HomeWorks

Pina Colada smoothie

2011-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yup... it taste just like a pina colada (virgin version).
1 big kale leaf
2 slices of pineapple
about a table spoon of coconut oil
flax seeds
ice cubes
soy milk
Blend it up and you have a drinkable kale concoction. My kids don't like it because they don't like pineapple, but I couldn't even taste the kale.

Green Smoothies

2011-05-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Okay... I'm adding green smoothies to our diet. After seeing an ND for the last 3 months, I've decided that a change in our diet is necessary. I've slowly been adding more fruits and veggies, fish and healthier grains to our diet and have just started on the green smoothie path...

I'll start posting some recipes that the kids actually drink. Unfortunately, DH refuses to try them. But the kids are all willing. I'm hoping my youngest will stop getting sick all the time, and my daughter is hoping her skin will be "BEAUTIFUL!" I'm sure it'll help.

This morning, I shoved a couple handfuls of spinach, two apples, a cup of ice cubes, a squirt of honey, and a splash of water (to get things blending) into the blender. My son drank it up after an initial... "uh... I don't know if I like it...." My daughter fell asleep in the car, so I ended up drinking hers (along with mine). Edible, but not the best smoothie I've ever had...

I'll continue to post recipes and pics on my healthy foods adventures as time permits...

Bento: Zippys

2011-01-28T23:09:00.000-08:00

DH wanted a big meal and bought everything he wanted for lunch AND dinner. So all I had to do was pack tonight's Bento. Chili and rice with Broasted chicken, a bit of kim chee and some carrot flowers. The chili has a piece of wax paper separating it from the rice. Easy peasy...

That's a huge amount of food, but he'll be happy. He's a big guy. Must plan for more bentos next week. The veggies only lasted two days last week... This week I'll plan a little better....

Experimental Bento: SPAM musubi SUCCESS!

2011-01-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

SPAM Musubi

Tamago (egg)

broccoli

bean sprouts

mandarin orange (Cuties)

soy beans

Tofu

carrot flowers

I used the prepared naked SPAM musubi to make today's lunches, so 20 minutes was enough time to put these together. The frozen musubi took almost 4 minutes to heat to make the rice soft again. I wrapped them with fresh musubi nori and cooked some scrambled eggs. Yes, they're a little bit overcooked, but they'll taste fine anyway. I cubed some tofu (which I'll probably use the rest at dinner time tonite), and peeled some Cuties. Stick it all in the box, and it's ready!

Nori won't be crisp, but it won't be mushy either. I think the only complaint will be... "one isn't enough!" Yeah? Well too bad, 'cuz this is a well balanced meal and is no more than you should have for lunch. ;D

Experimental Bento: SUCCESS! (So far so good)

2011-01-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

The kids are at school, DH went to work and they were all very happy to have a bento to take with them. This one is mine... DH and the kids have a little bit more chicken, there was just enough for everyone, if one person is a light eater.

On Today's Menu:

Mochiko chicken

3 small rice shapes or 2 Nori wrapped Rice balls (DH had ume inside his)

bean sprouts

broccoli

grapes

soybeans

decorated with some carrot flowers

DH also had kim chee as requested

The chicken and rice took up about 1/2 the bento, the rest of the space was filled with the veggies/fruits. But OMG! The chicken was delicious! The soy beans were yummy, the rice balls were cute and the meal was balanced. Everything looks fresh and tasty, you'd never know the beansprouts and broccoli were made 2 days ago.

I woke up 30 minutes early to make the lunches. It took about 25minutes to cook the chicken, but I'm sure if I had an appropriate sized pan and enough oil to fill it, it would've been cut down to 15. Unfortunately, I have one that's perfect for one egg, and another that's perfect for a huge, daddy-size, filled with goodies omelet. I need something in between. While the chicken cooked, I put together the rice balls, and filled the bento. Not so bad...

So here's a bento, wrapped in a napkin, packed and ready to go:

Some notes for next time:

If I want to make those cute little faces, cut the nori the night before.
Make sure there's enough rice for me
Buy a bigger Fry pan.
Cut grapes to serving size and store in a bag too.

So what's on the menu for next time? (someday soon, I still have beansprouts and other fruit/veggie fillers)
SPAM Musubi
Tamago (Egg)
And veggie/fruit fillers

If all works out, I'll have to buy REAL Bento boxes and some of those neat little chopstick cases for us so they don't poke through my napkins... :D

Experimental Bento: Mochiko Chicken

2011-01-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

This morning, I've prepared a large batch of mochiko chicken. There's 6 pounds of chicken thighs, and I've split it into 5 sandwich sized bags. 2 are in the refrigerator, and 3 in the freezer. Bento usually don't have too many pieces of this stuff, maybe 4 bite size pieces and lots of other goodies.
My DH said his friend married a Japanese lady and she makes him bento everyday to take to work. He's lost a lot of weight. Hmmmm.... I hope it'll help...
This recipe is not yet tested, and I modified a small one to make a large batch, so take your chances. I'll check back and repost with pictures after I've had a chance to cook it.

Large Batch Mochiko Chicken:

6 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup mochiko
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cornstarch
8 eggs
3/4 c. shoyu
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Soak chicken at least overnight. Prepare by deep frying, or if you're like me, use about 1/2" of oil in the pan, and fry. Drain on paper towel. Everyone loves mochiko chicken... how can you not? It's fried... :D

It's looks like I'll need to make myself bento. All these recipes are making me want one too....
It's a lot of work on the weekend, but hopefully, we can all enjoy nice lunches during the coming week. The kids are really tired of school lunches, and the price just keeps rising. Dad keeps going out for hamburgers and fries, not a healthy habit. And if lunches are this good, I might not forget to stop and eat when I'm busy sewing....

Experimental Bento: Fruit and Veggie parts - 1

2011-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

What kinds of veggies/fruits to add?

The easy ones would be carrots, celery, strawberries, blueberries, and anything that doesn't require special treatment. But we all know that every Bento comes with some neat little bunches of pickled veggies and special looking touches... It just wouldn't be a Bento without it! So I'm going to try making some veggies that I can easily pack without spending extra prep time in the morning.

Broccoli:
Boil it in some lightly salted water till it turns to a bright green. It's done. Here's how I'll store it so I can use it for a few days. Drain well, shaking out the excess water. Wrap in a dry paper towel and place in a plastic bag, sucking out as much air as possible.

Bean Sprouts:
Boil bean sprouts for just a minute or two. They should turn slightly translucent, but not too wilty. Should have a slight crunch to them when you bite them. Drain, and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. Gently squeeze out the excess water and sprinkle with about 1 Tbsp. of rice vinegar and shoyu, a splash of sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar, and season with some pepper. I like to add sesame seeds too, but I ran out.

Carrots:
I wanted to fancify the carrots a little, so I cut them into little flowers. It's simple and impressive. This is one carrot, cut like this:

1) Peel.
2) Cut into manageable pieces.
3) Cut slivers out of the sides, lengthwise.
4) Now, cut your carrot coins. Kawaii!
Then I wrap them in a slightly damp paper towel and placed them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Edamame:
Don Quijote had them on sale last week for cheap so I bought 5 bags and store them in my freezer. Boil in some salted water for about 5 minutes, drain, but don't rinse and wrap them like the broccoli when cool.. Hopefully it'll last for the week. Unless I eat them for snacks...

I also bought a container of blueberries and a bag of those "cuties." They look like tangerines, I have a few cans of mandarin oranges too.

Okay.. that's a good start. We'll see how things go this week before we try other recipes. Hopefully, they'll have at least a couple of good bento lunches this week....

Experimental Bento: Spam musubi recipe

2011-01-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

My kids and DH have been asking me to make them Bento for lunch and I've been avoiding it. Looks like so much work! But today, I have a plan to make it a little easier. I'm thinking that if I premake some of the more time consuming things, like chicken, teriyaki, and maybe even noodles, I can can cook them up quickly in the morning and pack them while I prepare breakfast.

