Inspired by the owner of "The Nesting Place" and since I don't have many spare brain cells to use with this flu hanging on the way it has... I decided a simple project was in order for the day.

Here is my kitchen cabinet which I love. I have always wanted to paint the back or do something to spice it up a bit. The "Nester" this week showed how she zipped up the back of her cabinet with decorative paper from Michaels. Since I'm not going anywhere right now in this state of health, I thought wrapping paper might work.

It was either this bridal wrapping paper or Raggedy Ann and Andy paper. I think I made the right choice.

Ta da! And the best part is that I can take it down and try something else when I get tired of it.

We put up a few Springtime decorations as well.

On the first day of this flu adventure, when just Brian and Hope were sick, I made rice pudding, a treat Hannah and Abby used to like when they were little.

I told Jacob (who had never eaten rice pudding) that it was good when you are sick.

He took a bite of the pudding and asked, "How sick will I need to be before this tastes good?"

Here It Comes...

Blogging will resume when the flu has made its way through each and every one of us...

Valentine's Day

I made this decoration for the mantle on Valentine's Day - on each heart is part of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (love is patient, love is kind...)

The girls and I made cheesecake for Daddy and he enjoyed it even though he started coming down with something flu-like last night. The rest of us enjoyed it as well. :)

After a hot bath, sleeping all night with lots of blankets, LOTS of vitamin C, and some vitamin Advil, he is feeling a lot better today. Here's hoping the rest of us don't get sick!

This morning - early- way before the sun was due to come up, I heard a little voice saying, "I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?"

Too tired to say "no", before I knew it, Hope was in bed with us. Ready, apparently, for an in-depth theological conversation.

She had questions about a book she had read that said dinosaurs were not alive at the same time as people. "Is that true?" she asked.

That lead to a talk about evolution and how many people in the media and in public schools automatically assume "millions (or billions) of years ago". - Note to self: see the movie "Expelled- No Intelligence Allowed" by Ben Stein.

This led into questions about Jesus' crucifixtion and how God could raise Him from the dead. All before the sun came up.

I was reminded about a time when Hannah was little and she asked "Can bad people go to heaven?" in the ladies restroom in a mall. She was rarely satisfied when a basic yes or no, so I guess the great questions of life happen anytime, anyplace.

Even when you should be sleeping.

Snowy Day (and Night)

Family

Because I Can't Always Wear Homemade Clothes From 1950's Patterns - or- This Momma Needs to Get With It

Most of my clothes have seen better days. It is time to start looking for some new things to smarten up my "look", if it can be called that. I have been away from anything remotely fashionable in so long, I've forgotten how. So many things in the stores today remind me of the 70's that it makes me nervous just to consider trying them on. Let's be honest- "flared pant legs" is just another term for bell bottoms. Just a bit smaller. And I can't go there. (Not that others can't look nice in them...)

A few months ago I subscribed to an email service called Missus Smarty Pants (missussmartypants.com) that sends weekly fashion advice based on your body shape. While this was interesting, the clothes featured were often expensive and usually not "me".

So, when I heard about the website MyShape.com, I was excited. My Shape has you enter in certain body measurements, your clothing preferences and coloring (spring, winter, fall, or summer) and then gives you a selection of clothes that supposedly fit you to a "t". That, plus coupons and other deals, I felt it was worth it to try and see if their system worked. The best part of it is that shipping and return shipping is free- yeah!

I'll start with the positives. The clothes come wrapped in a lovely net bag that makes a wonderful plaything for your children. You get to keep this even if you return the clothes.

I wasn't sure about ordering this shirt, but Abby insisted. She was right- this shirt fits very well and is something different, but not too different.

I really like the buttons- they have a vintage feel to them.

The washable leather jacket is too big through the sides, but I may keep it because I like the color. And because Hannah likes it. And because she will probably inherit it someday, like she does so many of my things...

This sweater is too large and will be sent back.

Surprisingly, I liked this and can use it for exercising in. I would never have thought to buy something like this. This was the other item Abby insisted upon.

O.K., now for the negatives. This skirt was supposed to fit and it's about 5 inches too big in the waist. I looked like one of the "after" photos in a Jenny Craig ad, showing how much weight I'd lost.

Since Abby and I have almost the same waist measurement, I ordered this skirt for her- and it fell off her when she put it on! It was huge on me as well.

So, it's safe to say that MyShape's recommendations for the skirts were waayyyy off . Another negative is that the first thing I ordered from them two days before this order was placed was for a shirt- and they sent the wrong one. And by that time, the rest of that style was sold out.

While I think the My Shape concept is super and with the discount coupons added to their sale items one could find some nifty deals, my overall success rate with them has been lower than with other catalog companies.

I think I'll have the best success going into the stores at the mall (which I greatly dislike) and trying things on the old fashioned way. I may pop in on the My Shape site and see what they recommend- and then keep those suggestions in mind when I shop elsewhere.

My Boy

Stock Show (again!)

Most of the family went to the Stock Show this weekend. Because Hannah had asthma after both days working there, she elected to stay home for this visit.

There are always interesting varieties of animals at the stock show!

Watching sheep dogs round up (you guessed it) - sheep.

Riding on a fancy tractor.

Riding on cousin Doug.

When they got to the bunny area, they took rabbits out of the cage to pet them... (notice-no one around them)

And were instantly surrounded by children wanting to hold the rabbits!

Abby ended up working in the rabbit area for an hour and a half- so many people came by once she arrived!

I think it's safe to say she loved every minute!

Hope by some bunny cages.

And at the "seed" exhibit.

Women were spinning and weaving wool- fun to watch.

Children showed their sheep to the judges.

Tired after a long day!

In the Sewing Room (Take 2)

I sewed a vintage tablecloth picked up at an antique shop last summer into a "shopper" bag today. It was too small to use on my kitchen table, but I liked the colors and the price was right. I thought it might enjoy a second go 'round as a purse.

A pocket, too.

In the Sewing Room

There are a couple of projects in this book that look fun to make. One of them is the "shopper" bag shown on the left on the front cover.

I don't have any pale linen like the one in the book, but I did have some sturdy cotton left over from sewing maternity overalls a looong time ago.

The directions did not call for lining the bag, but I did and added a pocket as well. I found some buttons and rick rack and had fun decorating the inside of the bag.

Now to go shopping!

Winter Days

More snow last night...

Temperatures hovering in the single digits...

How to add some excitement to the day when you are six years old?

By covering all your family members in stickers, of course!

Don't forget the dog- she might feel left out.

Stock Show Time!

One of the best parts of living in Colorado is the National Western Stock Show. After the excitement of Christmas, January tends to be a "low" month. However, the stock show is a big deal around these parts and a great indoor event for everyone (which is good, since the temperature usually hovers around zero with snow on the ground).

This year Hannah and Abby are planning to work a few days selling their bunnies along with three other breeders. Today the girls worked all day cleaning cages, making sure the rabbits had food and water and answering questions from the multitudes of school children that came in the afternoon.

Abby answered questions from children and placed selected rabbits on the display table for people to pet. They didn't sell any rabbits while they were working, but they sure had fun seeing so many people and talking about one of their favorite subjects!

One of the highlights for Abby was in the diversity of people who came to see the bunnies. Many handicapped people and people in wheelchairs came and Abby would place a bunny on their lap so they could stroke the soft fur. Many schoolchildren and their parents came and Abby talked for quite a while with another girl who is also homeschooled and raises bunnies.

Next to the rabbit cages is the "bird section". We always love to see the interesting looking chickens they have there.

Little dutch bunnies- not the ones we brought, but similar looking.

Look at the long ears of this Lopp! So cute.