Can't WAIT!!!

I have had a LOT of ideas running about my head and I can not WAIT until I get some of them blogged! I'm taking a men's shirt and turning it into a skirt, I may be turning ties into a dress, I want to transfer photos onto a canvas, make a Peter Pan light for the girls, and much more. I do have several dresses I'm going to sew this weekend, so expect some posts people!!!!

More teacher gifts.

So we reached the end of the school year. I've noticed most parents don't give end of the year gifts or letters of appreciation. I think it has become common for us to under estimate the extent of drama and just "crap" that our teachers go through from students, from parents or from the administration. One of the moms in Lily's class had the day off to attend the kindergarten graduation (don't get me started on that) which I thought was nice so she could support her child. It ended much sooner then she expected, when she got ready to leave, I asked if she was going to take her child. Her response shocked me. She said, "I didn't take the day off to deal with his/her bull s*** and drama. I'm going home to enjoy myself. He/she can stay here." Really? You don't want to be around your child on your day off? What makes you think it is the teacher's job to deal with their crap? I believe teachers deserve some kind of recognition to tell them, "I appreciate you. I appreciate that you go above and beyond to teach my child and every other child on good days and bad days. I understand we are a team to educate and enrich my child. Here is just a token for doing such an excellent job on your part." A letter, a flower, a little box of chocolates, photos, anything just to says thanks.

I had a hard time this year coming up with an idea. While eating my lunch and correcting children in the cafeteria, one of the lunch attendants said, "I would love to sit in the bath and relax right now. Thank goodness we only have 5 days left." That's it!!!! A relaxation themed gift basket! So the search for baskets was on! It quickly died. I couldn't find small baskets anywhere. Normally when I go to thrift stores like Goodwill I can find something. Nope. Na-da. None. Eight thrift stores and not one basket that would fit my purpose. What are you going to do now, oh Wise One? Enter the Mason jar. Dang I thought she wouldn't figure it out...

Let me see what to put inside my Mason jar of relaxation?

I put inside small tubes of foot exfoliant, foot soak, foot cream, bath salts, pumice stone, nail kit, face mask,and last but not least chocolates. Well you can't relax without chocolates!!! 

It goes without saying just arrange the items inside the jar so that everything fits. You may have to try a couple of times. Really, you don't say?

Add some ribbon and a tag, if you'd like, and you have a perfect little gift for a friend, teacher, co-worker, just about anyone. Wow you expect me to afford that? It looks a little price-y for a gift.

Think you can't afford it? Think again. 

Mason Jar:  $0.91

Foot products $3.12

Pumice stone $1.08

Nail supplies $1.09

Face mask $1.62

Candy $0.76

Bag of bath salt $0.27

Ribbons and tag $0.33

Total price $9.18 which includes tax. 

I made a total of 20 of these. I had a great buy from Sally's Beauty Supplies. I got 3 bath fizzes for $0.98, 3 pumice stones for $1.07, body wash and lotion combo packs $0.50 each, and manicure sets with nail file, cuticle scissors, tweezers, and nail clippers $0.60 each. I had enough to make 8 of those jars. If you find a great buy like I did you could possibly make a jar packed full of goodies for $5.68. Anything you gift to someone is appreciated. I was told yesterday by most of the teachers and staff that they loved the goodies and were looking forward to using it on their official last day of school. 

Please don't think this is limited to bath supplies. I made one today (which now I'm beating myself up for not getting a picture before I gave it) with a first aid supplies, one with kitchen goodies, one with office supplies, and with just yum-yums.

The first aid one had:

band aides

alcohol wipes

small tube of antibacterial cream

small tube of Ibuprofen

tweezers

small tube of Benedryl cream 

small tube of hydrocortisone cream 

The kitchen gift jar had:

Thermometer 

melon baller

vegetable peeler

small bottles of spices and extracts from a local farmers market

The office supply one had:

small bags filled with paper clips, thumb tacks, and the like

post it notes

letter opener

tape 

high lighters

pens

mechanical pencils

Hope to see you again. Same Ronnie place, same Ronnie channel, same Ronnie-ness

Easter week

DISCLAIMER: This will be long but if you will stick with me to the end I would really appreciate it.

