One Crafty Mama

Art Journal for me

2010-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make an art journal forever. Frankly, too many other hobbies have taken over. Well Donna Downey's Inspiration Wednesday's have inspired me. Her work is amazing and I don't have a pinkie's worth of her talent but I figured that I might as well go for it.

This journal is for my kids. I always wanted to really know who my mom was when I was kid. What did she do during the day? What did she like? Well, I want my kids to know me. All of the stuff you assume they know and so much more. I can't even explain the joy this has brought me and I am only two pages into it. I am leaving something behind for my children and the freedom I feel of just letting go and not worrying if everything matches is very therapeutic. Thank you for letting me share.

I gessoed (not even sure that's a word!) over the pages from this old book. Used cheap acrylic paint that I've had for years. Pulled some off with packing tape to make it look a little weathered. Watered down some white watercolor paint. Painted a thin line on top and let the drips wash down the page. Doodled. Painted some flowers. I can't paint worth beans but it sure if fun. The journaled using a black sharpie. That's all there was to it.

I forgot to gesso so I decided to let some of the words peek through because they made me laugh. I used watercolors this time. Joy was stamped onto some old sheet music. The flower is from fabric from my wedding party 16 years ago. They were cut with the Sizzix to make the circles. I took a lighter and burnt the edges. They curled up really nice. There are many more of these flowers in my future for sure.

Mini album

2010-06-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

I had fun making my baby sister's birthday present. Ok. She's 23 and not a baby but she always will be to me! She's going to Hawaii so I made this mini album out of super clearanced coasters from Michael's. The paper pack was on sale for $3. The charm came from a charm swap I did with Northcoastartswaps and it was just perfect.

Those are just a few pages but you get the idea!

Blog Catch-up

2010-05-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am not very good at this blogging thing but, what the heck for giggles I will post a couple of pics. My crafting time is eatin' up by my 3 lovely chitlins and I wouldn't change it for the world. Now if only I could figure out how to get by with less than the 4 or so broken hours of sleep I get now I could get way more done. hehe.

Here are some random cards I managed to throw in the scanner.

A few cards I made for NorthCoastArtSwaps. They are an awesome group of ladies. The theme was Recycled so everything had to be from recycled items. I broke out the Sizzix and flattened left over beer cap. My husband has been saving these for almost the whole time we have been married. We are going on 17 years so that's a LOT of beer caps. I am happy to get rid of as many as I can!!! I then cut up a Starbucks bag my mom packed something in.

I had so much fun that I decided to sign up to trade three more cards. I broke into my salvage jar. I save everything. Yes, even salvages from leftover sewing projects. Hence the reason I can't get too upset about hubby saving caps. I cut up my 7 year old's homework and found a few other random things laying in my underwear drawer where I keep ripped off tags. Totally random place to keep stuff but, like I said, I keep everything so I am running out of room. 5 people living in a 2 1/2 bedroom house. Gotta get creative.

A couple more items and I'm done playing catch-up for now because the other stuff I have to share are future presents and I don't want to spill the beans.

Alochol Inks and Glass

2010-05-07T08:21:00.001-07:00

I have been collecting some alcohol inks lately and wanted to move beyond playing with paper. I had a candle holder from the dollar store that I purchased with intentions of using the inks right away. There it sat on my counter holding my splenda for my blueberry oatmeal. Mother's Day is approaching and my mom was coming up for a visit so what's a girl to do? I remembered falling in love with some lanterns awhile ago so I went to Denise's Scrapbooking Room and grabbed her file. She is so talented and has some amazing files. Love this site. I then cut it out of vinyl with my Cricut using SCAL. Went crazy inking the glass with some alcohol inks. Put the vinyl piece on. Sprayed it with some sealer 3 times. Lit a candle and smiled at the butterfly on the wall. Sadly I didn't take a picture with the candle but take my word for it, it is fantabulous!!

So then I have been wanting to make a post it note holder forever so this is what I came up with. I love my Zutter Bind-it-All .

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! And because I am a Mom I have to share a couple of photos I took of Ali my 5 month old. Love this girl. She's a riot.

Ramblings

2010-04-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

It is a rainy, dreary to most, morning here on the North Coast. Perfect time to spend with my coffee cup and lazy surfing on the net. I love this website care2.com. There's a lot of great information packed into one site. I came across this page 20 great uses for Tea Tree Oil. My dear husband says tea tree oil is my answer for everything. Hey, I use what works!

We went hiking in the Redwoods a couple weekends ago. I love where we live. You have never breathed until you have lived by the beach and the Redwoods. This place is such a part of me now that I don't remember life without it.

Sewing one stitch at a time...

2010-04-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Since Ali, my four month old, has come into my life I have only sewn a couple of things. All 3 of my poor machines are buried in dust and clutter. I decided when she was a couple of months old to start a quick project. Well, there isn't anything quick with a little one around. lol This table runner took me 2 months but I am happy nonetheless and, yes, it really is that wonky. Perfection isn't one of my best attributes. I was in a black and white quilt square swap on SewingMamas because I needed a pick me up after my miscarriage last January. It felt great to be able to put some squares to use.

I would love to make matching placemats but that could be another year before I sew them up.

More cards...

2010-03-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

The kids are in bed and hubby is out of town. Normally this would mean late nights of crafting and Farkle on facebook. Tonight I am tired and made a goal to head to bed early. I will be much happier in the morning and frankly I am always going to be behind in my scrapbooking. I just ordered 283 pictures from the past five months to scrapbook. Ummmm, yep I will always be behind. So I leave you with a couple of photos of stuff I worked on last week.

My first triptych atc cards. Not my best work but I have done worse.

They open to reveal this...

Here's a couple of cards I sent to the swap hostesses as a thank you. These little 2.5 and 3.5 inch cards are addicting and a perfect quick craft while the babe is busy eating her fingers for ten minutes.

My first atc cards

2010-03-25T08:18:00.002-07:00

Today I am mailing my first atc cards. They were fun to do but what was more fun was finding out I won the Art Lottery with the swap group. :)

Here's my first set of cards.

Here's a couple of great cards I received as the art lottery winner.

Now I have to come up with a great way to display my cards. Yep. I am going to have fun trading these art cards. Who doesn't love getting mail that isn't a bill???

Today is rainy and dreary. My little sunshine is asleep on my bed right now. I sit here eating a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries while drinking my cinnamon swirl coffee. I was up laying in bed for a couple of hours last night. I am tired. I can't wait for my sunshine to wake up. I love mornings like these. Nowhere to go. No one to please. Just me and my sunshine.

Is the sun shining where you are?

Link time

2010-03-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

I was going through my bookmarks so I could access them on laptop using Delicious. When I came across one of many of my favorite blogs. A year of Slow Cooking. Totally forgot about and since I have a wee one and hubby's been out of town I am adding some of her recipes to the menu. Then, I realized she has a book. Another one to add to my long list of wanted books. I love the internet. A little too much.

Atc fun...

2010-03-03T13:04:00.002-08:00

I am new to the world of ATC. Don't know what they are? In a nutshell, they are like baseball cards but cards that artists trade. It makes me giggle to think of myself as an artist because I am really just an art dabbler. You can Google them for more info. I have way too many good links bookmarked to share just one! I started some for a local swap yesterday and can see the addictiveness of them already. Not wanting to ruin the surprise so just sharing a little corner of the card I am working on.

In fact, these words are a good representation of how I have been feeling lately with fussy butt baby. Hehe. Waiting for warm weather. Okay. We don't have warm weather here on the northern coast of Cali but we do drive to the warm weather to soak up some heat. It's actually a glorious day here. Nice enough to go on a walk and notice some lovely bulbs coming up. Gardening, for me, will have to wait for another day. I have much more important tasks on my agenda. Like, finishing my tea and breathing while the babe is asleep for a little while.

Pressure Cookin' love

2010-03-01T08:09:00.001-08:00

Check out the star of the show today....

