Say it Ain't Sew.... Jim and Diane are Retiring!

Ask them a sewing question, go ahead. Ask them a computer question, please. Go ahead ask them about their grandchildren--- and watch their face light up.

A truly great adventure into sewing that SO SADLY is ending this month. Over the years, whenever someone has asked about where and what to buy regarding sewing machines.... I have always directed them to the same place.

For a decade and a half, there is no other person I would trust to work on my machines.

Now, they are taking some much needed time, to enjoy life. I'm so sad!! (Only selfishly formyself, not for them.)

Over the years, I have come to think of them as family. If you haven't ever had the pleasure-- stop by this week. They are having a huge sale. sewingroom.com Wish them congratulations and good luck, then quietly return to your car and sob. A Giant craft store could never take their place, the fact that they know your name when you walk in-- that they actually know how to sew and have years of experience on all things digitizing and sewing. There is no other pair like the Stutsmans. Jim and Diane-- you will be missed!

Mary Kay wasn't born cheap... but she got there pretty quickly.

What do you tell? And When?

It's pretty clear after 8 years, I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I wonder if I'll ever figure it out....

One of the lessons we're working on at my house is "you don't have to say everything that is in your head" -- and primarily, how this is different than lying.

K2 has a lot of trouble with this issue, and hoenstly, so do most adults. We've gotten the little white lie down. But knowing when to say NOTHING is a whole other matter.

K2 told her friend that she liked her hair better before it was cut. Little friend cries. You don't have to say everything that's in your head...

The Sunday school teacher in me though, feels an obligation to make the very same mistake when it involves the well being of our children.
When do you tell? And What?
If you hear a teenager saying they smoke, do you talk to your friend, their mom? What about cutting class? or vandalism? And when, when do you say something?

Or is this a matter of NOT saying everything that's in your head?

When I was growing up, many a teenage boy called my Dad to be rescued from where they had their car stuck late at night. They didn't want to call their parents. Most of these were "parking" incidents. But what if the teen had been drinking? He would have driven them home, but probably wouldn't have told their parents.

I's pretty sure I lost a friend this week. It makes me sad in ways I can't even tell you. I miss you Dad. Always, but this week in particular.

It's pushed into our mind that as responsible adults we must tell certain things. Gotcha. But what about some of the "fringe" things...?

Mary Kay still hasn't figured out the Mom thing. Hopefully I'll get it before they are gone!

Jammie up

A Hobo, or at least very poor

My family is very rich in all the ways that count. We have lots of love, laughs, plenty to eat, strong faith... but material things are sometimes a little tight. We don't always have the newest toys, drive the newest cars--

This hasn't really been an issue. Until this week.

Big K came home from school to tell me that a boy (a really cute-y pie boy, of course..) told her he thought she must be a HOBO, or at least very, very poor. (Hobo? Does anyone use this word anymore?)

I'm not sure why this made my blood boil. My daughter is bright, funny and beautiful. She has a heart of gold. (Sure sweetie I get it. He has Bambi eyelashes and a toothpaste ad smile...) She would never think to taunt another child. (Go ahead, darling... I'll look the other way..)

As a mom, we frequently have to watch our "Momma bear claws". The Mom of this child would most likely be horrified he had said such a thing.

For now, I told her maybe he's not the boy for her. (Biting lip...) If he can't see her wonderful qualities, it's time to move on. (Please, please... stop chasing this boy. You are only headed for more heartache. He will continue to make you cry. Now he knows he can...) In my head, I don't worry. She's destined for great things. I explained to her that children are not actually rich or poor. Their parents might own a nice car or a big house, but the child himself OWNS NOTHING. (That's why you are going to school-- to learn things to help you become who you will be. Learn things besides the fact that some boys are jerks...)

Some lessons are harder than others. Sometimes, it would be easier if we could take the bite for them. But we can't. Life's lessons are out there, and we must stand on the sideline --biting our lip.

Mary Kay wasn't born cheap... but she got there pretty quickly.

Rewiring a Hunter LED fan

There is a really great post on this subject on http://buttrynet.dyndns.org/BNETWeb2/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=325 written by someone who obviously has a little more wiring experience. I was hoping for a few more photos. :)

So in case you too, have a Hunter LED fan with pitiful output-- Here's a couple of EXTRA steps, which might make it clearer for the less mechanically inclined. It would have saved me a little headache.

