Dreams do come true!

Christmas has always been a magical holiday for my family. It starts the day after Thanksgiving when we go to the mountains to find our Christmas tree and we celebrate all month! {We sometimes even celebrate into January, like this year, because Philip comes home from his mission next week! I'm so excited!} 

This Christmas was wonderful, too! Why? Well, under the Christmas tree at Jordan's house, there was a little box for me {It was in a gift bag so I had no idea what it was!}. In that little box there was something that I have been wanting for more years than I like to count. In that little box was the most beautiful ring I could ever imagine. It is perfect! And just as the ring he picked out for me was more than I could have ever hoped for, Jordan is my dream come true and then some! 

It is time to start planning!

I've been sewing again...

Since I've been sewing again, there has been absolutely no progress on the house. At least I've made no progress that is. Mom found me a dining room table {more on that later}; and Dad, Mom and Jer all came and dealt with the moss, etc.; but I have not done anything. {Nope, no internet yet... thank my having a lunch break at work for this post.} I've been lucky to get the dishes done not to mention the laundry. So what if I've been getting my pants out of the dryer in the morning. They are clean... if slightly wrinkled. But hey, I love to sew, things around the house can wait, and I wanted to sew new costumes for this year. So that is what I did. 

Angelina wanted to be a leopard. She picked out fur at the fabric store and I used Stacey's favorite girl's pajama pattern, added a tail, and put ears on a headband. I'd never worked with fur before, and I was not sure how comfortable fur pajamas would be, but I'm sold. Angelina picked a super soft fur and they looked very comfy. I would not mind a pair, though I'd forgo the tail and ears for me.

{Angelina the Leopard}

As for Jordan and me, we decided to be vikings. {Vikings don't wear tights.} We thought about recycling one of my other costumes and just making one for him, but all of the options were too labor intensive for the amount of time left before Halloween. You cannot see his shield in this picture as it is in back, and I had not yet finished his hat for the first night of parties. The shield he made was perfect, and the hat completed the look. If I find a good picture with both, I'll add it to this post. 

Danica already had a cute costume, so I did not make her one. She was a bumble bee who did not like wearing her hood. Garrett kept buzzing at her at the ward party anyway. It was funny!

{Danica the Bee, me as Olga, Jordan as Olaf, and Angelina the Leopard. 

Amanda pick out names for Jordan and me at her fabulous murder mystery dinner party.

I guess they stuck. Ha ha!}

Update ~ Why No Update?

I still do not have internet at home. Simple as that. You will know when I have it again.

Update ~ The Move

I'm please to say the move has finally started.  It started last night. "Why the delay?", you ask. "After all didn't you close on the house over a month ago?"... Yes, yes I did!

After several weeks spent getting quotes on flooring, trying to decide what I want, and waiting for the installation date, it all worked out.  The carpet store even came and tore the old stuff out and gave me a few days to prime the sub floors and get rid of the pet smell for good.  Thanks Mom, Dad, and Jer! {And thanks to those who were willing to help that day, too! Even though I did not call you...} I picked plush carpet and vinyl tile.  The flooring was installed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week.  It looks fabulous! I'll post pictures as soon as I take them.

Then on Thursday evening I had the ducts cleaned out.  It took them four hours, and man those guys were hopping. It was amazing what had been blowing through that house every time the fan was on. There was not even an air filter in the heater. Gross! Thank goodness that is all taken care of! All can breathe easy now! {Haha! I'm so pun-y!}

"Well, you had a three day weekend. Why didn't you move then?", you ask. Good question! Simple answer, I had to work. I am not complaining at all.  It was on a job that provided me many hours of overtime last month, happy paycheck! Just what I needed! Plus, since I did not use the holiday hours, I can save them for when Philip comes home!

The weekend was not a total loss for the move anyway. Jordan found me a free washer and dryer, picked them up, AND delivered them. I owe him big time!

So that takes us to last night. After work, Mom, Jer, and Jordan helped me put the first load in the trailer. Bed, bookshelf, and boxes! Lots of boxes, mostly of books, and a few more dishes, too. Surprise! And there are still more dishes to move... Mom, Jer, and Dad helped me haul it all in the house putting most of it in the rooms it will end up in. Tonight I'm hoping we can move the piano and other assorted boxes, and put all of the appliances in. And maybe move the bunnies, too. But if they spend the night at the house, I will be, too. We will see how much can be done tonight. I'm certainly not staying there until the bathroom is clean!

