By Breenah

A Little Thanksgiving and a Lot of Fun Tee

2016-11-23T19:33:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! If you're in the US, that is. If not, Happy Thursday! Or Friday. Whatever, I don't feel like double checking how time zones work right now.

On Tuesday we went and had a "feast" at Quinn's school. It's kind of hard to do the stereotypical elementary school Thanksgiving things knowing that the "everybody was friends" story you get told was a lie, but there's also only so much that five-year-olds will understand. Quinn still doesn't quite understand taxidermy and thinks the animals at Cabela's were just really well trained, even though I tried to explain.

I asked Quinn what she was most excited about for Thanksgiving and she's looking forward to seeing her grandparents. She is so excited she's even crafting at home. (She insisted I add the stickers while editing and that's a pumpkin on the right.)

On top of prepping for the feast at school and regular Thanksgiving (at both my parents' and Jarrod's) I was also volunteering at Quinn's school (four hours a week, generally), helping my grandma out with cleaning and grocery shopping, and starting genealogy work with my other grandma. And I also agreed to do a pattern test in the middle of this.

I'm not always the smartest when it comes to scheduling.

You might remember that I tested for Lauren from Sew By Pattern Pieces before, with the super cute and twirly circle skirt. This time she's designed a t-shirt that is crazy well fitting, the Ladies Fun Tee.

The first version I tried, I didn't have fabric that was stretchy enough and it still fit pretty dang well, although you can see that it's a tiny bit tight in the bust. I re-purposed a 3XL t-shirt and then dyed it, so for $1 and a test it's not a bad tee. However, the benefit of sewing your own clothes is that you can get them fitting well, if not perfectly.

With the final version of the shirt I was pushing it on getting everything done in time, as you can see with everything else I was doing, but I got it done! I was excited, until I forgot that I didn't have pictures yet. I wanted to do at least basic make-up for pictures and Quinn decided to join me.

As you can see by the teal she's applying to her forehead, she's still completely having fun.

We moved downstairs because the lighting is slightly better. This involved a furry photobomber.

And a less furry photobomber, but you can actually see the fit of the shirt in this one. I often have to add length to sleeves and bodices to be comfortable and long enough, but I don't have to on this pattern and it makes me SO HAPPY. However, I haven't even mentioned the best part yet. On top of having sizes 2 through 22 (US sizing) Lauren has also worked the pattern by bust size. So, if you're a size 2 but with a DD bust or a size 20 with an A bust, you won't have to finagle the pattern to combine sizes. It's AWESOME. Plus the directions on how to figure out which size you need is easy peezy.

I'm sure I'll be making plenty more of these in the future. And if you're interested in making some, there's a giveaway! It's for one copy of the Ladies Fun Tee and one copy of One Thimble #13, so enter away at the bottom of the post.

If you can't wait for the giveaway, Lauren is having a special Thanksgiving sale, even though she's in Australia. Use code "HOLIDAY25" for 25% off in her etsy store from November 25th - 29th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out all the other ladies and their shirts:

Day 1 - MeMade

Day 2 - Anne-Mari Sews and Sewing by Ti

Day 3 - By Breenah and Kiwi Crafty Chemist

Day 4 - Kutti Couture

October Update

2016-11-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

I managed to complete 8/19. Honestly, I forgot about my goals and didn't look at this once since writing it. Oops. For now, I'm not going to make a list for November. I imagine I'll get just as much done. Goal lists don't do it for me, apparently.

Blogging:

~~Write at least three blog posts (does this one count as one?)~~ - Half completed, I'm not sure the ones I wrote really count, but there are three.

Finish moving 2013's pictures to Flickr (I'm in August, currently) - Completely and utterly ignored.

~~Write at least one movie and/or book review.~~ - I did that, but also counted it as one of my three posts.

Crafty:

Finish the dress I'm working on for Quinn - This has been abandoned. It just isn't working.

Sew the sweatshirt I've been meaning to make for myself - I still need to add the band at the hips and the cuffs at the wrist. But I did make Quinn's Halloween costume.

Sew the shirt I'm making for my mom - Not even started.

~~Finish knitting present~~ - I don't remember what this was, but I've moved on to other knitting, so I'm pretty sure it's done.

Quinn:

Pumpkin patch trip - Sadly this is the first year in FOREVER we didn't go.

~~Lunch at school at least once~~ - I had lunch with her at school twice and have volunteered a few times as well.

~~Get her to sleep by herself (she did last night, lets hope it sticks)~~ - She still needs me to come in at least once a night, but I'm mostly not sleeping in her bed anymore. HUGE score.

Personal:

Drink at least 32 oz water per day - HAHAHAHAHAHA. No.

Catch up on my Bible reading - Bah. No.

Stop biting nails, again - Man, I suck.

Figure out some sort of face/skin care routine - Also no, but I am getting better at cleaning my face on a schedule.

Random:

~~Finish a book~~ - I finished four, actually. Approval Junkie, A Wrinkle in Time, Dead is a State of Mind, and The Savages.

Finish movie challenge - Also no.

Try five new recipes - I totally forgot about this and so I'm not really sure if I did or not.

~~Have less than five nights of "whatever" for dinner~~ - I think we managed to do this.

~~Hit the budget HARD with sticking to it~~ - We're doing better.

Approval Given

2016-10-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

To be honest, when I requested Approval Junkie from Blogging for Books, I had no idea who Faith Salie was. In case you're in the same boat, here's a quick blurb from her website:

Faith Salie is an Emmy-winning contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning and a panelist on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! She also hosts the PBS show, Science Goes to the Movies. As a commentator on politics and pop culture, she's been interviewed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill O'Reilly, and Anderson Cooper. As a television and public radio host, she herself has interviewed newsmakers from Lorne Michaels to President Carter to Robert Redford, who invited her to call him "Bob."

I don't watch news on Sunday mornings nor do I really watch any daytime news shows, nor do I listen to anything NPR, so I wasn't really surprised to realize why I didn't know who she was. However, after reading her book, I really really like her.

