If flavor could explode in your mouth

that is what happened with dinner last night!

Last night was the BSU/TCU Fiesta Bowl game. Since Kaitlyn is not into football (good girl!!) she made dinner.

We had the curried potatoes/peas/cashews/raisins over basmatti rice. In one word...FLAVOR!

I love the combination of curry and potatoes. It is just so good. She did an excellent job and there was NONE left when we were done eating.




BSU won the game 17-10 and went with a 14-0 season! GO BSU! Here is Noah's favorite shirt that he of course was wearing for the game!

New year, new meal plan

My resolution's are many this year, but one of my biggest is to be more consistent with my meal planning and sticking to them.

thus, here is the plan for the week. Some of this was more heavily influenced by Shawn as he choose most of the dinners.

Breakfast:
Maple muffins
french toast
oatmeal
raisin bran muffins
oatmeal
scrambled eggs and toast

Lunch:
vegetarian paella
Black Bean tamales w/wheat free apple crisp
bean burritos
corn chowder and homemade bread
veggie fried rice
leftover day

Dinner:
Vegetable upside down casserole
sandwiches
Curried Potatoes (with peas, raisins and cashews)
corn bread topped south western pot pie
Tacos
No Hurry Vegetable Curry
Arroz NON pollo

sounds good, yes?
Isabella starts her new school on Monday. She is very excited to go everyday instead of just 2 days a week. Noah will also start his homeschooling this next week-and he is just as excited to be home!
I am just busy dyeing yarn for the store and knitting gifts for friends! I hope to knit my sweater really soon.

beginning and endings....

The year is ending and a new one is beginning. As I look back over the last year I am impressed with a how many things in my life have changed. Some good, some bad. Relationships and friendships that have ended and new ones that have been found or picked back up from a previous time. Attitudes, thoughts and beliefs that have changed.
A new direction is right around the corner, and I am looking forward to embracing it! New chances to do things in my life that will help to enrich and bring happiness.

A new year brings hope and new choices - I hope that yours are good ones and that you have a new year full of love, happiness, and peace!!
Happy New Year!

Time has gotten away from me

I know there have not been any posts lately *blush* so here is a quick post covering it all.

Kids are doing good. Conner has been in the hospital twice this last week and has pneumonia. He also has had a serious weight loss and will be seeing a doctor.

Kaitlyn went to her first party/dance for a friends sweet 16. She had a blast. Here she is on her way out:





Noah is good. He went to districts for wrestling and took 6th overall. He is the only 6th grader from his school to place in the districts.

Hannah is well. She was invited to join the drama club at school and is very excited about it.

Lexi is Lexi. Still in her own little artistic world! She spends most of her days drawing on every piece of paper she can get her hands on.

Bella just got in to Thomas Jefferson charter school. She will start at the beginning of the year and we are thrilled! I think this will be so much better for her than the current 2 days a week kindergarten that she is currently in.

Harrison is a character. He is talking more and loves to sing Christmas songs!

I am good...I finished my classes for the semester the first week of December..I wanted them done! I got grades back...both A's! YAY!

I did another starbucks wreath-and I love how it turned out!





Happy Holidays. See you soon!

30 days of Thanksgiving

So I found my old posts (almost all of them anyway) from 2009, the first year I did this.  Sharing them now!

10

Today I am thankful for my good friends. You know who you are. I appreciate you and value our friendships

11

Today, I am thankful that i do not have cancer. I am thankful for my family and friends that stood by me the last 2 months-the ones that called and wrote and offered there support and love. I am thankful that life is returning to normal and look forward to the day that this is a distant memory. I am thankful that I do not have to worry about still being here for my husband and children. I am thankful for my LIFE

12

Today, I am thankful for my artistic nature. My creativity is the one talent I possess and I couldn't ask for a better one. I love sharpies and doodling. Knitting is a passion and sewing a bit less-but still there. I love color. To dye yarn is the ultimate expression of my love of color and art. I would be lost without my creativity

13

Today, I am thankful for a roof over my head, food in our cupboards, dh's employment and clothing for us all. So many do not even have these basic needs

14

late in the day--Today I am thankful for the church's teachings of eternal family. For the solace and peace that it brings to those mourning the passing of a loved one. Especially today for Jessica and the loss of her love Jason. Peace and love to you sweet cousin

15

"Today, I am thankful for the good nights sleep I had. I have not slept so long or so well in a long time

16

Today I am thankful for my son with aspergers. He has taught me so much about love and has brought to me the appreciation for the simpleness of a hug or an "I love you"

17

Today, I am thankful for homeschooling Kaitlyn. We have enjoyed our time together so much, and I would not have that if she were sitting in school all day. I love my daughter. ♥

18

Today, I am thankful for my fabric stash. It is serving me well today.

