Look what I found!

I've been cleaning out old memory cards, and I found some real *gems*...

How adorable is THIS?

My sister's old puppy, Colbert.  Look how small he was!

Yeah, I've got a soft spot for puppies.  :)  I also cleaned out enough space to start taking pictures again...so here are some random pics from yesterday.

Obi got her stretching and kisses in at the same time...smart girl!

My new hair.  :)

Updates :)

Just a quick note.  We're still here, alive and kickin' (barely!).  I hate February--it's only 28 days, but it is the LONGEST month ever!  This year was no exception.  Paul has been sick the whole month, and I only barely manage to stave it off (sore throat every morning and SUPER TIRED all the time).  He's worried he's got walking peumonia again, so Monday if his cough hasn't gotten any better he's going to a clinic.  Our car, which we just got back at the end of January, wound up having a huge crack in the radiator, so three weeks and $400 later we have a car that mostly works again!  A blizzard, teasing spring weather, then snow again have my seasonal depression kicking in full time.  It didn't help when we had our furnace break on us and it took the management over a week to fix it.  My niece's epilepsy treatments aren't working so well yet, but it does take a few weeks for medicines to kick in.  It turns out that the emergency medication she has for sleeping prohibits her from that diet I mentioned earlier, although I'm not too crazy about the side effects her medicine has on her (I won't even go into it, it breaks my heart to talk about that little girl struggling so much!).  I took a little break from the photography class because my subject (Paul) has been so sick. 

But that's enough complaining.  In the meantime, I keep myself busy (though maybe not busy enough)...I got my teaching license (finally!) so I'm working on getting my portfolio together and preparing for interviews for the next school year.  We're trying to find a new apartment to move into (we're sick of being toyed with by our management), maybe here or maybe in Chicago, depending on whether or not Paul can find work (he's sick of that, too).  I've been planning for spring and crafting a bit, especially digital scrapping.  I got excited about Project 365 a little too late, so instead of taking pictures I came up with all my layouts for next year.  Yes, that's 52 (plus a cover and an extra page for New Year's Eve) pages, all with different layouts and colors and I'm in love with it and can't wait to use it in 2012.  If I could legally share them with you, I totally would, but I'm a little fuzzy about how that works. :)  I've been able to babysit a bit for Tanner (my nephew) when either he's sick or the daycare is closed.  I've also been watching the Cosby Show (curse whoever came up with Netflix instant streaming, it's TOO EASY to have it playing all day long while I craft).  I have NOT been cleaning like I should, but I've been cooking up a storm.  :)  I have a long to-do list of important things that I promise I WILL one day get around to.  But right now, I'm just mostly daydreaming and planning for the future.  Obi and I have been getting along really well lately, I don't really know what's changed but lately I just find her antics adorable instead of annoying and it's been much easier to keep my temper in check with her.  In fact, she's enjoying a peanut butter jar right now as a treat for being so good.  She's such a person.  It shows in her personality more and more every day.  We're both getting fatter and waiting for the weather to warm up a bit to resume our long daily walks.  I think that's about it...I'll post pictures and get on with the fun stuff soon!

The perfect biscuits, every time

I like biscuits.  I like bread in general!  But dense, moist, flaky biscuits are for sure a favorite.  Even better is when you can find a breakfast recipe around here that is egg-free.  Even BETTER if it's easy AND versatile.

***
Here is the basic recipe:
3 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. liquid (milk, water, etc...see below)
1/4 c. liquid fat (melted butter, vegetable oil, etc...see below)

With oiled hands, shape loaf into a ball and bake on a clean cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.  (OR, if making large drop biscuits, only cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until outside edges are lightly browned.)
***

For biscuits-and-gravy, I'd make the liquid milk (or water, if there's a dairy allergy) and use melted margarine or vegetable oil as liquid fat. 

I haven't made that yet, though...but here are some of the DELICIOUS variations I've tried so far:

SWEET biscuits: use water as the liquid, melted butter as the liquid fat, add about 1/4 c. honey and cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice to taste.  When you take it out of the oven, drizzle honey and sprinkle cinnamon on it.  I made this for primary last week and our kids called it "rock bread," (because of its looks, not its texture) and they LOVED it!

