Saturday, July 28, 2012
Mystery SAL: Page 1
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A New Project!
Ok. I know what you're all thinking - Does she REALLY need ANOTHER project?
Normally, I would agree with you, but this project is a very different type of project. This project is a year long mystery stitch-a-long (SAL)
The SAL comes from Passione Ricamo, an Italian based cross stitch designer who's site I have visited many times, but never purchased from. I've always loved Laura's designs, but have always been in the middle of something and haven't been able to purchase...until now.
I found out about the SAL from a friend on Facebook (thanks Irene!), and quickly went searching for information. Laura had originally closed the registration on the 30th of June. She had such a huge influx of people emailing her, saying that they missed registration, that she reopened registration until July 30th. I'm glad she did, because I was able to sign up..and I am so excited! I think a friend of mine mentioned that there are over 80 of us around the world signed up.
So, how does a SAL work? Well, exactly how it sounds. Everyone works on the same project at the same time. But this...this is a MYSTERY SAL. Which makes it a little more fun
With a mystery SAL, you only get part of the pattern at a time. In this case, at the beginning of each month, Laura will send us the next page and we have a month to stitch it. Based on the schedule on her website, we'll get the entire top row first, and then she'll start to deviate from that. So you never know what the full picture will look like unless you keep stitching. That's the mystery part of it all.
Some SALs are free, but this one is not, however it is far from expensive. For a mere 12,00 EUR or $15.10 US, you get the page each month for a year. That's actually a pretty fair price for a cross stitch chart, and the added fun of it being a mystery SAL makes it even more exciting!
I signed up last night and promptly got my pattern for the first page. I only have a few weeks to stitch before the next page comes out, but I'm pretty sure I'll get it done. This is me, afterall :-)
As you can see, there are LOTS of embellishments and pretties in this pattern. One thing that really surprised me was the chart has directions if you want to use the pretties (beads, metallics, etc), and also directions if you DON'T want to use them, and just stick to DMC. I plan on using all the pretties because I LOVE the way they look.
Stay tuned, because I will DEFINITELY be posting pictures of my progress as I go! I can't wait!
Normally, I would agree with you, but this project is a very different type of project. This project is a year long mystery stitch-a-long (SAL)
The SAL comes from Passione Ricamo, an Italian based cross stitch designer who's site I have visited many times, but never purchased from. I've always loved Laura's designs, but have always been in the middle of something and haven't been able to purchase...until now.
I found out about the SAL from a friend on Facebook (thanks Irene!), and quickly went searching for information. Laura had originally closed the registration on the 30th of June. She had such a huge influx of people emailing her, saying that they missed registration, that she reopened registration until July 30th. I'm glad she did, because I was able to sign up..and I am so excited! I think a friend of mine mentioned that there are over 80 of us around the world signed up.
So, how does a SAL work? Well, exactly how it sounds. Everyone works on the same project at the same time. But this...this is a MYSTERY SAL. Which makes it a little more fun
With a mystery SAL, you only get part of the pattern at a time. In this case, at the beginning of each month, Laura will send us the next page and we have a month to stitch it. Based on the schedule on her website, we'll get the entire top row first, and then she'll start to deviate from that. So you never know what the full picture will look like unless you keep stitching. That's the mystery part of it all.
Some SALs are free, but this one is not, however it is far from expensive. For a mere 12,00 EUR or $15.10 US, you get the page each month for a year. That's actually a pretty fair price for a cross stitch chart, and the added fun of it being a mystery SAL makes it even more exciting!
I signed up last night and promptly got my pattern for the first page. I only have a few weeks to stitch before the next page comes out, but I'm pretty sure I'll get it done. This is me, afterall :-)
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| First section |
Stay tuned, because I will DEFINITELY be posting pictures of my progress as I go! I can't wait!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Stitching Progress
I figure since the title of this blog is Stitching Momma, I should include some pictures of my current stitching progress! And a big hello to my About.com Cross Stitch Forum friends!! :-)
John Wayne:
John Wayne:
Penelope's Quilt Center:
And finally, a completely unrelated photo of Penelope helping me bake, because its just oh-so cute :)
Saturday, June 2, 2012
100 Days of Eating Better: Week 1
Travis and I are trying to start eating better, and are following a modified version of the 100 Days of Real Food that we created. (See original post here). We're hoping to remove most processed foods from our diet and just eat better in general. We're doing this over 14 weeks (roughly 100 days), and each week we add a new "rule" as we've come to call it. Here's the rules so far:
Week 1: No eating out - at all
We're on our (almost)last day of week 1 and so far so good. We really didn't expect this week to be too much of a challenge, but we figured it was a good place to start, and we did it with only one hiccup. A family emergency on Friday caused me to eat out for breakfast AND lunch, but it was due to circumstances outside of my control.
