April Garden Happenings

Hi.

It's been a while. well more than a while, if I am being honest. But, I had it recently suggested to me by a friend that I should write a blog. I think I shall just continue in the same vein as I have been doing. I am not into being super popular, or worried about how many followers I have, so it should work out just fine. (insert laugh.)

April happenings in the garden this week are as follows:
• Mint growing like a weed.
• Tomato plantings are getting a bit bigger.
• Seeding for summer flowers such as zinnias and sunflowers.
• Various squash has been transplanted from the mini-greenhouse into the garden, and I have intentions to also plant some by seed, although that hasn't happened yet.
• Canna Lillies are beginning to bloom due to the excessive heat we have had. I just love these, and they look especially wonderful near the pool.

Truthfully, I have been a bit under the weather, and in the span of the last 24 hours have spent quite a lot of it at the doctor's office. I am suspicious that I may have a dog allergy, and today ended up at urgent care with an ear infection, secondary to ...drumroll please...allergies. I have never thought I had them, but perhaps I was wrong. I know, I know...the first time I have been wrong all year. lol. Anyway, hopefully with these antibiotics and prescription allergy med, I will soon be on my way to fabulous. When the lab work for a suspected dog allergy comes back it will be interesting to see the results. And Monday, visits to the orthopedic surgeon, as well.

I have been planning on going back to work as an RN, in L&D. Having just completed my BSN in December, I have filled out a few applications, and sent out some feelers to friends. Today, I got an email for a phone interview, and I am hopeful that another application will also yield results. Sometimes, it is who you know. I am looking forward to working again.

Well, that's about it today. Here are some pics of the adorable chickies right now.

#lighttheworld DAY 1

Day 1: "Freely ye have received, freely give."

Today is December 1st, and it is officially the kickoff of our church's Light the World campaign, which is essentially to spread God's love through service to others. I am SO excited this year! Today we are talking about giving. The activity we are doing today is choosing one family member and perform an act of service for them. I will let you know how it goes!

 We printed out all our activities for #lighttheworld, enough for each person to take one for the day to remind themselves, and put them in this cute advent board. You could do something similar or even clothespin them to a cord, or put them in little bags. There are so many cute ideas on Pinterest. hahaha.

Here are the tags I have created for our family that go with each day to go in our advent board. Click on the pic to use for yourself.

Also, I have made some little tags up for this month. Here they are if you'd like to print them. I will probably print mine on cardstock, but they can also be printed on the large 8 1/2 by 11 inch shipping label and cut out.

Light the World 2017

This year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, on Mormon.org, is again taking the initiative to share the message of the life of Jesus Christ, by encouraging us to participate in the #lighttheworld by serving those in need. In this way we are showing how we live the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives and letting our light shine.

Last year, about half way through the month of December, I suddenly discovered this was happening, and watched as others actively participated and shared how it had brightened their lives and the lives of those they served and interacted with. I learned of some amazing stories, and I have to say, I felt quite sad not to have known about it from the first. All I can say is, last year is a blur because of all that we had going on in our family, with my parents, and siblings, and children.

Anyway, long story short, I am super excited to have planned some exciting ways for my family to be active participants as we attempt to #lighttheworld!

