Prom 2024

 Noel went to her prom two days ago. She made her dress, and her aunt did her hair. She was so beautiful! I am often in awe of this girl of mine  

She and her date met up with her friends for pictures before they all headed off to dinner and the dance. I am so glad they did. We got some great pictures. I hope she remembers the night fondly as she looks back to her high school days.

Sprouts

 

A few weeks ago, I planted seeds in egg cartons we had saved for the past few months. I now have a bunch of sprouts. The first sprouts were dill and corn. Since then, oregano, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, onions and zucchini have sprouted. I have high hopes for pickling cucumbers and green beans will show up soon. 

I will be clearing space in the yard this weekend, and I will start hardening the plants next week. The basic rule of thumb for planting in Colorado is to wait until after Mother’s Day. I should be able to plant everything the week after that. I get off work early enough to be able to plant for an hour or two before making dinner each day until everything is planted in the ground. Hopefully, it will only take one or two days. 

Hoagie Buns

 

I am continuing to do my best to not have to buy bread products, but I have yet to perfect it. Last week, I made hoagie buns for dinner. After making hamburger buns too small a few weeks before, I wanted to make sure these were big enough. I may have over corrected a bit. We ended up with 6 mini loaves. No one complained. They actually let is these over sized buns. They did not appreciate it as much when I accidentally made oversized hamburger buns a few days later that were about half the size of these buns. 

Spring Formal 2024

Two days ago, Noel went to this year's Spring Formal. She didn't want to wear her prom dress because this dance was before prom, so she chose another long dress that she had in her closet and dressed it up with some heals, a necklace, earrings, and a nice hair style (her specialty). It's hard to believe this is the last year she will be going to this dance. 

Teacher Appreciation

 

Last night, Noel participated in Teacher Appreciation Night at the church. She was able to nominate and honor any teacher she wanted. She chose her middle school band teacher, Ms. Romero. Noel gave a wonderful tribute, and Ms. Romero told her that this time of year is hard as a teacher. This was the pick-me-up she needed. I’m glad Noel could do that for this amazing teacher. She is truly the kind of teacher that kids deserve. 

Noel’s Sweater Done

 

I finally finished Noel’s sweater. I am happy with the final product, but I will hopefully never use this yarn again. It was awful to work with. The pattern was well written and there was video support. I probably would have enjoyed this challenging pattern if the yarn had been better quality. Noel is very happy with the sweater. That makes the struggles I had totally worth it. 

This is the Seasons Cardigan by Ozetta: Hailey Smedley. I purchased the pattern through Ravelry for $6.00. It was a really good deal considering all of the video support. It was almost like taking a class on how to make the sweater. According to the pattern measurements, I would have made an extra small, but she wanted it a bit bigger and asked for a small. She also asked for it to be a bit longer than the pattern said because she didn’t want a cropped sweater. I also made the sleeves one in longer.

I can’t say I venture into fisherman’s rib again any time soon, but it was fun leaning something new. 

Unpaper Towels

As I endeavor on a new lifestyle, I have been looking for more ways to be self-sufficient and kinder to the environment. My latest project is unpaper towels. I saw the idea in TikTok about a month ago and have mulled over the idea since. A few days ago, I found a good tutorial on Pinterest and ran with it using fabric I have had in the house since Noel was a baby, I believe. Basically, I cut 24 rectangles roughly the same size. Then, I put them wrong sides together, making 12 cloths, and sewed up the edges using a stitch I thought looked fun on my machine.Next, I sewed an X across the middle so they will continue to lay flat. Finally, I trimmed the edges and threads. The edges will fray a bit each time they are washed , but I’m ok with that. 

These will be used in place of paper towels in most instances. We can use them to clean, wipe the sides of bowels or pans, wipe hands, etc. They won’t be used for things needing grease such as seasoning cast iron or draining bacon. I really think this will make a big difference in our paper towel consumption which will save us money and lower the amount of trash we create. 

Kara’s Pictures

About a week ago, my cousin, Kara, sent me some pictures from our childhood. The picture I love the most is my brother holding her little sister in his shoulders. Seeing the smile on his face warms my heart. I don’t remember him being this happy very often. 

Another one that I love is my mom and dad during a family Christmas celebration. I remember my mom wearing that shirt a lot, and I think my dad still had the flannel many years later. Once again, it is the smile that gets me. My mom had one of those smiles that would just make everyone happier. 

Then, there is a family picture of my dad, his siblings, and their parents. I’m not sure when the picture was taken, but I’m guessing my dad was in his 20s. 

The final picture I want to share is of my grandparents and my great grandmother (Grandpa’s mom) opening Christmas presents. My best guess is that it was from the same year as the one of my parents. I love and miss all three of them. 

I love that my dad’s family shares pictures like these with everyone! It helps me feel a greater connection to my family. 

Eclipse 2024

 We don’t live in the path of totality for this year’s eclipse, but we did get to see a partial eclipse. We didn’t have the special glasses, so I got out the colander from the kitchen which was pretty cool. The kids weren’t as impressed as Chad and I were. We tried taking pictures with iur phones over our shoulders. They were fairly good pictures, but you can’t really see the eclipse like the pictures people too with good cameras. Overall, it was fun to witness again. I’m glad that I work from home and am able to all away from my desk to watch things like this. 

My Weekend

This weekend ended up going not totally as expected. Noel had a friend over and was originally planning for her to stay until she went to school tomorrow, but Noel ended up getting very sick Saturday, so her friend went home. I was still light headed but knew I needed to get things done as I took care of my daughter. I got the kitchen completely clean and worked on my baking projects (sandwich bread , English muffins, and sourdough bread). 

Sunday, I woke up so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done (both bathrooms, laundry, cinnamon rolls, etc.) that I was constantly in tears. Chad helped get a few things done and reminded me that we could relax as we watched General Conference. Thanks to his help, I was able to clam down and take the time to do things properly. I even made near perfect cinnamon rolls that we could eat during the first session of the day. 

I still need to redo the kids’ bathroom (Chad and I cleaned it Friday), clean the sinks in my bathroom, and do another load of dishes, but I feel I put in an honest effort yesterday especially for a day in which my head was still spinning. I even got a lot done on my latest sweater as I watched conference. 

Stomach Virus

Tuesday, Chad was very sick. It seemed like no matter what he did, it just got worse. Eventually, he called his mom, a retired nurse, for advice and was told to go to the ER. After a CT scan of his abdomen and 3.5 hours of waiting, we were told he had a stomach bug and a large kidney stone stuck in his kidney. The solution: lost of rest and follow up with a urologist. 

The next day, I was suddenly sick after work. I laid down to nap and ended up running no to the bathroom on a regular basis. Each time, I got up, my energy was zapped. I just kept praying that I could keep my dignity through it all. Then, I ran to the bathroom, fainted when I was done, and had to yell for help to get back to the toilet to throw up. I was sicker than I have been in a long time. 

A few hours later, it was Sean’s turn. He violently threw up every 20 to 30 minutes for a few hours. He has told me that he now just mostly has no energy. 

Next was Noel. Thankfully, she only threw up once and seems to be doing fine now. 

This virus sucks. Somehow, it has been a bit better for each person. 

Stuck in the Bag

Yesterday, Sophie decided to play with a shopping bag after we put the groceries away. (Don’t worry, it’s a fabric bag.) After a little bit, she ran over to me with the straps of the bag around her body. She seemed so proud of her accomplishment. I got my phone out and let her pose for a few pictures before I picked her up and let the bag fall off her back legs. I love the silly things this small dog does! 

Easter 2024

I wasn’t allowed to do the Easter Bunny thing until Eric was in first grade and heard his friends talking about it. He was so excited about the Easter Bunny coming that I was finally able to talk the person in charge into allowing it. Since then, the kids have had an Easter basket every year. This year, I used baskets they can use for some kind of organization purpose. Noel specifically asked for the carrot, Sean wanted a fuzzy bunny but got a dinosaur because there were no bunnies, and Eric was given some Hot Wheels which he appreciated. I can’t imagine a day when I wouldn’t put together Easter Baskets for my kids. I feel like it is just one simple thing I can do to show them my love.