A Few Soup Recipes

We love to eat soup this time of year. I wanted to share a couple that we like.

Cheeseburger Soup



I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine several years ago and we have loved it ever since. You can find the recipe here.


Lentil Stew



This recipe was one I found on Hillbilly Housewife. I am the only one who eats it, so one batch can last me all week for lunch. You can find the recipe here.

This last picture has nothing to do with soup, but when my husband and littlest guy fell asleep in the chair while I was fixing supper last night my heart just melted.

A Few Soup Recipes

Snow Fun

We got at least 10 inches of snow this week. My kids have been home from school for the past four days. I have really enjoyed having them home. I wanted to share some pictures of the fun we had in the snow on Wednesday. We have been out in it every day having fun. The kids have also enjoyed coming inside and drinking hot chocolate. The only thing they haven't been able to do is build a snowman because the snow has been too powdery.

My Snow Angels


Following the Leader


Joseph enjoyed being snuggled in the sling.


Sliding in the Snow

Snow Fun

Before and After

I thought I would start a new segment, if you will, for my blog. I am hopeful that it will keep me motivated. I enjoy organizing things, but keeping them that way tends to be hard for me. I usually blame it on my creativity, but it boils down to the fact that I have trouble maintaining a clean house. My husband likes the house to be picked up, and I know it isn't good to crisis clean before people come over. Anyway, I decided that since we were snowed in this week I would start a few re-organizing projects. I have been working on the kitchen all week. I have been cleaning out cabinets, rearranging where things go, getting rid of clutter, and having fun with my label maker. I started this on Tuesday and I am still not finished, but I thought I would share a little of my progress.

The two pictures below are of the office area in our kitchen. I reorganized a set of the upper cabinets to house some of the things that were on the counters.

Before (on Tuesday)


After (today)


I also decided that the clean laundry pile in the living room was getting to be too much. So, after setting my timer for 15 minutes three different times the laundry was folded and put away this morning. Of course, there is still more to do as always. With six people in the house, one of whom is in cloth diapers, we create a lot of laundry.

Before (9:00 a.m.)


After (10:00 a.m.)


I also wanted to share a project that my husband and I did a few years ago. We inherited two end tables when my grandmother passed away. I didn't like how they were getting dings and scratches in them from my kids (Surely they would never do anything like that. HA!). My husband decided that he could router out about 1/4" on most of the top of the tables and then we could lay tile inside. I don't know how he did it, but he did a great job. The tile fit perfectly. Now the tables are pretty resistant to whatever the kids dish out. We can also set a drink on them without worrying about a coaster, although with a toddler in the house setting a drink on an end table isn't a good idea anyway. You can also see from the picture a project I am working on. I am nearly finished crocheting another afghan for next Christmas. I probably would have been done by now if I wasn't doing so many other projects. As my husband says, "Too many irons in the fire", but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Before and After

Homemade Deodorant

Those who know me are aware that I enjoy a good DIY project. So, it should come as no surprise that when I ran out of my natural deodorant I would try to make my own. I followed the recipe I found on this site. I am happy with the results so far. It contains only three ingredients (equal parts of cornstarch, baking soda and coconut oil). I love that there is no aluminum and that the ingredients are all natural. I think it is a frugal option as well since some of the natural deodorants are pricier than their regular drugstore counterparts. I am thinking that it might be nice to add a drop or two of an essential oil the next time I make this.

Homemade Deodorant

New Look

I am playing around with this new layout. I think I am going to like it. I still have some things to add. Let me know what you think.

Now, I am taking a break and heading outside to play in the snow with my three oldest children. Yay, for snow days!

New Look

My Pantry

Our 2008 garden did not do as well as in previous years. We had some flooding in June, and I couldn't keep up with the weeds. Yet, we were still able to have a bountiful harvest which we are very grateful for.