Holy Thursday, in the Catholic church the Thursday before Easter is known as Holy Thursday. Being raised in the church I remember every year being the same story over and over. Jesus celebrates the last supper with His disciples, washes the disciples' feet, goes to Mount Olive to pray, is betrayed and denied by His followers, beaten and broken before His crucifixion. It was said every year and each year it lost meaning and the story lost it's gravity each time I heard it. Which I don't know if that happens to most, if it is the Devil hardening my heart, or if it is a sign of young rebellion.

Whatever it was it worked. By the time I was almost 17 years old I hated God for making my grandma suffer with cancer, my parents for making, guilt-ing, or insisting I go and myself for reasons I can't even begin to list. One night in a teary fit I truly denounced God. Not a childish statement of rebellion, or out of status, or just pure arrogance. I truly meant it with all my heart, with my entire being. If there was a God why would He force hardship on His followers? Why the heart ache? The sadness? Why would such a loving, forgiving, generous God make so much hurt? I didn't receive my answer for almost 2 years. In the grand scheme of my life and the power of God, that was only a blink.

I remember having several conversations with my dad, who I always viewed as a Christian of convenience, not a true believer or follower of God. My mom was a great example of a strong Catholic woman but my Dad seemed to be the type that did it to make my mom happy. It wasn't until during these many conversations I found out I was wrong. My dad knew things about the Bible, more about the Catholic faith and the teaching of the church then I thought. I ignored him and all it did was strengthen my resolve.

During my lost time I did things I was not proud of, things that any Christian would be ashamed of. I did whatever I wanted without conscious or consequence. Everything I did to find some fulfillment something to stop the all consuming darkness that had taken over me. It is so hard to describe the emptiness, the gut wrenching loneliness. Every step felt like I was falling, every breath felt like someone was squeezing it out of me. Nothing I did made me happy nor did it fill the hole inside me. 

It was just a few months before my 20th birthday and once again it was Easter. Again I felt like I was being forced to do something that would make my parents happy. I know it wasn't that but they truly had no idea how to help me except by doing what they were. My "lost sheep" journey started when I was 14 and was about to start my journey toward God again. I remember dreading that night because I was going to have to go to our church, St. Mary-Magdalene, and pretend that I was the good Catholic girl. I once again volunteered to wash the feet of those in the church. As I was washing the feet of someone I've never seen in our small church, I felt humbled to be doing so. This man placed his hand on me and said very gently, "Thank you. Small deeds like this will bring you closer to God." I shrugged it off because I didn't want to hear that there was anything redeeming about me.

That Sunday I remember talking to the priest of our church and I was very vague about what I believed and how I felt. After a few minutes he told me just to say, "I don't believe in God." When I opened my mouth to yell from the roof tops "there was no God," "He didn't exist," "my parents are liars," my knees became weak and I know I felt the presence of my Lord pushing me. Suddenly answers to my questions and my doubts were revealed. The pain in my chest and heart suddenly was lifted. It happened so slowly I didn't noticed until then how much pain I was in. I felt whole like I never had. I knew that I had been a fool and all that I had done all I need to do was ask and I forgiven.

God accepts you as you are. If He only accepted those that have never strayed, those who have known Him forever too many of us would be unworthy. As my mom said, He takes us as we are because He sees us like no human can. Why do we have heart ache? Why do we have lose? To make us into the person He needs us to be. You can blame Him for things that have happened or you can learn from them. You can shut God out or you can let Him reveal to you His true intentions. For those who have lost someone they love, the lesson my be to appreciate the ones still here. My mom lost both of her parents. One at such a young age and another while we were young. She is truly someone I admire because she knew He was taking them home for a reason. She still stood tall and was/is a wonderful example of how for every sadness there is happiness brought into your life.

