Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Another Goodbye Quilted Postcard

Another friend is leaving our town in two weeks time.  We have been having friends come and go so much, I don't have enough time to make everyone a quilted postcard.  
I still have a lot of honing to do with this craft.  This is what I came up with for her.  I hope she enjoys it. 
  

This is the back.  Everybody get to sign and said their goodbyes here.
 


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Holiday Soap



I made these for the fundraising event  my friends and I organized for the Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda victims in the Philippines.  These are fun whimsical and Christmasy soaps made just in time for the holidays.  I gave some to friends and a few mentioned that they accidentally placed them into their mouths before realizing that they are soaps.  I am still learning how to seal the soaps with shrink wrap and a hot gun.  Got the idea but the wrap still needed to tighten a bit more to look more professional.

Ham and Cheese Pasta Casserole



Another easy dish to prepare from allrecipes.  The kids liked this even with gluten free pasta and bread crumbs.
       
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
  3. Combine macaroni, Cheddar cheese, ham, and mayonnaise in a 9x13 baking dish until well mixed.
  4. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the macaroni casserole.
  5. Bake casserole in the preheated oven until bread crumbs are lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
 

Hand Held Hasbrown Casserole



We had this for breakfast and again for dinner.  Easy and fast dish to prepare if you have a lot of things you would rather do than be in the kitchen.  From yummly.


Ingredients:

1 pound Bob Evans® Original Sausage – cooked and crumbled                                                                   
                     
1 (20 ounce) package Bob Evans® Hash Brown Potatoes

 
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a twelve cup muffin tin. In a bowl whisk

together eggs and milk. Add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 27-30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.


Monday, December 23, 2013

Cranberry Sauce


We got this from the Parade Magazine.  It is by Dorie Greenspan and has become a staple during Thanksgiving and Christmas in our home.  The hubby likes making and eating them.

Ingredients:

2 bags (12 oz. each) fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup apricot jam
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 lb. dried apricots, finely diced

The hubby personalized this recipe with a sprinkle of ground cloves, cinnamon and cardamom


Procedure:

Stir all the ingredients together in a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium

and cook, stirring, until the berries pop and the sauce starts to thinkened.  It will thicken much more as it cools about 8 minutes. 
Cool to room temperature, cover and chill.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

May to December 2013

December 28, 2013

 
Beautiful day for snow making

 
Bandit enjoying the snow.

 
We also made some craft.

December 25, 2013

Because of my surprise the hubby explained that it was supposed to be my 40th birthday present for 2012 that was not finished on time. So he decided to make it our 10th wedding anniversary present earlier this year. Hubby was about to cancel purchase but seller was finally able to finished design for today. Wonderful, Funtabulous, Merry Christmas to all!


December 17, 2013

Last night, hubby went to get the newspaper came back with nothing.
hubby: did we pay our newspaper bills, we don't have delivery today
me: we did not receive any bills yet, but its been a while.
I know, we can sign up for autopay and it will be our family Christmas gift.
Vyn: NOOOOO, that is boring


December 12, 2013

We've been having single digit temperatures and Bandit decided to find a new place to hang out when we are not around. His basement bed is not as cozy anymore. Caught him a couple of times snuggled on the kids' beds these past few days.
 
 
December 4, 2013
 
I thought I was just helping/volunteering but I got my first check after 8 years of being out of the workforce. What a delightful surprise.
 
 
December 1, 2013
 
The Turkey basketball tournament.  The boys are learning how to play the game and handled the ball better.  More fun watching the game this year than last year.
 
November 30, 2013
 
PANEM (Philippine Association of NorthEastern Michigan) gala.  This is my second gale with the association and the hubby decided to join us this year.  It was a fun night with the whole family and Filipino friends.
 
November 23, 2013
 
My friends and I held a fundraising event to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda which hit the Visayas region of the Philippines.
 
It all started when my mother in law called saying she wanted to donate her handcrafted jewelries to a fundraising event.  She called me on the 13th of November and then the ball just started rolling with friends willing to help in any way possible.
 
So proud of my friends who made this possible.  It was a successful event even when our area was hit by a storm days before the event and some friends have no electricity for a couple days.  It was also a cold and snowy day but still people showed up to support the cause.  A Great Thank You to Eveyone.
 
We are able to send funds through UMCOR of First United Methodist church, given some funds to a friend in Michigan whose family is directly affected and some of the funds also went to my friend in Cebu who is directly buying necessities and going to affected areas to help.
 
 
 
October 19, 2013
 
Vyn: How old can a person live?
Me: depends if a person don't get into accident, don't get any serious illness and take very good care of their body, then 80 to 100 maybe if we are lucky.
Vyn: Can a person live till 900?
Me: not that I know of.
Vyn: how about in bible days?
Me: don't know
This goes on for a few minutes, me insisting it is impossible to live till 900 and he insisting there is.
Vyn: I have proof, then he went to his bedroom and came back with the bible with the proof page open for me to read.
 
