The Apron

Here I am wearing the apron.

You can barely see it, but there is a pocket right there. The print of the fabric is little strawberries with butterflies, birdies and worms. I thought it was real cute.

This is the top portion with a little bit of eyelet lace. You'll notice that I still need to do a lot of clipping of loose threads. The tie on top is just bias tape fastened with velcro. In the back, it is tied with some ribbon. I'm probably going to take that off and get some more bias tape to tie it. The ribbon is too big and bulky so it's hard to tie.

So for my first attempt at sewing an apron, I guess it's presentable.

Have a happy Saturday!

The Saga Continues

I just wanted to pop in and say that I haven't dropped off the face the earth. I haven't had much to say.

Just when I thought I had beat this virus, I'm back with a sore throat and my nose is getting stuffy again! But, I can't let this stop me anymore so I'm trudging along and taking care of my business.

On Monday, I dusted off my sewing machine and learned how to sew an apron. My friend's mother was anxious and willing to teach us how to make one and we both jumped at the chance. I was surprised that I was able to complete one in approximately three hours. And it actually looks like an apron! Of course things are a little crooked, the stitches are not straight, there are frayed edges, but who cares! I'm not too embarrassed to wear it. I will have some pictures to share, but not tonight. I tried to get some decent shots, but my batteries need to be recharged.

Oh yea, got my pink yarn untangled and am pretty much finished with the scarf. I just have to put the edging on it in a different color. I'll have Emily pose with it and post a picture.

Yesterday for Ash Wednesday, I went to the service at my kids school. The older students had a Mass, but I didn't attend that one. For the younger ones, there was a service with just the
liturgical readings of the day, then the distribution of ashes. The little ones were just so sweet. Father would ask them questions, and they were all just so eager to answer.

Today I took Kathryn to her dentist appointment. She has two loose molars. These are her last baby teeth - and she's only 11 years old! She had her first loose tooth when she was four years old and they've been falling out regularly since then. I'll be glad to see those last two go. She's always been very sensitive to the feeling of her teeth being loose and has refused to wiggle them out. She couldn't stand any of us to touch them (to pull them out). So they've been extracted. That's weird how she would rather have the dentist extract them, than wiggle them and get them out herself.

That's how my week has been. This weekend we will enjoy some time with my SIL/BIL who are visiting from Texas.

I hope to get pictures of my latest creative endeavors posted tomorrow.

A Post

I think I'm finally on the mend from this cold bug. It's taken a while for the cough to get better, but I think it's on the way out. I think! I woke up with a sore throat, but I don't have it right now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. From what I hear, this virus that's going around is one that takes it's sweet time going away. As much as I like Winter and the rain, I'm looking forward to Spring.

My housework has gone to pot. It's been enough to get dishes washed and laundry taken care of. While I've slacked off on that, I've managed to do a little bit of reading. I'm reading Raymond Arroyo's book about Mother Angelica and a fiction book called, Quaker Summer. Oh, and that reminds me, I really do need to add my new list of books read and take off the old list.

I'm slowly making progress on my scarf project. I mentioned that the yarn got all tangled up. Well, I've slowly untangled it instead of buying a new skein, and the scarf is almost done.

YIKES! Here's what the messy skein looked like. It was worse than this, but this is bad enough.

So far, this is what the scarf looks like. It needs to be a little longer, so I'll probably end up buying another skein. You can bet this time, I won't be pulling the yarn out from the center. You never know what kind of knots are hidden in there!

Cough! Cough!

Well, this cold or whatever it is, is a whopper. It started out normal enough, but my stuffiness has lasted for about four days now, which is unusual. For two day now, I haven't been able to smell or taste. It's not fun to eat now. But one thing I've discovered is that snacking is not appealing when you can't taste! So many times I've wanted to munch on some chips or candy (my favorite Sweet Tarts - Valentine edition) but I've turned away as I remembered I wouldn't be able to taste them anyway.

I'm also coughing a lot now. Poor Steve, he has to hear me hacking upon sleeping and waking. I can't wait for this to all be over.

