Muppets

I saw this video and just had to share.

Sometimes I Feel This Way...

The Government Can

I found a video that was SO funny, I thought all six of my followers would get a kick out of it. It was done by comedian, Tim Hawkins, and it is called The Government Can. It is sad, but true--and funny all at the same time!

www.timhawkins.net (Scroll down to "Feature Video")

Have you heard of the 9/12 project? Me neither. It's an interesting website. My opinion is still out on it though. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The 9/12 Project

Sunday Sentiment

Emergency Preparedness

September is Emergency Preparedness month. My employer offered a presentation on 72 hour kits and food storage. It was very interesting. These gals have a web site where you can get lots of information.

FoodStorageMadeEasy

As I was surfing around trying to get ideas for things I might want to include in my kits I found this video. It was VERY informational and quite enlightening. I HIGHLY recommend that you view it even if you don't plan on putting together and 72 hour kit anytime soon. It has some tips you WON'T want to miss.

New Trailer for New Moon

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

We have a new Pet!!!

It's so fun and exciting when you get a new pet. This one adopted us and we've really had fun watching her adjust to her new environment. She's really making herself right at home.

She's been living at our house for a couple of weeks so we've decided we better give her a name. I took it upon myself to name her -- Dragon.

Now, I know this seems like an unusual name for a pet but you see she has a feature that reminds me of "Dragon" from the movie Shrek. You know, the girl dragon that Don-key falls in love with. Remember how at the end he sings 'I like big butts, I can not lie'. Our Dragon has a large fanny just like Dragon on Shrek. Hence the name.

It's been very difficult to get a picture of her. She's quite shy and tends to hide when I come around. Tonight, however, she felt it was okay for me to get a picture of her.



Just to clarify, she's most definately an OUTDOOR only pet.

And besides, her large web, which is impossible to photograph, is getting me in the mood for Halloween!

How Does My Garden Grow?

Apparently it grows freakish conjoined triplet crookneck squash! When I got home from Cedar City a few weeks ago I discovered this oddity. Even the three stems joined together.



So, I decided to turn it into a yummy squash casserole!



The freaky squash tasted yummy! Then, tonight, I'm watering the garden and find this dude hanging out.



Obviously I've been a bit negligent in my squash size monitoring duties.

Mart, didn't you say you like zucchini bread? If I give you this gift will you use it? If not, I'm going to have to leave it on someone's porch once it gets dark outside.

Farewell Patrick

I just wanted to take a moment to say farewell to Patrick Swayze. He was part of several movies I enjoyed. I've just been to the Columbia House website and loaded my shopping cart with several that I have on VHS but would now like on DVD.

Red Dawn - If our country were ever invaded by Russians I'd want him taking care of me.

Ghost - Pottery wheel. Nuff said.

Roadhouse - Kickin' some can.

Point Break - I don't think I've seen this one, but it's been recommended by several people so I thought I'd give it a try.

Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar -- Oh my holy Hanna, the dude makes the best drag queen evah!

Dirty Dancing - Um, already had that one 'cause he was hawwt. I think even 2 copies because I forgot I had it and bought another one. I guess my subconscious was trying to tell me I needed a spare copy just in case I wore out the first one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfg97-5uhFQ
I could NOT get youtube to give me the code to embed this. What's up with that?

I just love him in this skit from Saturday Night Live.

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale
by tressage

Farewell Patrick -- I've had the time of my life watching your work.

Funny Commercial

New Moon Trailer

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD


Slight change to the storyline, but I'm okay with it. You can tell the budget is a little bigger for this movie than the first one. That's always helpful.

Love this!

Howling at the NEW MOON!

Looking good boys!!!

To All My Female Friends

I have several dear friends who have not had the opportunity to become mothers for one reason or another. I know that some of them are uncomfortable with Mother's Day so I propose we change the name of the day. I vote for "Celebrate the Fabulous Women in Your Life Day".

I just want all my female friends to know that I value every one of them. Each unique. Each fabulous! Thanks ladies for all you do and who you are!

Lovely Bracelet and Anklet, don't ya think?

And, it will only cost me about $250. You want a pair also you say? Well, let me help get your own by telling you how I acquired mine.

