What a week!

Sorry I've been a bit MIA this week, my poor hubby severely sprained his ankle and wasn't able to walk for several days. This was not easy for him because he is very active and does not sit still well at all :) So he decided to keep me busy instead :) However while doing my wifely duties keeping hubby entertained and fed I really didn't get much of a chance to clean anything, my nice little book of schedules went right out the window this week, and my happy little plans of sewing ha forget about it. But yesterday just as my house was falling down around me, my daddy showed up to see if he could take all four of my children for the whole weekend. Ya know I just love my dad. Then icing on the cake, my brother just called and said he was taking my hubby out for a while to get him out of the house. If you listen very carefully right at this moment you can actually hear a choir of angels singing hehe So now I must get off my rear end and clean this place from top to bottom then I'm gonna pull all my sewing right in the middle of the living room, turn on "Gone with the Wind" and spend the rest of the day and tomorrow too sewing, I have a stack of fabric just waiting to be made into aprons I'm just so happy right now. Yea me!! hehe I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

And the winner is....

Well you've waited all week and here it is the winner of my very first ever giveaway is....."Katie" Congradulations Katie and thank you to all who played along. Don't worry if you didn't win this time, I've already got plans in mind for another apron giveaway. So there's always next time! Untill then have a great Sunday and God bless.

Apron Give Away

Just two more days till I open the candy dish and pull out a winner, guess I had better finish the apron up huh?! hehe don't you worry come Monday morning it'll be in the mail going out to some lucky winner, all you have to do is get your name in the candy dish here -> http://becomingahomemaker.blogspot.com/2009/06/apron-give-away.html And leave me a comment. Good luck!!

Sew Mama Sew, Sewing Machine Meme

What brand and model do you have? Brother LS-2125
How long have you had it? 3 years
How much does that machine cost (approximately)? 90-100 dollars
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? Aprons from cotton and denim, quilting, costumes, curtains, anything that comes up.
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? About 5 hours a week. Not as much as some full time sewers, but around Christmas it runs full time.
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I love my machine because it always works, no issues or constant adjusting, however it only has basic stitches, I do wish it had more.
What features does your machine have that work well for you? No features but sews like a dream.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? It does not have any fancy stitches like other machines. So it limits some of the things I'd like to do or I have to do it by hand.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! I hate to admit I've dropped it a few times but it still works perfect!
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? Yes because it works faithfully, but no because it has no features.
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? I want to hear from others that it works well and doesn't need constant adjusting.
Do you have a dream machine? Not just yet I'm still looking into it I know I want a Singer, mom swears by them and Grandma too. But I will always keep my Brother as my work horse machine. Oh I'd also like one with Auto button holes I've heard about.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

Well hello out there in blog land!! I don't think I've ever been excited for a Thursday before, but I have been waiting all week for this one :) Can you say knick knacks? I can't wait to show you all some of my favorite old things. It was hard choosing what to show but I had to save some back for next Thursday. And just to let you know this is hosted by http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/ there is a whole list of blogs participating so run on over and check it out! (After you look at mine of course :p )

Oh and don't forget to check out my Apron Giveaway! http://becomingahomemaker.blogspot.com/2009/06/apron-give-away.html









So without further adu, here is my collection of lace diolies I bought these at a yard sale about 5 years ago the lady who sold them to me had inhereted them from her grandmother, they are just sooo pretty!

This table runner belonged to my hubby's grandmother, it is hand made and so lovely, isn't it? :)

These desert dishes also belonged to my hubby's grandmother (however I feel the need to say the past tense is only because she gave them to my mother in law when she got married and then MIL passed them to me when I married her son, grandmother is still alive and well :)





This is just one of a whole set of dishes that belonged to my grandmother, back in the mid 60's my mother worked in a small china shop in Bar Harbor Maine and with each pay check she bought her mother this lovely set. Hope it's vintage enough. I just love them.

