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Monday, October 31, 2011

Pumpkin Patch..

The holiday's are starting! I love the Holiday's. Last year wasn't so good, for many reasons. This year? I'll be making up for that.

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. Dr. Maze's Pumpkin Patch to be specific. It's a really neat farm and the corn maze was really fun. We picked this farm because Dr. Maze uses organic methods to grow their goodies. He also grows lavender that he makes soap and other good things with. It feels good to support a farmer who wants to farm organically.

Here we are in the maze. The corn wasn't very high. Dr. Maze said that since we had a cooler summer, not a lot of rain, combined with no pesticide use the corn didn't get very high. It's interesting to see how things grow in their natural state. Makes one wonder what kind of stuff they put on and in our food to make such beautiful tall crops I've seen. Hmmm. I think I'd rather have my food not so pretty and clean than have my food pretty and dirty...if ya know what I mean?

Here's Dr. Maze himself taking us on a farm tour.

We went by an apple orchard FULL of apples.... the apple farmer grew an apple in a wine bottle which I thought was interesting...


do you see the apple in the bottle? Eh..I didn't either.

I thought this was a neat looking squash...all..warty.

We had a great time! I would encourage everyone to support your local farmers!

Finished my son's costume yesterday as well..
He's a Jawa from Star Wars (he's in mid sneeze in this picture but it was the best one I had)...I wasn't sure how to do this and made it up as I went along. I told my boy that I'll do my best but..I don't know. He says.."I can't go to school without a costume! All my friends will be dressed up and I'll feel weird."....(24 hours later, just 15 minutes after I've finished his costume) "I don't think I want to wear it to school...I think I'll be too uncomfortable." "wha what?" .....he wore it today.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Stuff about me...Here ya Go Emma!

I love reading a sweet blog over here....Mimicking God's Creation she's just a sweet little thing! She shared a bit about herself and asked her readers if they would like to do the same? I thought? Sure...here ya go..

A. Age: oh dear...44
B. Bedsize: queen
C. Chore that you hate: vacuuming..blech I love clean floors but hate what it takes to get there
D. Dogs: Two...a golden retriever/golden lab mix(she's beautiful) and a cocker spaniel...who's my baby. (I have to add in here that my retriever is my baby too....;0))
E. Essential start to my day: Asking God to help me through it, keeping a good attitude and to beeeeeee nice.
F. Favorite color: I go between green and blue..sometimes one, then the other
G. Gold or Silver: silver
H. Height: 5 9" ..I've shrunk..I used to be 5 10"
I. Instruments you play: guitar..a tiny bit
J. Job title: Stay at Home Mom/wife
K. Kids: just one and he's awesome!
L. Live: Washington state..one of the most beautiful places on earth..I think
M. Mother's name: Bonita..means beautiful in Spanish..everybody calls her Bonnie
N. Nicknames: Mer..M
O. Overnight hospital stays: yes..many
P. Pet peeve:food in the sink... toilet paper going under instead of over,insomnia.
Q. Quote from a movie or tv show: I can't recite it here but the time when Russell Crowe in Gladiator turned and told the creepy Cesar who he was in the arena? I could watch that over and over again and not get tired of it.
R. right or lefty: righty
S. Siblings: two older sisters and a younger brother
T. Time you get up: between 4 and 7:30am.
U. Underwear: yes
V. Vegetables you hate: broccoli, unless it's roasted with olive oil
W. What makes you run late: I'm never late. ;0)
X. X-rays you've had: oh dear..lots of chest CTs and Xrays..MRI's of my head and chest. X-rays of my feet..broke both doing the same thing two years apart. You would have thought I learned the first time! Oh! and of course....my teeth.
Y. Yummy foods you make: Chocolate chip cookies! Roasted carrots..I could eat the whole pan.
Z. Zoo-animal: Elephants. I looooooove elephants. Love. them. Love.

So there you have it...a little somfin somfin about me!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Blog win! *apology..;0)*

So sorry, I've been away and have not posted in a long while. Unfortunately, I have some health issues that preoccupy my time in the worst way. I seem to be coming out of it soooo YAY! I'll be posting more crafty projects since the crafty season is upon us! Glitter, ghouls, ghosties,pumpkins and lighted things! I love this time of year!