In case you're wondering, I usually make something the kids can eat in the car since we have a long drive to school. It can take up to an hour if traffic is bad. So I wake up just before 6am, make something like personal size pizzas or bagels and a smoothie and get out the door just after 6:30am. Yeah... I hate waking up early.
So adding a bento lunch to the list seems outrageous to me. And anyone that knows me knows that I'm a very lazy cook. I dislike cooking... hate it... But the things you will do for your loved ones...

Today I'll start with a field-trip favorite made in a more time efficient manner... SPAM musubi. This is an experiment. I've seen ready-made ones at Sam's Club, so I'm guessing you can make them ahead of time and microwave them to soften the rice. But the nori becomes mushy and falls apart. I'm going to try preparing a few naked ones and keep them in the freezer. During the week, I'll zap them in the microwave, then wrap with fresh nori before packing. That might work.

SPAM musubi (makes about 9):
SPAM musubi maker
1 Can of SPAM, sliced about 1/4" thick.
Brown Sugar
fresh cooked rice
Nori for wrapping

While waiting for your rice to cook, fry the sliced SPAM in the pan till it gets a little brown and crusty. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the SPAM, turn and cook till it's gooey. Do the same to the other side.

Okay... here's the assembly line picture. I make them right on the plastic wrap, then cut and wrap them for storage.

And here they are, finished and ready for eating. The wrapped ones in the background will be frozen.

We ate 3 for lunch... I didn't want to freeze the ones I used for the finished musubi picture, and we were hungry. Yum!

Tomorrow, I think I'll prepare some mochiko chicken that I can heat up and pack during the week. And maybe we'll have some for dinner too...

Blog comments

2010-09-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

I am thinking of deleting this blog. Over the past year, I've been receiving comments (now moderated) from people wanting to post their links to their own sites... looks like asian porn. WHY? What the heck does cleaning house have to do with porn? Why am I attracting that kind of audience? So if this doesn't stop, I'm quitting.

Cleaning house, a little at a time.

2010-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Okay... I hate cleaning house, but I love living in a clean, clutter free home. So I guess it's gotta be done. I'm so unorganized and can't decide where to begin, so I'm sitting here, thinking up a plan of action. Where do I start?
Let's see... I guess the best way to start is to declutter. There will be less stuff to clean up... so this week will declutter week. From every room in the house, I will spend 5 minutes a day removing the "stuff" we've accumulated and really don't use. That's... about 8 rooms. I'll lump together bathrooms. They don't have much stuff anyway. Anyone wanna join me? That's only 40 minutes... hmmm that sounds like a lot. Let's break it up into the two floors. Downstairs 20 minutes (4 rooms), upstairs and hallway 4 more areas (20 more minutes).
Okay? Ready, set GO!

Inspirational sites!

2010-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

I love these ideas... will have to find a way to use them.
Window film links and how-tos (tip: do not use contact paper. It's hard to remove)
Painting on window film
Design Sponge
Trove
Using fabric as window film

Shades made from old window blinds (looks like roman blinds)

Wall decals are so neat!
making fabric wall decals
Wall decal ideas
Etsy search for wall decals

Too sweet

2009-12-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Okay... DH loved the cookies, and they look good, but I thought they were way too sweet. Of course, we followed the recommendation of using 1/2 cup suncrystals per 1 cup sugar, but I think we can cut it down quite a bit and still have tasty, sweet cookies.

Think now... they say stevia is 10 times sweeter than sugar. So 1/4 cup of stevia would be the same as 2 1/2 cups sugar... right? Already that's too much for a 2 cup sugar recipe. So we should be replacing 1 cup sugar with 1/10th of a cup of stevia. Hmmm... yeah.. I think 1/8th to 1/4 would be about right for suncrystals. We'll try again next time.

So... Sun crystals appears to be a good solution. It browns like baked goods should and is very sweet, with a much reduced caloric content. I'm wondering if changing the proportions of sugar in the recipe will cause any other problems. We'll see next time. I'll post the cookie recipe when we get it just right.

Sun Crystals Sweetener

2009-12-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

I think I've found the perfect sweetener. It's rather pricey, but if it will help him keep his sweet tooth from killing him, I'll use it. He ordered five bags (5lbs) and paid 34.00 for them. It's a mixture containing 50% stevia and 50% regular granulated sugar. You use 1/2 the amount of sugar called for in any recipe, and you'll have the same results with fewer calories. So if you're baking, this is a real plus... cookies will look and taste good.

I found a box of small packets at a local grocery store, but the large bags were not available there. DH found it online. Sun Crystals can be found and ordered here. SunCrystals website

Today we made cookie batter and replaced most of the sugar with Sun crystals. We'll bake it up for Santa tomorrow, and see if it tastes good. This is only going to be used for dad's cookies since the rest of us don't need it. I sure hope it works out for him.

Truvia: NOT the perfect sweetener, but....

2009-11-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Drats. We've started using it and I thought it would work out but after researching a bit more, I've found out it has side effects. It may have something to do with the erythritol and apparently it can cause some people to have stomach problems. Some people have also reported having MORE carb cravings... not what you want if you're diabetic. Other reported side effects were mental confusion, fatigue. I'm not sure we'll stick with Truvia, but if we don't experience any of the side effects, it might be worthwhile to manage his diabetes. We haven't used it much yet, and I generally don't like to add too many unknown sweeteners to our cooking.

Here's a link to an article I found useful in helping us make a decision regarding it's use:
Purevia/Truvia controversy

I try to stick with tried and true white sugar. However, knowing NOW that less refined foods are actually easier for the body to process, I think I will be using less refined sweeteners when possible. Here are a few I'll try:

regular stevia sweetener when I can find it
organic agave nectar
brown “turbinado” cane sugar, we use this occasionally. Maybe we'll use it more often.

I'm sure white sugar will still manage to make it's way into my meals since the rest of us don't eat many sweets anyway.

So I'll be adding a few recipes using some of those natural sweeteners, sometimes including Truvia for my DH. Today's recipe:

Cucumber Wakame Salad (Namasu):
2 japanese cucumbers or one regular one
sliced carrots
a little bit of wakame (soak in water to rehydrate it)
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 1/2 packets Truvia
a pinch of sea salt

Dissolve salt and Truvia in the vinegar. Slice the cucumbers into chunks and carrots into rounds. Squeeze out the wakame, mix it all together with the dressing and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.
Optional chores: Remove the seeds by slicing the cuke in half then scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Looks nicer.
You can also grate some fresh ginger to add more spice to this one... it's really good.

Diabetes... what a chore

2009-11-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Okay... DH is finally accepting the fact that he needs to do something about his health or he will be on insulin in a few months. We're praying it's not too late. I've been trying to get him to eat healthier, more veggies, less rice, more fiber, less refined foods... and get some exercise.

He's been eating healthier meals (whatever I pack, rather than buying fast food) and we've been trying very hard to do the diabetic plate thing. 1/2 veggie, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch, a glass of milk, and a fruit. It's a big improvement. In the past 2-3 weeks, he went from 260 to 245. Oh... and he tries to take a 30 minute walk on his days off. I'm going to try getting him to take a walk 5x a week, or at least on days when he doesn't have overtime.

But he's craving sweets now. So I've been researching stuff like Splenda, Nutrisweet, and Truvia. I've ruled out using Splenda and NutriSweet artificial sweeteners. There are side effects. Truvia appears to be a safer alternative. It comes from the stevia plant and is used in several other countries as an alternate sweetener to sugar. This week we'll be trying it since we found some when we went grocery shopping at Safeway today. It's a bit pricey, but if he likes it, we'll continue using it.

Here's more info... Truvia.com . They also have recipes to try and info on how it can be used in baking and cooking in place of sugar. Maybe I can convert some of our favorite recipes too...