Faith Salie has spent her entire life as an approval junkie, hence the title of the book, and the book goes through how that hasn't always been a good thing. She does a great job of explaining how some people were crappy, without bashing them. Other than calling her ex the "wasband" she's super nice about not-so-great people. She also has a lot more self realization in her own role of their non-compatibility that you would expect from a celebrity.

Faith is beautifully open and honest throughout, especially when talking about approaching 40 and deciding to freeze her eggs. She met her husband, John, right around the time she was freezing eggs and his non-reaction to her dropping that bomb on him is just the best, but my favorite story involves her eyelash extensions. It's a must-read.

This was a great book. At the end she admits that she's still an approval junkie, but now it's mostly approval from herself, which is really the way it should be.

Try, Try Again?

2016-10-20T10:49:00.002-05:00

The last reading challenge I attempted went about as well as this:

So, let's try this again, shall we?

5 points: Freebie! Any book at least 150 pages long.

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

10 points: 2016 Finalist for National Book Award, Man Booker, or Man Booker International.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

10 points: Brand new release (from 11/1/16 to 1/31/17)

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

15 points: Book by author of different race or religion from me.

You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson

15 points: Book with main character of different race or religion from me.

Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo

20 points: Modern retelling of a classic.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

25 points: Book with alcoholic beverage in the title.

It's All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine (A Memior) by Wade Rouse

30 points: Book with a character that shares your first or last name.

Sisters Grimm #1: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

30 points: Two books that connect, one non-fiction and one fiction.

A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

40 points: Two books where authors share a name, one's first name and the other's last name are the same.

Fade to Black by Leslie A Kelly and Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown

October Goals

2016-10-03T10:26:00.002-05:00

Blogging:

Write at least three blog posts (does this one count as one?)

Finish moving 2013's pictures to Flickr (I'm in August, currently)

Write at least one movie and/or book review.

Crafty:

Finish the dress I'm working on for Quinn

Sew the sweatshirt I've been meaning to make for myself

Sew the shirt I'm making for my mom

Finish knitting present

Quinn:

Pumpkin patch trip

Lunch at school at least once

Get her to sleep by herself (she did last night, lets hope it sticks)

random photo from senior year homecoming parade for your time, me in red dress as Lady MacBeth Jarrod in the back right as goofy medieval guy

Personal:

Drink at least 32 oz water per day

Catch up on my Bible reading

Stop biting nails, again

Figure out some sort of face/skin care routine

Random:

Finish a book

Finish movie challenge

Try five new recipes

Have less than five nights of "whatever" for dinner

Hit the budget HARD with sticking to it

Wonky

2016-08-28T13:19:00.000-05:00

Hello there. I keep meaning to blog, then it just doesn't happen. I want to, but can't seem to do it properly. I also want to read, but can't seem to keep my concentration for that for more than a page. Don't want to watch any movies. It's just been weird around here. Here's why:

May 5 - bought a house

May 6 - Quinn's field day, moved into house

May 6 through early June - unpacked and organized

May 16 - Quinn's last day of preschool

May 18 - adopted a dog

May 19 - took her to vet, who was not happy with her ear situation

May 22 - youngest sibling graduated high school

May 25 - doggy gets ear sutures out

Quinn at Field Day with her teacher

June 2 - bug guys to spray for roaches

June 5 - house warming party

June 9 - vet check for doggy (whose name is Sassy)

June 10 - another surgery for Sassypants

June 18 - birthday party one of summer

June 24 - got my tubes tied, Sassy got her stitches out

She HATES these cones and managed to break more than one.

July 1 - birthday party two of summer

July 4 - parade and other Fourth celebrations

July 7 - get tag for truck we bought because Jarrod's car died

July 10 - birthday party three of summer

July 24 - baby shower for friend I've known for 16 years

July 26 - kindergarten kick-off pizza dinner at church

Obviously we're playing Pokemon Go, there are four Pokestops and a Gym within reasonable walking distance from our house, so we've been on a lot of walks.

August 4 - doctor's appointment to see if Quinn's vaccinations are up to date, can't figure out if they are, and enrollment

August 6 - employee appreciation picnic for Jarrod's work, babysit my nephew

August 9 - my birthday

August 12 - Jarrod and I go on a date

August 13 - Quinn's birthday party (and birthday party number four of summer)

August 19 - Quinn's orientation/assessment day at school

August 23 - Quinn's first real day of school
August 30 - Quinn's birthday

She kept hiding behind Jarrod instead of making friends or paying attention on her orientation/assessment day.

And now I'm having chest pains. Woo.

So, yeah. None of that was really normal. And it was all done with the regular Jarrod at work, me doing bills/groceries/errands, Quinn needing entertained. We've made it through Quinn's first week of school, so hopefully things will start to return to normal soon.

As far as Sassy goes, we've kept her grain and pork free and we clean her ears out once a week and it seems to really be helping. And on the advice of my oldest sister's mom, we give her a spoon of coconut oil every night and it's made DRASTIC improvements to her fur. I don't even have to brush her and her coat is nice and smooth and shiny.

Quinn enjoys school and loves that she gets to have TWO recesses. She is still adjusting to being there all day and not being grumpy afterward (but it's only been four days, so we're trying to give her a break). She really doesn't like having to wait in the gym for announcements at the start of the day, but she's getting better about it and I try to get her there as close to the start of announcements as possible so she doesn't have to wait too long.

Now that she's at school for seven hours a day, I have no excuse for a messy house, right?

Who Doesn't Love a Good Twirl?

2016-08-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

Last month I had the opportunity to test a skirt pattern for Orange Daisy Patterns. I love the idea of skirts, but rarely wear them because something always feels off with either the fit or the length, but I wanted to give it a try!

First, some stats on the pattern.

This skirt was designed by Lauren of Sew by Pattern Pieces and she has some cute girls patterns available on Etsy, but the Glamour Swirl is available in both kid and adult sizes.
It's easy to sew. If you're a beginner or haven't worked with knits before, this is a great starting point.
It's designed as a full circle skirt with a yoga waist band for four-way stretch knit with at least 50% stretch. Lauren has included a chart to calculate stretch within the pattern to make it easy.
The Glamour Swirl skirt is meant to be worn on the natural waist, so it's perfect for anyone who has an hourglass or pear shape, but honestly I think it'd look great on any body type.
There's both a women's AND a girl's pattern available.
It's super cute.

