REALLY Big News!

Ok, so I haven't blogged in forever + 3 days.  But I promise I have a really, really good excuse that will make you forgive me:

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!  

We are beyond excited, and as I'm sure you can imagine, I can't stop thinking about all the adorable little baby crafts/quilts/goodies/etc. that I finally get to make for my baby.  

What does this have to do with not blogging, you ask?  Well, this baby is making me tired.  Like, beyond exhausted.  Like, more tired than I ever knew I could be + 10.  So, it's not that I don't care, it's just that I'm sleeping.

You forgive me, don't you? 

Thanks, I knew you would.  :)

Amazing Mac N' Cheese

I don't know if this particular version can technically be considered a mac n' cheese, since I didn't actually use macaroni noodles.  So call it what you like, either way it will still be delicious.

The Ingredients:
1 box pasta of your choice
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) Campbell's Cream of Cheddar Soup
2 cups (8 oz.) Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or any variety)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. garlic pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard

The Rules:
1.  Cook pasta until al dente
3.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
4.  Transfer mixture to casserole dish and bake with foil cover at 400° for 40 minutes.

And you're done!  It's super easy and amazingly delicious.

Enjoy!

Salmon and Israeli Cous Cous Stir Fry

If you haven't before, you should check out Iowa Girl Eats.  It is one
of my new favorite food blogs.  She has such great ideas and they are
generally very healthy, and often vegetarian. 


Her recipe for Salmon and Israeli Cous Cous Stir Fry inspired me enough to try it out
for myself.  It turned out really really well, and was a nice change of
pace from the usual fish + vegetable + rice that we do at our house. 

I made mine a little bit differently with pre-packaged organic stir fry mix, but the end result was pretty much the same. 

You can head on over to this post for the recipe. 


Now, if anyone has any good recommendations for what I can do with the other
1/2 box of israeli cous cous and also the 1.5 dozen eggs that are
hanging out in my fridge, I am definitely open to dinner suggestions!!

DIY Keyboard Wrist Rest

Wrist rest.  Wrist rest.  Wrist rest.  Try saying that five times fast.  

Something I love:  Really simple solutions to everyday problems.

For instance:  My carpal tunnel has flared up.  :(  I needed a new keyboard wrist rest at work.  Rather than spend the next 6 weeks going through the necessary channels to order one, I thought I would just make my own.

The best part was that it is made entirely of things I had on hand:  a small amount of fabric and some rice.  And it's pretty.

Here's how I did it:

For starters, I used a highly sophisticated measuring device to determine the length of my keyboard:

Next, I cut out my fabric pieces, mine were approximately 18" by 4".

I sewed them, right sides together, around all but one short side.

Then, I turned it right side out, and top stitched around the same three sides.

Next, fold the open end in about 3/4", press, and fill with approximately 3 cups of rice.  You can use more or less depending on what level of firmness you want.  We don't fool around when it comes to rice in this house.  I had the giant 25 lb. bag from Costco on hand. 

After it was filled, I top stitched the open end closed, and Voila!  A handy-dandy keyboard wrist rest.  I did the exact same thing for my mouse, and just shortened it so that it would be the appropriate mouse size.

Now, because I love you, and because it's high time I start taking this blog o' mine seriously, I have created a template for you to use in case you desire to make your own handy-dandy keyboard wrist rest.  You can download it here.  Enjoy!

Turtles and Aprons and Ribbons, Oh My!!

I put together a little package to send to Brooke & Truman for their birthdays which are close together actually a month apart, but I had tons and tons of homework and a little gnome stole all my sewing gear and excuses, excuses, excuses am a slacker and could not get the boxes together in time. 

Anyway, I made some homemade turtles.  One for Truman, one for Truman's buddy Khai, and a teeny tiny girl turtle for Khai's new baby sister Rowan.  I am hoping that the turtles were a hit.

Also, I made coordinating mommy and son aprons for Brooke & Truman for cooking, arts and crafts, etc.  I was pleased with the result.  It was a challenge to come up with a fabric combo that works for a two year old boy and his mommy.

Also, Brooke found these cool ribbon toys online, and we decided it made much more sense to make them than to buy them.  They actually turned out pretty cool.

Moose agreed.  I had to convince him that they were not intended to be kitty toys.  Then I got this look:

Weeds

Back when I actually lived in San Diego, I always thought of California Poppies as invasive weeds that would show up every year and bloom wherever the heck they wanted.

Now that I no longer live in California, I find myself actually appreciating them for being so pretty and bright and cheerful.

Okay, Okay, Okay!

Okay!!  I will FINALLY blog about Easter weekend.  Here's what we did:

1.)  We drove back to San Diego late Friday night.  No pics of that, sorry.

2.)  We took my Grandma out to Black Angus for lunch and to visit.  We had delicious food but terrible service.  That seems to pretty much be par for the course at Black Angus. 

3.)  We colored Easter eggs with Travis, Alex and Cindy:

(I made a special one for Moose since he couldn't be there)

4.)  My beautiful niece Natalie was born!!  Which was fabulous timing.  We went to the hospital to meet her on Easter morning:  :)

5.)  We hung out with Brett's fam' on Easter, and the kids had their Easter egg hunt.

(This is part of the fam.  We'll call this a fam faction™)

6.)  Everyone got jolted by a 7.2 earthquake, or whatever magnitude it was, I just remember it was a lot.

7.)  We went to the San Diego Zoo!!

(Here I am just hangin' with the monkeys.  Pun totally intended)

(This is me communing with the wildlife.  I look so comfortable in this situation)

(You Takin' to me?  Man I'm on a roll today.)  

8.)  Then, we met Travis for lunch @ the Zoo.

9.)  We went up to Carlsbad to visit my Dad & Margie and had a yummy dinner.

10.)  We decided on the drive from Carlsbad to Alpine to drive home late that night (Monday) rather than getting up super early on Tuesday to drive home.

11.)  Got a speeding ticket for going just a teensy bit over the speed limit.  In the middle of the desert.  In the middle of the night.  With no one else around.  It's ok.  I'm not bitter. 

And THAT is our Easter Update.  :)