BBQ Sunday

I love to grill. I especially love to do it for friends and family. In our house I am the grill mistress! Today some of my hubby's friends came to enjoy some hamburgers from the grill. We all had a good time. I put on a good spread if I do say so myself. It was a lot of work to do it all on a day that I wanted to just relax but now that the kitchen is all cleaned up I feel like it was worth it.

Blessings for today
my grill
A's pack n play
giving gifts to others
the neighbor boys
sandboxes

It was supposed to be busy

Today was supposed to be busy with moving my younger sister's stuff from a storage unit to their new rental. She bailed on us so we wont be doing that. This afternoon A & I will be going with MIL to a birthday party. So this morning I will be going to pick up a gift and wrap it. I hope to have some time to work on another bag. I started another yesterday and will be done with it today (I hope). I may even get some cutie fabric and make a little dress for the little girl's gift. We'll see. After A's am nap we will be going to MILs to spend some time with her on her day off.

Today's Blessings
1. a walking boy
2. beach balls, playground balls, baseballs, and nubby balls
3. a day off of work for hubby
4. our hound dog
5. my sewing machine

Pretty Purse

Here is the purse I made yesterday. Isn't is cute? I am loving this purse. I have listed it here on my etsy store. If it doesn't sell then it will go back in the christmas presents box but I am hoping it will sell so I can make another for the gift.



It is a brown embroidered microsuede with a red cotton lining.

Next time I will be adding an interior pocket and magnetic snap closure. I will also be making these in a larger size for those of us (me) who have a few more things to fit in a purse.

So today I will be working on the next bag in this pattern. The purple and brown fabrics are my drug of choice today. I can't wait any longer so I'd better get to the machine.

Oops, I almost forgot the blessings.
1. hubby who encourages me without realizing that he has
2. a good employee working for our company
3. Sonic Strawberry Slush (yummy!)
4. my dymo labeler that helps me keep the boxes organized
5. a day to spend sewing

A new day with new blessings

1. my boy slept in his crib all night long. I didn't have to get him until 6:30 this morning. Woo Hoo!
2. visit with niece & nephew (cousins to A) today.
3. yummy fabric from Joann's yesterday (and it was all ON SALE!)
4. more work coming hubby's way
5. a chance to sew this afternoon

We have a busy day ahead. So what am I doing online? Procrastinating. I just am not really looking forward to getting in there and doing the dishes this morning. Maybe I will be a bit more motivated after I have another cup of coffee and a moment outside with it.

The yummy fabric and the sewing coming up today should get me started in making a couple of my christmas presents. I have recently read Bend The Rules by Amy Karol. I love a couple of her patterns so I think I am going to make them as gifts. I got enough material for 2 Charming Handbags and 1 Pleated Beauty Bag. Oh boy does it excite me to get some new fabric to play with that I can do for my christmas gifts. It is a little hard to justify spending money on this stuff right now but if I remind myself that it is better to spend it now than in the crunch in December I feel better about it.

Blessings everywhere

We have been keeping up with our blessings but I haven't posted them so here goes.
6/23
sleeping babies
pacifiers
wonderful working washer and dryer for Mt. Washmore
tools that help organize
my aprons

6/24
super long conversation with my mom (thanks mom, I really enjoyed that)
my own strength to do what needs to be done
crayons
a good cup of coffee
strawberries for breakfast

and today 6/25
a great friend who can almost read my mind
a little boy's patience to continue practicing walking
a hubby learning to put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket
little boy learning to feed himself
curiosity in all its forms

Today's Blessings

We had a nice relaxing day at home with the Dada today. It is fantastic that my darling hubby is able to spend some time at home with us even when work is so busy. A & I are blessed with a hard workin man.

#54. Blessings come in different ways. Today we count the food on our table, the books we read, the ground that is allowing us to grow our own food (we got our first tomato on the vine today), our dishwasher, and a happy toddler.

