The NEW oven

Rick was watching commercial TV the other night and ordered up the Nuwave oven.

Home shopping - his latest obsession!

I tried it today on "air-fried" french fries made from whole potatoes.  The result was NOT a crispy french fry, but delicious none-the-less!  It seems this will be a great homefry cooker!  Tonight he's cooking thick pork chops and a zucchini/yellow squash side.  Keeping fingers crossed!!

Craft Fail!!!

Well my molds didn't turn out.  Grrr...

One wouldn't come out of the  form, and the other two were cloudy.  I'll try again!  Success WILL happen!

Here's the lonely survivor (the other one appears to have run away out of shame......)

Mean while I shall take a break and (pout) gather my thoughts on the subject.  So for now, I turn to St Patrick's day for the kiddos.  My Zing is happy today - the cut-outs were done from freezer paper.

Wyatt's shirt just need googly eyes, if I can find the right size.  I know I have some.  I really must get more organized in this crafting den of chaos!  

Oops, can't forget the sandals!

Pardon any imperfections, I haven't crocheted in a jillion years - and I've NEVER tried something like this!  I've always been more of a blanket gal.

My newest creation attempt!

It has been ridiculously long since I posted anything.  Life gets busy.....I get lazy...you know.

I have always liked the idea of making jewelry.  I haven't really attempted any, although I do keep buying pieces to work with.

My newest tools!  They are, yes, I have to say, darn cute!  The purple adjustable is actually a regular sized tool.

Wow - the photo makes it look like I have a marble work surface?!  I wish!  It's a cardboard table lined with wax paper.  But if you want to see it as marble, that's fine by me!

I saw a post, or picture, or pinterest on resin jewelry.  After about a week of googling, I was ready!  I bought EnvironTex Jewelry resin, a shape punch and an Arizona Green Tea can.  Here's my craft area, gathering all possible items.  Which weren't all possible items, I needed gloves, toothpicks, my molds, wax paper, tape, Q-tips, cotton swabs and project covers.  I also had to drink the tea.

Do you see the big silver thing in the back.  That's my KNK Zing that lives on the table.  It had to take a back seat today.  Sorry Zing, I still love you!

In here it shows the heart shape I punched (bottom right corner, ridiculously small to see), the can I punched it from, my awesome super titanium cut anything scissors my new E6000 (love this stuff) and my almost gone squished up E6000 along with various other things I may or may not use.  Again, sorry Zing.  Next time.  The really weird head shaped thing is not a zombie head, it was my son's attempt at a monkey in 7th grade art class.  I used it to hold down the metal pieces I had glued back to back.  His hat is around here somewhere....

I measured and mixed and poured and now....the worst part.  The 24 hour wait.  UGH!

Wish me luck!!

Gnomes, Gnomes and more Gnomes!!

My funny little garden!

Every year I plant a veggie garden, which normally fails.  'Nuff said.

Although I will continue the same folly this summer, I decided to add some fun into the yard.  My grandson needed a Gnome garden!  I've always wanted to put something whimsical into the yard, but unlike others I've seen, this one will be in the backyard!  My neighbors don't need to know how truly nutty I am.

So here's the first step:

The mound!  Notice the butterfly and flag that are keeping the sod in place until it takes.

Then, while my daughter was out of town and I told her of my quest for oddness, she made me a bunch of little Gnomy things!

A Wheel barrel!

and...

A Ladder!

and so much more.  Check out this awesome house:

She's the best!!

So the next steps involved putting it all together.

 Here's how it's coming together:

Home for our smaller residents

I had an old birdhouse that was wasting away, so I gave it some paint and a few hits from a can of enamel to slow the decay factor.

The larger home.  Notice our nosy friend Pixie pig in the background.

Soon to be fire pit

Custom benches and well

Gnome Arbor

We're not done yet!  The life of a gnome is terribly busy!  There's a rock garden going in, and several more Gnomes moving in.  I may need a new house for them all!

Boy's room update

The grandson is now three - and although I love how we did his room originally, he's gotten a little older now and it's time for engaging his mind and imagination.

Here's his room before:

It was fun to paint and such a cute design.  My DD and I had fun doing it.  But, as I said, it's time for a change!  Bring on the critters!!

My first critter.  Doesn't everyone need a cute little worm in their room?

The next two I put on the wall inside a bookcase.  I told him these little guys were moving in to get out of the rain!

Then of course, the bigger guys followed:

I'm nowhere near done and it's been so fun!  Check back for more updates!!

With the fast approaching holiday season, I spent some time yesterday doing what I love to do:  Googling and Pinteresting!

My goal?  Find something fun and easy to do with my Grandson!

I found.....butter.

Yes, butter.

I know, I know, butter is not the healthiest food to make.  But it's fun.  After all my googling, I'm pretty sure I am the only person on the planet that has not made this.  Until last night.

  I apologize for the lack of photography, I just didn't think of it at the time.

The How

Half pint of heavy cream

Some form of beating the cream (I used my immersion blender with it's blender-like attachment)

Salt

About 10 minutes-ish

Beat the crap out of the cream until it moves from the whipped cream stage to the butter stage.  Drain off the buttermilk.  Squeeze out the juices.  Rinse with water to remove all traces of buttermilk.  Mix in salt, or perhaps herbs for an extra treat.  Squeeze out the juices.  Place in a covered container, or into cute little molds.

I intend to experiment with the herbed butter for Thanksgiving.  I'll let you know how it goes.  

Here's the best page I found, and she used photos!!

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2010/03/22/homemade-butter/

Bon Appetit!

T-Mobile complaint

I've decided to add a gripe I'd posted on my facebook, just to give it more views.

I've had a day to fume, so now I think I can tell this and keep it fairly short....History: I've been a t-mobile customer since the mid 90s, it was voicestream and another name (can't remember) before finally t-mobile. Needless to say that makes me a pretty darn loyal customer. My daughter's phone croaked and I called to see what to do. We are still "contract" customers. My phone was available to upgrade, if I changed plans. Changing plans would save me HALF my bill! Good deal, right? Wrong, in order to change plans, I'd have to pay a $550 "migration" fee on my next bill. Migration fee? It's new since t-mobile supposedly went non-contract. Google "t-mobile no contract" to see the scam this has become. Long story short, stuck into our contracts until 2014, can't get a better deal on my bill without forking out half a grand, all while new customers get the perks. Disgruntled? Yeah, just a bit. —