at long last

Thanks for the nagging, I mean, support. :)

So much has happened in the last few months, so much of it quite depressing and sad, that I haven't felt much like blogging, mainly for the inability to speak what was on my mind.

So sewing is still going on, ever so slowly. With all the chaos, and usual life, there have been many interruptions in progress. I am happy to say that MOST of the boy shirts are fully complete, but unhappy to say, that there are yet some unfinished, which I should be working on presently, but am blogging instead.

I just finished a very wonderful book. Its so common a title, that no doubt you've heard of it, but perhaps not yet read it, or at least not read the unabridged version. Robinson Caruso . You might say, "ya, I know its about a man being shipwrecked on a deserted island". But its so much more! Its really about his salvation, how Robin comes to saving faith in Christ alone, EXPLICITLY. It was so encouraging to read (well, in my case, hear, gotta love books on CD) about the various trials that he went through, and how he came to recognize that God in His wise and holy providence was working the trials amazingly for his own good. Robin came to bless God for it all, and to find contentment in his lot. GREAT BOOK, great reading for kids and adults alike.

Ok, and hmm, Shawn's on a break from school for a couple more weeks, so that's really nice, except that his boss wants him at work more, but he's not as stretched out for now, so that's good.

Shawn and I started reading through a very encouraging book together. Its been of great encouragement to me in my recent trial of faith, I cant recommend it highly enough.
http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/listdetails.asp?ID=619&RP=/booklist.asp

I wanna be just like everyone else

1. FIRST NAME? Tammy
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? my parents had a dog named tammy before i was born, tho they emphaticly deny naming me for her, they just liked the name.
my middle name is for my gramma, and one of my aunts: jean
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? this evening at prayer meeting
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?er, not really, i've always admired Amanda's tho
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? shaved roast beef, the kind thats still moo-ing
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? my baby died about a year ago
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? hmm, i'm kind of bossy, i have a hard time getting along with other bossy ppl. but i would like to think i would try. :D
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?I stopped journaling frequently some years ago, I found that bearing my soul was somewhat embarrassing some years later. though i kept all my teenage journals anyway, for their historical value.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? no, just sometimes
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? i get sick on rides, not puking, but really dizzy and nauseous
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? i wear clogs mainly, but no, if i'm wearing running shoes i dont untie them unless i have to
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? not really
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? i like vanilla with other stuff in it. not too much extra. caramel with it is good
15. SHOE SIZE? 7
16. RED OR PINK? red
17. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my bossiness
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my dad
19. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes, I love reading these things.
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? jeans and socks
21. LAST THING YOU ATE? a quarter pounder cheese burger, heh
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? jody talking on the phone in the kitchen, and the hum of the pc fan that needs dusting.
.23. FAVORITE SMELL(s): roses and honey i washed the kids soap from lush.com
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? shawn
25. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? hmm, i dont know
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, thanks han, kat, rene
27. FAVORITE DRINK? coffee
28. FAVORITE SPORT to play? i like any group sports. doesnt matter which ones, i'm not good at any, its about the ppl.
30. EYE COLOR? hazel
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? now i do, yay. sometimes
32. FAVORITE FOOD? broccoli cheddar soup
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy
34. LAST MOVIE? An Ideal Husband
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Red.
36. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer for sure
37. HUGS OR KISSES?man, do i have to choose?
38. FAVORITE DESSERT? angel food cake with strawberries and whip cream
39. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I think everyone has already done this
40. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? everyone
41. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? faithful contendings displayed
42. WHATÂ’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? drugfacts.com lab values and calculation formulas
43. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? nothing, we dont have it hooked up
44. FAVORITE SOUNDS? George Winston's "joy" it makes me feel like spinning in a ballroom. i love the sound of my love's voice
45. ROLLING STONES or the BEATLES? Beatles. cant buy me love
.46. THE FURTHEST YOUÂ’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Gulf of Mexico, no i guess Southern California
47. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? putting my foot in my mouth. and making cute hats
48. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? grand prairie auction mark '79


there is some therapeutic value in talking about oneself for so long. thanks for listening.

