A Day in the Life

Pottery Class #2

2012-02-07T15:22:00.000-06:00

The top picture is of all my creations so far. This second class I made another mug & another small bowl (bowl are facing right side up) and then trimmed the bottoms on my other small bowl and mug and added a handle to my mug (I cut off the handle in picture - oops!).

This is a close up of the two I made this week. I really wanted to make a vase, but I can't figure out how to get the clay to move up so tall & narrow. I am going to have to ask for help from the teacher on that one. I would also like to make a plate some time, but at this rate I am going to have a bunch of bowls & mugs. Hope everyone wants those for Christmas in 2012.

Pottery Class: Week 1

2012-01-28T15:41:00.001-06:00

I am actually writing a whole blog post about this for another blog I write for. That post will be published in April, after I have finished my 7 weeks of class (+ 2 weeks to wrap up afterwards).

I did want to share pictures from the class, some of these will be in that post, some will not. There will be other commentary on that.

The foot powered potter's wheel

Most of us will learn on this and can move to the electric wheel when we get a little more experience handling the clay. The foot powered one you can control the speed better (is what I am told.)

This is the actual wheel I worked from during class 1.

These are my projects for the night. One is a small bowl with a lop-sided edge (grrrr!)

The other is the start of a mug. We are going to be learning hand-buildling of handles and trimming up the bottoms next week.

A close up of my mug. This was actually the first one I did and I was happy with myself for a first thing.

My second thing - close up of my small bowl. If anything breaks while drying or in the kiln, I will not be sad if it is this. I gotta let go of needing it perfectly straight or this class is gonna get to me.

Inside of my mug.

Self-Evaluation Thus Far: Needs Improvement, too self critical, learn to relax & have fun!

End of 2011

2011-12-31T08:27:00.000-06:00

As I look back and reflect on 2011, my goal was simply to get in to shape and exercise more and run a 10K. Well, the 10K was finished and I consistently workout 4-5 times a week, usually 5 times. And I did manage to lose a good chunk of weight over the summer.

For 2012 I plan to keep up with the working out. I am enjoying it and it has really become a social outlet for me. I have 2 fitness-related goals set up for this coming year, one is an indoor triathlon in March and the other is the Warrior Dash in June. I think I would like to try an outdoor triathlon except the one I wanted to do there is a scheduling conflict, so maybe if I can find a different one I want to go to. We'll see how the indoor one goes.

Some other things I want to do in 2012 is try out new things. And we are not waiting until the clock to strike midnight to start with that goal. Today, Andy & I are taking skiing lessons. I am also planning on taking a wheel-throwing pottery class. And I would like to make a rag rug (might as well dig through that donation pile to make something with it if I keep forgetting to put it out for the donation truck that comes around.) Oh! And kayaking! My husband bought me a kayak for Christmas and I have taken an indoor course and have a friend who is willing to take me out to teach me more (same friend who taught me more about XXCing last year.)

Happy Everything!

2011-12-10T16:28:00.000-06:00

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I ordered some cards from Shutterfly (using a code I had) and then they gave me the opportunity to earn a one-time $10 code if I posted the card to a blog. Or course I was going to do it!

I had decided on the Happy Everything card because if I get it in time I can use it for Christmas cards if I need more, or I can use it for birthday cards, anniversary, whatever. (So, MOM! Don't show this to dad cuz I will send it for his birthday! Can't very well send it to you if you are seeing it now.)

My cards (that I ordered today) are supposed to arrive between 12/19-12/23 (so glad I chose the design I did.)

So, enjoy seeing the preview now. You might just be getting one later. :)

Some Recent Xmas Gift Items I Have Made

2011-11-29T20:26:00.000-06:00

Rolled Beeswax Candles

(My New Hobby) Jewelry

Hats for fraternal twins to be born in the next couple weeks

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

2011-11-11T13:34:00.000-06:00

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

If clicking on the picture does not work, please click HERE.

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South Beach Miami - Day 2 (Anniversary)

2011-10-02T14:06:00.001-05:00

The purpose of this trip was to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We started out our day at the beach (pretty much how we started out every day) for 3 hours. As you can see, my summer tan has faded a lot and I am pretty white here at the start of our trip.

The beach is so clean with smooth white sand. Love the beach! The warm is warm (& very salty, of course) and such clean water as well. So far I have seen a jellyfish & a large (about 10") angel fish and a small (about 3") angel fish in the water as I was searching for shells & coral to bring home for the kids (and a bunch of other little fish.)

Happy Anniversary! I love you!

This evening we went to the Art Center of South Florida to tour their gallery. We really enjoyed the variety in each of the different studios.

Here I am at the Kung Fu Sushi restaurant. We decided to have happy hour drinks, then stay for dinner and the Burlesque Show. We had fun giving our own names to each of the characters (Mustache Girl, Glitter Nipples, Chick-Dude, Dude-Chick & Little Hat). We talked with Little Hat for a while. And then got put in the show a bit by Mustache Girl, who proceeded to give me a spank with a large paddle (kinda stung, but was fun to be part of the show).

If you go here, we really liked the Kung Fu Crunch Sushi Roll, Salted Edamame & Tuna Tacos. Everything we had there was good, but those were our favorites.

The bartender gave us a complimentary shot for our anniversary called "Watermelon Ass". I have no idea what is in it, but it did taste good.

South Beach Miami - Day 1

2011-10-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

We found the pool right away (although, as of day 5 we have not actually gotten in it and have only sat out here to read and for breakfast). The hotel we are staying at the is the Riveria South Beach Luxe Hotel Suites.

I will post more pictures of our suite in another post and write about it. They serve a free continental breakfast every morning out by the pool, which is a nice way to start the day. It's a pretty typical continental breakfast with a couple choices of breads and baked good, a couple choices of fresh fruit and fruit cocktail, yogurt & granola, a variety of cereals, juices, milk & coffee.

As we made our way out exploring (finally after took a 2 hour nap right after getting here, seriously waking up early to drive to MSP and fly out first thing in the morning was exhausting) we found the New World Symphony. It was too bad that the only show there during our stay was a Children's orchestra concert, very similar to the one we are taking our kids to in October in the Cities. But the grounds here are very pretty. It was kinda frustrating trying to find shows to watch since we came at the exact wrong time. The symphony was just kicking off their season this weekend with the kids concert, the ballet was on a 2-wk break while they waited to start their next season, the convention center had nothing at it, and the Jackie Gleason theater had a spanish speaking guy doing a concert. I would find us a comedy show to go to (more about that on Day 3.)

Here we are at the Kung Fu Sushi restaurant. We have spent a lot of time here because our hotel is a part of the South Beach Hotels Group and we can go to the bars (3 of them) at the Catalina Hotel from 7-8pm for free drinks by showing our room key. We are not going to turn down free drinks, so we tend to go to Kung Fu Sushi every evening because they also have sushi happy hour food specials during that time. We have eaten so much sushi; it's great!

This picture was taken when we went next door to Maxine's Bistro & Bar for dinner. We had this cheese ravioli with meatballs that had the most wonderful sauce on it. Part of our stay, we get a $20 dining credit at Maxine's or Kung Fu. So of course we are going to use it.

This was really as close to all-inclusive as I could find (free drinks 7-8pm, a bottle of Verdi champagne upon arrival {really tasty!} and a nightly dining credit.)

Another picture of me at Kung Fu. I look kinda goofy here.

Monster Shirt

2011-04-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

I had meant for this to turn out more symmetrical than it did. I suppose it looks more monster-ish this way. I think next time I will need to use heat & bond to adhere the picture before stitching it down so that it will keep from moving. Plus, it's not as easy to stitch something on an already assembled toddler-size t-shirt.

I'm a Runner

2011-04-10T19:47:00.002-05:00

Well, I think I can finally admit it. I'm a runner. I honestly thought I would never have those words come out of my mouth. But now after I have done two 5Ks and my first 10K, I can honestly say I am a runner and I enjoy running with friends.

Make sure you notice the key words there "with friends". I still do not like running by myself very much, which is why I love to run at the gym with my friend Jennifer. We can run at whatever pace suits us and we are always by each other and talking. It's a social thing for me. I'm a social runner.

So, when it's time for me to run outside with a friend I choose to slow down my pace and they choose to push themselves so that I am not slowing too much.

This past Saturday I ran my first 10K. Earlier in the week I was starting to doubt if it would happen since they were predicting severe thunderstorms and hail on Saturday (we pretty much got nothing but a little rain on Saturday night.)

I ran the entire course with my running partner. I just wanted to enjoy myself and hang out and finish. I wasn't looking to PR or kick someone's butt.

So, what's next for me. Well, my daughter and I are going to run a 1K next month (there is a 5K there as well, but she won't be able to do that and we ran it last year when it was a 1mi rather than a 1K together, so it's our race, maybe some day we'll run the 5K together.) After that I am running a 5K that the proceeds benefits buying new playground at my daughter's school.

I am not sure what is after April (both those are in April yet). I have not decided if I will do an area 5K in May or not because I am doing a Women in the Outdoors weekend later in the month and that kinda takes up a chunk of my budget for recreational stuff.

Right now I am currently working on convincing my running partner to do the Warrior Dash with me in July. That race is 3 miles long with 11 obstacles. It looks challenging and fun!

And in August I am thinking I will do the 4-mile run for our County Fair. I am toying with the idea of adding in a 10K in October.

I find it helps that I have a fitness challenge/race to make. Starting next week, we are changing up our routine which was to meet twice a week and run, run, run. (I also ran 3 miles once a week on my own, did yoga once a week, and have been adding in Zumba every other week.) So, now we are planning to work on increasing our 5K speed so that we can PR in a later race and add in weights to start working on strength and intonation.

This is a picture of me with my running partner/friend Jennifer and our friends (another) Jennifer and Stephanie. The other Jennifer & Stephanie are running partners too and ran the entire race together. We came in right behind them.

I started running 9 months ago with a group of us doing a C25K program with a trainer. Anyways, I took measurements 9 months ago when we started running ( & was still nursing my son.)

After 3 months (ended nursing right after this):
1/4" loss on chest
1/2" loss on waist
1/4" loss on hips
no weight loss

After 6 month (no longer nursing, so I account for some chest loss because of this):
3/4" loss on chest (1" total)
1/2" loss on wasit (1" total)
1/4" loss on hips (1/2" total)
no weight loss (nothing total)

After 9 months
1" loss on chest (2" total)
1.5" loss on waist (2.5" total)
1/4" loss on hips (3/4" total)
6.5 pounds weight loss (6.5 total, just in last 3 months)

Also, I did not change my eating at all. I eat and drink whatever I want. So, ramping up to the longer workouts of an hour really helped. I much prefer to excercise for an hour with friends and do stuff with the kids and eat whatever I want.

Well, guess we'll see what the next 3 months brings.

Dinosaur Hat

2011-02-11T15:17:00.002-06:00

I saw a crocheted dinosaur hat on some blog and thought it was so cute and knew I could figure out how to make one from fleece. My son has kind of a big head, so I thought I would use the adult small earflap hat pattern I had. Only thing is that the earflaps are kinda long since adults must have taller heads, even if his circumference is the same as a small adult head.

The pattern actually called for velcro on the flaps, but since they are long for him I can tie the ear flaps under his chin easy enough. I stitched this while he was napping, so I didn't have a chance to try it on before I started assembling. So, now I need to think about how I can alter the lenth of the earflaps when the stitching is on the inside and is closed. But for now I can tie it. It might not look too bad if I just so a straight stitch where I want them to end and I can use my pinking shears to create a pointed edge. That's the great thing about fleece, that I can leave an unfinished edge or use pinking shears and it's not going to fray. I think that might be what I do.

