But..... I did it last time!

Recently, Garth and I decided it was high time for an actual job chart for the Walker Family.  Since our refrigerator is usually covered with pictures and things to not forget I needed a place to put a job chart. 

I thought about it and had a vision.

My vision didn't have these blurry cell phone pictures though.  Why didn't I just go upstairs and get the real camera?  Laziness.

So, first I went to Costco and bought a magnetic dry erase board for $19.99.  It looks just like this one but without the containers attached to it.

This is going to go in the kitchen and I didn't want that lovely aluminum frame to ugly it up so I took it off.

I purchased some pine 1x4's to make a new frame.
First, I needed to route the edges so they would look nice and route out the part where the white board would go.

Here they are, ready for cutting.

I cut the edges with a 45 degree angle so they would fit nicely together.

I painted the pieces black then sanded them so they had a nice rustic look.  As an amazing finish contractor who spends his days making things nice and smooth and pretty, my Dad doesn't like the word "rustic". 

Sorry Dad!

I nailed the frame together so it looks like this

Then I stained it with American Walnut stain and inserted the white board. 

I added some hooks and acrylic knobs that make me happy and hung it on the wall!

Within minutes, Gordon addes his touch.

Soon, I'll print some job charts and hang them on the white board with lovely magnets.  Once we decide we like the "format"  I'll have a friend cut some vinyl to make it official.

Gordon and Jensen are anxiously waiting......   Poor babies.

I Don't love Dogs.....

I really really don't love dogs or cats or little furry anythings. 
Why?
Waaaayyyy too many reason s to list.  really.



Last year, Garth's parents called to say they were going to serve a mission for our church in Taipei, Taiwan. 

The first thought that popped into my head was "we could take Penny"

What?  Where did that come from?  A dog.... in MY house?  For a whole year and a half?  Crazy.

I do believe my Mother-in-law was a little apprehensive about leaving her baby with her non pet loving daughter-in-law.  Her other one loves dogs.

I believe Penny and I have done pretty well so far.  She thinks I love her and I do like her a lot.  She is cute.

Little Penny is turning 7 soon if not already.  I think she was born in March.
She is a Trained Therapy Dog and really very well behaved. 

We've had her for 10 months now.  In those 10 months, she's learned to go potty outside. Yay!  She was used to potty papers at her house.  My in-laws live at the Running Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  Penny could be eaten by any number of bigger than her things.

She's taken over one of our family room chairs.

If there is a blanket on the couch she's gonna test it out.

She sleeps on Jensen's bed

Every morning she does this hoping for tummy rubs.  She usually gets them.

She believes all legs are for getting comfy on

We made her a bed for Christmas

This is her real Mom and Dad

We try to send pictures and videos to them often. 

I know My Mother-in-law Ellen misses Penny terribly.  They will be home in October and Penny will take up her usual position on Ellen's shoulders as she sits and reads by the window.

I might miss her.

A BIG change (for me) and a peek at my sewing room

About 20-ish years ago......

Rotary cutters and self healing cutting Mats were the things I drooled most over at the fabric store.  Garth was attending BYU and I was working and making about $6.00 an hour.  In other words, we didn't have a lot of moola so it was a pretty big deal when I purchased my first green cutting mat.  I wish I could remember what it cost way back then.  I can remember bringing it home and just staring at it with joy and anticipation.  I also had my new rotary cutter.  My very sharp new rotary cutter.

Over the years, I used and used and used them.  I made school clothes for Garth and most of my dresses and tops.  When our boys came along, I made them church clothes, play clothes, toys and big stuffed bear bean bag chairs. 

So, earlier this week there was a major tragedy...  I cut right through my faithful old green cutting mat!  I'd used some of the marking so many times over the years that they were hard to see.  The markings stopped "self healing" and were slowly just being cutt away over time.

Kinda hard to see but I cut right through on the left side there....

It now has a new home under my sewing machine.

I HAD to replace it so I went to Joann Fabrics armed with my 50% off coupon.  I stood there and thought and thought about which one to buy.  The ol Green Olfa mats were a whopping almost $60.00 so $30.00 with the coupon (yes, I can do some simple math!).  I looked at the Fiskars brand and it was about $10.00 less, double sided and already on sale so I could use my coupon on fabric.  So, feeling a bit odd, I got the Fiskars one.

Here is my new baby...

Beautiful.

I was a bit hesitant to make that first cut.  Kinda like putting a hole in your brand new house to hang a picture. 

I managed.

Ok, enough about that BIG change!






Here is a small peek into my sewing room....

My Baby.  See that pink paper over there on the left?  Those are my patterns that I designed.  Yes, me!

A work in progress...

I love the window and natural light!

A "bit" of my fabric stash

Some bags waiting to be photographed and listed on Etsy

a few more

The wall behind my sewing machine needs to be re-organized again.

Bag hardware and other things easy to grab as needed

I almost didn't add this one because it looks so messy.  Just ignore the poor turkey sitting sadly on top of my box of ribbing (t-shirt necks, etc.)  Off to the side there in rolls is my supply of oil cloth.   My awesome t.v. and roku box are there so I can watch netflix movies instead of Judge Judy all day.  Oh, and my zipper supply too.



bags in progress.

Well, There you have it.  A small peek into my almost favorite place to be in our house.  I feel a bit exposed.

I hope you are still awake!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was taken November 2006

xoxo

How did I get soooo Lucky?

How did I get such smarty pants kids? 

I used to cringe and want to hide when my report card came. 

Not our boys.  We sit down on the couch, open it together and go over everything. 

I LOVE it and I love them.

Gordon's Report card:

click on the pic if you want to see the details better and enjoy the cell phone quality....

Jensen's report card:

Once again,  I'm a lucky girl.

What? Did you say something to me?

I've been a tiny bit distracted lately.

This is why

I've wanted one of these for a while now. My friend got one for Christmas and seeing her excitement, made me want one even more. I told myself when I sold 4 more picture frames, I'd do it.

I did a LOT of research before I decided to buy a Kindle. I looked at all the internet posts comparing the Kindle to the Nook and Sony reader and a few others. I was very interested in the eBook checkout system at our local library but found out you have to wait quite a while for them. Really? The library eBooks are a format that doesn't comply with Kindle but does with all the others I was looking at. I won't bore you with everything I learned. Ultimately, I went with the Kindle and so far, I'm not sorry I did.

Once I had my new little friend home, I knew I needed to make it nice and cozy. I needed to make it nice and safe so I could throw it into my purse. Also, as slim and lovely as it is, I wanted more to hang onto. I looked and looked for ideas on the internet and found several. I'm pretty good at looking at something and making it better for me.

My first attempt

The front

The inside

Folded backward and hooked to itself with the velcro

The pockets on the oposite side.  I guess for a tablet or something.

This one is just a little thick.  I put two layers of very heavy interfacing in there.

I carried it around in this for several days but then got excited about making some little tweaks and making one with fabric that makes my skirt fly up.

My second attempt

The outside with a smaller flap and only one layer of heavy interfacing inside.  Also made the corners a little pointy-er

The inside with more reinforced corners

No change in the pockets

Folded back

Another shot of it folded back

I LOVE the colors of this one. It makes me happy just to look at it. You might want to know how I reach those buttons and the on/off switch there at the bottom right side. Well, the corner slips off easily and still stays put! I think I'm in love.

Here is the question though....

Should I make them and try to sell them? I could make them for iPad and Nook and any of the others. There are a ton of them out there on the internet.

I don't know.

How much would you pay for one of these babies?