New Year Goals

So it's the new year and at the start of every year the world seems to set goals all at once.  I always thought that was a fun thing to think about.  Even stores that primarially sell food bring out all kinds of "goal setting" products.  One very obvious thing is "being more organized."  I worked at HEB (a grocery store like A&P or Krogers) and at the New Year we would tear down an endcap and put up things to organize and simplify; large totes, office supplies that weren't usually on the shelves and other such things.  This is also the time when stores push the "lose weight" goal.  It's the best time to sell dieting helpers and excersize equipment.  Why am I telling you about what's selling hot right now?  Well, if you didn't guess already I want to talk about New Year's goals!

A New Year goal I have is to get to my "ideal weight."  Now this is not "I need to drop a size or two."  No.  This is "I need to cut myself in half."  Yup.  To reach my ideal weight (and this is a weight that doctors say I should be at) I need to drop half of what I weigh now.  I used to work out and do sports in high school but when university came, it was much more than a "freshman fifteen."  This was also when I got my first cavity.  I ate fast food as if I could burn the calories by breathing.  Sad?  Yes it was.  It made having a baby harder and the things you do to have a baby harder.  It just made everything harder.  I don't like how I feel in this fat suit and this year I am taking it off.  Luckily, in South Texas, we don't really have much of a winter, which makes still going outside to exersize easier.  I hope to make it by the end of the year.  I had a dream last night that I was doing it right.  It was summer and I was on track.  For some reason [in my dream] I was volunteering at an event of my alma mater (high school) that included high schools from out of state, all the kids thought I was a senior in high school.  I do look young for my age as many tell me, so my imagination went with it I suppose.  I look young but I don't think I look that young.

When I was in high school, I thought I looked as big as I do now.  I look at pictures of myself now and I think, "I remember looking in the mirror and seeing this when I was in high school."  I know I didn't look that way because I wore a size 12/14 in high school.  I am Hispanic, I have a nice hour glass shape (I'm not bragging) so I varied in sizes.  I couldn't wear some styles or brands because my C/D cups weren't going to fit into certain clothes.  When I am fit, my thighs are just about solid, and they aren't little.  Again, I couldn't fit into certain brands.  With this and guys at school telling me I was fat and my mom, with good intentions but not in the best way, telling me that I need a different size, you can see how a teenage girl might think that she looks over 200lbs.  Now grown, I don't see myself as I really am still.  I don't see myself as big as I actually am, but some days I sure do feel it.  When we get pregnant again, I don't want a doctor to look at me and automaticlly lable me as a high risk pregnancy because of my weight.  I want to run like I used to.  When I run after my daughter or my nephews, I wonder what they see; this giant blubbery woman coming at them?  I really hope not.  I also don't want my kids thinking that my weight is just something that happens when you "get old."

 

This year's goal is to lose 10lbs a month.

 

My husband, daughter and I have been living in our house for about a year and a half.  The carpet in the house was horrible; old (not shag carpet old but still, old), moldy and just all around eck!  We moved into my in law's rent house.  So before we moved in, Tom and his dad ripped it all out and started to lay down hardwood flooring.  Since the floor was finished, I had been slowly making each room liveable.  One night, Evelyn had been so scared by my sister in law's dog that she wouldn't sleep in her crib and has been sleeping in our bed ever since.  That was before we moved into the house, so setting up Evelyn's room wasn't a rush.  That was actually the last room we did.  It only took two days with a bit of stop and go.  Every room in our house (not including the master bath, that's another story for another time) is now very livable.  Been for a while, but that is backround to what my goal is for this year.

 

This year's goal is to simplify our home.

 

We have so many things and I am really not sure why.  Some things in the garage are my in laws that we are holding and are of others.  I can explain that garage, but I can't explain all of our house.

We also have our office as our guest bedroom.  That can't be helped because we only have three bedrooms what is bad is that our desk is a fold out banquet table that we are borrowing from my mother in law.  Still.  This same table I mean desk, is also where I do my sewing.  I like to sew.  I made Evelyn her Christmas dress this year.  She was a gingerbread girl.  Her first Christmas she wore a Santa dress, second was an Elf dress and this year was a Gingerbread Girl dress.  Our desk doesn't have enough storage space for all the documents we have plus printing paper and office supplies.  We have two--three drawer Rubbermaid filing helpers but it's not enough.  Plus need for space when cutting fabric which I often end up doing in the middle of the living room on the floor.  So all this, I will be working on!  I am going to rid us of the things that we do not use or need and organize the desk again.  Maybe even get a real desk.  How 'bout that huh?  I like it!

