My life of sewing, teaching my kids, and staying sane

Novemberness

2010-11-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! Life has been the roller coaster around here. Hubby finishes his masters of accounting next month and as of Monday morning (the 15th) he still had no job prospects on the horizon. We've been through half a dozen interviews and a couple of second interviews (I say "we," actually just my hubby has been through them. I just feel like I go through them with him). We had visions of being homeless and thumbing rides through the city looking for employment. Actually, we knew that God has been so faithful with us so far and He will continue to be so the rest of our lives. We did wish that His answers would come sooner rather than later, thank you very much. We had been sort of planning on having to move out of our lovely small town because of the lack in good accounting jobs. At the same time, we were praying, along with a lot of friends, that we wouldn't have to move. We are so invested in our church and our girlies' only friends are at church; so we really didn't want to leave that. I was going through mourning at the thought of leaving the beach. I always say that God sees our little (or big) lists of desires and smiles. Monday morning we got a call from a local firm offering hubby a job! If I knew I could get my soft body to do a cartwheel, I would have done it Monday. We started calling our friends and letting them know that he got the job and everyone rejoiced with us. Anyone out there who is going through job loss and job search, I have the utmost empathy for you. We have so been through that! God is so wonderful to reach down and give us the best thing for us in His wisdom. Yay!

Well, it's November and we are thinking about food all month. Aren't you? We decided we just didn't have the money to drive the 7 hours up to be with family. Have you noticed how much gas costs? Plus, hubby has all those end of the degree projects to finish and will have his hands fused to the computer until December 7th. oh joy. So we are happily going to celebrate the day of huge food with our really good friends here. My MIL (mother in law) is going to go with us. She is bringing lemon and pecan pies.....mmmmm. I am hung between pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin cream pie..........Perhaps I'll need to make a trial run of each? My friend and I have coordinated a complexity of dishes amounting to an enormous menu. I suppose if we play it right we shall have meals for a week afterward!

I have not been sewing lately. I'm in a sewer's funk. It could have something to do with not selling much in more than 2 months. My girls want me to make a bunch of clothes for their 18" dolls. I thought those would be easy. Wrong. They take as much time as regular clothes! Didn't see that coming. It could just be that I take so long embellishing them that it seems like a long time. Oh well, they would be good Christmas presents.

Blessings and a wonderful Thanksgiving to whoever reads this!

Sep-Timber!

2010-09-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

So, here I am blogging again. Yes, I know, it's a miracle. It's a gloomy, extremely rainy day; so what else am I going to do?

What is going on with us? Thanks for asking! Goodness, I cannot believe how busy we are. My dear hubby is in the final stretch of his masters of accounting. He graduates in December. I am so very proud of my nerdy man! He does not clean throw up, but man can he do calculus! Anyway, he also took the first part of the CPA exam the end of August and we are still waiting on the results. tap, tap, tap. He is also looking persistently for a job with a CPA that will help him to get licensing. Quite the process for a bunch of number crunchers! We are praying for a whopper of a job that will enable us to eradicate debt and catch up on life.

I am still babysitting. "My" baby is now 3 months old and at the huge toothless smile stage. cutie. I watch her 5 days a week. I'm getting a taste of having 4 children and I have to say I'm quite thankful I stopped at 3. Love babies! Somebody else's babies! I have not done much sewing lately. Juggling the baby and my house has taken center stage. I am working on a quilt for my oldest daughter. It's a funky mix of Sunbonnet Sue and horses. I see your mind racing already. I wanted to put her loves in there! Another project I'm working on is, drum roll please, a compilation of stories from my years in Bolivia. Life was other worldly there and I want to share that. I also want my kids to have something of me from an adventurous time in my life. I also teach a Sunday School class at church. We are studying the Parables right now. I love to throw myself into it and find angles that are not normally explored in these overdone stories.

The girls are on their summer vacation right now. We are taking this month off from school. They quite happy about that. You would think they were teenagers already as much as they sleep! That shall come to a grinding halt in October. Rude awakening will take on new meaning!

Let me say I appreciate anyone who is kind enough to wade through my blog! So, feel appreciated today!

August in the making

2010-08-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

As I have always said, I'm really a random blogger. I have an extremely busy, yet boring mommy life. As of this week, my life has gotten busier! I am now caring for a nearly 2 month old baby girl on week days. She is precious and fits into our already girl-filled home. I am readjusting to regular feedings, diapers, spit up, and being a warm body on an ouchy tummy. As jobs go, it is awesome!

