menu plan: fireside chats

well, i meant to snap a quick pic of our hobo meals saturday, but i was so hungry by the time they were ready, that i just ate it and forgot all about the photo.  i could show you the chocolate covered cricket s'mores that i made last night, but that might turn off those of you with delicate sensibilities or stomachs.  i suppose i could go heat up the fried fish from last night after g and i went to bed; the guys saved us some.  we just got home though, so i'm still in the wipe out zone.  so hows about a photo of the campfire.  the center of social gatherings, the dryer for our chronically soggy shoes due to incessant spring rains, and the source of everything tasty at camp out.  more camp pics coming soon . . .

this week's menu:
sunday - fried fish leftover from camp out
monday - the chicken parmesan that didn't get made last week
tuesday - the hamburgers that didn't get made last week
wednesday - church
thursday - country ham, slice baked potatoes, green beans
friday - open
saturday - aunt theresa's coming for a visit!!!

retro crocheted bookworm - with a green pompom tail!

g:  what is it?
me:  it's a worm.
g:  is it a dr. seuss worm?
me:  i guess.
g:  it's butt is inflated.

do any of you remember these?  probably all the children of the 80's, right?  i just remember them being so popular when i was a kid.

when i was making my pom pom garland, g wanted me to make a green pom pom for it.  i explained to him that i was going with a sky motif, but he said he still wanted a green pom pom.  i made him this bookworm from my childhood to appease him.

to create him:
chain 65, double crochet in third chain from hook, 2 more double crochet in same stitch, 3 double crochets in each of the next 11 stitches.  slip stitch to the spiral.  weave through excess yarn and trim off.  add pom pom tail and google eyes.

get it scrapped!: asymmetrical cross

this is one of the reasons i enjoy being on the get it scrapped! design team.  the challenges are so interesting, informative, and inspirational.  the asymmetrical cross isn't a design concept that i would normally gravitate too.  it was actually a bit perplexing at first.  but once i finally worked it into my style, i loved it!  read more about it and see lots of other fabulous samples in the article over at my favorite scrappy educational website.

p.s.  love love LOVE the look of the vellum dots overlaying the exclusive dotted patterned paper from this month's jbs mercantile papercrafting kit.

happy belated mother's day!

i hope yours was lovely!  g sweetly took me by the hand and led me to the rose bushes that were blooming for mother's day . . .

and we discovered that the nest in the fuchsias actually has eggs in it now . . .

and while neither g nor i took catnaps, we had a very relaxing day nonetheless.  perfect, in fact.  :)

menu plan: muffin pan pizzas

these are a hit!  i'd make them again even if g didn't like them, but he says they are good.  and they are so easy!  basically, you just cut little circles out of wraps, push them to the bottoms of muffin tins, add your favorite pizza toppings, bake, and serve.  aren't they cute?  (and my childhood disney plate is cute too ;).  you can find the original recipe HERE.

i used la tortilla factory smart and delicious soft wraps made with extra vigin olive oil.  they were indeed smart (as in healthy) and delicious.  they have a 10 inch diameter and the glass i used to cut out the mini circles had a diameter of just slightly over 3 inches.  i was able to get 7 complete circles and one more almost out of one wrap.

for the filling, i used a heaping tablespoon of traditional prego with added ground beef.  then each had a slice of fresh grape tomato, a slice of mushroom, fresh grated parmesan cheese, and mini turkey pepperoni.  i don't usually like turkey pepperoni.  we got these on accident, but they were actually okay in the smaller size.

try them, you'll like them.  and they seem pretty healthy as far as pizza goes.

this week's menu:
sunday - mother's day out
monday - rotisserie chicken, baked potatoes, baked green beans (both baked with olive oil and sea salt)
tuesday - mexican out with the science teachers at mjhs
wednesday - spaghetti night at church
thursday - chicken parmesan
friday - campout!
saturday - hamburger and mac&cheese

jbs mercantile: may historian

i'm enjoying project life a lot more these days, mostly because there's a lot more light and color in my photos.  yay spring!  it's motivated me to grab my real camera a lot more often these days too.

on this page:  this spread was created with the may jbs mercantile papercrafting kit (sold out).  the top left photo was taken on my android, then edited with the sierra filter on instagram.  the smallest photos on both spreads were also taken with my android, then re-sized and brightened with the diptic app.  the three kitty pics and the flower were taken with my canon and edited through photoshop.

