Zucchini Muffins and Salsa Learning Experience

I just made some zucchini muffins. Trevor ate 3. He stole one after I told him no more. I guess that's one way to get your kids to eat some veggies. I made 3 dozen and that wasn't even using that humongous zucchini I found. That one should make about 10 dozen? Maybe I should just make bread...

I used this recipe again

AND then I attempted to make salsa for the first time. It's in the fridge and my counter looks like this

I kind of used this recipe. My tomatoes were impossible to peel and I remembered reading to dunk them in hot water so I did that and then they peeled really easily. I used a bunch of smaller tomatoes I had from my garden so it was looking really mushy and more liquid so when I was done I used the magic bullet and blended it up. Oh and someone at work told me to roast the peppers first so I put them in the oven in some foil and that seemed to work good. It's in the fridge now. I tasted it and it seems a little hot so we'll see if I need a huge beer glass of milk to go with it when it's done.

Now I guess I should make dinner?  I'm tempted to throw the rest of the ripe tomatoes I have in some hot water and then make spaghetti but that might take awhile...

I'm a Pinterest Crafting Whore

I remember life before Pinterest. It was so PLAIN. 

Thank you Pinterest for coming into my life before this baby shower. 

Now I'm going to look like a ROCK STAR with all these fabulous ideas!

Inspiration for this idea originally came from here. I used the left over pearls I had, dollar store beige ribbon, left over pink ribbon from the invites, bought the It's a Girl Ribbon from Joanns and the doilies came from the dollar store and a thrift store. Most of them are from the dollar store. Oh and the bags are lunch bags from the dollar store but I took them apart and remade them to the size I wanted.

(Custom order your own here on Etsy)

When you pull out what's inside you'll get the baby shower games and a wishes for baby card to fill out. I'm going to hang a ribbon to pin those on (with cute little wood clothes pins). 

The game are  baby babble and baby bingo ( I had my daughter color it in so it was prettier).  and the onsie is a combo of this onsie template and wishes for baby that I morphed together.

The other game is name the baby food. I had 8 but realized 2 were the same so we'll just have an extra line. Oh and just so you know Beechnut puts their labels on with some kind of NASA super industrial rocket glue. They are still a little bit sticky, guess we'll have to deal.

And I found these ADORABLE little bottles at Michaels. I"m going to use for mini flower vases. I added a bit of deco.

And this is when I was thinking I might possibly be insane and need my glue gun taken away. But they are kind of cute :)

Tonight I made this fabric scrap door wreath. But I didn't print out the paper and had it in my mind that I had to cover every piece of wire so mine? looks like this

Most of it is vintage sheets with the exception of the pink gingham and a bit of muslin.

Only 2 more things I want to make. 

I think...

Curls and Monsters

I got up at 5:00 AM today people. I didn't even hit the snooze button. I must be ill. I got up early so I could do this to Melissa

Sorry it's not a great picture, I used my cell. Hopefully they have an early picture time and it's not, lets say after LUNCH and recess.

Does anyone else want to throw up at the price of school pictures these days? I find myself buying the smallest package that comes with a class photo. $24.00. Crazy. No worry if it doesn't come out all that great because now they take pictures TWO TIMES a year. Double the money!

In other news, I did a little pruning out in the tomato jungle yesterday and unearthed this MONSTER from my zucchini vine that I thought I had killed already. I've been horrible about watering this year. Next year I want to put in a drip line and a timer so I don't have to worry about it.

Hopefully that makes some good bread! Probably like 12 loaves!

Random Monday

Friday night Scott and I went to a party. We had to leave early though since Jessica's car broke down. It looks like the engine is toast. Not sure if Scott is going to fix it or not. He rebuilds engines for a living so we'll see if he decides he wants to do it or not.

We called AAA to get a tow from town to home. It took TWO HOURS for the tow truck to show up. Apparently AAA has some bidding thing going on. This guy had to come from a city about 30 minutes away and didn't even know our area. Talk about rediculous! The man was super nice even after I was grouchy with him on the phone for taking so long. I, of course, apologized when I found out what the deal was. I think I need to write an email to AAA and tell them how much I don't appreciate their low ball bidding. All I can say is THANK GOD she wasn't stuck on the freeway or a high traffic area. (and that we have an extra vehicle).

