This is just how I've been feeling.  Thanks, Miss Funky Junk, for putting it into words.

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Christmas Crafts

This lil elf's been busy...

Turkey Jive

Ready to eat...

Check out my turkey art.  Apparently someone was just jealous or mean or both...

Truth be told, I'm having a hard time with holidays this year.  I've been thinking a lot of my grama who passed a year ago.  I'm also just bummed and mad that we can't afford to travel for the holidays to be with family and no one is coming to see us.  Despite how much I love living in the Yoop, I sometimes feel really lonely and isolated living where I do.   But life goes on and I have my little family who depends on me to bring a little festive into our home, so I managed to crawl out of the fetal position this weekend and make it happen.

Asian Beef Noodle Soup

I just realized that a majority of my recipes on this blog are for soup!  Note to self:  Non-soup recipe next time.

Anyway, I have a church cookbook that I use frequently.  Church cookbooks are among the best, by the way.  I have always breezed past this one but no longer.  It was a hit with the family.


Asian Beef Noodle Soup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or sesame oil)
6 oz. boneless beef sirloin, cut into bite size strips (I used stew meat)
1 red bell pepper
3-4 green onions, sliced
4 1/2 cups water
2 pkgs. oriental flavor Ramen noodles

In large pot heat oil.  Add beef, pepper and onion.  Cook and stir until beef is no longer pink.  Stir in water and contents of ramen seasoning packets.  Bring to a boil.  Break up ramen noodles and add to pot.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.

Serves 4

My Wee One is 10...

Our youngest is 10.  Wah.....Like all parents we wonder where the time has gone.  We had a birthday party for him and brought the gang down to the park where we hadn't been in a couple years.  It brought back a ton of memories of when both our kids were little.  We were at that park at least three times a week back then.  We felt a little out of place today, watching all the new parents there.  On the days when your kids are being weenies, you may question your decision to ever have kids.  But when you are at the park like we were today, those weenie days seem impossible.  In fact, you regret the weenie days altogether.

Meteor Shower and Family Bonding

So I heard there was going to be a magnificent meteor shower on Saturday night.  I convinced my family to go out looking for it.  I enticed them with a beach fire and, for my husband and I, some of our favorite brew. After sitting around the fire for almost an hour, my snarky daughter said, "This is what happens when you believe a Facebook post on meteor showers, mom."  Rude.

I do believe we saw at least six shooting stars after that, two of which were seen by Miss Skeptical.  And in between we had some family bonding time which we needed.  It was fun!

Until the next morning when we realized the lighter fluid bottle wasn't closed all the way and had leaked in the trunk.  Brilliant as a meteor, I tell ya.

To-Do List Follow-Up

Let's see how I did, shall we?...

1. Grocery shop with reusable bags instead of getting plastic ones (CHECK)
2. Collect branches for a craft I'm working on
3. Start a cork project (CHECK)
4. Make invitations for Garret's birthday (CHECK)
5. Take pictures for Garret's birthday party scavenger hunt (CHECK)
6. Buy boots for Kalen (CHECK)
7. Make flag for information picket (CHECK)
8. Bring a load of yard crap to the compost (CHECK)

Branches just didn't happen.  It was rainy and cold most of the time.  I will have to wait for dryer weather.  But all in all I'm glad I completed most of my list.  Here's the cork project I completed.

A little cork board strip.  I found this strip of trim in my garage.  I stained it then attached the corks with hot glue.  Some of the rubbery corks didn't like the hot glue so I used tacky glue for them.  Pretty easy.  

To-Do List For My Long Weekend

I have a 4-day weekend coming up.  Woohoo! 

Here's my to-do list.  Afterwards, I will post on how well I did.

1. Grocery shop with reusable bags instead of getting plastic ones
2. Collect branches for a craft I'm working on
3. Start a cork project
4. Make invitations for Garret's birthday
5. Take pictures for Garret's birthday party scavenger hunt
6. Buy boots for Kalen
7. Make flag for information picket
8. Bring a load of yard crap to the compost

Wish me luck!

