No more Monday dread!!!!

Mondays....I used to dread them...another start to another stressful week. My mind set needed to change.  Slowly but surely, the Lord began to work on me and help me to see differently. It wasn't instant, it came slowly, like Lincoln logs....piece after piece until I was finally able to get victory over the dread! Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to share with you what I've learned....

The first building block, the corner piece....came from a message preached by my Pastor. It had nothing to do with Monday dread, but he said something...something that I didn't realize the importance of till later, when the other blocks were added on.... He said something like this: "did you know your week doesn't start on Monday? God intended your day to start on Sunday. All the old calendars have Sunday as the first day on the week on your calendar....the new Calendars are starting to make Monday the first day of the week.  Our week is supposed to start with GOD...moving the start day to Monday takes the focus off of where it should be. ....THIS was revolutionary to me!

Next came some information from a video I'd watched ..... It mentioned starting your day by filling YOUR cup before helping others to fill theirs. If we spend the day pouring out pieces of our selves into others cups.....a boss, a job, our husband or wife, our children, our friends....but haven't first FILLED our cups....what will we have left? How will we survive and thrive when our cup is empty?  Was I starting my day by filling my cup ? Did I have me time? That quiet time alone where I FEED my soul ? Quiet time....Prayer...Bible Reading...Postitive Affirmations? The answer was a resounding NO! Oh I read my Bible and said quick prayers, but was I focusing on those quiet times...allowing myself to be filled and fed so that I could help fill others? NOPE!  What WAS I doing? Checking my facebook....getting dressed, and going on through the day like a zombie!

I began to think....how can I change this? Apply this to my life? Then, I watched a video by Carrie Wilkerson. She mentioned "moving the needle" The premise was changing something in your habits...replacing it with something new so you don't go back to the old habits. What came to mind while watching this was that quote "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail"  

Ok, now what? I PLAN to SUCCEED!!!

1. SUNDAY starts my day! I spend the day in worship to God at church ...starting fresh with God as the center. At home, I ask Him to be in control of the rest of the week, to guide me in my plans and daily activities...and make my plans accordingly.

2.  I start my mornings with a "power hour" 

     a. Quiet time/prayers/Positive Affirmations  (Philippians 4:8) 

     c. STAY AWAY from facebook scrolling during this time

     d. Wake children and get them started with their daily routines ....

     e. Complete the tasks for my business

     f. Go over daily list (Made the night before)

     

Then...after that, it's all about finishing other daily tasks ....do things always go according to plan? NOPE! But.....at LEAST I have a focus and can get My Days started right by filling my cup and putting the focus where it belongs.... and now...no more Monday dread!!!!!

      

Healthy from the Inside

It's been a LONG time since I've posted on here.... and a LOT has changed.  Namely...ME! There's a saying: "

If you know me based on who I was a year ago, you don't know me at all. My growth game is strong. Allow me to reintroduce myself."

This is SO true for me! I used to live my life "from the couch" so to speak. Oh I left the house. I coach volleyball and cross country, own a house cleaning/property management business, and homeschool as well. BUT.... when I was at home, I was doing almost everything from the couch.  I was constantly exhausted, overwhelemed, and gaining weight again.  I felt like i was spiraling out of control. Not to mention the fact that our finances were a hot mess! As far as my personal life. I felt like I had no real purpose. I had my children and husband, don't get me wrong, but I had always had a burden to help others and was looking for a way to do that.

So....I prayed.

I asked God for help in all of these seemingly unrelated areas. Health, energy, Finances, purpose....Little did I know that God would answer all of those prayers with ONE thing!!!

When God brought Plexus into my life, it was at just the right time.  He gave me hope for my health, showed me how I could be a blessing to others, not just by sharing what Plexus could do, but by loving them right where they were and sharing the love of God with them.  And, he also used Plexus to give our family much needed income!

I see so many wonderful dreams and goals that are now possible thanks to the gift that God gave me with Plexus....  I've also been learning SO much...about how to love people, how to love myself....how to love God more... How to get healthy on the inside...spiritually, AND physically!!! Yes...the growth game is STRONG with this one!!!

I'll leave you with one more quote:

"You are under no obligation to obe the same person you were a year, month, or even 15 minutes ago. You have the right to grow, No apologies."

