I am like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, when I look at the sewing machine and the instruments.
So those of you who follow me on instagram and facebook may have seen my embroidery, and might be wondering, isn’t that the same thing as sewing?
Sewing is about construction-in clothing or accessories. Typically you are joining two pieces of fabric together to make something or mending a hole or frayed edge.
Embroidery is about style-you are adding careful and intricate stitching to something, to elevate a pillowcase, dishcloth, blanket, or other home goods.
So embroidery is something I know how to do, my mom taught us young and I have embroidered pillows, dishcloths, pillowcases, blankets, baby shirts, etc. After all:
So last week my friend was getting married and she was planning on saving money by wearing her mother’s old dress.
I told her to try it on months before, just in case it didn’t fit, but she didn’t. On Thursday, two nights before the wedding, she tried the dress on and it didn’t fit.
They weren’t able to add more cloth to it, instead a new dress had to be made. Friday, the day before the wedding.
But my sister, she went to work and created a dress in a day.
What?
After the dress rehearsal, I went over to my parent’s house and saw my sister sewing on appliques to the dress. If she was to be doing it on her own, she was going to be up all night and we were supposed to be at the church at 9 on Saturday.
Ouch!
So my mom lent a hand and then they conscripted me into service.
Like I said sewing is not for me, and I kept messing up. I threaded the needle wrong and it kept falling out. And I was moving so slow…
We stayed up until two in the morning and my sister and mother did lots of appliques…but in the four hours I sewed….I did one.
Yes, this is whyI don’t sew. But I was pretty proud of my one applique.
So years ago I posted this on my blog and the other day the picture came up on my Facebook Memories/On This Day, and it jogged a memory of something that happened years ago.
Time to go back…
My final year in college I was on the History Journal. It was a two credit class and we put on our own history journal, choosing papers, editing, designing, and putting it all together.
Out of all those in the class, a fellow member, Steve, and I went to speak to the printer. We went and met with the man, but everything with him in regards to me seemed off.
Hmmm…something’s not right
You know that feeling, when someone pays too close attention to you, is too helpful, just too of everything. It’s nothing direct, but ladies, and some men I’m sure, you know what I’m talking about.
He kept offering me drinks, even after I said that I didn’t drink-assuring me that he had nice cold beer and other things.
For the thousandth time
We had to pause for a moment, while Steve took a phone call. His wife had an emergency and he had to go help her-leaving me there and without a ride.
That is not good,
I stepped aside and called my friend Elaine, who agreed to pick me up but she was doing something and wouldn’t be able to come for hours.
Steve hurried out as his wife needed him, and I finished up with the printer. Sitting and having that man stare at me…I don’t know to explain it. It was like this feeling came over me that I needed to leave now, I needed to just go. I needed to get away from this man-who once again tried to offer me beer or wine and was just too much all in my space.
And run fast NOW!
I handed the USB over, concluded the business, and left as soon as I could. The only problem was that now I was stuck in the next city over for a couple of hours, stranded until my friend could come get me. All I could think was I have no clue what to do.
Bit then I remembered, not too much of a walk away was a bookstore. I didn’t know the hours, but there was a restaurant nearby if it was closed that I could wait at.
Luckily the bookstore was open, and I was able to wait there reading until my friend came and got me. She ended up having to stay longer, as her appointment went over, so I had to be there much longer.
Thank goodness for the bookstore!
Later, Steve did text me and apologized that he had to leave. He was worried as he didn’t feel the man’s attentions were right and wanted to make sure I was okay. I completely understood- wife needed you takes precedence over everything else.
When we had to go back, I voiced my concerns, and how I would prefer someone else taking care of it. Our professor was upset about it as she felt I wasn’t being professional and when she asked if the guy had actually done anything, I had to admit no he hadn’t.
However, Steve thankfully backed me up and stressed that it wasn’t just “a feeling” but he had witnessed it too. She then said she would take care of it and I wouldn’t have to go back.
Yay!!!
All I can say is thank goodness for that bookstore. And in case you were wondering, I did buy something when I was there, I just couldn’t resist.
So as you all know I started a book club, because you know me and books…
Every month we read a book and I do a little post on the book we read and discussed. What can I say, I just love books.
There is no theme, other than with each month, a different member gets to pick a book, whichever one they want. This time the book club member chose:
The Mother Keeper by Paula Scott
So in my last book club book review I had chosen The Far Side of the Sea by Paula Scott and our book club actually got to meet her!
Afterwards, we all started following her on instagram, facebook, etc. One book club member spotted this on facebook and afterwards wanted to read it.
Paula Scott told us that she started writing this years ago and tucked it away, bringing it out later when her daughters wanted a romance as she wouldn’t let them read Twilight (thank goodness).
She tweaked it here and there and rewrote it-this being the finishing product.
Jenny McBride and her husband Kevin, live in Colorado, are celebrating New Year’s Eve and ecstatic for their pregnancy. They can’t wait or the baby, dreaming of all the things they would like to do.
Both are Christians and strong leaders in their church. That night Kevin had a drink, something Jenny does not approve of, and she insists on driving them home in the snow. A car comes careening their way, and crashes into them. Jenny loses her uterus, Kevin his leg, and both their baby.
Nooooooooooooooo
Jenny can’t believe this happened to her, her whole life she has been a good Christian and this is what happens to her? She is hurt, depressed, and angry.
Noooo!
Meanwhile, in the country areas of Tennessee, teenagers Ellie Ryan and her boyfriend are making plans for the future. Jamie is a big football star and will get a scholarship, while Ellie can get one with her amazing grades. However, there is one wrinkle-Ellie is pregnant.
That is not good,
She doesn’t tell her boyfriend, she just breaks up with him. She then heads to the pregnancy crisis center where her sister had gotten an abortion before she took off to California. Ellie hasn’t heard from her since.
At the center, Ellie meets Patsy Klein, a pastor’s wife, who invites her to come stay with her and take part in their church’s Mother Keeper program. The Mother Keeper program, is when a family takes in a pregnant teen and helps take care of her until she has the baby. Sometimes they adopt the baby, help arrange adoptions, or just help them until they can figure out their next step. They pay the food and medical bills through church funding/fundraising.
Ellie stays with Pastor Klein, Patsy, and their three boys-Shawn, Seth, and Stephen. For Ellie, this a dream come true as she is finally part a perfect family.
Shawn is upset when he hears that a pregnant girl from Sutterville-Sucksville-is going to be living with them. He has enough on his plate with football, a scholarship to Vanderbilt, his beautiful girlfriend Jill who desires him. But meeting Ellie and spending time with her-Shawn realizes that the life he has been living isn’t what he wants at all, but what does he want? Now, he doesn’t know.
Hmmm….I need to rethink my life’s choices
As Shawn and Ellie grow closer, Shawn wants to marry her and raise the baby together. But the assistant pastor contacts his sister Jenny, she having gone through a spiritual battle and grief, is ready to adopt-Ellie’s baby. What will Ellie decide?
Many more decisions will be made as secrets are brought out in the open: a secret affair, true parentage revealed, murder, rape, and a fight over who will adopt Ellie’s baby.
Wow!
This was a a fantastic story and a real page turner. Paula Scott doesn’t pull way from anything, but hits the truth hard.
What?
It’s funny because it certain characters reminded me of ones from Desperate Pastor Wives and The Masterpiece. That was completely unplanned by us. In DPW, Jennifer Shores too has lost a baby, and becomes angry with God; having to go through her journey, getting close to God, and figuring what is next in the future. In The Masterpiece, Grace Moore is kept by a family until she has her child, and goes through a similar battle over who will adopt her child, along with having family issues she has to work through.
It was a fantastic book, and I strongly recommend it.
There used to be this really fun game on facebook called Jane Austen Unbound. You had to search different rooms and areas to find certain objects, the more you did the more characters from the books come into play. It was great.
Well like all good things-it ended.
Now they have a different game, Jane Austen Manors
I thought, well might as well try it out and see how it goes.
So the first thing you can do is dress yourself. They give you a few things, you having to purchase the rest. You have the ability to go to town and purchase more. I bought a fan-it was the only thing I could afford.
Then we have the mini games
Needlework-
This mini game you have to fill in the squares with the corresponding colors until you complete the embroidery.
You have to spend your gold coins to get something called a “magic fill”. If you don’t you have to go and do each individual square-one by one. With magic fill, it fills all the squares with the same letter.
It takes forever. By the time you finish an area when you look at the rest of the square you have to do:
It was awful. Boring and it takes far too long. At least real needlepoint you are doing something fun and cool, making something.
The Circus-
This is a hidden pictures game. You have a chance of the different main characters’ manor houses. When you click on one they show you all the rooms and the objects, you job being to go room by room try and find them all.
This wasn’t too bad, but you had to click on the object at the bottom when you found it in a room. If you didn’t it would kick you out and you would have to go through it again.
Word Search-
I think this was the best of the games. You are given text from a novel and have to find the words that make it up.
When you find the word, it marks it red in the text. This wasn’t difficult in what you are doing,but did get a bit confusing after a while.
It wasn’t a bad game-but really boring.
I know there are a lot out there that like it-but I’m not one to be playing it again.
So I know I haven’t gotten to Star Trek in my fangirl posts, do you might not realize this about me:
And as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Original Series, I decided that how last year was on Back to the Future, this year will be on Star Trek. And next year can be Star Wars as it marks the 40th anniversary of that film. But enough on that, let’s get to our year in review!
This is a time to reflect on what the past year held for us, the big posts, what’s new, and what you all seemed to like the most.
This post will only cover a few things, you really should check out the year for yourself. To start at the beginning go here.
The Views
This year I had 68,000 views!
Last year I had 31,000 and I thought that was a lot. Thank you buzzfeed, pinterest, facebook, twitter, and readers who practically doubled my views.
The most viewed day of the year was June 19th, in which I posted Drug of Choice.
The Number One Post
Strangely, my top posts had nothing to do with anything posted in 2015.
But you all like what you like!
So the number one post was from my Romance is in the Air Valentine’s countdown from 2013. That post was Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember, and I think I need to post on it once again.
So this community has really grown in numbers and I can not describe how pleased I am about that. We have gone from 14 followers in 2012 to 42 followers in 2013, 169 followers in 2014, and are now at 439. That’s amazing!
So enough about the statistics and numbers! Let’s move on to what was covered this year and what changes I have made to the blog
This year I continued my fandom posts, posting on Sundays. This year I wasn’t as faithful, as sometimes life would throw me a curveball, but I am getting closer to completing it. I just have to stop adding things.
So far this year I have covered: Amazing Phil/Phil Lester, Audrey Hepburn, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Beach Party Series,The Brady Bunch, Brotherly Love, The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Captain Planet, The Cat Who Mystery Series, Cinemasins, Clint Eastwood, Daredevil, Death on Demand Mystery Series, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Dr. Seuss, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, 8 Simple Rules, Elvis Presley, Eureka,Everyday Sunday, The Fast & the Furious franchise, Foreigner, Full House,Gargoyles,Grimm, Growing Pains, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hans Christian Anderson, Harry Potter, Hawk Nelson, Hell on Wheels, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Highlander, How I Met Your Mother, How It Should Have Ended, The Hunger Games, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jimmy Stewart, Journey, The Kinsey Millhone Mysteries, Las Vegas, Leverage, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lord of the Rings, Madeleine L’Engle, Make It or Break It, The Mentalist, Michael Crichton, Michael J. Fox, Midsomer Murders, Murder She Wrote, My Chemical Romance, Nancy Drew, The Nanny, NCIS, North & South, The Nostalgia Critic, The Office, Once Upon a Time, The Phantom of the Opera, Pokemon, The Princess Bride, Psych, Ray Bradbury, The Riyria Revelations, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
So I was trying to get a job with Buzzfeed and posted a few things as it was part of the application process. However no one was really interested in my lists so I decided to bring that style here. I only did one, Heaven on Earth, in which I listed the best fictional libraries; but I’m thinking of doing a few more in the future.
So last year I talked about reviewing Sense & Sensibility, along with all those based on the works or rewritings. I talked about the girls’ older brother John, and how he severely let these girls down in Promises Were Made to Be Broken. The joys and horrors of sisterhood and how the two act as a unit in Sisterly Roles. Edward Ferrars’ arrival into the house and being the one that brings peace to the house in The Eye of the Storm. On Elinor’s views of Edward, in To Edward or Not to Edward? How young girl’s views of the perfect man haven’t changed in 200 years, in Some Things Never Change.
With Disney’s new Cinderella live action film, I felt the need to call out to the cynics and naysayers, and prove that their smack was unfounded and Cinderella is actually a pretty awesome story.
Like I did with Sense & Sensibility (see #4), I decided that I would begin going through Emma, along with reviewing any adaptations or retellings of this story.
So I started off talking about the uniqueness of Emma Woodhouse among the other Jane Austen heroines, in One of a Kind. How loneliness severely affects the character of Emma and explains her actions, in All By Myself. How easy it is for people and Emma to take credit for something they actually have no control over, in Credit Where Credit is Due. On how Mr. Weston is a great man but no one ever talks about him, in Unsung Austen Men: Mr. Weston.
I also reviewed the book Mr. Knightley’s Diaryby Amanda Grange, a book that looks at the story of Emma from his point of view.
I didn’t do any posts on Pride & Prejudice the book as I was going through Sense & Sensibility and Emma. However I did review quite a few novels that are based on or retellings of Austen’s work.
There was Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, in which all your favorite Austen heroines attend The Jane Austen Academy boarding school in California together. This year the school was bought and has some major changes, allowing boys to attend! How would these girls get along in a modern world, follow this link to find out.
The Accidental Bride: A Romantic Comedy by Janice Harayda; is the story of a Jane Austen devotee set to be married soon, when she suddenly has second thoughts. With everyone pushing her in different directions, she relies on her love of Jane Austen to help her through. To read the review, follow this link.
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, by Beth Pattillo, is the tale of a non-Austenite; filling in for her sister and taking a class along with presenting a paper on Austen. She also gets caught up in spylike drama when she becomes the owner of secret Austen papers. To see what I thought of it, follow this link.
Pride & Prescience (Or A Truth Universally Acknowledged) by Carrie Bebris, is a mystery with supernatural elements. Caroline Bingley bags a wealthy American and marries him right away. But after the marriage she starts acting strangely. It is just nerves or something more nefarious at play? It’s up to Elizabeth to find out. Follow this link to read more.
I reviewed the book Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, and while I didn’t completely roast the book, I wasn’t the kindest. But Cecilia Gray took it in stride and retweeted my review, urging others to check it out. I’ve given a shout out before, and just want time to thank her again.
14) 30 Years Has a Nice Ring to It
My post She’s Still Preoccupied With 1985 is an ’80s lover’s dream. In it I detail every amazing ’80 thing that I love that turned 30 in 2015.
I did a post on some cool Monster Movie action figures I found, in Monster Mash. And I listed five of my favorite song to listen to on Halloween, in Haunted Harmonies of Halloween.
18) 25 Carols of Christmas
This year for Christmas, I did a Carol countdown. Everyday I posted on one of my favorite Christmas carols.
I wrote a post comparing all the Austen characters to Disney ones. It took months to complete but I think it was pretty awesome. You’ll have to tell me what you think. Check it out in Waiter, There’s Some Disney in My Jane Austen.
So what will this year hold? I don’t know. I guess you will have to join my expedition to find out.
janeaustenrunsmylife 