The Sewing Mom

As my readers know, I’m now working part time and I’m in my second week of training for what will soon be a work-from-home position. I’m beginning to get more accustomed to getting ready and out the door in the morning, but I’m thankful that I don’t have to be in class until 9:30. I’m able to get up at my usual time, get my daughter off to school, and then I have just under an hour to check email, do laundry, or whatever else I feel I need to do before leaving the house.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a job I needed to commute to, it’s another adjustment for me. I’m finding that if I leave the house 5-10 minutes later, the traffic is slightly better and I can actually get to the office at almost the same time, with time to spare. Also, because there is less traffic, it’s more relaxing of a drive, particularly once I get onto the toll road. At that time of morning, I’ve noticed that a lot of the traffic is vehicles used for business. What’s surprised me is how many of these vehicles utilize Magnetic signs to advertise their business. I’ve noticed every businesses like plumbing to party clowns and everything in between with magnetic signs.

I like to read their signs to find out what they do, some are more obvious than others, and some are definitely more creative than others. I have to say, some could use some improvement. I’d love to tell them that they can use coupon code “CarDoor25″ to receive a 25% discount on a shiny new magnetic sign at www.vistaprint.com and they should really take advantage of the opportunity to get a new sign! I feel that shiny new legible signs are the sign of a successful business. Faded and worn out signs don’t attract me as a consumer. My advice? Get a shiny new magnetic sign!

Tags: magnetic signs, www.vistaprint.com

Shew, it’s been about 3 weeks since I was informed by my doctor that I had to get my cholesterol level in check.  I’ve been trying really hard to improve my diet, eating whole wheat grains in my pasta and breads, cutting fats and carbs out of my diet and cutting out junk food completely.  I’ve even substituted sherbet for ice cream in the evenings.

I have to say, as good as the sherbet is, I am CRAVING ice cream tonight!  In fact, not only do I want ice cream, but I would love a banana split!  As I look at it, while it would contain those bad fats that I don’t need, it would contain a healthy dose of fruit and I’m supposed to be eating a lot of fruit in my new daily diet plan.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), there is no ice cream in our freezer.  So, to have a banana split tonight, someone would have to go get in the car and drive to Sonic to get one.  I don’t see anyone hopping up and running out to the car, so I guess my healthy diet plan is not in jeopardy tonight.

No tags.

It’s interesting being back in the work environment. While I’ll be working from home once I finish training, for now I’m working with 25 other individuals while we’re receiving our training. We receive two short breaks each day and, during that time, we talk with each other about the training and how it’s fitting in with our personal lives. Yesterday I asked a another lady about her weekend and was sad to hear that her husband’s teenage nephew had died over the weekend unexpectedly. It was really very sad. Apparently, the young man had recently been diagnosed with a fatal illness and immediately became depressed. He decided he didn’t want to live with his diagnosis and so, committed suicide. The family is devastated.

Now, I didn’t want to pry and so I don’t know all of the details, but, I do have to wonder if in a case like this, would the services of a C’elle have possibly helped with the original diagnosis. Their service provides women with a safe and easy method of collecting and preserving stem cells found in her menstrual fluid each month. These stem cells may then be used in treating a number of possibly life-threatening diseases that she, a parent, a sibling or even her children may face in later years, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Again, I don’t know what this particular boy’s diagnosis was, so I don’t know if it could have helped or not, but the idea that this simple process can help in many situations really gives all women something to consider.

C’elle’s collection process is simple and affordable. Menstrual cells are processed and cryo-preserved for potential cellular therapies that may emerge in the future. To determine cost, visit the pricing page and, should you wish to do so, the order now page will get your order processing.

Tags: C'elle, stem cell

As a mom, I know that if you give a kid a few basic items, they can create the most imaginative things. I also know that it’s best to let them use their imagination and that there is absolutely no such thing as a bad idea. When being creative, anything goes as long as there is no risk of injury.

With that being said, I wanted to show you a gift that my daughter received from a young man at her school, a 7th grader. They did attend 6th grade together, but she did not see him at all over the summer. When they both started middle school this year, he found her in the hallway and presented her with this gift.

You see, this particular boy enjoys working with duct tape, in all colors. He created this tri-fold wallet, completely from duct tape, with the exception of the plastic insert where my daughter now keeps her school i.d. card. Purple happens to be one of her favorite colors and this wallet is extremely durable so works well when stuck in her pocket.

I just love seeing what kids can do!

Tags: creativity, duct tape

I am so bad!  I’ve had a week and a half to complete my sewing assignment for my sewing class and yet, I haven’t done it!  I was taking my basic piecing class on Tuesday mornings, but, because of starting my new job, I’ve had to change my class time to Sunday afternoons.  Somehow, I’ve managed to wait until the last minute to get my homework done.

It’s not like I’ve been sitting around doing nothing either.  In fact, today, I spent most of the day doing yard work.  I trimmed most of the bushes and pulled weeds.  I’m so worn out from doing hard labor, I’m going to bed early!

I will have to get up in the morning (hopefully not too early) and get my sewing done.  I have to leave the house around 1 tomorrow to make it to my class on time, so, if I stay off of the computer, I should be able to get my work done!

Tags: sewing

Before I left this morning, I spent time on my computer writing a blog post. I then headed out the door and drove to my new job where I spent 5 hours in a training class typing information onto a keyboard. Now I’m home and needing to write more, but I have to tell you, my eyes are tired and I’m tired of sitting in a chair, I’d really like to stand up and move around. I recently read an article that might have the answer to my problem.