i especially loved adding a few enamel dots here and there for a touch of dimension.

on this page:  most of these were with my canon.  the cub scout pics were with the android and edited with the vignette app, toy camera i think.  i'm really loving the easy editing options that my android apps provide.

i wasn't happy with the photo overlapping the camera, so i used my exacto to trim the camera out of the journaling card just a bit and then slipped the photo under.  much better.

get it scrapped!: fun with flair

i actually scrapbooked the trip to the u.s. space and rocket center the same day it happened!  how often does that happen?  also used the new basic grey the same month it was bought.  miraculous!  more details on my layout, the supply list, and more flair inspiration are available in the article over at get it scrapped!

get it scrapped!: gardening and yardwork

still loving my lawnmower, despite a few misunderstandings early on in the relationship.  i made this layout in tribute to dear edward.  you can read more about it and other gardening and yardwork inspiration over at get it scrapped!  (layout created with my may jbs mercantile papercrafting kit!  only 5 left last i checked).

scout day at the u.s. space and rocket center

beam us up scotty!  yesterday we went to the u.s. space & rocket center with our cub scout pack.  i love that cub scouts gets my anti-social agoraphobic self out and about.  despite waking up at 6:00 a.m., driving two hours in the rain, a high of 49 degrees, and six hours in wet one-stars, it was a delightful day.  ;)

located at one tranquility base in huntsville, alabama, it is a nasa visitor center, a smithsonian affiliate, and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.  we didn't get to check out the outdoor area as much as we'd have liked, due to the weather, but there was plenty to do and see inside.

we enjoyed lots of informative and interactive displays as well as an imax movie.  by far their favorite was a mars tour simulation.  it was seriously just like being on a roller coaster!  so fun we did it twice.  we almost didn't make the imax, since as soon as we sat down g's acrophobia kicked in.  i must admit that i was almost relieved as the imax tends to give me a mild case of vertigo.  as we were getting up to leave though, g decided that standing in the back of the room might be okay, so these two sat on the steps back there and i sat in a chair half watching the movie through slits in my fingers as i had my hands plastered in front of my face.  glad we stuck around.  magnificent desolation was good.  truly, i have never had a burning desire to go into space, but the vastness of it, our smallness, and yet the magnitude of our being able to get there is very awe inspiring to me.  i may have teared up a bit.  good thing my hands were handy.  ha!

this was my favorite display.  coke in space!  i might rethink going!  i managed to get another pic of me and g too.  as i was snapping one of this space coke vending machine, i noticed that our reflection was showing up in the back.  fun.  and on a side note, thanks to aleida's challenge, i already have five photos of g and i together this year.  most are poor quality selfies, but i love them all.  i'm going to try to remember get someone to take another good one of the two of us next week for mother's day.

all photos were taken on my smartphone and edited with the vignette app for android.  i used the toy camera filter with a 3:2 convex snapshot frame and also adjusted the brightness and temperature slightly.  the very top photo i used leaky toy camera for fun and because it was a really bad pic to begin with.

menu plan: happy cinco de mayo!

big improvement on the fajitas thanks to rita's suggestion!  turns out marinade was the missing ingredient.  i think rita's recipe must be fabulous, but we all know i'm just plain lazy (at least in the kitchen).  i used kroger's tequila lime 30 minute marinade.  it's the same one i use for the amazing fiesta lime chicken and shishkabobs which g has requested for this week. i also used fresh onions (instead of frozen) along with the fresh bell pepper.  i found if i put the lid on for a few minutes it steamed them so i didn't have to worry about overly crunchy veggies in my fajitas.  i also kept with the can of drained rotel per g's request.  they were obviously tasty as we didn't have any leftovers thanks to my one and only.

this week's menu:
sunday - outback
monday - shishkabobs
tuesday - tammy's
wednesday - church
thursday - burgers, macaroni, salad
friday - open
saturday - mini pizza samplers, 5 minute key lime pie (didn't happen last week, oops!)

happy birthday jenni bowlin!

we've got a little birthday party going for jenni bowlin over on the jbs inspiration blog!  i made this cute buggy birthday card for her, complete with party hat, from my may kits.  party on!