Want to get organized for the New Year?

Every January, there is a huge surge in the organizing efforts around our home. The dust has settled, and the gifts are opened and need to be put away. And suddenly the house seems too small.

Maybe you are wondering what to do with all of your things also. So, it's time to start organizing again, room by room, section by section. Let's say you wanted to start with your bedroom. If you start with the goal of conquering one closet or one dresser a day, that is a reasonable way to start.

Just in case you have forgotten, let's review the basic procedure of organizing again... (yes, I need this as a review also) Incidentally, if you want a humorous version of the same idea, read this: I want to make my home "S.T.I.N.K."

This is a non-fancy (no acronym version) of the organizing principles.

1. Empty out the entire shelf/dresser/ closet that you are working with.

2. Decide how you want the area that you are organizing to function. Is this for frequently used items? Is this less-frequently used storage?

3. Sort the contents of your area into groups: keepers and non-keepers.

4. From the Keepers pile, decide if this is something you want in the area or some place else.

5. Designate boxes for "someplace else" and another box for "trash" and "donations".

6. Once you find which items you want to permanently store on the designated shelf/ dresser/ closet, find a way to label things so they can find their way back.

7. It may be a good idea to invest in some baskets, containers, or dividers to help things stay organized. Work with the space and the items until you get something that is not only functional but looks good also.

8. Take a picture of the finished product. Place the picture where you can refer to it as needed.

If you are a thinker, review the high brow thoughts about organizing and organizing principles.

If you want practical advice, anything from organizing spaces will be helpful also.

There's something so fulfilling about getting a space organized. I hope you will enjoy your January organizing adventures. I plan to tackle my dungeon this January. I'll work on it for a few days until we go to Chicago next week. I start in the dungeon because everything seems easier when I'm done with that space!

Happy and Safe New Year!

Starting out right for the new year..

I live! Just in case you are wondering, I AM alive! Even though we came home to a broken furnace, the house was not as cold as it could have been: 57*F. So, we have been trying to work the issue since last night, and we are in a holding pattern. Right now we have borrowed space heaters, and the house is staying warm enough!

I don't know about you, but when I get home from a trip, there's so much to do that I don't even want to think about extra stuff like making dinner and a broken furnace. Once I realized there was a huge problem, I found the electric blanket and turned it on. I made a quick dinner, took a bath and jumped into bed at 7:30! (That's the way to face a problem head on, eh?)

So, today I got up and went to the Y to teach pilates. Then I did some shopping, and finally now I'm starting to unpack my bags and do laundry. Today was one of those days where I realized what a blessing my pilates teaching commitment is. It ensures that I get out of the house and exercise, even when there are a lot of things pressing.

And I thought about going to look for sales in retail stores. You know, the post Christmas sales? But I realized that my favorite resale shop, "the Thrifty Boutique" would probably be having sales also. Sure enough, I went in and spent $50.00 in merchandise, with the average item at $5.00. In other words, I got some great deals, and that will wrap up my winter purchases.

Every year I try (in vain) to give up retail shopping, primarily out of guilt. This year, I am not giving up retail shopping. I am just holding out for a better deal whenever possible. If I really need underwear or new aerobic shoes, I'm not going to find them at a thrift store. But if I really think I need a black cardigan, I can probably wait until something shows up at a thrift store or garage sale.

I was so inspired by this verse in Hebrews 13:5 " Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.." I always enjoyed the contentment part of this verse, but I am now drawn to the freedom section. A free life, one that is not enslaved, is void of the love of money. Specifically, it is free from the kind of desire for money that is primarily used for getting more stuff. Everyone needs money for food, shelter, air, transportation, etc. You aren't loving money, when you are asking God for money for the necessities.

I am learning so much about how believers and non-believers alike are finding true meaning and purpose in life outside of the realm of materialism. Of course, I would argue that there is no true purpose without Christ. But I will say this. It would almost seem that an unbeliever who is truly finding meaning in life by filling their lives with loving people rather than things is in a sense more fulfilled than the carnality of the church-goer who has filled his cup to overflowing with the materialism of this life.

So, as we prepare our hearts for another new year, let's reflect upon what really is meaningful. What is it that you want to keep in the forefront of your mind? What is it that we do want to spend our money on? Where is our time going? With whom will we connect with?

As I ponder these thoughts for myself also, I'd like to thank those of you who read this blog on a regular basis. Your prayers and kind comments are such an encouragement to me. I enjoy reading your blogs also.

