Hello All!

Posted in Uncategorized on November 1 by jmommy08

I appreciate anyone who has popped in here recently, but I have come to the realization that I barely have enough time to update one blog, yet alone two – so please feel free to see everything I do and am able to get on and share at my other blog:

Blueberry Pie

I will be deleting this blog shortly.  I apologize to anyone who may have looked forward to following me on this.  I just have to be realistic.  Thank you!

Brainstorming

Posted in Uncategorized on May 28 by jmommy08

So, the time I have spent away from the computer (in nearly all aspects except for work) I have spent brainstorming and I have some plans. Hopefully, said plans will pan out.

First plan: My friend is having a baby in August. My plan is to make an ABC quilt, a breast feeding bag containing breast pads, lanolin oil, etc, and a baby care bag containing vapor rub and bath (essentials for us when Baby J got sick) and maybe some other things.

Second Plan: Mom’s birthday is September 21. I would like to take her to Amish Country as her birthday gift. I was looking at staying here on Saturday night.  There seems to be lots to do in that area and we have only skimmed the surface to date.  So we’ll see about that. 

Third Plan: A shopping cart cover.  I have some leftover home dec fabric from the couch and I think I’m going to make a very simple shopping cart cover out of that and some extra fabric I have. 

I know I spend a lot of time planning.  Unfortunately, that seems to be all I have time for (since I can do it while I’m doing the mundane things I do at work).  At some point, I hope to start posting finished products.  I also hope to be able to post more often.  I have to get used to this Mommy thing someday, right?  I would give anything to be a stay-at-home-mom and not just so I can get more things done.

Well, the storm is getting pretty bad, so I guess I should probably hop off of here.  I was going to go take a shower, but I’m worried the thunder is going to wake Baby J, so I think I’m just going to head up to bed.  Good night and good luck!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Posted in Uncategorized on March 17 by jmommy08

Here’s to the little bit o’ Irish in everyone!  Hope everyone has a happy and safe St. Patty’s Day!

Mint Chocolate Chip Monday

Posted in Uncategorized on March 17 by jmommy08

As I was sitting enjoying a delicious bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream with my lunch today, I looked down and realized…it’s green!  What a great green it is too!  So that is my green for Monday…mint chocolate chip ice cream green.  Delicious!

Green Week Part One

Posted in Uncategorized on March 15 by jmommy08

Hooray!  Green week is here!  I thought I would start the week off with a couple things I see almost everyday (and dread seeing because that means I’m at work).  However, since they’re green, I will include them.  We’ll move on to happier things as we get closer to Friday!

Happy impending day of gloom…also known as Monday!

I Finished Something!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on March 11 by jmommy08

Oh my goodness! I finished something last night! I finally got my planner done. It came out really nice, but I lost a 1/4″ somewhere, so I couldn’t add a nice edge around it. But it’s still pretty.

I consider it a prototype if you will.  I am planning on making more and putting them in my shop.  Maybe not calendars persay (since it’s March), journals, maybe.

Of course, it doesn’t fit in my purse. Oh well.

Don’t forget!  Green week is next week.  And after green week I’m going to start a photography challenge.  It’s the ABCs of your hometown.  I am hoping to get some people involved with this.  I am putting together a photography book for Baby J with the ABCs of her hometown, so I thought everyone could join in with me.  Let me know if your interested!

Bummer!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 6 by jmommy08

I think that term is straight out of the eighties. Oh well. The bummer of the day is that we won’t be able to do the 3 Day this year. Bummer! I can’t bring Baby J with me and since we’ll still be breastfeeding, I can’t leave her for three days. So my sister and I, and possibly our mother, will definitely be doing it next year. Which means we have a whole year to fundraise – we should definitely be able to do it.

I have pictures of some recent quilt squares on my cell phone (because I forgot to take pictures of them before I went to work and I mailed them out from work). I have to figure out the SD card and get all of the pictures off my cell phone and onto the computer.

Other than that, most of my crafting has been planning at this point. I am very much in the mood for spring and desperately want to make a spring quilt, but I keep telling myself I have to finish Baby J’s quilt first.  It kills me that I am only planning – but financially and time-wise I just have not had the means.  Okay, I’ll admit my entire life at the moment revolves around my five month old, but that’s allowable – they grow up WAY too fast!

