The Sewing Mom

I feel so bad. We’ve been talking with some friends of ours who relocated themselves from California to Texas about a year ago. Neither one of them had ever been through a major household move and were somewhat naive about how it works. They wound up hiring some company that I think they picked from out of the phone book and they themselves were not even present when the movers loaded the truck. Here we are, a year later, and they are still dumbfounded that they are missing a rather large portion of the household goods.

I wish they had just asked us for help. I’ve relocated enough in my lifetime that I could be considered an expert! The one thing I would love to have been able to tell them was to use MovingOrbit.com, they’re not just any old cheap truck rentals company. They’ll actually help you to get multiple estimates for moving, whether it’s local or interstate. Then you can choose which company you want to use based on the prices AND the protection they offer. Remember, it’s true what they say, you do get what you pay for.

I guess for our friends, it’s live and learn. This was one very difficult, and expensive, lesson to learn though.

Tags: cheap truck rentals, movingorbit.com, truck rentals

I am very excited, I stopped in at the Viking Sewing center today and found out that they’re having a great class coming up in August.  They have a guest instructor coming (I can’t recall her name) and it’s a full day class.  I signed up!

For $40 I get a full day of sewing, all supplies included.  I also get to use one of the stores high end embroidery machines to make my project.  Lunch is also included.  The project will be to create a small lap quilt that includes machine embroidery and the binding.  I’m really looking forward to it.

I’m a beginning quilter, so this class will be fun for me.  I just hope I can keep up!

Tags: machine embroidery, quilting, sewing

Happy Birthday to my husband!

I had planned a special get away for him to Austin, but, with everything that went on last week, he had to take time off from work to attend his brother-in-law’s funeral in Atlanta, he didn’t feel comfortable taking this week off too.  I can’t say that I blame him.

No matter, I hope he has a special day anyway.  My daughter and I are heading out to pick up a few things for him.  I also need to wrap his gift which I purchased while I was on vacation.  We also have to decide what cake to do for him.  His favorite is yellow cake with chocolate frosting, so we may just spend the afternoon doing some baking.

Tonight, he has decided that he would like us to take him to Dave & Buster’s, so that’s what we’re going to do.

Tags: birthday

As you know, I’ve just returned from 2 weeks of a road trip that took me from Dallas, through Tennesse and Kentucky and then on to Atlanta before returning home. The temperatures at home were in the 90’s when I left and weren’t too much different in all of the areas we visited. Upon returning home on Saturday, Dallas has been 100+ degrees every day. I just have to say, I have been thankful every day that our van has good air conditioning.

Our van is 8 years old though, so before I ever left home, my husband took the van to the shop and had everything checked out, including the air conditioning compressor. If we had needed any parts for the a/c, I would hope that our service center would utilize www.discountacparts.com, where they carry parts for all makes and models of vehicles. Plus, they warranty all of their parts and ship for free. Thankfully, other than some coolant, we didn’t need any auto a/c parts and the a/c compressor was running just fine.

If you find your vehicle needs any a/c parts, you may want to give discountacparts.com a visit.

Tags: a/c compressor, air conditioning compressor, auto ac parts, discountacparts.com

Okay, I managed to move all of my sewing supplies and my machine, back into the sewing room.  I had unloaded them from my van yesterday and they were sitting in the kitchen.  I carried it all into the sewing room and set it down.  Now I just need to unpack it all.

I’ll probably leave my fabric bags packed in the bin for now, although, I do need to take a quick inventory of what is left after our sale in Knoxville.  I still have a bin of fabric in the van, but it’s so heavy, I’m waiting for my husband to carry it in.  With it being over 100 degrees outside everyday, he’s not too motivated to go out to get it.

I didn’t get around to sorting through the papers on my desk, or any of the action items.  I really just didn’t feel like dealing with it.  I spent all of Sunday working on those items and I’m not feeling much like taking a 2nd look at those items.  Right now, I’m putting it off until tomorrow morning.

In the mean time, I did get the bedding washed on my bed and cooked a lovely dinner of pork country ribs.  Now we’re all settling in for the night to watch some television together.  Yes, I could have been a bit more productive today, but it wasn’t a total waste either. 

No tags.

It is so hard for me to believe that a year has passed, it passed so very quickly. Our granddaughter has turned one!

I remember early last summer, receiving our Baby shower invitations to both the shower in California, where they live, and the one in Kansas City, where my step-daughter grew up and her mom still lives. It was so hard for us to believe she was even pregnant, but we were sure excited for her. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make it to either shower, but we did send out gifts. Then, not too long after the baby was born, my husband and our daughter flew out to California to meet the newest member of our family.

