crafting: hand lettering

yesterday i spent some time stretching my creative muscles.
okay.. let's just call it what it was..... doodling.
but doodling with a purpose.

and it was sooo therapeutic.. and hopefully it leads to something more..
in the meantime..it was just plain fun!
i love hand lettering..

(trying something a bit different)

i was sharing my little doodles with the parents/cousins who's names i was doodling.. and one of my girlfriends reminded me that i could do one for the 'big' girls too :)

and then one of my friends saw the doodles on instagram,

and asked if i took requests...

her request led to this doodle..

which led to more interest..

and so.. i may just be taking more requests..

hello christmas spending money :)

12 years on monday to be exact! :)

we are off to the dude's third grade orientation...
& then grocery shopping..
thankful the hubs is off today to help me shuffle our little injured one around.
crab legs at the 'rents house tonight for my mom's birthday..
and soccer sign ups tomorrow...

i'm so ready for fall! :)

xo-k

recipe: lace cornbread

i consider myself southern.
i was born & raised in florida.
most of my life has been spent in a small town who's teenage population adds slo- as a prefix to the name.
(with the exception of the first year of our marriage, where the hubs was in the military & we were in savannah)
we are considered the horse capital of the world.
that to me doesn't scream big-city life.
but, the hubs says i'm not southern.
(he's from georgia)
he says i'm a city girl.
and i admit, i have some very un-southern characteristics.
primarily where food is concerned.

i don't like greens...collard greens. turnip greens. you can keep them.
i don't like sweet tea. or tea at all for that matter. shocking right?
i'm not really all that crazy about fried okra..
but the hubs biggest beef is with the fact i like jiffy cornbread.
it's pretty much a sin to like your cornbread sweet in his eyes.
what's worse (to him) is i don't like my cornbread to be savory.. nor do i want actual CORN in it.
my mom made jiffy cornbread when i was a kid.. i didn't know any different.
until i met him.
until i moved to georgia & really learned about southern cooking.
(apparently even though my mom grew up eating that kind of food, it didn't fly in our house)

the small town the hubs hails from in georgia had this little family run restaurant in the heart of town.
it was a hopping joint most days, as it was one of maybe two or three places on the short stretch of road that made up the city limits.
they served all the traditional southern fare.
fried catfish.
collard greens.
turnip greens.
corn.
fried chicken.
biscuits & gravy.
cracklins'
fat back
& lace cornbread.

lace cornbread?!
yep. lace cornbread.
it's easy. it's good. it's cheap. & you won't regret making it.

lace cornbread:
3 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp. flour (this particular batch i used gluten-free all purpose flour & it worked great)
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
water
oil for frying

1. heat oil in a pan. i use a skillet with about a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom.
2. mix all ingredients except water together in a bowl.
3. add enough water to make it a little more runny than cake batter, but not soupy. there isn't an exact measurement, but i promise you can't really mess it up.
4. drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil, and spread it out into a circle as you would pancake batter. make sure your oil is very hot, according to my mother in law, this is what makes the bubbles around the edges that gives this particular style of cornbread it's name.
5. eat & enjoy!

hope you have a happy hump day! :)
xo-k

my life: lessons learned in parenting

it's funny how you change & grow, as not only a person, but as a mama with your second child.
you learn to let go of some of your irrational fears.
(in my case, a LOT of my irrational fears)
and you learn, that even though they seem pretty fragile, they are somewhat unbreakable.

at least that's my experience.

