INTERNET/TELEPHONE DEAL & FREE SHIPPING ONLINE

O.K. all you Deedaloos blog readers today there will be no pictures - sorry! Maybe another day I'll post pics of xmas tree shopping. Today is about being a thrifty consumer or an alert consumer I guess. Fairpoint Communications (they bought out Verizon) provides my basic telephone and internet service to the tune of about $42ish which allows for local calls only, no long distance (we use a prepaid card as necessary) and their entry level internet. I noticed an ad on tv a couple of weeks ago advertising for phone & internet service from Fairpoint for $33.66 and thought that sounded lower than our bill generally was but since I don't pay the monthly phone bill I needed to check. Sure enough . . . so I called and asked about the $33.66 and yes in fact that is an offer/promotion they're having FOR A YEAR. Further inquiring why we simply wouldn't be charged that I was told that when prices at Walmart get lowered for an item we bought a week ago, Walmart doesn't call me to tell me?! WHATEVER! Also she said that they can't make any changes to our account without our permission. Apparently they do put this information in with your bill in the notes section AND the most recent bill had a seperate slip of paper in with it about their offerings, neither of which I suspect my husband would take note of especially considering that he rarely uses the computer. Soooooo . . . the bill drops for 12 months AND the internet connection speed gets faster! Now in the 12th month I must remember to call and drop the speed back down or I'm certain the price will go up. I honestly can't say I notice a difference.

Another idea worth noting is with shipping. I've done a fair amount of shopping online this year and I despise paying for shipping when there's so many offers out there for free shipping but sometimes I can't find the coupon or maybe I find it and it's expired but I can get free shipping at LL Bean so when I found some things at Lands End that I wanted (twice) I called. The first call was more simple - "hi, I've found some items I'd like to purchase but I don't seem to have a valid free shipping coupon anymore. I'm sure I can find something comparable at LL Bean, but if I can get these items shipped for free, I'd just assume give you the business" Bingo! Days later I get a $25 promotion off of $100 purchase for Lands End and so I take ANOTHER peak and I hear that tiny little voice in the back of my head saying "oh Kim, it's Christmas and there must be some stylish gifts under the tree with YOUR name on them" This was a bit harder because I already had a $25 discount but what the heck I called, my order was already chosen and it was sitting up on my screen waiting for me to push the button. Unfortunately, the girl told me that there were no free shipping offers at that time and when I NICELY told her that I just couldn't justify spending that $14ish?? on shipping since I just had free shipping . . . she put me on hold and kindly checked again only to tell me that because I already had one promotional code she couldn't help me. Well, I no sooner hung the phone up when this screen popped up in front of me from Lands End asking me if I wanted live chat help to assist me with placing my order so I clicked on it and I stated why I was hesitating in placing my order and that if it were LL Bean I'd already have the free shipping and I'd be earning $20 towards a future order . . . Well, she told me to place my order, give her the order # and then she would provide me with a credit for the shipping immediately!

Yes, I admit I'm a bit frugal at times, but I love getting a good deal. Under the tree for me will be a winter vest which will be lovely for layering, a new winter coat and TWO pair of shoes all for UNDER a hundred bucks!

KRISTEN MARIE TURNS 5!

It's been a whirlwind last few days and it ends on a high note with Kristen's birthday party - pizza, cake and some great friends/family (we missed you Grammy Beck!). I found this cake idea when I was googling for such. It's from http://www.bettycrocker.com/Recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeId=40760 and it's called the groovy jeans cake, although we opted to make our groovy jeans pink instead of their blue. It was simple but very cute and she really liked it. I'm not sure if my favorite part is the fruit roll-up belt or the rock candy rhinestones. Way too many presents and she's already been into her new Barbie markers to color her cuttlebug jr. alphabet cutouts she made as well as played with her Barbie laptop. She's set with lots of crafts to do between now and Christmas (and then some!). She's going to love doing the projects that everyone got for her!

GOBBLE-GOBBLE!

