One man's trash is a little girl's treasure!!!

My daugther has asked many times for a dollhouse.  Well, they're a little pricey, not to mention BIG!!!  Sooooo, I've kinda filed that request in the back of my mind for another day.  Well, Wednesday morning, I woke up as usual for my early morning exercise.  My friend and I walked be something set out by the curb.  It was too dark at the time to really see what it was, but she thought it was a dollhouse.  The entire time, I was walking I had that at the back of my mind.  A dollhouse!!!  Really!!!  Would it still be there?  Was it in good shape?  The questions just rolled around until we got back to the same spot on our way home.  It was light out and I casually mentioned that I should check it out.  All the pieces looked intact.  I wondered aloud if I should pick it up and take it home.  My friend said she wouldn't fool with it, it was dirty.  That, my dears, can EASILY be fixed!!!  I picked it up and marched it home.  Took it inside and began to clean it up.  It was in PERFECT shape under the layer of dust.  A short time later I had it sitting on the table for her to 'discover' when she woke up.  I couldn't wait!!!!

 Here she is....half asleep but checking it out!!

 It has a slide out pool cover she discovered.  She and her brother played with the dollhouse and her strawberry shortcake dolls in the house for a loooong time Wednesday, and Thursday AND today!!  It's been a hit!!!  I just love the treasures that God provides for us unexpectedly! :)

 A little girl VERY HAPPY that her school books have arrived.  Once again, I will be homeschooling her for another year!  Last year was a success and I'm hoping this year will be even better!!!  She couldn't wait to tear into the boxes and see all her books.

Here she is all of her K-5 Abeka books!!!  She opened up one of her reading books and read a page to me.  She wanted to start right away!!  Yay for an eager student!:)

Callie just lost her 1st. tooth!!!

Callie let me pull her first tooth out tonight.  It's been VERY loose for quite some time.  With just a little tug...out it came!!! 

 Looking at these pictures made me sad...she looks even more grown up with a missing tooth now! :(

 Very happy that the tooth fairy(aka mommy) will come tonight!!!

Loads of Doll Clothes!!!

I am participating in a doll clothing swap and so this week I started sewing doll outfits for 18" dolls.  This fleece sweatshirt is for Callie to keep for her doll, Jenny.  It was made out of scraps from a bathrobe I made her last winter. 

Everything pictured below will be shipped out to exchange with other mama made doll clothing.  Callie is excited that some new outfits will be coming her way soon.  She did want to keep a bunch of this, but I kept telling her we were going to ship it away.  :) 

 I braided strips of knit fabric to make some stretchy headbands to go with these outfits.  I love how they turned out.

 Pink is not my favorite color, but I love how it looks with chocolate brown.

 These hooded sweatshirts are fun to make.  Callie wants an outfit like this, so I may make another one later....much later.  I'm doll clothing sewed out right now. :)

 Another stretchy braided headband.

 All four outfits together.

 I love the way these plaid outfits turned out.  The skirt has pleats in the front/back.  There was a tiny turquoise stripe through the plaid so I chose that for shirt color.  Trimmed the shirt with black ribbon, buttons and a small ruffle.  I made a cute hat also to go along with it.

 Another plaid outfit.  This one has a different ruffle on the shirt and the hat was designed just a bit differently. 

 Both outfits together.

Hooded sweatshirt dress with a funky belt.

 the dress from the back...

 A stretchy braided headband with some embellishments.

 Had fun with this one...it's definitely 'different'.  lol

 Dress, belt and headband

Now to clean up the sewing mess and cook supper.....It was fun sewing doll clothes this week, but I'm ready to tackle something else right now. :)

Is it REALLY the end of July ALREADY!!!!!????

I simply canNOT believe this is the last week of July already!!  Summer has went by in a blur.....Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks.....

Some might call me crazy, but last Sunday afternoon, in between packing for youth camp and church services and lunch preparations, I sewed Callie a new dress that she wore to church that evening!!  You see, I had requested to be a tester for a new pattern that was coming out. Well, the pattern designer was all filled up for that particular size.  I forgot all about it, until receiving an e-mail Sunday right before lunch.  She asked if I was still interested.  Someone wasn't able to make the size I had signed up for.  The only problem was....she needed it sewn in the next 2-3 days!!!!  Well....I was leaving for camp THAT NIGHT!!!!  I REALLY wanted to test the pattern out.....so I told her if I got the pattern e-mailed to me that afternoon I could do it.  I got it after lunch and while my dear father-in-law and sons were washing dishes I was printing and cutting out a new pattern to sew up in a flash.  Less than 2.5 hours later here was the end result.   

