Even More Girly, Another Funny Story

Penelope says the best things - but does not like it when you laugh - and does not want them repeated.  She would be mad at me if she knew I posted this but it is too freakin' cute and funny not to share.

Last night we are driving home from Castlegar where we had a lovely dinner together at her favorite restaurant - Dairy Queen - this was our conversation.

Me:  You are pretty girly.  I think you are even more girly than I was, and I was pretty girly.

Penelope:  I am getting even more girly.  You know why Mummy?  I am starting to hold my farts in.

I laughed all the way home.  She let me tell CH and then later she let me tell Josh and her Uncle Jack if I let her eat my stashed Hershey bar.

You can read another conversation Penelope, the Little Man and I had about passing gas here, if you are interested. It was pretty funny too, but now I am starting to wonder what I have been teaching this poor child!  Hahahaha.

:o) Tina

Fill in the Blank Friday

Yeah, it's Friday!  Not that matters, I enjoy everyday.  :o)  The only real difference is that the kids get to stay home (which I like) and there is no early bed time for them (which I also like even though I realize it is just me being lazy).  This weekend will be busy.  Work on Saturday, Mirror Mirror with the shorties on Saturday night and then a baby shower for my friend Andrea's new baby, Austin.  All I really want to do is sit and home and recover, sew, and catch up on my pins but the show must go on!

the little things we do

1. My greatest strength is my imagination.  My brain never stops, ever.  I am good at finding solutions to problems, can always find a silver lining, and I am pretty creative.

2. My greatest weakness is my my imagination!  It leads me down paths I something do not want to go.  I hear and see things when I am alone that make me feel creep-ed out (and are most likely not there) and I would never, ever, walk through the forest alone.  The most mundane horror movie terrifies me.  I am also terrified of anything happening to my children, not that everyone isn't, but I can see it in my mind's eye.  Having an active imagination also leads me down the path into daydream land more often than I would like (see number 4).

December 2009
But trust me, they are just as gorgeous today!

3. People always compliment me on my beautiful children and my crafting abilities. My kids are really gorgeous (and amazingly intelligent and kind) - like they should be in ads for trendy clothing companies kind of gorgeous. I think that their kind and thoughtful personalities shine through and that is what makes them so freakin' beautiful.  My crafting (sewing) abilities are definitely on the upswing too. :o)

4. If you found me procrastinating you'd probably find me sitting at my desk looking out my office window or at my sewing table pretending to busy...or pinning things on Pinterest (I do a lot of that).

5. The most cozy place in all the world is my bed getting my feet rubbed by CH, with his feet. If I don't get a proper foot rubbing every night I feel gypped.

6. Something new that I tried recently was going outside of my comfort zone and trying new recipes. I am a total foodie - but I am not good at trying new things, let alone cooking them but part of my 31 Days of Pinterest has been trying some new food - and so far so good, we are 2 for 3. 

7. This weekend I would like to finish my 31 pins.  I am a few behind due to unforeseen circumstances and really want to complete the challenge I set for myself.

31 Days of Pinterest, Cute Little Owls on Day 26

I am only three days behind!  Yeah me! Perhaps I will get caught up and be done by the end of the month.  I am going to participate in a photo a day over at Fat Mum Slim (and when I say over, I mean it, she is in Australia!)

#26!  Yeah 26!  it is sort of a duplicate of another day's post but I did legitimately make these this month and they are not bags but stuffies so I think it counts! Pretty cute too if I do say so myself.  Big thanks to PITA for the donation of Mr. PITA's comfy sweater to re-purposed and to NAG for stuffing them - I don't like that part.

31 Days of What?

OMG!!!!  I had to write about this because it is so freakin' hilariously ridiculous. This evening, I posted the following on my Facebook status:

My daughter received TWO awards at school in the last week for being kind. :o)

(Penelope is very kind and at 7 does not think of herself first. Neither of my kids do. They are very nice people and CH and I have made sure of it.)

I got a comment on that status as follows:

whoot whoot we sure need more people like her great job

The person who wrote it? One of my childhood bullies!!!! That's right. Why do I have her as a friend? Because I am pretty much the nosiest person you will ever meet!

