Friday's Fix-up: Thanks Mom!

I was gone most of this week enjoying a vacation with my wonderful husband. Before I left I had planned to quickly throw together a fix-up when I got home, but then I came home and faced reality. That was tougher than I thought it would be. Vacations are wonderful things. I was able to relax and completely enjoy having that time for just James and I. But as I was driving home I couldn't help but think about all the things there are to do and take care of and worry about at home. It was a little depressing!

I decided that a fix-up would have to wait until next week. After being home for a couple of hours my kids asked if I had been in the laundry room yet. I hadn't had a reason to go in there yet, and wasn't sure I wanted one because the laundry room is always the messiest room in the house. And it's mostly my mess because, aside from being a laundry room, it is also a food storage room and my sewing/crafting room. The kids pulled me in and turned on the light and I was amazed!!! Today's fix-up belongs to my Mom. She had taken piles and piles of too much stuff and organized it. No before pictures, but that is OK. You really didn't want to see that awful mess anyway. Here are a couple of after pictures, but they only show part of what she did.






It isn't done yet. I need to sort through all of this stuff and get rid of bunches of it. I've been needing to do that for a very long time now, but I was never able to because every time I went in there I was way to overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start, so I just didn't. But now! I can see where things are, and I have places to put things, and I can get to things, and I am thrilled beyond description! Thank you so much, Mom, for getting me past that huge first step. It was more like 1000 steps. I can't tell you what a great help it is!!! I love you, Mom!!!!!

Recent Blog Discoveries

This post is a test to see if I can figure out how to publish a post at a later date. If you are reading this on the day I intended, I'm not really at home, but on vacation with my husband.




There are just too many really nifty blogs out there in blogland! So I'm sharing some that I've just recently come upon.




Her Cup Overfloweth


Ducky House




Betz White



Happythings





Cluck Cluck Sew



Little Birdie Secrets

Create

I love this message from President Uchtdorf. This small sampling is very good, but I love going back and reading the whole thing. It is so encouraging!

Friday's Fix-up: my bedside table

This before picture is pretty bad. Just so that I won't be too embarrassed I'm going to pretend that no one is really going to see this before picture. I can't see you sitting at your computer so it's just like it isn't happening, right? Maybe not. Well here it is .... my bedside table in all it's piled up mess.

And here it is again all nice and straight!

I was quite surprised at the things I found in that big ol' pile. Some things I'd been looking for. Some I hadn't missed but will need in the next month and would not have known where to look for them. Let's hope I can keep it this way for a while. If I can keep it nice for a whole month then it will be a habit. Habits can be such beautiful things!

10 Years

Today James and I have been married for 10 years.

Our engagement picture

Us now

Life just keeps getting better.

My Journal

Last night I got in bed and opened my journal to write a little bit. I noticed that my last entry was dated back in April. I read that entry and then went further and further back until I read through all of it. This journal covers the last two years, give or take a couple of months. I was really surprised at how many things I had learned or experienced and have now completely forgotten about. It was very nice to go back and re-experience those things. I'm very glad I thought to include them in my journal. But it makes me wonder what I'm missing. What other things have I forgotten about that are not recorded in my journal? It was also comforting reading about times that were difficult or stressful, but knowing now that they did pass and I survived and maybe even learned a thing or two. Another thing I enjoyed was reading about my children and the wonderful things they have done.

I've set a goal for myself to be a more regular journal writer. Right before bed is a good time for me. I post fairly often on this blog, but it is very different from the things I write in my journal. When I write here, I'm partly talking to myself, partly talking to those who I know read this blog, and partly to those who might happen upon this blog. When I write in my journal I'm talking to my daughters and granddaughters for generations to come. I don't know that any one of them will ever read my journals and I don't know why I even started thinking of them, but I do. I don't address them or specifically talk to them, really, but they are in the back of my mind as I'm thinking about what I want to write. Even if they never read what I've written, my journals have been a great blessing to me. I'm so glad I have them.

