My sweet Mika

Over Christmas break, we had to say goodbye to our dog Mika.  Mika was a part of our family for almost 15 years.  I knew it would be hard, but still I was not prepared for the huge void she left.  I still catch myself consciously stepping over her in the morning when I wake up.  She always slept right beside my bed.  It's a sad feeling to realize I don't have to look out for her anymore. 

In 1996 My husband and I adopted her from the humane society.  We were so excited to have spent only $30 for a really cute dog.  Three days after we took her home she became very sick and lethargic.  Like good new parents, we immediately took her to the vet.  I was at work when I received the call that she had Parvo, a life threatening illness.  As I hung up the phone I began to SOB!  I cancelled all of my clients for the rest of the day and drove to my husbands work to tell him the bad news.  With tears and snot running down my face I told my husband the bad news and how we needed to move forward with intravenous treatment for her.  "How much is the treatment," he asked?  "It doesn't matter how much!"  

"We're her parents," I exclaimed!  He pretty much knew right then that it would take longer for me to forgive him than it would take to pay off the credit card had he said no to treatment.  So $500 and four days later, Mika survived Parvo and was worth every penny.

I always said that she knew we saved her life, because of just how great a dog she turned out to be.  She wasn't a chewer, only had one accident in the house (unlike other dogs of ours... ahem), and she was always on watch for suspicious characters.  I don't think there will ever be another dog like her.  I bet she could have learned to sew had I taught her =)

Well I can't leave you all sad here, so I'll share a recent pic of Shoog the Boog.

She's grown... a lot!  Sometimes we don't know how big she is until we take her for a walk and people stop us to say, "Your dog is huge!"  I politely tell them she is sensitive about her weight and that she prefers the term "big boned" thank you very much.

Dogs!  They are the best =)

Jamie

My sewing machine got broke

I sew on a Singer.  I bought my Singer about 8 years ago from Sams Club for under $200.  In the social circles of the sewing world Singers are considered to be... well as it was once put to me, "The VW bug of the sewing machines."  And I'm not talking about the new revised VW bugs.  I'm talking about the bugs that my best friend and I from high school would jump over the train tracks and bottom out the car and the next week her dad would jimmy it back together because the parts and car were both extremely cheap.  However, I have to say that I have never had a problem with my Singer and I love the old bugs.  Not only have I never had any problems with it, I have never taken it in for a cleaning or a tune up in all of the 8 years that I've owned it.  I know.  I've been a bad owner, and yet my Singer has been so good to me.  So when she broke down on me the other day, I gave her a pep talk explaining that it wasn't her it was me and that I wasn't going to give up on her.  

Yesterday, I took her to the repair guy and it turns out the problem is a timing issue.  She should be fixed in about 10 days.  10 days!  Ughhhh!  I don't think I have ever gone more than 5 days without sewing.  When the repair guy said 10 days, my son exuberantly raised both of his arms and said, "Yeah! Mom can't sew for 10 days."  The repair guy then replied to my oldest, "You better be on good behavior then."  My son then realized that maybe my sewing isn't so bad after all and that in fact it has distracted me from some of his mishaps.  Anyhoo, I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself.  It looks like I'll be cleaning and shopping for the next 10 days.  I guess I'll make dinner tonight.

Cheers,

Jamie

The Palm Springs celebration

This past weekend my husband and I took a little road trip to Palm Springs.  Actually we stayed in Indian Wells, which is a sister city to Palm Springs, but most people don't know where Indian Wells is, so Palm Springs it is! 

Indian Wells, along with Palm Springs, are some of the cleanest cities I have ever seen.  As we were driving into town, my husband and I kept saying to each other, "It's so clean here." "How do they keep it so clean?"  Where's the litter?" Then, when we got out of the car we said, "IT'S SO HOT HERE!  So, I suppose that's the trade off for cleanliness.