And, best of all, it's FREE. All you have to do is join her Facebook group, Sew by Pattern Pieces Sewing Circle.

It's safe to say that I'm a huge fan of this pattern. It's perfectly twirly.

The Glamour Swirl has options for pockets, a waist tie, and four different lengths. For my first skirt I made the mistake of using some knit I knew nothing about since I had found it randomly in our house. It was see through and not stretchy enough, but I powered through. I went with pockets and no waist tie. I will always choose pockets if that's an option. Quinn was very impressed and now insists I include pockets on everything I make for her.

Even though it wasn't perfect, due to my own mess ups, it's totally cute and wearable.

The second one I made, I wanted to do matching skirts for Quinn and me. I cut hers out first and totally didn't have enough fabric left for my own. Double check your measurements! I managed to make mine work, but shorter than intended and without pockets (*insert crying emoji here*). Quinn is super stoked about us having matching superhero skirts. And she's extra happy about the fact that Black Widow is included (hint hint Marvel or whoever does your toys).

I don't use my tripod and self timer terribly often, but this time Quinn wanted to take the picture. She still needs some practice, but I'm also not the best model!

We did use the self timer for some pictures of us together and I kind of love this picture.

Of course, twirl pictures are required.

We attempted to get a picture of us twirling together, but that ended with Quinn almost falling off the deck, so our picture taking was thus ended.

If you're interested in seeing other things I've sewn, I have an entire public album on Facebook, Sabrina Sews.

On top of me sharing this fabulous pattern with you, there's a giveaway!

Prizes:
$30 Fabric and Voucher
So Sew English
1 pattern of choice (no bundles)
Bella Sunshine Designs
Daydream Patterns
Laela Jeyne Patterns
Rachel Rossi Designs

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mish Mash of a Post

2016-07-14T08:55:00.002-05:00

I didn't feel like either of these really deserved their own post, so here you get a lovely mish mash.

Dara posted a link-up with Stephanie and her The Kids Behind the Blog post, so I figured "Why not?"

Here's what Quinn had to say:

What two things do you like to do outside in the Summer?

Playing on the swings and hula looping.

If you could go anywhere this Summer where would you go and why?

To the zoo. To see the red pandas because they're so CUTE.

From our housewarming at the beginning of June. Sassy (the dog) looks much better now, but doesn't sit for pictures.

What is your favorite thing about Summer?

Um. I don't know. (Kinda surprised she didn't say the pool, since we own one now.)

If you could pick any way to spend a hot Summer day, how would you spend it?

I would go in the pool.

What is your favorite Summer treat?

Banana ice cream.

I also attempted to join Erin's "Read My Books" challenge, reading books you already own, but that didn't go so well. I read a grand total of one book in June. At least it was one I already owned!

The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell is kind of a prequel to The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc (which I read first). Belle is Sissy's grandmother, if I'm remembering correctly, but they're both very similar. I don't think I can properly articulate just how much I love these books and the women they're about. Belle's takes place in the 20's and Sissy's takes place in the 50's, both eras when strong women were not the norm. Belle takes up with suffragettes and speaks up against the burgeoning Klan in her town. One of my favorite parts of these books is neither woman is perfect, but they're still amazing women. They make mistakes, but that's normal and human. Mistakes don't automatically make someone incapable of being a great role model or lovely person. I HIGHLY recommend both of these books.

Reading? What's That?

2016-05-16T10:16:00.001-05:00

Here's a super sad confession from an avid reader: I haven't read a real book (something with an actual story to it) for almost six months. You may all shun me now. Anyway, that is why I am going to try another Semi-Charmed Book Challenge. We'll see how it goes! If nothing else, I should be able to do the fall/winter one since Quinn will be going into FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN. I have no idea what I'll do with myself, only that I'll have no excuses for the house to be messy. To double challenge myself, I'm going to attempt to do all of these from books I already own. Now, onto the list!
5 points: FreebieWaking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo(not the first time this has been on a reading challenge list, hopefully I'll get to it this time)10 points: Collection of short stories or essaysDaisy to the Rescue by Jeff Campbell15 points: Adult fiction written by an author who normally writes for childrenThe Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling(this was really the only one I could think of, if anybody has any other recommendations or one of the books I own fits, please let me know)15 points: Set in AppalachiaVelva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven(I don't own it, but at least it was already on my TBR list)15 points: Cover you find unappealingNaked in Death by JD Robb (and this is the first time I'm realizing this is actually Nora Roberts)(I buy a lot of garage sale books, even if the covers are unappealing)

20 points: Book you've only seen the movie versionValley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann(technically I haven't seen the entire movie, but it's on Netflix, so I'll finish it before I read the book)25 points: Punny titleChicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) by Elizabeth Lenhard30 points: MicrohistoryA History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage(I don't own ANY microhistories, I didn't even know that was a thing)30 points: One with a good word in title AND one with a bad wordMake Him Look Good by Alisa Valdes-RodriguezThe Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres(yeah, I took the literal and easy way out, but I own both of them!)40 points: Two books with same word in title, one singular and one pluralA School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen BaldwinDon't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

Effervescent

2016-05-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.
Obviously moving and blogging at the same time is not a plan that actually works for me. Moving and doing anything else isn't really working for me, but I'm muddling through. Speaking of muddling, the book I'm reviewing includes some muddling. Sorry, I just like the word muddling. I'll stop now.

I knew I wasn't in a reading mood, but kind of wanted to still review another book, so I requested a recipe book. More specifically a book about the spritz, which is "Italy's most iconic aperitivo cocktail". Then I received the book and realized it had more reading than I expected.