I was carrying a very large, heavy box in my basement. As I passed a large piece of framed artwork on the wall I bumped it. I guess it banged against the wall enough that the entire picture frame fell completely apart. The sheet of glass fell and hit me in the shankle (shin/ankle). The funny part is I didn't even really feel it hit. I saw that the picture frame had fallen apart but I just kept going 'cause my hands were full. I just thought I'd deal with the broken frame after I got the box to it's destination. I walked another four feet and set down the large box and realized that there was 'something' flowing down my foot.

The basement was dark and as I actually looked at my right leg and foot I realized that something had sliced my leg. Because the blood was really flowing I just dropped my capri pants - yes, it's funny - and used them as a compress on the wound. It took several minutes to get the bleeding under control.

Here's a photo of my pants that Sprout took when she got home from work - before she so kindly 'Spray & Wash'ed the daylights out of them and threw them in the wash.



Amazingly enough, the pants survived the ordeal.

After the bleeding calmed down I made my way back into the family room to retrieve my cell phone. I did leave a blood trail through the basement. It looked like a bit of a crime scene. I then went upstairs to see what I could find to cover my wound so I could head for stitches. Yes, the laceration was large enoungh (2 3/8") that it was obvious that stitches would be needed. Mind you I'm wandering through the house carrying my bloody pants and mopping blood off my leg now and again.

I'd been working on a sewing project for church, so I had scraps of fabric in the kitchen. I mopped the wound off one more time and wrapped some fabric around my leg twice and tied it. It was actually quite fashionable, even with the blood streaked foot. I then headed to my bedroom in search of pants and left my bloody capris on the floor. Grabbed my purse and keys and I was off.

Now, if this injury had occurred an hour earlier I would have headed to an InstaCare, but I had no choice but to head to an ER. I haven't been in an ER for my own care, ever. Nor have I had stitches due to an injury since I was a pretty little kid.

I headed to the ER and LDS Hospital. Since the new larger hospital was built in Murray, I had heard the the ER at LDS Hospital was relatively quiet. After registering, I waited for about 2 minutes. Pretty speedy in my book. My care was going along quite well until a couple pulled up in the ambulance bay as the woman had just given birth in the car. I'm just glad I wasn't her. Even with that diversion, I was only at the hospital for one hour and forty-five minutes so I consider that a success.

Big hugs to Sprout. She took it upon herself to clean up the 'crime scene' when she got home from work. She scrubbed the carpet downstairs and it now looks very nice and no more bloody foot prints in the kitchen either. (hee hee) Love ya Sprout!

Below is a photo of my stitches. If you're queasy, don't scroll down.

Remembering Columbine

On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out f or answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

"I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Do what the media did not ~ let the nation hear this man's speech.

The Finished Cake

After the ceremony, Kathy and I and our kids hurried across the valley to retrieve the cake. We were able to get into the reception location 2 hours early. Since we've never done a cake before we had no idea we would need almost that entire time.

After we got the cake assembled, we then put ribbon around the bases of the top and bottom layers. Then, Kathy began the task of the scrollwork.



I think it took almost an hour to do all that scroll work. There were a couple of incidents where the black dripped or landed where it shouldn't have. So, the "accidents" were worked into the design. Hence the scrollwork coming down onto the base layer.



Kathy is quite talented with flowers, so she also made little "boutonniers" to go on the cake.


(You can click on these photos to make them larger if you'd like.)

True confession. A panel in the back of my car actually fell on the cake as we were driving to the reception location. One corner of the bottom layer got scrunched. Hence the roses on two corners of the bottom of the cake. Thankfully it ended up looking nice.



This is Nicole's favorite photo of Pedro.

I Have a Code in My Node and Other Whimpering

This is what I've been doing for the last 3 days. Ugh. I hate colds. I need to buy stock in Kleenex, Advil Cold & Sinus, Zicam and Cold-Eeze. I can't begin to imagine how miserable I would be without the assitance of drugs. Legal drugs, I might add, even if I had to show photo id to get the Advil.

