Quilt'N'Sanity

Car Quilt

2012-01-31T21:03:00.004-07:00

I started this quilt in the summer. I didn't have a pattern and just made it up as I went along...which turned out to be a problem. Lots of unpicking. Wishing I would have done a few things different. But overall I'm happy with it!! (Or just relieved it's done)

I fussy cut the cars out of the fabric. I'm sure my sons could tell you which cars are in this quilt...and so can I. Red cars, orange cars, blue cars, and green cars. Ha ha!!

I love this orange flame fabric for the back.

I've been wondering this past week what I want to be when I grow up. Too bad I'm already middle-aged and haven't figured it out yet. I thought I knew, thought I had a good career in medical transcription. That is until India entered this field too. Found out this week that the hospital corporation I work for is doing away with our jobs and outsourcing the work. I'm just sick about it. I really love my boss, in fact followed her here to this job. There are a lot of things I wish I could say, but can't. {At least not until my final check from them is in the bank.} Actually saying nothing at all is better. Period. Just time to get on with life.

Journals for the New Year

2012-01-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

I made some Journals for the New Year to give to some family/friends. I got the idea here. They weren't too hard to do. I always have a stack of composition notebooks. Love these notebooks! I use them all the time for projects and writing notes. I think the blog where I got the idea used the little notebooks, but I liked the big ones.

What a fun place to write quotes, thoughts, goals, and life's happenings.

I put them in a bag with a horn and a popper. Think this is going to be a yearly thing.

I really have been doing some quilting. Hopefully I'll get my latest project on here in the next few days. It's been a crazy week. Some life changes going on that I'm still processing. Ugg!! I really hate change.

One Word Goal for 2012

2012-01-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

A week ago my friend from work challenged me to find a one-word goal for 2012. One word? That's quite a challenge to find just one word to sum up a year. I searched the internet hoping to find some inspiration. There are lots of words that would be a good goal for the year:

Balance, kindness, commitment, priorities, dream, succeed, focus, opportunity, grow, organization, joy, hope, love, nurture, comfort, fearless, acceptance.

While all good goals...none of them really set off a spark in me. I thought "dream" was too fluffy of a goal. Really need something with some grit in it this year. Balance? Well not sure if I can find balance in life right now.

Then I finally stumbled on the word.....it just felt right. Determination.

de-ter-mi-na-tion (noun):

The act of deciding definitely and firmly; also the result of such a decision.
Firm and fixed intention to achieve a desired end.

Synonyms of determination: Firmess of mind, purpose, resoluteness, self-confidence, purposefulness, bravery, fearless, willpower, spunk, stamina, perseverance, steadfastness, fortitude, and tenacity.

Black and Red Baby Quilt

2012-01-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

I put this top together a while back. My friend's daughter is having a baby boy this month and loves black and red. So glad I had the top done and could quilt it up real fast in time for the baby shower.

I saw a post here and thought it was a good idea for Jaycee to make to give her friends for Christmas. We had a hard time finding the clear glycerin. We found ours at Michaels, but it wasn't as clear as I hoped. Next time I would probably order some on line. The fish are from

Oriental Trading.

I think it would be a cute idea for a kids birthday party too. Jaycee and I are pros at doing them now...haha!! They worked better if you didn't fill the bag too full. She made tags that said

"Merry Fishmas"

Angel Topper

2011-12-30T21:22:00.002-07:00

Can I tell you how excited I am to have this new Angel for our tree?? My parents have one just like it that they got the first year they were married. They have used every year since. I remember it from when I was young and still at home. We went to the antique store looking for a few new antique ornaments for our tree. We found one like this but dirty and grey. I almost bought it, but didn't know how to clean it. We went to another antique store and as we were about to leave I saw this one on a shelf. Woo-hoo!! It's in perfect condition except the corners of one wing is bent. I could hardly wait until my parents came over for Jaycee's birthday....waiting to see if they would notice it.

My Dad added another snowman to our collection. It's the one in front with the stripped scarf. I think he makes 40 or so every year for all the kids, married grandkids, and neighbors.

He also added 2 pieces to our nativity set. It's fun to see what we get every year. He's already started the camels for next year.

It's almost time to take down the Christmas quilts and put all the decorations away. Funny how anxious you get to decorate for Christmas....and then how you can't wait to put it all away and get back to normal.

We've had this poinsettia for a week....and I haven't killed it yet! ha ha Maybe we can enjoy it for another month or so.

Wrapping and Parties.....all done

2011-12-22T22:14:00.002-07:00

I love to wrap Christmas presents. Really...I do. I go the day after Christmas and buy the wrapping paper, rolls of ribbon, and tags at Sam's. My favorite has been this gold foil paper and the red/gold and gold/brown ribbon.

It's not even Christmas Eve and I think all my wrapping is done....except 1 or 2 presents.

We had the Christmas Party on the Raulston side last Sunday. It was fun to get together and visit over good food and then play a couple of games. It seems like the family just keeps growing every year.

And finally.....I had to post my new hair color. I went chocolate brown and purple. I just LOVE the purple. A lady who was getting her hair done the same time as me had bleach blonde with pink. Hmmm.....I'm thinking that might be something to try next summer. If I get brave enough.

December Birthday

2011-12-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

My Jaycee Lou turned 17 today. I can't believe my baby is that old. Doesn't seem like that long ago I was holding her in the hospital....relieved to have her here safe and sound. Not any easy pregnancy at all. I feel bad that she has a December birthday. We try to do some birthday decorations around the Christmas decorations.

This is my sister's Christmas quilt (Tracy). She's had is done since summer...but I just got around to quilting it. I love the fabrics.

I tried a new quilting design. I saw something similar over at Green Fairy Quilts. I've mentioned in previous posts about how much I love her quilting style. Here's my version. I'm really, really pleased with how it turned out. I've been drawing it for a month or so and got brave enough to try it. Glad my sisters let me practice on their quilts....ha ha!

I can't wait to do it again. I love it....just love the swirls and echoing.

Coughing All The Way.....

2011-12-06T15:41:00.001-07:00

I'm in the middle of my second cold of the season. This one hit in my chest and gave me a horrible cough. I haven't coughed so much in years. I've gone through a 12 oz bottle of NyQuil in a matter of days. My chest and stomach hurt from coughing so much. I'm exhausted. I've spent the day in bed sleeping and resting. Seriously...enough coughing already. I just want to get better.

In between naps I decided to catch up on a little blogging. We had the family party for my side of the family on Sunday night. The minute Brookie sees my camera she wants her picture taken. She's so cute!

Santa's Elf always drops off a bag of presents for the young grandkids and great-grandkids. Grandpa pulls them carefully from the bag and calls out the names. Katelynn was so anxious to get her present. She stood by Grandpa O. and every time he reached in the bag she would get a big smile on her face....and then her face would just drop and look so sad when the present went to someone else. It was so cute to watch.

Finally.....this one has her name on it!

Aunt Nanna got these animal pillow/blankets for the kids. They were a big hit. I know they will be well loved.

Here's the guys working on their Lego kits that Santa's Elf brought them. I didn't get very many pictures since I spent so much time in the other room hacking up a lung. It was a fun night and so good to get together with all the family...except our Vegas family who can't make it up this time of year. We miss them. Nann, Grandpa, and Grandma went down after Thanksgiving and spent some time with them so we got to see some pictures of their kids opening their presents.

Thanksgiving Quilt

2011-11-26T19:58:00.001-07:00

I'm sharing this beautiful Thanksgiving quilt my mom made. She did the embroidery during the summer and finished the quilt to hang up for the holidays. I love it!! She did such a good job on it.

Here are a few close ups of the hand work.

It's that time of year to get out all the Santa and snowmen wood carvings that my dad has done. Two crafty people for sure

I've been doing some sewing for Christmas. Since I'm working on some gifts I can't post pictures of what I'm doing yet. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll be able to get it all done before the big day this year. I should be down sewing now but I'm catching up on reading blogs instead. Gotta have some downtime, right?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

I made a peach pie and 2 pumpkin pies yesterday while watching Gone With The Wind. I love that movie!!

Then this morning we got up early and put the turkey in the oven. We cook them in a brown paper bag because that's how my mom did it. They turn out so moist and tasty! The smell of paper bag and turkey cooking is one of the best smells ever! Crazy tradition for sure.

While dinner cooked we looked through the Black Friday ads. Don't know why I look because there's no way I want to brave the masses at midnight or early morning to find a bargain. Bleh!

I was so glad to see the dishes all done and the turkey platter ready to go into hiding for another year. Gary had to work today so we just had a little dinner before he had to leave for his 2nd job. Thank goodness he was able to help me cook it. Actually he does most of the work. He makes he best sausage stuffing. I'm happy to have a hot roll, Brussells sprouts with balsamic vinegar, and tons of stuffing!

I just had a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I make the whipped cream with a little powdered sugar and Mexican vanilla. I learned how to make it this way from my mother-in-law. Another tradition. Once you've had it you'll never be satisfied with any other type of whipped cream.

I've seen people on Facebook posting what they are thankful for. It got me thinking over the past year. I would have to say I'm thankful for my family. I'm so thankful that the contents of this folder finally led me to find the baby I gave up for adoption 35 years ago. I've kept the folder close at hand all these years. It has some pages of my diary, hospital records, and other clues that helped me find Darren. We've gotten together a few times since July. I can't express the joy of seeing him interacting with my kids. The similarities. The way they all seem to want to know more about each other. The way his son gets along with my oldest grandson. It's been comforting to know that he has good parents and family. It has helped fill a void in my life and added much joy and happiness.

Loving Fall....and finding happiness!

2011-11-23T10:44:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite quotes. Life certainly can be stressful and hard, especially this time of year. I try to remember that I can control my attitude to a certain extent. It helps get through the tough times if you try to think about positive things and find happiness in the little things in life. I've been trying to think of things I'm thankful for this time of year.

We've been looking for a little space heater for the front room. I love this one...found it at Sams Club. We keep the heat down and wear hoodies at our house. I know a lot of people do the same thing. Just hate to have those high heating bills!

We put up this baby gate about a year ago. At first it was really for the young grandkids, but we found it's great to keep the dogs upstairs when someone comes to the door. I'm really an animal lover....as you can tell from some of my posts. I just love Max and Molly. They keep me company as I work from home. But I believe that you have to be a responsible pet owner. Why am I mentioning this? Our neighbors across the street have a Blue Heeler that is really mean! I took out the garbgage Monday morning and it came running across the street 90 miles per hours barking so aggressively. The owner was yelling for it to come back, and I just stood there frozen in fear. His nose hit my leg so hard. I'm amazed he didn't bite me. We hear screams all the time from people walking down the street when that dog attacks them. It's come after us as so many times when we get the mail or walk out to our cars. Why can't they obey the leash laws and fence their backyard to let the dogs out? Grrrrr!! Okay, done venting.

I did get a new hair cut and color. It's Fall colors this time...no purple! I'm loving it.

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-11-02T21:46:00.002-06:00

Jaycee made this centerpiece in her floral design class. It's in a real pumpkin and fresh flowers. I want to buy a plastic pumpkin and flowers and have her make another one that will last through November. I really love it!!

I saw a wreath on one of the morning shows Halloween morning. I have been looking for something for my front door and decided to make one real quick before I had to work that afternoon. Got out my trusty glue gun and gathered some dead branches from the backyard. I broke the branches into about 6 to 8 inch pieces. I didn't have a wreath to glue them on so I cut a circle out of a thick foam poster board. Then I glued the twigs around the circle. I spray painted it gray and let that dry. Then I sprayed it with a metallic silver. This is the wreath part way painted with the silver. Love the way it makes it "pop!"

Then I grabbed a bag of rings I picked up at the dollar store last week. I cut the ring part off and then hot glued them to the wreath. Then I glued a piece of black ribbon to the top of the wreath so I could hang it on the front door. This really is a fast, easy wreath to make.

Ta-Da!! All ready to greet my trick-or-treater guests Halloween night!

Since Gary has been working so much I decided to help him out with the yard work on the weekend. I got out the lawn mower. I hate to admit it...but I've never mowed the lawn before. My friend from work gave me a pep talk and some great hints for working a lawn mower (Thanks Sandy!). I found the red button to prime the lawn mower. Sandy said she pushed her 5 times. The instructions on Gary's mower said to push it 3 times. Well....it was a cold morning.....so I decided to push it 6 times. Yup. I think I flooded it. I had to get Jon to start it for me the first time. After that it was pretty easy. It took me all morning to mow the lawn. I had to stop and rake up all the apples off the ground and scoop up the dog poop.