19

Today, I am thankful that I get to go out with my 2 oldest kids tonight to the movies. Thankful that they are good kids that I enjoy being around. We have a great relationship and I couldn't ask for better children

20

today I am thankful for knitting. To be able to take some yarn and needles and create a beautiful handcrafted piece of clothing is a wonderful feeling. Each stitch is filled with love-except those that get messed up and have a few snarly words involved too!

21

Today, i am thankful for my local group of girlfriends. Looking forward to our day of crafting together

22

Today, I am thankful for the Food Network. No really. I know it is silly-but growing up and not learning to cook, well--the food network inspires me and teaches me to cook more great foods!

23

Today, I am thankful that my brother is alive. It has been one year today since his car accident and subsequent 2 months in the hospital. He shouldn't have made it. he shouldn't be doing so well with his brain injury. But he is. He is working, he is engaged, he is living!

24

Today, I am thankful that I will have my children home for 5 days. I miss seeing them so much ♥

25

Today I am thankful for the moments I have with the kids today-preparing our holiday dinner together and making christmas presents for swaps. ♥

26

Today I am thankful for the life I am living. I have a wonderful husband who is there through thick and think. Great kids who teach me something new every day and show me how much love one person can have. I have caring friends who are there when I am down to lift me up, and to laugh with through the good. We have what we need, and I thankful for that. Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and loved ones!"

My annual Christmas wish list for dh...

So every year now I make a list for dh of things I would like for Christmas. I help him by being exact and giving links, and then he is happy because he gets what I want..and I am happy because I get some of the things I want!

So here is a small list for him...he has been impatiently asking me to list it! LOL I didn't realize how much he looks forward to this now.
Shawn-do not go over budget! LOL

Never Not Knitting-pattern a day calendar

a robe...

a ped egg

favorite colors: brown, green (chartreuse is the best), aqua (and lighter teal)

I am not giving him much to work on huh?

The beginning of the season....

crafting, sewing, knitting, dyeing yarn, etc etc.

I am participating in several handmade for christmas swaps and having a blast! I will post pictures as the date gets closer as I don't want to ruin surprises!

The past few weeks have been hectic. hectic= my school, homeschooling, wrestling meets, and more!

Here are some of the new yarns I did recently for the store:



Woodlands



Cerrwiden


Wise Owls

I am working on a few more new colors too! Including a very girly one!

Not much else is going on. Planning for Thanksgiving dinner this week. When we moved to Boise 9 years ago, we started our own tradition of staying home that day (instead of traveling to family) and doing our Christmas decorating throughout the day. It was the only day that Shawn (as a restaurant manager) had off for sure every year...and we wanted tradition/consistency so that became our day. I am finishing up a few handmade decorations that will be added to the mix this year.

Its snowing outside. I love to see the snowflakes fall. It brings such a holiday spirit.

Happy Sunday!

Starbucks Yarn Wreath- the start of crafting!

So last year, starbucks had these beautiful wreaths at Christmas time that were made out of ornaments and yarn balls. Yes, you read that correctly! It was a YARN BALL WREATH!

So this year, I wanted one too! I posted to my local parenting group (a great group of ladies that I hang with often!) and asked if they wanted to do a craft along. Instead, I was asked to do a show and tell at our monthly saturday get together! *gulp* so I decided I needed to make another one ahead of time so I could make a materials list and learn how to do it so I could show everyone else.

I headed off to the store and saw they had the Christmas stuff out! So I walked through the aisle and found these GORGEOUS Christmas ornaments! I had to have them - and then inspired me to make an Autumn version that I could hang now.

Wrapping the balls:



Attaching them:



the finished product!




I really love how it turned out. You can't see as well from the photo-(well you might be able to if you click on it to make it larger!) but I have some glitter balls in there too and I just love it!

Now, I had to admit my first thought was: I have to make another one? LOL

November 1st

Brings a thrill coursing through me. November 1st means this month is Thanksgiving. November 1st means that next month is Christmas. Next to fall, this is my favorite time of year. The feelings, the scents, the ambiance, the family and friends and crafting. This celebration is a wonderful time of year.