I have to say, I'm already feeling better. Now I understand this could just be a placebo effect, but I'm not complaining. Feeling good is never a bad thing. I also know that this "no eating out" rule is going to help our wallets feel better too. (That, and we're going to be able to refinance our house in a few weeks! SO EXCITED!)
So, on to week 2. We are compounding each week onto the week before so by the end of it, we'll have 14 rules to follow. Again, we are following these as strictly as possible at home, however, we are not going to force what we're doing on anyone. If we're at someone's house for dinner, we are not going to refuse food because it doesn't follow our rules. People who do that are rude, and we don't want to be those people. So here are the rules for next week:
Week 1: No eating out - at all
Week 2: Try a new food
I've decided that the new food we're going to try this week is kale. I have a friend over at Here We Go... (you should check out her blog, she's a great writer!) who's little girl (just a few weeks older than Penelope) LOVES kale. I've heard tons of good things about it, but frankly, I've been afraid to try it. I've always sorta considered kale one of those "weird things that organic-and-tofu-eating people eat." (Ok, I do like tofu, but only in my hot and sour soup). I've seen it at the grocery store a few times and have been interested, but still a little scared. Well, this week, we're going to try it. I've picked 2 recipes that I am very excited to try: Sausage and Kale Soup and Kale Crisps with Sea Salt and Lemon. (I HATE that they're both Martha Stewart recipes!) and I'm hoping that we end up liking it. I'll probably do a recipe review on either/both.
So that's the recap from week 1, and the game plan for week 2. Here's to a good week!
Week 1: No eating out - at all
We're on our (almost)last day of week 1 and so far so good. We really didn't expect this week to be too much of a challenge, but we figured it was a good place to start, and we did it with only one hiccup. A family emergency on Friday caused me to eat out for breakfast AND lunch, but it was due to circumstances outside of my control.
I have to say, I'm already feeling better. Now I understand this could just be a placebo effect, but I'm not complaining. Feeling good is never a bad thing. I also know that this "no eating out" rule is going to help our wallets feel better too. (That, and we're going to be able to refinance our house in a few weeks! SO EXCITED!)
So, on to week 2. We are compounding each week onto the week before so by the end of it, we'll have 14 rules to follow. Again, we are following these as strictly as possible at home, however, we are not going to force what we're doing on anyone. If we're at someone's house for dinner, we are not going to refuse food because it doesn't follow our rules. People who do that are rude, and we don't want to be those people. So here are the rules for next week:
Week 1: No eating out - at all
Week 2: Try a new food
I've decided that the new food we're going to try this week is kale. I have a friend over at Here We Go... (you should check out her blog, she's a great writer!) who's little girl (just a few weeks older than Penelope) LOVES kale. I've heard tons of good things about it, but frankly, I've been afraid to try it. I've always sorta considered kale one of those "weird things that organic-and-tofu-eating people eat." (Ok, I do like tofu, but only in my hot and sour soup). I've seen it at the grocery store a few times and have been interested, but still a little scared. Well, this week, we're going to try it. I've picked 2 recipes that I am very excited to try: Sausage and Kale Soup and Kale Crisps with Sea Salt and Lemon. (I HATE that they're both Martha Stewart recipes!) and I'm hoping that we end up liking it. I'll probably do a recipe review on either/both.
So that's the recap from week 1, and the game plan for week 2. Here's to a good week!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Coupon Savings: May 2012
This month was pretty good. May is usually a VERY busy month for us, but we still came in under budget! Woohoo!
We hit $1,000 saved for the year this month!This is the first month I have saved less than 30% (but not much less), mainly because I was stocked up pretty well for the entire month so I spent most of our budget on things that we needed that we don't stockpile, or weren't on sale.
May 2012:
Total (before savings): $525.80
Spent: $372.56
Savings: $153.24
Percentage: 29.14%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings): $3,351.37
Spent: $2,316.95
Savings: $1,034.42
Percentage: 30.87%
We hit $1,000 saved for the year this month!This is the first month I have saved less than 30% (but not much less), mainly because I was stocked up pretty well for the entire month so I spent most of our budget on things that we needed that we don't stockpile, or weren't on sale.
