The Sewing Mom

As I sit here looking at my calendar, I find it so hard to believe that today is the last and final day of 2007.  Where or where has this year gone?

My year began with a lot of stress as it was almost exactly a year ago that my husband and I were deciding whether or not to relocate to Texas.  It was definitely not something I wanted to do, I had a job myself, one that I actually liked, working with people I enjoyed being around.  And, I had friends, not something that’s easy to come by when you’re in your 40’s.  Also, for my daughter’s sake, I didn’t want to move.  I had moved about every 2 years as a child and I didn’t want that for her.

My husband on the other hand was not so happy in Illinois.  He didn’t like the winters and was never fond of where we were living.  He worked from his home office and didn’t get out much other than when he travelled on business.  In the end, it was the job he had long been hoping for and the promise of a brighter financial future that brought me to agree to move.

He began his new job the end of January and we made the move in April, almost two months sooner than I had anticipated. While it seems like it took a while, the period from St. Patrick’s Day (when we put our house on the market) to Easter (when we bought our new house) went by in a blur.  We had planned to spend our Spring break in the Dallas area house-hunting, not realizing when we made our plans that our house would sell in less than a days time and that we would be pressured into buying a new house so quickly.

On our 4th day of house hunting, feeling downright depressed about what we’d been seeing, we found what we thought was the perfect house.  We made the offer, negotiated back and forth (it was something like Deal or No Deal, and closed the deal, moving in only 11 days after we first saw it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful house, it’s just that the previous owners beat it to death and had covered up all the bruises.  It will take a long time for me to get it fixed, a lot of holes, and damage.

It was difficult leaving Illinois too, because it was Spring Break.  Most of my friends and my daughter’s friends were out of town on vacation.  When they left, we didn’t realize we would no longer be there when they got back, so we hadn’t told any of them good-bye.  This still grates on me, I feel lost without them and feel like I was running out on them.  I even had to resign from my job in the school district on voice mail because my boss was not in the office.

In May, my daughter started at her new school.  She wanted to meet some kids.  It was a good idea, but it’s not easy as anyone who has ever moved can tell you.  Luckily, she found the girl living behind us and they had so much in common it was incredible.  They became fast friends and were together frequently.  That is until the girl and her family relocated to Pennsylvania.  That was very sad.

In July we got our puppy, Plinko.  We spent the end of the summer training the dog and enjoying our swimming pool and trying to do home repairs on our own.  School started the end of August and my daughter has been doing very well there.  She is in band and also takes guitar lessons as well as being on the Destination Imagination Team.   We are waiting to see if she will get back into softball, a sport she loved while we were in Illinois.

For me, I decided to use the time to volunteer more at my daughter’s school rather than going back to work.  I considered going back to some sort of retail job, but working part time, the pay is so low around here that I didn’t feel it was worth it.  Fortunately for me, my sister gave me her opinion and got me into blogging. This has been a good thing for me, although my husband might have something to say about the time I spend on the computer!

In September, my husband and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary, hard to believe! What did we do? Nothing as I recall! Sometimes, it’s just better that way, rather than trying to squeeze something in, we just enjoy relaxing together. (besides, he had the day wrong)

We have just celebrated our first Christmas here and tonight is New Year’s Eve. We will be going out for dinner and then home to celebrate in our own quiet way. Our daughter has all ready made her confetti to shower around the family room when the ball drops in New York and I’m sure she has a couple of games lined up for the three of us to play. This has become our family tradition!

For the New Year, I am working towards getting more damage repair done around our home. I also hope to learn more about blogging and increasing my readership.

For the few readers I do have, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and may God bless you all.

Technorati Tags: Deal or No Deal, lost, Destination Imagination

It’s been a week, it’s time for the visit to end.  Yes, that’s right, my mother-in-law is flying home today, we leave for the airport in about an hour. 

Truthfully, the visit wasn’t too bad.  She seems to be in much better health than what we thought she would be and was able to go up and down our stairs to the guest bedroom quite easily.  We were very afraid that she would have difficulty with it and she proved us wrong. 

We mostly sat around eating and watching movies, but we did get out a few times to show her around the area.  Yesterday was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon in Old Town McKinney, walking around the square.  It’s a really nice area full of antique shops and boutiques.  I think she really enjoyed herself, I know we all had a nice afternoon.

We just need to make sure she is all packed up now.  She gets very antsy and nervous and she has a poor memory, so we keep having to remind her what time we’re leaving and what time her flight is.  Thankfully the weather is very nice today so she should have no flight issues at all.

