Take me away to Margaritaville (and maybe the thrift store too)

I swear Martha is a women after my own heart. I just got the May issue of MSL yesterday and I think it's one of the best ones yet. Margaritas are my absolute favorite drink and there were 3 whole pages of margartia recipes. I really want to try the watermelon & basil and the pink grapfruit ones. They just sounds so refreshing. Now only if it could warm up about 20 degrees!

I also had a successful trip to the thrift store on Monday sans child. John had off work because D.C. celebrates Emancipation Day so D.C. schools were closed. I much more enjoy thrifting alone. That way I don't have little grabby hands pulling things off shelves or whining every time I pick something up.

Anyway, I found several bags of rick-rack, seam binding, and sewing needles. I also picked up this bag of fabrics. I love the gold with the white polka dots, it's my favorite out of all them.

I really need to stop reading blogs, because after I saw all of Karyn's pillowcase totes, I felt the need to buy a couple. I picked up three, but they have yet to be made into anything.

This pillowcase is my favorite, I almost don't want to cut it up!

I also found 2 really pretty sheets.
And I finally got around to reworking a custom order I had from almost 2 months ago. It was a frustrating project because I had to basically cut the whole thing apart. I took the top off and sewed it to the bottom, added batting, and a stabilizer. In the end, I'm happy with the way it came out and sometimes, I think that's when all the frustrations are worth it. Hope she likes the finished product!

Tragedy and Hope

By now I'm sure all of you have heard of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. It is unimaginable how everyone involved must feel. It was everywhere in the news around here. We are only about 4 hours away and a lot of kids from the area go to VT. While driving to and from the thrift store, I listened to the radio, people were calling in with children there or alumnus, shocked at the news and in disbelief that something like this could occur is such a small, quiet community. The news also covered many area colleges, like mine, that were gathering for prayer for the victims & their families, and the whole community of VT. I feel such a deep sadness for the people involved and I hope that you all will keep them in your thoughts & prayers.

When such bad things happen, it seems only appropriate to talk about the good people are doing in the world. I'm sure some of you are readers of the blog AfricanKelli. Kelli's blog is one of the blogs I read on a daily basis. She always has such inspirational things to say, is a crafty girl, and is a downright nice person (and I know this, even though I've never actually met her!). Anyway, next month she is traveling to Mozambique and visiting two orphanges. The sweet person she is would love to bring goody bags for the children there. She is asking for help in putting some together, so if you'd like to help, visit her blog and contact her. Plus, stay around and read the rest of her blog. I promise it's a good one!

Christmas in April

My package from the Spring Fling Swap arrived this weekend. It was so very exciting to get my package and a very funny story to accompany it arriving. Saturday my husband and I were completely exhausted (Isaiah's teething), so while Isaiah decided to take a 3 1/2 hr (yay!) nap, we decided we'd nap too. Well, towards the end of the nap, a large knock at the doors wakes us up. My husband, who is always delirious when he first wakes up, jumps out of bed and is running around the room trying to find a shirt to put on. I finally said, "John, just open the dresser." So, eventually he makes it downstairs, only to find my swap package at the door. He came upstairs and just threw it on the bed, saying "I knew I shouldn't have gotten up, who'd be knocking at our door in the middle of the day!?" Hahah. He was less than pleased about his nap being disturbed.

Anyway, my partner Bee did a wonderful job. I'm not sure my pictures are going to do any justice as we have had 2 straight days of gloomy, rainy weather.

Very cool wrapping of the packages, I'll save that for later crafting.

This is what each letter of the package represented

Close up of the pincushion, which believe it or not, is the first actual pincushion I own. I have a magnetic one, but not a real one.
She cleverly used the "I" for Isaiah and sent him a chick and a bunny. He has since hid the chick on me, and this was the best picture I could get of him holding the bunny.

Bee thrifted this nest and the birds as well as the base to the pincushion. She made the pincushion , the drawstring bag, and the pink bunny. She Thanks so much Bee. I love them all!


