Frozen Saturday Tidbits 🧊 🥶

 

These are the four yards of fabric I got from the sewing vac city store in Cypress. I do have a lot of pink denim, white denim, brown denim and black denim. I also have solids in these colors, so I got one yard of something that will alternate well in each color scheme. 

This was a 25 cent day find. I’d never be caught dead in it, but I thought the fabric was way nicer than it is. It’s not satin or silk, it’s all some nasty thin polyester lining type fabric. Not even good for lining, not even good for scrunchies. I did cut the dress apart to see how it was made. It’s basically just made with a ton of gathering stitches. I can see how this ended up in the pile. 

Speaking of gathering stitches, I did this prototype skirt with the waist of some jeans I cut up for denim quilt squares and a skirt I got from 25 cent day. I used this Tutorial first, then graduated to This one because I don’t have a gathering foot. Be forewarned, though, most of the comments in that second video were very triggered that she cut the pockets. I don’t cut the pockets, but to each their own. There’s a whole big thing nowadays about little girl’s clothing “not having pockets”, but it must be a Mandela effect. I always had pockets growing up. 

I was not super picky about how even my gathering was, I just wanted to get the hang of how to do this. It was easier than I thought. My cousin said it needed darts, but, it’s a gathered skirt. When I made a second prototype of maroon denim with lavender satin, I could see where maybe there could have been one dart?  But it was probably just an issue of uneven gathering. That went in the trash. 

Last but not least, here’s the button stash I have amassed from 25 cent day finds. 

 

Hot Flashes in an Arctic Blast

 It’s about to dip into the 20’s here in Texas, and everyone is freaking out. I don’t understand the hype, but I’m from Chicago. 

Here are some things going on around here:  I’m listening to a new podcast I recently discovered called Stolen Lives. It’s a true crime channel dedicated to children. Normally, true crime channels dedicated to children like STLC will get into a lot of very gory details and be quite triggering. Stolen Lives cuts to the chase in order to avoid triggering people while still giving facts, but still issues a content warning. Stolen Lives is still upsetting, don’t get me wrong!  STLC is just way more upsetting! 

I have two space heaters to prepare for the upcoming freeze, but the moment I turn them on, I get hot flashes from hell within 30 minutes and need to turn them off. At night, my comforter alone keeps me warm. The heaters make it too hot, even if I set them to 76. Any lower than that, it’s not worth turning them on. 

I want yall to know that I am reading my little handful of blogs, I just can’t comment or reply to comments. Google still shows me a QR code on the screen. Not sure what to do with that. I feel old. I could call my kid to help, but then I’d be just like my mom. 

Today I visited a sewing and quilting mega store in cypress, and was not as impressed as I thought. I did spend $56 on only 4 yards of fabric.  That was hard to do, since I’m used to paying only 25 cents. The prints I got were extremely pretty though, and when I finally bring them in from the car, I’ll post pics. 

Job Description

 The place where I will be working is a center that offers ABA to children with autism. The therapy is overseen by a therapist with a master’s degree. My title will be “Behavioral Technician.”  I will be in training for about one month to six weeks. Then after I complete their training, I become a Registered Behavioral Technician and get a raise. I implement the one on one treatment plan developed by the master’s level therapists. The required education level for my position is a high school diploma. My college degree made no difference in me getting this job. There is a shortage of RBT’s nationwide, so if you have a high school diploma and can locate a center near you that offered the on the job training required to do this, they will hire anyone  

ABA is something I’ve been studying on my own for a couple of years now. I started listening to an audiobook about it in 2023 and then following some online discussions where many people talked about centers like this one that offered the RBT certification on the job. At the time, I tried applying to some centers on indeed, but was automatically rejected due to not having the certification already. So I just let it go. At the time, I had applied to about a dozen places. This time, I just so happened to find a center that offered it and that didn’t care that I didn’t have it. 

I do know the controversies surrounding this therapy. I think that while there may have been some therapists in the past that were abusive or at least controversial, this place isn’t like that.  The young adults that speak up about their experiences are still valid. If I’m wrong and this place is “like that” (which I highly highly doubt) then I know how to pick up the phone.  

When I went to the University of Houston starting in 2011, I was told that if I got “any degree” from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences or CLASS, then I would be able to get any office 9-5 job in a nonprofit. When that didn’t happen, most of my extended family members made me into this laughing stock and told me I had “failed” at my career goals to help children. 

It has taken me this long to realize I had not failed. I didn’t fail any actual child, just at some arbitrary path made up by older family members and the academic staff. My current therapist agrees, my husband agrees, and my entire history agrees. So I set out again. I’m unlearning what failure is, which ironically will help me implement this therapy with these kids  

Yesterday, I went to Walmart and got me some better walking shoes.  They said to “dress comfortably.”  I saw some other techs wearing scrubs or scrub pants with t shirts. I got some scrub pants and valentine, st Patrick’s, and even Easter themed t shirts that match each color scrub pants I got  I would also like to find some appropriate character t shirts but haven’t found any. The job is 25 miles away, and I am soooo looking forward to it!  

  

Crafts

I attempted to make a couple of scrunchies for the first time in about 25 years. This fabric is from the ties on the yellow formal dress I got on 25 cent day. It needs to be longer for more “scrunch”, but my slip stitch looks pretty good. 

Red wreath for Christmas time. Those flowers are so “pointy” that it’s hard to tell if the wreath is even on both sides. 