Make your growth game strong and don't apologize for it!!!

The Keys are MINE!

FINALLY!!!...after a whole ton of ups and downs and almost not even GETTING the house...oh, and a whole lotta prayer....The keys are MINE!!!!

 Now, the real work begins!  Today, we closed on the house, tomorrow, we dig in and start renovating!

First up: Demolition!  We are going to remove the rest of the carpet from the dining room and kitchen, as well as the kitchen cabinets.....

Delima #1.....Where to find cabinets that are less than the 1,000 price we are looking at now....We have been looking on craigslist and ebay, but we have a "galley style" kitchen, which means, not a lot of space and NO corners...the cupboards are on two opposite walls only.  Gotta save money on the cabinets!!!

This is a pic of my kitchen..."before"...ICK!

An example of how beautiful a galley kitchen CAN look....WAY above my price range though!

Oh, and bigger than my kitchen too!

Stay tuned....I'll be posting pics of tomorrow's demo soon!!!!!

Life's getting PINteresting....

Still waiting for the actual closing on our house.....having to jump some hurdles and hop through some loopholes, but, In the meantime, I've been planning my list of things to do and the order to do them in.

AND....I'm dreaming a lil....wanna dream with me?  Come find me on Pinterest....my pinterest name is Volleysoft!!!!!

GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT IS EXPIRING TOMORROW!!!!

GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT IS EXPIRING TOMORROW!!!!!

All you wonderful friends who are following my blog, I'm gonna MISS you......UNLESS>......you follow me on Linky Followers!!!!  Here is what the linky widget looks like:

PLEASE feel free to  LINK up so I don't have to MISS YOU!!!!!

I'm SEW cheap takes it to the NEXT LEVEL!

WOW....It's been a while since I've posted anything!  Life has been EXTREMELY busy!  Since I've last posted, a new beginning has presented itself into the SEWcheap family....We're MOVING!!!  We've gotten an opportunity to relocate closer to our church and more central to pretty much everything, YET....it's still not in the city limits!

That's the good news....the bad news...the house STINKS!! No...LITERALLY!  It's a repo and whomever had it before us must have mistook it for a doggie litterbox!  Not to worry, though, it's not a NON-fixable stink.  We've had some professionals on the job and they've told us what has to be done to "DE-smell-ify" (extremely technical term! lol) 

That's the good, then bad news, now here's the good-er (purposefully bad English...must...refrain....from.....fixing......!) news.  We're gonna fix it ...and Y'ALL get to watch us do it....CHEAPLY!!!!!!!

THAT, my online friends, is why I say I'm taking my cheapification (I should write my own dictionary!) to the "next level".....Even if I DID have tons of moulah, I WOULDN'T wanna spend it all on costly reno that I can do MUCH more affordably (by God's grace). 

WAIT>.......I see you out there, looking at your computer screen and FREAKING OUT.....CHILLAX!!!  I'm NOT going into this alone with my unskilled self....No "Renovation Realities" here....(although, I'm SURE there will be some, er, snafu's here and there)  I have friends in skillful places!  I have a friend who is a  plumbing/heating guy, another who is a licenced journeyman electrician, still a few more who are builders (one owned his own building business...before becoming a pastor!), and still a plethora more who are skilled in areas such as drywall, painting, interior design...etc....BREATHE......I've got it covered! (Oh, did I mention, I've got GOD on my side? he's the MASTER builder!!!)

OK, so enough, type, time for pictures of the DISASTER waiting to be a DREAM!!!

Good evening ladies and gentleman and welcome to the tour of my Macaroni and Cheese Colored Mansion!  Yeah.....the color's gna go!  Leaning toward a light mocha with a light tan ......but.....hmmm....

 The garage door looks broken, but as you can kinda see in the next pic, it's just popped off ....easy fix.  This door is the reason I'm leaning toward mocha/beige/tan colors...kinda hard to paint a fiberglass door and...why buy a new one...this one's in good condition!

                                             The garage is of the two-car variety, lol

Here we have the master bedroom (12x15) the wall on the right is going to have a door framed into it to get into the room in the following pic. Notice the AWESOME windows????  NEW!