Home ~ Before

Progress on the house so far has been slow. I have to decide what I'm doing with the flooring first... There is no reason to move in just so I can move all of the furniture again.  I've got the flooring picked out, so hopefully it won't be too much longer. And until I can post some after pictures, here are a few of the house as it is.

Street view:

The first thing I unpacked, or course:

The not so "secret" secret room under the stairs. {aka: Place for the little people in my life to play when they come over. Thankfully I have a bunch of my old toys to put in there...}:

Love the high ceilings, especially in the entry:

One of several reasons I have to replace all of the carpet:

Breakfast nook and living room:

Formal dining, the green will go eventually {sorry this one is blurry}: 

Home Sweet Home

I am getting the keys tomorrow morning. There is going to be so much to do... cleaning, painting, packing, furniture refinishing, moving. Lots of work to do, but I am excited!

What is Art?

To Judith G. Klausner it is an Oreo.  Were I a skilled sculptor and had the time, I would choose a more lasting medium.

Gourmet Ramen: Is it an Oxymoron?

I found the article below online the other day.  It reminded me of my college days. I really should have made a cookbook or written an article like this for other students, because I made some pretty unique dishes with ramen noodles. Super creative! Some I really liked. Others, well, were pretty gross.  So what do you think? Are you tempted to try one of these gourmet recipes? Can you really dress ramen up? Or is this just cheap creative college kid food?

{And if you are wondering why I am online right now... I'm home, sick. Maybe I'll go make me some plain ol' ramen...}

10 Ways to Eat Ramen for Dinner

POSTED BY BROOKE MCLAY ON JUNE 17TH, 2011 AT 2:14 AM

Times are tight, budgets are pinched. We had two dollars left in our food budget on Tuesday of last week, so I buzzed to the store and bought the only thing I could think of.  Ramen. At 17 cents a package, ramen has to be the best food deal out there. And, it’s a fun deal, too. Because a packet of ramen isn’t just soup waiting to be made. It’s actually a blank canvas ready to be turned into art. Here are 10 super-simple ways to {dress up} your ramen and make it into a simple, satisfying dinner.

1. Veggie Ramen (pictured above) . Toss a tablespoon of butter into a skillet. Add 2 tablespoons each of thinly-sliced carrots, frozen green beans, frozen white corn, and edamame. Cook just until softened. Add a packet of Pork Ramen, 2 cups of water, and cook until the noodles are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add seasoning packet. Serve and enjoy.

2. Egg Foo Ramen. In a small bowl, whisk an egg with 1 tablespoon of water until well beaten. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour egg into the water, then add the noodles. Cook just until tender. Season with seasoning packet. Garnish with sliced green onions.

3. Chinese Chicken Salad. Shred 1/4 a head of cabbage, 1 breast of chicken, and 1/4 white onion. Add 1 package of crushed Chicken-flavored Ramen.  In a small bowl, whisk together the seasoning packet, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Toss dressing into salad, serve and enjoy.

4. Ham Fried Ramen. A simple take on Fried Rice, cook a packet of Pork Ramen until the noodles are tender. Drain completely. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon olive oil until sizzling. Add 1/4 cup diced ham and 1/4 cup of frozen peas & carrots to the oil. Immediately toss in the noodles. Crack an egg into the mixture and stir until well cooked and distributed around the noodle mixture. Season with soy sauce, garnish with a handful of diced green onions.

5. Parmesan Ramen. Cook a packet of ramen noodles. Save the flavoring packet for another day. Once the noodles are cooked, drain the water from them completely. Top with a pat of butter, a bit of freshly-shredded parmesan, and some chopped parsley.

6. Chicken Noodle Ramen. Boil 3 cups of water, 1/4 cup carrots, 1/4 cup of celery, and 1/4 cup shredded chicken. Once the carrots and celery are softened (about 6-8 minutes), add a packet of Chicken Ramen and the seasoning packet. Cook until the Ramen is tender.

7. Chili Lime & Shrimp Ramen. Cook a packet of Chili Ramen according to package directions. Toss with 1/4 cup diced scallions, 1 cup of cooked shrimp, and a lime wedge.

8. Easy Ramen Lasagna. Place 4 squares of uncooked ramen noodles into the bottom of a 9×11 baking dish. Cover with a layer of cooked and crumbled Italian sausage, your favorite canned spaghetti sauce, and a layer of cottage cheese mixed with chopped spinach. Top with an ample amount of spaghetti sauce. Cover with a hefty bunch of shredded mozzarella. Cover and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove the foil 10 minutes before baking is finished to brown up the top of your cheese.