101 in 1001

Day Zero has a great idea that my list lovin self really likes. So here is the premise:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

My start date is today. June 22, 2008
My end date will be March 20, 2011

Key: In Progress, All Done, Attempted and Failed

My 101 by Category:

Lets get Creative
1. make all christmas gifts for 2008 [2/24]
2. recover MILs outdoor swing
3. make bedding for our bedroom
4. make another summer outfit for 2008
5. make a fall wardrobe [2 skirts, 2 pants, 6 shirts, jacket]
6. design my own top & make it
7. make 10 cloth grocery bags [0/10]
8. make a dress
9. paint a canvas for our bedroom
10. make a crafts notebook
11. finish quilting & bind A's quilt
12. finish S's stained glass jewelry box

Marriage is a beautiful thing
13. have a monthly date night [0/33]
14. Live by The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage
15. plan a fantastic 5th Anniversary trip
16. picnic date with N
17. make N lunch for 1 month [0/30]

An Apple A Day
18. go for a walk 3x a week for 3 months [0/12]
19. quit drinking soda for 3 months [0/3]
20. drink 5 glasses or more of water a day for 3 months [0/90]
21. quit smoking for 3 months [0/3]
22. no fast food for 6 months [0/6]
23. get to 192 lbs
24. get to 162 lbs
25. no candy for 30 days [0/30]
26. cook only from Cooking Healthy with a Man In Mind for 30 days [0/30]

You find out who your friends are
27. mail handmade cards for family birthdays
28. show MIL appreciation for helping with the boy in a special way
29. get together with extended family every other month [0/16]
30. scan all of grandparents photos into computer
31. write & mail a letter each month [0/33]

Not a house. A home!
32. buy a house
33. plan for decorating home
34. make my plans come alive
35. refinish coffee table
36. revamp household blessings chart (6/22/08)
37. track progress from new hb chart daily for 6 months [0/180]
38. recover sofa
39. buy a new computer
40. frame 5 B&W images with colored matte and hang them [0/5]

Money makes the world go 'round
41. get a budget together
42. save for home purchase
43. sell wedding dress
44. setup a savings account for A's college fund
45. save $10 each month for A's college fund [$0/$330]
46. put $5 into a "Fun Fund" for every completed item on this list

We only have one earth
47. recycle the cans that we have collected
48. make bins to recycle paper, glass & plastic
49. grow more of our own food
50. install CF bulbs in all rooms of our house
51. use cloth grocery bags
52. use more green cleansers in the house (7/12/08 still in progress)

Nobody's happy if mama isn't happy
53. have a monthly renew myself day [0/33]
54. count a blessing with A each day [9/1001]
55. follow a daily skin care routine for 3 months [0/90]
56. get a professional facial
57. go TV free 1 day a week for 6 months [0/26]
58. go computer free for 1 day a week for 6 months [2/26]
59. plan an exciting 30th birthday for myself

Learning keeps me young
60. learn to embroider
61. take a cooking class
62. learn enough spanish to communicate with my neighbors

Business is good
63. have a fantastic booth in the 2009 Garden & Home Show
64. start a website for Accent
65. get all tax stuff entered by Jan 09
66. photograph all 'worthy' Accent jobs
67. start etsy shop [6/27/08]

Get me organized before I go crazy
68. listen to GTD again
69. read and incorporate Organizing from the Inside Out (6/30/08)
70. get new PDA/Smartphone (7/3/08)
71. organize my house in a functional way
72. get rid of 50 things I don't love [0/50]

Reading Rainbow
73. Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
74. The Everything Budgeting Book
75. 30-Minute Get Real Meals
76. Use What You Have Decorating
77. The Organized Life by Stephanie Dalton
78. Sew What! Skirts by Francesca DenHartog
79. Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe

I want to get away
80. Visit Yellowstone, Wy
81. Visit Moab, Ut
82. go to Garden of the Gods
83. see the view from the top of Pikes Peak
84. go to a B&B

Get out of my comfort zone
85. see a scary movie with hubby
86. take a dance class
87. *private* AMOSWN
88. buy something sexy to not sleep in
89. write a fantasy short story

Parenting is not easy but it is rewarding
90. take A to the zoo
91. take A to the Children's Museum
92. visit the Denver Art Museum with A
93. Incorporate The Creative Family into our family
94. set aside time weekly for creativity [3/33]
95. read to A for 15 min daily for 30 consecutive days [0/30]
96. take A for professional photographs