This was the starting point of my journey and the Devil tempted me and tried to turn me against my Lord, my Savior and my Forgiver. Easter has been an emotional time for me since 2003. A gift beyond measure was placed in my heart. I have been asked how I can do the things I need to do so far from family with a husband who is gone more times than he is here and it is because I know He will get me through it. My second daughter was named, "my God's pure promise." The promise He will never leave me, He will always love me, He will carry me when I feel like falling. She is a reminder everyday He will hold me up. I hope you have a Happy and Blessed Easter.

Lord, you have searched my heart,
and you know when I sit and when I stand.
Your hand is upon me protecting me from death,
keeping me from harm.

Where can I run from Your love?
If I climb to the heavens You are there;
If I fly to the sunrise or sail beyond the sea,
still I'd find You there.

You know my heart and its ways,
you who formed me before I was born
in the secret of darkness before I saw the sun
in my mother's womb.
Author - Dan Schutte

Fred the shirt of red.

Before I tell you about Fred I would like to say a few things about my mom. She is an amazing woman that can look at things (crafts, decorations, clothes) and make them. My whole life I remember her sewing and making crafts. Looking at things in magazines or books and just knowing how to make them. She is an incredibly fast learning and a talented woman. I have yet to meet one like her. To this day the sound of a sewing machine makes me sleepy, the distinct smell of the machine lubricant reminds me of that serious yet beautiful concentrated face, and the soft glow of it's light brings me anticipation for the finish product.

Mom, thank you for letting me be apart of your "craft room," watching and eagerly awaiting the newest treasure you made. I wish I had more of the dresses you so lovingly created for me, I show them off often, waiting for the day my daughters can wear them. My fondest childhood memories, that suddenly bring a smile to my face when I so desperately miss you and my family, are filled with hot glue guns, the smell of rose popuri, the scratchiness of tulle, the warmth of fresh press fabric, the constant drumming of a sewing machine and you. Your beauty, your voice, and your infectious smile that makes me smile, I can remember as clear as day. (Yes even when I was pouting I was smiling on the inside.) Thank you for being patient, kind, hopeful, loving, and believing I can do anything I think of. This dress was one of those few times I had your talent to look at something and make it. Thank you with all my heart.


Onto Fred, today Lily is suppose to wear something red for her Dr. Suess read across America week. Her teacher has chosen "Fox in Socks." A wonderful children's book (very hard to read though). Lily doesn't really have very much red things. I showed her the 3 shirts she has and told her she could wear one for Friday. Her reply was she wish she had a red dress but that was okay she would wear one of the shirts. I asked if she wanted me to buy her a dress and she said, "No mommy, that's okay. I don't need a red dress for just one Friday. You can buy something for you." *Heart-breakingly sweet* While I was running my errands I drove past a thrift store called Value Village. I LOVE this thrift store. It couldn't hurt to look, right? As I approached the door I notice a sign "half off all items except new ones." Now being the bargain huntress that I am HOW can I not look now? After carefully examining most of the girls clothes I did not found a red dress in Lily's size. I would not be despaired. I'll just take a men's shirt and turn it into a dress. I have seen plenty of upcycled things on etsy and pinterest. This is where I met Fred. An extra-large, Puritan, long sleeved, button down shirt for $4.50 because of the sale he was $2.25. He will become Lily's new dress.

You will need:
a shirt that fits your child as a template
a men's button down shirt (I went with a XL)
1/2 yard of contrast fabric (this is optional)
2 elastic pieces 3/4 in wide by 11 in long. More or less might be needed. Measure the length from right above armpit front to right above the armpit in the back.
measuring tape
scissors
sewing machine
matching thread
iron
water (stay hydrated!)

Since my Lily is at school I will use one of her shirts as a template. Measure the shirt just under the sleeves. My measurement was 26. Now I want to add a 1 1/2 inches for seam allowances and just a little wiggle room. Lily's total dress length from her underarm is 21 inches long this should hit her right at the knee.