Halloween was last night and the kids had a blast. I was a bit slow on making costumes as I had been sick 2 days previously so I was crafting right up until 7pm when we left

kaitlyn saw this bird mask..inspired by carneval on martha stewarts website and we thought it would be perfect!

I forgot the blue paint to paint underneath so there is a bit of white showing-but this sucker took over an hour to do!






and harrison...a tree of course!



I am currently working on a new shawl by Sweet Mama Small Sugar It is turning out so gorgeous! Her patterns are really nicely written and easy to follow.

This is it so far:




I am getting ready to start being really busy. yarn co-ops, school, crafting, swaps. looking forward to a whole lot of fun!

Happy November!

Meal Plan Monday - a day early!

Ok, I have to get back into the scheme of things. We've had a lot going on here including a breast cancer scare (pathology is negative-I am ok!) so I have to get posting again.

Here is the meal plan for the week. A few new ones that we haven't done before, so I will review those after we have them.

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal
• Cereal
• yogurt with fruit
• oatmeal
  
• overnight breakfast casserole
• poptarts-yes, even I give in once in awhile!
  

Lunch:

• Cheese nachos
• bean and cheese burritos
• baked macaroni and cheese with a steamed veggie
• mock chicken sandwiches with apples
• some sort of squash soup-will update with more specifics
• oven fried potatoes and onions with fruit
  

Dinner:

• Curried Potatoes (with peas, raisins and cashews) with basmati rice and East Indian Banana Yogurt salad
• Crockpot corn chowder with pumpkin muffins
• Vegetable fried rice
• Honey baked lentils with green salad
• vegan chili and sweet maple vegan cornbread (chili feed at the church)
• halloween
  

The weather is cooling and fall is coming

and I could not be a happier woman right now.
This is my favorite time of year. The colors, the smells, the harvest, the atmosphere. I am in my element this time of year.
The weather is starting to cool. I realized last night that even though Harrison is potty training that with his sensory issues (among other things) that I probably need to make him a few pairs of longies for the winter.
Today- it is so nice out right now that it definitely makes me think of babies wrapped in warm wool-I need to get knitting. I love longies.



My new baby:



an Arrow of Light



Football games and an awesome son



first hair cuts



and best friends




LIFE.IS.GOOD

school has started with a bang!

this has been a crazy time! Conner, Noah, Hannah, Lexi and Bella all started back to school on August 19th-my birthday! I started class again the following week and Kaitlyn started homeschool today. Definitely a busy time!

Conner is doing football again-he made special team this year (kick off/return team) and that is quite the honor. Kaitlyn is competing cross country again and is loving it!

I have just been taking time to slow down. I have been knitting, visiting with friends, reconnecting with some old friends and looking at things to come in the future. It is amazing what some clarity does for your life vision-if that makes sense!

I have almost narrowed down which spinning wheel I am going to buy. I am so excited, this has been a long process but I am almost there.


I have gotten a lot done in the last few weeks knitting wise. I did a sweater for Harrison, a sweater/shirt for bella and a sweet little baby pinafore for my gift box. Now I am going to do a few things all for ME!

The sweater is from fawn pea called the Mossy Jacket. It was a great easy knit! I am so glad that Harrison is so tiny that he could wear the largest 18 month size. I wish the pattern went larger for the other kids!

not much else to report-just going to end with some pictures!

hey knitters! awesome giveaway

from my friend Erin's site!

She is giving away a brand new zephyr knitting needle set from knitpicks!!!

All you have to do is a few small steps, like checking out patterns and leaving a comment. what could be harder than that?

Come check it out!

ENTER HERE

I think I am like that fairytale

you know the one? the man that slept for so many years? what was his name? ((off to google))

oh yes! Rip Van Winkle...only I have slept for 3 months..and missed the whole summer! I cannot believe that the kids go back to school in 2 weeks. It has been insane with not much to show for it except for another semester of school over and a co-op finished and well, not much else! LOL

*sigh* can we extend it a bit longer?
I have noticed that I have gotten a bit more done in my life. I took a conscious effort to not visit any of my message boards very much and saw how much more I got done during the day..now if I could break myself of facebook, we would be set! LOL but what would I do without all my farming games? *wink*

I don't have a topic to right on today, other than the fast passage of time. It has been almost a year since my brothers accident and it doesn't seem to be possible that it is that long

a year since Thanksgiving...since Christmas. Harrison is almost 2 and my friends are due to have their babies.