This pic is a little deceiving.  It looks like the walls are mildewy or something, but it's just a bad pic...and ugly blue paint!  This will be the spare room and a place for hubby n I to keep our dressers, winter clothes, etc. (maybe the treadmill too!)

 This bathroom brings new meaning to the title "powder room", um don't think the inventor of that name intended for the room to be POWDER BLUE!!!! ICK!!!!  BYE BYE POTTY and BYE BYE TUB!!!! Seriously, though, The tub is very small.  Also, across from the commode and hidden from view is a badly designed linen closed.  Gna rip that out and build some shelves above the new toilet.  The new space will allow for a bigger tub. I'm cheap, so the Tile on the walls stay and all the decor will become tan/white with white potty/tub/sink (yeah, sinks goin too!) Did I mention "NEW" meant what I can get for free, from craigslist, the paper, scratch and dents at the store, etc?  HOWEVER...the potty has to be new!  CHEAP, but new!

Here we have my tiny kitchen.  BUT....as you can see, I have a separate dining room, so I DON'T CARE!!!  Hoping to find cheap cupboards somewhere (old ones a builder's getting rid of or something).  Notice the floor?  That is CARPET!!!  Those are NOT just food/foot traffic stains!  ICK! 

This is the dining room.  We have new sliders and frame already (FREE!!!!).  Light fixture's gna grace a dumpster....notice the floor?  More ICK!  Gna tear up both rooms, don the haz-mat (LOL) and then, sand/grind glue from floor, bleach water wash floors and walls to doggie height, next, its on to using a paint similar to "KILZ" but stronger, called "BIN" (anyone seen any sales? lol)  The wall to the left of the sliders will eventually have a row of cabinets on the floor with a countertop that matches the kitchen.  There will be another row of cabinets going across the ceiling with a mirror in the middle (might do two full length cabinet end caps...whatever I find cheap!)

This is the upstairs living room.  I should mention here, that all of the rooms with paneling will be covered with a special paper that mimics drywall...CHEAPER than replacing with actual drywall!
Also, up comes the vinyl flooring and down goes the BIN...then on to fake wood flooring!  We'll use the same flooring in the bedrooms and hallway upstairs.  The bathrooms, kitchen, and dining room will get tiles.

The basement stairs....not a problem...for now.  Hubby wants to eventually make them wider and the vinyl has to go!

Here is our beautiful blank canvas known as the basement!!!  At the far end on the left, is where you will be one of two more 12x12 bedrooms (there is also another 12x12 bedroom upstairs that isn't pictured).  On the right at the same end will be the other bedroom.  Then, coming back toward the screen on the right will be a framed in laundry room, then a storage room that goes up to the stairs (not pictured, but on the right).  On the left, after the bedroom, will be a family room.  See the door on the left?  That is a badly framed in storage closet, It's gonna GO!  Also not pictured is a nice little pantry which will stay.  LOVE this basement!!!!!

I can't wait to get started..and SHARE it all with ya!!!  PLEASE post any ideas, tips, and links you think would be helpful along the way!!!

*For those of you interested in the AMAZING way God allowed us to get this home, keep watch for a post titled:  "God is SEW good!"

**Also anyone waiting to see my tutorial on upcycling jeans to a skirt, be patient....it's comming!

Give the Gift of BLOG for Christmas!

The holidays are here....Christmas is fast approaching and this household's attention has turned toward presents for family and friends.  Our family loves to make homemade gifts for Christmas. Besides being SEW cheap, they are from the heart, and mean more!!  This year, the ideas have been flowing in and I'm enjoying getting them ready.  I thought I'd share the ideas with y'all so YOU can enjoy them too!!!

This first idea is a little unconventional, but it truly is a gift that "keeps on giving"!  I have a friend who loves to quilt and another who is a homemaking, crafty, photograph taking, canning....you name it, she does it mamma.....To my surprise, neither one of them have a blog!  One of them didn't even realize the benifits of blogging, the other one just doesn't  know where to start.  My Christmas gift to them....helping them get a blog started!

Do you have a friend/family member who you think could benifit from starting a blog?

Here are some steps that might help you to "Give the gift of Blog" for Christmas!

Picking a blogsite:
There are many different places to go through when starting a blog...hubpages, wordpress...your own site and others.  Then, there's my favorite, blogspot!