:o) Tina

The Power of Wishful Thinking

When I was pregnant with The Little Man, all of my friends here in the Kootenays were popping out 10 pound babies.  I had just moved back from North Vancouver with H1 to have my baby and kept saying to everyone that I hoped not to have a big baby.  I got 3 pounds 6.8 ounces. After that I was always careful what I wished for.

So, some years later, CH gets into a car accident and is hurt.  He receives $20,000 for his pain and suffering.  We used it to pay off some outstanding debts, buy a monstrous Sharp Aquos TV and a lazy boy, and to go on a small trip to (our beloved) Ainsworth.  The cheque came right before Christmas so we went bananas with gifts for all four of the kids.  We did not save any of it.  We did not pay off any of the BIG looming debts - like our second mortgage (the one we took out to start our business).  We had fun and spent money like it was endless.

About a year later, we got ANOTHER $15,000 insurance settlement for our mortgage as a result of CH's disability.  I don't even know what we did with that money.  I know I bought lots of fabric for the shop, we went to Calgary for a weekend (for medical reasons), CH bought me a new laptop (which I already want to replace with a MacBook).  Again, we spent it like it was endless.

So my point?  We got in ANOTHER car accident last Thursday.  CH's FOURTH in the nine years that I have know him.  None of which have been his fault, but still, what the heck?!  FOUR accidents.  FOUR.  That is just too much.  So this time we will both be getting a bit of money and I want to save some of it.  I want a nest egg.  A buffer.

The thing is, that maybe I caused it.  I kept thinking (while I was in the shower or doing the dishes) that if we only had that money back we could get ourselves out of the money pit we (I) have dug us into.  Did I wish it???  I kind of feel like I did.  Not the accident but the financial end to it.  I would never ever wish for the accident.  Ever. It has put a kink in my style. Literally.

Maybe, hopefully, tomorrow I will be back on track with my 31 days.

:o) Tina

PS  In the last paragraph I mention thinking in the shower and was going to link it to an old post so you know that it is something I do all the time - but I could not choose which one because there were SEVEN other times I mentioned it!  :o)

31 Days of Pinterest, Day 25 and 26.... Well 25. :o)

I went for a massage today and I think I feel worse than before I went - she warned me but I of course chose not to believe her.  I just tried walking from one end of the store to the other and my leg felt like it was going to give out.  Yep, you heard me, the store.  Against CH's better judgement I came to work today.  I needed to make some calls and prefer to do it from the comfort of my pretty pink office.

Because I have been under the weather I have not been doing things at my usual rate - which means I am even more slow (I don't work fast) and only have my latest project partial completed.  I could show you picture of that but it would spoil the fun of seeing the finished project, right?

So my pin for today, is some of the beautiful things from my "A Girl Can Dream" board - if you go to Pinterest to check it out please take note of the fact that most of what I have pinned to this board is beautiful sexy men and kitchens.  :o)  Enjoy.

Source: graphicshunt.com via Tina on Pinterest

CH is aware of my love for Gerard Butler. How could any heterosexual woman not love him. He is beautiful and he has an accent. Hello.

When I grow up and live in the houses that I dream about, my kitchen in my country house will look like this.

Source: atticmag.com via Tina on Pinterest 

And my city house will look like this.

Source: houzz.com via Tina on Pinterest

Both of them will have Agas and a big farm sinks.

Source: google.co.uk via Tina on Pinterest

Source: kitchenbacksplashes.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest

And this is the next thing I would like to add to my collect - are you paying attention CH?

Source: etsy.com via Tina on Pinterest 

Be back tomorrow.  :o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, Days 21 Through 25...

I will confess, I have been up and about a bit.  I drove to Christina Lake today in my nice new rental car (Pin #21) to pick the Little Man up from H1's house and it tuckered me out.  I have not done much since.  Yesterday I went to the mall for cat food and to take advantage of a great deal PITA told me about on duvets - which turned out not to be duvets so much as white comforters with very nice duvet covers.  Still a good deal.  I bought two and left one wrapped in its plastic cover for the trailer (that I do not yet own but would really love to someday).