I also wanted to apologize to the wonderful LimeRiot. I won her blog giveaway and have not thanked her on my blog yet. I want to show you the wonderful things I won!
A wonderful hoopla! I love her crafty goodness and now I have something to start my hoopla wall.



I want to make that scarf.
I don't win anything...ever...so this was such a great surprise from such a neato gal and a really fun blog. Go for a visit! -----> LimeRiot

Anyhoo! I have lots of things planned and hoping to post...I've been working on a mini poppet. I love all things little and this little sprite will be a cutie..me thinks.
I have some beads and bobble findings I'll be doing something with and I'm going to try my hand at felt hooplas using the supplies I received from LimeRiot. And of course...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas crafting....gliiiiitttttter. ;0)
Stay tuned!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

9/11...always remember

I will always remember.

My husband called me early that morning telling me to turn on the TV. He told me that the Twin Towers in New York were hit by planes.
On the news they were talking about it being a terrorist attack. "A terrorist attack?"
I remember standing in front of the TV waiting and wondering if the people were getting out of the buildings. My brother was an airline pilot on the East coast and I was worried it was a plane he was flying. I found out he was safe and I continued to watch.... hoping...

Then..in horror...(I still can feel what I felt then)...I watched the first tower crumble down. I remember saying to my little 14 month old son..."NO..."......"there are people in there." Then shortly after..the second tower crumbling down. I was in shock. I remember every breath I took..the tears that flowed and the ache in my heart for those in those towers. Still trying to figure out what on earth was happening to our country.

I will never forget those who lost their lives that horrific day that changed our nation forever. I will never forget the firefighters and the police officers who went into those buildings. I will never forget those who were in the planes that went down at the Pentagon and flight 93 that went down in a field in Pennsylvania. The individuals in that plane, that tackled the pilots and probably saved countless lives.

I will never forget how our nation gathered together in a solidarity. It was like each one of us were standing together..hand in hand.

It's been 10 years but it still feels like yesterday.

How our lives were totally changed that day.

WE are a strong nation...we are resilient. We have and will continue to overcome what terrorists tried to destroy.

I am a proud American and I'm proud of our Nation.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Busy...busy...busy..

I've been busy...busy..busy lately! We finally have summer here in Seattle and it's been soooo beautiful! We've had a pretty cold and cloudy June, July and part of August so this has been wonderful. BUT! What did I do today? Stayed inside and cooked. AND! worked on a crafty project from TroubleT blog..The Trouble with Crafting I'm hoping this little ornament will turn out as I'm doing something totally different. Trying to de-stash. I don't have some of the materials so I'm trying something different. Stay tuned..;0)

Anyhoots...on to what I cooked today. They had a Ghost Hunters Marathon on so it was a perfect day to stay inside and cook ( I LURRVE GH)..I know weird cause it's so nice outside but it's a GH marathon!.

First up! Banana bread. Now... Banana bread and I have issues with each other. I have never been able to NOT burn it. Seriously, every time I've made it..I've burned it. That makes me want to get it right even more...I'm not competitive...I'm really not..;0)

BY GEORGE IT WORKED!!! I got the recipe here..Banana Bread
One of my most favorite things is banana bread so burning it every time was a huge frustration. I followed the recipe to the T. It's moist and delicious. (the little brown on the bottom of the loaf in the picture LOOKS like it burned a bit but it tasted great!) Makes me happy.
While that was cooking I made potato salad. I've never made potato salad before. This last month I've been on a hard boiled egg kick and what better pairing than potatoes and eggs. This worked out really well...kinda made it up as I went along.



I was trying to get a pretty picture of this pile of eggy potatoey goodness and my husband said.."I don't think you can get a pretty picture of potato salad..can you?" HA! I laughed..I can't..maybe someone else can. It was delish!
My recipe..
6 potato boiled for about 15 to 18 minutes..you want them tender not mushy smashed like.
8 hard boiled eggs
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 miracle whip
about a 1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup stone ground mustard
one small onion chopped
About two Tablespoons relish
salt and pepper to taste

I peeled and cubed the potatoes and my son helped me smoosh the eggs and added them to the potato pile. The rest of the ingredients I piled on top of everything and mixed it all together.
It turned out really good! It made a lot though so the three of us will be eating potato salad for the next several days. ;0)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sunset..