1) Remove any pockets. Turn the shirt over along the back of men's button shirts there is a seam along the top running horizontally, cut the shirt close to this seam. Cut the sleeves off. Remove the collar. I do keep the shirt buttoned up the whole time. (You can barely see the seam in this photo)

2)  The back of the shirt will become the front of the dress. Remember that top of the shirt with the horizontal seam that I told you to cut? From that piece cut the front part of the bodice. My piece is 13 3/4 inches long by 3 inches high. I use this as a template to cut the back piece of the bodice. I use a total of  3/4 inch when I make my finished edges. So I when I cut the back part of the bodice I want to make sure I leave enough room above the button to make a finished seam. Sew this finished edge now.

3) I am going to make a flutter sleeve for my dress. So I am going to make a straight cut and keep the curved edge. I can't really tell you how wide the strap needs to be but my measurement along the white line was 2 inches.

4) Take the remaining body of the shirt and cut it into a rectangle, this will be the skirt portion of the dress. Mine was 16 inches long. If you like the curved bottom that most shirts have it is okay to keep it. I wanted to add a ruffle on the bottom so I made the bottom straight.

5) Optional piece #1: Cut a 8 inch X 2 inch piece of fabric. You can use part of the sleeve but I used some of my contrast fabric. This I used in between the sleeves along the bodice.
Option piece #2: Cut 2 rectangles that measure 4 inches by 45 inches. This will be the ruffles on the bottom
Option piece #3:  Use any pockets from the men's shirt as a template. now I wasn't planning on making pockets so I didn't take any photos of them.
These pieces can be made out of a contrast material.

Sewing:

1) Drink some water. Go to the bathroom. Eat before you start. Make sure any children are occupied, feed, and or sleeping. Just all the little things that might stop your progress.

2) Cut out all pieces and if you have a Serger sewing machine serge all edges. If you don't have a Serger you can sew a zig zag stitch along all edges (or leave them raw it is really up to you)

3) If you are adding the ruffle on the bodice make a finished seam along the top and gather the bottom edge.

4) Find the middle of the bodice and the middle of the ruffle. Sew the ruffle to the bodice.

5) Sew the back of the bodice and the front of the bodice at side seams. 

6) Press the curved edge of the sleeve and sew to make a seam. On the straight edge make a 1 inch casing for the elastic. 

7) Pull the elastic through the casing. Place the bodice on top of the shirt you are using for a template. Pin the sleeves in place. Mark where the sleeves will go. 

8) Make a men along the bottom of the ruffle, if you are making one and attach it to the bottom of the skirt portion of the dress.

9) Gather the top of the skirt and pin it to the bodice. I normally refuse the gather and just use my Serger but on this step I suggest gathering. Sew skirt to bodice. 

10) Since I only took one picture of the pockets it will be a little hard to visualize. I cut 2 pockets using the shirt pocket as a template. I also cut 2 pieces of fabric the same width of the pockets and about 2 inches tall. I attached this to the top of the pocket and finished all sides before I sewed it to the dress. At this point I suggest trying the dress on and making sure the sleeves and pockets are where you want them to be. Pin pockets and sleeves in place. 

Carefully take off the dress and attach the sleeves and pockets to the dress. Ta-dah! It is FINISHED!!!! I really think since I forget to take pictures I should just do videos but I don't know how to edit videos.... Wow total fail. I hope you were able to follow along. Hopefully my next sewing project will be easier to understand and follow. 

If there is anything you would like to see made leave me a comment. If I can make it I'll post a tutorial. Tune in next time same Ronnie place!

......Again so serious and no humor..... What's happened to Ronnie?

Playroom to Gym...

So I was talking about my dilemma about the kid's playroom well it was bad. I was cleaning that room a lot. Since I had enough with the mess, cleaning, and the toy breaking that I decided to make it into a home gym. So this is what the play room looks like everyday when the girls go to bed. (Which was really ticking me off.)