I'm sending my package out today, so hopefully she gets it quickly so I can post what I sent!

Who wants to play a game?

Isaiah and I have a great neighborhood to go walking in. We live across the street from a park and a river and down the road from a very pretty mansion. Sometimes it's hard to believe that we live so close to a city. I really enjoy living here because growing up, I did not live in a neighborhood. I actually lived in the boonies in NY which was originally a large farm. We lived in the original farmhouse and I could barely see our neighbors. I did love our house and the huge yard we had, but I sometimes missed not being near my friends or a playground. Anyway, this really has nothing to do with the post, but I was just thinking about my old house, and sigh, I do miss it!

Ok... onto the game. So as I was saying, Isaiah and I take a lot of walks and one day last week, we walked by possibly the most tacky house I have ever seen. I mean, the house itself is not bad, but the front yard is something else. I have never seen so much stuff in one yard in my entire life. And it's not like it's big things either, it's a collection of a bunch of little tiny things. The other day I made my cousin drive by it with me and she actually thought they had just decorated it for Easter. I was like hmmmm nooo... that stuff is here all the time!

Anyway, I should say first, that I'm not trying to offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. I simply cannot understand how one could live with that much stuff in their yard! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a super neat, clutter free person, because I'm not. But, I cannot imagine having all those tiny little things in my yard, every single day!

I got to thinking, and I bet that many of you have houses like these in your neighborhoods, and I'd love to see them. So, does anyone want to play a game/have a contest with me? Here's how it would work:

If you'd want to participate, just e-mail me a picture of the house/yard (it might even be yours!) and tell me where you live, let's not say street or any other real identifying factors, just to play it safe.

Each day, I'll post 1 or 2 on my blog and you can post it on yours as well. After everyone who is participating has entered, we'll do a little voting and see who has the most tacky house/yard in their neighborhood. I'll send a little prize to the winner.

Just a few things: I really am not trying to be mean to anyone, I just want to know WHY!!! So, let's say your house looks like this, then maybe you can supply an explanation. Also, you might want to be on the sly about taking a photo of someone else's house. Better yet, send your husband, or your kid( if they're old enough, of course). Haha. I took mine while I was walking with Isaiah and put the camera on the stroller, then hightailed it out of there. I don't want any reports of injuries from you trying to escape, so be careful!

O.K. anyone in? Here's my photo, I hope to get a better one next time, so I can get a close up of all the little individual things. I just might pretend I'm in mission impossible or something.

and if this is your house, I'd love to know how freakin long it took you to collect all those things!

Not much to show

I'm busy crafting away for the Spring Fling Swap (hi Bee!), so I don't have much to show craft wise. I don't wait to spoil the surprise. My swap partner lives all the way in New Zealand, so the suspense will even be longer when my package is sent off to her. I've found some great things for her, so I can't wait to get the package together and for her to get it!

Anyway, since I don't have much to show, I thought I'd share a fun website for all you book readers. It's particulary good for this time of year because it encourages some Spring Cleaning! If you don't know about it already, you should go check it out. It's called PaperBackSwap and I believe I found it in Blueprint Magazine. Anyway, the premise is very simple. You start by listing 8 books that you would be willing to part with, and in turn you get 3 credits. These credits allow you to then request books from other swapers. So far I think I have sent 2 books, with another being sent today. I have also received 3 books. Each time you send a book out, you get another credit.

I was a bit skeptical about it at first, but so far it's working out. Best of all, it's free (for right now at least). They also have SwapaCD, which I haven't tried yet, but sounds fun. Anyway, go check it out, it's a good chance to get some books you've been wanting to read for a while and you can get rid of some of those dusty ones on your shelf!

(And no, I wasn't paid to talk about this!)

On the road to recovery

Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. Isaiah seems to be doing well and probably hasn't even noticed that he has a big goop of glue on his forehead. Yesterday it was just too much for me to be in the house, risking him hitting his head again, so I headed off to the thrift store. We weren't there but 2 minutes when a little girl passed us and looked up at Isaiah and said "eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww". I almost had to run her down with my cart, but don't worry, I controlled myself. I'm only (halfway) kidding.

