Clothes Shopping

We still have growing kids! My youngest did another overnight 3" growth.  He is 13 years old and 6 ft tall and skinny - OMG - so skinny.  He eats more than the rest of us and eats constantly - right now, he is putting away an entire bag of popcorn - after 3 corndogs, some pasta salad and an apple.

Needless to say, when he put on his jeans to go out last week, they looked like Capri pants, but in a bad way. Even his shirts were hitting him right at the jean top seam. They looked like they wanted to be half shirts.  

Before now, we would just raid older brother's closet for things he did not wear anymore because he grew out of or just didn't wear, but DS#2 is no longer growing and doesn't live with us anymore.

Off to the store we go!  Let's hope Kohl's has some deals - this kid needs a new wardrobe!  We will more than likely do it in sets since they give you Kohls cash.  He needs shorts for summer and shirts.  We will get one pair of jeans for nicer occasions, but are holding off til fall to get more - he might grow again!

DD also needs a dress or nice slacks because she is going to see the musical Hamilton in a couple of weeks on a Friday night, so she needs to dress up just a bit.  She has grown as well - though not as much as her brother - and her dresses are hitting her a little high in the waist.  She has a straight waist, so it does not look good. 

While we are out, since we have to combine trips into the city, I am hitting Joanns for some interfacing and batting as well as matching thread for my 2 quilts.  While there, a customer is meeting me for a pick up.  Then, we are off to Kohl's where we will meet up with Dad, then go for the Sushi Birthday Dinner we have been promising our daughter. 

I don't love Sushi, but this child does - she could live on it.

Well, I am off to grab a quick bite to eat to tide me over, then answering emails and getting ready!  Hope you are having a great day!

Disclaimer

Hey everyone!  I am trying to be more positive about things lately, so I have decided to embark on something new in hopes that we can build a business.  I talked about it a little yesterday.  This is one aspect of the plan.

I have become an affiliate with Craftsy. 

How this came about...

I am very active on Facebook group of machine embroiderers.  Some of the designers have asked me to be testers for their designs and I don't mind at all - I get free designs and many times gift certificate codes for MORE of their items.  They like my pictures and my work, so it is a win-win for now.

This is done on the embroidery machine.  It was one I tested for a designer.

On top of this, I get so many messages from people who want to know how to make the designs.  The machine embroidery world is getting more complicated - you don't just hoop and let it go anymore, nor it is just about applique.  I can make stuffed animals, purses, wallets, multi-layered with zippers and everything.

I get asked mostly about layered key fobs

So, I started making tutorials for some of these.  They received a tremendous response.

Well, this all got me thinking.  I don't really want to charge for the tutorials - they are not my designs, so I feel uncomfortable charging what is not mine.

In steps Craftsy.  I got an email from them about becoming an affiliate.  There is not a lot of money involved, but it is a start.

What ALL this leads me to is...I will be starting a blog about embroidery/sewing/quilting tutorials for the beginner ONLY as well as Class Reviews from Craftsy and product reviews.  (I don't have it just yet, but I will let you know). 

This is going to be slow at first until I get a feel for how it will develop. 

My disclaimer to you all is I put a small Craftsy link on here - it is my affiliate link and if you purchase anything after clicking there, I will receive a very small commission from it and it will not cost you anything.  I am not expecting much at all here, just why not put a small one here?

Being an affiliate though, I will have special promotions that you can only get from someone who is an affiliate - and I am not the only one.  I will probably mention it once a week in a post, but I will NOT hound you all!

Off to do more work now - I have 2 quilts going, plus 2 pouches and getting ready for a very mini-show next Monday.

Musings and such

We did not have internet over most of the weekend.  Which sucked.  But, we got some things done around house and yard and I got to relax a bit - much needed.

Our menu for the week -

Monday -  Cajun Meatloaf, Steamed broccoli and salad
Tuesday - Chicken & Sausage Skewers, Fire-Roasted corn and sliced tomatoes
Wednesday - Sushi (out to eat for a birthday celebration)
Thursday - Steak, sweet potato fries, salad
Friday - homemade pizza
Saturday - Mexican Grilled Chicken, chunky guacamole, black beans
Sunday - Pork loin, green beans, cabbage stir fry

I am hoping to have leftovers daily for lunch.

So that being done is good - we were not too good over the last couple of weeks.  We did not eat out much, but we certainly did not eat well - which may have contributed to my overall mood.

We also finished off the Half Bath.  I don't think I told you all.  In our upstairs room above the garage, our college boy stays there, but it did not have a bathroom, so he had to come through the garage, walk outside and then in the house to get to a bathroom.  NOT the end of the world, but we have guests A LOT in this house.  They also stay in that room.  In the middle of the night, they would have to make that same trek.

We decided to put in a 1/2 bath upstairs so they could at least use the restroom at night without trying to make their way through total darkness.  We did most of the work, we just hired a plumber to make sure the sewer and pipes were done to code.  Now, we just need to texture and paint where the hole was cut in the wall and add a trash can - all done!

 Other than that, we mowed, swept out the garage and patio, cleaned up inside, did some laundry.  I did work a bit, putting interfacing on 50 tshirts.  Then brainstormed what I wanted to have for the fall markets.

Today is the start of the 6 weeks of homeschool.  Then we will take an 11 week break.  DD will go to a Shakespeare camp with her theater group and then take driving lessons in August.  DS has an intense coding camp in July.

Just to touch base on the homeschool issue.  All teachers, all homeschool parents, all coaches, all everyone has times of burnout.  It just means it is time for a break.  I was homeschooling while building a house, living in temporary places without all our things while 2 close family members died (parents and grandparents), another got cancer (parent) also while living through the biggest flood our area has ever seen.  It was a tough year and I can have a week of crying and burnout or even more! I just needed to vent a little because I was overwhelmed not just from homeschool - that is only a part of the big picture that is going on.

My husband was just forced to take a promotion where he will have to travel a ton!  We are not looking forward to that.  So, there is pressure to get things paid off as quickly as possible, while building a business, so that he can retire and we can work together - yes, in the sewing world - lots of things are going on with that right now.  It is a pipe dream, but when this promotion came up, it got us thinking hard about it.

Anyway, I am just saying, putting the kids in public would cause many issues and solve a couple, but ultimately it is like putting a bandaid on a broken bone.  There is a problem, but homeschool is just 1 part of it.  Our problem will take a little bit of work and time to get it manageable.

I will try to limit my down times then, especially when I have not been around in a while.  Here is hoping I stay healthy for a while!  No more flu!