Monogrammed Plate

Is it considered "monogrammed" if it's painted instead of using thread?  I don't know, but I didn't know what else to call it. 

I found a white melamine plate at Wal-Mart on clearance for $1.50 and contact paper at DollarTree for $1.  I printed off an "M" and placed my contact paper on top of it. Then I used my Xacto knife to cut the "M" out of the contact paper, stuck it on my plate and then painted it with black spray paint.  This would have been easier if I had a Cricut, but sadly, I don't. 

Anyway, it didn't turn out perfect - or anything close to perfect, but it doesn't look so bad up on top of my cabinets.  You can't see all the imprefections way up there. 

**I feel the need to point out that I took this picture on top of a step stool for a closer look.  You can't actually see the block of wood over the trim of my cabinets...unless you're 7' tall!**

Not perfect, but good enough. 

I'm linking up to Frugalscious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge and Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Chocolate Sundaes and

 

  

GETTING TO KNOW YOU THURSDAY - CAREER DREAMS

I cannot tell you how much I love reading everyone's blogs.  (My hubby thinks I'm nuts, btw).  Do your Hubbies get it?  Mine didn't even know what a blog was, much less, why anyone would want to put their life on display, but he's pretty cool about it now.  Anyway, I feel like I've gotten to know some really great people through this little blog, but I want to know more (I'm nosy that way).  So, I thought, why not make Thursday the day to get to know eachother.  Each Thursday, I will post something about myself and ask you to share a little info too.  The topics will be very varied - from significant happenings to favorite things. 

Today's topic is  What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up???  (Is that correct grammer - the tense, I mean?)  Are you doing it?  Are you doing something you never thought or intended you would?  Did you start doing it and realize that you hated it?  Are you still trying to get there, but life keeps getting in the way?  Tell me your story.

Here's my story:  I was never one of those kids who had big dreams of a career.  When I was in elementary school I remember telling people I wanted to be a secretary.  Well, I did do that...and hated it (and on that subject, to all of you who yelled at me because my boss didn't call you back - NOT MY FAULT!  I gave him the message!  UGH!).  I remember telling people I wanted to be married with kids as my job.  Well, I did that too.  I still love that, btw.  But, the thing I really wanted to do was be an actress.  I LOVE movies and TV.  I love a good story, especially a story that makes you feel something, hence my love of Hallmark movies.  I think it would be so amazing to be part of something that tells a story of a person or a family that you otherwise would never get to know.  They make you feel a part of them, like Sophie Okanado in Secret Life of Bees (a Must see, btw) or Nicole Kidman in Autrailia or Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats - the way they channel their emotions into a character is amazing to me.  BUT, I was a really shy kid so I never tried out for much of anything in school.    I did sign up to be an extra in a couple of movies, but never got a call back.  I was in two commercials as a kid, but only because my mom worked for the company they were advertising.  My acting skills consisted of eating hot dogs with other kids and hanging out at the zoo with some other kids.  Maybe that's why I love hot dogs so much - one of the highlights of my life.  That's kind of weird, huh?  I do realize that I am not exactly leading lady material, but I think I could do well as the slightly chunky yet funny best friend/sidekick of the star or some really dramatic roles.  It worked for Kathy Bates!  My Hubby does say that I am a Drama Queen and I wear the title proudly. 

Anyway, let me hear you dreams!  What did you want to be when you grew up?  Leave me a comment.  I am considering turning Getting to Know You Thursday into a McLinky party if I get some response.  What do y'all think?  Tell me your stories!!!

COPYKAT COZYMEL'S GUACAMOLE

If I had to pick a favorite food, other than chocolate, it would most likely be something Mexican.  I LOVE tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, refried beans, and don't even get me started on white cheese dip because I'm pretty sure it could be a food group all by itself.  It's the most wonderful thing EVER!  Close second?  Good guacamole.  I LOVE guacamole.  Frankly, I used to think it was gross.  My mom and dad ate it when I was little and I just didn't get it, but then again, I didn't like anything green back then.  I worked at a Mexican restaurant in college and fell in love with guacamole!!!

One of my favorite places to eat Mexican food is Cozymel's - and not just because of the wall of frozen drink machines behind the bar.  They have AWESOME "Table Side Guacamole".  After ordering it at LEAST once a month for several years, I finally paid attention to what the ingredients consisted of and I've been making it at home ever since. 

This is what you'll need: 

1 bunch of cilantro
5-6 avacados
tomato
onion (optional)
2-3 serrano peppers
1-3 limes
1 orange

First, cut open your avacados.  Slice into the avacado from long end to long end - when you hit the pit, rotate the avacado to the other side while cutting with the knife.  Then just pull apart. 

