i have to say...

where has my week gone?

This week is flying by! 

Many little things left undone, like the laundry that has been begging to be put away for three days, and the bed that needs to be made, are vying for my time with the raspberries that want to be made into jam.   

The raspberries are winning the contest.

They are $1.00 per package this week so I am hoping to make quite a lot of jam since none has been made yet this year.  Mid-winter pieces of toast are pretty close to heavenly with some melted better and homemade fruity spread.  It almost makes me wish for a cold, snowy day.  Almost.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Our school year is progressing nicely.   After so many years of doing this we have developed a nice rhythm that works for us.  We keep a schedule but are casual at the same time meaning that we have goals, but I realize that life happens and it is OK to set some things aside to go with that flow.

Aubry generally sews after she finishes her work.  The cat is her constant irritation---oops!, I mean companion.

Maddie likes to hang out with Josiah at math time.  She spends most of her time trying to persuade him to go outside and run around, but has to content herself with sitting at his side while he works.

Yesterday we made homemade pretzels that were so good!  The four of us went through 16 of them before the end of the day (the kids ate way more than I did, by the way!).  I even scored some mommy-points by opening a can of nacho cheese sauce for dipping, something I hardly ever do!  I am one of those irritating gotta-keep-my-kiddos-healthy types who shuns cheese sauce most of the time.  Who knew that cheese from a can could be so good?

The recipe for the pretzels is here.  The kids can get involved in this one with all the twisting that is needed.  You just have to get past some of the crazy non-pretzel looking shapes the kids like to come up with.  I did manage to get a few traditional ones out of them before they went freeform:

Have a great day!

looking for the good things

This weekend brought with it some good and some bad.  Sunday I had to stay on top of my thoughts in order not to get stuck in the guilt, frustration, failure trap that I easily lapse into when I am not careful. In light of this, I have decided to focus on thankfulness and the good things that God has placed in my life, because there is so much!  Here is my list of good things, in no particular order:

***Aubry's Dorothy dress (Wizard of Oz) will not need to be handmade by me for Halloween since I ran into an old friend and she offered me the use of her daughter's outfit from last year.  Yippee!

***Sales in my shop seem to picking up.  This is especially great in light of the fact that it is time for a bunch of lovely new lines to be released.  This means that I get to buy lots of cool new fabric and chalk it up as work!

***I paid $2.69 per gallon for gas this weekend!

***My house is clean from top to bottom.  This was so necessary and it makes me feel good to start off my week with no cleaning needing to be done.

***I did get to have a fun date-night with my hubs this weekend.  We had a fabulous dinner at a Thai restaurant and went to see Max Payne, which is a guy movie all the way, and then we wandered around Barnes and Noble.  Simple, but fun!

***The weather these days is perfect!  Warm and sunny and happy.  It is easier to keep an eye on the good things when the sun is shining brightly.

...by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of  our lips, giving thanks to His name.    Hebrews 13:15

What are you thankful for on this Monday?

shop notes

Sugar Snap is now in my shop!  So cute!

Have a great weekend!

school days

Yesterday I could barely climb out from under the mountain of "things to do", so Aubry obliged me by doing her schoolwork in my bedroom while I sorted and put away laundry (my least favorite household job ever!).   I expected her to plop down on the floor with her books, but no.  In perfect Aubry-style she pulled up to the little piano bench by the window and sat down on her pink-polka-dot bean bag and did her work in style.

Apparently even school needs to be a fashionable affair!

is anyone else...

...tired of this election season?  I want election day to come so we can get this over with and move forward.  Regardless of who wins/loses, the world will keep on spinning and we will all go on with our lives.  Life will continue to be good.  I promise.

...trying not to laugh over the economic headlines?  The stock market is up/it's down/it's up/it's down.  Investors are wary/hopeful/fearful/optimistic.  I can't digest it anymore.

