FOBTY- Swimsuit Quiz!

You Are No Swimsuit

You are totally, completely comfortable with your body. And you’re not judgmental about other people’s bodies either. You are connected to nature. You feel best when you are outdoors. You are a serene and peaceful person. You focus on what’s truly important… not material possessions.

What Kind of Swimsuit Are You?

FOBTY

Your Gift is Intellect

You are a big thinker, and you’re always playing with new ideas. You are curious about the world. You enjoy learning and developing new theories. You enjoy researching, analyzing, and solving problems. Thinking hard feels good! You’re the type of person who finds most mental tasks to be easy. You love to stretch your brain.

What’s Your Gift?

FOBTY what taste are you?

I’m bitter, who’d a thunk?!

You Are Bitter

You aren’t bitter at the world, even though you have a strong personality. Instead, you are sophisticated and cultured. You appreciate acquired tastes. You are very powerful. You have the ability to change a room’s energy. While some may find you disagreeable, your points of view are intelligent and interesting.

What Taste Are You?

FOBTY and zoos!

When I was a kid, this commercial for the Detroit Zoo played all the time My favorite animals were probably the penguins, I still love them. I also loved the reptile house, it was so cool and quiet.

Summer Plans

I don’t have all of my summer planned out, yet, but I do know what I’ll be doing Tuesday, June 9. Watching Will Ferrell join my favorite survivalist, Bear Grylls for an icy adventure!

We will have a busy, busy, busy, busy July. First is my mother-in-law’s birthday on the first, and then my in-laws host a huge 4th of July party. Relatives come from all over the state, we have a pork roast (country thing!) and our own fireworks show at night. We have a lot of traditional activities on that day, riding in an antique fire truck for the parade, roasting corn at the barbecue and making up a big batch of hot chocolate for the fireworks (it’s pretty chilly here after the sun goes down).

Later in the summer, we’re hoping to go visit some family friends we haven’t seen in a few years, they have 3 kids, just a bit older than ours and we have such a great time with them. Lots of talking and laughing! And us girls always take a trip to Shipshiwanna, Indiana to visit some Amish stores. I go to visit the fabric stores that cater to the Amish/Mennonite community there. Fantastic selection!

Happy summer dreamin’, everyone!

May News

This month has been full of ups and down, and very busy. Some highlights:

Mother’s Day trip to Mackinac Island. Star-Line Ferry offered a free day to the island, and the Mackinac butterfly house was free as well. The boys were so cute, Kali figured out what was up as soon as I pulled into town. The boys….didn’t even clue in when we got in line for the ferry. But, they sure got excited by the idea of going on a ‘cruise’!

Baseball started for all 3 kiddoes. CJ in teeball, Jack in the minors and Kali in softball. We spend more evenings at the ball field than at home. It’s all worth it though, because they’re having a great time!

We were gearing up for another fun, May event, my father-in-law’s retirement party from the bank board. It was going to be a nice dinner, with friends and family coming in from out of town for the event, sharing stories and celebrating his success. The day before the party, after feeling terrible for several days, he entered the hospital and was admitted to the ICU. His recovery has been very slow, he has such a strong will, that I think I expected him to just will himself better After 5 days, he has made some progress and is more stable and will be moved to the cardiac unit. I have really been buoyed by support and prayers from my family, I’m so very blessed!

I’m praying that June is calmer and full of quiet rest for my family, especially my dear FIL.

Nike Courage Commercial (I’ve Got Soul But I’m Not A Soldier)

Just thought I’d share my favorite Olympics commercial! Enjoy

Menu Plan Monday- August 18

Another busy week with soccer and sewing for the next craft show! So, I’m relying on the grill, slow cooker and 1 dinner with convenience foods- gasp!

Monday- Steak, potatoes, corn on the cob

Tuesday- Chicken Fajitas, salad

Wednesday- Baked Potato Bar

Thursday- Onion Soup (surprisingly, the kids’ favorite soup!), Sandwiches

Friday- Chicken Strips and oven french fries

Coming soon- pictures of an apron I made just for me- I love it!

For more menu madness visit I’m an Organizing Junkie!

Hand stitching tutorials

One of the best ways to finish a garment so that it looks handmade rather than ‘homemade’ is to use hand stitching for hems, facings and other final steps. I thought about doing some tutorials, but there are so many already out there, so I just rounded up some links for you BTW, my favorite stitch for hemming is the catchstitch, very easy and secure!

oliver + s blog- blindstitch and catchstitch

Otis Fashion Studio video- basting and catchstitch

futuregirl craft blog- blanket stitch (good for kids’ appliques)

Pins and Needles blog- prick stitch (for understitching a lining and putting in zippers by hand- the only way for me!)

Instructables- slip stitch (for closing linings in bags or anything that is stuffed)

Hope this list gets you started! As always, great resources on sewing are heirloom patterns and books.

Frugal Friday- Gifts

Gift giving can trip up even the most carefully frugal. It’s one of the areas where the practicer of thriftiness can appear to be cheap instead of frugal. I’m of the opinion that cheap is NOT the same as frugal. Here is an interesting look at thrift vs. frugal vs. cheap- complete with Venn Diagram! I think this line best explains my feeling of the word cheap- ‘Cheap somehow involved taking advantage of someone else.’ Other differences in my perception are that frugality will research all options for a new purchase and take quality into account. Cheapness will buy the least expensive, even if the item has a short life span and must be repurchased several times over.

When it comes to gift giving, I feel that the frugal giver will carefully consider the recipient of the gift. Is this person open to hand crafted items, re-gifted presents and thrift store finds? If the answer is no, I spend my budgeted amount of money on something shiny and new that the recipient will enjoy. The important thing to remember is that not everyone is overjoyed at a garage-sale-find of a chippy, dented cake carrier from 1962! For the people on your list who are open to frugal creativity, however, it is such a thrill to come across the perfect item. I had just such a happy congruence of recipient and frugal gift opportunity this spring. It was my ‘twin’s’ birthday (my sister who is 2 years younger than me, but who is so like me that we call ourselves the Wonder Twins), and I spied a small, tired, 1974 toadstool print, unframed, in a thrift store next to a pile of old frames, some with mats and some with glass. I chose the assorted items I needed and when I took it up to the register, my total was 75 cents! I took them home, cleaned the glass, trimmed the print and repainted the frame with an old can of spray paint in my garage. It’s not high art, but my sis, who has been on a retro-mushroom love-fest for the past year loved her new print for her sewing room.

Again, when frugal gifting, remember your recipient. Not everyone is overjoyed at a repurposed thrift store item or a hand-made present…and that’s okay! What made my gift a success was that I paid attention to what made my sister happy, and gave her something that spoke to that happiness. We don’t need to spend a lot of money to accomplish this, just a bit of time and thoughtfulness. That will ensure that each gift is a hit, no matter what the cost

Be sure to check out Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday tips!