Just a Peak...

Last weekend, my friend Robyn cut some vinyl for me.

It was my very first vinyl project.

And, being me, I couldn't just slap some vinyl on a board and call it good!

First, I painted the board white... then I dry brushed it.

THEN I used the vinyl she cut as a mask.

Then I brushed a thin coat of glossy, cherry red paint on.

And the black just barely peeked through.

Right now it's in my garage drying... this week, I will finish distressing it and post a FULL picture!

For now though, this is all you get!

Throw It In Stew

On Friday, after running around to multiple stores trying to find a DECENTLY priced winter coat for Evan, I got home and was exhausted. 

And I realized that I actually needed to make dinner for my family.

And it was 530. 

And we had not had an actual sit down, homemade dinner for a week.

And it was cold and I wanted something hardy.

So I opened up my pantry door, and my eyes fell instantly onto my pressure cooker. 

DING DING DING!!! 

I can make stew in 30 mins in my pressure cooker!

So I grabbed some meat from the freezer, dug around in the fridge and pantry while it defrosted to locate whatever root veggies I could find, and went to town.

You won't NEED a pressure cooker... you could easily do this in a crock pot or on the stove top... just adjust the cooking time for the method.

Here's what I ended up with: 

Now, first of all... this was really "What do I have on hand".  And like all my recipes... uh, I am not a direction follower... and that means you shouldn't be either!  If you don't have or don't like an ingredient.... leave it out or replace it!

On that note, pretty please, give the turnip a try.  It is SOOOOOOO healthy, and to be honest, it adds a hint of sweetness to the finished stew that is just wonderful.  JUST TRY IT!!

Okay.  First the meat.  I used a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of pork and beef stew meat, about 1/2 a pound total.  I think it would be really great with chicken or either pork or beef.  I just happen to have two small bags of each stew meat in my freezer.    I put the defrosted meat into my pressure cooker and browned them up, added 1/2 a cup of water and brought it up to pressure for 10 mins.  (This would be the equivalent of simmering in a low crock pot for about 4 hours, but I would add more water.) 

I did a quick release on the pressure cooker, added two chopped carrots, one chopped onion, a small diced turnip, a small can of med diced chilies and one cup of diced canned tomatoes.  I again brought it up to pressure for 10 mins (another 3-4 hours in a crock pot set to low).  I did a quick release and added my seasonings (you can't add salt to the pressure cooker, otherwise it effects cooking time... if you are doing this on a stove top or crock pot, you could add these earlier).    I added a teaspoon of beef base, a teaspoon of cumin and garlic and a dash of black pepper and parsley.  After that simmered and warmed for a few minutes, I added about two tablespoons of fat free sour cream. 

And once it's warm, it's ready to serve with a nice crusty slice of bread! 

 

I just can't stop laughing...

I saw this on Pinterest a few days ago... and every time I see it, I laugh hysterically... not just a giggle or a chuckle, but a full blown laugh out loud.

For those that wish you had an apple. Do It Yourself Kit: Converts Any Windows Based Laptop Into a Apple MacBook Pro.                  

I would love to give credit, but there was no link on the actual pin...  It was just too funny not to share though!

Not so Random...

I got online to post a message to a friend on facebook.

I looked over to the right, and saw that one of my suggested, "People you may know" was actually a childhood friend who lost her battle with cancer just over one year ago. 

I guess I could read a lot into it... after all, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Marty had been one of the only girls that I felt was truly a friend as a teenager... and she had reached out to me on myspace about 5 years ago.  I had sort of lost touch though after getting pregnant with Ryan, so I missed her last few years.   Maybe it was a reminder to keep those I love close. 

Maybe it was the glass of wine at the end of the long, hard, stress filled week that drew too much emotion to the surface at the sight of her smiling face.

I have no clue. 

But, I felt the need to post just this... Read what you want into it.  Hug a loved one, squish your boobies, take 5 minutes to reach out to a friend you lost contact with or just pull out those childhood pictures and remember those who touched your life. 

Robot Fun

This weekend, we stayed with some friends... and they have a ROBOT!!

A talking, walking, DANCING robot.

While Evan had a blast learning to control it, Ryan... well... here, watch this:

We did eventually get him dancing along with it... just a little leary of the walking talking thing-a- m-bob!

Scrappy Weekend: It's only just begun...

My favorite page so far... And of course, it's on my favorite paper line, So Sophie...

The "read me" explains the reasoning behind Ryan's "lullaby" of Rockin Robin.

It was not the song Evan and I picked for him... those are in the pocket.  My friend Robyn cut the "lullaby" title on her Pazzel for me, the "my" is a Autumn Leaves stamp that I stamped first in a chestnut brown and then in my new favorite green... pear tart. 

My favorite little touch is the itty bitty birds stamped onto the pattern paper... they are super faint on purpose... I just wanted a little bit of whimsy... So it's a good think that Robyn owns a stamp set called, "Whimsical Birds" (TPC Studio).

Anyway, the REAL excitement starts tonight... the boys are going to stay with their grandparents... and we will be child free!

This morning...

I went into Ryan's room to get him dressed for school, and I saw this...

And it was all I could do NOT to call in to work.

I did sit and stare at him for quite a while....

YEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

When we went to Montana this spring, my Dad introduced us to a show called Storage Wars.   


