Finished sewing the ugly things

I went to Joann's, got the elastic, and finished the things. I will post a review soon. They are made from the Kwik Sew 2467 pattern, using a cheap lycra knit I got on ebay a while ago.

My Sewing Mojo Came Back!

I did a little sewing one night this week. I may eventually write a review at Pattern Review, but it's just ugly under-things.

I got hung up when I ran out of elastic. That is about as preposterous as my declaration of a fabric fast - to which my daughter recently said, "Who are you and where is my Real Mom?"

Check out my new "What I'm Reading" section at the top of the right column. The current book shows how we became a toxic species. If you think you know all you need to know about health, think again! This book is a real eye-opener. Reserve your copy at the library now!

Kreativ Blogger Award

I was just given this award by CatSpec who has a blog called "eyelets in the seams." What a surprise! At first I thought, "Oh, no, I have to find seven bloggers who have not yet been awarded. Later I realized that I WANT to pass it on to seven Kreativ bloggers!

I present the Kreativ Blogger Award to:
1. Gwen - "After the Dress" - she sews, teaches sewing, weaves, and is in a musical family
2. Richy villa - "charlie & miguel" - clothing, including costuming
3. SewIKnit2 - Craft Chat with SewIKnit2 - sewing, knitting
4. Comnurse - "Oz-Tralien" - sewing, machine embroidery, photography, quilting, travel, reading
5. Lisa - "Tree by Sea" - hand-made pretties, plus she's my SIL's DIL
6. Dawn - "Two On, Two Off" - a very prolific sewista
7. Trena - "The Slapdash Sewist" - sewing with style and bravery

Here are the rules:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

Remember to have fun!

Winter Musings

I went for jury duty, but the only time my name was called was to make sure I came back after lunch.

Thanks to the cold weather - hey, 30 degrees in Florida IS cold - I am getting better at running around the block while "walking" the dog. I will probably post a message here when I can run around the block without stopping.

By the way, two days in a row with a low temperature of 30 degrees is too much. I am glad a warming trend is predicted.

Help Make Health Freedom a Top Issue

I think health care is so important that I've given up on allopathic medicine and have truly taken charge of my own health. The allopathic doctor I used to go to just wanted me to take some pills, so I quit going to her. My TCM doctor (Traditional Chinese Medicine - includes acupuncture) really cares about my health.

I am trying to reduce my intake of processed carbohydrates. I gave up statin drugs so I could eat home-grown grapefruits. My husband gave up statins so his muscles would still work. We both try to drink more water for health and weight loss.

Please read this letter to the Wall Street Journal about health care - as compared to disease care.

Please go to this page at change.gov to vote up the importance of health freedom. Here's how to help the future government understand the need for health freedom:

1. Click on the Vote Up button
2. Sign in (or make a new account, if you don't have one already)
3. Search for "health freedom"
4. Click on the title "Health Freedom IS Our First Freedom"
5. Click on the Vote Up button

Perhaps they could have made it easier to access the first-time voting, but I'm glad it IS a topic that can be voted upon. I recommend reading the comments there, too.

Here's to your health!

A Jury of Whose Peers??

I am scheduled to go to jury duty next week. It will be at the main county courthouse, and I'm told that this means two specific things:

1. The parking is terrible, so get there early.
2. Since it will be at the main county courthouse, the cases won't exactly be tiny. For this reason, I've warned people at work that I might be out for more than just one day.

There is one other thing, though. Since when am I a peer to a criminal? With that attitude, I might not last through jury selection. I will just be myself and see what happens.

Getting Rid of Processed Carbohydrates ...

Getting rid of processed carbs means ingesting carbohydrates in their natural forms, right?

I happen to love grapefruits. We happen to have a grapefruit tree in our back yard. Last summer we finally culled out all the old grapefruits, leaving the baby ones to grow for this year.

Since the middle of December I have picked two or three grapefruits every two to three days. I juice one every morning, and the average yield is eight ounces.

My usual breakfast is a glass of grapefruit juice, followed by two scrambled eggs. The fruit gives me fresh enzymes to help digest my eggs. The eggs give me enough protein to keep me from being hungry (for anything, including processed carbs) until lunch time.

I almost broke a sewing resolution

I almost bought fabric today. I saw a long black slinky dress at the thrift store that would have been perfectly repurposed as a perfect long black slinky skirt. It would have been a stupid purchase, as I already have a long black slinky skirt. Oh, well.

Progressing in Baby Steps

Today I reorganized my sewing patterns. Three cardboard boxes contain about half of my patterns. My Stretch & Sew patterns are in the top drawer next to my sewing machine, and the rest are not over-crowded in the white cabinet.

I did my data backups today, too. I backed up all the money and taxes information on one CD, and all my web site stuff on another CD. I feel better already!

A Blog about Thrift Shopping

I just found this blog and I hope you enjoy it, too: The Thrifty Chicks

By the way, I'm not the only sewing person who likes to buy stuff from the thrift store for its fabric value. A long dress ten sizes too big for me might become a skirt and top one day. We call it repurposing.

One More Sewing Resolution

I have one more sewing resolution to add. I may regret it soon, but here goes:

I plan to NOT buy more fabric this year. That's easy - I have too much already.

Patterns? Now, that's another story. Here's a pattern that I don't have. I NEED this pattern - Simplicity 2933 - since I discovered that this type of yoke looks good on me:

Getting Organized

I have added the following to my google calendar:

1. Weekly on Mondays - work on sewing documents
2. Weekly on Tuesdays - shredding
3. Weekly on Thursdays - post on my blog
4. Monthly on the 28th - Marco Polo (our dog) gets his pills
5. Quarterly on the first Saturday - data backups

Not added to my google calendar is Friendly Sewing Forum's weekly chat on Wednesday nights.

It's a new year already!

I've never been much for New Year's resolutions, but apparently I started by creating goals for the year 2009. I might have to enter some items in my google calendar as small, specific goals.

1. Pay off van (automatic payments will have it done by end of September)
2. Ramp up the emergency fund and make it stay there!
3. Save up money to pay taxes (also, need to re-do W-4)
4. Get rid of paper clutter so that all important papers are in one place (includes some much-needed shredding)
5. Start doing quarterly backups of my computer data
6. Finish at least one sewing project each month, starting with UFOs (un-finished objects)
7. Finish at least one sewing document each month (includes lesson plans, instructions, and web pages)
8. Write on my blog at least once each week (which explains why I'm posting today)
9. Drink more water per this site and this site
10. Last - but not least - get the processed carbs out of my life! AAACK!!

Is this not enough?