A Work in Progress

I want to post...a lot. Seriously, I have lists, and I even have pictures. But when I sit down, determined to share books we've been reading, some of my favorite baby things, recipes I've tried, or anything else, I get totally discouraged that my blog doesn't look as cool and "put together" as I want, or the fact that my pictures are nowhere near the quality on all those "pretty" blogs that I so frequently come across. Yes, I'm comparing my blog to other blogs. I need to stop that.

And so I'm telling myself that this blog, like me, is a work in progress. I can improve upon it a little at a time. I can post pictures that are totally homey. I can share some small amount of what I'm learning. All in the hopes that it might somehow better the world for just being "out there". So there.

Inspiration for 2013

Oh man do I have a list of goals! It's huge! I will surely reach perfection this year and you will all be jealous. ... Please laugh with me right now because I am obviously trying to be funny. :) I always have a huge list of ways I can improve myself and my family's life. Working on them is slow going (and occasionally overwhelming) but there's nothing like a new year to bring renewed enthusiasm to the process!

I have also been coming across the writings of others that have been inspiring and I thought I would share.

First, this talk by Elder James E. Faust, The Power to Change. I may have shared this before, but it's worth repeating, it often comes to my mind when I suddenly feel like a whole day has been ruined because of mine or others actions. We really can have a new beginning every minute! Here's a quote in case you don't want to read the whole thing right now -

"Each new day that dawns can be a new day for us to begin to change. We can change our environment. We can change our lives by substituting new habits for old. We can mold our character and future by purer thoughts and nobler actions. As someone once put it, “The possibility of change is always there, with its hidden promise of peace, happiness, and a better way of life.”"

Have you heard of having one word for the year? One word to remind you of your goals and hopes for the year? I'm new to this concept but I like it! I have a word in mind for my purposes but for now you can look in on Coco's word - "Avodah". It encapsulates allot of my own feelings and desires, wish I could copy-cat! But I won't.

"Avodah is a Hebrew word used in the Bible whose root has three distinct yet intertwined meanings: work, worship, and service."

Here's a little video that I remember watching last year and was happy to find again. I do need the reminder to not look back on my failures or less-than-shining moments, it only holds me down.

And for those days when I feel so far from the mark I am sure I will find this post very helpful.

""And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

So if this life is our Proving Grounds, and the Lord is our engineer, then we are simply in a process of becoming, we are in the hands of the Master.  This life is an intimate process where we are working with the Lord to find our weaknesses and make them strengths, and become perfected in Him."

This new year is going to be fantastic! The Lord has already blessed me so much in books, articles, and advice shared by others, that have helped me to feel more confident in my abilities to accomplish all that He has planned for me. I am excited to put my shoulder to the wheel and go forward in faith! I hope these few resources can help you reach your goals for 2013!  

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy....

 I have never had a problem with this. Going to stores, out to the theater, whatever, it just doesn't tempt me. I have no problem with going to church, visiting with family or friends, taking a nap.

But lately I've been having trouble with my feelings toward Sundays. Our meeting starts at 1 p.m., which means we have to wake the kids up from their nap or they don't have one at all. We're always late. Then we try hard to keep the cranky kids reverent during an hour of people speaking on Gospel topics. Honestly, I have not been able to pay attention to these talks (and thus be spiritually moved by them), for a good 3 or 4 years. I reconciled myself on that point awhile ago, going to church is what Heavenly Father wants us to do, it's important, and we are teaching that to our kids, one rowdy Sunday after another. One day our kids will sit quietly through the whole hour, not needing any other form of entertainment in order to keep them from screaming and running for the exit. Right?

First hour is over and we're off to our separate classes. Breath easy? Nope! My husband and I teach 6 of the 12 "Sunbeams". These are kids in the 3-4 age range, who are brand new to Primary. We spend the next hour repeating things like "keep your hands to yourself", "You should come back and sit in your chair", "shhh, listen. Let's sing this song", and occasionally I tell them "I want my mommy too". We also do allot of running around with potty breaks, or literally to chase a child back into their seats. All with the greatest love and care of course.

The last hour. A little more relaxing with just us teachers and the kids. But they're bouncing off the walls, too loud to talk over, and you know they will never really remember what you're trying to teach. A few times I tried to be really prepared with the lesson, but I learned that the kids pay the same amount of attention (which isn't much) whether you spent hours preparing or just 10 minutes. The time drags on because you've run out things to do, but finally it's over.

