Here we go again, with a Twist

Time to share my thoughts, recipes, heartaches, jokes, and struggles once again.

I've left all my previous posts so that you have a little window into who I used to be.  I'm still that girl, just been through a long road in between.

Not doing as much art or fiber, but working hard at keeping my body working.  I have back issues and a knee that blames me for every dance move I nailed in my teens.  I love chocolate, but try to stay away, it's the first step in the steep spiral staircase that has me wallowing the pit of denial.  I watch too much MSNBC and was recently let go from my previous job that started my healthy eating and exercise - that's a sad story for another day - or for never - it's in the past.

So that you know I am a REAL person...here is my before and after pictures.  Yes, I lost 100 pounds at one point in my life.  It was amazing.  Unfortunately, I didn't hide all those pounds well enough and they found me again...all in the struggle.  I know I won't get that all off again, and that's okay, I'm ditching the scale and living my life.

I hope you follow along - please remember, any recipe on here prior to TODAY, is most likely not healthy at all!  Remember, I was a FAT GIRL. My twist...I'm done being fat.

Braided Gardening

As much as I love seeing the daffodils peek through the snow and crispy leaves,  I love the mid spring flowers growing around the fading spring bulbs.

My sister - in - law told me once that her mom would have her roll all the daffodil leaves and tie them close to the ground.  Every single plant individually. 

I think about that every year when I'm ready to rid the flower beds of the thin spiked leaves.   I never seem to have the right tools when I want to clean up the beds. 

This year,  I did a simple French braid across three daffodil plants with a simple knot At the end. 

At least it's interesting. 

Rice-sagna

We like rice.
We like broccoli.
We like ground sausage and beef.

We love cheese.

I found a recipe that used quinoa and chicken in layers.   I used the idea and switched it up to come up with a layered dish the whole family enjoyed.

Big Boy said,  "Wow, this tastes a lot better than it looks."

I think that was a compliment.

Rice-sagna

Preheat oven to 400° and coat casserole pan with cooking spray.

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chicken stock
2 broccoli crowns
3/4 lbs ground sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
4 eggs
Garlic and basil

1.  Make rice according to package directions,  using the chicken stock as part of required liquid.   (I added basil and garlic to the rice.)  Set aside to cool.

2.  Cook ground meat (ground turkey would work) in skillet until no longer pink.   Add chopped onion and one clove of garlic,  chopped.   Remove meat,  leaving any grease in the pan.

3.  While meat is cooking,  partially steam small pieces of broccoli.

4.  Add al dente broccoli to hot pan with grease to brown it a touch,  salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Add whisked eggs to cooled rice.   Mix thoroughly.  (My rice wasn't totally cooled,  you just don't want the rice to cook the egg. )

6.  Layer 1/3 of rice in casserole dish.   Top with half meat.  Add all broccoli.  Layer 1/3 rice, reading meat,  and last layer of remaining rice.

7.  Top with shredded cheddar or Italian blend of cheese.   (I use whatever is in the fridge.)

8.  Bake 20 minutes,  or until warned through.   Finish off under the broiler to brown the cheese.

Eat!

We added some Frank's Red Hot Sauce and it gave it a nice kick.

I Cut It Off

I am ashamed to say that it has been 4 years since I have touched my weaving loom.

Let me rephrase that it has been 4 years since I have woven on my weaving loom. It has been a table for much too long.

The piece of fabric that came off of it was a sample piece used during an art show. I took my loom with me and allowed customers to try it. The four inch square pieces were meant to be coasters and I was going to send them to the people that wove them.  I grossly misjudged the time it would take newbie to weave four inches of fabric. Most people took one or two sweeps and they were done. I was left with a lot of unwoven yarn in a pattern that didn't make any sense for anything but coasters.  And I don't need any coasters.

I have a couple ideas for the leftover yarn but that will have to wait for another day.

Tomorrow I start dreaming of new projects on the loom.

Okay, maybe not tomorrow.

How about right now?

Frozen

This weather has made us hermits.

Even the dog is getting antsy.   She is eating everything that she shouldn't be: Sharpie Paint Marker,  Valentine list for school, lid for our pretzels and most heartbreaking, Tom's wool hat he has had since he was 13 years old.

We went for a walk tonight. She is very protective of her yard.   Barking incessantly.   On our walk,  a neighbor dog was barking at us.   Millie couldn't understand what the noise was about.   Quite funny.   Although my legs were frozen within three minutes of the start of our walk,  we forged on.

