a new addition

So we have a new addition to our little family, in the shape and size of a VW Bug! We went to Nevada City to pick it up a few weeks ago, but with finals, and... well... life, I hadn't had the chance to post about it.

The trip started out lovely...
and soon there were chains required!
He was sooo excited to finally be getting his Bug, the weather didn't even phase him =o)
And of course, my best friend in the world, who proved his awesomeness by coming along so I wouldn't have to drive back.
Here's the new baby! A 73 VW Beetle! Isn't she a beauty? We (or I guess I should say I =o) named her Bobbi.
Her previous owener was a sport and posed with Sophia for me.

The ride home was an event. It snowed most of the way (thank you so much V. you're my hero for driving!) and the Bug had no wipers. Wish I could have gotten a picture of J. with his arm out the window wiping the snow off the window. We made it home thought and he's been working on her ever since. He's so happy and thus so am I =o)

holiday wish list

So J. got off pretty easy with my birthday, it being so close to the wedding we didn't really do anything. Just dinner with some friends and a small amount of thrift store shopping. Don't think you can play it off next year though buddy. So to give him a little help for the holidays he asked for some ideas. This was a good plan on his part considering last year I got a toaster oven and he has yet to live it down lol! So just a few ideas for my love to consider:

new watch, started wearing one lately and I need one that will go better with more outfits
link:
http://www.fossil.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product____22085389_211504?departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&No=0&Ns=p_subcategory_sequence%257c0%257c%257cp_weight%257c0&rec=10&pn=c&imagePath=JR9977


A green pair of chucks courtesy of :
http://store.delias.com/item.do?itemID=49910&categoryID=1922&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=

so far thats all sure there's more but those are the major things I'm hoping for =o)

End of our first week

I am so glad it's Friday! I had a day off in the middle of the week, and not that I'm complaining about getting a free day, but it really threw off the rest of my week. J's been having a tough week as well, I could not imagine working with only women, what drama! Here's a few more pics still haven't got the rest from the various people who were taking pics at the wedding, but rumor is that they're on the way =o)

All Done!!!

It's all said and done as soon as the name change papers go through I will officially be Mrs. Callaway! More pics to come soon and so happy to be back blogging!

Enjoying Summer & W.I.P.

Only a few more days left of summer and though Autumn is my favorite season, I'm going to miss summer.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the fading warmth, it's already getting colder at night. I had to put an extra blanket on the bed.
W.I.P.
Finished Ms. Librarian, she's going to be part of a book bag, now I just need to find some fabric.

24 more candles for the wedding, just waiting for A. to wake up to get a start on these ( all the candle making paraphernalia is in his room).
Yours in a constant state of motion ,
T.

55 days and counting

With the wedding near at hand, school, & work my postings are getting few and far between! Soo many things to do with so little time:\

-50 more baby food jars
-25 + 50 more candles
-30 center pieces
-Wedding license
- thank you gifts for friends that are helping
-collect all the projects others are helping with
- weekly homework for both classes including reading a 650pg book in 24 days with ch. summerys!
-work wanting over time
-Camping trip next weekend

All this and still trying to remember to thank the powers that be every day for giving me such a wonderful partner and love.

W.I.P. Wednesday ... Sort of

Here's my W.I.P., except it's done so I guess it's not in progress =o)



A present for a friend, made with love, hope she likes it. Neck pillow and rainbow catcher made by me.

Acid!

Sorry been out for the past few days with an upset stomach. Really sucks but hopefully I've found out how to deal with it. I spent Wednesday in the E.R., the acid was so bad I though for sure I had a ulcer or something! Well they didn't check for that, so I need to make an appt. with my actual Dr. if this persists. They just took a blood test, gave me a really nasty tasting G.I. cocktail, and sent me home with a note for my boss and an order to take prylosec. I felt better yesterday, but then again I didn't eat much yesterday. Today will be the real test. Let you know how it goes.

Fudge & sexy librarians

I've been promising A. that I would make fudge for weeks, months even. This morning I felt ambitious and with our weekly employee meeting at work tomorrow I thought I would finally come through. The recipie is one my mother use to make when I was a little girl and it was one of the first things I remember helping her make ( the pot requires a lot of stirring perfect for little ones that want to help). I think my mom told me it was a family recipie but I'm not sure.
So to turn this:Into this:
Just do this:

Mom's Fudge

4cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup coco
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
a pinch of salt

Sift all dry ingredients together. Melt butter in a double boiler and slowly add dry ingredients with a whisk, stirring regularly to keep fudge smooth. About half way through add the milk. When all ingredients are combined pour onto a buttered or wax paper covered plate and refrigerate. Let the fudge cool for a few hours ( you can put it in the frezzer if you want to speed the process along, but it sets a little funny).
Enjoy!

