Tad, Christmas, and 2011

Well, now that everyone knows our big news the blog will probably become mostly an update on Tad.  Tad is short for Tadpole (as dubbed by Brandon's mom) and will stand in as baby's name instead of "it." A woman I worked with was nicknamed "bug" for a while, because at first that's what they thought her mom had.  I am now 13 weeks along and the nausea and sickness has finally begun to subside!  Food and I are speaking once again, and mostly in a friendly manner which is a very welcome change!  Other than that, not much else has changed.  I think because I lost weight due to the "morning sickness" and because I'm tall there's no bump yet.  (*I knew that morning sickness wasn't just in the morning, but what I didn't know was that it lasted ALL DAY LONG...they should call it pregnancy sickness)  Brandon has been absolutely wonderful through all of this!  He's willing to run errands for me, he's kept his mouth shut when all of the sudden I don't want to eat a certain food anymore instead of calling me insane, he's taken care of the dog when I didn't want to get out of bed some mornings, and would bring me food when I stayed there all day.  I am so blessed! 

We got to go home for Christmas, which was really nice!  We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with his.  I think baby Tad and Apollo (who was boarded back home) got the same amount of gifts from their grandparents.  Clearly, they've been saving some pent up spoiling energy!  Unfortunatly, we didn't have enough luggage to get our loot back home (mostly because I asked for a bunch of bulky cold weather items) so Po won't be getting some of his gifts until we get to Washington, but I don't think he minds.  Ignorance is bliss.  We got him a doggy jacket.  He's so cute in it too, it's blue water resistant material on the outside with reflective piping, and lined with plaid fleece.  We're not going to be getting him sweaters or anything, but figured he needed something for the big change in climate. 

So, 2011 is going to bring some huge changes in our lives.  Obviously we're moving clear across the country and of course adding on to the family and all that entails.  We'll also celebrate our 3rd anniversary and most likely are going to go through our first deployment.  While that's all that I know of for the year, those are pretty big events.  The verse that plays through my mind is from Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  I know that God is with us and will provide for us, and that truth will become more evident as the year goes on for us.  :)  So, here's wishing you a happy New Year full of wonderful blessings!

the big news

Well folks, we've got our little sapling!  Brandon and I are expecting a little baby elms to be arriving July 2011.  It's funny because my friend at Banter of a Blond Republican Couple, MacKenzie, and I have a running joke that I always have big events a year after her.  She graduated a semester early in December 2006, I graduated a semester late in December 2007, She got married January 2007, I got married January 2008, She had a baby May of 2010, and now I'll have one a little later, but still in 2011.  So, I've gone back over the blogs she's written during her pregnancy, and one of her first ones mentions that she hasn't been online in a while, because she was feeling rotten all the time and didn't really want to blog about that, especially before the big announcement.  Same applies here.  I'm beginning to feel better (I hope) so hopefully this morning sickness will be subsiding to non-existent soon!  I'm 11 weeks along, and we had our first sonogram today, and got to see the baby move and see it's little tiny heart beat, so it even feels more real now :)  There is actually something in there! 

Private eyes (clap clap) are watching you...

I've been a terrible blogger, but to be fair, I've still been reading my friends and people I don't know but feel like I do because I stalk their blogs blogs....so there's that.  There are a number of things going on in our family right now, all to be announced soon, but just so you know, I am still alive and stalking :)

Well, the bazaar came and went, and didn't go very well for me.  I only sold one and it was the small ones.  It didn't seem like many people were there to actually shop, they just ate dinner, talked, walked around and listened to the speaker.  It seemed like if they bought anything, they bought stuff that you can buy anywhere, and passed up a lot of booths that had some interesting things that people worked really hard on.  (I'm not the only person who thought this, my boss was there as well and people hardly glanced at a table filled with cookies...even if you don't like the prices, you can't not look at cookies) Although, there was a man next to me that was handicapped, and painted with the brush in his mouth because he couldn't utilize his hands very well.  He made the whole night for me, because he was actually painting during the sale, so I got to watch his technique and it was awesome!  He seemed to sell quite a bit, and rightfully so because his work was not only beautiful, but done in an inspiring way, so at least someone did well :) 

it's getting closer

We're almost a week away from the bazaar and I'm almost done with my paintings!  You may be thinking "if i see another cupcake I'm gonna barf!"  Well....that's rude, but you won't see anymore cupcakes :) I'm done with those and have moved on to your suggestions!  See, I listen to you!  So, here are my newest additions. 

We've got some coffee related images on 8x8s.  I wanted to do something a little different from just a coffee cup, because I feel like that's been done and done well, so you can get that somewhere else.  So, I found some prints that looked like coffee lables and loved that idea, so hopefully others will too!

I also did a smaller (two 11x14s) version of my sister's Christmas present from last year.  I'm planning on doing another one in different colors, but haven't figured out which colors to use.

And we've got some birch trees on 2 20x20s.