We are on the home stretch of school for the year....which year, I'm not sure. My girls have been such troopers to try and catch up to North American school schedule. I think we will take September off and have an October launch for school again. Shhhh, don't tell my girls! They are ready to have a break!

Emotionally, I've been on such a roller coaster with my hubby this summer. He will be graduating from A&M Corpus Christi in December. We had thought he would be jobless for the fall, but at the last moment, our God came through and his current job was extended through December. After December begins our great unknown. He will need an excellent job to pay off student loans, catch us up on life, and prepare for the future. In case you haven't noticed we are in a recession.... We are praying for the exact, precise, God's best job to open up (and hopefully before we go crazy wondering). Anyway, I love being the supportive wife, training, caring mother and all that, but I'm wondering exactly when and where is my spa day????

Nearly July

2010-06-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, this has been a humdinger (not sure how to spell that properly) of a month. We are still working away at homeschool. Actually, my girls are working away at school and I am cracking the whip (not really). We have been enjoying the beach while there is still clean water out there. We are holding our breaths hoping the oil does not come here. From the 14th through the 18th we had VBS at our church. I was naive enough to be talked into being outside games coordinator. We had almost 700 kids this year! I got them in 4 shifts and had to run 6 different games; at the same time making sure each small group is at the proper game. Yes, its was insane. I was so exhausted by the end and thought I would be permanently stuck saying, "The drinking water is for your mouth!" It was so hot out there I let the kids have a water balloon war the last day. The next week (which we have just finished) my 2 oldest girls were attending another VBS across town. So, I became Mom's Taxi Service. Next week will be an art camp and then we are done! Yeah!

I have not done much sewing. Hmm, wonder why? I am still so full of ideas. Right now I'm making some stuff for my sweet girlies. They watch so much of what I make go into the closet and then the mail. I came upon a fantastic sale at JoAnn's and purchased the patterns my girls picked out for 1.99 each. So I am making them outfits by their design. Lot's of fun! I'm hoping after next week to move into full gear and get some more things in my shop.

Downhill

2010-05-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it through our crazy week. My 9 year old got the dream birthday party of roller skating. She told me it was "the best party in the whole world." I'm so happy she feels that way since there were only 2 families there other than us. I made profiteroles instead of cake. My girlie is a strange one and doesn't like cake or chocolate. Actually, there are a lot of things she doesn't like, but that's another subject. She wanted a cowboy party so that her friends that are boys would feel comfortable. Sweet, huh? My birthday, the following day, I thought would be uneventful. However, my sweet hubby took us out to Padre Island to a small Italian restaurant. It was amazing! I'm a sucker for Italian anyway; especially something that tastes like it came on a cloud from Rome. They gave me a real cannoli with a candle in it. (speaking of clouds)

Now we begin a new phase! My dear hubby has short, but strong, waves of classes, studying, exams, etc. ahead of him this summer and fall. We thank the Lord he has a job for the summer. He is going to begin taking the CPA exam----major! So, my role more than ever is the supporting wife. I will probably quit my retail job (yay!) so I can be home and keep everything going smoothly. Did I say smoothly? Um, how about more or less stable. I have already begun to sew again and a dear friend gave me a whole bunch of fabric. I hope to get my 2 shops filled up again.

I need some motivation to exercise more! The bouncy mommy belly must go! (as I go burn some more calories mopping the tile floors in my house)

I just MAY get through this month

2010-05-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

May has begun with a bang! I am always amazed at how busy my life has actually become. It is with reason that this month recognizes mothers! I know a lot of moms out there have end-of-the-school-year dashes. Finish this project, go to that recital, those games, that dr., etc. We are just over half-way in our school year. Which is quite amazing since we just started in February. My girlies have been so faithful to get up and do lots of work everyday. Coming up is our blitz week: 10th, my oldest's 9nth birthday, 11th, my birthday, 13th, anniversary. (I forgot mother's day, but that isn't a huge thing in our house yet) (insert droopy lower lip here).

I have been sewing again! I have once again been flooded in the brain with ideas and not enough time. I wake up at night and think, "Oh my goodness! that would be so cute!" But alas, there are not enough hours in the day to complete my brain projects. I still work Friday through Sunday; so that leaves me only 3 days to sew. Today I made a cute pink purse that I have had in the brain for a while. Of course, the point of the great idea is to make some money to pay for those shoes for feet that seem to grow overnight!

