splendid.

yup. my friend Rachel was given boxes of fabric from her great-grandma. well, after Rachel and her sister had picked through what they wanted, Rachel decided to donate the rest to a thrift store.

yes. that is what i said. the above fabric was on its way to a thrift store.

those of who sew understand how shocking this is.

Rachel insisted she had taken all she wanted, her house is to small, she has enough fabric already...

excuses, excuses.

i volunteered to "store" in case she needs to access it again.

after Serena and i dig through it!

what is better than fabric? free fabric!

and now an admission.

i was scammed! its so shameful to admit. and the only reason i will now admit it to this shame, is because i am the last person to take a scam lying down.

so last week, i found out about an amazing work at home opportunity through this link.

i know, i am shaking my head in shame- mary, what were you thinking?

well, i was thinking- consumer watchdog? hey, that sounds legit. and why wouldn't it? the real and honest consumer watchdog, is conveniently found at consumerwatchdog.org

so i followed link on the fake consumer watchdog to this site: to become a "webmaster program specialist"

yes. i am a fool.

my initial reason for going was to show sam... he loves being on the internet, and i know he's considering other options for work... slowly- he's NOT quitting his job.

he really like the sound of it, but thought it might be better suited for me.

so we paid the $249 for it.

yes. i am a fool.

did we really research it? google anything about? no. that would be the act a person who isn't a fool.

so i received access to "the training" and eagerly started right away. sure i did learn somethings, and was buying into absolutely everything i was being told.

however. after i completed "the training" (a horrid investment of 1 1/2 days of my time, time that could have been spent doing ANYTHING else) i was told that i would have an exam to certify my completion.

as i was working on this "exam" i noticed something odd.

a little information: part of being a "webmaster program specialist" is the set up blogs and to promote various things that are for sale. easy enough, right? in order for this to work, a huge KEY to this success is to use meta codes to have your blogs be crawled by search engines.

well, i was having all of the "blogs" i was setting up be verified by Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

until i noticed a little tiny exclamation mark by the Google verification.

seems that yes, my blogs were being verified as existing- but they would NOT be crawled. meaning that if someone was searching for something my blog would be talking about, google would not list it as a viable web page option.

well, everything i was told in training really said nothing about this, in fact in order to be a "webmaster program specialist" i needed this google search to work.

so i immediately started emailing the "school" to talk to my "counselor".

at that time i also started doing something else.

Googling this "school program".

what did i find?

initially nothing. which was a huge RED flag.

so i dug deeper. googled harder.

and found tons of information from other people about how i had been scammed.

of course i was irate, frustrated, mad, shameful, and above all else disappointed about the loss of my time.

i contacted the "counselor" demanding a refund. i got a song and dance, and was asked questions about my "problems" with google. so i quickly realized this "counselor" was going to be no help at all.

so i contacted the third party internet source that had taken my money demanding a refund, giving them a reason. well- the third party internet source contacted the "school" and the school disputed my request saying that there was no merit for it.

did i stop there?

no.

i privately contacted the third party internet source, and gave them a strongly worded email.

and i received an email almost instantly telling me my money would be refunded.

i have yet to hear anything from the "school".

why i am admitting to this shameful scam that i fell for?

1) to alert everyone to the scam.

2) to give everyone a good laugh.

3) to tell everyone who is looking for a "part time job" to not be tempted by the online scams, but instead put your energy into finding a way to be paid for something that you LOVE to do. and for me that is putting my focus on sewing (more to come on this later). or to simply encourage you in knowing that Lord will provide. if He cares for the sparrows, He cares for you.

4) well, i can admit to this now because i am please to announce that my money has indeed been refunded.

yes, i am a fool.

but at least it didn't cost me anything!

i love books.

before the amazing fabric, we stopped at Powells. i had been to Powell's several times, and had a wonderful time, however Serena had never experienced the full city block with 4 stories of books. we had an amazing 2 1/2 hours in this phenomenal bookstore. Mason behaved just like a perfect little gal. its hard to be strapped into a stroller for 2 1/2 hours, but she watched as we moved from aisle to aisle, as i through tons of books into the back part of my double stroller.

when i was a little girl i had thought i would be a librarian when i grew up. i guess i will happily settle for the organizing and reorganizing of my own personal family library.

my new favorite reusable tote,

with the books i picked up for Sam.

books for me and the kids:

We're Going on a Bear Hunt,

Charlotte's Web,

Little Princess,

The Napping House

plus two Curious George readers,

and a huge Curious George Activity Book.

