Monthly Check-In

It's going to be March in a few days.  Wholy cow!  I've got to admit, I've been lazy...again!  Must be the cold that makes me lazy during the week.  Weekends are a different story.  We're working like crazy to clear our yard. 

Check it out!

If you guys remember...the before...

We rented a bobcat, but took pictures on the good camera.  All I have is uploaded is an after photo from my camera phone.  Why do we have a good camera if I don't use the photos?  =P

I trimmed the palm tree too! 

We have an inspiration photo for our front now!  I pinned this courtyard that Doug found.  Both of us fell in love with it, so we're going to hopefully recreate it in our front yard. 

Pinned

We even started looking at concrete.  $3.55 a bag at Home Depot.  1 bag only covers 2 sqft @ 4 inches deep.  Yea...that's not a lot.  We're still deciding on how much area to cover.  Definitely exciting tho!  It'll be built in stages cuz seriously we still need to be able to put food on the table!

Moving along to the back yard...

Why are we digging out this tree?  It's right next to our bedroom.  Not good.  Hopefully it doesn't get under our foundation. 

haha  Couldn't resist!!  Yep, those french doors lead to our bedroom.  =)

Aside from yard work, I've been working on my cooking skills.



I made this Dutch Baby!  MMmmm....so good!  Recipe found on Simply Recipes.

Chicken cacciatore from Pioneer Woman.  Didn't even know what this was before we tried it.  Soooo flavorful!  I think it's from the stewed tomatoes we used.

Lastly, we made fried rice.  I've been craving this, and it came out really good!  I improvised with what I had, loosely following the allrecipes version.  One reviewer added oyster sauce instead of soy sauce.  I tried, and yum!  This made the flavor!  I used frozen veggies, chinese sausage, and ground pork for my add ins.  Good stuff. 

I put in the crock pot this morning Chicken and lentil soup.  We'll see how that goes.

Out of 28 days, I managed to try and make something new at least once a week.  Yay!  Hmm...maybe I'm not so lazy after all.  :) 

Oops!  Almost forgot!  February is Vday.  My hubs bought me flowers!  No one ever gives me flowers... this was a pretty wonderful surprise.  =)

 

He's got a wild side...

Remember how cute Indie was? 

Well...he's growing!  He's still very well behaved and mellow. 

Ahh!  So cute!

He loves this rope.  He'll play fetch in the house with it all the time.  =)

Indie loves the sun.  He likes laying belly up.  Sometimes he even sleeps this way.  =P

We try to introduce him to new dogs.  Real and fake.  haha  He was scared by this one.  When he finally smelled him he probably thought, "I was tricked!"  or "Hey!  This isn't a real dog."  Or "So life-like!"  haha

That's what Indie looked like when he found out the dog wasn't real.

Yuki is growing too!  Look at him!  He loves sitting in your lap!  =)

Before...

haha I asked Doug to pick him up.  He couldn't really hold him the same way.  =P

Doug likes messing with Indie.  He's trying to pull his tongue.  =P

He rarely has crazy urges, but here's one of them.  He ripped open his bed!  All I could do was laugh.  =P 

NOT SO HAPPY STORY...
This morning actually he chewed through our mics for the Wii.  Sorry no photos...The books say it's our fault for leaving things out.  Yea, it was, but he chewed the cords to pieces.  Sighs...I got upset by not talking to him and putting him outside.  He knew he did something wrong.  He just stood there with puppy eyes.  I felt bad for him.  =/  Lesson learned.  Put things away.

Back to some more cute photos-

 We took him to the beach and to the mountains this past weekend.  He loved both, and is learning to walk at our pace.  He walks super fast, so we're trying to slow him down.  We're not ready to let him roam free yet.  Yes, he loves the car!

We love Indie!  He's one of the coolest dogs we know!  And growing...=)

Welcome New Year!

December just zipped on by didn't it? 

Here's a quick recap:

I worked on Xmas presents for a week for my family.  I found this tutorial from Delia Creates.