FRUITY biscuits/scones: use orange juice as the liquid and vegetable oil as the liquid fat.  Add a bag (or about 1 1/2 c.) dried berries (I used the berry mix from Aldi's, which had strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, and cherries, and it was SOOOOOOOOO good!) and, if you want, a little honey to taste.  The orange is super subtle, and we loved cooked craisins around here.  :)

SAVORY TOMATO-BASIL biscuits: Use tomato juice (like V8) as the liquid and olive oil as the liquid fat, add 1 Tbsp. oregano to batter, and sprinkle entire loaf with rosemary and thyme.  I just made this for a side to our spaghetti dinner for tonight, and it smells SOOOOOO AMAZING.  I hope it tastes just as good!

Like I said, these turn out dense and delicious, every time.  I L.O.V.E. simple recipes that I can remember, and especially those like this one that can be varied for lots of other meals/flavors.  Try it out!  And if you come up with a new variation, let me know!

A few Valentine's Crafts...

Do any of you crafty people find that you get really inspired AFTER a holiday has ended?  Maybe I'm just strange, but this is quite often the case for me.  Not only are a lot of decorations and such 50%-80% off at Hobby Lobby (SCORE), but I see blog and facebook posts detailing the festivities of the day and I think, "I should have done that."  Well, true to form, here are some Valentine's Day crafts I made today.  I went ahead and put them up, since Paul and I ARE celebrating Valentine's all month long (yeah, still catching up on the countdown, etc.!).  And next year, maybe I'll be inspired to take down our Christmas stuff sooner so that I can look at these pretties a little longer.  :)


The first was inspired by my friend Joni. (Click HERE to SEE what she did!)  She had hung ornaments on her blinds for a festive no-curtain look during the holidays, and I really liked it.  So, for V-Day, I made tiny no-sew heart-shaped pillows (I used a hot glue gun and 4 different kinds of fabric and ribbons).  I also used some velcro (hot glued, of course) on the ribbon so I could use it again and again.  Since I don't yet sew, this was a nice afternoon project for me.  I love that you can use hot glue instead of thread in so many home projects.  Although, I have to admit, some of the hearts turned out kinda lopsided.  :)  But I think it adds to the charm...I think they look really cute hanging on our blinds!

The second "craft" was really me wanting to preserve a beautiful Valentine's Day card that my grandparents sent to us.  A cheap wooden board, some paint, and some Mod Podge, and we were good to go!  My only regret is that I put Mod Podge on top while the bottom was still wet because I was impatient, and it buckled a bit.  Live and learn.  Still looks cute, though, right?  I hot glued a little ribbon on the back so I could hang it if I wanted...but for now, its home is the music stand.

This was a cute idea inspired by something I found online (check it out HERE).  The original looks way more put together, of course.  :)  But I still like mine.  I painted the hearts white, then painted a thin layer of red and when it dried I sanded it down.  Meanwhile, I traced and cut out my fabric and ironed on the lettering, then when everything was ready I ModPodged the fabric onto the wood (yes, you can do that, and if the fabric is porous enough you don't even need to put a coat on top!).  A few buttons, ribbons, and hot glue sticks later...

Also, yesterday I made a regular old dinner but I decorated the table the way I wanted to for Valentine's, including this fake rose that Paul gave me on our first Valentine's together...

 and YUMMY chocolate chunk muffins for dessert. 

Now I'm on to looking for cute St. Patty's Day crafts and decor.  It's always something.  :)
I'm also hoping to link up every Friday HERE...so check out other crafts from other regular people just like you and me.  :)

A Clue

I love finding new things to do with old things.  It's a favorite.  I got inspired today for what our FHE activity will be on Monday.  I'll give you a clue...we'll be using two of these (because I happened to have two of them lying around after my PILGRIM HATS):

I'll give you another hint: as of right now, at least, there will be no flowers involved, real or otherwise.

The answer will be revealed on Monday!

(I'm also thinking I might have to start a list of awesome things to do with pots like this, a la my 10 Things to do with Wooden Cubes, so if you have suggestions or guesses, add a comment!)

Happy Valentine's Day

This pretty much sums up my feelings about this holiday (and every holiday, apparently...although that's a relatively recent development):

But for you non-scroogey (?) Valentines out there, hope your day was magical, anyway.  :)

We don't really exchange gifts for Valentine's Day (we're gift enough, hello!), but it's not so much a rule as it is a habit.  Maybe someday we'll give gifts, but for now I'm more about making memories.  We've both been sick enough lately that the Valentine's Day countdown has been postponed (we're starting up with day 5 tomorrow) and that just means we get to hold on to Valentine's Day a little longer, right?  We do try to do something nice.  I think eventually I'd like to get to the point where we're organized enough for us to take turns each year planning the big day.  I sort of had vague plans in my head, but Paul made a suggestion today, and I was in the mood to let him lead this time around.  :)  He took me out to Basil Thai (one of our favorite places, we went there a lot when we were dating and we don't go there nearly enough anymore...gotta keep them in business!).  Seriously, just look at this food and tell me you're not salivating:

Pad Thai

Chicken Satay (Paul's favorite)

And MY favorite--curry pineapple fried rice!

