Made in 2008...and then onto 2009

Just wanted to document some of my projects that I accomplished in 2008

Crafting/Sewing


Gardening/Baking



Now onto 2009- I think my goals for 2008 are pretty much all applicable to this year as well. I do need to get serious and write them out in a form that is more measurable. I have pounds I want to lose, 2 quilts I want to make, a blurb book from vacation last year to finish up, letters I want to write consistently, Sunday School lessons to be studied each week, debts to be paid off, more homemade gifts and a myriad of other specific goals swirling around in my head.

I've thought a lot about a word to define my 2009 and I keep coming back to respect. It's been a toss up between that and discipline. Respect seems more positive to me. It is applicable in so many areas- I want to be better at respecting my family, my Heavenly Father, my body, my time, my home, our environment, other people, etc.

What are your plans for 2009?

Sewing Stuff

As many of you know I am a collector. I've got a lot of fabric. More than I'll ever probably be able to use. But I can't help it, especially at garage sale and thrift store prices, how can I pass up something so cute that has the potential to be something even more wonderful?

A few years ago Troy got me a sewing machine for my birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell him at the time I really wanted it so I could sew on my cards and scrapbook pages. Thank goodness I have learned that sewing other stuff can be a lot of fun, too.

Here are some of the projects I've been working on lately:

Genna has grown 2 inches since April, but the hand me down size 7 jeans from her cousin Hannah are still quite a bit too long, so I've been working on them.


I went to a quilting party last Saturday for Relief Society. I got a box full of squares and I spent a few hours figuring out a pattern with the fabric available. I feel badly that I didn't contribute anything besides my sewing machine, to what they got done that day. But I've been working hard here at home to be ready for the next quilting day. We're going to donate the quilts to some local organizations.


My own vintage sheet quilt is still sitting, not cut out yet. I realize that's why- I just need to suck it up and get the squares done. However, cutting is my least favorite part- I am not really good at getting it straight. But working on the gingham quilt is making me anxious to get back to working on my own quilt.



A while back, I did a vintage sheet swap that Crafty Little Beana hosted. There were some really fun fabrics I'd never seen before and some that I already had in my collection. I hope I can incorporate a few of them into my quilt.

Last but not least, I finished up this ugly little pumpkinhead guy. I didn't really like how his smile turned out- but maybe he works for the "so ugly, it's cute" category.

Fun Friday Stuff

I have some fun things to share from this fantastic Friday...


I got to spend the day with my dear friend, Amber, first we shopped with my little buddy and ate at Red Robin-yum!

and then we crafted.

This is what we made. Doesn't Amber have the best ideas? You'll have to watch her blog to see what she does with hers.

It was seriously such a wonderful day- thanks so much, Amber!

I can't wait to find homes for these cute little blocks once I put my fall stuff up. Even though I am not ready to say goodbye to the gorgeous weather we are having, I think I am almost psyched up to get my fall decor up. Here are a few thrift store finds, waiting for some spray paint, along with some other fun stuff I found recently.

Tonight after soccer, the kids called us down the street to see some new puppies. They belong to Tipper, a beagle who is constantly roaming the neighborhood. We couldn't eat fast enough for Connor so we could get down there to see them. All my kids would love to have another dog, but Connor asks the most.

Can you blame him for loving these sweet things?

And here is the brother of the one Connor is holding- he has curly hair. As luck would have it, all seven of these heartbreakers are already spoken for.

Jameson and his buddy Aaron are camping out tonight, in the backyard. Well, they are if they don't fall asleep in front of the tv watching Little Rascals.

They giggled their way through the movie and made it out to the tent. Now let's see if they stay there all night.

Genna, Daddy and I watched Flushed Away tonight while the boys were doing their gaming thing.


Hope your Friday was as fabulous as mine!

Weekend in Review

We had a great weekend, despite it's rainy start.

Friday night Troy and I were able to go out on a date since soccer was cancelled. We ate at Famous Dave's and then went to see Mamma Mia. I just heard that they released a sing along theater version of the movie. I would totally have loved that- I had a hard time keeping my toes from tapping during all the songs I knew.

Saturday was another game day. We started out at Valentino's buffet for lunch- yummy! The kids were all excited because there was a clown doing face painting and balloon animals.






It is always so nice to be together.







Lorilee and I went on a little adventure trying to find supplies to make this project that we found here. You'll have to scroll down a ways to see her cute version that we totally copied!

Back at my Mom's house, Tracy, Lor and I managed to get our crafting completed despite the 5 little helpers we had. I'll post a better picture once I put up my fall decorations.



