While Josh Was Away

While Josh was away for 3 weeks, I tried to get a few projects done that I had been putting off.  Here are some things that kept me busy.

I made cinnamon rolls- a 7-8 hour process well worth every second.

Cinnamon rolls rising in the laundry room

Baked and cooling

Vacuum packaged and ready to freeze

Almost ready to eat

Pre-gobbling!

I made some play crowns for my adopted niece.

My 2 favorites- I love the polka dot felt and "jewels"

I made one boy crown so that there can be a king during playtime.

The backs were just fabric covered elastic.  Super easy!

Close-ups.  I had way too much fun with my Grandma's sewing machine.  It has some great stitch patterns!

Princess Bailey and her favorite crown.  The girl has good taste- this was my favorite too!

I straightened up the garage a little.

Before

After

Before

After

I whipped up this drawstring bag made from bandanas and filled it with cinnamon rolls to give away.

I also weeded the garden (which took several days)

So that's what has been keeping me busy lately.  Have any projects you want to share?
PS- I'm on Pinterest now if you are interested in checking out my page.  You'll find the inspiration to most of my craft projects along with other stuff too.  http://pinterest.com/als88nm/pins/

2011 Garden, Part 4- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I realize it has been quite a while since I gave a garden update.  Josh was out of town for 3 weeks, and I wanted him to see the garden before I posted pictures. 
In general, I would say this is a horrible garden year.  The few things that are surviving this terrible heat are growing so very, very slow.  A lot of things have died for various reasons, and we're still not sure if we'll actually get to eat anything from the plants that have survived.  So here are some pictures from last weekend:

Overlooking the garden- lots of "dead" space :(

The Good!!

Various squash plants are slowly growing and have many flowers

Cantaloupe!  If you look closely, there are 2 green fruits toward the bottom center of the picture.

Pumpkins- no fruit yet, but very healthy looking plants

Okra has decided to start growing and blooming!

Corn has its tassels out!

The Bad:

Bell peppers- these look great in the picture but have since died (we think I over fertilized)

Tomatoes- not dying, but not really growing either.  Covered in flowers, but no fruit

Green beans- hard to see, but they're dying. 

The Ugly:

Unfortunately, we have several plants that look like this

So there you have it- our first TX garden seems to be a flop, but that's ok.  We knew this year would be more of an experiment than anything else.  We have learned a lot and hope to make some significant improvements next year.  Hopefully your garden is growing better than ours!

"Dad's Stuff"

Growing up, Sunday evening dinners were pretty casual.  Dad often made bacon and egg sandwiches or his signature recipe, "Dad's Stuff".  In honor of Father's Day, I whipped up a batch of "Dad's Stuff" last weekend.  I have never made it before, and I can't even remember eating it in the last 10 years, but it's a taste I will never forget.  So here's what you need:

Light corn syrup, peanut butter, butter (imitation is just fine), maple syrup (imitation is just fine), and honey

Note- this is not a very healthy recipe!
So you pretty much just throw a little of everything in a bowl.  I don't have amounts, helpful huh?  I just put 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter, 1 spoon of butter, and a squirt of each syrup and the honey. 

You just mix it up and slap it on some bread or eat it straight out of the bowl.  I did both.  At first it didn't have the taste I remembered, so I ended up adding  more honey and maple syrup.  It was just right.
You'll probably never make it, but I just wanted to share one of the foods that reminds me of my Dad and takes me straight back to my childhood.  Mmm mmm- "Dad's Stuff"

One Last Video of Titus and Constance

Constance went into a hyper barking fit and Titus decided to join in- you may want to turn down your volume!

Titus and Constance discover a snake skin

So we occasionally come across a snake skin on our property.  Titus always reacts the same- like it's going to bite him if he touches it.  Constance didn't seem so intimidated at all.  In fact she quickly lost interest and found the nearby plant and dirt much more intriguing.  Titus stuck with it for another 10 minutes after these videos (when I finally took it away from him) while Constance and I watered some plants and played with sticks.  Titus could not understand why Constance wasn't more interested in his great find.
(Again, not great videos, but it's fun to see how differently these dogs act.)

Meet Constance

This is Titus' new girlfriend, Constance.  She's a 5 month old golden retriever that we're getting to puppysit right now.  She's so full of energy compared to our boy, but he's hanging in there.  They like to share Titus' nylabone, but only a certain one (he has 3).
This is how it goes:

Constance tries to sneak in from behind and steal the bone- no luck, Titus is on to her.

Constance tries a more forward approach, but she's not too sure about those 2 big paws she has to get past.

She moves in closer while he's distracted and...

... steals it right from under his nose!

Titus is really quite good with this youngin'.  He gladly gives up whatever toy she wants.  Even when they have a good game of tug-of-war going, he eventually lets her win.  What a gentleman!  Just don't jump in his face or bite his ears- his patience only goes so far.
These 3 videos are just of them playing tug-of-war.  Nothing too funny, I just think they're cute.

Productivity...

You know I've been productive when the craft room looks like this:

I can't say what all I've been working on just yet; it will be a few more weeks before I'm able to share.  Just know that I've been having tons of fun playing with my Grandma's sewing machine.  It can do all sorts of things my other ones can't.  Plus, I feel extra crafty having 2 sewing machines out at the same time! 
Other than working on secret projects, I've also done less exciting things like replacing elastic in shorts and turning jeans into capris.  Nothing photo worthy there, but it's nice to have some of those maintenance projects done too.  I've got a list of 16 projects that I'm slowly checking off.  It feels great!  Have a wonderful, productive weekend!

7 Years Ago...

... this adorable little chocolate morsel was born.  *sigh*  Of course we didn't meet him until a few weeks later, and the rest is history.  He has been one wonderful pup.
Prepare yourself for some serious cuteness!

When was he ever this small?

Titus learned what the kitchen was very early on.

Still Titus' favorite part of the day

His dog house seemed so huge when we first got it.

I don't know why other buyers didn't want this droopy-eyed pup.

We learned pretty early that the camera flash + Titus' eyes = crazy yellow-eyed dog.

Total sweetness!

After his very first swim ~10 weeks old.

"Just hanging out with some toys"

And my absolute favorite Titus pic of ALL TIME...

Homicide puppy- anybody have any chalk?

Happy 7th birthday to Titus, Mr. T, T-pot, Stinkpot, Mr. Merryweather (Titus' middle name), Trail Blazer, Little One, Bub, Poochy Pooch, T, Bud, Pig, Horse, Cow, Silly Willy, Arthritis Titus, Old Man, Sweet T, and officially (according to AKC) Brokaw's Titus.  It's been a fun 7 years!