Bloop Bloop

Well, I'm finally getting back in the habit of working full time (no, still no job, but the temp job is full time hours). It's still weird, though. I have a half hour to 45 minute commute (one way) everyday, and my hours are 10 to 6. It's definitely an adjustment from what I used to work (7:30ish to 3:30iss), but Josh and I are settling in, I think. It simply requires much more planning as far as dinner goes. I can't exactly wait until I get home to figure something out ;)
Anyway... My interview went well, I think :) I really liked the people, and I think I would rock at the job. Too bad I'm not the one doing the hiring ;) I know that there's at least one in-house person who applied for the same job, and I think she'll probably get preference. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. I'm trying not to stress out too much about it, just take it one day at a time. It's not exactly working.
Meanwhile, I'm working on a little something that may or may not be headed to one of you in the future... I can only get to it during the weekends when Josh is off (so I don't get interrupted by the terrors), so it's not going quickly, but I think you'll like it :D
Enough about me... Now, on to more important things... I'd like to share with you a recipe for one of my favorite things, Oreo Truffles. While I'm sure that many of you have been on this bandwagon for a while, I'd like to encourage everyone to try them. Play with them, make them your own. They're really great as a hostess gift, and they make you feel fancy cause you can say that you made truffles (I'm just going to continue with this assumption and pretend like I'm not the only one). Moving on.. the instructions (written by the dear friend who introduced me to these delights :))

1 package of oreos (mint or regular are both yummy!)
1 package of cream cheese (8 oz., can be low fat or regular)
Almond Bark (or any other meltable chocolate candy coating that you're confident in --not all of them work :p)

Use a blender/food processer to turn all of the oreos into a very fine powdery substance. (Just set your apparatus of choice to the finest setting possible --that oughta work.) Don't worry about trying to separate the creme from the cookies or anything complicated like that; you'll need to grind up the entire thing. (Haha, that makes it sound like you have to grind them one at a time... Definitely not. Fit as many in there at a time as you can.)

After you have grinded all of the oreos, combine this powder with the entire block of cream cheese. (You can use a spatula if you really want, but most of the time, it's easier/funner to just knead it all together with your hands.) Knead the ingredients together until you have a solid black mass. Next, pinch off small bits of dough and roll them into balls of whatever size you desire. (I'd recommend nothing bigger than the diameter of a quarter.) Set them on wax or parchment paper.

Third, heat up the chocolate coating as directed on the package. (I usually break off 3 squares of Almond Bark and put them in a coffee mug to heat up.) Then, just drop in one of the dough balls you made, using a fork to roll it in the coating. Then scoop the covered dough ball onto the fork and let the excess Almond Bark drip off. Gently tap the tines of the fork on the wax paper, and your covered dough ball should slide off onto the paper. Allow it to harden. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls. In just a minute or so, you will see the shininess of the Almond Bark coating go away; when the truffle's coating is dull, then it's completely dried and ready to eat! :] Hooray! :]

Note: Some chocolate coatings do not dry easily, so you may have to put the covered dough balls into the fridge for a while to encourage them to cool off and harden. :] I've seen other chocolates desentigrate the truffle dough, too, so be careful what you buy for this recipe! :]

*Ahem*

Apparently my grand plans to update this past weekend were never fulfilled. Clearly my powers of procrastination are still strong, though, so at least there's that :)

The temp job is going pretty well, though I seem to finish things much more quickly than they expect. This is good in the sense that I'm doing my job well, but not so stellar in the sense that I am somewhat living in the fear that they will run out of things to do... :/ Oh well, I'm only supposed to be there until next Monday, so I'm sure they can find things for me until then :)

Meanwhile, I have an interview tomorrow for a position that is practically perfect in every way (at least, it seems that way). The biggest thing is the location. Most of the jobs I've applied for are at least a 30 minute commute. This interview is for a position that's maybe 15 minutes away. Anyway... it would be really great from a practical stand-point, and I think I would enjoy the job as well. Here's hoping things go well in the morning :)

I'll be attempting to resume regular posting, but I've learned that I should make no promises :) Also, I have a few fun things coming up to make up for my total lack of attendance everywhere.

Well, thank you all for putting up with my lack of existence. Have a happy day!

Don't Worry...

I'm still alive, I promise!
Ok, I don't have much time, so this is going to be quick. It's not permanent, but... I got a temp job that should last until Christmas! YAY!!! And the people rejoiced...
Anyway, I promise much much more to come this weekend. My bloggy disappearance won't last too much longer :)

On and on and on and on...