Back to reality

So, Jody and I are frustrating ourselves with the prospect of making boys clothes. The shirts, pants and hats aren't a big deal, but the suspenders! arg. Its really hard to find nicely colored elastic in small (less than 2500 yds) quantities. The clothes are going to be super cute, I think anyway, if we persevere. Jody is sending me some prototypes to get Joshy to model, to see how they look, and if they fit well.

So that's what is up. Aside, um, not much has been happening. I started reading a book called Looking unto Jesus, by Isaac Ambrose. It's really quite good. Shawn and I read through a bit of it last year. Tony recently got a copy, and his talking about it made me want to pick it up again. The full satisfaction of Gods wrath by Christ's death, on our behalf, is really cool, cooler that his satisfying it is way better than us rotting in hell forever, as even us being there eternally wouldn't cut it, but Christ paid the price in full. The wisdom of God is great in this, to have a plan that perfectly answers, and doesn't compromise, either his justice or his mercy. Love it.

Alright, I have to get things done.

Whats wrong with Ebay??

What a beautiful life being on Vacation all the time

So, today is a break, a real one, almost. My life has been so away from home for the last ever. Two weeks in Canada (a wonderful trip, cept for the stomach bug that got me on the day before coming home), then a photo shoot with Amanda, then babysitting for Amanda, then the Lord's day, then housework, then off to VT to help Laura (cute baby!), then back to another Lord's day, and now, a break. Well, it's going to be short, we're leaving to PA on Wednesday to visit Shawn's fam and some friends, we'll be gone till Monday, then hopefully I can stay home for a while and start sewing again. I have really been a slacker today, I've spent more time on the pc today than I have in weeks. Oh well, I did do some things, cleaned the fans, and the shower curtains. Maybe tonight I'll wash all of my Fiesta Ware, it's getting pretty dusty. Also, I am gluing Shawn's ball cap, I cant believe it. He just got it last October from Tony for his bday and now the boning in the top is starting to fray into a bunch of scratchy poky spikes which are unfriendly to the bald head. So, I've cut them off low and am going to try sealing them with some stinky glue, hopefully it will work.
Um, tomorrow I think we're quilting, there is a new girl at church, Gabrielle, she's gonna come along and crochet, at least until we start new quilts. I'm getting close, I just have the binding left on my old ugly thing that I've been making for the last ever.
Uh, business is great, we sold our first sling, before we're even officially selling them, so that's exciting. I'll have to post a pic when Amanda gets around to sending them to me. (hint hint)
I talked with my mom today. She's getting 3 goats and a doeling. She's so excited. We went to her and John's farm when we were in Canada. It's pretty nice, they seem to have a plan to make it work. The pigs were cute, and the horses were fat and sleek, and friendly. I dont miss cows.

God is so good to me. I am so blessed and so thankful. haha. All I have to do is think of cows, and my heart is suddenly so fully content with where I am today. :D

launch

http://www.scarletstitch.com/
the site is up, Jody did a great job. yay!

Delinquent

So, Ginny guilted me into posting again. All I have are the usual excuses, nothing fun to write about, I've been really busy, etc.

So today I sewed (well, all but the elastic waist)6 pairs of bloomers. That was a labor, not because I'm not normally able to make them in decent time, but because I'm sick. I have a sore throat (I blame Isaiah)that started yesterday, which was the day after I was over at the, hmm, some friends of mine's house, looking after their kids, one of whom had a bit of a cough. Ya, I know, I dont have a cough, but I still blame him. :P It is weird that when one has an illness, that they automatically start thinking of someone to attribute their contraction of it to. Anyway, my throat is very sore, and I am very whiney as a result.