Talia Biocchi and Leslie Pariseau do a great job going over the history of the spritz and all the changes and different formations it has gone through. The informative part was a quick and interesting read. One of the most important things I learned was the three rules involved in making a spritz. Number one, it is always effervescent. Whether through champagne or soda water or anything else, there are always bubbles. Number two, it is low in alcohol. There's never more than an ounce of strong spirits because spritzes are for when the "day is waning and the night is young". And number three, it should be at least slightly bitter. It's meant to be consumed between work and play in the evening, before dinner. Apparently the bitterness is a means to open the stomach for a meal. Which I didn't know.

And then there are recipes.

Along with recipes for different versions of spritzes they include a few different flavored syrup recipes and some appetizer recipes that pair perfectly with spritz. Most of them sound delicious, but unfortunately they're a bit more fancy than I am. Because of that, I am going to be giving the book away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Because I don't want to get into any sorts of trouble, you must be 21 or older to enter. Even though it's not actually alcohol, I don't want to encourage underage drinking with recipes. Also, US only please. I'm using my own money to send it out and international mail prices are ridiculous.

I'm Still Here

2016-04-07T09:14:00.003-05:00

Life's been a bit busy. There were holidays which meant holiday parties at school, my grandparents came into town (and sadly left, hopefully we can convince them to move here), we bought a house and are in the process of finishing that up (closing and moving happen the first week of May). All of that, among "normal" happenings have left me with little to no energy or brain power to write or update here. Lo siento mucho. I figured I'd pop back in, just in case anybody other than my mom or aunt are reading, and post a Currently (Erin just posted hers and I thought "Hey, that's easy enough to do!").

Currently...

reading nothing bookwise. As I mentioned above, no brain power. I do have a book from Blogging for Books to review, but it's mostly recipes and I need to get a few things to make one. I am still keeping up with blogs, even if I'm not commenting.

watching a bunch of YouTube videos. I somewhat recently re-found Chescaleigh and Natalie Tran so I'm catching up on their videos since I stopped really watching YouTube channels. I'm also loving Stuff Mom Never Told You. However, this means I have about 30 episodes of current tv on Hulu to catch up on.

listening to podcasts. I was never a podcast person until Knox and Jamie came along. They do Popcast which is all about entertainment. And I love them quite a bit for having never met them. I also listen to Stuff Mom Never Told You (attempting to catch up on the past seven years), Denzel Washington is the Best Actor of All Time Period (even though I'm not a ginormous Denzel fan, these guys are hilarious and make every episode worth listening to), The Tell Show, The Guilty Feminist, One Bad Mother, Myths and Legends, Last Name Basis (the aforementioned Chescaleigh and her husband), and Another Round.

singing Cake By the Ocean by DNCE. I have no idea why I love this song so much, but I do. And so does Quinn. We rock out to this in the car.

noticing just how much junk we have. I'm trying SO HARD to get both Jarrod and Quinn to go through their stuff before packing it up because we just own too much. Jarrod thinks he'll go through it when he's unpacking, but that makes zero sense to me. Why pack it just to get rid of it?

admitting that I am worn out.

appreciating that Quinn is old enough during this move I don't have to worry about her getting in the way or running off. She was 14 months the first time we moved with her then we moved again two years later. The first time we technically moved with her, she was still in utero. That was the easiest, to be honest.

sharing a picture of my grandparents, so this post isn't all words. Quinn met them when she was about one and a half, but hadn't seen them since. She wasn't too sure of them at first, but she warmed up to them quicker than she does to most people. I don't like that they live about 1900 miles away.

From l to r: my (step)dad, my mom, my mom's (step)mom, my mom's dad

eating/drinking a Bolthouse Farms smoothie, but I'm making Coconut Chicken Curry for dinner tonight.

wearing the pajamas I made myself for Christmas and some sweats. We have no plans today, for the first time in a week, so I'm not getting dressed.

needing to put the laundry away, put the dishes away, scrape out the ice build up in the freezer (which is causing the fridge to not be cold enough), and pack some more.

waiting to close on the house. That's what we're all waiting for at the moment. Some more patiently than others. (Read: Me more patiently than Jarrod.)

Fug Madness

2016-03-17T16:20:00.004-05:00

Almost forgot to do this, but I love it.

Clamjamphrie

2016-03-16T16:43:00.003-05:00

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.
Do you know the definition of that word? What would you guess it means? Please leave a comment with a guess before reading the rest. I'll wait.

If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know the definition either. At least, not before reading Mark Peters' book.

This is a word that references anything irrelevant or meaningless. You could call it bullshit; along with about 180 other words in the book Bullshit: A Lexicon (by the aforementioned Mark Peters). The book is not just a thesaurus of words for BS, but it gives their definitions, whether referencing a specific or general type of malarkey, and their unique back stories.

While there are plenty of examples of words I've never heard of (stultiloquence, anyone?) there are also many words that I'm sure everyone has heard of and probably used, but don't know the history behind. Which, really, how many words do you know the history behind? Probably not many. I don't, but I think that's probably best left for a different post.

Mark Peters separates the words into eight categories: animals, food & drink, air, politics, scams, science fiction, reduplication, and words for the bullshitters themselves.

One of my favorite back stories comes from the animal category. The word is "gurry". Described for the first time in 1859 as the "slime and blood of a fish", it can also include blubber, fish oil, and fish poop. "Gurry" has been used to mean gunk, dirty, or any kind of mess ever since. Instead of bullshit, you might just call this word fishshit. Which I think is a fun note to end on.

Rock. Chalk.

2016-02-10T15:02:00.000-06:00

A little while ago I entered a giveaway on Dara's blog for tickets to a KU women's basketball game. And I won! Quinn got a pillowcase, a t-shirt (which is actually too small, but that was my bad), a sticker, and access to all the women's games for the season. We also won tickets to a game of our choosing and $25 to the concessions. Since Jan 24th was Superhero Day, that's the day we chose!

Quinn was still nervous about all the people at this point and refused to be in a picture with me.

Then we found out there are games in the lobby. The one pictured had the balls light up and you had to hit them as quickly as possible. There was also one to test how vertical you could jump, but I'm not sure how well it worked because it clocked Quinn at 14" and me at 3".

