cooking brisket: 2007

Finally... my Holiday Home!

I know it's late, and I'm very sorry! Things have taken a complete change at work and suddenly I'm in a new position {though temporary - I think} with a huge amount of responsibility and leadership/guidance required. I'm hoping this is a good thing for me - maybe? As a result, my fun, down time is almost completely non-existant. Boo Hoo!

I planned to have a gorgous photo of some Blog Swag to give away. Alas, no time - no time! However, I do plan to share in the holiday spirit with something. I'm not going to be specific at this point, because in reality things might change. I do know that it will surely be advent-urous to say the very least though!

To enter, please leave a comment with your name, state, and what your favorite thing about the Christmas season is.

Thanks for visiting!

1. Christmas Tree 4, 2. Dining Room 2, 3. Christmas Tree, 4. Christmas Tree 2, 5. Brush Tree 2, 6. Feather Tree 1, 7. Angel Candle, 8. Advent House 2, 9. 2005 Christmas Tree, 10. Linzer Torte Cookies, 11. Work Advent Calendar 2, 12. Nook Decor2, 13. Little Forest 2, 14. Little Forest 1, 15. Holiday Home Tour 1, 16. Fireplace 2

Coming Soon... My Holiday Home!

Aaack! The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, my Bella ornaments are on their special tree, the little trees are out and festooned in their holiday lights, the stairway banisters are decked out with lighted garlands, the tables are set, and little vignettes are set up in their holiday cheer - but alas my digital camera memory card and reader are in my computer at work! What a bugger thing to have happen! Of course, it doesn't help that I've been out sick with the ick for the last two days, does it?

Regardless, tonight when I arrive home from work, my number one priority will be to take photos of our home decorated in it's holiday finest.

Alas, I still don't have a wall, but our home is feeling festive anyway. I'm hopeful that we'll have a wall by Christmas. If not, I'll definitely have it by my birthday - if I have to hang the drywall myself!

Be sure to pop on back over - I even have a few pieces of special Blog Swag to share!

Celebration of Tradition

Today is the day I'm participating in Jill Assman's Holiday "Celebration of Tradition." Such a fun and timely idea, Jill! She's a gold star, that Jill. Her readers have been invited to share their holiday traditions with each other - and of course with our blogging friends also. So many traditions hold a place in my heart. It seems that many of them revolve around the Christmas holiday season. Perhaps that is why I adore this time of year (the cold - not so much though).

Growing up, my parents encorporated many German traditions into our lives. I remember seeing a fresh Advent wreath on the dining room table and always knowing it was the start of the Christmas season. Though we are not Catholic, each Sunday in December we would light a candle on our wreath and let it burn for a bit as we began to read and discuss The Christmas Story. I think I'm going to make an advent wreath and add this tradition to my family's list next year. I recall (though we often argued and fought) this being a particuarly special tradition full of spirit, knowledge, and family love.

We also put out our shoes on the night of December 5th for Nikolaustag (Saint Nikolaus Day). If we were good, we would find our shoes filled with lovely treats like chocolates and fruits the following morning. If we were bad (or naughty - not that I had any experience with that whatsoever), we would find things like coal and switches. I remember one year where my parents had Sankt Nikolaus and Swartze Peter (Black Peter was his sidekick who delivered switches and coal to the naughty boys and girls) actually come to our home to visit. Of course, it was friends of theirs, but I'll never forget the excitement of that day. Such fond memories!

Music has always been a very VERY important part of my life. In fact, I get all misty and teary eyed when I think about Christmas and music. My family is INCREDIBLY musical and always has been. My parents have been choir directors, pianists, singers and performers for as long as I can remember. They've instilled a deep love for music within all of my siblings and I. My all time favorite thing to do at Christmas time, aside from spending time with my family, is singing with my family. Absolutely, without a doubt! We each have "our parts" memorized to specific songs. We each know the different harmonies and tunes which work beautifully together. When we attend church together, I often cry when I get to sing with my family (even if it's in the pews with the congregation) because I love hearing our harmonies and voices together.

Of course, what would Christmas be without our special traditional Christmas foods?! My mother has a knack for cooking like no one else I know. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without my mom's Beste Cherry Christmas Braided Bread. Each of the males in our family have been known to eat full loaves by themselves - it's rich, but oh so good! Mother has given me permission to share her recipe with you, and I will once I have time to give it a good post - which it so deserves! My mother also makes awesome Fantasy Fudge. It's the original recipe which used to be found on the side of Marshmallow Fluff jars, but they've gone and changed it into something which is totally off from the original. She was kind enough to make Steve his own pan of it when she was here before Thanksgiving, and I've not heard the end of it yet!

Family Photos have also almost always been a family tradition too. One year, as many other Am-Berliner families did, we spray painted our holiday greeting onto the Berlin Wall. This particular

year, we sprayed on the east side of the East Berlin wall (versus the West Berlin wall - did you know there were actually two Berlin Walls?). This is a definite photo to treasure forever and ever! I recently found a bag full of Berlin Wall pieces - holy cow! Holy asbestos batman! (No worries, into a mason jar they went!)

Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year. Though Steve and I don't have any children of our own, we have a few traditions of our own. We' ve managed to have photos taken to use for our Christmas card (much to Steve's annoyance!). We always invite our family (the kids - Thomas and Kimberlee) to join us with their significant others and/or friends. Wel always also invite our friends who don't have family close by to join us on Christmas Day for dinner. We both have our own advent calendars (like we're seriously supposed to share chocolate? helloooo). We have stockings hung for everyone we are expecting on Christmas Day, and then a few extras "just in case" we have additional guests. Every guest has a stocking on Christmas Day at our home. Now, they're not full of deep meaningful and pricey items. Generally, it's things like socks, an orange, pens, post-its, and other little things that can be or are needed through out the year. Even though it's a small token, I know it has meant a lot when we have guests over (especially if they are alone for Christmas) and they have a stocking waiting for them. It is always so nice to make someone feel extra special on Christmas.

There are loads of other traditions my family has participated in over the years, but these are the ones that stick out most. Thanks for inviting me to play, Jill! I've really enjoyed it!

Thinking of family Christmas photos, I can't decide which of these two I want to use this year and could certainly use a bit of guidance from my blogging friends. Which do you think is better of BOTH of us - #1 or #2?

It's Christmas Cookie Swap with Scrappi Jessi Day!

Linzer Torte Cookies
Originally uploaded by heather_ales

Oh you're in for a fun and tasty treat today! Scrappi Jessi (http://scrappyjessi.blogspot.com/) has gathered some of her blogging sisters together and we've all shared some of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes with you. This time, I'm sharing my Linzer Torte Cookie recipe. It's a buttery sugar cookie sandwich filled with a raspberry preserve filling and then lightly dusted with the finest powdered sugar you can find. I posted the recipe onto my cooking blog (www.frommykitchentoyours.blogspot.com). I hope you'll love it as much as we do!

I think my all time favorite, easy Christmas recipe is the fabulous 1-2-3 Pretzels. I get more compliments on them, and more requests for that recipe during Christmas than almost anything else! The Beste Christmas Cherry Bread is the #1 requested recipe, followed by the Ales Christmas Berry Braid Bread recipe. I'm thinking about sharing those recipes with you this year, but it will be for a limited time. I can't let all of our family cooking secrets out of the bag you know!

Enjoy the Cookies!

Linzer Torte Cookies

Linzer Torte Cookies
Originally uploaded by heather_ales

It just wouldn't be Christmas without Linzer Torte Cookies! I remember enjoying these fun treats at many Weinachts markets my family and friends attended. Steve is also a big fan of anything with fruit in it so these are an automatic winner in his book (plus, anything with sugar is perfect in his world). Here's the recipe I normally use. At the end, I'll share a quick and fast way to make them too.

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar (optional)
Seedless raspberry jam

DIRECTIONS:

Place flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; stir to combine. Beat granulated sugar and butter in medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until dough forms. Divide dough in half; cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Working with 1 portion at a time, roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/16-inch thickness. Cut dough into desired shapes with floured cookie cutters. Cut out equal numbers of each shape. (If dough becomes too soft, refrigerate several minutes before continuing.) Cut 1-inch centers out of half the cookies of each shape. Reroll trimmings and cut out more cookies. Place cookies 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks; cool completely.

Spread 1 teaspoon jam on flat side of whole cookies, spreading almost to edges. Place cookies with holes, flat side down, over jam. Sprinkle cookies with holes with powdered sugar, if desired. Store tightly covered at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months, but if you go this route wait to dust them with powdered sugar until you’re ready to serve them.

Christmas Traditions

Willow Tree Full Nativity

Willow Tree Full Nativity,
originally uploaded by heather_ales.

Dear Steven (Husband, etc),

Tradition... Tradition! (think Fiddler on the Roof)

As we work to create family traditions that will take us through the many years of our marriage, I would be thrilled to pieces if this could be one of them. I love the Willow Tree Nativity Scene. They fit right into my Christmas decor theme/scheme and I find the craftsmanship to be brilliant. I would find it equally as brilliant if you would purchase a piece of the Nativity each year, for me as a Christmas gift. Over the many years we are sure to be married, I will eventually have the full collection - and also the many memories associated with it.

While I wholeheartedly realize that I can purchase the nativity for myself, I want to provide you with the opportunity to create a tradition for us and the opportunity to give me something that I truely want.

All my love,
~heather

Readers,
What are some of your favorite Christmas Traditions? How have you maintained following them over the years?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2005 Christmas Tree

2005 Christmas Tree,
originally uploaded by heather_ales.

Me oh my... I am SO ready to get my Christmas decorating groove on! Seriously! I can't believe I've waited this long. Of course, that's just another reason to leave it all up until my birthday in January (though it annoys Steve-o!). Since Silver Bella, I've been dreaming up and thinking of all kinds of fun new decorations, or different ways to decorate this year. It'll be our first Christmas in this house,and oh so much more room to decorate! The kids think I'm nuts because we're having multiple trees this year (granted, they're not all full, huge sized). I am SO ready to decorate our house or, as Thomas says I "make it look like Christmas has thrown up". Seriously? Nice, dude, real nice. :)

On December 4th, I'll be participating in Scrappi Jessi's Christmas Cookie Blog Swap - so be sure to stop by and enjoy the yummy goodness as we make our way across the internet world to see each others fun and tasty Christmas Treats!

Then, on December 12th, I'm participating in Karla's "What do you love about your holiday home" Blog tour! Each of the participants will share their holiday home decorations! I've told Steven that I absolutely must have a wall up and dry so that I can decorate that part of the house.

Oh the holidays are HERE! Christmas music is going in the car, on my iPod and on the stereo when I'm at home. YAY!

What's your favorite holiday decoration?

Thanksgiving Empanadas

Thanksgiving Empanadas
Originally uploaded by heather_ales

I’m a huge – no massive – fan of multi use cooking. Meaning, I love (and work hard) to cook once and serve multiple times. But, no one wants to eat spaghetti for days in a row. In fact, I’m lucky if I’m able to get Steve to eat the same meal two days in a row. So, it’s not unusual for me to try and dream up creative ways to use our leftovers. One of our favorites is Spaghetti Subs – but that’s a recipe for another day.

Even with having lots of friends and family join us for Thanksgiving, I can almost always guarantee that we will have loads of leftovers. Granted, I almost always freeze at least a full turkey breast, and any other miscellaneous leftovers that freeze well. There are things though, which don’t freeze well and need to be used up. This year, my new concoction is what I call Thanksgiving Empanadas. One of the kids (Thomas’s girlfriend Sarah’s roommate, Tess – follow that?) came up with the name of “Heather’s Little Pockets of Heaven”. Whatever you want to call them, they’re easy and surprisingly VERY tasty. You can put almost any kind of Thanksgiving leftover into your filling mixture, we’ve tried a few variations and have yet to be disappointed. Here’s what we did this year:

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. leftover turkey, diced
1 c. leftover stuffing, slightly warmed
1 c. shredded potatoes, cooked (this wasn’t a leftover, but mashed potatoes didn’t sound right for this)
1 c. leftover green bean casserole
1 c. leftover cheese, grated (whatever is in your fridge will work)
2 boxes of pie crusts (the kind that are already made, you just unroll them and put into your pie pan)
1 egg
Salt, pepper, etc to taste

Preheat your oven to 350. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet (this will aid in clean up later).

Mix the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, and cheese together in a bowl.

Roll out your pie crusts and cut out 2-3” circles with a biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter. (You should be able to get 9-10 circles out of each pastry crust.) Use some flour if your cutter is sticking to the dough. The filling makes quite a bit, so generally I’ll stop after making 40 or so. If I’m feeling particularly frugal, I roll out the pastry scraps and cut out more circles rather than throwing them away.

Put about 1 tablespoon of the leftover filling into the center of a pie crust circle. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers if you don’t mind getting messy), brush a bit of egg around the bottom half of the circle and fold the pastry circle in half. Using a fork, crimp the edges of your pastry crust pocket to seal. Place onto your cookie sheet. .

Once the cookie sheet is full, brush each of your empanadas with a bit of egg (this will make them shiny and golden brown when they’re done). Put the cookie sheet into the oven and bake until the empanadas are golden brown. Don’t forget, since these are all leftovers, everything is already cooked. You’re just warming everything up and cooking the crust!

Because there is quite a lot of filling, I froze what was left in 2 cup portions to use for another day’s meals. I know the kids really loved these, and so having the filling on hand will be great when they’re over studying for finals, or when my grocery budget is shot and they’re over to hang out.

1...2...3 Pretzels

Chocolate Pretzels
Originally uploaded by heather_ales

Before Silver Bella, there was Jingle Bella. In my searching for more information about it, I came across this recipe from the fabulous McFoof herself’s blog – and my life has not been same since. Neither has my waist line, but that’s another story!