Randomness
97. write a letter to myself to open on my 30th birthday
98. get a new high quality santoku knife
99. have a yard sale
100. buy new camera lens
101. blog a Week of Color

Bonus: start a new 101/1001 list at the end of this one

34 of 100 Things That Make Me Happy

1. My husband. He is a great provider and can almost always make me smile.
2. My son. His laughter lights up my life.
3. Family photos. I cherish them now but know in the future some will make great conversation with my son's girlfriends.
4. My sewing machine. I have far more uses for this machine than my time and energy currently allow but we will have years together.
5. Books. Confession: I have taken more than one "sick day" from work to read.
6. The computer. It is my connection to the world on days when I really don't want to venture out into it.
7. Nail polish. It never stays pretty long enough but I always feel girly when I have enough time to do my nails.
8. Aprons. Especially the ones that I have made.
9. Completed projects. Big or small doesn't matter as long as I can check them off my list.
10. Good dessert. I really like chocolate but it could be just about any kind of dessert.
11. My BHG Pink Cookbook. Yep this one is gonna be on my kitchen counter for years.
12. Kitchen tongs.
13. Santoku knife. I would like a better one for christmas but the one I have works just fine for now.
14. Coffee maker. Some days I have to have coffee. I like those days.
15. Cuisinart panini press/grill. I love to make bacon in this cause I have yet to burn it like I do in a pan.
16. Dishwashers. I hate doing dishes by hand so my dishwasher makes me happy by default.
17. Air Conditioning. It is gone from my car and I really miss it.
18. Organization. I like an orderly house but I am really happy when I can find anything because it has been organized.
19. Candles. I would burn candles in every room every minute of the day if it weren't for the whole fire hazard bit. Ahhh, Party Lite Candles. Do you have a favorite brand/scent of candle?
20. Washer & Dryer. I cannot imagine a life of washing clothes on a wash board and drying them on a line. Although whenever we get our house I will be putting up a drying line for linens. Who could resist a line of bedsheets soaking up the sun?
21. Modern kitchen appliances. I could never be a pioneer. Wouldn't want to cause I like my fridge and stove too much. Let's not forget the microwave.
22. High chair. Makes feeding soooo much easier and that makes me happy.
23. When my little boy is helpful. We fold laundry together on the big bed and he will hand me hangers. Puts a smile on my face every time.
24. Toys that inspire thought and creativity. If I could do it over again I would ask my family to only purchase toys that have these characteristics. Someday when the boy outgrows the current toys he will have much more natural toys and far less plastic.
25. Dreaming about our future house. I love to plan the decorations on this imaginary house.
26. Dreams of winning Powerball. I know that it is something that probably will never happen to us but oh boy do I have plans if it does.
27. Bubble baths. I haven't had a good bubble bath since I was pregnant and I wouldn't exactly call it a good bath since I had a basketball hiding under my skin.
28. The Big Bed! I <3 our big bed. I love the hugeness of it and how soft it is and how comfortable it is and how tall it is and ... I could go on forever about the big bed.
29. Smiles of wonder. When my son delights in all that is awe inspiring and wonderful in this world he gets a special smile that melts me.
30. Time with my family. It never feels like enough time when we are all together.
31. Time alone. I have always been a bit introverted and like it when I have some time alone.
32. My camera. I love to take pictures and my camera inspires me to take them more often.
33. My living indoor plants. I have never met a plant that I could keep alive inside until I met my Cyclamen. From then on I felt like I might have been getting a bit of a green thumb. So now I have more of them.
34. Jammies. I would wear white silk jammies to bed every night if I had them. I don't so I settle for green & blue striped cotton.

Well it is way past my bedtime so I should get into those jammies. I will fill in the rest of these in the next few days.

Yesterday was FANTASTIC!

