1950 Singer 201-2...

I have a beautiful 1950 Singer model 201-2 sewing machine. I owned it for almost 5 years and didn't know. I did know that I had some sewing machine stuck in a cabinet. It was a small sewing cabinet that I bought at a thrift shop in Belleville, Illinois to use as an entry way table in our last house. For some reason, I seem to remember the lady at the thrift shop telling me the machine didn't work. At the time it was not a big deal. I was just interested in the table. I already had a sewing machine that I used (a Kenmore that my mom bought for me a couple of years earlier) so I just forgot about the machine.

Fast forward five years. I have a renewed interest in all things sewing since I have been sewing clothes for my daughter. But we are moving and trying to purge things from our house. At the time, we had a television stuck on the table and after much begging, I finally get my husband to move the t.v. so I can get the machine out to sell or be donated. What I find instead is a beautiful shiny black Singer sewing machine. It is in great shape. It even has all of the presser feet that were sold with it and the original manual, bobbins and screwdrivers. The only thing not present was the power cord. I quickly purchased one on the Internet and in a few days I was able to try it out. I did oil it first because who knows the last time that happened. And then I tried it....it sewed like a dream. Beautiful straight, even stitches. I did have someone give the machine a once over and he rewired the pedal which is hardwired to the machine and not attached to the power cord. Anyway, I am leaving the machine with my mom while I'm in Japan because I would hate for my $5 machine (yes, I only paid $5! Remember, I only bought it for the table) to be lost or ruined in the move. I certainly couldn't replace it for the small amount I put into it. I left my Baby Lock machine at home and have been sewing on it since I arrived at my parents' house. It really is a great machine and I'm glad it found its way to me!

ETA: My mom sent me these pictures she took of me sewing some pajamas for my daughter on my machine.  Don't mind my horrible posture and the poor lighting.

Living the Life...

After a long but fun 12 hour shift at work last night, I rode 8 hours in the car to Wisconsin. I'm now lying on my parents' couch watching the Packer game. I'm happy. Enough said.

iPad Love!!!

My husband is seriously awesome...most of the time. Just kidding! Well, he was better than awesome this week when he bought me an early anniversary present, an iPad! And I'm loving it! It is the perfect thing for me. I usually use my Droid for quick web surfing, reading ebooks, listening to podcasts, etc. I can also use it to watch movies and videos as needed but the screen is obviously small. With my Droid soon to be useless to me overseas, I'm super excited to have the iPad. Especially for all of our upcoming travels and such. Big thanks to my husband! Forget the traditional anniversary gifts, he seems to like Apple products. A few years ago, I got a Nano which I still have and love and use although not as much as I used to because of my Droid and the fact that I rarely exercise anymore (although that is going to change soon). It is the pretty light blue that they no longer make and that fact alone ensures I will keep it forever. Thanks again to my wonderful husband!

Oh yeah, just have to mention only TWO more days of work and then I can go to Wisconsin and visit my family! Finally! Now I just have to finish cleaning the house and shampoo the carpets. Not looking forward to any of this but it is moving us closer to Japan!

Three More Nights of Work!

Can you tell I'm excited?????? Last night was a good night at work. But I cannot wait to be done and go home to see my family. Next week, hurry up already so I can be DONE!

Orders for Japan Have Arrived!!!

We finally have our official orders for Japan! We are very excited to be moving to Japan. What we are not that excited about is moving! In the next week, I have to basically go through everything in the house and decide if it 1) goes to Japan, 2) goes to storage, or 3) goes to my parents' house. Seems simple, right? Of course not!

Goes to Japan has two subcategories: do the items go in a) our unaccompanied baggage or b) our household goods? Unaccompanied means that it should come sooner and includes things like pots and pans and my husband's uniforms and things we will need to get going once we get there. That doesn't mean it will be waiting for us when we get there. It just means it should come within a couple of weeks or so of us arriving on Okinawa. Household goods (large furniture, etc.) come sometime after that. I hope this goes fairly smooth. We already purged our house of unneeded items through our very successful garage sale. {Sidenote: Being from Wisconsin, I really call it a rummage sale but only to myself and family. People in Missouri look at me funny if I say "rummage." Seriously!?! People who say things like, "plum full" and "y'all" think "rummage" is a weird word. Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....}

Packing up things for my parents' house will be easy. Basically all of my breakable vintage kitchenware will go there. All of my cute Pyrex and pink kitchen stuff I have found throughout the years rummaging (I said it) and thrifting and don't trust anyone to move or put in storage will be going there. It will be safe in my parents' basement. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Either way you slice it, this is all going to suck. But it does mean that we now know what day we are flying out and that I can spend a lot more time at my parents' house than previously projected. Hopefully we will still be on speaking terms when I leave the country. Unfortunately, this means we will be around to attend the Air Force Ball. This morning, I tried on the last formal I wore before getting pregnant and it fits and the shoes are still in my closet so I would consider myself good to go. Now if that just didn't require me showing up...

Baboo Free!

What's a baboo??? It's a word my daughter made up. It refers to this...



Or as we usually see it around here, this...



Last Monday, Miss A went to the dentist for her first checkup. No issues with her teeth but dentist said it would be a great idea to start weaning her off her pacifier. I wasn't too excited about it because she seems to rely on it quite a bit and I did too when I was a kid but eventually grew out of it (as in you don't see me with one now). But we thought it wouldn't hurt to try and it has been surprisingly painless. Not painfree but painless. It has been a week since she has been using one and is still asking about it but hasn't had any tantrums or anything over it so I think we are baboo free! Congrats to all of us, especially our baby!

One More Weekend Done...

I worked Friday and Saturday nights. It wasn't bad, I have certainly had worse nights at work and my friend Jane was there so I talked to her quite a bit. She wasn't feeling good though so it made for a rough night for her. She helped me with an IV and we had a talk about why I have so much trouble with starting them sometimes (probably because it happens very rarely) but I'm going to use some of her tips in the next few weeks and I will be successful. Sometimes I really get on a roll and get almost every one I try and other times, I can't hit the broad side of a barn. But I will get better. Realistically though, I only have three more weekends of work and stick a fork in me, I'm DONE! Six more work days to go!!!

We are not leaving for Japan until October but I'm going home to stay with my parents for a few weeks so they can hang with my daughter and get in some bonding time since they don't see her very often. That is the only reason I wish I lived in Wisconsin. I like moving around a bit and seeing new places but I wish my daughter saw my mom and dad more. We Skype but it just isn't the same thing. So we will go and enjoy our time. I already have some plans to do somethings while I'm there.

I will probably be going to the annual Warrens Cranberry Festival. For some reason, the past few years that I have gone, I wonder why I bother but this is the last time for a few years so I'm going to do it. It is a festival celebrating the cranberry farming and community around Warrens. Wisconsin is huge for producing cranberries. I have gone to this since I was a little kid when my mom used to sell crafts and it has a kind of nostalgic feeling for me when I go. I basically use it as an excuse to shove fried cheese curds in my face and buy stuff I don't need.

I think I also want to go on an Upper Dells Boat Tour. This is another nostalgic thing. I grew up by the Dells and worked there during my summers in high school. I should hate the place but I actually love going there. Probably because it is so full of cheesy souvenir shops which I love to look in and wonder what the people who designs these things were thinking. And there is a lot of natural beauty. Wisconsin is full of it. If you love the outdoors, you will love Wisconsin.

There is definitely more I will be doing but I haven't the time to list everything. I will blog about my adventures while I'm there. I will be taking my sewing machine and fabric with me and hopefully doing some crafting with my mom while I'm there.