After sharing some of these tasty treats with friends, I’ve been asked (and begged) to share this easy peasy recipe. I wouldn’t dare be the one to ruin your holiday treats, especially with one so absolutely easy! I’d imagine that this would be an ideal activity/treat to do with young(er) children as they can unwrap the candies you use and help you smoosh the M&M’s in too. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Tiny pretzels
Hershey's Kisses
Plain M&M’s
Parchment Paper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet (this may save you cleaning time later!). Place pretzels on cookie sheet, making sure they’re all flat and not laying all over each other. Then, place an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss on top of each pretzel.

Bake pretzels for about 4 minutes; just enough to get the chocolate to melt. Too long and the chocolate dries out and won't cooperate. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, and set it onto something to protect your countertops (if that is something you need to worry about). Then, individually press 3 M&M's into the chocolate to fill in the holes. Then, slide the parchment paper onto your table and reload your sheet or refrigerate to set the chocolate.

Yummy. Simple. Fast....gotta love it.

I’ve tried this yummy treat with Reece’s mini peanut butter cups (SOO yummy). They’re a little messier because of the peanut butter, but tasty none the less! This year, I used Rolos and pressed a pecan half into the softened chocolate for a turtle pretzel! Yum!

Crockpot Stuffing for Everyone!

turkey_stuffing, originally uploaded by heather_ales.

Ahhhh the infamous Crockpot Stuffing. I was SOOO happy when I found a version of this recipe a few years ago. Seriously. Color me happy. Stuffing is a basic staple of Thanksgiving dinners everywhere. and most definitely at my house. Not having stuffing would be like, not having dessert on a birthday. Just plain wrong!

Anyway, as any Thanksgiving cook knows, oven space is especially tight on Thanksgiving (unless you have two ovens – I haven’t had that luxury!). I don’t cook my stuffing in the turkey (the timing always throws me off), and have always done it in the oven. Finding this recipe was a serious God send. It’s easy, keeps my oven free, and is very tasty. It’s one of those recipes that you need to adjust for your altitude and climate (warmer/drier climates would use more broth, cold/wet climates would use less). If you have a newer crock-pot (I find they cook a bit faster), periodically check on your stuffing to make sure it’s not cooking faster then you want.

You can find this recipe (and many of my other favorite recipes) on my cooking blog at www.frommykitchentoyours.blogspot.com. A link right to this recipe is http://frommykitchentoyours.blogspot.com/2006/11/thanksgiving-2006-crockpot-stuffing.html.

I have a bunch of new recipes to add, and plan to do that this weekend! Wahoo!

Enjoy! I'd really love to know what you think of it!

We have a Winner!

Let it Snow Preview, originally uploaded by heather_ales.

Wow - so many great questions, awesome ideas, and fabulous tips! Thanks friends! I'm planning to answer all of your questions this weekend (or on Thursday while things are cooking away for our Thanksgiving Dinner).

The winner of my Blog Swag giveaway is post #3 - Susan! Susan, if you'll email me your address (heather_ales @ yahoo) I'll get that out to you this weekend. Unfortunately, one of the downfalls of Blogger is that I can't respond to the lovely comments and messages that are left for me here on my blog. :(

This photo is a piece of my November Maya Road Design Team project. You'll be able to see the whole project sometime this month on our blog.

Oh Why Not...

Maya Road Coaster Album, originally uploaded by heather_ales.

So many of my sweet Bella friends had questions about using chipboard while we were toiling away in our fabulous Prima Bella taught classes last weekend. Suprisingly many of my new friends haven't used chipboard simply because they don't know what to do with it. Wow - color me suprised! I have the lovely honor of being part of the Maya Road Design Team. I know - lots of fun! As a result, I've done a bit of work with chipboard.

In case you don't know, chipboard is an inexpensive thick board (like cardboard but much sturdier) embellishment that can be added to your art supply arsenal. It comes in a massive variety of sizes, shapes, and thicknesses. It can be purchased in sheets, pre-cut packaged sets, assembled albums, and a bunch of other ways..

When using chipboard, the main thing to keep in mind is that anything you can do to paper, you can do to chipboard (and even a few other things too!).

Here are a few ideas:
- Stamp background patterns on your chipboard with paint or ink.
- Put letters or numbers together to create a unique title.Try mixing up fonts and sizes for a totally different look.
- Use chipboard to make frames and photo mats.
- Use chipboard as covers for mini albums - or better yet use chipboard as an album (Maya Road has some AWESOME chipboard albums in a ton of shapes and sizes)
- You can staple chipboard, paint chipboard, sew on chipboard, add eyelets or brads to chipboard.
- Use negative chipboard pieces to stretch your alphabets!
- Paint chipboard with metallic acrylic paints - then sand to get a distressed look.
- Cover chipboard with patterned paper for a completely customized piece for your project!
- Paint your chipboard piece. Once it's dry cover it with your favorite wet adhesive and then sprinkle glitter ontop. Talk about gloriously glittery!

So... with all this chipboard talk, I'm going to share a bit of my Maya Road collection as Blog Swag. To win this lovely product selection, all you need to do is leave me a comment with either your favorite thing to do with chipboard, what you would like to learn to do with chipboard, or your reason for not using chipboard. I'll take entries through Sunday, November 18th. I'll have one of my glorious nieces or nephews choose a winner (of course it'll be over the phone, but I'll enjoy talking to them just the same).

Planning our Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner Photo, originally uploaded by heather_ales.

Surely someone else out there in blog land is proactive in planning their Thanksgiving meal. My friends and family often tease me about my menu - all in jest of course because when it comes down to eating it, they're ALL in.

I've been thinking about what to serve and cook this year. And of course, what I'm willing to let others bring. I'm the kind of girl who loves to do all the cooking (I SO inherited this trait from my mother) and who normally tells everyone else to not worry about bringing a thing, I'l have it all covered.

I'm trying to let go and let others enjoy bringing food too. Our friends ask us if they can come to our house for dinner (sometimes multiple times a week) and tend to have their feelings hurt if they're not regularly invited. I think I should take that as a compliment.

That being said, here is what I'm planning to have for our 2007 Thanksgiving Feast:

Appetizers/Stay out of my Kitchen food:
Cheese Ball
Cara’s Cheesy Wonder Dip (compliments of Cara)
Vegi Tray
Sausage Balls

Main Course:
Roasted Turkey (I'm shooting for a 25 pounder this time. Imagine the freezer stocking I'll be able to do!)
Grandma Linette’s Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Crockpot Stuffing (using homemade bread at that!)
Sesame Green Beans (compliments of Chris)
Cranberry Relish
Creamed Corn
Frog Eye Salad
Yeast Sweet Rolls
Sweet Potatoes

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Tartlets
Choco Choco Chocolate Choco Pie
Banana Crème Pie
Apple Pie
Cheesecake

Holiday Treats:
Caramel Popcorn
Sugar Coated Pecans
Ohio Buckeyes
Loaded Chex Mix
Mini Banana Bread Loaves
Wreath Cookies
Linzer Cookies
Grandma Rowleys Divinity
Mary's Holiday Fantasy Fudge

Each year, I'm quite zealous in my holiday meal pursuits. Lots of everything - especially leftovers. (I've been testing out some new leftover recipes though. So far they're awesome!) We have this crazy tradition which I love. Every Thanksgiving each person who attends our meal gets their very own pie. Yes, a pie all of their very own. Normally I bake full sized 9" pies for each person. However, this year I smartened up and ordered 5" disposable pie pans from a great kitchen store. I'll be able to split each regular sized pie recipe into two seperate pies thus saving myself from baking a gazillion pies. YAY me!

So tell me, what's your favorite thing to make or to eat at your Thanksgiving meal?

It's a ...

Nurse Addy, originally uploaded by heather_ales.

GIRL!

No, not for Steve and I! My fabulous younger sister Bekki Boo and her husband Shaun have blessed us with another child to spoil rotten! Gosh how I love those kids!

What a gorgeous baby! Seriously! Addyson Celeste was born on my brother Roberts birthday (which means he gets to stay 29 years old forever - LUCKY!). She was supposed to make her grand appearance during Silver Bella on November 9th. However, like her other siblings (Arissa - 6, Michael - 4, and Ainsley - 2) she had to come early.

I'm jealous of Bekki Boo - she arrived at the hospital just 20 minutes before delivering Addy. I guess when you go to deliver your 4th child, it's easy or something. She didn't even have time to get any pain medication - and she's a ER nurse. Talk about not getting any bonus points with that one! Sheeeesh!

I'm just pleased as punch that Miss Addy has come to join our already crazy family. She's a welcome addition and as gorgeous as they come!

Announcing... Something Splendid!

A few weeks back, I asked for some creative ideas for my new etsy/craft fair venture. So many of you sent me wonderful creative responses, for which I am very grateful. I loved so many of them! Paper Divinity from Teresa, Charming Creations from Holly, Inspiring Creations from April - so many of them really. I had my mind set on one name, and started the design process for a logo and other miscellaneous store based grass routes marketing stuff.

Then, Kathy J. mentioned that something in my request stood out. If you recall, I said I wanted to find a great name - something that would be splendid. She suggested going with the name 'Something Splendid." I immediately thought it was a fun and creative name, and started to percolate on the idea. Then, my mother, who is the most tender hearted person of all time emailed me to share that she really loved the name "Something Splendid" also, but didn't want to post it to my blog because she was afraid she would hurt one of your tender feelings (see she's so thoughtful like that). She thought it sounded like something I would say, and that it sounded like "me". And so "Something Splendid" it came to be!

I've loaded a few small things into my etsy store which were remaining from the craft fair here at work. I don't know how to post a link from Flickr (as that's where I'm currently updating from), but there is a link in the right side tool bar directly to my etsy store. I have lots of ideas of things to add soon - including the Silver Bella soldered charms that so many of you asked for. The incredible Teresa McFayden has given me her permission and blessing in creating them - how amazingly sweet is that of her? Love that woman - seriously!

So... Something Splendid is on it's way! Thank you for all of your great suggestions and fabulous ideas! I loved them all!

Buy Handmade!

Seriously. This is what I'm definitely doing for Christmas this year...it'll be so much fun, and so completely worthwhile. Artists should keep making art and the crafters should continue making crafts and the beaders should continue to keep stringing beads and the knitters knitting hats and the painters painting canvases. Let's all buy beautiful handmade works of art this year - no matter what kind of art.

~heather

Soldering

April '10 Update: WOW.... time has flown by! As I tell my students, practice practice practice makes perfect and my soldering is now scads better than it was in the photo on the left. I wanted to come and update this post with what I am now using 3 years after this initial post. I've taught enough classes and have personally soldered hundreds of charms, so I am confident in my suggestions at this point.

Lately, I've received many messages asking me all kinds of soldering questions. I think they're probably all coming from the charms I made my Silver Bella Roommates and a few special friends (they'll be available soon in my etsy store) or perhaps it's the wine bottle charms my Bella friends and I put together for the Prima Bella's (that would be the Silver Bella Instructors). First, and foremost, seriously....I am SO just learning. I am not an expert, nor am I terribly skilled. My soldering is nothing like the gorgeousness that is the fabulous Sally Jean. That being said, I LOVE it, and have had a fabulous time learning and practicing. As I've been responding to messages, I've collected a blurb of information which I've been passing on. Rather than continually sending out the same information via email, I thought it was probably wise to post it here so that you can find it quicker (you know how slow I can be with email!).

First, there are a couple of great sources to find your soldering tools and supplies. My favorite so far is the Glass Supplies store on etsy.com. Robin is a brilliant resource as she is a previous stained glass store owner, and is incredibly helpful. I believe she also owns an ebay store called "Cornerstone Stained Glass Supplies". Her prices are fair, her service is fantastic, her shipping is fast, and her attitude is out of this world. I highly, 100% recomend her. (April'10 Update: I still love Robin. I do not receive any compensation or kickback from referring you to her. My suggestions and advice are solid.)

Second, I also highly reccomend the gals over at Simply Swank. They have gorgeous pieces on their website galleries and are a pure joy to watch and talk to. Lisa has written a great book titled "Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories" which is chock full of great information, tips, and ideas. Both Michelle and Lisa have put together an instructional DVD titled "Simply Soldered". It's great to watch if you're not able to physically watch someone solder in front of you - and they've even thrown in a bit of humor. Brilliantly, they've put together a basic soldering kit "Simply Solder Creative Art Kit" which is perfect for anyone who wants to try soldering, but isn't sure they want the investment. The kit has everything you absolutely have to have, and includes instructions for a few projects (the pieces you need for your projects are also included in the kit - Awesome!). (April'10 Update: Although this kit is all-inclusive, the products contained are not of quality. I purchased the kit and tried on several occasions to work with it. I tried using their iron with their products, their iron with the products I already own, and with the iron I now use with their products. None of which had satisfactory results for me - except for the glass. It was fine.)

Another source, though they are not customer service savvy, nor are they knowledgeable (and if Robin isn't for some absolutely bizarre reason able to overnight speed ship the items you absolutely have to own TODAY), your local Hobby Lobby will have the very basic supplies - though they may hot be of the same caliber as Robin's (can you tell I really love Robin and her service?). Micheals and Joanns do not carry glass soldering supplies. You can also find a few items in your local home supply store (ie Lowes) or computer supply store (ie Frys) but you'll need to be very careful as those items are designed for plumbers, electricians, or computer workers - not for hobbyists or jewelry makers.

Alrighty, now that we have the sources out of the way, let's talk basic supplies...

To get started soldering, the basic supplies you will need to have are (and Robin has them all in her etsy store):

Copper Tape - there are many, MANY widths available, and MANY different backs. I started out with regular copper backed copper adhesive tape.

Soldering Iron - Don't waste your money on one that costs less than $30, you'll regret it in the end if you end up loving soldering as much as I have learned to. (April'10 Update: I've tried 12 different irons. My favorite is the same one that Sally Jean recommends and discusses in her book - the Weller 100. It has a robins egg blue handle and print loaded tip. The tip sizes I use most is the 3/16th size and it is sold seperately. The tip that comes with the iron is very wide, 1/2", and is VERY difficult to use with small or charm/jewelry soldering.)

Temperature Controller/Rheostat - In case your iron doesn’t have a gauge. Your iron temperature is what determines the fluidity of your solder. (April'10 Update: If you get the Weller 100, this is not necessary. However, it is nice to have so that you know when your iron is on - there's a red light- and works well as an extension cord)

Soldering Iron Stand - This really isn't optional – believe me just do it. Your body, and furnture will forever thank you for buying one. It will alleviate the iron rolling or you accidently dropping it onto your legs or onto your beautiful furniture.

Flux - I prefer gel, but regular works just as well. Just don’t get the paste. It's too messy and is a real pain to try and clean up. Gel and liquid flux are normally clear. (April'10 Update - My favorite flux, and the one I personally have the best luck with is Classic 100 Gel Flux by Glastar.)

Cheap-o paintbrush - A kids one will work fine – it’s for your flux. Qtips also work, but I think a small brush is better.

Glass - Again, there are a lot of varieties available. Robin has some great sizes precut for you. I sometimes prefer to use microscope glass because it is so thin.(yes the actual glass just cut down to the size I need). Robin's glass is thicker, and is more durable = less likely to fracture or shatter (especially when learning).

Hemostat or other metal clamps - Don't waste your money on plastic clamps you can find all over the place and don't waste your money on the ones at Home Depot. They're generally VERY VERY strong and will break your glass in an instant. Tip: If it's hard to open, it's going to be hard on your glass. I've also seen and heard of others using clothes pins. I'm sure they'll work out fine. I tend to worry about things being flammable when I am learning. Wood = flamable. Solder = very VERY hot. Wood + Solder = potential flamable issue for me. (April'10 Update: I use clothespins. Yes, the may get burn marks, but just slightly. And, they're cheap!)

Solder - The most important thing is to make absolutely sure you're using lead free solder. Otherwise you risk lead poisoning and you’ll have to work outside to avoid the fumes. There are LOTS of different kinds. I love the look I can achieve by using Canfields Silver Gleem Solder (and Sally Jean reccomends it too). But, while I'm learning/practicing I'm totally down with Canfield DGS w/silver solder. (April'10 Update: I use Canfield DGS 99% of the time.)

Jump Rings - if you’re planning to make charms or ornaments you'll need them.

Other items which will prove to be helpful to have handy are:

Floor Tile - A local store uses a silpat mat in their soldering class but I BY FAR prefer tile. Solder doesn't stick to tile. The silpats they used had some melted solder (duh... solder melts at 930 degrees!). I'd rather be safe than sorry. AND... the Silpats are expensive ($50). Tiles are either free (if they're left over from remodeling projects. Local gals - lemme know if you need a tile) or very inexpensive at your local home supply store. If you're giving a second guess to this, imagine what a mess (or a disaster) hot molten solder will leave on your craft table or on your grandmothers dining room table. See... I'm telling you - you're going to WANT this.

Sal Ammoniac Block - This will help clean your soldering iron tip when it gets loaded with oxidation (from solder, flux, and adhesive) and will help keep it clean to use while soldering. Your solder won't stick to an oxidized soldering tip. I was REALLY frustrated until I learned about this block!

Adhesive Copper Sheets - This is great to have when you don't want to solder two pieces of glass together. Instead you can use one piece of glass (normally on the front) and a piece of the copper sheet on the back. This allows you to solder the whole back piece and not just the sides.

There are all kinds of other items you can add to your arsenal of soldering supplies and fun things to play with, the items above are just the basics.

Soldering itself is pretty basic, but does take practice to get the hang of it. It's one of those things that you can watch someone do a million times and they can make it look easy. Once you sit down to do it yourself, it's seems like a huge challenge.

If you're interested, leave a message, and I'll go into the very basics of soldering. I recommend checking with your local beading store to see if they offer soldering classes. I know that they do in my area. I've had a few requests to teach them locally, and eventually I might. I've tossed around the idea of doing here in my home (which would totally work out) but haven't made any commitments yet.

Silver Bella... Here I come!

Star Light... Star Bright

Did you know that I am a star fanatic? Yep, I am. I have been for as long as I can remember.

While I was growing up, my family lived in Germany (17 years!). My father did a LOT of traveling (TDY to military families). I've always been a Daddy's girl (I'm a Momma's Girl too now though), and when we was away, if I felt particuarly lonely I would look up into the sky and know that he could see the very same stars I was.

The same thing worked for me when I made my big move to the US. Despite being an American citizen, the US was a completely foreign country to me. My roommates couldn't understand why I found somethings so fascinating (Ramen Noodles and 24 hour Wal-Marts), and couldn't grasp the concepts of others (speed limits on highways). I missed my family and the familiarity of our life. Looking up at the stars was something I still had in common with my family (though in a different time zone/continent) and it brought me much comfort.

I didn't realize until a few days ago, how much my love for stars has impacted my home decorating style. I'm still waiting to decorate and completely settle into our house. The rooms I'm dying to do are the ones in the middle of reconstruction (still missing the wall) so there are boxes of photo frames, wall decor, stars and other misc decorations in a corner in the entryway/front living room. I could easily have stars displayed all over our home. I especially love the barn stars and stars made with grapevines (my Christmas tree is actually almost all stars in red, gold, rusted metal, and ivory!).

Really there was a point to this post, but it's escaped me at this point. Dang... I'm sure it was something earth shattering too. Perhaps even brilliant enough to bring us world peace and general acceptance of all things thrifty, glittery, and fabulous.

Maybe it had something to do with Silver Bella - it's only 5 days away and will be such fun! Valita and I did much thrifting in our attempts to find outfits for our Junk Gypsy attired evening on Friday. Mine is totally inspired by a photo I found on their website. We'll see how it turns out that night. I think big 'ole Texas hair might be appropriate. Hey, at least there's a reason to dig out some hairpieces. I'm sure they're around here somewhere!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to My Cute Boy!

Oh Mister Ales.... Have I told you today that I love you? Well I do! I do!

I can't believe it, as of today we've been married for two years. At times it seems like we were married just yesterday. However, at other times it feels like we've been married for many lifetimes. Oh, Steve-o you know me so well. You know my tendencies, my urges, and my horrible habits. Yet, you love me anyway. You make me feel secure, you shower me with your endless fountain of love. You know when I'm blowing smoke, when I'm frustrated, when I'm happy, when I'm sick, when I'm stressed, and when I'm just hoping for a few minutes of quiet time. I'm so happy you chose me to be yours, and that you continually think of me, our relationship, our families, and our eventual (hopefully) family. Thank you for loving me when I was fat. Thank you for loving me while I'm thin. Thank you for loving me on my cranky days. Thank you for loving me on my exhausted days. Thank you for loving me on my Sonic Diet Coke craving days. Thank you for loving me on the "ooops, I went shopping with the credit card" days. Thank you for loving me when all I want to do is melt into the couch and read the Twilight series. Thank you for loving me, despite my love for my woobie. Thank you for helping me become the person you see inside of me! I love you!

Help! Creative Thoughts Desperately Needed!

I’m doing this craft fair at work in a couple of weeks and I’ve been racking my brain for a good creative name which could apply to lots of different crafts. I’d like to eventually open an etsy store (http://www.etsy.com/) so the name would need to work there too. I know you’re all creative individuals and between us all we can come up with something splendid.

I’d like the name to be unusual but not strange. Everything I sell will be handmade and most of it will be custom. I like the idea of Custom Keepsakes by Heather, but it seems too generic. Creative Keepsakes won’t work because it’s a magazine title. Creative Memories is another companies name already. I am completely in love with Paper Bella – but Miz. Teresa Mc”Fabulous”Fayden dreamed up that bit of incredibleness. Treasured Memories and Paper Treasures are also rolling around my head.

To start, my wares will include custom soldered photo charms and ornaments, simple gift tags, and custom mini album creation.

Any ideas to throw my way?

House Meme

When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter? You walk into the entryway. It leads into the master living/dining room. We don't use that space at the moment though. Well, it is full of "my" boxes from the garage. Steve's reclaiming the garage.

Do you have a dishwasher? Oh yes and I do so love it! It's a Bosch and is SOOO quiet!

Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors? Neither. The whole first level is tiled with travertine tile in a puzzle lay. LOVE the allergy release of having no carpet!

Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer? Drawer - unless we have kids in the house! Then up in a tall cabinet!

House, apartment, duplex or trailer? House

How many bedrooms is it? 4

Gas stove or electric? Electric

Do you have a yard? Yes

What size TV is in the living room? Um.... 48"?

Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups? No. totally different side of the kitchen.

Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter? Nope. But, I think there is a french press coffee maker thing around here somewhere. Thomas keeps forgetting it.

What color is your home painted?? Exterior? Neutral tannish cream with a red door!

What room is your computer in? My computer is in my studio. The others are all over the house.

Are there pictures hanging in your living room?? No... I haven't decided where to hang them yet. Seriously though. What's the point of hanging anything when the walls aren't done?!. Yes, we are still working on the wall issue. I WILL have walls by Thanksgiving though!

Are there any themes found in your home?? No, not really. The master bath/bedroom theme is something along the lines of relaxation. Until the laundry gets put away though, it's definitely not relaxation though.

What kind of laundry detergent do you use?? High Efficiency Tide.

Do you use dryer sheets?? I do. Steve doesn't.

Do you have any curtains in your home?? Yes, on the window above the front door. I don't have a ladder tall enough to get up there and take them down. :)

What color is your fridge?? White for now. Eventually, stainless steel with dual sides... and a built in Sonic Ice Maker.

Is your house clean?? No... too many projects going on all over the house.

What room is the most neglected?? The guest room.

Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?? Clean!

How long have you lived in your home? 5 months?

Where did you live before?? The Marshall Creek House.

Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?? Heck no!

Do you have a scale anywhere in your home?? Yes!

How many mirrors are in your house?? Golly... umm 4?

Look up. What do you see? Ceiling fan with a light on.

Do you have a garage?? Yes

Are you planning on moving anytime soon?? No no no no no.

5 Years....

5 Years ago... (also known as half a decade), my sweet boy was born. I think about him all the time; especially in the months leading up to the anniversary of his birth. So very many thoughts on my mind; so many blessings have come my way.

Last year, I wrote a few indepth posts about adoption, my feelings, emotions, and my experiences surrounding it. So many of you asked honest deep questions. I love that I am able to share my adoption experiences with you. Adoption is so mysterious to so many. In reality, in my world at least, there is no mystery. I'm basically an open book when it comes to talking about my life and about adoption.

Once again, I'd love to open the floor (or the comment box) to any questions you might have about adoption, my feelings about adoption (whether from an adoptee's perspective or from a birthmother's perspective), or just my opinion on adoption in general. I promise I will give each question an honest and true answer. For those of you who have questions for my parents, I'm sure they would love to answer your questions too.

Without any further adu, Happy Birthday to my most perfect, my most beautiful, my most wonderful creation ever - Dylan!

Seriously...

Oh my stars and bananas...

Seriously?

Cable? In our house?

Seriously. I can't handle a joke about something like this.

SERIOUSLY!

YAY! I'll have it in time for Grey's Anatomy to start season 4 on Thursday! If only the couches will be back in their rightful places by then. Could it be possible? Seriously?

Friday Night Lights... It's REAL!

Last Friday evening, Steve and I attended our first Texas Homecoming football game with our friend Cara. She's a subsitute teacher at Northwest High School, which is the school our kids would go to - if we had any teenagers.

I've heard all kinds of crazy things about Texas football. I've even witnessed a few oddities here and there. However, I've never quite experienced a Texas Homecoming game in all of it's hugeness. And oh my - hugeness it was!

Seriously!

Let's start with Texas Mums, aka Homecoming Mums, aka big honkin' flowers, bigger than basketballs which are loaded with oodles of long flowing and glittery ribbons, longer than the girls are tall, with all kinds of charms, noise makers, lights, and feather boas. Seriously.

Now, I'm not knocking them, but for a Texas transplant (such as I) it is quite a different thing to see. Some were sewn to bra straps. Some were worn like backwards back packs. All kinds of ways, all kinds of crazyness!

Then... there's the football game.

If there are two lessons I definitely learned Friday night, they are:

There's no such thing as a 5th down. How did I learn this you ask? Well, silly me asked my dear wonderful husband what the whole 5th down thing was about. You see, I was trying to learn about football - especially since it's such a big thing down here in Texas. Everyone who heard me ask (and oh how the bleachers are packed like sardines of fans), turned to look in compete shock. So, of course, everyone made sure I now know that there is no such thing as a 5th down. It goes 1st - 4th down - marking the sections of the football field.

Ummm be sure who your team is, and what end of the field they should be scoring on before you leap up and cheer for the first score of the game - which just happens to be for the opponent. Yes, we're seated in the heart of Northwest fans... and yes, I'm sure there were plenty of thought death threats sent my direction.

Other than that, the game itself was highly un-entertaining. The cheerleaders were not anywhere near for us to see. The sound system was terrible.

The half time show though, was AWESOME!!!! Seriously awesome! The dance team girls came out onto the field with their fathers. Their fathers were dressed in jeans with suspenders and flannel plaid shirts. The girls were dressed in darling blue and white checkered smock style dresses with red sparkly shoes on - all of course depicting Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz".

The music they chose to dance to was "Get on Down the Road" from 'The Wiz' (how I do love that movie musical!). It was SOOOOOO fun to watch the fathers dance with their daughters. They obviously didn't have a lot of practice time, but they did very well. The dance team was adorable.

When it was over I told Steve that if we had a girl, I would pay to make sure she participated in something like that. The guy in front of us told his wife he would pay to NOT participate in something like that.

I know that if I was a student at Northwest, I would have paid to have been able to participate in something like that. And I know my dad would do it with me - in a quarter heartbeat!

A few other things I learned while watching the game, and the people:

They really are SERIOUS about football around here. I actually heard a father say "what, you don't want to play FOOTBALL??!!" Little girls are dressed up as cheerleaders - and I'm talking about LITTLE girls all the way up through middle school aged girls. Parents are dressed to the hilt in school colors - and they even have reserved seating and box seats for these games. In fact, some people even buy the suites! You know, the windowed in seating with air conditioning and food service?! Nuts! This isn't professional football people - we're talking high school. And... not a very good team at that. In fact, I think they're at the bottom of their district.

All in all, it was a fun time, lots of learning, and lots of laughs. What else can you expect when a girl who's never really watched an American high school football game tries to fit in? One thing is for sure though, I have lot of learning to to do about Texas football before any of our (or our friends) kids get into school.

Full Home Repair/Construction Mode...

Holy Cow is our house ever a disaster area. Seriously.

It.is.a.mess!

Today is day 6 of our home repairs. Any ideas on how long it will take to finish? I had high hopes for this weekend. I don't see it happening though. Bummer.

The workers are really quite nice. Honestly, I wouldn't know if they weren't as only a couple of them speak any English. So, they could be calling me anything out of the book and as long as they said it in their nice polite tone, I'd never know the slightest.

Which reminds me of a fun story.

My father was an Air Force Officer and we lived in Germany for about 17 years. Yes, 17 years. Anyway, as growing up in Germany will often do, I learned to speak German. As my friends slowly learned that I could speak another language they've asked me to say something "in German."

My favorite saying, of all time, to share with them is....

"Darf ich mein Bleistift spitzen?"

Of course, I always say it in an incredibly seductive tone (at least when I was single and.... uh... on the market).

It's always hilarious to hear the comments about how romantic the German language is, or how much they love to hear it. Seriously. I love Germany and the German people. However, the German language is NOT romantic nor is it a lovely sounding language.

It's a spitting, hocking, and generally messy language - at least to hear it. But, I do love it anyway.

So, back to the workers. They are awesome! The house is going to be SO nice when it's all done. When that will be remains to be seen. All of the work is being paid for upfront and in cash. Lately, I've written some checks that make my eyes water. So sad to see some of that money go to things that are necessary but not at all fun or exciting.

Don't get me wrong, tile is cool. The pattern it's laid in is cool. But, realizing that I have to give up new furniture to pay for the tile isn't cool. Of course, in all logic, the tile will outlast almost any furniture we purchse and we'll recoup our costs in the resale value if we ever move.

Which of course we are NOT ever moving from this house. They'll have to carry my rotting carcass out. I am SO not about moving. ever again.

Ever.

I hate moving.

I would do it if I absolutely had to, but I would REALLY prefer not to.

That being said, and against my deepest wishes and begging... I have to pack up my studio so that new carpet can be laid in it. Seriously. SUCKS rotten eggs. Now I'm going to stress about dropping anything onto the new carpet. I SO wish I could get out of it... I'm happy with my space and I SO don't want to think about packing up all of the little and medium sized things so that the workers can do their job. It's going to be a nightmare. Oh well... it just sucks. Not much I can do about it now. Grrr.

Oh well.

That's all.

Oh yes... what does my seductive favorite German saying mean auf English?

May I sharpen my pencil?

ha. ha. ha. ha. ha. love it!

Thoughts from a Late Night Rider...

I'm wide awake. Maybe it's the Sonic drink, maybe it's the long weekend. Regardless... Live from Roanoke Texas... It's Saturday night!

It's a shame when you know the gals at Sonic - by name and face. It's even worse when they know you right back. It cracks me up when they ask me if I want my "usual". They even know how to pack the ice just the way I like it.

September is going to be el-cheapo month for this Ales family. We're (I'm) curious to see how much we can live on, if we absolutely have to. It's back to coupon cutting (expense cutting), meal cooking (no eating out), Sonic avoidance (oh the travesty!!), Blockbuster membership cancellation (they upped the price, and we're trying to decide if we want/need cable), and no craft purchases (I can do it - right??). I think it'll be a good thing - and it will be interesting to see how much we can save if we set our minds to it.

Are you a Grey's fan? I SO am!! I almost had to cheer for joy when I saw the poster advertising Grey's Anatomy Season 3 DVD release. It's a sickness... but boy I do love it so. It'll be out in a few weeks. How on earth am I going to hold off on purchasing it until October?? SERIOUSLY!?

I start teaching my first classes at The Scrapbook Pad this month; Beyond Basics. Yikes! I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've taught classes for crowds much larger than our store can handle at conventions around the country. I've taught and shared my papercrafting passion with oodles of friends in my home and at theirs. Maybe it's because I love the store so much or perhaps maybe it's because I'm so attached to the store. At any route, I'm nervous as all get out.

I love reading The Pioneer Woman's blog. It cracks me up in so many ways - her humor is side splitting. Her recipes are outstanding (seriously, check them out). Her photos are breathtaking. It's addictive I tell ya - and I love it! I'm almost tempted to go find a ranch for our Ales family to live on.

Tommorrow (make that today) is family food day. Oh the fun of Sunday dinners at the Ales household. Both of the kids (that would be Thomas and Kimberlee - Steve's young siblings) are invited each week and when they come, they almost always bring friends. We never know how many to expect, so Sundays at our house are either loaded with lots of people, or it's empty and the freezer has a few extra meals for other days (oh how I love our Food Saver!).

Might the hell of our fabulous house be coming to an end? Oh, please pray that it might be so! Tuesday morning, the contractors begin the demolition and repairs on the upstairs guest bathroom. We did our final selections for tile and carpet this morning with Gayla (She is SO fabulous. She's not just a RE agent, she is an interior designer - and she KNOWS her stuff) AND... we selected the marble slabs for the kitchen countertops, island and bathrooms. Literally - we picked the slab of marble that the countertops will be made from. I'm amazed at the whole process. SO stinkin' cool! Anyway, our house is getting ready to be more of a construction zone than it is at the moment, but I'm starting to think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

The internet is such a cool and interesting place. Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me. I've come across friends that over the years (and moves) I'd lost contact with. A perfect example is that just a few weeks ago, I was blog surfing and over the course of a few different blog paths I came across Lanna's blog (I'd link you to her, but I don't want to link without permission). Get this chain... years ago... and I do mean years, but only 7 or so (maybe 8) I had this totally fun group of friends in Ohio. We had some really fun times as we traveled around southern Ohio attending dances, parties, shindigs, and making all kinds of crazy fun for ourselves. Anyway, in this group of friends was a tall gaggle of a guy named Ren. He's a serviceman and was transferred away. We maintained contact via email. Fast forward a few years. I'm living in Texas. Ren is living in New Mexico and is dating a woman in Utah. I had a page requested accepted for publication (December 2004). The editors name sounded unusually familiar - Lanna Carter. Long story short... Lanna was the wonderful woman Ren was dating! They ended up getting married in June of 2005. It's a big world out there, but thanks to the internet, it's a whole lot smaller!

I've been doing some SERIOUS purging in my scrapbook room/art studio/creative space. I get so overwhelmed with options - I feel like I'm drowning in choices surrounded by so many awesome products. It's been very freeing to let some of it go. Some of it is being boxed up and will go to a local charity. Some of it is being held back so that I can use it for the next Scrapbook Pad Garage Sale (fingers crossed that my ticket gets drawn for a table!). Most of it, though, is being saved for my friends to come and go through! Any local takers?

I wish I lived closer to some of my family. My parents will be moving to Texas next summer and will be halfway closer to us than they are now (and just a hop, skip, and a jump from Mexico to boot!). Last weekend really was a bunch of fun. Steve will really have to come next time. I know he would have really enjoyed himself too!