9. Pad Thai Ramen. Cook a packet of Pork Ramen according to package directions. Just before you add the flavoring packet, drain most of the water from the pan (leaving about 2 tablespoons worth of water), then add 1/2 teaspoon cream peanut butter, the juice of 1 lime, 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, a pinch of garlic and onion powder, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Mix together until very well mixed. Garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts.

10. Mandarin Ramen Salad. Cook Chicken Ramen according to package directions. Drain water completely, reserve spice packet for dressing. Toss cooked ramen with 1 small package of coleslaw mix, 2 stalks of diced celery, 1 can mandarin oranges (drained), and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar mixed with the flavoring packet and 2 tablespoons sugar. Garnish with diced scallions.

Cute Dresses, And More

I want one of each, please!

And I actually want one of these swimming suits... Yeah, I just said I want a swimming suit. Crazy I know!

Shabby Apple you could do terrible things to my pocketbook!

Did Some Bunny Lose Me?

I went to a presidency meeting on Sunday morning.  This little fellow was waiting on the doorstep as we were leaving.  I could not leave the poor little guy to suffer...so hungry and dirty!  I borrowed a box and took him home.  There he got a bunny bath and a clean "temporary" home with food and water.  I am hoping I find the owner of this cute lost bunny before I get too attached! ...I've already picked out a name.  BAD, I know. I'd call him Spot. {Even if it is a her... to soon for me to be able to tell.}

{Photo from my phone, so not the best quality!}

The Night Sky

{Click to make it bigger.}

I think this photograph of the entire night sky by Nick Risinger is absolutely spectacular!  For more information about how he took this photograph {really 37,440 photos} click here. There is also a fun interactive sky map based on this project here {Make sure you click the "i"button to turn on the map of the constellations!}.

{Karen this is for you!}

Have I Mentioned

That I like to take pictures of flowers...?

A Dramatic Birthday Party

We celebrated Madilyn's birthday this week with a family party. I found this book that contained a play, Cinderella, with four parts {Cinerella, The Wicked Stepmother, The Wicked Stepsister, The Prince} and a Narrator. It has five copies of the script as well as four masks, one for each character. I thought is was pretty cute.  So mom thought it would be fun to make her a stage for the playroom since Madilyn has always loved putting on shows.  As this was a top secret project, the curtains were being hung that night so we decided to read through the script to prepare for the play.  Madilyn, Emma, Stacey, Mom, and I read through it several times rotating the parts so most of us got to deliver the Wicked Stepmothers best line: 'Noooooooooooooooo!' Those who did not get that line got to be the prince.  Let me tell you it was fun to attempt a "man voice".  Madilyn took to it like a duck to water. Emma was not sure she wanted to participate until the second time through. She, too, developed quite a dramatic flare.  It was so fun!  I am looking forward to many more evenings of home theatricals.

Madilyn in character as the Wicked Stepsister

Emma "reading" her lines as the Wicked Stepmother

Garret went with the guys to the hardware store, and he was a little unsure about the play, so I do not have a good photo of him while we were "acting", but I thought this was pretty funny:

"Um, that is perfectly good eating there!" {Garrett not quite sure how he feels about Grandpa cleaning the left over pizza off his high chair tray in preparation for cake and ice cream.} 

 The Birthday Cake {That matched the cupcakes Madilyn took to school.}

Audio Books

When I was a child, I enjoyed listing to a series of Disney Read-Along books on record {Yes, vinyl was available "in my day"} and cassette tape.   I would flip thought the pages as the stories were read and I loved that they included some of the songs from the movies.  So fun! {Below are two of my favorites!}

  

I did not really listen to books on tape again until I had a 10-15 hour a week commute into the City. I was a frequent patron of the library seeking audio books as soon as I had grown tired of my meager music collection.  I felt by listening to all of those books I was not wasting my time, and it kept me awake when I was tired.  

Thankfully, I no longer have that commute, but I do still enjoy listening to books on tape whenever I am doing something that will allow me to listen.  I get audio books from the library occasionally, but with the capabilities of my new phone, I can download them.  I found a website that does not limit you to just putting them on your phone.  They are available for download so you can burn them to CD. Great for road trips! And you do not have to turn them in if you cannot finish them in the allotted "check out" time.  Best of all, this website offers audio books for free.  What website, you ask? Go here. LibriVox has an ever growing collection of books that are in the public domain and the recordings are, too. I will make these recommendations, though: Look for books that only have one reader.  When the reader switches each chapter it  is rather distracting, or at least I think think it is.  And, do not give up if you don't care for the reader... they are free after all.  If you do not like the reader, pick a different book!