Oh, and to throw in some more fun. My DVR died. Let me explain why this is so traumatic. I am a TV viewing addict. Junkie. Can't get enough. To make matters worse, there were about 9 episodes from last week that I hadn't watched yet. Waaaah! AND I had to haul my sick and tired fanny out of bed this afternoon to go to Comcast and give them my D.E.A.D. DVR and trade it for a new one. Granted it only took about 3 minutes at the counter. So, I exposed a very nice staffer to my germs. I told her to go and immediately wash her hands so that she wouldn't get my nastey cold.

Now I have to get the DVR all reprogrammed. Then, I need to get on the internet and search out all my missing shows and see if I can watch them on-line. It's kinda hard to surf while blowing, coughing and sneezing. Please feel sorry for me.

The Wedding

Thankfully the weather was beautiful on Monday. John and Linda's backyard was lovely. John has quite the green thumb and it showed.

However, there was an unfortunate incident involving the 3 year-old flower girl before the ceremony go started. She found the fish pond and fell in. Lets just say that it's still spring and pond has gone unattended all winter so it's a bit slimy. Needless to say she was traumatized and her dress was ruined. Luckily Kathy's daughter, Becca, was dressed appropriately and was able to quickly step in to the roll of flower girl.

Shaylin looked lovely as her dad walked her down the aisle.



I have never seen a red wedding dress before. I got a close up look at it during the reception and it had some incredible bead work. Really pretty.

It was the largest wedding party I had ever seen. Nine groomsmen and eight bridesmaids. They didn't quite fit into the tent that was set up. I don't have good photos of the group because of where I was sitting.



Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Elieson



This is Pedro. He's a good friend of the bride.



Oh, Pedro is the one on the left, not he right. I must say he was the most poised bridesmaid in the group.

More of the Adventure tomorrow...

Have a Blessed Easter

I just wanted to share this video to help us all remember the true meaning of Easter.

Adventures in Wedding Cake Baking

Several weeks ago, my Ultimate BFF, Kathy, was asked by her nephew to make his wedding cake. He then asked me to help her. I'm sure it's because I was nearby during conversation. Both of us enjoy baking cakes, but neither of us has made a wedding cake before. Anyway, the fun began last Saturday and was a 3-day adventure.

On Saturday we baked the 3 layers of the 14" chocolate cake. Then on Sunday we baked 3 layers of a 10" coconut cake and 3 layers of a 6" chocolate cake. Fun, fun, fun. These cakes were totally made from scratch and used LOTS of butter and eggs.

Here's the 14" chocolate cake with the chocolate mousse filling.



This is the 6" chocolate cake it had coconut cream filling.



Here's the 10" coconut cake with coconut cream filling.



I had no idea how heavy fondant is. Wow. You have to knead the stuff A LOT and then roll it out and pray that it doesn't stick to the counter. Which of course it does. When you're trying to cover a 14" cake you have to roll out the fondant to about 24" inches square. Try getting that onto the cake. After several failed attempts because it was sticking to the counter it eventually took four of us to lift it up and lay it on the cake. The two smaller layers were a bit easier to work with.



After you get the fondant onto the cake you have to smooth it out and, mold the corners and trim it to fit.

Tomorrow the Wedding Adventure will continue.

Waaa!

I've been a fan of Adam Lambert on American Idol from early on. I know, some people thought his version of Ring of Fire was garbage. I thought the arrangement was unusual, but his vocals were hawt! After seeing it a couple more times, it grew on me. Now I actually like it.

So, last night I was hanging with my Stampin' Up! sistas. The DVR was set to record American Idol, as usual. I hate commercials with a passion. I also recorded The Biggest Loser. I watched most of TBL last night and finished up this morning knowing that there would be a lot of chatter at work about it. All was well until I get home today and watch Idol. Um, apparently the show ran long last night and I did not have Adams performance recorded. If Paula Abdul would just shut her yap make her comments a bit more concise, this never would have happened.

Thank goodness for the internet. However, it took a lot of digging around to find a video that hadn't been yanked by Fox. One that had been legally uploaded. One that wasn't just posted by some adoring fan trying to save my sanity.

So, I present to you the UBER HAWT performance by Adam Lambert on last nights show of American Idol...



(In case you're not a fan of the show, last nights songs were from the year the contestants were born. Hence the baby photo of Adam.)

I am now a happy and contented Fan! Go Adam!!!