Taking a break of undisclosed length..

Have you ever noticed that the decorations that God puts up are far superior to what we put up? I was just looking outside the window as I was wrangling with a pathetic set of little lights for a puny stick tree that I bought at a garage sale about 6 years ago for $4.00. I generally do not even bring it out until January, but I decided to clean up and set it up. As I glanced out at this bush, a thought occurred to me: I should just try to imitate what is going out there.
Or I could just spend some time gazing out the window and forget about decorating all together. Because this is majestic, in my mind.
I love the splash of red nestled in these bushes.. happy cardinals!
View out the craft room--better than all of my punky crafts. God's creation rules!
Speaking of punky crafts, I finally got everything done and wrapped. We are going up north for the holidays to be with my family in Upper Michigan. My kids are practicing their quartet songs and planning to "play" for the relatives. We were originally planning to leave on Thursday, but the weather is going to get bad. So, we leave tomorrow for the big trip. Gipping (jipping?) a big family of a prep day is like.. asking for stress! I think we're going to be able to pull it off, even though some of our kids may be up late packing! Today was last minute shopping, baking and a robotics presentation..and a bunch of snow..
So, technically I probably won't be gone for that long. In fact, you really will not even notice. You'll be busy with your activities and holiday traditions. And we'll be indulging in ours.
Which I hope includes a lot of: saunas! and pasties! and.. chocolate! and snowshoeing!
May Christ be at the center of all that you are doing this season! Praise the Lord for his unspeakable gift!

Hosting a sew-in.

Yes, I'm still alive. As much as I love blogging, sometimes life gets busy. And it really doesn't kill anyone to stay away from the computer for a few days, you know?

So, I had planned to host a sew-in for a few friends. Actually, that sounds like I planned and planned for this and selected guests and had an agenda. It was nothing like that.

I had two friends who needed help on sewing projects, and I told them to come on the same day, at the same time! (That's about as formal as it gets around here) I told them to bring food and thread. One can never have too much food and thread.. except for seam rippers and cutting shears. Next time I am going to ask for those also.

(The pictures in this post are NOT what we worked on, since everyone was making gifts, so I can't put photos up. But they are things we have made, and what's a sewing post without pictures??!!)

So, we, as a chapel, have tried to host craft days in various forms. At the end of the day, we are significantly FRIED and wondering why we ever thought we could do this.

So, if you do not mind, I'll propose some guidelines for hosting a sewing event. Since, I feel like yesterday went smoothly, despite our many past sewing days that have taken me years to recover from.
Well, maybe not YEARS! But I do have some ideas that will keep things moving and the hostess from getting overwhelmed.

1. BE the teacher/ not the student: Do not plan on working on anything yourself, or you'll just be disappointed and frustrated. This is an opportunity to serve.

2. SELECT a project that everyone can work on, rather than several different projects going at the same time. I tried this once with FOUR different things going on at once. Feels too much like homeschooling (LOL). Prepare for a migraine if you do it that way.

3. GROUP like ability sewers together. Yesterday, I asked Shannen (a teenager) and Valerie (a stay at home mom) to come at the same time because I knew they were BOTH at an intermediate level of sewing. Although, Val and I both agree that the kids pick up things much quicker than the adults do! Joanna was teaching Casey, Valerie's daughter, upstairs in the kitchen. So, we separated the projects by rooms.

We have tried combining people who are hardly threading the machine with people who are fairly advanced and a couple things happen.

People who less experienced in making things do not realize that attaining a sewing skill level is something that takes time and patience. So, they aren't very patient with themselves when they are first learning. They tend to compare themselves among themselves, which is not wise. They do not understand that the entirety of their self esteem does not rest on the outcome of THIS project. Depending on their emotional stability, life could quickly spiral down into an emotional heap very quickly.

Part of the reason we learn sewing/ craft skills is to build character. We learn: dependence, patience, endurance, perseverance, and humility. We learn to identify with God in his creative abilities, appreciating Him more in the process. In other words, it has the potential to bring out the worst in people.

So many beginning crafters are interested in the "product" rather than the "process". If you end up making something and don't really like it (and there's no way to fix it), there was still the benefit of learning new skills and Christ-likeness.

The more advanced sewers will often get frustrated or end up abandoning their projects altogether in order to help the beginners. There's nothing wrong with this level of sacrifice, but I think we ought to provide challenging projects for those who actually do like to sew!