My beloved pressure cooker I bought three years ago on Amazon. The best $100 I have ever spent. Last night I was not feeling well but took some chicken leg quarters out the day prior with intentions to barbecue. That wasn't happening when 4:30 rolled around and I just wanted dinner over with, ya know. I made some barbecue sauce with a little extra water, deskinned the chicken, and pressure cooked it for 10 minutes. Then stuck them under the broiler to caramelize the sauce for a few minutes. So chicken leg quarters cooked in 15 minutes once they got up to pressure (add an additional five minutes). They were done before my flavored rice was done and almost as long as it took me nuke some green beans. Seriously, life can't get better than that if you are *forced* by your ravenous family to make dinner and all.

Back on track

2010-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

My last post was almost two years ago. Life has changed so much for me. I am forever grateful to be where I am at now. I have a new baby, happiness, a kitchenaid mixer, messy house, and two cricuts for scrapbooking all of my life's details!!! A chic really couldn't ask for more. Well, maybe another cup of coffee (note: see above regarding new baby).

My new delicious baby minutes old...

Ali Megan 7lbs 1 oz.

Here she is now almost three months old

Break

2008-04-25T08:36:00.002-07:00

Looks like I took an unintentional blog break. This year has been rough with the passing of my dad and my herniated disc troubles. I realized yesterday after recovering from my neck rhizotomies that my life has stopped. I have not taken a single picture since Dad died. What a horrible thing. I am all about capturing life with my camera. I keep trying to stuff my sadness, fears, happiness, and emotions for fear of living. Moving forward seems so scary because I was not ready to leave my Dad when he went. Our relationship just seemed to get started. If I move forward, if I continue on with life, if I stop dreaming does that mean I am leaving my old life behind. The life that existed when my father was alive. Why is it I never reflected on my relationship when he was alive. His death has sparked so many emotions but the real one is that I am afraid to live, live in pain and live for fear of ever having to experience this pain again. I realized, in my drug induced state yesterday on the couch (my neck pain was too much to bear) that not living and moving forward is not me. I live my life everyday with full intentions of improving my already charmed life. I have lost more than my dad. I have lost myself. I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children who deserve a woman who cares enough about herself to take the initiative to learn to live life again. So from this day forward, I will not be afraid of my emotions but I will release them knowing this will allow me to move forward with my life. This painful grief process needs to get started so I don't fall apart. As for my neck, Dr. didn't seem to have high hopes that the rhizotomies would help so he suggests I get re-evaluated by the nuerosurgeon. I have already started that process. I have osteoarthritis a couple herniated discs with some narrowing of the spinal cord. For three years, I have actively been seeking help. My faith in the medical community is non-existant now. We live in a small community and it takes forever to get in to see specialists (if there is one in the area). We have one nuerosurgoen in the area with the next one over 3 hours away. I probably won't get into see him for a few months because of the demand. This hopelessness and pain (physical and mental) is taking a toll on my spirit and faith. I should know for sure if the neck procedure worked in less than a month. I will not hold my breath. In connection with my neck troubles, I have leg and arm pain with loss of bladder function. Do you think someone will listen to me now??? How can I wait any longer? In the meantime, I am startind physical therapy on my right arm to try and regain some strength. I need something to get me going, my crafty side is so uninspired now with my deadened spirit. Gardening, sewing, scrapbooking...nothing seems to help because it all is too painful. Any suggestions on creating things that don't take a lot of arm use...lol? Okay, I will probably erase this post because it is extremely depressing. I will be alright. Sometimes I just have to get it out. From this day forward, I will not keep my emotions bottled up but I will release them in hopes that my sad spirit will soon be freed.

In love...

2008-03-21T05:53:00.004-07:00

I discovered a new to me artist yesterday and I am in love. I knew I loved his voice on the radio but never put a name to it. Oh my, I am addicted to his voice. He sounds just plain yummy and the lyrics are really good too.

Jack Johnson

This past month has been a very 'off' month with sicknesses, neck pain, and dealing with emotions of my father's passing last month. Yesterday was the first day of spring and I am so happy. A new beginning. Although it is weird to move on with life and watch new things grow when everything in my life seems to have completely changed; it is comforting knowing that there is life and love in every new beginning.

On a different note; my gardening is going to be really pared down this year. :( I have come to realize that I simply can not act as if I am normal with the pain I am in. For the first time in my life I have realized how important it is to listen to my body. I have been dealing with neck pain for a long time due to my bad discs. The pain has really gotten severe over the past three years. I have been trying to find a solution other than prescription pain meds for these past three years. I was defeated last June when a nuerosurgeon in San Francisco told me that I had to many bad spots in my neck to do surgery. For the past several months I have been going through a pain clinic to help find some relief. Have done steroid shots and a facet joint block in four discs without any relief. The last resort is a facet rhizotomy scheduled in June. In the meantime, I am headed to my family doc because I am very concerned about the numbness spreading from one hand to now the next. The pain and fear of living in it is something that is very hard share and talk about. Seems way too self-indulgent for my personality.

Back to my gardening! Hubby will be redoing my garden for me, hopefully sooner than later. Although, it really isn't too late for our cool beach environment. If he doesn't get it done, I always have my pots everything can go into. He is the one that wants to redo the boxes. I want to give up because the gophers are stealing half of my crop and flowers. Have at it, babe. Yardwork isn't usually his thing. I would love to have a hobby that we share as a couple so wish me luck on sucking him into my trap. Now if only I could get him rested from all of the overtime he has been doing so he has the energy.

Oh my! Quite the chatterbox I am today. Coffee time is almost over and then it is time to get the kiddies off to school so I can try to clean up my neglected house. If you got this far in reading my whole post, thank you. Guess it was just time for me to get some things off of my chest.

Flu bug = Chicken Soup

2008-03-19T09:18:00.003-07:00

Our house has been hit by yet another flu. Same drill: cough, congestions, fever, blech... In honor of our new unwanted friend, I have been trying to make chicken soup. Safeway had some whole chickens on sale for 50% off. The price of a whole chicken is ridiculous. I took it home and pressure cooked the chicken in a whole 30 minutes! Amazes me every time I cook with my new baby. Then I pressure cooked the broth. Have had the stuff for chicken soup ready to throw in pressure cooker for two days but this fever is kickin' my butt so today I am just gonna throw it in the crockpot and be done with. Too lazy to run to the store for egg noodles so I will be using fettuccine noodles. We will see how the kiddies will take to that one. I have been sippin the chicken broth. It is the best I have made in awhile.

Chicken Broth

Place a clean chicken, without gizzards, but with neck in pressure cooker. Cover with water plus one inch if space allows. (You aren't supposed to fill a pressure cooker over halfway.) Add a cut-up orange and some bay leaves. Bring up to pressure, lower heat to maintain pressure and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken. Strain the broth that is left into a bowl. Let chicken cool and then debone. Set aside for whatever you would like to use the chicken for. Place the bones back into the pressure cooker along with the strained broth. Add the following indgrediets: the tops (leaves and all) chopped, a couple of carrots, a handful of chopped cilantro, one inch piece of ginger, 10-12 whole cloves, 3-4 garlic cloves, peppercorns to taste, Italian seasoning and you can also add a chopped onion (I was out so I didn't use one and it still came out good). Bring up to pressure, lower heat to maintain pressure, and cook for another 30 minutes. Let cool and strain. Put in the fridge overnight and then you can remove the layer of fat on the top that forms. Use right away or freeze in separate portions for later use. I love homemade broth because it isn't full of sodium and plus it is thrifty using left over veggies in the fridge.

Now I must run off to the kitchen to throw the chicken and veggies in the crockpot! We like to use the traditional carrots and celery but like to add chopped mushrooms too. My kiddos have an aversion to green things (seasoning) that they can see floating in soup so I probably won't add too much seasoning but a few cloves of garlic and possibly another orange.

