Well How have you been?

Ha ha.... Crazy how time flies right? A year has passed and I am newly out of school. First day of summer break! I feel it is starting out well already. It is funny because I looked at my friend's blogs and it seems like everyone has taken a hiatus from blogging. Most people just facebook what is going on with them, but I think blogging is fun because you can actually write out longer bits and those are sometimes the best part. I was reading through my past entries and it was really fun to read because I could feel my voice from the past. So I thought I would do a little compilation of all the awesome projects we did this year that I took photos of and remember. Each grade is assigned a continent to focus on and then each class in that grade has a country within that continent so I had to come up with different projects for every grade and every class for the last part of the year. That was fun and challenging.

Mexico Sun and moon 4th grade

Canadian Totem pole animals 4th grade

Jamaican masks 4th grade

Iguazu Falls in Argentina 2nd grade

Glacier in Argentina 2nd grade

Saudi Arabian rugs 1st grade

Solar system 3rd grade

Winter snow scene from Sweden 3rd grade( one of my favs!)

Australian dot painting kindergarten

Nigerian Batik 5th grade

Indian Elephants 1st grade

Polish scratch art 3rd grade

Egyptian hieroglyphics 5th grade

3rd grade clay monsters ( they love this project and I made them write and design what planet they are from and make a backdrop so he would have  a background for the picture.)

South American Macaws 2nd grade

Peruvian Ponchos 2nd grade

Chinese dragons 1st grade

Kindergarten owls

Van Gogh inspired still life 2nd grade

Expression masks 2nd grade

Taj Mahal inspired architecture 1st grade

Saudi Arabian mosque architecture 1st grade

Chinese architecture 1st grade

Chinese cherry blossom scrolls 1st grade

summer time 2012

Summer Time!

Well, School is officially out and thank goodness! I was getting pretty tired of it towards the end. I am enjoying my time off and Eleanor and I have been getting reacquainted which has been much more fun than I thought it would be. 

So what are your plans for summer? Do you just take each as it comes or do you script it out? As a teacher I've found that I thrive on schedules but not too much schedule. I've made up a list for the week and each day has a designated morning activity. 
Monday---Errand and clean up day
Tuesday---Toddler time class at the Rec center for Eleanor
Wednesday--- Wheel throwing class for me, Eleanor plays with cousins
Thursday---Playdate
Friday------Free day

I also make it a point to get up early. I've gotten used to 5:30 AM so I am keeping that up. I get up and go for a walk around the block. It gets my brain going and starts me off right. I tidy up a bit, read my scriptures, and shower. Then we have breakfast and I walk Eleanor to the park. In the evening we have dinner and then Eleanor and I go to the gym. It makes for a nice schedule. Warren is in summer school from 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM so it is mostly just Eleanor and I together. 

So what projects have you done so far? My tomato plants have been producing beautifully. Just the right amount to eat up and not go bad. I was extremely excited to find a Large tomato tucked in the corner as I've never had one produced before. My smaller tomatoes have been delicious to eat plain or popped into a salad. If you haven't planted tomatoes yet you can still plant them for the fall. Tomatoes have 2 seasons to them... May-June/July and September-November. Tomatoes will stop producing when it gets too hot at night. The temperature during the day doesn't matter as much as the temperature at night. So you could wait and plant a tomato plant that you can use in the fall as long as it will have some long hours of sunlight.

Have you tried any craft or fabric projects? I have this rocking chair that has been in our family since my mom was a little girl so It is about 50 years old and it was given to Eleanor since she is now big enough to use it. It was covered in a turquoise vinyl that had a couple holes and the whole thing looked a little worn out. So I enlisted my sister in laws help in getting some awesome gold vinyl and I was finally able to finish it over memorial weekend. Eleanor Loves it.

 

So what are your plans for the summer? I am going to be tackling the cabinets in my kitchen and maybe painting a pattern in the bathroom. I'll let you know if I have any fun crafts you might like to do. Hope your summer is going well!

   

Winter planting

It's Planting Time!!

Last year my garden was generally lacking in all ways, I think because I was just getting back into substituting and there was just a general craziness in my home so I felt no desire to work on my garden.