4. SIT and have a cup of coffee and relax when the "students" don't need you. I try to avoid sewing it for them, unless they are really frustrated. I think a lot of teachers just want to do the projects for the students. Let them be crooked or unmatched, and let them decide if they want to redo it. Developing a sewing "eye" takes time also. If we make too many corrections, it will take the enjoyment out of it. Encourage them to take breaks and eat or drink something. They will forget to do this, if they are really focusing!

5. HAVE fun! Eat some good food. Tell some good stories. Laugh. If you want to plan a devotional for the group, have the formal part be first. People get very tired from sewing all day, so their concentration skills will quickly dwindle by the end!

In all things, give God the Glory!

Hope your sewing day with your friends goes well!

Blitz-It Friday # 36 GIFT Making Blitz part 2

Yes!! I am so excited! Here is the evidence that a blitzing mama can sew herself into oblivion, get the gifts wrapped and in the mail. I suppose you want to know what's in these boxes, eh?

(I had a picture of boxes up, but I took it down)

Well, before I show you what's in the boxes, my dear husband said, "We need curtains in the craft room as soon as possible; it's freezing down there.." So, I took it as a direct command from the Lord to get these made first. They are pull shades for the sliding glass doors in that room. The fabric was on clearance, and there wasn't enough of the yellow (which I really liked) so I added some of the brown suede-looking fabric as a border.

At the bottom, I added a wood strip in the "pocket" hem of the shades to weight it down a little better and keep more of the cold out.
The shades were lined with some quilted fabric that I had from a few years ago. (The supplies do not ever go dry here..) And with the Lord's help, these were hung by lunchtime on Saturday. (Yes, Saturday night is when we had all those kids over for a party!)
So, with that out of the way, I quickly descended on these slipper projects. These are for my five year old niece. I would like to show the soft, pink cashmere sweater that this started out as, but I had work to do and forgot to take the before shot. They are lined with fleece scraps picked up from a garage sale.

All of the buttons are from a donation from Mrs. Beck. Thank you, Mrs. Beck for the large button collection! (I know there are people out there right now who are insanely covetous of these buttons that you have collected for 65 years)

I think everyone saw the booties that came from this next sweater. If you didn't, you can look at the tutorial here. Then again, my tutorial writing skills may be a bit "off" since no one was jumping at the bit to try it.

This is the final draft of the hat and booties. Everything got embellished with Mrs. Beck buttons and flower motifs.

Sometimes being a member of my family does not have it's benefits, as demonstrated below. Not only did this hat need some re-working, but my model was grossly underpaid and under-appreciated.
But she did not mind modeling these. These were also made from the aforementioned pink sweater and fleece from aforementioned garage sale. This was a gift for Emily's gift exchange for her "manners class". They told us she had to bring a gift, so she brought these. I think she ended up with a "pez" candy dispenser with a princess on top. She was happy as a clam.
This next sweater said, "KATIE" to me. The only bummer with working with this type of fabric, is that it is VERY stretchy and unravels quickly.
All of the pieces have to be serged before sewing them together. The fleece acts like a stabilizer as well as a lining. I worked with it, but it was more challenging that good old fashioned felted wool.
Why not add some slippers too?

Now, Muz! Don't look! (I call my mother in law, Muz) I hope you like these.

And this last one has nothing to do with the slipper theme at all. To tell you the truth, I let each person's personality speak to me when I'm creating a gift for them. Case in point. Eliza will be the only one getting a bag with her name on it. The blanket stitch borders each letter on the black first, and then I sewed the unit on to the bag afterward. I think this is my favorite one!
As you can imagine, there are entire "Auntie Jena" shrines of homemade gifts in the basements of all of my nieces and nephews. They have no idea what to do with everything but feel bad throwing it out. O.K. maybe not exactly, but I think I sufficiently went NUTS for my dear husband's side of the family. And I apologize to all of you, in advance, this is probably not going to be the last homemade gift adventure. In fact, I feel like I'm just getting started!

In a sense, I am just getting started, since I still have to do MY family, ugh!!!!!!!

My side of the family is little more boring, in the sense that I only have one brother, and he does not have children. So, I'll be making some things for my brother and his wife, my Mom and Dad and my grandparents. (No, I do not make Will and the kids stuff! If they want something, they can ask for it at other times of the year!)