More Decluttering

2008-03-06T09:35:00.005-08:00

Okay, so the photos are not perfect but I have come to realize that neither I am. The two coffee cups are good indication that this mama has had more than a pot of coffee today. This is my sewing space in my bedroom. The built-ins hold my sewing/photo stuff. I have hopes of making fabric baskets to make everything look nice and tidy.

Sausage Potato Kale Soup

2008-03-04T09:02:00.002-08:00

I have been having so much fun with my new pressure cooker . I just ADORE her. My mom asked for a soup recipe that I brought her so I thought I would share it with you all as well. My girlie is sick right now so I need to devote time to her, will come back later with calorie calculations.

Sausage Potato Kale Soup
1 tube or 1 lb of low fat turkey sausage
½ – 1 yellow onion,diced
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
5-6 Big Yukon gold potatoes, diced (peel if preferred)
2-3 big cubes of chicken bullion
2-3 cups of thinly sliced/chopped Kale
Salt/Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Milk
*Note: These are all approximate measurements. Adjust as needed.

Instructions:
Brown turkey sausage until done. Drain and rinse well with hot water to remove all fat. Set aside.

Brown onion and garlic until done. Add diced potatoes, chicken bullion, kale,
and seasonings to taste. Add the cooked and drained turkey sausage. Cover the ingredients with water, plus and inch or two above. Bring to boil, turn down heat and cook until the potatoes are tender and the Kale is soft. This should take 30 minutes depending on size of cubed potatoes. Add milk to color and flavor soup as desired. I added about 1 ½ cups. Cook and additional 5 minutes to heat again. Serve and enjoy with homemade croûtons.

To pressure cook: Add everything but the milk. Bring up to high pressure, turn down to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. Let pressure release naturally or hurry along by rinsing top with cold water. Add milk and reheat for 5 minutes.

Homemade Croutons: Dice heels and stale bread. Melt 1 TBSP butter or olive oil in a nonstick pan. Add 1-2 whole or minced cloves of garlic. Add the diced stale bread and stir fry til toasted. Spraying with nonstick spray if they become to dry. Sprinkle with salt and italian seasosonings. For an extra crunch, after stir fried in pan to flavor them spread out on a cookie sheet and toast in oven at 425 degrees.

MIA

2008-02-28T05:46:00.003-08:00

I have not dropped off of the face of the earth, rest assured, because I know you all missed my boring chit chat immensely. My life has stopped this past month.

My dad passed away 3 days after his 57th birthday on February 12th , exactly 7 months after having a brain tumor burst only to discover he had stage 4 brain cancer (glioblastoma). He was a fighter, fought so hard to keep going for my mom. When they removed part of his brain during two surgeries, they removed part of my dad and his ability to communicate effectively. All the while, his soul was locked inside his mind and his body had to work so hard to do normal everyday stuff. Watching him struggle was long and painful for my family; looking back over the past 7 months they were really just a blur. Does anyone ever have a chance to prepare themselves to say goodbye to the man who raised you? Can you really say all of the things you ever wanted to say to a man who couldn't respond in a way to let you know that it is okay? Living 5 hours away made it difficult every time I drove away. Would this be my last hug?

I was lucky in many ways to be there when he passed away. It was the way my dad would have wanted it. He was surrounded by his wife of alomst 36 years and 3 daughters. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way either. I am thankful that he was surrounded by love when his soul was unlocked from the prisons of his mind. He went after he knew that we, as a family, were okay with it. He left his body numerous time for a couple of days and you knew he was struggling with leaving. In the end, he knew we would be okay. We will pick up the pieces Dad. We will take care of one another.

I was unlucky in many ways to be there when he passed away. I will spare the personal details and pain. My mind is consumed with memories and thoughts of watching life leave my father's body. I will move past this but not without many tears. In the end, he is free. It is only the chains of my own mind that tie me down.

My dad believed, as well as instilled in my own mind that "Everything happens for a reason." I hope the understanding comes sooner than later.

I don't normally share my intimate life on the web, so I may delete this at a later date. I just had to get this out of my mind.

A website I put together to update friends and family members. I still need to do my final entry. I am struggling with what to write. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/edlauck

Green Cleaning

2008-01-21T07:32:00.002-08:00

I started my adventures of cleaning with as close to natural cleaning products as I can use when my son was born. My favorite website that got me started was this: http://www.care2.com/ . You can find their non-toxic recipes here. After about a year of tweaking a recipe to fit me and what I like I came up with this one.

All Purpose Cleaner

4 teaspoons Borax
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap
Tea Tree Oil (disinfectant)
1 32 oz. spray bottle
Funnel if you have one.

Add first two ingredients to spray bottle using funnel if handy. Fill spray bottle with warm water up to the neck of the bottle. Add tea tree oil. I am cheap and buy mine from Walmart for like $5.00 so I use a capful. With a dropper bottle, I would say use around 20 drops.

Things I have used this spray on:
Floors
Carpet (actually does work for stains)
Sinks
Bathroom walls
Toilet seats
Walls
Door Handles
Stains on Clothing
Fridge
Inside of Van
Glass table top

*Notes:
Hubby doesn't really like the smell of vinegar and to avoid discouraging my all-purpose husband from helping me clean I leave it out. For more cleaning and disinfectant power, use 1/4 - 1/2 cup of vinegar.
*More Notes
I mix it up sometimes and use lavender oil because that also kills the germies. Peppermint does the same thing but if you mix it with vinegar your dh might not clean with it because it smells like pickles. (at least mine won't) If I have a headache and don't want to smell anything, I always turn to my ever reliable GSE also known as Grapefruit Seed Extract .

Baking Soda uses in my house:

Add a cup to smelly laundry.
Sprinkle overnight in toilet and scrub in morning.
Glass stovetop cleaner
Bathtub cleaner (this is by far better than ajax)
Pot cleaner

The list goes on. To use, just sprinkle with baking soda and srub with a wet rag/sponge. Rinse and enjoy the sparkle. For extra cleaning power, squirt some liquid soap on top and scrub.
I just buy a big bag from Costco that lasts months around here.

Vinegar uses in my home:

The obvious...coffee pot.
Keep in a squirt bottle for a disinfectant for anything in the kitchen
Veggie and Fruit cleaner (fill sink with water and squirt a bit in it to clean the produce)
Fabric Softener (use in place of liquid fabric softener and you will be pleased with the softness)

The list goes on.

Borax

Mold killer (don't even ask me how I know this)
Toilet Bowl cleaner
Laundry booster
Sink Cleaner

The list goes on.

I will add my window recipe once I find it. Just use water, rubbing alcohol, and vinegar but will report proportions another time. If you are impatient or I fall behind, just jot me an email to remind me or leave a comment.

If you write the all purpose recipe on the bottle, you will be able to refill fast. I didn't
do this with my window recipe, hence the need to find the recipe in my recipe binder.
To top it all off, I use cloth cleaning rags so I can wash in hot water and reuse. I only buy papertowels to clean up dog messes. : )

Hope this helps someone else. I love it because my 5 and 7 year old can help me out cleaning. I would have hated to worry when they were crawling around about what they were crawling on. Plus, no more headaches when it comes time to clean! Another advantage is you save a ton of money!

Cost of products for me:

1 gallon vinegar..........$2.30
1 box of Borax............$3.50
1 big bag of Baking Soda....$8.00 (estimate)

The vinegar lasts us about a month here because I use it for fabric softener. The borax lasts a few months. Baking soda lasts several months. I do buy a bottle of Windex because that is what hubby likes to use on my van windows. If he's gonna clean 'em, I'm gonna get what the man needs. That will last us ~forever~. Oh and a little confession....we use Scrubbing Bubbles on the shower walls because it works so well. I really need to find a good natural and fast cleaner for the walls because I hate scrubbing. I am open to questions, comments, and suggestions so shoot away.

Freecycle Fun

2008-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Look at what I picked up off of Freecycle on Wednesday.

