Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Bookshelves

Friday, May 28th, 2010

I may have an addiction. To High Gloss Black. Everything that falls into my hands ends up coated in High Gloss Black. I may need an intervention.

Here’s my latest and greatest project: Shelves. We have a partially finished basement. It was half of the basement so it was one loooong room. My husband put in a home theater a couple of years ago. That helped break up some of the space, but there was still a pretty long room down there. I’ve been wanting shelves along one wall in particular, but good shelves are expensive. I’m DONE with pressboard shelves. The shelves inevitably sag and nothing is sadder than that. I considered bribing my husband into making some, but that would have been a big project and still pretty pricey. So when I found these beauties on Craigslist, I knew they were THE SHELVES. Only $95 and they are made of real wood. No pressboard here, my friends!

And they were 8 feet long and over 4 feet high. No wimpy shelves for us. No sir!

Funkalicious Bookshelves

According to the seller, these shelves were custom made to hold an album collection. And no, not photo albums, MUSIC albums. So they are old. They are well made. They are funkalicious. I could hear disco music as soon as I touched them. Okay, not really. But you can see how that could happen.

Here’s the shelves after my trusty High Gloss Black Paint and I were through with them:

No More Funk

I still have the doors for the top. Ben thinks they look better without the doors. I thought they would have looked cool with a hip little stainless steel knobs I found at Home Depot. But they are off for now. Either way, I think they look vastly improved since when we purchased them!

Now I just need more books to fill them up…

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I Tried It And I Liked It: Cinnamon Toast

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

I didn’t even know there was a “right” way and a “wrong” way to make cinnamon toast. We always made it the “very, very” wrong way growing up. I’m grateful to have learned the error of my ways!

The right way to make cinnamon toast

This is seriously so good and looks so nice that you could make it for company. And the ingredients are things that probably everyone has: bread, butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sugar. How simple is that??

This recipe is courtesy of Pioneer Woman and can be found here.

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I Tried It And I Liked It: Beef and Broccoli

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Okay, so apparently I AM a Pioneer Woman stalker because I keep seeing recipes on her site that make me go, “Oooh, I could do that!”. That doesn’t happen too often.

So tonight I made this: Very easy and I had all the ingredients on hand except the flank steak! I’ve never done anything with flank steak before, but I’m a fan now! I just need to find it in organic, grass-fed form…hmmm.

Beef and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli over rice, with sesame seeds on top

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Graduation Invite

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

My little sister passed her GED in January and is now signed up for college classes in the fall. We couldn’t be more proud. So we are throwing her a graduation party in May. One of the perks of being a homeschool grad? You get to choose your own “class colors”. She said pink and green. Love it. I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a few supplies and made these:

Chelsea's Graduation Invitation

Oh, and I found a HUGE stack of pink and green paper plates at Costco today, for her party. They were just a smidge more expensive than the set of 10 plates at Hobby Lobby! I love it when things just come together!

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Posted in Crafts, Uncategorized |

I Tried It And I Liked It: Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

They are all their name implies! So tasty, and easier to make than cinnamon buns, in my opinion! If you make these, make sure to whip up some of the icing, too.

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I found the recipe at Tasty Kitchen. Ree not only features awesome recipes, she takes beautiful photographs every step of the way! And she’s darn funny, too! The first link is the recipe and here are Ree’s photos.

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I Tried It And I Liked It: Avon’s Clearskin Professional

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

I know this isn’t a craft, or a recipe, or a decorating idea, but I tried it and I liked it so here ya go!

I’ve suffered with acne since I was a teenager and have tried so, so many products. I did two rounds of Proactive and didn’t see much improvement. I tried a Proactive knock-off (purchased from Costco) and absolutely hated it. The best success I had was with Mary Kay cleansing products, but the results were never awesome and it really adds up. I read about the Avon Clearskin Professional products in Prevention magazine. About a week later a friend announced she was going to start selling Avon. Perfect. I purchased the cleanser and the repair lotion and started using it twice a day.

The cleanser feels so good on my skin. It gently exfoliates, which I love. It doesn’t burn or leave my skin red and raw like other products I’d tried. Major bonus!

The correcting lotion smelled good and lasts a long time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see immediate results. I was pretty bummed. But I decided to use the products anyway since I’d already purchased them and I didn’t want them to go to waste. And I’m so glad I did!! It took about 4 weeks, but all the sudden I realized my skin was looking better. My existing acne was clearing up and I wasn’t breaking out anymore! I was ecstatic! Then I made the mistake of running out of the cleanser and taking forever to purchase more. I broke out horribly and when I finally got some new cleanser I started back at square one. I’m not going to be repeating that one again!