Mom's Night Out Dancing

2011-01-29T14:52:00.002-06:00

This was a fun night. I was planning on going then bailed since I was so tired (& almost everyone else bailed) and then made a last minute decision to go out with the two moms who were still planning to go and called up two other mom friends I thought would be game (& they were). So, here we are posing for some group shots. It was a fun night and I am glad I went out. Our next mom's night out with this group is to go tubing at Buckhill (just like we did last February). I can't wait.

Getting in Shape

2011-01-27T10:58:00.002-06:00

I haven’t gotten on the scale recently. Seeing the numbers rarely change is more discouraging to me, but when my clothes start to get loose, then I am happy. But I know I am motivated to workout if I am able to be social.

A couple of things that I do is meet a friend once a week at the gym. We are lucky enough that a local gym (with childcare) offers a punchcard (in addition to a monthly rate), so I don’t have to feel pressured to go more often to make it worth it. And I pay for the childcare as we use it. And at the first of the year they decreased their punchcard rate by almost half. Awesome! It ends up coming down to $4.33 for me to workout with a friend and our kids to be in childcare. That’s actually cheaper than paying a babysitter. So, we allow ourselves to splurge on that for ourselves once a week so we can get in a long run w/o interruption.

And I do yoga with 3 other moms once a week. We switch between a couple houses that have enough room for us, but we all contribute our different yoga videos we have, so the routine gets mixed up all the time and we don't get bored. It’s nice. We do this while our kids are in preschool and the ltl ones are either napping or playing.

Usually I make myself workout once a week by myself, either a yoga video or get on the treadmill. I try to workout 4-5 times, but the other 2 times I try to make it fun with the family. So, my daughter & I try to get out sledding or ice skating (all free) or we go swimming as a family at the community center ($3/person and my son is free). Or I try to get out to do some other winter sport with a friend like cross country skiing (which I bought on ebay for hardly anything) or snowshoeing (go to the nature center when they have the rental free or discounted for members).

As soon as daylight savings starts & its warmer, my gym/running partner & I will go running outside in the evening after the husbands are home and can be with the kids. I think we will get a couple other moms to join us as well. We set a goal to run a 10K in April (ran our 1st 5ks this fall), so we’ll need to pick up our running more in March.

And I can’t wait for summer when we get a family membership to our city’s community outdoor pool, which is an affordable $75 for the summer. And we are at the pool ALL THE TIME! And we’ll start hiking at the nature center more once it warms up. And the my daughter really wants to go geo-caching. And since I have the smart phone now I can download a good android-based free app to do this. I'm hoping that this summer my daughter will be able to bike faster and we can do more bike riding around the town. And of course, we'll have some fun playtime in the yard and at parks that will help keep us in shape.

Profile Pic

2011-01-11T09:27:00.000-06:00

I am pretty happy with this picture that Skye took of me at the Nature Center this fall and it has become my new profile picture & avatar, pretty much everywhere.

Homemade Gifts for the Adults

2011-01-06T13:10:00.002-06:00

My mom made all of these gifts here. The top are necklaces for me. The top necklace is a crocheted washer necklace and the bottom necklace is a crocheted ribbon necklace.

Well, actually this can crusher was made by both my mom & dad and was for my husband. All the guys got one of these and it works quite nicely.

Homemade Gifts for the Kids

2011-01-06T12:57:00.003-06:00

Grandma S crocheted all of the grandkids some slippers for Christmas, they are the pairs that my kids received.

Grandma M sewed my daughter this paint smock. She made her one a couple years ago, but now it's just too small and it was time for a new one. And she certainly needs this with all the crafts we do.

Grandma S crocheted my son this dinosaur puppet. It is quite the hit with him. When he sees it he gives it to one of us to put on our hands. He likes to try to grab the tongue while we try to eat his hand. One of his cousins loved playing with it in the same way at Christmas time.

Grandma S also crocheted this purse for Isabel and sewed a fleece liner in it. It's a very pretty purse and she will find lots of stuff to carry in it.

Next Challenge: Run a 10K This Spring

2011-01-04T11:30:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I just joined the gym again (I'll have more about that in a later post) so that I can meet friends there to run on the treadmills. I enjoy running with other people, but I don't enjoy winter running. I don't like the cold & ice.

So, today I was back at the gym and haven't looked up a solid interval (run/walk) training plan, but came up with my own today by trying to push myself, but not kill myself.

Today I did (number is minutes and w=walk and r=run): 5w, 15r, 5w, 10r, 5w, 5r, 3w, 2r, 2w, 2r, 1w. I kicked it up an extra 1mph faster for the last 2 minute run.

My mileage today added up to 4.6. It's really only another mile and a half to get me to that 10K. So, I know I can do it.

My plan is to do interval training or run twice a week. Other times I will be doing yoga or some fun winter sport.

Feeding Time at the RADZoo

2010-12-28T22:03:00.001-06:00

RADZoo

2010-12-28T11:21:00.002-06:00

We have a family membership to the RADZoo and get here once or twice a month. It's a good place to learn more about all kinds of reptiles & amphibians. They also have some birds, a tarantula, and a scorpion (which kinda eeeks me out!). They have over 100 animals there. It's also a nice big space in one big building, so the kids can go look at what they want and I can see them, and they can stretch their legs. Here are some pictures I took of some of the animals there today!

Iced Candles

2010-12-20T20:53:00.002-06:00

My daughter and I had fun making these. We made three in total, two for her teachers and one for a crafty-gift swap. All you have to do is paint glue on the candle and sprinkle on epsom salt. Let it dry. Tie on a sweet ribbon. And tada! It looks like ice on a candle.

I also made three containers of lavendar-vanilla bath salts using epsom salt, sea salt, oils, & food coloring. I have already given those to friends as Christmas gifts (forgot to take a picture) and they loved how they smelled.

Homemade Ornaments

2010-12-20T20:48:00.002-06:00

These are the homemade ornaments that they kids made this year to give as gifts. My daughter really enjoyed making her handprint santas. I was only able to get one handprint santa out of my son, but did get him to fingerpaint on some tree. I laminated the ornaments since these were on paper and we want people to be able to keep them and use them for future Christmases.

Stitching Projects

2010-12-20T20:26:00.002-06:00

So, I joined a Stitch & Bitch group a couple months ago. And while the daytime meetings I usually can't make, I have been able to get to a couple evening get togethers.

Last winter I bought myself a knitting board and did about 6 inches on the above scarf in this wonderful alpaca yarn (so soft!) and never touched it again. But this was a good way to get this project finished and start some more.

The knitting board automatically double knits everything (well, I haven't learned other stitching methods with it yet, I need to watch the DVD, this was what was explained in the paper handout on how to make a scarf) and it took quite a long time and got boring. So, I kept putting it down.

But then I thought I would pick up some Knifty Knitter hoop looms and make some hats. The above hat I made for a friend for Christmas and am in the process of making an identical one for another friend. The hats featured below are all gifts too. The small infant purple hat was given to my neighbor's new baby. The other three hats are Christmas presents for my husband, daughter & son.
I have also bought a different little tool, which I made a scarf & mitten for my daughter's baby dolly for Christmas presents for her. I still need to take a picture of those (and wrapped).

I do want to buy the set of flat looms to make scarves & blankets, etc.

Redneck Party

2010-12-20T20:25:00.001-06:00

One of my friends had a Redneck Christmas Party. It was an interesting theme, needless to say. She had some clever decorations & food creations.

Dinner and the Ballet

2010-11-22T21:46:00.002-06:00

My friend Melanie won this contest from Girlfriends magazine for a free night out with dinner and the ballet with 3 girlfriends. And since I had encouraged her (& all my friends on FB) to enter & if they won - to take me! Well, she won & she did. She invited the other Baby Mamas (it's the name I gave to the group of moms I met in my son's ECFE class & did some summer playgroups with) and two of them were able to come with.

So, it was Melanie, Bonnie, Kristen & I out in the town. The prize included dinner at the Roasted Pear (we just had to pay for drinks & a tip) and tickets to watch the Twin Cities Ballet perform The Nutcracker at the Burnsville Center for the Performing Arts.

We had a really good time. It was my first time seeing a ballet performed. I actually saw the Twin Cities Ballet perform as part of a MN Orchestra concert, but that was only a handful of dancers for a few select songs. And of course I have watched my daughter in her dance classes and recitals.

How Would You Like 50 Free Cards from Shutterfly?

2010-11-22T14:47:00.003-06:00

It's simple, just click here and fill out the form and wait and see if you get chose to receive 50 free photocards from Shutterfly. Of course, you will need to review their product and post a blog about it.

I am really hoping I get picked. We just had professional photos taken of our family since my daughter is now 4 1/2 and my son just turned 1. It's amazing how fast kids change.

I was planning on sending out pictures with our Christmas cards and this would be a wonderful opportunity to review Shutterfly and show off my beautiful family.

Let me know if you get chosen. I would love to see your card too!

Turkey Finger Puppets

2010-11-13T22:47:00.003-06:00

This evening, while I watched a movie I made these finger puppets for the kids for Thanksgiving. I do realize I have made the second holiday themed finger puppet for them (made them bunny finger puppets for Easter) and at some point my daughter will probably ask me to make finger puppets for other holidays. I think I will skip on finger puppets for Christmas this year since I have other gifts I want to make the kids, maybe do every third holiday or something.

Anyways, the idea & pattern for thee puppets came from the website, Frog Prince Paperie. I had considered making a different turkey puppet, but I really liked the hand stitching on this one. Although, the other one would have been much quicker to create. Let me know if you make the other one. I do like the Groundhog finger puppet on that website, maybe that will be the next one.

Goodbye Molly

2010-11-13T22:25:00.002-06:00

Today was a sad day for our family as we said goodbye to our dog Molly. She was 12 years old and had been with our family for 9 years. She had been suffering from an enlarged heart and it was becoming more & more difficult for her to do basic things. We had blood work done and xrays and they couldn't find anything causing her heart to enlarge other than she was getting old and stuff like that happens. She had a slight infection in her lungs and we bought crazy expensive antibiotics to help with that (which is why the vet thought she had this hack). Well, the hack never went away. She was put on heart medicine, and she continued to get worse and worse. By the last week, she would have to lay down completely on the floor after walking up the stairs from the basement of from walking from her kennel to the house. She was not the dog she wanted to be and it was very hard to see her that way and getting worse every day.

Molly was a dog that would jump up and kiss your mouth (if you let her). She loved to chase squirrels and bunnies in the yard. She loved to wander off and explore the neighborhood (which is why I had to train her to come to a whistle so that I didn't sound like a mad woman yelling for my dog to come home.) She played with our cat Lucy and was afraid of our cat Larry. She let our son crawl all over her and he would laugh when she licked his hand. She loved to play her fetch-chase game. It took us years to get her to just play fetch. She used to love to have us throw a ball/stick for her to fetch and then she would come just close enough & when you would grab for it she would run away and she wanted you to chase her. She used to take branches and peel off the bark. She liked to lay with her back legs extended straight out the back. She loved to gallop in the snow and eat it. She hated rain or any type of running water (we suspect that water was used as punishment when she was young.) She had the stinkiest farts, EVER! She was a happy dog and always looked like she was smiling. We always joked that she was retarded (just as a figure of speech, I know I am not being PC), but she was a good dog.

