Destinations

I have spent way too much time today dreaming of all the places I could visit or live.  Don’t get me wrong, Chicago is a great place to live, but these long and COLD winters are getting to both of us.  We talk of living somewhere warmer, but it’s all just talk so far.  So I have been connected to my computer today doing all sorts of random searches.  Did you know that the average daily temperature in Chicago is 52?  Granted it is the average but it’s so depressing to think that 40 degrees outside in March makes me want to drive with the windows down.  Am I crazy?!

So I looked up cost of living analyses and Gurnee IL has a cost of living of 103, which is higher than the national average.  My cousin that lives outside of Houston has a cost of living of 87.  For $124k you can get a house with 4+ bedrooms and a pool there!  I think I’m going through some sort of need-to-change-something phase, or at least a grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side phase.

Life just doesn’t feel all that interesting when you work all the time.  (Sorry, I need to vent, so if you don’t like hearing people vent, move on to another blog…) 

I really don’t mind what I do at work, but I’ve been doing it now for almost 8 years.  8 YEARS!!!  I feel stuck in a rut with my life and without having kids, it seems silly not to work.  But this whole work 5 days and have 2 days off just isn’t cutting it.  I don’t get home from work until around 7 every day, so cooking dinner is a rare thing at our house.  My goal has been to cook once a week.  Pathetic, isn’t it?  We are both so tired that we usually go to bed at 9!  How do people with kids do it?  How do they do things with their kids at the end of the day, put them to bed, and stay up late, only to get up early again?  Wow, for those of you that do it, I’m beyond impressed.

Is it silly to want another day or two to just be at home or to socialize with the friends I don’t have?  I don’t think I’m crazy, but it does seem silly not to be earning/saving money while I can.  It’s all about balance, right?  I want that.  I need that.  Now I just need the courage to get it.  *sigh*

Okay, my venting is done.

By the way, I did finish making my valentine hearts.  They were a week late, but they were done in February, so I’m 2 for 2 for my goal of a project each month!  Sorry about no photos today.  It’s been a lazy day after a long week.

Southwest Chicken Salad

I know it’s Valentine’s Day and I should be posting something related…like the hearts I was supposed to have finished.  They are probably half way done.  We had a busy and productive day doing other things yesterday so I didn’t do much sewing.

But I figured I would at least post a really good salad that we had last week.  I was too hungry to take a picture of it, so you’ll have to look close at their picture.  Surprisingly the recipe is from Wonder Bread.  It popped up when I did a search on chicken and salad.  I highly recommend you try this….we’ll definitely do it again. 

I used pre-seasoned black beans instead of regular black beans, so no rinsing like they said.  We also went without the cheese and you couldn’t tell the difference.  I used red pepper instead of green.  And for the ranch dressing, I used a no-fat version using 2 cups no-fat plain yogurt, a ranch dressing seasonings packet, and 2 Tbsp dijon mustard.  To make it a little more southwestern, I added some of the chili seasoning to the dressing.

Okay I’m salivating now…enjoy! 

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Charmed

One of my goals this year is to work on at least one project each month.  I didn’t finish anything in January, but I did start crocheting a scarf to donate to the Craft Hope’s valentine’s day project.  I think I like sewing better than crocheting.  My eyes kept getting cross-eyed and dry.  But I should be able to ship it on Monday.

For February, I bought this cute fabric for a Valentine’s Day project.  It’s a set of 42 pre-cut 5” squares called a “Charm Pack.” Almost every square is a different pattern. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to make.  But I at least had fun laying them out to photograph. Ha ha ha!

I might turn some of it into a table centerpiece with this as the starting idea from sew4home:

If I get around to it, I might try a pillow to see how quilting works with these “charm packs.”  I don’t have much time to figure it out since Valentine’s Day is a week from tomorrow!

Holiday Starts Today

Today starts a five day stretch without going to work for both of us.  Hooray!  The weather has turned cold and snowy, but I've been lucky enough to get a role at work where I don't have to go in every time it snows.  So even though I have to carry around my work phone and be on-call for questions, I'm less angry about it snowing.  Last year I was working on Christmas Eve until 9 or 10 at night.  So this year is a pleasant surprise.

For those of you that blog all the time, I don’t know how you do it.  But maybe since I have so many gaps in between posts, I feel like they need to be really cool (which of course they are not).  But I figured since I’m on holiday starting today that I would at least give someone else who is on holiday a little something extra to read as you catch up on other people’s blogs.

I don’t really have any pictures to post.  I haven’t been using my camera.  For awhile one was missing the memory card and the other was completely missing.  Cleaning the bedroom found the missing camera and cleaning my sewing room revealed the missing card, so perhaps I’ll start shooting again.

