Odd Dotty Dollymaker

Rats!

This is me ignoring the fact that the entire month of June was postless. This is now me apologizing for that same fact. And now? This is me moving on.

Last year, immediately after portraying Templeton in a homeschool production of 'Charlotte's Web', the girl desperately wanted a rat as a pet. She felt that rats get a bad rap...and wanted to rid the world of all the misconceptions. I admit, I was a bit hesitant at first, and put off these desires by posing the logical and reasonable and very true problem of one Whippet mix that we currently owned. Whippets are fast and intentional in their ridding the planet of small rodents, as that is the purpose for which they are bred. Sadly, we had to find a new home for Olive, the Whippet, which then left me with nothing to deter her from her rat campaign.

Around that time I was introduced to a fun way of researching and learning called lapbooking. 'So!' says I to the girl, 'you want a rat, eh? Then show me how dedicated you are to caring for them, and for the saving of their face as a species by doing the research and presenting it to me and your father in the form of a lapbook! Now go, young one! And do this for Templeton! Do this for Ratatouille! Do this for domesticated rats everywhere!!' Or something to that affect.

Off to the Library went we, and were soon loaded with much books and knowledge and hopes and dreams. Several days later, information successfully downloaded into her brain, the girl was ready to present her findings and enhanced adoration for these furry little rodents. The problem? There were no pre-made lapbooks on rats. There were Guinea Pigs, Mice, Squirrels even Mosquitoes!! But no one, no one, had made a lapbook on these poor misrepresented miscreants...I mean innocents. Would that discourage her? 'Nay!' says she, 'I shall take up the task of making the first ever rat lapbook! And all the world shall rejoice!' Or something like that.  

And, that, my friends, is exactly what she has done...at least to the best of our knowledge. Someone, somewhere, may have indeed put together a lapbook on rats...but none of them are in our awareness and, certainly, none of them look like hers!

Here is the front;

 

Inside left;

 

Inside right;

 

I am one proud mama. And now? She is the proud mama of two very cute and lovable rats...because, through her research, we discovered that rats are social, and it's better to get two.

Here we have the two of them. Angel, on the left, and Piper, on the right.

 

Piper was not afraid of the camera, but she refused to stay still for a super cute photo. This is the best I could get. She is a pearl hooded fancy rat.

 

Her sister, Angel, was extremely afeared of the strange sounding contraption and refused to come out of the cage. Angel is normally the first one out and up your arm, so this is not typical behavior for her.

 

She is a beige fancy rat.

 

Sadly, Angel and Piper are not the original fruits of the girl's lapbook labors...

Sophie

 

and Lettie,

 

through no fault of their own, are no longer with us. It was an extremely sad day when we realized how clean of an assassin our Fred Fredburger is. RIP, Sophie and Lettie Ratter, RIP. You were wonderful rats and are missed dearly!

Since proving herself a very able and adept mother of small furry things, she was given the permission to add to her menagerie a Guinea Pig, provided this time that she pay for everything. So after saving and learning some entrepreneurial skills and hunting for good bargains, the girl is now a proud new mama once again. Here she is...

Ophelia.

 

 

Isn't she adorable? She is so small right now that she fits in one hand! Here's hoping she is just as wonderfully cute when over twice the size!

And so concludes the post about rodents. Next up? Actual craftiness!

P.S. Rachelle! Have you done your push ups today?!

 

Giveaway!

 

If you would like to win these lovely earrings...and who wouldn't?...made by the lovely BlueberryCream, go here and enter! But hurry, because the contest ends midnight, June 1st!

P.S. Doesn't she have mad photog skillz?

Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich

I have made this twice, and eaten it thrice. Each time it was pure delight! Don't let the name frighten you away, give this recipe a try! The best thing about it? It's clean! It's just too good not to share. The recipe and the photo are from the March/April 2009 issue of Clean Eating Magazine.

 

Ingredients:

10 hard-boiled egg whites, diced

½ cup onions, diced

½ celery, diced

8 Tbsp. avocado, mashed

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. ground black pepper

Pinch sea salt (optional)

 

Instructions:

 

In a bowl, combine eggs, onions, celery, avocado and mustard. Stir until well mixed. Add paprika, pepper and salt; stir to combine. Leftovers can be stored in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days; don't freeze.

How easy is that? Now, when I make it, I use onion powder and no celery because my kids won't eat it with real onions and celery. But, even with those modifications this is so tasty! I eat it wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with some lettuce and a couple slices of tomato. Yum!

Happy Arbor Day!

 

A Letter to Alzheimer's

Dear Alzheimer's,

I know that we have only really been personally acquainted for about a year and half now. But I had heard about you, your reputation has preceded you. I saw you coming a mile away. And now? Now that you are living in my home, I feel it's time we had a talk. You see, I really don't like you. Nope. Not even one bit. One might even say that I hate you. I hate everything about you. You are a thief and a liar. You have stolen from my dad. You lie to him and he believes you over anyone else. You have stolen who he is, and replaced him with a man that spends most of his days in frustrated confusion just trying to figure out what it is he is trying to figure out. You have stolen his ability to make reasonable decisions without a fight. You have stolen his favorite memories and replaced them with false ones. You have stolen his ability to be able to care for himself. You have stolen what should be his golden years.

And because of this, you have stolen from me. From my brother and my sister. And from his grandchildren. You have taken away my chance to ever really know who he is. You have taken from my children the chance to fully enjoy their Popi. I hate you for it, and I want it back! I want it all back! I want the clear headed dad, emotionally absent as he was, back. I want to be able to ask him simple questions and have him understand them right away. I want to be able to watch him laugh like he used to. I want him to have confidence in himself again. I want you to stop making him feel like he's stupid! I want you to leave him alone! I just want my dad back, you flying piece of crap! So, I am going to have to ask you to leave now. I need you to leave now. You have to leave now. I don't ever want to see your face again. Ever. Anywhere.

Love Sincerely,

Sara

P.S. That better not be you knocking on my mother's door. You have been warned.

And the Award goes to...

Me! Well...then it goes to you! I was given my first blog award by the talented Tamdoll. It's "The Spreader of Love" award.

The award goes to those who take the time to comment, or leave a word of encouragement, or a compliment on something I have created or shared. Thank you, Tamdoll! And now? I shall spread the love!

Here are the rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.

2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

And the nominees are...

elliebelle

heylucy

Hannah

Molly

Sam

Chloe

Inspiring Adventures of Always Inspired

As you can see, I had a hard time sticking to just five peeps. But, I am sure you understand, right? It's called Spread the Love for a reason. I'm just extra full of love!

Progress

It is a slow but sure thing in our home, progress is, these days. And, for that I am truly grateful. For the past year, I have hidden an awful secret. Well, actually it wasn't hidden that well as you will soon see. But, I have been suffering from creative malaise. Yes, I have had ideas, and have had sudden bursts of craftiness. But, the truth is that I was drowning. Drowning in a sea of oppression.

You see, we had a room in our home that we deemed "The Fun Zone". This was where the other TV, the computers and my sewing machines were all located. From where, we had hoped, new inspirations would be birthed. Fun ideas. Ideas that would fill our home with laughter and good times. Good times spent with one another enjoying the many blessings poured out, undeservedly, upon us. Times for bonding, and learning. Learning about each other and the world around us. High, high hopes were held for this room.

Unfortunately, it soon became the room no one really wanted to be in. Well, except my dad. He was always in there watching the TV. Which, we realized, was the problem. That stinkin' TV. Right in the corner of the room, blocking one of the windows. That mammoth of mind-numbing noises was constantly droning on and on, sucking the life out of every attempt of creating that either the husband or I made.  And sucking the life out of my dad, although he would never admit to that. So, we decided that while he stayed with my sister for a week, we needed to make some changes.

For a long time, I have been taking my sewing machine out of the room and into the kitchen so I didn't have to be in the same room with that thing. But, that was no longer working. As you can see here, in this horridly embarrassing before shot, this is what had become of my little creative nook.

 

 

Who wouldn't want to sit down and crank out some major crafty goodness in those conditions, huh? I mean, right? Nothing breeds creativity more than a square inch of work space surrounded with every left over scrap of every project ever worked on ever, a non-working sewing machine at your feet, a cardboard moving box filled with who only knows what anymore, staring at you, mocking you with it's cluttery undoneness, and fabric literally spilling out over onto you hindering any type of movement whatsoever. Add to that? The constant buzzing of the television you so fondly hate seeping into your brain, taking every happy thought and stomping on it until it turns to pulp and oozes out of your head in the form of tears of frustration that make you run screaming from the very thing that used to bring so much joy. And so now you see why my poor little shophas lain bare for, lo, these many months. I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't produce at the rate at which I wanted. I needed it to change, or I was afeared that my desire to sew anything ever again would curl up and die. And with it? So would a very big part of me. And I was not about to let that happen. So, when the husband voiced his equal disdain for what the room had become, we decided to take the plunge and start the change.

Now, I have to say, as much as I hated the room and that monster that was eating it alive, I was hesitant at first to let it go. Why you might ask? Because, you see, as I said my father had grown accustomed to it. And with Alzheimer's, change can be tricky. This was a big change. This was literally his lifeline every day. He would choose that thing over any interaction with us. And so we had to weigh the repercussions very very carefully. But we decided it was doing way more damage to keep it than to let it go. Yes, we knew he would take it personal, and yes we knew he would be extremely confused by it for a couple of days. But in the end, it was what needed to happen. So out it went. I didn't get a picture of the room with it in it, but here is the wall and window it was blocking.

 

It was in the corner where the dress form and the trunk are now. This shot was taken mid reorganization, and so had already been partially cleaned up. So what you didn't get to see is exactly how awful this room looked. The computer desk became a dumping ground for whatever happened to land there. And the books were usually just thrown back in any which way. Literally thrown in, the husband had to nail the back back onto it because it had given way to the force and the haphazard way in which they were flung in there.

It's amazing how much clutter can muddy up the mind. Just by tackling that side of the room, we felt like we could breathe again. And so, our attention turned to the other side. The other big black mass. That tower that you saw holding my fabrics. That was originally built to hold scrapbooks when I was selling Creative Memories, and so wasn't real conducive to fabric storage. But it was what we had. So it was used for years. But I hated it. I hated the way the fabric fell out of it, and the way that no matter how neatly I folded it, I would always lose sight of some and forget what I had, or knew that I had it but couldn't find it and had to pull out everything to hunt for it. So, a new fabric storage solution was a must. An online search for such brought me to Polar Notions. I knew I had finally found what I was looking for! Here is my fabric now.

 

Closer;

 

Finally! Finally! I can see what I have at all times! And it was moved to the other side of the room out of the direct sunlight that is now able to actually come in through the window! And here is the sewing station;

 

I love it! Look at all that room!! I know it's not perfect, and it's not where I ultimately want it to be, but as I said, the progress is slow but sure! I can breathe again, I can create again, and my kids can actually play on the computers again! Everything has a place, and I know where they all are. And my dad? He actually spends time with us now. Yes, sometimes he retreats to his bedroom to watch his television in there, which was a fear we had, but not nearly as much as I thought he would. And he makes it a point to hang out with us every night. To play the games we are playing, to try to engage in our family. It's so much more peaceful than I thought it would be.

And, just to show you that I am reaping the benefits of this space...which, by the way, we have renamed "The Creative Corner"...here is a peak at the new dolly design I have been working on. You may have been keen enough to have espied her on the bookshelf up there. I was going to wait until she was completely finished before letting her make her debut, but I am too excited about the way she is turning out. So,here she is close up. I love love LOVE her! It is the first ever design that I have done that has been a success on the first attempt at each step. 

 

I would love to know what you think of her! Please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail. I adore feedback!

That's My King!

Have you seen this? I love it.

Peak at Polly

I have finally put the finishing touches on one of four dollies that I plan to put on the shelves of my shop. I apologize for the emptiness of it at the moment. But, I am working on it!

Here is a sneak peak. I call her Polly.

This one's for you, Molly.