Hmm...Danny, if you're reading this, I plan on sending you and Jason one.  =)  Look for it in the mail next week!  Sorry, I've been kinda slow at everything, let's just hope I send it to you before winter ends.  =P  ...Patty, do you want one?  I can make one for you too!  Altho it's 70 degrees out.  You don't really need it...but I'll make you one!  ;)

Christmas was lots of fun~  We opened gifts at my grandma's house.  Kids are growing up so fast!

This year Doug and I didn't buy a tree.  Instead we waited for after Christmas sales to get one.  We stopped by Home Depot, and picked up this beauty for $20!

I didn't want one that was too tall, so we got a 6.5 foot tall tree.  I love how full it looks.  =)

Almost all the ornaments are from Target clearanced 70% off.  I got them because they're so crafty looking!  =)  Nothing on the last layer because Indie might think he can eat it. 

Yay!  We got a tree!

Paperwhites

I'm so excited!!  They're alive!  Two weeks of patience have led to these beauties...

I bought these bulbs from Miss M's fundraiser. 

This is the first thing I planted, and didn't die on me.   I am a happy girl.  =) 

Indie Indie!

I don't remember if I told you guys this...Doug's dad was puppy sitting for us before we moved into our house for a week.  During that week, he fell in love with Indie.  When we transitioned Indie to our home,  Doug's dad missed having Indie around.  He ended up buying Indie's brother, and named him Yuki!

When they get to together it's like a boxing match!  I'm not too fond of that, and hope it'll stop someday.  They sure tire themselves out.  By the end of the day, they're still friends.  =)

Indie plays really well by himself too. 

This is the second time we bathed him, and all he wanted to do was get out!  The first time, he whimpered a lot.  He's learning that whimpering won't help him.  =P

Doug teaching him to sleep in the kennel.  He's fine in there now, but nervous at first.  He gets this whole room to himself.  =)

He always likes to sit really close to us.  He loves belly rubs too!  I'll get a photo eventually.  He lays on his back for them.  =)

Aww...he loves Snoopy too!

I made him a doggie bed.  He's deciding on which pillow I should use.

He sure loves to sleep!  I cut out some fabric to use for his doggie bed.  He likes!

He went licking for my face.  haha Was thinking of using this as a Christmas card.

Might use this one instead.  =)

I got a Favicon

Check that out!  I got a little icon thingy.

I made it myself.  =P  I wonder if this should be official...hmm...

Check out how on I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar to see what it is for, and how to make one too.  =)

It has potential to be great...

Doug's friend's birthday is today, and I've been working on a present for her.  It's taken me two days, and sadly I was unsuccessful.  It's just not presentable.  I'll let you have a look see on what I mean.  I pretty much combined this concept...



Placemat clutch



 plus



Wedding clutch

  Easy enough huh?  So I started with this.  

front/back

Then I sewed as said in the tutorial.

So what's wrong with it?

I had to hand sew the opening where you're supposed to turn it inside out.  Not pretty!  I need more practice.

I also didn't like the blue border all the way around.  It looks really weird in person.

Lesson learned.  The type of fabric really matters!  Keep that in mind when you sew too.  I used a really thick canvas exterior with a thin suede for the interior.  Maybe, the problem was there were two layers of thick canvas?  When I turned it inside out, the seam was too wide for the exterior.  Weird, but I think that's what happened.  I'm going to salvage this by taking the two pieces apart.  I WILL try again.  Lots of potential with this idea.  I'm just an amateur sewer.  Maybe she'll get it as an X-Mas present.  =)

 --------------------------------------------------------------

Seriously, you get what you pay for!  This $50 machine has me pulling out hairs.  It jams all the time.  =/  I think the key for this machine is to use the fabric on wider surfaces.  I was trying to sew an 1/8 of inch seam, but this machine really doesn't like it.  The machine is too aggressive.  I was about to return it, but LOOK!

IT SHIRRS!!!!!!!!!!

So if the new machine I get today can shirr, I will return this guy.  =P 

More good news!  I organized a little bit.  =)  Doug's grandma was a big sewer, so she's giving me a lot of her sewing things.  Yay!  Here's a bit of what she's given me so far.