Eskimo Kisses At Cotton-Top Hills

Neighbors

2011-03-23T09:02:00.001-07:00

(Part of my series on moving from Cotton-Top Hills. This post is an article that will be my second to last for our community newspaper.)

When you move into a new house, you never know what kind of neighbors you are going to end up with. You hope you’ve found a neighborhood that has children for your kids to play with and people that will welcome you with open arms, maybe even have neighborhood gatherings, and where you look out for one another. But the fact is, you never know any of that until you’ve already bought the house.

When we moved to Bushland, Eagle Tree to be exact, I was pregnant with our third child. I was a little afraid of not knowing anyone. What if I went into labor with my husband at work over an hour away? Would I have anyone to call for help? Within days of moving in I had my answer. It was winter and we were having one of our famous snow/ice storms. Our electricity went out and luckily we had some firewood that we were using to keep us warm. We were all camped out on the living room floor, trying to ward off the bitter cold, when in the darkness we heard a knock at our door. It was our next door neighbor who had trudged across half an acre to see if we were okay and if we needed firewood. We were so happy to know someone out there was thinking of us and if we needed it help was not far away.

We were welcomed with food, sweets, and friendly conversations. Our neighborhood is a little different, in that the houses sit on 2 to 10 acres, but that distance didn’t stop our neighbors from coming over and introducing themselves to us. It was a wonderful feeling to know my family had moved into such a welcoming place.

Over the years we’d gather for trash pick-ups along Dowell Road, summer picnics, pumpkin patch parties, and dinners. While we all liked our space, we also loved to get together and celebrate the wonderful place we called home.

Neighborhoods can be extensions of your family if you are lucky. I would say the Bushland community does that very well. There are not many places that you could live where your neighbor would drop everything to rush you to the ER, while another neighbor would take your three children for the night. Or a neighbor on the other side of your neighborhood whom you’ve never met, but knew on Facebook, would get on his tractor with snow on the ground and temperatures hovering in the negative digits to deliver two 50 gallon barrels of water, just so you could flush your toilets. And if you have neighbors who do that, it shouldn’t surprise you to get a phone call from a neighbor nearby offering her home while they are away for you to shower and hang out, while your frozen pipes thaw.

Yes, I think the Bushland community has many things to be proud of, but the thing I am most proud of is the genuine caring of the people who live here. I have lived in many places in my life, 6 states and 11 towns, and I can say Bushland is very unique. What a blessing it has been to raise my family in such a place for the last five years. It gives a parent a sense of peace to know their children have experienced humanity at its best, the way God intended.

Saying Goodbye To Cotton-Top Hills

2011-03-14T13:15:00.001-07:00

This has been a long good-bye. We’ve known for months that the probability of us moving away from our home was great. But when you get that final call, the one that says it is happening, you can’t help but mourn. We are moving closer to family, much closer, which is wonderful. It will be the first time in my husband’s and I’s adult lives that we have been close to where our parents are. It is a blessing.

Cotton-Top Hills has been a blessing too. For my third and youngest child this is the only home she has known. For my two older girls, this is the home in which their adventurous spirit was given room to frolic and explore. For my husband and I, it has been a place in which we have poured our love into. Together as a family, we have made this beautiful place our home.

Soon, all we will have is our memories and we don’t ever want to forget some of the things that have made it so special. Together we are creating a scrapbook of memories, some I’d like to share here.

The first is this picture, taken soon after we moved in.

We could have named this place At The End Of The Rainbow, for almost every time we get rain we seem to have a rainbow. This one was a double rainbow. My girls love the fact that they can see the entire thing from our front yard. Nothing beats the wide open skies of the Texas Panhandle.

Stay tuned for more scrapbook entries

Finally, I’m Making Some Lists!

2011-01-17T08:09:00.001-08:00

So I’m making lists galore around here this year. I’ve always known that when I make a list I’m not only better organized, but better prepared. But, I’m afraid many times I neglect making one. Maybe it is fear of seeing all I need to do lined out in front of me. Sometimes it is me refusing to spend the time physically making one up. I’m not sure why, but I can be really good at throwing roadblocks up in front of my success and ignoring the call to make a list is just that.

My first list is a grocery list for the week, followed by a menu plan. A written menu plan, not a bunch of thoughts floating around in my head and rushing to the pantry each night to see what’s for dinner. So far it is working wonderfully.

Next is a list of what I want to accomplish with homeschool for the remainder of this year. I totally stress myself out thinking I am ruining my children’s education on a daily basis because I’m afraid we are not covering it all.

Then is the list for chores I’d like to get done for the day, and for the week. When it is staring me in the face, it is very hard to ignore that yes, I do need to clean all the baseboards today.

And the list I am the most excited about is my writing list. I finally have one! No longer am I wallowing in my excuses of what I might do if I have time. Now, because of all my above lists, I actually have the time for my writing. Go figure. And yes, I am a slow learner. All my blogging writing friends have written many a post about organizing, time management, goad setting etc. Well, it took awhile but it has finally pushed me to get it together. Thank you!

Just to make sure you understand my lists I need to clarify. They start off neat and then become a mess with crossed out lines, check-marks, and arrows moving things around. I’m constantly reminded that my plans need to align with God’s plan and I need to be flexible. The good news is that when I plan, being flexible is easier.

On another front I just want you to know my physical blogging facelift is still in the works. But I’ve already started switching up my posts here to include all aspects of my life, not just writing. Thanks for reading along.

Now, tell me, what about a list do you find the most daunting?

40% Off On Women's Tea Collection

2010-10-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

I just got a wonderful offer from one of my affiliates, Tea Collections. They are offering a 40% off coupon that is good TODAY only, after Friday morning you can get 25% off until Sunday. I'm so excited because fall is in the air and I would love to have a nice sweater or two to help ward off the chill in the air.