I'M salivating just looking at this again!  So while we mostly just laid around and watched TV (like every other day he's off work), it was nice to get out of the house for a bit and not have to make any dinner.  We went to his work and I got to meet some people there while he had his mandatory drug test.  We went out to eat, and that's a real treat for me.  Oh, and when we went to Walmart to buy him a razor he let me buy (and then proceed to eat) a box of chocolates.  With daisies on the front of the box, not roses.  That's love.  :) 

Regardless of whether or not today was memorable or exciting or romantic, it was a day with my husband, my eternal Valentine, without whom I would be lost and lonely.  In my book, that makes it a good day.

No good angle!

So, since my hip injury 6 years ago, and combined with thyroid issues and other factors both in and out of my control, I've been slowly and steadily gaining weight.  Imperceptibly so, if you've been at all with me as it's happened--about 10 pounds a year...but that sure does add up!  (Yeah, you do the math.  Sad, right?)

Usually when I look in the mirror there is a magical angle where I can turn my body one way and my head another and honestly tell myself, "Well, I'm not really THAT big."

Today I could find no such angle.

Friends, this will not do!

*Note: Unlike many people, I am not saying this so that you will contradict me and I can feel better about myself.  I do not believe in fishing for compliments.  I really am overweight and this is me acknowledging that I have some part in it.  This is a genuine dismay and a discovering that as unhealthy as I've felt INSIDE, now it's really starting to show OUTSIDE.  Remember that whole New Years Resolution to be healthier?  Yeah, maybe I really should get on that!*

Weekend with family

Since my niece AND nephew were at my mom's house all weekend, I got to play with them a bit.  Those cousins are too adorable!

Mom, of course, bought them new toys to play with.

 But who needs toys when you have a dog the size of a horse to play with?

 Or Aunt Celeste's snow boots?

 Caida still LOVES the trampoline (even though after jumping for 15 minutes she'd have a seizure...she just couldn't stop jumping, though!).

 Of course, she also got a pretty necklace and her first pair of "high heels," and somehow she already has that model pose-and-pout down. 

Little kids are SOOOOOOOO fun!  :)

Obi's New Space

Obi decided that she was going to use our "space" a little differently this weekend:

Yeah, she actually pushed the back of the chair down and climbed up onto it.  Too cute!  Is this what she does at night while we're asleep?  Well, it might have been, except yesterday I came out to find this:

She had been pulling out the stuffing from the couch through a hole she had previously dug in it.  I caught her right in the middle of doing it and MAN ALIVE her caught-red-handed-guilty-look is soooooooo cute!

Now she gets to be in the cage at night until I can figure out how to patch up this hole. 

300th Post!

I wanted to say something profound to mark this special occasion, or at least something more than a few pictures of random happenings around here.  Today is a special day--not only because it is Valentine's Day, but because today is the day my niece has a doctor's appointment to find a new medication for her ever-increasing seizures AND the day she starts her own ketogenic diet.  Well, not exactly the full-blown ketogenic diet (because you have to measure everything to the gram and have a dietician as well as your neurologist involved), but more like a modified Atkin's Diet.  I've been doing a lot of research online this past weekend about what this diet is, how it works, when to expect results (if any), and what it will mean when I am babysitting Caida. 

A full-blown ketogenic diet is a diet in which someone has a 4:1 fats to carbs and protein ratio.  That means for every gram of carbohydrates or proteins Caida eats, she should be eating 4 grams of fats.  This doesn't sound too healthy, right?  You should know within 3 months whether or not this diet is working, and if it's not, you stop it.  But even when it works, children are only on this diet for 2 years or so, so while they have to deal with higher cholesterol and the higher risk for kidney stones (1 in 20 instead of 1 in thousands), the effects aren't permanent.  The whole purpose of this diet is to sort of trick the body into starvation mode (like when fasting) so that the body stops using carbohydrates for energy and instead turns to burning fat.  For some reason that scientists and doctors are still exploring, the ketones that are released when the body turns fat into energy seem to help calm or even cure seizures.  (50% of dieters see a 50% or more improvement, while 12-15% see a complete cure).  Of course, the strictness of this diet (even one SNACK in the wrong direction can trigger an epileptic reaction) makes this a last resort, when medicines have failed to help. 

