MadBags :: handmade bags & more!

Murphy's Law

Why does everything HAVE to go wrong at the time when you need everything to go right?  Oy ve!  First of all, I have re-lapsed into something.. It's going on 3 weeks and I still wake up feeling cruddy.  I'm thinking maybe walking pneumonia or respitory or I don't know but it sucks whatever it is.  I planned on going to the doctor today but then remembered how long you have wait in the office on Mondays.  I really don't have time for that. 

Second- needles.  In the last 4 days I have broken a whole set of needles.  Last night I snapped two in one hour.  After the last one I just left the sewing room.  I have to go back in there today but I'm not happy about it. 

Third- Ok so there isn't a third yet but somehow I know there will be.  And really with everything else the needles are what sent me over the edge.  I have a deadline people!  And needles are going to keep me from it????  ARGGGGGH! 

Sorry about the shouting but I can't in real life because it would hurt my throat too much. 

Ok I feel better now that I got all that out.  How is your Monday going????

Flowers for Mama

My little girl loves to pick flowers.  Yesterday this is what she brought me.  It didn't start out this beautiful since she would bring me a handful at a time but this was the end result.  I wish I had a real flower garden she could pick real flowers out of but alas I kill anything I touch when it comes to greenery.  I have been able to keep my bushes alive but that's about all I have in front of the house.  Occasionally my neigbor comes over and plants things like lilies and such.  She is a pro when it comes to planting.  Sometimes they live sometimes they don't.  Probably because they've heard my reputation for being a plant killer.

On a totally different subject... I'm thinking of buying an embroidery machine.  I've wanted a good one for about 2 years now and can't figure out which one to get.  They are so expensive and I want to get the right one for me but it's so hard to tell which one that is.  I'd love to hear from you out there- I'm leaning toward a Brother and I want one with a USB port so I can use my computer along with it. 

Since I mentioned Brother.. I want to vent a little frustration I have with this company.  You cannot find prices anywhere for this brand.  The closest dealer to me is an hour away so I called and they said they couldn't tell me the prices over the phone.  Brother policy.  She said the company would take away her ability to sell Brother products if she disclosed that information because they want people to come see the product before they decide if the price is worth it or not.  I understand this to a certain degree.  My problem is that I have to drive an hour just to get a comparison of pricing???  So if any of you (who are not dealers) know some average prices I would really appreciate it :)

I'm off to work, I have about 20 Toy Boxes to complete and they sure aren't going to make themselves...

umm uum good... peanut butter and jelly

Sometimes I forget how good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are.  I didn't like them as a kid, I know I know.  It's wrong to say such things but truth is I didn't.  I was a ham sandwich kid back then.  It's the peanut butter that turns me off a bit.  When I first got married, we didn't have a lot of money so we ate a LOT of these.  My husband introduced me to strawberry jelly and I was hooked.  Anyway, I had to make a bunch of these for my daughter's pre-school V-day party tomorrow and it reminded me how much I like them every once in a while.

I told you I would post the pictures of the cute phone valentines Mad and I made together for her class.  Here they are-

The buttons are supposed to be made with candy buttons but I could not find any anywhere so we improvised.  I think it worked :) And of course you can't have a valentine's party without a LOVE box!  Maddie did a great job decorating her pretty pink box.  Can't wait to see what kind of goodies she brings home tomorrow.

Workin' on a livin'

Lots to do today!  Tuesdays and Thursdays are FULL work days for me and since I didn't work at all last week, I am really having to catch up!  This morning started with filling orders and then onto creating some hot iron mitts with my new heat-resistant fabric!  It's a little thicker than I thought it would be but I'm making it work regardless.  I should have a bunch of these listed in my shop VERY soon.  I will also have a ton of these in many different prints at Cooper's Closet which is less than 2 weeks away- AHH!

Can't stay on here long- Got lots to do!!!

Crafting with a 9 yr. old...

I found this idea in the latest issue of Family Fun (one of my faves) magazine.  My son loves to play cards so I thought I would bypass the cheapo valentines that I usually get and make these with him to give out to his classmates.  He loved the idea andI loved the idea of making something with him.  Not too long into the project, approximately 3 minutes or so, he decided he had better things to do with his time.  He did make an effort, even short-lived, so I finished the rest of them.  They did turn out cute and weren't too difficult to do.  The instructions said the time to do it would be under an hour but it took me almost 2.  The best part?  Getting rid of some of those cards that aren't a full deck that somehow wind up everywhere...!

 

My husband worked hard yesterday getting the holes fixes so that we could get the legs put on my new table!  I love that when it doen't have the extension in it, it's small.  It's perfect for our family of 4.  And when we need more seating, the extension that's made into the table opens up to make a square table that seats 8.  Love it!  (Thank you again Gena!)

On a totally different note, my best friend Brandi had a daughter that turned 2 this past week.  She had a barnyard party that I made cake and cupcakes for.  She decorated it so cute!  There were even hay bails and lots of other fun stuff.  I was happy to be able to get out of the house and go to it :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPH!