To get the discount click on my Tea collection link on the sidebar and enter this code when checking out TEA4UFF. It's that easy!

Happy shopping:)

More Early Shopping

2010-08-11T14:59:00.001-07:00

Okay, so by now you have all heard that my sister is having a baby around Christmas. Which makes me think of all the traveling I will be doing back and forth across Texas to attend baby showers, holiday parties, and family events. Which leads me to thinking about not only traveling with my kids, but my 2 dogs. Luckily, I have found some luggage of sorts that will really help me with carting my dogs around with me.

I can’t wait to share this review with you from CSN stores. If you have dogs that travel with you in the car on trips or just to the vet you need to know about this product. I’m thinking it will make life easier. I will let you know as soon as I receive the product for review.

*I am receiving a product free of charge to write a review on from CSN stores.

A Baby Is Coming...

2010-07-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you I am about to be an aunt again? Well, not until December, but I can't wait! My one and only little sister is having a baby.

Here she is with my kiddos.

We don't know yet if it is a little boy or girl, but are hoping to find out soon. That does not stop me from doing some baby shopping. I love shopping for little baby clothes! It seems many of my friends are having babies and I've found myself needing lots of sweet gifts. So I was happy to partner up with my new affliate Tea Collection. To me it has a down home, yet elegant feel. And the neat thing is it is unique.

Tea Collection has recently launched a new website and has taken their popular products typically found in specialty and department stores directly to consumers. Their clothing is inspired by cultures around the world and it's much more stylish and is always changing. Tea Collection designs clothes for babies up to eight years old. A great option for summer or back-to-school shopping.

So if you need to go shopping for some clothes for your kids or for gifts, please head over to Tea Collection and check them out. I think you will find some adorable clothing that anyone would be happy to receive!

Christmas Shopping In July

2010-07-25T16:03:00.001-07:00

I say it is never to early to start shopping for Christmas, especially if you have little ones on your list! I wanted to share with you a neat online children’s toy store called Ebeanstalk, that will make your shopping easier.

I love shopping at Ebeanstalk because they have a feature that will list toys by age and even gender. They have tons of baby toys to choose from as well. The website is easy to use, which is a plus for this busy mom.

Sometimes choosing kids toys can be difficult, but they make it a snap. They have a panel of experts that help test the toys and place them in age appropriate categories according to the development that is occurring during that stage.

If you have a special someone that you’d like to give a gift too, check out their Grow and Learn series. A gift will be sent out every 3 months, appropriate to the development at that stage. I think this is a really neat feature that I haven’t found at other online toy stores.

So remember it is never too early to shop for Christmas! Have you shopped at Ebeanstalk? I’d love to hear about it if you have, if not head over and see what neat toys you can find.

Mulberries In The Park

2010-07-24T13:24:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process things. I’d like to think that I have so many thoughts going around in my head at one time that I overlook simple things. Like the names of streets and the fact that some actually mean something. Recently, we were at the park by our house and my husband discovered the big tree we like to swing from is a Mulberry Tree. Hmmm, just so happens the streets that runs by it is called Mulberry. Maybe I should have recognized that tree 3 years ago when we first moved in, after all the hint is right there on the street sign.

Anyway, all is good because now we know. And of course the pioneering spirit of my girls would not let all those wonderful mulberries go to waste. So off we went to the park with step ladder and pails. The tree is huge and most of the mulberries are up high. My girls helped each other out grabbing the branches and bringing them down closer. Little One held the pail for gathering.

It was a lot of fun, but hard work too we discovered. We picked a lot of little mulberries to fill our pail.

Our purple hands told the story of what we’d been up to that day.

We also learned that these berries are clusters of fruit and little tiny bugs like to live inside of them. Not to be deterred by such talk we consulted the internet and found you just need to cover them with water and let them sit for a bit. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes all the little bugs floated to the top.

Then Em went to making her pie

Didn’t she do a beautiful job? The taste was very sweet and yummy.

And my girls were so happy to find yet another thing that grows wild here in the Panhandle that they could put to good use.

Emma’s Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches

2010-07-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

My ten year old is on her way to culinary school. Okay, not quite yet, but it’s where she wants to go someday. She cooks for us constantly and is thinking up new twists on everyday recipes. This breakfast sandwich recipe was derived from a sandwich she had at a little restaurant in Galveston, The Lunch Box cafe.

For bread she likes to use baguette, but we use whatever bread we have around. This morning mine was on English Muffin. First toast the bread. Spread honey over both slices and natural peanut butter on one slice. Top the peanut butter side with blueberries. Top the other slice with sliced strawberries and walnuts. You could use pecans, but we had walnuts today. Put the two slices together and enjoy. It really is very yummy and nutritious, not to mention easy!

I’ve linked this post to Beauty and Bedlam. Head over there for more Tasty Tuesday recipes!

Art on the Go – BusPainting

2010-07-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

I was so excited when my mother-in-law Pat introduced me over the internet to artist Kathleen McElwaine from Leander Texas. Kathleen does beautiful watercolors and on the bus!

She commutes on the bus into Austin twice a day and began a series of watercolors entitled BusPaintings. She says, “Early on when I began taking the bus, I did do some character studies of people riding the # 983 Express. But then I became hesitant, thinking that perhaps I might be imposing on a near stranger's personal space -- one's mobile sanctum. As a representational artist I constantly look for character … What are the distinguishing characteristics of people … plants and animals… skies or, landscapes?"

She now has an Etsy store and besides selling her beautiful artwork, she will create a watercolor profile picture for you to use on Facebook. She did my profile and I love it. Better yet my husband loves it. He thinks she captured my friendliness in the painting. That was sweet of him to say, I’ll have to bake him some brownies. Anyway, I want to share my picture with you.

I love it! The picture I sent her was one of me with no make-up, wearing the John Deere sweatshirt my father-in-law gave me. I think she captured my spirit wonderfully.

