wall goo

I've had a request. And it's not often I get requests. It's so infrequent, in fact, that when someone does ask me to post something, I get all flattered and warm inside. How can I turn down a request from my adoring fans (or, the small group of loyal friends who read my blog...whatever).
A few years ago, on another blog long lost in time and cyberspace, I created a post about decorating walls with fabric and a cornstarch/water solution I like to call "wall goo." I got the recipe at this blog, but I'm not sure you'll find it there now, as it is probably buried in the several posts that have been created there since then. Nevertheless, I would encourage you to peruse this blog, as I have done from time to time. There's a lot of great stuff in there.

BUT, on to Wall Goo. See, we don't own our home. We rent. (take that thought and set it aside while I give you another to chew on.) I don't like to waste things. I like to repurpose, find new uses for the things that I have before I throw them away. I'm not big on spending gobs of money for home decor that just sits there. I'm all for functionality of the things I choose to beautify my home. So, when I found this recipe for wall goo, it was a perfect fit for me. Basically, you take a fabric that you like (cut it into a design that you want if you like), and apply it to the wall (or any surface) with the wall goo, to get an aesthetically pleasing look that doesn't damage the surface that it's on and washes off without a trace when you're done. I have loved the projects that I've done with it, and I'm even more tickled that for the fabric I've used mostly old clothes and/or bargain fabric so it has cost next to nothing to do this (bonus!)

Here's the recipe:

WALL GOO
stir 1/4 cup cornstarch
into 1/2 cup COLD water
mix well.

Then pour in 4 cups boiling water. stir well again.

Word to the wise: this will give you A LOT of wall goo. if your project is fairly small, I would recommend halving this recipe. I've always had tons left over.

dip the fabric into the wall goo (once it's cooled a little) and use a paintbrush to smooth it onto your wall (removing any airbubbles). I usually add an extra layer or two of wall goo over the top just to make sure it's secure. Blot the extra drips with a cloth and let it dry. you're done!

When you're ready to remove your darling projects, wet the fabric until it peels easily off the wall, and wash the wall with warm water and soap. (Don't try to peel it off without getting it wet! I did that and now there is no paint on that part of the wall!)

*wash your fabric in warm water if you think the color might leak. Otherwise, when you take it off, you'll find that you're stained your walls. THAT wouldn't be good.

Here's an example of some of the things you can do with this: (or at least, some of the things I've done with this)This is in my front room, and I love it! Those curvy letters took a long time to cut out though.


this is on the wall over my pantry. It matches the colors of the Mary Englebreight pictures next to the pantry door.

I was most excited about this project. I found these little cars on a bumper pad at goodwill and paid about $4.00 for it. I cut them out and stuck them to the wall with the wall goo. It worked really well! And it looks awesome! There was enough of them to use as a border all along the top of my boys' room. Then, I used the other, blank side, of the bumper pad, to cut out their names and tack those on the walls, too. It really taught me that the sky is the limit. The cars are pretty heavy (embroidered) fabric, and they still stuck to the wall really well. It's fun!
use your imagination to create the look you want!
If you decide to try it, let me know how it goes!

