Give Thanks Banner

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know it is all the rage to write one thing you are thankful for each day for the month of November. I decided to take a slightly different approach and include thirty things I am thankful for in my Thanksgiving post.

one. I am thankful for Jeremy. Everyday, in so many ways I am reminded of what a good man I am married to. I have been very busy with work lately, and Jeremy has picked up the slack, taking care of Mosby, going grocery shopping, and cooking meals. He's a keeper!

two. I am thankful that Jeremy and I can host Thanksgiving this year. Emily and Tony have to work today and Friday, so they can't head back to Michigan for the holiday. I'm glad my mom and dad can come into town, so we can all be together.

three. Jeremy (part two). While I was out celebrating making it through parent teacher conferences, professional development, and our upcoming five days off with some teacher friends last night, Jeremy was at home working on the beginning preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything already looks wonderful and I appreciate all the effort he is making to make our dinner special.

four.  I am thankful that my dad's heel does not have to be operated on after his injury! Speedy healing is the best kind!

five. I am thankful for my dad and my relationship with my dad. I have learned so much from him over the years! He's such a smart, kind, funny man and I appreciate him instilling a great taste in music in me.

six. My mom! I find myself growing more like her as I get older, and can start to appreciate all she did for us while we were growing up and all she does for us now.

Cut a small triangle out of paper

seven. I'm thankful to be a Grossenbacher officially! Getting up early on my first day of Thanksgiving break to change my license was a wonderful use of my time!

eight. I'm thankful for my parent-in-laws. They have welcomed me into their family. I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man who has had these role models his whole life.

nine. I'm thankful for my sister. It's been amazing to watch what a wonderful mother she is and how much she loves her little girl.

ten. Speaking of her little girl, I'm thankful for Sofia. She is the much anticipated addition to our family. I'm especially thankful that Emily and Tony invited me to be a part of her birth. It's special to think that I've known and loved her since her very first breath.

eleven. I'm thankful for my other five nieces and nephews. I'm so thankful the little ones can't remember a time when I wasn't a part of their family and older ones have accepted me into their family. 

twelve. I'm thankful for my sisters and brothers in-law. I could ask for better people to be in my life than Tony, Michelle, Tim, Liz, and Geoff. I enjoy all of their company so much, and am always amazed at what great parents they all are.

use inexpensive felt

thirteen. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful that I have the chance to work with young people.

fourteen. I am thankful for my students. It's so fulfilling to watch them grow. And on the bad days, I'm thankful for them teaching me patience.

fifteen. I am thankful for my coworkers. There are days I wouldn't be able to force myself out of bed at 4:45 am if I didn't know that I got to go to work with these people.

sixteen. I'm thankful that I can attend my grandparent's anniversary party this weekend. Forty years of marriage is such a testament to their love.

seventeen. While I'm sad Jeremy won't be able to attend the anniversary party, I'm thankful that we have the means and flexible with work for him to be present at another special event. More details on the event to come.

eighteen. I am thankful for my aunts and uncles. My sister and I are so lucky to have grown up with the guidance and love of so many adults on both sides of our family.

Using even spacing, sew them onto a ribbon

nineteen. I'm thankful for my cousins. I only have six, but Kristen, Jill, Nathan, Allison, Kyle, and Jesse (and their significant others and children) have been the most fun to grow up with and hang out with now that we are all adults.

twenty. I'm thankful for Mosby. You didn't think I'd leave him out, did you? His mix of crazy energy and cuddliness makes him the exact dog I have always wanted.

twenty-one. I'm thankful for our little apartment. It's so nice to know that I'm coming home to a warm, comfortable place.

twenty-two. I'm thankful for friends that have become family. Haley and Maggie have been such wonderful friends to me and family for so long, I can't imagine life without them and their families anymore than I can imagine life without my "blood" family.

twenty-three. I am thankful for all of my other childhood and college friends. These friends are my memory keepers, reminding me of all the good times growing up and reminding me where I came from.

twenty-four. I am thankful for my Chicago friends. They are the people that have become my surrogate family, when I'm far(-ish) from mine.

Cut out letters in brown felt. I used

twenty-five. I'm thankful for Jeremy's hometown crew. They and their significant others have become such an important part of my life.

twenty-six. I'm thankful for my health and the health of those I love.

twenty-seven. I'm thankful for books. I've always been a reader and enjoy escaping into different stories.

twenty-eight.  I'm thankful for this break from work. It's much needed.

twenty-nine. I'm thankful for 2012. It's been a big, wonderful, overwhelming, beautiful year. My family grew through weddings and a baby and I'm so grateful for it all.

thirty. I'm thankful for this blog, which provides me a way and reason to express my creativity. I'm also thankful for you all and all your kind comments in person, through emails, texts, and comments. 

