Sew and Sew: Reconstructed

Once upon a time, there was a cute pair of Old Navy girls' jeans. They were well constructed, but also well loved. They developed a large tear at the bottom hem of one leg, probably from a slightly too short owner. They wound up at a thrift store, dreaming of a new home. Then I came along & saw what they might become. Here they are now. Reconstructed.

:: front::

::back::

:: on their new owner::

They look a little Disney-ish for some reason, probably the red & white polka dot fabric making think of Minnie Mouse. Now she just needs a red shirt to go with them. This was a fairly straightforward project. I used the cut-off legs to the add the triangle shaped piece in the front and back. The back was a little tricky as I had to cut off a little extra fabric that kind of sticks out when you lay the pants/skirt flat. I added a little red top-stitching around each triangle piece and also around the bottom where the denim meets the ruffle. Not bad for a first attempt, eh? I think it's a great way to give a little love to a pair of holey jeans!

Talk About It

I'm going to be making a few little changes around here {looks mostly}, but I think I want to add some kind of weekly feature where I ask a question that's been lurking in the back of my mind & we all discuss. I really enjoy a good stimulating discussion now and again & I think sometimes it helps to "sort things out" in my own head when I can bounce my ideas off other people. Know what I mean?

When we went on our little getaway this last weekend, after checking in you are instructed to go to the Concierge desk & receive a coupon book. The lady at the desk talks you through all the coupons in the book, starting at the back of the book & working her way forward, while asking relevant questions like "Are you traveling with kids?" "Are you interested in a fine dining meal?" and things like that. Then at the end of her little coupon book presentation, she arrives at the first coupon in the book: $50 off one night's stay {either that night or on a future visit}, if you attend a timeshare presentation/tour. Eh, I thought, $50 would not be worth it, would it? She then says that she'll take off $80 instead plus she'll give us $10 worth of tokens for the arcade. Kinda hard to pass up, considering my ever-growing frugal sensibilities. We decided not to do it, but continually joked throughout the weekend about what that $80 would've been able to pay for and is it too late to take the tour?? Hmmmm........I began thinking though......

Would you attend a presentation of some sort to get the benefit/gift, with no intention whatsoever of buying the product?

Rules: Play nicely. We're all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

Weekend in Review

We spent the weekend here. It's our favorite family vacation spot because there's lots to do at the resort, it's not too far from home {2 hour drive}, and it's pretty cost effective {especially in this case since Grandpa & Grandma paid for our stay}. The weather was decent, of course being the nicest on the day we left. We had lots of water fun. I got to go down a big tube slide with my dad & even talked Tatiana into going down a tamer one with me. She made me pray for her right before we got on the ride! I had lots of opportunities to practice successful thinking & kept trying to make the best of things, repeatedly telling myself that at least I don't have to cook or clean or do laundry! That surely kept it all in perspective. I was reminded of the difficulty of traveling with a baby. {Maybe the more you do it, the more you get used to it?} You don't have all the necessary baby items handy, his schedule was completely out of whack, plus he was trying to sleep in a foreign place with a foreign bed. Hubster & I kind of took turns caring for the little spud and just did the best we could. Today though, I am thankful for home sweet home. Hope ya'll had a lovely weekend!

ABCs of Me

I stumbled across this at Confessions of a Craft Addict & was in the mood to play along. So here we go......

Accent: Nope. Although when I visited out east a loooooong time ago, they thought I talked funny. I really don't think Midwesterners have any accent to speak of though. {Sidenote: when I read the word "accent", being the crafter that I am, I first thought of "embellishment", ya know, like room decor, not a funny way of talking.}

Book that I like: Just one? Any cookbook really. Especially ones with straightforward recipes & amazing photography.

Chore I don’t care for: Most of them. Maybe I should stick to the short list of chores I DO like: vacuuming, wiping things {weird, I know} cooking, baking. Hey, I'm sure some people consider those last two to be chores!