Make Something Monday

This week's tip might be obvious to the rest of you, but I'm excited by it!  I feel that as a cook, I can hold my own.  I'm certainly not chef material, but I can avoid burning dinner 99% of the time.   However, when it comes to baking a potato, I'm hopeless.  I've tried and tried and tried, and still, the center is always raw.  I've changed the temperature of the oven, I've had them sitting naked on the oven rack, I've had them wrapped in foil.  I've left them in to bake for longer amounts of time.  Nothing worked for me, until I found a recipe for a "twice baked" potato, that suggests you microwave it!  What?  Microwave a potato?  Yep, and the microwave even has a setting for potatos that actually gets it just perfect!  (if yours doesn't, just zap it at 50% power for 20 min) I've done this twice now and they've come out fantastic!  Even when I realized, due to the whistleing potato sound, that I forgot to poke holes in it and dashed into the kitchen stabbed it a few times and put them back in, they worked!  The skin won't be all crisp and such, but I don't really care and Brandon doesn't eat them anyway.  So, there you go :)  go microwave yourself a potato

some more cupcakes

I’ve been a busy little cupcake painter the last couple of days, so you’ve got some more cupcakes you can see!  woo!  There is still a little fine tuning left to do on each of them, but for the most part they’re finished.  I’m thinking of charging $25 for the 8x8’s and $20 for the 6x6.  Part of me feels like that’s a good price, and part of me feels like I should charge more.  However, if I charge more…would people still buy them?  I’m not fond of this “selling” stuff.  I’d make a terrible business person.                           

MSM

I won't lie to you, I don't enjoy the time of week where I sit down and plan the meals for the week, but it must be done.  The most frustrating thing is that not only do you have to plan a main course, you need to include sides.  Generally, I use frozed veggies because they're easy, but I like to use fresh when I can.  Well, two weeks ago, I planned to make hamburgers and thought that fries would go very well with it.  I know, you're thinking "what!  fries and a burger, you're nuts!" but I just like to think outside of the box.  However, I wanted something a little different, so I made baked sweet potatoe fries and they were so good!  I'll share the recipe that I used, you can of course do more if you want!  I give you permission.

set oven to 450
clean and peel 2 sweet potatoes, then chop them into desired shapes.  (I cut them in half, the short side, then cut those into 8ths)
on a cookie sheet, spread out fries and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over top, mix into fries
season with kosher salt, pepper, and paprika
bake for 20 min, then let cool for 5

I'm sure you could change out the seasonings to sugar and cinnamon if you want a more dessert-ey fry, or use chili powder for a more caliente-ey fry.  Have fun with them :)

paintings

The bazaar is only a month away, so I’ve been working on the paintings I’m hoping to sell.  So far, I only have 4 done, and one really really close to done.  I’m wanting to have around 20 to sell, but that number seems really high once I see it in black and white.  If none sell…I’m gonna have a whole lot of paintings…or Christmas presents ;)  Here are some that I’ve finished.  You’ll recognize a couple if you’ve followed the blog, because I just copied them.  However, I do have a couple of new ones too!  “chocolate” and “strawberry” are 8x8, and the other two are 6x6, if that matters to you.

Vanilla looks a little washed out in the photograph…I’ll work on that.

yippee!

I couldn't think of a good title, so yippee is what you get.  Here is a little update on the family.
Brandon is trucking along the P-3 training, we're hoping to find out where we'll be headed next with in the next couple of weeks (by weeks, I mean months.)  The first choice is Whidbey Island, Washington, second is Kanohoe Bay (a marine base) Hawaii, or thirdly would could stay here.  Of course, I'm fairly certain we'll be moving to Washington, because as the timing works out, it'll be the coldest part of the year and we'll have a snow storm.  Makes for good blog stories :)  I'm kidding, I have no idea where we'll be, but we know it's now in God's hands and He'll send us where we need to be.  I actually wouldn't be heart broken if we stayed here.  We've found a great church home, we wouldn't have to move, and I have a job!  Yay!  It's just part time for now, but I'm working at a cookie decorating place (no, not like at the mall) so I get to work within my hobby, which is pretty special.  Other than that, I've been keeping busy by painting and doing some cakes.  I'm going to try to get MSM back up and going again.  Apollo is doing well, he loves his yard but doesn't like that most of the house has hard surface flooring.  He is becoming more and more well behaved, we just need to kill his habit of jumping on people who come over and his digging, and he'd be wonderful!  So, that's us for now :) 

what do you think?

Hello friends, I need some assistance.  The church we've been attending is holding a craft bazaar and I'm considering entering to sell some cookies and such, but was also considering having some of my paintings up for sale and I want to honestly know your opinion.  I'm thinking of sticking more toward kitchen type things, but was wondering if a) you would ever buy a painting of a cupcake or b) if you were to hang a painting in your kitchen what would it be?  I am not looking for an ego boost, I'm not wanting compliments, just if you think there would be any sort of market for that.  I really appreciate your input!!

channeling June Cleaver

Can you believe it?  I don't have an apron!  Correction...I didn't have an apron!  Now I do.  Can you sleep now?  Sewing is not my strong suit, especially when it comes to my sewing machine, but I am making strides to become friends with it.  I've taken it out for brunch, braided it's hair...ok that's just getting weird.  Seriously though, I am trying to learn the darned thing and so I figured that an apron would be an easy little beginner project for me, that would be more than a pillow, which I don't need, but less than quilting a king sized quilt...which I also don't need.  I did need an apron though, especially considering the state of my clothes last Sunday when I was making cinnamon rolls.  I love the vintage inspired aprons that are in right now, so I found a pattern I liked and a fabric that I LOVE and it came out like this...