Over 100 hundred plastic pots. The ones in the front are one gallons stacked. They range in size from 10 gallons to 1 gallon. Why so many pots? I live in gopher land. I have not figured out a way to live in harmony together in my yard with these little creepy rodents. Numerous times I have been happily weeding my flower beds to hear a rustling in the plant next to me. At first I thought maybe I was such a loving gardener that my plants were shaking like my doggie does when I come home from the store and he is happy to see me. What a let down to discover that shortly after my plants do their happy dance they vanish into the earth below. When I am not around to witness such a cruel and unusual murderous kidnapping, the gophers leave one lonely flower sticking out of the ground as a payment for their meal or it may be a reminder that they have won. Nonetheless, this dirt worshiping fool still buys plants to feed her pet/pesty gophers. Well, this year is the end of the madness. I am too frugal and mindful of my plants feelings to partake in such activities a season longer. Come springtime, my victory will be the day I dig up my plants and put them back in the ground with a nice plastic barrier. Shhh do not speak of my plan of attack.

A litte side note, these are my chitlins. Kids are so cute. Kids are so loud.

Kids eat so much food. Kids are gross and full of germs.

They are so cute though!

I have not forgotten about my craft closet, see below. It is awaiting some new curtains and labels. More to come later....

Time to Organize!

2008-01-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over. I took the tree down last week. I am still picking up needles.

It is now that time of year to organize. We all do it every year, right? It takes me a good two months to reorganize the house. I love to organize. I am terrible at the whole "clean as you go" thing. I mean, my house is picked up most of the time. It is presentable but I wouldn't eat off of the floor or anything like the kids sometimes do. : ) It is a struggle for me to put things back where they came from. I am a stuffer and I have stuff. No matter how much stuff I get donate, recycle, or repurpose the stuff has babies overnight.

Well here is a clear example...

Yah, that's right. I showed a picture of the most shameful closet ever photographed before. I clean this closet every few months. Believe it or not. This is our craft closet. I say 'our' because I want everyone to have a clear understanding that I am not the only one that messes it up. I have a little helper. See below:

I will save that for another day.

Here is what I have been up to the past two days. My laundry/fabric closet...

A close up:

Now let's hope it stays that way. I am so excited that all of my fabric is down to one shelf and couple of small bins (well I do have another bin under my bed of Christmas fabric). I have done a lot of purging over the past year. The two bins below are all scraps under 1/2 yard. They are all rolled up neat like a little remnant and tied with a scrap piece of fabric. Looks purty doesn't it? Oh and looking at this picture makes me realize that it's time to make me a pretty little bag for my clothespins. I am beyond the Bob the Builder stage! Anyone know of a good way to hang a bag on the clothesline while you do laundry. Not that I can sun dry now or anything with all of the rain. Have a happy day!

I'm a flake

2007-12-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

You see, the good thing about the fact that I know I am flake is the fulfillment of recognizing my downfalls. For the longest time I chose to ignore the fact that I am not perfect. Man life is hard when you realize something so profound. I have flaked on my blog this month. I would apologize but sickness ran through our house like a tornado and now I am spending my time cleaning up its damages. My house is a wreck and I had to go and buy new pants because the holidays haven't been nice to my waistline. Gosh I can't say waistline because I haven't had one of those for years. My tire in the middle has upgraded from truck size to semi. Boy it is getting heavy to lug around so what better time of year to reclaim my waistline! I went to the thrift store to buy my "new to me" pants because no way am I commiting to my bigger size with a brand new pair. I just need to breathe until I downsize that tire in the middle. Can you believe I have actually considered making new sweats to wear out of the house? Ewww. Well, I will go with what I know works to lose some weight. Weight watchers points system. I will be holding off on too much excercise until I get my ~ Facet Rhizotomy ~ done. Excercise really flares up my neck pain and hopefully I will be a new woman after February 11th!

Got some Christmas money! You would think a craftymama would spend her money on materials. I really am a crafter at heart but against all odds I splurged on a kitchen appliance. Check it out! A pressure cooker!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CFH7X

Shipped it was $99.99. What can I do with my last penny????

You see I can't stand being in the kitchen but my creative and thrifty self doesn't let me get by on pb&j all of the time so the only thing left for a crafty girl to do is to cook. I want more time. I want more time for my crafts. I want to eat healthy. I am a thrifty person and have not had the heart to turn the crock pot on all of time. Hopefully this little beauty will satisfy those needs. If not, at least I will be able to can tuna fish and soups for those lazy days I have been having too many of lately.

Cristmas Crafting

2007-12-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

What I have been working on....

Christmas Lights Garland.
Simple as pie to do.

Here's how:

If you want to tear the fabric, use a woven. Mine used approximately 1/3 yard of each color. I like tearing because it is so much easier than using the rotary cutter and mat. Use as many colors as you like. I used four different prints and like the simplicity of it all. I have seen them really full but I just wanted simple.

1. Tear a strip 1 1/2 inches long down the length of the woven fabric. Your first tear will not be straight but needs to be done to straighten out the fabric. How many strips depends on how many lights you have. I just tore and figured it out along the way.

2. Cut your torn 1 1/2 strips into 11 inch pieces for the look I have or shorter for a fuller look.

3. Tie on. A single tie will do and my 5 year old had a blast. Mine has three strips tied on between each light.

4. Plug in and enjoy a simple and fast project on a rainy day.

What else I have been working on....

I love this blog Allsorts and then I came across her advent calendar pockets tutorial.
Jennie B Harris's look way more elegant than mine. I am terrible at embroidering. I wanted this done fast so I used the machine to sew the pockets together. They are filled with 2 chocolate gold coins for the kids.

A Terrible picture of our tree....

2007-12-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

This is my second real quilt that I have made. There is still a lot of hand quilting left to be done and I suck at that. Just figured I better hang it up and work on it a little bit at a time so I can enjoy it and fill the blank space on my wall. The dimensions are around 3ft x 3ft.

I bought two of these foot stools from Ikea in their clearance section for $5. The cover was an offwhite muslin. So, of course I had to add my own. They came out nice and not wonky like the picture. Wish I would have gotten a pic of it with the whole couch. Maybe next year or the year after.

Sewing for the boy

2007-12-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

My boy is into aliens and space. I usually don't sew anything for him but pj's because he has always hated me sewing for him. Well, he is finally coming around because he has been pouting about me not sewing for him. So what is a sewing mama to do? Sew the boy something he will love and love he does.

Smile

2007-12-05T17:10:00.001-08:00

We saw this on the way home from getting our christmas tree. I had to smile to remember that life really is beautiful.

Letters Template

2007-11-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

I copied some scraps while scrapbooking and thought maybe someone would be interested. All of the letters are backwards except for "b" (because I screwed up) so they can be printed on the back of whatever paper you would like to use. Yah, I could have spent a lot of time cleaning these up and making them snazzy but aren't ya gonna cut them up anyways? Just save the pic to your puter and print away. I like to print my letters on card stock and then cut out so I can reuse over and over again.

Happy Crafting!

Checkin in

2007-11-28T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's been 20 days since I have last shared anything about my life. My how time flies. Turkey Day has come and gone and you know what that means. Christmas crafting. It is so fun with all of the pressure and stress. Yah, I am wierd and it only gets worse as I get older. One wierd fact about myself is at 33 I am scared of the dark. Silly Bloody Mary game has still spooked me.

We went to San Francisco for the afternoon this past weekend. The kiddos were in awe. My little girlie girl is a social bug and her eyes just lit up when she saw so many people.

Went to the Rainforest Cafe. R was in awe and poor K was scared and shaking every time the animals would go off. : (

On a crafting note, I made some cute little family tree ornament and I forgot to take a stinkin pic. Me of all people. :)

Dining room Paint

2007-11-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a crappy picture of how it looked before. (minus the painters tape) I was trying to be thrifty several months ago and use up different cans of leftover paint in my garage. Well, it came out pretty for a sky in a child's room. So in an effort to keep my mind busy yesterday I decided to go and buy some paint so I could eat in a grown-up dining room.