The inside should be green.  This is a good avacado. 

BEAUTIFUL!

This is NOT a good avacado. 

EEEEWWWW!  Throw it out!  BLEECH!

Now, take your good avacado and remove the pit and spoon the beautiful green out of the skin and into a shallow glass or plastic dish. 

Chop your tomato (I use about a half), your onion (again, about half if you use it at all), 1 clove garlic, peppers (after taking out seeds) and chop your cliantro.  **I like to strip the leaves and only use them, although I have seen people use the stems as well.**

My beloved cilantro.  It makes everything taste clean and yummy!!! I LOOOOVE CILANTRO!!! 

Now, throw it all in the dish with the avacado and mash it up with a fork to the consistency you like.  Now you need to add your lime and orange juice.  **To get more juice out of your citrus fruit, first microwave it for 20-30 seconds and then roll it back and forth on the countertop under your palm for about 20 seconds before cutting.**  I usually add about two limes and half an orange, but add until it tastes right to you.  Add salt and pepper to taste, stir it all up good and CHOW DOWN! 

YUUUUUMMMMMM!  Remember, avacados are good fat!!

I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

INITIAL APPLIQUE TOWELS

I've done a lot of appliques on clothing, but I've never done towels.  I saw some really cute initial towels at Hallmark the other day and thought I could probably handle that.  A few days later, I was at the Dollar Spot at Target.  I found some really bright beach towels for only $2.50.  I bought a bright pink and bright blue.  They weren't the best quality towels  (a little on the thin side) but considering I'd never done this before, I bought them anyway. 

Then I cut out my daughters' initials and heat set them on the towels.  I zig zagged (is that a word?) around them and was done.  I think they turned out really cute!  They got them in their Easter baskets (which of course, the Easter bunny put together).  My oldest daugher loved hers.  My youngest daughter could NOT have cared less!  What do you think?

I wasn't sure about putting stabilizer on the back.  Does anybody know if I was supposed to?  It worked on these towels without it.  I need to try it on a thick towel next time.  I need to make some for my boys. 

I'm linking up to Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts and






      

Good Friday Bargain

Just wanted to share my Easter outfit with ya.  Okay, not share like come on over and bring it back next week like we used to do in high school and college, but share my bargain story.  So, as I griped about in this post I was having trouble fitting my big ole behind in a cute Easter outfit for less than $75.  I don't have $75 to spend on myself right now, so.....I took my out fo school kids to JCPenney on Good Friday to shop for an Easter outfit. 

I and three kids were shoved into a little bitty dressing room with at least 35 outfits - and no I'm not exaggerating.  Not fun!    My kids were miserable!  The fun part was I got a $70 outfit for.....$28!  YEA!  Everything was 50-60% off and I had a 15% off coupon too.  YEA!!!  So.....wanna see it? 

Okay, so you really can't see it that well with the kids in front of me, but it's the best I could do.  Cute little capri pants and top for $28.  Oh yeah, baby!  WOO HOO!  I love a good bargain!

Picky Tween Easter Basket, Uh... I Mean, Bucket

Easter is just a few days away so why not a little Easter project.  My three little ones have little Easter buckets with Cars and Princess plastered all over them.  They had a fit for them last year at Wal-Mart, so I gave in a bought them.  My older daughter, who was eleven at the time, wanted NOTHING to do with the cutesy little kid baskets.  "I'm too old for stuff like that.  I'm a little old for princesses", she told me.  BUT, she was very interested in getting candy from the Easter bunny and hunting eggs, so she used an old basket my grandmother used to arrange flowers in.  So, this year, I decided to make her a basket.  So, I finally got to it today.

Hubby was making a trip to the Tractor Supply Company (his version of heaven in a store) so I asked him to bring me home a small gavanized bucket.  I think he said they were around $3.50.  I spray painted the bucket black and let it dry.  Then I traced the bucket on brown kraft paper and cut it out.

Then I transferred the pattern to my fabric and traced around it.  I cut the fabric and got out my handy Modge Podge. 

I know, I know, my paint job is not perfect, but I'm about to cover it up.  I then Modge Podged it onto the bucket, trimed a few edges and let it dry.  Then I tied a cute bow in this double faced polka dot ribbon.  I just love polka dots and double faced ribbon. 

Voila!  Perfect for the non-girly, pink-hating, ruffle despising tween in my house!  Need another view?

I am SOOO in love with this fabric.  I could just waller around in it.  That's weird, huh?  the best thing is she can use it for storage in her room aftrer Easter!

Okay people, I'm outta here.  Y'all have a Happy, Happy Easter! 

