Deceitful Sun

The sun is streaming in the windows, and for a minute, it tricked me into believing that spring was here. It's not. It is 6 degrees (Fahrenheit) right now.  The wind chill factor is no longer -27, though, so that makes me happy!

It's going to be a good day to stay inside, clean house, and check out Suesan's tutorial today for the Be Mine Bonanza!

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

Mmmmm...yummmmm

These were one of my favorite cookies growing up, and now they are loved by the husband and boys!

Ingredients:
3 C old fashioned rolled oats (NOT instant oatmeal)
2 C sugar
1 stick margarine (do NOT pre-melt)
1/2 C milk
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C peanut butter (I prefer creamy, but chunky works just as well)

First, you need to spend 20 minutes looking for your tablespoon that you managed to leave in the cocoa when you last made these cookies a few weeks ago.  Then, pour the oatmeal in a mixing bowl.  The one I use holds about 8 cups, and it's just the right size for these.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, melt together margarine, sugar, milk, and cocoa.  Bring to a boil, then boil 1 minute.  If you melt the margarine in the microwave, your cookies will not set up - trust me.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and peanut butter.  Stir until peanut butter is melted, then pour mixture over the oatmeal.  Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

*This is not a recipe that can be doubled.  If you double the recipe, the cookies will not set up right, and you'll end up with a bunch of gooey blobs on your waxed paper.*

Once the cookies are done, munch on them while checking out (and making!) Michelle's  project for the Bonanza!

February 1

Happy 4th Birthday, Madisyn! We miss you!

Tonya is sharing a tutorial over at At Home With K today. I'm going to have to make me at least one of these!

Books for me, Books for the boys, and Books for YOU!

Within the past couple of weeks, I have received a couple of boxes filled with books and other goodies. The first box is for my boys. The plan was to use its contents to help fill their Easter baskets...now I'm not sure I can wait that long!

I bought all of this stuff from Bare Books for less than $32 - and that includes the $3 shipping!  I bought a set of 10 comic books, 2 bubble templates, 2 sets of crayons, 2 puzzles, and 4 Book sets (includes a book, cover, and line guide).  They also sent me a catalog, so it looks as though we'll be ordering some more books of varying sizes, bookmarks, a couple of gameboard sets, and some puzzles with more pieces.  I'm also thinking of getting some board books for my younger nephews!

I also received a shipment from Amazon that contained 5 books, and am expecting a few more over the next 6-8 weeks.  I'll be keeping some, but I'll also be giving some away in February and March, so keep checking back!

And, don't forget to check out Kindra's blog!  Gwen from GwennyPenny is sharing a super cute tutorial!

Be Mine Bonanza!!!

Today is the first day of Kindra's week long Be Mine Bonanza, so check out our hostess' project. I love this idea!

The rest of the week will be filled with projects from 6 more talented ladies:

Gwen from Gwenny Penny - Monday, Jan 31

Tonya from More Prim Than Proper - Tuesday, Feb 1

Michelle from Emerald Cove - Wednesday, Feb 2

Susan from Frou-FruGal -Thursday, Feb 3

Sarah from All Roads Lead Home - Friday, Feb 4

Heather from Summerstead - Saturday, Feb 5

Questions

Does anybody else have issues with blogger adding and/or deleting spaces when you publish a post?  Everything looks just how I want it to as I'm composing a post, but I usually have to go back and add or delete spaces after publishing a post.  I tell ya, between my computer not cooperating and blogger being a pain, I'm about ready to ignore the internet altogether!

It has been a very frustrating day, but I did hear one of the funniest (true) stories EVER. 

My sis-in-law J is expecting her third bundle in April.  She has 2 boys.  M is 4, O is 2.  J thought she had a UTI, so she went to the doctor.  She didn't have a sitter for the boys, but since she thought she would just have to "go" in a cup, she brought the boys with her.  After finding out the doctor wanted to do a full exam, J set the boys up in the corner of the room with a game on her iPhone because that usually keeps them pretty well occupied.  She gets back on the table, the doc comes back in and the second she lifts the sheet, the boys are right there next to the doctor.  M keeps asking J, "Mom, what is she doing to your butt?", "Mom, why is she doing that to your butt?"

Finally, the exam is over, J gets dressed, and the doc comes back in saying that they may as well do an ultrasound, if J is up to it.  She gets back on the table, lifts her shirt, the doctor pulls out another sheet, and M says, "Oh, geez.  Not again!"

When I was told this story, I laughed so hard I cried! 

Perpetual Calendar Tutorial

Every year I go on a search to find the perfect calendar to go with my home's decor. I can never find the perfect one, so I settle with one that is closest to what I'm wanting.  This year, I've decided to make my own, and this is how I did it...

What you need:

Photo frame with glass - mine is 11x17 ($8 at Wal-Mart)
Fabric - enough to cover the back of the frame (a fat quarter would have been more than enough for mine)
Scissors
Fine-tip Sharpie
Fine-tip dry erase markers
Photo - I used an 8x10, then cut an inch off the top and bottom
Calendar template - I used Works and just made a table to the size I wanted.  I had 6 rows & 7 columns.  The top row cells measure .5 high by 1.5 wide.  Bottom 5 rows measure 2 high by 1.5 wide.  When printing, I had to click the "shrink to fit printable area" option.

Not pictured, but very helpful:
Double-sided tape
Ruler

So, the first thing you need to do is take the back of your frame off, lay it down on your fabric and trace the frame's back. Then, cut out your piece of fabric.

Next, draw your blank calendar onto the fabric using your sharpie and calendar template. I taped the template to the back of my fabric so it wouldn't move on me. I was also able to see through my fabric well enough that I could pick out the outer four corners, and at least some of each line. First, I put a dot on each corner and using a ruler, I just played dot-to-dot. Then I put 2 dots along each line and again used my ruler to draw my inside lines.

Once you've gotten this far, take a couple of minutes and stare out your window. I hope you don't see the same thing I saw! Really, Mother Nature? More snow? At least wait till we get rid of the last 6 inches from the last snowfall?

Now it looks more like a calendar!  I didn't trust myself to be able to write out the days of the week and make it look nice, so I just used the initials.  If I were making one of these calendars as a gift, I would probably embroidered the lines - I may still go back and embroider over my marker at some point.

After you have your calendar drawn/embroidered/whatever, set the fabric aside for a couple of minutes.

Now you need the back of your frame and some double sided tape.   Put several pieces of tape around the edges of the inside of your back panel.  I also put a few strips in the middle.  This step isn't necessary, but it makes the assembly step easy peasy.

Almost done!  Now all you have to do is stick your picture on, securing it with a couple pieces of double stick tape (if you want to). 

Last steps!  Now, just pop the back piece with your photo and fabric back into the frame.  With your dry erase markers, you can write in the dates and the month & year and Voila!  You're done, and it's ready to hang!











If you decide to make one of these calendars, I'd love to see your creation!  Email me a picture or upload it to my flickr group!


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