There are still plenty of apples in the tree. Darn...we really should spray the trees and use the apples. Maybe next year...sigh.

I was about to rake up the leaves when Gary called from work. He told me he just mows them up. That saved lots of time! I had a little trouble figuring out how to empty the bag, but Jon showed me how. It was a really productive day out in the yard. While I was mowing Jon and Bekkah were in the way back yard cutting up some branches and stacking the wood. The back yard looks great! I'm thinking I'll have to help out more with the yard work.

I was feeling energetic and so I decided to drain the pond in the back yard. I have to admit I was a little nervous about doing it. The water was really icky. I was worried that a chicken that went missing a few weeks ago might be in the bottom of the pond. Whew....thank goodness she wasn't. Still not sure what happened to her.

Fall Family Party

2011-10-26T19:36:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we had a family party. It was fun to get everyone together for crafts and food. I loved the T-shirts they made at the Orme Family Reunion this summer and thought it would be fun to make some Halloween shirts with our family.

Jack is making a skeleton shirt with his dad.

We were hoping for warm weather, but it was a little chilly....so we ended up painting them in the garage instead of backyard.

Jodi and Katelynn (above) and Brandon (below). First you twisted the shirt and sprayed it to make it look tie-dyed. Then picked a stencil and sprayed on your design. You just use regular spray paint. We all had a blast making shirts!!

The second craft was Marshmallow Guns that Pappa made. He sprayed them black and then we used a sponge and paint to make them look chamo. Eden is having fun painting hers.

And then we had dinner. Sloppy Joes, hot dogs, salads, chips, etc. Jared made an apple and a peach pie. I didn't get a picture of them, but they were so delicious. That's going to be his assignment for every family party from now on. Yummy!! Katelynn has been wiping her food in her hair lately. Funny little girl.

BrookLynn poses every time you get your camera out. Then she wants to see the pictures of her. I get a kick out of her doing it. What a cutie!

Miss Jayda is wearing purple! This girl loves anything to do with pink, purple, or Barbies.

Jack putting all his energy into shooting marshmallows. He'd giggle every time he shot one.

Jaycee's painted hands. I had gloves for us to wear, but we all forgot to use them. Thankfully the paint eventually wears off.

Jonny made this cool shirt. We all had so much fun. Darren and Keaton were going to come but ended up not being able to make it. I'm thinking this Fall Party will be an annual event from now on. I loved being with all my family for an afternoon of fun and visiting.

It's Official

2011-10-25T21:08:00.001-06:00

I hate to admit it.......but it's true. I've turned into my Mother!

This is a typical dinner that mom would have made for us when we were growing up. My sister, Nann, brought us some new red potatoes. Since then I've been craving potatoes and peas in a cream sauce with fried hamburger patties. So that's what I made tonight. YUM!

Things have changed around our house as far as work. I didn't last long at my second job. I just couldn't do it. It was too hard to sit there so long and type and go without sleep. It made me feel horrible and my fibromyalgia act up. I know, I'm a wuss (however you spell it?). I feel awesome again now that I'm only working 40 hours a week. Gary just started a part-time job this week. So now he is the one who is sleep deprived and working nonstop. I feel bad for him. I've been trying to keep up on the laundry and dishes. I'm even enjoying housework again (for the most part).

A Fall Ride

2011-10-05T14:49:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we went up Spanish Fork Canyon and rode up to Starvation Canyon. I've never been there....it's really a pretty ride. We went with Gary's parents and his brother again.

We stopped at this fork in the road so my father-in-law could look at his map. It was a beautiful day for a ride!

There wasn't much red up this canyon, but the greens and yellows were so pretty.

We stopped at a campground for lunch. I got so EXCITED to see this outhouse.....so much better than a bush or tree.

Gary and Dave. I'm not sure what kind of machine Dave has, but it goes everywhere! Pretty sure I'm too chicken to ride in it.

Some dark clouds came over us and gave us a little rain, not bad. I thought about getting my rain poncho out, but then it quit. Yay!

I thought these were rocks on the hillside. (Yes, I need to get an eye exam.) Tons of sheep everywhere enjoying an afternoon nap. We did see 1 black sheep.....haha!

There were lots of beaver dams in this stream. Wish we could have seen some beavers. Maybe next time.

There's part of the trail that is switchbacks. Really fun to ride. I should have stopped or a picture. This is on top of the hill looking back down at a sheep camp. There are days that I think it would be nice to be out there in the mountains in a simple camp with no phone.

This was really a great ride, one that will be on the list of favorites. I think we went 36 miles this time. I love that we can get out and see more of Utah.

Only at Grandma's........

2011-09-30T20:45:00.000-06:00

Can you write on the dining room floor with markers....and not get in trouble.

We pulled up the carpet in the front room and the old wood floor in the kitchen and dining room so we could put down a new wood floor. I forgot about the white linoleum that I hated so much under the wood. The grandkids had blast writing all over the floor before we covered it up with the new wood. I think they weren't sure at first....thought they might get in trouble. But then there was no stopping the fun.

The adults had to get in on the action too.

The art work ranged from scribbles to silly!

and even a scary drawing by John.

I may be in trouble if they go home and draw on their mom's floors.

A Little Downtime for Riding

2011-09-21T13:50:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we went on a ride with Gary's parents and brother. It was a perfect day to get out. We found this pipe that had lot of leaks. It was fun to just watch it.

And this pretty little waterfall.

We went to a new place...out by Eureka. It was a 50 mile ride. Most of it was smooth road so you could go fast.

We stopped at the reservoir for lunch. Gary's mom packed it so we didn't have to do anything, just enjoy the day!

This is Gary and his brother. We found a little place off the side of the road with some fun trails. It really is a lot steeper than it looks....which I why I was taking the pictures and not riding around much.

We started seeing some dark clouds on our way back to the trucks. The sky was so cool to look at..We got some rain and hail, but it didn't last long.....thank goodness because the hail really hurt when it hit you.

I brought my I-Pod this time. I was singing along at the top of my lungs to some Pink! Good thing the machines were noisy so no one could hear me! I really can't carry a tune....not at all. I'm guilty of mouthing the words to the hymns in church because my singing is so bad!

And this is my favorite part of riding. Mud puddles. I love to ride through them and splash all over. When we got back to the trucks my mother-in-law told me that I needed to go back because I forgot one.

Somehow my machine is always dirtier than Gary's when we get home.

T.I.R.E.D.

2011-09-14T14:30:00.003-06:00

That sums up how I feel. And it's only Wednesday. Working 64 hours a week sucks.

On the bright side I did have some free time last weekend to make some more snap bags. Love these little bags for organizing things (sorry for the picture....messes with your eyes will all the dots and patterns).

I put on my friend's quilt this weekend too. It's an outdoors theme quilt for her husband. I quilted over the animals on the first block and didn't like it. Had to get out the seam ripper and undo it. Then I tried quilting around them with the pebble stitch. I like how it makes the animals stand out. Wish I had a steadier hand and could outline stitch around them.

Salsa season is here. Yay!! Double Yay because my husband and son, Jonny, did this batch. My daughter-in-law's dad has an awesome garden and gave us 2 bushel of tomatoes. (Thanks Tim!)

And this sums up life lately. Grab whatever is fast and easy.....and run with it!

Another year.....

2011-09-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

I wasn't going to post about my birthday this year.....but when you get an edible bouquet as pretty as this....you just have to share. Jared's family sent it to me. I love fruit anyway, but when you add chocolate, just too good to be true!

I thought these were chocolate covered marshmallows...but they were bananas.

Got some new shirts, lotions, chocolate truffles, gift card to Sizzler, quilt book, and cash!! Jon and Bekkah gave Gary and me a new dishwasher for our birthdays. Guess I can't complain about getting a year older with fun gifts like this (yes I consider a new dishwasher fun!!)

Now on the subject of wrinkles and aging. One of our older black chickens is laying some funky looking eggs. They are really thick shelled and WRINKLED. We researched it on Google and it happens sometimes in older chickens when they are nearing the end of their laying. Looks like a fake egg, huh?

Five Days In A Row......

2011-08-27T21:51:00.000-06:00

Of delicious bacon tomato sandwiches......and I'm not sick of them. Not one bit. This is the best part of summer. Garden fresh tomatoes. I love the precooked bacon from Macey's. It's so easy to warm it up to make a quick sandwich.

I'm wishing we were in Las Vegas this weekend with the rest of my family. My sister and her family live down there. My nephew, Eric, got married today. We planned on going but ended up not being able to. Gary and I took 3 days off work to go. It's been nice being off...but I haven't accomplished much. Just nice to have some down time to relax a little.

Pumpkin Cookies.....mmmmmm

2011-08-26T19:25:00.001-06:00

I love pumpkin cookies! Haven't made them for a few months. I had to give in and make some this afternoon. I was in need of some comfort from their soft, gooey goodness!

Had a little stress today. My paycheck which goes in direct deposit every 2 weeks never showed up in my account. I went to the credit union, called the main credit union office in Texas, called my work, called Texas again, called work, etc. The credit union said it was my employer's fault. My employer said it was the credit union's fault. Just kept getting the run-around with no real answer. So frustrating!!

I didn't know what to do next. Finally about 4:30 my work called and said they accidentally changed the routing on my direct deposit instead of someone else's account. They can take care of it next week and I should have my check by Wednesday. I'm mad that it will take that long to fix it. Really?? It's not like I work for fun...but a relief to know it will be fixed.

Here's a fun little project for a monthly calendar. I found many free printable blank calendars on line. Printed off a few. Trimmed the excess paper and glued on scrapbook paper. I bought some 8 x 10 frames at the dollar store. I think that the 8-1/2 x 11 frame would work better.

Put it in the frame and then use a dry erase marker to put the dates and events on the calendar. The glass wipes clean and is ready for next month.

I think a "To-Do" list would be fun too. I've been trying to get more organized and schedule my days better. It really helps to have things down in black and white.

Another reunion

2011-08-21T21:30:00.001-06:00

This weekend was the Orme Family Reunion again. Gary, Jaycee, and I just went down for the day yesterday. It was good to see all the aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, again. They always have the best crafts. This year we spray painted shirts. Some of the teens were cutting out stencil patterns.....so talented! This was the Halloween shirt that several of them made. Then they were making EVERYTHING out of duck tape. Wallets, bracelets, masks, slippers, etc. (Thanks Jenn and Michelle!)

I wish we would have taken our tent and camped down there, but both Gary and I had to work today at 6 a.m. Bad excuse...we should have gotten it off. I even forgot to tell my kids about it. I'm losing my mind....or just in denial that this summer is almost over. It really makes me sad to see it end.

Number of times camping -- big 0.

Number of times 4-wheeling -- 3.

Number of times we left Utah County -- 2.

Lame-o for sure!!

I'm getting nervous because we need to get our salsa canned and the hot pickles made. We've been out of salsa for months and are down to about 10 bottles of pickles.

I just don't know how to do it all. I started a 2nd part-time job last week so that means 64 hours of work a week. How to fit in some quilting therapy and all the other stuff I have to do. I think I must be crazy to try it....but we need the extra income for about 8 months or so. Hoping by next spring I can kiss the second job goodbye...before my hands wear out from all the typing.

Catching up.......

2011-08-15T12:38:00.007-06:00

Life has been crazy....and it will probably get worse. I had a little meltdown last night. Just feeling overwhelmed with life. I'm better this morning. I had a couple of free hours so I gathered up some quilt magazines (or quilter's porn as my husband calls them) and spent some time catching up on new trends in the quilting world. I found a few projects to put on my wish list.

Jared came by last week one night after work to put the crown up in my sewing room. Here's the before picture and the after pics. I love how it looks! Thanks Jared and Jon!

This really is my favorite room in the house....truly a bit of heaven to spend some time in here.

And now....here's a helpful hint. We had a mouse last year and put down these sticky traps to help catch it. We caught the mouse in a trap, but left these sticky traps in the downstairs rooms. I noticed that they catch SPIDERS...yes kills those icky pests. So if you're a spider hater you might want to try them. I just put some new ones down in my office and sewing room.

P.S. If you have dogs or little ones, be sure to put the sticky traps where they can't get to them. Max had one stuck on his paw last year. Took a lot of pulling and cutting fur to get it off!

Jayda Bug's Birthday

2011-08-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

Another birthday! We seem to have more and more as the family keeps growing. This is Miss Jayda who turned 4. She's a real princess...anything pink, frilly, bracelets, Barbie! Jared and Lara Leigh had a family BBQ. It was a fun night.

I was entertained by watching the kids with the cat. She helped herself to a little Kool-Aid while Jack watched.

