Apron Giveaway, Revisited

Only one more day to enter the Apron Giveaway, if you're so inclined. Just comment on the giveaway post. The winner will be drawn tomorrow afternoon (~3 p.m. Eastern time) and I'll post the winner later that evening.

I'm preparing a neat giveaway for February, as well, so look for that post in the next few days! This giveaway business gets addictive!

In other news, I am fighting off a nasty cold and I promise NOT to sew the winner's apron until the cold is gone - no need to be an apron wielding "Typhoid Mary" of the common cold, is there? :) Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Trash to Treasure

At the hospital, occasionally we have lunch brought in. And the caterers will occasionally bring these:

And they generally forget to take them when they leave, so the frames get thrown away. Well, this time I rescued them from that fate, and brought them home.

Then I used some old, leftover fabric from another project to make fabric linings:

And now I have fabric organizers in my closet, and I didn't spend a penny on them.

The fabric scraps will go in my scrap bin, and eventually into a quilt. The scraps that are too small to quilt with are already in the worm compost bin, because worms will eat fabric. Ergo, no waste in this project!

As you may be able to tell from these photos, the wire frames make some stacking possible. And although this closet may look messy, I now know where everything is in there and I can reach it easily. I even created room for my sewing machine, on the top shelf. I am rather pleased with my morning's work! Now it's back to the books - have a great weekend, everyone!

Spring is Coming

The signs are everywhere. Daffodils are poking their little green heads up through the mulch in the flowerbeds and on the path. I stopped at my favorite store -Tractor Supply Company- to get some dog food and they had seed potatoes, asparagus and strawberry plants in stock. In a few weeks we'll be able to set early vegetables. Spring will be here before we know it! Think spring, everyone!

Quick Apron Update

As much as I hated to bury that last post :), I wanted to give you a quick apron update. First, I discovered that my machine's decorative stitches are actually pretty easy to use. Note the decorative stitching I added to the pink apron, at the left.

The only problem I had is that I kept feeling like I had to guide the fabric, and it's really better to let the feed dogs do the work. Still, not bad for a non-seamstress, eh? So, the winner of the apron giveaway can expect decorative stitching on her apron!


Second, I converted the green apron into a harvest apron. Almost daily (especially when the garden's in) I find myself outside, gathering things to bring inside. Invariably I don't have any way to carry those things, so I wind up rolling them up in my shirt or stuffing them in pockets 'til I can make it back to the house.

Here (above, left) I've created pockets at the bottom of the apron. And that is me (my son does not have a feminine shape!) modeling the apron, just to be clear. You can see that there is ample length left in the body of the apron to allow it to be used as a cooking apron, as well. Note the decorative stitching at the top? Hehehe - I've gone overboard, I tell ya!

I think I will add buttons and loops to the pockets, as well, to make sure heavy items stay put. I just have to find a couple of buttons that speak to me and look like they want to live on this apron.

Now I'm looking at quilt patterns... I know, I know - studying! But all work and no play makes for a very whiny Terri!

Five Things Terri Wished She Had - But Won't Admit

On my way to work this morning I was daydreaming....do you ever do that and then suddenly realise you have no idea how your thoughts ended up where they did and your car so far down the road? Talk about distracted drivers! Oh, this is Melissa from ThistleDew

Well, this morning something made me start thinking about Terri and how hard she's been working and one thing and another led my thoughts down the path of things Terri wished she had - secretly!

Here is goes, the five things Terri wishes she had, but would never admit....

First - is Fabio - because what Terri needs is another man around the house who does absolutely nothing! Fabio will come with amazing hair products which Terri loves and he won't result in any additional laundry, because he rarely wears any. He won't cause any jealousy among the other male folk because a man this good lookin' is rarely interested in anything but a mirror, and a fan, on high, to make his hair sweep back at all times.

The second item Terri wants is a monster truck - you know a little grocery getter! Terri recently bought a new truck - a Subaru - but the entire time she was dreaming Big Foot!


She could haul Fabio around in the back of this baby and his hair would be guaranteed to fly!


The third item Terri wishes she had was her sun room finished in these colors. Yes Terri loves bright outlandish colors but no one else in her life appreciates her color style so she hides her color fetish inside a little dark box, deep within her soul - so the sun room - when finished will look something like this....if Terri opens the color box....
Won't Fabio look cool lounging on the couch in front of the fan?

The fourth item Terri wishes she had was a really steep driveway, because what Terri would love to do is zoom down a really steep hill everyday, in her monster truck, with Fabio in the back, hair flying...here's what her dream driveway looks like! The only thing that would make this steep road better, is if it was snow covered - because there's nothing Terri secretly loves better than to drive at top speed down a steep curvy, snow covered road, with Fabio in the back of her monster truck, hair swept back of course!

