Moments

Ok. I think it is safe to say that sometimes I can be a ditz. It's not that I am lacking a brain. Far from it. My ditzy moments come from the fact that I have too much going on in my brain. Drop kid A off, pick kid B up, work, cook dinner, work on projects, clean, yadda yadda. Eventually my braid overloads and I stop thinking. Which led me to this past weekend. Where I washed 5 loads of laundry and realized the giant bottle of detergent I bought was in fact not detergent. Nope. It was a giant bottle of fabric softener.

The worst part? Is that I've been washing clothes with just fabric softener for the last few weeks. Hey, at least they smell good, right?

It helps when you take time to read things. Huh. Imagine that.

Just a reminder

Just a small reminder, I have many awesome items listed at my Etsy shop.

For your favorite little girl, I have this adorable princess dress.

I'm truly in love with this vintage bicycle dress. So adorable and one of a kind.

For the Scottie dog lovers, this dress is pure awesome.

For the cook, baker, crafter and/or gardener, I have some great aprons. Like this one or that one.

Any ideas you think I should make? I have superhero capes and working on embroidered coasters and some fun monster dolls. Also have a felt paper doll rolling around in my mind. Plus, I am trying to take my girl's tunic and redo the pattern for women's sizes. How cute would the be with a belt at the waist, some skinny jeans/regular jeans and some cute flats? Although I don't own skinny jeans. Or flats - but I have a gift card to Kohls! Woot! Leopard print flats here I come!

It's a hard knocks life

I've been feeling rather down in the dumps lately. Rather blah and I can't quite pin point why. I was feeling sorry for myself and all the crap I've had to deal with in my life. You know the feeling, just when things start to get easy more crap happens and then more crap. I talked with a few friends who have had a bunch of crap happen to them. (Can I use the word crap a few more times?) Not the same as what I've dealt with, but still crap and it still sucks. It was then that I realized (cue some fancy music, maybe a light show) that everyone has had their fair share of shit to deal with - no one's life is a cake walk.

We all have our demons.

We all struggle.

We all have skeletons in our closet.

And you know what - that's part of life - but choosing not to let your demons, your crap, rule your life is truly living. It's realizing that we only have one life to live and to give yourself every chance to live it to the fullest.

Yes, some days I would really rather pull the blankets over my head and ignore the world, but I force myself to get up. To get dressed. To go live. Never once have I regretted living. Never once have I regretted getting up and telling my demons to go fuck off.

So, here's to living. Here's to giving yourself the best life. You can only do it once, so do it right.

And seriously, fuck off demons. Go back and party with the skeletons in my closet. I hear they are lonely right about now.

Hola, me llamo Nicole

Sometime last month my beloved iron died. I know, (insert sarcasm here) you feel the loss as much as I do. I loved that iron. As a person who sews, your iron is like your best friend. Only it doesn't go shopping with you to tell you when a certain pair of pants makes your butt look fat. Secretly I kind of wish it did, because that iron has seen me through many a hard time sewing in the last two years. I went out shopping to find another suitable iron, bought one, and decidedly hate it. I've already thrown away the box and receipt. Now I am kind of stuck with and iron, who might I add only likes to steam when it wants to. If I want some steam action, I press the steam button and wait. And wait. And wait. Then as I start to iron something I don't need to use steam with, it lets out a huge gust of steamy air, pissing me off in the process. I think it might by possessed or maybe it just secretly likes wrinkles. Either way now I feel like I HAVE to use this iron I already paid for. What to do, what to do....... Are there magical iron fairies somewhere out there that deliver new and fabulous irons to good little boys and girls?

In other news, I have many a fun new project on the drafting table this year. Lots of ideas floating around in my head, hopefully I will be able to share them with you, plus a side of sarcasm. A blog from me doesn't feel the same unless it's laced with loads of sarcasm and an occasional swear word thrown in there for good luck. Bet you didn't know swearing brings good luck. There, see? You do learn something new every day. You're welcome. 

Look maw, it's 2013!