The top is a little big, but otherwise I am pretty proud of it.  I forgot to put on my pearls for the picture though, sorry Mom and Mrs. Cleaver.  I wasn't wearing heels either.  I was also not pregnant and not in the kitchen, but I was barefoot, so one out of three isn't bad....

I like that it has pockets, and while you could make them stand out by using a contrasting fabric, I like that they blend in a little.  I'm still considering adding another line of rick rack (which I used to call riff raff when I was little...or 12) to the top of the bib, but we shall see.  So there you have it! 

The dresser!

About a 2 weeks ago, Brandon and I purchased some bedside tables.  Well, they looked so nice with the bed, that our dressers looked very  much out of place, so we decided we'd refinish them to make them go with our bed and tables a little better.  Since they're both actually wood and not mdf or particle board, we wanted to stain them to get them to match.

So, this is a "before shot" of Brandon's dresser.

Then, we dusted, and stripped

Then, we sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded and.....
After that, we sealed, stained and finished with polyurethane

We're still waiting for it to dry fully, and hopefully air out before we put it back in the bedroom.  I'll get a better picture then, since this one was taken by garage light and that's not all too flattering.  (ie it's not really that red or shiny...) We originally had planned to replace the hardware, but couldn't find any to fit the pre-existing holes that would be budget friendly.  The screw holes were large enough that we thought filling the holes and staining over the fill, would still look weird, so for now, we just put the old back on.

So, yep, that's what I've been up to!  We're going to wait for the weather to cool off a little and hopefully dry out before we tackle my dresser.

cupcake 3

My third (and final for now, until I decide to get some more canvases) cupcake.  I feel like it's missing something though...I just don't know what?  Do you?

MSM

Wooo! I got one on a real live Monday!  We're  making cornbread today folks, because it's delicious.  However, we're not just making any old cornbread, we're making jalapeno cornbread.  So keep the milk out folks, 'cause it's gonna get hot!  (Unless you take out all of the seeds...then well...not so much)

Jalapeno corn bread

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1.In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan.

2.Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm.
 
Super easy and yummy!  Since I know you can live on corn bread alone (and what a shame) I'll throw in a serving suggestion.  Yup, you get a two-fer MSM this week! 
 
Texas style brisket (serves 6, if you need more, just go to allrecpies.com and search this recipe and put in as many servings as you want and it'll do the math for you)

• 2.5 lbs untrimmed beef brisket
• 1/4 and 2 tbs c strong black coffee
• 14 oz ketchup
• 1 can carbonated beverage (i used dr pepper)
• 2-3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3/4 tsp prepared yellow mustard
• 1-3/4 tsp liquid smoke (or chipotle in adobo sauce, but the liquid smoke can be found by the bbq sauce fyi)
• 1-3/4 tsp packed brown sugar

1.Place the beef brisket in a large slow cooker with the fat side up. Pour the coffee over the meat. Cook the brisket on LOW for 6 hours.


2.Meanwhile, stir together the ketchup, cola beverage, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, liquid smoke, and brown sugar in a bowl until well blended. Refrigerate until needed.

3.After 6 hours, remove and discard any fat from the brisket. Use a fork to pull apart and shred the meat. Pour the sauce over the meat, stirring to coat evenly, and cook 1 hour longer.
 
I also served green beans, but I just prepared frozen ones, and that's not all that exciting.  :) happy Monday

another cupcake

Well, I felt bad that the last one was vanilla with buttercream, and there wasn't any chocolate, so I made a chocolate cupcake with sprinkles.  I'm also working on a vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing.  The swirl is more complicated, so I'm a little scared of it.  Yes, I did just admit that I'm afraid of an icing swirl.

new painting

There is an artist I am a fan of on facebook who has a blog called scott's cupcakes.  He paints images of cupcakes he finds at a local bakery.  So far, I think he's done a new painting nearly every day, which is pretty awesome.  Well, I wanted to try my hand at painting cupcakes, and this is my first attempt.  I'm no where near the caliber that he's at, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  The photo on the other hand...washes out the painting.  I tried to fix it in photoshop, but it's still a little washed out.  Oh well.  I think I'll try some more later though.  :)

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth" Psalm 119:103

Make Something Monday

Yeah yeah, I know it’s not Monday, and being that you’ve already lived through Monday, I won’t try to make you think that it is.  However, I came up with a really quick project today that cost me absolutely nothing and resolved an organizational dilemma I’ve been having. 

