Sometimes it is EMBARRASSING

to have the CUTEST dog on the block…

seriously …

this guy

gets an obscene amount of attention!!

really!  I am NOT kidding…

So many people stop in their tracks for Merlin!!

I can not tell you how many strangers

GUSH over him… it is CRAZY!

Today my neighbors took Merlin

(and Me) to the dog park

and it was ever so slightly embarrassing!

other dog owners  GUSHing over Merlin!

“he is SO soft”  “he is SO cute”  “he is SO adorable”  “he is SO beautiful”

seriously!!!

We get that EVERYWHERE we go with him!!

People gush…

and GUSH..

people whisper when we walk past

“Look at that cute dog”

“OH… Look… ”

“isn’t that dog beautiful”

sometime they talk to us…

sometimes I just over hear it…

“Wow… that dog is beautiful”

It is hysterical!!

and embarrassing!!  =)

Don’t get me wrong…

I do think he IS cute!!

and

I am a Proud dog owner

of this “adorable”

toilet paper stealing dog!!

the same “cutie”

that steals from my pantry!!

and the “beautiful” dog

who destroys his bedding…

couch pillows, towels, socks…

I guess it IS a good thing he is Sooooooooo cute!!

You see

when I am standing at my child’s school with 4 other dog owners

and all the kids want to pet MY  dog…

and I go to the dog park …

and MY dog gets a LOT of  attention…

and when I walk down the street and turn heads

NOT because I am hot… (ha ha)

I am NOT attracting attention with my own good looks..

but with MY adorable DOG…

Every once in a while…

I just can’t stop laughing at how much attention

this crazy guy can bring into MY  life!!

Good Grief!!

To us…

he is just our dog…

the medium sized, low shedding, good natured, easy to train breed (ha ha) …

The family dog…

with some bad habits we hope he outgrows …

(with never~ending training!! )

Merlin brings… um…

a whole new meaning to the word…

Cute…!

Cute = embarrassing!  ha ha

I hope all the other dog owners in my home town don’t hate me..

I can just hear them when I come around the corner…

“Oh there is the girl with the CUTE dog… ”

“come on Fido… let’s go this way”

**sigh**

Seriously…

I am telling you…

It is Embarrassing owning a CUTE dog!!  =)

if you are not interested in receiving an obscene amount of attention…

don’t buy a cute Cavalier & Cocker Spaniel mix!!  =)

ha ha

…..

I hope y’all take this with the best possible humor…

am mostly joking

b/c it is crazy how much attention Merlin gets…

and sometimes … it really does embarrass me…

mostly it makes me Laugh!!  =)

honestly…

I am sure my adorable babies didn’t even get this much attention!!

and really…

they are the cutest kids on the block!!   =)

(I am sorry… I can’t help myself! ….. )

and the funniest part

is that all these pictures are not exactly good pictures of my Cute dog … ha ha…

blast that darn broken camera…

it is killing me!!  =)

PS……. I just realized that I have 40 more days until I turn 40!!!  What shall I do with them?  besides walk my cute dog?  ha ha

Gingered Cranberry Sauce

Are you a fan of cranberry sauce??

Do you like it or LOVE it?

Do you like it from a can?  a jar?  or homemade?

We love it in this house!

shocker actually with my 2 picky eaters~!!

So .. Homemade Cranberry is a MUST in our house on Thanksgiving!

We love it ON our turkey!!

and after Thanksgiving we use it like jam!

I usually make it as directed on the Ocean Spray Cranberry packaging.

1 cup of liquid.  1 cup of sugar.  boil.  cook.  smash.  cool.  serve.

Easy Sneezy!

only I break the rules.

If you know me well…

You knew this was coming!  ha!

For the 1 cup of liquid I use 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 apple cider.

and I use a little vanilla.

and I cut apple chunks into it because I am a rebel

and it makes it sweeter!  =)  Pear chunks are delish too!!

and I usually cut the sugar in half.

except NOT this year.

I was feeling a little saucy when I made it.

and I tried adding this spicy flavor to it…

G is for Ginger!~  =)

I have to be in the right mood to eat ginger.