We’ll come home and I’ll start to put the house back in order.  We’ll have to decide when we’re going to take down the Christmas trees and get all the lights off the outside of the house.  I’m tempted to do it now, while the weather is nice.  Our neighbors have all ready taken their lights down.  When do you take down the lights and trees?

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are reportedly expecting their first child.  The couple has been married for just 16 months and got off to something of a rough start.  Four months into their marriage, Urban checked himself into rehab for alcohol abuse.  Nicole was very supportive though and, after his three months in rehab, the couple seems to have gone on with their lives together, as well as their careers. 

Keith Urban has been touring, very successfully.  Nicole Kidman’s new movie, The Golden Compass is now playing in theaters. 

Personally, I’m a big fan of both and I hope the baby news is correct. 

Technorati Tags: Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, The Golden Compass

Sometimes, we think we are invincible. Sometimes, we think we will live forever. Sometimes, we are wrong.

I think this idea really hit home to me a year and a half ago when I received a call that my father had passed away. My dad had health issues and was over weight, but I certainly didn’t think he would die, not in his 70’s. He had always been strong and worked hard all his life. I would’ve never thought his heart would just give out on him; apparently, neither did he. He had cancelled his term life insurance and because he was retired, he no longer had an employee benefits package that would supply any type of payout on his death.

Thankfully, my dad was retired Air Force and had his military benefits that allowed him to be buried in a National Cemetery, covering most of the costs of the burial. That fact alone took a lot of pressure off of my sisters and myself. What little he did own, we sold to pay the remainder of the funeral bills. It made a sad event even more difficult.

My mother-in-law is here visiting for the holidays and we do worry about her and her health. Less than a year ago she was hit my a motorcyclist while she was crossing the road in a cross walk. She suffered head injuries then and is still recovering. She lives on her own and thankfully has had medical and social workers attending to her on a regular basis. She lives in California and we live in Texas, so it is difficult for us to make sure she has what she needs. Because she lives on a fixed income, one thing my husband has been talking over with her is how to save money on insurance and what type of coverage she should have.  I don’t want it to seem morbid, but after dealing with my dad’s death and funeral, it is comforting to know that my mother-in-law will at least have enough coverage to cover those costs when something does happen, hopefully, that won’t be for a long time.

My husband and I have carried life insurance policies outside of our employers for several years.  We want to make sure that should something happen to us, our daughter will be taken care of financially.  It gives us some peace of mind, knowing we have planned for the future.

Technorati Tags: term life, insurance, employee benefits, life insurance

We decided to go out and see a movie yesterday and there weren’t really too many options that would be good for our age range of 11-78.  We opted to see The Waterhorse and I have to say, we all enjoyed it very much.

It’s basically the myth of the Loch Ness monster, something I’ve been intrigued with since my mom & I visited Scotland and Loch Ness back in the 1970’s.  I was really drawn in to the story and the way it is told in the movie is very good, from a boy’s point of view.  The movie even finds a way to explain the famous (or infamous) picture of the monster and how it came to be.

The animation in the movie is incredible and I find it amazing what they can do with computer animation now.  The views were spectacular and it surprised me to find that the movie had been filmed in New Zealand because Scotland is also so spectacular.

If you’re looking for a good family movie, this is the one, very enjoyable.

Technorati Tags: The Waterhorse, Loch Ness

Just a few more days and then all of the holiday decorations will be coming down and packed away for another year. It is always such a sad time. I love the way the house looks when it’s all decorated. It makes it even more sad because when I take down the decorations, I don’t have anything to hang on the wall to replace it, so it will be bare.

I’m looking at klimt reproduction oil paintings to hang on several of the walls in this house. One in particular I’ve been looking at is Poppy Fields that would look amazing in my family room. They’re relatively inexpensive and range in size from 12×16 all the way up to 48×72.

Now that the holidays are just about over, I will have to get back to painting walls and decorating, a very slow process for me.

Technorati Tags: klimt reproduction, oil paintings

It’s that time of the week again, time for my favorite meme, Four Foods on Friday by Valmg. Four questions, four answers and participating gets you two entries into her contest!

#1. Lasagne noodles. Do you find a difference in taste between the regular and the no bake noodles? I haven’t found a difference in taste, I’ve often wondered if people prefer one over the other. I don’t make lasagna too often, it’s an all day event when I do.

#2. What is your favorite flavor PopTart? Frosted Strawberry, is there any other flavor?

#3. What’s your favorite type of pasta? Not how served, but the type - elbows, ziti, spaghetti, shells, etc. Why?I don’t really have a favorite, but I like fetuccini and ziti noodles a lot. They’re a bit thicker I think.

