Some more outfits and projects

I figured I would finally upload the last pics I took of my outfits. I quit taking pictures because it is too much work. I have made quite a few finds at the thrift store and a few more expensive ones at Kohl's on sale. I was out of clean nightgowns the other night and had to wear pj pants to bed. It just felt weird. I feel better and am treated better now that I am dressing nicer.

This is a handmedown skirt from sil and a new top.

This is a thrift store skirt and a very old top (6-7 yrs)

Here is a banner I made for friends as a birthday gift:

Today

Well, I am so busy I don't have time to post pics today. I have lots more dress pictures to post. I even wore a long denim skirt with sneakers and a tee to the breast cancer walk this weekend. Out of the hundreds of people there (possibly thousands) I only saw two other women in skirts. I walked near them for awhile, but then they left me in the dust (I had to wait on Mom's frequent bathroom stops).

Why? and more dresses/skirts

Why do I feel jealous of people who have things I don't actually want or do things I don't really want to do? Two women at the church were getting ready to go set up a booth at a craft fair. I felt jealous. Why? I could get a booth to sell my paintings and other stuff at any craft fair I want, but I choose not to. Painting takes up so much of my time at home, and I have made a conscious decision to scale back the business. Doing only orders from word of mouth. But I still felt jealous. I don't get it.


Why do people who love me put me down? The people who love me the most (not dh) sometimes put me down when I better myself. Making fun of my efforts to be a better wife or person. I imagine it stems from insecurity and competitiveness on their part, but it is always hurtful when someone you trust makes fun of you for trying to be a better person.





Well, I figured out late Friday, most of my angst over the crisis was really due to a virus I was coming down with. I spent all day in bed with a fever and severe stomach cramps. It was better on Saturday, but didn't totally go away until Monday. So I never got a pic of Friday's outfit, it was off too fast. I will post Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and today's outfits to round out my "week of dresses and skirts" even though I am well past a week. Dh is much happier to have me dressing so feminine, but I did change into pants the one time he asked me to (when we went to the county fair- because of the rides, he didn't want me "exposed").



Thursday's (preschool and housework)My black flats



Saturday's (soccer game and grocery shopping)



Sunday's (church and deep cleaning)



Monday's (preschool and housework)





Today's (preschool and housework)- sorry for the bad pic but I used the timer


Another bow holder made for my friend Tiffany's dd:

Homemaking Survey

http://biblegirl1999.blogspot.com/2007/09/homemaking-survey.html

Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?
Yes, I only have one that dh made for his grandfather (who has since passed away). He gave it to me one night when I was cooking and now I wear it every night.

Baking – Favorite thing to bake:
Pumpkin bread

Clothesline – Y/N?
No. I would like to but they are banned by the subdivision bylaws. One of the reasons I really didn't want to live in a subdivision. We didn't think our house was until after we had closed (we are on the outskirts of one).

Donuts – Have you ever made them Y/N?
No

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day?
Dishes/laundry/trash (I know that is three, but those are my must-do's even if I am sick or exhausted)

Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
No, I asked for one for mother's day, but dh said it was too expensive

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
Websites and blogs

Ironing – Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results?
Hate it but do it when necessary

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
Yes, nightstand drawer

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
Folding laundry

Mop – Y/N?
Yes, weekly (needs it more often though)

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check?
Both.

Pizza – What do you put on yours?
I like pineapple and veggies, but the rest of the clan likes meat lovers style so that is what we normally do

Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?
Recipe book, but not very organized, mostly just houses torn magazine pages

Style of house – What style is your house?
2 floor house with garage, no basement; on the outskirts of a subdivision

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Relatively organized

Vacuum – How many times per week?
Ds vacuums and sweeps once a week, and I mop once a week

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
7 including sheets and towels

X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
No

Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
Finish loading and start dishwasher OR unload

Having a bad day...

I thought I was having a hard day yesterday until it got worse and worse. Today I am just feeling the mental and emotional effects of yesterday. Everything I think I have life semi-worked out, I get a curve ball. I have a lot of thinking to do and appreciate any prayers anyone is willing to send my way.

Today's skirt, a black eye, and prayer thoughts...

My beautiful girls today in their thrift store jumpers. I love love love the thrift store. I am planning a trip there Friday (I have to head that way to deposit my paycheck and go by the teacher store for some laminating I need done). I love to find jumpers for the girls, books for any of us, and skirts for me.



Don't they have the sweetest faces? I love it when they hug.

If you click this pic you can see her black eye. Taba ran into the counter yesterday and immediately it turned purple. It is fainter today though.
Today's outfit. Skirt and sweater from the Jaclyn Smith collection at Kmart, I think. I bought it 8-9 years ago and haven't been able to wear it for a long time since. Dh liked it today. I taught preschool and now just have to clean and cook.

I got a present today. Okay, it was from myself, but it is still exciting. I had to order some things from Amazon for dh and ds, so I ordered myself this book: Sew What Skirts! I have to resist the urge to go buy some fabric to start sewing them now.

