New Year’s Resolution

Of course, I have fallen into the trap of making a New Year’s resolution (should New Year’s be capitalized?  I’m not sure about that one…).  And, of course, like most people, my resolution is to lose weight.  Again.

I was just reading through my archives and found that I made a similar resolution last year right before I went back to work.  I had even started to make progress and then…well…I’m not sure exactly what happened.  Maybe the huge change of going back to work was too much to handle at the same time.  Maybe working at a desk job did me in.  Or maybe…I should just stop making excuses for myself.  I’m fat because I eat too much and don’t exercise enough.  Plain and simple.

So here I am at the same place again.  Will it stick this year?  I don’t know…all I can do is try.  A few years ago I was in great shape with a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet.  I know it can be done and I know how to do it.  It’s just getting into that routine that’s so hard to do.

The good thing about starting in the new year is that there are so many resources available – it seems that EVERYONE is trying to lose weight in January.

I’ve started a training blog to keep track of my progress (you can also see some before and after photos of me there – and not in a good way).  So far, so good – I’ve managed to do some sort of exercise every day since the new year (again…capitalize new year or not?  Still not sure…) and have started to closely monitor what I am eating.  By the way, I love Comcast’s Exercise TV On Demand – until a co-worker mentioned it, I didn’t even know it was available.  Free workout videos on your own TV – you can’t get more convenient than that!

I also picked up Bob Greene’s new book, The Best Life Diet, and have read through Phase One.  I learned some new things about how the body loses weight and have tried not to become discouraged when the scale is not moving downward as fast as I’d like it to.

I’m hesitant to even post this because I’m so afraid of failing again.  But I thought I’d throw this post out there and maybe feel some accountability for my progress.  Just don’t be disappointed in me if I’m making this same post again in 2010…

4th Grade Lenape Indian Project

This week’s 4th grade social studies assignment was to create an ‘artifact’ for the class museum to represent life among the Lenape Indians (or Native Americans, to be politically correct).  We were looking for something different, so we decided to make some games representative of those played by the Lenape children. 

Feel free to borrow these ideas if a Lenape Indian project comes your way – I thought I’d post these to assist other frantic parents looking for ideas (I had a hard time finding some online)…

First, we made a kokolesh – this was also called the ‘rabbit game’.  There is a string tied to a stick with a small cone made of bone (ours is actually a tiny wooden flowerpot from the craft store).  The cone was kept on the string with a rabbit tail (with no rabbit tails handy, we used a cotton ball).  The object of the game is to catch the cone on the end of the stick.

Next we made a set of jackstraws – basically a Lenape version of pickup sticks.  We also marked some sticks for the game selahtiken – more points are awarded for sticks marked with lines and dots.  For this game, we just gathered some twigs (you don’t even have to be crafty to do this one!).

We also made a ‘cup and pin’ game.  The object of the game is to throw the circle into the air (for the Lenape, the cup was made of leather or bone – for our purposes, it’s a wood washer from the craft store) and catch it on the pin (again – for the Lenape it was bone;  for us, it was a wooden peg).

Another easy game to make was the ‘hand game’.  It was played with two rocks, one marked with a red dot.  The player passes one rock to the person on their right and the person on the left has to guess whether or not the rock that was passed has the dot on it.  If they’re right, they get the rocks and get a turn passing them.  Again, no craftiness required here – we just took two rocks and marked one with a Sharpie…

We also made the game mamandin – sort of a Lenape version of Yahtzee.  The game was played with handmade dice in a wooden bowl – the bowl was shaken and the total numbers on the dice were added up for points.  We used a wooden salad bowl I found at Marshall’s and some wooden cubes from the craft store that Matt marked with a Sharpie.

Finally, we made a VERY crude representation of a Pahsaheman ball – a Lenape game sort of like football.  The Lenape made the ball from deer skin and stuffed it with hair – ours is made from leftover faux fur pieces from Emily’s Halloween costume and is stuffed with plastic grocery bags.  I just sewed a quick oblong ball shape, wrong sides together, leaving a small opening to turn it inside out and to add the stuffing.  Then I stitched the hole shut…

Like I said, very crude – but I wanted it to look hand-made (didn’t I?).

So there you go – some easy Lenape game projects.  Now let’s see what sort of grade Matt gets on his report and project…

Ever have one of those days?

It’s been one of those days already – and it’s only 8:30 in the morning!

I woke up with a horribly stiff neck…cut a hole in my brand new sweater when cutting off the tag…spilled fruit down the front of myself while packing my lunch…forgot to charge my phone… realized there was no toilet paper in the bathroom (too late)…got locked out of my car in the rain…placed another order for a replacement sweater and got frozen out of my account because I couldn’t remember the password…and now my Internet connection at work is extremely flaky so I can verify whether or not the order went through.  It’s got to get better as the day goes on, right?

We’re Going to Florida!

Just one more quick post – I just bought tickets for the kids and I go to Florida in February to visit my friend Linda and her family – we’re so excited!  The kids each received some money for Christmas and decided to save it so that we can also go to Disney while we’re there – but I’ll just be glad to see my dear friend and her family – and experience some warmer weather too.