I love this time of year as we have the most beautiful sunsets. This is from my bedroom window. I hope you enjoy!








Friday, August 19, 2011

Free Book!

If anyone has a Kindle I have a deal for you! A free book that's excellent!! It's part of a trilogy and you won't be disappointed.

The Hawk and His Boy

go here and read about it and download.

You'll love it...if you don't? I'll personally refund your money.....

But wait! IT'S FREE!!!

;0)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Craft Slump and Butterflies..

Oh dear...I've been pretty melancholy lately. That's kind of an oxymoron..pretty and melancholy..LOL ;0) Anyhoots, been blah. The worst of it is that I've been in a real craft slump. Part of it, I'm sure, is my stuff packed away while we're finishing my sons room. Once I have access to it all my slump will be over...I hope.
I enjoy making dolls. One of my favorite things to do and something I think I'm good at. I've been sooo inspired by the dolls on Craftster. SpookyPooky is one of my favorite artists on Craftster. I love her dolls and all the other things that she makes. lazy.jane is another doll artist that I love. And! lanikins who is AMAZING!! They're so inspiring. Being in a slump kinda sucks but when you have Craftster and those wonderful artists to inspire you...keeps ya going.

We did make a trip to the Pacific Science Center this past weekend. My son and I did it as a reward for "unplugging" from all technological devices for three days. NO TV, video games, computer (ACK!)..nothing. Unfortunately,our lives seem to revolve around those few things. I didn't think we could do it. But, I'll tell you... We had a great time! Not one argument. We played together a ton. Enjoyed each others company. We loved it! No zoning out and not really living. No living in a virtual reality. It's a little sad how these things have taken over our lives. But since these wonderful three days, we're putting up some really healthy boundaries concerning these things. WE want to live in our lives not live in a virtual reality. Nuf said.
The Pacific Science Center is pretty fun. One of the most exciting (to me and my boy) is the butterfly exhibit. Hundreds of beautiful butterflies fly around in a little tropical area. It was warm and smelled just like Hawaii! Butterflies are hard to photograph but I did get a few..


Oh wait! That's not a Butterfly.

Friday, August 5, 2011

It's a Beautiful Day!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! The Hubs decided to take a couple of vacation days off from work so we decided to go somewhere to hike. I love Snoqualmie Falls and the hike down to the bottom of the falls is a real easy one and quite beautiful. So..that's where we went!
The falls were running full and it was just beautiful. As you walk up to them, before you see them, you can hear the rumble and almost feel it under your feet. It was a spectacular site. I've been there when the falls have been just a trickle so this was a wonderful site to see.
Unfortunately, the hike down to the bottom was closed. That was a disappointment but we found another place to hike around. They had a place, a short walk east of the of the falls, that had some great trails.
Got a few mosquito bites. That's always fun.
That's my Chelsea..loving the wilderness. Probably loving the horsey smell she picked up even more. :0)
Mah boy. He wasn't as thrilled about our jaunt. About 5 minutes after this picture was taken he ran up ahead to find my Hubs..(he's always in a big hurry. Me? Quite the opposite, so if anyone ever hikes with me, you don't get there fast ;0)) anyhoots! He ran up ahead, tripped on a rock and twisted his ankle. Poor kid. He was able to walk out but now he's on the couch with his foot in the air and milking it for all it's worth.
It was a beautiful day though!
A last picture of my hydrangeas. I love my hydrangeas. We put a screen up since the hot sun was burning my flowers. Put it in the wrong spot years ago. They need shade..at least this particular variety does. It's sooo much happier now. And so am I.

Monday, August 1, 2011

A little bite of Heaven...

Do I have a recipe for you!
My hubs and I were invited over to a friends for dinner the other night and the host is gluten intolerant. They were cooking a wonderful Mexican meal and I was wanting to bring over a gluten free dessert. I'm not the greatest cook in the world..I usually burn it, over cook it, or mess up on measurements, so I was a little intimidated venturing out and trying to make something gluten free. "No flour?..how?"
Seriously...do you want your friends to think you went to culinary school specializing in desserts? How about having your friends and family raving about what an awesome cook you are!! Make this....