Big thanks to my MIL for taking the little one for the day. I was able to finish making the top and capri pants that I started forever ago. I feel so refreshed and ready to tackle the things I need to get done now. It is a great feeling. By the time I finished sewing the top and pants I was kinda done with the sewing for the day. I was also missing my boy so I went over there to visit earlier than the original plan. Looking back I could have done a few other things here. That is a time when a specific list would have really helped me to stay away from the fridge and on task. But I was feeling lost so I had to get out of the house.
Here is my lovely new outfit. I really like how comfortable the pants are but the top has a few issues. I do like the pattern though so I may make another in a different material with a few changes. I want to make the top a bit longer and fix the straps so the underside of my arms aren't rubbed by the interfaced material.
I am also going to make another pair of these pants in a darker material. I like the fit of them but want something more practical for playing with a busy toddler.

The next project on the block is curtains for my dad's bedroom. They should be super simple because it is just going to be straight panels with tab tops. Super easy. I should get the material cut while the boy is sleeping.

A day to renew myself

My wonderful Mother In Law is taking my darling boy for the day tomorrow. She called me the other day and told me that I looked tired and she would take him for the day. What a woman. I love her. LOTS!
I am looking forward to renewing my body and spirit tomorrow.
My goals for the day:
1. a cup of coffee and some time cuddled up on my chair in the backyard and some reading
2. finishing my top that I started (Simplicity 3760)
3. finish the clutch I started (Kwik Sew free pattern)
4. posting my wedding dress on Craigslist
5. my usual household blessings

Oh boy am I excited to tomorrow. I think I will start my day off now by going to bed early.

Laundry Day

Today I got a ton of laundry done. (That means about half of what I started out with. So tomorrow after I get home from my meeting I will be finishing the rest of it.) I also had enough time to do my dishes and unload them before lunchtime. It helped that the little guy took a 2 hour nap this morning. Then this afternoon when to the garbage in a hurry. My mini monster and I fought about a nap for 2 hours in order for him to take a 30 min nap this afternoon. I would have been better off to let him play longer and get tired but when he is so cranky a nap is a MUST.

Tomorrow is gonna be super busy. Guess I should get to bed so I can be up and at 'em by 6:30.

Tostada Pizza

Before becoming a SAHM I did not cook much. Since I have been at home I cook almost every night. I send thanks to my Mother In Law, Susan, for the Better Home & Gardens New Cookbook Limited (Pink) Edition. There are so many super yummy recipes in this book. A go to recipe for us is Tostada Pizza. I made this earlier this week but do not recommend making this during the hot summer months unless you have air conditioning.
You need:
1 lb of ground beef
1 onion
1 (4 oz) can of diced green chiles
1 envelope of taco seasoning mix
1 tsp chili powder
spray olive oil
some cornmeal
10 oz package of refrigerated pizza dough
15 oz can of pintos with jalapenos
4 oz shredded cheese (we use cheddar)
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato

1. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Add green chiles, taco seasoning and water as directed on package, and chili powder. Simmer until liquid is gone.
2. Grease baking pan with spray olive oil. Sprinkle cornmeal to prevent dough from sticking. (This also gives the dough a bit of cornbread flavor.) pat dough into rectangle. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
3. Mash pintos in bowl. Spread over partially baked dough. Spoon meat mixture over beans. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle cheese over top and put back in oven for 1-2 minutes until melted.
4. Cut into squares. Top squared to be served with lettuce and tomato. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a couple of days and topped as they are reheated.

Randomness

inspired by Two Cups of Coffee

Reading: how to raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin

Listening to: Scream Free Parenting by Hal Edward Runkel
Craft Project: Simplicity 3760 view C top for me. I need to make something for myself with the new sewing machine.
Latest Recipe: Zucchini & Tomato Frittata from First Meals by Annabel Karmel. Yummy breakfast and the little one loved it too.
Project with the kid: Getting him to sleep when he is supposed to.
On my to do list: scrubbing the bathroom (among other things). I put new light bulbs in and holy dirty bathroom Batman.
Next Daring Feat: a commitment to walking and blogging daily in June. Dang, it's already June 2nd. Oops. No better day to start than today right?
Want: a Starbucks in my kitchen complete with Barista, a house elf that would do my dishes for me every night, and more time to sew, read, craft and maintain the household.
Need: the love of my men, and a roof over my head. It is bliss that my need is met daily.