   

While we were there, an alcohol/substance recovery program group was having a celebration retreat at the resort.  There must have been about 250 people celebrating their sobriety. It made for a very interesting setting.  It was like spring break at Daytona Beach, but without the alcohol.  Usually the combination of pool side bootie shaking dancing, boisterous buff tattooed bodies, piercings, and what most would perceive as a wild looking crowd, would normally produce fighting and other uncomfortable situations.  But not this group - no fighting or anything of the sort.  Not only wasn't there the threat of what happens when parties go bad, but everyone from the group was extremely kind and joyful.  Genuinely joyful!  Everyone was very supportive of each other and they just wanted to celebrate a positive change they had made.  

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the celebration and the various conversations I had with the group members. I found myself sincerely excited for their success.  I wanted to ask whomever I came in contact with what was their story and how they overcame their addiction, however, I figured they weren't there to talk about their past because they have a new life to begin.  It was so special to witness their celebration and affinity for each other. It made our own special weekend that much more fun.

   

My husband and I had our own reason to celebrate this weekend, since we have been married for 16 years this month!

And much like the recovery group, we too are looking forward to the brightest of futures.

Cheers,

Jamie 

The puppy stage

My little guy's bat! Will it ever end???

However, on the bright side of things, it's not a pair of really cute shoes in her mouth.

Just in case you're wondering about the photo texture I used on this pic... I call it very dirty slider that hasn't been washed in at least a week, because there are other more important things to do.... like sew.

Jamie

The adventure and mishaps of Shoog cont..

The Shoog is not holding up to her end of the truce. She has a major shoe addiction that Sour Apple cant help.

UGH! Do you know how hard it is to find cute black and white striped heels that don't look too Tim Burton-ish?

This one really hurt. So much so, that I can't bring myself to throw them away. I think I'm going to try black electrical tape to hide some of the inflictions. I'll let you know if it works.

Another Shoog story...

Last night, while watching Survivor, my youngest noticed the Shoog acting strange. "What Shooger doing?" he asked, and we all quickly turned to see what my 3 year old was talking about. Sure enough, it was strange alright. The Shoog was trying to... umm... lets see... how should I put this- BREASTFEED from my French Mastiff! Now, in the Shoog's defense, my mastiff's umm... lets see... how should I put this...udders... are abnormally large. Seriously! We've had kids come over to visit and wonder where the puppies are. When seeing Hanna (the mastiff) they've asked, "So why does your dog have udders?" I assume that the Shoog must have likewise noticed them and had a flash back to when she was with her mother. Instinct just kicked in. We had a good laugh, separated the two dogs, sprayed Sour Apple on the udders and went back to watching Survivor. Just joking about the Sour Apple, but it's not a bad idea.

Happy weekend!

Jamie

Her future is bright!

She almost left the house this way. When she emerged from her room early the other morning, my daughter was wearing the brightest knee highs I ever did see. The knee highs brought out the brightness of the Hawaiian print shirt too. That combined with the "a couple of sizes too small shorts" and worn out black shoes (buckle is broken on the side) were quite a shocker for me. Several thoughts ran through my mind within a 3 second period...

WOW! She's bright!

Who bought those socks for her?

I thought I donated that Hawaiian print shirt to a clothes drive.

How did she find her favorite shorts that I threw out awhile ago?

How do they still fit?

Should I make her change?

Should I encourage her independence and individuality?

Why doesn't she wear the clothes I make her?

What am I going to cook for dinner tonight?

As I said before, she almost left the house this way. I told her she needed to change her shorts because they were too small. So she did and emerged with a jean skirt instead. And off went my little Punky Brewter to school.

Up until this point, I have always thought of myself as a mom who encouraged her kids to be unique and to express their individuality, but now I question that. I had to fight myself from making her change everything. I tried to justify it by thinking to myself that possibly the brightness could cause another child to have seizures and I was only concerned for the safety of others. But the reality was that I was worried about other kids making fun of her at school. Yet, when she came home from school I asked her if anyone mentioned her socks and she looked down at her feet as if she had forgotten she was wearing them and said, "no."

Hmmm! What do I know?

Jamie

We've come to a truce

The Shoog and I have come to an agreement. She gets the couch and I get my floors, shoes, and bras back.

