Monday, June 22, 2015

20 minute project

Last weekend I spent my time with my sister and her family.  One of the many hundreds of beautiful reasons to have sisters is that they offer up their old clothes.  This super cute sun dress was given to me...



Let's be honest, it's adorable!  Here is the thing Lori is about 6 inches shorter than I am, so while I would love to have been able to wear the sundress as it is, I couldn't.  At 5 feet 9 inches, it barely covered my backside.  While some may favor that look, I'd rather keep my cheeks hidden from the world.  It dawned on me as I mourned a little that I wouldn't be able to wear this lively piece, that I could perhaps modify the dress into a skirt.  Which brings me to this lovely skirt that I no longer wore and was taking up space in the dresser.

the remainder of this skirt will eventually be used for something
So, I cut the top off the skirt.  The portion that folds over.  I also cut the top off the dress right above the elastic (making sure to keep it) which was intended for the A-line waist of the original dress.  I then paired the rights sides together matching up the side seams, pinned, and sewed the top of the skirt onto the bottom of the dress.

super simple!!
 As you can see in the picture I basically sewed over the existing stitch from the original dress.  This was the end result!

Love, love, love it!!
 My husband is off galavanting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with his twin brother.  Well, also visiting his family so I attempted to take a few photos of what the skirt looked like on with my iPhone camera and the timer setting (who knew the iPhone camera had a timer setting??).  The image is blurry but it gives you the jest..


All in all, it took approximately 20 minutes.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

MMR Vaccination

I read a lot about the measles vaccination today.  This of course wasn't something I generally would have spent my time doing; however it became of high interest to me after I received a phone call from my employer (I start on Monday).  During the on-boarding process one must be tested for immunity through a titre screen for measles, mumps, and rubella.  Good news was I was immune to mumps and rubella.  Bad news, I was no longer immune to measles.  My first thought was what, wait just one minute... I am no longer immune to measles?

This of course sent me digging into my records.  In review of my shot record this is what I found.  I received my first MMR vaccination on 11/6/1979 I was 18 months old.  I received the second vaccination on 10/20/1994 (according to the record) I was 16 years old.  Regardless, I was immunized.

So why then did my titre screen come back negative for immunity to measles?  This is why I spent my time data mining today.  This is what I found:
1) Measles was on the decline before the vaccination was introduced.
2) With the introduction of the vaccination the eradication was expected in 1966.
3) Full eradication was announced in 2000 (in the U.S).
4) Edward Jenner developed the measles vaccine in 1798- although there are reports of using vaccinations in ancient times.
5) A single shot was expect to provide life long immunity.
6) In 1990 all children entering kindergarten needed to prove that had two immunizations of the MMR due to failure to provide immunity after only one shot.
7) The second dose was often given at the entrance to middle school or high school (which would explain why I was 16 at the second dosing).
8) Natural exposure to measles provided stronger and longer immunity to the disease than the actual vaccination.  (Although, given the possible rates of mortality with measles I would not want to take the risk of being exposed naturally).
9) Estimated immunity with the vaccine is estimated around 25 years per one scientist.  Immunity from natural exposure was upwards of 65 years according to the same scientist.
10) And lastly, the MMR vaccination provided better immunity after 1980 when a stable live vaccine was available.

So these points of course are points I found of interest, I cannot speak of the validity as I did not dig knee deep into peer reviewed articles or anything of that sort.  I simply data mined what was readily available.

In the end, I received my third vaccination for MMR today 6/11/2015, at the age of 37, I will receive a second booster shot in about a month.  I will start my job on Monday as expected.  While it was a bit of a hassle to go in for an immunization I am forever thankful that a titre screen was done.  I am thankful I did not become to second Measles Mary, as in the New York situation this past year.  Who knows why I lost immunity over time, I did read that some people just do, some don't.  Had I contracted measles I do not know how my body would have reacted given an already compromised immune system (hereditary in nature).  It takes me longer than most to bounce back from seemingly simple viruses, so with that....

I will continue to support vaccinations.  And as already stated, given my compromised immune system due to an autoimmune disease I will continue to avoid and/or refuse to interact with those who have not been immunized.  So, if you are concerned about where you stand with your immunity, go have a titre screen done.  For those who are not immunized, it's your choice, I will not get into a fruitless discussion about your opinions and my opinions.  I can respect your choice as I expect you to respect my choice to freely ask and freely choose not to interact if you are not immunized.


| Baby Quilt | Hobbies |

One evening I decided I was going to make a baby blanket/quilt for my sister's baby.  I had recently purchased my first sewing machine and completed a few projects.  So why not jump in and start creating.


before starting any project it's important to get your audience comfortable...

The squares are cut: 4" x 4".  The cutting mat, fiberglass ruler, and rotary cutter are a must for straight lines.

the fabric patterns

The squares were laid out and then piled to indicate which row they belonged to and in what order.

and the sewing started and continued for about 2.5 hours.  The Counseling book is what I should have been doing-lesson planning for this fall.

time to pin and trim edges (I put flannel instead of crib backing in the inside)

pinned and trimmed

The final product.  I can't wait to give it to my sister!

So, what do you do with your left overs??

I made a doggie blanket.

Nadia seems to like it.

She might just stay curled up in it for a while.