the unfinished project

I am a starter of projects... I get really excited to start a new project and then sometimes it fizzles out... sometimes i run out of time and the project is completely covering our dining room table and then its time for dinner and my husband is like....where are we going to eat... so i have to quickly clean it up.. and then of course it may never come back out...and sometimes i actually do finish one.

well this project has been on going... i take it to soccer practices, take it in the car while sitting and waiting ... or to the town pool and work on it while the kids are swimming... it was supposed to be for my husband( a birthday present, his birthday was in april) then i thought maybe fathers day it will get it finished.. that didnt happen... well I have been working on it a lot lately.. so what is the next holiday?  or maybe it can just be a "just because" gift...

This is about half of a recycled t-shirt hammock...i am so excited to be done with it and i think it will be fun for the whole family!!!

Some other projects that i have been working on this summer are the $400 bracelet..(sshhh that i made for about $20)

So I had been looking in the Sundance catalog..which i love.. but everything in there is so expensive... so i decided to try and make one... its not exactly but close enough and way more affordable.. this is a project i did finish... partly because I was giving as a gift to a friend... yippee...

well hopefully all of you are getting your projects finished or a least started... happy project day@!!!

Having a great summer?

Well as usual, its been along time since i have posted anything on my poor neglected blog...but today is anew and fresh and its never to late to start over.... so we moved last november to a bigger house on 5 acres... we love it... but it is about 20 minutes out of town and on a bumpy dirt road( its about 8 minutes on the dirt rd) and we travel that bumpy dirt rd several times a day.... so it gets a little crazy....I have told my kids that i am practicing for the Baja 1000 so i need to see how fast i can go on that dirt road...what is even funnier is when you are trying to drink a cup of coffee or some sort of beverage on that dirt road.... i feel like we all need sippy cups....but i do love our house and we are in the middle of nowhere...

And here is my cute potting shed... which i just love.....

The house also has 8 raised garden beds, which i have been trying to grow some things in....i will say that i am an EXCELLENT grower of weeds.... not so much vegatables but lots of weeds... i do better when i grow things in pots...

we have been having a fabulous summer....visiting our great friends in San Diego.. and exploring all the beaches there and having my parents and brother come for a visit there....

Had a awesome birthday on the beach and then a drive-in movie(my kids had never been to one)and spent the 4th of july on the beach...had a little family reunion on the beach...fun stuff going on around here....

Then my husband took me to Las Vegas for a night... that was fun!!! That was the first time we have ever left our kids with friends and were in another state without them....a summer of firsts


so now we only have a little bit left of summer ( kids here start on Aug. 8th)and trying to plan as much stuff in the last couple weeks before school is supposed to start... although since we homeschool... we have a little bit more time which is good..... hope you are all having a great summer!!!

the weathers a changin and soccer is here

I am so excited to feel a change in the weather... even though it is still hot during the day, I am thoroughly enjoying the moments of coolness in the early morning and evening.

Soccer has started which brings the feeling of fall... last Saturday we spend the entire day 7:30 am to 7:30 pm at the soccer field... with four kids on four different teams and four separate picture times the whole entire day was spent at the field. 

I also volunteered to make all four soccer banners(in Lu of paying $10 each to have them professionally made) they came out pretty good, I used an old sheet and acrylic paint... a little kooky but good.

here is one, that my daughter begged me to let her help...

there have been some little creatures visiting us lately... probably because of the monsoons

 tarantula on our screen door and northern ring neck snake in the driveway!!! never a dull moment around here.

We just had 2 birthdays this week, my son Mason turned 11 and Lily turned 8... its always a crazy time for us... this week... soccer usually has just begun and then trying to fit... something in... I have always done just one big party... but now since they are getting older its getting harder... so we went to Jump Street for both of the birthdays and a small party for cake and ice cream and cake pops...and Lily got her ears pierced... fun stuff

She was so excited, but she said she never wanted to do it again...which is good, we don't want anything else pierced in the future...

have a great day!!

1940s wedding...check!

After much anticipation, the 1940s wedding, that we have been talking about and so excited to attend, was so much fun.... all 4 of my children we in the wedding, a ring bearer, an usher and 2 flower girls. The talk of the wedding was had almost every morning, on the mother of the bride and my walks at 6am. So it was fun seeing how it all cam together...beautiful location in the mountains, lots friends, beautiful bride, great bridal party dance routine, and the best part was the vintage photo booth

 the bride and her cousins,,, being silly

 my handsome 10 year old.. the ring bearer... he was so glad he got to keep the hat

 my sweet 7year old in the middle... i just love her..

 my sweet 5 year old, this is the first picture that she, didn't do her funny lip smile..

 i loved the way my dress turned out... i think its because...i actually broke out my iron...when i was altering it, and that never happens!!!!

 loved the venue!!

my handsome 12 year old.. the usher..ushering the mother of the bride

 the bride doing the revolution of dance routine...funny stuff

 bride and her daddy!