And I’m not sending one to my North Carolina friend after all. She sucks for not taking her cat and not understanding my situation with Jordan. Speaking of Jordan, he is just so much fun and all baby energy. We love having him around. But my best friend/cousin the psychiatrist picked this one when I sent her all three pics. She also got my rainbow quilt when I needed practice shipping quilts. Now I need practice shipping wreaths. 

And in a shocking turn of events, I will start Friday, January 30th working full time with children with autism. I interviewed for this last week, and was shocked when they sent me an offer. Kevin is proud of me. It’s nice to have a partner who believes in me. I’m trying to increase my step count daily so I can RUN  after these kids. It’s one on one, though. I’ll explain more later. 

 

White Wreath

 I made this wreath out of white flowers. This time of year is good for all plain white decor. It doesn’t show well up against a white wall, of course. If I list it for sale, I’d photograph it against a different background. 

My friend who was going to move to North Carolina finally made it there. I want to send her a wreath for a housewarming gift. She was oohing and ahhing over wreaths I made before. It would also give me practice shipping wreaths. However, I get the feeling she’s mad at me, and here’s why:

Before moving, she was trying to rehome a cat. Then on December 21, our black baby cat Jordan adopted us by barging into our home saying, “MEOWWWW YOU'RE MY HUMANS NOW!!!”

She annoyingly asked me why I didn’t adopt her cat if I “wanted another one”. I explained that I didn’t “want” another one. This baby was unplanned. It just happened!  I don’t know how!

She has not talked to me since, so I am not sure if sending her a gift would be ok. Maybe it would be a peace offering? I didn’t do anything wrong, though. 

Half Birthday Tidbits

My daughter testing positive for celiac disease is actually a relief. Ever since she came home from her first semester, she’s had this issue where she can’t keep a lot of things down. She had an unintentional weight loss of about 7 pounds. She doesn’t have 7 pounds to lose!  I was honestly scared that it could be something a lot worse. A lot of people live with celiac. It sucks, but it is what it is. 

Anna asked me if anyone on my side of the family has it. I said I don’t know, people in my family don’t talk about important things like what runs in our DNA.  Then I thought, let me text my cousin Raymond. He’s the son of my mom’s sister, and he’s always up in everyone’s business. This was the conversation. 

I guess you learn something new every day. I was laying down with Kevin and reading these messages out loud as they came in. Kevin likes to laugh at conspiracy theories. This might not be a “conspiracy theory”, I mean I just heard about it yesterday and have no idea, but the laughing was fun. Raymond’s next message was just telling me that King Arthur flour doesn’t have gluten, and I ended the conversation with a thumbs up. 

In other news. Whenever I’m not working I’m cutting up my 25 cent day finds into 6 and a half inch squares. It’s a therapeutic and relaxing activity. I do it sitting at the other end of the dining room table from Kevin while he’s gaming. 

The pants below are not going to be used in a denim chenille quilt, because they aren’t denim. They appear to be leather pants but aren’t. They are size 26, very long and wide. In the thrift store, I wondered if they were real leather. Whether they were or weren’t, the material would make great headbands. I looked in the waist for the tag, and the tag didn’t specify what they were made of. I threw them in the cart anyway, because 25 cents. 

Then while cutting them up, I found another tag in the leg. They’re faux leather, polyurethane outside and cotton lining. They’ll still make great headbands. 

Here’s Mitchell enjoying one bag of 25 cent jeans 

Here’s another pair in bright turquoise. I found a lot of colors this time. 

I also recently found out that a lot of knitters unravel sweaters for the yarn. There was a lady at 25 cent day with a cart full of sweaters, and I wondered if she was doing that. I didn’t ask, though. Some of the people push and shove on 25 cent day, so I don’t think many people are up for conversation. I cannot knit to save my life, but I imagine unraveling sweaters is as soothing as cutting squares. 

I posted this picture that day on instagram with the caption “it’s 25 cent day again!”  One of my friends, who has 8 kids and a grandbaby, was commenting all kinds of stuff about how she wished she had this place near her. I replied that on Wednesdays, people run in like it’s the supermarket sweep. She said, I bet. 

Today is also January 17th, which makes it my half birthday. A half birthday is the six month mark from your actual birthday. Since my birthday is July 17, then my half birthday is January 17, 6 months before and after, “halfway”.  I’m 47 years old.  So this makes me “3/4 of the way through my 40’s.”  Most people don’t analyze stuff like that, but I do. 

I think the rest of my life is going to be positive. I have some things to work out, but for the most part, life is a lot better than it was when I was young. I’m grateful for whatever time I have left, which I’m honestly starting to think is more time than I realize. 

 

Celiac Disease

 

My 18 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. She has been throwing up after meals and sometimes spacing out. Her pediatrician is referring her to an adult gastroenterologist to further confirm it. I wondered why it took until age 18 to manifest. She didn’t have these problems when she was a kid. Basically, it’s an autoimmune disease and was dormant her whole life until something triggered it recently. The trigger can be any number of things. One thing I found online is that kids with dormant celiac disease get frequent headaches, and she did. She’ll be ok, just has to eat a gluten free diet. I grocery shopped this afternoon and picked up these things. She’s packing up to go back to school at Texas State University and asked me to leave these things at my house for when she comes over. I’m just so glad she’s going to be ok.