Sunday, January 29, 2012

Adagio: Tender Mercies

I’m so excited to be starting a new week!  Last week was, well, kind of hectic.  Samantha did manage to get all of her make-up work turned in (barely), so tomorrow starts a fresh new semester for her.  Nicholas traversed the “game of life” {field trip} and half a week of subs.  Sarah managed to get an ear infection, but even that only managed to slow her down for about 3 hours before the meds kicked in.  Sometimes, I’m not sure how much I appreciate modern medicine :)  Rhett bought the sheet rock for our bathroom, so the next round begins … 

Friday, January 27, 2012

Tipsy Tutorials: Sam's Memory Quilt


OK.  I didn't quite realize how that sounded right off.  No, I didn't mean drinking-tipsy, I mean here are some of my tips for a project I learned from personal experience.  That said, this is a long post …

I took on this particular project two summers ago after Sam went on our stake's handcart trek in July.  (Sorry I have no pictures because it was started before I knew how cool blogging is and how to make my own videos.)  I had just finished my first hand-stitched quilt—for a babydoll.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

This-is-so-COOL!: Mom's Birthday Present

I posted a preview of this little project a couple of weks ago.  Here is the final product.  My inspiratoin came from the Sew, Mama, Sew website (http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2007/11/wellness-bag/).  I love this idea--any excuse to take a moment to retreat and relax is always good.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Half-Baked: Marmalade Muffins


One of the things I really love to do to unwind every day is read.  I have found several series of books that I return to over and over again.  One of these is a series of culinary mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson.  I thoroughly enjoy the way she intersperses her love of food with her storytelling.  It is not contrived, as other authors sometimes are.  Seriously, I find myself laughing out loud at times.  Check out the series, starting with Catering to Nobody.  I have found numerous recipes that my family enjoys from these books over the years.  This particular recipe is called "Marmalade Mogul Muffins" and published in Tough Cookie in spring of 2000.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Adagio

I first encountered the word when I was taking piano lessons as a youngster.  Just another one of those foreign words that I had to remember to interpret as I played.  Who knew that playing the piano included learning a new language too.  Well, NOW I know :)  ANYWAY, I love the feel of the word as I think about what it means, as I play a nice slow piece or even just say the word aah-dah-jee-o.  Just the slow roll off my tongue bids me to slow down, take a deep breath, release and relax.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

S.W.A.K.--What a way to end a week!

I've been thinking about a way to get into a schedule that includes regular blogging.  I look around at a lot of the blogs that I enjoy browsing and they have all these catchy names like Wacky Wednesday or Make-it Monday or Fabulous Friday.  While all this is cute, and fun I don't want to duplicate what someone else has already done.  On the other side of things, I don't want to back myself into a corner where I feel like  I just have one more thing I have to do.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Tote Bag for Mom

This morning I'm off to another doctor appointment with my oldest, but I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to share a picture of my current proect.  My mom's birthday is at the end of January and I saw this old post on SewMamaSew:  http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2007/11/wellness-bag/.    Mine turned out a little different, but I'm so excited about the way it looks.  I hope to finish the bag tomorrow and then begin work on the hot and cold bag covers.  The sewing should go quickly, then I get to go shopping to round out all the little add-ons.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Daughters of God

Last night's activity went really well.  I was nervous because it felt like another lesson, but all the girls participated and got into it.  Here is a very rough outline of what we did.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

I'm so excited to finally be getting this blog thing going.  I'm a great starter, but not-so-great a finisher.  When I first started back last July, I just couldn't remember to make the time to work on setting things up.  I wanted to start a blog for two reasons:  1. to help keep in touch with family--to keep track of the things we do in our family and as a family and share it with extended friends and family, and 2. to keep track of my projects--I am constantly working on something.  Usually it is crafty, sometimes its more industrial--like re-doing my bathroom.

This afternoon I just finished a subway art project that I was working on for a Young Women's activity.  I get to do Personal Progress activities the first week of each month.  This month the Sunday lessons focus on our relationship with our Father in heaven and his son, Jesus Christ.  Per the Curriculum Guide, I wanted to do an activity that highlighted our divine heritage.  Because we are righteous daughters of God, we are entitled to an amazing divine inheritance.  Details later, I'm just so pleased with the way this little project turned out.