peeps and jelly beans

Easter is coming! I've tried this year to make Easter an exciting and fun thing for us, but honestly, I'm feeling a little worn out. The Hubby is in finals of his second to last semester (read: he's hardly ever home). So the responsibility for everything else falls on my shoulders. aka--I've been busy just trying to hold us all together. At the end of the day, when I usually blog, I can barely sit up straight, and all I can think about is hitting my nice, warm bed. (Although I am all caught up on my Survivor and Amazing Race episodes...hmmm.) It's not that I haven't thought of you....really, I have. I have a dozen or so posts in my mind that I want to write about. It's the motivation. Until this baby comes, hubby graduates, and we move to wherever he gets a job, I am going to have to come to terms with the fact that ME time will be hit and miss.
But I did want to get this post up BEFORE Easter. Me and the kids did a craft with peeps and jelly beans. I got the inspiration to do this here (seriously, this lady is awesome at what she does. Every time I read her blog I wish I could see my garbage the way she sees hers).
So, this is what we did:
You take a package of peeps and a package of jelly beans. (I tried to find different colored peeps, but all I could find was pink--I procrastinated [epic fail]).
Take some [clean]scissors you don't care about and cut the peep lengthwise down the middle. Now you have two peeps that are each sticky on one side. That's the hardest part. If you can do that you can do the rest. Read on:
Take your sticky peeps and press them onto heavy card stock paper in any design you want. As for the jelly beans, grab a jar of white frosting (heck, use any color frosting you want. I don't care, but white looks the best). I gave each of my kids a spoon with frosting on it. Then they just dipped the jelly bean in the frosting and stuck it to the paper.
I love craft ideas that give way for lots of creativity. This activity appealed to Dev (at age 8) and Bogey (at age 3), not to mention, the monkey in the middle, Calvin (at age 6).
Of course, Bogey was not as into his as Dev was (and he spent a lot of distracted time eating his art medium.) It was fun to just give them the basic instructions and then turn them loose. All of them told me that was one of the funnest crafts they'd ever done. So, success!
Here's how Bogey's turned out: he went for a freestyle, impressionistic approach on the Easter scene. His work makes viewers think, not only, what is going on here? but also, why is it happening? very picasso.
Calvin went for the patternistic approach to his art. Notice the fusing of the two mediums: peep, jelly bean, peep, jelly bean... his art leads viewers to sigh with relief and know that all is right with a world organized such as this.
And here is Dev's. She calls it "Easter bunny hiding the eggs." I have to point out the immense detail in this piece. Notice the observant and silent witness in the sky: the easter bird.Note the easter bunny, eggs in hand, in preparation to hide. (not sure yet if the one on his head is meant to be hidden there, or if he just didn't have enough hands to carry it all.)And not forgetting, of course, the easter flower, with easter eggs hidden round about it. beautiful...brilliant.
Genius, I tell you, genius.
and honorable mention goes to the mamma:

It turned out ok, too. (I am proud of my easter peep flower.)
AND the best part of this art work is that it makes a most delicious dessert!
Happy Easter!

kabob

Every year when I was a kid, and the snow was melting and the grass was starting to show, and the flowers were starting to bloom, my sister, Jeigh, and I felt the need to appease the summer gods by showing them how ready we were for summer to come. We did this by dressing in shorts and short sleeved shirts, putting our hair in pony tails, and going outside in the melting snow barefoot to do "the dance" (this dance, by the way, is beyond description. But it was similar to this) It didn't feel like spring to me until we had done that.
Now, as an adult, I still feel the urge to do the summer dance in spring, especially when the forecast is calling for snow this weekend. ugh. The summer gods are unhappy and they must be appeased.
I was happy, then, when Calvin, who was in charge of making the menu for this week, chose kabobs. Everyone knows that kabobs must be cooked on a barbeque. There's just no other way to have them. So instead of performing the ceremonial dance, we had our first barbeque of the season (with many more to come I'm sure.)
Don't they look delicious? I can assure you, they were. I used bbq sauce and a few tablespoons of orange juice concentrate for the marinade. It was one of the simplest dinners to make: chicken chunks, mushrooms, green and red pepper, mushrooms, and zucchini, marinaded in a bowl for an hour or so and then handed off to The Hubby for grilling. We also threw together a salad to round out the meal a little, but honestly, we mostly chowed down on these.

Sorry some of the pictures are a little blurry, it was getting dark.

But Bogey approves!

And also didn't know the meaning of pacing himself.

Calvin decided to appease the summer gods by turning his skewers into spears and doing the "hunting wild animals" dance. I bet they liked that.And Dev may or may not be the cause of the snow forecast for this weekend. Does she not know that any sign of weakness angers the summer gods?
Of course, we finished up the meal with a round of s'mores, but I didn't take pictures of that. If I did, I'd get chocolate all over the camera. And that would be a waste of chocolate.

I'm hoping our stunt is enough to keep the weather warm for the rest of the season. No more snow! Boo! down with snow! Up with blooming flowers!

Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy!

I've done my part to please the summer gods. What have you done?

appetite

In case you don't know, I'm pregnant.
I hope you were sitting down so the shock of this new revelation didn't hit you too hard.
yup. Preggers.
By the end of this summer, I'll be the mother of four beautiful children.
I am not one of those people that has a terribly hard time being pregnant. I get nauseous, but not super sick. I don't really throw up. I get tired, but not irrationally so.
My belly does get HUGE, but that's a post for another day.
I've been thinking today about my appetite. Or more aptly, my LACK of appetite. I hate trying to eat when I'm pregnant. All I can think about is food, and what I want to eat. I think I've got it--THE thing that sounds good. And maybe, even, it is the thing that I wanted, but there is something about it that makes it, just....not as good.
In fact, not much tastes truly terrific to me during this gestational time. I eat to survive, but the glory and beauty and pleasure of it is gone. It's sad, because I am one of those people who truly dines. (I'm the slowest eater in my family. Always the last at the table.)
SO nine months of no appetite is rough,
But I do have something to look forward to.
That first meal.
Mothers, you all know what I'm talking about right?
That first meal after the baby comes. While you're in the hospital. After you're stitched up, and cleaned up, and the nurses come and put warm blankets on you, and take the baby to clean it up and dress it for you, they ask that beautiful question:
"What would you like to eat?"

Right after Calvin was born, they brought me a turkey sandwich, with lettuce and tomato and pickles and extra mayo, coleslaw and a veggie soup on the side, and a chocolate milkshake (can you hear the hallelujah chorus?)
After nine months of just eating to survive, FINALLY the bon appetit was back in full swing!
That may be the best meal I've ever had in my entire life. Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe it. It was HEAVENLY!!!
I would go through nine months of no appetite just to have a meal taste that good again.
I'm already anticipating that first meal this time around. What will it be? It doesn't matter. I can't wait.

And in totally unrelated news, I finally got my pictures to download, so here are my cute little raspberry plants that poked out of the ground a few weeks ago:

aren't they cute?

And here's my peach tree all a'bloom.

awesome, eh? I love spring!

Nothing to say

I've been trying to post pictures of my raspberries and peach tree for the past two days, but for some reason, the pictures won't download.
Bummer.
so now I have nothing to say.
Except that my peach tree is blooming
and my raspberries are coming back in a big way,
but you can't see them.
Sorry.

Oh, and I cleaned the house today.
and then took a nap.
Both felt good.
and were much needed and well deserved.

For dinner tonight we got tv dinners and watched Spiderman 2.
Calvin and Dev (but mostly Calvin) have decided that Spiderman is the coolest guy on the planet.
That is, if he actually existed.
Turns out these movies aren't too scary for them to handle (minus a few parts)
and also adds fuel to the fire of their imaginations.
Calvin was jumping around pretending to shoot webs out his wrists while we were trying to get them settled down for prayers.
Bogey's new nickname is The Green Goblin.
And Dev said she's Doc Oct now.
*sigh*

But I'm still glad it's spring.

Oatmeal cookie pancakes

do your bananas get mushy? Are you tired of making banana bread? Need something new for ripe bananas? If so, then this is the recipe for you!
I am like the rest of you, banana bread is delicious and all, but I can't make it every week! My kids love fresh 'nanners, but as soon as they get spots on them, no one will eat them. I've had to get creative about using them up because (true confession) I HATE throwing away food. H.A.T.E it. It's such a waste. I can't help but think of all the people in the world who need food and I am just THROWING IT AWAY!!!! oh, such a poor, poor use of my stewardship.
Anyway, I wish I could claim that I invented this recipe. I didn't. I got it off of Food Network, although I have made some modifications that fit my family better. I'm telling you right off the bat: these are SO delicious, and so filling and so wonderful, that you may find ordinary pancakes boring after this. So proceed if you dare!
Here goes:


Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes (I would like to dedicate this post to Sarah, by the way. She requested the recipe. )

Start with all the ingredients


1 cup oats (I've used all kinds--old fashioned, quick, rolled, whatever. It all works)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (mixed cinnamon and sugar works, too. Do some people keep it plain?)
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
3/4 cups vanilla or plain yogurt (food network says to use sour cream, but I usually need to get rid of the yogurt more than I need to get rid of the sour cream. That, and it's healthier.)
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 really ripe bananas, mashed up.
3/4 cup raisins

Mix the first seven dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the next 5 wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the raisins to the dry and mix (I don't know why you don't just mix them in the beginning when you're mixing dry ingredients anyway.)