for me? the What Your Second Grader Needs to Know

saturday stash

again- another stash of old! actually, really, really old. but fabric is beautiful, and i believe no matter when it was bought, it should be shared!

sam picked up the 2 bottom fabrics for me as a surprise. a wonderful surprise, because i rarely buy fabric at full price. the little green on top, i picked up during a 20% color of the month sale at ben franklins (cannont remember what color it was...)

i believe these beauties are modas.

but i am to comfy on the couch right now to get up and search.

and these finds were pretty fun. Ikea! i love finding fabric for 2.99 a yard.

now, the white fabric with the green birds has a fun story. when the helpful man came to cut my fabric and i asked for a yard, there wasn't a full yard (maybe 7/8) on the bolt. so he said he couldn't sell it- and he gave it to me! almost 2 yards for the price of one!

i can't wait to make something out of this. perhaps i shouldn't be blogging, instead sewing. hmmm.

a different kind of friday five

i am getting very frustrated with myself and my lack of motivation and my misuse of time (this is being written at 12:49 while i wait for cloth diapers to finish washing).

i am just not happy with what is getting fit into my day, and just what is not getting done.

this isn't really how i want to live my life. i am pretty happy and content with what i have, but not with what i am doing.

so i am going to try something.

my 5 in 15.

i am going to try and add 5 things into my daily life that i wish i was doing now. and i am going to try and do them for the next 15 days.

and i am officially removing "try" from the words above. i am going to do it.

my 5 are going to be fairly specific.

one that brings me closer to the Lord.

one that is directed towards Sam.

one that is directed towards my children.

one that is directed towards my body.

one that is directed towards my mind.

so here are my 5 in 15.

1) devotions. at some time everyday. i will read at least a chapter in the Bible, and i will journal at least a sentence. and i will pray. and this could take 5 minutes, or 50. its the act of doing it.

2) make a lunch for Sam everyday. he never eats at work (usually just snacks on samples) so i really want to be an encouragement to him, and help him stay energized at work.

3) spend my mornings with my kids. i usually stumble out of bed, zonked to the world, dragging until 1 1/2 cups of coffee has seeped into my skin. allowing my kids to wander around, watching pbs and eating breakfast bars. that isn't the morning i want for us. i want breakfast together at the table. i want us to read a story from their Bible, and i want us to start our day together. of course, after that- its pbs and wandering while i get focused for the day!

4) brushing my teeth. i bet some where expecting either exercise daily or eat right in this category. well i do weight watchers so diligently as if a drill sergeant is in the kitchen with me. and daily exercise gets me through every single day. but i do not have great dental hygiene habits. and that really needs to change.

5) reading. i need to read at least a chapter in ANY book. i need to re-establish my passion and eagerness for reading, so that i can set a great example for both my husband and my children.

so that is my 5 for the next 15.

i would love to encourage anyone who would like to, to do the same! and if you do, i'd love to know what you are doing.

i love fabric.

yup. its true. i love love love love love love it. and from where i am sitting right now, i can see little piles of it all around. no, i am not in a glorious sewing room, i just have fabric absolutely everywhere, literally fabric pops out of the seams around here.

so obviously (really drawing this word out for emphasis) i need more.

as we (Serena and myself) were headed to Puyallup, WA for our homeschool convention (more to come on that later) we decided that Portland would be a pit stop because we had a place to stay.

so what's better than shopping at new fabric stores? shopping at new fabric stores tax free.

ahhhhh.

know, we had high hopes (delusions) of visiting 3 separate fabric stores in Portland, and Powells, and eat, all while managing 2 nursing babies, 2 little girls, and one unbelievable helpful couldn't have done this without- Kay(Serena's mom, who is called Baba).

all in one day, before heading up to Puyallup for the evening.

yeah, right.

well, high hopes was right. we made it through Powells (2 hours later), back to the condo with lunch (another 90 minutes) and then headed out to our first stop: Fabric Depot (thank you Christina for a wonderful recommendation).

well, Fabric Depot was just amazing. it was just so giagnormus (not a misspelled word- that's how i spell it) and we were seeing fabric as far as the eyes can see.

for starters- the whole store was 25% off that day.

and- the store's outdoor clearance sale had started.

after Serena and I walked through the entire store (intending to get our bearings, but this was really just the ultimate distraction as we stopped every 3 seconds where gleeful "ooooohs" could be heard throughout the store.)

at this stop, i actually only bought sale fabric.

here were my finds:

a very odd fabric, but at 1.80 a yard

i wanted to see what i can do with it

i love these owls!