And the after picture...

Never mind the reflection on the wall from my glass table. Peter still needs to attach moulding for me around the rectangles and add some chair railing. I plan on putting black n white photos inside the rectangles. Still not sure if I like the "sky" look so I might fill it in with a shade darker than the wall and go with traditional. Let me know what you think! onecraftymama@sbcglobal.net I plan on painting the chairs black and putting the moulding back down as well. If you look closely you can catch a glimpse of a 1960's lamp. I call it a UFO lamp. I have some ideas brewin' in my head of how to revamp it. If you have any, feel free to spit 'em out at me.

Sewing for my girlie

2007-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have been really down lately so I thought I would do a little sewing to take my mind off of things. I sewed this darned dress all day long. Blech. I don't like it. She loves it. That's all that matters but I really am not going to admit to anyone that I made it...lol. Still have to figure out what kind of shirt to sew for a wierd couch dress. (The material reminds me of a couch. Not sure what I was thinking.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-02T06:20:00.001-07:00

Total kid cuteness at its finest.

Good always conquers the bad.

How can a couple pounds of candy turn into
10 lbs after ingested??? Get this stuff outta here!

Menu Monday

2007-10-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

Monday~
Turkey Burritos, Spinach salad
Pear Crisp
Tuesday~
Clam Chowder (left over chicken noodle soup for kidlets)
Baked Potatoes/ Steamed Broccoli
Wednesday~
Chicken Nuggets (Blech...but something fast after soccer and before trick or treat)
Apple sauce
Thursday~
Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Homemade rolls
Baked Fries
Salad/ Fruit
Friday~
Take n Bake Pizza
Saturday~
Bean Soup
Bread

Sunday~
Spaghetti
Salad

My little fairy has wings

2007-10-25T16:07:00.001-07:00

Halloween Wingless Fairy

2007-10-25T12:22:00.001-07:00

What good is a fairy costume sew-n-show without wings. Ah well. K will have to earn her wings because she has been a troublemaker lately. Hopefully she will earn them by Halloween by doing many good deeds for her mommy. Kidding. Not up to sewing them this year so we will buy some cheap ones that never stay up. Sorry K, mommy is tired. The skirt was a project I started but never finished because I couldn't figure it out and wasn't that impressed. Well, Halloween is less than a week away so this was perfect. Gotta be impressed about making a costume out of something that was boung for trash. The shirt has little silver stars all over it. I plan on making a little wand with a star so it is perfect. The head band was made by mom for my sisters wedding. I just add a little to it to tie it in. Girlie girl is happy with the skirtbut hasn't seen the rest. Can't wait for her to see it. I will post a s-n-s with her wearing it later.

Ufo time

2007-10-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

UFO...is and unfinished project. I am now down to ONE UFO. Yah. The shirt was too short. I mean I did cut it out 2.5 years ago. I am not smart enough to learn my embroidery machine so it ate part of the pocket...hence the iron on patch. Oh well, they are play clothes so who cares. I love this pattern for playing in. It can be worn in every season here by the coast.

2007-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

Went to the pumpin patch last weekend. Kids had a blast. K knew she wanted a white one...an hour later she found "the one". Battery was dying in camera...boo hoo....so this is as good as it gets.

Menu Monday

2007-10-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

October 22nd-28th

Monday
Pancakes and applesauce

Tuesday Soccer
Tacos (ground turkey)
Salad

Wednesday Soccer
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Chips/Salad/Fruit

Thursday
Roasted Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Spinach Salad
Oranges

Friday Movie Night
Nachos

Saturday
Chicken Noodle Soup (from roasted chicken)
Homemade Bread

Sunday
Spaghetti
Salad

I have been making stuff, just too busy makin' and not enough photos....stay tuned...photos to come.

Menu Monday

2007-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Monday

Chicken AlfredoBroccoli and Salad
Fruit

Tuesday

Bean Soup and Corn Bread

Wednesday

Baked Ziti
Homemade breadsticks
Salad

Thursday

Homemade clam chowder/ Left over bean soup for kids
Baked fries

Friday (I am volunteering for school carnival)

Mac N Cheese and Hot dogs

T.v. dinner for

Saturday

Homemade Pizza
Fruit

Sunday

Barbequed Pork steaks
Baked apples
Noodle Roni

Garden Eye Candy

2007-10-14T17:03:00.001-07:00

These were taken in my front yard on Saturday.

2007-10-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

I had some fabric leftover from the pillows that *had* to be used up plus I *had* to try out my new bias tape maker. The result: a book holder.

Couch Pillows

2007-10-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Needed some new pillows to brighten up the room.

The old covers....

The new....total cost $2. Material was $1 a yard.

Close-up of stitching...

What do ya think? Bright enough?

Fabric Flowers

2007-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

I needed a quick pick-me-up sewing project. Waiting on approval from my girlie to make them into hair clips.

Menu Monday

2007-10-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another website so thought I might give it a try. Every Monday I will post my weekly dinner menu.

This week's menu:

Monday

Tacos made with ground turkey
Salad
Fruit

Tuesday

Chili Dogs
Homemade baked fries
Salad/ Fruit

Wednesday

Grilled Sandwiches (bacon, tomatoes, cheese, avacado)
Raw veggies/fruit

Thursday

Peter's work is having dinner for everyone

Friday

Homemade Pizza

Saturday

Potato soup / Canned soup for kids cuz they don't like taters
Homemade bread

Sunday

Chicken Stirfry
Rice
Mandarin Oranges

Blah, blah, blah....

2007-10-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

This is how I felt yesterday.

So when I feel that way I have to find things that make me happy,

Like this...

My son's eyes. I love how dark they are.

Harvesting the last of too many carrots.

Things that made me sad yesterday,
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/edlauck
I don't want to go into the details but if you know me and would like an update here is a link.

To keep my mind busy I cleaned out the garden. I have days of work left so that is something to look forward too, or not. Whatever it is, this is my release.

Things I want to make,
A jeans apron...
http://mybyrdhouse.blogspot.com/2007/09/september-apron-tutorial-jeans-apron-2.html

A chicken wire memory board
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_books_boxes_boards/article/0,2025,DIY_13746_2270324,00.html
Journal cover but I want pockets on mine.
http://kirinote.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-make-reversible-journal-cover.html

Things I have sewn this week:
two heabands, four pj pants
No sns because they are pretty boring!

Things I am thankful for:
Living
a wonderful husband
two beautiful children
my mom
time left with my dad no matter how short in may be
my garden
flowers
God
living by the beach
being a stay at home mom
my ipod... no, really i am....haha

Today is a new day with more possibilities than the last.

Apple Pie Goodness

2007-09-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

Homemade apple pie from my Dad's apples.

Life is really busy lately and in between my weekly or every other week trips down to see my parents (5.5 hours away) my free time has been spent in the kitchen trying to use up a TON of apples and pears from my dad's orchard. So far i have:

Frozen:

6 big ziplocks each of pears and apples
2 pear crisps
1 apple filling (froze apples in pie plate so I can just pop them in when I make the crust
More applesauce than I can remember
3 bags of grated garden carrots for carrot cake
3 gallon ziplocks garden tomatoes for salsa

Dried

2 big jars of apples (gone)
3 big jars of pears (half gone)
5 big trays of fruit rolls (gone)

Canned ~there is no way I am going and counting all of the jars~

Pear butter
Apple butter
Pear sauce
Apple sauce
Sliced apples
Sliced Pears
Blackberry jam

That's it for now. I am down to one big bowl stacked full of pears and two vegetable bins in the refrigerator of apple and pears. My house is FULL of fruit flies. Yuk. I really want to get some more blackberries to make blackberry jam but I have to leave for a week next week so that's not happening. Now let's get this straight. I do not like canning. I learned to can last year, mom gave me her old stuff (thanks mom) but I can't stand doing it. There is a great satisfaction at the end hearing the lids popping like popcorn I do admit. The end product is rewarding. Now let's get this straight. I hate canning. Will I continue to do? Well, of course I will. I am a gluten for punishment. :)

I would like to introduce you to my pig. His name is Riley and he is 7 years old. He is a garbage disposal, sometimes snorts, a great cuddler, loveable and great a keeping a pig stye for a room.

