A Day in the Life...

My Girl Wants a Horse....Bad!

(I know...I know...it should say "badly", but for some reason "bad" sounded good to me, so for you grammar gurus, kindly overlook my faux pas.)

A few months ago I won some horse riding lessons at an auction.  It was perfect for us.  A little taste, but no big commitment.  Well...turns out...Alli would like a commitment. 

This is her at the lesson. 

She even loved the grooming part.

First time on a horse...

I know it's hard to tell, but trust me...this is the look of sheer contentment.

 

I'm observing from the lovely covered porch.

She didn't want to leave. 

Since this day, she's been on a quest to get a horse.  Not a quest for more lessons, but a horse of her own.  And a barn of her own that she can go to every morning to care for her horse.  She has gotten dozens of books from the library and is pretty much now an expert on anything to do with horses (except riding them).  She even subscribed to a horse magazine.  Yes, my girl desperately wants a horse. 

Yesterday, she tried to make that happen. 

Poor little Millie...

I had no idea that American Girl Doll saddles would fit on 10 lb. dogs. 

Our sweet, sweet Millie didn't seem to mind one bit. (hehe..)

NOTE: No cockapoos were hurt in the making of this blog post. :)

Painting Project

While Rachel and Alli were in an art class this week, learning to paint like pros, Erin and I did some painting of our own.

I found this desk at a thrift shop and thought it need a little TLC. 

Over the next couple of days, we got to work.

After seeing it with white primer, I was tempted to paint it cream, because I love, love, love white furniture. 

 

But Erin's bedroom has red accents, so she made the command decision to go with red instead of white.  (Good choice!)

Isn't this the cutest desk!!  I can't wait for her to sit here and write stories. :) 

 
 
  
  

Sushi Lessons

Last week my sweet neighbor invited us over to make sushi.  I, being a sushi fanatic, jumped at the chance.  The girls were less than excited.  The thought of raw fish sent them into a tizzy and they asked if I could go by myself.  I reassured them that she would certainly have a California roll option and not to worry. 

(She had no idea I was bringing my camera.)

The girls would agree...it was even better than California rolls.  There was nothing uncooked to be found except for the veggies.  It was slightly different than your typical sushi.  Hers was the Korean version.  It's called kimbob, which is easy to remember because her name is Kim and her husband's name is Bob. 

The appetizer we made was with these nifty sweetened tofu pockets.  You put seasoned rice into these little things. 

 

Then turn them upside down and they are ready to go.  They were delicious, but a bit sweet for an appetizer.  I liked them more as a dessert. 

 

Here is a picture of all the goodies that went into the sushi.  Included is cucumber, carrots, thin slices of egg and tofu, asian pickled radish, along with spam...yes, spam.  I was a little surprised by this, but I've heard it's quite popular with some Asian cooks. 

We're ready to get started.  Kim and her daughter gave some instructions on how to spread the rice.  It's trickier than you might think.  (At least it was for us.)

Then, the girls were let loose.  They did great spreading the rice.

 

Then added their ingredients. 

 

And rolled 'em up.

 

Each girl had her own method of rolling. 

Some were more gentle than others.

 

That was the first type of roll.  The next one was the big hit.  It was about as far from traditional sushi as it gets...maybe that's why the girls loved these so much!  Hold on, you purists, you're in for a shock. 

This roll is made with Miracle Whip, American cheese, Korean BBQ beef, and some shredded lettuce.  I know, I know...it sounds so "out there", but I have to say...it was fantastic!!!  

 

I added some of this...yum!

My camera battery died right about here, so I ran home and got the charger and let it charge just a little more so I could get this shot.

 

As Alton says, it was definitely....Good Eats!!!

Super-Size Slip-N-Slide

Mike is one fun daddy!  When we lived in Arizona, he was all about finding the coolest pool toys and we have the best memories of our summers hangin' in the pool.  It was a huge part of our lives.  Here in Virginia, we are pool-less, so Mike is always trying to find ways to make playing outside in the summer heat more exciting. 

