Upcycling a Clear Jar

I love upcycling things. If I think I can make something into a unique creation, I usually won't throw it out (unless my husband starts complaining. lol) I have been wanting to do this project with a glass jar for some time now, but kept forgetting to save a Ragu jar after using it to make spaghetti sauce. Finally I remembered, and even more surprisingly, had the motivation to do the project right away!

Materials: a glass jar, the bigger the opening the easier this project will be; mod podge; a sponge brush; various pictures/paper decorations; and (optionally) glitter glue.

From there, I simply added my decorations to the inside of the jar, securing them with some mod podge and putting a layer of mod podge after each addition. As you can see, I chose a Hello Kitty theme. I left the jar on the counter to dry overnight between each layer, because my layers were sometwhat thick. I recommend atleast a few hours worth of drying time between each layer, but I'm sure you could do all the layers at once and take a little longer to dry. I ended up putting four layers of Mod podge on, and it's all up to the crafter how many layers you want.

The finished product:

If you do this project, please share your photos, I would love to see your creations!

Happy Crafting. <3

Michelle*

Losing Weight

Good Morning!
I had some down time in work today, so I figured I'd do a little catching up with my blog.

So, I have a physical readiness test coming up within the next few weeks. I have to do it 2 times a year, usually in april/may time and then in aug/sept time. I've been waived from a bunch of them since I've been in the Navy because I've been pregnant twice and you're waived from PRTs for up to 6 months after baby's born. I got waived from part of the PRT this time. I had a small surgery in the end of January, and they didn't want me exercizing and putting stress on the surgical site, so they gave me a waiver that said I couldn't work out with the people I work with. So basically now I have a free pass from doing the run, sit ups, and push ups. (would have had to run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes, do 65 situps in 2 minutes and 25 pushups in 2 minutes) Unfortunately, I am not waived from the weigh in.

The weigh ins take place next week. I still have 10 pounds to lose! I've lost over 30 pounds since the baby has been born, but ever since high school I have had a problem keeping my weight under 150. I have to be at 149 and I am currrently 158. I jokingly asked my boss "Do you know anyway I can lose 10 pounds in one week?" I asked to kind of break the ice for me telling her I was going to fail. Instead of what I'd expected, she said "Yeah! I'll be right to your office to talk to you". She emailed me a crazy crash diet (which is surprisingly somewhat healthy...) that I've already lost 3 pounds with! (I was 161 on Monday, when I started). I'm not starving myself either! I have to eat 4 meals a day, but all I can drink is water. There's a lot of restrictions on what I am allowed to eat. There's a list of only about 15 to 20 things I can actually eat, which is very hard for me because I love food. I'm doing pretty well so far. I'm surprised I lost 3 pounds already, especially considering I've already slipped up twice! I have to be at 149 by April 5, so my goal is to be at 154 by Sunday. That will give me one more week from there to lose 5 more pounds.

Well, time for me to get to work! I'll keep you posted!

Michelle*

Fair for Who?

Today, I woke up feeling good, which is rare. I had such a productive morning while I was getting ready for work. I folded the load of clothes in the dryer, and even put a load in the washer! I brought in stuff to stock our new mini fridge for my office. I even got out of the house early so that even though there was traffic, I still got to work early! I should have known when I woke up feeling like it was going to be a good day that something bad was going to happen! lol It seems like every time I wake up feeling that way, something happens! Last time I woke up feeling this way, I got reassigned to a new boss, which made me upset because I loved my former boss! The time before that, I passed out, did a faceplant, in work and got sent to the ER.

So anyway, on to what happened today. I came into work feeling good, got to my morning meeting and it seemed to go a little quicker than normal. I wasn't falling asleep by the end, so that's a plus! When I came out of the meeting, there was a building-wide brief that me & Rebecca (the girl who works in my office with me) had to go to. We passed by Vanessa (who also works under our boss, but in a different office). She stopped us to tell us we have to start staying late. Let me give you some background info...

Rebecca and I have to be in work by 6 am, go to a meeting around 6:15, wait for updates and change spreadsheets all day, send out a report around noon and go home. I don't ever complain about coming in early, because I get to go home so early. I love it. Vanessa on the other hand, has no morning meeting and therefore doesn't have to be in to work until around 7 or 7:30. She usually stays until around 1:30 to 2 everyday. Apparently, someone high up said they wanted Vanessa's office "manned" until 2:30 everyday, so Vanessa told us "To be fair, we have to switch days staying until 2:30." (as per our supervisor)

To be "fair"? Are you kidding me? My question is, if we have to switch off days staying late, can we also switch off days coming in early? I know this may seem a little melodramatic on my part. I may be over reacting, but I really don't care at this point. Everything that has changed about my work environment has been a change brought about in some indirect way by Vanessa. I'm not saying she has any ill-intent toward myself or Rebecca, but she sure isn't "looking out" for us either. I'm sure once I've calmed down, it won't be such an issue anymore, but it just really irks me. Anyway... enough with that!