#4. Green beans. What’s your favorite way to make them or dish to use them for? I really like fresh green beans cooked with bacon. Yumm!

The U.S. Marine Toys for Tots program has fallen short of its goal this year and is in need of cash contributions so that they can go out and purchase the remaining needed toys to match the remaining needs. One way we can help is to send free Month2month.com e-cards that will trigger cash contributions directed to Toys for Tots. Here's where to get the month2month free eCards and help such a worthwhile cause.

The following is a press release that provides more details.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

Bill Grein
Marine Toys for Tots
V: 703-640-9433
F: 703-640-0917
wjgrein@toysfortots.org
http://www.toysfortots.org

Steven Marcus
Month2Month.com
V: 914-933-2638
F: 501-325-9147
smarcus@month2month.com
http://www.month2month.com


Marines Toys for Tots Needs Last Minute Help
Quantico, VA. December 21, 2007 / PR Newswire – The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is making a nationwide last minute appeal for more toys. Since time is critical as they go into their toy distribution phase this weekend the Foundation is encouraging people to make cash contributions because it allows them to purchase the toys they need to fill in gaps and match the remaining needs.
One novel way to get cash immediately into the hands of the Marines is to send lots of holiday eCards to everyone you know. Month2Month.com, a free eCard website has agreed to contribute up to $50,000 when their cards are sent and received.
Bill Grein, Vice President for Marines Toys for Tots, said: “Cash contributions are critical for us at this time because we can purchase the toys we need and can place them where they are needed most at the last minute. It will help us close a gap in many areas where the economy, toy recalls and even bad weather have caused us to come short of our goals so far. We urge everyone to take advantage of this wonderful offer from Month2Month.”
John Aslanian, CEO of Month2Month.com said: “We are expecting to have 1 million cards sent in the next few days that could result in a contribution of up to $50,000. We know that for some the economy might be putting a crimp in their generosity. But what this can do is to save them the cost of buying cards and the postage. We are asking everyone to send these cards, even if they already sent other cards, to help make this a merry Christmas and happy holiday for many more needy children.”

Month2Month.com cards are all produced by top-notch artists working in a loft studio just outside of New York City. The cards show great care in design and detail and often take weeks or months to complete. They are all professionally animated often requiring hundreds of frames to get the motion to look smooth and flowing. Month2Month.com is a privately held online greeting company founded in 2005. The site offers free high quality online greeting cards and can be found at http://www.month2month.com.
This year marks the 60th anniversary for the Toys for Tots tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 2006, Toys for Tots delivered more than 19.2 million toys to over 7.6 million children

Technorati Tags: Toys for Tots, Month2month.com

We had a wonderful Christmas and even after opening all the gifts, my daughter continued to just be happy and content, even though her main gift, the one big one she had specifically asked Santa for the day before, was not anywhere to be found.

T had asked for the Razor Pocket Mod electric scooter. We looked everywhere, the back patio, front patio, garage; it was no place to be found. The only thing that hadn’t been touched were our stockings, so we dove into those. SURPRISE! My daughter discovered that there was a small stocking inside her stocking that held a note, direct from Santa. The note explained that there was one more gift to be found and that she would need to follow the clues. There were a total of 6 clues in all that directed her all over the house and out into the back yard. Her last clue directed her through the gate, out to the driveway and around to the front patio (we’d all ready checked out there and there was nothing there!).

It took her a few moments, but she finally saw it. Her beautiful, shiny black Razor Pocket Mod, all charged up and ready to go. She was so excited she was beside herself! She hopped on and took off, in her pajamas and big slippers! It was quite a site to see and she was so happy. I ran back into the house and grabbed the video camera and this is what I captured.

Technorati Tags: Razor, Pocket Mod, Razor Pocket Mod

We love watching old movies in our house. My husband grew up watching them with his dad and I’ve just loved them for as long as I can remember. We love the old black and whites, even those that have since been colorized.

One of our favorite actresses of the old movies is Ginger Rogers. Did you know she appeared in over 70 films, of which I believe 9 were made with Fred Astaire. Those two could really dance and sing, it was amazing to watch. One of my favorite songs is “Dancing Cheek to Cheek”.  I don’t think we’ll ever see another couple dance like them, even with all the Dancing with the Stars wannabes!

In February, 2008, the Ginger Rogers Musical will debut in her home town of Rancho Mirage, California and then in North Hollywood in April. The musical is a tribute to her life which has some very interesting twists and turns including the fact that she was kidnapped by her own father when she was a baby and later found by her mother.

If we get out to Southern California in the spring I would love to go see this musical.

Technorati Tags: Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers Musical