Last Saturday I wish there had been a camera to grab when Santa Claus was escorted through the neighborhood by the police to greet all the children  that wanted to run through the snow to say hello and get a bag of goodies.  Jeremy then opens the front door and runs outside – BAREFOOT – and wearing shorts and darts across the snowy front lawn towards the tractor with Santa!  I think they were all as startled as I was, not sure what to expect.  So Santa reached out and gave him a bag of candy and he came running back.  I think his feet were so cold that they must have felt bigger, because he said they felt like Hobbit feet across the snow.  The next day I could still see the footprints, complete with toe indentations, in the snow but had no camera to document it.  But I’m sure you have an image in your head!

I’ll need to take pictures of our living room with holiday decor.  The tree is decked with ornaments and ribbon in the corner by the window.  In the last month I hung curtains above the windows to hide the boring mini-blinds.  I bought some stocking hangers so that our red stockings could dangle off the DVD bookshelf, and was able to use my great-grandfather’s silver candlestick holders in the display.  I have to say they look great with mid-green candles in them!  I bet his family loved to look at them.  It’s nice to have that history to add to the room.

Hmm, what else?

Jeremy's brother flew into town on Sunday and will be here for a week.  It's great to see him again - it's been 2 years!  He's already not looking forward to going back, but hopefully he will enjoy every minute of time with his family and friends.  This afternoon we are all going to the movie Avatar in 3D IMAX, which should be cool.

Otherwise I still have some last-minute shopping to do, wrapping of gifts, hopefully some cookie baking, possibly some more sewing (including finishing a project I started with my mom and sister last year!), and just being on holiday for 5 WHOLE DAYS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Titles are over-rated

Why is it that weekends start off feeling productive, but then all the projects turn into a hopeless feat?  I’ve been frustrated lately with myself for not being able to make our house feel more home-like, too.  I still have nothing on the walls.  I think the color on the living room walls are still the wrong color. And on, and on, and on…

Sorry for all the blah blah blah. I just needed to vent.  Today I wanted to find a quiet clean room to spend some time in.  But all I see in every room are the little piles of stuff that needs to go somewhere else.  So I would start cleaning up things in that room, only to decide I didn’t have time to make that much progress.  The only room I can get to a point where I feel it’s clean enough is the kitchen. 

One of these days I’ll figure it out…

But for now I’ll just type from my clean bed sheets while watching “An Affair to Remember” on tv.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll get the living room back!

Kim’s make little cute girlie things book

So Kim got pretty excited when I told her that there was a package in the mailbox addressed to her from some book place somewhere…

“Ooh! My book [about stuff] is here!” she exclaimed with the smiley voice that lets you see the sparkle in her eye with your ears.

I’m thinking that with this new book she’ll make good use of the new fabric she’s been ordering and receiving this week.

But the real question is: will there be actual craftiness going on in the craft room – or will it continue to be a combination self-storage/guest room?

Time will tell. I know what time has told before, but maybe future time will tell something different than past and present time.

And so we’re kinda good together that way; my hobby is pulling things apart and Kim’s hobby is putting things together. No – I don’t pull Kim’s things apart! :)

(Jd)

Consumed

Wow, where to start?

While I feel like nothing new or exciting has been going on around here, these are a few glimpses of our comings & goings…

fall came in all her glory

but so did early sunsets (picture taken behind where I work)

the end of October brought Trunk or Treat, but due to construction issues of the new parking lot, we had a classroom entrance instead

meet scary skeleton with his stash of candy and his trusty pumpkin

our spooky (not really) display

and the vampire cat that at the last minute decided not to come (okay so he wasn’t too keen on wearing a costume)

but when we got home, he was really disappointed that all the candy was gone – he even licked the bowl clean (who knew cats liked sugar!)

But now I’m completely consumed with finding blogs and free templates for sewing crafts.  My hard-drive is full of things to make, but I seem to either lack the time - mostly due to searching the internet for the next idea rather than making the current one, but using the excuse of working all the time as the real reason.  But now I know someone from church whose parents live in the Philippines and they are collecting donations of handmade toys for the orphaned children that have been victimized from the recent flooding.

So I’ve been searching for cute patterns of homemade dolls and toys and I feel I’ve hit the jackpot!  I came across a few blogs that I added to my “crafty” blog section.  There’s a template for a monkey doll that is beyond cuteness.  Don’t you agree?!

I also found a simple doll in a red gingham dress. I don’t think she’s the cutest, but her pattern was free and she definitely passes as a doll.  (Though the website for that one is really hard to navigate.) 

Anyway, I need to stop hunting for more ideas use the ones I’ve got to at least get one made.  Hopefully I’ll at least make it to the step of printing the patterns and selecting my fabric this week.  I have 2 weeks to get this done, as they leave for the Philippines mid-November.  I’m shooting for the goal of at least one completed, but know myself all too well.  **sigh** So here’s for high hopes in execution of #1.

P.S. I just might…..**might** … start blogging more because I just discovered a free download of Windows Live Writer which lets me draft my blog posts outside of the Blogger window.  That thing drives me bananas!  This is MUCH easier to use! :)