W.I.P. Wednesday

I've been working on a solstice present for a friend of mine, who I'm pretty sure doesn't read this blog. She works in a Library so when I found this pattern,http://sublimestitching.com/sexylibrarians.html, from Sublime Stitching, I though it would be perfect for a new book bag!

living

The hardest thing I've ever had to do is live with someone. Cohabitation is not easy! J. & I have lived together for about a year and we're still working out the kinks. This weekend was a little hard, we had a new roommate move in and we're still adjusting to his new schedule. We got through it though and I think we're a little stronger for it. We just had to lay down a guide lines for weekend living, the major one being no bringing work home on the weekends. With opposite schedules we don't get to see each other during the week so weekends are now for "us" time. Lucky for me we don't really argue, we discuss ( at least that's how we put it ). We don't get angry just frustrated, but this thing called a marriage is a process and a lot of work. I know we're not technically married yet, but making a commitment to be with someone whether in a romantic way or not is an agreement to take the good with the bad and work out your differences. It didn't help that I'm about to get a visit from my monthly friend, so I was a little sensitive, poor guy! Anyway, the new roommate is moved in, more on that later, sending out the last of the invitations that need to be mailed today, school starts today, and all is good (if not a little hetict) in my little portion of the world.

A.'s Room

A.s room is done! Well for the most part, we still have a little work to do in the bathroom, but the room itself is done! Have I ever mentioned how much I hate painting walls!

That little black spot in the right hand corner is the dog, ever present and always underfoot =o)

The sconce was given to us by J.&D. for helping them move. It's meant to be outside on a porch or something but we're weird like that and think it looks awesome in the room!The mint in the window box outside the small window smells lovely!
And the view from the big windows is pretty amazing.

You're going to drink that?!?

I've started my new schedule today. Up at 7:30 and ready to go by 9. At least that's the plan. My class at the college doesn't start until 9:30, but I like to get there early to walk around a bit. Now these early mornings are a bitch and I am not use to them, I need a little something to get me going. I've decided to give up coffee during the week and have switched to green tea to cut back on some calories for the wedding, for a little extra kick in my diet though I've started making these:
Yummy green smoothies! I've already had a few people look at them with disgust, but they taste rather good! The thing that makes them green is just a little spinach and some Romain. You can't even taste that just the fruit. May look rather gross, but they taste delicious!

Porch Time

A slow weekend at home. A little painting, a little shopping, a little help moving some friends, and a lot of down time with my love.

So Sleepy!

They ( you know the ever present but never visible "they"), are planing inventory at my work and thus want us out of the way by 2 on Friday. Since night shift starts at 2 that pretty much means that "they" don't want us there at all. So me and my fellow vampires have been pulling 10 hour days all week. Now when getting paid overtime you won't hear me complain, but right now I have no energy. This really sucks since A. is moving in next weekend and his room needs to be finished. That means waking up, taking the dog for his walk and painting. So yes I am really tired!!

Dinner with friends

Happy Bench Monday!



So this weekend was a slightly productive one, with a lot of movie watching and working around the house. We started painting in A.'s room as well as cleaning up his bathroom. There was some grocery shopping and some house cleaning. There was mom's weekly Sunday visit (which I look forward to every week). There was also dinner with my best friend and his new girlfriend. I think I might have went a little overboard for such a simple dinner among friends, but it's rare that I get the chance to entertain so I took full advantage. I unfortunately did not take any pictures, but let me tell you I impressed my self. Since there isn't enough room for four to eat comfortably in the house yet I set up the picnic table outside. It had the whole nine yards, flowers, candles, place mats with napkins (and napkin rings!), bread basket, everything. Like I said I went a little overboard Dinner was sheperds pie, with cheesecake and strawberrys for desert. The night was a hit and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. V.'s new girlfriend K. seems like quite the catch and I hope she sticks around for a little while.
She even brought me flowers!