Please stop by her Etsy store or her website to look at her work. I’m already thinking of some Christmas gifts and maybe a few profile surprises for a couple of friends.

Thanks Kathleen!

Would You Dress Up Like A Cow For A Free Meal?

2010-07-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

YES! The answer is yes. Now would you? If the answer is yes then head over to your local Chick-Fil-A for free meal this Friday.

Check out the Chick-Fil-A website to get more details.

Last year my oldest opted out of the dress-up. Something about her mother being totally embarrassing and what wouldn’t you do for some free food comments. But at the restaurant she realized she was among cows. Big cows, medium sized cows, and little bitty cows. This year she says she will participate. So maybe it is cool to dress like a cow, if you get a yummy Chick-Fil-A meal.

Here’s my herd. Hubby and I wore some cow signs we printed off their website, but I guess I didn’t get pics of that.

So don’t be a chicken, dress up as a cow and then eat some chicken!

“Decluttering” Our Lives

2010-06-11T06:30:00.001-07:00

My family has embarked on a journey to declutter and simplify our lives. You hear a lot about organizing your house from experts. They even have television shows that help families to get rid of their junk. Well, I wouldn’t mind someone coming in and clearing out all my stuff for me and giving me a lesson on organization. Better yet, I don’t need the lesson, but if they’d give me all those neat organizational containers I’d be very happy.

So far no one has called to take care of cleaning up my house so we decided to go it on our own. I just look around and begin to feel claustrophobic with all the stuff closing in on me. Anyway, this is all part of our family’s plan to “declutter” and “simplify” our lives.

We started with our little barn. We built it before we even moved into our house. The plan was to have a place to store boxes as we began moving things. Well, it filled up with boxes, bikes, tools, lawn equipment, furniture and it all stayed there.All of this was in our barn, along with a riding lawn mower and push mower. Where did this all come from?

WB decided to build a workbench and some shelves. Probably should have done that in the beginning, but I’m sure we were a little busy moving into our new house and he was dealing with a hormonal pregnant woman to boot.

It took all day in scorching heat. I got a few breaks as we found boxes of photos that needed sorting and organizing. But WB is no stranger to hard work and he kept going. He’s my little Energizer bunny. Wait, I don’t think he’d like that comparison. He’s a Gladiator, yes that’s better, my mighty Gladiator.

At the end of the day we had several piles of items for our Boy Scout church garage sale, a full dumpster and this

a clean barn. I can see the floor. WB and I can practice our ballroom dancing in here. Well, we don’t ballroom dance, but we can turn a mean two-step.

Honestly, we’re sleeping better at night now. Something about having clutter in your life, it takes over. Not just your house, but your attitude and really, your well being. All these material things begin to weigh a person down.

As of today we have “decluttered” four rooms in our house. We have five more and the attics. It’s a cleansing process and it feels so good when I can look at each room that has been “simplified”. I’ll keep you posted!

Patriotic Poppies For Memorial Day

2010-05-28T07:59:00.001-07:00

A fun way to celebrate the upcoming holiday of Memorial Day is by making crepe paper poppies, or Patriotic Poppies. This tradition began after World War I when the American Legion began making these poppies to sell to raise money for veterans.

A Canadian physician and soldier wrote this poem during WWI referring to the battlefield of Flanders.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

So this Memorial Day my family has decided to help celebrate by making these Patriotic Poppies to help us to remember all the soldiers that have given their lives for our freedoms. You can wear them in your hair or lapel or you can use them to decorate with, it’s up to you.

First start with several layers of red crepe paper. You will need a round template( we used different size bowls) and a pencil:

Trace around the bowl onto the crepe paper.

Once you have your circle cut out you need to make two small holes in the center through all the layers.

Next you take a green chenille pipe cleaner and insert through first hole.

Then feed through second hole like this. You can twist the pipe cleaner behind the flower to make it stay. This will be your stem.

Next separate each layer and swirl forward to make the petals.

Aren’t they pretty? And so simple to do! We had great fun with these. If you’d like you could add leaves to the stems with names of family or friends who were killed in battle. We are going to wear our Patriotic Poppies with pride on Memorial Day!

Kids Getting Creative In The Kitchen

2010-05-11T16:43:00.001-07:00

So the other night my oldest daughter made Bibimbap, a Korean dish. She got the recipe from Sara Moulton’s new cookbook Everyday Family Dinners.

First she made some Kim chi, which is basically a pickled cabbage mixture. Next she made a Sesame Miso sauce, sautéed some carrots and spinach, and browned some tofu. The dish also contained shitake mushrooms, scallions and brown rice. It was topped with a fried egg and chili sauce.

I was really proud of Em for picking this dish to make. She’s more a meat and potatoes gal. But, one thing about my kids is that they are willing to try new things. They love to experience new tastes and learn about other cultures. We had fun discovering what Miso was, a type of fermented soybean paste, and that it comes in white or red.

I enjoyed all the different flavors that fused together to make this dish. Em was a little disappointed. It was a little too much different for her. But that is okay, because they would never know if they liked it if they didn’t try it. This is a favorite saying of Soph’s.

And speaking of Soph she contributed to the meal as well. She created these fruit bites as appetizers or dessert.

They were strawberries, blackberries, lemon and mint. Each one of us got a spoon and we slurped them down!

I love being at home and in the kitchen with my girls. It is always an adventure.

Pulled And Stretched Pork Recipe

2010-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, Smockity Frocks is holding another "What's In Your CrockPot?" carnival and I'm so glad. We use our crockpot more and more around here. It makes dinner time so much easier on everyone! We've discovered pulled pork and how just a little goes a long way. So I like to refer to it as pulled and stretched pork! Not to mention it is super easy and so yummy!