Girl 5 and the Ukus

2009-08-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Wow. She had a lot of babies in her hair, and tons of nits. We spent at least 2 hours pulling nits out and there's still a lot left. She will need to return for another combing session next week.

This time, I thought I'd take a few pictures for anyone who is curious to see what an uku looks like. Here's a pic of one of the ukus.
And some nits:They almost look like dandruff, but some are brownish in color. The white ones are usually already hatched shells, the brownish yellow ones are probably live eggs. You can tell it's a nit if it doesn't slide down the hair shaft easily.

Her grandma gave her a third treatment a couple days ago and they applied the nit gel to help remove the eggs. It didn't work very well. We found at least a dozen baby Ukus, a few adults and lots of nits. Poor kid, she must've been itchy for a while. This is evidence to me that those pesticides don't work very well and the only REAL way to be sure you get rid of them all is to keep nit picking and use the Robi comb... daily if possible. Gosh I'm beginning to sound like an sales associate for the Robi comb. Honestly, I'm not affiliated with them (though I'm beginning to think I should be). I just believe in their product after having to deal with these little buggers.

How to finally get rid of head lice (aka ukus)
Use a remedy that would kill them first. If it's Nix, Rid, mayonnaise, essential oil solution, it really doesn't matter what you use initially. You most likely won't be able to get rid of all of them because they probably will not kill off the eggs. And you may also have some resistant bugs crawling around your head even after treatment.

Next, do the egg releasing gel or use a vinegar solution to loosen up the nits a bit. This only aids in the nit removal process. It doesn't mean you'll be rid of ALL of the eggs, so you'll have to pick out whatever you can when you finish with the little plastic comb. The vinegar might sting if you have open sores on your head, but the smell will wash out and it'll actually leave your hair feeling beautiful.

Then, follow up after your hair is clean and dry with the Robi comb. You might find nothing left, but continue to do this daily for at least 2 weeks, then maybe 2 times a week for the next month. Anything you've missed will be zapped. If you use this method, you shouldn't need to do a second treatment. The hatchlings will be killed off daily rather than waiting a week (for them to spread perhaps?!).

And here's the famous Robi Comb.
Now, if you don't want to use pesticides or messy mayo treatments at all, I think using the Robi comb twice a day (take a good 20 -30 minutes to do a thorough combing) would do the trick. I'm just a little paranoid. But if they ever get the Ukus again, I think I would feel safe with this method. But I might end up Robi combing 3 or 4 times a day...

And don't forget to wash the beddings and vacuum the house. They say it's not necessary, but I still think it's a good idea if you have the time. At the very least, vacuum the area where your kids lay around or sleep. Daily if possible, til you know they're gone... the ukus, not the kids.

Head lice, ukus, the curse, whatever you call them, takes TIME to get rid of. But I really think the comb has been a blessing. If it weren't for the comb, I think my daughter would still have the bugs. And her friends, well, if they can just keep visiting so I can comb through every few days, we'd all be rid of them sooner.

I've become mommy to my daughter's clan.

2009-08-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Yes... they are starting to call me mom since I'm the one who is trying to rid their heads of the bugs. It's only because I have the comb and have done all that research and I know how hard it is to get rid of them.

Well, we have another one of her friends here... And I thought they were all clear. This girl (#5) has also gone through her 2 treatments and she was the first one who did it. She hasn't come over for Robi combing till today and the girls are checking her head before we Robi her. It's a hot day and the comb will not work if her head is sweaty, so they're laying around in the shady backyard to cool down before we start. They've already found a bug and lots of nits so I'm assuming we'll find lots... I'll be back to update this after we comb through... Gosh.. what a month it's been.

Eczema relief

2009-08-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, my daughter had an eczema flare up (of which I also have small patches which I'm trying to get rid of). Her skin is nearly cleared up again. Instead of resorting to Hydrocortisone creams or steroids (which I think the doctor might have prescribed because it was quite a large area), we treated it with several different things... so I don't know what exactly worked.

Benadryl in the evening, only when the itch was really bad (to make sure there was NO nighttime scratching)
10 minute Sea Salt bath with Rose, Sandalwood, patchouli and some other oils that were already added to the salts.
Tea tree spray - water in a spray bottle with about 5 drops of tea tree oil. Shake and spray on.
We started a few days with ACV/water spray, but it was too strong and painful to continue. Not sure how much this helped. We continue to drink water spiked with ACV and honey everyday... she must get the required 2 tsp of ACV. I normally make a pitcher with 1/4 cup ACV, 1/4 cup honey and fill it up with water. It looks like a 2 qt pitcher.
Aveeno lotion with tea tree in it.

She wore long sleeves, mostly because she was embarrassed, but I'm sure it helped prevent her from breaking skin when she did scratch.

I took a few weeks, but it's starting to look almost normal again. And she says the itch is now gone. She hasn't taken benadryl for a few days now, so I'm sure she must be feeling better.

I'm sure beach trips would've been helpful too... but by the time I figured this out and had time to take her, there was no need to do so. Oh well, we'll probably go this weekend anyway. I need to do something to get rid of my patches before they spread.

Uku update: not good news..

2009-08-27T15:02:00.001-07:00

I checked her friends heads again yesterday and killed a few big ones again. The Robi comb zapped 3 on one girl, and 1 on another friend. And there are eggs. It's been about 2 weeks since the last time I checked them and it looks like they're back. Both girls used RID and thought they had gotten rid of everything. We'll have to make sure we Robi comb them whenever they come visiting.

On the upside, my daughter and her good friend (who hangs out with her at our house almost every afternoon) have no more bugs on their heads. I've been regularly combing through their hair for the past couple weeks and haven't zapped any on them for several weeks. So I believe that the comb used in combination with the repellent spray I made is working.

Here is an excellent resource on head lice. Much mahalo to Keely for providing this info. If you're dealing with them, it will help you banish those buggies once and for all.

HEAD LICE INFORMATION SHEET

I'd like to add the Robi comb to that arsenal. I think it's the best way to be sure they are gone AFTER the treatments are done, and in between treatments. Some of those buggers actually survive the pesticides... and I'd hate for them to spread to other family members.

UKU alert! The head lice curse

2009-08-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

There was an outbreak of ukus (aka head lice) in our neighborhood and of course, one of my children brought it home. Darn. During the end of summer vacation, we been battled the bugs and after nearly two weeks, I was pretty sure we were free and clear. She was the only one who got them and as soon as we found out, I put everyone through the whole routine. Nix treatments (which were not fully effective), combing, hours of nit picking, and Robi combing after finding a few more live ones who survived the second treatment. And of course TONS of housecleaning. They say it's no longer necessary to do such a thorough cleaning, but I say better safe than sorry.

Her friends all caught those little buggers as well, so I just spent many hours Robi combing their heads. We will probably get together again to Robi comb one last time. It's now been at least 5 weeks, but two of the girls still had several on her head when we combed through last week.

After I treated my daughter, I made a repellent using tea tree oil, rosemary, peppermint, and lavender. I put a few drops of each in a spray bottle and we sprayed our heads every morning. None of us got the bugs, and her hair remained free of ukus though she still hung out with her friends (some of them still have the buggers). I don't know if it's the repellent or just that she is keeping her head safely away from theirs, but I'm glad they're no longer Bugging her.

In case you're wondering, Robi comb is a battery operated comb that zaps the little buggers as you comb through. It has metal teeth and really does kill them. It was wonderful to see them DEAD when we combed through. Especially after using the NIX and finding so many live ones still falling out as I picked out the nits. We got our Robi comb at Walgreens, but it can also be found online. If you're constantly dealing with these bugs, get one and comb through daily for a while. It is so satisfying to know they are really being eliminated.

Clean Fresh Laundry

2009-08-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

I've switched from Tide Laundry Detergent and Bounce fabric sheets to something that won't irritate my daughter's skin.