1. Remove the light globe, and then remove the led panel. This clicks into a red and black wire via a black connector. Do NOT try to attach the light bulb to these wires. (It won't work, the black here is a ground wire.)
2. Remove the silver "tray" under the LED lighting.
3. Remove the vented housing (this was not intutitive for me, it looked like something that didn't need to come off) This is the housing is located directly under the blades. Do not worry, the blades will not come off. It is held on by three screws. One you have to screw out, and the other two have keyholes, where you can twist to remove the housing.
4. Remove the "lid" to this housing. (It screws on.)
5. You should now see wires, and a small black box. Into the black box two wires (these are both 12 V) and out comes a red and black wire. Cut the two white wires as close to the box as possible, and remove the black box. (This is the AC/DC convertor.)
6. These two wires are the wires you need for your bulb (s). If you have one bulb only, just connect one wire to each side. If you need more bulbs (more light) you will need to connect them in parallel.
7. To connect bulbs in parallel- you need short pieces of coated wire, twist connectors, and bulb sockets. (Get the kind with screws, it will make your life easier.) Run a black wire from each bulb to the black wire (twist with connector) then repeat with white. Do not "chain" them together-- unless you are going for a disco strobe effect. :)

Just a note-- the original directions were wonderful, check them out. This is not intended in any way to take away from the hard work, photos or ingenuity of Dell. I just wanted to provide some more detail for those who might be new at this.

Mary Kay wasn't born cheap... but she got there pretty quickly.

Cooking Light Cook Along June 2010 -Grilled Polenta with Spicy Steak

Today I learned something.

Presentation at dinnertime around here (for regular family nights) as pretty much been limited to putting the chicken nuggets in a flower shape with a ketchup center....
But tonight... I went all out and the results were GREAT! Tonight I cooked up Grilled Polenta with Spicy Steak from the Cooking Light June 2010 issue.

It's part of a cook-along challenge, where I'm actually trying to cook from my magazines. This is the second recipe I've cooked from this issue. For the first post, see Pan Fried Eggrolls.

This dinner was great, easy and fast. In fact, finding the ingredients was the toughest part. Also, you might not think this would be kid friendly, but it was well recieved by my 5 and 7 year old, who ate a piece of beef, the avoacados, and the polenta-- even with the chili oil on it.

Tips:
Queso Fresca isn't in every grocery store. For that matter, niether is polenta! Save yourself some trouble and hit a specialty store instead of making your buddy (thanks Amanda!) circle Kroger with you... asking the clueless help where it is. (What is it? What was that again? They were willing, just not able.) Also, Amanda asked why I didn't make the polenta myself???? Aparently, although we are friends... she's never really MET me. I ended up using Feta as a substitute for the Queso Fresca, which is embarassing since I live in Texas! (C'mon Kroger...)

Check for Polenta in the produce section where the meatless organic stuff is... is sometimes sold as a meat substitute. (Funny, since here it is served WITH beef.)

The beef took longer to cook than the recipe called for, so allow longer or turn up the heat. I'm not talking about needing it well done...it was raw. Since this was another speed dinner at our house I sliced a few pieces and grilled them up seperately at the end. I also cooked the polenta while the beef was resting, which allowed the beef to rest a little longer. Perhaps my flank steak was thicker than most???

The chili /oil sauce did not make enough to cover my beef and polenta, so I had to mix up some extra. I couldn't believe my littlest didn't use the word "hot" or "PICY" tonight. Wow.
The girls thought the presentation was awesome (followed the directions on page 30)... and it also got a positive nod from the hubby.

Also -- as I mentioned, I gave up on Queso Fresca for tonight...so I used Feta. It was delicious anyway. Quick, impressive and delicious... this one's getting ripped out and added to the keeper file.

Mary Kay wasn't born cheap... but she got there pretty quickly.

Update on PanFried Eggrolls, and new recipie

In case you just arrived, I'm cooking up goodies from the cooking Light June 2010. The first one was egg rolls. The panfried egg rolls were a big hit in my house by everyone over 10. My husband even gave me a "yummy..." (be still my heart!)

They were super easy to make, and Gulf Shrimp 21/25 were on sale at Kroger for $5.95 /lb so they were fairly economical. Knowing there might be some dissention ahead of time, I cooked up some shrimp a little dfifferently, just for the girls.

things I didn't have and had to buy:

1. bean sprouts (I ended up using canned, as I couldn't find any fresh)
2. sweet chili sauce (not at all upset about this as we loved it! I can find lots of useages for this)
3. shrimp (duh!)
4. egg roll wrappers (these are in the refridgerated produce section next to organic and meatless things)
5. Rice Vinegar - This is a staple, but I was out.

Overall, not the cheapest recipe.

Things I wish the magazine had told me about cooking them:

• Pretty small. I ended up throwing a few more shrimp in them, and a few more bean sprouts. Probably took all the "light" out of the recipe, but we thoroughly enjoyed them!
• They fried a lot quicker than the magazine suggested at 7 minutes. Mine were more like 3 minutes. Nice and quick, but watch them or they'll burn.

Mary Kay wasn't born cheap... but she got there pretty quickly.