This morning I spent my time running after Isaiah, picking up all the books on the floor, making sure he was going to hit his head. I swear this is making me paranoid, but I don't want my poor baby to have a big scar in the middle of his forehead. That would not make for a good modeling career. Haha. Then again, Owen Wilson has a big crooked nose and he's successful. Ahh.. anyway, I went to Target and all of the Easter things are 75% off and the dollar spot is 50%. So if you're in the mood for some shopping and haven't had your fill of Easter candy yet, go check it out. I got 2 bags of my beloved Cadbury Mini Eggs for just .69 each. Now that's a bargain!

Lately, I haven't been too much in the mood for sewing. After getting all my fabric and notions organized it just seems too much to mess it up! I'm not very good about putting away my fabric as I use it. I've really felt like painting a lot, so last night I went out in the shed and got a scrap piece of wood. So, this is what I'm working on now. I'm using a piece of vintage scarf from my MIL. Haven't really figured out what I'm going to do after that.

I'm also using a technique I learned in high school. It's actually pretty cool and very easy to do. It basically takes an image and makes it look like stained glass. Here's a picture of it, although it didn't turn out all that well because I didn't put enough layers on, but I promise it works. Here's what you do:

Take anything printed on plan paper, like a photocopy, or in this case, I'm using a coloring book I found at the thrift store. You can either color it with pencils, crayons, or acrylic paints. You also could do the image first, then paint it after it dries. Then using an Acrylic Medium (I used Liquitex Gel Medium, Gloss), brush layers over image. Let dry and continue applying layers, drying in between, until fairly thick (like 5-8 layers). When completely dry, wet back of papers and begin rolling the backing off. Here's what the back looks like when it starts to peel off.

You can add more water if you need to do so. When finished, the image should be semi-transparent. (I haven't completely finished taking the back off).You can then glue it onto almost any surface. I'm going to do another one tonight, so hopefully that will turn out better. Hope some of you guys try this, it's really fun and easy.

Starting the day with a bang!

My day literally started with a bang. Just before I was going to put Isaiah down for a nap, he banged his head on our end table (a curved one, nonetheless) and blood started gushing out. Of course, I freaked out and grabbed the closest thing to me, which was a wipe, and tried to stop the bleeding. Isaiah's screaming, I'm crying and I'm trying to find something more appropriate to stop all the bleeding. Before I could finally find a wash cloth, I used the sleeve of my sweatshirt (I knew those hoodies were good for something!). Finally I got Isaiah to calm down, and he just layed across my lap watching Sesame Street.
like nothing happened at all!




Now the real reason I was really freaking out is this: We just moved, I didn't change Isaiah's pediatrician, and I don't even know how to get to the hospital! So suffice it to say that I was even more upset when I called my husband's cell phone and couldn't reach him. Ahh.. the trauma of it all. Finally I found his work number and he came home. Thank goodness because he was totally in control of the situation.





I ran out to the drug store for some butterfly bandaids, but I quickly realized this wasn't going to work. So John made all the phone calls to the health insurance and found us a pediatrician that would see us.
mommy's Dr. skills



Isaiah was completely fine the whole time. He was walking around, laughing, playing with the toys at the Dr.'s office (yuck), and talking up a storm with some other people there.





The Dr. told us she could probably just fix it with Dermabond, no stitches needed. The worst part about this situation was that we had to wrap him in a sheet and hold him down. I held his legs, daddy his arms, and the nurse held his head. The poor kid was screaming so loud that the entire office could hear him. Luckily he recovered quickly and is now taking a nap as I am writing this.

with the Dermabond

The challenge is, as the Dr. reminded us many times, is going to be preventing him from hitting his head again. Oh boy, wish me luck with this one. Isaiah is such a physical boy and is always banging his head on something. As long as we have no other head splitting open instances, I think I'll be o.k. Now I think it's time for me to have a nap too. Poor mommy.