That's enough rambling thoughts for today - don't cha think?

Speedy Trips

Last weekend was a weekend of speed. Seriously! My parents were in Salt Lake City for a conference so I decided to try to hop on a plane and make it out to visit them and my brother, Robert (he lives in SLC).

Friday night, I went to a fun party with Robert (actually the pre-party to a huge party PARTY called the Courtney Cup). It was loads of fun hanging out with Robs friends. I stayed with him and his roommates all night. One of his roommates also had family in town, so I was up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and talking. Ahhh to be young and in college again.

Saturday morning, a group of us went for breakfast to a classicly classy place you might've heard of... IHOP. LOL! We had loads of fun people watching and sharing various stories about each other. Afterwards, it was HAIR TIME! Wahooo! Of course, when my Texas friends learned I was going to have my hair done in Salt Lake City, they thought I was nuts. They just don't know Darren.

Darren is a hair master! Seriously! He masterfully gave me some extra fabulous highlights and then used his scissors to add texture and dimension to my otherwise bland and boring hair. I SO love my cut and color. I'll fly to SLC to have my hair done by him ANYTIME!

After hairtime, Robert and I met up with my parents at the Olympic

Fountain at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake for dinner. We celebrated my father's birthday with tasty food! We had the waitress take a photo of us, but didn't go back and double check the photo. So, this is the only photo we have ... boo hoo!

After dinner, we drove around for a bit (my parents love to drive around ... and around... and around with no where to go. Seriously!)

and then we said goodbye to Rob. I went with my parents to visit and stay the night with my Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Ernest and their family. Aunt Carolyn is my most favorite Aunt. I know I shouldn't have a favorite - but I can't help it. She was my babysitter long before she was my aunt (in Illinois before we moved to Germany). She helped me get my first US Drivers License. She also put up with me waving to her neighbors (she is REALLY shy) and doing other silly obnoxious things as only an outgoung social butterfly of a niece can do.

I was also sure to harass and bug my Uncle Ernest. Ladies and

Gentleman, THIS is your Weber County Surveyor! Seriously! He really is one HECK of an awesome uncle. He knows how to do all kinds of handy things, and is always ready and willing to lend a hand when needed. I spent quite a few weekends back when I was attending college at his house. He's really is one awesome guy!

Of course, we can't forget Michelle! Michelle is the oldest girl in the this Rowley household. And ladies.. she

is SINGLE! So, if you have any hot, uber attractive young men who are active members of the LDS church, over the age of 25, who like mudding (or whatever they call driving around in mud), who are fun to hang out with (and can handle a really sarcastic cousin) and who live in Utah - she could quite possibly be the daughter-in-law of your dreams! She is VERY attractive, and is a LOT of fun - AND she has a good head on her shoulders. Get with me if you have a potential match! (Love you Michelle!)

My Aunt Kathleen traveled to SLC with my parents to visit too. Though we didn't get to talk or visit mugh, it was also good to see her for a bit. After lots of chatting and hanging out we all went to bed. It was only a few hours later on Sunday morning when Mom and Dad dropped me off at the airport. Shortly I was on a flight back to Dallas.

Speedy trips ... they're fun but boy are they exhausting!

Grandma Rowley's Divinity

INGREDIENTS:

4 C. Sugar
1 C. Light Corn Syrup
3/4 C. Water
1/4 t. salt
3 large egg whites, beaten
2 t. vanilla
nuts if desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Mix sugar, syrup, water & salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir, cover, and cook for 1 minute. Remove cover and cook to soft ball stage.

Add 1/3 C. of mixture to the egg whites. Continue cooking the remainder of the sugar mixture until it reaches hard ball stage. Add to egg white mixture. Beat until fluffy and add vanilla. Beat until it loses its gloss. (You'll probably have to hand beat it for the last few minutes). Add nuts (if desired). Drop by the teaspoon full onto wax paper and cool.

** This recipe is from Aunt Carolyn's recipe stash.

Mother Goose Popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

1 C. Sugar
3 T. Water
1 1/2 t. Vanilla
1/4 C. butter
Few drops of food coloring
4 Quarts popped popcorn.

DIRECTIONS:

Boil all ingredients together. Pour over 4 quarts of popcorn.

Enjoy!

** This recipe is from Aunt Carolyn's Recipe Stash

Oreo Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Cake Mix
1/2 C. Shortening
2 Eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients together and roll into 1" balls. Put onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 6-7 minutes.

Cool and frost with cream cheese icing.

** This recipe is from Aunt Carolyns Recipe Stash.

Snickerdoodles

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Butter
1 Egg
1/2 t. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/4 t. Salt
1/4 t. Baking Soda
1/4 t. Cream of Tartar
2 T. Sugar
2 t. Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, cream the 3/4 C. sugar and butter. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a seperate small bow, stir together flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Stir into butter mixture until well blended. In a third bowl, mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon together.

Grease 2 cookie sheets with shortening. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll each in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place balls 2" apart on cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 36 cookies.

This recipe is from my Aunt Carolyn's recipe file.

Thanks Sophia...

Sophia posted a wonderful MeMe on her blog today. It definitely provided some thought provoking conversations today:

Yourself: Calm
Your partner: Awesome
Your hair: ... is getting done this weekend! Wahooo!
Your mother: incredible beyond words
Your father: strong
Your favorite item: my wedding ring
Your dream last night: I don't remember.
Your favorite drink: It should be ice water with lots of ice, but in honesty it's a Route 44 Diet Coke with extra, extra ice from Sonic.
Your dream car: I really don't have one. I like the CR-V I drive now very much.
Your dream home: One that is complete and not in need of repair or renovation - hopefully it'll be the one we live in... eventually. :)
The room you are in now: My creative studio.
Your fear: not having family - being alone.
Where you want to be in 10 yrs: Still in happily in love, a Mom, on the right track spiritually, happy.
Who you hung out with last night: Myself? Steve left for work at 9:30pm.
You're not:
Wish list items: Big: A weekend getaway with Doug, a new laptop, a new monitor, a new digi SLR camera. Small: a Macintosh Apple candle, diamondique earrings, an organized studio.
Last thing you did: Sonic Run... see above.
What are you wearing: yoga pants and a white Tshirt.
Favorite weather: Spring and fall mornings when it's crisp and cool outside - perfect for a run or brisk walk.
Favorite book: Jane Eyre, my scriptures
Last thing you ate: Rold Gold Honey Wheat Pretzels - Deb got me hooked on them at CHA. They're awesome!
Your life: is not what I expected it to be, but more than I had ever hoped for.
Your mood: Contemplative.
Your best friend: Steve, my mother, Heather B.... I have many very good friends.
What are you thinking about right now: What to pack for my trip? I really should get it done.
Your car: Needs a good wash, wax, and serious detailing.
What are you are doing at this moment: laundry, and waiting for a project to dry
Relationship status: Ooo-la-la, in love and married to my Mr. Right!
What's on TV: I haven't a clue! We still don't have TV in this house (and likely won't at least until the remodeling is done)
Last time you laughed: Several times today at work!