Here are the activities we have chosen to do this season. 
For the month of December:
1 - Matthew 10:8 - "Freely ye have received, freely give." - Choose one family member & perform and act of service for them.
2 - Matthew 25:35 - "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink." - Donate water bottles to local shelter & attend a Christmas show to fill ourselves with the Christmas spirit!
3 - Matthew 12:12 - "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." - Watch the Christmas Broadcast with family - dessert & hot chocolate.
4 - Matthew 22:39 - "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." - Neighbor Family Dinner/Games
5 - Matthew 15:4 - "Honor thy father and thy mother." - Write a note to grandparents and send or deliver it.
6 - Matthew 7:1 - "Judge not, that ye be not judged." - Go all day without having negative thoughts or words about/towards another person.
7 - Mark 10:14 - "Suffer the little children to come unto me." - Take coloring books to local children's hospital.
8 - Matthew 5:44 - "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. - Choose a random act of kindness and perform it today (RAOK).
9 - Matthew 25:36 - "I was sick and ye visited me." - Find someone who is not feeling well and drop off dinner & a note.
10 - John 5:39 - "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life." - Invite a friend and go see the lights at the LDS temple in our area. Link is here if you live in Arizona. 
11 - Matthew 25:35 - "I was a stranger and ye took me in." - Widow deliveries - this could be a note, a treat, a flower, or just a visit.
12 - Matthew 5:4 - "Blessed are they that mourn." - Take flowers to someone who needs cheering up.
13 - Matthew 7:12 - "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." - Ding dong ditch someone or a few people with a treat. (At the end of this post is a printable you can click on and print and attach to your treat.) Love doing this with my kids!
14 - Matthew 6:21 - "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Work at a shelter, providing meals. Here is the link to Feed My Starving Children, which is where we have chosen for this activity.
15 - Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful." - Deliver a Christmas item to the LDS missionaries who are serving in our area or home ward. This could be a treat or a small tree, or an ornament...the possibilities are endless!
16 - Matthew 25:36 - "(I was) naked and ye clothed me." - Choose gently used & clean, warm clothes or jackets to donate to a local shelter.
17 - 3 Nephi 18:22 - "Ye shall meet together oft." - Deliver small treats/cookies to neighbors &/or friends.
18 - Matthew 6:14 - "Forgive men their trespasses." - Choose someone who you may have a difficult time with and do something nice for them.
19 - Matthew 5:12 - "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad." - Drive around and listen to Christmas music and look at the lights and appreciate others talents.
20 - Luke 12:15 - "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." - Write down a list of things you are grateful for and share during dinner.
21 - Matthew 25:35 - "For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat." - Put together charity packets as a family for those in need you might drive by during the day.
22 - 3 Nephi 27:21 - "That which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do." - Have niece & nephews or grandkids or friends children over so their parents can wrap or last minute shop without them around. 
23 - Matthew 25:36 - "I was in prison and ye came unto me." - Angel trees - children of prison inmates need Christmas too. Here is the link.
24 - 3 Nephi 18:15 - "Ye must watch and pray always." - Sing at a nursing home, hand out notes and pray for the people sung to tonight.
25 - Matthew 5:14 - "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Make sure to write down, talk about and share our experiences with others. Make sure to reflect on what we have learned, felt, and would do again or do differently next year. 

Other Color Options - 2017 YW Binder Covers

We are loving these so much we decided we needed color options! To print, click on the picture and print! Easy!

2017 YW Binder Covers

2017 is upon us. I didn't post at all during 2016 except to post my binder covers for YW! hahaha

Here is this year's offering. I am now camp director and am not doing the regular day to day things in YW, however, as is usual, my oldest daughter is, & asked me to help her get some paperwork together. We are of course running just a tad late on that, however, I do really love these front and back covers. They go with the vintage vibe that some of us are in love with right now! 

Here's a little tip for you: If you'd like some of the same paper for the binding of your notebook, just print an extra copy and trim the paper to fit. It will! Good luck!

2016 YW Theme Printable

The new year is fast approaching & we are starting to think about next year. This year's theme that was announced is found in 2 Nephi 31:20. I thought I'd do up something super quick and yet, because
this scripture has so much in it, it seems wrong to not include the entire thing. So, as always when I
create something, it begins as something and ends as something else. Enjoy!

A Few Cuties!

I know I've talked about how we are doing a superhero theme this year in YW. And this clever woman, Marquette LaRee, created some amazing logos for a superhero theme she's done. We loved hers so much, and she had them available for download, so we took them and made buttons that the girls can earn throughout the year. Each month, if they complete a value experience or begin a project, they get the corresponding button for the month. 

The cool thing is that the girls can put them on their lanyards for girls camp. My lanyard is the one pictured above, from many past years at camp. The girls love them, and trade them with each other. They earn them for various certification items they complete. The nurse even has one she gives out to girls who are caught "drinking water"! :) The buttons were my good friend, Britt's idea. She is so creative!

Here's a closer look at the buttons. I want to think of one the girls can earn from the Bishop. Gotta brainstorm!

Another thing that came in this week were these little beauties! I just love them. They are little post-it notes for girls to stick on their mirrors to remind themselves of the goal they are working on for their Personal Progress. So cute & helpful! (I got the idea here.) 

That's all for now!

Happy spring break!

DIY Water Balloon Launcher & YW Honor Bee Printable

Over Valentine's Day weekend, we had an awesome young woman get baptized. Since she is 17, and a junior in high school, she won't need to complete the entire personal progress program. I believe the book specifies that instead of completing the 3 requirements and the 3 elective requirements of each value, she only needs to complete the 3 required ones and then complete a 10 hr. project for each value. This is still a lot if you are 17 already. We recently had a young woman complete her Personal Progress and she is a junior as well. We paired these two up to help each other, but to complete your honor bee, there is still some documenting that needs to happen that the book doesn't really give space for. The printable below are what we are going to use. Feel free to use them as well. (If you click on the pages below, it will enable you to print them. They are half sheets...fyi)

The sheet on "How to be a personal progress mentor,"  I did redo to fit our look. The original was found on inkablinka.com.  It just gave some really great ideas. Take a look! Love them! 