Hmm now that I'm writing this, it reminds me of Lera's post about her son!

Easter Recap

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. We had Easter dinner here at our house. It was our first holiday that we had in our new house. My cousin (Jenna) and her boyfriend(Matt) came over as did my husband's parents. Jenna and I spent a couple of hours in our tiny kitchen cooking up a storm. We are very alike in the fact that we care about the presentation of the food and love trying new recipes. If there was anyone else working with me in the small kitchen, I'd probably have a huge fit. One of my major pet peeves is when there's too many people in the kitchen while I'm trying to cook. However, Jenna and I work so well in the kitchen, we hardly even notice that there's two of us doing different things in there. It's probably due to the fact that we spent our childhood pretending we were hosting our own t.v. food show! (Although that's a totally different post)



Anyway, we had a very delicious menu:


Grilled Lamb, courtesy of my FIL
Honey Ham
Roasted Root Vegetables
Iceberg Wedges w/ Gorgonzola Dressing
Caramelized Onion & Sage Potatoes Gratin
Buttermilk Biscuits from The Joy of Cooking



Desert was a special treat for my husband and Matt. They had previously bonded over Profiteroles (yet another story for another post), so I surprised them and made some homemade ones from Martha's Baking book. Speaking of Martha, my other dessert was supposed to be sugar cookies using my Williams-Sonoma Easter cookies cutters I found at the thrift store. However, this recipe did not turn out, so we had a sugar cookie pie instead.



Also in my crazy haze of everyone coming over, I thought it would be a great idea to make these chocolate eggs I saw on the MS website. Oh was it crazy indeed. The whole process was a pain in the butt. First, I almost passed out from blowing out 8 eggs. Then I had to boil them in hot water and pat them down. Then I had to dye them. Next I realized I was supposed to let the eggs dry out for 2-3 days. I didn't let that stop me, so I put them in the hot oven to dry out. Yesterday morning I began the process of tempering the chocolate to fill the eggs. The worst part was filling the eggs through the tiny hole (not so tiny after I was done) in the egg. I had chocolate everywhere. I must say, everyone was quite impressed, but I was left feeling it wasn't so worth all the trouble! Here's a comparison of Martha's egg and my egg.



I was, however, very proud of my "tablescape."

My cousin and I were laughing about this terminology all week when I told her that I had a beautiful table setting in mind. If you ever watch the foodnetwork, you might know how funny it is to watch Sandra Lee. Anyway, a lot of the items were thrifted. The table cloth, jars, and the glasses holding the candy. I can't believe how cheaply I found the things for:

Table cloth: $3.95

Glass Jars: .80 each

Glass: .40 each

I also made my husband go outside a find a tree to cut branches off. He was apprehensive at first saying, "I'm probably going to get arrested. Those trees are park property." I told him to just go do it and tell them that his crazy wife made him do it for the sake of the tablescape. Haha. Luckily no one was arrested and the table looked exactly as I had pictured it.

Oh, and I never finished Isaiah's jacket for Easter, so he'll have to wear it some other time. I also didn't get any great pictures of him on my camera. I think I was too worried about my tablescape! Hopefully my cousin and MIL got some good ones so I can share them with you. Oh and the Easter bunny didn't come to visit either. Thank God for Godmommies and Nanas that come bearing nice Easter baskets!

Anyway, hopefully the weather warms up soon. I did not really enjoy the 40 degree Easter weather! Today is the last day of my husband's spring break, so I'm hoping to go the thrift store for the 25% off Mondays. Wish me luck.

Hippity Hoppity

Remember I posted about these the other day? (Also you can also check out Alicia's at Posie Gets Cozy.) Well last night I thought I'd try my hand at one because I was feeling too lazy to finish Isaiah's jacket. By the way, thanks for all the feedback on it yesterday!