Today, I did the laundry using All Free and Clear, and added about 1/3 cup white vinegar with a drop of rosemary essential oil to the rinse cycle. I also cut an old scrap of cotton fabric, put a couple drops of peppermint oil on it and threw it into the dryer with the wet laundry. It actually smells much cleaner than ever. Over the past couple years, I've washed the laundry twice before getting odors out. Today, both loads came out smelling clean. Wow. And I wanted to buy a new washer....

UPDATE on the ACV: We made a pitcher of 1/2 cup ACV, 1/2 cup honey, and about 8 cups water. It actually tastes good.
We also found that adding a bit to lemonade works well. My son had a cup of lemonade with about 1 tsp. of ACV in it and he wanted more.
Eczema still there, but it's not as itchy. My daughter made a mix of water/ACV half half and sprayed it on. She says it stings like crazy for a little while, but the itching subsides for several hours. Yes, it smells, so she only does it at home. And it looks worse after spraying, but it looks better the next day. I think it might be working. I also have a small eczema patch that I will put of bit of ACV on over the next few days.

ACV

2009-08-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

ACV, or apple cider vinegar has been touted as one of the best natural health remedies of all time. Now I know why. I was skeptical, but not anymore.

Recently, my DH caught the flu. He spent most of his time resting for about 2 weeks before he finally decided to see a doctor. We don't know if it was swine flu or not, but it was pretty bad. After seeing the doctor, he came home with a few different meds and a doctors note to stay out of work for another week. When he came home with the doctors diagnosis, I did some research on how I can help keep the rest of my family healthy and found a website that has natural folk remedies. I read up on ACV and decided to give it a try... after all, it's used in cooking... it must be fairly safe. Here's the link: http://www.earthclinic.com/

Anyway, to make a long story short, I caught the flu anyway, but my symptoms are mild, and I didn't get all of the ones he did. No fever, no nausea, no vomiting or runs. Just a cough, some congestion, slight sore throat, and very mild conjuctivitis (which only lasted a day). The conjuctivitis pretty much confirmed that I caught what he had... No one else in the house has it. It's been a couple years since I had a flu shot, so I don't think that has anything to do with it. But here's the biggest surprise. I also have arthritis. My fingers used to be achy, my shoulder joints were sore when I woke up in the morning.. everyday. Today, they don't hurt, in fact, they haven't hurt for several days now...

A few days ago, my DD's eczema started flaring up. The combination of laundry detergents and softeners (DH did some of her laundry before he got sick) and DOVE soap with some kind of fragrance (we usually use only the sensitive skin or regular one) and the pre-storm heat and humidity, made her arms and torso flare up with itchy eczema patches.

She applied it directly to her skin, full strength, before taking a bath. She said she wasn't itchy anymore, but she still has the bumps. Of course, this was only the first treatment... We made a pitcher full and drink it throughout the day. At first, she said "ewww. it smells like toe jams..." But when she tasted it, she agreed that it was drinkable. When I told her it was also good for her complexion, she drank it down happily.

I told my mother about my aches being gone, and now she wants to give up her "Mona Vie" expensive health drink ($30.00/bottle). I'm going to need more ACV for our home, so I'll get some for her as well. The bottle we bought last time cost a little over $7 for 32 oz. (1qt). Considering my DH paid about $60.00 in copay fees for meds and the visit, I think we got a good deal. Now I'll have to figure out how to get some into my son before he catches it. Orange juice maybe... he likes that.

NOTE: in order to get the benefits of ACV, you need to buy an unprocessed ACV. Stuff in the grocery store has all the good stuff filtered out. Look for Bragg, "with the mother" ACV.

Cooking with a 5 year old

2009-07-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

Tonite we had chili for dinner. I didn't want to go shopping and we had these things in our kitchen. Wish we had portuguese sausage too, but oh well. I'm a lazy cook and I refuse to go shopping unless it's time to buy milk. Anyway, here's the recipe. It's easy and my 5 year old can help.

Chili for the lazy cook and a 5 year old sous chef

1 bell pepper (or red pepper)
1 onion
lots of cherry or grape tomatoes
7 cloves garlic
1-2 lbs (?) hamburger
1/2 - 1 lb(?) ground pork
some sausage if you have it
curry powder
chili powder
montreal spicy steak seasoning mix
a few blobs of barbeque sauce
a bottle of beer
a can of condensed tomato soup
1 can kidney beans

I think that's it. So here's how I managed it with a 5 year old helper.
While he peels the onion, prep the bell pepper by slicing it into strips. Have your child slice the bell pepper first. I let my son use a paring knife. Watch carefully to make sure they curl their fingers and chop slowly and carefully. Curling the fingers under helps prevent cut fingertips. If anything, you might have a few fingernail bits in there. Hmmm... chili with extra crunch, yum. While he's doing that (it'll take a while), start browning the meat and chop the onion. Here's my sous chef chopping away...
Use a garlic press and crush the cloves into the meat after browning it. Add the seasonings (a few shakes of curry, a lot of chili powder, and a shake of montreal). He should be about ready with the bell pepper. Add that and the onion, and have him start on slicing the tomatoes into 1/2s.
Add the beer and simmer till he's done with the tomatoes. I added a couple blobs of bbq sauce at this time. He can help add the tomato soup, stir it up and add tomatoes and kidney beans.

Simmer for a while, I guess about 30 minutes would be fine. Mine sat on the stove on low for a while, but I tasted it after about 30 mins and it was goooood! If you like, add frozen corn too. I like but not everyone else in my family does, so I serve it as a condiment. If I'm not too lazy, I'll grab a few slabs of sliced cheddar from the fridge and serve that too.

Please don't ask for measurements. I don't use them. I'm a lazy cook but my nose is fairly capable for the purpose of family style meals. This one is DH approved... and he's so darn picky. He's the reason I hate cooking... Wish I had taken a picture of the finished product.

Now... what shall I make tomorrow that he can help with... hmmm... what's in the fridge?

Putting up a Bracket... what a pain!

2009-04-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today's extremely challenging task is putting up a simple hanging plant bracket. Right... simple... sure... First off, this is how we've been storing our potatoes, ginger, garlic, and onions. In a broken box sitting on the floor. Oh my... how lovely is that?! I wanted to mount a bracket to hold a wire basket set.
Maybe it would be easy if you have a normal wood beam home. However, when steel beams and steel plates are involved... an otherwise simple task becomes a painintheBEEP! Amazingly, I put up a few curtain rods, drilling through the metal several years ago. But I forgot how I did it! Drats. After struggling for an hour to make the first hole, I'm halfway through the project (one screw in and the bracket is dangling) and can't drill through to get the second one in. There must be an easier way.

So it's research time... And after asking friends, checking the internet, and seeking help from the sales person at the local hardware store, this is what I decided. I need a new and better drill bit, some oil, and to slow down a bit. I bought this one, tried it out and it still didn't go through. So I tried moving the bracket down and drilling another hole. Maybe there are just too many layers or something else where I was initially drilling. And yes! Success! I managed to get the bracket up quite easily after that. My shoulder was tired and achy, but it's perfect. Here's the miracle bit I used.

And take a look at my new bracket, with the hole I tried to drill still looking ugly up there. But hey, I realized there was a reason for this hassle. If I mounted the bracket that high, I would need a step stool to get my ginger (used very frequently here) everytime I want it. At this height, it's just right without it. And now I have another lesson to learn... how to patch holes in drywall. Hmmmm.. that should be simple.... right....

Dryer duct cleaning

2008-09-30T14:25:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I did the job of cleaning out our dryer duct. I had ordered one several months ago from ebay, but had never used it. It's one of those "AS SEEN ON TV" kits I got on ebay for about $11.00 (includes shipping).

