Thought Processing

I have had, like most people, an extremely busy last few days, but in the midst of it, I have had a lot to process.  Nothing major or even affecting our family, but some issues that I have been involved in and needed to help with the resolution process.  Just got my brain working.  This has been keeping me up at night and driving me crazy :-)  So, I decided to do something worthwhile during the whole processing time -- and sure enough - it worked.  Here are the results of my processing!!

I was asked to make an angel watch and once it was done, I went ahead and made these angel earrings -- don't know why I like making earrings so much, I don't even have my ears pierced :-)

 

 



 

I love cloisonne beads and these butterflies are so bright -- I just love how the combination of the peachy tan, green and blue beads work together with just a pop of red.

 

 

Lately, I've noticed that I don't have a neutral watch, so decided to put together this black and white one - plus I was finally able to find the white shell beads.  I just love how the black streaks through them.

 



I love snow!!  We have had nothing but clear weather -- when it's cold, it's not wet, when it's wet, it's not cold.  I made this watch while seeing the rain come down, wishing it were snow.

 



 This Christmas lights watch is totally different and I'm not sure I like it.  The watch band is clear and green and the lights hang off, sort of like a charm bracelet.

 

 I have had these pink and black foil beads for a while and finally took the chance to put them together - I love the black face with them.  A little chunkier than what I normally make, but cool all the same.  I'm also thrilled with the little round black metal beads -- they almost look like they have rhinestones on them.

 

 

 I love the color combo of this watch and almost wish it wasn't on a Santa face, although that's what makes the present charms work.  It's fun and quirky - I call it "Naughty or Nice?"

 

 

 Pastel Angels is a custom order -- if you look closely you can see the angel on either side of the face, starting with a blue swarovski crystal head and ending with a blue foil bead.  There's also a delicate angel charm on the side.

 

 

I picked up two of these pink and purple beads and thought the silver tulip beads were perfect with them. 

New Things I Love

I don't normally endorse products -- there are lots of different ones out there and I feel it's totally a matter of taste -- but this time there are three things that I have discovered this holiday season that I absolutely LOVE!!

The first one I discovered at my mom's over Thanksgiving and hunted high and low for it when I came home, with NO LUCK!!  So, I called her and asked if she would bring me a couple of packages (which I managed to make last from Thanksgiving day until today)  Now, I'm sad because they are all gone and I can't find them in any local grocery store!!

Luckily there is still some of this left in the freezer and I did find it local.

And finally the one treat I indulge in when I just need a little something -- these are so rich and decadent -- Oh, I'm totally in love with this sweet treat.

These are so AWESOME!!!  I hope I can find them year round :-)

More Creations

It's been crazy busy around here -- all sorts of Christmas prep going on, but I thought I'd share a few pictures of what I've been doing.

A friend saw these on pinterest and fell in love -- I offered to make them for her and subsequently have ended up making 4 more pair :-)

My mom was making these over Thanksgiving and I thought I'd give them a try -- a fun sassy scarf!

And last, but certainly not least -- I was asked to make a butterfly watch and put together these two for the customer to choose from.  Amazing how the same theme can end up with two totally different looks.

That's all folks -- enjoy your day!!

Not for the Picky Eater

I don't know about you, but I get so tired of catering to the picky eaters in my house.  They won't eat this and they won't eat that, and for sure if you mix these two together, absolutely not.  It's too cheesy, it's too spicy, it's too whatever..... the list goes on and on.

So tonight, I decided to do something different.  I found a copy-cat recipe for Olive Garden's chicken and gnocchi soup and decided to try it.  Looked at the recipe and then went out on my own - what else is new??

Here's an approximation of what I used

glop of oil
2 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp flour

1 can evaporated milk
1 c water

1 c shredded carrots
1 package of gnocchi
3 pieces of fri-chik

sprinkle of thyme, nutmeg and cayenne

1 tsp. powdered chicken seasoning

Couple handfuls of baby spinach

I put the onions, celery, and garlic in a pan to saute and soften -- while they were cooking I put on a pot of water for the gnocchi.

Once the veggies were soft, I added the flour and cooked it out for a couple of minutes, added the milk and water and whisked until smooth.

Meanwhile the gnocchi is cooking away -- when it was done I roughly drained it and added it along with the carrot and the fri-chik to the pot. 

Tasted and add the seasonings -- tasted again and added the chicken seasoning.  The gnocchi thickened it up nicely, so I added a bit of water and turned up so it was almost boiling -- not quite, didn't want to curdle the milk :-)  While it was getting warm, I roughly chopped the spinach and added it to the pot, left it in just enough to wilt it -- it was still a pretty green color and not stringy and nasty!!  (Before I added the spinach I took some out for the girls)

 (not my picture, but there wasn't any left and I forgot to take picture before it was gone)

 

 

It turned out pretty good -- next time I won't add the chicken and would probably not finely shred the carrots -- they turned the soup into "cream of carrot" which wasn't bad, just turned it a little orange.  Anyway, next time, I would largely shred them and put them in just before I put in the flour, just enough to soften them, but leave whole strips.

