Dearest Bernina...

My dear Bernina,

My darling, I hereby publish this tale of shame as penance for my recent unfaithful dalliance with Singer. You know you have always been #1 in my book, but I was enticed by the decorative stitches. THE DECORATIVE STITCHES!! I know, I should not have faltered, but it was only $120, and I thought, "If Martha (Stewart) endorses it, AND it's at Costco, it can't be too bad, right?" I should have known better; I should have realized that cheap generally means cheap. Ryan tried to tell me, but the temptation, oh the temptation! It was too great.

I have to admit, I could tell the quality was sub par as soon as I lifted her out of the box, but in my fever for the blanket stitch I threw caution to the wind and ignored my intuition. (Besides, it was only $120; one has to expect plastic, right?) We began. I sewed. Hit a small snag. Not a big one, I could deal with that. Oh, and another. But wait! what was that spot? Surely not oil. No, just on the underside, a good cleaning and we were off again. Oh! huge tangle of thread on the underside; the tension hasn't changed here, what's the issue? Set the stitch. Start again. We are almost done, just one more applique to sew..and...yes...almost there...and...it dies. What. What? What?! Well, I guess I should have known better. Burned by the Singer. Fickle plastic with unsupportable promises.

And now I am left with shame and regret. But I publicly renounce her. She is out of my life now, Bernina; I returned her and everything. I don't even look at her in the store as I pass by anymore. I am no longer tempted by her promises of decorative utopia. And I make you this promise: I will remain faithful and pledge to exercise patience for the day that I can afford your decorative stitches. Only Bernina for me from now until forever. Just don't sell out, my sweet and go plastic. One day, one day, you will be mine.

Guess What I Found Today...

So our season of flu is over and I will attempt continued posts on the blog again. For starters, check out this post of Fabulous Friday With Fabrique from Where Women Create. See that quilt with the elephant, train, etc.?
I MADE THAT!! With Slice Fabrique. Yep, I'm famous. Of course, no one really knows that, since it was contract work for Making Memories. But I am proud to say that I made it in one weekend, from buying the fabric, cutting, assembly, applique, and finishing. I used my mom's crazy cool Bernina machine that has great stitches--no, of course that was not a hint addressed to my awesome husband. ;)

Anyway, just sorta cool to find your work out there in cyberspace.

Scary Bedrooms

Why is it that when you tell children to go to bed, they suddenly determine that their room is scary? I mean, they play in there ALL DAY and everything is fine. I have even had children magically disappear into their rooms when there are chores needing to be done in other areas of the house. Clearly these are places of refuge...so after having such familiarity with them in the daytime, why do they become menacing dungeons of despair when the sun goes down?

And another thing--why do they only want to sit and snuggle with you when you are "off duty?" We tell our children regularly, "We love you very much, but this is our time now, and you need to NOT get out of bed again." I even try to snuggle when I tuck them in, but they aren't interested in me then. It's only 20 minutes later that they suddenly have something imperative to discuss. I have tried budgeting that 20 minutes into the bedtime routine, too, so that I am not impatient and short with them, because, hello? who DOESN'T want their kids to want to talk with them, but they sensed my intention and foiled me again. DOH!

I swear Little Girl should've been a twin. She HATES to be alone--she always needs someone to be with her. I think she has an overactive imagination, truthfully, and just imagines the menace lurking around every corner. I get impatient, and then I realize that hey, I get scared too. I imagine crazy boogermen like home invaders and endless laundry (wait, that is real), not to mention that hulking figure, Failure. Oooh! He gives me the creeps! He pops up all the time with his cronies Inferiority Complex and Perfectionism. They have sharp, cruel fangs and green skin that hangs like moss on trees. Ew. So, perhaps I will just go and spend the extra time with Little Girl, and introduce her to my friends Happy Thoughts and Optimism. And someday, when she's ready, we may even make the acquaintance of Tranquility. It's a goal.

Ok, so it's been awhile...

Wow. Where did those 2 weeks go?! We have had double ear infections, an ear wax impaction (eww), a cracked tooth, sprained thumb, family members needing love, a birthday, a school program, and a hospital stay in the last couple of weeks. Sheesh. Sorry for the neglect here, but, obviously, I have been needed elsewhere.