I watched this video recently and decided it was a necessary chore. Take a look: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=3272d5d9-69cd-4846-bab9-6f135d161b89&fg=rss&from=34

It scared me enough to finally take action. It was Tom's mission of the week on flylady.net , so I was all the more motivated to do it. The link to the video was part of their reminder email. It was simple enough to do, though moving the dryer is a bit difficult, mostly because the space is a bit cramped. But I did it myself, while my DH was working and it took me about 1 hour 30 minutes to do, from start to finish. Instructions are in the box, and can easily be found on the internet, but basically all you're doing is vacuuming up all the lint that collects in the duct from the lint filter opening in the machine, around and under the dryer, through the tube and to the opening that blows the hot air out of the house. One tip... wear a dust mask or wrap a damp lightweight towel around your nose and mouth. And have your tool box ready to remove the duct tube attached to the dryer.

According to my internet research, the job (including travel time), can cost between $65- 199.00. $65.00 would be if they were doing several in the same area on that day, and of course $199.00 would be what the manufacturer's technicians would charge you. Wow... that's a pretty hefty markup from $11.00.

Our duct was pretty dirty, and I'm glad it's done. The clothing was taking a little longer to dry and it definitely made a difference. Not to mention I feel much safer now.

Planning a REAL garden

2008-07-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've finally decided that I have 2 actual, permanent homes. We don't plan on moving for years (if ever) and neither will my mother. I spend half my time at my mom's anyway, so I consider it my second home. And someday I expect we will have to move back there to help take care of her as she gets older. Soooo.... It's time to settle in to some real serious gardening.

The goal here is to use mostly organic techniques and create a garden that will suit our needs and requires as little care as possible. We need a minimal care, high pleasure garden to relax and play in. Kids of all ages, from 6 months (my brother's littlest child) to 46 years old like to spend time in the garden, though we can never enlist much help from any of them. We have lazy, non-gardeners living with us... I think they're allergic to physical labor.

Mom's garden will have to serve the following purposes:

Play area large enough to set up a small swimming pool for the kids.
Grilling and chillin'
Providing an escape from the heat of the day during summer months.
Fshpond for guppies.
flowers for leimaking

My garden's purpose:

Play area again.
experimental garden (for trying out plants I like before committing... kinda like relationships)
Growing veggies/fruits
Herb Garden
Cutting flowers (just cuz I like em)
child's garden to grow stuff in
Grillin' and chillin' again

Gosh...I sound so organized. Don't let this post fool you.

Some stats:

Zone 11 (yes there really is such a thing!)
Most areas are hot, sunny and dry. A few pockets of dry shade.
Red Dirt hard soil. Needs amendments to grow the stuff we like.
Womanpower: 2 weekend gardeners. No real muscle power, just smarts and persistence. Possibly able to enlist a slave or two with a bit of bribery. (Child labor- the laws don't apply to family members.)
Not much money to spend on a garden. Let's budget $10.00/month (or $120.00/year) per garden.

Resources we can tap:

Occasional brute strength (if we feed The Man).
A big heap of mulch, located at a nearby Community College. (Haul your own, but it's free.)
A pickup truckload of compost. We have to wait till uncle is available, but the wait is worth it!
The library of course... for ideas, inspiration and knowledge.
An empty, undeveloped space in the back for extra filler (soil, just as bad as ours). Will have to explore to see if there are usable rocks there.
Mom's gravel pile.
Plants from friends and family... (probably have to make our own cuttings.)
Bunny poo from the family pet.

Things we can NOT do to the garden (I have to remember this because my big ideas are too costly and we haven't enough strong slaves to help with the heavy work):

Tear up the sidewalk to replace it with a flowing path around the house.
Replace the old shed.
Building rock wall terraces

I think I will have to start a gardening blog... so future posts will be on my gardening blog.

Replacing screens

2008-07-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry... no pictures this time. I inherited a new camera and am still learning how to use it.

Time it took: Me? I spent over an hour doing 1 window screen. Then my son took over and finished the job. It took him maybe 20 minutes per window. Note below why it took me so long...

My mother needs to have several screens replaced. This one's a very doable job and I've done it before. When my kids were very small, they poked holes in the screen door (several times) and garden mice occasionally chewed through her fiberglass screens.
This time, I'm using the metal screens to keep those mice out. Of course, the kids can still poke holes, but now they're old enough NOT to do it.

So... Starting with the list of supplies, you'll need:

Window screen - comes in fiberglass or aluminum at Home Depot.

screen tool - Don't try to use a screwdriver or something else... This is worth the investment and only cost a couple bucks.

GLOVES if you're doing the aluminum screen, unless you're very careful and adept with home repairs (which we all know I'm NOT).

x-acto knife or very sharp tool for cutting the excess screen.

Rubbery Screen Spline - Bring a bit of your old screen spline so you can pick the correct size.

Tape

If you read the back of the Spline packageyou'll find the instructions for replacing the screen. It's a rather simple proccess, basically remove the spline/screen. Cut a new screen piece abou 2" larger than the frame. Secure the frame by taping it to a table or something so it doesn't warp while you... um..."spline" it. Place the new screen on the frame, and push the spline in using the tool. Simple right?

Note: This job is not for weak hands. My fingers were tired and achy from doing lots of handsewing and gardening over the past weekend and the spline was a bear to push in. Eventually my son took over, but I did manage to get 1 screen done quite neatly. If you use fiberglass screen, the job is much easier. Metal screen'll fight back.... with teeth and claws, so use your gloves.

Working again at last

2008-06-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Up and running again!

I've been busy working on work things lately, not much time for the sloper adventure since I've had some work to do. But I'm happy to say I can get back to my blogging. We bought a new computer and are now free of breakdowns and crashes.

I just realized what an unorganized mess my blog is becoming, and will start a new section for my sewing adventures. It's the biggest part of my blog life and deserves it's own little address, so future entries will be at http://justsewit.blogspot.com/

The computer's down...

2008-04-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm sad. My computer is down and we can't get it working. So I just have a quick minute to update my blog while visiting my mom.

We hope to be up and running again soon.

Stay tuned for more adventures in fitting. I found my old patternmaking/drafting info from the classes I attended at Fashion Center Sewing School. It's run by an older Japanese lady who still does everything the old way... paper and pencil. I'll have to try that one again later. The old sloper fit great when I went several years ago and may I can make a new one now...

Next time (soon I hope): Moulage fitting adventures.

Bonfit Fitted Shirt #2: The last Bonfit Bodice Adventure

2008-03-14T01:10:00.001-07:00

Nothing worthwhile comes easy... This proves it. I'm getting closer to a nice fitted shirt. Here's pics of the changes I made to the last pattern. You can see I've overlayed the new pattern over it and used a red pencil to make changes. On the front piece, I've done the following:

Added to the front hem.
Moved the bust point down about 1/4"
Removed 1/4" from the shoulder slope.
Cut in the front armhole about 1/4"
Reshaped the dart.
In addition, after I tried it on, I reshaped the dart making it straight from the waist down to the hem.
Took in about 1/4" from the area below the dart. I reshaped the side seam a little and tapered it back out at the hip.

On the back piece, I made the following adjustments:

Made the upper part of the dart almost 2" longer.
Added a tiny bit to the across back width.
Removed 1/4" from the shoulder slope.
Did a sway back adjustment, thus added a bit more to the bottom hem as well. (might be a little too much).
Added 1/2" extra back hip space at the side seams.
Also took in an additional 1/2" at the center back. Give it a little more shape.

Okay, now here's the worst part. After I did all this redrafting, I decided to use the instruction sheets from a drafting class I took several years ago. It was taught by an older Japanese lady famous for her skills. The sloper I made then fit very well and I designed quite a few things from it. Then I had another baby and it got lost at my mother's house, only to be recovered this past week.

