My New Craft Room

I have been unbelievably busy for the past few days. Isn't it amazing how a simple comment can turn your life upside down?? My youngest has been in an upstairs bedroom since we moved into this house. It's a cute room where the ceiling angles down on either side (kind of like a barn-shape). And the closet in there has been just her size; because it's built into the angled side of the room, it's very short, so she can easily reach her clothes - they're only about 3 feet off the floor.

One day DH and I were talking about how she would eventually outgrow that closet. We know this because we've each whacked our head on the frame of her closet while either putting something away or helping her find something. Let me tell ya, it hurts! She is getting bigger all the time (since I haven't figured out yet how to make kids stop growing!) and so we knew in a year or two, we'd have to figure out another bedroom plan.

We decided that the best idea might be for our son (the oldest) to move downstairs. Our basement is nicely finished, and a little different. It's U-shaped with the stairs in the middle. You go down the stairs and enter the room, turning left. Immediately on the right is the bathroom, then the door to the garage. You walk forward into the sitting area where the TV and fireplace are, then turn left again to the pool table, then left again to the "bar area." The people who lived here before us installed the bar because they had lots of parties. I have been using the bar as a scrapbooking center - nothing alcoholic about it. Anyway, we thought that our son might enjoy that back area if we could figure out a way to make a temporary wall to enclose it.

Well said son heard the discussion and got very excited about having his room downstairs. He loved the idea of having his own space away from everyone and having the bar area for Lego Bionicle building. But he wanted it NOW. And he said that since nobody goes downstairs after bedtime, he didn't care if we put up a wall yet or not. He just wanted his room down there. The girls then got wind of this, and got all excited about having their rooms across from each other. So suddenly the youngest wants to move into her brother's room NOW.

So what did I do? I decided to let them have what they wanted. Ugh. We had to move furniture from the main level to the basement, from the upper level to the main level, and from the basement to the upper level! It has been chaotic at best! But now, I'm happy to say, my son is happily sleeping downstairs, the girls are settled in their rooms across from each other, and I have a sewing/craft room upstairs! It has taken hours of work and lots of trips up and down the stairs, but I love my new room. I haven't decorated yet at all, but I took some photos of how I've set it up.

I tried to put it together in "zones." Each corner is basically a different area. I am going to get some more chairs moved up there - there's plenty more work to do, but the bulk of it is done. Here is the far right corner as you enter - it's my scrapbooking area:

That weird box beside the table with the white hose-thing on top? That's the portable air conditioner, which is necessary because this particular room gets REALLY hot when it gets over 80° outside. I'm not sure what they did when building it, but it gets like an attic. That a/c gets it cool very quickly, though.

And here is a close up of the shelf area, as verification that I have ENTIRELY too many scrapping papers! lol

Now, to the left of that window, in the other corner on that side of the room, is my sewing area. I haven't gotten into my bins and pulled out my fabric, so the shelf is partially empty, but someday it might be a cool and productive area (we'll see, anyway!):

And just over from that, in the corner "behind" the door, I have an area that the kids can use for their activities. There is a little dresser where supplies can be stored, and room for a folding table to be set up for them to work on their own special projects:

And finally, the corner just to the right as you walk into the room is my cozy little reading/knitting nook. I love the chair, so I had to have it, and it's right next to the shelf with all my various crafting books and magazines. I just need to get a nice lamp to put beside the chair and I'm set!

I'm hoping that I can get a lot done in this new room of mine. If I get going, I'll definitely post projects as I finish them. I just hope they start turning out better than that baby sweater.....*sigh*

It was an Attempt....Just a Bad One!

I had such high expectations....what was I thinking???? I taught myself to knit a couple of years ago and hadn't tried to do it for several months. But I got this book at the library that was called "Baby Knits for Beginners" and thought..."I can do that!" I should really learn not to think!

I know someone who is expecting a baby girl in January, and I happened to have this super-soft cotton yarn in my stash. The pattern looked simple enough, so I developed the bright idea to make her baby a cute little pink sweater. It was knitted in 4 parts (back, front, 2 sleeves) and then sewn together. Sounds easy enough, right? Let me tell you - that sewing together business is FAR from easy, and the book skipped over that instruction....I guess most knitters are just smarter than I am.