In our new and wonderful 2012 I am feeling much more proactive and interested in getting my garden going so here we go!
Some time last year I found a growing kit at a thrift shop so I decided to use that for my starters. If you are planting indoors for the first time and are low on money you can make your own growing kit by using egg cartons (thats what I did last year) and just add in a regular potting mix or one that is geared towards new plants. I like the kit because each little disc of dirt has netting to keep it together, also it comes with a lid. My sister did some of her own plants and then her cats ate them because there was no lid. If you are making your own you could just put some plastic wrap over that top. It helps to keep all the moisture in so you don't have to worry about watering them.

Plants:
A couple years back I purchased a container of small heirloom tomatoes at trader joes. It had probably 5 varieties of small tomatoes in it so I cut them open, squished the seeds out onto a paper towel, let them dry, and folded the paper towel up, placed it in an envelope, and wrote a description of the tomato on the outside. I have used these seeds now for two years and they have worked beautifully. Saved me a ton of money because seeds can get pretty expensive and here I was able to try out 5 different plants for 3 dollars.

The ones that seem to do best here are the yellow pear and the small cherry. So I planted mostly those. I tried out some flowers but they don't seem to want to come up. Then I am doing some herbs that I love, dill, basil, and cilantro.

With the discs, you soak them in warm water until they puff up to about an inch and a half. Place your seeds just below the surface of the dirt and then put your lid on and wait. It is that simple. I put colored toothpicks in mine so I would know whether it was a tomato, flower, or herb. It only took about 5 days for them to sprout. I waited an extra week before I took the lid off to see if my flowers were going to sprout but it doesn't look like they are going to.

I like to let them get a little bigger and then I'll thin out the extra sprouts, sometimes I transfer those extra sprouts into the discs that didn't sprout. I'll keep them inside, I can transfer them to yogurt containers when they get bigger, and then plant them outside around the end of march.

If you are growing tomatoes in a desert climate like Las Vegas, I'd recommend a book at the local library. The author grew tomatoes here in vegas for like 15 years and then she wrote this little binder book just about growing them here and how to do it. She recommends that once you plant them, you don't fertilize them until they give you some tomatoes otherwise all that fertilizer will be used to make the plant bigger. I definitely understood that my first year of tomatoes. My bushes got HUGE but with no fruit. So this year I will follow her advice. Good luck with your planting and let me know if you have any questions.

October Kettle Corn!!!

I don't know about you but I am a HUGE fan of Kettle corn. I love the sweet salty taste and the smell when you go to a fair and they make it fresh for you. Here in Las Vegas they just opened up a popcorn shop and it made me think of all the varieties of popcorn I love. (Warren brought some white cheddar home the other day and it was awesome)

They sell a pretty good kettle corn at Fresh and Easy and I've tried one brand from Smiths but I always eat it in like a day or two and now I have to buy more. So I thought, Why can't I make it? Does it require some special huge copper kettle pot? I didn't think so, therefore I did the best thing.....Google it. And Ta Da!! How to make your own kettle corn.

It pulled it up on About.com with some pictures and step by step instructions. So, I wasn't feeling that great today and we stayed home from church so I figured it was the perfect time to try it out.

It came out amazing! Just as good as the stuff you get at a fair and better than the stuff you buy in the store. This is now my new favorite snack and I think I will make it as a little gift to give people for christmas because it was sooooo easy and it came out super good. I can see adding cinnamon to it or using brown sugar or maybe a little chili pepper so it is like sweet spicy popcorn. So cool.

Here is the basic recipe so you can try it out.

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large kettle over medium heat.

2. Then, toss in three kernels, and place the lid on the kettle.

3. Wait for the kernels to pop.

4. Once popped, quickly stir in the sugar, and add the remaining kernels.

5. Replace the lid, and listen for the kernels to start popping.

6. Then, remove the kettle from the stove, and shake to keep the kernels from burning.

7. Return the kettle to the stove for a few seconds; then, lift and shake again.

8. Repeat until all kernels have popped.

9. Then, salt to taste, and enjoy!

I got these salt and pepper grinders from costco that use whole sea salt so I put that on its finest setting and as soon as the popcorn was all popped I sprinkled that on and stirred it all up then added some more. You have to wait a few minutes for the popcorn to cool down because the sugar is liquid and has to cool. Someone mentioned that you can use powdered sugar so I'll have to try that next time.

 Hope you are having a wonderful fall season and a Happy Halloween!

SummER Yumminess part 2

The same evening that I made the fig dish I also made this dish.

