Monday, February 28, 2011

February's Ten Things

Here are my Ten Things to Smile About in February:

 

1.  I turned my old photo 365 blog into a food blog and have had lots of fun taking food pictures this month!

2.  We celebrated Todd's 30th birthday!
 3.  We started a Valentine's Day tradition and had a fancy family dinner.
 4.  I had a love affair with homemade chocolate pudding and, after losing the recipe, discovered that I have it memorized after all.
5.  I found a preschool for Madeline for the Fall, two days a week - just right for her.

6.  I'm now obsessed with homemade bread and have discovered that it really isn't hard to make if you find the right recipe.

7.  We went to the zoo for FREE!
8.  With the help of my mom, I found a $73 jacket on a clearance rack for $2.97!! 
9.  I made it another month exercising 6 days a week!
10.  We got to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday yesterday and it seemed to be one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've had in a long time.  It's so so nice to live by family!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Food Craving Problem Solved

I walked right past the Cookie Crisp today at Walmart and did NOT buy it.

I have lost my chocolate pudding recipe,

and my kitchenaid broke today. 

My wrists will no longer allow hand kneading (a discovery I realized today after my kitchen aid broke).

I guess that solves that problem.  No more over-eating of those three things anymore . . .

Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Trip to the Zoo

I can't believe that I've been so busy lately, that I almost didn't go to the FREE zoo day yesterday!  I'm so glad we decided to go.  Sometimes it is just really good to pretend your mile-long list doesn't exist - at least for a couple hours!

Ethan really liked the big cats

 And the giraffes seemed to be Madeline's favorite.  Hence the unhappy face in the picture . . . since I was making her turn away from them:
 And the peacock gave us a great show!
 Have you ever seen the back of a peacock when his feathers are up?  I thought the brown feathers were a little surprising.  Compared to the blue, they sure were an interesting contrast . . .
 Madeline also liked watching the little Mara eat.  Mara?  Yeah, I don't really know what they are either, but if you'd like to know more, you are welcome to ask Ethan!
Ethan liked seeing ALL the animals, as if that is a surprise to anyone who knows about his animal obsession.  And he would say things like, "Look!  There's a lemur"  or "Yes!  I knew this zoo had Mandrills"  before reading the sign to see what they were.

All in all, it sure was a fun day!  Nothing like a FREE trip to the zoo!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Three Things

Three things I crave lately, am in love with, and can't get enough of:

Cookie Crisp Cereal . . . who knew?
Homemade Chocolate pudding - I made it last night and just might have to make it again today . . .
Homemade bread - I made two more loaves yesterday!

And no, I don't plan on posting a picture of Cookie Crisp on my photo blog.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

It works out

Today, I felt like I had a mountain of stress sitting on my head.  Lots of callings with lots of meetings, lots of details to try and remember, lots of people I have to do little things for.

Sometimes, you feel like you have no idea how you are going to make it.  But then someone gives a lesson where they say the EXACT thing you need to hear to make you feel better.  And you decide to cook a dinner that everyone loves and dinnertime is happy.  And then a neighbor calls with the help you need.  And a little voice says, "don't worry, it's going to all work out."  And then you smile.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Tray

A week or so ago, I was in my favorite design store when I noticed every bed in the show room had a tray sitting on a throw with pretty things in it.  I thought it would make a nice addition to my new room.

I bought my tray at JoAnn's with my $5 off coupon, so it only cost me $1.99.  I painted it white, lined it with purple, and then covered two Styrofoam balls with fabric strips left over from my pillows.
 It was cheap, quick, and easy.  But little things like this make me smile each time I pass my room with the laundry basket.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Our Fancy Valentine Dinner

When my sister told me how she was planning a fancy Valentine dinner for her family, I knew I wanted to copy her!  And it turned out to be so much fun, I think we have a tradition here for the future.

First we dressed up!  Complete with boutonnieres and corsages that I made (out of silk roses from the dollar store - now I can use the same ones next year!).  Madeline was excited to wear her princess dress during dinner.
 We ate heart shaped-pizza for dinner.  After pizza, we cut chocolates into four pieces each for a chocolate tasting. 
 We also had pink and red layered jello, with sugar around the rims.  Madeline felt lucky to eat out of such a fancy glass dish.
 And of course, the table was decorated, candles going and pretty music played.  What a fun evening!
Going out with Todd would have been nice, but this made Valentine's Day special and fun and memorable.  My kids really liked it and we did too!

When the night was over, Ethan was happy to blow out the candles, but sad that he couldn't make us any more valentines.  In the one week leading up to Valentine's Day, Ethan made over 40 valentines.  I'm talking, homemade, with animal drawings on them.  And store bought ones, he did about that many too.  I've got a stack of ferocious dino valentines like you wouldn't believe.  That's how I know I'm loved!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tulips

Todd knows tulips are my favorite flower, so I loved seeing these in his hands yesterday:


 He thought they were a bit too droopy, but that is one reason why I love them!
Tomorrow I'll post about our fancy family Valentine's Day dinner.  It sure was fun.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Garland 2

Well, I couldn't help myself this afternoon, so I made another garland.  Conveniently, you can see the original garland in the mirror reflection!  A happy accident.  :)  I really think it would be easy to become obsessed with such things and make them for all holidays and seasons . . . haha!  I also think I made make this one doubled in length, maybe tomorrow.  I still have enough felt and I only bought 2 sheets of each color.  Gotta love a $1.50 project.  Cute and fun!

