Friday Fragments

I'm participating in Mrs. 4444's "Friday Fragments!" I love Friday Fragments because here I can post about a bunch of random different things that happened during my week.

I can't believe that it's been a whole week since my last post! That's what I love about Friday Fragments, I can sum up my whole week in one blog post!

We still have been playing a lot of hockey! Both Ben and myself! As you can see from the photo below, Alex is actually trying it, but doesn't enjoy it as much as Ben. Ben's Spring Season starts next Wednesday, so between that and soccer we'll be keeping busy. He has decided that he wants to be a goalie, so I'm going today to pick him up some goalie equipment! I'll have to keep you updated, because he's going to make such a cute and tiny goalie!

 I'm going to soon be selling some of my art and jewelry at a local Art Gallery. I've been working on things lately to put in the gallery plus to fill my Etsy shop back up. Here is the beginnings of a bird nest pendant.

 Again Ben won three awards at school: Reading Excellence, Math Whiz, and All A's! He loves writing in his journal daily and at the end of each month his teacher sends home his journal pages. I love what he writes, but this particular page made me laugh. It says: "My choowowo is fat." He's talking about our chihuahua Allie! lol :)

 I'm not much of a sweets person, but every once in awhile I crave chocolate. I love Cadbury Eggs, but they are way too big and way too sweet for me. I did find that they make mini Cadbury Eggs, and they are just the perfect size! One definitely satisfies my cravings! And they sell them by the dozen!

 Another blogger (I'm sorry I can't remember who) recommended this nail polish. I tried it yesterday and I am in love! I'm not much of a purple person but this polish screams Spring! And I can almost feel the warmer weather just by wearing it! It's called "Lacey Lilac." Excuse my unmanicured fingers. Between hockey and housework, my hands really take a beating! I am definitely in need of a manicure!

I don't wear nail polish often, but this particular brand is awesome! I also bought a pretty green color too and I can't wait to try it out!

That basically sums up my week. Hopefully I can be back on track and start blogging at least every other day. We'll see like I said Ben starts Spring Hockey next week so I'm sure it will be hectic!

Have a wonderful week!

Friday Fragments

I'm participating in Mrs. 4444's "Friday Fragments!" I love Friday Fragments because here I can post about a bunch of random different things that happened during my week!

I have soo much to randomly talk about, and it all starts out with the "supermoon!" I think the supermoon is to blame for my crazy week! lol

Here is a photo that I took from my backyard. I finally figured out the correct setting for my camera and was able to capture the magnificent moon! I don't know if you were able to see it, but it was mesmerizing!

 Over the last week or so we have had the most beautiful weather! It was like Spring had come early, which is unusual in South Western Pennsylvania! It was nice to be able to get out after a long winter! Alex loves blowing bubbles, and this was the first time this year that he was able to do so! Our weather was beautiful one day and then our area got a huge tornado! It destroyed my high school and did a lot of damage! Some people lost their entire houses! I'm so glad that nobody was hurt! 

The tornado happened on Wednesday. And I was just in the area that the tornado hit, but I had to go pick up Ben from school. I missed it by 2 hours! Thank goodness, because I don't know what I would have done if I would have seen it! It's rare for us to get tornadoes. So we're not used to seeing them! But I have realized one thing....I need to carry my camera with me at all times! You never know when you may need to use it!

 The warm weather has brought lots of birds! They have gotten so bad to the point that you can hear them chirping very loudly in the trees from inside the house with all the doors and windows shut! And we're not talking cute little birds...we're talking the big black scary ones! lol I wanted to get a photo of them all flying away, so my husband went out and started banging on things, but they wouldn't budge! I told you...big scary birds who are not afraid! It reminds me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds!" Have you seen it? There were hundreds more in the trees, but this was just a sampling!

