The Sewing Mom

I missed this meme last week, but I’m not letting that happen again! Posting Four Foods on Friday means my weekend is just about to officially begin. This week has been rather busy for all of us, so I’m glad it’s Friday. This is a great meme, if you’d like to participate, give Valmg a visit!

This week’s questions:

#1. When going out to dinner what items do your order? Appetizers, soup, salad, dinner, dessert. I usually will have soup or a salad and dinner. There are certain restaurants that I look forward to ordering desert, but that doesn’t happen too frequently.

#2. How predictable are you when eating out? Do you usually order a meal that you’ve had before or do you like to try new things? That too depends on where we go. Some restaurants I tend to order the same thing, particularly Italian or Mexican. Others, I tend to order something different every time I go in.

#3. When eating at a restaurant, what beverage do you like to order with your meal? Most of the time I just get water or ice tea, but, depending on my mood, sometimes I’ll order a glass of wine. I’m cheap and don’t like paying the price of alcoholic beverages that I can have or make at home!

#4. Name a meal that you ate at a restaurant that you liked so much you tried to recreate it, as well as the name of the restaurant and the recipe. I don’t have a meal that I’ve tried to recreate, but I did try to recreate the bread pudding that our local KFC used to have on their buffet. I’ve never been successful at making it though, so really don’t have a recipe to share. However, if anyone knows a good, sweet bread pudding recipe, I’d love it if you’d share it with me. In fact, I’ll post it here if you share it!

Tags: Four Foods on Friday, meme

I’ve been out shopping and running errands this morning. My first stop was the quilt shop (of course) where I spent way too much money, but love the fabrics I bought! I was also looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas for my mom and my step-daughter. My step-daughter will be celebrating her very first Mother’s Day this year. I know it will be very special for her, her husband will ensure that. I was thinking of something we could do that would make it an even more memorable occasion for her.

I was looking at unique gifts, something they wouldn’t buy for themselves, but something they could cherish for many years to come. I am considering a portrait painting like this one.

I can choose any photo and then upload it or mail it to Paintyourlife.com where they will create a portrait using the medium of my choice, pencil, acrylic, watercolor or charcoal. Once they’ve completed the portrait, an image of it uploaded for me to view. If I’m not completely satisfied, they’ll make changes. This process continues until I give final approval and then the portrait will be shipped.

I’m just waiting for my husband to come home so we can select which phtograph to use. It may be difficult to choose, only because she’s such a beautiful baby, and very photogenic! I’m also considering having a portrait made using my own daughter’s baby picture.

What do you think?  Have you ever had a professional portrait made?

Tags: paintyourlife.com, professional portraits

I received this in an email today and, after spending $100 to fill the gas tank in my full size van, I found this to me humorous, if not true!

I went into the gas station today and asked for five dollars worth of gas….. The clerk farted and gave me a receipt.

Tags: cartoon, price of gas

I was surfing the web today looking for gifts for my own mom for Mother’s Day when I ran across something I could use for myself (isn’t that always the way it is?). A watch, I could use a new watch!

You see, I currently have a watch that I really enjoy, but, it’s the only watch I own. For the last several years, I’ve been sort of hinting around that I would like to have a more casual watch than the one I currently own. I’d like a watch that is rugged and can stand up to days when I’m doing yard work, or playing around at the softball fields. I also would like that rugged watch to be accurate.

So, while surfing today, I found these Casio watches. These Wave Ceptor watches are inexpensive and yet are calibrated for atomic timekeeping, in other words, the time is automatically set using radio signals. It’s also scratch resistant which would be beneficial when working out in the yard.

What are you wanting/giving for Mother’s Day?

Tags: casio watches, Casio Wave Ceptor

Mother’s Day is getting really close and I’ve been searching for just the right idea to spoil my own mom with. She is an avid quilter and so I tend to look for things at the quilt shop for her, something that maybe she wouldn’t buy for herself.  If you’re looking for ways to spoil your loved ones, read on.

I wanted to mention a sight that is close to my own heart because I am one of several writers who post articles here and that is Spoil On, a site full of articles and ideas on how to spoil your loved ones. Loved ones can be anyone from your spouse to your children. There are some great ideas, and not all of them require going out and spending money. I hope you’ll take a look!

If you have a great way to make your loved ones feel special and spoiled, let me know, I’d love to hear about it!