I don’t accessorize much, but when I do, I like to see my options, and know what I’ve got available to me.  I’ve seen ideas for necklace holders in all forms such as; using a silverware tray to display them, funky little trees and other such figures to hang them from, or like me, dumping them in a drawer resulting in a big necklace knot.  I don’t recommend the latter.  Unless you like to untangle knots…then knock yourself out.  So, I was thinking about what I could do, and was looking at my corkboard picture frames and it hit me (an idea, not the corkboards.)  Use a canvas to act as a pin board, and hang the necklaces from that!  However, plain white is boring and while I thought about painting it, I decided to use fabric instead.  So, all you need for this project is

• a canvas (size is up to you, whatever you’ve got. I used 11x14)
• enough fabric to cover the front of the board
• nails
• glue gun

Yes, my fabric is slightly wrinkled and if you’re a go getter, you can iron it.  However I ironed yesterday, so I don’t know that I can physically iron again for another month or so….it’s in the rules.  You’ll stretch the fabric though, so most wrinkles disappear.  Those that don’t, you cover with your necklaces.  So, once you’ve cut your fabric and your glue gun is hot, start gluing the sides down.  I started on a long end, in the middle and worked my way out toward the corners..  Then, moved to the other long end, stretching the fabric in the middle, gluing that down, then pull and glue as you work your way toward the corners.  Lastly, fold in the end pieces and glue down the shorter ends as you did the longer ones.

 

There you have it!  Now just find a spot in your bathroom or wherever you get ready, and hang the canvas.  Poke nails or hooks or pins, whatever you have/want to use into the canvas and hang your jewelry.

TADA!  Now I know what I have, they won’t get all tangled and it’s very accessible.  (I don’t recommend hanging your nice silver jewelry out where it can tarnish, keep that stuff in their little bags but your costume stuff is fine :))

best kebob ever...

This week, we wanted to make a special dinner.  You know, one that involves a real recipe and marinating and stuff.  So we perused a grill book called Born to Grill and found a kebob that intrigued us.  It is so delicious that I couldn't wait to share it! 

Apple Chicken Sausage Kebobs
Marinade
1c apple cider or juice
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/4 olive oil
2T brown mustard
4tsp minced fresh sage (or 2tsp dried)
1T minced fresh Thyme (or 1.5T dried)
1T Dijon mustard
1/2tsp salt

1lb chicken breast cut into 1" pieces
8oz fully cooked chicken-apple sausage (it's in the grocery store, but if you can't find it you can use any mild chicken based sausage) cut into 1" slices
4 green onions cut into 1" pieces (which we omitted, but for the sake of you non onion haters...)
1 red delicious apple cut into bite sized chunks so that each piece has some skin on it.  (i used an apple corer to get my slices and then chopped those into thirds)
The recipe calls for metal skewers, but we didn't have any so I used the bamboo ones, with no problem.

At least 1.5 hours and up to 8 hours before you plan to grill, prepare the marinade, combining the ingredients in a small bowl.  Place the chicken chunks in a plastic bag, pour the marinade over them, and refrigerate.

Remove the chicken from the fridge, draining the marinade into a small sauce pan and reserving it

Avoiding crowding, thread the chicken sausage, onions (blech) and apple chunks onto the skewers, beginning and ending with the apple and using just occasional green onion pieces.  Let the kebobs sit covered at room temperature for about 15 min.

fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium

bring the marinade to a vigorous boil over high heat, cooking for several minutes, until reduced by 1/4.  Remove the reduced marinade sauce from the head and adjust the seasoning, if desired.

Grill the kebobs uncovered over medium heat for 8-10 min, turning to cook on all sides, until the chicken is opaque but still juicy.  Brush the kebobs with the sauce in the last few minutes of cooking.

Serve kebobs hot!!

I actually bought almost 2 lb of chicken because it was on sale, and so the recipe would go a little further.  We were able to get 7 kebobs with this (and one of just chicken)  The book says that it'll feed 4-6 portions if you use just the 1 lb.  Grilled apples are just delightful btw!

MSM

Hey!  I’m making stuff AND I’m posting it on Monday again!  This week, I’m sharing how I designed and made curtains with you.  I should start off by saying that I am not a seamstress.  I am terrible at sewing with the machine, but I want to get better at it and the only way to do that is to practice.  What I guess I’m saying is, if I can do this so can you.  Taller curtains are a little daunting to make just due to their size, so you’ll need some floor space and preferably a space that your dog can’t walk across your fabric. 

I know that Wal-Mart and Target offer affordable curtains that can actually be cheaper to buy than it is to make.  However, I am in desperate need for blackout curtains and those can get quite pricey.   Also, unless you’re decorating in the “it” color of the month, finding the color you want in a box store can be next to impossible.  Summer is a great time to take on fabric projects because there are some great deals to be had out there.  I was able to find the blackout fabric, trim, and the white fabric at 50% off, and the green fabric was in the scraps section, which is usually at least half off.  I was able to make 3 custom panels for the price of one! 

When designing your curtains, keep in mind that you want the curtain panels a little wider than your window, and you’ll have to decide whether you want them floor length, of just the height of your window.  Be sure to take seams, as well as how you’ll hang your curtains into account.  (ie if you want to use grommets, or a curtain rod pocket, be sure you allow for enough fabric to do this)

My particular curtains have two blocks of color with a contrasting trim separating the two.  It’s a little extra work, but doesn’t take too much time.   

I just set the green, wrong side up, along the bottom edge of the white fabric, and sewed a straight stitch.  Then, flip the green over and you’ve got a nice seam.  If you’re not great at making a straight line it’ll be ok because it’s covered with a trim!

If you’re just using one fabric for the whole panel, you can catch up here, now that the front of this color blocked panel is complete.  (if you don’t want lining on your curtains, just hem the sides and there ya go!)  There are many seams you can choose from, I went with the straight stitch (like what we did on the color block) because I wanted to maximize the width of my panels.  You can do as you wish on this.

