Want Something?

Here's another fun blog game. I've seen this a couple times and so I figure I better pass it on instead of just collecting gifts. I'm excited to see what the second one will be. The first one was a fun necklace. It should be fun.

The first THREE people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. I don't even know what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first three people who do the same on your blog. The first three people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, will win a homemade gift! It may not be great, but it will be fun!

Oh, and be sure to leave your address so I can send you the gift and then you can post a picture of what you win when you get it.

I made a dress!!!!!

My mother is this master seamstress. She grew up making her own clothes and she made all of our clothes when we were younger too. I mean you name it, she can make it especially if there is fabric involved. She made all of our barbie clothes too and she is an expert quilter. She made all of our prom dresses and our wedding dresses for us. She was so good that you could describe what you wanted and she would go get a few different patterns and mold them together until she had your dream dress. I had to learn this the hard way because the first formal dress I had her make I didn't do that, I just chose a pattern that was modest, picked out fabric and it turned out to be a disaster on me. From then on, I had to really think about my body shape and what would look good and what wouldn't and that made all the difference.
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Growing up with this amazing women I grew a deep love for crafts and needlework. Unfortunately the talent isn't genetic. I've made things here and there that turned out pretty good, but usually she is right there with me every step of the way.
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Before I got married she also made me a temple dress. It was the same pattern as one of my Grandma's dresses that we would always dress up in and use for costumes at halloween. She adjusted the pattern to be temple appropriate by raising the neckline a little but still made it look cute on me. She also designed it so that I would be able to wear it for the first few months of pregnancy for whenever that should occur. I loved it and it was a pretty comfortable too... for the first few months.
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About 6 months into the marraige I went to Orlando, FL with my sister's and we decided to check out the Temple. It was on that trip that I realized I no longer fit into this beautiful temple dress. The dress itself was alright but the sleeves had no give and I couldn't get it off by myself. I figured, OK, easy fix, just take off the sleeves and replace them with stretchy fabric. Well... I love my mom but sometimes she doesn't make time for every little project so it sat there for months and months and months. In the mean time I got pregnant, had a baby, nursed her and the few times we did go to the temple, I wore one of my Grandma's old temple dresses. However that one wasn't designed for my body.
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One day we finally decided to tackle the sleeves on the other dress. She had me remove them and then try on the dress again. Well... I got it on.... but... ummm... it didn't look cute anymore. To say the least, I continued to wear my Grandma's dress. But then the sleeves on that one started to get tighter and tighter. (Why do all my dresses keep shrinking?)
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In January, there was a ward temple trip and John and I were pretty excited to go with people we knew because we usually just go by ourselves and squeeze it in where we can. About a week before the trip I decided it would be super cool if I had a new temple dress to wear since I would be going with people I knew. My mom was on this huge deadline though so I knew if it was going to happen, I would have to do it myself.
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I went to JoAnns picked out a pattern that I would not have to adjust (remember my first formal where I did that, It didn't turn out that pretty) except for the sleeve and skirt length. And then I went and got some white, double knit fabric that would be nice and stretchy. (I don't forsee myself gaining any more wait except if I were to be pregnant again but I still wanted to make it comfy and flexible.)
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The lady that cut the fabric for me saw my stressed expression. When I told her this would be my first experience making a dress by myself, she said not to stress about it. The important thing is to have fun and if I make a mistake, I can unpick and re-do it. So that made me feel better... Until I got home and realized the hard part wasn't in the sewing it together. It was in the fitting it and cutting it out part. I stared at it for a couple days and wanted to run to my mommy so badly. But I really did want to believe in myself and tackle this project so that in the future I could make my own dresses and dresses for Vivian too.
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I cut out the pattern and tried to fit it to me. I had John help me and he told me it was too small so I adjusted the pattern as needed to make sure it went around me and then I started sewing it together. The bust was designed so you just gather the stitches together so that was easy enough. I had some trouble figuring out the sleeves and my mom wasn't answering her phone so I just made it work. (Later she told me I was supposed to do the same thing as the bust, gather a few stiches on the top.) I got it put together and the neck line was a little too big. John suggested doing the same thing, gathering a few stiches in front. It totally worked.
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So here is my new temple dress.

(Yes, it's a little bagish looking, but that isn't the dresses fault.) I was so comfortable in the Temple the next day. I could lift up my arms and everything. There was only one thing wrong with it... I forgot pockets!!! I will be adding those in before our next visit to the temple. The biggest thing though is I am now more confident in my ability to do things for myself. I think I could make a few dresses for Vivian now.
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As for formal dresses for myself... I think I might need my mom's help because it is really hard to fit it to myself (John didn't really know how to help. It really wasn't too small and the whole dress turned out a bit big since I adjusted it for that. However I wouldn't call it a disaster like my first formal dress.) So I still need my mom's special ability to picture what I want and blend patterns together to make it work. But I think I should loose a few pounds before going through all that trouble.

Finish Strong

This video is amazing. I have no more words for it. Just watch it. You'll see.

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Relief Society

We had a Stake Enrichment last night where they invited the Sacramento Temple President and his wife to speak to us. I guess the theme for the night was "Women are, that they might have joy." So they talked about 3 words that brought great joy to their lives and that they tried to ponder on and apply everyday. 1) The Creation. 2) The Fall. 3) The Atonement.