Recently, he found this huge plastic sheet at work that was bound for the trash heap and brought it home for this.

 

I had to run up to a second story window to get a full shot. 

 

It was good for hours of fun.  Little did the girls know that they would wake up the next day bruised and sore from basically diving onto the ground.  Ouch!

Our New "Baby"

Stuff like this just doesn't happen to me.  I don't win raffles.  I never win contests.  But this made up for a lifetime of not winning anything. 

Have you ever heard of Free-cycle?  It's a Yahoo Group (most cities have their own) whose goal is to help people get rid of their unwanted items by listing them on an e-loop and then it pretty much becomes a first come, first serve kind of thing. 

Well, last week, I just happened to be sitting at my desk when a particular message came through.  It said, "OFFER: Baby Grand Piano." 

After rubbing my eyes in astonishment, I emailed the person as quickly as my typing skills deficient fingers could move.  I wrote, "I'll take it, I'll take it.  I can be there as soon as possible."  After many phone calls and emails back and forth with the owner, and a quick trip to their house to see what kind of shape it was in, he said I could have it, so I hired a piano mover and the rest is history.  It all happened very fast. 

When it arrived, I was astounded, shocked, amazed, overwhelmed...the adjectives could go on for a paragraph, but mostly I was feeling so incredibly blessed by this beautiful piece of artwork.  It had been quite dark at the other house and I didn't really see the detail and beauty of it.  I had just thought it was an old, grungy piano, which was fine with me.  I'm all about refinishing things. 

But when it got into the light of this room, it was anything but old and grungy.  It was breathtaking, stunning, and ornate...there I go with the adjectives again.

 

 

 

 

I still have to scrape my jaw off the floor every time I walk into this room.  And then I pinch myself.  Wow!  It's real.  Thank you, thank you, Lord.  What a blessing for our family, but especially the girls who love, love, love to play it! 

Summer Projects...Off to a Good Start

I am loving our summer break this year!  The last couple summers were hectic and we didn't have a lot of down time.  This summer is different.  It's all about relaxing, reorganizing, and crafting.  So far, we've barreled through quite a few things. 

I got a really cool pattern from my friend Heidi to make to new kind of tote bag.  She and her girlies keep their knitting supplies in them.  They're the perfect size and the open top gives easy access to the "stuff". 

Here's our first one.  Alli picked out the fabrics and even had the idea for bow on the pocket. 

 

Knitting has been a big hit around here.  So far, we've mostly just been practicing.  This poncho pattern looked pretty simple, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I used the wrong size needles, so it's a miniature version.  (It was supposed to fit an adult.)  I think it might fit a 5 year old even better than Alli.  But it was great practice!

 

I made this adorable pillowcase to match a my comforter.  (Using Jona's tutorial, of course.)  Custom pillowcases...what a great idea!

But this, by far, is the most ambitious thing I've ever sewn.  I've been working on it for months. 

 

I thought I would save myself some money, but it ended up costing way more than a store bought curtain and it was way more challenging than I expected.  The Waverly fabric is pretty and goes with some of the darker colors in my house, but prefer a more cottagey/whimsical look, so I used Vintage Dot fabric by Sandi Henderson as the contrast fabric.  That way it's not too formal looking.  :) 

 

I'm so glad it's finished!

This summer, we'll be hosting a few more sewing parties for the girls' friends along with lots of other fun projects.  I even have a bunch of my all time favorite fabric, Fresh Cut by Heather Bailey, set aside for a quilt...my first one!  Hopefully, I'll be able to get to it. 

Playing With Backlighting

The other day on Pioneer Woman's photography section, she mention backlighting.  I had always thought that putting your subject's back to the sun was a no-no, but the pictures were really pretty, so I decided to play around with it. 

As the sun was setting tonight, I took a few shots. 

First, I started with this flowering shrub.  I like how it turned out.  The sun behind the flowers brought out an even prettier purple color. 

