Nieces

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces."

-- George Santayana

 

Need I say more?

(From my board "The Family is one of Nature's Masterpieces").

Bookmark Corner Characters

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.  Love of books is the best of all." -- Jacqueline Kennedy

I LOVE things on Pinterest that I can do with my family.  Especially crafts for kids.  I saw these adorable little bookmarks and few months ago and knew we would have tbe making them at some point.  I found them pinned by CTBaker in the acres, who pinned them from someone else.  Bookmark Critters  And aren't they cute?

 

So W had a bazaar or fair or something at school.  I guess they are learning economics (in 3rd grade!!!  Can you believe it?!?!?!)  He came home having to learn concepts such as supply and demand, product, consumer, etc.  They had to make around 20 of something to sell for 25 cents each.  This is his lesson for school, so I was being a mean mommy and actually required HIM to make the product.  So it had to be something easy.  And I thought of these.  

 

He already likes to do origami, and these take only like 6 easy folds.  I found very cute animal print origami paper at Michael's for about 5 dollars.  And we added some googly eyes for added cuteness.  Here is what he came up with.

 

There was also a snake and elephant and zebra. 

They were a smashing success.  He sold out except for these which he had put aside to keep.  And  I was shocked at some of the junk he bought that other kids made.  (tin foil balls with straws sticking out, paper footballs).  Obviously their moms are not on Pinterest.

(From my board "Every child is an artist.")



Soccer Coach Gifts

“Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection” -- Pindar

Ahhhh......it's that dreaded end of the soccer season time again.  And for those of you who are involved with your kids' sports, you know what that means.  (Aside from knowing you have a couple of free weekends until the next sport season starts.)  End of season party, trophies, and coaches' gifts. 

Last year, I volunteered to do the trophies and coaches' gifts.  The coach was a friend of ours, his wife was coaching her own team, and if I didn't do it, they would end up doing it themselves.  (Ever notice how it's always the SAME people who volunteer to do everything?)  So no biggie.  The trophies were awesome, and the gifts were fine.
This year, we're playing for a different league.  New players, new parents.  Not quite sure how they do things.  So what does DH do?  He volunteers me to order the trophies.  Now, in his defense, he didn't go out there and say, "My wife will do it."  No, no.  He wouldn't throw me under the bus like that.  However, I'm sure his conversation went something like, "Oh my wife did the trophies last year for our team."  What was heard, I'm sure, was "My wife knows all the ropes for ordering trophies so she'll be happy to do it."  Needless to say, it was dumped in my lap.

No problem.  I've got my trophy place.  Free engraving.  It's local so I don't have to pay shipping.  So that gives me a little bit more to play with for the coaches gifts.  It was a little more challenging this year.  One extra coach and fewer players, so less money per coach.  However, I did make it work!  Thanks to Pinterest!

I found this cute idea from A Bushel and a Peck of FUN which worked out perfectly for me.

And here is mine.

The inside was filled with movie tickets, movie theater candy, and bags of microwave popcorn.  What's not to love? 

(I always stock up on the movie theater candy from Walmart or Target or such places when it's on sale.  Much cheaper than the $3.00+ you pay at the movie theaters.)

And the Flaming Griffins had an awesome season!  The did not go undefeated, but they played hard and learned a lot this fall!  Great job you guys!!!

(From my board "Every Gift Which is Given")

Spiced Beef Empanadas

Before I write another thing, there is something that you need to know about me. 

I am not a chef.  I don't like cooking (there I said it), and am not at all creative in that department, so having to come up with ideas for dinner every day is right up there with going to the dentist for me.  (Unlike my DH, who can look in the fridge and pantry and practically whip up a 3 course meal with whatever scraps he has found.) 

That being said, I am always on the lookout for new, easy, and yummy sounding recipes.  So, today I decided to try these Spiced Beef Empanadas.  First off, let me confess.  I don't have the foggiest idea what an empanada is.  I'm not even sure how it's pronounced.  I mean I know it's some kind of Mexican food.  But that's about it.  But the picture looked appealing, and it was from Real Simple magazine.  Must be simple, right?