So I have been thinking lately about what makes our lives significant. I mean, after we are gone, what will we have accomplished that will scream, "I am better because that person touched me in a significant way." I have been listening to the Wicked soundtrack, and "For Good" really resonates with me. Do people change for the better from knowing me? Or do they just change?

I think of my parents, and how very, very many people have been changed or at least influenced for the better because of how they live their lives. I am inspired to live like them, having generosity of spirit, means and knowledge. I suppose now I just have to acquire some more knowledge. :)

I love the Dollar Stores

Recently my mother and I were passing a shopfront that said, "Coming Soon: Dollar Tree." She sighed and said, "Yes, because what we need is another dollar store." I laughed inside myself, because I LOVE DOLLAR STORES!! I have found the greatest things for, yes, a buck. Some things you can get at a better deal other places, not gonna lie, but I love knowing that if I am in a pinch and need a vinyl table cover in black, it's just waiting for my little George Washington. I am hooked on their puzzles, too--500 piece puzzles for a BUCK. Nice. And it doesn't matter if Bitty Girl pulls it apart while I am in the bathroom and loses 5 pieces, because it was...all together now...A BUCK. And then I can donate the pieces to the Kindergarten class for crafts.

Last night Little Girl, Bitty Girl and I were shopping while the boys and Daddy were watching The Jimmer in the Marriott Center (another post for another day--go Cougars!!), and we found these repositionable stickers. We bought them and promptly came home and decorated a space in the girls' room next to the closet.


How cute is that?! We had previously embellished the other wall with these butterflies when making the flower fairy garland that hangs over their beds.


Little Girl liked leaving the ribbons hanging down, so we didn't trim them. Bitty Girl loves to look at this as she goes to sleep. We run a fan when she sleeps as a noise blocker, and it makes the fairies sway, sort of like a mobile.

So I have decided to put as many dollar store crafts on here as possible. Anyone who knows me (or my husband) knows that I LOVE deals. It makes finding the perfect thing just that much better, knowing you got it at a deal. So, Mom, sorry to disappoint, but I will probably hit that dollar store someday, and who knows? I might even find something for your house.

Valentine Relay

For my 5th Grader's Valentine's Day class party, I decided to do a relay race. The class will be divided into three groups and will rotate stations; at mine, we will divide into two teams. They will have to line up behind a line, race down to the other end of the "course," and pick a card from the bowl there. The cards will have instructions dictating their return to the line: Walk like a crab, Swagger, Hollywood wave, etc. The first team to make it through all of the cards wins...the right to Share the LOVE!! (They will give the other team each a chocolate candy heart and then eat their own.) I hope it will be fun! I will post the cards I make as soon as I figure out how to do that. Help, anyone? :)

Bee Mine Valentine Cookies

Ok, so last year when I saw Oreo's Spring yellow cream cookies, I immediately thought: BEES. This year when they reappeared, I refined my idea and this is what I have come up with--the Bee Mine Valentine. Totally sweet.


Here's what I did:


Remove one chocolate wafer from 3 Oreo cookies and discard (eat them). Unwrap a small Reese's PB cup and a Hershey's Kiss. Holding them over a heat source, melt the bottom of a Kiss and use it to "glue" the three Oreos together. (You will smear chocolate onto two of the yellow cremes and top each one with another cookie, ending with 3 cookies joined together. The Kiss is no longer usable, and you must eat it.) Melt another Kiss, or use the same one, if it isn't too deformed, and attach it to the remaining yellow creme. Warm the ends of your licorice pieces and roll the ends down to make antennae. This took a little doing to make them stick together, not gonna lie. Press them into a PB cup, making "pilot holes" with a toothpick as needed. Finally, melt the top side of the PB cup and stick it onto the chocolate cookie on the other end for a head. Stinking. Cute.


Gourmet Mom on the Go's Royal icing eyeballs would be perfect for this. I will have to make some.

I think it would be totally cute to make a beehive out of glazed doughnuts in graduated sizes, pin a "Bee Mine" sign from the top with a toothpick, and have the bees buzzing around the hive. Cute.

PS. Did you know that they sell PB Minis, Rolos AND Kisses together. Much better to have one bag of candy than 3...