The girls kept feeding her chocolate mint ice cream. She kept eating and eating. All I could think is hope she doesn't throw that up later in the house.....Yikes. Oh well...not my cat!

This has been a busy week....and month for that matter. Only 12 or so days until Jaycee goes back to school. I still need to take her school shopping. I'm hoping she'll still wear some of her clothes from last year. How did I do it when all 5 kids were at home? ~~Maybe I was younger and had more energy?~~ I think it will be good to have some "order" to the day again and that she'll start going to bed earlier.

The Last Supper....Maybe

2011-08-05T23:42:00.002-06:00

This was dinner Wednesday night. I tried to BBQ chicken for dinner. Got kinda crispy black. It wasn't too dry if you soaked up some BBQ sauce first. I really tried to put some thought into it. I stood at the pantry for a whole minute trying to decide which two cans of vegetables to open to go with the chicken. I called it the last supper because it was Gary's last week of working nights...Yay! I'm sure I'll still cook, but not as much.

This is Nann's quilt. It's off the frames and in her hands now....ready for her to bind.

There are 5 different blocks and I did each of them different. I think the pattern she used made 3 different quilts. She added in a few more blocks and make it one big quilt.

It really was a fun one to quilt. I had it on the frames a couple of weeks and did a little here and there when I had time.

She used 4 different fabrics for the back. I love how the design looks on this fabric. It really was a lot of quilting...whew! Glad to have it done.

Keeping our COOL.....

2011-08-02T20:20:00.002-06:00

This is how the ducks keep cool on these hot summer days. They are so cute to watch, just like kids.

The chickens hold their wings out from their bodies and pant. They also dig a hole in the dirt and sprawl out like they're dead. Scared me the first time I saw it. It also cleans their feathers to dig around in the dirt. I prefer my tub/shower..ha ha!

And this is how I keep my cool. The swamp cooler makes it soooo humid...okay not as humid as the southern states...but for Utah being a supposed desert state it's humid here lately. We have 5 window units this year. One in every bedroom and one in my office and sewing room. At night we just turn off the swamp cooler and use these in the bedrooms. It 's pure heaven to sleep cold in the summer heat! Why didn't we think of this last year?? Mr. Mailman you can lose our utility bill this summer. Don't really want to see what it costs to run all these coolers.

The chickens are producing 6-12 eggs every day. Some of them are still small, but the new chickens are getting the hang of egg production. We've had chickens for 2 years and this summer is the first time I've seen eggs being laid. Kinda fun. I have to warn you...don't come to my house unless you want to leave with a carton of eggs. I really don't know why we thought we had to have so many chickens.

Future bacon tomato sandwich. Yum! One of our tomato plants is doing great..the other one not so good. I thought they would cross-pollinate with each other but only one has tomatoes and the other one just flowers...lots of pretty yellow flowers.

And this is what I'm working on. I'm hoping to get it off the frames tonight. It's my sister's quilt. Love the colors Nann used.

It's Papa's Day!

2011-07-30T17:41:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Papa! He's the man here at our house. The grandkids come to see him...serioulsy.....he's the favorite. I've tried to steal them away...but they still prefer Papa. He's so good with the kids. Jayda and Jack love to go out back and gather the eggs with him. That's the first thing they want to do when they come over.

Katelynn tried to wear his shoes. It was so funny to watch her trying to walk in them. It's been hard having Papa gone in the afternoon and evenings. He just got a new job where he works. It's a different "family" and best of all it's DAYS. We are so happy. He'll be home by 3 in the afternoon (~~and can help cook dinner)~~. Yay!

Gary has always loved doing things outdoors. He grew up with horses and used to ride them bareback in the summers. We've had a few horses over the years, but now he's traded those for 4-wheeling. He's so handsome when he puts on his hat and revs up the wheeler. We've been on some fun rides the last few years....to the top of the world! Ha ha....at least it feels that way sometimes.

This is his camo wheeler. I think we need to come up with a name for it.

I named my wheeler Ginger since she's a red head. We traded my Explorer in for Gary's truck a few months ago. We've really enjoyed it. So nice to hook up the trailer and get out for a ride.

Gary loves Levi 501 jeans and blue plaid shirts with button down collars. We tease him about all the blue shirts in his closet. Beef jerky, pepperoni, mashed potatoes, chicken, and Pepsi are some of his favorite foods. He loves spending time with his family.

I'll probably think of more things to say about him after I post this. The most important thing is that I love him tons and I'm so glad to have such a great guy.

Dog Days of Summer

2011-07-29T22:29:00.002-06:00

What are "Dog Days of Summer"??

The hot, humid, unbearable summer days.

I think I'm experiencing it to the fullest this week. Not only the heat, but also lack of energy, motivation, and drive. I'm tired of work. Tired of laundry, dishes, and cleaning house. Tired of sewing/quilting. Finding no joy in life. I think I must need a vacation. But since that won't be happening anytime soon.....I'm not sure what to do to get me out of this funk. I feel like sleeping all day....just like my dogs do. In fact I took a 3-hour nap this afternoon.

In addition to the heat making me miserable, I have RLS (restless legs syndrome) really bad. The last few nights have been HORRIBLE. I haven't slept good at all. I've had to get up and walk in the kitchen and front room. It usually gets better in the early morning hours....but today I've been awake since 4 a.m. with jumpy, crawly legs. Can't hold them still and it feels like electric shocks. I paced the kitchen floor. I tried working, but just couldn't sit still in my chair. I shook my legs. Walked up and down the stairs. Pounded on my legs with my fists. I know...sounds crazy but I'll try anything to get my legs to settle down. It's not fun....not at all. They finally settled down around 9 a.m. so I could work. I felt like I was in a fog all day. The nap just made me feel more tired. I'm hoping I can sleep tonight. If not....you can bet I'll be growling like a dog tomorrow. Barking and biting off heads. True dog days of summer!

Paper Doll Quilt Revisited

2011-07-26T22:20:00.001-06:00

Since I still get e-mails and questions about the Paper Doll Quilt, (and I never posted more info about the template...oops) thought I'd just post a few more hints/directions for making it. The template was my mom's great idea. By cutting the corners you can cut out more dolls from your fabric and use the extra dolls that aren't big enough for the template to make cut out paper dolls (more on that tomorrow). I'll scan the paper pattern for making the template and put it in tomorrow's post.

I trace the template on all the dolls that I can get out of a yard or so of fabric. Then I cut them out with scissors or carefully with a rotary cutter. Save the dolls that are left for tomorrow.

I think I get about 15-16 out of a yard of fabric.

Then cut 4 x 4-1/2 squares from your corner fabric. Cut diagonally through the squares.

Place on opposite corners and sew with a 1/4 inch seam. The short side of triangle should be on top and bottom of doll and the long side on the side (see photo). Then do the other two corners.

Press block with seams away from doll and towards corner piece. Trim block to 10 x 6 inches.

Here's a tip for making your template. You can buy template plastic at the fabric store or use a plastic binder from the office supply store.

A Couple Family Pictures

2011-07-26T21:17:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures we took last week at BrookLynn's party. I think they turned out pretty good...especially since we didn't plan on having our pictures taken that night. The above picture from left to right: Jaycee, Jon, Me, Jared, Gary, Darren, Jodi, and Jamie.

We were missing 2 people. Hopefully next time we can get everyone. I think we are a great looking bunch! I still have to pinch myself every time I look at these and see ALL of my kids and grandkids!! Just have to say...NEVER give up hope.

Brookie's Birthday

2011-07-23T22:24:00.001-06:00

This little girl turned 2 last Sunday. It made me think back to when she was born. Thankfully she was a little fighter back then. She has the sweetest personality. She loves to dance with her daddy and play with her brother and sister. She's her mommy's little princess!

Blowing out the candle. It wouldn't stay lit because there was a little breeze. Oh well.

Opening presents.

Jaycee and Jayda!

I've got some other family pictures to post, but I'm waiting for Jared to send me his. I'm hoping they turned out better than mine.

Can't believe that this month is almost over. Seems like we waited and waited for warm weather and now it's almost time for school to start again. We still haven't been camping. Trying to come up with a time to go has been hard for some reason. And then there's all the animals. Who would feed and water them?? Ugg!!

Shaved Ice Queen

2011-07-16T22:38:00.001-06:00

We had a little family yard sale today. Eden set up her shaved ice table. She was so cute! She made about $8 and was so excited. They tasted good and helped us get through the hot day.

Here she is...taste testing the flavors.

Jack lost his pants. Again. He's so tall and thin that most of his pants won't stay up. Oh...to have that problem myself. Well not the losing your pants part. I'd take the tall and thin anyday :)

Katelynn and Jack found some drinks. Thank goodness they were almost empty so they didn't get too much sugar or caffeine.

Jack had a blast diving through the piles of clothes. He didn't care if people were looking at them. He just dove in and plowed through the clothes. Maybe he did get too much caffeine.

This little lady found Aunt Bekkah's hot pink high heels. She wanted to buy them. Just had to try them on first. She was determined to make them work. It was funny to watch her waking in them. She's definitely all girl. She loves purses too. She tries to put every purse she sees on her arm and then walk....even if the purse is bigger than she is.

Katelynn took Jack's hand and tried to figure out how to hold hands with him. Being the the gentleman that he is, he held hands with her and walked her around for awhile. These 2 cousins get along like brother and sister. They even fight like brother and sister. I hope they go to the same school someday like my kids did with their cousins.

Our yard sale went really good. It was well worth our time and we got some closets and the storage room looking less cluttered. I'm always amazed at what people will buy. Junk that we almost throw out instead of taking it to the yard sale. Crazy! I'm worn out tonight. Makes me thankful my job isn't out in the sun every day.

Phase of the moon.....

2011-07-14T23:56:00.002-06:00

I remember one of our first trips to Arkansas to visit Gary's family. We were at the little wooden church next to his Grandma's house. There were a few ladies from town there talking about a friend who left her husband. One lady said (in her cute Southern accent) "She packed up her sheep and left. Must be the phase of the moon." I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard. It's been a joke at our house ever since. When you're having a bad day it's because of the darn phase of the moon

Well, I had a bad day this week. I had a disagreement with my teenager. We exchanged words, I was hot and tired....and just turned into a crabby, cupboard door slamming mom. I got the dishes done in record time and only broke 1 dish. Then I bathed Max. I left the wet towels in the middle of the bathroom floor. I didn't scrub the tub when I was done either. Not my bathroom. It belongs to the teenager who made me mad. I took Max outside and gave him a doggie haircut. I was so worked up I just kept clipping and shaving. Ooops, kind of a short haircut.

I'm a little ashamed of myself when I think about it now. I blame it on the phase of the moon.

By the way, I did pick up the wet towels....but I couldn't bring myself to scrub the tub. I have to have a little revenge, right?

Dragonflies and Butterflies

2011-07-10T16:22:00.003-06:00

We went up SF Canyon/Thistle for a ride early Saturday morning. There were so many butterflies...beautiful colors. Every time I would stop to try and get a picture they would fly off or end up not in the picture. It was fun to see them fluttering around. We also saw these bright blue dragonflies. Got lucky and captured a picture of this one when it landed. There were lots of bugs flying around and hitting our faces. I forgot the #1 rule of riding and left my mouth open. I caught a BIG, FUZZY bug in my mouth. Gross! I spit that out in a hurry.

the colors were pretty...as usual. It had rained pretty hard either that morning or the night before and there were lots of muddy puddles. Gary said I'm just like a kid playing in them. I just love riding through them and getting splashed on.

This the drop off at the reservoir. I walked down and looked off the edge once. That was enough. I'm scared of heights...so not something I want to do again.

Gary went down and took this picture for me. This is the pipe that sticks out and then the valley below. He kept getting close to the edge when he was taking the picture. Made me so nervous. I think the end of the pipe looks like a little man sitting there.

We went with Gary's parents. Here's his dad. They got a side by side this year and have been going on lots of rides. They have some friends who ride with them. I'm glad we finally got a chance to go out with them. The ride up to Smith Reservoir was really rough, rocky, and muddy. Their machine did awesome. Thank goodness for 4-wheel drive. We all had to use it to get up and back.

Here they are coming back across the river. Gary and I took their machine for a quick ride up the road and back. It's a nice ride. I think its great the they have a new hobby to enjoy...especially since it's one we can do with them.

Gary and I had plans to go to Las Vegas this weekend for my aunt and uncles 50th wedding anniversary. We ended up not being able to go at the last minute so I was feeling bad. I really wanted to go and visit with all my relatives. Getting out for a ride made it a little better. I'm sure it was a lot cooler than the Vegas heat would have been.