I had a hockey game this week and as much as I have complained in the past about hockey...I'm actually starting to enjoy it! It figures we only have about four games left! At our last game we only had five people show up for our team, which means that we had to play an entire game of hockey without being able to sit down and take a break! That's sixty minutes of hockey! The only break we had was the one minute in between periods! We were exhausted...but I SCORED A GOAL! I told you that weird supermoon is causing all kinds of things to happen! ;)

And lastly is about my dog Allie. Allie loves her toy bunnies! She has several of them and loves sleeping with them at night. Since she cannot jump onto our bed, we have doggie steps for her to help her. Alex recently broke the steps so she had no way of getting onto our bed. So at night she likes to sleep on the shower mat in the bathroom next to our bedroom waiting for us to go to bed. Normally she'll lay there with her bunny and wait for me to lift her onto the bed. Well the other night we were getting ready for bed and this is what my husbnd found on the mat in the bathroom!

It looks like Allie will not be getting anything from the Easter bunny this year! lol

As much as I keep nagging my husband about fixing the dog steps, I'm glad he didn't cause this is what we would have found in our bed! lol Poor baby bunny!

See I told you it's been a crazy week! Hope next week is boring!

Reflections

We got a little snow yesterday, and it's one of those cold crappy days outside. I have a lot of house work to do, and to be honest I've been putting it off! After I took Ben to school today, I took my last online art class, and then I decided to get on facebook. I get onto facebook throughout my day, but today I noticed something just simply beautiful!

I keep my laptop in my kitchen on my breakfast bar, and behind me is a huge arch window which I absolutely love! You can see by the reflection on my computer screen, just why I love this big arch window!

Of course each day the window reflects onto my computer screen, but today I noticed, and was just mesmerized by it's beauty! The sky is such a wonderful shade of blue and the tree branches are lined with snow!

Here is another reflection (an up close one) from my computer screen!

And one more!

So I grabbed my camera, turned around, and took a photo of the arch window and the amazing view!

Isn't it just beautiful outside? And just think, my husband wants to take these trees down this summer! What will I look at then?!

I see a sketchbook page in my future! :)

Now off to do the dreaded housework!

Hockey and Comfort Food

This is just a random post about what I have been up to lately. Ben is still continuing in the Little Penguins hockey program and he is loving it! He is turning into such a great little player, and he amazed me the other day with how fast he can skate backwards! And I am totally enjoying helping to teach the kids! It is amazing to see how fast they are progressing!

Here I am on the left (in pink of course) watching them do a drill! Ben is in the front of the line.

 I normally wear full equipment, even when it's just teaching the kids, because I don't want to get hurt. Well at this particular practice I decided not to wear any because I had a hockey game later that night (last night). I didn't plan on skating around too much. Well earlier that day I bought new skates, because my other pair were about 17-years-old and falling apart. I figured they would be just like my old skates...well they were not! lol I stepped out on the ice and nearly wiped out! This happened several times, but within the hour and a half I got use to them! Thank goodness because later that night (last night) I had a game with "the big boys!"

 I do need to get a photo of me in my hockey equipment from my men's league. I thought I wanted to quit, because it was sooo hard core, but I decided to give it another try last night and it went really well actually! I think my body is finally getting conditioned! It wasn't worse than childbirth last night, and I'm sort of looking forward to my next game!

Remember when I posted about my first game ever in the men's league? I said that no one talked to me and I just didn't have a good time. Well last night we had a new player on our team and he was so nice! He actually talked to me the whole time that we were on the bench and I don't feel so out of place now! We even shared water! ;)

The other players were even actually joking with me about my age! They found out that I was 33-years-old and I had a couple players come up to me after the game and ask me if it was the truth! lol Apparently to them I look like I'm in my twenties! Now you can understand why I keep going back going back! Plus the weight loss helps too! ;)

Oh and speaking of hockey...I am a little irritated about one thing! Now that I am playing hockey again and now they finally have pink laces, and pink hockey tape, and pink sticks...it's wonderful for a girl. And it's my thing that keeps me different from the men...or at least that's what I thought! Last night one guy had a pink stick with pink hockey tape and pink laces in his skates! Come on! I don't even have a pink stick! I was a little jealous! But seriously this is the latest trend with men playing hockey!