 
October 17, 2013
 
This morning:
Me: be done already, you are using too much water, the world will run out of water.
Lyn: the ocean will not run out
Me: you will not like to shower with salt water
Lyn: God will give us more water. He will tell us to break rocks or crack mountains to get clean water.
 
 
September 14, 2013
 
Me: Don't do that, you don't know what kind of poop or whatever is on the ground.
Vyn: Ma, you are too sensitive, the whole world is full of germs.
 
 
Lyn: ma I wish school is more funner.
Me: why, are you not having fun?
Lyn: I can't finish anything, everything is timed.
 
 
September 2, 2013
 
First day  pf school was great.
Lyn: I want to ride the bus home tomorrow.
Vyn: I love school. It's so fun.
 
 
September 1, 2013
 
Lyn: Ma I have a thousand butterflies in my tummy.
I am soo glad there will be some familiar faces when she start kindergarten.
 
August 22, 2013
 
First ever sleep over for Vyn
 
 
August 19, 2013
 
Hubby announced: I already bought my birthday gift, so you're off the hook. Of course his birthday is still months away. Me on the other hand just have a few days more to buy my own birthday gift.
While shopping, somebody asked his back " do you work here"
Hubby while turning around: I don't work here, upon seeing the person, I work with you.
 
 
August 13, 2013
 
Vyn: dogs are like people, when hungry they get cranky.
 
 
August 10, 2013
 
Lyn: My hot chocolate is very hot.
Vyn: Mine is hotter.
Lyn: No mine is hotter.
Me: Here we go again.
Lyn: Ok, it's time to ignore each other.
 
 
No more milk:
dad: oh we should just milk Bandit.
Vyn: but he is male
Lyn: there is nothing to squeeze.
 
 
July 21, 2013
 
Lyn: Nooooo, only me can do that. Tickle me when I am bad.
 
 
July 19, 2013
 
While playing skylander
Boy 1: You guys can play it first because I am already awesome at this game.

While playing pool
Boy 2: I am better at this than any of you.
 
 
July 14, 2013
 
In the hospital yesterday visiting family:
F: I am perfectly healthy until I came to the hospital.
During questioning:
Healthcare: Do you have any problems falling?
F: No, but I have problems getting up.
 
 
July 9, 2013
 
Vyn: Mama she is tattle telling a lie...
 
 
June 20, 2013
 
At karate this afternoon with other parents. While talking about vacation plans and pros and cons of camping.

A: What do you prefer, country life or city life?
Me: I like it both, but I miss city life because I like people watching, the street cars, buses, subways,every restaurants and conveniences all in walking distance.
M: (walking into the room ) Lots of rude people in big cities, drivers thought they own the roads
A: drivers like that are present here.
M: Midland is a big city.
 A: No, it's a little town with an attitude.
 

 

June 12, 2013
 
Vyn: I am done eating. You girls are so slow.
Lyn: That is how princesses eat... slow....
 
More observation for the day:

Vyn: Why is it that when we don't have a dog, we usually don't have anywhere to go. Now that we have Bandit we are always on the go?
 
 
May 20, 2013
 
while planting our flowers this afternoon:
Lyn: I love gardening...
 
 
May 19, 2013
 
Vyn: my favorite in school is gym, art and science.
Lyn: my favorite is birthdays, art, reading and small group

 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

Fabric Ornaments


These are the handmade ornaments I decided to do for this year.  It is inspired by a youtube video I saw (I did not save the link and can't find it again as I am writing this post) combined with this video from Jenny Doan

Went to our local Jo Ann's Fabric store and decided on these fabrics below.


 
I had fun making these ornaments. 

Great Turtle Race 2013


Friday, October 25, the hubby was worried that the Great Turtle Race might be cancelled due to a very bad weather forecast.  But since he trained and it's been scheduled, we drove over and hope for the best.  We stayed at the Cabins of Mackinaw which has become our favorite place to stay.  Although the drive was pleasant, it rained and got really windy at  night.

The ferry ride on Saturday going to the island was not only dizzying, it was also wet and windy. 


 
The Arch Rock.  The kids and I walked to the arch rock once we had our lunch.



 
We had our dinner after the race at the O'Reilly's Irish Pub and this is going to be another favorite stop in Mackinaw City.
  
 
The race was typical.  Nothing really stands out.
 
Update on Bandit:
  Bandit may have a barky kennel mate dog that weekend since he came home and barked every few hours at night.  He did this for a couple weeks.  I was starting to worry if this goes on until winter, I will not be able to do it.  But luckily he is back his usual self and slept through the night before it gets cold.  Since the kids don't have school for the Christmas break, he has been sleeping in and have not bark for attention again.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Winter Soap

 
Christmas is just around the corner and so I decided to make more of the gingerbread men.  The mold held after being used a couple times.