Caida's seizures have been getting more frequent AND worse.  An EEG in January showed that her brain is in a constant seizure state, even when her limbs are in her control.  But she's also had mild-moderate seizure every 20 minutes or so.  And a few pretty serious grand mal seizures in the last few months.  There are still some medications left to try, though, so they haven't put her on the diet officially.  But the doctor said that cutting out major carbs (so bye-bye bread, cereals, pastas, rice...all those things our family LOVES) and all refined sugars (no more anything with white, brown, or powdered sugar or any form of corn syrup...so pretty much all sweets and many packaged foods) should help when combined with her new drug treatments, and it would prepare Caida in case she has to go on this diet in the near future. 

What is LEFT you ask?  :)  I DID find a list of foods that she can eat, and at this stage pretty much all fruits and vegetables are still okay (on the full ketogenic diet, many fruits and even some veggies are off-limits).  Pretty much all meats are okay, as well as butter, mayo, eggs, creams, and all those yummy fatty sauces.  Nuts, cheeses, and sugar-free jello are good snacks.  In addition to the obvious (like cookies or breads), she should stay away from potatoes, bananas/peaches/nectarines/high-carb fruits, and popcorn, and if she can avoid peas and carrots she should.  Check out http://www.keto.org/foods.htm for the full list. 

My thoughts and prayers are with Caida, and her mom, as they embark on this new stage in the journey to curing her epilepsy once and for all!  I hope the doctors can find medication that really will help.  I hope the new diet, although it will be super difficult, will be helpful in making her healthy again.  I hope that Caida can know what it means to be in school again, with new friends and new fun things to learn (her current school is not equipped to handle her seizures and have suggested homeschooling until new medication or the process of enrolling in the district's "special ed" school can be completed).  I hope she can know what it means to go for a whole day without falling down and hitting her head on something, without that fear of an oncoming seizure, to use her legs as a 6-year-old is meant to.  When whatever it takes to help her heal eventually does work (and I KNOW it will!), we will have a huge party.  Maybe we'll invite you.  :)

Joy of Love Day 10: Space--Where They Are Comfortable

Here is the space that all 3 of us fight over:

We got this "throne" from my mom when we got married (along with a matching couch).  I'm not sure if it's because of the table and drawers in between that hold all our books and magazines, laptop, food, and whatever else we're using at the moment, or if it's the allure of the softer pad in the middle that Obi can rest her head on (she's a sucker for pillows)...maybe it's because it's directly in front of our TV.  Whatever the reason, we all love it.  It is all 3 of our "space."  I can type up blogs, have lunch or snacks handy, watch Netflix, read, nap, etc. in this space.  But as soon as I get up, Obi jumps right in my space and claims it as hers!  :)  Paul and I often have to tempt her away from both of these thrones with treats so that we can watch movies while eating dinner or have FHE together.  :)

Check out everyone else's photos of their special spaces HERE.  :)

New Look

Between being sick, having our heat go out overnight, and visiting with family, some things (like those photography assignments) have been put on hold for a while.  But I DID get around to doing something AWESOME yesterday at my mom's house.  Well, actually, my little sister, Cerene, did it for me:

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Yup, I cut and dyed my hair!  My new color is actually pretty much my actual color, just a little richer.  But all those grays and silvers are now shiny golden brown!  It's amazing how much DARKER my hair looks now that I don't have any grays...and how much healthier, too!  There's a hint of red in it, but that wasn't supposed to be there.  :)  Oh well.  I really, really, REALLY like it. 

Cerene decided to do it, too (she IS the hair dying expert, as she has a different hair color almost every time I see her...).  She wanted to get back to her natural color, as well, which meant she had to get some of the red out of her last coloring.  She wanted to match her roots and her daughter's hair:

BEFORE (she had pigtails in her wet hair, she's not usually that crazy!)

DURING (okay, maybe she is...)

AFTER (But she's MUCH prettier in person.  The bathroom light makes it look much redder than it really does, see below for proof).

We are awesome looking now.

The whole time, Caida was stoked.

