Yarn eggs got me all tied up

So I have experienced my very own Pinterest failed it moment. What is this, you ask? Well, according to me, a failed it moment comes when you attempt to do something you saw on Pinterest, and fail miserably. 

     Here is mine - I saw this great idea for an Easter decoration on Pinterest (you can get to the site by clicking on the caption). 

http://churchfun.com/2009/03/29/free-yarn-easter-egg-project/

     It looked pretty easy to make, very inexpensive, and cute. I even considered trying to do this in my Sunday School class - I teach the 3-5yr olds. I mean, it's a balloon with some glue and yarn. How hard could it be? It sure seems simple enough to pull off...

     Boy was I wrong. My first attempt was laughable in how it turned out. Instead of a cute egg, mine turned out to look more like a bird's nest; and not a very decorative one at that. Thinking back, I believe I used too little glue and too much water. Hmm...

     Surprising enough after that horrible failed it moment, I decided to try the experiment again, with a few minor adjustments.

     This time I started with more yarn, and a lighter color since this is supposed to be an Easter decoration and the first time my colors looked more like Christmastime. And instead of using white craft glue (since I believe you need a good portion of a bottle for one of these), I decided to make my own paper mache paste.

     For those of you who haven't done paper mache before, it's super easy. Mix water and flour with a whisk until it's a gloppy consistency. That's it. Awesomely simple, isn't it? So I used the paper mache paste this time, and I made sure to completely drench each strand of yarn before putting it on the balloon. And when I used up all 24 strands of yarn, here's what it looked like...

 Pretty neat, huh? I was excited already, because it seemed to be drying and firming up much better even at this stage. And yes, this is my very own invention - the Courtney balloon-egg-drying system. I have since improved this to be a piece of yarn threaded through a clothespin and hung on a cabinet knob, but whatever works. 

     And there it hung for the rest of the day. You don't need 24 hours of drying time, but at least 5 or 6 is probably necessary to make sure that it's not wet still. Then I stuck my finger into some of the larger openings to separate the balloon from the dried shell (so it doesn't try to pull the yard inward when you pop the balloon). And finally, POP! I popped the balloon and fished it out.

     Voila! Here is how this one turned out. Pretty good, in my own personal opinion. Since I used white and light pink yarn the colors are very muted; I'm curious what color the blue or red yard would be with this technique. But it is stiff and strong and ready to go on my mantle. If I'm feeling more adventurous later on and get tired of this color I could always spray paint it gold or purple or whatever other color I wanted. And if you don't have a perfectly round balloon, then they would turn out egg-shaped, which is pretty perfect considering the holiday. 

So I actually do consider this one a success... after that first attempt anyway.

Sick and tired and hungry

What a week....

My poor toddler has been sick with croup. And in an odd twist, when she is sick, she doesn't nap very well. Perhaps it's the coughing keeping her up, but even though she has no energy and sits around the house most of the day doing not-so-much, she won't take a nap. Which means I don't get a rest either.

     Luckily the baby seems ok and has been sleeping better at night. Of course her sister has filled in all those times where I used to get up with the baby, so I'm still getting up 4 or 5 times a night. Hence why the nap is so important. Well, hopefully that'll change soon. I keep hoping.

     And we've been experimenting with different tricks to reduce the coughing. A steamy bathroom for 30 minutes seems to help some, but we finally broke down and got a humidifier last night. It helped some, but was not the sure fix I was hoping for. A friend today suggested bundling her up and taking her out into the cold air for a few minutes, so I think we'll be trying that tonight. Cross your fingers for me.

     Now for a quick update on my food journey this week. I'm proud to say that I have only gone to the store once (Costco to buy.... flour!) and it wasn't until Thursday. Man was it tough being home all week with the girls and not having flour to bake with. So I guess it's been a somewhat accidental fast. I couldn't just turn to the kitchen cupboards and bake something to keep us distracted. But now we have flour again, so I'm optimistic that we can get through this weekend without needing a store run (or at least not a big one), and I see a possibility that I'll be able to make it through next week as well.

Less is more, right?