Lay out your fabric as flat as possible, with the sides you want shown facing each other.  (the picture above is not shown that way)  Pin along the edges and sew up the long ends first.  I chose the simplest way to hang the curtain, which is the pocket top.  For this, I allowed about 4” to allow for the rod to pass through, and again used a straight stitch.  Finish the panels by hemming the bottom and there you’ve got a curtain!  You’ll want to keep an iron nearby to press the seams flat if you use this stitch. 

Before:

After:  Ahhhh…nice and dark :D

Make something Tuesday

Hey look, I'm making stuff (other than converting oxygen into carbon dioxide) again!  Actually I've been making quite a few things, but have been terrible about documenting them, so I haven't made them into MSM's  but I'll be better about that!  Just what have I been up to you ask?  Well, since moving here 2 months ago (yeah, already!) I've done a couple of paintings, made some curtains, 3 cakes and an idea center for my craft room.  All that after I unpacked pretty much everything since poor Brandon was off getting tortured.  Hey, it's the least I could do!  "An idea center for your craft room?  I want one of those! Even without knowing really what you're talking about"  See, I know what you're thinking, scary huh?  If you weren't thinking that then, well, I'm not so scary anymore. 

So, my craft room has kind of gotten the shaft since unpacking.  I focused mainly on getting the bedroom, study, kitchen and living room to a point that they were livable and comfortable enough.  Now, I want my craft room to function for me.  The room itself is actually supposed to be the dining room, but we only have one table with a set of chairs and have no need nor desire to get another one.  So, I put my hand-me-down table and bookcase in there.  The bookcase is great to store my cook/cake books (since that's what it's designed to do and all) but it's also fantastic to house my fabrics, paints, and papers.  Down below in the cupboard portion, I have more things tucked away, such as batting and larger less attractive craft supplies.  Just like high school.  My favorite and newest addition is my custom cork boards!  Michaels is having a fantastic sale on frames right now, so I picked up a few cheap ones.  I like square frames.  Probably because they're harder to find, and less likely to be on sale.  However, these were and so I was happy!  Then, I made my way over to the office supply center of the store, where they have cork.  I opted for the contact paper roll of cork, because it was the cheapest and easiest to cut to size to fit the frame.  They have nicer looking cork already in 12 X 12 squares, but the corresponding frames...not on sale.  If you don't like the look of the cork, you can always cover it with fabric.  This cork is thinner and so you can't really use normal push pins in it.  I just use sewing pins stuck in at an angle, so don't worry about the thickness not being able to handle your stuff.  Now then, empty out the frame, cut the cork down to size and adhear it right on the front side of the back of the frame (the part with the hangers.)  Fancy pants cork boards in no time!  As for the left over glass...I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that.  I'd like to make them into floating frames, but I don't know how to do that.  I suppose if you've got extra frames lying around that use the annoying tab backs (the metal ones that fold down) you could use that, and nail a hanger into the wood of the frame.  Anyhow, that's what you can make this week!

* my mom suggested that if you use the sticky backed cork, that you can put it on 1/8" foam board and then put that into the frame so you can use push pins!

Happy 4th of July!

So, apparently it is illegal in Florida to set off fireworks that go airborne.  However, Georgia doesn’t have such laws, so since we’re close to the boarder, I’m guessing some people crossed over to get some contraband firecrackers.  I’m glad they did.  I always am.  I understand places where it’s dry and thus setting off little sticks of fire could cause some slight problems.  In Florida, especially in the summer, it rains practically every day, no dryness here.  So, I’m not sure why they don’t want them, but whatever.  So, after taking the scenic route, the ending destination was for me to say that Brandon got legal (aka lame) fireworks and some of our neighbors apparently are quite wealthy and have connections in Georgia, because we got a heck of a show from our very own rented driveway!  Let’s compare shall we?

Theirs:

Ours:

Theirs:

Ours:

Theirs:

Ours:

Theirs:

Ours:

Theirs:

Not that ours weren’t fun to shoot off, but we definitely contemplated driving around to find that party!  Apollo would have opted to stay home…party pooper. 

oh blogger! Oh update!

When I started blogging over 2 years ago, I think I chose Blogger because that is what Kenzie used and since she suggested I blog, I thought I'd just steal borrow her idea.  (I am an Aggie after all, I don't steal) Anyhow, I didn't know then, and heck, I don't even know now of many different blog creators but I wasn't such a fan of Blogger.  Since it was free though, I didn't want to complain because that's rude.  Recently however, it has been growing on me since they've been making improvements.  Have you noticed that you can now "design" your blog!?  Yeah, they've made it really easy, so you don't have to make sense of their html jargon anymore to customize it.  It offers many  more options than before, which I like.  (but not too many options that I freeze and can't make a decision like how I am in the shampoo aisle.  You'd think it was an important life decision the way I shop for shampoo.  I know it's not, but I find the task difficult.)  Anyhow, just thought I'd share that.