I'll spare you the bra image. It's a bit disturbing. Actually, I would like to thank Sour Apple for giving me the tools to force the new peace treaty between my dog and I. I may have to use that stuff to get my soon to be 4 year old off the sippy cup. That would be OK right????

I've come to realize the saying, "If you can't beat them join them," is good advice. Every morning, I start the day with a cup of coffee. Shoog gets up with me, her eyes flickering, still trying to adjust to the light. She waits for me to sit on the couch with her. As soon as I sit down, she cuddles up with me and lets me drink my coffee... in peace. We have an understanding of each other now.

***

Ree Drummond is re-posting a great series on Aperture. I've read this series before and didn't quite get it, because I was still trying to understand the buttons on my camera. However, this time around I'm totally getting it. And loving it!

I know they're not the greatest, but I've been shooting in manual mode which is a big deal for me. I like having control over the exposure. Anyways, most of you probably already know of Ree Drummond, but if not, here is a link to the series (link)

On a different note, the shop is all updated.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Jamie

"Shoog go potty!"

This is sugar (A.K.A shoog). The week after Christmas, she became the newest addition to our family. Why we got another dog, I do not know. Perhaps we have too much time on our hands, or not enough dogs, or we're trying to fill some huge void for my husband getting a vasectomy too soon after the third child. Whatever the reason is, she is here to stay and I am responsible for her.
How did this happen? I was the sane one saying, "I just don't think we should get another dog." "I don't think we have the time to train another dog." Then I caved! Yes. I had a moment of weakness and before I knew it she was here...peeing everywhere!
Peeing on my wood floors...
peeing on my pergo floors...
peeing on my tile floors...
peeing on my towels...
peeing in front of me!
The dog training book instructs me to ask her to go potty when it's time to take her outside to do so. I did this the other night. With a sweet voice I said, "Do you want to go potty?" She then looked at me, squats on the bedroom carpet, and pees. I believe she was making a point to me that this was indeed how it's going to be.

My sister was here the other day and told me I wasn't training her correctly. She said I needed to use "positive reinforcement." Apparently, putting the Shoogs nose near the pee and sternly saying, "Bad dog" isn't positive. My youngest has volunteered the training advice he learned from commercials. After I finished correcting Sugar he said, "Mommy, don't get mad. Get glad!" My daughter has told us countless times to buy the Pee Pad.

Plus there's another problem...

The couch! We have a dog rule in this house which is no dogs are allowed on the carpet or the couch. Shoog's a rule breaker. Granted, this is the couch that I have been threatening to reupholster and I will... soon... someday... in a year or so. However, in the mean time, little shoog needs to find a new place for her afternoon siestas. I tried the positive reinforcement thing and I seriously think she chuckled at me when I picked her up and put her on the tiled floor. Once on the tile I said, "Good girrrl!" She was like, "Right. You and I both know I didn't put myself here. Now if you would please kindly take me back to the couch that would be great." The next time she got up on the couch I yelled, "Shoog! Get off the couch now!" This was her response...

Dang that dog is smart! The sad look. Gets me every time. That's exactly how I got into this mess in the first place! Every member of my family, from my youngest to my husband, gave me the sad face when asking for the dog.

On a positive note, I will say that she has found my long lost favorite slippers, a stuffed animal that none of us have any idea where it came from, and she takes great black and white pics.

She's a cute little shoog boog isn't she??? Family is forever.

Jamie

Hello and Happy New Year!

Happy 10 or is it 0-10? How am I supposed to say it? Crazy to think that 10 years ago I was kid-less and slightly worried that the world was going to malfunction because of the whole Y2K thing. Now it's all about the Mayan calendar and 2012. Are there any tutorials on underground bomb shelters out there???

My husband and I started a new tradition a few years ago. Each New Year's Eve, we spend the night in a hotel near a beach. We talk about the past year's pros and cons, and then we discuss future goals and ambitions. I like it.