Anyway, friends, meet Emily the Easter Bunny:






Emily is a piece of work. She wanted to wear her Sunday best. She begged me to make her a gathered a gathered skirt with vintage seam binding. Then she requested pearls! Can you believe that, pearls? Have you ever heard of such a thing. And as if that wasn't enough, she wanted a pink ribbon around her neck too. Boy, I tell you, she is worth the $85 Jennifer Murphy charges for hers! Later she'll probably ask me for a bouquet of flowers!





After all this dressing up, Emily was very tired. She decided she needed to sit (and I decided I didn't want to hold her in place until the glue dried). She's sitting on a beautiful bed of flowers, which is no more than scrapbook paper glued to a film canister (who has those anymore?).


Excuse me Emily, let me get a close up of your seat. Don't be modest.





Smile for the camera.

Emily will be gracing our dinner table on Sunday. Happy Easter, or Passover, or whatever you it is that you celebrate this spring!

A suit for Isaiah

When my niece was first born, my sister-in-law and I made a lot of clothes for her. They always had the cutest patterns and fabrics for little girls. This is one of my favorite ones we made for her. It's hard to believe this was 4 years ago!

Since Isaiah has been born, I have not sewn one single thing for him. I mean, I have done a lot of other sewing, but nothing for Isaiah. So, as if I didn't have enough Easter projects going, I thought I'd make him a jacket from this thrift store pattern. I used the only boyish looking fabric I had, which coincidentally is also from the thrift store.

Isaiah was less than cooperative in taking this picture. I wanted him to try it on before I hemmed it. I'm not really sure I'm in love with this thing. Definitely not my favorite thing that he has in his wardrobe. I was planning on putting a white polo shirt underneath it with some khaki pants. Gosh, that just sounds so super preppy! The pattern shows a much cuter version. Maybe if I had a different fabric I'd like it better. Oh, what to do, what to do. The pattern also calls for buttons. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that. What do you guys think? Any ideas on spicing it up?

Why is it that they have a million cute patterns for girls and like only 2 for boys? It just seems so unfair! I'd like to dress my little boy up too!

I'm so forgetful!

How dare I offer a giveaway and forget to pick the winner! Must have slipped my mind between all the puking/coughing/sleeping this weekend. Anyway, Isaiah was my little helper this morning picking the winner. I'll remember not to ask him next time! haha. Sooo the winner is....

Lera e-mail me your address and I'll send them off to you. Maybe you can use them for your applique addiction!

Apparently, Isaiah wanted to have two winners. Surprise! So, the second winner of these 4 fabrics is.......

LeeAnn e-mail me your address to katiebhandbags@gmail.com!

And for good measure, Isaiah decided to eat the paper after picking the winner!

Fabric Envy

I have been feeling the need to buy fabric a lot lately. Mostly because I read a lot of blogs, and then I fall in love with their fabrics, and then I want them.

This happened the first time I saw these fabrics from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy line. Of course, this was followed by oogling other gorgeous fabrics, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, you get the idea. The point is, I have resisted buying these fabrics and I don't know how much longer I can do it! I have yet to actually see any of these fabrics in any store. I have, however, searched out the retailers of such fabrics, but have decided that it might just be a little too obsessive to go to one just for that fabric! After all, I do have more than enough fabric to clothe an army! Now Densye Schmidt has a new line coming out and it's just as cute as her first. And it's called Katie Jump Rope. It shares a namesake with me! See it must be a sign that I am meant to have these fabrics! I am such a sucker for fabrics that have a vintage look to them. How do you guys deal with your fabric or supplies obsessions?

I go thrifting! haha. Is this healthy? In the last week, I have been to the thrift store 3 times. I did find lots of nice things, including something for my Spring Pink & Green Swap! I also found this really cute table cloth by Oleg Cassini. Fancy Schmancy. He was the one responsible for dressing Jackie O!

And some vintage bias tape for .65! Almost too pretty to cut up. I just might have to use them to embellish some bunnies. Did anyone catch Martha yesterday? They made the most adorable Pom-Pom Bunnies! Like I need another project. Anyway, you can go here if you need the instructions or if you missed the show!

