The End of August & Fruit Flies

August is {almost} officially done. September is a big month with our move (honestly saying it "OUT LOUD" won't jinx it will it?!) into the new house, school starting (is it wrong I'm SO excited about this!), and hopefully *finally* pulling out my stamping purchases throughout the summer to PLAY! With painting far too much, making too many decisions -- who knew I needed to decide the color of my GROUT. I just never pay attention to these small details... well I used to not! Now I check it out everywhere depending on which decision I need to make! LOL) I'm really needing some play time! Don't you find you're a better Mommy, better spouse, better friend, better PERSON when you get a little time of refreshing! I certainly do & have really been realizing how I haven't had too much of that these days/months. It'll be the first year all the babes are in school FULL time.... should be interesting. I daydream I'll have a clean, sparkling house....the laundry will be done -- including the folding!!.... I'll be smiling along as I push the grocery cart through the isles and hear the mom's with tired kids who hate shopping & remember those yesteryears..... my flowers will all bloom in my beautiful garden, my kids will always be happy....ahhhhh.... OK, OK.... so I'm dreaming!!! ;-) Sounds nice though doesn't it.

OK, so you're wondering about the "fruit flies" part of my title aren't you. Those of you who are squeamish may want to scroll down and check out other posts or some photos.... We eat TONS of fruit in this house and have noticed those annoying & pesky FRUIT FLIES! Grrrr. For some reason they are BAD this year. So... after a little google search I found a solution & boy are my kids excited about this little "science experiment". Grab yourself a jar or cup. Put a couple chunks of banana in the bottom of it. Put a piece of cling wrap tightly over the top (I even used a rubberband around it -- did NOT want those critters getting out!). Using a nice, SHARP pencil, pop a few (5-6) holes in the top & set it out on your countertop (or under your sink near your garbage can if that's where they are). Watch the magic happen. Gone are the days of you swinging & clapping your hands together only to find that the little bug got away! How are they SO fast when my hands are SO MUCH bigger than they are? This morning my little boy ran into my bedroom, glass in hand, so excited about ALL the fruitflies in there. I tried to open one eye and show some enthusiasm at the early hour it was & then we both agreed to leave it a little longer to see if we could collect more. OH MY GOODNESS.... JOB WELL DONE! If you're not into killing the flies (as is the case with my oldest daughter.. how dare we kill ANY creature!) you can simply go outside & release them. Just make sure you're in your neighbours yard, you certainly wouldn't want them flying back into your house after all your work catching them!

-j.

OREO & FUDGE ICE CREAM CAKE

OREO & Fudge Ice Cream "Cake"

Prep: 10 min Ready In: 4 hr 10 min Serves: 12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/2 cup fudge sundae topping, warmed
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
8 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies; set aside.

ARRANGE 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24x12-inch piece of foil; top with half of the whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.

FREEZE at least 4 hours before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before serving. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

Substitute
Prepare as directed, using Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches.

Size-Wise
Since this indulgent ice cream cake makes 12 servings, it is the perfect dessert to serve at your next party.

Note
The consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on what brand you purchase. If your fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, add 1/4 cup milk.

OK, doesn't THIS look good?! Think I'll have to pick me up some ice cream sandwiches! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
-j.

A Question for you to answer to help me out :)

WOW, it has been awhile since I posted. We went away for another week of holiday time & been madly working on the house (we hope to move in 3 weeks!!!!!) SO exciting & stressful as there's still SO MUCH to do. I must say I miss stamping as it's been awhile since I've been able to slip in & create. Pretty soon it'll be time for me to pack up my stampin' goodies. I won't be able to have everything out at first as we'll be working on our wood floors -- so here's a question for you. IF you knew you could only have a few boxes of stampin' supplies for the next few months... what would be MUST HAVES!!! :)
Looking forward to hearing your advice :)
-.j.

another day goes by....

with hubby home we've been going full out on the house. The countertops are fixed (YEAH!!!)and the tile is being laid. Feels like there are a million decisions now as we confirm the lighting fixtures, pick out toilets, tubs, faucets, flooring, staining...... ACK! The thought of being able to select your own style is great on the one hand, but I tell you, after awhile my brain goes to mush and I think JUST PICK ANYTHING so it's DONE! :) Final decisions WILL be made today so we can order & get things going so we can move in next month. We won't have flooring down as we fell trees on the land and will be using those fir trees to make our hardwood floor. Very cool. But also a long process. So we'll have tile in the work areas of the house (mudroom, laundry & kitchen) and then bare nothing for about a month. BUT.... we'll be IN! Yes, it'll be chaotic for awhile there. But hey... there's always some form of chaos going on around here :) We're also taking off to Vernon (I think) for another quick summer visit to soak up some sun rays and spend some *quality* time with the kids before they head back to school. Being dragged from store to store while we try to pick & choose things is not their thought of a FUN TIME :). So one of these days I'll have some inspirational stamping to show (at least I hope so! LOL). Hang with me until then....
.j.