Americana Quilt

2011-07-08T22:55:00.003-06:00

My sister, Tracy, made a quilt like this a couple of years ago. I have a picture of it on my sidebar. I loved it so much that she surprised me with one just like it. She got it made before the 4th, but I'm a little slow in getting it quilted. I'm working on the binding tonight so I can get it hung up to enjoy the rest of the month.

We really do celebrate the whole month of July here in Utah with the 24th being our state holiday. And I love Americana anyway. This line of fabric was a favorite of mine from the moment I saw it.

Thanks so much, Tracy! I'm so excited with it.

Dear Max

2011-07-07T14:36:00.002-06:00

Why do you have to leave a puddle of pee in the basement for me to step in? At least it was in the storage room on the concrete floor....but sadly you leave these puddles upstairs sometimes too. If we don't lock the kitchen cupboard you get the garbage can out. What a mess you and Molly make all over the kitchen and front room. It's a good thing that I love you right down to your doggie breath or I would put you in the want ads in the "Naughty but lovable dog" section. You really should have been a girl. You are too pretty for a boy dog, especially right after you get groomed. You are soooo needy. You have to be held and cuddled. Your seizures scare us. That's one time we don't mind holding you until you feel better. You lick your paws clean every night. If you get interrupted during your licking ritual you have to start all over. I don't know how you have any fur left. You are annoying when someone comes to the door. Do you really have to do your yappy bark over and over. Some days I just want to tape your mouth shut. I realize you are just being a good guard dog. Until you hide behind my legs.

Molly is such a good dog. She doesn't have Max's bad habits....except for the barking when someone comes to the door....and getting into the kitchen garbage......and passing gas. She's the most lovable dog ever. She's a more mellow dog than Max. She waits at the top of the stairs every night until everyone is home. She's the mommy dog watching over us. During the summer she lays right under the cooler. I think she has doggie hot flashes. She is starting to have a hard time jumping and walking now. Please don't get any older. I don't know what the house would be like without you. I know I complain about the dogs some days. Then I watch Marley and Me and realize that Molly and Max are part of the family. They are connected to us and the events of our lives this past 7-8 years. They helped raise our kids and now the grandkids. I don't know what my office would be like without Max on his pillow snoring (LOUD) while I work...or without Molly napping under my feet with her head on the legs of my rolling chair.

Oh....the love of animals. It has been a hard day at our house. Comet, our friendly little chicken, got over the fence to the neighbors yard today. Their dogs got her and now she is in heaven. The neighbor girl felt so bad and was crying when she came to tell us. We don't blame their dogs. It's just natural instincts and a curious chicken who wouldn't stay on her side of the fence. It's hard to think of going in the backyard and not seeing Comet hop the fence and come up to us to be held. Some days I hate having a soft spot in my heart for animals. Got my box of Kleenex.

An AWESOME weekend!!

2011-07-05T22:56:00.003-06:00

We went on a ride...my absolute favorite ride to my favorite place. We haven't been here for a couple of years so it really made my weekend!

Up Hobble Creek Canyon in Springville, left hand fork, and the trail that goes to Squaw Peak in Provo Canyon. We only go about 10 or so miles up the trail, stop for a break and lunch, then turn around and come back down. One of these days we'll make a day of it and go all the way to Squaw Peak and back.

I LOVE the views. Breathtaking. Just beautiful.

Here's a picture showing part of the road we follow. It's a rougher ride, but so worth the aches and pains for the next few days.

There are some parts of the road that are really rocky and throw your machine around a bit. Not so bad except that there's a drop off on the side of the road. It scares me every time going up...really takes my breath away and gets my heart going. Coming down it doesn't bother me as much for some reason.

We found some snow!

This is a view from where we stop for lunch. I put this in because those erosion control lines are a reminder of my grandpa. He told me once how he was in the CCC in his younger years and they camped on the mountain and dug with their shovels to make the benches on the mountains to control run off. I didn't know my Grandpa until after I graduated from high school. He didn't raise my mom and we didn't know him growing up. I still remember when he walked into our house that fall day. It made my mom happy to get to know him and spend time together the rest of his life. I tell this reunion story for a reason. I had my own special reunion Saturday.

It's one I had almost given up on happening. I've hesitated putting this on my blog because I'm a quiet person...don't usually share something so personal. But I'm done hiding it....there's just no more shame. I had a baby when I was 17 who I put up for adoption. I never, ever forgot about him. I've always thought about him, where he was, what he was like, and did he ever wonder about me. I've been searching for about 10 years for him. I finally found him a few months ago. I was shocked and happy and cried. I couldn't believe it was real. We've written back and forth and talked on the phone. He came down Saturday afternoon with his 14-year-old son to meet my family. I really thought I would fall apart and cry again....but I was just so happy to finally meet him. It was surreal....I just can't put into words how good it felt. It was fun watching him interact with my 5 kids....to see all 6 of my kids together. I still have that picture in my head of him as a baby when I held him in my arms 35 years ago. I have to say what a handsome man he is!! He's quiet like me. I think we have the same eyes. I didn't take pictures....wish I would have. Next time we get together I'll have to get some pictures.

The only bad thing was it was a HOT day and we have a swamp cooler. Oh....for central air someday. This is Papa swinging with his girls.

The girls have such red cheeks! Hot summer for sure.

Well...that's my amazing, awesome weekend.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T00:18:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy weekend. I kept trying to get a minute to post about it....and now I'm too tired to do more than a quick one. I worked until 9:30 tonight and then Jaycee and I sat out on the porch in the swing enjoying the neighborhood fireworks. I figure why should I buy fireworks when I can watch theirs for free....ha ha! They always buy the illegal ones from Wyoming so its a good show.

This is what happens when you give a 1-year-old chocolate milk and then get busy talking. We laughed so hard....crazy little girl.

Saturday we had a birthday boy turn 2. Happy Birthday Jack! He wasn't sure what to do with the candle on his cake or if he liked us singing to him. I can't believe he's 2 already. He's such a cute little man with his Mohawk haircut.

He got lots of toys and clothes. He was cute and had to try on his clothes. He got a bubble lawn mower and really "mowed" the floor good.

June in Review

2011-06-30T22:36:00.001-06:00

I can't believe the month is almost over. I think it was a really an uneventful month for the most part....which is not a bad thing. A few highlights and what I've learned this month:

My niece's wedding and visiting with family. We even had the opportunity to take a picture of my parents and all 8 siblings. Not sure how it turned out yet...but I'm sure we are still a good-looking group!
We've only been on 2 rides on the 4-wheelers. Got to get more riding in this summer!
School is out. Jaycee goes back as a Junior in high school in the fall. Yay for only 2 years left in the public school system.
Sleepovers still make teenagers grumpy the next day.
A pedicure is pure heaven!
A well planned day never goes as planned...not even close most of the time.
Snakes in the grass still startle me....but they make Gary jump and swear!
The mouse in the chicken coop can eat all the chicken food it wants as long as it stays out of my house.
Max and Molly still hate fireworks. Neighbors have been lighting them every night for the last few nights. Nothing like having to peel a dog off you every couple of minutes.
A cool shower and clean sheets are the best way to end a summer day.
Things happen for a reason.

Last night Jaycee and I decided to walk to the gas station to get a snack. We headed out and got as far as the next door neighbor's house and it started raining. We turned around and went back home. When we got to the front door it quit...so we headed off again.

Half way there it started raining with lightening and thunder. We kept going. It was fun...laughing and walking in the rain in our flip flops.

Duck, duck, chicken? This is Comet with the ducks. She keeps hopping the fence and going in the duck cage to eat their food. I don't think the ducks like her. They chase her but don't bite her. We keep putting Comet back on her side of the fence, but it doesn't last long. She is really the sweetest, friendliest chicken we've ever had. She's the only one of our new chickens laying eggs...and this morning laid a normal sized egg. Whenever we go outside she hops the fence and runs up to us to say "hi". She loves to be picked up and talked to. Gary said if we let her in the house she'd hop right into bed with us. I'm sure he's right....but I'm not about to find out.

Patriotic Wreath and Porch

2011-06-26T22:59:00.001-06:00

I decided to make a wreath for the front door. Thought it would be a fast, easy craft. I bought this wreath from the dollar store and wrapped it with strips of white fabric. It took about 7 sheets each of red, white, and blue felt. I made lots and lots of flowers from this post. Good luck on finding those colors now that the 4th is getting close.

I made enough larger flowers to go around the wreath on the main surface. Then I made smaller ones to go on the outside and inside of that row. I wanted to to arrange them randomly, but it drives me nuts to not have them in some order....had to do it in red, white, and blue. It took a few days to get enough flowers made, but I worked all weekend so had to do it around work. I always think how much quilting and crafting I could get done if I didn't have to work....sigh!

Gary got the porch all festive looking! He got the fountain cleaned up and working and then put potted plants around it. I love the 4th of July!!

Snap Bags

2011-06-24T23:05:00.001-06:00

I made these snap bags a month or so ago. The pattern is from Stitchin' Sisters called Snap Happy bags. I ordered it on line. You use metal tape measure pieces in the top band. I bought a construction tape measure at Home Depot for $3.00. I'm sure it will make tons of bags. It's a great way to use up some scraps.

You just pull on the tabs on both sides and it pops open! Then it snaps shut. What a great idea. I love these cute little bags!

I switched to a new purse and it doesn't have as many pockets or zippered compartments as my last purse. Everything has been getting lost. I decided to use a couple of these snap bags for my keys and other items.

Finally....I have to say that I kept telling myself if we could just have some warm, sunny days that I wouldn't complain about the heat. Days where I didn't have to wear my hoodie and fuzzy socks to keep warm. Yup. I lied. I'm really not enjoying the heat now. It just drains me. By the end of the day I'm worn out. I'm thinking cold, snowy thoughts to keep my cool......

Cristin's Wedding

2011-06-19T20:58:00.005-06:00

My niece got married yesterday. The reception was beautiful. Her colors were yellow and gray. I took my camera but I was so busy visiting I didn't get a picture of the bride and groom. I did take a picture of a picture. I have to say that they are such a cute couple. We really like her new husband, Brennen. We're so glad to have him join our family.

My mom made this beautiful quilt for them. She machine pieces and then hand quilts one for each grandchild and then does a tied quilt also. Something for them to always treasure.

BrookLynn looked so grown up. I can't believe she turns 2 in a few weeks. She was having fun dancing to the music. She got so jealous when Papa was holding Katelynn. He had to hold her too. It was so cute. I think Papa was tickled!

My sister, Dena, and her family came up from Las Vegas for the wedding. It was sooo good to see all of them. This is my niece's (Sandy) daughter, Parker, and Katelynn (my Jodi's daughter). Guess that makes them second cousins. We decided that they look a lot alike. Such beautiful girls. It seems like yesterday that our kids were this age. Can't believe that we are the grandma's now.

There was dancing at the end of the reception. Brandon was so cute dancing with his cousin. My camera wasn't cooperating....Argg! Every picture of took of them dancing it was blurry. You can tell that he's used to helping out with his sisters and is good with kids. Just don't tease him about girlfriends. I got "the look" when I did.

This is my oldest, Jared, and my youngest, Jaycee. She wanted her picture taken with her cotton candy. Of course her brother couldn't resist sneaking in behind her. She laughed so hard when I showed her the picture.

This is going to be a busy summer with family weddings, 50th anniversary celebrations, and reunions.

Heading into a Wonderful Weekend

2011-06-18T13:48:00.001-06:00

The weather has been PERFECT the last week. Not too hot or too cold. Can it just stay this way all year round?? Actually I could take a little rain every afternoon with this weather. Then it would be perfect for sure. Mmmmm.....the smell of summer rain!

Egg-citing news today! We got our first pullet egg from our new batch of chickens. Gary saw one of the Golden Comets go in the nesting boxes this morning. He thought she was just practicing. When he went out a couple hours later he found the smallest egg we've ever seen. It's just so darn cute!! We've all been holding it and comparing it to full size eggs. I hope they stay this dark brown when the hen is full-grown.

I know.....doesn't take much to make us happy. Funny how the small pleasures in life add up and make it a great day. Enjoy your weekend!

Dressing Up a Shirt with Fabric FLowers

2011-06-14T23:18:00.003-06:00

I got this idea when I saw this tutorial on how to make a purse with old T-shirts and rolled flowers. I thought it would be a cute idea to try on a shirt. This striped knit caught my eye when I was searching through my stash.

I cut it in about 2-3 inch strips.

For fabric rolled flowers you want the cut or torn edge of the fabric to show to add dimension. For the knit I wanted the edges in and not showing as I rolled the fabric. I folded each side of the fabric into the middle and then tied knot in the end to start the flower.