Dog or Cat: Neither. I am anti-pet. It might sound terrible, but I'm kind of glad in a way that our fish died last weekend. It was the girls' pet, but guess who was taking care of it. {Is it okay to admit that?}

Essential Electronics: my cellphone, a computer {any will do}

Favorite Cologne: I like nearly any mens' cologne. I love it when Rick wears cologne!

Gold or Silver: Silver.

Handbag I carry most often: I don't have too many handbags {now totebags are another story}, so I just try to rotate them to something befitting of the season.

Insomnia: Sometimes, yep. Especially if I took a long nap during the day or had too much caffeine {for me, one regular pepsi around dinner will keep me up til 2 am}!

Job Title: Domestic Engineer

Kids: Tatiana {Tats} 6 1/2, Sienna 3, Sebastian {Spud} 5 1/2 months

Living Arrangements: Honey, the kids, and my hobby supplies live together in rural Northern Illinois

Most Admirable Trait: I really have no idea. {Suggestions?} I'd like to think it's genuineness. I am who I am from the moment you meet me. I don't try to impress you or be someone I'm not. I really care about people. When I ask, "How are you?" I'm truly interested in the answer.

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Being super mean to my brother. Things like convincing him he was adopted & giving him a bloody nose by kicking him in the face come to mind. I have been living a lifetime of remorse for these things......

Overnight hospital stays: Three related to delivering babies. A two night stay and a one night stay for severe stomach flu & I did sleep in the hospital for 5 nights when Tatiana had her appendectomy.

Phobias: Probably fear of heights.

Quote: I am aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be ... but most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see.

Religion: Christianity, although I like to think of it more as a relationship/journey, not a "religion", which makes me think of a set of prescribed rituals and practices

Siblings: One younger bro.

Time I wake up: As late as the kids will let me. Usually between 7 and 8 am.

Unusual Talent or Skill: I can't think of anything unusual. I will say this though. When I was a teenager, my friend Jessica and I used to see how many cherries we could put in our mouths at one time AND de-pit. If you swallowed the pit, then of course it didn't count. I could do 15.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Brussels sprouts. Beets. Cauliflower. Cabbage. {Mostly cruciferous vegetables, although I *love* mustard & horseradish. Weird, I know.}

Worst Habit: I bite my nails when I'm nervous or under stress. I didn't always do this. It started when I was pregnant with my second daughter & somehow the habit just stuck.

X-rays: I think I've only had one: when I broke my collar bone in a car accident.

Yummy Stuff: Fresh french bread with sweet butter. Crustaceans. Freshly baked cookies chock full of goodies. A grilled ribeye. New York style cheesecake. Fresh berries & cream. I love just really good simple food.

Zoo Animal I Like Most: See answer to dog or cat. The only reason you'd find me at a zoo is because the kids like going there.

Anyone else want to play along?

Successful thinking

"This is just my bad day."
::what my precious 3 year old says if things aren't going her way::

That was yesterday. Hubs & I were having lots of deep conversations about different things, mostly about me & how he perceives that I respond to stressful situations and people that rub me the wrong way. One of these such people is a family member. We discussed boundary setting, which hubs doesn't seem to get. "Just let it roll off your back," he'd say. Um, yeah. Not so easy. I was just in a bad place mentally......fast forward a few hours to a conversation with world's-best-sister-in-law {sorry if you think YOURS is the best}. She was sharing something that her pastor had taught her:

It all starts with your thoughts. Then your feelings come from those thoughts, then your actions will come from those feelings.

I think that's why God tells us to:

...pray for those who persecute you...
{Matthew 5:44}

Because once you really pray for those people, then you will feel differently about them and then, as a result, act differently towards them. So I am changing my thinking. When I am feeling annoyed or some other negative emotion, I will tell myself that "this person needs Jesus" or "God loves this person" or "we are all sinners". Hopefully that new thought will trickle down into my feelings & actions. So I will be working on thinking my way to success.

I'd love to hear some encouraging words or to know if this will change how you think too.

Steals & Deals for the Week

No.....Thank you!

