Another snowy day - another craft project

Nothing like snow day for the kids to track snow in the house over and over and over throughout the day. The mop is saturated. I found this cute reusable swiffer cover and decided to try it today. It turned out okay. I recently bought some microfiber hand towels at Costco but can't stand to use them. They feel funny on my hands. I decided to cut two up and make a theoretically super absorbent cover. It worked well. I'm not sure it is the best fabric as it seem almost sticky on the floor when I push it with the swiffer. I think I'll make one with a regular towel and compare the difference. Maybe it performs better when wet.

Nothing like a Colorado Snow day to do crafts and watch the snow fall. I've been wanting to try this pattern for a while: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/08/kid-sized_chefs_hat.html. This chef's hat is adorable and so easy to make. My kids are so excited and are putting in their requests. I'm thinking about having a cooking birthday party for my soon to be 8 year old in January and making hats for the kids. The website says 90 minutes but after the first one I think 1 hour is about what it took. Of course, I sewed the Mickey Mouses on upside down and it was just not worth taking out the stitches and redoing it. Since it was a practice hat, it will stay the way it is. My kids don't seem to care.

How to Make People Like you!

I just finished reading "How to Make People Like you in 90 seconds or less" by Nicholas Boothman. The book was recommended on a twitter post and I found it intriguing. I don't generally think of myself as having trouble being liked but I wanted to learn what it is that makes people good at first impressions. The great take home points of the book are: have an open posture (welcoming), make eye contact, "beam", say "Hi"! It doesn't really sound hard, however, I discovered some important barriers to even being able to do these 4 simple tasks.

It is important to: 1. Assume/trust that you will like them and that they will like you. (This is never something I would normally ASSUME but it is necessary for the right attitude when you meet someone) 2. Assume that what you'll be doing with other people - will work. 3. Assume that what you learned from the book will work b/c it has worked for thousands of other people. 4. Assume that you are making a difference in the lives of the individuals you meet. (I love this as so often meeting people for an introvert like me means taking me out of my comfort zone and being focused on myself. This takes the focus off of me but rather how this meeting can benefit someone else).

The book is a quick and easy read. I think I'll read it again to solidify some of the techniques and practice more. I'm also going to have my introverted 6th grade son read through it this week on his Fall break. He may find it useful.

Preparing for Christmas Early

One thing I have learned with four kids is that Christmas can be extremely stressful and no fun if you are not ready for it when it knocks at your door. I began a couple of years ago saving money each month just for Christmas. When I start seeing gift items in August/September I am ready with money in hand. Costco is my all-time favorite Christmas shopping store. I take the kids in September. They see things they want. I go back without them and viola - much of my shopping is done.

As of today, I am almost done shopping. I will continue to pick up things here and there but they will all be add-ons and not necessities. I just uploaded my Christmas card picture to Costco and will pick them up tomorrow. I plan to have them all ready to mail by Thanksgiving but completed a couple of weeks prior so that I'm not doing Christmas cards and cooking at the same time.

I love crafts over the holidays and discovered these cute dishcloths to knit that are festive and will make cute gifts. The patterns are thanks to www.krisknits.com. She has wonderful designs and easy to follow patterns. I'm posting a few pictures for you to get an idea of how cute they are.

By being 90% done with Christmas in October, I can spend all my free time doing things that bring me pleasure during the holiday season such as knitting, baking, and reflecting on the meaning of the birth of Jesus.

kid's pillowcases

Okay, my 4 kids have asked for tempurpedic molding pillows for Christmas. Don't ask me why but they really want them. So I thought that perhaps they WOULD be nice as we travel to the mountains every weekend in the Winter to ski. The kids always take their pillows in the car with them in case they fall asleep in the car.

After purchasing the pillows, I felt that they needed to be made a little more fun and kid-friendly for Christmas. So I designed and made pillow cases for them. They turned out really well. I will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it. Let me know what you think.

Introduction

I am the CEO of my home caring for 4 children and a husband (who can be like a child in many respects). In addition, I work "on-call" as Clinical Pharmacist for Kaiser Permanente's Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service. I am getting ready to begin an MBA program to increase the insanity in my life. Controlled chaos is how I prefer to think of it.

My first love of the day is my exercise group that meets at 5:15am (yes that is a.m.) What a great group of ladies/friends that run year round in the dark, snow, rain or whatever else mother nature brings. There are many gifts/blessings one witnesses when one is able to get out of bed at that beastly hour of the day.

Other loves are knitting, making felted purses (I'll post pictures when I get more savvy), designing fun kids pillowcases (lately), being with my family in the mountains, and listening to talk radio. Yes - I am a talk radio junkie.

I must admit that my "real" job is really a vacation for me. It is where I go to not hear whining and nagging. When I'm there, I am a professional. When I am home, I am a servant. Don't get me wrong, serving my family is a pleasure but 24/7 can feel more like slavery.

In any event, I created this blog as an outlet to share some insights/experiences from raising children to hobbies such as knitting, crafting, exercising, and time with my family. If anyone relates or has ideas to share or questions to ask, feel free to pipe in. I look forward to meeting new people.