Then you put a dab of hot glue on the knot and twist the fabric then place on the glue. Keep putting a line of hot glue and then twist your fabric and lay it on the glue. You want to remember to twist your fabric in the same direction each time. I don't twist the fabric too tight or too loose. Just play around with your twisting and see what you like for your flowers.

The knot makes a nice little handle to hold onto as you make your flower. Try to keep the flower as flat as possible as you make it. Also, be careful to put your glue lower on the flower so it doesn't show when you attach the rolled fabric.

When the flower is the size you want it, cut the fabric leaving a little tail that you fold and glue to the underside of the flower. Then glue the knot down to the underside of your flower.

I have this brown knit shirt that I wanted to dress up. Also, I wanted the flowers to help cover more skin....not a fan of low necklines. I made different sizes of flowers and laid them out on the shirt until I liked how it looked. Then I hot glued them on being careful not to get glue on the back of the shirt.

I'm hoping it washes okay. I'll wash in cold and hang it up to dry. Another option would be to use the Goop glue to glue the flowers to the shirt. Anyway....I really love how it turned out.

P.S. I watched The Voice while I made the flowers. So excited that Dia Frampton from St. George, Utah is advancing on. My next favorite is Vicci Martinez. I predict they will both be in the final round!

Dots, swirls, and flowers

2011-06-12T20:21:00.003-06:00

Well...I put my doodles to use and tried them out on some flannel. Not bad for a first try. It makes me wish for a longer arm machine. For now my Juki will do. Just have to do smaller sections at a time.

I was looking at one of the first quilts I quilted this morning when I made our bed. It's a cream and blue Irish chain. I thought I did such a good job on it, but now I laugh at it. Thankfully machine quilting is like most things in life....gets better with time and practice.

I can't stand using the stylettes and pantographs. I have a hard time following the lines and it drives me nuts. I did a baby quilt with one and I was sooooo glad when I took that one off the frames. Never tried again. I have to do it all freehand. I don't think I would like a computerized quilting machine either.

The weekend has gone by fast. I'm not sure that we did anything that fun or great. Did some much needed grocery shopping (which makes cleaning the fridge necessary...not my favorite job). Have to say the worst thing I did was help Gary clean the duck pond. It's not too hard just gross. It grows so much green junk that we have to clean it every week or so. We have our neighbor's horses in the back half of the yard today. Gary asked if we could borrow them on and off over the summer so he doesn't have to mow the field so much. (Also....it irritates our obnoxious back yard neighbor :-) ha ha). I remember all our big plans for the backyard when we moved here 16 years ago. Gazebo, grass, trees, cement pad for a BBQ with picnic tables, garden path leading up to an amazing garden...sigh! Just never got around to it. We've had horses on and off back there and now the chickens. A couple of years ago we had a great garden, but this year we gave up on planting with the wet spring. I think we'll just end up with grass back there someday. Just don't have the energy anymore to do the big plans. At least we have a good sized back yard with grass to enjoy and a fence separating it from the field. I love spending time out there under the apple trees in the evenings.

Tiered Dessert Tray

2011-06-11T00:04:00.001-06:00

This is a fun project I did a few months ago and finally got to use it for Katelynn's party last week. I saw a couple different tutorials on line. I didn't bookmark the sites to refer you to....but it's super easy so I can explain it.

You need a big glass serving tray, a smaller glass plate, and a glass candlestick holder or glass cup. I didn't have anything at home that would work so we took a trip to DI (local thrift store). I couldn't find a candlestick holder but this sugar shaker caught my eye.

The top plate is from a set of reception dishes...the kind they used to use back when I got married. I remember helping at wedding receptions and washing plates and cups for hours so they could keep serving refreshments. Thank goodness for cute disposable plates from Sams!! Wash them in your dishwasher. Toss the sugar shaker metal lid in the trash.

I used Goop glue. You can also use Gorilla Glue. Glue around the bottom of the sugar shaker and then put it on the large plate. Then glue around the top of the sugar shaker and attach the small plate. Let dry for 24 hours. I have to admit that the next morning I was anxious to shake it and make sure it stayed together. Amazing glue! I think it would be fun to make a few to use at weddings or parties.

I spent about $3 on this one. Hmmmm....maybe I need to make another trip to DI and see if I can find some colored glass plates or cool candlestick holders.

Easy Felt Flowers (and paper ones too)

2011-06-07T20:20:00.002-06:00

I've been making some headbands with these easy felt flowers. You can get quite a few flowers out of each sheet of felt from the craft store.....I think they run around 35 cents if I remember right. I had to be the model for this post since Jaycee wasn't home. I wish I could say it was an unusually spiky hair day but I'd be lying. I always have the spiky hairdo. Gotta have some attitude in life!

I'm sitting in the backyard enjoying this weather in my Adirondack chair (just don't ask me to pronounce it!) with my netbook and Diet Dew. I'm making sure the neighbors mean dogs don't jump the fence and eat the ducks....which they just decided look like dinner....so we haven't dared to let them roam the backyard like we used to. A small section of fence on that side of our backyard is only about 4 feet...so easily jumped by a determined dog. Taller fence is now on Gary's "To Do List." (Not going to mention how much these $6 ducks and $2 chickens have cost us!) Anyway, on the the tutorial.

I'm going to show you how to make paper flowers first since you can see the method better. You used double sided scrapbook paper. I started with about a 5 inch square and cut the circle out freehand. Don't trace a circle...believe me freehand is better.

Then cut a spiral to the middle. Don't go smaller as you go into the circle. The middle will be the outside of your flower. Leave a little circle in the middle. You will glue your flower to it.

Then on the outside edge cut scallops for your petals.

I inked the edges of this one. You don't have to....just adds some dimension.

Then start at the outside and roll to the middle on the inside of the circular cut you made. Remember that the side of the paper you want to show should be face up when you roll.

When it's all rolled up put a little hot glue on the little circle. Let the flower unwind a bit and then glue it down on the circle.

Ta-da!! Easy. The next part was hard for me to do...thought it would ruin my perfect flower. Turn it over so the petals are down and gently smash it with your fingers/hand.

I couldn't get the ink off my fingers.....and I need a manicure. Geez....everything shows up in pictures.

The finished product. Mashing the flowers really makes the flower look good....I promise!

The felt flowers are made in a similar fashion. You cut out your circle. I cut off the end of the felt before I start rolling. It makes a nice center to glue the bead in. For the felt flower you don't cut the scallops.

Start rolling. Be sure to roll on the inside cut. I put a little strip of glue and then roll. You don't want to pull the felt tight when rolling it...just a loose roll.

Then put the hot glue on your rolled flower and fold the circle over on the glue. If the circle is larger than your flower just trim with your scissors.

Easy flower!

Add a drop of glue in the center and add a bead. I buy $2 bracelets at a little store in the mall and then cut them apart and use the beads. I'm sure you can find them at the craft store too.

I buy headbands at the dollar store and cover them with ribbon using my glue gun. It makes the headband more durable. Then glue various shapes and colors of flowers on your headband. I put a little strip of matching felt on the back of the headband/flowers for more stability. You can glue a couple on an alligator clip too if headbands aren't your thing.

It's fun to play around with different colored beads and flowers.

I glued 2 pieces of felt together and made this flower. It was a little harder to roll but a fun look!

A little addicting.....so many sizes and colors!

The Birthday Girl!

2011-06-06T21:32:00.000-06:00

Katelynn turned 1 on June 1st. Jodi planned a fun party on June 4th. She had it at the park by our house. It was perfect weather. Jamie and Jodi decorated everything so cute.

This is her adorable tutu and zebra leg warmers. I had a hard time getting a good picture of her. She was having a little attitude problem. I think she was worn out with getting ready for the party, so by the time Jodi got her dressed she was a little unhappy. That all went away when she figured out that she was the center of attention and gifts were involved.

This is the cute cake her other grandma made. Her dad's trying to get a smile out of her.

Eden, Jayda, and BrookLynn playing in the park. I'm sure Jack would have been running around with them, but he was sick that night. He barfed on Jamie.....ewww! The joys of being a mom!

Eden waiting for the party to get started.

Jayda playing with the pop-apart dolls...her favorite toy at Grandmas.

Brookie eating a little dinner. She played so hard all night. She getting so big...almost 2 in a month.

I had to put in these first pictures of Katelynn. I was there for her birth, which was so exciting for me. I didn't see any of the other grandkids get born....didn't know how emotional it would be. I always thought the grandma should stay home until the babies got here. Well....if I'm invited for future grandbaby births I'll be there for sure...with my camera and box of Kleenex.

A worn out new mommy and baby!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-03T00:13:00.002-06:00

We really wanted to get out for a ride over the holiday weekend. We waited around most of the morning waiting for it to get warm enough. This is heading up Spanish Fork Canyon. We focused on that tiny bit of clear sky at the "V" in the mountains.

It was so cold when we were unloading the machines. So glad we put on our Long Johns, hoodies, and remembered our gloves.

It rained a little bit a few times on our way up the mountain. Didn't let it discourage us.

The river was so full of water. It overflowed in quite a few areas.

I think it will be another month or two before we can cross to go up to the reservoir. I've never seen the water this deep or fast at this crossing.

The road to the right fork was closed due to flooding. We were going to go around the sign to see what it looked liked....until Gary read the sign that there was a $10,000 fine for going past the sign. Not that interested!

Jonny and Bekkah.

We went up the left fork to Dairy Creek. We went all the way out to the highway. We crossed over to the gas station....which is closed now. Darn! I was hoping for a cup of hot chocolate. It was soooo cold. We came down the canyon so fast. The sky was dark and it was raining a little bit again. I had on 2 pair of gloves and my fingers were still frozen. They hurt so bad I wanted to cry. It just made me want to go faster to get to the truck and turn the heater on.

Freezing.......brrrr. I think we were crazy to go on such a long ride in the cold weather.

The river by the parking area was coming over onto the road. I really can't believe how much water we have this year.

Going down Spanish Fork Canyon it really started to rain. We timed it just right. Caught the window of time in the day that had the best weather for riding.

Orange Stars.....and all things must come to an end.

2011-05-24T20:35:00.000-06:00

I bought this kit a few months ago. It uses the Buggy Barn pattern for stars. I love the oranges, browns, and blues in the fabrics.

Not so crazy about the way I quilted it, but oh well. I did the pebble stitch and then a swirl down the points of the stars. I think the quilting takes away from the pattern in the fabric.

I used an orange Minkey on the back.

I've been doing lots of doodling for days. I'm trying to add some more freehand designs to my quilting. My quilting hero is Judi at Green Fairy Quilts. I absolutely love her quilting. I would love to be half as good as her. I drool over her gorgeous quilting. I'm hoping Judi publlishes a book on machine quilting some day. I'd love to learn her techniques.

Well......this doodling is my at sad attempt at trying to improve my skills.

I'm going to put on some flannel tonight and try my doodles with the machine. Crossing my fingers that it goes well. I'm gettin tired of doing the same designs on quilts.

And now to the end. We lost one of our chickens this week. For the last year and half this white chicken has given us an egg almost every day. She got sick. We searched the internet for clues and figured out that she was egg-bound. A remedy was to put on a glove and lube her vent with Vaseline in hopes that would help the egg slide out. Jaycee held her while I put on the glove and.....well it wasn't something I want to ever have to do again. (Who knew that you had to be a chicken gynecologist when you own chickens?) She was better the next day but still no egg. Then she got worse. Gary says she's happy in the big chicken coop in the sky.

Another "end" in our lives is the end of our home phone. We've had our phone number for almost 30 years. It was a unique number because the first 3 numbers were 373, which were a Provo prefix back in the day, and the last 4 digits were the first four letters of our last name. I was so sad to let it go....but we decided to go with just cell phones now. Besides telemarkers the phone rarely rang. Everyone called our cell phones or texted us. So, we got new cell phones (didn't like the quality of Cricket) and new numbers.

Making time for binding

2011-05-14T19:55:00.000-06:00

This is a flannel panel I bought. I added a blue border to it to make it bigger. I quilted it up fast, but it has been waiting for me to bind for a few weeks. I used to love to bind quilts while I watched TV. That was before I got my new cell phone. It has too many fun games and the internet. It's a real time sucker. I need to get in control of my life again. I ignore Gary....too busy winning at solitaire and Farkle. Completely absorbed in a game of Mahjong (Thanks Dad for getting me hooked on that one!). I stare at my little phone screen until my vision goes blurry. My goal this week is to put the phone down and go to my sewing room and sew a few quilt blocks or machine quilt. I'd love to have a fun post about quilting!

