What I've Been Up To

i've been perfecting a new skill. wire wrapping. i've been making rosaries and jewelry for years and years but i had never ventured into wire wrapping. then, i received a special order in my etsy shop for some wedding jewelry. it was to be wire wrapped. so, i ventured into a new skill and i am really pleased with how it all turned out. i made four pairs of matching earrings, four bracelets and one necklace. the bridesmaids will each sport a pair of earrings and a bracelet and the bride will wear the same in addition to the necklace. this has spurred me to make some wire wrapped items to put in my etsy shop and show on my facebook page. i hope to have them completed soon. it takes quite a bit longer than making the other stuff i have done, but i just love the results.

Daily Funnies

yep, two posts in one morning. it's a record. but, two things really made me chuckle yesterday and i know if i don't write them down they will be out of my mind as quickly as they came in.

#1, courtesy of my wonderful husband. a couple of weeks ago i had taken the kids strawberry picking at a wonderful local place called shady creek farms. i had not recorded the check i paid with in the ledger but the duplicate check was still in the book. my husband recorded the check into the log the other day. when i looked at it yesterday i read "check #blah, blah, blah - shady greek farm." hee, hee.

#2, i was reading the wonderful book "little acts of grace" to my youngest daughter yesterday. we were reading the section on holy water. after i had finished reading it i asked her why we bless ourselves with holy water as we enter the church. she said she couldn't remember. i said it was to remind you of something but she still couldn't remember what. so i said, "it reminds you of your ba...." waiting for her to quickly pick up and say "baptism." instead she responded, "i know, backwash!" um, not quite.

My Talented Friends

i have so many ideas swirling around in my head, yet not too many of them come to fruition. yes, i know. there's a time and a season for everything. and as many people have told me many times, this is just simply not my season for getting things accomplished. with an eleven, eight, five and one year old, homeschooling and a house to take care of, i do well to keep my head above water most days. forget the finer things that i dream about like fine tuned organization, musical theatre (performing in it that is) and making all sorts of cool things ranging from sewing to jewelry (i do manage to get a bit of this done, you can check out my stuff here and here...when i actually have things listed) to cheese (yes, i said cheese). but, i wanted to direct you to two of my good friends who are doing things with their hands and their minds (that don't involve wiping little hands and behinds and reprimanding 'til the cows come home...and if mine ever do come home, my hoa laws will have something to say about that, but that's another story all together). so, i invite you to check out amy and beth and the wares they have to offer. amy and her really talented daughter have taken a big leap of faith and rented a stand at a local establishment called building character. they felt led by Our Lord (thought He definitely warranted a link too) and opened a lovely little spot called fresh vintage that provides even lovelier items for the little girl in your life. take a look at her posted pictures. they just scream "come up and pinch me 'cause i'm so darn cute!" they have quite the eye for what is fashionable and classy. my other friend beth has to be one of the most talented people i know. she can put together just about anything from nothing. and i really admire that when she thinks up something, she actually gets it accomplished. not just in her mind or possibly even drawn out on paper like i do all the time. when she has a good idea (which she does all the time) she makes it happen. beth has an etsy store that she has recently started filling back up again (yeah!) and she is also showcasing some of her lovely items at amy's place. so, if you are local, come stop by tonight during first friday and check out all the great items they have to offer. i'll be there. i'm also hoping to check out this great place. because you know...i need more craft and sewing supplies like a need a hole in the head. but, it's too good to pass up.

What The...?

wow, first, posting two days in a row for me posting? definitely some kind of record. second off, i am flabbergasted by my local newspaper. not in a good way. we were trying to figure out if there were any areas around here where we could shave some more money off...or into...our budget, however you'd like to look at that. so, we were thinking of canceling our subscription to the local paper. we only get sunday anyway, for the coupons primarily, but we thought maybe we were spending more than we saved annually. so, we let the subscription lapse, didn't pay to renew and they stopped delivering a paper. ok. that's what we were looking to do. so, yesterday i decided that we should get the paper for a year, see how much the coupons saved us over that year and then reassess next year at this time. i went online and tried to do the renew function but it wouldn't let me because it said my subscription had been canceled. so i clicked on the subscribe button. i was floored by what i saw next. the bill to renew my paper for a year was $88. if i was not renewing and starting a subscription, my bill was going to be...drum roll please...$45 and some change. this prompted me to the "what the...?" title you see above. that's pretty much double the price. why? obviously because i have been a loyal subscriber for the past oh, ten years or so. gee, thanks. i see how you reward my loyalty. i really appreciate it. i went ahead and did the subscribe thing and then i got an e-mail from someone at the newspaper today saying that i couldn't do that and they will restart my paper again but that it won't be paid for the whole year. i almost felt like telling them to refund my money, that i didn't want it at all until they stop charging me double what a new subscriber is. aargh.