Source: allpar.com via Tina on Pinterest

Source: youtube.com via Tina on Pinterest 

So on with the pins...  did I do any, I don't think so.  I am going to cheat.  When I was not shopping for cat food and duvets I was couch surfing and watching CH's really bad choices.  Who knew there were that hours of pirate documentaries (yawn) available for our viewing (yawn) pleasure.

Pin #22, the sock bun.  This was one of the first pins I tried.  I could not figure it out from the photos, but his video rocked.  :o)  Works well on Penenlope's hair, not so well on mine, cause I cannot see it! We both have pretty fine hair, so I found that the leg of a pair of her heavy tights worked the best - small hole for small hair.

Pin #23, fashion plates.  A few months ago my Mum gave me my fashion plates.  Penelope has her own so I hide mine.  Isn't that terrible? I also have a old metal suitcase filled with plastic farm animals that I do not want my kids anywhere near.  They were my favorite things when I was a kid.  Especially the animals - they all had distinct names and personalities.  I always thought I would marry a farmer.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tina on Pinterest 

Pin #24, Jerry and Calvin. Jerry is our first Guinea Pig. He is awesome - brave and rambunctious. Calvin is
our second he is calm, a little shy and likes to cuddle. I really love them - they are easy to have as pets. If they pooped and peed in specific locations rather than wherever and whenever (oh yeah - on you, the couch, the table) they would be pretty close to the perfect pets. I was pet deprived when I was kid and as a result I will not say no to any pet request and probably have more than I should with two dogs, fours cats, two guinea pigs and an ever changing number of fish.

This is Jerry, borrowing Mr. Potato-head's glasses. He said he didn't mind - even if he did, Jerry is the kind of guy who would sneak out of the house with them anyway!

Source: Uploaded by user via Tina on Pinterest 

This is Calvin. He is wearing Mrs. Potato-head's glasses. He is a little shy and likes to be in a disguise, or tucked neatly under a pillow.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tina on Pinterest

Pin #25, I will save for tomorrow. Maybe I can come up something a little more creative.

Night. :o)

Tina

Fill in the Blank Friday on a Saturday Night

I am still not feeling right from the accident on Thursday and forgot all about the blanks this week.  I just logged on to do a post about my amazing cousin Justine Davidson who recently took a stand for women's reproductive rights at UBC (University of British Columbia), she has started a blog, you can read the full story here.  I am so proud of her and amazed by her.  Her Mum, Gail Davidson (she is everywhere on the internet), is a truely amazing human being and it would seem, that Justine, the youngest of 17 grand children, 4 in her home, is following in Mum's giant footsteps. So proud of my naked cousin!

Source: nakedubc.blogspot.ca via Tina on Pinterest

Now on with the blanks...

the little things we do

1. My favorite color is was always pink for as long as I can remember.  I feel a little disloyal saying it but I really love orange, red and green too.

2. My home decor color palette includes a lot of everything.  I love colour and have a hard time choosing.  The main living areas of our home are warm colours, reds, golden yellows, beige, and green - upstairs the bedrooms are like an Easter basket.  I am all over the map.

3. Other people always tell me I look good in dark oranges and bright blues.  Good thing because I have about two things that are not red, orange, blue or pink.

4. The color I detest is ... I used to say purple but the new shop is purple and I love it.  Maybe dusty rose, but even that is okay if sometimes.  There really is not colour I do not like at least a little.  I own a quilt shop and design patterns for a living - I freakin' LOVE colour.

5. If you were to look in my closet most of the colors you'd see  neutral bottoms - denim, black or khaki and the brightest collection of tops from turquoise to salmon, from bubblegum to tomato.  I love colour!

6. A color that I simply cannot pull off no matter how hard I try is yellow.  Not that I try.  I don't know any complexion that looks good in yellow.

7. The color of my favorite dress is turquoise and white, floral of course.

I need to relax, I am starting to feel like dirt again.

