Monday, November 30, 2009

'Tis The Season

Aaaahhhhh. Christmas.
I love this time of year. From the last week of November to the last week of December I'm usually in a pretty good mood.
I blame my mother. She's one of those Christmas-all-year-long types.
This year we put up our tree earlier than ever; the day after Thanksgiving. That means an entire month of Christmas Spirit. I think it's because this year we have our own home again. We can use our own decorations. We have our own space. It just feels like home. And Christmas.
I also love this time of year because it brings out the craftiness in me. I have been sewing like crazy: star ornaments, placemats, napkins, anything I can think of to make to avoid buying meaningless gifts. I have always been a fan of "handmade" but for some reason, lately, I am really getting into it even more. If I can make something with my own hands and my own mind then why would I want to waste time & money in a store buying something that doesn't have nearly as much meaning & love behind it. I feel good about what I make, and making things as gifts at Christmas makes me feel even better.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

So much to be thankful for today: good food, good friends, good family.
May your day be a wonderful one.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Things To Be Thankful For

- The roof over our heads
- The jobs that Bobby & I have to help make ends meet
- My kids' smiles
- My parents
- Our landlords/neighbors/second parents
- My best friends
- Free turkeys
- The holiday season to make me realize that I have so many things for which to be thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Saturday

Today I will sew.
Today I will sew.
Today I will sew.

That's my mantra for the day.
It's beautifully gorgeous outside: mild & sunny, and it's only 8am. I'm sure the kids will spend much of their time out there getting muddy today. I, however, will be upstairs enjoying the hum of the sewing machine and trying not to stab myself with pins. I have an order for 10 more stars, a rice bag with removable cover, and I have some Christmas gifts to work on as well.

Busy.
Busy.
Busy.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Today

Today we learned that we may not get our annual raises this year. It was disappointing for about 30 seconds. Then we found out that our health insurance premiums could be going up anywhere between 12 and 30%. In an effort to keep our insurance costs down the owner, HR manager & CEO will be determining just how much extra insurance will be. They are hoping to not have to pass on the rising costs to us employees, which would mean no raises.
I can certainly appreciate this effort, however I am so unimpressed with our health insurance companies these days. I am not completely in the know about this national health care reform, but I do know that if things don't start getting better no one will be able to live comfortably anymore. We rely on our employers to provide us with health coverage, but we also rely on them to reward us for our good efforts each year, and to also make sure that we can afford to live as the cost of every day living keeps going up as well. I'm sure I make more than many of the employees in my company, but I also know that there are many other employees who make a hell of a lot more than I do. I know that I am worth more than what I make, but I also know that the job market is horrible around here right now.
I will take no raise & affordable health care over no job any day.

Monday, November 16, 2009

I'm Back

Although I never really left.

It's funny, but I would like to blog more often. The problem is, if I feel like I don't have anything inspiring or amazing to write, then I just shouldn't bother. It's not like I have a lot of blog followers anyway, like all those big name blogs I read every day.

How do I get to that point? How do I make myself inspiring to others? How do I make my life sound interesting to thousands of other people? I'm not a designer. I don't have sponsors. I don't have freebies to offer, and if I did, who would win? The 2 people who read this? (Hi Pam & Laura!)

I want to be those people; those amazing women who inspire me and many others around the world with their simple words every single day; those women who are fortunate enough to have been blessed with the ability to stay home and become fabric designers, pattern creators, and overall nice people.

In the meantime, while I am searching for answers and wishing that I could be one of those bloggers, I will leave you with these pictures of some of the fun things I created this weekend. Enjoy!

Sorry, picture upload is giving me a hard time tonight..... I'll try again tomorrow.