On another note, isn't it wonderful when a child asks at 9:30 at night if you can help them build a water balloon launcher before 10:30 the next morning for their college physics class? I guess I am just glad she asked. :) We had a great time and I can envision quite a few uses for this little baby after she is done with it!  

Supplies needed:

2 - 2x4 - cut into 4 pieces 36" long & 2 pieces 24" long

2 -1x3 - 6 ft long - cut into one piece 24" & 2 pieces 36" long

1 1/2" drywall screws

drill

3/8" drill bit

latex tubing

funnel

2 washers big enough to cover the bottom of the funnel

thin nylon cording

Instructions:

1. Screw the rectangular base together by  putting the 2 - 24" pieces of 2x4 inside 2 pieces of 36" 2x4 using your drill and drywall screws. I did pre-drill my wood because the 2x4's are generally very hard.

2. Drill 2 holes using the 3/8 in drill bit into one end of each of the 36" 2x4's that are left. This is where you will be inserting the latex tubing. 

3. Screw these 2 - 36" pieces upright into the base as shown in the picture above, making sure that the holes you drilled are at the top.

4. Connect the 1x3 measuring 24" across the front of the 2 upright pieces. This brace keeps them stable. I used my nail gun but you can easily use your drill and some screws.

5. Connect the braces on the sides (using the last 2 36" pieces of 1x3). Prior to doing this, I held them up and marked off the angles where the wood would hang over. Then I trimmed those pieces off. I used my nail gun to also connect these braces but you can use your drill here as well.

6. Drill 2 holes into the sides of the funnel on each side. Run the latex tubing through these and through the upright 2x4's as shown in the pic above. Tie a knot to secure. Do this on each side.

7. Tie a knot in one end of the nylon cording. Run this piece through the funnel and on the other side of the funnel run a washer and tie a knot. 

8. Now you are ready for a water balloon!

Easy!

2015 YW Binder Cover

I know I am a bit late with this, but our ward really wanted to get the girls out moving, using the theme this year. The YW leaders talked about a bunch of ideas all geared toward doing service, and in the end, decided to really focus on being someone's hero...specifically a superhero! When you are a superhero, you aren't looking at yourself, you are really focused on others...to completely put your heart, might, mind & strength of everything you are, into it. So, to go with that, here is a printable that can be used for a binder cover, which is what I intend to use it for. (If you click on the picture, it will let you be able to print it.)

Happy serving!

2015 YW Themed Leather Band

In Young Women this year, the theme is "O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind & strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." D&C 4:2

We decided to make a cute little leather band for each of the girls with the theme. I invited over the YW leaders to help make them, because after making one, I decided I would not be doing all 24 by myself! (lol) These are pretty labor intensive, as I was cutting the leather, punching the discs, etc. In a couple hrs, we had 8 completed, so a few more mornings and we will be done.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

Seedlings Looking Good

It's time to start thinking about a spring garden! If you haven't started thinking about what varieties you will plant this year, you'd better get busy. Even if you aren't lucky enough to enjoy Arizona's year round gardening weather, Jan/Feb is the perfect time to order seed catalogs and begin making garden plans. 

I like to order my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, located in Mansfield, MO, and have been doing so for years, simply because of the varieties of non-GMO seeds that they offer. On a side note, they actually have a Spring Planting Festival in May every year. I would LOVE to go, and one of these years I will make the effort. 

A few weeks ago, I spent a lovely afternoon getting my little seedlings planted in their cute little pots. (I love that color! It's my fave...) The tomato varieties that I started on 1-16-2015 are all starting to get their 2nd leaves. That means that I can start giving them liquid food once a week or so, until they are ready to go out in the garden at the end of the month. They are happy in their little greenhouse and our weather here in Arizona is going to be 80 degrees by Saturday, so if that holds through the month, it will be perfect for these little guys to get transplanted out into their permanent home in the garden.

As you can see in the picture above, the sugar snap peas really are going for it. I probably should have just put them right into the garden, except last year I fought with the birds over them, & I wasn't into that this year. (The birds thought they should be eaten & I didn't!) I actually had to replant those little guys 3 times until I got smart and put covers over them. This year, I've been working to redo some of the beds in the garden, so I decided to just start them indoors, which would actually save me the effort of having to replant them or cover them. They've been fine, but today, with the weather so nice, I decided to start the hardening off process so they can be transplanted. If you don't know what that means, hardening off is when you put your seedlings out into the weather they will be in, for a few hours a day, just to give them a gradual adjustment to the wind & sun, and being out of their protected little environment they've been in. If you don't do this, they actually take offense, and go into a much longer shock period. Well, that's all for today.