This year we stayed in La Jolla. Very pleasant, refreshing, and rejuvenating. That is until our hotel neighbors, college kids, came back from a long night of partying and decided to keep on partying. We could here everything. EVERYTHING! At one point they were trying to decide which one of them could afford a DUI on their driving record. "I already have a DUI. How would you feel about one? Do you think you can afford one?" Finally, one of them came to the brilliant idea of calling a cab to take them to a Denny's restaurant. Phew! So off they went, however they soon returned and one young man, feeling home sick, decided to call his relatives in India. Apparently the phone connection wasn't very clear so HE HAD TO YELL! Just as I was about to pound on the wall, my calm husband picked up the phone, called their room and politely asked them to be quiet. It sort of worked. He did speak a little softer, but the walls were just too thin. After the young man hung up the phone he and his lady friend then ended ringing in the new year with a bada bing bada boom. *sigh* At about 5:30 am all was quiet and we got a few hours of sleep.

I love the colors of the green algae mixed with red seaweed on the rocks.

A painter's bliss.

16 years ago, right where that couple is walking, my husband proposed to me. My bliss.

Happy New Year!

Jamie

A staple story

I went silent there for a wee bit. When one tries to make this year's holidays a "handmade" one, and runs a business that is of the handmade nature, things get pretty busy with handmade stuff.

To make my week even busier, I had a few unexpected kids type stuff happen last week. It all started mid week when I received a phone call from the school nurse that my 8 year old had gotten sick at school. After a visit to the Doctor's it turned out he had a double ear infection. Nothing a little antibiotics can't help. And it did! The next day he was well enough to go back to school. However at about noon, I received another phone call from the school nurse telling me that once again she had my son in her office, but this time his head was bleeding. Apparently, he and another boy were playing Transformers and collided on the play ground. When I went into the office, there stood the two boys with big crocodile tears rolling down their sweet little plump cheeks. Both had ice packs - My son with one on his head and the other boy with one on his chin. I looked at the two of them and with a stern voice said, "I just want to know one thing... Who was Optimus Prime?" They both chuckled, but then quickly remembered they were injured and resumed crying. As I comforted my son, he looked up at me while still sobbing and managed to say, " I really want to go on my field trip mom." That particular day was a field trip day. After a few explanations of what had happened I began to understand that what was making my son most upset was not the gaping hole in his head, but a field trip that he was definitely going to miss. The really crazy thing is this...guess where they were going??? THE POST OFFICE! As in the same place my kids and I go to at least twice a week. My kids complain every time we go there! I looked at my son and told him that he was not going to make the field trip, which led him into another episode of major hysterics.

Anywho, when we went to the ER, the Doctor decided one staple should do the trick. I have never had, nor seen, anyone get staples before. And to my surprise they use a staple gun. I was expecting something more doctor-like and less Home Depot-ish. So, with a squeeze of the staple gun trigger... BAMO! A staple repaired the hole. Poor little guy. They didn't even numb the area, because all he needed was 1 staple. According to the doctor, the pain involved in numbing the area was determined to be about the same as one staple in the head. After the fact, I question this assumption. Not fun at all :(

There is a happy ending to this story. We stopped by the post office on the way home, because I needed to drop off some packages. All we were missing was the buddy system.

***

The above picture is of the Irvine Spectrum Ferris wheel. I went there this past Sunday with my family. I enjoy taking pictures of Ferris wheels, but not riding them.

Have a great day!

Jamie

Thanksgiving and winners

What a Thanksgiving! I made it through 2 family Thanksgivings, 2 BIG Thanksgiving dinners, 2 Thanksgiving desserts, and a Joann fabrics shopping trip early the next morning. Whew! Before I go into sharing my Thanksgiving with you all, lets announce the fabric give-away winners.

By way of the random number generator, the winners are Melissa M who wrote The day after Thanksgiving, I'm going to the outlets for the midnight madness sale =) and Alissa who wrote This day after Thanksgiving I will be reorganizing my house. (And taking blog reading breaks, of course!). Winners please send me your fabric choice along with your shipping address to: apronstreet at yahoo.com. Let me just say that I loved reading your comments. I was truly touched by them. It's wonderful to be able to share in others thankfulness. Thanks =)

Thanksgiving was very yummy this year. My sister made some delicious appetizers such as

Asparagus Bouquets

• 1 lb prosciutto deli sliced
• 1/2 or 8 ounces neufchatel {softened} or asiago cheese
• 20 to 30 spears of asparagus {depending on thickness of spears}

1. Preheat oven to 450, place asparagus in boiling pot room temp h20 on stove top. Cook on med high until boil. Drain and place in ice water for 2 min. Towel dry the asparagus
2. Place a piece of cheese on top of a piece of prosciutto and wrap two to three asparagus' (depending on thickness of spears).
   