And finally, the final item Terri secretly wishes she had - it's this!

Yes, Terri wants a huge statue of King Kamehameha in her yard - right outside her sun room, so she and Fabio can gaze upon it sitting beside the fan....Nothing depicts Terri's style more appropriately than a huge man in a loin cloth, on a pedestal right in her very own yard! Don't you wish you had one too?????

Temporary Insanity & A Giveaway!

I have, this week, been stricken with temporary insanity. As evidence of that, I offer the following: I ordered a new cord for my sewing machine, even though there's no way I need to use my sewing machine right now. Also, I bought fabric. Not a lot of fabric, but fabric, nonetheless, because heaven knows I don't have enough left over from other projects hiding in my closet (the fabric, not the other projects).

You can see the fabric, here, to the right and left. Isn't it precious? Isn't it perfect? Would you have been able to leave this fabric sitting on a cold and lonely bolt amongst preoccupied shoppers who don't even have the decency to appreciate it? Because I couldn't, and so a bit of this fabric came home with me!

I know, I know - I am supposed to be studying. And, heaven knows there are things around here that haven't seen a cleaning cloth in months. So, if I'm not studying, I need to be cleaning, and if I don't want to do that there is no shortage of yard work. I do NOT need to be doing something frivolous, so what did I do? I made aprons. Because, you know, a day without an apron is like a day without coffee, right? Yeah, I know - if I was going to break out the machine, I could have at least had the decency to make something useful. But, aprons were calling to me, so I had to do it!

You can see them here, on my reluctant model (my youngest son) who only agreed to model them when I promised that his face wouldn't be shown, and that nobody from WOW reads this blog! Note the cool red crocs the child is wearing - he gets his fashion sense from me! :)

I am not the most adept seamstress around, but I am reasonably happy with the way these turned out. They are simple half-aprons, made largely from this tutorial Diamonds, Fur & Laundry 15 Minute Apron, although I did make a couple of adaptations to the pattern. For one, I wanted pleats, so I added those to the top of the apron before I put the waistband in place. For another, I wanted longer ties (so that anyone could use these aprons), so I used more fabric there. Still, I learned a few things on these and I think it will be relatively easy to make a third apron, and I have enough fabric to make one more whole apron.

So, to you, my bloggy friends, I am making this offer: I will give away a third apron, just like the two shown above. You can select either the green or the pink fabric, and if you want a trim other than the brown I've used you can tell me, and I'll try to find fabric in that color. I'll use a random drawing to select the winner.

To enter, simply comment on this post. You can get a second entry by checking out Melissa's paint colors and commenting on that post (anyone who's already done that who adds a comment here will get both entries). You can get three more entries if you link to this post on your blog (but let me know you've done that in the comments, please!). So, you could potentially have five entries in the drawing. I'll draw a winner on February 1st, to give people ample time to comment.

My disclaimer is, however, that I am not a professional seamstress. This is a handmade apron and it will look like a handmade apron. However, it will keep your clothes free of flour and such when you bake, and it is made of some pretty cute fabric. So, if you need another apron in your life, feel free to leave a comment!

It's a UFO!

There's a UFO above our house today, and I need your help figuring out what it might be. I'm really concerned that Melissa's green paint is bringing the aliens down, and we may have to get her to HIDE THAT PAINT!!

So, I'm giving you a brief description, in hopes that one of you might recognize this UFO and tell me how to deal with it! Ready? Okay - here goes: it's bright and glowing, and it's round, and I think it's kind of yellow but it hurts my eyes to look directly at it. Do you suppose that's the alien's way of staying anonymous? That must be it. To help you further, I'm going to include a photo. What do you think?

Should I hide the chickens? Everybody knows aliens love chickens - maybe because they have so many similarities?

What about the chihuahuas - everybody knows aliens love chihuahuas, too:

Yep, just to be on the safe side, I'm going to go hide the dogs and the chickens. Call me when the aliens go away!

Off With Her Head - a Salute to Terri and Louis XVI

Today's post if brought to you by Celebrity Blogger Stand In Melissa of ThistleDew Farm.

I find it very coincidental that today is the anniversary of the execution by guillotine of Louis the XVI....especially since today is the day I discovered a dastardly deed was done on my blog. As you will note from the below exert from Wikipedia Louis and Terri are remarkably similar - I have highlighted some of the similarities....let's hope they don't end up the same....

In the immortal words of his lovely wife, Marie Antoinette - "Let Them Eat Cake". Actually the exact quote was "Let them eat the chocolate cake and leave me the white cake with white icing" - this is what got the people really riled up! Everyone knows that the white cake is the best - it is made from the most pure ingredients. It's the chocolate cake that gets the dirty stuff, second rate items or what dropped on the floor! You can't hide imperfection in white cake! Anyway, back to Louis, poor thing.