Pulled And Stretched Pork

Piece of pork loin or boneless pork chops (thick cut)

-the amount of pork is up to you and the size of your family. I have served my family of 5 with an inch cut of whole pork loin.

onions

favorite BBQ sauce

water

vinegar

black beans (optional)

Place pork in crock pot with sliced onions. I usually use one whole onion, but you can use less or more depending on your amount of pork. Pour BBQ sauce over pork and onions, enough to cover bottom of crock pot. Add about 1/2 cup of water and I like to add 1 TB of vinegar. I was raised mostly on the East coast and vinegar and pork BBQ go hand and hand.

Cook on low for 6 hours. In the last 30 minutes you can add a couple cans of black beans. This is a wonderful way to stretch the meal if you don't have that much meat.

We like to serve on tortillas with grated cheese and some sour cream. We've also had it on yeast rolls.

Enjoy!

Head over to Smockity's for more great recipes!

Frugal Master Bath Makeover- Update Knobs

2010-04-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

So we've hit a little snag with our granite counter tops. They are in, but there has been some quality issues so we are awaiting the owners phone call to straighten things out. In the meantime I thought I'd share a frugal way to update your knobs.

In a post on my main blog awhile back I shared my tips on spray painting your knobs to avoid the expense of buying new hardware. They can be very expensive.

I have found that spray paint is your friend. They have spray paint that is shiny or even leaves a hammered effect. We were sure what color to go with in this project so we tested several different colors to see what would work best.

When we decided on a color we used a very scientifically exact method of making sure the paint was evenly distributed on the knobs...

Bamboo skewers in the dirt.

They turned out really nice and have held up well. There are a few worn spots on the ones we did in the bathroom, but a lot of grimy and wet hands touch those:)

We've got the tiles for the floor in the master bath so hopefully this weekend that will get finished and I will have pictures to show you. We saved some money with the tiles, almost half, for basically the same look. I'll share that whole story with you soon!

First Breath - Photo Contest

2010-03-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

One of our passions around here is photography. I love to take pictures, WB loves to take pictures and now our children are getting into it. I decided to enter the I Heart Face Photography contest this week. It's titled Dramatic B&W.

WB took this photo minutes after our first born arrived into this world. There is so much I could say about this photo. The gloved hands you see were only a couple of the hands that worked on her within minutes of her being born. My room had a team of NICU doctors and nurses calmly awaiting her arrival. Luckily for me, after 17 hours of labor, I was too exhausted to be terribly alarmed. WB was equally clueless, as he had his camera posed and ready to photograph the event. Seconds after this picture was taken she was whisked out of the room under a hood of oxygen. NICU would be her home for the next week.

Since WB is a contributing blogger here at this site I thought I'd share his first glimpse of his first born. His little girl, who turned out to be quite the fighter.

Head over to I Heart Face Photography to see lots of other awesome pictures. And don't forget to sign up for my 18X24 Photo Poster give-away before you leave!

March Give Away- Free Photo Poster Print And A Winner!

2010-03-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have an awesome March give-away from U-printing for one of my lucky readers. They are giving away:
18x24 Poster Print for One (1) Winner (one of your photos)
Paper Stock: High Gloss or Semi Gloss
Specifications: 1 Business Day Turnaround Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only

I have several of these posters at my house and they are framed and hanging. Everyone comments on how nice they look, so I think you will like them too. It is a wonderful way to showcase your favorite pictures. U-printing not only does poster printing but they do promotional printing as well. So be sure to head over to their site and see all the neat things they have going on.

So all you need to do to enter is leave a comment. For more entries tweet it, facebook it, or link to this post in your blog. Come back each time and tell me what you have done for more entries. The winner will be announced Wednesday, March 31.

Good luck!

*I have to have an e-mail in order to award you the prize:)
And I will be receiving one poster print as well for hosting this give away.

Congrats to Spencer you are the lucky winner!!

The Painting Is Complete!

2010-03-24T11:52:00.001-07:00

Yes, the painting of the cabinets is done for the most part. Tips to anyone who paints their cabinets sand first, sand lightly in between and wait 24 hours between coats to keep it from chipping. Some you just have to learn the hard way I guess.

This my little vanity area before.

Here it is after.

Notice the light fixtures. I like these much better then our old ones and they did not cost that much at Home Depot. I did see some bronze light fixtures I loved, but they cost over twice as much as these. Being frugal minded I ~~blubbered like a baby~~ reluctantly put it back on the shelf. Oh and did you know there are a gazillion different light bulb choices? If you don't believe me go browse the lightbulb aisle in your home improvement store. I started to get a little grumpy at all the choices. WB, being the wonderful husband he is, recognizes my grumpiness sometimes even before I do. Anyway, I just couldn't decide.

WB calmly let me believe it was all up to me until he saw me fast approaching my melting point in which he stepped up to some nice round lightbulbs and said, "I believe these will cast you in a warm glow setting off your red highlights and if it's possible make you look even more stunning then you already are." What? You don't believe men say things like that? Well, those might not have been his exact words, but whatever he said made me melt. And there is my bit of marriage advice. Marry a man who knows how to sweet talk you in the lightbulb aisle.

This was our sink area before.

Here it is after.

Oh, and WB got some inexpensive drawer pulls at the home improvement store. We have painted our cabinet pulls in the past and it has worked nicely. This time the weather outside wasn't so nice and to save time we bought these. The key is to find some that are inexpensive. You could easily spend hundreds of dollars in drawer pulls, but for me these look fine and I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.

Next is the counter tops. We went with granite. We thought about doing our own concrete counter tops, but decided against. Number 1 it would take some time. WB only has the weekends to work and he is in the middle of training for a 150 mile bike ride sooooo time is limited. Number 2 I'm not sure my back would survive carrying a concrete slab up the steps to our bathroom. But there are some ways to save with granite, which I'll share in the next makeover post:)

Painting Cabinets

2010-03-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I have been in hiding since painting my cabinets. Not because I don't like them, but because I was discouraged. Let me explain. We picked a color. It is not the color WB's dear parents chose, which was a very nice color, just turned out a little too light and orange for our liking. We chose the top color.