So Jody has been working on our site for the last ever (just kidding, she's been busy too), and it's finally almost ready to "launch" (that sounds way more prestigious that it is, no offense Jody, it does look really nice). Anyway, so thats exciting, now if all the dresses can sell immediately before we go to Canada and then I wont have to worry about closing the store for that time, as I wont be able to ship things from afar.

Speaking of Canada, YAY! Shawn and I are going for two glorious weeks! It'll be so nice to get together with all the fam and church people there.

Oh, and speaking of Canada, Irene was here for a bit a few weeks ago. It was great to have her around, I mean, her and Tony around. :D I did actually get to visit one on one for a bit, twas nice. She's a dear girl, with a great love for God and for discussing spirituality. I haven't spent much time with her in the past, so I got to know her a bit more than before. There was so much "partying" while she was here, we were going to and fro for days straight. Ben and Kathryn had a going away party, the same day as we had a shower for Laura and her baby Deiderick, and then we had a Lord's day filled with worship and pot-thing at Ang's, and then we had a picnic bbq the next day, and then, quilting (no one quilted) with the girls Tuesday, and then prayer meeting Wednesday, and I dont recall the Thursday, but anyway, you get the picture. And then babysitting for the friends, I didnt get a rest until the 7th, and it was no rest, I had orders! Anyway, right before Irene got here my serger broke down. It's too long of a story (it involves my breaking a $50 part while trying to "fix" it, it didnt need fixing in the end). So I did get to be the chaperone with more pleasure and less guilt for not getting my sewing done. At last my machine was fixed on the 3rd and I could sew, and it was great. All orders were done as of yesterday, so I am a free man, a free sick one.

Man, that was a long messed up paragraph. Sorry folks, I feel to low to fix it. I must go elasticize some waists. Shawn should be home soon, he's bringing me pizza, I love him so much!

update

So, we went to a library sale last week. Got some great books, and some fun books. Paperbacks for 50 cents! Hardbacks for $1! yay! I got some pregnancy ones, and a great fun etiquette one, hmm, and some classics. I wanted more.

Um, sales are steady. I havent been able to put any more dresses online yet, as I've been working on custom orders for the last couple weeks. Maybe next week.

Hmm, we're planning a shower for Laura, on the 27th, her baby isnt due till July but as Kathryn and co are moving in three weeks I thought we'd best have it before they leave. We're gonna have a dress up party. So fun. :D There should be alot of ppl there, Kristie and Irene will be here then, with all the kids!

So, Shawn is working tonight. I've been working all afternoon and evening. And now, I'm going to pay bills, clean up the house, wash the dishes, and make a grocery list for tomorrow. I think I'll get groceries in the morning. I'm gonna go out to Amanda's tomorrow to have her take some pictures of the new dresses, hopefully it doesnt rain as its been forecasted.

I finished my audio book, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Very informative, very long, pretty interesting. It helped me get some of the history in a little more order, I know I wont remember alot though. Thats a sad part of listening to books on tape, sometimes I have to think while cutting out dresses, so I missed some. I think there are the same issues with reading an actual book though, wandering thoughts.

I made a sling for Dor, its so nice, I love it, its a kind of stretchy brocade, rich chocolate brown. I'll send it soon. :D

I better git.

Break time

So, we now have an official, well, not quite, but almost official business. Last week our dear sister took some pictures of our baby dresses and then posted them on a photography club/site, that she's a member of. Jody and I had so many responses we decided at once to make a make-shift site/blog to make them available ASAP. So, it worked, on Saturday we sold 23 items, some of which arent made yet (I'm working on it) So praise be to God! One day we're losers who are afraid (I should only speak for myself here) that we wont get much for the dresses, if we could sell them at all, and the next we're up to our eyeballs with work and sales. YAY!

Borscht

I made some borscht tonight. Yum.

back on track

So we did Greek again yesterday, actually got through a NEW chapter. Greg's nice to us, he says we're doing good.