 

Then I turned my attention to Erin...not the most patient of subjects, so I had to work fast.

 

 

I like what it does to her hair...kinda cool!  (Ignore the fact that it's a bit messy!)

  

OK, I'm losing her...let's hurry to see if I can get a couple more decent shots.

 

 

Nope...she's done.  Time to try Alli...

 

OK, much more willing subject, but I think the sun is causing sun spots or something and I'm not sure how to get rid of it.  Oh, well...I'll just keep going.

 

 

I like the glow around her hair, but I'm still not sure what to do about those spots.  I guess the easy answer would be, "Don't shoot facing the sun."  I think I'll just do a bit more research and a lot more practicing.  Note to self...have a brush handy next time.

She Didn't Get This From Me...

 

This is how Erin eats cake.  The rest of us had our hopes up that she might pawn off the frosting on one of us, but nope...she polished it off herself.  Go figure!

Mother's Day and a Belated Birthday Cake

I had a lovely Mother's Day.  We had a relaxing day after church and lunch out.  Mike really surprised me this year.  He actually put in a small vegetable garden for me...without me knowing it.  I was quite busy the two days prior and didn't go into the back yard at all and then Sunday morning...there it was.  I was thrilled.  I've been wanting to put one in since we moved here a year and a half ago, but it just hasn't happen.  Thank you, Honey!  You are the best!

And yesterday, I was realizing that my sweet Alli never got a birthday cake on her birthday three weeks ago (I had made a buttermilk pie, but it's just not the same).  Her birthday was the day after Rachel and I returned from vacation and Mike and the other two had just returned from out of town too.  We were all wiped out and I never made a cake.  Allergies prevent her from having store bought or even box cakes.  They have to be made from scratch, which most of the time isn't an issue, but the morning after returning from vacation?  Unfortunately, I just couldn't pull it together that day.   

So, I wanted to make it up to her.  While Mike took the girls to father/daughter PE this morning, I thought I'd surprise her with a belated birthday cake.  It worked...she loved it!  And I love, love, love making cakes!  I just wish I could eat them (wheat allergy). 

 

 

 

 

Happy Belated Birthday Cake Day, my girl!

We're Still Here!!

OK, it's been a grueling couple of months.  Trying to finish up school has been tough (we are less than motivated this time of year), but doing that and taking a vacation and planning next year's school has proved to keep me pretty darn busy.  Even still...that is "normal" busy for me.  What has really slowed my productivity to a halt is...Health Insurance!!! 

I never knew it could be such a pain, but this new insurance (had it for 6 months) is a nightmare.  I spend a couple days a week just trying to keep it all straight.  Between the high deductible insurance...a health savings account...a choice care card (which is supposed to handle those high deductibles)...and an insurance company who is unbelievably slow in sending paperwork (I just paid a bill from last October) and payment to doctors, if they bother sending it at all, I spend hours a week on the phone making sure things get paid (and finding out that lots of stuff just isn't covered).  Problem...too many office workers involved in our insurance...Heaven help us is Universal Health Care ever happens. 

It just hit me last night how much time and energy I have been spending on it.  Ugh!  The only reason I can take care of all this is because I am home all day.  What do the people do who go to work?  I suppose that is why so many people from Mike's work have complained and now they have changed insurance companies again.  This time, I'm actually relieved.  If the next one if half as difficult to manage, I'll be jumping for joy! 

On the up side...we finished school today!  Yippee!!!!!!  We will continue math through the summer and catch up on some great read alouds (I'm determined to finish "Little Women").  I have a long list of summer projects.  I could probably get them all done if I was living alone and didn't have to eat, but alas, I have a family to feed and care for and a home that must be cleaned every so often, so I'll be thrilled if I get half of my list accomplished. 

Oh, we've taken up knitting.  It's a blast!  Rachel, Alli, and I took an intro class at Joann's and the girls have been on a roll. 

Alli made a few things for her toys.  I think a few of her summer projects will include knitting!