As for me, well not too much is new.  We're adjusting to our new home and I'm trying to set up my craft space to a more functional situation.  Considering it was just set up where the furniture was thrown in...pretty much anything is an improvement.  I've also made curtains for the bedroom.  I have one more curtain to go, but the store didn't have enough of one of the fabrics, so I need to go back and get some more once I get a new coupon.  Once I have that one done, I'll share those with you.  They're not super great, but they work, and they have blackout fabric, so the sun doesn't pour in at the very wee hours of the morning.  Natural light is nice and all, but just not at 5:30 am.  Brandon has started school, and I've started job hunting.  Status quo there.  We're looking at churches to get involved with and we may have found one.  Thats always a load off my mind!  The worst part about moving is the process of finding your life again.  Where to get groceries, where to go to church, where the craft stores are, groups to get involved with.  So, that's that for now. 

Thought I'd share

I have long struggled with prayer.  It seemed an easy enough concept, you're talking to God.  However simple it sounds, the execution never seemed very easy for me.  How to I approach Him?  Is He really hearing me?  Am I over thinking? (well that's a certain possibility, since I do that with everything!)  Who am I to ask things of God, when He's given so much to me already?  How do I listen for His answers?  Will I hear something (a-la booming disembodied voice), will thoughts pop into my head, how will I know when He's done talking?  What if I'm hearing myself answer things, and not God?  So on and so forth.  I got tired of not knowing, so I sought out a Bible study I could do on my own.  Not that I don't want to study with other people, but I don't know of anyone studying this particular subject right now.  I found a book by Cynthia Heald called Becoming a Woman of Prayer and apparently she's got a whole series with similar titles.  You may already know of her, but I hadn't, so I thought I'd give the book a try.  I'm only one day in, but I've already received such amazing insights that I just had to share.  (Just in case anyone else questions their prayer time.) 

The first thing that struck me was a quote by O. Hallesby

"To pray is to let Jesus come into our hearts.  This teaches us, in the first place, that it is not our prayer which moves the Lord Jesus.  It is Jesus who moves us to pray.  He knocks.  Thereby He makes known His desire to come in to us.  Our prayers are always a result of Jesus' Knocking at our hearts' doors."

Wowzy wowza!  I always thought, since most of my requests are self seeking, that I was coming to Him, when in fact, it is God calling to us because He wants to hang out with and spend time with us! 

Then, she quotes John Owen

"There is a fourfold resemblance between them [prayer and incense]:  1. In that it was beaten and pounded before it was used.  So doth acceptable prayer proceed from a broken and contrite heart.  2. It was of no use until fire was put under it, and that taken from the altar.  Nor is that prayer of any virtue of efficacy which is not kindled by the fire from above, the Holy Spirit of God, which we have from our altar, Christ Jesus.  3. It naturally ascended upwards towards heaven, as all offerings in the Hebrew are called "ascensions," risings up.  4. It yielded a sweet savour; which was one end of it in temple services, wherein there was so much burning of flesh and blood.  So doth prayer yield a sweet savour unto God; a savour of rest, wherein he is well pleased."

I never knew why they used incense in conjunction to prayer.  I find learning the meanings behind the symbolism so facinating.  It makes things more meaningful, when you know why it's done and not just doing things because they are done.

The study is not just a book of cool quotes, there is meditation time and scripture to study, I just happened to think those two examples were thought provoking and wanted to share.  So, there ya go!

hooked on phonics

Since we've moved I've actually been reading quite a bit. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not a big reader.  I certainly don't hate reading, I just don't really know what I like.  I feel lost and overwhelmed when looking for a book to read.  I mean, I love Harry Potter, but I feel silly scoping out the children's section at the library/bookstore all the time.  I think I like mysteries, but it depends on what kind, and I haven't found an author that is fantastic.  Michael Crighton is also a favorite, but I don't know if I'd like other scifi genre type books.  I realize that borrowing a book shouldn't be such an ordeal, but I don't want to feel obligated to read an awful book.  Anyhow, I thought I'd share books I've read with a short synopsis just in case anyone else feels the same way.

Timeline by Michael Crichton
Unlike Jurassic Park, this book takes a while to get into.  It's about a group of historians and archaeologists that are excavating an ancient city.  But of course it's not just as normal as that, there is a company that is developing a time machine (that is of course still in it's experimental phase) that takes a group back to the medieval times.  Once the group gets back in time, the story really picks up and lives up to Crichton's literary capabilities.

Next by Michael Crichton
This book was quite different from his normal stuff, in my opinion.  That's not to say it was bad, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  It discusses the hypothetical possibility that large corporations and hospitals may soon be able to buy our dna and use as they see fit.  There are a lot of story lines, that can become a little confusing, as far as keeping people straight.  Some of the stories intertwine (which I really like) but some didn't at all.  Some story lines felt like they just stopped and got ignored.  I certainly don't regret this book, but I won't be reading it again.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
If you enjoyed "howl-a-day inn" as a kid, you may enjoy this now.  It's written completely from the dog's perspective.  Being a dog person, I loved it!  The personality and inner workings of a dog's mind were captured perfectly!  It's not necessarily a light hearted read, keep a box of tissues on hand.  However the hope and spirit of Enzo (the dog) makes it a beautiful story of the unfailing love that dogs offer their people.

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Another book written from a different perspective, this one is from the view of a mentally handicapped boy. He discoverers the neighbor's dog dead in her front yard, and tries to figure out who-done-it.  Along the way he meets his neighbors and discovers things about his life, that change everything for him.  I'm afraid if I go too far I'd ruin some of the plot, and I don't want to do that.  It's a pretty short read, but was well written, so I'd recommend it.