Big turkey, small group for the Therrien household. The inlaws shared the day with us which was great and my dad came solo. I invited my grandparents as well trying to convince my nana that it would be great and I was cooking this big bird and her response was "Kimmy, I've got a bird for you!" to which we both laughed. That's my nana for ya! Unfortunately, my mother had some insane, lame-ass excuse (ha, ha) of having emergency eye surgery on Tuesday and she's to lay on her side for one week to allow the surgery to hopefully do it's thing. Apparently she was having some issues with floaters??? I dunno . . . google it . . .

"Eye Floaters can have devastating visual and emotional consequences. All too often, doctors dismiss patients' symptoms as unimportant or natural. Patients often describe floaters as seeing bugs, strings, or unusual dark shapes in their vision."

Anywhoo . . . the floaters disappeared but then she was having trouble with a film over her eye and come to find out she had a detached retna and was pretty much blind in that eye - yikes! Hence the need for emergency surgery. This totally blows for so many reasons I just can't even explain but most of all because my mother is my family's rock and the rock has become a little loose. Anyone who knows my mother knows that trying to stay still is not an easy task for her. I think that she would have been proud of my thanksgiving feast even if my gravy did come out of a can. I'm sad that she isn't feeling well and I'm sad that she missed thanksgiving and I'm sad that she won't make Kristen's birthday but it's so much more important that she do what she's supposed to do and LAY DOWN DAMMIT!

Kristen's birthday is Sunday and she turns 5. She's sooooooo excited! I was looking for cake ideas because she was just being too simple (ya, call me stupid!). I found this really cool idea for making a cake to look like jeans. They did theirs in blue but I'm toying w/ pink sparkly pants?? I'll blog about it. It's really not too hard. The hardest part is that I have a craft fair on Saturday and I'm working Saturday night and I've gotta pick up some of my crafts from the Sawyer's house Sunday night. Never a dull moment I guess! Oh and my husband is working tonight (Friday) so he's done all he can do for the moment of helping but my children have graciously agreed to help me on Saturday.

CRAFT FAIR COUNTRY STYLE AT SAWYER'S, BARNSTEAD, NH

Tom & Penny Sawyer open their home on North Barnstead Road, Barnstead, NH to Pandee's, Deedaloos and other local crafters begining Friday, November 28th and going through Sunday, November 30th. They will have our fleece items - hats & mittens - along with some fun retro-styled aprons and pajamas. Pandees has ceramics, primitive wood decorations for the holidays, wreaths, kissing balls and more. I believe that I saw some handmade sweaters and I know that they're having some homemade jams & jellies. I hope to update this post tomorrow after I visit. It's totally worth the trip and if you're uncomfortable with googling directions, just send me an e-mail. If you do attend because you saw my blog post, please let them know that I sent you! kimsworld5@verizon.net. UPDATED - I WAS THERE! THERE ARE SOME ORNAMENTS, GREAT SNOWMEN PRIMITIVE/COUNTRY WOOD DECORATIONS, THE KISSING BALLS ARE GREAT, CHOCOLATE LOLLIPOPS, GOATS MILK SOAPS, BLACK AND WHITE PICTURED SPECIAL OCCASION CARDS, BEAUTIFUL FABRIC PILLOWS. I LOVE THE WINE GLASSES THAT HAVE PAINTED ON SNOWMEN AND I LOVE THE WOODEN SNOWMEN!

12 Days of Christmas with the EtsyKids Teams!

On the first day of Christmas, the ETSYKIDS team members gave to me….a Christmas event you really must see!

November 28th – December 10th, join EtsyKids for 12 days of fabulous, festive fun and dreamy holiday prizes. Here’s how to play: Each day the EtsyKids blog will contain a post showing an image that’s hidden in an item listing on a few different EtsyKids team members’ shops. When a contestant finds just one of the hidden images, they send an Etsy conversation the day’s entry collector with a link to the listing where they found it. Once their conversation is received, they’ll be entered into a drawing for an amazing EtsyKids prize. The Etsykids blog will also contain clues to find the hidden images, and let contestants know who to contact to enter, as well as the prize(s) that will be awarded that day. The number of prizes will increase each day and the winners will be selected at random.***Contestants can enter once each day.Within 24 hours of winning, the lucky winners will be contacted via Etsy Conversation, and MUST contact (via Etsy Conversation) the prize donor with their mailing address within 2 days of being contacted. If they fail to contact the prize donor within the given time, a new winner will be selected.