I got this $5 Starbucks Gift Card in the mail yesterday as part of a Catalina** promotion they were running. If you bought a bag of Starbucks coffee at participating retailers, you receive a Catalina with a special code to input online. My dad bought the coffee, noticed the Catalina & saved it for me. What a great dad! Also FYI: If you register your Starbucks gift card online, you can get extra benefits at participating Starbucks locations, such as free refills on your coffee & free extra syrup flavors.

**Catalina: a coupon that prints at the register from a separate machine after you check-out

Jewel: Last weekend I took advantage of their General Mills deal. If you buy 10 participating items at $2 each, you get an instant $10 off your order, making the items $1. You had to buy them in multiples of $10. Adding some coupons with that {they take expireds so I was saving them for such an occasion as this}, I was able to purchase 12 boxes of cereal, 4 bags of Cheerios/Chex Snack Mix, 4 boxes of Nature Valley Trail Granola Bars, and two packs of gum {for the Hubster} for a grand total of $11.73!

CVS: I haven't been CVSing as avidly as I did when I first started {March} as a) I have a decent stockpile beginning to build up and b) would rather devote the necessary time/energy to other things. They had a sale on Oral-B products {Buy $20, Get $10 ECBs} and hubster has an Oral-B Vitality Toothbrush. At $17.99 for a pack of 3 replacement heads, I thought it would be a good time to get them now. I also picked up a box of Crest Toothpaste, 2 boxes of Aquafresh, and some Schick shaver refills {$8.88, get $6 ECBS + I used $4 Q}. I ended up spending $10 OOP, but that was fine with me, since the refill heads alone cost nearly double that!

Pick up any goodies last week? Get any free samples in the mail?

Big Rocks

I read a story recently about a motivational speaker inspiring his crowd. He places a large jar on the podium in front of him and puts several large rocks inside the jar. He then asks the crowd, "Is the jar full?" Most of the crowd responds, "Yes". Well.....the speaker then pours some gravel into the jar which trickles into some of the unfilled spaces. He asks again, "Is the jar full?" A little wiser to his scheme, the crowd responds, "No". The speaker then adds some sand to the jar, further filing in the tiny spaces, again following up with the question, "Is the jar full?" An emphatic "No" resounds. The speaker takes out a pitcher of water, pouring in several cups before stopping. He then asks this question, "What is the moral of this exercise?" Many people respond something along the lines of: you can always add more things to your life, even when it seems already full. "No," the speaker says, "The point is.....

.....if I didn't put the big rocks in first, they never would've been able to fit."

This illustration spoke volumes to me and I've been mulling it over for the last week. For me at least, if I don't make it a priority to get certain things done on a daily basis, they just plain, DON'T GET DONE. I had a really enjoyable conversation with Hubs about his Big Rocks. We both realize that some Rocks that are in our jars shouldn't be and there are some that aren't in there, that should be. So, I've been asking myself what my Big Rocks are....

What are your Big Rocks?

Home for Mother's Day

Please pray for a friend, Jeff, and his family. Jeff's mom, at the age of 62 had a massive stroke last week. Part of her brain was without oxygen for 3 hours. The family prayed for a miraculous healing, but God had a different plan. She was just coherent enough to accept Christ as her Saviour shortly after, while in the hospital. On Mother's Day, the Lord called her home and welcomed her with open arms. She leaves behind her husband of 39 years, two children and two grand-daughters. Please pray specifically for comfort during this time for all those lives she has touched. Thanks in advance. Becki

Happy Mother's Day!

May we never take for granted the blessing and privilege of motherhood. Every time we comfort a screaming child, wipe a runny nose, change a poopy diaper, say "NO!" for the umpteenth time, let us not grow weary for doing good, as we remember women who long for the chance to do those things. May we pray a little harder, play a little harder, laugh a little louder, and have our hearts be a little fuller today as we cherish our children. Let us all enjoy this wonderful, exhausting, touching, seemingly never-ending journey together.

Happy Mother's Day!

