good eatin', if not good lookin'

We don't eat a ton of dessert around here,

and I certainly don't go around experimenting very often.

With food food, I'm fairly sure of myself,

and rarely use recipes.

(although I have a few that I actually follow)

Sometimes, I'll see a recipe that sounds pretty good,

make it,

and discover that I already make something similar that we like more

that I don't need a recipe for.

Desserts are my nemesis.

For starters, they aren't necessary

and as it is,

it takes a lot of money

(and work)

to keep this family well-fed.

I don't have a lot of counter space, and desserts always seem to need lots of counter space to make

and I just make a lot of mess when I make desserts

(excepting the super easy mug cakes, which I don't need a recipe for...)

Add to that - healthy desserts 

(which seems like is an oxymoron, but isn't :-)

are far more expensive than their non-healthy counter parts,

so experimenting with costly ingredients

is a turn-of for me.

That said,

I have experimented with desserts three times in the last week and a half.

What is wrong with me?!

First, it was the cookies.

Oh my.

These cookies sounded sooo scrumptious, with their coconut and browned butter.

Now.

I wish I could make (and eat!) the cookies exactly as written.

But I just can't.

(of course, if someone were to lovingly make/purchase such deliciousness for me, I would gratefully eat it and enjoy it immensely ;-)

I thought about those cookies for days after I happened upon the recipe.

And after a friend, who recently started a low carb diet, told me she really missed cookies,

I thought it was only right

that I should make the browned butter coconut delicacies in a blood sugar friendly manner.

For Nancy, you understand. So I could ease her burden....

So I made the cookies, substituting xylitol for sugar and my baking mix for flour.

They smelled heavenly.

And as Tyler (or maybe Brandon?) put it,

they were an amazing dessert 

but they were not 

cookies.

They didn't crisp up, and they didn't hold together.

I think somebody may have suggested making them as cereal...

Sorry, Nanc'.

Then, it was Strawberry Shortcake.

Now, I've made low carb/low glycemic shortcake before

and it was good.

Problem is,

I have no clue how I made it...

(It just now occurs to me that maybe I used my biscuit recipe?)

Anyways,

having a basic understanding of how cakes work,

I just sorta winged it,

and the resulting strawberry shortcake was quite tasty

but it was....

v e e r r r y

short.

And then yesterday.

Yesterday, I checked out Life in Grace, a blog I rarely visit, as I really can't relate much to the author,

but I'd recently followed a link to a podcast which led me there,

and I'd enjoyed listening to the podcasts while I basted diamonds for EPP,

so I thought I'd see if she had another podcast up yet.

I don't know if she did or not,

because I saw 'Best Ever Blueberry Coffee Cake {with lemon glaze}'

and I had to make it (sans sugar and white flour...) immediately.

(Who is this person?!)

Again, the resulting dessert

tasted amazing.

But it didn't look so great.

And now I'm sort of mulling over what I should do differently....

page turner

Over the course of 2 days,

this beautiful girl

read the entire children's Bible.

All 512 pages of it!

Momma loves you, Precious!!

random pictures from my phone

I haven't been taking many pictures with my good camera lately.

Mostly because I am frustrated with my ignorance and my inability to capture what I am trying to capture.

That,

and I just forget to pull it out.

Or, I think, 'I have lots of blocks done' (22 for the red and white quilt) 'I should take pictures and do a post'.

But the effort required to do so

deters me.

So,

what we have today,

are just random pictures from my phone

(you may have guessed that from the title ;-)

after deleting all of the minecraft/clash of clans/dragonvale pictures 

that the kids love to take.

I woke up at 6:30 one morning and found Josiah asleep in the chair. 

He went back to bed, and didn't remember even being in the living room.

Silly Lex'. Playing with her Bub's hat.

Pricey lotion I found at Handmade Marketplace in Fayetteville.
I thought it looked like Eva.

National Donut Day. I got an apple fritter. I'm such a rebel.

Lexi fixed her pancakes all by herself (pancakes: 2 c oats, whirred in the blender,
2 c. 1 or 2% cottage cheese, 2 c. egg whites, 2 Tbs xylitol, 2 Tbs baking powder)

This is what I use on my knees and ankles (and my wrists and shoulders
sometimes, too, but always my knees!) when I exercise. Helps tremendously.
I finally got smart and mixed the two together in a little glass spray bottle.

Lexi and Gramma Joyce play Go Fish :-)

one of my pinned workouts - I texted this to Tyler the first time
I did it. (took me almost 19 minutes and my quads were on fire!)
I managed to do ALL 60 pushups unmodified.  WooHooo!!
(Thus the need for the wintergreen DMSO on my wrists and shoulders)

Ton' and Kacy texted us when they ate her birthday dessert. Staying in touch with
family in 2014 is a lot easier than it was in 1987-'89 (when we lived in Germany)!

and here's the recipe for the dessert :-)  YUM!