Deciding a theme:
What do they like to do? Are they a quilter?  Do they make amazing meals? Are they bookworms? Are they weekend warrior DIY'ers?  Seamstress? Or maybe they could review products and have giveaways......show them some blogs that do things similar to their interests so they can see what others do....it'll get their creative juices going!

Designing(the fun part!)
Next, show them some neat sites with free blog backgrounds. A blog with an adorable background can mean more readers! These sites are usually pretty foolproof....(I know, cuz I can use em! lol)  They explain things in "See Dog Go" so even NON-computer geeks can understand.  Here are a few sites I have found to be good :

HotBiggityBlog

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Simply Blog it Backgrounds

Background Fairy

Now, why did I say this was the gift that keeps on giving?
Because, when their blog starts making money, it'll be like YOU'RE giving them the money.....a continuous gift!...here are some hints on how to get the moulah to start rolling.

Monetize:

Show them how to begin to make money on their blog.  Start by showing them how to get set up with "Adsence" if they're using blogspot.  Then, show them how to use amazon associates.  Next explain Adsence affiliates to them. 

These are just some basic steps to get them started on their trip into Blogville....there are, of course, many other things that can be done, but once you get them started, chances are, they'll catch the blog bug and take off !!!!

Dishcloth swap and Giveaway WINNER!!!

After a TOO LONG hiatus from internet in my home, I'M BACK!!! FIRST oreder of business: Pics from the dishcloth swap and notification of the winner!

The swap rules, in a nutshell...crochet 2 dishcloths and swap em w/ ur buddy. When all the swappings done, a winner will be chosen to receive 2 skeins of yarn and a crochet book....

 My "swap buddy" was "DONNALEE"   BUT, she didn't send me two dishcloths, she sent me 6! AND a set of adorable handmade oven mitts! (I'm using the other one...so its not in the pic!)

Also, Donnalee and I were the only two in the swap to "complete the transaction" , so, that makes Donnalee the winner! WHOOP WHOOP!

Show her what she's won Bob!....

IT's FRIDAY!  Time for a blog hop!  WOOHOO!!!!  Here's where I've placed my lilly pad today!

"My Favorite Friday!"

TGIF! WOOHOO!!!  Today, on "MY FAVORITE FRIDAY"  I'm featuring a favorite Blog site of mine:

Keeper of the Home !!!!

Her subtitle, which says "Naturally Inspired Living for the Christian Homemaker" is SO true!  Her posts inspire me to be the best "homemaker" I can be for my family and my God!

The current post up at "Keeper of the Home" is "Fun Frugal Memories to Make with your Kids this Summer"  What better post to put up in such a financially strapped time?  The ideas she has are wonderful! 

The most helpful post I've found so far has been Creating a Homemaking Binder. Here, she leads by example with this amazing binder.  I strive to be a more organized homemaker.  This post is easy enough to follow that I feel I can do it to!  I can't wait to finish my binder and begin my more organized lifestyle!

So, don't hesitate...>GO, NOW ....click HERE and check out this awesome "Favorite Friday" site!

FYI.....Here's where I'm hoppin this weekend!:

My Wish list...or I SEW wish for these....!

 I have been on a FREGGIE crave lately.  I have no desire for pasta, burger, steak, chicken....(still want fish!) right now....I'm not vegan, nor am I a raw foodie, YET....(I'm secretly a raw food wannabe!)  Having a family of 7 makes going raw difficult, to say the least.  However, my body is telling me that I totally need fruits and veggies right now, and I'm listening!  That being said.....I have a Freggie wish list!....Lemme share it with y'all:

1.  A dehydrator!

I can't even tell you the ways I could be SEW cheap in the long run with this puppy!

Imagine the money I'd save on fruit leather alone!

AND....you should see some of the awesome things you can make like: Pizza  or Cookies!

2.  A Saladacco or Spiralizer!

After seeing videos using both, I think I would preferr the Saladacco (plus it's cheaper!)

But, I would get this spiralizer too...whichever one I find at a yard sale first!

3.  A Juicer!

I would love to have something to turn my Freggies into a drinkable delight! Plus, I want to add greens to them!