It's a "reality" tv show about storage locker auctions.   If you haven't seen it, there is one individual on the show that uses a classic auction "yep" to place his bids... and he's really obnoxious about it. 

It's random... I know. But we keep watching for one reason... Ryan is so dang cute!

The show may not be the most entertaining and there is no way I could sit through an entire episode if Ryan wasn't...

so dang cute!

It never ends.

Sigh. 

I don't post much about work... just know... this song is on repeat in my head right now!

At least it's catchy!

Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog...

I'm sure if Shakespeare could have worked it in, there would have been a line about hula-hoops...

We got the cousins together today, and one of the stops we made was at Gardner Village, which currently has all the witches out on display! 

The kids had a blast wandering through the village looking at all the funny displays, however, the hula hooping witch was for sure their favorite!

While Aunt Casey was introduced to the wonderful bead shop, the kids and I played with the witches and snuck away to get a fresh cookie and a warm hot cocoa from the bakery!

A Little Extra Time

Well, thanks to my two little buggies... I had some extra time off from work this week. 

And nap time was VERY productive!!  (Okay, he didn't really nap, but I made him lay down and watch a movie for quiet time, lol!)

AND LOOK WHAT I DID!!!!!!

It's my first "mixed media" canvas.

It was a lot of fun... Very very therapeutic.  And when I screwed up... very easy to fix (well, all but that slightly crooked rub-on... dag nab it!) by just throwing more layers on!  It was definitely a learning experience!  Loved trying different tools to spread the modge podge and paint (fingers of course were my favorite).  Also loved mixing and layering the colors to get the feel I wanted. 

TOO MUCH FUN!

It's not as "embellished" as some of the other pieces I've seen around, but hey, I tend to be sort of simple and clean in all my crafty adventure, and I will have to plan out my next one a little more... seeing as how my supplies were limited to what I had on hand due to "quiet time" crafting.

After setting it up with my little fall pumpkins, I think I want to add one more word up in the top left corner...

Thoughts?

Candy Bag or Candy Trough... You decide!

Last year, I saw THESE adorable candy corn trick or treat bags on one of my favorite websites, The Purl Bee .  I didn't have the time to make them last year, but knew, without a doubt, that I needed to make them before my last little boy out grew them!

Well, Saturday, Ryan and I took a trip to JoAnne's to pick up the fleece to make his Halloween costume, and while I was there, I picked up some felt and some adorable variegated thread that I just couldn't pass up, even though the instructions made NO MENTION of the need for cute top stitching!  (Once again, there I go not following directions!  And believe me, that wasn't the only place I made alterations!)

Well, I think it turned out pretty darn cute!  He calls it his Ice Cream Bag.  He obviously has not learned the wonders of Candy Corn yet!

Finding our Groove

Well, it's been a month since the State changed back to 5 days a week... and I think my family is finally starting to find it's footing again! 

This weekend was wonderful... I actually accomplished a lot, and finally feel like I'm not constantly playing catch up. 

My house is mostly clean (I could be mopping the floor right now, but have decided not to). 

I was able to stock the freezer with several meals, and my attempts to stock up on some food storage items is finally starting to show!

I even found time this weekend to do a few crafty things and pull out all our fall decorations! 

Hopefully, Ryan will be the next to find his flow, and the screaming fits will disappear.  This weekend has already shown a great improvement!

So that's my random update... and my way of *fingers crossed* returning to regular posting.

So Satisfied.

I love Pinterest.

Seriously.

A few weeks ago, I found this:

Source: makaiserman

And I loved it.  #1... It's a jar.  #2 It's a BLUE jar.  #3 It's a USEFUL FUN BLUE JAR!

So I pinned it, so that when I stumbled across a blue mason jar that I could afford (man those things have skyrocketed in price!), I'd remember it.

AND THEN, this morning, my dear friend Robyn, pinned THIS:

Source: momtastic

And guess what I have in my pantry???  MASON JARS!!!  And guess what I have in my craft room??  MODGE PODGE!!!!  AND GUESS WHAT I HAVE IN MY BAKING CUPBOARD??????  FOOD COLORING!!!!!!!!!

And guess what I made!!

 As I've pointed out a million times, I JUST DON'T FOLLOW DIRECTIONS WELL!! 

But, uhhh, I think it turned out really well.  The original directions said to mix the food coloring with water, then the modge podge. 

After reading some of the comments on the post, it seemed that the water was what everyone kept blaming for the streaking.

And who wants a streaky jar?  Plus, I wanted to make sure I had a brilliant blue to match some of the other (actually vintage) bottles I have in the bathroom this is going to live in. 

So I skipped the water.  It made for a VERY thick coating of modge podge, and I let it sit upside down for over an hour (the original directions said to let it sit upside down for 30 mins). 

Also, I didn't follow her baking directions.  First of all, my modge podge was a lot thicker than hers, so I started out upside down (at 200F) for 10 mins, flipped it for 10 more.  Flipped it back upside down for another 10 mins.  THEN right side up for yet another 10.

You could totally tell when it was done, all the cloudiness was gone, and it was a brilliant blue everywhere.

One little bonus of using the modge podge at full strength... itty bitty bubbles... like you find in old blown glass bottles.  

 I am totally in love with it! 

One other wonderful part:  It was practically free!  The jar was saved from the trash after a spaghetti dinner... the votive was in my stash, and it took less than 10 cents worth of my craft supplies!