Life is a series

of choices. Some are easy and some are a bit harder like.... Which of the three bottles of hand soap should you choose when washing your hands in the main floor bathroom?

Why there are not one, not two but three bottles of soap is a mystery to me. Most likely someone got lazy about running one of them upstairs when assigned the task of refilling the soap.

I guess we're all about choices in this house.

I have these huge

blank spaces on the walls in my living room. I had declared that I wasn't going to buy or hang anything up until the walls were painted. Fair enough. Painting will happen soon enough so I can wait.

Last night I stopped in at Target. On my list was a pair of jeans for myself (I don't usually buy jeans from Target, but I was desperate and it was the only place open.), a swimsuit for myself (yuck. When else do you spend $40 on something that doesn't totally flatter you to the fullest? Again, I need something before this weekend and Target was my only option at this time of night.), and one more thing.

That was it. My list was 3 items long.

After I tried on every pair of jeans in the store and every swimsuit that was even remotely padded and covered all the vital areas, I wandered off to find the last thing on my list.


On my way, I found a new black hat for me (replacing the one I lost last week, definitely a necessity), a pair of gloves for Hubby (actually, make that two pairs to replace the stinky ones he wears now) and this baby... Yes, it had an orange sticker.

Yes, it was on clearance. The 75% off clearance for that matter. (a whopping $24.95.)

How could I pass it up? Yes, I did do a bit of hemming and hawing because that's what I do. Iit's almost exactly what I'm looking for so the chances of me finding something similar again are slim to none. Especially at that price. Into my cart it went.

As of this moment, I have no buyer's remorse. It's a keeper. It'll look smashing on the wall above my piano.

The gift card to Real Deals that I was saving for a clock will now be able to be used for something else. Anyone game for a trip Up Valley with me?

(For the record, I did buy a pair of jeans and a tankini top last night. Not sure if I'll keep the swimsuit yet. The jeans are a definite maybe. I'll have to try them on again. How could you not love Target when you're in a pinch?! I walked out with a bill about what the full price of the clock would have been. Love it!)

Pausing for a moment

to reflect on the simples pleasures of life.

• The snow gently falling to the ground.
• The smell of lemon bars baking in the oven.
• The washer humming.
• The dishwasher purring.
• The dreams tumbling thru the heads of the toddlers.
• The peacefulness of the afternoon.
• The anticipation of escaping for the weekend with Hubby and a group of other couples.
• The sewing mess on the kitchen table.
• The stack of packages waiting to be mailed.
• The simplicity of the needs of my children.
• The sparkling clean, freshly organized freezer.
• The music playing softly in the background.
• The joy of life.

When the cat is away

I take out my machine to play. Hubby was working on a side job last night so... I decided to take full advantage and got some sewing done. It felt a bit funny to do it when it was dark out and with the whole family swirling about but I didn't complain! :)

My kids were awesome and when Baby Doll made her way my direction, one of the Bigs snagged her before she got to me. I didn't even have to ask, growl or scowl. Now that is a rarity.

I got three blankets done before it was time to clean up. Any little bit counts! I'll take what I can get.

I woke up this morning

in a sort of funk which got worse as the morning progressed. I pulled out my sewing machine thinking I could sew my way out of it. Nope. Only made it worse. I couldn't sew straight if my life depended on it. Check it out.

Corners that don't line up, zig zagging taking a detour to kingdom come and back, top stitching having a mind of it's own...Blech!

It didn't pass QC so Babes got herself a new lovie and I decided I better stop while I was only out one blanket.

After I got the toddlers down for their naps, Baby Doll and I sat on the couch while I decided which way the rest of the day should take me.

Should I continue to be moody and roost on my rump for the rest of the afternoon, making everyone else miserable with me?

Should I pull out a workout DVD and see if I could shake this wretched-uncalled-for-no-reason-for-it mood?

Should I attempt another blanket or some more light switch covers?

Should I call a friend and do a little retail therapy?

In the end, I opted for the workout DVD route. I knew it would make me feel better in the long run and lo and behold it's effect was instant! I threw myself into it full bore and emerged as my normal self. It's amazing how much difference working up a sweat can make.

I finished with plenty of time to take some pictures of the light switch covers and magnets I did yesterday.

Let the Friday Funk be gone forever!!

Note to self

When going out of the house to do a photo shoot, check to see if all necessary supplies are present, such as memory cards and a fully charged battery.

I went over to my friend's house today to borrow her baby for a bit. I brought along 6 blankets. I had hoped for more but I ran out of thread yesterday just as I started sewing. We got baby all set up, I turned on my camera and it told me "no memory card." Oh dear. Luckily she had an extra so I popped hers in. Whew!

As I finished up blanket #1, I noticed the battery light flashing at me.

I hurried thru blanket #2, trying not to waste any more battery than necessary.I was just getting started on blanket #3 when my screen went black. Game over. Photo shoot done.

That'll teach me...

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Treasures

I've always been impressed with artists who can draw lifelike pictures. It's something I can't do.