One of the biggest perks of it being Superhero Day was the guy making balloon animals, Quinn got a Jayhawk, and the woman doing facepaint. She was AMAZING and so quick. I'd HIGHLY recommend Sister Act Face Painting if you're in the Wichita or Kansas City areas.

Quinn loved the idea of watching the women play basketball, but the noise was another issue entirely.

They spent most of the game like this. Now whenever we're watching basketball at home (always college and way more often than I realized) and the buzzer sounds she yells "Hey! That's like where we were with the Jayhawks!" and she calls them "our team" whenever she sees a Jayhawk. Which is often.

It was SO much fun. Well, minus the two and a half hour drive there and back we did in one day. We totally should have spent the night up there. Thank you so much to Dara and to KU Athletics for the giveaway!

Wallet Watch

2016-01-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

So thankful to Stephanie for inspiring me to get rid of junk last month and this month I'm letting Steph inspire me to not bring in a bunch of junk in the first place.

She is calling it a Wallet Watch, but my rules are going to be a little different from hers.

1. Lasts from February 1 to February 29.

2. No fast food. We may eat it if it's bought for us, but we're not allowed to buy any.

3. No buying unnecessary food (the reason why I have seven cans of corn in the pantry). My usual budget for two weeks is $175 (that includes anything I buy at the grocery store, generally), but I've gone over the last month and a half.

4. No beauty products, but I am going to allow myself a hair cut.

5. No clothing or accessories, unless it's to replace a necessity.

6. I can only use what's left of my Christmas money and my monthly spending money at the women's fair (about $50) but I need to be diligent about what I spend it on, if anything.

7. No extra entertainment. We have Netflix and Hulu and a pair of prepaid tickets for the movies and plenty of things to do around the house. Plus there's the library and the park and winter wednesday pricing for the zoo lasts through February.

8. Any money I make (from selling at consignment stores) goes into savings.

9. I'm going to track EVERYTHING.

Some extras:

I have almost $5 left on my Starbucks card and if I need to use less than $2 to get something I can.

We have a Red Robin gift card and I'm okay with using it, but I'd prefer to stay under $20 over the gift card.

We've already planned to do something special for Quinn for Valentine's Day, although I'm not sure what. I'll make sure to keep it reasonable and keep "Wallet Watch" in mind.

We should be getting our tax return this month. The plans for that is some for savings, $50 to get my car checked out to see how expensive it'll be to fix the back hatch on my car, about $140 for car tags.

#MinsGame

2016-01-29T10:18:00.000-06:00

Stephanie at Not Entirely Perfect started a Minimalism Challenge at the beginning of the month and BOY DO I NEED IT.

The basis was getting rid of one thing on January 1st, two things on the 2nd, etc. I haven't done that because once I started cleaning and going through stuff, it was kind of hard to stop. So I did 62 things the first day and haven't done something every single day. We're currently house hunting (fingers crossed/prayers/etc for that!) and I really don't want to pack and move more than we need to.

Here is what I've gotten rid of so far. *shoes are counted as two per pair, helps the numbers go up :)

Accessories and Shoes (29)

two (2) pieces of broken jewelry

ten (10) earrings without matches

two (2) boots I used to wear all the time, but haven't worn forever

three (3) socks still missing mates
necklace
two (2) sheets of Jamberry
two (2) scarves
two (2) wallets
two (2) purses
tote bag
headband
old phone case

Bedroom (2)

two (2) pillows

Clothing (46)

tank top with holes

twenty (20) pieces of clothing I've held onto for way too long

stained pj pants (from putting lipstick in the dryer)

paint jeans that don't fit

dress from sophomore dance (2005)

tank top I never wore ($4, sad that I can remember how much I spent and STILL never wore it)

dress I never wore ($3)

eight (8) pieces of too small lingerie, mostly from bachelorette party (2009)

seven (7) too small pieces of clothes

four (4) heels I never wear anymore
jeans

Craft (12)

fabric I'll never use

pattern

scrap yarn

two (2) pieces of posterboard

random junk

three (3) pens
three (3) paint brushes

Kitchen (47)

baking cup (that belonged to my mom)

five (5) coffee mugs

three (3) knives

bunch of plastic knives/spoons

broken bottle opener

two (2) plastic containers without lids

three (3) measuring scoops

twelve (12) randoms from utensil drawers

set of broken candles

four (4) ice pop holders

old sauce packets

four (4) take out menus

two (2) QT cups

straw

wine bottle

two (2) koozies

expired honey mustard
string cheese holder
broken food processor (because my parents got me an AWESOME Ninja for Christmas)

Jarrod's (4)

empty cologne bottle
hat
jeans
tie

Mine (15)

four (4) magazines

GPS (that's what my phone is for now)

knitted coffee cozy

four (4) books

two (2) to-be-read jars

Planet Fitness membership ($22/month and I wasn't using it, this isn't physical but it counts!)

broken earphones
earphones that don't fit my ears

Other (41)

small box of junk
two (2) containers of expired medicine

two (2) rolls of wrapping paper

dead basil plant

four (4) stained/paint sheets

two (2) fleece throw blankets

nine (9) pile of papers

blanket

tent stake

photo album

calendar

basket

Christmas ornament

trash from junk drawer

ribbon

candle lid

fairground coins
four (4) bags of wax melts
two (2) keychains
key to our old apartment
three (3) things of my mom's

Quinn's (109)

rhino toy
broken pool toy
nightlight
three (3) glow sticks
cat tail from Halloween costume

two (2) piles of coloring pages

forty five (45) pieces of clothing either too small or that she doesn't wear

six (6) shoes that are too small

coat she won't wear

dress she won't wear

eleven (11) stuffed animals (and she STILL has too many)

tent that's missing pieces

two (2) piles of junk
hat
piggy bank

two (2) long johns she never wore

tutu

two (2) puzzles

bed gate (given to my sister for my nephew)

six (6) bows

broken mask

two (2) play doh toys (we don't do play doh at home anymore)

two (2) rubber duckies

three (3) horrible/worthless toys

pieces to Cooties, which we don't have any more

nine (9) markers
rocking chair

That's 305 items! Frankly, I'm not at all shocked that the most came from Quinn. She really owns way too many things. She still does, but it's better. Now if only I could actually get Jarrod to go through his stuff.

