Taking back my craft and heaven on earth

My brain is like a cotton candy machine. Inklings of thoughts fly about from all sides, stretching in to the void. They blow about reaching for other thoughts. My spud sugar thoughts start to glom together. Only then do I have something tangible. Something to hold on to an ponder. Other whisps float out on their own, but these ideas just keep getting bigger and bigger until I remove them. Address them.

It's inevitable to ponder change when we celebrate the new year. The older I get the less radical and more realistic I am about my resolutions. I am who I am. I like me. I like where I am. But my life is pivoting. A friend of mine had a theory that every seven years your life changes. The seven year itch. After thirty five years on this Earth I've learned to go with the flow. If the tides are shifting, best to turn your boat. Otherwise you get unceremoniously dumped from your canoe. Which actually happened to me once in the middle of Fish Creek Pond just off Saranac Lake in Upstate New York. In May. (Too cold and wet for my tastes.)


This is not Upstate NY. This is California in December.
I dove into blogging and sewing and making a business of my craft while I was at home with my babies. When they started to not be babies anymore I went back to school, as was the plan. I never planned on having my craft be a potential legitimate source of income, and although that possibility is very real (and tempting) to me now, I have a finish line in my sights.

In the next five months I will graduate from sonography school. My first baby will be registered for kindergarten. We will no longer be a family who buys boxes of diapers when we go to the store. My family dresses and feeds them selves (for the most part.) I will become a full time, out of the house worker again. These times, they are a changin', and I'm rolling with it.

I've glommed my thoughts on the subject into two larger conclusions. Firstly, I'm taking my craft back. Making and sewing is my joy, my love, but more importantly it's an outlet. It is what I do when I need to escape. I've never been big on making money from my blog, but even more so now I feel the pull to make it all completely mine again. From now on I sew what I want to sew. Not because it's XYZ Sewing Week. Not because someone gave me a free pattern in exchange for a blog post. When I have free time I will sew. If I have more free time I will share it. If I come up with something I think y'all should know how to do, I'll show you how. It feels good to know that sewing is mine again. I have obligations to no one. I've been cleaning up and organizing my studio. It's exciting.


Handstitched felt cuff, Carolyn pajama pants, and a new dress for zombie dollie
The second idea that's been whirling about my head is about time. Time has become a huge commodity to me. We are comfortable with finances, but my family can't ever seem to get enough time. Too many days are spent on obligations. Week ends are too short. Time off flies by. I don't want to be the people who look back on life and think, man, I wish I could do it all again and do it differently. I want to do it differently the first time.

Danny and I made a conscious decision to have children. I never wanted to have kids because it was just what married people did. We decided to raise human beings and want to raise them into awesome people. We want to read them stories and take them on hikes and teach them to explore. We want to stoke their fires of adventure and show them the endless possibilities of life. When we're bogged down in obligations that time is cut short.

I recently read a blog post about a man that was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He's a father and wrote about milking the time he had left with is wife and his kids. He said that he was living a heaven on earth. That *this* is what is most perfect and wonderful and awesome. It plucked my heart strings. Not because he was dying (which is sad and sucks) but because he was right. For all it's corniness, I'm living heaven on earth. I've got everything a thirty something woman could ask for right around me and I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it. I have two awesome kids who adore spending time with their parents. I've got a husband who freaking rocks. I'm healthy and young and able. This is my heaven on earth and I'm not going to be foolish enough to let it all slip away.


This is my heaven. Corny? Cheesy? I don't care.
So what does this all mean to you? Not much. (ha) I just had these balls of sugar rolling around in my brain and I needed to get them out. It feels good to put them out there and make room for more. There will still be plenty of Made with Moxie. I've got patterns in the works (which are really clothes I'm drafting for myself, but while I'm at it I'll make your sizes too!) There will also be more Perfect Pattern Parcels this year, just later this year, once I have passed my remaining two board exams. Things are looking good and I'm happy with the direction my tides are turning.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some House of Cards to watch while I do some free hand embroidery of nothingness. Life is good.






