Feel Good Friday!

What is that big bright orb in the sky? Could it be that sunshine has finally made it's way to Portland? Here are a few things you can enjoy while I spend a few minutes working on my tan.

I can only wish that I looked this cute riding a bike. I love her little basket. Comfortstitching not only has mad embroidery skills but the quilts are just as adorable.

I am in LOVE with Hello Adorable! If it's adorable-it's here! From crafty, critters, to edible-this blog has it. The cool part, besides the Hello Kitty Chip Maker (which would make a great birthday present!), is that you can log in and suggest items for the world to see.

For the past few months I have been on a baking craze. Fancy Flours is THE place for beautiful baking accessories. I am totally fascinated by printed wafer paper. They have them for different holidays and make wafers for chocolate. So beautiful!

Ahhhh....I can feel the sun warming my buns as we speak! Enjoy your weekend-go out a get a little Vitamin D, get your hands dirty in your garden or just lay in the pool and enjoy a beverage. It's the weekend, kick back and relax.

Little Men

Searching through patterns I grabbed these out of an old envelope. I opened them up and realized 1-they had never been used and 2-they were all boys. I have never seen these little men before and think they are just too cute. I like to think that the chicken is his pet and not his dinner. ;). Happy Stitching!

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Before I get into a rant about love. I would like to let Marzidoats that she needs to email me so I can mail out her prize. Also, stay tuned next week - there will be a birthday surprise. Okay, on to my ramblings.....

It's Wednesday and time for another leap of faith. Actually, today is just me ranting so you have my permission to leave, grab a beverage and a snack, peruse Facebook-do whatever you want. I'm just warning you that you will miss my views on leaps of faith regarding love. If you can live with yourself, then I forgive you. If you are curious, sit back and listen.

A few years ago, I was down. Not just your normal down but just about as low as you can get, heading towards the gutter down. I was in a toxic relationship with just about every person in my life. I hated myself and everyone around me. I KNEW that there was no one for me out there and then I met my future husband, OMP. You see, if I didn't take a leap of faith and give him a chance, I would have never met the man of my life and pretty much have the most perfect life in the world. Here's the deal. There is NO REASON that you deserve to be in any toxic relationship-this includes friendships. If you are not feeling 100% awesome when you are with a person than it's not good for you.

See, here's the thing that gets to me. I get so frustrated when hearing that relationships are complicated. That they are hard work. The people that preach this are full of it. If you have a healthy loving relationship, it's a breeze. It is definitely not work. Compromises are a part of every day life but they should in no way curb who you really are, unless of course you are an ass, in which-you need to quit reading this and get some therapy. Not one day that I have been married have I ever thought my relationship was work.

Also, give people a chance. If I had not taken a chance on OMP, I would have missed out on the best person ever. Sure he has quirks-so do I. I would never think of changing him. So what if that person isn't your exact idea of perfection, I'm betting if you gave them a chance-they might prove you wrong and if they aren't the person of your dreams, move on to the next. Don't drag it out please-that's just ugly and boring and not fair to anyone involved.

Now if you are still reading, here's what I want you to take with you concerning love and leaps of faith. 1-You always deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. 2-Take a chance on someone. Who knows, they might be your very own OMP.  Love is always a leap of faith-never give up.

Animation, It's Not Just for Kids Anymore.

I'll admit it, I am a big kid at heart. 9 times out of 10 if you ask me what I'm thinking about, my answer will be candy. Another "childish" thing that I love is animation. I truly believe that at any given time SpongeBob Square Pants will be on and I have probably seen the episode. Now some animation is not quite for kids but is beautifully done and will definitely raise a chuckle.

Les triplettes de Belleville (Triplets of Belleville) has to be one of my favorite animated movies. Although it doesn't have a lot of dialogue, it  really doesn't needs it. The soundtrack is as quirky as the three sisters in the movie. The story takes place in France and involves a kidnapping, a grandma, the fattest dog ever and frogs, lots and lots of frogs. This film will make you giggle, dance and cheer for more.

Remember when I told you I loved SpongeBob(of course you do, it was only two paragraphs ago, duh), well a few years ago, he made a movie and it was good! Not just okay, but seriously funny good. SpongeBob and Patrick must prove that they are men and not kids by going to Shell City to recover Neptune's crown before all of Bikini Bottom is doomed. Did I mention that it has a cameo of The Hoff (David Hasselhoff to the laymen)? Sometimes if I really want to annoy OMP I will walk around the house yelling, "I'M  A GOOFY GOOBER!"