another cotton for the stash

just another nice cotton for my stash

this fabric was just to cute to pass up

trim that reminds me of Mary had a little Lamb

hmmm... aprons? kitchen curtains??

i know, great finds, huh? just looking at the fabric makes me smile, mainly because i will always remember how much fun it was entering the store and Serena and i stopping dead in our tracks (conversation halted and all) and were just blown away.

ahh, memories.

but wait- was that it? just one little fabric store?

nope.

and even though this post is becoming incredibly long, i will still share pictures of our other great find!

while in Puyallup, we may have cut out of the homeschooling convention a tad early to head to another fabric store.

side note- we were in search of a fabric book: Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross.

the search led us to Pacific Fabrics (they did not have the book- but lucky for us a Borders was right next door... and yippee! the book was in our hands)

now don't think Pacific Fabrics was a bust. just the contrary.

it was wonderful.

a beautiful knit which will become a tank top

the bottom green floral is a fabric that i previously bought,

and was quite excited to find at 30% off

buy 3 fat quarters get one free... a friday special.

a book i spotted in Borders and just had to buy... its amazing!

oh so tired.

i'm home. for those of you who didn't know i was gone- i was gone. a wonderful, fantastic, fun-filled 4 day road trip with my bff, mason and henry, my bff's two girls, and her momma.
wonderful, fantastic, fun-filled 4 day road trips are amazing.
but all that wonderful, fantastic, fun-filled time has left me super drained.
probably doesn't help that i drove (absolutely by choice and desire) about 32 hours in those 4 days. or that i average 6 hours of sleep every night.
and that last night, i got in at 3 am, and up at 8.
i will need to be toasting my husband for father's day on thursday. because i am not doing a great job today. but he is giving me a lot of grace.
i have many exciting posts scheduled... so stay tuned.
the trip was amazing, get prepared to hear about fabric... books... homeschooling... car stories with babies... and much much more.
but first, i need to unpack, have a 4th cup of coffee... and try to dream about getting back on track with weight watchers... tomorrow (yup, i did consider this another day of vacation).

a curious case of bumming me out.

we shall consider this my first "review". what will i be reviewing you may ask? well, whatever i think others may be interested in hearing something about.

starting out- the curious case of benjamin button.

***if you have not seen the movie, and want to- you should probably not read this post, as i will be revealing parts of the movie.

first off: when your bff tells you a movie is so-so, you should probably take that as a clue to just do the norm- and watch re-runs of Law and Order. but do i listen? do i pay attention to some carefully given pieces of wisdom? nope. instead i subject both myself and my husband to 2 1/2 hours of this movie.

now don't get me wrong- the movie is really well done. excellent in fact. really interesting story, the actors do a fairly good job portraying their roles, not a ton of swearing, a couple of inappropriate scenes- but other than that, a movie that i could of thoroughly enjoyed.

if it hadn't of bummed me out so much, that even today (hours after watching it) i feel depressed to all heck.

if you've been living a land free of tv, i'll remind you of the plot: benjamin button is born an old man (actually a baby, but the baby is old, old, old) and lives his life in reverse.

1st thing that depressed me: the depiction of benjamin born as a baby. talk about sad. especially when i had a sleeping beautiful boy in the next room who i immediately wanted to go and hold and cuddle.

2nd thing: how absolutely everyone that benjamin gets to know eventually dies before him old, while he continues to get younger.

3rd: he and his love (daisy) have a stinkin' baby girl. who after a year- he decides to leave because it would be to hard to grow young while she grew old. yeah, if i cried during movies i would have been an absolute mess.

4th: watching benjamin slowly turn into a child... toddler... baby and then die as a baby, all while daisy is taking care of him- her an old women, him a little tiny baby. yup, watching that little baby close his eyes in the end left a pretty huge boulder in my gut that still has yet to leave.

so, i believe that is why i am writing this post. to hopefully get all of my thoughts about this movie out of my system, and then be able to get out of my funk, and take on my day.

i am not sure what the point of this movie was supposed to be. i've heard some say, that youth is wasted on the young. ok. whatever.

like i said, the movie is well done. its the content that just stinks. it is so sad. i know all movies aren't supposed to have us rolling around in laughter. but i would at least like to watch a movie that leaves me feeling some sort of happy.

i thought that movies were supposed to be entertaining? that we were supposed to walk away with a smile on our face and something to talk about.

maybe, i am just learning what is entertaining to me. movies that make me feel extra sad about life and circumstances just do not entertain my anymore. maybe that is changed since i became a parent... i don't know.

so if you haven't seen it- i wouldn't waste your time on something that will most likely just leave you feeling really down. i feel awful- especially because i subjected sam to 2 1/2 hours of a movie- a movie with themes he just hates.

so... i no longer watch scary/horror movies and now, i no longer watch thematic sad, depressing movies.

sticking to pixar and law and orders.