I've been able to get a lot of crocheting done. I'm working on a scarf for Emily. It's an easy pattern and would be going quickly but I was unlucky enough to find a huge tangle in the middle of the skein. What a mess! I was debating whether to attempt to untangle it or just buy a new one, but for some reason, I felt like I had to win the battle and I've persisted in trying to untangle it. So I untangle some, crochet a little, untangle some more, and so on. I'll have to take some pictures of my progress.

Emily had her Valentine's Day party at preschool today. She was so excited to get cards and candy from her classmates. She showed me everything she got and told me about all the food she ate. She's hoping when she goes to Kindergarten that it will be just as fun. I assured her that it would. Ryan and Kathryn have their class parties on Friday. Steve and I don't usually do anything for Valentine's Day, other than exchange cards and I'm so late with getting that. I know it's going to be slim pickings among the available cards, but you never know.

I think I'd better end now. I'm coughing too much and I need to rub some Vicks on my chest for the night. I think tomorrow will be a better day!

Saturday

I hope everyone is having a good start to their weekend! We are having some rainy weather, which I am enjoying. It's expected to last the whole weekend. The lawn and plants are loving the freshness that only the rain can bring. The air smells fresh, too!

Steve took the kids to do some grocery shopping. He is braver than I am. I wouldn't take all three kids to the store! Although Kathryn is no sweat, when Ryan and Emily are together, you never know how things will go! They always seem to find something to argue about, and then they get to yelling at each other. I am never at a loss for teachable moments. One of my daily prayers is to be able to reach them and teach them about how we are to act with each other. Sometimes it doesn't seem to be getting through, but I don't give up.

While Steve is out doing the hard work, I'm here blogging away! Actually, I stayed home to get a little rest. I seem to be getting the same cold that Steve had. My sore throat is gone, but now my nose is a little stuffy and my body just feels like it's battling a cold.

My plans for the rest of the weekend besides resting when I can:

Work on some crochet projects that I have lined up.
Catch up on laundry.
Make my menu plan for the week.

We'll also try to make it the open house at the kids school. This is mainly for new students, but since Emily will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, we thought she'd like to see what her class would look like. Kathryn and Ryan could also take a peek at next years classrooms, too.

Right now, I'm going to rest and watch the episode of Lost that I missed this week but recorded on the DVR.

Have a nice weekend!

Super Bowl Commercial

I know that the Super Bowl is history, but I wanted to share my favorite commercial for this year.






Then I wanted to share a funny one from the past. I'm not sure if this one was a Super Bowl commercial or not. Do you remember this one?

Super Bowl Sunday Ramblings

We are having a little informal party here for Super Bowl Sunday. I'm really not into football, but Steve and Ryan have a ball talking about the game. We have just finished our pizza and are awaiting the start of the game to begin indulging in our junk food snacks! So, I plan on eating, crocheting, and watching the commercials (that's about the only time I look forward to watching them)!

Yesterday, Kathryn had a basketball game and she got quite a bit of playing time. She hardly ever gets to play, so to see her out there hustling after the ball was fun. Her team lost but they did make a tremendous comeback after being behind by 20 or so points! I think they ended up losing by 9.

I also finally got around to cleaning out Ryan's closet. What a job that was! There were so many stuffed animals! Most of them were Emily's. I had to bag a lot of them and put them in the garage. If I had my druthers, I'd donate them to Goodwill or something. And that reminds me that I need to do that purging type cleaning when no one is home. All the kids want to know what I'm throwing in the trash, what's going in that bag, what am I doing with such and such.
Most of the stuff they don't play with anymore, but all of a sudden they see it and beg me to not get rid of it!

I don't want them to grow up being a pack rat. I've been like that and it's only within the last couple of years that I've learned to let go of so much. It is so easy for me to accumulate clutter. I used to save so much memorabilia type things, remembrances of this event or that one, but the thing is, it's just stuff that stays packed away. It's not like I have it sitting out to remember it. Just accumulated clutter. I have saved a few things, but I find it much more freeing to let go of a lot.