Real Simple Spiced Beef Empanadas

And it was.  Relatively.  Honestly, anything that has more than a single step is just a huge effort as far as I'm concerned.  But I thought I would try it. 

And it wasn't too bad.  I'm usually not one who likes to mix sweet and savory (ketchup and raisins......really?), but I am game for trying almost anything at least once.  My kitchen smelled divine! 

Now came the hard part.  I'm not a gal who really likes to get her hands dirty.  I mean this was ready-made pie crust so it wasn't that bad.  But the problem was, the recipe didn't really tell me who much filling to put in each circle.  I think I overestimated a few and.....well, look for yourself.

But I got the hang of it after a while.  I didn't crimp them with a fork because that was getting just a tad bit too daring for me.  And my last batch actually came out looking not too bad.

But they taste ....... AMAZING!!!!!  I will let DH sample 1 (or maybe 2) and I will be packing the rest up and taking them to work for an evening snack tomorrow.

Although I love these, I don't know if I would go through the trouble of cutting out and stuffing the pie dough again.  The filling was delicious enough on its own - maybe served with a cornbread of something on the side.  I will definitely making that part again!

And I've got to find a nice dipping sauce for them.  Sour cream with lime zest is.....well.....sour cream.  These deserve way better than that.  So if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know.

(From my board "The Belly Rules the Mind")

Addicted to Pinterest

OK, I'll admit it.  I am addicted to Pinterest.  Who knows.  Maybe it is just a fad (probably) and in another year we'll all be on to the next best thing.  I've been addicted to other websites before:  Facebook for one.  Now Facebook is almost like an afterthought in my need to see what new has been pinned.

I mean, I knew I liked it, and spent a lot of time pinning.  But you know it has become an addiction when your husband calls you, at work, to ask you to look for a craft he can do with his cub scout den.  "Check out Pinterest to see if there are any ideas there," he tells me.  Am I embarrassed by this? 

Not any more.  I'll admit, at the beginning when I excitedly showed him each Pinterest craft I had tried, or meal I prepared, I was peppered with comments like "YOU came up with idea?"  No, of course I didn't.  But whatever.  I kept looking and pinning, and looking and pinning some more.  And I think he actually is appreciating my new culinary attempts.

And here's the amazing thing.  This is actually useful stuff.  Granted there is fun, frivolous stuff out there too.  And I myself have the boards to prove it.  I mean who wouldn't love looking at baby platypuses in little fedora hats.  It has got to put a smile on anyone's face.  If you don't believe me, well.....

It's gotten me out of the cooking ruts I've been in .  And if you are looking for gift ideas for someone, I guarantee you can find something for anyone on Pinterest.  It's true.  I am not ashamed to find these ideas and use them.  I have done 3 teacher gifts in the past year and all have been met with rave reviews.  And fortunately, I have lots of options now since everyone is getting homemade gifts this year.

I have tried a little bit of everything.  Some meals, some crafts.  Some of them have turned out amazingly:  the creamy leek soup with brie that was to die for (literally, because I'm sure the amount of cholesterol in one serving could kill you);  Cauliflower Gratin with Parmesan and Nutmeg (even a die hard vegetable hater like me had 3 servings of it).  And others not so much:  who would have thought that a Turkey Breast in a Crock Pot could turn out to be so dry?

So I am going to use this blog to document my successes and failures of Pinterest.  Please don't ask me to look at and try certain things you have found on Pinterest.  I am somewhat of a Pinterest snob.  I only pin things that I actually am interested and will try.  And yes, I do actually go to the source and find the original to see if it is really something worth doing.  I don't have long fingernails and don't get manicures, so don't come looking for cute nail designs here.  There will be food, desserts, crafts, gift ideas, etc.  I'll share the funny e-cards that have really tickled my funny bone.  Some quotes that have moved me, quite literally to tears.

Oh and by the way, that craft my hubby asked about.  I am proud to say that Den 6 is going to be making bird feeders - because I already have 2 different styles pinned.