Spinach and Feta Pasta

In my bountiful basket I received a container of mushrooms, a large bunch of spinach, and 5 tomatoes on the vine. I knew I wanted to use all of these ingredients together because they complement each other so well so I found this recipe and tried it out. It was superb. A nice one pan dish that cooks up fast and gives you a healthy meal. So lets get on with the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package of pasta, I used rotini or you could do penne

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 C chopped onion (about 1/2 an onion)

3 C chopped tomatoes (make sure they are good and ripe)

3 cloves garlic minced(use your masher, Soooo much easier)

1 C sliced fresh mushrooms

2-3 C spinach leaves, packed(they cook down so if you have extra, throw it in)

Salt and pepper

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

8 ounces feta cheese crumbled

optional: italian seasoning(one that has a little bit of everything, I like Emeril's italian seasoning)

Instructions:

1. Get all your ingredients ready. Squeeze out your tomatoes because you don't want seeds in your meal. I minced my garlic and that is such a pain, just use a garlic masher. Make sure you rinse off your mushrooms and your spinach unless you buy that prepackaged spinach, which is a great time saver. The spinach really cooks down so you can add extra.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente; drain.

3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic and cook until golden brown (yum smells so good. ) Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Season with salt pepper and red pepper flakes. (you really need the red pepper flakes they add just the right amount of heat). I also added in a couple shakes of italian seasoning because it smelled like it needed some more seasoning. Cook 2 minutes until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted.

4. Reduce heat to medium, stir in pasta and feta cheese, cook until heated through and then serve.

I made this with a caesar salad and the fig dish and it was an exceptional meal, if you want it to be a little more hearty you could add some grilled chicken to it.

Prep time: 25 min    Cook time: 15 min   Ready in: 40 min  Servings: 4-6 people

I wanted a beautiful picture of it all plated but we were hungry so we just got down to eating it. :)

SUMMER Yumminess

 Feels like it has taken me a month to really get into summer. I love summer because of all the wonderful produce that is available which really inspires my cooking. This past week I bought a bountiful basket and part of my basket were a container of figs. Now, I've never eaten figs before so I did a search on allrecipes.com to check out some fun reviewed recipes. Figs are a savory fruit that are mildly sweet so they are better if you can caramelize them in some way. So I decided on a recipe of

Figs and Toasted Almonds Brie

I love to pair cheese and fruit together so I thought this would be wonderful. So here are your ingredients.

Ingredients:

1/3 C Brown sugar

3 Tbs. water

6-7 fresh figs, stemmed and sliced into eighths

1/2 C toasted almonds chopped

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (14 ounce) round 4 1/4-inch diameter round Brie Cheese

1/2 tsp chili powder, or 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pre heat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C) If you have raw almonds, place them on a cookie sheet inside the oven. Check them in about 10 minutes, they should have dark spots and a couple might be splitting a little and you can usually smell them.

2. Slice the tops off your figs, rinse them in water and then slice into eighths.

3. Heat brown sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add your sliced figs and cook for about 10 minutes until softened.

Optional ingredient: After making this dish I thought it needed a little something. I thought a little spice would be wonderful in it so you could add a dash of chili powder or a little red pepper. I think it would add a great depth of flavor to the dish.

4. Add the chopped almonds and vanilla.(you'll notice I used whole almonds for mine, it would be much better if they were chopped a little) Place the Brie wheel in a baking dish. (I cut off the outside crust  on my brie. I was also in a rush to find some Brie that wasn't super expensive so I bought a Brie log from trader joes and sliced off the outside crust. It needed more brie so next time I will buy an actual round.) Pour the fig mixture on top of the cheese and place in the oven.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened but not melted. Serve with crackers. (I used ritz crackers)

This was absolutely delicious, it got rave reviews. I had some left over for the next night so I just microwaved it. It would be enough for 8-12 people or if you brought it for a party it would be perfect.

Make your own canvas

I've been cruising around on the blogosphere and I came across a great blogger who does all kinds of artistic stuff (which I'm always a fan of) and she had this great idea to change soap boxes into canvas. Canvas is kind of expensive and I have no money but I do have lots of little boxes from food and so I took her idea and used it to make my own art boxes. She uses soap boxes which is a nice idea since they are small and the cardboard is a little stronger but I don't buy soap in boxes so instead I used a fudge mix box and a barilla pasta box. I buy old books at the library store for like 25 cents and then you can use the pages. So here's a quick run through if you don't want to click on the link.

1. Find some boxes that can close up (my torn up cereal boxes Ella keeps ripping open, don't work)
2. Rip some pages out of an old book (book pages are good quality paper and the ink doesn't smear)
3. Use some masking tape to close up the box and reinforce corners to make it stronger.
4. Put layers of modge podge and paper on boxes.
5. Be sure to have a nice area of newspaper set down so you don't get modge podge anywhere.
6. You are done, let them dry and then add cool art to it. (I'll show you my completed art when I am done)

Love all the creativity out there, hope you all are doing great, maybe if I get going again I can get some more followers which would be totally sweet. Have an awesome Memorial Day!

(p.s. Awesome book to check out that gets you in the thankful for our armed forces spirit is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand)
  

Tomatoes!!!

Last year I grew my own tomato plants, then I almost killed them, and then they came back at the end of the year. This year I bought some plants from the nursery and I put them in containers so I could move them around.

I also tried something new because usually my tomato plants get  huge and take a while to get tomatoes going so I read a book on growing tomatoes in las vegas and it said to limit the amount of water and fertilizer until the plant produces fruit so the plant produces faster and doesn't put as much work into growing. So that's what I did and voila I now have tomatoes growing and my plants aren't huge.

Good Bye Water Street Studio

Yes, it is soooo long to that idea. It was a great one and I'm sure it would've succeeded but the Lord has other things in store for me.

I thought everything was going well and then I tried to get a line of credit and that didn't work and I felt really low about that. I thought I would just dust myself off and go about it another way but the next day I couldn't shake this feeling that I was doing something wrong. So Warren and I prayed about it together and we got a muddled answer. Not really a yes or a no. Then Warren gave me a blessing and I realized that it wouldn't really work out. I mean it would, but it would also be very hard on my family and I wouldn't be spending enough time with Eleanor. So I figured it out, that the Lord was letting me decide. Which really kind of sucks because then I have to really weigh things, but oh well.

It would have been nice if I hadn't done this at all, but it was a good growing experience for me. *sigh* I'm getting kind of tired of trying sometimes. We will see what comes of this. Thanks for the feedback.

Summer break is in less than a month, I suppose I will be working on some projects then.

Water Street Studio here we come!

Yeah like the name? Water Street Studio

I was going to call it The Studio, but there were already companies with that name, and I like this one better.

I filed all my paperwork, got an IRS number for the company and I've done all my graphs and charts and my business plan! Whooo thats alot of stuff. I've been thinking about this constantly it feels like for the past month, but that is ok. I like staying busy, it keeps me sane. :)

Thursday night was a good night, we went to the temple, haven't been there in quite a while. Made my spirit all happy and I was able to do some great heartfelt prayers and feel a little closer to my Savior, which is always nice. :)

So now I am looking at financing. I'm going to talk to a couple banks on Tuesday and see if they can hook me up, if not than we are going to do it on our own. Not as much fun but atleast it will get going. I'm going to have to make a page on facebook, maybe a twitter account, and a website. Again, more work but thats good because I know that this is what I am supposed to do and we will do it. :)

Then all my lovely friends can come over and do some art, and it will be tons of fun.

Art School

Alright, so I have had an interesting month. March was kind of nasty, we were all sick for like the whole month. Warren, Eleanor, and I had a cough at the beginning, then we got better for a week and then Warren went on a trip and when he came home he shared some germs and I got Bronchitis, Ella got pink eye, then I got pink eye, then I got a sinus infection where my face was all swollen, ha it was sooooo much fun. So now it is the end of April. Spring break was pretty good, we had a friend from Panama visiting so I got to do the touristy thing all week. Also around that time I came up with an idea.

Art School


I thought about what I want to do with my time, and how I really can't continue subbing because we want to have another kid next year and I can't afford babysitting with my sub pay so I'd basically be at home. Which I don't mind, I've gotten better at it now that Ella is a little older and more fun to play with. She also understands and can answer stuff. So I thought of teaching art classes.


Las Vegas, even though it is a pretty big city does not have much in the way or art and creative places to go. You can take some classes at the rec centers, but that is about it. Now they are also cutting a lot of funding to the schools so they won't have much art either. There fore it would be a good business to be an art center.


So I am all jazzed about this idea, but let me tell you, it is a ton of work! I found a location, in downtown henderson which is awesome because they do all kinds of events and if you are a business there you get a free booth and free publicity! Also there are alot of art galleries down there and they do art events all the time. 


So here is what I am thinking for the art school. 
1. I still need to come up with a name, so any help in that area would be great.
2. It has 3 rooms, so 1 room will be a play area so little kids can play in there while an adult takes a class or while a sibling takes a class.
3. The 2nd room will be a regular studio room where we will have classes like painting, drawing, sculpture, and ceramics. Also probably some photography.
4. The 3rd room......Heres the thing I am trying to decide. I was researching art studios and there are some good ones in CA and one of them I really liked their idea. You pay a studio fee like 6$ an hour, then you pick out an object like a birdhouse, mirror, jewelry box, or something else then in this room you have all kinds of materials that you can use on your object. Kind of like the build a bear idea but it is a very creative environment with a brainstormng area, glue  area, and then all kinds of paints and cool stuff. 


So I could do that for a room, or I could have another studio space for teaching classes or knock out a wall and have a big studio space for classes. Any ideas? 


I am super jazzed about this whole thing, and I believe it will work out and this is the space to do it in, but I would also love some feedback from my friends because everybody always has good suggestions and ideas. 


I am hoping to open it up some time in July so I can get some kids in looking for good activities. 


Alright, hope all of you are doing good and thanks for stopping by.


Melinda

Peach crumble, Ooooo the goodness.

I have peaches that I canned last summer that have a delicious flavor so I decided to make a peach crumble. I used little ramekins so we could have individual dishes and they looked gorgeous in their own containers. :)

Here is for 2 servings

Filling:
2 large peaches pitted and cut unto chunks( I eyeballed it since mine were sliced and canned)
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs flour
3 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 Tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
little less than a 1/4 cup of gold raisins

Topping:
1/3 Cup flour
1/4 c rolled oats
3 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs white sugar
1/4 stick cold unsalted butter cut into pea size pieces
pinch of salt
1 Tbs cold water
Ramekin
Food Processor

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F

Toss the peaches in a large bowl with filling ingredients and stir to combine. Divide between two ramekins.

Topping:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor except for water. Pulse until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in the water, you want it kind of clumpy.

Top each ramekin with the topping. Sprinkle it and don't pack it down.

Place ramekins on a sheet tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until filling is hot and bubbly.

Art bleach shirt

So the other day I was doing laundry and I accidently  spilled a little on my green shirt. I was quite perturbed because I had just found this shirt in the back of my closet and I loved the fit of it. So I put a little bleach in a glass, put a towel inside the shirt and I painted this flower on the bottom with bleach. I added to the ones in the middle to give them a little different shape and voila! I have a cool, artsy looking shirt that happened because of an accident. Nice huh?

Feels like a goodbye

Maybe you've noticed that I haven't been posting very much. Well, I am now working almost full time, I substitute teach 4 days a week and take friday off to run all my errands. I've also submitted my paperwork so hopefully I will be teaching art again in the fall. Why the return to work?

A couple reasons. 1. we have no money. So my income will help us out. 2. I'm not a great stay at home mom. I'm unorganized and I feel hopeless when it comes to being at home ALL the time. I haven't been really happy in a long time so we decided that I do better when I am working.

We found a great babysitter for my daughter, she has a son the same age so they basically play all day and she is the most wonderful loving mom I've met so I'm thrilled she loves to have my daughter with them.

Repercussions.....
I don't have time for crafts. I'm basically working, come home and relax for a bit then dinner, play with Ella, get her ready for bed, and then tidy up the house, laundry, and if there is any residual energy left I work on my hairclips. So I don't really have any stuff to put on my blog. I'm trying to get this craft fair going, which is pretty hard, and some nights I just want to go to bed as soon as Ella goes to bed. So I'm going to leave my blog for a bit. I'm sure I will be very active on it during the summer since I won't be working then, but otherwise I'll just moth ball it for a little while. I love having all the links to my fav blogs on here so I can keep up with them when I feel like it, so feel free to stop on by and check those out and we can chat later on. :) Love, and happy crafting.

Melinda

Are you crafty and do you live in Las Vegas?

