Can't Live Without It

We are such a TV-watching family. It's ridiculous really. We only have two TVs, but do you think we could live with only one? Nooo. A couple of weeks ago the TV in our living room died on us. We promptly went to Wal-Mart that same night and bought a new one. Kinda of pathetic that we can't even go overnight without a TV in our living room, but it's the truth. We bought a 32" flat screen LCD TV and it's very nice.


The new TV didn't fill up the hole in the entertainment center, so I, of course, felt the need to get something different. We stopped by a local furniture store and lo and behold! The exact thing I was wanting! I love this new console! I need to find some better boxes or baskets for our DVDs, but here's what it looks like. (Please excuse the photo, it's not the greatest, but you get the gist.)

Gauchos!!

The gauchos are finally done! It's about time, huh? Let's have a little parade to celebrate. LOL!

Pattern: Simplicity 4135 Threads Pants

This is a Threads Magazine Collection pattern for boot leg pants in two lengths, city shorts, wide leg pants, and gauchos. The sizes are misses' 6-14 with a petite alteration option. The pattern includes "perfect fit techniques" as well. I liked the waistband of these pants as well as the bootcut look, so I made View D, the gauchos and used the petite length.

Having never made pants before, I agonized over what size to cut. I finally decided to cut a size 12 waistband, a size 12 for the top 3 inches or so of the pants, then tapered to a size 10 at the low hip and legs. In hindsight, I possibly could've pulled off a size 10 or even a 12 may have looked nice. I ended up taking in the waistband quite a bit more than I expected and it is still quite roomy. I wasted too much time trying to decide what size to make when probably either one would've been OK.

I made these gauchos out of some black cotton wrinkle-resistant pant fabric I found at Wal-Mart. I'm sure I'll have to deal with lint, but you almost always do with black pants anyway.

These pants went together surprisingly easy! I was surprised at how good the pattern instructions were. They didn't assume you know everything about sewing pants and were pretty darn good about leading you through step by step. The waistband pieces can be confusing, but if you mark which side is which, etc. you should be OK. (Also, don't take 5 months to make the things and you won't forget where you're at in the process!)

I did have some problems with the fly. The instructions for making the fly and inserting the zipper were pretty good even though I had a hard time seeing how it all fit together before doing it. However, once I was getting toward the end and was sewing the crotch/back seam, I ran into problems with getting the bottom of the zipper to lie flat and not pucker. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly need to draw attention to my crotch with a puckered zipper! So, after many seam-rippings and rebastings, my mom suggested that I take out part of the top-stitching on the front of the fly--basically the curve at the bottom. Then, I resewed the crotch/back seam and voila! A flat fly front! Next time, I'd like to try Sandra Betzina's flat fly front zipper directions, but at this point in the gaucho-making process, it just wasn't possible.

I'm happy with how these came out. I hope they last and I'll get some good use out of them. I have a blouse to make that just might look pretty darn cute with these, so sometime I'll get a good full-body pic of me dressed in them.

Have a great weekend!

Playing with the New Camera

I've been playing a bit with my new camera. Bottom line: I have a LOT to learn! I'll just keep studying, K? In the meantime, this one turned out pretty good...enjoy!

Cardio Coach Rocks!

I've been meaning to give a review of my new fave way to exercise--Cardio Coach! What is Cardio Coach? A quote from the website sums it up best:

Cardio Coach™ is an audio guided workout program designed for anybody, at any fitness level and for any type of exercise machine (running & walking too).

I first read about Cardio Coach on a Yahoo group for Firmies quite some time ago. At the time, it sounded interesting, but I didn't own any type of cardio equipment, no iPod, and just couldn't do that sort of thing while pushing kids in a stroller up and down hills on a gravel road.

As you know, I recently got a treadmill AND bought an iPod Nano, so I took the plunge and bought Cardio Coach's Volume 1. I LOVE having this guy in my ear telling me what to do! It has encouraged me to push myself to see how fast I can run during some of those challenges. It's great to have focus during my treadmill workouts instead of just walking along at whatever pace I choose (and that would be slower than what I do with Cardio Coach). This guy is better at pushing me than I am at pushing myself. I also get a better workout in a shorter amount of time and as a busy mom, you know I'm all about getting my workout over and done!

Click to see specific info on Cardio Coach's Volume 1 workout. This includes time duration, type of music, equipment suggestions, and descriptions of each track (warm up, steady state, challenges, cool down).

The music is OK. It's all instrumental, sometimes inspirational during challenges, but nothing I'm really excited about. That's fine with me because listening to the music isn't really what I'm focused on anyway. It is as it should be--background that goes with what I'm doing at the time.

I'm still Firming, but I've been using Cardio Coach on the treadmill on one of my cardio days instead of doing a Firm DVD. I definitely think there's room for my ole Firm faves and my new Cardio Coach fave!

If you're getting bored with your current workout and would like to try something interesting, check this out! I highly recommend it and I'll definitely be buying some more Cardio Coach, too.