My first Giveaway!

Any idea what this is called or what it's used for?

Leave me your ideas, guesses or real knowledge in the comments to qualify!
(You don't have to be right in order to win!)

The prize is this very *ahem* "item!" The mystery item, that is.

Comments must be received by Midnight, Thursday August 7th United States Eastern Standard Time.

Good luck!

What happened to efficiency weekend?!

Turns out, I had to work. (no time to do-my-own-tuneup on my car)

Then I remembered I can't buy anything brand new. (can't buy a spiffy new clothesline)

So I rummaged through the shed and found just enough rope to string between the shed and a tree. This is going to be one heck of a clothesline! 71 feet! I'll end up putting it up just when it's in use, then take it down because it's pretty much in the way! But hey, we don't use the yard a whole lot except to mow anyway, so it's all good!

Then the ticking clock reminded me that my hubby and I are doing the motorcycle safety course this coming week, so I really needed to get my embroidery floss out of the way so I could finish our coats...

And what could a long straight piece of wood have to do with embroidery floss storage?

Well, to be exact...it ends up, four long straight pieces of wood helped me keep all the floss in order and stored on top of my shelving unit out of the way:

I did come up with an effective way to get mystery stickiness off one of my "new" thrifted pitchers: spray/drip all over with goo gone, all the while stray sprays and drips fall on the rag or towel under the object in question.

Wrap in said rag or towel.

Tie securely in plastic bag.

I forgot to take an after picture, but I set it asside for a few hours last night before I remembered to get back to it. It didn't just wipe off, I still had to rub a little but I wasn't scrubbing!

Sunday I'm back to work for a couple hours after church, then I'll finally get to pick up groceries and start my price book!

The challenge that will make the most difference

I saw this a few months ago, thought it was a great idea, and promptly forgot about it. (That was pre-How to Grow blog.)
The 30-day Husband Encouragement Challenge.
It includes daily suggestions and scriptures. I'm starting today!

And with that, I declare no more new challenges for August!

Note to Self: 2nd Edition

After last week's first Note to Self post, I thought it would be a good idea to do it weekly. And since it's my blog, I agreed with myself wholeheartedly and here we are.

Without further ado, random lessons and insights I've learned in life this week:

1. "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything they have." Read the whole story here. And thank you Jenn for sharing this with us!

2. I need to use up stash since I have limited space, and I need to stop spending since I have limited budget. Therefore, I declare August Stash Month with a $20 necessities crafting budget. And I do mean necessities. Like thread, etc. But seriously, I have so much, I don't think I'll NEED anything. "Want" is a different story altogether! I'll admit though, I've been thinking about this for a few days and stocked up on some things I think I might want this month!

Anyone want to join me? I'm doodling while I'm on hold today. (Rrrrrr. Hate insurance companies!!!) Trying to come up with a cool graphic for August's Stash Month. Stay tuned!

3. Real, lasting change takes time. I thought I had my ice cream habit under control, but I really felt tempted earlier this week. I had thought a few times previously in the month that I could move on to more of the lactose family before August, but I'm glad I didn't. I think it would have been one more instance of me jumping in over my head. This month, my Quit Now Challenge is going to be quitting the snooze button. I'll still refrain from ice cream, but I don't think I'm ready to give up cheese, cream in my coffee, and butter yet.

As for the Snooze button, I didn't fail miserably this morning, but I didn't get right up either. I tend to hit the snooze button for about an hour. I only did it for 40 minutes today, so progress has been made.

Along these same lines, I intend to organize my house from top to bottom. But let's be realistic, right? That's one huge job, no matter what size your house is! Luckily, I found Org Junkie's Monthly Organization Roundup which targets one room each month. This matches right up with my new "pace yourself" mentality! In August we're targeting the mudroom/entryway. I say it's not a moment too soon!

(what you see when you walk in the mudroom - this is also the entrance used about 99% of the time.)

This was an addition to the main house. In September, we're tearing this room down and re-roofing the house but not replacing this room. So in the meantime, I have to find a new home for the shoes, coats, mittens, and hats. Everything else can go where it belongs...in the shed or in my hubby's work van!! And the rectangular bucket in the lower left corner? Catches the rain. Whoever added the porch didn't tie it in well with the existing roof. Oi. Drives my hubby crazy, being a carpenter and perfectionist!