My kids prefer, and I quote, "hard, cold cash".

So, what do I plan to do THIS weekend? I'm hoping to recover from this nonsense and come up for air out of my craft room. I do need to do a little more sewing, but then again, it might be prudent to actually clean the house a little also..?

What are you up to? If you would like to join us, we'd love to have you link up.

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If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

Fresh!

I noticed a pamphlet hanging on the wall at the Farm Bureau, where our local church meets. The pamphlet had a picture of an egg with the words "Fresh" on it. It caught my eye, and I knew it would align nicely with the "healthy kick" that I've been on. The problem is that I knew I was light years ahead of my husband and kids in this area. They are no more impressed with my efforts to eliminate trans fats than they are with farm-fresh eggs.

"Where did we get these weird eggs?" and

"Where's the NORMAL peanut butter?" and

"What's with the ORGANIC milk? I don't like it as well as the other stuff!"

Really. Non-organic milk does not have a special flavor ingredient that makes it special.

And with my latest brainstorm.. I thought it might be nice to broach the topic of raising chickens. After I brought it up and various members discussed it, my mother finally intervened and offered to PAY ME NOT to raise chickens. Can you believe this family?

Anyhoo, I noticed that pamphlet advertising a free movie called "Fresh", and Pauline and Paul were interested in going to see it. I thought this would be the perfect time to get my husband involved. A double date like.

"honnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeey, how would you like to go on a nice double date with the Cyborskis to a FREE movie?"

Pauline starts to tell him what it's about.. I quickly cut her off. "It doesn't really matter what it's about. We're just going to have fun, right?"

Will gives me the one eyebrow up thing. But he's a good egg and agrees to go.

So on the day of the movie, I called him at work to verify the time and plan, and he says,

"So, I thought I would get home and quickly eat up all of the hormone laden eggs and factory chickens before we go, since we probably won't be doing that anymore after this movie.."

Me: "Oh, so you've been researching.. Did you tell your friends at work? Do they think you're going off the deep end yet?"

Him: "Yeah. I told them. And they like this homemade yogurt that you've been making.."

Me: "Wait until they try our homemade chickens!"

Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!! The phone goes dead. (Just kidding.. he just laughed)

So, anyway, we got to the movie, and No ONE told us how to raise eggs or chickens. I was kind of disappointed. But they did tell us how we can find the farmers who sell the stuff. So, maybe my mother will be relieved. Perhaps there's some cute little chicken farmer out there who needs my business. The movie wasn't as scary as it could have been, but it does talk about how out of control the food industry has become. It is worth the time and effort to watch it. And if you really do not want to become a chicken farmer, there is no pressure to do so.

We were all handed the names and addresses of what they call: community supported agriculture (CSA). So, I like this idea better than buying a chicken farm. Then I still do my crafts and teach pilates without having to be a full time farmer. Whew!

Tutorial: making slippers from a sweater sleeve

I fell in love with this sweater when I saw it. I knew that it was saying "slippers for Annabelle". So, I wanted to created something unique for her. So, I got an idea. What if I could somehow transform the sleeve into a bootie?

Booties that would look like this? Just the thing a fancy 12 year old girl needs, eh?
So, here's how to do it. First, trace around a shoe that fits. We need to get a shape of the bottom of your foot. Since I have a pre-made pattern that I know works, I used that. Now add 1/2" (or more) all around the entire shape and cut out two sides for each foot. One for the side your foot will touch
and the other for the floor. If you sew the right sides together and leave a small opening on one side, you can flip them right side out. All the seams are tucked in now and you can stitch the opening shut. As you can see, the foot form shrinks a lot, so make sure to be generous with your sizing. That part is done. Now let's cut the sleeve off of the sweater. The cuff end of the sweater is going to be the top of the sock--no finishing that way.
The cut end of the sleeve is going to be the part that will get shaped around that sole portion. First, make a cut into the sleeve about the length of your hand (as shown). Right where my pinky is the part that will attach at the heel of the sole. This next part is a little funky. Turn the sleeve inside out. Draw a curved line opposite the one you just did. Sew along the line and trim the excess.

At this point, stretch the sock form over the sole to see how it looks. You may need to make a bigger seam on the curved section or cut a little more away at the heel section. (This is not a very exact science)

Once you get it the right size, pin the top portion to the bottom portion, right sides together.