Even though, I thought she was going to say something entirely different, I was able to apply it to my life imeadiately. Each new day is a Creation. I can Create things with the kids, I can Create fun and happy times. I can Create smiles and laughter. But there is going to be a Fall. The kids are going to Fall. They are going to whine. They are going to disobey. I am going to get mad, lose my pateince and yell. That is life. But I have to realize that there is the Atonement. That I can give that anger to the Lord and let him deal with it and I can go back to the Creation stage.

In the original Creation, after they created something, they would always say, "And it was Good." I need to look at my life and say, "And it was good" more often. I need to realize the good in everything and everyone. They also talked about our Trials and how we can find joy in them and that each trial is just an opportunity to know the Savior better.

They were both great talks that had more to them, but that is what I got out of it that I need to apply to my own life. But the best part of the night was the closing song. I've sung this hymn before but it had never hit me like it did last night. It seems like a prayer I need to say everyday.

Hymn #131
More Holliness Give Me

More holliness give me,
More strivings with-in,
More patience in suff'ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my savior
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.

More purity give me,
More strength to o'er-come,
More freedom from earth stains,
More longing for home,
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy-
More, Savior, like thee.

The 1500's

I've gotten this e-mail before but thought you all might enjoy. I have done no research to back it up so take what you can and leave what you can't.

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* LIFE IN THE 1500'S *
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The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the1500s:

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Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

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Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water."

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Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no woodunderneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying. "It's raining cats and dogs."

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There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

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The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor."

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The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a 'thresh hold.'

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In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

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Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

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Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

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Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the 'uppercrust.'

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Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple ofdays and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of "holding a wake."

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England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, "saved by the bell" or was considered a ... "dead ringer."

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And that's the truth. Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

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Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Ok, this picture was taken the first time I made this a few months ago. I've made it several times since then and I love it. It's so simple yet I still feel like I'm cooking something fancy. My mother in law gave me this recipe book called, 'Campbell's 1-2-3 Dinner.' Here is their recipe and then I'll tell you the changes I made.

1/2 package uncooked linguine (8 ounces)

1 cup fresh or frozen brocoli flowerets

2 tablesppns butter or margarine

1 pound skinless, bonless chicken breasts, cubed

1 can 103/4 ounces) Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Prepare linguine according to package directions. Add broccoli for last 4 minutes of cook time. Drain.

2. In medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter, Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.

3. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper and linguine misture and cook through, stirring occassionally. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

I'm not a huge fan of linguine or any other type of long noodle, only in spaghetti and even then I don't enjoy it all over my chin. So I changed the pasta to rotini (or corkscrew) because I like it better and it's easier for the kids to stab themselves. Even though we are pretty much considered a family of 4 (3 adults plus 2 kids) I usually double the recipe witch means 16 ounces of pasta. I also put in way more than a cup of broccoli and less than half a pound of chicken. (We are trying to cut down meats and add more vegies.) I kind of forgot about the milk and the butter when I made it again so I guess those aren't completely neccesary ingredients, but I also use one of the family size cans of Mushroom soup so that probably accounted for the lost milk. Since I doubled most everything else I also double the cheese and pepper sometime adding even more cheese.

I'm usually not a fan of pepper but it really added to the flavor of this meal. I tried too put the pepper in as one of the first things to the sauce so that it had time to simmer throughout rather than being real strong in certain spots. All in all it's my favorite mean to make right now so I hope you all try it and enjoy it as much as I do.

New Hobby

One of my friends from the ward is super awesome at Scrapbooking and Cardmaking and has ALL the fancy do-dads to go with it. Since this is an area I feel I am lacking in she let me come over to her house (several months ago) to make some wedding cards. Watching her work was amazing and it opened something inside of me where I was like, "Wow, I think I could actually do this and be good at it." Not as good as her of course but decent enough for my own standards.

The reason I didn't like Scrapbooking before is because I have to do something different for each page or else it's boring and I don't have that many creative juices all at once. But Cardmaking is a whole different story. Because you can come up with one idea and copy it several times because they are going to different people. Assembly lines and patterns are something I AM good at.

So after that, I went and raided my moms house for fancy paper, buttons, ribbon, lace and whatever else I could talk her out of that could go on a card. But I had too many things going on at the time and restrictfully never allowed myself to get out the mess. Then my parents decided to move (downsize) and wanted to know if I would babysit her stamp collection. So I got ALL of her stamps, stamp pads, embossing stuff, and whatever else goes allong with that craft. But still... I didn't allow myself to get out the mess because there was way too much going on.

However since I am the Relief Society Secretary I thought it would be nice to send a handmade birthday card out to each sister this next year. I finally allowed myself to get out just enough to make a few cards to start off the year and this is what I came up with.

The bear on the front is raised up a little and the star and the square are little gems that I glued on. I colored in the bear with colors that matched the paper I was using so that it wouldn't be too busy. The only thing I think I could have done differently is embossed the "Happy Birthday" stamp but I wasn't really prepared to get out that big of a mess right then.

The inside says, "Sending you warmest wishes on your special day."

This was the back that said, "When you care enough... you make it yourself!"

I had fun doing it and am looking forward to doing it at least once every week or so this next year. And I'm sure as time goes on I'll get better and more creative. I might take pictures of them all but I probably won't post them all on here because what if they are for you?