Ice blue

Lester was spotted today in our fridge. I guess he decided to turn our milk Ice Blue.

Rhonda

Feathers and Friends

A dear friend of mine is singing this weekend in a chorus and they are all dressing in a 4o's vintage theme. A few weeks ago this friend and I went scouring in antique stores, the local goodwill, and a few consignment shops to see if we could find an outfit for her to wear for this show. We were lucky enough to find a skirt and blouse at 2 separate stores. We were ready to call it a day and head home, when I thought we should try one last antique store. My friend found the most awesome vintage apron to complete her vintage 40's look. I made this hair piece for her and this weekend I will get to see the entire ensemble come together. She is going to look amazing.
I recently found out this friend is moving this year. She will only be a few states away, but I will miss her and all the sweet times we have already shared.
Rhonda

Lester is on Holiday

Today started out in the negative digits and Lester decided to take Holiday. I wish I were him basking in the sun and enjoying some warmer temps. I would love to be able to just escape to a beach and lounge poolside.
Heres to hoping tomorrow will be a warmer day.
Rhonda

December Daily

Ahhh! sweet Monday, hangin' out with my favorite 4 year old and packing up a few orders to mail out today. I also organized all my Christmas/winter craft supplies and I'm trying to finish up my December Daily Journal. I still need to go down stairs and rummage through some of my storage boxes and find the perfect book to cut apart for my cover.  My two oldest girls started a Dec. Journal this weekend, but they are yet to finish. I guess they lost interest when I wasn't doing all the work. I suppose, since mine is almost complete I can now focus on helping the girls get theirs done too. My oldest daughter is going to use her camera and do all her own pictures.  I had a ton of fun crafting this weekend while we were snowed in, but today I better get some kind of work done. I have a few orders that need to be finished, so it's off to work I go. I'm lovin' this holiday season....so much to be grateful for this year. 

Oh and I am super excited to see my daughter Rachael in the elementary school program tonight. I think she will do a terrific job playing an elf.                         

Happy December to all

Rhonda

Lester is in the house

This year we have decided to join in on the latest frenzy of Elf on the Shelf. On the last week of November my kids and I were all snuggled in my bed feeling a little under the weather and I thought it was the perfect time to introduce Elf on the Shelf to my kids. Brandon read us the story and by the time he finished we had named our visitor, "Lester". Lester has been on quite the rampage since his debut. In the last four days he has managed to vandalize our family chalk board, move dad's clothes to Rachael's closet, helped himself to the candy dish, and toilet papered our Christmas tree. This was all in fun...I'm sure. All of my kids have found some entertainment in the whole escapade. By far the best part of Lester's visits is seeing the kids wake up in shock and looking forward to what he'll do next. I hope I can continue to document Lester's wild side, but I won't keep any promises....
Until next time,
Rhonda

Celebrating over 30 and pushing 40

Yep, this is a non photo post and today is my birthday and I am realizing how super old I am getting. Driving today and looked over at my 14 yr old son and thought when did this kid grow a mustache and is he really going to be driving soon. That's actually when I thought hey this old thing might not be so bad....now he can drive me around. Not even 5 min later I was pulled over for driving way too fast. Luckily the officer had pity on me and gave me a warning. He said he just couldn't give me a ticket on my birthday....really he was probably not wanting to be the reason for my soon to come midlife crisis. Yeah, I was almost sobbing uncontrollably and my son even said "Mom please stop crying your embarrassing me." What my son didn't know is I can't afford one more ticket...I'm not talking money either. I have been pulled over way to many times for speeding and in jeopardy of losing my licence (this is where that teenage son will come in handy). So, I am reflecting a little tonight. What in the world is really so important in my life that I have to drive like Dale Earnhardt Jr. ( that's a race car driver...right?). Maybe, that is why someone invented that cruise control thingy on my steering wheel.  I think I might just use that cruise option more often, who knows, I might not be as late to things as I think I will. I could just put my entire life in cruise control option.
We had a party at our house tonight, complete with hay bales around a bonfire in the backyard. There was plenty of good food and even better company. It was a great birthday. The best part of my night....my little brother calling and chatting for like an hour. We laughed about things, talked about TV shows, movies and life. Man, I really love my family. Funny, how that one call for a measly hour could be the highlight of my night, but it was. I hope my kids have these for ever sibling bonds when they grow up and move on with their lives. I don't know if I seized this year the way I intended, but I think it was an overall good year. Heres to new goals and dreams...I hope this year I can grasp just a few more of them.
Rhonda


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Spice Apple Pancakes & Football

Apple spice pancakes...can you say, Yummy! I treated my 4 yr old to a morning surprise. While all the other kids were at school she was at home squirting whip cream in her mouth, right from the can and bathing in sprinkles. Yep, she is 4 and did get a little carried away with the sprinkles, but we had fun cooking together. These are a family favorite and there is nothing better than kickin' off fall with some delicious pancakes for breakfast. Recipe follows...

Pancake: 2 Cups pancake mix
               1/2 tsp cinnamon
                1 Egg
               1 1/3 cup milk
                3/4 cup grated apple
mix all the ingredients together and cook up some pancakes

Syrup: 1 cup sugar
            2 Tblsp.  cornstarch
             1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
             2 cups apple cider
             2 tsp. lemon juice
             1/4 cup butter

melt butter in saucepan than add cider, lemon juice, sugar, and spice. Bring to boil and then add cornstarch, continue to boil until thickened. Remember mix your cornstarch in a separate bowl with a little water before adding to the boiling syrup or you will have lumpy syrup.

And a little football action. Nothing says fall like football and apples.
Rhonda