(looking back at the front door)

Think we have enough shoes?

(Slowly sinking)

The mystery closet! What ever will I find in there?

edited *** I just realized that in light of my previous post (Buy Nothing Challenge) I can't make any organization-product related purchases! This is an even bigger challenge than I thought and it gets me excited!!!

4. Keep your car clean! Remember how your mama always told you to wear clean underwear "in case you got in an accident and ended up in the hospital?" Well this is along the same idea. You might just break down somewhere (or leave your lights on all day and drain your battery) and have some stranger in your car learning all of your dirty car secrets!

5. If something is going to happen to my car, it's going to happen when my hubby's out of town! See previous lesson...happened last Friday night right after he left! Last time he went away, I got a flat tire...and I changed it myself! Thanks, Dad, for teaching me how to do that while I was learning how to drive. It's been 15 years, but it stuck with me!

6. It IS possible to get out aged mystery stains from a vintage linen tablecloth. Just soak in two cups of Oxyclean, forget about it for 7 hours, run through the delicate wash cycle and voila! Clean table cloth. I did Literally forget about it! I meant to soak it for an hour and then run the wash, but completely forgot...and I'm so glad! (The package says to add 2-4 scoops per gallon of water for soaking 1-6 hours.) The scoop looked about a quarter cup and I wasn't sure how many gallons of water the small load setting used, so I just guestimated 5 gallons and added 8 scoops which ended up being almost all of the small package!

Thank you to my new friends over at Wardrobe Refashion for all of their fantastic ideas!!

7. I learned how to Trim My Own Hair using these tips!! My hubby was kind enough (and patient enough!) to play photographer for me while I cut my hair for the second time in my life. The first time didn't end so well. I was somewhere between 5 and 8 years old and took those plastic Discovery Toys safety scissors to my bangs. Mom was away at a weekend conference and my Dad and brother didn't even notice!! Good stuff. This week's trim wasn't very noticeable. Actually, if I hadn't been doing the cutting, I'd question whether anything was actually cut! I went by the rule to cut less...you can always cut more later. Really, I just wanted a trim to get the split ends off without paying out the nose!

8. It IS possible for me to get motivated in a job I don't care about! Well, maybe it's false motivation, let's just call it productivity! Thursday I dressed professionally, passed up the decaf for real coffee (with extra sugar!) and logged onto my favorite radio station, WOKQ, for their live streaming. I put on my headphones and bebopped (or country-bopped) through my day. I actually learned to do this in college when I'd work in the computer lab with tons of distractions. I'd put on my walkman (remember those?!) and would be able to breeze through my work. I think it kind of takes the distractable/ADHD part of my brain and keeps it busy so I don't get distracted by everything else around me. However it works, it WORKS!

9. It's time for a change. All the while I'm saving money by making my own laundry detergent and kitchen rags and not buying ice cream (LOL) and making hankerchiefs and on and on and on, I'm going to yard sales getting stuff I don't NEED, going antiquing, thrift shopping and on and on and on. Not that yard sales and thrift shopping are bad, but if I don't NEED something, why am I there? To find a deal? On something I don't NEED? Just a new obsession? This is part of what drove me to my proclamation earlier in the week that I'm ready to make a change in my finances.

So my hubby and I sat down and made some decisions. This weekend is efficiency weekend. We're changing to basic cable (couldn't agree on no cable, though I hadn't seen this yet!), doing at-home tune-ups on our vehicles, finally installing the clothes line, making lunches and prepping coffee and breakfast the night before, menu planning each week, and no more random yard saleing and thrifting for me.

Unless I'm specifically looking for something I NEED. (LOL!)

*MINI RANT ALLERT*
10. Everyone has an opinion about everyone else's business and everyone thinks (knows) their opinion is right and everyone wants everyone else to hear their opinions (knowledge) about everyone else's business. *sigh*

Okay, I'm being a little cynical and sarcastic, but this is trully how I felt Thursday. If people only knew the whole story. If they had their facts straight. If they really cared about the situation instead of being heard and noticed and getting the attention. Maybe, perhaps, it might possibly change things.

