Picture overload.....July events so far!

My June Challenge made on the very LAST day of June.  This is a business card holder that will be a stocking stuffer for someone. 

The inside...hope she likes it. :)  I want to make myself one now.

July 4th.  This was a fun day.  It started out with a 10 mile bike ride with my brother at 6:30AM.  My SIL was so kind to lend me her bike that is MUCH better than mine.  I damaged my tailbone on mine and I had problems sitting for weeks.  I need to invest in a better bike before I start my professional bike riding career!!!!  lol  After we biked the trails, we met Duane and my sil for breakfast at Bob Evans.  I was STARVED after the early morning exercise!! 

Here is Samuel chillin' on the chair....

Somebody's tired......:)

Doing what she does best.....computer work!!!:)

Nathan and I loved this fort when we were growing up.  It's still standing in my parents backyard.  The grandkids are enjoying it now.

Doesn't Samuel look thrilled to be with a bunch of girls!!!

Playstation 3----no other explanation needed.

A pair of gray culottes for Callie out of some scraps of fabric.  I made 3 pairs of gray ones on Wednesday.  1 for her and 2 for friends.  This was in between 9 music lessons and studying for kid's club.

The darker pairs of culottes were made on Thursday.

I've been frantically sewing myself more running outfits.  My goal is to have 5 different complete sets.  So, I don't have to keep washing and wearing the same old thing over and over and over again.  :)  Here's my second set in grays and red.  Please excuse the red face and sweat dripping!!  My kids took the picture after I had ran over 2 miles in 90 degree weather on Saturday.  Don't think I'll try running in the heat like that again!!!  It was brutal!!

I'm really loving how these running skirts are working for me.  I no longer have skirt flapping around my legs while running down the road and I feel stylish and comfy.  I really wanted to wear this all day long!!!!

I love, love, LOVE the color lime green!!!!  I secretly wish for a pair of running shoes in that color, but havn't found any that are right for my feet as of yet.  I couldn't wait to get up on Monday and wear this set.  I was a tad more motivated to get up at 5:30AM to run when I knew this was waiting for me to put on!!  I love this shirt fabric.  It is super-thin and was so cool and comfy.  I have plenty more, so I might have to sew me another one.  I also bought lime green serger thread to match.  You might think I'm a bit crazy, but it made me sooooo happy to have lime green thread in my serger!!! 
Yep, the hallway is under renovation....excuse the half-finished closet.

This picture doesn't seem to capture the true lime-green of this stripe.  Oh well.....

Since my quest in getting up early in the morning and exercising I've been cooking breakfast nearly every day.  I am pleased to announce that I have become very good friends with my iron skillet.  I have discovered that this thing makes an AWESOME omelet!!!!!  Here's one of my creations this week.....egg, spinach, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese.....ahhhhhhhhhh.....yummy!!!! 

These are 3 egg omelets and I split one with Duane.  This skillet/omelet pictures is for the benefit of my brother-in-law!!! Check out how seasoned these things are!!!!!  They are loving the daily use!!!! :) 

My breakfast plate....half an omelet, 2 slices of turkey bacon, plain yogurt with fresh raspberries and flax seed.  Yes, I eat this much each morning and I'm still managing to lose weight!!!  I've found that eating a good breakfast helps me not want to snack on things all day.

Simon designed a Lego top that works while I was sewing on Monday.

 A short video clip of the top in action.....

More culottes for the teens at youth camp.  I managed to sew 11 pairs in 6 days!!!!

My 'knock-off' under armour compression capris.  I have one pair of the UA brand that I love.  They are sooooo expensive!!!  I was delighted when I found fabric at Jo-Ann's just like what UA used.  I bought 3 different colors.  I managed to make 3 pairs out of the yard and a half cut of navy blue.  I still have charcoal and black to sew up.  The fabric cost me $4 per yard.  I thought that was an AWESOME deal!!! I just used my capris and made a pattern off of them.  Now I have 4 pairs to use when I run.  No more having to wash over and over each day!!!!

Seth make a base out of Legos today.  I just love the kids creating things and using their imaginations

 The story of my running shoes.....