Lost and Found by Jaqueline Sheehan
Another dog book, although, not narrated by the dog.  The lead character, Rocky, loses her husband and moves across the country to escape from the bad memories.  She starts a new life and rescues/fosters a dog that had been shot with an arrow.  Understandably upset by this act, she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of what happened to the dog, all the while the dog worms his way into her heart and the hearts of her newly made friends, so she begins to move on with her life and discover a new kind of love.  The last few chapters make the book next to impossible to put down!  This book would be a great one to take to the beach/vacation, or somewhere you're wanting to read something that does a lot of the thinking for you. 

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Alrighty, I went into the kids section, but I'm glad I did!  This is the first book in a series of three (so far...) about a group of gifted children, recruited as spies to save the world from the brain washing Ledroptha Curtain.  It's almost like Harry Potter for GT kids.  I certainly won't boast that it's nearly as well written as HP, but it's still pretty good.  Each kid has a different gift, which when they combine them all, they are pretty much unstoppable.  You get to experience the story along with the children, solving puzzles as they do, which makes the read more enjoyable in my opinion.  I don't like waiting for the characters to finally figure out what I've known the whole time. 

Right now, I'm working on Wicked by Gregory Maguire.  It is indeed the book that the Broadway play is based on.  If you have any other suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them!  Hopefully, if you're looking for a good read, something here will appeal to you.

There's a fiddler on the roof song for this, but I forget what it is...

My big sister is officially a married lady! 

And she made an absolutely stunning bride! :) Unfortunately, she has to deal with my pictures until the professionals come out, but all the same she's beautiful (you're welcome) Congratulations big sister!  I love you!

it's here!

I found a rug that I like!  It is so nice to have somewhere soft to walk!  Hardwood floors look nice, but they're hard on the feet!  Now the house is all ready for Brandon's homecoming :)

Its monday again!!!

Ok, while monday's generally aren't welcome and my not posting a MSM doesn't mean that Monday doesn't come it is indeed Monday!  I have made something too!   It's a painting for over the bed.  I think I want to add a third panel, but I only had two canvases so that's that for now.  It's just a simple monogram (and yes I do mean simple.  You can get easier if you did times new roman or something.)  My tip for today however is an easy and inexpensive way to finish the edges.  You can paint them if you want, or you can glue ribbon around the edges!  I used brown ribbon for two reasons.  Firstly, I had some.  Secondly, it went with the colors in my bedspread, so there.  You can match the color to give the illusion of the painting just running off the sides, or use a contrasting color to give the appearance of a frame. 

We're settled!

*pictures are on facebook
Pretty much all of the boxes have been unpacked, broken down and are now sitting in the garage awaiting their final trip to the recycling center.  (there are 4 unpacked boxes.  2 of them won't be unpacked because it's just stuff we don't use often enough to unpack and 2 of them are books that I can't put away because one of the bookcases was damaged and I can't put a shelf in the darn thing)  It went fairly quickly considering it was just me here doing it.  Brandon is at SERE training (where he is learning survival skills both in the wilderness and in case he becomes a p.o.w.  hopefully this will be the only time he uses this information) and gets to come home to an almost put together house.  I still need to buy an area rug, but it won't fit in my car.  I am looking forward to a rug.  the hard floors are something to get used to!  Apollo doesn't like them too much either because he can't get any traction.  Also, it's still kind of echoey.  The floors are really weird.  The entry and kitchen are tile, the living room is a blonde hardwood, the diningroom a oak hardwood, 2 bedrooms have carpet and the other two have different colored wood laminate.  I think they hit up the flooring clearance sale. 

Area rug shopping is quite an ordeal.  Apparently I am far pickier than I previously thought.  I can't find what I like in the stores, and I'm nervous about buying online because you don't really know what you're getting.  Also, they're expensive.  The more I like it, the more expensive it is...or at least thats how I feel.  If only I could make a rug...(I know that is "possible" but I don't particularly want to tie 4093587938402 knots to make an 8'x10' rug.  I like crafts...but not that much)

keeping up with the updates

Well folks, we have a house!!  It's not ours, but we're renting a house!!  A real live, no walls shared, garaged, backyarded house!  Po hasn't seen it as of yet (we're staying in a shady hotel until our furniture comes.  We had slept in sleeping bags in corpus, but this house has hardwood and wood laminate floors which would be not too fun to sleep on.) but we know once he does he'll be thrilled to have a little yard all for him!  Although, he's also impressed by hotels and has jumped on the beds as soon as we'd enter the room!  So, that's that for now.  We don't know when our stuff will come (hopefully tomorrow or friday) but I look forward to that very much.  I always miss my stuff. 

update

So, we may have a house to rent!  By "may" I mean that they guy said we could rent it and so our application went through, all we need to do is sign a contract.  We'll do that when we get there next week, so assuming he's not a flake, we should have a house!  With a yard!!  My mother-in-law and father-in-law were gracious enough to watch Po while we house hunted and they have a sizable backyard.  We think Po became accustomed to being able to run more than 10 feet while dodging furniture and having to turn around and run back to get some of his energy out, so he'll be super happy to have a yard!  So, we'll be working on packing up and such this week and heading on out! 