It is sooooooo easy! And it tastes like something you get in a restaurant! NO KIDDING!!! I got the recipe from here but I'll lay it all out for ya. This is the recipe from allrecipes I've added what I did different in parenthesis and added my own pictures ..Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients and directions..
Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
(I greased the pan and dusted it with powdered cocoa...and here is the chocolate squares I used)


In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.


Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.


Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.


Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.


Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

( I used a 9" pan and cooked it for about 8-10 minutes longer. I used the jiggle method..if it looked too jiggly I left it in for a little longer. Make sure and chill it over night..it's a lot better good and chilled.)

This was sooo incredibly good and super easy. It's really rich and creamy. Melts in your mouth and hits that sweet spot! I hope you try it.

;0)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Blueberry Sunshine..;0)

I live in the Northwest, really close to Seattle. Northwest Washington is probably one of the most beautiful places on earth..in my honest opinion. We have a lot of rain though, and this year is no exception. The rest of the country has been blistering hot and we here, in our little Northwest corner of the world? Have been cold. Yup..cold. Most days, we don't even reach 65 degrees. Cold. Burr. Not trying to complain though..it's actually been really pleasant...but..yup..but!. NO SUN! We've had days on end of clouds. Ok..ok...enough of my grumbling...onto my post! I had some of these...
And thought I would add a little warmth and blueberry sunshine to my day and make blueberry muffins! I used this recipe.

To-Die-for-Blueberry-Muffins :
(this is the recipe from this link, please check the link for more details.:0) )
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Here's the batter all mixed up...look at those yummy berries!
Here they are in the muffin pan ready to be plopped in the oven...

And here is the finished muffin..which I am now going to devour...

LOL! I'm certainly NOT a food blogger and my pictures don't tell the whole story..that muffin was GOOOD!
A few things I changed...I used a mega muffin pan that was darker so I lowered the oven temperature to 350 degrees and left them in there another 15 to 20 minutes. Next time I would use a regular muffin pan. I had so many blueberries in there, the muffin fell apart. I would also use a liner or something..I sprayed and greased and they still stuck to my pan. OH! and I doubled the recipe so it would fit in my big muffin pan. They were really yummy and not too sweet. I don't like things too sweet. I would definitely use this recipe again.

SO! A little blueberry sunshine to brighten up this gloomy day. I heard that we're supposed to get some nice weather in the next few days...YAY!!! Got to get my vitamin D!!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

I'm still here!

It's a funny thing. Several months ago, I posted a new thread on Craftster curious about those individuals with blogs that want people to come and visit but they don't visit themselves. I had not started a blog yet so I was clueless...I do have to say.. Shame on me. I have been AWOL! It's a lot harder than I thought! So sorry...We've been building a room upstairs for my son, that was actually my craft room, but looked like a loft. We'll be moving my craft stuff into the room he's in now when we're done. So all my stuff is shoved into plastic bins. Soooo unorganized. Oh how I don't like that. I have a ton of projects I'm wanting to do but I'm waiting to get my stuff sorted out. I've not done any crafting except for some swaps I've been in. It was a bit overwhelming for me since all my stuff is so disorganized and trying to find things for what I'm making was frustrating. The swaps keep me crafting though!! Although, I'm having to dig and dig to find what I need. It'll be nice to have my room set up again. I'll make sure and share what it looks like. ;0)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Beach Day!

I can hardly believe it's summer here it's been so chilly. Ben is out of school as of last Wednesday and we decided to take a spur of the moment beach trip. It was pretty cloudy and little drizzly, but when we got down there, the clouds parted and left us with a wonderful 'hole' of blue and sunshine.

We had a really nice time, just he and I. I'm still trying to figure out this camera of mine.

We went to Edmonds Beach which is real close to where we live. There's a Ferry run that takes you from Edmonds to Kingston. The picture above is a return trip from Kingston. I love this area.

I have to add a shot of my pups. Ahhhhh...the life of a dog.

Hope you have a wonderfully creative day today. I challenge you to do one creative thing today!

M

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Belly Dancer Poppet..

So my partner received the poppet I made for her. Here she is.

Here's up close of the detail on her clothes.


This last picture, I wanted to show her undies. I made her pretty gold panties/thong! Since her skirt had a split clear up to her hip, she needed something to go under there so she wasn't showing her cha cha.