I am like that.

This Canadian Thanksgiving day I was at the tail end of  a cold.

and I had been adding ginger to my secret “when I am sick hot drink”.

(I will share that another day, k!!)

anyway… using ginger all week  inspired me to put it in the cranberry sauce

For our Canadian Thanksgiving in October!!  =)

The real test was to see if my Littles noticed it!!

Well… I used a bit too much ginger  ** oops **

so I had to …um… uh… add more sugar than the packaging called for!

Oh well.

It was delicious!

and the Littles (aka the kids)  did not seem to notice the ginger!!  ha!

So …

New recipe for the Seizing My Day family…

Gingered Cranberry Sauce!

Toss in all the ingredients the Ocean Spray bag calls for into your sauce pan

adding any sweet fruit you like

and / or substitute fruit juice instead of water

and grate up a little ginger or a lot if you love that spicy flavor…

and BOIL and stir…  for however long the bag directs!  … =)

It is SO easy!

Once The berries get all soft and squishy

you can stop at this point and let it cool

and serve it as is… a little chunky.

OR

put that hand blender in like I did

and give it a whirl   …   or two!

now it is less chunky.

Let it Cool and put it into a couple fancy jars.

and gift one to your neighbor…

they will love you forever.

(if they like cranberry that is!~)

Lucky me my neighbors do!!

and they love PW Cookies, PW Pecan Scones, and Bakerella Cake pops…

My neighbors love me!!  ha ha!!  =)

anyway…

This Thanksgiving… if you are feeling spicy…

I dare you to try my Gingered Cranberry Sauce!

If you are only feeling a little saucy…

then try the sweet fruit version…

without the ginger!   Yum!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will share more of my Thanksgiving dinner tricks with y’all as the week goes by…  I will share my turkey bird secret and my stuffing secret.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?  Do you have secrets for cooking on Thanksgiving?!  Do tell!!  =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am going to walk the dog now…

in the LAST non-rainy wet day of the year here in Western Washington.

Our lives are over.  Forever.

Fine… For the next few months…

we will be trapped indoors.

or be forced to walk with boots, Slickers,  hats, umbrellas and WET dogs.

**  sigh **

It is going t be one WET soccer game this weekend!

I think Abby might have a fever that day?!

Oh wait… her daddy is the coach… I don’t think that will fly!

Dang!

*sigh*  anyway…

I am off to enjoy a tinsy tiny bit of sunshine before it is all over. forever.

Have a great day y’all!!

Jenn~

Finishing what I start

seriously it takes me so long to finish what I start!

I swear I should be living in Hawaii…

where the world is “more relaxed”  … right?!

Yep… I am going to go with that!

So anyways…

I start projects (or blog posts) all the time…

and take months to finish them. or I start something else and put it on the “shelf”. or I just never finish them and they end up at the good will. it is shameful how many rooms in my house have one coat of paint! or the sheets that are now permanent curtains b/c I never managed to tackle that “project”.  Shameful!

SO… in light of the said above confession.

I have had it with myself.

Time to Finish What I Start.  the end. I mean period.

Remember this?

From THIS POST..??

So … I am not completely happy with the finished product…

it didn’t meet my expectations!

Alas… I refer to a favorite quote…

“When all else fails…Lower your expectations! ”

Given what those letters spell …

I will splain Lucy…

so yes… I am going the “unfriendly” home owner route…

I just couldn’t take it anymore…

the chem dry carpet people…

the gardeners…

the political agenda folks…

the ENTIRE high school football team…

*sigh*  I had to take matters into my own hands! =)

Moving on… another project I started…

Remember this?

from this SAME POST?

Well.. anyway… a few weeks later…

it is finally finished…

maybe…

it kinda needs a 4 or 5th coat… ??

It was my momma’s sewing stool…

emotional project…

so I am still adjusting…

I think I like it…

it is Fresh

New

I am trying to own it….

It is MY stool now.    =)

here is the fabric close-up.  I like it.   I think.

and then there was the day last week

that I taught my daughters class – remember I told you all

I was going to do that?  and I never told ya how it went.

