I'm Getting There. . .

While I may not think about my blog every day, I do think about it often. I think of things to post. I think of my need to post in general. But getting from the thinking to the doing has just been so difficult lately.

I wish I could say that thinking-to-doing-process difficulty was only apparent on my blog. It isn't. The inside of the house is in need of some serious attention and I won't even start on the outside of the house. If I didn't live with my husband and children I would probably think about them but I would never do anything about that. Ask my mom. I talk to my her when she calls me (if you can call my one word responses really talking). Ask my sister. The last time I spoke with her on the phone was because I accidentally hit her phone icon when trying to hit Moo's message icon. I don't initiate any of the conversations.

I meal planned yesterday and glimpsed a semblance of how I use to be. It was nice. I also cooked something yesterday that required more than 10 minutes of my time. . . another little glimpse.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about. . . count yourself lucky. For those of you who know exactly what I am talking about. . . I am sorry. I don't like admitting something is wrong but it becomes painfully obvious when speaking with someone you haven't seen for awhile.

Sample conversation:
Friend (F): So, what have you been up to lately?
Me (M): Nothing.
F: What yummy stuff have you made?
M: Nothing.
F: Oh. . . you use to make all sorts of stuff like ketchup and other stuff from scratch.
M: Yeah, I have store bought ketchup in my refrigerator and I really don't make anything from scratch these days.
F: What cute things have you made?
M: Nothing. Not one thing.
F: Oh. . . so . . . nothing?
M: Nope. Not. One. Thing.
F: What is wrong with you?

That is about the time I regret leaving my house.

***I wrote the bulk of this post mid-August. Looked at it and modified it a bit in September. Thought about looking at it and posting it in October (obviously didn't). It is now being posted in November just shy of six months since my last post (so sad and lame). I am still catching glimpses. . . I have actually meal planned for the last six weeks or so with last weeks planning session resulting in two weeks worth of planned meals. Other than the meal planning. . . not much has happened. I have not crafted any crap, my house still needs some attention (both inside and out), and I really don't talk to anyone other than my coworkers (while at work) and my family (mainly the ones living in my house). Here is to hoping I can get going again and be my normal self.

No Top Reader Post - Have a Fantastic Holiday

I am finishing up some holiday items and am spending time with my family. Have a wonderful weekend and a great holiday.

Taking a Break

I need to take a break. So, that is what I am going to do. I will still post Top Reader Posts but other than that I won't be around. See you after the break!

Naming a Mounted Animal is Stupid . . .

Those were the words out of PE's mouth the other night. "His name is Elmer. Naming a mounted animal is stupid so it might as well have a stupid name." What?!? He is the one that started the whole naming thing!!! Ask Moo, she was there.

KLB is set on his name being Ed; however, it is PE's mount (hee hee) so he can name it a stupid name if he wants to. Besides, Elmer Fudd was a hunter so it is a little humorous that Elmer was the hunted. (I see the humor.) Even more humorous is if we say PE is Elmer Fudd and he has given his first big mount (hee hee) his name. (How sweet! And even more hilarious.) Anyway, here he is. . . Elmer.

That picture has some minimal Picnik editing done to it and I am not positive you can fully appreciate Elmer's size, so here is the unedited photo.

Here is another angle. Can you appreciate the size of this thing?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wising you all a happy and over indulgent Thanksgiving.

At our house we will be/have been enjoying the following deliciousness:
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls (breakfast)

Spinach Dip with veggies and crackers (lunchish)

Roast Chicken (one of the chickens we hatched was small turkey size)
Honey Roasted Ham (from one of the pigs we purchased earlier this year)
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Sausage Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes
Crescent Rolls (made from scratch by Moo)
Buttery Deviled Eggs

Lemon Meringue Pie
Banana Cream Pie
both in a Graham Cracker Coated Pie Shell

For those recipes I haven't posted before I hope to post the recipes in the next week or so . . . I won't make any promises since it doesn't seem as though I have can post very regularly lately. Not for lack of items to post but for a little lack of motivation and a lot of busy doing other things.

The Painted Door and a Wreath

At the beginning of the summer I painted my front door. I mentioned it briefly in this post as one of the projects I didn't take a before photo of. I guess technically I didn't really take an after either because the photo below was really taken for showing off the wreath (focus on the door in the picture below).

