The Start of Something New

The start of something new.  New babies, that is.  And new knitting projects for new babies.  Two new grandbabies due in the spring, and I am giddy with joy. 

My newest knitting project is a white blanket for a precious, yet unborn, baby boy or girl.  The pattern is the Pine Forest Baby Blanket, modified.  I'm using a wool-acrylic blend yarn (Berroco Vintage DK) which is machine washable and dryable, making it a good choice for baby items.  

A few days ago I spent the day with three of my five daughters.  We went to town and shopped and ate and drank coffee (okay, I was the only one who drank the coffee) and ate chocolate and looked at art galleries and ate some more and looked at antique shops and ate again (I had forgotten how hungry pregnant women can be!) and just enjoyed hanging out together.  We missed my lives-in-Switzerland daughter tremendously, but it was a fun and enjoyable day otherwise.  It was a day that I hope to repeat many, many times.  I am so blessed.

Ruth

commercial break...

Swagbucks...I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but it's kind of fun...Since I started using Swagbucks 5 months ago, I've earned $45 in amazon gift cards --completely free, with no strings attached....now if only Amazon sold fabric, then I'd be really happy!

So what is Swagbucks? It's a search engine (powered by Google and Ask) that randomly rewards your searches with "swagbucks", basically points which you can save to redeem for amazon gift cards or other stuff in the swag store. I'm sure you do internet searches everyday anyway, why not earn something from them??

That's all there really is to it--just do your normal seaches on the Swagbucks search engine instead of your normal search engine. Win swagbucks every day and then redeem them for cash!

Find out more, and sign up HERE. When you sign up using any of these links, I'll get referral points too. Then when your friends sign up using your referral link, you'll get even more swagbucks too!

Cheers!
Jessica

Decorating my Kitchen at the Thrift Store

So now I'm officially doing my kitchen in colbalt blue, hunter green, and mustard yellow. Probably not the most appealing combination, but it's working for me. Originally I just wanted to do just blue and white in my kitchen, but we ended up getting a house with hunter green countertops. What works with hunter green and blue? Mustard yellow!

I recently found this fancy muffin tin at my favorite thrift store. $0.79! Several days later, matching yellow mugs turn up. $0.39 each!


I think my new tin and mugs make a a pleasing arrangement over my stove!

Cheers!
Jessica

Update and Buttons

Thanks for the comments asking about my eye situation. It's improving, and I'm definitely out of the woods as far as the Uveitis goes. There is no active inflammation going on, but I still have some blurriness that fluctuates from day to day, due to damage from the Uveitis. The Dr. thinks that will continue to clear up over time though. I'm not supposed to see him for 3 or 4 months!


Sometimes it's discouraging because I can't see as good as I know that I should be able to see. I want to have perfect vision.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend who is dealing with a less then perfect health situation with her baby, and she said that she had been reminded that we are not perfectly whole here, because we are not supposed to be. We are fragile humans beings, and none of us is perfectly whole her on earth. And that is ok. Complete wholeness will only be experienced in Heaven, and the trials here should make me long for Heaven all the more.

She was an encouragement to me. Maybe my vision will get back to normal, or maybe there may be something that can be done for it in the future, but if there isn't, and if it's always a little fuzzy in my left eye, I can rest assured that God is in control and know that someday he will restore it completely, if now here, then in Heaven.

Aren't my new buttons pretty? I won them on e-bay as sort of a treat for myself after selling some stuff on e-bay and etsy. =) They are not earmarked for anything in particular, and but I fell in love with the bright colors and whimsical designs.

Hugs,
jessica

Sewing Room Makeover Part 1

My sewing room is getting a makeover this new year. Over our Christmas break, Justin and I painted the room a light buttery yellow color. Then Justin re-painted one of the walls white for me because I decided it was too much yellow. =) He's really sweet.

Now I'm in the process of re-organizing and decorating. Today I hung pictures, and the new curtains are almost done. I just need to sew the buttons on...more pictures later!

Cheers!
Jessica

Chocolate Covered Cherries

A Christmas tradition still going strong
after 14 years.

As Random As It Gets

Okay, Jess. You (and Ginny and Tami) asked, so here goes. Random things about myself. Very random. Boring. :-)


1. My mom had 7 children and I have 7 children.

2. I am learning to play the oboe....started as an adult never having played any instrument before. I love it! I take oboe lessons for the first time in my life.

3. I like Sudoku puzzles. One a day, at the least. Sudokuoftheday.com is great.

4. My 2GB Ipod Nano is not big enough. I enjoy listening to audio books, podcasts, and of course, music. (I prefer using speakers, not headphones).

5. I am a night owl. Reformation isn't possible--I've tried.

6. My favorite Christmas music is Handel's Messiah. The whole thing.

7. I love to sew. Oh, is that one obvious? Okay, how about, I don't like to cook?

8. Dark chocolate is absolutely the bomb. Love the stuff!


Now for some cuteness-- This is Emily reading Christmas books from the Christmas book bag that only comes out one month a year.

Ruth

We've been tagged!

Ginny from A Crafter's Chronology tagged us with the "8 Things We Didn't Know About You" meme several weeks ago, and Tami from September's Bride tagged us to post 7 random things about ourselves. How about I post 8 random things that you don't know about me. Can I cover both bases at once?

Here we go!

1. I grew up in Colorado, and can still feel the crunch of pine needles under my feet when I imagine walking through a forest.

2. Once, when I was going through my edible flower stage, I served ice cubes with johnny-jump-ups frozen in them at a tea party. I think I was the only one who thought that was cool.

3. I hope you know this about me by now, but I love Jesus Christ, and walking in a right relationship with him is one of the most important things in my life.

4. Can I share one about my hubby? He drinks coffee in the shower. How crazy is that?

5. One of my best friends as a kid was my cat, Winnie Pooh. That poor cat got cried on and hugged on a lot. Winnie Pooh also used to correspond with my cousin's cat Taffy. They loved getting letters from each other!

6. I eat sour cream on everything and anything. Right now I seriously love the stuff. I bought two containers of it this week. Yummy!

7. Sewing my wedding dress was a huge dream of mine, and sometimes I can't believe I actually did it!

8. Right now I weigh 5 lbs less than I did before I got pregnant. That feels nice. =)

Ok, Mom, it's your turn!!

Jessica

Pay It Forward

I don't usually do the various memes that get passed around on blogland, but I thought this one sounded fun. I got this from Linda, and decided to join in. I like the idea of Pay It Forward!
Ruth


Pay It Forward meme

I will send a handmade gift* to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog.

I'm not sure what I will send, but it will be something handmade by me.

*The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade--choose your specs when you post it on your blog.

Please leave your email address with your comment so that I can contact you.