The finished quilt

Yes after two months of barely hand quilting I finally finished the quilt from the quilt along that finished in June. I had a hard time with the hand quilting but only because sticking with that kind of task for more than an hour at a time just doesn't work for me. But I've finally finished it. I also made a lot of mistakes. But in doing so I've learned things that you shouldn't do and things that you should definitely do. Like over baste. Well without further ado here it is.

Scrapbook Heaven

Come on over. ScrapbookHeavenGA is having a free crop this weekend. The prizes are really awesome and the sketches and ideas are always fantastic. Hope to see you there.

Short on time

Unfortunately having 5 year old twins and a 16 year old in the house makes doing anything for long periods next to impossible. So I'll have to wait til tomorrow to update the new recipes that I've tried over the past month. Right now I have to go be the mean viscous mom and put three kids in time out.

But I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pics from the past month.

Bag log of book reviews

That' another thing I managed to get done for June is a few books completed. I'll probably accomplish this goal easily enough.

First up, The Search by Nora Roberts. I'm not a romance type reader but I did find this book to be okay. It was quite predictable in the ending but the character interactions made the read worth it. It wasn't a book that I had to take with me so that I could devour it.

Ahhhh my new favorite series and I'm anxiously awaiting #4 to come in at the library. The Sookie Stackhouse series. I've read the first three and I'll just make one post about all of them instead of individually. Let me start off by saying that if you don't like supernatural reads these are not for you. Also if a bit of sex bothers you stay away from these as well. Now that being said...I love these books. The main character is down to earth and with the exception of her "gift" she's kinda like the girl next door. But she does seem to land herself in hot water. My favorite so far is Club Dead.

Update for the non-scrappy projects

I honestly don't foresee getting 38 non-scrappy projects done. I've only completed 6 so far and have 4 in the works and three in my head to do.

Anyway here's the one I've gotten completed since the last post. It's my multi color dish cloth.

Feeling Scrappy Sketchapalooza 7 sketches

As promised here are a few more of my favorites from the latest Sketchapalooza class. These are my interpretations of the sketches. They are having another class beginning in September if you are interested. You can get the info here.

I'm a slacker

Yeah apparently it's been a while. (Like a month!). But in my defense June and so far July has been kinda busy. Terry finally got a job that he's really enjoying so we've all had to adjust to his new schedule which will be changing to a more permanent schedule here soon. But then we will have to readjust when that happens. Also in June I was working on the quilt for the quilt along which I haven't finish yet because hand quilting is taking a lot longer than I thought. Plus I'm also crocheting an afghan and a floppy Steelers hat for myself. I also made another dish cloth. Not to mention the Feeling Scrappy sketches that I completed. I think I completed 25ish pages in June. I'll post a few of my favorites in the next post.

So without further ado, let's get caught up on the sketchy stuff and the various items from my 38 challenge.

Finished quilt top

I finished the quilt top for the quilt a long happening here. It's been so much fun so far and I can't wait to start the actual quilting on Wednesday. Here's a look at what I've done.

More Scrappy stuff from Feeling Scrappy

Here are two more layouts from the class over at Feeling Scrappy.

Sketch 5

Sketch 6

Scrappy stuff

Here are some of the layouts I've completed over at Sketchapalooza. I love their sketches and the layouts are inspiring. These are my takes on the 4 different sketches provided to us.

Bonus sketch

Sketch one

Sketch 2

Sketch 3

New recipes 24-26

For this recipe post we have an excellent recipe, a pretty good recipe and a "OMG I threw it in the trash and it was so bad the kids wouldn't even touch it" recipe.

So we'll start with excellent and move our way down. First up is Slow Cooker Coke Chicken. Oh my word. The chicken pretty much just falls apart and is really juicy. I can't say that I would do anything different to this recipe. Although I did use Pepsi vs Coke because that's all I have in the house.

Next up is a good way to cook cube steaks. I have in the past refused to fix them because they are always so tough to cut and even tougher to chew. No matter how much you tenderize them they just don't get any better. Then I found this recipe. It will be the only way I'll ever cook them. Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy.

Last we have the ewwwww of all recipes. I even deleted the site I found it on. I found another site that had close to the same recipe but didn't call for nearly as much of some of the ingredients. I may try it. But the recipe was for Lemon Brownies. They were beyond disgusting. And I'll leave it at that.

