because i knew you: nancy winn

Nancy Winn was a member of my church two years ago when we lived in Delaware.  She was my Visiting Teacher (an LDS woman who is assigned to visit another woman each month).  At the time I had a 3 year old and a 1 year old.  During her monthly visits she always brought a little gift for me, shared a message of faith and then did something to serve me. 

On her first visit when she was finished (at around 11:30 AM) she stated, "Now I'll play with your girls so you can get the lunch ready in peace".  It was such a small gesture, but what a HELP!  On one monthly visit she dropped off a big meal, ready to throw into the oven, and stated, "You need a day off from cooking dinner!"

Another day I showed up on her doorstep, sobbing, with children in tow because our electricity had been shut off with no warning.  She sat me down in her kitchen, fed me fresh cinnamon rolls and put on ABBA for my girls to dance around her kitchen to.  Although she was financially comfortable, she eased my mind by sharing a story of a time when she forgot to pay her phone bill and it was cut off without warning.   I left Nancy's kitchen that day with dry eyes, a full stomach and a less-heavy heart.

Because I knew you I have learned to not ask what I can do, just do what I can do.  I learned that when we serve and love others faithfully, month after month, we become someone they can turn to when they really need help.  Her home was a welcoming haven from outside troubles and her friendship was meaningful, though brief. 

Note: Nancy is now the Mission Mom of my good friend's son as he serves a full time mission for our church in Salt Lake City, Utah.

5

Royal Fashion Wrap-Up

Royaly Bad

The daughters of Fergie and the Duke of York were disastrous. Princesses Eugenie (left) wore this awful bluish nightmare that was incredibly unflattering.  And you might comment on her bad hat if her sister, Princess Beatrice, hadn't worn this truly awful antler-esque hat.  Seriously?

Award for best ensemble promoting new Smurfs film (to hit theaters Summer 2011) goes to...Tara Palmer Tomkinson.

You are this close!  If you play your cards right, this could be you in a few years!  But Prince Harry's girlfriend, Chelsea Davy, did not play her cards right.  Ill fitted. Mis-matched. Ratty Hair. No bueno.

Amazing Aristocrats

Both Mother of the bride Carole Middleton and step-mother of the groom, the Duchess of Cornwall got this spot on.  Camilla's hat is a bit large in scale for my taste, but she still looks pretty amazing...in an old British lady way.

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander & Princess Máxima of the Netherlands. Holy amazing!

  

Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel of Sweden. These two got married last year.  My mom reports that Sweden was all aflutter. And with good reason. The Prince is stylish and Victoria is va-va-va-voom!

 Prince Felipe & Princess Letizia of Spain.  Can I look exactly like her? Please?

Bad Hats

Fab Hats

Mis-matched Celeb Couple

It's not just that he's always smiling and she's always angry.  But Becks looks classic, cool and modern.  While Victoria's dress is shapeless and blah. The platforms are just an inch too high to be classy and her hat was very odd.  I really wish she had gone with something more form fitting and style forward.  I know she's pregnant, but let's not pretend that we haven't seen amazing maternity formal wear in the past few years.  Like this and this and this.  She should have rocked it!

The Bride

Perfection.  The dress, the partially upswept hair, the jewels, the make up, the everything. Perfection.

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wedded bliss

the girls and i headed to a royal wedding tea party this morning.

it was SO fun!

last night i made 48 lemon meringue tartlets.

( printed crown tags from here )

tomorrow brings my royal wedding fashion wrap-up.

with a new category: hats.

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Life Lesson #2: The Hunt

To my daughters:

One doesn't like to generalize about any group of people, but here's the deal. You have to play a bit hard to get when dating boys. I know, I know...you don't want to play games. But it's not really a game. Yes, it's stupid and childish, but it's instinct.

Men can't go hunt buffalo for us anymore while we guard the cave. But they want to hunt. Deep down, they need to hunt. And sadly, the only area in their lives where this is still a possibility is on the dating scene*.

Sure, it's silly and immature and kind of lame.  But I think you'll find that, before you find the right one, you'll date plenty of boys that are silly, immature and kind of lame.