So I started sewing dresses again today, finally. I’m making some with biggish patches, blues and green. I think they'll be pretty. I talked with Jody today a bit about redesigning the bodice a bit; we'll see how our experiments turn out.

I've been listening to a book on tape these days, while I wash dishes and now while I sew again, well in between sewing, mainly while cutting and ironing, I cant hear well with my machine running. Anyway, it’s called "The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon (the abridged version of course, the original is WAY too long). It’s supposed to be pretty accurate; I mainly became interested in reading it because Historicists of old have used Gibbons history for their interpretations of some of Revelation. It’s helpful to actually know who's who, when the Historicists make references to such and such an event. It’s pretty interesting. There was so much violence during those centuries. The Emperors had so much power, yet could be so easily taken out by the whim of his own military. Gibbon sure was down on Christianity in general. Also he said that a lot of the early martyr stories are fake, that something like only 100 Christians were killed per year over the 10 year persecution time period, unlike what the early Catholic Church had represented, they said a ton more were killed. Anyway, I don’t doubt the Church lying, relics of martyrs were one of their big interests, and snares which they set for the people. Gibbon made an interesting point of noting how many more thousands of Protestants were killed by the Catholic Church than ever by the Emperors, especially Nero, he said he got a worse rap than he deserved in modern history. That was a surpise. I wonder what else I can read to substantiate this. Anyway, bla bla bla, gotta get back to work.

Greek etc

OK, so this is must be a record, I am posting AGAIN.

Today poor Shawn stayed home from our Greek lesson at the Pastor’s because he's still sick and needed more rest before going to work this afternoon. I'm a little sick too, (oops, shouldna kissed him last week) but not as bad as he is, and I don’t have to go slave at a job, I love being a homemaker/dressmaker when I want to. :D So anyway, Greek. It was grueling, we have all been sick or Greg has been traveling, so we haven’t studied for like 6 or 7 weeks straight. Last week Edgar came over and we went through some of our vocab, not really an encouraging time. Today was more encouraging. Greg took us through a lot of the rules and all of the declensions. I thought for sure that I'd forgotten everything. But after some straining of my mind, being asked the hardest questions first, it all started coming back, bit by bit, yay. :D Shawn and I need to get studying every other day at least to get back on track, and to stay on track for that matter.

While we studied, Lonna loaded my car with a bunch of stuff for Amanda, as well as a big suitcase full of hand-me-downs from Cecelia. I didn’t have time to stay at A's since Shawn was going to work, it would have been so much more fun trying on the skirts that were way too small, and the "cat woman" boots with her to laugh with me. It would have been just like old times, Amanda, our cous Jason and I used to try on grab bags. Jason, the comedian had on over his clothes, a ladies dress, a Michael Jackson red jacket, and high heeled boots, at which time some man pulled into the drive, who Jason was to help unload something. So Jason was scrambling to the door tearing of his outfit as he ran, not wanting to be caught in such a get-up. So funny, you had to be there. Now this was a long time ago, 12 years to be exact, we were being kids because we were. :D Anyway, the lady has good taste, and I did pick out several sweaters and a jacket to keep.

I am washing laundry today, woohoo. I feel like I need a nap. Thanks for listening.

EFA's

I found myself on the FAQ page of Udo Erasmus' website the other day while doing a search on google for something, I cant remember what. Anyway, I came across this section and thought it was very informative, especially the part about mothers after having several children.

Does a woman's needs for EFA's increase during pregnancy?


EFAs are required for brain development and brain function. During pregnancy, the child draws EFAs from the mother's body to build its brain, which is over 60% fat and very rich in both n-3 and n-6 EFA derivatives. The placenta contains receptors that ensure that n-3 and n-6 EFAs are transported from the mother to the baby. No such receptors are found for the non-essential monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids.

During breast feeding, the child pulls 11 grams of EFAs from the mother daily through breast milk.