It's almost my Anniversary :)

It's almost my anniversary! The big 13! Hard to believe it's been 13 years and the same time it feels like it's just always been. :)I met him when I was in grade 5 -- funny when we look back on it. I was best friend's with his sister (DH is 4 years older than me) in elementary school & our dad's worked together in the same church. Then our family moved and their family moved, and years passed by until our dad's pastored together again... only this time I was in grade 11. We started dating when I was 17 (he even asked my Dad's permission to DATE me!!) and dated for 3.5 years before getting married. YES, I was ONLY 20! :) I married my best friend and he is still my best friend to this day. I pretty much use all my 10,000 words a female speaks a day on him (poor guy! LOL). I made him a card while he was away so I wouldn't be trying to sneak into my stamp space while he was home. I used Bazzil cardstock for the base of my 6x6 card. I got all my inspiration from atomicbutterfly on SCS. Click here to see her card.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

FINALLY stamped!!

I finally found some time to sneak into my stamping room this afternoon. I have a very belated b'day gift/card to finish so I was able to get a box made up (didn't take a photo) and get a card done. WHEW. I used one of my favorite (but messy) techniques -- cracked glass. I know I've chatted about it before here so I won't go into any details (ask if you need 'em), but it was fun to get inked again! :)

I used Baroque Burgundy (retired SU color) and always artichoke as well as a piece of bazzil I had kickin' around to cover my chipboard photo corner with. Filed it down too. I sometimes like the look of white core when I'm sanding down edges. :) I had a ribbon along the bottom, but thought it was too heavy, so took it off & went with paper piercing instead.

Here's a close up of the "cracked glass" (3 layers of Glassy Glaze {UTEE}):


After a week+ of sick kids, it was nice to have a half hour to play. Of course now that they are all healthy the headache has hit me (*sigh*). Hopefully a nice sleep in will cure me :))))) If nothing else Daddy comes home in two sleeps.... him being home makes everything better ! :)

.j.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

I know... still no stamping. A girl can get grouchy without her therapy!!! LOL. Hubby comes home in four more sleeps!!!!!!! Thought I'd share a dessert with you that I found online -- looks yummy doesn't it!
enjoy your weekend!
-.j.


Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

2/3 cup OREO Baking Crumbs
2 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine, melted
1 pkg.(250 g) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cupPeanut Butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups thawed Whipped Topping
2 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions
1 COMBINE crumbs and margarine (setting aside 1 Tbsp. of crumbs for topping); press onto bottom of foil-lined 9x5-inch loaf pan.

2 MIX cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in the whipped topping. Spoon 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture into small bowl. Stir in melted chocolate until well blended; set aside. Spoon half of the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top evenly with chocolate mixture; cover with remaining cream cheese mixture.

3 FREEZE 4 hours or overnight until firm. Invert onto plate. Remove foil, then re-invert onto serving platter so that crumb layer is on bottom. Sprinkle with reserved 1 Tbsp. crumbs.

House Saga...

Kitchen counters have been removed --- YEEEEEHAW! I'm doin' the happy dance... looking forward to seeing what I actually picked in there. Off to the tile store this afternoon to pick up all my tile .... NOOOOO!!! They are discontinuing the tile I chose for the kitchen. *SIGH*... only 20sq.ft. short too. *DOUBLE SIGH*. So I guess it's back out tile hunting tomorrow. My kids are going LOVE me!! :(

Shopped a little on an online scrapbooking "store".... then I felt much better :)

Only 6 more sleeps 'til hubby comes home!
.j.

A house update.

This is the front corner of the house. So exciting to see the siding go up!

Here's the back end of the house. Not a full on shot, but you get an idea.

The garage side. We have a double bay and a single bay, both of which were extended in length so we can get our big truck in there!

One of my favorite rooms - the kitchen! At this moments it's my most unhappy spot as the cabinet man didn't put in the countertops I asked for & took it upon himself to dress them up to his liking. Which of course is TOTALLY not my style, hubby is away and this is causing me great stresses. Frustrating that he (Mr. Cabinet man) didn't make a 2 minute phone call and ASK me before going ahead and doing the whole kitchen AND 5 of the 8 bathrooms (I know, I know CRAZY on the bathrooms!! - only 3 are FULL bathrooms.) See now I feel the need to explain this crazy 'ol house. It's much bigger than we need (obviously) and our plan is to sell (I'd love to enjoy it for a year or two first though!! Too much blood, sweat & tears in this baby!!). We have an ensuite which is a full bathroom, then there's a full bathroom upstairs. The girls share a full bathroom as well. Then the three kids have their own vanity area off their room -- ok, tricky to explain and seeing as my hubby designed the house I can't really pull up the plans. For example a bedroom upstairs will have something that looks like an ensuite and it will just be a sink & vanity area and from there you would walk through to their walk in closet. Yes they EACH have their own walk in closet. Like I said crazy! Hopefully we'll sell high and be able to build a home for normal people! LOL.