So I cleaned it up. I took apart everything that needed to be taken apart, bagged all the toys, threw away all the crayon pieces, and Ta-dah! There is a floor there. Who knew? Yep all those boxes and drawers had labels and pictures to tell the girls what goes inside so the room was easy to clean. 

So what did we add? An exercise bike, a computer desk, my desktop (hopefully I'll be able to fix it soon), and an ottoman to sit on (since we really don't have a desk chair plus the ottoman fits under the desk nicely).
The baskets have Pilates items, weighted vest, resistance bands, wrist and ankle weights, small medicine ball, and a jump rope. Because I am totally going to jump my fat happy butt in an upstairs room. Like I even know how to jump rope. I look like a lead ball trying to skip. We also put in and over the door resistance trainer. We are still deciding if we are going to take the big desk and the computer stuff out and just put the TV and Xbox on the smaller corner desk. Which means I'm still trying to convince J of this idea. I would have taken pictures after we got the Xbox but I think you know what it looks like. I had to convince and lie to my husband to hide the silly thing so he would have known something was up if I didn't take pictures of the "finish product".

 So what's next you ask? I really don't know. I got an armoire for Christmas that I am planning on turning into my sewing/craft storage. I have been buying pieces slowly but surely to organize it. I love seeing them on pinterest and I thought, "I can totally do that!" So will it be my armoire? A sewing project? Another decluttering? Recipes? Who knows. Stay tuned til next time!

sadness supreme....

well our internet is down. im not happy about it either. so my once our internet is up and running i will post pics of our new work out room. also i cant use my shift or alt button on this phone. sorry to the grammar police. so hopefully ill have my net up and running by friday. wish me luck.

No I'm not dead......

So long time, no post. Well to be honest we have had a crazy last 3 weeks. On one of the mommy forums I am on, a mommy said something about a challenge to get rid of 2012 things in the year 2012. REALLY?!? Who has that much stuff just chilling in their house? Obviously me, since I thought, "YES! I can totally do that!" Well you would be surprised as to how much stuff you might actually own. So I am proud to say my garage is finally down sized! In just the garage alone I have gotten rid of:

29 Books
13 Cds
22 Empty cd and dvd boxes
3 Photo albums that had nothing in them
8 Broken picture frames that I swore I would replace the glass or glue the corner
300 Articles of clothing!!! O_o I didn't know we had so much! Most of it was rags, kids clothes and mismatched socks. I know why did I have mismatched socks in my garage? I don't know...
5 Back packs
1 Elliptical machine
2 Dvd players
1 Entertainment Center
1 Dresser, which I am totally kicking myself in the pants since my little one just broke hers!!!
1 Book case with no shelves
100 Holiday decorations
For a total of 486 items NOT including trash, which yes there was packaging stuff, boxes and the like.

Now for the house:

43 Books
13 Cookbooks
1 Shelving unit
2 Crockpots
27 Pieces of kid's dishware
30 Articles of clothes that no longer fit just my husband or me (and I plan to get rid of more)
14 Nick knacks around the house
18 Pieces of glassware
That comes to a total of 148 items inside my house and a grand total of 634 unwanted/unused items around my house!!!

I know, huh? I still have a lot to do! What the heck is this chick doing up and 0338? What am I doing up this early you ask? Well I am getting a start on the kitchen and getting a load of laundry done before my young ones wake up because today I am going through their clothes and getting rid of all their toys. BEFORE I get any hate mail let me say this, my youngest daughter (Boo) has destroyed all her big sister's (Lily) toys. Ever last one. I do not think it is fair to let Boo keep hers and make Lily throw her broken ones out or to give Lily all of Boo's toys. So away they shall go. The only ones not broken are a couple teddy bears and the Leapster Explorer. So more shall be purged from my house later today.