 The picnic blanket turned out great, and all the picnic goodies.. the bride said it was her favorite present!!

it was a beautiful wedding...and i wish all the happiness in the world to the bride and groom!!!

have a great day!!

vacations, weddings, and luaus..oh my!!!

Well needless to say...I have been busy again... we had a wonderful time going out to my parents in northern Cali... and good to see some great old friends... i mean they are not old just.. ya know.. I have known most of them since Jr. high... so they are old friends( and we are getting a little old too!!)

My mom and brother threw my dad and I a big Luau... for my 40th and my dads 60th birthdays... that was fun... my brother the chef.. cooked up some good Hawaiian food...

i didn't get any good food pics, but we had some great pulled pork, teriyaki chicken, coconut rice and more... and of course lots of pina coladas, and Mai tais and pool fun.

Then we went to one of my favorite lakes in the area... Englebright Lake.  We rented a patio cruiser and took the kids and my parents and brother out for a little day trip. The lake was a little to cold for my liking... but the kids didn't mind.

18 years ago, we rented the same boat when my AZ friends came out for our wedding, and we took them out for a cruise... good times.

oh and ruby caught her first fish... she was very excited!!!!

So now its back to reality... which is so hard after a vacation... and the laundry is what really stinks!!!


We are now getting ready for a 1940s wedding coming up this weekend... all 4 of my kiddos are in the wedding... so lots of preparations... I am altering a dress, that i found for 10 buck at consignment shop, and i also found one at a thrift store for 2 buck, so i am deciding which one to where. ...

if anyone has a suggestion of which they like better let me know????

 This one was the $2 one... and it is really from the 1940s

 Here are the great shoes I am wearing, that i got at the thrift store.... I just love the thrift store!!!!

So, this polka dot dress, was not 1940s its more 1980s... so my plan is to make it more 1940s... so
i took up the hem to the knee.. and used that fabric to make little sleeves... here it is with one sleeve done.....doesn't it look better?????


I am really excited for the wedding!!! I will take lots of pics!!!

 have a great day!!!!

blackberries for breakfast

yummy...all those blackberries that my girls and I picked... we r treating ourselves to some delicious blackberry crisp for breakfast... I got the recipe from farmgirl fare, which I must say is super yummy...although, I am a little disappointed in that we already ate all of our goat milk ice cream, and so don't have any to go with our crisp... oh well its still great!!

My garden is not producing!!! I mean I keep waiting and weeding and waiting... and then finally I just noticed 1 zucchini and 1 yellow pear tomato.....I MEAN SERIOUSLY.....THAT IS NOT GOING TO FEED MY FAMILY.....HELP!!!!!!

 I just don't know what I am doing wrong!!!!!

Let me know if anyone has any secrets for a bountiful garden....please!!!

Monsoon weather has finally arrived here in the big A...we are always glad to have a break from the 100 to 110 degree temps.  We had a incredible lighting storm last nite... it was like every 3 seconds... an lit up the whole sky...awesome!!!

have a great day!!!

Making Kombucha and blackberry pickin

OMG..... I  just tried my first batch of Kombucha and......drum roll please.....IT WAS DE-LISH-OUS
I can believe it turn out SO good....I was a little nervous when my friend gave me the scoby... it did look a little creepy... she had brought it to the baseball field for me to take it home in a glass mason jar.... everyone and anyone that looked at it.... gawked and said WHAT IS THAT? some guessed... and octopus... some guessed a brain.... but no... i told them... its the mother, a scoby, a mushroom, to make a delightful fermented tea drink most of them got really grossed out...they just don't know what they are missing   (and by the way.. it costs like 3-5 dollars in the store).... and now I can make it for FREE.... yipee!!!!

 The way I made my kombucha....

So... they way i made it was so easy... i just took the scoby that my friend gave me and then in a pot one the stove boiled 4 cups of water and then turned off the heat... then took 6 tea bags, I used 3 green and 3 black and 1 cup of organic sugar,  and steeped the tea until it was room temp. and the sugar was dissolved. Then i poured the tea/sugar mixture into a gallon glass jar and then gently poured the scoby in and covered it with a paper towel and a rubber band. and let it sit in  a dark place room temp. for 10 days... ( don't use any metal or plastic, only glass, for anything ) then put the scoby with a little of  the liquid in another container, and you can reuse it to make some more.

It will form a new layer(another scoby) and you can share that one with your friends




Today we also went blackberry picking down by the creek.... i had heard there were lots of them from my boys who have been going down there and fishing... so i really needed to go get some before all the birds at them all... i am so excited to make something yummy for dessert to night.... the question is???? what to make.... cobbler, pie, topping for ice cream????? anyone have a great blackberry recipe they would like to share????

Have a great day!!!