SO, this is my current wishlist....If/when I get them...from some yard sale or resale shop,most likely, I'll review them on the site and let you know how they work!

Borrowed Book Review #2: Round Robin

I finished the second book (novel) in the Elm Creek Quilts series...I got it Friday, finished it last night. I couldn't put it down.....well, not literally, I had to read it between, schooling 5 kids, mushroom picking with my parents(found NONE!), fixing boo-boo's, church twice and choir practice on Sunday,.....and a "FEW" other things....but when I COULD pick it up, I couldn't put it down!   I LOVED it!

SO, here's my SEW cheap  but SEW good borrowed book review #2!

Round Robin

by: Jennifer Chiaverini

     "She chose green and blue for the colors of the Elm Creek Manor. She chose blue for truth and green for new beginnings............

       She pieced a border of pinwheel blocks- pinwheels for her windblown life, which with faith and perserverance she tried to stitch it into order.  The pattern was a four patch, a square divided into four smaller squares, which were in turn divided into two equal triangles, one light, one dark, like the darkness of the past week and the light hope of the future.  She wanted to believe in hope."

-----A round robin quilt is made by a group of friends who take turns making the different layers/parts of the quilt-----just as the friends of  Elm Creek Quilts decide to do as a surprise for their dear friend, Sylvia....

As each woman takes her turn at each layer of the round robin, we are taken deeper into their lives, adding their stories to the ever-changing history of Elm Creek Manor............Getting to follow each character through their heartaches, happiness, and growth, made me feel as if I was becomming part of the "Elm Creek Quilters" .  I actually felt as if my story would fit within these other ladies' stories and could see where my layer of the round robin would meld with the others..........

This book is a MUST read...after book one (The Quilter's Apprentice), of course!  I finished this book wishing I had borrowed the next book WITH it so I could start reading it right away!

Friday Blog hopping...and VERSATILE BLOGGER!!

It's Friday and I'm hopping!  Also,  The How To Mommy has given me my 2nd "Versatile Blogger" award.....which means....time to spread the love!!!!

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:

• Leave a comment to thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
• Tell us seven things about yourself
• Award fifteen recently discovered new bloggers

SO...time to follow the RULES!

1.  I'm currently TRYING to do a Couch to 5k program
2.  I'm celebrating because my 5year old is READING words!
3.  I have a deaf/Albino Great Dane named "Der Hund", but we call him "Hunder"
4.  I took German in School....but mostly only Remember how to sing "Jingle Bells"!
5.  I have MAJOR redneck tendancies....and I LIKE em!
6.  I can't go into a store without taking pictures with my cell of things that "I could make cheaper and better" !!!!!
7.  I love hunting and guns....(more redneck stuff!) and am a better shot than my hubby!(SHHHH!!!)

The 15 AWESOME bloggers I've Chosen:

 1.Design it Chic
 2.My Silly Life
 3.My Lil Cadebug
 4.My Tot Learning Time
 5.Sew Happiness
 6.Shanimals Crackers
 7.Dear Q Love Mrs.
 8.Mom's Bookshelf & More
 9.Dishes and Socks
10.Mommy 2 two Girls
11.The Adventures of J-Man and MillerBug
12.Confessions of a Frugal Mind
13.Wentzell's Creative Designs
14.Food Floozie
15.Scraps and Scribbles

I'll have to send out my "awards" to the peeps in person later!

Review: The Quilter's Apprentice

I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but I LOVE to read.  There just doesn't seem to have been enough time the past, oh, I don't know....FIFTEEN years!  This last year, however, some changes have happened which have allowed me to feel free to take up this beloved hobby again......

That being said....I AM cheap....so...I borrow my books from the library!  I live in Michigan, so I have this wonderful program called MEL-CAT (a STATE wide lending library!), so, if I can't find a book at MY library, I have almost all of Michigan's librarys to choose from....FOR FREE!!!!  SO....Without further Adieu....



The Quilter's Apprentice
A Novel
By:  Jennifer Chiaverini

This is the First in the Elm Creek Quilts Series.  In this book, we are introduced to the Characters: Sarah McClure, A young married woman, previously employed as an accountant, but now unemployed and searching for work in a new town, Matt McClure, Sarah's husband, a previously unemployed Landscape Architect, now employed in a college town called Waterford, Pennsylvania., and Sylvia Comstock, a wealthy, elderly widow who has returned to Waterford to settle the estate of her recently deceased, estranged sister.

