#26 Attend a Bowl Game

I've decided that to keep myself accountable, I will post weekly updates on the blog for my 40 by 40.  The first thing I crossed off the list was: #26 Attend a Bowl Game. 

We traveled up to Dallas to watch BYU beat Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl.   We were super excited, none of my kids have ever seen a college football game live. Several companies made it possible that military members and their families could attend for FREE! 

My boys really wanted to be on TV, so they made signs and my youngest went all out. (he didn't realize that he didn't get to go back to the hotel and shower, but instead got to drive home for 5 hours with sticky blue hair). We had some left-over face paint from when they dressed up as the Blue Man Group, so we drew a big Y on his face.

We didn't get on TV, but we were on the jumbo-tron several times.  The weather was perfect and BYU won by 3 points.  (I haven't started #1 no pony tails for 30 days-but check it out, my hair is down).

Only 39 more to go!

Birthday Chart

I've been neglecting the blog to hang out with my family over the past few weeks.  I'm going to spend the day digging us out of the pile of junk that's accumulated over the break and putting away Christmas.  First, I wanted to share a project with you.

I saw these really cute birthday boards at Lolly Jane Boutique  and thought they would be fun gifts for our moms for Christmas.  I'm thrilled how they turned out-my husband declared them the coolest thing I made so far.

This one was for my mom.  I found the board and all the wooden people at Hobby Lobby.  I stained the wood and then painted it white and finally roughed up the edges a bit.  Then I cut out all the letters w/ my Cricut out of brown vinyl.

Here's the one I made for my other mother (MIL).  She's not a fan of the distressed look, so I painted a board black.  I cut the letters out of scrapbook paper and used Modge Podge to attach them. I printed the names and dates on yellow paper and modge podged them to little wooden disks.

Both moms were thrilled with their present.

I'm linking up here.

Linky #21 WIll link for fun.

Did you have a White Chrismas?  You could have if you checked out the most viewed link from last week:  DIY Snow by Tousled Day.


Ours wasn't white, but it wonderful just the same.  I made a bunch of homemade stuff that I'll be sharing in the next week or so.  What have you been working on?  I can't wait to see.

 You know what to do. (Remember you only need to enter your e-mail address if you'd like to be added to my weekly e-mail reminder list-otherwise it isn't necessary). 

Do you Fondue?

A few years ago the hubby and I went to "The Melting Pot".  It was super fun (and yummy) and I thought my kids would really like it.  However, it's a little pricey to take the entire family, so I bought my own fondue pot.  Most of the recipes have some sort of alcohol, but since I know nothing about that I came up w/ my own. (I learned the hard way that mozzarella does not do well in fondue-big stringy mess) I've played around with a few recipes until I think I found the perfect one.

 Ingredients:
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups white grape juice
1 tsp. bouillon
1 Tb lemon juice or red wine vinegar
1 pound Swiss cheese (shredded)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
 Cut garlic in half and rub on the inside of pan. Add juices and bouillon and heat until hot (not boiling).  Dredge cheese with flour. Slowly add cheese to pan (stirring constantly) until smooth. Add pepper. Start dipping!

 We like to dip:
Pretzels
Sausage
Ham
Pineapple
Mandarin Oranges
Cauliflower
Broccoli

My favorites are Granny Smith Apples and French Bread!

It's a super fun meal that always seems more like a party than dinner.

Linking up here

40 By 40

(source)

I actually turned 39 a few week's ago, so I have a little less than 49 weeks to rock my thirties.  I've seen several blogs where people come up with a list of things that they want to accomplish before they hit a certain milestone.  I decided to pick 40 things to do before I turn 40.  Some will challenge me, some will just be fun, and some are just b/c I need a good excuse to do them.  I've divided them up into different categories. 

Just say no to frumpy and 40
1. No ponytails for 30 days (except for yard work/exercise)
2. Wear lipstick every time I leave the house for 30 days (March 2012)
3.  Buy eyeshadow (done) and actually wear it
4. Get my hair professionally colored (May 1, 2012)

Fitness
5. Be able to do 10 consecutive push-ups (I can do 0)
6. Run an organized 10K race
7. Complete 12 weeks of Body for Life (started Jan 2, 2012)-failed
8. No sugar for 30 days
9. Eat vegetarian for 30 days (please send me recipes)

Projects
10. Create a functional and fabulous craft room (in progress)
11. Create a functional and fabulous laundry room (Jan 26, 2012).

12.  Build something (by myself) out of wood
13. Create a mommy-command station
14. Decorate Master bathroom 
15. Decorate half bath (16 May 2012)

16. Paint stairs
17. Eat something I grew myself  (3 May 2012)

18. Install kitchen hardware (31 Jan, 2012)

19. Learn how to hang shelves (Jan 3, 2012)
 click here for tutorial

Because I never have before:
20. Take a hot-air balloon ride (I forgot that I am afraid of heights and so I don't think I'm doing this one)
21. Bake a souffle
22.  Make a 4 course gourmet meal
23. Write a fan letter
24. Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy(I read the first one and it decided that I am going to skip the next 2-just not my type of book)
25.  Read Tale of Two Cities
26.  Attend a Bowl Game (Go Cougars!) (Dec 30)
27. Play a round of Frisbee golf (Jan 16)

28. Get a massage (Feb 13, 21012) Thanks Barb for taking care of this one.

Places to Go:
29.  Visit Big Bend National Park
30. Visit the Sears (Willis) Tower in Chicago (26 April 2012)

31. See the Hollywood walk of fame
32. See Le Miserables (Jan 5, 2012) No blog post-We forgot the camera
33. Eat cheese in Wisconsin (24 April 2012)