A Mother's Day Ride

2011-05-08T17:07:00.001-06:00

Gary took me on a ride Saturday. We've been waiting for a warm day to get out. Yup...it was a sunny day. Got a bad sunburn on my arms....so red and sore. I wanted to get a little sun, so thought I'd wait a bit to put sunscreen on. Then I was having so much fun I totally forgot about it.

It was a muddy, snowy ride. I love this kind of riding! It's a blast because it gets the adrenaline pumping through you. There were tons of trees down over the road. Most of them were partially removed so that you could go around them. Sometimes you had to go off the road and around the tree, which got a little scary for me in a couple of places. I don't mind going downhill if it's steep. But steep, slanted uphill is another thing. I got off 3 times and had Gary drive my machine up a part of the trail.

We stopped here and ate lunch on these logs.

We shared a sandwich and chips. Yum! I teased Gary that it was such a romantic Mother's Day lunch. Seriously....I can't think of a better way to celebrate. A day out with him.

The river is pretty high and muddy. Still lots of snow up higher to come down.

There were lots of places along the trail where the run off was still coming down the mountain to the river.

We drove over a lot of trees on the way. I wanted to stop and get pictures on the way down, but there were people coming behind us so I couldn't stop. It was fun to put it in 4-wheel and go over them. It smelled like Christmas.....pine branches popping and cracking.

Just Ducky.........

2011-05-03T22:02:00.002-06:00

These are the 2 newest additions to our home, Payton and Marley. I can't believe we've added more animals. I know we have the space for them, but it really takes a lot of work every day to keep them fed, watered, and cared for. I blame it on Jaycee. She really wanted 2 ducks and said she would take care of them. Every day after school she lets them swim and then walks them around the back yard until they are tired. They run after her.....funny waddling ducks!

The all black one is a Cayuga duck and the one on the right is a Mallard. We have no idea if the Cayuga is male or female yet. We think the Mallard is a female because her head isn't turning green head yet like the males do. In researching the ducks I tried to find out what her crazy hair-do is. In ducks they call this a crest. One site said a crested Mallard happens one in a million. Crazy!

These ducks would be lost without each other. The black one follows the Mallard everywhere. When they were tiny she couldn't move without the black one following her. Now I see why they tell you never to get only one duck.

The Squeeze

2011-04-24T23:45:00.000-06:00

Katelynn came to visit today. She likes to play on these bars in the front room. I usually go on the other side and she giggles as we poke each other through the bars. Today she decided that she would squeeze through the bars. She tried so hard to fit....just couldn't understand why the rest of her body wouldn't follow her legs and arms to the other side.

It made her really mad.

I opened the baby gate and she headed right down the stairs....with no fear at all.

And she got really mad at us again when we wouldn't let her go down the stairs on her own. I had to laugh at her temper.

Bought this egg coloring kit this year. The eggs on the box look cool. A little more fun that just plain colored eggs.

One problem. It's not as easy as they look on the box. The special glue and foil paper really didn't work.

After many tries I finally got some eggs to look okay.

Jaycee used super glue and that worked really good.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T23:02:00.007-06:00

We had the annual egg hunt at Grandpa and Grandma Orme's house. Aunt Nanna does this every year for all of the kids. She makes a basket for each child and then hides eggs in the yard for them to find.

Papa helping Jayda put eggs in her sack.

BrookLynn had fun finding eggs too.

Jack finding eggs. The younger kids are so fun to watch. They get so excited with one or two eggs that it takes them forever to get all the eggs gathered.

Jayda

Jack showing us his egg. He's a pro at egg hunting. Every time he comes to our house he wants to go out to the chicken coop with Papa and find eggs.

Jodi and Katelynn looking pretty in pink.....

Someone didn't like the grass on her bare feet. She was trying so hard to hold her piggies up.

Brandon and Kyle were quick at gathering their eggs. Nann had enough eggs for 35 each. I think it took them less than a minute to get that many.

Brandon and his bag of eggs. I can't believe how old (and handsome) he is getting. Oh....they grow up too fast.

Eden had a new Easter dress. She had the cutest shoes that matched....which she took off before I could get a picture of them. This girl would go everywhere barefoot if she could.

Another fun year. We had egg salad sandwiches, veggies, and dip after the hunt. Fun day...and the weather was warm this morning. It's cold tonight....so cold that you can see your breath outside.

Thanks Nann

Brown and green quilt

2011-04-20T17:27:00.002-06:00

I really haven't been very productive in the quilting area lately. This is my friend's quilt that I quilted for her. It was on the frames for a good two weeks. It took a lot of quilting to get this one done, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

She made quilts, bumper pads, sheets, etc. for her two grandsons and a nephew. She used the leftover fabrics to make this queen size quilt and another one that I quilted last month. I think the back looks cool.

I made a makeup bag with the fabric flowers from my last post. I messed up on the bottom of the bag and make the corners too deep. Oh well, I still like it. The zipper wasn't as hard as I thought it would be....Whew!

I really wish I could find the time and motivation to get things done. Seems like all I can manage lately is work and the basic household chores. I had the day off today so I quilted a couple of small quilts. Still have a few to get done for other people. It felt good to make a tiny dent in the to do list.

My new favorite fabric flower

2011-03-30T21:14:00.000-06:00

I saw these on a pillow tutorial here. I can't wait to make the pillow, so cute. I tried making a few flowers first. It's a real easy method.

I made this headband with a couple of flowers. Next time I want to try making smaller flowers. There are so many fun projects you could do with these. Love them!

Computer Crack

2011-03-30T13:13:00.003-06:00

I absolutely LOVE my netbook. The screen went black a couple of weeks ago. No problem, under warranty. Just had to call Dell computer support to get it fixed. Two calls. Hung up frustrated twice. It's not that I couldn't understand them. I do medical transcription and type many foreign dictators from India, so I'm used to their accent. Getting them to understand me; however, is the problem. Well, it all finally worked out and last week a technician came to my house and put in a new LCD screen. Everything was wonderful for 2 days until I noticed a bulge in the black plastic that holds the screen in and a 2 inch crack along the top. There's a wire or something in the way so it won't push back together. If I was smarter and braver I would undo the screws and try to fix it....but why should I. It was fine before they fixed it so they need to come back and make it right.

I e-mailed Dell this time, hoping that would work better. No response. Got up this morning and it's a bright, sunny day. I'm happy. Good mood. I'll try calling Dell.

Hello India. Yes my device number is "F" as in Frank, "V" as in Rictor (Can't say their V's very good). Then onto my name "C" as in Sally. Not looking good. I explain the problem. He can't understand. He asks me to speak louder and slower. Do you know what happens when you do that? I usually don't talk that way unless I'm really, really mad. Heart starts beating faster, cheeks going red, head about to explode. No, I don't want to troubleshoot. I don't need to turn it on. It works fine, just has a crack/gap in the frame the holds the LCD screen in. It won't snap back together. "Please explain to me in another way." Sigh. I try different words. No good. Yes, you can put me on hold for 5 minutes. I will spend that time breathing in and out very slowly. Relax. He comes back on and I re-explain. He still can't understand. I ask if I can talk to another person. "Don't worry Ma'am. I will solve your problem." What? You are my problem. "Is this March 30, 2011?" Well yes, but what does that have to do with my computer??? Telling myself to breathe. Never mind India. Hang up.

So Dell, I'd like to know how sending computer support to India saves you money. It takes longer to get issues resolved. What should have been a 5 minute phone call took 25 minutes, and then it still was not resolved, which means another phone call...or more. Wait! I think I've figured it out. It really does save money because people get frustrated and give up....like me. Maybe I can fix the gap with some black electrical tape and ignore the bulge on the front of the screen. I'm thinking iPad next time.

Off to enjoy the rest of this sunny day. Hoping to spend some time in the calm, purple sewing room.

Peek-A-Boo Block

2011-03-21T12:24:00.001-06:00

I'm sure there's another name for this block, but I call it the Peek-A-Boo block. For this one I cut 4-1/2 squares of the background and the main blocks. I used scraps from my scrap bag. I'm also making one with 6" blocks from a bundle of fat quarters. I'll post more on that one later this week. You draw diagonal lines from corner to corner with a pencil.

Or you can iron creases from corner to corner if you prefer. I like the lines better.

Cut about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in each direction in the center of the block.

I prefer to use a rotary cutter. It goes much faster...but either way is good.

You should have a little peek-a-boo hole like this.

Then put the two pieces together with right sides together.

Sew all the way around the block 1/4 inch from the edge. TIP: when you get to the drawn line you know to leave the needle down and turn your block.

Then use your scissors to carefully cut the rest of the way on all four lines to the corners.

Press with your iron.

Sew together in rows. I clip the dog ears from the seams after they are sewn.

Another option is to switch your colored blocks with the solid white or cream blocks. I love the look of this one with the different colors in the corners. It would be a great signature quilt too.

You can make them any size. I just decided how my rows length and width I wanted to do and cut equal amounts of block from my main fabric and my corner fabrics. It's such a good way to use up scraps. I'm going to try one with 3 inch blocks next to use up some of my smaller scraps. I think it would be fun to try one with a black fabric instead of white for the corner fabric. So many possibilities!!

Need some sunshine.....

2011-03-13T18:53:00.001-06:00

I've been feeling down lately....really down. I feel like blogs are supposed to be a happy, uplifting place so I really hate to post something negative. But life isn't always happy. Sometimes it's so hard you feel like you are stuck in quicksand....can hardly get through the day. It feels like your smile doesn't go past your lips... doesn't spread to your eyes and make them twinkle.

I decided it was time to make a bright, happy quilt. I used a bundle of fat quarters that remind me of spring flowers. I found an easy pattern from "Time Out Quilts" by Terry Atkinson.

I"m ready to put it on to quilt. I put all my other projects on hold until I get this quilt done. It's my therapy quilt.

My netbook has been acting up today. The screen goes blank. I think there's a short in it. So frustrating. Jonny did a few things and got it working again...bit it still flickers and goes blank. He's going to tear into it one day this this week and see if he can figure it out. His friend has a shop where he can go use his tools and hopefully get it going as good as new. I'm lost without it.

We've had the chicks for 3 weeks now. I can't believe how much they've grown. We had to move them up to the bigger cage, and soon we will move them out to the garage. I call this the teenage years. They are gawky and awkward. Spreading their wings and taking little flights in the cage.

They take a lot of work to keep the water dish and the feeder clean and full. It's getting better...now only about 4-5 times a day instead of 9-10 times. I think we are crazy. We feed the dogs twice a day, the chickens twice a day, the chicks 4-5 times a day, and the people 2-3 times a day. Gary and I like to joke with each other. At the end of the day we say "everything that poops is fed."

Purple People Feeder

2011-03-02T21:59:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun, easy idea for you. IFA or Cal Ranch carry these chick feeders. They come in metal and plastic bright colors. Of course I picked purple!! Wash it in hot, soapy water. Dry completely.

Then buy a BIG bag of M&Ms, skittles, or any small candy. I think I'm even going to try sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. I bought a large bag and it didn't quite fill the feeder and bottle. I'd suggest getting the really big bags from Sam's or Costco.

Fill a canning bottle with candy and screw the feeder base on. Then turn over and ENJOY! I used a pint jar since I didn't have enough candy, but I think a quart jar looks better. It would be fun to mix some Easter candy and jelly beans too. YUM!!

I gave these as Christmas neighbor gifts years ago when they only made metal ones. I'm loving the bright colors....red and green would be perfect for Christmas.

Here's BrookLynn in her hospital crib. She has a staph infection again. Poor little girl. She had the liver abscess and staph infection when she was born, and several recurrences since. The infectious disease doctors are trying to figure it out. She pulled out her first IV. Her poor arm is all bandaged up to keep her from pulling it out again....hopefully!

She's watching the Wiggles on TV. She would walk around her crib and pull on the bars. I think she wants out and to go home.

I got a kick out of the weight limit on her crib....350 pounds. Really??

I believe that......

2011-02-26T22:34:00.002-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cookies should be taken out of the oven 2 minutes before they are done. Warm, soft gooeyness. I know that isn't a word, but it should be. My mom is a crunchy person. She loves her toast crunchy and her cookies crunchy. I grew up with those crunchy cookies. So good when they were dunked in a cup of cold milk. I think I love gooey, soft cookies as much as she loves crunchy ones.

This was the main topic of our week. Jaycee had a cake decorating contest at school for FFA (Future Farmers of America). She planned it out on paper for weeks.

She's loves to watch Cake Boss on TV and decided to try a fondant cake. She covered both layers in fondant and made brown belts to go around each layer. She did it all herself. Really. We offered suggestions, but the work was all hers. I'm proud of her cake.