The door use to be white. . .just like so many other doors you see. Using this post from Chris at Just a Girl as my jumping off point (yes, I have had this post bookmarked since originally posted in July 2009) for information on the type of paint and technique to use I finally got around to doing it. I chose to go with Mountain Ridge from Benjmin Moore as the color since I thought it went well with the brick on the exterior of our house and it popped a little more than black. When it finally came time to put up or shut up I also used this post from Freckles Chick for a little added information.

Now, I want to know if after reading their posts you feel like you could paint any door and do a bang up job. That is exactly how I felt. I had very little apprehension going into the whole thing. Is that how it happened for me though? Oh no. First, I couldn't remove the ugly builder brass exterior hardware so I could paint the door without it. Know what that also meant? I couldn't paint the hardware. I was so excited to paint over that ugly brass but no, the stupid thing wouldn't come off. I used all my muscles, the drill, and PE's muscles--the damn thing still wouldn't come off all because of one (ONE!!!) screw.

Second, when PE tried to loosen the screw it tweaked the hardware which buggered up the paint a little. (Completely my fault because I had already painted one coat.) Then I had to fix that which wasn't too traumatic since I felt like the whole door needed fixing anyway. During the course of my painting the first coat I had to call Jabba for a little direction and a pep talk. Then during the second coat I had to call her again and bribe her to come over and fix it with a third coat. The main problem for me is that I have painted the total of two small rooms. Jabba, on the other hand, has probably painted more rooms than I could count using all my fingers and toes plus PE's fingers and toes. She has mad painting skills. She had the door painted and looking fabulous in under 30 minutes. . .it took me over one hour to paint the first coat. **Pathetic!**

Now I have a fabulous not white door with ugly brass hardware. While I wish I had been able to paint the hardware, it doesn't look too bad.

Now I am talking about the wreath (focus on the wreath now. . . I posted a close up so it would be easier). I started with one of these green foam wreaths from Dollar Tree.

I then wrapped it with some jute that KLB's mom had left over from her days of macrame (should give you a little clue to how old it is). That was as far as it went for months. I wrapped two wreaths with jute three months ago and they had been sitting in a tote with various other crafty crap until a couple weeks ago.

Armed with this post, my jute covered wreath forms, and the only fabric I own (muslin from another project), I set to work. I don't own any of the tools necessary for cutting fabric in a straight line (for me it would require more than just scissors) so I just ripped it into strips. I then followed the directions in the post and made the rosettes. It does take a little practice but it comes together. I found it easier when I made a triple knot because then the center was easier to wrap the fabric around. I also didn't glue until the end. I just put the glue in spots where the fabric looked like it was going to unravel or not lay how I wanted it to.

I believe the photo above encompasses all that is SCP as it is a pretty craptastic photo. Even marred by the craptasticness of the photo you can still see which rosettes were my first attempts (the back ones). I hot glued the rosettes on the wreath and used a strip of fabric to hang it from the door hanger. I also made a wreath for KLB since I felt it was the least I could do considering she let me use the jute. In true Sparky fashion, I did not take a photo of that wreath. Oh well. I will try to do better with future projects (of which there are many).

A New Addition to Our Household

Just so there is no confusion. . . there is a great bit of distinction between household and family. While this new addition will be referred to frequently--admired by some and abhorred by others--it is NOT a member of the family. This addition will be in the household but will not join in family activities. This addition will "join" us for dinner but will not view a movie with us afterward. This addition is a he and PE will be naming him. We have tossed around a few names (Ed, Edward, Edgar, Eli, etc.) but ultimately the decision is PE's and he has until Decemberish to decide. At that time a new and improved version of this

will be joining the household. This picture really doesn't do him justice; but the ones that do make him look impressive make Hunting W. look like he is drunk or a deer in the headlights. Not to mention PE hadn't shaved (or showered) for nine days, was dirty from hunting, and had blood on him so he was looking dead sexy and I don't want anyone getting any ideas. He's mine.

E### will live on the wall above the stairs that borders our dining room. There are deer friends downstairs in PE's "area" that would love to have his company; however, he is too big to a) fit down the stairs and b) hang on a wall down there, so above the stairs he goes. He could also fit in the living room above where the television is but sitting in the living room watching television with E### watching us is not a dream I have. I guess having him watch us cook and eat dinner is somehow better in my mind. Technically he will be looking to the right. So he will stare at visitors as they come in the door. (KLB is SUPER excited for this.) I guess if the "Leave" doormat doesn't discourage someone from visiting, E### staring at them just might.