In my Friday mornings bible study / mommy group we have decided to embark on 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. The basis of the book (or rather the introduction) is that as a society we have become one of excess where 'more is more' and being humble or thrifty isn't heralded as it used to. Or perhaps as much as it should. 

Pies I made for Thanksgiving. Don't they look delicious?

     So she challenges her readers to go through a minimizing exercise with her - each chapter focuses on a different theme and the reader is asked to reduce whatever that focus is, essentially doing a modified fast from it in an effort to realize how much excess we all have and how much we could do with less. This month the focus is food, and boy is it scary.

     I know I'm a foody. I've always been. I was the child in 5th grade who when asked what my favorite food was, proudly answered, "lobster." Forget pizza or hotdogs, I wanted fresh Maine Lobster. HA! So I love food, I love to make food, I love to eat food, and I love the feeling I get when people eat my food and enjoy it. So this month is a TOUGH one for me.

     The basic challenge is to choose 7 food items (think chicken or eggs, or bread, etc) and only eat those for 1 week. Yikes. I'm not really sure I can do that; I'm pretty sure I started hyperventilating merely reading it on the page. So onto the alternatives. One of her suggested alternatives is to cut the food budget in half for a week instead, and to donate the other half (probably to the church since that's where this is all stemming from). I think we can do that... let's see.

     Now today is day 1. And since I hadn't actually read the chapter until this weekend, I didn't give myself the opportunity to bulk up last week in anticipation. Of course, I do tend to stock the house with a lot of food anyway (I love having the ingredients on hand for whatever I get the urge to make). So right now the grocery list only has 2 items on it - flour and rice (yes, flour for those of you who read my previous post... I've run out of flour!!). I think we're starting off in a pretty good place.

     In fact, I'm going to see how long I can last without going to the store at all. Potentially combining a couple of her suggested alternatives - cutting the food budget and just eating the food you already have in the house. Here at the onset I'm going to see if I can handle half of the weekly food budget stretched for 2 weeks... although am I cheating if I say that my basic goal is to manage 1 week on half the food budget and my stretch goal is to make it with that same amount for 2 weeks?

     One thing to note - I'm going to try and NOT shop that differently than normal, but merely focus on the basics without the fluff and fancy food. So if I need to buy flour (and 25lbs of it), then I'll buy flour at the same quantity I usually do without just going for the smaller bag where I know I'll end up spending more later. Of course, because this is a self created program, there's a lot of room for interpretation. 

Now you'll have to check back in a few days to see if I succeed or how I end up "interpreting" my plans.

A race director who doesn't run

One of the main reasons that we made the giant move across country 3+ years ago was so that I didn't have to work. And this is an amazing thing - I realize that it's a treat that doesn't come cheap, and certainly is full of positive and negative moments.

     Now those of you who know me realize that I don't sit still very much. I also really suck at saying "no" to anyone. So, it didn't take me very long to get sucked into the world of community service and volunteering. And boy, is it easy to fill up any second you think might be available with work that doesn't actually result in a paycheck.

     Don't get me wrong - I love all the activities I'm involved in. But some of them have become rather all consuming lately. Like this race I'm now planning...

     Something you might want to know about me - I am not a runner. I have never liked running and the few times I've allowed friends to cajole me into trying it out have resulted in a lot of pain, shortness of breath, and a great deal of embarrassment. I can remember disliking running back in kindergarten. So it's not a new thing, and it's not a fitness thing either; even at my most fit and very dedicated gym rat days, I was into spin class and not into running.

     So I find it somewhat ironic that I have now found myself the Race Director for a youth race. It is being put on by our neighborhood pool club, and we've teamed up with the Land Trust of North Alabama (who own the cross country trails property directly adjacent to the pool property). It's going to be a trail run and a swim for kids 5 years and up.

Sounds very cool, right? But again, this is me - I know nothing about competing in a race. I've never run one, I've never even been to the finish line area of one larger than a 5K. So this is ALL new to me. And I'm learning A LOT. It's fun, and stressful, but thankfully so far everyone has been super helpful and friendly in giving me advice. So we're setting up registration, lining up sponsors, and even got a little bit of press this week. Check it out here at Our Valley Events: http://ourvalleyevents.com/huntsville-kids-races-2014/

     And I think that just maybe, I'm doing ok with all the planning and it will turn out to be an amazing success. Just maybe. Yes, I'm crossing my fingers, toes, and anything else I can cross. Wish me luck! Oh, and if you're free that day, why don't you come help? I'm positive I could use it.