Our family will miss her, but now she is in doggy heaven and can do all those things she wanted to do these last months but couldn't.

Our Spookiest, Coolest House (Again!)

2010-10-31T21:57:00.004-05:00

It's still light out when I took the pictures, but you can at least see the red light in the background and the fog machine working. Too bad you can't see the pumpkin light & flickering window light & strobe light. Andy also added lights to focus on the sign.

People told Andy that we had the spookiest porch in town (exactly!) and there were many kids who were too scared to come up the porch and made the adults with them come up with. He also had spooky music playing too, plus he was sitting in the corner wearing his costume (see below!) I can't wait until we can decorate our porch again next year, most of these decorations can be reused, so next year we can just buy a few more things.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:44:00.002-05:00

This was the most fun Halloween I have had in a long time. The top collage is from Saturday night where I went out with 5 other moms (and 1 dad - not pictured) and did a bar hopping for Halloween. We had so much fun dancing & laughing and checking out everyone's costumes. We definitely have to do this every year.

Friday night, my friend Caitlin & I made a practice run to a bar downtown. Well, actually, we were supposed to go to a Halloween theatre variety show and we decided it would be fun to dress up, but due to some last minute scheduling difficulties she couldn't get a sitter & her husband had to work late, so we couldn't make it in time. But why waste a fun costume (she was Peggy Bundy & I was a disgruntled goth bridemaid - shredded a dress I wore 14 years ago) so we went to check out a bar (neither of us ever goes down town to the bars, so we just picked one) and it they had karaoke. I was super excited because I used to love to go sing karaoke (not any good, but I still have fun!) and I have not gone out for that since before I was pregnant with my daughter. So, it's been a while. I sang "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks and "This Love' by Maroon 5 by myself and together we sang "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. I finally got her to sing her own song "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. It was her first time singing karaoke and she had a good time & asked to go again.

My husband is not the dress up type, but our daughter was pestering him to dress up and he was staying home to pass out candy on our spooky porch (the fog machine is going in these pics). So he agreed to wear exactly what he was wearing & add a mask. I thought it was pretty creepy, even with how simple it was.

Here are the kids in one of their halloween costumes. Each of them had two. My daughter's costumes were a witch and a fairy. My sons costumes were a pumpkin and a mouse.

Our Spookiest, Coolest House

2010-10-27T13:14:00.002-05:00

Well, we had planned to do a lot of our own decorations and much of these are (5 pumpkin/ghost leaf bags, ghosts in the trees, flying ghost on porch, skeleton scarecrow, plastic hangings of witch & warewolf, small ghosts hanging from porch, glow in the dark ghost by the door, scarecrow wreath, glow in the dark stars on ceiling of porch, glow in the dark skeleton, pumpkin & carved pumpkins, & homemade window decorations, but then we got picked by SheSpeaks to be a Snickers Coolest House.

This is such an awesome sampling opportunity. They sent me bags & bags & bags of candy. 2/3 of the bags are of the new Snickers bar, Snickers Squared and the other 1/3 is of regular Snickers. There are 300 pieces of candy in all. So, these are being passed out on Halloween and at our Halloween parties this week.

They also sent us a bag of spider webs, a big banner to hang up, some window clings, some "warning" tape, a strobe light and a fog machine. During the day you can't see the strobe light and it was too windy to have the fog machine going. But come Halloween when I add our own colored light to the porch, turned on the fog machine & strobe light, we are going to have the spookiest porch in the whole town.

My daughter has been so pumped about all of this. She loved decorating the porch and then to decorate it even more was a treat. I can't wait to see her face when the lights & fog are added.

Also, I have to add that, you can only get this new Snicker candy bar, Snickers Squared, and the houses chosen for the sampling program. They won't be available to buy until this winter.

So, if you live in my area, stop on by and check out our spooky porch and come try out the new Snickers Squared. Or maybe you are lucky enough to be at one of our Halloween parties and will get one there.

New Hair Color

2010-10-18T09:28:00.002-05:00

Last night my colorist friend, Caitlin, played kitchen beautician with me and made me very blond & very straight. The blond is permanent, the straightness is not (just blow out & flat iron.) Normally she just does color at her job & someone else does the styling, but she really wanted to style my hair too since her daughter (one of DD's little friends) never lets her do her hair, she never gets to play with hair after she has colored it. And then we took it a step further & she did my makeup too so that the before & after pictures (taken with phone) would have the maximum impact. My before picture looks kinda straight, but that is because I had just taken it out of a ponytail (which flatten the top half against my head.

My daughter likes that I have blond hair like her now. Although, she's been begging me to straighten her hair this morning.

My poor son didn't recognize me this morning when I went to get him out of his crib. I had to say a few things before he would put his arms out to me to pick him up. He just kept giving this weird look until he knew it was me.

I like the blond. Although, with such a dramatic change to blond AND straight it almost seems like I am wearing a wig. In a couple weeks, we are going to take it one step further and make it a little sassy & add a hot pink streak. But for now, it's just blond because we have family pictures coming up and I wanted just blond for that. Now I have to decide if I want her to dye my actual hair pink or weave in an extension.

With an extension, the hair is artificial and the color will stay as long as the extension stays in, but the curl will be hard to match with mine. Plus, I have never had a weave put in, what's that feel like? Is it hard to comb by it? Does feel weird on my head? If we go with my actual hair and dye it, the color will fade but it will be my natural hair & curl & nothing extra on my head. Decisions, decisions....

The Cheese Cave

2010-10-18T07:52:00.002-05:00

We got a sitter for the girls & took our friends out to the Cheese Cave. We really enjoy the atmosphere, food & wine there. In addition to our wine (Andy switched to beer later), we had 2 different cheese platters (each with 3 different cheeses, strawberries, dried cranberries, water crackers, candied cashews & chocolates on it), assorted olives, dried salami rolled in herbs, & rosemary crackers.

The boy didn't make the picture, but you can see his sippy cup there and no that he was there.

We had a good time there and out friend enjoyed it. We had hoped they would, because this was right up their alley in terms of food interests.

My 2nd 5K

2010-10-18T07:45:00.002-05:00

My friend Lori came to visit with her family and we had planned to run a 5K together. I was glad I ran with her because she pushed me to finish with a pace under a 10-min mile. In fact, it was 9:47 min mile pace that we had. The course was just under 3.1, but I did factor that in with my pace time, otherwise my pace would have looked REALLY awesome to me.

Still have no desire to run anything more than a 5K race. No runner's high here. :(

I am thinking about running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but I am not sure how I feel about the cold. I run inside on a treadmill. So, we'll see. I might just wait to register that day if it feels ok. Although, I was talking with another mom in our playgroup about doing our own turkey trot (no t-shirts or entry fee, just a playgroup event for the moms.

9th Wedding Anniversary Day-Out

2010-09-25T21:44:00.002-05:00

Our actual anniversary isn't really for a few more days, but this was when we could get childcare and have some time together. My in-laws babysat all day and into the early evening and we had a fantastic time.

We started out our day getting some Caribou coffee. Yum! Then we headed to Mpls to go to the Mill City Farmer's Market & Oktoberfest (2 different things there). Oktoberfest was a special event and they had beer tasting (woohoo!), bands playing, and a beer garden and sausages for sale. Yum! First, let me say it was so much fun to listen to polka bands. Growing up I heard polka bands often since my grandpa was in one, so I have a special fondness for them. Second, that was the best kraut I have ever had. It was homemade and had the perfect level of sweetness mixed in with the sour. Yum!

It was also a great Farmer's Market. It was largely organic & sustainable local farmers there. Andy bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Plus we bought some smoked trout (another fond memory of my great grandpa giving us smoked fish), some dill havarati, some sourdough bread, and some wonderful, wonderful chocolate sauce.

After this we went to Kramarczuk's and had some nalesnyky and varenyky (& Andy had a Russian beer). It was pretty tasty and I could only eat half my plate (well, I did eat at Oktoberfest.) They we went to their deli and bought some polish sausage, brats, homemade kraut & brat rolls to bring home.
Our next stop was the Minneapolis Institute of Arts WITHOUT KIDS. The only other time we were here was for a Family event and we had the kids and didn't get to really see much. So, we spent a little time here. Neither of us are art snobs, so we don't spend hours upon hours here. But we did spend enough time and enjoyed ourselves. When we got home and gave our daughter a poster from the museum she asked us when we could take her back again. She really enjoyed their family event (which is a monthly thing.)

Finally, making our way home, we stopped at the Cheese Cave and had some wine, cheese, crackers, nuts, chocolates & dried fruit. FANTASTIC! This is my third time going here and each time I just love it even more & more. We plan to go again next month and introduce some friends to this place. They are the retail store & restaurant for the Amablu Cheese Caves in that town, plus they sell all sorts of other cheeses.

Fall Flooding

2010-09-25T21:18:00.002-05:00

These are pictures of our park around 3pm on Thursday, 9/23/10. The river did not crest until sometime Friday evening, but after it did it started to recede and by Saturday morning it was 10 inches lower and this evening when we drove by it looked to be at least another foot lower too.

I am not exactly sure how much rain we really got. There are reports of 8.5-11 inches of rain around our area within 24 hours. The town to the south of us was hit much harder because they are lower in elevation, plus a man-made levy broke causing more flooding.

Our home sits high enough and far enough away from the river that we were luckily not affected, but I am saddened by all the people who have lost so much because of the flooding. Lots of business in the town south of us were affected.

My First 5K

2010-09-20T12:41:00.002-05:00

Ok, now I can give you the run down of my first 5K and the training the first 8 weeks.

Here's how it started: A friend posted on her FB status that her husband was given the opportunity to be a trainer for 5 people who have never run a 5K before. The program was going to be very similar to the Couch To 5K (C25K) program (our program was like this but 1 week shorter.) My reply to her post was, "Hmmmmm, sounds interesting. I'll have to think about it." And I was thinking about it because running a 5K was a goal of mine at the beginning of the year, but due to having a 2 month old and fears of drying up from nursing, I abandoned the goal after 3 weeks.

Well, a couple days later I get an email basically saying - ok, you're doing it, my husband will email you more details.

Later than day I get an email from her husband, Lonnie (bald guy in the photo), saying training would be three days a week, we start next week and run a 5K in 8 weeks, but that all these things were negotiable based on our availability. Then we found out we only had to meet once a week for group training and we were meeting at 7pm, the other 2 days of training were to be done on our own time & schedule (but mostly following a MWF workout schedule.) The companies sponsoring us, Metabolife & Active.com would be paying our entry fee, giving us training programs to choose from, and providing us with shirts to wear during our first 5K (see photo above to check out our shirts.) That was it, there was no obligation to the company, this is a marketing opportunity for them. We actually have a FB page as well, and there are teams like these all over the country.

So, I didn't even have time to think of an excuse of why I couldn't do this. I needed to do this. So I went with it. Turns out there was another mom, Jennifer (see picture) I was just getting to know who just had a little boy about the same time I had my son. This training was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other and support each other as moms and as training partners.

The other person in the picture with us is Mike, another training partner. His wife had started the program with us but because of an existing precondition that worsened, she didn't finish the program and did the 1-mile walk this day. There is also one more training partner, who completed his first 5K a day after us because he has college courses on Saturdays.

I think the biggest hurdle was running the first 2 miles straight. I don't think I have ever run 2 miles without walking some part EVER! I believe all of us felt similarly. But I did it! And then my friend Caitlin told me something our runner friend, Rebecca, told her when she ran her first 2 miles "You can run 20% more when you are at the race because of the adrenaline and competition." So, if I was running 2 miles already, I was almost there to being able to run 3.1.