As the story begins, we find Matt taking his wife, Sarah out to the grounds of Elm Creek Estates, where he has been contracted to do some major landscaping/repairs for Sylvia Comstock.  After a not-so-lovely first meeting with Mrs. Comstock, Sarah is asked back to the estate and offered employment with the somewhat harsh woman.  She accepts the job helping to clean/organize the beautiful estate and the story unfolds.

The story uses the talents of local quilters as well as the most talented quilter, Sylvia Comstock to tell the story of the Bergstrom family from it's roots in Germany till present time. The quilts/quilt blocks themselves tell stories as well.   The personalities of each of the characters are destinct and very picturable, as are the descriptions of the quilts and Elm Creek Manor.

 I couldn't stop reading this book, from beginning to end it was amazing!  Each character was believable, each story very viable.  The end of the book was CLEARLY just the beginning of more.... I can't wait to read the next book!

If you're interested in these books, you can go right to the source, the Jennifer Chiaverini's webpage!  You can become part of her "World" by joining the Reader's Circle.....She even has patterns for making the actual quilts made in some of the stories!

Thrifty Thursday!!!!

Saved By Love Creations Is having a Thursday blog hop, and , seeing how I still can't figure out how to fix my LOVELY serger......I thought I'd  hop around too!

Wordless Wednesdays

It's Time for "Wordless Wednesdays!"

There are just 2 simple rules:
1. Follow the host (God's Perfect Promises) and I  on GoogleFollow widget in the sidebar.
If you're a new follower please comment so I can follow back.
2. Grab & post the hop button on your blog so we can spread the word! (Found at God's perfect Promises)




Here's the linky!

Time to Crochet, swap and WIN!!!!

I have good news and bad news.....the bad news first.....If you haven't already signed up for the swap and giveaway, you're too late...SORRY!!!

Now, the GOOD news....for those of you who DID sign up....Its SWAP and GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!

I'll post who your partner is and then you can go to the comments from the "RULES" post to find out their likes/ dislikes  and find out how to contact them for their address to send off their goodies when you're done!  Won't this be a FUN mothers day gift for our E-friends????

Ok, here are your pair-ups:

Tiffany with  Sew Happy Stacy

Couture Cat with Volleysoft (ME!)

MusingMom6 with Ellie Mae

365 Bags  with  redhead

Ok girls, have at it!  You can do just about anything...as long as it's a dishcloth!  You're making two, so you can make one with what THEY like and one with what YOU like.....you can make one with what they like and one that molds the two of you together.....you can make a surprise one......whatever you do is up to you! 

HINT:  Try to leave a note explaining WHY you made each one.  It'll make it more awesome for your partner!

Dishcloth swap and Giveaway EXTENSION!

I've had enough interest in the dishcloth swap that I've decided to extend entry till the 10th!  Those of  you who've already entered, I'll be matching you up on the 11th!!!  For those of you who haven't seen the giveaway, go HERE to find the rules and to sign up!

Dress making update - Sew NOT cheap!

So, the making of the plethera of dresses has been stalled because my SERGER BROKE!  More specifically, my lower looper thingymabober (technical term!).  To make matters worse, after checking around the internet, I find a ton of these parts at between 11 and 23 dollars, however, the part for MY particular model is, at its LOWEST....$33 dollars!  Sew NOT cheap!

I'm SEW bummed that part of the side cash I'm going to make for these dressis is going to be used to cover for the money I had to spend on this part!  However......(glass half full approach....)  It COULD have been a part that wasn't replacable without replacing the whole machine.....coule be worse!

So, as far as the dresses are concerned.....to be continued!

"God will take care of me....."

Friday Blog hop time!

It's Friday and I wanna HOP!!! I'm gonna hop all over the place this week! I'm gonna visit a TON of new lilly pads!

*NOTE* While you're here, check out my "Dishcloth Swap and GIVEAWAY!"

Wanna hop too? Link up and get hopping! Like me?  FOLLOW ME!! hehe



Here are some lilly pads I'm hoppin around on: