Out with the Old, In with the New

My poor upright vacuum cleaner is held together with duct tape, has been used as a shop vac, has taken numerous unintentional trips down the stairs (almost killing me at the bottom), and is begging to be put out of its misery. Today I tried. I really did. And I failed.

For years the Kenmore Progressive has been one of the top rated reasonably priced canisters. My mom--a connoisseur of vacuum cleaners--has one and likes it a lot. So I figured when mine finally gave up the ghost, I'd buy one, too. But guess what? Sears doesn't make that model anymore and their new one's have not yet been rated by those who rate vacuums! Lovely. So I tried the Sears outlet--nope. Tried looking for the next best rated canister--a Hoover Windtunnel Bagless number--at Sears, Meijer, and Target--nada. And by the end of the hunt we were all irritable, hungry, and cold.

This is where you come in, delightful friends. And this is time for you lurkers to come out of hiding! In order to help my family have a happy and clean new year, please tell me what type of cleaning machine you use, if you 'd recommend it or not, and why.

As a thank you I will randomly pick three names from the comment list and send you a sample packet of my favorite chili mix. If you don't have a blogger account, be sure to send me an email (click the cute little birdie on the right) with your email address so I can let you know if you win.

Blessings on thee and a happy new year to you and yours!

It's in the bag

The bag for my Bible was completed yesterday. It's a bit bigger than I need, but seeing that I made a few errors trying to adapt the bag tutorial posted here, it turned out fine. In order to keep my things together, I wanted to add a back pocket for any study guide or book I'm reading but I forgot to sew the pocket on before sewing up the outside seams. I also wanted to use a magnetic closure but couldn't find one that was to be sewn on (much like a snap) instead of poked through the fabric. I edge stitched the flap instead of adding trim and added additional rows of stitching on the strap to strengthen it.

The outside material is the left-overs from the border on my curtains in our family room and the lining is material gifted me by our pastor's wife from her late mother-in-law's sewing stash. I think they go together beautifully!

It has an inside velcro pocket for little ditties and a slot on the side gusset for my pen. I probably should have made more slots for additional pens and pencils. Next time!

My new little bag holds most everything I need for my study--Bible, pen, colored pencils, notebook, and book.

One thing off the list! Yeaaa! But I did get this book for Christmas...

Happy Anniversary

With this ring I thee wed: with my body I thee worship: and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

They've been the best 12 years of my life. I love you, darling.

Ok, so what's next?

The packages are unwrapped, some of the toys are already broken, and our bellies are continuing to expand with the finishing off of the plethora of cookies and candies home-baked and delivered by loved ones.


My folks have been here for a week and are probably longing for the quietness of their own home.


My children desperately need to return to the discipline of school. Their listless wandering are driving me nuts. They lay sprawled out on our library floor, surrounded by mounds of legos, and listened to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in its entirety today.


And my dear husband has spent the last week (and probably will spend the next one) in Sissy's bathroom or at Home Depot. He abhors home improvement and is not at all experienced--grew up with a sister and a single mom in apartments--but in order to avoid the cost of a professional he's replacing the whole thing himself. We are very thankful for my dad's expertise and step by step instructions as well as the generosity of our friends with their tools and time.


So what's next for me? On the practical side of life, Monica's list has been driving me crazy! So I've cleaned out the crawl space, reorganized my craft closet, and am planning to de-clutter a room a month in 2008. (There, I put it in writing. Lord, help me!) I've created a pattern for a messenger bag for the new Bible JT gave me for Christmas and now I need to sew it. And I've started to read Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. On the spiritual side, I'm purposing to take a closer look this year at what it means for me to be in the world and not of it. It's very hard to find the balance. I either want to be in the world or not of it, but haven't yet figured out how to be both.

Merry Christmas

Rejoice! For unto you has been born a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord!

Wishing you and yours love and joy,

Saralyn and family

What my kids are singing tonight

Lookie, Lookie!

Christmas has come early this year. Look what Sani had delivered to my house yesterday--

For those of you who are saying "so what?" this is a genuine hardwood library truck that retails for $265 at Gaylords. A homeschoolers dream!

Years ago when my dad worked for a major accounting firm he salvaged it from their trash where it ended up on account of a bum wheel bracket. He fixed it for my mom and she's used it in their church library. Mom recently resigned her post as church librarian and brought me the treasure, knowing I'd value both the truck and the fact that it was a trash pick.

Thanks Mom and Dad! Now to fill it with books!