We had one hill of cucumbers that wouldn't quit, so I made 3 batches of relish, 5 batches of pickles, gave away many cucumbers and ate several, too. We had a good supply of blackberries which meant I could make jelly, freeze some, and give away some as well. I juiced many tomatoes and preserved them as well. My green beans were not as bountiful as the year before, but I did can and freeze as much as I could. I canned quite a bit of homemade applesauce, too. The picture above was taken in November. All told I canned over 200 jars of produce last summer. On the bottom row of the shelving unit (made by my wonderful husband), which is in our basement, are some canned foods we purchased as well as some sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.

There are fewer jars on the shelves right now. We have enjoyed eating from the produce we worked so hard to preserve. Even though there is snow on the ground I am starting to think about what our garden will be like this summer. I want to do better at keeping the weeds out, and I would like to plant more of a variety. Doing as much as we can ourselves will really help with our food bill, and with a family of six every little bit helps.

My Pantry

A Few Tips

I used to subscribe to the Flylady's emails, but don't anymore because they were cluttering my inbox. However, I still try to use some of her ideas. Probably one of the best ideas she had was using a timer for 15 minutes to work on a task. When the timer goes off you take a short break and then start again. I find that I am more productive when I use the timer. I think it is a good tool for kids as well.

A way I save time viewing the blogs I enjoy reading is to use Bloglines. I just added all of the blogs I like to read. This allows me to only have to pull up one website instead of a dozen each day.

I have been listening to this online radio station recently and have been enjoying the contemporary Christian music they play.

This post is pretty random, so I thought I would pull out a picture of my Black-Eyed Susans from August to round out the randomness.

A Few Tips

A Few Valentine's Projects

A good friend had asked me to make her daughter some pillowcase dresses this year. I told her I had some Valentine's fabric and would love to make her one. I had enough fabric to make two dresses. I used the pillowcase dress pattern from this site. I did vary some from the pattern in that I used a French seam and I double folded all hems, so that no raw edges were showing. I think this makes the inside of the dress look neater. I hope she likes them.

I had a small amount of the heart fabric left and was trying to figure out what to do with it. I stumbled upon this site and decided that this would be a good project for my older two children to help me with. They loved ripping the fabric (it is much more fun than using scissors). We made our strips roughly 3/4" by 5 1/2". I think I could have made the strips wider, but the length seemed good. Next, I bent a wire hanger into a heart shape. We started tying on strips in a pattern my daughter wanted. When we were done I added a ribbon bow to the top. I think we used about 135 strips.

Supplies needed for heart wreath.


All finished.


I see some wreaths for every season in our future. I also would love to start one where we put any scraps from sewing projects on it and see what happens. It might take a while, but I am sure it would be a fun addition to my sewing space.

A Few Valentine's Projects

Out of My Window...

...I saw some deer. I was walking with my two little guys through our living room when I noticed several deer very close to the road. I grabbed the camera and took a few shots through the window. There were seven of them just standing across the road. They very cautiously crossed the road towards our woods.



With the exception of about 3 1/2 years, I have lived on this property my entire life. When I was a girl I don't remember seeing but a few deer here and there. Now, we have a large herd that roams the area. I counted 25 deer in the field just a couple of days ago. While I love to watch them and they are beautiful animals, they can be destructive as well. They ate a fair amount of my uncle's crops this year. Even so, I still like to see them roaming around.

Out of My Window...

Crocheted Doily

I crocheted this doily for my husband's step-mom for Christmas. It was made using the same pattern as the one I shared in this post. I used a thicker cotton yarn than the pattern called for. I really liked how it turned out. I also crocheted one just like it for a good friend's birthday last year. The pattern can be found here.

Crocheted Doily

Want to know how we are saving $800 this year?

I thought I would share with you how we are going to cut $800 off of our bills this year. It was pretty simple and didn't take too long to do. We cancelled Direct TV. I couldn't believe my husband actually agreed to do this. We are doing well without it, although it has only been 2 1/2 weeks. We do get 3 local network stations and a few PBS stations. We have computers and high speed internet, so we can see some of the shows we are missing by watching them online. I grew up with only local stations, so it isn't too hard on me. However, my husband grew up on cable, and I think it is a little harder on him. I think it is worse because it is winter and it has been too cold to do anything outside. Anyway, I think the money savings will be worth it.

Want to know how we are saving $800 this year?

Crocheted Afghan

Well, I can't believe I finally made it to 100 posts. When I first started this blog I wasn't sure if I would stick with it. Even though most of the time I feel like I am talking to myself, I do enjoy writing about my projects as if someone is reading. I have been enjoying the last two weeks of writing nearly every day. Anyway, I don't have anything profound or meaningful to say, but I did want to share what I have been crocheting off and on for the last 2 weeks.



Over Christmas break we went to a discount store and I found some yarn. I purchased 8 skeins of Red Heart Grande' yarn which were 6 oz. each. The yarn is considered Super Bulky (6). All but about 3 yards of yarn were used to make the afghan pictured. I just made up the pattern as I went and hoped it would make a good size when I was done. It measures approximately 59" x 52", and I think that will be good for one or even two people to use. It is nothing fancy, but will hopefully keep the recipients warm. I sure hope that if they see this post that they will forget about it by the time Christmas rolls around. Since that is eleven months from now, the odds are in my favor. :-) Yes, you did read correctly. I have completed my first gift for Christmas 2009. Now the question is will I be able to keep this up, or will I be stressed out come December? We shall see.

Close up of the stitches used. The main stitch used was treble crochet with 2 rows each of double crochet, half double crochet and single crochet.



The afghan is not as wonky as this picture makes it look. I don't have a camera on the ceiling, so this is the best I could do to get the whole afghan in a picture.

Crocheted Afghan

One Hour French Bread

I found this recipe through a fellow DSD's blog. Here is where the recipe originally came from. Even if you aren't a bread maker I think this recipe might convince you to try your hand at it.

One Hour French Bread



1½ Cups Warm Water
1 Tbsp. Honey
1½ tsp. Salt
1½ Tbsp. Active Dry Yeast
3 - 4 Cups Flour (any combination of white and whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 450º. Combine water, salt, honey, and yeast in a medium bowl. Let sit 5 - 10 minutes, until bubbling. Add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon, until dough is no longer sticky. Roll dough into a 12 - 14″ roll (or you can divide it in half and roll it into two long skinny baguettes). Place dough roll(s) on a cookie sheet (this won’t work in a bread pan), greased or sprayed with non-stick spray, cover, and let sit 20 minutes. Make diagonal slits, 1/2″ deep, on top with a razor blade. (Optional: spray with salt water). Bake 20 minutes.

This bread is tasty and pretty easy to make. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and my dough hook and it worked fine. I have even doubled the recipe with success. Tip: Using an electric knife works well for cutting bread and gives you nice even slices with minimal effort.

One Hour French Bread

Recycled Wool Longies and Slippers

Over a month ago I made this pair of wool longies and slippers for my little guy. A good friend had found a wool sweater during one of her thrift store shopping excursions and gave it to me. I used the sleeves to make the pants and the bottom of the sweater to make a waistband. I think I would make the waist smaller next time, but the pants work just fine over cloth diapers. I used this tutorial for reference. I was pleased that I was able to get the stripes to match up on the pant legs. Below is a picture of Joseph wearing the pants. He is seriously contemplating whether he should pull out an onion from the bin again or if he should not. "Maybe the onion wasn't as tasty as I thought the first time I tried it," contemplates Joseph. ;-)



I also made a pair of slippers out of part of the sweater using this tutorial. I think that I will add a little width to the pattern if I use it again because my little boy's feet are on the wide side. The sole is two layers because I used non-skid fabric for the bottom.

Recycled Wool Longies and Slippers

Sweet Potato Casserole

We were blessed in the fall when some friends shared some of their harvest with us. They gave us quite a few sweet potatoes, so I asked my mom for her recipe for sweet potato casserole. The recipe originally came from a lady at church who passed on a few years ago. I will remember her each time I make this tasty dish.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Melted Butter

Topping:
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Melted Butter
1 Cup Pecans
1/3 Cup Flour
1 Cup Coconut

Mix the first 5 ingredients. Pour into bottom of a greased 9”x13” casserole dish. Mix topping ingredients. Crumble over top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sharing Some Quilts

When we were going to have a new master bedroom added on 2 1/2 years ago we decided to get a king sized bed. This meant we would need new bedding. I love burgundy, so I looked at some various comforters in catalogs and online to find something. I was talking to my husband's aunt about it and she said that I needed to make a quilt. I didn't know if I was up to the task with kids who were 6, 3, and 1 at the time. Yet, I liked the idea, especially when she said I could use fabrics she had in her stash. So, I picked out some fabrics and some machine embroidery designs and set to work. I chose toile designs because they were classic and didn't require the time and thread other designs would have. I don't remember sizes of everything even though I could measure the finished quilt and probably figure it out. I do know that there are 90 blocks and that the quilt fits our king sized bed. It was a lot of work, but I am happy with it. A hired a local woman to machine quilt it, and then I stitched the binding on.



I also thought I would share a picture of the quilt that was on our bed prior to the one I mad. My mom made the quilt in the picture below using our wedding colors for a wedding present. The quilt has pictures of my husband and I as babies and seniors with our engagement picture in the center. She asked people who were part of our lives to sign the cream colored blocks. It was very special to me, so I decided to hang it on our new bedroom wall instead of put it away somewhere.

Sharing Some Quilts

A Silly Embroidery Project

This morning my four year old had his first appointment with an allergist/immunologist to start the process of determining whether he has allergies, asthma or both. The doctor ordered some blood tests at the local medical lab. Let's just say that the med lab staff probably won't forget us anytime soon. I imagine we were quite a site with my baby crying, the four year old trying to get away and crying, and five adults trying to hold him still and draw his blood. They drew a little extra blood in case the doctor wanted more tests run later. For that I am thankful because I do not want to re-enact that scene anytime soon.

Since that was enough drama for me for one day I decided share a picture of a silly project I did a few years ago. I had been having trouble with un-matched socks piling up. There were lots of commercials on at the time for places like Match.com. As a result, inspiration struck. I designed a saying and embroidered it on a purchased canvas bag. It is silliness, but makes me smile when I put an unmatched sock in it.

A Silly Embroidery Project

Thankfulness

I wanted to share a story of a time recently when God's blessings were overflowing.

Back story: Two years ago our washing machine quit spinning, so my husband and I took it apart. One little plastic piece was broken and that is what made the whole thing agitate. It only cost $20 thankfully, and we got almost 2 more years of use from it. The washer eventually quit doing anything other than slow spin and slow agitate. However, it still washed our clothes. Our dryer always took forever to dry things which is why I liked the clothesline in nicer weather so much. Yet, it still worked when it was needed.

Anyway, I had to do the children's story at church the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I was thinking on Saturday evening, as I was moving clothes from the washer to the dryer, about what I would say. I thought about how I was thankful for the washer and dryer even though they didn't work that well. I was feeling pretty good that I could be thankful about this. Then God said, "Are you really thankful?". I thought, "Yes" as I pushed the button on the dryer. Nothing happened. I decided that this must be a test. I prayed that I would pass.

I found the owners manual and tried to do a few of the troubleshooting steps, but the dryer still didn't work. So, my husband and I took the dryer apart, cleaned it, and did a few other things. We spent almost 2 hours working on it, but it still didn't work.

The next morning I started telling the kids (and the congregation) the story. I finished by telling them that I was thankful for the time I got to spend with my husband, I was thankful for all of the things I do have (family, warm house, etc.), and I was even thankful for all of the use I had gotten out of the washer and dryer. I said I could even hang a clothesline through the house and still be thankful.

My husband decided to go find a dryer as cheaply as he could after we ate our church Thanksgiving dinner. My mom decided to go with him. Do you know what they brought home a few hours later? A wonderful scratch and dent, (They look perfect though, but were much cheaper than some others and still have the warranty.) high efficiency, front loading washer and dryer. They have been the biggest blessing. It was more than I ever dreamed of and hoped for. My parents gave them to us, but I hope to be able to pay them back someday.

Not only was I blessed beyond belief by the new washer and dryer, but I think it will save us money on our water bill. Our water softener's average daily usage has gone down over 100 gallons per day since we got the washer. The dryer takes less than 1/2 hour for big loads of towels and diapers because the washer spins out so much water. Some very full clothing loads only take 15-20 minutes to dry. I still don't know if I can thank my parents enough for the things they do for us. I do praise God for all of His blessings. Most importantly I want to thank Him for the blessings of the people in my life because they are more important than the things we have. Still, I do thank him for this gift because it is making my life a little easier.

Here is a picture of my mom, brother, and my three oldest children watching the new washer spin. It doesn't take much to entertain us. :-)

Thankfulness

A Glimpse of Spring

We have had a fair number of icy and cold days so far this winter. Winter weather always makes me long for Spring. I was looking back at pictures I took last year, and found one I took in April. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse of Spring and that it brightens your day.

A Glimpse of Spring

The Year of the Hat

I am calling 2008 "The Year of the Hat" because, after I learned to crochet, hats are what I made the most. All totaled I made just shy of 60 hats this year. I didn't realize it was that many until just now. The hats in the picture above were all gifts except one. I actually remembered to make myself one. :-) I often forget to do things like that. Anyway, they are all variations of a basic double crocheted hat. I changed hook sizes for adults and children, and I did other variations like adding flowers to some. I even figured out how to make ear flaps for my little guy's hat. They were fun to make and I hope they keep the recipients warm.


I also made some newborn hats to donate to our local hospital. I donated some back in June (pictured above), but didn't mention it because I didn't think anyone needed to know. However, I have decided to post the link to the pattern in case anyone reading crochets and would like to make some. The pattern was made by a DSD member. It can also be found on her blog. I made the hats pictured below during a trip to visit relatives last week. Reading makes me nauseous in the car, but crocheting doesn't seem to bother me. I was able to crochet four hats on the way there and four on the way home. I didn't feel sick as long as we were on the straighter roads. :-) I will be donating these soon.



Lastly, I will share what I made for my brother's fiancée. I first want to say that I am so happy for him and pray they have a wonderful life together. My brother is my best friend second only to my husband. Well, before I get too sappy I will move on to the topic at hand. I crocheted a hat and scarf for her, and I made a place mat purse. The purse is lined with a fabric that looks like it has peacock feathers on it. I got it from my husband's aunt and thought it would be perfect since my brother's fiancée owns a few peacocks.

The Year of the Hat

Parachutes and Other Gifts

I almost forgot to share about the parachutes I made my older 2 boys for Christmas. They had played with some parachutes at our local children's museum in the fall and had a lot of fun with them. So, I decided to try to make my own. They aren't perfect, but they work. I did have fun playing with them...I mean testing them out. Quality control, right?

Before: A jacket that was given to us from someone, and a ripped stroller netting.


After: 2 parachutes for my boys. I basically made a 19 inch circle, but since the jacket wouldn't allow for that I had to cut my template like a pie and cut 8 pieces for each parachute. I didn't make good notes of exactly what I did, but just kind of winged it. The weight is made from a piece of the jacket filled with 2 stones. I think they will be fun to let go off of the clubhouse deck in nicer weather. I mean the boys will have fun. Who were these for anyway?


Below are some lip tube holders I crocheted for my mom, my husband's step-mom, and my sister-in-law to be. I used this pattern. The buttons and yarn I already had in my stash. I filled them with the mini lip tubes from Jordan Essentials found here (shameless plug, I know).


Lastly, I made some photo coasters for gifts. I have seen these online and just didn't like the price. We had several tiles left from our tub tiling project of a few years ago. The only thing I did purchase was the sticky-backed cork. I mostly followed this tutorial. I sure hope they work. I originally tried making them with water-slide decals, but the ones I got for our laser printer aren't that great. After some trial and error with that process I decided on what you see in the picture below.

Parachutes and Other Gifts

More Christmas Gifts for the Kids

I thought my kids would enjoy having a set of large wooden blocks. So, I went to our workshop and asked my husband to help me cut some of our scrap lumber into sizes the kids would be able to use. I started sanding them by hand, but the wood shop class where my husband teaches graciously finished the project for me. We can always add to this set as necessary and with whatever scraps we have on hand.


I had posted a question on DSD's for some ideas about gifts for my older two boys. Someone suggested a treasure map and skeleton key. I never did find two skeleton keys, but I haven't given up hope that some family member may have some. What I did do was take 2 boxes (that vitamins came in) and spray painted them with paint we already had. Then I applied some vinyl name stickers a friend had made for the kids. I had some scrap pirate fabric from a pair of shorts I made for James this summer. I made two small drawstring bags from it and placed some golden coins we had gotten somewhere years ago. They aren't worth anything, but the boys didn't care. I also printed out treasure maps from a google image I found. I printed them on legal size paper and cut around the lines that were already on the map. Then I wadded up the paper and soaked it in very strong tea for a few minutes. I squeezed most of the water out and laid them flat to dry. Another free gift from things we had around the house. The boys love to pretend.


Lastly, I wanted to get the kids wooden letters of their names for their rooms. However, I didn't like some of the prices I was seeing. I found some large unfinished letters for $0.99 each at Crafts, Etc. I ordered enough items to get free shipping, so that was a bonus. Then I gave each child their letters, some paint, a foam brush and foam mounting squares. We painted the letters a few days ago which was lots of fun. Now I just need to hang them up.

More Christmas Gifts for the Kids

Cashew and Pretzel Brittles

Below are 2 recipes I enjoy making every Christmas.

Cashew Brittle


2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Corn Syrup
12-14 oz. Cashews
½ Cup Water
1 Cup Butter
1 tsp. Baking Soda

In a large pot combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and blend in butter. Stir often. Keep cooking until temperature reaches 280 degrees (use a candy thermometer). Add cashews. Stir constantly until temperature reaches 300 degrees. Be careful, it’s hot! Remove from heat and add baking soda. Stir rapidly until well mixed. Pour onto 2 greased cookie sheets. Spread brittle with back of a spoon. Let cool and then break into pieces.

This recipe was given to me by a man who was sort of a relative who has since passed away. He used to make it every year as gifts and I have carried on that tradition.


Pretzel Brittle


1 Package Almond Bark
½ Bag (or more) Pretzel Sticks or Mini Pretzels
Red and Green Colored Sugar

Crush the pretzels. You can use a food processor or use a zip top bag and a rolling pin. Then, in a microwave safe container melt almond bark according to package directions. It takes about 2-3 minutes to melt. Add the pretzels and stir until well mixed. Spread onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle colored sugar over the top. Let cool and then break into pieces.

I came up with this after realizing how little I enjoyed dipping pretzels one at a time. A good friend had seen them made as mounds and I thought it would be even easier to just spread them out on a cookie sheet.

This is a another favorite Christmas treat to eat and give away.

Cashew and Pretzel Brittles

Toys for My Littlest Guy

I made a few toys for my one year old for Christmas that I will share with you. First is a fabric cube made with fabrics in my stash. I followed this tutorial. The squares were all cut at 4 inches. I would recommend using a triple stitch to make sure all seams stay together. It wasn't as hard to make as I thought it would be. We have had fun putting little toys inside and having Joseph find them.


This little rocket was made using fabrics from my stash and a little wooden egg we already had. I used canvas fabrics and a triple stitch for sturdiness. I messed up the opening a little. It isn't pretty, but it does hold the little astronaut. I think he may be a little young for it, but hopefully he will eventually like it. Here is the tutorial I followed.


Next up is a tiny tote bag and four small bean bags. I thought Joseph would like playing with the bean bags and he loves to carry things around. I made smaller bags to put rice in and then placed those inside the frog flannel bags to make sure no rice escapes. I used a triple stitch (notice a theme here?) because babies and toddlers can be rough on their toys. I didn't follow a pattern, but just made up everything as I went along. Joseph really likes this set.


Lastly, I asked my mom how to use her scroll saw to make some wooden animals. What does she do? She cuts them out and sands them. She used wood they had left from some remodeling projects. Joseph likes them and they turned out really cute. All of these toys were made using materials we already had. Talk about frugal!

Toys for My Littlest Guy