I was very proud of myself for running my first 5K. I finished at 31:52 on VERY HILLY course that was actually about 3.2 miles rather than 3.1. It was a non-competitive, fundraising run, so the distance need to be "close enough". I was even more happy when I found out it was longer (our trainer had a GPS that tracked distance & elevation & time, etc.) So it turns out I ran a 10 minute mile. I was amazed. I only practiced a 10-minute mile ONCE for 1 mile, before this I was just over a 10.5 minute mile. So I had cut over 30 seconds off my average pace time (mostly likely due to it being race day), which is awesome! I have to wonder if I would have gone even faster if there weren't so many hills (which get very tiring.)

I did take my weight & measurements at the beginning of this too. Where I barely saw any weight loss, I did begin to notice that pants fit better. I had lost a half inch around my waist and also a quarter inch around both my chest & hips.

I did end up straining or spraining one of my ankles and need to apply RICE to that for a few days and then ease back in to running. I did walk 1.5 miles on it today and it hurt, but today was supposed to be the peak of delayed-onset muscle soreness and it will start to feel better after today. So, maybe some yoga in the meantime.

I do have plans to run another 5K in a month. Not sure if I will advance to training for a 10K. It's still hard to believe I ran a 5K and I just want to bask in that accomplishment for a while.

I do have to say, I believe the C25K training program is a very good set up and works if you are dedicated to training towards your first 5K.

Homemade No-Sew Birthday Banner

2010-09-06T22:11:00.002-05:00

I have seen these banners on several different blogs. I always thought they were pretty cool, but worried about how time consuming it would be to cut out 13 triangles and 13 letters. It wasn't so bad. I just sat down and made this and made the most of my son's first birthday crown while I watched a movie.

I did all this free hand, no stencils. And I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job. The supplies I used was: felt, ribbons, school glue, hot glue & glue gun, and scissors.

I first cut out all the triangles, then started cutting out letters. Then it was time to glue it all together. I used white school glue to adhere the letters to the triangles and hot glue to adhere the pennants to the ribbon.

I love that it was no sew and I could do it sitting in the living room while watching a movie.

I had decided to do it in a variety of colors because then I can use it for any birthday. But I did make it for my son't first birthday. I had made several things for my daughters first birthday and wanted to make him some special things as well. So, for him I made this banner, am making a crown and a shirt. I did buy some small round cake molds so that I can make his personal birthday cake (for the photo op too).

Anyways, I figure this cost me around $3 to make. Certainly MUCH CHEAPER than buying a fabric pennant banner, probably even cheaper than buying a paper one that would get wrecked after one use.

Wanna Become a Nescafe Taster? I AM!

2010-08-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

The Tasters is an exclusive and exciting team of highly influential and active brand advocates that help generate buzz about NESCAFÉ TASTER'S CHOICE. As a member of the Tasters, you’ll have access to sneak peeks of new NESCAFÉ TASTER'S CHOICE products and promotions as well as provide invaluable feedback that can help shape the future of our brand offerings. Once you’re in, you will use the site as a hub from which you can organize exciting social events and bring NTC into your existing groups, clubs, organizations and social circles.

Those interested can follow this link to sign up!- http://bit.ly/bjmCSf

McIntosh State Park, Ventura, IA (Yurt)

2010-08-15T21:46:00.004-05:00

This weekend we rented a yurt at McIntosh State Park for a couple of nights. We had a good time, even if my son didn't want to go to bed at his bedtime and then wanted to get up too early.

My in-laws joined us and had reserved the other yurt. This is the second year in a row we went camping with them. It's a nice thing to be able to do with them and the kids.

The yurts have twin bunks beds in it and a full size futon, a table & 2 chairs. And outside there are picnic tables and a fire ring. This yurt is ADA acccessible, the other one wasn't. The bathroom by the yurts is ADA accessible as well.

I would highly recommend renting a yurt there. The yurts on right by the lake and there is a fishing pier right there too. Also, there is a bathroom with showers right by the yurts. The rest of the campground is on the other side, so the bathroom is basically for the 2 yurts. There is a little hiking path right behind the yurt. And there is a nice playground there as well, and a swimming beach.

Only downside is the the yurts are near (not too near) a busier daytime road so you hear the traffic, but you can't see them through the trees. And at night the road is quiet.

Smores & roasted marshmallows are always a hit in the evening. My favorite is the NEW Caramel marshmallows with Symphony chocolate on some graham crackers. YUM!

This Year's Garden Bounty

2010-08-02T17:25:00.001-05:00

Memorial Weekend Bonfire

2010-05-30T20:27:00.002-05:00

What an eventful weekend so far, and it isn't event over yet. We started out with family coming in to town on Friday to stay with us. Then we went to the community center pool to swim (we promised Isabel a pool party with family for her birthday). Then Saturday we went to the Lowe's Build & Grow clinic so that my daughter could build a race car. Then it was to the nature center with the kids and my mom to go hiking, playing & have a picnic lunch while other family went to the Mall of America and daddy picked up a friend from the airport. Then it was back swimming at the community center again, grilling out for dinner and finally a bonfire. I love bonfires & roasting marshmallows.

Yummy Food

2010-05-09T20:48:00.003-05:00

The other day I was all into making homemade foods. I decided to try making some Artisan Bread. The recipe I am using the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made the basic recipe that makes 4 1-pound recipes. The cool thing is there is no kneading and the dough lasts 14 days and it only takes 5 minutes of actual work each time to make a loaf. I don't think it took much more than 30 minutes of work this first time to make the dough, so next time it might be even quicker. It turned out great and was yummy.

The bottom picture is of some pollo pinto gallo with a bunch of hot sauce on it (just the way I like it). This was a favorite dish when we have visited Costa Rica and is a typical dish there and now is a typical dish in our home. Although in Costa Rica it is usually just pinto gallo and the pollo is served on the side.

The other thing I made that I didn't take a picture of was strawberry-rhubarb pie with oatmeal crust & crumble topping. That was yummy, in fact, I think I may go help myself to some leftovers.

Making Floss Balls

2010-04-17T21:13:00.002-05:00

This was a project I did this week. It seemed simple enough and was pretty. I used water balloons that we had at home and left them small to keep them as round as possible. On each one I used a 1/2 skein of DMC floss. To make these I poured some liquid starch in a bowl and soaked the 1/2 skein of floss in it. Then wrapped the soaked floss around the balloon. Then placed the balloons in a single layer in a bowl to dry for 24 hours. After the floss was dry we popped & removed the balloon and now we have a pretty bowl of floss balls.

Bunny Finger Puppets

2010-03-30T22:15:00.001-05:00

So, I made these for the kids for Easter and after I looked at the link that inspired me to make these, I realized I REALLY need to add tails, they look so much cuter with tails. So, these are semi-finished in this picture.

The Hubby & I

2010-03-13T20:40:00.000-06:00

Our 3 year daughter took this picture. She did a pretty good job.

Birthday Freebies (updated 3/15)

2010-03-08T09:10:00.007-06:00

Ok, I will keep adding to this, as there is still another week until my birthday, so be sure to check back.

Free mini-pizza w/ breadsticks purchase at Godfather's Pizza (local one)

Free stir-fry meal from BD's Mongolian Grill

Free One-Scoop Sundae from Culver's

$5 off purchase of entree & pepsi at Ponderosa

Free Gourmet Burger at Red Robin

Free Surprise (dessert to buffet, they tell you at restaurant) at Famous Dave's (sorry, don't care for surprises, I want to know what I am getting, I will pass)

Free Creation from Cold Stone Creamery & $3 off coupon for b-day cake

Free Mile High Pie Slice from Champps with any purchase

Free dessert w/ entree purchase from Chili's

Free swirl shake w/ Roastburger purchase from Arby's

Free dessert from Fazoli's (no purchase necessary)

BOGO Blizzards from DQ

Free 160z. beverage from Orange Julius

$10 off $10+ from Timberlodge Steakhouse

Free drink from Caribou on birthday ONLY

Free entree up to $7.50 from Noodles & Co.

Free dessert @ Buca di Beppo w/ entree purchase

Free Birthday Parties Digital Magazine from Betty Crocker

Dessert Shooter from Applebee's (although don't really need this coupon to get this)

10% off entire purchase in-stores @ Harry & David

15% off from Crabtree & Evelyn

5 full size Lancome lipsticks with $35 purchase

Free Aveda PerFume essence or Body product up to $25 (no purchase necessary) AWESOME!

Free dessert w. entree purchase @ TGI Fridays

20% off ENTIRE regular price purchase @ Michael's

Free cookie dough w/ pizza purchase from Papa Murphy's

$5 off any purchase from Pizza Ranch

BOGO Entree from Qdoba

Coupon from Old Country Buffet (won't know what it is until I print, but I don't plan to use)

Free Fountain Drink & Donut from Kwik Trip

$5 off $20 from O'Charley's

25 pts & Free Blu-Ray (choose from 5, pay $2.95 s/h) from Disney Movie Rewards

Various special discounted items from Alice.com

$1 off any order from Wendy's

____________________________________________________________

So, which ones will I use for use or maybe?

For Sure *used already

Culver's

Godfather's

Timeberlodge

Aveda

*Betty Crocker (downloaded it, has some good ideas & has a cake in there I may make for Isabel's birthday)

Caribou

Pizza Ranch

*DQ

*BD's Mongolian

*Disney Rewards (used the points, but not free BR since I don't have a player)

* Orange Julius

Kwik Trip

Wendy's

Maybe (but mostly likely not)

Fazoli's

Michael's

Harry & David

Cold Stone Creamery

Noodles & Co.

Qdoba

As you can see, there are a lot out there and I am sure there will be more in my email over the next week. And I will only use a small percentage of them (mainly because a lot of these are not local for me and I would need to combine with a trip to the Cities or Rochester). So, if you are interested in getting some of these, just google the location and look for a birthday club or email sign up and you will be set to go. Make sure you do this at least a month in advance or you might not get into their system fast enough.

There is just not enough time & money in my life to be able to take advantage of all of these, only a very small portion.

MNO: Tubing @ Buck Hill

2010-02-22T12:59:00.000-06:00

Snow Bird?

2010-02-22T12:58:00.000-06:00

My Daughter's Hair

2010-02-09T18:08:00.002-06:00

My daughter desperately needed a haircut, but paying for one was not at the top of my budget. It was getting too long and becoming more & more snarly. This was her third haircut and I decided to try doing it myself and I think I did a decent job. She just has a very basic, straight cut. I ended up taking about 2 1/2 inches off.

I made some more bows for her hair. I really liked how these turned out. I wanted to make the red & white one so she could wear it to preschool for her Valentine's party. They were simple to make, although I made the red & white one first and have the bottom flower flipped, which I did on purpose because I liked how the ribbon & lace on that one looked better flipped. I got the idea from Craft eNVy.

Cross Country Skiing

2010-02-06T22:58:00.002-06:00

Today I went cross country skiing for the first time. It was a blast. I went with my friend Carrie. It was her birthday yesterday, so I planned a little birthday fun for her and we went skiing during the afternoon and this evening we met up with our friend Cindy and went to Applebee's for drinks and appetizers. I had a great time CCXing and hope to go at least one more time this winter. Andy would like to go some time with me too, so maybe after my in-laws are back from their vacation we can have them babysit while we go.

