The Sewing Mom

I can’t believe it, I dropped my prescription eyeglasses from the counter onto the bathroom tile floor. Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve dropped my glasses, but this time, the right lens chipped. I have the style of glasses that are rimless on the bottom, so there was nothing to protect the lens when it hit the tile. We have vision insurance, but do you have any idea how much lenses cost? Even with insurance, lenses and frames can cost in the hundreds of dollars out of pocket. I’d much rather spend that money on fabric!

While surfing blogs today I made a great discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com who sells prescription glasses online. They sell them really cheap too because they manufacture their own frames and sell them direct to the customer. I can get a complete pair of glasses at this site for less than it would probably cost me to replace just one chipped lens.

Can I just say, I love the web, it saves me money all the time!

Technorati Tags: prescription eyeglasses, www.ZenniOptical.com, frames

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After waking up this morning feeling like crap, I did a 30 minute walk on the treadmill before getting my daughter off to school.  I came home, did a fairly thorough cleaning job on the kitchen and settled down by my desktop to pay some bills and do some online errands.  I also managed to get a load of laundry done.  Eventually, I made my way to the sofa to veg with my laptop, still feeling like crap.

Finally, around noon I decided to get in the shower, I would have been just as content to stay in my sweats, but I was hoping a shower might make me feel better.  It did.  By the time I got my hair done and was dressed, I had decided to head out and run a couple of errands.  Besides picking up shampoos and things for every one in our little family, my main errand was to go to the quilt store and sign up for a class.  I had wanted to sign up for a beginning machine piecing class, but it was $50 and I’m not sure it’s what I want to do.  That price doesn’t include any supplies, so I want to make sure it’s what I want before I sign up.

I did sign up though for a Jelly Bag class.  It’s a large bag made from 2 1/2 inch strips of fabric.  The strips can be cut or you can buy them pre-cut in rolls, what they call a jelly roll.  I opted to buy a jelly roll and now have enough strips to make 4 bags, the first one I’ll make in class in a couple of weeks.    While I was there I also found some fabric charms (5×5 in. squares) that I really liked, so had to buy.  I probably spent more than I should have, but I had fun and I was feeling better.  I was also proud of myself for signing up for my class.  I enjoy taking classes, but I enjoy them even more when I have a friend to take the class with.  Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone here who sews!

Signing up for that class today and getting all the supplies, as well as the other things I did today gave me a sense of accomplishment.  It’s nice to feel this way even though I started the day feeling so rotten.

What did you do today?

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Oh my gosh, thank goodness it’s Friday! My daughter and I are having the most difficult time getting back into the swing of things since the holiday break. She actually went back to school last Thursday, but neither one of seem to be able to get back on track with her schedule. Let’s recap this week.

Monday morning my husband’s alarm went off as usual at 5:30 a.m., he got up showered, dressed and left for work at 6:15. I usually get up at 6:30, but I was too tired so slept until about 6:45. The night before, I had decided that I was going to work on my treadmill in the mornings and take my shower after returning from taking my daughter to school. After getting my workout clothes on I sat down at the computer, this was not in the plan! I waited until 7:20 to get on the treadmill. Mean time, my daughter had gotten up just as slowly as I had and although she got dressed, she opted to sit down and watch Sponge Bob and not keep track of time. At 7:45 I realized we had less than 5 minutes to get out the door. My daughter still had to brush her hair, brush her teeth and get her shoes on. Anyone with an 11 year old knows that they don’t move at any sort of quick space. We ended up leaving the house at 7:53. The school bell rings at 7:55. Luckily, every Monday morning, school begins with an assembly in the gym, so my daughter was able to go in unnoticed and not get a tardy.