Latest book reviews

I don't know if anyone actually reads what I say about the books I read but it gives me something to do. I've got two books to talk about this time round. The first is the third book in the Nightshade series. Loved it. It was really good and I got a really good cry out of it. I like a book to make me cry every now and then. It shows that the author has made you fall in love with her characters.

The second book I laughed when I read the jacket at walmart but I was out of reads and this book was only $6 in the bargain bin. The Chronicles of Nick. It was entertaining to say the least. I had a hard time putting it down. It wasn't that serious (or probably even well written), but I got a lot of laughs out of it. The main character is just sassy and witty enough to make you like him. I'm actually looking forward to the other books in the series.

Now I'm reading brain mush. Some sappy love story that will probably end up with a sad ending. I don't even know who it's by off the top of my head. After I'm done with it I'll be moving on to the Sookie Stackhouse series.

The Quilt A Long

So far so good. I'm really enjoying the quilt a long at the Mommy by Day blog. If you've ever wanted to learn to quilt this is the way to do it. She is doing one set of instructions per week so that you'll have plenty of time to get each step done. We'll have a completed quilt by the end of the month. Last week we completed all of the cutting and if we chose to we could go ahead and layout all the pieces so we'd be ready for the sewing part this week. Here's mine all laid out and ready to go.

Busy, busy June

I'm really excited about June. Thanks to a wonderful friend (Thanks Jen), I was gifted a spot in the Sketchapalooza class and it's underway. For those of you wondering, it's a scrapping class that provides throughout June 20 total sketches designed by some very talented ladies. Plus you get to see the takes on the sketch by all the other attendees. I've already completed 2 of the three and will work on the third one tomorrow. It's not to late to join if you are interested. Check it out here.

The other project that is going to keep me busy is the June quilt a long. I've gotten the quilting bug and I'm so excited. The project started today over at Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night. I got all my squares, sashings and binding already cut and ready to go. Tomorrow I'm going to lay out all my squares. Next Wednesday we are going to start assembling the quilt top.

I'm so excited about June.

Two new books

I mentioned in a previous post that I was starting City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. It was good but......I think it's really getting time to wrap up the series. Have you ever read a book series where you just know it's going to be the end for better or worse? Only to find it to be continued? That's the way I felt with this book. They are also making the first one into a movie in case you were interested. But I'm not entirely thrilled with the lead casting. Lily Collins just doesn't do anything for me as an actress. She's isn't at all what I picture Clary to be like. And as far as the guy they have playing Jace.....meh.

The second book I've finished is the second in the Nightshade series. Luckily for me I know there are only three books in this series so live or die that's it. I really enjoyed the second book. A lot of questions were answered but of course more were posed. I've already started the third one and I'm dreading it ending. Not because I want it to go but because I'll be out of reads.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

New recipe 22 & 23

Have I ever mentioned how much I love to cook. Granted I have more fun cooking for 10+ than I do for my family of 5 but I do love to cook. I especially love trying new things. But my absolute favorite is baking cakes, pies & cookies. So this post contains a dinner and a dessert so enjoy.

First up is Chicken and Wild Rice casserole. Now the recipe calls for pre done rice but I used a box of regular of Uncle Ben's and cooked it ahead of time. It was very cheesy and I base all good recipes on whether or not the twins eat it happily and they did. Not using the pre made rice does make this recipe a little more time consuming but it's worth it in the end.

Now time for dessert. My favorite part of any meal. For Memorial Day after we had put away lots of burgers and dogs, plus baked beans and potato salad we sampled what could only be described as the diet killer of all desserts. You have a chocolaty brownie with Reese's cups mixed in layered with a rich cheesecake like topping, smothered in more Reese's cups. What's not to love?

That's it for the most recent recipes. I think I'll definitely top out the 38 new recipes for my challenge. Now if only I could do so well on the projects.

New quilt

Now that I've finally finished that quilt I have the quilting bug. So I'll be hanging out at the Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night blog for a zig zag quilt along. I'm really excited. I've got my layer cake ordered and then I'll need to buy the additional stuff to go with it.

I finally finished it

I finally finished the quilt that I started in January. I learned a lot of dos and don'ts while making it. One major thing that I learned is that I would much rather use patterned fabric on the back vs solid. So without further ado here we go.

One thing funny I noticed today as I was finishing. I've had my machine for 12 years, it's nothing fancy but a $40 machine from Wal-mart. I broke my first needle today. Shows you how much it's been used. In fact before December of last year it had only been used once or twice. These past months have made me realize how much I've missed sewing.

A scrappy post

I almost forgot I wanted to share a scrappy layout that I did for the Scrapshare weekly challenge.

And just some randomness

Because random is what this blog is all about. So here are some random pics to amuse you or possibly give you the heebie jeebies.

We seem to have lots of these around. Good bug eaters.

Got candles? Don't worry I have enough for all of us.

And a few last shots for your day.

The project 38 post

You know, the one I'm failing miserably at. At best I should be completing 3 projects per month to be on track. Yeah that's not happening. I've only completed 4 total. I have 3 in the works. And lots more in my head. But here is a few pics of some dish clothes that I finished plus one that was supposed to be a dishcloth but it was too pretty so now it's the never ending granny square.

The beginnings of the never ending granny

My mint green dish cloth

The other cloth

Reading time

I'm not to far behind on the reading updates. Only 5 books. My book reading tastes change frequently and right now I'm kinda on a young adult reading phase. So without further ado.

One For the Money- No I haven't seen the movie but thought I would read the book before seeing the movie. I really enjoyed the book and wouldn't mind reading a few more in the series. It's was a little intrigue with some funny moments.

Night Shade- Now for my young adult reads. I was surprised that this book turned out as good as it did. If you like books about were wolves you may enjoy this book. It had some surprising twists and I'm anxious to start on the second book in the series (it's sitting on my nightstand along with the third one.)

Switched- Another surprising book. It's about modern day trolls living among us and their cultures and a new princess. I devoured this book plus the other two in the series.

Torn- Book two of the series about the Trylle. Every bit as good as the first.

Ascend- Book three of the series. I felt the ending was a bit rushed but overall it was a still a good read.

That's my reading list. I'm currently reading City of Lost Souls and loving it. I'll post more on it when I'm done.

New recipes 14-21

See told you I was behind on posting but almost done with the 38 new recipe challenge. Some of these I took pics of but most I didn't. If I have blog sites where I got them from I'll post links.

First up number 14..... Snicker doodles. After finding snicker doodle ice cream I just had to have some real cookies. They were so delicious, moist and chewy.

Recipe number 15-Oven Roasted potatoes. They were ok, not the greatest. I'll probably fix them again. I got the recipe from this blog.

Recipe number 16- Doritos casserole. I thought the kids would have enjoyed this more since it had lots of cheese and lots of Doritos. Terry, Jina and I really liked it though. If you are looking for a quick, fun meal check it out here.

Recipe number 17- Hamburger steak with onion gravy. This was really good. And I like that it's versatile enough that you can make it with pre-made patties or make your own patties.

Recipe number 18- No bake cookies. Ok ok I admit to most this isn't a new recipe. I have made them before but every time I've ever made them they've always turned out mushy and gooey and never set up. These turned out perfect.

Recipe number 19- Crockpot chicken teriyaki. Well this one is not for a person on a low sodium diet. That being said it was still pretty darn good. I made some fried rice to go with it.

Recipe number 20- Fresno potatoes. Ok, these were by far some of the best potatoes I've had in a really long time. They are a little time consuming to make but the results are worth it.

And last but not least we have recipe number 21- Monster cookies. Everything you could ever want in a cookie you will find right here. M&Ms...check, peanut butter....check, chocolate chips....check, oatmeal....check check. These were to die for cookies.

Oh darn I forgot to add my failed pineapple ice cream experiment.

So some updates are in order I suppose

We are still alive and kicking. The weather has been beautiful and we are loving it down here so much. As promised here are some before, during and after photos of the house.

the living room from the front door

The living room from the kitchen

The front of the house

The living room during

Master bedroom during

Jina's room

Living room during from upstairs

Master bed completed

Scrap closet

Living room complete from kitchen

Living room complete from upstairs

Jina's room

Front of house with trees in bloom

We took a break from the box madness after a week of being here and took the kiddos to the beach. It was the first time for the twins but not for Jina. Mason took to the water like a fish but Mitchell really needed some serious coaxing.

The next entries that I'll do will be updates to my separate 38 challenges. I'm not doing to bad with the food and reading but the project one I may end up failing miserably at.