3. Drizzle with evoo and Balsamic. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 15 min

And...

Caprese

• 1 lb fresh mozzarella sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 lrg ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup basil sliced long
• coarse salt and ground peppercorn for seasoning
• dress with evoo and true balsamic vinegar

My mom cooked the main dinner and just when I thought she couldn't top the previous year's Thanksgiving dinner, she does. By the time dinner was served, I was in such an eating frenzy that I forgot to take pictures of the turkey, stuffing, green beans, and homemade mash potatoes (my childhood favorite). After all of that we went to my in-laws for more great food.


***

A new guest at my families Thanksgiving dinner was my dog nephew Zorro.

Every time my sister went outside, he would wait longingly by the front window for her return. And according to my sister, he loves wearing clothes. She even has pajamas for him.

I have to show you a picture of the mushrooms growing in my parent's backyard...

They look so strange and enchanting at the same time.

Lastly, we crafted for quite some time the day after Thanksgiving. Here's a little peek at one of the crafts...

I'll share the rest with you tomorrow along with the tutorial.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving or weekend (International friends).

Cheers,

Jamie

Red Lipstick Shopping

This past Sunday, I had a sudden urge to buy some red lipstick. There's some sort of gravitational pull going on in the fashion world where everyone is wearing red lipstick, and I have succumbed to it. I can't remember the last time I wore red lipstick. I do remember going through a major brown lipstick with dark brown lip liner phase. Sometimes, I would even use brown eye liner, because the lip liner wasn't dark enough. Why do I admit these things? I do not know.



Anyways, red lipstick is something new to me. So, Sunday afternoon I rounded up the family for a trip to the mall. First, I went to ULTA to browse their make-up section. After grabbing a few red lipsticks I asked a sales lady to disinfect the lipsticks and then went to a mirror to sample them. At this time my husband and kids were in the restroom, which standard restroom time is about 10 minutes when my kids have to go. So there I was - alone, doing the best job I could to color within the lines. Just as I was finishing up with the last sample lipstick my husband came up behind me to let me know they were all finished with the restroom. I turned around and all of a sudden my entire family gasped. My husband, with a My gosh woman! What have you done?! look on his face, said "You look like our daughter when she plays with your make-up." "So you're saying I look young," I responded? Chuckling he said, "No. Not exactly." He was totally right. Errr! So I decided to go to Macy's and have a make-up artist help me out.

At Macy's, I went to the Bobbi Brown area where a lovely make-up sales lady sat me down (she must have seen the stained red smudged lipstick on me and felt bad) and gave me the 411 on red lipstick. She said to first apply the lipstick then clean up the edges with the lip liner. Normally, I do it the other way around. Ah-hah! She also said that the orange/red lipsticks tend to make a person's teeth look yellow, where as blue/red lipsticks help make teeth look whiter. "Hmm, let me think about which red I want... yellow teeth or white teeth? I don't know that's a tough one, but I think I'll go with blue/red." And we did...

I went with Bobbi Brown lipstick in Burnt Red.

It's funny how something as little as a new lip color can make you feel fresh and new. Kind of like a new hair cut.
I like it!
***
The necklace

This week I will post a tutorial on how to make the beaded fabric necklace I'm wearing in the pic. The tutorial uses a different necklace, but the method is basically the same. They're a lot of fun to make. Almost as much fun as wearing red lipstick =)

Cheers,

Jamie

Yoga... relaxing? Pfff!