The room:

I found stuff everywhere. I was well aware of the fact I was taking my life into my own hands when i turned the closet door knobs. Buried in toys... but this mom made it out alive 5 HOURS later. He is a stuffer. I was a stuffer. My mom made me clean my room. My son has to clean his room. Let's just say "The Pit" was driving me crazy when he was at school. Now, if he doesn't clean up his toys at night they are headed to someone who will appreciate them!

2007-09-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

I love blogs with pictures. Not sure why I am posting this but here is a pic of downtown Eureka on the 101. That's about it for the traffic around here. Eureka is about 20 minutes from my town.

Salsa

2007-09-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

I made some spicy salsa from my garden tomatoes. It was good. Next time I will go down on the peppers so kids can enjoy. Dh and I arent too fond of onions in salsa so this was perfect. This was the first time I have made cooked salsa and I will do it over and over again now. Didnt have time to can it so I froze it. Made 3 cups.

I roasted at 425 degrees till the skins split.
1 red bell pepper
3 jalepenos (2 with seeds one without)
8 cloves of garlic
2 lbs of my garden tomatoes

Stuck it in the crockpot with juice of two limes, splash of vinegar, salt and 1/2-1 cup of cilantro for 1 hour. Let it cool and then blended up in my blender. Made 3 cups.

My nephew has arrived

2007-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

My baby sister gave birth to the sweetest baby ever...Caleb. 8lbs 1 oz. She was amazing during labor. Wow. I have a new found admiration for my lil sis. I have a new found love for a baby I have only held for 2 minutes. I hate living so far away. I get to see him this week though, yah! Now I must get busy finishing up that sling!

Once a month Cooking

2007-09-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Bought this book yesterday "Once a Month Cooking"

I have done OAMC on and off for 5 years now. I always love life when I can just pull something out the freezer and just prepare a salad and fresh fruit. Right now life is crazy so I want to simplify it once again. I dont have the time to gather my recipes so I thought this book would be a great way to get me back out of the kitchen and have more time to breathe. :) I bought it yesterday and really there are only a couple of meals I will have to cut out. I will make the rest work, kiddos will have to learn once again that they dont rule dinners....lol. I cant do it til October 1st because I am going out of town this week and dh will be out of town the following two weeks. I will report back with a review first week in October.

First Day of School

2007-08-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

It is official, both of my kids are in school. Sunday was a panic filled day. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep the night before. I mean, K has been my little helper for a long time and now momma is gonna be all alone. How selfish of me. : ) Luckily, Peter put up with me. We drove to evil Starbucks afterwards to get a coffee. *note* Two venti coffees are like $8. That is just wrong. I can get a pound of coffee at Winco for $5.99. Can you tell I never go to Starbucks. *note over* So, I sipped my not so hot coffee down in like 2 seconds. Peter drove off to work. WOW, momma is gonna be all alone! How selfish of me.....heheheheh.

So this week has involved ME time. Gardening, walking, cleaning, library trip, reading, gardening and more gardening. I am not so sad anymore about the kids in school, can ya tell? It makes it easy since they both love it so much and I dont have to worry.

My new plan is to start walking M, W and F. Wednesday I walked 2.5 hours. Ouch. This girl is out of shape. Oh my. Today I took about a 45 minute walk. Perfect. Next time I need to stretch before because the top of my feet hurt. I also have a bad ankle so I can't go as fast as I'd like but really my walks right now are about clearing the mud out of my mind. I clocked it, we live 1 mile to the beach. Life is good.

A sew and show

2007-08-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the outfits I made my soon to be nephew. They were so tiny. Made them out of an Ottobre magazine, issue 3/2004. I love those patterns and I have only one of their magazines. I hear their women's patterns are really nice as well.

Okay here they are:

For some reason I had a hard time photographing them. The first outfit is actually brown and blue. The other is a baby blue with darker blue accents. They were fun to make. I am worried they won't fit that boy though. My lil sis is gorgeous prego and all belly....he sure has stretched that girl to the max.

I also made some burp cloth and bib sets. Couldn't SNS these before the baby shower in case someone checks in on me. :)

Yesterday I did some canning all day and plan to do more later. I will post pics after I am all done. It has been a crazy last six weeks or so. Been in and out of the house traveling back and forth 5.5 hours each way. Each time we come back, we have had enough time to keep on the yard and do some laundry. I have been back now 3 days. The house is a disaster with all of this coming and going because we have been racing around at home when we are here. Well, long story short, I invited my friend over tomorrow. I got off the phone and realized my house is in absolutely no shape even for a very dear friend to see. Today I do laundry and make the house presentable. I can't stand a messy house and know I will feel better by the end of the day! Of course, the kiddos will not be happy about this because you can't even walk into their rooms. If they don't pick up, they lose their toys. Mean mommy has resurfaced, been a little relaxed about their rooms because they have been such good sports on these long road trips. Off to grumble.....

Overgrown garden

2007-08-15T06:34:00.001-07:00

I was gone for 3 weeks due to a family emergency. Here's what I came home to.
Everything got watered three times and my neighbor shot some water over the fence from his yard. I just don't think it was watered deeply enough, plus that is a lot of bulk to be top watering and that is what was done.

All four boxes

Note: There are four individual boxes there and I could only walk through Box 1 and 2! The lettuce bolted but I expected that because it is August. I lost snow peas, sugar snap peas, bush beans and my tomatoes are sprawled everywhere...i mean all over the ground. I tried picking up the maters but was too afraid to break them!

Box 1: Strawberries

Box 2: Lettuce, carrots, snow peas, cukes

Box 3: Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas

Box 4: Zucchini, cukes, tomatoes, snow
peas, bush beans, K's sunflower

I had to rip most of it out. I will update next week with pics since I am headed back out of town. That sucks about the garden but this year was a learning "Humboldt County gardening plus square foot gardening year" now I know what to do and maily know what NOT to do. LOL

2007-07-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

A cute card (if I do say so myself) I made for my lil sis's baby shower. I can't believe she is going to be having a baby. We are 12 years apart so I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Sniff. Sniff. Back to the card. Just a rectangle of fabric sewn onto cardstock folded in half with random stitch. Bought a prefab material scrapbooking tag and sewed it on like a pocket and then slipped in another pull out tag with the saying " A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as his legs increase". My little sis has been known in the family as being the angel God sent our family. So I felt that it was only fitting that our little angel is having another little angel. Oh and the buttons and ribbons are hand sewn on. It was really a lot quicker than one might think.

Got him

2007-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Background: I live in Gopher Land, I mean humboldt county. Gophers are trying to rule the world and in my honest opinion I am ready to overthrow the current gopherment, I mean government. Okay I am a dork. I dug my garden down about 12 inches and laid chicken wire down and up the sides and over the top upon the advice from K's preschool teacher. We then put in raised beds. Well, about 3 weeks ago gopher came up in the middle of my fullest box and then the next. He would come out at night and eat the snow pea and sugar snap pea plants from the roots up. Neighbor has also seen him munching away above ground. SO my loving and dedicated to keeping me happy husband couldn't stand to see my tears over a little rodent went out a set a Macabee trap for me (underground brutally horrific) to set get that son of a gun. Two days went by and the booger was laying low. I am thinking he was coming up with a plan of attacks. Well, hahaha, the Brown's won this war. WE GOT YOU LITTLE RODENT. Okay, no pics. Sorry for the disappointment.

Pj's For me

2007-07-12T07:49:00.001-07:00

Pj's for moi.