SEWING KARMA & MY WALK IN CLOSET/FLEECE STASH

If you like to sew, you must know that from time to time mistakes are made. I believe that even the most experienced have made foolish mistakes and here I will share one of mine. I recently acquired some new pj fabric. I think it came with a curse affixed to it. I never actually purchased it because while I was preparing to cut something out of it I wanted to relish in my bargain prices for my recent stash load so I pulled out the receipt and I simply couldn't find this fabric anywhere on my slip. Hmmm . . . freebie I thought with my next thought being that maybe I should go back cuz if I don't I'm going have some bad karma. Needless to say I was ready to cut and cut away I did. I completed the pj's, posted them in my store (now in my clearance/seconds section) and even shared a pic with a co-etsyian only to relize that the construction trucks print was UPSIDEDOWN! I guess that I had thought that these trucks were all on there randomly and not all going one way?! I'm sorry, but that's some seriously poor planning from whoever designed this fabric - bastards! Needless to say, these pj's have the front and one arm w/ upside down trucks and all the rest are right side up. I guess the little guy could look down and he'll see the trucks on his belly right side up - right???
I used to dream of a walk in closet. When my husband was finishing my upstairs the one thing I was insistant on was that I wanted a walk-in closet. I honestly think that I remember show - maybe it was home improvements - the guy built his wife a shoe rack that rotated. There was a time I actually owned a ton of shoes for every possible event and now I think I might have five pair that I wear. Well, he gave me my walk-in closet and needless to say it eventually made it's way into my fleece/ebay storage unit. It never actually had racks for hanging clothes and I suppose that's just as well. I just cleaned this out a couple of nights ago - wow, it was a mess and had I really thought ahead, I would have had before and after pictures to show the difference. Although the stack of clothes might appear messy, they are really well organized! I've been a bit lax on my ebaying efforts so it will have to wait until I'm sick of looking at the pile. Needless to say, I do have a couple of other buckets stashed behind my entertainment system which I haven't pictured and then there's all my buckets IN my sewing room, but those aren't really fleece, but other STUFF.
The rolls of fabric standing up are actually my moms. I borrowed them but then couldn't really find a pattern that I thought I had plus the fabric wasn't quite what I expected and . . . well . . . they belong back in her attic . . . maybe someday my husband will take them back over if ask. Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your week!

NEW PAJAMA WAFFLE KNIT PRINTS

Here's some great newbies to add to my collection! Strangely enough the day that I made my son a pair of pj's out of the Treasure Island print he came home with a note from his teacher stating that he'd take a test on Treasure Island and he did excellent and the book was almost 200 points over his previously assigned lexile reading level which is fantabulous! I think that this will make the pj's even more special! Lots of great toddler and bigger kid pajamas to be made!!

TRUE LOVE IN THE MAKING WITH MY JUKI 734DE SERGER & BROTHER 2340cv COVERSTITCH

Both of my new machines have been pulled from their boxes and I've packed away the huskylock. I've given the the new Juki 734DE a test run and all seems well. I have some attachments but I probably won't try any of those out until after the holidays. I don't like to mess with things when I feel pressed for time. That being said, I still decided to give the coverstitch machine a whirl. That too has 5 different attachments, but please don't ask me what they all are yet since I'm not even really sure. I've figured out the different ways you can thread it (I think) and what I mean by that is that it just depends if you want a wide or a narrow coverstitch and if you want two or threee needles threads. It's really like a serger but it doesn't cut. On the Brother 23440cv it's a bit different not having an autothread release which means that the needles threads don't release when you lift the presser foot. One might think that this is not a big deal until you try it and you realize what a pain it is to release them. I did find a tutorial that in my humble opinion will certainly make it a wee bit less cumbersome once I get used to doing it. Sew, if you too are wondering how to remove your fabric from your new brother 2340cv without feeling like you need to be an octopus, vist http://sew-4-fun.blogspot.com/2007/06/coverstitch-removing-fabric.html. You'll find this blog most helpful! Also, I've found so many helpful people at http://sewing.patternreview.com/. I'm feeling good about my choices so let's hope it stays that way!