-when the dude was born, it was via an emergency c-section. for obvious reasons (like, i'm a horrible worrier, and my not-very-well-versed in medical issues mind would have made the worst of the information) i wasn't told too many of the details of my vitals & his vitals prior to his birth. it was probably best, 'cause in the almost 2 hours i had to wait to actually SEE my child the first time, i created more issues in my mind than any one child could possibly be born with. and then, over the course of our stay when he had an IV move from limb to limb, only to finally be cautioned it may have to be put in his head before we left.... that's a lot for any one person to take in, especially a new mother with a hyperactive imagination. (i can't even imagine how some of my friends who's children have actually been born with issues make it through, i envy their strength)

-at 2, i was putting the dude into bed, & a little quality mama/son bonding time turned into a trip to the ER when he slid off my back & onto the floor & ended up with a spiral fracture in his humerus (the bone in your upper arm). i was DEVASTATED. not only did my little boy have his first broken bone, but it was by my own doings. imagine a very verbal 2 year old walking around in a cast telling EVERYONE who asked him what happened 'my mama broke my arm'. it was heartbreaking. of course it was an accident, but the entire time i was just waiting for child services to come breaking down my door after he recounted the incident to the nurse in the ER. i cried when it happened, i cried on the way to the ER, i cried @ the ER, i cried while he screamed during xrays, i cried when they wrapped his arm up, i cried when they put the cast on, i cried & cried & cried. and he took it all in stride. when i tried to quash my fears & let him bounce in the bounce house we had for his 3rd birthday, the cast didn't even phase him.

-at his 3 year old check up, his pediatrician was certain she heard an irregular heartbeat. thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm, but for the entire MONTH that we had to wait for that pediatric cardiologist appointment, i was scared. SO scared. i had all manner of irrational fears. i'm sort of a worst-case-scenario person. (and i can't seem to help it) i can't tell you how many tears were shed that month.

-at 4 he stuck a piece of mulch in his ear at daycare, because he wanted to see how it felt. i was angry with him, but more than anything, paralyzed with the fear he may have somehow injured his internal ear somehow. a few weeks later a BIG little girl, jerked his arm so hard she dislocated his elbow. i picked him up from daycare & he was cradling his arm to his chest. the screams as i tried to get him into his seat belt without hurting him further, were more like to shrieks. and the cries as the doctor tried to get it back in? WOW. i am surprised he didn't shatter the glass in the office.

add to that the time my dad & brother put him up on the two story roof of my parents house to help hang christmas lights (and proceeded to text me pictures while i was at work, helpless to do ANYTHING about it), the entire ordeal that was kindergarten & getting diagnosed with ADHD, last year when he fell & split open his chin on the sidewalk outside, and this years easter incident where he crashed his four-wheeler into my parents pool enclosure, and i envisioned him plowing right through and into the pool without stopping... and it's a wonder i'm sane, and without chunks of hair missing from my head.

i scrapbooked that story about his broken arm right onto the xray film showing the fracture & i still have that piece of mulch he stuck in his ear, as well as his stinky old cast. they are pieces of the past, that represent not only moments of his life, but proof that i am stronger than i think i am. because even though i KNOW people endure far worse with their children, these are my struggles. these are my tiny triumphs. each moment a representation that truly, what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.

my children entered into this world, and in their short time here, have taught me to learn to let go. to learn to enjoy life, and not be so damn scared all the time. it's a tough lesson for me to learn. i'm not a mom that follows my children around with hand sanitizer & lysol.. i'm pretty sure the little one has ingested a fair amount of dog hair & dirt from playing outside with the dog bowls. it's not the germs that scare me... it's everything else! but little by little i'm learning that making them live their life in a protective bubble doesn't do anyone any favors. they can't learn to be safe, if they don't figure out what's a potential danger. they can't make good choices, if they don't make bad ones.

i didn't realize how much i've grown & changed as a mother until this weekend.

it was just days before we were recounting to mason his arm injury, and how it was an accident we didn't obviously plan to happen, and honestly thought we could prevent. he was trying to justify letting his little brother up on the top bunk, because 'he could protect him'. we tried to explain that there are somethings you just don't do, because accidents DO happen.

fast forward 4 days, and while playing on the BOTTOM bunk, rance rolled right off, & onto the floor.. instantly screaming at the top of his lungs. i'll admit.. i was slow to respond. this kid falls ALL THE TIME. he trips over his feet, everyone else's feet, toys, boxes, AIR. he's bitten through his top lip more times than i can even remember at this point. but.. he's usually quick to recover & quit crying. usually before i can even get the bleeding to stop.

and friday night, 10 minutes later, he was still wailing. dada is the booboo mender in this house & even dad couldn't get him to really calm down. & then of course i had this intense feeling of deja vu. (falling off a bed, inconsolably crying..) we tried to move his arm, his neck.. and each time he whimpered. so, we loaded up & headed to the emergency room.

