I made it Monday: Back to school!

When I told Stinky he'd be going to school, his instant reaction was "Oh, I need a backpack!" So, a back pack it is! It's a pretty easy pattern, it holds just enough for a little guy. He chose the fabric himself- dinosaurs, of course!

Tutorial here, but we skipped the applique part. A heavier fabric would probably be helpful, but this works for now.

Sunday Inspiration: Hope

There may be times when we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts this hope.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

First Day of Preschool

I just can't handle this at all. When did he get to be such a big boy? He had a wonderful time. Then he cried all the way home because he didn't want to leave. I foresee that being the end of most preschool days.

I Made it Monday: Apron of the Month!

I love aprons. They're just fun. I like them so much, in fact, I've decided to do a new one each month. It's a little indulgent, I know, but Aprons are wonderful, and a good way to learn a new sewing skill.

Please excuse the cell phone pic -my camera needs batteries! The throw pillow was especially excited to model this one for you!

September's apron, for example, required doing a box pleat- not something I'd done before and was a little intimidated by. Slowly following the tutorial, though, this was easy as pie! I think the only thing I'd change would be to add a few inches to the sides. I like a little more coverage than what this one offers.

Fabric from JoAnn, and a PDF of the tutorial can be found HERE.

Sunday Inspiration: Wherever you have been planted

May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones. The virtue of your own life will be a light to those who sit in darkness, because you are a living witness of the fulness of the gospel. Wherever you have been planted on this beautiful but often troubled earth of ours, you can be the one to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees”.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We had a busy week.

Going back to teaching in the fall
Sharing your mommy with another kid

Early mornings and late nights.

Remodelling a kitchen.

It takes a toll on a guy. Thank heaven for a pull out couch.

Making it Monday?

I have supplies and patterns for our Halloween Costumes, which will be amazing. WBH will be Shrek, I will be Fiona, and Stinky will be Lord Farquaad. I have a decoupage-y witch hat that is going to be cute, but I've been looking at it too long to think that it is currently cute. I have three quilts in progress, and am gathering interesting scraps for a third (I-spy) for Stinky's Christmas. I have fabric for a backpack for Stinky. Like an idiot, I even started a small knitting project the other night when I couldn't sleep, but nothing is done.

WBH is remodelling our kitchen. When we bought the home, we knew that would have to be one of the first priorities. It is directly in the center of our home, and a project so huge becomes a deterrent to working on another. Often the best thing I can do is to take Stinky out of he house, and so I do. Thus, I'm mid-project many times over.

Also this week, I'm watching the two year-old daughter of one of WBH's coworkers, then next week Stinky is starting a one-day-a-week preschool. Both prospects strike a little fear in my heart.

I suppose the biggest news around here is that I'm not doing roller derby. The pain has started to lessen, but worsens with physical activity, and is just plain unpredictable. I felt that the best decision, a lot of thought and prayer included, was to resign (retire?) rather than be completely unreliable. It was a decision that came with frustration and tears, and I'm still quite sad when I think about it, so I try not to.

Moving on, I'm signed up for a cake decorating class next month, as if losing my one form of exercise wasn't enough to make me gain weight. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to it very much. Not so sure my will power is looking forward to those weekly trips to JoAnn. I need to carry that list of incomplete projects with me, I think, when I go, to act as stash-repellent.

Sunday Inspiration: Patience

Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we want them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come.

Joseph F. Smith

I make ugly pie: a recipe

I wish I had a picture of this, I could have had a picture of this, but I don't make pretty pies. I'm still learning. The pie I made earlier this week was delicious and ugly. Let's focus on delicious.

Oat Pastry: (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

2 Cups flour
1/2 C quick cooking oats
1 tsp salt
2/3 C cold shortening or butter
8-10 T of cold water

Mix dry ingredients, then cut in pastry with pastry cutter, or blend in food processor. Add water and mix with fork one tablespoon at a time, until dough is completely moistened. Put in refridgerator until ready to use.

Pie Filling - This isn't exact,
6-8 large granny smith apples, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1/3 cup flour
1/2 sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (or allspice, or pumpkin pie spice- whatever you find first!)

Caramel Sauce (get it from the ice cream toppings in the grocery store)

Preheat oven to 475 Mix dry ingredients and add to apples. Stir until all apples are evenly coated. . Roll out half of pastry and put in pie plate. Dump in filling. Do top of crust in your preferred method (for this, I like lattice. Again, it's not pretty yet, but it does allow more caramel to seep into the pie). Brush top with egg. Place foil on top of the pie to prevent overbrowning (Coat the foil with non-stick spray first. Learn from my mistake!) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 35-45 minutes more until top is golden.

Once you remove the pie from the oven, drizzle 2-3 cup of the sauce over the pie while it's hot. Allow it to cool, then add caramel sauce to taste when you serve. Enjoy!

How I spent (the last week) of the summer

We did some more home repairs...

visited the zoo and fed the budgies

Got a self portrait that I like, and in a ponytail, no less...

Had a one-sided pillow fight ...

and visited Long Beach (100% chance of rain that day).

Now WBH is back to school and I'm a little pouty. September is kind of a bummer that way.

House Update: Living Room

Here's the before:

The laminate was poorly laid, WBH pulled it up and we sold it. When we get the first-time buyer bonus, we plan to lay bamboo flooring.

This monster of a sectional is wonderful. It has a pull-out section and underneath blanket storage. The pull out works as a bed, but is also nice for movie nights, and the way it's engineered makes it super easy.

We also added curtains. The door behind the couch will eventually be replaced with a window. The house has a total of four doors down stairs. It's pretty silly,and we're not sure why. Also worth noting: The paint is new, the crown molding, which I LOVE, and the lighting fixture, whic was brass, but a little Krylon fixed that.

This entertainment center is a Craigslist find, and was free. We love it. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do on the top of it. We have a plant and a candle so far.

Here's the entryway table. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out what to do here, but I'm pretty happy with the result!

That's all for now; WBH has worked his tail off to get us this far. We're trying to be smart and work slowly, not going further into debt to finish it. That's not easy. There are so many things to be done and that we'd love to do, but for now, we're taking it slowly.

Sunday Inspiration

“Be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience.”



Thomas S. Monson

I picked some winners!

(every little boy needs an aunt to fall in love with and an uncle to teach you to do rude things.)

Yes, I know that's terribly tacky and wrong of me, but Random Integer Generator picked two winners and they were numbers one (BaloonGal gets the tea towel!) and six (Rachel gets the key loop!) Ladies, please facebook me your addresses so that I can send them off to you (should be shipping Tuesday) and send you Christmas cards later this year, too.

Busy weekend, really busy week. The theme seems to have been "this wasn't in the plan..." but more on that later. I hope your weekend is lovely. I think we're off to the ocean tomorrow, but we'll see how that works out.