Meet babychickdesigns
Her drawings are simply adorable!! From cupcakes

to safari

to the farm

to Butterflies and flowers.

Each of her drawings are so sweet, you'll have a hard choose which one to buy!

I need to make it a habit

to blog in the mornings. If I wait until afternoon or evening, it doesn't always happen. Case in point...yesterday. I spent yesterday afternoon at the dentist office and by the time the kids went to be last night, I crawled in right after them. I woke up this morning to my first cold of the season. Oh joy. I'm cradling a cup of peach tea instead of my usual coffee. We'll see if I'll get one of those lovely caffine headaches. I just couldn't bring myself to drink coffee this morning...

I'll go gather the info I need for Tuesday Treasures.

A little of this and a little of that...

The potty training bribes are in full swing in able mabel land. The 2.5 year old Queen of the House is plenty ready to train...she's too stubborned and I'm too lazy. Makes for a bad combo. Today while we were at Target, I brought her over to the clearance section of toys and she picked this out. This doll will now reside on top of the fridge until those Princess undies stay dry for a few days. This, by far, is the best type of bribe I've used in potty training. Some "get it" faster than others and training becomes a breeze. I am determined to start (again) on Monday and give it a full week.


I dropped our oldest off at the ski hill today along with some friends and two chaperones. It's her first time on skis. Yikes! All the 4th graders in Colorado get a free ski pass so this is her year to shine! I ended up putting her into two hours of lessons this morning so she could learn a bit before she hits the slopes on her own. She was pretty excited and only a bit nervous (or so she said). I'm sure she'll be exhausted when she gets home. We'll try to get her out a few more times, at least, this year. What do you know though, I forgot to bring my camera. Another "first" missed. Bad Mom!

Remind me again why I let an 8 year old bake? She loves it and does a good job but, oh the mess!

• half bag of flour spilled down the heating vent,
• cinnamon and sugar covering her from head to toe,
• Baby Doll crawling thru it all,
• she mixed the batter on the stove which has a lip all the way around the edge to it's not very easy to clean up...

I knew it would be like this and I thought I would be fine with it, but now that's it's done, I feel like singing a different tune! I appreciate the effort and will continue to let her bake but I get weary of the mess, especially after a full day of cleaning yesterday.

On the bright side, I've reclaimed our basement. I can hear the basketball being dribbled, the hockey puck being shot, the cheerful voices of the kids playing "rough" to their heart's content. Our basement had become a "holding tank" for all things craft sale related, empty boxes, totes brought in from the garage, luggage, everything that didn't have a place elsewhere. What a disaster! I didn't let the kids play down there because it was so disorganized. It was one of my goals for January and lo and behold, I accomplished it! It was a project and a half, but it's done and it feels awesome! Now where are those Rollerblades?

Maybe I'll read a book for the rest of the day! ;) Dream on, right?!!?

I thought this one was a

goner.

(On my photo editing program and in "real life" these colors are lighter. I'm not sure why they're looking so dark on the blog.)

A customer wanted a light switch cover it to coordinate with this nursery set.
It was hard to tell from the pictures just how dark the colors are.

I started putting it together and wasn't liking how it was turning out. I almost gave up at one point but decided to just finish it all the way before I made my decision.

While it's not what I totally had in mind, I think it'll work. Now we'll see if the customer agrees.

If she doesn't, I'll just list it for someone else to purchase. :)

It was one of those days

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

• A bit of sewing. (okay, a lotta bit of sewing. I was working on some patchwork blankets and was having too much fun.)
• Some cleaning. (well, straightening.)
• Baked a batch of cookies. (which are rapidly disappearing down my hatch. no one else is awake to help me eat them straight out of the oven. hate when that happens!)
• Did a bit of laundry. (a teeny tiny bit, one load was minky which is a necessity.)
• Read my book for a bit on the front stoop. (gotta get that Vitamin D in while the sun is shining.)
• Snuggled the baby. (another necessity.)
• Played with the toddlers. (ditto.)

Now for the evening scene with the Bigs and Hubby.

Life is good.

Tuesday Treasures

I found a shop that makes me go "awwww!!" Check this out.

The Nesting Spot.
Taking an ordinary glove or sock, she turns them into extraordinary animals, such as cats

elephants

and zebras. This one is, by far and away, my favorite in her whole shop. Those who know me really well shouldn't be surprised since I have a "thing" for fun pattered socks. It's something I've picked up over the years from JB. ;)

Can't you just see Baby Doll's sweet little dimpled fingers wrapped around one of these animals, cooing at it? So fun!

The Nesting Spot is a fairly new shop so hang tight if you don't see exactly what you're looking for. By all means though, contact her if you're needing something specific.

All Play, No Work!

As I opened my eyes on Saturday morning, I had visions of all the organizing I was going to get done that day. Play room, girls' bedroom, laundry room...Then the kids woke up and every single one of them was cranky, feisty and downright nasty. Hubby and I realized that if we didn't get them out of the house, it would be a very long day!