10 minutes into our wait at the ER.. he wanted down & started moving his neck & arm. he was smiling & talking gibberish like nothing happened. we just sort of looked at each other & simultaneously were like... 'ok, we are going home.' we kinda had this underlying feeling like maybe we just jumped to the decision based on our past experiences. we headed home & decided to see how he did the next day.

the next morning the hubs headed into work & i got the babe up & put him in his chair for breakfast. he was smiley & happily ate his cereal. 10 minutes after letting him down from his highchair, i knew something wasn't right. he let out a scream when he tried to get up on the couch & it took me several minutes to calm him down. i checked out his injured side & sure enough there was a small lump right over his clavicle.

(i seriously don't understand how this kid slept friday night, or every night since then!)

so, after a talk with a nurse at our pediatricians office, a visit to the on-call doctor & a 4 hour wait to get xrays in the hospital, we found out he did in fact have a fracture in his clavicle. a greenstick fracture they call it. it's broken part of the way, but not all the way through..

(totally crashed sitting up after the loong day saturday at the hospital. must've been all the screaming during xrays that wore him out!)

so it's been 5 days now, following him around, helping him up on the couch, hollering at him to quit running, carrying him when he can't be in a cart or stroller & trying to keep his sling on. it's a bit like chasing after a newly crawling infant who has discovered they can now get into EVERYTHING. he's such a trooper though!! hasn't cried a bit over the actual injury part since saturday when we had to manipulate his arm to get xrays. (tylenol is a miracle drug)

and me... i haven't cried a tear. that's kinda huge. 'cause like i've said.. i'm an over-reactor. that's not to say i haven't felt the pain of watching my poor baby go through this.. 'cause i certainly have. but i've met it head on & know that i just have to get through it. tears will not help the situation, so they have to be set aside. i know there will be times when i back slide. when the fear overcomes me. when i will have new lessons to learn in letting go.. but for now, i'm just sitting back marveling at how much i've changed as a person. strength, overcoming fear & letting go are not things i ever thought that being a mother would teach me.  

now i just have to figure out how to translate overcoming fear into other parts of my life.

xo-k

music: maroon 5 overexposed

i'm one of those people who never seems to fall in love with an entire album.
ok.. not unless it's a dave matthews band album.
then i'm desperately in love.

this new maroon 5 album, overexposed.....

i swear it's like they had a window into my heart the last few months.
E V E R Y. S I N G L E. S O N G. I S. A W E S O M E.
and while they don't EXACTLY apply to me.. i just connected to this one song.
it's sad, but damn it's hauntingly beautiful.
it'll be connected to an event in my memory forever..
and while it makes me sad... it somehow gives me hope.
that sounds crazy.. i know, but it's so true.
(one day maybe i can elaborate)
sad-maroon 5.


hope you have something fun up your sleeve this weekend..
xo-k

project life: weeks 16 & 17



you may be asking yourself, what happened to 14 & 15?

well, they are done, i assure you...

but i haven't photographed them yet because they are missing pictures.

ya. so maybe technically they aren't done.

but.. i forgot all about my aunt's wonderful pictures of the dude's soccer games..

and i didn't print them out when i got all the other pictures together.

(and since i can't use walmart anymore because of their super-ultra-crappy new printing method.. i have to wait until i place another online order)

so they just have place holders for now.

until then.. here are the newest weeks :)

week 16:

(supplies: mme paper, mm glitter stickers, ac alpha stickers, ac precision pens, mme alpha stickers, reminisce stickers, junkitz rhinestone star, hs journaling spot, scenic route chipboard fork/knife, hs chipboard alphas, washi tape, 7 gypsies days of the week stamp)

i took another cue from ali edwards & plunged into writing on a picture.. and LOVED it. that picture of rance on the bunkbed was just screaming for some new treatment! :) loving soo much that i can't keep up with all the new words rance is adding to his vocabulary.. and loving more that they are making it into an album, whereas with mason they are in a notebook filed away somewhere..