So... today Josh and I are buying paint (for the living room, the dining room, and hopefully the hallway and stairwell). I'm pretty excited about it except for one thing... neither of us actually like to paint. I mean, I really love the look of a finished, painted room and all... but neither of us actually like the whole process that it takes to get there :/ I guess we'll just have to suck it up and deal with it. It will definitely all be worth it :)

On that note... As we're going through the process of decorating and settling into this house, Josh is talking about moving. Yeah, you read that right. Our contract here is up at the end of April, so we can stay here or move off base. In fact, we have a lead on a townhouse not far away that we may be interested in. The owner is being sent to Japan for the next three years, and he really wants somebody who's military to rent it. We're trying to find a time this week (Josh has a really light work week) to go look at it. I know it sounds crazy, but it's a really good move financially, so we'll see how it all goes down :) We're still so early in the process that all of this could change 20,000 times by April.. Yay for adventure :D

Anyway... the job hunt is still slow going. Apparently employers (including temp agencies) don't do a ton of hiring in the middle of a recession. Who knew? I'm still trying to be the squeaky wheel without getting so annoying that they "accidentally" lose my resume if you know what I mean. Speaking of which... Target is starting to look better and better. In fact, this townhouse that we're considering is literally just a couple of blocks away from the store that I would want to work at. At this point I think it would just be pride standing in my way, but let's face it, I'm not looking for a career. I'm just looking for a paycheck. Also, just because I work there, that doesn't mean that that's where I have to stay for the next four years. Savvy?

Well, that's enough about me for now, but since it is Tuesday (and I'm a slacker who hasn't put together a T3 for this week), I'd like to share a little tip with you. I know that most of you are much wiser and experienced than I am in the kitchen, but I'm going to throw this out there anyway. Feel free to throw it on back if you don't like it....

When I make anything that calls for breadcrumbs, I like to use mashed up Ritz crackers instead. They add a little texture and a nice flavor that I feel breadcrumbs lack. I have also used Goldfish crackers in the same way. My other use for Ritz is in tuna salad. You might be surprised. That's all :) Have a lovely day.

Ugh...

So... job hunting is not on my happy list at the moment :/
I had an interview with a temp agency on Tuesday. I think it went pretty well, but I called this morning and they still don't have anything for me. I'm probably going to get in with two or three agencies and "play the field" in a way. I'm also considering more and more doing something like working at the commissary part time (like on the weekends, or in the evenings) in addition to doing the temp thing. It would just be nice to have some sort of reliable income, even if it's not making very much.
Mostly I'm just coming to that point that I really need to start getting some cash to put into the bank, you know?
Anyway... I've been spending quite a bit of spare time working on the curtains for the living room. After searching and deciding, and realizing that we can't afford the ones we love (there are four windows in the living room, so we need eight panels. that means even curtains that are fairly inexpensive ($10 a panel) still add up really fast.) I finally bought four super inexpensive "window sets" from Target. Now I'm adding liners (fabric I already had) and some details. I'll be showing pics when they're done :)
Other than that I'm getting used to cooking and shopping for two again as well as cleaning up after a boy (the hubby has that really special boy gene that renders him unable to pick up after himself sometimes ;))
Moving on... I think that's all I really have... I know I keep promising pictures, and they'll come... just as soon as our house remembers what organized looks like. So... until then, have a happy day!

T3: Matryoshka Dolls

Ok, so... do you remember this? It was such a sad day :(

Anyway, today, you are finally going to find out what the terrors ate, and how to make your own :D I'm sure now knowing what it was has been keeping you up at night. So don't worry, I'm here to give you the gift of sleep. Today, I will be showing you the joys of making these little note cards...

From T3

Now, the special thing about these little guys is that not only are they adorable at first glance, but they just keep getting better...

From T3

So, now that you're all just thinking how absolutely wonderful these are, let me show you how insanely easy they are to make!

What you need:
This pattern (this has two patterns, you only need one of them) (pattern 1)
This pattern (pattern 2)

Card stock (regular paper works too, but cardstock feels more "real")

Scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, fabric (this is optional, you could also draw on the dolls' faces and clothes)

Markers (or pens, crayons, whatever you like best)

Scissors 

Now, I'll tell you up front, this project requires a lot of cutting, but I think it's totally worth it (and you can cut down on some of the cutting (pun intended) if you draw your dolls instead of using scrapbook paper).

Anyway... First you're going to print and cut out your patterns. When you're doing this, be sure that you leave all the dolls in pattern 1 connected. When you've cut out all your pieces you should have a pile that looks like this...

From T3

Now, you're going to choose what you're going to use for the clothes and faces. For this example, I used different scrapbook paper for all of their clothes, and then a pink paper for their faces. You should trace your patterns and cut out all of the pieces (lots of cutting). If you're drawing on the dolls, you only need to cut out the master card pattern (pattern 1). I recommend using cardstock for pattern 1 (again, this isn't mandatory, it just makes it feel more like a real card). If you're using scrapbook paper, you'll end up with a pile that looks like this... (notice, I didn't cut out all of pattern 1 yet, I just traced it on to half a sheet of paper. You can do it like this, or you can cut it out at the beginning.)