Heart Garland

I saw a link to the easiest heart garland here, and thought it looked cute and like a lot of fun.  And it really was super quick and easy!  Just cut hearts out of felt and sew them together with one line of sewing. 

I just might make another to wrap around the Valentine things on the mantel.

 Makes the house festive and fun!  My kids love it!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Valentines

We have a tradition in our home around Valentine's Day.  The week before, everyone makes at least one Valentine for someone else in the family.  We each have a Valentine Pouch with our name on it:
 We had fun making these yesterday
 And with Ethan around, the bags are never empty . . .
 Here's how many valentines we've all received just since last night!!
 And here is my favorite one Ethan made for me:
For my Prehistoric Valentine.  I'm ferocious for you, Valentine! 

I think Ethan's already made everyone in the family at least 4 or 5.  I'm going to have a hard time keeping his filled!  But it's fun to write love notes to the people you love.  It make my children's faces light right up to see a love note from me, and their notes make me happy too!

Happy Valentine's Week!


Monday, February 7, 2011

Todd's Birthday

We bought 30 beverages and Ethan numbered them 1-30, then we placed them all over the kitchen and living area of the house for Todd to collect when he got home from work!  It made us all excited and it turned out to be fun!

Madeline was very exited to give Dad the present from her:
 And Ethan was too . . . kids just make every birthday fun.  They were so happy and excited the whole day!
 And his request for a simple cherry chip cake was greatly appreciated after the princess cupcake extravaganza not so long ago . . .
Happy Birthday again, Todd!  We LOVE YOU!!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

My New Plan

I've been floundering a bit without my photo 365 project this year, let's be honest.  I really loved that thing.  But I was tired of it too.  And the past month, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my photo blog.  Well, I've finally decided to turn it into my food photography blog!  Food is one of my favorite things to photograph anyway and I realized that when I take pictures of people, I wouldn't mind posting them on this blog anyway!  So I took all the pictures on Through My View from January that weren't food pictures, and re-posted them on this blog.  And now I will just post all my food pictures there.  It's through my view, then into my mouth!  Enjoy!

Friday, February 4, 2011

My Kids and Me

I took these last time Todd was out of town-I was trying to get a shot for him to have at work. I think they turned out fun:


Happy Birthday Todd!!!


Happy 30th Birthday Todd!!!

That's right, my hubby is 30!  I swear we were just barely the little kids.  I found these old pictures of us this week behind other pictures in an old picture frame.  They were taken almost 8 years ago:


They made me smile as I thought about 8 years of memories.  Fun stuff!  Good memories.  And boy am I lucky.  I have the greatest husband in the whole world.

So, happy birthday babe!  You are the best decision I ever made!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Purple for Me

Dark purple is the most beautiful color in the world to me.  So I don't know why it took me so long to add it to my room!  The brown and blue are gone, and even though I only made the brown and blue pillows for my room last June, I really didn't feel all that bad about changing them.

Purple is for me!  So this past week I made some new pillows for my bed that match my purple couch (which used to be white):
 My mother-in-law also knows my love affair with purple and made the throw for me for Christmas.  Here is the front view:
I'm particularly fond of the ruffle pillow!  But the gathered one was fun to make as well.  And I LOVE the pattern fabric too.  Do you know how hard it is to find fabric with eggplant purple AND white on it?!?!?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

February Recipe

Sour Cream Enchiladas
from the pioneerwoman.com

12 whole Corn Tortillas
Canola Oil, For Frying
1 can (20 Ounce) Enchilada Sauce
2 cups Sour Cream
3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1 cup Sliced/chopped Green Onions
½ teaspoons Ground Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together sour cream, green onions 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Heat enchilada sauce in a separate skillet or saucepan.

Using tongs, fry tortillas one at a time, for only about five to ten seconds per side (don’t allow to crisp.) Remove from oil, then dunk tortilla in enchilada sauce. Lay tortilla on a plate, then spoon a good two or three tablespoons of the sour cream mixture in the middle. Roll tortilla, then place face down in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and sour cream mixture.

(If there’s any sour cream mixture left over, use it as a dip for tortilla chips!)

Cover the dish with the remaining cheese, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve immediately. Place a dollop of sour cream on each serving, then sprinkle on sliced green onions.

My Notes:  If desired, add shredded chicken to the sour cream mixture.  I don't think you need this much enchilada sauce, I had a lot left over.  And sorry that these aren't a healthy dinner, but they are GOOD!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

January's Ten Things

Here are my:
 Ten Things to Smile About for January

1.  We went sledding as a family in the canyon
 2.  I got to see my dear friend, and old roommate,  Lisa and her family
 3.  I spotted these on my driveway and they really did make me smile:
 4.  I was able to sew a TON of things, stuff for Madeline, new pillows for my bedroom, quilts and more

5.  I had front row seats to various puppet shows
 6.  Giving Madeline a big bed and being able to make the blanket for it with my Mom
 7.  Madeline turning 3!
 8. Successfully making these:
9.  I got my piano tuned for FREE . . . and only found one screw on the floor under the piano after he left . . .
10.  I successfully exercised 6 days a week (aerobic 3, toning 3) for the entire month!  And I'm not stopping now!!