Here's a bit of a back shot. We pulled out all the outside toys to set up an area for Sarah to play while I paint, paint, paint. And I thought I didn't like cleaning bathrooms!!!

This shot it taken from the upstairs *landing*. It's all open with a full vault ceiling. Not the best angle...


Pretty soon I'll be able to take some inside shots. Tile starts to be laid on Wednesday (yes, I'll be picking that out TODAY!!). I hate making decisions, so maybe it'll come easier knowing I HAVE TO PICK THEM NOW type of thing. And I hope my cabinet guy will replace all my countertops in the next week too (although he's NOT happy about it -- guess that makes two of us!)
So a little update for you on my main reason I've lost some stampin' time! :) There's a dim light at the end of the tunnel and we hope to be sometime in September. WHEW!
.j.

Chocolate & Oats Fudge Bars

It's hot. We're in DO NOT USE THE OVEN status. OK, well if you have air conditioning throw caution to the wind & preheat that baby. If you're like me... fans & windows with the whole process of when to have them open & when to have them shut -- then you're in the no-oven status. Here's a great, easy & super yummy treat to make.

No Bake Chocolate & Oat Fudge Bars

3/4 cup butter or marg.
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

The Process:
1. Grease a 9x9 pan
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over med. heat. Stir in brown sugar & vanilla. Mix in all those oats. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes -- get everything well blended. Press half of mixture into the bottom of the greased pan. The other half you'll use for the topping.
3. Meanwhile (because as women we can do more than one thing at a time!) melt chocolate chips & peanut butter (love that combo!!) in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Spread evenly over the oat layer.
4. crumble the leftover oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently. Cover & stick in the fridge 2-3 hours or even overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.

And that's it! Easy. Sorry I don't have a photo, but even without a photo it's worth a try. :)

Little guy is feeling much better today. The youngest started at 2:50AM and my oldest started at 8AM. Boy do I miss hubby being away!! LOL. Not exactly what we had planned for the long weekend, but so it goes sometimes. Hope you're last day of this holiday weekend is pure bliss!
.j.

Some sunshine on a sick day :)

So hubby is away again (we're on day 3 of 12) and I love staying up and watching late movies. Last night I found a movie (didn't know it was going to be 3 HOURS when I sat down!!) and stayed up far too late for playing single mom these couple of weeks. Aw well I thought to myself -- I'll sleep in ;-). Famous last words. My boy was up at 4am with the stomach flu. BLEK. I don't do well with all of that. My hubby & I made an agreement early on that I would do the poopy diapers (some strange reason not a problem -- for him the gag-reflux kicked in every time!!) and he'd do the pukey stuff. So last night was VERY challenging for me and my little guy climbed into bed with me and spent the next few hours reaching for his bucket and us going to the bathroom again, and again. Poor little guy! So my day started at 4am. I tried to crawl back into bed at 6:30, but it really was no use. I was up every 15 minutes with him. He's now laying on the couch watching a little tv. I have the timer going every 15 minutes for him to take a sip of water. It's so cute to hear his little sister call out to him during her play "Joshua! Take a sip!". She's so mothering! :) My oldest on the other hand stuffed rolled up tissue in her ears so she couldn't hear him! LOL.

As I was stealing a little computer time, I began to download some photos from our summer holiday time. I love this photo of Sarah. It's SO her & so bright & happy -- a little piece of sunshine. I can rarely get a photo of her without some goofy face! (She's going to wish she smiled when it comes time for her wedding slide show!!!). We found this floppy orange hat in a little local shop & seeing as ORANGE is STILL her favorite color, we had to buy it.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday and pause to count some of your blessings on this day. I remind my children when they are sick to remember all those wonderful days blessed with good health. :)
.j.

Can you tell I'm relaxin'!?

What a great summer! We're FINALLY getting some of this hot sunshine that we all love. Of course that also screams COME OUTSIDE AND PLAY (or is that my children?!) so I'm not in on the computer as much and my blog has been left alone to sit! OOPS. I hope you all too are out there, soaking in the sunshine & enjoying life! All that to say I'm MAKING the memories to scrapbook once I find that Me-Time again (A.K.A. BACK TO SCHOOL! LOL). Check out a great site Purple Onion Designs She's got some great sets in there (unmounted though) and Michele is great to deal with. A lot of her sets are seen in Creating Keepsakes magazine. So you may not see TOO many projects on here over the next few weeks, but hopefully I'll get a few done up. I've got some yummy recipes to share with you too. :)
night.
.j.