I can breathe again.

Ahh.  The sweet smell of oxygen!  Ok, I know you can't smell oxygen but I can't really smell anything yet, and it's so wonderful to be able to breathe through my nose again.  I think the worst is over.  I've heard that some people that are getting this stuff are getting the stomach virus as well so I feel extremely lucky that I didn't have that along.  I hate the stomach virus.  I cannot tell you with words how much.  It just about kills me every single time.  One day I will have the courage to tell one of my most embarrasing stories about one time in particular, but today I am not so brave. 

I've got alot of catching up to do today.  Already started the dishwasher, and need to get some laundry folded and washed.  Going to take ALL the bed sheets off and clean them too.  Hopefully I have some lysol left around here somewhere so I can disinfect, disinfect, and disinfect some more.  And then a little more disinfecting.  Can you tell where my day will be spent?  If all goes well and I get all of that done I am going to work in my studio.  Have to play catch up there too.  Since Maddie has been home sick all week along with me, I haven't been able to do much.  She woke up again in the night with fever so she is homebound still.  She is still sleeping though which is more like her so I'm glad she is able to get some much needed rest. 

I finally finished up the sign I've been working on.  I was inspired by Marie (bellamariedesigns) with her sooo cute personalized pillows.  I haven't done a lot of shows in the past but this year I am going to try to do a few more.  I've had a little 8 x 10 with MadBags on it to set on my table but I wanted something bigger, like a banner, but just couldn't put my finger on what I wanted for sure.  I am REALLY indecisive, just ask my husband, so when I saw Marie's pillows, I just knew what I wanted to do!  It's dual purpose: It can be hung as a banner, OR, it can be stuffed like a pillow and be set on a table.  I figured that way, I can decide what kind of space I have and then hang it or stuff it.

Also wanted to give you the Pasta e Fagioli recipe.  I got this off the internet years ago.  I have to say it is a really good imitation of the Olive Garden's. 

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced (i like it cut into really small pieces)

1 cup carrot, diced or julianned

1 cup celery, chopped

2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced (i use a garlic press)

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatos (i use the petite diced tomatos)

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, with liquid

1 15 oz. can northern beans, with liquid

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 12 oz. can V-8 juice

1 tbs white vinegar (optional, i forgot to put this in last time and I couldn't tell the difference??)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil (umm, basil, love it!)

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 lb (1/2 package) ditali pasta (sometimes i can't find this type of pasta and i then use the small shells pasta

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Brown beef in large pot over medium heat.  Drain off most of the fat.

2. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.  Saute for 10 minutes or so.

3. Add remaining ingredients, EXCEPT pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.  (When I add remaining ingredients, I put everything into a crock pot and leave on high for about 2 hours, then leave it on low until we are ready to eat it)

4. While simmering, cook pasta according to directions on box and set aside.  DO NOT add to crock pot.  Keep seperate.  Only add to individual bowls when serving.  If you add to the soup, they will get mushy. (I always add about a tbs of butter and a dash of salt to the noodles while they are warm so that they will not get sticky) 

Supposedly serves 8.  I say supposedly because my husband and I eat about 2 or 3 bowls each so...

ENJOY!

Pasta e Fagioli

+ =

I have been behind in reporting my dinner challenge so I'm going to catch you up on how things are going.  On Saturday night (Day 3) I made Pasta e Fagioli and it was sooooo good.  My husband and I love to go to Olive Garden and get soup and salad with undending bowls of this stuff so a couple of years back, I learned how to make it at home.  It's really easy!  If you want the recipe I'll be glad to post it.  Of course, my son, who is very picky about what he eats, had to eat this:

Alphabet Soup

I don't have any pictures but last night (Day 4) but I made breakfast for supper.  Before all this started I asked everybody to pick one of their favorite meals  and this happened to be my husband's.  We had made from scratch pancakes (Paul's dad's recipe...oooo sooo good, thank you grandpa!), bacon, and scrambled eggs.  I like cooking this meal simply because everybody eats it.  I think that's one of the things that discourages me about cooking every night.  I have to cook so many different things just to satisfy everybody.

Tonight (Day 5) I made Tacos & Enchiladas.  Umm, umm, good, if I do say so myself. The picture of the enchiladas really doesn't do them justice!

I have been trying to get this post finished all day!  Maddie is feeling better and hasn't had fever since about noon so that is grand.  The bad part is that I have not been feeling very well today at all.  Probably the combination of whatever both my children have.  If you don't hear from me over the next few days then I've gone into isolation!   

Homebound but improved

Mad got up this morning at around 7:30 feeling better but still had fever.  She has improved alot since last night and I am extremely thankful for that.  She has kept a low-grade fever but nothing that tylenol won't keep down.  She was twirling in the kitchen in her robe a while ago so I know she's on the mend.  She also has been arguing with her brother, which I took as the first signs of feeling better. 