We are trying to be on a diet. We eat pretty healthy for the most part, but we are in a battle against the middle age rise of the nasty foe cholesterol. Both hubby and I have watched our numbers go up and we are in shock; being that we still think we are very young. So we are drinking nasty green stuff, eating lots of salad, and veggies in every imaginable way. I have a mean bean patty recipe. I will not give up taste! I loathe the thought of cardboard food. So I sit and watch the food channel and try to taste vicariously through the stars who close their eyes and utter accolades. Hm, just talking of this makes me hungry.

Ok, going to fix a glass of green tea. Want some?

I must be the once every 3 months blogger

2010-04-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

Goodness, life has not slowed one bit since we moved. I did make one purse for my shop last month and am working on one right now. I continue my retail job; which I go to from Thursday through Sunday evenings. I am so tired of that. I am a definite stay at home type. I love cooking and cleaning for my family, and most importantly being with my family. My three year old still hates it when I leave for work. That upsets me. But, here we are. Hubby will finish his masters of accounting in December (woohoo! so proud of him), but until then we do what we can to make ends meet. This economy is just so fun, right?

So, what's been going on with us? We are in hyper-drive with homeschooling. We are on a South American schedule of February to November, but would like to switch to North American schedule. So, We are doing our whole year in less than 6 months. The girls are tired, but troopers! I know they want summers off like everybody else. We were thinking of putting them in public school for the sports programs and social aspects, but found out that the school in our area was pretty bad. So, we nixed that idea. We will just be looking for sports and dance and such that they can be involved in while still homeschooling.

I am so happy that beach weather is returning! We actually live closer to the beach since we moved. I can hear it calling me! Ok, maybe that was just the seagulls in the dumpster, but I will be happy to start our weekly trips to the beach again.

Hubby and I are both teaching Sunday school classes at church; which makes us a little scattered on Sundays. I facilitate a class for adults that is an open forum type study. Hubby teaches a class on the book of Galatians (6 week class). We eventually find each other and go to worship together. Then most Sundays I have to work after lunch, bummer. I miss nice lazy Sunday afternoons and naps, I really miss naps.

So that's basically our lives. I promise to blog sooner about something more interesting!

Please tell me where January went!

2010-01-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

I can't believe January is almost over. Of course, I spent the first part of the month appeasing post holiday shoppers 5-6 days a week. After the retail demand put on the brakes I have only worked 2 days a week. What do I do with my spare time? Very funny. We are moving in 2 days! We are currently living in an overpriced apartment and are going to live in a more reasonably price townhouse. We will be closer to where my hubby goes to his evening masters classes and where he works. So, I am up to my eyeballs in cardboard boxes and dry skin (from the carboard boxes). I am so happy to be moving, though. Our apartment has a ridiculously tiny kitchen and the place we are moving to has a nice big kitchen. Ah, bliss. I can already imagine myself digging into the Barefoot Contessa cookbook I got for Christmas. Alright enough imagination here.

My girls have been on our "summer" vacation since the first of December. We will start up school again after we get settled into our new house. They have absolutely loved our vacation, except for not exactly being lovely run and play outside weather. They hate waiting for friends to get home from regular school to play with them. I say at least 5 times a day, "They aren't home yet!" Don't ya love homeschool? Today in the car I was telling Ellie (my 8 year old) about the countries included in the term "Latin". So, school continues whether they like it or not.

Yesterday I packed my sewing machine. I patted it lovingly and assured it that I will soon use it again. I'm hoping to have more time once we move and get settled. Why am I such an optimist? I'll blame it on dad and his dominant genes.

Anyway, I hope everyone has begun 2010 in a peaceful way. I put in fb status on January 1, that I am so glad I don't need to concern myself with a whole entire year. I only need to be thankful that God's mercy is new every morning for me.

The end of the most wonderful

2009-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I've blogged! My job during December made my life interesting to say the least. Working in retail during December is like playing one of those never ending video games. My first day was Black Friday! Thankfully, I was only a bagger. However, my feet still killed me and my shoulders were sore. Over all, I decided I was going to love working there; since I just really like people. Anyway, as December charged on I was trained on the register and became a cashier. I had a couple of days where I thought perhaps I would cry or faint from the utter meanness of some people. For the most part, though, I can smile and do my job without grief.

My house, oh my house! My hubby is a gem and does what he can, but toilets are not his thing. I AM NOT AN OCD! But, I do like to keep my house pretty clean. So my mornings are crammed with breakfast, checking email and facebook, washing dishes, cleaning surfaces, folding laundry, and normal mommy things. I usually work all afternoon until after supper. That leaves my poor hubby to scrounge up something to feed the birdies. (our 3 girls). He is being stretched in his culinary expertise or lack thereof. We manage!