So, when it's time to date, just play it cool. Not freezing. Just cool. They'll want you more.  I promise.

P.S. Daddy is going to try and tell you this advice is wrong. That he wasn't like this (he was). That lots of boys are not hunters (they are) and that boys don't play relationship games (they do).  Don't listen to him.  Listen to me.

*unless they actually hunt. Like deer and elk and stuff. With guns. But, just so you know for future Thanksgiving dinners, animal heads mounted on the wall really creep me out.

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not sexist...sewist.

did you know there's a new(ish) term for those who sew?

...........................................................

sewist (sō-ist)

n. A person who sews.

Earliest Citation:

...or a sempstress as a 'sewist', or a conchologist as a 'shellist'. All these words may come into use among 'progressivists', but are equally abominable with 'scientists'.

- Annals of science, Volume 18, British Society for the History of Science, January 1, 1964

...........................................................

for our 8th Anniversary yesterday I asked for a gift very close to my heart...

new sewing scissors

Matt initially felt weird about giving such a domestic gift

to which i replied....

it's not sexist. it's sewist.

5

8 years

we've been together since i was thin

and he had a full head of hair.

still blissfully happy.

still in love.

i still pick him.

happy 8 babe.

2

can we talk about the hair? pt. IV

The New 'Do

finally long enough to rock the spout.

holla!

6

Easter Dresses x3

Well, I got all three of the dresses sewn for the girls in time for church on Sunday.
Just barely.

Easter is the perfect time to realize that being a Mommy of three girls is sublime. Allowing sewist to geek out and plan crazy custom dresses for all three girls. It's pretty much femme-bot heaven.

I found this large floral fabric on clearance for $1/yd at JoAnns three months ago and knew it was just right for Easter.  I grabbed a white fabric with tiny dots and accented with a deep hot pink (both also from JoAnns).

Feast your eyes on the cutest kids in the entire world...



Bianca rocks her mostly white dress with floral and pink accents.



Evangeline got a wrap top with a wide pink sash.



Evangeline opted out of a bow and wanted a simple knot instead.  Love.



Ella got three tiers for optimal spinning powers and a large rosette accent.

All three girls in their dresses by Mommy.



Hope you had a Happy Easter!

17

RECIPE: Cheesy Potato and Veggie Soup

This is my go-to creation on unexpectedly blustery days when there are a few rag tag veggies just hanging out in my fridge. You could increase the amount of potatoes and just leave it as a Cheesy Potato Soup, but why not put those extra veggies into action! You could add broccoli and cauliflower as I did this past week. You can also add diced carrots, celery, asparagus....probably not all in the same pot....whatever.

Is this low calorie? I guess it could be based on the choices you make in low fat cheeses and milk. But it's probably okay to indulge in a truly hearty, thick and comforting soup once in a while. Right?

Oh, and sprinkle some crumbled bacon over the top sometime...just for me.

Cheesy Potato and Veggie Soup

Serves: 4-6

Cook time: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups firm vegetables

4 cups potatoes

2 cans (14 oz.) chicken broth

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

¼ cups butter

⅓ cups flour

3 cups whole milk (if using 1% or 2% increase flour to ½ c)

1 teaspoon garlic herb seasoning

2 Tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley

4 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1 Tbsp. salt

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean and chop firm veggies into 1-inch pieces. Peel potatoes and chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Add broth to a large pot. Add potatoes and veggies. Simmer 10-15 minutes or until al dente.

3. In a medium pot, cook onions and garlic in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir well. Cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, seasoning and parsley. Bring to a boil and allow to thicken.

4. Add to the pot with veggies and potatoes. Bring back to a boil then remove from heat. Stir in shredded cheese and mix until melted. Add 1 Tbsp. salt.

5. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.