My bottom section is a mock suede, and my the part the foot touches in a soft fleece.

Once you try it on, you may find that you need to make adjustments again. I needed to eliminate about an inch after the first fitting.
They sort of resemble ballet booties, since they are still sort of in a sleeve form.
Back view. Kind of cute, eh?
Done! What a quick thing to make!

The Gavel Club explained...

Imagine a group of young people being trained in public speaking skills in a Christian setting. Basically that is what the Gavel Club is. Gavel club is a part of Toastmasters International. There are certain age requirements to be involved with Toastmasters, but Gavel Clubs fit the needs of everyone else who can not attend Toastmaster meetings.

Will and I have been involved with Toastmasters clubs for about eight years. He has been club president, VP of education and an area governor. He has developed his public speaking skills through this tremendously. It is NOT a Christian group, per se. It is, however, a great opportunity to develop speaking skills that could later be used in a Christian setting. I have been involved also, but my involvement has been a little less regular. I have a minor in communications and love public speaking, so it was just an "outlet for fun" for me when I could attend.

About this time last year, we were introduced to the Caswell family. If you are local to Northwest Illinois, you probably know the Caswells. They are famous around here. O.K. maybe not famous, but they do speak at ICHE (homeschool conference) and travel around and sing as a family (with 8 children). They also hosted the Northern Illinois Youth Orchestra (which was a total success). So, they are the movers and shakers among us. Incidentally, it was an unbeliever in Toastmasters who saw the similarities in our two families (big, homeschooling, music interest and toastmasters) that said, "Hey! You guys need to meet!"

It was totally the Lord. We had more than "just the basics" in common. They live about one hour west of us, so it wasn't like we were bumping into each other at every other turn. We went to their home and attended a first gavel club meeting afterwards. Wow! and Wow! These were polished, prepared young people. They were mature in the Lord and able to articulate it.

It didn't take long for us to see the vision and importance of this in our children's lives. And yet, how do you make a "public speaking club" sound like fun?

We basically found two other families who saw the vision and need for this in their own children. We used Hallstrom as our "starting place", but time/ space requirements have had us switch to not being affiliated with Hallstrom and moved to the public library.

So, we started this fall with an eight week session called "the Youth Leadership Program" which prepares the initial group in leading the Gavel Club. At the end of our program, we had a celebration party for the kids at our home. Incidentally, the only thing we have in common with these families is that they are Christian and they homeschool. None of them attend our church, and if we sat down and discussed things, we'd probably find some real doctrinal differences. But what we do have in common is this: we are all committed to preparing our children to love and live Christ, as we each understand it.

Will and I have come to love each one of these kids and it has been a pleasure to train them in this way with the few skills the Lord has given us. We found it to be a blessing!

If you are local to Rockford and would like to join our Gavel Club, we meet on Tuesday evenings at the Montague Branch Library at 4:30 p.m.

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Makes my home sing at Moms the Word link up/

It's 11: 48 p.m. Saturday night

It's 11: 48 p.m. Saturday night, and I'm just now sitting down with my feet up. To my right is a lit candle, and to my left are the quilts along the hearth of the fireplace where several kids were sitting not even an hour ago. In front of me is the kitchen, all cleaned up, floor swept and mopped and dishwasher humming cheerily.

Tonight was our "celebration party" for the Youth Leadership Program training for a very fine group of young people. Tonight we had: our five, three from the S family, and five from the N family. We had 12 children ranging from 12 to 21, and one four year old. In that group, there was not one fight, not one unkind word, not one immodestly dressed flirtatious boy or girl, not one swear word, and not one hint of jealousy. There was no "pairing off" or talking of who likes whom. It was just kids enjoying kids in a wholesome way. There were snacks, games, stories, music and fun times.

But there was something else different about this party. There were three sets of moms and dads in attendance also. Even though the moms and dads just sat and visited, their presence was real and appreciated. (OK, I got in there and played the games.. but the other adults didn't).

There's a sense in which I wish I could stop time and have this time of my kids' lives halt right here. None of my kids are into the boyfriend/ girlfriend stage yet. Things are still so... pure, so child-like. And yet, I know it won't be that way forever. Kids grow up. Your friends' kids grow up. Before we know it, it will be upon us. But for today... thank you Lord for today.

Thank you, Lord, for this day, this moment. Right here. Right now. Amen.