Adventures in Furnace Repairs

This is what I woke up to on Thursday. Um, I tend to like the house a little cooler than Sprout does. She accuses me of trying to freeze her to death on occasion. The thermostat is one of those programmable ones that you can have adjust your temperature multiple times throughout the day. I generally keep it at 64 during the night and have it adjust up to 70 for wakey wakey time. When I threw back the covers I knew immediately that there was a problem - the air was to cold. So, while quite cold I dutifully did all the things I could think of to get the heater going.

New batteries in thermostat (the battery light was flashing)

New filter in furnace (the filter light was flashing -- ooops)

Maybe due to all the wind the pilot light has gone out. Search through house trying to find one of the long handled lighters. We have two of them, you'd think it would be easy to find at least one. Sprout LOVES candles and always obsconds with the lighter. Wake up Sprout in search of the lighter. Go down into family room and dig around. Bingo. Why the lighter is in the box of 'gaming paraphenalia' I will never know.

Open up furnace cover and try to read instructions (clear down by the floor) on how to light the furnace. Wowie, it has en electric ignition. (I've only had it for 3 years, without incident, so no smart remarks on not knowing this already.) Cool, no lighter needed after all. Turn off gas, wait 5 minutes. Hmm, what to do to kill 5 minutes? Pack my lunch, yep that works. Go back downstairs. Turn the gas on. Put the cover back on. Flip on the power to the thermostat. Nothing.

Hmmm, maybe there's no gas coming into house? Pull apart base of water heater. Hmm, there's a pilot light glowing so gas is not the issue. Double-check thermostat, it appears to be fine.

Call Sandy to get a recommendation on a service company as they had their furnace worked on just a couple of weeks ago. Sandy goes to work at 5:00am so don't think I was crazy to give her a jingle that early in the AM.

Resign myself to showering - at least we have hot water - and getting ready for work. Once at work call and schedule a repair technician and realize that I have left my cell phone on the charger at home. They said that they would have the technician call my work number before they came to the house. I only work 10 minutes from home so I could quickly leave the office and meet him there. He should call between 10 and noon. Great.

Fill up my water, go potty, sit at desk dutifully waiting for phone to ring. 12:01pm and no phone call. 12:05 and still no phone call. I call the company and they check into it. Um, the technician went to the house and no one was home. Great. I explain the whole need to call me at work and I'll drive home thing - again. They promise it will be before 2pm. 20 minutes later - we're a go. Gather up my stuff and hurry home.

The technician spends about 20 minutes and says, it's your thermostat. Your fuse was blown, I put a new one in and when the furnace tried to kick on the fuse blew again. When I bypass the thermostat the fuse doesn't blow. This visit is $138.50 and you can go buy a thermostat from Lowes and install it yourself. So, just out of curiosity, if I have you supply and install a thermostat how much will that set me back? $250.00. Um, not on top of the $138 right? Right. Yeeee, that's a little steep for my budget. Write out a check. Send him packing. Drive to Lowes. Look at various and assundry models of thermostats. I can't justify spending $90 so that that cuts out a few models. Settle on a $35 unit. Grab some more filters to have on hand - maybe I'll change them more frequently. Maybe. Head home.

Take old thermostat apart. Study wiring connections. Open new thermostat. Houston, we have a problem. Old thermostat has 4 wiring connections, new thermostat has spots for 5. Hmmm. A little head-scratching and studying. I'm feeling really good about where to put 3 of the 4 wires. Got a 50/50 shot with the fourth. Go with my first guess. Go downstairs, flip on the power. Nothing happens. Nadda. Go back up move the one wire to the other possible location. Back downstairs, turn on power. The furnace clicks a little but doesn't really turn on. Hmmm. Pull the cover off only to discover the technician had turned the gas off. Grrrrrr. Turn it on, put the cover on, flip the switch. Hallelujia!!!!

Strut through house like a proud peacock. I battled the thermostat and won!!!

It's currently 70 degrees and it feels doubley good.

I Had Noooo Idea...

Am I the last person on earth to learn about this great service that Google offers? What great service you ask? Well you can dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (for those of you with a Blackberry and can't dial 'letters', GOOG = 4664) from any phone, for free and get 'directory assistance'. It will ask you the city and state first, then the company name and then connect you directly to the number you were seeking. How cool is that? AND it's free!