So, the past 3 or 4 months of Sundays have basically been 3 hours of babysitting. And I'm pretty sure it will be this way for awhile. I've been quite disgruntled over it. I still am I guess. Maybe it's because I have this silly notion that Sundays, going to church, should somehow refuel my spiritual tanks and prepare me to face the next week of exhausting, never-ending, parenting. Hopefully with patience and joy and understanding. I realize that's allot to expect from 3 hours once a week. Especially when it's really my job to do that every day. Fill my oil lamp one drop at a time, as much as I can, whenever I can, my whole entire life. See? I know that. In fact I pretty much always know the answers to such dilemmas (we all do), but it takes awhile for me to acknowledge it. Lets face it, realizing that the problem is yourself, and then working to change that is much harder than just complaining about it. Harder - yes. But also much healthier, and happier.

So I'll try harder throughout my weeks. I actually do pretty good with daily prayer and scripture study, but I'll admit that it feels a little stale and routine. I think I will also try to make Sundays better. I've been "keeping the sabbath" but I've pretty much lost the "holy". It's in there somewhere! I know I have a problem keeping such things on the forefront of my mind but I'm going to try really hard with this one. Luckily Sundays come around quite regularly and so will be a great reminder for me to try and find the "holy" in everyday. One drop at a time. 

A Pearl

I've been meaning (for a long time now) to put some things in writing. Memories, thoughts, lessons learned. With a little help of a Readers Digest contest I'm starting the process of recording! I don't usually (as in ever!) do this kind of thing, but my mom suggested it and she's a smart cookie so I tend to listen to her. Plus I'm feeling lucky!
I wanted to post my "story" here first though, and if you feel so inclined to vote for me that would be lovely. :)

'I was the awkward "tween". The day had been hot and sticky and I wondered out loud if I should bathe before an evening activity. My mother quickly answered with some very good advice, "When in doubt, take a shower". I don't think she realized it, but she gave me some of the best words to live by. I have used them countless times, and in many different situations.

Do I eat the cookie, or the apple? Do I spend money now, or wait for what I really want? Do I stay home, or spend some time with a friend? Do I sit on the couch, or do I get up and play with the kids? "When in doubt, take a shower" translates to 'When in doubt, just do it!'.

By following this advice I have lived a more full and beautiful life. I have made some of my best decisions and learned some of my greatest lessons. I look forward to more goodness as I remember what mother told me so long ago, "When in doubt, take a shower."'

A new Hair-Do

Because I have no idea how to "fix" my hair I have decided to learn a new hair-do each month. Learn it and PRACTICE it so I will actually know what I'm doing. So here's my first one! "The Fancy Half Up", easy enough for me to do, but still looks pretty.

Baking Up Some Happiness

I have decided that it is very important to keep the cookie jar full. It makes me HAPPY!!!

Prompted

I always want to post something fabulous, or at least somewhat meaningful. And so I create this pressure for myself which results in me not posting anything. With the new year I have been feeling an urge, a nudge, a prompting to do something more with this blog. I want to be a force for good. I want to stand up for motherhood, family, and the standards taught by our Saviors gospel.

I know I don't reach many people here, but at least I know that whatever I write is "out there". It will be waiting for someone to happen upon it, and maybe my thoughts and testimony will somehow change that persons day for the better. More likely, the person to be moved and changed by anything I share will be me!

One thing I am continually learning is that it is better to start small than to not start at all. And so I will start right now. Small, but prompted.

No-Sew Fleece Blanket - A Beginning

The latest things keeping me up at night (besides the children) have been thoughts, ideas, and desires for handmade "projects". Useful "crafts", things that will last and be loved. I want to be able to make or alter clothes for us when needed. I want to make dolls and toys for my children, scarves and hats and gloves, and I even want to make slippers for my little boy! Handmade, homemade, 'lovemade'.

Whatever I do needs to be cheap like dirt. I'm actually excited about that challenge. What will be hard to overcome is my total lack of knowledge on everything that I just mentioned. No joke, I am BEGINNER in every sense of the word. My mother is wonderful at sewing and being creative with different medians. Right now she is wondering what happened to the knowledge she tried to pass on to me. I would say "I don't know" but lets be honest, it just didn't stick. I always have my mom to lean on and she is always willing to help, so I was lazy and never really learned. But no more! I'm going to be handy and crafty, and "a really useful engine"!