May 2012:
Total (before savings): $525.80
Spent: $372.56
Savings: $153.24
Percentage: 29.14%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings): $3,351.37
Spent: $2,316.95
Savings: $1,034.42
Percentage: 30.87%
100 Days of Eating Better
Junk food. We all love it. I know I certainly do. Same with processed food. It's all so quick, easy, and oh so convenient. But its also pretty bad for you. French fries are probably one of my most favorite foods in the world. Especially Chick-Fil-A's. The waffley goodness, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, all covered in salt. They truly are heaven. :-)
Ok, enough day dreaming. We all recognize that we can eat better. High fructose corn syrup is in EVERYTHING, and as much as I love french fries (*sigh*), I know how bad they are for me.
So I found this site called 100 Days of Real Food, and got inspired. This woman, and her family, decided that for 100 days, they would eat absolutely nothing processed. Her list of rules included no processed sugars, whole grain everything, and lots of fruits and veggies. I love the idea of this, but I personally think some of her rules won't quite work for us (locally raised meats, organic everything). I don't really buy into the whole organic thing. If you disagree with me, fine. I'm not here to argue it. Just stating my point of view.
That being said, Travis and I really liked the idea, but realized that doing this cold turkey was going to be very difficult - especially for Penelope, who every time we go out for any sort of meal starts begging for french fries (looks like she got my tastebuds!) So what we've done is come up with a schedule for us that will help us to wean off of processed foods slowly, but still allow us to get there, and will allow us to try all sorts of new foods that we never would have considered. In fact, that's one of the new rules. Every 2 weeks, we have a try a new food we would never have considered before.
We've divided our steps into 14 weeks (which equals about 100 days), and each week, we will add a new "rule" to our habits. Some of them will be easy for us, some will be tough (NO soda, EEK!), and each of us will have different rules that are harder for us than others. Either way, we're both looking forward to doing this and giving it a try.
Our one other rule - we're going to be as strict as possible about this for ourselves when we're at home. However, if we're out with friends, or at a birthday party, we will eat whatever they provide and will not preach to them about what we're doing and cause a stink. If they offer us cake, you can guarantee we're gonna have cake. :-) Because honestly, if you completely deprive yourself of certain things, you're self control is eventually going to break down, and you're going to binge. That's why we're taking this in baby steps and only making single changes each week (sometimes 2 because of the new food rule)
So, that being said, here is our plan:
Ok, enough day dreaming. We all recognize that we can eat better. High fructose corn syrup is in EVERYTHING, and as much as I love french fries (*sigh*), I know how bad they are for me.
So I found this site called 100 Days of Real Food, and got inspired. This woman, and her family, decided that for 100 days, they would eat absolutely nothing processed. Her list of rules included no processed sugars, whole grain everything, and lots of fruits and veggies. I love the idea of this, but I personally think some of her rules won't quite work for us (locally raised meats, organic everything). I don't really buy into the whole organic thing. If you disagree with me, fine. I'm not here to argue it. Just stating my point of view.
That being said, Travis and I really liked the idea, but realized that doing this cold turkey was going to be very difficult - especially for Penelope, who every time we go out for any sort of meal starts begging for french fries (looks like she got my tastebuds!) So what we've done is come up with a schedule for us that will help us to wean off of processed foods slowly, but still allow us to get there, and will allow us to try all sorts of new foods that we never would have considered. In fact, that's one of the new rules. Every 2 weeks, we have a try a new food we would never have considered before.
We've divided our steps into 14 weeks (which equals about 100 days), and each week, we will add a new "rule" to our habits. Some of them will be easy for us, some will be tough (NO soda, EEK!), and each of us will have different rules that are harder for us than others. Either way, we're both looking forward to doing this and giving it a try.
Our one other rule - we're going to be as strict as possible about this for ourselves when we're at home. However, if we're out with friends, or at a birthday party, we will eat whatever they provide and will not preach to them about what we're doing and cause a stink. If they offer us cake, you can guarantee we're gonna have cake. :-) Because honestly, if you completely deprive yourself of certain things, you're self control is eventually going to break down, and you're going to binge. That's why we're taking this in baby steps and only making single changes each week (sometimes 2 because of the new food rule)
So, that being said, here is our plan:
Week 1: No eating out – at all
Week 2: Try a new food
Week 3: At least 1 serving of fresh fruit everyday
Week 4: 1 soda the whole week. Try a new food
Week 5: New recipe week! Try a new recipe every day
Week 6: Make homemade stocks/broths. Try a new food
Week 7: To the farmer’s market for veggies
Week 8: Vegetables at every meal. Try a new food
Week 9: Only one small serving of sweets for the whole week
Week 10: Try making your own whole wheat bread. Try a new
food
Week 11: New recipe week! Try a new recipe every day
Week 12: No soda. Try a new food
Week 13: No sweets
Week 14: Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package
that has more than 5 ingredients listed
on the label. Try a new food
Our weeks are going to start every Monday, because that is my grocery shopping days, and we've decided that today is our first day. One exception to the no eating out rule is on Monday afternoons. Penelope and I share a Publix sub for lunch, but its already included in the monthly budget, and frankly its just easier to give that to her to keep her busy when I'm trying to put groceries away.