While we sanded and painted, the guys and the older kids went to the football game. The boys were thrilled that they got to go get autographs from some of the players. In fact, one of the players gave Connor a piece of his sweaty towel and he thinks that is the greatest thing ever!

Sunday after church, we had dinner with the Baier's and the missionaries- Elder Thacker & Elder DiVecha. The food and company were both great! We got to check up on their cute little baby chicks we'd seen a few weeks earlier. Genna and her friend Emily got to pet one of the broilers. We picked & ate some sugar pears from their tree. One of the boys upon finishing his pear threw the core over to the cow who was grazing nearby, she promptly gobbled it up. Then it was a game to chuck the fallen pears beneath the tree at that poor cow. She was a good sport and ate most that came her way.





Grrr...I have been wasting so much time editing and sizing pictures and not getting anything else done. Sorry about the different sizes, I am too tired to fix it again.

Top O' the Evening to Ya!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A pesky little leprechaun stopped by last night and turned our milk green. When I ate my granola this morning, it was a little unappetizing to look down and see the greenish tint- but it didn't actually taste any different.


At church yesterday, one of my friend's had made St. Patrick's Day bows for her girls and so I decided to be a copy cat. It was so easy, I did it in about 5 minutes. It was a great way to use up some of my ribbon stash. You just knot a variety of ribbons around a large pony tail holder.


Here it is in action. It's nice that the kids all have a variety of shirts since our school colors are green and white.



We had sauteed cabbage with herb & garlic sausages for dinner. We had leftover red potatoes from yesterday, but I forgot to put them out because we were in such a hurry to rush to soccer practice and parent teacher conferences.

Hope your day was a good one!

Create 2007

I saw a few people on flickr collage their year of crafting and thought it might be fun to see everything I made in one spot. I'm not including any scrapbook pages or cards I made this year. I only did paper crafting prior to September of this year, so this is what I've done since then...



Here's to many more creations in 2008!

Catching Up- Mega Post

Just wanted to catch up on the past couple of weeks. I am sorry I haven't really posted for a few weeks. I'll try and share what's been keeping me busy...

A few more of my craft show projects:




Now look at Jen & Amber's cute stuff.


It was a madhouse at the craft show and their booth was no exception.


We went and saw Brad Paisley- a concert Troy has been wanting to go to for several years. I don't really love country music- but it was a great concert. Very entertaining. Plus I could sing a long for most of the songs- when Troy does dishes or makes breakfast- he always gets out his Brad Paisley CD's.



Our sorority's annual shoppping trip. Our shirts say "sisters out shopping". It was funny how many people thought we were all actually related.


That brings us up to last week-

We had our first real snowfall- it's just too bad we got the bulk of it when I was traveling to and from Amber's house. It wasn't much fun to drive in.


But the effects of it were beautiful.




Genna turned 5 years old on the 22nd. I can't believe how much she has grown up this past year. She is so into coloring and writing these days. She has a very long attention span and will spend hours working on her artwork. We celebrated her birthday Wednesday night. We went to Godfather's for dinner and ice cream and then home for presents and a movie of her choice.



Then Thursday was Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time over at Troy's sister's house. I had to bring rolls and green been casserole. Of course, we all ate too much, but we had a great time playing games and just being together.



Friday we to Kansas to visit my sister, Lorilee. Her daughter Ashlyn Sofia was born on the 15th and we couldn't wait to meet her. She is an incredibly sweet baby. We had such a fun visit. I am so disappointed my camera battery was dying and so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.



Yesterday, we had Genna's first friends birthday party. Genna loves to draw rainbows and so it was a perfect theme for her party. She had 5 little friends come and it was a blast!





Phew! Sorry for the monster post- it really has been a couple of busy weeks. Not pictured were 2 primary programs, another chest x-ray- thankfully no pneumonia this time, a cub scout presentation on shadow puppets, and me getting utterly and completely engrossed in the Twilight series.

Yep, I think that's it! We did actually get the house decorated for FHE last night, but I'll share those pictures another day!

Tuesday's Tasks

First of all, I wanted to say thanks for all the well wishes for Genna. She was so excited to go back to school today. Then she was thrilled when she got mail today. Grandma & Grandpa Koski sent a card with some stickers and Shane(Troy's brother) and Morgan sent some fun Polly Pocket toys.




There was such a gorgeous sunset tonight.




I finally made a little cover for my sewing machine. Are you proud of me, I *sniff,sniff* cut into one of my favorite thrifted pillowcases? It looks like I need to hem it up a little more. I did line the cover because it was quite see through. The green ribbon is not quite as obnoxious looking in real life.



Spent most of today doing laundry and then working on craft show stuff. Here is a sneak peek at one of the projects...