Tags: spoilon.com

We received an interesting letter home from school this week from the school’s PTA. The letter wanted parent input on if the current school fund raisers should be continued in the future or should parents simply pay a $50 per student fund raising fee at the beginning of the school year. Interesting choice!

Personally, I think the fund raising can continue the way it is. Parents can choose which programs, if any, to participate in and don’t have to do any if they don’t want to. Of course, there are also other methods of school fundraising besides sending kids out door to door.   For example, SchoolPop.com partners with national retailers to allow a percentage of customers purchases to go directly to their chosen school. So, just be being a part of SchoolPop and doing what you know you’re going to do anyway, shop, you can earn money for your school.

What fund raisers are you involved with for your children’s schools?

Tags: school fund raising, school fundraising, SchoolPop.com

A blogging friend of mine has started a new blog Forest’s Blog About Animals and I am thrilled that he has chosen to feature my little dog Plinko in the first of his ongoing series about bloggers and their pets.

I hope you’ll go over and take a look. While you’re there, let Forest know what you think of his new site. I personally think it’s going to be a very successful blog. Who doesn’t like to see photos of pets? If you’re a blogger with a pet of your own, leave a comment on his new site if you’re interested in having your pet profiled.

Tags: blogaboutanimals.com, puggle puppy

As I’m sure you’ve read or heard today, today is Earth Day. Now, honestly, I didn’t have any special plans today, but while I was watching t.v. this morning, I couldn’t help but hear all types of things we can do to help our planet. Ideas ranged from the commonly discussed water bottle to the new bio-degradable hanger that many dry cleaners are beginning to use.

The one item that really stuck with me today was what we can do when grocery shopping. Of course, I’ve heard of organic products, and have even purchased a few, but i don’t really search them out when I’m at the store. Until today. I heard on the news this morning about the significant amount of pesticides and chemicals used to grow white and brown rice. I cannot even begin to tell you how much rice we eat in our family and I was very surprised to learn of all the chemical use involved with growing it.

So, today, while at the grocery and in honor of Earth Day, I decided to look for organic white rice. I wasn’t able to find it, but I did find Eco-farmed rice, grown in California. Now, I realize it’s not quite the same as organic, but it is a big step in the right direction. The farm this rice came from originally obtained its seed from India. It’s a full flavored rice grown with limited chemicals. The farm practices crop rotation and water conservation.

I’m looking forward to trying it with a meal and I’m thankful I don’t have to look for flights to India to get a good, flavorful rice.

Now that I think about it, a trip to India wouldn’t be so bad. Just think of all the nice hotel and travel ideas that I could use to create a dream vacation…

Tags: flights to India, organic rice

I was asked by one of my readers to create something for her child that will soon be turning 1. Besides creating fleece blankets, I hadn’t really done anything for young children, so this was a challenge for me and I took it on whole heartedly.

I began my using what I know and the working with the supplies I all ready possessed. I love working with fabric, so the project I came up with was pieced fabric blocks. These are about 2 1/2 in. square and can be embroidered with letters or small designs. I love using all the brighter colored fabrics for kids. These are stuffed with polyfill and are washable.

What do you think?

Tags: childrens blocks, fabric blocks, tackle it Tuesday

As a parent, I can tell you, it’s difficult to keep up with the energy level our children have.

We were attending our daughter’s softball game on Saturday and, after being on the field for almost 2 hours, it was amazing to look into the dugout to see them all doing a cheer and a dance! I’d been sitting on my butt for the same amount of time and was ready for a nap. Where do they get all that energy?

The truth is, as we get older, we need more rest; maybe that’s because we suffer from insomnia. Perhaps it’s because as adults, we don’t eat properly. We ensure our children get good nourishment and then we don’t do the same for ourselves. Let’s not even talk about all the sitting we adults do. Sit and read, sit and watch t.v., sit at work, sit at the computer. Let’s face it, we really do a lot of sitting!

Maybe we need to consider taking vitamins, along with getting better sleep and eating better. Add getting off the couch to that list and I think we’ll all feel better! Of course, there are other ailments besides being tired that can benefit from these remedies as well, including diabetes and dementia.

One vitamin in particular, B12, can help with stamina, energy and even improved mood. Get your sublingual B12 here. While you’re at it, get up off the couch and get moving!

Tags: sublingual B12