So here is my start. Evelyn needs a warm cuddly blanket of her own, not hand me downs from her big brother. So on Christmas morning she will get this beautiful blanket that I "made" (aka tied knots in).

 

So here's how I did it, for all those other beginners out there. We have to start somewhere!

Step one: Chose your fleece (this is harder than you think, so many cute prints!) This is a two-thickness blanket so you choose two different fabrics, corresponding or not, prints or solids, it's up to you! I got 1 and 1/2 yards (of each) and it turned out perfect for a lap blanket.

Step two: Put the fabrics together, right sides facing out, and trim around ALL edges. I trimmed less than an inch off in some places. The goal is to have all edges match.

Step three: Using a four inch square piece of paper as a guide cut the corners off. This makes so much sense when you get to the tying part!

Step four: Cut a 4 inch fringe on all edges. Don't skimp on the 4 inches! My fringe widths varied between one and one and a half inches. (The one inch strips were easier to tie). I moved a ruler along with me for reference on the width as well as to tell me where to stop cutting. Maybe I should have mentioned before, but you really want some sharp scissors for this project! You don't have to have sharp ones, mine were pretty dull, but you'll want sharp ones!

Step five: Tie it up! I did a simple over-hand not, essentially tying the two fabrics together. At this point I was feeling a little ridiculous by the simplicity of this blanket, does it really qualify as handmade and crafty if it's this easy? Well, my satisfaction level then (and now) was off the charts, so I say 'yes'!

Step six: Turn the blanket over and re-tie the whole thing. Turning it over makes it so your knots don't all lean to one side...I guess. But double knotting it makes it look allot better, you are able to pull it tight and get a cute little knot. Awe!

Done! Finished! Totally happy with myself! Excited to give it to my little girl on Christmas!

Acorns in my pocket

The other day I took the kids to the park. After playing we decided to take a walk in the nearby "woods". There is a really nice pathway and it was a beautiful day, but we didn't get far. An overhanging oak tree had dropped quite a few acorns and little John was consumed by them, picking them up as fast as he could. "Acorns!", he said, "look mom!", and "pretty", or "look at this one". He seemed genuinely interested by each one he touched, no matter how they looked. And so, one by one he filled the pockets of his jacket. Soon every time he bent down to pick up another acorn, two or three would spill out from his pockets. "Oh no!" he would say, and quickly try to get the fallen acorns back into the pocket. It was cute! It was funny! And I realized that on another level, it was me.

I am a mother of two young children, I am a wife, I am a daughter, I am a friend, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Each of these roles that I "play" have their own acorns. There are so many good things to do and to learn! And I tend to collect them. My "pockets" are so full of ideas, unfinished projects, and unmet expectations that I can't move without something spilling...so I usually just don't move. It's the whole "I've got so much to do that I don't know where to start" problem. I'm reading a book right now, by David Allen, and I thought this statement to be very true, "Many of us seem to have it in our natures consistently to entangle ourselves in more than we have the ability to handle."  President Uchdorf summed my problem up pretty well in his conference talk earlier this month. He said;

"Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives."

Umm, yes. This is sounding familiar. All these good things I want to do and accomplish do not make me happy. In fact I can't get half of them done so I feel like a big fat failure! He goes on to say;

"There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks."

Hmmm, lets continue shall we?

"Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”     We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives."

There are LOTS of acorns, and that's a good thing. I guess I just have to find the best acorns for me, and know when my pockets are full. Know what I mean?

Mosiah 4:   27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and ^aorder; for it is not requisite that a man should run ^bfaster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

Doctrine and Covenants 10: 4 Do not run ^afaster or labor more than you have ^bstrength and means provided; but be ^cdiligent unto the end.

Even David Allen had some good advice, "You're going to have to learn to say no -- faster, and to more things -- in order to stay afloat and comfortable."

So here it is. I'm telling myself "no". I'm making an effort to ignore some acorns so I can more fully enjoy my "walk". I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

Getting to Know Rhubarb

My mom loves rhubarb...the plant, and I think I do too. It has big, beautiful (and poisonous) leaves, and it grows back every year without much help. My favorite part about rhubarb is the jam! Strawberry Rhubarb Jam... yummy! This year I listened when my mom said that making it was easy, and decided to try it. So here is my first experience with Rhubarb, as well as my first experience with canning anything.
 