I do that… forget to finish my own sentences sometimes!  =)

So here is the FULL story.

I offered to “help with art” on teacher curriculum night

and then I realized at our Fall conference

that what I had really offered to do

was TEACH art to the whole class… All at once. YIKES!

I don’t do that. nope. no way. not me. thankyouverymuch.

Guess what I did last week.   =)

I overcame the fear of standing in front of a whole class

I walked them little 5th graders through a fall leaf art project

all 26 of them.

with a projector and all…

Standing up front

with the white board behind me

(scary times for chickens like me) ha ha

and I did just fine!

I guess I also showed my little shy Abby it is good to “just do it”

Tackling my fears and Enjoy the moment even if it is scary!  ha ha!

All 26 pieces of art were beautifully unique

I even witnessed very proud little faces

with huge smiles…

which made the whole experience worth it!

and

The kids didn’t seem to notice my red neck (ha ha) or my red face…

The student teacher even said she was impressed and took notes..

b/c I had a good “grip” on the not so good at listening to the teacher kids!

HA!   (that would be the ~ hey I am a mom don’t mess with me attitude!)

*ahem*  moving on…

So there you have it…

I am slowly Tackling and finishing things I start…

My new goal is to paint the second coat on all the colorful rooms in my house…

and maybe even hang real wall art!

or a head board

or  hang a mirror  in my downstairs bathroom again (finally)!!!

(shush sister… not a word!!)

For now I will be happy I have finished a few things I started.. including but not limited to crafty projects around the house  … all the way to standing up to my stupid offers fears and teaching a whole class new tricks… he he…

and yes… I did offer to do it again…

fine. the truth.

so I actually had fun teaching a whole class.

art.  for a half an hour.  (easy sneezy) 😉

Oh … and remember this guy …

I’m still workin on him!!  =)

and now

I am going to FINISH a Beth Moore book I started this summer!!!

*sigh*  hopeless I tell you!~

hopeless.  =)

Pumpkin Hunting

Measuring up

bigger little pumpkins

a boy on a tractor …

once upon a time he was very little and giddy on this tractor!

must dig out that photo!

cousins

mommies

more cousins

very slim pickins

walkin away

the pre-picked bin will have to do

here comes the train again

home to see the sisters puppy

Stella!!

and don’t forget her old lady dog

Sadie!!

Snuggling with Stella!!

Merlin is going to be SO jealous!

Sorry Merlin!

What did y’all do this weekend??

Looks like another rain free week for us!!  WHA HOO!!

Maybe we will get our Fall Family Photo shoot taken!??

Have a great week!

Jenn

Have You Every Seen a Fairy?

I am not sure how or when they were discovered…

one day they quietly breezed in and stole my little girls heart

and her imagination!!

The Rainbow Fairies appeared first

The Color Fairies ~ not pictured above are the first of the Rainbow Fairies…

Next the Jewel Fairies appeared…

The Weather Fairies…

The Days of the Week Fairies…

The Animal Fairies…

Fairies!!

One of theRainbow Fairies was even named after my little girl…

Well….sort of…

She does  NOT prefer to be called Abigail…

She is ABBY .   Period.  =)

The Rainbow Fairies appeared when ABBY was in first grade.

Abby and her kindred Spirit friend were convinced they were real.

The joy and excitement that filled our girls hearts from these books  overflowed into their little lives!  Many hours were spent admiring, wishing, searching, seeking, imagining, enjoying the mystery and loveliness of the possibility that one day….maybe…

They read book after book, adventure after adventure… sharing in the lives of these little fairies that saved the other fairies during unfortunate situations with the help of little human girls… I remember reading them to Abby at the start of first grade and by the end of the year she was reading them withOUT me!  =)  There are 70 some odd Fairies in the Rainbow Fairy book series!  They are cute, entertaining and gripping (for a first/second grader~!).  The girls loved playing fairies, chatting about them, hoping one day to meet one …  *sweet times*

I think the girls made it through more than half of The Rainbow Fairies…

before I happened upon  Absolutely Adorable and  LOVELY little fairies in the book store!

Have you ever seen these Fairy Books??