Care to join us? Feel free to use our plan, or create one that works better for your family. Either way, you'll be eating better, and it won't be quite so painful all at once!
Or don't. If you're happy with what you're doing then great! I'm not here to preach about this or judge you based on what you do (see previous post). I just know for us, this is the direction we need to head towards!
So if you're going to try this, good luck! If not, look forward to weekly posts about our adventures, how things are changing, and how we're feeling!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Clarification
So I caused quite a stir on Facebook yesterday with a link I posted that really explained well how I feel about breastfeeding and parenting in general. (The link) And I didn't realize what all the stir was about until I clicked on the link and it brought me right to the comment that I had posted on the blog. Oops.
Let me first apologize for that mistake right now. It was not my intention to post my comment on the blog to Facebook. My intention was the post the entire blog post, as it screams what I feel about the topic. For those who's feelings were hurt because of what I said, I'm sorry your feelings were hurt.
That being said, I am not apologizing for the link, as I still believe it explains how I feel very well. I hate...HATE this arguing, judging, preaching, pushing, that is constantly happening between parents - especially mothers. Everyone seems to think their way is right, and is always trying to make the other side feel bad about it.
You're guilty of it and so am I. And it's not right. Not at all.
We moms should be supporting each other REGARDLESS of how we feel about someone else's parenting practices. It just frustrates me so much that we are constantly being pitted against each other when we should be more understanding of each other! We're all moms, doing the best that we can, and doing what we feel is best for our children! I'm about to impart a huge word of wisdom that will shock you. You ready?
IT'S OK IF WE DISAGREE!!
Crazy I know.
I'm not going to go on and on about this, because, frankly, most people aren't going to listen. I don't want to start another riot, and this is all I'm going to say on this topic. So here it is: my stance on any and all things parenting:
You're going to do what you feel is best for your children, and I'm going to do what I feel is best for my children. If we don't agree, don't preach to me or judge me for doing parenting my way, and I won't preach to you or judge you for doing parenting your way. All children are different and we're all going to deal with our children as we see fit. Plain and simple.
So, breastfeed or don't. Circumcise or don't. Give birth in a hospital or don't. Use drugs during childbirth, or don't. Co-sleep or don't. Vaccinate or don't. Cloth diaper or don't. It's up to you and no one else.
Now, can we PLEASE just play nice?
Let me first apologize for that mistake right now. It was not my intention to post my comment on the blog to Facebook. My intention was the post the entire blog post, as it screams what I feel about the topic. For those who's feelings were hurt because of what I said, I'm sorry your feelings were hurt.
That being said, I am not apologizing for the link, as I still believe it explains how I feel very well. I hate...HATE this arguing, judging, preaching, pushing, that is constantly happening between parents - especially mothers. Everyone seems to think their way is right, and is always trying to make the other side feel bad about it.
You're guilty of it and so am I. And it's not right. Not at all.
We moms should be supporting each other REGARDLESS of how we feel about someone else's parenting practices. It just frustrates me so much that we are constantly being pitted against each other when we should be more understanding of each other! We're all moms, doing the best that we can, and doing what we feel is best for our children! I'm about to impart a huge word of wisdom that will shock you. You ready?
IT'S OK IF WE DISAGREE!!
Crazy I know.
I'm not going to go on and on about this, because, frankly, most people aren't going to listen. I don't want to start another riot, and this is all I'm going to say on this topic. So here it is: my stance on any and all things parenting:
You're going to do what you feel is best for your children, and I'm going to do what I feel is best for my children. If we don't agree, don't preach to me or judge me for doing parenting my way, and I won't preach to you or judge you for doing parenting your way. All children are different and we're all going to deal with our children as we see fit. Plain and simple.
So, breastfeed or don't. Circumcise or don't. Give birth in a hospital or don't. Use drugs during childbirth, or don't. Co-sleep or don't. Vaccinate or don't. Cloth diaper or don't. It's up to you and no one else.
Now, can we PLEASE just play nice?
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