**if there are horrid spelling/grammar errors- i apologize, but all 3 children would like me not to be blogging right now.

a bag of love.

this bag was made for a sweet women who has been graciously teaching a small group of us young mom's how to sew. her birthday was coming up (and then she found out she was moving away for a few months) so i had the idea to create a special present for her, that incorporated everyone into one sewing gift.
the idea was truly inspired by this post from the Sometimes Crafter, and the little log cabin tutorial was perfect!

the plan was for each gal in our sewing class to produce their own square (which they did- mines the one in the middle on the left- right above this typing) and i made the bag and sewed the squares to the bag.

the bag is reversible- the 2 squares on the green fabric are actually pockets.

i love this bag. especially the birds on the handles.

thank you karen for your sewing skills! we will miss you!

from march 21

i love fabric.

the day before i went into labor (henry was born just after midnight, so it feels like i had him on sunday, even so technical it was monday) i went to my local fabric store where they were having a wonderful $2 a yard sale! i just go giddy for those $2 a yard sales.

whoops- there is actually another fabric that got missed in this picture. its similar to the red and green fabric with the flowers- but its black with the flowers!

i love fabric.

a glimpse into the future.

this morning has already gotten away from me. one should never stay in bed while kids run a muck. i also stayed up to late, and ate a really rich dessert way to late last night (yes, i had the points- plenty of points, but i still think it should be a better practice for me not not eat any 9+ point dessert after 9 or 10pm... it just lingers)

as i sit here seeing the fruits of my unproductively all around me, i can't help but dream about next friday...

the five things i will be so excited about next friday morning:

1) surviving a 10+ hour road trip with my bff and our 2 little babies. (and sorry Serena... i think 10 hours is low balling it, i can dream though- right?)

2) my full tummy of amazing, delicious, indulgent foods of Portland.

3) the beautiful fabrics i will purchasing from : cool cottons, fabric depot, and mills end (and anything else we find along the way.

4) that i will be about to be surrounded by unbelievable homeschool curriculum as far as the eyes can see.

5) that i will be having a yummy dinner with said bff, babies, and my little sister, and that my dad will finally be introduced to his third grandchild.

i'm getting excited!

i'm thinking that my next friday five will be entitled: 5 things you wish wouldn't happen on a road trip- and what you can do to avoid them.

yippee!

zilch.

that's pretty much how i feel today. zilch. i just cannot seem to get myself motivated at all today. it is trully such a bummer because today is sam's day off. and did we do magical fun family things? nope. nada. nothing.

monday i was in a mad dash to finish a special bag (blog to come on this later) and then spent the evening embroidering at Starbucks with the gals in the sewing class i'm a member of. then tuesday was full of spending time with my sister-in-law, and then a baby check up for henry, and then dinner and games at the in-laws.

so maybe today i am just mentally burnt out? yesterday i was overloading my brain with homeschooling curriculum... just don't know what i want to do!

and then today, overloading my brains with all the various different things i could do from home to earn some extra money for our family.

so sometime around 12 i just mentally collapsed. couldn't figure out anything to do with our day, nothin.

its frustrating. but i'm not quite sure how to just snap my fingers and get out of this funk.

maybe i will get a sudden burst of energy tonight? sam's opening, so i should have a fair amount of my evening to myself.

argh, i hate days like this.

but, my baby is smiling and kicking his legs high in the air in glee. and i just enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie. and someone else is making dinner tonight. so, things are looking up a bit.

kimono and bloomers.

here's a finished project.  this was part of my friend Jana's baby shower gift.  i have made this kimono now 3 times.  it continues to be a thorn in my side, and i am really not so sure if it is as cute as i hoped it would be.  however, i really do like the way the little bloomers like with the top. it is an easy enough project to sew, but i am on the look out for another baby outfit to make.

also: i really need to find a better way/light/place to take pictures of what i sew! any suggestions?

saturday stash

1 of 3.

i have 3 separate fabric stashes to blog about.  i am so behind!

so be prepared for this saturday stash, a sunday stash, and perhaps a monday stash blog.

but, fabric is so wonderful it just must be shared.  

i bought 1 yard of each, well i didn't really buy it- it was technically my mother's day gift from a few weeks ago- but i got to pick it out!  and since i have gone and bought another 2 1/2 yards of the purple.  all of it is from the Linden Fabric line, and i am seriously bummed because there were 3 other fabrics that went in line with this, and i cannot find it anymore.  this is the problem with waiting to buy fabric when it is clearance (4.49 a yard as opposed to 9)

i am using the purple for a dress for me, and for mason.

the other 3? not quite sure yet.... so many possibilities.

instead.

five things i should be doing instead of blogging while watching law and order.