Hunting W. took full advantage of his nine days of hunting by passing on a couple small bulls and missing a couple others. Hunting W. passed on E### that first Sunday (September 19) since the tag (license for hunting) he had was limited entry (many apply, few are chosen) so he was going for a bigger elk he had seen the Friday (September 17) before the hunt started (September 18). One of the bulls he missed was the morning of the last day of the hunt. I think the fact that he missed the elk not only one time but four (under, over, behind, over) times meant it was not to be. The hunting powers that be must not have wanted him to settle for that measly little bull because later that day, hours before the end of the hunt, everything came together.

After enjoying a delicious lunch with me and the kids and having me tell him, "You will get one tonight!" in place of my usual, "Good luck. Have fun. Be safe." PE set out for the pond he had been watching off and on all week. As he was sitting there reading his book, waiting for the elk to come to the water (because that is what elk do when it cools off in the evening), he looked up and there was E### in all his large five-point glory (completely my wording, not PE's).

Hunting W. took the opportunity and shot. E### got him back for that by finishing his ascent to the top of the hill where he died and rolled/slid into a gully making for a L O N G night for PE who called me at 9:15 or so to tell me he would be late. I finally saw him around 1:30 at which time I had enjoyed less than two hours of sleep and I did not visit my bed again until he climbed in the shower after "taking care" of the elk at 5:30. I enjoyed the visit with my bed for two hours then we had a big day of dropping Bob at school, taking the meat to the butcher for packaging, playing show and tell at PE's work, taking the head and cape to the taxidermist to be mounted, eating a quick lunch, packing lunch for Bob, picking Bob up from school, retrieving PE's camping stuff from up the canyon, returning a borrowed 4-wheeler to Grandpa, and finally returning home at 4:00 or so at which time we took a nap for a couple hours then cooked dinner, did the evening routine (showers, reading, etc.) and went to bed.

The story of E### - Don't be too sad for him. He was an old bull who Sunday (September 19) was with a herd of cows (female elk); getting all the cow tail he wanted when Hunting W. saw him for the first time. By the following Sunday (September 26) he had been bullied out of his sweet life by a stronger (most likely younger) elk as evidenced by the puss pocket on the top of his head and the bruising on one of his flanks. He was on the down hill so really PE helped him out. E### will now "live on" in his large five-point glory on the wall. Woo hoo! Lucky me! **Man I wish there was a sarcasm font.**

Some may be wondering why I don't just tell PE he has to hang the mount somewhere else. Reason one: He looked so cute playing show and tell with his coworkers. Reason two: Why shouldn't he be able to showcase his hobby? (Even though I am going to have to step up my hobby skills and lack of decorating skills to offset that addition to the household.) Sap alert. Reason three: Quite simply, he is an awesome husband and that reason alone makes it worth it. Speaking from having visited the other side of the tracks (you know awesome husband/marriage side versus shitty husband/marriage from hell side), I will take E### the Elk on the wall watching me in the kitchen any day of the week if it means never having to visit (even for one millisecond) the other side again. Welcome E###!

~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~

Side note:
There are many opinions out there about hunting and of course the subsequent mounting of a "trophy" animal. Here are several reasons why I think the hunting is okay (as for the mounting, you got me on that one but again refer to reason three above). First, licensed hunting helps keep the ecosystem balanced. If the wildlife population (elk, deer, geese, ducks, etc.) becomes over abundant in an ecosystem it can throw the ecosystem out of balance. When an over abundance of deer/elk/prong horns over graze that leaves less food available for animals (geese/ducks) that rely on plants for survival. Second, the undeniable truth is . . . every living organism gets nourishment from consuming other living organisms. Third (last), by hunting the surplus animals (the animals you can purchase licenses/permits to hunt) a hunter is choosing to get his sustenance from wildlife in place of institutionally slaughtered animals. (So, instead of buying beef/chicken, eating elk/pheasant obtained via hunting.)

**Climbing down from soap box.**

Teacher Appreciation

Bob had preschool graduation last week so I used this idea to create M & M Teacher Appreciation gifts for his teachers. I put the M & M's in a jar like this

Wrapped this ribbon around the edge of the lid

Modified the poem a little and added some color. (I used a "cuter" font but those aren't reflected when I upload to Scribd.)
M&M Teacher Appreciation
Cut the poem into a square, adhered it to some "cute" paper, and had Bob write his name on the back. I used a pop-up glue dot to adhere the poem to the top of the lid. Easy. Done! (This post demonstrates the lengths I will go to to NOT post a photo. Not that I took one to post. Thought about it. The thought did not go anywhere.)