This past June, we flew mom, dad and little one out to visit with us. It was my first time to get to see her and I was thrilled. She is absolutely adorable and so smart! She is definitely going to be keeping them on their toes. I had so much fun doting on her and I took her shopping for clothes and shoes, what fun! Of course, that’s what grandmothers are supposed to do, right?!

Last week, our little one turned one. We got her party invitation in the mail, but again, we weren’t able to attend. That’s okay, her daddy was good and emailed us a ton of photos and it looked like everyone, including our little one, had a fabulous time. I was out of town and still need to mail her gift, which I will do in the next few days.

While I’m talking about it, I have to tell you, they’ve always used the cutest invitations. I’m not exactly sure where they’ve gotten them, but I know that vistaprint.com offers a wide selection. I’ve purchased a number of printed items from them and have been very happy with their work. If you need to order invitations, you can type in the coupon code FREEINVITE at checkout and receive 10 free invites.

Tags: baby shower invitations, free invites, vistaprint.com

After spending two weeks on the road and away from home, I have plenty of things to tackle around here. I’ve been tackling laundry, a couple of loads a day, since Sunday and am washing the bedding today. I finished unloading our van yesterday. Yes, it’s unloaded. Now I need to put everything away. I managed to unpack my suitcases on Saturday night, but everything else is still waiting to be put away. This includes all of my sewing items, fabrics, products, etc. I also have spent the last couple of days tackling the mound of mail that was waiting for me. I’ve got everything sorted and most of what is left requires some sort of action. Some will need a phone call to be made, some need forms filled out and sent in.

Finally, I would be sharing more photos, but I still need to download all the pictures from the trip. Most of the photos are on my new camera which requires me to connect a cord to the computer in order to download. (For some reason, my computer won’t recognize the memory card).

Happy tackling! Visit 5 Minutes For Mom to participate.

Tags: tackle it Tuesday

I was given the opportunity to write about something very important today and I jumped at the chance. While I’ve never personally had anyone in my family suffer from Alzheimer’s, I do have friends that have had to deal with it and, for them, I write this.

To raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s, the Alzheimer’s Association sponsors the annual Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. This Memory Walk is available for all ages to participate and is run by volunteers. More than 600 communities across the United States participate in this important event. The walk is usually 2-3 miles in length and is typically held on a weekend in the Fall. Simply by visiting the Alzheimer’s Association website, I was able to learn that there is a Memory Walk scheduled in my own town in October of this year.

There is a strong need for team captains, so if you’re a leader, have friends who enjoy walking, and would like to help fight Alzheimer’s, check out the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk; “together, we can Move a nation”.

Tags: Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Association, Memory Walk

Finally! We’re on the road and we are headed home. We left Atlanta behind this morning, and after a slight traffic delay due to highway construction, we are now cruising along interstate 20 through Alabama. This is my first time to ever write a post from my phone; my thumbs are tired from typing! I can’t wait to get home and be able to sleep in my own bed. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tags: Alabama, road trip

I left Dallas almost 2 weeks ago on a road trip that would take us to Eastern Kentucky and then back down to the Knoxville, TN area for a combination business/pleasure trip. My daughter and I, along with our dog, met up with both of my sisters, their husbands and a couple of my nieces and nephews to enjoy a few days in The Great Smoky Mountains and we had a blast together. Even our dog acclimated to being on the road and enjoyed everyone’s attention.

Just before heading back to Dallas and home, I received a call that there had been a death in the family and I needed to divert our route to Atlanta for the funeral. This is certainly not my idea of a great vacation, but I am trying to make the best of things. The funeral was yesterday and we have all of today to find things to do in Atlanta. There are some really cool things to do too! I’m thinking it would be awesome to do the Segway Day Tour of Atlanta. Of course, my daughter thinks that would be pretty cool too! We’d be able to see the CNN Center, World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium, and Centennial Olympic Park, all while riding a Segway! Now, the Segway Ghosts and Legends Tour of Atlanta would probably capture my husband’s attention. He loves anything paranormal.

I think there is so much interesting history here in Atlanta. As much as I loved taking New York City tours, I love the old south. It’s much more laid back and relaxed. The traffic around here is pretty heavy, but I think that once we get downtown and get ourselves onto a Segway, it will be a ton of fun. I’ve been utilizing Trusted Tours & Attractions online travel guides to get information on things to do. It’s been extremely helpful.

I also receive the Trusted Tours & Attractions Newsletter which helps a great deal. If I hadn’t all ready signed up for the newsletter, I would head right over to the newsletter sign up page, because, if you sign up now, you might win a $150 iTunes gift card.

Anyway, I hope to be back home in a few days. In the mean time, I plan to have fun in Atlanta!

Tags: Atlanta, road trip, Segway, Trusted Tours & Attractions