enough is enough

I am just so in love with these totes, that is why I want to show you the finished product.  After making the bag for Cesly the other day, Bella requested one for her.  Of course I couldn't say no, especially when I still had some of that really cute fabric left.

I also had made a very simple one for me a few weeks ago but wanted to change it up a bit.  So, I changed that one too and thought might as well show you that one too.

Since I don't have hardly any of that cute fabric left I can almost promise you that I won't continue to keep  posting about these totes.

I won't keep you waiting any longer.  Here is Bella's bag.  I really really like it.

And, here is Bella posing with her bag.

All the totes I have been making are reversible.

And, here is the bag I changed for me.  I just really like the contrast of the brown on the bottom of a lighter color.  I had some brown corduroy and thought it would be a nice contrast to the purple (which is a flat sheet).

And, as you see, here is the reverse side.

This concludes the millionth time down the tote road.

a cute pair of shorts

I found a tutorial that shows how to make a pair of shorts.  It looked simple enough so I took a go at it.

Success!

It was as easy as she said it would be.  I plan on making more.  However, I first need to buy some elastic.  I cut off the elastic band on a pair of my underwear because I didn't have any elastic on hand.  What?  I figured it is some form of recycling.  Good for the environment.

Now to find more cute fabric so I can make more!

a gift I wish I could keep

We have been invited to a birthday party this weekend for our friends' 1 year old little girl, Cesly.  They stopped by the other day and the girls just love Cesly.  She is so sweet, but she is 1...full of get-up-and-go. 

I hadn't realized how long ago that we were in that stage with Emily.  Yes, it is only a year ago, but believe me it feels a lot longer. 

You can't show up to a little girls first birthday empty-handed, but at the same time you know that I like to hold on to my money.  So, I decided to make a gift that Liz would use a bit more now and later on it can be Cesly's.

Yes, I made ANOTHER tote bag.  But this one is SO CUTE that I really wish I could keep it myself.  I think it is about the cutest thing I have made so far.

Take a look.

I hope she likes it.  I sure do!

routine makeover

Before I came back here to Mexico in the beginning of February people were asking me what I was planning on doing differently. Since the last time I was here for a long period of time I decided to move back to the US.

Well, without even having to physically do anything different my view of being here had kind of shifted. Pressures and stresses that were once there had floated away. Of course there are still negatives, but overall I just felt OK with it.

Part of what was going to be different was getting out of the house more often. For some reason I did do that. I was in the house all the time. Only leaving when Jorge would be here on the weekend and we would go to the grocery store. Not only do I lose my independence having to always depend on him taking me to the grocery store, it also makes me go stir crazy being in the house so much.

Sunday night I just had a rough time and decided there is no reason to not have a somewhat normal life here. Go to the store, take the girls places and have some time of my own out of this house.

A plan was made. You know me and my plans. Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons the girls go over to their Grandma R's house. During that time I am walking, for exercise and to get out in the sunshine.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings the girls and I get the car (Jorge walks to work...this is making him exercise too) and we go to the park. This lets the girls get out and run in the grass. It lets them run off some of that energy.

The park we go to is the only one I know of that has a nice green grass area. There are two old men that come and water the grass and feed the ducks. So, it is nice and clean AND the two days we have been there we are the only ones there. It was really nice.

This past week has felt more like a life. I get out of the house everyday and after only 3 days of walking I already feel better. I went from walking only 25 minutes and felt like dying the first day to walking 50 minutes and feeling really good, tired, but good the third day.

Here is the giant hill that I walk up and then down. This is a view from the top looking down.

And here is a view looking up. I have yet to walk straight up without stopping. Hopefully within the next few weeks I will be able to.

Here is the view from the top of the hill.

I turn off the paved and cobblestone roads to a dirt road that takes me away from the town.

I walk this road for a while and make a few turns and walk until the road stops. At the end of the road you can see the "castle" of Jalos and a large area of water.

Here is a house that is in the construction stage. And how long it has been like this is unknown. You only build what you have money for here. Loans are not a common practice.

And while there might not be any people living here, I was serenaded by a rooster that was taking up residence.

So, there you have it. My new plan and a small view of Jalos. Nothing much exciting, but at least I have things to look forward to now. Oh, and I even went to the grocery store on my own one of those days. It was nice to be doing it myself. I think things are looking up and hopefully my weight will go down!

take that!

This morning after Emily and Bella climbed into our bed, like every other morning, there was a two lined conversation between the two of them that I found to be rather humorous.

It started with me and Emily:

Emily: I'm tired.

Me: Lay down. (remember, we are in my bed)

Emily: I want to go in there. (pointing her finger towards her room)

Me: Well, then go.