For me, letting go of clutter is like peeling an onion. I go through a lot of things, trash some, and save some. The next time I go through a box or something, I see the same item, then this time decide that it is something I can let go of. I try to also keep in mind that some things I think are worth saving will not be something my kids will want went I'm long gone. Maybe some things will have a memory associated with their past and they'll want to save, but most of it will be junk to them. I'll spare them the task of having to go through all my stuff.

I'm finally finishing up season two of The Waltons. I'm enjoying the episodes so much. The story lines are good and I just love watching Olivia and Grandma tending to their duties. And Olivia always shows such gracious hospitality. The family was in the midst of the Great Depression, yet they always welcomed the unexpected guest with an extra plate at the table or a place to stay for the night. They remind me of my mother. She's always tended to her duties without grumbling and showed gracious hospitality. They give me inspiration when I find myself grumbling and being a little lazy in my duties.

Before I start watching season three, I have to watch a few horror/suspense movies that are in my queue. I actually like these kind of movies, as long as they are not too bloody or violent. I like the psychological thrillers, especially any that have a telephone involved, like getting weird phone calls or something. No one else likes to watch these (meaning Steve since the kids can't watch), so I have to watch them at night - yikes- and Steve is not there to tell me what's happening while I have my eyes hidden behind my hands!

Enough ramblings for now. The party will be starting shortly!

Happy Homemaker Monday!

Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom has started Happy Homemaker Monday to record a little of what's going in our day.

On my bedside table: The Edge of Recall by Kristen Heitzmann and some Crochet Today magazines

On my TV: Poseidon Adventure - the original one from 1972. I rented this way back for New Years Eve but am just now getting to it!

On the menu for tonight: Tostadas with rice and beans

On my to-do list: mop the floors, clean bathtub, sort through the entryway closet.

New recipe I tried last week: Slow-Cooked Southwest Chicken I got this recipe from the latest issue of Healthy Cooking. It was very good! I'm not sure if the link will work unless you subscribe to the magazine or Taste of Home.

In the craft basket: Nothing right now. I will continue to crochet and knit some dishcloths, but I'm also looking through my crochet and knitting magazines to find some patterns to use up some of my yarn stash. It's too large!

Looking forward to: Rain! It's supposed to rain again sometime today, but the skies are blue! I don't know where the rain clouds are? Maybe tonight?

Homemaking Tip for this week: If you have a sluggish drain, try pouring some bleach down the drain. Wait about 10 or 15 minutes, then run very hot water. It will flow clear again. Now I don't know if this will work if the drain is already stopped up. If my drain is slow, I just do this tip and the water flows great again. PLEASE, just don't mix the bleach with any other cleaning product. You don't want any noxious fumes!

Favorite blog post: I have two this week. Both of them speak of the little things we can do to help someone in need and the blessings in giving, even when we may be in need ourselves. These two posts gave me reflections to take to the Lord in my prayer time. The first post is from Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings and the second one is from Brenda at Coffee Tea Books and Me.

Favorite photo from last week:

This is not a photo from the past week, but from Christmas time. The girls put on a fashion show with Ryan serving as the MC. This the their "fabulous" poses.

Lesson learned the past few days: The little things we do for others can have a great impact and be such a blessing to them.

On my prayer list: President Obama

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

From St. Patrick's Breastplate:

This day I call to me:

God's strength to direct me,

God's power to sustain me.

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's vision to light me,

God's ear to my hearing,

God's word to my speaking,

God's hand to uphold me,

God's pathway before me,

God's legions to save me:

from snares of the demons,

from evil enticements,

from failings of nature,

from one man or many

that seek to destroy me,

anear or afar.

I don't know why my paragraphs are not being separated here at the end. They are separated where I compose the post, but not when I preview it. Oh well, hope it's not too dificult to read.

Wednesday Funny

Ryan is quite a humorous boy.

The other day, I came out of the shower, slathered some floral scented lotion, and proceeded to do my household business. As I passed by him, he says, "Oh mommy, you smell nice, just like roses! I thought, "Aw, how nice." Then he says, "Not like when you go to Grandma's house or go to the doctor, or go see fireworks (meaning most other times), then you smell like peanuts! But he made sure I didn't feel too bad. He said, "But that's still nice!"

I had to double check with Steve and the girls and find out if I really smell like peanuts normally. They said I don't smell any kind of way, just normal. That's good. Maybe I'll wear scented lotions more often. They do smell pretty.

I think I mentioned before that Ryan loves to play around with my camera, taking shots of just about anything. I'll leave you with a self-portrait that he did. I'll spare you the pictures he took of his tongue and tonsils or him picking his nose.

What a week it's been! The Santa Ana winds started again and with it came allergies. Or so I thought. My eyes started itching, then I started sneezing, then the stuffy nose came. I think now that I had a cold. I can't really tell. I was taking some allergy medicine but that didn't seem to help. For two days, my head was so congested. My eyes looked so beady. Now my nose is clearing up but the cough is starting. Sounds like the cycle of a cold to me. Whatever. I'm feeling much better now.

Emily and Kathryn both had colds too. Emily missed two days of preschool.

I'm so excited! We finally got our hardwood floors refinished. Our entryway was hardwood but in terrible shape. Our dining room had carpeting and as you can guess the carpet was so yucky. It got so bad that not even professional cleaners could get it to look good anymore. So we took out the carpeting and refinished the hardwood floors underneath. The wood looks beautiful! We did the same with the hallway carpeting.

We have lots more home repairs to do, more flooring, painting, counter tops, practically everything. As finances allow, we will do what we can.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Letter Meme

Laura, the teacher, from Catholic Teacher Musings has assigned me the letter J (for Journey). I wanted to use ten J words to describe my spiritual journey, but that was proving to be difficult so I chose five words to do that, then five more general J words.


J - Jesus
The whole point of this spiritual journey. The final destination is heaven, and being with Jesus.

J - Journal
Where I write down my thoughts and reflect on what I think the Lord is saying to me and doing in my life. My thoughts on Bible passages and other spiritual writings.

J - Join
I join with others, in heaven and here on earth, in this spiritual journey. Together we help each other out and provide support as we journey toward our final destination.

J - Jerk
How I act sometimes. As I read the Bible and pray, I get convicted about how I've behaved and I pray to overcome my sinful habits and become more like Jesus.

J - Joy
Joy is what I feel when I'm right where God would have me . Loving and serving Him and others.


Now, for the other five words, I'm just going to name things that I like that begin with J.

J- Jeans
I wear these all the time. I'm most comfortable wearing these.

J - Jasmine
I love the smell of this flower! One of the joys of summer is smelling this fragrance.

J - Jelly Beans
A favorite candy of mine. I love the red ones!

J - Junk food
I eat too much of this. A few of my favorites are Ding Dongs and Sour Cream and Onion potato chips.

J - Jamberry
The delightful children's book that I used to read to Kathryn all the time when she was younger.

Finished Dishcloth

I finished my first dishcloth of the new year! It came out bigger than I would have liked, but that's OK. It's about 12" x 12". I got the pattern out of this leaflet. This particular pattern had a new stitch for me so it was fun to make.

I'll experiment with a new stitch for my next dishcloth. Maybe I'll do a little adjusting to make the cloth smaller - the way I normally like them.

I also want to knit some dishcloths, too. I'm not as confident in my knitting as with crochet, but hey, practice makes perfect. I'm usually the armchair type crafter. I do a little bit here and there but mostly oohh and aahh everyone else's work. I've decided that I'm just going to get out there and do my own. I'll try and do that pattern that's a little more difficult. I'll take that challenge. So, I will get out those knitting needles and try not to get too intimidated. I'll get out my sewing machine and try sewing again.

I'm looking forward to see what I can create!

Getting Back Into the Groove

I'm finally popping in after my time away to get over my bug. It took me awhile to get my energy back, but I think I'm back to the strength I was before.