And I wonder why I don't find yoga very relaxing. Yes, this is where I attempt to find a happy place while doing yoga. The only staging done here was moving the machine gun off my mat to take the picture. To add to the serene environment, my 3 little shooga boogs often sit on the couch and evaluate every yoga position I attempt to do from my Firm yoga DVD. The other day, while in some ungodly yoga pose, my daughter asked me, "Why do you always do the beginner's way?" My oldest son followed with, " Yeah mom! You can do better!" And before I knew it my kids where hooting and hollering, "Come on mom you can do it!" And chanting, "MOM-MEE! MOM-MEE! MOM-MEE!" All the while, due to my upside down-ness at the time, I noticed all of the dirt scattered throughout my tiled living room floor. Then there's the faint peaceful music playing in the background with the yoga instructor saying things like, "Focus on your breathing" and "you'll thank me later for this."
*Sigh*
I just can't seem to find that quiet, serene, happy place when attempting yoga =)

Jamie

Craft or crap?

The other day, I decided that we (my youngest and I) would take a little trip to Michaels craft store and stock up on some beads, embroidery floss, buttons, and other little crafty things. The following was my conversation with my little guy (3 years old)...

Me: Hey, lets put our shoes on and go to Michaels.

Little guy: We going to Michael's house?

Me: No, we're going to Michaels the craft store.

Little guy: A crap store???

Me: No, no, no! A crafffft store.

Little guy: Oh! What is in a craP store?

Me: It's craffft store and they have paint, paper, color pencils, and all sorts of crafts.

Little guy: They have crap there?!

Me: It's craaa..... You've been talking to your father haven't you? I bet he told you to say that about my store didn't he? Come on. Let's go buy some crap.

Jamie

Piggy back conversations

Our bedtime ritual begins with a piggy back ride to one of the kids rooms where I then read them a story for bedtime. Currently, we are reading Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures beyond Nutmouse Hall. My kids absolutely love this book! They get so dissapointed when we finish a chapter and have to wait until the next night to see what happens next.
When I give the pre-story piggy back ride to the room, my kids usually request me to be some sort of character or animal. In the past I have been a Transformer (Optimus Prime), robot walker, dolphin, and a flying fire breathing dragon (my personal favorite).
The following was last nights bedtime conversation.

Me: OK it's piggy back time! What do you want me to be? (speaking to my daughter)
B-girl: Ummm, nuffing.
Me: Nothing?
B-girl: Ya. I just want you to be mom.
Me: That's sweet.
Dropping her off on her bed and walking towards the door.
B-girl: I think you're special... even when you're not special.
Pause. Reverse.
Me: Not special? What do mean?
B-girl: You know. Like when you have messy hair and stuff like that.
Me: Gee thanks! I feel... special now =)

Motherhood can be quite humbling and sweet at the same time.

Jamie

The death of a sunflower

For my Birthday this past June we (the family and I), planted a garden. We have a small backyard, so consequently it's a small garden, but a garden none the less. I have done some light gardening before, but never vegetables, and never from seeds.

Because this was a fairly new venture for me, I decided to casually obey the recommended distance for planting and pretty much just threw down a whole bunch of seeds and hoped for the best. I did make sure to keep them in their rows. To me, it was like going to Vegas and playing the slot machines... "Come on Sunflowers." And you know what? I did win Sunflowers...

Tomatoes (I think)...

Strawberries...

and Pumpkins...

If I mislabeled any of those pics, just play along with me. I'm fragile =)

Right now the pumpkin and tomatoes are going at it. I definitely planted them way too close together. They're all twisted up and I keep separating them, but by the next morning they're at it again. My money is on the pumpkin.

I've been giving my little garden quite a lot of attention; I water it, pull weeds, and take pics of it growing up. It makes me very happy! But then, something awful happened.
Last Saturday, my husband was taking care of his baby, the lawn. At the time, he was edging the grass when all of a sudden he turned the edger off and yelled "I'm sorry Jamie." I turned to look outside, and to my horror, lying at my husbands feet was my second tallest sunflower. Behind her stood my husband with the whacker (they should require some type of official training for those things). I threw the sock that I was folding down on the floor and said "what happened?" Apparently, he "accidentally" beheaded my sunflower by edging too close. Accident? I suspect jealousy over all the attention my garden has been getting.


Jamie