Beer, Beer, & more Beer

Yesterday was a somewhat uneventful day. Woke up, went for my walk with Ra, chore, a little sewing, then work. When I was cleaning out the back room for A., our soon to be new roommate I came across my old body pillow from before J. and I got together. Now rather then throwing it away, which is what most would do considering it's sad state, I decided to make a new cover and put it to use again. For some reason I always think I have more fabric around the house then I actually do. I ended up using some chart fabric that I had originally purchased with a quilt in mind. I also found an old pillow case that we had never used and that added just enough length and I didn't have to hem the top, easy!

The fabric is really awesome, it looks like an old star chart, might need to buy more in case I ever get around to that quilt I want to make.

The best part about yesterday happened a little while after I got home from work. Our cat, who has been enjoying a little freedom out of doors lately, decided to abuse that privilege and wander off last night. Now I know cats are meant to wander, but we live on the edge of BLM property that is undeveloped and full of predators that would love to make a nice midnight snack outta my little Calcifer! Sorry a little off subject there for a sec. So J. asks me if I want a beer to calm me down a little before I go to bed. I say yes (of course!). He goes out onto the porch and then silently calls me over. Here I am thinking that he had found the cat in some strange place and didn't want to startle him. I was wrong! This is what he wanted to show me:
He recieved his last paycheck from his previous job yesterday and decided that for once he wanted his beer fridge full! Now he already has found a new job so he wasn't being irresponsible, just indulging a little lol! He even got three of my favorite choices, hes so considerate!

Also a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! to A., he's finally outta of his teens. 20 yrs old today!! Tonight we're going to the casino for breakfast after work to celebrate ( yeah were strange people who love breakfast food at 10:30 @ night).

Happy Birthday A.!!!!

Wordless wednesday

Busy Day

Yesterday was a very busy day. First there was a trip to the gyno. That was an event what Dr. in his right mind stocks his waiting room with sports illustrated and golf weekly? Having to wait 30 mins with only this sort of reading material was not fun! Next came home to a shed that need to be organized, should have taken pictures of all the spiderwebs! I felt kinda bad for ruining their home, but with a roommate on the way I need more storage space! Then back to cleaning out the guest room for said roommate. Everything is cleared out soon on to the painting. I actually remembered to take a before pic:



Next we went to Target to register for the wedding. O.K. that was kinda fun. J. even got to register for the flat screen that he really wants, not that I think anyone's going to buy it. If anyone reading this is going to the wedding I really need new towels and not the flat screen lol!
When sorting out the guest room we found a need for a new storage system for our D.V.D's. Heres what we came up with:
From this:
To this:


And for today's to-do:
1. Finish Addressing Invites
2. Clean Porch
3. Dust House
Not a very long list for today

weekend recipe

So a few of our friends had a BBQ this past weekend. I really thought I was going to get away with just bringing a simple salad or perhaps some drinks... nope I jinx myself. I am now know for my deserts. No more easy throw it together salads for me. After some careful deliberation and a little bit of surfing on my favorite recipe website, http://allrecipes.com, here's what I came up with:


Glazed Almond Bundt Cake
It's nice and light which makes it a perfect summer treat, espically when you mix it with berries!
Here's the recipie:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 2/3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup milk
• 
  
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with 1 cup milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and invert on a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper. Combine 1/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and toasted sliced almonds; pour over warm cake.

I also added some strawberries, I thought it could use some color. Just slice strawberries, in a bowl combine them with enough sugar to coat and let sit covered in the fridge for about 30 mins. The sugar dissolves and makes a nice syrup. Fill the center of the bundt cake and enjoy! Lasted just long enough to get the plates passed out and got rave reviews. This one is going to stay in the recipe rotation for a while.

My Love

O.K. to get a little personal today, ( not that anyone reads this anyway). Things have been pretty tense around here lately. J.'s job has been dicking him around for the past two weeks, leaving us hanging as to whether or not he actually has a job. This morning to top everything off the HR rep for the company he works for calls at 6 o'clock! Yeah that 6 o'clock a.m. and for two night shift people that's just not cool! I've been trying my hardest to be there for him and put on a happy face so that he doesn't have to worry about me as well, but my smile is starting to wear a little thin. We're to the point that even though there's a good chance that his job is going to pull through and he'll still have a position he's looking daily at job postings for other places. Today's blog is dedicated to him and the wonderful man that he is. I love you so much and no matter what happens we'll pull through and come out the other side better for the experience.



The man of my dreams! My very own Dread Pirate Roberts