When it is too dark to read or crochet, I pray when I am bored. Recently I started praying the alphabet, meaning I pray for someone whose name starts with A, then B, etc. I am stuck. I need a Q and a U. If anyone is out there with a name starting with those two letters, feel free to leave your name and prayer requests in the comments section. Any other letters also, because I do start over when I get to the end. I only have one Y and one X, and just two Z's. I shared this today with the Y I pray for and she told me she is having health problems, so I feel like it can really help people I wouldn't ordinarily think to pray for.

I also wanted to share some of my tricks for motivating myself to do housework. I am by nature a lazy person. I have to play games with myself. My favorite game is "do 5 things in each room". I do exactly 5 things in each room, going from room to room, then I start over until the whole house is done. It always ends up with my room and the girls rooms taking the longest to finish. I don't know why it helps with the monotony, but it does. I also have in my head that my primary jobs are trash, dishes, and laundry, so I check those at least 5 times a day- moving those along so they don't pile up. Trash used to be ds's chore, but I need the trash taken out when it is ready to go out and can't wait on him to get home from school.



Now I must get off the computer and get to work on my "5 things in each room". I suspect I will end up in the girls room for awhile, since I have been cleaning out the attic and their room has become a repository for all overflow.

Currently reading and listening to:

Reading: Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God
It is a book based on a Christian college's curriculum for godly women.

Listening to: Bedtime Prayers by Twila Paris
My dd says, "Ever since we started to listen to this music, I just love God more!" So sweet!

Pink Dyson!

What I wouldn't give to get a pink Dyson! Go register to win one, or better yet just buy one and increase my chances of winning! Though if I win I would probably have to give it to my mom since she is the BC survivor, not me. I better save up for one before they sell out.
http://www.5minutesformom.com/2334/dyson-pink/#comment-400780

Today's dress and yesterday's follies

From yesterday...

When you procrastinate in your duties (putting away clothes dh has lost too much weight to wear),...

the dog will take a nap on your neglected chore to remind you.
The girls making a game out of stuffed animals and empty shoe boxes ($8!! mary janes from Target - 1 black and 1brown for each girl):

From today:

My dress today is 10 years old! This is the first time I have been able to fit in it in at least 6 years. I'm wearing the same old brown flats (I am a creature of habit). Today I taught preschool and am just cleaning the house the rest of the day.
The girls looking oh so cute in their denim jumpers:

Dh wants the girls to go to public school next year. I don't know if I can handle it. I homeschooled my son until 7th grade and of course I made mistakes. I don't think I would make the same mistakes this time. I am just not ready for them to go off into the world without me there to supervise. In preschool I am right across the hall and my class does recess with their class, so I am able to see what they are doing at all times. I really have to pray about this. I don't know that I could change dh's mind, but I am torn about trying.

Dressing like a lady...

I have been making an effort to dress more femininely. Being a former "slob", this is a challenge. I know most modest dressers might object to knee length skirts. For me right now, I am ok with them, plus I find them easier to move around in when I am working with children or keeping house (I do wear bike shorts under them). I may change my mind about skirt length in the future.

Here is Friday's outfit- my favorite denim skirt and a floral top (with a tank underneath): We went shopping and to a movie. The shoes- red mary janes:
Saturday's outfit- my favorite skirt again and a white sweater with a tank underneath: We went to a soccer game and to stores to do returns. (Dd cut off my head)
The shoes- brown Mary Janes:

Sunday's outfit- floral skirt and cream crinkle shirt (with a tank underneath) plus same brown flats: We went to church and I cleaned a bit. I started off with my hair down, but this is after cleaning so I had it up in a ponytail. See the puppy?

Monday's outfit- brown plaid skirt, cream tee, brown cardigan, and same brown flats: I put together bookcases and cleaned the house a bit. I started the day with a ponytail. I knew I would be working in the attic and it gets hot there.

Puppy picture

I couldn't get the puppy pic in the previous post so here it is!

New addition to the family

We got a new puppy. She is a Yorkiepoo (a Yorkshire terrier/poodle mix). Hubby gave me half the money from his Christmas bonus which finally came through. He offered me that or a Zune (ipod like device which plays movies, videos, music, pictures, etc.). Being non-technological and desperately wanting a new baby to mother, I chose the puppy. Her name is Muffin. I was contemplating all sorts of names including Pupcake (which is what the girls call cupcakes), Muffin, and some other human sounding names, but while I was making up my mind, the kids decided she was Muffin. She is a huge pooper. I am the pooper cleaner upper since she is "my dog". Funny how she is only my dog when she goes potty or needs something that costs money.

I have finally completed some crochet. I made two sets of "shoelace keepers" for the girls to wear on their new tennis shoes to school. The pink ones are for Tabby and the purple ones are for Tristie (I only photographed one of each set). Their shoes kept coming untied and I felt bad for Ms. Aimee having to retie them.

I also made a bow holder based on something I saw on ebay. It wasn't hard, but I couldn't figure out how she got hers all the way around the hanger. Two people that saw it while I was working on it wanted one. I will for sure make one for Tiffany (for her dd Zoe), who works with me in the nursery, because she is a friend. I don't know about selling them though. It was very time consuming. I have already started on Tiffany's and then I will make one more for the girls (twins have a lot of bows!!).

Gotta go pick up the girls (I am off today and have been working on organizing the playroom- more on that later!).