I wanted to win a Silhouette cutter awhile back. There was a local tv contest for crafts under $5. I had been wanting to make a jewelry tree for a little while and decided this would be a good opportunity. I was inspired by a few that I found online. They were around $50 each. Mine was $1. I used a branch that had been pruned from our apple tree (free), a piece of wood that was in our shed (free, many places like Home Depot that cut lumber will give you the scraps since they just throw them away), a mirror ($1), paint, and glue (E6000 works well).
(Sorry for the slightly fuzzy picture. I'm too lazy to go get another one from the computer downstairs)
I think it turned out pretty cute. Worth my dollar. In case you were wondering, I didn't win the Silhouette. There's some lingering bitterness at the contest. I'm not too surprised I didn't win. I was a little disappointed at the craft that did win. I didn't think that it was even close to the most original or best craft submitted.
I love Legos. I think they are a great toy that appeal to a wide variety of ages and promote creative play. I think the new line of Toy Story Legos is awesome. I may have to splurge.
I find yardwork incredibly satisfying. Yesterday R and I spent a good part of the day working outside. We mowed the lawn, borrowed a weed whacker and used it, weeded a little, and finished removing a thicket of a hedge. I don't have any before pictures but this is the after picture:
The main trunk was about 11 inches in diameter. There was so many branches around the main trunk. It was crazy. Before the removal, the hedgy bush was about 10ish feet high and about 7 feet wide. It was removed because that's where I'm going to plant my raspberry patch.
As a garden update, things seem to be growing fairly well. In addition to the chard, peas, leeks, radishes, lettuce, and green onions, I've planted a variety of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onions, cilantro, tarragon, and chives. Tomorrow I'll add rhubarb, shallots, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, and gourds.
In the upper right hand corner you can see the digging of my nemesis, the gopher, not even 2 feet away from a supposed gopher repelling unit. One day, the gopher will be gone.
This is the view of the smaller, shadier part of my garden where I have some peas and the herbs.
I made this cake awhile back. It was delicious. It's also a great option for people that can't/shouldn't have gluten like me.
I also like that it is really easy to make but looks extravagant.
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup water * 1/4 teaspoon salt * 3/4 cup white sugar * 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate * 1 cup unsalted butter * 6 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.
One of my great friends had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to think of something inexpensive and cute to give to her. I decided I would make a little purse. This is the pattern that I used. I made a few modifications to it but for a first attempt I thought it turned out pretty cute.
It took <2 hours start to finish (which is a great project time because I can usually get it done or close to it during naptime). It also only ended up costing ~$3.50.
I think that I may modify the pattern more and make a larger version of it. I think that it would make a cute diaper bag.
The past few times I've taken my daughter, L, to the pediatrician, he's asked if she was still rear facing. Although L has been growing lots, she's still smaller than many kids her age. She still fits in (with a fair amount of room to grow) and uses her infant carseat. Our pediatrician has talked to us about keeping her rear-facing for as long as possible. Things he's talked to us about:
*The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children remain rear facing until AT LEAST 2 but preferably until the child reaches the weight or height limit of a convertible carseat.
*It's expected that many states will change the law for forward facing carseats to match the AAP's recommendation.
*When a young child is in a crash and their head is thrown forward, their skull can be detached from their spine. This is called internal decapitation. A child’s head makes up about 25% of their body weight, while in an adult it is only about 6%. So much weight being thrust forward is a factor in internal decapitation. When a child is rear facing, the car seat cradles the head in a crash. When forward facing, there is nothing in front of the child’s head to restrain it.
*Rear facing is 75% less likely to die or incur a serious injury in a car crash than forward facing.
Before our pediatrician talked to us, I really had no idea. It seemed normal to switch an infant to forward facing when they outgrew the infant carseat or reached the state minimum of at least 1 and 20 lbs.
I thought this video provided a good visualization of the difference between forward and rear facing in a crash.
Quick Reminders when using any carseat: *Choose a good seat. There is no “best” seat for everyone. The best seat for you is the one that fits well and is installed correctly EVERY time in your car. To get help with your install, type your zip code into this website.
*Don’t use aftermarket products in your seat. Anything that was not manufactured by the company who manufactured your car seat is not necessarily safe. It will void your warranty and has not been crash tested with the seat. There are no federal regulations or standards for these products.
*Don’t use bulky coats in the car seat. More info here.
*Make sure the straps are very snug and secure and that the chest clip is at armpit level.
For those of you that are wondering (which is probably very few), this is the carseat I've decided to buy when L outgrows her infant seat. Two things I really like about it are its very high weight and height limits (it's the only other car seat I'll need to buy) and its narrow enough to fit 3 seats across (or 1 seat and 2 passengers, 2 seats and 1 passenger, etc.) the backseat of my Ford Focus.
Our local youth were doing a fundraiser a week ago. They were sponsoring a dinner and asked people to bring a cake for a silent cake auction. I decided it would be a good excuse to try my hand at making a fondant covered cake.
I used a recipe for marshmallow fondant. It was pretty easy and fast to make. In fact, it was kind of fun to knead together.
I made a lemon cake and flavored the fondant with lemon extract. I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to trim my cakes flat. It ended up a little uneven and leany but I titled it a "Mad Hatter Lemon Cake".
While rolling it out, I probably used more Crisco than I really needed. I had heard that the marshmallow fondant was very sticky. The extra shortening made the finished project a little shinier than I would have liked.
Marshmallow fondant is something I'll definitely try again.
(Sorry for the slightly fuzzy picture. I'm too lazy to go get another one from the computer downstairs)