My husband bought me a beautiful pair of very nice running shoes for my birthday in April.  They were gray and aqua.  They were Saucony Grid Flex and sooooo comfy.  I LOVED them!!!!  I wore them out in just over 2 months!!!  On July 1, I was stretching and noticed a hole in the bottom of one!!!  I was just sick!!  Running shoes are not cheap and the thoughts of having to replace them so soon was not making me very happy.  Well, on July 4, after our 10 mile bike ride and meal at Bob Evans, we went in to the Finish Line at the mall in the Dayton area.  I showed the guy there what had happened to my shoes.  He asked if I still had my receipt.  Well, I did, but at home hours away!!!  He told me to take it into the store and they should be able to do something about it.  I could hardly believe that.  Well, I proceeded to try on several different kinds of shoes.  He brought me a pair that he that would work.  I liked them and gave them a test run around the store.  lol  He asked if I was ready to buy them.  Well, I told him I wished I would have brought the receipt in, but never realized that they would do something like that for me.  I never asked for any kind of compensation.  He ended up giving me the full price of my old shoes to put toward my new shoes!!!!!!!! I only had to pay $30 for my new running shoes!!!!!  I was happy beyond words!!!  So far they have been working great for me.  Here is a picture of the new shoes.  These are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11th. edition.

 Yep, they've been used....see all the dirt!!  lol I forgot to take a picture the day I got them.

 I played the flute tonight in the Findlay Community Band.  There are 80 members.  We played selections from Gershwin.  It was fun!!

 I love this picture.  Seth caught the girl next to me mid-breath!!

 I love this picture of the band director getting into it!;)

 Glad it was over....by the end of the concert I was nearly blind from the setting sun shining right in my face!!  Now why didn't I think to wear my sunglasses like that lady?  lol

If you made it this far....WOW!!!!!  Thanks for reading!!!

Just Jam......

My kids LOVE jam!!!  We've been out of strawberry jam for quite some time.  I decided TODAY was the day to whip up a new batch.  Samuel was my helper in the kitchen.  He did so good helping me stir the pot WITHOUT STOPPING!!!!  It made it so much easier for me to get everything ready.  He had fun and loved counting up to 60 when the jam started boiling for the second time. 

He wanted me to take a close-up picture of the pot that he was stirring. :)

 The finished product, still warm, on a slice of homemade bread....yummy!!

~Easy Strawberry Jam~

*for Carrie*

This is how we made the jam today....

Put 5 cups of thawed strawberries along with the juice in the blender.  Turn blender on for just a few seconds to get the lumps out.  Put the blended berries in a LARGE stockpot.  Add to the berries one box of Sure-Jel and 1/2 tsp. of butter.  In a SEPARATE bowl measure 7 cups of sugar and set aside.  Over high heat, heat the berries to a rolling boil while stirring CONSTANTLY!!!  (A rolling boil is where the berries keep boiling while you are still stirring.)  Quickly pour in ALL the sugar while you still stir.  Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a rolling boil again.  Remove from the heat and pour into prepared jars(see below).  Be VERY careful.....the jam is VERY hot!!  I have a funnel that I put in the jars that makes it easier to ladle the jam into the jars without burning myself. ;)  Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean wet cloth, add seals and rings.  Turn jar upside-down for an hour or so.  Turn right side up and allow to completely cool.  This makes 2 quart-sized jars.  You may also use pint-sized or jelly-sized jars but we go through those far too fast!!! :)

HOW TO PREPARE JARS/LIDS/RINGS

Wash jars in hot, soapy water.  After you rinse them, pour hot water inside and allow them to sit inside a pan of clean, hot water.  Place the lids/rings in hot water as well.

*we also make this same recipe with fresh strawberries when they are in season*  If you buy fresh berries from the store or pick your own, just mash up enough berries until you have 5 cups of berries/juice and then follow the rest of the recipe.  These berries were fresh-picked berries that we had in the freezer leftover from the last time we picked them.  Tip....pick lots of berries and freeze them....they make just as good jam months later as making it up the day you pick them. :)  Also, if you can find a local strawberry farm that allows you to pick your own, it's a whole lot cheaper than buying them already picked.

It's never too late to carve a pumpkin!!!