Alright, BIG NEWS over the holiday break I had a super brain storm. I was looking into showing my flowers at ren faires and I couldn't believe that it was like 450 dollars$ I'm like Heck NO! That is ridiculous. I wouldn't even make that much. So I looked into other craft fairs and it was the same thing. So I realized, well someone needs to change the world and I guess I'm the one to do it. So here it goes. I am launching the Las Vegas Locals Craft Fair. 
I thought, why do craft shows cost so much money? What if you have it at a place that doesn't cost anything? What if it is only for locals so you don't get a bunch of outside professionals who hog all the business? And what if you hold it at one of the nicest but unknown locations in Vegas? Boom Baby!! Success!!!


So on April 9, 2011 I will be hosting the first Las Vegas Locals Craft fair at UNLV. Exciting huh? Warren was amazed that I got a great idea and was able to make it real. Not like all my other stupid  amazing ideas. I created a blog. http://lvlcf.blogspot.com/ and right now I am putting the finishing touches on the application packet so people can start registering. It is 20$ to get a space. That will cover all the expenses and maybe have a little left over for next year.

Fun huh? I know you were thinking, boy Melinda hasn't done a post in a while, she is so lazy. Well Booyah! This is what I have been working on and thinking about. So if you have any friends who are crafters, have them keep that date in mind. April 9, 2011. And check the blog on Saturday for the application to download and send in.

Happy Crafting!

Look out here comes another year.

Well it is the end of a year. I think the end of a year is kind of a bit of sweet and sour. On one hand you think of all the great things that happened this year and then you have all the tiring, junky things that happened as well. I'm sure all of you have had plenty this year, maybe more junk than good. I like to look back and see the good stuff I have done. 

1. Started my blog

2. Started selling my hair clips

3. Ella turned 1 and she seems pretty happy with her imperfect mom.

4. I'm still in my house.

5. I've tried lots of different recipes this year.

6. Taught recipes to the women in my church and reaffirmed the idea that I would be a great tv cook. (because I'm basically crazy and slightly hilarious to watch when I cook)

7. I'm healthy, slightly overweight, but healthy.

8. I'm getting used to being at home without going crazy.

9. I figured out to bring ear plugs with me whenever we go on a trip, has definitely made me saner.

10. I have a wonderful family that includes a whole lot of people who I love and who love me and really that is all you need.

I suppose that is pretty good.  I haven't achieved very much financially or intellectually this year but I figure there are plenty of years for that.

I'm looking forward to next year. I see it as a clean slate that I can work with. I know I should wait till Jan. 1st to make my list but I'm anxious to get going. So here are a couple things I want to do in the coming year. 

1. Keep my house cleaner and more organized. I have a small space and I need to work with that more.

2. Look into selling hairclips and accessories at Ren fairs this year, I think that is an untapped market.

3. Work on sewing more.

4. Work on my spirituality and devote more of my time to ingesting spiritually uplifting stuff.

5. Love my husband more. I think I take him for granted too much and alot of the time I get annoyed and just want to nag him about stuff when there  is plenty of stuff wrong with me. 

6. Do more artwork. 

7. Drink more water.

8. Dejunk my life, so focus on stuff I really want to do and get rid of all the side stuff that I never really get around to but I waste energy thinking about it.

9. Stop worrying so much about money and find something that I love to work on.

10. Spend more time playing with my daughter.

I think 10 is a good number. And I tried not to pick ones that I won't really do. I taught a lesson in YWs where we talked about goals. It said you shouldn't spread yourself too thin on goals, instead devote your energy to 1 or 2 for a couple weeks. That way you will actually accomplish something. 

Have fun thinking about the new year and then spending a month getting used to writing 2011 instead of 2010. :) Love ya

Mmmm Lima bean and ham soup.

