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Saturday, November 13, 2010

spam, wood, and paint

On spam...


This is spam musabi--a local delicacy


First, I want to say when I got to Hawaii, I was very surprised at the passion the locals had for spam. When the local Target opened up I recall the spam being taken off the shelf by the caseload. The man could not restock it fast enough. They even have it on the McDonald's menu...
This  prompted me to further investigate spam
I looked it up in the dictionary and found this

spam---a canned food product consisting esp. of pork formed into a solid block.

After reading this, I found spam even less appealing, so my search led me further, and here is what I found

*Hawaii is the second largest consumer of spam  in the world.
*During WWII spam was initially brought over by serviceman in rations
*spam became a staple protein for the locals after fishing was prohibited during WWII
*In 2005,  Hawaiians consumed more than 5,000,000 cans of spam

I now feel enlightened, and I hope you do to. In the three years I have been here, I have never tried it, but my children have and love it, cheers!




Wood...

 I decided I am going to buy all of my children's Christmas presents this year from Etsy. There is nothing like handmade toys! My grandpa used to make wooden toys when we were little. I remember distinctly a wooden toy box that he made for us, and then painted so nicely. Not only can wooden toys outlast us on earth, but they are also are non-toxic, (and we all know children put everything in their mouth) That is why I was really glad to find this store on Etsy yesterday.

They have really well priced handmade wooden toys...Here is what I am planning on getting for my children from the shop...shhh don't tell them...
Toy wooden sewing machine just like moms
how cool it this...a wooden sewing machine the girls can play with, like their mama
Ironing board and iron doll size wood toy
again, a wood ironing board, like mama

Pull toy puppy dog animated wood

I know my son (2) would adore this.





You can find these toys and more here
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SSWOODCRAFT







Paint...

My dear friend watched my children today, so that I could  paint, and it went well.  I think I am almost done painting the entire house!!  My was I ambitious in thinking I could paint it up with no effort. I forget the extent I painted my walls in various colors

Painted hands
I guess I should have taken off my ring, but you don't win dirtiest ring award at Kay's for nothing--it take work!!


progress on the walls, I know I am messy...but it is part of my "process"

Happy Saturday!!!!




Posted by Unknown at 10:43 PM 2 comments

Friday, November 12, 2010

Treasure in Etsy

I have been included in six treasuries so far in Etsy---feeling the Etsy love--- I am going to be sharing some of those treasuries here. Mine is the red and white check peacoat. Enoy this lovely collection!!!

Candy Canes for Kids - minus the cane!

Curator

Posted by Unknown at 10:36 PM 0 comments

Thursday, November 11, 2010

creating...

Today has been a productive day so far, with they help of my IPhone...I am serious, this thing is so amazing, I can take care of housing things on the phone, while at the same time take pictures for my business...ahhh...
Dora the Explorer and Veggies Tales has been great babysitting  amusement for the children, while I try and tie up things in Hawaii, and get things going in South Carolina. Progress is coming slowly, but surely.  I also have  a faithful friend that has offered to watch all four of my children for a day, while I finish up all the painting here...bless her!!!
So, on to creating, besides making tons of phone calls, I also get around to cutting some of my patterns...

pattern pieces being cut for boys vests
                                                   
mass chaos the was caused as a result of cutting patterns (disregard little toe in the corner)


order that stems for all the chaos, this pattern is for a sweet tunic, that I am going to be trying out.  (again, disregard the toes, I need to work on that)

 I also snapped some more pics of my fabric stash with my phone, while talking to HI, and SC peeps
micheal miller

moda

Micheal miller

I forget, sorry---I think it is Moda

damask print by, again I forget, sorry damask print designer

Besides adding some new styles of tunic dresses/shirts,  I can't wait to add some more skirts to my store. The first one I want to try out is a shirred waist skirt (made using elastic thread in the bobbin, and  drawstring skirt. Either of these would be great for everyday wear...Casual but still funky...could be dressed up or down. For my children's stock, I am going to be adding some ruffle pants, A-line dresses, and peasant dresses for girls...For boys I am going to be adding vests (see patterns above), fat knot ties, and I really want to add David pants. If you don't know what David pants are think Prince William of England, in the early 1980's as a toddler---he is usually wearing David pants. So many wonderful things to look forward too!!!!
           
                                                Have a great day, and thank you for stopping by!
                                                                 Happy Thursday (Veterans Day)
Posted by Unknown at 3:05 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

longings and toothbrushs...