I know I still have two days left, but I'm not sure if I'll get to anything else. If I do, I'll edit this post.

Instantly Happy?

2016-01-23T10:44:00.002-06:00

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.

For those of you who don't know, I have a lovely mixture of anxiety and depression. It's normally kept in check with medicine, but sometimes I still have a hard time finding any "happy". That was a big part of the reason I requested Instant Happy Journal from Blogging for Books. That and my mom suggested it after I told her which books I was considering.

While I wouldn't say this book is the be-all and end-all or that it cured me or made me instantly happy, I do think that it's helpful and encouraging.

Before I start talking about the content, I just have to say that this book is just adorable. Between the polka dot front, the yellow bookmark ribbon, and all the different page designs, it's likely to bring a smile to your face before you even start reading or writing.

Similarly to my Q&A journal there are good prompts and weird ones and ones I have no idea how to even begin answering, but overall I'm enjoying it so far. I haven't done one prompt per day, I'm saving them for days when I need a little boost of happy. Such as last Tuesday which SUCKED. I wrote out a prompt, attempting to not be as sarcastic and cynical as I usually am, then Quinn and I made a cake.

She's currently obsessed with My Cupcake Addiction and Cookies, Cupcakes, & Cardio, but that might be worth it's own post.

There are a few examples. Sometimes it's questions and sometimes it's just quotes. I do tend to have a harder time "answering" the quotes because I'm just not sure what to write, especially if I'm in a mood.

I think that this would be great for all kinds of people. If you have a mood disorder, like me, it can help perk you up (sometimes); if you're a writer, it could definitely help with writing prompts, or if you just like daily journals.

I gave this journal four out of five stars, only because there were a few prompts that just didn't click with me, but maybe they'll click with you. I think Karen Salmansohn did a great job with this and I'm interested in looking into all her other books on being happy, I think they could be interesting.

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent TBR Adds

2016-01-19T10:23:00.000-06:00

A bunch of book bloggers I follow post Top Ten Tuesdays which is a feature on The Broke and the Bookish and I figured I'd play along this week. Mostly because I'm ignoring the dishes that need done and laundry that needs put away. Who says you have to adult properly at 26?

These are the books I've added to my TBR this month. Granted, I don't know why I keep adding books because I haven't read much lately. I'm super slacking.

And links, because I know you'll be interested:

// The Girl Who Fell // Amazing Fantastic Incredible // Level Up // The Eyre Affair // The Queen of the Tearling // The Name of the Wind //

And I'm currently reading Echo by Lorena Glass for review, but my reading comprehension/attention span is SO broken, so it's slow going. That is not a comment on her writing, just my brain.

Most importantly: How do I get my reading mojo back?

December 2015

2016-01-17T12:40:00.000-06:00

I know you've just been waiting for this recap.*

*sarcasm

Jarrod and I started out the month celebrating our sixth anniversary. We didn't do anything special, but we did go out on New Years Eve to kind of celebrate both.

We always get new pajamas for Christmas (a tradition my mom started when I was little) and I decided to give Jarrod his early. Along with his birthday present, the Kylo Ren beanie, because he is an impatient man.

My mom, eldest (step)sister, and I went to the Women's Extravaganza that our church hosts every December. It's a brunch with worship and a speaker and door prizes. It's always fun. I always promise myself I'll wear something red or Christmassy, but never do. Because I never wear red.

We went out for our traditional Christmas dinner with my family. This year we went to Bricktown Brewery and if you're ever in the Wichita area, I'd highly recommend it. The kids' grilled cheese was SO GOOD. The burgers were SO GOOD. The mixed drinks were SO GOOD.

December 18th was Jarrod's birthday and the release of Star Wars Episode VII, so of course he took the day off so we could go see it. It was AWESOME. I love Rey and Finn and Poe. Quinn hasn't seen it yet, but she loves Rey a LOT. Although Princess Leia is still her favorite. December 18th was also the birthday of one of Quinn's classmates. That evening we went to a superhero party at a jumpy place, with the air filled jump things. Quinn's best friend from school was there and they were SO HAPPY.

I managed to give myself another concussion. By slamming a car door into my head. Twice. I don't recommend it.

Conversation I had with Quinn:

Q: Um no. I'm not getting married.
Me: Oh, okay. Why not?
Q: I'm already married.
Me: To who?
Q: My polka dot doggy. And we have a monkey baby. I'm gonna take the blanky for her.

It's semi-tradition to make a dutch baby for breakfast on Christmas Eve. And it got SUPER big this year.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my eldest (step)sister's house with about 17 other people, then went to Jarrod's mom's on Christmas and celebrated with three other people and four cats.

"Santa" aka Jarrod surprised me with a Funko Pop I had really wanted, Lady Sif, then I got Rey with Christmas money. I'm hoping to amass a small horde with all my favorite ladies. Wonder Woman is next on my list. Then the Belchers.

Also while shopping, Quinn bought some Legos with her Christmas money, although she really wanted to take home one of her new friends. Unfortunately I had to say no.

Quinn spent the night at Nana and Papa's on New Years Eve so Jarrod and I could go on a date. We came home embarrassingly early for people in their mid-twenties, but enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Then we bought donuts to say thank you when we picked her up. Starting off 2016 by being able to sleep in my own bed, sleep in, and we got donuts? Hopefully it sets the tone for the rest of the year!

Garnier Skincare Party

2016-01-07T07:10:00.000-06:00

I received samples from Crowdtap for the party, but all opinions are my own. Or my friend's own.

So, as much as I enjoy wearing makeup and getting my hair done, I am not very well versed in all things beauty. Knowing that, it won't surprise you that prior to this party I had no idea what Micellar Water was. If you're in the same boat, here's how Garnier describes it:

Micellar Cleansing Water features micelle cleansing molecules that pull oil and dirt away from the face. Our all-in-1 cleanser gently takes all makeup off, no rinsing, no harsh rubbing.