How did I get side tracked with this you ask? Well we had gotten the garage done one weekend and that Monday while Lily was at school I was dusting the book shelves and the books when I thought, "I don't read these at all anymore. I know the books by heart. Why am I keeping these?.......Goodwill it shall GO!!!" And it started. Slowly but surely as I accomplished my daily chores/routine I gathered up items and would take them to Goodwill each day.


Why is she donating them instead of having a garage sale? I would love to have a garage sale and get back some of my money but this is what got us in the clutter mess to begin with. I would rather take things straight to donations then have the problem I am having now. I have a completely great deep freezer for sale on Craigslist. It has been there for almost 3 weeks and no one will buy it. I have answered annoying emails about measurements, weight, color (even though I have a picture), cubic footage, etc, etc, etc. I just want it gone. My husband (J) and I went through this stuff awhile ago and agreed we would have a yard sale when he got sometime off. It never happened. He would forget which stuff was for sale, so would I, and by the time he had a day off it was too cold. This stuff has been here over a year. So new rule the crap goes or I do. He chose me. I WIN!

So since I have the forethought this time, I will take a picture of the dirty chaos that is the playroom before and the playroom after. Since there will be no toys I have decided to turn it into our gym/computer room. If you have stuck with me for this long, I'm going to wrap up with this (FINALLY) I hate clutter, broken or unused items so I am getting rid of them this is the reason I have been gone from my blog, my mommy forum and my personal life. I challenge my hundreds of loyal close followers to purge 2012 things for this year. Look I've only been doing it for 3 weeks and I have gotten rid of 634 things. This chick is crazy if she thinks I'm going to do that!!! Too much you say? Fine try 12 items and leave me a comment with what you got rid of, please. This is Ronnie saying, "Good night and good day."

Once a month cooking?

I guess it has become very popular via the internet to cook for 3-4 days straight then freeze your food so that you only cook once a month. Pretty cool, huh? I normally cook all day Friday or Sunday so I have meals for a week. Problem? I'm a totally picky eater. I love fresh veges. Let's face facts, you freeze a vege and it becomes mush!!! So I cook the main dishes and have the side items cut up and waiting for the week. This time around I did cook meals that needed squishy veges like beef stew.

Also, little known fact, Ronnie is extremely lazy. Take the cooking for example, I don't do cook for the week to free my weeknights, I do it so I don't have to wash so many dishes. I HATE washing dishes. HATE IT!!! I know, lazy, right? No. I have had skin problems since I was little and when I wash dishes it hurts my hands. I really can't wear gloves either because of the moisture issue. So a lot of cooking on one day results in minimal dishes and ouchies during the week.

I really wish I had taken photos of this endeavor but alas I did not. So no photos of the aftermath that was my crazy weekend. I did cook more then I normally do because I had a small deep freezer full of food that needed cooking! What did I cook you ask?

-Beef Stew
-Spaghetti
-Lasagna
-Stuffed Pasta Shells
-Manwich (totally for my husband only)
-Chicken Noodle Soup
-Chicken Penne Alfredo (I will add fresh broccoli once it is rewarmed. I loves the crunchy broc broc)
-"Refried" Beans
-Carnitas
-Chicken Enchiladas (Lazy style)
-Lumpias
-Beef Pot Roast
-Breakfast Burritos


AWESOMENESS! Oh recipes would be awesome too. Well that will come little by little.

I came and I conquered!!!!

Okay let's face it, if everyone was a carpenter or if everyone had mass quantities of money or if everything in the world was free, all our houses would be organized and pretty or cluttered as all get out. In my case, if I had mad carpentry skills and the equipment needed, I would build some AWESOME organizers, shelves and the like, problem, I have tried and I suck. Next if I could afford buying the "perfect pantry" from The Container Store it would cost me roughly $663 without the shelves. Soooooo, yeah, I am NOT paying that much. Over the last few months I have been buying containers here and there. Most of them have been the same type since I want it to be pretty. Although I still need more containers, that way all of them are the exact same, I think I'm okay with it.... Well for right now. So what did I do? About a year and a half ago I tried placing everything in cardboard boxes and labeling them, well between Husband Doodle and my little helpers things have gotten out of hand. See?