Korker Bows & Puffy Bow

2010-02-06T22:54:00.002-06:00

Here are some new bows I made for Isabel. I made a big puffy bow which she loves and 2 sets of korker bows (one with pink accents and one with yellow accents). I actually made 2 sets of the pink accent korker bows so that I can give one set to one of her friends who has a birthday coming up soon. I think Isabel likes that I make her bows. I know she loves choosing out what to put in her hair and will say "I look so pretty" when she has one in she really likes.

Celebrity Look-a-Like

2010-02-04T08:16:00.002-06:00

Or we have this one with 8 completely different people.

Third times the charm?

Ok - just for giggles, let's try the picture on the same day but a different angle.

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Ha! That's funny, 4 completely different people and now I have dudes in my picture.

Guess I just look like myself. There was not one person that appeared in more than one collage.

Naples City Beach

2010-01-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

(The Hubby at) Imaginarium and Manatee Park

2010-01-25T20:36:00.002-06:00

At Lover's Bay State Park in Florida

2010-01-24T16:02:00.002-06:00

We are having a good time so far. This might be the only hot, sunny day. But as long as it's not cold snow I will take it.

New Hair Color

2010-01-22T16:44:00.002-06:00

Not sure how well you can see the dark purple streak in the front. There are two in the back as well. Maybe some natural sunlight pictures in Florida will show it better. Anyways, my friend Caitlin who is a professional colorist was willing to play kitchen beautician for me and color my hair & I LOVE IT!. She did an all over color of medium blond then went back and put in the purple streaks and hand painted in blond highlights all over with bigger chunks framing the face.

I always wanted to do some kind of fun color in my hair but never had the guts. This year I decided that if there is something I want to do and it is financially feasible, I am going to do it. Life is too short to not try things and live your life.

Making Bows

2010-01-16T22:47:00.002-06:00

I made the light pink ones last night and then made the dark pink & blue-striped bows tonight. I made these for Isabel & 3 of her friends. I just thought Isabel needed some new bows and thought I would make bows for her friends whose moms borrowed me some things during my pregnancy and/or for Henry.

Isabel is going to love that she has a bunch of new bows made by mommy. I have not made her any in a while. I am going to make her some korker bows next, but I need to go buy a dowel and some think grosgrain ribbon.

Snowshoeing 2010

2010-01-16T16:57:00.002-06:00

Today we went snowshoeing at River Bend Nature Center. It is much more work to snow shoe with a 16-pound baby strapped to your chest that without. But we did have fun!

Even More Homemade Gifts (To Come)

2010-01-03T22:10:00.002-06:00

I need to take pictures of them yet, but Andy received some new pajama pants that his mom made and Isabel got a new jumper that his mom made her. And Henry got a new hat from Andy's great grandma. And I also need to see if I took pictures of the homemade gifts Isabel gave to her godparents (beeswax rolled candles & fire starters in a homemade gift bag.) Oh! And she made a homemade coaster & candle holder out of plaster of paris for grandma M. And together we made hot cocoa mix & soup mix for grandparents. And I gave gifts of crabapple jam, apple butter, & pear sauce to different people. I also made Henry a fleece tie pillow that coordinates with the blanket I made him as a "birth" day present.

Hopefully, I did not forget to mention any of the homemade gifts we received or made for others. We appreciate all the gifts we have gotten this holiday season, but the ones that people put time & effort into are always special to us.

More Homemade Gifts

2010-01-03T22:05:00.002-06:00

This hat & scarf was made by Isabel's great grandma.

I made this princess hat & wand for Isabel for Christmas. She loves them. I did made a couple more to give to some friends' daughter who wanted to make them as well, but couldn't get over that night.
These are some stationary sets that Isabel & I made for her teachers at preschool that include a notebook, pen holder & flower pen and homemade cards.

Homemade Gifts

2010-01-03T21:43:00.002-06:00

This is a collection of gifts I made for the kids that include: mittens for Isabel & Henry, mittens for dolly (obviously, dolly belongs to Isabel), pillow & blanket for dolly, leg warmers for Isabel.

Crocheted boy dolly lovey for Henry from my mom.
Chef's hat & oven mitt for Isabel made by my mom.
These are some crocheted wrist cuffs my mom made for me. She first made the single one, but wasn't sure she liked it when she added the single stitch around the edge, so ripped that out and started on a new set. I did like the initial one w/o the edge, so I now have a matching set and a single wrist cuff. This will be a nice accessory for someone who is allergic to nickel and can't wear many bracelets to wear.
My mom made this roll-up tool pouch for Andy. She made this custom because he wanted it a certain style with specific features. Kudos to her for reusing items for the canvas & denim material.

Happy New Year & Merry Christmas

2010-01-03T21:39:00.002-06:00

Andy does a better job of getting a decent picture of my dad. Every time I take a picture of him I get his eyes closed. Seriously, EVERY TIME! Andy took all these photos of him.

Kudos to my mom for the creative idea on reusing an old football jersey to make a remote control holder & pillow.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-24T16:09:00.001-06:00

Here is our tree this year.

Here is the manager scene. Isabel apparently thought that Mary & Joseph had a tea party when Jesus was born.

Product Testing

2009-12-20T09:42:00.006-06:00

Recently I joined a product testing & sampling program and I have had the opportunity to test out several products that are already on the market and give my opinion of them. I got full size samples of these products & discount coupons for future purchases. No additional compensation was received. Here are my thoughts on the recent products I have evaluated.

Wet Ones Anti-Bacterial Wipes: I honestly would not have bought these prior to getting them to sample since they cost more than baby wipes. But due to the fact that I have a newborn and it's flu season, it was the perfect time to try these. I am very comforted by the fact that I have a travel size pack of these in my purse for when we go places and I want to sanitize the area or us. I have used them on us, for other people, on shopping carts and on an activity toy at the clinic. I like to use them on my daughter after she plays at Playland at McD's. It just eases my mind to know they are anti-bacterial & I have to use in places with lots of germs & viruses are spread.

Ghiradelli Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares: LOVED these! But, it's chocolate, so what's not to love. I ate some of these and I also gave some to my daughter in her St. Nick stocking. She enjoyed them as well and immediately ate them. I thought the chocolate & peanut butter filling were very creamy and balanced amounts and tasted like they were of high quality ingredients.

Alouette Spreadable Cheese: I got the garlic & herb cheese spread. I loved it. I ate these on water crackers because I didn't want it to compete with any flavors that would be in crackers, which I think was a wise move. I am next going to try spreading a thin layer of it inside grilled cheese sandwiches. I think it will make them more special & flavorful. I definitely would recommend this. My only complaint it that I had to go to 3 grocery stores to find it and they only had this one flavor.

Sensodyne Toothpaste: Up until this pregnancy I never had a tooth sensitivity issue. So, this was another product with perfect timing. I am still testing this product out, but so far I am impressed. My sensitivity seems to have decreased, which is enjoyable because who wants to experience sensitivity when you are trying to enjoy something sweet. I am more likely to purchase this product in the future just because I have tried it and know it works. The flavor is a gentle mint flavor and it leaves my mouth feeling clean all day.

** I have been very pleased that I enjoyed all these products. There is something satisfying about trying a new product and enjoying it. I would recommend any of the above products.

Caught in the Act

2009-12-19T23:05:00.001-06:00

So, is it a baby activity gym or a cat toy? Either way, it's getting used and I am getting my money worth out of it.

Most Recent Family Photo

2009-11-27T21:08:00.001-06:00

Since we had friends here, we were able to get someone to take a picture of the four of us (not one in the labor & delivery room).

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-27T21:03:00.002-06:00

We had our friends Lori, John & Rachael come stay with us for a couple of nights and celebrate Thanksgiving with them. It was a good time and we look forward to when we can see them again, maybe WI Dells this winter or a visit to their house this summer.

River Bend Nature Center

2009-10-17T15:20:00.002-05:00

My daughter & I love to go to River Bend Nature Center to hike, play & explore. And while we are there I usually find a few interesting shots to take that are not of her. These were my favorites today.

The Wine Says It All

2009-10-10T17:15:00.000-05:00

Poor hubby......this picture just sums up everything.

Garden Update

2009-08-26T19:22:00.002-05:00

Well, as the summer season comes to a close I thought I would reflect on my garden so far. We planted tomatoes, what we thought was lettuce in an embedded paper from Kraft - turned out it was some kind of flowery thing, turnips, watermelon, what we thought was cucumber - according to the package - turned out to be spaghetti squash, canteloupe (grew one plant but then it died away), pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash (so, yes, we have a bunch now), green beans, yellow beans, & peas. Also in pots are more tomatoes, hot peppers, mesclun greens, cilantro, nastrutiums, spinach (didn't work too well as I planted to late), & basil. And the perinneal herbs I have growing are chives, sage, oregano, terragon, mint & some cilantro that re-seeds itself every year.

We do a lasagna garden and I planted everything in mounds. The tomatoes are coming along nicely and we have recently been enjoying them. We planted Early Girls in pots, so we have had some tomatoes for a while, some cherry tomatoes in a pot & in the garden, and Big Boys in the garden. I think this year I will be chopping & freezing the tomatoes like I did with the ones I got from my mom last year (we finished using those up about a month ago).

We had a plentiful crop of zucchini (from one plant) and yellow squash (from 3 plants) and I made many dishes and shredded quite a bit & put in freezer to use this winter.

The spaghetti squash is new to us. I made it once & it's ok. The hubby didn't care for it as much, so now I need to find some recipes other than just "faux" spaghetti (which is how we ate it just the once).

We have about 5 pumpkins in the garden and they are almost fully orange. Next year I think I will plant them later. But they look great, pretty uniform and actually perfect looking and the vines are still healthy, so they are still out there. So, we will carve one or two this year and save the others to cook & make stuff with. I kinda wish I would have planted some bigger ones because now I wish I had one to gut & take pictures of the baby inside of, but he will be very little at Halloween (just born), so I might be able to use our pumpkins.

We didn't get to eat as many of the beans as I would have liked. We had something eating them, but I could never find anything except lots of holes in my leaves and half eaten beans. So, next year we will have to approach these differently.

We did good with the peas and ate most of those right out of the garden. But we did have several stir-frys with pea pods in, as well as putting some turnips in there (I am the only one who really likes them here.)

We had pots of basil inside & outside and the inside one did much better and is still growing strong. The pot of mesclun greens grew nicely (this was new to me) and I liked them, but the hubby didn't care for the mix of flavors. Oh well. I liked them and would mix with lettuce for a salad.

The peppers & nasturtiums did well and the kid loves the idea of being able to eat the flower, even if she didn't care so much for the radishy type flavor.

Oh! We also planted 2 raspberry bushes. One of them died on us, but the other did pretty good and we enjoyed a small amount of our own raspberries which we picked out there.. And we had planted strawberries in these hanging bag things, but they didn't work (or the cherry tomatoes in one too). So, we won't do those bag things anymore. I would like to get some strawberries established at some point.

Watermelon has been growing well. We had our first Sugar Baby watermelon the other night. They are quite juicy, but also quite seedy. We still have a couple more and the kid is very happy to have them and enjoyed the watermelon so far.

We are now attempting some late summer gardening. The kid & I planted more mesclun (which is up & growing already) and cucumbers on Sunday and just tonight planted some lettuce, spinach & radishes, as well as some cilantro in a pot. Not sure how the cucumbers will turn out because they need a couple months and they could get nipped by frost, but we thought we would try anyways, since we didn't get any. All the mounds for these are in the middle of the garden, so I can tarp if I need to. I just need to pay attention to the forecast & get out there.