Thankfully it was a beautiful day out. We packed up and headed to the hills to do some sledding with friends.
The menfolk busied themselves building a bonfire so we could roast hot dogs, while the rest of us hit the sledding hill.

Up and down we went. Zooming down the hill and plodding back up, most often with a toddler on the hip. What a workout!

What a party!

Once the snowmobiles pulled up, it was all about rides for these boys. Little ol' sleds just didn't cut it anymore.

I lived it up on the sledding hill until it was time for me to take over baby duty and let Hubby go play. Baby Doll was pretty cranky and I feared we'd have to pack up and head home early.

Thankfully she fell asleep in a borrowed stroller. As long as I kept the stroller moving, she stayed sleeping. Bliss! Jiggling a stroller and trying to take pictures is nearly impossible so this was the end of my picture taking. I put my camera away and visited friends around the bonfire.

It was a wonderful way to spend the day!

Photo Shoot Recap

I have a stack of completed blankets and no cooperative baby in the house. What's a gal to do?

I called up my friend and asked if I could "borrow" her little cherub. She was a gem to work with. Young enough to cooperate fairly well, yet old enough to let us know when she had had it.

Feet shots were few and far between since her little tootsies wouldn't stay still! :) She was just too excited and happy, which is a good thing!

But, there's more to her than just her toes. You gotta love those baby fingers.

Paired with those huge blue eyes and miles long eyelashes, she just takes the cake!

Originally, I was hoping to have more blankets finished and ready to photograph than I did but it's a good thing I didn't. Her patience lasted until the last blanket but no more. No complaints from me there.

After much talking

and no action, I finally did it. I ordered sew in tags for my blankets. I got them from Jennifer's Jewels. I had her put our name on one side and

the laundry instructions on the other. I love how they turned out! It was a bit of a learning curve figuring out how to get them "just so" in the seam.

Also on the to do list for today was to kick out as much blankets as I could since my baby model is coming over tomorrow. As I was going thru my bucket of minky, I found all these misc sized scraps. They weren't quite big enough to do to lovie so I went thru my bucket of fabric and found scraps to pair up with the minky.

Burpies, here I come! It was so fun to just do whatever size was handy.

A little R & R

On Sunday night, as I mentally went over my schedule for the week, I wrote off today as a day to get nothing accomplished. I had appointments this morning and many other errands to run. I figured it would take me most of the day.

I was surprised at how quickly I got it all done and was home by 1:30. Sweet! A bonus afternoon!!

I got the kids down for their naps and looked around at my house, trying to decide what to work on.

• Cleaning? (insert nose wrinkle here)
• Laundry? (double nose wrinkle)
• Light switch covers? Hmm...possibly
• Sewing? Naw. Not enough time for how much work it is to haul it all downstairs.

I looked outside at the clear blue sky and the sun streaming down and knew exactly what I was going to do. (Blogger is insisting this sentence be underlined and highlighted and I'm not sure why.)
I threw on a pair of light mittens and my vest, grabbed a cup of wild berry tea and my book. I sat out on the front stoop and caught some Vitamin D. I meant to only sit out there for a half hour but an hour went by before I knew it!

(I'm still undecided if this book I'm reading is good or not. It was recommended to me by the librarian. So far it's good enough to keep my interest, sort of, but not so good that I can't put it down.)

Tuesday Treasures

Have you ever seen this shop? ToBoldlyFold? Gorgeous, just gorgeous! She binds these journals/sketchpads by hand using leather covers and Irish thread.

A few thoughts from ToBoldlyFold,

"I am an artist and bookbinder working out of Boston, MA. I love cooking, creating, and most of all, sending and receiving mail. My aesthetic is very much of the natural vein, which stems from my love of trees. I take into consideration the look, feel and experience of each that I create."

Her products are broken down into four different collections; Cypress, Spruce, Driftwood and Bonsai.

Make sure you check out them all since each collection is unique!

On this lazy Monday in able mabel land

The chocolate chip cookies are cooling, thanks to my oldest.

The amaryllis is growing, thanks to much sunlight.

The kids are being entertained for a few moments, thanks to "slumber party games" (for a lack of a better term). The Bigs are "hosting" the games for the Littles. The Littles have seen these games at least a dozen times so their shrieks of delight and fright are more forced than natural. They keep saying, "Oh, I know this one!" and then they promptly follow the script and fall for that trick all over again. But, who cares, they love it!

The fun and games become slightly more difficult with a baby crawling on the floor, wanting to get in on the action.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"Hmmm....maybe I'll try this route. I know they're in here somewhere."

All her fun ends when she pulls the "props" down and is forced to watch the action from Mom's lap.

Poor girl! Whoever said a baby's life was easy?! :)

The Christmas Tree

has now taken up residence in the snowbank outside the back door. There it will sit until we have a chance to take it up to the hills to go sledding and have a bonfire. For now it's content to welcome all of our backdoor guests.