But it's not their business. And instead of saying "well, there might be more to the story, I guess it's not worth speculating about," they jump ahead and think they can blab all over town about you and how they think you should be living your life.

*sigh*

I do love a new challenge...

Another new button on my sidebar means another new challenge and you know how I love a good challenge!
Here are the rules for the Buy Nothing Challenge:
No new clothes check
No new gadgets check
No new furniture or housewares check
No salon services (except haircuts) check (don't use 'em anyway)
No new makeup check (all stocked up, and it's summer time! Who needs makeup?!)
No new tools okay, fine
No whatever else people buy Mmmm...check
No eating out CHECK!!! I agree wholeheartedly!

Blog Features

Org Junkie's Monthly Organizing Roundup, a Room of the Month type approach to organizing the house!
conTemplative Tuesdays. I don't know why, but it always seems to work out that Tuesdays are thought provoking days for me.
Note to Self: ... Each Friday I'll list some nuggets of wisdom or lessons learned in the past week.
Crock Pot Fridays. Because Friday nights just require no effort, besides the leftovers will last all weekend!
Lunchcapades. From time to time I'll post a series of pictures taken on my lunch break in an effort to gain more experience with my new camera. And it usually ends up telling a funny story too!

2008 Reading List

Changes that Heal, by Henry Cloud
It's not my Fault! by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Loose it for Life by Stephen Arterburn & Linda Mintle
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud & John Townsend

Things I eventually want to talk about (but I'm afraid I'll forget)

Connecticut in the Summertime
The Church of Acts
The Stevia Consipracy

My Collections

Cookbooks
Heart-Shaped Rocks
Sea Shells
Tea Paraphernalia
Thimbles
Water Pitchers
Willow Tree Figurines

My Bucket List

Things I would like to quit, learn, see, do regularly or experience:
(Not necessarily before I die.)
(I mean, of course before I die, but much of this I'd like to do LONG before I die. Like this year. Or this month.)
(Though, how do we know when we'll die.)
(But you know what I mean.)

experience parenting (whether via giving birth, adopting or foster parenting)

learn crochet
learn cutting
learn how to do flatwork (a beading technique)
learn to knit (more than a scarf)
learn a foreign language

see every continent
see Niagara Falls
see the Grand Canyon
see Ireland

be professionaly trained by a pastry chef
take a photography course

(these really should just be on my goal list)
quit coffee
quit dairy
quit processed sugar
quit the snooze button
quit yeast


regularly declutter
regularly exercise
regularly print and frame photos
regularly update quicken
regularly write poetry
regularly read 1/2 hour every day from my reading list

A little birdie told me

I powered up this morning and logged on to the internet via Yahoo! and what do you know...Wardrobe Refashion is getting a little publicity! Can I tell you how cool it is to be a part of something global, that's being recognized by writers for Yahoo!, and this isn't the first time! Wardrobe Refashion has been cited in magazines and referenced in other major websites in the past.

You know, I was reading through my last post and I'm concerned that it might sound a little daunting, this whole Wardrobe Refashion experience, but can I tell you...it's right up there in the top five things that have happened to me in my life. Seriously.

And I know I say *seriously* a lot, but really. Seriously ; )

It has given me so many ideas, so much confidence, the accountability that I need and opened my mind to more thrifty and frugal living. I think part of why it's been frustrating at times is because I had a lot of bad habits of making shortcuts with my handsewing and I need to re-train myself to do it right now that I'm machine sewing.

I'm not saying that to be a part of wardrobe refashion you also have to make your own laundry detergent and start hypermiling; but it opened my mind, got me thinking about my relationship with clothes. That in turn set off a domino effect into other areas of my life.

So if you haven't already, CHECK it out! It rocks! Even if you don't take the pledge, it's so interesting going back in the archives and seeing the cool ideas these guys have come up with! It will really charge your creative batteries!

