Can we move Christmas to July?

Hi all - I'm back. Believe it or not, I still have a partial bag not unpacked from my trip to Florida (yes, you read that right, Mom!). I came back with barely a week to prepare for 2 birthday parties, back-to-back.

But first off, my Dad is doing well and was very glad to be home after 3 weeks at the hospital and rehab. There are still many issues to sort out but we're hoping that he will get back into a "normal" schedule with his chemo soon. There are good days and bad days but we're hoping that with the right combination of medication, he can get to a level of comfort and enough energy to get back to where he was, physically, before summer. My Mom is doing a tremendous job being the only one there for him and praying that her energy level keeps up with all the demands. We will be joining them for Christmas in just a couple of weeks so it will be good for all of us to be together again.

Now upon my return I found a little girl on the verge of becoming a 13-year old. It must have been growing pains but our now 5 year old was really testing us and I'm sure part of it was that Mommy was gone for a week. Her birthday party was this past Saturday at a local kids' culinary school

with 14 attendees. It was an amazing place to have a party and so glad I didn't try and attempt this at our house:


The children frosted and decorated cupcakes; made Willie Wonka chocolate bars with golden tickets inside; and drank chocolate banana smoothies. It was an adorable sight with all of them wearing little aprons! Wish I could share photos of that but my policy continues to be a no-full-on-face-photos! Part of my before party preparation was putting their names on the party favor aprons with puffy paint and scouring the entire bay area for mini spatulas to include in their goody bags. I failed to take photos of those :-( but they did turn out adorable.

Then the very next day was my son's 8th bday party at OUR house! Twelve big boys total at our house! While I was in Florida, my wonderful husband was constructing the Lego race track and buying all the Legos necessary for building Lego cars. Each boy received a generous amount of Legos to build their own race car then it was off to racing them down the track. We had activities planned out for the entire 3 1/2 hr party and am so glad that we did because every time there was a lull in activities, the boys resorted to jumping, running, climbing and just being plain rowdy boys. Here are some pictures of that party:

These Lego blocks above are white chocolates. I bought the Lego mould from the Lego store. Attempted making a cake out of the mould but figured out very shortly after popping out the cakes that it would be a near impossibility to frost around those round knobs!





Will post picture of the Ugly Lego Cake later as blogger is having a hard time this morning loading pictures. So, now, there's still Christmas shopping to do (and we have relatives out of state so that means packing and mailing them too!). Our Christmas cards may have to wait until January too as we tried taking pictures of the kids at the museum last week and my son couldn't put on a normal face so that is still on our checklist to finish!

Now am off to run (great stress reliever) - am up to 4+ miles round trip! Not bad for an old lady!

Taking a break...

Hello blogging friends. It has been awhile since I updated as life just caught up with us.

First and foremost, my Dad has not been well and was hospitalized for a week for congestive heart failure. He has been suffering since summer but his cardiologist (who has since been replaced/fired) did not diagnose this condition correctly and it worsened and last Friday he was finally admitted to the emergency room. He also suffers from 2 forms of blood disease, in which he needs to get well and stronger soon to continue his chemotherapy.

Needless to say, it has been a difficult time for all of us and more difficult for me as I am not anywhere near them. I will, however, be finally flying down there to help my Mom out in getting things lined up for Dad's aftercare and any other necessary arrangements we need to make to get him home healthy, safe and comfortable.

My in-laws volunteered to come down early for Thanksgiving to be here for my children. My 2 little ones are the busiest children I know with all their afterschool activities so that alone will be a handful to handle. Right now I'm busy stocking up the pantry and freezer so they will have an easier time getting meals prepared. I've also gotten request from my kids to make sure i stock up on baked goods for the freezer (spoiled children - they only want home-baked cookies).

Also, if you've noticed on my sidebar that my Etsy shop is missing. That too had to be closed temporarily as I could not imagine crafting when I should be attending to my family. I hope to return to that wonderful place when time allows me some frivolity. I did have my last "hurrah" with crafting last weekend when I participated as a vendor for my son's school where a percentage of our proceeds from sales went back to the school. I had great success and am thinking that craft fairs are another fun way to make money (without the added headache of figuring out shipping or finding the right box to ship stuff out in).

Here are some fun photos for you all to enjoy. I will post again after I return from Florida and hopefully I'll have nothing but very happy and healthy news.

These are some things I made for the Holiday Boutique:




Snowman Poop tic tacs - the snowman is a Quickutz die cut; cardstock is all SU! and the ribbon is also SU! (may be retired); the stamped "Snowman Poop" was done with JustRight stampers.

Owl Post-It Notepads - inspiration for the Owls comes from here. This talented lady used nothing but punches to make these adorable owls. She also has on her website the instructions on how to make the notepads.





The felt candy cane mice were from a sample my Mom got from someone last year. I made mine a little bigger. The tag is stamped with PaperTrey clear stamps (I just love their stamps!) and used SU!
cardstock and retired silver cord.