What I do now is use the cleanser every morning and evening. I use the correcting lotion in the morning, before putting on my moisterizer/sunscreen and then I use the toner pads at night before applying my face cream. Also, because I’m a cheapskate, I cut all the toner pads in half to make them go farther. I’m happy with this routine and it’s working very well for me. Acne be gone!

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I Tried It and I Liked It: Homemade Hamburger Buns!

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

I’ve yet to find truly healthy hamburger/hot dog buns in the grocery stores around here. Even the “whole wheat” buns have lots of extra junk added to them. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it! I tried it today and am very, very please with the results! I even divided the dough into 16 pieces instead of the recommended 8 and they were still nicely sized!

Fresh from the oven!

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Weekly Update: 4/3/2010

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Tuesday I had to miss Algebra class for the first time ever to take Luke to the dentist. He had lost a filling. They patched him up at no charge, gave both boys new toothbrushes and balloons, and raved about how well-behaved Luke was and how entertaining they found him. That’s my boy! We then went to the party store to pick up a few supplies and the lady there raved about how well behaved the boys were and gave them both free balloons. Four balloons in one day and I made it home with three – not too bad, says I!

Wednesday we went to a nearby park with some friends. It was in the 80s! I wasn’t expecting that so early in MO. We soaked it up! Before the park, I took both boys to get their hair cut. I seriously, seriously need to learn to cut their hair myself. $23.00, including tip – and that was with a $3-off coupon! Eeek.

On Thursday I had class again in the morning and was pleased that I had been able to keep up despite missing my class earlier in the week. Whew. I only have a few weeks left in this class. Then I’ll be on to Intermediate Algebra over the summer; a six-week class! Gah, I’m not sure what I was thinking signing up for that! I’m going to do some research and possibly cancel the class if I don’t think I can swing it. I need to decide soon. Life Group met in the pm. Another Dave Ramsey video. It was about giving and was AWESOME!

It was a bit windy on Friday, but it didn’t keep us from heading to the park for Luke’s first soccer practice! He did great and is excited to go back again! My brother came over in the evening and hung out and then we watched The Box. Good movie, if you like Sci-Fi.

Today, Saturday, we had a super-hero themed birthday party in honor of Gabe’s 3rd birthday. I found a neat site that demos how to make superhero capes cheaply. I’ll get a few pictures and the link up – super cute!

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Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Super Gabe

My “baby” turned 3 today. He is such a joy. I’m so glad he’s in our lives!

A few cute/random facts about Gabe:

1. He created “Old Man Races”. He scrunches up his face, hunches over, pretends to hobble with a cane, and says “Old man, Old man” over and over again while racing his brother to the finish line. Only, it sounds more like, “Old mam, old mam”. Cracks us up every time.

2. He LOVES the color blue.

3. Batman is his all-time favorite super hero despite the fact that he’s never seen a Batman movie or cartoon….

4. Says “coursh” when you ask him a question (“course”).

5. Is the most affectionate child I’ve ever met.

6. Notices the color of people’s eyes.

7. Loves being the baby and doesn’t want to grow up.

8. Adores his big brother.

9. Thinks Spongebob is the best thing ever.

10. Loves books

11. Loves cats and dogs.

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Posted in Uncategorized |

Weekly Update: 2/27/10

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Monday, our catch-up day, was pretty routine. Luke is doing well in his studies and will soon need a new math book and a new reading book! I’m so excited about his progress. It’s cool to watch your kids learn. I founds some Magic Schoolbus books at the thrift store and we love them! I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the rest of the series. We did several of the experiments in the book and I came up with the idea to collect all the equipment and pack it in a box. As soon as we’re done with it I’ll add the book, label it, and then pass it around to other homeschoolers who are interested. I’d much rather share resources than have the book just collect dust.

Tuesday was class, as usual. We are working on word problems which are so challenging for me!

On Wednesday, I had a doctor’s appointment. I’ve been searching for a more natural doctor and got a good recommendation. And they take our insurance, which is always a plus. They don’t push vaxes so I’ll be taking the kids there from now on. Just wish they were closer.

Thursday was busy with class, grocery shopping, a lunch play date and then Life Group. We discussed baptism, which is what last Sunday’s sermon was on. Our church is currently focused on the core values of our church, which is a great series to go through every now and again.

I was pretty lazy on Friday. I browsed the thrift store (found a great frame that just needs to be painted) and then read and entire book. The boys were so content to play nicely together yesterday. It was bliss.

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