Pear

A quick whip-up for today. Some linen. Some thread. Some stuffing.

Moms for Modesty

I found out about this here. ( lovely blog!)

Modesty! What a novel idea. Have you had to shop for a little girl in the last {1}5 years? Whew! There are definately some wonderful options in terms of modest dress, but you need to dig to find them. I want my little girl to look like a little girl. (Not a call girl.)

Skirts are short, jeans are low, shirts are fitted....what is going on?!

Moms for Modesty lists their mission statement:

* As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.

* I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.

* I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.

* I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.

* I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls' and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

If you feel the same and want to sign on, you can do so here. They just grow up so fast, anyhow...

I was thinking...

(I know those words make my husband shudder.)

I really love my town. A lot. It's wonderful. BUT! As with all towns ~ everywhere ~ there are spaces and places overtaken by shady characters. You know, the places where you don't necessarily care to be alone at night. Places where everyone assumes that drug deals are being made, where teenagers are being taken from angst to addiction...places that should be filled with fun and innocence:

The skate park where children with fantastic abilities should be able to do their tricks, expend their energy, where they should be able to hang, and chill, and be unique and individual exactly like everyone else.

The beautiful park north of town where two "gangs" fought once, that should be a place for families with children to spend weekends picnicing, having bonfires, roasting s'mores...where everyone is now afraid to congregate past nightfall.

The strip club...where men are trapped in a lustful web of sin and deceit.

There are so many many wonderful corners of my town tainted by the evils of society. I've had enough. Do you know what I think would be enough to cure my town? Moms. Lots of them. Armed with coffee, cookies and prayer.

I think strategically placed groups of a dozen {or so} moms could cramp the style of all that is wrong in my town. Moms clapping after the coolio moves of the skateboarder. Moms offering cookies and hugs to the children who's mothers don't bake or shower them with love and snuggles. And moms making eye contact with the men walking past them and in to the strip joint.

As the "cool places" grow and change, the army of mothers could grow and change. We could love up all these lost souls, so that the void ~ that they are trying so hard to fill ~ isn't so empty.

Think it could work?

It's been one of those days, again.

You know the kind? When you finally tell your naughty son, "There will be a consequence. You'll have to wait until your father comes home." (age three is tougher than two--hands down.)

So, what is a gal to do after saying those words? Why not string together some beads? (Gotta do something to keep the sanity.)

The knitting is not going as planned. I can cast on like nobody's business. Nobody's. It's the stuff that comes after that part that isn't working out so well. Boo. But, beads...you can't really go wrong there. There's only one hole to poke through, and I can handle that!

And then there's the stew that I made yesterday that I had planned on serving through out the week. Uh, who knew that rutabaga and yams don't blend so well with green peppers? You know now. Even some wonderful parmigiano-reggiano didn't save it.

So, tonight my friends, tonight, Daddy's cooking. Which means we're eating out. So the dishes are a good catch for my necklace. (It is advisable, when contacting your husband about said naughty 3 year old, to do it while he's yelling in the background--it has more oomfph...and increases your chances of eating out.)

Maybe my favorite sister-in-law would prefer a necklace around her neck than a scarf?

I'm SOMEBODY!

I was in the coffee aisle of my favorite grocery store yesterday. I was trying to decide which flavor of coffee bean to chose (Highlander Grogg), when I noticed him. He was (sort of) patiently waiting for me to move. I was blocking one of the two grinders, and he wanted the one I was in front of. He apologetically mentioned that he didn't like how the unobstructed coffee grinder ground his coffee. He is picky. He is from Seattle.

There was a lot he wasn't saying...and I wasn't in a mood to engage, so I just scootched over, nodded an acknowledgement, got my beans and went on my merry way.

I couldn't help but feel sorry. Sorry that I didn't allow him to be SOMEBODY. You know. More than just anybody. He was from Seattle. Coffee Headquarters. He just wanted to be special. Not just an older, ordinary, lonely nobody. (Not in the creepy-I'm going to follow you home- kind of way.)

I've certainly been there. In the I'M SOMEBODY Doldrums. When life is little, and you want people to know that you're big. That you have a bachelor's degree. You wiped 2 butts, 10x a day, but you don't have applesauce mulling about in your brain. You're somebody. You're not "just a mom" (I know, that is my LEAST favorite phrase of all times) you're a designer, just on hiatus. (ahem, my email was born during that time period) *snicker*

You are more than meets the eye. You are interesting, and fun, and you know a lot of good junk. Only, it doesn't appear that way. It appears as if you don't own a mirror, and that the only clothes that fit you are stretchy. The former may be untrue, but the latter....well....