Christmas was lovely! I had off the 24th (my second daughter's birthday) and 25th; so we went to Houston to stay with my mother in law. I slept for 3 hours after we sufficiently celebrated my daughter's birthday. The hours of standing and smiling had caught up with me! My mother in law graciously offered to keep the girls for 4 more days! So, hubby and I came home and missed our girlies. I had to work the 26th and 27th and was hit with hurrican force by a cold. All my customers came up and said, "Ew, you are sick, aren't you?" So comforting. I suppose they all thought I would give them swine flu if I handed them their receipt. So I methodically washed my hands with sanitizer after vain attempts to stay the flow out of my nose. Thank the Lord I had yesterday off to lay around and recuperate. My hubby even made me a yummy sandwich for lunch. Such a sweetie!

So, my girls come home today and then I will have to go to work a few minutes later, bummer. Oh well, I can hug them and sqeeze them and call them George tonight. (looney toons flashback)

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

2009-11-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

So we had a very small Thanksgiving with our little family. I had decided that I would make it simple this year. Why should I stress out about making way too much food anyway? I had bought a 23 lb turkey; so I wrestled it into the oven in my prized antique roaster. That roaster makes anything fantastic to eat! It only took 4 hours to cook golden brown and moist. I made mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. (because my hubby was having a childhood flashback). I made cornbread stuffing and sage gravy. We opened a can of cranberry sauce. And that, my friends, was it. My girls hated the marshmallows, cranberry sauce, and gravy. So our pictures taken to memorialize our Thanksgiving day were of screwed up faces and puckered lips. At least we could laugh about it. They loved the turkey, which, I suppose is the important part. I put two full bags of turkey in the freezer and and one bag for the fridge. Thus begins the all star line up of leftover turkey concoctions. I try to be original and not do the famed pot pie that seems to always follow the T day. Besides pasta with chopped turkey and sweet potato cream sauce, I'm still thinking. I've got plenty of time since the rest of the turkey is frozen.

Black Friday I started my new job. Insane, right? It wasn't too bad. I bagged purchases for 4 hours without stopping. The customers still wrapped around the entire store when it was time for me to clock out. My feet were hurting and I had to walk home. I got home and put my feet up the rest of the day.

Do you know what I'm so thankful for? I love that today is the only day that I need to concern myself with. I don't even need to worry about tomorrow! God promised to give us new mercies everyday. So today they are fresh and piping hot! Thank You, Lord.

I know everyone is asking for leftover recipes, but I want to know what is your favorite?

Yoville and other realities

2009-11-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

Life has been so crazy. One of those "hurry up and slow down" times. I found myself so completely worked up about my online business and the lack of sales. I was sewing A LOT and spending less time with my precious girlies (or as we call them our "pickles"). I tell you, no financial crisis is worth neglecting those sweet ones we have chosen to welcome into our family. In updating my last blog, I got a job at a huge department store across the street from our apartment. My girls were upset, but I will actually be less stressed out and spending more time with them than when I am frantically sewing. I will work weekends when my hubby is able to be at home with the girlies. Believe it or not, this is my first-job-ever! I've done dental assisting, farming and market stand sales, missionary, teacher of every age child in a Bolivian school, kitchen help, lawn crew for a college, seamstress, house keeper, clothes iron-er; I think an etc. would be quite fitting here. None of these were regular, punch a time clock, get a paycheck with tax withheld jobs. I was embarrased at training night when 19 year old kids had far more experience than I had. Oh well, at least I am not calloused and indifferent about working. I'm excited and think I will actually enjoy this!

So, I'm thinking about Yoville and it's eternal implications. Just kidding. I was really playing like my life depended on it for a while. It's a game on facebook where you work at a bakery and visit friends to earn money. That is sooooooo up my alley! I got to decorate my apartment in psycedelic colors and patterns so completely unlike my real life apartment. I tend towards French country in real life. In Yoville I am skinny and have perfectly fitting brown capri pants. What's not to love? Well, now I'm kind of tired of it and especially the forgetting to check on it and burning a bunch of angel food cakes in the bakery. oops. So, I am taking this moment to be thankful for my real life! Even the ideal dream life has catches. We have our issues, but I can honestly say (in the week of giving thanks) that I am so happy now. God is ever faithful to provide for us! We have all the trimmings to make on Thursday (I should say I have it to make). What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? I'm a sucker for moist cornbread stuffing. yummm.

Ok, so I have a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that is simply divine! I got it from Buttercup bakes at home. She uses chocolate chunks, but who has those?