Anyway, I took the instructions for the sleeve (I was terribly disappointed with Bonfit's version and could not see how I could improve it) and drafted the sleeve from that. I got a comfortable fit, and only slight problems. The puckering is my fault, there is just enough ease in the cap, but I wanted to get this done so I quickly sewed it in. The twist in the front? I'm not sure yet, but it's not too bad and I'm sure I can figure it out. Any suggestions?

The back has a few wrinkles and I'm not sure if it's just caught up on my jeans or if more work needs to be done. But I'm a bit fed up with this shirt and would like to move on already.

So... Bonfit's bodice patterner works well enough for a loosely fitted garment, but I will never again use it for anything fitted. It's just way too much work to make all the adjustments for a decent fit.

I'm giving up on Bonfit Bodice and will return to the good old fashion dressmaker's rule, big sheets of paper, and a good sharp pencil. Oh... I have to make at least ONE shirt from this mess. Just so I have something to show for all this work.

The dress that inspires

2008-03-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Simplicity 3904: That's so Raven dress/top

Fabrics used: Lightweight aloha print cotton/ Polyester georgette

Sorry about the mugshot. I asked her to strike a pose and this was the best she could do. She was however, very happy about her new dress and wants to learn how to sew again. "I want to make pretty dresses for me and my friends!" I quote her exact words... Wow... I hope she's serious.

She needed a dress for her band concert this weekend, the requirements for 7th graders were aloha print shirt or dress, shoes or sandals. I found the dressweight green aloha print fabric and the georgette at WalMart for a total of about $9.00 (including thread). Can't beat that price.

The front bands, ties and hem band has an overlay of the georgette. I was thinking of doing it over a solid color green, but found my stash green didn't have enough. It was also too heavy for this dress. This, however, looks great.

The pattern is simple to sew, but I changed the way the facings were done in order to make the inside edges look more polished. One tip to remember when sewing facings, Always understitch. It helps pull the facing to the inside and prevents it from showing. Here's a picture of the neckline.

I'm very pleased with the results. This is the style I remember seeing in my elementary school years. It was a favorite muumuu design for pregnant moms. Now, only the skinny kids wear it, and the pregnant moms are wearing tight shirts that show off their bellies! Funny how times change.

Bonfit Fitted Shirt #1

2008-03-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

Do I look somewhat annoyed? Thanks to Bonfit... The fit is not too bad, but it certainly is not all that great. I made the fitted shirt, and tried to fix the problems I had with the basic shirt while doing this one. It helped some, but I see there's still alot of work to be done. Here's the muslin.

Those bust points should be about 1" further out on each side. The recommended 3/4" ease is not enough.
The waist darts need to be shifted out to the sides a bit more. I'm considering making two very slim darts instead of one big one.
The collar is still too big.
Hip line does not have quite enough ease to be worn over my jeans. I like a bit more space.
I shifted the sleeve towards the back, which solved the twisting problem. But now theBack of the sleeve at the armhole needs to have a bit removed, front too. Guess I will have to reshape the sleeve seam.
My side seam shifts towards the back at the hip.
The back is still very baggy above the waist. Since the hip is too tight, it poofs out between the shoulder blades to the top of the hip.
But the length will be fine once hemmed. I fixed the front by adding about 1 1/2" tapering to the side seam.
Also added 1" to the bicep for space.
Practiced a little sleeve detail at the back of the sleeve. I think I'll move it to the side and make it longer, it's about 3" now... maybe cut the sleeves to 3/4 length too. I plan on making the same gathered detail at the bust along the center front when I get this shirt perfected.

Okay... that's it for today, it's time to do the mommy thing again and pick up kids.

Bonfit basic shirt - attempt #1

2008-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

And now I've decided that in order to get to REALLY know the Bonfit patterners, I'll have to go through the whole process and do each of their basic garments. Today, I drafted the basic shirt pieces. This one has no darts and is not fitted at all. It is simply a shirt and I don't really like a lot of things about this pattern.

First, here's a picture:

I followed the directions and here's what I found:

There are vague areas that could've been improved by adding pages to refer to. Example: the drafting of the placket placement should be done when the sleeve is drawn. It has no reference as to where to put it, but the info can be found elsewhere in the book. I think it was on page b40.

The instruction manual needs to be edited. Directions refering to the sleeve cap widening/narrowing on page b31 are misprinted. "If you want less blousing at the sleeve cap or have changed the shoulder width so that you need a wider sleeve cap:" should read Narrower instead of wider.

The button stand is way too wide. I realized this when I drafted, but continued on anyway so that I'd have a shirt to show using the method. It should be half of what it is.

The front length is too short, but this might be just my body/and preference.

The collar is too big. I did adjust it to make the top edge straight instead of curved, but I think it would still be too big and pointy for me.

The cuffs fall too low. I adjusted the shirt sleeve pattern as it states in the directions, and removed the extra for the cuff, but I think it would look even better with a bit more removed.

The sleeve twists forward. This is usually true of most basic straight sleeved patterns. I don't like this and usually make an adjustment by shifting the whole sleeve piece about 1/4"-1/2" towards the back. It helps eliminate that twist wrinkle. I didn't do it here.

Across the front is too wide. I'll need to cut about 1/2" into the front bodice in order to get rid of the wrinkle.

It hangs... but then, I expected this because I didn't make a fitted blouse. I like it darted and fitted at the waist and will do another one with those adjustments.

The back... same thing. I'd like it fitted, but this is the way this one should be, and it almost fits okay across the shoulders and upper back. I think it might need just a tiny bit more space across the shoulders.

Alrighty, I'm off to redo the shirt in a more fitted version, with all those corrections listed above. Hopefully I'll be back with a well-fitting garment using the Bonfit. Wish me luck!

I'm also working on Kenneth King's Moulage CD book with hopes of having something even better... let's see what works.

Bonfit vs. Kenneth King's Moulage CD

2008-03-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

After starting a SewAlong for the Bonfit Bodice on PatternReview.com, I decided it would be neat to compare the results of a basic bodice sloper with Kenneth King's Moulage. Here's the first post on the progress of that comparison.

Bonfit is a plastic patterner with sliding panels and knobs that tighten to hold them in place. It's supposedly a basic pattern that can be used to make nearly anything you want. This one is for the Bodice and can be used for tops, shirts, and uh.... bottomless dresses? It says you need the skirt patterner in order to make a dress. IMHO, probably not... though I have that one too. It provides you with a ready made framework of a pattern that you can just draft out and add your design details to.

Kenneth King's Moulage serves a different purpose. It's like having a 2D frame of your own body that you use to create your designs from. Kinda like a 2D dress form. You'd have to add your own ease and design details, but the basic placements of the bulges and bumps should be in the right places so you'll know where to skim over them.

Below is the Bonfit bodice draft I made for a basic fitted shirt. Using the basic measurements as directed by the book, I drafted out the basic bodice pattern. There is ease calculated into the pattern, it's made to be a "ready made" shirt pattern once drafted. Here's my basic bodice for the basic fitted shirt BEFORE I did any fittings and made any adjustments other than what was stated in the book. For my body, that was the narrow shoulder. Remember, it does NOT serve the same purpose as the moulage, but it should follow the shape of it.

Then I tried making a pattern using Kenneth King's CD for the Basic Bodice. Here's what it looks like before I made any alterations to that one. Funny shaped armholes, and the shoulder slope looks very different, but we'll have to see a muslin before we decide which one fits best.

Bonfit

Pros:
Basic sloper just needs transferring to paper and can be used for any body within a given range.

Cons: There are some mistakes and omissions in the book. Since this system is meant to be used by a range of learning levels, nothing should be left out.

The Moulage CD by Kenneth King

Pros: I like that this CD provides a more personalized fit. He also offers many explanations regarding why we do certain strange adjustments... like subracting a 1/4" for bias. You don't get that explanation in most drafting books. It also has a video clip on the proper way to measure your model. It would be great if measuring could be done alone, but this is great info for your not-so-adept-at-sewing helper, like DH.