Add it to your speed dial, you won't regret it!

I'm Back - No Foolin'!

So, I took some time off from blogging. Not exactly sure why. Maybe because I felt pressured (by my own self) to come up with something clever and/or interesting to post about all the time? Maybe because I was trying to do Project 365 and I just didn't have anything interesting to photograph every single day? Okay. Both.

Yes, I am the queen of starting all kinds of things, losing interest and leaving them in the dust. ADD? Lazy? Committmentphobic? All of the above? Who knows for sure, but I've decided to resume blogging. I am making no guarantees about how frequently I'll post or whether you'll actually find my posts interesting. But, in the immortal words of Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

I'm Ba-ack!

P.S. I was going to change the photo in my blog header but since we do keep getting snow, granted not as much as in the photo, I'm going to leave it up a little longer. When Sprinter actually starts leaning more towards Spring watch for a newer photo. Hee hee

Rock Star

Okay, I need to give you a little backstory before you'll understand the photos. When one of my coworkers helps me fix/figure out something I like to say, "You Rock" or "You're a Rock Star" as a way of saying thanks. A couple of weeks ago Lana helped fix something and I told her that she was a Rock Star. Several days later I assisted her with a problem and she said, "You Rock. I'd tell you that you were a Rock Star, but we can't have two of those. You can be a Polka Star

So, I got a bright idea. I had some inflatable guitars and microphones left over from a ward activity last year. So I brought them to work. After Lana had left for the day I got to work.

No, I'm not pretending to be Pinocchio while telling a lie. I'm actually inflating a rockin' pink Guitar. It's an air guitar. Get it???

Blowing these up was hysterical. The microphone was so small that it only took three breaths but the valve was having issues. Then my boss started making comments about the "unusual noise" coming from my cube. That got me to laughing and just exasperated the whole problem.

I made a sign to go on Lana's cube entrance. I wanted it to look like a sign that would be on the dressing room door of a "star". I think it worked.


Her guitar and microphone are waiting on her chair for her arrival tomorrow morning. She gets in around 6:20am. I wish I could see her face, but not bad enough to get to work that early.

Project 365 - January 28th

Coming Out of the Closet

No, I'm not making any confessions about my sexual orientation. But I am making a confession about the state of my coat closet. If one picture says 1,000 words then two pictures will leave you speechless.

I needed to find something in the closest. And. Well. Um. Lets just say the search was very unproductive. This closet is next on the project parade -- out of COMPLETE necessity.

Project 365 - January 27th

Happy Chinese New Year

Welcome to the Year of the Ox.

People born in the Year of the Ox are placid, patient and have great physical stamina. They are born leaders who stubbornly defend their opinions against any argument. 2009, the Year of the Earth Ox, brings additional straightforwardness and solidity to the Ox making them loyal and focused, with honesty and kindness.

Click Here to find your zodiac sign and read a description.

I plied the kids with Chinese take-out. (That's how I got the great apron photos - they owed me.) Jeff and Sprout are the only ones attempting chopsticks. Jeff just got back from spending four months in China. He's quite good with his chopsticks. Sprout gave it a good try but eventually reverted to a fork. Otherwise she might have starved.

We then sat around the table for about two hours talking about everything and nothing at all. It was great.

How did you spend your Chinese New Years?

Project 365, January 26th

Aprons, part 2

Believe it or not the other two aprons are done. I finished them Sunday but I couldn't get a photo until I made special arrangements for you.

They have some real careers ahead of them...

Left to right: Hunter (Sprout's main squeeze) sporting Sprout's apron; Jordan and Jeff (aka The Boys or The Nerd Herd)

Here the are showing their true "posing" talent...


Project 365 - January 25th

I've been to Mecca

My sister and I made a pilgramage to the storage and organization center of the universe. Ikea. Madge called last week and said she needed a new bookcase and that she picked one out at the Ikea website. She needed help hauling and building so I was her gal. So, off we went on Saturday morning. Amazingly enough, when we got there at about 10:15am it was pretty quiet and parking was a snap. Can't say that was still true when we left two hours later.