After Monday’s experience, we both decided we needed to get leave the house earlier on Tuesday and not be late. Tuesday morning is when our puppy was scheduled to be at the vet, so I knew I had to get up and shower, not do the treadmill. My husband did his same routine and when he was leaving I asked him what time it was. He told me it was 6:15, so I knew I had 15 more minutes before I needed to get out of bed. Unfortunately, the next time I woke up it was 7:15, 45 minutes AFTER I was supposed to get out of bed! I flew out of bed and ran in to get my daughter who had also overslept, her alarm clock did not go off for some reason. Knowing I had to go into the vet’s office, I knew I had to take a shower and wash my hair. I have short hair and wake up with a very bad case of bed head every single morning. The only way I’ve found to tame it is to give it a good shampoo & style it every single day. I do not want to be seen until I’ve done that. I hopped into the shower and flew through the routine faster than I knew I could. We were still a few minutes late, but again, no tardy for my daughter.

Tuesday night I decided to turn MY alarm clock on. So, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, I got up when the alarm went off, I didn’t even allow myself to hit the snooze. All three mornings I got out of bed and put on my workout clothes. I then went in to my daughter’s room to make sure she was awake. Then I went straight to my treadmill to get in a better, longer workout. This left me with extra time to help my daughter finish getting ready so that we were out the door earlier. No worry, no tardies.

I really hate that feeling of waking up late and having to rush through the morning routine to get out the door. Stress in the morning tends to lead to a stressful day. The fact that I plan some things ahead such as laying out my clothes the night before and knowing whether I need to make my daughter’s lunch or even she’s getting hot lunch helps too. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to wash my hair everyday in order for me to not look like a crazed lunatic, it would save me so much time. Maybe I should look into a dry shampoo that is supposed to clean and refresh hair in between regular shampoos. I know these shampoos are color matched and are supposed to leave your hair revitalized. I might want to keep it on hand for those morning emergencies like I had this week.

Anyway, I am so glad it’s Friday! I’m hoping that by the time Monday roles around, my daughter and I will both be more on track with our schedule.

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I found the most remarkable video this morning while reading other blogs. I also discovered Adventures in a Lifetime a blog about a family’s adventures. This site is where a found this amazing video about a very unexpected friendship. It confirms my belief that there are and will continue to be surprises in our lives and this one is certainly a surprise that will bring a smile to your face. Enjoy!

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My mind is a whirl of ideas about getting everything ready to begin selling our hand crafted goods this year. In addition to sewing my butt off over the next few months,and figuring out how we will best show off and market out products, I have to be thinking about how to handle the business side of things. There are many things so consider including LLC vs S corporation which is better for a small business?

What I have learned is that an LLC (limited liability company) can also be an S Corporation. The primary difference is that an S corporation restricts who can own shares of that S coporation. Neither an LLC or an S corporation pay corporate income taxes. I read that Stephen Nelson, a Seattle CPA, recommends starting as an LLC. It keeps the door open for later becoming an S corporation for tax purposes if that’s necessary.

It’s really a lot to think about, but I’m sure that I will talk it over with my sisters and mom and then make a decision as to what to do.

Technorati Tags: LLC, limited liability company, S Corporation, Stephen Nelson

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It’s time for my favorite meme, Four Foods on Friday by Valmg. This is such a fun way to get to know other bloggers and hey, we all like food right? If you’d like to join in, give Val a visit, create your post and leave her a comment. That’s it, piece of cake (so to speak!).

This weeks questions and my answers:

#1. What’s your favorite kind of crepe? Crepe? Do people really eat crepes? I’m not sure if I’ve ever had one!

#2. How do you make ziti? I have a super easy recipe for baked ziti. Boil the noodles. Place a layer of jar sauce in a 9×11 dish, place noodles on top followed by the other half of the jar of sauce. Cover with grated mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. You can also add meats to this, such as pepperoni.

#3. What is your favorite thing to put on toast, and which flavor if more than one? I love butter and strawberry jam. In fact, that’s about the only thing I will put on toast!

#4. When wok cooking, which oil burns the slowest? Peanut, vegetable or safflower? Sorry, I got rid of my wok about 20 years ago. On the rare occasion we do stir fry, we do it in the skillet and I only own vegetable oil. I’ve never used peanut or safflower oil.

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