Ok onto another note: cooking! The past week or so I haven't cooked much at all! You know how it is when you get out of a routine and then it becomes hard to get back into that routine? Well that was me!

Yesterday I did make some yummy chicken enchiladas with a homemade enchilada sauce! They turned out great! And today I needed some comfort food! I get soo exhausted from running around after the boys, going to Ben's hockey practice, and me playing in my league! For example I was out on the ice with Ben last night for an hour and a half and then later had a game of my own! I didn't get home from my hockey game until about 11:00 last night and then stayed up a few hours after that only to get up early this morning for a doctor's appointment. I was exhausted today that I ended up taking a two hour nap this afternoon! So when I woke up I wanted comfort food and something that I love is tuna melts!

As a matter of fact, when I was pregnant with both boys I craved tuna salad sandwiches. But as you know eating tuna isn't safe during pregnancy, so I rarely ate it. When both of the boys were born in the hospital I ordered a tuna salad sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I just couldn't get enough of them!

Then we vacationed in Ohio and we went to this fancy restaurant for lunch and I ordered a tuna salad sandwich and it tasted just like the ones I ate at the hospital...just delicious! So I asked them what was in it, and when they told me I was shocked at how simple it was! The secret is mayo and not Miracle Whip! Previously I was using Miracle Whip and I couldn't understand why I couldn't replicate the taste. Well know I knew!

Here is how I make it. I take a couple cans of tuna; drain and flake it. Add some chopped onion and chopped celery. The amount just depends on your taste. And then you add some mayo. Not a lot because you don't want it too wet, but just enough where it's not too dry. Mix it together and chill! It's that simple!

So tonight I made up my favorite tuna salad and made tuna melts with it! I also made a side of the best buttered noodles! You can find that recipe HERE.

This was the second time I made these noodles and they are just delicious! The key to making these is to cook them in a large skillet, not a tall pot. This is because you cook them in very little liquid, so you want to make sure that the noodles are spread out so they cook evenly.

 

Here is a photo of the yummy tuna melts and yummy buttered noodles! As you can see from the photo, I am definitely NOT a food photographer! lol But trust me they were yummy!

What kind of food comforts you?

Vintage Photography

I love all things vintage! I mean what's not to love? I especially LOVE and collect vintage aprons! I feel soo "June Cleaver" when I wear one! ;)

Anyway, I was in an antique shop a couple years ago when I came across this box! Since I am such a lover of photography, I just knew I had to have it! Plus the $5.00 price tag made my decision easy!

What drew me to this camera was how unusual it looked with it's weird dials, and just how solid it was. I have started a collection of old cameras, so I really didn't plan on doing anything with it except to keep it. I did want to create a cool camera robot out of it...but now that it works that is out of the question! 

Anyway, for the last couple of years I had pushed the camera aside! When I came across the box a few months ago, my husband and I looked more closely at it. We couldn't figure out where the viewfinder was. Or the button to actually take the photo! lol

 Just the other day when I actually researched the camera I realized that the viewfinder stands on top of the camera. It's a pop-out viewfinder. See the photo below...that's where the viewfinder would be if it had one. Besides a missing viewfinder, it is in very good condition!

 So I began to research the camera. I found out that it is a Kodak 35 camera from the year 1938! I was soo excited! I never imagined it to be this old! It was Kodak's first 35mm camera! When I found that out I was super excited, because 35mm film is easy to find and inexpensive!

In 1938 the cost of this camera was $40 which converts to a price of what would now be $609 according to data from the year 2009.

But I had no manual! Luckily, I came across an old one that someone had uploaded! I ran upstairs and grabbed a roll of 35mm film that I had leftover from the days before I went digital, and I began to experiment with it! Unfortunately, I snapped/broke two rolls of film before I figured out how to load and unload it properly!