1) sewing.  i have a dress to finish smocking, a skirt to make an elastic casing for, a log cabin square to complete, and i am sure i could think of something else i could be sewing.

2) reading.  i am in the middle of 5 different books, and i would like to actually finish one of them.

3) cleaning.  there are dishes that should be cleaned.

4) diaper laundry.  in fact, i will need to post this and get up and start that laundry, before it gets to late.

5) talking with my husband.  we are just so brain-drained right now.  he's had a hard time re-adjusting to being at work and his responsibilities as a husband and father.  his stress gives me stress.  and even though the two older kids are at his parents, we have basically just collapsed in mental and physical exhaustion.  i need to think of something we should do, or i'll be watching him play with his laptop and his blackberry- simultaneously.

amazing

last night i witnessed something amazing.

after a huge bbq for a ton of families from our church and community, sam and i were busy bees cleaning up the aftermath.  well all afternoon long the clouds in the sky had loomed over us, almost daring us to continue on with our bbq.  so as we quickly brought all the food and tables in and prepared to load up and head home (we were at sam's parents- their yard in unbelievable) sam was prepping to take a load of bags out to our van.  it was then that he yelled for me to hurry outside.

so his parents and i (and henry in tow) ran outside.

in the sky was the most unbelievable lighting display i had ever witnessed in my life.  the lighting was striking all over the sky, and one flash of light would literally explode one second on top of the next.

we stood out in the yard, watching this amazing display of God's Awesome power for almost an hour.  sam had ran in to get Campbell (who was at first confused why we weren't watching Cars- you know, Lightning McQueen?)

the lightning continued to get bigger and brighter, and eventually we started to hear thunder.

so we buckled everyone in, and followed the lighting show to our house, where we actually parked at the school close to our home to watch the sky explode even more.

and then the rain came.  

probably not the best timing that by the time we got ourselves home the storm was literally right above us, dumping tremendous- soak you the second you stand in it, rain.  not great for unloading 3 over tired kids.

but everyone was a good sport, i mean- this was just amazing.

so we put the little ones down, and turned off every light in our house (including computer screens) and sam and i just watched as our house was illuminated by flashes of lighting that were literally coming from every single window in our house.

i had never witnessed anything like this, and i can't imagine i will anytime soon.  the lighting was still going on when i was nursing henry at 2 am.

i wish there had been a way i could have captured some of this on film, but i didn't. instead it will remain a memory that will burn in my heart.

all i could think while watching this storm, was that this lightning storm must have somehow resembled what Creation was like.  

Absolute, controlled chaos, exploding all over the sky.

more of a wednesday when

a few days ago i noticed that the bare tree in my front yard had grown beautiful green leaves all over its branches.  and then yesterday i glanced out my kitchen window to see the tree in my back yard was also adorned with bright green leaves.

when did this happen?

how, over the last 2 months did i completely miss the season of spring?

was it due to the record highs, and crazy lows? (the weekend before Henry was born, it was 90 degrees on a Friday, and was snowing on a Sunday)

or perhaps my constant staring at my little new baby for the last 2 months would be the best reason for how i somehow completely missed the new buds forming on branches and flowers slowly starting to bloom.

however, the absence of spring from my vision is most likely contributed to the fact that sam and i do not garden (and rarely mow our lawn) so it has really just been jungle/swamp season here.

however, summer is arriving.

since starting this post, i have come up with many other wednesday why's:

~why can't my son pull his own pull-up down?

~why won't my daughter eat the beautiful lunch i have prepared for her?

~why would my husband leave a milk cup in our bedroom (after having claimed to clean the room) only to have mason find the milk this morning and drink some of its spoiled nastiness.

~why is mason still whining instead of eating?

~why is henry chiming in?

still, summer is arriving.  and in spite of the heat (which i don't love) i am excited for the opportunity to be outside with the kids a little more.  they sure do love the sunshine.

ERGO Giveaway

Want to win a Ergo baby carrier? Check out Go, Graham, Go! and enter to win a Ergo Baby Carrier. I am very interested in the baby on the back option... I am just very interestd in baby wearing in general!  Good luck!