Shirt: McCall's 4872

My first time using this pattern. I shortened the shirt considerably and brought the neck line down a couple of inches. I will shorten the sleeves more next time. The neckline is done with decorative elastic instead of self-facing.

Pants: Pj Pants: Simplicity 7229

This is my favorite fast skirt and pants pattern. I love this style because the last thing this girl needs is more fluff from a gathered waistband adding to her bulkiness. It makes really nice skirts too.

Riley's Drawing

2007-07-08T20:09:00.001-07:00

R checked out a book at the library. You know the kind that shows you how to draw in steps. Well, here is what my almost 7 year old. I am impressed.

My sewing area after a day of sewing!

2007-07-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband took care of kids all day so I could sew. I had so much fun so thought I would share the carnage and mess. I can't share the product because someone might be peeking!!!

More pics

2007-06-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Isn't my little flower growing big?

This is my garden a month ago. It is way bigger now. The snow peas are coming off like crazy. I planted way too much lettuce. I can't keep up with it despite all that I am eating. I have harvested a few strawberries as well. Tomatoes are getting a wee bit bigger. I am very pleased since this year was just about learning how to garden in a cool climate. My flower seeds have done quite well...zinnias, cosmos, morning glory, and nasturtiums.

Had to throw in a pic of the kids in their T-ball uniforms. K enjoyed it so much. It wasn't R's favorite sport. It's over now. No sports til the middle of August. Yippee. Then it will be soccer for the both of them three days a week. Soccer is fun though. :) The kids are growing so fast. Riley just lost tooth number 4. His second top tooth at that. He is all gums up top now. Too cute. I remember how hard we had to work to get those teeth in and now they just fell out!

I'm Back

2007-06-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

Well, its been awhile since I have posted. Figured I better post a pic of my girlie turning 5!

Me n K

2007-05-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

Kids n sports

2007-04-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Riley is in basketball. He has now played two games. The first one he was really interested in watching the clock count down. The second game he was really into defending, even if they were his own teammates. He has done really well though for not knowing what he is doing.

Riley and Kaliana are on the same t-ball team. Very fun to watch. K is way into t-ball and working hard at it. This pic is from their first game.

First Harvest

2007-04-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Could life get any better? First harvest out of the garden. Four little radishes. I wasn't sure if I would like them but they are so much better than store bought radishes. I still have plenty of time in our cool climate to plant a bunch more. They really do make good row markers. I picked three of them a little early but I wanted enough for my lunch salad.

Oh and underneath the radishes is an old project I am finishing up. Will be a mosaic shell fountain. Feels good to dip my hands in grout again.

2007-04-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

These are pics from last year's vacation to Fort Bragg...just wishing for a vacation.....that's all. :)

Here's Kaliana in her outfit

2007-03-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here she is in all her cuteness. The pants are way too baggy for my taste. She loves the outfit so that is always a plus. She gets so excited when I sew for her now. I love it.

Personal update:

Been staying away from the puter this week. I am battling depression big time and the only way for me to beat it is by staying as busy as possible. I will not let myself go into the dark hole! It is the medication Dr. prescribed me for my neck issues. I started taking a half dose on Wednesday. Starting to feel more like myself already. I am only feeling some withdrawals late afternoon and if I stay busy all is good. I am on a small dose so that helps for sure. I am also feeling a little discouraged and crazy when it comes to my neck pain. Physical therapy isn't helping. The only thing that helps is when he is doing the cervical traction (lifting my head up) and that is only when he is doing it. Feels like a nerve is unpinched when he is doing it. The pain I feel is on the right side but the herniated disc protrudes to the left as well as the bone spurs. Hmmm. The most pain I seem to be dealing with is in my right arm lately. Physical therapist did some tests and said the pain has got to be coming from my neck and not my shoulder or wrist. Dr.s have been saying maybe I have carpal tunnel and that is where the pain is coming from. HELLO..I have a pinched nerve from the herniated disc. I can feel it. The physical therapist is the only one who has acknowleged what I feel so that is comforting but not making me feel any better at all. I have an EMG and nerve conduction test on Tuesday. These tests will help determine where the nerve tingling is from as well as the muscle weakness. Physical therapist tested that I have forty percent strength in my right arm so there is something. there is this loud voice in the back of my head that says I am crazy and it is all in my mind but the tests show i am not but what if nothing comes back on the tests on Tuesday. I am going crazy I tell ya. I am 32 and can not imagine living my life like this. It brings me to tears thinking about living like this. I blow dry my hair with my arm propped up for goodness sakes. I am in pain sewing from looking down. I do most things with my non-dominate hand. The whatifs have been taking over me and I am just tired of my brain that never stops. I have said too much already....don't like complaining but I have become real good at it.

On another note: Mother in law is coming next weekend. Peter work so hard and built me the fence for me so I have slowly been trying to paint it. Not an easy task because I have a hard time keeping a grip on the brush but have a third of it done so far. Spent an hour and a half cutting the grass by hand around the bottom so I can paint the bottom portion today. I must have looked so silly out there with my paper scissors...lol. I only got half way at that. Haha. Going out this afternoon after the fog lifts hopefully (ya never know...which is another thing I have been fighting trying to paint it.)...to finish my job...pics to come shortly.

Garden:

Seeds are coming up. Gopher is tearing up our lawn but hasnt broken through the garden yet. Chicken wire is working. We had a couple nights of freezing and the plants made it through...yah! I went out yesterday to plant some more. The only seedlings I planted indoors that seem to be doing well are my cukes, zukes, cilantro and some cosmos. I am not sure when to set out my warm weather plants here. I suppose I could look for the number for my local county extension office and find out. The nursery didnt have them out though....although there were tomatoes. Supposedly they are impossible to grow here. This girl loves a challenge but hates risk so I will only experiment with one early variety and one cherry tomato. they will not have the privelege of my nice raised beds either. One will get a tire around it....not sure if that will help keep the heat in but honey got me one so I better try it. The other one is gonna get plopped in the ground somewhere. Our dirt is beautiful here but we'll see if it just gonna be gopher bait. Being outside so much has been good for my soul and mind. I haven't felt like doing it but i have to keep pusing myself. I am just physically tired!!

boy what a long and scatterbrained post this was. In fact, I wore out the batteries in the wireless keyboard. :) Better take care of the dog and chitlins because I just noticed it is two hours past breakfast! Bad momma!

Sewing for my girlie

2007-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Peter took the kids away for a few hours on Saturday. I have the most caring and understanding husband...by the way. I needed some me time. I put sewing off for so long. I used to sew most of K's wardrobe. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. I have had my embroidery machine since K was a baby, well now she is four, and I don't think I have used that thing more than 10 times. I need to get a basic book on machine embroidery. I do love my serger though. Things go so fast with my Babylock Imagine. I am going to have to do some altering of the pattern though. The shirt is really wide, as well as the pants. Will take pics tomorrow of K in it. I just got back from physical therapy and dont feel like fighting her to change. She has been testing me and really pushing buttons this last week. She is happily plopped in front of the television. Bad mom but a happy one right now so it is all good. Better get back to reality though and do some sort of school to get Baby : a.k.a. Kaliana ready to go to kindergarten next year. I am afraid to move...for the first time in months I have some sort of relief in my neck. I have a bulging disc, two bone spurs, osteoarthritis and too much pain. Physical therapist did manual cervical traction today (sort of moved my neck up to relieve pressure on the nerve that runs down arm which causes a lot of pain) and it feels good to have that elephant off my head...a.k.a. the pressure I feel on my head. Awww....life feels good right about now.

Garden Helper

2007-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here's what I found Sunday lapping up some water on my rhodedendron. Isn't he bright???