Tomorrow, I promise to have something with a pin! :o)

Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, Stalls on Day 20

This was my day today.  The last couple of days were busy.  I will be back tomorrow with something.

It was a free car.  Bummer.

Tomorrow is another day.

Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, Something Quick on Day 19

Source: moredesignplease.com via Tina on Pinterest

This one feels like another cheat like the posts about my shorties - it was so darn easy.  I am not taking a picture of my own because the post is already a day late and I don't have anyone to hold them for me.  I made three of these out of new t-shirts that had been kicking around the shop unsold for like three years.  They were all size small - what quilter wears size small.  Really?

The ones I made are #1 white, with A Fat Quarter Blessing poem on it; #2 pink with Quilter's University on it; and #3 green with All You Need is Love and a Garden written on it. Pretty cute and stupid easy. Seriously.  One line of sewing a little cutting and you are done.

I used the sleeve to make a little pocket to put into when you are not using it.  I need to spend a little bit of time to figure out how to attach the pocket to the bag so that it can be rolled right into it.  I have some like that and find that they are the ones I use as they fit into my purse nice and tidy.  I am am going to see if I can figure it out and make some more by the weekend and sell them for $3 or so each.  Hopefully I will make lunch money at the craft fair and maybe a little extra for something that catches my eye...something always does.

Later Gater -

:o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, A Tooth Catcher on Day 18

I saw this a knew it was something I could do a lot of in a evening so that I had little things to sell at the next craft fair I went to, so last night, I made some.  Mine are considerably plainer but I am not a paint person and I do not have any googly eyes in my stash at home - I know there are some at the shop so maybe I will add them later.

The Pinterest version.

Source: aroundbeads.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest

My version.

I have not decided on tomorrow's project, maybe something owly again...  which is strange because although I am not crazy for owls (that's PITA) I sure like making them.  I wonder what other living creature I could make out of fabric and love.  I might make some t-shirt shopping bags as I need samples for a upcoming class...  You will have to wait and see!

:o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, Something for PITA on Day 17

Source: gingercake.typepad.com
via Tina on Pinterest

Okay, I am cheating again.  I made this for PITA for Christmas.  I will be making a couple more over the next couple of days for a craft fair I am going to be in on March 24th in beautiful Nelson, BC. I only have one and half done now, I should probably hurry up...  I need to make some small stuff too cause small stuff always sells.

This is the Pin, which is a lead to the pattern for sale, I bought it, enlarged the template (which is all I bought it for) and made it my way.

I had an old wool suit jacket that I had bought to make myself a bag but I had not used it yet so I cut it up for PITA and it worked out perfectly.  I used the same fabric for the lining that I had used to make her this huge purse she acquisitioned me to make for her birthday.

I was very happy with it, PITA even more so. The pocket from the jacket that worked out perfectly on the back made me very happy.

Tomorrow is another creative day!

:o)  Tina

PS  This is the one I made from the scraps of others I am working on.  Simple - and for sale as are the wallets (made from vintage fabrics from the UK) and sock monkeys in the background.  :o)

31 Days of Pinterest, Something Pretty (That Fits) for My Beloved iPhone on Day 16

Source: switcheasy.com via Tina on Pinterest

I am certain I have mentioned before how much I adore my iPhone.  Truly love it.  Well, my dear sweet niece and BFF, PITA, purchased this lovely iPhone case for my birthday.  It was the gift on the day.  Did I tell you that she gave me a gift everyday this week? I really needed the love this year and am so thankful to her.  :o)

So, when I pinned it initially, I wrote "I freakin' love this but I cannot justify spending that much on a case for my phone."

So not something I did, but still something I can copy to my "Pinned it.  Did it." board.  :o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, A Birthday Gift for Myself on Day 15

So this one, as warned is a day late.  Yesterday was my birthday and I thought that I would be going to Ainsworth Hot Springs (which I freakin' love) but the weather was horrible and the road is windy so we decided better safe than sorry and we stayed home and I got the chance to finish the bag I was making myself using a fabulous tutorial from mmmcrafts.  I suggest you bookmark it or pin it or whatever it is you do to organize your future projects because it is a great - and not that difficult - tutorial to make the perfect sized messenger bag.