I've been doing a lot of Amigurumi lately. I can almost see them in my sleep! lol My cousin originally wanted 40 (eek!) amigurumi for her baby shower, which she gave me less than a month's notice. She ended up helping at some point when I told her it was just impossible, and right now I, myself, have 6 finished and 6 almost finished (about). Between the 2 of us we have about half of what we need. She said she is perfectly happy with that. (thankfully!) I do love making amigurumi, but I feel a little burnt out! lol

One good thing is I've been posting pictures of all the ones I've made on my Facebook and a bunch of people are actually seriously interested in ordering from me! That would be so awesome if I could actually start my own tiny business! XD (<--- that's a smiley face, in case you didn't know, an extremely happy smiley face!) Well, anyway.. I guess I should get back to work! I'll post pics of the animals I have done at some point!

Happy Monday!
Chelle *

It's been a while

Good evening!

It's been a little while since I've posted. I've had a few things going on as of late. I have picked up a new hobby. I started crocheting. I really wanted to learn to knit first, but since money is usually an issue around our household, I didn't want to buy any knitting supplies. I happened to be going through an old box of mine from before I came in the Navy and found a crochet starter set my Nana had given me in high school. It took me 6 years, but I finally put it to use. :0)

I started on a blanket, a simple single chain afghan in white. I am restricted to the colors white and brown at the moment because that is what I had laying around. I'm really enjoying the crocheting so far. I think once I get my experience in and feel comfortable with crochet, I may learn to knit. I haven't done much with sewing recently, since I haven't bought any fabric since before Christmas. I finished the quilt I was making! ...but I forgot to get a picture of the finished result before giving it to its receipient. I will get a picture and update it soon. My next sewing endeavor will probably be an advent calendar. (I know, Christmas is passed, but there will be another one!) The only reason it is at the top of my priority list is that someone in my husband's family took time out of her schedule to write up a pattern and draw up some stencils for me to make this advent calendar. She even used her cricut machine to cut out the small pieces and numbers for me! She's so sweet. Then, it will be on to making baby gifts, since I have 2 friends and a cousin pregnant at the moment.

Anyway, moving on... The thing that has taken up most of my thoughts lately is my 7 month old son. When I brought him in for a routine check up a few weeks before his 6 month well baby exam, I was informed he was dangerously close to underweight. He was born at 9 lbs 2 oz and quickly grew to 14 lbs by the time he was 2 months old, but then all of a sudden he stopped gaining weight. The doctor immediately seemed very agressive and informed me, "If he hasn't gained weight by his 6 month well baby, we will have some issues". I felt very threatened, and it made me feel horrible! I came home crying because I felt like a horrible mother. I didn't understand, I nursed him whenever he was fussy and nothing else worked, even if it wasn't time for him to eat! My husband said when we got the chance we would switch doctors, because he didn't believe it was right that our pediatrician automatically blamed us.

The next day, I went to the hospital where I gave birth to my son to see the lactation consultants. I was confronted by a pediatrician who heard what was going on. I immediately became defensive because I was afraid she would blame me too. It turned out that this doctor was very understanding. She asked me if the clinic I went to was further than the hospital. I said yes, but I really don't think it is. She asked how I'd feel about her taking my son into her clinic. I informed her that I had been trying to get both of my sons into the pediatricians at the hospital, but I was told it was full. The doctor handed me some papers and said "I'm inviting you to have your sons seen with me. It doesn't matter how full the clinic here is." I was so grateful, and to think she didn't even know I was about to try to switch doctors! I felt like I was in a lot of luck. We scheduled an appointment for the next available date they had. The doctor told me to feed him as much baby food as he would eat and nurse him as much as possible. I did what I was told, but at his appointment, he had gained less than a lb in 2 weeks. They were still worried so scheduled another appointment for yesterday. I brought my son in and he has only gained a half a lb in 2 weeks. I'm very worried. I didn't want to go to formula, but of course I would rather my son eat formula than be unhealthy. The doctor scheduled an appointment for the 26th and said if he hasn' gained weight by then, after seeing a nutritionist and other instructions, he will be hospitalized overnight so they can observe his eating habits and do labs to determine if it is his eating habits or his body that is causing this. I am very nervous. I feel like a bad mother. In the time between now and the 26th I plan on giving him an oz of formula after every feeding, which is what was suggested by my doctor. I'm hoping he doesn't have to be hospitalized.

 Anyway... speaking of which, my son is just waking up from a nap. I have to feed him and get ready for work since I have the 8 pm to 2 am shift! Thanks for reading. Happy crafting!