What's this white stuff?

Man is it cold! When they start adding that funny little minus sign to the front of the temperature, I officially step out of my comfort zone. I love snow, but I don't think I could live in the Midwest where it gets so cold that it's a hazard to go outside at all. Craziness.

     As it is, we've had several days this year where's it's been cold enough to delay schools. Like today... Although today we have some of that fun white stuff coming down, which makes it feel both colder and more bearable at the same time.

     And it is fun to see how excited my girls get to see the snow. Yes, it has snowed before, but not in quite a while, and I don't think either can really remember seeing the snow before. So my toddler took the chance to run outside and stomp around in the dusting of snow we got. Too bad we didn't get more, but I am still holding out a chance we might get some tonight.

     Because seriously, it's supposed to get down into the single digits. With that kind of cold and a sky full of clouds, it's just mean to get no snow.

25 pounds of flour

Most families find that buying in bulk becomes a necessity. You don't want to go to the store every day, so you inevitably start buying some things in bulk. Well, I buy flour in bulk. The little 5lbs bags at the grocery store just don't last more than a little while, and when you add it all up, it gets expensive. So off to Costco we go.

     I buy my flour in 25lbs bags. Yes, my family thinks I'm crazy. When the extended family came for Thanksgiving back in 2012, they looked at me cross-eyed when I pulled out the giant bag. And true, it did take us a couple of months to go through it all, but it beat having it permanently on the grocery list. And now, we're going through it even faster!

     What do I make with all this flour? Sadly, I'm a homemade kinda gal. I never actually think of myself as a purist, but I did grow up with parents who liked to cook, and a father who taught me that store-bought pie crust was the ultimate cheat and never ever ever to be done. So I make my own pie crust. And I've started making my own cupcakes and cakes (instead of out of a box) since it really isn't as hard as I thought it would be. And we make homemade pizza all the time. 

     Really that's probably where most of the flour consumption lies. Each time we have pizza (which is probably once every 2 weeks or so) it takes about 5 cups of flour. But it's so much cheaper than getting delivery, and a lot easier to make than having to remember to buy a pizza crust at the store. And no, I don't make my own because of trying to eat better or healthier. If that happens, it's a happy accident. I do it out of convenience in a weird backwards sort of way.

     Very recently I've started making sourdough bread. I absolutely love sourdough bread, and it's just not a thing around here. Sure you can find it, but there'll be maybe one loaf in the bakery and it's pushing $4 a loaf. So now that I've figured out how to make my own, I'm saving money and eating a lot more delicious toast. Yum. And there goes more flour.

     Not to mention that last week I made chicken pot pie. And yes, the crust was from scratch - more flour! and the pie turned out really yummy and not too tough to make. So I think it'll become another "semi-regular" dish. 

And one more thing - for Christmas I got a pasta machine, so I'm going to try my hand at homemade pasta. Yum... let's hope it's as easy as everyone says it is.

And that is how a family of 3 eaters and a baby go through 25lbs of flour in not all that much time. Crazy, I know.

Happy is a hole

Today is a teaser of springtime. It is in the low 60s outside and blue sky that always makes me think of the lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama." Just beautiful, and therefore we are all spending the day outdoors. It helps that D gets the day off, and is smoking a brisket out back. So we all traipse outdoors to be with him and soak up the sunshine while we can. Especially since it's supposed to drop into the 20s tomorrow.

     And the little E is in love with outside. Granted that might be because she can't remember getting to be outside before. But it's so much fun to watch her explore and discover the world. Like this hole in the patio.

     I'm not sure what it is about this hole in the patio, but she is fascinated. She spent several long minutes today exploring it, poking at it, and finally determining that it must be edible, because she tried to eat it. And not just once like she was testing it out, but she tried several times to eat it, or lick it, or at least slobber all over it.

     So for all of you, I hope that you find something today that entertains you and holds your attention as much as this hole did for my little E. Happy hole hunting!