 
I am also taking advantage of my friend D's molds that I still have with me.  Will have to return them soon.  I called the above soap "Winter scene".  Original idea was from my supplier's website.  I used the circle mold from D and added some shredded white soap base and two green tree soaps I made earlier to  a red and white base and poured a clear soap base on top to keep everything in place. This was my first attempt and I am very happy with the result.  

 
I also made a tiny snowman and placed them on top of the gingerbread men for the picture.  I guess they would look better added to some colorful winter scene.

 
D also lend me some flower soap molds and I played with them by just pouring the colored soaps in the main flowers and poured a white soap base for the rest of the mold.


 
I also tried to embed a tree, the awareness ribbon and flowers into some of the regular soap molds.  Although better than my previous attempt at embedding, I waited to cool the clear soap too long and they started to harden when I poured them and thus I got wrinkles and uneven clear top layer to the soaps.



 
Still needed a lot of practice but I am enjoying every creations so far.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Assorted Designs

 
A crafty friend thankfully lend me her soap molds.  Made me realized the potentials I can play with the different shapes.  For the round and hexagon, I did the double pour technique of basic white soap base and a clear soap base I colored with blue.  Although not an award winning design for people to go gaga over with, I was happy with the result.  It turned out just as I expected.  Pictures below shows the other side of the above soaps.

 
The awareness ribbon was a mold I bought for the October Awareness Month.  As you can see in the picture below.  The soap with the ribbon on top of the soap turned out just right.  Since, I like playing around, I decided to make the ribbon looked like it was embedded inside the rectangle and oval soap molds.  I did not get the result I expected for these.  I intended for the ribbon to be seen through a clear base but the white soap took over the entire ribbon. We can still see some part of the pink ribbon peeking out.  The plan was for the ribbon to be embedded inside the soap but completely visible supposedly.  I will have to play some more to get what I am envisioning for this. 

 
I had some leftover pink soap to fill up three happy face molds. 
 Till the next project. Thank you for stopping by. 
 

Friday, October 18, 2013

Gingerbread Men Soap


Today, Friday October 18, 2013, I decided to make some gingerbread men.  I used the leftover soaps for a few happy faces and a musical mold I got from our grocery store.  They turned out great as well.  The details showed and did not break at all as I was expecting.  My daughter Lyn saw the molds when they got home and just started peeling the soaps off.  The designs held and came off the mold just fine. The house smells like Christmas time. 

 
This time, I did not freeze the mold.  Practiced my patience and waited for a few hours before attempting to unmold the soaps.  They came out pretty easy and were not wet at all.
 
 
Because I sometimes like to do things fast.  I over poured the white details and had to do some cosmetic surgery to give the gingerbread men a sharp and clean look.  The hubby saw me removing tiny bits of pieces in the eyebrow area and was like " I thought it is just melt and then pour ". 


Definitely, not just melt and pour if you have different colors to add and has to be precise with the detailings.  Noticed the white soap in the supposedly only red top botton?  This is what happens when my impatience took over and I was not meticulously doing what I should have.



 
 Since the soap came out dry and I don't want any crystallization to happen.  I wrapped them right away and practiced making my own soap box.  I obviously still need to practice wrapping the soaps and making it tighter.  But at least these soaps are going to be protected from the elements.




Tuesday, October 15, 2013

My Very First Attempt at Soap Making

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, the day I received my first soap making supplies.
Oh what excitement!  After reading a lot about soap making and watching how to videos on youtube.    I thought that it would be too difficult for me to decide which fragrance, colors and base to use for my first project and so I ordered for a kit.   After opening the package, I got into work right away, I forgot to take pictures of the supplies.
 
The company included a free half an ounce of fragrance and I can't ignore it or wait for another batch of order to use it.  So I separated a few of the base for the free fragrance and grabbed some baking molds for it.  My impatience to just go ahead and avail of  everything in the package got the best of me.
 

 
The white mold came with the kit and the blue silicone ones are from my kitchen.
 

 
As you can see in the above picture, instead of spreading the gold dust, I ended up creating a few globs of it.
 
Some of the bars broke off into two or three layers.  Definitely need to practice some more.
 
 The white top layer was sprinkled with the gold dust and the layers in between was supposed to be a pretty swirl of pink, blue and purple then a clear bottom layer.

Definitely a keeper hobby.  No needles flying all over the house whenever the machine is in trouble.  I just need to find a good supplier that ships faster than this company I am using now.  The supplies were good but this was my first and I don't have any other company to do any comparison yet.

It was great fun making it and waiting for the final result was satisfying even for a first time soap maker like me.