I got busy taking down the doors and we started painting. I could have sworn I uttered the words "Shouldn't we sand this?" But WB says he never heard those words leave my mouth. I was probably dreaming this whole episode or something. But after we put on two coats and waited a day I saw some chips where the white paint was showing. I was mortified. Did we just paint all the cabinets for them to slowly chip away? WB wasn't very concerned as he was ready to move on to the floor. Whoa, there cowboy! I am all about being frugal and doing this ourselves but I don't want it to look like, well like I painted it.

Which moves me to lend some marriage advice. Oh come on, you knew I was going to work in some marriage advice somehow. When you begin a project don't just assume the other person knows what they are doing. Sometimes I just get into the "Yes dear" mode and I forget to voice my concerns or ask my husband if he has any. Very easily you can fall into the trap of believing your spouse has done the research when he is thinking you've done the research. And well, then you end up with chipping paint.

So here is the plan. We are going to paint another coat. I read online where it is a good idea to sand between coats very lightly. Also, you should wait several hours before adding the second layer. Ahem, we were a little too anxious to be done and see how it looked and we skipped a few things. But it can be fixed so we are fixing it. Then we will move on to the floor. Which we have picked out, but since this post is rambling on I'll just have to share it tomorrow, along with the cabinets.

Can you offer me any other painting advice, quick before I go start painting again!

Bathroom Remodel And More Marriage Advice

2010-03-15T13:09:00.001-07:00

Part 1 and 2 of the remodel.

I would love new cabinets and mirrors in my bathroom. I would not love the cost. So since this is a frugal bathroom makeover the plan is to paint the cabinets. I'd love to do some fancy distressing work on them, but when I mentioned this to WB he just looked at me.

He does that a lot. He stares with those gorgeous brown eyes, tilts his head to one side and arches his brows. Like when I wanted to have an "Oscar" themed birthday party for one of my kids and started talking about red carpets, limos and maybe one of those search light thingies to put in the front yard. Yep, I got the look.

Which brings me to the marriage advice part. Never marry a man with big brown eyes that have the ability to stop you mid-sentence with one look. You get all distracted and gooey feeling inside and then before you know it you're riding around on a tractor pregnant. Either that or purchase some of those blinders horses wear. I'm thinking of getting a pair for myself.

Alright, back to the remodel. Here are the colors I narrowed it down to.

Which do you like? I'm thinking the top one.

Now look at this:

This is a fifteen dollar cedar beam WB purchased. We wanted to frame our tub area somehow. We are going for a sort of rustic, old World feel. Anyway, here is what WB did with it.

It has no other purpose than to look nice. I will draw the wood into the decorating of the bathroom when I get to that. But it was fifteen dollars and I feel it adds some depth to the look of the bathroom.

Please weigh in with your color choice and feel free to leave any marriage advice of your own.

Frugal Master Bath-Part 2

2010-03-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you for joining me for my second installment of Frugal Master Bath Makeover 2nd edition. If you missed the first edition be sure to check it out here. I not only give you before pictures, but marriage advice. Yes folks, I like to sprinkle my post with a little bit of everything.

WB got busy tiling our tub.

The tile saw is downstairs and outside so he gets plenty of exercise during this little makeover. I have to tell him that several times a day so he doesn't feel guilty for oversleeping and missing his morning workouts. Tile work is hard work, really! If you've never done it try, you will be aching in places you never knew existed.

I love my new tub and fixtures he found. I've already enjoyed a nice warm, sudsy bubble bath in it. Oh, and I wasn't alone. I'm not sure what you're thinking, but if you are a mother of some little tots you'll understand. Any person in this family who takes a bath knows that if you dare to soak you will be joined by Little One. Doesn't matter if she's already had a bath that day. She loves a good bath.

Okay, the paint. That was my area. Here was my strategy. Go to the paint store. Look at samples. Pick out a few dozen colors. Stand in paint aisle and try to visualize what each would look like on my wall. Practice some yoga moves to help the visualization process. Go back and forth, back and forth until I'd narrowed it down to a couple I liked. Leisurely walk around the store thinking of a few other projects I'd like to do until inspiration struck.

Here's what happened. Went to store. Lost husband in fixtures while I went to paint section with all three kids. Little One decides she is tired and cranky and doesn't want to look at paint. Stand in paint aisle with fussing child while your two oldest children pretend not to know you. Look quickly at a couple hundred colors of paint. Grab the two colors within arms reach that look like they might work. Now carrying grumpy child take the paint samples to the desk to be mixed. Glancing over my shoulder I notice a pretty color demo on some drywall and ask how it was done. Plastic bags, base coat and glaze. Nodding my head I hand paint lady my paint samples and tell her that's what I want to do.

Here is the base coat, a pretty wheat color.

Let me just share what I learned about the plastic bag technique. It is messy, hard to control the amount of paint that goes on the wall, and did I mention MESSY. I painted the toilet area one afternoon while Little One napped and stopped. I wasn't sure of my color choice or my technique. I kept looking at the rest of the bathroom which just had the pretty wheat colored base coat on it and thought I liked that better. We left the paint like that for almost a week. I talked about blending in more colors, muting, being subtle... My husband just stared and nodded. Then one morning he sprung out of bed and declared, "I like it. Do the whole thing?" Long story short I traded the plastic bags for a sea sponge. I was able to control the amount of paint that went up and not so messy. After I sponged the paint on with one hand I had a plastic bag in the other to blot at it. This helped to blend it.

So there it is. Like it or not it is here to stay.