Michelle*

My First Quilt

Good Morning!
I decided this  year's Christmas gifts would be handmade. I am making some gifts for family memebrs, and I asked for some requests. Nothing specific, but one of my family members asked for a pink & blue blanket. After some debate on how to make pink and blue work together on a blanket, I decided to try a values quilt! I have 2 quilt blocks made so far, and considering I don't have a quilter's square or any quilting "tools" (aside from a sewing machine) I think they came out pretty nice! I decided I'm going to alternate between the pink/blue blocks and I have a separate fabric that is calico (pink with blue flowers). I think it should tie it all together nicely. The hand embroidery project I'm working on will hopefully be the centerpiece in the blanket, if I can get it to work out the way I'd like.

The longest part about making the quilt so far is cutting out the squares. Once I have a bunch of little squares cut up, it seems pretty quick to sew them together to make a 2 toned square. Each block only took me about 20-30 minutes to sew together (just piecing the 2 toned squares together). I think I'm going to need about 10 of these blocks. Well, I should get back to work! If anyone has any tips on quilting without the tools or even just quilting in general, please feel free to share!

Happy Blogging and Happy December.

(By the way, today is my son's 4th birthday!! XD)

P.S.  Here are some pictures of the blocks...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone!
I am currently in the process of cooking my turkey. This year's turkey feast will be miniscule compared to what I wish it would be. My Husband is just so picky, and all he wants to eat is Turkey, corn & potatoes. I'm making a pumpkin pie for myself, but didn't want to go all out on food when a lot of the leftovers would go to waste. I can't wait to move back home where we'll be able to have family over or go over family's house!

Anyway, I guess i'll talk about my latest endeavor. I'm attempting to make a quilt. I really have no idea how it will turn out. I hope it turns out well, but I really haven't even started it. I think I'm going to start today, considering I need to have it done by the middle of December. It's supposed to be a christmas gift for someone, and in the middle of December, I won't have my sewing machine since  I'm going home for the holidays. I hand embroidered her initial on a large piece of white fabric and am using it as the focal piece of the quilt. It's about 8x11". I'll post pictures at some point... anyway, have to go baste the turkey!

Hope your Thanksgiving is great!

Michelle

Here is a picture of my Thanksgiving Dinner.

Spoiled Rotten?

So, I had a conversation with my husband the other day as he returned from work about my 5 month old son. My 5 month old son was very fussy while my husband was holding him, my father in law tried to take him, and he got the same result. He didn't want to sit in his jumperoo or in his swing, my baby just kept crying. I walked over to the couch and my son stopped crying almost as soon as I put my arms around him. My husband always makes comments that he doesn't think the baby eats enough when I nurse him. (Contrary to many printed pages and book highlights from my research on the subject) I explained to my husband that I had just fed him and he proceeded to tell me my son was spoiled because he cries to be "picked up" (as in, whoever is holding him must be standing up) and sometimes he cries for specific people. So, my question for you readers is, what do you believe? Can a child really be spoiled with affection? Can you show a child too much love?
This is a very confusing subject for me. This is my second child, and I'm not sure if my feelings are different because I didn't breastfeed my first but I did my second, or because I experienced having to leave my first son at a very young age (around 7-8 months old) to go on a 6 month deployment, and then four months after getting back, a 4 month deployment. All I know is this: I can remember being able to let my first son cry and not feel anguish inside. I can remember the first night I put him in a separate room in his own crib and being able to sleep through the night, it was my decision and I did it with no hesitation. With my second son, he is still sleeping in a cradle beside my bed, and I completely dismissed a comment my husband made about my first son "already being in his own room at this age". I have absolutely no desire to put my son in a different room. He has gotten to the point that a lot of the time that he needs physical contact to fall asleep, whether it's my hand on his cheek, or his hand wrapped around my finger. And I have to admit, it's a big comfort to me, too.
I really can't explain what has changed about me between the 2 children. From my perspective now, it seems as though I was such a cold mother to my first son. Even though I can't remember him crying often at all, the times I can remember seemed to not have bothered me. If my 5 month old so much as whimpers, I find myself staring at him, heart racing, waiting for him to make another noise to show he's still breathing, or waiting for a cry for me to fix whatever's wrong. I had a nightmare of my son dying in my arms one night and I woke up in tears and reached over into the cradle and nudged him so he would stir or make a noise, and then fell asleep with my hand on his chest, feeling him breathing. Maybe I cling to him more tightly than my first because with my first at that age, I had never experienced having to leave my children for an extended period of time. Maybe I got complacent, & took his presence for granted, subconsciously.
I have heard so many opinions from "experts" and I know everyone says to just follow my motherly instinct, but I can't help but wonder. Should I listen to the experts that say "you're child needs to cry to learn to self soothe", or the experts that say "the more affection a baby is shown, the faster they become independent"? I know in most cases, people consider being spoiled to mean that you buy your kids everything they want, but, to reiterate my original pondering...
Can a child be spoiled with love?