I enjoyed the Rainbow Fairy series…

and I would definitely recommend them!

But Hands down The Flower Fairy books are my Favorite!!

They stole my heart and my imagination too!!

I Highly recommend these lovely little books for 1-3 grade readers!

They are OH SO Sweet!!  Each Fairy is named for a flower… and their lives are in the gardens where their flowers grow… they are sweet, caring, admirable little fairies who help each other out and love one another.  Wonderful times reading these with my daughter!~  it has been a few years since I have read them… so I am sure my words will not do them justice!!  They are LOVELY little  books… we started off reading them together and once again… slowly she didn’t want to wait until nighttime reading and Abby would finish them without me!!  =)  and move on to the next one!  The Flower Fairy stories are based on the Original Poetry Books by Cicely Mary Barker who wrote in the early 1900’s.   About the same time frame as Beatrix Potter!

Cicely Mary Barker’s  poems and water colors are Brilliant!!

In the last decade the characters from the poems and watercolors became characters in those fabulous little books!

We adored ALL of these delightful little stories!

These Two were our favorites!!

We even sat one afternoon and sketched …

I wish I could find Abby’s drawings from that day…

Abby still proudly displays the ones I sketched for her that day…

don’t look too closely at the body proportions, K?!!

If you have a sweet 6-9 year old little girl to buy a present for in the near future… there is a good chance The Flower Fairies will capture her heart and imagination as well!

Do you (or did you) have one or two or a few Favorite books series that you read with your little ones that still makes your heart smile??

Hope your day is filled with mystery and imagination!!

Jenn~



A new flute player is in town…

While taking photos for Barb Phillips  alphabet challenge this week…

The letter F…

I found heard this Fantastic little Flutist

and I Felt she needed her own Feature on my blog! =)

She is a quiet spirited little flute player

who leaves little footprints where ever she goes

She is soft spoken, shy, gentle, kind, obedient, good mannered …

You might not notice her in the crowd

if it weren’t for a subtle sweet  “sound”

it is not loud or proud or over confident

just quiet and gentle and soft …

My little flute player  is a leader in her own quiet, gentle ways…

I worried she would be a follower with her shy quiet ways…

I worried that she would not stand up for herself

that she might take a path just because it is easier to follow others…

sometimes she does not stand up for herself…

but Over the years She has surprised me with a subtle  independence…

She does not follow the crowd …  she gently guides her own way through it!!

Her personality flows with her choice of instruments!

The flute is not a very loud instrument

it has a subtle, quiet,  soft sound

but its soft sweet sounds are heard in the crowd of louder instruments…

and that soft sweet sound is So beautiful!

it has always been my personal favorite ‘band’ instrument beaming the most beautiful yet gentle sounds you have ever heard.

…..

About a year ago we invested in a small key board

because Our little quiet soul wanted to learn piano…

we couldn’t afford a piano…

but we were thrilled she wanted to play piano

thus the keyboard… anyway…

her daddy has been teaching her piano…

She absorbed it quickly and was playing beautifully in No time!!

She is a hard working, dedicated and loyal little soul.

So loyal she worried that playing the flute would take away from her dedication to learning piano!

She often “worries”  about her friends and family in that same manner!!

Man I love that kid!!

She puts her heart and soul  into everything she sets her mind to do…

and does her very best in every thing she does… !

I can’t wait to hear her play beautiful music from her new flute

with a little practice!!

We are very proud of our sweet soft spoken little Girl…

who softly and tenderly leaves a beautiful impression on those around her!!

She even inspires me … =)

Go and make soft sweet sounds today!!~

You never know when those soft sweet sounds might just be the loveliest thing someone in your path has heard today!  =)

Blessings~

Jenn

My next post was also inspired by the Letter Photo Challenge…

it is FUN … you should try it… you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find with your lens!    (ok… even with your broken lens… the pictures aren’t fantastic…but the post ideas are flowing… ha ha!!… Sorry… I can’ t help it!)

Fall Weekend Fun

Fall Soccer = Wet Soccer =)

The girls actually don’t seem to mind

playing in the rain

my little chick scored 2 goals this Saturday…

Fall Season Abby scored 7 goals in 5 games!!