Peanut Butter Choc. Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c (1 stick) butter room temp

3/4 c peanut butter (I like creamy, but you can use chunky)

1 c packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup choc chips (or more if you looooove chocolate like we do)

Mix altogether. Drop by teaspoons on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. They will be gone soon.....

On getting a job

2009-11-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

I have two distintions in my life that separate me from the normal woman. 1. I have never watched the movie "The Titanic" and 2. I have never worked at a payrolled job. Tomorrow I will change one of those distinctions. I am getting a job at a department store across the street from our apartment. We have agonized over whether I should get a job or not. I am a very dedicated SAHM (stay at home mom). I have homeschooled them. I have worked really hard at keeping my 2 etsy shops going. I love cooking and cleaning. However, we find ourselves at a time in our lives when I need to step out and do something extra to help our budget (or lack thereof). My hubby will complete his masters of accounting next Dec '10 and is working part time at a research institute in the university. Poor guy is so busy. He is so faithful and devoted to getting all his work done well, I'm so proud of him. My little girlies are not happy about me going to work. My eight year old is not usually very affectionate, but yesterday she wanted to spend every minute with me and told me she didn't want me to go to work. Today I laid on the couch for a little siesta and suddenly had 3 girlies on me. I slept anyway while they watched Sesame Street. I will just be working weekends to start with, but my girlies are used to having me around all the time. We pray for grace for all of us as we enter this new season.

November snuck up on me!

2009-11-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's November! This year has been full of happy times and very difficult times and that amounts to the months going much quicker than I think they should. My hubby always says that time moves the same no matter how fast I think it is going. Still, I think raising 3 children, keeping 2 etsy shops going, keeping my house somewhat clean, and filling everyone's stomach with yummy, cheap, and healthy food, can make my head swim. Add to that being a supportive wife while my husband deals with leaving his job to go back to school full time and the search for and starting a part time job. So, we are once again the extremely poor master's student family. I will not complain. We have not gone hungry one single day and have not been evicted from our nice apartment.

We've had 2 miracles lately. Well, just our church being so generous and thoughtful towards us. We bought our car in 2007 (one of those things you feel like you totally need, but then regret big time). It was getting to the point where the tires were becoming baby's bottoms, if you know what I mean. We were thinking of cancelling holiday trips to see family because of the tires and the lack of funds to replace them. Someone anonymously gave us half of the money so we could go ahead and replace our tires. Yippee! I was dancing on clouds, let me tell you! (we won't talk about the 3 hours of my day spent sitting around the tire shop). Then yesterday someone gave some brand new clothes to my 8 year old daughter. They were much needed as she is growing like a weed and all her clothes were looking like she was diving into her little sisters' drawers. Anyway, you can't tell me that God isn't watching out for us!

Let's see, I had one amazing week with both of my shops 2 weeks ago. I am still trying to replenish stock. However, I've decided to just relax about it and live life everyday. My kids are too important for me to be chained to my sewing machine all day. I've also started quilting again on a near and dear project. The grandmother's garden blocks were made by my hubby's grandma. I appliqued them onto a muslin background so I could do ornate quilting between the blocks. (see picture). I'm excited to be working on that again. I like to quilt while I sit and watch tv or help girls with schoolwork.

So, I'm dreaming of writing a book or just a blog called "Life Cooks" and present the very interesting biography of my life in stories and recipes associated with those stories. What do you think?

Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere and so much to eat!

2009-10-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Every year our church sets up a pumpkin patch on the grounds to one side of the building. They sell pumpkins as well as having storytime, pictures, and education about pumpkins. This year was my first experience with the patch and I helped unload the truck--61,000 pounds of pumpkins! Believe me, I was sore for days! I felt guilty about the poor pumpkins with blemishes and bruises or soft spots. They were thrown over by the dumpster since they can not be sold. I took three big ones and cooked them up for pumpkin puree to fill my freezer. I have about 15 bags of pumpkin to create with. I was surprised by how many people told me that they never even knew anyone who did that. That's what Libby is for, right? I love fresh pumpkin! I made several loaves of spice bread and boy! they were soooo good. I also slip pumpkin into everyday foods to boost the vitamins in our favorite meals. It tastes great in pasta sauce, red or cream. Today we had ground turkey and pumpkin sloppy joes. They were delicious!

Well, it's supposed to be fall and the pumpkins are supposed to make it feel like fall. Here in Corpus Christi the temps are still in the upper 80s and lower 90s! Ug! Where is fall? I can't find it! I guess we'll just wake up one day to winter and skip fall alltogether; such is life in the tropics.