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Scott and Jessica were sick all weekend. If I'm ever that much of an asshole while I'm sick feel free to kick my ass.

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I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a glue gun intervention after this weekend :) I spent the whole weekend working on stuff for the shower. Just about everything has something hot glued to it! If I can scrape up some batteries for my camera I'll try to take some pictures this evening.

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I know I've talked about this before, but I find it amazing how many people out there smoke dope (my daughter says that ages me saying "dope"). It seems like everytime I go to any kind of party there is someone smoking it. I guess now that I've ventured out of just hanging out with moms of young children I'm in the real world? Thoughts?

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I have to leave work early today (again). Jessica has a dentist appointment. I've rescheduled it about 100 times. Hopefully we'll actually get in there. This will be the first time for the new place for her. They actually do braces here and I know she needs to get her wisdom teeth out so we'll see how thi$ appointment goe$.

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My friend's sister changed her Facebook status to engaged. Nice way to find out your sister is engaged eh? I'm half wondering if it's a joke. I think I'd be kind of upset. Have you ever "announced" something important through Facebook?

Getting Crafty With Doilies

Well I attempted to make these Drink Parasols tonight.

I couldn't find pink doilies anywhere so settled for white.

 I made the little buttons for the tops pinks 

but just could not get them to look right so I went topless. 

I think they turned out just fine :)

I found a muffin tin worked great for holding them while my hot glue set up on the sticks.

Here we are, all ready for some baby shower punch!!

God Loves Me

It's one week until baby shower!! I just nervously looked at the weather forecast. You all know I have horrible luck with parties and bad weather right?

Xtreme Science Magic

Today I took Trevor to the library so we could see

XTREME SCIENCE MAGIC at the library.

I'm not quite sure how a child that loves science came from my body, but he does! Last week when we were visiting the library they had a sign up advertising for this event and he was all kinds of excited when I showed it to him and asked if he wanted to go.

When we got to the library the parking lot was already full but we didn't have to park too far away. Trevor ran ahead of me and went in and sat on the floor and I found a nice back row seat on the side perfect for sneaking a couple pictures and checking my Facebook.

The guy started the show off by shooting some things across the room. That got their attention.

He had quite an interesting show and called a lot of kids up to "help".

This was a trick that made a flame and a BOOM!!

Super exciting for little kids!!

He ended the show by making big smoke rings with a Rubbermaid trash can, table cloth, bungee cord and a fog maker. I'm sure we could entertain ourselves for hours doing that!

And as hard as I tried not to,  I just can't help but point out that this man has the biggest comb over EVER. DUDE! Do yourself a favor and just shave that thing off!  You might even get your own reality show or something :)

A Little Bit Of Random

A few random things from today

On the way to work today I decided to to go Starbucks. Which doesn't really mean much other than I go down this little road a bit farther. Today this car was coming the other direction and went too far over into the dirt and was flying towards me out of control. She was all over the road with her back end fish tailing. Somehow she had it straightened out at the point that we passed each other and just BARELY missed a telephone pole. I saw her face at the point that she passed me and she was laughing. How lucky for her that she didn't hit that pole. Or me. Or flip. It's moments like those that put your life into perspective a bit, don't you think?

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I got off work a bit early today. Wednesdays are early release days at my kid's school. It's also one of the days that band practices after school. Last year I didn't let Melissa go to band on Wednesdays since she wouldn't have a ride home unless I got off work early. Today I just got off early (one hour) so she could go. What's one hour in the big scheme of things? It makes her happy.

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I finished reading my book for this month's book club tonight. 

A Simple Plan by Scott B. Smith.

This is a book that makes you just keep reading so you can find out what happens next. By the end I was in a bit of shock about all that went down but it's definitely a book you don't want to put down once you start reading it.

After I got done with it this saying that I think my Grandma used to say popped into my head.

"What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive"

I've always been in awe of people that can just lie and have secrets. I'm not one of those people. I can probably count on one hand all the lies I've told in my life.

