A Thousand Little Wishes...

Look! I did it again!

This was my couch before I got crafty on Saturday....

And this is after!  I spent a an hour or two on Saturday making these throw pillows for the couch.  I've had the pillow forms for a long time, from IKEA. 

The stripey ones are made form a thirfted scarf.  The gray sweater was an old one of my husband's.

This one is my favorite.  I wanted at least one of the pillows to have something else on it and the house just sort of happened.  I love this kind of crafting, the kind with out any plan.  Wanna see an extra close up?

I knew you did.  If you've never cut up old sweaters and hats and sewn them back together as something else, I highly suggest doing it soon.  It's quite satisfying.

Behold! I made something!

I spent Friday making some stuff.  I finally finished this collar for my Lulah B that I think I started last summer.  It took all of ten minutes.  The poor dog has been collar-less for at least two months, since she got out of the fence and rolled around in some sort of animal poo.  But now she's cute and girly and legal with all of her tags jingling from her neck again.

I also finally made myself this coffee tea cozy.  I used House on Hill Road's tutorial which was wonderfully easy, but a tad small for my cup.  Nevertheless, I love it.  This is my absolute favorite to go cup.  It's the only cup we have that fits in my cup-holder and it was free at some fundraiser for my school.  It says McCoy's Builders on it, which is decidedly not cute.  The aluminum gets quite hot, too.  Now, when I make my tea in the morning, all will be well.  

All of this craftiness was made possible by a glorious snow day!  One inch of snow and the city shut down.  Texans are not equipped for driving in snow, for which I am selfishly grateful because it meant an extra weekend day for me!

Sledding down the street did not work.  Not steep enough.

Sledding down the driveway did work, which sent them sliding further down the street.  We were the first people out in the snow at about 7:30 am.  The boys played outside in it for seven hours, with only one hot chocolate break and a lunch break.  It.  was.  heavenly.

 

*By the way, thank you for all of your sweet  comments on my last actual post.  I think maybe my biggest problem is that I feel guilty about paying for typepad every month when I only post every once in a while. 

And the winner is....

The lovely Lori from Run, Lori, Run.  I know the sheer excitement of this news must have her jumping up and down as she reads this.  Send me your info, lady!  

I just don't know

I'm sort of at a loss here.  I'm not sure of what to write or even if I want to write anything.  I feel a bit compelled to catch you people up on what's been going on in my little life, but it hasn't exactly been much and may be a bit too boring.  I also sometimes think of quitting this blog thing altogether.  But I still love your blogs.  I can't keep up with them, though, not to mention my own.  

I just don't know.

 

So here is some randomness that may also be considered an update:

• I have lost around 25 pounds.  Which took/ takes quite a lot of work.  Which getting time-sucked into the computer does NOT help.
• I've been working out three times a week in a Crossfit class.  It.  Is.  Awesome.  I feel so strong and generally like a bit of a bad-ass.  Which is what doing a buttload of push-ups, squats, lunges, etc will do for you.
• I have also started running.  I should probably refer to this as jogging, because it's not as if I'm going very fast.  But it feels good nonetheless, both physically and mentally.
• I have been a good bit more organized, mostly with my time.  Which I am pretty sure can be attributed to more time spent away from the computer.  Whatever the reason, I have been much better this year (meaning this school year, because all teachers think of a year as beginning in August) about keeping up with lesson plans, grading, and paperwork.  I've been keeping my classroom tidy and my home has been fairly tidy, too.  Tidy for us, anyway.  I've been better at managing things like homework, bedtimes, dishes, laundry, etc.  And damn it feels good.  But it means I have had to give up time somewhere.  And that somewhere has been computer time for me.
• Don't you sometimes feel like just keeping up with the reading and commenting on your Reader can take a huge chunk of your day?  Hell, last year there were many days I would keep my Google Reader open at school and read/ comment during my planning time or lunch.  Which was really just a big fat waste of time.  I should have been grading or making copies or something, but it seemed I never had enough time to do it once I finally got home.  And I felt the need to keep up.

I hope this doesn't come across as yet another one of my bitch-fests.  I love your blogs and many more.  I'm not done yet, but these are the reasons why I may not be commenting as much lately.  Because I'm busy doing other stuff.  Stuff that's pretty damn good for me and my family.

On that note, this is my 100th post.  Not very many for two-years worth of blogging, but it still feels like a little accomplishment.  So I'm doing a giveaway.  My first giveaway.  What am I giving away, you might ask?  Well, that I just don't know.  But it will be something, hopefully something good. You know the drill.  

 

xoxo

Our Advent Calendar

I got a bee up my butt (I know, it's a rather vulgar phrase, but it's one I use frequently) to make an advent calendar after I saw Dani's.  I thought about one last year, but it was just the "I want one" sort of thinking.  I never came up with a plan or a design or anything.  

