!!