A crafty weekend

Thank you so much for all your well wishes! After Thursday night's episode, we're all feeling much better with only a few sniffles left.

Saturday we took Isaiah to his first Easter egg hunt at Riversdale Mansion right down the street from us. We got there, and I realized I had forgotten the camera so I walked back to our house to get it. By the time I got back, Isaiah, of course, had already lost interest in the whole process. I think he may have been intimidated by the other kids running after all the eggs and was more interested in watching them go for the eggs. I managed to catch a few shots of him in action, but this is my favorite.

Yesterday was my husband's 25th birthday. We went out to dinner with my cousin and her boyfriend on Saturday night. They had planned to take Isaiah overnight on Saturday, but since Isaiah was still a little sick, we had to change our plans. It was a little disappointing because I was looking forward to a night out alone with hubby, but it turned out to be a really fun night after all.

I was able to complete 2 craft projects that I have been wanting to do for a while. I finally finished this little wristlet I had started like two months ago. It's made from scraps that I had from other projects. I also added a layer of batting and did a little quilting on the front. I used Kelli's wristlet tutorial, which is very easy to follow! So thank you Kelli!

I also made this apron from the InStitches book. I couldn't really take a great photo of it, but I'm really happy with the way it came out. This was actually a fairly quick project, so I recommend it if you need a quick sewing fix.

And in other news, I am soooo excited that it is finally baseball season!! Last night hubby and I cracked open some beers and watched the Mets and the Cards. Today at 2pm I'll be watching my beloved Yankees on tv. I can't wait to go to some baseball games this year. It is by far my favorite summer activity to do. I don't think there's anything better to do (well other than crafting, of course!) then going to a baseball game, drinking beer and eating a hot dog! We live close to both the Orioles and the Nationals, so hopefully we'll be able to go many times!!

Oh What A Night...

Last night, after putting Isaiah to bed, I made myself dinner and a very nice and well deserved margarita. Halfway through the second one, I thought I'd check on Isaiah. I went into his room (and it was probably the tequila thinking), and thought "hmm I don't remember putting that many toys in his bed." Then I smelled something funny, turned on the light, and realized he had thrown up everywhere, crawled through it, and gone back to sleep! Ahh.. major mom moment. I felt soo bad, so I woke him up and starts saying "what? what? what?" (BTW he has never said what before!) Anyway, I clean him up, bring him downstairs to give him so water. He was walking around and playing while I was talking to my sister in law. Then he starts to cough again, and throws up all over me, the couch and our new carpet! So, if you're counting, this would be changed of clothes #2. A few minutes after changing him, he threw up again! Change the clothes, again, which turns out not to be an easy task because most of his clothes were either dirty or wet in the wash. Meanwhile, I'm trying to call my husband at job #2 to see if he could come home, but he was really busy and couldn't. So, I decided to drive to the nearest 24 hr CVS, Isaiah in tow, which just happens to be in College Park. All the kids are going to the bars and here I am bringing my sick 1 year old child to CVS. Ha!

Of course, I start to feel sick, so Isaiah and I pass out in bed, coughing sporatically throughout the whole night. Hubby had to go to work this morning, but luckily he was able to come home around 11:30. I slept most of the day, as did Isaiah, and I think we're both feeling a little better. Although Isaiah started crying as soon as hubby had to go to work again tonight, but, that wasn't anything a little ice cream couldn't cure!

So tonight, I may get around to sewing. Last night I had started making so more baskets, figuring maybe the margaritas would help, but apparently Isaiah had some other plans.

Anyway, I thought having a giveaway would make me feel better. It will be six sample fabrics from a bunch that I picked up from the thrift store. Each is about 9 x 7 inches, big enough to do some applique, scrap work, or you can fold one in a half to make a pouch. I have not washed them, or taken off the stickers, so if you win, you'll have to do that. Anyway, just leave a comment and I'll choose the winner monday or tuesday (probably tuesday haha). Happy weekend all.

