My new sling!

This was unbelievably easy! Thanks to a good friend I acquired some rings yesterday evening and sat down at my sewing machine to make my sling. It took me no time at all... probably 20 minutes from start to finish - well I suppose quite a bit longer once I realized that I hadn't pre-washed my fabric and my fingers were stained bright blue! LOL... but after hang-drying my newly washed sling overnight it was ready to test out on my more than willing kiddos this morning. Yes thats right, this sling can hold up to 30lbs and since Danielle is around that weight I let her have a turn also! Anyways, I'm hoping to head to the fabric store sometime today to pick up some more fun fabric while its still 40% off!

It only took 10 days!

Well it only took 10 days before I sat down to blog again... hehe. I decided to take on some sewing projects. I really wanted to sew a baby sling because they are fairly expensive to purchase and according to these instructions reasonably simply to sew. So I picked the beautiful fabric pictured to the left and set out to make a sling. If you read the instructions you'll have noticed that I also needed 2 - 3inch, 4 guage metal rings which are commonly sold at western shops. Being that this city is a fairly 'country' town there are a couple of western shops. Only one of which was open in the evening when I decided to start my project and they only had one 3inch ring left... very disappointing. I went to a couple other hardware type stores and had no luck. I came home fairly discouraged and Aaron suggested that I call Michael's the craft store. So I did. The sweet lady on the phone told me she indeed had 3inch metal rings in the leather working section of the store. I asked if they were 4 guage. She didn't know but assured me that they did indeed look very sturdy and heavy. So once again I traveled excited that I was going to complete my sewing project and once again I was thoroughly disappointed. The rings were certainly not 4 guage and certainly not that sturdy looking. :( So my beautiful piece of fabric will have to wait for the rings I ordered online.

On a brighter note. While I was at the mall I noticed a really neat idea. It was a head pillow thingy for traveling. I've seen them before but had just gotten back from a trip to the big city where my poor kiddo's heads kept getting flopped around and kinked in awkward positions while they slept. Since there was a big sale on at the fabric store I picked up some fleece and stuffing. I started making Danielle's while I talked to my mom and she thought it was a great idea so I made her one too!

I don't like fishing.

Much to Aaron's dismay I do not like fishing. But it looks like Jack might. Fortunately Aaron has friends who like fishing and I am still playing tennis regularly. Unfortunately, Aaron is still trying to convince me that fishing is fun. The one time he caught a fish, I felt sorry for the fish... poor sad suffocating little fishy. This blog entry was mostly to share these very cute pictures!

Honey mustard curry chicken

Jennifer asked me for my honey mustard curry chicken recipe. I made it for supper tonight (well except for the peppers, I ran out so I'm having mixed veg alongside also)

I have a couple ways of doing this.

boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up
onion
peppers (whatever you have - I like the yellow or orange)
honey
prepared mustard
curry powder
flour

brown the chicken, chop up your veggies into chunks and add to chicken. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of curry powder on (depending on how spicy you like it), pour on about a 1/4 cup of honey (or less, I've never measured... I just make it kinda saucy), squeeze on a few rounds of mustard (again I've never measured). Once its simmered for a while and the veggies are tender-crisp then I sprinkle of a teaspoon of flour just to thicken the sauce and serve over rice or noodles like a stir-fry.


OR


Bone-in skin on chicken (breasts, legs, thighs - whatever)
curry
honey
mustard

Arrange chicken in baking dish skin side down (the meat seems to soak up the sauce better this way). Mix about a tablespoon of curry, 1/4 cup of honey and a couple rounds of mustard in a bowl and pour over chicken. Bake at 400 degrees F for approx 45 mins. Serve with rice and steamed veggies. (aspargus or green beans are nice)

Tennis Anyone?

Wow, I'm not good at blogging.

So I've taken up tennis. I've decided that this is the summer that I'd like to get into shape so I've discovered that I LOVE tennis (who would've thought?) and am trying to take a really good long journey at 2-3 times a week aside from my regular Monday evening tennis game. That's part of the reason why I haven't been blogging.

Spiritually things are going really well. I'm doing pretty well at reading my bible or at least my devotional book daily. I'm still really enjoying trusting God in all the little things of life. Its nice to know that when things are rough I can count on Him to be there for me.

I'm also having oodles of fun buying Usborne books lately. www.jmb.yellowducksonline.com Pictures cannot do these books justice. The man who created this line of books did so to compete with TV and video games and I really believe he's done an excellent job in doing so! I'm not keeping up with reading other people's blogs. I have a hard enough time sitting down to read the bible everyday! I'm not a reader. (but I'm hoping that with fancy fun books I can help my kids become readers... reading is important, I was a tv watcher as a kid - no tv in this house!)

I think I'm done blogging now... good night!

Cooking Meme

The rules:

1) Answer all the questions honestly.

2) Tag at least three people.

When was the most recent time you were burned?

I was making this yummy rice and cheese dish the other night and forgot to turn it down to low after bringing it to a boil and burned a layer of rice solid on the bottom of one of my pots... still trying to scrub it off :(

Can you cook?
I love to cook! I love food! You'll have to ask my husband if I'm any good at it though :P

If yes, name your specialties (three max.)
chicken and biscuits
honey mustard curry chicken
shephard's pie

If yes, do you like to cook?
usually... I really love cooking when I have someone there to occupy my kids and keep me company

If no, do you want to be able to cook?

What color is your kitchen?
We live in an old mobile home that is in the midst of renovations so our kitchen is not yet renovated... it is creamy whitish yellow with a border that is meant to look like square ceramic tiles with pears, flowers and grapes.

Do you bake?
yes! I LOVE sweets

If yes, specialties (max 3)
super moist chocolate cupcakes... mmmmm
carrot cake with thick cream cheese icing
apple crisp

If yes, do you like to bake?
I used to bake a lot more often when I had more counter space... its just not nearly as enjoyable when I have to keep looking for places to set things down!

If no, do you want to bake?
I want more counter space! LOL

What color is your apron?
I do not have an apron. I suppose I should get one.

Ok I am tagging:
Aunt Debbie
Ashli
Julia