Of late

Mon 11/17 I made 40 oz of laundry detergent. It was roughly 6 cups each of washing soda, borax, and grated soap (handmade, of course).

while on vacation I mended/altered a lot of things. Cut off a pair of shorts to make a purse. That's just waiting for a strap. Hemmed a red dress for one of the girls that had been in the pile for quite some time. Darned a pair of tights for Lottie. Patched a hole in my red sweater. Whew! It was a busy time. I also organized a bit of my current sewing pile and folded more yardage.

Today I made a gallon of plain applesauce.

Last night I cut out O's Christmas dress.

Girls' measurements

Olivia
Chest 22"
Waist 21"
Hips 22"
Length 21.5"
Arm length 11"
To waist 8"
Crotch length 5"
Thigh 11"

Holland
Chest 22.5"
Waist 21.5"
Hips 25"
Length 27"
Arm length 13.5"
To waist

Lottie
Chest 26"
Waist 25"
Hips 28"
Length 33"
Arm length 17"
To waist 14"

Emily
Chest 27"
Waist 26"
Hips 29"
Length 35"
Arm length
To waist 13

edited 2/2/09

Apples and sweet potatoes

On our vacation (and the farmer's market upon return) we got 45 pounds of sweet potatoes, 3.5 bu of apples, and some other random fruit. There are many varieties of apples, and one bu was for a friend.

This is what I've done with it all so far.

1 gal of apple pie filling
1 apple coffee cake
1 qt of fried apples
16 C of frozen sweet potatoes to eat later
6 C eaten sweet potatoes
8 C mashed sweet potatoes to share
4.25 gal applesauce (using 1 gal to make apple butter)
numerous apples eaten

edited 11/21/08

Painless Savings

Piggy Piggy was a very heavy pig! We decided to roll the coins for our upcoming trip to NC. It was over $100!! I was floored! This is going to be a new Nov. 1 tradition for us now.

2295 pennies for $22.95
167 nickels for $8.35
280 dimes for $28
180 quarters for $45

Wow! That doesn't even include the state quarters that we took out to add to our collection. I want to see if we can get more every year.

More fabric?

My goodness! I went into the attic looking around and I found more fabric. Looks like Mom's. I may never be done going through her stuff. Speaking of her stuff....tomorrow I will send off the IRS forms. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

I think that when we get a storage unit one of the first things I will move out is those white boxes. That will free up some space to put other things away. Then we can do the garage and barn. I can't wait!!

I did some more pattern organizing tonight. Some got put into envelopes and into the filing drawer. Some got entered onto the spreadsheet. And finally, some got pictures into picassa. Fun times here. It's fun to get organized, but it takes so long.

Exercise and project

We went to the Y on the 27th.

Seated leg press 128 x 10, 128 x 10
Lat pull down 70 X 15, 70 x 8
Lateral raise 30 x 10
Row 50 x 15, 50 x 8
Ankle raise 25 x 15
Seated leg curl 40 x 8
Dead lift 25 x 10

I also ran out of laundry detergent. So I just made some more. Love it! It's so easy and cheap.

Fabric Stats

This is a post I will update as I complete my count. So far the balance is:

38.375 yds solid knit 12/31/08
19.5 yds non-solid knit 12/2/08
17.375 yds seersucker 12/31/08
3.25 yds suede, fur, velvet 11/24/08
4 yds satin, linings 12/2/08
154.535 yds solid woven 12/31/08
47.895 yds floral woven 11/24/08
74.335 yds print woven 12/31/08
48.115 yds stripes/checks/plaids 12/31/08
33.625 yds Christmas 11/30/08
11.5 yds fleece 12/31/08

452.505 yds total 12/31/08



I'd like to have all of this done by the end of the year so I will be able to really keep track of my stash-busting. It's kind of fun, but tedious. I think I'll take another box to Beth's tonight. Or I will take my knit shirt muslin to sew. Even muslin counts as using stash, but it isn't as exciting because the stuff isn't wearable.

Fraction to decimal yardage conversion
.125 = 1/8
.250 = 1/4
.333 = 1/3
.375 = 3/8
.500 = 1/2
.625 = 5/8
.666 = 2/3
.750 = 3/4
.875 = 7/8

Exercise

Yesterday was stressful and I drove to the Y after dinner.

#26
Seated leg press 108 x 15
Seated leg curl 40 x 10
Overhead press 30 x 15 basic, 39 x 5 advanced
Lateral raise 30 x 10
Row 50 x 10, 50 x 6

Today was better but still busy.

Exercise

Well, last night I tried to do the kickboxing video again. It's kind of fun. But, the kids weren't helping. I managed 10 minutes. It's better than nothing I guess. I feel it just a bit this morning. Actually, I'm hungrier than usual which means some aerobic activity happened.

Today is day 1 for the newest AFB.

At Beth's

I took some fabric to fold and got that done. The fabric looks so neat and tidy folded and takes up so much less room. I want to get it all done. I also took some patterns to organize. I finished putting the pattern info on my list and into google pics.

