Book Review and Giveaway!!

**This contest has ended. Visit this post to see who the winners are!** 

Happy Spring! (I’ve been waiting to say that). What better way to start of the season than with a giveaway?!?!

                                                       Baby Gizmo

I have been given the privilege of reviewing The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide by Heather Maclean with Hollie Schultz. I not only get to review the book, but I am also giving away four copies! That’s one, two, three, four!

Here’s what to do:

  1. Read the review.
  2. Realize how much you want/need this book.
  3. Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment (rules listed below) by the end of 02 April.
  4. Either win the book or make other means of acquiring one.

THE REVIEW

The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide is a comprehensive, complete buying guide for everything you think you ever might need for your baby (and things you might not have known you needed): newborn through toddler-hood. The authors are experienced moms who know what works, what doesn’t; what you need, what you don’t; what you’re going to want, and what you’d find you wasted money on. I am amazed at how much information is packed in here.

The book is set up with baby “gear” in chapters, listed alphabetically for easy finding. The last part of the book includes:

  •  a section of abreviated (yet detailed) listings of each chapter for quick reference (for when you’re standing in the aisle trying to make an informed decision).
  • a dictionary of every baby gadget on the planet
  • product recommendation guide (must have, nice to have, don’t need)
  • brand pronunciation guide (great for those of us not well-versed in Italian baby gear)
  • money saving tips
  • a comprehensive index

One of the coolest things in the book are the charts at the beginning that show what you’ll need at your baby’s various ages and stages. It’s here where you’ll start to figure out what you’re going to need and when you’ll need it.

Something that is important to every good parent is the safety of their children. The authors cover this in the very first chapter. They make sure you know what is safe and unsafe for your baby, what products should not be shared, passed down or bought used, and how to stay on top of recalls.

Each chapter covers the baby gear in a specific category. Each product gets a rundown and you get the lowdown on what you need to know. The authors explain what the product is, how you would use it, why they like it, why they don’t, why baby will like it, and what will annoy baby about it.

That information in and of itself is good enough. The extras in the chapters are like icing on the cake. They give tidbits like:

  • other names the product might be known as
  • appropriate age range
  • months of usage you’ll get out of the product
  • if it’s necessary, a nice to have, or not needed
  • when to buy it/register for it

At the end of each product description there is a section for you to make your own shopping notes. Your notes along with the “features to consider” should be good ammunition when buying.

*Special note: The authors do not endorse or promote specific brands.

Here is how I’d use the book (and I will soon because we need a convertible car seat):

What product do you want information about? Look it up in the table of contents or index. Read about it in the chapter. Then go to the back of the book and read the abbreviated section. Make any necessary notes before you get to the store (and do any internet research). Once at the store reference the aforementioned sections making more notes on what you find. Purchase the item of your choice knowing you made an informed decision. Save lots of money not purchasing items that aren’t necessary.

Do you want to know what you should have on your registry? It’s in here. Do you want to know what style diaper bag is the best? It’s in here. Do you want to know how to pack that bag for maximum efficiency? It’s in here. Do you want to know what toys are best for your one-year old? It’s in here. Which highchair would be best for baby? It’s in here. I couldn’t think of any baby gear that wasn’t included.

Baby Gizmo will be a great book to have whether you’ve had dozens of children and are pregnant again or are just thinking about getting the baby-making process started. Baby gear changes almost as often as we should change baby’s diapers, so new and pertinent information is always necessary.

THE GIVEAWAY

I am giving away four copies of The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide. The contest will end on 02 April 2008 at midnight. You do not need to be a blogger to enter. You need to have an American mailing address because I will be mailing these via USPS Media Mail. At the end of the contest I will pick four winners at random with a random number generator. Once the winners contact me with their mailing addresses I will mail out the books.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

  1. Leave only one comment on this post. Your comment needs to include what baby item you couldn’t live without and what item you ended up wasting your money on.
  2. That’s it!

Technology, smechnology

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m getting kind of sick of technology. I should be a little more specific. I’m not sick of all of technology, just my website technology. I’m switching hosts for my business website and it’s been more than a little pain getting this stuff done. I was hoping to have it be seamless, where the customer would never be able to tell the difference (except for the cool new look I’m planning…and hopefully an easier buying process)…but that dream is but a distant memory. My business website is being hosted in the interim by Blogger (don’t tell WordPress I said that).

The “contract” with my original host ran out today. When did I realize this was going to happen? Oh, a couple of days ago. So I had very little time to decide if I wanted to stay with them or find someone else. I ended up finding someone else mainly due to cost. $7 per month verses $20. Hmmm, didn’t take me very long to decide that one. What’s taking so long is getting used to the new host’s “way of doing things”. That’s about as technical as I can get when talking about the way websites work. I’m having to learn New Host’s way of hosting. And as usual there is a huge learning curve there.

The bright spot, silver lining, good side of the coin, what have you, is that I plan on having a new look to the site. I’m excited about revealing it and therefor will endure the countless hours (usually at night once the chillins have gone to bed) that will be needed to set up my store from scratch again. And who knows, if the Blogger site makes sense I’ll keep that up too. And, if I feel like stretching myself even thinner I’ll create a store on Etsy (now don’t you go buying anything from there until my stuff is listed!).

So I guess my relationship with technology is really love/hate. It’s frustrating spending so many hours on it…but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I guess I actually do like traveling up that hill, learning a little bit more about how technology works along they way. And becoming only smart enough to be dangerous, haha (evil laugh). My real goal is to be able to keep up with Reagan and Ashlyn once they become technologically savvy.

This is the kind of post you get when technology is ruling my life. I’m just glad I had two minutes to blog.