Cooking From God's Bounty

cooking in the summer. i absolutely love it. ok, i should rephrase that. i don't love cooking in the summer when it's all hot and sweaty out and i've refused to use our air conditioning because i would rather save some cash and it's like 95 in my house. what i do like about cooking in the summer is the freshness of things that you can cook with. we live in an area that is so full of farms and road side stands that during the spring, summer and early fall months you can practically find any type of produce you are looking for that has been grown right around the corner. one example is strawberries...really yummy strawberries. i took the kids strawberry picking on a cool morning this past week. it was lovely and we came home with eight quarts of really yummy berries. mind you, we had already gotten about four or five quarts off of our own plants here at the house but, well, we ate them. what can i say. we're fiends and they don't last long. so, the berries we went down the road to pick were slated for homemade jam and freezing for later uses like smoothies and muffins. we ended up with twenty two jars of freezer jam (yes, i take the easy way out but i really do like the way it tastes better than the cooked kind and i also think it has way less sugar) and about eight bags of frozen fruit. the jam will last for awhile but i doubt the frozen fruit will make it past the end of the summer. that same day we went to a friends house down the road and picked five gallons of the tastiest snap peas. the pattern seemed to be "one into the bucket, one into my mouth." it was so good to see the kids adopting this pattern too. they just love these fresh peas. we were able to share a couple of bags and then freeze quite a few for ourselves. then, last night, (ok, here's where the real cooking part comes in) i made a yummy dish with chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, parsley from the garden of my friend beth and spinach from my back porch. even the kids liked it and sometimes that is quite a miracle. it was so pretty and colorful and i simply loved how i knew where all of the produce came from...ok, aside from the mushrooms. we have been trying to figure out how we can do more of this lately and one step we have taken is to replace our dying silver maple tree in our front yard with an apple tree. we got a newtown pippin variety. we chose this type because it is a semi-dwarf and is self-polinating, two very good things when you live in a development and have a lack of space. we also have plans to put in some raspberry bushes and a small garden in a corner of space we aren't using. it feels good to finally be doing some things to the yard which will benefit us down the road. now to find somebody who has a tiller to get these tomato plants in the ground...

Check This Out!

if you want an awesome free printable for celebrating Good Friday through Easter Sunday, go check out Catholic Icing. she has a beautiful cut out figure set that we plan on using this week. while you're there, check out everything else. this has to be one of the best liturgical sites around.

Happy Birthday Bubby!

e year ago i got a hideous stomach bug. i was pregnant, but not due for another five weeks so i just thought i'd hang in there, try to get some rest and try to keep down some liquids. but then, the contractions started and even though we went to the hospital and they started an iv, the baby wasn't waiting. so, in the wee hours of the morning we welcomed a tiny silas matthew to our family. praise God he was healthy and didn't have any of the problems we had been told a preemie could have. little did we know that there would be other issues, those that wouldn't be so easy to diagnose or find someone to treat. it has been a difficult year but it has also been one oh so full of blessings. we love you so much our little bubby. thank you for teaching me to love, to trust and to hope. you are such a beaming light in our family. you have brought so much joy to all of us. i pray you may continue to grow and develop as a beautiful child of God.

Chobani. You Did Well For Yourself.

today, i'm taking a little time out to do a plug for some darn good yogurt. i'm not usually one to act as a commercial, but this one is good. i promise. so here we go. a few years ago i began really watching my carb vs. protein intake and was on the look out for some really good...and quick...balanced snacks. that's when i found chobani. if you have never tried chobani, you really should. it an awesome, really thick greek yogurt which also comes with fruit, if that's your preference. the fruit at the bottom tastes really fresh and not of the gelatinous variety that it has been my previous experience to find at the bottom of a yogurt cup. it also has alot of protein and only between fifteen and twenty grams of carbs, depending on flavor. so yesterday it was on sale at giant and i thought i'd pick some up. i noticed there were a few flavors i had never seen before. one of those was strawberry banana. i had it for lunch today and OH MY WORD! it is quite possibly a little taste of heaven...and i don't feel guilty indulging in it either. so, if you're into really good yogurt i suggest trying one. you may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.