Making An Effort Monday

In an effort to make more of the things I love -- good food, pretty things, and organized spaces -- I bring you Making An Effort Monday!

Okay, it's not new and exciting, but here are the results of my crafty-time this week.  You guessed it: MORE BOWS!

This one is made with ribbon Josephine picked out all by herself and she loved so much that she held it one inch from her mouth and did her "excited scream" the rest of the time we were in the store.

I made this one to go with a big pink frilly dress Grandma bought her, but I am not loving how the clip doesn't match.  Note to self:  working with organza ribbon is not ideal.

I made this one for opening day (Go Tigers!) but I know she will have plenty of Tigers outfits over the years we will have to coordinate with!

I made this to replace the slightly wonky one from last week.

I made this one specifically to go with her new tutu from Grandma.

Josie got some new purple stretch pants from Grandma, so we needed something purple.

I looked all over the dang place for a navy ribbon that would match this outfit:

But no luck, so we needed something preppy and classic to match.

And finally, I love zebra and hot pink together.  So sue me.

Next, I decided to make something to hold her growing collection of bows.  TA DA!

It was nice and super cheap, too.

I used ...
about one-third of a roll of ribbon I got for $1 -- $0.34 rounded up :)

ring from an old key chain at the top so it can hang -- FREE

four pennies glued in the bottom as a weight to keep the ribbon straight -- $0.04

total -- $0.38!  Yay me!

Brag about your own efforts in the comments! 

8 Months

It happens every month on the ninth, and yet it catches me by surprise every time.  My baby is another month older, one month closer to being one whole year old, and I just have no idea how it happened.


Eight months old.  Yikes.

Time is flying by so quickly.  Much too quickly.  But it is a great time.  This is the best time of my life.

My baby girl still refuses to crawl, but she is moving toward walking at quite a fast pace.  

She has been pushing herself up on her feet for over a month, and just last night I let her stand, holding herself on the ottoman, and she stood there for SEVEN MINUTES before she wobbled a bit, and that was only because she was dancing.  Just standing there, sometimes on one foot and sometimes only holding herself up with one hand.  So confident.  So strong.  Of course, I don't have a picture, because I was too busy marveling at my little wonder.


She smiles 99% of the day.  

She waves.  She hugs.  She kisses.  She has such a little personality.

She has THREE whole teeth.  She says "Da-da-da-da-da!" all day long (and then says "MA-MA-MA-MA" in a wail-y voice when she is sad).  She has favorite cartoons. 

She laughs at her cat and dog.  She gets on her hands and knees and rocks and rocks and ROCKS like a maniac.   She eats like a champ.  

Her hair is long enough for pigtails!  (::sobs::)

She is the light of my life.  

Now All I Can Think About is Eating Rainbow Cheesecake.

I don't about you, but the sidebar ads in facebook ... where to begin?  Sometimes they make me laugh, sometimes they make me vom, and sometimes they make me angry.  Mostly, they just make me confused.


The most confusing part of it all is that these ads are supposed to be "tailored" to me based on things I say and do on facebook.  Let's take a gander at some of the beauties that popped up this past week.

They're right!  Cheesecake IS funny!  I am totes rotfl right now!

Oh yeah, those nails look H-O-T hot.  Love 'em.

 

But wait, let's take a closer look at those monstrosities:

Seriously?  THIS was the best mail model you could find?  One with a bashed in fingernail that has blood pooled under it?  I wonder if that sucker fell off after the shoot.  Guh.  Yeah, sign me up for those "spa's" (yeah, that would be one spa possessing something, not more than one spa.  SIGH.).

Wow, there are a lot of amazing things to do in Lansing before I die!  A tilty building!  How is it that I've never seen that before?  Hmmm, curious.

Umm, yeah ... I've definitely looked up in the sky before.  And the sky in Lansing?  Doesn't contain anything of the sort.  I'm beginning to think these ads don't have accurate photos! 

Now that tears it.  If there were a taco that large in Lansing, I would have already eaten it.  Maybe two.

Hang on a tick -- If I drive one hour to the west I can see a PIGLET IN RAINBOOTS????  Holy schnikes.

We get it, facebook.  I'm fat.  Move along now.

Now that's not even a little funny.  The weight watchers back-to-back with the cheesecake?  Okay, maybe it's a little representative of my eating habits.  WHAT-ever.

 Now it's official:  facebook doesn't know me at ALL.

I call them "the LADIES," thank you very much.

Although, now that I think of it, none of this was as bad as when I got a bazillion "plan your wedding" ads BEFORE I was engaged (not cool, facebook) or when I was wishing and hoping to get pregnant and fifty bajillion ads popped up with baby crap (doubly not cool, facebook).  

Moral of the story?  Facebook ads are there to make your heart break and your head explode.  And apparently Mark Zuckerburg is an evil little toad. 

The End.  Great story, right?

Making An Effort Monday

In an effort to make more of the things I love -- good food, pretty things, and organized spaces -- I bring you Making An Effort Monday!

This week I managed to end what had been a month-long exercise in frustration and futility.  It was fan-bloody-tastic.


You see, I had gotten it into my head that I could make big gorgeous bows for my darling daughter's head.  If you are a sucker mom who has bought bows, you know it is rather ridiculous.  And I found a bag of 25 alligator clips at Hobby Lobby for $4!!!  And they have spools of adorable ribbon -- $1 for 19 feet!!!  I can do this!  I can do this!


Not so much ...

I think I visited EVERY SINGLE "how to make hairbows" website on the Internet.  Yup.  All of them. 

Then, FINALLY, on Friday night, I sat down at the table and told Jeremy I wasn't getting up until I had an adorable bow to match this adorable outfit my mom bought for Josephine and she was going to be wearing to a bridal shower the next day:

(Are you dying of cuteness?  I know!)

And I did it!


The first one I made was still a little wonky

I mean, that right side is pretty kick-ass, but the left side ... oh well, it looked okay in her hair, especially if you are standing far away.  See?

Then, lo and behold, I found the right combination of instructions and tips from about nine websites, and I made this:

And then this!

And then this!

And then this!

They're not the most fantastic things ever, but I LOVE them.

Then, in baby-food-making land, I made and froze sweet potatoes, butternut squash, butternut squash with a pinch of cinnamon (we are getting close to our foray into spices!!), spinach, green beans, bananas, and pears.

YUM.

I didn't have a new recipe this week, but I did trot out an old favorite last night.  It's kind of the opposite of "making an effort" since it is so easy peasy, but I thought I'd share it anyway, because it is amazingly fantastic.  It is not the healthiest thing on the planet, but it might be one of the most delicious things.  

Chili Cheese Dip (from the fabulous Arlene Marcetti aka Mom)

I took pictures of the steps so you could keep up.  It's tricky.

1.  Spread a package of cream cheese onto a plate (I use the 1/3 less fat kind.  My mom says don't bother trying the fat free one because it ends up like crumbled pieces of chalk once it gets heated up.)  

2.  Spread a can of chili on top of that (Now here's where you can get creative.  I strongly believe the dip should have turkey chili with beans, but mama says NO BEANS in the dip.  I say, do whatever your heart tells you.  I would not recommended the vegetarian Hormel chili unless you have a stomach of steel.  Also, the canned chili obviously contributes to the "non-healthy-ness" of the recipe, but it also contributes to the easy factor.  I have also used some leftover homemade chili before.  If you do, just use about one cup.)

3.  Sprinkle with cheese.  I use 4-cheese Mexican blend, but co-jack and cheddar are equally delicious (My sister says I use too much cheese.  Big surprise.  I say, sprinkle until you are happy, but if you use too much it won't all melt, so probably about a cup.)

4.  Heat in microwave for about 5 minutes (depending in your microwave), until all cheese is melted.

5.  Use tortilla chips to shovel into face.

I sprinkle my side liberally with jalapeños, but Jeremy doesn't like them.  He's lame like that.

The end!  If you make the chili cheese dip, let me know how amaze-balls it is.  Happy Monday!