If this hippo wasn't so expensive I might have bought one 'cause it reminded me of one of my favorite Christmas songs -- I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.

We hit the top floor first. I needed some bars from the kitchen section (kinda like towel bars). I'm going to organize my punches. Then, we wanted to look at the bookcase that Madge had picked out. We then had to stop at the cafeteria. Problem was it was 10:45am and they weren't serving lunch yet and we were hungry. So, we ate dessert.


I'm not sure what this is called but it was yummy!


See? I told you it was yummy.

We then headed down to the main floor and did a little wandering, but not a ton. Although, we did get turned around as we were trying to take some of the shortcuts to skip some of the sections. Can you say maze? (When we first got there, Madge did ask the greeter if they rent out GPS systems. Honestly, I think people would pay for them. Ikea is missing the boat.)

We found her bookcase on display in the "pick up" area. She changed her mind on the color. That's the nice thing about seeing them in person. It took some hefting to get the boxes on the cart. Not lightweight furniture, which is a good thing.

Then back to the house. The heavy box attacked Madge as we were trying to get it down the stairs into the basement. She said to let it slide down the stairs 'cause it was heavy and I warned her I couldn't hold on any more. She's slow. I believe she'll have marks on her shins for a week or two. Ooops!

And then the fun began!


I've built other particalboard furniture in the past, but I must say Ikea's rocks! The instructions were clear (even without words). It was simple to assemble. It didn't feel like it was going to fall apart or tip over the minute you stood it up. Sweet! The only tool we needed, that wasn't included, was a hammer. Well, and a heavy book, so that we wouldn't damage the furniture as we were hammering the side and bottom in in the end.


Done in about 70 minutes. Woo hooo!! (Madge is trying to show some love to the bookcase, but it kinda looks like she's trying to dance with it. Hee hee)

Project 365 - January 24th

Socks!?!

Why, if there are only two people living in this house, are they so many socks? Two people, two feet each, 4 socks per day. Seven days in a week makes 28 socks per week. If you go to the gym you need an extra 2 socks per day cause you can't wear dress socks in your tennies, not good. So lets just say 40 socks per week. Since we're girls we can't just buy 20 pairs of identical socks, that would make life so much easier. No, we have to have all kinds of socks to go with every outfit.

I'm making no actual confessions here, but some of these socks haven't seen their mates in quite some time. If Sprout would actually clean her room and find some more socks it might help me with my OCDedness toward socks. I just can't part with them if it's possible the missing one is buried in her room somewhere.

Speaking of dirty rooms I have a funny story. My BFF, Kathy, and I have referred to our messy homes as Pig Styes for many years. (I'm just warning you before you get here that the house is a Pig Stye. No problem, we'll feel right at home 'cause ours is one too.) When her youngest was about 3 she told her mom she needed help because her room looked like a Pig Died. Haa haaa. We adopted the term immediately. My craft room looks like a pig died, really.

Am I alone in this? Is my home the only one around that looks like a pig died?

Just a note: These are not ALL mis-matched socks. I got all the laundry done and these are all the socks that need to be sorted. But, I bet I only find matches for half of them. :-(

Project 365 - January 23rd

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you ever get a craving for something and no matter how hard you try to deny it you just can't? Well, that's what happened to me. Cookies, I needed cookies. So, I tried to compromise and go for something a little more on the healthy side. Bonus that the recipe only has three ingredients!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box Spice cake mix
1 large can Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 package chocolate chips

Mix cake mix and pumpkin together until well blended. Add chocolate chips and mix well. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

See the Silpat in the bottom of the baking sheet? If you like baking cookies but hate them sticking to the pan, get one of these babies. DE-LITE-FUL!!! I got mine at a local restaurant supply store, Orson Gygi's. I love that place. Reminds me, I haven't been there in eons, maybe it's time for another visit. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe Saturday???

Project 365 - January 22nd

The Tale of the Leg Lamp

Okay, a couple of my crazy work besties have been taunting one another for weeks about leg lamps. You know, the one that's in the movie "A Christmas Story". You remember, Ralphie, pink bunnie suit, frozen tongue on the flag pole. Yeah, that movie.