P.S. Danny and I now joke to each other that "this is heaven on earth" on nights when the kids are driving us bonkers and we're wondering what the hell did we get ourselves into. Keep it real, cheesers.

Caramel Pie with Moxie Crust

I am about to let you in on a Secret Family Recipe. This pie is the best pie you will ever make. No contest. Bake it for Thanksgiving dinner and even your snippy mother-in-law will have nothing bad to say (if she tries to open her mouth, stuff more pie in it). Caramel pie with Moxie Crust is easy, fast, and you can make it the day ahead of time!


Caramel Pie with Moxie Crust

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 box Trader Joe's pie crust (in the freezer section)

Now before you even start to say what I know you're going to say: that homemade crust is better. Frozen crust is just meh. That frozen butter and vodka pie crust is the only way to go. I say phooey! I tried Trader Joe's pie crust last year on the advice of Jane from Buzzmills. My family loves pie. I love to make pies, I just hate to make the crust. I never have butter frozen into pats ahead of time and to be honest using the Cusinart scares me. It's a surprise I have all my fingers given my sewing mishaps. That Cuisinart promises to mangle my hand on day. No joke. It's the pie crust making that prevented my family from eating more pies.

So I tried Trader Joe's frozen pie crust. And we loved it. Given a handmade pie crust versus Moxie Pie Crust taste test, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference. Since making the switch, we've had so many heavenly pies with Moxie Crust. Try it. Don't tell anyone. They'll never know. (Note: this is not a sponsored post. I'm letting you in on my pie baking secrets. Shhhh!)


Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Butter a 9" pie pan and put your pie dough in it. Blind bake your crust for 10 minutes or until a lovely golden color. Don't forget to use a piece of parchment paper or a coffee filter and dry beans, rice or lentils to weight your pie crust while baking. (I may have forgotten once and had to pick black beans out of the bottom of my crust. Hey, no one knew.)

Cream butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla.

Beat eggs and milk. Add to butter/sugar mixture.

In a 2 quart sauce pan, cook over medium heat until thick like pudding. Use a spatula and/or a whisk. Do not stop stirring and don't let it get chunky. Seriously, do not walk away. You will burn it. Not that I have ever done that.)

Cool caramel pie filling a bit, then pour in baked pie crust. Pour any extra into a small ceramic bowl. Eat it before anyone realizes there is extra filling. Refrigerate Caramel Pie. Read a magazine. Have a cup of coffee

Put your apron on and toss a bit of flour on yourself. Sigh as your serve your Caramel Pie with Moxie Crust, and smile like you're exhausted from making for hours. Make sure you get an extra big piece for yourself. Enjoy as everyone tells you what a damn fine pie you've made. Wink at your snippy mother-in-law.


Warning! Once you bake a Caramel Pie with Moxie Crust, everyone will always want you to bring one again. Consider baking two for Thanksgiving. No one will want Aunt Martha's pumpkin pie again.

My Parachute Packers

I shared the story of Charlie Plumb and his parachute packer over at Buzzmills this morning. Jane asked me to take part in her Thankful Tour. All year round, Jane writes posts called Thankfuls. It started when she and her husband began asking their kids what they were thankful for at bed time. They would each come up with something. Usually they are tiny things, but still good things. They began to call them "thankfuls" and she borrowed the term for her own blog posts.


Today I am thankful for:

...a husband who is my sidekick in life. Who not only accepts me for who I am, but rejoices in all that I am.

...that my ex was so so wrong and you can keep that love spark alive years later.

...teeny tiny hugs and little hands that squeeze my fingers.


...a room all to myself for my sewing studio.

...fresh hot coffee in Polish pottery mugs.

...freckles all over my loves.

...a very comfortable bed.


...the beach. I miss your sounds.

...my artistic abilities and my nerdy tendencies.

...a family that I love and in-laws I'm happy to call family.

...waking up to these faces everyday.


What are you thankful for? Have you thanked your Parachute Packers today? Don't forget to head over to Buzzmills to hear The Parachute Packer Story.