Next up is painting the cabinets. Join me tomorrow as I show you the three paint colors we picked out for that and the floor tiles we finally picked out! Please feel free to give input. I need it:)

Crafty Creations Carnival

2010-03-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Our sweet friend and former neighbor Maddie is hosting a Crafty Creations Carnival over at her blog. You are to post a link to some favorite crafty items that someone else has made. Isn't that a great idea? I thought so. Anyway, some of my favorite creations are from SashaSews. Sweet Sasha was one of my very first blogging friends way back when I started my first blog Eskimo Kisses and Air Hugs. She makes the most adorable stuff with the yummiest of fabrics.

Like this heart basket. I love to organize toys and things around the house in fabric baskets. They don't crack or break, they look pretty, and since they are fabric you don't have to worry about anyone falling and hitting their head on them:) Yes, I have a toddler in my house!

Please go check out her Etsy store where she has everything from Bible book covers to aprons!

If you have a crafty item of someones to share please head over the carnival!

*We're tiling the tub today, so I'll have a Frugal Bathroom make-over post soon.*

The Frugal Master Bath Makeover

2010-03-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Remodeling on a budget?

I'll give you two tips: 1. Marry an amazingly talented guy who can master just about any task he sets his mind too and 2. Do it in steps, so you can save up the money and shop for deals.

Oh, and please, you don't have to marry the above kind of guy to tackle this project, you can do it yourself. But I love to see my man in his work gear and so I'm all for the hubby doing most of the work while I take the pictures.

Okay, I'm getting off track. Anyway, last year WB redid our shower. We had a leak that was causing big problems for our dining room ceiling. My dear father-in-law fixed the ceiling (my MIL obviously also knows my tips on marrying ). But the whole shower pan had to be replaced, which meant tearing up the shower floor which lead me to getting a whole new shower. That's how things work around here, one little thing leads to one big thing and off we go.

Here are some before pictures:

Okay, the wall was green when we bought the house, obviously it used to be this red color. Even with the toilet tank on you could see the red peaking through. Did the person who painted this really just walk away and think no one would notice?

My vanity area

Sink area

Tub area after WB tore off the old tiles.

And here's the plan. We are going to paint the walls first, so we don't have to worry about dripping paint on new tiles or floor. Next is the tub will get retiled to match shower with brand new faucet, yippee. Since WB is also good at soldering pipes he will be replacing the leaky tub valve while we're at it. See those 2 by 4's along the tub. We will be making a little ledge covered in tile. My sweet man thinks I need a place for some candles, bubble bath etc. So we need to add extremely romantic to the above "what kind of guy to marry" list above.

There is a plan to put a cedar beam across ceiling above the tub to frame off that area. Next we'll save up for the floor tiles. No more icky, yucky peeling up laminate floors! Then finally we will replace the counter tops and paint the cabinets. Painting is much cheaper than replacing. Some day I'd love to update the lights and mirrors, but we'll just see how that goes:)

I'll share more pictures tomorrow of the paint job. I was scared, really of my color choice and of my technique, but I'll tell you about all that tomorrow.

Easy Black Bean Soup Crockpot Recipe

2010-02-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Connie over at Smockity Frocks is hosting a Crockpot Recipe Carnival. I am so excited because I have been using my crockpot like crazy recently. I've used this recipe several times and we LOVE it. Not only is it healthy it is frugal. Healthy Frugal, those two words together just make my heart go pitter patter!

Here it is:

4 (15 1/2 oz) cans black beans

if you use dried beans you've soaked overnight you will need to also add more chicken broth

2 medium onions chopped

6 garlic cloves pressed

1 can chicken broth

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon chili powder

dash of Worcestershire sauce

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for about 4 hours. I like to serve it with some grated Cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. It is so yummy with a big chunk of cornbread too!

I've made this so many times and sometimes I leave out the tomatoes if I don't have them, or I add a can of dark beer, or a squeeze of lime. You can even add some crisp bacon if you don't wait it to be quite so healthy. I don't think you can hurt this soup! Enjoy:)

And head over to Smockity Frocks for some other great recipes!

Sledding Fun

2010-02-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

With another 5 inches of snow last night this is proving to be the best snow we've had for at least 6 years! We are having so much fun, that the thought of living somewhere where this occurs on a regular basis is becoming to grow on me.
WB was home again today so after some Pioneer Woman's scones we were ready to sled. This time WB broke out the huge raft we got for our water adventures in Galveston one year. The whole family fit on it and away we went. I love these times as a family. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Here's a little video I put together of our adventure over the last week. Enjoy!

Sushi Making 101

2010-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

We love to eat sushi, particularly California rolls, around here. Usually after church on Sundays we stop by the local grocery where they have a sushi station. We can watch the sushi being made and pick some up to take home. It's become sort of a tradition.

My 10 year old Em recently asked if we could try to make our own. Why not? So off we went to World Market to pick up the Sushi rice and bamboo mat for rolling, as well as the seaweed sheets. Then at the grocery after church we picked up the imitation crab meat, cucumbers, avocado, and carrots. If you live somewhere where you could get super fresh sushi grade Tuna etc than try that. But the Panhandle of Texas just really isn't that close to the ocean, so we'll pass on the raw fish thank you:) That night we made our first round of sushi and it was very yummy. Some friends have asked if it was hard to do and the answer is no. To prove it Em made a sushi 101 video to share.

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken several hours after sunset. The city light in the distance bouncing off the snow and overcast snow cause the night to glow!

Well the promised snow storm hit us early this morning and it has been snowing the entire day. It is supposed to continue throughout the night and maybe even tomorrow morning. No sledding yet as the wind has been blowing too hard. We're hoping it will be better in the morning:)

I think tomorrow may be a bread baking day to go along with our leftover Creamy Bacon and Potato soup!

Some Of Our Home Grown Gifts...

2009-12-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

I posted in November about the busy elves here at Cotton-Top Hills, but I couldn't show you the entire picture. We didn't want anyone to see their gifts before they got them, that wouldn't be any fun. But now that Christmas gift opening is over I can show you some of our projects.