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

Hand Warmers

Holding My Heart in the Palm of Your Hand

Happy Monday, everyone! This weekend was the perfect cure for my busy week. I had dinner and drinks with friends on Friday night and just relaxed all day Saturday. Due to my trying week, my cute little husband bought and scheduled me a massage yesterday. It was so wonderful and so sweet of him!

This weekend was so great because our "non-busy" weekends have been few and far between for the past six months. And now, we are gearing up for the holiday season! I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Jeremy and I are most likely hosting for my parents and sister's family (pending news of my dad's heel. He broke it while working around the house...OUCH!!!).

Our biggest task this weekend was watching our friend's dog, Fate. She lives downstairs, and her and Mosby are best buddies.

I was so busy relaxing, I didn't start on my project this week until yesterday evening. I started, then things went quickly downhill. My machine kept jamming. I kept swearing. Jeremy kept nervously glancing towards me. Mosby kept sleeping (in his defense, he was tuckered out from playing with Fate all weekend).

I decided to give up for the evening. It was a good decision.

I finished up our hand warmers today. They would have been nice for our chilly change of weather today, but we survived.

Here's what I did.

I started with some scrap fabric.

I folded the fabric in half, much like you would in elementary school to make a heart. I cut out four hearts (two for each hand warmer).

sorry for the blurry photo

Then, I sewed two hearts together, leaving just about a quarter inch of opening along one edge, near the tip of the heart. I didn't bother with sewing the "wrong sides" together and flipping the heart inside out so you couldn't see the seams. It would have been nearly impossible to flip such a small piece of material without leaving one side completely unsewn.

Next, I fashioned a little cone out of paper and a little masking tape. I poured rice into my cone. I then put the cone in the heart and filled it up! 

When each heart was filled, I hand sewed the opening. You COULD use your machine, however, a friend of mine accidentally broke a non-removable, thus non-replaceable, part of her machine when her needle ran over some dried food, while working on a similar project. She had to replace the whole sewing machine. I think hand sewing is a much safer choice.

Ta-da! There you have it! Pop these little babies into the microwave for 30 seconds before you leave in the morning and you have warm hands for your commute.

I made a pair for Jeremy and myself. We are public transit commuters, and I know these will come in "hand-y" (ha, get it??) this winter.

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Fall Skirt

Fall Skirt

Happy Daylight Savings, everyone! I love "fall back"! It's one of my favorite days of the year. Especially the Monday after "fall back". It feels great to sleep in that extra hour.

I decided to get back to my weekend posts now that life has slowed down a bit. Since I have posted on Wednesday, not too much has happened.

I met up with my good friend, Stefanie, on Friday. It was so nice to see her. We worked together for a little over two years. She just got a new job, and I'm still adjusting to not seeing her everyday. Needless to say, we spent a few hours catching up and talking about her new job.

Yesterday, I did something that I'm pretty proud of! I ran my first 5K! Now, I know that a 3 mile run isn't the same as running, say, a marathon, but I was pretty proud of myself none the less.

Every year, the Charter network I work for holds a "Race of the Dead" to honor Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). I have volunteered and walked the race in other years, but this year I decided to run it.

This race is really fun because they incorporate the race and the celebration with costumes, shrines, and traditional Mexican entertainment along the race route and at the finish.

Here's some pictures from the day.

This morning, I woke up inspired to do a little sewing for myself. I had bought this fabric a while back, but every time that I had a chance to sew, I found myself sewing fleece pants orders. Jeremy is a great salesman and has been getting orders from people at his work. I have also had some friends from work order. It's been keeping me happily busy.

Today, I had time to make a skirt for myself. I have been eyeing co-worker's fall maxi skirts. I decided that I really needed one and that they shouldn't be too difficult to make. I found some stretchy tan cotton fabric.

Then, I cut the fabric in half.

 I folded one piece in half, lengthwise. I measured half of my hips (the widest part of my bottom half). Then, I measured out a quarter of my hips from the fold. I cut at this measure for about 7 inches, then flared out and cut until I reached the bottom outer tip of the fabric. This is the front piece of the skirt.

I cut the other piece of fabric in half, halved the process above, and repeated the process. These are the back pieces of the skirt.

Then, I used a 5/8 seam to hem the bottoms. And I sewed the two back pieces together.

When I sewed the front to the back, I realized my measurements went horribly wrong somewhere (thus the very vague directions above). Luckily, my skirt was ridiculously big on me, instead of ridiculously small. This is a MUCH better problem to have.

So, after 2 rounds of seam ripping and tightening the hips and waist, my skirt fit. I folded under the top edge and sewed it down. This material is really clingy, so I didn't even need elastic, elastic thread, or a belt to hold it on myself.

I also ripped the seam up the back and finished it so there is a back slit for easier movement (didn't get a photo of this).

And here's a view of the finished product. (Don't mind the wrinkles. I had pre-washed the fabric, but it had sat for too long waiting to be worked with.)

Now I'm off to a relaxing day of football and food!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB