Beautiful Jewellery!

A friend of mine from school, Deb, has her own jewellery making business called Tangibles and Touchables. I encourage all my fellow bloggers to check her site out. I bought my girls two of her necklaces last year and they still claim them as their favorite pieces (two dragonfly necklaces).

http://madebymetandt.blogspot.com/

Flylady This Week. Zone 4-Master Bedroom

Here are the daily reminders, things that should be done on a daily basis to make life that much easier.
http://www.flylady.net/pages/reminder2.asp

This week is zone 4, master bedroom. I find this a fairly easy zone to do as the list isn't too long. Here is the link to the list: http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlightPlan_Detail.asp

And here is the link to Kelly's Mission for today. It involves going through those piles of clothes that get left on the floor. Lord knows I need to do this one today! http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlightPlan_Missions.asp

Have fun cleaning! :)

Picture Tag Game

I got this from my friend Suzy and thought it might be fun to do. I'm not tagging anyone cause, really, probably only 3 people read my blog (including me...lol) so it wouldn't work anyways.

The rules-
1. Go to your pictures file.

2. Go to the 4th file.

3. Go to the 4th picture.

4. Post it and tell the story.

5. Tag 4 more people.

This is a picture of my sweet Skylar on our swingset and little Zoey (who I babysit) is standing there watching her. You can see Anna (who I also babysit) also swinging. This was taken with my blackberry phone, thus the poor image quality.

Scalloped Potatoes Extraordinaire!

I decided I needed to use my Epicure Spices to enhance my scalloped potatoes so here is what I came up with:

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes (boil for 10 minutes)

Sauce:
2 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
salt/pepper to taste

Heat above sauce ingredients in a pot until thickened.

Cheese Chive Bacon Dip Mix-prepare 1/2 the dip mixture as per instructions on the jar. Makes about 1 cup of dip mix.

In a large casserole dish put a layer of potatoes and then a layer of the Cheese Chive Bacon Dip Mix. Then another layer of potatoes, and then dip. Continue until done. Pour the white sauce over top of the entire potatoe dish. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Add grated cheese on the top. I used Kraft Tex Mex Grated Cheese. Cook for another 15 minutes.

I got this from my friend Kristen on facebook. Thank you for letting me share this here on my blog. :)

Application to date my Daughter

APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME____________________________________

DATE OF BIRTH_____________

HEIGHT___________

WEIGHT____________

IQ__________

INCOME TAX FILE NUMBER _________________

DRIVERS LICENSE ________________

BOY SCOUT RANK AND

BADGES__________________________________________

HOME ADDRESS_______________________

CITY/STATE___________

POSTCODE______

Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No

Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No

If No, explain: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Number of years they have been married______________________________

If less than your age, explain___________________________________________________________________

ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No

E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No

pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring? (IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATIONAND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)

ESSAY SECTION:

In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In

50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you?______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

REFERENCES SECTION:

Church you attend ___________________________________________________

How often you attend ________________________________________________

When would be the best time to interview your:

Father? _____________

Mother?_____________

Priest or Pastor? _____________

SHORT-ANSWER SECTION: Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely, all answers are confidential.

A: If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be: ______________________________________________________________

B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:______________________________________________________________

C: A woman's place is in the:______________________________________________________________

D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:______________________________________________________________

E. What do you want to be IF you grow up? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

F: When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:______________________________________________________________

G: What is the current going rate of a hotel room? __________________________

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TOTHE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT,INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN BULL ANT TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE and RED HOT POKERS_________________________________________________________

Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, moron!) _______________________________ ________________________________

Mother's Signature /Father's Signature _______________________________ ________________________________

Pastor/Priest/Rabbi State or Federal Government Representative _______________________________ (Their stamp goes here )

Notary Public

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual. Please allow four to six years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write. If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing white ties carrying violin cases. (You might watch your back)To prepare yourself, start studying Daddy's Rules for Dating.

Daddy's Rules for Dating

Your dad's rules for your boyfriend (or for you if you're a guy):

Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:I'm sure you've been told that in today's world sex without utilizing a 'Barrier method' of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: 'early.'

Rule Six:I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool, places where there is darkness, places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with strong romantic or sexual themes are to be avoided; movies that feature chain saws are okay. Cricket games are okay...Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dim-witted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a tomahawk, a shovel, and a quarter acre behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi . When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Popcorn Santa Craft

Thought I would share a very cute craft that I made with Skylar and Anna this morning. We made up our Santa bags and I'll fill them up with popcorn later today. Kaitlin is babysitting three kids tonight and she's going to do this craft with them as well. I'll post pictures of our finished craft later today when we fill them.

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Crafts/Popcorn-Santa.html

New Meaning For The Word Government!

Skylar: "Mom can I have a government?"

Me: " A Government?"

Skylar: "Please, I want a government!"

Me: "I'm not understanding what you mean Skylar"

Skylar, going into the fridge and pulling out the box of Junior Mints that Kaitlin put in there: "A government........."

Me: "Ahhhhhhh, of course" LMAO!

So now, Junior Mints, and After Eight Mints are hereby known as GovernmInts. :)

A Random Act Of Kindness

This weekend I was the recipient of a random act of kindness. We were at the Video Headquarters, renting a movie, and the line up was very long. When we finally reached the till, they informed me that the debit machine was not working so they were only taking cash. Of course, in this day and age, who carries cash on them right? So I told her I would pass and not get it. She told me she could hold it and I could drive down the street to the nearest bank machine. I wasn't wanting to drive all the way there, take out $20 (the minimum) for a $5 movie, then drive back and stand in that line again with a three year old in tow. Of course I told her no thanks (peeved that they wouldn't bother to tell the people in the line up ahead of time that they don't have debit up and running). Well an older gentlemen beside me, renting his movies, threw $10 down on the counter and told her he was paying for my movie. I was so humbled and told him he really didn't have to do that but he insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer. I thanked him profusely and accepted the offer, blushing red the entire time.

So that being said, I am taking it upon myself to deliver an act of kindness to a complete stranger this week. I challenge everyone of my friends to do the same thing. Let me know what your RAOK is and I'll share mine too.

Hat Making

My dear friend Bonnie gave me the pattern she uses for crocheting hats and I decided that this winter I wanted Skylar to have an earflap hat. I found a pattern online that gave me the instructions for the flaps and added them to Bon's hat and came up with a WONDERFUL hat! I created my own pattern for a crocheted rose and added it to said hat. I will take a picture of Skylar wearing the hat and add it to this post sometime this coming week. Here, meanwhile, is a picture of my sweet little Zoey (who I babysit) wearing the hat I made her. Zoey and Skylar have matching hats with different color roses. :) Here is the site to the earflap hat: http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/BabyChild/WR1088+Childs+Crochet+Earflap+Hat.htm







Here is my crocheted rose pattern for anyone interested:



Crocheted Rose (For hats, hair accessories, etc)


Ch 4, join with sl st to form ring
Round 1- Ch 6 (counts as dc, ch 3), DC in ring, ch 3 (do this 4 times); join with sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch6. You will now have 5 petals.
Round 2- Sl st into first petal, ch 1, (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in each petal; join with sl st in beg sc.
Round 3- Ch 6 (counts as sc, ch 5), slip stitch at the beginning of the first DC (the post of the petal) ch 5 (do this 4 times); join with sl st in 1st ch of beg ch7. You will now have 4 petals sitting on the inside of the 5 petals.
Round 4- Sl st into first petal, ch 1, (sc, hdc, 5dc, hdc, sc) in each petal; join with sl st in beg sc.
Round 5- Ch 8 (counts as sc, ch 7), slip stitch at the beginning of the round 3 chains. (do this 3 times) Join with sl st in 1st ch of beg ch8. You will now have 3 petals sitting on top of the 4 petals which are sitting on top of the 5 petals.
Round 6- Sl st into first petal, ch 1, (sc, hdc, 7dc, hdc, sc) in each petal; join with sl st in beg sc. Fasten off, weave in ends.

Then what I do on the inside petals is slip stitch them together so they bunch up and then I cut off the end, leaving a longer piece of wool, and then I draw it through the middle to the back of the rose.

Photoshop Lesson-Midnight Sepia

Midnight Sepia

1. Open Image and create a duplicate of the first layer

2. Apply Gaussian Blur on top layer

3. Use Hue/Saturation (CTRL+U)Check the Colorize OptionSaturation=25Lightness=0

4. Change the Blending Mode to Multiply

5. Flatten the Image (CTRL+E)

6. Duplicate the Layer (CTRL+J)

7. Change the Blending Mode to Screen

8. Flatten the Image (CTRL+E)

9. Duplicate the Layer (CTRL+J)

10. Change the Blending Mode to Screen

11. Adjust the Opacity to tasteThe Action sets it to zero

Photoshop Lesson-Carol's White Technique

This is from my awesome photographer friend Carol! This tutorial rocks! This is written in her words. :)

Get a really plain picture - preferable taken against a white background (I use a vinyl tablecloth), in white outfit or no outfit.

Increase Brightness and Contrast to the right half way for an overexposed look. Slide the levels as follows: First slider a little to the right Second slider a little to the left Third slider a little to the left (don't you love how technical this is??!)

Adjust color, reduce the saturation a little if you like, for a more wishy washy look.

Now control A (all), control C (copy), control V (paste) to get a new layer of the same picture.

Go to layer tab, top right and where the dropdown menu says "normal" select "color dodge" and make it about 50% then play around with the other options, such as screen, hard light, soft light to find a setting you like....

When you like it, flatten image and save a copy.

Photoshop Lesson-Creating Rich Colors In Your Picture

Also got this tutorial from the photoshop support flickr group. I love this one.

1. First I convert the photo to LAB MODE.

2. Then I add a CURVES adjustment layer. When it comes up and, I only have four squares showing in the curves screen, I option/alt click and it'll give you 10 squares across and down.

3. On the menu in the curves adjustment layer I switch to channel "a". Once there I move the top right dot to the left two squares and the bottom left dot to the right two squares.

4. I do the same thing with the "b" channel and click OK.

5. Then clicking back to the "background" layer I switch to the Channels pallet and click on "Lightness"

6. I use smart sharpening or unsharp mask from the Filter menu and sharpen this layer to taste.

7. I click back on the Lab layer and switch back to the Layers Pallet.

8. I lower the opacity of the CURVES adjustment layer to the richness of color I desire.

9. I flatter the image and switch back to RGB mode in the Image > Mode menu for more editing.

I made this into an action in my photoshop so that I can just press the button and it does it all for me without me having to go through each step. I will discuss how to make an action on a later post.

Photoshop Lesson-Ripped Borders

Step OneOpen up the image that you want to work on in Photoshop. Take the Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a selection inside the image where you would like to apply the ripped border effect.

Step TwoPress the Q key on your keyboard to enter the Quick Mask Mode. Thereafter, navigate your mouse to Filter>Brush Strokes>Sprayed Strokes. Apply the settings Stroke Length: 2; Spray Radius: 16. Press OK and by now you should have something like below:

Step ThreePress Q of your keyboard once again to leave the Quick Mask Mode. Now press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection and hit Delete. That should do your ripped border!

Photoshop

I LOVE photoshop! That being said I am going to start a section on my blog that will teach photoshop techniques. If there is something you don't understand in the lesson please feel free to contact me for a more one-on-one instruction.

Goodbye To Baby Carrier Making

It just didn't work out. Not enough people interested in our product. Maybe it's just Canada? Not enough baby wearing here?? Maybe it's us? Not enough people thought we had a nice enough baby carrier to offer and would rather have bought something more mainstream, something more well known? Whatever the reason I shrug my shoulders and give up. It wasn't meant to be. It's been a source of frustration for myself and Bonnie for the past year. Now I'm going to try focusing my attention in another direction, selling spices and cookwear. To be honest, though, I'm not sure how long this will last as I'm so not the salesperson type. I definitely won't be making the $200K a year salary that my unit leader makes, but at least I can make enough to get my spices at a good price. Watch for my recipe section on here to start filling up. :)

Things That Make Me Crazy-My Personal Pet Peeves

Here are the things that make me crazy:

1. Why is it that I'm the only one in my house that knows how to put a toilet paper roll on the roller?


2. Why do people insist on putting their dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter when they are perfectly capable of putting them in the dishwasher. If the dishwasher has clean dishes in it then either empty it out or put some dish soap and water in the sink and give those dirty dishes a nice cleaning.


3. Why would you leave your halloween candy wrappers all over the place (ie, the back of the couch, the coffee table, the floor......) when we do have a garbage can?


4. Toothbrushes and toothpaste belong in the medicine cabinet, not lying all over the bathroom.


5. Can we maybe turn the lights off if we aren't in the room?

I know I have a lot more pet peeves but those are the ones that really got to me today. :)

Flylady-Great Organizational Tool

If anyone is looking for a great way to stay organized around the home then check out www.flylady.net . The concept is to clean your home in zones. Each week you have a zone assigned, whether it be the kitchen, bedrooms, living room, etc. You spend about half an hour in the day doing a sweep of the entire home and then you spend the rest of the week working on a cleaning list for that particular zone. It's an amazing system and takes the stress of feeling you have to clean your entire home at one time.

This week is the kitchen. Here is the list if anyone would like to join me on this:


FlyLady's Detailed Cleaning List - Zone 2: The Kitchen

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KITCHEN: DETAIL CLEANING LIST

1. EMPTY REFG/CLEAN THOROUGHLY
2. CLEAN MICROWAVE INSIDE AND OUT
3. CLEAN STOVE/OVEN
4. WASH CANISTER/KNICK-KNACKS
5. STRAIGHTEN DRAWERS/CUPBOARDS
6. WIPE FINGERPRINTS OFF WALLS
7. WASH INSIDE WINDOWS
8. CLEAN FAN/VENT-A-HOOD FILTERS AND HOOD
9. SCRUB DOWN CABINET FRONTS (only a few at a time)
10. CLEAN LIGHT DEFUSING BOWLS(GLASS GLOBES OVER
LIGHT BULBS)
11. CLEAN UNDER SINK/THROW AWAY OLD RAGS12. CLEAN PET DISHES

There are also some extra daily missions if you would like to tackle them:

Thursday's Mission!
Dear Friends,It has come to the time to go after those counter tops!! Your mission for today is to scrub those counter tops. Not just the average wipe down that we do after dinner. Now it is very easy to make this task overwhelming but if you take this slow and easy you can do this! DO NOT TAKE EVERYTHING OFF OF THE COUNTERS AT ONE TIME!!!! I promise you will get sidetracked and then you will all email me crying that it is all my fault!! LOL! You just move your toaster (or coffee pot or whatever this is an example here! :>) ) over to one side and wipe down the counter, then move over a foot or so, move aside what is there and wipe down some more and so on. We are not marathon cleaning the kitchen here, just getting all the crumbs and junk that seems to build up behind and under things. Have fun! Don't obsess!

Epicure Selections-My Newest Venture

I decided, a few months ago, to start selling Epicure Selections. It is spices and kitchen items. I'm pretty passionate about cooking healthy meals for my family and Epicure fits right in with that passion. I'll be including Epicure thoughts and recipes along the way, for as long as I feel I will be in this business. :)

Time To Blog Again

I think I'm ready to blog again. :) It's been a while and I probably won't be blogging a ton but I'm wanting to get back into writing my thoughts down. I think it's a lot healthier than holding them in.