Moving Monday

Bailed on the Y today. blech. right now it just seems impossible to fit it in around Isaiah's schedule. Here are the stats from the last 2 workouts'

Sept. 15:

Seated Leg Curl 35 x 10

Dips 5 (assist 76#)

Pullups 4 (1 asst 76#, 3 asst 82#)

Lat Pulldowns 80 x 10

Sept. 22:

Bench Press 45 x 3, 55 x 12

Leg Press 88 x 10

Seated Leg Curl 40 x 10

Lat Pulldown 60 x 13

Lateral Raise 30 x 10

I only made it to Publix last night. I did get a few good deals though. The deals aren't fantastic, but I feel better just trying to save money.

Hairspray clearance
GM cereal 4.29/box BIGIF with a $1 cpn on 3 boxes. I got 4 boxes for $7.60 or $1.40 a box.
Publix wipes BIGIF baby club cpn
bottle of alcohol free baby club cpn

Baking day

Today is Day 10 for my AFB. Tomorrow is Day 1 for the new batch. I put banana in this one to make banana bread. It made 3 loaves. Yum! I hope that the kids like it. I hope to start another batch of sourdough tomorrow.

We had spaghetti for lunch. I like using the spelt pasta. It tastes just like regular pasta to me, but it has a lot more nutrients. We're working harder to eat more at home and less out. It's easy for some, I know, but very hard for us. I want to be a better steward of our money and resources.

Tonight I'm going to Walgreen's and CVS to see what's on sale. I'll pick up the freebies of course. I might also go to Publix and check out their sales.

Boy have I been slack

I've gotten many things done, but I haven't felt like posting. A little bit of a funk has settled on me I guess. I exercised a couple of times and bailed once. I am still working on the second blanket for Mrs. P.

Dr. visits

Hate 'em. I weigh too much. They seemed surprised that my bp was so low. Good. I know I'll feel better after losing a few pounds, but I really didn't want to see the scale.

Monday's moving

Today I didn't go to the Y for my workout. Kids in trouble. sigh. Anyway, I did get the 2 littlest in the stroller and take a short walk. I really just wanted to be moving, active. We'll see how it progresses. The weather is better so maybe I will start taking the kids on walks in the morning before school.

Monday's exercise

Charlie and I went to the gym Monday. This is what I did. I hope that taking off Labor day doesn't mess me up. I am just starting to feel like going regularly.

Leg Press 20 X 88

Bench Press 3 x 45, 5 x 55

Calf Raise 15 x 25

Dips 5 (assist 76#)

Pullups 4 (assist 88#)

Lat Pulldown 15 x 70 (+20 lbs)

Lateral Raise 10 x 15

Row 10 x 50 (+20 lbs)

Situps 5

Yay me.

Exercise

I went to the gym with Charlie Monday afternoon during gymnastics for the big kids. This is what I did. (rep x wt)

Seated Leg Curl 20 x 30

Squat Press 15 x 88

Lat Pull down (both grips) 15 x 50 (good job!)

Sit ups 5

Lateral Raise 15 x 15

Row 15 x 30

My heart really wasn't in it, but I did it anyway. Especially when restarting, it's more fun to have company. I. did well in the nursery. He usually does.

What's next

Do I want to change my blog? Can I mix recipes with sewing with home school? I don't really want more than one blog, but this one has turned into a sewing blog. Will it feel the same if I start talking about home-made remedies and such?

I want to try making this cream deodorant from Tipnut. http://tipnut.com/homemade-deodorant-instructions/

3 TBS shea butter
3 TBS baking soda
2 TBS corn starch
2 TBS cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (squeeze out the oil)

Mix and melt all but the vit E. Add E and any EO. Put in fridge to set. Rub a small amount under arm to use.

Why my posts are all catch up posts

I've just been busy. And lazy. A lot has been going on but I just didn't feel like writing anything. So here is all of it in a nutshell. Maybe.

1. I did a bad finish in the stash contest on PR. About 16 yards. I could have done more, but I kept getting side tracked. I made an ironing board cover, play napkins, a romper for I, a shirt for E/L, a skirt for me, a diaper changing pad, 4 shirred tops, 3 zippered pouches, and 4 puppet bags. And I managed some mending in there too. I like putting patches on holes in clothes.

2. We went to Birmingham and Fountain Inn to see family. I took the Janome (as usual) and got some done. L got a tea set for her birthday. It came with some tiny, cute paper napkins. I thought to make some napkins for the girls for their sets.

3. Most of our school books got ordered. The kids are pretty excited. We are also trying uniforms this year. The girls are very excited about that. Jacob, not so much. I need to get a picture for the yearbook.

4. Mimi isn't sewing anymore. Not sure about permanently, but definitely not right now. She gave me several patterns and a lot of fabric. I'm glad she thought of me, I just don't want to lose her too.

More later.

From Projects

From Projects

From Projects

From Projects

Catching up again

I have not posted in a bit. Partly because I have been upset about my Mom's death. And today I have been sick. Yuck.

This week is VBS. I had intended to get some sewing done. So far, nothing. Maybe tomorrow. I may go to Jessica Fraser's house to get some Mary Kay things. Or maybe it can wait until Friday. I did get Mrs. Peterson's blanket done Saturday night. It is a very nice blanket. Next on my sewing list is an ironing board cover and a top for one of the girls.