Skirting the Issue

Clever title huh? Thought you were getting another controversial post from me, right?

WRONG!

You’re getting another little crafty post from me. The day after I finished my first dress–actually it was that same night–I decided I need a little more instant gratification and a boost of self-encouragement. So I constructed this:

skirt

In my cleverness I managed to hide my face, but I also managed to show how dirty the mirror is. (Swiffer has not come out with a mirror cleaner yet. Have I sung the praises of Swiffer yet on this blog?)

Back to the skirt. I did this literally in a couple of hours (just think of the possibilities) and I got the pattern for free! 

 newskirt newskirtfabric  Remember!?!?

It was pretty easy to construct. I only had to use four pattern pieces. Compare that to the 87 pieces for the dress (exaggeration). Back to the skirt. It’s got a waistband and a zipper. Zippers are actually easy to install. I didn’t say they were easy to make look good. Maybe that should be an aspiration of mine though. I even got to use the serger on this one.

And I’ve already worn this skirt out of the house. In public. At a meeting with other women. Who dress well. And one woman complimented me on how nicely I was dressed.

NOTES:

  • I think this fabric would actually look better as a pencil skirt, but there’s no going back now.
  • The skirt the lady in the pattern is wearing is closer to her knees. She altered the pattern folks.
  • I don’t care if it looks holiday-ish, I’m wearing this for the next five days of winter we have. I may even dare to wear it into spring.
  • Confidence-in-sewing-adult-clothes level: upgraded from suckiness to potentially decent.

TV For Free (And Movies Too)

Thank you BooMama for letting us know about this. Should I really be thanking her? We turned off our cable so we wouldn’twatch tv. And now I’ve found a place online that will let me watch tv and movies. for free.

I’m not sure whether this is a good thing or not. Sure, it’s good for the general masses. But for us, maybe not so good. We were just getting into the routine of learning to be happy with each other without the blaring boob tube. One positive thing I can say about this is that I can choose when I want to watch. It doesn’t have to be right at 7pm. Another positive aspect is freedom of choice. I can watch what I want. Provided it’s provided. And if hubby doesn’t want to watch, well, he can watch his own computer. I’ve even got headphones.

So, head on over to Hulu and get in your tv groove. Or get your movie on. Whatever those sayings are. A lot of the shows and movies are full-length. Some are clips. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers right? Oh, and it’s a good feeling to stick it to the cable company who is charging us $10 a month to not have cable tv. How do you like that!

My first attempt at dressmaking…

MY FIRST ATTEMPT

I have made clothes for myself before. Two skirts to be exact. One with an elastic waste and one with a zippered waist. Working with a quarter of the body is actually pretty easy. And skirts are pretty easy to make anyway. A dressmaker I am not…at least not yet. In a recent post I wrote that I was jonesing to make something for myself: “I’m getting really antsy to sew something for myself. And I’m feeling that it needs to be something big, like a dress or skirt or top or something…” to quote myself.

I have gone and done just that. My very first attempt at an adult-sized dress (if you’re going to make fun then go ahead and leave it in a comment, I want to laugh too):

dress01The front

dress02The back.

dress03 (Photo by Reagan) Where did my waist go?

I found this fabric for $1 a yard and a pattern for $3.50. So, overall this dress cost me about $8 to construct. It’s a good thing because this dress stinks. It doesn’t smell bad. It’s crappy. But, as my husband keeps reminding me, it’s my first attempt. I think Project Runway has me thinking I should be able to construct haute couture right from the start.

The fabric is as thin as Bible paper and very slinky. I was worried about it being see through and so I layered two layers of the fabric and then a layer of lining. So my waist is hiding under all that fabric. It’s so thick around the middle. Doesn’t help that God didn’t proportion me like a Barbie doll (my proportions are more like Ken’s). The dress is a little big too.

I was really proud of myself with the sleeves. I’ve never made sleeves before, even on kid clothes. However, I see in the photo above that they’re not even. Oh well, I’ve always got a kid on my hip, so no one will notice. The hem actually turned out pretty even. I did spend a long time on that, comparatively. But with that kid on my hip it won’t look even. This is also the first time I’ve ever done darts. There were six total on this dress. I’ll just tell you now, and maybe you already know this: trying to make darts in slinky fabric is, well, let’s just say it’s difficult.

I really liked the fabric when it was rolled up on the bolt. Not too sure about it now. It does hide sewing imperfections. Small imperfections. The big ones stand out even more–I didn’t even try to match up the pattern when piecing the dress together. One of the pieces is even upside down (you don’t have to look that hard to see it).

So, even though it stinks, it’s my stinky dress that I made and I’m going to wear it. If I only wear it once I got my money’s worth out of it.

ON TO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS

I am not done with the home-sewn look though. I’m moving on to bigger and better things (let’s hope, right). Here’s what’s next:

1)This skirt

newskirt 

newskirtfabricin this fabric (it’s plaid with velvet flowers)

2) This outfit

newoutfit

The top will be

newoutfittopfabric

and the pants will be

newoutfitpantsfabric it’s a white twill

3) This jacket

newjacket The sleeves will have a straight cuff, not ruffled. The yoke will be the low neck (like in the inset) and will have a collar. The length will be longer than in the picture. It will be in this fabric

newjacketfabricIt’s a shiny goldy-silvery concoction.

Total investment in these four new pieces: $19 (great use of a Christmas gift card and sales.)

Ambitious? I’d say so. But who got anywhere by sitting still? I’m learning that I have to be willing to try–and mess up along the way. That’s the only way to get better. Since nobody’s all that good when they first begin. Right?