Kristen was star of the day last week at preschool and I was the volunteer parent that same day. She was soooooo cute! She did such a great job with her poem. I tried to upload the video clip but it wouldn't work. Her poem goes like this: Brown is my hair, brown are my eyes, i'm 4 years old and just the right size. My name is kristen and as you can see, I'm very happy to be me! Might I point out that her left to right progression was fantastic as she just beemed with pride. I was so happy to share this time with her at East Concord Cooperative Preschool. Teachers Miss Jill and Miss Katie are really quite the everyday hero's in my book!

JUKI SERGER & BROTHER COVERSTITCH HAVE ARRIVED

THEY'RE HERE -- EW, EW, EW, THEY'RE HERE -- I'M SO EXCITED BUT I JUST CAN'T PLAY W/ THEM RIGHT NOW, NO TIME, MUST CLEAN OUT SPOTS FOR THEM TOO - PROBABLY START W/ SERGER FIRST SINCE I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO USE THAT ONE. MAYBE TOMORROW?? I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE SOME PICS OF MY HUSKYLOCK AND KISS IT GOODBYE SO I CAN SAVE FACE WITH HUSBAND. THE JUKI TOOK A DIGGER ON IT'S WAY HERE, BUT SEEMS IT ONLY HAS BOX INJURY.

ALSO, FOR YOUR ADDED VIEWING PLEASURE IN THIS POST, MY RECENTLY COMPLETED EAR FLAP HAT DONE IN CROCHET WITH SOME FABULOUS SOY AND WOOL BLEND YARN THAT WAS $2.00 OFF A SKEIN AT MICHAEL'S. I'M THINKING OF DOING THIS ONE AGAIN IN BOY COLORS FOR HUBBY BUT NOT SURE WHAT HE'D THINK OF IT?! IT'S A LITTLE BIG ON SHEILA BUT SHEILA'S HEAD IS ABOUT 1.5 INCHES SMALLER THAN MINE.

LASTLY, HERE'S A PIC FROM CRAFT FAIR AT COE-BROWN ACADEMY IN NORTHWOOD, NH. IT WAS O.K. - TOO MANY PEOPLE THERE SELLING JEWELRY SO I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WASN'T MY GIG. I'D HAVE TO SAY HONESTLY THAT WE MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE HOT SPOTS AT THE FAIR, BUT I COULD JUST BE DREAMING TOO. OUR SPACE WAS WAAAAAAAAY TOO CRAMPED AND MOM NEEDS TO REMEMBER TO BRING AN ALLEN WRENCH FOR HER GREAT NEW CLOTHING RACKS.

HALLOWEEN 2008 GORILLA & BATMAN FROM THE 80's

Here's the finalized version of my batman costume. I cannot take credit for the gorilla - that came off of a clearance rack at Sam's club years ago and this is Kristen's 2nd year wearing it (her choice entirely and no tears from me on that one). The kids are very pleased with their pumpkins as well as their candy intake! I'm told that they got to experience some sort of haunted house while out w/ dad, their aunt and cousins trick-or-treating. I could tell that they had a great time! Now if only Matty would be batman next year too . . .

not a chance!

BATMAN & FLAPPER COSTUMES 2008

Well, it's a busy week here for many reasons and these costumes are only one of them. The flapper dress took pretty much no time compared to the batman costume that's mostly complete. With batman, I didn't fuss with hemmng sleeves or pant bottom and I fudged the top a little cuz I didn't have the right size zipper and so I added the bias tape to the neckline for ties. The belt has some parts that you glue and I don't have a buckle so I might hit the goodwill store to see if I can find one there?? That's pretty much what I think is left on this. I could tweek the face hood a little to snug it up but Matty didn't seem to care so . . . The flapper dress is a neat hairy-like fabric and I just made a straight tank-style dress and added the trim at the bottom. The fabric is very sheer so I actually made a slip out of some black swimsuit fabric that I had so if my niece wanted to wear that underneath. I just hope it fits?! I didn't have all her measurements, just the waist so I really did wing it a bit. She's very petite so I think it will be fine.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME BEGINS - BATMAN FROM THE 80's??