Blitz-It Friday # 34 GIFT Making Blitz

I had a funny conversation with a friend, Pasquale, whom we hadn't seen for a few months. We were in the Y cafe. I introduced my friend, Deanne to Pasquale. Pasquale has spent some time in our home, usually doing dishes for me after I have decided to spontaneously "feed the masses"...

Although he didn't know the name for what I do (the blitz), he told this new friend how "she can take her house from a complete disaster and get it up and clean in no time flat..I've never seen it done quite like that.." Deanne's eyes were just getting bigger and bigger as he talked. She does not have children. She has cats. She does not go around her home "creating chaos" like I do. Nevetheless, she'll probably still come over for a meal at some point.

Notice how Pasquale didn't say how tidy or organized my home was. Anyway, the word is out. The organizing mommy's home is a disaster AND it can be cleaned in a blitz-no-time-flat. So now you know.

Remember this list? Well here's how that went last week---

1) do the laundry and put it away: got it done!

2) iron 10 things (or more): I think it was 15 things-- huge!

3) make homemade peanut butter--yes, and it is already gone

4) work on slippers for gifts--NO!

5) clean up the craft room (again)--yes, but it's messy again..

So, like.. why is it messy right now? Not sure exactly. But we plan to blitz soon.

So, now I need to get MAKING SLIPPERS!! and other gifts for extended relatives. My new stay-at-home day is Friday, so I plan to do a quick blitz and get sewing all day. (oooooohh the deliciousness of it all!!) If you forgot how to make slippers, or would like to know, I did not design the pattern, so you'll have to order the book. Or you could just wing it?

Do you have a plan for the weekend? If so, would you like to share it with us, link up. You can link up a plan or the result of a plan or both. I'm flexible.

-------------------------------------------------

If you are new to blitzing, here are some other links on the topic:

Basically, blitzing is forcing ourselves to focus for a set period of time on hands-on tasks.

Read about the: one hour blitz and staying focused.

Also, blitzing with kids is a blast if you are an airchair general.

Glad you could join us! Now you have MANY choices about using the blitz. You are welcome to do/ try any or all of them.... and so many photos to choose from!

And for you guys who like to move slowly, try plodding.

His yoke is easy...

So many people get so stressed out during this time of year that it's baffling. If it's supposed to be: the most wonderful time of the year--why does it feel like this?

It feels like this--whatever this is for you--because we are acting contrary to what our hearts are telling us. Our hearts are telling us that it's all about the people and being together, but our actions prove otherwise.

In reality, it's about: the food, the decorations, the gifts, the surprise factor, and the clothing/ appearances that we make.

Everything I've just listed are the externals of what we claim to celebrate. For some unknown reason, the food you eat on regular days is not good enough for the holidays. The way you decorate your home is also not good enough for the holidays either. And gifts. Well, if you can afford them, they are not good enough either. They are only good enough if you have to go into debt for them. And don't forget "the drama" of the whole thing. Unveiling things one by one in order to work the children into a greed climax (that is never satiated) so they can be whining and crying when they "didn't get" what they thought they wanted??

People! Why do we put ourselves through this? Why?

About 13 years ago, I decided that I was not going to feel obligated to endorse any traditions that I did not feel there was some sort of direct purpose in. At first I felt like such a rebel. You mean you are NOT sending out Christmas cards?!! And the deliciously downward spiral started. I gave myself the freedom to only endorse what I thought was necessary.

My first thought was: Can it really be THIS easy? I thought December was supposed to be stressful?! Amazingly, the kids have adapted quite well, since we've never endorsed greed in their regular day lives. Why should we let it run rampant at one time of year?

And the worst part is--I don't even feel guilty about it. I feel a complete peace.

As for our family, I hope to be decked out in snowshoes enjoying a fresh walk outside in my brother's big yard with my family around the afternoon of the 25th. We've all agreed that we each have too much stuff, but what we can not get enough of is: love and quality time spent together. And sure we'll get each other a little something--probably a consumable of some sort. And we'll eat, and no doubt it will be good, but it always is. And we'll play games and laugh and sing some songs or sit around and "chew the fat" because we can. And aunt Kim will not do her hair, because she never does. And my Mom will do hers, because she always does. And I will look like a hedgehog, since that's what I do best. And we will all laugh, and nothing will be particularly funny, and yet everything will be. And this is how I see Jesus in my holiday. HIS yoke is EASY and HIS burden is LIGHT.

Always trying new things..