The livingroom was something I recently had a break through with, then we got the really big TV and now we can't use the entertainment unit that we had before and now we have it behind the couch.  Sadly, it's the first thing you see when you walk in.  So I need to rid the livingroom of that!

Our bedroom needs a major do over on our dresser and in our smaller closet.  The tenents previous to us took off all the doors (they used curtains instead) from the closets and left them in the garage.  The detatched garage that is drafty.  They have mold all over them.  So we need to do something about that.  Curtains!  Perhaps.

Evelyn's room needs a better way to store toys.  She has it neat, but the toys are in buckets and are easily seen.  I like it better when things are put away in a bin where the only thing you see is a lable.

The house bath, I just did it!  Before I started this post I finished re-organizing the hall closet and the house bath.  My father in law alway said, "Re-organized doesn't mean it's better."  Trust me this time it is BETTER!

The front closet needs work.  I'm not sure what is on the top shelf.  I usually just toss things to the top if I can't find a place for it.

The kitchen?  Well, that is organized the way I want it to be.  I need to get a step ladder so I don't have to wait until Tom gets home to put away some things.  I told myself as the year was ending, "I will strive this coming year to throw away old food out of our containers before I need to have Tom dump the food while I am across the house in our room with the door closed to keep away from the stench."  I can do it!  So far so good.  Food from, Christmas...already gone!  Candy from Halloween?  Tom ate most of it but the rest it gone!  Woo Hoo!

The dinning table.  Once I get the "office" organized better, the dinning table problem will be solved!

 

I think that is every room (exluding the master bath, again, another story another time)!  So I will keep you posted.  I'm hoping that the pressure I will put on myself to make updates that show progress will get me to stick with my goals.  Maybe I should set aside a day I do this and make that a goal?  Hmm...I will have to think about; when is best, when does it not conflict with family and other responsibilities?  Hmm...another thing to get back to you on!

 

I do have other goals, but somethings are just too special to put on a blog.  Hint; it involes loving my husband better!

 

With thoughts of who you might be! -The Curly Texan!

Baby Doll Wipe Set Tutorial

When I was little, I had a Cabbage Patch Newborn that I have now passed onto my daughter.  It used to have little diapers but they are now hard to find.  So I made little "cloth diapers" out of white felt and small, round Velcro.  I didn't think about making a tutorial on that until now.  So that one will come later.

 

Evelyn loves to play Mommy.  She really, really does.  She tries to be sneaky and get some of her own wipes to "wipe baby's poo poo."  So, one day before heading to my parents, I decided to make her her own wipes.  Evelyn made a mess again by using too many wipes on her baby, so I said, "That's it!  I am making you your own!"  I thought this would be an easy tutorial and a good one so close to Christmas.

 

Supplies:

• 1-white fat quaters (mine was left over from a wipes travel container I covered)
• 1-8x11 felt sheet in your child's favorite color (you will see that I used material from a gutted pillow.  I know I had red felt but I couldn't find it, so I had so make do)
• white thread
• color cordinating thread to go with felt (try using opposites, if you use pink felt, use lime green thread for example)

First:

Cut white fabric into 4.5x4.5 inch squares. 

 

I made only six.  You don't want to be trying to find a dozen little baby doll wipes all over your house.  I thought six was a good number to make and remember.

 

Second:

Straight stitch all the way around to keep from fraying. 

(Not stitched)(Stitched)

 

You can make actual seams, I didn't because of time and with cloth wipes, you don't usually see that, they are usually Singered.

 

 

Next is the wipes holder!

 

Third:

Cut the felt to be 8x4 inches.  At about two inches from the short bottom, cut an oblong hole about 2.5 inches wide.

It's best to check and make sure you made the hole big enough.

 

 

Fourth:

Because you are working with felt, and that doesn't fray, you don't need to stich a seam around the hole. Yay!  If you are not using felt, but you are using a fabric that will fray (like I did), you will need to make a seam or you can use a short cut and just make a stitch all around the hole to keep from fray just like the wipes.

 

Fifth:

Fold over the felt, hamburger style, and stitch it closed. 

 (Remember, if your are using some thing other than felt (like me),

be sure to sew it closed with the inside out.) 