The Santa Tags were also inspired by the same stamper linked above. I used mine to make tags and you can go check out her site to see how else she used the adorable Santa heads.

These last 2 photos were my attempt at crocheting. The stacked "Oreos" were made using a found free pattern on the Internet and the cupcakes were a pattern provide to me for free by an Etsy seller whom I purchased a pattern from (I purchased a crochet a tea set pattern). I've since found the cupcake pattern on-line - all for free. So, if you can crochet, try these! They are fun and quick to make. These I sold and they sold the quickest. I am now making a batch of both as party favors for my daughter's birthday party.

Almost Halloween! Etsy and PTA

Have been missing in action for a little while....some of it personal and some related to just being plain busy with kids and their schools.

Here is a picture of a Halloween cake I made a couple of years ago. I believe the idea came from Family Circle (Bats are chocolate melts stuck onto mini marshmallows and toothpicks). It was going to be a cake donated to my son's school for the cakewalk but I quickly discovered that it was too fragile to transport in a car so my kids and their friends were more than happy to consume here at our house.



And here's an almost picture of my littlelest pumpkin! This was last year - thought I'd post that now then do one for this year later on to show the comparison of much she's grown! However, she is still the same silly girl! LOL!! This year she decided she wants to be a bat. No, not Batgirl but just a bat. Hmmmmm......no more princesses...sniff, sniff.



As far as crafts, have been busy making up stuff for my son's school fundraising Holiday boutique (remember how poor California is so we have to raise money to fund teaching specialists, librarians, etc). Will take photos of those cute projects later. I've been busy crocheting play cupcakes and knitting cupcake purses. These were not my creations but patters I previously purchased from very talented Etsy sellers. Proceeds from the sales will benefit my son's school. Will send links of those later after I get permission from the Etsy sellers.

I've also been recently "selected" to be the PTA treasurer for my daughters' school! I know ZERO about bookkeeping or accounting (I believe I nearly failed that class in college!) so this is such a hilarious thing for me to be doing. My friend, the PTA president, convinced me it would be easy and that she would help me out with anything I don't know (easy for her to say - she's a very smart CPA!). Am happy to report that I have not messed up their books.....yet!

Have a great Sunday! Hug all those loved ones and don't forget to tell them you love them on a daily basis.

Crocheted Recycled Grocery Bag Purses

Due to popular demand, I'm listing my Mom's amazing crocheted purses here with their dimensions. If you're interested in purchasing any of them, please contact me and I'll list them in my Etsy shop (OR you can contact my Mom directly - for those who know my Mom :-). Most, if not all, of the purse linings are vintage and I believe some are even silk (If you'd like to know, contact me and I'll ask my Mom which is which! :-). You can click on any of the photos below for a larger view.

8 Pocket Crocheted Recycled Grocery Bag with Leopard Print handles: This one measures approximately 15 1/2" x 9" and 3" width. It has a total of 8 pockets inside to keep everything organized PLUS it zips shut! Not sure where my Mom got all these beautiful colored grocery sacks but some even look pearlescent and I love how she used black plastic to accent the stitches within the body and also along the top of the purse - which also picks up on the colors of the purse handles. The inside lining is a mustardy-yellow print with dots and stripes (resembles a safari print shirt ;)!







The next one below is white with little specks of blue and a little red here and there. It measures approx. 13 1/4 (w) x 7 1/2 (l) and a base thickness of 4". The purse handles are extra long: about 8" long loops. The edge of the purse is scalloped crocheted. This purse also features 8 pockets and lined with a beautiful light green and torquoise paisley patterned brocade style print. Also has a zipper to zip it shut.







The next one below is smaller than the others but just as functional featuring 4 pockets on the inside and zips shut to keep things from falling out. It measures approx. 12 (w)" x 8"(l) and base width of 3 1/4" inches. Double click on the purse picture so you can see the intricate crocheting details here. I love the alternating white and toffee brown colors! The inside lining is a silky peacock print patterned fabric.







This last one is probably my favorite and a perfect purse for Fall season! Double click on the photo to see all the details - the colors are toffee brown with dark green and burgundy stripes. The pattern my Mom added here almost look like little shells! Not sure where she found this beautiful colored plastic bag but she sure did a beautiful job incorporating the colors and creating a pleasing pattern. This one measures approx. 13" (w) x 8 1/2" (l) and a base width of 4 1/4". It has 6 large pockets and also zips shut. The lining fabric is very thick (think durability!) and also patterned. The purse handles in this one are the longest, measuring approx. 9 1/2" long (am thinking that this would work well carrying it over my shoulder even with a thick coat!).







I'll move these over to my Etsy shop eventually but if you're interested in purchasing now, please contact me! Think great Christmas or Holiday gifts! And what a message you'll be giving to the rest of the world by buying a recycled grocery sack purse! BTW, one is already listed at my shop (a white one with a little pocket on the outside. Go check it out here.