And the great thing is that it works! It was super easy to clean off our make-up with no scrubbing. There's even a formula for waterproof mascara (which my mom, in the blue shirt, is using) and she said it worked great. She usually uses three different steps to get her make-up off in the evening, but is very happy it's down to one.

Heather, in the plaid shirt, wasn't wearing any make-up. She had on moisturizer and had been busy all day long and the micellar water still removed grossness from her skin. This is definitely something you can use every day to clean your face, no problem. It didn't leave any of us feeling like there was still something on our face nor did it feel drying like a lot of facial cleansers do.

We also got to test out the Clearly Brighter Moisturizer with SPF 15. The best thing is that it left no greasy feeling. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't quite moisturizing enough and my forehead started to do that dry skin/flaky thing part way through the day. I will definitely try this again in the summer when my dry skin isn't even worse due to the weather. I do always love when my moisturizer includes SPF because I hate the feeling of traditional sunscreen on my face.

Super huge shout-out to everybody who came, but especially my mom (for hosting, too), Heather, and my sister Kaitlyn, who all let me post pictures of them on the internet sans make-up.

November

2016-01-02T13:45:00.000-06:00

Um, so this is only a month late. Not too bad, right?

Quinn had quite a few good quotes this month.

Stick your tongue back in you!

I don't want DINNER. I want dinner lunch.

Everyone will feel stinky!

*bites my hand* Dat was deeeeelicious!

This beautiful Hermione/Katniss rap battle happened. I had nothing to do with it, but wanted to share it again.

Quinn got super sick at the beginning of November 2014 and 2015 wasn't any different. When she started feeling better, but still wasn't over everything she asked to go to the pancake store. Which, if you don't speak Quinn, means IHOP. Since I didn't think she would do well sitting at a restaurant, we ran to Dillon's to get strawberries and whipped cream. She appreciated my knock-off Funny Face Pancakes.

I made Quinn dresses for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Simplicity 1023 and The Brooklyn Empire Dress.

I also made my (step)dad a hat because he had been borrowing Jarrod's and my youngest (step)sister a flannel infinity scarf, but couldn't wait for Christmas to give them the presents.

I went to Quinn's Thanksgiving party, we made mini M'n'M cookies per her request. The kiddos sang a couple cute songs, made the pilgrim hats and Native American headbands (which were referred to as Indian, but I just kept saying Native American hoping that someone else would pick it up, but that's a different post) then they ate and we went home.

I almost forgot my favorite part! During prayer for food Quinn's green feather was coming loose. Instead of paying attention to the teacher pray, she kept flipping it up and down so it'd bounce on her nose. It took so much effort for me to not laugh out loud.

I love that Quinn was so excited about her Thanksgiving dress. She wore it to the party and at Thanksgiving at our house and another time or two.

Quinn and I cleaned up so we could host twelve people for Thanksgiving. It wound up being icy that night so we didn't make it to Jarrod's mom's, but we made up for it the next week.

We put up our Christmas tree a day or two after Thanksgiving, with the tree skirt I made. It was kind of a beast, but I'm proud that I did it. I was super tempted to give up a time or two.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

2015-12-15T10:49:00.001-06:00

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.

Fair warning, this review is going to be PG-13. I'll insert a gif here so you can prevent reading it, if you'd like.

This has nothing to do with the post.

The book starts out with "I didn't stop giving hand jobs because I wasn't good at it. I stopped giving hand jobs because I was the best at it." This is where I stopped and thought "What the hell kind of book am I reading?" I thought it was supposed to be a ghost story. Then I remembered it was Gillian Flynn and kept reading.

The Grownup is a short story by Gillian Flynn (of Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, and Dark Places fame) because George R. R. Martin (of Game of Thrones fame) asked her to write him a story. Think about those two authors for a minute. Other than (spoiler in white, highlight to see) nobody dying this story fits both of them so well.

To be quite honest, I didn't really like this story. The writing is fabulous, as usual, but the story itself was kind of bleh. I was hoping for more of a ghost story rather than an ambiguous mystery and apathetic narrator. It just didn't feel fully fleshed out.

On the bright side, it's only 62 pages and didn't take long to read at all. I don't think I could recommend buying it, unless you just love Gillian Flynn and want to own all of her books, but no harm in checking it out from the library.

#TheShelfieHop

2015-11-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not a re-reader. I don't know what it is, but I would just rather read a new book. I mean, I have over two thousand books on my TBR list and there's ABSOLUTELY no way I'll ever read them all, but I'd like to read as many as I can. Since that is the case, almost all of my books are unread. Once I read a book, I usually pass it on to my mom and/or grandma to read, then I'll put it on BookMooch. There are a few books I've gotten that I've kept. I have two series (Bloody Jack and Uglies) that I will keep because they're my favorites. I also have a few random books that I've kept because I like them and just don't want to part with them. Anywho, here's my #BookShelfie:

And a couple close ups.

You can see Quinn's "artwork" on the back of the shelf.

The white flowers are my bouquet from our wedding and the red flowers (in front of the I Love You and I Like You print) is my corsage from senior prom. I like to keep random little knick knacks on my bookshelves. Or bookshelf, as it were. We have another shelf, but it has Jarrod's books, Star Wars figures, and some of Quinn's books on it.

And, I also have a giveaway of Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan since Blogging for Books accidentally sent me two! (The book was free for me, but I am paying shipping, so US only.) If you haven't read my review yet, it's right here.a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit others participating in the hop!