From T3

Now comes the fun part! Glue all of your pieces on (or decorate however you want). The biggest thing to remember here is... The biggest doll goes at the far right, there will be one blank doll, and then they go on from there. When they're all dressed, they'll look like this...

From T3

If you notice, this picture is actually flipped from the original. When I was making this first one, I started with the biggest doll on the left. It was still cute, but my card opened backwards. Anyway...
Now, just cut out the whole thing (if you left it on half a sheet like me), and draw on faces and hair.

From T3

Once that's done, your card is finished. All that's left is folding it up and writing a note! One of the messages that I like the most for the inside is "You're a Doll!". When you're folding, start with the baby and just fold them all into each other (reference the beginning to see what I mean). Voila! An adorable hand-made card :D
Now all that's left is to show you what happens when you leave on laying around and two terrors get a hold of it...

From T3

I know, tragic, right? Oh well... you live and learn I suppose.
Well, happy crafting! I know that you're all running off to find a reason to make these :D

Because I Love You

Like Oh2122 reminded me today, sharing is caring. SO... I feel that I need to share with all of you that Rhea is having a giveaway. A mighty fine giveaway, I might add. Involving a certain book which is soon to become a movie... *ahem* Anyway... you should stop on by. Even if you're not on the crackliture band-wagon yet, she's a fun girl. I think you'll like her :)

Ciao Amici!

First, thank you all so very much for your good thoughts that you are sending my way :) I have definitely needed them more than once recently. After much thought, frustration, and the dread of impending doom, I have decided that I am going to get on board with a temp agency for now. I will continue to send out feelers and resumes, but I won't be quite as desperate, if you know what I mean. Now, I know that this may seem like a fairly lame cop-out, but I very much think (as does Josh) that this could be a good move for me right now. After all, it was through the contacts that I made with a temp position by which I landed the awesome job that I had in Louisiana. 

Mostly, this way, I will have some source of income and be able to make professional contacts at the same time. Also, it will give me an opportunity to "try-on" various industries and companies, you know? I have been stuck in some pretty horrid jobs, and it's the worst feeling when you go from relief at being employeed to awash with disgust and loathing in 2.5 seconds. I'm sure there are those of you out there who are with me in this. Anyway...

Moving on, Josh and I visited a church last night. We're starting with evening services because when the hubby is working nights, it's best to try to avoid disrupting his sleep schedule by forcing him to stay up until noon. So, we're starting with night services and then we'll look into mornings if we don't find anything in the evenings. It will be slow going most definitely. Josh works every other Sunday, so to find a church home that we both like, we can only visit some place new every other week. It's good, though. I'm very excited. I think that God has some major plans for us.

In other news, my own special craft room (which I'm already extremely attached to) is getting mostly organized. I'm even ready to start all of the twenty thousand sewing and decorating projects which I've been scheming about for so long :D

Well, I'm off. I'm hoping to give my blog some new clothes in the next week or so, so I need to get started on that, and I need to wake the puppies up so that they don't sleep all day and play all night again.

Much love to you all, and have a happy day!

Oh Me, Oh My...

I wish that I had some lovely anecdotes, amusing banter, or enlightening musings to share with you today, but alas, I'm fresh out. 

I'm officially in full-swing job hunt mode which tends to leave me feeling a little worn and stretched out like an old sweater. There are times when I wish that I could just go work at Target again, and not have to worry with resumes, follow-ups, interviews, and the possibility of getting rejected. I'm sure that it will most certainly all be completely worth it though, once I'm snuggled comfortably into my next job. It's merely the search that's talking. I know with %100 of my being that I never want to willingly be forced to ask innocent people to sign up for another credit card. I never again want to make sure that all of the lonely, discarded items be put back in their proper place and made to look pretty again. I know this to be true. It certainly would be easy, though... *sigh*

Anyway... on to much less weary topics like... decorating. We officially have curtains in the dining room/area-off-the-kitchen-that-I-like-to-call-the-dining-room-cause-it-makes-me-feel-fancy. It's the first step. Today I purchased the curtains to go in the living room (we'll see if they make the cut once hubby gets home), and we were informed that our table is here (yay for having a table!). Things are getting settled more and more, slowly but surely. My lava lamp has a designated place, and my Mr. Potato Head collection has a new home (these are seriously important details, people). Tonight (once I pick up the remains of the terrors' most recent victims (a fleece ball and a rubber tire)) I will begin the most enjoyable process of hanging pictures and selecting new photos to get printed for display :) It's the little things, people.

Well, boring, though it may be, that is my life at the moment. I do hope that you all have a lovely day :)

Warning: Long Rambling Post Ahead!