(supplies: washi tape, mm alpha stickers, star sequin, ac pens, washi tape, ms avery label, mme 6x6 lime twist paper pad, dear lizzy date stamp, ek heart punch.)

 that little tab in the second 3x4 is a place holder for another soccer picture... slipping it in when it comes in will make this page complete :)

week 17:

(supplies: smash tape, washi tape, ac pens, ms avery labels, hs plastic alphas, reminisce heart punch, cosmo cricket lightning bolt chipboard, star sequins, hs journaling spot, 7 gypsies days of the week stamp)

loving the gray, black & green of this week. it was inspired by my reading selection that week (fifty shades of grey) & that larabar wrapper.
it all came together so quickly & i am head over heels in love with that spot with the dude in his glasses & the snippet of his cursive homework.

(supplies: smash tape, star rhinestones, ac glitter thickers, 7 gypsies 'friends' sticker, date stamp, washi tape, reminisce tape, ac chipboard music note, ac ticket chipboard piece, teresa collins star transparency, th tiny attacher, ek heart punch, mm star brad)

and though i feel like there is an AWFUL lot about me in the week this spread..
prior to project life.. i wouldn't have scrapped this stuff.. what i was reading.. eating.. doing..
time spent with my friends..
it just wasn't something i did.. so i am happy to have this included when i can..
( i just wish i could get the hubs a little more involved..)

what are you up to today??
xo-k

video: the twilight affair

i have to laugh.
i mean. it's hollywood.
did people really think that this couple would last an eternity?
i wonder if the screaming fans realize that they aren't in fact bella & edward?

get a grip people. seriously.
my brother texted me and asked me my feelings....
i had to laugh cause i knew he was getting at my twilight obsession.
(i had a 30th surprise party that was twilight themed.. i mean it was BAD!)

but i'm indifferent.
i feel bad for robert pattinson & the family of the other guy, but no more or less than i would to any victim(s) of infidelity.

and i'm not a will ferrell fan.. but this here is just damn funny!

TRAMPIRE!!

xo-k

project life: week 12 & week 13

it's friday!!!!
and that makes one full week of posting every SINGLE day.
can you believe it?
me neither!

along with that....
i baked brownies for the hubs...
and i currently have a cake in the oven for my dad's birthday...
AND i finished up 3 more weeks of project life.

i'm SUPER awesome.
i know.

anyways.. here are weeks 12 & 13.

week 12:

supplies: ms avery label, mm glitter stickers, silhouette, ac precision pens, tiny attacher.

kept it super simple & loving it.
got the map the museum in there & little bits of journaling.
when i have many pictures of the same event,
i'm finding it easiest just to go at it yearbook/magazine caption style.
and i'm OK with that.
simple gets it done, and the process is about the stories, not having the latest embellishments & stamps! :)

supplies: scenic route stickers, date stamp, ms avery labels, misc brads, kid made easy paper tape, fb journal spot from here, mme label, hs ghost butterflies, ac thickers, ac wave paper, mm glitter alphas, ac precision/slick pens

it feels SO good to be digging into old supplies i love.
those ANCIENT scenic route stickers,
and those heidi swapp ghost butterflies.. (i am still hoarding the last of my ghost stars!)
that american crafts wave paper from last year i couldn't bear to cut has finally been cut!
and i never seem to use the numbers in  my alpha sets, and i'm trying to be sure i do that now!