Well, this past holiday season Rite Aid was selling them in two sizes. One that would fit on a bed side table and a night light version as well. Any who, Martha won the night light version from a blog contest and Melissa was immediately jealous because she really wanted that lamp.

You can get the scoop on all the shenanigans by reading the following posts:
Martha's 1st Post
Melissa's Version

They even sucked me into the insanity just because I was laying on the floor taking a photo with my phone to send to Sprout

Then, Martha had to Taunt Melissa some more

Melissa turned up the Heat
Martha's Version

So, now that you're up to speed. I walked into the office today to this...

The note reads: Karen, you may stroke me, Venus, only if you are soft, loving and gentle... XOXOXO

So, here's the proof that I did take the opportunity to enjoy Venus' company.



Her real fishnet stockings are delightful!

Working with such silly besties makes going to work fun, entertaining and totally unpredictable. Gotta love it!

Project 365 - January 21st

Homemade Split Pea Soup

Doesn't this look yummy? And it IS!!! I just realized that I took this photo after I took the ham bone out but before I had removed the ham from it and put the ham back in the soup. It's easy to make, it just has to cook a while. Sprout and the boys chowed down, they liked it too!

Split Pea Soup
1 pound dried split peas
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 or 2 smoked ham hock (about 1/2 pound each)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt


Cover peas with water (make sure the water is about 2 inches or so over the peas as they will swell as they soak up the liquid) and soak overnight. The next day, saute celery, onion, carrot, and garlic in butter until tender. Drain beans and reserve liquid. Add enough water to reserved soaking liquid to make 10 cups. Put in a pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Heat to boiling and then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Remove meat from ham hock and return meat to soup.


Note: I used a ham bone I had leftover from Christmas (Don't worry, it had been in the freezer). I also cooked mine for 5 hours.




Project 365 - January 20th

Makin' Aprons

Several weeks ago my BFF, Kathy, suggested that we get together on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and make some fun aprons. In case you don't know, fun aprons are all the rage. They sell them for crazy amounts at many stores around town and on the internet.

So, for the past few weeks I've been looking around for a fun pattern. JoAnn's had just had a big sale and of course we're completely out. See, I told you fun aprons were all the rage. Did you know that patterns cost $15. Yikes! I remember when they were $5 - $6 and I thought that was kinda pricey.

Well, last week I browsed through Wally World and low and behold they had a couple patterns that I liked AND they were on sale. Yipee! So I picked up the patterns and some fabric. Because I'm an over achiever I bought fabric to make 3 of them. They're fully lined and fun.

Here's Kathy working on cutting out her apron. She really liked the fabric I picked out for Nicole so bought some of the same for hers.

Now, you may be wondering why there are canned goods sitting on the fabric. Um, 'cause I'm lazy? See the mat on the counter? That's a cutting mat. You use a rotary (rolling) cutter (it's in Kathy's left hand) to cut out fabric. Generally you use this setup with a ruler and cut straight pieces for quilting. Well, being the inventive and lazy person that I am, I figured out how to cut clothing patterns. I lay out the fabric and place the pattern pieces where I want them. Then, I place canned good along the corners and edges. Then, I just cut out the pattern pieces. I believe they now have pattern weights for this process but hey, free works for me.

Here's Sprout in action working on her her apron. Just for the record, she sewed it all herself. It's been a while since she's done any sewing so I coached her, but she did do it all herself.

Here she is modeling her sexy new apron. Don't you think that if she's wearing that it won't matter if she can cook?

I haven't finished mine yet. You see, the three of us were sharing one sewing machine. I'll post mine later when they're finished, promise.

Project 365 - January 19th

Are You Actually Supposed to Be Able to SEE the Air?

This is the view off my back deck. My deck typically has a nice view of Mount Olympus in the distance. You can even see it in my blog header up above, I took that photo around Christmas-time.
I can handle the cold temperatures that winter in Utah brings, but the icky air is nasty. Just to clarify, this is not fog this is dirty, icky smog. When will the icky end? The weatherman says probably not until Sunday. Eewwww!

The upside? I understand the Salt Lake Valley had even worse air back in the day when everyone burned coal in their furances in the winter. Just sayin'.

Project 365 - January 18th