If you have even  one little kid you will know what I am talking about (unless your way super awesome, and can keep up on this). Me, I am not, I can only do ten things at once, and anything after that is way overload. This leads me to toothbrushes...I am really into teeth, and keeping them super clean. Especially those of my children. We run into a problem, however, at the end of the day when everyone runs to put their toothbrushes back. Sometimes they get shoved  in random places... never to be found again. I found a hopeful solution to the disappearing toothbrushes while walking the halls of the local  walmart today in the form of these...
yes, suction toothbrushes...this looks promising

On to the longings. I am longing to get to work in my business, I absolutely love what I do, and hate that I had to pack it up for the overseas move. In the meantime, I am researching different areas of marketing, and researching everything else in general...
Fortunately, I saved these so I can do the mundane task of pattern cutting and taping








My manilla enevlope packages, filled with patterns...They are getting crammed into my suitcase along with these...


More Micheal Miller fabric that I am going to be taking along with me on the airplane...

I am also encouraged by  this

My first spam that arrived in the mail today for Sweet Home Boutique..YaY!!



Happy Wednesday!


Posted by Unknown at 4:14 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

zoo or bust, literally...

The pressure was heating up for sure here at "operation get yourself ready for a global move by yourself with four toddlers." I am starting to take it all in stride, especially when I woke up in the middle of the night laying beside a little girl who had an "accident", on the bed...and me.  Whenever I know I need to tie some strings with my children we got on a fun filled outing. That way, they know I am working hard to give them fun experiences, and in turn want to do everything to be compliant and helpful...It works every time. It also reminds them that they are my top priority, and not my leftovers....
So on to the trip to the zoo, it started out well, and Audrey even commented on how fast we got there, until I took a wrong turn and started going in circles, that is when I pulled out this...
bam...yes my new ipone4, it lead me safely to my destination with it's map feature

So, then we were at the zoo, and the kids were really excited...As we were pulling up though I remembered I need to feed the meter. It is something like $1.00, and hour...I was stressing again because I forgot about it until I saw this
                                                

 bam....yes these are the new parking meters at the zoo that takes debit cards!! I use to have to bring a sock full of quarters with me every time...bye bye potential weapon, hello easy street...

So, All was well at the zoo....

We picked up some litter
 
climbed on hippo butts
 
talked story with the locals


checked out the man eating goldfish

 
got attacked by ravenous  goats







we even had the opportunity to ride an alligator while drinking from a giraffe head...

All and all a good day, and I think we are all much refreshed...

Happy Tuesday!

 
Posted by Unknown at 5:09 PM 2 comments

Monday, November 8, 2010

yo chillin

yep, that is what I am now doing. At some point during the day I realized that my house was more white than colored, and that all of my labor was starting to make a difference. I am now about  3/4 of the way done with the massive painting chore, and I feel pretty good about it. Tomorrow we are taking the day off and going to the zoo first thing in the morning...




Tonight we all sat around in our air mattress palace (thanks to walmart and friends). The kids watched a netflix  instant movie, while I played around with my new IPhone 4. I have been wanting one for awhile, and went ahead and bought it. I can use it for my business, and it will be nice to have all of that information at my fingertips when I am out and about with my children. I also feel like I need to be doing something crafty, so I bought a couple skeins of orange yarn, and started to make little boleros for my daughters...

orange skeins of yarn, and sweet crochet hook holder






The start of my first daughters bolero, It will widen as it goes down, and I would like to add some crochet flowers at the top.

Happy Monday!
Posted by Unknown at 11:33 PM 0 comments

Sunday, November 7, 2010

upgrades at the hostel

After waking up this morning feeling like I got jumped by 100 angry trolls, I knew I had to do something about this sleeping arrangement. When you are moving out of military quarters in Hawaii, you have the option to get something called Aloha furniture that you can borrow when you have no furniture. It usually takes around six weeks to get your household goods from Hawaii to and from the mainland U.S.A, so at some point you are going to be without your furniture. I decided to opt out of the furniture because with all of the painting and cleaning that is going on, it would just be one more thing that is getting in the way.

I forgot to put out the comforters before the packers packed them up, so I was just going to rough it on my little spot on the floor.

location of the attack


At first I thought it was cool to go minimalist, but soon realized that some basic essentials are needed to sustain healthy living, namely a comfortable place to sleep

I also started on the on the walls downstairs. I spatter a few rolls on each of the walls so it looks less intimidating, while I am busy with the others.


I also found another use for the leftover flower pot.

sweet fabric that is I have been collecting by Tina Givens

more sweet fabric by Amy Butler


The day had started off pretty stressful, but was much relieved by awesome neighbors watching my children for me while I painted, letting me do some laundry at their house, and bringing over extra comforters and pillows...

oh, and for this picture, I guess this is just the kind of thing you need to keep life interesting...




                                                                           Happy Monday!!
Posted by Unknown at 11:21 PM 2 comments
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