Chop it up nice and fine.

Five cups is what you need for one batch.

Mix with 3 cups of sugar and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Beautiful!

Sterilize your jars.

Put it in a pot and bring to a boil.

Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. Right now it has a rich sour, sweet smell.

Remove from heat and stir in one box of strawberry gelatin, until it has dissolved.

Carefully poor into the jars. It filled 2 pint jars. I didn't seal them and so they will have to be kept in the fridge, or they can be frozen, or eaten...

"Crafty"

Aren't they the greatest! I've always wanted to make "shrunken heads" and this year I finally did it. With some old apples I peeled them, dunked them in some lemon juice mixed with water, and carefully carved out whatever features I thought appropriate. Supposedly you can leave them out and let them dry and shrivel on their own, but I'm not that patient. So into the oven they went! They were in there on a low setting for maybe 24 hours before we got them out. As they sat on the counter (or wherever) for a few days they continued to get more wrinkled and delapitated looking. I finished them with a coat of clear craft glaze spray, to keep the fruit flies away. :) I think they are so cute! I imagine they are singing together with great harmony.


When the leaves first started falling I wondered if I could somehow stamp their form onto stationary. I love stationary! I grabbed a pretty leaf and decided to try out a fall flower as well. The only type of craft paint I have right now happens to be finger paint, but I think it did the job quite well. :) Isn't the flower design so fun?! My husband said it looks like fireworks...and it kind of does! Doing the leaf on the second sheet was a little harder, well it just took allot of blotting to make sure I had the right amount of paint so the leaf veins would show up nicely. I was so happy with how these turned out. Now I just need someone to write a letter to!

With using strange things as "stamps" on my mind I continued...

I know! They looked so much better without the paint, but I had to try! Unfortunately their faces didn't translate onto the paper very well. But I was satisfied by trying something new, so it was worth it to me. :)

The best for last! This was a very yummy pumpkin!
Basically just a brownie baked in a deep pie plate and covered with orange frosting. I didn't want to bother with somehow making black icing, so chocolate chips stepped in and did a wonderful job. The recipe for this brownie was super simple and came out tasting more delicious and wonderful than I thought it would. So I must share it...

Jumbo Jack-o-Lantern Brownie
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-inch pizza pan with foil; grease foil

Stir together butter, sugar, and vanilla before adding eggs and beating well with spoon. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and gradually add it to egg mixture, stirring until well blended. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in the center. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan so the bottom is facing up. Peel off foil and frost/decorate.

The frosting is just a regular buttercream frosting with red and yellow food coloring used to make it orange. I don't have a 12 inch pizza pan so I used my 9 1/2 inch pie plate. So my brownie was thicker and took longer to bake. But boy was it good!!

I think I'll be making it again very soon...yum!

Another Card

I've made a couple of these "lips" cards before and just love how they turn out! This is my favorite, maybe just because of the colors. I have discovered that I really enjoy folding and making things with paper (well, mostly cards). The pretty paper does all the work, I just give it a little tuck and pinch and there it is! Beautiful and satisfying! If there is interest maybe I'll post a little tutorial on how to make this gem.

Love those lips!

Up-To's

Two fun "projects" I did last week were to try a new recipe, and to make birthday cards. They both turned out pretty, and good. :)

The recipe was a simple "Navajo Fry Bread", as follows:

• 2cups flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 3/4 to 1 cup hot water
• oil for frying

Mix dry ingredients. Add water by increments, stirring between each addition, until a soft dough forms. Knead dough a few times and let it rest while 2 inches of oil heats in a fry pan (to 350 degrees). Pinch off a golf ball size of dough and roll to about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully place into hot oil and fry until golden brown (doesn't take very long) , turn to fry on the other side.

Now, when I did this I did not roll the dough out with a rolling pin, I just flattened with my hands. It worked just fine, but they weren't uniform in thickness. I also doubt I had a whole 2 inches of oil in my pan, but it was allot! (and the house smelled like oil for a day or two afterward). Other than that it was a fun thing to make, and of course even better to eat! We topped them with taco meat and all the trimmings, yum! My favorite though was to smother them with butter and honey...*drool*

The birthday cards were for a couple of women in my church ward that I Visit Teach. I have no idea what these things are called, I just remember making them when I was kid and laughing at all the silly messages with all the other girls at school. Honestly I got the idea to use it as a card from a library book, and I loved it! I used some pretty paper, made the folds nice and crisp, and printed out some birthday quotes to paste in the message flaps (leaving a space for me to write on of course). So little effort, so cute, so satisfying!

