A Fresh Start

I've started a new journey and I'd love for you to come along... I've also decided to change blog hosts... So, please come with me:
http://mythoughtfulgallimaufry.wordpress.com/

Mod-Podge-y-ness

Many moons ago I bought several canvases that were on sale, with the intent of either learning to paint or getting creative with some mod-podge. I got frustrated with the painting and gave up since I don't have a clue what I'm doing!





But a couple days ago, while perusing the Michael's clearance bin outside I came across some fabulous paper... and inspiration struck me!


I wish now, for this blogs sake I would have taken pictures along the way, but alas - you get only to see the finished piece.

I had fun figuring out different ways to add texture and interest... I'm looking forward to making more of these!

Flowers and Toddlers...

It's been forever yet again... but here I am!
Things are pretty much crazy right now... So in my need for something tangible and pretty I went and bought myself a bouquet of flowers from Trader Joe's - I love their flowers!

Waxflower & Eucalyptus

Then I also decided to redo my flower pot garden that had completely died and was looking rather depressing (no photos, sorry - it was just too pathetic!). It look much better now... what do you think?

I'm not crazy about Marigolds but they keep the bugs away and that was the issue with the last batch. So there they are in my new garden.

This time around I have Basil, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, with Marigolds in one long pot. And Marigolds, Flame something-or-others, Tiny white flowers, and a Strawberry plant in the other long pot. English Buttercups ( I think...) with the Tiny white flowers in the big round pot... (My favorite).

I also planted peas in a little pot... I'll show pictures once they start coming up...

It's been an interesting day with the little guy I nanny... A note to all you parents: Hang in there. I know being consistent is hard... Really hard some days. But it's so worth it. Today was one of those days... Oh, and don't forget to breathe! This morning was full of testiness and fits and lots of tears and consequences (and hugs!)... but because we dealt with it all as it came, after nap things went so much better. And here's to hoping that tomorrow is better than today!
Time to go get ready for an evening of pizza and a movie with special friends and then a workout at the gym!

Breakfast...

So, I've found a new favorite... Cheesy Bagel Breakfast Sandwiches! They are yummers and super easy to make. Let me put it this way... I can make one in less than ten minutes when I'm running out the door for work at 6:00 am!

All you do is:
~ Toast a cheesy bagel (I like to do mine whole in the toaster oven so that it is crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside -- but from a toaster would be great too!)
~ While that's toasting, you fry an egg (I like to do mine in a touch of butter and I break the yolk so that it's spread throughout the egg and a runny yoke isn't the easiest in the car! Though anyway you like your egg would be perfect. I also try to push the edge of the egg on top of itself so that it doesn't spread too far and get too big for the bagel!)
~ Once the egg is just nearly done I place a slice of Havarti cheese on it while it's sitting in the pan so it gets nice and gooey and melty!
~ Slice your bagel. Butter it if you like (I usually do one side). Place the egg & cheese on it.
~ I like to add a little salt and pepper and a light sprinkle of Italian seasonings.
~ Place a layer of fresh spinach leaves on top and top with other half of bagel and that's it!
~ Enjoy!!

That's my new fast and yummy breakfast when I have the 10 minutes to make it! (Or my lunch... or dinner...lol)

There's not too much else going on in my world... I desperately need to throw out my sad little flower garden - dirt and all! It's infested with tiny little bugs... time for new dirt! Perhaps I'll work on that this weekend - since I have a 4-day one! I'm super excited about that... Trying to figure out what I want to do... perhaps a day trip somewhere - though I can't decide where to...
I'd go see Grandparents and Aunts and Uncle, but I've been getting over a cold and can't be passing that on! Soon though!

For now... it's time to watch Biggest Loser!
Until next time... Rest in Him.

More Soup and Excitement...

I'm making more soup! This time it has tons of veggies (Cabbage, Kale, Zucchini, Onion, Celery (plus leaves), Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, White Beans...) and lots of fresh and dried Italian type seasonings (Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Basil... etc) with Veggie Broth. This time I decided to venture out and add some meat (other than chicken...) - So, Jimmy Dean pork sausage was fried up and added -- It's been cooking for a while now and the taste test held great promise, so I'm excited for it to be done so we can try it out! It has a nice sweet taste, which is what was sounding good, but I wasn't sure how to accomplish it!

