Its Horrible, Dr. Horrible that is

So, on Sunday, Cake Wrecks does what is called Sunday Sweets - cakes that are actually good. Anyway, this last Sunday he did a post about Dr. Horrible, including a link to go watch it.

I liked it!

Love the music. Definitely catchy!

You can watch it on Hulu here.

Oh, and I didn't realized that the main character was played by the actor who did Doogie Howser until my hubby pointed it out. I just have to say - he turned out hot, didn't he? Too bad his is gay ...

The Great Shoe Roundup

Ever wondered what it looks like to gather all the shoes you are keeping from birth to the present?

Here it is in our household!

Let Him Do It With Simplicity

I have been toying with some ideas for this blog for a while, and I am going to go ahead and start this one.

If I have not mentioned it before, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I want to be better about living my religion, so in an effort to make The Sabbath Day more meaningful to me, I am going to do a review of a General Conference talk each week. I believe that in this crazy world pulling us in many directions it is a good idea to be stronger in living what we believe to be examples to our families and to others around us, whether it be silent or not.

The first talk I am going to look at is from the November 2008 General Conference given by Elder L. Tom Perry titled "Let Him Do It With Simplicity".

This talk really jumped out at me. A lot of us talk about how busy our lives are and how much we wish that things could be a bit simpler. We also have a lot of ups and downs in our lives. Elder Perry addresses this. I especially liked that he said the following:

"We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond a shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

The best is yet to come! I find myself forgetting that a lot lately. He went on to talk about a time when he had problems with his job and his wife was diagnosed with a severe illness. They would go to a special place just to strengthen themselves and talk. What a great idea! How many of us have that kind of a place? And how many of us have that kind of down time with our spouses?

It turns out that the place they went for their time of relief was called Walden Pond, the same place that Henry David Thoreau spent 2 years just to live simply. Through his experiences, Thoreau decided that there are four essential things a person needs to survive: food, clothing, shelter, and fuel. Elder Perry goes on to expand on these four things.

FOOD

In the church we have what we call the Word of Wisdom. It is basically a code of living that we all strive to live by in order to keep our bodies and our spirits healthy. This is located in The Doctrine and Covenants section 89. It is a good reminder to go back and read it again. I have not read it for a long time, but I know that it is more than just telling us not to drink coffee or take drugs. We all could do better in this part of our lives.

CLOTHING

There are a lot of choices out there when it comes to clothing. Elder Perry stated that "When we are modestly dressed, we also invite the Spirit of the Lord to be a shield and a protection to us." He later went on to say, "I believe very casual dress is almost always followed by very casual manners." Have you ever noticed that when you dress up for a special occasion, your posture becomes better, and you become a little more formal in how you act? I sure have. My husband has as well. He has said before that when he is wearing a full suit that it is hard for him to be more casual. I find it fascinating that what we wear can have such a bearing on how we act.

One thing that we do, for the Sabbath Day at least, is that my husband and I wear our church clothes all day. In Stake conference today one of the speakers talk briefly about that. He said that "we don't necessarily need to wear our church clothes all day, but are we really showing respect by wearing the same clothes we did for Saturday?" Granted, we don't let our kids do that, because they are young, and we are realistic about the probability of their clothes getting ruined if they did that.

Another quote I liked from Elder Perry's talk was by President N. Eldon Tanner:

"Modest in dress is a quality of mind and heart, born of respect for oneself, one's fellowmen, and the Creator of us all. Modesty reflects an attitude of humility, decency, and propriety. Consistent with these principles and guided by the Holy Spirit, let parents, teachers, and youth discuss the particulars of dress, grooming, and personal appearance and with free agency accept responsibility and choose the right: ("Friend to Friend,"Friend, June 1971, 3.)

SHELTER

The third requirement hits home especially now during the housing crisis, which was referenced in this talk. Elder Perry reminds us again how we are urged to stay out of debt, and how "Our income should determine the kind of housing we can afford, not the neighbor's big home across the street." He also said, "One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the council we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for a rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it."

FUEL

The last requirement he speaks to is fuel. But he takes it to another level and talks about spiritual fuel. He mentions the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 wise, and 5 foolish at the beginning of Matthew 25. Elder Perry says that "We mush acquire knowledge of God's eternal plan and our role in it, and then by living righteously, surrendering our will to the will of the Lord, we receive the promised blessings."

I don't know about you, but I KNOW I need to do better in this area. I don't read the scriptures. I don't pray enough. I need to do better.

The last thing that really called to me in this talk was the last paragraph.

"In our search to obtain relief from the stresses of life, may we earnestly seek ways to simplify our lives. May we comply with the inspired counsel and direction the lord has given us in the great plan of happiness. May we be worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost and follow the guidance of the Spirit as we navigate this mortal journey. May we prepare ourselves to accomplish the ultimate purpose of this mortal test - to return and live with our Heavenly Father.."