The kid discovered that she loves cilantro and has been eating it out of the herb garden, although now it has all gone to seed & dried. So, while the seeds we collected continue to dry, I did buy some other cilantro seeds and we just planted some in a pot that we can bring inside and we will try to grow cilantro through the winter.

We have been collecting seeds to plant for next year and so far what we have drying is: yellow squash, hot peppers, Big Boy tomatoes, peas, & cilantro. We will harvest some zucchini, pumpkin & maybe some spaghetti squash (not sure about that yet) and our other tomatoes as well.

We'll see how the rest of the garden goes for the next 2 months and if any more garden spots open in the next month I might try to establish some more spinach. The organic gardening class I went to walked about how there are CSAs in MN & WI that grow spinach year round and discussed how to do that. I love spinach, so I might like to try that. But we'll see what else opens up and when the baby comes.

Next year I would like to create a small raised bed for kid to have as her own garden space and we can plant the beans, peas, & cilantro in there. And maybe some leaf lettuce. Those are all good things that she can pick herself and grow quickly.

This winter we try to keep some herbs going and also grow alfalfa sprouts again (just bought some more of those seeds). And we'll start some plants indoors again. The cherry tomatoes, watermelon & marigolds we planted early have done great. I also would like to expand my herb garden to include thyme next year, since that will come back each year in our zone. And next year I want to be sure to get in cucumbers and I think I will pass on the turnips since no one else eats them. Maybe we will try some potatoes next year. I think the kid will like cutting up potatoes and planting them.

Oh - the other thing I might like to get in the garden here soon is some garlic. It needs to be planted by mid-September at the latest (for our zone), so I need to get to a garden center to buy some bulbs. They overwinter and will be ready to harvest by the time I need the space for the rest of the garden.

Phelps Mill, MN

2009-08-03T13:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday on our cabin vacation we went to Phelps Mills, MN and toured the old mill & viewed the dam. I thought there was lot fo interesting & beautiful pictures to be taken here, so I was snapping away. I was actually really pleased with how a lot of them turned out, which is why I had to make 2 different collages.

Interesting Pictures

2009-08-03T13:23:00.002-05:00

These are a couple of pictures I took at Phelps Mills, MN yesterday. The top one was at the playground there. It is this cute old couple that were swinging on the swings together. I have just never seen an older couple like this on the swings. She was really cruising on the swings.

This is a WHAT NOT TO DO. Don't over over a dam in your kayak. We just hope that the owner of this kayak was smart & made it out before it went over.

Making Crafts

2009-07-21T14:24:00.002-05:00

Today has been a productive day for me. I got some laundry done & the dishes. I made some firestarters out of reusing products (egg cartons, old candle & lint). I made a Christmas stocking for my baby boy (if you remember 3 years ago, I posted a very frilly pink one I made for my daughter), and then made some small gift bags. Plus I have 2 crockpots cooking supper for tonight (pot roast & veggies) and tomorrow night (chili). It helps that my daughter played nicely by herself this morning and this afternoon she has been at a Preschool Day Camp, which I have to pick her up from soon. I hope she wants to take a nap after she gets back, because I know I could sure use one now.

Recent Crafts

2009-07-14T13:59:00.002-05:00

Next week I will be posting about these on my Being Green Blog, but until then you can at least see the finished projects. I took a class at River Bend Nature Center this past Saturday on making Newspaper Bowls. It was a 2 hour long class and I still had to do the final step at home, so I would say it probably take 2.25 hours to make one the size I did.

On Sunday, we went to the Steele County Historical Society's 35th Annual Extravaganza. They had someone there doing branding & you could purchase boards of reclaimed lumber with number on them. So, we did ones with the years of birth for each of our kids. Then, at home I added some hooks (I bought a while but never used) and we plan to hang these in their room and are a place for them to hang their robe & pajamas.

Baking

2009-07-04T22:57:00.002-05:00

This top picture is our 4th of July breakfast. Isabel woke up & wanted to make rice krispie bars, although I didn't have enough rice krispies, so we did have those & half cheerios and half white marshmealows & half strawberry marshmallows and added some mini chocolate chips. They are yummy.

And then there is a fruit salad, a flower Isabel picked from the yard, and some chocolate cherry muffins. Those were yummy too. I only kinda-sorta followed a recipe for them.

This is the rhubarb cream coffeecake I made a couple mornings ago. Very yummy! I also made a rhubarb strawberry crumb pie for Friday dinner. Our family from Spain was visiting with us and they don't have rhubarb in Spain, so it was a special treat for them.

Why I'm Pissy Today

2009-06-24T12:46:00.002-05:00

Let me count the ways.....

* We're still dealing with the sale of the driveway issue. It's been over 2 years and every time we think it's finished someone wants something else. Of course after several phone calls this morning, I think we could be finished, but who am I kidding? And of course, it didn't work out the way it was supposed to and ther eis nothing we can do about that.

* It's hot & humid. Ok, well, not too hot today, but this humidity sucks donkey dick.

* The truck has something wrong with it. Last night it wouldn't start at the grocery store. Now it's getting looked at to see if it's a battery, starter, alternator, or who knows what else issue. And while it's there it is getting a transmission flush (it was due for one).....so how much cash is all that going to cost me. Or course, I'm the one who deals with the money & budget but they never call me (the shop or the hubby) to clear the repairs through me or let me offer suggestions. Kinda pisses me off that I am treated like I don't know anything and then I have to see this horrendous bill.

* Broken computers......we're making due, but computers add up. The desktop bit the dust and the hubby thinks he could fix it.....but what if he can't & he purchased a new motherboard that can't be returned for no reason & we still have to buy a new computer. We're using an old, old, slow, slow laptop w/ broken keyboard upstairs in the office. We have it hooked up to a wireless keyboard & mouse & a monitor, so it functions basically as a desktop, but it's just slow & old. We don't have much on it and plan to use it as we have it set up for now as place for Isabel to play her computer games. And the other computer, well, there is either something wrong with the power cord or where the power cord plugs in to. It keeps wanting to run off the battery. If it's internal, we are probably SOL. I ordered a new power cord this morning, so we'll see.

* Medical Bills.....I hate that our insurance doesn't have a wide network unless we want to pay an extra $1700 (or so) a year. We will be getting a bill for almost $100 because the hubby didn't make sure the provider was "really" in our network. Having to pay money I shouldn't have to or that could have been avoided really pisses me off.

* Cell Phone troubles.....I keep getting a hangup tone when I first try to call the hubby or it gives me some message about the subscriber not being in service or some other BS. I called the phone company last night & they told me to call back to troubleshoot (we all know that means to turn off your phone & on again, then do it again & remove battery & on again, you know that stupid shit that I have tried already but they, for some reason, need to witness that I did.) So, I did that this morning and the f-ing phone freezes up completly on me (shit! that has never happened before) and won't turn off, so out comes the battery & try again....this time it just stalls, so we turn it off again and this time it works fine and the call went through on the first try to the hubby. It's all documented on my account, so we'll see what happens when this happens again.

* I am mad at myself because I screamed at the kid when she was nagging me for a snack and I was try to do stuff. I made her choose to run to the couch and ball her head off and then I had to go apologize and comfort her and explain that mommy is concerned about money and having to pay for bills. That's touch to explain to a 3 year old. She told me to just go to the bank and they will give me more money. I tried to explain that they only give me money that I give them to keep in a safe place and if I don't have any money in that safe place then they can't give me any. But the nagging does get quite annoying.

* Our video baby monitor is a POS. The switch broke on the monitor when the kid was about a year old. So, we called the company & bought a refurbished monitor. Well, when the kid was about two the screen on the "new" one went out. WTF? Well, now she is three. We just didn't use one for the last year, and that was fine. But with kid #2 on the way, I WANT, no NEED, a video monitor. So, I called the company again (today) and they no longer carry that model AT ALL and do not sell anything to do with it. Damn it! Now I need to find a monitor on eBay, which I am guessing will last me all of a year again. Or buy a new system. Will any work any better? Those things are expensive and we just don't have that kind of money to be throwing out the door.

* The hubby's job is stressful right now and he brings that stress home. I don't think he realizes how much that stress is stressing me out. I know he needs to talk & bounce ideas off me.

* I'm 22 weeks pregnant. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I tried to make sure I was in control of my emotions and not become a stereotypical crazy pregnant lady. It's either just too much this time or my hormones are more out of whack with this pregnancy, but I seriously felt like wanting to punch or break something this morning.

* Other people pushing their negativity on me is frustrating.

* I get frustrated with other people lack of commitment or follow through.

* Phone company is raising the price on a fee. I know it's only $6/year, but it's $6 more out of my pocket.

* I'm tired. Not sure that being tired was initially an issue, but after crying from the stress of everything I am now sleepy. Crying makes me sleepy.

* I have some allergy thing going on and it is driving me nuts. Well, today it is more just annoying that driving me nuts. The other day I was more miserable. I don't normally have much for allergy issues, but I guess pregnant woman are more susceptible to acquiring new allergies during pregnancy, Bah!

I am sure there is more that my pregnancy brain is just forgetting right now.

Save Green Being Green

2009-06-08T11:48:00.002-05:00

Can a girl have too many blogs? Hmmmmm....maybe, maybe not. But I have another one now:

http://savegreenbeinggreen.blogspot.com/

Read the first post on there to see why I started it.

Flowers from My Yard

2009-05-31T18:15:00.002-05:00

I am very happy to see that my pink peonies and old fashioned roses have started blooming before I leave for a little visit to family & friends with my daughter. The lilacs have been blooming as well. A couple of lilacs bushes have bloomed last week and now another couple bushes (different varieties) are blooming. The old fashioned rose bush will bloom several other times this summer, but the peonies are just once. I planted these years ago and missed seeing them last year. I picked them out & planted them, the blooms haven't actually opened all the way yet, so you can't see the bright yellow in the middle of the pink petals.

My daughter was super excited to see that the rose bushes had more flowers on them and when I showed her the peonies she started giggling and squealing with excitement. I am really beginning to believe that she could grow up to be a botanist. When she was a baby we could take her outside to look at the leaves on the trees and it was calming to her and as she grew into a toddler I would take her outside to look at the bushes to stop a tantrum. She is always asking to go outside and she loves to collect leaves, sticks, seeds, flowers, etc. and loves to plant. It's just that these days she will get upset if I tell her we have to go back inside, although the promise of going outside is will brighten her mood.

Travel Plans & Deals

2009-05-29T07:31:00.003-05:00

Since I won't have time to post things when we go travel since I will have access to primarily just dialup for a while (gasp!), I thought I would do it ahead of time.

Our travel plans are local (somewhat, well, our home state & friends & family in a neighboring state).

We are starting out our time at the MN Landscape Arboretum. Isabel is so into nature & flowers, so this will be perfect. We are using the BOGO coupon in the Entertainment book and Isabel is under 15 (obviously), so she is free. So, it will only cost $7 for all three of us to go there. They also have a special family event on weekend (linked above) and we will get to make minature May Baskets while we are there and plant them. So, that will be a fun thing to do.

Afterwards, we are going camping at a KOA . I didn't get any deal here, but we plan to make the most of our time there. It's only for one night, but we'll get there a little early probably (called to make sure that was ok) and stay until checkout. We are staying in a Kamping Kabin, so no tent or air mattress to deal with. My in-laws and a BIL are coming with, maybe even a nephew. But anyways, I chose the particular campground I did because they had an indoor heated pool (which I called to verify was up & running). So, we will be going swimming several times.