6. Garnish with chopped scallions, additional shredded cheddar or cook and crumbled bacon.

2

the hunt

1

Book Review: Mitten Strings for God

by Katrina Kenison

★★★★★

Wow! This was recommended by a friend and it will now be my new highly recommended read for all Moms. This book is beautifully written, with rich, colorful words and visions into the life of the writer that make you yearn to slow your pace, as she has. Despite the many gorgeously written paragraphs of scenes her family has experienced since simplifying her life, she never once comes of as preachy or unattainable. In fact, the many far-from-perfect experiences she shares from her own mistakes and failures make this book even more endearing and inspiring.

She draws from and shares a wealth of inspirational sources in her quest to recapture moments of Motherhood that we all to quickly lose. The book is broken down into small chapters on a theme which makes for a very easy read during snippets of found time.

There were a few chapters in which I personally had a very different opinion than the one the author expressed, however this in no way lessened the greatness of this book. Her writing and non-preachy style make differences in opinion accepted and she often prescribes finding the things which work for you since by no means is family life universal.

While finishing up this book yesterday I stopped and had a chat with Evangeline.  I asked about her current favorite things, her best friends and her most cherished activities.  When asked about her favorite treats she said, "How come we never have jell-o?"  I stopped what I was doing and Eva and I headed to the pantry. She choose Red Raspberry jell-o and we read the instructions together, measured the water and she was my special "whisker".  All day we lived on the high of our anticipated jell-o dessert.  All thanks to this book.

I checked this book out from my local library, but will be buying my own copy and additional copies as gifts soon.  A truly wonderful read.  Buy your copy here.  You won't regret it.

2

La Vida Local : Month 1

You know all of the whiny, sad face posts about not loving Lancaster County, PA? Well, I have decided I am being kind of a Butt-Dog about it. Okay, a major Butt-Dog. As with almost everything in life, attitude is everything. This is where we live and I can either whine about it or embrace it and come to love it!

So I am going to start 12 steps to loving where we live (one each month for a year) and you can follow along and love where you live...no matter where that might be.

Step 1: The Visitor's Bureau (real or online)

My first step was hopping online and googling "Lancaster County Visitor's Guide". And what do you know? I found a wonderful website with a local events calendar, museum information and much more!  here I found information about an Easter Egg Hunt that is being put on by a local church and is FREE.  They are providing 25,000 candy filled eggs, a moon bounce, entertainment and prizes.  Sa-weet!

This is a step that I plan to repeat often.  Using a Visitor's Bureau website for sites tourists would want to see helps uncover some of the more exciting parts of your location to visit.

Your assignment for this month is
1. to find your local visitors bureau (either online or real) and plan to attend at least one event this month in your community. 
2. Invite someone you know to join you.  This doubles the fun!

I can't wait to attend our Easter Egg Hunt and hear if you found fun things to do in your area also!

3

scrapped

click here for details and a sneak peek!

2

this weekend

i went berzerk-o....on the kitchen.

maybe it was because of this.

maybe it was because it was stormy weather...my very favorite.

but i emptied every single cupboard and drawer,

cleaned it, reorganized it and relocated items to make our kitchen more efficient.

while this furious ritual took place i battered Matt with a constant mumbling

about active space and inactive space efficiency.

and now it is amaze-zing! 

{love.}

then, i made homemade banana bread...

and a loaf of artisan rye bread...

and painted our living room a blueish-greenish-greyish color that i absolutely hate.

(repainting ahead)

i also refashioned this Goodwill dress (purchased for $0.75) into this skirt for Ella.

we made it to church early and in time for choir practice.

and did i mention the 7 dozen frozen chocolate chip cookie balls in our freezer?
yep, that was Sunday night.

seriously, super mom weekend.
and i needed that...i have been feeling very un-super-momish recently.

8

Yum Diggity

Bianca Bear turned six months this past week.

And that means she got to try rice cereal for the first time yesterday.

She liked it much more than this photo is letting on.  I promise.

I can't wait to start getting organic fruits and veggies from our local 

Amish farmer's market and making our own foods for her!

4

spouse love

Yesterday evening the weather was glorious.

We headed outside for evening bike rides and Matt played the

guitar while we soaked up the setting sun.

I love hearing his melodic voice as he shares his amazing talent with his family.

Just one more reason he's the one for me.

 ♥

1