Em and Soph put together some fleece blankets for several members of our family. This one here is for our little nephew.

WB amazes me with his talent for woodworking. He is a true artist in that he can envision something and then go and put it together. Our little niece needed some food for her play kitchen so WB made her these.

I'm not sure she'll recognize these artistic wooden eggs and plate for what they are, but she's pretty sharp so I bet she does. But I can also hear her saying "Those eggs aren't white like the ones we buy at the store!".

Our little nephew is just starting to get around so we figured a train would keep him busy. We all helped with the sanding and varnishing of this little guy. It was so much fun to put it together.

We made a few more things that I'll just have to save for another day. But the best part of this whole venture was the joy we felt in making something for someone else. We spent many weekend hours working on something for someone else. It was a blessing to our family, and hopefully to those who received these heartfelt gifts.

Christmas Cookie Swap

2009-12-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

My blogging friend Jennifer is have a cookie swap over at her blog and she is also giving away some cookies to one lucky winner who participates in the Cookie swap. Go check out her blog and all the yummy cookie recipes people are posting.

The recipe I'm going to share is one that came from my grandmothers, Nano, family. Her parents came to this country from Germany and these cookies were a favorite. I must admit I usually leave out the minced citron, but I'm not sure why. I think they would be delicious with it!

Lebkuchen

1 cup honey
1 egg well beaten
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 T. lemon juice
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 cup minced citron
2 1/4 cups flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. each ground cloves, mace, allspice, soda, nutmeg, salt
blanched silvered almonds (optional)
silvered citron (optional)

Heat honey just under boiling in a saucepan. Cool to lukewarm and add egg, lemon rind, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Mix almonds and citron with 1/4 cup flour. Mix remaining flour with spices, soda, and salt in large mixing bowl. Combine honey mixture with dry ingredients. Add almond and citron mixture, and mix with hands. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Divide dough into quarters and roll each into a rectangle. Cut out cookies using round cookie cutters or you could use Christmas shapes. Place on greased cookie sheet, spread with glaze (recipe follows). You can decorate with blanched almonds or citron or leave plain. Bake in a preheated 400 F oven. After you place the cookies in the oven reduce heat to 375 F. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until cookies test done. These cookies should not be hard, but chewy and moist.

Glaze
1 egg white
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
dash of salt
1/4 t. vanilla or lemon juice
Beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold in sugar, salt, and vanilla or lemon juice.

You can put the glaze on after baking, which we usually did as we were decorating them for Christmas.

If you have a favorite recipe please share!

The Day of Shedding

2009-12-02T07:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday seemed to be a day of shedding for my family. Seems like some of us were just ready to lose a few things.

First thing in the morning we took Em to the dentist for the removal of her braces. She's had them on since April to correct a bite problem and to straighten her front teeth.

She was so excited to finally have them off! I think her teeth are beautiful.

This sweet child has two loose front teeth. Yesterday, much to her amazement, she was finally able to pull one out.

She may be asking Santa for her two front teeth if she manages to lose the other one before Christmas!

Then there is my dear WB. They had their annual moustache growing contest at work last month. The judges will announce the winner today, but yesterday was judgement day. So when he got home he very happily shaved off his facial hair.

Oh, there's my sweet face. I'd been missing parts of it. The part I couldn't see under the hair. I think he'll keep the sideburns for awhile. I kinda like them:)

Now for Little One and I. I'm not sure we shed anything yesterday. I could be pessimist and say I shed another year off my life since today is my birthday, but that sounds kind of negative. I prefer to think I gained another year of wisdom. I'd like to report that Little One shed her pull-ups for good, but we're not quite there yet.

So now I'm off to shed a few pounds of fat. Part of my new years resolution, I'm a year older, next year is my 20th high school reunion kind of thing.

How about you, shed anything recently?

The Elves Are Busy

2009-11-21T14:40:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago my little elves got very busy

Chief Elf, also known as WB, set up his little workshop.

These are just glimpses of the toys and presents that are being made.
Sorry, we can't look too close because then we might give away some surprises.

Let's just say this years Christmas is home-grown, like my kids. We've named our little home-grown business:

Look for our upcoming products in a store near you. Wait sorry, we're not quite there yet but maybe soon.

One more hint as to the loose theme we have attached to most of our gifts this year, because I'm all about themes and tying our gift giving into some sort of lesson. We are studying Texas this year. Oh, that was one hint, but I'll give you one more:

I'll keep you up to date on our progress and maybe unveil some of our projects over at my Crafty Corner in the next few weeks:)

Sunset At Cotton-Top Hills

2009-11-17T13:59:00.001-08:00

Easy Christmas Gift for Preschooler

2009-11-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

Little Ones big sister's are busy creating Christmas gifts for their loved ones. We came up with a fun and easy idea for their 2 1/2 year old sister. After looking at some of the systems that "help" read stories to children, like Leapfrog and the such we decided we could come up with our own little system. Borrowing from the reading centers we used to have in school we are using this:

And these:

Then the 7 year old and 9 year old are going to record each story to a cassette, put it in a baggie they have decorated and give the whole caboodle to Little One. So now when her sisters go off to read she can plop down in her little nook and read along with her sisters!

Do you have any easy preschool gifts to share?

Pumpkin Waffles...Yum!

2009-10-02T07:39:00.001-07:00

This morning we didn't have a pumpkin candle to burn, so we decided to welcome the fall by stirring up some autumn aromas in our kitchen.

I got this recipe at Smitten Kitchen, which is a site I just found, and it has some wonderful recipes. There are beautiful pictures here of food prep as well. Everything is so pristine and beautiful. But you probably won't find that here. Especially when I have my three little chefs helping me out. Oh who am I fooling, it doesn't happen when I'm cooking alone either. But this is REAL folks, this is life at my house. So I'm giving you fair warning, these pictures may not be clutter free, but here at Cotton-Top Hills that is the norm. The food is usually real good anyways. I promise!