Happy gardening!

White Board Calendar

In an attempt to get organized with the life of my busy husband and children, as well as myself, I suppose, we needed a new calendar. We had for years the hanging paper type, which always worked well, but last year I decided to try a digital online version. The calendar was cool, it updated everyone, and worked well, if you logged in and looked at it, which isn't my husband's strong suit. And the kids never did. So, back to the kind that is right in your face. I actually saw that my hubby wrote something on it the other day! Surprise, surprise! Maybe this one will work!

This is how I made this calendar.
1) I purchased the calendar white board from Target. I believe it was under $10. You could actually make your own with white board from your local hardware store, and either writing the calendar on with sharpie or using vinyl. I didn't feel like being that crafty, & I was afraid if I added one more step, I would go another year without a calendar. (Not good at all!)
2) For the frame, I purchased 2 plain 1" x 3" pine boards & 1 furring strip from my local hardware store.
3) I cut the 1" x 3" to fit, using my miter saw, and nailed them to the front of the calendar, after applying some clear liquid nails to the edge (just to give it some added bonding).
4) I then cut the furring and applied to the back all the way around the frame. This made the sides flush with the wall.
5) The only thing left to do was paint and hang it up. Really, it was that easy.

Chalkboard Silhouette Job Charts/Message Boards

As moms, we all struggle with how to get the job/chore assignments done in an easy way that will teach our children how to work and keep them accountable for their responsibilities. I used to have a white board magnetic job chart, when the kids were a bit smaller, which really worked well. However, as they have grown, and we have one who is married now, and darn it, won't come back to do her chores... (hahaha), we had a real need to redo how the home responsibilities were assigned. Last year, for the entire year, I told myself that I really needed to get on it. And yet, as most of us know, life took over and it never got done. We struggled all year with arguments of who had what assignment, and comments like, "That's not my job!" So, I vowed that this year it was going to be different!

I had the idea near the end of last year that it would be cool to have silhouettes that were chalkboards and we could just write what we wanted each family member (notice I say family member, since I made one for me & the hubby) to do on them. So, this is how I made them.

1) I took side profiles of each family member still living at home on my phone. 

2) I printed the picture via AirPrint to my printer.

3) I enlarged each picture until it was the size I wanted.

4) I drew around each picture profile with sharpie to get the silhouette of each family member.

5) I traced each silhouette onto 1/4" plywood.

6) I cut each silhouette out with my trusty scroll saw. Love that thing!

7) I applied several layers of chalkboard paint (more layers makes it easier to write on).

8) I painted the background wood to my liking.

9) Using liquid nails clear, I glued the chalkboard silhouette onto the background wood.

10) After applying a hammer in hanger on the back, the silhouettes were hung up.

Yay! They are awesome. I love them, and I know they will get good use.

Summer Sewing Fun Class Update

Here are a few of the girls and their projects from the Summer Fun Sewing Class that we've had going for the last 3 weeks. While we are on a week break, to enjoy the holiday festivities this weekend, we have truly enjoyed teaching all these wonderful girls. They have done so well, and we are so proud of them. If you don't see your daughter here, please check our Facebook page! We simply had so many students, it became impossible to post them all on this blog!

The tote bags were all looking so great, and you girls learned how to turn handles, how to work with interfacing, how to put buttons on, and how to use the rotary cutter, just to name a few skills! Amazing!

The pajama bottoms/pj shorts all turned out so cute, and some of the girls even put pockets in theirs! We had one girl put side pockets in her pair, and that can be somewhat tricky for a beginner. We think she did very well. A few of the moms said they needed their daughter to put their sewing skills to use and make them a pair! 

So far, one student has attempted an apron, and she chose the cute cherry fabric you see in the picture above, accented with a red fabric with tiny white polkadots on it. It turned out great...ready for the kitchen! Hmm...maybe she will bake us teachers something.

After the girls finish a project, sometimes there is time left to begin a new project and we had them work on pincushions. The pincushions teach skills that the bigger projects sometimes do not, like control of the pedal, how to sew tight corners, how to turn hard pieces, clipping curves, hand stitching techniques just to name a few. They all turned out so cute!

The last class had advanced a bit farther, and we had a few of the girls learn to put a zipper in by making these cute little zippered pouches. I love these!

The drawstring backpack is always a favorite, and sews up super cute. We added a little pocket to the inside, and told the girls they now had a place for their new phone their mom's could buy them! The mom's didn't really think that was too funny, but we got a good laugh!

Next week begins the last three weeks of Summer Sewing Fun, and we have already had girls asking their mom's to sign them up for next year, right now, so they can make sure to get in. That always makes us teachers feel good!

Until next time, happy sewing!