tomorrow

the electricity will be out again....
:(
at least I get to have fun tonight.
Going to a stampin up club meeting!
woohoo!

today....

...the electricity and water will be out. yay! I gotta figure out what we're going to do. Probably head to base. We made a very important decision last night. I'll write about it soon. I need to go get some stuff done before everything is shut off. :)

Beautiful Day!!!

The sky is so blue with only a few clouds today. The surrounding mountains are covered in a deep luscious green, it's so gorgeous. Flip Flop weather has returned at least for today (hopefully the cold spells are over!) This morning we had Story Hour for MOMS Club outside. I've recently taken over that, since our normal Story Hour mom is moving away. :( It was perfect though, because yesterday while at base I stopped by the thrift store, and I found The Little Blue Easter Egg Clifford Book for 10 cents! It was perfect. I also read a few other books, a lamb one, and a butterfly popout book (Mom- that Carlee still loves). This afternoon, Carlee and I went to the park with a friend, and ended up running into a few other friends. We ate lunch and then she got to play. She had so much fun, of course she spent most of her time on the swing. That's her favorite. :) And now... we're doing laundry. Carlee "folded" her first towel today. LOL She usually helps me with laundry by handing me things, but today she decided she wanted to do what I was doing. She's such a good helper. :D

Animal Friendly Easter Eggs to Paint!

Today, I co-hosted an Arts & Crafts event for MOMS Club. I had been trying to figure out what I was going to have for the kids to do for a few weeks. Then the other day, as I was trying to take a nap, I kept thinking (instead of sleeping,) about what we have planned for Easter. I had my Grandma send me some wooden eggs to paint with Carlee, and I all of a sudden thought, why don't I try to make some eggs for the kids to paint?! So I did. It took a few tries to figure out a good method, but in the end it was so easy! (and if something like this already on the net, don't tell me, I feel so crafty coming up with this, and telling me would ruin it. LOL) These eggs are so good for Easter, because not only does it not add to the demand of eggs on this holiday, they aren't wasted (how many kids actually eat their boiled eggs?), AND they can be saved forever! I really wish I had thought of this last year, then I would still have Carlee's first ever Easter egg. :) Hope you enjoy them!

Animal Friendly Easter Egg Keepsakes
Time:
30 minutes from making dough to putting them in the oven without Carlee's help.
45 minutes with Carlee's help. :)

For the salt dough:
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Salt
1/2 Cup Water
Mix well in a bowl and knead until a dough forms.



You also need:
A small piece of plastic wrap
Half of a plastic Easter egg, that is split vertically, not through the fat middle.
A butter knife
A pan
Piece of Sandpaper (optional, but smoothes the edges)
Acrylic Craft Paint, Glitter, Stickers, etc. to decorate
Acrylic Sealant (optional but will make it last longer)

Directions: Preheat oven to 250, for Mineo-ans it's the first setting. Make Salt dough. Take a piece of salt dough that you think will fill the egg (it's okay if it's a little more,) and roll into a smooth ball. Set aside. Hold the plastic egg in one hand and drape the plastic over it. Take the ball of dough and push into the egg. Lay the egg dough side down onto the pan. Push the egg down to squeeze the extra dough out. (You want to squeeze at least a little out, so that you know it completely fills the egg, and that it was pressed against the pan.) Once, you reach the pan with the egg, lift the egg by pulling up on the plastic. (Figuring out how to get the dough out of the egg took me a few attempts, but I told you it turned out to be simple!) Once the egg is removed, take a butter knife and cut around the edge of the egg to get rid of the extra dough. There might be a few lines from the plastic, but if they bother you, you can very gently smooth them out with your finger. Continue to make the eggs until you run out of dough. I got 11 full size eggs, and 1 wimpy one out of one batch of dough. Once they are all on there, bake for 2 hours. Remove and let cool. If you have the sandpaper, sand down the rough edges. Let your kids paint, glitter, sticker them all up, then cover or spray with acrylic sealant. Keep forever to use for Easter decorations, and memories. :)

*Some will look more egglike than others depending on how the dough decides to bake, and if an egg gets air under it before you bake, it might get a little empty pocket on the back, but the kids still love them! Overall, most of mine came out great, I only threw away about 4 eggs out of 3 batches. :)

I'm still alive....

I promise. :)

what's been going on:

• took my computer class final, got an A!
• been keeping up with Bible Study, I'm learning some very interesting stuff, and connecting with some great ladies.
• took on a lot of MOMS Club events this month, because we didn't get a volunteer to do them in time. Tomorrow I have an Arts & Crafts event. I will be posting what I came up with either tomorrow or Tuesday, after I get some pictures of the final projects. It's Easter themed!
• should find out in a few days if we're pregnant yet or not (crossing fingers!)
• 2 weeks left of my science class!!!! If I can just hang on, and pass the last few assignments, and the final, I'm good to go.
• still going to pilates (2x week), but my weight lifting workouts (that I was doing 3x a week) have been ignored for 3 weeks. I'm starting back up tomorrow.
• finally finished reading Love in the Time of Cholera. Long, slow read, still haven't decided if I liked it or not.
• I'm now reading Oprah's book club selection, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. This book is so amazing. I've always been spiritual, but this book in combination with the Bible study, is really taking that journey up a million levels. I feel so rejuvenated lately. I'm not stressed, and I'm getting so much better at just being still, and recognizing that peacefullness inside, my spirit. The book itself is not religious (as in a particular religion) but very spiritual, but I'm completely applying it to my belief in God. I signed up on Oprah.com so that I could download the classes that they're holding live, and the workbook questions and such. If you want a new look on life, a new look on happiness, read this book. It's completely refreshing.
• we're planning an Easter potluck at our house, for our friends.
• we're also going to be serving on the Mineo Neighborhood Assoc. Well Tony is, because only one member per household can serve, and he's the one that needs the volunteer hours. I will be helping and volunteering anyway. Our first project is the neighborhood Easter celebration, hopefully they'll understand that we won't be helping with the egg dying event.

And I believe that sums it up. I really can't wait to have more time to really start posting again. :) I've had so many ideas and things that I've wanted to write about, but just don't have the time. And now I've got a new project up my sleeve, that I'm still somewhat planning. Hope everyone is doing well!

Canadian Seal Hunt

yeah... she's definitely mine...

She picked this outfit today:

If you know me at all, or have noticed what I wear...
this is freakin hilarious... :)

I'm feeling much better by the way. Thanks for the get well wishes!