Finally starting to sew again

2007-03-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have really gotten out of the habit of sewing. I could make a million excuses but it feels good to create again. Really good for my soul. Creating things is what I do and good nourishment for my soul as well. I am redoing the colors in my living room. We bought this house last summer and the purples I had in the rental don't feel right. I want a subdued bright (is that possible?) beachy living room. This will be a wallhanging. Been working on it little by little this week. I plan to do nothing but sew today. There are other things that need my attention but I am ignoring what my mind says today because my heart needs some uplifting. :)

2007-03-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

When vacationing at our favorite house in our favorite place to vacation...Fort Bragg, CA (pure heaven) I grabbed some seeds from their nasturtiums that covered the whole backyard. Started them in pots by a sunny window about 3 weeks ago. I need to start hardening them off because they are growing like weeds. After we paint the fence sectioning off the garden, I am going to let these climb over it in a fashionable manner to soften the edges. Making sure to prune and catch all seeds to the yard doesn't get taken over!

K's preschool teacher gave me some breadseed poppy seeds. Started them the same time as the nasturtiums above. They are coming along nicely. The flowers will be pink. They get really big and leaves remind me of cabbage.

Here's a pic of all the seeds I am starting indoors...cosmos, basil, cilantro, cukes, zukes..that's it for now.

All of my lettuce is coming up, as well as carrots and radishes. The dirt we got had a lot of weed seeds in it so I am having a hard time deciphering what is what. I am weeding is the open spots that are waiting to be planted and leaving the rest alone until I get a good idea of what is what. Peter will be setting traps for me tonight. Woke up this morning and there are like 6-7 mounds of dirt in front yard. Of course two of the mounds are in some decorative rocks so I will have to sift through that dirt. Our neighbor across the street chased this gopher into our yard...think I will have bring over a pot of gopher soup as a nice gesture....kidding.

Pics from the outside of our house....

2007-03-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get the whole house in one shot without getting a ladder to step on neighbor's roof because our street isn't really that wide. So here's the front of our house pieced together. Our house is long and really is straight in the front. It's not all that big...I think the square footage is almost 1400. It is a light yellow/ offwhite with a dark grey trim. .....

This is a covered carport off of garage in above pic. It has Peter's bug he has dreams of redoing.

and to the right of the carport is the "back yard" where the garden is and there is a little potting shed as well......

A side view so you can get the idea of how it looks....

FRONT YARD>>>NARROW ...........

If you walk around the left side of the house here is that yard area....the side road there is actually our address road but the front door is on another street...??. The side road is busy because across the street there are a bizillion apartments.....

Walking along this yard around the back of the house....

Walking through the privacy fence there this is what you will see but opposite....I took it from the other part of the yard..... (our only trees..two plum and one chinese maple).....

Looking other direction by the plum trees by garden area...other side of garage/carport/shed...

So there it is....it was hard to accurately photograph everything due to the length and narrowness of it all.

OUR NEW VEGGIE GARDEN

2007-03-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

We finally got done building the veggie beds. I dug a hole 6ft by 20 ft. Laid down chicken wire to *hopefully* keep the gophers out. Peter built 4 boxes for me out of cedar. 3 of them are a6ft by 6ft. The one closest to the fence is 3 by 3...strawberries from my Dad's garden are in that one. The box next to the strawberry planter is fully planted with seeds (some spaces are left open to for a consistent supply). That bed has baby bibb lettuce, spinach, mesculan mix of lettuce, radishes, bush snow peas and some sweet baby carrots. The bed next to that one has sugar snap pole beans and some carrots seeds so far. I have some seeds started inside to plant in the other boxes but have heard it is best to wait to plant in our area (Humboldt County, ca) at the end of March. Started inside: bush cukes, zuchinni, basil, cilantro, and some cosmos to plant elsewhere. I put some rocks and bricks on the end, hoping to disperse the water that collects there. Our house is lower than the other houses so I yard gets all of the water run-off. We call our driveway "Lake Brown".

A close up one of the boxes...

Peter built these out of cedar. 2x6's with 1x2's in all four corners for support. We are hoping they will at least last 5 years because we spent a good $100 on the supplies. Peter picked up a compost/ dirt mix from a local supplier for $45. The dirt here is awesome...soft, full of worms, dark so I plan on starting a compost bin for next year. I have access to yard clippings from Peters work and a local vet has a place where you scoop horse poop. Yeah.

Freecycle fence.....
You gotta love freecycle. Someone posted a huge section of a regular 6 foot fence. Peter went a got it for me (gotta love him too), dismantled it, denailed it, cut it and renailed it with the salvaged nails. He had to go and get some clamps because it is staked in the ground with metal poles about 3 feet deep. Supplies as well as a rental of a post hole digger were under $20 I believe. We had to put the fence up to keep our dog from walking all over the garden. I have a nice sized area to do more boxes but for now I am going to stick with what I have got. SO many people keep wishing my luck gardening here with the gophers and dampness. I will not let all of the neagative comments stop me though! When there's a will there is a way. I am determined....

Street view.......

....... A view from the street so you can get a better idea of the space I have. Am guessing it is about 15 feet x 30 feet??? I have the whole yard to do too but this is my place where I don't have to worry about the kids or dog trampling all over my babies. This is really our back yard. Our yards are set up wierd.

Productive Saturday

2007-03-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Woke up went grocery shopping. $ Spent $200 $ Went over budget. Although, I do have enough dinner meals for three weeks. Starting on Weight Watchers upped my budget a bit. It will be a good thing. I better come check in later....woke Peter up!

My first blog entry

2007-03-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

I just started a blog over at myspace...decided I had to learn too much and really just want a place to share about my everyday life without having to fancy things up. I definately like this one better.

Poor K is was sick all day yesterday. R went to school but he was looking pale so I am expecting a phone call. He is getting a mind of his own and picking mine and his dad's smart mouth. I was telling him where the toothpaste was and he wasn't going, said it again...so he says "What do you think, I speak another language or something....I'm going!" Little stinker. Had to put his hands at the door and couldn't play this morning because we had a talk about respect.

I am feeling run down today and have a killer headache from my neck since I have slept on k's floor the past two nights since she has been sick.

Spent all day yesterday coming up with a menu for the next two weeks. Starting weight watchers again and i have to get off on a good start or it won't happen. Here it is. Just copying what I posted on another board.
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Tonight: ???
Friday: Papa Murphy's Pizza so I can go grocery shopping
Saturday 3: Chicken Burritos 4pts / Baked Corn tortilla strips 1pt / Spinach Salad
oranges
Sunday 4: Pumpkin Soup 1pt / Pork chops seasoned with lime pepper 5pts / Raw 0 PT veggie/ Kids will have noodles and baked beans with theirs since they dont like pumpkin soup
Monday 5: Chicken Fajitas 6pts/ tomato soup pt / opt raw veggies and quesidillas for kids
Tuesday 6: Leftover Tomato Soup opt / grilled lemon shrimp 2cup 4pts/ green beans
Wedneday: Open faced grilled pastrami sandwich 4pts/ Baked seasoned potato wedges 3pts
Thursday 8: Spaghetti (marinara homemade), salad, cooked broccoliFriday 9: Homemade pizza/ Mine will be on halved pita bread, ff cheese and veggies
Sat 10: yogurt marinated grilled chicken 3pts/ rice 2pts/ veggies 0pts
Sun 11: leftover chicken salad 3, orange 2ptsStill working on it and figuring out all of the points....am also planning out breakfasts and lunches...at least those are my good intentions.

*When I was doing once a month cooking we would rotate a menu weekly. This really helped the kids try new food. I thought Dh hated it, he told me last night to just rotate the menu weekly because he liked it that way....so he could help me out. Yahoo.
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So doubling the menu and gonna plan on preparing as much as I can beforehand. Contemplating grilling the chicken all at once and then freezing but worried it will be too dry and R doesn't like chewy things. I plan on going shopping tonight after peter gets home from work if he gets home on time.

I have been down in the dumps this week for various valid reasons I thought....then my monthly friend came to visit and it all made sense! Sometimes its like I get possessed and someone else talks for me...lol. Back 2 me, bet the household is happy...or not. Lol