Making do or living in the now

Years ago I saw an episode of "Oprah" where Iyanla VanZant was the guest expert. What stands out about this episode is the advice she gave the participant. Let me give you the back story. The guest was talking about how she was buying all this stuff but holding off decorating because she was waiting for "Mr. Right". Iyanla told her what about Ms. Right and that she better go ahead and paint those walls and hang up those pictures. I'm so guilty of waiting. But, I hear you Iyanla! I have 4 kids and they are hard on stuff. I wish they weren't , but they are. Because of this I've held of on really doing the things I want to do in my home, buying the furniture I really want. I've had periods of where I'll get depressed that I'm not living in the environment I think I should be in. I've let the kids take over the space. Not anymore! I'm painting, I'm buying what I love. I want to be in surrounding that fill me with lightness and joy.
Now, don't get me wrong, it'll be a process, but I've been transforming my life over these last few years and it stands to reason that my home should follow too. Watch out world...I'm not waiting any longer!
I just purchased a nice sofa from Rowe to replace my horribly stained hand me down one. Small steps, but it's a beginning. I'll post pix of the sofa after it arrives. I love it though.

Olivia in the city

This is a quilt I made for Olivia from my much coveted Urban Chicks Summer in the city fabric. It's probably my all time favorite line. Anyway, even though you can't tell, the blocks are really tiny and since this was a pattern of my own making I just started making blocks and thought I had plenty. Well, I had originally planned to just do a layout with no sashing or borders. I soon realized that I would end up with a quilt meant for a doll. That wouldn't do at all, so I added sashing and a border to get it the size it is now. It's a nice size for her, probably between a toddler quilt and a small lap quilt in size. She loves it. I'm still working on my free motion quilting. I was going for an allover stippling, but I'm still more of a meanderer. I am improving though, so that's good. I just got a great book on freemotion quilting and have been reading a ton online. What I've learned that it really just comes down to practicing. My goal is to one day be like Diane Gudyanski and quilt wonderful designs on my home machine. I couldn't afford to quilt if I had to send my quilts out to be quilted. Luckily I have both my Kenmore 47 and Brother pq1500 which both have nice larger harp spaces for quilting so it's just a matter of practicing and improving my skills.

It's been so long....

Wow, I can't believe it's been a couple months since I last blogged. I have had so much going on in my life in the past few months. I went from being what was essentially a SAHM to a WOHM. While I enjoy it, it wasn't without it's challenges. One of the biggest challenges for me has been figuring out a way to balance life and work. Finding time to do the things I enjoy and still having the time to be a hands on mom. I learned pretty quickly I was not superwoman. Some things had to give. I found us eating more quicky meals and take out, I found that my house was less tidy, I found that I didn't have the time to blog, I wasn't finding the time to get to the gym and that I was frustrated by all this. Well, it's taken some time, but I think I'm getting it all worked out. I've enlisted the children's help with the housework and I've lowered my standards, lol. I have cracked open my once a month cooking cook books and am doing some meal planning so we have no excuse to not eat healthy. I'm listening to more audio books. The weather is warming up so I'm taking walks and soon I'll be at the pool. I'm finding the time to sew and knit again, which really makes me happy. And I finally think I have the time to blog now that I got my new Macbook! Love it!!!
Mac is a whole new world to me. I'm still figuring a few things out, but I don't think I'll ever go back to a pc.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I think I'll be able to check in more often and hope you will too.

Wow, 2011 and resolutions

I can't believe I've been away so long. It's been nice, but busy. I've done a lot of sewing and baking. I've spent tons of time with the kids and of course there's work and just every day life. I hope all has been well with you all and that 2011 brings you all that you hope for.
Well, 2010 is almost behind us and 2011 await, bright and shiny, full of promise. I'm excited about my future. I have lots of plans.
Fitness wise, I'm going to recommit myself to eating mindfully and getting in regular exercise. It's been a challenge, but I think I've found a remedy and have no more excuses not to get moving. I'm running a 5K tomorrow so I think that's a great way to kick this off.
Craft wise I'm going to make 2011 the year that I focus on sewing for me. I love beautiful clothes but often find myself wearing my uniform of jeans and tshirts. I want to kick it up a notch. I want to work on tailoring and fitting clothes. Maybe I'll take a class or maybe I'll just crack a book. Either way I want to sew more for myself. I also want to get a jump on my holiday sewing. I've found that I do enjoy quilting, but I'm incredibly slow and if I want to have all the quilts I have planned finished in any reasonable amount of time I'm either going to need to sew faster or start earlier. Since I've never been about speed I guess I'll have to get a jump on it. I want to make quilts for several family members and also a couple for me. I want to do a few table runners, maybe a wall hanging or two. Well, see. I also want to finish knitting "The February Lady Sweater". It will probably take me all year,lol. Mainly though, I want to use what I have. I have a lot of fabric and as tempting as it is to purchase all the new stuff, I need to resist and sew from my stash.
Frugality, I need to embrace this. Less really is more. Sometimes when you have so much it's difficult to appreciate what you have and I never want to take anything for granted. Less consumerism in every aspect of my life.
Family, I want to continue to try to be the best parent I can and to pay attention to what each member needs. I want to be loving, gentle and kind.
That's alot and should keep me busy well into 2012...and beyond!

Priorities

You may have noticed that lately I haven't been the faithful blogger I once was. My life has changed so much in the last year and along with it, so have my priorities. I still love to craft and cook. In fact I find myself doing it even more lately. What I find though is I don't have as much time to document my various projects. I want to keep my blog going since it's a great way to keep a record of the things I've done (when I remember to post pictures). I've also met some amazing people through the world of blogging. I just don't want to feel the pressure to have to blog anymore. So, I will be retiring my Monday meal feature. Oh, I'll still share recipes from time to time, of course. I'll still post about my crafting too, I just am going to be honest and say that I don't have to ability to do it all and for now blogging is going to be less of a priority. I hope that you all will still stop by occassionally and see how I'm doing, I'll still be here.

Monday's Meal

In an effort to scale back on my dining out expenditures, I have been trying to cook more takeout style food at home. It's cheaper and healthier. Here's a do at home version of Asian Lettuce recipes.


16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground pork (or beef)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced pickeled ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil
shredded carrots for topping

Directions
Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger and vinegar to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat and top with carrots, enjoy!


Sauce for dipping
1 tsp seasame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp chili paste
Mix together in blender and serve.

Monday's Meal

Here's a recipe for you to put in a jar and give as a gift. Not only is tasty, but it looks pretty too.

Cranberry Hootycreeks

5/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart or 1 liter jar, in the order listed.

Attach a tag with the following instructions: Cranberry Hootycreeks 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Cool on baking sheets, or remove to cool on wire racks.