I just love this pattern and so does Callie.  We have fabric for a couple more waiting to be sewn up now.

 It's plenty long enough that it should last for an entire year...hopefully!!  :)

 Every year one of the local schools has an enormous garage sale.  The kids and I eagerly look forward to going.  On the last day of the sale, you can fill a bag for just $1!!!!  I stuffed 3 bags full of clothes.  Most of these clothes will be used to up-cycle into other clothes for Callie to wear this fall.  This will make her wardrobe very cheap to sew and I'll have a blast doing it! :)  I was happy to find some XL men's tech shirts that will be turned into shirts for me.  Also found 5 pairs of brand-new condition men's dress/casual pants for Duane!  Another find, not pictured, was a bean bag chair.  I needed some bean pellets for some sewing projects. They are very expensive to buy.  Now I have more than enough!!!!  The kids found some toys and the total amount spent.....$3!!!!!

All washed and drying on the clothesline.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE hanging clothes out to dry!!???;)

 Callie found a purse to add to her collection.  I don't think she quite knew what it said on the front, but it made me smile.

 This is what Seth looked like last weekend before we left for camp.  This was after 2 doses of steroids.  When he woke up on Saturday morning, one eye was completely swollen shut and the other was almost.  By Sunday night, on the medication, he looked almost normal again.  He must have got into some sort of poison ivy plant weeding the flower bed for me.

 Found some leopard print knit in the weight I use for my running skirts.  I couldn't resist buying some and making this up.  Now to make a co-ordinating shirt.  lol

Callie and I went shopping at JA's on Friday.  She had fun picking out another doll clothes pattern.  They were just .99 cents last week.  She is planning on 'helping' mommy make the denim dress in the lower right-hand corner for her doll, Jenny.  She also picked out the pink heart-shaped buttons for the dress.  The crayon fabric will be for her first day of Kindergarten dress. She wanted me to take this picture so her Aunt Sarah (in the Philippines) could see what she bought.  :)

On Friday, Samuel was invited to a b-day party the following day. Of course, I just had to sew up something for the birthday boy.  :)  I was shopping at Wal-Mart and found this fun activity pads for Hangman and Tic-Tac-Toe.  What kid doesn't love playing those games.  I bought them Saturday morning, came home, found some fabric and make this little art case to hold them in.  Also sewed up a gift bag to put it all in.  I NEVER have wrapping paper or tape in my house, but ALWAYS having plenty of fabric to wrap a gift it.....lol. 

 I would have loved to have an applique on the front of the case, but time was clicking by FAST!!!  The part was at noon....sooooo, I had to make do with just a plain outside. ;(

 Samuel, with his gift, all excited to go to the party!!

 A close-up of the card Samuel made for Caleb.  I thought it made a cute gift tag for the bag. :)

 My sister-in-law Teresa also celebrated her birthday on Saturday.  We had a fun cook-out with the family and of course, I had to see what kind of fun gift I could give this year.  I love giving gifts, this year it was a Hawaiian-themed outfit.  I found an orange grass skirt with accessories. 

 Doesn't Jerry look cute with the grass skirt!! :)

 The yummy-looking-3-different-kinds-of-candy-bar-birthday cake!!  Can you guess which 3 I used?

 We also had tons of fun shopping later that evening trying on all sorts of silly stuff.  We ended the evening with a yummy meal at Chipotle.

 Happy Birthday, Teresa!!!



Picture overload.....July events so far!

My June Challenge made on the very LAST day of June.  This is a business card holder that will be a stocking stuffer for someone. 

The inside...hope she likes it. :)  I want to make myself one now.

July 4th.  This was a fun day.  It started out with a 10 mile bike ride with my brother at 6:30AM.  My SIL was so kind to lend me her bike that is MUCH better than mine.  I damaged my tailbone on mine and I had problems sitting for weeks.  I need to invest in a better bike before I start my professional bike riding career!!!!  lol  After we biked the trails, we met Duane and my sil for breakfast at Bob Evans.  I was STARVED after the early morning exercise!! 

Here is Samuel chillin' on the chair....

Somebody's tired......:)

Doing what she does best.....computer work!!!:)

Nathan and I loved this fort when we were growing up.  It's still standing in my parents backyard.  The grandkids are enjoying it now.

Doesn't Samuel look thrilled to be with a bunch of girls!!!

Playstation 3----no other explanation needed.

A pair of gray culottes for Callie out of some scraps of fabric.  I made 3 pairs of gray ones on Wednesday.  1 for her and 2 for friends.  This was in between 9 music lessons and studying for kid's club.

The darker pairs of culottes were made on Thursday.