Here's a close up of the belt buckle.

She made the hay bales out of Rice Krispy Treats. We went shopping for all of the supplies last Monday. To 5 stores. Exhausting. Who knew it would be so hard to find a bag of plastic farm animals and a cowboy? Fondant too. In multiple colors. She stayed home from school on Tuesday and made the cake. I know what your're thinking....bad mom. Really the truth is I'm just tired and it was easier than staying up until 1 a.m. Tuesday night. She finished it around 10 p.m., so we might have been up all night if she had gone to school.

I also believe that this is the last big storm of the winter. It was a shock to wake up to so much. Guess I really didn't believe the weatherman's predictions.

I had to get one last shot of the snow in the trees. Before I know it there will be bright green leaves and birds on the branches.

And grandkids swinging and laughing.

Here we go again.....Cute Chicks!!

2011-02-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

We got a new flock of chicks last weekend. We have 4 Ameraucan (Easter Egg) chicks who will lay green eggs. Then 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Barred Rock chicks, and 2 Golden Comets who will all lay brown eggs. I can't believe we are adding 10 chicks to our 7. It will be a couple of months before these chicks can be outside. I'm so used to counting to 7 when I feed them, so counting to 17 will be a challenge as they move around. We have a big fenced backyard for them to run around in since we are on a half acre lot. It's always been my dream to put grass in the back half....but we've had horses and now chickens. I guess it's better this way. Big garden and chickens. It feels good to be a little self-reliant. Just hope the day never comes that I have to kill, pluck, and eat one of the chickens. I'm not that into self-reliance!!

We let the grandkids name a chick. Jaycee is the one keeping track of the names. It's too much for this old lady brain of mine. I did name one chick. One of the golden chicks is Ramona after my best friend when I was younger. Of course we joked about naming them scrambled, over easy, hard boiled, or Benedict.

I have to confess that it took me a few weeks to eat one of our eggs when the first batch started laying a couple of years ago. Now I can't stand the taste of store bought eggs. It's like the difference in a tomato from your garden or a tasteless tomato from the store. Our chickens molted during the winter and we went down to 1 egg a day and had to buy eggs. Thank goodness we are back up to 6-7 eggs again.

A major accomplishment!

2011-02-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

I feel great about this one. Gary and I picked out the fabric for our bedspread from Material Girl's in Salt Lake City over a year ago. It's really been a long process to get it done....but I'm so happy to say it's finally on our bed. It's a King size, so it was a lot of machine quilting for sure.

I need to make some more matching pillows. I think I might even make pillowcases out of some of the leftover fabric. But for now....just happy to have it on the bed. I really love the colors and the variety of fabrics. I even used a piece of corduroy. It's a cute polka dot and matched perfectly.

I did an easy quilting pattern. My dream is to have a machine with a longer neck so I can do bigger patterns. But I'm tickled with the way it turned out. It really looks amazing. I love walking into my bedroom and seeing it. Makes the room complete. Finally. (I'm done patting myself on the back now. Ha ha!)

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

We made sugar cookies yesterday. I was so much fun....but sure was a lot of work. Here's the last cookie I made. Can you tell I was tired??

Sweet BrookLynn

2011-02-05T19:43:00.001-07:00

Gary and I got to spent Friday morning with one of our granddaughters. This is BrookLynn. She had surgery a week ago on both of her eyes for eye muscle problems. She takes after her daddy. Jared had 5 eye surgeries and started wearing glasses at 9 months. We are crossing our fingers that she won't need more. Her eyes are still red in the outer corners, but look so good and straight!!

She's about 1-1/2 now and loves to dance to music. We put in her Wiggles movie and and watched her dance around the front room. Her mom says Brookie is her sunshine....and we have to agree! She's such a lovable, happy girl. We enjoyed our morning spent with her!

Papa took her out to feed the chickens. She wasn't so sure about them. Isn't her hat cute. She even shared it with Papa and then laughed at him.

A day long project & Bedroom remodel

2011-01-30T22:43:00.001-07:00

Saturday I was determined to get our bedroom quilt on the frames. I just didn't know it would take so long. I had to make new leader cloths since I threw mine away last year doing spring cleaning. I had to have Gary help me fit the cloths into the rails because I had to get new tubing too...and it was not cooperating with me. Then all the ironing and putting the top and bottom on the frames. It's King size and took forever to iron. It really was an all day project. Sigh! I even passed on a trip to WalMart with Gary and Jaycee.

I got quite a good start on the quilting before heading up to bed. I choose a simple design since I want it to go fast. I really had intended to do some feather stitches, but my machine is only a half-long arm and so I picked a smaller design.

I know I have a back made for it...somewhere. Couldn't find it and didn't want to waste more time looking. I just made a new one. I have all the fabric from when we closed the store. It's a chicken egg print, but it was the best match.

Here's our mini makeover. I should say Gary and Jonny's makeover since I didn't help. Jaycee went to Denver with the school FFA. While she was gone Gary painted her room and tore out her carpet. Then Jonny and Gary put in new wood floor. Aunt Nanna and Aunt Tracy bought her a new light for her room. She's mentioned how much she liked Nann's light like this, so that's the one they picked out for her.

Jaycee picked out Burgandy Cherry wood. It's really pretty. We still have to paint the base board and put in the quarter round trim. We were hurrying to get it ready before she got home.

I was so worried she would be mad. She told me "Don't let dad do my room while I'm gone." Gulp! He had it all planned out to do just that the minute she left. Thankfully she LOVES it. She ended up getting home a few hours early. While everyone else was putting the furniture back in I ran and found her a new flat screen TV. Her old TV was an older, huge one that took up too much room. We made it in the nick of time. Whew!

Scrappy Cell Phone Case

2011-01-23T23:40:00.001-07:00

This was my Sunday afternoon project. I had some scraps from a baby quilt that I wanted to use.

I've been wanting to try out this foot for my Juki sewing machine. I'm not sure what it's called...a rolled hem foot maybe? It took a few tries to get the hang of it. I cut the strips 1-3/4 inches.

Then I figured out how big to make the bag. I gathered the strips in the middle. I drew three lines on the main piece of fabric for the bag and sewed the three strips along those lines, trying to gather them evenly.

I added some batting and another layer of fabric for the lining. I put the seam in the back, sewed the bottom seam, and finished the seams with the serger. Then I finished the top edge and added a button. Ta-da!

I had a helper drop by. She loves my sewing room. She played with the button bottles (they're plastic). Then I gave her some rick-rack to play with....and play she did!

Katelynn has the biggest eyes!

National Hugging Day

2011-01-21T19:17:00.003-07:00

That's right, today is National Hugging Day. I'm not a real huggy person...kinda like my own space. Unless it's my family, then I love the hugs. Thought I'd share a picture of my Valentine shelf for this hugging day. We had an old family picture above the shelf. It was from about 13-14 years ago. I don't know why it was so hard for me to finally take it down. Well, may be I do. I was much thinner and younger in that picture...sigh! The kids were all still at home and I still had some control over them. Oh well...the picture is gone. We bought this new frame, but we still need to find some pictures to put in it. Guess we might have to have to find to time to get all the family together again for family photos. (hinting to my kids here)

I got my hair done today. Changed the color...AGAIN!! Love to do funky things and try new color. (I'm actually in a secret competition with Krystal, my cousin's daughter. She loves to try the fun hair color too!)

A day in the life.......

2011-01-20T22:36:00.003-07:00

of a boring housewife who works from home...yes, that would be me. I started my day with a 4-hour team leader shift at work. That's when I answer questions from the transcriptionists I work with and try my best to help them. It was a pretty easy shift today. Some days I have so many questions and windows open along the bottom of my computer screen that I just want to scream. After my shift I took a break and ran to the grocery store to buy a few things for dinner. Tacos. Yum.

Then over the center street bridge that is falling apart. I didn't bother me so much before the construction on the freeway started. Now the bridge gets backed up with traffic. Sitting on this bridge for 10 minutes with the weight of all the cars and trucks on it gets a little scary,

I hate the construction mess....but I will be nice to have a better freeway system.

My next stop was to pick up Eden from school. When she saw me waiting she ran up and gave me a big hug. Awww....so sweet. I love that she holds my hand all the way to the car. I dread the day she gets too big to hold grandma's hand.

Then Eden and I fed the chickens.

She was excited to find an egg. She carefully carried it in the house so we could wash it and put it in the fridge.

Back to my office to finish work. I helped Eden find the Hannah Montana game site on the computer and she entertained herself while I worked. She loves to draw too....so I have a shelf in the closet with her art supplies. Then a little sewing, watching the news, and getting ready for bed.

UFO from 2 years ago...DONE!

2011-01-20T00:03:00.001-07:00

It feels great to get this project done. I have several more...well more like 15....UFO projects all boxed up and lined neatly on the shelves in my sewing room. Getting this one done felt good. I've had it quilted and folded up waiting for the binding for a couple of weeks. I still have a couple sides to bind...but I consider it checked off the list of UFO's.

I did the pebble stitch. It was a lot of work, but I love how it turned out.

Had to share these funky socks. You get them in a 3 pack. You mix them up and wear a crazy pair of mismatched socks. My sister, Tracy, got some last Fall...so when my other sister, Nann, went to Chicago on business last week she picked up some more from the the Little Mismatched store.

January blahs.....

2011-01-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt top in the summer. Finally got it quilted this week....only because I need it for a baby shower tomorrow!!! Still have to get the binding done, but the night is young!

I put a giraffe print of minky-type fabric on the back. For some reason I really love quilting with this fabric on the back. It seems like the needle just glides through it so easy.

I've been making some fabric flower rings. I bought the ring blanks on line. These are the flowers you make by burning the edges of the fabric.

My hand model with the young, cute hands was at her friend's house tonight so I had to use the old lady hand with the age spots. It seems like I woke up one day, looked down at my hands and wondered who had transplanted my Grandma's hands to my arms. sigh!

This one is a folded fabric flower. Can't wait to experiment some more with different fabrics.

January is such a dreary month. It saps all your energy. By 7 p.m. I'm ready for bed. I've been meaning to post for a week now, just couldn't muster up the energy to do it. I should be enjoying these months of rest and early evenings. Before I know it summer will be here and life will be crazy busy again.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T15:50:00.004-07:00

We had a pretty quiet night. It was just Gary, Jaycee, and me at home. We toasted in the New Year while watching the ball drop on TV with a little chilled Sparkling Apple Cider. I would have preferred Diet Mountain Dew in my glass....but what the heck. Gotta live it up a little, right??

We played Uno and then Monopoly for a couple of hours. I don't think Jaycee got into Monopoly as much as Gary and I did. It's so much like life. Money in and money out. We took a break and went over to my parent's house to visit. They were playing a game of golf (with a deck of cards) and visiting.

I'm pretty optimistic that this year will be better than last year. I figure starting off with a positive attitude has to be the key to making it a good year. Wishing everyone a prosperous and happy 2011!

My 8-year-old grandaugher, Eden, make a coupon book for her mom for Christmas. I love the coupons...so cute!

My favorite one....

Can I get one of these coupons??

Christmas Medicine

2010-12-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Christmas Eve! It's that special night. The night for "Christmas Medicine." This is a family joke at our house. Years ago I worked with a divorced mom of 6 children. She was going to school full time and working part time. I asked her how she got everything done on Christmas Eve all by herself with so many kids. She told me that she gave them Christmas Medicine every Christmas Eve. It comes in pretty Christmas colors of red and green just for the kids. Seriously, she gave them NyQuil so they would go to sleep and she could get things in order for the next morning.

While we have joked about it for years, I have to admit I've never given it to my kids. Not that I haven't thought about it for a minute or two. The threat of Santa not coming until they were asleep seemed to work just fine. And to be honest...I think I would rather take a dose myself so I could get a good nights rest. But it tastes so awful. When I have a bad cold it takes me a good 5 minutes to talk myself into taking it. I plug my nose and chug it down....then spend the next 5 minutes trying to keep it down. Nasty stuff!!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas tomorrow!

White Christmas

2010-12-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well....I think it will be a White Christmas for sure. I measured it this morning when I got up and we had 12 inches. WOW....I can't remember the last time we got this much.

Gary spent the morning snow blowing. I got to enjoy the snow from the warmth of my office with the space heater blowing some nice, warm air on me. Jaycee and her friends were busy building snow forts and snowmen.

Last Friday Jaycee had her Sweet 16 birthday party. They went bowling first. Then they came to our house and had pizza and watched movies until midnight.