Day 8 and Mountain Lions

Whew....so it has been 8 days since the kids started school and I think we're finally getting into a routine. Don't laugh but the hardest part for me is trying to decide what to fix my son for lunch. There is no lunch service at his elementary school - what? Yep, that's right! the state of California is so poor that they don't even have enough money to pay the lunch ladies! And you know what else? There are no school buses either!! So all you lucky parents out there who see your kids off on a school bus every morning, you have got is so made as we here in our community have to drive/walk/bike our kids to school. Twice a day. Five days a week. And in my case since my kids go to 2 different schools, all the numbers double.

This is what we did last weekend when it was very HOT in our neck of the woods:



If you zoom in on the picture, you will see that it says "Mountain Lion Habitat"! And it was NOT my idea to hike there....it was my husband's! I got the kids so paranoid about the lions that my daughter decided to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" really loud all the way up the hill to scare off any lurking mountain lions. Also, the sign tells you what to do in case you get attacked! Above that sign is also a warning that there are rattlesnakes, ticks and poison oak. And this is supposed to be a kid-friendly hike???(at least according to this guidebook that my husband got at the bookstore). The good news is, obviously, that there were no encounters with any of the dangerous things on that hill and all in all, it was a fun thing to do together. But I don't plan on going back there any time soon! LOL!

Later on tonight - if I get my act together - will hopefully post some pictures here of some new Halloween tags you can use to put on your treats. Simple design and handmade (no mass manufactured embellishments here ever! Or at least I try to always handmake all that goes into my products).

Baking Fool and a Brilliant Blog Award

Happy Labor Day weekend! I'm taking the meaning of "labor" literally and decided to stay in my pajamas all day. My son just said to me that I don't need to get ready for bed tonight because I'm still in my pajamas!! LoL!!!

However, I did labor. Look at what I've done today:

Lemon Zucchini Cookies


Chocolate Zucchini Cake


Coconut Chocolate Bars


Super Nachos and Mango Strawberry Smoothies


I also made up "Dream Dinner" style meals where I pre-assembled all the sauces/marinades for 15 dinners!!! Back when I started doing Dream Dinners, I was curious to see if they published some of the recipes and was happy to have found some of my favorites on the Internet. Granted, most home-cooks would not want to assemble these at home as they require you to buy uncommon ingredients (such as mango chutney, orange marmalade, capers, prunes). But since my family and I are such flavor hogs, I'm probably one of the few that actually followed the recipes to do at home and bypassed ordering those from DD. I'll post photos of those ziplocked bags of sauces - they are happily firming up in the freezer. The only thing I did not do is add the meats to them. We don't eat a lot of meat and tend to use meat substitutes (ever try the "Chicken" strips by Morning Star? They are a super substitute to real chicken and no worry about defrosting and slicing and no SALMONELLA!).

The kitchen was a horrible mess and needed 2 dishwasher cycles to get it all washed. My husband happily stepped in and did the 2nd batch of dishes - but seriously, I think he didn't like to see/smell me still in my pjs! LOL!!

Now for the Brilliant Blog award....! Hadesigns (aka my SIL) nominated me for this award!!!! Thank you so much, Holly!!!!! Hadesigns is a super talented lady and you can see some of her work on her fab blog, Etsy store and Flickr - go check it out!!! I feel so honored even though I don't think I really deserve it but heck, I'll take it!!! Now I just have to figure out what I'm supposed to do next!!! LOL!

Here is what I'm supposed to do (shamefully copied from Hadesign's blog):

Here are the rules for the nominees:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

I may have to call her to see how to do some of the steps above. Like, I don't even know how to add the logo on my blog! How sad it that?! I tell you...this techno stuff is really putting a strain on the old noggin'. So, please stay tuned!!

Bread and First Day of School!

This is what happens when:

1. Your friends are sick of Amish Bread and refuse to take the friendship starter from you;

OR

2. You have no friends so you have to use up all the starter yourself! LOL!!!!!!!

If you're curious, these loaves took a total of 7 hours to bake! I told my husband that in our next house, a double oven is no longer good enough...I want 4 ovens!!!!

The flavors range from Butterscotch Cheesecake with Dates to Vanilla Lemon Curd. Yep, that is what happens when you have pantry items nearing expiration dates and the tightwad that I am will not let anything go to waste, hence, the flavors. My Amish Bread recipe is half the oil of the original recipe and 1/3 less sugar.

This is how they looked after they cooled and wrapped up for their lengthy stay in my freezer. There is no such thing as low-carb diet in our household. LOL!



Here's my baby girl on her way into her kindergarden class (she is the one in the middle with the pink shirt and brown pants). Not a very good photo as all the others showed other kids' faces and don't think their parents would love me to post those! :0

She was amazing - just like preschool, not a tear or hesitation. Unlike her older brother who cried for 2 straight weeks when I started him at preschool! But then again, he was only 2 then!



Don't forget to go to my shop for BTSS (Back to school sale where select products are 30% off!).

UPDATE: Did you NOTICE my new Blog design? :-))))) I still have a lot to learn (like trying to get back the button where I change font size - if you know, PLEAAAAAAAASE tell me!).