Somebody's purse at church. Aka: quilt inspiration.

Taken from Kacy's 'sayings' pinterest board, and texted to My Love.

Speaking of My Love...

hubba hubba

boys

I'm happy to have my boys home again,

but gosh

it was nice to not have to wipe up the seat/rim/floor every time I went to the bathroom

while they were gone.

learning to sew

Lori, from The Inbox Jaunt (who shares fantastic FMQ tutorials every Tuesday) posed the question today,

"Who taught you to sew?" 

I thought I'd answer it here...

My mom may remember teaching me (Mom??)

but I don't remember actually learning to sew,

I only remember sewing.

The first thing I can recall making 

is the rosebud rice bags for our wedding.

But the fact that I made rosebud rice bags for our wedding

leads me to believe that I must have sewn before (?)

But then again, it could have just been that overconfidence thing.

Regardless of when / how I originally learned to sew,

sewing, and learning to sew better, 

and faster,

has been, for the past 27 years, and will continue to be, a lifelong pursuit

and a source of great joy for me.

I love taking a rectangle of fabric, and turning it into something useful.

I love improving my skills.

And having quality tools (oh how I wish my Janome was in peak form still) and fabulous thread.

I love the feel of quality fabric under my fingers.

I love wearing something I've made,

that doesn't look like I made it.

And we all already know that I adore the starching that goes along with (quilty) sewing,

even if I don't so much love the ironing.

I'm grateful that Tyler is not only tolerant of my sewing,

he encourages it.

(Thanks, Love!)

Here's to continuing learning to sew

for many years to come :-)

surprise!

It's quite easy to surprise someone 

who doesn't have much of a memory to speak of.

Yesterday, as you know,  was my turn with Gramma Joyce.

At various times, I take a single kid with me, so they get to spend alone time with both momma,

and their great-gramma.

Lexi considered yesterday 'her turn', with Lily just coming along

since there was no one to leave her with, with the boys being at camp.

I was really proud of her, because completely  unprompted,

(meaning I totally forgot to have the 'we are here to bless Gramma' conversation)

she opened and closed doors for Gramma

and even insisted on using Gramma's key (still attached to her purse...) to unlock the door when we got back from dinner.

She brought a deck of cards to play Go Fish, and didn't even flinch when Gramma took 3 cards from her, more than once.

(for a 5 year old who has been known to send her cards flying across the room when that happens, accompanied by a screaming fit, 

that's fairly impressive)

She sat by Gramma Joyce at dinner (Golden Corral) but couldn't really find any ways to help her...

Anyways, back to the surprise.

I hadn't called Gramma to say we were coming.

I usually don't - I figure she's not going to go anywhere, so she'll be there,

and she has a list of whose turn it is to visit, so she already knows I'm coming...

Sometimes she doesn't feel well, and thinks she wants to beg off, 

but I tell her I am coming anyways.

I figure if she really doesn't feel up to going out, I'll just visit with her at the house.

She's always been up to going out. :-)

When we knocked on the door, she had just hung up the phone from talking to my mom,

telling her she wasn't sure if anybody was coming or not,

so she was quite surprised when we showed up.

(she called her right back to let her know not to worry - I was there. 

The funny thing is - it was barely 5:00; way earlier than anybody usually arrives to visit or take her out)

So surprised and tickled about our coming,

at random points throughout the evening, she would clap her hands and exclaim,

"This is such a nice surprise! I'm so excited!"

(now you see where I get some of my exuberance from ;-)

I was telling Tyler about her happiness at our visit, and Lexi said dryly,

"Yeah. It got annoying. She said she was 'so excited' about 20 times."

(so, I guess we still have a ways to go yet, on 'blessing our elders'... ;-)

My intention had never been to surprise Gramma,

but it was kinda nice to have her so thrilled with our visit.

I may just surprise her again,

in six weeks.

8 wk fitness update, 2 days late

I don't know if anybody noticed or not

(I'm thinking not...)

but I didn't post a 4 week update

4 weeks ago.

Here's that update: 

I took a few days off to have a pity party, then I got right back to my exercise-every-day-except-Sunday routine

and ate carefully 95% of the time.

I lost the 2.2 lbs I'd gained in the previous 4 weeks, plus another .2 lbs.

Hardly worth mentioning.

And now this update:

I continued to exercise every day except Sunday, increasing the duration of my workouts, 

and eat well 95% of the time.