A NY Times Review of DNS10 told me about an exciting software program that uses voice recognition to type your words for you. In other words, Dragon Naturally Speaking software, rather than using my hands to type, I would be able to use my voice to speak the words and punctuation and the software writes the text for me.

Take a look at this video to see what I’m talking about.

Now, I learned to type when I took a typing class in college and I’m pretty good at it. I don’t know that they offer typing classes any longer and I think that many people no longer have good typing skills. The Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred, as talked about in the video, or the Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard would both be excellent options for any blogger.

Seriously, think about it. If I can type 75 words per minute (or better on some days), but can speak 150 words per minute, I’m going to save myself a lot of time by speaking and letting the software do the typing for me. Plus, I could stand up and speak when I’m needing a stretch break, it would give me more mobility. In addition, my blog content is going to have a more natural sound to it because what I’m speaking, is being written (typed). Better content leads to higher traffic and higher traffic is what most bloggers are shooting for, isn’t it?

Tags: blogging, Dragon Naturally Speaking, software, voice

YEA! I made it through my first full week of being back to work. It’s just part time, but right now, it’s 5 days a week, 5 hours a day of sitting in a chair listening to a trainer speak. It’s going by fairly quickly because there is a lot of information, but I’m looking forward to Saturday and not having to drive to the office!

To mark the end of the week, here’s my favorite meme, Four Foods on Friday sponsored by Valmg at Fun, Crafts and Recipes.

This weeks questions with my answers:

#1. Melon. What’s your favorite kind? I love honeydew and cantaloupe and I really enjoy them together.

#2. Orange citrus. What’s your favorite - oranges, nectarines, navel oranges, tangerines, etc. I love tangerines, nectarines and clementines, because they’re all easy to peel! Clementines are seedless, so that’s a bonus.

#3. Oreos. What kind is your favorite? (Don’t eat Oreos? What about olives?) Hmmm, Oreos or olives? That’s an odd alternative! I do eat Oreos though and I prefer the original ones. Yes, I do occasionally twist them apart and lick the frosting!

#4. Pot pie. Share a recipe. (No pot pie recipe? What about a casserole or some other hot meal you bake?) I do actually make a chicken pot pie from scratch, but I don’t have time right now to type the recipe. I’ll do that later. I also know there is a common pot pie recipe using Bisquick, I’ll have to find that one too.

Tags: Four Foods on Friday, meme

Are you active?  I have always tried to be somewhat active, I’ve even been a member of a gym in the past, I’ve attempted at home exercise programs and I’ve even done walks around the neighborhood. The gym went well until I injured my shoulder working one of the upper arm weight machines and I never returned. Since then, I’ve made attempts to walk regularly and, most recently, purchased our Wii Fit to make exercising more fun. I still find that I’m not nearly as dedicated to exercising as I should be.  Now that I’m back working, even though it’s only part time, it has become even more difficult to squeeze in a beneficial workout.

I’ve recently learned of a new workout program called XFLOWSION which combines the best moves from martial arts, power yoga, and dance to give a full body workout and you don’t have to go to the gym to do it. It’s all on DVD! It’s called TRIPLE TRAINING™ and it uses all 3 mediums to give you one great workout, all in the comfort of your own home. This program promotes fat burning and muscle toning and promises that you will never get bored.

I think XFLOWSION is just what I need to help me stay dedicated to working out.  How do you stay motivated?

Tags: exercise, workout, XFLOWSION

Tonight we will be attending my daughter’s first band concert of the school year.  It’s called the “Tailgate Concert” and includes every band in our school district from 7th grade through 12th.  Considering the high school band is over 500 students, I would have to think that there may be close to 1,000 students total at the concert this evening.

There are 3 junior highs and each of those has 3 bands, Honors, Symphonic and Regular.  The Honors and Symphonic bands from each junior high will perform the individual school’s fight song that they represent and then all junior high bands will perform a song.  Next, the high school band will perform before all students of all grades combine to perform a final song at the end.

The event itself is taking place on the football field, the only place that can accommodate all of the band members.  I’m very excited, and I need to remember to take my video camera!   If I can, I’ll post the video here.

Tags: band, concert

My nephew and his fiance are getting married next July. They’ve been planning all of the wedding details for quite some time now, but I wonder if his fiance has her bachelorette party plans made. I might need to find out who the maid of honor is and ask her. I just found out about this great piano bar and it would be a blast to be there.

A friend of a friend was telling me about a Hollywood bachelorette party and it sounded like everyone had had so much fun, I checked into it and discovered that the piano bar where they’d held the party is called “Howl At The Moon” and, they have 14 locations around the country, including one in Indianapolis which is where my nephew’s wedding will be. It’s perfect!

What makes this piano bar stand out is the dueling baby grand pianos on stage. Throughout the evening, there are always 2 piano players playing and creating excitement. Every hour, two additional piano players come out on stage and the four of them play 2-3 songs together. During the foursome, other instruments might be played such as a saxophone or guitar. This transitions into the next duo of dueling piano players for the next hour. This continues through the evening.

The staff of Howl At The Moon gets into the act as well. There are choreographed routines to well known theme songs and commercials that gets the audience involved and keeps the energy level up.

I definitely need to make sure my nephew knows about this place, if he doesn’t all ready!

Tags: Howl At The Moon, Piano, piano bar