I don't think I have ever posted about a food item before. At least not here. I have, however, made references to what I eat or when I eat on my facebook. Because, you know, the people. They want to know! I'm pretty exciting that way. Anyway, I made such a reference last night and my good friend, Molly, asked me to post the recipe here. Which I am about to attempt to do. It's not going to be a real specific recipe just a generalization because it was something that I literally pulled out of nowhere. I just pretty much used what I had on hand, which I have to say is quite a feat for me! Seriously. Because I am still fairly new to this whole art of cooking thing.

Let me give you a little background before moving on. It all started in the kitchen of my childhood home. Ahhh, I remember those days. My mom would get ready to prepare a feast, and I would eagerly enter the kitchen and ask to help.  "Of course" she would respond, "you can help by getting out of the kitchen!" I'm sure she meant this lovingly. Fast forward to my early days of marriage. Tired of pasta, and frozen meals, I actually went out on a limb and made tacos one night! I used the seasoning packet and everything all by myself! I was so proud, and the husband and I felt so gourmet. And it pretty much stayed as gourmet as that for awhile. Every once in a while I would pull out a cookbook and actually try a real meal, but the whole cooking thing still wasn't clicking. It didn't help that when I would ask about a recipe from my mom's kitchen she would say things like, "add some flour."

"How much flour?" I would probe.

"Some" was her reply.

"Ooookay. So how long do I cook it for?"

"Until it's done."

See, now I understand that. Now I understand that cooking is an art, and that after a while you just get the feel for things like "some flour" and cooking "until it's done". But then? It just threw me deeper into the pit of eating unhealthy, already prepared, frozen meals. And then I had the audacity to wonder how on earth I was starting to gain weight after turning 30 and having two kids, and why it wasn't coming off from running half a mile every day like it used to. We're talking years and years of eating mainly carbs here. Almost no protein and hardly any fruits or veggies. It all sounds so simple now, but I was really that clueless. And I know I am not alone! Then, a couple of years ago I was introduced to the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. Have you heard of clean eating? I hadn't! But, seriously, it completely changed the way I looked at food. I slowly, and I do really mean slowly, started to understand the way foods work together, and how important things like lean proteins and fruits and veggies are. Why am I telling you all of this? Because all of this really does lead up to last night!

I have secretly always wanted to be able to just throw things together and make yummy healthy meals...but I always felt stuck. And food still holds an intimidation factor over me. So, if I'm not following a recipe I still feel like I can't make a meal most of the time, even if I know we have ingredients in the cupboard and fridge or freezer that somebody else would be able to make something with. And, last night wasn't looking that great as I didn't have anything set on the menu and, in my desperation, was beginning to think that maybe cereal was a good option for dinner. But! Then I remembered we had frozen chicken breasts, and at that point the husband was still in Canada, which meant I could actually use them. (He's allergic to chicken, so I don't get a chance to eat it very often) I found that actually getting off my butt and going through my kitchen to see what I had made a huge difference in determining what to make. You know, instead of chatting with my friends on facebook about how I don't have anything to make for dinner. And, now, having a couple of years under my belt of following some really yummy and clean recipes, I had an idea of what and what not to do. What combinations of flavors I like and what my family likes. This is what I came up with. It is what I would describe as a Chicken Bruschetta;

 

Sorry it's not the best picture, but I think you get the idea. Here is the gist of what the recipe is...please forgive the vague measurements, I was literally throwing this together last night and hoping for the best.

First I preheated the oven to 400F, then I threw three huge...they really were huge, like unnaturally huge, freakish almost, but yours don't have to be...boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a casserole dish. Chop up several cloves of garlic...the more the better in my opinion, and spread over chicken. Add about a tsp. of dried basil and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Add a 14oz. can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Top with a handful of pitted kalamata olives. Pop into the oven, uncovered and turn the heat down to 350F (I'm not sure why I did this, but I'm just telling you exactly what my process was), and bake for 30-45 minutes...until it's done.

Serve with a yummy salad, and enjoy!!

I was so proud of myself for this one, and I am excited to eat the leftovers for lunch today! This was a pretty big milestone for me. So, there you go, Molly! There's the "recipe" you asked for, and then some. If you try this, (and when I say you, I don't just mean Molly, I mean everyone who reads this) I would love to know what your results are!