Way to go Abby!  =)

This Photo is compliments of my friend Tammy’s husband…. aka the assistant coach! Bless you Coach… it is really hard to get action shots with my broken camera! (are you all tired of hearing that yet? … it is SO depressing… I’ll get over it… when I get a new camera! ha!) =)

In the spirit of Halloween Fast approaching

Keeping in Mind:  A Life Made Lovely linky

over at Heathers blog =)

Photobucket

I was a little inspired this weekend…

They may not be Casper

but they are Friendly little ghosts!

the one that says Boo I bought at Target a couple years ago

it is a silverware holder for the table

The kids love it!

So  I made a couple more out of Felt

cute, eh?  We intend on using them to share a little fun

with our friends!  =)

This weekend I also tried collage podging my Fall Leaf project on Canvas

they turned out Fabulous and LOVELY!!

sadly my pictures really don’t do them justice…

I won’t say it… =)

I think I am going to use them as gifts this year!??  =)

So our Rainy Saturday ended up being Lovely…

Soccer, goals scored, craft fun… coffee…board games played…

it was a lovely day!

Today on the other hand Was a Beautiful Day outside…

(unlike our wet soccer day yesterday!)

SO we Frolicked around the town

enjoying the sunshine

Down by the bay

I have lived here a long time…

and I didn’t know the marina downtown

was called FiddleHead Marina!!

Too Funny

Perfect for the alphabet Photography challenge “letter F” !  =)

We took our little Geomate Jr. GPS

We were looking for a few geocaches

we only found ONE out of FOUR!!  *sigh*

Thats OK

it was a FUN afternoon

goofing around town

kicking our FEET up

drinking our Foam art lattes

watching pigs Fly =)

We had a Lovely Fabulous Weekend!

What did you Find yourself doing this weekend?

~  Jenn ~

Oh and in the spirit of Barb Phillips  alphabet photography challenge

Featuring the letter “F” ….

F is for Flag =)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian Friends!  and my Hubby!!

Turkey dinner is on the menu tonight… complete with all the Fixins

for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner… right down to the pumpkin pie!!

Ah….The perks of a blended marriage 1/2 American 1/2 Canadian…. =)

so if you will excuse me now…

Off to the kitchen with me!!

Tomorrow I have a few more Photos featuring the letter F as well…

apparently I was Really inspired this week… (ha ha)  =)

Teachers Art Assistant

My art skills make kids happy
I am ok with that.

Next week I get to teach my daughters class
to make this fun Fall Leaf Art project
with pressed leaves and collage podge
I found the idea in a Sunset magazine from 2007

I didn’t follow the “rules”
when I made my examples
I never do. =)
Sunset magazine used color photocopies of leaves
I used real leaves!

it is really easy
first press leaves
next collage podge them onto cardstock
viola! Fall Leaf Art!

Canvas would be fabulous!!!
too expensive for public school art projects!! ha ha
to prevent warping I taped the cardstock down to the counter
while they dried!

I might be tempted to make one or two on canvas…
or have my kiddos make them on canvas??
They are growing on me…
I like them.

I think the kids in my little girls class will be proud
to take home this beautiful art to their mamas.

just curious…
Would you hang these in your house as art?
or would call it “kid art”?
and only hang it if your kid brought it home??
maybe I should ask this question after I try it on canvas???
=)

I think I have officially embraced Fall now.
The leaves get me every time!

Have a great weekend!
Jenn~

E is for

Eggs

Speaking of Eggs

Have you ever done this with an egg?

I have always heard you can do this on winter solstice

I was SO excited that  I actually managed to do it!!

E is for Elephant

This was the baby Elephant born in Seattle

this pic is from a couple years ago

sadly …

this baby elephant did not live a long life…

Speaking of elephants

My sweet hubby rescued an elephant

in our neighborhood today

we will post a sign at the mailboxes

and try to find the sad little owner!

oddly enough…

this is our 2nd Elephant rescue

the other was when our kids were tiny wee ones…

that elephant was a New TY Beanie Buddy

lost in the park…

He became a part of our home…

nobody ever claimed him!!

