Beauty Night

Well... sort of. More like "keep from being ugly" night!

After a quick run to Tar-get, and a few beauty supplies later, I'm in the middle of a hair color refreshening, and upper-lip waxing. The pain we women go through! I can't believe I'm posting this for the world to see! Am I really that lacking on blogging material?


Answer to questions inquiring minds want to know:

1. I am naturally blond, I just like my hair a little lighter than it is naturally. If I don't color, it looks like I don't wash it. Ew.

2. I'm Italian- lip hair is a fact of life. It is a fact that I'm going to do everything I can to eliminate it.

3. It's much more painful to pluck individual lip hairs than to yank them all out at once!

Also whilst at my discount department store of choice, I picked up these cute thank you cards to send out to the lovely people that donated at our fundraiser! I just have to fill them out and get them in the mail!

And to think, I could've been at Summerfest tonigt watching Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts!

What a week!

Wow, what a week! We've just been trying to get back to normal here in Casa du Valley. The fundraiser was a great success, with 8 guests, we raised just over $400! Thanks to everyone that came! It rained right at 2 o'clock, forcing us inside, but with only 8 additional people, it wasn't a big deal.

I am SO glad to be done with the potato salad though. There's only so much of that I can eat!

Tuesday our poor car died, and we've been carpooling since. We were supposed to have it back today, but it will now be tomorrow. I'd say more, but mom always said "If you can't say anything nice..."

These are the new pieces of flair I added to my inspiration boards downstairs in the "studio". I wished I'd realized at 11:30 that night, just how poor the lighting really was!

Here are the things I bought from the Bead and Button Show! I have some great necklaces in mind for myself with those ceramic beads. And I just couldn't resist that adorable flamingo bead from Two Can Clay!! And since Mike decided to take apart a typewriter so I can use the letter thingys for stamps, I decided to finish a project of my own.Keep in mind, I started this a year ago, then misplaced the green seed beads! So, it's not really finished, but now I can start the necklace part!I got good things in the mail this week. Like my issues of Polymercafe I received from Polka Dot Creations! Thanks Lisa!

I've got to go balance a checkbook now... my honey seems to think I'm not doing anything!

PS-I'm really starting to notice how I need to up my photography skills!!

Gonna need a bigger... bowl.

After eating my oh-so-healthy breakfast of pancakes made by yours truly, and eggs made by Caylin; I began cooking. Today's title popped into my head numerous times today.

First from the potatoes that I was boiling for potato salad- 2 pots full.

But then, for the quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies I was baking. It took 9 cups of flour, 8 eggs, 8 sticks of butter, and 3 cups each of sugar and brown sugar. I never thought I'd need a bowl bigger than this one! Luckily it barely fit, and I think the only thing it splattered on was Mike's lunch! He didn't mind too much though.

We took a break in the afternoon for my cousins' graduation party. I'm starting to feel old now- I remember when they were born, and I used to babysit them!

Even little Maya enjoyed swimming today. If she wasn't in the pool, or being held she was running for the pool. She really enjoyed herself!

With the 2 1/2 hour break, cookies were finally finished tonight at about 8:30pm. I think we've only lost 3 or 4 to the kids and Mike so far- I've got to divee them up, so they can dig in. Don't they look delicious? They're yummy and melt in your mouth soft. Visit us tomorrow, and you can have your very own! ;-)

Panick attacks and goals

I am a spaz. Ask my husband, and he'll confirm it. Sometimes I don't know how he puts up with me, but I'm sure he thinks the same thing about me putting up with him. OK, maybe not.

Although I hate to admit it, doubt-filled thoughts are beginning to wiggle their way into my head. Are we gonna have enough people? Are we gonna have too many? What about food-too much or too little? Is it going to rain, and if so do we have enough space? If it doesn't rain and we're outside, are the citronella candles and torches going to be effective enough to rid us from the hordes of mosquitoes? (ps. I've killed 2 mosquitoes here in my kitchen while typing this!)

And then the unthinkable happened:

My keyboard died this morning, and I thought the world was going to end. I couldn't check the rsvp's on the evite site! Alright, not quite world-ending, but I was spazzing nonetheless. Thank you hubby for checking in the middle of the day for me. And thank you to my friend for the keyboard loan! The white one is our old one, and the black one is the one on loan. I am happy now, although questions are still running through my head faster than I can catch them and answer them.