The rest of our vacation time is spent staying with family & friends, so I don't have lodging costs, just gas costs. Depending upon how our days shape up, we plan to go to the NEW Zoo in Green Bay on Wednesday night, it's free after 4pm. We went last year (using our zoo pass from another zoo, which has now expired) and it was a very nice zoo. We also plan to go to Bay Beach Amusement Park (we went here every summer at least once when I was a kid) and now I have taken Isabel the last 2 summers and this summer will be no different. The great part about this place is that it is VERY affordable, 25 cents a ticket and most of the rides Isabel will go on will be 1 ticket, a few are 2 tickets, but I will probably only need to buy $3 in tickets for both of us.

I am not sure if we'll do it the same day we go to the amusement park or if we'll make a separate trip, but I'd like to take her to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. It's free. I have not taken there before.

As we head down to visit some friends in the town we lived in last year, we will stop in Sheboygan to see my sister & her family, but not before we stop at the Old Wisconsin factory store (probably). They have some really great bargains in there and Isabel loves their sausage.

Then it's to stay with friends. We will be getting in late there, but we will still have 2 full days to hangout. I don't know what we will do exactly. I do have a pass to the YMCA that we once belonged to, which has a nice little waterpark in it. So, we may go there. I do know that we will stop at the Brownberry Outlet before we leave & stock up. The prices there are far better than in the store and I love Brownberry breads. I can print off a 20% off coupon from Entertainment.com, so that will be even more helpful on the budget in upcoming months.

Other things we will do will be to visit my favorite area cheese factory, Springside Cheese, and get some curds & string cheese, and hopefully they will have some good specials while I am there. And the other place I need to stop is the Sausage Haus (they don't have a website that I could find) and pick up some fantastic sausages that they make there to grill. They are no bargain by any means, but they are mighty tasty.

I am sure there will be a couple more things we will do, just because I didn't make any concrete entertainment plans with our friends. So, I will have to blog about them later. And I wish I could find something to stop at for an hour or so to do with Isabel halfway across the state (or further), it would help break up the trip and give us ample time to stretch our legs and see something. Anyone know of anything fun to do in Abbotsford or Wausau areas?

My Vegetable (Lasagna) Garden

2009-05-19T11:14:00.003-05:00

Having a big garden has been long overdue for me. Last one I had was the year Isabel was born. Then the year after that I didn't plant one because we were planning to move and the year after that (last year) we were living in WI. So, now I can have one again.

I planted it yesterday and hopefully am free of an frost danger now. Over the years I had been working on establishing a lasagna garden. The first year we started it we didn't know that we got a BIG (two pickup truck loads worth) load of bad compost. It wasn't sifted and we didn't really know to make sure it was sifted and it had a lot of weeds & thistles in it. Now we pay the price because we have a thistle garden. We had been mulching layers on the garden and had it covered for over a year, but that didn't get rid of all the thistles. Actually, the wind blew over some of the cover and the thistles just sprouted up. It was really unsightly when we moved back.

We kept piling on layers, hoping to continue with the lasagna garden and smother out those darn thistles. They aren't too bad yet, but I will have to keep up with picking them. I decided against spreading roundup on the entire thing because 1) I didn't want chemicals on my garden 2) because of the mulching layers the roundup might not really reach deep enough for how deep the roots need are 3) the roundup could spread to other parts of my garden.

I thought about having it tilled up, but then I asked at my organic gardening class and they said tillingwon't work to get rid of them and may just make the problem worse. They said to dig down & get all the roots or I would have to resort to chemicals (you could almost hear the gasp in the room as they suggested that.) I went online and did some research and everything was pretty much confirmed. You don't want to till the thistles because the roots will be chopped and MANY new plants will sprout off those chopped roots amking your problems worse. Whew! Glad I didn't do that!

So, we added more layers and I have to get out there & pull. The good things is with the mulching layers in a lasagna garden the roots of thistles don't have a very strong hold on anything like they would in black dirt, so pulling them out is a cinch. Pulling out the thistles in my herb garden that is not mulched, not so easy.

Yesterday, I bought 480 pounds of peat, sifted compost, & dirt to mix together to create mounds on top of my layers to plant my plants & seeds in. We also bought some straw (looked to be free of seeds, but you can't guarantee a few don't get in, so hopefully that won't be out next issue) to add another layer to the garden. We will continue to add grass layers throughout the summer.

So, what did I plant. In the garden I have some Big Beef Tomatoes (seedlings bought from Menards), sugar baby watermelon & cucumber (seeds we started at home), and the rest are seeds we planted: zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkin, cantloupe (Isabel was insistant we plant this), green beans, yellow beans, lettuce (that free seed thing that came on the back of the summer kraft food & family), peas & turnips.

In the herb garden we have chives, sage, tarragon, & oregano that come back year after year. We also put down some parley & dill seeds and some sunflower seeds (saw that 2 of those came up). We plant the sunflowers for the birds. We planted some raspberry bushes this year too, two of them.

In my hanging pots I have cilantro (bought fom a local nursery), and then planted seeds of: spinach, basil, & nasturtiums. In other pots on my deck & cement patio we have roma tomatoes, banana peppers (both from seeldings I bought), some red pine seedlings (free from McD's last month), more nasturtiums (you can eat the flowers on those), basil, mixed greens, & lavendar, and several pots of flowers. And then I have these 2 hangings bag things with seedlings I bought that have cherry tomatoes & strawberries in them.

And since the baby isn't due until the end of October I should have time to do a bunch of canning . Maybe canning & freezing will be my nesting this time instead of cleaning.

Homemade Coasters

2009-05-08T10:05:00.002-05:00

So, these are the coasters I mentioned yesterday that I made. They are made from tiles, spray adhesive, spray laquer (I went the spray route for both because you can get thinner coats and it dries faster - but it would have been cheaper if I didn't), and stick-on felt pads, oh and napkins. I bought the napkins at Longwood Gardens while visiting Kendra and this was the craft idea I had for a thank-you gift for her. Actually, the napkins were the single most expensive item.

I still plan to make a set for ourselves, but I have to get back to Lowe's to buy more tiles. So, she is getting one set and my friend Jessi is getting the other set to go with the rest of her bridal shower gift.

I had also sent Kendra a package before arriving of Caribou coffee (she can't get that in PA and loved it when she lived in MN, although I suppose she could order it online) and 3 different jams & jellies I made (grape, strawberry & basil). I had to send the package because I knew it would probably get tossed (the jellies at least, since they are "gels") from my carry-on at the airport and I wasn't checking anything.
This is the complete 2 sets. Click on the pictures to see them up close.

My New Clothesline

2009-05-07T16:11:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I had Andy install my clothesline. Actually, he had to dig the hole 2 feet deep (which wasn't easy because we have VERY ROCKY soil) and then set the holder in stones & cement. The actual line itself collapses down and can be removed from the holder for easy storage & to keep it from being a constant eyesore in the backyard or from getting in the way of the mower. So, today I used it for the first time. Right now you can see I have 2 loads of laundry on there. The first load was almost dry, as we have a nice gentle breeze today. I have one more load to go on there yet and a fourth load of jeans/pants that will go in the dryer (those just get too stiff and I know Andy would complain if he pants were stiff.) So, I am happy. I hope this helps us do more of our part to help the environment and save us some money on electricity too.

I've actually had a pretty productive day today. We visited with a friend this morning and gave her a belated wedding present (hey! we have a year and she was only married 2.5 montsh ago). Then we went to storytime and picked out some new books & a couple of videos (I am having a hardtime stomaching many of these shows we tivo for Isabel. I have gotten sick too many times while I heard their theme songs and it made a negative psychological imprint.)

Then we went grocery shopping and to KFC for lunch. We came home and put groceries away and started laundry. While the first load of laundry was being washed we laid landscaping fabric in a small area, planted 2 raspberry bushes there and put down one bag of cedar mulch (I need to go buy another, the area was a little bigger than I thought.) Then we planted 2 rose bushes in the front of the house, and a couple tomato plants in pots and 6 strawberry plants in a hanging bag (never done this before, so we'll see).

Then it was time to switch the laundry & hang the first load. Then I started working on a coaster project. I made 2 sets of tile coasters (which I will post about after they are dry & I take a picture). I bought part of the supplies while I was on vacation in Philly when the idea came to me as a thank-you gift to send Kendra. And today while I was thinking about what I was going to get my friend Jessi for a bridal shower gift, I thought I would make her a set too (originally I bought 2 sets of tiles because I was going to make a set for us but that can wait, gifts for others come first.) Each set is a little different, but I think I know which set I like better.

Then, switch the laundry again, get the mail, play some in the yard with the kid. The inside for storytime & a snack. She's resting now while I type this (I should rest too!) and the last load is in the washer.

Trip to Pennslyvania

2009-05-04T13:49:00.002-05:00

Last week Thursday through Sunday I traveled to Pennslyvania to visit with my dear friend Kendra. She picked me up from the airport and we went back to her cottage to rest for a bit until we met Tim for dinner at Buckely's Tavern in Centreville, DE. The next day we spent the morning walking around West Chester, PA. And that afternoon we want around (in mist & sprinkles) touring Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. That evening, Don came over and she made us some vegetarian tacos. She made me lots of wonderful vegetarian meals my entire visit. It was such a wonderful treat to have someone else cook for me (& do the dishes!) And that evening we watched the movie Twilight. I am not sure how much they 'really' wanted to watch that movie, but they knew I just finished the books and wanted to see the movie.

On Saturday, we started out our morning by going to a park (in Brandywin, PA, I think) to walk around. Then we went to Philly and did some shopping there (I bought a new maternity dress, something to wear this summer). We did a lot of walking. We figure about 3 miles walking around Philadelphia. Then we went to Don's apartment (& went to see the house he is purchasing) and he made the three of us dinner. He was very sweet & made scallops since I mentioned I was hungry for them. Afterward, we went for another walk around the city and went to Capogiro for some dessert.

The pictures here of Kendra's cottage are just taken with my camera phone. I only took pictures of the main level & sent all these to Andy, but upstairs there is also 2 bedrooms & a bathroom. She rents this cottage out in the country on a horse farm.

I had a really nice time and was glad to have spent some time with her. Unfortunately, I never did take any picture with either one of us in them.

First Flower of Spring

2009-04-14T14:17:00.002-05:00

Here is the first flower of spring in my yard. It & the other 4 flowers that were near it didn't last long, because Isabel thinks she can pick any flowers we have in the yard to bring in the house to put in a vase. I told her several times not to pick the flowers, but then after about 10 minutes I think she forgot and went & pick them. Oh well.

After taking this picture I did pick out all the dead stuff from this flower bed, but still have plenty of other flower beds to pick out.

Birthday Freebies Haul

2009-03-12T16:43:00.005-05:00

Ok - this year I am getting a lot of offers in my inbox for my birthday this Sunday. Most of them came this past Sunday and are good for 2 weeks (week before & after your birthday). Check them out and see if there are places that you have/haven't signed up for:

Buca di Beppo (free dessert with entree purchase)
Noodles & Co (free entree, no purchase required)
Qdoba (free entree, no purchase required)
Pizza Ranch ($5 off, good for 30 days)
Culver's (free one-scoop sundae, no purchase required)
Ponderose Steakhouse ($5 off entree & pop)
Cold Stone Creamery (Free cone, no purchase required)
Dairy Queen (BOGO 16oz. Blizzard)
Caribou Coffee (free drink on *ACTUAL birthday, no purchase required)
Fazoli's (free dessert, no purchase required)
Arby's (free roast beef with purchase of same & pop)
Champps (free slice of Mile High Ice Cream Pie, no purchase required)
Old Country Buffet (BOGO buffet)
Timberlodge Steakhouse ($10 off)
* Menards (free multi-tool tool)

Of course, most of these will never be used. I used the Noodles & Co. one today when we met Andy for lunch after seeing our play. I will probably use Caribou Coffee, Culver's, Timberlodge & Pizza Ranch since those are all within a few miles of us. I don't see getting to most of the rest since they are a much further drive & they have to be used by next Sunday.