Ok, so I've been in the new home a week, and I feel like things are starting to wind down a little. Josh is officially in full swing at work (up until this past week, he's been stuck in processing and that sort of thing, so his work schedule was wonky). We were able to spend quite a bit of time together last week, which was really nice. We've been discussing various color schemes and the like for decorating the house (there are a few rooms that we have to paint because they currently just have primer on the walls, and that's not going to cut it for the next four years). I really love doing that sort of thing, but we've definitely run into some issues. Josh and I tend to have extreme opposite tastes in most everything, so it makes decorating a house a challenge, to say the least :) Also, moving is expensive, so we're a little tight at least until I can find a job.

On that not, I was supposed to have a meeting with a woman here on base who can help point me in the right direction for the job hunt on Friday morning, but when I got there, she was out sick. I rescheduled for Wednesday. Here's hoping she's feeling better by then :) I'm really hoping for a job on-base just for the sheer convenience of not having to commute to and from work everyday, but I'm definitely still keeping my options open.

Other than our decorating woes, I love our house :) It's two stories, and there are four bedrooms (and by bedrooms I mean, two normal sized bedrooms and two rooms that are a really great size for an office and a craft room). I'm extremely excited about having an entire room for my sewing, crafting, and all other general experiments :) The only thing we're really missing at this point is a kitchen table. By some miracle, we actually found one that we both like (read: I love it, and Josh doesn't not like it), but it's out-of-stock (naturally), so it may be a few weeks before it comes in. Our neighborhood is great. We live in a cul-de-sac, and most of our neighbors have kids, so it's sometimes and adventure dodging the tricycles, soccer balls, and small children while we try to get in and out of our house, but I love it. I'm still basking in the joy of having a side-walk and a fenced in back yard. On Halloween, our neighbors all got together in the cul-de-sac for a little Hallo-weenie roast. We all brought our bowls of candy, so the trick-or-treaters had a little one-stop shop. It was really enjoyable meeting everybody. In our last home, we were not on super great terms with our neighbors (long story), and all the houses were so far apart that we didn't really know anybody. I'm so happy being back in a neighborhood where everybody seems to know everyone, and they're all happy to spend time with each other, etc... :)

I've tried to stay busy un-packing, getting organized and the like. I'm just feeling so blessed. I do love a good move. It makes me feel refreshed and uplifted in a way. Also, I've thoroughly been enjoying my new kitchen. Size-wise and counter-space-wise I've been seriously down-graded, but I'll take it for an oven that can stay at a constant temperature, a dishwasher, and a disposal. It's so lovely :) Add to that the fact that I recieved a ... (wait for it... I've been wanting one for so long, I feel like it needs some dramatic effect...) Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a going-away present from my co-workers, I've been in baking heaven :D

Well, I really should go get some laundry done (another everyday activity that I've come to love due to my wonderful new washer and dryer (yay for clothes no longer getting torn up by my washing machine and coming out of the dryer smelling burnt!)). I promise I will be back to commenting in the very near future :)

Have a happy day!

Whoo... Pt 2

Ok Happy Bloggy Friends, you can all breathe easy. I made it to Maryland this past weekend with the puppies in tow (and man was that an adventure). Anyway... I'm here, but we're definitely still settling in. Josh is in full swing at work, and I am going to jump strait into the job hunt (we both agreed that I need to make that a number one priority, so if anybody knows about a job opening in the DC area... you know who to tell ;)).
All that to say, my haiatus may last a few more days, but hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.
Have a happy day!

Life is a Whirlwind

Though I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off these days, I know that I haven't accomplished all that much. I would love to regale you with delightful tales of fancy free amusement, but I find myself rather boring here of late.
My leaving date is swiftly approaching, and I have so many boring and tedious things to accomplish. This weekend will be filled with cleaning. Since I'm not taking any days off of work before I leave (as in, my last day of work is the day before I leave), I want to get as much accomplished on the weekends as possible so that I don't have as much to do the day before.
The only excitement that I have to share is that I have been plotting, planning and gathering for so many new T3s. I have many ideas rolling around, but without access to my computer (read: a computer that I can load pictures onto easily), I have been unable to keep those up as I would have liked. I am absolutely thrilled that y'all seem to be excited about trying the ganache, though. I know that Oh2122 just put up a wonderful recipe for Grasshopper Brownies in which she used a little ganache... I seriously suggest checking it out.
Anyway... thank you all so much for putting up with my lack of bloggie spirit as of late. You're all so lovely. This won't last much longer, but I won't be able to blog at all again until I'm in Maryland. I'll be filling most of my first couple weeks there with decorating (I am beyond excited about painted walls... you have no idea!), and I'll definitely be posting before and after pics :)
Well, I suppose for now, all I can say is, have a delightful day... I'll see you soon :)