She gave each of us big kisses for being so brave.  WAY better than a lollipop. :)

Leo (their dog) wasn't quite so impressed.  He slept through the whole thing in this position:

Joy of Love Day 9: Hobbies and Passions

One of Paul's many hobbies/passions is anything STAR TREK!  Especially if you can combine that with his passion for reading, we have shelves all over the house filled with his Star Trek paraphernalia.  I think it's cute.  :)

Obi's hobbies (aside from sleeping and driving me crazy) include hiding under the bed, playing with her ball and blankie, and looking out the window, watching anything and everything that moves.  :)

Joy of Love Day 8: Gifts from the Heart

Today our goal is to capture the gifts given in love to us by those we love.  Obsidian gives me kisses, loyalty, obedience, snuggles, and most of all she teaches me a little about what it means to care for someone or something else that's so dependent on me.  I guess she's pretty much the best practice for parenthood we'll get.  :)  My absolute FAVORITE thing she does is cock her head in confusion or curiosity.  I melt every time.  I think it's because I am internally cocking my own head at her antics and puppy-reasoning almost constantly.  :)

I wanted to add something about Paul today, too, since I'm realizing just how hard it is to find new things to do with Obi (especially since I pretty much can't get her moving around much).  I had seen this kind of picture online and wanted BADLY to make one with my engagement and wedding rings, and now I had the perfect excuse!  A LOT of people did themes on their rings, which makes sense.  I personally love the symbolism of a ring, and the many, many promises that came along with each of mine.

Our wedding rings have "I Love You" engraved three times--because if you say something 3 times, then you must really mean it!

I love how it makes that heart-shape even with the bulkiness of the diamonds and sapphires on the end.  :)

My only complaint was that you couldn't see the scripture I placed this in, which was all about marriage and stuff.  But it was either get a good, focused shot of the rings and heart OR the scripture.  I chose the rings.  :)

There are some GREAT photos submitted today...go check them out HERE and get inspired!

Joy of Love Day 7: Generations

I took a break from photographing Obsidian for this assignment.  This is a photograph of a single rose from my grandmother's funeral this past October.  I hang-dried it in my room and keep it hanging close by.  It helps me remember not only her, but all my extended family that we don't get to see nearly so often as I'd like.

Check out the other entries for "generations" HERE.

Joy of Love Day 6: Who They Love

Obi loves PAUL.  Without a doubt.  She waits by the door for him at night.  She snuggles with him every chance she gets.  She barks and growls at me when I come near him.  He is HERS.  Thankfully, he still loves me more...most of the time.  ;)

Since I had a hard time getting all the manual settings I wanted with my point-and-shoot, I used Paint.net to achieve that blurry background.  I like it!  But I think I'll have to practice using it more...if you look TOO closely, you can see all the places I messed up.  :)
Check out the other entries HERE. 

Honeymoon (better late than never?)

I had to make this TWO posts...and I ran out of my google storage for pictures in between and had to go buy more.  It's only $5 for a year, for 20 GB, so it's worth it.  Especially considering how much I blog now!

Back to the fun stuff.  As if the wedding in D.C. wasn't fun enough, we traveled to the other side of the continent for our honeymoon. Paul served his mission in Vancouver, B.C. (Spanish speaking). So we got to go and visit his ward (that he served in for 18 months...yeah, there aren't many Spanish speakers. Lots of Chinese and Sikhs, though...). We got a little sight-seeing in, although we were pretty much broke by this time. :) Some highlights:

all the Native art around town...

 ...BEAUTIFUL mountains and delicate rain...and the ease of a well-thought-out public transportation system...

 ...the LIBRARY!!!  If you know me, you know that this alone made the trip worth it!...

...the aquarium... 

 ...the beautiful Sutton Place hotel...

 ...our amazing view of the unique Vancouver architecture...

...and of COURSE visiting lots of families (who kept us well-fed and busy!) like this one.  Of course, I don't speak Spanish, so I spent a lot of our honeymoon concentrating REALLY HARD to pick out the words I could using my basic French skills...but it was still awesome.  And they fed us A LOT. 

 We also got to travel on the smallest plane we've ever been on...

...and I got to use my passport for the first time!  (And last so far...but we're working on it. :) 

We got round-trip tickets from D.C. to Vancouver, so we had to take the bus back home to West Lafayette.  Here's one of the interesting things we saw (I think in Columbus, OH?).

GREEN!

It was a really fun first trip out of the country for me, and it was nice to see Paul's eyes light up as we traveled the streets of his mission.  Everyone was SO kind, and even though I had no idea what was going on half the time I managed to get through conversations decently well.  It was a really nice, if not way too quick, vacation, and if we end up in Seattle, we'll definitely be visiting Vancouver LOTS!