Wardrobe Refashion progress

I found a comment on a previous post asking me how my Wardrobe Refashioning project is going and I found myself going on and on in reply, so I'm just going to post the reply here instead. Plus I think it's something that I'm "learning how to grow" from, so it's pretty appropriate. So without further ado;

It's fun, frustrating, exhilarating, frustrating, ... seeing a patern here? I tend to jump in to projects in life and ignore encumbering details like patterns, directions, etc. LOL! I've made two not-so-great pieces, (shirt) and (skirt) and have tons of ideas for other clothes to make, but my big success was refashioning pants into shorts. That's right, the easiest possible refashion! (LOL) But I needed that success desperately! Right now I'm working on bike jackets from my hubby's old work coats, I'm almost ready to post about them!

The Wardrobe Refashion blog is really inspiring and there are lots of really talented people participating, and even some beginers like myself, so it's not completely degrading having to post such simple and amaturish pieces amongst the jewels! (And most of them are so darned skinny, of COURSE they're going to look good!) Just kidding...

It's really made me think about clothes as fabric and not the other way around. Does that make sense? I mean, so there's a bleach stain on the pants. So there's a busted zipper. In the garbage it goes? Or what else can we do with all the pieces that come to gether to make this one piece of clothing? I don't know if it counts as a refashion, but I dyed a polo tee a few days ago because of a bleach stain. Turned out great! A few months ago I would have thrown it out.

I don't have a lot of time to sew, but I do what I can in the evenings and each little success is helping to boost my confidence and I totally plan to renew my pledge after August.

I guess most of all, I'm learning to slow down, do it right, finish the project, and enjoy the success. That may sound strange since I just admitted how few projects I've actually finished, but it's affected other areas of my life. Like my current dilemma of all my embroidery floss skeins taking up my craft table. The old me would have shoved them out of the way and said I'd deal with them later but not gotten back to them for a few months because I'd recall how much work and frustration it was to lay them all out in order...Instead I'm dedicated to getting it done the right way this time and I'm not going to sacrifice my precious time later for one week of getting the job done now.

I think this really surprises my hubby most of all because I'm one that will just storm in and tear into a project without thinking about the consequences in other areas of my life. He's seeing that things really are changing this time. I used to say "I'm working on it, I realize such-and-such is a problem and I'm aware of it." But "being aware" is not "working." And I'm finally putting action behind my awareness.

I am grateful for Wardrobe Refashion because it provides accountability which is something I desperately need in my life! If I'm not accountable to anyone for anything, I'll just lie in bed all day! Seriously, it's just part of depression. I have great ideas and intentions, but if someone isn't counting on me, interested in my progress, etc, I get lazy and veg out. Accountability is powerful and I can't say enough about it!

Yesterday's laugh

In case you can't see the sign from this angle (I can make it out, but I know what it says already!)
CLOSED FOR REMODEL
SEE YA SOON
Remodel? That's one heck of a remodeling project!!!

This is mostly for my benefit...

MJ's version of Eye Candy!!

I think I'm ready...

...to make changes in my finances.
I've been looking for ways to save on expenses the last few months, downright worried about our spending habits. It seems like every time we get out of debt, we plunge right back in again. And it's not even like we save and make payments and sacrifice...we refinance the house. Can you say unhealthy?
One of the problems I have is that I don't pay for the utility or mortgage expenses. I pay for most of the cost-of-living expenses like food, gas, my car, household maintenance, property taxes (which in New Hampshire are pretty high because we don't have income or sales tax). My hubby handles the house, auto insurance and the utilities.
We both have unhealthy spending habits which is why we have separate accounts. I don't want to be in trouble because of a mistake he's made overspending and vice versa.
I've been listening to Trent, David, Kacie and Mrs. Micah for a little while now and I think I have a game plan of how to approach this effectively...

The Conversation with my hubby. Getting on the same page.
Set Goals. With Deadlines. What do we want to save for? What do we need to pay for now? (Like past purchases. Ouch.)
Monitor and celebrate success. (Without spending!)

All in all, I'm excited about it. I know I have unhealthy spending habits and I've started becoming more than just aware of it, I've been developing new habits for avoiding those unhealthy situations. Now it's time to step it up a notch and set goals and work as a team.

Slow Progress

Decisions:

I've been considering starting a separate blog for just crafting, but have come to realize that there's just one me. There's so much overlap of my inner mind, my crafting, my eating habits, my craziness...it's all intertwined. So I'm keeping the blog as-is right now, in sort of a "Wholistic Approach to Personal Growth."