I am currently listening to The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper and I just finished Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Talk About Modest:

I found this girl's skirt length guide from 1868 {Harpers Bazaar} as I was researching.  Love it!  Imagine asking young ladies today to use this as a guide!

 

Do you remember...

I stopped by the store this evening on my way home from work. As I walk in there were several displays with toys and such for Easter.  I noticed with the coloring books there were some that came with those cheap water colors they make for kids.  I walked over and picked one up and flipped through it.  It made me think of the "painting" books that I had as a kid, the books with the paint all around the edge by the black lines and all you had to do was have water and a plastic paint brush.  I remember having so much fun "painting". Too bad they do not make them any more! I would sit down right now and "paint" if I could find one... just for old time's sake.

My Hair

My hair has a new trick.

The other day I got up late, oops. Needless to say my hair was dripping wet still when I needed to leave for work.  I only had time to tie it back in a pony-tail, but that is never pretty.  What is wrong with a pony-tail?  Well it is this, as my hair dries it turns into this frizzy mess.  This is not very professional looking to say the least.  I did not have any other options, so I tied it back and left.  As I was sitting at my desk waiting for my computer to start, I remembered my roommate, Jen, twisting her wet pony-tail in a cute, all be it, shorter ringlet.  I decided to see if it would work with mine.

It did.

I was surprised.  I will admit that it was too long to look cute, but drying in the ringlet controlled the frizz factor and when it was dry I separated the curl... a much better look for the length.  But it got me thinking, I wonder what my hair would do if it was short?


P.S. Happy Birthday Philip! Next year today we will be celebrating together...

Piano Photo ~ Before

 Here it is in all of its blond glory. It needs a new finish, a little love, and a good tune. Hopefully by the time all of that is done I will have found a place to put it. Wish me luck!

Guess what I found...

So who knew that the local Salvation Army store had days where everything in the store was half off? Not me!  I went this Saturday with Amanda to see if the out print china she was looking for was still there. {It was, but that is a story you will have to get from her. So fun!} I noticed they had a few pianos. Pianos that were 50% off and well I bought one of them.  Not what I was planning, but I am so excited! I bought a Wurlitzer that sounds great and is in great condition for $120. I think I am going to refinish it, because it is blonde. And the piano bench needs new hinges, but really I am so excited to find a piano in such good condition at such a low price. Now to find a place to put it. I guess I have a little while because I am not going to be able to refinish it this week! As soon as I do though, expect to see some before and after pictures.

Jane Eyre {2011}

I absolutely love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. It is one of my favorite books.  

It has been adapted for film several times, and it is being adapted again to be released March 11.  I am disappointed that it is rated PG-13.  While this book is admittedly dark at times, it does make a powerful moral statement.  I hope that has not been disregarded in this adaptation.

Shhh, Quiet

Each Sunday I sit with Stacey and her little ones during Sacrament meeting.  I love it.  We have so many adventures.  Most the time they include coloring and playing quietly with small toys the kids bring. Another of their favorites is eating the fruit snacks that Grandma brings.  Other times we have, shall we say, teaching moments.  I love the sweet questions the girls come up with about the gospel and listening to their observations of this weekly meeting.  But sometimes those teaching moments do not work out quite as we expect them to.

This last Sunday Garrett struggled with sitting still during the meeting, and lets face it, I sometimes do, too.  We went out in the hall because he was upset with the fact that his mom would not let him run out into the aisle. Once in the hall, I told him in a whisper we need to be "quite, shhh".  He got this serious look on his 1 1/2 year old face and repeated. "quiet" several times.  After he calmed down, we had our discussion and several visits to the drinking fountain, we went back to our seats where he repeatedly said "quiet". Only... instead of whispering, it was a very loud "QUIET".  I guess I should have stuck with "shhh", but then I would have missed those little brown eyes looking at me so seriously while he repeated "quiet" the rest of the day.

Matryoshkas for Making Cupcakes

 

I found these darling measuring cups for dry ingredients to add to my kitchen utensils.  I HAD to get them.  Yep, it is a set of nesting dolls that doubles as 1, 3/4, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 cup measures... Love it! I can use them to make more of these yummy cupcakes I made with my nieces over Christmas break.

Finally

I have been waiting for what seemed like FOREVER since I heard Disney was making this movie! But...

I went to see Tangled during my Christmas break. Girl's night with Mom, Stacey, Madilyn, and Emma. Yeah!

I loved it so much that I have pre-ordered it. {I love Amazon!}

And I have to admit I like when the kiddos come over so we can all sit and watch the trailers over and over. {Garrett likes the horse... I do too!}