...a little miffed that the government wants to give us another economic stimulus check?  To begin with, we don't have the money---the government's coffers appear to be empty. Have you noticed how high the deficit is?  Also, it is our money in the first place.  How about just giving us a tax break next time and letting us keep what we earn.  The government  doesn't seem to be managing it very well anyway.  Enough said.

...enjoying paying less than $3.00 per gallon of gas?

...just generally tired of the bad news?

Sorry for the rant, but I am tired of all of this.  Except for the downturn in gas prices, it all seems like bad news to me.  I am taking the news headlines off of my homepage for a while because I don't want to keep rising and falling with the headlines. 

Is our country dealing with some very difficult things right now? Yes!  But we will make it through.  We always do.  And besides, my God is a lot bigger than any of what is swirling around right now.  I would rather focus on Him and what He thinks than what the news media or the politicians decide to throw at me.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes."  Psalm 118:9

Be sure to have a great day.   In spite of everything that is going on in the world!

just another manic monday!

OK, did I get that song stuck in your head?

Good, because it is stuck in mine and we can be thinking the same thought!

Fun stuff!

This is a crazy busy week for me (all good stuff, nothing to complain about!) so posting might be a little slow.  Who knows, maybe free time will come from nowhere and allow me to visit here more than I think I can.  I sure hope so!

Wishing you all a great Monday!

a crafty Christmas sale!

I am in Christmas-gift-making-mode!  This year everything (well, almost everything) is going to be handmade by me.  The times require it, but I also love it.  Starting early helps, but I know I will be sewing like crazy right up till the end.  I do it every year!

To celebrate the upcoming crafty-Christmas, I am having a sale in my shop.  All fabric is $7.00 per yard until Sunday, October 19th---every yard that I carry!

To order you may either email me at freshsqueezedfabrics(AT)gmail(DOT)com with your order or you can send me a conversation through Etsy.  I will set up a custom-listing for you ASAP.  You can also place your order through Etsy and I will refund you the difference.   

***It would take me too long to change all of the prices in my shop for this sale, so the sale price will be reflected on your invoice, or if you place your order without a custom-listing it will be refunded to you promptly!

To browse through the fabrics that I carry, please click here.

I will be out of the house for most of Saturday, but I will post listings as soon as I get home in the evening.

Happy shopping and have a great weekend!

hot links

Silly post title, I know, but it does go with my first link:

***I canned some jalapenos using my grandma's famous recipe.   Mine came out crazy-hot, but my guys love them!

***Pink Penguin does it again with this adorable Patchwork Bag tutorial!

***Gift-giving season is just around the corner and new placemats and napkins would be a perfect, simple gift for just about anyone.

***Crazy Mom Quilts shows how to make  scrappy log cabin baby quilt blocks.  Cute and easy!

***Candy Cane Sugar Scrub sounds almost good enough to eat, but don't!  This one is for lovely, natural looking skin only!

***Are you in the mood to win something?  You need to visit here and here and here and here!  Best of luck!

Have a lovely day!

my new sewing partner

Well, I finally did it.

I broke down and bought Aubry her own sewing machine.  We had purchased one for Christmas and it was a piece of junk, and recently we had the same experience with another kid's sewing machine.  I couldn't take the look of disappointment on her face again, so I found a good-quality kid's machine on Target.com and I bought it.  Just like that.

Have I ever mentioned that I almost never purchase anything spontaneously?  I goes against my cheap/thrifty/tightwad nature, but somehow this purchase feels just fine.

Of course, she is already sewing like a pro.  She catches on to things so fast.  At this point I have two concerns:

1. She is going to sew over her finger (she is a bit speedy, if you ask me!)

2. She is going to take over my craft room.  I can't believe how messy she is when she is making things.  All of a sudden it is as if a small hurricane has blown through the room when she enters.

So far she has started working on our stockings for Christmas.  They will be the most eclectic stockings that have ever graced our mantle. 

And I like it that way!