We had some lanes reserved and there was an extra one....so Jonny, Bekkah, Gary and I bowled too. I haven't bowled since high school (not going to say how many years ago that was!). My score was low, really low. Gary's family ran a bowling alley when he was younger. He hasn't bowled much lately either, but he was still getting strikes almost every frame. I think we need to go more often. It was a blast!

We got a laugh out of this. They sell socks in the vending machine right along with candy bars and chips. Who knew?

Provo Tabernacle

2010-12-19T16:18:00.002-07:00

We suffered a horrible loss here in Provo this week. This beautiful, historic building caught fire early Friday morning. It took 15 years to build and was finished in 1873. I remember going to stake conferences (LDS church meetings) with my parents when I was young before we moved to Springville. When Gary and I got married we moved to Provo we took our young family there for conferences. We've attended school performances and scouting ceremonies there. Grandpa Walt help build the podium when they remodeled it in the 1970s. My father-in-law was over the building when he served as stake president. The list goes on and on.

Want to see some amazing pictures of something that survived the fire?? (Go to this link and click on photo gallery).

(Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

At this time of year when we need to remember the true meaning of Christmas, it's so humbling to see this picture of Christ survive a fire that burned for days. It gives me chills to see how the canvas of the picture burned all around his image. Amazing!

Sweet Sixteen on the 16th

2010-12-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it....my baby just turned 16. Why is it so hard to let that last child grow up?

She's been studying the Driver's Handbook so she can get her learner's permit. She has a handsome male "friend" who shares the same birthday with her. She becomes more grown up every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jaycee Lou!

p.s. Her middle name isn't really Lou...but that's what we call her here at the Raulston House!

Family Christmas Party

2010-12-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had the family party with my side of the family last night. It was good to get everyone together. My dad added 3 wise men to our nativity this year. This is the 2nd year...so it's fun to see what will be added next. He spends hours and hours carving and painting. He makes 9 sets, one for mom and him, and then a set for each of all of his 8 kids.

We got a neat gift from my sister Dena. They are Dry Pak bags to put our valuables in for 4-wheeling. They hang around you neck or hook on your belt hoop. She filled them with sun screen, Kleenex, wipes, and candy. She saw how I ruined my camera on our last trip to the sand dunes. Now I can tuck it in this pack and keep it safe. It will keep things dry when we cross the rivers up Spanish Fork Canyon too. We LOVE them!! Thanks Dena and Rick!

My parents gave us a gift card to Macey's grocery store. We went shopping this afternoon and stocked up on some case goods for our food storage. It's so nice to have the shelves full of food again.

Santa's elf brought a bag of presents for the kids again this year. Eden got a fun game to play. Eden is our little artist. I keep a bag of markers, papers, and art supplies in the closet for her. It's fun to see what she creates.

Jack was pulling a funny face for me. He found Grandpa Orme's bowl of candy and really went down on the mints. He has one in his mouth in this picture.

Here's Brandon showing off his toy. He growing up too fast. He played football this fall and did really good.

And Miss Jayda got a doll. She's loves preschool and has a little attitude. I think it's cute, but being the grandma and not the parent I can say that!

BrookLynn was crawling all over the place last night. She's such a cute little girl. She's going to the eye doctor again this week. She takes after her dad and will need an eye surgery. Jared had wore eye patches, had 5 surgeries when he was little, and wore glasses. Hopefully Brookie will only need one surgery (crossing our fingers and toes).

Finally, here's the last grandchild, Katelynn. She's pretty close to crawling even though she's only 6-1/2 months old.

Finally......got the trees up!

2010-12-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

We usually put the trees up the day after Thanksgiving. We're a little slow this year. It feels like Christmas now that they are up. It's a lot of work to get all the decorations out and try to remember where they go.

Of course...my favorite purple bird has her place of honor in the front of the tree.

I made a deal with Gary. I told him I would fluff the branches on the tree if he would make Chex Mix. What could be better than Christmas music (The Osmond's) playing and the smell of Chex Mix while you're fluffing branches and placing ornaments on the tree?

Gary uses the recipe on thebox. He doubles the cereal and triples the sauce. Mmmmm....perfect!

I'm going to need a bigger shelf soon. My Dad carves a new snowman every year for us. It's quite a collection. He made the soldier a couple of years ago.

And finally.....what I'm so excited about this year. This is the reason we were late getting the tree up. Gary and Jonny got the hole in the ceiling ~~indoor waterfall~~ fixed. They got the roof patched a few weeks ago. Then they replaced the sheet rock in the bay window ceiling. Gary painted it last night. I keep looking at it....cuz it looks so good!

Getting ready for Christmas

2010-11-17T22:10:00.001-07:00

I love Nancy Halverson books. I bought one last year with this mug warmer pattern in it. Thought it would make nice neighbor gifts. I'm not so sure I'm up to all the blind stitching around the snowmen pieces. Have to think about it for a bit. I do love how cute it turned out. I can picture it with different hot chocolate mixes in it or a bag of Hershey Kisses.

Molly and Max finally got groomed again. We were trying to save money by stretching out the time between cuts. Molly was all tuckered out after a day at the groomers. She looks so pretty.

They accidentally cut off Max's mustache...so he looks a little funny to me. His ears are so poofy. It reminds me of my sophomore year of high school. I had a bad home perm that made my hair look like this. One of the guys called me Bozo the Clown. I think I pretended to be sick the next day.

Here are a few more of the pictures I took a few weeks ago. Jaycee and I went on a Sunday drive with our cameras.

We love the train art. So cool to see all the differnent designs and colors.

Enjoying this cool fall weather and the crisp colors.

Too much purple???

2010-11-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

I hate to post pictures of myself...but here it goes. I got my hair done last week. Jaycee came with me and mentioned to my hairdresser, Holly, that I needed some purple in my hair. Well...purple is Holly's favorite color too. It was a done deal. She got out her box of hair extensions and went to work

I LOVE it. Love the purple. But I'm getting the weirdest looks or else a thumb's up. Is this a mini midlife crisis?? Did I take my love of purple too far this time? Oh, what the heck? It's not permanent like a tattoo...it's just hair. I've always been a little crazy with my hair spiking it and trying different colors. Well, this is definitely the wildest yet.

We bought this walker for the days that I help with Katelynn while Jodi is at work. Her legs are far from reaching the floor on the lowest setting...but she loves it. She get's so excited to play with all the toys on the tray. I dread the day those little legs hit the floor. She'll be all over the house then. The more grandkids we get the more baby equipment we have been buying.

This is Mr. Remote. He's been keeping me company at night lately, tucked in bed right beside me. Gary's mom has been having some health problems so he's been spending nights at their house to help his dad take care of her. I thought I would sleep so good with the king size bed all to myself and Mr. Remote. No so. Funny how hard it is to sleep without him here.

The Progressive Girl

2010-11-04T00:24:00.001-06:00

Jaycee's costume was awesome this year. She was Flo from the Progressive commercials. You have to understand Jaycee...she starts planning what she will be for Halloween in the summer, or even before. She plans the costume, hair, and makeup. She made a hair appointment the week of Halloween to have her hair colored and cut like Flo's. She was adorable!

I found this pattern for these witches shoes Hallowen night. They whip up pretty fast and are so cute. I think they would be fun for a bridal shower too.

A few of the grandkids

2010-10-30T21:02:00.000-06:00

Katelynn was so cute in her tutu and skulls. She loved to grab the tutu and hold it. She has such big eyes...little cutie!

Jack was a Lion! He would roar too...so cute. He's the most handsome lion I've ever seen. This little guy LOVES Elmo. He had the cutest Elmo bucket to gather his treats in.

Then we have the Safari guide...the Lion's big sister Eden. She had a whip and a sword, but I didn't get a picture of those. She's growing up too fast. Sometimes Jaycee and I go pick her up from school. I love it when she runs up to us with her big smile...so glad to see us.

Obnoxious Orange

2010-10-20T12:14:00.001-06:00

Fall is not only the season for Halloween Orange...but for that Obnoxious Orange. You know what I mean...that horrible, bright orange that hunters wear. So fluorescent it almost blinds you. Everywhere you go this time of year you see trucks, big huntin' trucks riding around with their guns mounted in the rear window. What are they wearing? That huntin' orange...jackets and caps. They ride around town with their deer (~~Bambi~~) in the bed of their trucks...or even worse tied to the hood of their truck so no one can miss it. They have the proudest (~~silliest~~) looks on their faces as they show off their trophies.

I asked my husband if I could borrow his truck. Would he help me lift my sewing table and machine in the back? I would drape a quilt over the tailgate and make a flag out of a table runner. I would dress in my favorite quilt color...purple. What fun to drive around town with my trophies on display for all to see.

Gary had an interview Monday at work. He was applying for a job. It's the position he has been working for the last 2 months, but with benefits and a permanent assignment so he wouldn't have to float around to other units. Jaycee left him this cute note before she went to school. She spent the weekend helping him study for the interview by asking him questions about policies and procedures from his notes. He was so prepared. Of course they asked him different questions than what he studied. But he awesome in the interview...and HE GOT THE JOB! Benefits! Woo-Hoo! We are so excited for him!

Nann's quilt

2010-10-12T23:01:00.000-06:00

My sister, Nann, made this beautiful signature quilt for her boss for bosses day. She put a lot of work into getting the blocks made and shipped out to her coworkers to personalize, sign, and send back. I think most of them work from home...so they are different states across the country. She got it put together and ready to quilt last month. I'm a little slow in posting this, as I'm sure her boss has the quilt by now.

I love the colors in the quilt. I'm sure it will be treasured for years to come. Great job Nann!!

I put together a "gourmet meal" tonight. Sloppy Joe's and salad.....kinda plain and easy. I feel a little guilty about my feelings towards cooking. It's just a chore that I want to get cooked, served, and cleaned up.

Who says it has to be from scratch and take hours to prepare? I love cans and bags of convenient food.

I'm wiped out tonight for some reason. I have so many things on my to do list, but after I did the dishes I just couldn't do anything. I know part of it is the cold weather making my fibromyalgia worse....but another part is my body is ready for winter hibernation. Just want a big fire in the fireplace and a good book or corny movie! I didn't even get all my hours in at work today. Now I'll be working more the rest of the week to make up for today.

Hooray For Fall

2010-10-09T23:50:00.000-06:00

I made this table runner last year. It was from some scraps and without a pattern. It turned out to be a fun one. I need to pull out the rest of my fall/Halloween decorations.

I've made some more baby shoes for my booth. I found these clear boxes to put them in. Love the way they look all boxed up.

I've been doing some machine quilting today. I need to post some pictures of them. They aren't my own quilts...my sister's quilts. Sigh...I'm feeling creative and wanting to put a quilt top together....but just can't find the right fabric to start a project. Maybe next week.

Chocolate Eclair Bars

2010-09-28T22:17:00.000-06:00

I got the butterfly quilt machine quilted and bound. I think I'll do this pattern again...it was a fun one!

I have to share this recipe for my newest favorite dessert....Chocolate Eclair Bars. I got the recipe at Bunco last monthe and tweaked it to make it better. You bring water and butter to a boil.

Add the flour until it gets thick. Then a dozen eggs.

Spread into two pans and bake. It will come up on the sides when cooking, so try to get most of the batter towards the middle. I cut off the edges that stick up after it cooks.

After it has cooled add half of the pudding mixture to one pan. Add second crust and the rest of the pudding mixture.

Then have fun swirling and dribbling the chocolate on top.

I usally make the crusts and cover them with towels. Then I make the pudding mixture and put it in the fridge. When you are ready to serve you can add the pudding to the crusts and then the chocolate topping. Then it won't get soggy before you eat it. Here's the recipe. The original had just 1 eclair crust. I doubled it and added the second layer. I like it better this way...takes more like an eclair to me.

Chocolate Eclair Bars

12 Eggs

1-1/2 cup butter

1-1/2 cups water

1-1/2 cups flour

Bring water and butter to a boil in a heavy pan. Remove from heat. Add flour and stir with spoon until mixture is thick. Add eggs and beat mixture with hand mixer until smooth. Spread onto 2 greased 12 x 17 pans (cookie sheets). Bake at 400 degress for 18 minutres. Cool completely.

Pudding Filling

Beat together 3 tablespoons milk and 1 package softened cream cheese.

Mix two 3.4 oz packages of vanilla instant pudding and 3 cups milk until pudding thickens. Add cream cheese mixture and mix well. Fold in one 16 ounce carton of thawed Cool Whip.

Spread half of pudding mixture onto one crust. Carefully put 2nd crust on top of pudding mixture. Add rest of pudding mixture. Drizzle with Chocolate Magic Shell. Cut into squares to serve.