q&a part two

FIRST –  the winners for the mpix.com canvas gallery wraps:

Whitney – Paint in a fun color. Thanks 

Cara – Construction paper!

Andrea Johnson – Pretty scrapbook paper!!!

give my your email addresses ladies and i will hook you up with MPIX!
(my email is cdduerksen at yahoo . com)

back to the questions you asked me….

 

Q:  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL TO MAKE YOUR FAMILY?

A:  Ummm…. their favorite meal that i make is lasagna.
the boys also LOVE the bbq meatballs…. the girls favorite is Noodles with Ham.
it always looks gross for photos but they love love love it.
now that i am eating healthier i cringe at all of these recipes… so i am working on ways to make these kinds of recipes in a more healthy real food kind of way.
as with everything else food/health/change related – it is HARD!

my favorite meal to actually make?  spaghetti.  because i could do it in my sleep.
after 20 years of dinners… i think i am kind of burnt out.
it’s not my most favorite thing to do but i do it.
i don’t like to think about food really at all or planning & thinking through ingredients & what goes well together.
i am more spontaneous and like to eat what i am in the mood for right then.
which is hard to do when you don’t like planning cause we don’t have those ingredients!

 

Q: HOW DID YOU LEARN HOW TO SEW?

A: my mom came up to visit when my kids were little.
we went to a fabric store and to sears and bought a sewing machine.
she showed me how to make curtains AND buttonholes and we made dining room curtains and a shower curtain out of an old chenille bedspread.
and after that i just kept trying.
just making things up and figuring it as i went along.  🙂

BUT… i just got to see my friend Shea’s new book School of Sewing: Learn it, Teach it, Sew Together this past weekend and if you have sewing questions or want to learn YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

this is the machine i use at home for me & my girls   SINGER Heavy Duty Sewing Machine
annie just started a sewing class for girls her age.
she feels pretty grown up.

if you are looking…a sewing machine could make a pretty sweet christmas gift!

 

Q: HOW DO YOU MAKE A QUILT WITH YOUR DAUGHTERS? CAN YOU GIVE A TUTORIAL?

A: well first of all… we are still in the beginning phases.
and second… i don’t technically know how to make a quilt.
we are winging it.
like i do with almost any crafting projects i am just figuring it out as i go.
i find examples i like and then try to copy it.

taking a class would be EASIER but i like the thrill of figuring it out.
so these are some of my inspiration pics for the quilt they are making.


then i will probably pay someone to have it actually QUILTED.

 

Q: ARE YOU AN INTROVERT? HOW CAN YOU DO CRAFT WEEKEND AND BE AN INTROVERT? YOU SEEM SO EXTROVERT ON THE BLOG?!

A: I am an introvert.
i even just took this personality test to make sure even though i KNOW that i am.
it’s fun… you should take it too!
i am an ISFP according to this and reading through the overview i thought it was super creepy because it was like they knew me.
weeeeird.

i don’t care too much for the weaknesses of this personality but i bet whatever your personality comes out as,  even if it the complete opposite of me that you don’t like the weakness part either.

and really… a blog is the perfect place for introverts.
we can quietly say what we want in our own time and in our own way… thinking, re-thinking, editing, tweaking until it feels right all in the silence of our own space.
and we can show our true self that we may have a hard time showing in the presence of others?
i think i do ok at that in real life… being “outgoing” when expected but then later i am exhausted!
that means i am an introvert.  i recharge by being alone.  a crowd exhausts me.  if a crowded party or event recharges you and you leave feeling great then you are an extrovert.

i am not shy but i am an introvert.
and for YEARS i thought that was a bad thing.
???
but if that is how i am wired… then it is how God made me… so it can’t be bad?
all types are needed to make the world an interesting place right?
im ok with it now.
🙂

also… texting?! oh my goodness.
it’s an introverts dream technology.

it’s TRUUUUUUE!

 

Q: YOU SEEM LIKE YOU HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR KIDS AND YOU ARE A COOL MOM… HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

A: ha ha ha
this question is interesting to me.
i do not think i can answer how i am cool.
i think my kids are great and genuinely like to be around them and like them as people.
i don’t even want to say anything more than that because it’s hard enough to be a mom… or a kid.
we have all the same things happen at our house as at yours.
there is talking back & fighting, complaining and disobeying and all that kid stuff.
we are no different.
i am trying to be myself… and reinforce how they need to be themselves and that i like them.
but also… behave.
and tell the truth.
and be kind.
and stop making that face.
and make good choices!

do you ever stop and think about all the “mothers” we’ve had as examples:

Carol Brady
Claire Hustable
June Cleaver
Roseanne
Elyse Keaton
Mrs. Garrett
Claire Dunphy
Kate & Allie
Christina Braverman

I’m just trying to keep up with all that coolness….

 

Q: WHERE DO YOU SHOP FOR CLOTHES?

A:  this is an easy one – 95% of the time i go here:
1. Target – shirts, cardis, dresses, shoes,  workout clothes (using cartwheel app & my target card)
2. Old Navy – shirts, pjs, dresses sometimes (always with coupons – NEVER pay full price at ON!)
3. GAP – jeans & occasional sweater (with 40% off coupon using my gap card)
4. tjmaxx – workout clothes

and really…. that’s about it.
occasionally i find things at Dress Barn (moo) and Cato since they are in my town.
i try other places and very rarely find things that fit me right or that i want to spend the $ on.

here are a couple of things i am loving TODAY.