A Bright Doll Quilt

I finished! And I love it!

I used my walking foot for my sewing machine (I'll have a post about that in a few days I think.) and quilted in a grid right through the middle of the squares.

For the back I used orange with little white polka dots. And I bound it with the same flowery orange print I used on the front. I tried sewing the binding on with my sewing machine rather than by hand this time, and I'm pretty happy with it. It doesn't look as nice....but it was so much faster! I think I'll keep practicing both ways and see how it goes.

I also had a very cute helper while taking these pictures!

Oh, and no real Friday's Fix-up this week. I've been working on sorting through all the kids clothes, getting rid of some, and passing some down, and figuring out what everyone needs for school. We're almost done. Friday's Fix-up should be back next week, but I think it will be something small.

Huckleberry Jam

I made 12 and a half pints of Huckleberry jam last night. While I was at my parents house, my wonderful husband picked Huckleberries and put them in the freezer for me so that I could make the jam when I was ready. I always follow the directions that come in the pectin box when I make jam, but they don't have instructions for huckleberry so I found this recipe online. Of course we had to try some before we could go to bed last night. Warm jam on toast. MmmmmMmmmm! It was really good. Just sweet enough, and 12 pints of jam will not last very long in our house, so I've got lots of jam yet to make. Yum!

More Practice

I started another doll quilt. I started out with the pink and orange scraps and decided it wasn't quite big enough. So I added the white sashing which came from an old pillow case. I recently got a walking foot for my sewing machine and I'll try using that to quilt this. I'm excited!!!

My Shoes

These are my shoes.

I wear them almost every day. I got them at Payless for $12, I think. I bought them to wear with all my summer capri's and skirts, and I totally love them.

I'm just not a sandal kind of person. I used to wear sandals all the time. But sandals make my feet all sweaty and smelly and at the same time my heels get dry and cracked. I have no idea how a foot can be sweaty and get cracked skin at the same time, but it happens to my feet. And so I just decided that I would be much happier sticking with socks and shoes. Even if I'm staying inside my house all day, I put on my socks and shoes. I've found it's lots easier chasing my kids all over the place with my shoes securely tied to my feet.

To: Heidi, Dixie, Lynsey, and Natalie and your happy flip flop feet, Thanks for a great night out! I love you!!!

Friday's Fix-up: The Girls' Closet

I worked and worked on this all week! It actually involved more than the closet, but the closet is where you can really see the fruit of my labors. I wish I had taken a before picture, but I didn't. This closet is very much improved. I sorted and de-cluttered clothes and toys. And I finally moved some of Noah's things out of the girls' closet and into the boys' room. There is so much more space now! Sorry, I couldn't fit it all in one picture.

The toys are now all organized! The blue hanging thing is from IKEA, and it is super! (Thanks, Jocie!) Lots of the toys are up in the top of the closet so that I can have a little more control over how many toys are out at a time.

Childhood Memories

While staying at my parents house this last month, I was able to read some of my favorite stories to my own children. My mom still has them and keeps them in the room where my kids slept. My kids loved them just like I did. I used to go to sleep with stacks of books tucked around me and it made me smile to see my little ones falling asleep with the very same books tucked around them. These are just some of them.

I also got to show my children the tiny bedroom I used to share with my two brothers and one sister. It is now my Mom's sewing/crafting room. It is funny to go into that room now. I should explain that my family moved out of that house when I was 8, but my parents moved back into it about 2 years ago. When I go into that old bedroom of mine I really wonder how we all fit into it. I'm just guessing here (maybe you can help me out, Mom) but I think that room is about 6' x 8' with a wardrobe built into one end. I remember thinking the window and wardrobe and my bunk bed were so big when really they were not. I guess that's how my kids see them now.

It was so wonderful having that time with my parents this summer. It brought back lots of great memories for me and made some special memories for my children. It was perfect.