Anyways, I found this tutorial while tootling around and I just LOVE it! I have some great ideas in my head that incorporate the basics of this tutorial and some freezer paper stencils. Of course, I have never put a zipper in in my life, but you have to start somewhere.

I came up with a great idea to make a calendar for myself this year and I have all of the pieces ready to go, but I haven’t sewn them together. It is my goal to do that tonight, unless my mother decides to come down this weekend. That will change my goal.

Well, off to work! Thanks for all the comments about Baby J and the site! Let me tell you, I actually have a “site idol” if you will…someday I would love for my blog to be like this.

Since photography is an art, I’m going to be hosting my own green week – inspired by the above mentioned blog – but I thought it would be more appropriate to host it the week of St. Patty’s Day.  So tune in then to see some green.  If you would like to join me in celebrating St. Patty’s Day through photography, let me know and I will link to you throughout the week too!

I have to get my butt in gear.

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 23 by jmommy08

I found out, over the weekend, that there is a 3 Day walk in Michigan. So my goal is to participate in it. It is in August – so I have a little bit of time, but not much. I have requested the necessary information, now I have to come up with a way to get the registration fee. My mother said that it is $2,000.00 a runner. Woah! Well, once I receive the information packet, I will know more. This is big and I cannot wait! I am so excited to get into this and be a part of something bigger.

On that note, I am starting Care Quilts. These are pink quilts that will be donated to local hospitals to give to women who are going through chemotherapy or have just had a lumpectomy or masectomy. As much of an avid quilter as I am, I could not possibly create all those squares, so I am looking for help! Click here for more information on what you can do to help with Care Quilts.

Changes already?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on January 29 by jmommy08

That’s right – I’ve changed things already. Don’t worry, it’s just the appearance.

I am going to be working on a separate charity unswap. The link is under Other Charities. I am going to be making some small afghans to send along in pink (go figure).  Check it out and contribute to yet another worthy cause.

This cause hits close to home. We were fortunate enough to bring a very healthy, happy, one week late baby girl into the world, so I can’t say that I know exactly how they feel, but my heartbreaks just thinking about the possibility of loosing our little girl.

Our Little Girl

Our Little Girl

The parents out there who go through the heartbreak of loosing their child, even if they’ve never held them or heard them cry, have got to be among the strongest people I know.

Side note: for more on trying to raise a traditional child in a modern world as well as my other exploits, view Blueberry Pie.

Intent – a statement of purpose

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , on January 20 by jmommy08

Almost four years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Less than a month before she was to give me away at my wedding, she had a full masectomy.  Walking me down the ailse, she wore padded stuffies and even still had her drains in.

Let me explain something about my relationship with my mother.  She is my best friend.  Yes, I have the best friend who is my age and when I was younger, didn’t punish me for something my younger sister probably did.  But I still consider my mother my best friend – think Gilmore Girls, if you will.  She is my ally and I am hers.  So when she stepped into the ring to battle something I couldn’t tag team with her, I knew there had to be a way to help her out. 

So it took me almost four years – what can I say?  I am slow on the tag.  The good news is, she has been in remission for 2 of those years.  The bad news – I am not nearly as far along in my mission as I would like to be.

Here’s the idea; I love to craft!  Probably more so than I should – but give me a break – I sit in an office switching files around all day.  I have nothing to show for the eight hours of work I put in.  Its nice to work on something and have a finished product when all is said and done – thus my abnormal addiction to crafting.  And I’m not talking one particular craft – nope, I like to dabble in it ALL.  So I thought I would set up a shop and donate money from the proceeds to a breast cancer research group.  With the new year, came the idea of separating my blog into a crafty blog and a life blog.  Since I want to get to the point where my crafts are for my shop (with a few outside gifts and, of course, when my Baby J gets a little older, child crafts)it seemed apropo to devote my blog to the same idea.  For Mama.

Access here to see what I have dabbled in, where I’m going, and what is new up in the shop.  There might even be some bloggy giveaways and tutorials, depending on my mood and the influx of readers.  I will also include my exploits in the Race for the Cure.

So here it goes – spread the word!  Pass the link!  And feel your boobies!

Feel Your Boobies