I love how sleek and wonderful the metal is! On the left you can see the "rewind button", and on the right is the "exposure dial" that shows you how many photos you have left on the roll! And next to the exposure dial is the "wind button"...yes you have to manually operate this camera! lol Did they even have batteries in 1938? Eventhough I know it's manual...I still look for it to operate with batteries for some reason! lol I just cannot imagine or comprehend how it works without batteries! lol

Also under close inspection of the camera...we didn't know where the "exposure button" was to take the photo! After reading the manual you have to push down the screw/lever on the side of the lense. I added the arrow to show you exactly where the button/lever is. According to the manual you press down the lever and "take a breath" and release it! I can't wait to play around with this button and hold it down for more than a breath just to see how much light gets added to the finished photo!

 I love the little plate on top of the lense that is written in a cursive font that says: "Made in the USA!" It's hard to find a good quality product anymore that is actually made in the USA!

You can't tell visually by looking at the camera in person, but I realized from the photo below that the lense is very dusty! I guess I am going to have to clean it now that I know that it works!

So today I tried roll number 3 and successfully managed to load and unload the roll of film without breaking it! I was soo excited with the possibility of it actually working that I didn't read the manual correctly the first couple of times! Now that I have learned how to properly load and unload the film...I cannot wait to experiment!

The photos are a little blurry, but I love how it adds to that vintage photo effect! That is another downside to the way this camera is made. Without a viewfinder to look through that is inside the camera, there is no way to see if your image will turn out blurry. Along the lense is a dial that has a distance you can adjust, by how many feet you are standing away from the object. I think it starts with four feet and goes up to about twenty feet and then to "infinity" or something like that. I'll need to play around with it more and keep a notebook until I learn how to correctly take an image. I am just soo happy that it is actually a functioning camera! I have never been soo excited over blurry photos before until today! :)

I processed them at a 1-hour lab and looked at them several times on the way home! I was that excited!

Like I said I was so excited with just wanting the camera to work that I just took random photos from my backyard...nothing really planned out. Since there is no flash on the camera, it'll probably work best on bright and sunny days. Today it was rainy and an overcast. I took some photos in the house, they turned out, but were too dark.

Like I said, I randomly took photos, not thinking that anything would actually turn out! lol For example why on earth would I take a photo of the faucet outside?! lol

Or the camper! lol

All of these photos were straight from the camera. I did not photoshop any of them except the black and white one below! I love how the black and white one turned out...it really gives it a vintage feel!

I also love and collect old vintage photographs that I have displayed around my home. I'll have to share those with you sometime soon as well! But with a camera from 1938, it makes me wonder...what photos has this camera taken. Who owned it? And did they love photography as much as I do?

A Peek Into My Art Journal

This is week 3 of my online "Sketchbook Delight" class! And I am loving it! Last weeks lesson was about finding your inspiration or "muse." I have realized that there are soo many things around me that are inspiring...that have great textures and beautiful colors! I really learned to open my eyes and see all the detail, that I normally overlook!

Last week I found some old corn cobs in our garage for our squirrel. They had such wonderful texture. I knew I must capture it in my art journal. It wasn't Indian Corn, but I love the colors of Autumn so I made it into Indian Corn! :)

 Another view.

And I have many inspiring photos on file that I have taken over the years. I have been looking back at old photos and they just speak to me now! I love putting them down on paper! I'm not a realist type of artist, I love the whimsical dreamy look of art, so that's how I create!

Here is a nest that was built by a killdeer in the middle of my sister's driveway! I love how unique it was and I am sooo glad that I was able to photograph it! I've been drawn to bird nests lately, so you may be seeing a lot more of them!

Here is my take on the bird nest. I journaled around the painting. I used watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, and markers.

Another angle.

And by far the most inspirational place I have been to recently was our trip to the beach this past summer! I didn't realize how inspired I was until after I came home and missed it tremendously! I cannot wait to go to the beach again this summer and take my watercolors and just paint on the beach!

