Well I was informed that I haven’t been posting very often. This is true. I’m still not feeling one hundred. Exhaustion is my new companion and has eased it’s company but a little. I’ve been keeping rather busy lately as well with cooking, baking, cleaning and we had friends over for the weekend. So as you can imagine 4 bodies in a 525 square foot apartment (you do the math) gets a little crazy. Fortunately for me I was able to somehow manage minimal clean-up. Woo-hoo! Plus why blog when I feel as though it’s hardly read? I judge the “popularity” of my blog by the amount of comments (immature I know). Today, I looked after a friend’s son for the morning and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the friend.

My apologies on the lack of blogging. I will try to do better although I can make no guarantee! I think I know what I shall blog about tomorrow… stay tuned for a blog about babysitting. Blah!

For all those ladies that I know who are feeling bigger than they’d like to, I’d like to share a really great giveaway from A Mom In Red High Heels. It’s chalked full of all sorts of gotta-get-it goodies: a t-shirt (from georgie tees), a book, some bath accessories, lip stuff, etc, etc. My favourite part is the cord blood registry savings. Really quite a fabulous thing. Head on over to the site and check it out! You don’t have to be expecting to win, but keep in mind that the contest closes January 27 at midnight.

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Nearly 2 weeks ago, I sent my Gramma a card. It came back to me yesterday with a sticker that claimed the address was insufficient. There was writing on the sticker that said “Country & State?” I had neglected to write “CANADA” underneath the postal code. The province was clearly indicated and don’t you think a postal code gives it all away? I definitely had a laugh over that. Another indicator that the envelope was intended for Canada was the price of the stamp. To be a Canadian living the American dream can be hell at times.

Yay for fabric! This afternoon I took a stroll over to Joann’s fabric store because… the simplicity patterns were on sale for ONE DOLLAR each. I used up the limit and happily purchased 10. To top it off, the red tag fabrics were an additional 50% off and every fabric in the entire store was basically on sale. I had a very good time as you can imagine. One of the reasons why sewing is a dying art is because more often than not it’s cheaper just to buy something, especially since patterns are so expensive! Not this time!

A quick overview of my purchases… the navy blue roses on the white and the plain navy blue flowers will be used for pattern number 3745, view C. The pink flowers on tan will be used for pattern number 3777 view A. The white with small black polka dots is for pattern number 3751 view D and the brown tweedy fabric ($1.50 a yard!) will be made into a jacket, pattern number 3538 (I’m thinking puffed sleeves on a longer jacket for the warm fall down here). I am super excited to get sewing. I also bought some cute blue fabric that reads “RaggedyAnn & Andy” in white with red hearts.

To give an idea, it’ll cost me $14 to make the pink and tan dress, $15 to make the navy dress, $9 to make the polka dot top and for the jacket… it’ll probably take about $10 to $12. I am just so pleased with myself right now and sew excited to get going on my projects!

I really haven’t been feeling like my fairly energetic, happy self recently and I think the above photo really reflects my mood of the past days. I’ve caught some sort of bug that sucks all the energy out of me and leaves me achey and moody. At first I thought I was just dehydrated, which didn’t make sense because I really have been drinking more water. I thought this because my calves were so achey. I would put heat on them and stretch and would still feel unsoothed. When I was younger I would often wake up in the middle of the night because one of my calves were cramping horribly. This was due to dehydration and I would go to school the next day with a tight calf and a bit of a pathetic limp. No big deal. Drink more water and stretch! But I tell ya, I’ve been in so much discomfort. Conor literally pulled me out of bed yesterday morning when I woke after 10 or 11 hours of sleep with a killer headache. Ouch! It’s been hard for me to accomplish much and as a result of everything I’ve been so sad and quick to burst into tears. Last night, it got to be a bit too much and we called the Bishop because I needed a priesthood blessing. I’m always amazed at how aware my Heavenly Father is of me.

Around noon today, I received a call from the Bishop’s wife, Sister Jensen. I absolutely adore her! She’s a very good role model. She offered her assistance in taking me anywhere I needed to go today and was quite sweet about it. I was hesitant and thought the whole time how I really do need to go to the Sunflower Farmers’ Market and pick up some fresh things. I knew that I needed to drag my butt there and would probably take the bus. And so I accepted her generous offer and gave myself a bit of time to get ready (it’s nice to feel pretty especially on a sick day). I was able to get loads of fresh fruit and vegetables and we also went to a store called Tuesday Morning (something similar to a Winners but smaller and with better prices). I totally appreciated her companionship and we found some really cute things. I bought a tray to go on top of our chest here at the apartment. I’m really trying to develop a style on a meager budget and I’m doing my best to layer. I figure slowly, but surely… I had a really great time! Sister Jensen is a seamstress and so I always love asking her this and that and discussing patterns and fabric. I’m hoping to weasel my way into sewing with her for an afternoon at some point!
Here are some photos of the tray:

The last thing I’d like to write about is service. As members of the LDS church, I find that most of us have a willingness to serve. We’re all eager to help out those around us. However, we must learn to humble ourselves and accept others serving us. If we all allowed for no one else to serve us than there would be no one for us to serve! On top of all that, allowing others to serve us is really one of the best ways to feel of Heavenly Father’s love and strengthen our testimonies. I personally have found that every time I accept an act of service I come away with a full heart and feelings of peace (and in this case, exhausted as well). It is truly a blessing to serve and to be served.