Source: mmmcrafts.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest 

And this is mine... I would like to toot my own horn a little and let you know that the exterior of the bag is made entirely of wool jackets that I have been thrifting to make bags (which I have only made two of so far but have two more about half done).  Nag gave me a tip that there was a red wool jacket at the Sally a couple of months ago and I knew it would be the one I used for my own bag.  I really love it - although it is nothing like my original plan which was more square and had flowers appliqued on it.  The next one will be like that (and I will use the scraps from this one for the flowers).

I have another bag post for Day 16 - which I will do later. I have to go sew with my Wilters now. :o)

Tina

My Kids Rock the World

No 31 Days today - I will do a double post tomorrow.  I did not have anything ready ahead of time and tomorrow is my last ever birthday. Read a better explanation here or here.

So my Dad gave me a $100 for my birthday which I promptly took to the grocery store.  With my shorties.  They are both healthy eaters (I have worked hard to ensure they did not inherit my TERRIBLE eating habits) so they don't bug me for too much.  They both wanted fruit so I told them they could choose their own.  This is what they got.

Penelope sweet watermelon, the little man savory red pepper.  You can't tell me that isn't cute.

Man, I love those guys.  :o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, An Owl Case for My Beloved iPhone on Day 14

Like any crafty person, I like to support other crafty people but sometimes something comes along that there is no way I am going to buy because I know I can make it.  This is one of them.

Source: etsy.com via Tina on Pinterest

Boy was I wrong!  It was a huge pain. It doesn't even fit my phone properly. I should have just bought one... but alas I did not and now I will have to keep trying to make one that works the way I want it to.  This is mine, all sewn by hand with a pocket in the front to put my bank card in - too bad it was a fail...

It looks like the dorky owl.  To be clear, my phone does fit into it, but it does not
slide in easily as I envisioned when I spent HOURS making this little sucker!

Okay and just so you know, tomorrow is my birthday so I won't be posting 31 Days.  By the time I drag my tired but home from my last ever birthday celebration I will be in no shape to be writing to anyone about anything (or anyone) so I am doing a post right after this one to go up tomorrow - something cute about my shorties.

Have a wonderful March 15th.  Think of me on my last ever birthday.

:o) (How can I make this smile appear old and wrinkled?)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, Something for Baby Hayden's Big Brother on Day 13

Today's project was a Christmas gift for my favorite four year old. He has been four for three whole days and has recently been reported to have told his Mom, PITA, that he is an old man.  Noah is a character like no other.  I made him a shirt for Christmas that said "Small guy, BIG attitude" and you will have to take my word for it.  He is hilarious - when I think of him, I think if him with his head cocked to the side, wagging his finger at me giving me the what-for.  He is a funny guy - he gets it from his mother.

On another note - complete unrelated to this post.  I wanted to say thank you to PITA for not only being a wonderful niece but a very good friend.  I love you and cannot image if I had to life without you.  I simply could not do it.  Thank you for going the extra mile whenever I need you to and thank you for making my birthday start today.

Source: homemadebyjill.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest

This is mine... well Noah's.  I used felt for the numbers instead of painting them on as in the tutorial.  I also made the felt road windy and had to use two pieces of felt so I added a crosswalk where they are pieced together.  Overall, I am happy with the end result and will most likely make a few more when people I know have baby boys.  Cute, easy gift that is easy to personalize.

Talk to you tomorrow.  I am working on a bag and hope to have it done, if not, I have a few other projects I have already done lined up for you.  :o)

Tina

Grrr... Gotta Vent Somewhere and Lord Knows He Does Not Take the Time to Read My Blog!!

Every now and then I need to vent a little about CH.  Godness knows I love him but he sure does wear me out.