During pregnancy, the child depletes women of EFAs. Each child gets less EFAs than the previous child, and each subsequent child depletes the mother further unless the mother augments her diet with essential fatty acids.

Depletion of the mother's EFA stores explains why younger children have far more developmental and behavioral problems than older children, especially in large families in which the children are born close together.

Depletion of EFAs during pregnancy also provides a rationale for why women experience far more depression, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue, and more inflammatory, autoimmune, and collagen diseases than men. Women suffer these problems from 2 to 15 times more frequently than men do. The depletion of EFAs during child bearing predisposes women to these conditions. Men are not depleted by baby brain building in the way that women are.

the last 4 things

last one, then i'm done. (hannah made me, ok she said to)

4 things I hope to see or do before I die:

1. see my great grandkids serving God faithfully
2. see the church united in the truth, through out the whole world, and the civil magistrates keeping ALL of God's laws. not saying i expect this in my life time, it would just be great to see it
3. do all of my duties
4. make meaningful relationships with love

4 Things I Cannot Do:

1. make good bread in the bread machine
2. add multi digit sums in my head
3. make up my mind regarding my hair, long or short??
4. spel :)

4 Things that Attract Me to my Spouse, ok 10:

1. Shawn loves God
2. Shawn loves God's truth and talking about it with me and others
3. Shawns so funny
4. Shawn loves me
5. Shawn has the bluest eyes
6. Shawn is really cute
7. Shawn is my best friend
8. Shawn is smart
9. Shawn loves babies, and they love him
10. Shawn is a great hugger


My 4 Favorite Songs in the Year 2005:

1. By my side - Ben Harper
2. Not fire, not ice - Ben Harper
3. The Scientist - Coldplay
4. After Her - Dave Matthews


4 Things I Say Most Often:

1. I love you
2. Psycho
3. It'll be fine
4. Good enough


4 Books or Series that I Love:

1. The Psalms
2. Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snickett (on tape)
3. Various histories of the Covenanters
4. Sermons by Christopher Love & Thomas Watson

4 People Who Should Do This:

i think its all been done

business as usual. almost

Well, I'm nearly recovered from "the plague" that's been going around. After Dor, Jody, and Amos left, I got what Amos had, I think. I'll spare the details. The good news is that I'm on track, ready to go, yet lacking a little ambition still. Today, after talking to Jody, I mustered enough enthusiasm to cut out some bloomers, ready to sew, sometime soon. :D I'm taking a break right now, to eat steamed broccoli with cheese and butter. Complete and balanced. :)

In other news, I cleaned Shawn's desk. For those of you that have been in our room recently, my apologies for not cleaning it sooner. He's been busy.

Shawn's been sick too, but he's good enough for work now, so that's what he's doing tonight.

We've been reading a great couple of books together, a history and a set of sermons. I think Christopher Love was a wonderful illustrator, such color can be seen, or heard rather, in his sermons.

Alright, breaks over.

Jody, Dor, Amos and I have been having such a wonderful time that I havent had a chance to write. Dor and Amos decided on short notice to come down for a visit, as to not miss out on the fun, and arrived last Saturday. We did lots of stuff all week, including a few stints out to Amanda's. Well today, we are all sick, cept for Amanda and Jody. Poor children, poor Dor, poor me. So Jody went with Shawn to worship and Dor, Amos and I listened to a sermon on tape, with a long intermission in the middle for much needed naps (Amos had a mild fever last night and didnt get much rest, and thus Dor didnt either. It seems he's settled in to sleeping tonight though, yay!) Our sermon was called Holiness unto the Lord, mainly about profanity, the various ways that we are profane, as Christians, without even thinking about it. Usually when one thinks of profanity and its definition, they think of swearing, and taking the Lord's name in vain, while this is truly profane, we also are profane when we dont view holy things as God does, when we use holy things vainly. It really reminds me of the shorter catechism Q. 55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known. God makes himself known in so many ways, his ordinances, to start with, would be good meditation topics.