I'm linking up to:  http://this-istheyear.blogspot.com/2011/01/mod-podge-mania-not-quite-scrabble-tile.html

Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2010/04/whatever-goes-wednesday-8.html and

   

SIGNS

April is Autism Awareness Month and April 2nd is World Autism Day.  (I know this may sound boring, but PLEASE read on anyway).  This month organizations around the world will be organizing events to spread the word about autism.  Currently, 1 out of every 91 children will be diagnosed with autism.  I, as a mother of an autistic child, urge you to read this post and pass it along to anybody you think may need this information. 

My son, "L", is autistic.  As a toddler, he was healthy and sweet and meeting all of his developmental goals.  I was about six months pregnant with our daughter "E" when I noticed "L" was not talking as much as he used to.  He had been putting two words together (bye-bye-dada) but slowly those words disappeared.  This didn't happen overnight.  He was a happy, very loving little boy so I didn't worry too much about it.  Our older son "J" didn't talk much at all until he was four (neither did my Hubby). 

After our daughter "E" was born, I noticed he didn't seem to like her that much, or even notice her.  He didn't seem curious about her, although he did like her toys.  I would catch him with his face up to the TV looking out of the corner of his eyes.  Weird.  I noticed that he seemed to pace or wander around the house instead of being really involved in playing.  He had once been a great eater, but I noticed he would only eat certain things now - not that unusual for a 2-3 year old.  I noticed he looked at his hands a lot.  He would hold them up and look at his palms and then flip it over and look at the top of his hand.  He walked on his tip toes.  He liked to sleep in the crack between his matress and the wall.  He would wake up in the middle of the night and fuss for an hour or so before FINALLY going back to sleep.  He played with his toys, but didn't play with his brothers and sisters.  He played "beside" them, not "with" them.  He was a happy, giggling, VERY AFFECTIONATE little guy.  He would sit and rock with me for as long as I could sit.  I had several people ask me about his language delay (friends and relatives) and suggest that I should have him tested for autism, but that sounded ridiculous to me. 

I based my opinion of autism off of a movie I saw about autism in the 80's.  There was a kid who would sit in the corner, spin plates, flap his hands, never speak or give eye contact and he would not let anyone touch him.  MY KID IS NOTHING LIKE THAT KID!  Well, I was right about that.  I thought autistic kids were all like that.  I thought they all flapped their hands and didn't like to be touched and would shy away and stay locked in their own little worlds.  My kid was constantly hugging me.  He didn't flap his hands or spin the wheels on his cars, etc. 

After some research I discovered that my information on autism was WRONG!  Autistic kids have sensory processing issues.  One of "L"'s issues is that he can't feel his body in space.  It's like his nerves don't tell his brain where his arm is.  Therefore, he needs that pressure (from a hug or tight space) on his body to be able to "feel" his body.  He also has some sensory issues with his eyes (hence the TV watching out of the corner of his eye).  Tip toe walking is another big red flag that I was totally unaware of.  He also has texture issues.  He doesn't like to touch slimy stuff (finger paint, etc.).  He doesn't like to eat mushy stuff (mashed potatoes).  Sleeping issues are also very common in autistic children. 

My fear is that someone out there may be holding off on testing their child because they don't know some of the signs or out of fear.  The media is not always forthcoming with signs and symptoms for autism.  I just want people to be aware that not all autistic kids flap their hands and don't like to be touched.  If you have met one autistic child, you have met one autistic child.  Each is VERY different according to their own sensory disorder and/or personality. 

If your child is diagnosed with autism, there are many options for therapy, but the younger they are, the better.  "L" was diagnosed at 3 years and 4 months old.  I WISH I had listened to my friends and relatives that suggested I have him tested a full year earlier.  He goes to a special preschool with fabulous therapists, teachers, nutritionists, etc.  and I am proud to say that he is making great progress.  When "L" was first diagnosed with autism, we were told he would "never go to college, never say I love you, and possibly never speak, never get married and have a family", etc.  This was completely devastating to me.  He has been in therapy for 2 1/2 years and is making great progress.  Nobody knows what your child can do.  I now hear "I love you" almost every day.  While he doesn't speak in a normal conversation, he has made amazing strides and we are very happy with his progress.  Anything is possible. 

"L" is the light of my life.  He is loud and is annoying at times, but his little smile makes even the most crappy day better.  He is smart and he gives the best hugs and kisses ever.  He has a sweet little giggle and a sense of humor. 

Please pass this on to anyone you think may need this info and feel free to contact me (not that I have all the answers, but I am always willing to share what I do know).  Below are several websites for more information on autism spectrum disorders. 

National Autism Society

Autism Speaks

Talk About Curing Autism