CONS: Hmmmmm.... wait... I'm thinking.... Maybe you need to be able to do basic math? Is that a con? I don't think so, it keeps my brain from going soggy. Ah... one thing, an solution is provided for adjusting most deviations you might find while drafting, but I did not see one for my situation. My shoulder point was higher than the one on the framework. There is a solution stated in the book regarding lowering it, but not raising it. It could be that it's the same process though. I did the alteration as he stated in the book, but it did make my shoulder slope look a little weird.

To be continued...

Next chapter: The Muslins

First Post... what's it all about?

2008-02-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

So what's this blog about? Everything and anything related to home. It's what I do, everyday. As a beginning homeowner, I have so many projects going on to make our place livable and comfortable. I thought I'd document it here.

We paid so much for our house, that we have few funds left for those little repairs and renovations to make it a "home." So I improvise, I DIY, I reconstruct, and get a little dirty... okay, a lot dirty doing it. Recently I fixed a dripping toilet, and I KNOW there's a lot folks paying someone else big bucks when it can be done by an absolute beginner (like me) for about $10.00 and a couple hours. If you're a little more experienced in fixing stuff, you could get it done in just 30 minutes.

Just for comparison, here's what the average handyman will charge you:

Rates:
- $60 for first hour (1 hour minimum)
- $40 for subsequent hours that day
- $15 for subsequent 1/4 hours (as opposed to rounding up to the next hour)
- $80/hour for night & holiday

Most handymen will have a 1 hour minimum fee.

Hmmm... I have 4 children to send to college, and am saving some bucks on these repairs. I think I'll stick it into the college saving funds... or maybe start a vacation fund... What we could do with the money!

Bonfit Basic Top

2008-02-27T13:42:00.001-08:00

Need to sew... need to sew... need to sew a top or something... Anybody else understand that feeling? I've been sewing journal covers and curtains for the past week and need to do something garment related really quick before I go nuts! So I take out the Bonfit patterner and have a quick fix... ahhh.

Bonfit starts everyone off with a simple basic top consisting of a front piece and back piece. It helps familiarize you with the way the patterner works. I've used the patterner several times before and am currently working on making a properly fitted shirt pattern. It still needs lots of work to get it to fit properly. I'm finding there are lots of adjustments necessary and am thinking that it would be easier to start from scratch. In the meantime, I wanted a quick sewing fix to curb my cravings for a decently sewn top, so I drafted and sewed up the basic top pattern.

The basic design features are cut on sleeves, front slit opening, side slits at the hem. I cut it on the bias to take advantage of the stripes.

Initially, the back piece fit poorly. I found this to be true of the shirt pattern I drafted as well. It's extremely baggy and I needed to remove a couple inches from the CB at the small of my back. I tapered it back up to the shoulder blades and that helped a bit. I suppose the basic shirt pattern is meant to be baggy, but adding the CB seam shaping made a big difference in the way the shirt fits. If I could take out a pinch from the waistline, it might improve the way it hangs at the hip. Here's a picture of the alterations I made. The red line shows how much I took it in, the black line is the original sewing line.

And here is the back AFTER I removed most of the excess bagginess. Imagine how bad it was before...

BUT, the withdrawal symptoms have subsided and I am content to get back to my work things.

Bike assembly. $10.00 or a child's feeling of accomplishment?

2008-02-23T00:09:00.001-08:00

Mom and sis built me a bike! And I helped!
Time it took: 2 1/2 hours

Time it should've taken: 0 if you buy it already assembled ($10.00 more), or maybe 45 minutes.

I'm sitting here, having my celebratory glass of wine after spending the evening with my 4 year old son and my 19 year old daughter assembling a bike. Yes, we did it together, amazingly without killing anyone... much less breaking anything.

Of course, he started out with the easy job, unwrapping and showing us each part. I did the second easiest thing, taking pictures and trying to figure out and remove whatever looked like plastic or rubber bits of protective pieces... of which there were many.

And my daughter basically figured out how to put it together and did much of it herself. We tried using the instructions, but they were rather useless. The instructions were written for a whole line of bikes, not specifically this one. None of it really matched up too well. So the brain took over, and this time, I was just an assistant.

Here we go:
1) Take out all the parts, unwrap and make sure you've removed all the extraneous stuff. Some of it can fool you, until you try to figure out why it doesn't fit with the piece it's supposed to. (Yes, I did, and here's the one I almost missed.)

2) Now, for the first part, tell your 4 year old to go watch tv or have a snack so you can figure out how to get that front wheel squeezed into the fork. Yes it seemed impossible, until my daughter decided to remove one of the nuts and just shoved the darn thing together. Well, it worked, and it holds together. And logically, it should be safe to ride. I don't think we could've gotten it together the way it was... Of course all the nuts and necessary parts were on and it's solid, or we would've gone back to the store and paid the $10.00.

3) Put on the training wheels. My son actually did one side, while my daughter did the other one. This was easy. Put the pieces together like this, and make sure the part that sticks out on the silver piece is in the slot so it won't slip around. Think logically.... My 4 year old did this part with minimal assistance.

4) Adjust the seat. Easy enough, stick the seat in and tighten the screw. Ours has a quick release lever, so once it's adjusted properly, you can flip the lever and make any other adjustments when your child grows taller.

5) Put the handlebars in. Remove the little cap on the end (if it has one), it might be covering the mechanisms to hold the bars in place. Yes, this is where I had a brainfart... BUT after the lights went back on, I figured it out. Line them up and tighten the nut. It REALLY helps to have a competent assistant to help hold the front wheel in place while you keep the handlebars from moving.

6) Pedals were easiest to put on. They are labeled R and L. Must I explain what that is? Hmmmm... even I figured that one out. My 4 year old did one side, tightening with a wrench and did a better job than my 19 year old. She had a bit of problem with the wrench.

7,8,9,10... yes, it should take a while) It's almost done! The brakes were not too hard, here's a quick look at how the cable fits into the hand brake. There is a little knob in the end that slides into a little groove cut precisely for it. The cable slides into another groove, and the end piece should easily fit into the end of the hand brake... you know., uh. ahem..... male-female like. Okay, uh... now the male part naturally screws into the female part. Make sure nothing slips out (get your mind outta the gutter!) as you pull the cable to tighten the brakes. Squeeze the brake pads together while you tighten the cable and screw it tighter to hold it on. (SHAME ON YOU!) Okay... well, you get the picture... NO, NO, NOT THAT ONE! Here are a few real ones to help you visualize the actual process.

Cable end goes into the hole.

Slide cable through the slit.

Male-Female connections, uh..yeah... screw it in.

Cable end is like another male-female connection. It should just, um... slide right in. This one is sticking out and not doing the job. Oh my....

And lastly, pull cable and tighten up the screw to hold it in place. Whew... a job well done. You deserve a smoke... uh... a glass of wine. ;)

Honestly... we all went to sleep feeling happy and very competent. The job was done and now, my daughter, who can't coordinate her fingers to play a video game, is feeling a bit more capable in the world of tools. And of course, 4 year old little boys always feel capable amongst nuts and bolts. So was just $10.00 savings worth it? Yes... and then some.

Journal Covers

2008-02-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

I carry around a composition book filled with my ideas and plans. It's with me wherever I go so I can jot down all those ideas that pop into my mind while I'm waiting for kids. But it's sooo ugly and makes me feel like a kindergartener. So I made a cover for it. Then I made a few more as gifts for my niece and my daughters. Of course they wanted some for friends too, so I kept making them.

Instructions for making a Journal Cover (for a standard composition book):

Create the following pattern pieces by tracing around the open composition book, allowing 1/2" seam allowances for the outer edges, and 1/4" seam allowances for all other pieces. Don't forget to add a little bit of extra width for the book to close. I added about 3/8."

