madmommy

Oh my goodness

I have been reminded by a faithful reader that I've been remiss again in keeping up this blog, so I'll fill you in on all the juicy details (lol).

First, life is pretty much running along as normal here.  In other words, hectic as usual. Between work and life, there's not a lot of time left in the day.

Right before Christmas, we received word that hubby was deploying again, this time to Afghanistan, so that his been the majority of my time spent outside of work.  Training is ramping up for him now, and late spring he'll be training full time, getting ready to leave sometime this summer.  This deployment is easier and harder than the last.  Easier, because we are happily settled into our home, with close friends and family close by. Easier, because the munchkin is older now, and can talk on the phone or over the internet, and understands time concepts better now. Harder, because it's a more dangerous situation than we've faced in the past, and harder because the munchkin is able to understand Daddy being gone. 

The most important element in our move to our current house was to put us closer to family, and I've made some very close friends since moving here.  Our church family is also wonderful and supportive.

I'm still sewing, having finished an apron recently for the Home Ec teacher I work with (can you imagine, she'd never owned a hand-made apron before?).  She was so proud to show it off to the class!  The pattern is the Duet Apron from You Can Make This, my continual favorite for patterns.

Aside from that, life goes on here in the middle of America.  I guess I need to make a (late) New Year's resolution to keep this blog up-to-date! 

New machine, Toys for Tots, and Follow the Fifty!

Well loyal blog fans, if any still exist out there (hi Mom!).

As I said before, I haven't deserted you, I've just taken a leave of absence.

Let's get started, shall we?

First, say hello to my lil' friend (said with an Al Pacino/Scarface accent)

This is the Janome Sew Mini, which I purchased at Hancock Fabrics for $49.99. Don't let the small size fool you.  As the box states quite clearly, This Is Not a Toy.  This is a real sewing machine, made in the same factory as the bigger Janome machines. It uses the same bobbins and needles, but only weighs about five pounds (I can pick it up easily with one hand). Drop in bobbin case, six stitch settings (only straight and zig-zag) and a reverse switch.  Drawbacks? No light. It also only has one speed. When you depress the foot, it starts, and when you release, it stops. But the speed isn't annoyingly slow.  It can sew through several layers of cotton, but cannot handle heavier fabrics (and doesn't like the hook side of velcro too well).  But the best part is, I can keep the ruffler foot on my big machine, and do the simple sewing on this little jem, and get so much more done. The stitches are beautiful.  This is one of the best sewing purchases I've made in a long time. And the day after Thanksgiving, Hancock Fabrics is selling these for $39.99, one day only. Go grab one!

Next...Toys for Tots.

This is the second year that YouCanMakeThis.com has offered free doll clothes patterns that you can sew and submit to Toys for Tots, so little girls can dress their new dollies in more than one outfit.  What about the boys? you say.  Well, currently the site is also selling quite a few patterns where 100% of the proceeds go to Toys for Tots, so the boys are covered, too.

Here are a few examples of the outfits you can make...

You're not limited to the free patterns, either. Any doll clothes can be made and donated, as long as they're submitted with a form (found on the site) that tells what size doll the clothes will fit.  Here are some more examples of clothes I've made, using patterns from the creator of those free patterns, Carla C.

And finally, Follow the Fifty. Another neat creation by YouCanMakeThis.com. This time, a group of women (and men!) are setting out on the challenge to be thrifty this Christmas, and raid their stashes too!

Follow them here:

Facebook love

Yes, I've fallen prey to the Facebook "epidemic". My cousin Rob got me started, and suddenly I've found many, many of my old high school friends, some of which I'd lost track of years ago.  What a great tool, and lots of fun.

But fear not, I haven't left this blogging world yet.  Many new things to come, many more sewing creations.  My new favorite, sewing tea cozies.  Recently, a friend invited me to one of those cooking parties, except it was all about tea.  The coordinator said she'd be interested in selling my cozies at her parties, and I might have another lined up in the wings. This on top of sewing doll clothes and kids clothes.  We finally cleaned out the main room in our basement (it's a finished basement) and now the munchkin has the majority of it for a play area, with couch and tv also, and another corner is my sewing area.  Hubby's office is already down there, so we can all spend a cozy evening together.

Back again soon, hopefully.

Oh yes, on a postscript. My gallbladder surgery went fine, and we are no longer considering tubal ligation. Instead, I'm going to try Mirena (the 5 year IUD), which would still give us the option to have more kids.  Because who knows, in 5 years they might develop an acceptable treatment for bipolar disorder that doesn't have the risk of fetal birth defects.  One can only hope.