 

All in all -- for a throw together, it turned out pretty good!!  The girls tasted it -- Hannah liked it, especially the gnocchi -- Rachel ate it.

Loving Family

So the last post was a little bit of whining -- I try to not normally be like that :-)  Sometimes it just doesn't work!! 

The last couple of days have been awesome -- spent Thanksgiving with great friends and then on Friday we went to feast with the Grant masses.  My grandparents didn't really do much for Christmas, had to do with the church my grandpa grew up in.  But, they both overdid Thanksgiving!!  As a kid, it was pretty much known that we would always be at the grandparents for Thanksgiving.  Thankfully, that hasn't changed even though they are both gone.  One of the five kids hosts and all the grands and now their families show up.  This year we were able to celebrate 3 new babies!!  The girls were asking different questions about various aunts and uncles on the way down --- it amazed me to realize that I knew most of the questions, I had actually been around longer than any of the married into's!!  Yeah, I'm getting old -- but it's fun to see the new generation starting.

Then it was hurry and buzz around the house to prepare for Sabbath company.  The girls were playing their violins for special music and their teacher was going to play, so I invited her for lunch and also another couple.  None of that happened, but didn't know that at the time, so was busy making lunch and house preparations.  The girls did play for church -- the very first time they've been able to play a duet with Hannah playing something other than just open strings and whole notes :-)

We Gather Together

Today is the end of the girl's break and it also marks the start of the Christmas season around here.  We went out and got our tree, are making tamales and then decorating the tree.

 I think we're going to start a new tradition -- tree and tamales!!!

 The academy faculty family parties are this week and I usually try to have the tree set up by then, so even though it seems early, such is life!!

Tomorrow -- it's full speed ahead with watch-making.  I have several orders that I need to get finished!!!  I'll post some pictures later :-)

More than thankful

Last night as we were eating supper, the girls started in on what they would like for Christmas, the list wasn't long, just expensive!!  And I, sadly must be honest, started to feel a little sorry for myself/us.  My thoughts were along the lines of "Just once, I would love to have an extra thousand or even five hundred, at this point, I'd settle for two-fifty to spend on Christmas, not for me, but so that I wouldn't have to say, well, the boots are nice, but the jacket is more practical.  Or some other version of choosing."  It always seems that I get more stressed about financial matters than anything else.  I get the whole thing that kids are spoiled and think they are entitled -- in fact, that's my usual thought process, but this time of year that goes out the window :-)

So, the day has been a little gloomy, and so to cheer myself up, the girls and I spent some time in the kitchen.  My funk is now gone -- the laughter of simple things is really what it's all about.  Here are the results of our efforts!!  But even longer lasting is the joy I get from seeing my girls working together and enjoying it!!!  I need to make more opportunities for that to happen instead of worrying about what we can and can't get this year.

Pride or Self-Preservation?

This week I was down in my sewing room and about to go crazy, so just to relieve the frustration of it all, I posted on Facebook. It's a mess down there and I do mean a mess.  The ironing board is down there so clothes get draped over my cut table space, the girls look for ribbons, elastic and such and they leave everything pulled out.  I go hunting for something in a major hurry and don't get back to putting it all away, it rains and the basement floods, so things get pulled out of the water's path and it just is a mess.  Added to all of this, there is way too much stuff down there -- an extra chair, a bed, boxes to be sorted, the list just goes on and on.

Anyway, after posting on FB, a very dear friend commented that she would be more than happy to take care of it, and she's definitely serious.  This lady is awesome!!  When we first moved here I was so intimidated by her :-)  She always seemed to have it all together, extremely organized, able to do anything, and all the while looking gorgeous!!  I have since gotten to know her :-)  I know that sounds awful, like she's not any of those things and I have to chuckle, because she still is all of those things, but now she's also someone I know to have a very caring heart, an unpretentious attitude, and is just as real as the rest of us  (just for example, she saw me in the parking lot one morning at the grade school and asked if her daughter could borrow a pair of my daughter's shoes -- evidently life was crazy that morning and they walked off without footwear)  Someone I truly count as a friend and an equal and certainly not someone that would judge.

So having said all of that, you think I would be jumping up and down at the chance for a real pro to actually come in and fix my room  ---  NOPE, NADA, NO WAY!! 

I then I realized how absolutely crazy that was and have been processing why I feel that way :-)  Why am I so uncomfortable with accepting help.  Do we really think worse of others than we do ourselves, i.e. I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to do something for a friend that would really help them, something that would make an impact in their life, but yet I'm not willing to let someone do the same for me??  If I wouldn't gossip, judge, criticize, etc another person, why would I think a genuine friend would??   Or is it that I care about what people think, I don't want to let all the walls down, it's okay to portray that I'm an open book, but when it comes right down to it, there's no way you're going to see my faults in all their glory. 

Just a bunch of thoughts rolling around -- who knows if they'll ever get resolved.  Chances are my sewing room will get cleaned before they're resolved!! Or then again????