week 13:

supplies: glitz alpha stickers, washi tape, studio g heart punch, ac glitter thickers, smash tape, ac alpha stickers, ac precision/slick pens

loving the green & the orange this week.
it was inspired by the glow in the dark pictures below.
again lots of everyday pieces of life.
i was having a hard time filling in those last two slots so i expanded my shopping cart picture & included in a list of our typical 'grocery' items.
just a snapshot of what we primarily eat.
interesting to me, maybe not anyone else :)

supplies: glitz alpha stickers, ac foam thickers, washi tape, ms avery labels, journaling card from miss tina, studio calico book stamp, colorbox chalk ink, mm glitter alphas, scenic route chipboard photo corner, ac thickers, ac precision/slick pens

i got a horrible, crappy, pathetic photo of our glow in the dark eggs, pre hunt..
so i stole my friends photo off of the internet (hi mindy!)
this photo doesn't do the real one justice, AT ALL.
i'm quickly falling in love with 6x6 paper pads.
most of the ones i am currently using are from my minds eye.
this page has MULTIPLE sheets from the lime twist pad.
the 3rd 3x4 over uses one sheet for the back & then i cut up the orange, leaving the border on for my date stamp.
i loved that so much, i did it again later in my book.
(and i will do it again to, i'm sure!)

off to ice my cake & go celebrate my dad's birthday!
have a great weekend!
xo-k

project life: week 10 & week 11

yesterday i took advantage of the sun peeking through the clouds
& snapped pictures of the last few weeks of project life i've completed.
i was SO excited to share them..
i eagerly added them to my instagram feed..
mostly because i was enjoying scrolling through the #projectlife hashtag myself,
i figured i'd add to the fun!

then i came inside & unloaded my camera...
and looked at all the cropping i was going to have to do..
and thought about all the uploading to flickr i was going to have to do..
and then sighed & went back to working on my current week (17).

this morning when i got onto to check the blogs i follow
i noticed my instagram feed & had a lightbulb moment.
(i swear from now until eternity when i have these moments i will hear gru in my head saying 'LIGHTBULB!')
i decided to use my instagram pictures to update the ol' blog.
they may not be perfect pictures, but they are a heck of a lot easier to share right now.
and easy = getting done in my book.

so here are weeks 10 & 11:

week 10:

supplies: heidi swapp month stamp, 7 gypsies 'one more' sticker, 7 gypsies red tape, hobby lobby star sequin, smash polka dot tape, ac felt heart, ac dear lizzy date stamp, ac thickers, ms labels for avery, tim holtz tiny attacher, ac precision pens

little bits of life. hubs new va card. new girl poster. i am completely in love with the calendar card (from marcy penner) with rance's well check stats on them. totally doing this again! just covered the printed bits with tape because they were clashing with my color 'theme'. and the ecard. totally had to be included!

supplies: ms avery label, hobby lobby soccer patch, ac stickers, heidi swapp 'play' sticker, tiny attacher, ac precision pens, staples office date stamp.

a team picture isn't normally something i would put up in our house. it would have gotten filed away with the rest of the memorabilia, like that ninja picture the dude drew this week. so happy to overcome my need to packrat it away!

made the decision, partly inspired by elise's quote cards every week, to include the dude's soccer game score. it's a big part of our life right now (well it was during the season) and while i'm not so interested in 'keeping score' it allows me a repetitive way to include a snippet of the game each week, who made it, something he did during the game, etc. all stuff i want to remember.

week 11:

supplies: washi tape, target kid made easy tape, reminisce alpha stickers, ek asterik punch, fontworks(?) star stamp, tim holtz pumice stone ink, bg alpha stickers, 7 gypsies days of the week stamp, hs star tape, hobby lobby star sequin, junkitz star rhinestone, ac glitter thickers, sc arrow stamp, ms avery labels, ac dear lizzy date stamp.

after months of after school meetings & retests & being dragged through the public school system's CRAP, the dude finally got into the gifted program. we were SO proud of him. lots about celebrating him this week. i chopped up the school paperwork & added that in there as well. (why the heck do i need to keep the whole stinking packet?!)

supplies: smash tape, mm star brad, ac thickers, mm glitter stickers, 7 gypsies arrow turn, mm brad, hobby lobby brand clear acrylic 'r', ac thickers, bg alpha stickers.

