Feelin' Good!

Anyone who knows me understands that I long to be creative. I was not given that gift. Give me a list of instructions, and I can produce results. But even with instructions, I don't generally turn out quality crafting.



That's why I'm so pleased with today's production. We got some throw pillows with our couch that I have almost always thought were hideous. But I hate spending $20+ on new pillows. So one of the websites that I follow (and imagine myself being so creative & productive) gave instructions on how to make pillow slipcovers. It sounded easy, so I did it (3 months later)! And it fit! Amazing. And since they are slipcovers, I can: a) remove them to wash in the unlikely event my children will spill milk, jelly, snot, oil, or bath wash on them; and b) theoretically make so many different kinds to fit my mood or season. Not that I think that'll happen anytime soon. But I can dream, can't I?

Free at last!

Filipe kicked me out of the house today to go grocery shopping.

As I'm pushing the cart outside, I see my shadow, and it's not pretty--my frayed stonewash jeans, boxy v-neck long-sleeved tee (navy, of course), slip-on Keds, and my lifeless locks. I'm feeling matronly and frumpish. This sucks.

So I stop by Pro-Cuts on the way home. I know, you can only expect so much from an $11.95 haircut, but after lopping off the excess hair, I feel free! I feel at least 9 months younger. Now, I need to find a $28 wardrobe makeover, and I'll be set.

The bug! The bug!

It must be going around... the sick bug. My friend Jessy has two of four kids down (at last report), and Sofia woke up last night with a fever. It's high enough to keep her from playing much, but not so high she's miserable. Which means happy day for everyone today. In our house, when someone is sick, they get to watch more TV than normal, to keep them from overexerting themselves. Which means Sam & Ben are happy campers too... Hello Clifford!

My morning

Today's happy thoughts brought to you by Ben....

Colorful Pasta with Wham

Today's lunch was brought to you by:

1 pkg. (16 oz.) tricolor spiral pasta

1 1/2 cups cubed wham

1 can (15 1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions, divided

1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish, combine the pasta, wham, corn, 1 cup cheese and 3/4 cup onions. In a bowl, combine the broth, soup, milk and seasonings. Pour over pasta mixture; mix well.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions. Bake 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Makes 8 servings.

Book of the Week

This is a story about a mouse who lives in the library. He loves to read all kinds of books at night when the library is quiet. He finally gets inspired to write his own books, and leave them on the shelves. Everyone is curious to know who this new author is. It has such a cute ending that is supposed to inspire anyone to write a book!

Tea Time

One activity my rarely-girly-girl daughter likes to do when her brothers take a nap is play tea party. Today we had a Sabbath Tea, complete with juice & animal crackers. Living the high life!