Jaden has had a pretty bad cough as well but no fever thank goodness.  He is much better today too, hence the arguing.  He was so sweet to his sister last night playing dominos when she didn't feel like doing much.  Today is a new day though, back to their old selves. 

Sickness

It's 4 am and I just got Maddie back to sleep.  I think.  She woke up 30 minutes ago and had a fever of 103.7.  She had a fever all day yesterday off and on but not that bad.  She was shaking all over.  I put her in the tub and she started violently shaking which I knew it was because of the fever but it made me want to just yank her up and warm her up.  I waited as long as I could to let the water cool her.  It wasn't even luke warm, just to her it felt really cold.  Got her temp down to 102.9 so I felt better.  She must have seen the worry because as soon as I got her wrapped up in a towel she asked, are you sad mommy? I said I'm just worried about you sweety and want you to feel better.  She said oh ok.  As soon as I got her dressed and back in bed she said, I think we should pray.  We did and He is listening because she seemed to drift right off and the shaking has ceased.  Thank you God for sending her to remind me who is in control here.  Hopefully I will be able to go back to sleep soon too.   

A day well spent

Fridays are free days.  Paul is off and Maddie doesn't go to school, and of course I don't sew on Friday's either.  Paul worked next door with our neighbor in his woodshop so I asked Mad what she wanted to do???  She asked me to get out her beads so that is what I did.  She loves to create (hmmm... wonder where she gets that from?).  We also worked on the cutest valentines cards for her class.  The are flip top cell phones with candy buttons on the the inside.  They are still in the process but I'm sure I'll post them when they are finished.  She can sit for a really long time and make bead creations, which is great for me as well. 

Maddie picking out just the right color.

This is a serious operation people.

It took all day, off and on, but so pretty!  Great job my sweet ;)

The only downside is that alot of the beads end up in the floor and everywhere else after that.

Day 2 of my dinner challenge was met with pork chops, pasta in a creamy sauce, green beans, and garlic bread.  Sorry no picture BUT I did make cookies later last night and I snapped one of them.  Jaden had just gotten out of the shower and grabbed a pull-over over his head so he could get his share!  He had downed all of his cookies before I could take a picture of him enjoying them.  I got him with some milk at least.  He really doesn't like me to take his picture so I'm just glad he let me. 

Late Night Out

Yesterday was a busy day.  It never stopped, never took a break, just kept on trucking along with me trying to keep up.  I had planned to make a trip to the grocery store in the afternoon, without children, but it didn't happen and instead of taking my two along with me after school, I just waited until they were asleep.  I know I know, although it's always fun to hear "mom, can i have that?, please let me push the buggy... I want in the buggy.  no I want out of the buggy.  I want to stand on the rail of the buggy", or even look down and your child is laying on underneath the buggy (how do they do that?), I decided to pass and go peacefully alone.  Or so I thought. 

First let me say that I did cook dinner as planned even though I had not made my trek to the store yet.  Day 1 accomplished with dinner on the table.  What's funny is that in order for us to all eat as a family, we had to eat at 5pm.  No one was really hungry but at least we all got to sit and talk together.  Paul had a bible study at 6 and then Jaden had a bball game at 7:30 so we just made it work :) 

Ok, back to the store.  There are times when it is late and I get in the mood to go to Walmart.  Do you ever do that?  I really enjoy going around 10pm or so for several reasons. 

1. I don't have any children with me.  This speaks for itself.

2. It is less crowded.  Our walmart is always so jam-packed during the day it's a fight to get down the aisles.  I don't like crowds, I'm a bit chlostrophobic so I like my space. 

3. Less crowd, less noise.  I get alot of thinking done during this time.  I always bring a list but you know there is always something I've missed.  I also think about making new things and what I would need to do it!

4. I get to take my time.  I will browse the aisles as long as I want to at my own speed.  I can look at light bulbs for 20 minutes if I so choose.  The freedom of it renews me.

Unfortunately this time was not so pleasant.  I was really tired and should have waited until today to go but I really didn't want to have to do that.  I left the house about 10 or so and I knew it was not a good sign when my eyes were burning before I even walked through the entrance.  It was quiet in there for the first little bit but I was hurrying trying to get what I needed and get home to bed.  No browsing this time.

I got about half way done and I heard some kids in the next aisle talking very loudly.  By this time it was about 11pm and I wondered what they were up to.  They came down my aisle a few minutes later.  There were two boys carrying a girl in a cart.  All teenagers.  And all of them were high as a kite.  They kept giggling and staring at products on the shelf and then saying things like "Wow, isn't peanut butter awesome?  Look at the colors on that jar!".  I went ahead and turned to go somewhere and else and everywhere I was, they were there.  They weren't bothering me but I couldn't think too well with them around.  I knew it was time to get out of there when a man approached me with bloodshot eyes and asked what kind of cosmo do i read.  Luckily I was nearing the end and went on and checked out and got home. 

As you can see, I didn't miss much-