34. Eat Pizza in Chicago (26 April 2012)

35.  Take a weekend in the Texas Hill Country with my hubby
36.  Be a member of a live studio audience (March 17, 2012)

Stuff that's good for me:
37. Take a class on Isaiah (Started January 19)
38. Draw up a will
39. Meet with financial planner
40.  Write a thank-you note for every gift and act of service (no one do anything nice for me until 2013)

EXTRA Goals:
1. Run a relay marathon



Before I'm 50, I also want to:
1. Read the complete standard works in one year (started Jan 1, 2012)
2. Take a painting class
3. Earn my Young Women Recognition award
4. Learn a song on the piano and play in public
5. Take my kids on a cruise
6. Run a half marathon
7.  Run a full marathon
8.  Go on an African Safari
9. Visit Great Britain
10. Visit the Galapagos Islands

So there's my list.  Now that I've put it out there, I've got to do it.

Starbuck's Copy Cat Cake

Merry Christmas!  Ours was awesome and we still haven't even had ours w/ my side of the family yet.  There will be tamales and enchiladas so I am really looking forward to it (and of course for the opportunity to hang out w/ my family).

I had to bring a brunch item to a church Christmas Party a few week's ago.  I found this one on Pinterest.  Supposedly it tastes just like the one from Starbuck's-but I've never had the original, so I wouldn't know.  The topping was a bit much for me (it is like an inch high!).  I overheard my daughter's friend Rachel tell her mom it was "amazing" and to go and get another piece.

Overall, I declare it a pinterest success story.

Recipe here.

Linking up here.

Linky #20-Will Craft for Christmas Cheer

Christmas is just a few days away.  Aren't we all so excited?  I'm putting my Christmas crafting into overdrive.
Last week's most viewed link and my very favorite, were these gorgeous wood blocks by Artsy VaVa. 

You know what to do. (Remember you only need to enter your e-mail address if you'd like to be added to my weekly e-mail reminder list-otherwise it isn't necessary).  Merry Christmas!

What I made my Grandma for Christmas

I've been busy making some really cute stuff for Christmas, most of which I will not post until after Christmas on the off-chance one of my family members actually reads the blog.  This is what I made for my Grandma, but I'm not spoiling any surprises by posting it.  First, she doesn't even own a computer and my  Mom told me she has already opened it. She lives in New York, but most of us live in Texas (even though we all think she should live here too).

I got the idea from In Between Laundry.  She linked  up hers to my party months ago and I thought it was genius. Unless you live in Colorado and your loved ones live in Wyoming.
Since I am not skilled at needlework, I traced the states outlines (mirror image or it will come out backwards) onto fusible webbing and then ironed it on fabric, cut the shapes out and then ironed them on the pillows.  I did a big chunky stitch to add some flair.

Linking up here.

Book Give-away

I love to read. As I've mentioned multiple times before, I love my friend Kammy's book blog (because it is awesome).  Today she is having a give-a-way. You can enter to win your very own copy of Mabel D.F. Cowie's first book, Awakenings.



Click here to enter.  Good luck.
(and go check out her blog for good book ideas.  She is a former English teacher and a mom so she has good recommendations for both kid and adult books.)

Away in a Manger Ornament

 These are my favorite handmade ornaments I've ever received. (thanks Brenda).  I liked them so much, I've given them away twice myself (great advantages of moving often is that you can repeat awesome ideas).

 I was going to do a step-by-step tutorial, but I have decided that you people are pretty smart and can figure it out w/ out one.

You can find these mini-wreaths at craft stores.  I found them for 33 cents/ piece.
Step1: Paint little wooden balls and stars
Step2: When it dries, draw on closed eyes with a black ball point pen,
Step 3:  Make some "swaddling clothes" out of fabric scraps and glue head inside so it looks like baby Jesus.
Step 4: Glue hay on wreath.
Step 5: Glue baby on top (that sounds weird)
Step 6: Drill hole in stars
Step 7: Attach star with wire
Step 8: Attach ribbon to hang on tree

Quick and easy.  We made them for family night and knocked out about 2 dozen in an hour.  If you do the math that's being able to tell 24 people that you care about them for about $10 in under an hour.

Linking up here.

We all Scream for Ice Cream Gift Cards!

I was working on some homemade magnets for the kid's teachers. Epic Fail. Plan B=Gift Cards.  I searched pinterest for cute holders and saw these:

source

Cute and they looked pretty easy.

I busted out some chocolate and vanilla colored card stock.  (I made mine 7 inches wide, so when folded it would fit in a regular envelope).  Then I cut a 3 1/2 piece of brown and cut waves in the bottom to look like melted chocolate. I used my corner rounder, to round all the corners. Then I used photo corners to attach the gift card and glued a Popsicle stick on the back.

For the record, I think the original out of felt are way cuter, but overall I'm thrilled with how they turned out. Although now I really want a Costco ice cream bar.  Hopefully the teachers will appreciate that I didn't give them a coffee mug or lotion.

Linking up here

Trashy Christmas

Look what I made out of trash.

I saw this at Sew Many Ways and thought it was too adorable not to copy.

 I gathered up my supplies.  She used red spray paint, but I didnt' have any, but I have lots of fabric. I wrapped it around the can.  Hot glued it into place and added some buttons for flair (cuz we all need a little more flair). 

 I grabbed a bunch of branches from my dead peach tree (the drought was rough on my yard) and made some reindeer out of card stock. I used the same pattern from my reindeer pillows.  I cut down an old belt and voila-centerpiece. (table runner is from Target if you're wondering).

Now we're off to Chick-fil-b/c I chose to make this instead of dinner.
1.

Linking up here.