A warm-up is on the way.   31 degrees.   Sounds like short sleeve weather.

Hello, My Name is Carrie

Happy New Year!

I've missed this blog.  My former boss used to say, "If you are going to work from home, you must get dressed and ready to work each morning in order to be productive."

I may have not bought into his mantra a couple years ago, but I have been thinking about it recently.  It's been a year and a half since I stopped working full time.  I had many plans.  I've done some, been sidetracked on others.

Building my Etsy shop was going to be my number one task.  I haven't done that.  I have four purses, almost complete, that could go on Etsy.  Instead, I made this:

And this:

And I've made other things, which are fulfilling, yet not money makers.

It's time to get dressed and be productive. 

~Carrie

Good Morning

Its a beautiful,  crisp, and cool morning here in Buffalo.

This is Millie's favorite spot.  She gets very excited when she spots a squirrel.   We have to slide the screen incredibly fast or else she will run right through the screen. 

I love how she never gives up.  She chases multiple times a day, she gets close, but never succeeds.  Frankly, I'd be afraid if she ever succeeded.

The first weekend in December is the Artist's in Buffalo Holiday Showcase.   My location is the Red Cross Building on Delaware.   I am excited, and nervous.   Not nervous to be there, but nervous that I won't have enough items made to show.  I have had a few dreams where I show up and have only a few items on the table.  Not very reassuring.

I'm going to take a lesson from my dog.

I'll keep chasing the squirrel until December. 

Now,  back to my squirrel (yarn).

The Not So Fairy-Fairy Garden

"Here lies Neil.  He slipped on a banana peel and kicked the bucket. "

Lines like this were abundant this morning.   My mom and I participated in a Fairy Garden workshop at Mischler's Florist and Greenhouses.

The instructor was kind, creative, encouraging and funny.  He also happens to be my talented father.

For $20 you get the pot, the dirt, three plants, sticks, rocks, mulch, and moss along with a fairy. You may also purchase from the cute Fairy Nook, any other trinkets to go into your garden. I went with a Halloween theme and took advantage of a root turned upside down that looks like an old spooky tree. 

My favorite parts are the spider hanging from the root and the black cat peeking from behind the plant. I chose one succulent and two house plants (probably not the best idea based on water consumption, but I can make it work).

I understand there may be two spots left for tomorrow morning, Saturday September 28th at 10 a.m. It's totally worth it you should try. 

You'll be hooked.

What I've Learned From My Dog

We have only had Millie for four months, but she has taught me so much.

Millie is my first dog. I grew up with golden retrievers, but was never responsible for their daily care. I can't imagine this family without Millie.

Millie has showed me the importance of napping. Who doesn't benefit from a nap?

Fetch is ok, but playing with your toy without someone throwing it 20 feet away each time is better.

Surely there are all the lessons on unconditional love and forgiveness,  but the best lesson is: You don't need to see where you are going to enjoy the ride.

This is Sunday

Wool and a dog that resembles a sheep.

Love.

The Rain

Forgive me readers, it's been much too long since my last post.

Our house phone rang at 3:24 am.  The confusion turns to panic, then turns to aggravation when it's an unknown number and dead air.

I had really wanted to sleep in, but was restless since then.

The rain is falling.  We have a part of our gutter that is bent and the water falls to the patio and creates a loud clapping sound.  Yes, I am truly awake, now.

Boys are all asleep and I think how great life has become.  It was hard a mere three years ago.  The load has lightened, our moods are brighter.   Our difficulties are different, but not worse.

Highlight the quiet, serene moments of life.

Even if they only last long enough to write one paragraph.

Pitter patter of little boy feet headed my way.

Portable Strawberry Cheesecake

Thanks to Pinterest, I finally tried the cheesecake strawberry.

It's dangerous people.  Really dangerous.

I was short on time, so made a no bake cheesecake.  It was soft and more pudding like than cheese like.  One gal tried it, even though she hates cheesecake,  she liked it.  This would be easy to do with pudding that was thickened with gelatin or whipped cream.  

I had extra cream after the initial batch and another eight for a neighbor.  This is where it gets dangerous.  All that precious cheesy cream filling in a big bag with a nice hole in the corner.  

Think Redi-whip.  

Yup.

It was that kind of dangerous.

Back at It

 

Finally getting the yarn needle moving.  I've had all the parts to this bag done for some time now, just waiting to be assembled.

If it wasn't for a boy, a puppy, or the heat, this would be ready for delivery.

The clouds are moving in, it's a great night to work.