Bookiemoji
My Friends Are Fiction
Between Fantasy and Reality
The Literary Hedonist
Books and Ladders
Bellsiebooks
Let's Take A Shelfie
The Bookkeeper's Apprentice
In Love With Handmade
Ex Libris
Just Another Bookish Blog
Here's to Happy Endings
DEA LENIHAN'S BLOG
A Tree Grows in Bookland
BookCatPin
Please Feed the Bookworm
Perks of Being a Book Nerd
Bookmark Lit
Christina Writes
By Breenah
BIBLIOPHIBIAN INC.
Novel Ink
Adventures of a Book Junkie
The YA Book Traveler
The Bookish Emporium
Books In My Suitcase
The Green Reader
BooksABlog
Big Books & Grande Lattes

The Green Reader
YA Indulgences
Hope To Read
coffee-inked tales
The Reader & The Chef
Yellow, Green, & Read All Over
It Starts at Midnight
Blame It On the Books
Wandering Bark Books
thoughts and afterthoughts
Here be Me Shelf
A Reader Under the Sea
Books and Prejudice
Lauren Skidmore
The Best Books Ever
Cruising Pages
Loving My Lit
Pretty Deadly Reviews
Chasing Faerytales
Savings in Seconds
The O.W.L.
Word Revel
Follow the Yellow Book Road
Rebelle Reads
A Perfection Called Books
The Magical Adventures of Cassie the Weird
Once Upon A Dream Books
Reading Among the Stars

thebibliophagist
The Reading Nook Reviews
The Novel Orange
Betsy's Random Assortment of Thoughts
Vi3tbabe
Fiery Reads
The Fox's Hideaway
bookishnessandtea
Rattle The Pages
Beauty and the Bookshelf
Shelfie
Bookish Bevil
Spines & Covers
Quality Fangirls
Ohana Reads
Bookish Unicorn
Mia in Narnia
ADDLEPATES AND BOOK NERDS
somethinglikelydia
There were books involved...
Literary, etc
The Book Addict's Guide
My Thoughts...Literally!
Books and Swoons
The Psychotic Nerd
The Novel Hermit
Read.Sleep.Repeat.
Writer of Wrongs
Only True Magic

I Want to Take Jim Gaffigan Out to Dinner

2015-11-15T13:32:00.002-06:00

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.

Pretty sure everybody has heard of Jim Gaffigan by now, even if you haven't read one of his books or watched his show. He's pretty dang funny, so I was happy to see that I could request his book Food: A Love Story for review.

I think this book explains the title of his first book.

Let me start out with sharing this quote from the book:

"As you know by now, I'm an eater, not a cooker."

I feel like that accurately sums up how Jim Gaffigan approaches food. This book is all about different kinds of food, the memories attached to them, and which ones are worthy of more time or stomach space. Hint: If it's green, it's not likely to be worth much to Jim.

I loved the personal stories interspersed throughout, especially the ones involving his kids. Jim takes his kids on daddy-dates to Katz's Deli to get a pastrami sandwich. Based on the pictures I think the sandwiches are as big as his kids' heads. I'm totally cool with that kind of place, despite the bizarre ticketing system of getting your food that he describes.

My other favorite part of the book was his Food Geography.

Best map of the United States ever made, I'd say. Although that might be my hunger talking. This book will make you hungry. I'm getting hungry again just writing this review.

Really, there's not much more to say about the book. It's funny and about food. If you're looking to be entertained, what more do you need? I haven't listened to the audio version, but Jim Gaffigan reads it himself, so I imagine it's good stuff.

Stay tuned tomorrow because I'm giving away a copy!

October 2015

2015-11-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

I did read some books and watched some movies, although I kind of got overwhelmed and decided to (more or less) give up on the reading and movie watching challenges. This month was mostly about sewing and doing stuff with Quinn.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl - adorable 4/5

Grave Secret - 4/5

Little Big Lies - LOVED 5/5

Hector and the Search for Happiness - Cute, especially if you like Simon Pegg.

Stardust - HOW had I not seen this before? It was so good. And the lead is currently Daredevil.

First Knight - Meh.

Rear Window - Good, but got kind of boring in spots.

Much Ado About Nothing - So good.

We had missed Quinn's first field trip to the zoo so I was going to do just about anything to make sure we didn't miss the second one and we didn't! She had a ton of fun and, while I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either.

My mom went to Vegas with her sisters and she brought back this mug for me. She did promise to take me next time she goes, so it's okay. And I do love a good coffee mug.

My pajama shirt, which you obviously can't see, says Wake Up & Be Awesome. I just thought you should know.

The pumpkin that we got on Quinn's field trip decided it wanted to be Bob, the Minion.

I took the "What Would Your Hunger Games Name Be" quiz and got Sabrianna Mason from District 8, which happens to be Textiles. AKA sewing. Most legit Buzzfeed quiz ever? Possibly.

We pre-bought tickets for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens since it comes out on Jarrod's birthday and he's slightly obsessed. If you didn't know, I suggest this post. Or this one.

Jarrod and I got to go on a date and we went and ate at Red Robin's (the Towering Doh Rings are THE BEST) and then saw Crimson Peak. It wasn't as scary as I was hoping, but it was still good. And Hiddleston, so worth it.

We went to a Trunk or Treat that one of the high school's clubs was doing to raise money. My younger sisters, nephew, and mom wound up joining Jarrod, Quinn, and I. The little Batman hiding behind Quinn is my nephew, but he's not allowed on the Internet yet.

I made my top and skirt for Halloween last year, glad I kept them!

Quinn and I made Back to Her Roots' Three Layer Pumpkin Brownies and THEY ARE SO GOOD. Go make them. Now.

I tested the Fishtail Kimono pattern for Chalk and Notch, but it doesn't release until November 9th, so I'll wait to share pictures.

We went to the pumpkin patch with my family (minus a few) and, of course, took some pictures. This one got photobombed by Papa trying to copy Quinn's signature pose and my nephew sitting on a pumpkin.

I made that shirt I'm wearing, by the way. It's more of a wearable muslin, but I love it nonetheless.

I started on my tree skirt for Christmas. Turns out the knit sections (solid red, it's kind of sparkly in real life) are about two inches shorter than every other section. No idea how.

And, obviously, Halloween. I'm super proud of Quinn's dress (made by me!) and I don't think mine turned out too shabby (it's repurposed from a bridesmaids dress). I made my leggings also, not that you can see them very well, but I'm glad it was just for a costume because they just would NOT stay up on my bum.

For those of you without knowledge of preschool shows, we're Henrietta, Katarina, and Daniel from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which is on PBS.

This was a pretty full month and between all the holidays and birthdays in November/December/January, I think it'll be the norm for a while.