Migraine Monday

Oh yeah gotta love migraines :(

I've had them most of my entire adult life.  As with most migraine sufferers, caffeine can play a big part in getting them and its really an allergic reaction.  So I'm allergic to caffeine.  Which includes tea (I drink decaf), coffee (don't drink it really unless its decaf, iced and is mostly skim milk with some sugar), most soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, etc. which I don't drink anymore) and of course, chocolate.  *Gasp* Yes you read that correctly - chocolate.  I rarely eat it anymore since it gives me an instant migraine, but if i get a craving that I can't control I have to take one of my migraine pills first.  Otherwise I'll be down for a good day, which is never good.

Anyway, didn't mean to give you a migraine lesson.  Sometimes you get them from stress or just because.  Last night around 2 am, I woke up to a "just because" migraine.  Right behind my left eye, no less.  And if you've never had one, consider yourself lucky.  Pardon my french, but they are a bitch.  I've been hurting all day and sometimes even my prescription isn't enough to take care of it.  At that point, all I can do is lay in a quiet, dark room and try to sleep it off. 

Luckily today my pills took most of the edge off.  My neck and shoulders are stiff (a lovely side effect) but I'm feeling a little better at least.

Otherwise I entered a fabric giveaway a couple weeks ago and won!  Look at my goodie:

 

 

I've never used hexagons before so I'm going to scour the web for a pattern.  I received this from the A Stitch in Dye blog - so thank you very much!  I've never won fabric before this this was pretty cool! 

 

I'm surprised that it even made it to me - check out the packaging it came in:

 



If I'm feeling better later, I may work on the wrap for the food boxes for our BBQ turn in boxes (aka Casserole Carrier).  Here's the fabric I'm using (appropriate don't ya think?):

I'll post pictures when I'm done.

How was your Monday??
Vanessa

Sewing Sunday

Ah yes the woman is on a mission.  A sewing mission, that is.....

I spent the day working on sewing up items for my craft shows in November.  If I wasn't sewing, I was cutting up fabric. Aren't you amazed at how nice and neat I am?  I amaze even myself sometimes ;-)

I cut up at least 4 packages of Wrap-N-Zap batting and had a bunch of leftovers, so as any good quilter knows, I decided to just zig-zag the leftover pieces together so I can have bigger pieces to cut out.  Thrifty, no?

 

 

I was able to get quite a bit done, actually.  I have quite a few things on my list that I want to make before November, so I'm actually starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere.  I also had some of my inventory that I left in Minnesota sent to me; I received it on Saturday so that'll definitely be helpful. 

 

Besides my sewing bonanza today, I also managed to make my Beef Stroganoff for dinner (sorry I was already digging in when I realized I forgot to take a picture first (oops):

 

 

 

This is a really easy crockpot recipe, perfect comfort food.  I normally make a double batch and have it again the next day.  Here's the recipe:

 

BEEF STROGANOFF



1 pound stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or golden mushroom soup)

1/2 chopped onion (optional)

1 package fresh mushrooms (I use the bigger size container but I love mushrooms)

1/4 cup red wine (cooking or otherwise)

2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire

1/4 cup of water

1/2 block cream cheese

Pepper to taste

Cooked egg noodles

 

Mix everything except the cream cheese and pepper into a crockpot; cook on low for 4-5 hours or high 2-3 hours.  When the meat falls apart, its done. 

 

Chunk up the cream cheese and stir into stroganoff just before serving, allowing to melt completely.  Add pepper as desired.  Pour over cooked egg noodles.

 

If you make this recipe, let me know what you think!

Vanessa :)

 

 



Time's A-Wastin'

Yes time *is* a-wasting!! 

I'm confirmed for one craft show on November 15th and am applying for a 2-day show for the following weekend.  Nice huh?  Another one that I applied to I never heard back from; I was going to contact them until I realized it was for next weekend (October 4th) and there is NO WAY I'll be ready in time.  So I'm gonna skip that one and look for a different one.

So I've started working on my items and I already feel like I'm way behind.  On top of that, I need to make 3 casserole carriers before next weekend.  I started on one and thought, oh I can just freehand quilt it instead of doing straight lines.  Well my optimism got the best of me, and let's just say I've been ripping out stitches for the past two days :(  I won't even bother to embarass myself with a picture of it; yes its that bad.  Oh well live and learn.  But I promised to post pics of the finished product when I'm done!

Also in the mix of the craft show craziness, we are also practicing for the Grand Finale BBQ Cookoff next weekend (September 26th-27th).  Here is a picture of a whole brisket fresh out of the smoker:

 

And here it is all sliced and ready for dinner LOL And yes, someone has already noticed the lack of vegetables on my plate.  In my defense I was planning on having fresh cut fruit for dessert, but ended up crashing not too long after eating dinner.  Smoking BBQ all day in the hot sun is hard work, folks.  LOL  Mmmm look at that smoke ring!

 

 

And here's the ribs.  We cooked them a little too long so they started pulling off the bones.  We've noticed a definite decrease in size in ribs so we are going to need to plan accordingly.  But they turned out very good so I'm not gonna complain.

