Tulip Time

Last fall I planted these. I was excited to see them pop out of the ground. I was a little wary that they wouldn't. But here they are. And most of them have two or three blooms! Lovely.

Mama Robin

When we moved to our house, there was a nest on our porch. There weren't any birds in it at the time, but we decided that it wasn't bothering any one there. This spring a mother robing decided it would be the perfect place to lay her four bright blue eggs. She sits on the nest most of the time. Whenever we go outside she flies away screaming and sits in the tree close by warning us not to go near her precious soon to be babies. I took a few peeks, just to count the eggs. One day there was two, the next three, and finally four. I haven't checked since, so there may be more. I think they can lay up to five eggs. The nest is right outside our kitchen window. Wherever we wash the dishes it is like we can have small conversations with the mama robin. It is really fun to see.

Perennial Swap

At our church, Rob and I are a part of a group called Creation Tenders. We meet once a month to talk about our responsibility towards God's creation. One of the things we planned was a perennial swap. The awesome thing about this is, our place has a lot of open space to plant beautiful things. So we snagged some day lilies, cedum, cannas, potatoes, ferns, asters, and maybe a few things I don't quite remember right now. It was great to be able to talk to the people who brought the plants, discussing how/where they should be plants, and what they look like when they bloom. I love the fact that whenever
I look at those plants I will remember the people who so generously shared them.

Sorry for the neglect...

I haven't posted anything in a while. Life has been extremely busy, but full of some really wonderful things. I will have to find some undated pictures to share and explain what we have been up to lately. Stay tuned...

Super Cute!

Does anyone need an idea for some super-cute spring cupcakes? Here is the perfect idea! I love these...



They are from an amazing blog called Bake at 350. If you make them... please let me know!

Thanks Rob!

Now I have to make something!

Birthdays are fun at school.

Fun little gifts I made for the great kids I work with everyday. For the girls, little hair clips in fun colors. For the boys, crayons made from a bucket full of old crayons I used growing up. (They enjoyed the unique little gifts.) And a huge thank you to the wonderful mom's that came in to help celebrate an already blessed day.

Amazing Spring!

Tulip fields of Holland.




How is this not one of the most beautiful things you have ever seen?
I saw pictures like this on a blog I read often.
I hope you enjoy!

KitchenAid Mixer Cover

Rob had given my a gift certificate for Christmas to a fabric shop in town. I wanted to make one thing out with that money, so I looked and looked, and this is what I found. I used an idea from homemade by jill (a great blog I found recently). She has a link to about.com that shows how to create a mixer cover. Like here, I added a lining and a pocket. It was so easy and only took me part of an afternoon. I love this bright splash of color on my kitchen counter.

Spring Cleaing

I haven't had the time to do the real thing (getting a little antsy to clear some stuff out of our new house), but I had a minute to spruce up this space. A little green really brightens up the place.

Homemade Pea Soup

I have had a jar of dried peas sitting on my counter for a while. I thought they looked beautiful, but thought I should actually use them. So I made pea soup. I thought it was going to be harder, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was! I used a recipe from allrecipes.com, but adjusted it to fit what I had in the house. You should try it sometime. It is amazing!

2 cups dried split peas
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon hot peppers sauce
1-2 cups cubed ham
1 onion chopped
2 potatoes diced
1 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

In a large stock pot, add split green peas, chicken broth, water, hot pepper sauce, ham, chopped onion, diced potatoes, bay leaves, pepper, chicken bouillon cube, soy sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 1 hour 30 min, stirring occasionally. Or until you think it is done.

** The recipe says to take out part of it to process in a blender or food processor. I didn't do that because I like thick, chunky soup. And the peas had cooked down. You can add 2 cups of cream at the end too, but I didn't.


Yum!

Here's an idea....

I have been wanting to make a quilt for our bed for a while now, but haven't gotten enough guts to pick out a patter, fabric, or even start for that matter. All I do is look online at all the beautiful pieces other people create and try to get inspired. Well, that isn't how things get done. But I found this great blog called thelongthread.com. She is an amazing quilter, seamstress, and over-all idea collector. And from her, I finally got an idea! She started doing something like this...



Using a bunch of scraps, she sewed a long piece of lines. Now she is making this...





I am now inspired! She said "sew now... figure out if you like it later." I think I will do that. We will see where it leads me.

Yikes!

Thanks Becky!

My Sister-in-law Becky is so talented! She made Kris a hat like this recently and she asked if I wanted one too.... Of course! She picked gray for the hat and a burnt orange for the flower. It fits perfectly and the flower is on a pin so I can wear it with other things too. *so smart*

Today was "Chicken Day"

Rob, Ollie, and I welcomed home 12 day old chicks! They are such a joy. They had many visitors today.


I will post better pictures soon. Cheap Cheap!

Best Boy Scout Themed Cake

Rob was recruited to help Taylor with his cake for the Boy Scout's Blue and Gold Banquet. Here are some pics of the winner of "Best Theme".

A little green

A while ago, I bought these little plants at a greenhouse that was going out of business. Rob had these little spice containers that belonged to his grandma that we had sitting on our kitchen windowsill. What a great way to use these little jars and bring a little color into our home. I also put one in a little glass tea cup for our table.

Support Handmade

Somethings found from Etsy.com



iviemade



unExpectedParTie



baileydoesntbark



ginelleirene



spreadthelove

Hello February...

I will welcome you with some pretty pictures.










*Pictures from designspongeonline.com and Martha Stewart.

Making the switch...

I went to see a Diabetes Nurse Educator this past weekend as a part of my routine check-ups. Since getting my new pump, controlling my glucose levels has been a bit easier. The doses of insulin are more exact, the calculation of carbs is more accurate, and delivering my doses is a lot easier. Most of the time I don't have to touch my pump because I have a remote - oh yeah! One of the first things the nurse did was download the past couple of weeks of glucose checks, carb intakes, and insulin boluses. What? Yeah... I don't have to keep take of any of that because the pump does it for me. She took that information and made charts and graphs and could analyze how I am controlling my diabetes.

To say the least - she was quite impressed! My A1C was 5.8 (which she said was one of the best numbers she has seen in a long time). Since being diagnosed at age 22, I have always wondered if I am doing everything the right way or if I am really understanding this disease. It is really comforting to know that I am doing something right. The only recommendations that she gave me was to take a multi-vitamin and to cut back on the caffeine. Um - one of those might be close to impossible. But, I am going to try. So, I'm making the switch to half-caffeine and decaf and just plain cutting back. So, I hope I don't turn into a walking crabby-zombie.

Discarded Items.

Rob found a listing in the Doon Press that a flower shop in Hull was going out of business. They were going to be selling all of their plants and store items for cheap. So, he went there and came home with some great finds.