Stuffed Elephant Rescue team at your service!  =)

too funny!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

E is for

Elk

and Elk babies

E is for Eyes

and

Eye glasses

Such a flattering picture of me, don’t ya think?!

those eyebrows need some wax

if you know what I mean!

don’t laugh!

Last but not least

E is for

my Engagement Ring

(on a very wrinkly hand)

Yikes!!!   Never mind that it needs to be cleaned!

something Else to add to my to do list!

Have an Excellent day!

Jenn~

E is for the Alphabet Challenge brought to you by

Barb Phillips

The Thing about starting projects

Is that you should only start ONE at a time!!  =)

oops.

Too late now!!

remember this?

Soon

it will hold treasures

that belong to this handsome little guy

see it in the corner there?

it is  white…

but it is still a work in progress!

When I asked Sammy if he wanted me to paint it

black, brown or white?

he choose WHITE

Because it is easier to spot a spider

if it tries to hide in it !!!  =)

Gotta love that spider fearing smart kid!!

=)

anyway

Project 2…

this old baby crib board

it is currently driving me crazy!!!

have I ever mentioned I have NO patience

when it comes to projects

and waiting!!

*** ugh***

the waiting  is KILLING me!!

I skip steps to avoid waiting!

Really!

you see

when you use this

apparently

you are supposed to let it set for 3 days

before you can use chalk on it!!

3 days after you put on the last of like 4 coats!!

I have used this very chalk board paint before…

I just forgot about the waiting!!

*sigh*

speaking of  patience

or a lack there of…

forget that I was “supposed” to sand it in between coats!!

oops.   =)

Hope that step isn’t really important!!

because I am dying to use this!!!

2 more sleeps!

I LOVE love the new giant chalk board!!

hope it works alright

since I skipped a step or two!! =)

There you have it folks…

if you have an old baby crib board laying around

You too can have a giant chalk board!!

(when your babies are grown)

please don’t start laying your baby on the floor to sleep

just so you can have a COOL  giant chalk board like me!!  =)

(in case you were wondering it is the board that holds the crib mattress!)

ah ha ha ha

Moving on…

The 3rd project I started last week during this stupid “itch” …

did I say that out loud??!

Anyway… really moving on…

My momma’s old sewing stool

What is Wrong with me??

Starting SO many projects at once?

hubby and I had  a few good laughs today about it

God blessed me with a man of laughter !!  Amen!

Anyway… we laughed about my crazyness!

about our kitchen/dining area being upside down in paint, fabric, tools,

paint brushes, stools, boards, treasure chests, etc. etc…

Never Mind  I am still under a mountain

of 11 x 17 enlarged photocopies of Sammy school work

also all over my kitchen/dinning area as well!!  *sigh*

Please don’t come to visit me anytime soon, m’kay?!!

*ahem*

So this sweet little chicken

went with me to the local fabric store to pick out fabric

here she is being cheeky with my broken camera!

isn’t my broken camera being nice…

anyhow…

We picked out some new fabric to recover the seat on the stool

it was in this family of fabrics… wink, wink!

another good photo taken with Mr. Broken Camera

by that sweet little chick above!

The stool base now looks like this…

but you are going to have to wait a little longer

to see the fabric!!

All that to say…

Three out of five projects I started this week

are coming along nicely!

Just call me the

really!!

Because in the middle of ALL that…

I decided to try and bake the perfect Pumpkin Scones AGAIN

Take 2… they were still not my favorite!

(still not Starbucks quality!)

OH… speaking of…

when I said that out loud at the dinner table

my little man said…

“So Mommy you are saying you like Starbucks baking better than your own?”

smart kid!!   how rude!!  =)

but it is true!!  Starbucks Pumpkin Scones were better than these!

One day…

One day I will make a pumpkin scone yummier than Starbucks!

take that Starbucks!!  =)

Seriously, what am I still doing here?!!

I should be reading your blogs…

right after I have a 6 1/2 hour sleep

b/c I stayed up WAY too late …

Again!!

bub bye!!