*If I get any more in my inbox I will add them to the bottom of the list and put an asterix at he front.

Suzy Homemaker

2009-03-02T18:56:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of my sprouts. The picture was taken over a week ago. They were very tasty and I am going to buy more seeds and maybe try some other kids of sprouts. Next time I will halve the amount of seeds because I made twice what you would get in a container in the store. A container of organic sprouts will cost you $1.50+. I paid 75 cents for organic seeds for this double batch. So, really I save about 75% by growing my own. Plus they taste much fresher and last longer (since they are not on a store shelf).

Here is another shirt I customized for Isabel. I actually made two of them. One for her and one for some friends we are seeing this week. This one I used fabric, heat-n-bond, & fabric paint.

Growing my own sprouts

2009-02-19T16:27:00.002-06:00

So, I bought some alfalfa seeds from the organic food store I go to. I bought enough to make one jar full of sprouts. Although, I think next time I will use half as much. So, here you can see the pictures of them so far. It is supposed o take about 6 days, but because we had cloudy days for a couple days, I think it might be 7 days before mine are ready to eat. I am using the instructions on this website to grow mine. Isabel helped out with pouring in the water & seeds & covering them.

Plastic Bag Flowers & Recycling & Composting

2009-01-29T09:32:00.003-06:00

I got this idea from Daily Danny. I have really found this blog and have really been enjoying it. I have gone back and read all his old posts. These are super simple to make. I think I made these five in 10-15 minutes, and that's with explainging to Isabel what I was doing & showing her slowly & taking these pictures. My favorite one was made from a bag from Harry & David.

The excess pieces that I cut off can be recycled. I recently found out that the natural food co-op we are members of collects bag (grocery bags, bread bags, fruit bags, cereal bags, water softener salt bags, etc.) to recycle. So, that is really cutting down on what goes in the trash because before those things we were not recycling.

I am proud to report that that last 3 weeks we have only filled one bag of garbage each week plus the empty bag from dog/cat food/litter (seems like each week there is one of those bags that gets emptied). It helps that the kid is potty trained and we don't have all the diapers in there. But I have been working on composting even more items, like napkins and popsicle sticks. I was composting food waste already (what dog didn't eat). I also recently started washing out my plastic sandwich bags and reusing them, thanks to the Christmas gift (bag dryer) Andy made me.

Plus we freecycle & donate a lot of items we no longer use/need.

Birthday Freebies

2009-01-17T17:34:00.003-06:00

Here is an updated list. I have only included things that are available in my area. So, I am sure there are plenty more out there.

Kid's Birthday Freebies:
California Pizza http://www.cpk.com/register/
Denny's http://www.dennys.com/en/cms/DZonereg/93.html (must fill out application)Toys'r'Us http://www5.toysrus.com/bdayrus/brus_ad_gbc.cfm (ages 2 – 10)
Sonic http://wackypack.kidsbirthdayclub.com/index.cfm?TheLogout=1
Ringling Brothers http://www.ringling.com/offers/
Cold Stone creamery http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/birthday/
Hollywood Video : Free Rental on your b-day http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/specials/default.aspx
Dairy Queen http://thedqcentral.com/
Pizza Ranch http://www.pizzaranch.com/gift-cards-deals/?id=19
Madeline Fan Club (get a b-day card): http://www.madeline.com/mad/form.cfm
Perkins: http://bakerybuddies.kidsbirthdayclub.com/
Boston Market: (they still have it but you can't sign up right now)http://www.bostonmarket.com/specials?page=kidsBirthdayClub
Burger King: http://www.clubbk.com/Register/Default.aspx
Target: https://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/page.jsp;jsessionid=B1YI4QE22PT0DLARAAV5X5Y?title=birthdaycentral_signup&_requestid=16993146
Chuck-e-Cheese: http://www.chuckecheese.com/

I already checked the links to make sure they were still valid & took out the ones that weren't & updated anyones that needed it.

Here's some for adults:
Caribou Coffee: https://www.cariboucoffee.com/asp/youraccount/emailsignup.asp
Old Country Buffet: http://www.oldcountrybuffet.com/eclub.htm
Cold Stone Creamery: See above, sign up entire family at once
Dairy Queen: http://www.blizzardfanclub.com/
Timber Lodge Steakhouse: http://timberlodgesteakhouse.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe

Canadians Aren't So Bad After All.....

2009-01-15T09:24:00.001-06:00

They make Nutella. Yum!

I made myself a cup of Macaroon-flavored coffee and a bagel w/ Nutella and was going to imagine myself somewhere somewhere exotic, but then I ruined that image by looking at the back of the label and saw it was made in Canada. Ok - not helping as they are colder than us. Maybe the coffee? Well, that package doesn't tell me where this warm weather crop of coffee came from, just that it was distribute by Target in Mpls (bah! I'm here already!) The bagel? Lake Mills, WI. Seriously people, I want to imagine myself some place warmer.

So, maybe I'll add some Irish Cream. It's actually from Ireland and the high for Dublin today is 47 degrees with rain.

I'll take it! That's a good 50-60 degree difference today.

Mmmmmm! Booze in my coffee at 9am. We're off to a great start!

And at this point, the Irish are pretty cool too!

HGR Ctd.

2008-12-29T14:43:00.003-06:00

Everyone goes to so much work to make Christmas gifts for us and we really do appreciate them and I like to give them some recognition for the time & thought they put into making us these gifts.

Horse-stick from Grandma S. for Isabel

Lori & Rachael made Isabel some flowers.

Grandma M. made Isabel this bathrobe.

I made Isabel this super hero cape.

Homemade Gifts Received

2008-12-29T14:33:00.003-06:00

Handmade soaps from BIL Tony.

Leg Warmers for Isabel from Godmother Jessi

Romper Dress for Isabel from Grandma M. (the shirt is store bought)

Andy made this plastic bag drying thing for me.

These are gifts my mom made for us, slippers on top & an alchoholic fruit/drink called Bounce on the bottom.

Homemade Gifts

2008-12-18T12:58:00.002-06:00

Isabel & I made ornaments this morning. She made the beaded ones and I made the metal ones. We have one of the metal ones hanging on the tree and all of the other ornaments are being given away as gifts. I got the idea for the metal ornament from Natural Home Magazine.

I acutally made three of these capes. I got the pattern/idea from this website. This is the one that Isabel is getting for Christmas and I also made ones for 2 of her friends.

St. Lucia Day Meal

2008-12-13T18:50:00.002-06:00

We're not Swedish (not that we know of), but we decided to celebrate St. Lucia day regardless. It gives us a chance to taste different foods and have a meal that is not quite the ordinary. Plus, it is a chance to educate Isabel about other cultures & traditions.

The above picture is of the St. Lucia Rolls that I made. They were pretty tasty. These rolls seem to be the cornerstone for any St. Lucia meal, other things vary from family to family, but these rolls are a must.

You can go search about St. Lucia, but I will give you the short version of the story. St. Lucia is from Sicily and lived during a time that the Emperor was persecuting Christians. The Christians hid in underground tunnels to avoid persecution, but as a result were starving. St. Lucia (not a saint until after she died, of course) would wear a crown of candles to light her way as she traveled these tunnels with a basket of these rolls to feed the Christians. She was killed by the Romans because she was feeding the Christians. Apparently they tried to burn her to death, but that didn't work (guess fire was her friend) and then they killed her with a sword.

Andy & Isabel made a St. Lucia candle crown (out of paper) earlier today. But we did light all the candles in the dining room and ate among them. It is nice to eat with candles burning.

So, I mentioned Swedish above, but St. Lucia was Italian. Well, as it turns out the Swedish really celebrate this holiday, much more than the Italians.

To round out the rest of our meal I made a warm vanilla pudding sprinkled with cinnamon (tastes yummy to dip these rolls in this), some Brie cheese (also yummy on the rolls) and sausage & cheese plate, some wine, & a Margarita pizza. I think next year I would just expand on the meats & cheeses and make another kind of bread thing in addition to the rolls.

What's funny was that as I was researching (today) other foods to serve with the rolls, it mentioned many of the same foods we ate last night at our dinner party (like a Christmas ham & meatballs, which we had both plus many other yummy things.)

Our next fun meal will be next Sunday for the Winter Soltice. For that meal we have invited some neighbors over to join us. Isabel & I will make a Yule Log Dessert as the feature item. Plus, we'll eat by candlelight. The difference for this meal is that we will eat only by candlelight as I will turn out the overhead lights. Plus we'll have some mulled wine and some lasagna & spaghetti. When I researched the Winter Soltice it seems that the only thing that is a must is a Yule Log of some sorts, whether it be a real Yule log in the fireplace or something edible. I'm going for something edible. Plus, candles are a must too.

Last Night's Dinner Party

2008-12-13T18:39:00.002-06:00

Since we have moved back we have now one again begun the dinner parties that we have quarterly with friends from Grad School. It was a good time and we had good food & beverages. We hired one of our babysitters to be here with the kids (Isabel & April's boys) while the adults had our own fun. It was nice to hold conversations and only be interrupted by the occasional child coming in to check to make sure we were still there.

Top Picture: Andy & Jason

Bottom Picture: Molly, April, Me, Traci

Flower Patch Kids?

2008-12-11T00:05:00.002-06:00

So, does anyone remember what the "name" of these dolls were? Someone told me they were Flower Patch Kids and they were the imitation Cabbage Patch Kids.

Craft Projects

2008-12-10T15:24:00.002-06:00

Isabel & I made 4 of these today. I made these ones first for my nephew & niece as part of their xmas presents and then Isabel helped me make 2 more, one for her and one as a present for her friend Rachael for xmas. The idea came from here.

The second thing I made was this holiday wreath, which is hanging just outside out door. The pine & pinecones I used on here here came from one of the pine bushes in our landscaping. No one came around this year selling wreaths (I think the Boy Scouts do that). So, I decided to make one for myself. I think I did a pretty decent job.

New Haircut

2008-12-07T11:44:00.002-06:00

Side View

Yesterday I got my haircut. Here is a picture. I think it is fun & cute. It seems like EVERY December I get the itch to change my hair by cutting it (still am not crazy enough to put in bangs though).

It is based on the trendy Victoria Beckham haircut, but with curly hair. With curly hair you don't see the slant/angle quite so much. So, it's longer in the front and gets quite short in the back. It's so weird washing my hair with the different lengths like this. I can still pull the front up into a ponytail, which is necessary for doing downward facing dog.

Back View

Fat Cat Bed or Dog Bed, Whatever.....

2008-11-30T13:08:00.001-06:00

We bought this for Molly, but apparently she has to share it with Larry. Larry loves it.

Free Starbucks for Voting TOMORROW

2008-11-03T08:28:00.001-06:00

I first heard about it on FB and then checked their website to make sure it was real.....it is....You can watch the advertisement on their website.

http://www.starbucks.com/

So, after you vote, go to Starbucks and pick up your free coffee. I imagine they may want to take/see your "I Voted" sticker.