Happy new year to all 5 of you......2 of you who still stop by and still read my random drivel! I hope everyone had a fab holiday. We decided a day before we were hosting a New Year's Eve to switch rooms around in our house, thus creating a massive mess! Obviously, we like to thrive on stress. And caffeine with an occasional beer thrown in the mix. My stepson moved out, so we moved my son (8 going on 35) into the now empty room. Then we turned my son's old room into a toy room where all video games will be relocated  (pause for a moment of silence please for how kick ass this is - my precious living room will finally be mine again!). Not to mention I was able to move all Legos and Polly Pockets to the toy room. The bottoms of all mother's feet rejoice in the awesomeness of this. If you have no clue why this is awesome, then go find a Lego, throw it on the floor, take off your shoes and socks, turn off the lights and step on the Lego. I bet you just yelled many a 4 letter swear word, didn't you? Now you understand. By creating a toy room we were able to move many a toy out of the basement table, including a huge table that will now be used for Lego building and craft making. By doing this we opened up a crap ton of room in the basement where my studio lives. Do you understand what this means for me?

(wait for it)

A chance to redo the studio!!!!!!!!!! (No, I am not excited about this at all. Nope. Not one iota.) (Okay, maybe just a tad bit excited.) (Okay, fine. I may have skipped around the house singing with glee.) The reorganization part started out a bit hairy, giant mess.

BUT, I was finally able to clean the area and organize everything they way it should be.

Case in point, the fabric stash:

Please note that all fabric is now arrange by color, including a polka dot stash. What, doesn't everybody have a polka dot stash? Don't give me that look, you know you have one.

If you need me, I will be downstairs sewing. And gazing longingly at my fabric.

To gift or not to gift

Really, that is the questions. As a BzzAgent I was given the opportunity to receive a free 5x7 mounted photo. Of course I jumped at the chance. I shop at Meijer all the time. I am convinced if Meijer doesn't have a certain item, then it must not exist. On Thanksgiving I made my children wear decent clothes and actually sit next to each other, no fighting or whining, and smile real smiles. I didn't want any cheese with these smiles. Was I ever shocked when my two turkeys actually behaved and gave me the picture I wanted and NO whining was involved. All moms out there seriously understand why this could be considered a miracle. I then copied the picture to a CD and skipped all the way to Meijer (fine, I drove there. It was too cold for skipping). I put my cd into the photo kiosk computer and it was super easy to navigate through and choose what I wanted. I opted for the matte finish, because I'm more of a matter girl. Glossy is too shiny. The computer printed out my ticket and all I had to do was wait. You can get your mounted photos in an hour, but there was a problem with the photo machine, so I had to pick it up the next day. Not a problem at all, as I ended up running out of milk and was able to pick up milk and my fabulous mounted photo together.

(My two turkeys)

I also noticed that Meijer had other photo options, such as photo mugs and calenders. I now have some good ideas for some Christmas presents for those hard to shop for people. A photo mug would make a great gift for my dad. At first I was going to give the mounted photo to my mother-in-law as a Christmas gift, but the photo looks really nice up on my mantle. I may just have to keep it for myself........


(I was compensated for my time with a free mounted photo, but the opinions are all my own.)

From Wolverine Blue & Gold to Sparty Green

When we moved into our house 5 years ago, my son Aaron's new room was done in University of Michigan Blue and Gold colors. Fast forward five years later and my son is now a die hard Michigan State Sparty fan, who loathes his blue and gold room. We used Benjamin Moore Aura Waterborn Interior Paint and finally (after many months of begging from said child) updated his room, fit for a Sparty Fan. I received a free can of paint from Benjamin Moore through this fabulous website called BzzAgent. At first I was worried that we would have to use multiple coats of paint to cover the blue and gold, but was surprised that it only took one coat, with a few touch ups. The best part about this paint is that it is lower in VOCs (check out here for more info about VOCs) and is better for your family and the environment. Best of all, I now have a very happy son!

( I was compensated for my time with free paint, but my opinions are my own.)