Halloween is just around the corner and no, I haven't completely procrastinated. My daughter said she wanted to wear the same costume as last year - a gorilla costume that I bought off the clearance rack for Matty many moons ago, but he never wore it and now she wants to wear it twice? Now there's a girl who wants to get the most out of an already bargain. I wonder if that's an inherited trait? I won't complain and while we've shopped for Matty's costume I've simply told her to keep her eyes peeled for something for next year. Matty decided that he wanted to be batman so my first stop was ebay, first for costumes and then for patterns. It seems there are several versions/color schemes and he strangely enough chose this blue/gray version. I looked and looked and . . . . finally decided to just buy a pattern that I saw in ebay where they had "make an offer" which I did and they accepted - yeah me! I saved a whole dollar! I guess I should back up and say that I wanted to simply buy a gray sweatsuit and make a face mask and the cape and outer undear wear and put the batman logo thingy on the front and Matthew just wasn't buying the whole idea of wearing a sweatsuit because he insisted that a sweatsuit isn't a costume. I think that he needs to get a job. Then there was finding the fabric. Lucky for me it was ALL on sale - 60% for some and 50% for the felt - so that was awesome and I already had the blue swimsuit fabric that seems to be a close enough match so that was great too. Sew . . . the pattern pieces are prepped, I've cut a few things out of felt. I'm going to maybe hit goodwill to scrounge a belt buckle instead of buying one new. I'm hoping it goes together easily but the silvery bodice fabic I got is really quite slippery so by the end of the week I may want to hurt myself?? I also volunteered to make a little flapper skirt for my niece but after googling that, I kinda want to make her just a short dress with the cool black fuzzy, shimmery fabric I got for that. She's going to look adorable, I just know it! Of course I'm also going to TRY to do halloween shirts with the kids tomorrow night and I've got to find the time to do halloween pretzel rods for Matty's class for Friday - oh joy! Plan B - call my friend Jen from work and ask to borrow her son's batman costume from last year - tee hee hee!

JAY LENO INTERVIEWS KEVIN SMITH

Honestly, I don't even know who this guy is but when I came home from work on Friday night and started watching Jay with this guy, my poor husband who was sound asleep must have thought I'd lost my mind. I was cracking up laughing. Here's the Youtube clip and it's about 10 minutes long but it is absolutely hysterical. http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf=http%3A//s.ytimg.com/yt/swf/cps-vfl59689.swf&video_id=SbCFSJiftH0&rel=1&hqt=1 The famous line that keeps getting noted is "dropping the kids off at the pool" and if you can't guess what he's talking about, well then maybe you should watch the clip! For those that don't know me well, you might seriously start to question my character considering the types of things that I find entertaining. This is really funny shit! (no pun intended) Enjoy!

CUSHION COVER COMPLETE

Just a quick post to show I haven't been completely idle. I had a nagging project. Now, mind you . . . the project recipient wasn't nagging but rather patient if I dare say. I felt that since she did bring it up recently it was about time that I tackled the cushion cover which was something I'd never ever done before so I admit that I was a little nervous to cut this curtain up knowing that there was only one curtain and if I screwed this up I'd feel horrible! Well, I'm going to say that I think I did just fine. Thank you Jodi at http://happyhousequilts.com/ for suggesting that I wrap the pad in plastic wrap so it slides easily into the cover. I had no idea, although my back flap opening was full access with a velcro closure so it might have worked o.k., but still smoother I think with the plastic wrap. Rather than do the seams with my serger, I opted to serger the seams (fabric definitely wanted to fray alot!) and then sew them together to maintain a seam allowance in the event it needed repair. I think that I could have had a slightly snugger fit but the cushion wasn't completely even either so I simply did the best I could. The recipient was thrilled as was I just for trying something new. Yeah me for coloring outside the lines! And do I dare say GO RED SOX! (this is totally the time that it sucks to only be using a rotor antenna on roof - can't watch the game?!)