This morning Nag and I were driving to work and she was telling me that her friend Mel had gotten a wedding dress given to her that she hoped to use for some trash your dress photo shoots.  Nag went on to tell me that the person the dress belonged to was in a happy marriage and then got in a car accident and her husband decided it was too much to deal with.  What the heck?!  Really.  How old was he, 12?  How can he face his reflection in the mirror, let alone leave his house? What kind of a person does that?  There has got to be more to it.  He must have been looking for an out already...  I don't know but both Nag and I deal with our husbands issues daily and we stick around even though it is not always easy and it means we sometimes have to carry more than our fair share of the responsibility in the relationship.  Grrr.

So that conversation lead to her asking if CH could be trained to do anything - I think he could.  He, unfortunately, does not.  I find it very frustrating.  He would need to do something he could do on his schedule (around his migraines and taxi service for the kids), that does not require much physical output, if any.  Maybe he could work as a home inspector, or be a medical transcriptionist.  There are lots of things - in my opinion - that he could do.  If he wanted to. I think he is afraid, just like I am as I look for a SECOND job, that he will not be able to do it.  I think that he is worried that he will not have any time for himself - to sleep, or to play video games.  He gets stressed when he has a schedule that he needs to keep - maybe he is afraid of that.  I don't know.  I do know that for some reason he thinks he is disabled - totally unable - and that his disability payment is enough money - let me tell you, it is not.  Not even close. Grrr.

Since the shopped moved, it has been much slower (which I expected) and we have been feeling the pinch at home - maybe now he will notice.  Today he asked me if I had any money and I told him what I have (which is literally about $30) and asked him for what and he said "To buy you something for your birthday."  WHAT?????  I deliberately told him what I wanted when we had money in the bank from his cheque and he didn't buy it.  SERIOUSLY????  He can be so selfish.  Doesn't he see how much it hurts me? I take care of so much for him - why doesn't he take care of me?  That's all he really needs to do.  I can do it all - the cooking, the cleaning, the household finances, the parenting - he just needs to take care of me.  Is he really so wrapped up in worrying about himself that he cannot see that I need him to worry about me. Even just on my birthday - Mother's Day and Valentine's Day and maybe Christmas would be nice too but...  Did I tell you on two of those three days he had a migraine all day?  He slept through V-Day all together and drug himself through Christmas like is was some kind of hideous torture (which it actually was). Especially this birthday - the last birthday I am ever going to have... 39 forever....

Last week I went to counseling.  My counselor told me that I am an enabler.  Well duh.  Not a newsflash unfortunately.  I do everything in my power to ensure the lid stays on CH's bottle of Ativan - I need to start worrying a little more about my own!

Thanks for listening, I will be back later with a 31 Days of Pinterest post and a little more cheer.

:o)  Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, A Cute Little Needle Keeper on Day 12

I spent Sunday, thankfully (as I had/have a nasty cold), on my bum sewing.  I finished a few projects I had in the que for customers and then did something for myself.  I saw this little needle keeper ages ago and new I would make it eventually.  I have a bit of a thing for pin and needle storage (and maybe pins).

{via}

This is the Pin for the tutorial, I of course used this picture and the template and just did it without following the instructions (that is my MO - you would think I would learn!).  I made one to test it out - and used batting, it was way to bulky (the orange one with monkey stamp), then I read the material requirements - which did not include batting  - and sewed the other four.

When I was done one thing I realized I would have done differently was that I wished I had used my machine to sew the snaps on when I sewed the address lines and felt for the needles so that I did not have to (carefully so I only caught the top layer of fabric) sew them on by hand. Also, if I make more, I think I will make them a little bigger so that I can wrap my scissors and thread up with them for one of my to-go projects.

This project was a freebie, and it will be for you to if you have any fabric scraps, felt scraps, and snaps on hand.

:o)  See you tomorrow!

Tina

31 Days of Pinterest, The Boy Who Changed My Life on Day 11

My son is a sweet, affectionate (but only at home, we have a deal), kind hearted, responsible, stubborn, intelligent, wise beyond his years, compassionate, and serious little man.  And in one instant he changed my world forever. I never knew there was love like this until the day he was born.  I never knew that any one person could totally change everything about who I thought I was the way that he changed me.

Source: graphicshunt.com via Tina on Pinterest

Everyday I think I could not love you more and then the next day I do.

Look how handsome he is.  :o)

Tina