I am still busy sewing for my business. I've decided not to stress out about not selling much. Seems that everytime I do, it gets worse. If I just relax, I'll sell something. Happily, my hubby started a new job that he loves today. That takes pressure off of me. We are still the poor family while he is finishing his masters of accounting. As my wise mother always says, "You can stand on your head for a little while if you need to." So that comforts me to know that someday this phase of our lives will end.

Here is the recipe for my Turkey and Pumpkin Sloppy Joes:

1lb ground turkey

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1 bell pepper (preferrably yellow since it is not as conspicuous)

2 cloves of garlic

2 cups of pumpkin puree

2 cups of ketchup

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon vinegar

All purpose seasoning

Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic in a Tablespoon of oil until nearly soft. Add turkey and seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, or any seasoning you like to use) and brown. Add pumpkin and the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Serve over toasted buns.

Enjoy!

And September ends......

2009-10-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! Is it October already? I have been frenetically sewing lately and have lost touch with time. Life seems somehow really difficult this fall. My business is struggling amid many friends' promises to buy things which they never do. My husband resigned from his job almost two weeks ago. He was facing serious ethical issues and decided the right thing to do was resign. Of course I support him completely, but it is still a difficult time since my shop does not in any way support us and we have no other income. In spite of this we are resolute that he shouldn't just take any old job that presents itself. We really want something that will really boost his future in accounting. So we are bathing that in regular prayer and trusting God to "give us this day our daily bread." Our girls have grown accustomed to the "no, not right until we have money" answer to most questions. I am so thankful they are homeschooled and can be with us as we push through our trials together.

I seem to have so many creative ideas and not enough time to sew it all. One blessing about my hubby not having a job is that he has been cutting some things out for me. I have launched a kid's shop on etsy called http://www.3littlepickles.etsy.com/ where I have listed some really fun stuff that my girls all want to keep! I have to borrow boys from my friends to model my boy items. Funny, huh? Anyway, I'm trying to keep my creativity in check or I'll go nuts! I get bonkers with monotony. I'm having a hard time dreaming of fall and winter stuff, too: being that it is still in the 90s here during the day! I can't complain, I really dislike coldy weather (for extended periods of time). Well, I hope all of you (the two people who actually read my blog) are having a lovely fall and are full of hope for tomorrow.

Augusto

2009-08-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of when I last blogged....It's been a while. Life is so crazy on the home front. Just how crazy? You don't want to know, but I'll tell you a little about what's happened. In July we had a wonderful trip. We dropped off the kids at my mother in law's house and drove to Austin for a close friend's wedding. I so enjoyed seeing friends that I hadn't seen in about 7 years and others around 4 years. It was great! I loved spending time with my husband also. Dates are few and far between in this economy, let me tell you.

Recently, my husband went through a very rocky time at work. We weren't sure if he was going to be added to the unemployed statistic. We prayed A LOT about that. We decided he should go full time to school this fall in order to speed up his already-in-process masters of accounting. He will still be working and going to school full time--nice knowing you, honey! We've been through this before when he was getting his M.Div in South Carolina. As mom always says, "You can stand on your head for a little while if it gets you where you need to go." So we will be standing on our heads again! I can't remember the last time I was bored--oh wait, it was in 2007, stranded on a missions base in Brazil with nothing to do but laugh at ourselves. (another story). I am still working on my etsy business of making purses and shopping bags. I love doing it, even though it's not making enough money. I will soon be getting a job. (if it works out) Right now, I'm working on a job of 20 shopping bags that are to be gifts at a wedding shower......great idea, right?! They will be lovely, but a lot of work all at once.

I so love living near the beach.....I do hope we live here a very long time, but I am not God and cannot predict where we will be in the future. I happen to be glad about that. Jesus, take my stress away, it's yours!

Happy July 4th

2009-07-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, my blog is once again neglected. Life has been extremely crazy! Between two weeks of VBS at two churches and just trying to keep my house going and sewing, I feel like I really need a "do nothing" day. I like those days when I don't feel pressured to do anything. At least my girls loved vbs and made some new friends. I helped with crafts the first week--over 600 kids every day for five days! Wow, was I ever exhausted. The second week I just drove the girls to and fro across town a bazillion times.

Last night I went to a baseball game for the first time ever! The Corpus Christi Hooks were playing a team from Tulsa. We won! The best part was that my husband and I had gone with our pastor and his wife.