Now the last film on our little animated jaunt has a little bit more of an edge to it. Rock & Rule came out when I was teenager and I was so excited, not really because of the plot but because most of the music was done by Debbie Harry and Cheap Trick. Rock & Rule was the kid brother of Heavy Metal in a kind of round about way. It did have more of a plot and  a bad guy that looks like Mick Jagger's older brother strung out on caffeine. The bad "Karl: Jagger decides to rule the world by stealing a punk rock angel's voice (that just sounds so wrong together). Her friends think otherwise and a rock n' roll jag ensues.

There are so many great animated movies out there that are just waiting to be discovered. Some are for all ages while others are a bit more "blue". Whatever your preference is, there is something out there for you. If you want, I can come over and watch it with you, I'll even bring the candy.

Scrappy Dog Sunday!

The rain just keeps coming. It's okay,we have lots of fun inside, romping around the house.

And chasing our toys

And causing all tkinds of mayhem.

Yeah, we are a bunch of rebel rousers in the house.

Sweet Saturday

I have a little secret to tell you. When I was growing up in the south I had the biggest crush on a guy who worked at Shoney's. I didn't drive at the time, so every Friday night I would make my mom take me there for dinner and dessert. I would order the ham and cheese and then a big piece of strawberry pie. I loved their pie and not because the guy I had a crush on said that I was a sweet as the pie but because it was the best in the world. So, feeling kind of nostalgic for the pie (not the guy cause he turned out to be kind of jerky) I looked up a recipe for Shoney's Strawberry Pie. Oh boy! This pie does not disappoint! It's just as I remember. This pie makes me happy.

Shoney's Strawberry Pie
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
Dash of salt
6 tsp. cornstarch
6 tsp. strawberry Jello
1 qt. strawberries
1 baked pie shell

For the pie shell, you could make your own pie crust. I bought the store made and cooked according to package.Put pie shell into the refrigerator so it will cool down. You want it completely cold to the touch.

In a sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt, add water and cook at a medium low heat. Cook until the syrup is clear and thick.
 Take the pan off the stove and mix in Jello. Stir until completely dissolved. Allow it to cool
While the mixture is cooling, clean, hull and cut up strawberries.
Once the mixture is cool, mix in the strawberries.
Pour into cold baked pie shells
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Throw some whip cream on that puppy and serve!

From the first bite, I was in heaven. The tartness mixed with the sweet brought me back to that booth at Shoney's. Only this time, I got the Prince Charming instead of the dud. 

Feel Good Friday!

Man o' Man! Am I ever glad to see Friday! There's a little bit of sunshine peeking through the rain clouds and I am itching to get outside and enjoy some nice weather. Mother Nature needs to cooperate!

June means strawberries to me. I could eat my weight in strawberries and still find room for one more. Berry season hasn't quite hit Portland yet so in the meantime I have to enjoy this absolutely adorable penny rug (that I am DYING to make) from Creative Breathing. She gives you step by step instructions on how to make this and many other projects on her site. Be careful, you might just get bit by the sugar bug with her site! You've been warned!

I LOVE baking! I think most of you have figured that out. When I find a good cooking or baking website, I get all giddy inside. Bake at 350 is one of those sites. The cookies are just too much! I can't wait to dive in and decorate some cookies. I'm just hoping that mine turn out half as cute and not like a weird science project.

Ya know, sometimes it's really hard to express just how you feel. Foxy Blunt will take care of that for you.  I'm having a hard time deciding which is my favorite. The "Good Luck with That" is tied with "Thank You for Recognizing How Important I Am" A touch of beauty with the wit of a viper. That's what I'm into!

Okay, I'm saving the best for last! Whenever you are down and just need a pick me up,I insist that you go to ZooBorns and click on any baby animal. You will instantly smile and all your cares will melt away. How can you resist baby Penguin tushie?

AHHHHHHH........I feel a million times better! I don't even care if it's raining for the 6th week in a row. Who cares if we got 2 inches of rain in the last 2 days. I will put on my happy boots and go puddle jumping! You should come with me.