Catching Up

Wow. It has been so long since I've posted on here (it doesn't help that when I get on to post, blogger always seems to be having some sort of problem or another). So much has been happening. So, I'll start with a picture I took a few months ago.

Now, I have been tagged by Em! So, here it goes.

1: What was the first craft that you remember making?

I don't know. We used to do crafts all the time when I was little. I remember several of them, but I couldn't begin to tell you which came first.

2: What is your preferred craft?

I'm not much of a craft person any more. But when I do go to do a craft, I prefer something artistic and creative.

3: Who taught you to do that craft?

ummmm....

4: What was the prettiest thing you’ve ever made?

Probably a dress I made four or five years ago.

5: What was the sloppiest thing you’ve ever made (not including very first tries at something)?

I have no idea. I generally forget about those things.

6: Who are you going to tag?

I am not going to tag anyone. If you would like to do this tag, feel free. But if you don't, that's fine too. :)

If you haven't noticed, I kinda never finished my 30 recipes in 30 days. That doesn't mean that I don't still get in the kitchen every now and then and cook something up. Hopefully I'll find time before Thanksgiving to do a post on my kitchen adventures with pumpkin.

And I've been given two awards by Julia! Thank you, Julia!

The Official Blog Award Rules (for both awards):

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Give the award to 15 other bloggers.

7 things about myself?

1. I love sprinting. I do some "distance running", and while I do enjoy it, I still prefer sprints.

2. I absolutely love campaigning!

3. I have some of the most amazing and awesomest friends in the world.

4. I actually enjoy school. Most people either don't like it or just don't care, but I think it's fun.

5. I am so grateful for all my family. My wonderful parents, my awesome sister and brother, my extended family, and also the families that, even though they aren't technically my family, have become just like family.

6. I have already listened to Christmas music this year ( I actually started in mid-Ocotober), but have since been persuaded that Christmas music needs to wait until after Thanksgiving. So now I'm waiting to get my music out again.

7. It still doesn't seem exactly real to me that my sister is now courting. :)

I know, I know...here's a picture.

Well, that's pretty much all I've been up to lately. Hopefully I won't let it go so long before I post again. :)

30 Recipes in 30 Days

Life has been busy over here, so no old photos were dug up. But the point of this post is to inform you of a project I thought would be fun to try. A friend had given us her old cookbook a long time ago. It was buried and forgotten, but in the process of cleaning the garage this week, we found it. I sorted through the recipes and found the ones I wanted to try. Then I counted them and found there were 30. So I got the idea to try them over the course of 30 days. So I will post when I can (probably once a week) about the recipe and try to post some pictures to go with it.

On the first day I made: French Apple Pie

Result: It was quite well liked. It didn't turn out exactly like pie, though; it was so gooey we had to serve it with a spoon. The aroma that filled the house while it was baking was quite wonderful.

On the second day I made: Buttermilk Coffee Cake


Result: It was well liked too. I didn't add the baking soda because no where in the recipe did it say how much to add. So it turned out kinda flat and dense. And I didn't put enough of the cinnamon sugar in the middle and put too much on the top.

On the third day I made: Buttermilk Chocolate Bread
Result: It turned out okay (after I finally made it right; the first batch I made I forgot to put in enough eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Not exactly one of my favorites, but others liked it.

On the fourth day I made: Baked Oatmeal
Result: This is a recipe I have made before. It turned out like it always has. It's not one of those that gets rave reviews, but it's not bad either.

On the fifth day I made: Cooked Eggnog
Result: It took almost an hour to make. When I pulled it out of the fridge to serve, it stunk really bad. And the taste can be summed up with one word: YUCK.

On the sixth day I made: Honey-Cinnamon Spread
Result: Well, I didn't exactly make this on the sixth day. Therefore I am changing it up a little bit and instead of doing a recipe every day, I'll do a recipe when I can and count it as a cooking day. So, this is what I made on my sixth cooking day. It was pretty good. I put it on a bagel for breakfast and pretzels for snack. The taste reminds me of some cookies I've made in the past, but the spread isn't so bad for you.

On the seventh day I made: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Result: It tasted like tuna noodle casserole. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything spectacular either.

So, that sums up the first set of recipes. 7 down, 23 to go.

I Know, I Know....

So I haven't posted in forever. Our camera is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Cause of the problem is under investigation. :) Until we figure it out and fix it, there will be no photos. Unless I go dig out some old ones..........

Project 365: 133-148

We went on a trip! I didn't get many pictures, but I did manage to snap a few. Enjoy!

We got to see the ducks! Unfortunately, they go really fast. So this is the only picture I got of their "march".

Dad with the penguin at SeaWorld.

No Photos

Sorry there are no photos. We have been very busy getting ready for our state's homeschool convention. Now that it's over, there are several things we have to try to wrap up for that, and other things we need to attend to. So I won't be able to post pictures until things slow down. Not sure exactly when that will be, but it will be a while.

Project 365: 97-115

My quilt cutting station.

Ironing station.

Sewing station.

Fabric.


More fabric.

Just One Star.

And another.

My rearranged room.

I finally got my drawer organized!

Speech drawer now organized!

Nice and neat.

For Grandpa and Grandma.

I've been enjoying trying to draw.

Dragonflies caught in spider web.

Freed.

Recovering.

Little grasshopper.

Spring!

Empty bird cage. Jingo died last week.

Project 365: 88-94

On the photos that are kinda similar, I would appreciate your opinions as to which is better. :)

I found this little guy crawling on my shirt after I had been out in the forest, so I transferred him to a tree out front.


He was rather hard to capture


because he was very fast


and would crawl away before the shutter clicked.


So I zoomed out to get one of all of him.


The forest out back.


My big tree that I've been pulling thorns off of.


A fern that is near my tree in the forest.


More forest.


Even more forest. Can you tell where I've spent a lot of time this week? ;)

A tree at the front of our forest.


The pile of branches and twigs I've cleared from the forest.


Dandelion.


Rock.


Flower.


Our back yard.


Acorns.


More acorns.


The path I've cleared in the woods.


My little lamb's ear.