A lot of the things we had were either brand new or had such a small amount we should have tossed it awhile ago. Did somethings go bad? Yes. Did I fall for the free items, cheap items and promotional ones? Yes. So after getting rid of these items I have made a new rule: I DO NOT buy anything we don't already know and love. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful to try new things but I won't buy any new products unless I have sampled it because I do not want this mess to happen again. So for a grand total of $138.72 I bought 12 plastic bins all of them came with lids but I couldn't use lids on some of the containers, 3 sets of different plastic ware, 6 cereal bins and 1 can organizer. I do still need a spice rack and I bought a dry erase board and attached it to the door and wrote everything we had and how much we had so I can keep track of all this fun stuff. I also need to label things but that will have to wait until A) my label-er reappears or B) I buy the ones for my printer. You ready to see the beauty of an organized pantry Ronnie-style? 

Very bottom of the pantry: Cans, sugar, tomato soup, left bin is the snack bin, right bin baking supplies. 

The snack bin has snacks already divided and ready to grab. Granola bars, Goldfish crackers, fruit leather, Auntie Annie fruit snacks, just yum yums.

First shelf: Pastas, tomato paste, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, assorted sauces (aka Manwhich) PB and Jelly.

Second Shelf: Cereals, chips, flours, rice, oatmeal, brown sugar and beans.

Bottom shelf: Left bin: just bread stuff. I hope to start making my own bread soon. Middle bin: Salad dressings, other liquid things like vinegar and oils. Individual containers of chocolate chips, trail mix, nuts. Too the far right more cereal. 

Top shelf: Left bin: can chicken, dried fruit, seasonings. Both white baskets: different spices Right bin: Assorted Asian-y goodness. 

I came. I decluttered. I conquered. 

Declutter the fridge!!!

When we moved into our house we didn't have a refrigerator and we needed one CHEAP! Well the one we bought was suppose to be complete. Well it was missing the baskets in the door, the top split shelf, the bottom shelf and the crisper. To replace all these missing pieces it was going to cost over $500 to replace these pieces let alone to ship it to us. I have bought some of the pieces like the top shelf and the missing baskets. We still need the crisper drawers and the bottom shelf which will cost me about $350, which once again, we don't have. So thanks to my gracious Mother-in-law we were able to buy things to straighten out our fridge. Here's the before:

I have to keep the meat in the bags to ensure no yuck yuck gets anywhere. We also had to keep all produce in Debbie Meyer's Green Bags, which FYI are the BEST at keeping produce fresh. We had strawberries fresh and hard (Silly lady strawberries aren't hard.) for almost 13 days. Totally the best $10 I ever spent.

Since I can't really stack things without damaging my produce I have to use the baskets. So after about an hour of washing, drying, emptying, cleaning and filling THIS is the result!!!

Very top shelf apples, oranges, broccoli, cheddar cheese, eggs, my husband doodle's lunch, breakfast burritos waiting to be frozen and milk. My second shelf has two containers to hold meat and loose things to the left. So that little drawer is my cheese and lunch meat drawer, which also has my bacon, the bottom  is basically an empty waste of space so two lettuce keepers, I'll tell you how well they work in a day or two, 3 containers with reusable tags, another bin, and a produce keeper made by Rubbermaid.

Look how pretty my door looks!!! Our butter dish had some yuck yuck in it so right now it is soaking so I can put it back. So now I have an awesome fridge not as cool as some people but I do what I can with what I have. All my new containers were from *drum roll* The Container Store. I know I have totally fallen in love with this store. So I hope inspiration ensues and motivates you to declutter somewhere in your home. Good luck!

Empty space?

