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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

And so it goes..........

In answer to all of your emails, YES, I AM still alive.
Thank you for caring enough to check in on me. I appreciate all of you more than you know.

I've been extremely busy and just haven't had much time to check in on my own blog, or on yours either for that matter.

I try, really I do, but it seems when I sit down at night to catch up, I fall asleep with my computer in my lap after about 15 minutes.

Yep, I've been that tired. Both mentally and physically.

I would promise you I'll try to post more often, but the reality is that I never know what my time will allow, therefore I won't make any promises.

I'll just say that I'll post whenever I can, and I hope you will still hang in there with me.


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For those of you that follow my blog, you know that I/we have been going through a lot of life changes this year.
I sold my business in Colorado, moved 1300 miles across the country with no plan of what to do once we got here, my hubby and I have had a few health issues, and now, he has to have a complete hip replacement in 2 weeks. A knee replacement will follow that in February or March.
In addition, I've gotten into a few work situations that did not turn out to be the way they were presented to me, which has been a great disappointment.

My store? Well...........without going into details, let's just say it was another one of those things.
In order to make a partnership work, you have to do what you say you're going to do. Good intentions are nothing without actions to support them. I did my part, and I'll leave it at that.
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So..................what to do now, huh? I ask myself this everyday.
We're in a state of limbo, and we're trying to decide what to do next.
Thank goodness my hubby landed a decent job soon after moving here, but make no mistake,
the loss of my steady income is forcing us to live between the forceps.
We aren't doing without by any means, we're just learning to live with less.

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The funny thing is, the less we have, the freer we feel, which has led us to the decision to downsize our home.
We're ready for a smaller house, less yard, no extra storage filled with stuff we never use.
I want a simple little farmhouse somewhere in the country.
I want to decorate all the rooms just the way I invision them, and then sell everything else that doesn't fit inside the house.
I'm tired of the baggage. Tired. Finito. Completo. Burned out. Done.

I want to live here. I think I'd be very happy in this house. :)
(Can someone please find me a house like this?)

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Do you find that as you get older, you want less, not more?
I crave a simpler life.
I crave it so bad I can imagine it into existence and pretend it's easy living there........

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 Please bear with me as I decide what our next move will be. I will be back to normal blogging as soon as life settles back down. I want to give you wonderful posts full of projects and ideas, and I will, but now just isn't the time for me to do that effectively. My attention is required elsewhere.
I'll be caring for hubby, packing up my house in preparation of our next move, and looking for that little farmhouse that will make my life complete. :)

I do have a few holiday posts prescheduled for you throughout the month though, so I won't be completely gone from sight.
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I have a strong desire to pretend I'm actually decorating for the holidays, but since I can't, please let me know in your comments if you've posted pictures of your holiday decor so that I go see your house.




Thursday, November 18, 2010

Home Decor Series - Sewing - Is Hand Sewing KeepinYou All Twisted Up?


Do you do a lot of hand sewing?
Hemming pants, closing up pillows, sewing on buttons?

If you do, then I'm guessing you spend a fair amount of time frustrated with your thread twisting up, or one thread suddenly becoming 'longer' than the other one. Am I right?

Are you constantly having to stop and unwind your thread to keep it from knotting up?

Well, if you're having this problem, I have a very quick fix. I promise, you'll never lose control of your thread again!

All you need to do is tie a knot in your thread directly at the end of the eye of the needle.

Here we go:

1. Thread your needle.

2. Bring both threads together and wrap around your needle.

3. Bring the end of your threads across your needle and through the loop you just formed.
 (Don't pay any attention to my grown out nails. I told you I've been busy. In fact, this picture is so old now that those nails aren't even there anymore! I'm aunatural at this point!)

4. Pull your knot tight on the needle.

5. Slide the knot down the needle until you're just off the edge of it a bit.
Pull tight. See how that knot is directly at the edge of the needle? That's important.
It'll keep your knot from catching in the fabric.

6. Also important is that your knot needs to be no larger than the thread layers.
If you make a big knot, it will catch in your fabric and break off.

7. See how you can barely tell there's a knot in the threads? That's how yours should look.

And there you have it - hassle free hand sewing!

Try it and see how much easier your hand sewn projects become. You'll thank me, I guarantee it!
And if you're still hand sewing with a single thread and wonder what the heck I'm talking about.......shame on you. :)


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

My Friends Have Their Own Reality Show! Starts Tonight!

We all want good things to happen for our friends, right?
Of course we do, and I'm no different.

Well, I have a couple of friends who now have their own reality show, and I want to share a little about them.

Meet Frank and Kim Belcastro and their kids, Emma and Adam.