And I really hate it when people say "can you keep a secret?" because I really can't.

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Every night this week I've worked with Trevor on his spelling words. I start off by giving him a practice test and then whatever words he gets wrong I make him write them a few times. Tonight he got all but one (braid) right. Woohoo!! He wrote that 10 times so I bet he can get it right tomorrow.

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He wanted to sign up for the Pokemon website today. I swear I had to go through more steps and questions to get him an account there than I had to to open a bank account. It probably took me a good half an hour or longer. Why do they make things so difficult?

Stories From My Father In Law

Last week we went over to my in-laws for dinner.  While we were there my father in law started telling me a story. He's 82.

I've been around for 19 years so I've heard almost all the good stories. Sometimes several times and usually once they get going they keep on with the story even though I tell them "oh yeah I remember you telling me that". Then my eyes kind of glaze over while they finish it up.

But this was a new story. When my father in law was a young man he worked for a farmer on a farm. He said that the farmer had told him that sometimes the calves get bloat. When that happens the calf will let you know. He said that the farmer told him when that happens to pour some kerosene down the calf's mouth.

At this point I'm thinking "kerosene? isn't that kind of dangerous?"

So one day he said he was walking in the field and this calf comes running up to him crying "baawwww baaawwww" so he got some kerosene and poured it down the calf's mouth and then it let a tremendous BURRRPPPP. And then it ran away all better.

Sounds crazy doesn't it?

He said one time it was too late for the kerosene. Apparently a cow got into some clover and that caused the gout. The farmer showed him how to take his knife and where to stick a knife in the cows side to let out the air. He said he could never do that, didn't even want to try, but it worked!

Of course I'm thinking this all sounds kind of crazy but I forgot about it until this morning when for some reason it popped into my mind and I decided to look it up. And what does the internet tell me?

via

Many years ago my Dad raised cattle and one batch of calves were having a lot of problems with bloat. 3or 4 every day were getting it and it was quite an expense to get a vet to come out. One day the vet's assistant came and told us how to stop the problem. 2 tablespoons of kerosene in a coke bottle full of milk. Mind you Coke came in 8 ounce bottles then. You have to force it down them but presto the bloat is gone. Its easier on the calf than an incesion. These calves were on shelled corn with hay and pasture. Shelled corn will cause bloat quicker than ground shelled corn and the best (if available) is ground ear corn. The cob in this keeps them from gorging on too much protein. Starting out you must limit protein intake.

-- Dave, February 09, 2002.

And quite a few others. Guess it was a common practice back in the "good ole days"!

Wordless Wednesday

After we got back from our trip down south I downloaded my camera card. We had left the girls (and my camera) in the room by themselves a couple times. Apparently they can amuse themselves pretty easily. That's the TV cabinet she's sitting in.

Wordless Wednesday at

Date Day With The Boy

My son and I went on a date yesterday. Actually we went to run some errands, but it was just the two of us and we were gone for a few hours so it was kind of like a date. 

I got paid a day early yesterday and so I wanted to go to the jewelry store to pick up my wedding ring that I had finally took in to get fixed. I hustled over there and GAH! They were closed. Who is closed on Mondays?? Well beside Chinese food places. This place is "downtown" and I can't help but think THIS is why people don't shop downtown. Reliable hours would be nice. I guess I'll try again tomorrow when I have to go to town again.

After that we swung by the library so I could pick up some books I had on hold. He picked out a Magic Tree House book to read, which is good because it's actually something interesting to read. Not like those Pokemon books he always wants to get.

Then it was off to the mall for new shoes for him. He's been wearing his slip on generic vans with no socks. Suddenly the smell is enough to kill small animals and elderly people. So we went and picked him up a new pair that he HAS TO wear socks with. Ick.

We also needed to get him some jeans since the ones from last year are a wee bit too tight. Two trips to the dressing room and 6 pairs later we found something that will work. AFTER I hem them. :sigh:

Then it was home and he went to show the neighbor his new shoes while I cooked dinner. After dinner we worked on his spelling words. For like HOURS. Who knew that shadow and window were so hard to remember to spell?