Here was our view from the campground we stayed at called "Castaways" in Berlin, Maryland. We stayed on the bay side and in the distance you can see Assateague Island.

I should have varied the colors of blue, but since I am just beginning with watercolors I am ok with it. I had an inspirational moment and just went with it.

And I did the journaling on the sand.

Another view.

I religiously work in my art journal everyday! I have been going through some tough times lately, and art is a great escape for me! I am seeing the world with a whole new view, and I LOVE it! :)

Fairies Out...Gnomes In!

Awhile back I blogged about our "Fairy Door." You can read about that HERE It's a tiny little door in our dining room on the floor and it's where the fairies live. The "fairies" would leave the boys little notes and treats in the mailbox and the boys had a lot of fun with it. But then like all things when you get super busy...it fades away. Ben and I started talking about the fairy door last night, and I told him that the fairy must have moved away because all of the dust on her doorstep. I honestly think she got way to busy with taking her kids to hockey practice, painting, cleaning, and laundry...but I didn't tell him that! ;).

So before bed, Ben wanted to write the fairy a little note and leave it in her mailbox. It says: "I hope you enjoy." And he also left her an Andes Candy! She like Santa Claus LOVES Andes Candies and coffee! ;)

 Here he is putting the note and Andes Candy into her mailbox with hopes she will find it and enjoy!

 And this morning Ben checked the mailbox and the note said: "Thank you Ben! From Mr. Gnome...enjoy!" And Mr. Gnome left Ben a "Crabby Patty!"

Apparently the fairies have moved out and the gnomes have taken over! :)

So in the next couple of days we will be decorating the "Gnome Door" with St. Patrick's Day decorations! I'll be sure to share what we come up with!

And hopefully this Spring I'm going to create my own set of "Gnome/Fairies Doors" for my Etsy Shop! So stay tuned for that!

Inspiration

I have been soo busy over the last week! Friday was my 33rd birthday (YIKES) and I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a wonderful bunch of friends at a Scrapbook Retreat!

I was supposed to play hockey last night, but didn't feel well when I got home. We planned on seeing Gnomeo and Juliet yesterday afternoon, but it was sold out! The boys were soo excited and couldn't wait until I got home from the retreat to see the movie. I ended up going home and going to bed so Chris took the boys to see the movie without me! :(  It came out on my birthday, and the movie is meant for me (since I'm a gnome lover) and THEY LEFT ME AT HOME!

So I'm planning on seeing the movie soon...and probably alone! lol

So anyhow I am into my second week in an online sketchbook class called: "Sketchbook Delight" taught by the wonderful artist Alisa Burke!

This weeks class was about finding your inspiration! I have always thought that I was artistically challenged! I seemed to never come up with my own inspiration...I always got inspired by other's artwork! Let me clarify, I never copied anyone's work, but I looked for things in it that inspired me. And I always wished to find my own "style."

Over the years and especially this last year I have walked through life blindly...unable to see the beauty that is around me!

Well look out...I have finally opened my eyes and I see all the beauty that surrounds me! And it feels soo good to create, and do it on my own! Remember the bird nest I blogged about this past Spring? You can read about it here.

This is what I came up with! I have played with watercolors before, but haven't done any real paintings. This is my first attempt at a sketchbook page! I really love how it turned out! I first sketched it in pencil in the waiting room at my son's pediatricians. Yes, he's sick again and actually ruptured his eardrum! He's finally feeling a little better today, thankfully!

Here's a closeup.

Another closeup.

Another.

Another....you get the idea! ;)

And speaking of art...look what Alex made me on my birthday? A pink playdoh cake! He's my little artist...he loves to paint and just create anything! Wonder who he takes after? ;)

It's almost midnight and I have a ton of ideas that I can't wait to get into my sketchbook! I have been working at it non-stop and I just can't quit! It feels soooo good! I'll share more of my sketchbook in the next couple of days! Have a wonderful week!