Here's a pic of the pattern pieces for the journal cover shown above:

And this picture shows the cut pieces of the outer cover.
To sew:

1) After handstitching your sashiko block, trim it to the correct size and piece together the front cover section, using 1/4" seam allowances.

2) Sew the spine piece to the front cover and back cover pieces. I usually edgestitch along the spine seams too.

3) Apply interfacing to the outer cover piece.

4) Finish the edges for the sleeves.

This is what you should have so far:

5) Now, baste the sleeve to the cover pieces, right sides together.

6) Place the lining piece on top, right side down. Baste. At this point, I check fit for the composition book by matching the center back along the spine, and tracing the open composition book outline on the interfacing. I allow a scant 1/4" along the short edges of the book so it can close without distorting. I also sew just slightly outside the traced line along the long edges to allow for turn of cloth. Sew, leave an opening in the back cover to turn it right side out. Trim edges, clip corners, and finish edges.

7) Turn right side out, handstitch the opening closed and press. That's it!

Tada! What a beautiful way to keep your thoughts at hand. The best thing is you can reuse this cover for the next book when you fill up the first!

Bucilla for Christmas

2008-02-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas, I wanted to have nice stockings for my kids. The year before that I wanted nice stockings for them.... and the year before that... and well, you get the idea.

When my first child was born, she's now 19 and in college, I made her a cute Bucilla felt applique stocking with all the glittery sequins and beads adorning it. She loved it then, and still loves it. 3 years later, when my second child was born, I bought another Bucilla stocking kit. He's now 17 and it's almost done, but I bought him a different kit this past year, along with one more kit for my 3rd child (now 12). And my littlest boy, now 4, will inherit the almost finished one. Considering it took me nearly 17 years to finish the second stocking, why did I buy more?! Oh well... I DID finish much of the second stocking in less than a month just after Christmas 2007.

Here's what I have for them so far:

I also started working on a beautiful tree skirt about 3 years ago when we moved into our new home.

It is my goal this year, 2008, to have all their stockings and the tree skirt finished for Christmas. Yes, Christmas 2008, not 2020. I've been working on the tree skirt for the past month. Nearly every night I spend about 30 minutes hand sewing, and here's what I have so far:

Occasionally, one of the kids will want to help work on it, so there are some odd bits. But it's a family project... and that's what I love most about it. It brings back fond memories of my mother and I working on a red Bucilla treeskirt with snowmen and white pompom trim around the edge. And I smile... what a nice way to end the evening.

Fixing the Pop up stopper

2008-02-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

Time it should take: 20 minutes
Time it took me: 30 minutes

I don't know how he did it, but he broke the pop-up stopper in the bathroom sink. Okay, there's just a little cheapy plastic piece that holds it in, and Mr. Brute strength thinks he can make anything work so he pulled the darn thing out... manually.

After consulting my trusty "Plumbing 101" book, I set off to work. This job requires some prep before you can actually do it. Gather a bunch of rags, old toothbrush, 2 buckets, and the tool box. A flashlight might be helpful too. Clean out the area under the sink, yes, maybe even vacuum the cockaroach poop outta there. You might have to squeeze underneath the sink in order to see what you're doing.

Off to Home Depot I go again, and I discovered something new... Pop up stoppers DON'T come in blue. There's a little blue plastic protective covering over the stopper to keep it from getting scratched while you install it. DUH! (No, I'm a brunette.) I also discovered that you can take those pieces out of the package without breaking it open. The packaging is made in such a way that you can open it up, compare the piece with your original, and easily put it back together. Oh my... the world of home repairs... even us home repair DIY dodos can figure things out.

The stopper I bought looks somewhat different from the original one, but it seems they all work the same way. Here's my original stopper, without the broken off bottom part:

There was a small plastic shaft that had a hole on the bottom. It was way too gross for pictures. I dumped it with the rest of the slime.

Here's a picture of what you'll find at the store. I just matched the size of the stopper part assuming "Universal" meant it would fit nearly any sink drain. This one has the blue plastic covering removed.

There's a whole lot of info on fixing the stopper on the net, and Lowes.com has a good diagram of how it all works. So I won't go into the details on how to fix it. Here are just a few thoughts and ideas to keep in mind. It is a gross job and you may want to wear rubber gloves. First, make sure the bucket fits under the drain when you remove the trap. You definitely don't want it to slip. What'll come out is incredibly uh... for lack of a better word, disgustingly gross...and it stinks. Be ready for a trail of hair and more slime to come slopping out of the pipe when you pull it open. Dump the rubbish into the bucket and clean out the drain with baking soda. It'll deodorize it and get rid of some of that stink.

And yes, I said you'd need two buckets. The other one is use to hold the parts and clean them in after you remove them. You won't want to put it down anywhere on your sink. Clean the parts and reinstall the new stopper. Now you've got two buckets of toxic waste... where to dump them? Okay... that's a good question. I used the toothbrush to pull the hair/slimeball out of the trap/drain and other parts, let it drip into the bucket a bit then just threw it into the trash. After scrubbing the drain with the toothbrush, I rinsed it out and had a bucketfull of stinky grey slimewater. That went down the toilet. I figured there was nothing solid that should block it and it's no worse than anything else we flush.

So Voila! A clean sink (with new pop-up stopper), and now I don't need to worry about having to fish DH's lost little things out of the drain anymore. Good job MOM!

Total Savings: $60.00

To the Library

2008-02-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Books are my greatest resource. They've taught me crochet, sewing, drafting, gardening, parenting and a whole bunch of other stuff... like cooking...ick. I love books. The library loves me too, I donate so much in late fees that I should have a membership there.

Included here are some of my most useful books. I'll keep adding to this list whenever I have nothing else to write about... hmmm... Hopefully not too often.

I saw it at the library, and liked it so much, that I added it to my meager collection of home care books. I have several shelves full of sewing/crafting books, another cabinet of cookbooks and magazines (hidden away so I don't see them till I get tired of my own cooking), but my home care books... I can count them on my fingers. Lets see... 4? But growing. Anyway, this book is the one I use for my plumbing jobs. The pics are clear and well done, the information is basic, and it starts from the very beginning... how the plumbing system works. Ahhh... such a good read. Even my 4 year old enjoyed that part.

On Fixing the Toilet

2008-02-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

Time it SHOULD take: 30 minutes if you know what you're doing.
Time it actually took me: about 2 hours... Read on to see why it took me so long.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Last time we called a plumber, it cost an arm and a leg. I only have one of each left, so I thought I'd better start learning to do it myself. Here we go...

First, I had to figure out what was wrong. That was easy enough. It was broken. The water from the tank was dripping from the cover onto the floor. I opened up the tank to take a peek inside, and stupidly flushed the toilet to see what was going on.
WOOOWEEE! I received a nice cold wake up call from the fill valve. Maybe a gasket or a washer was not working anymore, 'cuz it was squirting throught the sides of the top.
Which one is the fill valve? If there's a floating ball attached to it, it's the fill valve. Some newer mechanisms don't have the tank ball anymore. I just replaced mine with a fill valve that has a floaty thing that's attached to the shaft.

This is the leaky one I had in my toilet previously:

See that blue cap with the float ball attached to it?
The water squirts out the sides and top when I flush.

This is the one I have now, It's the Fluidmaster Whisper Fill Valve with Leak Sentry:

I picked it up at Home Depot for about $12.00. There are actually two kinds offered there, this one has a leak preventing feature that prevents the tank from refilling when there is a tank leak. You can still flush, but you'll have to push the flusher twice to have the tank refill.
The other one is a basic model without the Leak Sentry.

The instructions were easy to follow, with pretty decent pics. It's a very doable job for a beginner. I basically had no problems with installation. The hard part was adjusting the special leak preventer. It took me over an hour of fine tuning to get it to work properly. But after it was finished, I told everyone in my family, including grandma and my BIL that I had fixed the toilet myself. :) Pat myself on the back!

Total savings: $60.00