Then I saw Dani's.  My first reaction was, "That's so freaking cute."  Almost in the same breath, I thought there would be no point in making one for my boys now.  Ben is ten and a half going on eighteen.  Max is seven and is torn between being little and trying to keep up the cool with Ben.  But I soon realized that they are still little, dammit.  The only way I'm ever going to stretch it out and keep it going for just a little bit longer is to do things like this and force them into playing along with the little kid stuff.  Because, really, they both still like it.

I based my version on Dani's, but simplified it for the lazy crafter in me.  I found these little gift tags at Hobby Lobby.  They're on extra sturdy card stock and measure 3x3.  The open spot was perfect for the number.  I didn't bother with any stencils.  I just drew them with a fine tip Sharpie and then filled them in.  They aren't perfect, but I do not mind.  Nothing else in my house is perfect, either.

For the back, I bought one sheet of the large square Christmas scrapbook paper.  I chose one with stripes that made cutting it super easy.  I used the paper cutter at school to cut little strips that were about 1x3 inches and Elmer's glue to glue them on to the back to form little pockets.

Then I just printed out 24 different Christmas activities, some *borrowed* from Dani and some tailored for our family.  I also crocheted two long, long chains from a variegated red, white, and green Christmas yarn.  One chain hangs in each of our kitchen windows.  I used some teeny, tiny clothespins to attach the tags to the chains, which you can see in the first pic.  That's it!  

I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.  It's cheery and fun.  The boys both like seeing what we're going to do each night.  I really like that they're all activities, too, instead of buying them more little junk.  Many of them are things we would have done anyway, but I added in a lot of *new* things, too.

It felt really good to get all crafty again.  It's been a long time.  I've decided this year that I'm not making anyone's Christmas present.  Well, except for the peppermint bark that I'm making for all the boys' teachers.  Anyway, since I'm not having to spend all of my crafty energy in my usual Christmas sweat shop, I'm actually quite excited to make some things for my family and our house.  Yeah for Christmas craftiness!

Max's Stuffing Recipe and My Favorite Squash

*I'm reposting this because I had to delete the first one.  You see, in trying to participate in Dani's Thanksgiving Recipe Link-up thingy, I brilliantly linked to my Typepad editing page, where people could then just start clicking around in my blog account.  It's a good thing I'm so good at all this technology junk. 

Max's Stuffing

Cut two loaves of cornbread into fourths.  Then cut it into thinner pieces and put it in a bowl.  Get 1/2 cup of water.  Add some seasonings to it, like one teaspoon cinnamon and one cup of pumpkin seeds.  Cut up a whole onion into ring slices.  Cut up a half bag of parsley.  Use a cutting board so you can cut it into small pieces.  Add four teaspoons of sugar and ten shakes of pepper.  Mix all the seasonings with water.  Pour the seasoned water into the cornbread. Put it in a pan and bake it for an hour at 100*.  Cut some holes in the turkey and stuff the stuffing into it.  Put the extra parsley around the turkey to make it look nice.

Max came home from first grade with a whole recipe book full of hilarious recipes like this one.  Ben and I were in tears reading through them all.  This following recipe is the my favorite thing about Thanksgiving and the only thing I really care about from the whole meal.  It may be all I eat today.

Cleburne Cafeteria Baked Squash Casserole

10 medium yellow squash, sliced

1 to 2 Tbsp oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

6 medium eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp each: salt & black pepper

40 (about) saltine crackers (1 stack pack), crushed

3 Tbs melted margarine

Drop squash into a small amount of boiling water.  Cook, covered, until crisp-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.  In a skillet, heat oil and saute onion. Add to squash with eggs, sugar, salt, and pepper; mix well.

Heat oven to 350* (325* if using a glass dish).  Spray a 13x9x2 in casserole dish with nonstick spray, or grease dish and place squash mixture in it.  Top with crushed crackers and brush with melted margarine. Bake 30-35 minutes.  Serve hot.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

I've never actually made this.  My mother always makes it for me.  The one year she didn't, I had a bit of a fit, true to my only child ways.  I'm happy to report she's currently in my kitchen making it for me today.  I guess this won't be much of a help to anyone as today is the day, but maybe you can enjoy this most favorite squash of mine sometime soon.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Today I...

• stayed home with a little boy who felt crappy and feverish from the Flu-Mist he received this weekend.  A little boy who woke up at 2:30 am and never went back to sleep until noonish.
• dropped the older one off at school, hit the grocery store for some essentials for the sickish little boy, also scored some fat pumpkins with long stems, and was home by 8:00am.  That, my friends, is why not working would be awesome.
• graded and recorded 196 assignments from the last week and a half or so
• filed a bunch of beginning of year assessments
• created my first Google document for Fall conference sign-ups
• read two Halloween books while snuggling on the couch
• put on some old jeans that are finally fitting nicely again
• typed up a test to go with the novel my second graders are reading
• played Words with Friends all day long
• made (or heated up) chicken and stars and ra men noodles.  That's a whole lot of sodium for one day.
• washed, folded, and put away two loads of laundry
• ignored the mess in the kitchen
• finished slapping up our Halloween decorations
• got a bit ahead on my lesson plans
• caught up with email, both school and personal
• tried to catch up with some blog reading, but gave up after I realized I've been sitting here ignoring my children (including the sick one) for about an hour and a half.  

