Sunday, February 14, 2010

Look what I did!!!!
Do you ever have those moments when you wish you were a little kid again, when you thought you did something really cool like tying your shoelace for the first time, or drawing a really cool picture. You show your mom and she gives you a big hug, or raves about your picture and hangs it on the refrigerator. Well sometimes as adults we still have those moments, only now we have to pat ourselves on the back and just be satisfied with our own sense of accomplishment. I had one of those moments this week, and I can't help but show off a little. I sell crafts for a boutique, so I know my way around most power tools. However, I rarely attempt to make furniture. But I needed a display piece for my booth at my boutique where I sell crafts, so I decided to give it a try. I was pretty excited about the results, and no Shaun did not help me, except for at the beginning when I had to cut the strips of wood for the shelving on the table saw, and only because it is a two person job. Other wise, I came up with the plan, measured, cut and nailed everything together on my own. I was pleased with the results other than a few misplaced nails, (nail guns are hard to aim), and the finish is a little below my standards (but I will blame that on the cold weather and really horrible polyurethane). Oh well, its just a display piece for my crafts.

Here is the finished product, try not to look at the messy garage in the background. Mom you can print this picture out and hang it on your refrigerator if you want.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Kaylee!!

Kaylee turned 9 yesterday. I can hardly believe my first little baby is getting to be so grown up. We always make birthdays a big deal around our house. Usually birthday's end up being more like birthweekends. And Kaylee's birthday was no exception. On Friday night we had a big friends birthday party she invited 16 girls and I think all but one showed up. We had a very noisy house that night. Lots of laughing and screaming. She had a Valentine themed party. We decorated giant heart shaped sugar cookies, had a heart shaped pinata, and made heart shaped flowers for their hair. On Saturday we went to Chuck E Cheese with just the family. We spent about and hour there, about as long as the parents could stand. Sunday was here actual birthday, we didn't do too much except open presents and have her favorite thing for dinner, tortilla soup.

All the crazy girls at her birthday party!

Kaylee taking a whack at the pinata.

Tortilla Soup
(Kaylee's Favorite, and one of mine too because it is so easy)
1 family size can of Campbell's chicken and rice soup
1 can corn
1 can ranch style bean
1 can Rotel brand tomatoes Mexican style
2-3 chicken breast cooked and diced or shredded
Precook chicken, I like to cook a bunch of breast in my crock pot, shred the meat and store in cup proportions in my freezer for recipes like this one.
Then just dump all the cans into a big pot add one large can of water, add chicken and heat through. Top individual bowls of soup with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a couple drops of Tabasco sauce if you like heat. I like to add tortilla chips to my bowl, but some people prefer to dip.