Try This Tuesday

Alright Friends, a couple of things, then I'll jump into this week's T3. We have a house (YAY!). Josh is getting life organized and hoping to move all of our stuff in this weekend. I am still in Louisiana for the next few weeks (long story, job obligations, fear of puppies in a hotel room, etc...). I am still computer-less except for at work, but I wanted to take a few minutes during a break for this post. This brings me to the topic for this week, it may look familiar, but embrace it :)
From your comments on my last T3, I've decided that perhaps I should have started with a project which may feel a little more comfortable for more of you. Perhaps something in the kitchen? So, right now, today (and forevermore), even if you can't have me, you can have ganache. I can hear the squeals of excitement. Now, I know I've already (fairly recently) written a post about ganache. I know that I explained how to do it. Today, I will take you step by step (with pictures), and I would really really love for all of you to try it. I'm telling you... you will not regret it :) Ok, let's begin.
We're going to start with heavy (whipping) cream, and chocolate (you should really use the high-quality baking stuff and then chop it, but I go for the chips cause I'm lazy like that) (you can use any kind of chocolate that you want. I've used semi-sweet, dark, milk, and a mixture of milk and semi-sweet. They all turned out lovely). You will also need a spoon, a heat-proof bowl, and a pot.

From T3

First, you're going to pour some chocolate chips into your heat-proof bowl. You can measure this or not, whatever suits your cooking style. The only thing to remember here is that you must have more chocolate than cream (you can do equal parts of each, but you cannot have more cream than chocolate).

From T3

Next, you're going to pour your cream into your pot, and turn the heat on medium.

From T3

Stir your cream until it just begins to try to boil. This won't take very long, just stir it until it starts looking bubbly.
At this point, take your cream and pour it over your chocolate.

From T3

Some recipes call for you to let it sit for a few minutes at this stage. I like to take my pot, and rinse it out, then turn back to my mixture. You're just going to take your spoon and stir it until it's nice and creamy.

From T3

From T3

At this point, it's probably a really nice liquid. You can use it just as it is if you want (pour it over a cake or brownies, and when it cools it'll make a nice glaze/icing). If you would prefer that it stiffen a little before you use it, cover it and put it in the fridge. I like to add a little extra step. Once it has cooled to the point of being a little chilly, I like to whip it. This makes it into a really great frosting. Just take a hand mixer, turn it on medium, and beat your ganache until it turns pale and little peaks start to form.

From T3

My personal favorite use for this decadent treat is as a frosting for my Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies. It's amazing.

Now, go try it! I promise, you will not regret it :)

It's Not Goodbye... It's See You Later

Well Friends, today's the day. The movers are going to the house and packing up. Josh came in on Friday, and the weekend has been a crazy whirlwind trying to get everything organized for the movers. We had to seperate all of our stuff (what's going now vs. what's staying), get the house kinda organized, prepare his truck for the drive, etc... As of tonite, I will be in the house with the puppies, some clothes, and a few extra things which I insisted on taking myself. It was kinda tough, deciding what I was ok with living a month without, making sure it would all fit in my little car, but I think we got it all sorted. It helps that the house here is in some ways its own entity, so there are a lot of things that "live in the house". There are plenty of dishes, pots and pans, and towels. There's a bed, and the rooms have drawers built into the walls. There's a futon, a kitchen table, a miniature couch (not a loveseat, more like a really really wide chair), even a tv and dvd player. It should be about as comfortable as living in the dorms in college (we had really nice dorms...). The one thing that I will be missing is a computer. Yes, my friends, Josh is taking the computer, and since my laptop met its rather untimely demise earlier this year, I will be blog-less while at home.
I will still be working, so I will not disappear completely. Things at work are starting to be more and more crazy as I work to organize things for whoever comes to take my place. All this to say, I may take something of a haiatus for a while. I'll try to update as I can, but it may not be very frequently. So, it's not goodbye, it's just see you later :)

My Husband Rocks

Before I start telling you all about the wonderful hubby, you should all know that Katy Lin is having a contest this week in honor of her 1 year anniversary :) You should go check it out!Ok, now then, *ahem*, I've been thinking this past week a lot about the ways in which Josh takes care of me. He wants to make sure that I'm ok, and that I have everything that I need. It's been difficult for him to be away for so long (not just because he misses the small tornadoespuppies), but because it's hard for him to not be here to take care of me. Every time I talk to him he asks about the puppies and he asks about the house. At one point, I commented that if the puppies die, or if the roof blows off, I would probably tell him. He responded with, "I know, but I'm not there to take care of things, you're all alone, and I want to make sure that everything is ok." It struck me then that he didn't check on these things daily only because he was actually worried about them, but because he was worried about me. He's so awesome at fixing anything and everything that goes wrong, not because he has to, not because it's "his job", but because he wants to take care of me.Also, my hubby rocks because he'll be back in town tonight! YAY!!!The End.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm a guest blogger today! Pop over to Blog Around the World to check out my awesomeness :D

A True Story

Not too long ago in the not-so-distant past, I was making my way across the parking lot and into Big Lots (which, in this town, is found as a part of a shopping strip). On my way into the store, I noticed a vehicle with its lights on. Being the good citizen that I am, I decided to do my small part to inform the owner. What follows is an actual account of the conversation that I had as a result. The involved parties are the random worker who happened to be the first worker whom I saw upon walking into Big Lots (from henceforth known as RW) and me.