My sewing is going slowly. I have so many ideas and so little time to create. I made a Texas flag purse this week and decided to keep it; since I don't have very many things that I have made. I've added a Bolivian apron to my shop. Most women of Bolivia wear brightly colored aprons everyday and everywhere. I have one I bought in Sucre about six years ago that I wear while I'm cooking or anything messy. They are so comfortable and always make me think of being in Bolivia. I like that I can throw it over my neck and don't have to tie the back if I don't want to. I can almost smell a stinky market full of veggies and fruits.

Life moves along in every minute of the day. My six year old loves to pretend she is reading a book speaking very fast in a British accent. It cracks me up. Especially since what she says makes no sense, just random words. My three year old went to the farmer's market with me this morning dressed as Minnie Mouse. She made everyone smile. My eight year old is growing up way too fast. I had to give her the "you are too young for a boyfriend" talk this week. I'm content today to have a loving husband and three lovely daughters, a good farmer's market and Mexican fruteria, and a beach close by.

A moment to sit down

2009-06-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

A friend mentioned that she actually read my blog and I thought that I ought to update the poor neglected thing. May was absolutely crazy! I hardy sewed at all. My oldest's birthday begins our whirlwind of activity on the 10th. We celebrated at a local pizza/party place; which I may add, had the worst pizza I've ever put in my mouth. At least she had fun. My second daughter decided to get a mild stomach bug at said event and threw up in the middle of the floor while spinning around looking for the bathroom. The following day was my birthday; woohoo happy 37th to me. I don't think we did much except for eat lunch out. Oh, and I forgot Mother's day......I don't remember much about that either except for receiving a strawberry plant. The 12th I had an orthodontic adjustment for the first time in 5 months! And so, for the 13th, our anniversary, I could hardly chew an overcooked noodle, much less a gourmet meal. fun.

The next weekend we took an on-a-whim trip to Mexico. I spent some of my childhood in Brackettville, TX near Del Rio. So we tip-toed around my old stomping grounds and went over the border to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. It is a lovely, small, and quiet town. We enjoyed walking around town and eating fresh fruit and shopping. In case you are wondering, there wasn't a single case of swine flu in that state in Mexico. Apparently the tourists didn't know that because there was hardly anyone there.

The next Thursday I left early in the morning with the girls for yet another trip. We stopped in Austin to see my two lovely cousins and eat lunch. Then I drove up to Southlake and spent the night with my parents. We had hit Fort Worth at exactly 5 o'clock, so it took me nearly 2 hours just to get through town. major ug! I was ready to sleep! The next day we drove up to Missouri with my parents for a wedding of a good friend. That was a good, but lengthy trip. I enjoyed seeing people I hadn't seen in several years.

Well, now here we are in June! I am busy making bags for those who love the 4th of July. I am also designing new things in my mind. My daughters are in the middle of our school year now. We are on a funky schedule. We are blessed to have full tummies, a roof (though it be a noisy one from upstairs neighbors), and our family. I am learning to just be content with these. Next week I will be helping out with vacation Bible school at our church.......we shall see.

My blog is neglected!

2009-04-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I have been a bit distracted and busy. First, there was the week of four bag sales plus having to sew an elaborate princess dress for a special order. I love to create; so that was a lot of fun. I had made a dress for the same girl a couple of years ago and she needed a new one for a trip to Disney World this month. I pulled out all the stops and made the dress really fancy. Sparkly butterflies flowed down the front of the dress. Most importantly, the girl loved it!

The next week I was busy making Easter dresses for my three daughters. I don't know why I do that to myself. The dresses were awesome, but my house went to pot and I was exhausted. (Especially after staying up until midnight to finish the last one). Anyway, I vowed to just buy the ten dollar superstore dresses next year!

In the meantime I am trying to rebuild stock in my etsy shop. I also had to have a root canal in the midst of all of this. Apparently, my braces injured one of my teeth and killed the nerve. That was painful! I had an infection and my sinus was so inflamed. After a week they finally gave me an antibiotic. Trials of life.

My husband's birthday was yesterday; ironically the day after tax deadline. I am so thankful that he has a job at this time, but the hours are pretty strenuous. We do get to go have lunch with him sometimes. That is always nice.

I am listening to my girls play restaurant in their bedroom while I type this. I get such a kick out of the "chicken cherry-aki" that they have gleaned from the Pepto commercial. Also being served is "upside down chocolate monkey cake" and ten dollar drinks. I think my oldest has an uppercrust imagination. Love it.

It's Monday in bagdom

2009-03-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Good news! I finished the princess messenger bag as well as another shopping bag last week. Perseverance is an excellent virtue. Sometimes I have it and sometimes I don't. I know you've been there. Today my kids are so excited about going to play with some other homeschool kids. Let's just say social outings have been nearly non-existant since we moved here. I am not an outgoing-knock em all over-plan every minute type mom. I do well just to get the girls to finish their school work; and I love spontaneity. I like to reward finished school with a trip to an awesome park, or even better, the beach.