On another note, I'm getting super excited to head to Georgia in 11 days! (With the blessing of a super long layover in Seattle! Can't wait!) Can't wait to spend two glorious weeks off with everyone!!

I'm really loving this Christmas season this year! The weather has been cold for a few weeks now and it was raining nearly all day today - Makes cooking even more fun! Getting a fun package all ready to mail to my parents (Nope, I ain't tellin' you Mom! Not even on here! You'll just have to wait!) Christmas music is going and decorations are on the window... it's just so fun!

I have tons of crafty projects to keep me busy in the evenings all next week while my roommate is gone, so the posts will hopefully be coming to keep you updated! Should be fun! I'm intrigued to see how I do with them and how they turn out... :o)

Time to go see if the soup is ready to eat! I'm hungry!

Talk to you soon!

The soup was a success!!! Nice and hot and full of veggies. Even had leftovers for lunch today... I know that I've succeeded in my own book if I'm willing to eat leftovers!




We planted Snapdragons (a childhood favorite of mine), Asylum, these cute little button like daisies, Oregano and a Mum after cleaning out the planters. I intended to take pictures during the process but realized after the fact that I was apparently too busy to do so! So here are pictures of the finished product instead.

Also made some delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch... Yum! I used Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate chips and the classic Nestle Toll House cookie recipe - it's simply the best one out there that I've seen. So now there is a piled hile plate on the kitchen counter - wonder how long those will last? Not long I'm sure.

 I've been enjoying playing Scrabble on Facebook - it's entertaining to see just how badly I can lose most of the time. Makes winning a game quite the accomplishment! Anyone up to a game?!


 Other than that I have a billion projects that I want to do but never seem to have to inspiration to do when I have the time to work on them. Why does it always seem to go that way? I have managed to complete one project recently though -- A modpodged tray... I really like it! I just used some of my piles and piles of scrapbooking paper that coordinated well with my dining room/kitchen colors. It turned out great!


I did learn that I have to make sure I completely glue the underside of the paper down before putting a layer on top... that is where bubbles come from - good to know. I'm currently using just the basic Modpodge brand - I did notice that there is one specifically for paper projects... but I wasn't positive what all I'd be using so I didn't get it. Anyone know if it makes that much of a difference? Or if another brand is better?

Talk to you guys soon - I'm off to play/workout on the Kinect!
Till then... Rest in Him.

A long awaited post thanks to some cabbage soup and creole seasoning...

It's been ages... but I'm back! I'm currently cooking cabbage soup and it inspired me to get back on here and try this again. I got too caught up on trying to share everything that I was trying and once I got behind I felt it useless to try and catch up - so here I am, starting fresh. Though I may go back and share a few things that have happened over time, we'll see - if nothing else I will share photos!
While making my soup I was trying to figure out what I could add that would give it some heat -- during the process I realized I need to go buy cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes just to have handy for times like this even though they rarely occur. My roommate has a favorite seasoning in the cabinet and I wasn't sure if it was spicy and she couldn't recall either so I tested a bit on my tongue. Guess what - Creole Seasoning is hot. Especially by itself!
I'll go ahead and share the recipe with you now and let you know later on if it's worth trying!
I sauteed about 1/2 med. head of cabbage, 1/2 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 2 big leaves of kale. I added a diced white potato, 1 sliced small yellow squash, 1 sliced small zucchini, and a can of tomatoes with juice. I added some seasoning... I didn't measure any of it - just did what seemed "right." There was Italian Seasoning, Thyme, Basil (less of this than the others), quite a bit of ground pepper (before I figured out I had a spicy seasoning I could add) and then the Creole Seasoning (as much as you like to reach the heat you want) and Salt.
I sauteed that all together for a good 15-20 minutes and then added 2 quarts of boxed low sodium chicken broth. It's still simmering now - just waiting for the flavors to combine and the potatoes to get done! It smells amazing! Can't wait to try it!

My plan is to redo my tiny garden tomorrow with the little guy I nanny since the season are changing and most of the plants are done now. Also hope to make chocolate chip cookies with him - should be a fun day for us. I'll let you know how it goes and show you my new garden! Talk to you all then!
Till then - Rest in Him.