Empowerment:

I had a hard discussion with a good friend last night. A lifelong friend, to be exact. My hubby and I have both known Keith since grade school/junior high. He introduced the two of us at the age of 20, and as long as we've known him, he's not changed a bit. He's still that rambunctious grade school kid having a blast on the playground! Good in some ways, not in others.

We talked for almost an hour and it was tough. There was confrontation, having to be assertive, and anxiety that he'd be his normal aggressive/defensive-by-being-offensive self. It was a little touch and go there for a little while, but in the end, I think it worked out well.

I learned a lot. I learned that I can say what I need to without apology because standing up for yourself then following it up by apologizing for it isn't standing up for yourself at all. I said some hard things and he said some hard things and at first I think he was just slashing back, trying to defend himself by deflecting the attention and being hurtful, but in the end we hit the middle ground and the things that were said were still hard to hear, but less hurtful and closer to the truth. I'm really surprised by that and proud of him for it. It could have really gone bad quickly.

I think part of what saved it was that I prayed first, (and during), and really held my tongue a lot and let him talk for about 8 minutes straight at one point. I remember sitting there, thinking to myself: I have so much to say back, I can think of some real zingers that would be so clever, but I don't want that. I want to preserve this friendship if possible, but with healthy boundaries. I can't let him walk all over me, but I'm not going to walk all over him either.

The thing is, I've been trying to be more assertive and establishing boundaries for over a year and this is the first time it's really been tested where I've held my ground instead of just removing myself from the situation in order to preserve the boundaries. Talk about slow progress! But I think it's revealing that it's with Keith and not someone like a parent. It's going to be a lot more difficult to do this with my parents. Even though we have a "good" relationship, it's almost like it's too good. It's too open, it's too. It's expected that my life is an open book to them, and that's not healthy either.

All in all, this was a good starting place, and a good confidence builder.

Wardrobe Refashioning:

I had my second fabric dyeing experience last night with some success. I turned a blah tan polo into a nice soft teal. I'm wearing it today! It also had a orang-ish stain on the collar that is no longer there, so I'm a very happy woman! (doesn't take much, does it?) Does anyone know where this comes from? I also have a few other shirts with similar stains and they all seem to be around or near the neckline. At first I thought it might be iron in the water, but why would it only be around the collars? Now I think it might be makeup but I really only use powder anymore.

Light bulb moment...I use a benzoyl peroxide cream from time to time for acne...I bet that's it!

Okay, never mind...(Thank you for touring the inner recesses of MJ's mind. The tour is now over, if you'll kindly exit to the left. Leave nothing behind, we will not be responsible for lost or stolen articles. )

*Ahem*

I also finally got around to refashioning my hubby's old work coat into a bike jacket. Phases one and two were to 1: cut out the heavy winter lining and ragged edges of where the pockets used to be; and 2: dye it some other color in the off chance the difference in the faded and non-faded colors wouldn't be so noticeable.

I roughly cut out the lining. I just wanted there to be less material for the dye bath and I wanted to do it quickly because I didn't want to be up all night, so I plan on touching it up later. Then I took the time to pretty up the remaining material where the pockets used to be. This is an old coat we've used as a "donator jacket," using the heavy canvas material for patches on his work pants and other heavily worn items. Both front pockets have been repurposed, but that left big dark areas that used to be the insides of the pockets.

Needless to say (you probably saw this coming), the dye bath did little to disguise the dark areas.

(But look, we get that "distressed" look people pay big bucks for!)

Phase 3 was to attach heavy duty snaps since the zipper no longer works (thus the reason for retiring it and getting another jacket.) I've since found out we can actually mail the coat to Carhardt for zipper repair...the zippers have a lifetime warranty! Alas, I never did so and here we are...I'll do the snaps tonight.

My hubby asked me last night what I was going to do for a bike jacket. Hmmm. What he doesn't know (and I haven't said yet here either) is that I'm going to use this old coat for my bike jacket and surprise him with another one! I'll have to make a few alterations though, so it won't be a complete surprise...See I'm 5'1" and he's 6' tall! Slight alterations necessary...plus I'm thinking of taking some faded jean material to make pockets with. Maybe even an applique. Or not. I'm going to be a biker girl after all, not a place for cutsie.