insert this week between our celebration of the dude's accomplishment & our trip to the strawberry patch. i CANNOT express how much i love getting little things like the chuck e cheese token & ticket in my scrapbook. i normally would keep them, but then have no idea how to actually GET them into my scrapbook. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

supplies: staples date stamp, masking tape, tiny attacher, ac glitter thickers.

decided to keep this side super simple. the berry pickin' pictures speak for themselves. (and so happy to finally get to use those pink thickers!) 

supplies: ac thickers, ac stickers, chipboard star colored with gelatos by my friend yvonne, ms avery label, silhouette cut 'sunday', washi tape, october afternoon 'offical record stamp', smash journal card, star rhinestone, masking tape, scenic route stickers, sc arrow stamp.

and the right side of week 11. my aunt was kind enough to shoot a photo of the hubs at the range that i may have otherwise gone without having. so glad to have family who indulge me in my creative requests :) i also snuck away the tag on his new gun & sliced & diced it up to include in my project life.. i mean.. it was green.. it was like it was asking to be included there with the strawberry pictures!!

i did the 12 on 12 again with liz kartchner, but wasn't entirely thrilled with all my pictures.. and quite frankly didn't have enough room for them all.. so i decided to put in the 'timeline' instead. the white card is folded over & inside is a run down of my day with what i was doing every hour on the hour. i thought it was a neat little snapshot of life right now, that i may not have otherwise thought to include!

that's four days of blogging in a row.
can you believe it?
i'm actually even getting excited about craft projects again.
it feels like the 'old' me is returning...
and i can't tell you how GOOD that feels.
and guess what?
i have more project life to share tomorrow!

what's your thursday shaping up to be?
xo-k

recipe: creamy baked chicken taquitos

your eyes are not decieving you.
this makes three posts in three days..
can i get a woot! woot!

<insert awkward silence>

alright then. moving on.
so i scored another home run in the dinner department last night
& thought i'd share.
seems i've been on roll as of late.

saturday night was buttermilk biscuits & sausage gravy per the hubs request
courtesy of the other lady in his life... mrs. paula deen.

monday night was this becker bbq shrimp recipe via budget bytes.

and last night it was creamy baked chicken taquitos via chef in training.
i didn't make enough changes to the recipe that i feel comfortable re posting it here,
so just follow the link to get it please :)

i will tell you this. i cooked my chicken in the crockpot on high for 4 hours with some chicken broth.
i removed them & as i started into shredding them with forks,
remembered the method i saw on pinterest.
i loaded the chicken into the mixer & in LESS than 10 seconds they were completely shredded.
people, it is SO worth the few extra dishes not to have to shred that stuff by hand!

i subbed regular salsa for green salsa.
i subbed garlic powder for minced garlic.
i didn't have any limes, cilantro or green onions, so those all got left out.
i also used regular white sharp cheddar in place of the mexican cheese.

even with all that, my guys DEVOURED these.
the hubs was worried when he sat down...
which he normally is when i cook something new.. (it's mostly an act to give me a hard time)
he ate about half of one, and said 'okay, are you going to tell me what's in it now?!'
so i spilled the beans & then asked him if he liked them.
he said, 'ya.. actually they are REALLY good.'

DUH?! i made them :)
kidding!!!
he's had taquitos before.. i've just never attempted them myself.
and the dude was quite clear he wasn't eating chicken with cream cheese.
so i lied & told him i left it out because he didn't want to eat it.
after he inhaled his first one, i let the cat outta the bag.
to which he replied 'oh ya, silly me, it's blue cheese i don't like!'

my only advice, if you are a novice taquito maker like me..
as they cook, the insides gush out the ends..
and if you OVER stuff, the shell will explode before it's hardened..
so go with small lines of the mixture, that don't spread quite to the end.
lesson learned on this end for next time :)

what are you up to today?
it's still raining around these parts, and we are going absolutely stir crazy.
i'm off to look up indoor activities to keep these kids happy & outta my hair!

happy wednesday!
xo-k