I guess I haven't told you about our dog, Bucky. He is an extremely cute golden, blonde lab. We brought him with us from Roanoke, TX where he was born. Unfortunately, we had to move into an apartment and an inside dog is out of the question in our house. My hubby's new boss graciously offered to keep Bucky at her house. She has two labs of her own, so that worked out wonderfully. We go over when we can to visit him. We stand at the low gate and pet him and talk to him. I wonder if he will forget who we are?

Well, I must get some sewing done! There are plastic bags to retire in the world!

Tuesday in bagdom

2009-03-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I started this gorgeous light blue princess messenger bag. (my that's a lot of adjetives). I am part way through and realize that I can't make it the way I had envisioned in my mind. bummer. So it is sitting on the shelf waiting for inspiration to strike me. I am crazy that way a lot. I don't use patterns and my creative juices go wild; then I hit a brick wall of design. Anyway, I'm glad that there is more to life than bag design! Yesterday I took the girls and met my husband at a park by the bay. We had a lovely picnic, other than the sea gulls and bees, and the girls played for quite some time at the playground. When my hubby had to go back to work we walked out on the pier. The pier tends to provoke an unlimited number of questions from my girls. "Why is the water green?" "Can we catch fish?" "Can we swim in it? (absolutely not), etc. I just love watching the pelicans and seagulls as they attempt to find lunch. Anyway, I hit a thrift store on the way home. I was totally exhausted upon entering the house. How could such a lovely outing be so tiring? Oh well, it's worth it to see my girls' happy faces and knowing that they will not fight me about going to bed.
Today is a new day. I shall attempt to take better pictures of my bags for my shop. I will be patient with my girls (even though I know my two year old was just digging her finger in lip gloss). And, I will thank my God for having another day in His hand.

A new day in bagdom

2009-03-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

And so, here I am again. I have had a time of it trying to get sales in my etsy.com shop. I know it's a bad time economically, but come on, I'm not selling toe nail stickers! Bags are a necessity for every day. For me, they carry diapers and wipes, knitting, papers, food, groceries, my hubby's lunch, and let's not forget my girls' necessary menagerie of stuffed animals and toys that are permantly with them. Anyway, I am on a quest to find better ways to get my bags out there. So, I hand out my cards and email a few people. Keep in mind that I am a very reserved person and sales in completely not my thing. I went to a local farmer's market, but they have made their own bags, thank you very much. If you've ever seen the movie "The perfect man" with Hillary Duff in it; that pretty well relates to me. Not the whole psycho-relational mom thing, but moving constantly. It was around 20 times by the time I got married. So, let's just say my repretoire of old friends is extremely miniscule! My husband, on the other hand, lived in the same house until he went off to college! His fb friends list is monstrous. So, he would have an endless supply of old pals to bug about buying his thingamajig, but alas, I do not. And so, I'm talking to a computer screen, quite sad, actually. "I will survive." sung in cheesy 70s music.

Ok, moving on. I would just like to put in one more plug for stopping the use of plastic bags! Unless of course, you think they would make a great new plastic landscape for the world.

I also want to introduce you to a good friend of mine who makes the absolute coolest purses. She can be found at www.2-sweetboutique.etsy.com. She is so creative and her purses rock! Check her out today. You can also read her blog at www.2-sweetboutique.blogspot.com.

chau

Check out my bags (not eyes)

2009-03-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hi world! This is officially my first blog. Yippee. I am 36 years old and have 3 daughters. We live in an undisclosed tropical area of the US. I have dreamed for years of being a writer, but alas, have become a wife, mother, and seamstress. No complaints, you cannot call my life boring. I mean, I have a scar on my leg from being stuck by a fresh water sting ray in South America. Not many people can boast of that. Now I would say that being a mom is the most fluctuating job ever. You never know from one day to the next what you will be called upon to deal with. I homeschool my two older girls (7, 6) and my 2 year old just bugs us and makes us laugh. We recently moved to our present location in January. So we are still learning the ropes where we are and meeting people.

I am also starting a business on etsy.com. I make gorgeous shopping/tote bags out of upolstery fabric. These are fantastic for taking to the beach, soccer practice, or the grocery store. They are durable and washable. I am raising money to pay for my braces with the sales of these bags. Check them out today at http://www.3anniemouse3.etsy.com/.