Emily: No. I want you to carry me like a baby.

Me: No. You can walk.

Bella: Emily, you are a big girl you can walk.

Emily: Be quiet. You're a boy.

I just laughed again. The insults of a two year old. I don't think I could have ever come up with that.

dirty distraction

Last night while I was talking on Skype with my uncle Rick and aunt Kuniko in Singapore the girls went out on the front patio. This is not an unusual act since sitting at a computer and talking with people, even mamaw and papaw, seems to test their attention spans.

Normal they go out there and are playing with their toys, they take books outside to "read" or take the broom and sweep (they are very domestic).

Last night was a bit different. They took it upon themselves to aerate all the potting soil in my planters. Nice of them, huh?

They also decided to aerate themselves.

I had just recently planted some Serrano pepper plants. Who knows where they will come up now.

my dancing queens

Nothing like a couple toddlers shakin' their groove thang to Lady Gaga!

freshness

I was blog surfing the other day and saw a picture of some salsa and chips. It had been a long time since I had made any and thought I should go ahead and make some.

I have told most people what the weekly pay is here and how low the cost of living is as far as some items. Produce is one of those things that cost little money. Which makes the cost of salsa next to nothing!

Honestly it has been so long since I have really grocery shopped in the States that I can't remember the exact price of things. And even that was over 2 years ago. I know the price of items have went up in that time span.

I thought it would be fun to show you how cheap some of these items are to make the salsa. The main ingredients are staples here: tortillas (to make chips), tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, limes and garlic. (I also throw just the smallest pinch of sugar and a very tiny splash of cider vinegar and of course salt into the salsa.)

Everything is in pesos. The easiest way is to move the decimal over one spot and that will pretty much equate it to the US dollar. (i.e. 5.60 pesos is $0.56 USD)

7 Limes: 2.80 pesos (I used 2.) 6 Tomatoes: 5.60 pesos (I used all of them.)

2 Red Onions: 18.30 pesos (I only used half of one.)

Head of Garlic: 2.48 pesos (I only used one clove.)

Tortillas: 3.00 pesos (I used the whole stack.)
I didn't need to buy cilantro, but it cost around 1.00 pesos for a big bunch.
I cut the tortillas, dried them out in the oven and then fried them in oil on the stove top. Not the healthiest, but let me tell you they are DELICIOUS!

After mixing all my cheap ingredients, this is what you get.

One yummy snack! We accompanied this love dish with a movie last night. Can't beat that.

I think overall it was a little over $1 USD to make this.

risky business

Remember how I was complaining that I needed to find stuff to keep me busy. Well, after washing the blanket that I made a few weeks back, I now have a semi-large task to complete.

I knew while sewing it that them seams were a bit on the small side, under 1/4" but I was being risky. It didn't pay off.

When I washed it I expected some of the seams to tear and more than I expected did. Actually I should have not been lazy and just sewed up and down each row PRIOR to washing it. But, now I get to go back and do some fixing up of things. Oh well. Lesson learned. Plus I really didn't do any quilting to the blanket and this kind of takes the place.

I have only completed 6 long rows. I have many many more to do. I think 11 more long rows and then all the shorter rows. OH MY!

I knew this blanket couldn't be finished in such a short time.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix it all.

just another day in the neighborhood

The weather here is starting to warm up. While that sounds good, it means that the hot days are soon to be near. Without the luxury of A/C, the hot days of summer are not always welcome.

One nice thing about the weather being warm, basically year round (especially that the sun is always out) is that I can line dry my clothes. When it is hot out they dry more quickly than in the dryer.

Remember that my new dryer burnt up? Well, we just got it fixed a few days ago. We still need to replace the portable dryer vent so I am still hanging things to dry. It has been such a long time since I have used the dryer that I don't think anything about hang drying them. I think I will continue to hang them...definitely will keep the electric bill down.


I have also mentioned that I read to fill the time. This shows you how much time I have. These have been read over the past 6 or 7 weeks. Not to mention that I have done all the other projects and taming the wild girls.


Speaking of projects. I did one today that was a complete failure. And surprisingly it didn't bum me out. I think it is the laid back environment getting to me.

I tried to add a little decorative border around the pillow cover but as you see it looks horrible. And since I was working with a bunch of material the backing material shifted and it is so uneven it is funny and way too small. I almost had to put butter on the insert pillow to get it in the cover.



Oh well. It is really ugly but I am using it anyway because I don't feel like redoing it right now. And I know the pictures make it look better than it really is but believe me when I say it is a disaster.

The girls went down to their grandma's house this afternoon so I think I will try to find something else to do.