We just did the shopping for Sunday, and I think this is the fullest our little pantry has ever been, even when we had scores of people over for Christmas. Tomorrow, I'll be baking and making potato salad, so it won't be quite as full-but the refrigerator will be!

I've decided that my goal for the fundraiser is to make more money than we spent. Pretty small goal, but I'm comfortable with it. If we don't make more than what we spent, then I feel like we could have just sent them the money that we spent on food and such. If we can make more than that, then it was worth everything.

Onto my secondary goal. This is what I wanted to write about yesterday, but the mood was a little too heavy for it, and this is something completely personal. I've been losing weight over the last 6 months or so- 33 pounds so far to be exact. I want to lose a total of 61. On the website I've been using to keep track of my calories consumed and burned, I'm a member of a group that weighs-in weekly and we participate in different weekly challenges.

The challenge for this week is to burn a certain number of calories through exercise-and to not include your daily activities or household type chores in your calories burned total. Each individual sets his or her own goal, and my goal is 2400 calories for the week, although really its only 6 days, so its 400 calories a day.

Well, that started Wednesday, and here we are on Friday. I'm sorry to say, I haven't worked in a single bit of extra exercise all week so far, and I still don't know that I'm gonna have time to. Maybe I can count swimming when I'm at the graduation party tomorrow, but the remainder of my time is going to be spent getting things ready for Sunday. I don't think burning 2400 calories all on Monday is going to work for me- although I do know at least one woman that could do it!

I think at this rate, I'm going to have to give up on this challenge, at least until life returns to semi-normalcy. It bums me out, but until its done, the fundraiser is my priority. The best I can do is give my body healthy foods, and know that even though I'm not completing the challenge, I'm still burning tons of calories I normally wouldn't, because I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off, thinking the world is going to end.

PSS. My apologies for the loooong post, and the uninteresting pictures. It's way past my pumpkin time, and I'm using toothpicks to keep my eyes open.

Pictures

We got some pictures of the house that was destroyed. I've posted all of them in my photobucket album, but here are a few of the striking ones:
There used to be a porch in the front, all the way under the awning, and around that bay window. There was also a wheelchair ramp. The posts from the awning stayed in place, they were dug into the ground, but the porch and ramp are gone. The house is moved off the foundation.

My jaw dropped when I looked at this closely. The floor has fallen, and you can see the grass peeking out. Also, that color is NOT the carpet. It's sand and mud.
In the dining room, you can see where the floor is buckling. It's covered in sand and mud as well. The water line is just an inch below the open window.

Just a warning, sappy reading ahead:

I can't imagine having my home covered in sand and mud. Losing precious photographs, records, and memoribilia. Having the floor fall out from beneath me. I am SO grateful that everyone dear to me is safe. I'm thankful that my house has stayed dry and intact, despite the county I live in being a declared disaster area. I am humbled to have an opportunity to help out, and I appreciate the help that is being given.


I think if I've learned anything about disasters in recent times, its that we need to bond together and help one another. I heard some streets were so filled with cars of people that have come to help in this town, they couldn't drive down it. It's times like these where the true character of people come through.


I was going to write about some personal goals, but I'll save that for another time.

PS- We've gotten our first official donation, and I've got an order for an entire batch of my chocolate chip cookies? Anyone else, before I go to the store Saturday morn?

Day 2 of a sick kid, lanterns

Well, after Tommy seemed to be improving all day yesterday, he threw up at the babysitter's just as Mike was dropping him off. So, I'm at home again. It's funny though, because he's acting normal. But, you know, the daycare doesn't care for that throwing-up thing.

On a different note, I finished the laterns today:

Here's how I did it (thanks to thatstheSPIRIT)

Gather a few cans. I've used a tin can from some fruit, and a paint-type can.Get them naked and clean. A wire brush works really well for getting off any adhesive junk. (thanks honey!) Fill them with water.
Put them in the freezer.Now, once the cans are frozen (I left them in overnight), you can mark out your pattern, although, I ended up not using the pattern I marked out. I marked it directly on the frost, not on the can. Then, get out your nice big nail and hammer, and start hammering the nail on each dot. If your can doesn't already have a handle, make sure you poke 2 holes at the top of the can, one across from the other!Now, empty out the ice, and put your handle on. I used 2 pieces of twisted wire, and twisted the ends into a spiral.