I've been frantically sewing myself more running outfits.  My goal is to have 5 different complete sets.  So, I don't have to keep washing and wearing the same old thing over and over and over again.  :)  Here's my second set in grays and red.  Please excuse the red face and sweat dripping!!  My kids took the picture after I had ran over 2 miles in 90 degree weather on Saturday.  Don't think I'll try running in the heat like that again!!!  It was brutal!!

I'm really loving how these running skirts are working for me.  I no longer have skirt flapping around my legs while running down the road and I feel stylish and comfy.  I really wanted to wear this all day long!!!!

I love, love, LOVE the color lime green!!!!  I secretly wish for a pair of running shoes in that color, but havn't found any that are right for my feet as of yet.  I couldn't wait to get up on Monday and wear this set.  I was a tad more motivated to get up at 5:30AM to run when I knew this was waiting for me to put on!!  I love this shirt fabric.  It is super-thin and was so cool and comfy.  I have plenty more, so I might have to sew me another one.  I also bought lime green serger thread to match.  You might think I'm a bit crazy, but it made me sooooo happy to have lime green thread in my serger!!! 
Yep, the hallway is under renovation....excuse the half-finished closet.

This picture doesn't seem to capture the true lime-green of this stripe.  Oh well.....

Since my quest in getting up early in the morning and exercising I've been cooking breakfast nearly every day.  I am pleased to announce that I have become very good friends with my iron skillet.  I have discovered that this thing makes an AWESOME omelet!!!!!  Here's one of my creations this week.....egg, spinach, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese.....ahhhhhhhhhh.....yummy!!!! 

These are 3 egg omelets and I split one with Duane.  This skillet/omelet pictures is for the benefit of my brother-in-law!!! Check out how seasoned these things are!!!!!  They are loving the daily use!!!! :) 

My breakfast plate....half an omelet, 2 slices of turkey bacon, plain yogurt with fresh raspberries and flax seed.  Yes, I eat this much each morning and I'm still managing to lose weight!!!  I've found that eating a good breakfast helps me not want to snack on things all day.

Simon designed a Lego top that works while I was sewing on Monday.

 A short video clip of the top in action.....

More culottes for the teens at youth camp.  I managed to sew 11 pairs in 6 days!!!!

My 'knock-off' under armour compression capris.  I have one pair of the UA brand that I love.  They are sooooo expensive!!!  I was delighted when I found fabric at Jo-Ann's just like what UA used.  I bought 3 different colors.  I managed to make 3 pairs out of the yard and a half cut of navy blue.  I still have charcoal and black to sew up.  The fabric cost me $4 per yard.  I thought that was an AWESOME deal!!! I just used my capris and made a pattern off of them.  Now I have 4 pairs to use when I run.  No more having to wash over and over each day!!!!

Seth make a base out of Legos today.  I just love the kids creating things and using their imaginations

 The story of my running shoes.....

My husband bought me a beautiful pair of very nice running shoes for my birthday in April.  They were gray and aqua.  They were Saucony Grid Flex and sooooo comfy.  I LOVED them!!!!  I wore them out in just over 2 months!!!  On July 1, I was stretching and noticed a hole in the bottom of one!!!  I was just sick!!  Running shoes are not cheap and the thoughts of having to replace them so soon was not making me very happy.  Well, on July 4, after our 10 mile bike ride and meal at Bob Evans, we went in to the Finish Line at the mall in the Dayton area.  I showed the guy there what had happened to my shoes.  He asked if I still had my receipt.  Well, I did, but at home hours away!!!  He told me to take it into the store and they should be able to do something about it.  I could hardly believe that.  Well, I proceeded to try on several different kinds of shoes.  He brought me a pair that he that would work.  I liked them and gave them a test run around the store.  lol  He asked if I was ready to buy them.  Well, I told him I wished I would have brought the receipt in, but never realized that they would do something like that for me.  I never asked for any kind of compensation.  He ended up giving me the full price of my old shoes to put toward my new shoes!!!!!!!! I only had to pay $30 for my new running shoes!!!!!  I was happy beyond words!!!  So far they have been working great for me.  Here is a picture of the new shoes.  These are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11th. edition.

 Yep, they've been used....see all the dirt!!  lol I forgot to take a picture the day I got them.

 I played the flute tonight in the Findlay Community Band.  There are 80 members.  We played selections from Gershwin.  It was fun!!

 I love this picture.  Seth caught the girl next to me mid-breath!!

 I love this picture of the band director getting into it!;)

 Glad it was over....by the end of the concert I was nearly blind from the setting sun shining right in my face!!  Now why didn't I think to wear my sunglasses like that lady?  lol

If you made it this far....WOW!!!!!  Thanks for reading!!!