I finished knitting several days ago, but some room-switching with the kids has taken precedence over sewing the parts together. Tonight I was exhausted and sitting on the couch watching the Packers and the Bears and decided to finish my project. Individually, the pieces had looked okay, but once assembled.....not so much. Here is the finished product (note: the sleeves are the same size - it's the camera angle that makes the one look much shorter):


And a closer look to see my wonderfully uneven knitting:


It just looks so....blah. I am wondering if I can wash it and get it to look less stretched out, but I haven't knitted a garment before, so I don't know. I suppose I should ask someone who knows how to knit, but I don't want to look clueless. I was so hoping for a lovely baby gift...I even planned on matching booties. At least I've made a few pairs of booties, so I know I can make those look okay. I might have to skip the sweater and make two pairs of booties!!

Apparently, I need to spend a little more time practicing before I tackle knitting sweaters. It is just as hard as it looks!!!

Not So Common Courtesy

Whatever happened to decency and courtesy? Did it suddenly become a rule that you can't wear white OR use your manners after Labor Day? Oh wait, it didn't start on Labor Day, so I guess that isn't it! I just can't figure out why more and more people have developed this "me and me only" attitude and can't even bother to be respectful or friendly anymore!

Freecycle is quite a good example of where general human courtesy seems to be gone by the wayside. I have all but stopped offering items to people through Freecycle. I love the concept, and I really enjoy helping people when they need something, but why is it that 95% of the time, when I make an offer, I end up with RUDE people who not only don't show up as promised, but then ignore follow up email??

I'm gifting you with something - no strings attached. All I ask is that when you say you are going to show up, you actually DO. And I know things happen and life gets in the way of your plans, but seriously! Does it really take that long to send me an email telling me that you can't make it and either offering an alternate pickup or asking me to give it to another?????

I run into these ridiculous people whenever I'm out in public (don't even get me started on my cashier at Hen House today!!!!), but when I'm GIVING something to them, why can't they at least attempt to act like a civilized human being??? I'm so frustrated with the attitude of people anymore. I used to watch a little girl after school. The agreement was that her mom would pick her up at 4:00, so she was only at my house for about half an hour. No big deal, right? And I was helping her out because she could then finish out her workday and come home to her child. So why is it that after the first week or so, suddenly it was okay for her to run errands and do her grocery shopping after school? It got to be 4:15....then 4:30....then even as late as 5:30 because she met a friend after work!!! Excuse me???? When did I become a free afternoon babysitter?? And the sad thing is that I know of at least two other people that are in this same situation. It's become okay to take advantage of your "friends."

It strikes me as very sad that people have so little regard for the time and efforts of others. What a wonderful world this would be if everyone stopped regarding himself or herself as the center of the universe, the only one who matters. My girls go to a school with 474 families. So why is it that so few of the parents volunteer anything for the school??? I know that not everyone has time to spend hours up at the school, but there are so many little ways that they can help without spending much time or money. Do you know that the PTA only asks for 3 hours a YEAR? Yep...if everyone gave only three little hours a year, everything would get done without anyone being over-volunteered. What a concept!

Okay, I will get off my soapbox now. I also need to go remove the piece of furniture from the front of my house, since it's become quite obvious that Miss Marybeth has all the manners of a common farm hog and isn't going to pick it up or bother to respond to my emails. She's classy....not!!! Looks like the thrift store will benefit from her rudeness, so it works out in the end.

A Simple Way to Help Your Local School

I know I haven't blogged in awhile...I really am trying to think of interesting topics that you might actually WANT to read. But I found out about this deal today, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about it!

I'm sure you've heard of Campbell's Labels for Education. Schools and other organizations save up UPCs from Campbell's line of wonderful products and send them in to the collection center. These points (1 or 5 for each UPC, depending on the product) are "banked" and once enough are collected, the school can redeem them for great products. It's a fabulous program that is very beneficial - I think every household uses at least a few Campbell's products on a regular basis.

This week, starting September 9th, you can get your school 100 bonus labels!!! And it's SO easy! Check your local grocery ads for a small bonus form. You go to a store and purchase only 5 Campbell's products (if you're a couponer, you can really get these inexpensively!). Take the UPCs and your receipt and attach them to the form and send them to your school. Instead of the 5 points, the school will now get 100! These bonus labels will help your school so much!