I gained back the 2.4 lbs.
And another .6.

The tape measure doesn't offer any encouragement, either.

I am unspeakably sad and frustrated,

 and frankly,

 pissed!

I work so hard. 

So diligently.

I'm shocked when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror;

for all of my efforts,

I should be thin.

And firm.

But like Mulan, all I see,

is me.

just life

I do believe this has been my longest time 

ever

away from this space.

T called yesterday, concerned,

so I figured it was time to pop in.

Life is moving along at warp speed,

and dragging me along with it.

~

I've done very little sewing since I last posted;

3 more red blocks,

zero swimsuits (Poor Lily!!)

and a few stars

is all I've managed.

(still trying to find the perfect thread for me for EPP. I may have to break down and order from London. but yikes!)

~

I am positively the worst chicken farmer in the history of chicken farmers.

We hatched out 26 chicks.

We bought 12 more for variety.

We currently have 16 chicks (and one of those is not looking terribly robust) 15 chicks.

I'm not sure I'm cut out for this.

If I didn't love looking out my windows and seeing my chickens so very much, I'd give up.

~

We had a couple of weeks that were extra busy and we were around other people every single day.

Wore. me. out.

They were (almost) all people I absolutely love.

Some of my very favorite people, even, 

but it was just too much.

I still haven't recovered.

~

Since we are doing a year-round schedule this year, we still have 5 weeks of school.

But you know what?

We are right on target!

I think that's a first.

~

Lexi thinks I need to dye her eyebrows.

She is a nut.

~

Brandon is at Camp Joshua as a Counselor In Training (CIT).

It feels so weird to have him gone.

Jeremiah and Josiah will be going to camp, too, next week.

That will really feel weird!

Wednesday is my week with Gramma Joyce,

so I think the girls and I will just head to NWA early 

and make a day of it.

Which means Tyler will be home in the evening all by himself.

Which, I imagine, will feel weirder still.

He says he will sleep.

~

Today is National Donut Day,

so after we dropped Brandon off at the church to head to camp,

we went to the Donut Palace (happy to support the 'little guys'!) 

and then to Carol Ann Cross park for an hour.

We started in on math as soon as we got back home.

Jeremiah said he didn't feel good.

I'm not sure if it was the sugar or the fractions.

I gave him a pass regardless.

I finished my coffee without realizing it 

while typing this up.

I went to take a drink and it was gone.

Empty.

Not a drop left.

I think I'll make another cup.

Too bad I already ate my donuts....

in the works, part 2

So, I mentioned yesterday recently

my projects varying in how long they'll take

and even what tools are needed.

My next project is my long term (very long term) hand-sewing project for travelling, movie watching, etc.

It will be 110 English Paper Pieced (EPP) stars formed from joining six 60 degree diamonds

which will then be made into hexagons, by adding another six diamonds around the stars.
It will be sewn entirely by hand.

A friend cut my diamond papers (exactly the size I wanted!) using her cricut machine.

(thank you so, so much, Shannon!!)

Just the sight of all those diamonds makes me happy;

imagine my delight when they are covered in fabric :-)

I will not be purchasing any fabric for this quilt, 

with the exception of stripes - I have given myself permission to purchase 1/8 yard cuts of any stripes I deem suitable.

When I cut fabric for my red & white quilt, 

I went ahead and cut a 2 1/2" strip (which is perfect for cutting my fabric diamonds with a 3/8" seam allowance)

of most of the white fabrics 

and set some aside for fussy cutting.

I'm a little concerned that I'm going to end up heavy on the reds, so I'll have to watch that.

My only other criteria for the quilt is no purples,

although I may change that,

seeing as I do have some purple scraps...

I'm hoping it doesn't end up looking like a rainbow threw up.

If I can find the perfect thread, I do believe this could be my most enjoyable project ever,

so long as I continue to remind myself

that it is a long term project.

~

Swim suits for the girls, Lily especially, have moved to the very top of the project list,

though these won't take long at all.

(If you want to see other suits I've made, just go here, here,  and here.

Oh ~ here are my very first suits, and these here are my favorites.)

~

I've also got a couple of little gifts in the works, which I can't show ;-)

~

I reorganized my fabric cabinet recently and was reminded of all the great clothes I've bought 

to remake into something even greater :-)

so I have decided to dedicate any Friday sewing that I am able to squeeze in, to refashioning.

~

I guess that's really not so many projects after all.

I suppose it feels like I have more in the works, because there are more rolling around in my head.

The Farmer's Wife quilt, for example.

I'm mulling over fabric choices.

Do I want to buy an entire line of fabric that grabs me?

Or should I use scraps?