We ended the night with him reading the first chapter of his book.

I'm trying really hard to help him with his school work since he hasn't been doing very well lately. I got so spoiled with the girls that just did it and got straight A's all on their own!

Holy Tomato!

Sunday turned out to be a pretty nice day. Scott was mowing the yard and asked me if I could tame the tomatoes a bit so he could mow around the garden area. I ended up cutting back quite a bit since they had went all "tomatoes gone wild".

I washed them and put them on a large tray AND a 13x9 glass baking dish. A lot of them are green so I'm looking for some ways to use them. Do you have a favorite green tomato recipe (preferrably one you've actually made)? They look so pretty sitting on the counter.

Later I cleaned off the front porch and then started working on the weeds in the front walkway bricks. They are this nasty sticky ground cover like weed that's growing out of the cracks. I found that it was easier to kind of flood the bricks a bit and use a knife to get the roots out.

I'm sure it's just temporary but I got about half of it done.

I think I am going to need to get more sand to fill the spaces in the bricks when I'm done. It's been about two years since we put them in already and it gets a lot of water from the sprinkler. They've heald up pretty good so far. There's just a few that could use a little leveling.

Looking back for those links I can't believe how different the yard looks now than it did just a few months ago. I need to take some pictures of the whole thing for you.

Happy Sunday

Isn't this little "house" adorable!

                                                                                      Source: hgtv.com via JoAnn on Pinterest

ETA: found the owner of the cottage!

I wonder if we could transform our ugly shed into something cute like that. My poor yard is so neglected and becoming full of weeds. I need to spend some serious time out there. 

But first I should probably put away some laundry, do the dishes and clean the floors.

I know once I get out there I'm going to have to drag myself back in.

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you are having a nice weekend.

Baby Shower Kissing Ball Centerpieces

So I started off with these from the thrift store. They are candle holders and saucers. 

and now I have THESE!

I have to say I'm quite proud of how cute they came out!

I used Gorilla Glue, Krylon Primer and Spray Paint (Watermelon color).

I didn't take any pictures of the gluing process. I put some of the glue on top of the clean candle holder and then stuck the plate on. NEXT time, I will turn the plate upside down and then stick the glue on the candle holder and have it upside down while it dries.Does that make sense? Easier to center the plate that way.

If you use Gorilla Glue, make sure you don't use too much. I was worried it wouldn't stick very well so I used too much on a couple of them. As it dries it expands and I ended up with some drips and bubbles.

Also, you might want to wait a day before you spray paint. I was all excited and did it the same day 

and it dripped more after it was painted so I had to touch it up on one.

I bought a small foam sanding block. It was such a fine grit it did NOTHING. Next time I'll buy a little heavier.

Here we are all primed up, aren't we pretty?

Another thing I would do next time is turn them over and do the bottoms of the plates first.

Then I spray painted. Again, should have done them flipped over first. I just did light sprays 

and kind of walked around them in a circle getting a bit from every direction until the were all coated. (This is only the 2nd time I've ever used spray paint so it's a learning process for me!)

While you are waiting for them to dry, 

your son will come out and decide to play in the dirt 

right next to them. Did I mention it was windy?

I flipped them over and did the other side. I would have been done after this but when I flipped them over again they had stuck to the cardboard in a couple places so I had to touch up the tops.

 This is where I would add an extra step of a sealer. I didn't do that and now I'm going to have to be really careful that I don't bump them around too much. One knocked into another one and took a tiny bit of paint off. BUT they are all dressed up and I don't want to mess them up anymore so we'll just pretend it didn't happen.

Next I took my little fake pearls and hot glued them along the part where the top and bottom meet. Mostly to hide some of those glue imperfections. The first one I put hot glue all around. Then I realized that wasn't necessary so I just put a dot on the first spot, the last spot and a couple in between.

Next I added some pearls on the base. After the first one I did I realized I could just put a dot on the beginning and end area. No need to go all around.

I set a paper doily on each plate, 

although you can't see it in the pictures 

and then my kissing balls on top.

Now to do the table coverings!