Six on Ten: Oops

My reminder.  

Like our solar system sheets?  We're currently sleeping on the futon while Lee builds us a platform bed and then we're getting a memory foam mattress. 

Fixin' to color my hair.

My freshly covered grays.

An assignment of Ben's I found on the floor.  It's so funny to me to see what he thinks of himself.  I agree with most of what he circled, but it just seems like such an adult thing to have to think about what kind of person you are.  I still think he's little and he really isn't.

Max was completely entertained for a good fifteen minutes going through the Joann's flyer, reading all "the deals."   He's such a consumer.    

The dinner dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher.  They're still there.  These pics really showcase the mess that is my house.   

Then I passed out on the couch while we were watching The Three Amigos with the kids, so that was the end of my day.  Very boring, but nice all the same.

And I thought this day was going to be torturous

I know this post is going to solidify my position as crazy woman in blog land, but for the past week and a half or so I've been suffering from awful, awful allergies.  Sneezing five thousand times a day; itchy, watery, swollen eyes; my nose getting so stuffed up that I would freak out.  I cannot stand not being able to breathe through my nose.  I've spent all my time these past weeks trying to keep my nostrils clear and open.  I've been taking Sudafed and Benadryl, I tried Zyrtec, I tried my prescription nasal allergy spray.  None of it really worked. But Afrin, oh dear God, Afrin did.  It can work wonders.  It could open up my sinuses and make me breathe.  

It's also highly addicting.  Not like a narcotic with the sweating and shaking if you don't have it.  But your stupid nasal membranes are so damn sensitive that they almost instantly get to where they won't go down without the Afrin.  

In my insane fits of allergy related stuffiness and sneezing, I started in on the Afrin.  This was not my first rodeo.  I knew the risks.  Both my mother and I were addicted to it during our pregnancies.  Except with that, practically the instant Max was born I could breathe.  Without Afrin.  

This was different.  I knew a day would come when I could tell that the allergies were gone but the Afrin addiction was not.  So last night, after it was so clogged that I couldn't swallow without my tongue getting stuck and sort of suctioning to the roof of my mouth, I sprayed it once more and Googled "how to get off of Afrin."  I then proceeded to read about all these crazy people that have been addicted to Afrin for fifteen years or more.  I was in a bit of a panic. I did NOT want to become one of these people, stashing bottles of it all around the house and in the car.  I was scared to death of how hard it was going to be. I did not sleep very well, either.  I took the day off to deal with this.

But this morning, after I took a shower, I could kind of breathe.  Then I had a smoothie and took a real Sudafed, the kind you have to show your driver's license for and sign your life away, pseudoephedrine.  I sprayed saline and Flonase.  And I've basically been able to breathe almost all day, with a little bit of stuffiness here and there.  But none of the suctioning closed, causing all kinds of crazy pressure so that my head feels like it's going to explode.  I'm so relieved.  Because really, if it hadn't been this easy, I don't think I would have made it through.

It's been a lovely day, really.  I've caught up on blogs, hit the grocery store with my husband, dyed my hair, started participating in Ten on Ten, played a little Words With Friends.  Whew.  Thank goodness that sometimes, things turn out to be easier than you thought they would be.

I don't care if summer is over in your part of the world

You should make these.  You should actually make them tonight for your dinner. Even if your temps are falling well below 80* and you have pumpkins and all things Fall on your brain.  And never mind the less than stellar photo.  Because they're freaking delicious.  Amazingly delicious.  But you better like spicy stuff.

And don't fret if you can't find Thai chili-flavored tuna at your grocery store, because neither could I. Luckily I did have a jar of fresh homemade Sriracha in my fridge.  But if you're not that lucky you could just use the bottled stuff from the Asian food aisle.  I simply added a few good heaping tablespoons full. We like things very, very spicy.  I also chose to add green onions to the tuna cakes. Amazing, I tell you. 

And you should make this slaw to go with them.  Except, you should use the whole orange and maybe you should even stick to the Cara Cara orange that I used, because it was perfect.

Orange and Radish Cabbage Slaw  (also from Cooking Light)

4 cups shredded napa cabbage

1/2 cup sliced radishes (about 3 radishes)

1/3 cup orange sections (or 1 whole medium Cara Cara, sectioned, if you trust me)

2 T rice vinegar

1 T canola oil

2 t sugar

1 t dark sesame oil

1.  Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl.

2.  Combine vinegar and remaining 3 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage mixture; toss gently to coat.

***edited to add:  I forgot to mention that I used three egg whites in the tuna cakes.  They were just too crumbly with the one, but they stuck together nicely with three.