Put your candle in (carefully!) and you're done!

I've put additional photos in flickr, if you care to take a look!

Sick brat...er... I mean kid.

I'm at home today with a sick wee one. Specifically, a 4 year old named Tommy. I came home to him snoozing on the couch with a fever of 103. During the middle of the night, he lost the contents of his stomach. Thankfully, I was already up with the baby, so my husband got to clean that one up. He just finished a quarter of his toast, and now is on the couch, snuggling with the woobie.

I'm hoping today I'll be able to get some work done around the house, though I shouldn't expect too much.

We've got some flowers planted to spruce up the deck in the back, but still have more to go. I've also just noticed, I need to sweep the deck for the 3rd time this summer. We have SO many helicopters!

I've also gotten the cushions washed, so people have a clean space to sit.

I'm hoping to get my room cleaned- I have filing piling up. And I want to start making our tin and paint can lanterns for some interesting lighting on the deck.

Once I get the pictures, I'll post a tutorial for your crafting pleasure!

PS- I forgot to mention, we went to the waterpark out of the blue Friday night. What fun!

More Rain

It's raining again.
Not that I mind horribly, it saves me from having to water the garden.

Yes, that's a medium sized tree-branch in the yard... but that's the only "damage" so far.

Well, I've got to do the invites over again for the BBQ. I'm a blonde, and for some reason they didn't save. So, I've got my book out, with my lists. And here we go again.

Here is the menu for those of you considering attending (of course, subject to change)

• BBQ Chicken
• Hot Dogs
• Potato Salad
• Baked Beans
• Pasta Salad
• Watermelon
• Veggie Tray
• Dinner Rolls
• Strawberry Jello with Bananas

Also available for purchase will be (also, subject to change)

• Amanda's Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Texas Sheet Cake
• Brownies
• Popsicles
• Ice Cream cups

It's already making my mouth water! If you have any suggestions, or would like to donate food, please let me know! If there's anyone out there reading my blog that hasn't received an invite, leave a comment and I'll be happy to invite you!

Good morning!

I've been up since 3am. Not necessarily because I wanted to be, but that's when hubby got up for work, and my mind has been racing since.

So, after laying in bed 2 hours, I finally decided to get my tooshie out of bed. As I'm typing this, I'm designing an e-vite for the BBQ fundraiser we're organizing.

You see, my in-laws live in Indiana and are currently underwater. My father-in-law is always the first one to help people. He's does volunteer work for St. Vincent DePaul, picking up furniture, storing it in his garage, and dropping it off to folks that need it. He uses his own vehicle for this! And now he needs help. He's got a 10" hole in his roof, and a foot of water in his basement that is coming back in as fast as they pump it out. All that water killed their HVAC unit.

My grandfather-in-law needs help too. His home is off the foundation, and he lost 2 vehicles. I was told he nearly drowned leaving his home as the porch gave way underneath him.

Here are pictures off of Flickr for some examples of the flooding there.

www.flickr.com

More photos or video tagged with Indiana flood on Flickr

As soon as I have pictures from my in-laws I will get them posted.

First order of business

Welcome to Confessions of a Crafty Mom!!!

I'm new at this, so I hope you don't mind the clutter. It might take me a while to get sit-iated.

This weekend we were lucky enough to have the Bead and Button show in town, on my birthday I might add. I demo-ed for about a half hour at the National Polymer Clay Guild booth, until I was booted out of my chair by Christi Friesen. I couldn't have been booted out by a cooler person! She sculpted this awesome little seahorse in about 10 seconds. Ok, maybe a little longer, but never-the-less awesome. If there's anyone out there that has any pictures from the show, send me a comment! I'd love to see some and/or post them up here!

So, I know I mentioned my birthday... I just have to brag, I got 4 (YES 4!) vases of drop-dead gorgeous flowers.

Aren't they awesome?! Thanks Mom, Sue & Mark, honey, and kids!

It's 2 hours past my bedtime, and I'll be turning into a pumpkin any minute. More tomorrow kidies!