Sounds like we are going to practice again this weekend.  I'm thinking that after the Grand Finale we are going to take a little break from BBQ-ing.  I least I sure hope we do, because I think I need a break from BBQ in general.  Which is funny because I really do love BBQ but like anything else, too much of a good thing and all that.....

So tonight will be ripping out more stitches (yay) and just keep plugging away at my craft show inventory.

Hope you're having a great week!
Vanessa

September 11th

Where were you 13 years ago on this day?

I was in Minnesota packing, ready to take a long drive to Pensacola, Florida where my then sister-in-law was going to get married.  I made arrangements with my best friend to watch the kids for the week while we were gone, so I was set there.  I had the TV on Good Morning America, luggage was on the bed as I was in the process of packing our clothes when they broke the news that a plane had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  There wasn't much news immediately, but then they started showing video of the tower when suddenly, we saw another plane hitting the South Tower as it was happening.

I remember calling out to my ex, and he came in the room as we both watched the horror unfold; reports of a plane hitting the Pentagon, of a plane crashing in Pennsylvania and of course the two towers collapsing.

It was horrible and we watched for hours, trying to decide if we should still go or stay home.  After a flurry of calls we decided to go ahead and make the drive.  We were still packing when the kids got home; my son was terrified and insisted on coming with us.  My daughter - the youngest but the calmer of the two - chose to stay with my best friend. 

We made it safe and sound to the wedding and back to Minnesota without incident, but it was still scary as we didn't know what was going to happen or if another attack was going to occur.

So on this day, I'd like to say a brief prayer to the 2,977 victims of the 9/11 attacks, their families and loved ones.  You will not be forgotten. May God Bless America.

Working hard.....or hardly working?

Craft show update - I was accepted at one of the craft shows I applied to!!!!  Well, they cashed my check so I assume I'm in LOL  The name of the church hosting the craft show is called Grace Church of Avondale - here's a picture of it:

I have absolutely NO idea how busy it will be, how successful their past shows were, etc. so I'm just winging it here.  I guess I'll find out on November 15th LOL  To be honest I wasn't even sure where it was located; after I saw they cashed my check I went and Googled it.  One would think I would have done that *before* I sent in a check, but I'm not that bright, I guess ;-)

So with that being said, over the weekend I cut out a bunch of fabric for some of the items I will be selling at the shows.  I decided to do a little bit of a variety so I will have not only sewing/quilting items but also a few handpainted items as well.  I may even have some of my personalized ornaments shipped down from Minnesota so I can sell those too (although I'm honest enough to admin I'm sick to death of them).

In addition, a friend of mine asked me to make her a casserole carrier.  In pink.  That was all I was given as far as direction, "My favorite color is pink".  I'm not a fan of pink and I swear it took forever for me to find fabric.  In pink.  Did I mention its pink????  Ugh.....however that being said, I actually like what I picked so hopefully she does to!!  ::::still shaking my head over the pink lol::::  Anyway....I'll post pictures of it here when I'm done.

The weekend was fun - went to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" on Sunday; I highly recommend it if you enjoy action/adventure/comedy movies (which I do).  The first 5-10 minutes are a bit of a downer, but after that its excitement all the way to the end.  Chris Pratt (star of the movie) is from Virginia, Minnesota and isn't bad to look at.  Not that I was, mind you, I'm just sayin'......

So tonight I will be doing a bunch more of this:

 

 

How was your day today?

Vanessa

Happy September.....

Its about that time of year again........craft show season!! 

I started doing craft shows back in 2002 when I was laid off from my job that summer, and was worried I wouldn't have any money for Christmas gifts for my kids.  At the time I was teaching decorative painting so I thought I'd give a couple of craft shows a try, paint up some stuff and just see what happens.

So with that I painted up anything that didn't move, while trying to do gifty things that people may buy.  If you've ever done a craft show then you know how hard it is to predict what will sell and what won't!

My first show rolled around and my best friend Denise came with me to help.  Table was all set up, both of us were anxious.....then *nothing* for 2 hours.  I found out later that people were walking in and walking through all the booths in a certain path, and of course we were at the end of that path!!  However, about 2 hours in, and after freaking out that I wasn't going to sell a thing, we started selling things like there was no tomorrow!  We were swamped until about an hour before the end of the show, and even then we still had people stopping by chatting and buying until the end of the show.  It was an experience I'll never forget and my kids ended up with a very nice Christmas LOL

From that point forward I've always done craft shows; some were awesome and some not so great.  I've changed inventory several times so I wouldn't get bored (painting, funny wood signs, knitted scarves, personalized ornaments....you get the idea) and my display has changed just as many times.  Its been a learning experience, but I've met some great people and have made some decent money which was always used for Christmas presents. 

I didn't do any shows in 2013 because I had moved across the country, but this year I'm dipping my toes back into the craft show arena and see where it goes!  I'm sure it will be like completely starting over, since what sold in Minnesota may not sell here in Florida, but I will find out soon enough!!  I've signed up for one show, am waiting to hear on a second one (its juried so I had to send in pics and wait to find out if I'm "accepted"), and am eyeing a third one.  So we'll see.....

In any event, craft show projects are getting started this weekend so stay tuned!!

 

 

 

Have a great weekend!

Vanessa :)