Stir in the wet ingredients. And you'll have a bowl of mush that looks like this:


Heat your griddle to medium heat (if you cook the outside too fast, they'll be raw on the inside still.) I keep my griddle between 300 and 325 (that's farenheit, mind you. I don't have the little degree symbol thingy) Flip when they are golden brown.

Take a picture of your cutest helper while you're waiting



And there you have it




Serve with syrup and butter.

DELICIOUS!


Now, word to the wise: You should know that the batter is VERY THICK! so I use my little scoop to kind of spread the batter out on the griddle a little right as I pour it on. It won't spread on it's own, but it will cook more evenly if you help it along.
These are so incredibly filling, I have a hard time getting through just one. And you can bet you won't be hungry until lunch. The leftovers keep really well in the fridge for about a week (at least, that's the longest they've lasted at my house). The best part is, they taste fabulous on their own, too. On days when I don't have time to eat breakfast (aka Sunday morning, when I'm just glad that I'm dressed before it's time to go to church.), I stick one of these in the microwave for about 20 seconds and then eat it plain in the car. It's so good!
Also, Food Network says, "If you cannot find really ripe bananas, just nuke them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they will become super soft for mashing." Really? Some people don't have over ripe bananas? They thrive in great abundance in our house.
Let me know what you think!

I am spring cleaning this week. It feels good to take all the extra junk that's been accumulating and get rid of it. It feels good to open the windows and let the finally warm breeze come in. I feels good to dust and sweep knowing that Spring is finally here. My thoughts are turning to my garden and being outside. I am so excited to plant my garden this year! Last year was our first year using the garden spot we did. We've been composting and conditioning the soil all winter. I can't wait to till up that ground and see how it looks! I went outside yesterday and discovered that my raspberries have spread from two plants to fifteen! Wahoo! Last year, we each had maybe a handful of raspberries apiece for the whole season. This year, we may be able to make some jam--or SMOOTHIES!
Once upon a time, I lay awake at night dreaming of the man I would someday marry or the home I would have. Now that those mysteries are solved, I lay awake at night and dream about what and how much to plant in my garden this year. Haven't slept for days, I'm so excited.

But anyway, I was thinking while I was going through all the kids' clothes yesterday how renewing and refreshing spring cleaning is--like a cleansing breath for your whole house. It occurred to me that I ought to do some soul-spring cleaning as well.
I think my soul is already in pretty good shape. I try to keep it healthy through journal writing, scripture study and prayer, but I feel a need in me to sweep back in the back corners, let more light in and take a look at my perspectives anew--A breath of fresh air for my soul.

My sisters, Creating Sarah and WriterBrained (Jeigh), are quickly making their mark on the world and becoming well known for their myriad talents. I've got to say that their success so far doesn't surprise me at all. They are both amazing people (so go check out their blogs!). But I bring them up because of something Sarah said to me (that Jeigh said to her) at the beginning of the year. Sarah said Jeigh wanted to do something that scared her, because in so doing, she learned more about herself and became a better person. Sarah confided in me that she also felt a need to try something that was on the edge of her comfort level, and thus created her blog. I have not been able to shake their words for months. I think as I have been cleaning out my house this month, I realized that maybe what I need is also something on the edge of my comfort level that will push me to excel at something and learn better who I am.
I've decided to blog. I have some good ideas to share. I want to do it more regularly. But, I have to admit that (here goes *deep breath*) I'm really busy. (Whew! Glad I got that out!) And there are some days when I can't write, or don't have time to take pictures. But I'll do better. And if I don't, that will be our little secret.