I know that I was meant to read this talk today. I am grateful that I have the resources to learn from these wonderful men who live their lives close to the Lord. I am also grateful that I can have the opportunity to make my life better, and simpler.

I hope you have found some truth you needed as well. Have a wonderful week!:)

My Own Ramona Quimby

Well, she did it. I thought that we may just pass this phase of childhood. But I was wrong! Last week, my sweet little Jenny chopped her hair.

I had to do the rest of the chopping. I was almost in tears. Almost.

She was happy.

As the week has past, I have discovered that this may be the perfect hair style for her. It is so cute! And it fits her personality well. At first I thought that she looked like scout from "To Kill a Mocking Bird"

But I have decided that she looks more like Ramona Quimby.

What do you think?

Back in the Saddle Again

So, there was an added benefit to the favorite things swap I have participated in.

I am now quilting again.

You see, about 1 1/2 years ago I promised the lady at Joanne Fabrics and Crafts that I would make a baby quilt for her, and she was going to pay me $50 for it(She provided the fabric). Can you believe that! I was going to get paid for it. My hubby and other multiple people have been bugging me to sell what I do. At the moment I just give them away. ANYWAY, I agreed to do the quilt. And then life happened. We had to move to of our apartment, which was not our idea, and some other crazy things happened, and the frog quilt got put on the back burner. I have now dubbed it the Stupid Frog Quilt. I started HATING that quilt. I was not the responsible adult. I did not go and talk to the Joannes lady about. I just hid. And felt super guilty. You see, I only had about 8 hours worth of work on it. One day. And those of you who know me, I can pump out a quilt in 2 days if I really want to. Well, three - depending on the pattern and the quilting. So, I really should have had it done. And I was scared. I was scared the she would be really upset with me.

When I signed up for the swap, my dear husband said that I had to finish the stupid frog quilt BEFORE I made one for my swap partner. He has threatened me with this multiple times, and the result was that several people who I wanted to give quilts to do not have them. This time it worked. And here it is:

When it was finished I took it to the lady, and she loved it. She was not mad at me. She just figured that something happened, like we moved or something - which was true. It was finally finished. I do not have to worry about it anymore. And I did not charge her for it.

That was finished on August 5.

I had pieced the quilt for Kristen before and I could finally get it quilted. I Finished it on the 7. The whole time I was thinking it was perfect. Until it was finished. And then my mother in law said that she was going to Arkansas to be there for my sister in laws birth of a baby girl the following Monday, which was about 2 weeks earlier than planned. I looked at the quilt again and realized it better suited a baby girl. Here it is:

So, on the 8&9 I pieced another quilt, which is even more perfect for her, in my humble opinion. Especially after her post about stained glass windows. I read it after I picked out the pattern and fabric. I had it quilted and at the mail store on August 14. One day before the revised deadline. I am grateful for the revision - it was supposed to be postmarked on July 31 originally. I also sent my swap partner a copy of Jane Eyre and a thing of Country Time Strawberry Lemonade. I LOVE THE QUILT I MADE FOR HER. Here it is. I am very proud of this one. (can you tell by all of the pics?) Oh, and if you click on the pics you can get a better look at some of the detail.

Now I am planning on setting up an Etsy site and trying to sell again. However, I am thinking that I am not going to be doing much custom work. I think I get a mental block when I do it. Case in point - The Stupid Frog Quilt!

Oh, and I am going to go back and put pictures of quilts I made/make at My Quilted Corner In Katy my new blog just for quilts.

Enjoy!

Sewing Lessons

The person running frugalfamilyfunblog.com is going to be doing an online sewing tutorial. I just thought that I would mention it in case some of you would be interested.

Have a great day!

Favorite Things Swap

So, I signed up to do my very first swap at http://www.according-to-kelly.com/. I saw this last year on , but we were in the middle of a move, and I had seen the write up after the entry deadline, so I watched and waited for the next one.

Here is my swap partners blog http://www.ttelroc.blogspot.com/ I have been having fun getting to know her though what she writes.

And here is what she sent me!

There are some really neat things included.

There is a very nice kitchen tea towel - I have great memories of using them in my grandmothers kitchen to dry the dishes, and now I have my very own!

Some great refrigerator clips. Definitely handy!

Some fun cut outs, crayons, and some stickers for the kids. I may keep the crayons for myself this time!:)

Some soap that doesn't make me sick when I smell it - yay!

A great set of Mary Kay makeup brushes.

An Accomplishments pad of paper. I especially like that parts that say "near future", "someday", and "maybe never". Nice!

I think that my favorite though is the hanging vase!

I have sent her box out today, and she should receive it next week. I can't wait! And I have some posts waiting because I don't want her to see what I was up to untill she receives it. :)