Yes I just realized that this picture isn't straight. Thanks...... So I have this space in my house next to the stair case in my living room the is, frankly, pretty useless. If I put a couch or any "large" piece of furniture there you really can't get into the house. It is 3'5" along the light wall and 6' along the stairs. So what to do? We tried a chair and bookcases but there wasn't enough light, like I said the sofa was out of the question, computer corner but the TV was too distracting...... So what did I do? (Use your awesome powers of whining to get a larger house? Demo'ed the whole thing "Extreme Makeover" Style?) I used it!!! (That would have been the next guess) I took the desks my daughters' had in their playroom and an organizer I got from Goodwill and turned it into a school corner. The furniture is small enough that we can maneuver around it and light enough that we can move it. Check it out!!! MWHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Mommy 1 Odd Floor Plan 0 

WIN!!!!

Except for the fact that my pictures look fine on my camera but then are out of focus and slanted on the computer....... Fail.....

The other new lunch box!

So when I went to The Container Store I also got this nifty lunch box for my Lily and Boo to share from their Auntie Momo and Untel Gub Gub. Yes for some reason he is the only Untel everyone else is an Uncle.


So what did I pack her? Human souls!!!! Well I had some leftover grilled chicken that I shredded added celery, onion and mayo to make her chicken salad which I stuffed into two little dinner rolls. Carrots with ranch dressing, kiwis, apples and I made her some blueberry/strawberry tea. This is everything laid out for a better view. I really do like the separate containers. I do try to make her lunches more fun but this came in real handy considering I was running 20 minutes late this morning. Since I could cut the fruits and veges and still keep them away from the sandwich it took less time and was still cute.

Here is the lunch box from the side and top. (Jeez this lady needs a better camera! I can barely see the details!!!) I know I need a better camera to capture the details better.... (She's reading my mind AGAIN!!!!!)

Simple short and sweet lunch box. I'm looking for more little cookie cutters that aren't too expensive when I find some I will let you all know. Also I have a declutter project and the first sewing project for my "resolution" that I am planning to complete here soon. Tune in next time same Ronnie channel, same Ronnie station.

New Year new box!!!

My sweet sister-in-law, the Mo-Mo, gave our family some gift cards for the holidays and my Lily's birthday. She received so many toys that it seemed like a waste to buy her more so I bought her a new lunch box. (Good gravy this lady has a problem with lunch boxes. Does she collect these things?) It is, wait for it........a Lego box!!!! I got her three of them, one large box and two smaller ones from here. That is so not what I went in there for. I swear that store is a swirling vortex of inspiration! I saw so many things that I just wish I could buy. I also picked up an over the door hat organizer and an awesome trash can. Sorry I get side tracked by pretty organization pretties! Now, as I was saying, I got my Lily another lunch box!

Now what happened was, I packed the whole thing and then tried to get the lid on the smaller Lego boxes and that totally didn't happen because I packed that stuff in. (Thanks, Captain Obvious we can see that the smaller boxes are open since there is no space for the lids.) So for the first school day of the new year she got ham chunks, flower carrots, chopped apples, ranch dressing, heart shaped kiwis and the "Rainbow Brite cake," as my mommy calls it, that she had for her birthday this weekend. Pretty cool, huh? (Oh my gosh! I want to make that cake!) You know I should make a tutorial about how to make this cake. (It's like she can read my mind!!!)

So New Year's resolutions. Does anyone have any? I want to read to my kids at least 5 times a week. I get very nervous reading out loud so I don't like doing it and sometimes forget too. So reading to my kids more often is one of my goals. Next I want to use all the fabric I have. I know, big project, but since both my sewing machine and Serger are finally fixed I think it should be done. What am I going to sew? No clue yet. I don't know what I'll do since I do have a LOT of it but we'll see. Any suggestions to start me on my path? Next I want to drink more water and tea and exercise a little every day! I know most people set really high goals but I want to set mostly reasonable goals and she where I go. So in short new box, pretty cake, lots of goals!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!