Frank and I worked together while I was a designer on the Carter Can show. Frank was our construction supervisor. He started with Carter on Trading Spaces and took him under his wing and taught him the ins and outs of construction, and when Carter got his own show, Frank was a part of the deal. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
In fact, Frank taught us all a lot of things.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and always will.
I had to work directly with Frank and the construction crew on a daily basis, and Frank never once treated me like I was 'the girl' on the crew. He tried his best to explain things to me thoroughly so that I would understand them the way he did. He never told me "we can't do that" without explaining to me WHY we couldn't. He taught me alot about patience and working with your circumstances too.

ALL of the construction you see on all of the Carter Can shows has been built by Frank and his team.
(I won't give any behind the scenes secrets (HGTV just hates when I do that!), but let's just say, you can take my word for it - Frank and the crew are the ones who do the work.)

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I always thought that Frank deserved his own show..................I just had no idea it would be the KIND of show it is. I can't wait to see it!
The show is called Apocolypse, PA, and it airs on The History Channel tonight.

PLEASE, I'm pleading with you to tune in and give it a chance.

Now, I know Frank to be a sane and civil man who is highly intelligent. He is a man who loves his family and adores his wife of many years, Kim, who is a school teacher with the sweetest disposition of anyone you'd ever hope to meet. They are a fun and funny couple, and they are dedicated to their kids and teaching them to be self-sufficient.

I want to get that out of the way because, if you've ever been behind the scenes in tv you know that what you think may be going great may get to post edit and become something totally different. You can do a fantastic job on something and post edit can make you look like a wack job if they want to. (If you ever get a chance to do tv, be sure to make great friends with the cutiing room floor editors!)
I'm hoping that post edit has done good by the Belcastros. They sure deserve it. If they haven't, just remember that you heard it here - they are a sane family!! :)
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The deal is that The History Channel will air 2 shows and based on their viewership and feedback, they will decide whether to go forward with more episodes.
PLEASE, PLEASE, I beg you to watch it tonight. Their success depends on it.

What's the show about?
Here's what THC has to say about it:

" Master carpenter and History buff Frank Bellacastro knows that the world isn't ending anytime soon-- but just in case, he wants to be ready. A believer in the spirit of self reliance that made America great, Frank's wants his family to become self sufficient, whether they like it or not. From building wood burning cars to making stills and gunpowder, the Bellacastros are 21'st century pioneers, much to the amusement of their neighbors. "

Reading this, I just hope they really convey the family's fun loving personality, and don't make them out to be something they aren't.

Here's something else I found online:

A Nazareth man who thinks society is too reliant on technology and has a life-long desire to live a self-sufficient lifestyle is the subject of The History Channel’s new Apocolypse, PA.





And another:
A reality series following a father who teaches his family self-reliance by making things by hand instead of using modern conveniences.

There are two episodes back to back tonight, and here is the information THC gives for each:

1st epsiode: Fired Up
The Belcastro family sets out on a quest to prove they can become self-sufficient. Frank and son Adam attempt to build a truck that runs solely on burning wood. They encounter many roadblocks and are down in the dumps at the failed attempts to get the truck running. Frank suggests that a switch to an "alternative" source of energy produced daily from the backside of the family horse may be needed. Are the boys moving in the right direction or will their plans blow-up in their face? Meanwhile, Kim and daughter Emma purchase a goat and her kid in order to obtain milk in case of a food shortage. The mother goat is not exactly willing to give up the goods. Do Kim and Emma enjoy the sweet taste of success, or do they wind up crying over spilt milk?

2nd Episode: Handguns and Hooch
Frank believes it's time for the family to learn how to protect themselves. So the guys hop in the truck they built which runs on horse manure and head into town to purchase a gun for Adam from Dixon's Muzzleloading shop. Owner Greg Dixon shows them an 1850 Colt revolver, which they fall in love with immediately. Even more enticing to Frank is the fact that in order for the gun to work they will need to learn how to create their own gunpowder and cast their own ammunition. Meanwhile, Adam's 21st birthday is quickly approaching and Frank is looking forward to sharing a drink with his son. However, Frank does not plan on simply buying Adam's drink. Instead he is going to build a backyard still and produce the whiskey himself. Not only will this help bring in his 21st in a fashion only Frank could think up, if they have to, the hooch is perfect barter if there's a financial collapse. This causes Kim and Emma to express concern that Adam's first legal drink will not be very legal.
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Please join me tonight in front of the tv!

Congratualtions Frank and Kim!!

 

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Such is My Life

I'll be back soon, I promise.
I've been super busy and didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. Give me another day or so to get back to normal and I'll come back to tell you everything that's been going on.

I had several posts prescheduled, but as a few things have changed, I had to go back and remove them because they no longer applied.

Thanks for not giving up on me!
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I'll tell you about this table in an upcoming post.
Just wait till you see the stools that go with it!
(I know they're tucked in the corner of the picture, but you can't really see them........or can you? :))



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