Father's Day

I didn't get to it Sunday, so I'll say it now. I love my husband! Father of my child, love of my heart! It is so great to spend my life with him. We're having fun. :)

I also love my own father, very much. He is always a wonderful example of working hard, seeking and gaining knowledge, and enjoying good music. I am so blessed that he is my dad!

Unfortunately my creativity in celebrating the day for dads was at an all time low this year (I gave my husband socks...). Thankfully my sister-in-law is much more on top of things than I am! She found this really cute idea on Bakerella and we worked on it for most of Saturday. Putting them all together was the best part! I had so much fun, and was so impressed by us! I'm tempted to make them again, just because they were so cute (not to mention totally yummy! Brownies, cupcakes and sugar cookies -oh my!).

I know, I know - AWESOME!!

15 minute arms

I decided I should share one of my favorite mini-workouts. It first caught my attention because it only took 15 minutes, but also because my arms are such a trouble spot. I have been mixing this little gem in with my workouts for about 4 years now (off and on of course), and it always gives me good results.

On the exercises that use weights keep it light, 3 to 5 pounds. Here you go!

3 minutes of half plank - elbows directly under shoulders, palms flat on the ground. You will really feel it in your stomach muscles but it works the stabilizer muscles in the arms as well. Hold the position for as long as you can before resting, then get in to the position again for as long as you can. Repeat for the full 3 minutes.
4 minutes of push-ups - I do the classic "girl" version. Do a set of 10, rest, set of 10, repeat for 4 minutes. As you get better your rest times should get shorter.

4 minutes of triceps work - Laying on your back with knees slightly bent, hold weights up over shoulders, palms facing in. Lower weights so hands are near your ears, keeping elbows pointed toward ceiling. Do this in sets of 10, with rest in between.

2 minutes of arm raises - Standing with weights at your sides. Keep arms straight as you lift them up to shoulder level, and lower slowly. Try not to have tension in your neck, and keep your knees and elbows "soft". Sets of 10, resting in between.

2 minutes of bicep curls - Standing with arms at your side, palms facing forward. Curl the weights slowly up and down in sets of 10. It helps to bring your elbows slightly forward.

Enjoy you newly tones arms!

Something to Blog about

I quite frequently visit my blog, hoping that something about it has changed. Comments anyone? Not usually. I mostly link to the other blogs on my list as they publish new posts. But I realize that I am the master of this little sphere, it is up to me to bring about what ever change I might be craving. (That can apply to so much of my life).
I suppose this is me, recommitting to see the good and creative in my days, so I can in turn share it with whomever happens across this little slip of my life.

Some small thing I have been excited about recently is what I will call "rubber band eggs". I have always loved to dye eggs for Easter. The outcome it so beautiful! Every time I scoop a smooth shelled, hot pink or sunny yellow egg from its colored liquid I rejoice. There is no other word for it. And I am that much closer to having a fresh stash of these boiled beauties in my fridge on a regular basis.

This year I visited the Family Fun site and found this wonderful idea. Just wrap those eggs with all the rubber bands you have laying around and proceed with the staining bath as normal. The actual directions may help out, but really, it's that simple. I went ahead and tried it on a couple of eggs and couldn't have been more pleased!
I worried that the rubber bands would be too tight and end up cracking the shell, but the only injuries sustained were inflicted by my soon-to-be-3 nephew (who is quite adorable). Still, I wouldn't wind those bands too tight. Given enough pressure we all crack, eventually.


Another happy discovery is that some chickens actually lay eggs that are already colored! The Araucana chickens can lay different shades of blue, green, gold and pink. These are the chickens I will raise on my farm, they will save me a fortune in food dye!

Birthday Cake

Well, March marks the anniversary of Relief Society being organized, and so Home Family and Personal Enrichment celebrated the fact. I signed up to bring a cake for one of the centerpieces, which would have different months as the themes. My month was April. All I could think of was "April showers...", then I hummed a few rounds of "drip, drip, drop, little April showers...", love that song. Of course there is Eater to think about as well, so here is my interpretation of this years April - set on top of a lemon cake with lemon pudding filling and cool whip frosting --

Super easy, yet satisfyingly cute. :)