Homemade peanut butter!

I'd like to share with you one of the reasons I think homemaking is such a blast. I treat my kitchen as a "lab" and my family as "the rats" and everything is just one big "experiment".

I hardly ever make anything the same twice. All food is a "raw ingredient" in which to create something "fabulous" (or not!) Either way, the sheer satisfaction of making concoctions in the kitchen, the sewing room, the organizing venue, or the school curriculum is what makes life "fun" for me. I enjoy the "hunt" if you will, of finding the latest, greatest, strangest, most colorful, most frugal, repurposed "stuff" to make things out of.

I like to read about those who take risks. I like cookbooks that question the norm. I school techniques that produce great results without having kids sit at desks, and I like sewing "outside the box". Traditionalists run and hide from me. They warn people about me and my weirdness.

But the blog world has brought me closer to others who are always trying new things also. So, nothing I say here will be odd for you, will it?

So what's the latest thing? Coconut oil!

I am slowly learning the benefits of coconut oil and trying it in recipes. The results have been very good. As far as purchasing coconut oil cheaply, I have not found a good source yet. The Lou Anna brand is the cheapest, which is about $6.00 for a quart. I think when the rage settles down, the prices should go down a little.

So, this week's experiment was homemade peanut butter.

I used the recipe from Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions

2 cups crispy nuts

3/4 cup coconut oil

2 Tablespoons raw honey

1 t. sea salt (on p. 516)

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Here is what I did based on that recipe:

2 cups of salted organic peanuts (that I shelled)

1/2 cup coconut oil

5 T regular honey

1 t. sea salt

Ground it all in the food processor...

How it turned out: SALTY! but very good. Because the nuts were already salted, I probably should have omitted the sea salt. It had a great flavor and was very filling. So, I'll make it again. The coconut oil I found had a yellow coloring added to it, so my peanut butter had a nice golden color. At this point, I doubt it is cheaper to make your own peanut butter, if you do it the way I described. If you can find a good source for cheap coconut oil and peanuts, it could potentially be cheaper. The good news is that it really tastes good! (I was never fond of that dried out stuff that claimed to be "natural" yuck!)

So this is what makes my home sing. Join us at Moms the Word for more like this.

Pie Crust recipe

Pie crusts.. do you make them or buy them? It's a toss for me, but recently I've been trying to avoid buying the pre-made to cut down on trans-fats (crisco/ vegetable shortening). So, if you think that making your own pie crust is over the top--maybe this method will be worth trying.

And you should know this about me, I never do anything small. Every recipe is huge, including this one.

9 cups of white flour (or ground pastry flour)

1 t. salt

3/4 cup of coconut oil

3/4 cup butter [one and a half sticks]

With a pastry cutter or your hands, combine everything together. They call it "cutting" the shortening in. As you work it in, the flour and fat will combine and become like a coarse mealy texture.

If you grab a hand full of it and squeeze, it should temporarily hold together like this:

And if you jiggle your hand again, it will easily fall back into a crumb texture. What you want to do is work the mixture until there are no obvious lumps of butter or coconut oil floating around. Once your have reached this consistency, you can start adding ice water in small amounts. To be honest, I'm not sure I've ever been able to measure exactly how much ice water is required. I would guess it was about 1 cup or more. Once the water is in the mix, you do not want to overmix or knead it. This is not bread, OK? In bread, you WANT to develop the gluten. In pie crust, if you handle it too much, it will get tough.

Separate this dough into balls or clumps of about 1/2 cup each. I get 8 from this recipe. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely clumping together. This is where most people get discouraged. How do I get this thing that barely holds together to actually turn into a pie crust??

Let's try this! Get a one gallon ziploc bag and dust it with more flour. Put the little dough blob in there and seal the bag. Get the excess air out just before the final zip.

Roll the dough mixture while it is IN THE BAG. Don't be afraid to add some pressure! Take the dough all the way to the ends of the bags, and make everything even. This is quite fun at this point!

At this point, you can put whatever crusts you aren't using in the freezer. They will be ready for you when you want to make a pot pie, a pasty or just a regular pie!

Or you could slide the crust out of the bag and fit it to the size of your pie pan right now.
And you can just go ahead and proceed with your recipe!

If you are needing the roll the crust out more than the plastic bag allows, dust the surface of the counter with flour and it should be pretty easy for you. Happy homemade baking, you suzy homemakers!!