Louis XVI or Louis-Auguste de France (Versailles, 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793 in Paris) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. He was the only king of France to be executed.

Although Louis was beloved at first, his indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to eventually hate him as a symbol of the perceived tyranny of the Ancien Régime. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, the new republican government gave him the surname Capet, a reference to the nickname of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, which the revolutionaries wrongly interpreted as a family name. He was also informally nicknamed Louis le Dernier (Louis the Last), a derisive use of the traditional nicknaming of French kings. Today, historians and French nationals in general have a more nuanced view of Louis XVI, who is seen as an honest man with good intentions, but who was probably unfit for the herculean task of reforming the monarchy, and who was used as a scapegoat by the revolutionaries.


Be Afraid....Be Very Afraid.....

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm feeling the need for a touch of spring - we had snow here last night and today, and so this: The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!! from Grosgrain is perfect. The blouse just looks like spring, and her work is so nice that you really have to see it to believe it. Look at that lovely embroidery!

While you're there (signing up for the blouse) check out some of her other creations - most are geared to little girls (3-4 years of age), so if there's a little one in your life, this blog is for you!

Just What I Needed

A chocolate giveaway! There's nothing like chocolate to make Whining Moon turn into Happy Moon (and then, rather quickly, into Very Round Moon, but that's another story!) Thank you, Wolfie for giving me a head's up about this great giveaway, and now I'm passing it on to all of you!

You can find it here: Painted Daisy Chocolate Giveaway - be sure to read the details because you can rack up entries quick in this one for all sorts of things. Good luck, everybody - we can all use a little chocolate now and then!

It's January...

It's supposed to be cold. That's what I keep reminding myself. If I made up Indian names for the months that match my moods, January would have to be Whining Moon. Cold weather in October and November feels good - it's a relief from the heat. December is such a lively month that I barely notice the cold. Then, along comes poor January - the holidays are over but winter is far from over, and most of us have had our fill of the cold.

If I had time to go and play in the cold, I think I might enjoy it more, but at the moment all it does is make my drudgery more unpleasant. It's hard to get up at 4:30, and harder still when it's cold and dark and dreary. See - I told you it was Whining Moon!

Still, we're more than halfway through the month, and before we know it will be February (which can be cold and unpleasant, too, but at least it's short!). February is followed by March, which can still be cold here, but we definitely start to see signs of spring. It's really only a few weeks away - we just have to hold out a little longer!

Hang in there, everybody - spring will come again!

Home Away From Home

I thought I would share a photo of my home away from home, at least for the next 7 months. It's small, but we have brought in a few items to increase the comfort level - note the fluffly red comforter on the bed, and the extra pillows. We also have a small refrigerator, and shelves and drawers to store personal items.

I was there just last night - another call shift - and I actually got to spend a few hours sleeping in that bed. I did do a couple of cases, but I wasn't up all night, which is nice. And Thursday night call is a good one, because then you get Friday, Saturday & Sunday off. Since I got some sleep last night, I won't have to spend a large part of today catching up!

And, boy, it was cold coming home this morning! The radio was reporting 7 degree Fahrenheit temps with a -6 degree windchill - we aren't used to that around here. The animals seem fine - everybody was up and eating when I drove in, so I passed around some extra rations (because I think extra feed helps with warmth) and then came on in to have some breakfast myself.

Stay warm, everybody!

Terri

This Blog Has Gone to the Dogs!!!

Things are going to the dogs around here. :) And the dogs like it that way! This is Achilles, the boxer. He loves the furniture, and he also likes to sneak off and visit Melissa's house.

Here's Achilles and his sister, Rogue. Rogue is a mutt, and is the most destructive dog on the planet. She is also extremely hyperactive and the only thing that saves her is that she's genuinely a sweet dog. When she isn't tearing something up, that is.

Pippin still doesn't like the camera, and her brother went under the bed and refused to come out when I pulled it out. These are NOT Hollywood Chihuahuas!

So, what have I been doing while it all goes to the dogs? Well, see for yourself - I spend most of my time in a plush, relaxing, state-of-the-art facility, because I'm a diva like that. See my pretty headgear? It's called a scrub cap - don't you wish you had one just like it? :)

Chicken Little Takes Over

Terri says she is soooo busy (she claims to be writing a thesis) but I'm sure she's eating bon bons. To pay her back for being too busy to craft with me (Melissa from ThistleDew Farm), I have decided to help her out by posting some chicken pictures for her!!!!!

Here are what most of her chickens look like - she plays a lot of Elvis tunes out in the chicken coop which makes it hard to get the chickens to hold still long enough for a shot but this turned out pretty good.

Sometimes her husband complains that she has too many chickens - in his defense chickens do show up everywhere.

She has a rooster and in the spring she has Hen and Chicks....haaaaaa ha ha haaaa....