Isn't it funny how your tastes change over the years? Every year my mom would make lima bean and ham soup around christmas time and I hated it. Slowly as I got older I grew to like it and then last year after I made my first ham at home I made my own soup and Holy Cow it was amazing!
Now you may say, why do you think it was amazing. It just was. :) That and my Dad never really likes this soup but I invited them over and he ate two servings of it because he liked it so much. So here is how I make it.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. dry lima beans
1/2 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 ham bone
extra ham chopped up (about 2 cups, I like alot of ham)
1 Tbs. butter
Spices:(very important) garlic powder, parsley, basil, sage, and marjoram. (I use all dried in a bottle spices)

1. You can soak your beans overnight or you can do the quick gook method which is usually listed on the package of your beans. Rinse the beans and check them then put in a large pot with about 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Cover, turn off and let sit for an hour.
2. Drain your beans and add back in 4 cups of water. Add your ham bone and cover but leave it open a crack to let the steam escape, simmer for about 3 hours.
3. In a separate pan add butter to melt then add chopped onion and celery. Stir until onion is translucent.
4. Remove ham bone and add ham from bone and extra ham. Add cooked onion and celery.
5. Cook for about 10 minutes then season. I don't do regular measurements of my seasoning I just have this sixth sense to it sooooo. I did a layer of garlic powder that lightly covered the entire surface of the soup, same with parsley and basil. Then I did about half the pot with sage and marjoram. Stir it and taste it then add what you think needs more. Usually it is parsley or garlic.
6. Let it cook for about another 10 minutes then serve.

*note: You could make this in your crockpot by soaking the beans overnight then draining them in the morning, add the water and the ham, let it cook all day on low and do the final steps about an hour before you serve it.

Bethlehem and it glows!

So last week was our Relief Society Christmas program and one of the ladies asked me to make a scene of the manger as a table display for her room. I immediately had an idea for making it stand up and have windows with lights coming through. So here is the finished piece.

I made it out of black foam board. I cut the top edges so they are curved and attached those to the back bottom to make it stand up. I used an xacto blade to cut out all the openings then I glued yellow tissue paper to the back. I added some curtains in some of the windows. Then I used pearl paint for the star light and pearl paint mixed with silver for all the buildings and the ground. I used gold for the glow on the windows and doors. To light it I cut cereal boxes so I had two columns that stand up. I lined them with aluminum foil to reflect the light and I stuck a little shelf in so I had two levels of lights. Then I bought those flameless candles and voila! We have a glowing centerpiece. It came out awesome so now I have it displayed in my home.

Great Christmas Gift ideas

Isn't he so cute! He is on the list.

Alright, so it has been a while since I blogged and suddenly we are like 2 weeks away from Christmas!! So  I wanted to do some christmas crafts but I have been super busy traveling and shopping and all that other great holiday stuff. Anyway, one of my fav blogs is doing a giveaway if you post a christmas craft on her site and now she has over 100 Christmas crafts so I thought I should just link her blog for the crafts because there is an amazing assortment.

Christmas Gift ideas

Peach cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting

So tasty!!

Yep, so for Thanksgiving I was in charge of a dessert and corn. :) Pretty nice huh? So I have these peaches that I canned this year that are amazing and I though Mmmm peach cupcakes. So I found a recipe on another blog, Smitten Kitchen which is a really great blog so you should check it out. Her photos are pretty awesome too.  The cupcakes came out delicious, very moist, and a nice change from the usual cupcake.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting

Makes 24 to 28 cupcakes

3 cups cake flour(bought mine at local grocery store and yes it does make a difference)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt
3 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped smallish or about 2 1/2 C peaches

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 28 muffin cups with paper liners. Pull out 3 cubes of butter and 2 packages of cream cheese to come to room temperature.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together, beating until fluffy (if your butter isn't room temperature I like to unwrap mine and put it by the oven to warm up or put it in the microwave on defrost for 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt (I used the buttermilk, I think Vanilla yogurt would be amazing). Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks.

Divide the batter evenly (added extra to a couple and they came out squishy) among the prepared cupcake liners. I use a 1/4 measuring cup and that works out prefect. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. After they cool a bit I like to cover them with a dishcloth so they don't dry out while I am making my frosting.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

The cornstarch acts as a thickener for the frosting. Powdered sugar already has some cornstarch in it but since we are using brown sugar you have to add extra. When the frosting is really cold it will be very thick and hard to squeeze out so you might need to let it sit out for a couple minutes.

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

Frosting Tip* 

To get those hershey kiss looking frosting you use a round wilton # 10 tip. I don't have a big pastry bag so I snip the end off a gallon ziploc bag and stick my tip in so it pokes out through that hole. Then I put a little tape on it to hold it in place. Now I load up my bag with frosting and I'm ready to go. The great thing is that if I don't use up the frosting I can just store it in the fridge for a bit because it is already in a ziploc bag.