Me (to RW): Ummm excuse me...?
RW: *really annoyed and disgusted look*
Me: Ummm... I was wondering if you had any sort of speaker system or anything in the store for making announcements.
RW: *slightly blank really annoyed and disgusted look*
Me: Well, you see, the reason that I was wondering is that there's a black Honda out there with its lights on, and I thought maybe you could announce it in case they're in the store.
RW: Just because they're parked in the parking lot doesn't mean they're in the store.
Me: Ummm... *slightly stunned look*
RW: You see, there are lots of other stores around, they could be in one of those.
Me: Uhhh... yeah, I guess that's true...
RW: *Supreme look of Superiority before turning her back on me*
Me: Ok, well, thanks.

The End

And yes, I do tend to use "ummm" a lot when I'm in a situation involving people whom I don't know.

Sad Story

So... I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon perfecting a (super amazingly cute fabulously adorable) notecard craft for some future T3. Let me tell you, SO CUTE! It's lovely, and I wish I knew more people so that I could send them out to everybody. Anyway... in preparation for any how-to or tutorial, I like to complete a nice, finished product, and then take all of my pictures and everything as I recreate it. This way, I have two variations to show, and it helps me to perfect the method before tossing it out there for you.
Moving on... so I finished it, and it was lovely. So sweet, exactly how I wanted it. I left it on the table beside our couch so that I could photograph it today after completing a second one (do you see where this is headed yet?).
So this morning, I'm doing my thing, getting ready, and I notice that my house is completely quiet. Now, as all of you mommies out there know, quiet is often not a welcome sound, if you catch my drift. When I realized how still the house was, it struck me as odd because the beasties puppies generally use the mornings while I'm getting ready to release some of their energy. As in, normally I get ready to the sweet sounds of them playing, play-fighting, and knocking each other into various pieces of furniture. ***Editor's Note: At this point, I would like to say, I am in no way comparing the fiends puppies to children, I was merely stating that there are a few similarities between having a toddler in the house and having two dogs in the house.***
So this morning, when I heard none of these raucous, usual sounds being emitted from my living room, I felt the dread begin. I'm sure you understand. That feeling when you know you have to go check it out, but you just know that you really, really don't want to see... Yeah... Well naturally, I walk into the living room to find my wonderfully fanciful, sweet, whimisical, lovely note card torn to shreds and half-devoured and two happy, sweet, calm puppies enjoying their morning treat.
It's a sad story.
The End.

Try This Tuesday

…or, as it will henceforth be known, T3.
Ok Friends, today I’m going to try a little something. I’m kinda nervous. I would like to start up a recurring event that will be called “Try This Tuesday” (because I like alliteration). It could also be called “Trust Me Tuesday”. I have often found in my travels and the like, that when I suggest projects, recipes etc… to my friends, they will laugh and say, ‘Oh, hahaha, that’s wonderful… but I don’t think that mine would turn out like that.” The problem (I’ve found) is that many people like to stick to what they know, and sometimes my ideas are slightly out there. Anyway… today I want to talk to you about sewing. I’m going to take you through a super easy, super cute project just to kinda ease our way in (this will not be the last time you see my sewing machine). One of the things that I love about this project is that not only is it functional, but I made more than one mistake while doing it. Now, I can hear you saying, “what? You made mistakes? How do we know it’s safe to follow your instructions? Why are you showing us this terrible atrocity?” The reason, my friends, is that I want to show you that sewing isn’t always about getting it perfect (I’m pretty sure my sister just disowned me for saying that :/). It’s not scary. Don’t be afraid that you’re going to mess it up. Trust me :D By now I’m sure you’re just totally on the edge of your seats wanting to know what I’ll be trying to convince you to do today. So here it is…(Oh! And I apologize in advance for the horrendous picture quality. The lighting in my casa is not what you would call stellar for the picture taking.)

From T3

You can see that I obviously use mine to hold my makeup brushes. This would also be super cute to hold pens and pencils, paint brushes, markers, crayons, get creative! And it’s really insanely easy.
To start, you’ll need a piece of fabric. It should be barely longer than you want the end product to be, and tall enough that you have room for whatever you’re putting in it as well as some extra to function as a flap over the top, savvy?
The first thing you’ll do is pin and iron down the edges where your hem will be.