Now, I have to make sense out of the mess in the house. I'm going to tackle things a little at a time. Decorations need to be put away, laundry to be caught up, clutter to be dealt with, and menus to plan. But, I'm not stressed. Little steps at a time will accomplish a lot.

Kathryn and Ryan are still home from school. I'm glad about that. We don't have to do too much running around, other than her basketball game today. It's her first playing for her school. We have to hit the sporting goods store to get her knee pads first.

I started crocheting again. I've decided to work on some dishcloths. I hope I can make enough during the year to be able to give away at Christmas time. My goal is also to make ornaments and maybe bookmarks. I think they would make cute little stuffers to include with other little items. It feels good to create something again!

OK, I'm off now to get to that sporting goods store.

Have a great day!

YUCK!

Just popping in to say hi. I'm sick with a stomach bug. YUCK! THe past few days, I've been a busy bee cleaning house for company that came today. Luckily, I didn't get sick until they left. I'm not sure if it was the food or if I had this bug coming on anyway. Whatever, it's still the same result - YUCK!

I hope I can be back to visiting you all soon! I think I'll have a lot of catching up to do!

Good Afternoon, one and all! I hope you had a nice Christmas, spent with family and friends.

I had a good one. Christmas Eve was spent doing last minute shopping and wrapping, a ritual with me. Throughout the day, I prepared food items for our Christmas Eve dinner. I cooked a turkey and made some sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and rounded it out with some green beans and corn. It turned out well.

Christmas morning, we opened presents, then went to Mass. After that, we went to my mom's and had a Christmas celebration with the extended family. It was a lot of fun. It's always great to see my sister and her family. We don't see them as often as we should. My brother and SIL were missing this year as they had company visiting from Canada.

We then went visiting with my mother-in-law at the residential home that she lives in.

The rest of the night was spent playing all the games that the kids got as presents. That was a lot of fun until the kids started getting tired and arguments broke out about who was winning and losing, who was not playing the right way, and who didn't get a chance to play with THEIR game. !! SIGH!! We all called it a night after that.

Today, I have the turkey carcass simmering on the stove to make broth for turkey noodle soup. It smells so good in here. Ryan might have a different opinion about that.
He already asked me if he has to spend the day in his room as he doesn't like the smell! Gee, I thought it was a heavenly smell, to have some broth simmering. Makes the house seem so warm and comfy! My homemaker self is just so proud!

Kathryn and Steve are out for some one on one time. They are hitting the stores to find great deals on things. Ryan and Emily are playing with their new toys and I need to take the clothes out of the washer and into the dryer. I haven't done laundry in days, so I have a huge pile to work on.

Tonight we will probably head out to see Christmas lights before people start taking them down.

Have a nice day!

Merry Christmas

Christmas greetings to all of you. May you all be blessed abundantly!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

josh groban holy night

Tuesday

It's been so cold here. We're in between storms, so right now its sunny. I've enjoyed being snug and warm in the house, drinking my coffee. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I am in the winter, especially when the Christmas creamers come out!

I still have a little bit of shopping left to do, which happens every year. As much as I get an early start, I procrastinate till the very end. I must subconsciously get a thrill out of the rushing around, I don't know!

I've been wrapping as I go along, so that part won't be so bad. I usually wrap while listening to Christmas music or watching Christmas movies. This year, Kathryn wants to do more of the wrapping, so I'll gladly accept her help.

Esther, from A Catholic Mom in Hawaii, recently posted this video of Band Aid singing Do They Know it's Christmas Time. It brought back so many memories. I'm a big fan of 80's music and it was something to see some of these singers back at the height of their popularity.

Now I'm off to fix some lunch. We're having Grilled Cheese sandwiches today. Simple. Hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season. We're almost to the big day!

O Emmanuel - December 23

O Emmanuel ( God-With-Us), our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations and their Savior: come and save us, O Lord our God!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel;

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O Rex Gentium - December 22

O Rex Gentium (King of Nations), and their Desired, the Cornerstone who make all one; Come and save our race, whom you formed out of clay.

O come, desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid every sad division cease

And be thyself our Prince of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!