And now my oldest and favorite of all, this is my great grandmothers Pitcher n' Bowl it used to sit on a little stand in (hmm that's funny I can see the stand in my mind clear as a bell but can't think for the life of me what room it was lol)

And now on another note I'd like to say... That Butter Milk Pie I made a few days ago, mmm! So good really you should try out that recipe. Also Cindy over at "Busy Hands" has a recipe for a Strawberry pie that makes my mouth water just reading it, I can't wait to try it, by the way I love pie and anyone who gives a pie recipe. Ooh maybe that'll be my next give away theme woo hoo oh my mind it racing now (I could use that pie applique I've been saving, on an apron for the prize) ooh I should finish the first give away before I plan the second one right? hehe By the way I am just lovin' reading all your wonderful comments, I'm feeling the love :)

A "Grab a Button" How To

This took me two hours of searching trying to follow directions from many different posts and not quite getting it to work. (There might have been a bit of yelling and name calling going on between me and my poor computer. hehe) Any who I finally found a blog with not great directions but a really great picture (I'm hoping it's okay to share the picture with you as long as I give the site link along with it.) So here we go, my attempt at a tutorial.

1. Create a picture you want to use for your button I don't have any fancy programs on my computer so I just used "Paint"
   
2. Get an account at http://www.photobucket.com/ and up load your picture.


3. On the top left of the screen you will see a bar with your pictures HTML code, copy it.


4. Back at your blog click "customize" on the top right of your screen, then click "layout"


5. Click "Add a Gadget" then choose HTML/Java Script


6. Enter the code just like it is in this picture making all the necessary changes with your info, if it doesn't work go back and make sure you have it exactly the same.

This picture came from: http://accidentalmommies.com/blog-buttons/how-to-add-a-grab-our-button-section-to-your-sidebar/ If you don't understand my instructions maybe theirs will be helpful, they also have lots of other good stuff, definitely worth giving them a looksy.

Keeping things organized

The life of a homemaker can be a very busy one, there are just so many things to get done and keep track of, just like any other full time job. However we have an added danger we are at home with so many distractions, Oh there's a great show on, or ooh I should see whats new over at my fave blog, maybe I'll just finish sewing that new apron, etc, etc. If we are not careful half the day can pass us by, then the kids are home, dinner needs cooked and hubby will be wondering what you've been doing all day while he is hard at work. So then, how does one stay on track but still find time for life's simple pleasures. (like blogging hehe) How about a "Home Management Binder" I have been working on mine for almost a year now. I down sized to a much smaller binder 6"x9" or (something like that) even found sheet covers at "Staples" I filled it with the following sections;

• Calender
• Cleaning Schedules (Including daily, monthly and laundry schedules)
• Menus & Grocery Lists (these are blank I like to make new each week)
• Bills & Budgets (this has monthly forms I made so I never forget to pay, or what I paid to whom or when)
• Things to make our house a home (this is a section of wants and needs for the home so when there is extra money in the budget I know where to spend it)
• Recipes (this is just for the recipes most used so I can get my hands on them quickly)
• Cleaning recipes (for cleaning the dishwasher or washing machine, even recipes for detergents should I run out and need some quick from house hold stuff)
• Books and projects ( this is a running list. I tend to start soo many books and projects that I loose track of what needs to be finished next)
• Child, Health & emergency Information (this is a section of all really important info and numbers should something happen when I'm not around hubby will know all that I know)
• Pet Information (this section is small but has important info, like Vet #'s and Rabies Certificates, God forbid the dog ever bites someone etc.)
• Addresses (I think you know what this one is for :)
• And then a small section just for me for the things I find and think, I should print that out so I do and then never find it again lol Now I can find them.

So as long as I write everything in this book and look at it every day, I stay completely on track and have time for fun stuff like computer time and sewing, Hello I'm Sophie and I have an apron addiction hehe

And now just for fun here are pictures of my boys, when they saw I had the camera out this morning to take a pic of my binder they immediately grabbed their favorite things and yelled take a picture of this mom!!!!

Matthew and his beloved Buzz LightyearElijah and his best friend "Lou Lou baby" She was Lilly but he renamed her. Not really sure how he thought up that name but it's hers none the less :)