Pain

Ok, ready for another excuse for my long blogging absence?

How about getting my gall bladder removed?

Two days ago, I was having stomach pain. At first, I thought it was from the Excedrin I took for a headache upsetting my stomach.  Then I thought it was cramps. After being woken up in the wee morning hours with terrible pain that wouldn't go away with ibuprofen and a heat pack, I woke up my hubby and we headed for the emergency room.

Half an hour, plus morphine and x-rays, later, I found out that I had a gall stone in a very inconvenient place, and that my gall bladder had to come out.  Fortunately, the surgeon was able to get me in that afternoon, and I spent the night and most of today at the hospital.  Now I'm out from work for a week, which is difficult as we just started a new school year.  But I'm going to spend my downtime hopefully catching up on some Bible reading (I'm reading the Daily Bible by F. LaGard Smith), and studying to be a pharmacy technician (a course I'm taking by internet/correspondence through Penn Foster).

What do you have planned for this long weekend?

New way of operating

Because of some inappropriate comments, I will be requiring approval before I post comments from now on.  It is a shame that some readers feel it necessary to "bash" my opinions.  I strongly feel that blogs are personal expressions.  My opinions are my own, and no one else's. If I make a personal statement, even one of a political nature, including the previous video post, I assume that readers understand that it is my own personal opinion.  If I can change the minds of others with my own opinion, for my own reasons, then my blog is my forum.  However, I will not post comments of a vicious nature. You are welcome to your opinion; if you don't like what I have to say, then read someone else's blog.

I am sorry to come off so harshly, but I believe in my right to my opinion, and to what does and does not appear in my blog.  

For the love of a child...

Regardless of how you feel about politics or abortion, please watch this before you go out to vote this fall.

Iowa Storm

Although I have many more things to talk about than Iowa during this last trip up to visit my folks, I just have to mention this first.  Some of you may remember our last trip north, and how we fared in Iowa. This trip makes me think we're jinxed.  Just a few minutes away from Des Moines, we ran into a terrible storm that caused me to pull off the road (and switch places with hubby), not to mention almost hitting the car in front of us, even going only 25 mph.  We heard later that the winds were 70-80 mph.  The car was rocking, and we couldn't see anything.  This storm went on to produce tornadoes, so I feel fortunate that the high winds and sideways rain were all we had to contend with.  If you don't believe me, here's the video I took with my cell phone...

10 Years About Me

A meme, inspired by moving hands:

Ten years ago...I arrived for my 15 month tour in South Korea with the U.S. Army (also, the last year I spent in the active duty Army).
Nine years ago...I met my hubby-to-be while stationed in Korea, and returned to the U.S., moving to Kansas a month later from Wisconsin.
Eight years ago...finally started college (at the ripe old age of 25) and got married!
Seven years ago...deployed with the Kansas National Guard to the Wichita airport after 9/11.
Six years ago...brief downtime between the previous deployment, and training for deploying to Bosnia, which became...
Five years ago...Bosnia, Germany, and a brief but wonderful visit to Budapest, Hungary. Graduated college with an Associates Degree in Elementary Education.
Four years ago...Hubby deploys for Kosovo.  The same week, we find out I'm pregnant.
Three years ago...munchkin is born!
Two years ago...bought our first house.
and One year ago...moved into our second house, and I'm not planning on moving again!

I'm discovering a distinct trend in my past ten years...how so much time was consumed with deployments and military life, even thought most of that time was spent in the National Guard.  This is not a bad thing; just explains why, after "living" in Kansas for nine years, I still don't know much about it.  Because I'm never here, lol!

Your turn!

Double Rainbow

(Please excuse the poor quality-moving car + cell phone camera)

Woe is me...

Well, um, we're getting ready for our big trip.
Took the car in today to get the windshield replaced.  There was a very long crack along the bottom, and a nice rock chip, very red-neck country thing going on.  Nothing unsafe, but with all the little micro abrasions, it was time to get it fixed.

So, driving away from the glass place, on the way to the grocery store, the A/C compressor on the car goes out.  Completely.  In 95 degree weather.  With only three days to get it fixed before hubby heads off to weekend Nat'l Guard drill and the munchkin and I step on board the train northwards.  Not to mention, this is the same car that needs to make the trip north a week later to meet us.  We have a pickup, but not the most fuel-efficient option, if you know what I mean.  We only have the one car, because hubby gets a work car, one of the perks of having a state job and traveling everywhere!

So, there goes the extra vacation money!  Good thing we're staying at the Mom and Pop Bed and Breakfast, lol!

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of the munchkin licking frosting off a plate (Happy Birthday Daddy and Great Uncle Mark!)