From T3

Now, with your sewing machine, sew along the top and the bottom (for this project, I used a wavy stitch because it matches my makeup bag). Go ahead and trim off any excess fabric (you’ll notice I almost always have a ton of extra fabric along my hems… It makes me feel better. I don’t know why.
Ok, here you get to see my first mistake! When you sew your bottom hem, the sides get sewn down as well. At the time, I totally thought that this was going to lead to major problems, so I cut the fabric to free the side…

From T3

Turns out that wasn’t really necessary, but all’s well that ends well I suppose. Anyway… From here, fold up the bottom hem so that it forms a pocket (make this as deep as you need it to be depending on what you’re going to be using this for). Contrary to normal sewing behavior, you’re going to fold this so that the raw edges are inside. As in, you will sew it exactly how it’s going to stay. Savvy? (At this point, I will need to show you a photo that may or may not have been taken when I was at this step, so ignore the superfluous seams at the bottom. I will explain those momentarily.

From T3

Go ahead and pin, iron, and sew the sides so that you end up with a nice pocket. Turn it inside-out so that you can trim up the excess fabric, then flip it right-side out again. You’re almost done! Now, take one (or two) of whatever you’re going to be putting in here, and determine how big the little pockets need to be. Take a pencil and draw out where you want your pockets to end up.

From spare time

Now just sew along those lines

From spare time

At this point, I realized another mistake that I had made… I made it way too long. So I simply cut it off where I wanted it to end and sewed another side hem (recognize the picture?)

From spare time

All you have to do now is attach the ribbon. I suggest filling the pockets, rolling it all up, and wrapping a piece of ribbon around it to determine how much you’ll need. I wanted my ribbon to go around twice, so I measured for that.
Unroll your pocket, and take everything out.
The last step is to sew the ribbon on to one of the sides so that it stays put.
You’re done!
See, wasn’t that fun?! And soo not difficult?

***If there is something that you have been dying to try, but are a little nervous about, let me know, and I'd be glad to try it for you first :)

Decisions, Decisions...

From A Life of Delight

Ok so... I've been thinking a lot recently about this whole "moving" thing. Now, I'm insanely ridiculously excited about moving. It's been way way too long since I've had a proper adventure. It's getting close enough now, though, that I'm really starting to look around the house and think about what is going, what is staying, etc. I mean, the movers are coming next Monday. EEK! For those who don't know, the plan goes a little something like this... Josh is coming in town this weekend. He'll get in Friday night (YAY!). Monday, movers will come pack up the majority of our stuff (furniture, appliances, most clothing, books, pots, pans, etc...). They will take it all away Monday. Tuesday, Josh will head out. He'll get up there and find us a home. I will stay here (with the mini-monsters puppies. I will continue working (building up our savings just a wee bit more). Once Josh finds us a place (and hopefully gets most of our stuff in), I'll start the journey up there (this will probably be at the end of October or the beginning of November). SO, what this means is, I need to figure out what I have to have to live for a month, but it all has to fit in my car along with the puppies' little kennels. Anyway... all this thinking about moving made me think about some things.
First, I'm changing time zones! I mean, I've moved a lot, but I've never moved out of the central time zone. What does this mean?! I don't even know.
Second, it's like a 17 hour drive, so I feel like it makes sense for me to break it into two days. This is the part where all of you come in. Anybody know the area around Kingsport, TN (it's about halfway) very well? Hotel suggestions? Puppy-friendly hotels? Areas of the city to avoid? Any advice would be much appreciated :D
Also, ohmygoodness, I'm so stinking excited about road-tripping :D I LOVE driving! I love long drives (especially to part of the country that I haven't driven in before). I'm so jazzed!
Well... now that you know the story of my life... Happy Monday!

MHR Friday

So... This is my first week to participate in Katy Lin's "My Husband Rocks Friday", and I'm pretty excited :) I think it such a great idea (if you want to learn more about it, click that button at the top of this post)!Since it's something that has been on my mind a ton lately, I'd like to talk about Josh and the Air Force. Now, for me, this is one awesome adventure, and I'm so excited to be in on it. I often forget to stop and look at it from his perspective. So today, I'd like to let everyone know that my husband totally rocks because he willingly "signed his life away" for the next four years to enter the armed forces. He agreed to go wherever they told him to go, even if that meant that he would be leaving everything familiar to him and moving far away from his family. He agreed to go to a war zone and endanger his life if they asked him to. He agreed to do whatever they told him he was going to do (granted, he's a nurse, so there's only so much wiggle room there...). He agreed, because it's what he thinks (we both think) is best for us right now. He agreed because it will help us get out of debt (yay student loans for a private university :/). He agreed because he knew that it was something that I was excited about. He agreed because he loves me. So today, I'm going to remember to tell him how much I love him. I'm going to remind myself that this is a huge leap of faith for him. And today, that is why my husband rocks :DAnd... Mushiness Over. For my next post, I will return to my usual ego-centric non-mushy self :DOh, and by the way, for all of you out there waiting on the edge of your seats, Josh is doing great. They did a mock deployment this past week, so he got a (very small) taste of the types of situations he might be put in. He seems to really be enjoying himself, now that he's gotten his bearings. He has one last test coming up, but he's done so well on the previous ones that I'm not really worried. And he's coming home (for like three days) in one week! YAY!