I'm it

I've been tagged by Amanda.

4 jobs I've had in my life:

1. Relief milker and poop-cleaner-offer at a diary when I was 11, ya, Amanda and I were co-workers.
2. Goatherd. Mom had a gazillion goats, with few fences, and many neighbor's with flowers. Nuff said.
3. Receptionist, for shifty old financial advisors.
4. Licensed insurance sales person, glad that's over.

4 movies I could watch over and over:

1. Pride and Prejudice (A&E)
2. Sense and Sensibility
3. Our Mutual Friend
4. Anne of Green Gables


4 places I've lived:

1. Sexsmith, AB, Canada
2. Athabasca, AB, Canada
3. Bear Lake, AB, Canada
4. Chief Lake, BC, Canada

We moved enough with Mom and Dad so that I can be distinct on this one. :)

4 TV shows I love to watch:

We don't have our TV hooked up. Though when I have had access to cable in the past I have enjoyed Trading Spaces, and hmm, most decorating shows.

4 websites I visit daily:

1. http://keepittoyourself.blogspot.com/
2. http://nathaneshelman.blogspot.com/
3. http://nathanshelpmeet.blogspot.com/
4. http://www.ignorantly.blogspot.com/

4 of my favourite foods:

1. Chicken Alfredo pizza from Romeo's, I do love this too
2. Coffee
3. Toast with jam
4. Mashed potatoes and gravy


4 places I'd rather be right now:

Hmm, I dont know. I'm fairly contented.

Places I would like to go someday are
1. Scotland
2. Australia
3. Prince George (this summer)
4. Israel, after they're restored to Christ, I prolly wont live to see the day, but it would be so cool to be there at that time.

I'm supposed to tag 4 people.

http://www.ignorantly.blogspot.com/
http://wraezor.dohms.net/amy/
http://baby.dohms.net/
http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=gogh_gurl

I'm a loser

At long last, a post. yay.

So Jody made it safe and sound, we're having fun, and working some. I rhymed. :)
We're trying to hash out just what it is that we need to do to start our business, there's so much to be done, and we are having a hard time figuring out where to start. Hannah came over yesterday and we brainstormed for names and looked at labeling laws and such. Fun times. We'll get back to it on Monday, I think we're done for this week.

Uh, so next week we're going to be more profitable, and we're gonna watch movies too. I found copies of some old favorites of ours, Our Mutual Friend, and Wives and Daughters. I reserved them as intra-library loans, they should be in next week, yay! Jody and I will sneak over to Amanda's and uh, quilt or something, for hours on end while we watch. Just like the good old days. :) Some may have wondered why we started quilting in the first place, wonder no more. :D

Anyway, tomorrow there is a fellowship meal after worship, so Jode and I made a cake, a good one, like Teresa G. used to make, double chocolate with the carmel/coconut broiled icing. Oh so good. I made a plain on shepherd's pie for the dinner, its good, tho boring. Bla bla bla.

Jody and I went shopping today, it was fun, we have food now. yay. Some other loser got the last dvd of the second season of 24 out of the library. So we only got food and we're still in suspense. Oh well.

Cant forget the weather, it was spring-like this am and blizzarding tonight. Pretty exciting.

Food, weather, 24, what else is there?

Jody and I are working on a new sling design, something different, so different we need to get more fabric on Monday to make it work. I'll post if we make progress.

Last night Ed, Hannah, Tony, Shawn, Jody and I went out in the middle of the night (10pm) and played pool, well, we tried. We played a few games in teams, and then Jody and I had our game. It was wonderful, no one lost, we both won. Thats right, we shot at stripes and solids, no rules, all slop.

On the way home, after we stopped at Denny's we followed a drunk driver into Albany where Hannah called in his license plate to 911, the operator didnt seem to care much. Pretty crazy.

Anyway, this should make up for some lost posts.