Cinqo Meses

My sweet boy is five months old today! Five months old on 05/05! My, how the time has passed. He is still not rolling over yet {does he even lay down long enough to practice?}, but he's eating like it's goin' out of style! He loves him some good baby cereal & organic baby food. He is still nursing & *refuses* to take a bottle. Go figure. He has some bad eczema issues & scratches himself up when he is stressed. He wakes up some mornings lookin' like he had a little baby battle in there. Speaking of sleep, at his four month check-up, his pediatrician indicated that he should be able to sleep 12-14 hours at a time at night. Well you can bet that I got workin' on that: PRONTO. Especially considering he was waking up about 3-4 times a night up until that point {for four. long. months.}! Project Sleep only took about 2 nights to get him to sleep for about 10-12 hours at a stretch between nursings. If I thought it would be so easy, I'd a done it much sooner. His sisters still adore him & the novelty has lasted much longer than any Christmas present has. He loves his jump-a-roo {as we call it} & really likes his chupy {pacifier}. Sebastian went for his first walk in the stroller earlier this month and first time in the baby swing in the backyard. As if he wasn't growing fast enough, he woke up this morning with two brand new teeth! I still can't hardly believe it.

Happy five months Buddy, Spuddy, Spudicus! I *love* watching you grow, but won't mind if you slow it down a little ;>)

Good Reads

Here are some of the blogs I've recently stumbled upon that you might find to be "good reads":

Home Sanctuary ~ I *love* this blog. It fits right in with the vision I have for my home. I want this abode to be a sanctuary where people feel warm & welcome.

Blissfully Domestic ~ In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a renaissance woman, ya'll. I'm all about being domestic.

The Gentle Art of Ruling Your Husband ~ I'm not too down with the name {specifically the term "ruling"}, but there seems to be lots of good practical stuff here, with plenty of marriage humor to keep you chuckling. Take what you find useful & don't mind the rest. Just don't go throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Let me know if you find something particularly interesting!

J & K + 8

If you watch IT, then you'll know right away what the title of this post means! Tatiana really enjoys this show too for some reason. I'm not sure what the draw for her is, whether it's all the little kids running around or the peek into the life of a big family. She'll say things wistfully like, "I wish we had that many children", while I can't even entertain the thought! I think about Kate sometimes when I am stressing about having to take 3 kids to the grocery store. I bet that would breeze for her! I can't imagine having to sweep/mop as often as she does or having to potty train 3 tots at a time. I *seriously* don't know how Kate keeps it all together. Sometimes I feel like the household is crumbling down around me and I have less than half the number of children as she does! They've really got their hands full, but also, I bet, full hearts as well.

Do you watch? What do you think of their family dynamics?

**As always, I don't mind lively discussion, but keep your comments respectful!**

Good Deals

Here are some good deals I see to be gotten this week. I am not including any CVS ECB deals, as maybe you're not into that sort of thing.

CVS
Herbal Essence Hair Products are BOGO. {Price at my local store is $4.29} Combine that with coupons from recent inserts for $3/2 = $1.29 for two bottles. I just had hubby stop by and do this deal today. I had two coupons, so I got 4 bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $3.18!

Cereal
If you don't have enough in your stockpile, there's a few good buys out there. Kmart has General Mills {select varieties} for $1.50 a box, if you buy 4. Combine that with coupons that are nearly always in the inserts for $1/2 or $1/3. I have 2 $1/2 coupons so that works out to $1/box. An even better deal is at Valli Produce {if you live near me & get the flyer, you could always Price Match at WM} for $1.25 a box, if you buy 4. Combined with the aforementioned coupons works out to 75 cents per box. I am comping this deal at SuperWM either tomorrow or Saturday. {I am also comping a few other things from Valli as well, such as Dean's half-gallons of milk for 99 cents. Combined with a insert coupon for 50cents/2 works out to $1.50 for one gallon!}

For you health nuts {or aspiring health nuts like me}, you can read all about how to get Kashi for 50 cents a box. Now that's a sweet deal! {FYI: these coupons from "bricks" never work for me in Firefox, only in IE. If you attempt to print it in Firefox & it doesn't print, you will be out of luck. YMMV. Remember to hit your back button on your browser after printing the first one so that you can get the limit of two.} Edited to add: Regular price at SuperWM is $2 box, which means free Kashi, ya'll!

Jewel
Suave Hair Care Products are 89 cents. Combine with a coupon from last weeks insert for $1/2 works out to 80 cents for 2 bottles.

Did you know some Jewel stores accept expired coupons? I am going to call the store that I would go to & find out of mine does. If you do your regular shopping there, you can read all about how to earn yourself some free movie tickets.

What deals are you getting this week?

Are you a DASH? Then we MUST be friends!

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Welcome Distraction

I've discovered the blessings of podcasting, ya'll! I've been so stressed lately, mostly because of my fussy baby. {Both I and he are working on this.} I needed a pleasant distraction to take my mind off of his sleep issues, so I figured I'd snoop around for a podcast. My first one was from Grace Talk. I listened to the 12 Habits of a Wise Woman {2/21/08}. It only covers the first three habits, with a promise of more to come. I see there are follow-up podcasts scheduled for the rest of the habits. I am also looking forward to downloading this Thursday's episode titled "Overcoming Bitterness & Judgmental Thoughts".

The second podcast I downloaded was from Natural Moms. You crunchy mamas will love these podcasts! I listened to this one. Fascinating stuff! I mean, *super* interesting. It is about how best to assimilate our children into the urban culture. Don't let the technical sounding title scare you off. Two of the points that stick out in my mind are that 1) when we see other people parenting, it helps us to be better parents. If we see other women breastfeeding or even see a dad wearing a baby sling, it makes us more likely to do those things ourselves and 2) being around children makes us better people. We use better language, act better, use better manners, etc. Isn't that true? She mentions that there was a study where they brought babies & toddlers into schools and showed the effect that it had on the older children in that it lessened bullying. Really neat! It took my mind off of my long walk in the light drizzle. {Exercising = YUK.} I wish I loved exercising in the way I love cooking & baking. Maybe then everything would balance itself out. The podcast served as a welcome distraction and actually made my walk enjoyable.

For lots of different mom related podcasts, visit Moms Talk Radio. So many goodies here! Even though my kids to go to public school, this episode appealed to me & I can't wait to listen to it {on my next walk of course}. And I'm guessing it won't be long before I listen to a podcast from The Household Helper Talk Show. It's weird in a way, listening to these radio talk shows, especially considering the prolific TV watching in our society. Kinda makes you feel like a renaissance woman.

Do you podcast? Do you know how? Let me know if there are any other great "shows" out there or if you have any questions!

Sew and Sew: Kids

Edited to add: Blogger did not want to play nice with me. I tried & tried to reupload the pictures for this post and finaaaalllly succeeded. Now ya'll can see the stuff I made.

It's been awhile since I've posted an "issue" of Sew and Sew, mostly because I haven't been sewing much! I've really had to be selective about my projects, as my time is so limited. I can't wait until the baby is much less maintenance and frees me up a bit more, then again, I CAN wait, if you know what I mean.

First up is a girl's hair wrap! I *loved* this project & really is simple enough for a beginner. I used a $1.50 towel from Wal-Mart, just in case I couldn't get the end result to "work out". I made it using this tutorial. First I made it using the measurements she specifies, sewed it up, then put it on my daughter's head and figured out about how much I needed to cut off to make it smaller. {If anyone is really interested in this project, please email me & I can give you exact specs!}

She loves it! No more wet jammies after bathtime & she feels all grown-up wearing it too!

Next up are a pair of Easter dress for my girls. I am so UNtraditional sometimes. No pink ruffles or little bonnets for me. These were made using Simplicity pattern 3588. I got a chance to use some of the great features on my new machine, like overlocking the edges and using the blind-hemming foot. I looked *everywhere* for a pink frog closure to make the front look a little more Asian, but to no avail. Oh, well. I actually finished the one for Little Sister after church & sewed frantically right up until we had to leave for Easter dinner. Nothing like a deadline for a little motivation!

:: Happy sisters with Princess Leia-like hair-dos ::

That's all for today. I have made a few other things, but just don't have time to take pictures. Hope you had a blessed weekend!