I truly feel like Rip Van Winkle, awake after a 20 year sleep because I just have missed so much lately

I feel like I can breathe again.

school for the summer is over. I turned in my last paper and took my last test on Wednesday. I also shipped out all of the yarn I dyed for the co-op and when that was all done-I just sat down and had the biggest feeling of relief overcome me.

here is my yarn; 25 lbs worth!



for some reason, it shows blurry. I hope it doesn't for you too!

I also was inspired with the upcoming fall season-my favorite time of year for those that do not know me! LOL and here are a few new colors



shawn is now home from scout camp. I think he had a lot of fun. Him and Conner both came home tired and sunburned. Conner is peeling like mad! He got burned really bad and is peeling several layers in some places. Of course, I wasn't too thrilled about that-but they were constantly appying sunscreen. I told him that next time he should wear a tshirt. oh duh mom, didn't think about that! LOL

I am currently working on a really cute sweater for Harrison..and I plan on making him a Mrs. Weasley sweater too just in time for Halloween!

Other than that, not doing much around here except enjoying the time with the kids and hoping my school break goes by S~L~O~W!!!!

A meaningful gift I’ve given or received

So I found another one of those good topics to talk about while reading those prompting sites. I want to thank my friends that left comments or told me in person how much they enjoyed my last topic. I think it was a great way to let you get to know me a little better.

so on to the topic:

A meaningful gift I’ve given or received:

There are two incidents that immediately come to mind. The first (the one I will share today) was when I was still working in southern Idaho. I worked for the hospital down there and it was Christmas time. In previous years, my department had always chosen to do something special, so this year we were adopting a family at work that was having a hard time. The family was a single mother with 3 children. Our Christmas "bonus" that year was a gift certificate to Fred Meyer and a turkey. We all decided to donate our gift certificates to this family and we collected cash as well. By the time it was all said and done, the collection was up to about $300. I don't know why, but I was chosen to do the shopping for this family.
I spent so much time going to the stores and selecting items for them. When I was done and brought the gifts into work, my bosses and co-workers were amazed at the amount of items I was able to find for them. Being a thrifty shopper pays off! and I was able to get everything on their wish list, plus MORE!
I was elected to take it home and wrap all the gifts-which if you know me is my favorite thing to do! and as I sat there wrapping their gifts, listening to the music in front of my tree, I was so full of joy. Knowing that I had a hand in making this Christmas special for someone else. Knowing that we could have just donated our turkey and gift certificates and done nothing else-but we all chose to do MORE and donate money too! I was so proud of what we had done-and I will always wonder what their faces were like Christmas morning when they got to see their gifts. That experience touched my heart so much. It blessed MY life.

Since then we have adopted families to help out many years. the kids enjoy this so much. In the years when the money was too tight, we have gone through our house and gathered toys and books that the kids do not need or use and have taken them down to the thrift stores. They know that by doing so, some family that does not have a lot of money will be able to purchase an item there for their kids.
I think this is the tradition they enjoy the most. And I am so proud of them for loving to give to others!

What makes me happy

so dh has started getting ideas for his blog from journal sites....it gives him a bunch of ideas to chose from and then he writes. This is one I found today that I thought was a good idea.

What makes me happy?


There are so many things that can bring a smile to my face other than the obvious answer of family.

My friends. I love having good friends. Friends that you can go to about anything. Friends that you can laugh with and cry with and share your high points and low points. Friends that you learn from. Friends that no matter how much time has passed between the last time you talked, you can still pick up and share where you left off at. Friends that do nothing but bring brightness in your life and will not do anything to purposely bring you down. Good friends are the best thing to have.

Knitting. I only learned to knit a few years ago, but I love it. It brings me happiness to take a ball of yarn and create some amazing object that I could not get in the store. I love the colors and the textures and the relaxation it brings to me. I like that it is a forgiving hobby and if you screw up you can usually fix it! LOL I especially love being able to do the whole process of putting the dye on the yarn and then making it into something for a friend. My yarn collection is big-and it makes me happy-and gives me a lot to work towards for project making! LOL

My crunchiness. Yes, my way of living makes me happy! It actually brings me joy to get my natural remedies and use them instead of using artificial methods. to use something "crunchy" instead of main stream. I am sure that it sounds funny to like a way of living, but I do!
I like knowing that the choices dh and I have made for our kids ie: family bed, NO circumcision, vaccines, extended nursing, homeschooling are the best choices out there for us.