I just wish now that I would have been more sensitive to that poor old fellow. A simple, "wow, you must be picky! I hear Seattle really knows it's coffee" would have been easy for me to say, and could have been the kind of silly thing that made his day.

Ever felt like a nobody? My personal goal is going to be to make at least one person feel like a SOMEBODY every. single. day.

So, Mr. Seattle, next time, I'll ask for your personal recommendation in the coffee aisle.

I'm going to give it a go...

Knitting, that is. My fingers have always worked at a different speed than my brain. Every previous attempt as left me frustrated and flustered. This time will be different. This time my brain and fingers have vowed to work in tandem. We shall see...we shall see...

Special company

My parents are in the middle of a move. I have the distinct pleasure of furniture sitting for a little while. These two pieces were really lonely being stored, so I made them a tad more comfortable...(Mom, I promise that they aren't too comfortable, I will hand them back when you are ready!)

They belonged to my Great~Grandmother.

Aren't they wonderful?

Meme.me.me

I've been tagged by Visty for a meme. This is my first, and I really don't know what 5 things would be worth knowing about me....

Let's see...

1. I'm afraid of {almost} everything. Spiders, rodents, snakes, heights, birds, cats, losing control.....

2. I'm a control freak. I know it's something that I need to work on. I know that ultimately I am not in control, which, perhaps, is the reason I grasp for it any time I am able?

3. I love weirdness. The color of my kitchen is this strange green, and I only really like it because it's a little weird.

4. My dream is to open my own store, or 4. I have them all conceptualized, I've written notes and some general missions for all of them. I would like to be the maker of most of the stuff in at least one of these stores (I know, not entirely feasible, but since it's a dream, I figure I can aim high). One main problem, is that I don't care to make more than one of anything. I lose interest REALLY quickly once I know I can do something. We'll see if any of these ever come to fruition.

5. I love to love. Love it! You know; people, places, things, coffee...I'm a glass half full of love.

I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but really don't know who {whom?} to tag...so if you've read this, consider yourself tagged...feel free to list your 5 in the comments!

Christmas outfits

I'm in a whole new mindset with my handmade Christmas mission. What do I dress my children in? (Such a quandary, right?) Well, we had this great dress that my daughter wore in a wedding, as a flower girl, this summer. Adorable dress, but ivory. Ivory is perfect for a wedding, but not so perfect for the Holidays. (I realize that these are small beans...not the hugest of deals, but fun problems to have.)

I remembered a blog I read a few months ago, where this clever gal dyed some stained onesies to bring them back to life. I thought, "why not try that with the dress?!" So I did. And it worked! The dress was dyed in the same bath as the oxford shirt my son will wear. The shirt is a great burnt orange, and the dress a very light coral. I dyed a stained pair of khakis, a turtle neck and some tights in cocoa...and the results are as follows...

The bow came with the dress. I'm loving the goofy mix of colors.

Even the pearl buttons took the color. (I know!)

This used to be a stained white oxford with grass knee khakis...

In a word...

...if you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

I've been thinking on that {for no real or logical reason} this morning.

Me. In one word: Jazzy.

You know, the word itself seems kinda fun and weird all at once.

Plus, it's fun to say. Jazzy. Jazzy. Snazzy. Oh. Maybe I'm snazzy. I like that one, too.

How about you? In one word...

Jumping the gun

If I knew how to add music to this blog, I would have "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" playing. Alas. I do not know how to do that, but thought that just typing out those words would make you hum it or at least play it in your mind. Did it work? Great!

So, last night, the tree went up. Woot! I'm such a Jesus' birthday lover! What a celebration!! I am so thrilled with the season, and The Reason for the season, that it is all I can do not to start the festivities in September.

I am also super pumped about the gifts under the tree! The doll, little buddy, Al O. Dile, ssSylvester, the peanut, the purse, and the ornaments (1,2). I'm still planning on making more, but have hit a bit of a creative slump. The way I've been working (mostly) has been to lay out the bits and baubles that I have on hand. I look at them until they become something in my mind, and then I try and make the idea tangible.

Hopefully, the creative juices will start flowing freely soon. Project homemade Christmas isn't over yet!

Back at it

I took a bit of a break over the weekend. Project Handmade Christmas is back in full swing. Here's a little purse for my girl...

...some frills...

...and the opposite side.

The hardest part for me, is knowing when to stop. Knowing when a project is done. I think this one is done. And this brings me to 8. Thank you very much. :)