MICHAEL MILLER ROCKS MY WORLD

I'VE MADE SOME PROGRESS ON THE RAINCOAT THAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO MAKE OUT OF SOME MICHAEL MILLER LAMINATED FABRIC. I BELIEVE THAT THE PRINT IS CALLED CARNIVAL BLOOM BROWN. I JUST LOVE THE VIBRANT COLORS IN THIS FABRIC. I ACTUALLY STARTED BY TRYING TO GET GOING ON A HAIR STYLISTS CAPE THAT I WANTED TO GIVE TO A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS ALMOST DONE WITH HER SCHOOLING. OF COURSE, I MANAGED TO SCREW THIS UP TOTALLY AND CUT TWO HEAD HOLES IN THE DAMN THING SO RATHER THAN WASTE THE FABRIC, I CUT ANOTHER CAPE AND THEN USED MY MESS-UP TO CUT THE RAINCOAT IN A SIZE 5 WHICH ACCORDING TO THE MEASUREMENTS SHOULD BE PLENTY BIG ENOUGH - JUST NOT THRILLED WITH THE LENGTH. NOW, WHEN I CUT THE COAT OUT, I WASN'T PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE CUTTING DIRECTIONS AND MANAGED CUT ONE PIECE INCORRECTLY (I THINK THE PATTERN PIECE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOWN AND IT WAS UP AND I HAD NOT A STITCH OF EXTRA ON THIS FABRIC - JUST BARELY ENOUGH TO DO THS PROJECT. SEW . . . I FIRST WANTED TO THROW A TOTAL TANTRUM BECAUSE THE FABRIC WASN'T CHEAP AND THEN I THOUGHT . . . HMMMM . . . I ESSENTIALLY CUT THIS IN REVERSE SO WHAT IF I CUT EVERYTHING REVERSE??? I CALLED MY FRIEND JODI AND WE BOTH AGREED THAT IT'S A DIFFICULT CONCEPT TO WRAP YOUR BRAIN AROUND WHEN YOU'RE NOT RIGHT THERE SEEING IT AND SHE ALSO HAD ANOTHER GREAT IDEA - LAMINATE THE SAME FABRIC (I DID HAVE THAT PRINT IN UNLAMINATED TOO SINCE I LOVED IT SO MUCH!). IT'S CLOSE TO DONE AND BACKWARDS CUT WORKED OUT FINE. I'M NOT OVERJOYED WITH MY STITCHING JOB ON THE BIAS TAPE IN THE BACK NECK BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE IT ANOTHER ROW FROM THE INSIDE SO I'M SURE I'M CATCHING IT ALL IN AND YOU DON'T SEE THE STITCHING ON THE OUTSIDE ANYWAYS CUZ IT'S UNDER THE COLLAR. I NEED TO HEM IT AND IT CALLED FOR A 1 1/4" HEM AND I USED ONLY 3/4" BECAUSE I FELT IT WAS SHORTER THAN I'D HAVE LIKED. I THOUGHT I'D PUT SOME SIZE 16 PINK SNAPS ON IT BUT I ONLY HAVE 4 AND IT CALLS FOR FIVE SO I THINK I'M GOING TO PUT 5 DIFFERENT COLOR SNAPS ON FROM A COLLECTION OF BRIGHTS - EACH OF THESE COLORS IS IN THE PRINT. I CAN'T DECIDE IF I SHOULD GO THROUGH BOTH LAYERS OF FABRIC OR JUST ONE AND SLAP SOME INTERFACING BEHIND IT FOR ADDED SUPPORT. I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT THE DIRECTIONS SUGGEST. I RAN OUT OF THE HOT PINK THREAD I WAS USING SO I'VE GOT TO GET MORE TO FINISH THIS ANYWAYS. FOR NOW, HERE'S YOUR SNEAK PEAK!THE FAMILY DID THE DEERFIELD FAIR AND OUR ONLY REGRET WAS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE MORE TIME. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. MATTY SKIPPED SCHOOL, KIDS LOVED FEEDING THE ANIMALS AND DAVE ENJOYED SITTING ON HIS DREAM (IT'S A $20,000 DREAM?!) HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND I'LL TRY TO GET MY BLOGGING WEEKLY BUT NO PROMISES!