Terri is thinking about getting a new car once she graduates from Nurse Anesthetists School. She is leaning toward the yellow one - what do you think?

Last year for Halloween, Terri wanted to be a chicken but the costume was already rented out to this guy.

It was such a disappointment, because Terri has always been enamored with chickens, I think it stems back to her Great Great Grandfather Jed, he loved his chickens....

Good Luck studying Terri, I've got your blog covered!!!! Don't worry about a thing!

Throw Me A Line!

Because I think I'm drowning, here! School is getting a bit overwhelming at the moment - mostly because I am deep in the throes of producing a thesis, and I'll spare you the details, but if you don't see much of me for a month or so, that's why. Still, as with anything, if it's worth doing it's worth doing right, so I'll persevere.

I hope all of you are having a fabulous New Year and I'll continue popping by your blogs when I need a break, and I'll try really hard to update here at least twice a week. Heck, if nothing else I can post a photo of a different chicken each week and that'll get me through three months, right? Hehehe - "Chicken of the Week" - I think I may have to do at least a few of those! :)

Terri

The Naughtiest Dogs on the Planet

Okay, don't say I didn't warn you about the photos!

Here are some photos of our rescued chihuahuas - Pippin and Frodo. They are two of the naughtiest dogs on the planet. They tear things up, they terrorize the cat, they try to nip Melissa's feet... they are awful. I am constantly cleaning up after them, or making them stop fighting, or shifting position so they can get comfortable in my lap. They do, however, snuggle with the princess, so that's a redeeming quality. And they make good foot-warmers.

The little female (in the middle, above) bosses all the other dogs. She weighs less than 8 pounds and the boxer weighs 80 pounds but Pippin is the boss. She looks sweet, doesn't she? It's a cover - she's a little monster! I can't imagine why anybody would keep such a dog, I really can't... oh, wait - she's snuggling. Awww. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the little demon stays here! :)

Terri

The Cutest OR Bag on the Planet!

Okay, I managed to get a charging cable for my digital camera, so watch out! You are going to be bombarded by photos from here on out. I have the next three week's posts (with photos!) in my head - this is going to be so much fun! :)

So, as promised - the cutest OR bag on the planet!
First, a little background - many anesthetists carry some sort of bag into the OR with them. The contents vary, but often you want at least one reference book, a couple of types of stethoscopes, a calculator, and pens. I also carry a nerve stimulator (for monitoring depth of relaxation), my beeper, and some study materials for any down time.

Before now, I had an ugly, utilitarian bag. This was fine, but many of the women I work with carry cute little polka-dotted, quilted and beribboned bags that are adorable. And I had bag envy! But that is a thing of the past, thanks to the girls at Threads of Friendship and their fabulous giveaway, I am now a cute-bag kind of girl.

Behold:













How cute is that? Even though it's a small-ish bag, it easily holds four reference books, two stethoscopes, a calculator, a nerve stimulator, study cards, hand lotion, an assortment of pens AND my beeper and nametag. And sometimes a snack bar! Thank you, Kylie and Janelle - I love the bag so much I think I may need to find that pattern and make a few more, unless you girls decide to open an etsy shop (hint, hint!).

Terri

Yoga Giveaway

What a coincidence - I post about yoga yesterday, and today I find a great yoga giveaway that's perfect for the beginner. Three yoga DVD's from White Mountain Center for Yoga & Therapeutic Studies -Daily Yoga Practice, Restorative Yoga Practice AND Chair Yoga Practice. You're bound to find something that fits your level of fitness in that collection. So, head on over to I Never Grew Up and follow the instructions, and you could be working on your own yoga practice before you know it!

Good luck!

Terri

Daily Yoga and a Surprise in the Mail!

Happy New Year, everybody!!!!

I am a firm believer in the healing power of yoga. That, combined with my resolution this year to take better care of myself (also, temporary insanity, because I just don't have time for anything right now!!!), prompted me to sign up for World Yoga Practice Month. It basically means you commit to yoga practice (even just ten minutes a day) every day in January. I'm hoping that it will compel me to be a more consistent practitioner, because heaven knows I need to work on consistency.

If you've never practiced yoga, I encourage you to talk to your health care provider and then consider finding a class: http://www.yogafinder.com/ . Practice can cover a wide range of abilities, from gentle stretching to hard-core power yoga that leaves you drenched in sweat. I am a hard-core power yoga kind of girl, but I think that's because I have some pretty hard-core stressors going on right now.

And, I got a lovely surprise in the mail - the bag I won from Threads of Friendship - it is just about the cutest OR bag you ever saw! I'll try to post photos tomorrow. In the meantime, rest assured that I am just about the most stylin' chick in the operating room right now, with my perfect little bag! But, you'll see that for yourself! :)

Terri