BOGO x 2

BOGO = Buy One, Get One a.k.a B1G1

I always wondered what would happen if a store had a buy one, get one promotion & you had a BOGO coupon for the same items. In my mind, I figured you would buy one item and get TWO free. Not so. After reading this thread, I learned that essentially the store pays for the free one that they are promoting & the coupon/manufacturer pays for the other free item. Instead of buy one, get one, it's buy none, get two!! Sweet!! Usually these types of deals don't overlap with the coupons, for obvious reasons {free stuff, ya'll}. I tried it today at CVS and it works! I was actually kinda shocked. I purchased two Covergirl face products featured in this week's CVS BOGO promotion. I had a Covergirl coupon for "Buy any Covergirl foundation, get a Covergirl face product free". I bought a foundation for $5.99 and a face product for $7.99. The $5.99 came off for the store promotion since it was the least expensive item and the cashier just had to enter the amount for the facial product {blush} which was $7.99 for the coupon. All I paid was the tax. Now that's a sweet deal!

Wal-Mart's Price Matching Policy

Ok. I feel vindicated! After a comment on a previous post alerted me to Wal-Mart's price matching policy, I attempted it last week with milk. Meijer had their house brand of milk on sale for $1.99, so I brought my ad in to my local WM expecting to be able to get their house brand for that price. Request denied. My cashier even asked another cashier and they both chimed in together with, "Oh no. We don't do that here. See. It's the MEIJER BRAND of milk on sale." I tried to explain that I'd "heard" that WM does do it, but to no avail. I paid $3.29 for the milk I needed anyway. I did call their corporate office, but had not received a response. Until today. The manager from my local store called to answer my questions. He said that it really didn't happen that often, but that they had had a meeting & they will match house brand to house brand. *Insert Hallelujah chorus here* I was very nice about the whole thing & just said that maybe their cashiers weren't aware of the policy. I also asked who they considered a "competitor", as there really aren't any other major competitors in that small town. He said, "Bring in any ad." He even mentioned some southern stores {Publix?} & said to just bring in my ad. Needless to say, this guy's name is burned into my memory. Now I/you can get more things in one place! This week I even had a nearby SuperWM match the Airwick Freshmatic Mini that CVS has on sale for $4.99. Add a $4 coupon {click "print now" under Money Saving Coupons ~ requires registration} to that and you've got a great deal. My cashier was so funny. She just kept saying, "Wow. Now that's a great deal."

Cheap Cereal

So, now that I've learned more about using coupons, my new limit for cereal is $1/box, unless it is something really special, like Kashi. This good cereal deal on Malt-O-Meal falls into my new guidelines. Malt-O-Meal is kind of a generic brand of some popular cereals like Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, etc. It was rumored that Wally World carried Malt-O-Meal cereal bags on rollback for 2/$2, but I've been unable to find it there. Supposedly there are boxes of it as well at WM, but I didn't have a chance to look & price it out {anyone?}. Meijer carries this product at a standard price of $1.99 per bag. This $1.50 coupon doesn't expire until 8/31/2008. So print yourself some {use more than one computer if you have to} & the next time you go by a Meijer, pick up some 50-cent cereal. There is also a $1 off coupon which would still be a good deal at $1 a bag. Don't like all the sugar for your kiddos? Give it to your local food bank!

Edited to add: I found the cereal at a local Super WM today in a bin in a main aisle near the groceries. It was $1. I had one $1.50 coupon and two $1 off coupons, so I earned 50 cents overage for three bags. Sweet!

P.S. Just wanted to mention that is a bricks.coupon which I can never get to print in Firefox. I always have to use my back-up IE. YMMV.

Questions to ask.....

....while reading your Bible:

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

What attitudes do I need to change?

What do I need to start or stop doing?

What do I need to believe or stop believing?

What relationships do I need to work on?

What ministry should I be having to others?

I found these questions in an old journal entry & decided to print them out as a reference for my quiet times. I think it will really serve to engage my mind and to glean more from what I'm reading. I thought it might help someone else as well.

Any other questions you keep in mind while reading your Bible?