The great part is – the tickets to Orlando were only $8 each way!  Yes, that’s right – $16 round trip!  Spirit Airlines offers these special airfares quite often – you just have to join their mailing list and you’ll receive emails with their special deals. 

In order to get the super-low airfares, you also have to join their ‘$9 Club’ at a cost of $39.95 for the year.  Without the club, the airfares would have been $17 each way (still a good deal) – but taking into account that I bought 4 tickets, joining the club was the way to go.  I saved $18 on each ticket ($18 X 4 = $72) – way more than the $39.95 it cost to join. 

Plus I can get more tickets this year for that low price – I may be visiting Linda more often!

Happy New Year’s Eve (and a craft project too)

Even though I had to work today, I managed to get a little crafting time in while I was there.  That’s right – there was some crafting going on at the Tech Center today!

My co-worker Sybil saw a gift item online that she had tried to order, but was receiving no response from the store owner.  She showed it to me and I said, “Sybil, we could make that!”.  A crafting challenge!!!!

The item was a personalized frame containing a poem and a high heel shoe silhouette on a fabric (at least I think it was fabric) background – selling for $59.95.  Sybil thought it would be perfect for a friend who was turning 40.

I’d like to show you the link to the original item, but the link no longer seems to be working.  Maybe Sybil didn’t receive a response because they went out of business…

Anyway, our project was similar to the original, but instead of fabric, we used patterned paper.  And I just happened to have a shoe stencil from November’s Paula’s Kit Club kit – how convenient!  I trimmed the shoe image from the paper with a craft knife then placed ivory cardstock behind the opening. 

We used an original poem written by Sybil for her friend and put all of the items into a frame she picked up at Michaels:

This is SO close to the original (and was MUCH less expensive) – Sybil was very happy:

I am using this photo with her permission, but she did want me to emphasize that she was feeling quite under the weather at the time…I think she looks just fine.

And by the way, I think I have her hooked on crafting – I caught her surfing the Internet looking for more projects for us to try…

Happy New Year to everyone!  Here’s hoping for a happy and healthy 2009…

Baby Paint Can Gift

I just completed a baby gift for one of my co-workers – I haven’t made one of these for a while but I have posted the instructions previously on my blog.  I used to make a lot of these to sell at craft shows back in the day when I had more time for crafting…and spent less time working (before job).

The gift starts out as an empty paint can that is covered with scrapbooking paper using ModPodge.  Here’s the finished can:

She knows she is having a girl (obviously!) and the colors in the nursery are pink and brown.  Inside the can, I included some receiving blankets and a tiny outfit in the same colors (a girl has to be color-coordinated, you know – even a newborn girl!).

I used paper from Basic Grey’s “Blush” collection to cover the can then added a little poem on Stampin’ Up! cardstock to the front:

Baby books are great ideas,

But sometimes you’re too busy.

Living with a little one

Can put you in a tizzy!

Milestones pass too fast at times

To find the proper page.

So, jot a note of each event

With date and baby’s age.

Like, “Took 3 steps on May the 1^st”,

Or, “Teething – 5^th December”.

Then drop it in this memory can

To help you to remember.

I also included a little stack of stamped tags on a split ring to which I added ribbon:

The cards can be used to jot down little notes about things the baby did and when she did them.

I tied some coordinating ribbon all around the paint can handle and also attached a paint can opener (also tied with ribbon).  The lid is also included – I put it beneath the can and tied the whole package with cellophane:

Hope she likes it!

Welcome to the 21st century (part 2)…

I’ve become a part of another technological advance recently – I’m now on Facebook (see the new link at the upper right of my blog).  I created an account about a month ago but didn’t really do anything with it until the last few days.

And now I’m finding that half of my church is on the site…as is half of my high school class (most of whom I haven’t seen in the almost 23 years since I graduated)!  It’s so much fun to hear from people you haven’t seen in a while – and it’s even a good way to keep in touch with those you see more often.

So…if you have a minute, look me up on Facebook – I’d be more than happy to be your ‘friend’. 🙂

Merry Christmas!

I hope the holiday brought you everything you’d hoped for…

Initial Gift Idea

I have another gift that I made for my friend Linda’s daughter Kylee:

It started out as a plain white letter “K” plaque that I picked up this summer at the Creating Keepsakes Convention (yes, I’ve had it that long and just finally got a chance to make it and mail it).  I added some patterned paper to the raised letter and background – to cut it to shape, I just put the paper on top of the plaque and pressed it down around the edges, creating a crease to show the shape to cut.  After adding the paper with ModPodge, I used my stickles glitter and some rhinestone bling to outline the patterns in the paper.  The flower is made from some Prima flowers and in the center, I used a cluster of beads from a vintage earring.  Hopefully, this will look nice in her room.

Quick Cash Card

I just threw together this quick card for a last minute gift…a cute (and quick and easy) way to give cash.