Dear Martha

Dear Martha,

I had high hopes for this project, but you have failed me once again. The first time, it was the Buttercream Icing for Isaiah's birthday cake. Now it is those little pipecleaner baskets in your latest MSL edition. I had visions of cadbury mini eggs filling six, one for each of my Easter guests. I even found pipecleaners already in the right colors, because Lord knows I wasn't going to dye any. I sat down last night, excited about my Easter project, and read the directions ever so carefully. I cut and weaved and was extremely disappointed. Unhappy with this, I thought I'd opt for the larger basket version. Martha, how many times will I have to do this project in order to get a perfectly woven and symmetrical basket? Did you have your worker bees making hundreds of these, just to photograph one for your magazine? Chances are, you didn't even make one yourself. No, I will not admit defeat, and I will carry on with this project. I will make more, because that after all, is the Martha way. My guests will have their own baskets of goodies on Easter, even if my fingers are worn from weaving those baskets. And I will make those bunny eggs, too. See my devotion, Martha? You should hire me. Seriously.

Sincerely yours,

Katie

I know some of you also had issues with this project. Anyone else come out with perfect ones? I must say the larger one came out better, but it's still lopsided. It'll probably be tonight's project during Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy.

I was hoping to do some sewing last night, but somehow I have misplaced my zipper foot. Hmm... could it be in one of our 10 unpacked boxes!?!? By the way, thanks for your comments yesterday, allowing me to not feel so guilty about those boxes still being there! Lucky for me, hubby has the entire week of next week for Spring Break! He has no idea what's in store for him (unless of course he's reading this, love you babe!).

Oh, and does anyone else dislike Sanjaya still being on American Idol as much as I do??? It drives me nuts!!!!!!!!!!!

a bunch of gibberish

I spent this morning driving around trying to find an address to pick up free patterns and cooking light magazines. I saw an add on freecycle.org and someone was giving them away. She said she would leave the things on her porch this morning by 7:30 am. So I drove over there around 9, and nothing was there. I even emailed her last night to make sure she was putting them out, and she said she would. Then I thought, well maybe I have the wrong address, so I drove up and down the street (which is very long and stretched across a major road) to see if anyone had something on their porch resembling these items. I did, however, notice the millions of neighborhood watch signs around, thinking that someone was probably snooping and wondering why I was driving up and down the street!

Twenty minutes later I decided maybe it was time to leave and go check out the thrift store. I found a couple of interesting jars, and something for the swap, but nothing in the fabric department. I really need to go check out some more stores in the area! So after leaving the store, I decided to drive by the house again to see if the items were there, but no such luck. Hopefully she'll e-mail me back to let me know what's going on.

Anyway, I've been having a hard time finding the motivation to do any crafting. I mean, I really want to, but I've been feeling so tired by the time Isaiah goes to bed, that I hardly have any motivation to do so! Our house is still packed with moving boxes, so anytime that I have a free second, I feel I should be doing something to get the house in order. Ugh, the work of a housewife! I should be getting paid for this!

Last night I did manage to get one teeny tiny thing made. Hopefully there will soon be others to join her and I'll have something to show you.

In other news, I found this great coffee drink at Target yesterday. If any of you are Starbucks fanatics like I am, you probably know about the Java Chip Frappucino. My hubby loves them, and as soon as I saw this, I thought he'd love it. I think they were $3.99 for 6, which is just about the same as paying for 1 starbucks drink. It's a powdered mix that you add coffee, milk, or water to and either serve over ice or blend with ice. They're really tasty and highly recommend them!

And for a good laugh, yesterday after Isaiah went to bed I thought I'd plant some more seeds. It was so nice outside, I think it got up to 85! Anyway, after planting the seeds, I went inside to fill up the watering can and then went along, happily watering my plants. Then all of a sudden I felt a large wet drop, which I thought was bird poop because it couldn't possibly be rain with a bright sunny sky. Oh, you guessed it, a quick afternoon shower, and me standing outside watering the garden with a watering can. Hmmm... now my neighbors must really think I'm crazy!