I'm Living in Denial

Ok so... yesterday,Debbie asked everyone how tall they are. Now, this isn't something that I would've ever thought about asking, but it's seriously interesting. So I left my comment, and then I continued to check back throughout the day to see where I stood (haha, stood, height... am I the only one who thought that was funny?) compared to everyone else. I've got to tell you, I continue to be surprised by my non-average height. Now, I'm just over 5' tall, and I can acknowledge that most people are taller than me. My head wraps around that concept. Somehow I don't connect that with reality, though. I mean, if you put me in a room with somebody who's my height, I'll feel like I have to look down to look at them; stick me in a room with somebody who's 5'4", though, and I feel like they're my height. Is this normal? In fact, I often don't realize that my friends are taller than me until I see a picture of me with them. Exhibit A...

From spare time

Until I saw this picture, I didn't realize that I wasn't the same height as everybody else. Is that normal? Does anybody else have this problem? Just curious.

Note To Self

From Kiroli

Ok, hypothetically speaking, if, at any time in the near future, I think that it's really nice outside and I want to do something nice for the terrors puppies, so I decide to take them to the park after work. Would somebody please remind me that I'm probably not the only one enjoying the weather. I mean, I like the weather, the puppies seem to like the weather, and, oh yeah, the mosquitoes are loving the weather too. Because I live in Louisiana, and it's September, and I go to the part just before dusk, and the park is by a pond! So maybe it would be a good idea to use some bugspray, because if I don't, there's a good chance that I will be followed by a swarm (I'm so not even exaggerating here) of the little blood suckers from the moment that I step out of my car to the moment that I get back in. This, by the way, seriously ups my chances of that whole West Nile Virus, which I'm so completely not ok with. Also, I'm not a fan of inhaling the bugs that have formed a cloud around me. I just don't like it! So anyway... if someone could just remind me of that. Hypothetically speaking. That would be great.

Delightful

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm totally a re-poster. This is a post that is acutally a re-post of a repost. It's kind of the explanation of my blog title, and I think that it's important. So anyway... I originally wrote this about 3 years ago while in college (while I still had a xanga, yeah, I did :/). It is in response to Psalm 37:4 which says "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

David says that we are to DELIGHT ourselves in the Lord, yeah? On a total side note for a moment, every translation that I have ever read has translated that word as delight, now...that strikes me as something worth looking at. Well, so...I love words, and I was really kinda wanting to understand the full definition of delight, so I went to my dictionary... now, the definition of delight is something like, find pleasure in, to please, something fluffy. So I said to myself, "hmmm...well, I feel like God wants us to find more than a happy squishy feeling when we think of HIM." Now maybe I'm wrong there, but that's my thought. So...I checked out some synonyms of delight. There were some kinda boring ones that didn't really do much for me, pleasure, joy, blegh whatever, yeah? Ok, so then I saw enthral. Now, as I said, I love words, and the more specific a word is and the more able it is to paint and sculpt and entice emotion the more I absolutely love it. Well, for me, enthral has always kinda been one of those words. I mean, for me it envokes this awesome sense of being completely consumed by something, to the point of not being able to see anything that was outside of the agent of the enthralling, the person or thing that held one enthralled. Ok, so...I already had this image in my head of a person being completely captivated beyond the point of release by anything that they were enthralled with, but I wanted to find the actual definition of enthral. Now here's where it gets really cool to me...the actual meaning of enthral is "To reduce to bondage or servitude; to make a thrall, slave, vassal, or captive of; to enslave." At first glance, I feel like this has a really negative connotation, but it really doesn't! I mean, when you think of enslavement, the first thing that comes to my mind is a sort of beating into submission, but that's not what this is saying at all! This is just saying that you are completely held captive to be made into a slave, but it doesn't say that you were forced there, you just are. You choose to be made a captive. How awesome that we are given the opportunity to be enslaved by the sheer awesomeness of God. We are told to delight ourselves in the Lord. Delight is such an amazing concept of sheer and utter giddiness. Now, imagine if you were completely captivated by that giddiness. You were so filled with joy over God that you were made into a slave by sheer adoration and excitement. Now that is awesome. I think that I would be ok with being delighted, being captivated, being enslaved by God and His awesome wonder...I would be more than ok. I would be complete.

So now, I have made it my goal in life to live with delight, to live my life in complete delight of the Lord... it's a work in progress :)