Beer and Cheese Tasting

We got some tickets for a beer and cheese tasting event at a local micro brew along with the local co-op.  It sounded interesting.  Usually it would be a wine and cheese event but they were free tickets given to us by a friend, we like beer, and we like cheese so what the heck...

The menu:

1. Belgian Wit and Donnay Dairy Organic Chevre (goat cheese)
2. Saison and Brie Couronne
3. Acer Rubrum (brown ale) and Old Amsterdam (Gouda)
4. Summit IPA and Carr Valley Applewood Smoked Cheddar
5. IPA and Roquefort

My Favorite Beer:  Belgian Wit, Saison, and Acer Rubrum
My Favorite Cheese:  Gouda, Smoked Cheddar, and Roquefort

I have to say the Roquefort is such an odd mix.  It smells like a cow patty or as my husband said, "It smells like back home."  But strangely enough I liked the strong taste.  I do like blue cheese but this stuff is over the top.

The brewery we went to is in an old building that used to be a car garage, many times over.  I feel a special connection to it because my grandpa worked there as a mechanic.  My grama worked at the candy shop up the street.  They met in that neighborhood.  She would walk by the garage while he was on his breaks.  Kind of romantic, I think.  The brewery that is there now incorporates some of that history.  Everything is recycled and reused.  Bar stools are made of wood and old pipe.  The bar has old tin roofing along the outside of it.  The booths were going to be thrown away by another local business and were reupholstered with old army blankets.  The list goes on and on.  Super cool place.

There is Someone...

I'm catching up on my blog reading.  Here's a quote from Nienie (http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/) that made me feel good.

There is someone you can forgive.
There is someone you can thank.
There is someone you can serve and lift.
You can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may feel.
With this knowledge, life is beautiful no matter the pain, loneliness,
confusion, heartbreak, and sadness in the world.
How blessed I am and feel each day.

Junk in the Trunk

I'm reading the book, "Eat Pray Love".  I didn't realize it was based on the author's own experience.  So far, I'm in love with it.  I relate to her struggle in some ways and I'm inspired by her decision to make this journey she writes about in order to heal herself.  I know it sounds corny but I've really been struggling lately and I feel like I was meant to read this book right now.

I have a lot of junk in my trunk (and I don't mean my ass here) that I need to sort through.  I need to be a better me and I need to get proactive about it.

Some of my favorites so far in this book...

"Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure.  Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one.  Americans spend billions to keep themselves amused with everything from porn to theme parks to wars, but that's not exactly the same thing as quiet enjoyment.   Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today."

"Americans don't really know how to do nothing."

"The Bhagavad Gita - that ancient Indian Yogic text - says that it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection."    (I absolutely LOVE this one, by the way)                                                                                                                                          

Pallet Garden All Growed Up

Blue Moon

I love the moon.  Always have.  I especially love how it looks when it's coming up over the lake.  So when I found out it was the year of the blue moon, I waited patiently with my camera.  It was also a perfect night for my son and I to take a night swim.  It's become a little tradition for us, only I didn't realize it until after this particular swim when he said to me, "At least we got to swim in the lake at night before summer was over!"

Globe Thistle

I am just fascinated by these flowers!

Finished Projects...Well Almost.

I am determined to keep this old spider plant alive.  My old neighbor gave it  to me.  I'm trying to root it so though it might look nice in here while it's growing roots.  I put some corks in the top to keep it centered and in the water.

My bottle cap mirror is done.  Just have to get a piece of mirror for the center but the hard part is done.   Thanks to all my friends and family for drinking so much  :) 

Found this frame at Vinnies.  I was planning on making it a wine cork board but I would have to collect corks for the next 10 years!  So it got a couple coats of chalkboard paint instead. 

Detroit Game

We finally got to a Tigers game.  I am not a sports nut but I enjoyed the view and the experience.  Definitely better than watching on TV.

View From the Hammock

We had lots of rain this weekend.  So you can imagine how great it felt to wake up to nothing but sunshine and blue skies.  Enjoyed coffee and breakfast outside.  A walk with the hubby, a walk with the dog, a bike ride with my son, and steaks on the grill.  Somewhere between coffee and the walk with my hubby, I enjoyed the view from the hammock.