A moving post

It is truly interesting to me, just how God's plan is slowly unfolded for us to see.  If you asked me 2 years ago what the best way to move to a new base would be, I would have probably said something completely naive like "oh you can just live on base!"  Little did I know, but found out pretty soon after, if you're already in the possession of orders that tell you you're also going to be training at a nearish by base, you may want to live 1/2 way in-between the two, to avoid hour long commutes.  You may also want to look at places before you roll into town with some of your worldly possessions and the rest headed towards you in the very near future.  This keeps you from running around a brand new town in the pouring rain begging for any apartment that will take you.  We were definitely blessed to find the one we did because it was a great complex, but it could have gone quite badly.  

From that experience, we learned to check with the people on base first since they have a plethora of resources, and give you information on rental properties before you try to just go at it alone.   However, not everyone loves 64 lb boxers.  We didn’t know that, because we’re smitten with ours and who wouldn’t want him?  Apparently….most people don’t.  So, again, we’re freaking out trying to find anyone who will take us and our dog.   Again, we were totally blessed to find the place we did, because it too has been a very nice place to live!

Now that we’re pros….ahem…we know to do research before we get here and talk to the base housing authorities and to weed out all those dog hating properties, because apparently they exist.  (please don’t leave comments on why they don’t allow dogs, I get it!  I just wish I had known so many people didn’t want them.  BTW people looking to rent a property, when putting your pet restrictions on the advertisement, just spell out your policy.  Don’t waste my time if you don’t want my dog.  Don’t make me waste your time by asking you if you’ll take him.  Cut and dry folks. Thanks and gig ‘em.) 

So although the past two house hunts have been incredibly stressful and very much fly by the seat of our pants, God was teaching us how to go about this more efficiently.  While it’s still not easy, we’ve grown and learned so much about this process that by the time Brandon retires, we’ll be able to find a house blindfolded!   What is our system?  (I know you’re dying to know) The apartment guide or apartment finder magazine you get for free from the grocery store is bar-none the best resource for apartment hunting!  As for houses, we use AHRN (a military only resource) and Military for Rent.  They list properties and their information, we type in what we’re looking for.  Then, pick out stuff in our price range, close enough to base, allows for dogs, has a fenced backyard.  Then, we drive by and check out the area.  Is it shady?  Is there a creepy trailer park in  your backyard (yep, we weeded a house out because it looked like a meth lab park was basically on the other side of the low back fence…not pleasant)  Are there people out and about, does the house look sturdy?  Then, if it’s good we’ll call the realtor and set up an appointment.  It’s not a science yet, but hopefully we’ll get there.

FYI We haven’t found a house just yet, but we’ve only been here 1.5 days and it’s been weekend, so we haven’t had a chance to meet with many realtors.  There are prospective properties though, which is pretty exciting and we’re really hoping for a real live house instead of an apartment!!!!!!!  !

florida bound....again

Yep, that's right folks, we will once again be residents of the "sunshine" state as of May.  This time however, we will be by the Atlantic coast, so there is a change I guess.  No more Gulf of Mexico for us!  At least not for a few years.  This time, Brandon will be training on the P-3 Orion for 6ish months and from there he'll be attached to a squadron.  (That's when he'll get his call sign his nickname like goose or maverick or iceman)  So this is yet another short term living arrangement, but after this we'll get to be based somewhere for around 2 years!!  Yay!  We can be based out of a Marine base on Oahu Hawaii, Whidbey Island Washington or we could stay in Jacksonville.  Either way, we're pretty blessed to have any of those opportunities.  That is a plus about the Navy, you're pretty much going to be based on the coast of somewhere. 

I probably won't be making much for a month or so, other than packing boxes and travel arrangements, but if/when I do, you'll be the second to know!   

In case you were wondering

I designed the wings to the left of the page using my Wacom Bamboo tablet, as kind of an aviators wife/spouse/loved one/whathaveyou emblem.  I'm hoping to one day figure out a way to make it into a piece of jewelery, and have been intrigued by Lonestar Crafty's knack for creating jewelry with precious metal clay, and may consider using that if it's easily moldable.  The emblem is based on the design of the juxtoposition of the Navy wings and the James Avery charm for faith and love.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to go about doing this, I'd be very appreciative!  Think of it as a Make Something Monday in reverse :)

Happy Easter!

As promised, I am going to show you how to make some fun and yummy cupcakes for Easter!  Now that you've got some toasted coconut and hopefully you have some cupcakes (if not, go ahead and do that now...I'll wait) some chocolate egg candies, and you'll also need some chocolate icing (store bought is ok...I suppose ;))

Let's get started shall we?  Get a cupcake (mine has been filled with the chocolate filling, you don't have to do this, but that's why there is a brown spot on the top)

Next, either with a tip or you can just slather it on with a knife, apply some frosting to the top of your cupcake.

Awesome job!  Now then, put some of your beautiful toasted coconut on the top...

...and push a little divot into the middle with your thumb to make the nest center.  You may also want to put a little more icing in that divot to help "glue" your eggs in the nest.

Lastly, put your chocolate eggs in and voila!  Super cute cupcakes!