It only costs a few dollars and a little time to make a big difference. Thanks for supporting your school!!

Menu Plan Monday, week of 8/31/09

How can it possibly be September already??? And how can it be like 70° outside on the last day of August? Life can be bizarre at times!!

I did a slightly different menu plan this week. I waited until today because I knew I was going to the store and I wanted to see what bargains I found before I planned. I also haven't figured out the weekend yet. There isn't a particular reason for this - just the fact that I simply don't know what I want to make. I have the first 5 days planned around what I purchased today and what the kids requested, and I will just decide later what I feel like making this weekend. Fair enough? :-)

Monday - French dip sandwiches, homemade macaroni and cheese, watermelon.

Tuesday - Chicken stir fry, steamed rice, baby corn.

Wednesday - Pastitsio, corn, cornbread.

Thursday - Grilled orange-apricot pork chops, baked potatoes or crunch-top potatoes, "fried" apples, biscuits.

Friday - Ham/mushroom/pineapple pizza on a wheat sourdough crust.

That's all I have! Sorry for the casuality of the menu plan this weekend, but I think that's about all my brain can handle today. I also think I need more caffeine.....lol

Menu Plan Monday, week of 8/24/09

Last week was another one that got out of control and the menu plan didn't go quite as expected. The start of school is really chaotic when you volunteer for just about everything! :-) This week I've picked some simple meals, due to school obligations I know ahead of time and just to make it easier on me. It's also my birthday tomorrow, so I picked something pretty simple. Here's the plan:

Monday - Sloppy joes, tater tots, "fried" apples (from the freezer).

Tuesday - Using the crock pot due to Parent Orientation Night. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots, homemade rolls.

Wednesday - Gotta grill something this week since we missed it last week! Grilled chicken, green rice, rolls.

Thursday - Beef-mushroom spaghetti, green beans, breadsticks.

Friday - Bacon cheeseburger pizza on a sourdough crust.

Saturday - Pork piccata (still haven't gotten it made!!!), mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits.

Sunday - Bierocks and pizza pockets (from the freezer from last week), leftover sides from earlier in the week.

Sound simple enough? Now let's see if I can stick to it - lol! For more great meal plans, visit Org Junkie.

From Beans to Jeans

Interesting title, eh? It seemed to fit well with my current thought process, so I went with it. :-)

Yesterday, I had to visit our local hospital's lab for some bloodwork. I have a completely inactive thyroid and in order to keep my medication levels correct, I have to get a blood count done on a fairly regular basis. Usually this is a quick in-and-out process that only takes a few minutes of my day. This wasn't the case yesterday. For a myriad of reasons (none my fault), I had a lengthy wait until I was called back.

As I sat in the waiting area, it began to fill up a bit. Some people sitting near me began discussing the start of school. I wasn't eavesdropping, but they were only a couple of feet away and I couldn't help but overhear - the conversation was obviously innocuous, anyway. The woman asked the man if he had finished his daughter's back-to-school shopping. When he replied affirmatively, she asked what he had spent. He snorted and told her, "$135. And it was ONE pair of jeans!" She was shocked and asked him WHY so much for jeans. He explained that she HAD to have this particular brand, and since they cost $135, it was the only clothing they had bought for her.

The conversation continued, but just that part of it really got me to thinking. In the practice of frugality and making the most of what we have, we tend to focus on the little things that add up to save us money, such as substituting beans for meat in dinners. Washing out Ziploc bags for multiple uses and turning off lights when we leave rooms help us stretch our dollars. But in the midst of all the little things, how much do we consider the BIG things, like teaching our children that money and possessions are not the most important things in their lives?

I know I can't imagine my children even asking me for a pair of jeans (or ANY article of clothing) that cost over $100! They are perfectly happy to shop at thrift stores and garage sales and get very excited when we go to a regular retail store to buy things. None of the three of them care if they have "Tommy Hilfiger" on a shirt or the latest trendy jeans. Now, I know they are still young (the oldest is just 13), but I truly don't believe that will change. It's just the way we are raising them.....bringing them up as the next generation of savers, not spenders. We plan to continue to do this, and hopefully they will never become materialistic.

In the greater scheme of things, both the little things we do (the beans) and the big things (the jeans) are equally important. Just some food for thought. Here's hoping you never "have to" buy a $135 pair of jeans!!!