Remember that busted zipper? Well, it's no surprise that Carhardt has a lifetime warranty on them because they must know it's an issue...we have another old coat with the same problem. All I have to do with that one is take out the winter lining and attach the heavy duty snaps and my hubby gets a new bike jacket! I haven't harvested any scraps of material from the pockets on that one yet, so there's no reason to play with dye. (And that way we won't be so matchy-matchy.)

We already have matching helmets (which we hadn't planned on,) and he's not the type to do that kind of stuff, so I don't want to go too far with it! (The helmets we found together on craigslist for a fantastic deal and were barely used, so we couldn't pass them up!)

Crafting/Organization:

Sunday I laid out all the embroidery floss skeins that would fit on the table...over 200.

I did some figuring, took into account the limited space I have, did some more figuring, and decided to store the skeins in the stitchbow/binder system. Then I ran out and bought out the nearest Michael's supply of binders and bows.

I managed to get a few of the skeins into the first binder before retiring Sunday night...and I went back to work on it last night.

(Monday's starting shot: the laptop and bag systems are sitting gingerly on top of more skeins!)

I made more progress last night, but I have more floss still in the floss-a-way baggie system since I couldn't fit those onto the table so I have to always check to make sure I'm not skipping some of those (which happens with frequency!) Oi. It's like filing two stacks of papers into one stack. It gets complicated. Especially if you're dyeing fabric at the same time... ; )

(I love just looking at my floss! It's like studying the menu at the ice cream shop!)

But I did manage to get the first of the four rows completed, so I'm a happy woman! I'm just really frustrated that it could take me eight solid nights to get them off my table so I can do some sewing! *sigh*

(Monday night's ending shot)

Success!

I went to the craft store to get the necessary storage materials for my plethora of embroidery floss. I walked right by the remnant rack, passed the clearance section and checked out with exactly and only what I walked in there for!!
And I didn't stop for ice cream on the way back to work either. :)
I did a final count last night of my skeins of embroidery floss...515. I began putting my stash into the stitchbows, which upon thinking about it has the best combination of ease-of-use and least amount of storage space. I'll use the binder system instead of the storage cases.
I only got up to black, which those of you who aren't familiar with the DMC floss numbering system, going numerically, black isn't very far! It's going to take awhile for me to get these out of the way and into proper storage, but I'm determined not to move them again until this is done! Meantime, my craft table is reserved and I have no choice but to put everything else off until this is done...a good way of getting me to actually complete a project!

Quandry

I struck it rich this weekend!


130 skeins of embroidery floss for $1!!
My embroidery floss "stash" is in two different types of storage and neither works for me, so I'm throwing out this question to any cross stitchers out there watching...

How do you store your floss and does it work for you?
Let me explain what doesn't work for me...
I started out with the "floss-a-way" plastic baggie/O-ring system. What I liked about that system was that I could put cut floss back in the baggie and know that it was marked correctly. What I didn't like was that it was very difficult to add floss to your stash in sequential order (I store them by floss # but it seems to me that it would be the same if you sorted by color.) The O-rings were just so frustrating to work with!
I then tried the bobbin system. I liked that they were easy to move around and you could leave extra space for expansion of your stash, but I wasn't comfortable with winding the cuttings around the bobbin too. Also I used the plastic notebook-style sheets and I couldn't turn the "page" without all the bobbins falling out of their pockets. I know there is a box-style holder for them, and I'm kind of considering that, depending on the cost.
I then tried the newer stitchbow system system. The big bonus with this is the ease of use with not having to wind the bobbin, but it still doesn't solve the problem of scraps.
Maybe I just need to let go of the scraps, but that just seems wastefull!
The other drawback is the cost of the stitchbow bows and storage sleeves. I probably have all of the DMC colors, but I have over 500 skeins and therefore I want to store all of the skeins the same way.
What I really want is the display drawers that they have in the stores! Lacking that, I'm open to suggestion on storage alternatives...

Floss as far as the eye can see....ahhhhhhh.