Eating vegetarian. Again, a lifestyle choice that makes me happy. I love to see all the different dishes I can make out of varieties of vegetables. I feel healthiest when we do not eat meat, and I love having kids that will eat any bean or veggie I put in front of them without being picky!

Books. I love to read. I am a very fast reader and can finish a book in 1 day. I love a well written story. I really have enjoyed the medical mysteries and serial killer books that I have read over the last few years as it challenges my mind. I often irritate my dh though as I tend to laugh out loud while reading or make some comment back to the characters. I try not to do this so I don't look crazy! LOL

Fall. It is my favorite season. So much so that my guest bathroom is actually decorated with a fall theme. I love the colors. The temperature. I love the leaves falling from the trees and I LOVE to walk through big piles of them on the ground. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that fall is almost here. I wish I could live somewhere that was fall all year round!

rain and thunderstorms. I love to watch the rain fall. I could sit in my window with a book or knitting and blanket and just listen to the rain drops. I love a good storm too. Shawn says they had some awesome ones in Paraguay when he was there. That would be so awesome - some of my favorite memories in highschool was taking off late at night with my aunt and cousins to go sit out in the middle of nowhere to watch the lightening storms!

simplifying. I am currently working on simplifying my life. Getting rid of garbage in my life both physically and metaphorically. Letting go of stuff I don't need and stuff that does not enrich or help my life at all. Getting rid of clutter and living simply. I gave my friend heidi a book a few weeks ago that was an amish cookbook - but it also showed a lot of the ways they live. It was very inspiring!!

my education. Having the chance to go back to school and finish my education makes me very happy. I love to learn. I love the challenge it brings to my mind! I am so very happy to be able to do this now-it is a huge part of who I am.

so - those are the things I can think of right now that make me happy! What makes YOU happy?

Eagle Scout project

My son is working on his Eagle Scout project. For those that don't know, this is a very important step in the scouting program. He has chosen to do chemotherapy care packages to be donated. We are asking for volunteers to make a hat either sewn, crocheted, knitted..and then send it him to collect for this project.

there are many resources out there for free patterns:

Headhuggers Patterns

Cancer Caps

they can be adult or child. We just want to collect a lot.

This is so very important to him with all those that we know that has been affected by cancer. If you are willing to help, message me and I will send you our address.

Deadline to reach me by October 1st.

Thanks ladies!!!

Where does the time go?

whew, it seems like the weeks are just flying by. Full of kids, school, friends, business, etc etc...it just goes faster and faster. It is amazing to me that it is already July and this year by now I already had started on hand made toys via swaps and purchases to be set aside for Christmas for 2 months! Completely way behind! LOL

last night I got to leave and hang out with some girl friends for a really lovely evening of chatter, food, environment and yes, a few revelations and some baby snuggles! It was so nice to have that.

Tomorrow we are going to the family celebration in Melba for the 4th. I am not sure how the all day thing will go with Harrison, but we will play it by ear. He is changing more and more, and has really started to remind me of Noah as a toddler. I hope that it is just a passing thing.

I am thinking of taking a spinning class in August with my friend and business partner Stacy . On one hand, it is something I've wanted to do for a very long time. On the other, it is a new addiction! LOL

I am working on a shawl for ME! It is turning out beautiful and I cannot wait for the fall so I can use it. I will update with photos later on.

sometimes you have great ideas...

and sometimes not so great! LOL

sometimes I really surprise myself that I still get surprised by others behavior. I see just meanness or obnoxiousness or hurtfulness all the time, IRL and online and yet I still get surprised each time it happens. It could be a news story or a message board, in the grocery store or in church or school, or in just day to day chatter . Family, friends, strangers-it isn't exclusionary. Like walking through the store and having someone comment in a rude way about the number of kids we have. Or commenting on the parenting choices that we as a couple make like it is any of their business. etc etc..or like this week, seeing a blog that took submissions from people on facebook that copied peoples status that had to do with their kids, and then mocking it on the blog.
Why do people think it is ok to just open their mouth all the time?

I think I still just want to see only the good in people. Is there a way to cure that? LOL because really I am tired of caring.

I saw it again just this week on several occasions. the girl in church that looks down on the others because they cry during a testimony. the one that laughs at the way others are dressed. the woman with the blog made specifically to mock others parenting moments...and more.

I feel so sad that so many people are so full of hate or anger towards others that they have to put them down or hurt them to feel better about themselves.

so can I have a magic cookie? you know, the one with the special chocolate chips in them that take aware you caring button?? because I'd like mind removed please.