Yep....I know we're just a bit late around here carving a pumpkin....but...better late than never...Right?

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Can you tell this boy is just a little happy that mommy is FINALLY going to carve his pumpkin!!!!

Samuel took a field trip to a pumpkin farm last week at school and they each got to pick a pumpkin to take home.  I wasn't really surprised when I saw he had picked out the BIGGEST pumpkin he could carry!!!

 Pulling off the lid to see what awaits us inside...

 There was a whole lot of "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeew gross going on during this process!!!"

 Drawing the face for mommy to carve out....

 All carved and ready for a candle..

 All lit up....

 Another picture..just because I love this pumpkin!!!

 Callie wanted to pose with Mr. Pumpkin.

 And what do you do with all the ooey-gooey seeds you took out of Mr. Pumpkin?  Why you make sugar & spice roasted pumpkin seeds to snack on!!!  They smelled sooooo incredibly YUMMY roasting in the oven.  The kids were just a bit hestitant to try them.  Once they did, I couldn't keep them out of the dish!!!  I'm tempted to go find another pumpkin to carve just so I can roast some more seeds!!!!

Sugar & Spice Roasted Pumpkin seeds

1 cup washed pumpkin seeds

1 T. Olive Oil

1 tsp. cinn.

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. allspice

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Place on a foil covered cookie sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven.  Allow to cool slightly.  Place in a bowl and start snacking!!!!



What's on the menu tonight?

Well.....I'm trying 3 new recipes today! A corn-potato chowder (I added some ham to this recipe), honey-oatmeal bread (if the Internet isn't lying, this recipe dates back to the Civil War! :), and blueberry-buckle coffee cake (yeah.....the name is kinda strange, but the top of the cake does form buckles when it is baked!). The aromas floating around my house are intoxicating! I wonder if one can get drunk of the smell of freshly baked bread? :) I don't know if I can wait until 6:00 PM to try it all. I've been having lots of fun searching each morning for new recipes online to try out on my poor unsuspecting family! At least my computer time is productive! :) Last night's new pizza crust recipe was a hit with everyone! Kinda made up for the chicken dish the previous night! :) LOL

To change the subject, my daughter just counted to 8 in Spanish!!!!! Can you tell we watch Dora the Explorer around here? :) Toodles, for now...........!

A Meal that just the GIRLS Enjoyed!

Okay....here are the happy faces sitting down to the wonderful meal that mommy slaved away over for hours yesterday. I should have taken a picture of their faces as they looked at and ate the new recipes. I could have also included a picture of my 4 year-old gagging up his spinach salad! Yuck!!!! I decided to try 3 new recipes yesterday. Some days I could spend all day in the kitchen cooking new things. Well...anyway to make a long story short....just Callie and I thoroughly enjoyed the food last night. And, I threatened the boys with a new and strange dish EVERY SINGLE NIGHT OF THE WEEK if they didn't quit making negative comments about the food! :)

~The honey orange-pineapple chicken~

The boys kept asking me why there were orange peels on the chicken. They just didn't get into appreciating the artistic arrangement of food and fruit on the plate! :)

~Buttermilk Oatmeal-Raisin Muffins~
2 of the boys liked these.
~The spinach salad~

~Upside-down apple pie~

This was supposed to have pecans on it but I used chocolate chips instead. I didn't have pecans and in my humble opinion and person just can't have too much chocolate! :)

Well....on the menu tonight is homemade pizza. I'm pretty sure ALL the members of the family will like it. That is, unless the new pizza crust recipe I'm trying is a flop! :)

All in the day of the life of a cook!!!!

~Chocolate Chip Cookies~

Last weekend I was supposed to bake 10 dozen cookies and take them to church. I forgot all about it and Sunday morning came around and there were NO cookies for the bus kids! Oops! Thank goodness they had some cookies in the freezer. Well, since I forgot last weekend, I found out I was supposed to bring them this weekend. Duane decided he would mix up and bake all of the cookies for me! He did a great job

A triple batch of chocolate-chip cookies!
Getting ready to bake.....

Simon begs Daddy for a 'dough ball'.

~Cookies all ready for the kids on Sunday~