I worked really hard on her. I knew NOTHING about belly dancers or their clothing so I did some research. The clothes they wear a just beautiful, made to enhance the beauty and sensuality of the dance. Although, this poppet is far from sensual..LOL..I thought she was perrrty.
A couple things I tried that were new to me? This is the Eleanor poppet found on Craftster. She has boobies! I've tried sooo many times to make a poppet with boobies and I failed each and every time. With the advice from Puamelia on Craftster, this is the first one I was successful at. Also, I crocheted a cap of yarn to 'weft' the yarn into. I have very limited crochet experience. When I say limited I mean, I can make scarf. A wonky one, but understanding the directions. Nope. Puamelia sent me some awesome links on youtube to learn to crochet a cap. I did it, but don't look to close. ;0) This was a lot of fun! I think she turned out pretty nice,if I say so myself. ;0)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

I've been making Sock Monkey's ...;0) tutorial

Well, I've been busy sewing away. Finished up my poppet for my partner in the Mini Poppet swap on Craftster and as soon as she's receives I'll post her. But in the mean time, I've been making Sock Monkeys! They've been around forever. They're soft,cuddly, very easy to do. I thought I would post a little tutorial based off of the instructions on the Red Heel socks. You can make them with any sock..just play around and have fun. I used the Red Heel socks that you can find at any camping/hunting store OR, since these are becoming more popular again, I found them at my craft store.
You'll need two Red Heel Socks, a sharpie, eyes,(buttons, safety eyes, google eyes),sewing machine (you can hand sew too), needle and thread, stuffing, scissors, and a ruler.
Turn your socks inside out and with your sharpie on the first one..measure three inches from the heel and make a fine line down the center. Round off at the ends like the picture. These will be your Sock Monkey's legs. On the other sock,starting about an inch above the top of the heel, draw a straight line. This will be your arms. In the middle of this section draw a line and round off the ends where the white/cream is. On the legs and arms, sew 1/4 inch away from the line and don't forget to round your ends. On the body,with your scissors cut on the line past the line you drew for the legs about 1 1/2 inches and turn it right side out. On the arms, sew up the center, round your ends and using your scissors cut up the center and cut them out on the line you drew across. Turn them right side out. Now on the piece that's left over,after cutting out your arms,your going to make your tail and ears and cut out your mouth. Do the tail first. You want to draw a line about an inch from the mouth and about half way in. (make sure and look at the picture) Draw on a tail. Draw on your ears and draw on the mouth about 1/2 inch away from the cream color on the mouth. Cut them all out making sure you leave half and inch seam allowance,except for the mouth, cut on the line there. Sew your tail, turn it right side out and stuff.Cut out your ears, sew them wrong sides together leaving a space to turn it right side out. Turn and sew the little hole together.
here's everything sewn and cut out...

I like to pin everything together before I hand sew it...here that is..

Sewing on the mouth is a bit tricky, and making sure you have a good seam allowance is important. I stuff it a bit and hand sew it on, tucking in the seam allowance. Then I glue on some eyes. I used the safety eyes and clipped off the shank. If you were making this for a child I would use the safety eye with the back on it.
And here it is...with it's friend..

I hope this will inspire you to make a Sock Monkey. Really easy, fun and their pretty cute and cuddly. Great for a child. I'm looking to make a little one next..just trying to find a kid size Red Heel sock. These instructions are right on the label..I just made them a bit easier I hope.
Have fun!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Crafty things...

 I joined a poppet swap on Craftster and I'm sooo excited for my partner to receive and then I get to post her. I've worked really hard on her and I think she's sooo pretty.  I tried a few new things that I haven't tried before and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  I'll be sharing my progress and finished gal with you as soon as my partner receives.
 I changed my mind so many times with the theme for her gal, I now have supplies for several poppets I'll be making and sharing here in the next few weeks.


I also purchased a new camera that I've been playing with and hope to have some good pictures to share soon. Right now I'm trying to learn about my camera. What it can and can't or doesn't do well. We went to the aquarium last weekend and took some fun pictures..a lot of them didn't turn out. Practice practice.
here's some pictures from the aquarium...

this is an octopus...
and Nemo's butt~!





Also, for you Harry Potter fans..I just started the first book! So excited to read these.