First you sift all the dry ingredients. Try to get them all in the bowl as opposed to all over your 2 year old and counter-tops, but if that happens don't despair it will turn out just the same.

Next let your expert whisker whisk up all the wet ingredients, while you go clean up all the clutter on your school table.

Then put your 7 year old to work beating the egg whites until soft peaks form, because you are cleaning up the flour that is all over the 2 year old and counter.

Gently fold the egg whites into the liquid and flour mixture that your 2 year old has diligently stirred.

Scoop into hot waffle iron

And serve. They are so deliciously yummy and makes your house smell like fall just burst through the front doors.

I'd give you the recipe here, but I don't want to get anyone upset about recipe stealing or the sort so instead I'm going to send you over to Smitten Kitchen to grab it. That way you can compare her pretty pictures, to my not so pretty ones. I'm okay with that because I am secure in my messy ways.

Happy Fall!

Fair Ribbons

2009-09-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

To say our garden was pitiful this year would be an understatement. I'd show you a picture if it didn't make me cry to look at it. We still haven't figured out what we did, or what mother nature did, to our three garden plots. The last two summers we have had corn, peppers, squash, gourds, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and eggplant galore. This year we have barely had enough tomatoes for a salad, a couple of eggplants,and a few watermelons. The rest didn't produce at all.

A few accidental pumpkin vines managed to grow in our front flower beds. We nursed them all summer, allowing them to take over, in hopes of a few pumpkins. Our effort paid off with one, yes ONE, big pumpkin. Little One took very good care of the mini-pumpkin vine which has produced many little pumpkins.

So our visions of another year of taking lots of produce to the fair for more ribbons dwindled. But Em managed to enter one watermelon, Soph the lone pumpkin, and Little One her mini-pumpkins. Guess what? They all won ribbons. I was so proud of them.

Disclaimer: Soph's pumpkin is not the actual pumpkin she entered. Seems there are pumpkin snatchers at the fair who will take your pumpkin and ribbon even when your name is boldly written on it!

Em also entered a very yummy cake, which won in our books and a picture. Neither won ribbons, but I loved seeing her work hard. We're already looking forward to what we can enter next year!

Seeing A Diamond In The Rough

2009-09-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

It was three years this July that I first laid eyes on our house. We had decided to move from the small town we were living in to be closer to the "city". We looked at houses in town and nothing even came close to appealing to my husband and I. Then I found this house online while browsing the local real estate. It seemed wonderful. The up close picture of the two story brick house looked promising. Plus it had 4 bedrooms and according to google map it looked to sit about 6 miles outside of town in the canyons. We sent it to our realtor and off we went.

This is what we found.

The weeds and native grasses had run of the place. There was no sidewalk up to the front door or any sort of walking paths around the yard. No people were living in this place, but there was no doubt that occupants of this property were lurking all around.

But I remember the hot sun beating down on me as I climbed the driveway thinking that this was home. Tears even came to my eyes at the thought of living in such a place. Later I would find out I was pregnant, which could have contributed to the emotions I was feeling, but no matter I loved the place just the same.

Ten years earlier my husband and I had found this little tucked away neighborhood as we were driving around killing time during a trip to the "big city". We both agreed we would love to live here some day and raise a family. It was a dream that we pushed aside as life got busy with the arrival of two little girls, jobs, and the paying of everyday expenses. Moving just wasn't a priority or a possibility for those ten years.

Moving into our dream house wasn't easy in many respects. Between a difficult pregnancy, stress filled jobs and living between homes an hour apart for 6 months I would be lying if I said all was a bed of roses. Even the fixing up of the place was crazy at times. I was for the most part out of commission, either because of my expanding middle or later because of the needs of my newborn. A newborn that was at one time labeled as a "failure to thrive".

We had our work cut out for us! The first project we would tackle would be making a sidewalk up to the front door. And of course if you own even a little bit of land we had to name the place...

I'll give you a hint as to what it was...
Any guesses? And tell me do you see the diamond in the rough or do you prefer your diamond already buffed and polished?

*This is a Blue Scaled quail also known as Cotton-Top Quail. When we moved in we had dozens of these guys running around the place. They would come with their fluffly little babies and at times I could look out my window and see dozens of these Cotton-Tops bobbing up and down the Canyon, filling the hills with white topped birds. So we named our place Cotton-Top Hills that spring and it has stuck.

Winner of Give Away

2009-09-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

The winner of the wall graphic give away is Elizabeth!

Congratulations:)
Large Format posters will be in touch soon with your winning information.

New Blog and Give Away

2009-09-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have my new blog up and running. Actually I added three new blogs to my home site Eskimo Kisses and Air Hugs. Slowly, I will be getting each of my blogs up to speed and linking them all together on each one. For now my home site has buttons that can link you to them. This blog will be dedicated to home life here at Cotton-Top Hills. We are constantly making improvements, adding this and that, and learning to adjust to the rural life in the Texas Panhandle.

To help kick off this new blog I have a give away from Large Format Posters. I'm really excited about this new product. I will be giving away a 24 X 24 wall graphic. It is like a large sticker you can post on any flat service, check out what it looks like here.

I think I'd use this picture my husband took of our house recently while flying with a friend.
To enter this give-away just leave a comment telling what you would use your wall graphic for. If you would like to be entered more than once tweet about it, blog about it, or put a link to my blog on your facebook page. Then come back and let me know that you did in a separate comment.
**Winners and blogger must pay $5 Handling Fee to claim prize, shipping is free. Only open to US residents.

If you want another chance to when this wall graphic check out my other new blog about homeschooling here.

Good luck everyone!

**Forgot to mention the contest winners will be picked on Monday, Sept. 14th!.**