If you like that "inside out look," you are done with this step, it you don't like that look, then turn your wipes holder right side out.

 

 

Next is how to put in your wipes so that another will come out after pulling one out for use.

 

Sixth:

Fold all the wipes in half and press the folds.  Open them.  Take your first and lay it down flat, the next wipe will be place only half way on top of the first.  Fold the bottom wipe onto the top.

 

Get your third wipe, place that half way on top of the second, hanging off of the opposite side. 

 

 

Fold the second wipe on top of the third. 

Do that until you run out of wipes.

 

I hope that all made sense to you.  I was afraid of how that part would all come out.

 

Seventh:

Stuff your wipes into your wipes holder.

 Make sure to leave a little sticking out to make grabbing for little hands easier.

 

 

Tada!  You should now have a sweet little stocking stuffer, or a piece to your child's homemade Dolly Diaper Bag gift!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Orange You Sweet! Tutorial

I made this for a friend from church.  We had a meeting to go to and I car pooled with her so I wanted to make a little treat for her to say thank you.  I was going to make cookies, but we were out of eggs.  Which also meant I couldn't make brownies or cupcakes.  So I had to put something together that didn't need eggs and didn't need refridgeration.  Okay, so anything in the fridge was out, but I still looked.

Every now and again, we buy the really big bag of M&Ms.  For some reason, this past time we bought them, I felt the need to seperate them by color and put them in different baggies then put all those baggies into a large baggie.  Tom has eaten most of them.

"All but the red and orange," I said out loud. 

"Orange.  Orange?  Orange you gunna think of somethi--  ORANGE!  ORANGE YOU SWEET!"  It hit me with suprising force.

So that is how I came up with this!

 

ORANGE YOU SWEET!

 

This will be my first tutorial so be nice and bear (rawr) with.

 

Supplies:

 

• your choice of amount-orange colored candy (I used M&Ms)
• 1-clear goodie bag with twist tie
• hot glue gun
• stick glue
• 6-8 inches-orange ribbon (shown with 1.5 inch cut off already)
• hole punch
• sissors (not shown)
• matches or lighter (not shown)
• "Orange You Sweet" tag (I couldn't figure how to post a print out, email me if you would like the tag print out)

Step 1:

Fill clear googie bag with your orange candy and tie it closed.

 

Step 2:

Print out and cut "Orange You Sweet" tags.  Paste together.  Hole punch.  Cut off 1.5 inch of ribbon.  Make a loop through the tag's hole and hot glue it closed.

 Tada!

 

Step 3:

Burn ends of remaining ribbon to keep from fraying.

 

Step 4:

Thread ribbon through the loop on the tag.  Write "To" and "From" on the back or write a little note of thanks.

 

Step 5:

Tie the tag onto the bag of candy.

 I kind of looped around and thread it through the loop again to make sure it was secure.

 

 

You should now have a sweet little treat to give someone to remind them that they are appriciated by you.

Texas Snow

        Have you ever seen a cotton field after it has been harvested? We have a lot of cotton fields around this area. It looks like snow is on the ground. Christmas in July. That’s how I remember when it’s time to harvest the cotton, not that wedo the harvesting. And yes, I do know what snow looks like. We have visited family in Utah. Seeing the “snow” on the ground makes me think, “Summer is almost over and soon kids will be going to school, then I will be making costumes, then ‘gobble gobble’ Turkey Day, then tamales at Christmas with the scent of pine and the sparkle of lights and wrapping paper and then a new year is here and the live stock show is here before I can blink.” Well, kids are in school, I sort of made costumes, and it’s almost turkey time! I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to decorate for this Christmas. Every year I try to do a different theme than the previous year. Our first Christmas as a married couple was a toy land theme. Instead of a star we had an old teddy bear that my dad gave me that he had when he was a baby. The next year we didn’t really have a tree. Evelyn was almost 6 months and we were afraid of her getting into things. I think we only put lights on the tree that year. Last Christmas was the first Christmas that we spent in the house we are in now. We decorated the tree gold and red with a white cotton skirt made to look like glistening snow. This year I am so unsure. I’m considering making it a tradition to use the same ornaments every year. I just don’t want to spend money getting all new decorations when we just don’t have the money for it and money for the gifts we want to get for each other, Evelyn and other family. No point when I could probably put several things together and come up with a“new” theme. Maybe. We will see. Cross your fingers for me!