Scraps seem to be a fitting choice, being a farmer's wife and all, but I'm just not sure.

And quilt honestly, I'm a little intimidated at the thought of all those little pieces.

I'm hoping that my HST quilt will hone my piecing skills....

I ordered belts the other day for my vacuum.

They were an add-on item, so I just went through my Amazon wish list and found the item that would bring my total closest to $25,

which ended up being the One Block Wonder book.

Those quilts have just fascinated me since I saw one of Bruce Seed's on pinterest a year or so ago.

Now that I have read the book,

I can't wait to give it a whirl.

So, while I am not technically working on it at this point, it is occupying a great deal of my minimal brain space.

And I have been searching for suitable fabric....

So. That's what's in the works in the sewing department around here.

linking up with Lee's Work in Progress Wednesdays

our Marine!

Lance Corporal Tony L. graduated today.

At the top of his class!

And even received a letter of commendation

for "consistently performing his duties in an exemplary and highly professional manner

not commonly found in Marines of his rank and level of experience.

He earned the respect of senior officers and subordinates alike,

through his extensive self-study and commitment to excellence.

His attitude, diligence, and dedication

reflected credit upon himself

and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps"

We're all pretty proud of him :-)

but gosh,

I miss him!!

tkd additions

Obviously, 

the girls have joined their brothers in TKD.

Less obvious to the uninitiated, perhaps, is the addition of the blue ribbon to Brandon's uniform.

Brandon has long been a huge help in class, and exhibits tremendous patience with the lower ranks

(well, with everyone...)

so what he's doing isn't new, but he has an official title (and a ribbon...) to accompany his actions:

Instructor in Training.

Love all of my TaeKwonDo people!

Big

&

little.

in the works

I've got multiple sewing projects in the works.

A few more than I'm comfortable with, actually,

but they vary tremendously in degrees of difficulty and time commitment, and tools required,

so I think I'm going to be okay.

My progress has been slower than I anticipated,

but then, 

what's new, huh?

First up is my half square triangle (HST) red and white (with gray) quilt

(that needs a better name!)

I began with a bunch of prep work.

prewashing, 

starching and ironing fabric (4 hrs, over the course of 3 days)

cutting my 56 reds and 22 whites into 232 7" squares (3.5 hrs in 2 cutting sessions)

which I then marked for sewing (1 hr)

and paired up and sewed 1/4 " on each side of both diagonally marked lines (4.5 hrs, divided (very unevenly) among 7 sewing sessions).

The sewn squares then got starched and pressed because they got all 'warbly', (1.5 hrs over 2 days)

stacked neatly,

and placed in a drawer.

Now that the prep work is out of the way

I'm choosing 2 of the sewn pairs from the drawer

and cutting them apart between the stitching lines, and also in half both horizontally and vertically.

Then I press the seams all open, and I have a pile of 16  HSTs

which I then trim into 2 1/2 inch squares

veeery carefully, so the corners are perfect.

After that, I grab my 'pattern',

decide which block I want to make,

and arrange the 16 HSTs on my little design board.

I take the design board over to the machine and chain piece pairs from left to right and top to bottom, 

(being careful to keep everything in order!) until I can't sew any more without pressing seams.

Then, I head to the iron and press all the seams open.

Racing the iron (it automatically shuts off - darn safety feature!)

I go back to the machine

and sew rows 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 together, pinning at all intersections,

then sew the final middle seam,

and head back to the iron (it usually wins, but I'm not giving up) and press those seams open,

give it one final shot of starch,

and one block is finished :-)

I've got 8 blocks finished so far, out of 56,

and each one (after all of the original prep work) takes about an hour.

Some have taken a smidge longer. My record to date is 50 minutes.

Since I've been timing myself every step of the way, I've noticed that I work most efficiently in very late morning or early afternoon. 

Just an interesting little observation...

This one is my favorite so far;  

I love the dress form fabric!

That fabric was why I had to add some grey to the quilt.

(And I suppose, if you really want to be technical, black.)

This next block, though, I don't really care for.

I don't know if it was a poor fabric choice for the block, or if the stripes were just a poor fabric choice, period.

It doesn't help any that I didn't give any thought to matching up the stripes when I trimmed the blocks : /

I'm hoping it grows on me,

but if it doesn't,

and I suspect that is likely,

I will have to replace it with something less yuck.

~

Well.

This has gotten ridiculously long. 

I'll have to follow up with a part 2

soon.

I hate to end a post with ugly, so here is another block I am fond of. :-)

Linking up with the lovely Lee at FreshlyPieced

Jeremiah takes a walk with momma's camera

(all pictures are SOOC (straight out of the camera) in the order taken)